9

~ These Are The Special Times ~

These are the special times

Times we'll remember

These are the precious times

The tender times we'll hold in our hearts forever

These are the sweetest times

These times together

And through it all, one thing will always be true

The special times are the times I share with you…

Celine Dion – These Are The Special Times

Gold Victorian - Christmas Eve 2014

Socks stared at up at the Christmas tree with all the strange looking glowing things on it and colored balls. He wanted one to play with.

What're you doing? he heard the dog ask him.

Those colored balls. I want one.

Well you can't have one. They're decorations.

What's decorations?

They're what humans put on trees to make them look nice. Now go play with that silly candy cane.

I'm bored with that. I want one of those balls and I'm gonna get one!

You go up that tree, cat, and you're gonna be up to your fur in trouble.

You're not my boss! I want a ball and I'm getting it. Go back to sleep, you old bone bag.

Old bone bag? I was a police dog if you must know. What do you do? Lay around all day that's what!

The cat ignored him and jumped into the tree, knocking ornaments off the branches as he climbed.

Cats! Major sighed. You have to learn everything the hard way.

See, look Bone Bag. Betcha can't climb this high! Socks taunted.

Why would I WANT to? snorted the shepherd. Get down before you knock it over!

This is fun! wait...wait a minute...why's it bending funny!?

The cat screeched and jumped out of the tree. It crashed to the floor behind him, scattering ornaments everywhere.

The dog surveyed the mess with dismay, whining. Good one, Cat-Tastrophe! Now there's broken glass and things everywhere! He backed away, then turned and trotted back to his rawhide chew in the foyer.

Hey, where you going! Need some help here!

You're on your own. You broke it, now you pay the price for it. Major lay down.

Thanks a LOT Bone Bag! Socks growled.

He didn't understand what all the fuss was about. They were just balls hanging on a tree anyway and he was bored again. He sauntered over to the sofa and started scratching at the side of it. Oooh this is fun!

The cat was like a kid in a candy store, always looking for a new novelty to satisfy him.

There was now a large hole in the corner of the sofa with some of the stuffing poking out.

Hey Bone Bag, this is more fun than that stupid tree anyhow.

Major looked up and woofed. You dumb walking furball! The master's gonna skin you alive! That's his antique sofa! Whatever that meant, Major thought, only knowing it was something he wasn't supposed to touch.

You're bluffing!

At the very least he'll send you back to that cage in the shelter! Cats! Always think they know everything! Major huffed.

Don't wanna go back in the cage! It's scary.

Well, you've stepped in it this time and don't know what the master will say.

Socks meowed fearfully and ran to hide under the love seat. Then they both could hear footsteps in the hall.

Who is it, Major? Who is it?

The cat was too terrified now to look.

Then it saw a familiar pair of loafers.

Ones he tried to chew on and got in trouble for.

"What in the seven hells happened in here!" Rumple cried. "My Christmas tree!"

It was a disaster. Many of the ornaments were broken, the tinsel was shredded and pieces of it all over the place.

"Which one o' ye crazy animals wrecked my tree!?" he demanded, glancing back and forth between the cat and the dog. Major shook his head and continued chewing on the rawhide. Rumple stalked over to the love seat then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the hole in his sofa.

"Ye mangy cat! My sofa! Tis no' ye're damned scratchin' post! Look at this mess! Oughta send ye back to the shelter, that's what!"

He knew he sounded silly talking to the cat like he was talking to a child but he was so enraged he couldn't think straight.

A frightened Socks poked his head out from underneath the love seat. "Rowl?"

"Dinna play innocent with me, cat. Yer claw marks are all over my sofa and Major doesn't mess with the tree...he knows better!"

I hate to say I told you so, cat but I told you so, Major huffed.

Shut up, Bone Bag!

"Ye come out of there!"

"Rumple, what are you yelling about...oh my God! Our tree!" Belle cried in horror.

"That crazy cat knocked over t'tree and he tore up my sofa. My antique sofa!"

"Socks! Bad kitty!" Belle scolded.

"Bad kitty? Bad kitty? That's all ye're goin t' say?"

"Well...he is still a baby..." she began.

"Belle, we can't have him wreckin' t'house!"

"Rumple, darling, I know you're upset but think of how unhappy our daughter will be if you send him back to the shelter," she pleaded. "We just have to give him time...he'll learn...if we teach him properly..." Her eyes locked with his.

"Belle..."

"It's Christmas! If we send him back...he might not get adopted again or if he does and they don't want him..."

She was close to tears now. His wife loved animals as much as he did and though he didn't want to send the cat back either, he had his doubts it could be tamed.

"...And you can fix everything he did..." she went on.

Oh, you are getting too good at this, dearie, he thought.

He sighed heavily. "All right. You can stay, Socks, but ye'll no' be knocking my tree over again or using my furniture for yer scratchin' post!"

The cat circled around him and rubbed its back against his legs.

"He's sorry...aren't you, sweetie?" Belle asked softly.

"Meow!" the cat cried.

Major snorted.

"Cats!" Rumple threw his hands up in defeat.

Women, Major thought. His friend Pongo was learning it wasn't easy having a mate in the house.

If Adriana had her way, he'd have a mate too soon enough. He decided he would enjoy his bachelorhood for as long as he could.

Rumple repaired the wrecked Christmas tree and sofa with his magic and placed special cat proof charms on the rest of his valuable antiques, not wanting a repeat performance. When he sat down on the sofa, Socks hopped onto his lap.

"Look, Rumple. He wants to tell you he's sorry," Belle murmured, gently stroking the cat's back.

"Rooowllll…" the cat purred in agreement.

"Okay, Socks. You're forgiven, dearie." The cat rolled over and offered his belly for the sorcerer to scratch. "You like that too, don't you?"

"Meow!"

He felt his eyelids growing heavy and drifted off to sleep. Belle wrapped a blanket around husband and cat and made herself comfortable beside him until it was time to wake the kids up.

Bae paced the living room while he waited for Andi to arrive. Rumple kept telling him to sit down before he walked a hole in the floor only it did no good. His portrait of her family before King George's attack was one of his most ambitious art projects and done from the heart. he knew Andi and Mark missed their parents so much and wished there had been a way to save them only there wasn't. Time travel wasn't possible and even if it was, like magic, it came at a price. Even if one attempted to do it with good intentions, they ran the risk of altering the lives of others and not for the better.

This was his father's philosophy on the subject when they talked about it shortly after the first curse was broken. "It's called the ripple effect, Bae. If you change something in the past, everything else in your future and the futures of those around you become blank pages in a book where anything can happen...and it may not be good. There were a few desperate souls back in our land who wanted me to do just that...send them back in time to change their lives and didn't believe me when I said I couldn't. Time travel just isn't possible because it violates one of the oldest laws of magic….you cannot change the past."

He heard a car door close and ran to the window to see Andi getting out of her brother's car. He gulped.

"Bae, you're not gonna puke, are ya?" asked Adriana.

"No…"

"Son, sit down and relax," Rumple advised.

"Gonna go let her in," the nervous teenager said and walked out into the hall with Major trailing after him, the Shepherd sensing his young master's anxiety and hoped his presence would calm Bae a bit.

"Hey Fire!" Andi greeted him with a smile and gave him a kiss as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey Wraith…" He found it easier to slip back into their gang talk when he was so nervous and if she sensed it, she was polite enough not to point it out. "Ummm…everybody's in the living room."

She grinned. "We better go in before your dad sends the Happy Army after us."

"Hello Andi!" Belle greeted warmly. "That's a lovely coat. Was it one of your Christmas gifts? The former duchess was wearing a sky blue velvet coat with white faux fur lined cuffs.

"No, I bought it a while ago with the money I had saved up from working at Granny's," she replied. She'd just started at the diner and Granny was surprised by how well the former gang member was doing as a waitress. She built up a rapport with some of the regular customers and many of them left her large tips.

