I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while. Group projects and family issues have consumed my life for the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!
Chapter 6: Careful Who You Meet
Emma and Gold had gotten to NYC and began searching for his son right away. Gold didnt know exactly where Bae would be but he knew he was somewhere in the city. Emma was better at finding people so she had an idea of where to look. He would probably be in a rundown apartment building, renting under a pseudonym, not wanting to get caught or for someone to find him. They visited several different hotels and apartments before finding one that seemed to be the right one. Emma was looking at the names listed on the wall and found one with no name. She had a feeling this was the right apartment. A man walked through the front door. Gold turned to look to see it was and when the man saw who it was, he turned and began running. Gold realized that man was his son.
"That was him, Miss Swan! You need to go after him!" He yelled pointing towards the door.
"Ugh, why do they always have to run?!" She asked, not expecting a reply. She took off running down the block after this guy. She followed him as he cut down alleys and through traffic. She knew she was never going catch him this way, he was too fast. She would have to cut him off somewhere. The next ally he cut down, she didn't follow him. She went around the building and ran directly into him, knocking them both to the ground. When she looked up to see what Gold's son looked like, she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Neal?!" She said in disbelief.
"Emma, what are you doing here?" He asked as he got to his feet.
"No, you don't get to ask any questions. You need to answer them!" She said angrily, pointing at him as she stood up.
"Are you Gold's son?" She asked cautionly.
"Who's Gold?" He asked puzzled.
"Rumplestiltskin in your world…our world. Is he your father?" She asked again more assertive.
"Yes, he is." He replied, putting his head down.
"Did you know who I was when we met?" She asked, her voice rising.
"Emma, of course not! If I'd known I would've stayed away. I came to this world to get away from my dad, magic and…everything about that world." He said aggravated.
"So you were just using me." She said flatly.
"I wasn't using you. When we met I didn't know you were the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming or the Savior. I found all that out later. I don't even know who your parents are-just their names." He said reassuring her that what they had was real.
"And how do you know all of this?" She asked wondering who told him.
"When I went to sell the watches, I ran into your friend August. He knew who I was and he told me to stay away from you." He responded.
"I didn't even know him then. Why would you listen to him? I loved you! I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you!" She screamed.
"I was trying to help you!" He shouted back.
"By letting me go to jail?" She yelled.
"By getting you home, to your parents!" He replied.
Emma took a deep breath. "Are you telling me that us meeting was just a coincidence? How the hell did that happen if it wasn't in your plan or your father's?" She asked.
"He wanted you to break the curse and us being together could've stopped that. Maybe it was fate." He answered.
"You seriously believe that?" She asked, arching her eyebrows.
"There are very few pleasant times I remember of my father. He told me there are no coincidences. That everything happens for a reason and there's nothing we can really do about it. Maybe we met for a reason; maybe something good came from us being together." He said.
Emma didn't want to tell him about Henry. So she lied. "Nothing I can think of. Doesn't matter now, I'm over it… and you. Let's go!"
"Go where?" He asked with a confused look on his face.
"I made a deal with your father that I would bring you back to him."
"You made a deal with him? Why?!" He questioned with a worried look on his face.
"That's none of your concern." She replied.
"You don't have to uphold your end." He said.
"I know."
"Just tell him you couldn't keep up with me and you couldn't find me after that and you'll never have to see me again." He begged.
Henry was sitting in the field where he and Mandy first met. He was still waiting for her to arrive. Henry was nervous to ask her about Wendy. He spent all night thinking of how this scene would play out, none of them seemed to end pleasantly. He knew Tink said not to mention Wendy but he was just dying to know. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name being called.
"Henry!" Mandy shouted, running to his spot on the ground.
"Hey." He said when she got close enough.
"Hey, sorry I'm late." She said as she sat next to him on the ground. "Cubby got himself stuck in a tree trunk. We spent the last two hours trying to get him out."
Henry laughed. "Which Lost Boy is that again?"
"The rather plump one." She giggled.
"How did he get stuck in the first place?" He asked.
"They were playing hide-and-go seek. Cubby thought he could fit in the tree trunk." They both laughed at the image they got in their heads.
"So what did you need to talk about?" She questioned. He didn't want to start out with that question right away.
"I found out what your last name 'Vega' means." He said.
"Oh really?"
"Yea, it means 'Falling Star' but I don't know the significance of it. Do you?" He asked hoping she would know.
"I haven't gotten a clue, but I like the meaning. Maybe it's because I love stars?"
"I guess that's possible." He said looking down in his lap.
"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" She asked. A nervous look overtook Henry's face.
"Well, I wanted to ask you a few questions but I don't want you to get mad at me."
