A/N: So it's been over two months since I've written this and I seriously apologize for how disjointed this chapter might be. My muses literally wouldn't let me write anything else. It's plot heavy, I guess. I don't even know anymore!

While Killian seemed to have no problem with taking a nap, Emma found herself completely unable to relax, despite how comfortable the man beneath her was. She wished that she could lay there, content and happy and be kept awake by thinking about them. About where they were going with this, whatever it was. But that was not the case.

The gnawing since of dread still lingered, seeming as though it had no intention of fading away. Whatever it was - whoever it was – waiting for them in Manhattan, was no one good, that much she was certain of. She wished she could just play it off as overreacting, but that wasn't the case. She was fairly certain that it wasn't in the cards for her – the Savior – to have anything good in her life. Every single time she did, something always happened.

There was no way in Hell that Henry was coming with them. Not when they didn't know what was waiting for them.

He could stay in the hotel room and play video games and watch t.v. while they were gone. But he was not, under any circumstance, getting put in the line of danger.

While Gold had promised her that if she found his son, he wouldn't kill Killian - he hadn't promised that he wouldn't place them in danger in the process. She had a feeling that these hunters wanted their pound of flesh.

"Killian wake up." Emma whispered, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she rolled off of him. As much as she would have liked to stay lying there, basking in his warmth – they had more important things to do. "We've slept long enough."

"That dream was just getting to the good part." He retorted sassily, opening one eye and peering at her. "I wasn't even asleep."

"You weren't?" Her brows knit together.

He shook his head, "I was laying and thinking. Same as you were." He pushed himself up into a sitting position, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck.

"Are you worried about all of this too?" Emma questioned and he nodded in confirmation. Well, she knew she had right to be worried if he was worried too. "Henry's staying here."

"Do you want me to stay with the lad?" Killian questioned, stretching his arms above his head before he got out of the bed.

Emma shook her head, "No, he's just going to stay here and play games or something. I don't want to put him in any danger." She explained, tying her hair back in a ponytail as she moved across the room. "He'll be safer here."

"Understandable." The werewolf countered, running his fingers through his hair as he watched her walk towards the bedroom door. "While Bae was able to escape from his life with the Dark One, I worry that the hunters were no better of an influence."

"So, what you're saying is there's every possibility that this kid won't want to go home to Gold?"

Killian gave her a less than amused look, "Fairly certain he hates him nearly as much as I do. Though, I doubt he knows the truth about what happened to his mum. I suppose that's still my fault."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Basically everyone hates everyone in this situation, which is why Henry is staying out of it." She looked over her shoulder and met his gaze, "Come on, I just want this over with."

The "thirty minute drive" from where they were staying in Brooklyn to Manhattan where Gold's son was supposedly living, ended up being more like an hour's drive, thanks to the insane amount of traffic in New York. Whether it was rush hour or not, there was always traffic – a lot like how Boston had been when she was living there.

Henry was disappointed that he wasn't going with them, but Emma was fairly certain he understood why he was staying back. She'd almost lost him once and she wasn't prepared to almost lose him again. Especially, since this time there weren't exactly curses to break.

They were quiet during the drive and she knew it was because they were both thinking about what could happen during this little endeavor. It could be either really good or really really bad.

And if you asked her, it was definitely the latter – her gut was always right.

"Kid's got decent taste." Killian commented as they looked up at the apartment complex before them, which was in a surprisingly nice area of Manhattan. She had somehow expected that he wouldn't have done well, given the apparent circumstances of him coming to the "Land Without Magic".

"Pretty nice for a kid." She pointed out, pulling out the piece of paper with the address scrawled on it. "How old was he when you knew him?"

Killian rolled his shoulders, rubbing the back of his neck. "Older than your lad. Fourteen or fifteen I suppose. Never questioned him about his age." Truth be told – Bae hadn't been part of Killian's pack all that long, before the truth had come out.

Emma furrowed her brows, glancing at Killian out of the corner of her eye, "This whole thing feels wrong" The words had barely left her lips, before the sound of the fire escape drew their gaze upwards.

A figure, whose face was concealed with the aid of a hoodie, was making a hasty getaway, clambering down the metal ladder, before his feet hit the pavement and he was gone around the corner.

"Cut him off." Emma told Killian, nodding in the opposite direction, before she set off after the hooded figure. She had no clue if it were Baelfire, but why else would someone be running out of the apartment right when they showed up? It only made sense.

And he was a hell of a runner.

She shouldn't have been surprised when they rounded the corner and Killian leapt out from a narrow alleyway, in wolf form, snarling viciously. He lunged at the man, but with precision that Emma could only assume the hooded figure had learned from the hunters, he deflected the attack, sending the wolf slamming to the ground with a yelp of pain that made her heart ache.

Whatever the pair of them was – the whole mate situation – seemed to allow her to feel some small fraction of what he felt. His pain he felt on impact resonated through her, stealing her breath.

"Your father sent us!" Emma shouted; her voice hoarse and strained. Her ribs were screaming at her, her lungs aching from the run. She couldn't run after him if he took off again.

But he didn't move.

"Emma?"

She knew that voice.

Emma's eyes grew wide as the man turned around, pushing the hood off of his head – revealing to her who he was.

"No… no no no." The world came crashing down around her as she met those murky brown eyes that she had prayed she'd never see again.

Neal.

