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Rumpelstiltskin was polishing one of his antiques when his shop door opened with so much force that it bounced against the wall. He looked up, ready to investigate the cause of such ruckus, but his blood went cold when he saw who it was.
“Rumple,” Belle cried. She was sobbing, her clothes were rumpled, and her hair was falling out of its ponytail.
“Belle,” he said, and he rushed over to her as quickly as he could, his heart pounding. She attempted to walk further to meet him in the middle, and he noticed she had a limp. When he got close enough to her, she fell into his arms.
“What happened?” He asked. He could barely hear past the blood rushing in his ears. “Where’s Gideon?”
Another sob ripped through her.
“Belle, where’s Gideon?” he asked desperately. She was hurt, and their son wasn’t with her. Panic rose up in him as his mind went to the worst case scenario.
“They took him,” she said.
“Who? Who took him?” He demanded, harsher with her than he liked, but he needed to know where Gideon was.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. We were just going on a walk, and out of nowhere some people came up and ambushed us.”
His grip on her tightened. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
“Just my ankle, I think.”
He waved his hand over her, his hand lighting up with a soft golden glow as he felt the heat of magic in his palm. “Better?”
She nodded. “Let’s go find our son.”
At that, he tried to convince her to go home. He had it handled, and she’d been through enough that day, but she wasn’t having it.
“Did you see how many there were?” He asked, holding open the door for her as she walked out.
Belle frowned. “I think there were three? I don’t know, though, a lot happened all at once.”
He shut the door behind him, letting her take the lead.
The site of the accident wasn’t far, but neither of them felt up to talking. Both were intent on getting Gideon back as soon as possible. If he could hazard a guess, he’d say that Belle was likely thinking the same thing he was.
They were both paranoid when it came to Gideon. Rumpelstiltskin, having known what it felt like to have a son and to have lost him–twice–was already sensitive about his second child. He had vowed to protect him the second he learned that he and Belle were going to have a baby, and he would do everything in his power to do right by his youngest.
But then the worst had happened, and Gideon was taken by the Black Fairy. He was tortured and abused for years under her control, and his son’s scars still haunted their family. He and Belle both had nightmares about it. The scenarios that played out varied, but each were just as ruthless as the last. In some, Gideon didn't turn back into a baby, and in others, the Black Fairy somehow came back and took him again. The worst ones were when Gideon died, though.
As it was, he still worried almost daily about how this would all affect his son when he grew up. Although they were lucky to get a second chance with him, magic could also be finicky, and it was a possibility–however small–that he’d retain his previous self’s memories when he became old enough.
He hadn’t brought this up to Belle yet–maybe he wouldn’t unless it became a problem. So hopefully never in that respect. He didn’t want her to needlessly worry about it, he could shoulder the burden for the both of them.
“We’re here,” Belle announced.
He walked up and stood next to her as he surveyed the scene.
It was worse than he thought.
He knew Belle was right next to him, and that she was physically okay, but seeing Gideon’s stroller tossed to the side made him want to magic her back to their house to ensure her safety, consequences be damned. And then he saw Gideon's baby blanket. It was a light blue with his name embroidered in a darker blue at the bottom, customary of Granny. Rumpelstiltskin was surprised when she gave it to them, but he supposed that people generally liked Belle well enough even if they were still wary of him.
He kneeled down, gingerly picking it up, and feeling a pang when he noticed the scuff marks on it. "I should be able to find him with this," he said, holding the blanket up.
Belle was watching him with worried eyes, and she nodded firmly. "What are we waiting for?"
***
Defeating the bastards who took his son was so pathetically easy that it made Rumpelstiltskin even more furious. His stomach churned when he thought about them waiting for an opportune moment to ambush Belle and Gideon, when they didn’t have to worry about the Dark One. Apparently they were out for revenge for something he had done to them years ago in the Enchanted Forest. He wasn't sure what he'd done, but he was too focused on saving his son to worry about the details.
Once Gideon was back in their arms and his kidnappers were subdued by his magic, Rumpelstiltskin called Emma. She could take care of the rest while he took care of his family. He was still tempted to kill all of them, but he spared them, which was more for his sake than theirs. Any temptation given to darkness would only harm him; if he gave it an inch, it would take a mile.
He wouldn’t bother waiting until Emma got there. His magic would keep until then. He just wanted to go home, tend to his wife and child, and hopefully get his heart rate settled down.
He rested one hand on Gideon’s head, currently held by Belle, and who hadn’t stopped crying. Every gut wrenching sob broke Rumpelstiltskin’s heart. It was the rare kind of heartbreak that came with having a child, where Gideon’s pain (and Baelfire’s before him) was his pain. With a flick of his other hand he magicked his family home. He felt the tension in his shoulders leave somewhat when the walls of their living room surrounded them.
“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Belle soothed, bouncing Gideon gently.
Rumpelstiltskin reached for Gideon. He needed to feel him in his arms, needed to know that he was safe now that the threat was taken care of. He barely noticed the tremble in his hands as he lifted him up. Gideon was starting to calm down now, having tired himself out and also realizing he was in a familiar environment.
“Gideon, I’m so sorry,” Belle said, tears slipping out of her eyes.
Rumpelstiltskin took the moment to study her. She looked exhausted.
“You should rest, love,” he said.
She looked at him sharply. “I’m fine. I need to take care of Gideon.”
“You were attacked today,” he reminded her.
“You healed me. I’m not hurt anymore.”
“You’re exhausted.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it.
Shifting Gideon slightly, he gently grabbed her upper arm, waiting until she had her attention on him before he began speaking. “Gideon will be fine, I’ll make sure of it. But you need to rest, too.”
