A/N Hey guys, so here is chapter 1, I hope you guys like it. I plan on formatting this story as one year=one chapter until we reach Henry's tenth birthday. Here is year 1 the pregnancy

disclaimer: I own nothing, certainly not the show if not I would have fought harder to keep JMO

Chapter 1

Neal Cassidy wasn't prepared. He thought he was, but nothing prepared him for the mood swings, the cravings. The aches and pains, and the general difficulty of having a pregnant girlfriend. Wait, no fiancé. As soon as they found out, going to Canada didn't feel right. He wanted to raise his son in the place that they chose together.

Neal turned them around and pushed the little bug to its limit after getting it a clean vin, and they made it to Tallahassee, Neal bought a small house with the watch money, and got a job at a local store. The first thing he did when he got their house, was buy a ring.

It wasn't fancy, but he knew Emma wouldn't care, and anything beat an onion ring in a bathroom at a roadside motel outside of Tacoma. Then he took her out on the town, and did it right. He and Emma were on the beach after a movie, and dinner, when he pulled her to a stop, and dropped on one knee. He pulled out the small box, and asked her to marry her on the Tallahassee beaches, and she told him yes, her lips warm and soft against his, this time without puke breath and onion rings.

They got married in a courthouse, Neal in a dress shirt and jeans, and Emma in a white sundress practically glowing with joy, and pregnancy their little boy becoming more pronounced every day.

It was days like today he knew he would always cherish, as Emma waddled into the living room, softly humming to her their son, and rubbing soothing circles over her stomach. He wished he could paint, so he could capture that moment forever, the way her eyes were closed, and the way her face lit up as she caught his eye across the room. "Henry's been active today. I think he's as anxious to come meet us, as we are to meet him." She said as she moved over to him.

She was almost seven months along now, and they had finally agreed on a name. She had been thinking Benjamin, or James, and he offered John and Michael, but Emma refused to have her son named after "the little boys from Peter Pan" It went like that often, but Neal found it he didn't even know how, but one day, he and Emma were watching a movie, when he heard it. Henry. Henry James Swan-Cassidy, they chose James because Emma said it was "A strong name, and it made him sound like a prince, even though neither of them were." He smiled when he thought about it, Henry really was a prince, not that Emma knew that.

Neal moved to her side, resting his hands on her swollen stomach and leaning down so his face was inches away from his son. "We're excited to meet you to, kid." He looked up at Emma, and smiled at the fondness on her face, as she gazed back at him softly. "But, let's take it easy on your mom a bit yeah? We'll still be here in a couple of weeks, and we can't wait, but you have to, alright kiddo?" He was answered by a hard kick to his hand, and he smiled. "Glad we agree Henry. Glad we agree."

~~zero hour~~

Neal was woken by a sudden gasp beside him, and a bone crushing grip around his arm. He shot upright, as Emma groaned. "Emma?" He asked groggily, "Babe, what's wrong?" He barely opened his eyes, when it suddenly felt like he had been jolted awaked by a car battery.

"He's coming." She gasped. "I think he's coming!" She gasped again, clutching at her stomach. Neal was out of bed in an instance, scrabbling for the light switch, and rushing to the closet. He frantically dug through, he knew the bag was in there, he watched Emma put it in here. After a minute of searching, where most of their closet wound up relocated to the bedroom floor, he found it, and was back at Emma's side. She was breathing heavily, she hissed as Neal helped her out of the bed, and into the sweater that was beside the bed.

"Just breathe, Emma. Breathe, and before you know it, Henry will be here." He told her, with a small smile, that she returned before a contraction struck, and she was crushing his hand.

~~hour 1~~

The drive to the hospital, was one of the longest, and most nerve-racking drives Neal had ever taken. Emma was trying to urge him to go faster, despite the fact he was already going ten over, and well beyond the point of getting pulled over. So, when the lights never flashed, before he swung into the hospital parking lot, he released a sigh of relief before he pressed a kiss to Emma's head, and launched out of the car and into the emergency room, to get help.

