Author's Note: Thank you all for being the best readers a girl could ask for. I hope you've enjoyed this little story!
He was supposed to be helping his wife and Regina get dinner on the table but Charming's attention kept wandering to the couch where his little girl was resting. At some point, she'd curled up on her side, her feet stretched out on Henry's lap and her head on a pillow on Hook's. Her eyes were closed, no doubt owing in equal parts to her own exhaustion and Hook's fingers gently running through her hair to help relax her. She must have been napping because Hook and Henry had given up all pretense of watching whatever Netflix movie Emma had chosen and were talking softly instead.
"Earth to Charming," Snow said, startling Charming out of his reverie. He turned in the direction of the sound and found both Snow and Regina looking at him with gentle smirks on their faces.
"She seems to be doing well," Regina assured him as she hefted a stack of dinner plates onto the island. Charming took the stack over to the kitchen table so he could get to work setting it for dinner. "Her color's come back, anyway. She was pale when you all arrived."
"Her color was actually better when we got here than it was in the hospital," Charming murmured, his eyes once again traveling to his little girl. She looked so comfortable that he couldn't help but smile despite both his concern for her and the tiny pang of overprotective-dad rankling that still came from seeing her with Hook. "And it goes without saying that her color at the hospital was better than the moment it happened."
"I bet that was so scary for you," Snow said softly as she stirred the alfredo sauce simmering on the stove. Chicken broccoli alfredo was the only way she could get both Emma and Henry to stomach the green vegetable.
It was indeed. One of the scariest things he'd ever experienced. "I turned around and she just went down," Charming confirmed. He'd gotten the six plates set out and returned to the island for the glasses. "I don't think she was out even thirty seconds but it seemed as if it took forever to bring her around. I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I was terrified."
Both women gave him understanding smiles. "You may have been terrified but you handled it masterfully," Snow assured him.
"Thank you," he said, smiling back. "I'm afraid I did let one thing fall by the wayside, however. First thing on my agenda tomorrow is backtracking that call and making a point to the boy who called about the nonexistent kitten in the first place about wasting police time and resources."
"Leave that to me," Regina said. "I think one of my first mayoral missions after retaking the office will be making sure that certain of Storybrooke's children understand that the sheriff's emergency line is for real emergencies."
Snow and Charming exchanged a surprised and touched glance. "Thank you," Charming said.
Regina nodded at him. Charming carried the glasses over to the table and set them out above the plates. When he went back for the silverware, Snow said, "Dinner's almost ready. I hate that I'm even asking this but will you wake her? If it were up to me, I'd just let her sleep but …"
She didn't even have to finish her sentence. Charming didn't even want to imagine the crankiness that would ensue if Emma awoke to find her entire family had let her miss a meal. "Of course," he smiled. He set the silverware in place on the table before ducking into the living room to wake his poor baby girl.
Hook and Henry smiled at him as he approached. "Is it almost dinnertime?" Henry asked.
"Indeed it is," Charming replied. "Snow sent me in here to wake your mom."
Henry frowned. "She'll be grouchy."
Hook stifled a snicker. "Something tells me she'll be grouchier if we let her sleep through dinner, lad."
Charming sent the pirate a smirk. That was certainly the truth. With a glance over shoulder to make sure his wife wasn't looking, he sat down on the coffee table. (Snow had a semi-strict moratorium on sitting on the non-sitting furniture. As such, the members of her family only attempted to do so if they didn't mind taking their life in their hands.) "Emma," Charming murmured, his voice soft as he gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "It's time to wake up."
Emma wrinkled her nose as she inhaled deeply and stretched her arms over her head. Henry grinned when Hook ducked out of the way to avoid being accidentally hit in the face. Her eyes fluttered open a moment later. "There you are," Charming smiled.
"Hey." She sat up, a light blush coloring her cheeks as it hit her that she'd inadvertently fallen asleep on her boys. "Is dinner ready?"
Now the guys all swallowed snickers. "Aye, love," Hook said.
"Good, 'cause I'm starving."
A smiling Charming held out his hand to his daughter. Though she rolled her eyes, she did grasp it and allowed him to help her stand. "You doing all right?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she replied.
Hook and Henry ducked out of the room ahead of them, leaving father and daughter alone for a moment. Charming looked his little girl over. It was clear that she was still tired and a little dazed but he knew there would be no talking her into just staying on the couch and resting. Still, he tried anyway. "If you want to stay out here, I can bring you a plate–"
"No, I'm eating with my family."
The words touched his heart. Her family. After all those lonely years, she finally had a family and she wasn't about to give it up for anything. "I had to try," he said, giving her a soft smile.
To his surprise, she smiled back. "I know. And Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For taking care of me today, I mean."
His heart had been lighter than air before but now it soared. Blinking back sudden tears, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "You're very welcome. I'll always take care of you, kiddo. Forever and always."