Helloo dearies I'm back
I'm so sorry for the wait, had a severe case of writers blog
but found my way back...
I hope this chapter is worth the wait

I love every single on of your reviews and appreciate all of them and to answer to
all of you I just wanted to tell you and quote Emma by saying "be PATIENT", I promise that it will all come clear
at the end, and we are getting there probably just a few more chapters
thanks for your support and please keep reviewing, it's what keeps me writing...


Chapter 53

Neal held Henry's limb body and ran as fast as he could away from StoryBrooke. He knew that his son would never forgive him for condemning Emma to a life of slavery, but what was he supposed to do. Pan had a dagger pressed to his neck and even though Henry was willing to die in exchange for his mother's freedom, Neal wasn't about to let that happen, and he knew that in the same circumstances Emma would have done the same. Henry was their son, he was the only thing that was left of their love, the only leaving proof of what he could have had if he had been brave enough to stick with Emma until the very end, and there was nothing he wouldn't do for his son, even if he hated him for the rest of his life.

After a few minutes he slowed his pace and placed Henry gently on the ground, he needed to gain his strength back before continuing on his path, he needed to get as far away from StoryBrooke as possible, before Henry woke up, because once he was up he knew he'll fight like hell to get back, and that was something he couldn't allow to happen.

He knew Pan better than anyone, he knew how cruel and heartless he could be, he had spent a long time with him in Neverland, he had seen and experienced his cruelty first hand, and he knew that if there was something Pan loved to do was play with the things he owned. He loved to show off his power, to show his subjects who they truly belonged to, and now thanks to him, Emma was one of them. And he knew that Pan would do everything in his power to make sure she knew that. That's why keeping Henry out of StoryBrooke was so important, because if he didn't than Henry would be the first to pay Pans anger at Emma's constant defiance, and that was something he couldn't allow.

"Where am I" Henry's tiered voice interrupted his train of thought "where…"

"Henry" Neal said while taking a step towards him

"DON'T" Henry said harshly as he stopped him in his tracks "where are we"

"Far from StoryBrooke" Neal said with determination as he took another step towards his son

"I'm going back" Henry said in a harsh tone as he got up from the place he was sitting in, but Neal just stepped in front of him blocking his way "move" he said harshly

"NO" Neal said with determination in his voice

"MOVE"

"Henry…"

"Get out of my way" he said interrupting him once again "I have to save her I…"

"You are not going anywhere" Neal said with more strength "you are staying here with me and that's final"

"You can't make me" Henry yelled in frustration "she needs me and I'm not letting you stand in my way, so move"

"The only thing your mother needs right now is for you to be safe" Neal said as he took another step towards his son "and going back will only endanger you, look at what he…"

"You can't tell me what to do" Henry yelled "you haven't earned the right to do that; you lost that right when you left us, you…"

"Your right" Neal yelled back "I left your mother, I chose my fear and allowed a poppet to convince me that living without me was her best chance, I made that mistake and I will regret it for the rest of my life, but I'm here now, I'm here now and I'll be damned before I let anything happen to you…"

"I…"

"I know that I failed you, I know that you think less of me because I let you believe that your mother was the bad one the first time we meet, but I was scared…scared and angry…when my father abandoned me I had promised myself that if I had a son I would never let him out of my sight. And when your mother told me you were mine I was so, so angry, first at her and then…"

"How could you be mad at her when you LEFT her to take the blame for your mistakes how…"

"When I saw you I didn't think of that" he interrupted him "I just saw you and in that second my mind went into override for all the things I missed, for all the things I lost with you and…"

"She lost them too" Henry mumbled "she lost all those things too because of you"

"I didn't know that then, I…"

"But when you knew, you didn't do anything about it, you…"

"I was scared" Neal mumbled as tears started to form in his eyes "I hated my father for what he did to me, I hated him for leaving me and I was scared you'll hate me to, I was scared you wouldn't be able to forgive me just like I couldn't forgive him"

