Epilogue—"Home"

The next few months were a period of transition for the Enchanted Forest. Slowly, people became used to the presence of the fae in the world once more, and slowly, the fae stopped targeting as many humans while their war with their "cousins" continued, albeit at a slower pace. Oh, they still captured humans quite regularly, but the fairies freed almost as many as were taken, and Tinker Bell slowly became a household name. She wasn't the distant force for "good" that the Blue Fairy had been, so majestic and aloof that few dared approach her. No, Tink was much more down-to-earth, accessible, and always ready to lend a helping hand. It didn't pay to ask for help if you didn't truly need it—Tink made short work of anyone who tried to abuse her generosity—but usually she just helped.

Rumors said that the Blue Fairy had retreated to a cave in the mountains, had been absorbed by the heavens, or even that she had finally made peace with her sister. Wherever she had actually gone, Rumplestiltskin never saw her again. Nor did he hear of even a reliable sighting. Blue seemed to have vanished into thin air, refusing to help her successor but not hindering her, either. Given the many years Blue had fought doggedly to preserve her chosen way of the world, Rumplestiltskin figured that was the best they would get out of her.

Regina announced her engagement to Robin Hood—newly re-created Earl of Locksley by an obliging King Midas, whose kingdom had absorbed Nottingham and Sherwood Forest when no heir to the dead Prince John could be found. Midas' late wife had been John's sister, and Robin proclaimed his approval of the new king quite publically, which helped bring a lot of people around. Soon, little Roland was calling Regina "Mama," and Rumplestiltskin pretended not to notice how that turned his student/enemy/friend/almost-family-member into a puddle of goo every time the lad did so. He even allowed Belle to talk him into preparing a suitable wedding gift for the pair when the time came, as sort of an apology for that incident where he'd nearly flayed the outlaw alive. Sort of.

Emma and Baelfire split their time equally between their own adventures, her parents' (many) castles and the Dark Castle. Sometimes they brought Henry along, and other times they sent him to Regina or even Rumplestiltskin and Belle. He found his grandson's presence strangely refreshing, even if it meant dragging the lad—and Belle!—out of the library when the two of them often got a little too engrossed in books. Rumplestiltskin liked reading more than most, but Henry seemed to be absorbing Belle's love for the written word, and if the two of them laughed at him from time to time for the way he complained about being ignored, well, that was what family did. Rumplestiltskin was slowly getting used to this odd family of his; once he had thought he'd be fortunate if he ever saw his son again, so sometimes the energetic group he'd wound up with left him breathless.

Henry, of course, still wanted his grandpa to teach him magic, and Rumplestiltskin finally broke down and promised to start once Henry was fifteen. The lad had the makings of good if not extraordinary sorcerer, although he'd probably lean a bit too much towards the hero side of the family to be properly objective.

Snow and Charming continued their on-again, off-again fight with Emma over who their heir would be; by the time Emma announced her second pregnancy—much to Rumplestiltskin's delight, Henry's shock, and Baelfire's never-ending nervous joy—they still hadn't quite ironed things out. Still, there was time yet, and if Emma flat-out refused to take the throne, she had a younger brother and a son who would both prove capable as time moved on. Snow helpfully pointed out that Emma's second child could always inherit if Henry was stuck on being a sorcerer, and Rumplestiltskin barely resisted the urge to tell them that their second shared grandchild would be still more magical than the first.

True Love, after all, had to be fought for. It didn't always show up right away, and sometimes even its recipients were slow to admit that it was there. When Emma finally scraped up the guts to ask him why she was feeling a power surge every time she kissed her husband, Rumplestiltskin just offered her a bottle and told her how to make the potion. With Emma, there was no other way to convince her.

The rest of the Enchanted Forest eventually settled down into the new world the original powers had carved out between them. The new King Philip took over his kingdom and the one belonging to his infant son, somehow making peace with his difficult mother-in-law along the way. Ariel and Eric went on a tour of several worlds and reported that other realms were settling down nicely; somehow, they made friends with a newly-freed Jafar, who had talked the Lady of the Lake into accompanying the three of them. That made for a fascinatingly odd travel party, particularly when they adopted Maleficent's old apprentice, Aladdin. Jafar taught the boy for a while, until Aladdin caught the eye of the new Sultan's daughter when they were in Agrabah. Several disjointed adventures later, Aladdin became a prince-by-marriage, and Princess Jasmine joined that group as they travelled.

Regina didn't move into Maleficent's castle, despite claiming that she got along better with Snow at a distance. Instead, she gave it to Tinker Bell, deciding that Tink had been Maleficent's heir in every way that mattered. Tink, in turn, stationed fairies at the no longer Forbidden Fortress, placing them inside the world they protected and making them easy to find.

