A/N: More angst for all your Forever-related angst needs. Enjoy!
The shroud of darkness that is death wrapping around him is abruptly yanked away, only to be replaced by a string of incoherent memories – the old townhouse his father built, his mother's face, his childhood hometown, the ship where everything started to go wrong – but he has no time to try and make sense of it as he is suddenly thrown from the haze of half-forgotten memory into crushing weight of water all around him, his lungs burning and limbs flailing uselessly in shock.
He manages to regain control of his startled new body and heads upward as he has become used to doing – it has become pure instinct by now – and his head breaks the surface, allowing him to gasp in a lungful of much-needed air.
His eyes – new eyes, sensitive to the light but quick to adapt – fasten onto the shoreline; all light grey rocks and dark mud and bits of garbage.
He'd awoken in the Thames.
He swims for the bank, shivering so hard it takes him longer than it usually would because of the cool temperature of the water.
It's been a while since he died. He hadn't done that since he met-
"HENRY!"
The scream is shrill and clearly distressed.
He jerks slightly and looks up in bewilderment as he reaches the shore to see Abigail sprinting barefoot across the stones, disheveled golden hair flying behind her, gripping a blanket in one hand and wearing a dark red stained nightgown, with a frightened looking Abe trailing after her as fast his much shorter legs will carry him.
He manages to climb out of the water despite the shaking in his legs, barely managing to gain his balance before he nearly loses it when the woman he loves barrels into him, locking her arms around his neck and squeezing with all her might, nearly dropping the blanket she'd brought for him.
"Henry!" she gasps, shaking even more than he is, "Oh, Henry! When you said you'd come back I didn't-! I mean, it's one thing to hear about it but- I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Daddy!" wails Abe, finally catching up to his adopted parents and latching onto his father's leg. "Daddy, don't disappear again! Mommy was scared! I was scared! Don't do it again!"
Despite the uncomfortable breeze and the cool night air and the hard ground, he kneels down to wrap one arm around both wife and son.
"Sorry, Abe," he sighs lowly, squeezing them both. "Daddy didn't mean to scare you."
A/N: I'll try harder to make these less angsty, okay?
~Persephone