"What is it Henry?"
"What happened between you and Wendy? Tink said you really hated her and you almost killed her." The words just poured out of Henry's mouth.
"She told you about that?" She asked, her tone becoming angry.
"Don't blame her, I asked her to tell me but she wouldn't tell me everything." He said quickly not wanting to get Tink in trouble.
"I am not talking about this." She said angrily as she stood up and began walking back to the woods.
Henry got up as well. "Why won't you tell me?" He said grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him. With her free hand, she flicked her wrist, sending Henry flying backwards and hitting the ground hard. She lowered her hand and began walking towards Henry, who was still on the ground.
"She stole the one person I love!" She screamed. "This is none of your business Henry."
"But Wendy was such a nice girl in the movie." He replied.
"You need to forget everything you've learned from those movies. She ruined everything!" She yelled.
Flashback
Corinne was walking through the woods on her way to Oz and Wonderland. She had just left Snow and she couldn't stop thinking about what she had said earlier. 'You never have to do something if you don't want to.' She really didn't want to run these errands for Rumplestiltskin. She decided she would go back to Neverland and figure out her powers on her own. She flew back to Neverland without informing Rumple of her decision. When she finally made it back to Neverland, she decided she wanted to surprise Peter and the Lost Boys. She was getting closer to their 'house' when she heard unfamiliar voices. She hid behind a tree, peering out to see who these strangers were. She noticed two kids playing with the Lost Boys. They all seemed to be celebrating some sort of victory. Tink flew over and landed on her shoulder. Without taking her eyes off of the kids in front of her, she knew it was Tink and began asking her questions.
"Tink, who are those two boys" Corinne asked.
"Peter and I traveled to another world to look for his shadow. It was in their house." She replied.
"Why was it in their house in the first place?"
"I don't know. I think the girl had something to do with it."
"What girl?!" She asked with a surprised look on her face.
"Follow me!" Tink said before she flew off her shoulder.
Tink was heading towards the cave that Peter had taken the girl to; Corinne followed her. They noticed Peter and Wendy sitting on a rock talking. They flew closer to the rock so they could hear what was being said. They stayed hidden and listened intently.
"That was a lot of fun, but I don't wanna face Hook again." Wendy said.
"Don't worry! We can take him." He said reassuring her.
Wendy laughed. "I don't doubt it. I really like you Peter!' She said putting her hand in his.
"She better back off!" Corinne muttered which was only heard by Tink.
"I like you too Wendy!" Peter said.
"Not good!" whispered Tink.
Wendy leaned in, giving Peter a kiss. Peter was shocked by her action.
"Really not good!" Tink said.
"She needs to go! Corinne muttered.
Peter pushed Wendy back, breaking away from the kiss.
"Whoa. Wendy, I told you I'm with someone." He said.
"Well she's not here right now and I just got caught up in the moment. Sorry. " She said making up an excuse.
Corinne decided it was time to make her entrance. She wasn't going to let this girl come between her and Peter. She flew up behind the pair, followed by Tink.
"Hello Peter!" Corinne said from behind, almost making Wendy fall off the rock and into the water.
"I'm sorry dear; I didn't mean to frighten you." She said to Wendy when she noticed the girl jump.
"Corinne, what are you doing here?" Peter questioned.
"This is the girl you told me about?" Wendy asked pointing to Corinne.
"I thought you were learning about your powers." He said to Corinne, ignoring Wendy's question.
"I didn't like his teaching methods so I decided to come back. I see you already found someone to take my place." She said looking at Wendy.
"It's not like that. I like him as a friend, that's all." Wendy said quickly.
"It didn't look like that two minutes ago." She replied.
"How long were you eavesdropping?" Peter asked.
"Long enough." Corinne said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interfere." Wendy said hoping Corinne would believe her.
"I'm sure you didn't." She took a long pause before continuing with her thought. "We need to get back to the boys before they cause trouble or make a mess." She said before flying off with TInk.
"I don't think she likes me very much." Wendy said.
"Don't worry, she'll come around." He flashed her a warm smile before grabbing her hand to take flight.
Tink and Corinne arrived first. Corinne tried to make the boys wash up for dinner but they were ignoring her. Peter and Wendy arrived soon after.
"What's going on? Peter asked.
"They won't listen to me. This has never happened before." She said putting her hands on her hips. Wendy saw this as an opportunity to impress Peter. She knew they would listen to her.
"Alright boys. It's almost time for dinner, now go wash up!" They listened to her command.
"Yes mother!" They said in unison before scattering off to get ready for dinner. Wendy turned to the other three. "Isn't that cute? They call me mother!"