"I've been hearing some good reports about that Andi," Rumple praised. Bae was working in his father's shop until he got responses from some of the applications he filled out. He was having a more difficult time finding a job since everyone in town knew of his struggles with dyslexia and there were still some who believed, even after so many years had passed, he would rob them blind. He loved working with his father but he wanted to earn his money on his own. Rumple was proud of his son for taking the initiative to try to earn a living in his own right. In a year he would be eighteen and there was also college to consider.

"It can be hectic and some people can be rude but it's a stepping stone."

"Of course dearie. Even people with humble beginnings can rise to greatness."

"Andi, I wanna see you open your gift from Bae!" Adriana cried excitedly.

"Cool it, Rumplette! She just walked in the door," Bae laughed.

"Now I'm curious. Just what did you get me, Baelfire?"

"Ummm….it's just a little something…"

He got up and retrieved it from its hiding place behind the entertainment center and placed it in her lap. "It's…nothing fancy but…"

She opened the card first and saw a personal message along with the one provided with the card that he spent hours trying to make just right.

You're the wind that makes me fly to the heavens.

Love always, Bae

"Cheesy…I know…" he mumbled.

Andi smacked his shoulder playfully. "Aww cut it out! A girl needs to hear stuff like that once in a while y'know. You'd think your papa would've taught you better!"

Rumple cleared his throat. "I did, Baelfire."

"Sorry, Papa!"

"Romantic men are in short supply in this town…and this world…so we take them where we can find them," Belle murmured, snuggling close to her husband.

Andi tucked the card into her purse. She would put it with the others he'd given her over the years in her keepsake box and unwrapped her gift. She gazed down at the painting, her eyes filled with tears. The original painting of her family, done before King George's attack on their castle had been destroyed when his men set it ablaze. She ran her hands gently over the images of her parents, wishing she could see them again, just once.

"If you don't….oooof!" Bae nearly fell off the sofa when she threw herself at him and covered his face with kisses.

"This…is….the…best…Christmas…present…you could have ever given me Baelfire Gold!"

"I know it's not...the one you had..."

"I don't care...I didn't have any pictures of my parents here...or anywhere...but now I do!"

She had her memories but it wasn't enough for her and Mark. Now when they walked into the house every day they would see their parents smiling down on them again.

Belle snapped a picture of the couple embracing to add to the family album and hoped when they got a little older; the next pictures she would be adding were wedding photographs. She couldn't have asked for a better companion for her son.

Andi's gift for him was a fine gold chain with a scorpion medallion. No matter how much better their lives were now, neither of them wanted to forget where they came from. She took it out of the box and put it around his neck, giving him another kiss.

"Midas's son made it for me," she said.

"I love it Wraith!"

"Turn it over."

On the back was the symbol of a butterfly with flaming wings…their symbol and the words: FireWraith Forever engraved beneath it.

Teenage lovers often spoke of staying together forever but few rarely did in this world and theirs but not them. The bond they formed back in their old world carried over into this one and they were determined to make it last forever, no matter what it took.

"Your dad made the chain."

Bae smiled. He knew that immediately by its intricate design.

"That's beautiful, Andi!" Belle whispered.

"So that was what you were spending all those hours in the workroom on, eh, Papa?"

"Among other things," the sorcerer said evasively.

"Open our gift now Andi!" Adriana pleaded.

"Okay, okay….hold your horses Rumplette!" Andi chuckled. Rumple handed her another large box. Inside she found a blue satin comforter with smiling golden butterflies woven into it. "Oh my God…you made this?" she gasped. There was also a matching set of pillowcases.

"Mama an Papa did mosta the work an Papa taught me how to make smilies so's you had happy butterflies," the toddler answered.

"It's beautiful! Thank you!" She was going to put it on her bed as soon as she got home.

Like Bae, Andi bought Adriana another Happy Army bear that she named Major Andi so that Major Bae and Major Fire didn't fight over Major Wraith anymore.

Everyone laughed.

"S'getting bad. Hadta court martial 'em twice," Adriana said and animated her new bear. It sat beside Major Bae and started talking to him.

"I'm never sure what to get you two…so I got you gift cards for Barnes and Noble," she said to Rumple and Belle.

"Well we can always use those, dearie. Belle is determined to have the largest in home library in all of Storybrooke," Rumple assured her with a smile.

The evening was winding down and Belle was looking forward to when the kids went to bed and she could finally unwrap the nightgown her husband bought her for their private Christmas Eve celebration. Little did she know that he'd already seen one of the gifts she was going to give him that night when they did their exchange. He had to hold up his end of the bargain that Bae was excused from castle cleaning duty or Belle was going to hear him talking about finding it in his sleep…thanks to those imps he called his children. He never thought he'd see the day when someone would finally best him in the game of wits and he should've known it would be his own offspring to do it.

Adriana woke her brother shortly after midnight one night with Major Rumple and Major Bae at her side and a recorder in her hand.

"You help me do this an I'll give ya the snore tape. Deal, dearie?" she asked him, holding out her hand.

"Deal! C'mon, let's go!"

They crept down the hall to their parents' bedroom and opened the door.

"You're listenin' to station B.A.B.B.L.E!" Adriana whispered into the microphone while Bae tried not to laugh. He picked her up and carried her into the room and she held the recorder above her father's head. As she said, he was talking in his sleep.

"Shoulda put a sign up today….Pull Up Your Pants and Crack Kills!" Rumple mumbled.

His two children and the bears were desperately fighting the urge not to laugh.

"Really dearies, do you have to go wandering about with your pants about to fall off. I don't want to see your underwear…or your arse. Ye wanna give me nightmares?"

He turned over. "I believe in miracles….where you from…you sexy thing…you sexy thing you…"

Oh my God….he even sings in his sleep! Bae thought with a smirk.

He didn't know how she managed it, but his sister kept a straight face as she continued to record. Majors Rumple and Bae had to leave the room several times to laugh.

"You can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man..."

Disco? Disco, Papa? Really?

He was going to get out of castle cleaning for a year with this goldmine.

"How's about some hot stuff baby this evenin..."

Papa! What the heck are you dreaming about...or don't I wanna know!

"I was a highschool loser never made it with a lady

Till the boys told me somethin' I miss

Then my next door neighbor

Had a daughter, had a favor

And I gave the girl a little kiss, like this!"

Bae nearly lost it when his father started making kissing noises.

"Belle, dearie, you need to learn to hide the gifts better," Rumple went on. "Now I gotta put on a good show when I open the cookware set!"

Brother and sister looked at each other. Adriana switched off the recorder and motioned for Bae to take her back to their room.

"We got him goooood!" she laughed, clapping her hands.

"Oh yeah. He'll never be able to live any of THAT down."

"Kay….tomorrow we tell him an you gotta make copies of it. 'Surance policy. Then you have to hide it or he'll find it."

"Oh, don't you worry, Rumplette. I've got it covered."

To say that Rumplestiltskin Gold was speechless when he heard what he was up to at night while he slept was an understatement. In fact, he was downright horrified. He wanted to crawl into the mines and hide for the next century while his children were grinning like Cheshire cats. Oh, they'd gotten him good all right!

"Well, dearies, you're chips off this old block all right," he muttered.

"Well Papa, we gotta deal…..or are we giving Mama that tape so's she can git ya with the broom?" Adriana demanded. She was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table rubbing her hands together gleefully just like her father used to do when he was about to make a good deal while Bae stood behind her trying not to laugh.

"Ye know ye do, ye wee imp!" he cried. "Dammit all, bested by my own children! An there's no sense in me tryin t'destroy that recording because I know ye made copies of it!"

"Yep," Bae affirmed. "You gotta admit, Papa, you're the funniest person in your sleep."

"Oh aye. Hilarious. I'm almost afraid to find out what I've said before."

"You mostly 'plain about the meanies who come in the shop an how you wanna toss them out on their butts or git them with the cane a doom," said Adriana. "Then you sing prolly cause you're havin a dream 'bout Mama."

Bae was taking a drink of orange juice when she said that and spit it out laughing. Adriana scowled at him and handed him a towel to wipe it up while Rumple was going to speak to Mina Harker and Jack Seward about his sleep talking issue in case it was linked to another medical issue. It could've been harmless but he wasn't taking any chances. He had an appointment scheduled for after the first of the year.

