I had this idea pop into my head over the weekend and I couldn't get it out until I wrote it down. It was blocking any creative flow that I had for The Past Never Forgets. So it is a Daddy Charming one shot. But if I get more ideas for Daddy Charming scenes, I may add to this. So, please enjoy! I hope you like it, let me know what you think. Please Review.
When I said that I was taking Henry to Boston for the day, I wasn't expecting my father and little brother to tag along. But I wasn't going to turn down spending time with my Dad either. Henry was getting ready for his first formal high school dance and I thought that I would make it special for him by taking him to the city to buy him a suit and get him a nice hair cut. It was teacher in-service day at the school so Mary Margaret was going to be busy the entire day which left my Dad to care for my baby brother, Neal. So when I offered, for David and Neal to tag along, David jumped at the chance.
David had asked me to add him to the reservation at the hair salon, if it wasn't too late. He had been meaning to get his locks trimmed and if he was going to be sitting there anyway, why not get his hair cut too. They were able to squeeze him in, but it was going to be after Henry's appointment. I sat on the leather lounge and entertained my little brother while I waited. The salon had a little set of busy beads sitting in the corner and it was the perfect distraction for the little toddler. My distraction, however, was in the store next door, The Coffee Break. The smell of fresh ground coffee wafted through air. And when Henry walked back into the waiting area, I couldn't take it anymore.
"How's it look?" my son asked as he approached me. I was sitting in the corner where I had Neal trapped from running around the salon.
"Wow!" I responded. "Very handsome," I couldn't believe that this was my son standing in front of me. He was becoming a young man, a young man that I was so very proud of, but there was a small part of me that wished he was still a little boy; a little boy who would climb up in my lap and wrap his little arms around me and give me a quick kiss on the cheek. Much like my little brother was doing just now, as he abandoned the busy beads. I had missed out on all of that with Henry when I gave him up for adoption. But I was so very grateful to have him back in my life. It was when Neal did these little things that really made me realize not only what I missed with Henry as he was growing up but also what I missed with my parents as I was growing up. Which was why I wasn't disappointed when David said that he would accompany us to Boston, I wanted to make the most of the moments that we had now.
"Ah, that smell, it's breaking me…" Henry laughed at my over exaggerated reaction to the smell of the coffee house next door. I looked over to him, "go tell Gramps that we're going next door for coffee."
"Ok," Henry jumped up and disappeared for a couple of moments. "He said that he'll meet us there, he'll take care of the bill here," Henry announced on his way back to me.
"Awesome, I love having a father to spoil me," I said it more to myself, but I soon realized that Henry heard what I said.
"You're welcome," he said with a sly grin. That kid was too smart for his own damn good. I knew that he was referring to the fact that it was he who found me and brought me back to my parents after 28 years.
But instead of responding to his comment I just picked up my little brother and perched him on my hip, "Grab Neal's bag, please Henry?"
Henry complied and followed me next door to the coffee house. I knew to get my father a cup with my order and Henry grabbed a bottle of juice from the cooler. "Milk," Neal shouted as he followed Henry with his eyes.
"Chocolate or white?" I asked him as he struggled to get down.
"Choco…" was his answer, I don't know why I even asked to be honest. When given the choice it was always chocolate.
I set him down on the floor as it was my turn to order, "Go with Henry," I told Neal. As he toddled over to his nephew I called to Henry, "he wants chocolate milk." Henry nodded in response to me and held his hand out to Neal to grab a hold.
I quickly made my order for two coffees, "and these, " I said as Henry placed the juice and milk on the counter.
"That will be $12.39," the clerk said with no enthusiasm whatsoever. I handed him a twenty, "you're last name please?"
"Swan," I said with a defeated smile, because it was at that time that Neal decided to run to the back of the store. "Henry, go get him," I said with a disgusted sigh. Henry quickly took off after him and dragged him back to the front of the store where I was waiting for my order.
"Here Neal," I said as I took the cap off of his milk. I placed a straw in the container to make it a little easier for him to drink it. He quickly took the milk from my hands holding it with two chubby little hands of his own. As I bent down to pick him up, I saw two well dressed legs standing awfully close to me and my little brother. I looked up to see a very handsome older gentlemen looking at me very longingly with his wife, I was assuming, standing next to him with her arm linked in his.
"Excuse me; did you say that your name was Swan?" I looked at him very skeptically. They must have been standing behind me in line.
"Yeah," I said cautiously.
"You wouldn't be Emma, would you?" the lady asked.
"Depends on who's asking," It was a little rude but these two were creeping me out. Especially when the woman reached out to hold Neal with a huge, dare I say it, proud smile on her face?
I quickly jerked him back from her reach, "do I know you?" I didn't recognize either of these two people and for her to be reaching for Neal like she knew me was just wrong.
They both looked at me like I was their long lost child, and with each passing second I would take another ½ of step back.
"Mom?" Henry said as he stepped next to me.
I didn't take my gaze off of them while I answered Henry. "What?"
"Your order is ready; they called your name…" He said.
I gave my son a sideways glance, "Go grab it, please." He nodded and walked away, I turned my attention back to the two in front of me.
