A/N Alrighty guys, here is this week's update. So I decided to throw something in for the next few chapters of the story, because you don't really think Neal would go without telling Henry where he came from totally? So anyway, here you go. The next chapter of IINL enjoy

disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time. (You all know what I would do with it if I did)

If Neal thought the drive to the hospital was agonizing, the drive home was one-hundred times worse. Every car on the road seemed to be driving more recklessly than they should, each one completely unaware of the precious cargo in their midst. While he drove, Emma sat in the back, her hand gripping onto Henry's at each stop, eyes wide at each noise, tensing as each car blazed by with too loud stereos or angry horns.

He never thought he would be this cautious as he drove, but he was conscious of each lurch of the bug, every bump on the road, and each one had him scared that Henry would be hurt. The relief they felt, as the bug turned into their driveway, and he cut the engine was audible.

The funniest thing was, when he opened the door to the backseat, he found Henry fast asleep, as though they hadn't just driven through literal hell, to get here.

He helped Emma unhook the seat, and together they carried the car seat into the house. They barely had it set on the table in the hall, when Emma was unclasping him, and scooping him into her arms, cooing at the little one.

Neal looked at the sight, Emma, a golden curtain of hair hanging over her shoulder, as she gazed at the baby in her arms. The small smile she had, as his little fingers clenched around hers. Before the image was gone, he scooped up the camera from the top of the go bag from the hospital, and snapped a quick shot, making Emma look up. He smiled at her, moving to stand before her, one hand gently caressing Henry's downy head.

"We did it, Emma." He told her, and he felt tears in his eyes again, as he looked down on his sleeping son.

Emma gently transferred Henry into Neal's arms, and he marveled at how slight he was, so tiny. He didn't even seem possible, his little nose poking out from under the blue hat that constantly drooped into his eyes. He needed to protect this little guy. He would never do what his father did, he was never gonna leave Henry alone. He looked up at Emma, her eyes bright, and he made another silent vow. He would never let darkness destroy his family, not like it did his last.

"You're never going to be alone." Neal promised. "Daddy and mommy are never going to leave you." He smiled up at Emma, still unable to believe that they had created the little life in his arms.

~~If I Never Leave~~

He never realized, how much he valued sleep. Neal learned how precious a commodity it was, until he lived for weeks, on two hours of sleep a night, because there was a small person, that demanded attention, morning, noon, and night. This particular night, Emma was fast asleep, after waking up just long enough to tell her husband, that it was "Your turn" to take care of the baby. Only two weeks old, and Henry was most certainly not sleeping through the night.

He got out of bed, and padded down the hall, tripping on his work boots, a curse falling past his lips, as he hopped down the hall, and into the small nursery. Henry wailed from his crib. Neal moved through the room, and gently lifted his son from the crib.

Henry kept crying, his little face red, from the strain of his cries. "Shhh, Henry, hush now. Daddy's got you. Daddy's got you." He soothed, and Henry kept wailing. He sighed, bouncing from one foot to the other, as he checked the diaper (dry) tried to feed him (he turned up his nose at the bottle) He even tried singing. He thought for sure, that Henry started crying harder with that one.

Then he started to tell a story, and finally Henry stilled, his brown eyes wide on his father.

"Once upon a time." Neal began, as he sat himself down in the rocking chair in the corner. "There lived a Spinner and his wife. They were very happy, until the Spinner was called away to fight the Ogre's war. While he was away at war, his wife discovered she was with child, and it was likely that her child would never know their father." He rocked with his son, a small, sad smile on his face, as he told the story.

"The Spinner, on the other hand, was honored to go into battle, for the glory of their kingdom. That was, until the Spinner received a prophecy from a seer, that was locked in their camp. The seer told the Spinner, that if he went to that battle, his son would grow without a father. The Spinner wouldn't let that happen. His own father had left him to grow up alone, and he couldn't do that to his son." Henry stared up, showing no sign of going back to sleep, and Neal sighed, as he continued.

