Chapter 19

Neal and Emma watched transfixed on their monitors as Granny and Regina walked through the casino cage doors as August and Jefferson dragged an irate old man wearing a flowery shirt outside the building.

"Who the Hell was that guy?" asked Emma.

"I think he may have been a candidate for husband number thirteen," replied Neal. "I just hope Granny was able to talk her way out of that or we're in big trouble."

As if they're nerves weren't frayed enough, a sudden and insistent knock at the door had them jumping out of their seats. Neal called out cautiously on his way to the entrance. "Who is it?"

"Room service!" said two giggling female voices from the hall.

He peeked through the spy hole and smiled. "I don't remember ordering any room service."

The door opened to reveal Ruby and Mary Margaret dressed as service personnel in white kitchen uniforms pushing a linen covered cart. Ruby looked over at Emma on the couch and raised her eyebrows mischievously. "Or perhaps you'd prefer turn-down service instead?"

"Why would we need to go bed now?" asked Henry, his head suddenly popping up from behind his fort of cushions. "We're in the middle of a heist!"

Mary Margaret cleared her throat awkwardly as she pushed the heavy cart inside the room. Ruby swiftly removed the wine glasses and bottle of champagne as Neal eagerly sprung for the silver domed tray. He opened it with a flourish only to discover it was empty. "Aww! You didn't bring any real food?"

"What do I look like, a waitress?" groaned Ruby. She rolled her eyes and handed Emma the small vase of flowers. "We just needed a way to sneak this into the room without being seeing."

She removed the linen cloth to reveal one of Regina's golden cash carts that is used to transport money throughout the casino.

"So?" asked Mary Margaret, looking at the master-mind's son expectantly. "What now?"

Neal rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. "Now's the part you ladies are not going to like. Henry? You're up."

"Yes!" he roared as he pumped his tiny fist into the air. He ran to the cart and began to climb inside.

"Whoa!" cried Emma. She grabbed him around the waist and pivoted to the side, holding him away from the cart as he struggled against her. "What are you doing?"

"Emma," Neal pleaded softly. "This is all part of my father's plan. It's the only way."

"His plan was to use my son this whole time? " Her voice raised in pitch with every syllable until she was practically screaming. "That no good, selfish son of a bitch!"

"It wasn't his idea, Emma. It was mine!" added Henry proudly. "I volunteered. I'm calling it Operation Cobra! Cool, huh?"

"Cool?" she cried. "No! No, this is not cool! This is not some Comic Book, Henry! This is real life! It's too dangerous. He's not doing it."

"Emma! Emma, just calm down," Mary Margaret said soothingly. "I don't believe Mr. Gold would ever put Henry in jeopardy. I've seen them together. He's obviously fond of the boy and the last thing he would want would be to hurt him."

"My father created an airtight cover story in case something goes wrong and Henry has memorized it," added Neal quietly. "He's ten. Nothing bad will happen to him. We made you a promise when we got you involved in this; no one gets left behind. Now I'll be the first to admit that my father can be a bastard sometimes but he's also a man of his word. And so am I."

Her shoulders slumped in acquiescence and Henry whooped loudly. Neal swiftly picked the growing boy up and placed him carefully inside the small cart. It was a snug fit and no possible way an adult could sit inside.

"I got you a few supplies, Henry," he said with a smile. "A flashlight, a small tank of oxygen in case it gets a little hard to breathe, some comic books and a couple of Apollo chocolate bars. Ready?"

"I was born ready!"

"Wait!" cried Emma, rushing to the cart. She tenderly cupped Henry's face with her hands and gently kissed him on his forehead. "I love you, kid."

Henry wiggled in his mother's grasp and groaned. "MOM! You're embarrassing me in front of Neal!"

Emma bravely held it together as her son was sealed inside an airtight cart. She never said a word as Ruby re-covered it with the white linens and placed the platter and flowers back on top. She was fine as they rolled it out of the room to deliver it to the most secured vault ever created.

Once she and Neal were alone, however, she completely broke down into hysterics. All Neal could do was hold her tightly and rub her back soothingly as she began to hyperventilate. "It's alright, sweetheart. Just calm down, okay? Everything will be fine."

"I'm a terrible mother!" she sobbed.

"Hey! That's not true! You may be new at this whole parent thing, but you're doing a great job. Henry's terrific."

"Neal?" she sniffed nervously. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. Henry…he's… he's my son."

"Yeah, I know that," he replied, frowning. "And he's a great kid. You did a wonderful thing when you adopted him."

Emma shook her head violently and refused to look him in the eye. "No. You don't understand. He's my son! I gave birth to him in jail."

Neal continued to stare at her questioningly until her words finally sunk into his thick skull. He tried to do the math in his head but the blood pumping in his ears made it very difficult to concentrate.

"Are you telling me that Henry…is he my son?"

"Yes. He is your son. He is our son." Tears flowed freely down her beautiful cheeks as she struggled to speak. "I thought you had abandoned me and I was all alone. There was no way I could raise a child on my own! I'm so sorry but I had no choice."

"No choice in what? What are you saying?"

"I gave him up," she wailed. She gathered up the front on his shirt in a death grip as she pleaded with him to understand. "Your father found out about it somehow and tracked Henry down right before he went off to prison. I wanted him to have his best chance but when Gold saw that Henry wasn't getting it he contacted me and convinced me to legally adopt him. He's been with me ever since."