"If you would have told me I…I…"

"I know" Neal said taking his hand and smiling at the fact that Henry didn't pull away "you are a much better man then I am son" he smiled weakly "but I couldn't risk…"

"So you rather I hated her" Henry said as the anger returned to him once again and he pulled away

"No…I knew you'll be mad but I knew you wouldn't hate her"

"I pushed her away, I…"

"I know and I'm so sorry"

"We have to get her out of there, we can't let him take her we…"

"We have to stay here" Neal said with determination

"No we…"

"When it concerns your mother Henry" he interrupted "I've made so many mistakes, I let her go when she was mine, I pushed away the only real thing I had in my life and all because of my cowardice, but I won't make that mistake again, I…"

"Then let's go"

"No" Neal mumbled "it's time I make things right with her Henry, and the only way to do that is to keep the thing she loves most safe" he smiled "and that's you…"

"We can't…"

"I will understand if with this you'll hate me for the rest of your life, I'll understand if you'll never want to see me again, but as long as there is danger in StoryBrooke we are not going back" he said with determination as he graved Henry's hand

"You can't do this, you can't" Henry yelled as he tried to pull away, but the more he pulled the harder Neal held his arm

"Yes I can and I will" Neal said a little harsher "do you trust your grandparents Henry" he asked taking a different approach

"Yes" Henry mumbled as he kept pulling away

"Do trust Regina? I mean your mom"

"Yes but what does that have to do with…"

"If you trust them you have to believe that they'll find a way to get her back"

"He has the dagger he…"

"And the first time he had you" Neal answered quickly "we have to believe that they can get her back we…"

"I don't want to lose her" Henry mumbled in a defeated tone

"Weren't you the one how said that good always wins?"

"Yes but…"

"But nothing" Neal said as he pulled him into his arms "I know that it's a lot to ask from you Henry, but trust me when I tell you that keeping you out of StoryBrooke, its what's best for your mom"

"What if I never see her again" he mumbled through his tears

"It's Emma we are talking about kid" Neal smiled "there's no way you'll never see her again"

"I…"

"I love you Henry" Neal mumbled as he pulled away from the hug "come on let's go find a phone, we need to tell them you're ok" he said changing the subject and smiling a little when his son walked with him and away from StoryBrooke.


Rumpelstiltskin stared at the border that separated StoryBrooke from the rest of the world and couldn't help but wish that his son had made it out of there in time. He knew it was selfish of him to send him away from the battle but he couldn't bear the thought of losing him again. And now thanks to his cowardice, his son might now be on Pans grasps with his grandson. He knew it was wrong to think like that, but he couldn't help it, ever since he had found his son he had lost him, first because of the past between them, then because of Tamara, and now it was Pan, who thanks to him had the power of the dagger in his hands and with that Emma.

He couldn't help but hate himself even more for giving Bea the dagger, if he would have kept it with him then this wouldn't be happening. But what was he supposed to do, he knew jealousy when he saw it, and he also knew the things jealousy made people do, he had killed Milah because of it. He knew the way Pan felt towards his son, he knew that at the first opportunity he would have tried to kill him, or worse make Emma kill him, just the way he had killed Milah in front of Hook, and he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let his son die, and worst of all at the hands or in front of the woman he loved. So he had to protect him, and that was the only way he knew how. But he should have gone with him, he should have made sure that he made it out of StoryBrooke safely, but he didn't and now because of that he might lose him again.

He got to the place of the meeting just in time to see Snow White finally convincing the people to join them on their quest to rescue Emma and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of how convicting that woman could be, and how right he had been to choose her daughter as the savior. Before he could continue with his thought, Charming caught his gaze and with a silent encounter he knew the prince understood something had gone terribly wrong.


