Hey guys, so I noticed that the number of reviews were down for the last chapter. I realize that I have taken a complete 180 with the twist of Neal that any of you were expecting and some to maybe even all of you are having a WTF moment, well I have a history of taking one of my favorite characters and manipulating them into having a storyline that I can only ever fantasize about. This is my outlet.

No, Neal will never be a werewolf on the show. But in my invented universe he can be. That is the beauty of fanfiction.

Love it, hate it, do what you will but please don't put me down for expressing my never- to- become- reality fantasies.

Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT, any of the dialogue on the show or its characters. But if I did, Neal could so be a werewolf!

As soon as the door was shut behind them the real interrogation began.

"What are you planning on doing for the full moon Neal? We can't have a wolf loose in town, people could get hurt" Granny asked as she sat down at the coffee table. Ruby sat down beside her and Neal took the armchair across from them.

"You don't have to worry, I have a way to suppress the wolf during the full moon" he calmed their current concern but he was sure more would follow the longer he stayed in town.

Ruby was unable to keep back the question that had been burning her from the inside since she learned he was like her.

"How long has it been since you transformed?"

Her question caught Neal by surprise. In truth he hadn't thought about the transition for years so he had to take a moment to backtrack to his last transformation. He had been about fourteen and put into the fact the world he had been stuck in before he managed to escape...about eighteen years.

"18 years" he breathed, amazing himself at the number.

Ruby inhaled sharply. She had been without her wolf for 28 years but she hadn't been aware of what she was before the curse had broken. She could only imagine living 18 years without the trouble and anxiety that being a werewolf entailed and then to suddenly have it thrusted back on you in such a short amount of time, the thought terrified her.

"And your sure you can control it?" Granny persisted, needing to be sure.

Neal nodded, "yeah, my mom gave me this necklace that prevents the change...of course I didn't know this until after my first change and I had it on the second time around" he elaborated. He was able to picture the necklace and his mother perfectly in his mind.

Neal looked across at Ruby and saw another question that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Ask" he probed, not entirely sure what the question would be but curious to find out.

After a beat she spoke, "do you really want to stop it?"

Though she hated the thought of the wolf inside her taking control during the full moon she couldn't blame him if he was reluctant. She remembered her first transformation in Storybrooke; it had been so long since her wolf had been loose that when she did lose control for a brief instance it felt like she could see again, like she had been strangled for so long and when the attacker finally released her she could breathe once more. She didn't want to lose control like that again but she felt that since the wolf was such a close part of her that allowing the wolf to breathe at least once was only right, especially since it had helped protect not only her but her friends/family as well.

Neal visibly swallowed. He didn't know if he should answer, or even if he could. But talking about this with someone like him was not an experience he had ever had before and something about the eagerness Ruby was showing told him that she was lacking the experience as well.

"There's a part of me that almost needs to give in to the other side of myself but rationally I know that that's too dangerous and I need to control the wolf" he didn't know if his words made sense but they were the best he could come up with.

She did understand, the same conflicts were constantly at war with her conscience. On the outside Ruby displayed her feelings about the wolf that lurked inside her as a strong hate for, especially given that because of it Peter, the man she loved, was dead. But she could never admit that if she didn't have the wolf she would feel incomplete.

"And you don't want others to see how emotionally bonded to the wolf you really are" she added, the words like a secret written and hidden away in a diary.

Neal nodded in complete understanding, surprised and yet unsurprised that she understood him so well.

Granny had been silent for a while now but after a drawn out silence she couldn't keep silent any longer.

"That may be but you said so yourself, it's too dangerous and you need to stick to that stance" Granny encouraged, not liking at all the thought of a wolf loose in Storybrooke.

Neal was quick to agree, logically knowing she was right but emotionally he was tempted to rebel.

The clock chimed and Neal looked up to see that it was 11:30. He needed to pick Henry up in 20 minutes. There was no way he was going to be late.

