Summary: Snow had to face her own son sometime. But he was only a ten-year-old, right? He's bound to forgive her eventually if she just talks to him. It couldn't be worse than any facing Emma or David, could it?
Snow tried to suppress her anxiety, as Emma rose from the table, to leave the room and answer the front door.
"Here, allow me?" said Marian, moving past her, giving the blonde a knowing look that told her she knew about her parents' current situation. "It may be easier if I do it?" As the taller woman left the room, Emma watched her mother trying to distract herself, by striking up a conversation with Ella, asking her something about the girl's parents. Not wanting her father to create an even more difficult scene when he discovered who was there, she waited just outside in the lobby, listening.
"Hi, Neal, lovely to see you! And you, David. Glad you could both make it. Emma said you were dropping by."
"Hi Mari!" The almost eleven-year-old rose on his toes to kiss her cheek. "Any food left? I'm starving! Dad was late picking me up!"
"NEAL!" David, right behind him, chided, with a wry grin. "Behave yourself, you little hog! And stop scrounging! If we're too late, I'll get you something on the way home. Sorry Marian."
She just laughed it off. "That's quite all right, David, I know the problem! Rolly's just the same; a bottomless pit for a stomach! I don't know where he puts it all! Neal, we've just finished dessert, but the food's still out. Walk on through and Robin or Gina'll sort you out? I just need to have a quick word with dad?"
As he nodded, leaving them, David stepped inside. "Problem?"
"No, I don't think so. But Snow's here. I just thought you should know."
"Ah! Would you prefer I came back later?"
"No, of course not. I just-"
"I'm assuming from that look; you know about our recent…difficulties?"
"Some," she confessed. "But I'm taking no sides. I was just thinking about you."
"Well I'm not about to cause a scene, Marian, if that's what you're thinking? Emma told me we were invited, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. I can leave Neal here and come back later? Or just get Emma to drop him home?"
"Sorry dad," said a new voice from behind Marian. "This is all my fault! I didn't think..." She moved in front of him, giving him a brief hug. "I think mum's feeling much the same as you are."
"Emma, we're adults. Your mother and I are perfectly capable of being in the same room together, without arguing. This really isn't your problem. Now come on, let's go through."
However, in the dining room, not seconds before, Neal had walked in to find everyone gathered around the table. Including his mother!
"Hi, guys! What's happening? I-"
"Neal?" Snow stood. However, the moment her son spotted her, his usually devilish grin faded to one of surprise, in a heartbeat.
"I'd better go..." was all he said, not even acknowledging her, before striding back out without saying another word, blanking her completely.
"NEAL?" she repeated, before hearing the back door open and slam shut again. She instantly walked around the table to follow him out.
"Can someone just tell me what the hell's going on?" Henry whispered to his mother. "What's wrong?"
"Your grandparents are having some personal issues, at the moment. And Neal's probably just upset because of it. It's none of our business! I'm sure they'll sort it out in the end." As she whispered, trying not to be overheard, Marian walked back in, David behind her, holding Emma's hand.
Personal issues? Between Snow White and Prince Charming? Henry could never imagine those two ever falling out. However, seeing David, he kept quiet.
"Where's Neal?" asked Emma, seeing the missing place at the table. "And mum?"
"He ran outside," Regina pointed to the end door. "He seems upset. Snow's gone after him!"
"I better get out there."
"No! Best leave this to me," said David, placing a hand on her arm. "You stay, I'll go..."
Outside, in the back garden, Snow ran out from the kitchen to find that her son had already climbed halfway up a large cedar tree on some sort of rope ladder. He was already a good thirty foot in the air, when he ducked under some branches. Looking closer she could see a large tree house directly underneath. Roland's presumably. "NEAL?" she called up to him.
Having clearly reached it, he didn't answer, instead pulling up the rope ladder from inside. Snow didn't quite make it in time before it was also out of reach.
"Bloody hell Neal, I'm getting way too old for this stuff!" she muttered to herself, before kicking off her patent heels, which had now become muddy.
Now inside the kitchen, David stopped short of going outside, when, from the kitchen window, he saw Snow standing at the bottom of a tree, looking up. She was wearing a red dress he'd never seen her in before, a much shorter one than usual, and from the back it looked like she'd been to the hairdressers, because she sported a very different hairstyle to what she had on five days ago. But he'd know that figure anywhere! As he watched her, with her hands on her hips, apparently calling up at someone in the tree, somebody walked up behind him.
