Episodes Referenced: S1E19 The Return, and S1E20 The Stranger

Chapter 52

Aghast at what he was hearing, Neal was about to leap forward and denounce August for the lying bastard he'd just shown himself to be, when Papa said, "You were looking for the knife."

Knife? For a moment, Neal didn't understand. Realization crashed on him: Papa was talking about the dagger. Was that here too? He would have thought that in a land without magic, the Curse would have left it behind, but apparently not. August's choked-up voice broke into his thoughts.

"I thought that if you still had it, it would mean that you hadn't changed."

Actually, Neal reflected, that wasn't a bad point. Maybe he should wait and watch a little longer before he revealed himself.

He peered through the trees and saw Papa clasp August's arm warmly, as he replied, "Well, let's go find it and see!"

Still holding August's arm, he turned to lead him deeper into the woods.

Neal clenched his teeth. Walking through trees without making a sound was another skill he'd learned in Neverland, and one he hoped was still up to par! Taking care to stay out of sight, he took off after them.

An hour later, a badly shaken August made his way carefully up the stairs to his room at Granny's, cursing himself for a fool. He'd read the kid's book, for crying out loud! Reul Ghorm's whole plan had been to send the Dark One to a Land without Magic, so of course the dagger wouldn't work here! But he'd been so sure. Or desperate. Or…

Well, the jig was up now, he thought, as he pushed open the door. The Dark One knew damned well that he wasn't Baelfire. Worse. His mind replayed the words he'd said when he'd been held at knife-point in the woods.

"—…why bury a useless knife?

"— Oh, I wouldn't say it was useless. It still cuts through flesh rather nicely. It's about time you start answering some questions, sunshine. Why the theatrics? Why didn't you just come to me?"

"—I needed you to work for it. I needed you to want it so bad, you would ignore what your eyes were seeing. Do I even look like him at all?"

The last eight words reverberated in his head. Do I even look like him at all? Damn it! He couldn't have known to ask that unless he knew what Baelfire looked like, and he couldn't know that unless he'd seen him. And sooner or later, the Dark One was going to realize it!

August shivered, and it didn't have much to do with the breeze stirring the curtains at his open window. (He could have sworn he'd shut it, but maybe he hadn't. Or Ruby might have come up to clean and give the room an airing while she was at it.) He closed it now, but he didn't feel any the warmer for it.

His heart was hammering in his chest, each beat a heavy, dull thud. However the Dark One meant to extract the truth from him, he knew he'd never be able to withstand it. And really, a new thought occurred to him, why should he? He owed Baelfire nothing. In fact, if the Dark One did show up here demanding answers, the smart thing to do was to provide them. Maybe the Dark One would be so grateful he'd—Right. Still no magic here. But maybe he'd know of a cure anyway. After all, once Emma broke the Curse, they were going to go home again, right? Plenty of magic back home! He just had to last a little bit longer and—

A heavy wooden cudgel slammed into his midsection, knocking the wind out of him, and he crashed to the floor. A tight voice gritted, "I think you have some more explaining to do tonight…"

Regina was having a sleepless night. She was too used to feeling secure in her power and position. Since Ms Swan's arrival, that unassailability had been slowly eroding and what had started as an irritation had, over the last few months, developed into an alarming threat.

Not for the first time in the last twenty-eight years, she thought about killing Gold. If matters were going to continue to proceed in this direction, that window of opportunity wouldn't be open for much longer. On the other hand, Rumple generally had a good sense of which way the wind was blowing. Let it start turning in her direction again and she had no doubt that he'd be all too happy to assist her. She knew from experience that he was as formidable an ally as he was an enemy, and she much preferred the former.

But in order to effect that change in weather patterns, she needed to halt the sheriff's investigation into Kathryn Nolan's disappearance before the evidence mounted. Ms Swan was out for blood now, and Regina had no intention of any of it being hers.

She reached for her phone. "Sidney," she said, when he answered, "were you able to uncover anything useful on either Ms Swan or Mr. Cassidy?"

There was a long pause. Too long. Then, "I'm sorry, Madam Mayor. I'll keep looking, but so far, nothing."

Regina pressed her lips together for a moment. Then she sighed. "Don't bother, Sidney. If you haven't found what I want by now, I have to assume you won't."

