Chapter 4

Thank you so much for the positive reviews. I will probably be wrapping this story up in a couple of chapters as this was just a fun thing that I got from the winter finally preview. I am not sure what I'm going to do until March! I also recommend checking out JustMeAndMyKeyboard's stories Our Charming Family, which is a series of short stories/oneshots and Snowing's girls which they just started and is going to be amazing!

The conversation between David and Emma at the end of the chapter is inspired by multiple conversations that my dad has had with my sisters and I that always made me feel loved and reminded me what my worth was outside of what a boy may think so if you hate it that's okay but it's something that always made me feel special.

If you have anything you would like to see with this story feel free to let me know!

Charming and Emma ate dinner in relative peace and David even got her to talk about her day at school before he spoiled her a little bit with some ice cream that he had hidden in the back of the freezer before he helped her wrap up her homework. Once she was started on that he took a minute to write his note to Snow while both of his children were occupied. This was the hardest part for him. He missed being able to simply talk to his wife and have her by his side while he was dealing with things like Emma sneaking off. She was always so good at completing his thoughts and handling things in the moment. Once the note was written he quietly put it in the drawer of her nightstand and left a single note with an arrow pointing to it. He was hoping that the note being out of sight would also keep it out of the mind of Emma to attempt to mess with it. He also had the advantage that both kids would be asleep when he did wake Snow. Once that was all squared away, as if on que, Neal began to cry.

"Hey little buddy, what's wrong?" David cooed as he scooped up his son into his arms "Are you having a hard time falling back to sleep?" He said tickling his tummy.

"How's the homework coming Em?" He said walking over to the table and kissing the top of her head

"Done" She said excitedly as she closed her folder. "Can I watch TV now?" She said flashing her puppy dog eyes at him

"Emma..." He was a sucker for her puppy dog eyes and was having a very hard time saying no

"Daddy..." Emma said adding the pouty lip to make her father give in any way that she could.

"One hour and that's it. You have school in the morning" He said with a sigh. She really did have him wrapped a round her finger

"Thanks Daddy!" She said jumping up and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before heading off to the living room.

"Neal what are we going to do about our girls uh?" He said to his son who was giggling in his arms. He walked over and sat Neal down in his play pen before stepping into his room to make a quick call to Graham. He needed to make sure that Graham was able to help he and Snow out with watching the kids while all this was going on. Then another idea came to David. Graham was a great deputy but with his own absence, he really didn't want to leave Thomas even more short handed. He decided that Red would actually be a better idea. She was, after all, their Godmother and she also knew Emma's ways of being sneaky. He quickly dialed her number.

"Hey David, is everything okay?" Red said a bit worried

"yea yea everything is fine. Listen, Emma pulled a nasty trick on Snow and I and used our predicament to play us against each other. I was wondering if you would be available to help us out and keep an eye on the kids for us since we are kind of a man down as it were"

"Of course David! You never have to ask me twice to help out with my God Children. When do you want me to come over?"

"Well I normally wake Snow up around five so she has an hour before the kids wake up..."

"I'll be over at 5:45 so I can get the low down on the day and help with the kids" Red interrupted.

"Red, you are a lifesaver!"

"Anything for my favorite family" Red said "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon"

"See you then" David said relieved to know that Snow wasn't going to be alone, and Emma wouldn't be able to sneak off again. As he came out of his room he was shocked at what he was seeing about to happen.

Emma noticed her father walk in the other room and wasn't really sure what he was doing but decided to ignore it and go back to her show. Maybe it was because her dad was a cop but she loved any law enforcement show. Tonight was NCIS, before Tony left the show which broke Emma's heart. He was always her favorite character because she related so much with his sarcasm. She was so into the show that she had almost ignored the fact that her phone was lighting up next to her. She saw it was Killian and she was very happy that she hasn't had her phone on ring or else her dad would have come out to see who she was talking to.

"Hello?"

"Hello Swan, just calling to see how much trouble you're in after our little excursion today"

"That's sweet" Emma said with a bit of a blush "Um, My dad hasn't mentioned a punishment but he did say that he was going to assign me a chaperone so that way when my parents aren't with me I can't sneak off anymore" she said feeling a bit embarrassed. She didn't want Killian to think of her as a child

"I'm sorry to hear that love. Is said chaperone around now?"

"nooo..." She dragged out a bit curious "Why?"

"Because I'm standing outside your door and would love to finish what we started" Killian said with a bit of a smirk in his voice. Emma's face immediately went red but she also got very excited. She knew her dad was in the next room but she also knew that she wanted to kiss Killian as much as he apparently wanted to kiss her. She quickly ran to the door and opened it to see the pirate standing there with a slick smile across his face. "Hello Love"

"Killian, you know I may not have a chaperone here but my dad is in the other room" She said in a whisper

"Well then we better hurry up and kiss then" He said placing a soft hand on her cheek.

"FREEZE!" they heard a voice boom from behind them. Emma immediately jumped in the air and turned around to see a fuming David coming toward them

"Dad" Emma said in a bit of a panic. She had never seen her father so furious in her entire life.

"Emma what, in - the - heck, is that boy doing here?" David said having stepped dangerously close to the pair before placing his hands on his hips and shooting daggers at Killian. It was taking everything in him not to lunge at the young man and end him right there.