"Snow you did great" Charming said as he pulled her closer "but we have to hurry" he said pointing at Rumpelstiltskin

"Charming" Snow said as she looked at Rumpelstiltskin in the eyes

"I know" Charming mumbled "I don't like that look either, let's go" he said as he held her hand and started walking towards a frantic Rumpelstiltskin, with Regina close behind

"What happened" Snow said as she stood in front of him "what…"

"I'm afraid we don't have much time"

"What's that supposed to mean"

"Remember the dagger" he asked in a quiet tone

"The one Regina and Cora where looking for" Charming asked and he didn't miss the sad look that took over his wife's eyes at the mention of Cora's name

"Yes" Rumpelstiltskin said

"What about it" Snow said impatiently, as always, wanting to get straight to the point

"Well…"

"When you gave her your power it didn't come freely did it" Regina said speaking for the first time as Rumpelstiltskin gave her a sad look

"What's that's supposed to mean"

"Remember when I told you that your daughter had dark magic inside her now" Regina asked quickly

"Yes"

"Well that magic like all magic has a price, and the price is the…"

"Dagger" Snow said in a fearful tone "were is it?"

"I'm afraid Pan might have it" Rumpelstiltskin answered

"WHAT" Snow and Regina yelled

"How" Charming mumbled as he took a step towards the dark one

"When the ship landed in StoryBrooke and all of you went with Emma to the hospital I…I…"

"You found the dagger" Regina finished for him "are you working for him" she said in a harsh tone as she took a step closer to him

"Of course not" he said defensively "I gave it to Bae"

"You did what" Snow yelled as Charming threw himself on top of the dark one and pushed him towards the nearest wall

"You put my daughter's life in the hands of…"

"Wait" Regina yelled interrupting Charming "if Pan has the dagger, which was in your son posetion, where the hell is MY SON" she said as a ball of fire appeared in her left hand. If Rumpelstiltskin had given his son the dagger and Pan taken it from him, then that meant that he had taken Henry too

"I don't know"

"What do you mean you don't know" Regina yelled "your son was supposed to make sure Henry and the puppet made it out safely"

"I know" Rumpelstiltskin said in a low tone "an hour after you left the puppet appeared at my shop and told me Pan had found them by the line, I appeared there the second that he told me but it was too late, they were gone"

"What do you mean by gone" she yelled as fear took over her, she couldn't lose Henry, not again

"They weren't there, I don't know if Pan has them or they found a way to cross the line"

"This is all your fault" Regina yelled as she took a step towards him "why the hell did you give him the dagger"

"Because…"

"We don't have time for this now" Snow yelled as she stood between Regina and Rumpelstiltskin

"I'm going to…"

"We need him to get them back" Snow said as she took a step closer to Regina "you cant take him on your own Regina, you know that"

"Don't you get it" Regina said in defeat "if Pan has the dagger, we would be fighting Emma not him"

"What…"

"And how am I supposed to fight when he has MY son" she yelled but Snow hadn't heard that part because what Regina said before terrified her, if Pan had the dagger then he had Emma which meant they had lost

"No" Snow mumbled "there has to be a way…"

"She's right" Rumpelstiltskin answered "if he has the dagger then the only way to win is to take it away from him, if we don't then we'll be fighting Emma"

"And how do you suggest we do that" Charming yelled "you gave that dagger to your son, for the second time in my daughter's life you decided for her without giving her a choice, l let the first one slide because even though we lost twenty-eight years of her life we got her back, but if something happens to her now, you won't live to tell the tale Rumpelstiltskin, if we lose her now, I don't care what I have to do, but I'll make you regret it" he yelled "am I clear"

"Yes" Rumpelstiltskin mumbled in shame and fear as he took a look at the eyes of the three people standing in front of him

"So how do we do it?" Snow asked with the same determination

"I take Emma and all of you take Pan"

"What?" Snow yelled "I'm not letting you…"

"I won't hurt her" he interrupted "I know how her magic works; I was the dark one for a few hundred years dearie"

"I don't trust you" she yelled back "I…"

