A/N: Thank you phantom's love for your review and to everyone who followed and favorited.

To answer your questions: Regina is not special. It's cannon that she needed some kind of catalyst to be able to use her powers, even after spending days trying to access them. She used her mother's spell book in Season 2, but there was no way Rumple would give her that in this timeline, so I needed to think of something else. Rumple getting shot was a different matter entirely. He'd have been able to use his powers just fine with a few hours of meditation and focus, but because his life was in danger, his powers came back in an instantaneous rush. Neither of these events are any reflection of how much I like either of these characters.

Regarding Bae, he has not forgotten these past few months (if he had, he would have taken Emma up on her offer of protection and tried to get Belle to come with him), but, in addition to the fact that he is extremely traumatized (he remembered, among other things, his father murdering someone right in front of him while he begged for the man's life), Rumple didn't have magic for those three months. Bae (quite reasonably) blames magic for what his father became; he doesn't know what effect it will have on him now.

Complications

Chapter 10: Parents and Children

~Catspook

"What?" Rumplestiltskin demanded testily. He'd been inclined to ignore the ringing of his phone considering the late (or, rather, early) hour, but there were too many possible things that could have gone wrong (like the Shadow appearing) for him to take the risk. Especially when Emma was the one calling.

"Regina's escaped her cell."

Rumplestiltskin sighed and flopped down on his back next to Belle. "Is that all? I told you she would, eventually. Unless she's burning a path of destruction through downtown, I'm not interested."

"I'm surprised you'd be interested then."

"My deal with Bae means I cannot start a fight with her; I am, however, allowed to finish one. Is she attacking anyone?"

"No. We don't know where she is."

"Then goodnight, Miss Swan. Call me if she starts causing trouble."

"Wait! That book you gave her-"

"Was a repair manual. An ordinary repair manual. I did not help her escape, and if the book did, take it up with Mr. Booth." He hung up.

Belle was frowning at him. "Regina escaped?"

Rumplestiltskin's expression immediately softened, and he reached out for her. "Even at the height of her power, she was no match for me, my dear; she cannot hurt you." He tried to pull her close, but she stopped him, holding his gaze.

"What about Henry?"

"I assume he is sleeping, safe behind the blood wards Miss Swan erected."

"They'll keep her out?"

He nodded. "They are very strong. You can go back to sleep, sweetheart."

She cuddled up to him, but he could feel the tense lines of her body.

You're lucky, Regina, that Bae is as softhearted as he is. So very, very lucky.

"Bae," Papa said cautiously over breakfast.

"Yeah?" Bae asked, not looking up. He knew that they had to talk, but he kept putting it off. He hoped (and feared) that Papa was taking the initiative now.

"Emma called me last night. Regina has regained her powers, and escaped the jail."

"You said she would."

"Yes. What are… your plans for today?"

"I'm going with Belle again. I want to start doing my run again, too," he said, challengingly.

But Papa just nodded. "I thought you might. I will call Mr. Dove, and tell him to meet you at the library at eleven."

"That's… it?"

"I have some assignments for you to do while you're at the library. We could… review them tonight?"

Bae poked at his eggs. "Fine," he muttered. Maybe he'll have worked up enough courage to actually talk to him by then.

It was decided that the best way to protect Henry from a now free Regina was for Mary Margaret to go back to teaching. On one hand, Henry hadn't liked the idea of his mom in jail, and he was happy to have Mary Margret back as his teacher, but on the other, he was afraid his mom was going to do something that would make the whole situation worse. She'd already brought back the magic, after all, and told Mr. Glass to kill Mr. Gold while he did it. Henry had been hoping that after the curse broke, she'd see Rumplestiltskin trying to be a better person and do the same, but so far she'd only made things worse.

Henry had also been hoping that the curse breaking would take everyone (including him) to the Enchanted Forest, but it turned out that they needed the Sorcerer (or the Apprentice) for that. Henry had been thinking a lot about that, but he didn't have any ideas yet on how to find them. He knew they would, eventually, but Henry was getting just a little bit impatient with this whole happy ending thing.

And then there was Pan. It was weird to think that someone he'd always thought of as a good guy wanted his heart, but then he'd always thought the Blue Fairy was a good guy too. It seemed that not only could villains stop being villains, but also people he'd always thought were heroes might have been villains the whole time. It was confusing. At least he'd gotten to see Emma cast magic, which was the coolest thing ever, but she hadn't seemed to think so. For now, it seemed like she, and everyone else, was just trying to get back to life as usual, which Henry thought was kind of disappointing, but at least people knew now, which made everything easier. He could talk about magic at recess now, and the other kids did too.

