And so they kept tracking pan, but to no avail. It seemed as though the farther they went, the farther away he got. After a while of walking, they rested again at the next clearing. Just as Emma was shutting her eyes, her head in her hands, a rustling in the trees caught their attention. They all looked up and stared, dumbfounded, when a man appeared in front of him and skidded to a halt, digging his heels into the stiff dirt under his feet.

"Emma," he said, breathless.

Emma was felt her breath get caught in her chest, too. She stood up and slowly moved towards him, not believing the image before her eyes. I'm hallucinating, she told herself, not even wanting to believe that he was alive. Too much emotion was attached to his existence, and it was too much for her to handle while trying to deal with the loss of her son.

"Neal? What are you doing here?" she asked.

Immediately, she regretted the question, sensing how rude it was. Shit. She looked at him and flinched. He looked lost, out of place, as he shifted his weight back and forth between each leg. Neal's eyes moved up and down her body, taking it all in, barely believing it himself. It didn't seem real that she was actually there in front of him.

"I was looking for you," he told her, taking a step closer to her.

She took a step back.

"You can't be real."

She turned and looked at David and Regina, registering their expressions. Were they staring because she was talking to herself, or were they staring at Neal? She wasn't sure. Either way, Regina looked horrified, and David looked completely confused. Lack of sleep had taken its tole on her body, and she felt exhausted. The only thing keeping her going was the adrenaline pumping through her veins, driven only by her love of her son. Now, her eyes were seeing Neal, and she couldn't be sure if the amount of sleep she was lacking was causing the vision or if he was really there.

"Guys," she said, wordlessly asking them to confirm his presence.

"He's real, Emma," David told her, walking over to him and putting his hand on his shoulder. "He's real."

Neal moved towards Emma, ignoring David's attempt at a gesture of friendship. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace she didn't reciprocate. Instead, Emma stepped back and looked into his face, searching for something.

"You're dead."

"No," he countered. "I'm here, and I love you, Emma."

His confession made his face warm, and he felt the sweat build at the back of his neck. Neal's heart sped up as he made another attempt to hold her in his arms, but Emma pulled away again. He couldn't tell if it was the disbelief keeping her from touching him or if she was actually unhappy to see him. It seemed odd that she would act this way. Hadn't her heart stopped when he fell into the portal? Hadn't she looked at him with love in her eyes as he disappeared into a different realm?

"Now you love me?" she asked rhetorically. "Where were you when I was pregnant with Henry in jail, left to wonder how you could betray me? Now you want to stand here and pretend that everything's fine, that you didn't move on with another woman you almost married until I told you she was a complete con? You really have the gall to tell me that?"

Neil stared at her, not knowing what to say or how to respond. His eyes even started to water. David and Regina stood nearby, just watching the interaction, forgotten by both of them. They exchanged looks of confusion but dared not interject. Emma and Neal didn't even notice their presence as they engaged in their altercation, too consumed in their own conversation to care what the other two were thinking or what they might say. Neal didn't even care that they were there. He hadn't come this far to see David or the queen. Only for Emma and Henry did he risk his own life.

"I don't know what to tell you, Emma," he responded. "I love you. That's all I can say. I love you now, I have always loved you, I will always love you, and I'm sorry for everything."

"I'm over you now, Neal," she told him. "I've moved on, and never again will I feel what I felt then."

Neal was stunned into silence.