As the midwife tended to Belle, Rumple found himself sharing a story with her. The true story of his son.

"Belle, you know I was forty-seven when we met, and I'm now well on my way to sixty. Took you a good long time to coax me into trusting you genuinely loved me.

"That's because before you…there was Milah." He shuddered and clutched Belle's hand lovingly, wincing over speaking the devil's name after nearly thirty years without it.

"Back when I was eighteen, I had blackouts. I had no idea what went on during this time, unless someone told me. This twenty-one-year-old wench from a village decided to take advantage of these blackouts. One day, she approached me and told me I raped her three months previously, and she was with child. Because of me.

"Naturally, I was horrified over what I'd thought I'd done. But a part of me was excited to have the baby. No other woman wanted me before. If I genuinely liked a woman's spirit and tried to get to know her, she'd get this face, like, 'You're too nice for me, I can do way better,' then she'd ditch me without answering. I may have been born with light magic, the kid who grew up migrating and saving towns…but all potential lovers saw when they looked at me was a dirty guy who'd never have money."

Pressing his other palm to his chest, Rumple expressed, "I thought I was ugly as sin, based on the reactions at first. It took me overhearing seven different girls gossiping over how I'm 'too nice' before I realized some women turn guys down because they try to do right by them. There's even a song where a woman admits she broke a guy's heart 'because he was too nice'. It's one of the most popular songs nowadays, they won't stop playing it in bars…

"Well, of course, if I raped Milah," once again, he grimaced on her name, "I wouldn't have actually been 'too nice'. It was a bit concerning. I didn't want to be that guy, and it made me terrified to go through a blackout. Which may have been what those girls meant by me being 'too nice'.

"Milah," he almost vomited on her name, but the feel of his second wife's hand stopped him from doing such, "told me she would marry me 'to keep our child from being a bastard' if I wished. I had a bad feeling, but I wanted to be a father, so desperately. More than to lay with a woman. You saw how I was with…" his chin trembled with chagrin, "Chrissy. I just…I love kids. It was like dangling meat in front of a starving wolf who thought he was going to die. I nearly bit her hand off agreeing to marry her and help her raise the child.

"So we married, but our marriage was never consummated. I…didn't realize it at the time, but I wasn't attracted to Milah. I am attracted to you. But Milah…there was something off about her. I never felt inclined to pressure her and continuously told myself she could consummate our marriage when she was ready to.

"When I saved a nearby town one day, an older woman approached me. She was frowning in upset…she told me my pregnant 'wife' had been sleeping with multiple guys in that town. During our marriage. I refused to believe her at first, but one night, a man she willingly slept with punched me in the nose and threatened to behead me with a dagger for 'forcing' her to marry me. He didn't strike me as a liar, so when he let me go, I was shaken for a while then decided to wear a cloak at one of the bars the older woman had told me about.

"Disguised as a beggar woman with my light magic, I hunched over an ale while observing my wife giving man after man a lap dance. I asked a few questions and discovered Milah..." he rubbed his mouth, "Milah hadn't been anywhere near me during the blackout I supposedly 'raped' her during. There'd been five guys…she'd been willing…in fact, from what everyone in the bar said, she'd initiated it. The six of them had been inseparable for a month.

"If I had raped her during this time, I would've been beaten up good. I would have come to my senses with black and blue bruises all over my body. But that never happened.

"I didn't confront her, or care much. Because—again—the thing I wanted most in the world was a child. I wanted so much to love my kid. Even if he wasn't my son.

"She gave birth, and I asked what his name was. He looked kinda like me, which I'm assuming the father was one who wasn't too different-looking from me, but a lot less 'nice'. I doubt he ever saved anyone from an ogre…or a giant mushroom launching from the sky with poison bubbling from it…

"She told me she named him Baelfire. Then she left us alone…I was very excited to get to know the baby. But then she disappeared.

