Neal and Henry walked into the diner, Henry with a beaming smile as he looked over his shoulder as if to make sure Neal was still there. Neal smiled down at his son and that was good enough for Henry. The near eleven year old practically skipped over to the usual table he shared with Emma and slid into one side of the booth. Neal chuckled as he finally caught up to Henry and slid into the other side.

Although he was thrilled, Neal also found himself to be just a little nervous. This was his first real meal alone with his son. He'd spent the whole day with Henry yesterday but Snow was around and Henry had absolutely no idea he was his father. And now he did, and now they were alone save for the few other people in the diner.

And unbeknownst to him, as he stared at the grinning child across from him, that Henry was just as nervous.

Both were so nervous in fact that while both of them did want to talk to one another, neither of them knew where to begin.

Neal could see that Ruby was still tending a few tables away so it'd be at least a minute before she came over. And there was no way he was going to just sit in silence with his son and do nothing.

Neal cleared his throat to break the slight tension in the air and leaned his arms on the table as he addressed Henry. "So...how's school?"

Henry's eyes twitched at the mention of school but he was too happy that his father was engaging with him to really care too much about the topic. "It's pretty good. Did you know my grandma is my teacher?"

Neal raised his brow. "I did not know that."

Henry nodded. "Yeah, during the curse she was Ms. Blanchard."

Neal's brow furrowed. "Wait a minute...is this the same teacher you stole from?" At Henry's sheepish smile, he snorted. "You stole from your grandmother? Oh kid, that's rich."

"I knew she'd understand." Henry said quietly. "She was Snow White after all. And according to the book, she stole too."

"Snow White as a thief?" Neal asked skeptically.

"She only stole from my mom." Henry explained and at Neal's look of confusion, elaborated further. "My adopted mom, Regina. She was the queen and she was trying to kill Snow White so Snow would steal from her carriages. But one day she robbed a carriage that was not the queen's on accident and thats how she met grandpa."

Neal narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and soon a small smile tugged at his lips. "Let me get this straight, Snow White was a thief who robbed a carriage that your grandfather was in and thats how they met and fell in love?"

Henry nodded with a smile. "That's right."

Neal let out a small laugh and shook his head slightly. The similarities between the stories of Emma's parents meeting and how he and Emma met were eerily similar. Not to mention the fact that Snow had been a thief, Emma had been a thief, he had been a thief and they had all passed that trait down to Henry.

"What?" Henry cocked his head at Neal's odd reaction.

"Nothing...its just..." He pursed his lips as he stared across the way to Henry's expressive and curious eyes. Henry had heard the truth already of what he had been, what they had been, a little more couldn't hurt. "Did your mom tell you how we first met?"

Henry's eyes lit up and he shook his head, eager to hear the story of his own parents.

"Well," Neal smiled as he drifted back to a time when, for once, everything was alright, "I was resting in the back seat of a car, a car that I will admit I stole, when all of a sudden I heard someone trying to break in. I open my eyes and I see this young blonde woman through the window-" Henry visibly lights up at the mention of his mother "- She gets the car door open and gets in and used a pick to start the car. She starts to drive away and she thinks she got away with it except she didn't realize I was in the back seat."

"What happened?" Henry asked, his eyes wide as he leaned across the table.

"Well I sat up and told her she could have just asked for the keys. She jumped, scared out of her poor little head." He chuckled at Henry's expression. "She was very calm actually. I told her my name, she eventually told me hers. She blew a stop sign and I conned my way out of trouble with the police. If the officer had asked for registration we both would have been screwed."

"Because it wasn't either of yours car." Henry said.

"Right. And after that little bonding experience where I totally saved her, she agreed to getting drinks with me and...we never spent a day apart after that." Until I left, a little voice chimed in his head.

But Henry didn't bring it up, so he wouldn't either. Henry was staring at him in awe, a happy smile on his face, thrilled to know that much more about his parents. It only took a few seconds more for realization to dawn on him and he gasped, his eyes widening. "My mom robbed your car just like Snow robbed my grandpa's carriage!"

Neal laughed softly as he nodded. "Yep. Like mother like daughter." The way Henry was happily smiling at him, Neal couldn't deny him another little gem of information. "And you know what else?"

"What?" Henry asked eagerly.

"That car? It's still Emma's car." Henry's eyes widened as he gaped at his father.

"The yellow bug?"

"The yellow bug." Neal confirmed with a smile.

"Wow." Henry whispered as he sat back in his seat and Neal chuckled.