"Queen Snow?"

"Oh, you don't have to call me that, Molly. When I'm at school, I'm still Miss Blanchard."

"You're married."

"Ms., then. What can I help you with?"

"Now that magic is here, will the ogres come?"

"Oh, no, Molly. The ogres are all back in the Enchanted Forest; they can't get here."

"And what about when we go back?"

"Then we'll fight them, like we always have."

"I heard the only person who has ever ended an Ogre War is the Dark One, is that true?"

"Technically, yes, but that does not mean that he is the only one who can." Of course not! We'll fight the ogres, and we'll win too!

But it wouldn't hurt to get some spells from Rumplestiltskin before we go.

Henry was so caught up thinking about ogres that he wasn't the first to notice the purple smoke. "Henry, get behind me!" Mary Margaret shouted, but Mom was already standing right in front of him. The other kids ran.

"Hello, Henry," Mom said. She didn't sound like Mom. She sounded like the Evil Queen.

Mary Margaret charged, and Mom threw a fireball at her. She ducked and rolled out of the way. Mom made another gesture, and Mary Margaret froze, like she'd been turned into a statue. "Stop!" Henry shouted, "Leave her alone!"

"As long as she leaves us alone," Mom said, "Why don't I take you home early today? We can get ice cream."

"No!"

She frowned. "I'm not asking, Henry, I'm telling."

"Let Mary Margret go!"

"I will if you come with me."

"You promise?"

"Don't, Henry!" It was Bae. He was running towards them, Mr. Dove running behind. Mom smiled cruelly, and threw a fireball right at Bae. He ducked like Mary Margaret had. "Don't go with her!"

"This is none of your business," she said, and a tree came to life, grabbing for Bae and Mr. Dove.

"Stop!" Henry begged, "I'll go with you, just let them go; let them all go!"

"Don't!" Bae shouted again, dodging the tree. A limb swiped at him, but bounced off, as there was a force field there.

"What?" Bae asked, and the tree then turned back to normal, letting go of Mr. Dove's arm.

"That was unwise, dearie," Mr. Gold said, having appeared just behind Mom. Then he flicked his hand, and Mom was thrown and pinned to the ground by an invisible force. It looked like he was hurting her.

"Mom!"

"Stop!" Bae shouted, "We have a deal!"

Mr. Gold growled, and Mom gasped in pain, but he asked, "Have I stopped you, dearie?"

"Yes," she said, panting. "For now."

Scowling, Mr. Gold stepped back. He flicked his hand again, and both Mom and Mary Margaret were able to move. Mary Margaret ran to Henry and pulled him back. "Stand behind me, Henry."

"No, wait!" Mom said.

"Just get out of here!" Bae warned her, "Before he changes his mind!"

"I suggest you do, Regina," Mr. Gold said. "Or else I might conclude that you lied to me, and that will not end well for you."

"You can't keep him from me forever!"

Mr. Gold laughed, and it was not a nice sound. "That's were you're wrong, dearie. I have forever; you don't."

"Mom, please," Henry said, "I don't want you to hurt anyone, and I don't want him to hurt you either! Just stop all of this! Leave everyone alone!"

She looked angry, but she looked sad too. "Henry…"

"Just leave, Regina," Mary Margret said, "Before anyone else gets hurt. Especially Henry."

"I can protect him!"

"Not from you," Bae said, "Not from magic."

"Listen to him, Regina," Mary Margret said. "Turning his schoolyard into a battleground is not what's best for Henry. Neither is making him watch Rumplestiltskin hurt you."

"I just want to talk to him!"

"Liar," Mr. Gold taunted. Bae and Mary Margret glared at him, but he was right.

"You didn't want to talk to me," Henry said, "You wanted to take me away. You tried to hurt people, and you would have if Mr. Gold hadn't shown up. You don't care about what I want; you just want to keep me, like a trophy. You made me think I was crazy; that's not what good parents do." And I want you to be good; why can't you see that?

She definitely looked more sad than angry now. "Henry… I'm sorry." And then she vanished in another cloud of purple smoke.

Bae started backing away from his Dad. "I kept my word, Bae," Mr. Gold said, "I did."

