Chapter Fifteen—"Necessary Evils"

Everything started happening at once, and Rumplestiltskin found himself standing at the epicenter of a growing earthquake. Only the warning provided by a slight quiver of magic that preceded the sudden shaking and rumbling allowed Rumplestiltskin to stay on his feet at all; everyone around him—from Bae to the insolent royals to the nearby guards—tumbled to the ground. Tremor after tremor rolled across the landscape, and Rumplestiltskin didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that the castle behind him was starting to crumble.

"What the hell is going on?" Bae demanded, struggling to his feet. Another aftershock made the ground lurch, and Bae tumbled into his father, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Rumplestiltskin hit hard, and the wind rushed out of his chest. The impact brought back a rush of unpleasant memories, of pain and pressure and—No. The fae had been responsible for his pain then, and they were responsible for this as well. Grasping his anger tightly, Rumplestiltskin used it to focus his magic, sweeping his senses out over the subtle spell he knew was out there. He didn't pay any attention to the fact that he was still flat on his back on the shaking ground, just let his magic speed outwards and feed him information. What he found, however, was worse than he feared.

"Papa?" Bae was crouching over him and shaking his shoulder; figuring the spells out must have taken a moment longer than Rumplestiltskin expected. He blinked.

"Right here."

Quickly, Rumplestiltskin jumped to his feet, catching his balance carefully when the earth tried to leap out from under him again. Bae followed suit, swaying precariously but not falling when the next jolt hit. Again, Rumplestiltskin sent magic racing outwards, this time with more precision and less desperation, spreading his hands wide and absorbing the magic around him. It stank of the fae, subtle and tricky, a titanium fist sheathed in a colorful silk glove. And he wasn't wrong.

"What's happening?" his son asked again.

"What's happening is that I'm a fool," Rumplestiltskin spat. "I should have killed that fae when I had the chance."

Had he killed her quickly, she might not have had the chance to unleash the magic that was going to destroy the castle and everything around them. Probably.

"What did she—? Scratch that. Can you stop it?" Bae asked.

"No."

Given enough time, Rumplestiltskin was confident that he could unravel any magic, even clever and feisty fae spells that had been laid by someone who was probably eight or nine times his age. But he already knew that it was too late to counter this spell; this bit of magic had been created long before he'd knocked that fae to the ground, waiting and ready and carefully crafted over hours of work. And it was moving too fast to stop. The walls around the courtyard were already starting to tremble ominously. Dust was starting to fill the air, with the mortar between stones disintegrating quickly.

"Great. Then we need to get everyone out of here." His son spun away before Rumplestiltskin could get a word in. "Philip, start people moving out of the courtyard. Grimsby, clear everyone out of the castle and—"

"Bring them here," Rumplestiltskin cut in, foresight mixing with magic to warn him. "There's no time to get them away. The moment they pass through those gates, the entire structure will collapse."

Bae went a little pale. "You're saying the courtyard is the safest place."

It obviously didn't look safe, what with the walls shaking and dust starting to fly, along with random holes opening up in the ground while former prisoners screamed. The world around them was coming apart at the seams, and human nature demanded that they run, flee this apocalypse and get somewhere safe. But that was the catch, wasn't it? Rumplestiltskin could read the magic well enough to know where running would lead, much though the terrified spinner in him agreed with the mob around them. Soon enough, fear would make these people start to riot, and then anything he did would be too late.

"No. Nowhere is safe. Not here."

There was always a possibility that the fae had wanted to play the trickster as much as she wanted to destroy them, and it was conceivably imaginable that the courtyard would remain safe. That the shaking and rumbling and world-tearing-itself-apart feeling was just a feeling, and that if they stayed put, everyone would be fine. But Rumplestiltskin's instincts insisted otherwise, told him that although the destruction wouldn't begin here, it would come. What he could read of the magic in so little time was inconclusive. Could he afford to take that chance?