"Looks good, doesn't she?" said Marian, seeing where he was looking. "I took her to a beauty salon yesterday. I thought she needed a little TLC."
"TLC?"
"Tender Loving Care. My friend Clara took care of her. We bought some new clothes later too. And shoes. And rather sexy undies…." She added, unnecessarily.
Unaware she was being watched; Snow kicked off her heels. Spotting one of the girl's skipping ropes, she quickly checked its strength, before holding one end, flicking the other around the tree, before catching it. Seconds later, she'd knotted it around herself, before jumping and digging her bare feet into the bark, leaning back, and kicking away repeatedly, each time moving her feet a little higher. Within seconds, she was a good five foot off the ground, and going up in little bursts, expelling a grunt with each jump as she climbed.
"This is one set of pantyhose I'll never wear again!" she groaned.
"She's going to ruin that dress!" said Marian, admiring her technique and fitness, as they watched her shin up the tree.
"Way to go, mum!" said Emma, also impressed, now looking over David's shoulder. "I didn't know she could do that?"
"I've seen her scale sheer castle walls higher than that!" said David, with a sad grin. Seeing her bare calves and knees exposed as the dress hung beneath her, her feet slamming into the trunk, he couldn't help recalling happier times, when they were wrapped around the back of his own legs! "Sexy undies, you say?"
"DAAAAAD!" groaned Emma, as Marian snorted with laughter.
"Several sets! Makes any woman feel good about herself. And I have to say, she looks damn good in them!" Marian added, also unnecessarily.
"You're not helping!" said Emma, scowling back at her, as she mouthed 'sorry' in reply, clearly not meaning it. "Perhaps we should go out there and help her?"
"No, she needs to do this! And Neal can't keep avoiding her. Let's leave them be, and go back inside. Anyway, what's this Ella girl like?"
Climbing inside the tree house, which looked a little overgrown and bare inside, Neal looked at a withered Marvel comic as he sat down on a small chair, considering what to do next. Climbing up here perhaps hadn't been the smartest move, and he now felt his stomach growl with hunger. But he'd been so panicked at seeing his mother that he just wanted to get away! Seeing her just now, he'd at first thought of using magic to get away. But Regina, Emma, and even Robin more recently, had all told him never to cast any magic when he was upset, because it could be seriously dangerous if he didn't concentrate. So, he escaped on foot instead. That's when he saw the tree ladder, an old escape he'd used with Roland, and climbed it. Hearing his mother's voice again as she'd clearly followed him outside, he knew he was being petty, but he pulled up the ladder. He really couldn't face her right now. Not after what she'd done!
As his stomach growled again, he was starting to regret his choice, especially after seeing that big pastry thing in the centre of Regina's table! It looked half-finished so, feeling slightly calmer and assuming everyone else was now full, he closed his eyes, focusing on what he'd seen, feeling the pull of his magic start to take hold. As he drew down the power the way he'd been taught, the very large bowl of remaining pie appeared directly in front of him on the table!
"Yes!" he gasped, proudly, calling in another spell to produce the large jug of what looked like custard, from the table, and a spoon from where he remembered them in Regina's drawer.
As he scooped the first large spoonful into his mouth, he recognised the smooth vanilla, cinnamon, and apple taste as one of Marian's best puddings, groaning in ecstasy as he swallowed. It was still warm!
He was so deep in his own thoughts, that he nearly swallowed the spoon when he heard a loud voice call to him from the doorway!
"Could you find a lower tree next time?"
With her hands either side of the opening, Snow hauled herself in, rolling forward in one smooth movement, then onto her back, and finally her bottom, where she stopped, crossing her legs. "I've probably got splinters all over my feet now! You owe me one pair of hose, and another pedicure, young man!"
"How…how'd you even get up here? I drew up the ladder! It's miles up here!"
"True, but I'm Snow White, remember? I've been shinning up castle walls, to steal things, since before you were a twinkle in your father's eye!" Then she spotted the large pudding bowl he was spooning food from. "Looks like you've acquired the knack of stealing too! How the hell did you get that?"
"You may be Snow White but I'm Neal Nolan – wizard!" He answered, coolly, twirling his fingers. "And I'm not ashamed I have magic. Unlike some people I know!"
