A/N: All I can do is apologize for how shamefully long this has taken. And they just want to thank you all for the comments you've left and the reviews of the story I know it's still taken me a long time but your words do feed my muse. So I hope you enjoy it and I hope it was worth the wait. please review!

Emma stepped from the shower, finally feeling cleansed of the sweat from the day, the smell of her horse and the barn…and the fact she fought a zombie. He might not have been a decaying corpse, but the idea still made her skin crawl. Twisting her hair up loosely in a large clip, she bent, reaching for the nozzles and letting hot water fill the Jacuzzi. It seemed a waste, but the shower was to get clean; the bath was to relax.

She could feel his gaze trail over her naked body as she poured essential oils into the stream of water, causing fragrant steam to fill the room. The bruises on her ribs, arms and back from the fight with Daniel, ached more with her every move. She wouldn't even bother with the jets tonight, her head was already pounding. Turning off the water, she stepped into the deep tub, her hands gripping the sides of as she slowly lowered herself. She exhaled in deep contentment as the hot water engulfed her aching and weary body.

Gold stood in the doorway, removing his jacket and loosening his tie. Emma tried to give him privacy, knowing he didn't always like it when she would watch him undress, or flat out undress him herself. But still, she was somewhat of a voyeur, and every now and again she allowed herself to indulge in the sight of his body. He never believed her when she told him how he was sexy, how his body pleased her. She understood why, but she was no less determined in making him believe her.

"May I join you?" he asked, stepping into the bathroom. He'd draped a towel around his lower body, but still she smiled, sliding up to make room for him.

"Please,"

He stepped in, slipping behind her and resting against the back of the tub. She lay back against his chest, the bubbles and water lapping at the top of her breasts and she closed her eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright? These bruises look quite painful," she winced as his fingertips trailed lightly over her ribcage to her back, and brushing gently over her upper arms.

"I'm fine, nothing's broken…" she told him, though everything in her body ached. It wasn't just from the fight, either. It was the possible fight with Cora and Hook, the fates of her friends in the Enchanted Forest, the stress of telling her parents about her past. It was all becoming too much, and having to learn and master magic on top of that wasn't making anything easier.

Her eyes opened at the sound of a cap opening, and she couldn't suppress her smile as the dark one poured a generous amount of the lavender oil into his palm. It wasn't that she liked his title, far from it – but she loved the contrast and knowing that someone who was once so ruthless and selfish is now even more selfless and tender. She only wished he would let others see this side of as well, though she understands why. His enemies would take advantage if he were to ever show such weakness as this.

She shivered and her eyes closed as loose strands of her hair lifted and fell, tickling her skin as his hands massaged the base of her neck. Goosebumps erupted over her skin, despite the heat of the water – despite the warmth of his touch. His hands moved in languid, circular motions, working the oil into her skin. She leaned into his touch, craving more, not sure if it was the massage or if he was using his magic to help her relax. All her attention focused on the caress of his fingers, aware of the tension melting away.

"You're going to smell all girly, now," she teased him. A deep, throaty chuckle rumbled against her back.

"There are worse things…" he said softly, his hands slowing almost to a stop, "Do you feel any better, love?"

"Mmhmm…"

Her heavy head fell back once more against his shoulder. From her new position she lifted her gaze, surveying the long line of his neck. Her eyes mapped the path along his clenched jaw, observing the way his dark eyelashes fanned against his sharp cheekbones when he glanced down to retrieve a sponge. His hair was loose and she smiled at the state of it, enjoying the slight curl forming from the steam. Slowly, Emma leaned her head into his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his bath-warmed skin.

Gold wrapped one arm around her waist, his palm moving over her abdomen, avoiding the bruises. The other hand dragged a sponge across her body, rinsing the oil from her skin. Emma relaxed further, molding herself to the firm press of his chest. She let her hands rest atop the thighs bracketing her own, and she paused at the raised bumps of his scar beneath her fingertips.

She didn't let her fingers linger long, feeling the way his body tensed. She moved one hand to skim along the forearm resting across her stomach, moving to lace her fingers with his. Resuming her task, she placed soft kisses along the hard line of his jaw, against his neck, against the shell his ear while sighing in contentment.

"Emma," he breathed as his eyes settled on her mouth. Releasing the sponge, Gold lifted a hand to cup her jaw, tilting her head to look into her eyes. He leaned forward, his thin lips brushing against hers, hesitant. Heat burst under her already flushed skin. Emma tightened her grip on his hand as he drew away. She didn't press him.

