The stowaway returns, with his father in tow, bringing back an entire royal family family with them. Henry's expecting trouble!

Mifflin Street

The Locksley family were gathered around the breakfast table, when Regina's cell phone rang.

She'd normally ignore it, having lectured the rest of them about use of phones at the table. However, recognizing that ringtone, she was up and in the kitchen in an instant, to answer it.

"Henry?"

Their eldest son had been gone over a week, and they'd already postponed the honeymoon by a fortnight till they knew he was back safe. Her original anger at his behaviour, stowing himself away on the pirate's ship, had now passed, replaced by anxiety. "Henry! Where are you?"

"Hi mum," she could tell by the waver in his voice, he was in trouble. 'I'm at the hospital. Dad's with me…"

"Hospital? Why? Are you hurt?" Her raised voice already alerting Robin and Emma, who came into the kitchen to find out what was happening. Regina put it on speakerphone.

"I'm fine, but we brought people back with us from DunBroch. Some are badly injured. Merlin couldn't treat them there, so we came back. Dad's in there now."

"Neal's hurt?" Emma, grew concerned. "What's happened?"

"Hi, ma. No, dad's okay. It's Queen Merida. She took an arrow to the side of the head, and she needs attention, urgently. We got back through a portal early this morning. Some of her family's with her, including her mum. One of her brothers got badly hurt too. Merlin says she needs some serious surgery, so he's already called Whale to get him down from New York."

Regina was mortified. "You were in a war zone? Henry, whatever the hell were you thinking leaving like that? You could have been killed!"

"It's complicated. I'm just having my arm checked over and then I'll come home, okay?"

"Your arm? You said you were fine! Just wait there, young man? I'm coming over. Just stay there!" She cut the phone, looking up at her husband and equally anxious wife.

"Go," said Robin. "I'll take care of the children. Text me to let me know what's happening, OK?" He gave her a short hug, kissing her cheek.

Regina nodded, already seeking out her bag and keys. "I'll join you," said Emma. "I've been worried sick all week. That boy needs a serious talking to!"

"Emma," Robin, picked up two slices of buttered toast from the table, handing it to his blonde wife. "Take this. You think better when you're not hungry!" he smirked as she scowled. "I know it's hard, but try to remember he isn't a boy any more? He's a proud, twenty-two-year-old man, who won't take kindly to being lectured. Even more so, if you do it in front of others. I promise you, it'll backfire if you do!"

She glared back, knowing he was probably right. Within seconds, the mist engulfed them, and his wives were gone.

Storybrooke Hospital – less than a minute later

After apparating onto the hospital lawn, the pair stormed into reception, where a collection of oddly-dressed men and women in battle armour and forest gear seemed to have gathered.

Emma recognised a young nurse, a friend of Henry's, corralling the group into a side room. "Janie, you seen Henry?"

"Eh? Oh, hi, Emma. Could you just give me a second?" She yelled in exasperation, before turning to a large bear-like man with wild red hair. "Look, I'm sorry sir! But I can't understand what you're saying! Please speak English, or at least a little more slowly?"

"AH'M NO ENGLISH!" He roared, as though he'd been offended. Louder, but slower, he spoke again. "I'm askin' where ye tekin' ma mither? She's no hurt!"

Janice, trying to stay calm, finally figured out what he was saying. "As I have told your friend over there, several times, the doctors have taken three people into surgery. One, a red-haired lady, is seriously injured and currently in the operating theatre with Professor Sage! An older lady, who said she was her mother, is waiting in their waiting area. Another two men are in surgery as we speak. We only have two doctors on this morning, so if you'll please be patient and wait here, I'll let you know as soon as I have news…"

This clearly wasn't enough for the rowdy group of four irritated men, one of whom started insisting he see them. Janie rolled her eyes, knowing she was losing it with these people! Emma was about to step in and help her calm them, as a woman appeared from a side door, walking straight up to the group.

"HAMISH! I CAN HEAR YE BACK THERE! LOWER YER VOICE, YE BLITHERIN' IDIOT? AN' SHUT UP THE REST OF YE - THERE'S SICK PEOPLE HERE!"

