A/N And so we reach part two of the Killian/Emma hiatus. I believe that you guys will make it though! I'm loving your reviews so keep following and favouriting! Enjoy Chapter 23.

Chapter 23: The Son and the Father

The next day, Emma and Gold set off for the three destinations. The desperate pawnbroker held the necklace tight in his hand, watching for any indication that its glow was more intense as they headed for the Upper East Side. She watched him intently; it was so strange seeing this man, who possessed more power than anyone she knew, helpless. The minutes passed slowly as the cab headed down 3rd Avenue and Gold's face dimmed in disappointment. The diamond stayed opaque and unchanged as they passed through the streets. The driver pulled over and Emma spoke up, giving him their next destination; Hoboken.

Gold looked out the window, every so often looking down at the jewel clutched tight in his hand. This was his only shot at finding his son, this was his last chance to make it right. Emma decided to peruse the view of the streets as well, remembering the last time she was here for three months. She had been chasing a dipshit that'd assaulted his girlfriend and made a runner after the bail was posted. It had been a pleasure to kick his cowardly ass and a smile tilted the corners of her lips remembering it.

The car drove onwards, across the bridge and into Hoboken. They passed Carlo's bakery where Emma had watched on television as they made dozens of pastries worth dying for. Gold looked down at his enchanted necklace, it was resolute. They drove in dizzying patterns at Emma's order but no road offered any change to the talisman. Defeated, Gold slumped into his seat and she told the driver to take them to Soho. He gave her a confused look but began driving away from Hoboken.

In an act of kindness that surprised Emma, she said to the man beside her, "Bailey Smith could still be in Hoboken." The words weren't delivered softly but they procured enough hope in the wiry man to make the blonde feel good about herself. The car whizzed back across the bridge and headed south to Soho.

Anticipation crept into her veins as she too kept an eye on the blue diamond. The car entered the main district of Soho and she instructed the driver to drive down every road in the area. He shook his head, likely feeling bad for the bill they would receive at the end of this.

They were halfway through their drive around the place when Gold's resolve snapped.

"Enough. Take us back to the hotel, he's not here." His last three words were directed at Emma and they were filled to the brim with defeat and self-loathing.

"No, we're not done. Keep driving," Emma said. She shook her head and the driver pulled over, waiting for them to make a decision. Gold stared angrily at the saviour, willing her to let them go home.

"Dearie, I won't blame you – you did your part and fulfilled your end of the deal. Now, let's just return to the hotel." Unable to answer, Gold nodded to the driver who pulled out and turned the car around. The day was a failure.

They were heading down Fifth Avenue when Emma saw it. The diamond flashed brightly for a second and then it dimmed. Gold didn't notice it, too consumed in his own depressing world.

"Stop the car!" She yelled, already opening the door on her side to get out. He looked at her like she'd just demanded they climb the towers on either side of them.

"What are you doing?" Gold asked, stepping out of the car as well, handing the cabbie wads of cash in the process. The taxi drove away, likely unwilling to drive them around anymore than he already had. She looked at the diamond, it was pulsing subtly and when the old man caught her line of sight he too stared.

"It flashed really bright for a second back there," Emma said, pointing back the way the car had come. There were hundreds of people on the street and they had to shove past people to move. Eyes trained on the necklace, Gold watched as the glowing became brighter and more prominent. They jogged down the road until they reached a T intersection. Emma snatched the jewel and held it in both directions, observing keenly as its glow ebbed slightly when she turned right. Left it was, then.

Running down East 8th Street, she could hear Gold jogging behind her – his footfalls more noticeable since this kind of effort was foreign to him. He was having a hard time keeping up with the blonde who, after years of chasing people and a week aboard a pirate ship, was well-suited to physical exertion.

As she reached another T intersection on Broadway, the glowing stopped increasing but it didn't decrease either. Apparently after you got to a certain proximity it just stopped working. Gold caught up to her, panting as he spoke.

"Why have we stopped?"

"It's stopped glowing brighter. This is as close as it will get us," Emma said, only taking a moment to catch her breath. Gold looked around in vain, there were too many people for him to discernibly identify his son and even so, he hadn't seen the boy in decades.

Doing the only thing he could, the Dark One cried out with all the volume he could muster.

"Bae! Baelfire!" he yelled, a couple of people turned their heads momentarily but continued walking across the street, "Baelfire!"

Emma surveyed the crowd around them, for any hint that someone recognised the name. So far, people were just looking at Gold like he was a lunatic – which in New York was apparently common place judging by the lack of attention it was garnering him.

"Bae!" Gold yelled again, the desperation in his voice making the word crack. And that's when she saw it, a dark mop of hair look up and recognition flash in dark green eyes. The features of the boy in the picture less rounded, more angular. It was him.

Eyes widening, Emma started walking towards him with Gold hot on her heels. They were nearly at the table when the man vanished as a crowd of people passed him.

"Where did he go?" Gold asked frantically, running forward to where the coffee on the table was still hot. He had seemingly evaporated into thin air. She searched the crowds around them, specifically scrutinising the group of people that had passed just as before his disappearance. The man she swore was Bae had gone, and she had no idea where he was.

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"Where could he have even gone?" Gold asked as Emma approached him. She ushered him to sit down, trying to calm the powerful man in front of her. He may have been wiry but he had magic that no one here needed to see. He stopped whipping his head around and buried it in his hands.

"He can't have gone far and at least we know he's around here," Emma replied, still searching in vain to find the man who had recognised the call of his name. There was no one, "Look, we can come back here tomorrow and ask around – okay?"

