The summer heat had hit Storybrooke and Rumpel was making the most of it as he lay on a blanket on the front lawn, bare chested with his sunglasses on. It was nice to have a small break from all the baby madness. Lilly had been kind enough to take Belle out shopping for more items for the nursery, giving Rumpel an afternoon off in the sun. He did not indulge in such things normally, but the chance to lay back and do nothing was just so appealing. With all the chores he ahd been issued done around the house, he had been lounging there for a good hour.

His shirt and waistcoat cushioned his head in the cradle of his hands, enjoying the heat on his skin. He pondered why he had never done this in the Enchanted Forest. One of the towers of his Dark Castle would have been perfect for this self-indulgence.

The cool breeze blew through Rumpel's locks, ruffling his hair over his forehead. He drew a hand from behind his head and stroked the hair out of his face, and then shoved the hand back under the clothing under his head. Belle had made it known that she was not keen for him to grow his hair out. She liked his hair short, saying it made him look more handsome and younger. He had just simply shrugged it off, not bothered. After hundreds of years having it long, it did not matter to him. It was hair.

A car pulled into the driveway with loud music playing, the two women laughing as the car squeaked to a halt. Angling his head so he could see the car, the two women exited and went to the back of it to get the bags from the trunk. Rumpel watched as Belle smiled at Lilly pulling out a large bag from the trunk. He could not get over how beautiful she looked, her hair shining in the afternoon sun with her hand protectively lingering around her large bump.

Lilly shut the trunk whilst Belle made a start towards the path, suddenly she noticed Rumpel on the front lawn. "What're you doing?"

"Lying here." He retorted, thinking how obvious it looked.

"Have you finished painting the nursery?" Belle began to list off his jobs as she walked up the path. "Did you build the crib in the nursery and in our room? Have you cleaned the kitchen?"

Rumpel dropped his head back onto his makeshift cushion of clothes. "Yes, yes and yes, sweetheart."

"You haven't built the changing table!" She yelled from the porch, entering the house with Lilly.

"What?" He sat up, which made his hair swish forward and partly covered his forehead. "What changing table? You didn't ask me to build a changing table."

Lilly descended the steps. "The one she bought this morning."

Rumpel frowned behind his glasses and looked at Lilly as she went back to the car. "Really, dearie?"

"Yep." She replied giving him a rueful smile and opened the trunk to the car again. Groaning and cursing his wife under his breath, he got to his feet and slipped his black shoes on. Rumpel sauntered over to where Lilly was waiting for him and looked into the trunk to see another box. It was an endless assembly line. Build this, make this, put this together. He pursed his lips at the box, considering his options: carry the box inside and build it, magic the box inside and build it himself or magic it inside and build it with magic.

Opting for option three, Rumpel waved his hand and the box was gone, as he shouted at the house. "Built it!"

Lilly giggled closing the trunk and followed him up and into the house. He pushed his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, dragging his scraggly hair off his face, and ambled into the kitchen to see Belle pulling things out of bags. Rumpel wore a small smile as he leant against the counter, seeing her gush over a small baby grow. It was amazing what this world had to offer in their baby range.

In the Enchanted Forest, it had been the basic of needs: a moses basket and a blanket. In this world, they had so many contraptions it was a wonder that the child were not artificially grown to full size adults. He had loved the baby grows with 'Me + Mummy = Broke Daddy', or 'Sorry ladies, my daddy is definitely taken'. The latter was bought by Ruby, jibing Belle about thinking Ruby and Rumpel had been having an affair. At the least the two could laugh about it now, it had taken a few lunches and girlie nights to get them back to best friends.

"Are you listening to me?" Belle was standing in front of him, holding a pile of clothes towards him.

"Sorry, Belle." He said scratching at the back of his head, more embarrassed he had zoned out.

"I said," She shoved the clothes into his bare chest. "Take these upstairs and put them in the draw with the others."

Rumpel kissed her sweetly on the forehead. "Yes, your majesty."

