AN: It's been awhile… so long that I actually lost my outline of this story and don't remember most of what I was going to do. So, this is all being made up as I actually go along and thus really short, but hey, still an update, right? Don't hate me?

Emma hadn't come out of her room the entire day. She refused to talk to her parents who had rushed home after her when she ran crying from granny's. She refused to answer Regina's knocks though she came bearing food. She definitely ignored the pirate who sat outside her door occasionally pleading for even five minutes of her time. She even turned Henry away with a, "Not now, kid."

Emma had slept. She sat on the edge of her bed continuously going over the details. She thought about how her life had gone from good to crashing down around her in the course of 30 seconds. She didn't know what to believe. She didn't know whom she could trust.

It seem like everyone had so many secrets – kept so much from her. Neal is Gold's son? Gold had to have known. He wouldn't have let it happen unless he had planned it all, but did Neal really not know? And Neal and Hook new one another – had Hook really done all those things? Was he the reason Neal abandoned her – because he was only ever taught abandonment? Would Hook do the same to her and Henry? And how was she going to keep Henry out of this? Neal and Henry could never know about any of this.

And above all, Emma couldn't face her parents because she felt guilty about how incredibly small she felt. She felt like she did as a kid – without control, without hope, without a place to belong. She was alone, lost, and still as much of an orphan as she ever was.

And so she sat on the edge of her bed with these thoughts haunting her, just staring into the mirror at her reflection, not seeing the savior, but the lost, little girl crying and begging to be loved.

Emma was so dazed that it took her quite some time to notice Regina staring back at her in the mirror – even after Regina had called out her name a few times.

"Miss Swan!"

Emma Blinked herself out of her trance, "Regina? What the hell?"

"Oh, good. You can talk."

"What do you want?"

"I need you to stop acting like a child. Everyone is freaking out and it doesn't help that August is back and brought a friend who keeps demanding to speak to you."

"Neal? Shit!"

"You know him?"

"Yes. Regina, You have to keep him away, especially from Henry."

"What did you do? What does he want with Henry?"

"He – he's Henry's father. He doesn't know it, but I want to keep it that way. And that's not all, Regina. He's Gold's son, which I just found out."

Regina was shocked into a moment of silence, "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Everything that has come to past is due to Gold trying to get back to his son – even my curse. We need to call counsel and get this under control before we are all destroyed."

OoOoOoOo

"Are you sure Henry is going to be safe," Mary-Margaret asked nervously.

"Hook's not going to let anything happen to him. I trust him."

"But what can Hook really do against Mr. Gold?"

"That is precisely why Gold can't find out," Regina butted in. "We're all here. Can we start?"

Emma, Mary-Margaret, David, Regina, Archie, Granny, and Blue all sat gathered around in Archie's office, hoping to avoid catching Gold or Neal's attentions, which most any other place would.

"What exactly is the problem here?" Archie asked, "What is so wrong about Gold being reunited with his son? The reason anything bad happened in the first place is that they were separated."

"Neal definitely does not want to talk to Gold," Emma answered.

"Then why is he here?" Granny asked, "And do you need me to kick them out?"

"He's here because of August. He thought we needed his help- why I have no idea, but apparently August knew who we both were all along. He was the one that encouraged Neal to leave me."

"What do you mean 'leave you'?" Archie asked.

"Neal is- Neal is Henry's father."

The entire room gasped like you only expect to see in cheesy movies.

"Is he here to take Henry? We wont let that happen! I'd sooner-"

"No," Emma cut Granny off. "He doesn't know about Henry. He wants to see me and avoid his dad."

"Well, we better get rid of him before either of them find out."

"We can't punish someone who hasn't done anything wrong and might not ever do anything wrong. If he doesn't know, why do you think he'll find out? No one here will tell."

"August knows and they seem to be buddies."

"Emma," Mary-Margaret asked timidly, "What's so wrong with Henry finding out who his father is? He needs a father."

"Just like I needed a mother?" Emma snapped and immediately regretted it when she saw the pained and teary-eyed expression on her mother and father's faces. "I'm sorry."

"No. You're right. I should have been there. And Henry's father should be there for him."

"Henry has done just fine without him this far."

"And he did just fine before he had you, Miss Swan. Not that I want him around my son-"

"Neal is just going to abandon him like he abandoned me. I would never abandon Henry."

"If he left you because of August, then maybe he didn't want to leave. Maybe he would have stayed and maybe he will stay here."

"And what if August tells him to leave again or Gold wants to see Neal and takes Henry for ransom?"

Blue, who had observed in silence, spoke up, "I knew Baelfire as a boy. He was a strong and honest boy despite how he grew up. He just wanted to be happy with his family. He might have lost his way but I believe that there is still light inside of him begging to come out. He was abandoned like his father, Gold, was before him. He surely wouldn't want the same fate for his son."

"Or it's 'like father like son', his family has a history of abandoning their kids. Henry wouldn't be able to handle that. He believes too much in the good of other people," Regina countered.

"Emma, what if you give Neal a chance? Just talk to him. Show him around. Don't tell him about Henry until you're sure, but doesn't he at least deserve that chance?" Mary-Margaret asked her daughter.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" David asked.

"Wouldn't you want the chance?"

"Why are you pushing this? You guys aren't even asking me how I feel. Would you want to have to spend time with someone who broke your heart and screwed up your entire life and made you spend eleven years trying to get over them?" Emma was flustered into tears.

"Because I believe in true love, Emma. True love isn't easy, Emma, you have to constantly fight for it. And you deserve it. You deserve to be happy."

"And what if he's not my true love?"

"You owe it to yourself to see."

Emma, once again looking small, vulnerable, and broken, looked up at her mom pleading before whispering an, "Okay."

AN: I repeat, don't hate me, please. I promise Emma will talk to Hook first. She owes him that. I also promise to update again. Please review! We are getting to the point where I am struggling to keep them in character and not force plot, so any feedback would be appreciated. I hope you enjoyed it!