"She was never home, never cared for the child. I had to leave him with this baker woman—Granny Dot—when I went to save defenseless people from ogres. I did all the work in the parenting, yet any time we were alone, she'd scream at me it wasn't fair I 'knocked her up' because 'that child is too much work for me'. She was only ever home when he was asleep, so I don't know what she meant.

"When he was two years of age, she scrawled a note. Told me I was a terrible husband, and our child was wrecking her youth. She deserved a better life than being married to a penniless oaf who had a dirt floor and never required coin for his services. She said she was joining a pirate ship to marry the head pirate because I supposedly took away her right to having a second child 'because you're so unsexy'.

"Word on the wind traveled, and she and the pirate had probably sixteen babies. All forced to work as deckhands practically before they could stand properly.

"And yep, I was still a virgin when she ditched me.

"One day, I saved a city, and a kind man asked what I required for payment. His name was Geppetto—he was visiting that city when it'd been seized by ogres. He was very grateful…there was a cricket on his shoulder…well, I told him I'd like him to watch me during several blackouts and tell me what I did after the observation process.

"I used light magic which would connect us when I was having a blackout…he would teleport wherever I was then teleport back when the blackout was over.

"What he told me was…I pretty much collapse onto a bench. Mumble unintelligible jargon. I was still kinda moving, kinda talking. But he said he felt I was trying to 'unwind' from the stress of my job.

"After he told me that, the blackouts went away. Had one more blackout, then my body matured out of it.

"Far as Baelfire goes, he was a loyal son who took on my fight as best as he could. Obviously, he didn't have light magic like me, but he put on armor and helped my cause in whatever ways he could. He was less of a nancy boy than I was…less good-hearted, and some women loved him. Some did laugh when looking at him, said 'Wow, you have a dad bod,' then fell over, clutching their stomachs, but that was never women he fancied anyway.

"I think he actually had something with that woman the Evil Queen locked up years ago…but I can't recall anymore. All I know is my son died two years before I met you. In battle. I did my best to save him, but I couldn't. His final words to me were, 'You're a hero, Papa. I love you.'" Rumple twitched. "He knew he wasn't biologically mine. Because I felt it was wrong to hide that from him when he was old enough. Knowing the truth was his right. He didn't care. Didn't change his love for me in the slightest. You know I…I couldn't have loved him more if he were mine."

A baby cried. The midwife disconnected mother from child then stated, "He's a boy."

Belle was crying with shoulder-shaking sobs. From all the heavy emotions swarming her. Tears free-falling because she couldn't believe she was really a mother. Though her face was scrunched up like she was sad, she was actually mostly drunk on joy. Too much joy. "Perfect timing…but, Rumple, darling…" She covered her face with her hands. "I don't…I don't know what…what to name him."

When the midwife cleaned the baby off, slid a diaper on him, and handed him to his father, Rumple stared into his face. Whispered comfortingly, "We'll find a name that suits him. But Belle, hon…you gave birth. As long as you wish to name him, I leave the naming up to you. My suggestion though, is you might want to look," as he was sitting near her head, he nudged her shoulder with his hip, staring at her book, "there for answers."

Her jaw dropped. Gazing scrutinizingly at the infant's face, she decided, "You're right! He does! He is!" Reaching up to stroke the tiny head, she murmured, "His name is Gideon."

She'd never felt so content, relieved, yet sore all at once. The soreness was obviously from giving birth. Her relief was physical—the relief of getting the heavy baby out of her tummy that wasn't used to being so broad. The contentment was from seeing her beloved husband hold their newborn so sweetly. A sight she knew some women would never witness, as not all men cared so much for being a father. Some wanted nothing more out of life than to abuse women.

But in spite of the contentment, she found she was extremely worried about Chrissy. There was something restless between Belle's ribs. The child…she wasn't home. Belle couldn't understand why, but she imagined Chrissy clutching the fingertips of Belle's hand. In a sign of, "Now I have a younger brother. One whose hand-me-downs I won't get. A younger brother…with my real family."

For a few seconds, Belle's sobs intensified. But she reminded herself Chrissy had found the family she needed. A family that needed her.