Getting Away From It All

Snapegirlkmf & CJ Moliere

1

Remembrance of Things Past

A/N: This was written as a prize for the winner of a quiz on my FB page, OUAT Fanfictions & Creations. It is canon through the end of S3, and was written with the following prompt—Between S3 and S4 Emma wins tickets to anywhere in the country (pretend they can leave Storybrooke) and takes Regina, Henry, Snow, Charming, Hook, Rumple, and Belle to a beach resort in Florida. Divided into 4 parts 1/Hook tries to date Emma even though she says she was just caught up in the moment and doesn't like him 2)Rumbelle sneak off for their honeymoon 3)Snow and Charming can't stand being apart from their baby at first but decided to have fun 4) Regina and Henry hang out together and Henry gets a crush on a girl

With the breaking of the second curse, the residents of Storybrooke found themselves having to deal with the outside world a little more now. Emma had forgotten Henry entered her in a drawing to win a trip to Florida. They both laughed about it then, thinking she had no chance of winning.

Then one day UPS dropped off a package from the company running the contest announcing her as the winner and her and seven other people were invited to spend a week at a resort in Juno Beach. Henry was one of the obvious choices for people to bring. The others…not so easy to choose.

She wanted to take her parents who really hadn't been able to relax in over twenty-eight years but she wasn't sure they would feel comfortable being separated from her little brother so soon after his birth. They finally relented when Granny and Ruby offered to look after little Neal while they were gone.

Regina was another obvious choice. She wouldn't let Emma take Henry anywhere without her and she was still devastated over her relationship with Robin Hood being reduced to ashes and furious at Emma for being the cause of it as her mother destroyed Regina's chances with Daniel years earlier.

Killian made it quite clear he wasn't going to stay behind either. Their own relationship was off to a good start, or so they thought.

Henry was the one who supplied the names of the last two guests. "I want to bring Grandpa and Belle," he declared.

She nodded. Now that Zelena was gone and Rumple was married to Belle, Henry was spending more time with him. It was what they both needed, especially now that the one person who linked them was gone. Henry barely knew his father and though Neal and Rumple had been separated for centuries, Rumple had plenty of stories to share with his grandson about the time they did have together. Also the newly married couple deserved a honeymoon after the emotional rollercoaster ride they'd been through. They were still working out some issues through weekly visits to Dr. Hopper.

Emma left it up to her son to approach them, thinking he would have better luck with them. She knew them getting away from it all for a week or so was what Neal would've wanted.

When they arrived in Florida Emma could feel the walls around her heart going up again. This was the second time she was in Florida without Neal and she wouldn't dare go near Tallahassee again. She could still hear his weak voice pleading with her to find her own Tallahassee…without him. She wondered if he thought that would be with Killian. For his part, Killian understood why this trip was an emotional one for Emma. She'd talked to him about her past with Neal and all the dreams they had….it was the same for him when he was with Milah. They were both trying to move on but the question was whether or not they were trying to do it too soon.

They were booked into four different rooms in the main house: one room for Rumple and Belle, another for Snow and David, Regina and Henry shared a room and Emma and Killian shared another though they would sleep in separate beds much to Killian's dismay. There was so much to see and do around the town that forgetting everything for a while seemed easy.

Also, all but two of them knew little about the world beyond Storybrooke's borders except what the first curse gave them in Rumple, Belle, Snow, Regina and David's cases and Killian received his education from Emma and Henry.

Another upside was that they all had some space between them. Being together while dealing with the Wicked Bitch Zelena had everyone on edge and tempers flared.

There was still a trace of that tension the first day they arrived. Henry wanted everyone to have dinner together but Regina, Rumple, and Killian were apprehensive for different reasons.

Regina couldn't look at Emma and Snow being happy with the men they loved while it was possible she would never see hers again. Killian and Rumple still had a complicated history that wouldn't be resolved overnight.

Rumple couldn't stand seeing the woman his Bae loved with the same man who stole his first wife away from him and he was furious with Regina for not punishing her sister for the death of his son and the year of torture she endured at his hands, forcing him to make a decision that Belle had forgiven him for but it made their marriage start off on the wrong foot. Still, they all agreed to it for the boy's sake.

Later on that night after everyone else slept, Emma was still restless. She decided to introduce her pirate to this world's night life, their first stop being the Thirsty Turtle Sea Grill. It was both adult and kid friendly but now that it was late, the place was packed with adults.

Once they were seated in a booth, Emma ordered them some hot wings and beers.

"No rum?" Killian asked her.

"Nope. Not yet anyway. Hook, if you're gonna live in this world now you need to learn to act like it. The food's great and the drinks are even better."

"You've been here before, haven't you?"

She nodded. "Came down here a few times while I was living in Tallahassee."

The server returned with their beers first.