It probably wouldn't kill him, and he could protect Bae from the destruction if need be. Or he would whisk them both away to somewhere else in the blink of an eye. Had he still been the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin would have done so already. Baelfire might have objected, but by then it would have been too late. But he wasn't, and he couldn't, and the magic within him demanded something more. Something…responsible.

There was the word, the price, that he'd avoided thinking of for so many weeks. The cost he knew in his soul to be true, even whilst he'd tried to ignore it. Rumplestiltskin wasn't a hero type, and he didn't want to be. He only wanted his family to be safe and happy. He'd tried to die to make that happen, only to receive the unexpected gift of life…along with a burden he had never asked for. Never imagined. But here he was, and whatever he was, Rumplestiltskin only had one choice.

Could he do it? A bit over a hundred former prisoners plus Bae's thirty or so soldiers made for a lot of people. Rumplestiltskin had never really been one to bring others along when he felt the need to transport himself via magic, which meant the limit of people he had tried to teleport in the past was around ten, counting himself. Of course, he'd moved larger groups from point A to point B in the past, usually more to demonstrate his power more than anything else. Yet he'd never sent more than a dozen people anywhere, and here he was dealing with more than ten times that number.

A low rumble started behind him; the castle was beginning to shake itself apart. Rocks bounced off the ground, and someone screamed when they were hit.

"If you've got a plan, Papa, now's a real good time to execute," Bae said, his voice rough with urgency.

It was suicidal and stupid, but he had no choice. Not if Rumplestiltskin wanted his son to ever speak to him again, or if he ever wanted the others in this stupid alliance to believe he was better than he'd been. Gathering his magic, channeling his desperation and his love and even his fears into the thick threads surrounding the tightly clumped crowd, Rumplestiltskin turned to face his son. His breathing was already slowing, and his shoulders growing tense with the strain, but he resolutely ignored the telltale signs of too much and managed a tight smile. The magic could do this; that much he knew. The only question was how well his human-for-the-first-time-in-centuries body would take the strain.

"Hold on, Bae," he said with a breathless laugh. "This is going to be a rough ride."

Forget the horses. Bae's cavalry could get new ones, and this bottomless power of his was still constrained by the body in which its owner lived. Rumplestiltskin's head was starting to pound in tune with the waves of magic thrusting outwards from the dying castle, but the strands of his magic had almost wrapped around the entire crowd. A little bit further, and he'd be ready. Just a few more seconds. The air around them shimmered slightly, and he heard more than one person shout a terrified warning. His vision was starting to blur. The last thing he registered was his son's worried expression.

"Papa, what are you—?"

Baelfire didn't finish the question before Rumplestiltskin's magic snapped into place and he tugged with all the strength he had. And then they were gone, leaving King Steffan's collapsing castle behind.

At the same time the fae's magic raced outwards towards destruction, Regina teleported Emma, Hook, Robin, and herself into the Dark Castle's courtyard. They landed right next to a bubbling fountain—one Emma was certain hadn't been working when they left—instead of inside the castle surrounding gardens and plant life looked better, too; trimmed nicely and vibrantly alive. At least we're away from Maleficent. She might not have died when I threw that sword at her, but I'm not sure it didn't make her crazy, Emma thought to herself. Then again, she had no frame of reference. Maleficent might have been that way all along.

Regina certainly hadn't seemed surprised by her conduct, anyway.

"I thought you were going to bring us inside, love?" Robin asked, and Emma marveled at the way Regina didn't snap at him. The outlaw really was someone who could ask her anything, even questions that would have gotten Emma a surly and defensive response.

"I was." Regina scowled, waving a hand at the castle while Emma felt her magic working. "Rumplestiltskin must have reworked the defenses while we were gone."

