The four of them took the Rainbow cake, the double chocolate chunk and sweet sugar cookies back to the parlor and dived into them.

"I forgot good your baking was, mother." Adam said before he bit into a chocolate chunk cookie.

"Thank you son." Lydia said, then she looked at Belle. "What do you think, Belle?"

"Really sweet." Belle said since she bit into a sweet sugar cookie, "Maybe a little too sweet."

"Hmm, I must've put too much sugar in than I thought." Lydia thought.

"They seems fine to me," Veronica said, "but Belle was known for not liking foods that have a lot of sugar."

"Mother!" Belle said, she was a little embarrassed when her mother said that...because she knew it was true.

"I'm doing what all mothers do." Veronica added, "Embarrass their kids." Belle was about to say something else, but she tried to control herself, she was around Adam and his mother. The last thing she wanted to do was act like a child. Lydia could sense how embarrassed Belle was, so she decided to even the score.

"Come to think of it," she said, "Adam loved sugar as a child, he just didn't like things that have salt in them." Just like Belle, Adam was a little embarrassed... because he knew that was true. He was about to add something, but...he didn't. Adam didn't want to sound like the spoiled child he became long ago. In fact, the last thing Adam wanted to do was act like the...monster...that made him become such a beast.

"I guess what they say is true," Veronica spoke, "opposites do attract."

"We just wanted to have a little fun with the two of you." Lydia said, "We hope we don't push any buttons or anything make the two of you upset."

"We'll make sure that you won't," Adam said, "right, Belle?"

"Of course." She said, but her eyes were focused on the clock. "Adam, I think that clock's broken."

"It's not broken." Veronica said.

"I think it is," Belle added, "it's saying 1:20 AM, but we've been talking to you for a long time, at least...an hour or hour and a half." Veronica made another sly smile, Belle knew whenever her mother did that smile, she did something. "Mother, what did you do?"

"I'm not surprised that you would ask that. It's usually the first thing you ask when something is wrong and I'm in the room."

"It usually results to you doing something." Belle urged, Veronica nodded her head.

"You're right," she answered, "It usually does involve me doing something and I did...I slowed down time."

"You did what?" Adam asked.

"Both of you heard me," Veronica said, "I slowed down time, seconds are now minutes and minutes are hours."

"Veronica, we need to be careful with that kind of power." Lydia added, "Lady Temps will really get upset if something happens with time because..."

"I know, I know," Veronica said, thinking Lydia was becoming a pain, "She's the only one who could fix it if we don't put it back. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, Lady Temps told us both how to harness the power of time."

"Hey, we're still here." Belle said, Veronica and Lydia looked back at Adam and Belle.

"Sorry." Lydia said.

"This kind of thing happens a lot." Veronica added.

"This might be an...assumption," Adam said, "but by the way the two of you act, it seems you know each other very well."

"We do," Lydia said, "Veronica and I have been friends since we were...fourteen."

"Thirteen, Lydia, we were thirteen when we met." Veronica said, Lydia groaned.

"My memory is still giving me problems."

"How exactly did you meet?" Belle asked.

"I bumped into a boy that I knew when I was walking home." Veronica explained, "He was stalking me for a few months. He was a year older than me and going through what every teenage boy goes through. Anyway, he continued to stalk me until he couldn't control himself, he...grabbed me and pulled me into an alley. I knew what he was trying to do. I could tell that he was drunk as well, just from his breath and...the look in his eyes."

"He...he was trying to...?" Belle stammered.

"Yep," Lydia answered, she knew it was a hard subject for Veronica to talk about, "I heard Veronica screaming. I ran into the alley, saw Veronica screaming for help and tackled the boy. He tried fighting me back, but everyone knows that if you mess with a porcupine, you'll get covered in quills. After beating him, he ran off with...*laugh*...quills stuck in his rear. *laugh* I know I shouldn't laugh, but he deserved it."

"After that incident," Veronica continued, "we slowly started getting to know each other. I would go to Lydia's fights and watch her defeat anyone who challenged her."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Adam said, "but why did you fight with others, mother?"

"Hmm, 'why did I fight'?" Lydia repeated, "Well, my family was having a hard time making money. Even though there were other ways, I didn't want to choose a stupid way. That's why I chose to fight. Another reason I fought was to prove that women can be as tough as men, if not tougher."

"Belle's defiantly tougher than me." Adam said, Belle smiled and shook her head.

"But then, how did you meet Rouge?" Belle asked, "She said that the two of you were her 'best friends'."

"Rouge was someone who could tell a believable story." Lydia said.

"Are you saying that she lied?" Belle asked.

"Nope, she didn't lie." Lydia explained, "I'm just saying she can tell you anything and you'll be believing it. That's how we met her, she loved making stories up. She mostly did that to bring smiles to sick children. Veronica and I were planning to gather toys for children who were down on their luck."

