He loved her from the very first moment he held her in his arms. This tiny, fragile, pink little creature of pure innocence, who didn't scream or cry the way that newborn babies sometimes do, but just looked up at him in silence, wrapped in a little pink blanket. He cradled her and smiled at her, overwhelmed by a feeling of …

Love.

This baby was only a few minutes old, born out of the worst circumstances he could even imagine, and already, he felt an instinctive and overwhelming sense of love towards her. He wanted to hold his daughter and never put her down, to shield her from the world, from her birth mother, from the Dark Swan, from everything.

This would hurt Regina. He knew that, and the thought of it still weighed on him even now. But then she came into the room with a smile – a genuine smile – and for a moment, he felt as if he could see the future laid out before him.

Someday, he would watch the child in his arms say her first word, take her first steps, board the school bus for the first time, and lose her first tooth. Someday, when he was older, he would teach her archery, and perhaps Regina would teach her magic. Someday, might walk her down the aisle and watch her marry the love of her life.

Someday, he would have to tell her the truth about her birth, and he could only hope that day was a long time coming. But one thing he did know for sure: when that day came, he would be able to tell her with complete honesty that he loved her. That he had loved her from the start.