Stowaway
Summary: Gildarts is going back to work for the first time since bringing Cana home... unfortunately it becomes a lesson to check his baggage for stowaways before he leaves!
Disclaimer: I don't own
AN: Here is the long awaited alternate to 'Babysitting Guidelines', I have no idea why it took me as long as it did to write this.
"Please don't go Daddy!" The little girl sobbed, clinging onto her father for dear life.
Gildarts Clive was known for his strength, both physically and magically. He held the title of the Strongest Mage in Fiore and he had earned it. He could conquer monsters larger than mountains, bend steel with his bare hands, and bring his enemies to their knees.
However, when it came to his daughter's tears all that strength went out the window.
"Its okay- its okay sweetheart!" He babbled, trying to comfort his distressed little girl.
His little Cana was the light of his life. His angel, his princess, his tiny little darling, but as much as he might wish, taking care of her wasn't his sole responsibility.
There was a small island called Terasaka that was being terrorized by a dark guild. It was a job that no one less than an S-Class mage could handle, and he was currently the only S-Class mage Fairy tail had available. Unfortunately his hero complex wouldn't allow him to sit back and wait for a different guild to handle it, which left him in the horrible position of having to tell his sweet angel that she would be staying with Master while her Daddy was off chasing bad guys.
She wasn't taking it well.
"Cana- sweetie why are you so upset angel?" He asked in desperation," You don't have to worry- you'll only be with Master for a few days- "
"I don't want you to go Daddy." The six-year-old sniffled pathetically," Everybody says your missions are scary and you could get hurt- I don't want you to go a scary place and get hurt Daddy!"
Gildarts felt his heart break as he stared into his little girl's big, tearful eyes.
"Don't worry." He said, as he gently rubbed her back," It would take more then they've got to hurt me. But Cana- there are lots of people that they are hurting. These people are scared and need me to go save them- you see that's what Daddy's job is. I go to scary places to help people who need me- I'm a professional hero, you understand?"
The little girl's lip quivered but she nodded.
"Now, I'm probably going to be gone before you wake up tomorrow- but Master will be here to make you breakfast. And if you miss me too much, I have a communication lacrima on me at all times- if you call me, I will answer."
"Promise?"
"I promise." He said sincerely, happy that she seemed to have calmed down. "Now- it's time for bed Princess." He said gently as he scooped her up and tucked her in.
The Ace gently kissed her head, and was about to turn out the light, when she stopped him.
"Daddy," She said, easily getting his attention.
"Yes sweetheart?"
Cana held out her beloved teddy bear," Take him with you."
"Baby…" He said in surprise," I can't- "
"Roo keeps me safe." She said tearfully," If you take him then he'll keep you safe too."
Gildarts felt tears build in his eyes at the gesture," Baby- Roo is yours. He's meant to protect you from nightmares and monsters- I can't take him away from you."
"Please." She begged," Please take him Daddy! Roo is a good bear- he'll keep you safe! I'll be fine, but you need him Daddy!"
His heart melted," Alright." He conceded, accepting the plush and giving his little girl another kiss," Thank you sweetheart- I'm sure he'll be a big help. Now its time for you to go to bed."
"Goodnight Daddy."
"Goodnight Sweetheart."
oOOOOo
Gildarts sighed as the boat gave another unsteady rock.
It was a misty, gloomy morning to be heading out on a job, but he didn't have any other choice.
He'd left before his sweet little girl had woken up; the bear carefully tucked into his bag for safekeeping. He'd thought about leaving it behind, but ultimately, he couldn't ignore his little girl's wish for it to keep him safe. If him having the bear made her feel better, then he was going to bring the bear.
By his calculations the boat should reach Terasaka by the next day, and with the time difference his little darling should be eating breakfast right now.
A loud ring caught him off guard- one of the communication lacrima's was going off.
Guess his baby missed him already!
He answered the call and instead of the sweet face of his little angel, he was met with Master's panicked one.
"Gildarts she's gone!"
"…what?" The crash mage asked, desperately hoping that he had misheard him.
"I went to her room to check on her and she wasn't there!"
It took a second for it to sink in.
"WHAT?!" He yelled in terror, accidentally sending his bag crashing to the floor- where it let out a very familiar yelp.
Blinking, Gildarts stared at the canvas bag.
She didn't-!
Ignoring Master's panicked rambling, he forced open the canvas, only to be met with a very familiar, very guilty face.
"…Hi Daddy?" His angel said sheepishly, not sure what she was supposed to say in the face of her very shocked father.
"-ildarts! Gildarts what is going on?!"
In his state of shock, the redhead answered the frantic old man," Don't worry Master- I found her."
