It was an awkward silence that the trio sat in. Even Henry didn't seem all that willing to talk at first as they sat in the lobby.

Dagian sat next to the boy on the small bench. Rumpelstiltskin paced the length of the room.

Their son was a few blocks away…Emma was chasing him. What if she lost him, what if…?

No, Dagian couldn't think about that. He would at least talk to them…once she made it clear that she owed Rumpelstiltskin a debt, he would try to talk to Rumpelstiltskin to absolve it. He wouldn't want Emma, an innocent woman, to suffer.

But he was a man now, and he had been forced into a land that he didn't understand after being abandoned by both parents at different times. Those things as well as others could've changed his young perspective on life. He might not care. He might refuse because he was too terrified of his father to see him again and they'd resume the chase.

Dagian wished that Rumpelstiltskin had brought the locator spell so that they could've done this themselves.

Henry's stomach growled next to her and Dagian looked over. How could that boy be hungry? He practically hogged the whole Cinnabon box the flight over.

"Rumpelstiltskin," Dagian started, "Why don't you get Henry a hot dog or something?"

"I want to be here," he muttered.

"There's a vender just down the street," she told him, he started to argue again but she took his hand, "A watched pot never boils."

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

"It's just down the street," Dagian said and lifted Lily out of the stroller they'd bought, "I'll be fine and she needs to eat."

Rumpelstiltskin hesitated but finally he relented and gestured for Henry to stand, "Do you want one?"

"Only if they look edible."

He squeezed her hand and reluctantly left with the boy. Dagian took a second and stared at her daughter and fought back tears. She couldn't cry now…Rumpelstiltskin would be back any minute. Bae could come through those doors at any second…and the first sight of his mother shouldn't be one of her tears.

What if he didn't come through those doors then?

What if this was all for nothing?

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The boy had eaten through an entire box of Cinnabons. How could be possibly be hungry?

Nevertheless, Rumpelstiltskin bought him a hot dog and purchased one for his ex-wife…it wasn't exactly the most…appetizing thing but she had to eat. He wasn't sure that she'd had anything all day. Well, she might've had breakfast at the Hatter's house –.

He turned his jealous thoughts away from that and focused on his own problem. He had known that Bae would most likely not wish to see him but that didn't change the hurt that he felt when Bae ran. Of course, Bae couldn't possibly know that it was him…Emma had lied when she hit the buzzer.

But how fast would Bae run when he knew the truth?

"Don't worry," Henry said, breaking him out of his thoughts, "Emma's really good at catching people."

"Well, my son's been running away for a long time now," Rumpelstiltskin explained, ever since he'd tracked him down to Neverland, Bae had always found a way to escape him, "Now I have a feeling he's equally adept at it."

"Well at least you found him, right?"

Oh, this child was so innocent. He still saw the world as black and white. It would be unfortunate when he had to look at the shades of grey, "Indeed."

"Oh and uh…thanks for the hot dog. I forgot."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled to himself, "You're quite welcome. And thank you."

The boy looked up at him, "For what?"

Rumpelstiltskin knew that he probably didn't get compliments like this a lot in his eleven years of living. Emma may have started since she came back but Regina never bothered to recognize the remarkable child she had. She was too busy trying to stamp out any originality he showed. So, Rumpelstiltskin threw him a bone, "Well, if it wasn't for you bringing Emma to Storybrooke, none of this would have come to pass. You….are a remarkable young man."

Henry looked touched and struggled to think of a compliment to instill about someone like a dark one, "You know…I forgave her. Emma- for giving me up. She thought it was best for me then. That's why she did it. I'm sure your son will get it, too."

Except Henry didn't know that letting Bae go was not the best for anyone. It had led to his insanity, multiple lives being destroyed and the destruction of his marriage after both had worked so hard to try and start to rebuild. If he'd known then what he knew now…things would've been entirely different. He would've risked being powerless and weak if it meant having his family intact, "Alas, the circumstances surrounding our separation weren't so noble."

And then Henry, being the optimistic child looked up at him, "But….you're here now. And you want him back, right?"

"More than anything."

Henry looked satisfied with himself, "Then, that's all that matters."

But it wasn't, and Rumpelstiltskin knew that it would never be. He could show up at a thousand different places where Bae was at and it wouldn't matter. What truly mattered was how much Rumpelstiltskin would be willing to change to get his son back.

And that was what terrified Rumpelstiltskin in more ways than he could express.

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When they got back, Dagian was pacing as well as she could with Lily in her arms. The baby had eaten and was beginning to drift off to sleep. Rumpelstiltskin was surprised she'd stayed awake this long, the fear from the plane ride must've exhausted her.

They were taking a car on the way back.

"She's fighting it," Dagian said, "She wants to sleep but she's being stubborn."

"Dagian," Rumpelstiltskin saw that her eyes were a bit red. Like she'd nearly started crying, "Let me."

He took Lily and gave Dagian her lunch. She didn't look all that thrilled at the shape of it…but alas nothing could be like Storybrooke's homemade food. She ate it anyway.

Lily stared up at him with bleary eyes. He smiled down and brushed a hand down her cheek. It would be alright…they'd find her brother…

He put part of the shawl over Lily's face to block out the overhead light. He let Lily's hand close on his finger and he rubbed her hand with his thumb while they waited.

Waiting was the worst.

"Why are you two so nervous?" Henry asked, "When I found my mom, I was excited."

"It's a lot…more complicated than what you had, Henry," Dagian whispered

Henry looked confused, so Rumpelstiltskin explained further, "We have the benefit of a little more…life experience. We know that things don't always happen the way we want them to."

He stared up at his ex-wife who averted her gaze.

"But in my book…," Henry prattled on obliviously to the two adults who still wished that things had worked out better for the other, "It says that you can see the future. Why can't you just look and see what's going to happen?"

"Well," he started, "That ability is complicated. I didn't always have it and when I did….well….it's not the gift one can expect. Seeing the inevitable can be a terrible price."

He'd seen so many people die…because of him and because of circumstances they'd never be able to fight…

"But you wouldn't have to worry about stuff. You'd just know."

If only it were that simple, if only his abilities had come as freely and easily as they did in one of this world's stories, "But that's the great trap. The future is like a puzzle…with missing pieces. Difficult to read and never never what you think."

He looked at his ex-wife. He'd known from a vision that she would leave him again when she was Dawn. But his vision had never told him about Lily. If it had then he would've never harmed her the way he had. If he'd known that he'd be able to produce a daughter, he would've let Dagian have her memories. He would've made sure the baby was conceived out of love and things might be different. He wasn't sure how Belle would've fit into it all. If things HAD been different, it would've been Dagian out there with him…and what would've happened to Belle might've happened to her. Therefore, he would've lost Bae's mother and a very important piece to this mission in getting him back

Maybe there would've been a vision of Lily there; He tried not to summon any vision that had to do with his wife at the time. Her betrayal when she'd taken the sleeping potion had hurt too much and he'd just let his hate override his sense.

They door opened and they all looked up expectantly. Emma came in, "Hey…."

No one else followed. Dagian looked as panicked as he did. Well…maybe he was outside…maybe he was summoning the courage to see them, "Did you find him?"

Emma put her hands in her pockets, "Your son, he….he got away."

A moment of silence passed. It'd all been for nothing…

Dagian drew in a sharp breath

And Rumpelstiltskin struggled to hold himself up and his emotions together as he knew that inside, he was screaming.