"So would you rather fight your daughter instead" he mocked

"No but…"

"If Henry is there I don't think he'll appreciate the sight of his two mothers fighting for their lives" he interrupted before Snow could say Regina's name, it still amazed him how after everything Regina had done to her, Snow still found it in her to trust her, more importantly with something as important as her daughter's life

"He's right" Charming mumbled at which Snow gave him a defeated nod "so you take Emma, while we take Pan"

"Yes" Rumpelstiltskin answered "if we keep him under attack, he'll find it harder to control Emma"

"Ok" Snow said

"And how do we get the dagger?" Regina asked

"You just managed to convince the whole town to help you dearie" he said looking at Snow "I'm sure you'll find a way for them to help" he finished while she nodded

"How do we know where it is" Charming asked

"He has to have it with him in order to control her" Rumpelstiltskin explained "so what do you say? Let's go save your daughter"

"Let's go" Charming said as he and Snow started walking towards their apartment, where their daughter and everyone from the town was waiting for them

"If something happened to my son because of you, I'll make you regret it before our dear Prince Charming gets his hands on you, am I clear" Regina said with determination on her voice

"Cristal"

"Good"


Snow and Charming walked hand in hand towards their apartment, both lost in their own thoughts, what would happen if they were too late, what would they do if they were forced to fight against their daughter

"What if we can't…"

"Don't Snow" Charming interrupted before she could go on "we won't lose her, not again"

"I won't fight her Charming" Snow said quickly "I won't…"

"Neither will I" he said with determination "but we won't have to"

"And if we do"

"We'll see when we get there" he mumbled

"What if it's your life or hers what if…"

"It will always be her" Charming mumbled

"I know" Snow said in a defeated tone "that's what I'm afraid of"

"Snow…"

"Don't miss understand me Charming, if it's between me and her I will choose her to, but…"

"Then what do you mean"

"Do you know what will happen to her if she kills one of us" she asked "do you know the guilt, the pain she will go through if that happens?"

"Yes" Charming mumbled "that's why we won't let it happen"

"But…"

"If there is something I've learned from you, my dear Snow is to never give up, if there is something this family does is that we never give up on each other and we are not about to give up now" he gave her an encouraging smile "we are almost there Snow, we are so close to getting her back, so why give up now?" he asked

"Your right" Snow smiled as she felt her confidence coming back "let's go"


Hook got out of the room as soon as possible, he needed to find everyone and tell them about the dagger and Emma's whereabouts. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her there alone and unprotected but he knew she was right, he couldn't stay there because if he did then Pan would surely kill him in front of her and that was something he couldn't let her go through, not after confessing that she loved him.

She loved him, his Swan had finally admitted to having feelings for him, giving him another reason to fight for her, to defend her and bring her back to her family, so that she could finally have the life that she deserved.

He made a right turn as he saw the man who was holding his life captive on the dungeon make his way toward the room, he had half a thought to throw himself at him but he knew he needed to wait. He needed to go get help, so that he could finally rescue Emma from that monster once and for all.

Once he was sure that Pan had entered Emma's room, he made his way up and out of the ship. The faster he told everyone about her whereabouts the faster he'll get her back and safely in his arms. He couldn't help the smile that took over him as he remembered the way her lips had felt against his, the way she had responded to his kiss and then pulled back to give him a kiss of her own. He still couldn't get over the fact of how weak and strong she had made him feel at that moment. He had felt like he had taken something from her and not just her heart. She looked so vulnerable and strong at the same time that he couldn't help but hate himself for leaving her alone with that monster once again. The only thing that kept him moving was the fact that it wouldn't take too long before he got her back, and this time for ever.