"Sorry…mama." The bear of a man calmed in an instant.

"Sorry…majesty!" said another.

"That's better! Now, ye heard Merlin! They are trying to save your sister's life in there, an' they don't need you lot makin' any more trouble! Sit yerselves doon, like the good nurse told ye to."

Regina was impressed how the men instantly complied. "Excuse me? I believe my son's in here somewhere? Someone said 'majesty'? I'm a former queen myself, of the Enchanted Forest. And you are…?"

The woman looked her up and down, calming as she recognised the look of another anxious mother. "Eleanor, Dowager Queen of DunBroch. Ye said, yer son?"

"Henry. He travelled to DunBroch with his father. He said you all arrived here this morning?"

"Ye're Henry's mither? That young man damn well saved my Hubert's life! I owe him! Not as much as I owe his fatha, mind! You should be very proud of them. Without yer man, ma Merida would be deed by now!"

"Oh…Neal isn't actually my-" But Emma interrupted her.

"You're Merida's mother? I remember her…In Camelot!"

"Aye, well," the mother's eyes started to glaze. "If she survives the night, she may well remember ye too! But…it's a slim chance. Yon Merlin brought us here to see a brain man. Should be wi' us tonight. If he canna fix her…" a tear slid down her cheek, quickly wiped away. Emma stepped closer, putting a gentle hand on her arm in an attempt at comfort. But Eleanor quickly pulled back.

"Nae, lassie. Dinna comfort me now! If ye do, I'll cry. Then I'll never stop!"

"We're sorry…your majesty. Can you tell me where Henry is now?" said Regina.

~oOo~

Two minutes later, the wives stepped into a small reception area next to one of the operating theatres, where Henry sat nursing a coffee. "Henry!"

"Oh, hi mums..." he had that guilty look on his face. "I wondered when you'd come."

"You said you were hurt? Your arm?"

"Oh that? Yeah, Anna Sage used magic to fix it just now. I took an arrow to it, as we were getting out."

"An arrow? Henry, what the hell were you thinking, going there in the first place? Your father specifically forbade it, as I would have done! What happened to you being protected by Merlin and Persephone?"

"Ah…well, that's the thing. Nobody realized that some piece of shit called the Black Knight had contained all magic over there. So, nobody had it, except him! Dad got Perse out of there quick, then he, Merlin and Killian had to fight the old-fashioned way, or Merida and her family would have been slaughtered. I couldn't just sit by…"

"And where is Neal now?"

"Waiting outside Merida's operating theatre, I think. She got hurt the worst of all. She got an arrow to the back of her head and she's been unconscious ever since. I'm waiting here to see how Hubert's doing. He got sliced pretty bad by the Black Knight. Merlin decided we all needed to get out of there quick, as there's no way she'd survive back there. He sent a message to Anna, asking to get Professor Whale to come back to Storybrooke. Apparently magic can't fix a brain issue."

"And what about Killian? Is he back?" asked Emma.

"Yeah. He's back on the Jolly. He got hurt too, but Merlin patched him up when he got his magic back."

Regina rolled her eyes, sighing but remembering Robin's last words before they left home. "Henry, your mother and I have been worried sick! Why on earth did you do that?"

"Sorry, mums. I know it was stupid. It's just…I thought what with Dad, Merlin and Perse around, I'd be safe! I just wanted to be with him. I hid down below deck and came out after we went through the portal. Dad was spitting blood when he found out! He kind of locked me in the brig for a night."

Emma gave him a sad smile. "Good. You deserved that, after what you put us through! We knew. Merlin's daughter told us what happened. Henry, I know you're all grown up now, but…please don't do that again? We've hardly slept all week!"

"All week? We've been gone six! I guess what Merlin said about the portal's true! That means I won't have missed any Uni time if I go tomorrow. Um, shouldn't you be on your honeymoon right now?"

"We should! But somebody decided to disappear off to another realm, didn't they?" Regina's tone acquired an annoyed, steely edge. "We couldn't go, while our son's in mortal danger now, could we?"

Finally, Henry realized the full extent of the problem he'd caused! "I'm sorry. I should have thought."