The lady had put her hands up to her mouth and looked as if she was on the verge of tears. "Oh my god, Darren," the lady squeaked through her hands that were now folded in front of her mouth like she was praying. "These two would have been our grandchildren."
My eyes went wide, no huge, and I took another step back, "I'm sorry, what the hell did you just say?"
"Oh, please, let me hold him, he is so adorable." She started to step toward me with her hands out to grab Neal. I tightened my grip on my baby brother.
Darren reached out and pulled his wife back, "Jane, she doesn't remember us," he said to her. Both of them suddenly had a look of heartbreak in their eyes. But the names struck a chord with me, Darren and Jane. Darren and Jane Swan were standing in front of me, and Jane was claiming my brother and son as her would be grandchildren. And she was acting like she was their grandmother.
"Look how handsome he is, Darren," she said as Henry approached with the coffees. She reached up and cupped his cheeks, much like my mother; my actual mother, Mary Margaret had done so often.
"Ah Mom…" Henry started but I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from her and closer to me. I looked to the door when I heard the bell ring. I was never so happy to see my father walking toward us.
I was certain that he could tell by the look on my face that something was wrong, "Emma?" his voice was raised with concern. He stepped behind me and put his hands on my shoulders in a very protective manner.
Darren reached out his hand toward David to shake, "You must Emma's husband," he assumed; very incorrectly assumed. "Darren and Jane Swan, we were Emma's Foster parents when she was a baby," he offered.
"Ah, I see." David reluctantly shook his hand. "David Nolan and I am not her husband." His words were cold and dry. David placed his hand back on my shoulder, and I could feel over protective Daddy mode taking over his emotions; mainly by the fact that he was squeezing my shoulders harder. I'm sure that if he hadn't been behind me I would have had an excellent view of the little vein popping out of his forehead. "I'm her father; her biological father."
I closed my eyes. I wasn't sure that it was a good idea to tell them that little piece of information. We weren't in Storybrooke, the rules of the real world applied in Boston. David pulled Neal from my arms and handed him to Henry; once Henry handed me the coffee cups; along with the keys to the car, "Henry take Neal to the car and wait for us, we'll only be a minute."
Henry looked at me and I nodded in agreement. "Ok," He said as he picked up Neal's bag and slung it over his free arm, "Come on, Neal."
It was obvious that David's revelation had stunned them. They stood there in silent shock. I'm certain that they were doing the math in their heads trying to figure out how it was possible that this man was my biological father. "Emma?" Darren finally questioned phishing for an explanation.
"What," I hissed.
"You're children are beautiful, they look just like you," Jane offered, she was trying to downplay the awkwardness or was it my obvious disdain that she was trying to smooth over. I didn't bother to correct her assumption that Neal was my son instead of my brother.
"I'm sorry, I have to ask, how are you possibly her biological father?" Darren puffed out his chest. Why this man had thought that he had any right at all to question me or David, I'll never understand. But it seemed that I had two men standing right next to me who were going to duel over who got to be my father.
"I don't believe that is any of your business." David finally released my shoulders and stepped in front of me. "You had your chance to love her and be her father, and you gave it up when you had your own kid. Leave mine the hell alone." I didn't miss the sad look that took over Jane's face when David mentioned them giving me up for their own child. "I gave her up for her own safety. I gave her up because I loved her and I needed to protect her. What's your excuse?"
"Dad," I tried to stop him. But he was having none of it.
"No Emma, I've waited a long time to say this. She was the most precious child that I had ever seen in my life. It killed me to give her up, but if I hadn't, she would most certainly be dead. I had hoped that she was placed with a family that could love her just as her mother and I love her, and she was placed with you. You had the chance to be her parents, to love her unconditionally, to watch her grow and transform into the beautiful, strong, courageous woman that she is today. You had the means to give her a fantastic life, and you gave her away because you couldn't love two children? Or because you didn't give birth to her? Make me understand. Make me understand how you could just give her back when you were set to adopt her and be her parents."
They both look away. Neither of them offered an explanation for their actions. "That's what I thought," David finished his tirade with one last comment. "You don't get to stand there and question anything about me or her. You will never know the facts and you will never understand the facts."
"We tried to get her back," Darren finally said. "We realized that our family wasn't complete without her, we called the social worker's office. We started to paperwork and the process to adopt her, but then Jacob, our son, got sick; with all of the medical bills, hospital stays, and the fact that we had given her back once…we were declined. Social services chose to leave her in her current placement. Not long after that we lost Jacob, to lymphoma."
"I'm so sorry for your loss," I offered to them. It was hard to harbor any anger towards them. They had lost their son and that was something that I couldn't even imagine.
I looked to my father when he began to speak, "I'm so sorry that you lost your son." He held out his hand to Darren, who accepted the friendly gesture. "But you don't get to have my daughter."
"Let's go, Emma." David placed his hand on the small of my back to escort me out of the coffee shop. I gave the Swan's a sympathetic smile as I passed them.
"It was nice to see you, again." I didn't know how else to leave it. I wasn't surprised that my father told them exactly what was on his mind or how he felt toward them. And I did feel bad about them losing Jacob, no parent should have to go through such a tragedy. But my father was right, they cannot reclaim me either. I have my parents and they are Prince Charming and Snow White.