Author's note: Hi everybody! Ever since I saw the promo for 'The Queen is dead' on youtube, I had a theory... so I thought I'd start writing it down.

You're introduced to my theory in this opening chapter, and I'll explain it more in my final author's note.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of it's characters. And do not read this story, especially my author's note below, if you don't like spoilers.

Enjoy! This story starts immediately after 'Manhattan' finished.

~..~..~..~..

Neal and Henry climbed carefully back into the apartment through the fire escape window.

"Bae," Rumple began as he stepped forward.

"No," Neal cut him off, "you've had your time to talk. Time's up."

"In that case, it's my turn," Emma spoke up.

Neal regarded his former love warily.

"I don't forgive you for sending me to jail. Not even close." Emma said firmly. "But, I should ask you...do you want to be in Henry's life?"

Neal looked down at the boy beside him, who stared back with hope in his eyes.

They were his eyes.

Neal nodded, feeling his throat tighten.

"Yes," he whispered. "No one should have to grow up without a father," he glanced at his own father pointedly.

"Then come with us to Storybrooke, son." Rumple said quickly.

Neal sighed.

"There might be a little trouble with that," He told the room slowly.

"What do you mean, trouble?" Henry asked.

"Look, I get you not wanting magic in your life," Emma began, "and I get the issues with your father. But if you want to be there for Henry-"

"I do want to be there for Henry," Neal insisted. "It's just, my life...I can't just up and leave."

"Why not?" Emma asked. "I did."

At that moment, Neal's phone rang. Checking the caller id, a smile appeared on his face.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered, brining the phone to his ear.

"Hey, babe, how's it going?"

Neal turned slightly, avoiding eye contact with the three people who all were looking at him with surprise.

"No, I'd love to see you after your shift," Neal continued. "See you then."

"You...have a girlfriend?" Emma asked as Neal hung up.

"Uh," Neal swallowed, awkward. "Fiancé, actually."

"You're getting married, son?" Rumple was smiling, happy that his boy had found love, but sad to realise he'd missed it.

Neal nodded.

"Wow." Emma said slowly. "Congratulations."

"Does this mean you can't come to Storybrooke?" Henry voiced his concern.

"No, Henry," Neal was quick to assure his newfound son. "It just..."

"Complicates things." Emma finished.

"What's her name?"

Neal turned to gaze at his father.

"Your fiancé," Rumple explained. "What's her name?"

Neal regarded his father warily.

"What?"

"I know you and names," Neal said slowly.

Rumple was offended.

"I want to redeem myself to you, Bae," Rumple told him. "Do you really think I'd do anything to the woman you love?"

"You were going to hurt Emma," Neal reminded his father, gesturing to the woman in question.

"That was different," Rumple said quickly.

"Really?" Neal raised his eyebrows sceptically.

Rumple took a breath before earnestly meeting his son's gaze.

"I promise I won't do anything to harm her," he vowed.

Neal continued to stare at his estranged father for a moment before taking a breath.

"Tamara," he said softly. "Her name is Tamara."

"Tamara," Rumple echoed. "What a lovely name."

"She suits it," Neal smiled.

Rumple hesitated before voicing his next question.

"Can I meet her?"

Neal's jaw clenched reflexively as he swallowed.

"I'd love to meet my future daughter in law before the wedding," Rumple told his son. "Especially as I doubt I'll get an invite." He added softly.

"I'd like to meet her too."

All eyes turned to Henry.

"I've always wanted to know my dad," Henry's eyes never left Neal's. "And if you're going to be in my life, I'll have to meet Tamara at some point. We all will."

Neal's eyes shifted awkwardly to Emma who, unable to say anything, simple nodded to agree with her son.

Neal exhaled, closing his eyes. This scenario was the last thing he had expected to happen when he got up this morning.

"Alright," he granted, heading to the door. "Tamara's shift at the restaurant's nearly over, so we can head there now."

As the group gathered in the elevator, Neal was careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

He was taking his ex-girlfriend, his son, and his estranged father to meet his fiancé.

'This is gonna be fun,' he thought sarcastically.

~..~..~..~..

