A/N: So this is it, everyone! We have reached the end of yet another journey! I hope you've had fun! I thank you all for your reviews, follows, and reads! It was a lot of fun to write this… I can't possibly say it enough: I love Neal and Emma with all my heart. I think Neal himself is worth a million fics for the simple fact this guy has so much to cope with… and then you put him with a character like Emma Swan, and the least you can get is perfection. Swanthief/Swanfire forever! As a little goodbye treat, I am posting the 'Ten Things I Hate About You' backstory as well – the oneshot "More than Enough", so that you guys can see why the two of them seem to be so fond of this film in this story.

In time: it is time for Neal and Emma to finally face the ghosts of their past. But, of course, before that, there is a very angry parent that Neal will have to deal with. Poor guy has a full day ahead… And, on a side note: finally, finally, I get to use a line I wrote long ago, when I did some research to find out more about the capital of Florida: there are no beaches in Tallahassee!

Enjoy! And if you find it worth it, leave a note before you go!

Chapter 12: Who cares about Tallahassee?

"We should head to the back," August whispered, grabbing Rumplestiltskin by the arm, apparently unafraid to try his luck yet again. The older man, as usual, made sure to glare daggers at him hoping that this time, that infernal puppet would finally drop dead.

"You should," Neal added, his eyes finally leaving Emma's to meet his father's gaze.

Breaking free from August's grasp, Rumplestiltskin straightened his jacket, and smugly headed to the back room with the other man following him closely.

When David heard the back door click closed, he needed no more than two seconds to throw a punch that sent Neal flying against the wall.

"David!" Emma exclaimed, torn between shock, pride and the urge to run to Neal to make sure he was fine.

David, however, was barely listening. He slowly walked to where his hopefully-soon-to-be-son-in-law had landed, and pulled him up by the collar.

"Now you listen to me, Baelfire, or Neal Cassidy, or whatever name it is you go by," he hissed, as the other man tried to stop the blood flowing from his nose. "You hurt my daughter, I am what you get."

He then released him, although his eyes were still trying to burn a hole past his face when he continued his lecture.

"And if you ever, ever make her suffer again, I am going to make sure you suffer more. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, sir," Neal stuttered, still trying to recover from the unexpected attack bestowed upon him by his… almost… father-in-law?

"Here."

He looked at the hankie Emma's father was offering, and took it with a grateful nod before using it to stop the blood still spilling from his nostrils.

"Now go and do what you have to do."

After casting a final look at him, and then at his daughter, David excused himself and joined the others in the back room.

Now that encounter had definitely started with a bang.

Neal shook his head, the pain spreading across his face making the dull ache in his forehead, from when his own father had shoved him against a wall, seem like a very distant memory…

He cleared his throat and sniffed, finally putting the handkerchief away to look at Emma.

"Emma, I-"

"Shut up."

"But-"

"SHUT UP!"

He chewed on his tongue, and raised his eyebrows. Better not to argue. As usual, luck didn't seem to be on his side, and only Heavens knew how much his ex actually enjoyed resorting to the "kick-in-the-crotch" technique whenever she felt particularly annoyed.

For now, he could save himself that extra dose of pain.

"You don't get to do the talking this time," she hissed, taking a step forward."Oh no. Not again. Not ever."

"Ok," he whispered, his eyes traveling up and down her figure. He knew it was probably not the wisest thing to do, but he couldn't help but notice how gorgeous he looked in that white suit.

"Ok what?"

"Ok, I won't-"

"I said shut up!"

He bit his lip, his eyebrows going up again.

"Huh. Funny how things are…" she said, slowly walking around him. "You know, I actually get it. You leaving, the curse, my destiny. I thought it was rather distasteful, if you ask me, to leave me without a word and put me through all that shit so that I could meet my parents, 11 years later. But whatever, at least you meant well. That, I can take. "

And then, she stopped, taking another step forward and staring at him, her face mere inches from his.

"What I can't take, Neal, is that when the curse broke, I was here, waiting for something that gave me closure, while you… you were busy getting cozy with your… fiancée," he saw her eye twitch at the last word. "I saw your apartment in Manhattan, you're doing well, ain't you? Life treated you well. I mean, why? After everything I went through, again I got the short end of the stick, while you moved on with your life?"