"Yes, you should have! You've really messed a lot of people around this time, Hen," added his blonde mother. "As well as giving us sleepless nights and making us miss our honeymoon, you could have put your dad in even more danger as he had one more person to protect! I was quite prepared to give you a first-class 'bollocking', to quote Robin! It's only him reminding me you're supposed to be a man now, that stopped me. Henry, you really screwed up this time!"

Even though he was nearly a foot taller than either woman, he hung his head in shame, staying silent. The awkwardness finally being broken by a door clattering open, Neal stepping out. "Dad, over here!" he called, relieved for the distraction. "How is she?"

"Still in a coma. They did an X-ray, and there's nothing much to be done till Whale gets here. We still don't know whether she'll make it or not."

"I'm sorry, dad. I know you've become close. Eleanor and her family are downstairs. Should I go tell them?"

"No thanks, son. Probably best I do it."

"What happened?" asked Regina. "After you all left here?"

"You mean after I found out that this pillock..." he grinned, putting a rough hand on their son's shoulder, "…smuggled himself aboard the ship? Well, it took us another three days to reach DunBroch..." he proceeded to explain how they landed, to discover how nobody's magic, including Merlin's, worked any more. Then how they discovered someone called Emeris, or The Black Knight, a renegade outlawed by King Arthur of Camelot, had acquired his own magic somehow, and was using it to suppress not just anyone else's, but the small kingdom. How dozens of the queen's finest troops had been slaughtered in battle. How Merida's brothers had been taken hostage, under threat of slaughter. He described how he and Merida had then managed to break into the Knight's castle in the dead of night, rescuing her brothers from the dungeons.

"However, we'd almost got back to the ship when Emeris' guard counterattacked and during the fight, Merida got an arrow to the side of the head. Most of us got scratches and bruises, but her brother Hubert got cut quite badly. Henry saved his life, but they both got hurt. I think Anna's still working on him in theatre."

"Henry was in the middle of the fighting? Why didn't you keep him out of it, back on the safety of the ship? He could have been killed!"

"The ship was compromised, so we couldn't take the risk of leaving him behind. Remember, we were facing somebody with magic where we had none, so best we stayed together. I'd never knowingly put him in harm's way!"

"But he WAS in harm's way, Neal!" Emma growled back. "Anna mind-read with Merlin. She said you got Persephone out of there, so why didn't you do the same thing for Henry?"

"You seriously think I didn't want to? Because where she went, would have killed him! Nobody but a god or demi-god can survive on Olympus. We had no choice but to keep him close. Still, I found out our boy's good in a scrap!"

"Mum, I know I worried you, and I'm sorry, but how many times have you two risked your lives for me or the family? Besides, Robin's right. I'm an adult now, I can make my own decisions!"

"Henry, that's as may be, but your mums were right to be worried!" Neal's tone changed to serious. "Merlin, Killian or I couldn't be sure what we were going to be facing down there. Remember when I gave Emma hell for letting you go down to the Underworld? Well imagine what they'd be doing to me right now if it was you in theatre, instead of Merida?"

~oOo~

It was another five hours before Professor Victor Whale, now a qualified neurologist, accompanied by his fiancee Caroline, arrived in Storybrooke.

Thanks to the influence of Professor Sage, he'd managed to bring a small truck back from New York, full of loaned specialist neurological operating equipment. Merlin had been there to meet the exhausted surgeon and briefed him on what had happened. With Victor's consent, he also cast an energizing spell on him to combat the travel fatigue and freshen him up, before he went in to examine the patient.

After operating on his broken collar, Hubert had been healed magically by Anna Sage, before being discharged, and much to his mother's relief, even though she was desperately worried for her only daughter. After a request for assistance from Merlin, Blue had organized rooms at the convent for the DunBroch royal family, though Merida's mother refused to leave until she knew her girl was safe, instructing the family to follow the orders of the fairy to the letter.

Neal Cassidy never left the hospital either, waiting and pacing endlessly outside the operating theatre.

Finally, Eleanor broke: "Will ye no sit down, man?" she yelled in frustration. "Yer makin' me feel giddy!"

"What? Oh, sorry. I'm just anxious, I guess. I'm better when I keep moving."