Around eight PM Belle and Rumple sent their children to bed. Bae was the most reluctant to go, protesting that at seventeen he should be allowed to stay up later.

"You'd better get your sleep Bae because I will be coming up the steps at the crack of dawn waking you up," Belle reminded him.

"Yeah, I know Mama! C'mon Rumplette. Santa's coming and you have to be asleep before he gets here or you'll get coal in your stocking."

"Don't wanna get coal!" she cried. Bae picked her up. "I'll tuck her in…know you guys have some work to do." he added to his parents and winked. Nowadays Adriana didn't care who tucked her in as long as someone did. He waited in the chair beside her bed while she was in the bathroom changing into her nightgown and brushing her teeth. She ran back into the room in her Belle pajamas and hopped into bed, holding Major Rumple and Rumplette in her arms.

"'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…." Bae read. When he looked up from the book after finishing the last line his little sister was asleep. He kissed her cheek and returned to his own room to get some sleep.

Downstairs Rumple and Belle were sitting on the loveseat, each with a gift in their hands. Belle suspected hers was the beautiful nightgown Marie told her Rumple bought her for their private Christmas Eve celebration and she was going to have to do her best to act surprised. She allowed him to open his gift first, the same T-Fal cookware set he had his eye on for weeks.

"I've been looking at this for weeks, too afraid to buy it in case you did. Thank you mo choroi," he murmured and kissed her softly.

"I can't wait to see what's in here," she confessed.

She opened the box and pulled out the nightgown, even more beautiful than her sister described it. "Rumple, this is beautiful. I'm going to go put it on right now! "She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran upstairs. The nightgown was shorter than some of the other ones she'd worn before but she didn't mind. She couldn't wait to see the look on her husband's face when he saw her wearing it.

In the living room, Rumple was getting everything ready for their perfect evening. He threw several more logs onto the fire and brought an extra set of pillows out of the hall closet along with a new blanket he made during the summer along with the comforter for Andi only he added far more personal touches to this one….roses, spinning wheels and chipped cups, all their personal symbols and the chipped cup constellation would reappear in the sky as it did on special occasions.

"How do I look?" Belle asked seductively from the doorway.

The glass Rumple was holding almost slipped out of his hands when he caught sight of his beauty in roses, satin and Chantilly lace. She was always beautiful to him no matter what she wore….and didn't and even after almost four years of marriage, he still found himself asking why she chose him over any other man.

"You look…wonderful, dearie," he whispered and moved over so that she could sit beside him and handed her a glass of cranberry juice. She took a small sip and reached for one of the crackers on the tray, dipped it in cheese sauce and held it out to him.

"That stomach of yours has a nasty habit of telling me it wants fed at inopportune moments," she said with a smile. "Just getting a head start."

He chuckled. "We can't have that…can we?" He dipped another cracker in the sauce and held it out to her. As she took a bite, some of the cheddar sauce dripped onto her chin. He reached out and gently wiped it away with his fingertip and their eyes met for a few moments. There was no need for words….there never had been. Over the years they learned to communicate well enough without them.

Rumplestiltskin was the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms, capable of great magical feats but the magic Belle loved the most was the kind they created together. The first time, their wedding night, it had formed a special bond between them that grew stronger over the years, had given them a beautiful, special little girl and now there were three more equally special little ones on the way. Other times, it was another way for them to express the deep love they had for each other. She knew Rumple still had his confidence issues and that breaking him of them was not going to be easy but she would never give up on him. She knew going into their relationship all those years ago that loving him presented challenges that other women hadn't been able to live up to. Not Belle Bordreaux. She learned long ago that when you truly loved someone, you loved all of them, even the troubled parts and you never, ever gave up on them.

This world didn't teach that lesson well enough in her opinion and she was bound and determined that her children would not follow that example. There was someone like her Rumple out there for all of them and if their true loves did have issues that made the challenge of loving them a bit more difficult, her children would be well prepared to face the challenge and succeed.

Years ago, even when he was a poor crippled, spinner Rumplestiltskin never believed that a beautiful woman like Belle would ever notice him, not when she had princes and nobles aplenty to choose from and even when he came to her castle to procure her as a caretaker for his son and his castle, he thought that was all she would ever be. It suited him for a while. Now he didn't even want to think about how empty his life would be without her as his lifelong mate.

The fairy tales books in this land taught that the happily ever after came only at the end of the book. The truth was that you lived it every day and if some days were not as perfect as others, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that you faced the challenge that knocked you down, dusted yourself off and carried on together and tried to make every day a holiday.

And sharing a problem often made it easier to overcome and to conquer, whereas trying to solve it alone often proved too difficult or impossible.

They dressed in their warmest clothing and went out to the garden. He put his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his.

"I have another gift for you Rumple," she said softly.

"Oh?" His eyes lit up. "Do ye have it hidden, mo chroi?"

"Not exactly. It's not something that needed wrapped."

He waited patiently.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree.

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas

Is you…" she sang passionately, her eyes meeting his.

They both loved the song and many times he pictured her in place of Mariah Carey in the video for it. He gestured and her clothes were transformed into a warm Santa suit, minus the beard and white hair.

He smiled at her lovingly. Even after all these years as husband and wife, she always managed to surprise him with her thoughtfulness and insight and compassion. He counted everyday he spent with her as a gift, the way he did spending time with his children.

"You've serenaded me many times, darling…now it's my turn!" she declared and jumped off the bench.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

And I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree.

I don't need to hang my stocking

There upon the fireplace

Santa Claus won't make me happy

With a toy on Christmas Day.

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you baby…"

His eyes grew misty with tears, for the song always made him emotional, and he was even more so because of his Couvade Syndrome now.

There was nothing that pleased Belle more than to see her husband smile, to know that he was never afraid to show his softer side to her. She didn't understand why so many men thought that weak when all it did was make them more human.

He was the kind of man every women should have but she wasn't willing to share. The only other person in her opinion who had one that came close was her sister.

"Oh, I won't ask for much this Christmas

I won't even wish for snow

And I'm just gonna keep on waiting

Underneath the mistletoe…."

She pulled a strand of mistletoe out of her pocket and held it over her head as she sang the finale.

"…Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you baby…"

Rumple took two steps forward and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her with such fervor he felt as if he were going to spontaneously combust right there. As he did so, he felt the bond between them flare into white hot incandescence.

"Shall we retire to our room for the encore...?" she purred.

"Aye, mo chroi. Before we scandalize our nosy neighbors and scar our children for life," he giggled wickedly. Then he swept her into his arms and transported her away in a shimmer of golden sparkles.

Belle Reve, Christmas Eve 2013

Rumple had just finished putting the last of the gifts under the tree and decided to go outside for a bit of fresh air and saw Belle in the pond he had built the previous year wearing strange looking boots and gliding across the ice as if she were dancing.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?"

"Skating!"

"Like those people on TV who wear the silly costumes?"

"I don't do all the fancy jumps and spins but yes. It's fun. Do you want to try it?"

"Belle, I can't…." He pointed to his leg. "You go on ahead. I'll just sit and watch."

"Come on, Rumple. Give it a try. I won't let you fall. I promise. Come out with me," she pleaded.

"I'm not dressed properly."

"Just for a little bit and then you can sit down…"

"All right but I am not wearing one of those silly costumes." He waved his hand and a pair of black skates appeared on his feet and he cast a special charm on his leg to strengthen it long enough to take a few spins across the ice. It was already aching due to the cold weather but he wouldn't dare tell her that. She held out her hand and he stepped into the pond with her, a bit unsteady as he tried to adjust to having the skates on his feet.

He felt himself slipping and Belle reached out and grabbed his arms to pull him up, draping them over her shoulders.

"I'm going to move a few steps back and you're going to move a few steps forward…like this…." she instructed. "Hold on tight, darling…."

"I'm going to drag you down with me…" he said sadly.

"Stand or fall…we do it together…always."

