A son meets his father for the first time in eight years.
Storybrooke Cemetery - two hours later
"And Regina, Robin and Emma's wedding is this Saturday! Everyone's going to be there, Granny! And even Merlin and his family, but I'm not sure about Killian and Rosie, what with him and Emma's history. Still, they've all got their own families now, much like me and Dot. So, they're happy. And we've even got Queen Elsa and John coming! It's a bit weird him being a king, don't you think? He hates us calling him that!" Ruby chuckled to herself. "It's going to be the biggest event we've ever seen around here, even compared to us and the Briars getting married the same day on the Jolly!"
Ruby Lucas chatted away to herself, as she knelt by the grave, turning over some of top soil. She'd just spent the last half hour weeding and readying the soil to plant new bulbs. She she chatted to her miss-missed grandmother, the old matriarch wolf, Dorothy pottered nearby, guiding their toddler Nathaniel, as he tried to stand and walk, around the headstone. A pale granite stone, which simply read:
Sacred To The Memory Of
Eugenia Lucas
'Granny'
Loved By All & Dearly Missed
Rest In Peace
"In fact, the only person we'll be missing there is you! I miss you so much, granny." The wolf touched the headstone, taking Nathaniel's hand to prevent him falling over. "Natty's almost walking now. Fourteen months, can you believe it? You'd love him if you met him. I know he'd love you! He's got Dottie's gorgeous cheeks and hair. Plus, his dad's beautiful blue eyes..."
"And your chin? And your grin! Don't forget the grin?" added Dorothy as she took the trowel. "And judging by the way he never keeps still, your personality too!" Dorothy bent down to kiss her cheek.
Ruby continued talking to the grave in the afternoon sun. "You know granny, Dot and I have been thinking. Now we've got a bit more help in the diner and things are looking up, we thought in a year or two, it might be nice to have another one. A little brother or sister for Nat. Merlin gave both of us the magic eggs so, why not? I think I'd like to carry one this time. I'd love a little girl! Perhaps she'd look like my stunning wife?"
"Flattery will always get you everywhere, wolfie! Now why don't I finish this off and you can take-"
But their conversation was broken by a sudden bright light!
Looking up into the clear blue sky, the pair were left utterly stunned when an enormous bolt of piercing blue lightning shot out from the sky, hurtling to the ground to strike it less than two hundred feet away! Within half a second a tremendous thunderclap followed.
"WHOOOOM!"
The noise temporarily deafened the pair, and would have undoubtedly been heard by every living soul in Storybrooke!
Dorothy initially froze in shock, before instantly dropping to her knees to wrap her arms tight around their son. Ruby wrapped her arms around the pair from the other side, as Nathaniel now found himself tightly cocooned between his mothers as they clung desperately to each other. Dorothy saw Ruby's lips move as she obviously said something to her, though the ringing in her ears made it totally inaudible. Ruby turned her head towards where the lightning bolt struck.
Why would that happen in a clear blue sky? There were no rain clouds, no storm expected, nothing! Except…
She saw them. At the point the lightning bolt hit, there now stood two people she'd never noticed before. A man and a woman, standing next to a grave with a headstone clearly split in two! From a distance, the man seemed of average height, dark haired and casually dressed. The woman seemed to be taller, with long golden-blonde hair, wearing a flowing blue gown and sash. Dressed like that outdoors?
Whoever they were, they spelled trouble!
"Dot, get Nattie back!" she yelled, standing. Whether it was due to her usually enhanced hearing or not, her ears were still ringing, though within a few seconds she could just about pick up the sounds of car and burglar alarms going off in the distance, no doubt triggered by the sonic boom. "Keep him as far away as possible! I don't like the look of this!"
Nathaniel, initially shocked by the boom, was now starting to cry. "Rubes, wait? You don't know what you're dealing with!"
But Ruby wasn't waiting. Her natural, protective wolf instincts kicked in, as she quickly removed her robe. Within seconds she was transformed into the wolf! Dropping to all fours, she turned and started to pad warily side to side, facing the new arrivals, her head lowered and a challenging look in her eye!
"Rubes, for god's sake don't! Come back!"
