Fanfic: Hush Little Baby
Title: Hush Little Baby
Author: SLopez
Rating: PG
Characters | Pairings: Emma Swan, August W. Booth | Emma/August
Summary: He never thought he’d be that kind of dad. But before he met Emma and Henry, he never thought he’d be a father, so there’s that.
Warnings: Just fluff.
Author’s notes: Written for snarkysweetness, who’s always eager for more daddy!August. I’m sorry it took so long. I hope you won’t be too disappointed!
Wails fill the room and he promptly approaches the crib, looking over the bars and shushing the little girl in attempts to soothe her.
“Don’t cry, baby. Look at me, watch this.” He sticks out his tongue and makes some funny faces, and the baby girl gives him a smile that he reciprocates. He hates when she cries as much as he hated when her mother cried. But those were other times.
This time he isn’t seven years old, in an unknown new land, with the responsibility of an adult forced upon him and weighing on his shoulders. No, this time he is an adult with a responsibility that he’s taking willingly.
He reaches for the baby girl and carefully cradles her in his arms. She’s wrapped in a white blanket - very similar to Emma’s; after all, it was also knitted by Granny - with the name Sophia embroidered in emerald green along the bottom of it.
He never thought he’d be that kind of dad, the kind that can’t keep his eyes off his baby daughter, not even for a split second. But before he met Emma and Henry, he never thought he’d be a father, so there’s that.
Her green eyes stare at him with curiosity and he can’t help but grin ridiculously. Sophia, however, doesn’t seem to care and starts squirming and whimpering in his arms. He paces around the room, rocking the baby to calm her down, and stepping on Simba’s tail in the process. The cat hisses, giving him a disapproving look, and heads to his bed, where Emma is peacefully sleeping with Nala by her feet. And yes, they let Henry name the cats.
The baby is committed to show him her vocal abilities, though, and lets out a few cries before he grabs a bottle of milk that Emma had previously prepared, and sits on the rocking chair next to Sophia’s crib. He starts feeding Sophia, rocking back and forth and the little girl sucks greedily on the bottle’s teat. From the corner of his eye, he sees Emma turning in her sleep, and he hopes she isn’t awake.
“Shh, little Princess, let mommy sleep,” he whispers, affectionately. Their bedroom is a little bit cramped and it’s his entire fault. See, the room next to theirs is a nursery for Sophia, but he thinks she’s safer in their room. Emma tried to dissuade him for the first couple of times, claiming that it would be hard for Sophia to learn how to sleep alone, but he didn’t care and she quickly gave up. So yeah, he’s the over-protective one and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He’ll have his baby close to him the longest time possible.
He glances down at Sophia and smiles. She’s the cutest, prettiest, most beautiful baby he’s ever seen. But he may be biased. After all, that baby girl is his and Emma’s creation and it’s the most perfect thing he’s ever done in his life.
“You wanna hear a story,” he asks, his voice only a whisper as to not disturb Emma. Sophia gurgles. “Okay, I’ll take that as a yes.”
He adjusts himself on the chair and secures the half empty bottle of milk on Sophia’s lips, to not spill anything.
“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful baby princess, who was destined to great things. She was sent to the world, along with a little boy, the son of a woodcarver, to be her protector and teach her how to deal with her destiny.
“However, the boy soon was faced with a choice and because he was so young and supple and naïve, he chose to leave the baby princess behind and his life was never the same again. He met horrible people, who treated him like a street rat, he was picked on everywhere he went and every day, without exception, he regretted leaving the princess behind.”
Sophia starts waving her tiny arms, drawing his attention, and he notices that she has already finished her bottle of milk. He places the bottle in the nearest flat surface and raises the baby so she’s upright against his chest, while he softly pats her back, continuing his story and waiting for Sophia to burp.
“When the boy was of age, he went on big adventures, visited the greatest places, and met the most beautiful people, always wishing for the princess to be with him. And so the boy grew up and became a man.
“Later, in one of his travels, the man started getting sick and decided it was time for him to look for the princess. After a while, he finally found her and she had grown up into the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And the boy fell in love with the princess.” He interrupts his story for a moment and looks down at the baby. “Oh, someone’s smelly.”
He doesn’t have a problem with changing diapers, much to Emma’s delight. Sure, he almost puked his guts the first few tries, but now he even gloats about being better than Emma at that particular task. So, he takes Sophia to the changing table and starts changing the baby’s diaper.
“Where was I? Ah, the boy fell in love with the princess,” he recalls, resuming his story. “So, the boy became good friends with the princess and helped her in every way she needed. But he was getting sicker at every second and he had yet to teach the princess everything about her destiny.
“He tried to tell her, one night, but she didn’t believe him and she stopped talking to the boy, leaving him heartbroken.
“Meanwhile, the boy had gotten so sick that he became bedridden. He couldn’t get up, he couldn’t move his arms and it was very hard for him to breathe. And when he was almost dead, the princess came to ask for his help because she finally believed everything he’d told her. It was too late, though, and the boy sort of died.
“The princess was very brave, though, and she fulfilled her destiny without anyone’s help. And because of that, she saved everyone’s lives, including the boy’s, who immediately went looking for her again, only to find out that she had been pulled into a dangerous adventure.
“She returned safely, after a few days, and the boy vowed to never leave her again and to always protect her.”
He interrupts his story again, now to place Sophia in her crib and tuck her under the covers. The baby frowns, as if she doesn’t want to go to bed yet, but her eyelids keep dropping, so he leans over the crib to finish his story.
“The boy kept his promise and, slowly but surely, the princess fell in love with him. They have two kids now, the boy finally proposed to the princess, and they’re living happily ever after.”
Sophia has finally closed her eyes and appears to be sleeping peacefully.
“August,” he hears Emma calling his name and he turns around to look at her. Her hair is messy, but the streetlamp casts a silvery glow on her through the window and he’s never seen her so beautiful. “Come back to bed.”
He smiles back at her and, after glancing one last time at Sophia, makes his way towards the bed. As he’s getting under the covers, he shoves Simba onto the floor, earning a dirty look from the cat.
Sneaking one arm around Emma’s waist, he can’t help but be grateful that he’s living his happy ending with the woman of his dreams and the most amazing kids one could have.