23
Something There
After their rather disastrous encounter with Rumple, Bae and Emma decided it was best if they confined their amorous activities to their bedroom during the rest of the vacation. Plus Emma was still having "growing pains" adjusting to Henry's cat, who after being in the little room for about two days was now allowed, after much begging by her son to both his parents and grandparents, to run about the cabin.
At first the cat remained fairly shy, and hid under the table or behind the sofa or a chair every time one of them walked by. But after being fed some rather premium cat food by Rumple and Henry, and cat treats from Belle, who adored cats, the cat decided to become friendlier. He would come out after eating and rub up against Henry, and purr rustily to be petted.
Emma remarked that the cat's purr sounded like a car engine dying. She wouldn't even sit on the same chair the cat had been on, saying, "The fur gets all over my clothes. We need to invest in a lint brush, Bae."
Henry looked upset. "Dad, I don't think she likes my cat."
Bae patted his shoulder. "Give her time, kid. She didn't like me much the first time she met me either, and now look at us."
"Yeah, okay," his son agreed, he was more adaptable and easy going than his mother. "Hey, Grandpa!' he called to Rumple, who was in the dining room doing a puzzle with Belle. "Can we do that naming ceremony thing today? I think the cat really needs his own name."
Rumple looked up from the puzzle, a piece in his hand. "You're right, dearie. Everything deserves a name."
"And he's so sweet, Henry," Belle said, indicating the cat, who was curled up on her lap, his paws tucked beneath him. "Look, he's sleeping on me."
"Aww! He really likes you, Gran." Henry said, having decided to call Belle "Gran" and Snow "Grandma." He went to pet the cat's head and was rewarded with a rather loud purr.
"Why don't you help us finish this puzzle and then we can have the ceremony?" Rumple suggested.
They were almost finished with the puzzle of the tapestry of the princess ad the unicorn.
"All right," Henry agreed, finding that he enjoyed spending time with his grandparents this way, even though another child might have found it boring.
While they did the puzzle, Belle talked about books she thought Henry would like at the library, and they discussed the stories in Kipling's Jungle Books which Henry had read. "I really like the Mowgli stories. Especially Bagheera. It's kind of why I transformed the cougar into a cat."
"Because you sort of wanted a panther for a pet?" Rumple chuckled.
"Umm . . . yeah . . . and this was the closest I could get to one," his grandson admitted. "Plus I didn't want to hurt it, just stop it from hurting Dad, and well . . .that's what I did . . ."
"You did a very noble thing," Belle said approvingly. "And even better, you helped the cat when you could have just let it run off and die from blood poisoning or whatever."
"I couldn't just . . . leave him like that. It would've been cruel. And Grandpa helped me a lot. He did the surgery," Henry reminded her.
"Ah, it wasn't that hard," Rumple said humbly. "Besides, I couldn't let the poor creature die either." He stroked the cat's head, as the little feline had jumped onto the table and pushed his tawny wedge-shaped head into Gold's hand.
The cat happily sat down beside his coffee mug, wrapping his tail, which had a dark tip, about his paws and slitting his amber eyes.
Rumple stroked the cat's back as he continued figuring o. ut the puzzle, and the cat purred and purred.
Emma went by with a bowl of popcorn, as she and Bae were watching Formula 51 on TV. She saw the cat on the table and made a face of disapproval. "Gold, you're letting that animal on your table? It walks in cat litter!"
"Actually, dearie, he doesn't," Rumple refuted. "He walks in newspaper, because cat litter would get dust in his healing paw." He indicated the cat's one paw, which had only three toes on it, and was still sporting a healthy pink scar from being healed slowly by magic.
"Whatever. And he probably gets cat hair in your coffee," Emma said.
"Not that I've noticed," Gold remarked, scratching him behind an ear. "This cat tends to shed less than your average housecat . . . perhaps because he's not truly one."
Emma shrugged and continued on into the den, not minded to miss her movie discussing Henry's blasted pet.