"What?!"
The crash mage numbly handed over the lacrima to his little girl.
They were out of sight of land, the job needed to be taken care of ASAP, and now he had a six-year-old stowaway.
What the hell was he supposed to do?
oOOOOo
Cana squirmed under her father's gaze.
"Cana- care to tell me why you decided to come along?" Gildarts calmly asked his child- somewhere between terrified and livid.
The little girl fumbled with her hands before she finally answered," Daddy's gonna save the day… I wanted to watch."
And didn't that stroke his ego despite the situation.
He shook his head and crouched down in front of her, gently tilting her head up so she could look at him.
"Cana- I don't even know what to say." He said in frustration," Do you have any idea how much you scared Master?"
She quietly shook her head.
"He called me in tears because he was so scared." Okay maybe a little dramatized but probably accurate," He didn't know where you were. He didn't know if you were safe or hurt or if someone had climbed through your window and snatched you away. And coming on this job… sweetheart this is so incredibly dangerous."
Her wide purple eyes started filling with tears as she began to sniffle.
"I'm sorry Daddy." She whimpered," Please don't be mad at me!"
He sighed and picked her up, gently rubbing her back," I'm not mad." He said calmly," But I am upset with you- my jobs are not safe for you Cana. There is real danger, and you could get seriously hurt and now Daddy is going to have to figure out how to protect the village and take care of you."
"I'll be good." She sniffled," I'll do what you tell me to- I promise Daddy!'
He sighed again," We'll make it work sweetie. But when we get home there are going to be some serious consequences for this."
"…okay." Cana mumbled glumly.
It was quiet for a moment, before a loud growl broke the silence.
Gildarts let out a laugh and gently poked his little girl's belly.
"Sounds like we need to get you some breakfast Princess. Can't have the lion in your tummy telling the bad guys where we are!"
"It wouldn't do that!" She protested," It's a nice lion!"
"Oh, right. My mistake." He said affectionately.
This happened. Now he just had to accept it and make it work.
oOOOOo
The village on Terasaka that had hired him was called Kayano. It was a small village with high barricaded walls and people taking turns as lookouts.
"Who goes there!"
The Ace pulled up his shirt to expose his emblem. "I'm Gildarts Clive from Fairy Tail! I was hired to deal with the dark guild!"
"Oh, thank goodness you're here!"
The gates were opened quickly and then he had multiple people rushing him in.
The town was arranged in a circle of small wooden huts and canvas tents.
The people looked exhausted, deep shadows under their eyes and thin like they hadn't properly eaten in a while.
"Thank you for coming." An old man said, gratitude shining in his eyes," My name is Suka and I am the chief of this village. I can't tell you how grateful…" The old man trailed off when a tiny head popped out from behind the wizard's shoulder.
The crash mage shook his head," You don't need to thank me." He said warmly," You needed help and I can never ignore someone who needs help."
"Um… thank you?" The chief said weakly, still staring at the child clinging to the man's back. The little girl was curiously looking around but staying quiet.
"Now- can you give me all the information you have on the guild?" Gildarts asked, pointedly ignoring the way everyone kept staring at Cana," I'm going to need everything you can tell me to take them all out."
"If-If you come this way, I have our scouts waiting in the main tent. Um- if you don't mind my asking… why do you have a child?"
The Ace shrugged, reaching back to pull his girl out of his bag to place her on his hip. "Haven't you ever heard of bring your daughter to work day?" He said nonchalantly," If its not too much trouble- would it be possible for someone to watch her while I deal with them? She'll be on her best behavior, won't you sweetheart?"
"Yes Daddy!" The little girl said cheerfully, flashing everyone a wide smile that revealed a missing tooth.
"Um- Masha!" The chief called, an old woman coming forward," Would you…?"
The old woman didn't even hesitate," Hello little one!" She said warmly as Gildarts finally let Cana down. "What's your name?"
"I'm Cana!"
"Cana- oh that's a lovely name. Would you like to come with me while your daddy deals with boring grown up things?"
The tiny brunette looked up at her father," Can I Daddy?"
He smiled," Of course sweetheart- be good."
"I will!" She said cheerfully and grabbed Masha's offered hand and happily let herself be led to a group of other children her own age.
Gildarts watched her go with fond eyes, before turning back to the chief," Lead the way."
"Um… of course." The old man said, unsure just what to think about this.
Perhaps bringing their children on jobs was normal for wizards?
Either way the Ace wouldn't answer and having his little girl with him only made him more determined to take care of everything as quickly as possible. She really was the best motivation for him- he'd do anything to protect that smile.