Although she was whispering, her voice had a note of threat and anger that would never go unnoticed, let alone by him, who knew her ways so well. Still, he couldn't hold back a chuckle when she stated, with such contempt and certainty, that he had moved on with his life, when the truth was that he had never actually done so, despite his best, and lousiest, efforts.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?"

"I'm sorry," he said, unable to control his nerves and laughing even harder, although he was really trying to look serious. "It's just-"

"Stop laughing!"

The angrier she got, the more nervous he felt.

"I can't," he chuckled. "I-"

"You know what?" she hissed again, and this time he knew he was in trouble. "Fuck you, Neal."

He instinctively took a step backwards, as if to protect himself from further damage to his face.

However, it was too late. Emma's fingers had already wrapped around a decorative crystal ball near the cake and tossed it in his direction.

"Fuck... You!" she cursed again.

"Fuck!" he yelped, his hand immediately going up to his eyebrow, where the silly little thing had given him a cut that, just for a change, started spilling blood all over his face.

'You have to be joking!' he told himself, reaching for the hankie in his pocket and pressing it against his latest injury. He reckoned that his face was probably a mess by now. Swollen eyes from the previous teary moment with his father… a bump to his forehead… another to his nose… and now, a bleeding eyebrow.

"Just stop pretending you care. I… I fucking detest you, I hate your guts, I can't even stand to look at you," she ranted on, her rage blinding her to his obvious pain. "You know, I'm done. I'm done with this."

And then she turned on her heels, and headed to the door.

"Oh, no, you're not going anywhere, Emma!"

He quickly caught up with her, and grabbed her arm before her hand reached the doorknob.

"I stood here listening to your little rant, now it is my turn."

"Your turn? Your turn?" as she spoke, her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. "Do you really think you have any right to rant, after everything you've done?"

"I'm here to apologize!"

"Well, a little too late for that, don't you think?"

"Fine! Be angry! You're entitled to!"

"Damn right I am!"

Before his vocal chords snapped, he drew in a deep breath before speaking again.

"But just let me talk."

She was breathing heavily as well, and her chin was trembling with anger.

"You have one minute," she said, crossing her arms.

"Emma… I never, ever wanted to leave you in the first place. But I did. And you went to jail, and I am sorry," he swallowed, trying to keep his eyes on hers despite the urge to look away when she winced. "And I know, I know that 'I am sorry' is never enough. And this is why I'm not here to patch thing up. I don't have that right. I'm here…" he paused, trying to steady his voice, "I'm here to tell you that I am sorry, for everything, and that if you want me to leave, I will."

He watched her tilt her head upwards, and for a moment he thought he saw her lips twitch, as they usually did when she was about to cry. But then it was gone, and her face was blank again. Whatever it was that she was feeling as he spoke, she was holding it back remarkably well.

"We'll talk to Henry, explain the whole thing, and we'll figure something out," he continued, blinking as his voice became lower. "But if you want me to stay, Emma... Just say th-"

"Your time is over," she cut him short, pursing her lips and looking at the ground as she went on. "And you know what? I'm done with you."

"Emma…" It was his turn to wince.

"No! Enough is enough!" she screamed, and the vein in her forehead seemed to swell awfully fast as she engaged in another outburst of rage. "So now you want to be noble? Now you want to be decent? And just throw this shit on me so that I get to decide?"

"I'm just tr-"

"You're a coward."

Out of all the injuries that he had suffered that day, that word was the one that seemed to cause the deepest wound.

"What?" he whispered, all color draining from his face.

"You're a freaking coward," she repeated, her eyes filling with tears. "You were a coward back then, you're being a coward now."

"I am not a coward," he whispered, with a frown.

He had hurt her. He knew that. Could he have done things differently? Probably. But it had taken him all the courage he had to give up everything he had so that she could fulfill her destiny. If he had been a coward, he would have simply shrugged at August, and moved on with their lives. They would be gladly living in Tallahassee now, with maybe two or three other kids. With a job, a house of their own, a life. Then his father would have never found him, and he wouldn't have had eleven shitty years of his life eaten by regret.

He had done wrong by her, and now he knew it. But he was not a coward.

"Yes, you are," she said, wiping away her tears as she shook her head. "You are, Neal."

"I am not a coward!" he shrieked.

"Don't yell at me!"

"Don't point your damn finger at my face!"

Inside the back room, a collective whimper could be heard when Neal and Emma started screaming again.

"Here we go…" muttered August, walking away from the door to join the others standing by a nearby table.

