AN: I do not own OUAT

I am so surprised at home many of you have been reviewing my chapters! Especially the last one! I am so glad. I really hope you guys like this one as well, I'm going to try very hard. My question for you guys is what is something you're scared about happening in this AU?

So, yes, I had some difficulty finishing this chapter, I started it weeks ago, pretty much right after I uploaded my last chapter, but then everything happened with quarantine, and honestly it's still going on here and I'm not in the best of places right at the moment, but I want to keep you guys happy, so...here it is and if anything seems off, I honestly couldn't remember if I ever mentioned how Emma knew Neal in this AU, so I'm sorry in advance if I messed anything up.

Chapter 35: Rumples' Son

(past) When Emma was fifteen

Emma sat on the log that gave her the most enchanting view of the lake, the lake she always came to when times were tough. Today she was stressed, her mother was preparing her to be a wife because just in a couple of short years they would start looking for a husband for her, she didn't want that, she wanted to choose who she married because she loved them.

In the distance she heard what sounded like a boy screaming, looking up from her glance at the stick she was moving in the water she saw a boy, riding along on a horse, a horse that was out of control and kicked the boy off his sale, and scurrying off.

"Are you alright?" Emma asked as she ran over to him, as he picked himself up and brushed his closes off.

The boy looked at her and nodded, he didn't say anything, he was probably embarrassed as to what just happened.

"I'm Emma," Emma said as she looked at the boy, he appeared to be her age, maybe a little older, he had dark brown hair and eyes the colour of rich chocolate.

The boy looked at her, was he to tell her his name? No, he couldn't his father would find him that way, instead, he made a new name for himself, "I'm Neal."

Emma smiled, "Neal, that's a cute name."

Emma Laid in bed looking over at Killian, fast asleep with the comfort of the hotel room around them. Henry slept over in the other bed, next to theirs which didn't feel weird to them, considering that's how it was every night to behind with.

Killian turned in his sleep, "love, if I wasn't awake right now I would say you're burning a hole through my face."

"Sorry, I just couldn't stop myself," Emma said as she didn't turn away from this man, she was having a baby with him. Another baby.

Opening his eyes he turned to face her, "and how are you feeling today?" He questioned as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Emma took a deep breath, "I'll feel better once we've found Rumples' son and are on our way back home to Storybrooke."

"Do you think it's anybody we know?" Killian questioned.

Emma struggles and turned to look up at the ceiling, "I've been wondering that since we left."

"I've run searches for the name Baelfire and there's nobody under that name anywhere here," Killian said as he took out his phone and went through his history of searches he had done the night before, before dozing off to sleep.

"He probably changed his name," Emma said, "I mean I would, if I was a runaway, not wanting to be found by anybody from my past, especially my murderous father."

A knock at the door signalled Emma out of bed, going to open it, Rumple walked past her into the room, uninvited.

"Yeah...just come on in," Emma muttered under her breath.

Rumple looked over to the sleeping boy and the awake pirate who had now been replacing his naked chest with a grey cotton shirt. "You're not ready."

"Well, Gold, you didn't exactly tell us when this search was going to start," She told the man honestly.

"I thought you all understood what we were here for, not just on a vacation where you can sleep in," He spat to the pregnant pirate princess.

"How do you suggest we find him then, huh?" Killian questioned licking his bottom lip as he stood up, "I've looked, there's nobody under his name anywhere in this country."

"Oh, I've thought about, the same way, I brought your parents together again," Rumple said looking over at Emma.

She was confused, "My parents were brought together by magic though, there's none of that here."

"Oh there's always magic dearie, just not enough like Storybrooke, but a simple small locator spell should work here," he explained to her.

"Great, what are we going to enchant this time?" Emma questioned as she looked down at the shawl, "of course, nevermind."

Rumple looked over at the sleeping boy once again and then back up at his parents, "wake the boy and meet me downstairs in the lobby in twenty minutes." With that, he walked out leaving Emma and Killian alone to wake up Henry and rush to get dressed in clothes that would keep them warm with the nippy New York breeze.

"Alright, so how are we going to do this?" Emma questioned as she walked down to the lobby of the hotel with Killian and Henry, her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"Well, Ms. Swan," He started knowing the name bugged her, "In this small vial, is the exact same potion that lead your father back to your mother, and it's also going to take me back to my son, with just a small drop," He placed the smallest of drops onto the shawl that was still around his neck, "It should lead us right to him."

The shawl started to have a very faint glow to it like it had found a match.

"I guess that means he's not that far?" Killian questioned.

"I'm so excited!" Henry cheered as his face lit up.

Everybody walked around the streets of New York, watching as the shawl grew brighter and brighter, not really caring where they were going, only caring about who they were going to find. As the shawl lit up to the brightest it's ever been they all assumed this must be the spot where Gold's son was hiding.