Henry sighed. "She really doesn't like him."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Belle mused. "I think she does. . . and just doesn't want to admit it." She eyed her husband slyly. "Like a certain sorcerer I know."
Rumple arched an eyebrow. "That was a long time ago, dearie. I've changed since then." He put the final piece in the puzzle. "There! Now shall we go and name this fellow?" he asked his grandson.
"Yeah! Let's!" Henry picked up the cat, who climbed onto his shoulder and "rode" there, and brought him into the garage, which was where Rumple had decided the naming ceremony, based upon a mixture of Native American ceremonies, should take place.
Rumple got out some of his magical chalk and drew a circle on the concrete floor, and put four bayberry candles at each of the four cardinal directions. "Okay, Henry. Put him in the middle of the circle. You can stay with him if you want, since I doubt he'll remain there otherwise. And once I light the candles, you shouldn't break the circle's protections."
So Henry sat down in the center of the circle and held his cat while Rumple lit the candles with a bit of fire magic.
Then the elder sorcerer called upon the five Elements—Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Spirit—as well as the four cardinal directions—North, East, South, and West—to aid him and his apprentice in naming this familiar inside the circle.
As he named each Element, the candles flickered different glowing colors—red for Fire, sky blue for Air, deep green for Earth, and aqua for Water, and for Spirit turned a lovely shade of violet. The circle also took on a color as each Element responded, until what had once been white chalk was five colors surrounding the boy and the cat.
"Now . . .you need to concentrate, Henry, and think about what this cat means to you," Gold instructed, his voice a low hypnotic burr. "And a name should come to you after awhile. All you need to do is be quiet . . . and listen."
Henry shut his eyes obediently, his hands stroking the soft tawny fur, and the cat crouched on his knee, eyes slitted, unmindful of the magic worked around him.
Henry listened to the cat's purr, feeling it vibrate up through his hands and fill his ears with the sound. The cat's body was warm beneath his hand, like a mini heater, and he could feel the animal's contentment flowing through him.
"Breathe, lad," encouraged his grandfather. "And relax. Being tense inhibits the flow of energies." He held up a hand when the boy would have spoken. "Ah ah. Don't talk. Feel. And breathe. Take a deep breath, inhale all the way down through your diaphragm . . .do you feel the difference? Good. Now exhale . . .slowly . . .again . . ."
He made Henry do the exercises until he saw the boy enter a light trance state, and then he whispered, "Listen . . . with your heart . . .and tell me what you hear . . ."
This deep in a trance, the boy should be able to hear what the cat's name was . . . for Gold was certain it already had a name . . . the trick was to hear it, to find it . . .
Henry listened hard . . .and then he opened his eyes and said, "I know his name."
"Tell me."
"Swiftpaw."
Gold smiled. "Very good!"
The cat sat up as Henry spoke his True Name, looking almost like the statues of Bast in the Egyptian exhibits in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Gold snuffed the candles, and took the ashy residue and stepped over the circle. Then he knelt and smeared the ash lightly on the cat's forehead, reciting softly, "By the Elements and the Cardinal directions, and the Power of the White Path, I name thee—Swiftpaw!"
Then he withdrew, banishing the circle as he did so, and the candles as well. He wiped the ash off his hand with a small rag and snapped his fingers, banishing it as well, and any chance of a rival magician using the materials against them.
Henry stood up, cradling Swiftpaw in his arms.
"Always clear your circle and materials when you've completed a working," the elder sorcerer instructed. "Fail to do that and an enemy could use what you've conjured against you, for each time you use an item in a ritual, that item becomes attuned to you, and it resonates with your magic. And if you don't want an enemy to be able to control you, you must do what I've said. Understand?"
"Yes, Grandpa," Henry nodded. "Now I'm gonna take Swiftpaw inside and take a shower, it's so hot out here!"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Gold agreed, and accompanied him back into the cabin.
