True North
After what felt like forever after his father had left, Emma looked at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, unsure how to think or feel about the entire situation, and how to deal with it with her husband. This was uncharted territory; Neal and Emma had never had to deal with family matters before until they started one of their own. Neal had never had to step back and let her handle her own parents, or siblings, or whoever was out there for her; because she had never found them. And, after everything Neal had told her, she had never expected to find herself trying to do the same for Neal as he dealt with her father, and all of the issues that come with him. Because, with Gold, she knew that there would be plenty. She felt useless because, she knew that, if it was the other way around, Neal would be far better at being supportive to her but also stepping in when things would, or were about to, cross the line. Neal, on the other hand, was a closed book - she didn't know how much to push before he shut down from her completely. As infuriating as she found it, she had to wait for him.
Neal stared at the spot in the station where his father had been standing, and shook his head. "Not yet." He murmured, a tight frown on his face as if he was thinking of a time long ago, which Emma knew that he probably was. Luckily for them, the silence was broken by the sound of the Sheriff's phone ringing. Neal and Emma shared another glance, this one filled with anticipation. Neal's duties as Sheriff started today. He gave her a shaky smile, which she returned with one filled with pride, before he answered the phone. "Hello, Sheriff's station." He said clearly before he frowned. "I'm sorry. Henry was caught doing what?"
...
"I'm sorry, Madam Mayor, but your son was shoplifting." Mr Clark said, awkwardly as Regina observed the four of them, completely stoic except for the hardness in her eyes and the tightness in her jaw. She turned to Henry, who stared back confidently.
"Were you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Henry shook her head in response, making Regina turn back to Mr Clark, her expression now challenging. Mr Clark scoffed, walking over to the counter.
"Look for yourself." He said, guestering to Henry's upturned bag; the content of which was full of goodies. Regina glanced through them quickly before picking her son's bag up off the counter and walked back stiffly.
"My son doesn't eat candy, and he knows better than to steal." She said firmly, her gaze switching to the two other children, who were nervously looking down at their shoes. "It was obviously those two. We're going."
As she and Henry reached the door for the pharmacy, they were met by Emma and Neal, who was carrying a content Clara on his hip, both of whose attention went straight to Henry, looking at him in concern.
"Hey, buddy." Neal said. "What happened?"
Regina sighed in exasperation. "Mr Cassidy, must I remind you that genetics mean nothing. You two are not his parents and it's all taken care of."
Neal rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I'm here because I'm the Sheriff." He reminded her.
"Oh, that's right. Very professional, I must say." She said, smiling sweetly at Clara, who smiled back innocently. Neal's grip on his daughter tightened protectively; he'd noticed that Regina was less hostile and malicious toward his children - despite her hatred towards Neal and Emma, she hadn't taken it out on Teddy and Clara - but he still didn't trust her within touching distance of them. His heart always seemed to sink into a bottomless pit when he reluctantly left Henry with her, knowing the emotional damage she had already inflicted on the poor boy.
"We're dealing with kids shoplifting, not armed robbery." Emma replied dryly. When they had first became deputies, Graham had allowed them to bring Clara to the station - for the most part, either Neal or Emma stayed at the station with her while the other went with Graham if there was ever an issue. The system worked, and they had planned to continue to use it... and then they'd heard that the issue they needed to deal with had involved Henry, and all plans went out of the window.
"Well, then, do your jobs. Take care of those miscreants." Regina sighed, shooting a look over her shoulder at the twins, who were watching them anxiously, before she and Henry left the shop. The harshness in her words, along with her coldness, gave Neal the impression that this was more personal than Regina let on, and he wondered what two young children could possibly have done to the Evil Queen to make her so bitter.
"Bye, Clara." Henry muttered glumly to the little girl, touching her hand gently as she reached out to grab him as he passed.
Emma, who had joined Neal because she had wanted to see that Henry was okay, tore her gaze away from their son reluctantly and turned to her husband and asked, "Do you think I'll be needed? Or should I take Clara back to the station?"
Neal eyed the twins, who were just older than Henry, and didn't appear to be as nervous as most children would be in this sitation. They had stolen before, and they had worked out what they were going to do if they ever got caught - Neal remembered from his own childhood, having worn their expression on his face quite a few times when he had gotten caught stealing from the closest shop next to his foster family or group home at the time, and coming up with an excuse which would convince the police officer not to call the social worker. He had once convinced a cop that his family was running low on money and had gotten dropped off at a strangers house, running off when the cop had left. He knew how to spot these kind of kids a mile away. "I have a feeling that I'm going to need your superpower." He said, though he handed their daughter over to Emma before they walked over to the twins and Mr Clark, who was scowling past them at the Mayor's back.
"Did you call their parents?" Emma asked, while Neal kept his eyes on the children. Mr Clark sighed.
"Uh, the number they gave me was disconnected." He informed them before he walked back behind the counter. Emma glanced at Neal before turning her attention back to the twins.
"Did you give Mr Clark a fake number?" Neal asked, but both the boy and girl shook their heads instantly. "The why is it disconnected?"
"Because our parents couldn't pay the bill." The girl admitted, grimacing slightly. Emma's heart dropped at that and she walked over to the counter. A lot of the things that the children had tried to steal was sweets, but there was also toothpaste, and bandages.
"Neal," she murmured, showing him, and he frowned in return. "You guys are just trying to help out, huh?"