"This must be it, ready to meet your son, mate?" Killian asked the crocodile as they went to look at the list of tenants' names.

"No, baelfire," Henry stated as he read all the names and there was nothing to be seen.

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't fly as an alias," Emma stated, knowing they had already searched his name.

"Do any of these names mean anything to you?" Henry questioned as Rumple had come over to them to take a look for himself.

"Well, names are what I traffic in, but sadly, no," He replied to the young boy as he continued to look at the names, he wanted anything, just anything to stand out to him so he could see his son again after so long.

Emma searched the names over again, there was not Stiltskin or any Baelfire, but there was a blank slip with only the apartment number on it, "There's your boy," She said feeling confident to her choice, she knew that was the one.

Rumple sighed, he was already frustrated enough, "No, or it could just be vacant," He told her, doubting her choice.

"You might traffic in names and magic, but I traffic in finding people that don't wanna be found, and those sort of folks don't like to advertise their whereabouts," Enna explained to him, considering she was on many cases before in Storybrooke about missing children and people that didn't want to show up to court.

"I'd trust her mate, she knows what she's doing," Killian grunted as he stood back against the wall, having Rumple glare at him.

Emma pressed the button next to the blank label, somebody had picked up but never said a word, "UPS package for four-oh seven," She said into the intercom, having the other person on the other end hung up without saying anything.

"Maybe you should've said FedEx, love" Killian said jokingly.

Emma was confused as to why the person wouldn't say anything but then she heard clanking and banging of metal outside, "He's running," She said as she quickly rushed to go see for herself, and as she looked outside they saw a man running down the stairs of the building.

"that...that favour you owe me, this is it, get him to talk to me, I can't run," Rumple told Emma as he was watching his son trying to escape.

"Watch Henry, I'll be back," She told Killian as she started to take off, chasing this man.

"Wait, what? No! Emma, you're pregnant!" He shouted but before he could even say anything she was off, he had to stop or at least make sure she was alright, he couldn't have her lose another child, "Crocodile! Watch Henry!" He shouted as he ran off chasing after the two.

Emma chased the man across the street, cars honking at the both of them, she didn't care about the cars, this wasn't the first time she had done this, the only thing on her mind right now was getting Rumples' son to him as soon as possible.

As the man ran down a back aisle, she watched him and ran down another street, she knew if she timed it right enough, she could catch him as he was passing her, and she did, she did catch him. She grabbed onto him but they both ended up falling to the ground from the impact.

"Emma! Are you alright, love!?" Killian questioned quickly helping her up and checking her over, "The baby? Is it alright?" He was so worried that she was in pain right now and something bad happened to their little bean

"Wait, what...yeah, I'm fine," Emma said as she picked herself up, brushing herself off.

"No...Emma? Hook?" The man she had tackled to the ground whispered as he was still on his hands and knees, looking up at the protective pirate checking over his wife.

Both looked down as the man spook, they were both shocked to see who it was, they both didn't see him last since he was just a young boy. Emma last saw him when she was just fifteen years old, in the garden of her kingdom, and Killian last saw him the night he gave him away to the lost boys of Neverland.

"Aye, I see you still remember me, lad," Killian said rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, feeling the awkwardness.

Neal picked himself up and looked straight at the pirate, "How could I forgot you, the man who sold me out to the Pan, what are you doing here?" He questioned turning to Emma.

Emma was confused, "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I thought you were dead, Neal."

Killian was confused, How did Emma know his young boy and why was she referring to him as Neal?

Neal looked down and shook his head, he wanted to go back to her, but something happened where he just couldn't

"Are you Rumplestiltskin's son?" Emma asked firmly, wanting to get to the point.

Neal tensed up, that name, he ran away since he was a young boy just to get away from that name, "Is he here?" He questioned in a concerned tone, he wanted nothing to do with his so-called father.

"How else would I be in New York? better yet how did you get here, everybody who was cursed was brought to Storybrooke," Emma told him, a little confused on how Neal wasn't with the other cursed now uncursed citizens of Storybrooke unless he never was cursed, to begin with.

Neal shook his head, "It's a long story, but anyway why would you bring him to me!? Why would you do that?! Especially you!" He shouted as he pointed at Killian, his finger laying on the leather of his jacket that protected his chest from the weather.

"You better move that finger, lad," Killian threatened as he grunted his teeth, he didn't understand why he was so upset, he just was, knowing Emma had a past with this man and she didn't tell him.

"Neal, I want the truth, I want it all...Why did you never show the next day when we said we would!" Emma yelled the truth was she didn't really know why she was so upset, maybe because he was the first person she felt anything with because he wasn't a prince or royalty her parents tried to set her up with, no, he was just a regular guy.

"There's a bar down the street, we can all talk there," Neal said as he started to walk off.

