Last chapter! Let me know what you think!
Chapter 6
Neal slept for a good 10 hours after he last woke up. I was still trying to wrap my head around what he was mumbling about earlier. It hadn't made much sense. The fact that he had a raging fever at the time probably did not help him at all. Thinking over his words in my head like a bad record, I started to piece together where his fevered mind was running. He was dead. And for some reason, he had known it. Whether he actually remembered his time being dead or just remembering his last few moments in the land of the living, it didn't matter. He knew. And that meant that he still thought that he was dead. And if I was with him, I was dead too. He hadn't even occurred to him that it would be possible to bring him back to me.
Scrubbing my hands across my face, I understood his frantic concern. Even now, he wasn't sleeping soundly. Constantly mumbling in his slumber and twisting and turning endlessly. His fever was still there though not nearly as high as it had been earlier. I kept up my constant caring of dabbing his forehead with a cool cloth and stroking my fingers through his unruly hair, trying to soothe him even in sleep. But after the conversation that we had when he was last conscious, I knew he needed to see Henry. I had wanted to keep him away from Neal until he was fully recovered, but I had a feeling that he wasn't going to sleep soundly until he saw for himself that Henry was perfectly safe and happy. Heck, I was starting to go crazy with just Mr. Panicky over here all by myself. I could use some company myself. Henry most likely missed his father like crazy anyways.
Walking into the next room where my cell was sitting on the table, I called my parents. One family reunion coming up.
Snow sat on the couch in her living room listening to her grandson pace back and forth in the loft. He had been fidgeting ever since Emma left that morning with Regina. Snow knew what her daughter was up to that morning. She had tried to console her grieving daughter beforehand to let Neal rest in peace after his death; to not drag him back into our world. It's what she had thought was the right thing for her family. But after seeing such a drastic change in Emma's demeanor, she had doubts about her earlier advice. She was just worried about what would happen if Regina's spell did not work out for the best. She wouldn't watch her daughter's spirit deteriorate in front of her again. She couldn't. Every time she looked into those gorgeous eyes that had once held hope and determination had instead been replaced with anguish and misery. She knew that look because she had had it once herself when she lost David. And it was never a look that she ever wanted to see in any of her family's eyes.
She hoped to a higher power that everything would go over smoothly. If it did, it would be the first in a long time. Listening, she noticed that the pacing had stopped and instead had been substituted out with repetitive tapping. Sighing, she hung her head in her hands. That poor boy couldn't seem to sit still. He was too nervous. Too anxious. He knew about both of his mother's plans. Sure he was proud that they were working together on something but at the same time, there were a lot of risks. Well worth risks. She hoped.
Tap tap tap.
It was worth it. Everything was going to be fine.
Tap tap tap.
Her family was going to pull though this no matter what happens. They always do.
Tap tap tap.
They were strong. Always had been and always would be. Strong.
Her cell phone ringing broke her out of her trance making her jump slightly. Reacher her arm out towards the coffee table, she saw her daughter's picture light up the screen. Flipping the phone open, she heard the tapping cease upstairs and hurried footsteps coming down the hall.
I could feel that pull back to consciousness. I felt the warmth of the sheets tucked around me. I felt the slight breeze of the ceiling fan that hung above my bed. I smelled the rich bitterness of freshly brewed coffee. Then he focused on hearing what was happening around him. He could hear laughter. Soft laughter. Undeniably Emma's but someone else's as well. A child's. Filled with fun and love. He knew that laugh. It belonged to his son. And even though he hadn't known him long, he knew that laugh. He had heard it when he taught him how to sword fight. He heard it when he took him out for ice cream at Grannies. He had heard it in New York when he bought him pizza. It was that laughter that forced Neal's eyes open.
Groaning as he tried to sit himself up, he heard soft footsteps coming towards his room. A blonde head popped through his cracked open door, her gentle curls bouncing softly from her swift movements. Her face lit up as soon as she saw him awake and she skipped over to his side. Pulling him into a gentle hug, she buried her nose into his shoulder; taking comfort in the fact that he was finally awake again. Pulling back, she planted a soft kiss on his temple before curling herself up beside him against the head board.
Looking into his tired eyes, she saw that look of confusion still implanted there in his soulful orbs. She really hadn't been looking forward to explaining to him what she had done. She couldn't guess what his reaction would be. She knew how he felt about using magic, but that was also when all he knew was bad magic. And what she had used was good. Whole heartedly good. In no way did she regret her actions. Nothing could make her do that. But it would break her spirit to know that he didn't approve of something that she felt so strongly about in her heart.
He needed to know. That much she understood clearly. What wasn't so clear was how.
"Look, Neal." She began timidly.
"Emma. What happened to me? How am I here?"
"What do you remember?" Her voice seemed to shake a little as she had been wondering just how much Neal had been through while he was gone.
"I shouldn't be here, Emma. I died. I know that. I remember my dad saving me within himself. I remember surfacing periodically and walking in the woods with you. I remember dying, Emma. I remember that. I know the pain that I felt as it melted away until I was left standing over you as you held me. I remember watching you carry me back to town. I remember watching you bury me. I remember being stuck here in Storybrooke, never allowed to move on. I watched you for weeks, Emma. For weeks I watched you break down and lose your spark. I watched Henry stop hanging out with his friends and not eating. I remember all the tears that were shed. I remember Belle. She came to your apartment. And she told you of a plan. But then it just gets all fuzzy and I don't know why." He was tearing up as he thought back to everything that had happened. Looking down as he fumbled with his hands, he bit his bottom lip tentatively as he contemplated how to continue. "What was her plan?"
"Belle heard about a spell that didn't come from your world. It came from Wonderland." After seeing Neal's inquisitive glare aimed at her, she felt the need to blurt out every reason she had for doing what she did. Henry. Rumple. Belle. For everyone that he had ever had an impact on. She did it for the satisfaction that there was something she could do for someone. She did it for everyone that had yet to be inspired by Neal. She did it to see his enchanting smile that lit up any room. She did it so that every day began with messy bed-head of brown curly locks. For late night snuggles. Nuzzling noses. Kisses on the forehead. Whispering sweet nonsense in her ear. Tangled fingers. Tickle fights. Embarrassing laughter. All his wrinkled laugh lines. For all those reasons and so many more, Emma did what she knew was the right thing to do. "Neal. I know how you feel about using magic but it was good magic. I swear to you." Biting her lip, Emma saw him contemplate everything for a second before he pulled his signature smirk. He wrapped his lanky arms around her and tugged her close.
"I love you so much." He whispered into her ear.
"Dad?" Henry popped his head in the door and smiled brilliantly when he saw his dad was awake.
"Hey buddy!" Patting his hand down on the bed opposite of Emma, he motioned for him to come sit with them.
"Are you feeling better?" Henry tentatively asked.
"As soon as I saw you I was. Thanks for that."
Henry snuggled into his dad's side and rested his head on Neal's chest. Wrapping his arm around his baby, Neal leaned down and planted a kiss on the kids' temple. Emma curled herself into the other side of Neal and leaned into him as well. They stayed like that until Neal nodded off again and began snoring softly. Giggling at his sleepy wheezing, both mother and son settled in for the night, never wanting to leave the comfort of having their goofy protector around again.
Alright guys! I think this is where I leave you. I know. Sad right? But I had a lot of fun writing this and it definitely won't be the last SwanFire fic I write!
Oh and I just want to congratulate myself on completing my first multi-chapter fanfic! WOOT WOOT!
So as always, leave a review and keep in mind that it is 3 in the morning here so… yeah a little sleep deprived when I finished this… oh well! I wanted to finish this sucker!
Love ya!
uniquelytypical
