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Nova had called her as they had 'piled Belle into the car', as the bubbly fairy had put it, and she'd run from the diner to the hospital as fast as she could, calling out an apology to Granny as she went. But then, when she got there, they made her and Nealfire stay put in the waiting room while her best friend (on the same level as Snow, or thereabouts) gave birth. What if something went wrong? What if the baby died, if Belle died? She paced in circles, ignoring Neal's pleas for her to sit, and when her feet began to hurt she sat down in the soft chairs and began to tear the upholstery apart. They were there for hours, at least seven, the two of them, not leaving the waiting room for anything other than bathroom breaks and coffee. Granny soon arrived, and when one of the nurses left for a bathroom break (Whalestein was patrolling the hospital), the old woman snuck in, and none of the staff could get her out again. Every time the door opened Red would be able to see her ankle or an arm as she paced around inside the room.
Eventually it became too much and she was about to barge into the room herself when Victor came out. He was wearing that stern expression he had on when he told them he'd saved Greg, and she could have punched him when he said both mother and child were fine. Then Belle was being brought out in a wheelchair (pushed by Granny, who glared at anyone who tried to stop her), and rolled into one of the private rooms, baby in her arms. Red and Neal followed, Victor just behind. Belle was just staring at her daughter, only standing for a moment to settle into the bed, and then staring again. Her smile could have powered the sun.
After a while her little daydream was interrupted as Whale was handed a white piece of paper and a pen, and he called out to her so he could fill in the details. Red glanced at the sheet to see what he had so far:
Mother of child: Belle French (safest bet to go with her father's surname. Belle hadn't divulged Lacey's)
Father of child: Rumplestiltskin Gold (did he have a first name in this world?)
Sex: Female
Date of Birth: Twenty-fifth May 2013
Place of Birth: Storybrooke
The name of the child remained blank, and everyone in the room looked at the mother expectantly. She finally looked up and noticed, registering the tense atmosphere. "Oh. You can, uh, fill it in 'Cassandra R. E. Gold'" She smiled back down at her baby and said "Cassandra was my mother's name." It took her a moment to register Granny's question of "What do the 'R' and the 'E' stand for?" She looked up and said "Elizabeth is the 'E'. Rumple said that was the name of one of the women who raised him. He couldn't remember the names of the other two." "And the 'R'?" Neal pushed. She blushed sheepishly, and Red thought she looked adorable. "I named her after someone who helped me out a lot when I first came to Storybrooke and..."
"Please don't say it's Rumplestiltskin."
"Oh Gods, could you imagine that? 'Cassandra Rumplestiltskin Elizabeth French-Gold'" Out of the corner of her eye Red saw Belle shake her head and smile. "Actually I... The 'R' stands for 'Ruby'." In the moment's silence that followed she looked up warily. "If that's okay?" She winced, like it might not be. Red instantly squealed, laughing and crying at the same time, and embraced her friend as best she could without dislodging the baby. "Of course that's okay! That's so awesome! Granny, I bet you're jealous! Don't deny it, you are!" She gently let go of Belle, her heart beating faster than before as the others in the room congratulated the name choice and the birth.
She was watching Nealfire greet his new baby sister when she smiled to herself. She was so glad Belle was back and she finally got to experience helping out her best friend with her kid. She'd missed out on the experience with Snow, had never even seen baby Emma. She wasn't even sure if any of them had pictures of Emma as a kid. It was a weird thought. She dreaded to think what would have happened if Lacey was still here. She would probably have adopted the kid herself, and then forced the potion down Belle's throat. Thank the Gods Belle was back. "I'm gonna be the best Aunt ever! You'll see! You know I'm gonna spoil this kid rotten, right?"