Hook, surprisingly enough, showed up at the Dark Castle one afternoon with Ruby on his arm, having dragged her off onto several piratical adventures that the young werewolf loved. Belle had invited them—of course—and they spent a surprisingly enjoyable time there while Rumplestiltskin learned to bury the hatchet with his ex-wife's old lover without sticking it into the pirate's skull. It probably helped that Ruby was one of Belle's closest friends, and Belle would never have forgiven him if he'd done so, but perhaps it really did mean Rumplestiltskin was mellowing with age.

Two months after that, however, the Dark Castle swarmed with people. Guests had begun arriving as much as a week before the wedding, while Snow and Charming—the later not nearly so excited as the former—had arrived a full month earlier, with Emma in tow. Bae had been less grouchy than his eight month pregnant wife, who'd found teleporting made her vomit and riding in carriages was even worse. Rumplestiltskin had known that he'd regret allowing Snow White to plan his wedding, but he'd told himself repeatedly that if it made Belle happy, he could deal with it. Now, when the day finally dawned, he was fondly remembering his days of ripping out hearts and crushing them when people annoyed him. Or turning people into snails. That would have also been a relief.

He was fairly certain that the Dark Castle had never been so decorated, even for Prince Graham's christening. There were flowers everywhere—he expected that Sir Maurice had a hand in that one, because Belle did love flowers—and guests galore. Rumplestiltskin had been allowed enough input into the guest list to make sure the allies he actually valued (some of them were not what he would call friends) were invited. He had also overrode all of the objections and invited the Black Fairy, knowing that sending Danns an invitation was the only way to keep her from wrecking mischief on his wedding. Had he not, she would have undoubtedly tried to stick everyone into some never-ending dance or another, or just sent Zoso in her stead. Rumplestiltskin very consciously did not invite his predecessor, and reminded Danns not to bring him, either, a proviso he was glad to see that she obeyed. Plenty of other people he didn't really like also showed up, though, which would have served to put his teeth on edge were this not such a happy day. Snow had billed this wedding as a final acknowledgement of the end of the war, however, so Rumplestiltskin bit his tongue and managed not to point out that it was his wedding. And Belle's, of course.

All of his frustration paled, however, when he caught sight of Belle standing at the end of the isle. She was wearing a flowing white dress of silk and lace that he hadn't been allowed to see, but the smile she turned on him made Rumplestiltskin forget all about the dress and the jewels. Even though he'd tried to sneak a look, only to find that his damn daughter-in-law had enchanted it so that when Rumplestiltskin looked at the dress, it looked like a sack made out of dead frogs. (Emma's sense of humor would always leave something to be desired, but it grew on Rumplestiltskin slowly. Very slowly). Belle, however, was too beautiful for words.

Somehow, he made it down the aisle to take her hands in his own, and somehow Rumplestiltskin managed not to shake too hard when he did. He had proposed to Belle almost nine months ago. Since then, he had been put under a sleeping curse, had battled to the death (or nearly so) with the Black Fairy, watched his predecessor—who still hated him—resurrected, and then ended a war in a manner that really did deny an absolute victory to either side. Never mind the many years of struggle before that—losing one another, finding one another, supposed deaths and time spent apart. They were stronger together, and today they could at least make that official.

He hardly heard a word the cricket said, was lost in a swirl of happiness so great that it almost hurt, until Belle began to say her vows, glowing with happiness:

"Rumplestiltskin, this thing we have, it's never been easy. I've lost you so many times. I've lost you to darkness, to lies, and finally, I thought I lost you to death. But now I realize, I realize that I have not spent my life losing you. I've spent my life finding you."

Her hands were so warm in his, and her smile so infectious, that Rumplestiltskin found himself answering a bit more honestly than he had planned, speaking from the heart instead of his carefully prepared script. "Belle…when we met, I wasn't just unloved, and unloving; I was an enemy of love. Love had only brought me pain. My walls were up, but you broke them down. You brought me home. You brought light to my life and chased away all the darkness. And I vow to you: I will never forget the distance between what I was and what I am. I owe more to you than I can ever say. How you could ever see the man behind the monster I was, I will never know."

"That monster's gone," she replied, her eyes shining. "Your curse is broken. The man I know now may be flawed, but we all are. And I love you for it. Sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket. And sometimes the best teacup is chipped."

He might have said something else, or might have wanted to, but emotion welled up so strongly within him that Rumplestiltskin was at a loss for words. So, he just took Belle in his arms and kissed her, not caring about the hundreds of guests Snow had talked them into inviting, not caring about Sir Maurice standing not far away, and certainly not caring who might say what about them in the long run. Magic surged through him, True Love singing in his mind and Rumplestiltskin had never felt so complete. Belle already wore his ring, and now they were married. Forever.

"It's forever, dearie," he told her, bouncing up and down with a little glee. The little lady didn't want to go along with him, but Rumplestiltskin had Seen enough to know she would be important. Best to keep an eye on her, and if she was miserable, who cared?

Yet she was so brave, facing him down. Even then, even with the imp whispering its worst in his mind, Rumplestiltskin admired that. Belle's chin came up. "My family, my friends... they will all live?"

