Unsurprisingly, Neal agreed to come back with her.
The surprise came when he had to call his fiancée and tell her that he was leaving town.
"Tamara, huh?" Emma asked, when he hung up the phone. "How long?"
"Not long," Neal admitted. "We've only been together a few months."
"And you're marrying her?" Emma asked sceptically.
"Hey, when you know, you know," Neal said, tapping his fingers against the dashboard. "Can't believe you still have this car."
"Yeah, well, I'm sentimental," Emma said. "There's a light in the glovebox."
Neal frowned and pulled it out. "Why do you have a cop car light?"
"Stick it on the roof and turn it on please," Emma said. "We'll never get back in time otherwise."
"Em, if we get pulled over …" Neal began.
"Then I'll show them my badge," Emma said impatiently. "I'm a sheriff, I have every right to have the light."
"Sheriff?" Neal asked, leaning out of the window to do as she asked. "How'd that happen?"
"A friend had a baby, I became the deputy, the sheriff died in my arms, and then I had to prove Regina wrong," Emma said flatly. "It's a long story."
"Sounds it," Neal said. "Speaking of, how do I have a stepmother to go back to?"
Emma smiled, passing him her phone. "Pull up the video app. She sent you a message."
Neal opened the app, his eyebrows rising into his hairline. "She's … not what I expected."
"Right?" Emma agreed, as Belle's voice filled the car.
"Hi Baelfire … or Neal, Emma says your name is here. I wanted to send you a message, just in case you weren't sure about whether to come home. Maybe I should introduce myself first …"
Emma had filmed the message on Belle's request, so she had heard it before, but she couldn't help listening with intent, marvelling at the way the woman explained her history with Rumple in a way that both did not shy away from the unhealthy parts of their relationship, and yet made them sound completely reasonable at the same time.
"… I know you have your reasons to be angry with him. I do. Yours is the only deal he has never broken, and he has regretted it every second of every day since he lost you. So even if it's just to say hello, I really hope you come home. I'd really like to meet you."
Neal shook his head. "She's … She really loves him, doesn't she?"
"She does," Emma said.
"He won't hurt her?" Neal asked.
Emma sighed. "I don't know. I want to say no; he clearly adores her. And she is, at the very least, aware of the fact that he has issues, and she can and will hold her ground."
"Good," Neal said. "She seems really sweet. I wouldn't want her to get hurt. Anyway, you were telling me about Henry."
"Right," Emma said. "Where did I get to?"
"He snuck into the mines with his therapist," Neal said. "Which - why does he need a therapist again?"
"One of his moms is the evil queen and his grandfather is Rumplestiltskin," Emma said. "I'm starting to think I need a therapist."
She had not been planning to drive back to Storybrooke as soon as she was, and she begrudgingly agreed to stop after a few hours so Neal could take over driving and let her take a nap; the roads were quieter by then, and she could switch off the light.
Finally, he nudged her awake at a gas station.
"Think you're going to have to do the home stretch," he said. "I've been searching and searching, and I can't find this place."
Emma chuckled, getting out to stretch her back out. "Fair enough. Thanks for taking the wheel for a bit."
"No problem," Neal said, handing her a coffee. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
Emma shook her head. "Drove through the night to get to New York."
"Christ," Neal muttered. "You're a glutton for punishment."
"Yeah, well, I needed to get it done quickly before your father decided to go himself," Emma said, "and with Cora around, I needed him in Storybrooke. Not that it's done us much good."
"Yeah, who is Cora?" Neal asked. "I don't recognise that name."
"The Evil Queen's mother," Emma answered. "The Queen of Hearts."
"Of course she is," Neal muttered. "And she wants Papa's curse?"
"My dad thinks so," Emma said, sliding into the driver's seat. "No messages, so I'm assuming no news is good news. Hang tight."
She had them home in another ten minutes, Neal doing a double-take as they took the turn into town with a muttered, "I drove right past that."
People were gathered outside the pawn shop and when Emma pulled up outside, she realised it was Ruby, Leroy, and some of the other dwarves, all of them armed.
"Welcome back," Ruby greeted with a tight smile.
"Henry?" Emma asked immediately.
"August has him," Ruby said, glancing at Neal. "Took him down to the bay, since Cora seems to be focused here. Your parents are looking for her now."
"It's bad?" Emma asked.
"I don't know anything other than 'don't let anyone in'. Belle knows more, I think," Ruby said. "Go on in."