"We are not drinking with you, mate, she is pregnant, whatever you're going to say you can say it now," Killian told his use to be stepson.

Neal stopped, Emma pregnant, Killian refusing a drink, his father wanting to find him, yup everybody clearly was out of their minds. "Nope, bars better, don't worry you can keep yelling at me when we get there." He started walking off down the street, both Killian and Emma looked at each other as they were both frustrated with the matter, but reluctantly they both followed along.

Henry was snacking on some popcorn that Rumple had bought for him as they waited, it seemed like the time was passing on so slow as Henry could tell from Rumple he was starting to get agitated. "Don't worry, my mom's really good at catching people," The boy explained to the older man.

"Well, my son's been running away for a long time now, now I feel he's equally adept to it," Rumple explained to the boy his worries.

"Well, at least we found him, right?" Henry stated, saying that at least he was able to find his boy and know that he was alright.

Rumple nodded to the young lad, "Indeed."

"Oh, and uh, thanks for the popcorn," Henry said in a kind way to the villain.

"Well you're quite welcome, and oh thank you, if it wasn't for you and your father showing up to Storybrooke, none of this would have come to pass," Rumple explained as he started taking small steps away from the popcorn vendor, "You...are a remarkable young man."

Henry smiled, he knew Rumple was a bad man, but at this moment he was showing another side of him, a side that Henry never heard of before, which brought a question to Henry's mind, who was Rumple before he became the dark one, was there a man before the evil and darkness?

Emma waited at the lake, for the past month this was where she was meeting Neal. She had grown to fall for the young boy, she didn't understand what it was, but there was something mysterious about him. Emma looked up at the moon, it had gone past its mark she used to count the time Neal usually showed up, he wasn't here though.

Where was he she questioned to herself, he was never late. She could feel her heart start to fasten as she started to panic, did he blow her off? Did he not love her like he said he did the day prior when they shared their first kiss.

The time had passed on, it was almost midnight and Emma knew it was time to leave and go home before she got in trouble. When she got up she looked around one last time before setting the basket of bread she had gathered from the kitchen down on the ground, along with a small gift she had made for him, hoping he would come and get it.

When Emma had arrived at the castle, she heard guards bustling around the castle, trying to find some thief.

"What's going on?" Emma asked her mother as she met up with her in the corridor.

"Somebody came and stole gold from us," Her mother said before leaving and trying to find the main guard, "Did you find anything?"

The next thing Emma knew the guard held up a piece of clothing, but it wasn't just any piece of clothing, it was a vest that had belonged to Neal, and the way she knew was because she made it for him. He had lied to her, he never loved her, he only loved her riches, he only wanted to distract her.

Emma, Killian and Neal all sat at the bar, Neal had ordered three beers for them all but Emma corrected the bartender and ordered herself a glass of water, having Neal give her a strange look.

"I'm pregnant," Emma scuffed as she saw the looks Neal was giving her as the tender gave Emma her water.

Neal nearly choked on his drink, did he hear that correctly? "I'm sorry, what?" He looked at her again, making sure she was telling the truth, "You're having a baby with a pirate? Good luck with that, he'll probably sell it off to some villain as he did me to Pan."

Killian got up, nearly lunging at the man, "I was a different man back then!" He shouted.

"Whoa, calm down! I thought it was Milahs son you had sold to Pan?" Emma questioned as she looked at Killian and then back to Neal, "You are Milah's son...which makes you Killians Stepson."

"Former..." Neal corrected her.

"Right," Emma said placing her hand on Killian's knee, calming him down as he took a swig of his alcoholic beverage, she couldn't believe her husbands' former stepson was her former lover.

"So, what did you wanna know, Emma? Do you want the truth? Ask away" Neal questioned taking a sip of his beverage, thinking about how bad their marriage must be, a princess and a pirate, he probably blackmailed her into it, he thought.

"Did you know who I was when we met?" She questioned, trying to figure out exactly what happened. Neal was her first love, she thought they had a connection.

Neal shook his head, "No," He answered her question honestly.

"So what? You were just using me? Distracting me so you could come and steal from us?" Emma asked, she could feel her body heating up with anger as she remembered that evening, the evening she waited and he never showed.

That's when Killian understood how Emma knew Bae, he remembered the story Emma had once told him about a man she trusted and how he deserved her, it was a few years before they had met. He ended up wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders, trying to calm her down, she could feel how tense she was.

Neal sighed, "I didn't know, I found out, I saw a portrait of you hanging in the town marked as Princess Emma," He told her sighing, remembering that day well, "I didn't want to steal from you, When I was planning it, it wasn't to hurt you, I didn't know you were the princess, I just needed to get away and start knew, I was running from him," Him being his father of course.

"You left and stole from me because you were scared to face your father?!" Emma was almost shouting, she could feel the tears in her eyes start to burn.

