*New York*
Emma, Henry, and Mr. Gold arrived outside an apartment building via a taxi. All three of them got out and the taxi drives off.
"What's wrong? This the right place?" Emma asked Gold.
"Yes, it is." Gold replied.
"Let me guess. He's not expecting you. Well, who doesn't love a surprise?" Emma said before they entered the building.
"No 'Baelfire'." Henry said as he looked through some names.
"Yeah, that probably wouldn't fly as an alias. Your magic globe didn't give you an apartment number?" Emma said to Henry before asking her question to Gold.
"It doesn't work that way." Gold replied.
"Do any of these names mean anything to you?" Henry asked.
"Well, names are what I traffic in, but sadly, no." Gold replied.
"Here's your boy." Emma said as she pointed at an apartment that was only listed by a number.
"Or, it could just be vacant." Gold argued.
"You might traffic in names and magic, but I traffic in finding people who don't want to be found. And those sorts of folks don't like to advertise their whereabouts." Emma said.
Emma then buzzed the apartment and waited for someone to answer.
"UPS package for 407." Emma said after someone answered.
The person on the other side didn't say anything and then hung up.
"Maybe you should've said FedEx." Henry said.
All three then heard a noise coming from the fire escape.
"He's running." Emma said.
All three ran outside and saw a figure climbing down the fire escape. Once the figure reached the ground, they took off.
"That… That favor you owe me- this is it. Get him to talk to me. I… I can't run." Gold said.
"Watch Henry. I'll be back." Emma said before taking off.
Emma chased the figure through the streets of New York before cutting through a building and tackling the figure to the ground. When the figure looked at Emma, she was shocked to see who it was.
"No… Neal?" Emma questioned.
"Emma?" Neal questioned.
"Neal?" Emma questioned again.
Both of them stood up, and neither of them could figure out why the other was there.
"I don't understand. What are you doing here? Where's Hazelle?" Neal asked.
"What am I doing here?" Emma asked.
"Yeah." Neal replied.
"I'm not answering anything until you tell me the truth. Are you Gold's son?" Emma asked.
"What are you talking about? Who's Gold?" Neal asked.
"You played me and Hazelle. You're from there. You played me, and he played me, you both played me." Emma said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay." Neal said to try to calm Emma down.
"You and Gold." Emma continued.
"Emma, slow down. What are you talking about? Who's Gold?" Neal asked.
"Your father. Rumplestiltskin." Emma replied.
"He's here?" Neal asked.
"Why else would I be in New York?" Emma asked.
"You brought him to me? Why would you do that?" Neal asked angrily.
"Hey! I am the only one allowed to be angry here! Did you know who Hazelle and I were, where we were from, the whole time? Was this just some sort of sick twisted plan? Did… Did you even care about me at all?" Emma asked.
She had to know and she knew that when she told Hazelle that she would be just as mad as she was.
"Emma, do not…" Neal tried to say but was interrupted.
"I want to know! I want the truth- all of it!" Emma yelled.
"Fine! We… We got to get off the street. We can't do it here. We're out in the open. I… I spent a lifetime running from that man. I'm not going to let him catch me. There's a bar down the street. We can't talk here." Neal said.
"I am not drinking with you. Whatever you're going to tell me, tell me now." Emma demanded.
"No, bar's better. Don't worry. You can keep yelling at me when we get there," Neal said before walking away.
Emma knew that she needed to know the truth, and also knew that Hazelle would flip her lid once she finds out.
*Back with Henry and Gold*
"Don't worry. Emma's really good at catching people." Henry said.
"Well, my son's been running away for a long time now. Now I have a feeling he's equally adept at it." Gold said.
"Well, at least we found him, right?" Henry asked.
"Indeed." Gold replied.
"Oh, and, uh, thanks, for the hot dog. I forgot." Henry said.
"You are quite welcome. And thank you." Gold said.
"For what?" Henry asked confused.
"Well, if it wasn't for you bringing Emma to Storybrooke, none of this would have come to pass. You are a remarkable young man." Gold replied.
