Chapter 28

"So, Emma, how do you think Henry is adjusting to moving now?" Dr. Hopper asks.

"He gets better every day. I think he more or less accepts it now."

"That's good to hear. And how has the bonding been going? Are you spending lots of time with him?"

"As much as I can," Emma nods. She grabs Killian's hand tightly. Today was just a couple's session, while Henry had mid-terms.

"And Killian, how is the communication going between the two of you."

"Very well… I see more of the old Emma every day." He kisses her cheek gently.

"Well, I must say that all three of you have progressed well in the last month or so. I knew it would not be easy, but you've all tried to work through every problem as a team. And how the preparation for the move and the new arrival?"

"Slowly. It's not easy packing up the place you've called home for the last fifteen years," Emma says.

"Aye, in addition, we're moving from two different locations to one."

"Very understandable. Have we had any conflicts recently?"

"Just a few, I think most of them are caused by the hormones and how uncomfortable I am. We fought over furniture and moving trucks last week. It seemed so pointless now that we think about it."

…

Last week.

"Henry, what is too small for you so we can give things away?" Emma asked, sitting in front of her son's closet.

"Mom, I told you I'd pack for myself," he responds from his desk, doing algebra.

"I know but we do have a deadline to move in…" She pauses, remembering about being gentle with her son, after all, this move is hard for him. "I'm sorry Bug, I know you have a lot going on at school, but please try to make an effort as soon as you can."

"I will Mom, I promise," he nods.

Emma comes over and kisses her son's head before the door of the apartment opens. She heaves her baby bump up and goes to greet her boyfriend. She travels down the hall past empty and partially full boxes. All this moving is starting to stress her out. They have less than three months left to prepare for the baby and it seems like everything is going really slowly. She can't lift or pack for long periods of time because her feet are swelling and her back is hurting. She can't sleep in any good positions because of the bump and her nightmares are still haunting her. Therefore, she also has less and less energy with each passing day.

She smiles when she sees Killian and wraps him in a hug.

"How's my Swan today?"

"Not great,"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I wish there was some way to make packing go faster. How's it going on your end?"

"Better, it's just hard to sort what is mine and what is Will's or Robin's."

"I'm glad somebody's making progress."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something Swan, what about the furniture?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are there things that I can bring from my apartment?"

"There'll certainly be lots of room for it…"

"Because if not, I was either going to donate or sell them."

"Selling might give us more money."

Emma leaned against the kitchen sink.

"It's up to you Love,"

"Well, please make a decision soon, because we still need to decide on a moving company."

"I know."

"Did you do the research I asked you to?"

"No."

"What?!"

"I was busy at work today. I forgot."

Emma sighed heavily. "You're always busy at work, no matter what I ask you to do for me!"

Killian takes a step back after her remark. "Whoa… Emma…"

"I ask you to do a simple thing today and you can't do that right! Is there anything you can do to make my job any harder?!"

"I'm sorry Emma, but I am the one making the money right now."

"Because I'm too fragile right now… Maybe if you hurried up and sold that junk in your apartment, we'd have more money."

"Hey, I said I was sorry, there's no need to be so harsh."

"It's exactly the reason I need to be harsh," she fired back. "You have no idea what I'm dealing with here. I gave up half my life-savings to spend on this stupid house, the least you can do is have a list of moving companies so we can actually go to that house!"

Killian swallowed angrily. "Are you forgetting that I gave up a lot of my dead brother's insurance to pay for my half too?! Money that could be spent elsewhere if you want."

"How dare you?! You have no idea what kind of pressure I'm under."

"No Idea?!" he barked, clenching his fists. "I'm the one paying the bills for your sake! I'm the breadwinner to support this family. A family we are less than four months from becoming bigger. I'm the one who will be doing the heavy lifting and I assume that I'm the one who will be paying the movers!"

"Well, I'm carrying your child, trying to pack everything up and raise my fifteen-year-old son, who if he doesn't accept this move soon, he might run away again or go live with his father!" Emma was in tears now and she gripped the counter angrily.

