The Monster Within

Chapter 7

"What?" Emma gasps in disbelief

"I have a date on Friday."

"With whom?"

"Her name is Violet. I met her at swim practice. She was the one I was talking to on the pool deck the Wednesday before... you know."

Emma wracks her brain to try and remember who Henry was talking about, but so much had happened since then, it was hard for her to remember.

"She was the one who invited me to the party,"

"Oh," his mother says nodding. She had a vague image of the girl now. Dark brown hair and eyes.

"And she's in my Spanish class. She also was part of the search party that Mary Margret organized. She's been supportive of everything that's happened."

"And you finally asked her out?" Emma says.

"Yeah."

Her head is spinning slightly with this new information. She couldn't believe her fifteen-year-old son was going on a date. This shouldn't surprise her, after all, he was old enough to do such things, but it was still shocking. She still thought of him as her little boy and to have him tell her this was a surprise. Her stomach turned a little bit, realizing that she had missed out on quite a lot over the past few months. It wasn't her fault of course, but she still felt left out. She chews on her lip a few times before standing up and tossing out the ruined dinner to distract herself.

"That's okay isn't it Mom?" he asks.

"Of course, honey, I'm very happy for you; it's just part of me doesn't want you to grow up and I still see you in those race car pyjamas sometimes."

"Oh god," the teen grimaces. "If she ever comes here, please don't mention that."

"Don't worry I won't. So where are you going on this date?"

"We're thinking of seeing a movie and then maybe grabbing a bite to eat."

"Do you know if she has a curfew?"

"Not yet, I'll ask her. What's mine by the way?"

"11," Emma says.

"I honestly don't think the date will go that late."

Emma chews her lip again while cleaning up the dishes. "How about I order some pizza and you can tell me more about Violet. I've just been out of the loop for a while."

Henry swallows and nods.

...

"So, you thinkin' of movin' in together then?" Will asks Killian as the dark-haired docks man shoves some clothes into a duffle bag. The rest of his stuff is in the wash as he gathers other things he might need before going back to Emma's apartment.

"We're not there yet Will. We haven't even talked about what we're going to do next week."

Will sits on Killian's hamper, watching his roommate pack. "Just sayin' the past week or so, Robin and I have barely seen ya."

"For good reason," Robin says, walking by the room. "He's been non-stop with Ana all weekend."

Killian grimaces and goes back to packing.

"Must be glad you didn't use a condom then?" Will says.

The docks man glares at his roommate.

"Besides the fact that it likely saved her life and the baby she's carrying is not from that monster, yes I'm very happy!"

"Well, the usual thing to do is to marry the girl before the baby is born, it is."

Killian looks over at his roommate, wanting to punch him so badly. The cocky bastard has no idea what they're going through right now. Everything is overwhelming. Emma has been through unspeakable horrors, not knowing from one day to the next whether she'd come out alive, and all Will can think about is the fact that he got her pregnant. He'd spent months in constant worry, living with the thought that he may never see his love again and trekked many snow-covered forests to find her, while Will's been here banging his girlfriend and ordering stuff off the Internet. He's about ready to give him an earful when Robin steps in.