A/N: Sorry for the late update! This is, however, the final chapter.. so the story is now complete.
Chapter 24: Lost and Found
In which many reconcile, but some do not.
Death did enjoy the special gift. It was quite entertaining to witness mafia henchmen have a go at each other instead of their intended victims, to have dictators turn their weapons on themselves, to see abusive cult-leaders exposed and hurt members avenged.
In the meantime, Storybrooke had quite a few baffled residents who desired to talk to one another. Thwarted lovers to be reconciled, or not… Angry parents and furious children longing to finally have it out.
Regina was still as white as a sheet. Yet another run in with Death was not an easy matter. Daniel peered at her.
"Are you pleased with yourself?" he barked. "Look at what has happened to us! To me! Magic…. I detest it. I remember a time when your mother was the one abusing it to her greatest delight… You remind me of her so much!"
With that he stood on his feet and left her office as fast as his feet could carry him.
"Daniel, please wait! Can we not talk about this?!" She shouted after him, but he hobbled as fast as he could out of earshot. Regina decided not to follow him, but began to cry instead. Her whole body shook with her sobs.
The others were looking at each other. Mr. Gold awkwardly placed his hand on her shoulder.
"There, there," he said, "He'll need some time to adjust…"
"I never should have revived him…" Regina whispered.
"Probably not," Gold acknowledged, "but we're all prone to mistakes…" He winked at Belle and she smiled back. Neal, however, was not so easily appeased.
"So…" he said to his father. "You could never break free from it yourself… Always needing someone else to do the heavy lifting for you…" He found it despicable, though he had felt the lure of its power himself.
"My boy…" Gold said. " I still cannot believe you're here, alive and well…" He let out a small sob.
"No thanks to you…" Baelfire claimed. "I had to fend for my own from my early teens onwards…"
"Let me make it up to you…" Gold said with a trembling voice. "Just give me a chance…. Please.." he begged.
Baelfire shrugged his shoulders. "If you must…" he said casually, but his eyes betrayed him. Their long quest towards each other was finally over. Father and son were reunited and the power of the dagger had finally been undone…
Emma had not stayed around for long; she had no time for teary reconciliations, not as a spectator anyway.
She went straight to her parents' and Henry. When she arrived at the street, her parents came just bursting out of the front door.
"Emma!" her mother shouted. "We've just heard!"
Her father hugged her tight, and so did her mother. Snow began to cry, making Emma feel horribly uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I never meant to hurt you, or us as a family. I was right, though… Blue was not entirely blameless…."
"Nor was she the evil genius you thought she was…" said David. "But a bit in between like the most of us…"
"Mom, mom?!" Henry was tugging her jacket. "Is it true that Mr. Gold's son is here? And that he is…?"
Emma sighed. "Yes," she said, with tight lips. "He is a horrible… man and he deserves…"
"But he's my dad, right? You must have liked him at one time?" Henry gazed up at her with eyes full of hope.
"I did kid… and then he stabbed me in the back… like a true son of Gold.." she answered with gritted teeth.
"I would still like to meet him though…" Henry said a bit sad.
"Sure… I need a word with him myself…" Emma replied.
"So, you're no longer into me then?" Granny grinned. Gold blushed into such a fiery red that it resembled the color of Red's hood.
"No, I'm back with Belle," he said, and to confirm his statement he gave Belle an intense kiss.
Baelfire was looking rather awkwardly at the pair of lovers.
"So we're good?" he asked Radolph, who was about to leave to locate his own estranged friends.
"No worries," he replied, "I'm glad to be back. That was some weird item…"
"Not so fast… Let me walk you out…" Gold followed him out of the diner, grabbing Radolph firmly by his arm.
Once they were out of the curious diners' sight, he hissed at him: "You've cost me my dagger!"
"I'm sorry… Mr. Gold. But surely it's all for the best?" Radolph said slyly.
"I wouldn't count on it…" he continued.
"But… you've found your son… Isn't that the most important?"
"Be that as it may…" Mr. Gold said. "I still want something in return! You owe me a huge favor!"
