Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize belongs to me!
A/N: I felt the need to write some Emma/David scenes; this was the result. These are meant to take place after Emma's return to Storybrooke, missing moments added to canon. I hope you enjoy!
Thanks to Melissa for betaing, congrats on avoiding crazy hair.
i.
She hears the knock at the door just as she's finished putting her clothes away. "Come in," Emma calls.
The door opens, and to her surprise, David is there. "Henry's downstairs," he supplies, correctly interpreting the questioning look on her face. "With your – with Mary Margaret."
Emma bites her lip, all too aware of what he almost said. She's been alone with Mary Margaret for weeks now, and spent even more time with her before that, and while she knows that Mary Margaret is her mother, she hasn't completely come to terms with it. She's even less sure about the man in front of her.
She's barely spent any time with David. The awkwardness of the affair, and then Mary Margaret's time in jail, and David not believing in her innocence – she's spent so much time thinking of David as the other, the betrayer, even. She's been on Mary Margaret's side from the beginning, and her closeness to Mary Margaret in fairy tale land has only further alienated her from her father. She watches him enter the room slowly, tentatively, and she wonders if he isn't struck by the same fear, that they will never have a connection between father and daughter like the one she has with her mother.
"How are you doing?" he asks.
"I'm – fine," Emma answers. "It's good to be back."
David nods. "I'm glad you made it back safely. I – it's good to see you again."
"You, too," Emma replies. She shifts uncomfortably, wondering what else to say. David still feels like a stranger to her. "Thank you for taking care of my son."
"Of course," he says. "Henry's family."
It comes so easily to him, accepting Henry as part of his family – their family. And Henry was perfectly happy to call David "Grandpa" from the moment the curse broke; he's probably downstairs calling Mary Margaret "Grandma" right now. She can't even call Mary Margaret "Mom," but she knows Mary Margaret would introduce her as her daughter in a heartbeat. Everyone else has accepted it, they've all moved on, are ready to embrace the future, but she's still holding back, reserved, walls up.
"Right," she says finally. "Family."
To her surprise, David steps closer. "Emma, I – I know this may feel strange for awhile, but I'm hoping that it'll get better with time. I know what it's like to be thrust into a world where you feel like you don't belong." She nods, remembering his story from Henry's book, waiting for him to continue. "Things must feel overwhelming right now. You just got back from our – the fairy tale – world, and you're suddenly surrounded by family. It's a lot. And I just wanted to say that it's okay if you aren't quite comfortable with everything yet. Take your time." He pauses and then adds, "I won't be offended if you don't call me 'Dad.'"
"I – thank you," she replies. She doesn't know what else to say.
He smiles, sensing she still needs time to process. He begins to retreat from the room. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. And…good night."
Emma smiles back. "Good night."
It's not much, but it feels like a start.
ii.
On a night like tonight, not even hot chocolate with cinnamon can make her feel better.
She can't get the look of devastation on Henry's face when she told him about Archie off her mind. What's more, she can't forget the look of utter shock and betrayal when she told him of Regina's involvement. Henry's barely spoken five words to her or anyone else since hearing the news. She knows how much Archie meant to him, knows that he was Henry's confidant, even though he didn't believe Henry until the curse was broken. This is Henry's first real experience with death, and the worst part is, it came at the hands of someone whom he once trusted and loved.
"Hey."
Emma looks up to see David entering the kitchen. "Hey." She glances behind him, but there's no one else there. "Where's Mary Margaret?"
"She's with Marco," David explains. "You know that he was – of course you do."
It's interesting, Emma reflects, the contrast between her parents. Mary Margaret always explained everything to her, sometimes to the point of annoyance, as though she couldn't trust Emma to figure things out for herself. Maternal instinct, maybe. But David is different. He doesn't try to over-explain any of the stories, like he takes for granted that she knows them all already, both the versions she grew up with and the ones she's coming to recognize as being real life. She wonders if it's because he doesn't know how to explain it.