But she didn't come back. Her pace increased steadily till she broke into a run, to challenge, to kill if necessary, whatever it was threatening her family.
"RUBY!"
Meanwhile...
The enormous thunderclap had been heard throughout the town and buildings shook as numerous car alarms went off.
David Nolan had been in the fields, tending sheep with Fluffy, his son's sheepdog, when he heard it, having seen a bright light in the distance moments ago. "Jeezus, I thought it had been a bit too long! What the hell now?"
~oOo~
Emma had been in the Sheriff's Department, discussing future rotas with Hank, when she felt it. Not just the thunderclap but an enormous wave of magic, similar to when Merlin had arrived, or when Robin's magic was released. Whatever it was, it wasn't good!
She immediately phoned Regina, making sure the family was okay. "Emma? I assume you heard that too? Any idea where it came from?"
"I was indoors, so I didn't see where the lightning hit, but the thunder came from everywhere! I felt magic too, but couldn't identify it. Any ideas?
"None. It was powerful though! I was about to call you, when you rang. The children are safe, but the babies are crying. We need to start a search, and see what the hell we're dealing with! I'll call Robin. He should have Roland with him."
"If he's even still talking to us? We both chewed him off pretty good, Gina!"
~oOo~
Two hours earlier...
After Henry had apparated from them, his mothers had used their son's upset as even more reason to continue yelling at Robin's insistence on helping Merlin. During what became a rant, Snow had quietly popped down to scoop up Faith and Hope, taking them upstairs to change them out of the bridesmaid dresses. Looking down from the landing, she felt quite sorry for the onslaught Robin was now facing from the two women he was supposed to be marrying at the weekend.
But after a good twenty minutes of them berating him, Robin had finally had enough. His calm demeanour was gone.
"You finished?" He growled back. "You want to keep bitching on, because I did something you two have done here for over a decade? I thought I was doing the right thing! I still do! So, let me know when you've calmed down!"
He'd glared back at them before his eyes flickered and he was transported from them in a mist, leaving the pair dumbstruck at his change. As the still seething pair then went into the kitchen, Snow finally came in, a baby in each arm. She passed them to their mothers.
"Honour and Margot are playing upstairs. Has Robin gone?"
"Yeah. He kinda went off in a huff…"
"Well I can't say I blame him, after the way you two treated him! Bit too much, I thought. In my opinion…"
Regina scowled back. "We don't want your opinion, Snow! He deserved it. The idiot took a risk with his life!"
"Which you two never did? In the mines? in Camelot? When you were going to troop down to the Underworld alone, Emma? How's that any different?"
"Because it is! He died once already. I'm not having him do that again! It's different."
"But you know he'll risk his life, because he's a hero! A leader. If I understand it he's also now an immortal? Even with magic, the risk to Robin is less than it would be for you two. Besides, he was partly responsible for removing the Dark One from this town. Personally, I think you probably owe him an apology for over reacting."
"He'll be fine, Emma. Can you call Henry please, before you do anything else? Snow, isn't it time you were leaving?"
The two women set about their calls. Regina not being too surprised to find Robin's phone went straight on to voice mail. She then left him a curt text message:
Regina: Call me!
Storybrooke Hospital
Henry had been sitting on the edge of his grandfather's bed, talking to him for the best part of two hours.
He'd just read the note Rumple left for him, which explained why he'd asked Merlin to help him remove The Dark One from within him even at risk to his life. Henry now felt slightly guilty for the harsh tone he'd taken earlier with Robin, before he disappeared, and was now starting to realise that his future stepfather had been acting in a good cause. As usual.
"So grandpa, you really need to come back to us now! You're my last link to dad, and I don't think I can face the wedding without you being there. Everything else is going great, but I can't help thinking that-" But a brilliant white light, from outside the large hospital window distracted him! He turned his head, just in time to see a fierce bolt of lightning spear from the sky into the ground in the west, about a mile away. As they were four floors up, he guessed it hit somewhere near the church and the cemetery. However, within two seconds, he heard the resulting thunderclap.
BOOM!
