Emma's stare was harsh and aimed in the direction of her parents and Regina. "We can't."
There was absolutely no time to argue. Pan's curse was steadily drawing near, the sky already taking on a dark, ominous hue, swallowing up the buildings and people that had called Storybrooke home for twenty-eight years.
"Emma, you have to go. It's the only way to keep Henry safe!" Snow protested.
Neal turned away from the small family, and looked at Belle. "Are you going to be okay, Belle?"
"Don't worry about me. Your father would want you and Henry to be safe, Bae," she said. "Besides, Snow has been kind enough to allow me to stay with them… if we're able to get back to their castle."
So much was unknown about what was going to happen. Neal was worried he might throw up.
He put on a brave smile that he knew neither of them bought.
"You guys need to hurry!" Ruby suddenly cried, glancing over her shoulder at the purple storm clouds racing toward them. "It's almost here!"
Neal squeezed Belle's hand and turned to Emma and Henry. "Let's - let's get to safety, then."
He should have been happy that the life he and Emma deserved to have was within his grasp, but like everything with magic, the price was too damn steep, and it wouldn't be worth it.
They might not remember Storybrooke, but he knew the pain in Snow, David, and Regina's eyes would never leave.
"I'm sorry it has to be this way," he said, passing Regina on his way to the bug.
"Just keep Henry safe. Please."
"You know we will."
Neal gave Hook one final glance, and a single nod of acknowledgement before he got in the passenger's seat once Henry was safely in the back. He and Emma clasped their hands over the gear shift, the familiar rumbling of the bug almost making him smile as Emma began to drive.
None of them took their eyes off the mirrors as their loved ones -
"Em? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked, glancing at her. "Allergies acting up?"
Emma took her hand off his, using it to wipe her eyes before she pulled to the side of the road. "No - sorry. I just got a little overwhelmed at the thought of our apartment in Boston. We've lost everything, Neal. Our clothes, our furniture, our pictures - "
"But not our lives," he said, rubbing her back. "Emma, we're lucky we weren't home when the fire broke out. We can replace the stuff, but we can't replace each other."
Henry looked up from his game. "I'm not reenacting those baby pictures."
Neal snort-laughed. "You don't have to, bud. But just be aware that your mom and I might take a few extra pictures of you for the foreseeable future."
Henry scowled, rolling his eyes, and immersed himself in Zelda again.
Emma chuckled. "New York then. Almost home."
"It's a boy!" the doctor announced, Henry's cries cutting through the air.
"Healthy pair of lungs on him," the nurse chuckled, rubbing him down. "Oh darling, it's okay. Let's get you to Mama, hmm?"
Emma and Neal, two terrified eighteen year olds, were in shock as the nurse laid him in Emma's arms.
"H - hi baby…" Emma whispered as his cries slowly died down and he stared at them with wonder in his dark eyes. "I'm - I'm your mama… and that's your daddy…"
The first year had been rough, of course. They lived in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment in Tallahassee, waitressing and whatever else they could find. They clawed and saved whatever they could, to give Henry more than what they'd had.
But more important than things, was love. Henry had two parents that loved him more than anything in the world, which is much more than Neal or Emma could say for themselves.
They were happy, most of all. Yeah the apartment was a squeeze, and there were on and off issues with bugs, but through it all, the three of them were happy.
They married when Henry was three - a small ceremony in Boston after they'd moved there for Emma's job. He'd gotten a better job not long after that, as a photographer, and he was really, really good at it, like Emma was good at tracking down criminals.
And so the little family moved up in the world. From a one-bedroom apartment to a two bedroom, they could buy new toys and clothes for Henry instead of hoping they found something at a thrift store or garage sale. It finally felt like they were where they were meant to be.
Emma's twenty-eighth birthday came and went, and Neal felt a twist of guilt in his gut when August's voice echoed in his head.
The problem was, Neal hadn't heard anything from August. No postcard, no email… nothing. No information as to where this supposed curse was?
So how was he supposed to get Emma to her supposed destiny if he didn't know where he was going?
He had a job, a family. They couldn't just drive across the country and hope they got lucky.
Then there had been the fire, the spring after Emma's birthday. They'd been on a camping trip in Maine, Neal taking photos of the coast and Emma insisting Henry needed less time in front of the screen, when they'd gotten the call.
Everything in their apartment was gone, the building itself almost totally a loss.
He'd been transferred to New York.
So they'd started over, again.
New York had been good to them - incredibly so.
The magazine he'd gotten a job with had offered to pay for their rent for two months while they got new furniture and settled into the city.
Henry was thriving in school, making friends and joining the art club. It was everything Neal had ever hoped for.
And after they'd settled in, new furniture and wardrobes abound, they had received a call from one of Emma's contacts with the NYPD. A two year old girl had been found in an abandoned apartment. No family that the cops or child services could find, and the girl didn't say anything other than her name - Audrey.
