Chapter Eighty-Seven—"Parents and Children"

The next day, Blue approached Snow and Charming after the pair finished talking to Archie about Ariel, who had been found by Ruby that morning, nearly comatose and unresponsive. Emma had meant to talk to them that day and tell them about Neal being Henry's father, but everything had gone more than a little out of control the day before, what with the attack on the convent, and she'd simply run out of time. She'd chickened out on telling them after they'd all gotten home that evening, because sharing a house with her parents was still weirder than weird, and sometimes Emma just needed some time to herself. That, and she wound up spending half the night with Graham, anyway, watching over him as he settled into a hurriedly spiffed up room in the asylum. By the time she'd gotten home, they'd all been bone tired, and Emma just didn't have the heart to tell them that she'd kind of neglected to mention that Neal was more than just Gold's kid.

Then morning rolled around, and Ruby called about Ariel, which meant another rush back to the hospital and a long talk with Archie. Emma headed to Granny's after that to take a look at Ariel's room. It wasn't like they didn't know exactly who had attacked Ariel—there was only one 'person' who could leave someone a shattered and terrified mess like that—but Emma still needed to look for evidence. It was her job.

So, she just managed to walk up as Blue was describing the attack on the convent, and definitely didn't miss the decidedly unflattering ways in which Blue was describing Gold.

"The Dark One must be stopped," Blue concluded primly.

"I know," Snow replied reassuringly. "We're working with Belle to find a way to get the dagger back—she has some good ideas, and we hope it won't be long."

"I'm afraid it won't be enough to wrest the dagger from Cora's hands, child," the senior fairy said. "The Dark One must be controlled by someone good and honorable. Otherwise, now that he has a taste of such darkness and mayhem, he will never stop creating it."

"Horseshit," Emma cut in.

"Emma!" Snow gasped, but she ignored her well-meaning mother.

"I beg your pardon?" Blue gaped, looking offended.

"I said that's horseshit," she repeated helpfully. "Gold's on his own team, sure, but he's never been a danger to the town like Cora is. He wants to be left alone, not to kill everyone."

"I have known him much longer than you have, I'm afraid," the fairy said sadly. "The Dark One should not ever be trusted. He may claim to care about others, but in the end he will hurt even those closest to him—"

"Yeah, sure he will. Neal—Baelfire—told me about your little stunt with the magic bean, sending him to the streets of London where a crippled man could never have survived. So, don't pretend you're not capable of some pretty nasty stuff, too, okay?" Emma retorted, not sure why she was suddenly so angry. But the thought of Neal starving on the streets of nineteenth century London, younger than he was even when she'd originally met him, really just pissed her off.

For the first time, it occurred to Emma that the same fairy who had counseled her parents to stick her in an enchanted tree and give her up had managed to separate Neal from his father, too. No wonder the two of them got along so well—they'd both had this sanctimonious bitch try to ruin their lives. Blue, however, managed to look both affronted and regal when Emma slapped her with that accusation, her eyes widening innocently.

"Child, I know that my actions can sometimes seem harsh, but I assure you that I have always acted for the greater good and tried to save as many as I can."

"It's your methods I'm arguing with, not your motivations," she said dryly, then purposefully looked at her parents and ignored the fairy. "How's Ariel?"

"Talking a little," Snow said sadly. "But not much."

"Archie has his work cut out for him," her dad added. "But he thinks he can get through to her."

"Good." Emma nodded, glancing to the right where she could see Neal and Henry walking out of Granny's. She'd probably never learn to consistently call her ex "Baelfire", but if that was what he wanted to be, she'd try. He'd been quick to offer to take Henry to breakfast today, which had been really useful when Emma needed time to check out Ariel's room and her parents had been off at the hospital. Besides, it let them get to know one another, and that was important.

"We checked on our, um, friend while we were there, too," David said, and wasn't it interesting that he didn't think Blue should know about Graham, either? Or maybe it was just because they were on the street. "He's doing all right."

"I'm glad," Emma said softly, her eyes still on Henry and Neal. They really did look so much alike. How could anyone miss the connection?

