SwanFire

SwanFire

SwanFire is the ship between Emma Swan and Neal Cassady from the Once Upon A Time fandom.

Tallahassee
Neal and Emma meet in Portland when they are both trying to steal the same car. They quickly fall in love and began traveling through the country together and running cons to make money. Planning to retire from their life of crime, they choose to build a life together in Tallahassee, but Neal gives Emma the bad news he is currently wanted for stolen watches that are now hidden in a train station. Emma retrieves the watches back and they decide to meet up at a specific location after Neal finds someone to buy the watches. While doing so, Neal is confronted by August, who claims Emma is meant to do something greater rather than live a life of a thief. He shows knowledge of Neal's past persona by opening a typewriter with the words, "I know you're Baelfire" written on them. Afterwards, August tells Neal about Emma's magical history and convinces him to turn her in to the police so she can fulfill her destiny. After Emma is arrested, he runs away to Canada where he sells the watches. He asks August to send all the money plus their car to Emma, and asks August that if she ever fulfills her duty to let him know by sending a postcard. Unbeknownst to him, Emma is pregnant with his son.

Manhattan
11 years later, Emma meets Neal is when Mr. Gold asks Emma a favour in which they must try and find this son. Although, Emma had no idea at the time that it was Neal. Per her obligation to fulfill a favor for Mr. Gold, Emma goes with him to Manhattan to find Baelfire. She brings along Henry because she does not trust her son to be in Storybrooke while Cora on the loose. They arrive via taxi to Manhattan in front of an apartment complex building, and enter the building to find a locked gate with a call box listing all the residents and their room numbers on the wall next to it. Searching through the list, Mr. Gold does not recognize any as a possible name for Baelfire. Emma steps up to the call box and picks apartment room 407, which she notices has no name on it, and has a hunch it is a person who does not want to be found. She pretends to be delivering a UPS package for room 407, but no buzzer rings for the apartment complex door to open. They hear someone coming down the fire escape, and rush outside in time to see a hooded person jumping down and running away from the building. Mr. Gold tells Emma that he is sure that person is his son and that she must get him to talk to him due to the favor she owes him which he is using now. After tailing the hooded person through the streets, Emma eventually tackles him to the ground. They both get up at the same time, and she is shocked to see Neal was the person she chased.

Neal, not wanting to have a confrontation in the middle of the street, pleads for Emma and him to go somewhere private so he can explain what is going on. He succeeds in getting Emma to a nearby bar where he reveals that he is, in fact, Baelfire and they discuss their past. Neal makes note of the fact she is still wearing the necklace he gave her, but Emma takes it off just then and hands it back to him. He suggests that they go their separate ways and that she tell Mr. Gold she lost him. Although Emma agrees, Neal decides to go back to his apartment as he knows what his father does to people who break deals with him. He stops Mr. Gold from threatening Emma and commands him to leave, but feels confused when he sees Henry, who he does not recognize. When Emma states Henry is her son, Neal admanantly demands to know how old he is. Henry shouts back he is eleven years old, which is the exact amount of years since he and Emma were together. He realizes the boy is his son. Mr. Gold blackmails Neal into talking with him as that is the only way to fulfill Emma's bargain. Neal tells Mr. Gold since he himself as an abandoned boy never got closure, so neither will his father either. Emma allows Neal to get to know Henry, but warns not to break his heart.