"Ah can see that! Ooh, what the hell's takin' him so long? That man's been in there hours…"

Neal looked down at the queen's mother, who'd been wringing her hands continuously. "It's complicated. The head's the most difficult part to work on. Merlin said he trusts him, so-"

"So, we have ta wait here and do nothin'? My gurl could die! An' a feel so…so hopeless!" She looked into his eyes, desperate to hold back her tears, and could see the worry reflected in his own. "Ye care for ma Merida, don't ye? Dinna deny it, Cassidy!"

He felt her voice almost break with emotion. This obviously powerful former queen. So strong, so wise, yet right now terrified she may lose her only daughter. "I do. I've only known her three weeks, but …"

"Aye. I saw the look. I saw her givin' it back, too. I never seen ma Merida look at a man, that way before. Ah'm sorry ma boys gave ye such a hard time. They were just bein'…"

"Brothers? It's fine Eleanor, they're just protecting their sister. Though from what I saw, she doesn't need it. I saw what she can do with a bow and arrow! You know, there's an archer around here, who she could give a run for his money!"

The dowager queen stood, facing him. "Aye, she's guid in combat all right, like her fatha. Oh, ma Fergus he would have been so proud, but she's also bloody pigheaded, just like him! Stormin' in tae a fight without a blind thought who's got her back! It's nae wonder she hasn'ae-" She was interrupted by the door from the operating theatre opening, two men now coming out, still in surgical gowns.

"DOCTOR?" Eleanor turned immediately, stepping up to him. "How is she?" She desperately tried to read the medic's eyes, to see whether he was a bringer of good news. Or not.

"Erm. Perhaps we can go into an office? Somewhere private, your majesty?"

"Just tell me? I need to know, man!" As she yelled, Merlin came to stand by her, removing his theatre cap.

"Well, she's lucky to be alive. Another half inch and she would have been lost!" he took her trembling hands in her own. "I carried out a CT scan, and…"

"A what? I dinna understand?"

"It's like a picture, Eleanor," added Neal, to help the confused woman. "Of the inside of her head. The doctor can see what's going on in there, so they can figure out what to do."

Victor nodded, silently thanking him. "Yes, a picture of her brain, to be precise. We can see what damage is there before we operate. Fortunately, the arrow doesn't seem to have penetrated her spine or spinal roots…" He could see her looking confused again. "So, provided we can operate successfully, she should still be able to walk and use her body normally. But…" he thought how to explain it carefully and clearly without building up her hopes…or dashing them. "We'll need to remove the arrow very, very slowly. We won't know if there's any permanent damage until she wakes up. I'm sorry but it's still too early to say."

"So, what are ye waitin' for, man?"

Victor looked across at Merlin, both knowing this was going to be a very long night…

The Diner – The following morning

"We really do need another place around here to have breakfast!" muttered Regina as she, Emma and Henry stepped into the diner. The previous afternoon, Blue and the fairies had arrived to take care of the DunBroch royal family and news had spread of their new visitors. Robin was due to join them shortly, after dropping the older girls and Roland off at school, and they'd agreed to meet for their own breakfast at the café.

As the pair looked for a free table, Emma groaned, seeing Killian Jones sitting at one of the back tables, with Ruby's son on his knee, and the wolf's wife sitting close. Has she already told him about the nightclub incident? As she tried to direct them to one of the larger tables near the door, as far as possible from her former lover, Henry had already called out to him. "Hi Dot, hi Killian!"

The former pirate looked up at him, with a wry grin. "Well, if it isn't my stowaway? What's the news? Does the queen live?" before spotting the two women nearer the door.

"Still too early to tell; she's still in a coma. Dad's there now."

Ruby had just joined him from the back rooms. She'd worked long hours yesterday and was unaware of the news. "What…the queen? You mean Merida? She's hurt?"

"Aye, lass. I thought you heard? The young queen got an arrow to her skull. That's why we brought the family back with us. Life or death. Henry said she's lying in a hospital bed right now."