Ouch! "I'm not ashamed of you, Neal. I could never be ashamed of you! I just…worry, that's all."
"That's not what you said when I got into trouble at school! Troubled child?"
"Then I'm sorry if I misspoke and hurt your feelings. Look, Neal, I know you don't understand things from my point of view, but magic has usually been nothing but bad for me. Your grandmother, Queen Eva, was murdered, poisoned by magic. So was my father, the King. Magic was used to put me under a sleeping spell and created a curse which made me lose the first twenty-eight years of my daughter's life! It stole my memories, several times, and even came close to losing my Emma forever! It was also used to kill your own namesake, Henry's father, who lost his life saving ours! It's used when people who have it want to dominate, to control others who haven't; others less fortunate. I've seen countless men, women and yes, even children, lying dead with their hearts ripped out by magic! So, it's hard for me to regard it as a force for good."
"But that's all Dark Magic mum, not Light! Mine's light, just like Emma's, and I can't just get rid of it! It's inside me, and the only way it'll go is if I leave this place and go live in a world without it!"
"I know. I'm beginning to realise that. And I'm sorry that I made you feel bad. That was never my intention…"
"You called me a freak! I heard you!"
"And that was so very stupid of me. I panicked when you used magic in the diner. Again, I'm sorry, my darling, I was wrong."
He looked down, shovelling another spoonful, considering how best to respond. It was, after all, the first time she'd ever apologised. "You know about Merlin's summer school? Dad's letting me go. You gonna try and stop me going?"
"No, my love, it's probably for the best. You'll also have Emma and Regina on hand, and your nieces are going too. And…your father's just as entitled to a say in your life, as I am. Yes, I'm going to worry about you, but I won't try to stop you."
An uneasy calm followed, Neal trying to cover for his discomfort by shovelling yet more pudding into his mouth to avoid talking, until finally, he rubbed it with the back of his hand. "So, why're you here?"
"I was invited to come and meet Ella. She seems very nice, and Henry seems rather smitten. I had no idea you would be here, but when you walked in, took one look at me, and walked straight out again, I just knew we needed to talk as soon as possible."
"Why didn't you try to earlier? You've been gone a whole week!"
"I was going to, but I was too frightened. If I'm honest, I still am."
"Frightened? Of me, or dad?"
"You. You looked so angry, so…disappointed."
"I wasn't disappointed, I was disgusted! You cheated on him!"
That hurt! That hurt Snow to her very core. Her son, disgusted with her? She was temporarily speechless. But he wasn't done yet!
"You cheated on him with Ruby. Not just once, but four times! How could you do that to him?"
"I…I…" How on earth could she answer? "I never thought I had. We never-"
"Four times? I heard it all, what dad found out from Mr. Gold. You're supposed to be true loves! True loves don't do that to each other!"
God, this was far worse than anything Emma had put her through, and he's only ten! What's he going to be like as an adult? His barbs were almost surgical. It reminded her of those very rare occasions she'd upset her loving father when she was tiny. And she'd forgotten that he'd spied on them talking, bugging the room when David came back. "We are Neal! That's why you and Emma have magic. Your father and I even share a heart!"
"I know. That's what makes it so much worse! So what, you gay now?"
"No. Neal, look, please listen? I never imagined having to say something like this, to my own son, but I'll try to explain..." She drew a breath, thinking how best to start. But she had to, or she might lose him forever. "Before I married your father; before we'd even met, Ruby and I were in a close relationship. Very close. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Duh! You were lovers! I'm nearly eleven, mum, not six. I'm not stupid!"
No, but you are bloody precocious and know way too much for your age!
"Yes. We were lovers. But that was before I even met your father! But even back then, we never thought of ourselves as lovers, we were just…close. Ruby saved my life a few times, as I did the same for her. It bonded us. We were so close that, when your father came into my life, I wanted him to be close to her, too. I just saw the three of us as very, very close friends. And we were! They were, the two of them! Your dad and Ruby even fought side-by-side against the Queen's Black Knights. You know, when he had to save baby Emma by putting her in that magic wardrobe? He fought off three knights, but was almost killed. Ruby was the one who found his body! Without her, you wouldn't even exist!"
"I know about most of that, but you still cheated on him, after you got married, didn't you? Four times! That's what made him mad! That's what made him-" he was about to say more, but he couldn't finish, instead dragging the large spoon through more of the pudding. But his angry eyes never left her.