"I need to pick Henry up soon" he explained as he headed for the door but Granny got up from the couch and followed him.

"Before you go let me look at those scratches, we don't want them getting infected" taking him by the arm she led him back to the couch and made him sit down as she got the first aid kit.

As Granny was getting the kit Neal and Ruby talked quietly.

"Sorry I scratched your cheek and bit you" she apologized, staring at the still slightly bleeding gauges.

Neal shrugged it off, "it's okay. I'm sorry about punching you in the chin and gut" he returned, hoping he hadn't caused any lasting damage.

"No problem, we weren't in control of ourselves and besides I started it" they both shared a laugh as Granny reentered the room with the kit, a bowl of water and two rags. Opening the kit she got out the supplies she would need to set to work.

Dipping the rag in the soapy water she gently dabbed the injured area on his cheek. As the soapy water made contact with the torn flesh he hissed and gritted his teeth, trying to remain still as she tended to him. Once the area was thoroughly cleaned she picked up another damp rag and removed all traces of the soap then applied the medicine and taped a square of bandage over the scratches on his cheek and regular band aids over the ones on his chin. She saved the bite mark on his collarbone for last. Picking up the soapy damp rag she tried to be as quick as possibly but that didn't stop Neal from flinching when the soap irritated the open wound. He was relieved when the rag soaked in water was used next, but only slightly. Soon Granny was applying a generous amount of antibiotics to the wound then placed a large gauze bandaging over the area and taped it down with surgical tape.

When she was done with him she looked Ruby over but found no injuries that needed to be treated so she gathered the trash and got up to throw them away.

"Thank you, I completely forgot about that" he praised as he headed for the door, Ruby and Granny following him.

"We don't want you scaring Henry. Now you go have fun with your son. As for us, we have to get back to the diner" Granny said.

Neal was about to open the door to go out but looking down he saw that the area over his collarbone was bloody.

"How about you guys go on ahead. I should probably change my shirt real quick"

Nodding in understanding Granny and Ruby left the B&B and headed back for the diner.

Jogging up the stairs Neal quickly shed the ruined shirt and slipped on a clean one then put his coat and such back on then dashed downstairs and out the door.

~Break~

Henry was sitting on the staircase, eagerly watching the door for Neal to show up. He had his knapsack packed with his list of sights, the fairytale book and sticking out the opened side of the top was the wooden swords that his grandpa had given him.

Every minute he looked over at the wall clock to count the minutes until Neal was due to show up.

Since finding out that his dad was alive and to top it off a character from his book, he had been coming up with all sorts of things they could do together like camping, sword fighting he may even take up fishing if it meant spending more time with Neal.

He was still a little angry at Emma for lying to him and while he understood that she had her reasons for keeping the truth from him he wished she would have had more faith in him. Eventually he would come to fully forgive her but for now the wound was still too fresh.

A knock at the door had him perking up immediately and hurrying to the door to open it. Neal stood on the other side and smiled down at him.

He was curious about the bandaging on his face but he was so excited about the day ahead that he didn't dwell on it for long.

"Hey bud, you ready to go?" he greeted, stepping into the loft.

"Yep, I have everything we'll need" Henry hurried up the stairs to get his jacket from his room.

Emma approached Neal and the first thing she noticed was the bandages on Neal's face and concern flared in her heart.

"Neal what happened to you?" she asked, the first thought that came to mind was that he had been attacked.

With the concern that had taken over she almost missed the flash of fear in Neal's eyes before it was gone.

"The heater at Granny's went out and I was helping her fix it. When I finished and we were headed back upstairs I didn't see this box of decorations and I fell down, scraped my cheek and chin against a rake on the floor. Don't worry though, Granny fixed me right up" he explained.

Emma had watched intently as he spoke, looking for any signs of deceit and during his explanation she had felt that he was lying to her but unfortunately her 'superpower' as Henry called it, could only tell her so much. She wanted to call him on the lie but now wasn't the time, but she would talk to him later, continue to ask him until he slipped up.

