Hey guys. I know it's been a while since I've updated this and I'm sorry. But yeah here is the next chapter, it picks up where chapter 6 left off. The last chapter (chapter 7) was a flashback to fill in backstory. In case anyone was confused about that.

So yeah. Here we go.

Chapter 8

"What fools these mortals be," Belle quoted to Rumple. "William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Rumple chuckled bitterly. "Fool indeed if he truly believed he can hurt you or Bae."

Belle closed the book she was reading and looked up to her fiancé. "Rumple…" she began. "It is going to be okay. The last time he was here we made it out fine. I'm alright now, don't worry about me."

"He sliced you with his sword."

"He only grazed me," Belle reasoned. "And it did not significant harm. There is barely even a scar now."

"That is not the point," Rumple asserted.

"I know," Belle conceded. "The point is that Hook needs to be stopped, and Charming, Snow, and Emma can do it. It is too dangerous for you to fight him."

"Too dangerous?" Rumple scoffed. He sprung up from the couch he was sitting on and pounded on the table in front of him. "I am not a coward! If he wants a fight with me, I'll give him one!"

Belle got up and put her hand on Rumple's back. "Calm down. There is a difference between bravery and taking every fight that comes your way. You don't need a sword or magic to stop him. We need a plan, which is being worked on. It is going to be okay."

"I'm sorry," Rumple said sincerely. "I just…I just got Bae back and you just got out of the hospital. The two people I care for most have this habit of being in peril, and I cannot let that continue…"

"It won't," Belle said. "I'm fine. Bae is fine. We're okay."

"Hook is bent on revenge, Belle," Rumple said. "He will not stop until he gets his revenge on me, and to do so he will hurt you."

"I can take care of myself," Belle said with a grin. "Besides, Charming, Snow, and Emma are on it. Hook kidnapped Snow, remember? Charming and Emma won't let him get away with that."

Rumple sighed.

"It is okay to trust them," Belle said. "I know that you don't have the best past with them, but they are doing their best to fix this."

"Belle," Rumple began. "I'm scared."

"I know," Belle said. "And, historically speaking, your typical response to fear is bad. But here you are, sitting here with me, thinking before you act. I'm so proud of you. And I know that I can't make the fear go away, because I'm scared too. But, I can help. Let me help."

"Please stay safe," Rumple said. "Don't go running around trying to fix this."

"I won't," Belle said. "But you can't either. We're getting married, we have to be a team."

Rumple nodded. "I'm trying."

"I know," Belle said. She smiled and nodded. "I know. I think that is all we can do right now. Try."

"I love you Belle," Rumple said.

Belle gladly wrapped her fiancé in a hug. "I love you, too."

-OUAT-

Emma sat at her desk in the police station, filling out some paperwork. People of the town were generally well-behaved; there were very rarely arrests made for anything serious. Still, Emma had to fill out paperwork for the occasional public intoxication after a too-long night at Granny's or a fender bender.

She got to the office early after she brought Belle home from the hospital to catch up on paper work, then Charming and Snow were going to come and they were all going to work on the plan for Hook.

Emma heard the door open. "Hey, I'm in the office, come in and we'll get started," she called to who she thought was her parents.

"Emma," a voice said.

"Damn it," Emma muttered, recognizing the voice. "Neal-."

"No," Neal said as he walked through the office door. "Don't tell me to leave, because I'm not leaving. You owe me an explanation. I came here and found out I had a son and I thought I handled that fairly well. You said I could see him and now you blow me off each and every time I try to. What the hell, Emma?"

"Neal, I can't talk right now-."

"Of course you can't talk now," Neal said. "I get that you have a life here and I get that you're doing your own thing but I thought that the fact that I came all the way here for you and with everything we shared, I deserved a bit of your time."

"You sent me to jail, Neal, that isn't exactly a great thing for us to share," Emma snapped.

"Don't do that," Neal said. "I had my reasons and I told you them and I thought you understood, or at least was over it. I did what was best for you, like I always have. I deserve to know him and I deserve an explanation for why you haven't let me around him when you said I would."

