A/N: I did not expect this chapter to be so long or to be as emotional as the last few paragraphs are. But I hope you enjoy some SwanThiefFire family feels! And I apologize if anything is inaccurate about the Empire State Building...I am a New Yorker who has shamefully never been inside it.

Neal could not remember the last time he slept in this late. It was almost noon and the sunlight was streaming in brightly through his window. He tried to ignore it the best he could, pulling the bed sheets over his head and shutting his eyes tightly.

It had been one hell of a weekend, from seeing Emma again, to meeting his father again, to learning he had a son. The nightmares he had told his father about hadn't happened in a few years but they were back last night with a vengeance. Memories of not only that night he abandoned him but of the months before when his father lost himself to the magic of the Dark One.

Just knowing he was here, in his city was enough to make him want to stay in that bed forever.

And then there was Emma who, rightfully, hated his guts. The swan keychain rested neatly on his dresser was more than enough proof of that. When he got that postcard from August he was trying to build up the courage to go to Storybrooke and see her. What changed his mind was the fact that Emma wouldn't probably want to see him and his father was there. But then she literally came slamming into his life again, bringing with her their son.

Henry was the only good thing to come out of the events of yesterday. Learning he was a father scared the hell out of him but the kid was amazing and just as eager to know him.

And for one hell of a reason the universe decided to bring the three people in every world that could make him so damn emotional together in one spot. His father, bringing back the feelings of anger and resentment. Emma, who brought back feelings of regret. And his son...Henry, the one that made him feel like maybe his life wasn't so horrible after all.

For the second day in a row, the buzzer in his apartment went off. He didn't know who it was the last time and still he bolted, fearing the worst. And hearing that buzzer again, now knowing who was behind it, he felt dread course through his veins.

Neal gritted his teeth together and glared into the darkness under the safety of his blanket. He knew Rumplestiltskin was stubborn, even more than he was, but was he really that persistent to get to know him after Neal denied him the day before?

Neal let it go, hoping that if it was his father he'd just go away after no answer.

But only a few seconds passed before the buzzer rang again. And then again.

With a growl, Neal tossed the sheets off and stormed over to the intercom, forcefully stabbing the speaker. "Yeah?" He grumbled coldly on the off chance it was not his father.

A few beats passed before there was a low question. "...dad?"

Instantly Neal felt his body relax and he slumped up against the wall in relief, still holding onto the speaker button. The sound of his son's voice was music to ears after that panic. "Henry?"

Henry must have noticed the change in Neal's voice because the hesitance in his own disappeared. "Yeah!"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "What are you doing here?"

There was a moment of silence and then Henry spoke again. "Can you let us up?"

Neal could have sworn his heart stopped for a second. Would his father be that cruel to use Henry to get to him? "U-us?" He cleared his throat. "Who's us?"

"Me and Emma!" Henry answered happily and Neal let out a breath in relief. He would take Emma over his father any day, no matter how mad she was at him.

"Hold on a sec, kid." He answered and released the button. He jogged over into his bedroom picking up the first clean clothes he could find and changing into them. He quickly splashed some water on his face and a ran hand through his messy bed head.

He then ran back to the intercom and buzzed open the gates. He let out a breath, shaking his hands nervously as he stared at the door. He certainly didn't expect to see them again so soon, especially not Emma, though he imagined she was just here because of Henry.

It was an excruciatingly long minute before he heard footsteps down the hall and soft voices of Emma and Henry. He held his breath and waited until they knocked, then waited a few more seconds before opening the door, exhaling through his nose as a smile crossed his lips.

"Hey." He greeted warmly, his eyes flickering briefly over to Emma who looked so unamused before fully focusing his attention on Henry.

Henry beamed back at him. "Hi!" The boy greeted excitedly.

There was a small pause of silence before Neal stepped aside. "Come in, please."

Emma grimaced slightly as she followed her son who practically bounding into the apartment. Neal chewed on his lower lip softly, watching her as she passed and then closed the door behind them.

"So uh," Neal clapped his hands against his sides as he took a few steps toward them, "What brings you over here?" He directed the question at both of them but his eyes found their way over to Emma and seemed to stay there.