Page~*~*~*~*~Break
After the naming of Swiftpaw, Emma seemed to thaw a little towards him, but towards the end of the week, she seemed to suddenly become very snippy towards her family, especially her husband.
Bae made the mistake of making an offhand comment about her in a pair of jeans Saturday morning, and she nearly bit his head off. "What are you implying, Baelfire? That I'm fat?" she'd snapped.
"Whoa! I never said that!" he objected. "All I said was you looked—"
"You said my butt looked rounder in these jeans, Bae!" she growled.
"Yeah, so?"
"Rounder means fat!"
"It does not. Emma, you're overreacting," he began.
"No, I'm not! I know what you meant, don't even go there!"
"Hey! If I was gonna call you fat, I'd say so!" he snapped back.
"Well, don't look now, but you just did!" she cried, her finger stabbing him in the chest.
"Emma, dammit!" he swore.
"Oh, just get out! Go away and . . . and go fish or whatever!"
"Emma, I don't want you to think I think you need to lose weight or whatever . . ."
"It's okay, Bae! I'll go run around the block or something, since it bothers you so much."
"It doesn't bother me," he protested.
"Yeah it does, now get!" and she shoved him out of the bedroom.
"What the hell's eating her?" he muttered as he went downstairs. He found his father in the kitchen, making some eggs Benedict and sighed.
"Something the matter, Bae?" asked Rumple with that uncanny perception he'd always had.
"I don't know what's wrong with Emma," he muttered. He related the conversation they'd had, adding, "It was like everything I said she took the wrong way. You ever have that happen with you and Belle?"
"Actually, yes. Only it was me doing it, especially when I was deep in the throes of my anxiety and depression after I came home from being under Zelena's control. I tended to snap and I had no patience with anybody, least of all myself. I was terrible, I don't know how Belle didn't throw me out of a window those first couple of weeks."
"Belle understood, Papa, that was the stress and all," Bae said. "But Emma's not . . . you think it could be . . . err . . . hormones . . .uh you know . . ."
Gold raised an eyebrow. "PMS?" he whispered. "Possibly. Some women are affected more than others. But don't ever bring that up if you value your life, Baelfire . . .and other significant portions of your anatomy."
Bae shuddered. "Holy hells! Women! So what should I do?"
"Just wait. I'm sure this will blow over in a few days. Belle usually gets a bit crabby around that time, and I learned to just act like there's nothing wrong. Because if you call attention to it, they attack you, and accuse you of not understanding them or something." Gold flipped the eggs over.
"My God, it's like you can't win."
"You can't. So don't try," replied his father. "And if you think Emma's bad . . . think again. Because your mother should have won an award for bitchiest person during her time of the month. She used to throw things at me if I looked at her with an attitude, as she put it."
"She did? I don't remember that." Bae frowned.
"Be glad, because I do," Rumple sighed. "Milah was worse than a plague of fleas." The English muffins popped up in the toaster. "Want some breakfast?"
"Yeah, thanks." Bae said, and went to get a cup of coffee.
Page~*~*~*~*~Break
While Rumple and Henry went to show Bae a natural waterfall they'd found with Belle on their hike after the hot tub incident, Emma and Belle went to the store to get something for dinner one final time, since tonight would be their last night in the cabin, as they would be going home Sunday afternoon.
Emma paused in the snack aisle and muttered, "I cannot believe that I want to eat an entire bag of Cheetoes after I've just jogged around the damn cabin and can barely fit into these jeans, according to my husband."
Belle eyed her. "Did Bae actually say that?"
"Well, no, but he said that I . . . err . . . had a well rounded butt . . . umm . . ." Emma sighed. "And it made me so mad . . .but now I . . .hell, I'm starving . . ." she grabbed the Cheetoes and tossed them in the cart.
"We could go to Granny's for lunch," Belle offered. "I'm hungry too."
"Okay. Let's make tacos for dinner. With err . .. ground chicken. You don't mind, do you?"