"I know. I was surprised that she kept it all this time."

Henry looked up at him with a flicker of hope in his eyes. He may only be ten years old but he's been around enough true love to recognize it when he sees it. And it may be just the wishful thinking of a boy but even though his mom was still mad at Neal, if she kept the car that might mean she still loves him. And Henry knew by the way that Neal talked about Emma that he still loved her. If Henry was very lucky, his parents may have a chance.

Before this conversation could go any further, Ruby approached the table with two menus and laid them out in front of them with a smile. "Hello Henry." She greeted sweetly and then turned to Neal with a smirk. "And good to see you again Neal, this time actually sober."

Neal scoffed lightly and looked down for a second. "Yeah I'm sorry about that."

Ruby waved it off with a laugh. "Don't worry about it. So," She took the notepad out of her apron, "What can I get you boys to drink?"

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake." Henry answered.

"Make that two." Neal said, sharing a smile with Henry.

"Alright, will do." Ruby nodded as she scribbled down the order. "Do you know what you want to eat or do you need a minute?"

Neal looked over at Henry inquisitively and Henry looked back hesitantly and Neal smiled. "Order whatever you want, kid."

A small smirk tugged at Henry's lips. "Can I have ice cream?"

Neal gave him a look. "What do you think?"

"No." Henry sighed dejectedly and Neal laughed.

"No is right. Actual dinners, Henry."

Henry made a face and scanned the menu and then closed it and looked at Ruby. "I'll just have a grilled cheese."

Ruby smiled, writing it down. "One grilled cheese for the little man. Neal?"

"Uh..." Neal flipped through the menu, biting his lip softly. Then he shrugged and closed the menu. "I'll have the classic hamburger."

"Good choice." Ruby grinned as she took the menus from them. "Its the best burger in Maine and I'm not just saying that because none of us have ever been anywhere else." She winked and the three shared a chuckle. "Your food will be right out."

"Thanks Ruby."

She nodded to them with a smile and went to the kitchen to drop off the orders.

Another brief silence fell over them though this time just a little less awkward. The tension had been broken and the two were slightly more comfortable around each other.

But as Neal watched Henry he realized he knew almost nothing about his son. Emma had told him some things but he still felt like a stranger and not his father.

"Hey kid." Neal broke the silence and Henry looked up, his eyes lighting up at the affectionate name. "Did you ever play 20 questions?"

Henry furrowed his brow and shook his head. "No. What is it?"

"It's a little something people do to get to know each other better. I feel like I know nothing about you kid, and I want to."

A smile lit up Henry's face. "You do?"

"Of course." Neal smiled and swallowed softly, his voice growing a little bit quieter and more hesitant. "You're my son, what kind of father would I be if I didn't want to know you?"

Henry swallowed and the deep emotions returned to his eyes. "I want to know you too."

"Great." Neal grinned. "Okay, so here's how it goes. I'm going to ask you a question and you have to answer it. Then I'll answer it and you ask me a different question. And we keep asking each other questions until we've asked 20 questions."

Henry mulled over Neal's instructions in his head for a few seconds and then smiled as he nodded. "Okay, I got it!"

"Alright." Neal cleared his throat. "First question. What is your favorite color?"

Henry brightened at the easy question and didn't even have to think about it. "Blue!"

Neal nodded and smiled along with him, happy Henry was so eager to play along. "Blue is a nice color. One of my favorites too but my favorite color is yellow."

"Yellow?" Henry questioned and then his eyes widened in realization. "Like Emma's car."

"Exactly like Emma's car."

Henry grinned at him. "So its my turn now?" Neal nodded and Henry pursed his lips in thought for a moment before turning back to Neal.

"What's your favorite superhero?"

Neal had to laugh at the very ten year old boyish question. "You're into superheroes huh?"

Henry nodded. "I love them!"

"Yeah? So who's your favorite?"

Henry narrowed his eyes. "Hey, you have to answer first Neal."

"Right, sorry." Neal raised his hands and then chuckled to himself. He lowered his hands back to the table and let out a breath as he thought about it. The only time he really read comic books was those first few years he was in the foster system and the collection really wasn't that extensive. There were a few different options but he remembered one in particular stood out.

"Superman." He finally answered.

"Superman's cool!" Henry nodded. "Why is he your favorite?"

Neal was about to point out that that technically was another question but he didn't want to stop this conversation.

"Well," Neal let out a breath, "I...felt like I could relate to him. I'm not an alien from another planet but I did come to this world all alone."

