Henrik listened to Roxanna sigh quietly, her arm holding Fredrik close to her chest as they waited for the gate attendant to get them. They had spent a wonderful week in Galashiels, taking the train or buses to different cities, trying to find things that Fredrik would enjoy doing, bonding as a family. His English seemed to improve by leaps and bounds, and Roxanna's Swedish, while still halting, was getting better as well. If they had had more time together, everything would have been that much further along, and he knew that when they arrived home in Sunderland, he would have to press a little harder to see about getting shared custody with Maja. There was just no way that he could allow his son to grow up without having their influence in his life.

"Excuse me, if you want to bring Freddy aboard now, and get him settled, the captain said that would be all right." He looked up at the woman, noticing the small smile on her face.

"Is it really that time already?" He heard the break in Roxanna's voice, and reached over to squeeze her knee softly, trying to offer her as much comfort as her could.

"I'm afraid it is. We like to get young solo travelers like him settled in before the rest of the passengers, since that hustle and bustle can unnerve them."

He nodded and got to his feet, waiting for Roxanna to follow suit. She took a deep breath and bundled Fredrik close to her chest as she rose to her feet, and he could see that she was valiantly trying not to cry as they followed after the gate attendant. Henrik carried the small bag of essentials that Roxanna had packed for the flight. While it was not terribly long, she had wanted him to have his giraffe, and his blankie, and a few board books. "Where is he going to be sitting?" he asked as they walked down the jetway.

"All the way in the back, so that the flight attendants can keep a close eye on him. Is he allowed to have soda?"

They shook their heads in unison, and the gate attendant smiled as they got on the plane, heading towards the back. A younger woman gave them a small wave as they reached the last row. "Is this little Fredrik?" she asked, and Roxanna nodded as she took a seat and place Fredrik in the one next to her. Henrik watched her hug him close before kissing his forehead tenderly as she buckled his seatbelt. "Is there anything that we should know?"

"He might cry, this will be his first flight alone. My wife packed his blanket, his favourite toy, and some books, but I don't know if that will be enough to soothe him. His mother will be picking him up at the gate, but it's the in between that we're worried about."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of him as best we can."

Henrik nodded a little as Roxanna got to her feet and shuffled across the aisle, allowing him to take a seat next to his son and give him a tight hug. "Jag älskar dig, Freddy," he said lowly before kissing his cheek.

"I love you, too, Papa," Fredrik replied before patting his face. "Mama?"

"You'll see her soon, son." He gave him another kiss before standing, knowing that if he lingered any longer, he'd start crying, and he didn't want Fredrik to see him cry. "Now, be good for the nice people, and we'll see you soon."

Fredrik nodded eagerly as he wiggled in his seat. Plastering a false happy smile on his face, he waved to his son before handing the bag over to the flight attendant and turning on his heel, starting down the aisle. Behind him, he could hear Roxanna giving Fredrik her final goodbyes before her footsteps began to trail after him. It wasn't until they were in the jetway that she was able to walk by his side, and he welcomed her arm around his waist as she plastered herself to him.

"Just tell me that he's going to be okay," she said, her voice thick and phlegmy. He gave a curt nod before guiding her over to the most secluded set of chairs by the gate and drawing her down next to him. "I promised myself that I wouldn't cry until we were home in Sunderland. But we still have hours before our train leaves, and then another three hours on the train. I just…I miss my little guy already."

Her words were barely above a whisper, and he knew that she was trying desperately to keep it together. Despite everyone milling around them, he opened his arms, welcoming her against his chest as she started to openly sob. Gently, he rubbed her back, trying to calm her before they made their way to Waverly Station. "I'm going to see my solicitor on my next day off to see about pushing for shared custody with Maja. I know that it will probably cause a bit of friction between us, since Maja still hasn't truly accepted our marriage, but I really want him to be a larger part of us."

"Whatever you have to do, Henrik, I'll support. Because this week with him and you was one of the best in my life, and I don't want it to be months and months before we see him again." Roxanna nuzzled her face into his chest, digging her fingers into the fabric of his jumper as she fought to get control over her feelings. All he could do was swallow and blink rapidly, trying to control his own emotions, since he needed to be strong for her in that moment. There would be a time for tears later, when they were home and she was sleeping. "All right, I think that I'm okay to head to the train station now."

Henrik nodded as he helped her to her feet, turning her away from the people who were queueing up to board the plane that would take his son from them. Roxanna again seemed to melt into him as they made their way out of the airport and over to the bus area. As they waited, he was suddenly grateful for the fact that they had packed light and didn't need to worry about carting a lot of luggage on the bus. Still, he had to adjust how he was shouldering the bag as they boarded, and he allowed Roxanna to find them a seat in the back. Sitting down next to his wife, he stowed the bag on the floor between them before looking at her. "I love you, Roxy."

"I love you, too," she whispered before letting her head come to rest on his shoulder. "We need to have more weekends away, when we can get them. Somehow, I have the feeling that the coming months will be full of ups and downs. Because that just seems to be our lives, for better or for worse."

"I promise you that we will take every moment we can for ourselves. Because we both know how important that is for us at this point in our relationship." Henrik covered her knee with his hand and let out a deep breath before starting to hum lowly as they made their way to Waverly Station.