Killian knew she needed this, this was one of the things that made Emma scared of falling in love with Killian when they met, she needed to let this off of her chest.

"Look, there's not a lot I don't remember about my father that doesn't suck, but he believed everything happened because of coincidences...it happens by design, and there's nothing we can do about it, but what I mean is...maybe I had to hurt you for a reason, maybe something good came from it, like look, you're now with...Hook, having a baby, and married I see," He said looking down at the ring she had on her ring finger.

Emma looked over at Killian who was looking down at the floor, playing with his bottom lip, she had to give him that one, she was madly in love with Killian and if he hadn't hurt her Emma wouldn't have become the strong woman she was when she met Killian. "You're right, but for me to have gotten that, I went through misery, I put up walls, I was hurt, but whatever it doesn't matter anymore, I'm over it," She said as she picked herself up, standing now in front of him. "Now come on, I promised your father I'd bring you to him."

Neal looked up at her, was he hearing her correctly, "You made a deal with him?"

"Yeah," Emma told him. It sounded stupid to her because she was cursed when she, made that deal if she wasn't cursed she never would have gotten involved with Rumple's business with wanting a firstborn, "And I'm upholding my end."

"No, Emma, you don't have to, you know that this should be easy for you, tell him you lost me, you can't find me, you do that...you never have to see me again," He said as he looked into her eyes that were red from her holding back her tears.

Emma looked at Killian, what was she going to do? She didn't want to see this man again, but she also didn't want to tell Rumple she lost his son.

"What's it going to be love?" Killian questioned as he looked down at her, seeing the stress that she was going through. He panicked every moment they were out of Storybrooke, he knew they shouldn't have come, especially since Emma was in her very early stages of pregnancy.

Rumple and Henry were sitting down inside the apartment they last saw his son run away from, he was fiddling with his ring as a quietness swept across the both of them, until Henry decided to break it.

"Why are you so nervous?" Questioned Henry, unclear of how somebody could be so nervous to meet their long lost son that they had dreamt about literally forever, "When I found my mom, I was excited."

"Because I have the benefit of a little more...life experience, I know that things don't always happen the way we want them to," Rumple told the boy honestly. Life was always throwing you a curveball when you think something good was going to happen, it never did for, at least for him it didn't.

Henry didn't understand, he thought Rumple knew what was coming. "Sure but in my book, it says that you can see the future, why can't you just see what's gonna happen?" Henry questioned.

"Well that ability is complicated," Rumple started explaining to the young boy, "I didn't always have it, and then when I did...well...it's maybe not the gift one would expect. Seeing the inevitable...can be a terrible price." He remembered the day he met the young seer, she was nothing but a child, but she was telling him everything he didn't want to hear, like the fact he would die in the war and his son would be fatherless, of course, he didn't even know his wife was pregnant, but he couldn't let that happen, so he did what he had to. Of course, years later he discovered the seer only told him the half-truth, yes his son did grow up fatherless, but not int he way he was expecting, so he took her powers so he would know what was coming and how it really was going to happen.

"But you wouldn't have to worry about stuff, you'd just know," Henry said, he would have loved to have that power, which had another question come to his mind what was his power? Of course, he remembered the day he saved his father's and mother's lives, but nothing ever happened since then, maybe it was just a one-time thing.

Rumple smirked, and done that small breath like chuckle that was almost unbearable by the average ear "But that's the great trap, the future...is like a puzzle...with missing pieces...difficult to read, and never, never what you think," He explained giving Henry a life lesson.

Just then the two heard the door to the apartment building open, hoping it wasn't a resident that lived there thinking they were trespassing and call the cops. Fortunately, it was just the person Rumple was waiting to see all day.

Emma and Killian walked through the door, it was only them, no Neal or Baelfire, whatever his name is.

"Did you find him?" Rumple questioned, getting up from his seat and walking over to the couple.

Emma looked over to Killian, what would he do if she told him the truth, your son just didn't want to see you? She knew she couldn't tell him that. "Sorry, your son...got away." She saw the pain in his face, she understood, when she had to say goodbye to Henry when he was born she felt that pain, the pain that still haunted her to this day, especially now having another baby in her belly.

There she was, the red-headed mystery that everybody was talking about around town.

"Did you know she lost her memory?"

"Why would she cross the town line?"

"Probably to get away from the dark one, I would,"

Those were some of the things people would say, honestly Regina didn't know whether or not to believe it. Stepping into the room with a smile, Belle looked up at Regina cautiously.

"Who are you?" Belle asked, completely oblivious to who Regina was.

Regina straightened her back, "So the rumours are true, you really don't remember anything."

Belle shook her head as she looked at the tall dark-haired, classy lady in front of her, she looked important she thought to herself, like somebody who had a lot of power. "Are we friends?" She didn't seem like somebody she would hang out with.