Almost on cue, Snow spoke up. "Henry sure is spending a lot of time with Neal lately. I think he really likes him."

Yeah, this was another topic Emma wasn't going to discuss in public. "Henry likes anyone who will read his book with him," she said as casually as she could. "Neal's interested."

Something crossed Blue's face as Emma said that, though, and she had to wonder. Did the Blue Fairy know?

"So, Emma said that August sold you out to Cora," Henry asked out of the blue as they walked out of Granny's, making Bae blink.

"Yeah," he tried to say it without anger, but the knowledge that August—who could have warned him about a thousand times—had told Cora when he was coming so that Cora could torture him was just a little too much to swallow politely. Hell, maybe Bae could have forgiven him if that had been all that had happened, because well, his time in Cora's cellar wasn't his first rodeo. Some of his years in Neverland had been really nasty, and Bae understood making sacrifices to save those you loved. But then Cora had used August's little betrayal to get the dagger, and Bae didn't have to be told to know that his father was in a world of hurt right now. Not what you tell your kid, dude, he told himself firmly, and tried to smile. "What makes you bring that up?"

"Well, he's walking this way," Henry replied bluntly, gesturing off to the right. And yeah, sure enough, there was 'August W. Booth', who didn't look nearly as wooden as he should. Great. So he gets a get out of wood free card, too. Wonder who did that little trick for him? Bae thought angrily. But Henry continued: "The old man he was just talking to is Geppetto. I thought Cora had him."

"I guess not anymore," Bae made himself say, grimacing. "C'mon, kid. Let's go to the toy store or something. I really don't feel like talking to him."

"I'm ten, not two."

Bae rolled his eyes as he listened to the I'm-too-old-for-that posturing. "They have comic books, don't they?"

"Yeah…"

"You gonna tell me that you're the one ten-year-old on the entire planet who doesn't like comic books?" he challenged his kid.

"No," Henry admitted with a grin. "But you didn't have them growing up, did you?"

"Nope, but I'd have loved them if I did," Bae replied, and gestured. "C'mon. You can help me pick a present out for Gabi, too. Her birthday's coming up."

"I should get her something, too, shouldn't I?" Henry asked as they crossed the street, and Bae felt his heart grow like crazy. Damn, he had a good kid. He actually couldn't wait to meet this Regina—who had apparently been his father's protégé—and thank her for doing such a good job with his son. Even if her being awake will complicate everything, I can't begrudge the woman who raised my kid to be so awesome. He needed to thank David, too, but at least that would be easier.

"She'd like that."

Unfortunately, August crossed the street from about a block away, and jogged over to meet them right outside the Wonderful Toymaker. Glancing around, Neal tried to figure out a way to subtly get out of this meeting, but he couldn't think of one—so he figured blunt was in order.

"I'm not really in the mood to talk to you, man," he told August, who winced.

"Look, Neal, I only did what I had to, and you seem like you're okay—"

Bae's punch cut August off before he could say another word, a right hook that caught the former puppet right in the face, making him stumble back. Wide-eyed, August stared at Baelfire, shocked and obviously hurt. Henry, meanwhile, whistled quietly and was probably wondering where Bae had learned to punch like that, but there was no way in hell that Bae was going to tell his kid that he'd learned that from Felix in Neverland a lifetime ago.

"What the hell was that for?" August demanded after working his jaw back and forth.

"My father," Bae snapped. "You were so caught up in mere threats to your dad that you forgot other people have families, too."

"I couldn't—"

"The hell you couldn't. You could have gone to someone for help. This town is full of heroes who help people like you, even when they're lying sacks of wood like you. So, man up and admit that you screwed up, okay? Thanks to you, my dad's being forced to murder people and Cora is doing who-knows-what to him."

"You can't blame this on me!" August protested.

"Says who? If you had bothered to at least warn me that Cora wanted me—or tell Emma, or even try to work around her—then we wouldn't be in this situation. The death toll's at twenty now, dude. Sure, Cora's mostly to blame, but you get some of the credit, too."

He felt like hitting the blue-eyed liar again, but Emma hurrying up at least gave him pause. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"He hit me!"