Killian raised his glass and sniffed it, frowning. Then he gathered his courage and took a sip. It was a bit bitter tasting but good. "Not bad, Swan."

"You get used to it."

After a few more sips he was starting to get used to it. Minutes later the server set their hot wings down on the table.

"Ready for a new challenge, Hook?"

"What do you have in mind?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I wanna see how many of those you can eat without needing a drink."

"They just look like little chickens with sauce on them."

She smirked. "If you say so."

"I'm a pirate, Swan….chickens with sauce don't scare me." He grabbed the first one and bit into it, gasping. He dropped the wing on his plate. "What….h…hot!"

"That's the idea," Emma said with a grin. "Need a drink?"

He grabbed his beer and gulped it down to cool off his mouth while Emma watched, laughing. When their server passed their table he ordered another one. His mouth was still on fire.

Even as she watched her new boyfriend's first experience with hot wings and beer she found herself thinking of Neal. They'd issued challenges like this to each other constantly during their travels, getting her into bars with fake IDs but she was usually the one to lose. Neal could drink her under the table and eat anything, no matter how spicy it was.

"I remember one time Neal ate two dozen of these things while I barely got three down without having to take a drink…." She was saying.

Killian knuckles tightened around the neck of the bottle he was holding.

She was doing that more often now than before, bringing Neal up when they were alone. He missed him too, he was a liar to claim otherwise, but he didn't want the other man's ghost coming between them now that things seemed to be going well. He kept his silence, not wanting to make waves but sooner or later he felt a tsunami was coming. He ordered another beer but when he lifted the bottle to his lips he heard Pan's voice taunting him about his drinking. I'm not a drunk, he thought.

"Something wrong, Hook?" she asked him.

"What…umm…no love, not at all," he lied and took a drink. He started to relax after a few more beers as did she and she hadn't mentioned Neal in hours. It was just the two of them again.

They had the bar staff call them a cab to take them back to the resort.

Killian passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow but Emma was having more trouble. She sensed Killian was upset by how many times she spoke of Neal during the evening though he was trying not to show it.

She grabbed her copy of their room keycard and went outside for a walk.

"You always did have to walk it out when something was bothering you," she heard a familiar voice say from behind her and froze.

Her body trembling, she turned and saw Neal…or a ghostly image of him before her.

"N…Neal…but you're…."

"I'm still dead, Em," he said sadly. "But I can't cross over. Not yet."

"Why?" she asked, in tears.

"I need to be sure you're all going to be okay…you….my dad, and Henry."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"No you're not, Em. You're having second thoughts."

"I rushed into it all, Neal…and I'm not usually like that….I don't like rebound relationships…they never work."

"And drinking yourself into oblivion or throwing my memory up to Killian isn't the best way to handle to it," he reminded her.

"Don't get me wrong…I do like Hook…he's a lot like us, y'know…had to fend for himself for so many years and he could've just sailed off when those bastards took Henry but he didn't….he came back. I know he did it for me…thinking he had a shot….Shit Neal, you always knew how to talk us out of any jam."

"Do you remember when I told you about how my relationship with my father turned bad and you said running away wasn't the answer? That maybe I should have gone back home and talked with him? I thought you were nuts . . .but you weren't. You were right. I should have talked things out . . .but I didn't think I was ready and then . . .everything else happened. And now I reget not doing it. Well, I'm gonna give you back your own advice. Talk to him, Em. Tell him how you feel, because if you don't feel the same way he does . . .it's better to let him know now than later . . ."

She was glad she was somewhere she could talk to him freely without anyone thinking she was completely insane and had to wonder if she wasn't the only one seeing him. She was certain his father would. Neal's death impacted both of them the most….they were with him during his final moments.

"I'll try..." she vowed.

"Good. Because all I want is for you to be happy . . .and it's your choice about what makes you happy, Emma. If you think being with Killian does, then do that. If you think just being with Henry and having your friends and family around is what you need, do it."

Have you...talked to your dad...since...?"

He sighed. "Not yet. But I will. I don't want him to feel guilty over me. Or about what happened between us."

"He's having a rough time of it, Neal. He and Belle try to hide it from the rest of us but we see it...and Henry needs you too. At least now he's getting to spend some time with your dad." She shook her head. "As for me...I think Killian and I need some time apart...and if it works out...then I guess I'll have my Tallahassee...but it won't be the same Neal. That was our dream."

"I know . . ." he reached out a hand, and she felt a glowing light on her cheek. "Love transcends time and space, Emma . . .that much I've learned from being in this form . . . and love always returns to you . . .one way or another . . ."

She reached out to touch his hand only to feel air.

It happened with his father and Belle but she knew he could never return to them...that was the price he'd paid to bring his father back. When she asked Regina about this, the elder sorceress explained that it violated the Laws of Magic and Balance.