Regina didn't want to say the truth, I trapped you as my prisoner to hurt my nemesis "We spent some time together," She said, it wasn't the full truth, but it was true...to a point. "I'm actually here because I think you can help me find something, that belongs to Rumplestiltskin." Regina looked at her, seeing if the name would trigger any signs of memory.

"Who?" Belle questioned, looking at Regina like she was crazy.

"Mr. Gold..." Regina said kindly, trying to see if Belle really didn't know who she meant or she was just pretending.

"I'm sorry, I don't know him," Belle told the powerful woman who stood over her bed.

Regina waved her hand, having Belle pass out where she sat only in a matter of seconds, "Not anymore," She said to herself, kind of feeling like jumping for joy deep inside of her after Rumple finally thought he got her back, she was gone...once again.

Waving her hand in the air, items that were being held within her course started floating out and staying in mid-air, Regina was trying to see if something may have caught her eye, something that would help her and her mother find what they were looking for, for the next part of their plan. She saw makeup, hairbrushes, mirrors, things an average woman had in her purse, but one thing that was different was a piece of paper. Grabbing the paper from the air she looked at it, it didn't say much, it just had a number on it, but these numbers were a number you would find on the spin of a book to tell you where it should be placed on the shelve...in her library.

"Hey, crocodile, why don't you simmer down!" Killian said as he saw the dark one starting to press every button to every suit of the apartment building.

Just then a loud buzz echoed through the small lobby, indicating that somebody had pressed the button to let them in.

Rumple opened up the large gate that kept out any trespassers, "I'm finding my son," He stated, nothing was going to stop him from getting the reunion he wanted, even if that meant breaking in and waiting for Bae's return.

"He's gone, mate," Killian stated to the man once again, like he had many times since they had returned back.

"But he lives here," Rumple stated, turning around to face the pirate, "He'll be back, and I'll be waiting." He took off from everyone else, making his way up the stairs to the floor his son supposedly lived on.

"Stop, you can't just break-in," Emma warned the man, she was the police, she could easily assets him for this when they got back home, of course, she wouldn't, he was the dark one after all.

Rumple stopped in front of the door that read 407, the suit his son lived in, at least he hoped anyway, "Yeah, well, actually, that's something I'm quite adept at." He started playing around at the key lock on the door, trying to find something to use to open up the door to go inside the apartment.

"He might not come back, mate," Killian told him, he wanted nothing more than to turn around to go right back to Storybrooke, pretend like he just didn't see his former stepson whom he sold to Pan to do lord knows what to.

Rumple didn't take his attention off the lock, he was getting in one way or the other. "Finding people is what you do, pirate and Ms. Swan...sorry Mrs. Jones, I'm simply going to assist you," Rumple told the two as he picked at the lock, hoping it would open. "There may be information in here...who he is, what he does, who he loves."

Emma looked over to Killian, knowing this wasn't going to end well, and the looked he gave back, he knew as well. "Look, don't do this, there are things call laws in this world Rumple."

Henry knew this was his queue, "I'll be the lookout." He walked over to where the stairs were entering up to the floor if he saw anybody coming, he was to alert his parents.

"What, no I..." Of course, her son misunderstood what she was trying to say, She looked up at Killian and he pretty much just told her to let him go, they didn't really want their son to see a man breaking and entering into a strangers apartment. "You could get arrested," She whispered to Rumple, hoping the nearby residents wouldn't see or hear them and call the cops.

"Then my son will have to testify against me, and we will be reunited," Rumple spoke, he really would do anything to see his son again, no matter what the consequences were. Hearing the tumblers of the lock he was picking click he knew he had finally got into his sons' apartment, he was going to see his son.

Both Emma and Killian looked at one another, they had told Neal that his father wasn't going to see him, but unfortunately for him, it was a different story.

"It's alright, love," Killian spoke as they entered into the room after Rumple, he was going to protect her one way or another.

She knew her husband was right, everything was going to work out how it wanted to, but she didn't want Rumple to find out that they had lied to him about finding his son. "Gold, come on please, we really shouldn't be here." She held onto the golden rattle she had slipped inside her back pocket, it was calming to her, she was trying to relax, but this trip was far from relaxation.

"I don't think he's listening," Henry said as he walked up behind his parents from making sure nobody came and saw him breaking in.

Rumple walked around the small, clutter filed apartment, he son obviously didn't care about his living arrangements, he just wanted to keep away from everything. There wasn't much he could see, nothing that told him anything about the person his son was, other than a person who lived in his own filth.

Emma sighed, she just wanted to get out of here. Looking around the room from the door that was now shut, she didn't see anything that stood out to her, until she saw it. The large dream catcher that hung from the window looking the aisle he lived on. Walking over to it, she picked it off its nail it hung on and looked at it. This was the dream catcher she had left for Neal, the night he had stolen from them.

