Neal drove quickly to the hospital they'd passed on the way to the inn. He helped Emma out of the car, and the couple moved as fast as Emma's contractions would allow them to.
"This woman is in labor!" he said, as nurses quickly arrived, a doctor soon after. "Please help us."
The male doctor helped Emma sit down in a wheelchair, and sent a nurse off with her, before turning to him. "Name?"
Neal forgot his head for a moment, before realizing that the man wanted to know who they were. "Swan-Cassidy. Emma Swan-Cassidy. I'm her husband Neal."
The doctor nodded. "Doctor Whale. When was she due?"
Neal blinked as they made their way into the room. Why was that important? "She… the doctor in Tallahassee said she was due in another couple of weeks." He moved over to Emma's bed, taking her hand, panic clear in her face.
"It'll be okay Emma," he murmured softly, stroking her head. "Promise. Soon, we'll be able to see our baby."
Emma whimpered. "I-I don't want to do this… I-I don't know i-if I'm strong e-enough!"
"You are Emma. I know it. You can do anything," he said, wincing a little as another contraction hit her, his hand being gripped tight by hers. He reached over, getting a wet cloth for her forehead. "Breathe babe… remember what we learned at those classes."
Emma nodded shakily, trying to breathe like the Lamaze classes had taught her to do. Neal squeezed her hand again, smiling a little.
Hours later, he wasn't sure how long it'd been, but the sun had risen just as Emma managed to push out their child, a beautiful baby boy, born as the sky turned a brilliant shade of pink and orange.
Neal smiled, wiping Emma's face off gently as the birthing process came to an end, their boy in her arms.
"What should we call him?" he asked.
Emma smiled as the little boy shifted a little in his sleep. "I've always liked David…"
David had been the number one name on their list. Neal smiled and nodded in agreement. "That sounds perfect. How about David Henry?"
"David Henry Swan-Cassidy… I love it," Emma said, taking the sleeping boy's hand. "Welcome to the world, David."
Neal smiled, unable to stop, as he pressed a soft kiss to his son's head. "You were amazing, Emma. I told you, you could do it."
She shifted a little, sitting up in the bed. "Yeah, you did… I can't believe it…"
They were silent for a moment, before Emma spoke up once again. "How long should we stay?"
Neal looked up at her, startled. "What?"
"Here. How long should we stay here?"
"You want to stay longer?"
Emma nodded. "Y-yeah, I do. I don't know what it is Neal, but I feel… drawn here. Like we're supposed to be here. Like how I felt with you, when I was trying to save you from being arrested."
Neal couldn't help but feel a little smug. This was how one got her to Storybrooke, not August's ridiculous thought about breaking them up. Also, it didn't hurt that he was the other reason she felt this way, but that wasn't the most important thing.
"We can stay as long as you want…" Neal said, smiling. "I can call a moving company and have them bring some of David's things up…"
Emma gave him a shy smile, before handing David over and tugging at the thin hospital sheet. "I… was thinking maybe forever?"
Neal stared as he adjusted his hold on the baby. Well, this hadn't been expected. He'd wanted her to come and break the curse, but… not to stay permanently. She had always struck him as someone made for the big city – Portland, Tallahassee, or Vancouver. Not a small town like Storybrooke.
Maybe it was because of her destiny.
"We're going to have to find jobs, you know," he told her. "And transfer everything here…"
Emma shrugged. "I could take care of transferring everything. I'd be on maternity leave anyway, you know that."
Neal smiled a little, but was really in shock over her wanting to stay here without him prodding at her, nudging her. It was amazing. Relieving, but amazing at the same time. She really wanted to completely settle down in small-town America. It was amazing to him that she was so… he hated to say it, but well-adjusted, especially after being bounced around so many times. He supposed it was due to her wanting to prove everyone wrong.
He let out a quick breath. "Wow. Alright then. I'll… see if I can find any houses for sale here. Or apartments for rent…" He leaned over to kiss her softly. "Do you want me to bring you anything from the inn?"
Emma shook her head. "Not right now. I think I'm going to go to sleep…"
Chuckling, Neal nodded. "Alright." Gently, he put David in his crib and kissed her head. "I'll be back in a few hours then."
He saw her smile softly at him, one so full of love and trust it made his heart ache that he had to lie to her about who he was, about what this town was. She would learn though, in time. There was no way she'd believe it now.
She wasn't ready yet, but he would help her get there. Slowly.
He left the hospital, going back to the car, ready to get into it when he was stopped by a professional-looking woman.
"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes dark with suspicion. Neal had seen the look countless times, so he wasn't at all bothered by it.
"My name is Neal… my wife and I were passing through town last night and she went into labor," he explained calmly. "She's fallen in love with this place though, and wants to move here… if you know of anyone that can help us."
"I'm the mayor of this town. Regina Mills."
Neal wanted to flinch back, he wanted his eyes to widen in fear of the woman in front of him, but he didn't. But he know who she was, oh yes.
He remembered being a child, having been taken captive by Captain Hook and his men (again), anxiously awaiting Peter and Tink to save them (again). They were tied to the mast, listening to the pirates talk. The stories weren't nearly as good as Wendy's, but they held his attention. One of the pirates –he was new- was talking about an evil queen, who had threatened a prince and princess on their wedding day. Queen Regina, the pirate had said. Dark eyes, dark hair, dark color on her lips, and an air about her that could only be considered… evil.
She was Regina the Queen – the woman who had caused all of this… but he couldn't let her know that he knew who she was, that there were other 'creatures' or 'characters' in the world aside from those trapped under her curse.
"Ah… Madam Mayor then. Quite a position," he said with a small smile, not giving anything away.
She smiled, and he finally understood why the pirate was terrified of her. The woman smiled like the 'devil', as the residents of this world called it. The face of evil. There was something hidden in her smile, a secret that only she knew.
He hated it.
"Yes. It's quite… an experience," she said, a strange grin on her face. "Congratulations on the baby… and welcome to Storybrooke."
She turned, walking away, and Neal shuddered as he leaned against the car, before getting inside and driving off to Granny's diner.
"Neal, right?" Ruby asked as soon as he'd entered the diner.
He nodded. "That's right."
"Is everything alright? Granny said you guys were gone all night…" She had a worried look on her face as she set down a cup of coffee in front of him. "And you look awful."
Smiling a little, Neal raised the cup of coffee to his lip and took a drink, thankful that it wasn't as awful as the hospital's. "Emma went into labor last night… she had the baby this morning."
Ruby smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations! What did you have?"
"It's a boy. We named him David… and it seems he's already calling the shots in the family."
The waitress gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"
He grinned a little, leaning back in the booth. "Emma has decided she's had enough of the big city. She wants to settle down here."
Ruby stared at him, clearly confused as to why someone would want to settle down in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and a man in Tallahassee woke up to a screaming pain in his foot…
