"Morning, Emma. How are you feeling today?" Belle asked, as Henry's mother was buzzed into the unit.

"Much better, thanks." Emma hadn't vomited since Thursday evening, but she'd stayed away from the hospital and it's high risk patients on Saturday too, just to make certain that whatever virus she'd caught was out of her system. She hated being away from her son, but the last thing she wanted to do was infect him with an illness that could end up killing him, thanks to his weakened immune system.

"How's Henry?"

"Oh, he's fine. He's been spoiled with attention while you've been gone. The footballer stayed until we had to kick him out on Friday evening, but he bought dinner for everyone on the ward, including the nurses, so nobody complained too much. And both of your parents were here all day yesterday to keep him busy."

Emma shook her head fondly at Belle's revelation. She'd spoken to Henry on the phone each night that she'd been gone, but her son had neglected to mention just how long Killian had stayed with him.

(And so had her mother, which wasn't like the Mary-Margaret Swan that she knew and loved.)

"Thanks, Belle." Emma offered the other woman a small smile before setting off down the corridor to head for Henry's room. She wasn't surprised to find both of her parents already comfortable inside of it. Her mother was sat at the small table by the window knitting a new scarf for a friend of hers, while David was perched on the bed beside his grandson, already taking about the day's football games.

"Mum!" Henry declared excitedly, as he saw her step into the room. "How are you feeling? Did you get our flowers? I wasn't sure if I remembered our address right."

"I did, thank you." Emma slipped her arms out of her jacket and draped it over the back of a chair, before she pressed a kiss to the top of her son's head.

On Saturday morning a knock had sounded on her front door, and she had answered wondering who the hell could be looking for her. Emma wasn't expecting to see a delivery driver holding a large bouquet of colourful flowers, so she'd burst into tears at the sight of them. After awkwardly signing for her delivery she'd taken them inside to stand on the coffee table, and picked out the small card sat in the middle of the bunch to read the inscription written upon it.

We hope you feel better soon.

We miss you.

Love,

Henry and Killian.

X

She'd cried some more at Killian and Henry's thoughtful gesture. Emma couldn't remember the last time someone other than her parents or her son had cared enough to tell her to feel better. And nobody had ever bought her flowers before.

But that hadn't been her only delivery of the weekend. A little after midday another knock had sounded and she'd pulled open the door to find a different delivery driver stood on the other side, holding a large box for her to take. After shifting it into her arms she'd offered him a thanks and then kicked the door closed on her way back to the lounge.

Emma had to push aside the bouquet of flowers to sit the box down on her coffee table so that she could open it. Inside, she'd found a few large containers filled with some of the best soup she'd ever had. One was a chicken noodle that she'd warmed through and eaten immediately, and the other a simple tomato soup that she'd stood in the fridge to have later that evening. There were a couple of packs of tinned ginger ale down one side of the box, along with some bottles of sports drinks and a few large bunches of bananas. But what was quite possibly the best gift she'd ever received was hidden under the food, and in a separate bag.

As Emma had shook out the large, grey, fluffy blanket to tuck around her legs, a small envelope had fallen onto the floor at her feet. After sitting her empty soup bowl aside she'd leaned down to pick it up, before eagerly tearing into the paper. Inside was a simple 'get well soon' card, and a one-hundred pound Costa gift card.

Try and take it easy while you feel sick. Henry's in good hands. The soup is some of the best in the city, for when you feel up to eating again, and the Gaffer swears that bananas are fantastic for an upset tummy. Mam's the one who suggested the ginger ale, and the sports drinks are to help you stay hydrated when you finish vomiting.

The gift card is for when you feel better ;-)

I'll stop by the hospital on Monday afternoon when I finish training to see Henry. Hopefully you'll be there too.

All the best,

K.

It was one of the sweetest gestures anyone had ever made for her, and Emma had cried some more as she'd eaten one of the bananas and then curled up under her new blanket to get some sleep.

"Did you see what Killian sent us?"

"Huh?" Emma asked, as her son pulled her out of her memories and back to the present.

Henry nodded his head to the flat screen television on the wall, but it took Emma a moment to notice the little box that had been connected to it.

"What the hell is that?"

"It says it's some kind of streaming box," her father replied, as he pointed to the discarded packaging that now sat by the window, waiting to be recycled. "It's so that we can watch the game in slightly better quality than your tablet offers."

"And it just happens to let someone else watch it with you," Mary-Margaret mumbled, even as she kept her eyes trained on the knitting needles in her hands.

Emma shot her mother a curious look but nobody seemed in a hurry to explain things to her, so she tried her best to shrug it off as she took her place beside Henry's bed.

"So… when does this game start?" she asked, reaching into her bag to pull out the tubs of popcorn that she'd brought with her.

"One o'clock, Mum," Henry said, like it was common knowledge to everyone else in the world. Emma chuckled at his antics as she reached for the brand new remote control that sat on the table in front of him.

"That's hours away. I guess that means I can catch up on EastEnders while you guys wait for the match to start?"

David and Henry both yelled their objections to that plan far louder than either of them should have, considering they were in a high-dependency unit in a children's hospital. But Emma couldn't bring herself to shush them. It had been years since she'd seen her son as happy and lively as he was that afternoon.


Thanks for reading and reviewing.