Chapter 1.

The pounding at the door continued.

"Emma, please open the door. Henry, come on buddy you have to remember at least," Neal said from the outside.

"You've got to be kidding me," Emma said as she began to seethe.

"Mom who is that and how does he know my name?"

Emma had always feared this moment. A couple years ago when Henry had asked about his father she had taken the coward's way out and lied to him, saying that he was a fireman and died in a burning building. One thing was certain and that was that Emma didn't have an answer to Henry's second question.

She sighed and took Henry's hand, "You have to trust me right now kid. I'll explain everything later I promise."

"Mom, what's going on?"

"It's complicated Henry. Just trust me, please?"

"Okay," was the only answer the boy gave.

Emma got up and walked over to her cell phone.

"911 what's your emergency," asked the operator.

"Yes hello I think I'm being stalked by my ex-boyfriend. He just showed up out of nowhere and he's pounding on the door and won't leave."

"Okay has he been drinking?"

"I'm not sure."

"And when was the last time you saw him?"

"Um, twelve years ago, I think."

Henry looked up at his mom when she said those words.

"Uniforms are on their way," said the operator.

Emma then hung up.

"I'm twelve," Henry finally said to her, now standing up. "You always said that my dad was dead but he's not is he? That's him out there in the hallway isn't it?"

Henry didn't wait for an answer as he made his way to the door.

"Henry, please don't open that door," Emma said to him.

He ignored her and opened it. Neal smiled the same smile that he gave Emma earlier.

"You remember don't you buddy?" Neal asked.

"You're my dad," Henry answered.

Neal smiled, "That's right," he said making his way inside.

Emma crossed her arms, "He doesn't remember anything," she said to him, "He wasn't even born when you left."

Henry looked at his mom feeling betrayed, "You lied to me, why would you do that?"

Neal had gone through this once before. It was hard to believe that history seemed to be repeating itself, same place in Manhattan but different apartment.

Henry just shook his head and ran to his room.

"Henry," Emma called out as she went to his room followed by Neal.

"Emma please, you have to listen to me, you both do. Your parents need help. The Enchanted Forest is in danger and not from Regina this time."

Emma turned to Neal as they both stood in front of Henry's closed bedroom door.

"Would you listen to yourself?" Emma scolded, "You show up here after eleven years and expect what, us to magically become some kind of family? And what's with this talk about the Enchanted Forest and you wearing that costume? Was there some kind of Disney convention or something?"

Neal looked at his clothes, "Yeah I guess I should have changed first. Listen Anton helped me out. He's real careful when it comes to his crop now but he knows how important you are and how you are to me."

At the front of the apartment two uniforms from the 18th Precinct. They saw the door open and immediately pulled out their service weapons.

"NYPD," one of the officers called out.

Neal turned to the hallway and then back at Emma, "You called the cops?!"

"Of course I called the cops. You show up out of nowhere, you know my son's name and you won't leave me the hell alone, what did you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to listen," Neal said just as the two cops came into the hall.

"Everything okay here," Officer Marquez asked.

"Yes," said Neal.

"No," Emma said at the same time.

"Okay sir you're going to have to come with us," said Officer Saka.

"Get your hands off me," said Neal, "I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me."

Officer Marquez grabbed Neal by the wrists and cuffed him. He then asked, "Do you have any weapons on you sir?"

"Yeah," said Neal, "I have a sword under the cloak and a dagger in the back of my belt."

"Planning an old fashioned duel are we," said Officer Marquez.

"It's not like that," Neal said.

"Explain it down at the precinct," Officer Marquez replied.

The two officers made their way into the living room area dragging Neal along all the while Neal begged, "Emma please, don't do this, please! Listen to me that's all I'm asking. You don't have to do this!"

"You come into my home, you won't leave and you know my son's name," Emma said justifying her reasons for his arrest.

"That's because you told me! I know you don't remember but you did. You found me a year and a half ago in this very city."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Emma said to him, "I've never even gone looking for you."

"Yes you did you just don't remember!" Neal said as the cops dragged him out of the apartment. "Emma," Neal said calling out his name.

Emma closed the door and was grateful that Neal was finally out of her life. She leaned her back and head against the door feeling the need for a breather but the day's chaos wasn't over yet. She pushed herself off with her hands.

"Henry," Emma called out, "Time to get ready for school."

She knocked on his door.

"Henry?"

No answer.

Emma made her way inside. On the floor in his bedroom were his pajamas. His backpack was gone and she saw the sheets and towels that were used as a rope. It was connected to a rope climbing clip attached to a pair of rivets that were on the ceiling where some superhero dolls had been hung, the superhero dolls were now on the unmade bed.

Emma walked over and leaned her hands on the open window.

"Kid," she said to herself.

This wasn't the first time Henry had repelled down from his room. He had a habit of doing it ever since he was little. He was always off on adventures. In the past it hadn't helped much when they had a one story apartment he still managed to sneak out without anyone noticing.

As good as a life as they had Henry often seemed to be craving something more as if he was missing out on something. Emma felt that way too sometimes, she even had odd dreams where Snow White and Prince Charming were he parents which sounded ridiculous. Everyone knew the stories and not one version mentioned them having a kid. Emma of course kept silent about the feelings she had but Henry on the other hand was an extrovert when it came to his ideas.

He did have friends but Emma knew they found him a bit strange since he was always reading the Grimm's Fairytales as if they were the real deal. Emma could only indulge him in his beliefs as much as she didn't believe them herself. People believed in all sorts of things: ghosts, aliens, vampires, etc., so why couldn't her kid believe in fairytales? It seemed like a harmless belief until yesterday when the school counselor had called Emma in to her office and talked to her about Henry and how his beliefs were becoming disruptive in class particularly when it came to a family tree assignment when he had put Snow White in the grandmother's box and Prince Charming in the grandfather's box and right below that he put Emma's name where their offspring was supposed to go. For his great-grandparents he only put one in the box and that was the Evil Queen.

Emma had a talk with Henry later that evening and Henry did his best to convince his mom that the fairytales were real but he had failed.

Now he was off on his own. There was only one place Emma could think of as to where Henry would be in times when he was feeling down: The clock tower, a lighthouse on the beach that had a clock on it. They had come across it when they'd first moved to New York a year ago, before that they had lived in Boston and before that it had been Tallahassee. George Kramer was a seventy-two year old man that owned the gift shop inside and ran the place even though the lighthouse was running on electricity. Emma would find her kid there, of that she was strongly certain.