"You find something, dearie?" Rumple asked as he looked over at the princess holding something in her hands and eyeing it up like it meant something.

"Uh nothing, it just looks like a dream catcher," Emma spoke, swallowing as she looked at Killian.

"Well if it's nothing, why are you still holding it" Rumple questioned, looking at her as if there was something she wasn't telling him.

Killian looked over at Rumple, he knew something was up, ad he was ready to defend his princess.

"You're lying to me," Rumple said as he pointed at her, there was something she was keeping from him, nobody kept secrets from the dark one, not even the saviours.

Emma placed the dream catcher back on its hook, she didn't want to do this now with him, "Just get back to looking, okay."

"No, no, no, you saw something, tell me," Rumple demanded, still trying to keep his cool.

"You don't know what you're talking..." She was cut off by an even angrier Rumple, demanding she tells him once again, "Henry, go wait in the bathroom."

Henry looked at his mother, "But I can help..." He wanted to help Rumple find his son, that's all he ever wanted before he found his mother, for somebody to help him find her.

"You better listen to your mother, lad," Killian told him as he leads him away from the grown-ups. "There's nothing here, the guys a ghost," Killian spoke, hoping that the dark one would drop this and they could carry on their day.

"What, you think me a fool?" Rumple questioned, looking at the couple, "You're both holding back, I wanna know what and why."

Killian rubbed the back of his neck, he was nervous, what if Rumple tried to kill them, he couldn't bare leaving Henry without any parents over trying to keep somebody they barely knew safe. "We're not holding back, Gold."

"Did he tell you something?" Rumple questioned, walking up closer to the couple, he knew they were lying, he was going to make them tell them, no matter what he had to do to make them spit it out.

"Gold..." Emma tried to make him stop but he just kept getting more mad and yelling at them, "Nothing! He didn't say anything!" Emma spat back, nearly revealing they had caught him earlier and talking to him.

"So you did talk to him!" Rumple shouted, filling the room with his words.

"Ah! Don't put words in her mouth!" Killian shouted back, stepping in front of his wife, he was going to make sure if anything bad were to happen, it was to him and not her.

"You tell me, or I'm gonna make you tell me," Rumple threatened.

"You don't have magic here, if you want to hurt us, you'll have to hurt me first, Emma isn't doing anything wrong," Killian said, coming closer to the crocodiles face, he knew exactly what this man could do with his magic, hense ripping their heart out and crushing them.

Rumple chuckled low, "Oh, I don't need magic, you should know that more than anything Hook..." He said looking down at the wooden hand that was covered y a glove where his hook once was, "Don't push me."

"Don't push me!" Killian shouted, there was nothing Rumple could do to hurt them, not as long as he was here.

"We had a deal!" Rumple shouted as he pushed one of the pieces of furniture next to them over in frustration, "A deal! No one...no one breaks deals with me!" He shouted even louder, almost in the pirates' face as he pointed.

Just then the door swung open, Neal rushing into the room, "Hey! Leave them alone" Everybody looked to him, he could hear the shouting from the hall and knew he had to do something before it got even worse, he knew what his papa was capable of.

Rumple looked over at the man, was this his son? It had to be, he stumbled back, he couldn't believe it, his son was here. Unfortunately, he caught him in a way he never wanted his son to see him as, especially once they were reunited.

Regina traced her fingers along with the dust-covered shelves that held an equal amount of dust books. If the dark one's dagger was anywhere in this town, this is the place it would be.

"This is wasting time my dear, we should be looking through his shop or home," Cora told her daughter. She knew the dagger had to be somewhere but she didn't think it would be here.

"No, that would be the most obvious choice, if the dagger is in fact in Storybrooke, Rumple would have wanted it to go somewhere...safe, somewhere nobody would think to look, I guess he had given it to Belle to hide in one of her beloved books," Regina explained as she looked for the section she needed.

Cora smiled, "Impressive, Regina." She wouldn't have thought about looking in a book.

Regina looked in the spot the book should have been, it was empty, "No, it should've been here," She said. The book was missing from the shelf. Could it have been misplaced from one of the few costumes that came in here?

"Hold on," Cora said as she stuck her hand in between the books when she felt around there was something there where the missing book should have been. When she hauled her hand back, Regina was surprised to see a loose piece of parchment. "What's this?" She questioned as she looked down at the no unfolded parchment.

Regina looked down at it, "It appears to be a map, not a very good drawn one, but, maybe enough to find where it leads."

Cora smiled at her daughter, she was impressed with how well her daughter had come out to be, it was almost everything she wanted for her, almost.

Rumple was taken back, it was his boy, the boy he tried for so many years to find. "Bae..." The man in front of him nodded, he was happy, any feeling of anger that was in his body was now gone, "You came back for me."