"The Spinner did something then, that would define his entire life." He paused. "The Spinner injured himself, so that he wouldn't have to face the battle that would take him from his son. The Spinner was branded a coward, and sent home, with nothing but a stick to lean his weight upon, and the promise of his son when he returned home. Little did he expect his wife's ire, when he returned. She couldn't see the courage that drove his action, she only saw the coward they had branded him. The Spinner loved his son, and his love for his little boy, grew with each day. His wife, however, while she loved her son, grew to despise her husband. She hated him so, that her son began to feel the anger she held towards the Spinner, and feared it was because of him."

He sighed, knowing only what his father had told him, about the next part of the story. "The Spinner's wife, was so dissatisfied with her life, that she dreamed of running away. These dreams, led to her going into taverns, and sat with pirates. One night, one of these pirates, a ruthless captain of a kingless vessel, took the Spinner's wife. When the Spinner went to rescue his wife, the Pirate threatened him, and his son, should he ever come after him, and his treasures again. The Spinner, almost fought the pirate, but in the end, he thought of his son. His poor, innocent, sweet son. He let the pirate take his wife." He looked down at his son, where he slept in his arms.

He could continue the story, but as tragic as it seemed, this was the better ending of the two. "But, despite the Pirate, taking his wife, his love for his son never faltered. He raised his son among the people that ridiculed him, for his cowardice, and did the one thing they never thought he would. He braved the challenge of raising his son, and they lived happily, for a little while. Of course, my lovely little prince, that is a story for another night. Remember, my son, I'll never leave you. I love you more than anything in the world." He whispered, pressing a kiss to the sleeping infant's head.

~~If I Never Leave~~

Months seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, Henry growing bigger each day, by the end of October, (Emma had insisted on dressing Henry like a pumpkin on Halloween) Henry had given them his first smile. By Christmas, he had rolled himself completely over, giggled the most musical giggle you ever heard, and started scooting around the house. By New Years, he had begun his unintelligible babbling, and Neal swore that one night, while Emma was at work, he had heard Henry say, "Dada!"

By Easter he was crawling faster than Neal could walk somedays, and eating everything in sight, despite the fact he only had two teeth. By Mother's Day Henry was trying to pull himself up on things, and Neal got an idea. He went to little Henry, where he played on the floor, and scooped him up. Henry gave him a big grin, and grabbed his nose. Neal laughed, tickling his son's tummy, before he moved to put him back on the floor. He held Henry's hands, and urged him to try and stand, then Neal helped him step forward, and each step was shaky, and some didn't help them move at all, Henry and Neal walked across the room, something he would demonstrate for Emma, when she got home from work, and before he left for his shift at the factory

By the time, Father's Day had come along, Henry was talking with more gibberish, but the words, mama, and dada, had become more prevalent, in his limited vocabulary.

By the end of July, he was taking tentative little steps while he thought nobody was looking, and his words became closer to English. Neal couldn't believe how quickly the little boy was growing, and he would never get over the way his face lit up, when he saw daddy walk through the door. Or get tired of the way he squealed and giggled, when Neal would toss him into the air.

In August, they made a little cake, and filmed Henry as he slowly poked at the frosting covered treat with distrust, until mommy, swept up a finger full of frosting, and popped it into Henry's mouth, then the boy bounced in his highchair, and dug at the cake. He got more cake on the floor, his highchair and himself than he did in his mouth, but neither parent in the room cared, as Henry giggled from behind the frosting, slapping the table, and tossing more frosting into the air.

Neal wouldn't trade these days for anything, the only thing he wished he could do, was forget the bills that came due at the end of each month, even with both him and Emma working full time, the ends didn't want to meet. By the end of September, they were threatening to turn off the lights, and Neal needed to do something. He knew Emma wouldn't approve, but he needed to do it. The bills were too high, and he wouldn't let his son be homeless. Not like he and Emma had been for most of their lives. He wouldn't do that to Henry.

He knew it was risky, knew he could get caught, but he had to help his family, so that night, after he was done with his shift, he broke into a couple of lockers at work, and stole at least ten wallets and emptied them of cash, before tucking them back into the lockers. He walked away with almost five-hundred dollars, and he thought he might even have gotten away with it. That was, until he showed up for work the next night, and found the foreman standing at his locker, with a cop beside him, and Neal knew he hadn't gotten away with anything.