As they left the building, Neal pointed in the direction they had to walk.

"Just keep following the road," he told them. "The restaurant's just a couple of blocks away."

"Henry," Emma gently took hold of her son's arm, "why don't you walk ahead with Gold?"

"Okay," Henry agreed and, after taking a glance at his father, he and his grandfather walked ahead as Emma and Neal hung back.

"You're engaged?" Emma repeated.

Neal nodded. "Yeah," he answered.

"Congratulations."

"You said that already," Neal smiled. "But thank you."

"This does complicate things, you know."

"Yes, but I meant what I said, Emma," Neal insisted. "I want to be in Henry's life. No one should grow up without a father. We'll...just have to work something out."

"And how do you think...Tamara... is going to handle this?" Emma asked hesitantly.

Neal sighed. "I don't know," he answered, thinking. "She's a very relaxed and friendly person," he smiled, "so, while this will definitely be a shock...I think she'll be okay."

Rumple looked back over his shoulder to where his son and Emma were talking.

He couldn't believe that his son was engaged. It was definitely something he hadn't been expecting, when he'd gone looking for his son.

But, Rumple figured that he shouldn't be surprised. His son would have been sure to build his own life, after he made it to this land...

Rumple only wished that he had been a part of it.

And now, Rumple was about to meet the woman his son had chosen to marry.

He smiled. This could be his chance to show Bae that he'd changed. For surely any woman his son would choose to marry would be someone wonderful.

After all, Bae deserved to be happy. That was all Rumple had wanted for his boy.

Still, Rumple felt he needed to make a good impression.

After a moment's thought, Rumple realised something else.

Henry.

With Henry being Bae's son, his own grandson, this meant that Bae would have to be in his life.

And Rumple would get more chances to be with his son...

Rumple's eyes turned to the boy walking beside him, who looked deep in his own thoughts.

The seer had predicted that a boy would help him find his son, and that he would not be as he appears...

If it weren't for Henry, Rumple never would've found Bae. And he certainly hadn't expected the boy to turn out to be his grandson...

But the seer had also predicted that the boy would be his undoing.

As the Dark One, Rumple's first reaction to that prophesy had been to kill the boy, but now...knowing the boy was Henry, his grandson...Rumple couldn't imagine himself killing a child, especially his own blood.

Besides, Rumple reminded himself, the future was often hard to read, and he certainly hadn't lost or found his son in quite the way he had been expecting...

Perhaps 'undoing' didn't mean his death?

Henry certainly wasn't capable of murder, Rumple was sure of that.

So what did it mean?

"This is it," Neal announced, jolting everyone from their thoughts.

They were standing outside a restaurant. As it was after lunch, many of the patrons were lining up to pay before they left, as the waitresses cleared the tables and collected their tips. Still, the place was crowded, like everywhere else in the city.

Leading the way inside, Neal glanced around the room before pointing.

"There she is."

The three of them looked up to see a young woman exit the kitchen, a plate of food in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other.

She walked confidently, smiling cheerfully at those around her. The crisp white of her shirt and apron contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. Her black hair was pulled up in a bun on her head, but tendrils of hair still fell into her eyes.

"She's beautiful," Rumple commented to Bae, and his son smiled proudly.

They watched Tamara easily make her way across the crowded room, without spilling a drop of coffee, unlike one of her colleagues, who she quickly passed a napkin to on her way by, before she reached her intended table.

"There you go, Mr. Mathews," Tamara said cheerfully. "One espresso and one blueberry pie."

"Thanks," the man didn't even look up as he picked up his steaming cup.

"Hope you enjoy it," the woman continued breezily as she moved on to clear the next table, pocketing the tip that had been left for her.

She was so focussed on her work, Tamara didn't even see their group as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"Tamara!" A teenage girl cried out for help, as she was struggling to carry three plates at once.

Sweeping in, Tamara saved a plate of food before it fell, helping the young girl, who was clearly new, carry the order to her table.

"I told you not to carry three plates until you were comfortable with it," Tamara told the girl gently.

"I know, I'm sorry." The girl mumbled, wiping her curls out of her eyes. "I just thought I could do it."