Ruby's mind went right back to her time in their realm. When a local witch had cursed her to remain in wolf form. When she and a certain warrior came to her aid. "Merida's there, now? I knew her. She and I helped…well, it doesn't matter now. I'd best call Mulan," she stood quickly. "Could you take care of Nat a little longer, Kill?"

"No problem, love. Me and my boy here will be just fine." Ruby mouthed a silent 'thank you' back. Without thinking and having forgotten Henry, she lowered herself to place a quick peck on the toddler's cheek, before switching across to give Killian the same. As she did, his head turned to the side, their lips touching in the lightest of kisses.

Brief, but intimate enough. Henry noticed but said nothing.

Storybrooke Hospital

It was a completely and utterly drained Victor Whale who almost crawled out of the operating theatre.

He'd been working flat out, hunched over his patient, using his microsurgery spectacles and the finest of small tools as he operated deep within the young queen's brain, for over nine hours. The smallest slip could result in instant brain damage or paralysis, so the utmost concentration had to be maintained throughout. Caroline and their best nurses and trained medics kept a close eye on proceedings, ready to help the exhausted man.

"Victor go sit down over there," said his fiancée, lovingly. "You're absolutely shattered."

However, seeing two worried people walking toward him, he sighed. "I will, Carrie. Just give me a minute?"

"Well?" said Eleanor, looking almost as drained as him. "How is she?"

"Still in the coma, but better. I removed the arrow and repaired all the damaged tissue. Her brain functions are now stable, and the prognosis is good. There appears to be no spinal nerve damage either. But it may take a while for her to wake…"

Neal saw the confused look on the mother's face, so he took her hands in his own, facing her. "He's saying she's more likely to recover now. She's over the worst…"

At the first bit of positive news since Merida had almost been killed, the stately Dowager Queen of DunBroch just seemed to melt before them, the tears and pent-up worry she'd held back for so long, finally breaking. "Thank the gods!" She wailed, before pulling herself into Neal, sobbing loudly into his shoulder. "Mah poor wee gurl!"

He held her tightly as she released all of it, soaking his shirt. Even he was shedding a few tears of relief. That's when a figure stepped up beside them. "It was an extremely difficult operation, Eleanor. Professor Whale here did a magnificent job. I've no doubt that without his labours, your young queen would have been lost!"

At Merlin's words, Eleanor lifted herself from Neal and forcibly pulled the former Doctor Frankenstein into a bear hug.

"Thank ye! Ye have no idea what this means to me! To mah family. Ye'll always have a place of honour in DunBroch, ye wonderful man!"

Caroline, returning with his coffee, saw the embrace, smiled across at the slightly embarrassed medic.

"Yes, he is, isn't he? Shame so very few people around here seem to realize it!"

~oOo~

Several more hours passed, as Neal and Eleanor sat either side of the unconscious queen. As Neal held her hand, Eleanor looked at the way he studied her daughter's face for any sign of movement, as the odd beeping noise from the strange machine nearby continued.

"So…what are yer intentions?"

"I'm sorry – what?"

"Yer intentions; towards ma Merida? I told ye yesterday, I never saw her as much as look at another man. Fergus and I tried to find a suitable suitor, but she'd have none of it! Feisty young thing, mah gurly. It's either her way, or no way! Just like her fatha."

"That's what I like about her," he said, "She's got spirit and passion. Like nothing's gonna stop her."

"Oh, passion now is it?" she glared, suspiciously. "I trust ye've been a gentleman?"

Neal didn't answer, instead looking down at the patient. "I've barely known her three weeks, Eleanor."

An awkward silence hung in the air, broken again by the woman. "So…Merlin told me you were sent back from death? By the god o' the gods himself?"

"Yeah. It was Zeus who wanted me to come to DunBroch. Said he owed King Fergus a debt."

"Aye, well he'd think it more than repaid if Merida gets to live. Ye know, I asked Merlin about yer history? But he said nowt, only to talk to ye direct. So…what's yer story? I saw the way that blonde lassie looked at ye. Emilia, was it? When she came in with that woman who said she was queen. You have history wi' her?"

He studied her face. She knows more than she's letting on! Not sure just how much the Sorcerer had told her, he decided honesty was probably the best policy. "Emma. She's Henry's birth mother. The other one's Regina, his adopted mother. She's also happens to be Emma's wife."