You're the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms, Rumplestiltskin! Surely you can manage to stay on your feet in these crazy looking boots for a few minutes to skate with your wife!

She put her arms around his waist and moved them backwards across the ice. "Small steps, Rumple…remember?"

He smiled, recalling how she used to say that to him years ago in the castle when they were just learning to love each other only this time he wasn't as afraid to move forward, not when she was there to catch him when he fell. He would do the same for her in a heartbeat.

"I think I've got it!" he said confidently.

"Okay….now I'm just going to hold your hand and we're going to try to make a circle around the pond. Are you ready?"

"I . . .think so."

"Small steps, Rumple. It'll be just like we're dancing."

He gave her a wry smirk. "Except I'm more likely to fall on my ass."

"And I'll be right there with you."

She couldn't count how many times she'd fallen while she was trying to learn to skate." Marie and I fell plenty of times while we were learning…and she is a dancer."

"Then I'll be in good company then. At least if I fall I won't be like that lady in the commercial-unable to get up."

"We might slip a few times until we get our balance back but we'll get there."

The afternoon sun peeked out from behind the clouds to cast a warm glow on them as they moved a few steps forward on the ice.

His legs shook and for a few seconds he was afraid he would fall but he kept going, her beautiful smile all the encouragement he needed.

He decided he was going to have a second pond built at the Victorian so she could enjoy her skating there as well.

They were halfway across the pond when his leg started to ache again but he didn't dare tell her to stop. He was determined to get to the other end of the pond without falling.

"Are you all right, Rumple?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, sweetheart, just fine," he assured her.

"We can stop if you..."

"No, no...we're almost there."

"Don't push yourself on my account..."

"I'm not."

They were a few feet away from the edge of the pond when his leg gave out and they fell on the ice.

"Belle, are you all right?"

"Are you?"

"I'm more worried about you at the moment." She'd spun them around just before they fell to the ice, cushioning his fall with her own body.

"I've done this plenty of times," she said though there was some pain in her back and bottom.

He helped her sit up and moved his hand down her back, healing the pain her fall had caused, pain she hadn't hidden from him as much as she thought.

"You pushed yourself. Why did you do that?" she asked sadly.

"Ummm..." he looked away guiltily.

She cupped his chin in her hand and turned his head around so that they were gazing into each other's eyes. "Don't try to make yourself perfect for me Rumplestiltskin. If I wanted perfection I would have married that monster my father picked out for me and we both know how that marriage would've been."

Gaston Devereaux was what some referred to as perfection...good looks and charm but under those was a true monster.

Slowly they rose to their feet and back to the bench where they took off their skates and put their boots back on. While they were walking back to the house Belle kneeled down and picked up some snow, rolling it into a snowball.

Rumple was about to open the door when he felt something cold strike him in the back.

"What the...?"

He spun around and saw his wife giggling.

"Two can play this game, dearie!" he singsonged and picked up another patch of snow. He was just about to throw it when she hit him with another snowball.

"Need to be faster darling!" she cooed.

"Ohhh ye just wait...ye'll be covered in it when I catch ye!"

"Have to catch me first!"

The pain in his leg was quickly forgotten as he raced around the courtyard in search of his wife.

Belle poked her head out from behind a tree and clobbered him with another snowball.

"Three to nothing Rumple!" she laughed.

Following her voice he discovered her crouched behind a rose bush ready to launch her next attack. He picked up a pile of snow and dumped it on her.

"Oooh...you...you!"

She threw herself at him and they fell in a snowbank.

"Let's make snow angels Rumple!"

"How do we do that?"

"Like this!" she demonstrated, waving her arms and legs. "You use your arms for the wings and your legs for her skirt."

He got up and looked at his. It wasn't as elegant as Belle's but she was staring at it as if it were a work of art.

"I could get used to enjoying Christmas again with you around," he quipped.

"You're going to enjoy every day with me around Rumplestiltskin so you might as well get used to it."

He could live with that.

Hoppers Dutch Colonial - Christmas Eve 2014

Archie found few reasons to enjoy the holiday while he was still living with his parents since they pulled some of their worst cons during that time of year. Their favorite was claiming their son was dying from a fatal disease and they would travel from house to house tricking people into giving them lodgings for the night and while the family slept, they would steal all their coins and other items that suited their fancy.

His cursed self's childhood memories were even less enjoyable but he loved Christmas as an adult. He spent Christmas Eve with Geppetto and he and Pongo spent Christmas Day alone watching his favorite Christmas movies but everything changed the year the curse was broken. He smiled softly as he recalled his first Christmas as the man he longed for years to be...a husband and father.

Christmas Eve, 2011

They were all sitting on the sofa watching Babes In Toyland. Archie hadn't seen it before, he never watched cartoons until Marie and Gisella were back in his life. After that they would watch Annie. He identified with Tom Piper, though he had a more difficult time winning Marie's heart than singing to her on top of a clock tower and truth be told, he felt the song 'It's You' fit them as much as 'their' song 'You're The Inspiration' did. He was the dreamer, she was the realist, odd considering his occupation and she was his dream come true from the moment they saw each other again at the Foxtrot. He could even picture himself singing it to her and she did tell him on their honeymoon that one day she wanted him to serenade her properly on her bedroom balcony at the castle in Avonlea but they rarely visited that castle, preferring to spend most of their time in the Forest at Belle Reve. It was, after all, where they first met. In Gisella he had the child he wanted, his princess and it wouldn't be long before Marie gave birth to their own child. As Belle said to him in the hospital after Marie was assaulted by Gaston, what made a true parent was how much you loved them and he loved Gisella more than anything. She was worried once her parents had a baby of their own that they would love her less but that was settled on their trip to Greece and underneath the tree was a special gift that would leave no more room for doubt. He couldn't wait until she opened it.

Gissella felt like she was Jill in the movie, forced to deal with a father she didn't want and an unhappy mother until Archie came along and made both of their lives brighter. She also felt like Annie and he was her Daddy Warbucks and the song 'I Don't Need Anything But You' was how she felt about him and her mother. She was even looking forward to having a brother or sister.

After both movies were over Archie turned off the TV. "Okay Princess you can open two presents tonight but the rest have to wait until tomorrow."

She smiled. "Okay, Daddy!"

Her parents smiled at each other when they handed her the special gift. She tore off the wrapping paper excited to find out what was inside. She opened the box and found a birth certificate and it first she didn't understand why they'd given her that until she looked at it closely. Instead of Gaston Devereaux written in the space where it asked for the father's name, the name Archibald Hopper was there in its place.

"You're my daughter Princess and I don't want you to ever forget it," Archie murmured.

Gisella threw her arms around him. "I love you, Daddy!"

The little things you do, that's what makes me love you Archie, Marie thought as she watched him with their daughter.

She opened her second gift. It was a set of new outfits for Rose they bought while they were still in Rome. She'd been admiring them while they were in the store and Marie distracted her while Archie bought them and gave them to Mary to hide in her enchanted bag until they were wrapped for Christmas.

"Time for bed sweetie," Marie said to her after they cleaned up all the torn wrapping paper and put the gifts back under the tree. Archie picked Gisella up and carried her upstairs to her bedroom, tucking Rose under her arm and Major Tom on the pillow above her head.

"Goodnight Princess," Archie whispered to her and kissed her forehead. Marie kissed her cheek and pulled the comforter up to her chin and the couple went back downstairs.

"There's nothing I want to do more than cuddle with you but we barely fit on the couch together anymore," Marie complained.

Archie smiled and grabbed the cushions off the sofa and made them a makeshift bed on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. "Will this do, darling?" he inquired softly.

"It's perfect," Marie whispered and she lay down while he curled up beside her, placing his hand on her abdomen. "Oh...Archie, did you feel that?" she asked when she felt the baby give her a light kick.

"I guess that means he's awake now," Archie chuckled. He was convinced they were having a boy but like Rumple and Belle, they wanted to wait until the baby was born find out the sex. Marie wanted a son too, with his father's hair, dazzling blue eyes and a heart as big as the Grand Canyon. Marie covered his hand with hers. Though they'd both been miserable in the days leading up to Christmas with pregnancy symptoms, it would all be worth it once the baby was born.