She then handed him some folded up bills, he looked at her quizzically.

"For something to eat in case you guys get hungry" she explained.

"I don't need your money Emma, I have enough" he declined, trying to hand her the money back but she shook her head.

"I insist, think of it as my treat and besides you paid last time" she insisted, pushing his hand back.

Frowning Neal reluctantly pocketed the money. "Thank you" turning he watched Henry jog down the stair and slip his knapsack on.

"Ready to go?" he asked, noticing the pack on his back.

Henry nodded excitedly.

Looking back to Emma he spoke, "I have my phone on me, charged and to full volume in case you need to get a hold of me. I'll call you if we're going to be late and I'll try to have him back about 4" he assured her, using the same guidelines from Manhattan.

Not having anything to say to that she could only nod and watch as Neal led Henry from the loft.

~Break~

"So Henry, what's first on the tour?" Neal asked as they walked out of the apartment building.

Henry took a moment to get his list out and read off the first item. "The park. It has this huge field that we can play on and practice sword fighting" he said as he led the way to the park. Neal happily followed.

As they walked Henry continued to tell him about the places he was going to show him and what they could do there.

When they reached the park Henry set his pack down and got the two wooden swords out.

"Nice swords Henry" he commented as he took the offered sword from the boy's hand and looked at it more closely.

"My grandpa got them for me" Henry offered as he admired the wooden sword in his hand. Gripping the handle of the sword Neal stepped away from the picnic table and stood in a fighting stance.

"En garde!" he smiled as Henry copied his stance and waited until Henry made the first move. Knocking his sword against Neal's the faux sword fight commenced.

Unknown to them though they were being watched. On the other side of the field standing on the pathway to the pier was Mr. Gold.

~Break~

Mr. Gold watched as his son and grandson played on the field. The joy felt as they horsed around was obvious to all that saw them. He envied their growing relationship.

He remembered a time when his son looked at him with that happiness, his innocence and faith in him not yet taken by a horrible mistake that he regretted the moment he let go.

Contrary to what people may think Gold hadn't been spying on his son, it had crossed his mind but Belle quickly told him that it may be in both of their best interests if he gave Bae some space.

He had simply been taking a walk, hopeful that the fresh air would help clear his troubled head and had stumbled upon the scene and was unable to look away.

Gold heard her before he saw her, turning to face her she spoke.

"Seems like we've both been pushed to the sidelines" she observed, watching her son and Gold's son play.

"What are you doing here?" Gold asked, annoyed that she always seemed to appear when he wanted to be alone.

She continued to watch the two mock sword play.

"The real question is: what's your son doing with mine?" she countered, wondering how Gold's son and her own had gotten so close.

"Oh that? That's right you didn't get the birth announcement did you? That's Henry's father" a sense of perverse pleasure went through him at the shock that whitened Regina's face.

"What?" No, that couldn't be true! Her son could not possibly have any of this repulsive man's blood in his body.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Ms. Swan and my son-" a small smile came across his face as he taunted the stunned queen, a bit of the dark one coming out as he used his knowledge as a weapon.

"Your Henry's grandfather?!" she spluttered, shock beginning to turn to anger.

"Guess that makes us family. He's got my eyes don't you think?" he continued to tease her, knowing that the idea that he had blood ties to Henry was enough to make her sick.

She followed him as he walked down the ramp.

"You did this..." she accused, no way could this have been anything but planned for some twisted reason of his.

"Trust me dearie, it's as much a shock to you as it was to me" he replied, though he knew his confession was in vain.

"No, you must have known! When I adopted him it was you who procured him for me. You expect me to believe that that was a coincidence?" she continued to rant, convinced that she had been manipulated.

"Oh no coincidence...fate, and apparently fate has a sense of humor" his voice was bitter towards the end. Fate, a deity that never wished him good will.

