A/N: Thank you for all the sweet reviews everyone!

To the guest who asked the questions:

One: Gold has not realized yet that Neal is Henry's father. Neal gave no timeline as to when he knew Emma though Gold may have an inkling that he is.

Two: You'll have to read and find out ;) But Henry and Neal bonding will be coming soon whether its in this chapter or not.

Neal wasn't sure where he was going. He had only been in this town for a couple hours at most but honestly, all sense of time was lost on him the moment he entered Storybrooke.

He roamed the streets, keeping his eyes focused on the ground only occasionally looking around him to find someplace to go. But every time he did, he met the stares of the people around him and that only made him more angry and more uncomfortable than he already was.

A weight had been lifted off his shoulders now that the inevitable reunion with his father was over but another weight had been placed for the same reason. He now knew his father was in the same town and might eventually come looking for him again. There was no place to escape or hide unless he left Storybrooke all together but something was preventing him from doing so.

He walked in the streets to avoid contact with anyone on the sidewalks and besides, there were barely any cars on the road anyway. It was such a small town, everyone could walk to their destination with little to no problem.

It was such a small town in fact that he soon found himself in front of Granny's Diner, the one place besides Rumplestiltskin's house that he actually recognized.

The alcohol Emma had given him was now completely out of his system. The adrenaline coursing through his veins during his entire visit with his father completely flushed it out. And he realized he needed it now more than he did before.

So he stepped into the diner and was relieved that it was nearly empty. He didn't need to face more stares. Emma's parents and Henry were also gone and that took another weight off his shoulders. As much as he did want to get to know his son, now was definitely not the time. And facing Emma's parents didn't seem like a thrill either.

He trudged toward the counter and took a seat at one of the stools. The young woman from before smiled at him as she tended to the few other customers. What was her name? Ruthy?

When she didn't approach him after a few moments, doing her job as not only the bartender but the waitress, he threw his arms up on the counter and buried his head there, closing his eyes tightly.

If he couldn't have alcohol for the time being then trying to forget the world would have to do. But no matter how hard he tried to concentrate on nothing, his father's face, his father's words kept circulating in his head.

He subconsciously let out a groan and buried his head deeper into his arms, gripping lightly at his hair.

Then he felt a light touch on his arm and he lifted his head, startled. The woman was standing in front of him, her eyebrows furrowed in concern but a small smile on her lips. "Are you alright?"

"No." He muttered with a sigh and she frowned before moving over to the bar. She pulled out a full bottle and grabbed a clean glass and walked back over to him. She set both down in front of him, opened the bottle and with a smile, pushed it toward him.

He straightened up in surprise, looking at the bottle and then to her.

"It's on the house." She told him and he blinked at her and she laughed, nodding toward the bottle. "Seriously, don't worry about it. You look like you need it."

He allowed a slight twitch of his lips in gratitude and wrapped his hand around the bottle, pulling it close to him. "Thanks."

She nodded with a smile and then returned to her other customers.

Neal considered drinking straight out of the bottle but even as down as he was, he was more classy than that. So he reached for the glass she had set out for him, filled it near to the brim and then downed it in one go.

He let out a sigh as the alcohol burned through his veins and he could already feel the tension slipping away from his body.

He took it a little bit slower after that, nursing his glass and taking a few sips at a time. He observed the small little diner quietly, eyeing anyone who came in the door to see if maybe he'd recognize them. So far he hadn't but he figured it had been a very long time since he had been in that world.

It was a little later when the diner was almost completely empty except for a couple of people enjoying their meals, his bottle was a little more than half empty and the effects were already beginning to take a hold of him. He normally held his liquor pretty well and could take several drinks before feeling the buzz but he wanted it to this time, so he let it.

The woman from before didn't have much to do at the moment so she was leaning against the counter across from him and eyeing him curiously. "What's your name?" She asked suddenly.

His brow furrowed as he looked at her, feeling a momentary lack of knowledge. Surely he wasn't that drunk that he couldn't remember his own name.

"Neal." He finally supplied and with his free hand, reached out to her. So far she was the only person who didn't give him any sort of judgmental look so he had to extend his courtesy.

She smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "I'm Ruby."

Ruby, yes that was the name Emma called her.

"Well thank you again, Ruby for this." He lifted his glass. "I can pay for it though."

Ruby shook her head. "There's no need, really. Consider it a welcome gift."