He smiled at her sadly. "You can't touch me, wild swan. Though I can touch you, if I concentrate. It's one of the rules."

"The rules suck."

"You said it. And you know what I've always said."

"Rules are meant to be broken?" she asked with a grin.

"Yup. You can't touch me because I'm not physically here . . .I'm light and shadow and emotion now . . .but if I try hard enough . . ." His form suddenly became non-transparent. "I can only do this for a few minutes . . . or someone will see . . .and they'll kick my ass . . ."

"I don't care!" She threw her arms around him. He felt real, solid, like the day she had held him in her arms in the woods.

And he hugged her back.

"I wanted to save you...I really did..." she sobbed.

"I know . . .you think I didn't? But saving me would have caused you to die . . . so you had to let me go . . .all magic comes with a price . . .and I understand now what my papa did all those years ago . . .so don't feel guilty, Emma. There was nothing you could have done."

"I did more than that, Neal. I screwed up bad. I...I went back into the past and did just what my mother did. I took the man Regina loved away from her...so I don't deserve to be happy..."

"Hey. We all make mistakes . . .wrong choices . . .that doesn't mean we don't deserve to be happy . . .it just takes us longer to find our way through the shadows . . .and hey, maybe this was meant to happen. As a test. Or something. I don't know. I'm not privy to a lot of what goes on up there. So you screwed up. I did that so many times I'm surprised I'm even allowed to be where I am. But you know something? You can always fix things . . . somehow."

"I wouldn't even know where to start with that...she's still upset with me but we're civil for Henry's sake."

"Maybe it's not up to you . . .but up to her. Maybe she has to learn to forgive someone who's made a mistake . . .the way she didn't before." He said gently. "Forgiveness . . . is a very powerful magic, Emma. It can change your life. Like love."

"Not something I would've heard you say before..." she said.

"Well . . .that was before . . ." he smirked. "And that's one thing I've learned . . .because I made that mistake . . .I didn't know how to forgive my father . . . and in my anger I hurt us both so bad . . .I said things I shouldn't have, I did things I shouldn't have. That's partly why I'm here now. To fix the mess I've made."

"We all had a hand in it too, Neal You shouldn't have to carry the weight alone."

"But a lot of it falls on me, Emma. I should've known better . . . he always forgave me when I screwed up. And the one time he really did . . .I forgot everything I knew and I let my anger dictate my choices."

"I've got a lot of things to fix...and I guess I'd better get started."

"Yeah and I've got a few more people to see," he said. He drew back slightly. "I want you to find your own happiness, Emma. And when you do, however you do, you'll have found Tallahassee." Then he dipped his head and he kissed her, letting the love flow through him into her. "Remember, wild swan . . .forgiveness and love are the most powerful magic . . ."

She released her hold on him with great reluctance. "I'll see you again...won't I?"

"Yes . . .they've said I can take as long as you need . . ."

She laughed. "Pretty nice of them but I don't want to be the one holding you back from crossing over. I'll work this out, Neal."

"You aren't. I decide that. And just because I go . . .doesn't mean I can't return . . .once in awhile . . ."

"I'd like that..."

"Me too . . ." Suddenly his form flickered and became transparent once more."Sorry, couldn't hold it."

"It's okay. I should be getting back anyway. Hook probably already knows I'm gone."

"Yeah. See ya around, babe. And remember what I said," he smiled at her. Then he faded from view.

Emma walked back to the main house, gathering her courage. She was usually the one having her heart broken...but now she was about to break someone else's...and she wasn't going to enjoy it. But at the same time she knew she wasn't ready yet to have another relationship, and she wasn't sure if she would be.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break;)

This was supposed to be a vacation where they could all relax but Belle knew her husband well enough that he wasn't.

Their lives had been one terrifying roller coaster ride over the last year...his sacrifice to protect them from Pan...his captivity...Bae's death...

And she hadn't helped matters by eliciting a promise from him that she now regretted...asking him not to seek justice against the woman responsible for his son's death and forced him to deceive her so that he could.

They talked it out but that wasn't the issue that kept her up at night. It was hearing him toss and turn in his sleep screaming her name and Bae's...or wanting his freedom.

And tonight she woke up to find him out on the balcony terrified after another nightmare...

He was standing there shivering in his pajamas, his feet bare, his hair sticking up, gripping the railing and breathing in frightened pants, like an animal pushed to the edges of its endurance.

"Rumple..." she called out.. She didn't approach him right away. In all the books she'd read on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder she learned that sometimes sufferers lashed out when touched after a nightmare.

He jerked his head up at the sound of his name. "Belle . . .just needed . . .to get out . . .I was trapped in that filthy cage . . .I couldn't get out . . .smothering . . ." He gasped, drawing in lungfuls of the ocean air.