Neal shook his head, "No, I came to make sure you didn't hurt her, I've seen what you do to people that break deals" He said pointing over to Emma that was looking over Killian's shoulder, using him as a shield.

"I can do that mate, that's what husbands are for anyway and believe it or not I'm quite adept to protecting things a love," Killian spoke up, he didn't need his wife ex-lover coming to the rescue, he was good enough to protect her from any trouble.

"Please, Bae, just let me talk," Rumple spoke, he just wanted to speak to his boy after all this time.

Bae shook his head, he didn't want to be reunited with his father, not after everything he has done to him as a child, even if he did say everything he did was for him, it wasn't true. "I have no interest in talking to you. You can go."

Rumple shook his head, he had a smile on his face, he was just so happy to see his son, but him telling him to go was almost like a punch in the face. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Get out of my apartment!" Neal shouted loudly, pointing to the door, telling him where to go.

"Neal..." Emma stepped past Killian, trying to make sure everybody stayed calm in this situation, She didn't want something bloody to go on.

"Emma, I got this!" Neal exclaimed, telling her, he didn't need her help, he dealt with this man plenty of times before.

Rumple looked at every adult in the room, they were all hiding something, "You all know each other..." The room went quiet, and he grew angry once again, that rage filling his body, "You all know each other...how!" He demanded they tell him.

"Well you already know I was with Milah...so how do you think! He came abroad my ship once in Neverland by Pan's shadow!" Killian shouted, He had enough of this man yelling and getting mad at them, he wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for them tagging along.

"We met after he ran away from home," Emma told him calmly, there was no point in lying anymore, that wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Mom!" Henry came out of the bathroom in the other room, he could hear yelling and it made him scared, what was happening? He had to make sure his family was alright, "What's going on?"

Emma smiled down at the young boy, fixing up his jacket, heading down to his level to make eye contact and giving him a smile, letting him know she was alright.

"W-Who's this" Neal questioned, surprised to see a young child with them.

"Our son," Killian almost snapped at Neal, "See, I don't sell all my children to Pan!" He told him, coming back to the comment he made earlier at the bar about Killian not being a fit father, that he would give away any child he had.

"Is that Baelfire?" Henry questioned getting a nod from his mother.

"Hey, I need you to stay in the other room for just a little longer, okay?" Emma told her son, she didn't want to expose him to this stuff, even if his life wasn't like every other child, she still wanted him to have a good childhood and not one filled with yelling and anger. She leads him back to the other room, away from the adults, she should have never brought him here.

"How old is he?" Neal questioned.

"Eleven," Killian stated, "He's only been with his mother for about a month, she was cursed with everyone else while I and the little lad escaped with a magic wardrobe."

Neal arched his eyebrows, what he was hearing was completely out of this world...literally.

Rumple had to try to take the attention away from the fact that a pirate and a princess had a child, "Baelfire, please, all I want is to be heard."

He had almost forgotten about the fact his father was here, he didn't know why he was so into the fact that Captain Hook had a life that Neal always wanted, and he was a bad guy while Neal literally faults through everything to get the life he had. "Get out!" Neal told his father once again, he was clear when he didn't want to talk.

"Look, you came back to protect Emma, to show she lived up to the end of her bargain with me," Rumple explained, hoping his son would at least talk to him.

"And she has, you can go," Neal told him once again, he really was not into this conversation with him.

Rumple shook her head with me, "No, our deal was for her to get you to talk to me if you truly want her deal to be fulfilled...you have but one choice, you have to talk to me," Rumple said, ending in a small whisper as his eyes filled with tears, he felt ashamed that his son literally wanted nothing to do with him.

Neal looked at him deep into his eyes, he could tell he was upset, but he didn't care, after what he did to him, what Rumple was feeling was nothing compared to how he felt when he was a child. "You have three minutes."

"Hey. N-no, I-I'm okay. yeah. No, they...they said I'm...I'm good to go," Greg said as he was talking on the phone with her, she had been worried sick about him, "But, um, you know, I think I'm gonna stay here for a little while, why? Well, take a look at this and see," He said as he took his phone away from his ear, swiping his thumb along with the screen as he brought of there text messages. He opened up his photos and sent a video...a video that he had taken earlier of Regina in belles room.

She didn't notice him thee, she was too caught up in her own business, which was how Greg was able to sneak a quick video of her doing magic before she was finished and left the room, thinking she was unseen.

Regina took one last glance at the map she had been trying to crack for ours now, she wasn't really the best at understanding them since she never really used them in the Enchanted Forest, but Daniel did teach her a few things before he was kindly murdered by her mother.

"Alright, I think I cracked the location of the dagger," Regina said, poking her mother to wake her up as she dosed off earlier.

"Good job, Regina," Cora said as she opened her eyes and looked down at the now solved map. Grabbing it in her hands and heading to the door so that they could start looking immediately, she was stopped by Regina, who wanted to say a few words that she was not expecting.

