Break The Cycle

Chapter 36:

Killian POV:

Two weeks later and Henry was still down about his dad. Normally, kids bounced back pretty quickly, but I guess the sudden shock of losing him was hard to take. Emma was no better, she hadn't grieved over Neal for too long because she had time to come to terms with it, but seeing her son so upset was doing quite a number on her.

She did everything to cheer him up. She watched his favorite movies with him, bought him a few new books, but he wouldn't budge. And as his mother, I knew it had to be frustrating for her. So one night, after Henry had sulked to his bedroom, I approached her. I found her sitting on our bed, her head in her hands. I came up behind her and began to gently massage her back.

"Have you been any better today?" I asked her.

"Not really, he won't let me in. It's not like him, he won't talk to me and he won't let me try to brighten his mood." She choked out.

"How about I try talking to him?" I suggested. It was an idea that I had been pondering on all day. Neal wanted me to try to be a father figure to Henry, it was time I tested the waters.

Emma turned around and looked me dead in the eyes.

"You think he might listen to you?" She raised her eyebrows.

"It's worth a try, love. I can see how frustrated you are, we're both at our wits end. Let me take him out this Saturday, you try to unwind that beautiful mind of yours and I'll try to pry into his." I grinned.

"Nice, covering it up with a compliment." She was trying to keep herself from smiling back. "Why won't he talk to me? I'm his mother."

"I have no idea." I tucked a hair behind her ear. "I'll do my best for you."

"Thank you." She hugged me tightly.

So that Saturday, I took Henry out for lunch at one of his favorite restaurants. I wanted to wait until he seemed most able to open up before I tried to get anything out. After lunch, we went for ice cream.

Henry was talking to me about his school work and a new book he was reading. He did seem a little more enthusiastic than usual lately, so I took a chance.

"Lad, there's something I need to ask you." I said.

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

"Your mother is worried about you. We don't expect you to just forget about your dad, but you haven't come out of this shell for two weeks now, and you won't talk to her. Will you talk to me? Just tell me what's bothering you."

He contemplated for a minute.

"Did she ask you to talk to me?" He frowned.

"Actually, no." I shook my head. "I offered because she's worried sick. And I'm worried about the both of you."

He was quiet for a little longer after that.

"I just can't figure out why no one wanted to tell me. I had no idea, and then it was just a huge surprise when we went to the hospital. I could have taken it, you know."

"We just didn't want you to be worried like we were, we wanted you to enjoy the time with your dad. We just wanted to do what was best for you, Henry."

"But if I had known, I would have valued the time I had with him more."

"I'm sorry if we hurt your feelings. We knew you could handle it, that's why we told you the complete truth when he went to the hospital. We just didn't want to burden you more than we needed to."

"I get it." He sighed.

"Henry, please, your mother and I both love you. We want what's best for you and, in our eyes and Neal's, letting you be carefree for as long as possible was the best thing to do."

"Okay, but I can't take my mom doing what she's doing anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I know she's trying to make me feel better. It's great, I love her, but she's trying too hard."

I laughed. I knew Emma was too, but I let her go on because I knew better than to argue with her choices.

"I'll talk to her about that. She can be a bit overwhelming at times."

Emma POV:

I didn't know what to do with myself while they were gone. It had been months since I really had a full day to myself. I ended up binge watching Netflix after taking a long, hot soak in the tub. I'm sure there were plenty of other things I could have done, but in order to really try to relax, this seemed most appropriate.

When they got home, I shot up from the couch, grateful to have their company again. Henry came in and hugged me right away.

"What happened?" I asked him out of concern.

"I'm just sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." He said into my stomach.

"It's okay, kid." I petted his hair with my hand. "You just lost your dad, you're allowed."

He pulled away and smiled, it was his first genuine smile since before he saw Neal in the hospital.

But of course things just wouldn't stay peaceful. It was another couple of weeks after that, when I received a phone call from Neal's lawyer.

"Hello?" I answered the phone. It was evening, Henry and Killian were outside with Frank.

"Emma Swan?" A voice said.

"Who's asking?" I said in a flat tone.

"My name is Will Scarlett, I'm Neal Cassidy's lawyer. I know that when he passed, he left everything he has to his only son."

I thought this was a phone call about figuring out what to do with Neal's stuff, I couldn't be more wrong.

"Yes."

"We've hit a snag. Neal's parents knew he was dying, and I guess they assumed all of his things would go to them since they didn't know about your son. I also know that Neal didn't want me to inform them that he had any heir at all." This sounded bad.

"Okay, what happened?" At worst, I thought they would just pester the lawyer.

"They did some digging and found out about Henry. Milah doesn't seem too concerned, just curious about her grandson. But her ex husband is quite vindictive. Miss Swan, I would suggest placing a protective order for your son and yourself."

I dropped what I was holding. Protective orders were only put in place if someone had reason to believe they could be harmed or worse.

"Wh-why?" I stuttered.

"Well, when he came to my office earlier, he had quite a temper. I'm not sure he knows just where he should direct his anger, but he broke a few things in his wake. I had to have him escorted from the building."

"Okay, so you think he might be a threat to Henry?"

"And you as well."

"Okay. Thank you. I'll look into it and I'll keep your number in case I need it."

"Best of luck."

With that, he hung up and I took a deep breath. Gold had already been associated with me once. I just had to talk to the police department first thing in the morning and to Henry's school.