The triple-glazed windows gave a judder and he thought he could hear car and fire alarms going off below. "What the hell was that?" yelped a nurse, who was adjusting the drip in the patient's arm.
"Only a bit of thunder and lighting, nurse. Nothing to worry about…" calmed a slightly older woman, as she completed typing updates into her tablet. "Probably means rains on the way."
That was no storm, that was magic! Henry stepped closer to the window to see if anything was different, though as whatever it hit was a good miles from the building, he couldn't tell.
"Grandpa, something's happened! I'm just going to go check on Ariel and Belle, as they went down to the café to get something to eat half an hour ago. I'll go talk to them, and pop out for a little while. I'm sure they'll be back up here soon. I'll be back a little later."
Ten Minutes later
Meanwhile, Emma did manage to get through to their son at the first ring:
"Hi ma! I guess you're calling about that lightning? What do you know?"
"Not a lot. I heard the thunderclap. Your mum's worried, so I'm just checking everyone's okay before we head off and find out what caused it. Where are you?"
"Outside the church, near the graveyard. I saw the lightning from the hospital, and poofed here a minute ago. I think whatever it was happened close by."
"Henry, don't go heading off by yourself like that! You could be putting yourself in danger! Whatever it was wasn't normal. There's not a cloud in the sky, nothing. Stay there, and give me a minute. I'm coming over."
Storybrooke Cemetery - a little earlier
"That's one hell of an entrance there, Perse?" Said the man standing by the broken headstone. "Not exactly low key or subtle!"
"Don't look at me, this is Zeus's doing. He arranged the thunderbolt - I merely hitched a ride!"
"I think we woke the dead coming in like that! Certainly looks like we just bust somebody's headstone..." He bent to read the name across the two halves:
'Baelfire'
Neal Cassidy
Beloved Father, Son & True Hero
He Died Saving Storybrooke from Evil
Forever in the Hearts of Those who Loved Him
"Aw, we bust my own grave! Dammit, someone went to a lot of trouble to put that in!"
"You don't exactly need it, do you?" Snarked the goddess, "You want to be dead again?"
"Fair point..." he almost chuckled. "Still, I guess I'd better take it from here, if I can remember the way to the hospital? How many earth years did Hera say I've been gone? Eight? I could do with the walk anyway. I want to smell real things like grass, smoke, anything! Perse, are you going to join me or head back?" He placed his hands on her upper arms. The goddess of the underworld had become a close friend to him over the last eight years since he passed, even though it felt like only a few months to him. He gave her a short hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It'd be great if you stayed?"
The goddess gave him a wry smile. "You know I can't do that, Bae. My father has pretty strict rules about gods fraternizing with humans. I need to let you go, even though I can't bear to!" she wrapped her arms around his neck, looking at him sadly.
"I know," he said, resigned. She'd already explained it to him on numerous occasions in the underworld. "Although we made a pretty good team, didn't we? I think that we…Perse? What's up?" he saw her eyes harden over his shoulder as something caught her eye. Turning to see what it was, he saw a woman kneeling by a grave, clutching a child, presumably scared by the thunderclap. However, in front of her he saw a large creature on all fours, stepping towards them. As it got closer, he saw the creature was some sort of large wolf, now picking up speed and heading straight for them.
Before he had a chance to react, Persephone stepped out of his embrace, raising a hand, pointing straight at the closing beast. A short burst of silvery magic later and he wolf was stopped, frozen, less than ten yards from them! "Bad dog!" yelled the goddess, completely unflustered but never taking her eyes away. "Should I just end her now?"
"No! Wait!" Neil stepped closer to look. There was something oddly familiar about the creature. He stepped closer, seeing behind it a terrified mother and child screaming a name. "Ruby!"
"No, hold on a minute, I think this may be a friend!" He moved even closer. "Ruby, is that you?" The stricken animal now looked utterly terrified as her eyes studied the man, unable to growl or speak.
"Perse, let her go please?" A moment later, the animal collapsed to the ground. A click of the goddess's fingers and the wolf transformed itself back to a human being, even without her cloak. "Calm down - we're not going to hurt you! Ruby?"
