Sorry for the delayed update. It's been a crazy couple of days with a lot to do and I didn't know where to proceed from the last chapter. So after a bit of thought I decided to throw us back toward the others who have just discovered Neal is alive. I hope you like it!

Thank you for the lovely comments. They always make my day!

Neal didn't have to say anything for Tinker Bell to figure out just how upset he was at her. His eyes said it all and it was rare that she didn't feel his eyes burning the back of her neck with a scathing look. She honestly couldn't blame him considering the few tales he'd told her back when he was a boy about his villainous father but she had to do this. Whatever it was Rumpel needed the strength to do to save Henry and possibly put an end to Pan, she knew full well that his son was his motivation to do the right thing and right now, she needed him to do exactly just that.

"So, are you going to glare at me all night or are you eventually going to let me talk to you?"

The question came out calm and collected and she inwardly pat herself on the back. Most of the time when someone gave her the cold shoulder her patience didn't last this long but this was Bae. He was the only one she had ever truly taken to, who had made her see that she still held the bit of goodness that had made her a prior fairy before she'd been whisked off to Neverland to join the pixies. And now years later she was still seeking his approval, something she had lost within the first day of his being back in Neverland.

The grown man didn't say anything. He only narrowed his eyes at her more if that was even humanly possible and turned back to stoking the fire.

She bit the inside of her cheek and after a fleeting moment's thought did the risky thing.

Without a bit of hesitation she stepped from her side of the fire and stood beside him, lowering herself to the ground where he sat and mimicked his seating Indian style. He didn't so much as tense a muscle at her proximity and she tried to take a bit of solace in that as she looked up at him with her wide emerald eyes.

"You are going to have to talk to me eventually, Bae. You can't not talk to anyone because you'll eventually get lonely and out of your three options I think I'm the better one."
"You know, you really haven't changed much have you, Tink?" he looked down at her with a cold gaze. "You're still in it for you and you think you can just bowl anyone over with a smile. Well, I'm not that little boy anymore and furthermore, I still hate magic."

His words were cold but it was still several degrees warmer than the silence.

"Exactly what is it I've done to exact the wrath of Baelfire?"
"First, the name's Neal. I don't go by Baelfire anymore. And second…you lied to me about taking me to Emma so we could find Henry together."
"No, not really," she argued, confident that she could win this battle. "You asked me if I knew where Emma was and I said yes and then you commanded that I take you with me. Which I did. You just assumed it was Emma I was going to see and I did try to explain but you held me at knife point and cut me off with more of your rather insistent demands. So now here we sit and yes, I accept my part but you should as well you stubborn headed codfish."

Her words came out quick and short, ending with her open gaze narrowing on him in a glare as her words hit impact. He opened his mouth to argue but whatever words he had in mind failed to get past his lips. Amused, she watched as he opened and closed his mouth once and again, his words failing him and she couldn't help but quirk her lips up in a smile.

He finally sighed and gave her a mock look of defeat.

"Fine, you insolent pixie. I, the codfish, accept my part."
"Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
"Not quite but you have me talking now. With your dazzling smile I'm sure my unforgiving nature won't hold off too long," he mockingly said as gave her the briefest of smiles and she quickly smiled back.

She had missed him and though he wasn't the child Bae anymore, adult Neal couldn't be too bad.

"So how is she, Emma?"
"Emma," she said the name slowly, her mind drifting to the green eyed blonde she had saved from imminent death. With the memory of her face came the recalling of Hook's relieved expression coupled with that rare and foreign emotion of love that seemed to seep away every bit of darkness he had ever held. "She and the crew are doing quite well. They seem to have had their adventures but they're getting along all right. Now tell me," she said her voice lilting as she caught his eye, "What is the connection between you and this woman, Emma?"

Neal held her gaze as his expression remained somewhat stoic, the light behind his eyes telling her he was looking for the words to describe to her exactly what it was she wondered about.

"I met Emma years ago. We were kind of partners in crime together, quite literally. Long story short she and I share a son. Henry."
"Oh, so she's your wife?"
"No, no she's not."
"Well, why not?"

She watched as Neal turned his focus from her to the fire, the light of morning beginning to peek through the trees at them.

"I left her high and dry and let her take the blame for something I'd done. I didn't know she was pregnant with Henry otherwise I would have told Pinocchio to go screw himself and I would have done the right thing, but that's not what happened."
"You left her."
He slowly nodded and shame crept into his face. "Yeah…I did. And you wanna know the worst part?"

Tinker Bell wasn't sure she wanted to but she tilted her head anyway, fully aware that he was talking mostly aloud to himself than her anyway.

