"What will happen if Regina gets her soul sucked out?" Emma asked.

Jefferson shrugged as they entered city hall. "She doesn't bother us anymore, and we can get home without her trying to kill us."

"My mother might be upset…"

"Then that's your mother's problem, but death is inevitable.. and don't tell me that Regina doesn't deserve to die after what she did to all of us – and perhaps more importantly, you."

Emma hesitated, before nodding, but she didn't say anything. Her mother would be very upset, or at least from what she could tell, that Regina was in trouble… but Jefferson was right too. Regina had done so many bad things to them – the curse just being the icing on the cake.

"Papa," Grace said, "where do you think your hat is?"

Jefferson sighed and looked around. "Perhaps her office… that seems to be the place she puts her important things. It's where she had it before."

There it was again.

"Before what, Jefferson?"

Jefferson didn't respond, and Emma frowned again as they made their way to Regina's office.

"Jefferson, please tell me."

The Hatter hesitated again, before finally turning to face her. He looked ashamed of something. "Regina promised me that she could write a new story for Grace and I if I…"

Emma raised an eyebrow, Grace now out of earshot looking around the office for the hat.

Jefferson sighed. "You're going to want to kill me if you get your magic to work. She agreed to write Grace and I a new story if I helped her get an apple from The Enchanted Forest…"

Emma paled. Oh God…

"Jefferson," she whispered. "Did you help her try to kill my husband?!"

The man seemed confused. "Kill your husband? Why would I help her try to kill your husband?"

"That apple you got for her was poisoned. It's the same apple she used to poison my-my mother. The Sleeping Curse."

Jefferson's mouth dropped open. "Oh… oh dear. I didn't know… if I had I never would have…"

Emma could sense that he was sincere, and so she put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "It's okay… you didn't know, and he's fine… we're all fine. Neal's alive, my mother's alive, and now you have your daughter back."

Jefferson nodded. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Find a way back to the Enchanted Forest. It would mean so much to my parents."

Jefferson frowned, opening a cabinet. "But not to you?"

"It's not… where I'm from. I mean, I was born there, but… I didn't live there for more than, I don't know, maybe twenty minutes? This world is all I know."

"What has this world done for you though? What sort of childhood did you have?"

Why is it that the people that were deemed insane were the ones that could sometimes make the most sense? She knew he was right – aside from Neal and David, this world hadn't really done anything good for her."

"I-I don't know," Emma said. "It'd be a lot to take in…"

Jefferson frowned. "But for someone like you… it shouldn't be too hard."

"Someone like me? What do you mean?"

"You're magic, Emma. The curse broke because of you. You didn't notice it, but the curse had been slowly breaking all around you simply because you were here."

Emma sighed. "I don't want to lose them, at all… and it's clear to me that they don't want to stay in this world… so why would I force them?"

"Papa! I found it!" Grace's voice suddenly said, cutting the tension of the conversation away with a blur of blonde, the girl holding the hat in her hand.

"Fantastic, Grace!" Jefferson replied. "Completely excellent!"

"Great… let's take it back to the Town Hall," Emma said, forcing a smile to her face. Jefferson's words were true, but Emma wanted so badly to be selfish. She wanted to be angry at them, to leave them in the Enchanted Forest since they left her in this one, but… she had her parents. She had the family that she'd been dreaming about all her life, and she also didn't want to let it go.

The trio made their way back to the town hall, Emma noticing that the town had cleared out. Weird. She thought everyone would've stayed considering Jefferson was the only one so far that could provide a ride back to where they all came from.

"Mary-Margaret, David… we found him," Emma said, breathless as she ran up to them. Mary-Margaret looked upset about something, and David looked mad.

Emma frowned in confusion, before realizing that someone was missing.

"Where's Neal?" she asked.

Her mother seemed distressed as she spoke. "Rumpelstiltskin came… he said he needed Neal's help with something. They left about ten minutes ago."

"So why do you look worried?" Emma asked.

Jefferson scoffed from behind her. "You really don't know how Rumpelstiltskin works, do you?"

Emma turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about?"

"If you make a deal with him, you have to follow through with it. This Neal person must've made a deal with him. Whatever he wants – he gets it. No matter if you're in the middle of something or not," Jefferson explained.

When the time comes, I will collect on our deal.

Rumpelstiltskin's words echoed through her head.

"I need to find them," she said, before hurrying outside.

"What the hell do you want with me now?" Neal asked as he gazed at Rumpelstiltskin.

"Your help."

"Haven't we helped you enough? Emma's done what you prophesized her to do. She broke the curse, and now we need to work on getting all of us back to the Enchanted Forest."

The other man grinned, and Neal felt a shiver go down his back.

"Ah, that's right. She did indeed break the curse. Alas, that is not what I meant when I made that deal with her."

Neal glared. "We have a baby. We can't go running around because you told us to."

Rumpelstiltskin pulled something out – a cloak, Neal realized. "I want to find my son. You remember. Will you help me?"

Neal sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked around. "What if I go in Emma's place? She needs time with her – her parents. You know how it is, to lose your child. Imagine that, except now all of a sudden your child comes back with a wife and a child of his own. Please… have mercy and let me go in her place."

Rumpelstiltskin paused for a moment, before nodding. "Fine, Mr. Cassidy. You can come with me."

Neal let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Emma burst into the shop at that moment, looking terrified. "Neal! Thank God you're alright. Come on, we need to get back to the Town Hall."

"I'm afraid no one's going to the Town Hall just yet Miss Swan," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"Why not?"

Neal could tell Emma was getting irritated with the man, so he stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Neal and I are going out of town," came Rumpelstiltskin's voice.

Emma stared up at him, and Neal could tell she was not happy with this turn of events. "What? Why?"

"I have to help him with something. It was either you or I Emma, and I couldn't let it be you."

"Why not? I can do anything you can Neal."

But Neal shook his head. "I know. But not this. You don't know what this person looks like. I do. I can find him more easily and be back before you know it."

"Who is this person?"

Neal swallowed tight. He didn't know if Rumpelstiltskin wanted to the fact that he had a son to be public knowledge. "Peter Pan… we need everyone from fairytale in this world to be here before we can get home."

It was a lie, and he hated that he was doing it, but he needed to. For now.

Emma sighed, resting against him. "So what am I going to do while you're gone?"

He held her close, kissing her head softly. "Simple. You'll get to bond with your parents."

Her face was conflicted – though she tried to put on a face that said she didn't care. Neal could read her though, and she was nervous. Neal couldn't blame her, but at least her parents were still alive. Because he and Thomas were in Neverland for so long, their parents were long dead.

It broke his heart to think that their parents died not knowing where they were.

"Good luck…" Emma whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, leaving the shop.

Neal turned to Rumpelstiltskin again when Emma was gone. "So how do we do this?"