AN: First OUAT Fic! So, this is based on the promo for 2x14 and basically a Neal is Bae reunion fic...here's there thing, I'm still not sure Neal will be Bae because its so obvious now that I kinda believe in a red herring, but that doesn't change the fact that I want him to be Bae. Just look at the amazing drama that would cause! Anyways, English is not my mother tongue so please forgive my mistkaes. I hope you enjoy it :)
And please leave some comments :)
Reunion
Emma didn't know how she ended up in this situation. Well, actually she did. She helped a poor young woman to keep her baby in exchange for a favor that seemed so far away she didn't even take it seriously then. Hell, even when Mr. Gold approached (or threatened) her to go on a wild goose chase through Manhattan with him to find his long lost son, she didn't even think that something like that could happen. How could she?
She sighed. It was raining outside. She didn't know when it started. She didn't even know what time it was. All she did was staring straight forward. She did that for a while now. Ever since she entered the little apartment. His little apartment.
Gold was sitting in front of her; he was confused, out of his mind and an emotional mess. She didn't even know he was capable of such strong feelings.
Henry was next to her, he was confused too, but for different reasons. He had no idea what was going on at all. All he understood was that Gold….Rumplestilskin…whatever just found his son and that they obviously had some major issues. Oh yes and that Emma knew that son.
He stood in the door way, not saying a word. She couldn't even look at him. Not after everything that happened between them.
She wanted to cry and to laugh at the same time. Wasn't it enough that her parents were a royal super couple in the same age she was? Wasn't it enough that she lived in a town full of fairytale characters? Wasn't it enough that she had suffered all her life, alone and desperate to find some happiness? Obviously not, because fate had such a cruel way to show her that she obviously deserved even worse.
It was just a favor and a harmless trip. She tried to reason with herself. She pinched her arm more than once. All she wanted to do was to wake up and realize that it was all just a nightmare, that her subconscious was playing a trick on her.
She bit her lower lip. She knew it was all real. Henry whistled a happy melody. He was obviously bored and waited for their next step. And who could blame him?
He didn't understand. When they arrived Gold used his little missing-son-finding-God knows how it worked-tracking device and they actually found Bae's apartment very quickly. She was glad, she thought the trip would be over soon and they could go home, searching for a way to deal with Cora and Captain I'm So Full Of Myself. But no, he had to run.
Gold's voice caught the man off guard and he tried to take off. Emma couldn't even blame him, as far as she understood Gold messed up big times in fairytale land and she felt sorry for the son, having a power hungry maniac as a father must've been hard.
He wore a hoody and Emma couldn't see his face, but she didn't care. Gold couldn't use magic outside of Storybrooke, so it was up to her to stop his son. And she did. She ran after him and tackled him down. It was easier than she expected. What followed was probably a bigger shock than finding out her parents were Snow White and Prince Charming.
It was him. Neal Cassidy. The only person in the world she never wanted to see again. The one man who broke her heart into a million pieces. The man she still missed and loved after eleven years. The man who hurt her like no other. Neal. Henry's father. Rumplestilskin's son. It was too much to process.
At least he was as shocked as she was, maybe even a little bit more considering he just ran into his crazy fairytale dad.
What followed was the biggest shouting match Emma ever participated in (and that meant a lot if you share a son with Regina Mills).
Neal tried to explain his past actions, Emma wouldn't listen, Gold tried to reach out to him, Neal made clear he wanted nothing to do with his father.
The only one who stayed calm was Henry, who observed everything and probably only understood bits and pieces.
Emma wasn't even sure she understood everything. So far she knew that Neal's sudden disappearance had something to do with August which was strange. Gold obviously hadn't processed so far that his son and Emma knew each other. If Neal really noticed Henry and what he had to do with everything was a question itself.
The rain outside hammered against the windows. It was stormy. Emma was glad she was inside. How they ended up in Neal's apartment was another thing she didn't really remember, it all happened too fast and was far too crazy. But know they were there, in his little home. It was a bit messy, had a lot of strange stuff and looked just like him. If the situation hadn't been so insane she would have love to snoop around.
