Something a few months old I found in my files... I thought it might be worth sharing.
It seemed like years since Corvo had felt so calm.
Everything was silent, except for the sputtering of the boat's motor as they drifted slowly towards the Hound Pits, Samuel humming an ancient song and Emily curled into his side, a smile on her lips. She straightened when they neared the dock, and stood when the boat came to a stop. He did the same, and presented his hand to her, as he had done so many times before, when the times had been easier. She smiled and placed her fingers over his, and together they stepped forward to be greeted by admiral Havelock. As Emily was taken away by Callista, he stayed behind to speak with Havelock, although he could barely focus on the admiral's words, weary as he was. He wanted to see if Emily had settled in, and if everything was as she liked, but there was no time. He sat once more in the boat, this time off to Kaldwin's Bridge to abduct Anton Sokolov. The engine hiccupped and coughed as Samuel drove the boat away from the Pub once more, the assassin sitting silent as he watched the city drift by.
"I know you're tired, Corvo," Samuel's voice startled him from his thoughts. "It will take us the better part of an hour to get there. You can take a short nap."
Corvo nodded gratefully, and laid down in the bottom of the boat. It smelled like seawater and old dirt, but he had had worse in his days in Coldridge. Samuel was humming again, a different song this time, one that woke a distant memory in the assassin's mind, although he made no effort to recall where he had heard it before.
The Lord Protector closed his eyes, but he did not sleep.
Instead he thought of Jessamine, and he felt the beating of the Heart that lay nestled against his own inside his coat grow stronger.
She is safe, he wanted to say to the twisted piece of flesh. She is safe and warm and clean and hidden away. Our daughter will be safe.
He had always thought of Emily as his daughter, although nothing was less certain. It was true that, many years after his arrival on Gristol, Jessamine had taken him as her lover, but they had both known other partners, before, during and after their affair. Jessamine had chosen to end their liaison after Emily's birth, and he had accepted her decision, although he had felt love where he suspected there had never been more than fondness on her part, and a desire for a companion who knew of the burdens she bore on her frail shoulders.
She had never told him who the father was.
Perhaps she had herself not been sure, or perhaps she had feared his reaction; either way, it mattered little. She had taken the truth to her grave, and now it fell to him to provide Emily with a figure from her past, so that she may not forget that some people would always be by her side, through thick and thin.
When Corvo opened his eyes, the boat was drifting ashore, and Samuel was sharing what he knew of the bridge, which was, admittedly, little enough. The assassin stood, flipping his blade open and stepping off the boat and unto the dock.
To him, Emily would always be his daughter, and he would roam the Void for all eternity if it meant that she was safe.
The Heart beat louder against his chest.