"I know. I know. I'm… going to finish my run now…" He ran.

Mr. Gold looked heartbroken, but he just turned towards Mr. Dove, jerking his head towards Bae. Mr. Dove had already started running after him.

Mary Margaret stepped forward, "Thank-" Mr. Gold disappeared, "You."

She turned to Henry. "Are you all right?" Henry nodded. At least she stopped.

For now.

Rumplestiltskin landed in his shop and immediately took his cane to the display cases. He hates you! He's afraid of you! Nothing will ever get better between you! There's nothing you can do, nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing…

After coming to his senses enough to realize what a mess he'd made, Rumplestiltskin started repairing what he'd broken. It wasn't that he cared for these things, particularly, but they were his, and Belle would find the mess disturbing. And these things, at least, he could control. But I can't fix the one thing that matters.

Regina's escape from jail aside, Belle thought it had been a good morning. Rumple had reached out to Bae during breakfast, and that was very encouraging. Later, Bae had explained who Mr. Dove was, and Belle was delighted to meet him when he came to escort Bae on his run. Belle could tell he had a good heart, even though his words were few. She was glad that Rumple had had someone to interact with all this time, even if Mr. Dove was just an employee. After all, Belle herself had only been Rumple's maid at first.

Nova also got a second job. David, it transpired, had been working for the animal shelter before the curse broke (and what a wonderful idea that was!), but decided to officially become the Deputy now that Regina was free. He was also helping in the mines, a subject Rumple had mentioned yesterday, and Nova had confirmed. (Considering what Reul Ghorm had done, it hadn't yet been decided what would be done with any diamonds found, but they had decided that it was a good idea to start looking for them. If nothing else, they should be protected from Regina.)

Nova really wasn't qualified to round up stray animals, but David had been confident he could still handle that as Deputy. Nova took over the rest of his duties, going to the shelter in the morning and evening to feed and "socialize" the animals and to clean the cages. The schedule left her free to help at the library in the middle of the day, and she came in today bouncing with energy after having seen the animals for the first time. Belle was happy for her, and agreed that it was an ideal arrangement.

The day was disrupted when Baelfire returned from his run, looking pale and shaken. After some prodding, he'd explained what had happened with Regina, and while Belle was terribly proud of Rumple for showing the restraint he had, she could tell Bae was very disturbed by what he had seen. She'd called Rumple, who was also upset, but refused to come down to the library to talk about it. When she pressed him, he just said he would see her that evening and hung up. Frustrated, Belle told Bae and Nova she was stepping out for a bit, intending to drag him down to the library herself.

She'd barely made it a dozen steps out of the door before she was stopped by a man wearing a red, knit cap.

"Did you hear that?" Bae asked Nova.

"What?"

"It sounded like a shout."

"I didn't hear anything."

Something wasn't right; he knew it. He twitched and fretted for a few minutes before calling Belle. She didn't pick up. Am I being paranoid? He considered calling his father, but was afraid to set him off, especially over what was probably nothing. Twenty minutes. I'll give her twenty minutes.

She wasn't back after twenty minutes. He called her again, and she still didn't pick up. He stood up and told Nova that he was going to check on Belle. "Do you know where she went?" the fairy asked.

"No."

"Do you think… your father's shop?"

He grimaced. "Probably. It's not far; I'll go ask him. Can you say here in case she comes back?"

"Of course."

Steeling himself, he jogged out the door and headed for the pawnshop, keeping an eye out for Belle on the way. He didn't see her anywhere. He reached the shop sooner than he would have liked. He stood outside the door, staring for what was apparently too long, because Papa opened the door first. "Bae? What are you doing here?"

"Belle…" he muttered, "Is she here?"

"She isn't with you?"

"No. She said she had to step out for a minute. That was nearly thirty minutes ago. I tried calling her and she didn't pick up. I thought…"

"Yes?"

"I thought I heard something."

"Something?"

"A… shout." Papa frowned, and Bae knew he was once again looking at the Dark One. "I'm sorry, I should have come sooner; I wasn't sure…"

"Not your fault," Papa said automatically (that, at least, hadn't changed), but Bae could feel how angry he was. Papa pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Sheriff, Belle has gone missing… half an hour… with Regina loose, I'm not about to take the chance, especially after our confrontation … Bae did, she did not answer... Bae said she left the library for a moment but never came back… we'll meet you there."

"Will she help?" Bae asked.

