Chapter Ten.

If Emma had thought that being in someone else's castle would mean that her parents might take a break and let someone else take charge, she'd been wrong. Not that she particularly wanted to follow behind Gold leading the charge - or that he seemed to want to, being that he'd sequestered himself in his tower more hours out of the day than he didn't without so much as a peep about what was going on with the spell reversal that he was supposed to be working on to free not only Hook, but anyone else that they could - but if she had to sit through another dull meeting between a bunch of nobles that seemed more interested in hearing themselves talk than getting results, she thought she might start bashing her head against the nearest wall. Heaven knew she'd lose less brain cells that way.

Over the last weeks that they'd spent in the Dark Castle - who the hell named their castle that anyway? - and after the initial attack by Pan and crazy Zelena things had finally started to settle down. Gold had gotten most of the spells that had been damaged by the Dark Curse working again, the castle seemed to be running smoothly, and quite a few people had filtered out to try their luck at returning home. David had advised against it, but Emma couldn't say that she blamed them. These people had been pulled up from their lives and then tossed back thirty years later and expected to reside in the castle of the man that had written the curse in the first place and had terrorized a good number of them, likely. Emma didn't have proof for the last bit other than she knew Gold well enough to know. If she remembered anything about her home, she'd probably want to go back to it too. Or if it had been standing.

Among the people that had been left for their homes had been several royals, including Thomas and Ella along with their family, Eric and Ariel who had just sent word that they'd made it safely and were offering any support needed on the sea if a war broke out, and Midas along with Abigail and Frederick, whose support to David had been unwavering. Several nobles had left out as well to their homes, Belle's father chief among them as they headed out. Thomas, though, had returned, and had been going on and on for near to an hour now about something that Emma had lost track of. He'd been irritating in Storybrooke - a spoiled kid living off daddy's money for most of his life, but at least he'd manned up there to get a job and take care of Alexandra - but here he was downright obnoxious. The only son of an aging father with three older sisters that couldn't take the throne in his kingdom, it suddenly made sense how the return of his memories had also returned a sense of entitlement to him. He continued on like he'd fought in a hundred wars, but from what David had explained to her, Thomas hadn't even helped when they'd faced off against King George. He and his father had sat on the sidelines to see the outcome, waiting to see who would rise and who would fall.

Prince Philip asked a question that actually sounded well thought out - hell if she knew, she had no clue which kingdoms were where or how to set up any sort of attack in a place like this - and Thomas sputtered for a moment before David smiled and stood, taking over for him with his usual charm and ease. By that point, though, Emma was so lost on what they were actually talking about that it would do her little good to tune in.

At least she wasn't alone. Neal was leaned back in his chair so that the front two legs were hovering off the ground and his dark eyes were unfocused even if he looked like he was staring in David's direction. He blinked, almost like he'd been about to nod off and Emma saw him barely catch himself before he tipped too far backwards and made a real show of it. In typical Neal style he caught himself just in time, though, and no one but she seemed to be any wiser to it. Emma pressed her lips together tightly to keep the laugh in so that she wouldn't call attention to it, but the look caught his and he flashed her a quick grin before grabbing a small notebook from his bag and a thin piece of charcoal, scribbling something on it and folding it up. They were both along the back of the round table so that few were watching them, but he waited a moment to be sure before he slipped the paper over to her.

Drinks?

The laugh was just barely contained as such, but it left her as a soft snort that gained a few eyes her direction. Thomas had been speaking again and looked highly offended by the noise. "Princess Emma, if you have a better idea, I'm sure we're all ears," the prince snapped and Emma was nearly on her feet to tell him exactly what she thought when Neal cleared his throat across the table.

"You have to admit it's a little far-fetched," he said easily and damn him for knowing what was actually going on even though he looked like he was dozing off. "You're never going to get that many men - even if you could get them to commit - from your father's kingdom to Regina's castle. Zelena would know you were coming miles out. Magical wards have to be be undone by another sorcerer. You can't just go busting through them with brute strength or you'll get more men killed than should ever be acceptable."

Thomas blinked at him. "I'm sorry, who are you exactly?"

"Neal, but some people here call me Baelfire."