Typical. I wonder if he did that just to be difficult, or if there was some other reason. Despite everything that had happened, Emma was finding it hard to get over her old mistrust of Gold, or whatever he was calling himself these days. She'd fought on his side a half dozen times, and knew that the wily old bastard was good to his word—but she also knew that he was a sneaky son of a bitch, and that he'd do things his way or not at all. Emma hadn't exactly been in the Enchanted Forest for long, but Robin and Hook had caught her up on current events while they'd been trucking towards the Forbidden Forest. She wasn't sure exactly what Gold's current game was, but until she could figure it out, her ability to trust him was definitely going to be limited.

"He told us not to come after you, you know," she told Regina, figuring that the other woman ought to know.

But Regina surprised her by shrugging. "I was fine."

"Hindsight being what it is, he was probably right," Hook replied, sounding unhappy to admit that Gold had been right about anything. He might have sworn off vengeance, but Emma knew that didn't mean that the pirate captain had to like Rumplestiltskin. "Yet we had no way of knowing that at the time."

"If there's one thing I know about Rumplestiltskin, it's that he has a depressing habit of being right," Regina replied. "But don't you dare tell him I said that."

Emma snickered, but she was soon distracted by shouting.

"Mom! Mom!"

She and Regina spun together, and both rushed forward to embrace Henry. A few years earlier, they would have both been furious to have to share this moment, but now it just felt right. Somehow, the idea of sort of sharing her kid with Regina had become just a part of life, so after a moment, Emma stepped back and let the Evil Queen embrace Henry alone. The last twenty-two days had been the longest she'd been away from Henry since Regina had stopped Pan's curse—but how badly must Regina had missed him over the last year? Emma knew they'd hardly had any time together before Regina disappeared, the older woman's love for Henry no longer seemed like a threat.

"You found her!" Henry beamed at Emma.

"Yeah, well, she kind of found us, too," Emma admitted with a wry grin. "It turns out that Regina didn't need as much rescuing as we all thought."

"Then Grandpa Gold was right after all," their son replied, earning himself a somewhat stricken look from Regina.

"Grandpa Gold?" the Evil Queen echoed.

Henry shrugged. "It sounds better than Grandpa 'Stiltskin."

That made both women laugh and exchange glances. Even Robin chuckled, although Hook just looked bored. Emma glanced at him for a moment, feeling herself flush red with embarrassment. Even though she knew it had been Maleficent's magic enhancing her attraction to the pirate and decreasing her inhibitions, Emma still couldn't shake the memory of being out of control like that. She knew that Hook didn't hold it against her, and that he'd even tried to be gentlemanly about her half-mad advances, but in a lot of ways, that only made things worse. Ever since having her heart broken, Emma had been so cautious with her feelings. Having them ripped out from behind the walls she'd built and on display for all to see was unnerving, to say the least. Particularly because she still wasn't sure what she felt for Hook. Maybe it was more than simple attraction, but maybe it wasn't.

Maybe Emma would be brave enough to figure that out after she managed to banish the memories of their time stuck in the forest. Until then, she had work to do. After all, Emma was the damn savior, and if Regina hadn't needed saving, she was sure someone else would.

"So, kid, what have we missed?" she asked Henry brightly.

"You know, that's the funny part. The Blue Fairy came by, and…"

Striding through the hallways of the Dark Castle with the old book in hand, Belle started planning how she was going to convince Snow that her family's patron fairy was plotting to steal her grandson. She'd walked up in the midst of Blue's 'private' conversation with Henry, right before the fairy had tried to convince Henry that he had to go someplace safe without telling anyone in his family. Was there another way to interpret that? Belle didn't think she was too influenced by Rumplestiltskin's naked mistrust for all things fairy. Blue had left things out of what she'd told Henry. Even Henry believed that the fairy had intentionally misled him, and that meant it wasn't just Belle channeling Rumplestiltskin's paranoia.

Seeing Ruby in the hallway just outside the chambers Belle had given the Charmings, she paused to ask: "Where's Snow?"

"Talking to the Blue Fairy," her friend replied with a shrug.

"Right now?" Belle's heart plummeted.

"Yeah. Why's that matter?"