Neal's lips curled into a half smile and he tilted the glass toward her. "Cheers." He downed the rest of what was in his glass and immediately went to pour more.

"So," Neal let out a breath and put his glass down after another long swig, "You're not going to ask what happened?"

Ruby shrugged. "I figured you didn't want to talk about it."

"You're right, I don't."

"So I didn't ask." She smiled at him warmly and he returned it.

"I thought you'd be curious, like everyone else seems to be in this town."

Ruby shook her head. "I know what its like to be misjudged by something you can't control." She tilted her head. "You may be his son, but you're nothing like him."

Neal blinked at her in surprise. Here was this woman who barely knew him but still didn't take his biology into consideration, only saw the person that he was. "Who are you? From that world, I mean. If you don't mind me asking."

Ruby smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. They call me Red."

Neal's brow creased in thought. He was wracking his brain of all the fairytale he'd read and the only one that popped into his head was: "Little red riding hood?"

Ruby smirked and let out a breath of laughter. "Yeah, but I'm not exactly the fairytale you remember."

Neal shrugged. "Who is?" Then the name of the diner hit him and he snorted. "Granny's Diner...I should have realized."

Ruby laughed with him. "Yeah, this town sure likes its cliches."

"I bet." He murmured, taking another drink.

She smiled at him. "Well it was nice talking to you, Neal. I do have to get back to work though."

"Sure, of course." He waved his hand and she nodded to him before leaving the counter to cater to her other customers.

Neal returned to his glass and smiled past another sip. If he was going to stay in this town at least he knew he had one friend.

Neal stayed until the sky had been dark for hours and there was no one left in the diner except for him and Ruby who was cleaning up and had closed the diner not too long ago.

She did everything she was supposed to, swept, cleaned the tables and finished the last of the dishes before coming back over to Neal.

Once again his head was buried in his arms and beside him his bottle was empty and his glass was just a quarter filled and Ruby shook her head, taking off her apron and placing it on the shelf below the counter. Then she came out from behind the counter and walked up to stand beside Neal, reaching out to gently nudge him awake.

"Neal." She shook his shoulders and he bolted upright, nearly falling off his stool in the process.

"I didn'doit thi'time officer, I swear!" Neal drunkenly slurred as Ruby reached out to steady him and she chuckled.

Neal blinked, getting his bearings and trying to see past his blurry vision. His head tilted back as he saw Ruby so close to him and then he smiled dopily. "Hey, I know you."

Ruby shook her head, trying to keep the smirk off her face. "Yeah, I know you too, Neal. You're in my diner, remember? You've been here for hours."

"Have I?" He mumbled, blinking in confusion and his head flopped to the side as he noticed the empty bottle and pointed to it. "Did I drink all of that?" He slurred.

"Yes you did." Ruby answered and patted his shoulder. "But don't worry, you needed it."

Neal frowned and nodded his head vigorously. "My father's a jackass."

"I know." She replied sympathetically and slipped her arm around his shoulder. "Come on, lets get you out of here. Do you have any place to stay?"

Neal's brow creased together and his lips pursed out, trying to coax his alcohol soaked brain into working order and he shifted, reaching into his pockets and pulling out a slip of paper and thrusting it toward her.

Ruby took it from him and read the address, her eyebrow lifting. "You're staying with Emma?"

The smile instantly returned to his face and he hummed quietly. "Emma."

"Oh boy." Ruby muttered and moved to wrap her arm around Neal. "Alright, let's get you to Emma."

With Ruby's help and just a few stumbles as he tried to stand on his feet, Neal made it out of the diner. Ruby had his arm around her shoulder and her arm around his back as she supported him, walking the distance from the diner to Snow's apartment.

When they reached the building and Ruby continued to help him up the stairs, Neal turned to her, wonder written in his eyes. "You're really strong."

She half smiled. "Well I am part wolf."

Neal let out a spluttering laugh. "Sure, and I'm part gorilla."

She cast him an amused look. "Well right now, you sure do look it."

Neal continued to drunken giggle all the way up the stairs and Ruby let out a sigh as she loosened her hold on him just enough to let her muscles relax and reach out to knock on the door. She really hoped Snow would not kill her for this.

A few seconds later the door opened and a little more than surprised Snow was standing there. Ruby smiled sheepishly as Snow eyed the obviously drunk man at her best friend's side.

