Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A time as much as I would love to.

Chapter 11

"Ok once more," Emma said looking at the man in front of her and secretly wishing she had a bottle of scotch hidden in her desk to pull out. "Your Neal or Bealfire's dad and when you got your powers you promised that if there was a way to get rid of them without killing yourself then you would?"

"That's right." Gold answered back leaning heavily on his cane as he looked at the blonde looking like someone had just broken into his shop and stolen his tea cup again.

"But when the Blue Fairy gave him a way but you couldn't do it and let Neal fall into a hole for parts unknown." Emma continued watching as those shoulder's slouched further like an extra weight had been added to them.

"Regretfully, also true." Gold admitted quickly glancing out of the sheriff's office at his son who was standing there at the door of his cell watching the pair.

"Explains why you hate for her then but what does this have to do with the curse?" Emma asked the man watching as his posture went from defeated to guarded in a split second. "Regina's journal said she cast it but you made it just not why you made it."

"After Bea fell through the portal I exhausted every possible lead I could find trying to follow him." Gold explained relaxing slightly at Emma's words.

"That led to a meeting between you and Hook where not only did you take his hand but you also killed his girlfriend, your ex-wife Milah who had run off with him." Emma said feeling very proud of herself when Gold's face became shocked, ever since she had first met the man she had wanted to surprise him at least once. "Also in the journal, I have to admire how thorough Regina was when she was writing about people lives."

"You do enjoy repeating things don't you Sherriff?" Gold said narrowing his eyes slightly silently wondering what else Regina knew about him.

"Given everything yes," Emma said silently thanking Regina, reading her journal not only gave Emma insight into the woman's mind and how it worked but answered some of the questions that Emma was afraid to as the people she was starting to consider friends. "Ok so after the magic bean plan fell through you made the curse but couldn't cast it yourself cause it requires 'the heart of the thing you love the most', which to Regina was her father."

"Unfortunately yes that is what the curse needed most to be cast." Gold said thinking about Belle, looking back now he could have used her to cast the curse himself but he knew he wouldn't be able to; he simply loved the woman too much too ever want to hurt her.

"Ok now that I'm all up to speed I have a question," Emma said lacing her fingers together on top of her desk and looking at Gold seriously. "Do you know who or what Regina means in her journal when she refers to liars and a trick?"

Gold sat there silent for few minutes thinking about the sheriff's question before his eyes widened slightly and he let out a deep sigh. "The liars would most like refer to me, Jefferson and Dr. Frankenstein."

"What did you three do to her?" Emma asked seriously.

"After I helped Regina rid herself of Cora she wanted to learn magic," Gold explained thinking about his first meeting with the new queen after Cora had been sent through the mirror. "At the time I knew what she wanted to use it for just not how to use it to my advantage."

"Please tell me you didn't have Whale do what I think he did," Emma said hoping that Daniel, the man Regina loved as much as she did Henry being brought back to life not just once but twice. "Tell me you didn't have him bring Daniel back over there?"

"Despite what the good doctor wishes to believe you cannot bring the dead back," Gold explained thinking about Gerhardt who had been brought back as a nearly feral creature and Daniel who had been not able to control the angry and murderous feelings that came from his new heart. "However we did put on a convincing show."

*Outside Emma's Office*

"Uh oh, whatever Rumplestilskin said just now was not good." Neal said looking into the office.

"How can you tell?" David asked looking up from his paper work at his daughter who had a blank look on her face.

"Emma's making the blank face, it's normally the one she puts on before 3 … 2 … 1." Neal said counting down with his fingers. A second later both men watched as Emma suddenly stood up and started yelling at the pawnbroker, they couldn't make out the exact words but the word 'bastard' seemed to be used a lot.

"Sooo," Neal said turning away from his yelling ex and looking at the man at the desk. "You're Emma's dad."

"And you're the guy who broke her heart." David said leaning back and looking at Neal like he was suddenly prey.

"Trust me I never wanted to but August made me realize the bigger picture." Neal weakly explained watching as hard blue eyes narrowed in on him.

"Your bigger picture sent my daughter to jail." David growled at the man who had not only hurt his daughter in the worst possible way but had also unknowingly taken Henry from her.

"Hey I would have happily done the time for her myself but Emma would have waited for me and then she would have never found you," Neal explained thinking about the blonde he knew eleven years ago knowing that what he had said was the truth, Emma would have waited for him no matter how long it took. "If it makes you feel better I turned myself in a few days later and served my time."

"It doesn't actually." David answered honestly.

"You know for being Prince Charming you're not being very nice." Neal said leaning forward against the bars.

"Can you blame me?" David asked seriously.

"Honestly … no," Neal answered thinking about what he would do if he had a kid and someone hurt them like he had hurt Emma. "If I had a daughter and someone did that to her I would break every bone in their bodies and that's just to start."

"Thanks for the idea." David said giving a little smirk.