"Are you a knight?"

"No, just an interested party." He glanced over to David. "Do you mind?"

"We're open to ideas," David said, and while Emma thought he meant it, she wasn't so sure Thomas was in agreement.

Neal leaned forward and motioned for the map that the princes at the head of the table had been pouring over. He wasn't the only person of non-royal blood at the table, but he was one of the only ones there that also hadn't previously sat on David and Mary Margaret's round table before the curse had swept them all away. In fact, the only other person that fit the same profile as Emma's former lover was Robin Hood - she was still having as much trouble with that as she was with Tinker Bell - and he'd been brought in after quite a bit of persuading from what David had told her. Mary Margaret had vouched for him and, surprisingly enough, Regina had seconded it. Maybe Henry really had spotted something there. Regardless, Emma wasn't quite sure how Neal had managed to get dragged into this, but here he was, and he never ceased to amaze her how he could fit well into pretty much any situation.

She had trouble keeping up with the exact details of what he was saying, but it sounded like not much had changed since he'd actually lived in the Enchanted Forest when it came to borders between the lands. Emma watched David, Mary Margaret, and Philip nod appreciatively at the ideas and Robin even chimed in a couple of times, followed by Leroy, and then Belle, making it more of a group discussion than the one-man show that Thomas had somehow brought it around to be. In the end, the blond princeling was left off to the side to grumble that his daddy wouldn't support David if he didn't abide by the rules set forth.

"I think that about wraps it up for today," David said as he leaned over to speak directly into Thomas' ear.

Neal was grinning ear-to-ear when he approached her. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"

"Do these people know that you're… umm… Well who your dad is?"

Dark eyes glanced back to the people at the table that weren't paying them any attention. There was a simmering debate going on between David and Thomas that looked to have Philip off to the side to break it up if it came down to it. Nothing good was coming of the discussion and likely that's why David had called the meeting to an abrupt close before his younger friend made an utter fool of himself. Emma thought it might do him some good to be humiliated, but that would only be if he actually noticed.

"Not all of them," Neal answered in a hushed tone. "Your dad actually thinks it'll be better to keep it that way. And while he asked me to sit in in part because Pop just won't show up, I have quite a bit of knowledge on how to outsmart Pan. A couple centuries in Neverland will do that to you."

"Makes sense. When do you and my dad talk?"

That lopsided smile returned. "More than you think. Drinks?"

"That's.. unnerving."

"That I talk to David or that I'm asking you for drinks?"

"No, you always ask me for drinks. Most of the time it's nothing like what I expect."

The grin only grew. "It's all about the tumblers," he murmured, but he was distracted as Belle called him over. "You'd get bored if it was just like you thought. Meet me after dinner?"

"Where?"

"Take the door just under the western stairs straight until the last door on the left."

"Maybe."

"Maybe? It's not like you can call if you're not coming."

It was Emma's turn to smile and it was one she hadn't given him in a long time. It was a little flirty, a little teasing. "Guess you'll just have to wait and see."

"Emma, do you have a moment?" Mary Margaret called and Neal was already turning when she looked back, offering her a wave over his shoulder.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Walk with me."

Emma didn't have time to argue before her mother looped one arm through her own in a funny sort of fashion and nearly dragged her out of the room. There was a quickness to her step that worried her at first, but they slowed down once they were out of earshot of everyone they'd just left behind and the blonde thought maybe she wasn't the only one feeling entirely smothered by the whole fiasco they liked to call a council meeting. "I didn't realize Thomas was such an ass."

"Emma," Mary Margaret admonished. "His father is offering quite a bit of support."

"So we've got to play to his ego to get support? What if we just keep people safe, then everyone wins, right?"

The elder woman sighed, looking worn and Emma felt a tug of worry. "It's all… complicated. I wish you didn't have to be thrown into it without any sort of instruction."

"Sink or swim, right? Regina said that I need to start sharpening my skills in magic. Wouldn't that be crazy?"

"It wouldn't hurt. Zelena's powerful, and we already know that Pan's will is unmatched and he knows how to use it."

"Are you serious? You want Regina to teach me magic?"

"Probably better her than Rumplestiltskin."

