Author's note: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews-they really make my day!

Here's chapter nine, where we learn the story that August told Neal. Or, it's at least the story I think August would've told Neal...

Anyway, enjoy!

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Unlocking the door to his apartment, Neal led everyone in, wishing he had time to get rid of the dirty dishes in the sink.

As the lights flicked on, Emma, Rumple and Henry looked curiously around the small apartment, each person trying to learn about the man who lived there.

"Anyone want something to eat?" Neal asked hesitantly. "I've got some left over pizza."

"Still can't cook?" Emma asked wryly, eyes roving the room.

Neal shook his head, shrugging his shoulders with a smile.

"I'm hungry." Henry said, and Neal opened the fridge.

"Pepperoni pizza, coming up." He announced grandly, popping a couple of slices in the microwave.

Rumple wandered around the small room, eyes trailing over the various antiques that his son had collected.

Like him, his son was out of time with the world.

"So, where's this dream catcher?" Emma demanded, wanting to get this over with.

Neal pointed silently toward the window.

Turning, Emma spotted a large dream catcher hanging beside the window frame behind her.

Reaching out a hand, she gently stroked the feathers that dangled below the 'web' of the dreamcatcher.

It couldn't be…

"You kept it?" She whispered.

"I did." Neal said in a neutral tone as he passed Henry his now warm pizza.

Seeing the question in Henry's eyes, Neal explained.

"You see, Henry," He began. "When your mom and I decided to move to Tallahassee, we were in a hotel room. We snuck in after a family had left, in order to use the shower there. And the family had left something behind. That dream catcher." He pointed to the item that was now in Emma's hands.

"We kept it, hanging it on the rear view mirror of the car." Neal finished. "It reminded us of our dream, to build a life together."

"You kept it." Emma repeated to herself.

"When I gave you the bug, I kept the dream catcher." Neal told her before turning back to Henry. "You know what a dream catcher does?"

Henry shook his head around the slice of pepperoni he was eating.

"It's like flypaper for bad dreams." Neal told him. "The web catches the bad dreams, allowing only the good dreams to enter your home."

"Does it work?" Henry asked. He knew he'd definitely had his share of bad dreams lately.

Neal nodded. "It's helped, over the years."

"But we need to use it for something else." Emma snapped out of her reverie. "Mr. Gold, if you please," she quickly handed the man the dream catcher before walking to the other side of the room.

Rumple stepped closer to his son.

"This can also catch memories." Rumple explained carefully. "All you have to do, is think about the night when you met August, and I can catch those memories in the dream catcher. Once we've done that," he continued, "Emma will use her magic to clarify the memories in order for us to see what happened."

"Will I lose my memories?" Neal asked warily.

"No, son." Rumple was quick to assure him. "You won't feel a thing."

Flicking his eyes back at Emma, he nodded.

"Alright." He said. "Let's do this."

"Focus on that night." Rumple encouraged, and Neal closed his eyes.

As Rumple passed the dream catcher over his son's head, the dream catcher began to glow with the magic and the memories that it absorbed.

"It's done." Rumple said softly, and Neal's eyes opened before widening at the glowing dream catcher.

Henry was hypnotized too.

"Emma." Rumple handed her the dream catcher and, almost timidly, she took hold of it.

Emma wasn't sure what she expected to see. Or even what she wanted to see.

But she had to know the truth. And so did Henry.

"You know how to make it work." Rumple encouraged. "You can do it."

Taking a breath, Emma focused, willing the dream catcher to show them the truth that Neal's memories held.

Within moments, the rippling lights in the dream catcher darkened, changed and soon a face appeared in the large web-like structure within the circle frame.

"It's August!" Henry exclaimed, getting closer for a better look.

"Alright, August." Neal's voice emanated from the dream catcher. "You're not a cop. Who are you? You've got two minutes."

"Think of me," August began, "as Emma's guardian angel."

"Guardian angel?" Neal repeated. "I'd say you've been doing a pretty crap job."

"I've been looking for her, for the past two years." August said defensively. "And now I finally find her, and she's robbing convenience stores with some deadbeat. Tell me again, who's doing the crap job?"

"Let me tell you something," Neal argued. "I'm the best thing that's ever happened to her. Two years? Where were you the rest of her life?"