He found himself groveling at the feet of the foreman, to not press any charges, gave back the money he stole, he knew he would be fired. Neal just knew he couldn't go to jail. If him and Emma couldn't make the ends meet, how could she do it alone?

He even went as far as showing him pictures of Henry and Emma, telling him that they couldn't survive if he went to prison.

In the end, he got away with a metaphorical slap on the wrist. He lost his job, but he only got a fine for stealing. He dreaded having to go back to Emma and tell her what had happened. It was likely that they couldn't stay here, because of what He'd done. Because who would hire him now?

~~If I Never Leave~~

When he got home, he heard Emma humming in the kitchen, and he slowly hung his keys on the hook, before he walked in. Henry was sitting in his highchair, chomping on a carrot, and he grinned when he saw his daddy. "Da!" he cried happily.

Emma turned and smiled at him, but it faltered a moment later, when she got a good look at his face. "Neal? What's wrong?" She asked, concern clear on her face.

He sighed, hand running through his hair, leaving it sticking up in all the wrong places. "I lost my job." He admitted.

Emma's eyes widened, and she gasped. "What? How? Why?" she pulled him to her, and he felt her worry radiate through him, god he didn't deserve her.

He shook his head, knowing her tune would change pretty quickly once he told her what he'd done. He could lie to her, tell her that it was cutbacks, or that he assembled something wrong, one too many times, but she would see right through him, she always did. He always joked that her superpower wasn't real, but she truly had the uncanny ability to tell when he was lying to her.

"Neal? What happened?" she pried, willing him to open up to her.

He took a deep breath, before he sat down in one of the chairs at the table. "I made a mistake." He admitted.

Emma sat in the chair across from him. "I was worried about money, and… well, I broke into a couple of co-worker's lockers, and I stole almost five-hundred dollars. They had me on camera doing it, and I also have a five-hundred dollar fine, even though I gave it all back." He looked up at Emma.

She wasn't looking at him, her jaw set in an angry line. Neal knew that she would be angry.

"I thought we were done with that." She stated. "You promised we weren't going to steal anymore."

He looked at his hands. "I'm sorry, things got tough, and I didn't know what to do. They were going to turn out the lights."

"We would have figured it out!" Emma said in a hurt tone. "Where are you going to get the money for the fine? I don't have that kind of money! If you're stealing again, clearly you don't have that kind of money!"

"I'm trying!" he snapped, hoping he could just get her to calm down. "I don't know how to go legit, Emma! I've been a con man my entire life! I don't know anything else."

"What about Henry?" She asked, Neal sat back in his chair, noticing that Henry had gone quiet when Emma raised her voice. "What would he do, if you get sent to prison? I can't do this alone! I'm barely nineteen! I bus tables at a diner, and I can't pay the bills, feed our son, and keep him healthy? Did you even think about us at all, when you stole from work? How are we going to survive, because it's not like you'll be able to get another job here!"

Neal sighed, "I don't know. I didn't think about getting caught. I don't know." He looked up. "We might have to leave. I hear Boston is nice."

Emma scoffed. "Boston?" She demanded. "What about our life here?" she got up from her chair. "What about Tallahassee?"

"I'm sorry Emma, Tallahassee… It was great, we got two years, but I screwed up. I promise it's the last time. I'll really straighten up this time. I promise." He said softly, a hand on her knee. "We can start over."

"How many times, will I have to start over? What if I just want to let it all go, and just live my life?"

"This will be the last time." He promised, and Emma was silent for a few moments, before she nodded.

"It will be, I'm not going to restart my life again." She told him, and she got out of her chair, "Supper is in the oven." She told him, as she scooped Henry up out of his chair and walked out of the room.

~~If I Never Leave~~

Once they sold the house, they packed their small bug with everything they would need, and they drove into the sunset, Tallahassee behind them, and forever before them. The possibilities that Boston held, something to hold onto, as Emma watched their son sleep in his booster seat in the back.

"Things will be better." Neal promised.

Emma nodded, "I hope so."

please review