"So correct me if I misunderstood something… There's a monster in Storybrooke, Henry can wield magic, he found a spell to travel between worlds, brought back a monster, the monster was created by a deity named Hades, Rumplestiltskin found Henry and brought him back here to Storybrooke, you had him and then he disappeared on you?" Robin said perplexed as he rehashed Regina's situation to him.

"He vanished. No thanks to his grandfather who taught him how. I saw him run off into the woods before he used a vanishing spell to avoid me. But he can't have gone far. Novices of magic don't typically manage long distance travel unless they've been practicing it for years," reasoned Regina.

Robin and Regina were walking through the woods together searching for Henry. Regina continued, "I'm asking you for help, because I trust you and you know these woods better than any other person I know."

"I would be honored to help find your son. After all, you did help save mine some time ago," smiled Robin to Regina remembering a moment when she protected Roland from a flying monkey.

Regina's phone started ringing in her pocket.

"Hold on," said Regina reaching into her pocket for the phone. She looked at it, "It's Emma," Regina said answering the call, "What happened?"

"The Monster we saw earlier was frozen and taken care of by Elsa. She befriended a man named Hercules who came with the monster and helped take it down. Henry's safe. He's right here with me… along with his father."

"Woah, woah. Hold on. His father, Neal? I'm sorry, did you just imply that Neal is somehow back from the dead?"

"Yeah, long story… Henry seems to think he made to deal with Hades."

"How do you know that the person posing as Henry's father isn't Hades himself?"

"I saw Neal's face as he spoke to me. He's not lying. It's him."

"Well, I hope you're right. Do I need to come over to pick Henry up or do you…?"

"No, we uh… are heading over to Gold's house to sort through all this mess. I think of all people that could help us out, it should be Neal's father."

"Alright. Keep me informed if there are any further developments," Regina said as she hung up the phone ending the call.

"Did I just overhear you say that Neal is alive?" Robin questioned.

"I'll explain later. Let's head back to my car and go to a bar. You still owe me a drink and I could really use one right about now."

… …

"Monster is gone. Town is fine. I am fine. Henry is home, safe and here beside me. Going to chat with Mr. Gold to sort things out. Will call you soon," texted Emma as her thumb hovered over the 'SEND' button on her cell phone.

She meticulously read her text over and over, avoiding words that would incite fear or any additional anxiety that she was sure her loved ones were already feeling. She read the text again, filtering to make sure the message didn't mention Neal. To mention his name would provoke curiosity and she did not want to bring any more people than necessary into their current situation. She wasn't sure how this whole situation was going to play out and didn't want to bring people's hopes up if things turned out for the worse. The last thing she wanted was to have a giant family reunion making things more complicated than they already were. She took a deep breath and finally clicked 'SEND'.

By the time she had finished her text, she, Neal and Henry were already out of the woods and were walking onto Storybrooke's Main Street towards her car. As they got closer to her yellow Volkswagen Bug, Emma couldn't help but eye Neal suspiciously. Neal caught her staring and questioned, "What is it?"

Emma, upon being caught, immediately diverted her eyes and focused on the path she was walking on. "Nothing, I'm just finding it very difficult to believe that you are standing here right now."

"Not just standing, apparently I'm walking too," he said grinning jovially. Emma smirked, but only briefly. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation they were currently in. "Can I drive?" he asked.

"You know, you make jokes, but I don't think you understand how serious and not funny this… situation actually is," Emma replied non-amused.

"I will admit. I do feel a bit funny and… I dunno, disoriented? Off-kilter? Like, everything is here, but something's missing, you know? It's hard put my finger on what it is exactly. But hey, we'll talk about it later. For now, let's just make the most of the time we've got. It'd be a damn shame if I didn't smile at least once today. Besides, if I only have one day to live, I can't think of a better person to spend it with."

His sweet comment didn't make Emma feel any less pitiful or sad. It only made her more scared; scared of hurting like she did when she first mourned him. As much as she wanted to get close to Neal, she felt this overwhelming need to protect to herself from the hurt she knew was coming. It felt inevitable. Her trail of thoughts gave her pause and she found herself not moving.

"Emma…" Neal said, interrupting Emma's thoughts. They were at the car and both Emma and Neal stopped walking to face each other.

"Huh?"

"I can see it on your face. You're protecting yourself… from me."