Henry blinked in confusion for a moment and then he remembered and he frowned. "Because you're Baelfire and you came from a land with magic."

Neal was beginning to realize the more he heard that name, the less it stung especially coming from Henry. If there was anyone he felt comfortable enough to talk about his past with it was Henry.

Still the subject was sore and he smiled sadly. "Yeah. It was a strange, new world for me and reading about Superman, who was new to Earth too, helped me feel a little bit better."

Henry chewed on his lower lip for a long moment and then hesitantly rose out of his seat to reach across the table and place his hand over Neal's and he met his eyes.

Neal felt his heart swell at the comforting gesture from his son and he squeezed the boy's hand gently, his smile turning a little brighter.

Henry smiled back and stayed there for another few seconds and then he returned back to his seat.

Neal cleared his throat to rid of the thickness that he suddenly felt and shook off all thoughts of the past, returning to the present with Henry. "Alright, I answered. Now you. Who's your favorite superhero?"

Asking a ten year old that question was probably like asking a parent which child they liked best but it was part of the game. Henry thought about it for long moment and then came to an answer.

"The Incredible Hulk."

Neal lifted his brow, simply stunned by his answer. He would have thought Henry would have said Spiderman or Batman but to go with a lesser known superhero and even one who some might argue, isn't even a superhero due to his destructive nature.

"The Hulk, why?"

"Why not?" Henry shrugged. "Bruce Banner is really smart and yeah when he gets really angry he becomes the hulk and destroys things but I think thats cool and maybe if people would stop shooting at him he wouldn't be such a bad guy."

Neal was absolutely floored. Was there no limit to the cleverness of this kid? If he could see the good in the hulk it was no wonder he could see the good in him.

"Wow. Henry, that is...that is a great answer."

"Thank you." Henry beamed. "Okay, next question."

That continued on all through the meal, Henry and Neal sending questions back and forth and they were both delighted to find out they had a lot in common. They shared laughs over the common things, even laughs over the answers they thought were a little silly. But by the time they had finished their meals, all nerves had almost completely gone and they knew each other that much better.

"Alright," Neal stated, their plates pushed aside, picked clean and just their chocolate milkshakes in front of them. "One last question and its your turn."

Henry suddenly grew very quiet and took a sip of his shake, staring down at the table.

Neal's smile faded and he lowered his head to get down to Henry's eye level. "What's the matter, kid? Can't think of another question?"

"No...that's not it." He muttered and fingered his napkin on the table.

"Henry, you can ask me anything, you know that, right?"

Henry nodded quietly and visibly swallowed before looking up at him hesitantly. "I was just wondering..." He trailed off.

Neal gave him a small smile and an encouraging nod.

Henry inhaled then exhaled sharply as he looked into his eyes. "Can I...can I call you Dad?"

Neal almost chocked on the air that suddenly got caught in his throat and he stared at Henry wide-eyed. Of all the questions he might have been expecting, something maybe about his past as Baelfire, he was certainly not expecting that. After he regained control of his voice, he asked shakily. "Do you want to call me Dad?"

Henry nodded silently, keeping his eyes on him.

Neal let out a breath. Henry calling him by that name would only cement the fact that he was indeed a father to this remarkable young boy. And though the thought scared him he realized there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

A warm, genuine smile crossed Neal's lips and he reached over to grab Henry's hand, instantly stopping his nervous fidgeting. "Yeah kid, you can call me Dad."

Henry stared at him for a long second and then a bright smile lit up his face. Father and son, now reeling because of this new development in their relationship, continued just to grin at each other.

Regina Mills was going just a little bit stir crazy. It had been a couple weeks since Emma and Snow's return and though the town had loosened up a little bit due to the fact that she did save their lives by reopening the portal, she still got nasty looks whenever she walked outside of her house. In the past it wouldn't have bothered her but since her decision to change her heart, change her way of life, it did indeed bother her.

But she had been kept up in that house for too long and she was getting sick and tired of cooking for herself. Regina needed a break and she decided she'd suck it up and go down to Granny's and if she'd have to eat by herself, she'd do it.

Just as she suspected as she drove down the street, the townspeople sent the familiar black car either wary or dirty looks. It was true she had magic but she hadn't used it, at least not since...

She was doing more than enough to prove that she was changing, she thought. Leaving them alone and not trying to destroy everyone's life was a good first step.

She ignored them this time, fully concentrating on getting to Granny's and for once not having to cook for herself.