"And that's a good thing," Tamara told her as they made their way back to the kitchen. "You just need more practice first."

The girl nodded as Tamara entered the kitchen, before spotting the group.

"Neal," she greeted with a smile. "Good to see you. Uh," she pointed over her shoulder, "Tamara's just in the kitchen."

"Yeah, we just saw her," Neal smiled easily. "I was coming to see her after her shift."

The girl's face crumpled in sympathy. "I'm sorry Neal, but Tamara's just been asked to stay on for the next shift as the next supervisor is sick."

"And she, of course, said yes." Neal surmised.

The girl nodded. "But she hasn't even had her lunch break yet," she was quick to add. "I'm sure if you just take a seat, I can convince Tamara to stop working for a bit."

"Thanks Sarah," Neal smiled gratefully as he lead Emma, Henry and his father to a clear table out of the way.

"Tamara seems nice," Henry piped up.

"She works really hard," Neal explained. "It's her dream to have her own restaurant one day, and when she gets it, and she will," he added surely, "she'll work harder to make sure that her restaurant is the place to go."

"If its money that she needs," Rumple said quickly, "I could help with that."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Neal said shortly.

"Neal?"

The four of them looked up to see Tamara heading towards them. Having just dispensed with her apron, she was dressed in the white shirt and black skirt that was the uniform.

"Hey," Neal greeted standing up to greet his fiancé.

"I'm sorry," Tamara began, "I was told about Suzy being sick as soon as I got off the phone with you."

"It's alright," Neal assured her, "I'm just glad to hear you're finally getting a break. Seriously, girl," he grinned at the look his love was giving him, "if I hadn't turned up, would you be taking a break right now, or would you still be working?"

"Working," Tamara smiled as she granted her fiancé that point.

"Exactly," Neal told her, "so come and sit down. I'd...like to introduce you to some people."

"Oh," Tamara finally noticed the three people waiting behind Neal at the table. "Hi," she greeted brightly as the older man at the table stood up politely.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Come sit down, Tamara," Neal told her firmly, as he led her over to the table.

"Tamara," Neal began slowly, his eyes on the older man, who had yet to reseat himself. "This is...my father."

Tamara gasped.

"You found him?"

"Well, he found me,' Neal muttered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tamara. You can call me Mr. Gold." The man introduced himself graciously, extending his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Gold," Tamara smiled, taking his hand.

"And this," Neal continued quickly, gesturing to the blond woman who still sat in her chair, "is Emma Swan, my uh..." Neal took a breath, "old girlfriend."

Tamara blinked. "Really?"

"Hi," Emma's smiled was sympathetic as she shook the woman's hand.

"Hi," Tamara greeted slowly. "I'm sorry, but I don't think Neal's mentioned you."

"That's okay," Emma said quickly. "I only told Henry about Neal today."

"And last, but not least," Neal continued, before Tamara could reply, "This is Henry." He gestured to the boy who sat at the table.

"It's nice to meet you." Henry told Tamara as he shook her hand. "I'm Neal and Emma's son."

Tamara's eyes widened. "What?"

"I only just found out today, myself," Neal was quick to inform her, guiding his fiancé into a seat before she fell from shock.

"When did this happen?" The woman mumbled numbly.

"Well, I'm eleven years old," Henry piped up.

"Thank you, for supplying that, Henry," Neal said as he watched Tamara close her eyes to absorb the information.

"And you only just found out today?" Tamara asked, meeting Neal's eyes.

"Yes," Neal said sincerely. "I had no idea Henry even existed until today."

Tamara's dark eyes met Emma's.

"Why did you decide to find Neal now?"

"I didn't," Emma insisted.

"I was because of me, Tamara," Mr. Gold spoke up. "I had been searching for my son for years, and Emma," he gestured to the blond woman sitting across from him, "is very adept at finding people. She agreed to help me. I had no idea of their connection myself, until today," he finished gently.

"However," Emma added hesitantly, "the fact remains that now, Neal does know that he has a son."

"And I wanna know my dad," Henry interjected.

