A/N: So, now that I'm emotionally dead from having two (evil, awful, feel inducing) midseason finales and the two-year anniversary of Graham's death all in less than a week (and FINALS right after!), I have good news: I finally know where this fic is going.

I don't think there's any dialogue taken directly from the show (I know I didn't watch any episodes to take dialogue from), but conversations from throughout season 3 might sort of pop up in a reference or something. Or a similar conversation might take place. Especially to 3x08 Think Lovely Thoughts (with perhaps a hint of 3x07 Dark Hollow, but that's just because David/dreamshade/MM/whatevs) since I've basically skipped straight there from 3x05 Good Form.

"David?" Snow says, "Emma and I want to talk to you. Now."

He looks between his wife and his daughter. Emma reluctantly lets go of Graham when her mother speaks (he would be reluctant to let go if he were in her position as well, if he'd thought Snow was dead for so long and then gotten her back); it seems that the two of them genuinely do have something they want to discuss with him.

The three stand off to the side of the camp; he doesn't fail to notice that Emma positions herself so Graham, the wolf sitting at his side, is in her line of sight – and he is so, so happy for his daughter, that she got her Huntsman back, but the fact that she doesn't trust he won't just vanish if he's somewhere that she can't see him breaks David's heart.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Did you lie to Mary Margaret about that arrow from the fight with the Lost Boys?" Emma asks.

"What?" he is too stunned to form a coherent response; somehow, his girls have guessed his secret.

"Did you lie to me about the arrow?" Snow asks.

"I- Yes," he admits softly. There's no point denying it now.

"David!" Snow lets out a soft cry, "I understand that Emma didn't want you to tell me about her feelings for Graham. But you're dying. How could you… If you had just dropped dead, and I… I told you how devastated I'd be if anything happened to you, how I wouldn't be able to move on, how you are my home" – Snow's eyes dart quickly to Emma, and then a point behind him that he assumes is Graham, since it's where Emma is focused as well, and then they're back on him – "David you should have told me!"

"Actually…" he starts to confess – might as well get it all out now – "I'm not dying anymore. The sextant- It was a lie. Hook made it up to get me to- There's a spring, up on Dead Man's Peak. The water cured me. So I- I won't drop dead on you. I can still help save Henry."

"But?" Emma raises an eyebrow. She's so perceptive sometimes, and it makes him so proud (who's he kidding? She's his daughter, and she's a wonderful woman, and he is always proud of her – even the fact that she'd been so strong about losing Graham had made him proud when he learned of it, no matter how much his heart had broken for her in that same moment). At the same time, her perception is forcing him to admit things that will only hurt them all, and there's a part of him, a small part, that wishes she wasn't quite so acute.

"But," he hangs his head, "The cure only works while I'm in Neverland. If I leave – I'll die."

"You weren't going to tell us that, either. Were you?" Snow looks betrayed and he understands perfectly.

"You deserve better than staying here dodging Lost Boys, Snow," he says, reaching out to take her hand. He tries not to let it show how it hurts when she pulls away.

"There has to be hope," Emma says. This surprises him. She is not an optimist, never has been since he's known her.

"Hook… Hook doesn't know everything. There has to be a cure, something more permanent. I know there's not the option of the candle like there was when Gold was poisoned," she continues, "But there has to be hope. I just found my family, I can't lose either of you again."

"No, Emma," David places a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "You need to get Henry back and get him out of here. Whether I can leave or not. It's not worth the risk of Pan taking him again if you stay. You need to take Henry and Graham and the others and go. You don't need me."

"Yes I do! You're my family. Family means no one gets left behind."

…

"Who are you?" the pirate looks at Graham with disdain as Emma and her parents have a heated, yet hushed, discussion. Graham doesn't want to take his eyes off of her – he hasn't seen her in so long, and he just wants to drink the sight of her in like water in the desert – but clearly, he's going to have to converse with this man.