The girl sighed. "Please," she pleaded, suddenly looking more nervous than Neal had ever seen her. Neal almost smiled; she was a good actress, he would give her that. Her brother, on the other hand, was less so and focused more on his shoes, his eyes and mouth twitching. "Please, don't arrest us. It will just make things worse for our parents." And there it was, the first lie. Neal had caught it without Emma's superpower - after a quick glance at Emma, he knew that she hadn't been fooled either.
"Okay," he said finally, making the twins look towards him in surprise. "Do you want to tell me your names?"
"I'm Ava," the girl said, obviously the voice box out of the two. She guestured to her brother, who hadn't uttered a word so far. "This is my brother, Nicholas."
"Well, I'll let the two of you off with a warning." Neal told them, and they visibly relaxed. "On the condition that we drive you home." And then they tensed again.
...
The drive to the twins house was silent; well, as silent as it could be with Clara in the back of the car, babbling away in her own language to Ava, who smiled at her and nodded along as if she completely understood every single word.
They pulled upto a nice, white house. "This it?" Emma asked, going to get out of the car when the twins nodded, but was stopped quickly by Ava.
"Please, no." The girl said hurridly, before smiling awkwardly when both Neal and Emma looked at her. Nicholas watched his sister with slightly wide eyes, full of panic. "If our parents see you, they'll be so embarrassed."
"Did Henry tell you about my superpower?" Emma asked. Neal groaned dramatically.
"Don't tell them! It gives it away!" He protested loudly, making Emma roll her eyes and the twins forced a smile, though they looked too nervous to actually be amused by Neal's attempts at jokes. Neal sighed heavily; he needed a better audience.
"We just met him." Ava admitted.
"I have the ability to tell when anyone is lying." Emma told them, making the smiles magically disappear. "Tell us the truth - money problems aside, is everything okay at home?"
"Yeah, we're great. Can we go?" Ava asked impatiently, almost snapping in her desperation to get out of the car.
Neal sighed. "Alright, go." He said, and the twins practically shot out of the car. They ran up the stairs of the house before turning when they go to the door, and waved at the two of them. "You think they're going to run?" Neal asked Emma, taking the hint and driving off slowly, she nodded silently. Neal drove a few feet out of sight of the house, paused and then reversed back; just in time to see Ava and Nicholas running through an alleyway at the side of the white house.
"Drive around the block." Emma ordered, and Neal did as he was told without complaint - something which was a bit unusual in their relationship but this was more Emma's territory.
They drove around the block, keeping their eyes open for any sight of the children and where they could be. They came to a stop a couple of houses down from a rugged looking house which was a similar style to the other house but far less nice - it was the kind of house that Neal was familiar with from his own childhood - as they watched Ava and Nicholas sneak in front the downstairs hatch.
Neal walked through the house, choosing to enter the house through the front door. He walked through the house, seeing pictures of the twins with a woman who he had assumed was their mother, but seeing no evidence that the house was being lived in at all. Warily, wondering what kind of trouble Ava and Nicholas could be in, and how deep they were in it, he walked further into the house, bumping into the startled looking twins just before he reached the kitchen. He sighed, looking down at them. "Why did you lie to us?" he asked, but they didn't reply. "Where are you parents?" he tried again, speaking more firmly.
Ava swallowed audibly before she spoke. "We don't have any." She muttered.
...
Later that day, Ava and Nicholas were sitting at the dinning room table with Teddy, eating their dinner while Neal, Emma and Mary Margaret watched them sadly.
"Do you know them? Do they go to your school?" Emma asked Mary Margaret, who was pretty shocked by the entire situation, having never realised that these children could've been going through so much. Neal wasn't as surprised - it seemed that the majority of Storybrooke, with the expception of Regina, remained oblivious to the issues of others in their small town. First it was Ashley and her struggle to keep her baby, and now Ava and Nicholas - Neal wondered how many others were suffering because of Regina and her revenge plot.
She sighed. "I've seen them, but... I had no idea. None of us did."
"It's not your fault." Neal said firmly, seeing the frown on her face. "Kids like these, they're good at hidding it."
"Ava and Nicholas Zimmer." Emma read from their file. "They said their mother was a woman named Dory Zimmer. She died a few years ago. No one seems to know her or remember her."
"And the father?" Mary Margaret asked, hopeful. Her hopes were dashed when Neal grimaced.
"There isn't one, aparently." He muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. "Ava and Nicholas were raised only by their mother, who never spoke of their father. No one in town seems to have a clue either. It's funny that; the stupid stuff like your order at the diner, everyone seems to know, but when it comes to the important stuff..." Neal trailed off with a frown.
"What does, uh... what does Social Services say?" Mary Margaret asked, lowering her voice so that the kids wouldn't be able to hear.
"We haven't called them." Neal said simply, not even flinching when Mary Margaret sent him a look.
"If we report them," Emma sighed, "we can't help them. They'll go into the system."
"The system that's supposed to help."
"Yeah, the system that I knew and was in for sixteen years." Emma pointed out, while Neal just scoffed. "Do you know what happens? They get thrown into homes where they are a meal ticket, nothing more. These families get paid for these kids and as soon as they're too much work, they get tossed out and it all starts over again."
Mary Margaret sighed sadly. "But they're not all like that." She said, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself more than Neal and Emma, both of which shook their heads.
"The ones that we were in were." Neal told her.
"So, what? We're just going to adopt them?"
Neal had always been the kind of person who loved having more children around the house, perhaps it had something to do with spending a few centuries surrounded by a lot of children in Neverland, but he wouldn't actually mind it if he and Emma took the Zimmer twins in. Emma, on the other hand, was more logical and knew that it wasn't really a posibility, no matter how much better it was compared to tossing them into the system as if they were someone else's problem.