Emma eyed the puppet derisively. "I'm sure you deserved it."

Henry snickered; Bae remembered the thousand and two reasons he had to be in love with this woman and wanted desperately to kiss her. Except I'm pretty sure that might get me punched in the face, he decided, so stopped short of declaring his undying love. Besides, hitting August had made him feel a lot better.

"That's not fair," August said quietly, and Bae and Emma snorted in synch.

"Life's not fair," they said together, and Bae was pretty sure that he heard Henry snicker again.

"Look, I came over here because I wanted to help," August tried again, and Bae couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Bit late for that, isn't it?" he snapped.

"Neal." Emma gave him a hard look, and he subsided.

"What are you saying?" she asked August bluntly. "You have to understand that we're going to take it with a great big grain of salt."

"My father…he's gotten out," the puppet answered. "Cora doesn't have him anymore, and I want to help."

Emma eyed him, clearly suspicious. "Do you now?"

"Yeah, I do. Look, I know I made mistakes, but I didn't want to betray anyone," August said. "Cora…you know how she is. She can be scary as hell, and I just didn't want to let my papa die, okay?"

Bae still wasn't convinced, but he'd tell Emma that later. Not now. There was something in the back of his mind that told him that August was still lying, but maybe he'd just gotten paranoid. Twice he'd believed this guy, and both times had turned out terribly. Emma had been screwed over the first time, and now his own father was paying the price. So, he didn't listen to Emma telling August that she'd talk to him later, and they'd figure out something August could do to help. Instead, he just glanced at Henry.

"You want to go shopping, kid? Belle gave me her credit card."

"Wow, I thought she was supposed to be smart!"

Grinning—because man, could Henry always make his mood better—Bae led his son into the toy store and ignored the puppet's pleas for Emma to give him another chance.

After their conversation—and Emma's confrontation—with Blue, David felt like they needed a little time to think. So, he pulled Snow into the animal shelter, using the excuse that he needed to check up on the staff to make sure everything was going all right. Of course, he knew he could trust the people working there, particularly since they'd all worked with animals back home, but it was a good reason to find a quiet corner to talk. Unfortunately, they didn't manage to exchange more than a handful of words before the Jabberwocky slipped out of the shadows.

Immediately, David drew his sword, knowing that the weapon would be utterly useless against the fear-mongering creature, but not knowing what else to. Snow slipped her hand into his, and they faced the Jabberwocky together, remembering how they had defeated her before.

However, the creature held her hands up in mock surrender, smiling mysteriously. "Don't look so worried. I'm not here to harm either one of you."

"You'll have to excuse us for being wary after our last encounter," Snow retorted, and David gave his wife a tight smile.

Jabber just shrugged. "That was Cora's doing. I'm not bound to obey her like the Dark One is, but she does have…sway over my choices."

"Why?" David asked, genuinely curious. "You'd said something about a…Vorpal Blade. Is that why?"

"Ah, so you are more than just a pretty face," the strange looking woman purred, her eyes dark but excited.

"Get to the point," Snow said before Jabber could continue in that annoyingly mythical tone of hers.

"Very well," Jabber shrugged again. "I'll make a deal with you. If you can get the Vorpal Blade from Cora, I'll help you. I don't want to be used like some attack dog, but while Cora has the Blade and can use it against me, I don't have much of a choice. Give it back to me—give me my freedom—and I'll even leave Storybrooke. You won't ever hear from me again."

"Why would you do that?" Wariness radiated from Snow, and David felt the same way.

"There's no magic out there," was the suddenly quiet response.

"Wait a minute," David realized as his mind turned over the problem. "You weren't here during the curse, were you?"

A sad smile. "Now you're beginning to understand."

"You want to be normal," he breathed. "You want to go somewhere without magic, somewhere you can just be…"

"Like everyone else," Jabber finished for him. "I can't do it while Cora has the Vorpal Blade. I can't be sure it wouldn't bring me back. But if I can leave with it, I won't have to be like this. I can just be like everyone else."

