"You want me... to send you back to your time... just like that?" Rumpelstiltskin cocked his head, giving her a small grin. "Why, dearie, what makes you think I can just conjure up that kind of magic out of thin air? And why on earth would I do it with him here?" his voice suddenly dropped and became harsher, his words aimed at Hook.

The captain growled, stepping forward when Emma caught his forearm and held him back. "Hook, stop it," she said, her voice coming out as a mix of a command and a plea. She looked at Rumple, knowing there was only one way to do this. "What's your price?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. It was a good thing Neal kept repeating the Dark One couldn't resist a good deal.

"I'm honored, you majesty," he said, bowing, "that you wish to make a deal with the little old me, but it is simply not possible."

He turned away from Emma, making her think for one horrible second that he was actually ditching her, leaving her out to dry. "That's crap," she stated suddenly, making him stop. "You and I both know it. You can do it, you just don't want to. I don't think a Dark One's supposed to act like you. Maybe we need a new one." She crossed her arms on her chest and waited. All you gotta do is throw the bait and wait to reel them in.

He slowly turned around, his already creepy eyes twinkling with malicious glee. "And you are completely sure you are willing to pay the price?"

"Yes," she fired out.

"If you insist," he smiled and snapped his fingers. Emma looked around, trying to see if anything had changed but no, she was still on the same deck of the same ship in the same time. She looked at Rumpelstiltskin, ready to at least try to punch him.

"Are you kidding me? Nothing's different," she barked, her fists curling.

"Look more closely," he instructed, his eyes darting around. Emma looked around once more; this time chills went down her spine when she realized she was wrong. Something had changed. The waves weren't rocking the ship anymore, Hook was frozen in his spot and there was no more wind that ruffled her hair. Emma felt cold sweat coat her forehead as she fought with the budding anxiety.

The dude had literally stopped time.

"Oh my God," she mumbled, still trying to process. "You are really... never mind, just tell me what you want."

"First, I need you to answer something for me."

Emma rolled her eyes, "What?"

"You and... captain here..." he started slowly, making Emma hate the way this conversation was going in, "you've gotten close, here in the Enchanted Forest, haven't you?"

"We-"

"Keep in mind, dearie," he cut her off, wagging his finger, "that empty lies will not get you back to your family. In fact, I might just be inclined to leave you here forever."

Emma swallowed as a lump appeared in her throat. She realized she really would have to go head-first through this conversation. "Fine," she nodded, relenting, "maybe we've formed some sort of..." she stopped and thought, trying to remember Hook's words, "... alliance. But you can't really blame me. He helped me at least try to get back. The fact you guys have some beef with each other is none of my business. Don't take out your frustrations at me."

"Quite the tact you've got there."

Emma's mouth twitched, her mind flashing to Gold's words. You have your mother's chin... And your father's tact. "Yeah, I've been told before. Now why'd you stop the time?"

"Simply to show you that I can. With a snap of my fingers I could have you back in the arms of your father and mother. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Then just tell me," Emma said through gritted teeth, her fists clenching until she felt her fingernails dig into her palm, "what you want and send me back. Please." She couldn't believe she had resorted to begging. Then a thought occurred to her and she knew she just found her crack. She could get him to speed this along. "Wouldn't you give anything to be with your family?"

A wistful, incredibly sad look crossed his face, making Emma actually feel guilty for the low blow. "Yes, I would," he said honestly, taking Emma by surprise. "And because of that I will help you, reunite you with your persistent parents. We wouldn't want them to never get you back, would we?" Emma noted that there was sarcasm in his voice, but also something honest.

"Great. What do you want in return?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked around for a while, before his eyes settled on Hook. "He forgets," he said all of a sudden, pointing a finger at him.

"W-what?" Emma hated that she stuttered, but she really couldn't help it. She tried to figure his request out, but the only thing her mind could focus on was the fact she did not want Hook to forget about her. What if the present-day one forgot too? What if he left them in Neverland, left Henry? What if he left her?

