This ended up basically being Charming family fluff, but I think family fluff is in order at the moment. I know I could use a little fluff.

I only claim ownership of the words

Chapter 21 Hood and Dagger

Snow dialed a number on her cell phone.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Her husband asked.

"Yes, you want someone to go with you tonight. Why not ask Emma?" She replied.

"You mean aside from the fact that she sent you to kill me?" He asked dryly.

"She wasn't serious." Snow insisted.

"What wasn't I serious about?" Emma asked over the phone.

"Never mind, we have a favor to ask." Snow said joyfully.

"Who is among the group being referred to as we?" Emma asked with skepticism in her voice.

"Your father and I have a favor to ask of you." Snow stated.

"You mean he is still alive?" Emma asked sarcastically.

Charming gave his wife an "I told you so look." Snow frowned and ignored Emma's comment.

"You father has a fundraising dinner this evening and he would be honored if you would accompany him." Snow informed her daughter.

There was only silence from the other end.

"Emma, are you still there?" Snow asked.

"Uhm, I'm still here. The thing is I have to work tonight. Someone has been vandalizing Gold's shop and he is putting pressure on me to find out who is responsible." Emma replied distantly.

"Couldn't you do it another night?" Snow asked.

"I mean he is really pressuring me." Emma replied. "Sorry." She added.

"That's fine." Charming tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"If I finish up early, I will drop by." Emma promised.

"Just be careful." Her father added.

"It's probably some kids just messing around. I would rather deal with it than have Gold go after them on his own terms." Emma added.

"Of course, if you think it is just kids, you might want to ask Henry and see if he has heard anything at school." Snow suggested.

"Good idea." Emma agreed. "I will see you guys at home tonight if I don't see you sooner." Emma said and then hung up.

Charming looked devastated. "Every time I think I am making progress in my relationship with our daughter she proves me wrong." He shook his head sadly.

Snow kissed him on the cheek. "I think we need to find Henry's father. That man has a lot to answer for in regards to what he did to our daughter." She stated with resolve.

Charming nodded his head in agreement. "We are kind of buys at the moment." He reminded his wife.

"Oh, I don't mean now. I don't think he is in Storybrooke and we still don't seem able to leave the town limits. We should look into it though." She suggested.

She noticed that he still looked disappointed.

"Do you want me to go with you tonight?" She asked sympathetically.

"I want you by my side tonight desperately!" He replied, "But I know how important this open house is to you and the students and I know you have to be there." He sighed.

"I am not giving up on finding you a date!" She pulled out her phone and dialed another number.

"Granny's Diner, how may I help you?" Ruby answered.

"Are you busy tonight?" Snow asked her friend.

"That depends on your definition of busy and of tonight?"

"Charming has a fundraising dinner tonight and I need you to go with him." Snow stated.

"There is a full moon tonight." Her friend informed her.

"The dress code for the dinner is formal; you can wear your hood. What time is moonrise?" Snow asked.

"10:30." Red answered.

"Good, he can have you home well before 10:30 tonight. He will pick you up at 7:30." Snow informed her and hung up.

She looked at her husband, "Are you okay with this?" She asked.

"Of course I am okay with her accompanying me tonight. I love Red, she is like the little sister I never had." He gave his wife a reassuring look.

"You don't mind that tonight is right at the start of Wolf's Time?" She asked with hesitation.

"She has especially helped us in the past during the full moon." He reminded his wife, "We owe her a lot!"

Snow kissed her husband, "I love you. Now I need to go take a shower and get ready to go back to the school." She started to get up from the couch.

He placed a hand on her arm, "Since you interrupted my earlier shower, I think it is only fair that I join you." He gave her a wicked smile.

"That is not going to work." She flatly informed him.

A disappointed frown crossed his face, "Why not?" was his pointed reaction.

She looked at the clock, "Because neither of us have time for what would happen if we took a shower together." She gave him a sly look.

"I promise to behave and we will be conserving water." He pointed out.

She gave him a skeptical look, "I am not sure that you know how to behave. But, we will do it for the planet."

"I like the idea of doing it for the planet," He winked "I think I might save that line for another time." He followed her to the bathroom.

True to his word, Snow's husband was a much of a gentlemen as any man could be who was alone in a shower with his naked and very desirable wife. He only tried to kiss her twice. The first time she let him and the second time she put the brakes on his amorous advances.

She was sitting on the couch still wrapped in a towel, helping him decide on a suit to wear for that evening's festivities.

"Who paid for these?" She asked him as she examined several ties.

"I did." He answered simply.

"Okay, that is good because I don't like the idea of Jasmine buying you clothes." Snow shook her head.

"She didn't even pick them out. The shop sent them over and I will send back what I don't pick" He informed her.

"Maybe we should hold to the rest of these. As mayor, you will have more chances to wear suits." She told him.

"David Nolan, animal rescuer extraordinary did not have much occasion to dress up." He pointed out, "But I still prefer the way things were in our realm. You either put on royal attire in the morning or didn't." He shrugged.

"I think you should wear this grey suit tonight with the blue tie." She held up a combination.

"Jasmine said I should wear the purple tie to match her." He mentioned under his breath.

Snow gave him a shocked look. He wasn't sure if she was going to yell at him, or burst into tears.

"Well, that is not going to happen!" She stated firmly as she threw the purple tie behind her on the couch.