Her fingers drifted back over the jagged edges of his scar just above his knee. The 'c' and 'o' were all that were visible above the waterline. He had told her long ago that the word 'coward' had been branded into his skin, but it was the first time she had seen even the slightest bit of it. The edges of the letters were rough and sharp, looking like they had been chiseled into stone instead of burned onto flesh. Without thinking, her fingers traced the word from his knee up his thigh beneath the water. He inhaled sharply and his body stiffened, holding his breath as she looked back at him.

"When I'm better at magic, could I heal this for you?" he gripped her hand, pulling her fingers from his leg and holding it in his own.

"You could, but I don't want you to. In truth, I could easily do it myself."

She sighed heavily, angling on her side to face him better, "But it's a lie…"

"No, its not."

Her jaw clenched.

"It wasn't true then, and it's not true now. Look at how you're prepared to fight Cora…" she stated, leaving no room for argument in her voice.

"Must we discuss this now? We're meant to be relaxing and I'm trying to pamper you, darling…" he interrupted, and at the guarded, pleading look in his eyes, she surrendered.

"Fine, but we will discuss it again…" she replied.

"Speaking of healing, I could heal these for you." He said of her bruises. She shook her head.

"I'll be fine. I'd rather you save your healing energy for when we really need it,"

"As you wish." He hugged her tighter and pressed a quick kiss to her neck, then his lips were at the shell of her ear, "Give me your feet, love…"

She groaned, leaving the warmth of his body and turning around. His fingertips gripped her ankle, and her moan couldn't be contained as he started massaging her ankle first, rubbing the Achilles heel and spreading out to each side of her ankle. Then his deft fingers moved up her heel, pressing and stretching the skin until he reached her toes, only to repeat it all over again in reverse.

Reaching up, she turned the hot water back on to add heat back to the rapidly cooling water. He set her foot back down, and took the other in his hands. It wasn't that she wasn't relaxing, but her mind just wouldn't stop. Yes, everything he was doing was soothing every ache and pain in her muscles and bones. But her mind just wouldn't stop dwelling on the multiple battles coming their way.

"Honestly, you and my father have mastered ignoring the elephant in the room." She mumbled, more to herself, "And what do you mean, relax? Who are you to tell me to relax right now?! I doubt you've ever relaxed a moment in your life."

The words came out in a rushed jumble of aggravation, and judging by the look on his face, he didn't appreciate her calling him out. It was just another thing they had in common. When your life has been nothing but constant motion, slowing down can feel wrong and frightening. Especially if there is something behind you, just dying to catch up.

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

"It?" she clarified, as if 'it' was just one thing.

"Whatever it is that's eating you, Emma."

She deflated at his words, angry at him yet again for being so perceptive of her. And she shouldn't be, she knows he feels the same when she looks at him and can tell him exactly what he's feeling. And even though she's aggravated, she's grateful he's not letting her hide, either.

"I don't think I'm going to tell my parents about…him – about Henry's father." She shook her head, even just saying it out loud made it all too real again.

"Oh? I thought you decided you would…"

"I did, but, what good will it do, really?" she said, trying to ignore the sympathetic yet stern expression.

"It'll do you some good, Emma. You need to say it, and they need to hear it." The gentle urging in his voice didn't do much to comfort her. He is right, but she wants nothing more than to ignore this and move on. She sighed, finally meeting his gaze.

"If it was you…if you find Bae and he has a story similar to mine, will you want to hear it?"

"I would wish with all my heart that he didn't have such a story, but I would need to hear it all the same. It would break my heart, and it will have been my fault that he suffered, but I would need to hear so I could know how to best help him."

She inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes, dropping her foot from Gold's hands. She turned again, preferring to be in his arms at this particular moment. His arms tightened around her in a bear hug, and she settled back against him.

"It just feels like if I tell them it will break their hearts, and that somehow Regina will win. Like there's no possibility for a happy ending after that."

He scoffed, but it wasn't mocking, "Do you really believe that, Emma?"

"I don't know."

"If there is anyone who can take what happened to you in stride and find a way to make it better, it will be your parents. Incessant optimists that they are…"

Emma giggled, "Yea, I guess you're right," but her smile quickly faded.

"You're not alone, Emma. No matters what happens, or how they react, I will be right here for you always."

"Careful, I just might hold you to that…"

He pressed his lips to her temple in a firm kiss, "I hope so."

With that, he stood, retrieving the towel and securing it around his waist. Emma sighed in deep disappointment as he held open her robe, but she stood, releasing the stopper to drain the tub. She secured the robe tight, following him out to the bedroom. He'd laid out her flannels for her, pulling out all the stops to make her feel warm and content. He motioned her to sit on the bed, flashing a comb.

