I do not own Once Upon A Time, I own no characters you may read about in this story and I own no plot lines to the original, fantastic, show.
Listened to Stevie Wonder and The Four Tops all day and now I feel pumped! :)
It's A Sacrifice
3rd Person
Always up to rise with the sun, Killian journeys down the stairs, fully expecting to find the bottom floor empty and food needing to be prepared, however he finds his eldest daughter perched on a stool at the kitchen counter- papers printed and stack neatly in front of her, a few pens by her side.
Blinking slowly and smirking, walking up to her- rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Hi... you're awake."
"I went for my run early, took a shower and have been sat here for ten minutes." She replies, smiling softly at him. "Morning, Dad."
"Morning." He greets, eyeing the papers. "Mind if I have some coffee fir-" She pushes a mug toward him and he smiles, sitting down with his hands up in surrender. "Alright, now talk."
"I sorted out a plan." She begins, picking up some stapled papers and handing them to him. "All costs are covered via the bar, and you won't lose profits because it's earned back sufficiently."
He looks over the work. "Develop."
"I sent a survey and questionnaires around town, approximately seventy percent I got back were in favor and sixty percent claimed they would join to learn if prices were reasonable."
"Good..." He flips a page. "And location?"
"An old building by the docks is being knocked down, there will be a free space, fully in site of the public with an excellent view of the water, and there are food shops not too far so it's a nice walk along the docks should they have to wait."
Taylor seems proud of herself and he's pretty impressed, so he puts the papers aside. "Staff?"
"Your old crew have already volunteered free service for two months until the business is on steady feet, but after would like to discuss salary." Taylor answers, smiling and passing him some more papers. "The prices I have allocated to lessons may be changed should you wish, though I believe they're reasonable."
Coughing, looking at her work, he nods, grinning. "And how do I know my business partner will be a good asset? I can't take chances."
"Knew you'd ask that." Taylor hands him a file. "My account history over the last five years, took time to track down, and my credit score, my spending habits, where and when they go."
Reading over them, he sees his daughter is a saver. "I'm liking this so far, and shares?"
Smiling softly, she flips a page in the file he's reading. "Fifty each. Co-owned and ran by us two, a father and daughter business."
It takes him all of twenty minutes to agree and they shake hands before laughing and she runs around the counter to hug him, nearly knocking him off his stool. "Oh, Dad, you won't regret this, I promise, I'll try so hard!"
"I have faith in you."
Walking down the stairs with a big grin on her face, Dawn watches as people rush to greet her, all crammed into her home for her eighteenth birthday. For a few minutes she greets everyone, looking around for one person in particular, before she spots her best friend come through the door and rushes to hug him.
"Jake!" She runs to him, sliding a little in her heels on the floor and her lifts her up in his arms, twirling her. "You came back."
"Well why wouldn't I?" He asks, putting her down, handing her a gift wrapped box. "Open it later." He sends her a wink and she nods.
"I thought that the cinema and lunch would be it but you're here." Dawn grins and finds her mother not too far, asking her to look after the gift and Emma walks off with it in hand.
Turning back to Jake, she spots Francesca- his sister and her other friend- glaring at her, more specifically, her stomach, where her shirt had ridden up after he hugged her. She pulls it down, arms crossing over her abdomen protectively while Francesca makes her way over, not looking happy and pushing a confused Jake out of her way.
Francesca grabs her hand and drags her to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. "What the hell?"
"What?" Dawn pretends not to know what she's on about, but her bump is pretty easy to notice she's surprised others haven't.
"You're pregnant."
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head, feigning cluelessness. "Sorry, what?"
"Stop lying!" Francesca crosses her arms. "Who else knows, huh? Jake? Is he the dad, is that why we're friends? For him?" She looks disgusted.
"No one, no, no way, you're one of my best friends, I knew you first!" Dawn takes the questions in order and accidentally reveals the truth. "I am but only my family know..." She looks ashamed, looking at the floor. "And Jake."
Francesca gasps and shakes her head, disgust even more evident. "HE knew before me? My big brother knew my friend is up the duff before I did, how could you do that to me?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't plan this-"
"Duh." Francesca scoffs, pushing her chin to make Dawn look at her. "Is it Peters?" She nods. "You're keeping it?" She nods again. "How far along are you?"
"Four months, Frankie, please don't be mad-"
Frowning, and turning on her heel. "Too late!"
Francesca left in a hurry, storming out and pushing past little Meredith on her way- the little girl falling over and crying in her dad's arms for half an hour, so Killian wasn't best impressed- making Dawn irritated.
Confused, Jake had ran after his little sister.
He didn't come back.
By the end of the week, she still hasn't seen Jake or Francesca, but she has seen hundreds of messages asking about whether or not what they've heard is true- and it's gotten to the point she's hidden her phone away, next to Jake's unopened present.
After another week, and Taylor is boasting her happiness about the new business plans while Killian is hiding his excitement, more content in spending time with his family than focusing on the plans she sorts.
Meredith has taken to sitting with Taylor all the time, never going near Dawn because she knows Francesca is Dawn's friend and thinks she'll push her again- even though Emma assured her it wouldn't happen.
However, Taylor needs her space to work, and it upsets Meredith quite a bit- though she still clings to her older sister. Every now and then Taylor will play with her and Meredith's giggles will echo through the house- making Dawn feel left out and slightly lonely.
It's two weeks later when a knock on her door signals and there's a man with flowers, handing them to Dawn and leaving.
With a small smile, she thinks they're for her mom and hands them to her, making Emma kiss Killian- who looks surprised. "That's not for you, Swan..." Emma frowns and looks at the note, before smiling.
"Dawnie, they're for you." Emma holds them out to her daughter, who takes them with a confused smile before reading the note.