"Name's Graham," he says, putting on the gruffest attitude he can manage, trying to show the other man that this conversation is unwelcome.

He has no interest in hearing what a man who's been pursuing his True Love has to say.

"Swan mentioned that," the pirate says, "I meant who are you to the royal family?"

"That is a complicated matter," Graham laughs a little, "I saved Snow and David's lives a long time ago, before the curse. Was forced into servitude as the Queen's Huntsman. Then… During the curse… Well. I met Emma. Gave her a job."

"Then you're Swan's employer," the pirate says. There's hope in his voice – Graham recognizes it for what it is, this pirate, this Hook, still wants Emma and is hoping that Graham means nothing to her.

"Not for a long time now," Graham shakes his head, "And even back then, I was never just her employer. We were drawn to each other, from the moment we met," he smiles, remembering that night, leaning up against her car, trying to talk her into staying, at least for the night, just because something in him didn't want to see the enchanting blonde go, "Emma… Emma is the love of my life. She and I are True Love."

"You're a rotten liar, mate," Hook takes a drink from his flask, "I can read Swan like an open book. She's been in love once in her life, and her love was Baelfire. Son of the Dark One."

Graham sees sadness flicker across the pirate's eyes at the mention of Henry's father, but it's gone quickly. Too quickly for him to even try to make sense of. Not that it matters anyway; as far as Graham is concerned, the pirate is little more than a guide through Neverland, someone who knows the island well – though Alice's knowledge is useful, it is also secondhand and slightly limited; Hook has actually lived here before and Graham knows that is a good thing, a strength, something that this ragtag rescue party sorely needs.

"I'm not lying, mate," he hisses, angered at the man's presumption to know Emma – some perception may have granted the man some insight, but she is a complicated woman, layered, and skilled at hiding parts of herself away; he himself had learned to read her emotions quickly but he would still never presume to know all there is to know about her, to be the world's foremost expert on Emma Swan. He looks forward to learning more after all this is through, to being able to discover every facet of her brave, strong, beautiful soul.

"I was suffering from the curse, without my memories, just like everyone else," he explains after a moment – it's none of the pirate's business, but he can't just let it go, "But when we kissed, I remembered my true identity, my past. True Love's Kiss. There is no argument you can make against that."

"Aye? Then what, exactly, separated you?"

"Regina," Graham spits the Queen's name darkly. He looks back to Emma, who is heading back towards him from where her parents stand; they still seem to be in a heated discussion but she has bowed out, and he stands, hoping to signal to Hook that their conversation is over, and meets Emma in the middle.

He wraps his arms around her, just holding her for a moment.

"What's going on with David?" he asks quietly. He knows that whatever it is, it had upset her. He can see it in her eyes, could see it in her posture during the discussion.

"He says he can't leave," she sighs, her head on his shoulder, "That he got hit with a dreamshade arrow and Hook got him a cure but if he leaves the island… The cure stops working. And… He dies."

"I'm so sorry, Emma," he holds her a bit tighter, "For you to have barely found your family and to lose your father so soon… It must hurt, and I can't even begin to understand how much."

"There's more," she sighs, "Mary Margaret is saying that- She's saying that if David stays, she stays. He's trying to talk her out of it, but- He's not having much luck."

Oh, he thinks, his heart constricting painfully at that news – Emma had always believed herself to be abandoned, and she'd just found them, and now they were both planning on leaving her again, on actually abandoning her… He knows the pain of abandonment firsthand, and the fact that she'd caught a glimpse of the family she'd been meant to have only to be forced to lose it again – he hates it. She deserves so much more.

He wants to tell her everything will be alright – but those would just be words, empty promises that he cannot keep. So instead, he remains silent, holding her as long as she needs.

…

"Where are you taking me?" Henry asks, angry, as Pan shoves him into a boat waiting on the shore. He knows his moms are coming for him – he can feel it – but he's worried that they won't be able to find him if Pan keeps moving him around the island.