Emma rolled her eyes slightly, slipping her hand onto Henry's shoulder and holding him in front of her. "I wanted Henry to see the city while we're here." She answered tensely, keeping a steady eye on him. "His only condition was that you come along too."

Neal's eyes widened slightly as he looked down at Henry, who met his eyes with a smile. He swallowed and shifted on his feet. "You want me to come?"

Henry nodded, still grinning at him. A small smile of awe crossed Neal's lips and his heart leapt as he stared at Henry. This boy had only met him the day before and was already accepting him into his heart, into his life.

Neal's eyes flickered back to Emma and that loving feeling began to fade. "And you're...okay with that?"

Emma pressed her lips together. It was obvious that she wan't okay with it but was going to pretend to be for Henry's sake. She shrugged lightly, "I don't know how long you've been here but its probably a lot longer than I ever was. You'll know the city better. And..." She squeezed Henry's shoulder. "He wants to know his Dad. I can't take that from anyone, especially him."

Neal's lips twitched in a small smile. It was always like Emma, to do the brave thing even if she risked hurting herself. He nodded to her curtly and the sides of her mouth pulled upward slightly in a sad half smile. He looked back down to Henry and his smile widened. "Count me in."

Henry grinned brightly and bounced on his heels excitedly. He looked up at his mother and Emma forced a small smile back at him.

Neal grabbed the same gray jacket he'd been in yesterday and slipped it on. "So," He said as he went to open the door, "You have any idea what you want to do?"

Emma shot him a look as they walked back out into the hall. "That's what you're here for, tour guide."

Neal smirked to himself. Emma could still tease him, good. He grabbed his keys and then shut the door as he walked out, moving to the opposite side of Henry.

"It's a big city." Neal explained as they stepped out on the streets, turning to look at them both. "There's a lot to do."

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly. "Children friendly, Neal."

His lips twisted into his trademark grin. "I know."

Emma rolled her eyes and placed one hand on her hips, keeping the other secure on Henry's shoulder.

"Oh!" Neal snapped his fingers. "The Toys R Us, kids love that right?"

Emma had only spent a few months in New York but she knew enough about it to know about the legendary Toys R Us with the ferris wheel inside the building. She sighed in exasperation, "He's eleven, not five."

"Hey, you said kid friendly." Neal retorted with a shrug. He thought for another long moment before a smile lit up his face. "The Empire State Building."

Henry's eyes widened. "I learned about that in school! It's one of the tallest buildings in the world!"

"Yes it is." Neal grinned, thrilled at the boy's enthusiasm. "And we can go all the way to the top. Would you like that?"

"Absolutely!" Henry beamed and tore away from Emma to stand beside Neal. Emma frowned as her son left her side and she briefly met Neal's gaze before tightening her jaw and crossing her arms as she stepped up behind them.

Neal slipped his arm around Henry's shoulders, pulling the boy against his side though he was unsure if that action would make Emma feel worse or better. The expression on her face was unreadable as she stared at him coldly and he sighed quietly to himself, looking down at Henry.

"Alright, let's go." He gently squeezed Henry's shoulder and they started to walk down the busy streets of New York, headed to the Empire State Building.

A few blocks down, Neal stopped them in front of a vendor and Henry looked up at him inquisitively. Neal grinned at him as he took out his wallet, "Kid, if there's one thing you have to do while in New York its have one of their pretzels." He handed the vendor a couple bills in exchange for a pretzel and then handed it to Henry.

"Cool!" Henry grinned as he took it. "Mr. Gold bought me a hotdog yesterday."

Neal's face hardened for a moment at the mention of his father but he quickly shook it off, leaning down to stage whisper to Henry. "I'll tell you a little secret." Henry stared at him, his eyes widening slightly and Neal smirked. "The pretzels...so much better than the hotdogs."

The two shared a smile as Neal winked at him and then stood up straight. He caught Emma staring at them with a peculiar expression and he shrugged, "What? Am I not allowed to spoil my kid?"

Emma's face scrunched up slightly. "Just keep walking, Neal."