Emma tried to steady her expression, but wasn't entirely sure it worked. "Yeah. That's going to give me nightmares," she admitted uneasily.

"I don't know. You and Neal seem to be getting close again…."

"It's just a drink."

"Is it?"

"Yeah. We… talk, you know. He's always been easy to talk to." She stopped, watching Mary Margaret out of the corner of her eye. "Something's up."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're just different. Like you're hiding something. You're terrible at keeping secrets."

"I'm just not sure it's the right time to tell everyone."

"Well, then don't. Just tell me."

They had a strange relationship and they both knew it, but before they'd known just how strange it really was, they'd been friends. Good friends, and that had somehow helped to ease all the weirdness. Mary Margaret sighed, looking both ways to make sure no one was around before turning and meeting Emma's gaze so directly that the younger woman nearly took a step back. "I'm pregnant."

"That's… wow," Emma managed. Of all the things that she'd thought might be wrong - because something seemed wrong, and from everything that David and Mary Margaret had indicated, they'd wanted to try for another child - this wasn't on the list. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"I don't know," her mother whispered, turning to stand at a bay window that looked out to the mountains. She pulled in a shaky breath and exhaled slowly. "Your father and I wanted to try again. That's what we decided after we came back from Neverland. You… I love you Emma, more than I could ever express, but-"

"But you didn't get to see me grow up."

"Is this going to be hard on you?"

Strangely enough, it was a smile that tugged her lips. "Can I tell you a secret? I always wanted a little brother or sister. I mean, I had a bunch of younger kids around me in the foster system, but I wanted one that was mine."

Mary Margaret beamed, tears standing in her eyes and Emma hadn't realized how frightened she'd been over her daughter's reaction. Without warning she pulled the younger woman into a hug and the blonde readily returned it. "I'm so glad."

"Me too," Emma murmured, and she meant it.

The Dark Castle's dungeons had never been too dim and dreary, not really. At least not compared to others he'd seen and even some that he'd lived in. They were well enough lit, provided a cot for the person inside, and rarely forced neighbors on the person being kept. Or animal, as the case was now.

Hook made some of the most terrible noises imaginable as he lunged at the door when Rumplestiltskin peeked in. The cell was in shambles, much like his Great Hall had been when the monkeys were through with it some weeks before. "No need to be rude," Rumple grumbled as he cast a small spell to freeze his former adversary in place, beady red eyes glowing and teeth bared to rip at skin. "That's better."

Nothing in his extensive studies of the curse had provided Rumplestiltskin with any clear understanding to if those under it had retained any memories of their lives before or any real will of their own. He had no personal care to return the pirate captain to his original state, but he also never liked to pass up a potentially useful situation, and shockingly enough, the pirate could prove useful now.

Rumplestiltskin found the thread that he'd known was there for weeks now and gave it a sharp pull, unraveling Zelena's spell and leaving Killian Jones squatted down against the stones of the dungeon floor, snarling up at the former Dark One until he came to his senses. Along with dismantling the curse, Rumple had released his own holding spell and the younger man stood unsteadily. "Bloody hell, crocodile," he growled out, voice raw from all the screeching he'd done as a monkey. "How long were you planning to leave me like that?"

"Ah. So you can remember. Grand. How much?"

Hook stared at him like he'd lost his mind, but Rumplestiltskin held his gaze evenly. "Why?"

"Well now that is the question now, isn't it. Think hard about your answer though, dearie. It'll decide just how useful to me that you are."

The pirate studied the sorcerer now, looking for any hint as to what he meant. Rumple's expression was well guarded behind a smile he often wore in his days as a pawnbroker before most in Storybrooke remembered who they were. It used to drive Regina mad, he knew, as she'd been convinced he was working against her. The fact that he had been was really beside the point.

"Everything, though I didn't have control of my actions," Hook said carefully. "It was... a bit like watching it all happen."

"I'd imagine it would be," Rumple answered thoughtfully.

"Now what happens?"

"Well, you were willing to put your life in my hands to find a cure."

"Took you long enough. How long have I been down here for?"