So they'd taken her in, adoption paperwork being expedited given the strangeness of the situation.
All she had to her name was a pink baby blanket, not unlike the one Emma had.
It felt like fate, adopting Audrey the way it happened.
Or something else, but Neal pushed that thought aside as he situated her in her chair, watching as she carefully fed herself.
Emma slid into the seat next to her, a plate in her hand.
"Busy day today?" she asked.
"Nah, just editing the pictures from the Elton John concert last night. I can do it from here," he said with a shrug, glancing over at a knock on the door. "I got it."
When he pulled the door open, he'd wished he hadn't.
"Baelfire."
He felt the color drain from his face. "Hook. What the hell are you doing here?"
To his shock, Hook actually looked relieved to see him, like it hadn't been 200 years since they saw each other. Like they had actually been friendly last he saw him. "I came to get you three, Baelfire. To take you home."
"Home? You must be insane. I am home."
"Emma's parents need help, Baelfire. So does your father."
His eyes narrowed. "Did August send you?"
Hook's face radiated confusion. "Who's August?"
That was a no, then, and that didn't make Neal feel any better about Hook being here. He shouldn't even know what he looked like - he'd been fourteen when they last saw each other! "Why should I believe you? After everything? And why would you give a damn about my father?"
"He saved my life."
Neal laughed, then winced when he remembered Emma and Henry were only feet away. "Why would he save you ?"
Hook shrugged. "I was collaterally saved."
"As always," he spat.
"Dad?" Henry called. "You okay?"
"Just a second, Henry!" Neal turned back to Hook and narrowed his eyes. "Get lost. Whatever you're selling, I don't want it."
Hook sighed, holding out a piece of paper. "Fine. If you change your mind, I'm staying here."
Neal frowned as he took it, watching Hook disappear back down the hall. How had Hook been able to get a hotel room?
This was weird, and despite his instincts telling him to stay away from anything related to the Enchanted Forest, Hook had mentioned Emma's parents. If they were involved in this, maybe there was more to Emma being left on the side of the road.
So, with Henry at school, Emma at work, and Audrey at daycare, Neal did what his brain was yelling at him not to do, and wandered to the address Hook had given him. To his surprise, it wasn't a hotel at all, but an apartment building. He was let in no problem, and stood in front of the door.
Why was this familiar?
He pushed the door open, and resisted the urge to toss his keys on a nearby table (why had he wanted to do that?). Instead, he picked up an envelope that caught his attention, dropping it in shock.
Why was his name on it?
He left the envelope on the floor, glancing again around the apartment, and his heart stopped.
The yellow dreamcatcher he and Emma had snatched was hanging from a window. Rushing to it, he lifted it into his hands, afraid it would break.
It should have burned in the fire. How was it here?
"I wasn't sure you'd come," Hook's voice rumbled from the doorway.
Neal spun around. "Hook, what the hell is this?"
Hook didn't answer, instead, he pulled a vial of blue liquid from his pocket and held it out. "Your memories of the past year have been erased, Bae."
"Neal." He made no move to take the vial.
Hook sighed. "Neal. Please. You have to trust me."
"Why?"
"It's like I said - Emma's family is in danger. A witch is plotting something against her parents. I only just escaped in time before they were sent back to Storybrooke."
Neal bit his lip and looked around the apartment again. That might explain why he never heard from August, but getting Emma to do anything regarding her parents would be worse than pulling teeth.
He took the vial and drained it, lurching back in pain when the memories began to flood in.
Oh no.
Neal's eyes were wide with horror as they settled down, and looked up at Hook again. "Killian…"
Killian grinned. "There you are, lad."
"How's Belle?"
Killian had a hesitant look on his face. "She's… as well as she can be. Your father is alive, Bae, but he's missing, and with Emma's parents in danger - "
"The witch might have something to do with it." She probably had something to do with it, really. "What about Emma and Henry's memories?"
Hook pulled out two more vials, his face sad. "I'm sorry I had to wake you up, Bae."
He sighed, remembering the devastation before they'd crossed the town line, Emma's tearful, almost childish refusal to leave her parents, and the broken look Regina had tried to hide when Henry wasn't looking. "Don't be. This is… going to be for the best."
What it meant for him and Emma, time would only tell.
The Bug was quiet as they raced through the night, back to Storybrooke. Hook, Henry, and Audrey were asleep in the back, but Neal was wide awake.
"Emma…" he said quietly. "About us - "
Her head snapped over, visible confusion on her face. "What about us?"
"I mean… the marriage, the amount of love we have for each other - "
"False memories or not, the love I have for you is real, Neal Cassidy," she said. "I was going to meet you at Granny's, give you that second chance before Pan's curse. Although… I guess that was a second chance too."
Neal smiled, relieved. "So you wanna stay married to me?"
Emma smiled back. "Neal Cassidy, I'd marry you in any lifetime."