"I told you, Henry, we're going to save magic," Pan says, smiling at him, as he gets into the boat himself. The older boy starts rowing, and after a while, a giant cave that looks like a human skull comes into view.

"Skull Rock," he whispers, remembering the stories from back home.

"That's right," Pan says, "The source of all Neverland's magic is inside."

"I'm not going to help you," Henry shakes his head; magic just causes pain – the curse, his mom getting sent to the Enchanted Forest, everything that happened with Cora, Storybrooke nearly being destroyed… Sheriff Graham…

No. Henry has no desire to save magic. He won't help save it.

…

After Regina and Tink had arrived at camp, they'd packed up and headed for Pan's. Regina is still trying to convince everyone that Graham isn't real, but Emma doesn't care. Even Tink believes that he isn't a trick. David had found an extra dagger that Cyrus could use, so they're all armed and ready.

"We're here," Tink announces after a time.

"No need to harm any of the Lost Boys if we can't help it," Alice says, "Right?"

"Yes, perhaps Emma could use magic to have them fall asleep," Cyrus suggests.

"Miss Swan's magic is completely untrained and I doubt she could perform even such a simple spell correctly," Regina says. Emma is a little offended, but since she's actually not skilled at magic, and Regina insulting her is nothing new, she doesn't really care.

"I'll do it," Regina continues. When Cyrus smirks at that, Emma wonders if it was a plot to get Regina to do it all along, so that the Evil Queen wouldn't harm any children if it wasn't necessary.

"It's done," Regina announces, and they all follow Tink inside. There are many boys passed out, but as they look around, it becomes clear; Henry and Pan are not among them.

"Hello?" a voice calls from somewhere past the bushes. It sounds like a young girl's voice and Alice – Emma sees Alice freeze for a moment before running towards it. They all follow.

There are two cages, in a small clearing just off the camp. The girl who had spoken is in one and they can't see into the other.

"Wendy," Alice breathes, then heads for the cage and cuts it open. The two hug tightly.

"Alice?" the girl says, "What… What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Alice asks, holding the younger girl by the shoulders, "You said that Bae let himself get taken to protect you!"

Emma's brain is sent spiraling off in a million directions at that; Bae? That's Neal, she knows that, and she knows he'd been in Neverland. But he'd gone to protect someone? And… Wendy? In Neverland? Would that be… Wendy Darling? Neal had gone to Neverland to protect Wendy Darling? Who… Somehow knows about Alice, the same Alice as Alice in Wonderland?

"He did," the girl nods, "That's why… We wanted to get him back, to save him. After he told us his parents had died… We were the only family he had, Alice, you know that!"

"Who's in the other cage?" Jack asks.

"I don't know him," the girl says, "He's been unconscious as long as he's been here."

Graham heads over to the cage to take a better look, and Emma goes with him. She knows she doesn't need to but… She does anyway.

The sight shocks her completely. It's impossible. Then again, so is the man at her side.

"Neal?" she breathes. Graham looks between her and the cage.

"Henry's father?" he asks quietly. She's not sure how he knows that but she'd guess it's by her reaction; she and Graham were always in tune. She nods quickly and he cuts open the cage then returns to her side, putting an arm around her waist. For a long moment, Neal doesn't stir, and she almost can't tell if he's alive or dead (she'd believed him dead, but really, why would Pan cage a dead body?) – and then he takes a deep, shuddering breath, clearly waking, and she pulls herself as close to Graham as she physically can – she is suddenly insecure, feels the need to have the man she actually loves close to her to show Neal how much he doesn't matter to her anymore.

"Emma?" Neal's first reaction is all smiles and she feels as Graham pulls her ever-so-much closer. If this is real, she is conflicted. Happy, because Henry's father is alive. But, at the same time, angry, because she knows that he will try and get in between her and Graham - that's the way Neal is. He'd told her he loved her right after getting shot by his bitch of a fiancée, for God's sake. It wasn't for the dream she'd had of Graham that morning, she might even have said it back out of reflex, or at least as an attempt to get him to hold on longer, for Henry's sake.