Rumplestiltskin tutted, silencing him before tilting his head and his dark eyes studied the pirate that had once taken his wife from him and had gone on to shoot Belle, ripping her memories from her in the process. If he'd still been under the Dark One's curse, the hatred might have been overwhelming, but his freedom from it had given him choice, and no matter how manipulative the curse had made him in its time, Rumple was finding he'd held onto a fair share of it. Hook could still be useful if handled correctly. "I still don't trust you," he continued, "but I don't need to for this. I'll make you a deal, Captain, and one with an incentive high enough that it should buy your loyalty even to me."

"And what's that?" Hook asked uncomfortably.

"The deal is simple. You go into Zelena's stronghold and bring back information to me about it."

"You want me to spy on her? What makes you think she'll let me in?"

"Zelena likes to keep her pets close."

Realization set in and the pirate groaned. "Have I mentioned how much I hate monkeys?"

"You hadn't, no, but that should mean you'll have quite the incentive to return with valuable information quickly. I'll give you control over your actions, though I'd suggest you give Zelena no chance to see it. I've woven my spell so deep into hers that she'll never notice."

"You said this was a deal. What's my payment?"

"When you've completed what I've sent you to do, I will return you to your natural state."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well I suppose you can if you enjoy flapping around, but I doubt you would. Remember this though, Captain, should you try to betray me in any fashion, you'll spend the rest of your days in that form. Even Zelena won't be able to return you. Do we have a deal?"

Hook shook his outstretched hand warily. "You're not giving me much of a choice, mate."

"Oh, everyone's got a choice," Rumple chuckled even as the taller man began to change and shrink. "Just make sure you make the right one."

Bae thought he managed a decently calm persona most of the time, even if his insides were twisted into knots. Every great once and a while he lost it - usually the scenario involved his father - but otherwise he usually kept it pretty well together, rolling with the many punches life had given him. He didn't feel like he was now with the way that his hands were sweating and his chest was clenched so tight that he could hardly breathe. He'd pushed the slip of paper over to Emma on impulse. It wasn't that she had given him any indication that he should give it another shot - in fact, he'd tried to take a step back in the past few weeks, being there if she needed it, but otherwise giving her the space he knew she wanted to process everything that had been happening recently - but he only had so much patience stored back. Hell, the worse she could do was not show, right?

He pulled in a deep breath and let his eyes wander around the side garden that had come back to life with the rest of the castle when his father had put it back together. It was amazing how a few spells could breathe life back into a place. When he was a child, he'd seen magic as something terrible and evil, something that would steal away the only love he'd ever known and warp it into something that he couldn't possibly recognize, but as he'd grown older - and he'd like to think a little wiser - Baelfire knew so much of it really depended on the user. It had been his papa's curse that had changed him, not the magic itself. Magic had brought Henry back with them and magic had kept his son safe inside the walls. He couldn't say he was happy with the way that his father still relied on it for everything, but his attempt to apologize some weeks ago for his behavior to Belle after the attack on the castle had turned into a rather deep and lengthy conversation about the many things that had changed between that terrible night when Bae had slipped from his father's fingers and his visit Manhattan. "Three hundred years is a long time," Belle reminded him softly, "and your papa hides more hurts than either of us could ever uncover. I think there were a lot of years when it was all he had while searching for you."

The sound of the gate squeaking startled him, but he just managed to avoid jumping. Emma slipped through it, wincing at her loud entry while grumbling about the fact that that door had not lead to this garden a week ago, and Bae was half certain that his grin turned a little goofy. He'd never thought to imagine Emma dressed for the Enchanted Forest, even when she found out who she was - she'd given him all sorts of hell over being the son of Rumplestiltskin, but she was quick to forget that she was the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White conveniently enough - but he had to admit that the look had grown on him. She'd put away the dresses as quickly as she could and exchanged them for a pair of trousers cut for her and a blouse and jacket more suited for this land than the last. Where he came from, women didn't dress like that unless they were pirates or some other sort of rogues, and while he was pretty sure at least that much had changed, he didn't mind the rogue look on her. He could certainly get used to it.

"I don't see any tumblers," Emma teased, glancing around. "Or booze. We need to discuss what drinks means to you."