"You're right. What I did was wrong. To him. But I never thought of it as being…unfaithful…to my marriage, because it was only Ruby, and Ruby was a part of us. But…after your father reacted the way he did once he found out; after Emma talked to me; even after Archie Hopper saw me, I realised that…yes, yes it still was. I was unfaithful. And I can never forgive myself for that! And although it's no excuse, all this happened forty years ago! Since we came back to Storybrooke, after the curse broke and I knew I was Snow White, I have never, ever, been unfaithful."
"No..." He finally put down the spoon, folding his arms in front of him. "You're lying!"
"What? No! No, I'm not!"
"I've Emma's power's, remember?"
"But…" That threw her for a moment, wondering what he meant. What else he knew. Then she remembered something David said. That he'd overheard him shouting at her. But he didn't think he knew about what had preceded it, making David storm off in the first place. The other times. In her shower. At the Diner. She groaned. This was going to get so much worse!
"Neal. I'm going to tell you something very, very private. Something I'd never planned to discuss. Do you remember, a couple of years ago, when we told you about Ruby and Dorothy wanting to have a baby of their own? How your father helped by being a donor?"
He nodded. "Just tell me the truth, mum. No secrets. Remember, I can spot a lie!"
Back in the Dining Room…
After leaving the kitchen, David and Emma returned to the dining room, where an awkward silence hung in the air. As his arrival had probably been the cause, he felt he needed to say something.
"Hi everyone! Sorry about that. Neal's gone outside, and his mother's gone after him. He's a little upset right now, so we'll leave them be. As most of you know to some degree or another, Snow and I are having a few difficulties between us at the moment. It's nothing for you all to be worried about, and we'll get it sorted out in the end. I'm sorry to be the cause of all the friction. Now, Henry. Why don't you introduce me to your beautiful young lady friend here?"
And with that, the awkwardness eased as Ella was introduced and the conversations flowed again. After five minutes, it was as though the incident never happened. David turned back to his charming self, welcoming her into their families' lives, and hoping she'd enjoy it here. Ella in turn became quite animated as she chatted to one of her childhood heroes.
"David?" Someone touched his arm while they all chatted. "Unfortunately, you and Neal missed lunch. Can I fetch you something? A small cold plate perhaps? There's plenty of stuff in the fridge…"
"That's kind of you Marian, but please don't go to any trouble? But...Neal was complaining that he was starving before we got here. There again, he's always complaining he's hungry! Just like his big sister over there!" he smirked at Emma, who poked her tongue out at him, making Hope giggle. "Mind you, now you ask, I did spot that big pie-thingy you had in here? It smelt delicious! Any of that going?"
"Ooh, if you're going into the kitchen, I wouldn't mind another slice of that please, Marian?" begged Emma, only confirming her father's opinion. "I had a slice before but, it was delicious!"
"Yeah, me too please mum?" Said Roland, grinning back "Pretty please?"
"You, young man, have already had three slices! I saw you! Luckily, I made an extra big one this time. I'll cut you a slice first, David. Who else wants another slice of my famous Locksley Pie?" However, before anyone else responded, she spotted the big gap in the middle of the table, the trivet exposed. "Gina, Robin? Did one of you take it, and the custard jug, back into the kitchen? It was here a couple of minutes ago!"
"Nope," said Robin, as Regina shook her head. That's when he spotted Elizabeth smirking back at them, trying not to laugh. "Lizzy, are you hiding something from us, young lady?" She blushed. "Something to do with mamma's pie?"
"No papa, It magicked!" she giggled. "It magicked away! I saw it!"
"Magicked away?" said Regina "What do you mean, lovely? Who-" but as she spoke, Emma had already risen, to lean right over the table, bringing her nose closer to the tablecloth in the centre, where the pie had been, and sniffed hard, several times, to the intrigued amusement of the children looking on.
"You greedy little sod!" she whispered to herself, as she detected a familiar magical signature. "Marian, I think I know exactly who stole your pie!"
Meanwhile…
She'd only been in that treehouse half an hour, but it had been the hardest half an hour of her life! It had felt like being grilled by her mother, father, the Evil Queen and Archie Hopper, all at once! And at the end of it, she felt her son had exposed her entire soul. She'd admitted how she and Ruby had, together, come up with the idea of asking David to be a sperm donor to the Lucas women. How as a result, the two couples had become much closer than anticipated (she obviously left out the sex part) before and after Nathaniel was born. And how they kept their unusual relationship from everyone in town, for obvious reasons. She'd even told him how they'd wanted to help the women once again by letting Dorothy herself get pregnant by him (leaving out the fact they'd succeeded). And Neal, by then, had guessed that his father wasn't just a mere sperm donor anymore.