"You know… I forgave. Emma-for giving me up. She thought it was best for me then. That's why she did it. I'm sure your son will get it, too." Henry said.
"Alas, the circumstances surrounding our separation weren't quite so noble." Gold said.
"But… you're here now. And, you want him back, right?" Henry asked.
"More than anything." Gold replied.
"Then, that's all that matters." Henry said.
*Back with Emma and Neal*
"Well, what do you want to know, Emma? You want the truth? Ask away." Neal said.
"Did you know who Hazelle and I were when we all met?" Emma asked.
She needed to know if they were used for some sick scheme because Hazelle is like her sister and they'll protect each other no matter what.
"If I had, I wouldn't have gone near you." Neal replied.
"Come on." Emma said.
"Come on? Come on, what? I was in hiding. I came here to get… A-away from… All that crap." Neal said.
"So, if you didn't know, then you were just using us. You just needed someone to take the fall for all the watches that you stole." Emma said.
Emma knew that Hazelle really wanted her and Neal to work out and was pissed when she found out that Emma went to jail because of Neal.
"I wasn't using either of you. When we all met, I didn't know. I found out." Neal said.
Neal really didn't know anything about Emma or Hazelle. He really cared about Emma and cared for Hazelle like a sister.
"How?" Emma asked.
"When I went to sell the watches… I ran into a friend of yours. August." Neal replied.
"You left me… And let me go to prison because Pinocchio told you to?" Emma asked.
"Emma…" Neal said.
"I loved you." Emma said.
"I… I was, um… I was… I was trying to help you." Neal said.
"By letting me go to jail?" Emma asked.
"By getting both of you home." Neal replied.
"Are you telling me, that us meeting was a coincidence? Because how the hell did that happen? If it wasn't in your plan, or your father's?" Emma asked.
"Think about it. He wanted you to break the curse. Us meeting- that could have stopped it. Maybe it was fate." Neal replied.
"You believe in that?" Emma asked.
"You know, there's not a ton about my father that I remember that doesn't suck. But he used to tell me that there are no coincidences. Everything that happens, happens by design, and there's nothing we can do about it. Forces greater than us conspire to make it happen. Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it. The point is… Maybe we met for a reason. Maybe something good came from us being together." Neal replied.
"No. Not that I can think of. I just went to jail. That's it. Doesn't matter now. I'm over it. And you." Emma said.
"Why do you wear the, uh, key chain I got you?" Neal asked.
Emma took the necklace off and placed it in front of Neal.
"To remind myself never to trust someone again. Come on. I made a deal with your father I'd bring you to him." Emma replied.
"You made a deal with him?" Neal asked in shock.
"Yeah. And I'm upholding my end." Emma replied.
"No, Emma, you don't have to. You know that." Neal said.
"I know." Emma said.
"Okay, so this should be really easy for you. Tell him that you lost me. Tell him you can't find me. You do that, you'll never have to see me again." Neal pleaded.
*Storybrooke*
"Wait. Gold's son is Henry's father?" Mary Margaret asked Emma after I answered my phone when she called.
I have her on speaker so both of us could talk to her.
"I know. I know. And the millions of questions you have, I have, too. The problem is, it doesn't matter right now because I don't know what to do." Emma said.
"Please tell me you're not calling to ask me to tell you to keep it from him?" Mary Margaret asked.
She glanced at me but I turned my head because I'm standing with Emma on whatever decision she makes.
"Henry thinks his father is dead. I told him that for a reason. I want to protect him." Emma replied.
"No matter what this man did, Henry has a right to know who his father is. The truth about your parents… Emma, you and Alycia should know how important that is." Mary Margaret said.
"I don't want Henry to get hurt. I just want to protect him." Emma said.
I could tell that her voice was breaking because she was terrified of telling Henry the truth.
"Are you sure this is about protecting Henry, and not yourself?" Mary Margaret asked.
Mary Margaret then left the room and I continued the conversation.
"Emma, I'll do whatever you need me to do." I told her.