Bae reached under the bench he'd sat himself down on and pulled out a bottle of very old liquor that he'd never actually tried.

"What is that?" Emma asked and took a seat next to him.

"No clue. Pop had it stored back in one of the random hiding places that most people can't get to."

One blonde eyebrow quirked up but she didn't dare ask. Bae just grinned at her as he grabbed the glasses, uncorked the bottle, and poured a little into each glass. "Only one way to find out, right?"

"That could be poison and we'd never know it until it was too late."

"I seem to remember a girl with a lot stronger sense of adventure."

"Because we haven't had enough adventure for one lifetime. "

"Come on, Princess Emma, you can never have enough adventure. Just ask our son."

Emma took a half hearted swing at him. "I never knew I hated Thomas until today. Seriously, do all royals make titles sound like insults?"

Bae shrugged. "How should I know?"

"I don't know. Your dad is some big time sorcerer. I guess I just thought you ran with that kind of crowd when you were here."

He'd made the mistake of taking a sip of the drink just before she'd spoken and Bae had to focus to swallow it down rather than lose it when he started laughing. It burned like fire down his throat and he felt his eyes water. "Yeah. Me," he chuckled. "Because you can really see me buddying around with jackasses like Thomas."

"Well, I kind of figured that they were too scared of pissing your dad off to be too terrible to you," she answered with a grin, leaning into him to push with her shoulder. "This is good."

"He probably got it in a deal."

"Shocker. So you didn't grow up in this castle?"

"Nope. First time in it was when I passed through trying to get to you and Henry in Neverland. I grew up in a little one-room hovel that seconded as Papa's workshop after my mom left us. It was tiny, but it was home." He hadn't thought about that little town in the Frontlands in a long time, but thinking on it now - talking about it - turned his voice wistful and he'd forgotten how often he longed for it over the years away.

Dark eyes glanced over and Emma was watching a vine sway innocently in the breeze. She turned, her own hazel gaze locking with his and he felt a strange sort of dread set in. "I really don't know you at all, do I?"

"Sure you do. You just don't know where I grew up because… Well you haven't really given me a chance for that story, have you?"

She looked guilty at that, ducking her head and running her hand back through her loose blonde hair. "I really was coming to have lunch with you that day," she murmured after a moment. "The day we figured out that Pan had switched places with Henry."

"I think I'll give you a pass on that one," he teased and that pulled a smile from her. It wasn't a big one, but he'd take what he could get.

Emma turned, crossing her legs so they fit on the bench and she could look directly at him. "So, Neal, what's your story?"

Bae laughed at the words and he knew they might as well have been two people - little more than kids, really - sitting in the tumblers at a closed down amusement park with a story that he couldn't really tell in detail between them. He'd wanted to that night. He'd wanted to tell that pretty blonde girl everything. Not just because she was a pretty blonde, of course. There were plenty of those. There were plenty of those that were more than willing to grab a drink with him, but Emma had been different. He'd known that from the moment he first met her.

So Baelfire told Emma Swan his story in full for the first time and he didn't leave anything out as she listened. He told her about how close he and his papa had been, how Rumplestiltskin had done everything in his very limited power to keep his only child safe, and how that made at least a little more sense these days, even if he still had trouble wrapping his mind around it. He told her about the way he'd fallen asleep by the sound of the spinning wheel as a child and the way he had dreamt that, even after everything, Rumplestiltskin would come save him in Neverland. He didn't dare look at her during parts of the story, and by the time he was done the sun had dropped out of the sky and it had been dark for hours.

"I'm still me," he promised softly, not sure if she'd agree or not.

He risked a look at her and she was staring at her mostly finished drink that had been refilled several times already. Bae wasn't sure if she'd even heard him until she moved, rocking forward and putting one hand to the side of his face. Their eyes met and he couldn't breathe. Slowly, carefully, he could feel her pulling him in and he met her halfway in the kiss and in that moment he'd never been happier to be home.

TBC

Notes: I'm really not sure how it happened, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep to my updating schedule this week… By this morning I was 5 chapters ahead in writing. Fun times ahead!

Next time - Zelena sets up her pawns, Blue brings news, and Henry begs to go on a quest.