Author's Note, Part the First: The next chapter of "A Family's Love" should be up tomorrow. I just want to give it a twice-over before I post it because there are a couple things I want to fiddle with.
Author's Note, Part the Second: My response to a group prompt on Tumblr from flslp87 and ilovemesomekillianjones: David's reaction to walking in on CS during a compromising/private moment. Way back in 1998, Sports Night introduced my preteen sister and a teenage me to Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," which then kind of became a joke in my family because my sister, in all her preteen innocence, thought the song was about going out to lunch. (Spoiler alert: it is so not.) Take this family joke, add the prompt, mix it all together, and you get what you see below. Feedback is like giving birthday and Christmas presents all rolled into one! Enjoy. :)
"Well, isn't this a wonderful surprise," a grinning David said as his lovely wife came around the corner into the bullpen of the sheriff's station, pushing their content baby boy in the stroller. On top of the stroller's sunshade lay what David gathered was the reason for Snow's visit: a plastic container filled to the brim with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
David pushed himself up from his seat and greeted his wife with a kiss. "I had some free time this morning and thought I'd surprise my two favorite sheriffs," Snow confirmed as David crouched down to unbuckle little Neal and take him into his arms. She peeked into Emma's office and was surprised to find it empty. "Speaking of, where is that daughter of ours?"
"Having lunch on the Jolly Roger with Hook," David answered, standing up straight and planting a kiss on baby Neal's forehead. "She did say they weren't sailing today, though, just spending her lunch hour at anchor."
"Aw, she's going to miss it."
He didn't even have to ask what Snow meant. Every time Snow baked cookies, Emma mentioned that she adored eating them fresh out of the oven. They were the best when they were still warm and soft and the chocolate was still all melty, to use her exact words. It was such a relatively short amount of time in a chocolate chip cookie's life span that it would be over by the time Emma returned to the station from her lunch break.
Plus, freshly baked cookies were becoming a rarer occurrence in their family. Full batches of cookies lasted longer now that Emma and Henry stayed elsewhere on a regular basis, which meant Snow didn't bake nearly as much as she used to when her two sugar fiends were living under their roof. If Emma missed her fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies today, there was no telling how long it would be before she'd get another opportunity.
And so, after visiting with Snow and Neal for a little while (and of course polishing off a few cookies between them), David decided to bring the treats down to his baby girl himself. "Are you sure you want to interrupt them?" Snow asked, arching an eyebrow at him as she shrugged her jacket back on.
"They're just having lunch," David shrugged. "Why would there be a problem?"
An inscrutable look crossed her face for the space of a heartbeat. Then, with her eyes sparkling in something resembling amusement, she shrugged and said, "Suit yourself. Give them both my love."
"Of course." David walked Snow and Neal back to the station wagon, where they said their goodbyes. Then he continued down to the docks by himself, plastic container of still-warm cookies in hand.
David drew an involuntary breath as he approached the Jolly Roger. The ship dwarfed the other boats in their slips at the marina, and the sight of her was still impressive even after all this time. "Permission to come aboard," he called to his baby girl and her pirate.
The lack of an answer wasn't all that surprising, considering that Emma and Killian were clearly having their lunch below decks. There was no activity on the deck that he could see or hear, just the creaking of the wet planks and the gentle sway of the ship as she rocked in the surf.
The cookies were cooling by the minute so David didn't waste any time in climbing the ramp and boarding the ship. He headed straight for the hatch, which he knew from experience led directly to the captain's quarters.
And oh, how he wished he hadn't.
For there in the bunk in the captain's quarters among plush pillows and thick linens lay his baby girl and her pirate in the midst of what was quite clearly a very, very private moment. The two of them were under the covers, their hair mussed and their cheeks flushed with what could only be described as afterglow. Judging by their quick shifting under the blankets, they'd apparently heard his approach in time to cover themselves up but not in enough time to, y'know, holler out a warning or anything similarly helpful.
A shell-shocked David stood in place for a beat, staring at the sight in front of him, mouth agape. This was not anywhere in the realm of what he'd expected to find. He'd expected the takeout from Granny's to be spread out on the table. He'd expected to interrupt an actual meal, not …
Oh gods. This was his baby girl. And her pirate. And they were …
He whirled around to face the ladder before he could process much more than his daughter's bare shoulders (which was more than enough, thank you very much).
His movement seemingly broke through the shock that had rendered them all silent. "Dad!" Emma squeaked from behind him. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Cookies," he croaked, holding the plastic container up over his head so the two lovebirds (he shuddered at the thought) could see it. "Y-your mother just baked them. I know you like them fresh. I just wanted to surprise you."
To his horror, he kind of whimpered that last part.
"Aye, well, we're certainly surprised," Hook muttered, then gave an embarrassed cough.
"As am I," David admitted, his cheeks burning. Thank heavens he was still facing the ladder because he was pretty sure his blush went all the way to his ears.
"Don't you know how to knock?!" That was Emma again.
"I-I called to you. Just figured you couldn't hear me."
And oh gods, they probably hadn't heard him not because they'd been dining below decks as he'd assumed but because they'd been wrapped up in … other things. Things he did not at all need to think about as they related to his little girl. He took a couple steps backward, left the container of cookies on the table without even a passing glance over his shoulder, and flew back to the ladder. "I'll, um, just be going now. See you back at the station."
Oh no. The station. How could he possibly go back to work now? How was he going to work with Emma when she returned? How was he going to get through the rest of the day when he knew exactly how his baby girl had spent her lunch hour?
Oh, this was a nightmare. What he wouldn't give for Zelena's time travel spell or one of Emma's dreamcatchers right about now!
He climbed the ladder two steps at a time, pausing only once when he heard Emma, who'd apparently gotten over the shock of the rude interruption, stifle a snicker and call after him, "Looks like I just paid you back for those tacos!"
David's cheeks burned even brighter. Oh yes, she most certainly had. And payback, as Emma had said numerous times, was indeed a bitch.