"It is complicated, Neal," Emma said. "There is so much going on, I do not have time for this."

"Then make time!" Neal said. "It feels like we have this conversation every time we talk! Emma, I deserve to spend time with him. Make time, please."

Emma softened when she heard the desperation in his voice on that last word. "He's at home with my parents. I can call them and have them bring him here."

Neal's demeanor visibly brightened.

"Here is the deal," Emma said. "I don't want you alone with him. Take him to Granny's, the diner up the road. He also likes the library, but I'm not sure if it is open. Do not go anywhere where there aren't other people."

"Emma, you can trust me alone with my own kid," Neal said.

"I kn-" Emma began, almost admitting that she trusted Neal with Henry. But the part of her that was still so hurt over what he did wasn't sure. So, she shared the bigger reason why she didn't want the two of them alone. "It isn't about that. Remember that pirate I told you about, Hook? He wants to hurt me and if he knows about Henry, he might go after him. There is safety in numbers, and I know Granny's is safe. Granny is packing a crossbow."

"A crossbow?" Neal asked with a chuckle.

Emma smiled softly. "This is serious, though," she continued. "We can talk again about Henry once Hook is gone, but until then we have to do whatever keeps him safest."

"I won't let anyone hurt him," Neal said.

Emma looked at him silently for a moment. The moment was short, but she managed to search his face and feel how seriously he meant what he said. "I know," she said. She picked up her phone of the desk. "Let me go make those phone calls."

-OUAT-

Bae was in his room at Granny's, angry. He couldn't believe what Hook said, but he knew he had to. He knew it all along, but he never wanted to admit it to himself. All along he knew that his father was capable of this kind of thing. He did let his own son be pulled away into who-knows-where by a magical portal by himself.

He was so angry and so hurt. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to handle this, now that he was confronted with it. He was in a strange land and spent most of his time on his own, since Rumplestiltskin was usually with Belle. His previously uncomfortable predicament became unbearable and he didn't want to take it anymore.

He gave his father a chance and he ended up getting hurt. He sighed.

"I can't be here," he said to himself. With that, he gathered up his belongings – consisting of the clothes he came in and a coat Rumple bought for him. Rumple bought him other clothes, too, but Bae didn't want them. He didn't want anything of Rumplestiltskin's.

He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off the bedside table. "Thank you for your hospitality, it is much appreciated. Sincerely, Baelfire," he wrote, knowing Granny would see the note. She always treated Bae well while he was there. She made sure that the heater was on in his room and brought him leftover dessert from the diner at night. She made him feel a bit like he had a home here.

But Bae knew now that wasn't true. Rumple was more evil than he realized. Yes, Rumple killed his mother a long time ago and maybe he changed by now. But he never told Bae the truth, and that lie has lasted ever since Milah died. Bae hated that his father lied to him for so long.

He left the note on the table and went to walk out the door. He paused at the door, though, and took off the coat Rumple gave him. He didn't want it after all.

-OUAT-

Hook, meanwhile, was in the forest with a shovel, searching for a particular dagger. When Cora was in town, she figured out that the dagger was in town, as well. Hook figured he had enough magic to find it.

He cast a few spells and soon all the forest around him was full of purple smoke. Suddenly there was almost a tornado of purple mist and it centered over a spot only a few hundred feet away. Hook hurried over there and began digging.

A little while later, he was covered in dirt and grinning. He reached down into the hole he made and pulled up an object wrapped in cloth. He delicately unfolded the cloth, the one gentle action in a series of anger-driven, frantic motion. His smile grew wider when he saw what was wrapped in the cloth.

He gingerly ran his fingers across the shiny metal. The metal glistened in the sunlight as the purple smoke dissipated and the sun shone through the trees.

"Rumplestiltskin," he read off the dagger. He stood up and put the dagger carefully in his belt. "Rumplestiltskin," he said again. "I am finally going to skin that crocodile."

He turned and swaggered away, ignoring the storm clouds rapidly gathering overhead and releasing an angry mixture of thunder, lightning, and rain.

