A/N: This story will include present day events (those that take place in 2015) and moments from Henry and Adaline's past. The present day events I place as happening shortly after Forever's season and slightly before "The Age of Adaline" movie. This is a story that has been in my mind for a LONG time and I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I have loved writing it!

New York-2015

Henry pulled his watch out of his pocket to check the time once again. He looked at the board and then back down at the watch before shutting it in nervous frustration. With as advanced as technology had become over the years he would have expected that an airplane could arrive at its destination on time but that apparently wasn't the case. Though, technically, according to the arrival board the flight from San Francisco had been on time but his watch showed that 15 minutes had passed since it had landed and there was still no sign of her anywhere.

Henry buried his hands in his pockets and bounced a little on his feet with pent-up energy. Normally, he wasn't as impatient as he was acting at the moment but he couldn't help it. He hadn't seen his oldest and dearest friend in years and now that he knew she was here in the same city as him, in the very same building as him, every minute apart was a torture. He'd arrived an hour early in his excitement but the longer he waited the more that enthusiasm was turning into nervousness.

It was always strange waiting for her like this. In a way, he enjoyed it. He rarely ever felt so much anticipation and excitement as he did in these last few minutes apart. He could not deny there was an exhilaration in these moments that he relished. But there was also a little bit of worry too. She was his closest friend but they had not seen each for a few years. It gave a person the strange sensation of both knowing someone and having them be a bit of a stranger at the same time. He searched each face that passed by feeling both eagerness and trepidation at finding her among them. Finally, he saw her turn around the corner and head down the hallway towards him.

"Adaline," he whispered, a smile quickly spreading across his face.

She was still quite a distance from him but he could see her face light up with a smile of her own as she spotted him. He felt his heart warm at the sight, the whole of him so happy to see her again and glad to know she felt the same. Any silly worry he'd had over seeing her again faded in an instant. He cursed the security barrier that kept him back, not allowing him to rush towards her as he wished. She walked briskly but she did not run, clearly trying to restrain herself and appear the lady she was. But he watched as her steps got quicker and quicker until she finally couldn't stand it anymore and ran the last few steps.

Finally, her arms were around him. He wrapped his arms tight around her in reciprocation without holding any of himself back. As reserved and careful as they both felt they had to be in their interactions with everyone else in their lives, they didn't have to be that way without each other. And that felt really good.

"I've missed you, Henry," Adaline whispered from her place against his shoulder.

"I've missed you too, Adaline. There's still so much time to make up for. I apologize."

"Don't worry," she reassured him, pulling back but her arms remained on his, keeping him close. She smiled as she took in the sight of him. "You look well."

"You look lovely."

She was the very picture of modern vintage. Her hair was rolled on the sides and pulled back into a pony tail at the back which was a style he hadn't seen in decades. Her bright red lip stick spoke of another time but her dress, though he knew it was vintage, didn't look out of place at all because it had come back into style. He only knew it was old because he knew how long she'd had it. It was one his favorites. He smiled all the more when he realized that she had surely worn it in anticipation of seeing him again.

They stood in silence for a few moments practically beaming at each other before Henry couldn't help himself and reached out to pull her into another hug. "You going to get sentimental on me?" she asked in a jesting tone but she held onto him all the same.

"Maybe," he said as he melted against her. He closed his eyes and nuzzled his face against her shoulder. He breathed deeply and sighed with relief to be able to be near her again. He realized even more how much he'd missed her, not just in the few years since he'd seen her last but from the much longer absence that had followed before that. They'd exchanged phone calls and letters to keep in touch but that was a poor substitute for being in each other's company.

"I'm really glad you're here, Adaline. Or," he said lowering his voice, "should I say Amanda or whatever you call yourself these days."

"Amanda?" Flemming asked in surprise, finally coming up to join them. "She hasn't called herself that in decades. I guess the memory really does go in the old age," she teased at Henry.

Henry pulled back from Adaline and turned towards Flemming. "I was wondering where you were."

"Well, Mom was so impatient to see you I told her she didn't have to wait on these old legs to keep up with her. And I have to say she was all too happy to leave me in the dust."

"You're exaggerating," Adaline said in a don't-embarrass-your-mother kind of way, a look of embarrassment on her face.