"I want to look for their father. They don't know him. He may not know they exist." Emma said, more enthusiastic. Mary Margaret nodded.
"And you think if he knows, he'll want them?" she asked, smiling sadly at the blonde in front of her.
Emma glanced at Neal, remembering the instant interest he had in Henry when he found out that the boy existed. She had to hope that Ava and Nicholas' father felt the same way about them. "I don't know." She admitted reluctantly. "But what I do know, it it's hard enough finding foster families to take one kid that isn't theirs, let alone two. It's their best shot, or - "
"We're going to be seperated?" a heartbroke voice asked them, and they turned to see Ava standing right besides them, having clearly heard every word.
"No, that's not going to happen." Emma said firmly, before either of the other two could get a word in. Neal sighed, wishing that Emma wouldn't make promises that she may not be able to keep, knowing that it would devaste the kids and her if she wasn't able to keep it.
"Please. Please don't let it."
...
"Excuse me," Emma said as she walked in the office, frowning as she looked at the name plate on the counter. "Mr... Krys-koski?"
"Kryszowski." He corrected, a heavy sigh as he walked over to her. "Everyone calls me K."
Emma breathed a sigh of relief, giving the man a smile. "Mr. K. I am Deputy Cassidy. I'm hoping to look at the birth certificates of Ava and Nicholas Zimmer."
"Alright, just, uh, fill out this form." He said, handing her a small pile of forms, stamping three of them. "In triplicate."
"Okay." Emma said, starting to fill out the form when the man spoke again, stopping her when she had only wrote down the date.
"I'm so sorry." He said. "Those documents have been recently removed." Emma frowned, a sinking feeling in her stomache.
"By who?"
...
"Don't worry, Mrs Cassidy." Regina said as she busied herself around her office. Emma stood in front of the desk, her arms folded as she watched the woman with suspicion. "You can relax. I've contacted Social Services. Turns out, these kids are on their own. They need help."
"Which is exactly what I'm trying to do." Emma told her, exasperated. "I'm trying to find their father."
Regina scoffed. "Well, he doesn't exist."
"He has to."
"Well, of course, biologically, he exists." Regina relented, handing over the twins file. "But there's no record of him. Which means we have no choice; these children need a home, so they will put into foster system."
Emma's eyes widened in panic. "Storybrooke has a foster system?"
"No, but I've contacted the state. Maine's group homes, unfortunately, are filled. But they put us in touch with two homes in Boston - a boy's home and a girls."
"They're separating them?"
"I don't like it, either." Regina said, though she didn't look half as worried as Emma felt, or that she knew Neal was going to feel when she'd tell him. "But we've got not choice. Your husband needs to have them in Boston tonight."
"Neal?!"
"Well, he wanted to be Sheriff; this is what Sheriffs do. Yes, Mr Cassidy is taking them."
"No." Emma protested, knowing that this would crush Neal. "I promised them they wouldn't be separated."
Regina contained a smirk. "Well then, perhaps you should stop making promises you can't keep. These children need a home. I'm just trying to find the best one."
...
"I know who they are." Henry told Neal. He had arrived at the station after school and Neal had barely managed to tell him the entire situation with the Zimmer twins before Henry made that announcement and pulled out the book.
Neal smirked. "Of course you do."
"They're brother and sister, lost, no parents..." Henry trailed off, waiting for his father to fill in the blanks. Neal, knowing that Henry was practically bursting to tell him, simply sat back and smiled at him. Henry sighed and rolled his eyes; considering his father was one of the most open people when it came to the curse, he really didn't seem to have any clue when it came to guessing who everyone really was. He opened his book, showing Neal the picture of two children, a boy and a girl, standing in front of a gingerbread house. Neal's smile grew, having considered that already. "Hansel and Gretel."
"Does it mention what happened to their dad?" he asked.
"Just that he abandoned them." Neal grimaced.
"Seems to be a common theme in that book." He muttered. Henry leaned against the desk, looking at his dad in interest.
"Is that what happened to you?" he asked, making Neal freeze. He had never let on that he had been a part of the enchanted forest, especially not to Henry; he had only revealed that he knew all about it, and even that little slip up had been a while ago. It hadn't been mentioned since, and Neal had hoped that Henry had forgotten about it. He had hoped that Henry had forgotten about it, but aparently not.
"I'm not in the book, Henry." He told him, trying to keep his voice even.
"I know that. I've been trying to find your story, but I can't seem to figure it out. But you are from over there, aren't you? You escape the curse."
"What makes you think that?" Neal challenged. Henry smirked.
"The way you talk. It's not that hard to figure out. So, what's your story?"
Neal hesitated, wondering whether he should lie and keep Henry oblivious to his past. It was, after all, something which Neal hoped to keep hidden even after the curse was broken - the last thing he wanted was for his father to find him and his family, telling people will only increase the risk of him finding out. It was bad enough that Emma knew. But he hated lying to Henry, he had been lied to enough in his life - it couldn't hurt to let him know just a little, not enough for him to be able to figure out that he was the son of the Dark One, but enough so that he knew something. "I can't tell you a lot." He began, his voice firm. Henry, knowing that now wasn't the time to push it, nodded, leaning forwards eagerly. He had been waiting to hear his father's story for months. "You won't find my story in that book, I've already checked. My story began years before any of those other fairytales. I came into this world because I was abandoned by my father, who liked his power more than me. He let me fall through a portal into this world."