David's heart was hammering wildly in his chest, and for the first time since Cora started assembling her nasty little army, he genuinely felt hope that they'd be able to defeat her before she tore the entire town to shreds. Quickly exchanging a glance with Snow, he nodded. His wife spoke evenly, looking the Jabberwocky right in the eye.

"You have a deal. We'll help you get your blade back, so long as you promise to leave and never come back."

"I want nothing more," Jabber promised, and they started talking details.

The dwarf was useless. He'd helped try to break through Ingrid's ice wall—which had gone done earlier than Cora would have liked, but being able to see it happen was a little useful. Still, she should have had Rumplestiltskin take someone else's heart. I want Snow to feel everything, but I should have had him take Charming's again. I thought the heroes would figure that out too easily, but it would have been worth it to make Snow suffer. At least Graham had died in the ice. That was a bit of revenge, a small victory. Cora had told Zelena to tuck his heart away in the dead section of her vault; it was useless now unless she wanted to reanimate him as a zombie. Which she might yet do.

Still, having Rumple take the dwarf's heart was not one of her finer moves. Now the damn dwarf was sitting at bar with his 'brothers' and drinking at the Rabbit Hole. Annoyed, Cora put Grumpy's heart back in the box. She would use him against Snow—maybe she would have him kill someone close to the brat princess. Until then, however, his heart would stay in the vault.

Toy shopping with her kid and her ex-boyfriend was weird. And…nice. This is not my life, Emma told herself firmly, pushing down a strange pang of regret. Then her inner voice continued traitorously: but it could be. She could have this life. Emma really could settle down, be with a man she'd once thought she'd marry, and have their kid around. Sure, it would be a bit complicated; her own dad had adopted said kid and so had her mom's stepsister, but at least they were all in the same town, right? Complicated had become the color of her life lately, but did that have to be a bad thing?

You're crazy, she told herself firmly, watching Henry and Neal—Bae?—geek out over a comic book of some sort. They looked so much alike, and man, did Henry make her think of Neal all the time. And Neal popped the question in the least romantic way ever, Emma thought, swallowing hard as Neal paid for three comic books and a pop-up book and a stuffed dog for his little sister. The scene was oddly domestic, and Emma felt her heart trying to like it. Should she say yes? If Neal was right—and she really needed to see that contract for herself—that would not only keep her safe, but it would also keep her parents safe. Thinking like that is a lot easier than deciding if I'd want to marry Neal or not. I did once, but…it's been too long, hasn't it?

"You've got Belle's credit card, and that's all you're buying?" she teased Neal without thinking whether doing so was a good idea or not.

Neal snorted. "Hey, I've known I had a stepmom for all of six days. I shouldn't spend all her money at once. Then she won't give me more."

"I think the Golds have plenty of cash," Emma replied, remembering what Regina had told her about Gold way back in the beginning. "I'm pretty sure your dad owns over half the real estate in this town, and then some."

"Not bad," Neal whistled softly. "Guess the family's really come up in the world."

That, of course, got Henry's attention, and he glanced up at his birth father. "You guys were, um, kinda poor back in the Enchanted Foreset, weren't you?" he asked.

"Peasants usually are, yeah," was the easy answer as he handed Henry the bag of comic books. "My mom ran off with a pirate when I was little—I don't think that's in your book—and it was just Papa and I. It was a hard life, but a good one."

Oh, great, a cynical voice inside her pointed out. I'm a princess and he's a peasant. This really just is a fairytale in the making, isn't it? That wasn't the way she needed to be thinking right now, though—or was it?

"You want to go out for dinner tonight?" Emma blurted out before she could stop herself, jerking Neal and Henry both up short.

"You mean all three of us?" Neal said, looking surprised.

She almost took the easy way out, almost said yes. But Henry, however, piped up immediately, his brown eyes shining: "She just means just the two of you, don't you, Mom?"

"Um, yeah. Actually," she made herself say, sucking in a deep breath and trying not to sound to accusatory when she added: "You wanted to give this another go."

"I do. Of course I do," her ex said quickly, holding the door open for Emma and Henry as they walked out of the Wonderful Toymaker. "I just…well, I'll shut up now and not make things worse. How about around seven?"

