A/N: So I was one of the millions effected by Hurricane Sandy, but luckily my family and my house are fine. But we did loose power for a week so of course it was the perfect time to write a new one short. I know I should have used the time to finish my other stories, but this one has been running around my head for awhile and needed to be written. This goes back to my first stories DAIC and INLYG where Emma kept Henry. You don't need to have read either story to understand this one, this was just mentioned in the other two. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own any of these characters.

Tonight was my night, or at least that's what all the girls at the diner told me. I guess to any normal person this night was a big deal, but I wasn't normal. At midnight I would be turning the wonderful age of 21, but at this point I did not really get to enjoy this passage into young adulthood.

With a three-year-old son at home, 21 was just another number. But I couldn't deny the need to get out of the apartment for one night. While I loved being a mother and had given up my old ways when I had my son, there was no denying that I needed some mommy alone time to relieve some stress.

That was how I had allowed the girl to talk me into going out to celebrate my 21st birthday. It was only for one night and I would be back in the morning to celebrate the entire day with my kid. I had explained all of this to Henry, or at least the best I could do to the three year old. He seemed to grasp the concept that mommy was going out but would be back when he woke up.

I had set it up with the babysitter, a college student who lived in my building, to watch Henry for this night. Henry had met her a handful of times before so I knew that he wouldn't be left with a total stranger.

"Which dress kid?" I asked holding up my options.

"That one Mommy." Henry pointed to the short red one; he was really into red these days.

"Thank you." I smiled and gave him a kiss on the head. I put the other dress back in the closet and laid the red one on a nearby chair.

Glancing at the clock I had a little over an hour before I had to leave. I had let him stay up later then usual in hopes that he would sleep longer in the morning, but he had stayed up long enough. Plus it would be easier to get ready without a three year old under my feet.

"Bed time Henry." I said turning back to my son.

"No Mommy." His protest was weak and nothing unusual, he did it almost every night.

I sent him off to the bathroom one last time before putting him in his nighttime diaper. We had almost mastered the art of potty training, but I didn't want to run the risk of an accident at night when we shared a bed. I picked him up and threw him into the center of the bed.

"Story please." Henry asked as I tucked him in. Even though I was slightly rushed I couldn't deny him when he asked so politely.

I pulled my son in close to me and read the first picture book I found. I wasn't even half way done with the book when Henry fell asleep. I carefully slipped out from the bed and once I was sure he wasn't gong to wake up I started to get ready.

Wendy, the babysitter, lightly knocked on the door exactly on time an hour later.

"Thanks again for watching him." I whispered letting her into the apartment.

"It's no problem." She answered back.

"He went down about an hour ago and shouldn't wake up. I'll be back sometime tomorrow morning, hopefully not too late. Just make yourself at home. And you have my cell number in case anything goes wrong." I rambled, I had never been good with talking to babysitters.

"We'll be fine Emma. Go enjoy your birthday."

I gave her a small smile and tip toed back over to Henry to give him a final kiss goodbye I always hated leaving him. I waved goodbye to Wendy as I closed the door behind me. I was thankful the girls had picked a bar not far from my apartment. They all knew about Henry and adored him so they were well aware of my fears of being apart from him for this long.

Just like we had planned everyone was waiting for me outside the car. After a quick greeting we headed inside. It was a strange feeling showing my real ID and not have to worry about being caught or kicked out. I also couldn't deny the excitement I felt about being able to use my real ID, there was something thrilling about being legal.

The girl had each chipped in to buy me my first legal drink, hopefully more were to follow. I stood around chatting with my coworkers, but mostly searching. I had one main mission for this night, one that all of the girls were in on. After all mommy deserved a release and it was not something I could easily get with my son and a studio apartment.

"Emma three o'clock." Mandy whispered to me.

I turned my head to where she direction. "Perfect. Thanks." I quickly chugged the rest of my drink and placed the empty cup on the table.

I walked straight over to the mystery man, no doubt or fear in mind. "You know today's my birthday." I stated. There was no reason to play shy, the mission was clear and to get it I needed to be full of confidence.

"Is it now?" He asked looking over at me.

"Yup, the big 21 which means you should buy me a drink."

"Really?" I nodded my head yes and gave him my best smile, the one that always got me what I wanted with boys. "Since it's your 21st I guess it's the least I could do."

The rest of the night was spent drinking and shamelessly flirting. A few of the girl would come over and check on me, they all approved of my choice in guy too.

"Hey do you want to get out of here?" He finally asked.

"Sure." I answered trying to sound casual, but really I was jumping up and down. It was about time he asked me.

He grabbed my hand and together we walked out of the bar.

"Do you live far?" I asked.

"Just a few blocks over." He shrugged.

Perfect. He was still close enough to my apartment that I could escape home without public transportation yet far enough away that I wouldn't run into him again.

