Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Once Upon a Time. I am not making money off of this story. I am an unapologetic August W. Booth fan (Booth Babe) and Wooden Swan Shipper.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Emma shouted as she entered Gold's shop.

Mr. Gold, no – Rumplestiltskin, didn't seem the least bit fazed. "Ah, Ms. Swan. So lovely to see you today."

The smile on his face just made her sick to her stomach. "How could you do it?"

"How could I do it?" Mr. Gold seemed astonished by her reaction. "You're someone I thought who would be relieved."

"Relieved? What you did was just sick! You had no right!"

"Oh now really Emma, you and I both know Regina got what she deserved."

They'd gotten there just in time to prevent the mob from killing Regina. They decided it was best to take her to jail – both for punishment and for her own safety. Not surprisingly, Regina wasn't happy about that. But Emma didn't have the time for Regina's crap.

Leaving her alone, however, proved to be a mistake. Rumplestiltskin, wanting to take revenge for what she did to Belle, marked her as a target for a wraith he then set out. Not only did it leave the town a mess, but the four of them – Mary Margaret, David, Emma, and Henry – did not get to Regina in time. The wraith had sucked out her soul.

"It's more than just about what Regina deserves! This affects Henry too."

"Oh so you're not disagreeing with me then?" he replied, noticing that she hadn't actually contradicted him.

Emma ignored the question. "Henry is devastated! I'll never forget the look on his face when we found Regina lying on the floor like that. He cried all night. In spite of everything, he still loved her."

Mr. Gold scoffed. "With a mother like that, he's probably better off without her."

Emma didn't think her temper could rise any higher. "I could kill you for what you've done to him!"

"Ah yes, the things that we would do for our children. Perfect segue. It's why I created this curse in the first place."

Segue? What was he…no. If Neal was Rumplestiltskin's son, than Henry was his grandson. This can't be happening…"What do you know about parenting?" She asked uneasily.

"More than you realize." For the first time since she came to this town, Emma saw genuine sadness behind Gold's eyes.

"What are you getting at?"

He looked her straight in the eye. "It's time for me to call in that favor you owe me."

Emma shook her head incredulously. "Oh! No way!" She stepped back, throwing her hands in the air.

"Now, Ms. Swan, we had a deal…"

An idea suddenly came to Emma. "You're right. We did. I should haul your ass to jail for going after Regina like that. But I won't. Consider this your favor - I let you get away with it and you get to live your life in peace. We are even!"

She stormed out of the shop, managing to catch a glimpse of Gold's stunned and defeated expression.

She won.