"This is ridiculous…" Neal muttered. "We have to talk."
Emma looked up. She took a deep breath, she needed all her strength to stay confident, but she had to. For Henry, she reminded herself.
"Damn right!" She shot him a death glare. "You wanted to explain, so explain." She crossed her arms. A part of her was too afraid to even listen to him. She hated him for years after what he did to her, but seeing him now, she knew that she secretly always loved him as well, even after all those years.
"Bae…" Gold suddenly was back on his feet and walked towards Neal. "I…I don't know where to start…" He reached his hand out, but Neal blocked it, only darkness in his eyes.
"Don't you dare touching me!" he snapped and Emma was actually surprised how disgusted he sounded.
Gold looked hurt, defeated. She only had seen him like this once before and that was when Belle was shot. She wasn't sure if she felt sorry for him or not. After all he was a manipulative bastard who used them all. To get his son back. A voice inside her whispered.
"Can I ask something?" Henry raised his hand like he was sitting in school. His eyes were wide open, looking at the adult around him with nothing but innocence.
"Sure kid…" Emma said, careful not to give away their relations. Dealing with Neal was one thing, getting in her head he was Rumplestilskin's son fine, but him finding out about Henry? That was another topic.
Henry smiled and pointed at Neal. "You are his son." He stated. Neal only growled. Henry looked at Gold. "And he doesn't like you much." His eyes wandered to Emma. "And you know him as well."
"Smart Kid." Neal said, actually a bit amused.
Henry sighed. "Can someone please explain what's going on?"
"Well, I would like to find that out too, Henry." Gold said, looking between Emma and Neal.
"Okay…okay…" Neal's hands were shaking, but he walked strictly towards Emma, put his hands on the table and faced her. "You want to know what happened?" He asked.
Emma gulped. She wanted to protest, wanted to say she didn't care, but she couldn't. So she just nodded.
"Bae…maybe…" Gold made another attempt to get his son's attention, but Neal was only focused on Emma. He ignored everything his father said.
"What I did was a dick move." Neal said, his voice calm, but trembling. "But your friend August, he came to me and told me everything about your destiny." He remembered like it was yesterday.
Emma clenched her fists. So August really was behind everything. "And you just believed him?"
Neal shook his head. "Not before he showed me the book."
Henry's eyes sparkled in excitement. He grabbed his backpack and opened it. Of course he had the book with him. "You mean that one?"
Neal carefully took it from him. "Yeah…" he started to search for a certain page. When he finally found what he was looking for he briefly glanced at his father. "He showed me this."
Gold gasped. "The dagger…." He was afraid, even looking at that thing made him feel unpleasant.
"Seeing it…how could I not believe him?" He smiled sadly. "This is a part of what ruined my life." He didn't look at his father again, but he hoped his words would hurt him. "I am from this world Emma, I know magic when I see it and when August told me what happened…I knew who was behind this." He closed the book and gave it back to Henry.
Emma shook her head in disbelief. A tiny part in her hoped it would all turn out to be a big mistake. That Neal wasn't Rumplestilskin's son. That he would deny it, but hearing him talking about magic, made it even more real.
She looked at Gold; he was a picture of pure misery. "The curse…that was all your plan right?" Her voice was shaking. Suddenly everything clicked together. "You manipulated us all…even Regina." She always thought that some things about the curse and Regina's past didn't fit together, but for the first time, it actually made sense.
"I needed to find my son." Gold tried his best not give away his emotions in his voice, but his eyes spoke for themselves. "I needed to get him back."
"Cut the crap!" Neal yelled. Gold flinched. "You wanted to find me? If you hadn't broken our deal none of this would have happened!"
Gold wanted to say something, but Neal didn't give him the chance. All is anger, his despair; all the emotions he hid for years were finally coming to the surface. "You were obsessed with your power, turning into a monster more each day…" he walked towards his father.
