Henry is shocked to discover his father, killed over eight years ago, is not only alive, but currently travelling in Europe with his grandfather and uncle. But not as shocked as Emma when she finds out. Meanwhile, Snow's planning for a life after Storybrooke, as is Belle.
Paris
"DAD?"
His eyes bulged in disbelief at the face staring back at him. No, it couldn't be?
"Yes Henry, it's me!"
Right up until he'd seen him react to the news of Henry's disappearance, Rumple had major doubts about the veracity of the man who claimed to be his son, returned from the dead at Zeus's hand. But those doubts disappeared the moment he saw the look of sheer panic in his eyes, when they found out Henry had gone missing, possibly by realm-jumping, by accident or design?
It was the look of a father, desperately worried for his son's life. A feeling he himself was all too familiar with.
"But…you're...you're-"
"Dead? Yes, I was. Unbelievable, right? But it's true, Henry. Zeus sent me back! A bit like Robin Hood, except Locksley wasn't really dead, whereas I was! Long story short, I've been sent to help keep your grandpa here from ever going back anywhere with magic, or being reunited with the powers of The Dark One, ever again."
The stunned look on the younger man's face spoke volumes. He'd only known his father a matter of weeks before he was taken away again. But here he is, staring back at him. Was any of this real? Or was he just dreaming?
"You don't need to believe me just yet Henry, as I'll prove it to you, and explain everything, when I see you in person. Merlin knows all about it, so you can talk to him if you want? All that matters for now is that you're back, safe. Travelling between realms, huh? You need to be careful doing that. That's how I wound up in Neverland!" He smirked, looking closer at the astonished face staring back. Last time he'd seen him in the flesh, rather than from one of the huge screens in the afterlife, Henry had only just started his teens. Now he was a young man. And quite a big young man, at that! "Hell, you've changed, Hen? What's with the beard?"
"I…I…" But he was still lost for words.
Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York – Several hours earlier
Emma finally arrived around ten thirty, later than planned, Killian having left earlier that morning to collect Hope from her father's hotel, and take her out for the day. And she had to admit, she really fancied joining them, instead of being stuck in the hospital until her father came to take over? Snow herself had suggested Emma spend more time with them, rather than have the children bored. David had already used the chance to take Neal out for the morning, rather than having him cooped up, as the boy was, like his niece, getting restless and fidgety after two days of hanging around.
She decided to do a little early shopping while she was free, but she'd also been held up by a call with Regina, letting her know Henry had returned to Storybrooke unaided, from wherever the hell he'd been, safe, and in one piece. Although greatly relieved, she'd still be tearing him off a strip for worrying them, when she next saw him!
Walking into the little recovery ward reception, she was surprised to be told Snow had been moved back to a private room two floors down, first thing that morning. It seemed like excellent news , as it presumably meant there was now a good chance of her making a half-decent recovery? So, it was with a slightly lighter heart that she located where they'd put her. But what she found when she walked in was…unexpected. For in the lighter, brighter and much bigger room, she spotted her mother, asleep once again, but in a larger bed than yesterday.
And she wasn't alone!
For there, lying right beside her, though above the sheets, apparently also asleep, lay Ruby Lucas, Snow's head resting on her chest with an arm over her waist, the former waitress's arm in turn around her mother's shoulder, hugging her in protectively.
She was surprised, to say the least! Although the cuddle looked innocent enough, the sight of them together brought mixed feelings. For this was the same woman Snow had been caught in bed with, by her father. The woman she later learnt had been in a relationship with her mother before he even came on the scene. The woman who, even though it was potion-induced, was partly responsible for the breakdown of her parents' marriage. And the same woman she herself had once been intimate with, that one lonely night shortly after she first came to Storybrooke.
"Emma!"
Snow's eyes were now open, her voice causing the former waitress's eyes to do likewise, rousing her from her slumber. "I…I wasn't expecting you till later?"
"Clearly!" Snow couldn't fail to miss the harsh tone, Emma staring back at them as Ruby rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "I hope I'm not disturbing anyone?"
"Don't be silly, of course not!" Ruby answered for them, yawning as Snow tried to lift herself up from her friend's chest as Ruby pulled her arm back, twisting to climb back off the bed. "Hi Emma. Nice to see you again. What are Hope and Killian doing today?"
Emma turned away to look out of the window, rather than face their obvious embarrassment. The view overlooked Central Park. "They're out there somewhere. I think he's taking her to Ellis Island and Liberty today, but can't remember what they've got planned after that. A zoo, I think."
"That sounds nice."