"We could try the Italian place," Emma said before she could chicken out. "It's got to be better than going to Granny's, anyway."

"Honestly, Emma, we could order pizza and drink boxed wine for all I care," Neal answered, and why the hell did that sound romantic? Nevermind that they'd done it all the time, a lifetime ago. "I just, y'know, want the chance to find out if there's anything left of what we had."

She opened her mouth to agree, until a suave voice spoke from behind her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Swan, but do you have a minute?" Killian whatever-his-last-name-really-was said as Emma whirled around.

Hook. That was right, he was supposed to be Captain Hook, even though he had two hands and his presence was making Neal bristle. Oh, right. He also helped Cora kidnap Neal, Emma remembered. Yeah, that really did make things all kinds of better, didn't it? Still, she didn't want to turn this into a fight—Neal's knuckles were already bruised from punching August—so she got in before Neal could speak up.

"Now's not really a good time, Killian."

"Unless you're going to try to sell me to Cora again. Then it might be a great time," Neal cut in before the pirate could answer. "Hell, I'll even go along quietly."

"Are you nuts?" Emma asked before she even thought about that contract and what that would mean. But her ex just shrugged.

"Might be."

Henry's dark eyes were watching the exchange, and part of Emma really just wanted to punch Killian herself. But the pirate shook his head.

"Rather the opposite, in fact," he said quietly, his eyes on Neal. "I'm sorry, Bae. I truly am. I thought—well, what I thought doesn't matter. I was wrong. And I was wrong to side with Cora, too."

"Well, it follows your track record, doesn't it?" Neal shot back. "You sided with Pan, too. All to save your own skin."

Killian blinked hard, clearly taken aback by the anger in Neal's voice. But it was Henry who piped up curiously:

"Pan?" their son asked. "Like Peter Pan?"

"Don't ask," the two men responded in unison, and that really made Emma want to know. Unfortunately, the same curiosity ran through Henry's veins.

"But, Dad, if you've been to Neverland—"

"Neverland isn't like it is in the movies, okay, Henry?" Neal said, looking down Henry, suddenly all seriousness. "It's a terrible place, and Pan's a villain on par with the Evil Queen. Fairy tales aren't always right, okay?"

Emma could see that Henry was still curious, but even a ten-year-old could catch on to the urgency in his father's voice, and he nodded. "Okay."

It was easy to tell that Henry wasn't going to let it drop forever, but at least he was willing to stop asking questions for now. Neal had told Emma that he'd spent some time in Neverland, but she had never really been into the many forms of Peter Pan, so she'd kind of brushed off the reference. She hadn't been terribly curious at the time, but Henry, of course, would be. Especially since Hook and Neal both seemed to think the place was just that terrible. Hell, that got Emma's attention, which probably said al ot.

"Baelfire…" Killian started slowly, looking a little lost. "I can't apologize enough. I didn't know what Cora would do to you until after she had you. Please believe that. If nothing else, I could never do that to your mother's son."

Those words made Neal shift uncomfortably, and it took Emma a moment to figure out why. But what had Neal said just a few minutes ago? His mother had run off with a pirate when he was a kid. You have got to be kidding me, she thought. Could this place get any stranger?

"Yeah, well, you're the one that picked her side," Neal grumbled.

"I did. And I was wrong."

"You gonna do something about that?"

"Actually, that's rather what I'm trying to do right now. Assuming you'll hear me out," Killian retorted, and that made Emma blink and re-enter the conversation.

"You're trying to swap sides?" she asked, just to get everything out in the open.

"Aye. I know what Cora's goals are, and I know whose hearts she has—or some of them, anyway. I will help you, if you'll let me."

"In exchange for what?" Neal asked suspiciously.

The pirate shrugged, wearing an awkward looking half smile. "Obviously, I'd prefer not to go to jail after it's all over."

"I think we can work on that," Emma replied before Neal could get in, mulling over the possibilities in her head. Yet she hadn't forgotten that Killian had tried to stop her from going to Gold to get help with Henry just a week earlier, or that he'd tried to seduce his way into her bed on more than one occasion. Had that been on Cora's orders? the sheriff almost asked, but stopped herself. Instead, she cleared her throat. "Okay, then. If you know whose hearts Cora has, name one."

