Chapter 14

"It's beautiful, Love," Killian says, staring at the pictures Regina had sent of the house Emma had been looking at. Both sit at the kitchen table looking at the place they soon might call "home."

"Really?" she asks. "You don't think it's a bit much?"

"It's perfect Emma. Anywhere with you, Henry and our little girl is a home." He kisses her cheek.

"I'm just a little concerned about the price. Even with the money I've saved, it's not enough to buy it, plus to pay for food, things for the baby and for Henry's college fund…"

"We could split the cost…"

Emma looks at him. "R-Really?"

"Unbelievably, I do have a fair amount saved up for such things." He frowns a little. "I still receive some compensation cheques from the navy and it is unfortunate, but I was also Milah's beneficiary."

"Really, how come her parents or siblings didn't get it?"

"When she knew she was dying," Killian grimaces. "She updated her will so that I would inherit her money and her parents would get nothing. They never treated her right and she felt that they didn't deserve to benefit from her premature passing."

Emma swallows a large lump in her throat. She had long since forgotten about Killian's previous love, who had died from cancer a year before she met him. He was clearly still broken up about it when she found him drinking in the bar.

Killian gets a distant look in his eyes. "For the longest time, I didn't think I'd get over my first love, Milah, but then I met you Swan and I realized that I could love again. I knew the moment I met you that I loved you…"

"Do you mean that?" she asks quietly.

"Every word,"

The two lean forward to a kiss. Their lips meet and they inhale each other's scent. Their hearts beat almost in rhythm. Despite the flashbacks she may be having, Emma enjoys the quiet moment with him… the man she loved… She couldn't believe she had admitted it.

She smiles gently, cupping his face in her hand. She gazes into his bright blue eyes. "I felt the same way after Neal left and one night stands were as far as I'd go, but you changed something in me, Killian. You gave me hope and you showed me a level of devotion I've never seen before. I guess on some level I knew that you and I loved each other…Sorry, it took me so long to admit it."

"A broken heart takes a long time to mend," he says soothingly.

The baby begins kicking in her womb and Emma puts her hand on the spot. Killian follows suit and the two feel the rhythm of their tiny child inside.

"The Lass is ready to move," he jokes gently.

"Now we have to convince the teenage Lad," the pregnant woman mutters.

It's something that she'd been dreading. She was wondering how she was going to tell him. Her mind rolled over and over the possible scenarios of how this might play out. She knew Henry would hate moving, he hated change in general and he'd always been fragile since Neal had left. Her one-night stands with other men were not appreciated, but he kept it to himself. He wasn't exactly okay with Killian before her disappearance, he might've felt jealous or betrayed that his mother was dating again. That likely changed when her boyfriend became one of her son's protectors and guardians during those horrible months in captivity. Even then, he was still not 100% okay with the docks man. So much had changed when she came home pregnant, meaning he'd be getting a new sibling and would have to share his mother. Additionally, Killian now stayed with them to the point that he may as well be living with them. Plus, he was dating now and she wondered how this would impact his relationship with Violet. The house was only a bus ride away from school, so he could continue going there, but relocation is never easy.

"He's not going to like it."

"Aye."

"And it's not like anything is set in stone. You and I like this house, but he may not… I want him to feel like he has a bit of choice and input in the decision."

At the thought of "choice," a feeling of dread filled her stomach. What if Henry decides to go live with Neal instead? She had not exactly been keeping tabs on her ex, as there was enough going on as it was, but there was talk that he might be relocating back to Boston to be near them since he no longer had a fiancée. Emma had not taken the time to consider how much Neal had sacrificed for her during her abduction helping the investigations and running the searches. She wasn't sure if he had done it to redeem himself or that he still had feelings for her.

The thought made her head spin. She knew on some level she'd always love him, but she loved Killian more. He made her feel something that she couldn't put into words. It was deeper and more passionate than what the two former "partners in crime" had had. She knew she loved the docks man, there was no question and she was now carrying his baby. The two were devoted to each other and the man looked at her the way all girls would want to be looked at. That they were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"That is reasonable…"

"I think I may have to tell him it alone… I don't think he'll…"

He nods and kisses the side of her head. "I understand Love. The two of us may have been through a lot, but I know he's not entirely happy with me yet."

Emma swallows. She thinks that she should maybe buy him something or treat him in some way, but that makes it seem like she's bribing him and would just make it worse. She had to tell him now before things went any further. A knot in her stomach was just getting tighter and tighter as so many scenarios played out in her head... most of them did not have "a happy ending."

"I'm not sure how though…" she sighs heavily.

The couple talks about possible ways for the next hour. Eventually, Killian leaves to give the two the space they needed to talk, leaving to spend the night at his apartment.

"Good luck Swan," he whispers, kissing her gently.

"Thank you," she says and swallows another lump in her throat.

Part of her wishes he'd stay for moral support, but it likely would have made the scene much harder for her son.