The nurse looked up when he came running in. "I need help!" He called to her, making her bustle around the desk, "My wife, she's in the car, and she's in labor." When he said the words, it really came crashing down on him. This was happening, he was going to be a dad. In a matter of a few hours, he would be a father, and Emma would be the best mother. He knew it already, as he helped the nurse get Emma into the wheelchair, and rolled her into the emergency room.

Not long after, they were in one of the rooms with the curtain door, Emma perched on the high bed. The nurse that helped Neal get her inside, was preforming a check on Emma's vitals. Jotting down notes. She took her temp, "Okay, Emma. About how far apart are your contractions? So we can get a good estimate of when your little one is going to come meet you." The nurse asked soothingly.

Neal rubbed her shoulders gently, as Emma answered, her hand resting over Neal's. "I woke up about five, with the first one, and they're I don't know twenty minutes apart?"

The nurse nodded, jotting something down on her clipboard. "okay, the doctor will be in, in a moment, she'll check and see how much you're dilated, but chances are, you're in early labor, which means you have a long way to go. Which if you are only in early labor, you'll have a choice. You'll be able to go home, and come back, or we can get you set up in a birthing suite here." Emma nodded, and the nurse left, after a parting pat to her leg, and a smile.

The curtain pulled back a couple moments later, revealing a doctor that held a striking resemblance to Emma, just with dark hair on the other side.

"Okay, Mrs. Cassidy."

"Swan-Cassidy." Emma corrected. "Mrs. Swan-Cassidy"

The doctor nodded. "My name is doctor Cameron, and I'll be preforming your preliminary exam, then I'll send that to your doctor. I see it listed here, as doctor Rider?"

Emma nodded. "Yes, doctor Rider." She confirmed.

Dr. Cameron nodded, and looked up with a smile. "Alright, let's take a look, and see when little one is going to come say hello."

~~hour 4~~

Neal and Emma decided to stay, because Emma didn't want to wait too long and end up 'having a house baby' because they didn't know what they were doing. So they were set up in a birthing suite, and Neal found himself pacing restlessly, as Emma slept. The first three hours, had been spent with Doctor Rider coming in to take a look at Emma's progress, and him reading Emma's old beat up copy of Peter Pan. A book which he had come to cherish, despite his knowledge of what Neverland really was, because of the way Emma's face lit, up whenever she read it to their son.

He hated Pan, but even he had to admit that the story in this land was not Peter Pan as he truly was. This Pan was mischievous and playful, not evil and spiteful. He was halfway through the final duel with Captain Hook, when he looked up, and noticed that Emma had drifted to sleep. He released a sigh of relief, glad that she was finally sleeping, he knew he should try and do some sleeping before things got serious in a couple hours, but he was wired.

He looked back at Emma, sleeping peacefully, and it hit him again, how he almost gave this up. He almost walked away from her, leaving her to go to prison, he almost destroyed her life. He almost put Emma in the position to give up the baby they were eagerly awaiting. He owed it to Hook. If it weren't for Hook telling him she was pregnant, if he hadn't fallen in love with an older, more broken Emma, he would have thrown this away.

As he paced, he replayed his life in his mind, all the mistakes he had made. When he was a little boy, he had been so happy. His father had been his best friend, his mother his stone wall, that would shield him from the dark nights. Then his mother left, and tore down the wall, leaving his father feebly covering them with scratchy wool, and raising him to be afraid. Then the Ogre's War draft came for him, and that was when he saw his life crumble. He suddenly was a prince in their village. His father a vengeful king. He was no longer the loving father that had sold everything he owned for his son. Neal looked to his wife again, when she made a small sound in her sleep. His father had turned to darkness to protect his family. Neal made a vow as he looked at his world, asleep in that small hospital bed, he would protect them, but he would never do something that he wouldn't want his son to emulate to do so. He wouldn't let darkness rip apart this family, like it did with his first.

His mind replayed the night that he left his father. He was so hopeful, he thought that he would finally get the chance to live a life free of dark magic, by taking his father to the land without magic. His father let him go, he abandoned him. Neal admitted to himself, that he would likely never forgive his father doing that to him. He knew that staying here with Emma, he knew it was the road back to his father. He also knew, he would never leave Emma to face him alone. Not with Henry. He wouldn't do that, so when that time came, he would walk into the town that the curse made, and he would suck it up. He would go back to his father. He vowed to stay by her, and he would protect her, and their son. Even if that meant going to the one place he never wanted to go. Even if it meant that he would have to face his father. Neal would never leave his family.