Sorry for being an ass, hope you liked the present ~ Jake :) P.S. I hope Pink Carnations are still your favorite or this is awkward.
Laughing softly at the message before grinning at the flowers and rushing upstairs to her drawer where the unopened present lays next to her phone.
Quickly, she grabs it and opens the wrapping carefully like her father taught her, she spots the velvet black box and rubs the top softly- he knows she can't resist velvet boxes. She opens it and her eyes widen, the breath leaving her and she sits down on her bed with a small confused frown.
Inside, sitting elegantly in the box is a ring. But not any ring.
Jake's grandmothers ring.
As in, the ring he's said he'd only ever give to the love of his life, the ring she made him promise to cherish- and he's given it to her- and it makes tears fill her eyes that he values their friendship so much to give it to her for her eighteenth.
There's a little note by it and she unfolds it to read the message that makes a little happy tear fall from her face, and she wipes it away with her hand.
It was always yours. ~ Jake
Without a second thought, her legs carry her straight to his house.
Looking around the large space in front of her, she directs some people to do their jobs, giant grin on her face and folder in hand. "Lets get this space cleaned up and renewed." She announces, laughing and walking around.
After two weeks of biting her nails, the building got knocked down and they brought the space, ready to clean it and then build on it. But also two weeks of watching Dawn be upset before getting those flowers and then seeing Dawn run to Jake's house at every given opportunity to find him, but he always seemed to be out and she comes back with a frown.
Killian is helping the builders and engineers clean up, who volunteered to do it for the extra pay and wanting to help in hope of some freebies- which were happily given- and bonuses, while Taylor is keeping lists of all the jobs needed to be done.
It takes her half and hour to finish her list, walking around the large site where they'd build an office and maybe even a shop- though her father hasn't agreed to that yet- seeing what needs to be done.
Just as she begins to help them, someone calls her name and she turns with a grin- but it drops at the site of the person in front of her.
Running towards her at full speed, frowning and looking desperate, is Jake Rider.
Wanting to ignore him and seeing no other option, she turns her back to him and picks up some of the things left lying around but he stops her- turning her back to face him, eyes a little red rimmed, and she hates herself for being concerned. "What?"
"Did Dawn get my message?"
"With the flowers, yes, and now you ignore her?! Low move, Rider." She scowls at him and he shakes his head.
"No, no, my phone message. I sent her a text last week."
"Saying?"
"That I've moved out of my parents, and they're on holiday with Francesca so if she wanted to talk, to come to mine, hasn't she seen it?" He looks hurt all of a sudden. "She thinks I've ignored her?"
"Yeah, she hid her phone..." Taylor's mouth forms an 'o' shape and she sighs. "She's at home, go find her now, you stupid idiot."
He frowns, looking down at his clothes and she notes his bulletproof vest with the word 'POLICE' in big yellow, block capitals. "I'm working, I can't."
Raising an eyebrow, she purses her lips. "Work is stopping you?" He sighs, a little upset with himself. "What aren't you saying?"
He looks away from her, not answering, and she glares, crossing her arms and stepping down on his toe with her sharp heel- making him yelp and look at her, annoyed. "OW. I... Just wanted to know."
"Liar."
Jake sighs, jaw tight. "I'm being sent for training today, well supposed to, but... there was a call and apparently I need to be doing real work, dangerous work, now, but I couldn't do it if she didn't know I sent that message!"
"How dangerous?"
"Can't say, Sheriff Swan didn't tell me, but she looked upset. She wanted to put me up to Deputy so I have to do it... Prove I can handle myself, apparently Regina is clamping down on it considering we have more cops."
"Mom should've told you." She frowns but nods. "Go do your job, I'll tell Dawn."
"Thank you." Jake exclaims gratefully, before running off until he's out of the view, making Taylor frown, wondering what the hell he's doing, making her worry for both him and her mother.
Dawn's asleep on the couch when Taylor walks in behind her father, both tired and in need of food more than air, her heels ache and his head pounds, but it doesn't stop Killian from draping a blanket over his daughter as she sleeps, walking to the phone and leaving the room with it to order take-away.
While her dad can't see, Taylor shakes Dawn to wake her up, but it only succeeds in making Dawn wrap her arm around her stomach, curling in on herself, and Taylor rolls her eyes. "Dawnie." She shakes her a little harder, frowning. "Wakey, shakey, food is a...makey." She wrinkles her nose at that, but Dawn blinks slowly as she wakes up and mumbles about food.
"Taylor?" She sits up, yawning despite the fact she's probably slept for a few hours. "What's wrong? Where's food? How was almost work?"
Taylor stands straight, kicking off her shoes and picking them up to put them away neatly. "There's nothing wrong, dad is ordering food as we speak and almost work was good...Jake came up to me." She smiles when Dawn's head snaps to her, the younger girl looking hopeful.
"And? Did he mention me?"
She nods, shrugging off her jacket, humming softly. "He did, he said that apparently," She throws her jacket on the banister. "He's moved out his parents, and they are on holiday, and apparently he's tried to message you but you hid your phone."
At that, Dawn rushes up the stairs excitedly, meaning Taylor waits before hearing a squeal and a chorus of thanks yous over and over again. She chuckles, rolling her eyes at her childish- almost mother- sister, and she walks into the kitchen to greet her father.
"Food will be half an hour, hope chips is good." Killian states, leaving no room for argument as he grabs some plates from the cupboard.
She scoffs, helping him. "When are chips not good?" With that, she walks out of the kitchen, grinning wide.
"True." Killian grins, nudging her with his hip when she walks past, so she almost drops the plates but she laughs, swiping at him with a fork playfully, both unaware of Dawn watching from the stairs, wondering why she can't be the same with their dad.
Taylor's always been the favorite.
Sorry for late updates, hope you liked! :) #JealoussisterBOOM
