prompt: Emma overhears the last bit he tells Noelle and when he comes into the bedroom she teases him about it
prompted by: skagengiirl
Emma quietly heads towards the nursery, to check on Noelle one last time before she tries to get some sleep, but Graham is already there, and she pauses in the doorway, taking in the sight. The man she loves holding their daughter. It's heartwarming and achingly beautiful, part of the life she'd refused to imagine for herself after what happened with Neal. Storybrooke has given her so much more than she ever could've wished for.
The room is so quiet and peaceful, and then, in a whisper, Graham says to Noelle, "While we're talking, let's make an agreement, shall we? No boys. You're going to grow up and join the fairies in the convent, right? Right," Emma sees him nodding and she holds back a laugh, shaking her head and heading for their bedroom. She makes sure the baby monitor is on and then climbs into bed.
When Graham comes in a few minutes later, she smiles at him. He wants to plan out Noelle's future already? She can work with that.
"I think we should think about asking Gold if Noelle would be able to cross the town line," she starts, "So we know if she can go to college outside Storybrooke. I'm sure Storybrooke University is great and all," – Storybrooke does, actually, have a tiny college – "But it'd be nice to know if she has other options."
"Emma-" Graham's eyes are wide, "Isn't it a little- She just got home for the first time, isn't it a little early to be thinking about college?"
"I don't know," she leans over and kisses his nose, "Since you've already decided that she's going to join the convent and all. We want her to get a good education before that, don't we?"
"You heard that?" Graham groans, falling back onto his pillows.
"Yes, I heard that," she laughs, "And you're not holding her to it when she's older, since she's too young to even know that it happened."
"I'm sorry Emma, I just… That's our perfect little girl," he sighs.
"You're right," she agrees, "That is our perfect little girl. She's healthy, and she's going to grow up to be incredible – because she is our little girl and she is going to be a wonderful, strong individual – but she's going to make mistakes along the way, and her choices might not be what you want for her, and you're going to have to accept them. She's human, Graham, and that's what makes her perfect."