'He's here,' Emma said, feeling a little bad for forcing him into this now that she saw how tense he was at the thought of seeing his father. 'This means nothing.'

Neal looked at her curiously once again as she made her way towards him. Standing on her toes, she wrapped her arms tightly round his neck, hoping she still had the same calming effect over him that she used to. She felt his shoulders relax as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and bent his head onto her shoulder.

He pulled back after a little while, still giving her that look, and Emma shrugged, 'you looked like you needed it.'

'What I need is alcohol,' Neal corrected with a glimpse of the grin she used to and still did, if she allowed herself to admit it, love so much, 'but I'll take a hug from you any day.'

Emma rolled her eyes as he pushed the apartment door open and stepped inside before she followed him.

Rumplestiltskin was sitting by the window staring down at the road and seemed to be so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed their entrance.

'Gold,' Emma said, walking over and shaking his shoulder.

'Princess,' he said respectively, nodding his head slightly.

Emma pulled a face back at Neal, who actually laughed at her discomfort with the name, but then grimaced himself when he realize he'd just brought his father's attention to him. Emma disappeared into the next room, which turn out to be a small kitchen, to give them privacy and to protect herself if Neal started throwing things at his father but she could still hear them.

'Bae?' she heard Rumplestiltskin almost whisper, she didn't hear Neal answer but he must have nodded or something because Rumplestiltskin continued speaking. 'Baelfire, my boy.'

'You have two minutes,' Neal said harshly but surprisingly calm and Emma could almost picture the hurt on Rumplestiltskin's face causing her to feel slightly bad for him, maybe she should have stayed in there to keep Neal slightly politer but then she remembered what Rumplestiltskin had done to her family not to mention other people. 'I don't want to talk to you; I don't want to see you; so say your piece and get out my apartment.'

'Bae,' Rumplestiltskin said pleadingly. 'I made a mistake, please, allow me to remedy it.'

'You wanna try and make up for growing up in a world I had no idea about alone?' Neal said sharply. 'That's not possible and don't you even think about suggesting magic. I want nothing more to do with magic.'

There was a prolonged silence in which Emma was beginning to get antsy and she couldn't help but think that, if he was ever going to meet his son, he was going to have to put up with the magic of Storybrooke.

'I just want to start over.'

'It's not happening,' Neal laughed although there was no humour in his voice.

'At least here me out, Bae, please,' Rumplestiltskin said heavily seeming to already resign himself to the fact that his son hated him which surprised Emma emensly.

'I told you, you had two minutes,' Neal reminded him. 'So get talking because the clocks ticking.'

'I knew I made a mistake, I knew it the moment the portal closed but I couldn't get to you and I couldn't take it back,' Rumplestiltskin's words poured out his mouth. 'I've been trying to get back to you ever since, I created the curse –'

'You created the curse!' Neal yelled angrily, finally snapping and causing Emma to grimace. 'You cursed all these innocent people!'

'To find you,' Rumplestiltskin reminded him as though it would make Neal happier but it just caused Emma to shake her head sadly knowing that wouldn't have the effect he wished for.

'They were still innocent!' Neal reminded his father. 'You ruined their lives and still, amazingly - that's a real talent you have there, by the way - managed to ruin mine as well.'

'What do mean?' Rumplestiltskin asked warily, although Emma had frozen in the kitchen having an idea what Neal was talking about.

'I may have been parentless in this world, my life may have been crap,' Emma could almost see Neal running a hand through his hair as he always did when he got nervous, antsy or angry, 'but I'd finally found happiness and your fucking curse wrecked that.'

'Bae, what are you on about?' Rumplestiltskin obviously didn't like not knowing something.

'Emma!' Neal yelled and Emma could see from the kitchen Rumplestiltskin freeze in shock at his sons' words. 'You abandon me, cursed innocent people and made the person I love more than anything their saviour - I wonder how many lives ruined by you that adds up to.'

Neither of them said anything for a while and Emma was beginning to get impatient as well as worried. A silent Neal wasn't usually a good thing, meaning he was usually brooding or planning.

As she began edging out of the kitchen, Rumplestiltskin's voice floated in.

'Princess, why don't you get out here and stop hiding in the kitchen.'

Emma bristled and stormed her way out into the main area, standing in the doorway.

'I wasn't hiding, thank you very much,' she snapped causing Neal to smirk over at her.

Rumplestiltskin, however, didn't find her response very amusing, 'you two know each other. How?'

Emma looked at Neal and said nothing whilst biting her lip. This was his father, he could explain, she wasn't going to get involved when it could make their relationship worse than it already was.

'I already told you or are you too caught up in what you want that you failed to understand,' Neal growled and Emma placed a, hopefully calming, hand on his arm.

'If you must know,' Emma said, far calmer than Neal, 'we were in love.'

'In love?' Rumplestiltskin repeated.

'Yeah,' Neal replied. 'You know that thing that you feel for someone, that makes you put their needs above your own happiness and that you can be completely yourself around. I wouldn't expect you to understand-'

'Neal,' Emma warned gently, thinking of Belle sitting in the hospital with no memories at all.

'You were in love.'

Rumplestiltskin's obvious shock at this made Emma feel a little better about the whole situation. At least this wasn't in his plan; that he hadn't somehow made her and Neal meet and fall in love because she wouldn't be able to take it if it had been. It seemed she had no control over her life anymore and that would probably have tipped her over the edge.

'Yeah,' Neal said and he squeezed Emma's hand, shocking her as she hadn't realized that the hand she had placed on his arm had slowly slid down and into his grasp, 'and you're freaking lucky that I did and still do love her or this would be the last you'd ever see of me.'

'You're still –' Rumplestiltskin began hoarsely but Neal had turned to Emma, who was staring at him confused.

'I wanna meet him,' he said, holding her gaze. 'I want to meet Henry and I wan-need you to forgive me.'

'You can meet Henry,' Emma nodded, speaking softer than she usually did and slipping her hand out of him, feeling immediately cold once she did, ' you're his father, you both deserve that … but you're going to have to wait on the forgiveness part.'

Neal nodded heavily, 'I get that.'

'Wait, wait, wait,' Rumplestiltskin said, holding up one hand, seeming a whole lot happier than a moment ago, and, sighing, both Emma and Neal turned back to him. 'You want to come with us?'

'I want to meet my son,' Neal nodded, causing Rumplestiltskin's eyes to bulge once again.

'Your son?' he repeated as his gaze flickered between his own son and Emma. 'Henry is your son.'

'Apparently,' Neal replied for the first time civil with his father as he chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his hair.

'He's a good kid,' Rumplestiltskin nodded, causing Neal to raise his eyebrows and Emma to smile, 'bit of a troublemaker-'

'Gets that from his father,' Emma grinned cheekily at Neal.

'Yeah, right, car thief,' Neal chuckled, raising his eyebrows as he said the last two words.

'Pervert,' Emma shot back as Rumplestiltskin watched them with amusement and Neal face broke into a large grin

'Anyway!' Rumplestiltskin said loudly as Neal opened his mouth to reply, 'how about we fly back tomorrow?'

'Sounds good to me,' Emma shrugged, looking at Neal, who nodded his head.

'Yeah, okay.'

Not the best chapter ever but yeah and thanks for the review.

I hope you like this chapter more than I do and please review x