Usually, this was the point where he said something flippant about everyone dying eventually and how that wasn't his fault, but she was so serious that he replied solemnly: "You have my word."

"Then you have mine. I will go with you. Forever."

Forever.

Who would have thought that this was where they would wind up? The Dark One and the girl who made such a terrible maid. The former monster and the woman who had seen beyond the mask he tried to show everyone, who had answered his loneliness with light and with love. She was his better half, Belle was, the one thing that made him complete. Seer though Rumplestiltskin might be, he had never expected this. Had he even an inkling of what she would come to mean to him back in the beginning, he might have run away from her.

But now he knew better. Now he could never even dream of doing so, not when Belle was smiling at him like that and the world seemed so perfect, even if just for a moment.

"I love you," Rumplestiltskin whispered, running his fingers down her face and watching Belle shiver with glee.

"I love you, too," she replied with a dazzling smile, before leaning in to steal another kiss.

Rumplestiltskin complied eagerly, feeling the warmth of love and power stealing through his bones, and inhaling the soft scent of the woman he loved. But Belle didn't pull away when her lips left his, instead going up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear:

"I'm pregnant," Belle said, and his world stopped moving. "Regina helped me confirm it his morning. I think our children are going to be about the same age."

A part of Rumplestiltskin's mind focused on the second part of that wondrous sentence before it comprehended the first, and all he could think about was the trouble those two would get in together. He'd known Regina was with child (the former Evil Queen hadn't exactly kept it a secret; she was too happy to think of hiding the fact), but a child of his and a child of Regina's—Wait. A child?

"You're what?" he finally managed to say, the words finally sinking in.

"Pregnant. Just barely," Belle confirmed, her blue eyes shining.

"Oh, Belle."

Other words escaped him, and Rumplestiltskin pulled her close to kiss her once more, trying to communicate his joy and his love for her—for them both!—without being able to articulate a complete sentence. At the moment, he wasn't even sure that he could spell his own name, let alone string together coherent thoughts on the matter. Belle kissed him back, and he held her close for a long moment before sweeping her off her feet and twirling her around.

Their laughter echoed across the great hall together, and if the guests thought he was mad, Rumplestiltskin no longer cared. His visions from a year earlier came to mind once more, fresh and strong, and he knew. There would be challenges to come, but this child of theirs was a miracle of sorts. They had both lost one another so many times, only to find one another again, traveling weaving and winding roads that finally brought them together to this one perfect moment. Rumplestiltskin couldn't remember the last time he had felt so free to be happy as he did now, and they would face whatever came together.

Their daughter was born just nine days after Regina bore her own daughter, and they would indeed grow close, sometimes despite their collective parents' best efforts to make them befriend others. Gabrielle, named after Belle's mother, quickly grew into a bouncing, laughing bundle of brown-haired joy, having inherited her father's eyes and her mother's indomitable smile. She was never bothered by the fact that her niece Mary was only eight months older than her, or that her best friend Raven was also her nephew's adopted sister. She had her father wrapped around her little finger from moment one, and Rumplestiltskin joyfully spoiled her—and his grandchildren—rotten.

Over the years, a few misguided heroes sought the Heart of the Truest Believer, thinking that they could be lucky enough to somehow force it inside the Black Fairy and thus remove her "taint" from the world. Rumplestiltskin stopped one group, Emma and Baelfire made mincemeat of another, and Henry finally helped Regina put an end to the foolish questers on his eighteenth birthday, at which point everyone had to acknowledge that the Truest Believer was indeed a sorcerer of note. Sometime after that, he conspired with his royal grandfather to take the succession issue out of Emma's hands, and soon Prince Henry was acknowledged as the combined heir of Queen Snow and King David. Needless to say, Emma and Bae were relieved. Even if they would not have wished such a burden on their son, Henry was more than prepared to take it on. He was indeed more prince than sorcerer, in the end, and when he came to the throne, he ruled well.

Gabrielle and Raven became the true sorceresses in the family, competing and combining with one another to preform feats that left all of their parents reeling. Eventually, it was Gabrielle whom Rumplestiltskin chose to bequeath his powers to. After his curse had broken, he had expected to grow old like any other human, but instead found another price of being an original power. He was able to extend Belle's life easily enough, and the pair of them outlived all of their contemporaries, but eventually, it was time to let go. One year to the day after Belle's death, Rumplestiltskin handed over his powers to his now-grown daughter and left to join his True Love.

FINIS.

A/N: And that's it. Wow, it's been a ride. Thank you so much to all the amazing readers who have stuck with me through this story – it was my first 'Once' fanfiction, and I never imagined it growing so huge, or getting such a wonderful response.

If you enjoyed "Original Powers", please check out my new story Freeze on the Stones, where Cora casts the curse and changes fate. It features Rumbelle, OutlawQueen (eventually), and some other surprise appearances by characters who were not in Regina's Storybrooke.

Thank you again!