"Why does your son keep yelling at my daughter?" David snarled, his eyes casting a dirty look towards Rumplestiltskin.

"Why does your daughter keep yelling at my son?"

"And you still ask?"

"He came here to apologize!"

"The least he can do, after everything he put Emma through!"

"That he put Emma through?" Rumplestiltskin had to snort. So now Baelfire was the universe's scapegoat? "What about that idiot over there?" he retorted, pointing an accusing finger at August. "Why does my son have to carry that burden all by himself?"

"Don't try to excuse him for-"

"He did what he had to do! What he was asked to do, again…" Rumplestiltskin went on, flourishing his hands as he ranted about August, "…by that idiot over there!"

For a brief moment, David was speechless.

"If anyone failed your daughter, it was him!"

August was about to open his mouth to admit his epic failures when David took a step forward.

"August was not the one who got her pregnant!" he whispered in the older man's ear, after making sure Henry was looking away.

"Bae never knew!" Rumplestiltskin hissed back, gritting his teeth.

"She ended up in jail because of him!"

"You just won't let go, will you, Charming?"

"He was going to marry another woman!"

"He was not thinking straight!"

As the two men engaged in a duel of very angry whispers, August approached Snow, who was trying to distract Henry from the surrounding tension.

"Snow, I… Rumplestiltskin is right," he said, looking at Henry with an apologetic smile. "At the end of the day, it was my fault."

"August, please…"

"No, seriously. I failed to take care of Emma when she was a baby…"

Snow swallowed, trying to keep her tranquility despite the bubbling anger inside her.

"Then I ruined her relationship with Henry's father… And left to Phuket…"

As August digressed about his missteps as Emma's guardian angel, he failed to realize Snow's eyes had lost all of its usual kindness. If he had been more attentive, he wouldn't have been so surprised when the woman's hand connected with his cheek with a rather loud smack.

Henry's jaw dropped as he watched the scene. David and Rumplestiltskin completely forgot what they were talking about. All eyes were on Snow.

Or rather, on Snow's hand, which she was now trying to hold away from her body as if it were some kind of monster that had been attached to her wrist.

"Oh my God, August, I am so sorry!" she gasped, with her eyes wide open. "I don't know what has gotten into me!"

"No…" August replied, rubbing his burning cheek with a confused look in his eyes. "I… I deserved that."

"You bet you did," Rumplestiltskin groaned, and in a matter of minutes, he and David were back at the usual bickering.

Outside, Emma took a moment to catch her breath before she continued her heated argument with the father of her child.

"I hate you!"

"No, you don't."

"I fucking hate you!"

"'Ten things I hate about you', Emma?" Neal retorted, taking the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and shaking it before her eyes. "Really? After all these years?"

For a moment, he felt like calling a truce and just hugging her, even if it was for a brief instant before the argument went on. That was the movie they had been watching when they first kissed. He remembered every single expression on her face as they sat on that park, and every single line of that stupid poem that ended up suiting them so well after everything went downhill that night in Portland.

"You don't hate me," he whispered.

Her lips trembled, and he saw her eyes fill with tears. But then, again, it was all gone, and her walls were back up, higher than ever.

"What makes you think this is about you, you arrogant, cold-hearted, sarcastic son of a-"

"Watch your mouth," he warned, raising his eyebrows.

"Watch your ego!" she hissed.

"At least I have one! Unlike you, who only got engaged to get back at me! What's his name again? Archie?"

"Don't you dare bad mouth Archie!"

"Oh please!" he snorted. "Don't be pathetic!"

"Pathetic? I'm sorry, at least I'm not the one who bought a four-tier cake with roses and pearls!" she spat out, pointing at the table one foot away from them with a shaky finger. "Tell me again who is pathetic, Neal! By the way, where's your fiancée? Oh, let me guess! You walked out on her too?"

He looked from the cake to her face, and sensed that from that moment on the whole fight would be based on the most stupid of all stupid lines.

"Where she is is none of your business!" he answered, trying to look cool and collected as he spoke. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be getting married?"

"As if you cared!"

"What happened, beloved Archie stood you up?" he said, crossing his arms. "No, you know what, you're right, I don't care."

"Neither do I!" she replied, clenching her hands into fists. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you, by the way: I sold your stupid bug yesterday."

He licked his lip, and lowered his eyes for a moment so that she couldn't see his face twitch.

"Oh, yeah, and why did you keep it for one decade?"