Emma turned back to find Ruby on her feet, straightening the loose-fitting short skirt, her mother propped up slightly against her pillows. She scanned the new surroundings. "Nice room they've put you in?" Then she noticed the difference since yesterday. "And they've taken your drip out? And the colostomy bag?"
"Yes, for now. Permanently, we hope," Emma was still giving her best friend an icy scowl, the woman now looking decidedly uncomfortable under her hard gaze. "They're aiming to release me in a week or so, all being well?" She silently mouthed something to Ruby, who nodded.
"Well, I'm going to go down and get myself a coffee. Emma, can I get you anything while I'm down there?"
"No thanks," before finally. "Don't rush back too soon, Lucas. I'd like time alone with my mother."
~oOo~
Snow waited till she'd closed the door behind her.
"That was unnecessary!" Emma merely shrugged at that. "She's my friend and she's done nothing wrong, Emma!"
"Hasn't she?" She almost sneered as she said it.
"NO SHE HASN'T! She was under just the same wretched potion as you and me! Whatever we did, you did the same thing with Regina. And you know it!"
"Hardly! I wasn't carrying on with Regina before Killian now, was I? Whereas you two..."
"For heaven's sake, Emma!" Snow rolled her eyes, far too tired for this. "As I told you two weeks ago, I was NEVER unfaithful to your father before this! Never!" Emma turned to look out the window again. "You saw us hugging, that's all! A reassuring cuddle from my oldest and closest friend? Is that so wrong? It's not like I've exactly been swamped with affection these last few weeks, is it?"
Emma knew she was only speaking the truth, and she was being petty. After all, who's she to judge, after what she'd done to Killian?
"I didn't like seeing her in your bed like that. If anyone should be in there, it should be dad! It just came a shock and reminded me of how he found you two..." Ouch! Judging by the way her mother flinched, Snow clearly realised David must've told her. But Emma wasn't done. "It's just…there's something about her now that really pisses me off? It's like you me and Regina are ashamed of what we've done, but she isn't? You do know that she's slept with half the fucking women in Storybrooke, don't you? Even when she was married to Dorothy?" Including Emma once before that, but she wasn't going to tell her that! "And a fair number of the men, roo." Killian would've also been one of them, if he hadn't turned her down.
"She's part werewolf Emma! It's in her nature! It's not something she can control like we can. And yes, she feels terrible about...well, everything, and admitted she should've told Dorothy about that nature long before they married. But she feels that the longer she stays away from Storybrooke, the werewolf side of her stays away too? Now, can you stop sulking, come away from that window, and come talk to me?" Please?" Emma finally turned to face her again, rolling her eyes and huffing, like a teenager being reprimanded. "Better. Now, there's something important I want to talk to you about. It's about what happens when they finally let me out of her?. What I'm going to do once I'm, hopefully, recovered."
"How do you mean? Dad told me he's offered to have you back at the farm, while you convalesce."
"He did. And while it's very kind and typically forgiving of him, but I can see he's not over what's happened, which traces back to what I was long before Ingrid and her stupid potion. So I'm not going back to the farm. Once Merlin's done, I'm not sure I'll even stay in Storybrooke. "
"Not...so where?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. But first, just get in?" Snow pulled back the side of the bedsheets, where Ruby had been laying. "Please? You may have found me hugging my best friend, but I could do with a hug from my only daughter a whole lot more!"
Mifflin Street, Storybrooke
Henry finally emerged from his mothers' study, over an hour after he went in, Regina deciding it was best to leave him be. She'd no wish to see her former magical tutor and lifelong tormentor again, even if it was via a web call.
But bending closer to the study door to eavesdrop, the noises she heard coming from inside made her wonder what the hell was going on in there? Sometimes voices were raised, sometimes it was a hubbub. And after half an hour she could even hear laughter? Then a child's shriek, presumably Rumpelstiltskin's son? And someone else's voice, that she couldn't quite place. By the time Henry finally appeared, with a surprising smile on his face, she was desperate to find out what'd happened in there.
"Henry?"
"Erm. Hi." He stepped around her, an odd look in his eye, heading for the kitchen.
"Well?"
"You really wouldn't believe me, if I told you!"
"Try me? After your recent realm exploits and other malarkey, you'd be surprised what I can believe!"
"O-kay," he moved to the coffee percolator, filling a cup. "You remember how Merlin asked Zeus for help to get Robin's soul back, as he wasn't properly dead?"
"All too well. Why?"
"He's done it again! He asked Zeus to bring someone back to help stop Grandpa Gold ever wanting to come back here. To stop the Dark One rising again? Probably the only person who could ever convince him."
"Well? Don't keep me in suspense? Who?"
"Dad. My dad. As in Neal? He's back."