-OUAT-

Ruby was driving to work when it suddenly started to downpour. She frowned as she turned on her windshield wipers and slowed to a stop at the red light.

At least it'll be a slow day at work, she thought to herself, knowing that people rarely wanted to go out of their way to the diner when the weather is so bad. The light turned green and she was about to drive forward when she saw a boy walking in her direction. She pulled over and rolled her window down.

"Hey," she said. "The weather is pretty bad, huh?"

Bae looked at her quizzically. "Yeah, I guess so." To be honest, he hadn't noticed the rain very much. He just wanted to get out of this town.

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" Ruby asked. She recognized Bae from Granny's and she had seen him at the hospital a few times. "Gold's house isn't so far out of the way, I could take you there so you don't have to walk through the rain."

"No," Bae said quickly. He could see why Ruby would think he was going to his father's house, but he definitely didn't want to go there. "Sorry," he said, realizing he spoke so quickly that it could come off as harsh. "But no, I'm not headed over there."

"Well I can drive you somewhere else," Ruby offered. "It really isn't a great idea to be walking in this storm."

"Really, it's fine," Bae said.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

As if answering the question for Bae, thunder suddenly erupted from the sky and it seemed to rain harder.

Bae sighed slightly at the falling rain. Now that he noticed the rain, he really wasn't enjoying it.

Ruby smiled knowingly, seeing in Bae's face that he wasn't liking the rain. She reached over and opened the passenger door. "Get in."

Bae got in. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem," Ruby said. "Where are you headed?"

"I'm not sure," Bae said. "I thought I'd go for a walk." He didn't want to admit he was leaving town, so he lied. He figured he could leave when the weather got better.

"Yeah, that may not be such a good idea anymore," Ruby said with a laugh. "I could take you back to Granny's…? Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No," Bae admitted.

"Well, I'm sure we can do something about that at the diner."

Bae grinned slightly. He really did appreciate the hospitality displayed to him by Granny and Ruby. "Thank you."

"No problem," Ruby said. She looked over. "Are you buckled in?"

"I've only ever been in a car a few times," Bae said. "I'm not sure…"

"Right," Ruby said. She pointed over his shoulder. "Just pull that strap down and by your left side should be a place to buckle in the end…there you go."

"Thanks," Bae said.

Ruby smiled at him, then pulled back onto the road and headed toward Granny's.

-OUAT-

Snow, Charming, and Henry walked into the police station.

"Neal," Snow said when she saw him. Her was voice sweet enough but still had a tone that told Neal that if he hurt Henry or Emma, she'd kill him.

"Neal," Charming said much more sternly.

"Hi," Neal said, sticking his hand out for handshakes with the two. Charming sounded much more threatening, but yet Neal was somehow more afraid of Snow.

"Henry, Neal is going to keep an eye on you today," Emma said to her son.

Henry sized up Neal. "Who are you?"

Neal exchanged an unsure glance with Emma, then cleared his throat and spoke. "Hi," he said, crouching down in front of Henry. "I'm your father."

Henry took a small step back. "No, my father died." He looked up to Emma. "Right? He died, you said so."

"He isn't dead," Emma said.

Henry's face contorted to show his disbelief and hurt.

"Henry, I'm sorry," Emma said. "I shouldn't have lied, but things were…complicated."

"You knew how hurt I would be when Regina lied to me," Henry said. "She stopped, through. You never did. I thought you were different."

Emma was speechless, her eyes cloudy with tears.

Neal noticed this and spoke up.

"Hey, it isn't her fault," Neal said. "She had very good reason for not telling you about me. What matters is that I'm here now, right? I can be a part of your life Henry."

Henry looked up at him. "Can we leave? I don't want to be here anymore."

Neal nodded and spoke solemnly. "Yeah, your mom told me about this diner in town where we can get some hot chocolates and talk."

"Let's go," Henry said. Without saying goodbye to Emma he turned and left. Neal followed.

Emma didn't move. Snow saw that her daughter was distraught and went over to her. She put an arm around her.

"I am guessing that didn't go as planned," Snow said softly.

"Not exactly," Emma replied. She wiped her eyes. "I'm fine, let' get to work."

