A/N: As always, I want to thank everyone for reading! But I want to send a big shout out to those who have also been reviewing! Your comments drive this story further! Also, I want to thank everyone who gave their thoughts on the timeline! Thanks for the help! Love you guys!

Okay, I won't blab on! Hope you all enjoy this next installment!

Down the Rabbit Hole:

Chapter Fourteen: Reality Check

After Emma had come home to the surprise pizza dinner, weeks had gone by without much contact between she and Neal.

During dinner, very few words were exchanged between the two. David and Snow shared fleeting looks, their eyes filled with worrisome thoughts. Even Henry picked up on the tension.

After the meal, Neal went home. He first made plans to take Henry out the following day… to have "the talk." After hugging his son goodbye, he turned to Emma. The two exchanged smiles, though Emma's was hesitant. And that was that. Neal said goodbye to Snow and David before slipping from the apartment and slumping his way home.

Snow wanted to talk to her daughter about Neal, but quickly, Emma excused herself, saying she was tired, before rushing up to the loft.

The days following were filled with Emma rising early and heading off to the station. She was avoiding Neal. She was avoiding everyone. When she had no choice but to make contact with her parents, she put on a smile, shared as few words as possible, then went up to her room. The only person she was really spending time with was Henry and even that was limited.

The pre-teen wanted to ask his mother what was wrong. He noticed that even his father wasn't acting himself when the two spent time together. But Emma did everything she could to steer clear the conversation away from Neal. Henry frowned every time Emma changed the subject, but he didn't argue. He played along. Hee parents gave her space.

But then a day came when that all changed. When Snow got a call from Red.

Xoxo

David and Snow rushed through the hospital doors to find Red pacing the waiting room.

"What happened? Where is she?" Snow fired away.

"I don't know," Red said helplessly, a frown on her face. "I was out for a run. I think Emma was too. I went through the woods and I found her lying on the ground. She was unconscious. I called an ambulance. I didn't know what else to do."

Before Snow or David could say another word, Dr. Whale appeared from the adjacent room.

"Emma's okay," He said first, wanting to ease everyone's nerves.

"What happened?" David demanded.

"Dehydration. Exhaustion, I think as well," he explained. "We have her hooked up to an I.V that is supplying her body with fluids. She's asleep now, but of course I know I can't stop you from seeing her. "

"No, you can't," David said in agreement.

The doctor smiled a bit. "It seems when she fell, she hit her head. She has a small bruise close to the base of her skull and a mild concussion."

"But she's okay?" Snow asked worriedly.

With a gentle smile, Whale said, "Yes. For right now, she just needs some rest."

"What about the baby?"

"Perfectly fine. We did an ultrasound. Nice, steady heartbeat. She's about eight weeks along."

"Thank you," David said while blowing out a sigh of relief. "I'll call Neal."

Snow nodded. She then turned to her friend and opened her arms for a hug. With a smile, Red embraced her long time friend who was always more like a sister.

"Thank you for finding her," Snow said over Red's shoulder.

"Tell Emma I'm glad she's okay. And to never scare me like that again."

"I will," Snow said with a smile.

The two parted. Red left, knowing Snow would want a few moments alone with her daughter. Snow gave a look of appreciation to the woman before turning to the examining room. Carefully, she pushed the door open, not wanting to make much noise. At the sight of her daughter's sleeping form, in a hospital bed, hooked up to all these machines, a bruise on her cheek… Snow's face fell. She stopped. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, took a breath, and then walked further inside.

Snow walked the short distance to Emma's bedside. She wanted to wake Emma, wanted to see her eyes open, hear her voice, but Snow knew her daughter needed rest.

Snow let her gaze wander to Emma's hand where a needle sat, the tip supplying fluids to Emma's veins, rehydrating her body. Snow couldn't help a frown. But thankfully Emma's other hand was needle free. Snow sat down on the edge of the bed. She took Emma's hand, her thumb swaying back and forth across her baby's skin.

For a few moments, the room was quiet. Snow sat watching her daughter take every breath when suddenly Emma's face changed. Her brows furrowed, her head moving to the side, revealing a small bump that was peaking out from the mess of blond hair. Then she spoke in her sleep, her words full of panic and distress.

