Back in Manhattan, at the apartment building, Mr Gold, Belle, Henry, and the Professor were all sitting down as they waited for Emma to get back. Mr Gold was still nervous and fiddled with his ring.
"Why are you so nervous? When I found my mom, I was excited," Henry stated.
"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," Mr Gold said.
"Sure, but in my book, it says that you can see the future. So why can't you look and see what will happen?"
"Well, that is complicated. 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."
"But you wouldn't have to worry about stuff. You'd just know."
"But the future is uncertain," the Professor explained. "It's always changing. Time isn't linear, Henry. It's a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey … stuff."
Mr Gold looked over at him. "You know, you sound like your father."
"Thanks. He did say it once. The Time Lords had rules regarding time. Never interfere with established events. Never interacting with our past."
"Is that why you and your father can't go back to save your people?" Henry asked.
The Professor nodded. "Exactly. Speaking of the Time War, I believe something happened to my father. He doesn't like talking about it. It must have been tough for him."
The door opened, and everyone looked up and saw Emma enter. "Hey," she said as she approached where they were sitting.
Mr Gold stood up. "Did you find him?" he asked. "I'm sorry. Your son got away."
Mr Gold didn't want to take no for an answer. He had come all this way to see his son – to find his son – and he was going to. He was silent before waving his hand and poofing them all up to Baelfire's floor. Once the cloud of smoke dissipated, he walked toward the room. Emma followed, followed by everyone else.
"Gold, wait. What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm finding my son," he said, arriving at the door again. "He's gone."
Mr Gold turned around. "But he lives here. He'll be back. And I'll be waiting." Turning around, he focused his attention on the door again and took out a couple of metal sticks.
"You can't just break in," Belle said. "There has to be another way."
"Yeah, well, actually, I'm quite adept in this." He inserted one into the lock and then the other as he tried to move them around and waited for a click.
"He might not come back," Emma said.
"Look, finding people is what you do, Ms Swan. I'm simply going to assist you. There may be information here. Who he is. What he does. Who he loves."
"No, don't do this. There are things called laws."
"I'll be the lookout," Henry said and turned to head towards the end of the hall.
The Professor followed the young boy. "I'll come with you."
"You could get arrested," Emma continued.
"Then my son will have to testify against me. And we will be reunited." Mr Gold soon unlocked the door with a clicking sound, and he pulled back the metal sticks and pushed the door further open before entering the apartment.
Henry and the Professor both came back as everyone entered the apartment, and all began looking around.
"Gold, come on, please, we really shouldn't be here," Emma said, closing the door. But Mr Gold continued walking. He looked around, taking in the sight of his son's apartment.
"I don't think he's listening," Henry pointed out.
Emma stood in the middle of the apartment before catching something hanging from the window. A dreamcatcher. She went over towards it and picked it up – staring at it and being reminded of what Neal had done years ago.
Mr Gold caught her looking at it. Then, wondering why she looked at it, he walked back to where she stood. "You find something, dearie?"
"Nothing," Emma answered. "It just looks like a dream catcher."
"Yeah, well, if it's nothing, why are you still holding it? You're lying to me." Emma turned and hung the dreamcatcher back up. "Just get back to looking, okay?"
"No, no. no. You saw something. Tell me."
"You don't know what you're..." "Tell me!" Mr Gold demanded.
Emma turned to her son. "Henry, go wait in the bathroom."
"But I can help ..."
"Henry, go!"
"Belle. Go to, please. Look after him," the Professor said. "I'll handle this."
Belle nodded and followed Henry, pressing a kiss to Mr Gold's cheek as they walked towards the bedroom and bathroom.
The Professor approached Emma. "Are you sure you didn't see anything? Hear anything?" he asked.
"Positive," Emma answered. "This guy's a ghost."
"What, you think me a fool?" Mr Gold asked. "You're holding back. I want to know what and why."
"I'm not holding back."
"Did he tell you something?" "Gold ..."
"Did he tell you something?" "Nothing. He didn't say anything." "But you talked to him."
"I … Don't put words in my mouth!"
"Tell me! You tell me, or I'm going to make you tell me." "You wouldn't risk your son seeing that."
Mr Gold approached her slowly. "Do not push me." "Don't push me."
"We had a deal! A deal! No one, no one breaks deals with me!"
Suddenly, the door pushed open. Everyone turned around and saw Neal standing there. Knowing that was his son, Mr Gold backed slightly away, staring right at the other man.
"Hey!" Neal said. "Leave her alone."
Mr Gold couldn't believe it. His son, Baelfire, was standing right in front of him. Though he had aged, he knew it was still him. "Bae," he whispered, and Neal nodded. "You came back for me."
"No. I came to make sure you didn't hurt her," Neal replied, pointing at Emma. "I've seen what you do to people who break deals."