"It's just that," Neal shot in as Tamara's head whipped round to stare at Henry, "I grew up without a father," he explained, glaring at his father for a moment before returning to his fiancé, "and I don't want to make that same mistake with my son."

Tamara appeared to be thinking hard as she continued to gaze at Henry, who stared back, hopeful.

"You have Neal's eyes," she whispered. "But your hair," she considered, studying the boy, "it's the same colour, but straighter." Her eyes turned to Rumple with a smile. "More like your hair, Mr. Gold."

Rumple smiled.

"But he has the same shaped face as you," Tamara said as she then turned her eyes onto Emma.

"So," Henry prodded gently, "I can see my dad?"

"Family's important, I know that," Tamara granted with a smile. "And," she added in a lighter tone, "as Neal is engaged to me, I know I don't have to worry about Emma." She raised her eyebrows, smiling at the surprised expression on the blond woman's face.

"Do I have to worry about you, Emma?"

"No," Emma was quick to assure her, "absolutely not. I just think that," Emma amended, "now that Henry and Neal know about each other, that it's best for my son to have his father in his life."

Tamara nodded in understanding.

"In that case," Tamara granted, "I think we should be able to work something out."

"Grand," Rumple smiled. His son was sure to be able to come to Storybrooke now.

"So, you're gonna come back with us?" Henry asked.

"Whoa, not right away," Neal said quickly.

"Back where, exactly?" Tamara asked curiously.

"Storybrooke, Maine," Henry explained.

"Storybrooke?' Tamara repeated slowly.

"Yeah, weird name, huh?" Neal smiled.

"But, you have to come to Storybrooke, son," Rumple told him. "If you want to be a part of Henry's life..."

"I said, 'not right away'." Neal said firmly. "I've got to give notice on my apartment, give notice at work, I've got to get this month's rent out of the way..."

"So, they can head back and we'll head to Storybrooke in a couple of days," Tamara suggested brightly.

"What?"

"Well, I'm coming with you," Tamara told Neal.

Emma and Rumple shared a look. Another outsider in Storybrooke?

"Uh," Emma began awkwardly, "you sure you want to come?"

"Well, Neal and I are going to be married next year," Tamara told them, "so if Henry's going to be a part of Neal's life, then he's going to be a part of my life, too. There's no avoiding that. So," she finished determinedly, "I'm coming too."

Rumple thought quickly. On the one side, it was another opportunity for their town to be exposed to the world. On the other side, it could be just the extra encouragement his son needed to come to Storybrooke...

'It could work,' Rumple thought. 'Just as long as they were careful...'

"Alright," he granted.

"What?" Emma asked, stunned.

"Tamara's right," Rumple said. "If...my son wants to be a part of Henry's life, then his fiancé will be a part of it too. And as Henry lives in Storybrooke...then they'll both have to come."

Tamara smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Gold," she said charmingly.

"Yeah," Emma frowned at the man who had suggested they let Greg Mandel die. "Thanks."

"Well," Tamara looked at her watch, "I really should be getting back to work."

Standing up, she gave Neal a kiss before nodding to everyone at the table.

"It was lovely meeting you all," Tamara smiled at them before turning back to Neal. "I look forward to finally cashing in my holiday time."

"I'll call you later," Neal told his fiancé as she moved off.

Smiling, Tamara waved as she headed through the kitchen doors.

Sitting back down, Neal turned to his father.

"She seems nice," Rumple told his son.

But Emma wasn't having it.

"What was that?" She demanded. "You know there's magic in Storybrooke now, do we really want another outsider there to potentially expose us?"

"No, I don't," Rumple admitted. "But Tamara is my son's fiancée. I think this case demands an exception. Unless you strongly object, son?" Rumple turned to Bae.

Neal took a deep breath.

"I've spent years trying to get away from all that magic crap," he admitted ruefully. "But, if it's the only way I can see Henry, then I'll come. And..." he added reluctantly, "Tamara deserves to get to know Henry too." He raised his eyes to view his son.

"Are you okay with that?"

Henry nodded.

"Okay," Neal stood up. "Let's head back to my apartment, looks like I've got some things to sort out before my road trip."

"Can we get some food to go?" Henry asked as he got out of his chair. "I'm hungry."