"No… mom… no, don't!"

Emma awoke with a start, her eyes flying open, her heart rate speeding up enough to affect the monitor.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Snow said, trying to hide her worrisome thoughts from showing on her face.

Emma looked around while moving to sit up, but Snow stopped her.

"Easy, honey."

Emma frowned as a throbbing pain radiated from the back of her head. She went to lift her hand to the source of the pain, but again her mother stopped her.

"Don't move your hand," Snow warned gently.

Emma looked to her left hand to find a needle had been jammed into her skin. She looked to Snow and said. "What the hell happened?" her voice hoarse from sleep.

"I think you went for a run this morning. Do you remember that?"

Emma nodded a bit.

"Red found you on the ground, in the woods. You were unconscious. She called an ambulance… Dr. Whale said you were dehydrated. Exhausted. You collapsed and hit your head on something. You've got a small bump on the back of your head and a mild concussion," Snow explained calmly.

Emma's eyes widened in fear as she digested the news. Quickly, her stare went to her tummy.

"She's okay," Snow said, her thumb still going back and forth across Emma's hand. "Dr. Whale did an ultrasound. Her heart is beating away. You're about eight weeks along."

Emma released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She let her head fall back to the pillow but winced in pain at the contact.

"Careful," Snow cautioned.

"Where's Henry?"

"We dropped him off with Neal before coming here. He doesn't know anything happened. Your father's calling Neal now."

"Okay," Emma murmured.

Snow frowned at the dark circles underneath Emma's eyes. "Why haven't you been taking care of yourself?"

"I am," Emma argued, though her tone was weak.

"You're hardly eating, not even bothering to drink enough water," Snow said, her words firm.

"I'm getting sick all the time. You know that," Emma said defensively.

"If you're feeling weak, why would you go running?!"

Emma's eyes widened at the anger in Snow's voice. But before she could say a word, Snow continued. "You've been avoiding us for weeks, barely talking to anyone… you're shutting me out, Emma. And then to get that call…" Snow chocked on her words as tears filled her eyes. "You could have gotten seriously hurt. What if you fell near the bridge and your body rolled down the hill and into the lake. You could have drowned. And… damn it, Emma!" Snow cursed in frustration. Hearing a curse escape Snow's lips scared Emma more than the anger that filled her words. Snow never cursed.

"I'm sorry," Emma apologized, her voice barely loud enough to be heard.

"Don't be sorry, but please," Snow took a breath, trying to calming herself. "Please, sweetheart, let me in… you're not sleeping. You're still having nightmares. You were just having one now. But they won't go away unless you deal with them. Unless you talk about then. You know that. But you're doing everything you can to avoid dealing with your problems. And because of that, you're hardly sleeping, barely eating, and… you're being reckless, Emma. It isn't okay. What you're doing, it's not good for you or the baby," Snow warned, tears falling from her eyes. "I could have lost both of you today… and just thinking about it… I…"

Emma took her hand from her mother's, using the leverage to sit up and wrap her arm around Snow. She put her cheek to her mom's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Snow wrapped her arms around her baby, holding tightly to her daughter.

"I'm sorry," Emma repeated, her words soft.

"I love you, Emma. More than anything. You have to know that."

Emma took in a quiet breath. "I love you, too."

Xoxo

When Neal got the call from David, he jumped into his car and rushed to the hospital.

Just 20 minutes ago, David texted the man saying they needed to drop Henry off. Emma's in the hospital. But Henry doesn't know anything is wrong. So for the longest twenty minutes of his life, Neal had been doing his best to keep a brave face for his son. Every few seconds, his eyes went to his cell phone when finally David called. With that, father and son hurried to the hospital. When they arrived, they ran through the place, Henry the first to spot David and Snow.

"She's okay, right?" Henry asked, the boy out of breath. "Dad said she's okay."

"Yeah, pal," David while with a small smile. "She's okay."

"Dad told me what happened. She has a concussion?"

"Just a mild one," Snow supplied. "For the rest of the day, we just have to make sure she doesn't sleep too long."

"Can I see her?" Neal asked.

"Whale is checking her now. She had fallen asleep for a few minutes, but just woke up again."

Neal nodded.