"Bae…" Gold whispered.
Neal grabbed his collar and stared angrily at him. "And what did you do? You let me fall into this world I didn't know….alone…I was a scared kid and you left me! I don't even know how long I traveled through the portal, could've been days, years….centuries who knows? Time doesn't matter with magic!" she shouted.
"Neal, stop it!" Emma grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away, but he shook her off.
"And what did you do to fix your mistake?" He laughed bitterly. "You cursed innocent people and ruined their lives!"
Emma briefly looked at Henry, she wished she hadn't taken him with her, but the boy seemed calm, he just looked at the scene in front of him.
"Bae, I'm sorry. I…" Gold stuttered. Emma wanted to do something, to make the situation better, but she couldn't think of anything, that was all too much.
"Shut the fuck up!" Neal yelled. "You were selfish, like always. A selfish coward." His voice was filled with venom. "And you want to know the best part?" His voice broke. He let go of his father. "I may had a hard life in this world, but I found happiness. I thought…" He went through his hair.
Emma looked down; she knew what he was talking about.
"I thought I would finally get the chance of a normal life, but even with worlds between us you managed to mess that up." He continued.
Gold's eyes widened. "Bae, I don't understand…" He felt truly helpless. Here he was, in New York a place scarier than any part of the Enchanted Forest, seeing is son for the first time in years and he obviously hated him. He didn't know what he expected. He wasn't hoping for a cozy, little reunion, no he knew it would be difficult, but not like this.
"You cursed those people and made the one person I loved more than anything in this world their savior." He looked at Emma, ignoring his father's puzzled look and Henry's noise after he almost dropped from his chair in shock.
"I had to let you go, Emma. Those people….your parents, they were all doomed because of me." His eyes met hers. "You always wanted to meet them, you deserved that. So I set you up…I told August to give you the car and the money…I thought if I was being the bad guy you wouldn't come looking for me…if I had told you the truth, you would have never believed it and the curse would have never been broken." When he finished he waited for her reaction.
Emma wasn't sure what to feel anymore. A part of her wanted to strangle him, to punch him because he didn't believe she would have trusted him, to call him a liar and to tell him to leave her alone, but another, bigger part of her understood where he was coming from. Seeing his outburst, understanding what it must have been being Rumplestilskin's son, how could she seriously blame him?
So she said the first thing that came to her mind. "What money?" It was stupid, but it was the only thing she could ask without bursting out into tears.
Neal raised his eyebrows. "What? The money…from the watches…didn't August…?" He slowly began to understand, she thought he left her for the money all those years ago. "I shouldn't have trusted him."
Emma shook her head. "No…"
Henry wasn't sure what to make out of the whole situation, but his gut told him he was missing a certain fact, he just wasn't sure what it was. "So you two were in love?"
Emma almost forgot he was sitting there. She and Neal looked both pretty surprised by his sudden question. For a moment they were caught in their own little world.
"Yes…" She said after a while.
Neal leaned against the table. "This is all too much…"
Mr. Gold was pale. His mind was racing, his heart pounding. He stared at Bae or Neal or whatever he called himself in this world. His son accused him of so many bad things and deep down he knew they were all true, the one thing he never saw coming was however that he obviously had a past relationship with Miss Swan.
But he is just a boy. Gold looked at the man in front of him. When he started looking for Bae he knew they were probably looking for an adult, but since magic had his own way of working and like Bae himself said, time didn't matter, he secretly hoped they would find a boy. He wanted a new start with his boy; he wanted to ruffle through his wild brown hair, to look into his big innocent eyes and wanted to be called 'Papa' again.
But having Bae, his Baelfire in front of him now was different. There was no innocent little boy, there was a grown man. Tall, strong and with eyes that had seen more than they probably should have. And that man hated him.
The room was filled with silence again, but Gold caught the glances between his son and Emma. There was a silent conversation going on. Apologies, blaming, regrets and longing.
"What's going to happen now?" Henry asked.