"I'm not perfect," August shot back. "This world? Full of temptations, and it turns out I'm not that good at saying no. I'm built that way. But I'm here now."

"Who are you?" Neal demanded.

"We were in the same home as kids," August explained. "And I thought that she'd be safe inside the system, but now that she's out-" he took a breath.

"Back then, I promised I would take care of her."

"Well, we promised to take care of each other." Neal countered.

That got August's attention. "You love her, good." He whispered. "That means you have to do right by her."

"That's all I'm trying to do." Neal's voice was sincere.

"Then leave her." August ordered.

"Never." Neal answered without hesitation

"She has a destiny," August told Neal. "And you-this life-you're going to keep her from it."

As Neal continued to stare, defiant, August nodded.

"Okay," he said, quirking a smile as he started another tactic. "Do you believe in magic?"

Neal's eyes shifted as he absorbed the question.

"I take it you do." He answered guardedly.

A smile crept onto August's face as he observed the emotions flicking through Neal's eyes.

"So will you." He said surely. "Trust me."

Turning, August began to walk toward his bike, encouraging Neal to follow.

"I'm gonna show you something." August told Neal. "Something that's gonna make you look at everything differently."

Reaching his bike, August put his hand on the lid of a box that was strapped to the back.

"When you see what I have in here, you're gonna listen." His eyes met Neal's, confident. "You're gonna believe everything I say."

He raised the lid.

"Yeah, right." Neal scoffed, but moved forward to see inside the box.

And saw the picture of his father's dagger. It even included his name, carved into the side of the blade.

No one from this world would know about that…

Neal straightened up, and his vision blurred as he tried to control the emotion welling up within him.

"Okay," he said reluctantly. "I'm listening."

"There's a curse." August began. "And it needs to be broken. Emma is the key."

Neal closed his eyes.

"I was tasked with keeping her on track and you, my friend," August continued, "just got caught in the crossfire."

"Now I'm gonna tell you a story." August kept Neal's gaze. "And at the end of it, you're gonna have to make a decision: Will you do the right thing? Or not?"

Neal could feel tears welling up behind his eyes. Not again…

"So," August said, "are you ready?"

Neal took a deep breath.

"Tell me."

"Once upon a time," August began with a wry smile. "There were Snow White, and Prince Charming."

Neal could be heard letting out a breath.

"Now, the evil Queen had created a curse, that would send, not only Snow and her husband, but everyone in the Enchanted forest, to a land without magic. To a land, where all of their happy endings would be taken away."

August's face was dead serious as he held Neal's gaze.

"Desperate to find a solution, Snow and Charming went to Rumplestiltskin for help."

August's face appeared clearer in the dream catcher, as Neal focused harder on the man's face.

"They were told that their unborn daughter was to be their savior. That, if they got the child to safety, she would return to them on her twenty eighth birthday, and the final battle would begin. As a price, Snow gave Rumplestiltskin the name of her unborn daughter: Emma."

"How do you know all this?" Neal's voice actually broke under the strain.

August smiled ruefully. "My father was the one who built the magic wardrobe that was Emma's pathway here. There was enough magic for two to survive the curse, and it was me and Emma."

"So now," August finished. "Emma is almost in her twenties, and her parents are trapped, stuck in time in little Storybrooke, Maine, with no memory of her or each other."

"So why do I have to leave her?" Neal argued. "We could still go to Tallahassee, and I can convince her to go to this…Storybrooke…when she's twenty eight."

August shook his head. "Do you really think that relaxing on a beach will make Emma strong enough for the final battle?" he demanded.

"We're strong together." Neal insisted.

But August shook his head again. "No. She needs to be strong on her own, with no ties. She needs to be able to go straight to Storybrooke on her twenty eighth birthday, and if she has any ties at all- friends, family- she won't be able to go."

August stepped forward, determined. "She needs a clean break. To learn to stand on her own two feet, to be able to rely on herself. Because she will have to face the Queen to win this thing, and trust me," August breathed. "She will have no trouble tearing Emma down if she's a threat to her. And she'll do it by targeting those Emma loves."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Neal asked after a pause. "Why not talk to Emma, if you were in the same home as kids?"

"She wouldn't remember me. I left her when she was a baby."

"You left her?" Neal repeated. "And you expect me to leave her too?"

