Closed adoption
A guest asked for a oneshot of Henry and his girlfriend giving a baby up for adoption when they're teenagers to give the baby their best chance. Emma can tell Henry is struggling in the next few months and comforts him since she went through the same thing.
Emma knew exactly what they were both going through. All the raw emotions. The pain. The regret. Nothing Emma could do or say could ever take that away, but she could at least support the young couple.
When Violet had found out she was pregnant, both she and Henry made the decision to keep it from both their families. They were both still so young, only sixteen. They didn't want anyone in either of their families muscling in and taking any decisions out of their hands. This was their child and they would do what was best for them. By the time Violet could no longer hide her bump and the two families had to be informed, the paperwork had already been signed. They were giving the baby up for adoption. All of them tried to talk the teens out of the decision, saying they would help out so Henry and Violet could stay on at school and finish their education. The couple refused. They knew they couldn't give this baby the best life possible, but someone else out there could.
Fast forward a year later, and the impact of the decision was only just now properly hitting Henry. He had of course been upset at the birth, having opted to be there to support Violet. Only now though, was Henry beginning to properly regret his decision to give up their child. Emma understood. It had taken her a few months as well. Only when she was out of prison and able to get back on her feet was Emma able to regret giving up her son.
"It gets easier." She told him one evening. He didn't even look up. He didn't want to have this conversation. Emma continued anyway. "The more you think about how happy they'll be, how their adoptive family can give them more than you can, the more you'll come to terms with the decision." She told him. Henry stayed silent. He wasn't ready to talk about how he was feeling. Emma understood. Even when Henry showed up at her apartment ten years later she wasn't sure she had been ready. So she didn't push him. She left him with his thoughts. Emma knew that if and when he was ready, he would seek her out.