"So why would he get so angry and walk out before he'd even seen Mr. Gold? What aren't you telling me?" he'd asked, those eyes never leaving hers.
Suspecting he knew more than he was letting on, she then admitted that something more had happened, within the last two months, to make David angry. So, he probed again. Without going into any detail about her threesome in the shower, or at the diner, Snow did confess that there had been two small incidents, which David had found out about. All the time she talked, her son just looked at her, impassively.
"With Ruby?"
"With Ruby and Dorothy."
"So that's it? Dad got angry the first time because he found out you had some sort of threesome with Dorothy and Ruby, twice? That's what made him mad before he saw Mr. Gold?"
How in the hell does a ten-year-old know what a threesome is? Snow merely nodded, now feeling even more ashamed, as though that was even possible.
"Nothing else?"
"Nothing. As far as I can recall…"
Just when she thought the embarrassing ordeal was finally over, he played yet another card. "What about the truth stone? What else did dad find out?"
She visibly shrank at those words. The truth stone? He'd saved the worst till last!
"Who told you about that?"
"Dad. Just after you left. He was on the phone to Dorothy, and I heard. Come on, you might as well tell me now, mum? You know I'll find out one way or another!"
As she'd gathered he thoughts, trying to figure out how best to tell her own son, that Merlin's supposed truth stone had insisted she was still in love with someone who wasn't David, her discomfort was halted by a small sheet of folded paper, floating down from the roof of the tree house.
"What on earth's that?"
He looked up, snatching the paper from the air before it reached the floor. Opening it, he could see handwriting. Emma's handwriting:
Ok smart-ass! We know you stole the pudding! Send it back, or what's left of it, immediately, or I'm coming up! Dad's hungry, and we want seconds down here. Marian says send custard, and that you're doing the washing up. With no magic! I may love you, but you're still in trouble, little brother!
Oops! After reading it, Neal closed his eyes and focused his magic. Seconds later, even from the treehouse, they could hear a bunch of loud cheers from inside the house, followed by laughter, as the missing bowl, minus a good chunk of it, reappeared in the dining room. He couldn't quite contain a smile, even though he was probably in trouble later!
"What's that? What's happened?" said Snow, hearing the noise below.
"It's not important. But this is. Tell me what the truth stone said? Only the truth, please?"
After another ten minutes, he knew. Almost everything. While Snow felt like she'd just gone through the mental bruising of her life, Neal just sat, impassively, thinking. Until, finally:
"So, are you coming back to live at home? At the farm?"
"I haven't yet decided." At last, a question she'd expected. "Do you want me to?"
"Of course I do! You may have screwed up big-time, but you're still my mum!"
"So…with everything that's happened, do you forgive me? Could you forgive me after what I put your father through?"
"I think so, but then it's not really for me to forgive you, is it? That's for dad. He's already said he wants you to move home. I think you should."
"And what if he changes his mind? What if he finds that he can't truly forgive me for what's happened?"
"I don't know, mum. But I do know that I'm not going to leave him, whether you do or not. Sorry."
"Don't be, I understand."
"So, you and Ruby? Is it all over now, that she's got Dorothy? And Nat? Or will you two get together if dad dumps you for good?"
God, he puts things so brutally! "Absolutely not. As you correctly said, she has her own family now. Despite what you may think, your father has always been the only one for me. My own true love. I just hope and pray that, one day, he finds it in his heart to really forgive me. I don't just want him to, I need him to. But...if he can't, then I just hope one day he'll be happier with someone else. Someone who truly deserves him."
"Well, if you want him back, you better start doing something to repair things quickly, because I think someone's already interested in him! I heard him talking to them on the phone, and he sounded a bit weird. Like…like he was flirting with her."
"Her?" She felt the bile rise. "Who do you think it is?"
"I'm not sure, but he's got me staying over at Emma's tonight. I think he might be going on a date."
"A date?" Snow felt the last glimmers of hope start to fade. "Really?"
"Yeah. He's meeting someone at the Rabbit Hole tonight."