She smiled when she glanced up at the ceiling and saw a strand of mistletoe hanging on the light above them and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him softly. "I love you Archie..."

"You know I love you, my goddess," he whispered.

At that moment she thought she couldn't have asked for a more perfect Christmas Eve, the two of them lying on the floor in front of the Christmas tree on a bed made from their sofa cushions sharing passionate kisses and holding each other close. There was little else they could do because of her pregnancy but it didn't matter. She would learn that her husband had his ways of making every Christmas Eve they'd have together memorable.

Belle Reve, Christmas Eve, 2012

Marie was stunned when Archie told her they were going to be spending Christmas Eve at Belle Reve. When she asked him why all he would say was that she would find out, making her think he had something special planned. She could hardly wait to find out what it was. While Marie was packing the childrens' things, Archie searched through their closet until he found the beautiful red satin evening gown and the tuxedo they wore when they went to the opera in Rome during their honeymoon. He carefully packed them in one of Mary's bags and joined the rest of his family downstairs. Jonny was cranky from being woken too early from his nap and Marie was trying to quiet him down but having a difficult time of it.

"Jonny, sweetheart, you can go back to sleep once we get to the big castle," Marie soothingly.

Her son scowled and blew a raspberry. Gisella started laughing.

"Guess that's what he thinks of that, Mommy!"

Archie took his son from his wife's arms. "Now, Jonny don't be screaming Mommy's ears off. We're just going on a little trip and you don't want to spend the whole time sleeping, do you? Everyone there wants to meet you."

The baby quieted down and smiled at his father. Most of the time when Jonny was having one of his tantrums it was usually his father who could quiet him down just by talking to him. When he awoke in the middle of the night Marie had more luck quieting him down and getting him back to sleep since she was used to doing it while Archie was still learning.

"The 'chanted objects are gonna be shocked to see us," said Gisella.

They drove out to the bridge and crossed over, arriving at the front doors of the grand castle. Archie pressed his palm on the knocker. "You have guests," he said softly, using the code Rumple had given him to awaken the enchanted objects from their slumber, unaware that they had already been awakened by their master upon his arrival that morning.

Gabby raced to the door. "Master, Master, we have guests!" he barked.

"I wonder who it could be," Rumple said from the kitchen. Belle was in the family room reading a story to Adriana when she heard Gabby barking and got up, following her husband down the hall. He opened the door to find his brother-in-law waiting outside with his family.

"Archie! Marie! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Rumple!"

"What brings you here?" Rumple asked him. Archie pulled him aside.

"Are you going to be using the ballroom tonight?"

"No. I take it you will be for something special with Marie?"

"Yes."

The sorcerer grinned. "Then Belle and I will be happy to entertain the wee ones for the evening. Come on. Everyone will be excited to meet your boy."

"He's cranky at the moment."

"Hi Master Archie….hey, that's a baby!" Gabby cried, sniffing at Jonny.

"Yes, this is our son, John Wayne Hopper."

"A baby? Who has a baby?" demanded Lumiere when he and Cogsworth raced down the stairs to greet their guests. "Ah, Master Archie, that's a fine lad you have there."

Jonny reached out and grabbed one of Gabby's tassels. "Jonny, you can't have that!" Archie scolded gently.

He started wailing.

"Good gods, he's as loud as Adriana when she's in a snit!" Rumple exclaimed.

"Oh you have no idea," Marie giggled. "Our son has the Bordreaux temper all right."

Jonny was still crying when Archie took him into the living room. Adriana looked up waved her hand, making Major Duke appear in his arms.

"There Major Duke….you take the frownie off Jonny's face. No frownies here."

Jonny cuddled the cowboy bear he had since he was born and smiled.

Later on that evening Archie returned to the couple's suite and changed into his tuxedo. He was standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie when Marie walked into the room.

"Isn't that a bit out of place here?" she asked softly. "Not that I mind it…"

"It isn't for my plans tonight," he murmured.

"Oh? Then I'm a bit….underdressed." She gestured to her riding outfit.

"Look in the wardrobe."

She opened it and found her red satin evening gown hanging up.

"Are we going to the opera?" she asked hopefully.

"Not quite."

She draped the dress over her arm, kissed his cheek and darted behind the changing screen. "I'll just be a few minutes."

While he waited he opened her jewelry box and took out the heart pendant and ring he bought her in Athens on their honeymoon. She still wore them but only on their date nights because she was terrified of losing them.

"I feel like we're on our honeymoon again," Marie said softly when she stepped out from behind the changing screen. "Promise me we'll go back to Greece and Italy someday," she pleaded.

"When Jonny's a little older. I'd actually like for the Golds to go with us next time. I know they'd love it as much as we did."

"Still….we can't forget to make time for each other…"

"We'll always make time for each other, my goddess." He linked his arm through hers and led her downstairs to the ballroom. His phone was in the docking station, powered by a charm Rumple placed on it and he stepped out into the middle of the floor, bowing gracefully. "May I have this dance, my goddess?"

"Always, my Adonis, always," she whispered and walked into his embrace, a small smile on her lips when she heard the opening notes to Nessun Dorma from Tourandot.

"Nessun dorma!

Nessun dorma!

Tu pure, o Principessa,

Nella tua fredda stanza guardi le stelle,

Che tremano d'amore e di speranza!

Though they both knew what the words meant in English, it was more romantic to hear them sung in the language they were composed in, their minds drifting back to that night in Rome when they were sitting in their box watching Turandot being performed live.

Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me,

Il nome mio nessun saprà!

No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò,

Quando la luce splenderà!

"We women certainly do make it hard for a good man to win our hearts," she whispered and lay her head on his chest, speaking aloud exactly what she was thinking that night.

"You had mine the day we met," he said softly and picked her up, spinning her around and then setting her back on her feet again.

Ed il mio bacio scioglierà.

Il silenzio che ti fa mio!

Il nome suo nessun saprà!

E noi dovrem ahimè morir, morir!

"Turandot was more of a bitch than I was….at least I hope so!"

"Darling, we had our problems like every couple does but we dealt with them together, didn't we?"

"Yes we did….even if they were enough to make most men want to run for the hills."

Dilegua o notte!

Tramontate, stelle!

Tramontate, stelle!

All' alba vincerò!

Vincerò! Vincerò!"

His victory celebration was the day they stood before the minister and became husband and wife, making every battle they fought before that day well worth it. Now nothing could come between them again. As the song ended, Archie spun his wife around into a graceful dip and kissed her.

"I love you, my goddess."

"I love you, Archie."

He took her hand in his and led her back upstairs and out onto their bedroom balcony. "Now what surprise do you have in store for me?" she asked him.

"I'm a bit overdressed for it but….I've been wanting to do this for awhile…and I did promise you…"

She could hardly wait to find out what it was.

"She's very sensible and strong

Someone I'm a friend to

We never disagree for long

Though we pretend to…" he sang softly.

Marie's eyes filled with tears as she started to sing the next verse.

"He can be charming

And he's bold, a bit too clever

Not good at doing what he's told

But he would never let me down…."

It wasn't the balcony of her childhood home and she was singing with him but she didn't care. They were in the moonlight and it was the serenade he'd promised her on their honeymoon.

"I have always tried to be

Ready for my destiny

It was right in front of me

And now I know it's you…" Archie sang and took her in his arms again.

"So much I've been working for

Love was easy to ignore

Lately I've been wanting more

And now I know it's you…" Marie sang, thinking how fitting those words were for her not so long ago.

"Just like the music of a simple childhood song

Far too familiar to be heard…" they sang together.

"Now my mind plays the melody my heart knew all along…" Marie wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

"And I'm listening to every word…"

"Looking deep into your eyes

I begin to recognize…" they sang together.

"A dream I've had my whole life through…" Archie sang.

"The sweetest one I ever knew…"

"A kiss would make my dream come true

Because now I know it's you…" They kissed; unaware that their daughter had gotten out of bed when she heard them singing and was spying on them from behind the drapes. She snuck back to her room before they discovered her.