"Her wife? Two women? That's allowed here? Well, I'll be! So, there's nothin' between the two of ye now?"

"Only Henry. No, we were together once, but Emma and I were over a long time ago. I didn't even know Henry existed, till he was eleven. She told him I'd died. I'll always care for her though."

"And her mother really was Queen of the Enchanted Forest? Snow White's daughter?"

That confirmed it. She knew a lot more than she was letting on! "Yeah. And her dad's Prince Charming. Oh, it gets a lot weirder than that!" he chuckled. "A little while ago Emma and Regina also married Robin Hood, and they have children together."

"Robin Hood - the Prince of Thieves? Even I've heard of him! He was one of Merida's heroes from the storybooks. I met one of his Merry 'Men' too. A young gurl from the East. Fierce fighter! So Hood's here? And I guess you're royalty too?"

He laughed, "Hardly. My background's far more humble. Son of a spinner."

"Spinner eh? So, you didnae think it worth mentioning, that yer own fatha was the Dark One? Or that yer grandmother was the Black Fairy? Even I've heard of those two creatures!"

"I suspected someone had been doing her homework! Well, if you know that already, then you might've also learnt that Peter Pan is, or was, my grandfather?"

"Pan? That bastard? Excuse ma language, but…how the hell did ye come out the way ye did!"

Storybrooke Hospital – two days earlier

"Well, the baby seems to be well established. I don't see anything untoward,..." Chloë, one of the specialist nurses, printed off several copies of the scan. "From the measurements here, I'd say you were a shade under two months. Heartbeat's nice and strong too. How many copies?"

Belle squeezed her girlfriend's hand as she helped wiped the gel from her belly. "Thanks, Chloë. Four please."

"Would you like to know the sex?"

Ariel had been too stunned to speak as she studied the little photograph, amazed at the clarity. "You can tell that, at two months?"

"Sure. The machines are great these days. Once the Prof got here, he got hold of all the latest stuff. Heck, sometimes we can even see the eyebrows! So, do you want to know?" The women looked at each other sporting silly grins. Ariel nodded.

Another five hours passed in the hospital recovery room. Neal brought numerous teas in for Eleanor, each taking it in turns to guard over their precious patient.

After an initial short sleep, Professor Whale had returned, checking over the unconscious woman. He had also warned them that, even though he believed she would wake, there was no guarantee that her mind wouldn't have been affected, Or her memory. Or even her personality. Neal had already prepared her mother for this possible eventuality. Eleanor was stoic, assuming this would be a real possibility but nonetheless prayed for it not to be the case.

Neal watched as Eleanor slowly and meticulously weaved her hands through her daughter's bright red hair, carefully separating some of the matted tangles. "She's got fantastic hair,' he breathed, voice low. "It was the first thing I noticed about her. I'm pleased Whale didn't need to shave her head before the operation." He'd spotted only a minor shaved patch at the back, from where they'd removed the arrow.

"Aye. She got that from Fergus, just like her temper!" She smiled down on her precious girl. "Big red mane, he had, and a bright red bushy beard to match. My mamma said it looked like he'd eaten half a badger and left the other half hangin' oot!"

Neal laughed. "She talks about him a lot. Seems they were very close?"

"They were joined at the hip! He understood her. We still miss him dearly. He tried to stop her going in to battle with them, and she refused, like he would. She'd always been grand wi' a bow an' arrow but shite wi' a sword, so…he hired the best swordswoman and fighter he could find to train her properly. Someone from the east. Dour lass, she was, but-" she was interrupted by a sudden change in the constant beeping noise coming from the machine, which now sped up rapidly.

"What's that? What's going on?" the pair standing to look over the patient.

"That's coming from the EEG! That's the brain monitoring thingy!" said Neal, "I'll get the-"

"No need!" said an older nurse, hurrying into the room, followed by a younger woman. "I heard it, too! Jen, could you kindly page Professor Hope? I'd like him to check before we call Professor Whale. He was up all night and I don't want to wake him unnecessarily…"

Within minutes the figure of Merlin appeared in the room, followed by a junior doctor. He examined the read outs from the machine, lifted the patient's eyelids, checked her heart using his magic and lifted her hands to press under her nails. "Well, it would appear young Merida is no longer in a coma, even if she is still unconscious. That's very good news. It means she can react to stimuli!"

