A/N: This chapter may be a little dry as far as Teddy and Henry go, but do not worry. I have some dirty little tricks up my sleeve ;) Shonda owns it all, except Emma.

March 6, 2007

It was cold out. So cold that Henry could see his breath, white, on the night air. Pulling his collar up and his jacket tighter as he stepped out of the back door of the club, he stopped in his tracks. A baby stroller sat before him with a child in it, barely dressed for the weather, and asleep. She couldn't have been more than a year and a half old.

His first instinct was that the child was unattended, alone, in an alley. Then he heard a heavy grunt to his right, and turned to see a man with his pants down to his ankles. The stranger was thrusting himself into a small-framed woman with her dress pulled up around her waist.

Henry had no problem with prostitutes. He didn't make a habit of taking up their service, but he had nothing against them. What he did have issues with were dirty whores who let their baby freeze while they made a few twenties.

He made his decision in a split second, not bothering to second guess himself. Walking up to the couple, he tapped the man on the shoulder, which startled both of them. Mr. Cold Ass shot Henry a dirty look, but the whore kept her hips moving. Stupid, stupid move. Grabbing the guy by the collar, he took the courtesy of pulling them apart, anger written all over his face. "Get out of here before I call the cops," he told Cold Ass, who left. The whore tried to follow along, but stopped when a hand caught her by the arm.

"Look, buddy," she cocked her hip in arrogance, "you just lost me a client. I suggest you take your hand off of me or I'll be calling the authorities."

A lot of good that would do. "The authorities? You mean your pimp? Bring it on, honey."

She raised her hand and slapped him, hard, across the face.

x

Present Day

Her name had been April, and that was how their friendship had began. When Henry opened the shelter, she began making weekly drop-ins with her adorable little redheaded daughter, Emma.

"What's going on, Henry?" Teddy's voice broke through his train of thought. His emotions were probably written all over his face.

"I - I just want you to know everything. I want you to be a part of every aspect of my life." It wasn't a lie. He wasn't capable of lying. But it wasn't the whole truth, either.

They made their way to another area of the center, pausing for a moment to talk to Joe, whom Teddy immediately liked. "It looks to me like you have quite a few friends. I don't feel so depended upon now, knowing I'm not your only one in the world." She told him, a playful smirk on her face.

"They aren't my friends. They're my partners. My colleagues. I wouldn't dump something like that on them. They do too much for me as it is. Not that you don't," he quickly added. "It's just . . . you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean."

The door that the walked through led them to a large room with beds and cribs spaced throughout it. A few children were playing with toys in one area, some young women conversing in another, and an array of different faces sitting before a television screen.

A little girl with stunning red hair turned her head at the movement near the entrance, and was immediately on her feet and headed for Henry.

"Henry!" she squealed as he scooped her up into his arms, "Thirty-six days, Henry! That's the longest ever."

"Thirty-six? I don't think so, missus. I don't think I'd live if I didn't see you for that long." He placed a kiss on the girl's forehead.

"Well I was counting. I was counting and counting and counting. And mommy said I might not ever see you again, but I knew she was wrong.":

"Yeah? I guess she was wrong. Look here," he set the child down on her two feet, "I'd like you to meet my friend Teddy. Teddy, this is Emma."

The tiny redhead chimed in, "I have a teddy named Teddy. Is she your girlfriend, Henry?"

"Yes'm, she is."

"Are you gonna marry her? 'Cause you can't marry her. 'Member, you promised me that we could get married when I'm a big girl?"

"I told you that we could get married if you still want to when you're a big girl. And I never said promise."

She shrugged, "I can share for now."

The two adults laughed, then Henry knelt down to Emma's level, "You go play. I'll see you soon. I promise."

"I want it to be no days this time, okay?"

"Alright, kiddo. No days."

x

Teddy watched Henry's interaction with Emma. The man couldn't be more of an angel. Before she'd awoken that morning, she was sure he couldn't be anything more. And now he surprised her by being good with kids, too. Not that she had expected that he would be bad, but she was waiting to find a fault in him. It was a comfort, though, because someday - not too soon - she wanted kids.

"So you've already promised your heart to someone else? I can't believe that you would do that to me," she joked as they left the center.

"I'm sorry," a huge smile was still glued to his face, "I didn't think you would mind."

"This isn't Utah, you know."

Henry chuckled, "So how do you feel about diving into parenthood?"

Teddy suddenly stopped, "Excuse me?"

"Emma's mine. Not biologically, but if I - I mean, we agree to, Emma's mom would like to have her under my care. But I'm not making a decision unless you're on board with it."

A/N: What do we think of Emma? The situation? Please review, and gimme your suggestion. Oh, and write me some Tenry!