Ella lingered in the doorway, taking in her husband and daughter. "Are you sure you two are going to be okay?"
"We'll be fine," Henry assured her as he adjusted Lucy on his hip to start work on dinner.
"She's just been so much more active lately."
"And I've got a handle on her." Henry bounced the 13 month old a bit. "You go, have your fun with Tiana."
Ella smiled, pushing back some of Lucy's thick dark hair. Lucy looked up at her mother and waved.
"Mama," she babbled.
"Mama's gonna go see Auntie Tiana," Henry explained. "They're going to have some adult beverages and gossip about Daddy and all the men in the kingdom."
Ella snorted. "Not entirely true. We'll also talk about the women."
"True." He pecked her lips. "Have fun."
"You too. I won't be too late."
"As long as you like."
After a few more kisses and cuddles with her daughter, Ella walked out the door. Henry smiled down at his daughter as he stirred the pot on the stove.
"I thought she'd never leave. What should we do after dinner, hmm, my little princess?" Henry cooed, tickling her cheek. Lucy giggled and reached up, grabbing hold of his hair and tugging. "Now, now, that's not very nice." He wormed her grip away and saw she was about to cry, so he instantly put a rattle into her hands. It had once belonged to his mother, who had passed it down to Robin. She had gifted it to Henry and Ella when they welcomed Lucy. It was nice to keep it in the family.
Once the two of them had enjoyed some dinner, Henry brought his daughter into the living room. He settled her onto the ground and she instantly got onto all fours, ready to crawl. Henry bounced into action to make a makeshift playpen out of some pillows.
"I promised your mom to make sure you didn't do anything stupid tonight," he said, only half-jokingly. Ever since she became mobile, she was constantly getting into everything.
They spent most of the night playing with her toys and Henry telling her some stories. He loved moments when it was just the two of them. Lucy loved both of her parents, but it was clear that she was a daddy's girl. She hung on his every word and thrust things into his hands so he would play with her. He spun her around in the air and built towers for her with her blocks. If she ever got fussy, he got her a teether or cuddled her a bit.
After the sun set, he brought her to the tub to give her a bath. Lucy kicked her legs a bit and tried to get out, but he kept a firm but gentle grip on her. Regina said that he also hated baths when he was a baby, especially when it came time to wash his hair. Luckily, he could skip that, that night.
Once she was nice and clean, he got her in a fresh diaper and brought her through to the nursery. He settled her on the ground and started searching for some warm pajamas for that particularly cold evening. He selected pink ones that had little swans on them (a gift from Emma) and turned back around, only to find her gone. Panic set in and he started looking all around the room.
Suddenly, he spotted her holding herself up on her rocking horse. He held his breath, not saying anything at first. Lucy had been pulling herself up for a few weeks, yet never took steps unassisted. Regina and Eudora had both assured them not to rush her, she'd do it in her own time. The more they spent forcing it, the longer it would take.
Lucy took one chubby hand off the rocking horse, followed by the other. Henry slowly nodded, a smile slowly forming on his face. Lucy took one step forward, then another. Henry quickly bridged the gap and dropped down on his knees, holding his arms out.
"That's it, Luce! Come to Daddy!"
She grinned at the praise and clapped her hands, which caused her to wobble a bit, but she caught herself on the horse. After straightening herself out a bit, she let go and tried again. She took a step, then another. Soon, she tumbled right into her father's arms. He thrusted her up in the air, spinning her around.
"Yes! Look at you! You're such a big girl now, aren't you?" He blew a raspberry into her tummy and she giggled. "I can't wait to show your mommy, she'll be so excited."
Lucy clapped her hands. "Yay!"
"That's right, yay." He nuzzled his cheek against hers, letting out a content sigh.