"So...is this what it was all about?" Regina questioned, it made sense. Her mother trying to get to Stroybrooke all this time and finally did and all she cared about was trying to get this dagger instead of trying to make up time lost with her daughter. "Getting Rumple's dagger so you could obtain his dark powers?"

"If we possess the dagger, we control the dark one, and when he returns to Storybrooke, we can command him to kill that so-called pirate, Emma and her family, our enemies will be vanquished, and you will be blameless, in the eyes of the only person you want, Henry."

Regina smiled, she thought her mother was doing this for her but deep down she knew her mother didn't change that much, she was really doing this for herself and herself only, that was Cora.

"Clocks ticking," Neal stated as he looked at his father who was standing and looking at him, not speaking.

Killian looked at Neal, he couldn't believe how much he had grown up since there last meeting, he was just a young lad then. A young lad he had failed. Placing his hand on Emma's belly, she placed her hand on top of his, he could tell she was stressed. "It's alright, Swan," He whispered in her ear.

Emma smiled and nodded, she knew it was alright, and she was glad to have him here with her, to protect her.

"I know I've made mistakes, but you must believe me. I wanna make up for it. There's no greater pain than regret," Rumple spoke, trying to sound since for his son.

Neal nodded as he licked his lower lip and placed his hands on his hips, his father wasn't getting it, "Try abandonment."

"Please," Rumple pleaded, "Let me make it up to you."

"How are you gonna do that?" Neal questioned, wondering exactly what his father was going to do to make him feel like he actually meant it because he knew everything his father said was ninety-five percent of the time a lie. "I grew up alone. I grew up without a father, you can make up for that?"

Killian listened to his words "without a father" he knew it was somewhat of his fault, he wanted to be that father Bae needed, but after that night, When Bae found out who Killian really was and thought he had murdered his mother, he couldn't bear to see him like that, thinking he was a killer, a bad person.

"Yeah," Rumple nodded, "I can."

Neal looked at the clock, "Two minutes." He wanted to see exactly how his father was going to make it up to him in two minutes.

"Come with me to Storybrooke, there's magic there, I can turn the clock back. Make you four-teen again, we can start over," Rumple told his son, practically begging him to come back with him.

Neal shook his head, was this man serious, why on earth would he want to be a young boy again. "Four-teen, I don't wanna be four-teen...again. Are you...are you insane?"

"I can't make up for the lost time, but I can take away the memories, Bae," Rumple told him, which was all he really wanted, was to take the bad memories away and replace them with brand new happy ones.

"Take away who I am...no thanks," Neal suggested shrugging his shoulders, this man didn't fix anything yet, it was going tot ake more than just three minutes to make it up to him, but he wasn't going to let him stay longer than that, "One minute."

"Bae...please, give me a chance," Rumple begged, looking his son in the eyes, letting him know he changed, he wanted him back. "You once loved me."

"You were once a good man," Neal told him. He remembered the time when his father was considered a coward of the town, he would have taken that man over this man any time of day.

Rumple teared up, he knew he changed in a bad way, the power had changed him, the power he never once had before. "I can be that man again, I've changed, look...I came here...to this city, without magic."

"Yeah, yeah, and you're still trying to use it to make up for your mistakes. still think that can make it all better, it won't. you can't," Neal said with a scoff, his voice picking up the bass, "You have no idea what I've lived with, you're so worried about you. Do you know what I've dealt with? Every night for more years than you could know...the the last thing I see before sleep...is the image of you, you and me over that pit, your hand...wrapped around mine, and then you open your grip and as I fall away, all I can see is your face. Choosing all...this...crap over me," He said making the motion with his arms that he knew his father was famous for. "Letting me go...now it's my turn. Now I'm letting you go."

"I'm sorry," Rumple said as his eyes filled with more tears and his face started to burn, he had all this guilt inside of him, that he just wanted Bae to understand how bad he felt.

"I don't care, I didn't get closure, so you don't, either. gotta go," He stated, letting his now that his time was now up and he had to leave.

Rumple shook his head, he couldn't...wouldn't let things end like this "Oh, Bae."

Neal shook his head, he didn't want any more of this, "Nah...Time's up."

Rumple stood there, unable of what to do next, or what to say next. As he saw Henry with his parents he thought of the time he met the Seer again, when she told him about the young boy that would bring him to his son...it was Henry, the saviours son, he was his undoing, which meant the death of Rumplestitlksin, and he couldn't have that, he wouldn't have that.

"I'll just have to kill him then."

Done! I hope you guys like it, I hope it distracts you from the things going on in the world right now, I hope it ends soon, I don't want anything more then to go back to my normal life, to have my love with me again.

Review!

Next time: Chapter 36 Snows' Birthday