"I'm sorry," Sidney said again. "If there's any other way I can help…"

Now she smiled. "Actually, Sidney," she said slowly, "I believe there is…"

August struggled to get to his feet, but his wooden limbs were heavy and stiffer than he was used to and he crashed back down to one knee. There was a click and the light came on, illuminating a furious Baelfire. All at once, August realized that he hadn't been felled by a club or baseball bat, as he'd thought, but by the handle of an axe. And its blade was still very much attached to it. August swallowed. He leaned forward instinctively to shield his wooden parts, forgetting for the moment that the rest of him wasn't going to be any more impervious to the damage that weapon might inflict. Desperately, he looked up at his attacker. "It wasn't what it sounded like!"

Baelfire regarded him incredulously. "No?" he demanded, taking a step forward.

"Okay, okay, it was!" August yelped. "But I was desperate!"

"This is about you turning back to wood, isn't it?" Baelfire asked, but though August tried to find some glimmer of compassion in his voice, he couldn't.

"Go to the head of the class," he groaned. "I figured if there was any magic to be had here, he was the one who'd have it."

"So why didn't you ask him outright? Or come to me? I've been trying to get up the nerve to talk to him; if you'd told me what you were planning, that might have nudged me over into doing it!"

August looked away for a moment and mumbled something.

"I didn't catch that," Baelfire said, standing where he had been. "And since I didn't whack you in the voice box, I'm guessing you can still talk just fine. So if you're trying to lure me closer so you can knock me down…"

August sighed. "Guess I can't be offended you don't trust me," he said. "For the record, that wasn't the plan. I… I had my reasons, but they make a lot more sense in my head than when I say them out loud."

"Keep talking."

"You're working for my father," August said finally.

Baelfire blinked. "I guess that tracks," he said. "I mean, if I had to pick one person in this town to be Gepetto, I guess he'd be it. That still doesn't explain trying to pass yourself off as me."

"You remember when you were fixing the cannery roof? Father yelled for you to pass him a pry bar."

"So?"

August looked down again. "He called you 'son'. Your father threatened to stab me earlier tonight, but even if he'd gone through with it, it probably would've felt about the same."

"Oh, come on. That's like me getting jealous because I heard my papa call someone 'dearie'!"

August winced. "I know."

"Seriously, that's your excuse?"

"No! But your father's deals have strings attached! I thought if he thought I was you, if I could command him…" He shook his head. "Dumb, right?"

"Idiotic," Baelfire retorted. "All magic comes with a price."

"I figured he could pay it."

"Is that another one of those things that sounded better in your head?"

August lowered his eyes. "Basically." He took a breath. "Look, I know you want to kill me right now, but if you were serious about being willing to help me before… I mean, you can still—" The look in Baelfire's eyes stopped him.

"I can't," Baelfire snapped.

"What?" August's expression shifted from remorseful to angry in a split second. "You have to! Or I will! Look, part of the reason I pretended to be you was because I was trying to respect your not wanting him to know who you are. But if I tell him where to find you…"

"First of all, you're forgetting that there's no magic."

"But there will be," August said. "Yes, I thought there was some here. I was wrong and it's a setback, but still. Once Emma breaks the curse, we should all go back to the Enchanted Forest. When that happens, your father will have his magic back and he'll be able to fix me. I just need him to agree to it."

"Once we go back, you can talk to the Reul Ghorm."

August laughed mirthlessly. "Her spell only lasted so long as I stayed faithful, brave, and true. You really want to argue she'll be able to recast it? If giving into my darker side got me in this fix, then maybe Dark magic is the only kind that can get me out of it!"

"Or dig you in deeper," Baelfire shot back. "Anyway, I can't. And neither can you. Not now."

"What do you mean?"

Baelfire took a deep breath. "You just tried to trick my father into helping you and he caught you at it. So how do you think he'll react if I walk up to him and introduce myself? He's going to think that we're a pair of con artists working together and now that you've got his hopes up, here I come posing as his real son—"

"But you could prove it! Tell him something only you and he would know!"

"Do you think he'll let me get a word in? He let his guard down once and you jabbed a red-hot poker past it and twisted! He's not going to give anyone another shot. You didn't just blow your chances tonight, you blew mine, too!"

August felt his heart sink as the import of Baelfire's words penetrated. "I didn't think—"

"No. You didn't. And now? We both have to live with those consequences."

"What are you going to do with that axe?" August asked nervously.