Ruby, forced to transform back to a human, stayed down as she now found herself naked without her cloak, looking awkward. "Perse, clothes?" said Neal and with another flick, she now found herself in a large gown, hiding her modesty.
"Erm, thank you. Do I know you? Who…who are you?"
He chuckled warmly. "Yeah, I guess it's been a while! Neal, Henry's dad?"
"Neal?" Ruby's eyes widened in shock as she finally made the connection. "Neal? It's really you? But you're dead!"
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Dorothy yelled, having just arrived, Nathaniel in her arms. She was unarmed, but she couldn't know what could have forced her wolf back into a human so easily. "Wolfie, you okay?"
"Yeah…it's fine, Dot. I was just a bit…I know this guy!" Her wife looked up in astonishment, for an answer.
"Sorry for the thunder and lightning, ladies! They used that to get me down here, though it must have spooked this little fella!" He smiled sympathetically, looking at the nervous toddler in the woman's arms. "I'm Neil Cassidy, Henry Mill's father. I'm sorry I don't think we've met?"
"Wait…Henry's dad? But…but…" mumbled the hero of Oz.
"I died. Yeah, I know this is a bit weird, but Zeus sent me back. Hard to believe, right?" He winked at Ruby, who finally broke into a cautious smile.
"It's him, Dot. I'd know that annoying smug grin anywhere!" She nervously moved closer. "Neil, this is Dorothy, my wife. And she's holding our son, Nathaniel." Her brow rose, waiting to see how the man would take it. Most people had been accepting of their relationship, but even five years later, a few were complete arseholes
"A wife and a son? I forget how long I've been away. Well done, you! Dorothy, it's nice to meet you, and sorry once again for terrifying your lad..." he offered a hand to shake, which she took. The toddler gave him a small grin. "Handsome young fella you got there, Rubes? He's even got your smile!"
"I can't believe you're back? But I guess Zeus sent back Robin and Killian, so I suppose…"
"Killian…Killian Jones? Captain Hook? I knew about Robin Hood, but Zeus sent Hook back here too?" How many more?
"Yep. He has two hands now too, so Killian Jones is probably more apt! He's married to Rosie, one of Merlin's daughters. They have a son."
"I'm sorry? Hook…sorry, Jones…has got a son too?" This was getting bizarre!
Ruby considered telling him that the former pirate was also Nathaniel's father, but thought she'd sown enough confusion already. "Yeah, he's about a month younger than this one!" And his brother!
Persephone, now standing closely behind Neal, had heard enough. "While this happy reunion is all very interesting, I can detect that people are on their way here, probably to investigate our less-than-subtle arrival! If you wish to waste time greeting them, fine. But I believe your father is a higher priority?"
"Oh, right! Ruby, I need to get over to the hospital, fast, but I can't seem to remember the way. Can you help?"
"Well, there's space for one of you in our jeep. It's a bit tight for two, because of Nat's child seat, but…"
"No, we need to leave sooner!" The goddess was growing impatient. She turned to Ruby. "Please just imagine the place Neal's talking about. Picture it in your mind, yes? Now take his hand."
The moment she touched it, Persephone grabbed his other side and the four of them, plus the toddler, disappeared in an instant, with no magical smoke or trace.
~oOo~
Less than a minute later, his son apparated in front of the adjacent church, having missed the group leave. Within two minutes, Henry's mother phoned. Another two minutes and they started a cautious search of the graveyard.
"See anything different, Hen?" Emma asked, as they walked amongst the graves. "Hey, what's that?" She walked over to the grave of Granny, the famous deceased proprietor, seeing things on the ground nearby. Some bags of flower bulbs, two trowels, a small bag of peat and…a baby buggy?
"Look's like Nat Lucas's, ma! No sign of Ruby or Dorothy, though. Not the sort of thing you'd leave behind, is it? Looks like they were tidying up Granny's grave? Perhaps this was…" as henry scanned the other graves he saw something.
"Oh shit, no!"
"What is it? I couldn't-" then she spotted what he was looking at. The grave of her first love. "Oh Jeez…Hen." But he had already started running across to his father's plot. The ornate headstone which Robin had magically created for him, had been split in two!