"Red...?" Snow questioned.

"Blue!" Neal countered and both women ignored him.

Ruby sighed and sent her friend an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Snow but he said he was staying here. Is Emma around?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah, she just got home. I'll go get her." She shot Neal an unsure glance and then disappeared.

She returned about thirty seconds later with Emma in tow and the young blonde groaned at seeing the intoxicated Neal. "What the hell..."

Neal's head lifted at the sound of Emma's voice and he looked at her with a grin. "Emma...hey!"

Emma rolled her eyes and stepped forward to take him from Ruby. "Thanks Ruby." She dragged the incapacitated Neal into the apartment and Ruby smiled softly.

"You've got him from here?" Ruby asked.

Emma grunted as Neal leaned all his weight on her and she gently shoved him off, holding onto his arm to keep him steady. "Yeah, I got him."

Ruby nodded. "Alright, goodnight." She waved to mother and daughter and Snow and Emma bid her goodnight in return and then Snow closed the door.

As soon as the door was closed she turned and shot her daughter an exasperated look. Emma shrugged helplessly, "I don't know what he's doing here!"

Snow sighed quietly. "What are you going to do with him?"

Emma glanced sideways at Neal whose head was rested on her shoulder, looking like he could pass out at any second. "Well I can't just kick him out on the street. Just for tonight, he'll stay here."

Snow's nose crinkled but she didn't protest. Emma elbowed Neal in the side and he shot up, looking around wide eyed.

"Let's go, Neal." Emma said tensely, threading her arm through his and dragging him up the small flight of stairs to her bedroom. With a groan she helped him onto the bed and he sprawled himself out, his head instantly finding her pillow.

Emma frowned, placing her hands on her hips as she stared down at him, slowly shaking her head.

A few moments later the sound of quick footsteps sounded up the stairs and soon a wide-eyed Henry was at her side. He was already dressed in his PJ's, just getting ready to go to bed.

"Is he alright?" Henry wondered and Emma sighed, reaching out to wrap her arm around Henry's shoulder. "Yeah kid, he just drank too much."

Henry looked up at her, tilting his head. "Is he going to be sleeping here?"

"Unfortunately." Emma muttered, narrowing her eyes at Neal who had already started to snore.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Henry asked. Emma sighed again and walked to the other side of the room, gathering a few pillows and blankets in her arms and then walking back to Henry. "I guess its the couch for us tonight."

"Okay." Henry shrugged and turned to head down the stairs. Emma shook her head and followed after him, throwing the pillows and blankets onto the couch.

David frowned as he stepped out of the bathroom and saw his daughter and grandson setting up the couch. "What's going on?"

"We have an unexpected guest." Snow answered from the kitchen where she was heating up some water.

David looked from his wife back to his daughter, tilting his head in confusion.

"Look, its no big deal, alright?" Emma shot, putting one of the pillows at the end of the couch. "It's just for tonight, Neal needed a place to stay."

"Neal?" David asked, a mixture of surprise and a little bit of concern entering his tone. "Rumplestiltskin's son is staying here?"

Emma cast him a look. "It's just for one night, David. He's not going to do anything, believe me. He out like a rock."

"He drank too much." Henry announced and all three pairs of eyes turned to him, two of which in silent surprise and shock. At his grandparent's stare, Henry shrugged. "What? That's what Emma said."

Emma rolled her eyes and gently pushed Henry onto the couch. "Go to sleep kid."

Neal awoke feeling more than just a little disoriented. His head pounded and spun as he tried to lift his head and the light streaming in through the windows only made it worse. He groaned and covered his head with his hands, burying his face back into the pillow. He inhaled and an overwhelming, slightly familiar scent filled his nostrils.

Through the fogginess of his mind he was eventually able to recognize it as Emma's and he smiled to himself and snuggled into the pillow, allowing his muscles to relax.

"Hello."

Instantly his muscles tensed again at the unfamiliar voice. He slowly lifted his head to avoid the head rush that was no doubt going to happen and through slightly blurred vision spotted a brown haired boy standing next to the bed, smiling down at him.

He blinked a few times, waiting for his vision to clear and when it finally did, his eyes widened. He had only seen a picture and met him once but he would never forget his own son's face.

He quickly sat up, instantly regretting it and closing his eyes with a groan as his head spun. He buried his head in his hands for a long moment until it stopped and then he ran his fingers through his hair and ran his hands over his face, then dropping his hands to his lap and staring back at the grinning boy.