"Neal," she acknowledges, keeping her voice free from emotion. He clambers out of the cage and it is only then he seems to see Graham. His eyes narrow at the arm around her waist, but he says nothing, looking around to the rest of the rescue party. When his eyes land on the girl next to Alice, they light up.

"Wendy?" he says, and the girl looks up.

"Do I know you?" she asks.

"It's- It's Baelfire," his smile turns into a frown, "What are you doing here?"

"She came to rescue you, apparently," Alice says, crossing her arms at him.

"You're… Alice? Why are you here?"

"She's here for the same reason as the rest of us, rescuing Henry," Emma says. Graham gives her a minute squeeze, and that reassures her; he is there for her. He will always be there for her. No matter what crazy twists this island or life throws at them, she will have Graham by her side.

"How are you alive, Neal? Tamara shot you," she asks quickly; as she had feared with Graham originally, there is the possibility that this is a trap by Pan. That is always a possibility on this island.

"Right, well… I fell through the portal and I woke up in the Enchanted Forest. Phillip, Aurora, and Mulan were there and they treated my wound. So I went to my dad's castle and… I managed to use some artifacts he left behind to find out you were in Neverland, so I knew Henry was in trouble and I tricked the shadow into bringing me here." He doesn't even try to hide the fact that he's staring at Graham's arms around her, but he doesn't say anything, and that, at least, is a comfort.

…

Alice is just finishing tying the hands of the last unconscious Lost Boy when the man that Graham confronted in the clearing shortly after they arrived in Neverland appears at the camp.

"Gold," Emma says with a nod from her place guarding a few of the younger boys with Graham (according to Regina, the younger the boy, the sooner he'd wake from the spell).

"Where's Henry?" the man asks.

"We don't know," Baelfire – she has a hard time seeing the boy that her aunt and uncle adopted in the man who is before her, but she can't bring herself to call him Neal, the new name he'd given himself at some point; despite the way he's changed, somewhere in there is still her cousin, or she hopes so, anyway, because even though she'd only met Baelfire once, briefly, he'd been… He'd been strong, and honorable, and there was something about this grown version of him that is so much less; maybe she's not being fair to him, it's been a long time since he was a teenage boy, he's older than she is now, but this difference about him nags at her – speaks, "Pan's missing too. But if you think I'm letting you anywhere near him-"

"Gold is here to save Henry," Graham interrupts, "I know when a man is willing to sacrifice his life for what's right and your father is."

"Your father?" Wendy questions, "Bae, you said your father was dead. You told mother that both your parents were dead!"

"I didn't want to admit that they'd abandoned me. But look-" Baelfire turns towards Graham, "He's not here to rescue Henry. There was a prophecy that the boy who led him to me would be his undoing and Henry is that boy. You don't know him like I do; he's here to kill Henry, not save him."

David and Snow level their weapons at the man at that, while Regina creates a fireball in her hand. Alice rolls her eyes. They're all being overdramatic. Surely they could just talk this out?

"You're wrong," Graham says.

"Graham," Emma says, placing a hand on his shoulder – Baelfire and the pirate both bristle at every gesture of affection, no matter how small, that Emma and Graham share, for whatever reason – "You know I trust you- But I need to know why you think we can trust Gold with Henry's safety."

"You know I ran into him before I met up with you," Graham says, "He told me about the prophecy, and that he'd left the rest of you so that he could sacrifice himself for Henry. For that one's sake," he gestures to Baelfire, "He had no reason to lie to me about that."

Regina puts out her fireball, but stares down the man, "Tell me how the Huntsman is alive," she says.

"The curse, dearie. You should have read the fine print. Anyone who died under it would wake up, intact, back home. Something went wrong with the 'back home' part of it, but other than that-" the man shrugs, "There was no place for death in the little cursed kingdom. There was enough suffering without it."