"Baelfire?" She looked at a loss for words. "You're serious?"
"Yeah. He was on the call. He's in Paris with them, right now."
"But that's impossible!" But then, wasn't Robin's coming back from apparent death impossible? To the gods, what wasn't possible? "If it's really him, it's, it's…" The implications were considerable. "And is your father going to be coming back here?"
"He said he wasn't planning to, because apart from me, with his dad and brother staying away, there's really nothing here for him now. So he'll probably settle somewhere near Boston, or New York, with them."
"And your other mother? Is he planning to tell Emma?"
"He's asked me to do it, to prepare her. Thought it'd be better coming from me, rather than giving her a heart attack? He already knew she's moved on with Killian, and all about Hope, too. And what Belle and Ruby did to grandpa, oddly enough? So he's going to stick with them for the rest of their trip, and eventually come back with them. He's asked me to come join them over there if I can make it."
"But, but you can't? You're starting Harvard in a few weeks!"
'Four weeks mum, nearly five. So, I can take a couple to fly over and be with them? They're going to Italy next. Then Egypt and Greece. I've always wanted to see Rome."
"But this all so sudden? You can't just up and leave at such short notice?" Even though she could hear herself, she knew she was talking nonsense. He was a grown man. And thanks to his grandfather's inheritance, now a very wealthy one.
"Course I can! I'll check the flights and try to leave in the next day or so. If I fly from JFK, I can also spend some time with grandpa Snow, too? It'll be fine. Two weeks in Europe max, then I've still got a couple more to prepare for Uni, when I get back!"
"I can't believe I'm hearing this? Maybe I should be the one to break it to Emma, instead?"
"If you prefer. Maybe it might sound better coming from you? After all, you don't seem to get under her skin as much as I do these days."
Virginia Beach, Virginia
It was almost seven that evening when a very tired Belle finally got off the coach at the station, having spent over nine hours travelling. She was tired, and definitely in need of a shower.
However, her mood lifted the moment she spotted the couple she'd known less than two weeks, beaming back at her, ready to take her to their hotel.
"You two are a sight for sore eyes!" Belle looked Olivia over. "While I'm this hot, sweaty, sticky mess!"
"You're still looking pretty good from here. And nothing that a good bath won't fix?" Olivia admired the view. "Hello gorgeous. We've missed you!"
She was surprised when Olivia pulled her into her arms and into a not-altogether chaste kiss, even though there were still other disembarking passengers milling around. Jerard came closer, as she let her go.
"We certainly have, ma Cherie. This one's been counting the days?"
"I'm very flattered. Ruby sends her regards, and says she's staying over a little longer, at least till Snow's ready to go home. But still wants to come join us before we reach Cuba?"
"Good, well figure out where later. Well, I've hired a car, so let's get you back to the hotel?" Belle nodded, more than happy to get changed as soon as possible. "We've booked ourselves a decent suite for three days. There's more than enough space and we've got two large beds, though we can always book another room for you if you'd prefer to be on your own this time?"
"No it's fine, I'm more than happy to share. But just so you know, Gideon's messaged me? We weren't able to talk as I was on the coach but he said he wants to set up a Skype tomorrow morning? Around ten o' clock my time? Apparently, his father's likely to be on the call too! So I'll need to be somewhere quiet to take it."
"Take it in the room, and we'll go out and leave you in peace? Now, let's get going."
The Marriott, New York
Killian and Hope finally got back to the hotel shortly after six, and he felt absolutely shattered.
After a trip up One World Trade, the replacement for the destroyed Twin Towers, the memorial pools, and the Empire State Building, they took ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. And after that his three-year old still had enough energy for Staten Island Zoo. Then finally, a visit to a large toy store suggested by Clare. Then they were done. And so was he!
When they finally walked into the Reception to collect a room key, he was sorely tempted to stop off at the same bar he'd used yesterday, for another tot or two of those interesting rums he'd tried when he was joined by the particularly enthusiastic staff. But would he be allowed to take Hope in there? Knowing it probably wasn't a great idea (after all, this country was weird about kids in bars even if it was with their parents), he decided to take her straight up to their room instead. He'd tried to call Emma earlier, to find out when she was due back. But it'd gone straight to voicemail; then he remembered they weren't supposed to use phones in the hospital treatment areas, so she probably turned it off deliberately. His own battery was now flat, so he'd have to call her from their room.
However, as they walked past the cocktail lounge towards the elevator, he heard a familiar laugh. Holding Hope's hand, he walked in towards the bar to discover an even more familiar blonde. Two blondes in fact. Emma sitting at a bar stool talking to the very same woman they'd shared their bed with last night. And they were laughing?
