Emma POV:
Things with Neal and Henry went great. Seeing my son so happy pushed my own discomforts to the back of my mind. I had to keep reminding myself that this would eventually have to end, and I didn't want it to. Honestly, I was so happy to see Henry with his father. He didn't treat Killian any differently, on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy having two father figures in his life. And I would be lying if I said that having Neal around wasn't nice too. I guess we were never meant to be a couple, but Henry was the result and we actually were great at co-parenting and being friends. He was a huge part of my life though, besides being Henry's father, Neal set me on a path that got me where I am. It was hard to explain.
Six weeks was what we got. Six weeks of Henry being brighter than ever, and my heart secretly breaking at the idea of it ending. I began to silently hope and pray that a miracle would happen, and Henry wouldn't have to lose his father. But it was inevitable, Neal told me at five weeks that this was a stretch, his doctors were amazed he was still here. But a week after that, I got a phone call.
It was three in the afternoon. I was actually having a great day, nothing was out of the ordinary.
I answered it on the first ring. "Hello?"
"Emma?" Said a very raspy voice on the other end.
"Neal? What's wrong?" I suddenly grew panicked.
"I'm in the hospital. I'm sorry, but it came out of nowhere. This is it, they told me I have maybe a day." He said.
Henry would lose his dad, this was the end. "I'll pull Henry out of school and be there right away."
With that, I went straight to my boss. I didn't care what he was doing, I needed to leave right then.
"My son's dad is in the hospital, he's dying. I need to go get him from school so we can go up there." I simply stated.
"Killian?" His eyes went wide. Most of my co-workers knew Killian, they had met him.
"No," I sighed, "his biological dad. He's had cancer for a while, and it's finally catching up to him."
"Oh, well yes. Go get Henry. I'm sorry, Emma." He hung his head.
"Thank you."
I left as fast as I could, calling Killian on my way to the school and telling him to meet me at home. When I picked Henry up, he was excited to be leaving early for the day. I wished I didn't have to tell him this. We got home and Killian was at the table waiting for us, looking somber.
"What's going on?" Henry asked.
I eyed Killian and he nodded. "Come have a seat." He waved Henry over.
"Guys, what's wrong?" He was scared now.
"It's your dad." I managed to get out. My god, how was I going to tell a seven year old that his dad was dying?
"Is he okay?"
"No, I'm sorry Henry." I was holding back tears, I didn't want to cry in front of my son. "He, he's been sick. Remember how he didn't know about you?"
Henry nodded and I continued. "Well, he came here and met you, he wanted to spend time with you before he got really sick. I'm sorry, Henry, I really am. We have to go to the hospital right now. He's not going to make it."
My bottom lip was quivering now as I watched the realization hit him.
"He's dying?" He mumbled.
"He didn't want to tell you until he had to." I took my son's hand. "He didn't want to make you sad, he just wanted to get to know you and make sure you had a dad who loved you. He loves you so much, Henry, he doesn't want to leave you."
Henry got up and embraced me, beginning to cry and triggering me too. Killian came over and hugged the both of us, kissing the top of my head. When we all finally calmed down, Henry spoke up again.
"I want to go see him."
I nodded. "We will. Right now."
The ride up to the hospital was silent. Neal had told me what room he was in, so we didn't have to stop at the front desk. When we walked into the room, he looked terrible. You could tell he really was sick.
"Dad?" Henry tentatively asked.
Neal looked over right away and smiled. "Hey, kiddo. How was school?"
Henry shrugged. "Alright. How are you feeling?"
I hung back with Killian and watched the exchange, letting the two of them have their moment together. "Better than I look." Liar, I know he felt like hell. He just didn't want to tell Henry.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Neal patted the edge of his bed and Henry came over and sat down.
"I didn't want to upset you. I wanted to spend time with you, without you knowing I wouldn't be around much longer."
"I could've taken it."
"I know, buddy, but I would have felt terrible. But you need to know, I wouldn't be leaving you if I didn't have a choice. I love you, I want to be the best dad I can, but I didn't have very long to do it. But now you can say you have a dad who loved you."
Henry smiled a little at the thought.
"I want you to listen closely, Henry." Neal said seriously. "Your mother loves you."
My head snapped up at this. I caught Neal's eye and he looked back to Henry.
"Killian does too. Even though I can't be here, they can. Your mom will take care of you, always listen to her, let her know you love her too. Can you do that for me?"
Henry nodded again. "Yeah."
"Good. You and Killian, you both make sure she's taken care of, she's going to need you both, just like you need her. Emma?"
I stepped forward, trying not to let the tears flow. Henry went back to stand by Killian.
"Please, take care of our son. I'm sorry I can't be here for him anymore. I couldn't imagine a better mother for him. And I couldn't imagine a better friend to love you." He looked over to Killian and smiled. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I love you. I always will, I love you for being Henry's mother and for welcoming back into your life as best as you could. I know I didn't get enough time to show you that I want to be a better person for our son."
I cried and hugged him for the first time in almost ten years. I didn't want to lose him, I wanted him here as Henry's dad and to be a friend to me. But he would live on through Henry, they looked so much alike. We parted and I nodded briefly, wiping the tears from my face.
"I'm going to miss you." I simply said.
"I'll miss you too." He gripped my hand for a second before looking around me at Killian. I took the hint and walked over to Henry so that my boyfriend could talk to an old friend.
"So this is goodbye then. You're leaving a hell of a legacy behind." He gestured behind him at Henry.
"It is." Neal shook Killian's hand. "Please, take care of them. Thank you for being there for Emma for all this. I can honestly say I'll be at peace knowing that they have you."
"Happy to be here. You need not worry, I love them both dearly."
Neal nodded before sitting up and embracing Killian.
"It was good to see you again."
"Likewise, my friend." Killian let go of Neal. "Your son will never forget you, I will see to that."
Killian POV:
Neal leaned in closely, so that Emma couldn't hear.
"You need to be his father now. I can see how much he looks up to you, and I see how much you and Emma love each other. I'm asking you to be there for Henry since I can't."
He looked up at me with those pleading eyes. I gave in.
"That I will." I took his hand between both of mine.
Neal died not thirty minutes after that. We had to rush Henry from the room so he wouldn't have to see anything. When the doctor came out to talk to us, he apologized profusely, assuring he did everything he could, but it was inevitable.
We did what we could to console Henry that night, but nothing could make it better. He would move on from the sadness over time, but he would never forget his dad.