"Ingrid," Killian answered without hesitation. "You know her as Sarah Fisher, the owner of Any Given Sundae.

A memory tugged on the edge of Emma's consciousness, almost close enough to touch, but just out of reach. "Ingrid?" she whispered without meaning to.

"Aye. She's got ice magic, but Cora's got her heart. That's where the ice wall around Graham's apartment came from—"

Emma didn't wait to hear the rest of that sentence. She sprinted for Any Given Sundae, crossing the street in long strides and dodging around a Camaro and a Mazda and barging through the doors before she'd even decided to start moving. But the ice cream shop was empty when Emma got there, and she was just left staring at a half-open freezer that had somehow not started to melt.

Prince Charming had been right, Robin reflected. Discussing their plans in front of people who Cora might or might not have corrupted was a bad idea. Robin had been ready to tell everyone about his ideas at the war council, but upon reflection, it was better to keep quiet on that front for now.

"Tomorrow, you think?" he asked Will Scarlet. "Or the day after?"

The former Merry Man shrugged. "I think we're gonna have to, mate. If we let Cora go on like this, there ain't gonna be no one left to fight her. Looks like your girlfriend might be the key to that."

"She's not"—Robin felt his ears go red. "Or she is. Thing is, I don't know what she is. But I know I have to try."

"Aye, anything else would be stupidity. I know what I'd do for Ana, Robin. You don't have to explain."

That was a relief, at least. But Robin turned his mind back to business with an effort. "I think our best bet is to hit her on multiple fronts at once. Cora—and the Dark One—can only be in so many places at the same time. We might not succeed everywhere, but if we can meet at least one of our objectives, that's a victory."

"You're the strategist," Will grinned. "I was just a lowly thief."

"You didn't do so badly when you planned that heist at Maleficent's," Robin said.

"Aye, and look how good that worked out for me! Still, I wish we could get her on our side. A fire breathin' dragon bitch would be dead useful."

"Tell me about it," Robin breathed. "But I don't think she's for hire."

"Pity."

The knock on the door came just after Belle finished reading The Knight and the Dragon with Gabrielle. It was one of the new books that Belle had been able to order since the curse broke, and this was their first time through. Gabrielle absolutely loved the story, of course—she loved almost every book they read—but she particularly liked the way the knight and the dragon both studied books to figure out how to face one another and then wound up cooking barbeque together instead of fighting.

"Can Papa cook us bar-be-que, Mamma?" Gabi asked, turning big brown eyes on her as Belle's heart constricted painfully.

"We'll ask him when he gets back, sweetie," she said as lightly as she could manage, determined to keep tears out of her eyes. Just thinking about Rumple was hard, and how could she explain this entire messed up situation to their little girl?

"When will he be back?" was the whispered question.

Belle gulped. I cannot cry. If I cry, she'll wonder why, and then I'll have to tell her that Cora is hurting her papa. "I don't know," she admitted softly. "But I know that he misses you very much, and he'll be back as soon as he can."

"Want him back soon," Gabi pouted.

"Me, too," Belle said, leaning over to kiss her daughter in the head. "Now, how about I turn on The Little Mermaid singalong for you?"

Gabi gave her an unhappy look, but relented. "Okay."

Rising, Belle loaded the DVD, turning on the Disney singalong that was still Gabi's favorite, despite how sick of it her parents had grown. Just as she hit play, Belle heard the doorbell ring, and she put the remote down on the coffee table.

"You stay right here, okay, Gabi?" she said, and headed into the front hall just as whoever was at the door started knocking insistently. Hurrying to the door, imagining what disaster must have happened—and hopefully not to Bae!—Belle shouted: "I'm coming!"

But when she opened the door, her father was standing there.

A/N: Oh, dear. Moe French is back, and what might he want now that he's also Maurice?

Next up is Chapter Eighty-Eight—"Warnings", in which Belle gives her father an ultimatum, Jafar gets restless, Emma tells her parents the truth about Henry, and then Emma and Baelfire's dinner date is interrupted.