A/N – I've been asked many times "Where's Belle?" I swear she is coming, just not yet! Please be patient! As some of you have cleverly guessed, she is not part of the Eleven but may in fact be part of the job.

I have also altered how Emma was caught by police and went to prison when she was a teen. Since there is no curse and she is no Savior, Neal DID NOT betray her. I go into more detail in this chapter.

P.S. My trip to the Arctic was amazing! I'll give you details at the end of the chapter!

Chapter 7

After leaving Henry in the care of a reliable neighbor, Emma joined Gold and Neal on one of the top floors of Hancock Place, the famous skyscraper that towered over Beantown. Although Emma had lived in Boston for over a year, she had never set foot inside the building. They were afforded a fantastic view of Charles River, as well as thousands of twinkling city lights, all of which was lost on Gold as he bypassed the windows in search of a particular room.

"Wow!" Emma whispered, touching her fingers to the cold glass. "What a view."

"You're telling me," said Neal, staring not at the skyline but at the woman next to him. "I've never seen anything more beautiful."

She could see his reflection perfectly in the floor to ceiling window and rolled her eyes. "Oh please! What are you? Fourteen? Cheesy pick-up lines don't work on me."

"What about your 'date' tonight?" asked Neal, his cheeks pinking slightly as he looked away. "What did he have to do to earn your attention?"

"He embezzled thousands of dollars from his employer and cheated on his wife."

"Still got a thing for bad boys, huh?" he joked humorlessly. He unraveled a roll of antacids and popped a couple in his mouth. "Doesn't sound like he'd make a good father figure for Henry, though."

Emma whirled around and jabbed her index finger into his chest, hard. "First of all, he was a mark! I made $2000 bringing that sleaze ball in tonight. Second, who I do or do not date is none of your business anymore. You gave up that right when you left me to the cops!"

"Emma, sweetheart," Neal pleaded, taking her hand into his own and bringing them to his lips. "I didn't abandon you! The cops showed up. We ran. I got over the fence in time. You didn't. It killed me to see them take you away."

She yanked her hand away as if his touch had burned her. "If it really had killed you, then you wouldn't be standing in front of me right now."

"Not to break up such a tender reunion," called Gold from the other side of the long room, "but I believe I found what we're looking for."

Emma and Neal continued to stare silently at each other for a few more seconds before she finally broke contact and walked away. She heard him sigh heavily but didn't wait to see if he followed her into the Records Room.

Hundreds of metallic filing cabinets flanked the outer walls, top to bottom. Emma tried to decipher their filing system but the jargon was lost on the Bounty Hunter. Based on the scrolls of blueprints that littered the long wooden tables in the center of the room and the drafting table in the corner, she thought that perhaps they were in an Architecture firm.

Mr. Gold apparently knew what he needed and proceeded to check the labels on the cabinets. Smiling grimly to himself, he opened one from the bottom row and triumphantly pulled out several cylinders.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" He unrolled a detailed blueprint and turned on the table's lamp.

"Whoa!" said Emma, looking over at father and son. "If I'm reading this right, and I'd like to think that I am, then this is probably the least accessible vault ever designed!"

"Yes, it would certainly appear to be," replied Gold, seemingly unconcerned.

Emma ran her hands through her golden hair. "And here I thought this would just be some Smash and Grab job!"

"Slightly more complicated than that," said Neal, grinning.

"Her money has better protection than the President," added Gold. "As such, we require a large crew doing a combination of cons. We need to be precise and well-funded. With over a hundred million dollars on the line we can't be too careful."

"A hundred million?" cried Emma.

"Do you think she'll mind?" asked Neal.

"More than somewhat."

A bright light flickered suddenly in their eyes, blinding them. Emma raised her hand to shield both her eyes from the glare and her face from the stranger. Thankfully she had changed out of that ridiculous dress and knew she could easily outrun the average security guard, if need be.

"Mr. Krzyszkowski, please put that light away," growled Gold.

"Sorry Mr. Gold," said the newcomer. Once the flashlight was extinguished, she could see that the guardian of the archives was a slight, balding man in his late forties or early fifties. His engraved nametag identified him simply as Mr. K. "Are you about done here? Did you find what you need?"