“But–”
“Belle, please,” Rumpelstiltskin said, and he hesitated for a moment, still unused to being so open with his emotions. “Please,” he repeated, much softer. “I need you both to be okay.”
A beat of silence. “Okay,” she said, “I will.”
They exchanged a chaste kiss, with him giving her a look of gratitude as she left the room. She glanced at Gideon one last time, still unwilling to part with him–who could blame her–and he saw doubt surface on her face once more, but then she quickly turned around and headed for their bedroom. He listened until he heard their shower turn on, and he forced himself to relax.
Gideon, who was fast becoming grumpy, made a disgruntled noise, bringing Rumpelstiltskin's attention back to his boy. “Let’s get you taken care of, mm?”
He bathed him, and changed him into a clean onesie after checking him for injuries once more. Gideon wasn't happy about the mandatory bathtime, but he needed to be clean.
“I know, I’m sorry, papa’s sorry,” he soothed when he became fussy. When he was clean, he cradled him in his arms, taking a moment to take in his fully alive and healthy son. Gideon stared up at him with curious, probing eyes, and Rumpelstiltskin bounced his arms gently. Gideon blinked slowly a few times before finally allowing himself to be rocked to sleep.
Instead of laying Gideon down in his crib, he laid him next to Belle. She was out cold; the day had taken its toll on her. Asleep or not though, she still was ever so conscious of Gideon, and shifted out of his way. He debated joining them, but he was too anxious, too restless. Now that his family was taken care of, the anxiety of the day was catching up to him, and he was breathless at the thought of what could’ve happened. How everything could’ve gone wrong. He could’ve been the father of two dead sons. The kidnappers had seemed to draw the line at killing a baby, but they were still hurt and bent on revenge for whatever Rumpelstiltskin did to them years ago. Anger was a slippery slope, and they would’ve done anything to get back at him. (And it didn’t escape him that for all of his attempts at redemption, he couldn’t be bothered to remember what it was he did to them. Not when his family was on the line.)
He took a shaky breath and left the room. He didn’t want to disturb Belle and Gideon. When he was sure he was far enough away that they wouldn’t hear him, his vision blurred, and he let himself weep. He thought of Baelfire, and then he thought of Belle, and then he thought of Gideon, and he sat with the cold realization that he was destined to fail everyone he loved. Belle and Gideon made it out unscathed this time, but what about the next time? It was only a matter of time before they joined Baelfire, and it was all because of him. Because for most of his life, he chose power over love, and it was catching up to him. He still had to fight against the darkness everyday, and it was hard, and one of these days he was bound to slip up. All he did was fail, fail, fail–
He sobbed, and gripped at his shirt, willing the pain in his chest to go away.
“Rumple?” He heard Belle’s sleepy voice.
He stifled his sobs quickly, and avoided looking at her. “Belle, what are you doing up? I thought you were sleeping,” he said.
“You weren’t in bed so I came to check on you.” She came up behind him. "Are you alri-" she cut herself off when she finally saw his face, and her eyes softened.
A beat.
"It's not your fault, you know."
He didn’t believe her, didn’t agree with her, but he wasn’t going to have that fight right now. “You should go back to sleep," he said.
She reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek, resting her hand there. She gave him such a gentle smile that it broke his heart all over again. “You’re not as good at hiding your emotions as you think you are.” Her hand left his face, and she grabbed both of his hands with hers instead. “What happened today–” she inhaled shakily, “it wasn’t your fault.”
He opened his mouth, but she shook her head. “No, listen to me, okay? None of this was your fault. No matter what you did in the past, it doesn’t justify them kidnapping a baby. But you saved us.” She squeezed his hands.
“Belle, I–”
“Come here.” She pulled him down for a hug. “You are a good man, and a good father. Gideon is safe because of you today.”
Sobs choked at his throat, and he shut his eyes as he hugged her back tightly, and he let himself go completely.
***
Rumpelstiltskin still didn’t sleep that night. Typically the Dark One didn’t need sleep, but he still liked to do it. It was a nice routine, and he liked having the same schedule as Belle. Still, the night was a restless one, and no matter how many words of comfort he and Belle shared with each other, sleep just wasn’t going to happen.
It gave him the benefit of waking up Belle, though. He sat an awake Gideon next to her, and Gideon put his chubby baby hand right on her face, which made her blink awake.
“Gideon,” she said, a smile forming on her face. “Hi, baby.”
“He wanted to say good morning,” Rumpelstiltskin said.
“Is that so?” She looked up at him, and stretched one of her hands out. He took the hint and sat down on the bed next to her, holding her hand in his.
“Are you okay?” she asked after a moment.
“I will be. Are you?” He studied her. After a heavy night of sleep, she still had dark circles under his eyes. He frowned at that.
“I will be,” she said, giving him a small, but steady smile.
Gideon put his hand back on his mother’s mouth. Belle laughed lightly and gently moved his hand.
“I think someone wants you to get up now,” he said.
“That’s probably a good idea, I’m starving.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know that there are some Granny’s waffles waiting for us in the kitchen.”
She gave him a bemused look. “When did you get those?”
“Right before you woke up.”
“Well it’s impossible to say no to that, is it?” she said.
He got out of the way as she sat up, and she grabbed Gideon on her way to her feet.
“I should think so,” he said, holding out his arm for her to link her free one in. He then led her out of their bedroom.
“Hey,” she said as they made their way to the kitchen.
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
He stopped, and gave her a soft smile, suddenly overwhelmed with how much he loved her. He never would've thought that all those years ago the princess-turned-maid he had acquired would be the love of his life (and he had certainly lived a long life), but she saw the man behind the beast. Despite everything, she never gave up on him.
He owed her everything.
He moved to kiss her forehead. “I love you too.”