She decides that a face to face conversation with no distractions is the best. She then goes to the kitchen to make hot chocolate for both of them. She applies the whipped cream and cinnamon on top just as her son walks through the door.

"Hi honey," she says gently. "How was school?"

"Same," he shrugs.

"I made cocoa," she offers him a mug.

"Thanks, Mom," he says.

There's a long pause. The teenager is about to go to his room when Emma gets up the courage to speak.

"Can we talk for a minute?" she asks.

"Huh? What about?"

"S-Something important."

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" he asks nervously.

"No, but I need to talk to you."

She sits down on the couch with her mug. She then signals for him to join her. He reluctantly follows and sits next to his mom. His face is filled with concern and anxiety.

"Is the baby okay, Mom?"

"The baby is fine?"

"Did something happen with Killian?"

She bites her lip. "Sort of…"

"What is it?" His hazel eyes are wide with confusion.

Emma can feel herself tearing up. She knew this was not going to end well, no matter what she said, but she had to do it.

"I know these past few months have been hard on you and so much is changing all at once."

"Yeah. So?"

"It's just that, I want you to know I love you and that you will always be the most important person in my life."

"Mom, you're scaring me…" he says nervously. His eyebrows creased into an expression of worry.

Emma puts her mug on the coffee table. Her son follows suit.

"You know that with the baby coming and with… Killian here, there won't be enough room for all of us. So… I just started looking at houses that might suit our needs…"

The teenager's eyes begin to form tears. They start glazing over and they appear to express possible anger and definite sadness.

"Are we moving Mom?" he asks.

"N-No… not yet anyway. I want to talk to you first before we move forward."

"D-Does Killian know?"

She swallows and nods slowly.

Henry is fighting back tears. "Is…is he going to live with us?"

"Nothing's decided yet Henry, but it's a possibility. I know I needed to tell you…"

"So you could break the news that we're leaving?"

"No, I've just been looking at houses, nothing's happening."

"And you told Killian f-first?"

"He and I have had a lot of time to talk."

"Too much!" he snaps back. He can't fight the tears anymore, it's just too much and they begin to slide down his tired face. Emma is taken aback by his outburst. She knows he's right, she hasn't been spending a lot of time with her son, someone who's been around much longer than Killian. Someone who needed her more it seemed. Her heart breaks to see him so distraught and angry.

"Henry, you know we've been in therapy together, we've had time to think about our future…"

"You mean your future!" Implying it would be without him.

"OURS" she insists. She too is now crying hard. She's not going to win this battle. "Henry… I want you to be happy and I know you hate the change, but…"

"But nothing, you never asked what I wanted…"

"I'm doing that right now!"

"After you'd already talked to your boyfriend!"

His mother knows he feels betrayed, shoved to the side in favour of the new man in her life.

"Henry, I love you. Nothing will ever change that. You are the most important person in my life and I want to give you everything, including your best chance."

"My best chance is here! At home!"

"What will we do when the baby comes then?"

"Let her sleep in the closet!" he barks.

"You don't mean that!"

"I do. I don't want this baby, I don't want him around. I want things back the way they were!"

The words stung Emma hard, she hadn't realized how much Henry hated everything. He hated that he had no control and no say in his own life, but she was trying to give him that chance now and it was backfiring badly. She wanted to hit reset, start the conversation over. She wanted things to go back to a few minutes ago when her son was happy and relatively calm. It was always calm before the storm. She hated that it had to be done.

"Believe me I'd want the same thing, but this is the way things are."

"And it's stupid!" he snarls. His face is now red, tears staining his face.

Emma takes a breath and tries to clear her mind, to think before she says something she'd regret. Henry had already crossed that line, she shouldn't.

"I understand you hate it. I know you want more control and that's why I want to make this decision together…" she protests, ignoring his comment.

"You never asked my opinion when your boyfriend moved in."

She glares at her son. "You know I don't feel safe anymore. I can't sleep without him near me. It's not just about you Henry. I know I should've checked with you first…"

"Yes, you should have!"

"But this is the way things are and we both need to accept it."

"I won't!" he cries.

"I figured. I want you to have some control and feel a part of this family now."

"We were a family before him and the baby."

"No, we weren't, it may have felt like it but we weren't."

"Yes, we were!"

Emma just stops, not wanting this bickering to go on. Henry is still boiling over with anger, he wants to make his mother feel what he's feeling. All the anger and hatred towards Killian and the baby and everything that had happened. It wasn't fair, why couldn't things be the way they were?!

"You want my choice, here's my choice. I choose to go live with Dad!"

He then storms down the hall and slams his door, leaving his mother in tears and the mugs of hot chocolate going cold on the table. He hadn't even taken a sip.

Intense and very sad. Just a note, I don't know if the Liam and Milah things are actually legal or true, I just assumed it could be. Please read and review.