"I kept the bug because…" she trembled in anger. "Because I was hoping that I could run you over with it if I ever saw you again!

"Yeah, well," he laughed bitterly. "I guess you could do it, if only you knew how to drive stick!"

"Oh no you didn't!" she gasped.

"Call you a bad driver? I did! So what? Sue me!"

"You are a fraud, Cassidy, a liar!"

"A fraud? Wanna know what a fraud is?" he frowned, letting his arms fall to his side. "That granola family dreamcatcher, that is a fraud! It does nothing to nightmares!"

"Then why do you keep it in your window?"

Oh, well. Now he would have to think on his feet.

"To-to cover a hole in the… window… b-blinds!" he stuttered, feeling less than happy about the meek explanation he had come up with. He didn't even have blinds, for crying out loud! "Do you honestly think it means anything to me?"

"If it doesn't, why did you include it in your will?"

"How do you even…"

"The public notary showed me, idiot! He works at my station!"

Again, he felt she was about to have the upper hand, but he would not surrender.

"Never mind you saw my will, never mind you're in it!" he snarled, taking a step forward. "You know why?"

"Why?" she asked, putting both her hands on her waist.

"Because you'll never get anything!"

And then, he searched his mind for the ultimate silly argument, the one to rule them all, the one that would seal his defeat in that debate.

"I'll… I'll… live forever!"

"Good luck with that!" she snorted. "Oh, oh, and so that you know, there are no beaches in Tallahassee!"

"Who cares about Tallahassee? We're not going there anyway!"

"I'll go if I want to!"

"Then go!"

By now, all the anger in her face had dissolved, and he knew she was fighting a losing battle. She was finally letting him in again.

"Maybe I will, and you know why?" she asked. "Because…"

"I don't care…"

"…I don't love you!" the two of them yelled in unison.

He shook his head, and covered the distance between them to catch her face in his hands.

And then they were kissing, and it was one of those angry kisses, with more teeth and bites than anything else, but he honestly didn't care.

Neither did she. The truth was that she had wanted to kiss him ever since that day in Manhattan, and she probably would have, if it hadn't been for that stupid fiancée of his.

"I'm still angry," she moaned into his mouth, with her eyes still closed.

"I know."

They kissed again, but this time, there was much less anger in it. Her heart was beating faster, and her entire being felt warmer, happier, thrilled, relieved. Everything was such a mess when he was around, and yet, everything was so… right. Her hands clutched the fabric of his jacket as she pulled him closer to her body, unconsciously reacting to the thought that he might pull back, or yet, that she would…

Behind the door to the back room, there was a moment of anxious silence as Henry peeked through the keyhole.

"They are kissing," he whispered, and his words were followed by a general sigh of relief.

David had rested a hand on his grandson's shoulder, and was getting ready to open the door when the boy spoke again.

"No, wait!" he hissed. "Now they're talking again."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake…" Rumplestiltskin groaned, turning on his heels as he walked away from the door.

"I know…" Neal whispered, pressing his still aching forehead against Emma's as his fingers tightened their grip around her waist. "I know I screwed up, Emma…" he said, opening his eyes to look at her face. "I just want you to know that I never, ever stopped loving you."

"Yeah… right."

Her acid response left her lips much faster than she could have expected. She saw he had winced, and that he now had a kind of resigned sadness in his eyes.

"It turns out that I'm just bad at making choices..." he muttered.

Oh, who was she fooling? She knew that man. She could see right through him. She knew he was telling the truth.

"Yeah..." she whispered.

"I just… I…"

"I love you too," she said, before the man in front of him ended up drowning in his own sad thoughts. "But I wish I didn't. Right now, I really… I am so done with you, Neal..."

"I know…"

"You… you put me through hell… and when I thought I had seen it all…" she said, shaking her head with a raised eyebrow as he grabbed her hands, "you… you just pushed the envelope, I mean… The whole thing with Tamara…"

"Emma…" he winced again. "I... please…"

"Seriously now… What happened to her? Why are you even here?"

She watched him intently, as he clenched his jaw and looked over his shoulder towards the back room.

"My father has all the juicy details, but let's just say we broke up over… fundamental differences."

"Oh yeah?"

And then, he was looking at her with those puppy eyes, and a smile curled her lips.

"Yeah, you see…" he said, pulling her closer to his body as he spoke. "She saw me as her husband, but I didn't see her as my wife."

