It was an early October morning. The weather was chilly and fall was officially upon the Enchanted Forest. Charming had just come in from checking the grounds and speaking to the guards when he heard giggling coming from his nearly one year old daughter's nursery.
He lightly pushed open the door and saw a little face peering at him through blonde ringlet curls.
"Dada!" she shouted at Charming inched the door open. He smiled, watching her reach for him from her crib.
"Hey, hey, little one. Quiet down, we don't want to wake mommy up now, do we?" Charming laughed, lifting his daughter from her bed. She curled into his arms instantly, forming to him like a puzzle piece. Her father kissed her head and hugged her closer to keep her warm.
He secretly loved the rare moments like this. The moments where it was just him and baby Emma against the world. He didn't get nearly enough time with his little girl, being a ruler and all. She was growing up so fast, it felt like yesterday he was holding her in his arms for the very first time, as terrified as he had been in that moment, he had never felt stronger, he had never felt more whole. He didn't want to miss a single moment of Emma's life.
Charming carried Emma onto the terrace outside of her room. She watched out over the palace, grinning as little blue birds circled around, but Charming wasn't observing what Emma saw. All he was seeing was the excitement dancing around in his little girl's blue-green eyes as she stared out at sunrise.
"Hey, what are you two doing up?" Snow whispered, wrapping her arms around her husband's waist. She had just walked into one of the most beautiful scenes she'd ever seen. A father and his little princess, she felt like she was a living on the page of one of the fairytales she and Charming read Emma every night as they put her to bed.
"Oh, someone is a little bit of an early bird this morning," Charming said, wrapping his arm around Snow. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at her daughter, who was waving at the birds in the sky.
Snow laughed. It was rare for both her husband and daughter to be up this early. Neither of them were morning people, like father.
They stood together as a family, Snow watching Charming as he watched their daughter, wanting to spend the rest of their lives in this perfect moment.