As Neal recounted his travels from The Enchanted Forrest to Neverland, he could not help but feel that despite her inquiry about the journey, Snow White was only making polite conversation, as she looked to be a thousand miles away in thought. Not that he minded the idle chit chat, as it helped to deflate the awkwardness that hung in the air. Emma had stalked off some time ago with Charming fast on her heels. He knew why Emma was avoiding him, and could take a pretty big leap of faith by assuming Charming was giving Snow space to process what had happened.
Neal himself was still reeling from all that he had witnessed in Echo Cave and Emma's confession to him. Did he even deserve a second chance with her after all the pain he caused, he wondered. Would she let him in? Did he have the right to expect her to? He saw the look of confusion on her face when he said he would never stop fighting for her. But isn't that what he had done 11 years ago? It seemed easier to hide from the truth of what he did by believing his lie. He told himself that it was so she could fulfill her destiny. But he had abandoned her. His reasons seemed logical to him at the time. A big one being that he never wanted to face his father again. But mainly he never thought he was good enough for her. Even after receiving the postcard that he waited for a lifetime to come, he could not dispel the thought that she deserved more than what he had to offer and always would. Maybe his darkest secret was that he was a coward just like his father. Doomed to being afraid to try because he might fail at being what Emma wanted and needed.
But Henry had changed everything. The moment he laid eyes on him, he knew. And the fact that Emma had tried to deny it stung. He had a son. A son whose life he had not gotten to be a part of for many years. Did he have a right to be angry with Emma for trying to hide it? Wasn't it his fault for the decision he made 11 years ago? He wanted to fix the fractures he had caused, but he was terrified that Emma was never going to give the chance.
"You said that Mulan, Aurora, and Phillip rescued you. But how exactly did they restore Phillip's soul? ", Snow asked. Neal glanced at her and for the first time since the cave saw something more than defeat in her eyes. "How?" she asked again.
"I am not sure. All I know is that I owe them all a debt for helping me get here to Neverland. Aurora even tried to contact you in a dream state. " Snow gazed at him briefly and lit up with a hundred watt smile. A smile that gave him pause. Emma. She favored her mother in subtle ways. It had been so long since he had seen Emma smile, that he forgot what it looked like.
"What are you thinking?" he inquired after Snow as they made their way to the clearing where the rest of the search party were resting. "I was thinking that now would be the perfect time to find Regina and your father. I need to contact Aurora. I think we might have a way to save Henry and get us all off this island alive. "
As they stumbled in to the clearing, he noticed Charming and Hook were engaged in a quiet conversation and sharing a drink. Emma was a few feet away next to a stream gathering water. He saw her cast a side glance toward her father and Hook. She was not aware of his presence behind her and he was all too aware that a small smile that played on her lips, a smile he had not seen in years and it was not because of him. She was smiling because of Hook.