As he got near Emma's apartment, he saw a bunch of people with torches on their hands and couldn't help but smile at the fact that all this people where here to save his Swan, Snow had done it, which meant the first part was completed

"Hook" Snow yelled as she saw him approaching them

"I'm here" he said quickly "but Emma's not"

"What do you mean" Snow asked as she got closer to him "there's a protection spell over the house"

"He might be using it as a diversion" Hook said quickly "I just saw Emma at the Jolly"

"YOU WHAT" Snow yelled "where is she"

"He came back before I could free her" Hook said regrettably

"What do you mean?"

"I asked Rumpelstiltskin to send me to the Jolly Roger to retrieve a sword I believed will help us freeing her and I found her in the dungeon, we got a little delayed and Pan came sooner than we thought"

"Did you get the sword?" Rumpelstiltskin asked before Snow and Charming could read the reason he got delayed in Hooks eyes

"Yes" he said "but I believe it won't be much help now as he has the dagger" he said with a sad tone

"You know about the dagger" Charming asked

"Yes" he said confused "how do you know about it"

"Gold" Snow said quickly "you?"

"Emma sent me to warn you" he said

"She knows?"

"Yes, he told her"

"We are losing valuable time" Regina interrupted "just one more thing" she said quickly "did you see Pan"

"Yes"

"Did he have Henry" Regina said with anticipation

"No, why" Hook asked as he saw Regina visibly relax, if Pan didn't bring Henry to Emma then there was a possibility that he had escaped

"Henry and Neal are gone" Charming said quickly, putting Hook up to date

"They were supposed to…"

"Pan found them before they left, Rumpelstiltskin here was so kind as to give Neal the dagger" Snow said with anger that multiplied as she saw no confusion on Hooks face "you knew"

"Yes" Hook said as he lowered his face to the floor

"And you let him do that"

"I didn't have much of a choice" Hook said quickly "when I found out, he was gone"

"We can discuss this latter" Rumpelstiltskin said "right now time is of the essence"

"We are not done" Charming said with determination "but we can handle this once we've defeated that monster"

"Aye" Hook said as he turned to leave "follow me, it's not too far from here"


"Like my new dagger sweetheart" he asked her as he pressed it closer to her body, enjoying the way she tried to pull away from him "don't" he warned "I think it's time we set a new set of rules honey" he smiled "and let's just say I have a new way to make you follow every single one of them" he said wickedly as he pulled her closer "first of all, as I've said before, you don't talk on less being asked to, you don't do anything unless I give you permission to and must importantly you don't question anything, if I give you an order it's because I want you to do it, not because I'm giving you a choice" he laughed as he took a look at the fear in her eyes "want to know how I found it?" he asked as he took the gag from her mouth

"What" she asked with confusion

"The dagger" he smiled "want to know who gave it to me?" he mocked and didn't wait for Emma to respond "it was Bealfire or Neal as you know him"

"No…"

"Yes honey, that knight in shining armor you feel in love with gave me this" he said waving the dagger next to her eyes, to emphases what he meant

"I don't…"

"But don't judge him honey" he interrupted her once again "this time he didn't have much of a choice"

"Why…"

"You see, I had something of him, well actually of both of you" he smiled "and so we traded it" he said as his smile got bigger once he saw the realization taking place in her eyes, he loved how smart she was

"What did you do to my son you monster" she yelled as she tried to pull away from him, but he held her closer not really liking the way she had referred to him

"Another rule sweetheart" he said harshly "if you call me monster again you'll regret it, am I clear" he asked but Emma didn't respond so he held the dagger to her neck and asked again "am I clear"

"Yes" Emma mumbled in defeat

"Good" he said with a smile and continued "don't worry baby, nothing happened to your son" he smiled "I just traded him for the dagger"

"Where is he" she asked, not really believing his words

"I don't know" he answered "I'm guessing that coward you used to love did the right thing this time and took him far away from here…"

"Where…"

"Don't interrupt" he said with an angry voice "as I was saying I believe Neal took your son away from here, at least that's what he was planning to do before I caught up with them, let's just hope for your son's sake that he did" he smiled wickedly

"What's that supposed to mean" she asked in a confused tone

"My offer still stands sweetheart" he said pulling her head up to meet his gaze "remember I told you to choose, mommy, daddy or your kid, now that the kid is out-of-the-way you'll only have to choose between mommy and daddy"

"NO" Emma cried "please don't…"

"Who is it going to be" he asked ignoring her pleas

"Please" she cried again "I'll do anything, I'll…"

"Your promises mean nothing to me" he said in anger "I recall telling you in Neverland that as long as you stayed with me nothing could happen to your family, remember?"