"Emma…" Snow said.

"Mary Margaret," Emma replied sternly. "Please. Stop."

Snow turned to Charming. "I think I left the maps in the car, do you think you could go get them?"

Charming nodded and left.

Snow sat down in one of the chairs and pulled Emma gently down into the one beside her own.

"You didn't think about Neal when you lied to Henry, did you," Snow asked.

Emma shrugged. "Why should I have? He wasn't around and, based on the way we left things, it didn't seem like we'd ever see each other again. I didn't want Henry to know his father abandoned me and that he was a thief. I wanted Henry to feel like he was better than that."

"Emma…"

"I know," Emma said. "Henry is better than that, and even if he knew the truth he'd know that. Neal is better than that too, but for the longest time I was so…angry. He left me alone. I never told him this, I never told anyone this, but I could have pictured having a family with Neal. I could have seen myself with him having a stable life with kids and a house and normal life once we figured out the whole situation with him being a wanted criminal."

Emma was quiet, so Snow spoke up.

"And if he didn't leave and get you sent to prison, you could have had that," Snow offered.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. For the first time in my life, I could have had a family. But Neal life and he took that opportunity with him. I had to give Henry up, I couldn't have raised him in prison."

"Emma, I know a little something about wanting a family and not being able to have it," Snow said.

"Right, I'm sorry," Emma said quickly. "You and David lost me for twenty-eight years. I got Henry back after ten, I can still raise him. I'm sorry-."

"No, Emma, stop," Snow said with a slight laugh. "You're allowed to be upset. And, anyway, that wasn't what I was going to say."

"What were you going to say?" Emma asked.

"Do you remember when we were in the old land, and we saw Lancelot?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "It was Cora in disguise, but I remember that you knew him."

"He was a very close friend," Snow said, smiling softly. "And a great man. All he did was follow his heart, even though it led to his expulsion from the Round Table." She paused, thinking fondly of her friend while starting to feel the sorrow for his death creeping up on her again.

Emma saw that Snow was getting upset so she spoke up. "What did he do for you?"

"I ran into him during the war for the kingdom, before your father and I got married," Snow said. "He was on King George's side, so when he found me he took me as a captive to George. George hated me because I was what made Charming want to fight for the good of the kingdom instead of just doing whatever George wanted. He hated that Charming and I were happy and had so much potential to not only rule the kingdom but also be even happier. He said I took away his family, because Charming chose me over him. In return, he wanted to take away my family." She took a breath. "He gave me a potion that cursed me so that I could never have children."

Emma looked surprised. "Wow," she said. "Did Lancelot reverse the curse?"

Snow laughed slightly at how direct Emma was being. "Yeah, long story short he did. He found a way to break the curse even when I thought there was no hope and I would never escape it. After George released me, we ended up going to Charming's mother's house. I told her about the curse and she helped Lancelot break it without me knowing. I didn't realize until later, after Ruth died and Charming had her enchanted necklace that the curse was broken."

"What'd the necklace do?"

"It was enchanted to tell you the sex of your firstborn child," Snow said. She smiled. "That's how I knew you were going to be a girl, even though Charming insisted you'd be a boy."

Emma chuckled.

"The necklace isn't the point, though," Snow continued. "Emma, I know what it is like to feel like you've lost your chance at having a family. I know what it feels like to think you missed a major opportunity and that if you did something, anything differently…things would be different. Better. But the thing is, here I am now, talking with my daughter. You're here, and I'm here, and your father is here. Henry is here. Our family is together. It took a while to get there, but we're here and we're okay. That is what matters."

"Henry is really angry," Emma said.

"Like you weren't angry when you found out Charming and I were your parents?" Snow said, not in an accusatory manner but more to point out the facts. "Like you weren't hurt by how we ended up here?"

"I don't want him to be hurt," Emma said. "I don't want him to be angry."

"No mother wants that for her child," Snow said. "But you have to let Henry go through this. You have to let him sort out his feelings about this and get to know Neal."

At that moment, Charming returned with the maps.

