Break The Cycle

Chapter 18:

Emma POV:

Today was the day of the home inspection. I made sure my house was spotless the day before, with little touch ups here and there this morning. Henry's room was fixed up and ready to go.

The person who came to inspect it was a nice middle aged man who shook my hand and introduced himself.

"Let's get started then." He smiled.

He walked though the living room first, inspecting the sectional couch and recliner, there were also plants here and there to bring out a little life. Then he moved to the kitchen. I'd made sure the fridge and pantry were full. I ate healthy anyway so I didn't need to worry about him finding much junk food in the house. He made a quick walk through the dining and laundry room, glancing into the yard.

"Very good sized yard, and fenced too." He commented approvingly.

"I love it. I'll be getting him some thing to play with out there, maybe even a dog or something." I added. I really did plan to let Henry pick a dog for his coming home present.

"Excellent idea, a dog is perfect for a young boy." He complimented. Then he moved on to the rest of the house.

He inspected my room and bathroom, nodded and made a few notes on his clip board as he has been doing the entire time. Then he inspected Henry's bathroom. I guessed he would be looking a little more closely at my son's things. He moved the curtain aside to look at the tub and the various soaps and shampoos I had gotten for Henry, then looked through the cabinets. Then he proceeded to Henry's room. He nodded at the bed and looked through the dresser drawers.

"I, um, got him some clothes, but I thought it would be best to let him pick his own once he gets here." I explained when he saw the drawers were empty, as well as the closet, save for a few items.

"Children can be picky." He said with a laugh.

Lastly, he moved on to the third room, currently empty.

"May I ask what you plan to do with this room?"

"I thought perhaps and office and library." I answered.

He nodded again and wrote a few notes. Then we walked back to the living room.

"I am impressed, Miss Swan."

I beamed with pride.

"You certainly have come a long way since he was born. I'm convinced you will provide the perfect environment and will be a wonderful mother to him."

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, indeed." He continued on. "Now then, this coming Saturday you can pick him up, he will have his essentials packed and ready to go. I see no reason why you could not gain legal custody of him."

"Thank you, sir!" I said, shaking his hand. With that he made his way out and I thought I would cry with happiness.

My first urge was to call Killian, but then I remembered and it felt like a punch to the gut. Instead I called Ruby. She'd been keeping up with this entire process as well, along with Regina. Those two were the only friends I had, especially now.

A week later I had made the drive to Boston, fueled by my adrenaline of getting my son. I knocked on the door and the lady answered, saw it was me, and said that Henry would be right out with his things. A few moments later, she guided him out by the shoulder as he carried a single bag. I knew the feeling, one small bag with everything you had. When he caught sight of me, he beamed and rushed forward to hug me. I hugged him back and cried. After almost seven years, I had my son in my arms again. I regretted all the time I had missed, but now I had a second chance.

"Let's go home, kid." I told him.

The entire drive back we talked about everything. What books he loved most, his favorite TV shows, his favorite foods. I, in turn, told him the same things. I also explained what my job was. He thought it was great of me to help people stop doing bad things. I was so relieved when he didn't ask about his dad.

When we got to the house, I showed him his room. I thought he would jump up and down from the excitement. I knew it was because he never had anything like this, he probably only had a bed to call his own space. He got just as excited over his bathroom, especially when he discovered the stars and moon on the curtain glowed in the dark.

By this time, it was getting close to bed time.

"Okay kid, what do you say we get some dinner and then hit the sack. We've got a big day tomorrow." I told him.

"Why? What's going on?" He asked.

"Well, you're going to pick out some clothes and I have a couple of friends who want to meet you." I explained.

"Is it Killian again?" There was that punch in the gut again. "I liked him!"

No, Henry. I'm sorry. He-" I thought for a moment for an explanation. "He had to move away."

"Oh, well who are your other friends?"

"Their names are Ruby and Regina. I think you'll like them. Regina has a son about your age." I told him as we climbed in the car to go find dinner.

It was true, Regina had a step son who's mother had died a few years ago. Roland was six now.

"Cool!"

Killian POV:

I found a therapist to work with me. I explained my situation and she was happy to see me. On our first session, I told her everything about my childhood, and my outbursts with Emma.

"It's safe to say you didn't have a normal childhood." She began. "Your only good example passed away, and your father set the worst kind until your brother took you away. Is he a good influence?"

"The best." I answered. "He immediately told me that what I had done was wrong. He was angry and disappointed."

"Because he raised you for a very important part of your developmental stage, he expected better of you. Now let's talk about this Emma." She pried.

"She's amazing, she doesn't deserve what I did." I explained. "I met her some months ago, she was a bail bonds person who caught my ex girlfriend. I helped her actually. She, well she grew up in a similar situation as me."

The therapist waved her hand for me to continue. "Her parents gave her up as a baby, she went through a string of bad foster homes, and then she had a boyfriend who did a terrible thing to her."

"And what was this terrible thing?" She asked.

"It's her story to share, in the only person who knows it so I don't think she would like me telling you." I explained. "Just know that it was terrible, and she didn't deserve it."

"Okay, fair enough. So what about her made you angry enough to get physical with her?"

"We got into an argument. In my head, all I could think was that she was making her problems out to be more important than mine. She wasn't, I just wasn't being patient with her and she was trying to let me know that she had been through worse than I. And she has, but it didn't register. She tried to block my way out of a room so I grabbed her and shoved her. When she got upset and yelled back at me, I raise a hand. I just wanted to hit something. When I saw how scared she looked, I calmed down right then and tried to talk to her, but she ran."

"And why did you stop?"

"She looked exactly like my brother and I used to when we were afraid of our father. She looked scared because someone she loved was going to hurt her."

"I see. Well, Killian, that is a great start. You stopped yourself because you cared about her, it's more than your father could say."

The rest of the session went on that way, she analyzed everything about me, my brother, and my relationship with Emma. In the end, I felt better. It was still too soon to try to contact Emma, but I was making progress.