A/N: I don't own Forever. Over on AO3, there was a Forever Holiday Gift Exchange 2016. We exchanged 'gifts' of fics, art, and/or videos. This was my contribution for DealingDearie over on AO3. All the authors were revealed today, so I thought I'd share this story over here too. Hope you guys like it (if you haven't read it already). Thanks! DealingDearie had a few requests, but after much deliberation from the list, I decided to go with this one: 'Really, it could just be a little Abigail/Henry or Jo/Henry scene and that'd be ok' – #ForeverHolidays2016
Paris
A big sigh of relief passed through one Henry Morgan's lips as he lowered himself into a wooden chair at a small table. Arms wrapped around him from behind, "You all right?"
"Yes, just need a rest," Henry replied as he took his wife's hand and kissed her palm. Abigail pulled out a seat and had a five-year-old Abe make himself comfortable. She then pulled out her own seat across from Henry and next to Abe.
"You do realize that we have no idea where we are," Abigail remarked as she took a menu from their passing waiter. They were at a small café at one of the outside tables.
"We're in Paris," Abe proclaimed.
"Yes we are, sweetie," Abigail smiled at her son and turned back to look at Henry. He seemed to have relaxed a bit since they sat down.
"Abe is right," Henry nodded to their son, "We are in Paris."
"We're lost… in Paris," Abigail commented as she plucked a piece of her roll into her mouth.
"I can't think of a better way to spend our holiday," Henry closed his menu.
Their waiter came up to the table and asked in French, "Can I interest you in any wine?"
"Yes, two glasses of your finest Pinot Noir wine, please," Henry replied in fluent French. He then ordered a couple signature French sandwiches for everyone. The waiter nodded and left to get the requests.
"Henry, can we afford all that?" Abigail asked.
"I think we deserve a relaxing holiday with this country's finest offerings, don't you?" Henry leaned forward and grabbed Abigail's hand across the table. He began to rub her hand in small circles with his thumb.
"Yeah!" Abe answered for her, "This is fun."
"See?" Henry grinned, "Abe agrees with me. Besides, I've always wanted to have a nice meal with my family in Paris."
Abigail simply smiled back at him. She would spend the rest of her days wondering what she ever did to deserve this man.
"At least we were both fortunate enough to get time off from the hospital at the same time to pull this off," Abigail said, "And all before Abe starts school."
"I don't want to start school," Abe pouted. He slid off his knees in the chair so he was now sitting on his butt. He slowly finished chewing his own roll.
"You'll love it, Abe," Abigail assured him. Abe didn't look convinced and looked to his father. He nodded in agreement and Abe brightened up a little. If both his parents said school would be okay then maybe it would be – maybe it would even be fun.
"Your wine and your meal," the waiter came back to the table to plant a glass of wine in front of Abigail first and then Henry. Then after a careful balancing act, he set their plates of sandwiches down in front of each of them. The family ate in silence for a few minutes.
"What would you like to do after lunch?" Henry wiped his mouth with his napkin.
"I was hoping to go and see the Eiffel Tower," Abigail replied.
"Yes, it is a wonder to see," Henry said and leaned a little closer in a whisper so only Abigail would hear, "I had the good fortune to witness it being built."
"That must have been something," Abigail said. Henry just nodded. He looked to Abe. He didn't hear him. He was too engrossed in pushing bits of cheese from his sandwich around his plate. The longer Henry could put off having to burden his son with his secret the better.
"I'd still love to see it all the same… even if it is old hat for you."
"It won't be "old hat" as you say," Henry reached across the table once again to find Abigail's hand, "I'll be seeing it anew through your eyes… and Abe's."
"You are a sentimental fool, Henry Morgan," Abigail was touched.
"Yes, but I'm your sentimental fool," Henry just smiled right along with her.
"I have to admit, this getting lost didn't turn out too badly. We'll have to do it again," Abigail fixed the napkin in her lap.
"I dare say that so far it's the best thing to have happened on this trip," Henry agreed, "I'd even go so far as to say that the single best thing to do in Paris is to get lost…"
"I agree, Henry," Abigail smiled.
"Henry?"
Henry looked up at his name being called. His gaze met with a pair of gorgeous brown eyes.
"You okay there, Henry? You looked like you just got lost in a whole another way," Jo rubbed his shoulder.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about the last time I was here," Henry answered.
"With Abigail?" Jo understood. Henry took his new wife's hand. He would never know how he managed to be so lucky to find two such strong, amazing, understanding women in his long life and have the pleasure of becoming their husband.
"Mm," Henry nodded an affirmative before subconsciously rubbing his thumb against Jo's hand that still rested on his shoulder. Jo leaned over and gave Henry a quick peck on the cheek before she claimed her seat across from him once again. Henry let out a deep sigh and simply gazed at Jo as her eyes roamed over the menu. He thought back to so long ago when Jo came to him and asked him what his 'must-sees' in Paris were when she almost went to Paris with another man.
"In my humble opinion, the single best thing to do in Paris is get lost," Henry said.
"Lost?" Jo wasn't following.
"Yes," Henry started to explain, "Wake up. Start walking in any direction really and get lost. Wander the streets until you're so terribly weak that you have no choice but to stop at the nearest café and order something wonderful to eat along with a glass or two of wine; and then set back out into the city and do it all over again… But know that this regimen works best only if done with someone you find very special."
"That sounds nice," Jo smiled.
"This is wonderful, Henry," Jo brought Henry back out of his musings once again. She picked up her glass of wine and raised it, "In fact, I'd like to propose a toast."
Henry raised his glass, at the ready to clink it with hers, his brows raised expectantly.
"To Abigail," Jo stated, "For everything."
"To Abigail," Henry breathed as their wine glasses clinked together. They both took a sip of their wine through smiles. His love for Abigail would never truly wane over the years just as Jo's would never wane for Sean. He and Jo were two lost souls that had the good fortune of finding one another to help fill the void of those they had lost. For Henry Morgan was right: The single best thing to do in Paris is to get lost and that regimen definitely works best if done with someone you fine very special.
If done with the people you love.
Forever.
THE END
A/N: Okay, I might have got a little sappy there at the end, but it just felt right. I hope I balanced the Mortinez and the Habigail all right. Henry truly is lucky to have had both Abigail and Jo in his life… two great loves in such a long life. I hope whoever decided to give this a read enjoyed this little one-shot. :)
Forever will forever be in our hearts.
PS: The italicized dialogue from the episode 'Best Foot Forward' doesn't belong to me either. ;)