"I am not," Flemming insisted, ignoring the warning. "You should have seen her. She was bouncing up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. I thought she was going to trample the other passengers in her haste to get off the plane. To be honest, I was kind of glad to be rid of her."

Henry laughed and Adaline blushed red. "O.K. that's enough, dear," she insisted a little firmer this time.

Henry gave Adaline a smug smile. "You missed me," he teased, quite delighted.

Adaline would admit nothing and though she made a show of avoiding his eyes the smirk on her face let him know his words were very true.

"Ah, Flemming," Henry said turning to give her hug. "It's been so long."

"I know. I'm an old woman now."

It had been a very long time since Henry had seen Flemming and he would have to admit that she looked very different than the last time he'd seen her. The age upon her bothered him, only because it reminded him of how much time had passed since he'd seen her last. She was his best friend's daughter and he probably hadn't seen her in almost forty years.

But he was comforted by the fact that some things never changed. Her humor, her smile, the important things of her, hadn't seemed to change at all. They were as he had always remembered. "You forget, I have old eyes," Henry said. "And they tend to see everyone as much younger than they really are. I think it will be hard for me to remember you as anything other than the young woman you were when we first met. Or even the little girl you were when we very first met."

"Wow," Flemming said her eye brows arching up in surprise. "I wish everybody saw the world with old eyes. Then I could be forever young like the two of you."

"I am sorry it's been so long."

"It's alright. Remember, I have an ageless mother and so I know the handful you immortals can be," she teased.

"Where's Abe?" Adaline asked looking around her a little for him.

"He's back home working on a small feast for us."

Adaline and Flemming looked at each other and smiled. "Well, then," Adaline said, "What are we waiting for?"

Any worries that Henry had earlier had faded and he could already tell they were going to have a wonderful visit.

Henry finished pouring wine into his glass and held it up towards Adaline. They clinked their glasses together in a toast before drinking.

"Henry, really this is such a lovely place you have," Adaline marveled as she gazed around the rooftop terrace. It was a beautiful late May evening and the weather was warm but not hot. The sun was beginning to set and it gave the many strings of lights that lit the area more and more brilliance with every passing minute.

"This is definitely my favorite part of it." Henry loved the rooftop terrace and always enjoyed the opportunity to have company over in this space. He had been looking forward to Adaline's visit and the chance to show it off to her.

"I can certainly see why. The shop too is just wonderful. "

"I can't take credit for any of it though; it was all Abe's doing. I, unfortunately, was present for very little of it. Abe did all the work without much help from his useless father."

"Now, now," she chided. "I see quite a bit of influence from his old dad in this shop."

"I think you give me too much credit."

"I don't. You're much too hard on yourself."

He was so glad to see her again and he could hardly drag his eyes away from her for even a moment. Of all life's pleasures, being with an old friend after a long absence had to be one of the best. Absence really did make the heart grow fonder and nothing compared to that excitement of being reunited. It felt like the best of both worlds because while they were so familiar and comfortable with each other there was so much exciting news to get caught up on it made everything feel new.

She looked especially beautiful in the growing ambiance of the setting around them and Henry thought again about how easy it would have been for them to fall in love. The intensity of the struggle they shared, the loneliness of the secrets they both kept, could have easily driven them to a passion for each other. Henry was glad it had never been an option. When he'd met Adaline and for the first several decades of their friendship he'd been with Abigail. By the time he was no longer a married man Adaline had long ago become something else entirely to him. He was grateful for that, knowing it was probably the very reason she was still in his life. They both needed each other too much to have potentially ruined things with a romance gone wrong. Even as friends he'd very nearly ruined what they shared.

She had become to him like family, an ever present, never changing part of his life. Friends normally didn't survive the long distances and long absences that he and Adaline kept. But what they had was so deep that they could come together after time spent away, close as if no separation had occurred at all.

She crossed her arms on the table and focused her attention on him. "So, how is New York treating you?"

She really already knew the answer to this. He and Adaline had kept in touch through letters and the occasional phone call but this was her first visit to see him since his most recent move back to New York. He had filled her in on all the details of living with Abe again, his job at the M.E.'s office and his new partnership with the NYPD. But there was a big difference between writing to her about something and getting to have an actual conversation with her in person about it.

"I'm doing very well here."

