A/N: Hooray! Lots of CS fluff and Daddy charming feels on this chapter :)

7:09pm - 7 days before Christmas

It had been a particularly stressful day at work considering there were no villains currently threatening Storybrooke, but even so it seemed like days off were something Emma would have to add to the list of things that were not in the cards for the Saviour.

She made a mental note to remind herself of buying Sneezy some antihistamines the next time she went to the drug store - after his sudden sneezing fit had caused some loose rocks in the mine to collapse down and trap him for hours that afternoon, she wasn't willing to risk it happening again. Either that would work, or she'd personally accompany him on an appointment with Dr. Whale. She would most definitely not let another allergy-triggered near-catastrophe make her work for two whole hours after her shift had ended.

Emma had just parked her yellow bug in front of the Sheriff station, cursing herself for having forgotten her phone there, when she saw her pirate boyfriend sitting on the pavement with a concerned frown marring his features. He was startled by the sound of her slamming her car door and his head shot up, a wave of relief immediately washing over his face as he rushed to his feet.

Killian ran to meet her and she had barely noticed he had her phone in his hands before he embraced her as tightly as when he found out she didn't fall into get trapped in the crocodile's magic hat.

"Emma, thank the gods. I heard people talking about a landslide in the mines and that you and David went there, and when I tried calling your talking phone and you didn't answer I- I was worried something had happened to you." He said in a rush to get the words out of his mouth, as if he wished such thoughts would follow suit and disperse from his mind, his distress clearly not allowing him to take a breath in between his sentences.

Before Emma could even say anything he was fiercely kissing her, pouring all of his relief into her lips.

"Hey, it's okay, Killian, I'm alright." She reassured him, cupping his right cheek and using her thumb to trace her favourite of the scars she'd seen all over his body.

"You're not the only one who can't lose somebody, too." He said, tilting his head to the side and smiling softly at her - his eyes searched her face for any signs of injuries as if he still needed to make sure she was 100% well.

"It's good that we understand each other, then."

"Don't we always, love? Now, allow me to escort you home." Emma was about to object and say he was being too precautious when he shushed her with a short, but firm press of his lips against hers. "You'll have to excuse me for not trusting the first time this town seems peaceful. I find it quite unsettling for some reason."

She smiled and shook her head admitting defeat - she wasn't used to people taking such good care of her, but with Killian, rather than finding it strange or annoying, she revelled in it.

"Fine, let's just go home." She laced her fingers with his, their arms swinging together as they walked towards her place.

Emma took her keys out of her pocket and let go of Killian's hand to open the front door when she felt a gentle grip on her wrist as he turned her to face him again.

"I probably should kiss you goodnight now, love."

"You're not coming in?"

"It's Wednesday, Swan. Henry's there - I'm sure you want to enjoy his company all the more after he chose to extend his weekend at Regina's without a dashing pirate distracting you from your boy."

Emma felt her heart squeeze with yet another instance of the endless understanding Killian never failed to show her. He was playing with a lock of her hair as she stared into his eyes for a few moments before saying, "That would be true, if it weren't for the fact that my boy seems to have missed you even more than he missed me." She rolled her eyes in feigned jealousy.

Killian laughed - a delicious sound Emma could never get enough of - and raised an eyebrow up, clearly amused with her revelation. "Oh, is that so? It appears Dave is not the only one I'm winning over in your family, after all."

She was about to add that Mary Margaret is another one who doesn't need much convincing on that respect - her mother is almost as smitten with Killian as Emma herself most of the time - but then she thought her pirate didn't need to have his ego even more inflated than it naturally was.

"I'd love to see my dad's face if he ever heard you calling him that." Killian chuckled and gave her a smirk which said that, one of these days, they might get to witness just that. "But yes, Henry asked me if you could stay over tonight so the three of us could have a themed movie marathon together. He wants us to basically spend all night on Netflix and watch all the movies from this realm portraying you, Captain."

Emma suddenly felt very vulnerable with Henry's request as she realised how close the three of them were to becoming a family. "Erm, I was going to call you after work but I left my phone at the station - which reminds me, you still haven't given it to me."

"Ah, it appears we're finally getting that Netflix date you mentioned too long ago." Killian said grinning from ear to ear before handing over her phone. Emma took it and she could have sworn she saw a flash of nervousness behind his smiling eyes. She also saw the moment when he noticed that she'd seen it. He kissed her forehead in a tender gesture, and moved forward to hold her tight and let out a deep, shaky breath.

"It would truly be an honour to me, Emma." He all but whispered in her ear.

Later that night, after Henry and her had laughed until their cheeks hurt at Killian's shock as he watched his animated version in disbelief, Emma would unlock her phone and discover a collection of 27 selfies Killian had taken while waiting for her at the station - his facial expressions ranging from concerned, to overdramatic worried, to smug, to mildly annoyed at her for never arriving.

She would get her revenge on him by taking his phone out of his jacket he left draped over the sofa downstairs and taking even more photos of herself before putting it back, tiptoeing back upstairs and joining him in bed.

9:34am - 6 days before Christmas

"White americano, two sugars, here you go. At least that's what Granny told me you have when you don't order your usual hot cocoa." David says as he hands Emma a cup of coffee she hadn't even asked for - he only told her he was going to grab himself a latte at Granny's and would be back to the station in five minutes.

Sometimes Emma couldn't believe she now had two loving parents who had never wanted to abandon her, contrary to the countless nightmares that haunted her for her entire life up until the day she came to Storybrooke.

Her father was always incredibly attentive to her, always asking if she needed anything, as if she was still a little girl who needed her daddy to protect her, yet never implying that he didn't believe in her capabilities - he was actually one of the few people who believed in her and encouraged her even when she was doubting herself. She liked to think she would have been a daddy's little girl, had she been raised by such a charming father figure.

