"He's not mine." Neal said after a few minutes of leaning against the doorjamb of Emma's office.
"What?" Emma asked her head had whipping up at the unexpected intrusion on her day.
"Henry isn't my son." Neal simply elaborated.
"If you really need a DNA test, we can do one." Emma said as she glared at her ex, "But I will never speak to you again if you choose that path."
"Not what I mean." Neal replied, quickly changing gears, "There is no denying the biological link, but Henry isn't my son. He is the son of two very strong women."
"Did you try ridding again?" Emma asked, leaning back in her chair and remembering the last time Neal had been talked into riding a horse, "Because you really should try to limit the number of head injuries you sustain in a short span of time."
"He could've been mine, but it's too late now." Neal said as he stood up straight, "Henry is the son of the woman that gave birth to him and the woman that raised him alone for the first ten years of his life."
Emma shot up from her seat, fuming, "I can not believe you are doing this. I should have known better. I shouldn't have let you anywhere near my son."
Neal ignored Emma's outburst and continued, "He doesn't need me, Emma. I'm just a novelty that has already run its course."
Emma shook her head, reigning in the urge to punch Neal, "I told you not to start something you couldn't finish."
"I didn't realize you were already a family." Neal argued, "I didn't know about Regina, that not only was she Henry's second parent but your partner."
"I know I was joking about the head injuries before, but if you really did hit your head I can drive you to the hospital." Emma said seriously, as an after thought she added, "Regina and I aren't even friends."
"You love her." Neal shot back with a smirk, he give Emma time to say anything before he continued, "You look at her the way that your father looks at your mother. And they are the definition of true love, right?"
Emma dropped into her chair, looking away from her ex. Her mind was abuzz with a million thoughts. Neal watched the realization down on Emma's face for a couple minutes before he left the Sheriff's station. Memories from the time Emma met her son's other mother flashed through Emma's mind, one after another. With each memory the feeling that had caused Emma to fall into her chair grew.
Neal knew weeks ago that Henry wasn't his. With each step that he took he knew even more that in another time and place both Emma and Henry would have been his, but not in this time in place. Regina was Henry's other mother and Emma's other half. Emma and Henry were Regina's happy ending.
The End
AN: One shot loosely based on the song "She Could've Been Mine" by Keith Anderson. No beta. I don't own either Once Upon a Time or the song. My first Once fic ever.