"We can go in when he's done checking on her, right?" Henry asked impatiently.

"Yes," Snow said, doing her best to smile.

"You can go on in, Henry."

Everyone turned to Whale's voice to see the doctor coming from Emma's room. That was all the boy needed to hear. He rushed around the adults and practically barreled into the room.

"How is she?" Neal asked.

"She's okay. But I want to keep her overnight, just to be sure."

Neal nodded in understanding.

"She asked for you."

"Me?" Neal asked in surprise.

Whale nodded.

Neal then hurried for the room, but stopped in the door, his heart melting at the sight of his son holding tightly to his mother.

"I'm okay, kid."

"No, you're not."

"Henry-"

"You're not okay!" the boy argued while pulling away. "You're not yourself. You're scared. You're worried. But dad isn't going anywhere. He loves you, mom."

"Kid's right."

Emma looked up to find Neal standing in the doorway.

"Henry, can you give us a minute?"

The pre-teen nodded at his mother's request. "I love you, mom," he said while giving her another hug.

Emma closed her eyes, kissing the top of the boy's head "Love you too, kid."

With that, Henry stood and left the room to give his parents some privacy.

Neal looked to Emma, the man unable to hide his nervous demeanor. He shifted his weight from foot to foot while avoiding her gaze.

A million thoughts were running wild through Emma's mind. She couldn't carrel them, couldn't organize them to the point of forming the right words.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Neal dared to look away from the floor tiles, his stare having been glued to them. He looked to Emma to find silent tears falling from her eyes. Without a word, Neal darted across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached for Emma's hand and was happily surprised when she twined her fingers between his. When she didn't pull away.

"Em," he called, his voice soft.

She looked to the bed, to the blanket that covered her stomach, a fresh round of tears blurring her vision. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, no, don't be sorry. I'm sorry," he said. "You and me… Emma, I don't want to try and force anything on you."

"You're not."

Neal smiled at her quiet words.

"I, uh… I just… I can't… If I lose you again, I-"

"Emma, that won't happen," Neal interrupted. "I told you, whether we're together or not, I'm not going anywhere… But, Em, I want to be with you. I want to take care of you. I want to-" Neal had to stop himself, for fear of his words scaring her.

"You want to what?" Emma asked as tears fell from her eyes.

A shy smile tugged at the corner of the man's lips as he cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away her tears. "I've been in love with you for eleven years, Emma…. I tried to move on, but, I, uh… I wasn't all in it... I was trying to forget about you. That's all that was… I needed to stay away from you, Emma. I couldn't let myself hurt you again… but I can't move on. And I don't want to… You're who I want to be with, Emma… You, Henry and little no name here."

Emma couldn't help a smile as Neal pulled the blanket away to reveal the small curve of Emma's stomach.

"Whale said I'm eight weeks along."

Neal nodded, his other hand spreading across her stomach. "She'll be beautiful. Just like her mom."

"Neal-"

"I know you're scared, Emma. I screwed us up before and I know you're worried I'll do it again… but I won't hurt you, Emma. Not ever again will I hurt you."

"Neal-"

"I wont let anything happen to you, I wont-"

"Neal," Emma called, this time her voice louder, snapping the man from this thoughts. His dark eyes met her blue ones.

"I want to try," She said.

Neal smiled at the words.

"I am scared. Guess I can't hide it… you and Henry… Hell, even my parents… you can all see… but I want what you want… I always have," She admitted. "I tried moving on too. Didn't work out too well."

With a growing smile, Neal said. "We're gonna find Tallahassee, Emma."

"Promise?"

The way she asked, the uncertainty in her voice, her wide, teary eyes starring back at him… this wasn't Emma… she was afraid. Worst of all? She was afraid because of him. Neal would always blame himself for instilling that fear in her. It was his actions, his fault that she didn't trust anyone. That she had those walls surrounding her… Leaving her, it broke her heart. It broke his too. But Neal didn't care about himself. He cared about the woman sitting in front of him.

Neal cupped her cheeks in his hands before putting his lips to hers. They shared a breath taking kiss before Neal parted just enough to say, "I promise."

TBC…

Thoughts before you go? I'd love to hear 'em! Hope you enjoyed!