"Fate *scoff*. So you're playing the role of the loving grandpa now? They won't accept you, no matter what you do, not your son, not any of them" she smirked, knowing that he was likely doomed to be shunned by those he longed for. Except for the anomaly that was Belle. She had no idea what she saw in Gold because all she saw was the manipulative, gold-spinning, deal-wielding Dark One.

"Oh we'll see" Gold challenged, ignoring the mocking skepticism.

She shook her head, a disbelieving look on her face. "I've already seen Gold. I've seen your dark heart and it always wins out. You always choose darkness" Regina stated, positive that he would fail because she was sure that there wasn't an untainted bone in his body.

"You think you know me dearie, but you don't" he still had a few surprises up his sleeve, not being one to show an opponent as powerful as Regina all his cards.

"I know you well enough. If your own son couldn't bring out the good in you, who will?" leaving him with that she walked away, satisfied that she had thoroughly manipulated Gold's thoughts and emotions.

~Break~

Two hours had passed and Neal could see that Henry was starting to tire but he insisted there was one last place he wanted to show him today.

Henry had led him a ways down the beach, the strong smell of sea salt and pinewood invaded Neal's senses as they walked.

Soon they came across a play structure that was shaped like a castle. It was obviously old based on the peeling and faded paint but Henry happily introduced Neal to it as 'his castle.'

Hefting his pack on Henry used the bar to pull himself up to the top of the castle and sat down, receiving an expectant look Neal soon joined him and sat down beside him.

Henry slipped his pack off and got his book out.

"I was hoping that maybe you could tell me more about your story? The book doesn't really tell me much" he asked uncertainly, aware that it could be hard for him.

With the book now opened to a picture of a young Baelfire Neal couldn't help but look down and be swept away into a memory.

*Fairytale Land that was*

13 year old Baelfire was running through the woods, the full moon lighting his path as he ran away from the boys who were chasing him.

He could hear them yelling insults and threats at him like, "son of a coward!" and other nasty, hurtful taunts.

Sweat was gathering at his brow and his legs were begging him to stop but if he did that he would be caught for sure. The sweat and pain wasn't the only afflictions that was happening to him, there was also a weird tingling sensation that started in his chest and spread out to his whole body but surprisingly it wasn't uncomfortable, it was almost pleasant.

The boys were gaining on him and Bae didn't know how much longer he could keep going. As soon as that thought entered his mind the tingling feeling from earlier became overwhelming and he was forced to stop but, not wanting to get caught, he managed to move himself behind some brush.

His body trembled violently and when his muscles suddenly clenched together he couldn't stop the scream that tore through his throat but soon his screams were cut off and his body collapsed to the forest floor.

Blinding pain ripped through his body but all he could do was form silent screams that remained in his throat.

Baelfire was sure that he was being punished for being a coward and that he was going to die here, never to see his papa again.

With the moon spotlighting him and the chill of the wind rustling his hair and clothing he wasn't aware that the rim around his eyes had turned an eerie gold.

In large eruptions his bones snapped and grounded together as they molded themselves and for the first time in a while the young boy was finally able to make a sound but what came out wasn't a scream, but the howl of a wolf.

In the place of young Baelfire was a young black and gray wolf.

*Back to Present Time*

Shaking his head from the memory he concentrated back on his son who was looking at him in concern, probably from him being silent for so long. .

"Sorry about that. I can tell you more, at least what I remember" he said, accepting the book from Henry.

"When I was there all the lands were mainly forests and mythical creatures like dragons, ogres and unicorns were as common a sight as squirrels are here...you know what, why don't you tell me you know about my story and I'll fill in some more details?' he suggested, purposely prolonging the time before he would have to divulge more information about his past.

For the next twenty minutes Henry recounted Baelfire's story and Neal soon filled in other details about his childhood but soon came the time where the conversation lulled.

"I'm glad you're here" Henry said, after the two were silent for a full minute.

Neal got choked up at his comment and cleared his throat a few times before he could speak.