"React? You mean she can hear us?" asked Neal.

"Yes. I suggest you start talking to he?. I believe she'll wake, though I have no idea when, but talking to her, reading to her, stimulating her mind, can only help. When she does, we can assess her properly. Professor Whale will no doubt want to check on her a little later."

~oOo~

And so, for the next few hours, Neal and Eleanor stayed by her bedside, nagging each other to go get some rest while they other stayed. Finally, Eleanor tried a different tack. "Listen, ye know...ye've been here two days without bathin'. An' I'm sorry ta say...ye're startin' to smell awfy bad, man! I dinna want my Merida facin' that pong when she wakes! So, go get yerself cleaned up and I'll stay an mind her!"

Neal chuckled, knowing her game. "OK, I'll go. But on one condition? Namely, you promise you go and take a break as soon as I'm back here? No buts! You could do with a change of clothes too…"

"Are you sayin' I smell too, young man?" she responded in mock offence.

"Perhaaaaps I aaaaamm, yer maaajesty!" Neal gave a terrible impersonation of her highland accent.

"Less cheek from ye! Now go. Bugger off!" She said it with a smirk, though Neal finally stood, knowing she just wanted a chance to talk to her daughter alone. But before he left, he leaned over, kissing Merida's forehead, to whisper: "I'm just going home to get changed. I'll be back soon, my love!"

The moment his lips touched, Eleanor's eyes were drawn to the spike on the strange map on the little measuring device, accompanied by the sound of several large beeps. Clearly Neal hadn't noticed, as silver mist encompassed him seconds later, disapparating him away.

"Neal…look?" But it was too late. He was gone!

Eleanor smiled to herself as she now leant over her daughter. "I saw that, hinny! Ye like him, don'tcha? I know he likes ye too, my gurl."

The Gold Mansion

A few seconds later, Neal apparated directly in front of the stove in his father's kitchen. "SHIT!" Ariel screamed, at the burst of mist appearing in front of her, making her freeze, dropping a dinner plate in shock. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"Um…Ariel?" Neal noticed the shocked woman. "It's me! Sorry. I'm not really used to this poofing lark. I didn't mean to frighten you, I just-" But he was interrupted by his father bursting into the kitchen, closely followed by Belle.

"Belle?" Rumple rushed across to her. "You screamed?"

"Sorry, it's my fault, papa. I just poofed directly in front of her. I didn't think…" He mumbled his apology. Rumple looked up at him in surprise, pleased to see him, but more concerned for his lover.

"Bae? What happened?"

"Merida's still unconscious. I just popped home to change, but I thought it'd be quicker if I just teleported? I aimed for the lawn outside, but missed. Sorry again, Ariel, I'm still a beginner at this poofing magic stuff!"

The mermaid, no longer upset, pulled back. "It's okay Angus, I'm fine now, it's just the surprise. Just a bit silly and emotional; ignore me." Neal noticed how her hands went straight to her stomach, as though protecting it. "It's alright Neal, you just caught me by surprise; but it's lovely to see you back. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm just…" She stopped, noticing his eyes were looking down at how she was holding herself. He had a curious look. As his eyes lifted to look at her face, she realized then, he'd already guessed! She nodded back silently, with a small grin.

"You're…pregnant?" He breathed, staring, his face slowly breaking into a grin when she nodded.

"About two months. We were going to keep it quiet, just to be on the safe side, till after three."

He stepped in front of her, taking her hands. "That's wonderful news. Congratulations!" Before pulling her cautiously into a gentle hug. "From what I've seen with you and Gid, you'll make a wonderful mother."

he almost melted at his kind words, as she'd worried what people would think. Getting pregnant by an already married man, with whose wife she was already in a relationship. "Thanks, I've been a bit scared about people finding out."

Belle and Rumple had been watching the exchange, relieved at how easily Rumple's son had accepted the mermaid and her relationship with his father. But what he said next was the most unexpected.