Belle bit back a groan. "It's just—oh, Ruby, this is bad. The Blue Fairy tried to take Henry away, and now I know why—but Snow's going to believe her over me."

"You don't know that," Ruby replied, but it was obviously an automatic reassurance. "Wait a minute—what did you say? She tried to take Henry?"

"I'm not sure she wouldn't have whisked him away if I hadn't walked in when I did," she said with a nod, staring at the door in distress and trying to marshal coherent arguments. Snow had spent her entire life believing in the Blue Fairy, and Belle had foolishly let Blue get in first while she'd stopped to do research. How could she convince Snow that Blue was lying?

Thankfully, Ruby believed in Belle, and always had. Belle wasn't sure how they'd become such good friends in Storybrooke, but they had, and Ruby immediately moved towards the door to Snow's chambers. "Then let's go in there and tell Snow."

"Ruby—" Belle supposed she'd been raised too much of a lady, the daughter of a landed knight who would never so much as imagine bursting into a queen's chambers uninvited, even if said queen had been just an elementary school teacher in Storybrooke. Good manners demanded that they at least knock first! Ruby, however, had no such compunctions, and besides, she'd known Snow when Snow was nothing but an outlaw on the run. So, Ruby shoved the door open and marched in, with Belle helplessly trailing behind her.

The Blue Fairy was in midsentence when they burst in. "…afraid that Rumplestiltskin would—"

That hadn't been what Belle had expected to hear. Why would Blue bring her love into this?

"Rumplestiltskin would what?" she demanded before she could stop herself.

"Belle, Ruby, what are you doing here?" Snow's eyes were wide and shocked; she'd probably expected more decorum out of them, too.

But Belle didn't miss the way the Blue Fairy's eyes narrowed at the intrusion, anger flickering briefly across her face before her customarily lofty expression replaced it. Oh, Blue wasn't happy to have Belle in the room, which meant that she was trying to feed Snow some lie about Henry. The old book was still clutched in Belle's hand, and even though her heart was pounding in her ears louder than she'd like, she squared her shoulders. Do the brave thing. Belle respected Snow enormously, but that didn't mean Snow wasn't wrong to trust Blue.

Belle sucked in a deep breath. "I need to talk to you, Snow. About Henry."

"About Henry?" Snow echoed in confusion.

"Yes." Unable to help herself, Belle shot a look towards Blue. The fairy's lips were pursed and her eyes narrowed, and she glared back at Belle from behind a facial expression that clearly tried to be neutral. She didn't look very benevolent at the moment, but Belle was certain that if Snow glanced Blue's way, the senior fairy would manage to appear perfectly normal. "I wandered into the middle of a conversation I'm sure I wasn't meant to hear. In which the Blue Fairy tried to convince Henry to leave with her. Without telling anyone."

"That can't be—Blue?" Snow twisted to look at the fairy, and sure enough she had a compassionate expression on her face again.

"Of course it isn't, child. I am afraid that Belle must have misunderstood. I am concerned for Henry, because he is in great danger. Henry's heart is special, and I hate to say it, but Pan is not the only one who is going to want it."

"Like you," Belle cut in before Snow could reply, dropping the book on the table in front of Snow and flipping it open to the right page. "Read this, Snow. She's lying to you. And she's been lying for years."

Blue's eyes went wide. "I haven't—"

"Regina's back," Ruby said, standing by the window that overlooked the outer courtyard. Belle had given Snow and Charming this room because it was the nicest set of chambers outside Rumplestiltskin's own, and the gigantic windows provided an excellent view of the gardens that lay between the castle and the outermost walls. Those gardens were in far better repair now that Rumplestiltskin's magic had had a chance to do a bit of work on them, but even wild and overgrown, these chambers had been the some of the best. "Robin, Hook, and Emma are with her—and there goes Henry."