She pulled into one of the furthest parking spaces at Granny's and sat in her car for a few minutes. Then she reminded herself that she was Regina and all the confidence she'd gained through her years as queen would have to pay off now.

Regina stepped out of the car and held her head high as she walked toward the entrance. She tried to not look through the windows just incase someone decided to look back but she couldn't help but catch the sight of one particular booth.

She froze on the sidewalk and slowly turned her head to see her son sitting with a man that she did not recognize. They were smiling at each other and talking, oblivious to her standing right outside and staring at them. She frowned heavily. It was true, Henry had taken to living with Emma and the two idiots but she still saw herself as Henry's mother and she did not take well to seeing her little boy with someone she didn't know.

She huffed and continued her way into the diner, ignoring the stares from everybody as she marched right over to the table.

"What the hell is going on?"

Henry looked up and his smile fell slightly, his eyes widening as he saw her. Neal watched Henry's face as he looked up at the woman, he noticed fear in his eyes but also something more, something like adoration. It was an odd combination and Neal wondered who this woman could be.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

Looking at the dark haired woman who was certainly not Emma, Neal realized this must have been Henry's adopted mother. Grateful to the woman who raised Henry for his whole life, Neal smiled at her. "You must be Regina."

Regina turned her hard stare on him. "You seem to know who I am but I have no idea who you are."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Neal turned to face her and flashed a charming smile. "I'm Neal."

"He's my dad." Henry offered a bit hesitantly and Regina's eyes widened and she crossed her arms.

"You are Henry's father?" Neal nodded, a slightly proud smile on his lips. "I was told you were out of the picture."

"I was." Neal admitted sheepishly. "Not of my own choice but I'm here now."

"Yes..." Regina eyed him carefully. "What does bring you Storybrooke?"

Neal tensed. He didn't exactly feel comfortable with telling this stranger who he was and he was a bit surprised that she didn't know.

But once again, Henry was the one to speak up. "Mr. Gold sent Emma to find him."

"Gold?" Regina turned to Henry in surprise. "Why would Gold care..." And then she froze with horror as she suddenly remembered the talk of the town. Emma had bent sent out to find Gold's son, Emma returned with Gold's son. Slowly she turned back to look at Neal and Neal suddenly very uncomfortable under her stare.

"You are Gold's son?"

"Afraid so." Neal muttered bitterly and Regina's eyes darkened and she clenched her jaw.

"You're his son...and you're Henry's father?" Regina scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me." She kept her glare on Neal a moment longer, her lip twitching and then she growled and turned on her heel, walking briskly out of the diner.

Neal blinked, looking over his shoulder to watch her go and then turned back to Henry, raising his brow.

"She seems nice."

Regina forgot all about her car, forgot all about the dinner she was supposed to be having, she was so livid she walked all the way down to Gold's shop.

The door said closed but she knew he was in there and with a quick flick of her wrist the locked door swung open with a crack.

She stormed into the shop. "Gold!"

A more than calm Mr. Gold walked out from his back room. "Do be careful with that door, dearie. It is an antique."

Ignoring his snide comment she stormed over to the counter and slammed her hands down, focusing a glare on him. "You bastard."

"It's nice to see you too, Regina." He answered swiftly.

Regina scoffed and shook her head. "You knew the whole time didn't you?"

"Knew what exactly?"

"About Henry." Regina hissed.

Gold gave her a side eye. "What about Henry?"

Regina narrowed her eyes into angry slits. "Do not play dumb with me Gold, I am not in the mood for your games."

"I assure you, I am not playing and I have no idea as to what you are referring."

"Oh for God's sake. Your son is in town."

For a brief second Gold's serious facade faltered but he quickly put it back up and raised his brow. "Yes he is."

"And you expect me to believe that you had absolutely no idea that your son is the father to my son?"

Gold stared at her silently, the information processing and then he nodded to himself. "Ah, yes. Well that does make sense."

"What?" Regina snapped.

Gold sighed heavily. "Not that it is any of your concern, Regina, but Bae explained he had a past relationship with Miss Swan. I did not know Henry was their child."

Regina shook her head. "You are such a liar."

He let out a little bit of an unamused laugh. "I assure you Regina if I had known Henry was my grandson I would not have given him to you."

Regina let out a slight gasp and glared at him, whipping her hands off the counter as if she'd been burned. She shifted her jacket and turned slightly away from him. "Don't you dare go near him." She warned.

