ANONYMOUS WONDERED:

It's the anon who sent you the Prohibition prompt, any chance of a sequel featuring the upstanding Police Captain Charming, who won't take a bribe and won't take a drink.

Hey anon. Sorry this took so long. It's just shy of 2k words. Basically I made up a whole backstory of why David became a cop. He was with Mary Margaret and she left him without an explanation. Then she was murdered. This one doesn't have any CS, but it's implied and sends David into a frenzy.

Terminology:

bull - policeman

cuddler - one who likes to make out

goofy - in love

on the lam - fleeing from police


He worried about Emma and peeped down at his watch for the hundredth time that night. 11:59. Wasn't safe for any gal on the streets this time of the evening, but he grasped she could handle herself. Emma was strong and had a mean right hook. Last week, he witnessed her trail after one of Gold's boys when he was on the lam; knocked him square in the jaw. Hit him so hard he lost a tooth.

Emma'd be fine, he assured himself. Still, he seemed antsy. Reckoned that's what fathers do, even the new ones like him. He always imagined he'd be a dad, but after losing Mary Margaret, it didn't seem right. Then Emma waltzed into his life.

He can still picture it like it was just the other day. When she strolled into the station, it winded him. Same face, same ears, same chin. Hell, she was even the same height! Emma was the spitting image of his beloved Mary Margaret, but the eyes, well, those were all him. They stood there a good thirty seconds before she practically leaped into his arms.

Christ, worrying about Emma made him think about Mary Margaret. They were two kids in love. He worked 12 hour days to save enough to buy her the ring. He knew he could never give her the life she deserved, but he was a fool and believed love would be enough. It broke his heart when her and her pop, Leo, ran off to New York. He never got a goodbye. A year later, they were both gone.

David would give an arm for a drink right now. Prohibition was a real hindrance on his nerves, but the law was the law, and it was his job to enforce it. The knowledge that Emma went 18 years without a mom, without him, or a penny to her name made him feel like trash. She wouldn't ever admit it aloud, but he knew from those lonely eyes, all she ever wanted was a family. She searched her whole life to find him. The how of it was still a mystery, but he was too yellow to investigate. Maybe it was guilt keeping him back. What happened to Mary Margaret was tragic. Hell, if he had known about her being pregnant and having a baby, he would have –

"David?" The door slammed closed. He could hear her fumbling with the chain. "David, it's me."

He was relieved to hear her voice, and whistled. "I was getting worried." She delivered a dubious look. "I know. I know. Chicago's not what it used to be."

David lived in a tiny apartment. Emma quipped when he proposed she should move in that it was a castle. Called him a real Prince Charming for letting her stay. She kicked her heels off and made her way to the cabinet in the kitchen. She yanked out two glasses and filled them to the brim with the tap.

"Were you followed?" He asked, raising the curtains to get a glimpse at the street. Thankfully it was empty.

She drained one glass and set the empty cup on the countertop. "No."

"Why were you out so late?"

At that, she side-eyed him. Emma had her secrets, and walls a mile high protecting them. It was wrong to push, but it was his nature. He had been a cop for fifteen years. Interrogations were part of the job, and it was hard to learn how to back off. 18 years, and he knew nothing about his daughter. God, he wanted to know everything.

"Hook's harmless." She answered finishing the other glass. "He's smart. Knows to leave a woman alone unless she says otherwise."

David hated that. The way Emma talked about Hook had shifted. He was positive Hook wasn't all bad to her. Emma'd drifted into some shade of grey and it was dangerous. "You two been getting close?"

She scoffed. "Hook's too smart to misbehave in front of a nark."

His gut wrenched, and it irritated him to high hell that she misdirected his question. David hated that term; nark. He always heard it right before one of his boys disappeared. "He knows who you are?"

Emma shook her head. "No. He knows I want the goods, but he has no idea who I am. Calls me a nark all the time, but he doesn't see me as a threat."

Thank God. If any of the big three happened on that he had a daughter, they'd put out a hit. Mills and him had been at each others throats for over a decade. If she could take away Mary Margaret-

He couldn't bear the notion of losing Emma the way he lost her mother.

"He wouldn't hurt me." She added after catching the paranoid look in his eyes. "Hook's not interested in causing trouble unless it brings trouble to him."

"Hook and his gang have been a real pain in my ass." David growled. "Mills and Gold both have it out for him. They're turning Chicago into a war zone!"

Mills, Gold, and Hook; the big three. All were thorns in his side causing chaos on the streets; his streets. They operated with impunity and had their hands in everyone's pocket. The mayor was a rat, a no good dirty rat who liked to line his wallet with cash, and sold his loyalty to whoever bid the highest; currently that was Hook.

Hook was the newcomer of the big three, but he was just as great a nuisance as Mills and Gold. All three of them bribed any local politician they could. Captain Nolan wasn't a fool, he knew he had traitors in his station. He knew he had boys in blue slumming it in the gutter. If the price was high enough, he was certain the gangs could have anyone.