"Don't be. Fingers crossed, I can't wait to have another brother or sister."

"Sister. I'm carrying a girl."

"A sister? Bloody marvelous! Belle, dad, it sounds like you need to make an honest woman of this lady? Seems to be a trend in Storybrooke these days, after all,"

~oOo~

Freshly showered and changed, and less than an hour later, Neal apparated himself back to the hospital, being careful to focus specifically on the lawn outside the front, and not in the building itself. Fortunately, nobody was outside apart from a startled cat, this time! As he walked back into Merida's room, he saw Eleanor was now joined by Merlin and Whale, both leaning over the still unconscious, supine queen.

"Any change? Is she okay?"

"As well as can be expected, considering she's had rather invasive surgery," answered Whale, calmly. "We still won't know till she wakes. This lady here..." He looked across at Eleanor, "...said there was a spike on the EEG over there, when you spoke to her?"

"Aye, an when he kissed her heid! I saw it myself" added Eleanor.

"Well whatever happened, she's in a lighter state than when I left her. Perhaps you should keep doing whatever you did?"

Neal looked at them, puzzled. "You're not suggesting this is some sort of sleeping curse, are you?"

Merlin spoke for the first time. "Absolutely not, but it couldn't do any harm. She seemed to like you, I recall?"

Whale moved back, offering Neal his place at the queen's side, while he studied the monitor. "Please talk to her, Mr. Cassidy. I'd like to see if she responds."

He stepped closer, lifting himself onto the side of the bed, lowering himself to speak softly into her ear. "Hi, lovely! About time you woke up, don't you think? Your mum's here and your brothers are nearby. They've missed you and need you back. So…"

Merlin and Whale were unable to hear his words, but definitely noticed the jump in the little graph on the machine nearby! So had Eleanor, who'd had the machine's function explained to her minutes earlier.

"Summat's happenin'!" she gasped. Neal continued to whisper softly to her.

"I've missed you too! I've missed that wicked grin of yours. I even missed you swearing at me, even if I didn't understand half of what you were saying!" The needle on the graph became even more animated. Neal looked at it, alerted by the beeping rate increasing. "But you know what I missed most? Your lips! I may have only known you a few weeks, but nobody's ever kissed me like that."

The graph spiked dramatically, causing Eleanor to look up in alarm. Merlin placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. It means a part of her can hear him. She's reacting."

Seeing him continue whispering, Eleanor had had enough. If Merida was reacting just to the tone of his voice, perhaps she just needed a little nudge to wake up!? "Heavens above! will ye no kiss her, man? I know ye want to, so just get on with it!" Her eyes pleaded as he nodded back.

"Come back. Come back and shout and swear at me! I want to run my hands through that hair again. I want to cuddle up with you like we did before when we snuck away from your brothers. You remember that? I do! Something else I remember-" He paused, moving his mouth up to place a slow kiss on the centre of her forehead.

The graph continued racing, though the heart monitor continued as before. He was about to resume whispering when...

"Call that a kiss?" Eleanor earned a wry smile from Merlin. "Jings, that peck's what I'd give my own fatha! Do ye not know how to kiss a woman, man?"

Neal chuckled to himself. "Can you believe this? I'm being ordered by your own mother to kiss you! Well, if I have her permission, what can I do? Good job I brushed my teeth just now. Just as well I love you…" he gently lowered his lips over the queen's own before pressing down to seal them together, praying it would make some sort of difference.

The beeping noise increased dramatically, though the little graph the other three had been studying intensely suddenly seemed to change to a single white flat line, which made Neal jerk up.

"Shit! Is that bad?"

Whale's expression slowly transformed from an intense frown to a smile. "No, Mr. Cassidy, quite the opposite. The EEG's just overloaded. I think she's starting to come around!"

His words made Eleanor immediately jump up, darting across to Neal's side to look down at her daughter. Although Merida's eyes remained closed, she could see some sort of movement under the lids, and her chest start to rise and fall.

"Come on, gurl! Ye wake up now! If ye do, I'll make the man gi' ye another of those kisses ye seem te like? If he don't, there'll be hell ta pay!"

~oOo~