"This is ridiculous!" said Corinne as she brushed past Wendy. Tink followed.
"What did I do now?" Wendy asked frowning.
"Why don't you go help the boys and I'll find out what's up with Corinne." Peter suggested. "She is usually nice. I don't know what's gotten into her."
Wendy went to help the boys while Peter went to talk to Corinne. He made Tink leave them alone for a few minutes so they could talk in private.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked angrily.
"Nothing's wrong with me." She said flatly.
"Then why are you acting this way?" He questioned.
"Like what? I'm not acting any different than I normally would." She fired back.
"What happened to that nice girl I knew before she left Neverland? You changed when you found out you had magic!" He yelled.
"Well magic does change people, but I haven't been using it...that much." She yelled back.
"Well you need to be nicer to Wendy. She's just trying to be your friend." He said.
"I don't need another friend. Haven't you noticed that she has been all over you since I got back? She likes you…more than a friend. She is trying to steal you from me!" Corinne shouted.
"Do you hear yourself? You're making things up!" He screamed back.
"No, I'm not! I saw her kiss you!" She said angrily.
"Then you also saw me push her away!" He shot back. Corinne didn't know what to say. He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you, and only you. She won't change that!"
"I love you too, Peter" He leaned in to kiss her. "I will try to be nicer to Wendy" Saying that name left a bitter taste in her mouth. She didn't like this girl but she was going to try to be nice to her, for Peter. They walked back holding hands.
"I see you too made up." Tink said with a smile on her face. Wendy and her brothers couldn't understand what she was saying, they only heard little bells whenever she talked.
"Yes, we did." She said smiling at Peter. It was clear to Wendy that Peter and Corinne made up. She would have to figure something out to split them up, this time for good. She already had control over the boys, now all she had to do was get rid of Corinne. They finished eating dinner and Corinne approached Wendy, Peter was watching from afar.
"Wendy, I want to apologize for the way I acted earlier. I overreacted and I've been having random mood swings. I'm not using that as an excuse for my behavior. I hope you can forgive me." Wendy gave her a hug, knowing Peter was watching. Corinne wasn't ready for that and the hug. She wasn't a hugger anyway.
"Of course I forgive you!" Wendy said pulling away from Corinne. "I hope we can be friends."
"That would be nice." Corinne lied.
"Why don't we spend the day together, just you and me?" Wendy asked. Corinne wasn't too thrilled at the suggestion.
"That sounds like a great idea. I think you two should spend some time together and get to know each other." Peter said excited.
"Fine, I'll go." Corinne said reluctantly.
The next day. Wendy and Corinne set out for the day. When they got far enough away from their house, Wendy's personality changed.
"So what do you want to do?" Corinne asked.
"Okay, you can cut this little sweet act of yours. I know you don't like me and frankly, I don't like you either." Corinne stopped dead in her tracks. She was shocked to hear this coming out of Wendy's mouth.
"So this is the real you! I had a feeling you weren't as sweet as you seemed. Well you're right about one thing, I don't like you." Corinne said.
"I think you need to go back to wherever you came from. Peter was much happier without you." Wendy hissed.
"Is that so?" Corinne asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
"He was just warming up to me. We were really hitting it off. I can tell he liked me. That is, until you came back and ruined everything." Wendy screamed.
"Sorry to burst your bubble but he is in love with me dear…if you haven't noticed." Corinne said calmly.
Wendy got in Corinne's face and began threatening her. "That's all going to change. You are going to leave Neverland and never come back."
Corinne stepped closer to Wendy, their faces inches apart. "And what makes you so sure of that?" Corinne asked.
"Either you leave peacefully, or I will kill you and tell everyone you left for good." Corinne couldn't help but laugh at Wendy's pathetic attempt to scare her off.
"Good luck trying." Corinne said before turning and walking forward.
Wendy was mad that Corinne wasn't taking her seriously. She picked up a tree branch, about the size of a baseball bat, and hit Corinne on the head as hard as she could, which caused Corinne to fall to the ground. Corinne began rubbing her head and noticed she was bleeding.
"I told you I would kill you if you don't leave." Wendy said leaning on the tree branch. Corinne slowly got up and turned to face Wendy.
"So what's your decision?" Wendy asked.
"I'm not leaving." Corinne muttered.
"I was afraid of that." Wendy began charging at Corinne with the branch raised, ready to swing. Corinne didn't flinch. She flicked her wrist, sending the branch flying from Wendy's hands, making Wendy stop in confusion. Corinne then sent Wendy flying backwards, up against a tree. She walked closer to Wendy, still holding her place. Wendy hadn't realized how powerful Corinne was.