Emma shrugged and looked at Mr. Gold. "I don't know. Our reason for coming here was to find Bae…we couldn't know…"
"I wanted to take you home…wanted to start over." Gold said, knowing it would be in vain.
Neal laughed, no humor in his voice. "Not going to happen." His eyes were fixed on Emma again. He wanted to say something, but no words were coming. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't possibly ask her to forgive him, to start over, to go Tallahassee like they should have years ago. No, she finally found her family and he wouldn't take that away from her.
"Maybe we should…" Emma started, but every idea seemed stupid and pointless. There was no way to fix this mess. Neal wouldn't just come around and forgive Rumplestilskin what he had done. He wouldn't just drop his life and follow them to Storybrooke. And even if, did she want that? Sure she understood his reasons for abandoning her now, but could they ever go back to what they were? He was different, she was different and there was still the unspoken Henry factor.
But who was she kidding? She was the daughter from the two people who believed in true love and happy endings more than anyone else in the world and a part of her wanted to believe in that too. She silently cursed her genes for that childish wish.
"We should check into a hotel and sleep over it." Emma finally said. Not that she believed it would change a thing.
But no one in the room protested.
Henry looked outside, it was already pretty dark. "Oh no…" he looked at Emma."Mom, can you give me your phone? I promised Mary Margaret to call her. She'll be worried by now."
Emma tossed him the phone. "Sure kiddo, say –" She abruptly stopped and stared at Neal. Ever since she and Snow returned from fairytale land Henry kept switching between calling her 'Emma' and 'Mom' and she was used to it by now, but he hadn't done it since they met Neal.
Neal's face was blank. Emma could literally see the pieces coming together inside his head. She wanted to tell him in private, she knew he had to find out, but not like this.
Not in front of Henry who still believed his father died a hero, not in front of Gold. Oh God, Gold is Henry's grandfather… The thought just hit her now. She somehow managed to ignore that little fact before.
"How old are you, Henry?" Neal asked calmly.
Henry was already busy dialing his grandmother's number. "Ten turning eleven." He answered.
"I see…." Neal said and Emma couldn't tell what was going on inside of him. He is probably in a shock. "Emma…." He started, but she cut him off with a pleading look.
"Henry can you call your grandparents from…" She pointed around "The bedroom…wherever that is…"
"Sure." He said and gave Neal a questioning look.
Neal couldn't believe he didn't notice the similarities earlier. The boy had Emma's eyes and ears, but his chin and smile. He was her son. His son. He had a son he never met, another wonderful thing he could add to his long list of things his father ruined for him.
"It's this room." He pointed left. Suddenly talking to the boy felt awkward. He didn't know how to be a father, how to be responsible for another human being. He wondered what Emma had told the boy about him.
When Henry disappeared he watched after him. He even kinda walks like me.
Emma wished she had some booze maybe that would make the situation easier. She glanced at Gold, to her surprise, he still seemed too caught up in Neal's earlier outburst to realize what was going on.
"When did you find out?" Neal asked, he decided to stay calm, he couldn't blame Emma for never telling him, that was on him.
"When I was in jail." She answered quickly.
Mr. Gold finally seemed to pay attention, but for a man who normally knew everything that was going on around him, he seemed extremely oblivious. Or he just didn't want to see the truth.
"Emma if I had known I –" He didn't need to finish his sentence. She nodded and gave him a small smile.
"I know. I know that. I gave him up for adoption and he somehow found me…coincidence, destiny, who knows?" she chuckled. A part of her questioned if all of that happened because of Gold as well. If hers and Neal's love and Henry's birth was just a part of his big plan, but judging by his face, he didn't have a clue.
"What did you tell him I mean about…." Neal couldn't even say the word father.
"I told him a lie…said his dad was a fireman who died a hero." Emma was almost embarrassed by the story she made up. It sounded like a bad soap opera Granny would watch after work.
"You really lied to me?" None of them noticed Henry, who just returned to the room. He stared at his mother.