Emma hesitated before telling me that she'll tell Henry the truth in her own time. I told her that I would stand by her decision and that I'll be there no matter what. Emma thanked me and then we hung up.
*Back in New York*
"Why are you so nervous? When I found my mom, I was excited." Henry asked Gold.
"Because I have the benefit of a little more… life experience. I know that things don't always happen the way we want them to." Gold replied.
"Sure, but in my book, it says that you can see the future. Why can't you just look and see what's going to happen?" Henry asked.
"Well, that ability is complicated. I didn't always have it. And then when I did… Well… It's maybe not the gift one would expect. Seeing the inevitable can be a terrible price." Gold replied.
"But you wouldn't have to worry about stuff. You'd just know." Henry said.
"But that's the great trap. The future is like a puzzle… With missing pieces. Difficult to read. And never, never what you think." Gold said.
Emma then entered and both Henry and Gold stood up.
"Hey." Emma said.
"Did you find him?" Gold asked.
"Sorry. Your son… Got away." Emma replied.
*Storybrooke*
"So Rumplestiltskin is Henry's grandfather?" David asked as Mary Margaret and I told him about the conversation with Emma.
"Apparently." Mary Margaret replied.
"But I'm his grandfather." David said.
"You can have more than one." I said.
"So his… step-grandmother is Regina, the evil queen." David said while trying to wrap his head around everything.
"Actually, his step-great-grandmother. And she's also his adoptive mother." Mary Margaret said.
"It's a good thing we don't have Thanksgiving in our land, cause that dinner would suck." David said.
I had to agree because even I'm getting confused about who is related to whom.
"Or, maybe this will mellow everyone out." Mary Margaret said.
David and I shared a look before looking back at her.
*New York*
Gold starts hitting all the buttons on the intercom multiple times.
"Gold, wait. What are you doing?" Emma asked.
Someone eventually responded to the buzzer and the front gate unlocked.
"I'm finding my son." Gold replied.
"He's gone." Emma said.
"But he lives here. He'll be back, and I'll be waiting." Gold said.
Emma, Gold, and Henry arrived at the door of Neal's apartment, and Emma knew that she needed to stop whatever Gold was planning.
"Stop. You can't just break in." Emma said.
"Yeah, well, actually, that's something I'm quite adept at." Gold said.
"He might not come back." Emma said.
"Okay. Finding people is what you do, Miss Swan. I'm simply going to assist you. There may be information in here. Who he is, what he does, who he loves." Gold said.
"No, don't do this. There are things called laws." Emma said.
"I'll be lookout." Henry said as he went to watch for anyone heading their way.
"No, I… You could get arrested." Emma went to say to Henry before going back to Gold.
"Then my son will have to testify against me, and we will be reunited." Gold said.
Gold successfully picked the lock and opened the door. All three entered the apartment. But Emma knew that she had to stop this before her whole world came crashing down.
"Gold. Come on, please. We really shouldn't be here." Emma said.
Both Henry and Gold started investigating the apartment when Emma noticed a dream catcher in the window. Emma remembered so vividly where she had seen the dream catcher before. She took it into her hands and stared at it. Gold noticed and decided to ask questions.
"You find something, dearie?" Gold asked.
"Nothing. Uh, it just looks like a dream catcher." Emma replied.
"Yeah, well, if it's nothing, why are you still holding it? You're lying to me." Gold said.
Emma was confused because she had just picked up the dream catcher and now here was Gold throwing a tantrum because she was still holding the dream catcher when she was going to put it back before he decided to play 20 questions.
"Just get back to looking, okay?" Emma said.
She hung the dream catcher back where she got it and turned back to Gold.
"No, no, no. You saw something. Tell me." Gold demanded.
"You don't know what you're talk-" Emma went to say but was interrupted.
"Tell me!" Gold yelled.
"Henry, go wait in the bathroom." Emma said.
"But I can help." Henry said.
"Henry, go!" Emma said with a raised voice.
Henry went to the bathroom and left Emma and Gold alone.
"There's nothing here. The guy's a ghost." Emma said.
"Well, you think me a fool? You're holding back. I want to know what, and why." Gold said.