"Still wanna go through with that plan?" Corinne asked in a threatening tone.
Terror filled Wendy's face. She didn't know what to say. When she didn't answer, Corinne gave the scared little girl a smirk.
"I thought so." Corinne said releasing her grip on the girl causing her to fall to the ground.
"Now we need to find something to do for the rest of the day." Corinne said staring at Wendy on the ground.
Wendy fumbled for an idea. "I heard there were mermaids on the island…could we go see them?" She whispered, still scared of Corinne.
A smirk came across Corinne's face. "Not a bad idea. I need to get caught up on the latest gossip." Corinne responded knowing very well that the mermaids would likely try to kill Wendy, and she was okay with that. "We are going to the Lagoon to see the mermaids, now get up." She commanded. Wendy got up and followed Corinne without hesitating. She was frightened of Corinne and her dark magic. Corinne made Wendy walk in front of her so she couldn't surprise her from behind again. They finally arrived at the lagoon but there were no mermaids to be seen.
"Where are they? Shouldn't they be sitting on rocks singing and doing each others hair?" Wendy asked in confusion.
"Where did you ever get that idea from?" Corinne asked.
"I read it in a book from home." Wendy responded.
"Well that's not how it works around here. If you sit upon one of those rocks, I'm sure they'll come." Corinne said, pointing to the rocks in the middle of the lagoon. Wendy hopped along the smaller rocks and finally reached the big rocks in the middle and sat down. She stared in the water for a moment before asking another question.
"How can they tell we're here?" She asked looking up at Corinne, who was standing behind her.
"Oh, don't worry. They can tell." She said with a smirk on her face. Not even a minute later, there were about eight mermaids crowded around the rock Wendy and Corinne were on.
"Corinne, it's been a while. What kept you away?" Asked one mermaid.
"Ahh, Maraley. I believe we have some catching up to do." She said waving her over to her so they could talk in private. Some mermaids began climbing the rock Wendy was sitting on and started playing with her hair.
"What is your name, dear?" A blonde mermaid still in the water asked.
"My name is Wendy. I've never seen a mermaid before. You are all very beautiful." She said looking at each one.
"Thank you, dear. You're not bad looking yourself…for a human." The red-headed mermaid playing with Wendy's hair said. All the mermaids giggled.
"How long have you and Corinne been friends?" The mermaid sitting on her right asked.
"Oh, we're not friends. We're…ugh…I guess you could call us frenemies, although, we are more enemies than friends." She responded, looking over her shoulder to make sure Corinne didn't hear her. The mermaids gave one another a quick look and a devious smile.
"Why don't you come in the water for a little while? It will be fun!" The blonde mermaid asked, trying to sound persuasive.
"I don't want to get wet, thank you for asking though." Wendy responded.
"Don't you want to have fun while you're here?" A mermaid asked.
"I do but…" "Then you need to come swimming with us." The mermaid playing with her hair interrupted, pushing her closer to the edge of the rock.
"No, I don't want to..." "Don't be scared, we'll make sure you have tons of fun." The mermaids began pushing and pulling Wendy in all different directions to get her into the water. Wendy began screaming Corinne's name. Corinne and Maraley looked at the commotion that was going on behind them, neither one moving from their spot on the rock.
"You got yourself into that mess, you get yourself out." Corinne said before turning back around to finish her conversation with Maraley.
Wendy wasn't surprised Corinne wasn't going to save her; she did try to kill her earlier. The mermaids now had Wendy in the water and were trying to drown her. Wendy kept trying to come up for air, only to be shoved under the water again. She soon became weaker and weaker from the lack of oxygen she was receiving. She couldn't fight back anymore and gave up altogether. The mermaids still held her down, making sure she was completely dead before letting her go. The mermaids were interrupted by a splash. They saw Peter swimming down towards them, making the mermaids scatter in different directions. He got a hold of Wendy and began swimming to the top. He lifted her up on the rock and began giving her mouth to mouth. Corinne and Tink were now by his side watching the scene unfold. After a few mouth to mouth and chest compressions, Wendy began coughing up water and grasping for air.
"Are you okay?" Peter asked with a concerned look on his face.
"I…I think so." She chocked out.
"Corinne! You should've been keeping a closer eye on her! You know what the mermaids do!" Peter screamed.
"I am NOT her babysitter! And she's the one who suggested it!" Corinne yelled back.
"But you didn't do anything while I was being attacked." Wendy added.
"I was talking to my friend...besides, you aren't worth saving." Corinne mumbled.
"That's it! I am tired of your attitude Corinne. You're not the same girl I once knew. Ever since you met Wendy, you hated her. You never gave her a chance and you already tried to kill her!" Peter shouted.