"Yes. We're going to take these for the night and make some copies."

"Sure thing, Mr. Gold. Whatever you need."

"We appreciate it. Consider your debt paid in full."

The older man visibly relaxed. It was not an easy thing, owing someone like Gold a favor. Never knowing when or how he would come to collect weighed heavily on the soul. Emma was quite eager to clear the books herself. Then she would never have to see him or his son ever again.

The late summer air was quite cool this time of night and she shivered slightly in the breeze. Thankful for her red leather jacket, she walked briskly past her two partners in crime and headed in the direction of her yellow car.

"You're still driving the Bug?" Neal asked softly behind her.

Emma sighed and turned around slowly but avoided his eyes. "It's a decent car and I can't spare the funds for another."

"Bullshit," he replied. "You could have sold it years ago and bought or stole yourself something better. We lived in that car for months, Emma! You and me! You still think of it as home, don't you?"

"Like Hell I do!" Emma hated feeling out of control. Unfortunately, the man in front of her had always somehow managed to tear down her walls, leaving her exposed and vulnerable. "I keep it around as a reminder of what happens when you let someone get too close. And I'll never make that mistake again!"

"Is that why your adopted son calls you Emma and not Mom? Are you afraid to let him in too?"

Emma clenched her fists tightly and drew her arm back. Before she had a chance to throw the punch, however, Gold suddenly appeared between them, blocking her shot.

"Son," interjected Mr. Gold delicately. "Why don't you bring the car around for me, all right? It's been a long day and my leg can't take much more walking."

Neal had always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve. In the instant before he reluctantly walked away, his soulful eyes showed a combination of anger, shame, longing and regret. Emma's own eyes grew damp and her throat constricted painfully. She turned her back on the men and breathed in deeply, trying to regain some semblance of composure.

"You can't keep punishing him forever, you know," Gold remarked quietly.

"I went to prison because of him!" she whispered vehemently. "It's no different than you hating Regina!"

"No, dear," he replied gently but insistently. "The two instances are nothing alike. Regina betrayed me. Bae simply got away when you didn't. Not a day goes by that he doesn't hate himself for what happened. But you and I both know that if he had tried to rescue you, you both would have ended up in far worse trouble. You received 11 months. That's nothing compared to the ten years he would have gotten had he punched an officer and helped a detainee escape police custody."

Tears now flowed freely down her cold cheeks. "He never even showed up at court to help me."

"He was a wanted man, dear. He couldn't just walk into a court of law and expect to leave peacefully. Canada was his only option at the time. He did send you the car, though." Gold's hand hesitated slightly before he carefully laid it on her shoulder. His voice grew low and hoarse, as if he too was trying to regain his self-control. "I understand why you gave up your child. You wanted Henry to have his best chance at life and you thought that Bae had abandoned you. Just know that he never meant to hurt you."

She fiercely swiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "And he never will again, Gold. See you at the meet in Connecticut."

A/N – Next Chapter, The Eleven (plus Henry) meet up for the first time at Mary Margaret's house!

Happy Holidays to all my readers around the globe!

So the Arctic Circle…what can I say? It was simply amazing! Everyone thought I was crazy for going North when most people would rather be South. I, however, like to be contrary for the sake of being contrary.

The people were so welcoming and kind. I went to several towns in the far, far northern parts of Canada (Alas! I could not find Santa's workshop). We were above the tree line, meaning that trees cannot grow through the Perma-Frost. I met many children who have never seen a real tree before; only on TV and in books!

I rode a snowmobile across the frozen Tundra, dipped my toes in the Arctic Ocean and even went ice-fishing in a lake that never completely thaws, even in the summer! These towns are very small (300-600 people) and can only be accessed by tiny planes year round or ships in the summer. To say that they are isolated is an understatement! It's like they are in their own little world.

Everything is extremely expensive (a 12 pack of soda would run you about $20!) but if you work up there you are very nicely compensated. Wink wink to any teachers or nurses out there looking for an adventure! (Although I would not suggest it if you have children – they would probably have a difficult time fitting in).

To OUAT Obsessed: Thank you for your concern, but I did not get eaten by polar bears! Haha! I did not even see any.