"And you've been here ever since?" Neal nodded, keeping his eyes on the papers on his desk so that he couldn't see the sympathy in his son's eyes when he looked at him. "Do you have anything from there? Anything of your dads?" Well, there was the dagger which was still playing on Neal's mind, and which was kept safely hidden within the boxes of Neal's college assignments. The dagger which had been keeping him up all night, which seemed to be whispering to him ever time he thought that he might have a chance to drop off again, only to startle him awake again. He had started to get into the habit of falling asleep on the couch; Emma wasn't impressed.
"I - " Neal stopped, finally looking up at Henry. "I don't no, but I think you've just given me an idea."
Henry nodded with a cheeky smile. "It's been known to happen."
...
Emma heard the door close a moment before she walked out of the bathroom with Clara, wrapped in a fluffy white towel. She looked at the three children sitting at the kitchen island, eating Mary Margaret's artistic cookies - they sat there, like they had when she had left the room, like nothing had even happened; but there was something about Ava and Nicholas' apprehensive and hopeful expressions that made Emma think differently.
She frowned. "Hey," she said, making the three of them look up. Teddy's eyes widened, knowing that if Clara's bathtime was finished, he was next... While his mother's attention was on the twins, he slipped out of his chair and padded away to hide. "Was someone here?" she asked them.
Ava nodded. "The Sheriff. He showed us your baby blanket." It was then that Emma noticed the box of her old things sitting at the end of the counter, her white blanket with purple ribbon just visible from the top. Her throat tightened. "He asked if we had anything of our dads."
It made sense, and she wondered why she hadn't thought about it earlier. Throughout all of her time in the foster care system, every child she had come across had kept something from their lives before the system - something as small as a hat that had been found with them, or a locket holding a picture of their birth mother. Little things which held no significance to outsiders - many of whom thought they were weird for holding onto things that reminded them of people who had abandoned them - but they clung onto them because it was their only link to their past. It gave them hope that they would find them again one day. Even Lily, who had been adopted and had a new family who could love and care for her, had kept something which she believed was her mothers. The only person Emma had come across in their situation who didn't hold onto their past was Neal, and, from what she could tell, it was because he didn't want to be reminded of the past.
Neal had never shown an interest in finding his family, even when she had suggested reaching out to his father after Teddy was born, to offer an olive branch, he had been adament that he wanted them nowhere near his father. Now that she knew that his father was Gold, she could partly understand his reasons behind it. Partly. Mr Gold was manipulative and sly, but he didn't seem as bad as Neal had made out when they were younger - Emma couldn't imagine him hurting Neal or neglecting him as she knew the main few foster families he had had done before he had run away. But, saying that, she did know that he had abandoned him, much like Emma's parents had done, and she knew how much that hurt.
Emma wanted nothing more than to find her parents, even if it was just to know where she came from and to ask them why they had given her away. But she also knew that a large part of her would never be able to forgive them for abandoning her - and she didn't even know anything about them. For Neal, it was worse, because he had known his life before the system and, because of that, he was filled with such resentment and bitterness about it that Emma doubted that there could be any resolution between him and Gold. Despite that, now that Emma knew the truth behind Neal's wariness and anxiety towards the pawn broker, she could look back on the first few weeks after their arrival in Storybrooke and remember the signs. Neal would always glance at the shop when they were walking past it after grabbing some ice cream, he would also glance at Mr Gold when he saw him in the street, he would always pause and watch him from the window as Gold walked past the Sheriff's station, he would always move closer to Emma (for support or defensively, Emma wasn't quite sure) when the older man walked into Granny's while they were there... all those signs, and Emma never once considered that he was Neal's father.
"Did you ever find them?" Ava's voice broke through her thoughts and she looked up, realising that she had moved around the counter and had picked up her baby blanket. Ava and Nicholas - for some reason, Teddy was hiding behind the curtain in the living room, his feet sticking out from underneath it - were looking at her curiously.
"Who?" she asked, confused.
"Your parents."
Emma looked back down at the blanket. She had spent a lot of her time after giving up Henry trying to find her parents; at different stages of her life she would decide to try and find them, then she would give up, and then something would happen in her life to make her want to find them again. The first time she had tried to find them, she had just broken up with Neal in Tallahassee and had briefly moved to Maine, only a few miles away from Storybrooke, to get answers. She had given up within six months when the only thing she could find was the dinner and the Swans, who was living happily with their teenage children; that had been painful to see. The second time after that had been when she and Neal had decided to get married; she had wanted them there. The day came and went, and it was just her and Neal, with two random witness off the street. And she decided to find them twice after that; when Teddy was born and four years later, when Clara had been born - this time last year she had been looking for her family, and now she had found someone even more important. Someone who could make her family complete and whole even without her parents.
But even though she felt more content at this time in her life than any other, she still couldn't stop herself from feeling jealous that Neal had found someone from his past and she hadn't. It was stupid and selfish, she knew that; Neal didn't want anything to do with his father, and would've been happier if they'd never been within a few miles of him. But he had found him, however accidental and unwanted it was, and she hadn't found anything to help her find her parents.
"Not yet." She admitted to Ava, who looked a little downhearted by the admittion. "But we will find yours. I promise."
...
Neal honestly thought that he was visiting his father's shop way too often, but he knew that he needed to speak to Mr Gold if they were ever going to find a way of protecting the twins and preventing Regina from sending them over the townline; something he knew was going to put them in even more danger, if they were even able to get within a mile away from Storybrooke.