"We were gathering toys for children because it was near Christmas." Veronica added, "We knocked on doors to see if anyone had any toys they didn't want anymore. Once we gathered all the toys, we worked together to make them new again. That's how we met Rouge, she had a similar plan, but instead she made her own toys. She also made her own little books, which every kid really wanted. So when we saw much the kids love Rouge's little books, we asked Rouge to work with us."

"All the kids adored the toys and stories we dropped off at their homes," Lydia said, "but there was one child where all three of us had to work together to get it to her."

"Was she special?" Adam asked.

"She was." Veronica answered, "Her name was Anna, she was really sick and all she wanted was a toy Noah's ark for Christmas. Not only was she sick, her family was living on bare bones. We did have the power to help them, but we had to be careful that nobody saw us. We all worked together to make the ark, but Rouge also wrote down the story of the ark for Anna."

"We decided to give her and her family a little more." Said Lydia. "We also gave them enough money to last until they find a job they can keep. When the three of us saw Anna and her family's reaction, it was worth all our work."

"That was a wonderful story." Belle said, Adam didn't say anything. He just wiped a tear off his face. Adam knew Rouge was gracious, when the spell was broken, but hearing the story of Anna; he learned more about things and people aren't always what they seemed.

"All three of us became close friends after that," Veronica added, "before we decided to live in the human world." Belle and Adam knew why they choose to stay here, but they didn't say anything, they didn't want their horrible past to mess up their happy mood right now.

"So...what do the two of you plan to do now?" Belle asked, "Do you plan to stay here or do you plan to go back to the world of magic?"

"Hmm, we were talking about that earlier," Veronica said, "when I dragged her out of the kitchen, we defiantly want to be in your lives."

"But we don't know how we're going to do that." Lydia added, "Mainly because of the servants."

"But we will be here for you," Veronica said, "we defiantly want to see your wedding. We'll make sure of it." She closed her green eyes as she reached into her sleeve. She opened her eyes when she pulled something out and placed it in her daughter's hands. Belle saw that it was a stone in every color of the rainbow.

"To make sure I keep my own word," she said, "wear this stone as a necklace or a bracelet. Whenever you need me, just hold it in your hands and wish to see me. I'll be there." Belle stared at the rainbow stone, then looked at her mother. Then, out of nowhere, Belle jumped on Veronica, the same way a child would jump and hug its mother. At first, Adam and Lydia were surprised, but they saw the relaxed look on Veronica's face as she hugged her daughter. Lydia smiled, grabbed her son's hand and took him into the hall.

"Son, I hope you don't think of me any different."

"I don't," Adam said, "you still act like the woman I always knew...a little more unpredictable, but you're still the same."

"I'm going to make sure that I keep my promise." Lydia grabbed something around her neck and removed it. It was a necklace with a black stone. The black stone had a porcupine quill at the bottom. "I want you to keep this, if you need me, just hold it in your hands and wish to see me. I'll be here." The necklace hanged from Lydia's fingers as the stone dangled back and forth. Adam looked at it and took the necklace out of his mother's hand.

"I'll make sure I won't lose it." Adam said.

"I know you won't," Lydia said, "now, get yourself and your bride to bed. Both of you need your rest. Especially with the two of you have been through. We'll deal with the dishes we made...and, now that I remembered it, I'll make sure that Veronica puts time back on its track." Adam chuckled at that remark, they walked back into the parlor. Veronica and Belle stood up from their seats.

"Come on, Veronica." Lydia said, "Our kids need their rest. We'll take care of the dishes and you better fix the time."

"I will!" Veronica said, "I will! I plan to put it back!"

"Let's go!" Lydia said. They headed towards the kitchen, but Lydia stopped in her tracks and looked at Adam. "You don't have to worry about the mess in your room. It's clean." Lydia then left and followed Veronica.

"Shall we head to bed?" Adam asked.

"Adam, this may sound silly," Belle said, "but may I spend the night with you?" Adam wasn't expecting that question, but he knew that they would do that when they are married. Why not try it out now?

"That will be fine with me." Adam said, Belle smiled at the answer.

They walked up the stairs and stopped at Belle's room so that she could grab her nightgown. When they entered the west wing, Adam saw that his mother was telling the truth. It was no longer messy from when he was snatched by Fiona. Belle walked into the washroom to change into her nightgown. Adam started a small fire in the fireplace so that he and Belle will stay warm during the night. He then walked into his closet and changed into his pajamas as well. When Adam came out of his closet, he saw Belle was all bundled up in his bed. He smiled at the sight as he walked over to the bedroom door and locked it, so no one will disturb them. He then got into the bed himself. Adam looked at Belle's sleeping face with her hands on her pillow. He saw on her ring finger, the engagement ring with the rose stone. He placed his hand in hers and held it gently. Just then, even though she was asleep, Belle held his hand back and smiled. Adam smiled as well and closed his own eyes. All everyone can do is wait for the wedding and hope that the dreams of Adam and Belle having a little one of their own comes true.