"And with that, Archibald Hopper, you win the award for most romantic man in all the realms," Marie said softly.

"I think Rumple has me beat," he said modestly.

"Not in my opinion," she whispered and kissed him again. He swung her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

"Daddy, what'cha doin with all that stuff?" Jonny asked sleepily when he walked into the kitchen with Zach and Mickey on his shoulders. Pongo and Perdy lay under the kitchen table at Archie's feet while he was packing some items in a large basket and tied a red satin bow around it.

"I'm going to take this down to the answering service. You want to come with me, pardner? I'd ask Mommy but she's still asleep."

"Kay." Like his father, Jonny was starting to become an early riser while his mother and sister still had a habit of sleeping late.

"All right, let me finish this up and then we'll go."

"Pongo n' Perdy wanna go too."

"Woof!" the dogs barked, their tails wagging excitedly. They ran over to the wall and grabbed their leads, depositing them at Archie's feet.

"Okay! It's nice enough out for a walk but I want you bundled up Jonny or your mother will exile me to the couch if you get sick!"

"Uh-huh an you hate the couch cause it makes your back hurt."

As they were about to leave, Gisella came downstairs. "Daddy, wait up! I wanna go with you!"

"Okay Princess, just let Mommy know where you're going so she doesn't worry."

"We're going with you," said Marie, coming downstairs dressed. "Besides, you'll have your hands full with that basket, Jonny and the dogs."

No one was surprised to see the whole family walking around town on Christmas Eve morning. They were all used to Archie doing it…he had for years before he was married.

Over at Duchess Messaging, the operators were struggling to find ways to cure their boredom. They didn't get very many calls on the holidays but some of the ones that did come in made them want to facepalm themselves, especially the ones asking if the offices were open when there were closed signs posted all over town.

Janet the supervisor was sitting at her terminal sending messages to Arista. The former Foxtrot dancer returned to the answering service shortly after Marie quit and went to work for Archie. When she heard a knock on the door she got up to open it. The answering service was in a windowless room on the second floor of an old office building. Everyone wanted to move to a brighter location but the owner, a cold man named Edgar, wasn't willing to spend the money to do so yet he was a Texas millionaire who bought the company before its late owner former Duchess Alexandra Lavalle passed away. She left most of her fortune to her cats named Thomas, Toulouse, Berlitoz and Marie. Her lands bordered Avonlea and she'd been a close friend of Belle's mother.

"Marie! Doctor Hopper!" she cried when she opened the door and found the family and pets waiting on the other side. Her boss Stacey would throw a royal fit if she found out Janet allowed animals into the office but Doctor Hopper was one of their clients and Stacey couldn't afford to upset him by making his pets stay outside.

"Hiya Janet. We brought ya goodies for Christmas!" Jonny piped up.

"I hear a little cowboy cricket over there!" Arista cooed from her terminal.

"Auntie Rista!" Jonny screeched and ran over to her.

"Okay everybody…hit your off buttons! Let the Texas office take calls for a bit!" Janet instructed.

Archie and Jim, one of the operators carried the break table out to the main floor and they set up a baked goods buffet for the staff to enjoy. They put some of it in the cupboards for the evening and overnight shifts when they came in. Though everyone was unhappy to be working the holiday the visit from the Hoppers lifted their spirits a bit which was what they intended.

The phone was ringing when they got home. Gisella picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Kala Christougenna!" she heard three excited voices shout over the line.

"Mommy, Daddy, it's Sandro, Sophie and Kyria!" she cried.

"Put it on speaker!" Marie ordered. "Kala Christougenna! What time is it over there?" she asked.

"Almost five," answered Alessandro. "We'll be celebrating Christmas before you."

"You don't have to work today, do you?" Archie asked.

"No...that reminds me….when are you coming back to Greece?"

"We were planning on it this summer but...ahhh...Marie's expecting...twins this time if you can believe it and they will have just been born."

"You can still come. You have Mrs. Poppins to help take care of the children, don't you and we're looking forward to meeting that little cowboy of yours in person."

Jonny laughed. "Kay….but m' I allowed to have Zach an Mickey in my room?"

"Umm….Jonny, the hotel allows dogs, not snakes and crickets," his father said.

"I'm sure the new manager could bend the rules a bit," Sophie spoke up.

"I doubt that," Archie said. "Who is it?"

"You're talking to him."

"Alessandro!? You're managing the Bretagne? When did that happen!?"

"Five months ago. So now you do have to come over and bring that brother-in-law you're always talking about. Hell, you can bring all your friends if you want."

Marie laughed. "Some of them can be a bit rowdy."

"We've had our share and I'm sure they'll be mild by comparison plus you'll all be in our best suites."

"All right. We'll be there. I can't speak for the others but we'll be there." Archie promised.

"It'll be wonderful if we all could go," Marie said dreamily.

They talked to their Greek friends for another hour then started getting everything ready for their early dinner. They invited Lenore and Hannah Phillips over to spend Christmas Eve with them. Lenore's husband was still in jail and Sid was at a detention center, his Christmas vacation with his family cancelled after he got in a fight with another boy that put the other boy in the infirmary. They weren't surprised when Lenore brought Sneezy with her. During his counseling sessions with her, Archie advised Lenore to take things slow with the dwarf and she was trying to but he was everything her estranged husband wasn't. Marie kept telling him they'd be going to another wedding very soon.

Before the childrens' bedtime, Archie and Marie allowed them to open one of each of their gifts. Gisella's was a set of Nancy Drew games she could play on the family's computer and Jonny's was a set of wagons. The little cowboy jumped up and down and clapped.

"Yay! Now I get to play wagon train an stick up!" he cheered.

"And I suppose I have to be the robber?" his father teased.

"Yup. Cause m'the sheriff an I gotta throw ya in jail."

"Guess I'll have to get my girls to spring me."

"Nope. Sella's my deputy now cause she's learnin how to be a 'tective like Nancy Drew, right, Sella?"

"Uh-huh. We can do one of the stories in my books too Jonny."

"Does it got cowboys?"

"It talks about them. It's one called The Secret of Shadow Ranch where the horse of a dead cowboy robber goes around haunting people because he buried a treasure for his girlfriend there."

"Cool!"

Archie unwrapped the Gold's gift next, stunned when he saw a photograph and key to a cabin close to theirs out on the lake.

"I have a feeling he bought one for all of us," Marie said softly. "You know how he is…he loves to have his family close by."

"And it was the cabin I was thinking of buying myself," Archie confessed.

"Can I get a treehouse there?" Jonny asked hopefully.

"Not until you're older." his father said firmly. "You can have a little log cabin on the ground but not a treehouse yet and if you even start trying to climb any of those trees you'll be spending the summer indoors. Understand?"

"Okay Daddy," Jonny sighed.

"Santa's coming…so you two need to hurry up and get to bed before he misses our house," Marie said. The children jumped up and raced upstairs. After both of their children were tucked in the couple retreated to their bedroom to have a private Christmas celebration.

Nolan Household – Christmas Eve

David enjoyed the sleigh ride he'd taken Snow on for their date night months earlier and since there was plenty of snow on the ground he wanted to take another one with his wife and son. The only problem was, he didn't own a sleigh and he'd forgotten to ask Rumple to conjure him one.

"Not a problem. We can make you one!" declared Doctor Nefario. He, Major Gru and the Minions were now animated all the time and they'd taken over part of the garage and basement for their workshops.

"Ummm…nothing elaborate guys…please," David pleaded.

"Just relax. We'll have the sleigh ready for you on Christmas Eve night."

"Ummm…okay."

Snow and Neal were in the kitchen getting the thermos of hot chocolate and cookies ready while David gathered up the warmest blankets they had. Gru asked the family to meet him outside at six PM and the Minions would bring the sleigh out.

"You know what it looks like, Daddy?" Neal asked him.

"No but I've been hearing a lot of sawing, hammering and blowtorching down in the basement so I can only imagine."