Neal smiled. "Sure kid, let's go."

~..~..~..~..

In the kitchens, Tamara was tying her apron as she made her way over to where she stashed her purse. Glancing around, she quickly took out her phone and dialled.

"Hey, it's me," she said quietly when she heard someone pick up. "You were right, it is the place. "

After a pause, Tamara smiled.

"He was just here, actually." She smiled happily. "And guess what? I'll be coming to visit in a couple of days."

Smiling into the phone, Tamara nodded.

"I look forward to it," she said happily.

Hanging up, Tamara put her phone securely back in her bag before heading through the kitchen doors.

"Time to get back to work," she smiled.

~..~..~..~..

Author's note: Okay, first thing: Apologies to any Neal/Emma shippers (myself included) but I have read in several articles that there is a new character appearing in 'The Queen is Dead' named Tamara, and that she is Neal's fiancee, complicating the relationship with Emma and Henry a little bit.

Second: Hearing in the canadian promo that Bae knew Hook from another world implies that he's been to Neverland- I'm guessing that he was a lost boy, as there were references to the lost boys and Neverland in the Tallahassee episode. But how could Bae have gone to Neverland, if the magic bean the Blue fairy gave him was supposed to take him to a world without magic? I remember looking at the pictures/clips from both 'The return' and 'The crocodile' and I realised that the two magic beans looked exactly the same.

Remembering the stories of Neverland, you could travel there from our world, simply by 'following the second star on the right, and straight on till morning', so I think Bae came to our world after spending time in Neverland.

Which still begs the question: Why would the Blue fairy send Bae to Neverland, after she had told him the bean would take him to the 'land without magic'? She wouldn't give someone a bean if she didn't know where it went...

Third: A spoiler I read for 'The Miller's daughter' says that 'a usually noble character reveals a surprising manipulative streak'. I think this is the Blue Fairy. I think that she sent Bae to Neverland, where one of her fairies (Tinkerbell) was positioned. Blue would've guessed that The Dark One wouldn't want to give up his power, or she possibly had met the seer who told her the same prophesy of Rumple's son growing up without a father, and so knew Bae would pass through the portale alone. Bae told his nightmares to Tinkerbell, who relayed everything to the Blue Fairy, who possibly wanted to find a way to get rid of the Dark One for the greater good?

Fourth: A set picture of a future episode ('Brave strong and true' I think it was,) showed Blue holding her fairy wand. How did she get that back? My guess is that after she left Gepetto to 'make preperations' she and the other fairies sent their wands to Tinkerbell in Neverland for safe keeping.

Fifth: Knowing the writers of Once, I doubt they'll make Tamara just Neal's fiancee, as they appear to love giving people duel identities. So...I think Tamara may also be Tinkerbell! (I was tossing up between Tiana and Tinkerbell, hence her job, but I thought Tinkerbell would fit the story better.) I think that Tamara/Tinkerbell may have come to our world after Neal found his way here. August also said that 'a little fairy' told him about the knife in 'The Return.' I had always thought it was Blue, but I didn't see how that was possible, but if Neal had been to Neverland, and then August met Tinkerbell...? It would also explain how August would know that Neal was Baelfire. As for Neal recognising Tamara as Tinkerbell...Tink has often appeared just as a bright light, really, and it would be difficult to really identify someone if their features were so small...

As Neal is from the Enchanted Forest, I don't think that it's far fetched that he'd be drawn to others like him, such as Emma or Tamara/Tinkerbell.

Sixth: I also think that Tamara may be this mysterious 'her' that Greg is in contact with- he'd have to have a duel identity too. perhaps another lost Boy? Neal changed his name, why not Greg? Greg may have been trying to find Storybrooke for Tamara, so that she can return the fairies' wands back to them.

I can just see Rumple's face when he realises that his son is engaged to a fairy...

Seventh: I do think (hope?) that Tamara genuinely loves Neal. Kind of like 'It was my job to keep an eye on you, but then I fell in love with you' sort of thing.

Okay, so those are my theories that I'm hoping to develop with this story. Do you think it's worth continuing? Please let me know by posting a review.