"What are you doing here?" Neal questioned her harshly. He definitely hadn't gained any tact in the past ten years. He gestured towards the wolf that lay motionless on the pavement. "With him?" That was all she needed to hear, to put two and two together and realize who he was.

"What am I doing here?" She was pissed and incredulous all the same. "I'm here because your father sent me."

This wasn't a coincidence. There was no way in hell that she could accidentally find Neal while searching for Rumplestiltskin's son – which only added insult to her injury. Ten years she'd spent, suffering from the effects of him leaving her to deal with his crime, and here she was – standing face-to-face with him, with the sickening realization that he'd truly played her like a fool.

"I find that hard to believe." He retorted, his eyes narrowing at her with a coldness that made her blood boil. "There's no fucking way that my father would send that beast to find me."

"Well he did." Emma snapped. Her eyes dropped to Killian, watching as the wolf started to rise to his feet, noting the pained expression on his face. She could feel that pain. But this was neither the time nor the place to dwell on all of that.

"Do you have any idea what he did to my family Emma? How he ruined my life?"

Emma laughed harshly, her fists balling at her sides. She'd always said if she saw him again she'd punch him in the face. "Really? You want to talk to me about ruining peoples' lives? How stupid do you think I am Neal? I thought it was bad that you left me in jail, but now… Did you know who I was?"

Neal opened his mouth to speak, but his words were cut short by the sound of Killian's growl. Emma's eyes snapped to the wolf, half-expecting that the growl was aimed at Neal, but instead she followed his line of sight past Neal.

"Shit."

Just like she had expected – hunters.

"That's my cue." Neal retorted, with a sickeningly charming smile and a nod of his head. "We really should catch up some time. I think I could dispel some of the grand illusions that mutt's told you."

"Emma we have to go. Now."

She shouldn't been surprised to turn around and see Killian back in his human form, considering that that was more expected than anything else that had happened in that short window of time. She didn't even have time to process everything.

"There's a bar in Brooklyn. Lone Wolf. Be there, tonight, let's say seven. Come alone."

She could feel Killian's eyes boring into the back of her head as she looked to Neal. "I'll be there. But you better be alone too." Emma said firmly, nodding towards the four figures standing at the end of the pavement. She knew so little about these hunters, but the air they gave off was chilling.

"I'll be there sweetheart." He hadn't changed at all.

"Why the hell did you agree to meet him tonight?" Killian questioned, blocking Emma's path as they stepped off the elevator.

She was well aware of the fact that he was pissed with her. If she couldn't tell from the way he'd remained silent during the cab ride back and the way his every exhale sounded angry she could tell from the way his anger was almost tangible.

"Look, Killian, we have to bring him back to Storybrooke with us. Gold's not going to let us off because he happens to be my ex and still very active with a group of people who want you dead." She held her hands up, her shoulders sagging. "I have to do this."

"They know about Henry."

"What?"

Killian tapped his ear, "I could hear them talking about the fact that you and I arrived with a boy."

"Neal doesn't know Henry's his." Emma explained, her hands going to her hips as she lifted her chin to meet Killian's eyes. "As far as any of them need to know, Henry's yours." There was no right way to go about any of this. She just had to keep trusting her gut.

"The hunters knew Bae was Rumplestiltskin's without anyone telling them." Killian told her, his jaw setting hard. "Henry's from the same line."

"I don't care." Emma said, her voice cracking with emotion. "I don't care. I have to do this, I have to talk to him – I have to try to get him to come back to Storybrooke to see his father, otherwise Gold's going to kill you when we get back home."

"Henry's in danger if we stay here an hour longer." Killian retorted, stepping in front of her once more as she tried to slip past him.

"That's why you are going to stay here and protect him tonight, Killian." She met his eyes, stepping close to him, letting him know that she had no intention of backing down. "But I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing. I don't care if this isn't your plan or if this isn't what you want to do – but this is what I have to do." Emma stepped closer, moving to step around him. He stepped aside, his gaze dropping as he fell into stride behind her.

She stopped a few doors down from their room, turning around to face him again. "I don't want Henry to know about Neal. As far as he needs to know, I'm meeting with Gold's son tonight." Her hands went to her hips, her shoulders sagging. "This whole thing is a nightmare."

"I'm sorry, love." Killian said quietly, stepping forward, brushing his knuckles over her cheek gently. "I just don't want to see you and Henry in danger." He forced a small smile. "I should have stayed away. None of this would be on you, if I hadn't been so hellbent on revenge."

"Shut up." Emma said with a soft laugh, leaning into his touch. "I'm the Savior, my life isn't supposed to be easy. I would have had to deal with this, eventually, regardless of whether you'd come to town or not. At least now, I have your support."

"You can thank me after everyone is safe." Killian's lips curved upwards in a small smirk, his gaze dropping to her lips briefly, before he pulled his gaze upwards, looking past her down the hall to their hotel room.

"What sort of thanking are you expecting?" Emma questioned teasingly, knowing full well what the wolf was hinting at. It wasn't as though they hadn't dreamed of it nearly every night since they met.

"I think you know." Killian retorted with a flick of his tongue along his bottom lip. "Come on, let's get you prepared for your meeting."

Emma made a disgusted face. "And convince him to come back to Storybrooke with us, just long enough for Gold to see him and know he's alive." Which was easier said than done, she assumed.