In the enchanted forest James walked out of the barn after getting fully dressed and saw Regina and her father standing across the field. He took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing" he said to himself walking over to them. He nervously held his hand out for her father to shake. "Hello Henry. I'm James. Regina's told me all about you" he said. Henry just looked at him for a moment. After what felt like forever Henry shook James's hand. "It's nice to meet you James" he said. He didn't seem mad. James let out a huge sigh of relief. "About what you walked in on I have no ill intentions with your daughter I promise. She helped me after I got injured and got me back to full health" James said. Henry nodded. "That sounds like my daughter. Always trying to help people" Henry said. Regina smiled. It seemed like her father might actually like James. "James take a walk with me" Henry said. James looked at Regina and she nodded. "OK" James said nervously as he followed Henry.
"So you're not from around here are you" Henry asked. James shook his head. "No I live pretty far west from here with my brother and my parents" he said. Henry nodded. "What are you doing out here" Henry asked. "My father sent me to get some things for him. I got attacked and Regina saved me" James said. "What is your father's name" Henry asked. James took a deep breath. This was the conversation stopper. "Mephisto" James said. Henry stopped and looked at him. "The horned king" he asked. James stared at him in shock and nodded his head. "You know my father" James asked. Henry shook his head. "I just heard terrible stories about your father. I don't know if they're true or not" he said. James nodded his head. "They are but don't worry I am nothing like him" James said. "We all have certain traits that are like our parents" Henry said. James shook his head. "I don't think I could ever be that evil" he said.
"I'm sure Maleficent would like to hear that. Tell me James how is your mother? I haven't seen her in years since you and David were babies" Henry said and continued to walk. James stood there shocked. "You know my mother" James asked. Henry looked at James and nodded. "She has done some business with my wife. The last time I saw her you and David were just babies not much older than Regina. That would make you and David around 18 right" Henry asked. James nodded his head. "I'll be 18 in two months" he said. Henry walked over and put a hand on James's shoulder. "It seems that your mother has raised you right. I have no problem with you seeing my daughter but you have to promise me something" Henry said. "OK" James said. "You have to promise me that you will always look out for her and protect her even if it comes to against your own father" Henry said. James nodded. "I promise I won't let my father or anyone else hurt Regina" James said.
"I believe you. Let me just give you a little bit of advice. You might not want to come around here when my wife is around. She won't be as accepting as me" Henry said. James nodded as Henry started to walk away. "Why are you so accepting? I would think you would have a problem with this and with me" James said. Henry smiled. "I can tell your not a bad person James. Even though we do pick up certain traits from our parents that doesn't mean we are them. I can tell your different from your father but the most important thing is I can tell you care about Regina and you make her happy. As her father all I want is her happiness" Henry said. James stared at him in shook again. "I wish my father felt more like that. All he cares about is power" he said. Henry shook his head. "I'm sure he loves you. He just might not know how to show it" Henry said. "I doubt it. He doesn't love anyone but himself" James said. "It's getting late. You should get out of here before my wife comes back" Henry said. James nodded.
James and Regina walked hand in hand into the forest. They stopped walking and Regina turned to James. "I wish you didn't have to go" she said. James nodded. "I know me either but if I don't get these ingredients for my father he'll take it out on David and my mother and I can't let that happen" James said. Regina nodded sadly. "I will be back though I promise" he said. Regina just smiled sadly at him. "Maybe your right. Maybe this is too dangerous. If my mother finds out about us she won't take it as good as my father did" she said. "I'm willing to try if you are" James said. Regina put a hopeful smile on her face. "Really" she asked. James nodded. "I'm done letting my parents dictate my life. I want to be with you" he said. Regina hugged him. "Me too but my mother's normally home. How are we going to hide from her" she asked. James looked around and saw a big tree to the left. He walked over to it and used his fire breath to carve something into the tree. It was a heart with a J + R on the outside.
"This will be our spot. I will send word to you that I am coming back and just wait for me here. We will always get to see each other even if it is just for a couple minutes. We will always have this spot. Your mother won't find us out here" James said. "It's going to be so hard waiting for you to come back" Regina said. "I know. It'll be hard for me too but I'll come back and when I do we can make up for lost time" he said. "Since I met your father when I'm able to get David and my mother away from my father safely I want you to meet them" James said. "Would your mother accept us" Regina said. James shook his head. "Probably not at first but she loves me and David and all she wants is us to be happy. Eventually she would come around" James said. He gave her one last quick kiss and walked away. "I'll be back" he said. "I'll be waiting" she said. James morphed into his dragon form and flew off to complete his task from his father.
Back in the Storybrooke mines Emma and Archie were looking for Henry. "Henry" Emma called out while Archie looked at her. "Emma seeing as we're alone if you want to talk I'm a very good listener" he said. Emma stopped walking looked at him and laughed. "I don't need a shrink" she said. "Maybe not but maybe you just need to talk to someone who will listen. That fight with your dad seemed pretty intense" Archie said. Emma rolled her eyes. "He's just being controlling. He gets like that when the conversation of me having any sort of love life comes up" she said. "He is your father and he did raise you" Archie said. Emma rolled her eyes again. "Great your on his side" she said. Archie laughed and shook his head. "I'm not on anyone's side. All I'm saying is sometimes it's hard for father's too accept that their little girl is growing up but trust me when you find someone who makes you happy David will be happy and support you" Archie said.