"I wouldn't dare hurt him." Gold replied, his tone light but he knew the honesty in his own words. "He is, after all, family."

Regina narrowed her eyes, sending him daggers but he matched her stare with a calm, if smug, expression and once again she turned on her heel and practically flew out of the shop, the door slamming behind her.

Gold watched her go, a small smirk playing on his lips. Then as soon as he was sure she was gone, he let the smirk drop and he looked down at the ground, shaking his head slowly and sighed, "Oh, my boy."

Emma waited by the clock for hours. It wasn't that she didn't trust Neal, although part of her didn't. It was mostly that she didn't know how Henry was doing. Were he and Neal getting along? Were they fighting? Why had he been gone so long?

It was nearing seven o'clock and Snow was in the kitchen making their dinner and casting a concerned look over to her daughter every once in a while.

"You know..." Her mother's sweet voice brought Emma out of her thoughts. "Staring at that clock isn't going to make him come home any faster."

Emma groaned and finally looked away, resting her head against the table. "I know. I just can't help but worry, you know?"

"Yeah." Snow said quietly. "I know." She left her place at the stove and walked over to take the seat across from her. "But Henry is okay. He's a strong kid."

"It's just..." Emma lifted her head. "When I first learned the truth about you I almost ran away from it. Henry is running toward it, like he always seems to do, run head first into everything. I just don't want him to get hurt if Neal isn't ready to be a father."

"Emma." Snow reached over and grabbed her daughter's hand, smiling warmly. "You weren't ready for it either but look how fast you adjusted to it. I saw them yesterday and you know you did too. Neal adores him and the same goes for Henry." She gave her hand a light squeeze. "Don't worry too much about them."

Emma scoffed lightly. "I don't worry about Neal. It's Henry I'm worried about."

"I'm sure they'll be home at any-" Snow was cut off by the sound of Henry's distant voice in the hallway. Emma lifted her head and turned to look at the door, listening. She couldn't hear what he was saying but he sounded happy.

Snow smiled. "See."

Emma looked back at her mother, giving her look before walking over to the door. She could hear two sets of footsteps walking up the stairs, Henry's voice growing louder and she could even hear Neal's voice.

Emma pulled the door open once she heard they were right outside and looked on eagerly. Henry and Neal were both smiling and even laughing as they stood outside the door.

"Hey Mom!" Henry greeted happily.

"Hey Henry." She smiled softly at him and looked up, meeting eyes with Neal. He smiled at her, giving her a curt nod and then reaching over to rub Henry's shoulder gently.

"Alright kid, you behave for your mom, okay?"

Henry rolled his eyes slightly. "I'm always good."

Neal chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Sure you are."

Henry scrunched up his face but then smiled up at him. "I had fun today. Can we do it again soon?"

"Anytime you want, I'm yours." He gently squeezed his shoulder and winked and Henry grinned. Henry then reached out and tightly hugged Neal's waist and looked up at him, his eyes twinkling happily. "Goodnight Dad."

The strange, new word still sent his heart racing and Neal knew it would take time to get used to. "Goodnight, Henry." He rubbed his back affectionately and Henry smiled once more before racing off into the apartment.

Neal watched him go and then looked up to see Emma staring at him in shock.

"What?" He asked.

Emma shook her head quickly. "You...he called you dad."

Neal smiled widely and shrugged. "He asked me if he could, I said yes."

Emma let out a breath. "It's not weird?"

"Oh its weird." Neal said. "But it's a good weird...I like it."

Emma sighed and nodded, letting a small smile cross her lips. "I think he likes it too."

Neal chuckled softly. "Yeah, something tells me he does."

Emma shook her head lightly as she looked down, crossing her arms over her chest. "Thank you."

"For what?"

Emma licked her lips and then looked back up at him. "For being that for him." She sniffed and looked away awkwardly. "I just hope you stay...for his sake."

"Emma." He took a step toward her and her eyes widened at the serious tone in his voice. "I'm never leaving again. I promise."

Emma swallowed thickly as she looked into his eyes and then nodded, her lips twitching. "Goodnight Neal." She whispered.

"Goodnight Emma." He whispered back and she looked away before closing the door. Emma let out a deep breath, closing her eyes as she leaned back up against the door.

What was she doing? She was letting Neal back into her life, letting him back into her heart. And it was not going to end well.

"Emma?" Snow's voice called from the kitchen. "Can you come help me for a second?"

Emma sighed heavily, collected herself and pushed off the door, walking into the kitchen.