"I could braid your hair if you like," he offered, and she nearly laughed out loud.

"Where did you learn to braid hair?"

"I'm the dark one, dearie, I know everything." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed than, sitting on his mattress as once again he sat behind her. He released the clip, letting her long hair fall down the length of her back. She drew her knees up to her chest, bundling up in the warmth of her robe. As he worked the wide comb through her wet, tangled hair, she realized she may never truly know the depths of this man.

He's immortal with a personality that spans the gamut from cold, calculating, and murderous to caring, tender, and loving as well as everything in between. The pride of his life was Bae, and that – at least at one point – he had been a good father. Even with all they share in common, and even if she were to live forever, she's quite certain he'd never reveal all of himself to her. And she honestly doesn't know how to feel about that.

"I've been thinking maybe we could redecorate in here…" Emma said nonchalantly.

"Oh really, and why is that?"

She shrugged, "No reason, just the red in this room can be overwhelming at times." He only laughed.

"I was actually thinking of remodeling the room across the hall."

"What would have been Belle's room?"

"Indeed, seeing as how she won't need it, I thought perhaps we could make it Henry's room or, maybe a nursery."

For a moment she thought to argue that Henry could stay in the room he stayed in the last time he was here. But than she remembered that was Bae's room, full of his toys and suited to his personality. So, yes, maybe they could make – wait, what?!

"A…nursery?" she clarified hesitantly. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry love, your mother mentioned it today."

That made even less sense. She turned to look him in the eye.

"You and my mother spoke about building a nursery?" she asked, suddenly confused with building panic, "Am I pregnant?"

He set the comb on the mattress beside him, "I don't know, are you?"

Resting her hand on her abdomen, she replied, "Not that I know of."

He shrugged than, motioning with his finger that she turn back around. With a roll of her eyes she did as he requested and without missing a beat, his fingers were in hair, separating and joining three long sections.

"It was just a slip." He told her, then paused for the length of a breath, "Did you ever see the glass unicorn mobile in my shop?"

"Yea, its like the first thing I see every time I go in there."

"Well, that was yours. It hung over the crib in the nursery that would have been yours. Your mother saw it." He explained quietly.

"Oh, well, that's…tragic."

"Yes, I offered to let her take it, but she refused and suggested we might need it."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think we have enough to deal with between our two already existing children."

"Of course…" he agreed, "But if it did happen, would you be happy?"

"I honestly don't know. I wouldn't be unhappy, but there is so much changing and happening right now…it's just not the time I would choose for it to happen."

"I couldn't agree more."

With that he tied the end of the braid in a hair tie and declared her done. She stood, quickly disrobing and putting on her pajamas as he did the same. They crawled beneath the blanket at almost the same time, and Emma curled right along his side. She loved living with Henry and having their own place, but this was her favorite way to fall asleep – nestled against the side of the man she loved.

"If I'm not mistakin', Miss Swan, you have a birthday coming up…" he said, tightening his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't remind me," she scoffed, rolling her eyes, "I haven't even thought that far ahead."

"Uh-huh," he replied with a mocking nod of his head, "You finally have your parents and your son – and this is the first birthday of yours that will be celebrated with all of them – and you haven't even thought of it?"

"Maybe just a little – or ya know, nonstop." She admitted.

"Nervous?"

"It's ridiculous, I know."

"Well, let's not focus on that aspect right now…" he said, holding her closer, "Is there something you want, perhaps, in the form of a gift? Jewelry? You already have a pony…new car?" she laughed than, grateful for the ways in which he could ease her mind.

"You know what? I was really thinking that I wanted us to take a trip. I want Henry to see Disneyland. I mean, I get that he's living the fairy tales, but I just want to give him a happy, normal childhood memory." Not to mention that Henry is living nightmare versions of these fairy tales, and Disney will be a much happier place.

"What makes you think you haven't done that already?"

"Most of my memories of Henry involve us plotting to take down the Evil Queen."

"Right." He chuckled.

"Just promise me one thing – no surprise parties or grand balls. I'm still me, I just want a quiet dinner or something, with just us. You, me, Henry and my parents." She pleaded.

"I think that can be arranged."

"Thank you."

With that she settled down, closing her eyes at last. But as she dosed off, the air in the room changed. There was a heaviness to it, and Emma knew it was coming from Gold.

