Set in 03x15: The scene between Neal and Emma in the forest goes on a moment longer. Some dialogue is borrowed from the actual episode.
For a while the only sound is just the branches racking under their feet. Emma feels Neal's presence strongly. She hasn't really allowed herself to fully feel his absence yet. It all came rushing through her as soon as he was back. Her heart suddenly beat more steadily. As if it had just been waiting; distracted by the constant threat of failure and death. It's just like she's told David: one week ago her life hasn't been this. And parts of here are still catching up. Now that Neal is back, she feels like something is going right for once. It's the first time in a week that she feels like she can really breathe. And nothing about Neal's return is simple. It complicates everything even further. But he's there and he's alive. For the moment Emma allows herself to actually feel the relief.
"I had someone. Sorry." She answers him. He deserves to know after all. She could have lied, but whatever might be ahead for them she doesn't want it to start with yet another lie. Emma realizes it must hurt him, surprise him. For her it's been a whole year – a whole lifetime – but for him it hasn't been. For him a day has passed, because he doesn't remember anything else from the past year. And now that Emma is back, she's on the edge of something with Hook. But she's always been on the edge of something with Neal, too.
But he's right; they haven't really been anything since before all of this. Just the edge, just the possibility. They have been an impossible possibility for the longest time now. And sometimes she wishes all of this could have been different. How they could have been what her parents are: true love. A prince and a princess, who get to spend their life together like they're supposed to. In a land where they are more than just a possibility. A place where their history is less laced with heartbreak and misunderstanding. Somewhere where both of them truly belong. Because her and Neal, they never really belonged anywhere.
He's the only one, despite their history, who gets all of this. This strangeness, because while he has been born in the Enchanted Forest and spent the better part of his childhood there, he knows the real world like no one else in Storybrooke. Neal has lived this life – her life – as well. He has traveled; he knows the rush of New York City, the feeling of history that's lingering there. He knows about Tallahassee. And when she tells him how her boyfriend, almost fiancé, turned into a monkey he just gets it. The humor and the improbability of it all. They get each other and the impact of that realization renders her speechless for a moment. She almost misses her step, but Neal doesn't.
"I just want you to be happy." He tells her. She's fleetingly thinking about Hook when he says this. And Emma immediately feels guilty. Their childish behavior in Neverland was enough to last her a lifetime. With both men in her life she knows it'll always be complicated. If she's honest with herself, though, she wouldn't want to give either of them up. And it scares her just the right amount.
"We were happy. Once." Emma tells Neal. Partly to distract herself from her own thoughts. During the last year she let herself fall. She remembers clearly what trust and security feels like. Despite Walsh turning out as he did, the memory remains. It's as much as a part of her as her history with Neal. And at least their story isn't over yet. It will never be over.
As they stop for a moment, Emma feels paralyzed by the implication. She wants to travel to a world where they just are. She's beginning to think it might exist. How could it not? There are so many realms, it seem. Somewhere there must be a place for them, too. Maybe it's New York. Maybe this time they'll fall over the edge. Tallahassee… she's never been good at geography, so why can't their Tallahassee be in New York? She wants to tell him that this could be their second chance. Clearly he always returns to her. He could be her own Prince Charming. She cringes; her father has really screwed that up for her. They would be their own kind of couple. Different than the rest.
"Maybe… you know, once all of this is over." Emma hardly dares to look at him. There's this sparkle that he sometimes gets. Like he doesn't care that he carries half the world on his back. As if none of all of this has ever happened. A gleam of hope. And Emma knows now that sometimes her own eyes reflect the same.
"I would get to meet Henry all over again." His smile is sad and Emma feels it again; the weight of the impossibility. Why can't they ever just be… happy?
"When we find your father," and she doesn't say 'if' because with them it's a 'when'; there's just no other way, "he'll help us. Henry will remember." Neal's smile is worth all of this. Emma has been reluctant to even think about dragging Henry into this. She wants him to live in this bubble for as long as possible. Because she has never seen him this carefree, this happy. But Neal is his father and if there's anything she wants him to remember, it's him.
"I trust you on this," Neal says and for a moment Emma thinks he's going to take her hand into his, "We'll do whatever you think is best for our son." When did they both grow into these people? Emma wonders as she looks into his eyes. Once they thought they could have this; a little family, a place where they both belonged. And now life keeps throwing curve balls at them. Emma opens her mouth. You have to come to New York with us when this is over. She says these words in her head, but she's afraid they'll come out wrong. She's not sure they're ready for this. Whether she is ready for this. So much has changed. And some of it would never change. Emma wants to tell him so much, but this isn't the time.
"Neal, I-" just then her phone rings. It reads Belle. She knows this is it; her heart knows it, too. They're about to embark into a new future. They just have to do this first. Emma looks at him as she answers the phone.
She'll tell him about her feelings later. About New York. And their future.
THE END