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Mary Margaret began setting up decorations weeks in advance. As soon as Thanksgiving had ended, she was buying candy canes, wreaths, tinsel- anything that was remotely associated with Christmas. Emma watched her bustling about, chuckling over a cup of coffee as her mother muttered things under her breath as she went. She sneaked a glance at David, who was at the sink doing dishes. He just rolled his eyes.
“She’s like this every year,” he whispered.
“Are you talking bad about me, David?” Mary Margaret asked over her shoulder as she fluffed some poinsettias.
“Of course not, dear,” David replied. He winked at Emma then returned to his dish washing with an ornery smile.
Emma took another sip out of her cup and grimaced. Black coffee was not her thing, but she needed the caffeine. Over the past few weeks, she hadn’t been sleeping. Nightmares about her time spent as the Dark One or about one of the many times she has lost Killian tormented her sleep. Not to mention a sense of foreboding forming in her stomach ever since Mary Margaret began setting up the decorations.
Emma didn’t wake up with a tell-tale scream. She simply woke up in a cold-sweat, her breaths coming out short and ragged. Emma didn’t want to tell Killian, because she knew he was struggling with demons of his own. So, she just downed an ungodly amount of coffee every day and chalked on concealer over the circles under her eyes. No one had to know.
Zelena and Regina had gone off on a spa getaway for the week, much to Regina’s disliking:
“Oh c’mon, sis, it’ll be fun,” Zelena had insisted, nudging her sister with her shoulder. “You deserve to get away for a bit, give yourself a break.”
“I’m the mayor,” Regina replied obstinately. “I can’t just leave because I want some me time.”
“It’ll only be for a week,” Zelena insisted. “I’ve found someone to look after my baby and I’m sure the Charmings can look after your town while we're away.”
“But-“
“I don’t want to hear it- I can’t wait for our family bonding trip!”
Regina would have fought her more, but her sister just seemed so excited about it. The mayor had an early Christmas with Henry and then begrudgingly left the town in the hands of Emma and the Charmings.
So, Henry, Killian, Emma, and the Charmings found themselves eating dinner at Granny’s with five days left til Christmas. As the weather grew colder, the inside of Granny’s grew cozier. The buzz of conversation filled the place, until Mary Margaret got the group’s attention.
“I’ve been thinking,” she began, her eyes sparkling, “we don’t have any family Holiday traditions yet- being under a curse and then saving Storybrooke every day since hasn’t left us much time together over the holidays.” It was sort of a sad statement, and the others lapsed into thoughtful silence. David squeezed her hand encouragingly. “So,” she continued brightly, “I propose that each day until Christmas, we focus on one person’s traditions and figure out what we like to do best! We can start with my Christmas tradition!” She asked Ruby for a pen and a piece of paper.
“When I was teaching,” Mary Margaret went on, “we played this game called ‘Secret Santa’-"
“Oooo! Can I play?” Ruby asked excitedly, returning with the pen and paper. “I love this game!” Everyone readily welcomed her and Killian pulled up a chair for her to join the group. Then, Mary Margaret explained the game, she wrote down everyone’s name and put the slips of paper into an empty coffee mug.
"Let’s call it Operation Reindeer,” Henry suggested.
“Great idea, kid,” Emma agreed, giving him a wink. Everyone took turns drawing from the mug and they all looked at one another mischievously. Emma suspected that Henry had drawn her name, judging by all of the glances he was sneaking her way.
“And nothing too expensive,” Mary Margaret added.
“Everyone meet back here for dinner with your respective gifts,” David instructed as everyone got up from the table. “See you guys in a couple of hours!”
A few hours later, each person was clutching a small, wrapped gift with cheeks pinched rosy by the cold and smiles on their faces. There was no point in keeping it secret anymore, so each person simply gave their gifts to the designated person.
“Oh, my goodness,” Mary Margaret gushed, pressing a hand to her mouth. She held up the red ornament with baby Neal’s hand print on it for everyone to see. Various “awhs” were released throughout the diner while David smiled and pressed a kiss to his wife’s temple.
“I had a little help,” Emma admitted with a shrug. Her mother reached over and grabbed her hand, tears in her eyes.
“I love it.”
Emma saw that Henry was occupied opening his gift from Ruby, so she decided to go sit at the bar and order yet another cup of black coffee. Maybe she would start to like coffee after a while. Granny set the familiar porcelain mug in front of her and Emma took a sip. Her lip curled in disgust and she coughed- who was she kidding.
“How many cups is that today?” David asked, sliding in beside her.
“Too many,” Emma replied. David looked at her askance.
“I thought you didn’t like coffee?”
“I like the caffeine,” Emma clarified, taking another sip of the terrible black substance. David frowned, but didn’t say anything, merely brought out his present from under the counter.
“I believe this is for you,” David said, sliding the small cylindrical gift over to his daughter with a slight smile. Emma looked at him in confusion.
“I thought for sure that Henry had drawn me,” she thought aloud, picking up the present gingerly.
“He did,” David admitted with a shrug. “But, teenage boys can be bribed very easily- I wanted to give you this.” He tapped the present, crinkling the shiny green wrapping paper just slightly.
“I think that could be considered cheating,” Emma observed, smiling. Nevertheless, she grabbed the present and unwrapped it. When she ripped the paper, it revealed a tall, creamy white candle. “A candle?” she seemed to ask. David laughed.
“You seem surprised.”
“It’s pretty, don’t get me wrong,” Emma said hurriedly, running her thumb over the smooth wax, “it just doesn’t seem like something worth bribing Henry over.” David raised an eyebrow, as if to challenge that statement.
“You see, it’s been said,” he began, pointing at the candle, “that if you light a candle by your bed, it will capture the nightmares while you sleep.” David looked at his daughter, his eyes serious. Emma gulped, feeling guilty for some reason. She thought about all her sleepless nights, choking down gallons of black coffee so she didn’t have to surrender to her horrific nightmares.
“How did you know?” she murmured.
“Let’s just say that you and your son are very much alike,” he replied. “Except he isn’t as good at hiding things as you are- unfortunately, you’re more practiced in that area.” Emma was quiet and refused to look at him. She preferred the despised, inky face of her coffee to the caring, knowing eyes of her father. David leaned in closer.
“Emma,” he began sternly, “there are lots of people here that care about you. You aren’t going to be able to hide things from us, at least not forever, and you don’t have to.” He grabbed her hand, and she finally looked at him. “You are my daughter and I love you more than you will ever know. It will always be my job to protect you. Okay?” He looked into her eyes, a warm but determined look on his face. Upon Emma’s soft smile and slow nod, David pulled his daughter into a hug.
“And if I’m not there,” he continued, rolling his eyes, “I guess certain pirates can step in and protect you from nightmares too.” Emma chuckled weakly, glancing at her pirate out of the corner of her eye.
“Well, someone has to make sure this candle doesn’t burn the house down.” After a moment, they both reluctantly let go of the hug. Then, he grabbed the coffee mug from in front of Emma, leaned over the counter and poured it down the sink. Emma scoffed, taken by surprise.
“Hey, Granny,” he called, getting the older woman’s attention. “One hot chocolate, please, with cinnamon on top.” He grinned at Emma and pressed a kiss to her hair.
“Consider that part of my present as well.”