We didn't talk the entire way home which was fine by me, I wasn't a fan of meaningless chatter. As soon as we got to his place I attacked. If he minded he didn't say it, but his lips did start to move against mine.

I allowed him to lift me up and carry me off to his bedroom. When he deposited me onto his bed I made sure that our lips did not part. I made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders. We had to break apart so I could take off his undershirt. I took the moment to roll us over so I was on top then went back to lips. He had just gotten my dress unzipped and pushed down and was about to unhook my bra when my cell started ringing.

"Get it later." He whined, but I didn't listen. Wendy knew to only cell if there was an emergency.

I pushed myself off of him and quickly dug my phone out of my purse. "Hello?"

"Emma I am so sorry." I could barley hear Wendy over Henry's screaming. My heart clenched at the sound, this was not a usual cry.

"It's okay what happened?"

"I guess Henry had a nightmare or something. He just woke up crying and when he saw that you weren't here he freaked out. I've tried everything to try and calm him down, but nothing worked."

"Here put him on the phone and let me try talking to him." In the background I could hear Wendy trying to talk to Henry before the phone switched hands. "Hey Henry it's Mommy." I tried to use my most soothing voice, the one I didn't even know I had till my son came along.

"Mommy?" Henry cried into the phone.

"Yeah kid it's me, did you have a bad dream?"

"Mommy!"

"I'm here Henry."

"No Mommy!"

"It's okay Henry don't be scared Mommy's here."

"No!" Henry screamed one last time and it felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I hated when my son was hurt or upset.

"I'm so sorry Emma I didn't know what to do." Wendy said into the phone.

"It's okay, tell Henry I'm coming home now." With those final words I close my cell ending the call.

"So you have a son." The guy spoke, I had forgotten he was in the room.

"Yup, a three year old." I answered shortly as I zipped up my dress.

"Were you going to tell me about him?"

"Nope, figured there was no need to." I threw my cell in my purse and stood up. "Thanks for the drinks and sorry we couldn't finish here. Mommy duty is calling."

I quickly dashed out of the bedroom and found the front door before he could respond. I walked as fast as I could in heels back to the apartment. When I got inside I could hear Henry's screams coming down the hallway.

"Look whose here Henry." Wendy said as soon as I opened the door.

I didn't waste any time and pulled my son into my arms where he buried his head into my shoulder.

"I am so sorry he's usually not like this." I apologized. I felt bad that Wendy had to deal with a screaming toddler all night long.

"It's okay, I'm just sorry your night got ruined."

"It's fine don't worry about it."

"I'll just let myself out. Bye Henry." Wendy gave his small hand a kiss.

"Bye." Henry somehow managed to get out between sobs. Even in the midst of a breakdown, my son was polite. He was too charming for his own good.

I started to rock Henry more as soon as the door closed, "What happened kid?" I asked even though I knew I wouldn't get an answer.

At least the screaming had stopped, it was back to usual sobbing that came with nightmares. I made my way into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate for Henry. Normally I didn't allow the drink this late at night, but I hoped the warmth comfort from it would sooth him.

It was hard making it with one hand, but anytime I attempted to lower Henry he let out a shrill whine. I made sure to put in an extra sprinkle of cinnamon before handing him the sippy cup. Henry immediately took it and in an instant the crying stopped. All that was left were a few remaining tears. While he was busy drinking I got a warm washcloth ready to wipe down his face. When I went to lower him onto the bed Henry let out a loud cry and clung onto my neck.

"I'm not going anywhere kid. I promise." I soothed and placed the sippy cup back in his mouth.

Henry was really scaring me, he had never acted this way before. Sure there were a few tears here and there when I had to leave him, but nothing like these terrified screams. I got him propped up against he pillows and watched as his eyelids started to droop.

I slowly wiped away the reaming tears and their tracks off his face until he was asleep. I caught the cup as it fell from his hands and placed it on the nightstand. I waited a few minutes to make sure he didn't wake up again before allowing myself to get ready for bed. I heard Henry whimper as I moved away.

"Mommy will be right back." I whispered into his ear and gave him a kiss. I also laid my baby blanket on top of him hoping that would keep him calm until I got back.

I left the bathroom door open as I got ready for bed just in case Henry woke up. I didn't want to scare him again and if I hadn't been out drinking or with a strange man I would have curled up in bed with him right away.

I moved around the bathroom as quickly as possible wanting to get back to my kid. I came out and threw my dress onto the floor and pulled on the sweats I had been wearing earlier, Henry's whimpering was starting to get louder. I crawled onto the bed and pulled my son onto my chest, once again he was quiet.

"It's okay Henry Mommy's here." I whispered, "I am not going to leave you again."

"Promise." Henry murmured, I guess he was awake.

"Yes kid I promise. I am not going to leave you like that again." I started to rock us. This new promise might cause some trouble down the line, but my son's needs always came before my own. I would just have to figure out a new way to have alone time. If I never had hear those screams again, it would be worth it.