A/N- So I know I haven't really kept up with much. Blame school and work, unfortunately :( To get my mojo back, I decided to write this piece. Like all of my works, I'm going to recommend the song which the title is based off of. So if you could listen to Be Still by The Fray while you read this, it's a wonderful collaboration piece. I'm back with an angst bang, and I do love it so. Warning! Family death ahead! Enjoy. (PS, if you wanna follow me on Tumblr, feel free at lie-through-your-smiles)

Henry was finally safe.
The danger to his life was no longer a threat as they sailed on the high seas home.
Families were missed, and finally after so long everyone would be reunited again.
Everyone was relaxed and enjoying the calm air.
With the exception of one person on the Jolly Roger.
They had assured him that nothing would happen.
When Emma and Regina managed to use their combined magic to create a portal home, everything was supposed to return to its natural state.
Ill be fine! He told himself after the first spasm. It's nothing to worry the others about.
But the throbbing soon turned to unbearable pain as David grasped his chest where his heart began to beat erratically.
A loud gasp filled the air and Emma was behind her father in an instant, catching him as he fell back, his eyes fluttering closed, his body limp in her arms.
The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Snow screaming his name.

Emma Swan had always abhorred hospitals.
When your foster parent hit you too hard and caused a gash on your head, you were sent to the hospital.
The silent compromise between parent and child was simple to understand: either keep your mouth shut or find yourself without a home.
The vacant stare Regina had never seen from the woman frightened her internally.
"Miss Swan?" a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder had awoken her from the trance, her mind no longer in tune with the beeping of the monitor.
Any second it could flat-line...
Any second her father could be..
"Emma...the doctors are doing everything they can to help."
She was back to her thoughts again, to a place she didn't want to be.
Her vision was in focus now, the wound on David's abdomen was the only thing that seemed to have her attention.
"I can't leave this place..." She remembered him confessing, and now she understood why.
The pain and blame Emma placed upon herself was unbearable.
Leaving Henry alone for two seconds to be captured.
Going to Neverland where she had to undermine Regina's advice on finding Henry.
If she'd only listened!
And now the man she had sought for her entire life was lying on a hospital bed, his last breath lingering.

Wake up, David.
C'mon, wake up, son.
Mother? I...I don't understand. Where am I? Why are you here?
You'll know soon. Just...Wake up.
His vision slowly returned, breathing became winded for a moment as he choked on the first few breaths of air.
Where am I?
"S...Snow?" blue eyes frighteningly scanned the room as the dark haired woman quickly jumped out of her seat, going to her husband's side.
"Charming! Oh God, Charming...I thought...I thought you were...You're in the hospital. You collapsed on the way home. We're going to get you home...Soon.."
The man turned his head away from the loving gaze. "The truth is...I...I don't know how much time I have. Hook told me there was no way off that island. I thought...Maybe Emma and Regina's magic had fixed it but..If this is my last moment then..." his eyes finally met his lover's own, "...Snow I want you to know how much I love you and...And our unborn child. I have never, nor could I ever be happy with anyone else. You are my soul mate. My everything. And if my mother were alive today, she'd smile at me and tell me what a wonderful family we have raised. I know she's proud of me. I know...she's proud of you too."
Tears cascaded down the woman's face as Snow leaned in to plant a passionate kiss on her lover's lips.
"Everything will be all right...No matter where I am..." His hand grabbed her own in a gentle embrace.
"I will always find you."