"Oh."

"Yup."

"Well, then I guess I can beat you," she replied, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Archie and I broke up because I didn't see him as my husband, and he didn't see me as his wife, either."

He chuckled. For so long he had told himself that the two of them had no chance whatsoever of getting back together, and now it was finally happening. Maybe it would still take time for her to trust him again, but at least she seemed to be willing to try. He could see it in her eyes, and she probably had no idea of the huge weight she was lifting off his shoulders with that smile on her face.

"Wow... You're a tough competitor."

"Yup," she replied, and when she did, she looked just like that girl who had stolen his car in Portland. "No one screws up like I do."

"Hmmm…" he frowned in response. "Funny that you're saying that to the guy who steals watches, then has his girlfriend steal back the watches to save his sorry ass, then lets her take the fall and give birth to their child in jail, and then moves on to live 11 years of a very strange life, gets engaged to a woman he didn't love, spends all the money he will take his entire life to make on a wedding that will never happen, and becomes the babysitter of a lunatic, former scary, now just scary crazy, father."

"The last part was not your fault."

"You're right," he agreed. "Just a fitting punishment for all the other things."

He saw her smile again, and all the pain of his multiple injuries disappeared for good. Tomorrow, he would probably look like a car crash, with bruises and bumps and bandages. Probably he was already looking pretty bad, but the way she looked at him always made him feel the most handsome man on earth.

"Well…" she whispered, and her eyes seemed to finally acknowledge his pain as her fingers gently grazed his eyebrow. "Putting things in perspective, I can live with being the runner-up in the screw-up category."

"Will you ever forgive me?"

"For being a mess?"

"Yes."

"I don't know if I should."

"Will you give me a chance to convince you…" he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear as his hands slowly descended to her hips, "… at least?"

Damn that man. Actually, damn her body for responding so fast to that man's advances. Those hands… Oh, no… Those hands…

Her eyes had fluttered closed when she felt them go even lower.

"Why would I?" she moaned.

"Why don't I tell you over drinks?"

She gasped when he chuckled, and as he pulled her closer to him, she was relieved to realize her body was not the only one reacting… quickly to their little make out.

"S-Seriously?" she stuttered, opening her eyes again and trying to keep a straight face. "Is that the best thing you can come up with?"

"One of the best," he replied, before pressing his lips to the side of her neck and sending even more shivers down her spine.

"You honestly think you can buy me with a drink?"

"It worked when we first met."

She pushed him away to stare at his face with her eyes wide open.

"I beg your pardon?"

"What?" he asked, biting his lip as he held her gaze. "It did, what can I do?"

"You're unbelievable…"

She pulled him closer again, and her lips caught his in yet another kiss. This time, though, their mouths made love to each other, as they took turns giving in and taking charge of every move. She took her time to taste him as she explored every inch of his body her hands could reach, and he did the same, trying to take it slowly although by now all the nerves in his body were going up in flames.

"They are… kissing again…" Henry whispered to the little crowd behind him, in the back room. "I… I guess…"

"You guess?" Snow asked, with a chuckle. "Henry, what do you mean… you guess?"

"It's just…" the boy continued. "She is taking off his jacket…"

David's eyes went wide, and Rumplestiltskin couldn't have looked more pleased when he smirked. Both Snow and August rushed to the door to urge Henry away from the keyhole, in case his parents were planning to do what everyone thought they were planning to do.

"Glad you came to an agreement," David announced, throwing the door open and stepping outside before… well. Before it was too late. "Now can we all just go home?"

"Oh God!" Emma gasped, clutching Neal's shoulders at the mention of that word. "The bug."

"You wanna do it in the bug?" he whispered, his hands moving up back to her hips before his father-in-law punched him again. "Just like the old days…"

"No!" she replied, looking pale as she pushed him away. "I need to get it back!"

"Oh."

He watched as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, and leaned against the table. When his eyes caught David's a mere foot away, he realized the man had a murderous look on his face, and when he glanced down at his lap, he could understand why.

Luckily, he was able to use his jacket to hide the very noticeable bulge in his pants a second before Henry and the others joined them in the lounge.

"Hey buddy!" he exclaimed, grinning widely when his son joined him by the table.

"Ok," Emma muttered, finally dialing the number the buyer of her bug had provided.

Seconds later, Rumplestiltskin felt his phone buzz, and answered it without even looking at the screen.