Neal narrowed his eyes slightly, eyeing Henry curiously. He wasn't sure how much the boy knew but he doubted Emma told him anything. "Henry, right?"

Henry nodded. "And you're Neal."

Neal's lips twitched slightly. "Yeah, that's me."

"So how do you know my mom?" Henry asked suddenly and Neal's eyes widened. What was he supposed to tell the boy? I'm your long lost father who abandoned both you and your mother, sending her to jail, leaving her on her own for ten years? Emma would probably kill him. Henry would probably hate him. No, he'd leave that information aside for now.

"We were friends." Neal answered simply. "A long time ago."

Henry nodded, seeming to be pleased with that answer but then his brow creased together in thought. "If you're Rumplestiltskin's son, did you know that Emma was the savior?"

Neal clenched his jaw tightly and his head seemed to hurt more at the memory he had tried to repress with all that alcohol. He didn't want to be reminded of his talk with his father, or that he was even related to Rumplestiltskin at all.

But this was his son. How could he deny him conversation?

"I did and I didn't." He finally answered and Henry cocked his head in confusion, the adorable way Emma always had and he found himself smiling.

"When I first met her I didn't know who she was." Neal went on. "But eventually I did."

"How?"

Neal pressed his lips together. As much as he did love talking to his son he didn't particularly like where the conversation was headed. He was not prepared to talk about August, to talk about how he left Emma, to talk about any of that.

"You ask a lot of questions, kid."

Henry's face grew sheepish and he pushed his shoulders up to his ears. "Sorry." He sighed and walked over to plop himself down beside Neal and Neal's heart leapt into his throat. "Emma says I'm too nosy."

Neal smirked and found himself inching closer to Henry. "That's not always a bad thing. You're just very curious. And maybe someday when we know each other a little better, I'll tell you the whole story."

Henry's face lit back up. "That'd be great!"

"Yeah?" Neal smiled and felt his heart swell at the sight of his son's smile. He never thought a child's smile could make him feel so whole. He couldn't wait for the day that Henry knew the whole truth, or at least knew he was his father.

Henry nodded eagerly and then hopped off the bed. "Oh!" He walked over to the nightstand beside the bed and Neal followed his motions. "My mom said these were for you...she said you'd need them."

A glass of water and two little pills sat on the wood and he smiled. Despite what Emma said, she did still care about him. "Thanks." He murmured and reached for them, popping them both into his mouth and washing them down with water although he wasn't sure if he even needed them anymore. The headache had started to lessen the more he talked to Henry.

"Where is your mom?" Neal asked after he placed the glass back down.

"She's at work." Henry replied. "But its sunday and she gets to leave early so she'll be home around dinner time."

Neal nodded gently and looked around the room. It was then he noticed that the whole apartment was eerily quiet and he looked back to Henry. "Are you here by yourself?"

Henry shot him a look. "I'm almost eleven. I can be by myself."

Eleven. He never thought an innocent number could hurt so much. He had missed eleven years of his son's life and those were years he'd never get back.

"Gramps is at work with mom." Henry continued. "And Grandma just went to the store, she'll be back soon."

Neal just nodded, staring back at Henry quietly.

He wondered what Henry's first steps were like, did he stumble and fall until he got it right or did he stand with no problem? What was his first word? What was he like on his first day of school? All these things and Neal never got to see them.

Henry's face twisted in confusion the longer Neal stared at him in complete silence. And Henry couldn't be sure, but he thought the older man almost looked sad.

Henry slowly walked toward him and hesitantly placed his hand on Neal's knee. "What's wrong?"

The question stirred Neal out of his wistful thoughts and smiled softly, shaking his head. "It's just my head." Which wasn't exactly a lie, whatever pain killer Emma had left out for him had not yet kicked in.

Henry didn't look convinced and Neal's smile grew slightly. Emma was right, he was very clever and very stubborn.

Feeling a little daring, Neal reached out to place his hand on Henry' shoulder, giving it a little reassuring squeeze. "Seriously, kid. It's just a headache."

"Alright..." He knew that tone of voice and knew Henry would not be letting it go for good.

Subconsciously, Neal felt his thumb brushing up affectionately over Henry's cheek and his eyes widened slightly once he realized what he was doing and he quickly pulled back, clearing his throat. "So, you got a shower around here?"

