[Chapter 2]
"Papa," Gold heard a whisper in the middle of the night. "Papa."
Gold sat up but no one was there. "Bae?"
"Papa."
The sound of his son's voice seemed to be close. Gold looked over at Belle who was sleeping soundly. As quietly as he could he got up from the bed and left the room.
"Papa."
"Bae," Gold called out. "Where are you?"
"Papa."
Gold found his son in the massive living room of his home. Baelfire stood before his father as he had many times before. It almost looked as if he were still here except for the bluish tint and an almost glow-like quality around his body.
"You're here," Gold said not wanting to believe it.
"Yup," Neal said with hatred in his eyes.
Gold shook his head, "No this is a dream. You can't be here. I'm imagining it."
"You're not imagining it Papa. I'm here."
"How?"
"How else, magic. Imagine that hu, the very thing I was running from, the very thing I embraced at the end and now it's magic that allows me to cross between realms."
Gold smiled and tears began to fill his eyes, "I've missed you Bae."
"No you haven't, not really." Gold was taken aback by these words. "Let me put it simply: you haven't missed me, you wanna know why, because you're too caught up in your schemes to even consider me."
"That's not true."
"Isn't it! Emma's parents named their son after me. Not Baelfire, son of the Dark One but as Neal. The man I was in this world- the man who loved Emma and who did everything in my power to protect her, Henry, and the town. They saw me as a hero."
"You are a hero son."
"Then why have you betrayed me!" Neal said with a loud yell.
"I haven't betrayed you, Bae."
"You promised to be a better man. I heard you when you were at my grave site." Neal shook his head. "I was naïve to believe you. Your promises mean nothing, to think you could ever change but you can't can you? As long as you want power, as long as you remain selfish you'll never be the man I wanted as a father."
"I can be son, what do I have to do prove that to you?"
"Leave my boy alone. I know you want to take him out of Storybrooke. I know you want to take him away from Emma. You've all ready tried to get Hook to kidnap him."
"I-,"
"Don't bother trying to deny it. I've seen it. See one of the perks about being dead is I have more knowledge to things than you'll ever know even with all that power, one of the upsides to having died as one of the good guys."
"Bae, he's my link to you. I can't lose that."
"And I can't let you take him away from his mother. I told Emma that I'd be looking over her and Henry and I meant it. If you try anything, if you try to hurt my family or even go near them I swear you'll wish it had been you that died instead of me."
"Strong words for you, son. Not very heroic."
"I've all ready cleared it with a higher authority. I wouldn't be the first to get justice for a family in this way. It's happened before. I tried to give you a chance when I was alive, I forgave you but if you take my son away from the woman I love I'll never forgive you for that. I spent my existence hating you and being mad at you, I don't have a problem doing it again."
As easily as Gold had heard his son's voice when he woke up, Baelfire now as easily faded away.
Author's Question:
Should I Continue?