"As you so nicely had put it, the captain and I have some beef with each other. My price is that, when I send you back, he forgets you ever set foot in this world, at least in this time."

"But... why? Isn't him remembering better for you? Maybe he won't go to Neverland and live another three hundred years. Maybe he'll go off and live a peaceful life, well, as peaceful as it gets in this place. Look, can't you find something else that-" Emma tried, fighting not to sound too desperate. She had the chance to change at least one life, and for the better. She was the goddamn Savior, she had to at least try.

"No!" the imp yelled, all traces of his high-pitched voice gone. "My price is, dearie, that he forgets, or you will have to find some other way to get back to your time."

She knew she wasn't supposed to be having second thoughts, but just allowing Rumple to do something like erasing Hook's memories was making her head spin. She knew it was wrong, every nerve in he body screamed it. She wouldn't allow him to do such thing to anyone, let alone a man who never seemed to give up on her. Emma looked up, letting her frustration show.

"What about the present-day Hook? What's going to happen to him?"

Rumpelstiltskin cackled, making Emma see she asked the right question. "Well he forgets too, of course. If I let him have his memories, how would that work?" he cocked his head. After a moment of silence and his face sobering up, he spoke. "It's better for everyone, miss Swan, even if you can't see it now. Once you get back it will be like this little... adventure of yours never happened. That is, if you accept the terms of the deal - he forgets and you don't tell him anything."

"You do know you don't really hate each other that much in the future, do you? I mean, the hate's turning into the water under the bridge."

"You're lying," he hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Emma smirked, enjoying the fact she got a reaction out of him. If he was making her do this, she wasn't letting it happen easily. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Aren't you the one who can see the future?"

"Don't test me, miss Swan," the Dark One finally said, circling her, "or you might just find yourself lost in Netherworld instead of the Enchanted Forest."

"Is that a threat?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it that. It's more of a... suggestion, really. Now I am asking you to stop wasting my time. Do we have a deal or not?" he asked, a parchment appearing in his hand. He stretched his hand and Emma saw he was holding a quill.

She sighed, letting her shoulders drop. There was no way around it. Her hand shook as she reached for the quill and her fingers felt numb when she grasped it. Letting out a shaky breath, she moved closer as Rumpelstiltskin seemed less amused than usually. There was none of that playful malice about him when she looked at him, he seemed to be troubled actually. Like he was having an internal struggle with himself.

"You okay there, Rumple?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

He gave her a forced grin, "Just sign on the dotted line," he commanded, struggling to get his words out.

Emma frowned, her hand moving fluidly as she signed the damn contract. Rumpelstiltskin cackled when she did, and the parchment disappeared. "You made the right choice." He snapped his fingers, making Emma's eyes dart around, looking to see if anything had changed. "Oh, you're not back yet," he said, "this was just me, making sure the Captain is as oblivious as possible."

Emma felt a small sting in her chest, and fought not to let it show. "Can I go back now?" she barked, her arms settling on her hips. "I've had it enough with this place and time. Come on, we had a deal."

"That we did... Very well, your wish is my command," Rumple bowed, and a portal appeared by Emma's side. She jumped, moving away from it.

"Damn it. What do I do now?"

He smirked, motioning with his hand. "You simply walk through it. You have a minute before the time continues again," he said. Emma didn't even have the time to ask him what he was talking about, because she blinked and he was gone. She cursed, her frustration getting the best of her. She was alone, the silence so deafening she felt like her head would burst. Slowly, she inched towards Hook, who was still frozen in his spot with the same look on his face.

"I really was wrong about you, wasn't I?" she wondered. "Even now you're a better man than I thought - a good man," she sighed, pausing. "I'm sorry."

And then, she stepped through the portal.