Emma covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh Henry…" she went over to him and kneed down in front of him. "I'm sorry….I just couldn't deal with what happened." She didn't expect him to understand, but the kid always surprised her and so he simply smiled.
"I knew it was a lie. I guess I have your ability too." He laughed.
"You knew?" Emma felt relieved. He wasn't mad at her.
"Yes…but I thought if you're ready you tell me the truth." The kid was really too smart for his own good.
Gold coughed. "Can someone explain why we're discussing the matter of Henry's parentage right now? I guess we have more important stuff to do."
Neal almost couldn't believe his father's words. "How caught up in your own world are you?"
Gold wasn't used to not understanding something, but if he was honest with himself, he didn't pay much attention to anything after his son openly declared his hate for him.
Emma stood up and Henry walked over to Neal. He looked up to him. "It's you, isn't it?"
Neal looked at Emma who gave him a nod. "Yes…and I…I swear I didn't know about you."
Henry smiled and grabbed his father's hands for the first time, something he never thought he would do. "That's okay."
Neal didn't know how to react. A few minutes ago he didn't even know he had a son and now the boy was standing in front of him, holding his hand and he already couldn't imagine not being a part of his life.
Emma felt tears running down her cheek. She finally broke. Seeing Neal again, discovering who he really is and being confronted with all those old feelings was a lot to take in. But seeing Henry, her beautiful, smart, perfect little boy together with his father was an image she never even dared to dream about.
Gold finally started to understand. He wanted to punch himself for not realizing it earlier. Emma met Bae when she was a teenager, they fell in love and he left her after discovering the curse. He set her up and she ended up in jail, where she found out she was pregnant. She gave birth to Henry and Regina adopted him. Henry grew up in Storybrooke.
Gold sat down. He felt like his legs weren't going to hold him any longer. He always felt a certain attachment to the boy, in a strange way he always reminded him of Bae and now he knew why.
Henry was Bae's son. He was his son's son. He was his grandson.
"My God…" He whispered.
Henry finally started to yawn. "Long day…" he said, still smiling.
"You need to go to bed." Emma said, astonished how motherly she could sound if she wanted to.
"But I don't want to." Henry protested and looked back at Neal. "I want to know everything about you. It's not everyday that I meet my Dad."
Being called 'dad' was an unbelievable feeling. He smiled and ruffled through Henry's hair. "And I want to know everything about you." He said genuinely. "But that can wait until tomorrow." He locked eyes with Emma. "I have a very comfortable bad, a not very comfortable sofa and even a sleeping bag. You can stay here if you like."
Emma wanted to protest, but one look at Henry's excited face and she was defeated.
Mr. Gold looked up, hope in his eyes. "Bae, I know you –"
"I don't want you here, but I'm too tired to argue. But if you try something, anything I'll kick you out." He said.
Mr. Gold nodded, too tired himself to fight anymore.
"Sleepover at Dad's, who would've thought?" Henry said to Emma.
She shook her head. "Not me, kid."
It was late at night when Emma woke up. Henry was soundlessly asleep in the bed next to her. Mr. Gold stayed on the couch and Neal took the sleeping bag. She looked at the floor, even with all the awkwardness Neal shared a room with them, he didn't want to stay with his father.
Emma could easily understand that. She didn't know everything that had happened between the two, but she knew it was bad and probably beyond repair.
When she looked at the sleeping bag, she was surprised to find it empty. Curiously she got out of the bed and tip toed through the living room. The last thing she wanted was to wake up Gold.
The window to the fire exist was open and she climbed outside. It stopped raining and instead of a storm a welcoming cool breeze was blowing.
Neal leaned against the stair-rail and stared into the darkness.
"Hey…" she said leaned against it next to him.
He briefly looked at her. "Couldn't sleep?"
She shook her head. "Too much going on in my head and no booze to keep it away."
He chuckled. "I have a kid."
Emma laughed lightly. "Rumplestilskin is your father." She said.