"No. And Rumple doesn't mind either."
"Bae doesn't care either. And Henry's a typical preteen, he's like the garbage disposal, eats everything and anything." Emma laughed. Then she moved up the aisle to get some cat food.
Once they had paid for the groceries, they stopped at the diner for a quick bite. Emma ended up eating a burger with the works on it, all her fries, and then she and Belle shared a banana split.
"Oh my God! I can't believe we both ate that much!" Emma groaned.
"Did it seem like that much to you?" Belle asked.
"Um . . . no . . . but . . . we just ate a hamburger with everything on it, fries, iced teas, and a freaking banana split! I'm gonna be tearing the seat of my pants if I keep eating like this, Belle," Emma whimpered. "I don't get it. Why am I like this?"
They drove past the pharmacy and Belle said softly, "Umm . . . Emma, normally I'd never ask such a personal question but . . .are you late?"
"Late for—" Emma started to say, then she gasped. "Oh hell . . . you don't think . . .?"
Their eyes met.
"Umm . . .maybe we'd better turn around and go back to the pharmacy," the sheriff said.
"My thoughts exactly," Belle smiled, and turned the Cadillac around.
Page~*~*~*~Break
Rumple, Bae and Henry returned from their hike thirsty and hungry, despite granola bars and trail mix Bae had packed along with some Gatorade. As they entered the kitchen, Swiftpaw ran up and started meowing.
"Beggar!" Henry teased, giving the cat some cat treats. "Hey, Gran, m'starving! What's for lunch?"
"We'll get you something to eat in a minute," Belle called from the living room. "But first . . .we'd like to tell you something. Rumple, Bae, you too."
The three men came into the living room, wondering what was up.
"What did we do now?" Bae asked Rumple, figuring if he was going to get raked over the coals he wanted to know why.
"Maybe they're lonely and missed us," Rumple said, also puzzled.
They looked rather warily at Emma and Belle, who suddenly wore huge smiles on their faces.
"O-okay! You win the lottery or something?" Bae guessed.
"Maybe we won the Mega Millions!" Henry chimed in.
"Better," Belle said. "Emma, why don't you start?"
"Uh . . . well . . . Bae, remember how we . . . err . . . had that conversation this morning?"
"Yeah? The one where you basically chewed me up and spit me out?"
"Uh . . .well, I guess I was overreacting a bit because . . .I'm gonna have a baby."
Bae almost fell over. "You are?! Is that why . . .?"
"That's why." Emma said, and then she jumped up and hugged her husband. "I'm sorry I acted like the Wicked Witch of the West to you . . ."
"Not even close, dearie!" chuckled her father-in-law. "Congratulations!"
"Cool! I'm gonna be a big brother!" Henry said, grinning from ear to ear.
"And so's your dad," Belle added.
"What?" Bae stared at her.
"Huh? Gram . . . you mean . . .?"
"You're expecting too, dearie?" Rumple stammered, his jaw hitting the floor.
"Yes. It's the two for one deal," Belle laughed.
"Whoa! It's like Baby Express here!" whistled Henry, as both his parents and grandparents kissed and hugged each other. "Aww man!" he groaned to his cat, who was winding himself in and out of the boy's legs. "Now I'm gonna get stuck babysitting every day or something!" Then he remembered something and turned to grab his phone.
"What are you doing, Henry?" asked Emma.
"Texting Grace. Because I'd better set something up now . . . 'cause I'm not babysitting two kids by myself . . .and guys—get a room!" Then he paused and realized what he'd just said. "Umm—never mind!"
The adults all started laughing.
Then Bae looked at Rumple and said, "Both of our wives—pregnant at the same time! How'd it happen, for God's sake?"
"Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" queried Rumple mischievously.
"Ahh, come on!" Bae groaned.
"Because . . . the gods have a sense of humor, dearie." Rumple replied, and then he winked at his son.
The End
A/N: Hope you all liked!