"There's something I need to tell you…" he said solemnly, almost as if he'd read her thoughts. She was about to tell him no, that there would be no dark one confessions tonight when he continued, "I saw Jefferson today. He's going to keep an eye out for Cora and Hook…"

It was a statement, like he was telling her and it wasn't open for discussion. Perhaps she was just that relaxed, but it took Emma longer than usual to process what he'd said.

"Why would you go to him?" she asked, surprising herself at just how calm she sounded.

"He has telescopes –"

"Yea, that he was using to stalk me!" she interjected.

"I'm not saying what he did was ok, but he wasn't watching you with the intent to harm you…and now he'll be using them to protect people…to give us some warning," he quickly added, "And besides, hardly anyone even knows he's there."

"Regina knows…" she argued.

"But she won't suspect him of helping me. He dislikes me almost as much as he despises her…"

"He held me and Mary hostage at gunpoint…" she reminded him.

"All because he wanted his daughter back, and at the time you thought he was crazy. But he wasn't Emma, you just weren't ready yet."

"That doesn't mean he can be trusted."

He released a heavy sigh, "Cora is the woman who cut off his head, and Hook tried once before to kill Belle, the woman he is now dating. He won't aid them, if that is what you're concerned about."

Emma sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. She had never stopped looking for Jefferson, and as much as she hated the idea, it would also give her the chance to see him again and decide for herself if he is still a threat.

"It's already done, so for now I'll leave it be. But if he crosses a line…"

"He won't."

She wasn't happy about this, and she wished he hadn't waited until she was calm and relaxed to tell her. But at least he did tell her.

"Thank you for telling me, and not waiting until I found out on my own."

"I would have asked, Emma, but we have so few allies that will be able to fight Cora."

"I know." She kissed him than, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Emma, I love you too."

"What do you mean, 'Hook is coming here'?" Belle demanded, pacing the floor. Jefferson tried to soothe her, to quiet her rising voice before she woke Grace, but she had every reason to be afraid, just as he did.

"Rumpelstiltskin came by, he told me that he is working with a woman named Cora, and that she is Regina's mother."

"And you trust him?"

"I trust his instinct to protect those he loves, and that still includes you. He wouldn't lie about something like this, but…" his voice trailed off.

"But what?" She pressed anxiously.

"He looked terrified, Belle. Have you ever seen an immortal master of dark magic look afraid? It was deeply unsettling. So yes, I believe him." Belle was quiet as she processed what he'd told her. She knew the dark one better than anyone.

"Papa, are you and Belle fighting?" came his daughter's quivering voice.

"No, oh, I'm sorry Grace," Belle said before Jefferson could speak. She rushed to his daughter, wiping the tears from her small face. "I was just upset about something. Come on, let me tuck you back in."

As they disappeared up the stairs, Jefferson fell to the couch, rubbing his face into both hands. When Rumple knocked on his door, this wasn't even on the list of things he expected. Even less, that Rumple would actually ask him to use him to use telescopes again. He hoped the Dark One was wrong, that he and Regina had succeeded in whatever plan they had to stop them, and this was all just precautionary. Speaking of which…

He rose from the couch and went to the telescope that had a view of the harbor. At first he saw nothing, as he expected at such a late hour in Maine. He pulled back from the lens, looking out the window to the ocean. And there he saw it, far out from the harbor and not that close to Storybrooke. It was probably just a random boat, sailing too close to their border.

His eye dropped to the lens again and he searched, spotting the flags of what appeared to be a pirate ship. He couldn't see anyone above deck, but that didn't mean anything. He started patting his pants in search of his phone.

"See something?" he jumped at Belle's voice beside him.

"Yea, I think so, take a look." Belle bent down and as he looked back out the window, it was gone.

"I don't see anything." Belle said, standing from the lens.

"I thought I saw a pirate ship." He told her, relieved and worried in the same breath.

"It's been a stressful day." She said, as if that explains a hallucination. Maybe he was just that stressed, but he wasn't risking Belle, either.

"Will you stay the night? I'll sleep on the couch, but it would make me feel better if you stayed." She opened her mouth and he could tell she was about to protest, but instead she simply smiled.

"I supposed one night couldn't hurt."

He nodded in thanks, casting one last, long gaze out the window, somehow convincing himself that nothing had been there. He didn't expect to get much sleep, and he had the sneaking suspicion that no one was going to be sleeping well in the days to come.

A/N: Again, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry was a little bit short and that it was kind of dialog heavy, but I'm just trying to set up the next few chapters which will be the Cora and Hook chapters. So again, please review, you have my apologies and I promise I'm working on getting this finished. Thank you again to all of you!