Only the gentle rustle of the waves could have disturb this moment. The ship was floating, slowly, peacefully, towards the little town of Storybrooke. He sighed. In the distance, the shape of the town was defeating the clouds. They were finally home. Home. He didn't even noticed Hook's furious, desperate glances from the wheel, nor the Charming's suspicious but still happy ones. He was standing between Emma and his son -their son- and nothing else mattered. She turned her face to see him and they both smiled. They were happy, and now, they would have time to recollect all the time they wasted when they were separated. Every man would be, in this precise moment, the most happy man in the world, but he felt that something was holding him back. Something tasted bitter in his happiness. A last thing he had to do, before all this trip could only be a bad dream. But the more they were getting closer to Storybrooke's docks, the more he was feeling his heart ache. He forcefully tried to avoid those memories, but they were haunting him, coming, again and again – a touch, a whisper, and darkness- at the very surface of his mind.
"Hey, Neal, is there something wrong?"
"No, Emma" he said as he took her hand and forced a smile back "I'm alright..." but the hole in his heart wouldn't let go.
When they finally set foot on the docks, no one was awaiting them. The Jolly Roger had travelled under an invisibility curse and no one could have foreseen its return. The air was a bit cold, but the soft touch of the sunbeams made it clear Summer wasnt far from memories. They had spent only a few weeks away, and that reassured Neal. Life here could go on where they had left it.
"So, who comes to Granny's dinner to show every one we're back?" said Mary-Margaret with a playful tone, knowing she would find her friends back.
"Well, go, we'll help Hook unloading the ship" said Emma.
"Okay, we'll bring every one here, then", her mother replied with a huge smile as she was walking away with her husband.
"Well, Emma... Is that a problem if I go into town? There's... something I must do there..."
"Is everything alright? You want me to come with you?"
"No, it's okay, Emma. I'll join you as soon as I can."
"Okay, then..."
Neal left without turning back. In the town, the streets seemed to have been deserted and it made him shiver. He knew tonight would be a great night. He knew a party would be organised, with lights, music and happiness colouring the town, with people gathered at Granny's to dance, to laugh. Every one but one tiny light in the distance which would be turned off. Every one but this home, retired into darkness, from where a sharp cry would try to escape but which would barely be heard by the others except him.
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed he had reached his goal, and, looking inside through a window, he saw a light. She was there. He had found her.
To his surprise, the door of the pawnshop opened and, when he entered the room, he was surprised to discover nothing had changed since he left, the last time he came here, apart from a mountain of books gathered next to the counter. Even if it belonged to his father, Neal felt he was a stranger here. It wasn't his life, it had never been, and would never really be it. With an hesitant move, he walked towards the back of the shop. He wondered what she could look like, who she could be -this woman who loved his father and was loved in return- because apart from knowing her name and that his father called her a hero, he knew nothing about her. So, when he saw that the girl, peacefully reading at the desk, really looked like Lacey, he remained voiceless. Was he mistaking? Did he misunderstand his father? But then, the more he was staring at her, the more he felt he was facing another girl than Lacey: her voice softly singing was softer, her hair fancily dressed, and the gleam in her eyes wasn't the eager, racy one Lacey would have had, but a more dreamy, thoughtful one. He didn't understand why he felt he wasn't mistaking and that this beautiful woman sitting in front of him could eventually be Belle.
"Excuse me... you must be Belle...?" he asked, still unconfident.
"Yes I am but I'm afraid the shop's..." she started, but as she raised her head from her book to look at the man, she remained voiceless.
"..closed?" Neal awkwardly finished.
"You.. You are Baelfire, aren't you?"
"Indeed I am" he sighed, relieved he had found the right person. "I sort of knew I would find you there, but you really look like..."
She didn't let him finish his sentence, as she stood up and ran into his arms.
"You're alive!" she cried. "I'm so happy, we've been so scared, we thought wa had lost you... Forever..."
Neal gently put his arms in her back. She had say "we", and it sounded so strange, but yet so perfect from her lips. It sounded like they were a family once again, them who had been for such a long time apart, condemned to different kinds of loneliness. It sounded like she really cared about him, even if she barely knew him, just because he was Rumple's child.
"Where have you been all this time? Why couldn't you come back sooner? He would have been so happy to know you're alive, but know he's gone and..."
"I know" he interrupted her, releasing her from his embrace.
"You know?"
"I know he's gone because Henry has been taken by Greg and Tamara. I know he's in Neverland to take him back from Pan. I've been there, too."
"You... What? You've been there?"
"I met him there. We fought together and now Henry's safe and we're back but..."