"Here," Emma said avoiding his astute observation by thrusting the car keys into his hands, "Just… drive."

"I can give you the directions," chirped Henry happily as he opened the car door and climbed into the back seat.

Neal drove while Emma sat in the passenger seat in silence. Henry sat in the back seat giving Neal directions. They turned left and then right a few times until finally they made it to the street of the Gold residence. Gold and Belle could see the yellow bug coming down their street and waited eagerly for them out on the front porch to greet the visitor. As Neal continued driving down the street he couldn't help but notice how his father's large Victorian House dwarfed the neighboring houses. He looked up at the large estate and noted softly to himself, "You know, it doesn't surprise me that even in this land my father would be living in the largest house on the block."

"Well, your father did always have expensive taste," Emma said looking at the foreboding house. They both looked at Gold's intimidating Victorian house with apprehension. Between Emma's and Neal's experiences in migrant poverty, they both could relate in how foreign and unaccustomed they were to seeing such a lavish sight.

"He didn't always," Neal pointed out as he parked the bug on the edge of the property. The family got out of the car and proceeded toward the steps of the home. Having been there a few times before, Henry walked confidently up the stairs and greeted Belle on the porch. Emma walked hesitantly forward toward Gold who was quickly approaching Neal. She stopped when she saw that Gold had gestured Neal to stop moving forward.

"Forgive me for being unconvinced. When Belle told me what Emma said about you in her text… I had to see this one for myself," Gold said putting his hand down. His faced was unmoved and remained skeptical, "Please understand, I have to protect my family. I have to be sure you are who you say you are. So I'm going to ask you a few questions that only my son will know. If you lie, I will find out and we will have problems."

"I understand," Neal said compliantly.

"Good. What's your name?"

"Neal Cassidy."

"Your birth name?"

"Baelfire."

"How old were you when you were drafted in the Troll Wars?" Gold asked, his eyes focused on Neal's face for any hint of lying.

"I was fourteen… and it wasn't the Troll Wars it was the Ogre Wars," corrected Neal as he listened to his father's questions carefully. He always knew of his father's aptitude for words, so it didn't surprise him that trick questions would be part of the interrogation.

Gold nodded as he quickly thought of the next question, "When you were in Neverland, what did you dream of every night?"

"I dreamt of you holding my hand over that pit and then letting me go."

"And why did I let you go?"

"Because you chose the power of the dagger over me, and ever since then you never stopped looking for me."

When Gold heard Neal's answer he fought hard to hold back the tears. He thought of how unsuccessful the reunion in New York was, which made him think of the last question. Gold's lip trembled, "And what, would you say, is worse than living with regret?"

"Abandonment."

"Bae," Gold said as a tear escaped from his eye, happy to see his son again.

"Papa," said Neal and they both came close and embraced each other.

"I'm sorry I had to ask you those questions, son. I had to know for sure."

"It's alright, Papa. I understand. I love you."

"I love you too, son. I always have."

They pulled apart from each other and he led his resurrected son up the stairs and into his home. Everyone followed suit and entered the Gold residence. Neal came up to Belle and hugged her before entering the house. "Congratulations," Neal said hugging Belle with a genuine and heartfelt smile.

"Welcome back," she said welcoming him and everyone else into their home.

Emma walked hesitantly into the house. The last time she entered the house was three years ago based off of a call from work for burglary. She felt it strange to be coming back to this place under different circumstances. Emma followed Gold into the living room. She waited for Neal to enter the same room and didn't sit down until she saw him sit first. Henry conveniently walked over to the same chair he sat in just months earlier and brought it closer to where his parents sat on the couch. Belle leaned against the door way frame and observed while Gold planted himself in front of the unlit fireplace.

"So what now?" Henry asked curiously, looking around the room at his quiet family. Everyone looked so stunned to be in the same room together that they found themselves speechless.

"Henry," Gold wondered, unsure how to broach the subject, "Hades was trying to make a deal with you. I didn't hear the whole conversation. What exactly did he say and what were the terms of that deal? "

"He was trying to find out Hercules' weakness. And just so we're clear," Henry said, raising his hands as if showing he had nothing to hide, "I never agreed to a deal! He claimed that reviving Dad was a gift to me for taking Hercules away from his world, but he did say that it was only temporary. He said that if I could tell him what Hercules weakness was by tomorrow that he would make dad's revival permanent."