Belle stepped up next to her friend to look out the window, watching Henry rush out to meet his two mothers, both of whom hugged him tight. The sight made her grin, not just because she'd acquired a surprising amount of respect for the Evil Queen who'd once locked her away, but also because Blue's plans had just been gloriously upended. She's never going to steal Henry away with both of his mothers back at the castle! Still smiling, Belle turned back to watch as Snow picked the book up, reading swiftly. The dark circles under her eyes and the stress Belle knew she was under had done nothing to hinder the young queen's intelligence, and her eyes were narrow when she looked up at the Blue Fairy again.

"Is this true?" Snow asked Blue.

"Child, I have been working for millennia to keep darkness at bay. I will protect your grandson, not endanger him."

"At what cost?" Snow demanded, and Belle's breath caught. "You'll keep him from his family. Will you use his heart?"

"At whatever cost is necessary," the Blue Fairy answered stiffly. Snow glared.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I will keep Henry safe. There is—"

"Whoa," Ruby gasped. "Holy cow—there's like a hundred people in the courtyard now. Maybe more."

Belle's head snapped around, and her jaw dropped. While Regina, Robin, Hook, and Emma had been alone in the courtyard moments earlier, now they were accompanied by hundreds of other people. Most of the newcomers were bedraggled and filthy, but Regina's hands were up and Belle could almost see the magic in the air—until someone stepped out of the crowd to stop her.

Rumplestiltskin. Belle blinked in confusion. She was happy to see him, but what had the infuriating man done this time?

"Regina!" Rumplestiltskin's shout barely caught the Evil Queen in time; Bae saw her hands moving in a blur, already glowing dark purple and sparking slightly. Their crowd of people seemed to have landed almost on top of her, but Regina was clearly ready for anything. However, even as Bae watched Regina pull the magic back, he stumbled dizzily. He still felt like he was stuck in the vortex of magic that had ripped them out of—

Damn. A moment ago, Bae had been standing next to his father in the wildly crumbling courtyard of King Stefan's castle, just waiting for the world to drop on their heads. Now he was standing in the courtyard of the Dark Castle, along with absolutely everyone else. The realization made him blink hard; what had his father said about this being a rough ride? Spinning left, he turned to stare at Rumplestiltskin, just as Regina shoved her way through the crowd to them.

"Papa?" he asked, feeling a little confused. The dizziness was receding, but Bae still felt like part of his body had been left behind a hundred-and-something miles away.

"What the hell did you do?" Regina demanded at the same time.

Even as Rumplestiltskin smiled, Bae could see that something was wrong. His movements were sluggish when he waved a hand in the air, growing paler by the second. "Don't ask questions to which you don't want to know the answers, dearie."

Then Rumplestiltskin collapsed before Bae could catch him. He and Regina both lunged to try, bumping shoulders as they did so, but neither made it in time and Rumplestiltskin hit the ground hard, his head cracking dully into the cobblestoned walkway. They both knelt next to him, and Bae was relieved to see that his father was breathing just fine, even if he was as pale as a ghost and suddenly looked thinner than he had before. A glamour? Damn him! How much else had Rumplestiltskin neglected to mention when he'd explained what had happened to himself? Bae swore under his breath as the Evil Queen turned to glare at him.

"Did he transport all of you here?"

"I think so, yeah—is he going to be all right?"

Regina made a face. "I have no idea. That much magic—it shouldn't be possible, even for him. He's unconscious. I don't know how long he'll be out for."

"Neal?" A third voice interjected before Bae could reply, followed hard on the heels by:

"Dad?"

He was on his feet before he even knew he was moving, but a smaller body collided with his own immediately, almost knocking Bae back to the ground. A strangled laugh burst out of his chest when Bae realized his arms were full of his son. Oh, he'd missed them desperately, Henry and Emma both, and had tried so hard to make himself not think about them all the time, to distract himself with battles and anything and everything else. His father had told him that Emma had gone off to foolishly try to rescue Regina—something that had worked out one way or another, judging from the Evil Queen's presence—but Bae had been on pins and needles waiting to see them himself, even if he'd tried to pretend he wasn't.

