Regina knocked on Neal's door and waited for him to answer. They had decided to have a quiet meal in his room tonight so they wouldn't be interrupted. Ever since Gold had left her office she had been thinking about Neal and what she knew about him.

Before Gold's visit, she would have said she probably knew just about everything about Neal.

Now she wasn't sure.

The door opened and there was Neal's smiling face and it immediately put Regina at ease. This was Neal, she knew Neal and she knew that after she told him what Gold said he would have an explanation for it.

"You are in luck," he said. "I managed to convince Granny to let me borrow the kitchen a bit to cook some food."

"Wow," Regina said. "She must have found you to be quite charming if she let you step foot in her kitchen."

"As you know, I can be charming when I want to be," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Yes, I'm aware," she said. "One of these days you are going to find a woman who appreciates it in different ways than I do."

"For now, you are my number one girl," Neal said, still smiling at her. "But who knows maybe down in Savannah I will find a nice southern girl and sweep her off her feet."

Savannah. She had almost forgotten that she was moving to Savannah and Neal was going with her. It was almost as if it had been a distant thought of hers that she couldn't quite hold on to.

"I know you can't leave here yet," Neal was saying. "But we should probably talk about what we are going to do with the place in Philly and what kind of place we want to get down in Savannah. Then there is the whole moving and well, it's a lot to discuss."

"Yeah," she said. "It is a lot."

"Are you ok?" Neal asked concerned. He laid a hand on her forearm and she made eye contact with him.

"Yes," she said, shaking off the weird feeling that had descended onto her. "I'm fine. It's just a lot to think about."

"Come on," Neal said. "Let's get some food in you and we can start to talk about it."

They sat down at the small table and started to eat, Regina talking about some of the town stuff in between bites, trying to figure out a way to ask Neal about Gold. The more she thought about it, the more preposterous it was to her that Gold could even suggest that Neal was his son.

"So, tell me about what happened with Emma last night?" Neal said.

She went on to tell him about finding Emma out at the town line and how she had come clean to her about her relationship with Neal. She told him about their conversation in the car and how Emma appeared to be having some sort of panic attack or something at the idea of crossing the town line.

"We almost kissed," Regina said finally.

"You did?" Neal asked.

"Yes. It was just a moment and then it passed and I suggested that we should get back into town. She then asked me to dinner and well you know the rest."

"Did you want to kiss her?"

"I don't know, yes, I guess," Regina said. "It's hard to explain. Emma has always just been the one. Every woman I have ever gone out with, I have whether I was conscious of it as the time or not, I compared to Emma. Not to Emma per se, but how Emma made me feel and no other woman has ever come close. And part of me wants to feel those feelings again."

"What about the other part of you?"

"That is the more sensible part, the one that says if she couldn't come after me before, and couldn't cross the town line last night, then what kind of future does she and I have? We're not teenagers anymore, we're adults and we have responsibilities, and do I even really know her anymore," Regina said. "And while I could get to know her all over again, would it be the same as before? Is this what I'm feeling now even real or just the memory of what we once had?"

"Only you can answer that question, so which do you think it is?"

Regina thought about it a moment, thought about what it was like standing out there at the town line with Emma in her arms. She thought about how it used to be, holding hands after school, kisses exchanged, and Emma's smile, which had always made Regina feel like it was reserved for her alone.

Was the love they shared something they could recapture if they dared to take this second chance? Had that love ever really gone away?

"I think it is real and that is why it scares me," Regina said. "All those years ago, I was hurt so badly. And I don't ever want to feel like that again. I know Emma made a mistake all those years ago, and so did I by not dealing with it for all this time, but what happens if one of us makes another mistake?"

"I don't know," Neal said. "Do you think she was being serious about leaving the town for you?"

"Yes," Regina said. "But I don't understand why she can't cross the line. It makes no sense, but I do believe her when she says she can't. It was the oddest thing because when I looked at her, I could tell she wanted to cross over to where I was at, but she just couldn't. I have no explanation for it, and neither does she."

Neal leaned back in his chair, removing his hand in the process. "Maybe the best thing you can do is wait," Neal said. "Don't pursue anything with her. Wait until you leave here, and if she wants to be with you, she will cross that line. That will give you the time to sort out your feelings and thoughts."

"I need to talk to her," Regina said. "I told her we would talk and I think we should do that sooner rather than later."

"Well there is nothing wrong with talking," Neal said. "I'm just saying, don't rush to any decisions."

Regina didn't say anything for several moments. Normally, Neal was pushing her to go on dates, to take risks, to get out of her comfort zone. She wasn't sure he had ever suggested she show restraint. He already thought she was too conservative.

"I had a visitor today at the office," Regina said, changing the subject. "It was Mr. Gold. He is on the city council, owns the pawnshop. I pointed him out to you the other day and he said something strange to me about you. It was so strange I didn't even know what to say to him. He came to thank me for bringing you to town because he said you are his son. I asked him how that was even possible and he told me to ask you and then promptly left."

"Is this you asking me?"

Regina shrugged, "I don't see how it is possible. To my knowledge, Mr. Gold has never been out of this town. He's never been married, and surely if he had a son, especially one not in this town, people would have talked about it. I mean, you are from Tallahassee."

Neal didn't respond.

"You aren't his son, are you?" Regina asked.

Neal stood up and walked behind the chair, gripping the top of it with both hands, staring down at her. "I am," he said.

"How?" she said.

"It's a long story," Neal said. "And not one I'm sure you are ready to hear."

"What do you mean?"

"Regina, you know I love you, right?"

This time Regina was the one getting out of her chair and approaching him. "Of course, I do," she said. "Whatever this is all about, you know you can tell me."

"But I haven't been completely truthful to you about my past," he said. "I swear to you though, I had no idea my father was here in this town. Even when I asked you who he was the other day in the diner, I wasn't sure it was him because it has been years since I have seen him and I could have gone years more without seeing him. I should have known he would come to see you. I'm sorry, I should have told you immediately, but that day, I went to the pawnshop to see if it was him and it was. And he told me some things, things I'm still trying to process myself, things that if I told you, you would think I was crazy."

"I believe you that you didn't know he was here," Regina said. "And I'm not going to think you are crazy. Just talk to me."

"My father, he didn't ask you to do anything for him, did he? Or offer you a deal of some sort?"

"A deal? No, why would he …"

Neal grabbed her arm suddenly "You must never accept a deal from him no matter what. I don't care what he offers you, never accept a deal from him. Promise me."

Regina pulled away from him. "What are you talking about?"

"Sorry," he apologized. "I don't trust him is all."

"I know you don't," Regina said. "The few things you have ever said about him have not been favorable. You said he essentially abandoned you when you were a kid."

Neal moved over to the couch and took a seat and Regina followed him, sitting beside him and taking his hand. "Talk to me," she said again. "Whatever it is, I promise, I will still be here for you when it's all said and done."

"This is going to sound insane," Neal said. "I only know part of the story, and while he told me his part, about how he came to be here, I don't know if any of it is true, although I fear it is true. And it doesn't just affect me. It's also about you, you and Emma."

"Me and Emma? I don't understand."

"My father needs something from you, something you can't give him."

"What does he need?"

"He needs you and Emma to kiss."