"Please, Bae, just let me talk."
"I have no interest in talking to you. You can go."
Mr Gold shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere." Neal pointed to the door. "Get out of my apartment!" Emma approached Neal. "Neal ..." Emma began. "Emma, I got this ..." Then, everyone was silent.
"You two know each other?" Mr Gold asked. "You two know each other! How?"
"You sent me chasing after him ..." Emma began.
"No, no, no, stop it! You're lying. How do you two know each other?"
Henry came out of the bathroom, followed by Belle. "Mum? What's going on?"
"Henry..." Belle began and was stopped at the sight of an extra person. "Is that Baelfire?"
Henry approached his mother as he also looked at the other person. "Is it? Is it Baelfire?"
Mr Gold looked down at Henry, then at Neal and Emma again, as he understood how both Emma and Neal knew each other. Belle moved over to him and touched his hand gently. "Hey."
Emma knelt to Henry's level. "Hey ..." "Wait, who's this?" Neal asked.
"My son," Emma answered. "What?"
"I need you to stay in the other room for a little longer, okay?" Emma said, then stood up again. "Come on." She wrapped an arm around Henry and began to walk him away.
Neal stepped closer. "Wait, how old are you?" "Don't answer him," Emma told Henry.
"How old are you, kid?" Neal asked again.
Henry turned around, letting go of Emma's embrace. "Eleven!" he yelled. He stepped closer. "Now, why is everyone yelling?"
"He's eleven?" Neal asked Emma.
Henry looked back at Emma too. "Mom?"
Emma was silent. She didn't know what to say. The lies she had told Henry were now coming back to haunt her. Everyone was quiet until Neal broke the silence. "Is this my son?"
"No," Henry began. "My dad was a firefighter. He died." Emma approached Henry. "That's what you told me," Henry continued. "You said ..."
Neal took a deep breath. "Is this my son?"
Emma looked at Henry and brushed some hair out of his eyes. Her lie had caught up with her. "Yes," Emma whispered.
Henry pulled back before climbing out the window and onto the fire escape. Emma took a breath and followed. "Henry. Henry?"
Neal approached the window but was stopped by his father. "Baelfire. Please, please. All I want is a chance to be heard," he said.
"He is right," Belle said. "Just give him a chance." Neal looked at Belle. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Your father's girlfriend," the Professor answered.
Neal stared back at Mr Gold. "Get out," he told her.
"Look, you came back to protect Emma. To show that she had lived up to her end of the bargain with me."
"And now she has. So you can go."
"No. Our deal was for her to get you to talk to me. So if you truly want her deal to be fulfilled, you have but one choice. You have to talk to me."
"You got three minutes." Neal turned around and looked at his father. "Clock's ticking."
"I know I've made mistakes," Mr Gold said. "But you must believe me. I want to make up for it. There's no greater pain than regret."
"Try abandonment."
"Please. Let me make it up to you."
"How are you going to do that? I grew up alone. I grew up without a father. You can make up for that?"
"Yeah. Yes, I can." "Two minutes."
"Come with me back to Storybrooke.," he said, then whispered, "There's magic there. I can turn the clock back. Make you 14 again. We can start over. I can even do there here if you like."
Hearing that, the Professor stepped forward.
"Fourteen … I don't wanna be 14 again. Are you insane?" Neal asked. "There's not even magic here."
"The reason he's here – and Belle – is because their rings allow them to leave Storybrooke with their memories intact. And in the case of your father, his magic," the Professor said. "Technologically advanced rings, they are."
"Bae … I can't make up for the lost time, but I can take away the memories, the pain."
"Take away who I am? No, thanks. One minute."
"Bae, please. Give me a chance. You once loved me."
"You were once a good man," Neal said.
"He still is," Belle said. "Deep inside, he is still that good man."
"I've changed," Mr Gold replied. "Look, I came here to this city. It would have been without magic if Hook hadn't stolen something from me."
Neal looked up. Hook?" he repeated, but he didn't focus on the name for too long. "But you're still trying to use magic to make up for your mistakes. Mistakes that should be left in the past. Do you still think that that can make it all better? It won't. You can't. No one can," Neal scoffed. "You have no idea what I've lived with. While you're so worried about yourself, you know what I've dealt with? Every night, for more years than you could know, the last thing I see before sleep is the image of you. Both of 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. Letting me go."
"But, Bae … You never saw what happened after that," the Professor said. "What he did. He spent years looking for you. Finding a way."
"Well, this is my turn now," Neal said. "Now, I'm letting you go." "I'm sorry," Mr Gold said.
Neal shook his head. "I don't care. I didn't get closure, so you don't either. You gotta go."
"Oh, Bae ..."
"No. Time's up."