"Neal." Mr Gold smiled, looking up with he heard the bell. Neal clenched his teeth, remembering his father's manipulations from yesterday, as he walked over to him. "How lovely to see you. I'm flattered you'd take time off your busy schedule for me. What could I do for you, Sheriff?"
"You know everyone in town." Neal began, knowing that his father wouldn't only know about Ava and Nicholas, but also about Hansel and Gretel. He would surely know what happened to their father in the Enchanted Forest, and what had happened to him in Storybrooke as well.
"Well," Mr Gold considered, with his ever-present smirk. "Most people."
"Well, I need to find the person who owned this." Neal said, putting the compass on the counter. He watched Gold study it with great interest, but there was no surprise in his eyes. He knew that he was going to go to him, Neal realised.
"Well, well. Look at the detail. You know, this is crystal. This jeweled setting... Despite the father unfortunate shape it;s in, this is actually a very unusual piece. The person who owned this obviously had great taste."
"Any idea who this person is? Where they got it from?"
"Right here, of course."
Neal's eyes narrowed, wondering why his father sounded so gleeful about this. What did he have to gain from this? Or did he just find the whole thing entertaining? "The compass came from this shop? How do you even remember that? You couldn't have had this for over ten years."
Gold shrugged, unconcerned by Neal's tone. "A piece like this is difficult to forget."
"Well, do you happen to remember the person who brought it?" he asked, impatiently.
"Well, I'm good with names, Mr Cassidy, but maybe not that good." Gold chuckled, walking around the counter to a file cabinet. "However, as luck would have it, I do keep quite extensive records."
"That's lucky." Neal muttered.
"And... Yes, here we are." Mr Gold said, pulling out an index card. Neal waited but the older man just smiled at him.
Neal sighed. "What do you want?"
"Forgiveness." Gold replied, and Neal stiffened. Never, he wanted to say, his mind going back to the real reason he hated his father - the same reason that he still had nightmares, even close to twenty years later. But for his manipulations for the election? There wasn't really a lot to fogive, after all, it was nothing which Neal wouldn't have expected for his father.
"Fine."
"The compass was purchased by a Mr. Michael Tillman."
"Anything else that can help?"
"Just a name, but I generally find that's all that one needs."
Neal nodded; names were power, as his father used to say when he began making his deals. "Thanks."
"Good luck with your investigation." His father called as Neal walked out of the shop, feeling Gold's eyes on his back the entire time.
...
"Not possible." Michael denied, shaking his head when he looked at the kids file.
"Actually, it is." Emma shot back, as Michael turned his back on them and walked back to the car he was working on in his garage. Michael shook his head.
"Well, I'm sorry, but Dory... she wasn't my, uh." He smiled awkwardly. "It was just once."
Neal rolled his eyes. "It can only take once." He pointed out, but the other man shook his head.
"I met her when I was camping and we..." he trailed off, shaking his head even further. "No. It's not possible. I don't have twins."
"Yes, you do." Neal said, just as firmly. "These kids have been homeless ever since their mother passed away, living in an abandoned house because they can't bear the thought of being separated. Just because you didn't know about them, doesn't mean that you can't step up and be there for when they need you. And they need you now, or they are going to be shipped off to Boston."
Michael sighed. "Look, I can barely manage this garage. I can't manage two kids, and why are you so sure they're mine?"
"Because they have this." Neal said, holding up the compass. Michael turned and froze when he saw it. "Your's I pressume?" he asked mockingly. Emma nudged him warningly. She was getting just as annoyed as Neal was with this guy, but the worst thing they could do now was antagonise him.
"I lost this." Michael murmured, walking back over to them and taking the compass off Neal.
"Let me guess - twelve years and nine months ago?" Emma asked dryly. "I know it's a lot, believe me, I know. A month ago, a kid showed up on our doorstep - who I gave up for adoption - asking for help with... something. Neal didn't even know he existed until then, and we ended up moving here for him."
Michael looked between them. "I heard about that; the mayor's son. But staying in town is... It's a lot different than taking him in."
"Not because we don't want to." Neal protested, glaring at the man in front of him. "We don't have a choice."
"Those kids did not ask to be brought into this world. You brought them into this world - you and their mother - and they need you. And if you choose not to take them, you are going to have to answer for that every day of your life. And, sooner or later, when they find you - because, believe me, they will find you - you're going to have to answer to them." Emma tried, but Michael just handed the compass back.
"I'm really sorry." He said, not noticing Neal's glare strengthen. "I am. I don't know anything about being a dad. If it's a good home you're looking for, it's not with me." He said, turning back to his work. Neal stepped forwards but was stopped from doing anything by his wife, who widened her eyes in warning.
...
"He doesn't want the kids." Emma admitted to Mary Margaret sadly, when the teacher met them outside her apartment.
Mary Margaret's hopeful expression faded. "And you don't want to tell them."
"I can't." Emma sighed, leaning into Neal's side. "Because all I'll be telling them is that the false hope I gave them is exactly that."
"The truth can be painful, Emma, but it can also be cathartic."
"I can agree with the painful part." Neal sighed, finally relaxing since they left the garage. "I can't believe him. What kind of father doesn't want anything to do with his children? Dads should be there, they should drop everything for their children." He ranted, glaring at the floor. Emma bit her lip, her grip tightening on his side as her eyes met Mary Margaret's. She shook her head slightly, warning the other woman to not push the situation. Mary Margaret nodded back just as slightly.
"Maybe we can hide the kids." Emma suggested, grasping at straws. "Just until we can find a family for them. Someone to take care of them."