"Yes; we're to meet her at the library." Papa quickly closed the door behind him and headed down the street, looking around as Bae had done minutes ago. He didn't see anything either. When they reached the library, he didn't go in, instead pacing in front of the door with his eyes closed and his left hand extended in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked him climbing out of her yellow bug several minutes later.

"Feeling for magic."

"Anything?"

"Nothing, but after thirty minutes, I wouldn't necessarily expect there to be."

"This is my fault," Bae said.

"No, Bae," Papa said.

"Yes, it is! I should have gone looking sooner!"

"Kid, this is isn't anyone's fault but the person who took her, if someone did. For all we know, she could have gone out for coffee and gotten turned around."

"Then why isn't she answering her phone?"

"Maybe she dropped it somewhere? We don't know, but we'll find her; don't worry. Tell me everything you remember." Bae did.

"A shout? Are you sure?"

"No, I wasn't. That's why I waited," he said desperately.

"It's OK, kid." She turned to Papa. "Can you use that spell you used in the Book, the one you used with Mary Margret's ring?"

Papa shook his head in frustration. "No. It requires that I have something of meaning that belongs to the person, and I don't. Thrift store jeans won't exactly cut it," he said wryly.

"Damn. What about on Regina?"

"Like many magic users, she has warded herself against it."

"Damn."

Nova must have finally noticed them milling around the front of the library, because she opened the door. "Did something happen?"

"Belle's missing," Bae explained.

"Oh, no! What do we do?"

"Stay here," Emma said, "In case she comes back. You too, kid."

"What? No!"

"Yes," Papa said, "If this was Regina-"

"Then I'm safer with you, aren't I? I can help!"

"Kid-"

"How long have you been tracking people in Neverland?" He asked Emma, then appealed to his father. "If you can't use magic, we have to do this another way!"

Emma looked at Papa. "Your call."

He paused, then turned to Nova, "Do you have a phone in case she comes back?"

Nova shook her head. "Take mine," Bae said, "This dials my father, see?"

"I see," she said, nervous.

Emma looked at Papa. "No offense, but I'll probably have better luck interviewing witnesses without you lurking behind me."

"Unless someone requires some… persuasion."

"No," both Bae and Emma said at the same time. Emma continued, "Trust me; finding people is what I do. You being there will not help. I'm starting with the diner; it has the best view of the front of the library. If you did hear a shout, she had to still be close when she was taken; someone should have seen something. In the meantime… do your Neverland thing, kid." Bae nodded, though he got the feeling that Emma didn't think his 'Neverland thing' would really be of much help, except as a way to distract his father. Well, he could do that too.

Bae grabbed Papa's hand. "This way; if she was looking for you, she would have gone this way." After a moment's hesitation, his father followed him. Emma jogged towards the diner.

Bae scanned the ground, but it was difficult to see anything on concrete and asphalt. In the jungle, he would have looked for disturbed ground and damaged plants; there wasn't much to go on here. He saw Papa reach out his left hand again, and he knew he was sensing for magic. They didn't speak. Neither of them found anything before Emma came back with Ruby.

"Did you see something, Miss Lucas?" Papa demanded.

"No, but I have a really good sense of smell now. The, ah, wolf thing. If you can give me something to go off of, I might be able to track her that way."

Papa flicked his hand and a gold, silk nightshirt appeared in a puff of smoke. He handed it to her. "Will this do?"

"Let's see." It did. It led them all the way to Game of Thorns.

"Moe," Emma said flatly, obviously remembering how he'd cornered Belle in front of the Town Hall. "Stay here," she told Papa.

He ignored her, yanking the door open and charging in.

"Dammit!" Emma ran after him, Bae and Ruby right behind her.

"Papa, stop!"

"You - OUT!" Mr. French shouted. "This is a private establishment; you're not welcome!"

"Where's Belle?" Papa growled.

"Safe," was all he said.

"What have you done with her?" Papa demanded, stalking towards him.

"Gold," Emma said warningly.

"There was only one way to get her away from you-"

"What have you done?" his father repeated, jabbing Moe in the chest.

"I have to make her forget about you," Mr. French said, "No matter the cost. Even if it means she forgets me too." The town line. He's going to kill him.

"Papa," Bae said, "Don't."

"He's sending her across the town line," Papa said, and Mr. French actually smirked a little bit.

"Papa, please."

"Gold," Emma said, her voice cold, "Let me arrest him."