There was a knock at the door. Snow looked at her husband, who had a towel draped around his waist. She was still clad only in a towel as well.

"Are you expecting anyone?" She asked.

"No!" He exclaimed.

"I can hear you guys in there!" It was the irritated voice of their daughter.

Charming looked down at his towel. "Maybe I will go get dressed in the bathroom." He commented.

"Good idea." His wife agreed.

She unzipped another garment bag. "What is this?" She asked holding up a black sheath dress.

"When I went to the shop to make arrangements for the suits to be sent over I saw that dress and I thought it would look nice on you. Clearly I had forgotten that you would not be able to come with me tonight." He shrugged.

Snow threw the dress over her head and went to open the door for their daughter.

Emma stood in the doorway stunned for a few moments. She had never seen her mother dressed up.

"Nice dress; Very Breakfast at Tiffany's. Does that mean you are going to the fundraiser with David?"

"No, do you think this dress is inappropriate to wear to a school open house?" Snow asked biting her lower lip.

"Totally," Emma informed her, "But I think you should wear it anyway. It looks good and it fits you perfectly and that may not be the case next week." She pointed out.

Snow wasn't real happy with that statement, but she knew that Emma was telling the truth.

"Will you help me with the zipper?" She asked her daughter.

Emma walked over and started to zip the dress.

"I didn't know that you have a birth mark on your lower back." Emma commented.

"I guess you have never seen my lower back." Her mother replied.

"No, but when Henry was in the hospital recovering from the Sleeping Curse I noticed that he has one in same place. Only I don't have one." She mused.

"It must have skipped a generation." Snow shrugged, "I only know of the existence of mine because your father has mentioned it."

"I do know that you inherited one on your left thigh from me." Charming informed his daughter as he walked out of the bathroom, buttoning the cuffs of his shirt.

Emma gave him a shocked look. "When did you see my left thigh?" She asked.

"The day you were born and never since." He stated with a grin on his face, "So if the birth mark is still there then that means you are still my daughter regardless of how you feel about the matter."

"It is still there." Emma informed him dryly.

He noticed that Snow was wearing the dress and stopped. "You look stunning!" He commented with feeling. He kissed his wife quickly. "Are you sure that you can't skip the open house and come with me tonight?" He pleaded.

"Sorry," His wife apologized, "I must say, you clean up pretty well though." His wife gave him a sly look. "Maybe you need police protection to fend off unwanted female advances." Snow cast a look towards their daughter.

"Not a chance," Emma replied and glanced at her father, "I wanted to stop by and make sure that you are okay with me not going with you tonight?"

He gave her a curious look, "Would it make any difference if I told you I was devastated beyond recovery?" He teased.

"No, because I can tell that you are not devastated beyond recovery. You pretty much wear your emotions on your face 24/7. That used to bug the heck out of me when you were under the curse because most of the time your emotion state was in turmoil. Right now I, I would say that you are pretty happy with an appropriate touch of nervous energy thrown into the mix. You are not devastated." She pointed out.

"You are good at reading people." He agreed.

"Right now, I need to go and grab something to eat at the station and get ready to stake out Gold's shop." She informed her parents reluctantly.

I'll go with you," Snow replied enthusiastically. "I'm starving!" She turned to her husband, "Do you have time to get something to eat?" She asked hopefully.

He looked at a stack of papers on a nearby desk. "I have to give a speech tonight and I should run through it a few times before I pick up Red." He explained.

He saw the disappointed look on the face of his wife. He looked back at the papers, "I guess I can Wing the speech if need be." He grinned and received a heartwarming smile from Snow in return.

"Emma, can you wait for us downstairs?" He asked with a serious note in his voice.

"Sure, just hurry up. I want to drink a butt load of coffee and have it run through my bladder before I have to start watching the shop." She causally informed him as she went out the door.

Snow pulled her husband into a slow searing kiss.

"I meant what I said earlier. You look fantastic in that suit." She pulled back to giving him an admiring look.

"Thank you," He replied shyly. "Did you mean what you said about me needing to guard against female advances?" He asked hesitantly.

"That is why you are taking Red." She replied with a slight smile. She gave him a serious look, "Charming, I trust you." She said in a simply and lovingly voice.

"Is that why you showed up here with my sword earlier?" He glanced at the sword.

"That was Emma's idea." She remarked. "This race for mayor that you are running is taking up so much of your time and I know it is for a good cause, but I still miss spending time with you." She admitted

"I am running for Mayor against Regina for you." He informed her.

"I know, you are doing it for the whole town in order to end the reign of tyranny that Regina has cast over this town for 28 years." She replied.

"I am doing it partly for the town, but mostly for you." He corrected.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Maybe I am not explaining myself very well." He insisted reluctantly.

"Emma is waiting; can we talk about this tonight?" She asked as she looked towards the door.

"I might be out pretty late." He reminded her.

"I'll wait up for you." She promised.

"Are you still trying to get us an ultrasound appointment for tomorrow morning?" He asked.

"I sent a text message to the technician. I will let you know as soon I hear something. The technician has kind of a crazy schedule, so I could hear from him at any moment." She causally informed him.

Emma stuck her head back in the room, "Can we please go now?" She asked irritably.

"Children are always so impatient!" Charming told his wife, who nodded her head in earnest agreement.

He grinned as he took Snow's hand and they followed their daughter out of the loft.