I like it, RG! Here’s another idea:
1. Milah leaves Rumple to be with Hook (Bae is around 7)
2. Hook and Milah go to Neverland
3. Bae goes through the bean portal and ends up in Neverland (age 14)
4. Hook and Milah return to FTL where they meet Rumple as the Dark One, ending in Milah’s death and Hook’s return to NL
The only reason I haven’t thought this could happen is the exchange between Milah and Rumple where he asks her how she could leave Bae. But she could still regret leaving Bae and still could have seen him in NL. Not sharing that information with Rumple could have been something Bae asked her to do or perhaps she just thought it wise to leave out the fact that she had seen their son, and he hadn’t.