Papa's eyes were wide, and he was panting with rage, but he stepped back just enough to let her. Papa seethed while she read Mr. French his rights, handcuffed him, and led him out of the shop, asking, "Where are you taking her across? You do know we have patrols on the town line, right?"

Mr. French said nothing. Suddenly, Papa charged at him, pinning him by the neck with his cane, shouting "WHERE? WHERE ARE YOU SENDING HER ACROSS? TELL ME WHERE!"

"Papa, don't!"

"Gold, stop! He can't talk with a crushed larynx!" That actually seemed to get through, as Papa stepped back just enough for Emma to grab him and pull him off Mr. French. Bae grabbed his other arm, not that it would do much good if he charged again.

Mr. French reached up to massage his throat, and Emma snatched his hand away. "What's this? Looks like that mine dust David was complaining about last night. Is that were she is? The mines?"

"No," Mr. French said, coughing.

Emma looked at Papa. "He's lying; she's there." Then she turned to Ruby, "Watch him; I'm calling David. He knows the mines better than I do."

"I have a better idea," Papa said, and a dream catcher appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke. "Hold his head."

"A dream catcher?" Emma said, "Seriously?"

"With this, we can view his memories directly. Hold. His. Head."

Emma gave him a frustrated look, but she did it, glaring at him the entire time. Papa held the dream catcher over Mr. French's head, and a series of images immediately appeared inside it. Bae saw a tunnel and a cart and… Mr. Smee?

Oh, no.

"I know where that is," Emma said. "Get in the van." She pushed Mr. French in, and Ruby ran around to the driver's side. Papa got in the back with Emma, directing Bae to get in the passenger seat. Emma gave Ruby directions (and permission to ignore stop signs), and Bae just hung on. Please, please, don't let us be too late.

They weren't.

"Wow," Ruby said, as Papa pulled the cart towards them by magic.

Bae and Emma rushed forward before the cart even came to a stop, and the cuffs fell open just as Bae touched them. He looked at Papa, who stepped forward, looking as frightened as he did angry. "Belle, are you all right?"

"I… I think so," she said, as Emma and Bae helped her out of the cart.

"You remember who I am?"

She smiled. "I do, Rumplestiltskin. And Baelfire."

She put an arm around each of them, and in his relief Bae let her, even if he didn't want to stand quite that close to his father just then. Belle was too good a person to have that taken away from her, and if Mr. French had succeeded, Bae would have been left all alone with his father. The thought was terrifying.

"Belle…" Mr. French said, trying to take a step forward. Ruby put out an arm to keep him back.

"Father," she said coldly, her arms still around them. "How could you?"

"I was trying to protect you, Belle!"

"You don't get to decide what I do or how I feel; I do. If you'd cared about me, you'd have listened to me."

"He's a monster, Belle!"

"Uh, he never tried to erase his kid's memories, as far as I know," Emma said, walking around them to Mr. French. "I'm not exactly sure what the charges will be for that, but I'm thinking we'll start with kidnapping and assault. What's the name of the guy in the red hat? The one who helped you?"

"Mr. Smee," Bae said immediately. "He's a member of the pirate crew that works for Pan."

Papa stared at him. "Really?" Emma asked. "Then I guess I've got two sets of questions for Mr. Smee. Have you seen anyone else in town from that crew, kid?"

"No. I didn't even know he was here. You may have noticed I don't really get out much," he said dryly.

"You're fifteen; you're not expected to know every scumbag in town."

Bae laughed humorlessly. "Actually, I'm closer to two hundred."

"What?"

"I was in Neverland a long time, Emma."

"That's… two hundred? Really?"

"Yes. I don't know the real number, though; time doesn't really work there."

"You're two hundred and eighty seven, as the Enchanted Forest counts time," Papa said quietly. Bae looked at him. "I counted."

He counted.

That doesn't mean anything.

It doesn't mean he's changed. It doesn't mean he can fight his curse.

"You need to let Emma do her job," Bae told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"Emma is arresting Mr. French, and she is going to find Mr. Smee; you're not. You're not going after them. You don't hurt them. No revenge. Promise me."

"Yes," Belle agreed, "Promise me too. You're better than that, Rumple; I know you are."

Papa grit his teeth and looked at Emma. "You'll prosecute them both?"

"For kidnapping someone and trying to send them across the town line? Oh, yeah."

Papa let out a harsh breath. "Then I promise."