He stopped to look. Emma seemed a lot happier, like her old self, as she lifted a glass of what looked like lager to her lips. Clare, sitting on another barstool next to her, was showing her something on her phone, which made her laugh aloud again. Seeing his beautiful wife chuckling, the woman who'd been sullen and moody for a lot over the last year, was a delightful sight and he was tempted to just leave her be to enjoy herself while he went up to the room.
But Hope had other ideas.
"MUMMY?" She called out, making both women look over. "Look what I got?"
Emma turned, her smile only growing when she saw who it was. "Hopey! How's my beautiful girl?"
"Daddy bought me something extra special!" She answered, ignoring the question, as she went over, carrying a large black carrier bag slightly too big for her, Killian following behind.
"FAO Schwartz?" Emma spotted the gold lettering, looking at her husband drawing closer, arching a brow. "Has daddy been spoiling you again?"
"No, it's because I was very good!" She explained seriously, looking up at the other, younger woman, before smiling again, immediately recognising her as the one who'd organised their day. "Hi Clare!"
"Hello again, gorgeous?" Clare stepped off from the barstool, before dropping to a knee in front of her. "Did you have a good day? Did you enjoy the zoo?"
As the little excited blonde started telling her what she'd been up to, Killian stepped in front of his wife, Emma beaming up, putting her arms around his shoulders. "Have a good time?"
"Exhausting!" He stooped to kiss her lips. "She run me bloody ragged! If sightseeing and shopping become Olympic events, I swear our daughter will do her country proud. You?"
"Bored as hell. Dad got there around four, so I took off. Frankly, now I know mum's on the mend, I couldn't wait to get out of there. Oh, and Regina called me? Seems Henry's turned up, back from wherever the hell he went."
"Well, that's a blessed relief! Where's he been?"
"I'll tell you later?" Emma glanced down at Hope and Clare, both well within earshot. She could hardly talk about other realms and portal-jumping now, could she? "Then she sent me a message about an hour ago, asking to talk again later? Said it was urgent. But frankly…" She pulled the lapels of his jacket, giving him another kiss, grinning. "I'd much rather spend time with you two? I really missed you both today." She then looked down at the other woman, who was still kneeling on the floor, chatting with Hope as the girl showed her some sort of small toy-house thing she'd bought? Killian followed her gaze. It was odd to think that late last night and early this morning, they'd romanced her as a couple, and enjoyed quite the passionate threesome. "Clare saw me walk in half an hour ago and bought be a beer as she's just come off shift. Said I looked like I needed it?"
Clare looked up at her, rolling her eyes. "I don't think I put it quite like that! But yeah, you did look a bit…fed up."
"Aye, I know that face all too well!" Killian smirked. "Thanks for taking care of her, love. Still, I guess I'd better get this little one upstairs and cleaned up? Come on Hope, it's been a long day. Let's leave your mother and Clare to enjoy their drinks in peace?" He picked up her bag. "Take your time, Swan, and I'll see you later?"
"I'll be up soon." She pecked his lips again. "See you shortly for your bath, my darling?"
As they watched them leave to head for the elevator, Clare walked around the other side of the bar, pulling out two more beers, opening them and handing one to Emma.
"I said it before. You really have got a wonderful family, Emma? One gorgeous little daughter, and a handsome hunk of a husband. I'm jealous!" She sniggered, clinking her bottle against Emma's. "And you've even got a grown-up son?"
"Yeah," she flicked open her own phone's picture app, quickly finding a recent photo she took, showing it to her. "That's my boy. He's twenty now, soon to be twenty-one. Henry starts his first year at Harvard after the summer. I don't know where the time went."
"Twenty? You barely look old enough? As I said before, you're a very, very lucky girl, Emma Jones!"
"I am, aren't I?" Yet Emma couldn't help feeling she could've so easily lost everything. "Now, show me that couples dating app again? Some of those look hilarious!"
"I know, right? So what you've done to me?"
The Marriott, Virginia Beach – two hours later
"Wow! That was just…wow?"
Belle collapsed back on the bed between her lovers.
When they'd arrived at the hotel, Belle was delighted to discover their suite had a bathroom with a large slipper bath, which she'd soaked in for the best part of an hour. Then after coming out, drying herself and freshening up, Olivia pounced! They'd gone on to spend the best part of an hour having sex, Jerard as enthusiastic and willing as his girlfriend.
"Wow's the word!" Olivia sniggered, pulling herself into Belle's left side a little tighter, her hair draped over her shoulder as she grinned at the former librarian, kissing her cheek. "What can I say? We missed you."