"Oh Henry, I'm so sorry!" Emma saw the damage, and her son's crestfallen face. "Give me a second and we'll fix it?" But it was only then Emma realised the damaged gravestone wasn't the one she last saw. It had been replaced by something bigger, and fairly new. Even the words had been changed!
"This is where the lightning hit!" He touchied the slightly blackened stone. "It's still warm."
"I can see that. When did you change the stone?"
"Last year. Robin did it for me. We thought the other one was a bit shitty, quite frankly." Emma winced. She chose it!
Outside Storybrooke Hospital
An old lady screamed when the four adults and child apparated onto the lawn in front of the hospital building.
"Bloody hell! I really would like a bit of warning before you do that next time?" Dorothy gasped. "And who the hell are you?" she asked the golden-haired woman with perfect skin, who smirked back.
"Sorry, I should've introduced you," Neal answered, with his own smirk. "Ladies, allow me to introduce my dear friend Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld." He said it as though he was introducing old mates in a pub. The goddess gave a tiny nod as the pair froze in shock. A goddess? Underworld? Dorothy held Nathaniel a little closer.
"You're in no danger, I assure you." Persephone smiled back at them. "And I assume this is Killian Jones's child? He has his eyes…" She looked warmly at the toddler.
"How did you know that?" gasped Ruby.
"Killian Jones did spend a little time down there with us. I only met him briefly, though unfortunately my uncle, Hades, used him for entertainment. Very handsome man, I recall? As this one will be. Very handsome. I see he's a hybrid too? How interesting."
"He's Killian's son?" It was Neal's turn to be surprised. "And what do you mean, a hybrid?"
"This little soul has three genetic parents. These two and Killian Jones. Lucky boy. I take it you had help from the Sorcerer?"
The two bewildered women just nodded, astonished at her knowledge. "Very good!" A moment later, the child's buggy, blanket and gardening tools left at the graveside appeared next to them.
"Thank you!" said Ruby. "Neal, I'm not sure why you wanted to come here, but I need to tell you something about Emma before you find out for yourself."
"Ruby, I…"
"She's married now, Neal! She…" but she was interrupted again, Neal raising his hand.
"Let me guess? Started going out with Hook a week after she buried me, lost him to darkness, tried to get him back, fell in love and married Regina, and the two of them are now getting married to Robin Hood next weekend?"
The wolf was stunned. "How the hell did you know all that?"
"Well, we ain't got cable in the Underworld, but we get to see a lot of what happens up here! I get it Rubes, Emma isn't my true love any more. But I didn't come back for her. I came back for the two, no make that three, most important people. My son, my father, and my brother. Now my dad's in there, so if you'll excuse me?" He turned and walked towards the building's reception, leaving the dumbfounded pair watching Persephone follow him.
Dorothy shook her head. "You'd better call Emma, Rubes. She needs to know".
"Not yet. That'll be too big a shock. I'll call Snow first." She pulled her phone out and speed dialled. Cursing when it went straight to voicemail, she tried someone else. He picked up on three rings.
"David? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I think you need to get over to the hospital. Fast!"
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Robin! Will you turn your damn phone on?"
Regina cursed as her call went to voicemail once again. Although still annoyed at their fiancé's recklessness, she was starting to regret her earlier outburst. Especially after Emma reminded her of his anger when he'd left them so suddenly. It was so rare of him to flare up like that. She decided to change the tone of her next text, her fourth since he left them.
Regina: Robin, I'm sorry. Please call me?
She's also tried contacting him telepathically, several times, although she could tell he'd turned that aspect of his powers off temporarily, only confirming he fact he was still angry. So, she added yet another text:
Regina: I love you. We love you. Please?
Immediately after pressing send, the phone rang, her wife's picture appearing. "Gina, I've got Henry with me. We're just leaving the cemetery."
"Cemetery? What on earth are you doing there?"
"The lightning bolt struck a grave. Neal's grave. I also think somebody's arrived. a stranger. Something's not right. We saw the Lucas's child buggy, and a few things near Granny's grave a couple of minutes ago and…well, they're not there now."
"Neal, meaning Henry's father?"