"His conscience," Emma says. "Right." She looks back at her mug, unsure what else to say. She's aware of the fact that this could be the perfect time for an I-told-you-so, for David to point out that he and Mary Margaret had been right about Regina all along, and maybe she should have listened more to her parents.
But David doesn't reprimand her. Instead he sits down next to her at the table and waits for her to speak.
"I was so sure she was innocent," Emma says finally. It's not her pride that's hurt, not really. She's been wrong about people before. It's just that this time, she wanted so badly to believe that Regina had changed, that she wanted to be good, that she couldn't have hurt Archie. But Regina has failed her. It's her heart that's heavy tonight.
"It's an understandable mistake to make."
Emma meets David's eyes. "Is it? After everything she's done? After she's tried to kill you, and Henry, and Mary Margaret, and me how many times? And I believed that she wouldn't kill Archie?"
She sees David's hand twitch, but he doesn't reach out to touch her just yet, and she's grateful for his restraint. "Sometimes you just want to see the good in people." Emma throws him a skeptical look, so he continues, "Your mother was the same way. No matter how many times Regina tried to kill her, when we finally captured her, back in our land, and she was about to be executed, your mother stopped the execution. She truly believed, until the very end, that Regina could be good."
"What changed her mind?" Emma asks.
David strokes his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I'm not sure anything ever did. I think there's still a part of her, deep down, that continues to believe that Regina can change for the better." He smiles. "And I see that part in you."
"But we were wrong," Emma mutters. "Regina hasn't changed."
David reaches out, and this time he does take her hand.
"Yet."
iii.
She finds the baby blanket in one of the drawers. She wonders how it got there, before realizing David must have moved it when he'd taken over her room. Perhaps he had wanted to keep it in a safe place for her. Or maybe the memories it brought him were too painful. Emma can understand that. She still remembers what it felt like, standing in her ruined nursery. She remembers how it felt, thinking that the last time she'd been there, she'd been wrapped in this blanket.
"I couldn't believe you still had that."
Emma jumps, not realizing that David is standing behind her. She wonders how long he's been there. "Yeah," she replies. "It was kind of the only thing I had from my parents, the only clue I had to go on." She laughs nervously. "It's also the only reason anyone knew my name."
David steps closer and holds his hand out. "May I?" Emma hands the blanket to him, and she watches as he unfolds it. He runs his fingers over the stitching and Emma wonders what he's thinking, remembering, as he holds it. Does he remember watching his wife sew the blanket? Or maybe – Emma swallows hard – maybe he's remembering what it was like to hold her in it.
"You were so tiny," David murmurs. Emma looks down. She can hear the emotion in his voice, and she doesn't want to see her father cry. "You didn't make a sound, not a single one the entire time."
"What – what happened?" Emma asks. She knows the details, has read the story, but she wants to hear it from him. Her first moments with her father, as he remembers them.
"You were born early," David begins quietly. "We thought there would be time – your mother was supposed to go with you. We never wanted you to be alone. And when she suggested that I put you in the wardrobe by yourself, I thought she was crazy." He clears his throat."But we wanted to give you your best chance. So I took you to the wardrobe, fought off some of Regina's men, and placed you inside it. I had no idea if it would work, but when the guards opened the wardrobe, you were gone."
Emma nods, thinking about his words. She knows what he's left out – how he could hear her mother's cries of agony the entire time; how the guards wounded him as he fought them, always shielding her from harm; how he had almost died trying to save her. It's this last part that gets her, because she knows what he sacrificed to bring her here. He spent twenty-eight years in a coma to protect her.
"Thank you," she says finally. She looks up, despite the tears in her eyes. "I should thank you for saving me – everyone. Without you, there would have been no savior."
"No," David replies, and she can see him blinking back tears as well. "There would have been no savior without you."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I do plan on writing more vignettes and continuing this story as the season progresses. If you read Family Portrait (the Mary-Margaret/Emma equivalent of this), you'll know that the missing moment vignettes are all canon compliant. I have an idea for one more vignette, but if you have any ideas for more Emma/David moments, please let me know! I would love to hear them. Enjoy the episode tomorrow and in the meantime, how about a nice review to make my night?