He paused in his pacing, and moved back to Emma's side, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He didn't know why Hook would give him this chance, but if he ever saw the man that saved his future, he wasn't sure he could ever repay the gift he was given, even as Emma woke with a groan, and something told him, that Henry wasn't that far away.

~~hour 7~~

Sweat beaded on Emma's forehead, her contractions began coming closer and closer together. Doctor Rider was a constant in the room now, as the room began to transform, and it seemed to get smaller, as more and more people came in, bringing things for the doctor, and offering Emma drugs. All of which she denied immediately. She had told Neal right away, that she didn't want anything. She wanted this to be natural.

Neal had taken up a new position by her head, hand clamped in hers. It was another check, and this time doctor Rider looked up. "Emma." He began, as Emma clenched Neal's hand again, he grunted, but otherwise showed no reaction, aside from whispering encouragements, "Emma," Dr. Rider started again. "We're almost ready, your water should be breaking any time now, or we'll have to break it ourselves, then it'll just be a matter of time, before your little guy is here." He assured. "Something that will help, is if you wanted to take a short walk around the ward, it might help get things get rolling."

Emma nodded, as they brought her legs down from the stirrups. "I think I'll try that, I'm already getting tired of this bed." She joked.

Neal smiled and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, and nodded, whatever she wanted.

~~hour 9~~

Another lap around the hospital, it seemed like Henry was really not willing to come out and say hello, but there was hope, back around the end of the last lap, her water broke, and that was when the pressure really started, mostly because he was sure he would need a splint or perhaps a full cast if she squeezed much harder, doctor Rider was back at his place by her feet, legs up in stirrups once more, and then he said the magic words.

"Emma, when I say push, I'm going to need you to push." His voice was soothing, and Neal felt a wave of anxious, happiness, with twinges of terror, cut through with pain, as Emma crushed his hand again. "Okay, Emma. Push!" he ordered, and Emma tensed, body contracting, a solid cry slipping past her lips, Neal swore he saw the lights flicker, but that could just be because of the points of pain flashing behind his eyes, as he swore he felt something crack in his hand.

"Okay, that was so good Emma, so good, just a little bit more, and he'll be here, ready, and I need you to push again Emma. Push!" He ordered, Emma pushed again, a strangled scream leaving her lips, and Neal felt his heart go out to her, as he began to lose feeling in his fingers, whispering praise in her ear.

"Shut up!" She all but shrieked at him. "You did this to me!" He tried not to let the words hurt, he was warned by the doctor, that she might say things she didn't mean because of the pain.

"I know, Emma, I know. I'm sorry babe, but it'll be over soon, he'll be here soon." He whispered.

"Emma, push!" The doctor ordered again, and this time Neal was sure he felt a bone crack, and the only thing that broke through the haze, was Dr. Rider's exclamation. "I see the head, just one more Emma. Ready, and, push!"

Emma's resounding scream was the longest most agonized scream he had ever heard her release, and when it was done she sagged back against the mattress.

"Okay Emma, one more push, and his shoulders will be through. Just one more, and you get to hold your son."

"I can't do it! I can't!" She sobbed. "I can't do it!"

"Yes you can, he want's to meet you Emma, just one more push!"

Emma shook her head, but finally she tensed again, grip harder on Neal's hand, as she screamed one more time, and this time, it was joined by another scream, one that Neal wouldn't soon forget, because it was the high, clear, first cry of his son.

Emma sobbed when she heard it, and he saw pure joy, mix with the exhaustion on her face, as the doctor laid Henry in her arms. "Hi, Henry." She whispered, holding him close to her chest, her grin growing, when his cry silenced as soon as he was in her arms. "Hi" she whispered, before tearing her eyes away to look at her husband, "We made this."

Neal felt tears on his face, as he bent to kiss her. "You did all the work." He turned to look at his son, and he swore, he had never seen anything so beautiful. "Henry Swan-Cassidy, he's going to take this world by storm" He told the little boy, earning a sleepy laugh from his wife.