A/N:Guess who, yup, it's Vengeance. Well, this story was fun to write. I love being able to write adorable little Daddy!Charming pieces like this, and people seemed to enjoy them too. I hope you like this one. It's a bit different from ones I've written before. This whole piece is thanks to the lovely SarahAlicia who gave me the idea. So lemme know what you think guys, and feel free to send me any ideas you might like to read. I'm open to suggestions.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time.
"Emma!" David called out as he ran down Main Street. He knew she had to be around here somewhere, it wasn't like she could just all of a sudden disappear. He had only lost sight of her for a moment.
David felt himself panicking as he look around. In theory, he should be running down the street in search of the man who had just held up Ruby and Granny at the dinner, but right now, David's main objective was Emma. If he managed to find his daughter, he was sure that he would find the criminal as well. Emma wasn't one to allow anyone to get away, though that wasn't always a good thing. David knew this line of work was dangerous, and it made him slightly uneasy that he should be allowing his one and only daughter to be doing it alongside him.
"Emma!" David called out again when he couldn't seem to be able to make out where his daughter had gone. He thought if he had stood there and listened he would be able to come up with some sort of tell-tale sign as to the direction they had gone.
After another tense moment of waiting, David finally heard what he assumed to be the crash of a trashcan being knocked over, followed by Emma calling out to him.
"Drop your weapon," He heard Emma call as he raced in the direction of the sound. David could feel the slight drip of sweat falling down his neck, not from being tired out by the chase, but knowing that his baby girl was currently standing alone with a man who most likely had a gun pointed towards her. If he hadn't been so intent on getting to the two, David would almost certainly had been sick.
He always felt that way when Emma was in any kind of danger, the not knowing what would happen, not knowing if this would be the one time when Emma was unable to take care of herself nearly killed him every time it came up.
"Hey, hey , hey!" He heard Emma yell as he rounded a corner, coming onto a side street where Emma and the man were standing feet apart, both with guns held high, ready to be the first one to take a shot if necessary. David was immediately reminded of some sort of scene from a Wild West movie, and he knew how those all turned out.
"You heard the lady," David shouted as he came up slowly behind Emma, his own gun raised. David was no stranger to fights, he had killed many men at the edge of his sword, men who were criminals, men who deserved it, murderers, and the like, however he took no pleasure in taking those lives, and he knew he would take no pleasure in this either. Especially as the man had done nothing more than threat people, he didn't even manage to steal anything. This man did not deserve to die, and yet David knew that if it came down to this man and protecting Emma for anything, he would put a bullet right between his eyes without so much as blinking.
David desperately wished that he hadn't spoken up. The man had started to look like he was going to put his gun down and surrender to Emma, but he must have been spooked by David's arrival. Everything had seemed calm, but within an instant it became chaos. David watch in slow horror as the man levelled his gun and a resounding bang was heard throughout the whole street. Without a thought David pulled the trigger of his own gun, the man falling silently to the ground only seconds later.
"Emma, are you-" David stopped instantly. As he turned to check on Emma his whole body went numb, and yet it held a chill he has never known before, even as he felt the dreamshade circulating through his body, slowly killing him.
Much like he black veins that pushed away from the gash in his side, crimson was starting to pulse around Emma's shirt, coming from a hole in her torso, right under the centre of her rib cage. Like some well rehearsed dance, David was diving forward to catch Emma as she finally looked up at him from the whole in her body, only for her legs to give out causing her to tumble towards the earth.
"Baby, no. Emma, stay with me. Keep your eyes open, alright Princess?" David coaxed, trying to get Emma to pay attention to him. Just as the shooting had been in slow motion, the universe seemed to be making up for the time now by speeding everything up. David held Emma to his chest, pressing his hand atop hers to try and stop the blood, but he knew, in the back of his mind that there was no stopping the blood.
"Help, somebody! Somebody help!" David called through the street from where he and Emma sat on the ground. He was sure there had to be somebody around, in a place like Storybrooke a gunshot did not go unnoticed.
"Daddy," Came a small voice. David looked down to see Emma, with the beginnings of tears in her eyes looking up at him. It was a look David had always thought she would make as a child. The look only a daughter can give with a father when she scraped her knees or fell off her first pony. It was a look David had always wondered who had been the person to receive it since he was not there. Now he wished he had never imaged that look, much less be seeing it now.
"You're alright sweetheart. Daddy's here, you're alright," David said attempting to crack a smile. This was of course, no time for smiles, and yet David wanted to try and put his daughter at ease. He was well aware of the fact that Emma knew well what was going on, but he hoped he was able to distract her, if only a little.
"I know you do. Tell-" her words were caught off as she coughed, thick, sticking blood running down the corner of her mouth. "Tell mom and Henry I love them? And baby Neal too. Tell my little brother-" Emma said in a low whisper, her voice slightly distorted from the fluid building in her chest.