The couple stood in a moment of silence before Killian decided to leave before he said something that he might regret.

He let the door slam on his way out. Emma collapsed on the ground in tears. Her anger and frustration have made her head spin. She feels so angry and yet so confused. Why couldn't he see what she was going through? She's sleep-deprived, fat, hot, ugly, stressed, sore and of course traumatized by past events. Why couldn't he understand that? Why couldn't he do the simplest things to make her life a little bit easier? She didn't want to be mad at him, she didn't want to blow the best relationship she'd had in such a long time. And yet… she couldn't help but be furious at him and at herself. She loved him so much… he must be as angry at her. She just set him off it felt like… it was all her fault.

She continued to cry quietly. Henry was outside his door, he wanted to shut it or say something, but it might just make things worse. He, himself, was close to crying. He was having his own flashbacks to when his mom and dad would fight late at night when they thought he was asleep. He remembers thinking that this was somehow his fault for making them fight, but now he knew that adults had their own problems and it was better to just stay out of it all together. He sat just behind his door, listening to his mother sobbing in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Killian had stormed down the street in a frenzy of anger. His breath came out in thick clouds as he ground his teeth together and let out frustrated sighs. He cannot believe what happened between him and Emma. They seemed to be fighting more and more lately, which made him sad but also angry. He loved Emma with all his heart, so if they loved each other so much, why were they fighting?

He found the nearest park bench and sat down. He put his head in his hands and let the tears come. He thinks about his beautiful love at home, no doubt upset and likely as distraught as he was. He sighed heavily and just took the time to cool down, letting the cold early March weather soothe his temper. He began to clear his head and think more rationally. He thinks about how she must be feeling and knows he's going to have to try and smooth things over. Yes, things were happening very quickly and obviously, it was overwhelming for the both of them, but they loved one another and they should be able to endure anything.

He took a walk along the darkening streets of Boston before going to an Internet café and printing out the list she wanted. He then slowly walked back to the apartment, not knowing that he had been seen by a shady figure leaving a nearby bar.

Killian held his breath and knocked on the door.

Emma's tear stricken face appears. Once she sees him, she embraces him tightly.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

"No, it was my fault Love, I shouldn't have said those things about the money…"

"No, it was mine. I'm just not myself anymore Killian. I'm fat, I'm swelling up like a balloon, I can't sleep anymore and my hormones are so uneven. Despite all this, I shouldn't be taking it out on you…"

"I understand Emma. You were wrong about the first thing though, you're not fat, you're beautiful, you're glowing and you do have a right to express how you feel."

"It's just happening so fast," she whimpered.

"I know, but I love you no matter what happens."

"I love you too," she said before kissing him. This action took Killian aback. Kisses were becoming so very rare these days because of her trauma, so he decides to enjoy every moment of it. His tongue slid into her mouth and he held her head gently. She wrapped her arms around him and ran her hands through his hair.

The two stopped when they heard Henry behind them. They look at him, slightly embarrassed.

"Is everything okay in paradise now?" he asked.

The couple laughed and opened their arms to Henry. They embraced for a few moments, savoring the quiet, the calm after the storm.

…

Present Day

"Well, I'd say you handled that quite well, taking a step back and I'm glad you managed to find a solution."

"It just felt so silly," Emma protests.

"I know. Fights often start over small things and they often tend to hide bigger issues between the two partners. If you'd like you're both welcome to share what you were so angry about during that fight."

The rest of the session goes fairly smoothly and Dr. Hopper leaves them with suggested instructions for future fights. Stop before it escalates, take a few moments to cool, and then talk about what was really bothering them. The two leave the session arm and arm, ready to back to packing not knowing that someone was watching them from across the street. Someone who had noticed Emma's maternity coat and the man she was with.

Someone who was not happy at all.

Moving day is approaching. I decided to include a fight between Emma and Killian to show it's not all roses in the garden and that they are human too. The only problem is, someone is still around to cause trouble in their paradise.