Henry nodded, apparently having not noticed Neal's unusual display of affection, just smiling as he took a few steps toward the stairs. "It's downstairs, I'll show you."

Neal's head spun once again as he rose quickly off the bed and pressed his palm against his forehead, closing his eyes until it stopped. Then he slowly followed Henry down the stairs and to the bathroom.

Henry pulled open a small closet next to the bathroom door and pulled out a towel for him and Neal smiled as he took it from him. "Thanks, kid."

Henry's brow twitched in an odd mixture of amusement and confusion.

"What?" Neal questioned, seeing his look.

"My mom calls me that." Henry shrugged. "She's the only one who does."

Neal smiled warmly. "Now two of us do, if you don't mind."

Henry shook his head, a grin splitting across his lips. "I don't care. I like it."

"Alright." Neal nodded. "Good."

Father and son continued to smile at each other before Neal realized why they had come down there in the first place. "Oh, ah, yeah...I'm just gonna-" He pointed to the bathroom and Henry smirked, one very similar to Emma's and nodded before walking off towards the couch.

Neal smiled to himself as he watched him go and then stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

It was about fifteen minutes later when he popped his head out the door, droplets of water dripping off his hair and onto his bare chest. "Uh, Henry?"

Henry looked up from where he was watching TV at the sound of Neal's voice. "Yeah?" He called back.

"Is there a black suitcase out there by any chance?"

Henry hopped off the couch and looked around the main floor and then shook his head as he turned back to Neal. "Nope."

"Great." Neal muttered.

"You don't have any clothes do you?"

Neal cleared his throat. "Afraid not."

Henry smirked again. "You could probably wear some of my grandpa's clothes. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Henry was already making his way over to the dresser in his grandparent's area.

Neal pressed his lips together, biting back a comment. There could be loads of reasons why grandpa Charming would not want him wearing his clothes but he was not about to stay in a towel until Emma got home.

Henry came running over and handed him some clothes and Neal smiled wryly muttering a thank you and then disappearing back into the bathroom.

A few minutes later he came out, frowning as he pulled at the shirt. It fit him pretty nicely and Emma would get a kick out of it, he was sure but he on the other hand, was not very happy with it.

He would not have taken prince Charming as the type to wear flannel.

Thank goodness Henry didn't see the amusement in it as he just smiled happily as Neal walked out and then returned to looking at the TV.

Neal grunted as he ran his fingers through his damp hair and walked over to stand behind the couch.

He jumped when the door suddenly opened and Snow walked in carrying a few bags full of groceries. She froze, her eyes widening at seeing Neal in her husband's clothes.

Neal swallowed and cast a half smile at the woman who, no doubt by the way she was looking at him, knew exactly who he was to Emma.

Snow shook her head quickly and put a hesitant but friendly smile on her lips as she walked into the apartment, closing the door behind her. "Good afternoon." She greeted sweetly.

Afternoon? Neal quickly stole a glance at the clock and frowned as he realized it was indeed afternoon.

"Hi Grandma!" Henry turned and waved over the couch.

"Good afternoon." He greeted back kindly and walked over to her quickly, observing that one of the bags was falling out of her arms. "Here, let me help you with that." He carefully took the bag out of her arms.

Their eyes met and she was giving him a look that clearly said: Don't try to suck up to me. But her eyes, green just like Emma's, also danced with amusement and she thanked him quietly and together they walked over to the kitchen, placing the bags down on the table.

"Did you sleep well?" Snow asked casually as she began to unpack the bags.

"Yes, very well." He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling slightly. "And uh, thank you for letting me stay. I know turning up like that was a bit rude."

Snow cast a slight smirk over her shoulder at him. "You should thank Emma." She said pointedly.

"I will." Neal nodded and Snow eyed him for a moment before continuing to unpack.

It grew awkwardly silent after that, the only sounds being the sound effects coming from the cartoon Henry was watching, his occasional burst of laughter and the sounds of Snow putting away the groceries.

Neal stood in the center of the room, his arms crossed lightly over his chest as he glanced back and forth between the television and Snow, who currently seemed to be ignoring him.

But finally after just a few more minutes of the painfully awkward silence, Snow turned to face him. "Are you hungry?"

Neal's shoulders loosened slightly as he smiled softly and nodded. "Starved."