"It's true, ma chérie, we both did." Jerard kissed her right cheek but didn't pull himself in, as she already looked a little too hot. "You know, Livvy never stopped talking about you after you left? I think she was worried you'd never come back? You and Ruby have made quite the impression on her; you especially!" Belle turned her head to look at the chestnut-haired beauty, who averted her gaze, having gone unusually coy, clearly embarrassed by his comment. "I've known her for quite some time, but I've never really heard her speak so fondly about someone, the way she has you, ma Belle. I think she's, how you say, smitten?"
"Don't exaggerate, Jerard!" Olivia lightly slapped her boyfriend's chest from the other side, admonishing him. "You'll embarrass her!"
Giving her a warm smile, Belle put her free right hand on Olivia's left cheek, before sliding it around and through her hair, before setting several locks behind her ear, making her turn to face her. "She's not the only one!" That drew a look of surprise. "I'm smitten with you, too. With both of you!"
That made the taller woman beam, and she responded by lowering her lips onto Belle's for a more heated kiss. As Jerard watched them gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, he felt he'd become temporarily invisible.
"I really wish I could just stay sailing with the pair of you after we reach Havana? But…"
"You have a son! A son you won't have seen for nearly six weeks by then. A son who needs his mother. It's okay Belle, we get it. So let's just enjoy the weeks we have left?"
Olivia O' Leary had spent the last three years sailing around the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Aegean with her boyfriend, mainly living off his wealth. She'd originally hooked up with Jerard, another free spirit like her, following her marriage break-up, nearly three and a half years since her last serious relationship. She loved him, adored him even, and was closer to him than anyone she'd ever met; as a friend, lover, confidant and travel companion. And they'd always vowed never to stand in the way of one another if either found someone else, or their priorities changed. And now, although she'd only known Belle less than a fortnight, the brunette brought deeper feelings Olivia hadn't felt for quite some time.
Belle's feelings for the unusual couple were also growing, maybe for Olivia even more than Jerard.
"What are you planning after Cuba? You never said?"
"We hadn't planned that far ahead. Maybe more of the smaller islands, like St. Lucia and Tobago? I've always fancied Rio next year, as we have good friends there. Though I don't think Livvy's that keen as it's one hell of a long trip if you don't fly."
"You're so lucky. I'd love nothing more than to see the Caribbean? And I've always loved the idea of seeing that huge Carnival they have in Rio. But sadly, for me, that's wishful thinking…" Belle's wistful smile turned to sad. "First, I need to find a home for Gideon's sake, and that in turn depends on wherever my damn ex is going to be settling down, so I can be near enough to get to him? Ruby and I talked about Portland. It's a lovely place, and not too far from her granny and my father. But again, it depends on so many things. Maybe I'll find out tomorrow?"
"It's certainly nice enough up there," Olivia stroked her cheek, tenderly. "And it's got that great harbour where we met you? Jer and I talked about 'settling' somewhere ashore while you were away? Don't get me wrong, I'll always want to sail with him, and we've had some fantastic adventures so far, and no doubt more to come. But it'd be nice to have a proper base, you know?
"I get the sense Livvy's changing, Belle?" Jerard added, smiling at his girlfriend. "I suspect she'd like to settle down like most do, but still wants the best of both worlds?"
"It's alright for you!" Olivia countered. "You grew up in a loving home, with a loving family, and money! Whereas I lost my parents when I was young, and got sent to live with a granny who wasn't exactly into children, to put it mildly? That's probably why she bundled me off to a convent boarding school the moment she could. The rest is history. So maybe you're right, after all I've never really had a place I could call home, apart from with you, have I?"
"I was very close to my own mother, and we lived well, once upon a time. But sadly, she was killed when I was in my late teens." Belle recalled her protective mother, shielding her from the ogres who broke into their castle at the cost of her own life. "But I was never close to papa. He never really understood me, and had his own expectations for my future. I kinda…disappointed him?"
"He's still living in Maine?"
"Yes. Even though we still don't get along, I do kinda feel guilty not calling him since I left? I should really. He's still Giddy's grandfather, and the only living relative after him that I've got left."
"Well hopefully you'll find out more on this call of yours tomorrow? Now, ladies, shall we go get ourselves something to eat?" He let a warm hand over Belle's bare stomach, pecking her cheek again. "Or have something sent up later and…continue?"
"Stop that, you!" But Olivia was still grinning. "You're bloody insatiable these days! But I'm starving! Let's go eat out?"
The following morning.
It was just after ten when the Skype call connected, her roommates having left her in peace.
"HI MAMA!" Her son's smiling face came into view the moment it connected.