"Alright." He lifted his hands in the air and then placed his arm back around Henry, guiding the boy as he happily munched on the pretzel.

Emma caught up to them and started walking beside Henry. Henry looked over at her and smiled, ripping off a piece of the pretzel and extending it to her. "You want a piece, Mom?"

"Uh..." Part of her was telling her no. To not to give into it and pretend they were just some cute little family on the street, sharing pretzels and having fun. But the way Henry was looking at her, his brown eyes eager and full of love and pure joy, she simply couldn't refuse. She smiled ruefully and took the piece of pretzel. "Thanks Henry."

Henry smiled and then continued to eat his pretzel. As Emma held the pretzel in her hand, she met Neal's eyes across Henry's head and she huffed, sticking the piece in her mouth before looking forward.

It was another ten to fifteen minutes before they reached the empire state building and Henry stopped in front of it, his head tilting almost painfully backwards as he gaped up at tall structure. "Woah." He muttered.

Emma chuckled genuinely for the probably the first time since they got to New York at Henry's purely innocent reaction. "They don't have things like this in Storybrooke, do they kid?"

"Nope." Henry answered, still staring up at the building.

"So," Neal spoke, bringing Henry and Emma's attention to him as he stepped in front of them with a smile, "Are you ready to go the top?"

Henry nodded eagerly and reached forward and grabbed Neal's hand. "Let's go!" He tugged on his hand, moving towards the front doors and Neal raised his brow, before smiling and gripping onto Henry's hand. He looked back to Emma, pressing his lips together and held out his other hand for her. Emma glared at him for a second and then walked to the other side of Henry.

"Woah." Emma muttered once they got into the building, seeing the line of people just waiting. "Is it always this crowded?"

"On a weekend, yeah." Neal said but then flashed a smile. "But don't worry, I know a guy."

Emma resisted an eye-roll. "Of course you do."

Neal grinned and making sure Henry was safe beside Emma, walked over to the ticket booth, waiting on the line until he came to the last window and he leaned on the counter with a grin.

The slightly older man behind the glass grinned at the familiar face. "Neal Cassidy! Why, I haven't seen you in ages, boy. How've you been?"

Neal shrugged. "Doing alright, Rick. And yourself?"

"Doing just fine. What brings you by here today?"

Neal smiled and straightened up, moving aside to reveal Emma and Henry. "I have some guests with me. This is my...uh...Emma and Henry." He motioned to the each of them and Emma smiled slightly at the awkward introduction but Henry grinned and waved happily.

Rick glanced between Neal and Henry a few times, his brow raising. "Is that your kid, Neal?"

Neal felt a swell of pride in his chest and he grinned as he slipped his arm around Henry. "Yeah, he is."

"He looks just like you." Rick shook his head with a smile. "I didn't know you had any children."

Neal shrugged sheepishly. "Neither did I until recently." And before any awkward moments could arise from that statement, Neal approached the counter once more. "But hey, I was wondering. It's the kids first time in New York, he really wants to see the view from up top."

Rick smiled and held up his hand, shaking his head. "Say no more, Neal. For you and your sweet family...half off the express tickets."

Neal smiled and pulled out his wallet. "Rick, you have always been the man." He went to hand over his credit card when Emma stepped up and grabbed his wrist. "Hold on. I'll pay for Henry and myself."

Neal shot her a look. "Don't be ridiculous, Emma. It's my treat, seriously."

Emma matched his stare with a glare and he simply smiled and continued to hand the card over. Emma narrowed her eyes and released his wrist, stepping back to stand beside Henry.

Rick handed over the tickets and returned his card with a smile. "Enjoy yourself, Neal."

"I will man, thanks." He tapped the counter and turned back, slipping his card back into his wallet and then handing out the tickets.

Emma accepted hers and met his eyes. "Don't you dare think you're paying for everything today."

Neal sighed. "If you don't want me paying for you, fine. But I'm paying for Henry." Emma went to protest and he cut her off with a small shake of his head. "He's my son, Emma. This is only the second day I've known him. I've missed eleven years. The least I could do for him is pay for this one day in New York. Okay?"