"Yes," Mary Margaret sighed, "hiding the twelve year olds is a good plan."
"I'm all for it." Neal said, looking up. "Do you have a better idea?"
"Maybe there isn't an idea. Maybe you just have to - "
"Sherrif." Regina appeared at their side, and Neal resisted the urge to throttle the woman as she frowned at him. "Shouldn't you be on the interstate?"
"What are you doing here?" Emma sighed.
"Seeing to it that Mr Cassidy does his job."
"You seem very preoccupied with whether I'm doing my job." Neal snapped. "Are you sure you're doing yours?" Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina stared at him.
Regina's face scrunched up in her outrage. "Do. Your. Job." She glared. "Those kids are supposed to be in Boston tonight."
...
Neal's temper hadn't improved as time went on, getting closer and closer to when he was supposed to take the twins over the town line and to seperate them for good, if they even made it that far. His anger was brewing under the surface, which was probably why it wasn't a good idea for him to be outside Michael Tillman's repair shop while the other man continued to work, as if he had no problems in the entire world. As if his children were not about to be sent away before he could even get to know them. He began to walk forwards, only to be stopped when a cane appeared in front of her, crossing his chest and stopping him from being able to confront the other man.
Neal glared at the stick hatefully, before turning that same glare onto the man holding it. Mr Gold just stared back impassively. "I wouldn't do that, dearie."
Neal cringed, remembering the childish flourish his father usually said that in when someone had got on his bad side. It had put him on edge when he was a child, and it had only made him feel worse now. "I don't need your permission." He snapped, but he turned on his heel and walked off anyway. He heard the sound of the cane hitting the floor repeatedly as Gold followed him, as he walked back down main street, heading for Mary Margaret's apartment.
"It's such a shame," he heard his father say, casually, "that some men don't want to step up for their children." That's rich coming from you, Neal wanted to say but bit on his lip furiously instead. He instantly released the lip when he felt a sharp pain; he gently touched it and his fingers were coated in his blood when he pulled them back. He sighed - Emma was going to think that he had been fighting. "I find you very honorable, Mr Cassidy." Gold continued. "The way you act around your children... you don't see enough of that these days. You'd do anything for them, be there for them throughout anything, help them with anything. It's almost like you're trying to make up for something."
"What could I possibly need to make up for?" he asked, expecting the other man to mention the ten years that he had missed of Henry's life.
He response, however, surprised Neal so much that he stopped in his tracks. "Your father's abandonment." Neal's heart thumped in his chest; he couldn't have worked it out, could he? Trying to keep his expresson blank, he turned back to the man and studied him silently. Mr Gold was watching him intently, observing him with a coolness that Neal wouldn't have expected if he had thought that Neal was Baelfire. "I can see it in your eyes. That hurt and betrayed look that I've seen for many years since - " he cut himself off, as if realising that he had perhaps revealed too much. He looked away for a moment before smirking at Neal, leaning forward to speak in a loud whisper, "I look forward to hearing your story, Mr Cassidy." He said, before limping off, leaving Neal to let out the breath he had been holding in.
...
When Neal arrived at the apartment, everyone was waiting for him. Regina smirked when she saw him, her smugness growing by the second. Neal wondered what Ava and Nicholas ever did to the Evil Queen back in the Enchanted Forest to make her this determined to cause them so much pain and suffering - or if it had been their father that had been the culprit.
"Mr Cassidy," she practically purred. "Nice of you to join us."
Neal ignored her, walking past her completely, only giving Henry a small smile as he walked over to the squad car where Emma was waiting with the kids. Emma's eyes drifted over his face, noticing the small cut on his lip, and she frowned.
"Are you okay?" she asked, quietly. He nodded, turning to the kids. His heart nearlly broke when he saw the hurt and betrayed looks on their faces, the very look his father had mentioned only moment beforehand; they looked so vulnerable and lost, that Neal wasn't sure what he could do to make it up to them. Emma, seeing Neal's indecision, opened the car door and guestured for them to get in. They looked at her, just as lost as they had done when they had been looking at Neal. She sighed shakily. "Come on. It's going to be..." Fine? Okay? She knew it wasn't going to be, it was never going to be again. She swallowed, handing Ava the compass. "Here." She murmured, tearing her eyes away from them as they continued to stare at them helpless.
"I'm sorry, guys." Neal said finally. "But we have to go." Ava and Nicholas reluctantly climbed into the car and Neal, just as reluctantly, got into the front.
"Let's go, Henry." Regina smirked, placing her hand on the ten year old's shoulders. Henry wrenched away from her, a scowl on his face as he ran over to the driver's side window.
"No, you can't take them!" He hissed to his father, who couldn't bring himself to look at him. "They can't leave Storybrooke, Dad! They can't. Something bad will happen."
Emma sighed, placing her hands on the boys shoulders much like Regina had done before her. Unlike with Regina, Henry relaxed into her grip rather than pull out of it. Neal gave him an apologetic look before he drove off, leaving Henry and Emma staring after them sadly. "Something bad has already happened."
...
Neal's mind was racing, wondering what he could possibly do to make this right. He couldn't let these children get thrown into the system as he and Emma had been, and that's even if they are able to make it over the border - Henry had been very vague about what happens to the residents of Storybrooke whe they tried to cross the town line. 'Bad things happen' he had said. What bad things? Neal didn't really want to risk it and find out, so when they were nearing the Leaving Storybrooke sign he made his decision and quickly pulled over to the side of the road. "You've got to be kidding me." He said, for the children.