"Thanks." Emma ushered Neal through the door. "Belle?"
Belle emerged from the back room, relief dawning on her face. "Emma, I'm sorry for dragging you back …"
"Don't be silly," Emma said, giving her a hug. "This is …"
"Baelfire," Belle finished, with a genuine, albeit shaky, smile. "It's lovely to finally meet you."
"You too," Neal said, hesitating when she hugged him.
"She's a hugger," Emma said with a grin.
"Is that okay?" Belle asked, releasing him suddenly. "Sorry; your dad's just told me so much about you, I kind of feel like I already know you."
"It's fine," Neal said. "How is he?"
Belle's smile disappeared. "He's … It's bad. I've got no idea what's going to happen and …" she sighed. "Come on through."
Emma couldn't help taking Neal's hand as they stepped through into the back of the shop - automatically reaching out to comfort the man she once thought would be her future - but nothing could have prepared her for the sight of Gold practically motionless on a chaise longue, his face ashen.
Neal sucked in a breath, gripping her hand tightly for a second, before releasing her to take a tentative step towards his father. "Papa?"
Gold's eyes cracked open with what looked like a tremendous amount of effort. "… Bae … You came back."
"Yeah, well, I heard you were dying," Neal said.
Gold tried to speak, but his voice didn't seem to be working. Belle moved before either of them could, bringing a glass of water to his lips and helping him sip from it.
He touched her hand lightly, and she smiled, leaning in to brush a kiss against his forehead, before moving away again to let father and son reunite.
"I also hear you've been looking for me," Neal said, taking another careful step forwards.
"I spent a lifetime looking for you," Gold whispered, "for a chance to say I love you and I'm sorry."
"I didn't think you'd go back on our deal," Neal said hoarsely.
"I just made the wrong choice," Gold said weakly. He reached out a shaky hand towards his son, fingers still stained with blood. "May I?"
Neal hesitated. "I'm still angry."
Emma turned away, hearing the suppressed tears in his voice, feeling like an intruder.
"I know," Gold said, his voice heavy with resignation.
With a stifled sob, Baelfire dropped to his knees beside his father, grasping his hand.
Now Emma took herself out of earshot entirely, to join Belle on the other side of the small room. "So what did I miss?"
"A lot," Belle said tiredly. "The pertinent is - Cora killed Queen Eva, who was your grandmother, and as a result your mother was trying to find a way to deal with Cora, but David's worried she's doing it for the wrong reasons."
Emma frowned. "Surely whether Cora killed Eva or not is irrelevant - the woman needs to be stopped. Who cares if Snow's doing it out of vengeance or not?"
"It would blacken her heart," Belle said.
"But does motive matter?" Emma asked. "From what I've seen, magic is black and white - whether she does it to save the town or to avenge her mother, it's going to have the same effect, right? Does she have the dagger?"
Belle nodded sadly. "She does. Blue managed to send her away, but the fairies don't have that kind of power to spare."
"Hence why they're not here now," Emma muttered. "Belle … I know this is the last thing you want to think about, but … if Gold … dies, what happens to the curse?"
"I'm not sure," Belle admitted. "I'm fairly sure we're safe, but we won't be if Cora gets hold of him, or the curse." She hesitated. "There is something else, Emma. Snow has a candle; she got it from here."
"I guess it's magical," Emma said.
"One half dripped on one heart," Belle said. "The other half dripped on another, and one life is given in exchange."
Emma frowned. "You've lost me."
"If she drips wax from one half on Rumple's heart," Belle said, "which I think she has, he won't tell me, and then drips wax from the other half on to Cora's heart, Cora will die in Rumple's place."
Emma winced. "How is she going to get close enough to get to Cora's heart?"
"Apparently, Cora ripped it out decades ago," Belle said bitterly. "I never thought I'd pity Regina, but at least I knew my mother was capable of loving me."
Her phone rang and she glanced at it. "It's your mother."
Emma took the phone and answered it. "It's me; I'm at the pawn shop."
"Thank the gods," Snow said breathlessly. "You need to stop Regina, Emma. Cora's on her way to you; Regina's got her heart, but …"
"Belle told me," Emma said, closing her eyes. "Does she know that it will kill her mother?"
There was a pause, and then a very small, "No."
A sudden blast of magic from the front of the shop caused the call to drop and Emma handed Belle her phone back.