"If he would ever let me be in a relationship. All he does is stand in my way when I think I actually could have a real relationship with someone" Emma said. Archie nodded. "It'll be hard for him but trust me David's a good man. He'll learn to accept it" Archie said. "I doubt it" Emma said under her breath. Archie smiled. "Can I give you some advice" he asked. "Sure why not" Emma said. "Talk to David. Let him know that you like Graham and even though you love your father your going to give it a try and not pick between the two of them. He'll come around eventually" Archie said. Emma found herself listening to Archie surprisingly. "How can you be so sure" Emma asked. "David doesn't see any man as being good enough for you but above all else he just wants you to be happy. He's just scared that if he let's some other man come in and take a part of you from him he'll lose you forever" Archie said. "I never thought about it like that" Emma said.
"It's a common fear in most fathers" Archie said. He started to walk ahead of Emma. "Archie" Emma called out. He turned around. "Thanks" Emma said and smiled at him. Archie and Emma continued walking deeper into the mines looking for Henry. "Henry? Ah!" Archie called as he tripped over a rock but Emma caught him before he fell. "Thanks" he said. Emma nodded. "Now I helped you" she said. "Henry? Henry" Emma called out. Archie stopped. "Henry" he called out. He saw a Henry shining his flashlight into a wall. Emma saw him too. "Henry" she called running up to him. "You gotta slow down" Archie said. "Sorry" Emma apologized to him. "There's something shiny down there" Henry said still shining the flashlight down the hole. "Let me see" Emma said as she took the flashlight from him and looked. She saw what Henry saw. It was shiny but she couldn't make out what it was. What was that thing? She would have to let her father know when they got out of here.
"Do you see it" Henry asked. Emma thought for a moment about the best way to approach this. She couldn't actually say anything about the curse in front of Archie so she lied. "No I don't Henry. I'm sorry" she said looking at him sadly. "Henry, this is seriously dangerous. We gotta get out of here" Archie said. Henry shook his head. "It could be something. She would know. We have to find her" he said. Emma knew exactly who Henry was talking about. Their grandmother Maleficent. He swears she's down here somewhere and Emma was going to find out mostly for her dad but she also wanted to meet her grandmother. "Henry, look at me! Look at me! I'm frightened for all of us" Archie said desperately hoping Henry would understand. "You think I'm crazy" Henry said sadly. "No! No. I'm scared because we are trapped underground in an abandoned mine, Henry, and there is no way out" Archie said. Emma shook her head. "There's gotta be something. We just have to find it" she said.
Back above ground most people from the town had come to the site of the hole. The fire department was there as well as some of the townsfolks. Pongo was sniffing around for any clues as to how to get into the mines. He started barking. Regina was talking to the firemen when James walked up to her. The firemen walked away. "Did they say anything useful" James asked. Regina shook her head. "No the morons are still looking for a way in" she said. "Remind me to fire them after this is all done" James said as Regina started to cry. James worriedly took Regina into his arms knowing why his wife was crying. "Shh! It's OK. I know I'm worried too" James said. Regina looked up at him. "What if we lose him? What if he hates us for the rest of our lives" she asked. James rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "We're going to get him back. We're not going to lose our son" he said. "Maybe we just should have been honest with him from the start" Regina said.
"We have a lot to make up for when we get him back and we will get him back" James said. "Do you really believe we will" she asked. James nodded his head. "I know we will" he said giving his wife a passionate kiss. Regina hugged James tighter. She was so happy she had James. They had fought so hard to be together through his father and her mother but they were together and happy. She didn't know where she would be without him. "Besides this whole thing with Henry isn't our fault" James said. Regina looked at her husband confused. "What do you mean" she asked. James took his phone out of his coat pocket and played the video for Regina to see. She watched it with anger in her eyes. "Where did you get this" she asked. "The security company sends me notifications if something looks suspicious" he said. The video was surveillance of David in their house the previous night. Regina watched as he went through the house and stole the memory rocks from them.
"So that's how Henry remembers because David stole the rocks from us" Regina said. James nodded. "Let me have your wedding and engagement ring" James said. "Why" Regina asked. James turned around and looked at David who was talking to Graham and Marco. "David wants to steal from us fine we'll give him something to steal" James said. Across the way David was standing at the hole with Graham and Marco. "Archie's smart. He will keep them safe until we get to them" Marco said. Firemen and construction workers were working on moving the rocks when the ground started to rumble. Everyone got unsteady on their feet. "Watch out" Marco yelled. "Stop! Stop" Regina yelled as her and James ran up to everyone. "Clear the area. Move! Move! Move" David yelled to the firemen and construction workers who were trying to help. They all cleared the area. "You idiots are making it worse" James yelled at all of them.