She stared intently at him, trying to determine if was being honest or not. Besides Abe she was the one who had the most practice at reading him. He knew she wanted to ask how he was doing because she wanted to see his reaction for herself. In a letter he could make it sound like he was doing better than he actually was but in person she could read his feelings for herself. Henry had always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve and if he lied Adaline would be able to tell. But this time he really was being honest. He knew why she felt such concern for his well-being and though it was embarrassing to remember how unwell he had been for a time he was also touched by her ongoing concern.

"Really," he insisted, trying to put her mind at ease. "Coming back to New York was the best thing I could have done. I love living here with Abe. Getting to spend so much time with him has been a gift. It's been good to be back where things are familiar. And I'm really enjoying my work so much. I'm happy."

It was almost a surprise to realize that he really was happy. It had been a long time in coming and this year had held so many challenges of its own. But this year had also been the happiest one he had experienced in a very long time. There were so many good things that had happened and they far outweighed the bad ones.

"You really do seem happy," she remarked, looking very pleased. "I'm so glad to see it."

There had been a lot of ups and downs in Henry's life and Adaline had been there for all of it. She had seen everything; the good, the bad and the ugly. He knew that she worried a lot about him and he was once again glad for this visit. Things were finally turning around for him and he was glad that she would be able to see the improvements for herself.

Loud laughter rose to them from the kitchen in the apartment below. Abe and Flemming were in there together cooking dinner together. Henry had tried to get Flemming to sit and rest, insisting that she was a guest and shouldn't have to help with the meal preparation. She had only laughed and said that her and her mother had not been 'guests' for quite some time and to call them such again would be considered an insult. Henry had smiled and conceded. Now he realized that, of course, Abe and Flemming had wanted some time alone to do their own catching up and hadn't wanted their parents involved.

"They sound like they're enjoying themselves," he said.

"You know, they're probably laughing at our expense," Adaline said with a smile.

"Oh, I know they're laughing at us. Still, it's good for them."

Over the years, Abe and Flemming's friendship had grown along with Henry and Adaline's. It had taken a while in the beginning due to the large age gap between them but as they grew older their relationship became more and more dear. They didn't keep in touch quite as closely as Henry and Adaline did during the times when they were apart but they loved connecting during these visits. Abe wasn't much of a letter writer but he gladly took every opportunity to laugh at his father and in Flemming he found a very sympathetic ear. Henry genuinely didn't care if Abe and Flemming were spending all their time making fun of their immortal and immortal-ish parents and he knew Adaline didn't mind either. Their children needed a confidant who understood to share their own struggles and challenges with and they could only do that with each other. Henry and Adaline didn't let people into their secrets and Abe and Flemming often paid the price. Henry was grateful for any opportunity for Abe to be able to spend time with someone who he could speak freely with.

As Henry focused on the sound of their laughter and the murmur of their conversation he realized just how long it had been since all four of them had been together like this. It had been so long it was hard to recall when the last time had been. When he could finally pinpoint the memory he felt a pain in his heart; back then it had been the five of them.

"Henry," Adaline said, pulling his mind back to the present. "You look sad. Why?"

Henry tried to get a grip. For once, he didn't want to have his mind in the past and he struggled to not let himself go there and become depressed. "It's just been so long since we've all been together like this."

"It must have been a bit of a shock to see Flemming again."

"I have to admit it was. It's just been so long since I saw her last. With you and me I can almost forget how much time has really passed but with them…it's just so obvious. It's my fault; I've kept us apart."

"Hey," she said, softly and reaching across the table to put her hand in his, getting him to look up again. "That's all in the past. We've all moved past it and you need to too. You spend entirely too much time in the past. Old man," she said, teasing him.

It did the trick and Henry smiled. This was one of their things. Even though they were similar in so many ways there was still a big age difference between them and they used it to tease each other. "Just because I appreciate history does not mean I am an old man," he said, pretending to be offended.

"An appreciation for history might not but a steadfast refusal to move along with the times does."

"I think I do very well in the present time."

"Henry, you don't even have a cell phone or a personal email account."

"So, what? I clearly can survive without them. You know, just because things change does not mean they change for the better. You'll realize that someday when you grow up."