Emma woke up lying on something hard and cold - the ground, she decided. Emma let out a small groan. Her head was pounding and she felt like someone was beating her with a hammer. She felt bad when she first went through Pan's portal, but it wasn't nearly as bad as this. This was hell. Emma cracked an eye open and was surprised to see leaves and jungle above and around her. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it worked - she had found her way back to Neverland, to her parents and Henry.

Speaking of her parents, where in the hell were they?

Propping herself up on her elbows, Emma blinked a few times and tried to figure out where she was. She was definitely in Neverland, but in a part she had never been in before. She groaned - she could already tell this was Rumpelstiltskin's doing. He was probably having the time of his life screwing with her. Making a mental note to at least shove Gold as soon as she saw him, Emma tried to stand up.

Her knees were wobbly and she felt like she might pass out again. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on the image of Mary Margaret, David and Henry that she could see whenever she closed her eyes. With new resolve, she headed into the jungle, determined to find her way back to her family. They promised they'd always find her, the least she could do was look for them.

After an hour of running through the jungle, she stopped when she heard voices. Straining herself, she recognized one of the voices as Regina's, and dashed towards it. Her muscles ached and her bones screamed, but something inside drove her to run faster, her chest fluttering at the thought of being near them.

Emma stumbled into a small clearing through some leaves, and was greeted with a sword, a fireball and a bow and an arrow being pointed at her. She held up her hands, a smile spilling over her lips.

"This is how we greet each other now?" she cocked an eyebrow. "Good to know."

"Emma?" David was the first one to speak, his sword lowering slightly. He stared at her with wide eyes, looking like someone kicked him in the neck.

"Careful, your majesty," Gold warned, his teeth baring as he got up from his spot and walked over to her. "It might be Pan's shadow playing tricks on us."

"And you know all about that," Regina drawled, a smirk stretching her lips.

"Pan's what?" Emma asked, looking between them. "What are you talking about? It's me."

"Now why should we trust you?" Gold asked, coming closer. "You might just be a reflection of their," he said, referring to Charming and Snow, "desire to have you back. You might just kill us all in our sleep, dearie." The next thing she knew, she was choking on air, her heart going crazy in her chest.

"Gold, stop it!" David roared, pushing towards her only to be stopped by Regina.

"Gold's right. Pan's shadow did the same thing to him and kept coming as Belle. It finds your wishes and weaknesses, David, then uses them against you."

"Gold, please," Emma squeezed out, fighting to keep her grip on her consciousness, "it's me. You helped me, brought me back. We had a deal... remember?" she asked, her eyelids slowly closing. Rumple seemed unfazed for a moment, before his magic on her weakened and Emma fell to her knees. David and Mary Margaret rushed to her, dropping to her level and wrapping their arms around their daughter.

"Emma," Snow whispered, her eyes filling with tears, "you're here. You found your way back to us."

"You're hard people to find," she smiled, trying to make a joke.

"You're here now," David said, his voice muffled by her hair, "that's all that matters."

Emma allowed herself to enjoy the hug for a few more seconds before she noticed a passed-out Hook sleeping against a log, a sight that made her stomach turn. "What happened to Hook?" she asked, slowly and reluctantly getting out of Mary Margaret and David's embrace.

"He passed out about an hour ago," David supplied, stepping to the side so she could get to the pirate. "He's okay, just... out cold."

He didn't even get to finish his sentence when they heard shuffling, only to turn and see Hook waking up. "Oh, Gods," he muttered under his breath, running his hand over his face. His eyes fell on Emma and he turned rigid, his eyebrows knitting together. "Swan?" he questioned incredulously, moving up to stand. Emma's eyebrows shot up when Charming came and pulled him up, steadying him when he started to sway to the side. "How did you- what are you... what the bloody hell happened to me?" he asked, his voice bordering on panic. "Am I dead?" he asked, turning to David.

David looked at Emma. "Can I say yes?" He sighed in disappointment when Emma sent him a dull look. "Fine," he pouted before turning to the pirate, who was still waiting for an answer as he watched the short exchange. "You're alive, Hook."