Emma stared back at him, meeting his intense stare head on. Then she swallowed thickly and nodded, breaking his gaze. "Yeah, fine, okay."

"Alright." Neal nodded and looked over her shoulder to see Henry standing a few feet away, eagerly looking toward the entrance. He looked back at his parents and smiled, "Come on guys!"

"He's waiting for us." Neal said quietly and then moved past her toward Henry, a smile lighting his features as he approached.

Emma closed her eyes tightly and let out a staggering breath. She shook her head as she turned around and approached Neal and Henry.

The three walked through the express line, Henry seemingly oblivious to the tension between his parents as he stood between them. They each handed their tickets to the lady standing there and she removed the rope, letting them through.

Another guide led them to the elevator with a few other guests. Henry grinned as he stepped onto the elevator and looked up at Emma, "Have you ever been to the top?"

Emma's face relaxed slightly as she looked down at her son and she shook her head. "No I haven't."

"Cool! Its your first time too!"

"Yes." Emma smiled and reached down to take his hand, happy to be able to share this experience with him.

Henry watched in awe as the numbers of the floors went up and up and up until it reached the 86th floor. The door pinged open and Henry started to move out but Neal reached out and gripped his shoulder. Henry turned his head and looked up at him, furrowing his brow. "This isn't the top." Neal explained. "We can get out here if you want but the view from the top top is much cooler."

Henry grinned up at him and nodded. "Let's go up."

They waited until some of the guests all piled out of the elevator and the door pinged closed and the elevator continued up to the 102nd floor.

Once again the doors pinged open and Henry looked up to Neal expectantly. Neal smiled down at him and nodded. "This is it."

Henry grinned and grabbed both of his parent's hands and pulled them out of the elevator. There were already a lot of people standing around peering out behind the glass to look out at the city.

Neal led them over to a more clear spot and looked down at Henry. "Go ahead, kid. Look out."

Henry bit his lip excitedly and released their hands and ran over to the edge, peering out at the city. An audible gasp escaped his lips and his jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he took in the view. "Oh my god." He whispered in awe.

Emma came up beside him and looked out and a small smile found its way to her face. Emma had been in too many cities to even count and the view from below was always the same, no matter what city. But the view from above, over New York, was simply breathtaking.

Neal smiled softly to himself, watching Emma and Henry take in the sight for the first time and then he slowly walked over to stand beside Henry.

"It really is incredible." He remarked, slowly shaking his head. "You don't need magic to see something like this."

Emma's smile slipped away and she slowly turned her head to look at Neal. This whole time she couldn't nor did she want to feel any pity toward him. But that was only because she saw him as Neal Cassidy, the man who abandoned her and let her go to prison. For the first time, looking at him now, the lost and sad expression in his eyes as he stared out into the distance, she saw him as Baelfire, the little boy who was burned by his father's obsession with magic.

Neal blinked, feeling someone watching him and he turned his head, meeting Emma's stare. She didn't even try to look away and her face softened and her eyes held a twinge of sadness. He sniffed and swallowed, tensing his jaw as he looked away from her and back out at the city.

Emma chewed on her lip softly as she turned her head back.

Neal suddenly jumped, startled, as Henry turned to him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Neal gaped down at the boy and then looked over to Emma who was actually smiling at the affectionate gesture. Before Neal even had a chance to react though, Henry pulled away and smiled up at him.

"What was that for?" Neal asked, his voice a lot more hoarse than he would have liked.

"As a thank you." Henry answered with a small shrug. "I always wanted to do something like this with my dad."

Neal felt his chest tighten and he let out a breath as he smiled down at him, reaching over to affectionately rub his head. "Anytime, kid."

Henry grinned and then turned back to looking out. Neal inhaled sharply and covered his mouth with his hand, the sudden, new emotions building up inside of him was almost too much to handle. He quickly swallowed those emotions as best he could before nudging Henry, "Hey, why don't we go try another spot on the building."

"Yeah!" Henry agreed and took off in another direction.

"Henry, don't run!" Emma called out after him and Neal chuckled as Henry seemed to ignore her call.