Emma watched the emotional moment between her parents, and for the first time in her life, she understood the depth of love they felt for each other.
She watched as matching blue eyes met with her own, and she tried moving forward but her feet seemed to be glued to the floor.
This was not a time to cry, she had told herself over and over again.
Her footsteps were small, silent. Her heavy heart pounding in her chest.
She would give anything to help him, give the limbs off of her body to keep her father alive. But this curse was more powerful than any magic they had encountered before. And...David was...Dad...He was almost accepting his fate before it had even happened.
"Dad..." Emma sat down on the bed next to her father, panic expressed on her face and in her voice.
His hand reached up to wipe the tears that were there.
"This isn't your fault, Emma. I chose to fight. I chose to save Henry. Because that's what family does."
She remained quiet. Even though his words were those of a brave, yet prideful man, she knew he was right. They had all gone for one person.
For Henry.
And if one lost their life, then it was for the sake of their family.
"I couldn't begin to tell you how happy I am to have finally found you. To see that you have grown into a strong, young woman. Emma when I first held you in my arms twenty-eight years ago it was the happiest moment in my life. And for the first time I understood my mother's sacrifice. She had chosen to give her life for your mother and I because she wanted us to experience the happiness she had once felt when she held my brother and I in her arms. There is so much I wanted to do for you, so much I wanted to teach you, protect you from. I don't know what's going to happen to me now. I don't know if I'll be here to see you continue to fulfill your destiny. And if I am, then I will be there with you every step of the way. But if I am not...I want you to know that I will always watch over you. When you leave to protect someone from harm and pick up my sword, I want you to feel my presence there, fighting with you. When you smile at Henry because he makes you proud, that's my smile you're passing on. And when you love with your whole heart, or when you feel like sadness is darkening your bright day...I'm in your corner for every instance. I'm in your fight for every battle. I'm in your heart for every memory. I'll always be with you, Emma. And I am so proud and blessed to have a strong-willed daughter like you."

The words faded into the air as Charming's eyes lidded closed. The monitor was still pulsing normally.
No other sound invaded the space.
Silence.

Snow's psyche was gone, just as was Emma's.
There seemed to be an eerie tone in the room, save for the low breathing and the rumbling of the machine keeping statistics on Charming.
This feeling was all too familiar; Regina's heart sinking in her chest as she remembered her father's last moments on this earth.
There was so much more she wished she could have given him, for his sacrifice, and for his love.
It may have been too late for her father, but it wasn't too late for Charming.
Her magic went undetected by the other two women in the room as it wrapped around the sleeping man's head, dispersing.
Regina felt a soft presence in the air and softly smiled to no one.
It's what I had to do, Daddy...What I so badly wanted to do for you...

"Emma! Emma, stop!" David raced after his daughter on his horse, the young girl's arms slipping from the wolf's neck.
Before the child lost complete control she was grabbed by two strong arms, stopping the horse and wolf in mid-run.
"What were you thinking, young lady? You could have been hurt!" His stern gaze turned to the wolf. "Red! For the millionth time! If anything were to happen to my daughter...You have to be more careful."
Transforming back into a human, Red's eyes accompanied her sly smile. "David, do you have to be so overprotective of the girl? We were just having fun! Weren't we, pup?"
Emma nodded, scampering around in her father's arms until he put her down.
"It doesn't matter. She means more to me than anything else in the world, and if protecting her is what I need to do, then I'd do it every damn day for the rest of my life."
He watched as the young girl ran off a few feet away, grabbing her wooden sword from the helm of her dress.
"Oh, David...You don't see it do you?"
"See what?"
"You and Snow..You both dress up Emma and protect her like she's the most precious little doll. But...She's not Snow in my eyes. Emma is you. Right down to her blonde curls."
A smile erupted on his face as he watched his daughter swing her sword around.
"You don't need to coddle her...You need to teach her the world. You need to teach her to not be afraid to come to her parents when she needs them more than anything. And you pray she makes all the mistakes she can under your watch, so that when she's not in your sight she can make rational decisions."
"How do you know so much about children, Red?"
"I grew up under Granny's roof. You don't think I wouldn't learn a thing or two about being rebellious now, would you?"
"It's a wonder Snow turned out the way she did. With all the influence from you, I suppose?"
The wolf grinned proudly, "and yet...she's still as prim and proper as ever."
David watched as his most trusted friend picked up his daughter, walking towards their home with Emma sleepily in her arms.
"I'll always protect you, Emma. No matter where the world takes you, or if life gets you down...I'll be with you. Always."

The beeping of the monitor had stopped.
The only noise which remained was a flat-line, drowning out the tears and screams from a family missing its hero.
Missing a man so...
Charming.