At the age of 107 Adaline was hardly a child but at 235 Henry was still more tired of change than she was. Adaline appreciated the modern world and its technological advances more than Henry did but she was a lot younger than him. This was one of the only areas where they tended to disagree about things but instead of taking it too seriously they joked about it and he loved that. They would also have to admit the other one often had a valid point. Henry knew he did sometimes sound like an old man when he talked like this and Adaline did prefer their old-fashioned letter correspondence over the impersonal exchange of emails.

After a pause, Adaline's expression turned serious. She made no move to take her hand out of his and he was glad. They both had a fondness for physical affection and since they spent so much of their time with thousands of miles between them when they were together they took advantage of every opportunity to show their love for each other in this way.

"How are you, really?" she asked, eyes filled with concern.

He knew what she was asking. Of course she had seen through to where his thoughts had really been. They hadn't been able discuss this in person yet and he'd known she'd want to see for herself how he was really doing. He'd told her what he had learned about Abigail's death; she'd been the first one he'd gone to. In fact, he'd spent hours on the phone in tearful conversation with her the very night Adam had delivered the terrible news. Remembering that long night brought tears to his eyes now. Adaline had been the only bright spot during that horrific day. She'd stayed up nearly all night listening to him and giving him the strength he needed to be able to break the news to Abe. She'd even offered to get on a plane right then and come and see him but he knew she was already scheduled to come for this visit and since it had only been a few weeks away he had declined.

He took a deep breath before he spoke. "It's been hard but I'm doing O.K. Really, a lot of the time I feel torn between extremes. On the one hand, I've known in my heart of hearts that Abigail was gone for a long time now. But actually knowing, for certain, that she died is so painful. Ever since she left I've been able to hold on to the hope that someday, maybe, I might see her again, just one last time. But at the same time I know that clinging to that hope held me back; I could never move on because of it. I could never give myself the chance to even imagine a new life without her as long as I knew she might still be out there. Basically, I'm all a jumble. As usual," he said, with a painful self-depreciating smile.

Adaline reached her other hand to their already joined ones and held his firmly between both of hers. "I miss her too," she said softly, her own eyes sparkling which made it even harder for Henry not to cry. It was exactly what he wanted to hear from her.

"It's so awful what happened to her and I feel so guilty. That makes it feel even more wrong that I feel…I feel…relieved." He looked to Adaline it see if she thought he was horrible for feeling that way but she only nodded her head to show him she understood. "I'm relieved to finally know the truth. The not knowing was so terrible. And now I know she never really left us. For so long I thought…I thought she had stopped loving me, that she'd given up on what we had together. And now I know that she never did, not even at the end."

Henry couldn't help it. He did cry for a little while and Adaline came over and held him. It felt good to talk to her about this even if it really hurt too. He knew that she missed Abigail too and he was glad just to know that Abigail would be remembered by another person in this world. Adaline and Abigail had been friends for so many years and he knew Adaline missed their friendship. Though all three of them had shared many times together over the years, the two of them had had their own special, separate memories apart from him too. Adaline had had a friendship with Abigail in a way that only two women could share. He knew it was a relief to her too to finally know what happened. He could see it in her eyes and that gave him peace about his own feelings about this news.

After he was able to compose himself, Adaline sat back down in her chair. They were silent for a few moments as they dried their tears and drank a little more from their glasses. Finally, Adaline spoke. "I would like to go down to the river sometime during my visit."

Adaline looked a little nervous like she thought maybe Henry wouldn't want to take her down to the place where he and Abe had spread Abigail's ashes but he was, in fact, very pleased with her request. "I was already planning for us to do that tomorrow," he admitted.

She gave him a little smile. They were so often on the same page. "Good."

He reached out to take her hands again and held them. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too, Henry. Me too."

Adaline often accused him of getting lost in the past but he couldn't help but find himself reflecting on it now once again. Their friendship, which was now spanning more than 60 years, was one of his life's greatest blessings. He often marveled that it had even been possible. After all, what were the odds that they would ever meet? Really, what were the odds that the two of them, with such extraordinary secrets which they guarded fiercely, would ever meet and know they were alike? And they hadn't just met once; they had been brought together twice in order to make a friendship. That friendship that had held them together through the years had once almost ripped them apart. But then their love for each other had brought them back together again and made them stronger than ever.

Their own separate stories were extraordinary but not half as much as the one they shared together. Even after all this time Henry was still surprised by their amazing story. He found his mind focusing back on their very first memory together, that first meeting before they even became friends, all the way back in 1937.