Emma looked up and clapped her hands together. "Let's get to work." She stood.

Snow stood as well and was about to walk into the office when Emma stopped her.

"Hey," Emma said. "Thank you."

Snow pulled Emma in for a hug. She let her go and smiled. "Now let's go stop a pirate."

-OUAT-

"What can I get for you guys?" Ruby asked Neal and Henry.

"Root beer, please," Henry said.

"Isn't it a little early in the morning for that, bud?" Neal asked.

"Hot chocolate, then," Henry said. "With cinnamon."

"One for me, too," Neal said.

"Coming right up," Ruby said.

Neal and Henry said their thanks. Ruby gave Neal a not-so-subtle look.

"Hey, Henry, how about you go wash up a bit," Neal said.

"Okay," Henry said, leaving the booth to go the restroom in the book.

Ruby sat down in the seat Henry vacated.

"So you're Neal," she said.

"In the flesh," Neal responded. "And you must be…"

"Ruby," she replied. "Sometimes called Red, depending on who you ask."

"Red?" Neal asked. "Like…Little Red Riding Hood?"

"In the flesh," Ruby said. "But with a slight twist." She leaned in, wanting to intimidate Neal. "I am the wolf. Literally."

"Okay," Neal said, a little nervous.

"That being said," Ruby began. "Henry is a good kid. Emma is a damn good mother, and I care about both of them very much. You will not like what happens if you hurt either of them."

"I'm not here to hurt them," Neal said, not backing down. "I spent years trying to get here, ever since the curse broke. I'm not going to throw this away, I'm not going to waste my time here. I came for Emma but now that I know about Henry, I'm here for him. I'm going to be the father he deserves."

Ruby stood up. "Good," she said simply. "Your drinks will be ready in a few minutes."

She walked back to the kitchen and handed the order to Granny.

"Scaring new customers, are we?" Granny asked.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough," Granny said. "I've noticed that the maternal instinct can be a bit…stronger in wolves than in non-wolves."

Ruby laughed lightly. "I've noticed. Stop me if I start carrying weapons like, oh I don't know, a crossbow."

Granny smiled in spite of herself. "Very funny, Ruby."

"Thanks," she replied, grinning. She handed the order ticket to Granny and headed back to the counter.

"Do you want a refill?" Ruby asked Bae.

"No, I'm good," he replied, still sullen.

"Do you want to talk?" Ruby asked.

"Not really," Bae said.

"Fair enough," Ruby said. "But for what it's worth, Gold isn't the same man he was before the curse. He isn't even the same man he was right after the curse broke. Belle is good for him; she's taught him to be a better man. He's made a lot of mistakes, but he's spent the last three years trying to make amends. I don't know who you remember him as, but he isn't evil."

"Are you very close with your mother?" Bae asked.

Ruby stiffened without consciously choosing to. "No, I'm not," she managed to say. "She…she died. A long time ago."

"I'm sorry," Bae said. "Mine died too. A while ago. I was young."

"I'm sorry," Ruby said. "It's really hard to lose a parent when you're still a kid."

"Were you very young when your mom died?" Bae asked.

"It's kind of…complicated," Ruby said. "She left was I was a baby. My Granny raised me. I found her again when I was older; it turns out we had more in common than I thought. She introduced me into this world I didn't know existed, but for the first time didn't make me feel like an outsider. But then I realized that it wasn't all good and there was a lot going on behind the curtain that I didn't see. I guess I didn't want to, so I didn't let myself. But when I finally did see…the life my mother was living wasn't the life I wanted, even though I thought it was. I wanted it to be, I wanted to think I belonged in this place where I was accepted for being me. But I wasn't really being myself, I was being who I thought I was supposed to be. And I was wrong about that."

"This is all very cryptic," Bae pointed out.

"Trust me, it is a lot more complicated if I use specifics," Ruby said. "Anyway, I realized that the family I thought I found with my mom wasn't real, because they didn't care about me. They cared about who they could turn me into. My friend came to find me and accidentally led some of the Queen's guard to us. There was a fight and my mother almost killed my friend. She didn't because I stopped her, but by doing so I killed her." She exhaled. "I killed my mother."