Belle had stopped listening to him. He had said they were back. Back. From. Neverland. Ariel too had told her he was there. And now they were back. She was so hasty, taking her coat and running outside, that Neal couldn't hold her back and tell the truth.
"Belle wait, Belle !" he shouted but it was too late. She had already disappeared in the streets. But he perfectly knew where she was going.
When he arrived at the docks, every one was indeed gathered there; the Blue Fairy, the Seven Dwarves, Ruby, and Granny had joined Hook, Regina and the Charming family. But instead of a noisy happiness, all he found there was the silence. Heads facing downwards, they had backed a bit to let a poor girl, standing in front of the ship, realise what had happened. Neal felt sorry for her. Standing there, the heart alone among the crowd, she looked like a tiny defenseless creature which would have lost its way.
"Belle..." Neal started, getting closer to her. "I'm..." but he couldn't continue
"He said he wouldn't come back..." she whispered "... but I coulnd't... I didn't believe him... I was wrong..." and, as Neal welcomed her in his arms, she cried over his shoulder.
When she raised her head, her face was distorted by the pain, the tears and disbelief. Slowly, she caressed his cheek with her hand.
"At least...you're alive..."
"There's still hope, Belle. There's still hope."
Everyone looked at them as they walked towards the town, until they disappear among the little streets of Storybrooke.
"I'm going to bring you home. You live above the library, don't you?"
"Yes but... Please, don't bring me there. I don't want to be alone and..."
"You are not alone, Belle. I'm here. I promised that to my father, before we left Neverland. I will keep you safe."
"Until he comes back?" she said, full of hope.
Bae looked down at her and smile. Even when her eyes were reddened by tears, she was beautiful in the love she devoted to his father, and despite what he could reproach him, Bae was still glad his father succeeding into reaching happiness, at least for a while.
"Until he comes back." he said, now certain that he would. "Come, follow me."
When he saw the spark of light in her eyes, he felt relieved. Even if he couldn't understand the strange feeling she felt for his father, he knew too well the pain of being separated from a loved one. So, as they reached what used to be Mr Gold's house, he let her ran into the bedroom. Joining her there, he found her curled up, trying to catch his scent on one of his vest. Her breath was slowlier, and her crying had ceased. He approached her and she sat up next to him.
"You know, once, Hook attacked me at the library. I was terrified, I thought I was going to die, but then, your father rescued me. This day, he took me in his arms and put this vest on my shoulders. Since then, I kept it in my apartment. We were apart but there was still a bit of him next to me."
"You really love him, don't you?"
Belle smiled as she put her hand on Bae's one.
"Your father has failed many things, but he has changed. He tries to be a better man. For you and for me. After you left he was broken. At his Castle, we didn't really talk about his past, but as I discovered your clothes, he had to tell me he had lost you. It was the only thing I could know, but in his eyes, I saw how much he loved you, and how much he missed you and regretted what he had done."
"How did you know each other?" he asked, and Belle couldn't help but laugh. 'I will go with him', she had said, accepting a forever without thinking he would indeed be forever with her, in the deepest, warmest place in her heart.
"He saved my family from the ogres. In exchange, I agreed to live with him, in his Castle, and be his caretaker. At the beginning, we were both afraid but then... we learnt to know each other. When he understood he loved me, he let me go. I thought I would never see him again, as the Queen abducted me to hurt him, but... Love always find a way... and he found me, in this new world without magic."
"This is a beautiful tale. I'm sure it will have its happy ending. Look at me, I thought I had lost Emma forever and now she's here, with our son. Don't give up, Belle."
"I wasn't going to. But then, your family awaits you. They have missed you long enough."
"You're right... Come with me, there's a party at Granny's."
"Sorry, I don't feel like partying tonight. I'll just stay here..."
"I'll come back later, okay?"
"I'll be waiting."
He nodded as she smiled and left the house. Belle sighed and fell on the bed, but this time, she didn't cry. She didn't cry because she knew that Rumple would come back. That even if it was going to take a long time, he would find a way back home. And that this precious day, she would be here, with Baelfire, waiting for him. So, every evening, after Belle had closed the library and Neal had taken Henry home after school, they went to the docks together. There, they sat on a bench and waited. They watched, hand in hand, the calm rocking of the sea. They watched lifes passing by, Archie and Pongo on a walk, Ruby running, or strangers, admiring the beauty of the disappearing day. They watched them leave until they were all alone there, but then, they would still stay and hope. They would hope until the colours of the sky would dance with the sea. They would hope until the ffresh air of the night would make their bones shiver. They would hope, until the sun goes down.