David was unable to respond with words. He merely nodded his head, before he lowered it, pressing a gentle kiss to Emma's forehead, then pressing against it with his own. His eyes closed he took a deep breath.
"I'll make sure I tell them. We'll tell Neal stories of his brave big sister. I love you so much Baby Girl, and I'm so sorry for not telling you enough," David whispered, he could feel the tears slipping from his eyes and running down his face, landing upon Emma's.
"I love you, too!" Emma managed to get out before another fit of coughing overcame her. Her whole body shook with these bone deep coughs, and David had seen enough men die to know this was the end.
He wanted nothing more to sit there and beg for her to stay. To just stay because he didn't think he could bear losing her again. To stay because he wasn't sure how he would be able to return to his wife and grandson and tell them that she was dead. To stay because Henry and Neal still had so much growing to do and they were going to need her to teach them things. To stay because he already desperately missed her.
After a time that felt too long and yet not long enough, Emma's body went still in his arms. David lifted his hand to Emma's eyes, drawing them down to close them. His fingers left bloody streaks of red down her eyes where his hand was now stained red from her blood. David turned his head around quickly and retched there in the middle of the street. His baby girl was really gone.
Once he had emptied the contents of his stomach onto the road, he could make out the sounds of people coming forward, and yet he didn't call out to them. Instead he pulled Emma's now cooling body tightly against his own, burying his face in her sweet smelling hair, memorizing the scent.
He paid no attention as a crowd began to gather around him. He didn't even acknowledge them, until they started to attempt to pry Emma's body from his arms.
"Get away," he practically growled, tightening his arms, grabbing fistfuls of her red leather jacket to anchor himself to her.
He wasn't aware how it happened, but eventually someone was able to tear Emma's body away from him, causing him to jump forward after her.
The next thing David knew, was a pain in knees. He looked around, he was in his own room. He was currently on the floor. He must have fallen out of bed and smashed his knees as he hit the ground.
He was in his room.
David was instantly on his feet, running out of his room and sprinting up the stairs. He didn't even bother to knock as he charged into Emma's room, a watery gasp of relief escaping him as he saw Emma's golden waves shining in the moon light streaming from her bedroom window.
David moved on instinct. Despite missing 28 years of Emma's life, and only being a father to Neal about a year, David knew what he needed. He moved forward, as silently as he could, gently easing himself down to sit on Emma's bed. He was surprised when she didn't stir, she remained sitting there, her eyes closed and her chest rising evenly with each breath.
Her she was, alive and well.
David wasn't sure how long he stayed there, just watching her sleep. It must have been some time because the moon had moved from shining on her hair down to illuminate one of the patches on her quilt, further down her body.
David was suddenly pulled from his almost hypnotic gaze when Emma gave a jerk. For an instant he had thought that she had woken up, sensing someone was there with her. However, this fear lasted only a moment as David noticed Emma's eyes squeezing tighter, her hands coming to form fists as she started to toss a little. A nightmare.
Like father like daughter.
David carefully leaned over and kissed the top of Emma's head, stroking hair from her face before taking his hand to unclench her fist and fill her small hand with his own.
"It's alright Princess. Daddy's here, you're safe. I'm here Emma, and I will always protect you," it was meant to come out as a comfort, a means to lull Emma back into her peaceful sleep, however it came out as more of a promise.
It took a little more coaxing, but eventually Emma settled again and all was still. Not the kind of stillness that came with death, but the kind of stillness that one achieved when they knew they were safe and protected.
Once he was certain that Emma was alright, and he noticed that the moonbeams would soon be starting to become the first rays of sun come the next day, David started to pull away, only for Emma's hand to tighten around his own.
"Will you stay a little longer, Dad?" Came Emma's sleep filled voice. David looked down to see Emma's eyes barely open, most likely blurry with sleep. She looked so small then, like she really was Daddy's little girl, merely wanting her father to stay with her after a bad dream, and David was powerless to refuse.
"Of course I will. I'm never going to leave you," he told her as he settled back onto the bed, his heart melting when Emma moved over a little to give him more room, allowing him to lean against her head board. Stretching his legs out along the bed.
After a few minutes David assumed Emma had gone back to sleep, that was until he felt a weight on his chest. Looking down he smiled, Emma, whether aware or not had managed to move herself to lay across his chest her hands tucked under her head like a pillow.
David wrapped his arms tightly around Emma, giving a light squeeze, then leaned down to give her a kiss atop her head again.
"I love you Emma," He whispered against her hair, then leaned back and closed his eyes, the memories of his nightmare wiped clean by the weight on his chest and the slight tickle of blonde hair bellow his chin.