"I'm sorry," Bae said.

"I made a decision," Ruby said with a shrug. "In the end, I chose the family I had over the people who didn't really care about me. I don't regret that choice at all."

They were quiet for a few moments, then Bae spoke up. "Why'd you tell me all this?"

"I grew up thinking my mom died, but she actually left me," Ruby said. "That changed things, but I've learned from it. For a while I just kept thinking that if only I had someone who understood, at least a bit. But no one did." She shrugged again. "I don't know. I just thought maybe if I shared my story, you could find something to help you."

"I think I might have," Bae said. "Thank you."

-OUAT-

"So, the plan," Emma said. She pointed to the map. "His ship is here." She drew a line to Gold's shop, then another to Gold's house, then another back to the ship. "This is the area where he'll most likely be. If he wants to get to his ship or to Gold, the most direct routes are in this area. So, we cover this area. Canvas it. We can't let him get anywhere without us knowing."

"There are other ways to get to Gold, though," Snow pointed out. "He could easily go around this area."

"Right," Emma said. "That's why Regina is going to show me how to cast a protection charm."

"I don't see why Regina can't cast it herself," Charming said. "She is more powerful than you, no offense."

"None taken," Emma said. "But this is our fight, not hers. She doesn't want to use magic and we have to respect that. Besides, my magic resisted Cora's back when she tried to take my heart when we were in the old land. If I can resist her magic, I probably will have some special effect on Hook's magic."

"You're going to need cover when you cast the charm," Charming said.

"Yeah, I was thinking I'll do it in the night tonight. He's going to expect us to act, but I don't think he'll expect that my magic is strong enough for this."

"So we'll take him by surprise," Charming said.

"Right," Emma nodded.

"Who is going to take watch?" Snow said. "It can't just be the three of us."

"The dwarves said they're in," Emma said. "Ruby's on board to track Hook's scent. She can let us know where he is and when he moves."

"I thought the whole point of this was that it was our fight," Snow said. "I thought we didn't want to get anyone involved."

"They volunteered," Emma offered weakly.

"We can't do this on our own," Charming said. "And the dwarves and Ruby are family. Snow, they were with us when we defeated King George. Of course they'll want to be here to defeat this evil, too."

"What about Henry?" Snow asked.

"He's going to stay with Regina for a few days," Emma said. "At least until this is all resolved."

Charming clapped his hands to break the silence. "So, let's get started."

"Right," Emma said. "Mary Margaret, round up the dwarves and go over the plan with them. Set up stations for guard. David, you're coming with me. Regina is going to teach me the spell and we need someone to stand guard."

"Cool, let's go," Charming said. He followed Emma out the door and made conversation as they walked to the car. "She told you the Lancelot story, didn't she?"

"What?" Emma said.

Charming made a face. "I know about it. She doesn't think I know, but I do. Anyway, as a father who didn't know he had a daughter for a long time, I can kind of see where Neal is coming from. And when I was growing up, I didn't know who my real father was. I found out and I was angry. But I got over it because my mom still treated me like she always did. I knew that I was still her son, no matter how angry or hurt I was. Henry will get that."

"Thanks," Emma said.

They were in the car and headed towards Regina's when Emma got a phone call.

"Ruby," she said. "What's going on?"

"Hook is on the move," Ruby replied. "It looks like he's going to Gold's shop."

"David, call Mary Margaret, tell her to meet us at Gold's shop, Hook is there," Emma said as she turned the car around so that she was headed toward the shop. She spoke into the phone again. "Thanks, Ruby. Keep us posted."

"Will do," Ruby asked. "And I've been keeping an eye on Henry, he's fine. The diner is safe, I'll try to keep him here as long as possible. He can stay the night at Granny's if that's safest."

"Thank you," Emma said gratefully.

"Anytime," Ruby said. "Go catch that pirate."

"Will do," Emma said. She hung up the phone and looked at Charming. "I hope you brought your sword. We're in for a fight."

The end of this chapter. I hope y'all liked it! Please leave a review!