Gold looked up at her, still distraught, and nodded. Letting the cold façade slip back into place, he stood from the table and put the blue diamond in his pocket. Its glow had diminished slightly – meaning Bae was further away than before.

"We're going to start asking questions now." His tone held finality and she knew there was nothing she could do to argue with him. He was going to find his son before the day ended – whether that meant they stayed up until midnight or not. Sighing heavily, Emma requested she at least be allowed to order a coffee. Gold agreed but procured a small piece of paper in the process. Subtly tracing his fingers over it, an image of the man appeared on the page; a picture of adult Bae.

Emma hissed at him, "You can't do that here, what if someone sees you?"

"Then I silence them," he said coldly, unwavering as he tucked the image in his coat pocket. They entered the café which Bae had previously been sitting outside of. The blonde walked to the counter where she smiled brightly at the server, he was a red-head guy with leaf green eyes and he smiled back at Emma easily.

"Hey, can I please get a cappuccino?" she asked, leaning on the counter and looking up at the guy through her eyelashes. He blushed slightly and nodded, tapping the screen in front of him and looking back at her.

"Anything else?" he asked and Emma cocked her head and pursed her lips.

"Oh," she said, feigning sudden remembrance, "my cousin comes here all the time, I lost his number the other day and I was just wondering if you guys might have him as a regular or something? His name's Bailey Smith," she said smoothly, thinking idly of how Killian would be proud of her manipulation. Although for some reason she had a feeling he'd be pissed she was flirting with this guy.

The cashier's smile faltered but only slightly, "Well we don' have him on our system, and I know because I've offered heaps of times. He comes in every couple of days at three o'clock-ish, maybe you should come by again and try and find him?"

Poor kid, Emma thought (even though this guy looked about her age), he's really trying here. She smiled back and nodded as he handed her the cappuccino that had just been made. As she walked away, she looked over her shoulder to wave politely at him. Gold was leaning on the doorframe, having just watched the exchange with the barest hint of amusement.

"He comes here nearly every day in the afternoon. We could try here tomorrow?" Emma suggested, taking a sip of the beverage. Gold shook his head.

"He saw us and judging by the way he disappeared he doesn't want to be found, hence he probably won't come back here." He was disappointed but determined; having your long-lost son run from you must be hard.

She nodded in agreement and bit her lip, trying to think of how else they could find him.

"Let's try heading east," Emma suddenly said, walking out of the café. She didn't know why but she definitely wanted to go east. Gold looked at her confusedly as he caught up, walking in step with her across the road and down the street.

"Why east?" he asked

"I don't know, I just feel like we should go east."

He nodded in understanding and stayed alongside Emma. Pulling the necklace from his pocket he checked the diamond which was glowing brighter again. They kept walking down the road until the diamond glowed its brightest and then suddenly started dimming again. Emma noticed this and they backtracked until they were standing in front of a worn-down apartment building.

"I think he might be in there," she said, looking at the small five-story structure. Wordlessly, the two of them entered the apartment building and the diamond glowed at its brightest. Gold put it in his pocket, it wouldn't narrow his location further than this. Together they started moving up the stairs and as they did they heard shouting from above. Two males were having an argument on the fourth floor.

Emma looked at Gold and his expression told her they were checking it out.

The two of them walked up the stairs until they were standing in front of an apartment door, from which two voices could definitely, be heard. Gold stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door, stepping back straight after and resting his clasped hands in front of him. He looked nervous.

The arguing stopped and footsteps could be heard from behind the door. There was the rustle of a chain-lock being undone and then the door flew open. The dark-haired man from the café stood before them, his eyes ghosted over Emma before landing squarely on Gold. His expression became a mixture of recognition, hurt, betrayal and then confusion.

"Bae?" Gold asked, his voice small and soft. The green-eyed man looked down before meeting the wiry man's gaze again.

"How are you here?" he asked curtly, trying to hide the sadness that was evident in his voice. Whatever had occurred between them, it was not of mutual interest that they reunite.

"It's a long story, son. But I… I'll explain everything. Can I come in? Please?" Gold pleaded, all evidence of his previous emotionless frontage gone. The man next to Emma now was broken and desperate for his son's love.

"I don't know. After all this time… how did you find me?" the man asked, still confused and still unwittingly showing how hurt he was. The blonde shifted her weight, she really wanted to sit down. But she knew if she interrupted this then Gold would likely murder her and hang her head above his mantle.

"Please Bae, you have to understand. The second you went through I realised how cowardly I'd been. I did so much… I did so much to get here, gave up so much to come here and find you," he replied, earning a hopeful glance from the man. His green eyes moved back to Emma and he cocked his head at her.

"Who is she?"

Emma stepped back a bit, insulted that he was speaking as if she was a deaf mute.

"She is Emma Swan and I helped him find you, thank you very much." Gold looked at her furiously but the words he was about to deliver were cut off when the second male voice they'd vaguely heard spoke up from behind Bae.

"Emma?"

Blood fell from her face, eyes widening in a mixture of fear and shock and anger as she took in the voice. That voice was from her past, that voice brought on memories she'd rather forget. He stepped from where he'd been hidden by Bae's figure and stared at Emma. Her mouth opened and no coherent thoughts were able to form in her head, let alone form in her mouth.

That voice belonged to Neal. And he was standing behind Baelfire – Gold's son.

Just because I said Neal wasn't Bae, didn't mean I wouldn't bring him in. Mwahahahaha!

P.S. You're past halfway, one more chapter and then Killian and Emma are reunited! Or at least they are in my little fanfic fantasy.