"Yeah. I've rung the station to warn Hank. I've no idea what we're dealing with, but it doesn't look good. I tried Dad but there's no answer. Have you spoken to Robin?"
"I've left messages. I can't even mind-link him. I assume he's still annoyed, and doesn't want to speak to us."
"Can't say I blame him! Henry's going back to the hospital to be with Gold. He decided to walk there instead, seeing if he can spot anything untoward. I'm going to head over to Sherwood and see if I can track down our sulking fiancé."
"Okay, take care. If you see something, call me? Don't take chances, unlike a certain annoying man we know!"
"Will do. We haven't had anything exciting happen like this since the Spencer attack on Sherwood. It's rather exciting! Love you!"
"Regina rolled her eyes. "I love you too. But I'll be happier to have you all back here, safe and sound."
Storybrooke Hospital
"Excuse me, which room is Mr. Gold in?"
Becky, the nurse on the reception desk outside the Intensive Care unit, was caught by surprise, looking up from her desktop to see a man and woman staring at her. "Oh! Erm…room six at the end. But nobody's allowed in there without a doctor's-" she stopped, seeing as the man just turned and walked towards the door. "Hey? You can't just go in there! Stop! I'll call security!"
"I think you'll find he can, my dear." Said the tall woman in a blue gown now directly in front of her. "Hush now, or call Merlin if you wish?"
But there was no need, as the Sorcerer appeared from a side room, stepping in front of Neal before he entered the room. "Good afternoon, Neal. I've been expecting you. I'm pleased to see you made it here in one piece?"
He finally breathed out on seeing a friendly face. "Hello Merlin. How is he?"
"Still unconscious. I gather you've already been brought up to date before you got here?"
"Yeah. Though we were going to head for DunBroch first, until we got the news. Sorry to be blunt but, can I just go see him and we talk later?"
"Of course. Persephone, a delight as always!" He bowed reverentially to the approaching goddess. Without being asked, he gathered her hand, kissing the back of it.
"Hello Sorcerer..." the goddess grinned back. "Back to one of the older looks, I see? Personally, I preferred your younger, darker-skinned version. Suited you more, I thought."
"Thank you, though it's harder to be taken for a medical professor with four grown up children when you look under thirty! No doubt I'll change again…"
"And I gather you and the dragon have reconnected? How long ago was that? Nine hundred, a thousand…"
"Guys!" Neal interrupted them. "Carry on by all means but I really need to see my father. Now!" He left them, opening the door to the room.
His breath hitched as he saw his father for the first time in nearly a decade. He now had a breathing tube coming out of his mouth, a drip, a catheter and bag, plus several wires attached to his head and chest as he lay still. A machine to the side beeped monotonously.
"Oh papa!" Stepping immediately around the side of the bed, he hitched himself up and beside his father's chest, before leaning over and kissing the man's brow. "You've been in the wars, haven't you?"
His voice was immediately followed by the tone from the heart monitor beeping louder, and faster. He heard the others walk into the room behind him, never taking his eyes off the unconscious man.
"Perse, I thought Hera said I've got some new magic powers? But I don't know what to do. Can I fix this?"
"Patience..." Merlin came to stand behind him. "We'll turn them on soon enough and train you, just like we did Robin and Killian. However, I think your father's condition needs something a little extra. My lady, could you help us?"
The goddess merely nodded, walking over to Rumple's left before taking the tube from his mouth, and placing her hands on his cheeks. She leant over and looked as though she was about to kiss him. But instead, she blew gently over his mouth. The monitors started beeping like crazy!
"Thanks Perse. But he still didn't wake?"
"What did the Sorcerer just tell you? Have some patience! Talk to him!"
He sighed. "Papa, I need you to wake up now. I need you to open your eyes. I want to meet my young brother and my son! Come on papa, wake up now?"
It took a few seconds, but very slowly, gradually, Rumple's eyelids started to twitch. The monitors continued until finally his eyes opened!
They became unrealistically huge at the sight before him. His mouth started to twitch, and his eyes moisten, as they finally came into focus, seeing the man before him.
"Hello Papa! Missed me?"
~oOo~