And now here was Henry, beaming up at him. Damn, the kid looked older, and different, too, dressed like he belonged in the Enchanted Forest and not in the modern world. Emma approached more cautiously, smiling that crooked smile of hers that he'd always loved so much. She was wearing what looked like Snow's clothes, too, a somewhat feminine outfit in beige and black that still gave her freedom of movement. It looked fantastic on her, too, though Bae knew better than to tell her that. Not in public, anyway. Even in private, she'd probably hit me. Still, looking at her hesitant smile made him grin. But he needed to say hi to his kid, first.

"Hey, Henry," Bae said. Had his father felt so woefully inadequate greeting him after not having seen his son for a year? That was an unsettling thought. Of course, thinking of his father made Bae look down guiltily, his heart leaping into his chest. Rumplestiltskin still lay on the ground, unmoving.

Regina must have seen him swallow, because the Evil Queen met his eyes with a crooked smile of her own. "We'll take him inside," she volunteered.

"Thanks," Bae breathed.

"What happened to Grandpa Gold?" Henry asked before Regina could rise. He was looking at Bae, but Regina replied first:

"Too much magic." She grimaced. "He should know better, but he shouldn't have been able to transport that many people, either."

"Will he be okay?"

Henry's eyes were big with worry, so Bae squeezed his shoulder. "He's tough, bud. He'll be fine."

Regina met his eyes briefly and nodded, making relief flood Bae's s system. Wouldn't it be a great cosmic irony if he gained some family back only to lose his father again? Stop thinking like that, Bae told himself firmly, flashing Regina a grateful smile as she rose, levitating Rumplestiltskin with the flick of her wrist. She headed towards the castle as Emma fell into step beside Bae and Henry. Meanwhile, Bae threw Prince Philip a glance, and was gratified when Philip started organizing the refugees. Bae probably should have dealt with them himself, but his father was unconscious, he hadn't seen his kid in a year, and he really wasn't up to dealing with stuck up royals at the moment. Thankfully, Philip seemed to understand that, and the prince got straight to work.

He, Henry, and Emma trailed Regina in silence for several moments before Emma finally spoke up. "So, uh, interesting day, huh?"

"You can say that again," Bae replied. Damn, he was tired. At least that was the excuse he wanted to use when he blurted out: "The Enchanted Forest looks good on you."

Emma blinked. "Huh?"

"The clothes, I mean. You look like you belong here." Way to go, Bae. You sound like a moron, and she's spent how many weeks with the most suave pirate in existence? This was definitely not helping his case. He flushed. "I think I'm trying to say welcome back."

"Thanks, I think." But at least Emma smiled, and she didn't look at Bae like he was stupid. Then again, she'd seen him sleep deprived and absolutely ridiculously brainless, living out of a car and dodging the law, so this couldn't be much of a surprise to her.

"Just back from rescuing Regina?" he asked, trying to sound a bit more intelligent. Or at least well-informed.

It was Emma's turn to grimace. "It turns out she didn't really need rescuing. And that Maleficent was screwing with us. Until Regina stopped her, anyway. It was kind of embarrassing, to be honest."

Unable to stop himself, Bae laughed. "Don't feel bad. Stuff always turns out that way around here." He'd almost used a stronger word than 'stuff', but their thirteen year old was walking between them and hanging on every word. "If it makes you feel any better, I spent a month chasing a pack of chimeras around, only to find out that they weren't real at all—they were just a spell of illusions cooked up by the Witch to keep us busy."

"Not really, no," Emma replied with an answering laugh, and Bae congratulated himself for at least providing some amusement.

"So, where have you been, anyway, Dad?" Henry piped up. "Aside from chasing fake chimeras."

"I've been fighting the war, actually. Commanding armies and stuff. With your other grandfather."

"That's so cool."