"Dad I can explain"

"Oh really?" David interrupted "You can explain to me how I already caught you sneaking around with said boy earlier today and had to drag you home and why you thought it was a good idea to then invite him over here without asking me?" He finally was yelling at this point causing Neal to erupt into tears

"Dad..."

"Emma I am livid with you right now so I would be very careful what you say right now"

"Dad I didn't invite him over! He called me and told me he was outside our door! Would you calm down!?" Emma yelled back

David took a hold of Emma's arm and gently pulled her into the house not wanting to hurt her but also wanting her to know he was not joking with her and kept a hold of her while stepping toward Killian a bit further. "Young man, you do not show up at my home uninvited, much less attempt to make a move on my daughter when you haven't even asked for my permission to see her in that way. I suggest you leave now before I do something I regret"

"I apologize mate"

"I'm not your mate" David bit back "Now get lost" and with that he slammed the door in the pirates face

"Dad!" Emma let out in shock at her father's behavior.

"Emma go sit on the couch now" He said releasing her arm and going to attend to his crying son and give himself a minute to calm down.

He quickly went over and scooped up Neal into his arms and calmed him down by rocking and patting his back. He felt bad that he had made his son cry because of his yelling. He was even more upset that he had let his temper get to him that much. He just didn't know how to handle Emma standing there with that boy about to kiss him after everything they had been though that day. Once Neal was calmed down he set him back down in the play pen and got him covered up with his blanket he made his way back to the living room to confront Emma.

Emma sat down on the couch and immediately broke down into tears. How could her dad embarrass her like that? She hadn't known what to do when Killian said that he was at the door. Yes she had wanted to kiss him and yes she knew her father would be upset, but she also had never seen him like that. He looked like he was literally going to kill Killian on the spot. How could she have been so dumb? She should have just told Killian that she would see him at school and snuck a kiss then instead of trying to sneak around with her dad home. She also didn't want her dad upset with her anymore than he already was. She really had felt bad that she had lost her father's trust. She knew that all the choices she was making were risky but she also had thought she was doing it in such a way that they would never find out.

Emma was broke away from her thoughts when she heard her dad enter the room.

"Hey Em...I want to apologize to you"

Emma immediately threw her head up and looked at her father completely baffled "Wh...wait...why?"

"Because even if I am upset, it doesn't give me the right to yell like that" David said placing a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder as she sat down next to her. "Emma I love you so much and I want any boy who things that he is good enough for you to treat you the way I would treat you"

"I know daddy" Emma said trying to hold back tears. She had never had anyone apologize to her like that. Any foster parents who had yelled at her always found an excuse as to why they had the right to do what they did.

"Emma. I want you to tell me the truth. Did you invite Killian over?" He said more calm and looking at Emma with love in his eyes

"I promise you dad, I didn't invite him over. He called me to see how much trouble I got in from our little boat trip earlier today and then he told me he was at the front door" Emma said feeling relieved to finally be able to tell her father the truth instead of having to make up a story

"I believe you Emma" David said placing a soft hand on her cheek. He appreciated Emma finally being honest with him "Now, as far as that attempted kiss goes" He said in a bit of a lighter tone letting her know that he wasn't happy but he also knew that he was going to have to be nice about it

"Dad..." Emma said turning red

"What? You can't try and sneak a kiss in front of me and not think I'm going to make you talk about it"

"Dad...I'm not a little girl anymore" Emma said grabbing his hand

"But you will always be my little girl" He said pulling away and taking her face in his hands and kissing her forehead "Emma, any boy that wants to kiss you needs to come to me first"

"Dad you're so old fashioned!" Emma said with a giggle

"I may be old fashioned but I also know that it says a lot about a boy who is willing to come talk to your dad. Emma you are more than just a princess in title. Even if you weren't a princess, you always deserve to be treated like one. Do you understand?"

Emma simply nodded as a few tears came down her cheek. Knowing that he dad loved her that much helped her understand a bit more about why he was so upset. It wasn't just because he wanted to keep up appearances, it was because he genuinely cared about what happened to her and her heart.

"Alright. Well I think it's time for you to get ready for bed. Red will be here in the morning"

"Red?" Emma said confused

"Yea, I don't want Thomas any more short handed that he already is so your Aunt Red agreed to watch after you and your brother as a way to help me and your mom. Besides, she knows your tricks better than Graham does" David said with a smirk

"You are not nice" Emma said jokingly. She knew her father was right. With her Aunt Red around she was going to have to work a lot harder if she wanted to get away to see Killian. Then again, her Aunt Red was pretty cool, maybe she would be a bit more understanding.

"Emma do not go getting any idea about getting your Aunt Red to let you see Killian" David said in a knowing tone as he watched the wheel's in Emma's head starting to turn.

"Me? I wouldn't dare" Emma said in a mock offended voice. David laughed and gave her a kiss on her forehead before he took her hand and helped her off the couch and gently guided her towards the stairs to start getting ready for bed. "Goodnight Em"

"Goodnight Daddy" Emma said before she quickly headed ups stairs. She knew tonight definitely didn't go as she had planned but she also knew that, no matter what, her parents truly loved her.