Belle hugged him, almost knocking him over. He hugged her back, but Bae could tell he was not happy.

Just as long as he keeps his word.

Smee was both useful and easy to find. Gold had actually spotted the man's hat while they were leaving the mines, and he was able to use his locater spell on it (I followed a flying hat to a suspect today; how is this my life?). They'd found him at the Rabbit Hole (shocker), and he was only too happy to roll on Moe, Pan, and the entire crew of the Jolly Roger.

Captain Hook - of course.

The weird thing was that Hook wasn't in Storybrooke, even though most of the rest of the crew was. Also weird was the fact that Pan had apparently let the crew go for no discernable reason about a year before the curse was cast. Smee backed up everything that Baelfire had said about the Truest Believer and Pan's powers failing (not that Emma had doubted the kid, but multiple witnesses were always good), and Emma wondered if he just didn't have the kick needed to send pirate ships realm-hopping any more.

"It's possible," Gold said, looking troubled.

"He also said Hook wants revenge on you; that's why he went off alone."

"Yes. I took his hand." There's more he's not saying. But when isn't there, with him?

"I thought the crocodile did that."

"Ah, yes, that is what he called me."

"Wait, you're Rumplestiltskin, the Beast, and the crocodile from Peter Pan? Are you anyone else? Tom Thumb? The Muffin Man?"

He snorted. "Mr. Drew at the bakery is the Muffin Man, and Tom Thumb lived and died well over a hundred years ago."

"Let me guess, he made a deal with you?"

"Actually, no. His stature was the result of a fairy wish made by his mother. Children that result from fairy wishes always posses… unique qualities."

"Like August."

"Precisely. All magic-"

"Comes with a price; yes, I know. I guess it's better than 'with great power comes great responsibility'; I would seriously not buy that coming from you."

He looked offended. "I would never say anything so… banal. Reul Ghorm on the other hand…"

Now Emma snorted. "That does sound like something she would say. Which would make her the biggest hypocrite ever; not that she needs the help. Did you know she takes the wings of fairies that break her rules? Leroy's afraid she'll do it to Nova."

"I did know that. And yes, I imagine she will as soon as she gets her hands on enough fairy dust to power her wand."

"That's horrible!" Belle said.

"Can you do anything about it?" Emma asked Gold.

"Short of… incapacitating Reul Ghorm before she can take them? Unfortunately, no. That power is unique to her. However, fallen fairies may still use magic if they possess enough will and self-belief. Maleficent is a fallen fairy, after all."

"Do you think Nova…?" Belle asked.

He looked at her, taking her hand. "As I understand it, she was a rather weak fairy to begin with, but then Reul Ghorm was not terribly supportive of her." Belle nodded, frowning. "She may actually be more powerful outside her sphere of influence; Maleficent certainly was."

"Hm. Any more thoughts on Pan or Hook?" Emma asked.

"I will need to think on it."

"And the potion; you have the stuff you need?"

"Yes, fortunately."

"Well, that's one thing going right. Still on that fifteen week timeline?"

"Unless the moon has altered its orbit," he said, getting annoyed. Yes, full moons needed, she got it. But could he blame her for being a little impatient when her kid's heart was on the line?

She looked at Bae, who was staring at the floor, arms crossed defensively. "If you haven't got anything else, I think we're done here. I've got all your statements, and I'll call you when Mary Margret is ready to charge Moe and Smee. There's no school tomorrow, so she might be ready then; I'm just not sure."

"Very well," Gold said. "Are you ready?" he asked Bae and Belle. Bae nodded, still staring at the floor.

Belle smiled and said, "Yes. And thank you so much, Emma." She'd thanked Ruby earlier, when she'd left to return to the diner.

"Just doing my job."

"Nevertheless, you saved me."

"I wouldn't have known you were missing if Bae hadn't been so on the ball. You did good, kid."

"Yes," Gold said, but neither he nor Bae were preening like a proud father and son. Bae looked at her, as lost as any kid she'd seen, and Gold looked at him like he didn't know what to do or say fix what was wrong between them.

Well, there was a lot of wrong; she knew that. But she also knew by now that Gold was trying like hell to make up for it. But that's the problem, isn't it? There is no making up for abandoning your kid. You can't get those years back; you can just hope they give you a second chance to be there for them now. Fortunately, Henry had not only given her that chance, he had more faith than anyone that she could actually do it.

Maybe I need to cut Mary Margaret some slack.