"Gold killed his Moll." Emma stated letting her eyes settle on the floor. David caught the brief flash of concern before she washed it away. "Chopped his hand off and gave him a warning about touching his things."

A normal fella would have felt sick, but David had gotten used to hearing this sort of thing. Seeing it too. "I heard that rumor. I also heard he lopped it of himself."

Emma twisted the fabric on her dress. He noticed it was a nervous tick of hers.

"He told you that?"

She continued to twist. David didn't like this one bit. Letting Emma be involved was a mistake. She insisted and insisted, and one night disappeared. When she came back with the name to one of Gold's suppliers he felt like he owed her a chance.

"What else he say?"

Emma let go her dress and tugged her hair back tying it with a red ribbon. "He didn't say much, but I filled in the blanks." She bit the bottom of her lip. "Killi-" she paused, "Hook and I, we understand each other."

She slipped. That was all it took. He recognized the look in her eyes.

Absolutely not.

No way.

No.

Nope.

He kicked open the door deciding if he was going in he might as well go in roaring.

"Hook!"

The music hall was packed. Dames wiggling on the floor with fellas just about begging at their heels to be tossed a bone. His eyes scanned the back, and then the walls. Every booth had a man, and each wall had at least one cuddler. A bunch of strangers acting goofy in public probably hoping to get some giggle juice when the coast was clear.

He hated that fucking term. Giggle juice. Call it alcohol, you morons.

"Hook!"

A few dame's stopped dancing to stare. The music was blazing in his ears. Jazz was a glorious thing, but it was putting a hold on his thunder. He kicked over a table with a large vase. It went crashing to the floor.

"Hook!"

A few patrons gasped, so to ease their minds David pulled out his badge. You would think they'd be used to this sort of behavior in a joint run by the mob. Two men made their way behind him blocking the door. Well, at least he knew Hook was here. All it took to get his attention was a scene.

David spun on the balls of his feet shoving his badge in their direction. First guy was an old bird totally grey in the face with lots of wrinkles under the eyes. He was a no-name, and David committed everything to memory for the sketch later. The second was lanky with dark black hair. Him he recognized. Went by Starkey. David scrunched up his nose. Starkey was ruthless if the rumors were true. Went after Gold's only son, and somehow managed to stay alive after.

"You know who I am?" David asked folding his arms.

Neither responded.

"Where the hell is Hook?"

The old bird's eyes flew behind him. Bingo.

"Right this way, Captain Nolan." He said gesturing toward a booth in the back. Old bird planted his hand on his shoulder and David shrugged off his weak effort to escort him. He didn't want scum touching him. Not ever.

Cigar smoke permeated the air. Ventilation in this dump was offensive, he noted with a cough. The red table cloths at all the booths sure were fancy. Too fancy. When his boys arrived, those were the first things to go.

"Bull's here to see you." The old bird said.

"I can see that." He waved off the two men with his cigar. "Captain Nolan, such a surprise to see you in person. Typically your latest nark would have already passed through." Some of his crew sniggered. "Pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I've so much."

Yeah, laugh it up morons. David hurled his fist on the table. The man on Hook's right with the red cap jumped.

"Screw the pleasantries, wise guy. You and me got a problem."

"Do we?" Hook pondered with a sneer. "Any problem can be fixed."

"I'm not looking for anything you're offering." He watched as the blue-eyed boy admired his cigar.

"It can with the right solution." He let his words linger a moment.

Hook was perfectly controlled, so David tried to raise the heat on him. "I dare you to go on. Bribe me. Second you do I'll have this whole joint locked down faster than you can blink. I will enjoy sticking you in a pinch."

At that Hook laughed. "My my. Temperamental this day Captain Nolan?"

"You have no fucking idea." A dozen of his boys in blue filed in from the door. Hook let out an abundant puff of smoke. David smirked. "Have a warrant, but I'll give you a choice. Tell me who your supplier is and I'll walk away for now. Where's the booze?"

"All's well above Captain Nolan." Hook said completely calm. "But if you must search, be my guest."

"Ab-so-lutely."

He got his ass reamed by the chief. They ransacked that joint from top and bottom and came out with nothing. No booze. No drugs. No guns. Zilch. Hook sat there and waited like he had no cause for distress. The schmuck appeared to have no cares in the world.

David felt like a joke. He screwed up big time.

When he saw Emma striding out of the toilet with the black heels his heart sank. "Heading out?"

"Yes." Emma said checking her face with a handheld mirror. She caught his worried eyes in the reflection. "He wont hurt me."

"Whoopee." David grunted.

Emma strode over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I thought this was all part of the plan. We rile up the newcomer to show the other two they aren't untouchable."

David pressed his tongue against his teeth. He had made himself into a laughing stock. It was a shit plan executed sooner than he had proposed. The idea of his daughter with that gangster made his blood boil. He wasn't thinking straight.

"I can handle it. I promise." Emma whispered before giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "See you soon, David."

He couldn't summon the willpower to watch her go. Her heels clicking against the floor beat against his ears. Mary Margaret would have been good at this, he thought. What sort of dad was he?

He really was yellow.