"Yes." August said. "Emma needs to save her parents, who sent her away to save her life, she needs to save my father, who sent me away to save my life, and she needs to save your father," he finished, "who gave up his power in order to find you."

"What?" Neal's eyes drifted to the now closed box.

August smiled. "Yeah," he said, tapping the lid of his box. "I know who you are."

"My father's here?"

"This is the land without magic, so he's powerless, but yes." August confirmed.

"Look." August told Neal. "You want to be reunited with your father, I want to be reunited with my father, and Emma has been searching for her parents her whole life. Does she still have her baby blanket?"

Neal began breathing hard, he had seen Emma carry the blanket with her in her bag, everywhere they went.

August reached into a pocket and pulled out a phone.

"Make the call." He ordered. "Call the police, tell them where Emma is, and that she was the one who took the watches out of the locker."

Neal shook his head.

"No." Neal said, his voice beginning to shake. "She'll go to jail. She can't do my time."

"It will strengthen her spirit and cut her ties to you," August told him. "She'll have a juvie record, which will be buried once she's out. She'll still be able to find work, she'll be fine."

"She's had too many people leave her already." Neal argued.

"People need her to be the savior." August repeated. "And Emma can't do that if she isn't strong enough to stand on her own. She can't come to Storybrooke on her birthday if she's tied down somewhere else, and she needs to find her family."

Neal stared at the phone August still held out in his hand.

"She'll hate me." Neal whispered.

"Are you really so selfish," August hissed, "as to keep Emma from finding the parents she's been looking for her entire life?"

Neal's vision blurred as tears finally escaped his eyes, at breaking point. "But I love her."

"Snow White and Prince Charming love their daughter, too." August said. "And they let her go, because of it. You know what they say: If you love something, set it free. If it's meant to be yours," August offered the phone again, "it'll return to you. Her parents did it to save her. Now you need to let her go, so that she can save everyone. You'll be free to see her again when the curse is broken."

Neal's eyes went back to the phone.

"Make a decision." August demanded. "Will you do the right thing? Or not?"

His hand shaking, Neal took the phone and dialed.

Emma dropped the dream catcher, unable to watch any more. Tears were streaming down her face and she collapsed in a nearby chair.

"It was August." Henry whispered, tears running down his own cheeks. "It was August."

"Emma-"

"No!" Emma held up a hand to stop Neal coming forward.

Staying where he was, Neal rested his elbows on the small kitchen counter top, burying his head in his hands.

Rumple stepped forward, hesitantly, and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Bae didn't move at his touch.

There was silence in the small apartment as each person absorbed what they had just seen.

"So," Henry wiped his eyes, "you really did love my mom?"

Neal slowly raised his head to look at the boy.

"Yes." He answered simply, sounding too exhausted to elaborate.

"And," Henry continued slowly "you let her go so that she could be the savior, and find her parents, even though you knew it meant that you would lose her."

"Yes." Neal's voice was hoarse as he slowly straightened up, eyes turning to Emma, who still sat in the chair, looking drained herself.

"But, what August said…" Henry put forward, "about letting someone go if you love them, and if they're meant to be yours, they'll return-"

"Henry." Emma interjected quickly, standing up. "It's getting late, and we need to find a hotel to stay for the night."

"He kept the dream catcher!" Henry pointed to Neal. "Why did you keep it?" Henry turned to look at his newfound father.

Neal stood staring at this boy who had his eyes. Slowly, he raised his gaze to rest on Emma.

"I wanted to catch a dream." Neal answered.

Emma shut her eyes again, took a breath, and took her son by the shoulders to look him in the eye.

"Henry," she said slowly, "It's almost your bedtime, we have to find a hotel."

"Wait."

Emma froze at the tone of Neal's voice.

Coming forward, Neal reached out a hand, trailing his fingers along Emma's neck, catching the chain of her necklace.

Emma felt her breathing stop as Neal held the swan pendent he had given her, eleven years ago.

"This wasn't a necklace, when I gave this to you." He commented softly.

"The-the keychain broke." Emma stammered.

"Most people would've thrown the pendant away." Neal continued, eyes not leaving the silver swan he held in his hand. "But you turned it into a necklace?"

Emma tried to focus on breathing. "It's a swan," she said casually. "It suits me."

Neal finally raised his gaze to meet her eyes.