Baelfire gave him a long, withering look. "It got the truth out of you, didn't it? That's all I needed it for." He didn't smile. "If two hundred years in Neverland didn't turn me into a killer, you're not gonna do it either. Not tonight, anyway. Besides, your screams would get the Lucases up here and neither of them deserves that." He winced. "Ruby's probably still freaked out over finding that heart in the jewelry box and I heard Granny Lucas had a heart attack some time back. I'm not making either of them pay for your screw-up. But if you've got any kind of conscience left," he added, turning to go, "I hope it keeps you squirming. I'd wish you a good night, but I think we both know I wouldn't mean it."

He turned the doorknob and walked out without a backwards glance. The door swung shut behind him, leaving August alone with the still small voice in his head that was only too happy to keep telling him just how bad a botch he'd made of the entire debacle.

"I thought you were going out to unwind," Emma said, when Neal slid into bed beside her. The front door slamming shut at two a.m. had woken her up and been her first clue that things hadn't gone as planned. Hearing him stomp up the stairs and slam the bathroom door behind him, too had been her second and third.

"Sorry," Neal apologized. "I thought I was, but it only made things worse."

Emma sat up in bed. "If you feel like sharing, I know I asked you earlier, but the offer still stands."

"It's…" Neal hesitated. "It's a lot. And I know you've been having a time of it between the Mary Margaret situation and the Regina situation and…"

"Yeah, but we're together," Emma said. "That means being there for each other. It's okay. Just tell me."

Neal considered. Finally, he said, "I know I've never told you much about my past. I never wanted to. Things went from bad to worse until I had to leave it all behind and I didn't want to look back. Lately, I've been… feeling like it's catching up to me again. And as much as I do want to fill you in… It's almost two in the morning and I think we'll both be in a better frame of mind if we get some sleep." He sighed. "Plus figuring out where to start is going to be tough."

Emma took a breath. "We'd been going around together for a while before you told me that you were a wanted man. At the time, I didn't care. Later… I was just glad that it wasn't because you'd beaten someone up. Or worse." She hesitated. "That's true, right? You never hurt anyone?"

Neal reached over and squeezed her hand. "I've been in more than my fair share of fights. I didn't start them, but I made damned sure I finished them. So, yes, I've hurt people in self defense. Sometimes, pretty badly. But if you want to know whether I've ever killed anyone or beat them so bad they never recovered, the answer's no."

Emma sighed with relief. "Well, good, then," she said, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. "That's the one thing I was worried about. As for the rest, whatever it is, when you're ready to tell me, I promise I'll listen and I'll still be here when you're done."

Neal brought his free arm about her shoulders and hugged her tightly. "I love you," he whispered, turning his face toward where he was certain her lips must be in the dark.

She met him halfway.

"You still can't tell me whose fingernail it was?" Emma turned the cell phone away from her mouth to groan. "It took you less than a day to identify the heart!" She rolled her eyes and continued walking down the street. "Okay, point taken. I get that you're being extra thorough, but seriously, how much longer do you need?" She shook her head. 'Should be any day now' told her nothing. "Well, can you at least tell me if you've narrowed it down?" She could see the sheriff station now and unconsciously quickened her pace.

She shook her head again. "Yes I know you haven't got everyone's DNA on file, but at least, you can tell me if I'm looking for a woman or a-a drag queen, right?" Did this town even have drag queens? She sighed. "Fine. Keep at it and call me the minute you know something."

She ended the call with a frown that only deepened when she saw a familiar black Mercedes parked in the station lot. Steeling herself, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Regina was waiting the outer office with a satisfied smile. "Congratulations, Sheriff Swan," she greeted her. "There's about to be a big break in your case. You just got yourself a confession. But, I want you to listen to the whole explanation, so you understand why this happened."

Emma blinked. It couldn't be this easy. And why did Regina look so… smug about it? Still, she nodded and replied, "Oh, I'll hang on every word you say."

She didn't expect the next six words that came out of the mayor's mouth, though.

"Sidney," Regina said, "You can come in now."

Emma's eyebrows shot up as Sidney entered. Coming inside the station when she wasn't there was one thing: no matter how many times she reminded Winston Blythe, the cleaner just didn't lock up when he was done for the night. But stashing Sidney in one of the interrogation rooms so she could bring him out for some big reveal? A room that was supposed to be locked? You've got a lot of nerve, Madam Mayor. And a full set of skeleton keys. She was about to say as much to both of them, but Regina pre-empted her.

"Tell her what you told me."

Sidney cleared his throat. "It was me," he said woodenly. "I confess. I abducted Kathryn, and I held her in the basement of an abandoned summer home by the lake. I bribed a lab tech to get me the heart from the hospital, and I used that same person to doctor the lab results."