"I'm not holding back." Emma said.
"Did he tell you something?" Gold asked.
He did but Emma wasn't going to tell Gold that.
"Gold-" Emma went to say, but was interrupted once again.
"Did he tell you something?!" Gold asked with a little more anger.
"Nothing. He didn't say anything." Emma replied.
"But you talked to-" Gold went to say but this time got interrupted.
"Don't put words in my mouth." Emma said.
"Tell me! You tell me, or I'm going to make you tell me." Gold demanded.
"You don't have magic here." Emma said.
"Oh, I don't need magic." Gold said.
"You really want to do this?" Emma asked.
"Do not push me." Gold said as he stepped closer to Emma.
"Don't push me." Emma said back.
"We had a deal! A deal! No one! No one breaks deals with me!" Gold yelled.
Before anything else could be said, Neal came through the door.
"Hey! Leave her alone." Neal said to Gold.
"Bae… You came back for me." Gold said.
"No. I came to make sure you didn't hurt her. I've seen what you do to people who break deals." Neal said.
"Please, Bae, just let me talk." Gold begged.
"I have no interest in talking to you. You can go." Neal said.
"I'm not going anywhere." Gold said.
"Get out of my apartment!" Neal yelled.
"Neal…" Emma said.
"Emma, I got this." Neal said.
Neal knew that Emma was just trying to defuse the situation, but this has been a long time coming.
"You two know each other… You two know each other. How?" Gold asked confused.
"You sent me chasing after him." Emma replied.
"No, no, no. Stop it! You're lying. How do you two know each other?!" Gold yelled.
Henry came out of the bathroom and entered the living room because of all the yelling.
"Mom? W-what's going on?" Henry asked.
"Hey…" Emma said.
"Who's this?" Neal asked.
"My son." Emma replied.
"What?" Neal asked.
Neal kept looking at Henry and was trying to piece everything together.
"Is that Baelfire?" Henry asked while glancing at Neal.
"I need you to stay in the other room for a little while longer, okay? Come on." Emma said while leading Henry back into the other room.
"Wait. H-How old are you?" Neal asked Henry.
"Don't answer him." Emma said to Henry.
"How old are you, kid?!" Neal yelled.
"Eleven! Now, why is everyone yelling?" Henry yelled back.
Neal was in shock but he finally pieced everything together.
"He's eleven?" Neal asked.
Gold was slowly starting to put pieces together, and he didn't seem to know how to react.
"Mom?" Henry asked.
"Is this my son?" Neal asked.
"No. My dad was a fireman. He… He died. That's what you and Hazelle told me. You both said…" Henry replied as he walked closer to Neal and then turning to look at Emma.
"Is this… my son?" Neal asked again.
"Yes…" Emma replied as she touched Henry's face.
Neal was in complete shock that he had a son. Henry didn't know what to think so he backed away from Emma, climbed out the window, and up the fire escape. Emma hesitated before climbing out the window herself.
"Henry. Henry?" Emma called as she started climbing the fire escape.
*With Neal & Gold*
"Baelfire…" Gold said as he stopped Neal from going out the window as well.
Neal just shrugged Gold's hand off his arm and took a step back.
"Please, please. All I want is a chance to be heard." Gold pleaded.
"Get out." Neal said.
Was he upset that Emma didn't tell him he had a son? Yes. But he also couldn't blame her because he had left her. He also couldn't blame Hazelle either because she would do anything to protect Emma.
"Look, you came back to protect Emma. To show that she lived up to her end of her bargain with me." Gold said.
"And now she has. You can go." Neal said.
"No. Our deal was for her to get you to talk to me. If you truly want her deal to be fulfilled, you have but one choice. You have to talk to me." Gold said.
"You got three minutes." Neal sighed.
*With Henry & Emma*
Emma found Henry at the top of the fire escape and took a breath because she knew what was coming.
"So, that's him." Henry said.
"Yeah." Emma said.
"Why didn't you or Hazelle tell me?" Henry asked.
"Because I never thought that I would see him again. I never wanted to and Hazelle was only doing what she thought was best for you for me." Emma replied.