She swatted at his behind as he walked pass her and climbed the stairs to the landing. The fresh paint was still lingering in the air when he entered the bedroom directly across from their own. The yellow paint had brightened the room, bouncing the light around the room instead of being absorbed by the dark red that he had favoured for many years. All the furniture was positioned away from the walls and the newly built changing table sat in the middle of everything. Rumpel smirked at it as he pulled the draw open on the chest of draws and carefully laid the tiny clothes in with the other clothes in the draw.

Closing the draw, Rumpel's gaze wandered around the room, still unable to believe that he was going to be a father again. It had been a miracle that Belle had become pregnant with Gideon. He had thought it was impossible before, seeing how the other women he had been with, as the Dark One, had never become pregnant. Being pregnant a second time, told him that it was because of their love. Their true love for one another.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered out of the nursery, grinning to himself as he quickly negotiated the stairs. There were voices coming from the patio. Guessing that Belle and Lilly had taken up residence on the patio, he crossed to the fridge and retrieved a beer from the fridge. He twisted the lid off stepping out onto the patio and swigged at the beer greedily. As Rumpel pulled a chair out from the patio table and sat down, he flicked his sunglasses back down over his eyes and placed his beer on the table.

"I wish you would cut your hair." Belle stated with her fingers stroking his hair back behind his ear.

Rumpel bent his head to look at her over his sunglasses, his hair swept forward over his forehead. "Am I not handsome anymore?"

"That's the problem. You're too bloody handsome like that." She told him, rolling her eyes at him as a blush crept over her cheeks.

"Well, then sweetheart," He picked his beer up from the table, looking very smug at seeing her blush. "I guess it'll have to stay."

"Anyway…" Lilly drew their attention to her. "Gideon's stag do is tomorrow."

"Ah, yes. A young man's last night out on the prowl with his pack." Rumpel said after taking a drink from his beer.

Belle glared at him. "Prowl with his pack? What are you guys going to be doing?"

"How would I know?" He shrugged her look away.

"As far as Gideon knows, they're going to the Rabbit Hole and then you guys are going off for the weekend camping." Lilly informed Belle, her hand clasping Belle's hand reassuringly.

Rumpel poked his sunglasses further up his noise. "Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm going camping."

"Why not?" Belle asked, rubbing at her bump subconsciously.

"Because," He turned in his chair to lay his hand over hers that was rubbing her stomach. "I want to be here in case something happens or you need me. I can't leave you."

"Rumpel, you haven't left my side for months. You need some you time as well." Belle touched his face as she spoke. Closing his eyes, he leant his head into her hand, touched that even in her condition she was thinking about his needs. Milah had never thought about him. She had not even extended the courtesy to send him a letter to tell him he was going to be a father. Instead, he had to find out from a seer, which was probably what had started him onto the path of being the Dark One.

"I could stay here this weekend, if that would put your mind at rest." Lilly suggested, interrupting Rumpel from his thoughts.

He smiled at her. "I couldn't ask you to do that. This is my responsibility. I won't leave them."

"Rumpel," Belle said, letting her hand fall from his face to his bare chest. "You are going. Nothing is going to happen. They're not due for another two months."

"Gideon hadn't been due for six months and look what happened." His voice cracked with the guilt he felt as he spoke.

"That was not your fault." Belle told him, leaning towards him to place her other hand on his knee.

Lilly raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it kind of was his fault."

"Err…" Belle shot a glance to Lilly.

"It was my fault!" Rumpel exclaimed snatching the bottle of beer from the table to drink from it.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it was!" Belle voice became stern as she spoke to him. "It happened! It's done!" Rumpel was sure she was working on her 'mummy' voice. He was ready to bolt up the stairs to his room and stay there for the rest of the day. The look he saw on Lilly's face was probably a mirror of his own. He had noticed the voice had been coming out more and more, but Rumpel had put it down to her hormones as Dr Whale explained.

Taking a deep breath, Belle calmed herself. "You are going on the camping trip and Lilly is going to spend the weekend with me."

"Okay…" He said slowly, not wanting the voice to come back out. And there was him, thinking he could put on the darkess voice in the household. However, he had always thought that if Belle ever became the Dark One, not that he would let that happen to her, she would be darker than him. Her temper was worse than his at times.