"This is…wow. This is too much. Give me a minute." Neal stepped away from his ex-girlfriend and love of his life and tried not to cry. He ran his hand over his mouth then heaved a heavy sigh that seemed to lift an incredible burden from his shoulders.

He had a son! He had a ten year old son that had been raised by strangers for most of his life. And he had missed all of it! Well he wasn't about to miss one more minute of that sweet boy's life. He was willing to fight for him if it came to that. He had completely fallen in love with that kid and he was not about to let him slip through his fingers.

The worst thing that had ever happened to him was being separated from his father for years. He wasn't about to let that happen with his own son.

"Is there anything else you've been keeping from me?" he demanded a little harshly.

"Yes," she replied honestly. "Just one other thing. I lied to you."

"Yeah, I can see that!"

She shook her head sadly. "No. I mean the night that you and Gold came to recruit me. You asked if I had made a wish on my birthday cupcake and I said no. Well, I had. I had wished that I could give Henry the family he deserved…and then you showed up! Now suddenly he has this large, loving yet completely dysfunctional family and I don't want him to lose that! I don't want to lose that."

Neal hesitated only a second before crossing the distance between them and gathered her up in his arms. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her head as she cried softly in his embrace. "That kid's going to need a lot of therapy when we're done here."

She laughed thickly and smiled. "We all will! If we get out of here, that is."

"Oh my God!" He took a step back and raised her chin so he could look her in the eye. "I just sealed our son in box and sent him to a vault that we're going to blow up!"

They quickly ran back to the half dozen monitors and carefully watched the cart's progress through the hotel. Neal reached out and grabbed onto Emma's hand.

She squeezed back even tighter.

~8~8~8~

Mr. Gold sat at the counter sipping his Johnny Walker and looked around at the other patrons indifferently. He had spotted the two underlings in plain clothes that Regina had set on him the moment they had entered the bar. She was so utterly predictable. It was a wonder she had managed to be as successful as she was given her complete lack of imagination.

For now the minions tailing him were keeping to themselves while watching his every move. They too lacked subtlety, which is why he knew his team would ultimately succeed.

Regina, and the people she had working for her, were all idiots.

He quickly dismissed all thoughts of his nemesis from his mind as his new objective walked through his line of sight. His breath hitched in his throat as the love of his life confidently walked past the opened double doors of the bar on her way to the restaurant. He continued to watch her as she passed the glass walls, admiring her from every angle.

She was a vision in gold.

Her knee length dress shimmered in the light like thousands of diamonds ensconced in pure gold. It came up to her throat yet left her shoulders and arms completely bare. The back, God bless her, was open, revealing her perfect porcelain skin all the way down to the small of her back. Her two inch heels accentuated her already amazing legs as well as giving her some extra height. Her chestnut chair was half up, leaving perfect ringlets to cascade down her back while keeping the bulk of it off of her face. Gone was the dark makeup that she had been wearing of late, no doubt on Regina's insistence. Instead, she was painted simply in her signature neutral colors that accentuated her best features.

She had no need to hide behind cosmetics. She was a rare, natural beauty that needed no embellishments.

Her only accessories were the diamond earrings that he had given her for their first anniversary and a simple purse that hung loosely around her right shoulder down to her waist.

He quickly downed the rest of his Scotch and straightened his tie. If Neal was following his schedule, Archie should be keeping Regina occupied for a short while. He may only have a few moments and he was going to make them count.

~8~8~8~

"Try to relax, Archie," said a deep voice in his earpiece. "You look like you're guilty of something."

Archie was hanging out around the west slot machines trying to blend in while awaiting his mark. He whispered into his lapel mike in an attempt to move his lips as little as possible. "I'm too nervous. I can't do this."

"You'll do fine," added Emma reassuringly. "You're a natural."

"Thanks."

"Just don't screw up!" warned Neal.

Archie looked directly into the round security camera in the ceiling and frowned. "Thanks again."

He moved his head from side to side to ease his tense muscles and heard the bones crack in response. He shook out his arms and flexed his fingers. He could do this. He had been stealing since he was old enough to walk. This was easy. This was what he was born to do.

Quite literally. His parents were just awful people.

He took a moment to think of his deadbeat parents who he had seen pilfering a dying man's pockets for loose change. He wasn't like them. He was nothing like them. And now was his big chance to prove it.

"The Queen is leaving the castle. Good luck."

That was the signal that Regina was finished with Granny, or Mrs. Lucas as she was known as tonight, and was heading his way. He took a deep calming breath and let it out slowly, finishing just as Regina walked out of the secured cage doors.

She was a beautiful woman, dressed completely in black. His fingers itched to remove her diamond necklace that hung elegantly around her neck but he quickly dismissed the thought. Now was not the time for trinkets. He was after something far more valuable.

In her hands she held the black portfolio that contained the codes to the outer doors of the vault.

"Regina Mills?" he said confidently as he approached her, a business card in hand. "My name is Jim Shrink and I work for the New England Gaming Commission. I'm afraid I need a few minutes of your time."

She sighed heavily and checked her watch. "Will this take long? This is a very busy night for me and I have a dinner schedule to keep before the fight."

"I promise this won't take long," he replied pleasantly. "Would you please accompany me to the Blackjack tables?"

"Of course," she said dryly. "Anything for the NEGC."

A/N – I would like to give a big shout out to my wonderful reviewers Estrany, LusciousLemon, Anonymous Nerd Girl, Grace5231973, Zipit-Cinderella, rhiannal, Pomc, TeamTHEFT, and all the anonymous reviewers that I can't thank directly. You guys really keep me motivated!