"GIDDY!" It was almost ten days since Portland, when she'd last held him. But it felt like ten years, and Belle tried to stop herself welling up. "Hello my darling. How are you?"
"Great thanks mama!" From the look of the background, he could see she was in a hotel, not on the boat. "Where are you? Is it nice?"
"I'm in a hotel in a place called Virginia Beach on the coast, but I only got here last night, so I haven't been outside the hotel to have a proper look around yet. But it's supposed to be really nice, and we'll be here for three days before we sail again. I'll send you some pictures, if you like?" She noticed that as she spoke to the camera, he glanced away several times, looking over the top of his laptop, reacting to something, or someone with his eyes? Clearly, he wasn't alone. "But never mind me, I want to know about you? What have you been doing for the last few days?"
"Papa's been out, busy again today, preparing for his new job," he again glanced over his screen, smiling. "But I got to see Disneyland Paris this morning! Mama, it was brilliant!"
"Papa took you to Disneyland?" Well that was a surprise. Rumple had always hated Disney, and their cartoons and films, with a passion! 'Infantile tosh made for simplistic morons!', he'd once called it. But something else was bothering her. "Gideon, is your father there, with you?"
"No, he's out with Celeste again, and he didn't take me; someone else did." Once again, the boy glanced over the screen, to something, or someone, out of view of the camera, as though checking he was alright to say something?" But he'll be back later to take us to dinner."
"Are you seriously saying he's left you in the hotel room on your own?" If he had, she'd be bloody furious! It could even give her cause to challenge him for custody in court? "Again, is someone with you, listening to us?"
Gideon looked away again, and that's when she heard a deeper voice? But it was too far away from the microphone to pick up properly, even if it sounded like 'let me talk to her'?"
"Yeah, erm, there's someone here who wants to speak to you?" Gideon nodded to whoever it was. "This might come as a bit of a shock? Henry met him yesterday like this, and he couldn't speak at first!"
"Just put him on, Giddy!" She tried keeping the irritation out of her voice, annoyed that her first private conversation with her son in over a week was being listened to. Belle was going to chew him out well and truly!
A pair of legs appeared from the side, coming into view as Gideon budged up on whatever he was sitting on before the stranger sat down to face the camera.
"Hello again, Belle!" She recognised that grin instantly. "Been a while, hasn't it?"
She almost fell off the damn stool!
Marriott Hotel, New York
Four hundred miles north of Belle, Emma Jones had just been given a similar shock.
"Swan? Whatever's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost?
Killian and Hope were already sitting and eating in the breakfast lounge when Emma arrived, having promised to join them straight after her delayed call with Regina, taken in her room. She's intended to return her call the previous night, but put it off till the morning, the suspended sheriff deciding she'd rather spend the time with her husband and daughter. Regina hadn't minded either, not wanting to report the astonishing, almost unbelievable news.
"I haven't yet, but it looks like I will be seeing one, soon enough!"
"Sorry, you're not making sense love? You said she had something urgent to tell you? What's wrong?"
"Yeah. Erm, I'm not quite sure where to start?" She shook her head, still not quite believing what she'd been told.
"About your boy? You said he'd returned safe and sound?"
"He had. And he's now on his way here this morning, five days later than intended, going straight to the hospital to see mum. But it seems he's also got a late flight booked tonight, from JFK? He's going to meet up with Gold, Gideon and someone else in Rome on Monday, apparently."
"Seems very short notice? I know Henry's closer to the crocodile than anyone other than his own boy; even more so after his wife cheated on him. But your boy's a man now, and from what I understand, a very rich one? It's not that big a shock, surely?"
"It's not that I'm bothered about, it's something else. Merlin asked Zeus to send someone back, like he did with you and Robin?"
"And who's the lucky beneficiary getting a second life, this time?"
"You're never going to believe this!"
Virginia Beach
They'd left her for the morning to go shopping, and give Belle privacy to take her calls in their room.
Returning around noon, Jerard was surprised not to find the room empty. But a short text reply led them to the outdoors bar, where she was found staring into the distance, already nursing what, judging by the empties on the table, looked like her third beer?
"Belle?" Olivia touched her arm lightly, so not to startle her. "You okay? You spoke to Gideon?"
"I did. He'd just got back from a morning in Disneyland Paris, apparently."
"Sounds like he had fun?" Olivia sat down beside her. "It's certainly not my cup of tea, admittedly. But he's happy?"
"Very! In fact, happier than I've seen him for some time."
"That's a good thing, isn't it? Is that what's making you sad? That you're not there?"
" Partly, but that's not it. I can't quite make sense of it? My ex once had an older son, Neal, by his first marriage. I met him a long time ago, and he was really nice."