"Why not?" Henry asked.
"He was a thief, Henry. A liar, a bad guy, and he… he broke my heart. I had to keep Hazelle from tracking him down." Emma replied.
"I could have taken it, you know. The truth." Henry said.
"I know. He was just a part of my life I wanted to forget. That's why I didn't tell you. I was thinking of me, not you, and Hazelle was doing it for me." Emma said.
"I thought you were different, but you're just like her. Regina. She always lied to me, too." Henry said.
He could tell that he hurt Emma with what he said, but it was the truth at the moment. He couldn't really be mad at Hazelle because she was doing what she thought was best for Emma by protecting her. Hazelle always seemed to do that a lot and this was the first time that she hadn't told him something so he decided to let it pass for now.
"I'm sorry…" Emma said.
"I want to meet my dad." Henry said.
Emma nodded her head because she knew it was time. She knew that she needed to let Hazelle know about everything that has happened but that conversation would have to wait because Henry needed to actually meet his dad.
*With Neal & Gold*
"Clock's ticking." Neal said.
"I know I've made mistakes, but you must believe me. I want to make up for it. There's no greater pain than regret." Gold said.
"Try abandonment." Neal said.
"Please. Let me make it up to you." Gold pleaded.
"How are you going to do that? I grew up without a father. You can make up for that?" Neal asked.
"Yeah. Yes, I can." Gold replied.
"Two minutes." Neal said.
"Come with me to Storybrooke. There's magic there. I can turn the clock back. Make you fourteen again. We can start over." Gold said.
"Fourteen? I don't want to be fourteen, again. Are you… Are you insane?" Neal asked.
"I can't make up for the lost time, but I can take away the memories. Bae…" Gold replied.
"Take away who I am? No, thanks. One minute." Neal said.
"Bae… Please… Give me a chance. You once loved me." Gold pleaded.
"You were once a good man." Neal said.
"And I can be that man again. I've changed. Look. I came here, to this city, without magic." Gold said.
"Yeah, yeah, and you're still trying to use it to make up for your mistakes. Still think that that can make it all better. It won't. You can't. You have no idea what I've lived with. You're so worried about you. You know what I've dealt with? Every night, for more years than you could know, the last thing I see before sleep, is the image of you… You and me, over that pit. Your hand… wrapped around mine. And then, you open your grip. And as I fall away, all I can see is your face. Choosing all… this (Neal waved his hands around the room)… crap over me. Now, it's my turn. Now I'm letting you go." Neal said.
"I'm sorry-" Gold went to say but got interrupted.
"I don't care. I didn't get closure, so you don't, either. Got to go." Neal said.
"Oh, Bae…" Gold tried to say.
"No. Time's up." Neal said before leaving the room.
Emma and Henry then climbed down the fire escape back to Neal's window, but only Emma came in.
"He wants to meet you." Emma told Neal.
"You weren't going to tell me about him. Hazelle either." Neal said.
"No, we weren't." Emma said.
"Yeah, well, he's my kid, too, so neither of you get to make that decision anymore." Neal said.
"Great. Go talk to him, then. But… don't break his heart." Emma said.
She knew that if Hazelle was here, she would have laughed in Neal's face because she was going to do what she had to do to protect Emma and Henry, and that wasn't changing.
"Trust me- I'm not going to do to him what he did to me." Neal said while nodding his head towards his father.
"Or what you did to me." Emma added.
"Okay. I get it. We're all messed up. What do you say we try to avoid that with him? Alright?" Neal asked.
"Alright." Emma replied.
Neal then went to talk to Henry. Emma watched as they talked and soon, Gold joined her. Emma knew that she was doing the right thing, but she still feels guilty for lying to Henry. Emma shook her head and watched as Henry was smiling and enjoying the conversation with his father. Emma knew that going back to Storybrooke was going to be fun because she didn't know if Neal was going to come with them or if he was going to stay in New York, but Emma knew that they would cross that bridge when they got there.
Hazelle's Outfit: pin/553731716706656384/