"Stay here."
Darting through the curtain, she came face to face with the woman who still haunted her nightmares, Ruby and the others motionless on the street.
"Hello again, Emma," Cora said pleasantly, as though they had bumped into each other at the supermarket. "I thought you were out of town."
"I got back early," Emma said, her eyes trained on the dagger in Cora's hand. "He's not in any state to do any work for you."
Cora laughed. "Oh, I lost any use for that man a long time ago. He seems to have gone soft in his old age. No, dear - I'm going to use this to finish what Hook started."
"Of course you are," Emma murmured, her eyes darting around the pawn shop for anything she could potentially use as a weapon. She hadn't taken her gun to New York - hadn't thought she'd need it - and although there were a number of swords around her, she had a feeling that they weren't going to be much use.
"Don't waste your time," Cora said, apparently seeing her intention. "I wouldn't want to harm my grandson's mother."
Emma stiffened. "You take one step towards my son, and I'll …"
"You'll what?" Cora asked, all pretences of levity now gone. "Don't presume to threaten me, my girl. You may have some innate magic, but it is nothing compared to …"
Her voice cut off mid-sentence, and Emma looked past her to see Regina standing in the doorway, one hand clenched in a fist, the other cradling what must have been her mother's heart.
"Don't do it," Emma said hastily. She tried to move, but her feet were glued in place. "That heart's cursed, Regina; you'll kill her."
Regina hesitated, her grip faltering, and her magic, freezing Cora in place, lessened a little, allowing the woman to speak, if not move.
"Well, well, the little brat had it in her after all."
"Regina," Emma said, her voice low. "Regina, let me move."
"Why?" Regina asked. "So you can kill her?"
"Nobody is killing anyone," Emma said, praying that Neal and Belle stayed where they are and that her father had the good sense to keep her mother away. "But she murdered someone, Regina. I have to take her in to custody; I need your help with that."
But still, Regina hesitated, her mother's heart cradled in her free hand. "If we can cure her heart, then I can put it back in and get my mother back."
"Darling, I never went anywhere," Cora said with an airy laugh. "You're the one who sent me away, remember?"
"Regina, I'm not so sure that's how it works," Emma said desperately. "Look at Graham. He didn't have a heart, but he clearly had feelings. He had feelings for me - and for you."
"He had no feelings for me," Regina snapped. "Why do you think he left me for you?"
"He did have feelings," Emma insisted. "Why else was he so angry? Or hurt? You can't feel those things without emotion, Regina. You know that. I don't know what removing a heart does, but I'm certain you can still feel without it."
"If I don't kill Rumplestiltskin," Cora said, "then he will die anyway, and the Dark One will seek out and destroy everything - including your son."
"You gave Hook the poison in the first place," Emma snapped, "and you don't give a crap about Henry."
"She has a point," Regina said slowly. "If we have the dagger …"
"She's not going to give you the dagger, Regina," Emma said, desperately trying to fight the magic holding her in place. "She'd never give up power like that, not even for you."
"Regina, don't listen to her," Cora said wearily. "You're my daughter; this whole town is against you - they even told your own son that you were a murderer! Now stop all this nonsense, and let me go."
"You said you told Henry that I was innocent," Regina said, looking at Emma.
"I did," Emma said. "And he believed me. But before that, a girl at school told him that you murdered Archie - except I checked, and that girl doesn't even exist. No one's ever seen her before."
"It was you," Regina whispered, looking at Cora. "You told him that."
"Regina, would you stop …"
"No!" Regina shouted. "How could I be this stupid again? You have never wanted my happiness; why should now be any different?!"
"Darling …"
"Don't 'darling' me," Regina snarled, taking a step towards her mother. "Emma's right; all you've ever cared about is power; I've never been enough; you've never cared, even when you've pretended to - not with Daniel …"
She took a step closer.
"… not with Leopold …"
Another step
"… not with him …"
Whoever he was, her face twisted with even more pain than before.
"… and certainly not with Henry." Her voice dropped to a cold whisper. "I took desperate measures to protect my child from you once; I'm certainly not going to stop now."
With one last step, she was right in front of her mother, and Cora's heart was sinking back, deep, deep, deep into her chest.
Cora stiffened, the magic releasing her, and she fell forwards into her daughter's arms, gasping for air.
"You would have … been enough."
With one last shudder, the Queen of Hearts was dead.