Captain Swan - Breathe Again

Part 5

The next day, Killian stopped by the flower shop before he went to pick up Emma at the school and this time, he got her a yellow buttercup. When he pulled up in front of the school building, Emma  was outside waiting for him. He picked up the flower from the seat and reached over to open the door for her. She got in, shutting it before she put on her seat-belt.

"Afternoon, love." He handed her the buttercup and she smiled as she took it, bringing it to her nose to smell it.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He flashed a smile back at her and drove away, out of the parking lot. "Are you still feeling like hot-dogs today?"

"Yeah, but truthfully I'm so hungry I could eat anything. I skipped breakfast this morning," she said in distressed tone.

Killian looked at her, concerned as he stopped a red light. "What's wrong, love?"

"It's nothing. Neal keeps calling me, bugging me to see Henry, but I don't know if I should."

As the light turned green, he drove through in a thoughtful silence, remembering everything he knew about Neal so far, which wasn't much. The little that Killian did know about him, told him that the man seemed to be selfish, out for himself in every aspect and he obviously had no brains. Because who in the right mind would give up a woman like Emma, let alone have an affair? He even wondered for a brief moment what would have happened if he had met her before he found his wife in bed with another man. He had always been faithful to Milah, with not even as much as a wandering eye and still would have been had he met her. But that didn't mean he couldn't wonder, because at the end of the day, he was still a man and Emma... well Emma was no ordinary woman. She was the kind of woman you'd have an affair with, not the woman you would cheat on. So, to him, it was just unthinkable to look elsewhere when Neal already had everything in the first place.

Even so, the affair really had nothing to do with the child in question. And Killian had no idea what kind of father Neal was, he just knew that if he, himself, had to live without his son, it would tear him apart.

"Love, I don't mean to pry, but are you sure this is the best thing for Henry? I mean, if Neal really wants to see him, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I know I can't keep him away from Neal, but it's just, every time I think about him, I can only see him with... her and I know that clouds my judgement. But still, why all of a sudden does he want to see him now when he couldn't seem to care less before?"

"Well, maybe he realized the error of his ways. Maybe the time away from him and seeing you again made him realize that he can't live without him."

"Maybe. All that I know is, I want the best for Henry."

"I know, Emma. You're just being a mother," he said, offering her a small smile.

She smiled back at him as he pulled into a parking spot downtown. He got out and went around to open the car door for her. She stepped out and they walked down to the hot-dog stand. After he paid for the hot-dogs, they continued down the sidewalk. Emma scarfed hers down and he flashed her an impressed look.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were hungry."

She laughed as she threw the empty hot-dog tray in the trash. "You're just a slow eater."

"Did you even get enough food, love?"

"Yeah, for now. We might have to stop for ice cream on the way back though."

"Then we shall."

When he finished his hot-dog and discarded the tray, he started to walk away, but Emma put her hand on his arm to stop him.