Emma looks around her at her family. Henry's hugging her tightly, his arms around her middle, but while Emma's returning her child's hug, she's also thinking.
"What?" her mother asks, knowing something is on her mind.
Emma smiles somewhat guiltily but doesn't shy away from the question. "I used to think I'd never have any of this."
"Family?" Mary Margaret questions.
"Friends?" asks Ruby, having arrived with their dinner.
Emma nods, but before she can speak again, her father does so quietly. "A place to belong," David muses aloud.
Emma's eyes widen as she looks at him. "All of the above," she admits, wondering how he knew.
David smiles at his daughter and wraps his arm closer around his wife's lithe shoulders. The old adage is true, he knows: Like father, like daughter. Emma grew up thinking she would never have any of this, any of what she deserves, a loving family, friends, a child who forgives her every time she messes up, and as he was growing up on his family's farm as a child, David had thought he would never have anything more than what he had then and would never fit in anywhere else.
When he had been forced to pretend to be the Prince, he had feared he would lose not only his mother but everything he cherished. But along the way, he had found Snow. They had made friends and a family. Now, just as his mother had wished for him and he himself had yearned, he truly did have it all: a place to belong, a place, a home filled with warmth, happiness, and love. He hugs his wife and continues to smile quietly at his daughter, his thoughts his own.
Warmth, Happiness, and Love (G/K)
"What?" her mother asks, knowing something is on her mind.
Emma smiles somewhat guiltily but doesn't shy away from the question. "I used to think I'd never have any of this."
"Family?" Mary Margaret questions.
"Friends?" asks Ruby, having arrived with their dinner.
Emma nods, but before she can speak again, her father does so quietly. "A place to belong," David muses aloud.
Emma's eyes widen as she looks at him. "All of the above," she admits, wondering how he knew.
David smiles at his daughter and wraps his arm closer around his wife's lithe shoulders. The old adage is true, he knows: Like father, like daughter. Emma grew up thinking she would never have any of this, any of what she deserves, a loving family, friends, a child who forgives her every time she messes up, and as he was growing up on his family's farm as a child, David had thought he would never have anything more than what he had then and would never fit in anywhere else.
When he had been forced to pretend to be the Prince, he had feared he would lose not only his mother but everything he cherished. But along the way, he had found Snow. They had made friends and a family. Now, just as his mother had wished for him and he himself had yearned, he truly did have it all: a place to belong, a place, a home filled with warmth, happiness, and love. He hugs his wife and continues to smile quietly at his daughter, his thoughts his own.
The End