"So, does Hercules have any weaknesses?" his grandfather asked.

Henry shook his head, 'no'. "…Not that I know of. He's a hero from his world, born of deities Zeus and Hera. According to the book, he only became mortal because of the potion Hades fed him as a newborn. He didn't drink every last drop, which is how he still has his god-like strength."

Belle turned to Gold, "Do you know anything about the kind of magic gods wield?"

"I know… that their brand of magic comes from a unique power source and is, therefore, different than my own; their magic comes from believers," Gold said pondering on the thought for a few moments. Gold believed that there had to be a way to keep his son, so he decided determinedly, "I need to go downstairs to my books and do more research. I'm going to check my notes and see if there's a way to prolong your life."

"Papa…" Neal said stopping his father from walking away to his research. "There's something not right about my being here. My sacrifice… for your life… my being here feels all wrong. I've felt it when Emma and Henry found me in the forest."

"What are you saying, Bae?"

"I'm saying that I don't think I'm meant to be here. That this deal, or whatever it is, is really just a cruel ploy into manipulating my son into doing something he shouldn't do. I'm saying that I've made my peace with this world already. And if Henry doesn't find Hercules' weakness, then it's ok. Please let me use this day as a gift and spend this little time I have with my family."

"Is that what you really want?" Gold said confused and pained. He came over to his son who was sitting at the couch. Neal reached out for his father's hand and grabbed it. He stood up from the couch and looked his father in the eye, conveying the seriousness of his wish, "It's what I want and it's what's right."

Gold nodded, understanding him. "Well, I'm not going to give up on you. I'm still going to do research on this. So please forgive your father for wanting to still protect you."

Neal nodded and smiled sadly, "I understand Papa."

As Gold let go of his son's hands, Belle came over and placed a loving hand on his shoulder, "Let's let Neal be with his family and talk." When Gold didn't respond, Belle looked over at Neal and offered, "If you are going to stay with us for one day, then the least we can do is have one family meal together. I'll, just um, go to the kitchen to get started. Rumple…"

Belle was cueing Gold to leave so that Neal could have a few private moments with Emma and Henry. When Rumple didn't move at her request she reasoned, "They're home. They're safe. It's going to be ok."

Gold gave one last glance at his son, to which Neal replied, "I am a bit hungry."

He then looked back at Belle and nodded, acknowledging her request. She reached for his hand which he took and they both walked to the kitchen. As soon as they entered the kitchen, Belle let go of his hand and began looking through their pantry for ideas on what to eat. He stood pensively with both hands on the counter staring at a particular spot on the stove. As Belle took notes of the items they had, she felt the need to mention to Gold a thought that had crossed her mind before Emma's life-changing text, "Before you go off to do research, I just wanted to let you know that we're going to have to eventually talk about you giving Henry magic lessons."

"What about it?"

"Like, why you never told me? I mean, I knew you and Henry were spending time together, understandably because of Neal, but I didn't know they were magic lessons."

"Yes, and?" said Gold, believing it to be no big deal.

"And… you never told me that you were teaching Henry magic and that has me concerned. All this secrecy. And then finding out that during the past seven months you've been traveling back home to practice magic… it's as if you are trying to separate me from your life of magic. And as much as you know how I don't like to use magic I'm not ignorant of its existence, especially with you. I just hope that, if you discover someday that our child is magical that you would tell me as soon as you do. Please don't keep that kind of information from me. Even if it is magic, I still want to be involved in her life as well as yours. Will you promise to include me in your lives?"

"Of course, sweetheart," he said coming closer to her. "I promise," he said, sealing the promise with a gentle kiss.

"Oh, and uh, I was wondering and have been meaning to ask you," she said opening up a cook book that was on the counter, "Will my ring work now that you used yours to bring Henry home? Otherwise we're going to have to find another place to hide your dagger."

"Your ring should still work. I just can't use mine again." He said smiling at her. She reciprocated the smile as she rubbed her belly. She returned to her book that was on the counter and resumed perusing through pages when he came up to her from behind and kissed her gently on her exposed neck.

"I'll just be downstairs reading."

"Ok."

Hey guys! Missed ya. Can't talk much. Just wanted to let you know that I got sick with the flu this past week and it totally sucked. Couldn't even think straight let alone write creatively. But I'm slowly getting better. So no worries. Talk to ya later. See you next chapter.