"Had a son?"
"He died eight years ago. It was a bitter blow for Rum…for Angus."
"How sad! It's always a tragedy to lose any child ."
"Well this dead son of his, Neal, turned up on my call with Gideon this morning, alive and kicking? It seems he's in Paris with them, taking my son to Disneyland?"
Olivia shared a curious look with her boyfriend. Had Belle flipped?
"So, he clearly wasn't dead! Where's he been hiding?"
Remembering who she was now talking to, Belle realised she'd already said far too much. She couldn't possibly mention magic, or him being killed by the Wicked Witch. Or Zeus sending him back to the living. They'd think she'd gone completely insane and have her locked up! What the hell was she thinking? She needed to backtrack, quickly.
"I just…just think we must have been hoaxed somehow? I'm not sure."
"Maybe you should be talking to the police? After all, if he's been on the run, you don't want your boy mixing with people like that, or in any kind of danger, do you?"
"No. It's…okay. Neal's not that sort, he's a good man; and very different to his father. But he got on the call with Gideon alongside him and told me he's going to be acting as a kind of intermediary between me and my ex-husband? He said Rum…Angus, has taken a partner position with a law firm with offices in New York. They'll still be coming back in a month's time, and looking for a place to live. Neal also said he'll be helping him make sure it's somewhere both of us can co-parent him without going too far."
"Well, that's good, right? Maybe you'll be able to settle around Portland, like you wanted?"
"Maybe," she finally gave her a sad smile. "God, I hope so, Livvy."
New York. Later that afternoon…
"Henry!" Snow beamed when her grandson poked his face around the door.
"Hi Gran!" He smiled back, dropping a card and more flowers on a side table, before moving over to her to kiss her cheek. "Sorry I took so long to get here? I kinda got…waylaid?"
"Well, you're here now!" She reached for his hands. "Come sit by me? Frankly Henry, I'm getting fed up talking about me, the operations, and this place? Tell me what my clever grandson's been up to, that's been keeping him away from visiting his dying grandmother?" Okay, she was laying it on a bit thick, and it was no longer true, but she'd missed the boy who was ultimately responsible for uniting their family and breaking two major curses.
"I can, but I don't think you'll believe me?"
"You'd be surprised."
~oOo~
Emma joined them about ten minutes later, Henry having already texted her to say he'd arrived.
The last time she'd walked in, it was to the sight of Ruby Lucas lying asleep beside her, her mother's head resting on her chest. This time it was her own son, and he was lying down next to Snow, showing her something on his cell phone. And they both seemed to be laughing?
"Hiya!" Then Emma looked at Henry. "And hello to you too, young man? Finally got here then?"
"Emma, please don't have a go at him?" Snow defended him, pecking his cheek and snuggling closer into his shoulder, before he had a chance to speak for himself. "He's here now, safe and sound, that's the important thing. It's lovely to see you, too. Where's Hope and Killian?"
"Downstairs, getting coffees, as the stuff they have in the hotel's awful. They should be up soon. Anyway, it's nice to hear you laughing again, mum? What are you two chuckling about?"
"Oh, he's just been showing me photos from that remarkable trip of his, this week! The other grandchildren are beautiful, just like my Hope!"
"Eh?" Emma looked confused. "What are you talking about? What other grandchildren?"
Henry remembered only Regina had been with him when Merlin first told them about the other parallel universes. But Snow had already taken his phone from him, flicking the screen with her fingers, before offering it to Emma.
"Here, come look at these?"
Emma stepped around, to the opposite side from Henry, taking it and looking at the screen. It was a photo of a family group posing for the camera. Looking closer, she saw herself, and Regina, sitting in the centre of the group, side by side on a sofa, with two children in their laps, a boy and a girl. But she didn't recognise the children, the sofa, or even the clothes she was wearing? Or Regina's dress, for that matter. And standing right behind the smiling pair, was a smiling face she hadn't seen in years!
"Neal? my Neal? What the hell's this? Photoshopping your father into pictures is pretty bad taste, Henry!"
"Photoshopping? Look again? Who's that standing either side of him?"
That's when she noticed her Henry, with his light beard and long hair, looking much as he did now, stood to the left of Neal. And on her former lover's right…
"Two of you?"
"Yep, two Henrys…" He smirked, enjoying the clear look on her face. "And I know what you're going to say next ma? No, it's not a fake! It's genuine, and their version of Belle Gold took it yesterday morning, just before I left. You know when I disappeared this week?"
"Your other mother told me you realm jumped, but she never said anything about another version of Storybrooke?" As she spoke, she zoomed the picture, expanding the face of Henry's biological father to look more closely. He looked a little older than she remembered him, but he still had that roguish smile. Henry noticed the change, her eyes now noticeably misty.