"Yes it does." He agreed.

Gently letting go of the pendant, Neal stepped back.

"You know, you're welcome to stay here for the night." Neal offered, looking at his father to include him.

"Neal…" Emma began.

"Thank you, son." Rumple said quickly.

"Thanks Neal," Henry added, ignoring the look his mother shot him.

"I've only got one bed…"Neal continued awkwardly, "but the couch is comfortable."

"It's fine." Rumple was just thankful that his son wasn't turning him away.

"Emma, you and Henry can have the bed." Neal gestured towards his small bedroom, before turning to his father. "Do you mind sleeping on the couch?"

"Not at all." Rumple said. "I've certainly had worse places to sleep."

"And I'll… sleep on the floor, I guess." Neal finished.

"I am not sleeping in your bed." Emma said adamantly. "Gold can have the bed. Henry can have the couch, and-"

"You and I can sleep on the floor?" Neal finished, raising his eyebrows.

Emma swallowed.

"Henry and I will take the bed." She muttered, taking her son by the shoulder, she steered him into the bedroom.

"Goodnight Neal" Henry called over his shoulder before his mother slammed the door behind them.

Rumplestiltskin let out a long breath.

"Well," he commented. "That was certainly…enlightening."

"She still hates me." Neal looked wistfully at the bedroom door.

"Well, the dream catcher must have been quite a revelation to her," Rumple ventured carefully. "But I don't think she hates you."

Neal looked at his father skeptically.

"She kept the pendant you gave her." Rumple reminded him.

"She did." Neal granted, moving to retrieve the dream catcher from where Emma dropped it on the floor to place it back in its spot by the window.

"So," Rumple reasoned gently, "she mustn't hate you, if she was holding on to a keepsake."

Sighing, Neal ran a hand through his hair.

"Enough about my love life." He turned back around and went to grab a beer from the fridge. Offering one to his father, he sat in his desk chair, while Rumple took a seat on the couch.

"Tell me about Belle."

His father lowered his eyes.

"I'm not sure if now is the best time…"He began awkwardly.

"Oh, come on." Neal said. "You've seen my love life picked to pieces, and you won't even tell me about yours? That's not fair."

After a moment, Rumple nodded, and Neal leaned back in his chair, curious about this mystery woman who changed the famous Rumplestiltskin.

"Belle is very special." Rumple began. "And, like Henry said, our story was the Beauty and the Beast."

"So she's beautiful?" Neal asked, smiling.

"Oh, yes." Rumple assured. "And not just her looks," he was quick to add. "She has the most beautiful heart."

Rumple paused, thinking.

"Would you like to meet her?" He asked his son.

"I thought you said that she'd lost her memory?" Neal said carefully.

"She has," Rumple confirmed sadly, "but I know there's a way to bring her memories back, and I know that she'd like to meet you too."

Neal took a swig of his drink, thinking.

"You'd be able to spend some time with Henry. Get to know him," Rumple added to the incentive.

A corner of Neal's mouth quirked up.

"Is it possible to be both terrified and excited by that idea?" He asked.

Rumple smiled. "Yes, but the excitement normally wins out." He said.

After a moment, Neal nodded slowly.

"All right," he said. "I'll come to Storybrooke."

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Author's note: So what do you think? I know everyone has their opinion of what was in the box August showed Neal. The reason I thought it was a picture of the dagger, was that Pinnochio took only the clothes on his back with him when he went through the wardrobe, so he'd be unable to take anything magical with him to show Neal. He did, however take his knowledge of the Enchanted forest, and if he knew Rumplestiltskin's story (I think August is the origional Author of Henry's book- he is a writer, after all) then he would know of Baelfire as well as the dagger.

I think he showed the picture of the dagger to Neal, as a way to show Neal that he knew more than anyone else in this world and his "do you believe in magic" line was his way of planting the seed, saying- 'I know you're not from around here, and what you know of this world is gonna change.'

I also wanted Neal to see that Emma kept the key-chain he gave her, as well as have a little 'father-son bonding' time between Rumple and Neal, as I think I've been focusing too much on Emma and Neal, lately, when the trip was about Rumple finding his son.

What do you think of Henry's reaction? Emma's reaction? August's story?

Review, please! We won't find out the truth until February, so I'd love to hear what you think of my theories.