Every time he tried to go downstairs to look, some kind of alarm went off and a Minion shut the door in his face. "No peek!" they'd say.

At five til six, they went outside in their warmest clothing to meet Major Gru. "Nefario! Bring it out!" the bear yelled through a walkie talkie. A group of Minions came out of the basement pulling a metal sleigh. Doctor Nefario was sitting up front.

"You guys gonna be the reindeers?" Neal asked them.

"No deers," answered one of the Minions.

"Hop aboard and I'll show you how it works," said Doctor Nefario. The family climbed into the front seat, shocked to see a steering wheel in it.

"You mean I have to…drive it?!" David exclaimed.

"Push the blue button there," Doctor Nefario pointed to a button on the console. The sleigh rocked slightly. The Minions were giggling and pointing.

"No deer. Rocket sleigh."

"Wh…what!?" Sure enough that was what it was. There were two rocket engines on the sides.

"Now you steer it with the wheel here….this gauge is how much fuel you have. Got enough for a trip around Storybrooke and back. This pedal is your brake and that's your accelerator. Don't push that too hard or you'll go into orbit. This is your music player…connected to XM and you can put your phone here."

Gru jumped on and pushed another button. "You can watch a movie too Neal." He handed them a set of Bluetooth headsets. These hook up to the DVD player and the music player."

"Guys, I said nothing elaborate," David moaned.

"Deer sleigh boring. Rocket sleigh fun!" one of the Minions chuckled.

"Daddy I wanna go for a ride!" Neal cried.

"This last button is your additional seats." Gru pushed another button and the sleigh extended out from the rear. "You can fit up to eight extra people."

"Oh my God," Snow giggled. "I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting ride. Better let me drive, honey."

"I've got it."

"Nefario, start it up!" Major Gru commanded.

As soon as Doctor Nefario started the engines fire shot out of them and burned the bushes behind them.

"Uh oh!" a Minion screeched.

"You should've moved it away from the bushes!" scolded Gru.

David facepalmed himself.

"Daddy, c'mon, let's GO!" Neal demanded impatiently.

"Umm….let me get used to driving this thing first, okay?"

"What's this button do?" the toddler asked curiously.

"Neal, don't touch…oh my God...we're lifting off the ground!"

"Duh….rocket sleigh need to be in the air!" one of the Minions rolled its eye.

Snow noticed the seatbelts and put one on her son and herself.

"Better buckle up honey," she cautioned her husband.

"This thing better have a vomit bag...I'm gonna need it," he muttered. He tapped the accelerator gently and the sleigh started rising in the air until it was above all the houses on their street.

"This is better n' a old deer sleigh," his son declared.

Speak for yourself, David thought.

Neal waved down to the Minions, Gru and Doctor Nefario. "See ya later!"

They flew down their street in less than two minutes when it would have taken them fifteen in the car. David gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were turning white, carefully steering them around houses and tall trees. Snow pushed a button on the console and Christmas carols blasted through the speakers.

"Honey, you wanna turn that down?" David shouted.

"I don't know how!"

"There has to be a damned volume button!"

"Wait….I've got it."

"Daddy, let's go fly over to Emma's house n'pick 'em up!" Neal suggested.

"You're not serious!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Oh, all right!"

During the flight to Emma's house, David started to relax a bit. It was similar to driving a vehicle only he had to watch his speed a bit more carefully because he was working with rocket fuel instead of gasoline and he didn't want to know how the little toy inventors had gotten their hands on that!

Snow was examining more of the buttons on the console. She pushed another and two cup holders came out, pouring hot chocolate into mugs. "Someone was watching The Santa Clause," she joked.

"Snow, quit pushing buttons! God only knows what they do!"

While they were flying over the streets of town some of the children who were still outside ran into their houses to get in bed before they got caught, thinking Santa's sleigh arrived in Storybrooke early when the trackers their parents had claimed he was somewhere else while the parents were wondering who was taking the Santa Claus legend a bit too far.

Hatter Household

The family had just finished dinner when they heard what sounded like a jet on their roof.

"Mommy! Santa's early!" screeched Maggie. She grabbed Major Dora and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Emma and Jeff went outside to investigate while Henry and Grace watched Maggie.

"Oh my God! Em…there is a sleigh….right there!" He pointed up in the sky where a sleigh powered by two rocket engines was flying toward them.

"Holy shi….is that my dad?!" she cried as it came closer and she was able to see its passengers.

"Yep. Your mom, your dad and your little brother!"

David eased his foot off the accelerator and brought the sleigh down a few feet from where Emma and Jeff were standing, their mouths agape.

"Hi Emma! Lookit what Gru, Doctor Nefario an the Minions made us!" Neal called out. "You wanna go for a ride?"

Emma burst into laughter. "Never thought I'd see you be Rocket Man, Dad!" she teased her father.

"You comin' or what?" Neal asked impatiently.

"Oh what the hell! We won't all fit though."

"Yuh-huh….look!" Neal pushed the button to bring out the extra seats. "Gru says we can fit eight more!"

"You want me to drive, David?" Jeff asked with a smirk.

"Not a chance in hell, Hatter. I'm trained on this thing. You're not!"

"Oh suuuure if you call a crash course training!" his son in law taunted.

"Shut up Hatter and get your butt in here!"

"Cool! Grandpa's got a rocket sleigh!" Henry exclaimed when he and Grace came out of the house. Henry was holding Maggie in his arms.

"Did Rumple make it for you, Grandpa?" Grace asked.

"Nope. Doctor Nefario, Gru an the Minions!" Neal bragged.

"Okay, Em, you Gracie and Maggie sit behind David, Snow and Neal and me and Henry will ride in the cart," Jeff instructed.

"Okay. I smell hot chocolate," Emma said when the climbed aboard. Snow turned around and handed three cups to her daughter and granddaughters.

"It's a just the right temperature to drink it," she informed them. Then she passed two more mugs back to Henry and Jeff.

"It's just the way we like it too Mom!" Henry crowed.

"Everybody buckle up! We're taking off!" David shouted.

"Grandpa, let's go over to the Hoods house and pick them up! We have room!" Henry begged. With six people in the front of the sleigh and only two people in the extension bay they did have enough room.

"Okay….Nolan Express, here we go!"

Hood Household

Regina was going insane. For the last hour her phones were ringing off the hook with reports of a rocket sleigh flying over Storybrooke though she hadn't seen anything and the reporters from Good Evening Storybrooke hadn't been able to catch the thing on camera yet.

"What the hell are people in this town drinking...AND smoking!? A rocket sleigh?" she grouched to Robin.

The phone rang again. "Oh God! Robin you answer it. I'm still trying to get a hold of Emma!"

She picked up her phone and sent another angry text to her sheriff along with a voice message. "Emma, this is the MAYOR...for the fifth time! Roll out from under your husband, get your clothes on and find out what the hell is going on in this damned town!"

Meanwhile Robin was trying to calm down a hysterical Mrs. Muffet.

"Mrs. Muffet, Mrs. Muffet I can assure you the ogres are NOT attacking!"

"Then what's that noise outside my house!" she screamed.

"We're looking into it now, just calm down and go back to watching Miracle on 34th Street."

"You don't find out what it is boy, there's gonna be a beating on Mifflin Street!" she threatened.

"And a Merry Christmas to you too, Mrs. Muffet."

She slammed the phone down in his ear.

"Mommy make those phones shut up! I can't hear Maleficent!" Ellie complained.

"You seen it so many times you don't havta hear what it says!" Jason teased.

"They don't shut up m'gonna burn em up!" the toddler threatened.

"Oh I wish you would!" Robin groaned after having another phone slammed down in his ear by an angry Granny.

"Robin! dammit, don't encourage her!" Regina shouted. "Emma, where the HELL are you!"

"Daddy, that sounds like a jet plane!" Roland shouted when they heard noise outside. Robin dropped the phone.

The Hoods raced out to the lawn in time to see a rocket propelled sleigh approaching. Regina's eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted in her husband's arms.

"What's wrong with Mommy?" Ellie asked worriedly.

"She's...shocked!" Robin answered and so was he.