Emma sighed and shook her head and they started to follow after him.

Swallowing her pride, Emma looked up at Neal. "Well, I'll tell you what. You sure know how to make people love you."

Neal frowned slightly as he looked down at her. "I'm not going to hurt him, Emma."

She inhaled deeply. "I hope not." She shook her head, mostly to herself before continuing. "You are very good with him though."

Neal smiled as Henry came into view, his little face once again a picture of awe as he stared out at the city view. "I guess I never knew how much I wanted to be a father until I knew about him." His smile fell as he shook his head, swallowing thickly. "It scares me though, you know? Because my father is all sorts of crazy." He motioned over to Henry, his face scrunching up. "I don't want him to resent me like I resent mine."

"Well.." Emma said softly. "Unless you do something stupid, he won't resent you. He doesn't now, he loves you."

"You expect me to do something stupid...don't you?" Neal wondered.

Emma sighed and turned to him in exasperation. "I don't know, Neal! You left me and that is scarred into my memory forever."

Neal turned to face her, stopping her in the middle of the path and her eyes widened as she took a small step backwards, eyeing him carefully. "Neal..." She warned.

"Relax, okay?" He looked down at her. "I'm not going to do anything. I just..." He sighed. "Yesterday was insane for both of us."

She scoffed. "That's an understatement."

"Yeah, alright." He conceded. "And I know I was mostly caught up in the fact that my father was back that I didn't really address us."

Emma gave him a look. "There is no us, Neal."

"Yes there is." He replied. "Whether you like it or not theres a history between us, Emma. And he's standing right over there. I don't...I don't want to upset you anymore than I already have."

"Then don't." She muttered coldly, staring directly into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Emma." He said and Emma swallowed thickly. "I didn't say that yesterday and I should have. I am so sorry. And I know that it's not going to make anything up or make it better but it needed to be said." He paused for a moment and they held each other's gaze, the tension surrounding them could be cut with a knife. He let out a slow breath as he slowly shook his head. "I loved you too." Emma's eyes widened slightly but she made no other move. "I don't want you to ever think otherwise. What we had...it was real. I didn't know about you and you didn't know about me or even about yourself. Being with you was nothing about the curse, about magic. I was serious about Tallahassee. I wanted that with you more than anything and it kills me every day to know I gave that up."

Despite herself, Emma found her jaw suddenly quivering and no matter how badly she wanted to she could not look away from his eyes.

"It should have been me in that jail cell. I've known that for eleven years."

Tears glittered Emma's eyes. "Then why did you send me." She bit out.

"You would have stayed with me, you would have waited."

Emma shook her head slowly, her eyes written with sorrow. "So what?" She whispered fiercely. "So we move to Tallahassee, raise Henry together, and then you convince me to go to Storybrooke when I'm 28. Would that have been so bad?"

"Would you have believed me?" He asked. "If I told you the truth?"

Emma blinked quickly, forcing back the tears with all that was in her. "I don't know. But we would have been together and that, to me, was worth more than anything."

"Emma-"

Emma shook her head, finally breaking their eye contact and wordlessly moved past him, heading toward Henry.

Neal stayed rooted to the spot, his eyes closing slowly. He took a few deep breaths, cursing himself for being such an idiot for bringing up their past on a day that was supposed to be fun for Henry.

He eventually turned around and walked slowly over to meet Henry and Emma. For a brief second he met Emma's eyes and she had done a remarkable job covering up that she was nearly in tears a minute ago. Neal rested his arms against the ledge and leaned there, looking down at Henry. "Are you enjoying yourself, Henry?"

Henry looked over to him and smiled softly but there was something off in his eyes. One look at him and Neal knew he had at least seen him and Emma's emotional conversation.

"Yes." Henry said. "It's really cool up here."

"Good." Neal smiled slightly. "I'm glad." He let out a breath as he turned to face him more. "Well, its still early. The city is a large place, do you want to see more?"

Henry smiled but quickly glanced over to Emma and her lips twitched upwards as she she nodded.

"Sure!" Henry replied. "What's next?"

Neal smiled warmly. "Central park is nice."