"Emma, are you ready yet dearie?"
"I'll be down in a minute papa!"
Gold shook his head fondly as he waited for his adoptive daughter to come downstairs so they could head out. Today was Valentine's Day and every Valentine's Day the two planned a father/daughter lunch date and then they would exchange gifts. It was a tradition the two started when Emma turned five and they never missed a year.
Emma came down a couple minutes later wearing a buttoned white blouse with unattached sleeves, dark blue jeans, and silver high-heel boots. She also had on a little blush, red lipstick, and wore gold hoop earrings. She looked so grown up that he nearly grew misty-eyed. He then grew confused, however, when she held a large basket filled with red, pink, and white roses, about ten cards, and a diamond necklace with a matching pair of earrings.
Gold gaped at the basket as Emma set it down on the table. "Emma, what IS all that?"
Emma smiled and looked at the basket. "Just some really persistent admirers from afar papa. Don't worry though papa, they won't bother us today."
"They better not" Gold muttered darkly. Now that Emma was becoming a grown woman, it seemed more and more suitors were popping up that Gold had to take care of.
Emma went over to Gold and kissed his cheek. "I'm ready to spend the day with my number one guy!"
Take that Charming! Thought Gold in a very uncharacteristically childish way. Emma was, and always will be, his daughter! Their love was more important than any blood! He grinned and offered his arm to Emma, whom happily took it.
/
Gold and Emma decided to have their father/daughter lunch date at Granny's. The two sat at a booth near the back, avoiding everyone's shocked stares, and ordered two sets of burgers, fries, and diet cokes. While waiting, Emma began explaining her plan to break the Dark Curse, which her papa was very interested in. He, honestly, didn't know HOW Emma was going to break the curse, but he knew she was the one who was going to do it.
After eating, the two decided to just exchange their gifts at the table. Emma went first, handing Gold a purple rectangular box. Curious, Gold opened the box and his eyes softened. He held up a wooden bracelet with gold string threaded around it and a small white wolf charm attached to it. Gold looked up, surprised.
Emma laughed at the rare surprised expression her papa displayed. "Okay, I know jewelry isn't your thing, but I really wanted to make something that would remind you of me."
"You…. you made this?" Gold asked in awe, gazing from the bracelet to Emma and back again.
Emma nodded her head eagerly. "Yeah, it took me forever though! I had to find the right materials and everything WITHOUT your help. Do you like it?"
Gold gave one of his rare smiles that was only reserved for Emma and put the bracelet on his wrist. "I'm never taking it off dearie." Emma smiled but was surprised when Gold placed a large rectangular box in front of her. Emma eagerly opened it and pulled out the shirt, bursting into laughter, causing all of the restaurant to look at them if they weren't before. Many were still floored by Gold smiling.
Emma had gotten a black T-shirt with red letters that spelt out, Dear Males, Step Away from Daddy's Princess. "Wow, very funny papa!" Gold shrugged, but noticed the way Emma smiled as she read it. She was forever grateful to her papa for finding it in his heart to adopt and love her, especially with her birth parents being so close, but so far away. "I love it!" She leaned forward and kissed his cheek sweetly, the customers still gaping at the two-person family. Even after seeing the man raise the girl, they still couldn't believe he was so loving towards her.
/
Emma had linked her arms with Gold's arm, the two of them strolling down the street when they saw the flower shop owner Maurice French's van be towed. The man was screaming, borderline stressed, as he tried to chase after the van he knew Gold took away from him. Emma noticed Gold's smug smirk but before she could comment on that, Regina showed up. Joy.
"That was quiet a show back there Mr. Gold, don't you think?"
"Well, Mr. French is just having a bad day" said Gold, gripping his cane. "Happens to the best of us."
Regina turned her attention towards Emma and narrowed her gaze. "I've been meaning to talk to you about your daughter."
"When you have something worthwhile to say about my daughter, we can talk" said Gold, walking away but Regina stopped him.
"No, we're going to do this now" said Regina, ever the serious and angry mayor.
Gold sighed exasperatingly. "Is there something eating you dear? Because if so, you're going to have to wait. Please." Regina backed down as he and Emma walked past her.
/
When the two got home, they saw that the front door was ajar. The two looked at each other before darting inside to see the furniture turned over and broken objects strewn across the floor. Obviously, someone had broken in, which everyone knew was suicidal.
"Who would be stupid enough to break into our home?" asked Emma, her eyes wide at the mess in front of her. She and her papa began picking up the broken materials and moving the furniture back into place when Gold suddenly shot up, on alert. This immediately caught Emma's attention. "What's wrong?"
"Emma, it's gone" muttered Gold in shock. "The teacup is gone." Emma gasped and frantically looked around for the teacup but knew it was no use. She knew how important that teacup was to her papa. She remembered him telling her stories of his lost love, Belle, and how that teacup was the last thing he had left of her.