Neal turned around to look at her. "What now?" He really needed an answer. Would she allow him to be a part of his son's life? Would she allow him to be a part of her life?
She shrugged. "I have no idea. Now that Henry knows you, there is no way to keep him from you and…" she bit her lip, "After all we both been through, I want him to know his father…I mean if that's what you want." She hated it to feel insecure, but that man had a power over her, it scared her.
"Of course, I want that. He is great kid." He said quickly. The way Emma looked at him, her hair messy, her eyes so full of emotions, it was hard for him to focus on anything but her. He truly missed her, he never loved someone else. To him it was her or no one.
"What about your dad?" she asked, knowing it was a delicate topic.
Now it was Neal's turn to shrug. "I cannot forgive him. Too much happened between us."
Emma understood, she would never urge him to make amends with his father. She knew Rumplestilskin for quite a while now and she didn't want to imagine what he was like when they all still lived in the Enchanted Forest, when had all of his powers. She heard stories from her parents and the townspeople, she saw pictures in Henry's book and the man truly scared her.
"I don't trust him." She said. "But I know he wouldn't harm Henry and I know he is trying to change. He even has a girlfriend."
That took Neal by surprise. He didn't know his father even cared for women anymore after his mother left. "A girlfriend? My father? The dark one?"
"Her name is Belle and she is such a great person…but…" Emma's voice turned sad. "There's been an…accident and she lost her memories…I hope she'll gets better, because she is the only one who kept him on a leash."
Neal didn't know if he respected that woman, that Belle for keeping up with his father or if he thought she was just plain stupid. But if Emma liked her, there must be something about her.
"He won't stop…trying to get you back…" Emma continued.
Neal already knew that. His father could be stubborn if he wanted to. "I know. But I just can't."
Emma carefully placed her hand over his. She just found her parents and as glad as she was to have them back, a part of her was angry with them for leaving her. Of course that wasn't even in the least comparable to what Gold had done to Neal (at least her parents had a good reason) but still she was glad for a second chance.
"Maybe one day you'll be able to give him a second chance." She was surprised by her own words. When had she become such a believer?
"Maybe." He said absentmindedly.
Emma didn't remove her hand from his. It felt too good touching him again, feeling his presence, being near him. It was intoxicating.
Neal studied her face. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but there was something in her eyes that told him if he wanted another chance he had to take it now.
"What about us?" He blurted out.
Emma pulled her hand away, suddenly she was scared again. "I don't know. We have Henry and….Neal look, I understand why you did what you did. I'm still angry and hurt, but I forgive you. But that doesn't mean…that doesn't mean we just can…go back…that would be crazy!"
He laughed, he actually loved. Emma stared at him in disbelief. "What is so funny about that?"
"Everything." He answered. "Look at our lives, everything is crazy!" His face turned serious again. He grabbed Emma around the waist, to his surprise she didn't protest.
Emma wasn't sure where they were going, but for once in her life she decided to just let someone else take control.
He pulled her closer. Their faces were only inches apart. "I never stopped loving you…blame it on where I come from, but I believe in only one true love." He whispered, his voice hoarse.
"Neal…I…I…" she wanted to say the same, that she never stopped loving him either, that she wanted to be with him no matter how ridiculous that seemed, but the words were stuck in her throat.
Before she could start again, he crashed his lips down on hers. She swung her arms around his neck pulling him even closer. He pressed her back against the wall.
The kiss was filled with everything they kept inside of themselves for years. Every feeling of pain, loss, hope and love.
When they finally pulled away to catch their breathes they smiled.
Emma didn't know when she felt like this the last time or actually she did, it was eleven years ago when she kissed Neal Cassidy for the last time.
Neal softly put her hair behind her ear. He leaned closer and kissed her again. "I don't care how we deal with all of that, as long as we deal with it together."
Emma leaned her forehead against his. Gold. Storybrooke. August. Fairytale Land. Their Pasts. Even Cora and Hook.
"Yes and we figure it, together." She said back.