"But how did she-"

"That was my doing," Gold cut in. "Miss Swan made a deal with my past self."

"And what was in it for you?" Hook growled, pushing away from David. "I don't suppose you did it out of the kindness of your heart."

"Well," Gold started with a content, sardonic smile, "that is for Miss Swan and I to know, and you to never find out. If you would all excuse me, I will go and see where Bea had disappeared to. Regina?" he looked at the queen who was silent up until that point.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll come. I have something to talk about with Tinkerbell anyway," she turned to leave, before she paused and faced Emma. "I never thought I'd say this," she said after a beat had passed, "but it's good to have you back, miss Swan."

"It's good to be back," Emma said, giving her a small smile. "We can finally get our son back now." To her surprise, Regina returned the smile before going after Gold. "Where is Neal?" she asked, turning to her parents.

"He went to find Tinkerbell, said he had to talk to her."

"What happened to you, Swan?" Hook asked when he reached her. His eyes bore into hers and she fought to keep the sadness she felt out of her voice. "After you went through the portal?"

"What are you-" Snow started with a puzzled look on her face that mimicked David's, before she caught Emma's subtle look that told her to shut up.

"Oh, you know..." she started, trying to keep her tone light, "got chased by some trolls, killed a siren... that kind of thing. But I never gave up, there was too much to fight for back here," she hoped he'd get the implication she was thinking of him as well. "Too much on the line for me to just stop trying."

"And that's all?" She hated that the bastard could read her so well even with no memories. "Nothing else but monsters came your way?"

"Maybe a realization that I was wrong about some people," she admitted, smiling at him. "Some villains are actually pretty amazing heroes."

Though she had a feeling he knew who she was talking about, she could still see he was a little confused. "Who might you be referring to?" he asked, giving her his trademark smile.

Emma could feel her parent's eyes on her and she knew she was burying herself deeper with each word she spoke, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was alive and back with her parents, she was back with him and now she would go and get Henry, to hell with Pan. She felt good and being there with him at that moment felt right, as did her words to him. So she just smiled at him, trying to be as sincere as possible, stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, "You couldn't handle it."

(TO QUOTE A SPANISH SOAP OPERA - EL FIN)

Oh my Captain Charming.

I am so sorry I haven't updated earlier, but I was having some trouble first with not knowing how to bring this story to an end and then with the site, who wouldn't let me post a new chapter. But it's here and all I can say is...

THIS IS THE END

Hold your breath and count to ten...

Feel the Earth move and then...

Hear my heart burst again.

I could go on since I know the entire song, but I shall stop before I get out of control. Anyway, I would just want to thank you all for sticking with me for almost three months now, it honestly means the world to me that so many of you appreciate and like my work and every single one of your messages/reviews/follows/favorites has warmed my heart up. I would wake up in the morning and read emails and I would just smile - you have all made these last few months incredible. Thank you for that.

But all things come to an end and so has this story. I love writing it especially because I have been going through some stuff and my life felt like it wasn't really going anywhere, but writing has always helped me, it has always given me a sense of comfort I cannot describe.

Now that my sappy feelings are out (I'm ashamed, btw), let's talk about the future. There will be an epilogue, so don't go thinking that this *points between you and me* is over. I'm like a tick, tough to get rid of. I will have the epilogue up in the next few days, promise. I'll continue writing my one-shots, if you care to check them out and as I have mentioned earlier, I shall start a new story. I don't know when I'll post it, I still haven't figured out all the details yet, but it will be posted before the second half of the season starts, so be sure to check my profile for the new story. I hope you guys will like it.

Holy crap, that was a big rant. Once again, thank you all for reading this story, I love you so much it hurts (dramatic much, Al?) and I hope we'll hang out again soon.

I send trucks of chocolate and Charming/Hook/Neal/Robin Hood/Peter Pan/whoever your favorite guy character is/ kisses your way - I'm out =D