Gold suddenly clenched his cane in anger. He knew EXACTLY who was responsible for this! He knew and he was going to find the person who did this and make them pay dearly. He would show them that the power of the Dark One still lives on even in a cursed land!
Emma seemed to know exactly what her papa was thinking and grabbed his arm. "Papa, think rationally. We'll find whoever did this, take them to jail, and get the teacup back."
"Sorry dearie" said Gold through gritted teeth. "That's not enough for me."
Emma hated when her papa got like this. "Papa, I'm not letting you go to jail for murdering someone!"
"Emma, why don't you go visit Mary Margaret and David" suggested Gold, not even looking at the blonde-haired woman, guiding her out of the door. "I'm sure they would love to see you."
"But I already- "
Gold shut the door, causing Emma to huff and start walking to her friend Raven's house. But she WAS going to find the thief and hopefully stop her papa from doing something he would regret.
/
Coincidentally, in the late evening, Gold was in line at a convenience store, holding a rope and some duct tape, with David Nolan behind him. The scruffy blonde-haired man was holding two Valentine's Day cards, causing Gold to smirk.
"Two valentines…...sounds like a complicated life" quipped Gold.
David chuckled nervously. "Oh, no…. I-I just couldn't decide…."
Gold raised an eyebrow. "Those are both for the same woman?"
"I couldn't choose between the two" said David lamely.
"I see" said Gold, obviously not believing him. "You're fortunate to have someone who loves you." Gold payed for his items and left, leaving David to ponder.
/
Later that night, Gold enters a cabin where Mr. French is tied to a chair and there is duct tape over his mouth. The man was obviously freaking out, but Gold could care less. He could tell Mr. French had something to say, so Gold ripped off the duct tape…...painfully.
"Please, let me explain" begged Mr. French, sweating and nearly in tears. Gold, instead, harshly pressed his cane onto Mr. French's throat, cutting off his air supply.
"I'm going to let you breathe in a second, and you're going to say two sentences" instructed Gold. "The first is where you're going to tell me where it is. The second is going to tell me who told you to take it. Do you understand? Good." He then removed his cane.
Mr. French gasped for breath. "I needed that van!"
"You see, that was not a good first sentence" Gold said before hitting the fat man with his cane. "Tell me where it is!" He hit Mr. French even harder, causing the man to cry out in pain. "Tell me where it is!"
"Ow! Please, it wasn't my fault!"
This seemed to make Gold angrier. "Not your fault!? You shut her out! You had her love, and you shut her out!" He kept on hitting him and didn't stop. "She's gone forever because of you! It's not my fault, it's yours!" He did feel the slightest bit guilty. If he hadn't let her go, she would still be safe with him instead of dead!
Gold was about to strike again but someone stopped him before he could. "Papa, stop!" Gold turned to see Emma behind him, looking at the scene in front of her in horror. Why wasn't she surprised though? She KNEW her papa would do something like this! She was just glad she had her gift of finding people easily.
Gold slowly dropped his cane and hugged his adoptive daughter close to him, Emma hugging back just as tight, rocking the two of them slightly. Emma felt sick looking at the damage her papa did on Mr. French, but decided to deal with that when her papa calmed down.
/
Outside of Granny's, Mary Margaret was walking home to her apartment when David ran up towards her. "Mary Margaret!"
Mary Margaret turned to David and smiled. "David, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to give you this Valentine's Day card" said David, pulling out a card and giving it to the raven-haired woman in front of him.
Mary Margaret eagerly opened the card but her face became crestfallen when she read it. "Kathryn, I woof you…."
David hastily takes the card from her and digs into his jacket pocket to find the other card. "Sorry, I meant…...to give you this one."
"David, I always thought that if two people were supposed to be together, they would make it work" murmured Mary Margaret sadly. "We're not making it work."
"Mary Margaret…"
"I think you should go home to Kathryn."
David nodded his head. "You're right, but I'm not going to give up. We'll find a way."
Mary Margaret smiled sadly. "I hope so."
"Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day."
/
Emma called an ambulance and told them that she and her papa were taking a stroll through the woods when they find Mr. French in a cabin beaten nearly to death. Due to the fact that everyone except for Mayor Mills and Emma were afraid of Mr. Gold, they did not ask questions and took Mr. French to the hospital. As soon as the ambulance left, Emma let out a sigh.
"I knew you were going to do something like this papa" said Emma, shaking her head. She knew why too. "You know he doesn't remember he had a daughter he supposedly killed."
"Supposedly" growled Gold. "He DID kill her."
"It wasn't proven" said Emma quietly.
"Then why isn't she here right now?" asked Gold angrily. "Why isn't she living with her oaf of a father!? Why isn't she here with me!?"
It became silent for a moment and Emma could tell Gold was really upset. She read her papa's "Beauty and the Beast" story and found it quite sad. The only thing that bugged her about it was why her papa trusted Regina when she told him Belle died. Why did he trust Regina so easily? Regina hated her papa, (and still does), so she was most likely lying.
And Emma could easily spot a liar.