"I was thinking about my dad when I held grandpa's wand, and it kinda took me there, accidentally? I know that isn't him, it's their Henry's dad. But it was still brilliant seeing him like that."
"These are Neal's kids?" She almost stroked the face on the photo. Our kids?
"No, though he has got two of his own. A boy and a girl. He's happily married and living in Philadelphia these day. He showed me photos of all of them. His son looks like me apparently, according to their Emma."
"So, who are these kids then?" The black-haired boy had a distinct look of Regina, though his skin was very fair.
"In that Storybrooke, Emma and Regina fell in love with each other a few months after she arrived in town? They got married three years later, and these are their kids. Emma gave birth to the boy, Alexander, and Regina, Elizabeth. Neal didn't appear for another year after that, when Henry left to find him, like I did, you."
Emma's superpower for detecting lies was still working, despite the magic-blocking cuff. So, she knew he wasn't lying or winding her up. But realising her long-held feelings for Henry's mother had been acted on in another realm, and that her own son knew, made her feel…awkward? Embarrassed? But Henry wasn't finished.
"Their lives, and their reality were identical to ours, and running in parallel, right up until that incident with the trigger in the dwarf mines. Remember that? To cut a long story short, their Henry didn't get kidnapped and taken to Neverland; so Peter Pan never came. There was no second curse, which meant we didn't lose a year in New York, and Robin and the Merry Men never came over. And as for Killian, I'm not really sure, but he left there fairly soon after he came, and they haven't seen him since."
It was a lot to take in. "I'm getting confused, Hen! This morning your mum led me to believe that you'd spoken to your father? As in your real father, 'my' Neal Cassidy? That he was somehow sent back and helping Gold?"
"Ah. Yes. I admit, the timing's a bit odd considering. But yeah, he's the real thing. My dad."
She tilted her head, brow arched, waiting for the next crazy…'instalment'?
"There's nothing to worry about. Zeus sent my dad back, after Merlin asked him, to help make sure The Dark One never comes back to his magic, or the dagger, ever again. They're helping him set up a whole new life outside, like he'd doing for Ruby, and dad wants to have a web call with you at some point, but he said it's not urgent. He already knew all about you and Killian, and Hope, and that you moved on long ago. He also said to tell you that he wishes you well."
Emma shook her head, barely believing what she'd been told. Neal Cassidy was one of only two men, apart from Henry, she could ever truly say she'd been in love with. And he died saving her and the town, a result of Zelena's almost psychopathic cruelty.
"So, after spending time here with grandma, I'm gonna be flying out to Rome tonight, to meet them all. I'll only be gone a week, two weeks max, as I've got 'shopping week' at Harvard? That's what they call the first induction week. So I've got plenty of time."
Virginia Beach. Early the following morning
"Hello?"
Belle wasn't a particularly heavy sleeper; even less so since she and Ruby had been ejected from Storybrooke. In fact, the only times she'd slept well since then, were after having nights of energetic sex with her bed companions, both of whom now lay fast asleep to her right, Olivia snoring softly. There was at least an hour to go till sunrise.
She didn't recognise the number that flashed up on her cell phone, now sitting on the little bedside table; but she cursed herself for having not switched it off last night. So, she quickly launched herself from the bed to do so, so the loud ringtone wouldn't wake up the others. That's when she noticed the international prefix on a number she didn't recognise. It was probably Neal Cassidy she thought, having spoken to him briefly yesterday. Or it could be her son, leaving a voice message? But seeing the time, she thought it might be important, so she took it into the adjoining bathroom,
"Hello Belle. It's me."
It was the voice of the very last person on earth she expected to hear from. A voice that made her immediately stiffen.
"Rum…Rumple?"
"Are you free to talk? It'll only take a minute."
It was definitely her former husband, but she sounded…different? Maybe even softer?
"It's only just gone five in the morning here, Rumple!" She whispered, as loud as she could for him to hear without disturbing her companions next door. Then, realising she was probably the last woman on earth he'd want to talk to, a thought occurred. "Is Gideon okay. Is something wrong?"
"No Belle, he's just fine, and out this morning with his elder brother. I was just leaving a message, and surprised you answered?"
"I forgot to switch the phone off. Is it important?"
"I want to set up a longer Skype call with you today, if possible? We leave for Rome this evening and I won't have another chance till Sunday night. It's about our arrangements for coming back to the US in a month's time, and where we're going to be settling. It's...important."
"Rumple, are you implying you might not be coming back?"
"That very much depend on you, and the call."
~oOo~