"Hi Ellie!" Neal waved from the sleigh. "Lookit the Nolan Express! You wanna go for a ride?"

"Oh my God! You gots a sleigh that flies with no reindeer! Cool!" Jason exclaimed.

"Daddy, I wanna go for a ride!" Roland begged his father while Robin was trying to revive Regina.

"Robin...what...am I going insane or is there a rocket sled on our lawn..." she murmured.

"It's the Nolan Express Auntie Gina! You wanna go for a ride?" Neal asked.

"This...this is what has been making my phone ring off the hook for the past hour? David Nolan where the HELL did you get a rocket sleigh?"

"Ummm...Neal's Despicable gang made it."

"And you've been flying all over town sending people into a frenzy!"

"Aww come on Mom! Don't be mad. We're having a good time!" Henry begged.

"An we wanna go for a ride!" yelled Ellie.

"Umm...I don't know..."

Her husband and children started giving her the puppy dog look.

She sighed wishing she'd built up an immunity to that look. "Oh all right. Give us a few minutes to get changed."

"Allll aboard!" David called out when the Hoods crawled into the expansion bay. Snow chuckled.

"Showing off a bit, aren't you honey?"

"No, not at all!" The truth was he was enjoying himself.

Snow started passing back cups of hot cocoa for the Hoods and more blankets for them to cover up.

"Okay Neal, where to next?" David asked his son.

"Wanna go see Driana, Jonny and Sella...an we gotta pick em up!"

"We're outta room and m'not gettin off!" Maggie said angrily.

"Me neither!" added Ellie crossing her arms over her breasts.

"Oh, this could be a problem," Snow sighed.

Regina grinned. "No it won't. Watch!"

Using her magic she expanded the sleigh again to make room for more passengers.

"It's the same thing Rumple would do."

David looked at the fuel gauge. "We better stop and fill back up before we head to that side of town just in case."

"We need to land by those reporters and let them know what's going on so that everyone calms down first," Regina reminded him.

"Okay. Making a pit stop guys!"

David landed the sleigh in front of Sidney Glass and a cameraman from Good Evening Storybrooke. David and Neal explained how the sleigh worked, who made it and gave several children standing outside a short ride before they flew back to the house where the Minions were waiting to refuel it.

"You added more seats. Good job," Major Gru praised.

"Auntie Gina did it with magic," Neal bragged.

"Maybe we should've made it bigger to being with," Doctor Nefario mused.

"No, it's fine. Everybody ready to take off again?" David called out.

"Ready Daddy!" Neal yelled.

"Okay….off to the Gold house!" David pressed down on the accelerator and the sleigh took flight again.

When they arrived at the Golds' Victorian all the lights were out. David debated leaving when Jeff stood up in the sleigh.

"HEY GOLD WAKE UP!" he yelled.

"What in the seven hells was that?" Rumple moaned. He crawled out of bed and pulled on his robe. Belle poked her head out from under the covers.

"What is it Rumple?" she asked sleepily.

Bae charged into the bedroom. "Papa, you are not gonna believe this but the Nolans are in a rocket sleigh!" he cried. Rumple thanked his lucky stars his son had walked in after they were already asleep and back in their pajamas or they would've scarred the teen for life.

"What?" Rumple gasped and limped over to the window, pulling back the drapes. He was stunned to see a rocket sleigh being driven by David Nolan hovering in his front lawn. When they all walked out into the hall Adriana was awake too.

"You see the sleigh outside, Adriana?" Belle asked her daughter.

"Uh-huh! Thought it was Santa then Neal yelled in to ask me if I wanna go for a ride. Can we, Papa?"

"All right. Let's get dressed."

David already had the sleigh on the ground when the Golds came out of the house dressed in their warmest clothing. Rumple and Belle were carrying several tins of cookies to take with them on the trip.

"Where's Jonny an Sella?" asked Adriana.

"We're gonna go pick em up next," Neal answered.

"Kay. Ooo you got hot chocolate too!"

"Uh-huh an you don't have to wait to drink it."

"Grab some and hop aboard," Snow invited. The Golds climbed into the expansion bay behind the Hoods. Rumple summoned several blankets from the closet to wrap around them.

"Everybody in and buckled up?" David asked.

"We're good back here, Nolan. Let's go!" Rumple shouted.

"Okay…off to the Hoppers we go!"

"He's enjoying this far too much," Regina giggled to her husband.

"I would too if I were the one driving," Robin said.

They arrived outside the second floor patio of the Hoppers' Dutch Colonial twenty minutes later. Robin smirked and crawled onto it, pounding on the sliding glass door.

"HEY CRICKET! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA BED AND COME SLEIGH RIDING!" he bellowed.

"What the hell!?" Marie screeched and sat up in bed. "Archie, wake up! That goddam outlaw is out on our patio!" she cried, shaking his shoulder. He turned on the lamp and got out of bed, stalking over to the sliding glass door ready to give the former outlaw a piece of his mind.

"Hood, what the hell's the idea of….is that a rocket sleigh?" he gasped, blinking his eyes.

"You wanna go for a ride Uncle Archie?" Adriana asked from her seat on the sleigh.

"Ohhh cool! A rocket sleigh. Daddy, c'mon! Wanna go for a ride!" Jonny yelled, tugging on his father's robe. He and Gisella had been woken up by Robin's shouting too.

"It sounds like fun," Marie said softly.

"Give us a few minutes to get dressed," Archie said and closed the sliding glass door. The family emerged a few minutes later dressed in warm clothing and carrying blankets. They crawled into the expansion bay behind the Golds and mugs of hot cocoa were passed back to them.

"Hey, there room for us?" called up Hannah from her own yard with her mother at her side.

"Go change and we'll swing down and pick you up!" David called down to them.

"This is fantastic," Lenore exclaimed as she took a seat behind Archie and Marie. Rumple handed mother and daughter two of the extra blankets he brought with him while Belle gave them some cookies and cups of hot cocoa were passed back.

"Hey I gots an idea. Since we're in a sleigh, how 'bout we go round town droppin' gifts on all the houses?" Neal suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea Neal!" Rumple praised. He gestured and magic bags appeared into all their hands. "We can drop packages down to each house with a note that says there's something in them for everyone in the family, anything they want it to be."

"We can't be out too late or we're gonna be in trouble with Santa, Granpa," Maggie reminded her grandfather.

David winked at the other adults. "Oh, I think he'll wait till we're done, won't he?"

"That's for sure!" Jeff snickered. Emma elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey David, can we make a few more stops before we go?" Bae asked.

"Awww, what for? Wanna get goin!" Roland complained.

Adriana glared at him. "We gotta pick up Bae's buddies!" she snapped.

"Kay, don't bite my head off!"

"Adriana, calm down, dearie," Rumple scolded gently.

"Sorry Papa."

"Five Scorpions coming right up. Hope they're all awake." David said and took off again.

The five teenagers and their parents were not surprised when the rocket sleigh arrived at their houses. They'd been watching the reports about it on Good Evening Storybrooke and the former Scorpions were excited to ride in it.

The families and friends inside the sleigh all felt this was the best Christmas they'd had so far. They were taking a moonlight flight over the town in a rocket sleigh sipping hot cocoas, wrapped in warm blankets, eating freshly baked cookies and singing Christmas carols while they tossed gifts down to the houses below. It was a most unexpected surprise for all of them this holiday season and a wonderful way for all of them to be together for those were the most precious times…ones spent with those you loved.

Author Notes: Another episode in the Unexpected Saga has come to an end, dearies. We've been wanting to do the skating and snow scenes from Beauty and the Beast right from the start of writing this and Belle's serenade to Rumple with All I Want For Christmas and Archie and Marie's duet to It's You from Babes in Toyland were prompts by our dear friend dustybook. We hope you enjoyed this latest installment of our Unexpected verse and be sure to check out some the other works on our profile pages. We are also on AO3 under the names cjmoliere and GoldsJRZgirl Once again, thank you for reading and we hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a great new year!

Snapegirlkmf and CJ Moliere.