Break The Cycle

Chapter 14:

Emma POV:

We decided to stay in Boston for a few days, both to find out about getting Henry and to get out of our little town for a while. That next morning I went straight to the state to find out what I could.

Luckily the person I spoke to was very pleasant.

"It's so wonderful that you want to take care of your little boy now!" She positively beamed. "Lord knows we have too many kids in his situation, and I always tell them mommy and daddy couldn't take care of them, it's not their fault."

"Well, in Henry's case, you're right." I said as I sat down across from her desk.

"Now let's see here. Henry Mills, age six, in the local boys home. Oh, born in a corrections facility in Phoenix." She looked a little discouraged.

"My ex threw the blame on me for something he did." I explained to her.

"Oh! Miss Swan I am so sorry, I didn't mean to assume. You look like a lovely young lady with her life together." She exclaimed.

"It's alright." I assured her. "I made some stupid decisions back then, Henry's father was one of them."

"Well, will he be in Henry's life as well? If so, he'll need to be present." She said.

"Oh, no. He doesn't even know."

"Excellent."

She clearly thought the same thing I did, that Neal wasn't somebody who needed to be a father.

"Alright. Now, what you need to do is get a lawyer. I've got a court date set up in a few months."

My jaw dropped, something she took notice of.

"I know, it's a long time, but what we can do is do a home inspection and if you pass, we can do a foster-to-adopt program. Henry will live as a foster kid with you until he is legally yours."

"So I'll legally be his adopted mother?" I asked.

"Oh no, legally you'll be his mother. You can't adopt someone you gave birth to." She said with a giggle.

"Right." I said. "Okay."

She handed me a packet of information. "This will be a sort of guide. As you prepare, you can refer to it with any questions you might have."

"Thank you so much." I said with a bright smile.

"That's all for today. Like I said, get a lawyer, and once the home inspection is done in about a month, Henry can come live with you until everything is finalized at the court date."

"One more thing." I asked. "Can I see him or talk to him at all right now?"

"Of course. With the permission of whoever runs his group home. You just have to be supervised."

"Of course, thank you again."

I shook her hand and left the building feeling better than I had in a long time. Killian was waiting in the hotel room.

"Killian!" I said excitedly, hugging him. "I can see him, I can go to his group home and see him, and in a month if I pass the home inspection he can live with me until he's legally mine."

"That's amazing! I told you, you'll be an exceptional mother." He said.

Killian POV:

I couldn't be prouder of Emma. She wanted her son back, she was believing in herself.

At the moment she was visiting with Henry. We would be leaving Boston tomorrow so she wanted to spend the afternoon with him. I was looking for lawyers for her. I found one in the same town as us that specialized in family law, so I called him up.

"Bradley Gore law firm, how can I help you?" The polite voice of his secretary answered.

"Hello, I am in need of a lawyer for a custody case. A friend of mine is seeking to get legal guardianship of her biological son. She gave him up when he was born but he never was adopted, so she would like to get custody of him." I explained Emma's case.

"Okay. Give me a moment to write that down. Mr. Gore is out of the office right now but I can take a message. What is your friend's name and phone number?" She asked me.

"Emma Swan." I gave her a moment to write it down and then gave the phone number.

"Okay, I will have him call her as soon as he can. Thank you." She said.

"Thank you." I replied and hung up.

A few hours later, Emma returned looking radiant.

"You look like you've had a good day." I told her.

"I did. I took Henry to the zoo, someone from the group home had to come with us but we had fun." She looked like she had something on her mind.

"What is it, love?" I asked her.

"Killian, I need to talk to you about something." She said, sitting down. I followed.

"I need to know that you'll be okay with Henry being around. I care about you Killian, but I also care about my son. So I'm giving you an out."

"Pardon?" I asked, confused.

"If you're not okay with dating a woman with a child, I'm giving you a chance to back out now." She looked at the couch.

"Emma, I need to tell you something I've been wanting to say for a while, but I was afraid I would make you run." I cautiously said.

"What is it?" She timidly asked. I could tell she was preparing for the worst.

"I love you, Emma." I said. "And I know I'll love your son too."

She stared at me, mouth opening and closing like she wanted to say something.

"Killian, I-"

"You don't have to say anything, Emma. I just wanted you to know that. I don't intend on going anywhere. You're bloody amazing. I've loved getting to know you these past few months, and I can't wait to get to know your son."

I smiled at her and got up to get ready, we were going to go to dinner tonight, and I thought maybe she needed some time to think on what I had just told her. But before I could take a single step, she grabbed my wrist and stood up.

Her eyes were filling with tears, I could see it. One escaped and I wiped it away with my thumb. She pressed her forehead to mine and then kissed me with all she had. When she pulled away, she looked me dead in the eye.

"I love you, Killian."

"You don't have to feel obliged-" I tried to say. But she cut me off with another kiss. I forgot what I was trying to say.

"Shut up." She whispered with her forehead pressed to mine. "I said it because I feel it, I've just been to afraid to tell you."

"You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything. And you can definitely feel free to shut me up like that anytime." I grinned and wiggled an eyebrow, earning a giggle from her.

"Oh!" I suddenly piped up. "I forgot, I contacted a lawyer for you. I can show you his website, he specializes in family law."

"Thank you, Killian." She said, kissing me on the cheek.