"Me too Henry. There's nowhere else I'd rather be" he gave the boy a watery smile and affection ally rubbed his back. Not wanting the affection to end Henry wrapped his arms around Neal's neck and rested his head between the crook of his father's neck, Neal of course returned the hug with loving adoration.

"I wish you didn't have to go back to Manhattan" Henry mumbled, wishing that Neal could stay in Storybrooke with him.

Neal couldn't answer that and instead gave him one last loving squeeze then released the boy.

"We'd better get back, it's almost 4" jumping the short distance down Neal turned and made sure Henry made it down without incident then once both were on the ground they set off back to the loft.

~Break~

Before Neal could even knock the door flew open and Emma stood on the other side. Her eyes quickly went to the sleeping form of her son.

"He was pretty tired so I carried him the rest of the block and up the stairs" he explained as he entered the loft.

"You two must have had a good time. You can set him down over here" she led him over to the couch and watched him set Henry down then she covered the sleeping child with a blanket.

"Yeah. We went to the park, the library then we went over to the beach and he showed me his castle" he said as they walked back over to the door.

"I'm glad you guys had fun. So...do you want to stay for coffee?" she asked, feeling that it was the polite thing to do.

"Sure, that sounds nice" walking to the table she offered him a chair as she started a pot then walked back over to the table and sat down next to him.

"I didn't get to say this before but I'm really proud of you Emma. After everything I put you through and the hard life you've had it gives me hope that maybe...maybe I can redeem myself someday" he said, looking down at his lap.

"Well it wasn't easy, my head is still reeling about everything that's happened" she admitted, shocked at how easy it was for her to open up like this, like no time had passed between them.

The timer for the coffee machine went off and she got up from the table to get two mugs down then lifted the coffee cup up and filled the mugs halfway. She subconsciously remembered that Neal liked his coffee straight black while she added cream and sugar to her own then brought the mugs to the table.

"Thank you" he said as he was handed a mug.

She sat back down and blew on the beverage before taking a sip.

Setting the mug down he placed his elbows on the table. "I know that things between us will never be like they were before but I'm hoping that we can come close, for Henry's sake" he stated.

This was the conversation he had been waiting to have since he first saw her in the alley.

Emma stiffened but didn't answer.

"What I did to you was and is unforgiveable, and I need you to know that not a day goes by that I don't regret my actions. I wanted to stay with you, to watch you grow into the amazing woman that I always knew you were meant to be. But I was afraid, afraid that my selfish needs would prevent you from fulfilling your destiny and being the savior that everyone in this town is depending on. The worst part is that I didn't just abandon you, I abandoned Henry and I hate myself for that because I did exactly what my father did to me..."his eyes began to tear up and he quickly wiped them away.

Swallowing thickly he continued. "I'm glad you found your Tallahassee Emma. Here with your family and friends, the people who love you. This is where you belong, where you've always belonged" feeling that it was time for him to go he made to get up but stopped when he felt the unexpected touch of Emma's hand on his own.

"Neal...thank you" she whispered, her hand lingering for a moment longer before pulling back. Her eyes wouldn't meet his as he straightened. He knew that she had wanted to say more but he understood that she could only open up to him so much and while he respected that he wished she had been able to say more.

Nodding his head Neal headed for the door, opened it then with one look back at her left.

Emma remained seated, the two mugs of coffee sitting there with smoke billowing up into the air.

~Break~

Outside, across the street in her car Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, watched as Neal, the son of the Dark One, left the apartment of Snow White and Emma Swan.

Her eyes watched him until he turned a corner and was no longer able to see him.

More and more people were getting between her and her son but that was going to change, soon she would have it all: the return of her son and his love for her along with the satisfaction of making sure that the precious Charming family did not live happily ever after.

A/N: FYI, yes I have plans for Regina in the coming chapters. This also means that I will have to amp up her evilness due to the absence of Hook and Cora. So, what is Regina planning? Think you can guess it?

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