"No, I think not." Radolph would not be threatened by a cripple old man. "Trading a dagger for son a sounds like the best deal ever to me…"
He pried Gold's hand off his arm and walked away. Gold sighed heavily. He had truly lost his powers…
When he had just sat down again, Henry came bursting into Granny's with his entire family trotting behind him.
"Here we go…" Neal whispered quietly.
Emma crossed her arms and looked disdainful at him, but this young boy came running towards him.
"You're my dad!" he exclaimed loudly. "So nice to finally meet you!"
Henry immediately sat next to him and began firing thousands of questions at him. Gold raised his eyebrows as did Emma. It was going to be quite a challenge to pry Henry away from him….
"So…" Emma said when she sat down as well. The bench was becoming rather full… Gold thought.
"You didn't expect to see me here?" she wondered.
"I thought I'd never see you again…" he whispered. "Emma, I am so so sorry...!"
"You're a coward… leaving me holding the bag.." she said angrily. "I have done time, you know! For you…! And I lost my son because of it…"
"But.. but…" Neal looked at Henry. "Your son is here…"
"Well, we've found each other again. Or rather he found me…" Emma grinned at Henry. "I take it you'll be staying in Storybrooke…" she asked.
"If you don't stop me…" Neal replied, looking at her furious face.
"I can't scold you if you're not here, can I?" Emma smirked, winking at her son. Henry had the biggest smile ever on his face…
The Blue Fairy was trying to console Regina as they were sitting in her study. They had sure never liked each other but she still felt responsible somehow. She taken her to the convent and given her some hot coffee. Daniel was with some of the other nuns lamenting his fate…
"Perhaps he will change in time…" Blue said soothingly. "He may need some convincing that you've truly changed… That you are not like.."
"My mother," Regina hiccupped. "I am not… I never was! Well, not at first anyway… After Daniel's death… life just wasn't truly worth living anymore… It didn't seem to matter what I did anymore, good or bad…"
"I do know how you feel…" Blue said, even though Regina didn't seem convinced. "I did whatever I could to keep my lover alive… and see where it got me.."
"The dagger…" Regina said. "You would have been the last person I would have ever suspected of…"
"I didn't know, did I? And once I knew there was nothing I could do to prevent…"
"Like I didn't know Daniel didn't want to be awakened at all… I missed him so much, but he still cares about someone… who has been long gone…"
Although Regina had lived instead of died, like him, she had changed beyond recognition. She no longer was a young impressionable girl with a horrible mother… No longer the girl he loved…
Blue's phone rang and she answered it. It was Emma apologizing for having been somewhat wrong about her. It was a half-hearted apology, but far better than the growing animosity of the last couple of months.
When Blue put the phone down again, she noticed Regina calling out to Daniel, as he just passed Blue's study….
"Daniel, please…" Regina begged. "Just hear me out for once…."
The voices faded away and Blue closed her eyes. It had been quite the rollercoaster ride…. She had witnessed Lady Fortuna! Before she realized it, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep, only to be woken again hours later, when one of the nuns wondered where she was.
Rumple lay awake. It had been a wonderful night. He had found his son back! He had suddenly gained a grandson! And, most of all, his wonderful Belle loved him once more…
He had also lost something… Something rather big and serious. Even Radolph wouldn't listen to him…
Would he lose his status as a tough businessman? Would he lose his bargaining skills? What would happen? Was the trade worth it? A dagger for a son?
Belle woke up and saw his staring at the ceiling. "Rumple…" she whispered. "It is all right. All is right…"
"I hope so…" he mumbled gloomily. "I hope so…"
"I won't have you worrying…" she said with a smile as she began to tickle his ribs.
"Belle, don't… no.. Belle…" he said threateningly. Even his woman didn't listen to him anymore!
She stopped, but not before she began to slowly open the buttons of his pyjama shirt which caused him to focus on other things than his loss of power….
A/N: And that's it! Most things resolved and others' a bit more open-ended. Hope you've enjoyed it!