"And…?" Regina prompted.

Sidney swallowed. "I…borrowed some skeleton keys from Regina," he said, and Emma didn't miss the mayor's signal for him to continue, "and… planted the knife in Mary Margaret's apartment." He hesitated.

"And the other thing," Regina pressed.

Sidney's face twisted. "I went digging through the mayor's trash and found one of her nail clippings. I haven't been in a very good place since I was fired from the Mirror. I blamed her for that and I hoped she'd be implicated."

Regina shook her head. "My keys. My nail parings. Can't help but feel personally violated. But I'm no vigilante, Sheriff. Rather than take the law into my own hands, I've insisted that Sidney come to you to make a clean breast of things."

Emma's brow furrowed as she turned to Sidney. "I am supposed to believe you did this for why, now?"

Sidney smiled dreamily. "I was going to find her after the conviction, be a hero. Then, get the inside track on the biggest story to ever hit this town. I'd get my job back. Plus, a novel, and a movie, and…" He trailed off for a moment. "I don't know. It sounds crazy now."

Emma shook her head. "I don't know about crazy. But false, yes. False as hell."

A note of desperation came to Sidney's voice. "I have maps to where the house is. You'll find chains in the basement. Lots of fingerprints, I'm sure – hers and mine. But, I didn't hurt her.

"The man has obviously suffered some kind of mental break," Regina cut in smoothly. "He clearly hasn't been himself for a while."

"Yeah," Emma said, not bothering to hide her incredulity. "It's like his words aren't his at all."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "Wow," she said with a faint smirk. "You are so sold on your own rush to judgment that you can't even see the truth anymore."

Emma clenched her teeth, but her tone was icily polite as she beckoned toward the open doorway. "A word in the hallway, please."

"She got to him," Emma finished, setting her empty cocoa mug down with a clatter. "I don't know if it was blackmail or hypnosis, or…"

"She ripped out his heart?" Neal suggested and Emma blinked.

"Huh? I-I mean, I know he's got a thing for her, but he didn't seem broken up over it not being mutual, just… determined to win her over."

Neal looked away. "Oh. Yeah. Never mind, then." For a moment, he'd forgotten that tearing out and crushing hearts tended to mean something different than it would have back home.

Emma was too caught up in her fury to question his meaning further. "Anyway," she went on, "I know we've talked about meeting with a custody lawyer and sort of dropped the ball. It's time we picked it up again. That woman is dangerous and there's something screwy about this town. If we can't find anyone here to take the case, then we'll find someone in Boston, but when we go, Henry comes with us. If we leave him here and we come back to find out that she's split with him, I'll never forgive myself."

Neal swallowed. "I…" The truth was that he didn't think he could leave now. A year ago, a reconciliation with his father would have been the last thing on his mind, but after the events of last night, maybe he couldn't approach his father now, but he didn't want to give up the idea entirely. Not to mention the small matter of several thousand people who were currently living under a curse that wasn't about to break if Emma left town now. Eleven years ago, he hadn't cared, but he wasn't living in Never Land anymore and he'd done a bit of growing up since then. I wanted to get Papa away from the Enchanted Forest because I could see that his Darkness was turning him more and more toward Evil every day. But how do you knowingly abandon thousands of people to a life under a Dark curse and call yourself good?

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, well, Mr. Gold was representing Mary Margaret, so obviously he's a lawyer. Maybe we should start with him. Unless you know of anyone else…?"

Emma shook her head. "Just Spencer and I don't think district attorneys handle that stuff." She winced. "Not looking forward to it, but you're right. If Gold's not into custody cases, he'll know who is. I'll stop by the shop tomorrow on the way to work. Can you come with?"

After last night, he didn't think he was up for that, but fortunately, he had a legitimate reason to hang back. "Marco needs me at the convent at the crack of dawn," he said. "You go. If it's just for information, you don't need me. And if he'll take the case, then we'll figure out a time when we can all meet."

Emma nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She smothered a yawn. "I don't think I can face cooking tonight. Want to grab some take-out?"

"Are there any places in town besides Granny's?" Neal asked. "I'm getting a little tired of standard diner fare. I mean, we're right by the ocean; there's got to be a sushi joint somewhere."

"Maybe, but I was really hoping for a deluxe grilled cheese and fries tonight." She smiled wearily. "Next time, you can pick."

The walkie-talkie on the counter suddenly emitted a burst of static. And the voice of a familiar ten-year-old boy whispered frantically, "Code red, code red!"