"Suddenly I feel very safe behind these bars." Neal joked back weakly.

"I have a key you know," David said picking up the key ring and jingling it. "Deputy remember."

"And now it's gone." Neal said stepping back from the bars as if trying to put as much distance as he could between him and the blonde male.

David just looked at the man giving him the once over again. "You know, you're not what I expected at all."

"What were you expecting then?" Neal asked not understanding what the prince meant.

"Someone more … I don't know tough." David said trying to figure out the right word to describe who he thought Emma's type was thinking about his talk with Snow about Emma's predecessor Graham who fit his idea.

"Hey I'm tough." Neal protested feeling insulted, he might not be a fighter in the traditional sense but he could still hold his own in a fight.

"No you're scrappy," David said looking at the picture of Graham that Emma had hung on the wall in remembrance of the man. "I'm talking a guy with rippling muscles who grunts more than he speaks."

"You really think Emma would date a caveman," Neal laughed thinking about all his cons with Emma when they had been in their Bonnie and Clyde type relationship "Please she used to tell me that they were the easiest marks because they would never admit to being conned by some 'little woman' .. her words mind you not mine."

"You still love her?" David said suddenly looking at the brunette in shock.

"I still love the Emma I knew from eleven years ago, the one I abandoned," Neal said sitting on the bed back leaning against the wall looking at David seriously. "This Emma, maybe I could get along with her, be friends but we're two different people now and there's too much bad history between us to try and start over again."

"You'd think for a child created from true love Emma would have better luck in relationships," David mumbled to himself leaning back and thinking about his daughter for a moment before his eyes bulged out. "True love … oh my god EMMA!"

David suddenly jumped up and moved towards the door of Emma's office just as she and Gold were coming out looking worried that something had happened.

"David what'-" Emma started.

"Gold you said Emma is the child of the true love, the strongest magic there is." David interrupted looking at the man.

"Yes, but I fail to see why that's so important right now." Gold said not understanding what the shepherd was getting at precisely.

"Don't you see she's made of true love the only thing that can break a sleeping curse," David explained looking at Emma whose eyes had suddenly gone wide realizing where her father was going. "Emma could wake Regina up."

"Hey wait, slow down there pops," Emma said lifting her hands up as if trying to protect herself from her father's words. "I don't love Regina, I like her maybe in the way you like a rival but love no, no way."

"Uhh can someone explain to me what you're all talking about?" Neal asked getting back up and coming to stand in front of the bars looking at the trio. "Who's Regina?"

"Actually Sheriff as long as your heart doesn't have a dark mark you should be capable of waking her majesty up." Gold said agreeing with what the shepherd prince and wondering why they hadn't thought about this earlier.

"Hello can someone talk to me." Neal said from his cell not enjoying the fact that he was being ignored.

"Then we need to go now and wake her up." Emma said grabbing her trademark red leather jacket as she and her father started making their way towards the front door only to be stopped suddenly by a barrier.

Looking back they saw Rumplestilskin holding his hand up giving them a serious look. "And what are we going to do with my son then hmm, you can't leave him here especially if Hook comes here and figures out who he is."

"Would Ruby watching him make you feel better?" David asked thinking about their reserve member.

"I would prefer he be released into my custody." Gold said looking at his son seriously.

"Thanks but I'd rather stay in jail." Neal said back to his father coldly having no desire to go anywhere with the man who abandoned him.

"How about we make a deal?" Emma asked surprising everyone in the room with her words. "Unless we're absolutely sure that Neal's identity has been compromised he stays locked up in that cell until Hook and Cora are taken care of -"

"Hey I have rights you know," Neal interrupted his ex looking angry suddenly. "I haven't broken any laws here."

"Interesting idea but Bea makes a point he hasn't broken any laws." Gold said not wanting his reunion with his son to be done well one of them was behind bars.

"Look you know Bea but I know Neal and the moment we let him out of that cell he'll run and you'll never find him again," Emma said looking at the man who just glared at her as she extended her hand to the pawnbroker. "So I'm asking you Rumplestilskin, will you be 100% honest with us if I keep your son locked up so that you can talk to him when this is over."

Rumplestilskin just looked at the woman's out stretched hand and weighed his options, he knew that Emma wouldn't break her deal with him unlike many in this town the blonde woman had a sense of honour when it came to her promises.

"Only if you agree to the same turns Miss Swan." Gold said extending his own hand and giving the offered one a firm shake.

They both knew what the man was talking about, looking at Neal it was easy to see that the man was Henry's father but for some reason Rumplestilskin had no desire to be the one to share this knowledge to his son instead he was silently asking Emma that she be the one to tell him.

"Deal." Emma said simply turning and walking out of the room as soon as the handshake was finished ignoring Neal's yelling as she did.

*Author's Note*

Just so everyone know there will be no Tamara in my story, Greg maybe but I had this planned out before I knew she existed.

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