"I am trying to save our children. Stop being such an ass" David said walking up to James and Regina. "You know why Henry went in there in the first place, don't you because all you guys have done is lie to him his whole life" David yelled at them. "What about Emma? She ran in there to get away from you. Face it David your no better at being a parent than we are so why don't you get the hell off your high horse do your job and save our son" James yelled back at him. "If your daughter would have just kept her mouth shut and didn't tell him anything none of us would be having this conversation right now" Regina yelled at him. David shook his head. "Don't put this on Emma. She just did what you should have done as Henry's parents and was honest with him" he said. "How well does honesty work for you and your family? You and Snow being honest screwed over me and Regina the last time and let me make myself crystal clear. If Henry dies or never talks to us again I'll do what I should have done the last time. I'll kill Snow and Emma and I'll make sure it is slow and agonizing and you see every painful detail" James said. "Time's running out deputy. They're running out of oxygen" Regina said. David was about to respond when Pongo started barking. He turned around to look at Pongo and James slipped the two rings into David's coat pocket. David didn't notice. He turned back around and looked at them. Regina walked away upset. "Now you upset my wife. Do something useful for once in your life and save our children" James said walking over to Regina to comfort her.
In the mines Emma Archie and Henry could hear Pongo barking. "Did you guys hear that" Archie asked. "It's Pongo" Henry said excitedly running over to the sound of Pongo barking. Emma smiled at Archie. "See I told you we'd find a way out" she said. Archie nodded. "We should probably follow the noise" he said as they ran after Henry who was running to where Pongo was barking. Outside the mines David walked up to James and Regina. "We have to stop this. Arguing won't accomplish anything" David said. James and Regina looked at each other than at David. "No, it won't" James said. "If we're going to save Emma and Henry we need to work together. What do you guys want me to do" David asked. Regina looked at David and started crying. "Get our son back" she said. David nodded. "I will I promise" he said. James nodded at David and went back to comforting Regina. David looked at James and Regina and saw the genuine concern for their son on their faces. He hated seeing them like this.
In the mines Emma Archie and Henry had ran deeper into the mines. "It's loudest over here" Archie said running to where he could hear the barking. They saw a curtain covering something. "What's this" Henry asked. Emma moved the curtain. "It looks like an old elevator" she said. Back on the surface David James and Regina were trying to figure out a plan. "We need to find some way to punch through the ground" James said. "We need something big" Regina said. "Like what" David asked. "Explosives" Marco answered. They all turned to look at him. Back in the mines Archie walked into the elevator. "It's to get the mine workers in and out. It goes all the way to the top. That's why we could hear Pongo" he said. "Can we make it work" Henry asked. Archie walked out of the elevator and grabbed his umbrella and then ran back in to the elevator. "Let's give it a shot" he said. Emma looked at the elevator. "You guys go first. I'll wait here" she said. She was going to find out what James and Regina were hiding.
Back on the surface everyone went to find cover as the firemen and construction workers got the explosives ready. James was talking to the workers while Regina stood by herself. Graham walked up to her. "Regina I'm so sorry about everything" he said. "Thank you" she said hugging him. They had a long history. In the enchanted forest when she needed help trying to save James she used his feelings for her and started a sexual relationship with him just so he would help her save James. When he found out she never really loved him he was heartbroken and James almost killed him but Regina convinced him to spare Graham's life. James ripped out his heart and they kept it. He had been a loyal subject ever since then. Well until David and Emma came to town. She didn't know why they had such an effect on him but she was going to find out. Right now getting Henry back was her number one concern. "OK, we're all clear" David said as the workers got prepared with the dynamite.
Back in the mines Archie clanked his umbrella against the elevator to try to get it moving. He moved the wheel in the elevator grunting as he did so. "Come on" Archie said to Henry who was also in the elevator. Henry helped hove the wheel and the elevator started moving up. "You guys are doing it. Keep it going" Emma said. Up on the surface Everyone waited for the explosives to go off. "Blow it" James said as everyone found cover. James walked over to Regina and held her hand both of them praying this worked and got them their son back. Pongo was in the fire truck whimpering. Back in the mines the elevator was moving up and Emma started walking away. Henry and Archie continued to work together to move the wheel. On the surface one of the workers hit the button which set off the explosives. A huge explosion happened. In the mines the elevator fell back down and the ground underneath Emma broke apart and she fell to the ground underneath unconscious. After about a minute Emma was dragged away deeper into the mines.
Back on the surface everyone looked at the hole in anticipation. David ran to the hole and James and Regina just held onto each other hoping they'd see Henry again. Everyone gathered around waiting for David to emerge from the smoke. 15 seconds later David came running out of the smoke. "Did it work" James asked hopeful. "It didn't open" David said. Regina cried and James held her tight fighting back tears of his own at the thought that they might have lost their son forever. "Then what did it do" Graham asked. David turned back to look at the hole fighting back his own tears. Emma might be gone forever and the last interaction they had with each other was a fight. He really did fail her as a father. Maybe she would have been better off with anyone else but him.