That's my boy! Emma didn't look enthused by Henry's opinion, but Bae's son was grinning. However, the responsible parent in Baelfire kicked in enough for him to say: "Sometimes. Other time it just sucks. I always figured war here would be more honorable than it was back in the Land Without Magic, but so far it's just been a slugging match."

And I really hate slugging matches. Bae had gotten into enough of those back in Neverland as a teen, both with Pan and with various other Lost Boys. It had never been fun or honorable, and everyone always wound up getting hurt in the end. This war wasn't shaping up to be much different from those experiences, despite the fact that they'd managed to pull off a string of victories lately. They were still missing something. Every instinct Bae had insisted that the worst was yet to come, and he really hoped his father would wake up soon so that he could ask him if he felt the same way. I suppose having an old man who can see the future ought to be useful for something. Why didn't I ask him that earlier today when I had the chance?

"Well, things always get worse right before they get better, right?" Henry asked, and damn Bae had missed his son's simple optimism and faith. He must get that from Snow. My side of the family is too cynical by half, and Emma takes after David in that regard. Still, Bae managed a half smile.

"I hope so, bud. So, why don't you tell me what the last year's been like for the two of you while I've been marching around in the mud?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "School and stuff. It was boring, really."

"It was normal, he means," Emma interjected with a hard look at their kid. "And now it's all weird. We both remember things that never happened." Her confident expression wavered slightly. "Like, I remember giving Henry up. And I remember deciding not to. I remember changing his diapers—but I know Reginadid that. It's all so…I don't know what it is."

"Frustrating?"

Emma grimaced. "Worse." Then, without warning, she poked Bae hard in the shoulder. "I actually think you're the only one who doesn't have dual memories, now. How'd you get off scot free?"

"Oh, you know." He shrugged. "Spent two-plus centuries in Neverland. Walk in the park. No big deal."

"How'd you not go crazy being there so long?" Henry wanted to know.

Who says I didn't? But that wasn't the kind of thing you discussed with your own kid; Bae had a hard enough time dealing with it himself sometimes. He'd certainly come out of Neverland with enough emotional scars to sink a battleship, but he'd mostly dealt with those issues years earlier. "You come from stubborn stock."

"I already knew that," Henry laughed.

"Tell me about it," Emma breathed at the same time, rolling her eyes. "And you'd better not say that you mean me by that, Neal Cassidy!"

He chuckled, and then braced himself. Bae didn't really know how Emma was going to take this, but hell. They were in the Enchanted Forest, not New York City! "Actually, I go by Baelfire these days. Or Bae, for short."

Emma stopped cold, turning to stare at him. "…Really?"

Bae shrugged, feeling acutely uncomfortable. "It kind of is my name, you know."

"I know. I just…wow. That's, uh, different."

"Good different or bad different?" he managed to ask lightly, trying not to sound nervous. It was stupid that something so small as a name might come between them, but Emma had fallen for Neal Cassidy before he'd screwed it all up. He was still hopelessly in love with her, and absolutely clung to what she'd said in Neverland about always loving him (even if she didn't want to; he could deal with that. Bae could convince her to want to, assuming Emma gave him the chance). But would his acceptance of his old Enchanted Forest identity drive her away? Bae wanted to think that Emma was made of stronger stuff than that, but the last thirteen years really had been a roller coaster for her.

"Just different," Emma replied, and of course Henry piped up to break up the suddenly awkward moment:

"Does that make you General Baelfire instead of General Cassidy, then?"

Bae laughed. "Yeah, I guess it does."

A/N: Thank you for reading, and reviews/comments are cookies (and yes, I do love me some cookies. Why do you ask?). My questions this time around are: 1) What do you think the fae, particularly the Black Fairy are up to and 2) Do you think Maleficent's understanding with Regina extends to help against their new array of enemies?

Next up is Chapter 16: "Choices Made", when Rumplestiltskin wakes up, Blue owes some explanations, and the entire family sits down for a chat.

Also, if you haven't yet seen my other OUAT story, "At All Costs", please do check it out!