"What happened?" Ava asked. "What's wrong."
"Engine's stalled." Neal lied, getting out his phone.
"Who are you calling?"
"Help."
Neal didn't bother calling Michael, knowing that the man wouldn't have bothered coming to his aid after what had happened at the garage, so he had called Emma and asked her to call Michael for him.
He had clearly made the right decision when Michael realised that who's car needed to be rapaired; the man had turned to walk away when he caught sight of Ava and Nicholas, peering at him from the backseat. Neal had clearly made a bad impression. "Those are them?" he asked, after a long moment.
"Those are them." Neal nodded, folding his arms over his chest.
"And your car, it's fine?"
"I wanted you to see them before let them go off to be raised by strangers." Neal said, before taking a deep breath. He wasn't going to get anywhere but arguing with the man. "Look, when I found out that Emma was pregnant with our son, I wasn't sure that I could do it either. Same when I found out about Henry. Same when we had Clara. But the moment I saw them, and bonded with them ... I couldn't go back."
Michael stared at the twins. "You're taking them? To Boston?"
"I don't have to."
"No," Michael said shakily, after a long moment, finally meeting Neal's eyes. "You don't."
...
"Neal just called." Emma said, walking into Mary Margaret's bedroom. The other woman had been busy folding up her laundry, but instantly dropped it when Emma walked in. "Their dad showed up. Changed his mind."
Mary Margaret's eyes widened, but her face lit up. "Changed his mind? Just like that?"
"He might have had a little nudge." Emma smirked.
"They found their father. That's great."
"I wonder what that would be like..." Emma mused. Mary Margaret smiled at her, though the blonde barely noticed; she was too busy staring off absently.
"Maybe you'll find out. You can't give up."
"I don't know." Emma sighed. "I kind of think giving up might be the best plan. I think I need to let go."
"No, you don't."
"Really? If they wanted to know me, they wouldn't make it so hard to look."
"Maybe." Mary Margaret agreed as she continued folding her clothes. "But maybe there's other reasons. Maybe there is an explanation."
Emma scoffed. "If there is, it's something crazy. Something even crazier than Henry's theory."
"Yeah? What's Henry's theory?" she asked, curious. Emma looked at her for a moment before she answered.
"Well," she began, lying down at the bottom of the bed. "That my parents put me in a magical wardrobe and sent me to this world to save them."
"Aw. And who does he think they are?"
Emma hesitated for a moment before she smiled. "Well, for one, you." She told her, making the other woman look at her in surprise.
"Me?"
"Well, Snow White."
"Snow White has a kid?"
"Apparently, that book you gave him? Not exactly the stories in the most traditional sense."
"I have a kid." Mary Margaret muttered. "You'd think I'd remember that."
"Yeah, you'd think."
Mary Margaret smiled as she looked at the blonde in front of her. "You do kind of have my chin." She joked, making Emma giggle as Teddy ran in, climbing on the bed besides his mother, a very familiar blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
"Hey, mister." Emma nudged him, making him laugh. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What a pretty blanket." Mary Margaret smiled.
"Thanks." Emma smiled, picking up her son and placing him on her hip, letting the blanket fall to the bed. "Would you be okay to watch over Clara for an hour or so? Henry was feeling down earlier so we're going to get some pie."
"Of course." Mary Margaret smiled, tearing her eyes away from the blanket. "I can wait to eat with you, if you'd like?"
"No, it's fine. We'll bring you back some pie." Emma told her, setting Teddy down on the ground as they walked out of the apartment. Mary Margaret smiled softly as she listened to Teddy ask for Pumpkin pie before her attention turned back to the white blanket, woven delicately with purple ribbon, Emma's name stitched into it. Numbly, Mary Margaret dropped her clothes on the bed and picked up the blanket; she held it to her face and inhaled deeply.
...
Neal looked over his wife's shoulder curiously as she grabbed her red jacket from the front seat of the bug, noticing the familiar file sitting on the passenger seat. When she closed the door and turned back to him, he smiled at her gently. "You thinking of finding them?" he asked carefully, wondering whether she would get annoyed if he asked to much. The last few times, she had wanted to do things by herself, and would get mad if he ever asked about it. The time after Teddy was born, she had given up altogether because he asked if he could help.
To his surprise, Emma smiled softly back at him and leaned into his side, wrapped her arms around his. "Would you help me if I did?" she asked.
Neal raised an eyebrow and relaxed. "Of course." He promised. "We're in this together."
"Hey." They looked around to see their two boys coming towards them, walking out of Granny's with boxes of pies juggled between them, more than what either Neal or Emma had been expecting but when you give children money to buy whatever they want, they take it very literally. "Pumpkin pie, right?" Henry asked, holding out a box when they managed to get to the bottom, with the help of their dad who took on a few of the boxes. Neal smiled.
"Thanks, kid."
"How can you eat that?" Emma asked, looking at him incredulously as he instantly opened the box and took a large bite.
"I know, it's weird." Teddy nodded in agreement, looking at Neal with an almost disappointed frown.
"I like pumpkin pie." Henry defended. Neal smirked, glad that he had someone on his side for once. Now all he had to do was convert Clara, and then it will be three against two. And, with that, the long debate over pies kicked off between Henry and Teddy while Neal and Emma watched the scene with amusement, leaning against the bug together as they watched their sons, finally content.