"Peter, that is not true! If you only knew what she is really like then…" Corinne said before being interrupted by Peter.
"Save it! I'm tired of listening to your lies. We're done! Come on Wendy." He said angrily, grabbing Wendy's hand pulling her with him as he walked.
"Peter wait…" Corinne cried.
Peter ignored her and kept walking. Wendy turned around and gave her a wicked smile. Wendy knew she won. Corinne could only watch them from a distance as they took off flying. Corinne was left heartbroken on the rocks. Rage and anger began to settle within her. She wanted Wendy to pay. She decided to go back to Rumplestiltskin to finish her training. Tink advised her against this plan of hers, but Corinne's mind was already made up. She began flying faster and faster, Tink couldn't keep up. She finally reached the Enchanted Forest. She needed to get to Oz and Wonderland to complete her tasks for Rumple. The question was how exactly would she get there.
Present Day
"What happened between you and Wendy?" Henry asked again.
Her daydream was interrupted when Henry asked the question. "I am not discussing this subject with you anymore and don't even think about asking Peter anything!" She warned, walking closer to Henry who was still on the ground. Henry stood up quickly and began backing away from Corinne slowly.
"I was only trying to understand. You're my friend." He said before running off. Her faced changed from anger to sorrow when she realized he didn't mean to hurt her. She didn't mean to scare Henry.
"Wait Henry!" She screamed, but Henry kept running not looking back. She sat down, knees up while her head rested on her hands. She couldn't understand why her personality could change in an instant.
"As much as I would like to leave you here, I made a deal and I'm going to keep my end. Now come with me." Emma said grabbing his hand and pulling him along. They began walking back to Neal's apartment where they left Gold.
"I can't believe you brought my father here!" Neal exclaimed.
"Oh, you so don't get to be angry right now." Emma shot back. They walked for a few minutes in silence, giving the other a chance to cool down.
"Have you dated anyone since me?" Neal asked genuinely.
"I am not telling you anything about me. You don't deserve to get to know me after what you did to me." Emma said angrily.
"Emma, I'm sorry about that. I really did love you." Neal pleaded.
"I've heard enough crap for one day; please stop adding to it." Emma begged. They finally reached Neal's apartment building and Gold was nowhere in sight. They walked up to his apartment and noticed the door was unlocked. They opened the door to find Gold sitting in an armchair waiting for them.
"Bae?" Gold asked standing up.
"Yea, it's him. Can we go now?" Emma asked.
"Go where?" Neal questioned.
"Back to Storybrooke, of course." Gold answered.
"Whoa. I just can't pick up and leave. I have a life here, a fiancé." Neal exclaimed.
"A fiancé?" Emma asked with a hurt look on her face.
"Do you two know each other?" Gold asked noticing Emma's expression.
"No, why would you think that?" Emma responded quickly.
"Because you seemed hurt to find out about his fiance." Gold said.
"No. I could care less about his life." Emma said.
"Stop lying and tell me the truth." Gold shouted.
"Yea we know each other. We dated like 11 years ago. It's over now clearly." Neal said, not wanting his father to get even louder than he already was.
"Then you must know about Henry" Gold muttered.
"Who's Henry?" Neal asked.
"Miss Swan's son who is 11." Gold responded.
"What?!" Neal shouted. Emma didn't want to deal with this right now. She had no intention to tell Neal about Henry or vice versa. She thought it would be better this way.
"It's not like I could tell you! You left me, got me arrested and pregnant." Emma fired back.
"Emma, we need to talk about this." Neal said.
"I'm not doing this right now." She stormed out of the apartment. "And don't follow me!" She added.
"We need to talk Bae." Gold said.
"About how you're such a coward who doesn't go with his son to a new land for a chance at a better life and kills people if he doesn't get his way? Yea, no thanks. I know that story." Neal yelled.
"Bae, I'm so sorry. I regret those decisions. I've been trying to find you ever since you left me." Gold cried.
"Seriously?" Neal asked.
"I am Bae." Gold responded.
"I want to forgive you but I'm not ready yet." Neal said.
"I understand." Gold said putting his head down.
"I'm going to find Emma. You can stay here." Neal said as he left the apartment, leaving Gold to think about how he would handle everything when he got back to Storybrooke. He had to figure out how to restore Belle's memory, connect with his son, and knowing Hook and Cora were in town meant trouble. He recalled what an eye see-er said to him many years ago. 'A young boy will be your undoing' He now knew this young boy was Henry, his grandson. He needed to figure out what he has to do with the boy.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Again, I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while. Please let me know what you think, reviews are appreciated:)