1. Operation SwanFire

"So Operation Praying Mantis is back on," Henry said with a new found sense of buoyancy.

Emma, her parents, and Regina, after deciding to go after Tamara and Greg had continued to talk for the next few minutes.

They turned to see Henry standing on the stairs with his book in hand.

Emma stood up and went toward him. When was she ever gonna stop being surprised when he snuck up on her like that? Probably never she thought.

"I thought you were upstairs," she said to the boy.

"I was but it's a small apartment and I hear everything."

The kid had a point.

"I'm sorry," said Regina, "What's Operation Praying Mantis?"

"That's right," said Henry, "You don't know." Henry looked up at Emma unsure if he could tell his other mom or not.

"It's up to you Henry," said Emma.

"I guess it's okay," he said. "It does affect all of us." He turned to Regina. "Operation Praying Mantis is our mission to keep Storybrooke safe and keep it a secret which basically means keeping an eye on Tamara."

"And Greg now too," said Regina.

"Yeah."

Henry thought over for a moment and then looked at Emma, "Although I think we need a sub mission."

"What sub mission?" asked Emma.

"A new mission to get dad back and to get the two of you back together," he said nonchalantly as if Neal wasn't dead at all but just missing and as if Neal and Emma had been together all along. "I'm thinking of either calling it Operation SwanThief or Operation SwanFire since your last name is Swan and dad's name has the word 'Fire' in it. Maybe SwanThief should just be referred to your lives in this world. SwanFire can be related to dad's other life and since he did go to another world it works better."

"Woah Henry, slow down," said Emma. "There's not going to be a new mission okay. I know you want to believe Neal is alive but-,"

"He is! You should know that more than anyone."

"Why is that?"

"Because you two belong together," said Henry. "Just like Mary Margaret and David. When my mom poisoned grams with the apple gramps knew what had happened to her, he felt it. And when the two of you were trapped in the Enchanted Forest gramps knew that grandma was still alive because he could feel it."

"Henry I just don't know if it works that way with me and Neal."

"It does," Henry persisted. "You and dad found each other the first time. You're both from the Enchanted Forest. Do you really think that was a coincidence?"

Emma shook her head and smiled despite her tears, "You're starting to sound like your father," she said thinking back to that time in Manhattan when Emma had asked Neal if he thought them meeting was coincidence.

At the time Emma did want to believe that that was all it was, just coincidence and nothing more. Ever since Neal had been back she had tried to convince herself as much too but she couldn't, not when there was too much surrounding them: she the prophesized savior and he the son of the Dark One. Neal had been the reason the curse was created in the first place and she had been the only one who could break it. It may not have been in Gold's plan to get them together but maybe by forces greater than them as Neal had said.

"You know I'm right," said Henry.

Emma looked up at her parents. They could see in her eyes that she was conceding to her son. She returned her attention to Henry.

"You're too smart for your own good you know that?" Henry smiled and she sighed. "Let's say you are right and Neal is alive."

"Which he is," said Henry.

"We can't expect to find him."

Regina took a step forward, "Maybe we can." Emma looked at Regina as did the rest of her family, "If Henry is right and I rarely like to admit it," she said giving him a look which quickly turned into a small smile, "Then like your parents you and Neal are linked."

"We don't even know which world he went to," said Emma.

"Maybe not but here's the thing about true love miss Swan, something you should know if you read your parents story: true love always finds each other. You two fell in love the first time, you found him later in Manhattan. Finding him now shouldn't be so difficult if you embrace it which by the pain you've been through shows that you have. Whatever world Neal is in, that's the world you'll be taken to."

"How we don't even have any way of finding him."

"We don't," said Regina, "but-,"

Mary Margaret turned to Emma, "Tamara and Greg do. They still have a few beans left."

For the first time during their conversation Emma's eyes began to light up. "So if we can get to them and get those beans then we can find our way to Neal." Emma turned to Regina and crossed her arms, "Why would you help us like this?"

"Because despite our differences Miss Swan we all have one thing in common here and that's Henry and if what he wants is you and his father together then the least I can do is honor that after all that I've done." She sighed, "I can see now that there is no way of having my son to myself the way it used to be so maybe we could try to work together."

Emma simply nodded and that was all it took for her and Regina to reach some form of understanding.