The family trailed off after a while, however, as a man on a motorcycle pulled to a stop acrossed the road from them, a large wooden box on the back of the bike. The man looked at them and got off, taking off his helmet before he walked over. Neal nearlly dropped the box in his hands, his eyes widening as August smiled at them.
"Hi." He said, his gaze switching to Emma, who he looked at appraisingly. Neal stiffened, his eyes narrowing at the man who had nearlly destroyed his life ten years ago. The man who he could pin the blame on for the fact that he missed out on ten years of his son's life.
Emma frowned at the stranger. "Hey." She muttered.
"Is this Storybrooke?" he asked. Like you don't already know, Neal thought to himself, frowning at the man he had never thought he would see again.
"Yeah." He said, out loud.
"Any place to get a room around here?"
"You're staying?" Henry asked, surprised. August looked at him and smiled.
"That's the plan." He said. "Just looking for a bed."
"Granny's Bed and Breakfast is just up the road," Emma told him, pointing in the direction of Granny's. "Another two blocks."
August's smile widened. "Thank you." He said, turning to walk back to his bike.
"Hey, I didn't catch your name." Emma stepped forwards, folding her arms across her chest defensively. August smirked over his shoulder.
"That's because I didn't give it." His eyes caught Neal's. "Good to see you again, Cassidy."
Emma and Henry turned to Neal instantly, while his eyes narrowed on Pinocchio as the other man put his helmet on and drove off.
"You know him?" Henry asked.
"Unfortunately." Neal sighed.
Emma turned to Henry, who was staring after August with suspicion. "I thought you said strangers don't come to Storybrooke."
"They don't."
...
AN - Finally! I absolutely hate this chapter, think it could've been done so much better. But, on the bright side, we're closer to the confrontation between Neal and August ;) The one thing I will say about this chapter, is that it was needed to show Neal and Emma's solidarity - there's going to be a few issues that they need to work through in the few several chapters...
Reviews...
Many Voices in My Head - Oh, I have done that SO many times, hope you didn't regret it :) From what I've planned of the story already, Neal won't be dying... I love CaptainSwan too, I just think there are too many CaptainSwan fics and not enough Swanfire... Yep, loved writing that one ;) and I fully intend to - considering they were practically family, we didn't get to see enough of the bonding between Neal and Belle :/ hope you enjoyed this chapter.
123 - Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far and hope that you continue to enjoy it later on down the line :)
crazyhpcfan - Yeah, I think the only thing Rumple has managed to do with last chapter is convince Neal that he hasn't changed much from the person Neal knew before and it isn't going to make it easier for Neal to admit that he's his son :/ Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter as well :)
yuiop - Thank you :)
- You can, can't you... ;) I thought I'd surprise a few people with that; what did you think about it? I wanted to add in a new twist, especially since Emma isn't exactly fond of Gold either, now she will be even less tolerant of him - which could lead to issues with Neal keeping his secret later on down the line... I think everyone is waiting for Gold to find out that Neal is Bae, I'm really excited for it too. I haven't even written it yet and the build up is killing me!
FictionLover12 - Thanks :) I thought that Neal needed to have a bigger role in Storybrooke than he did in the show; he didn't seem to make as much of an impact as you would've expected for the Dark One's son/the Savior's ex. Yes, that will really be interesting... ;) I'm not sure about that one though; Neal's relationships will take a real turn in season two (and that's all I'm willing to reveal, sorry) so it may not be what everyone is expecting... Emma has been on the sidelines so far, but that's only because I thought that Neal needed to work through his issues with wanting to leave Storybrooke, working out a way to be a proper dad to Henry, and (of course) Rumplestiltskin. She will be coming out from the sidelines though; I've tried to edge her in a big more in this chapter. Emma will be having more moments. The next few chapters are going to be tense, and show different sides of both Neal and Emma, along with revealing more of their past together and their feelings for one another. It has gone a bit weird, hasn't it? I've just finished watching the first half of series five on Netflix and it's nowhere near as good as the first few series :/ Saying that, I can't wait for it to return in March and I can't seem to give it up. Not yet anyway. I may change my mind after a while.
deenew27 - Thank you :) Neal will be staying alive in this version of events; I've never agreed on the writer's decision to kill Neal off, it just seemed like a waste of the storyline that they built up since... will, the last episode that I covered. I have plenty planned for Neal's future, death not being one of them - at least, not at the point in the story where the writer's killed him off...
steelneena - Lol, I hope you were just as excited for this one too ;)
Rainbow2.0 - Thank you, hope this one was just as good :D
Swanfirefan - He does; I've always hated that. The writer's built up the Baelfire storyline so much in the first season and a half, then his reunion with his dad was a bit of a let down, then he faded into the background, and then he died... The storyline had always been one of my favourites at the beginning and I felt crushed to see it go downhill :/ Can't give anything away about that but I do have a plan in mind ;) Neal's relationship with Regina is going to be a lot different from how it is in the show - as it already has been. I've always noticed that, in the show, Regina doesn't seem as threatened by Neal's presence in Henry's life as she had with Emma and then Gold, something which I found really weird...
Guest - Thank you :D and I agree, there are very few that I have found that I can honestly say that I love. It's like everyone's given up on Swanfire and has jumped on the Captain Swan band wagon :/ Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)
EH-01 - You'll have to wait and see ;)
- I will do :) thanks for reading and reviewing :)
Can I just say a quick thank you to all of those who have been reviewing, following and favouriting this story. I never expected it to be liked, if I'm being perfectly honest and it has really made my year (for the rest of 2015 at least). I hope you all continue to enjoy the story and I manage to do it justice for all of you :) xxx