"When August sent me that postcard telling me that the curse was broken, I knew she was there but I didn't do anything. You would think I would have packed my bags and been on the first bus that could have taken me to Storybrooke but no. I stayed in New York with Tamara and didn't bother because I thought I didn't love her and didn't want to face my father."

Silence came between the two as Neal buried himself in his morose thoughts and Tinker Bell let the truthful tale of his cowardice hit her full impact bit by bit. She slid him a sideways look and saw him for what he was; a man grown in the ways of the world, the boy she had known as Baelfire fully gone and replaced. Funny enough, she didn't feel disappointment, only endearing camaraderie.

"So you're here to save Henry."
"And hopefully get my family back," he finished for her as he met her gaze once again.
"What do you mean?"
"Not everyone gets multiple chances but my odds beat all. I'm going to get Emma back. Henry, Emma and I…we're going to be a family."

She bit her lip, her thoughts wandering back over to Hook and wondering how he would take the news of Neal being alive and well with the intent to form a family with Emma, the woman she could see that he was falling for. Closing her eyes she could only laugh at the craziness the whole scenario brought about. Neal's mom's pirate boyfriend with Neal's abandoned girlfriend.

"Did you two even sleep?"

Tinker Bell glanced up to see Regina walking towards them rather slowly as she brushed her fingers through her dark hair, her face relaxed and bright from sleep. Tinker Bell tensed at her presence, their history sitting between them like one vast ocean. When it came to Regina, the word "hate" was subtle when compared to the roaring emotions the pixie felt toward the witch.

"No, we didn't," Neal answered her as she stooped by the fire, warming her hands above the flame.
"Well then, I can only hope you won't be slowing us down today. We need to get to Henry as soon as possible. I'm already not too fond of the time he's spent with the little psycho."

Neal said nothing but it was obvious from his facial expression and the set of his jaw that he agreed getting to Henry was urgent business. Right now him and Regina had that one thing tying them together and he was going to use it to his advantage. Teamwork didn't come easily to the woman and he knew that when they got back to Storybrooke they may all possible be at each other's throats again.

"Believe me when I say I don't have any intent to slow down the search for Henry and I'm sure Tink here feels the same." Nothing on Tink's face gave any indication but Regina was smart enough not to comment on it. Instead she flashed an approving smile at Neal and crossed her arms over her chest, looking as regal as ever.
"With that said, do you have any idea where they could have taken our son? I'm not too keen on walking around in circles."
"I actually do. One of the perks of once being a Lost Boy," Neal leaned forward to throw some kindling on the fire avoiding Tink's eyes watching him. "Their closest campsite to this one are the caves on Arrow Head Beach, only a day's travel away."

Regina smiled at the possible first bit of good news she had heard since landing on the island, her eyes sparking at the possibility of holding Henry in her arms by sundown. Having Neal around was proving useful.

The man stood to his feet, wincing slightly as the motion caused his previous injury to shoot fire through his torso. He ignored it, however, as he fixed his focus back on Regina, determination setting over his face.

"Where's my father? Like you, I'd prefer to get an early start to the day."
"I'm right here," Rumpelstiltskin softly called as he came into the clearing, holding something in his hands. When he drew close enough he set down two rabbits, his eyes flickering to the other three as they looked at him questioningly. "Well, we need sustenance don't we? We have a day's worth of travelling and I don't remember the last time I've eaten."
"How long is it going to take?" Regina hissed at him, impatience throwing the all too familiar edge back in her voice.
"Well, with a little magic-"
"If you use magic I'm not eating that. I'll probably grow a second head or something."
"Bae, be reasonable," Rumpel tried to softly appeal to him but Neal wasn't having it.
"You be reasonable and cook it like a normal person. And for the gods' sake quit calling me Bae. It's Neal!"

The air practically sizzled between them as the Dark One's face contorted into an expression that could be compared easily to one who had just had their puppy kicked. Irritation flirted across Neal's own face and Tinker Bell glanced between the two, wondering exactly what it was she had gotten herself into.

"Well why don't we get started on these rabbits," she said just a bit too cheerily as she forced a smile on her face and tugged on Neal's arm. "While you're skinning those, we'll go get some wood for roasting them with. Let's go, Neal."

He allowed her to pull him away from Regina and Rumpelstiltskin before he finally turned and followed her into the woods. There was a bitter look on his face and Tinker Bell felt her heart sink as she realized she had felt in much safer company with the pirate captain than she did in the presence of the man who had once turned her heart as a boy.

Oh, Bae. We need to remind you who you are once again…before it's too late.