"Thanks, David. You didn't have to." She said, taking her cup from him and smiling before taking a sip.

"So... I found Henry at the bus stop on my way back. Apparently the school bus had a flat tire and was a bit late on schedule." David informed her matter-of-factly as he sank into the chair behind his desk, spilling a few drops of his coffee onto his shirt in the process.

"Really? Is it fixed? Do you think I should go and drive him to school?" Emma said, already grabbing the keys to her bug and handing a tissue box over to David on her way towards the door.

"Relax, Emma, they fixed it now. His new teacher was waiting with the class and she told me a replacement bus was already on its way to pick them up." He replied as he took some tissues and started wiping near his collar, shaking his head and chuckling at Emma's immediate instinct to rush to her son without thinking twice.

"I just mentioned it because I waited with him for a while, and he told me how much fun you two had with Hoo- Killian last night."

"Oh..." Emma felt her cheeks start to redden as she went back to her desk and sipped on her coffee. If David was about to give her another overprotective dad speech she would have to tell him the one he gave on her first date with Killian was quite enough.

"Don't worry, I won't give you another speech, if that's what you're thinking." Emma chuckled and gave him a relieved smile. "I just... I wanted to tell you that... seeing you with Killian and how happy you seem - not that you were miserable before, Emma, but you just look lighter and anyone can see how you're always beaming when he's around - what I'm trying to say is that I am really happy for you."

Emma was surprised to say the least - not that she thought David hated Killian or anything like that, but she knew that deep inside Prince Charming would have wanted his daughter to be with someone who wasn't... well, a pirate. But then again he'd also wanted to raise his baby girl as a princess living happily in their kingdom rather than finding an orphan who had to fend for herself for her entire life in the real world.

She had imagined many times how hard it must be for him to think of her and Killian together, which is why she was so overwhelmed with his words that she couldn't say anything. David took that as his cue to go on.

"Look, Emma, I know you probably think I don't approve of you dating him, but all this time he's been proving to everybody how he cares about you more than anything. And, to me, the fact that he would protect you with his life if that meant you'd never get hurt means more than whatever he used to do in his past. When you were trapped in the ice wall with Elsa, I was there with him on the other side. He was desperate to get to you just as much as I was - although, frankly I did a better job at keeping calm while he was bordering on a panic attack."

They both chuckled - Emma's chin was beginning to tremble with emotion while David had to look away for a bit before continuing in order to keep his tears at bay.

"Emma, you have to understand that even though I didn't get to raise you, to be there for you when you needed your family, even though I only got to be with you when you had already grown into this beautiful, strong woman you are, you'll always be my little girl. And to see that there is a man in this world who loves you almost as much as I do, and that he makes my little girl so happy, is the best Christmas present I could ever hope for."

His voice had started to break towards the end and Emma just couldn't take it anymore. She got up and hurried to embrace her father in a tight hug, and said, in between a few quiet sobs, her voice low and slightly shaking, "That was definitely an overprotective dad speech. I love you, dad."

David squeezed his eyes shut letting a single tear roll down his cheek and fall in his daughter's shoulder as he remembered there was a time he'd nearly lost all hope of ever finding his baby girl again.

And now here she was, held close to his heart, safe is his arms, happier than she had ever been, and not holding back from accepting her family anymore. His voice was soft and tender when he replied "I love you, too, sweetheart."

Emma realised she loved her father's voice so much because it was at the same time strong and comforting, and it sounded like home.

They pulled away, each with a watery smile on their faces and eyes slightly red rimmed.

"I talked to your mother about this before, and she feels the same way." Emma smiled - yep, she was right, Mary Margaret was definitely a fan of her and Killian being together.

"So we thought we should double check it with you if we can set an extra plate for him in our table for Christmas dinner. I mean, we know it's a lot of people to fit in a small apartment, especially now that Regina confirmed she's coming, but we figured it'll be nice and cosy."

Emma stilled at that suggestion. She hadn't even thought about that. She knew she'd be spending Christmas with her family and she knew she wanted to see Killian as well, but she hadn't actually considered bringing him into the family celebration until now. And now that she was considering it, she wasn't sure they were ready for that.

Sure, Killian loved being with Henry, and he was usually on good terms with her parents, but this was an entire evening he'd have to spend with all of them. What if he felt annoyed, or uncomfortable, or left out? No, she wouldn't let him feel left out. But then, she would probably be busy helping her mother around and wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him all the time. She didn't even know if he celebrated Christmas or not.

"Dad I- I'm sorry, but I don't know if me and Killian have reached the Christmas-family-dinner level yet..." She trailed off as she didn't know how else to explain her uncertainty.

She looked away suddenly feeling very self-conscious of the fact that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, the product of True Love and no less, yet she was deeply insecure about her own relationship.

David immediately reached out to her and took one of her hands in his. "Hey, Emma, it's okay."

She was astonished to find out how similar to her dad she was when she realised she had done the exact same thing in her date with Killian.

"It was just a suggestion, you don't have to do anything you don't feel comfortable with. Just let us know what you decide when you do." He told her smiling softly and kissing the top of her head before letting go of her hand.

"We should probably tackle some of that paperwork now, uh?" David said, grabbing his cup of coffee and raising it to her in a mock-toast gesture.

Emma nodded and smiled in response. She was glad her father was so understanding, but now she had an issue she would have to deal with sooner or later, and Christmas Eve was only a few days away which didn't leave her with a lot of time to prepare herself. Add to that the fact that she didn't have the slightest idea how to even approach the subject with Killian.

Oh god.

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