"It's all right," she said softly. "You're safe now...you're with me..."

He stayed on the balcony for several minutes, trying to shake off the nightmare, reminding himself that he was free, that the cage was a memory, and he was here, in Florida . . .supposedly enjoying a vacation.

"Come...sit down...and we'll have a glass of iced tea..." She took his hand and led him over to the two chairs outside their room.

"I'm sorry . . .but I can't seem to let go of the . . .memories . . ." he said guiltily. "I didn't mean to wake you . . ."

"It'll take time but I'll be with you...every step of the way." She told him softly."And if I have to lose sleep, so be it. I'd rather wake up and find you than wake up and you not ever be there again..."

She felt like part of her died the day she saw him thrust his dagger into his own heart and his father's.

And she'd gotten him back..only to lose him again for an unbearable year...and the price of his resurrection had been a devastating one for both of them.

"I'm not going anywhere . . . unless they're coming to take me away to the funny farm," he joked feebly.

"You are not going to the funny farm. I won't allow it." She handed him his glass of tea and his anxiety medication.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Lucky for me. Another woman would have shoved me in the van and took my money and run with it, while they locked me up." He swallowed his pills and drank the tea. "Milah sure as hell would've. In two seconds."

"I'm not Milah...or any of the others. I didn't marry you for your money. I married you for who you are...the best chipped cup."

"Only you would describe me that way. I'm cracked all over," he smirked.

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. "And I still love you for it."

"And I love that you love this broken apart magician . . . because nobody else would."

"They're fools, Rumple." She pressed her hand against his heart. "They're too afraid to look here and see what I see...a beautiful, yet complicated man...just like the rest of us only we're not as courageous to admit it."

His hand closed around hers. "You've always looked at me with your heart . . . and seen something there nobody else ever has. Not even Bae . . ."

"Oh Rumple..." she whispered, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes upon hearing his lost son's name.

His own eyes misted. "I dreamed again of him . . .he fell through the portal . . . and then I jumped in after him . . .and he was lying on the ground, dying from the curse on the vault . . .and I couldn't save him . . . all my magic . . .and I couldn't save him . . . like me he made a deal he didn't understand . . .and that bitch used him to pay the price . . .!"

She felt so helpless as she listened to him recall what had been the darkest day of his life. What did you say to a man who buried a child?

Or in her husband's case, was not allowed to even attend his son's funeral.

Unable to find the words, she simply held him, hoping it would offer him some comfort.

"I...I felt like he was my son too...I didn't give birth to him but...he was part of you...and..."

He rested his head on her shoulder and tears fell from his eyes. "I miss him so much . . . when I lost him before, it was different, because I knew someday we'd see each other again . . .even if he hated me, still we'd see each other . . .but now someday will never come . . ."

"He didn't hate you, Rumple...you have to believe that.."

"He tolerated me . . .for Henry's sake . . .but I know . . .he wasn't the same boy I lost . . .it was my fault . . .all of it . . . I ruined his life . . .I did just what my father did . . ."

"You were trying to protect him..." she soothed."You couldn't be sure what would happen if you'd gone through that portal with him..."

"And now I'll never know," he said bitterly. "I suppose I ought to be glad his son doesn't hate me . . .and I'll try to do things differently with him."

Belle cursed that green skinned viper and now wished she'd been the one to thrust that dagger into the bitch's chest.

"Most importantly Rumple...you are all he has left of his father. He needs you...you need each other."

He nodded. "And I'll be there for as long as he needs me."

"And you have me to be there for both of you...though I'm not sure what kind of a grandmother I'll make."

"You'll be the best kind," he laughed. "One that's able to do all the fun things that his decrepit grandfather can't."

"Oh stop! You can lay out on the beach!"

"However...if I catch you looking at those bikini clad bombshells I will beat you."

"There's only one woman I'd want to look at in a bikini, dearie . . .and she's right here," he drawled. "Besides, I could get arrested for staring at teenagers. They'd think I was a pervert!"

"And if I catch any of these bombshells looking at my man, they'll be missing eyes."

He chuckled. "I don't think that'll be a problem. Who wants to see my scrawny body?"

She smiled seductively. "Me...and with as little clothing as possible..."

"I think I can arrange that . . ." he said with a lascivious smirk.

"On the beach under the stars..."

"Hmm . . .sounds good to me . . ."

"But...these beaches have listed hours so...we may need a little magic..."

"Magic's my specialty, dearie."

"So...before we go back home...promise me we'll find a night where we can sneak off..."

"That's a promise," he vowed. Then he yawned. "I think . . .I'm okay to go back to sleep now."

She draped her arm over his shoulder and helped him back into bed.

He snuggled next to her and soon fell asleep with his head on her shoulder, his ghosts laid to rest . . .for now.