"Yes?"

"Who is this?" Emma asked.

"I ask that myself. You called me."

"Wait…" she muttered. "I know that voice!"

She whipped her head around, and saw her father-in-law walking carelessly around with his cell phone in hand.

"Gold?"

"Who is this?" he asked, after stopping dead on his tracks. "Your voice… sounds familiar."

She hung up, and waited 'til he turned around to speak again.

"You bought my car?"

Both Neal and Henry raised their eyebrows at her question.

"What car?" Rumplestiltskin asked, looking puzzled.

"The bug."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, come o-"

"Erm… Mom?"

She turned her head to look at Henry, who now sported a very obvious guilty look on his face.

"Henry?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I bought the bug," he confessed, wincing.

Neal looked delighted, with his mouth half open as he stared at his son, smiling.

"What?" Emma asked, her mouth gaping as well. "Henry… how… why?"

"I'm sorry, I… I couldn't let you sell it," he explained. "I used grandpa's credit card."

"My credit card?" Rumplestiltskin asked, wondering when on earth he had gotten himself one, to begin with.

"No, my other grandpa's," the boy replied, looking at David and feeling his ears had gone red. "But I couldn't use their contact information, or Emma would know…" he said, turning to look at the older man again. "So I used yours."

Rumplestiltskin raised his eyebrows and nodded with a proud smile after looking from Henry to his son.

"Clever, I have to concede," he said.

"Clever?" David asked. "Henry, you used my credit card to buy… a car?"

The boy shrugged, knowing it would be useless to try to defend himself now that the cat was out of the bag.

"Well, no wonder it was declined when I tried to buy gas the other day…" David muttered.

"Maybe we can ask for a refund?" Henry asked, looking at his mother.

Emma simply shook her head, and her gaze met Neal's. They certainly needed to talk to that kid about using other people's credit card without their permission.

Not that they had the best track record in that matter, though…

"Henry, come here," Neal whispered, still smiling as he glanced at his son. He caught the boy's face in his hands, and then raised his eyes to Emma. When he looked back at the boy, he nearly forgot whatever it was that he had planned to say, and simply let himself take in his features, finding so much of him, and so much of her, on his face. "I love you, son."

Henry smiled, and he felt his chest swell with warmth. Yet, that was not what he had planned to say.

"But it is not okay to take other people's things without asking first, ok?"

The boy lowered his eyes for a brief moment, and then raised his glance to his father again.

"He always leaves his credit card out of his wallet on the dining table," he complained. "I resisted, twice! The third time he is just asking to get took."

Neal's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. He slowly turned his head to look at Emma, whose mouth hung open as well, the expression on her face matching his in shock.

"I swear I never said a word," she muttered.

He remained paralyzed as the boy shrugged and walked away, joining his grandparents at a nearby table. Of all things he knew could be genetic… the ability to duplicate a parent's train of thought was definitely not on the list.

"Hey," Snow finally said, a relieved smile on her face as their family finally got back on track. "I know neither of you got married today, but I think that is exactly why we should celebrate," she paused, and spent a particularly long moment looking at her daughter's face. "So how about some cake?"

"Ah… About the cake…" Emma muttered, slightly ashamed of the revelation she was about to make, especially now that their son had just admitted to a minor theft. "It… It is actually Neal's, I… I…" she let her arms fall to her side, and lowered her head. "I stole it."

Henry chuckled, and so did Rumplestiltskin. The Charmings, however, looked confused, and August merely glanced at everyone else with a very sly 'I-knew-it' look on his eyes.

"Hmmm… Emma…"

When she turned to look at Neal, she saw he was scratching his head with his trademark puppy look on.

She knew exactly what that meant.

"That is not your cake either," she whispered, raising an eyebrow. "I stole a stolen wedding cake?"

A smile curled his lips, and he looked away for a second before speaking again.

"Now how about that drink?"

She had to laugh.

They were back to the beginning.

As she flung her arms around him, her eyes caught her mother's across the room. To think that not long ago, one of the last things the two women had talked about was how some people were never meant to get their happy endings.

Her eyes quickly travelled to the other faces around her. She saw her son talking to August… Rumplestiltskin and her father still engaged in their legendary bickering, with Snow trying to calm both of them down… and then, she looked at Neal and his smiling face.

The thing about happy endings, she now realized, as he pressed his lips against hers…

… was that they happened when you least expected.

The End.