"I didn't plan it" she said quickly on an attempt at saving her parents lives, maybe if she could make him believe that she had nothing to do with the escape, he'll go back to his promise of not hurting her family "I didn't even know"

"What are you talking about honey" he asked

"I didn't know they were planning to bailed me out, they did it without my consent" she said quickly

"True" he said with a small smile, secretly loving the way she was pleading for their lives "but mommy was warned as well"

"Yes" she said quickly once again "but your warning towards her was that I would pay the price, and I don't know what you meant with that, but the bruises and pain around every muscle in my body tell me that I'm paying the price"

"Good, I can see you haven't lost your snark" he smiled as he gently removed a lock of hair from her swollen face "what are you suggesting darling"

"I'll go with you" Emma said as she looked into his dark eyes "I'll do whatever you tell me to, I'll follow your rules and everything, just don't make me kill them, please, don't" she cried, hating the fact that he was seeing her so broken and vulnerable

"You'll do that whether I make the deal with you or not" he smiled "I have the dagger Emma, I have your will, and you can't do anything for yourself anymore without my consent"

"I thought you loved me" she mumbled, burning her last card "I thought I was important to you, I…"

"You are" he said interrupting her ramble "and I do love you, but…"

"If you loved me you wouldn't do this, you…"

"Do you love me Emma?" he asked interrupting her once again

Emma stared at him in both anger and confusion, she didn't know what to do, if she told him that she loved him there was no way he'll believe her, but if she didn't tell him, would everything be lost "I…"

"Don't lie to me" he said warningly "I know you don't, and you know why?" he asked

"I can name a few reasons" she mumbled more to herself than him

"What did you say?" he asked angrily

"Nothing" she said quickly

"That's what I thought" he smiled "well the reason you don't love me is because you have people who love you now, you have people who rely on you, people who look up to you, if you had no one, then…"

"Then what" she said a little irritated now by the logic he was using, did he really think that the reason she hated him was because she had people in her life who loved her now "you really think I could love someone who treats me like this" she said with a little more strength "someone who took advantage of me when I was a kid, someone who took my son twice, someone who tortured me in front of my parents for his own amusement, I might not know a lot about love Pan, but I sure as hell know you don't do what you did to me to someone you love" she yelled "and if you think that making me kill the people I LOVE will make me fall in love with you, then you are crazier than I thought"

"Are you done" he asked as he held her face so tight with his hand that Emma couldn't help the tears that we're falling from her eyes

"No" she managed to choke out

"Well to bad" he said harshly "because now it's time for you to listen" he smiled "I know making you kill them will not make you fall in love with me darling, I'm not that naïve. The thing here Emma is that I'm not looking for your love" he explained and smiled at the confusion on her face "what I'm looking for honey is respect, what I'm looking for is submission, and making you kill the people you love will give me just that" he finished and couldn't help the smile that once again came to his lips at the fear that took over her face, he was just about to continue when a sound came from above the ship and he felt his smile grow even more "it looks like they are saving us the time in looking for them sweetheart"

"No" Emma said as more fear took over her, if she got out of here alive she was going to kill Hook for not listening to her, her family wasn't supposed to be here, they were supposed to be as far away from her as possible, how was she supposed to defend them now, when her will belonged to the man who wanted them dead

"Who will it be Emma" he asked as he unchained her hands from the wall "mommy or daddy?"