Emma let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as she parked her yellow bug in the last open spot at Granny's and turned off the car. Being sheriff of a small town had its perks, especially when there was absolute quiet in the town. On days like those, Emma loved more than anything to finally catch up on paperwork or even read a book that she carried around with her for golden moments like those.
Unfortunately, for every quiet day in Storybrooke, there seemed to be a sister day filled to the brim with mischief, complaints, and calls to the station. Today had been one of those days. And Emma wanted nothing more than to disconnect the phone from the station and turn off her own cellphone and go off the grid. In an ideal world, there should be no reason for people to not talk out their differences and get along, especially in such a close-knit community as this.
The bell jingled as Emma pushed open the door to the diner, and she barely had time to blink before Ruby was standing in front of her, a wolfish grin on her face.
"I know that look, Lucas, and I don't need that look right now," Emma said, immediately shutting down her friend.
Ruby pouted, putting her hands on her hips as she blocked Emma from entering the diner any further. "You don't even know what I was going to say."
"Knowing you, it was either something about your relationship with Victor, or you spotted a cute guy in the diner earlier today."
"If by earlier today, you mean five minutes ago, then you'd be completely right!" Ruby practically danced, the smile never leaving her face.
Emma resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. Onion rings and sleep sounded so good right now to her, and she didn't know which one she craved more at this point.
"Aren't you dating Victor right now? Or are you guys off again?"
"No, we're back on. And I was talking about you! I found a guy for you!"
Emma felt her eyes widen slightly, and she shook her head vigorously. "No, Ruby. Absolutely not. I told you to stop doing that."
Ruby waved Emma off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, so Walsh was a bust. Big deal! I made one lousy mistake in judgement."
"I told you I'm not the dating type."
"Yeah, but-."
"Honestly, Ruby, I love you, but I am so tired right now, and all I want is food," Emma said, cutting her off. She did rub her temples this time, and Ruby tilted her head as if just noticing Emma's tired eyes or mussed ponytail from running her hands through it all day.
"Okay, Ems. Pick any booth you want. I'll bring your food in a few minutes," Ruby said, sending Emma a soft smile before heading back into the kitchen to place Emma's order.
Emma made her way to her regular corner booth where she had a perfect view of the door and bar area. She usually loved to sit there and people-watch when she waited for her food, but today, all she could focus on was the desire to rest her head on her arms and close her eyes, which she shamelessly did. There was barely anyone in the diner at this time to pay her any attention anyway.
She was rudely disrupted when she heard the sound of something being placed in front of her, and she nearly drooled at the sight of the grilled cheese with a hearty side of onion rings accompanied by a steaming hot chocolate.
"I put some extra cinnamon on that too," Ruby said, winking, and Emma found herself chuckling slightly as she sipped it.
"Thanks, Ruby."
"Well, you looked like you needed it. And what a coincidence that you picked the booth right next to the hot guy I was telling you about earlier," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper toward the end.
She nearly choked on her drink as Ruby laughed, sending her a small wave before walking away. Emma groaned. Her booth was placed a little bit ahead of his, meaning if Emma wanted to see him, she would have to twist a certain way that didn't quite convey casual dining as much as it conveyed stalker. How she didn't spot him when she walked to her own booth was a mystery to Emma. She blamed the exhaustion.
She made it about halfway through her meal before the bell above the door jingled again, and, on instinct, she glanced up to see who the new patron was. The onion ring promptly fell out of her hand and her jaw slackened at the sight of her sort of ex-boyfriend, Walsh.
Emma had ended it between them after their so-called second date. Well, to Walsh it was probably a second date. Emma didn't count late night visits to her apartment when she had never given him her address as dates. The first date was enough for Emma, and she had spent the last two months successfully avoiding him, not counting the night that he showed up uninvited at her place.
"Shit," she mumbled, sinking lower into her seat. He was headed for the bar, most likely to place an order for takeout, but Emma knew from experience that during the wait for the food, people like to survey the other diners at Granny's. It was only a matter of time before he spotted her, and Emma would rather punch herself in the face than let that happen.
And so Emma did the first thing that came to her mind, which, in hindsight, probably required more consideration. She picked up her plate and drink and stood up, taking three confident steps before sliding into the booth across from the hot guy Ruby had mentioned.
"Hi, you don't know me," she said before the guy could speak, her eyes trained on her food. "But my ex just walked in, and he's creepy, and I don't want to talk to him. So will you do me a huge favor and pretend to be my boyfriend for a few minutes?"
There was complete silence before she heard a deep chuckle. "Aye, seems like a pretty easy task," he finally said, and Emma was surprised to hear a British accent.
"I'm not an easy person to deal with," she warned, as she normally would if this was a normal date. "But thank you so much anyway." She finally looked up, and she swore that her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, though she'd never say that out loud to anyone. He had jet-black hair that was just the right degree of messy, and his blue eyes felt like they were piercing a hole straight through her soul. His lips were framed by a mustache on his upper lip and stubble decorating his chin and cheeks, which was aesthetically pleasing to look at, if Emma had to admit. He wore a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a few buttons at the top undone, letting some dark chest hair be visible.
"Nice to see I can render you speechless, love."
His voice shook Emma out of her daze, and she blinked, lowering her gaze with a blush.
"Sorry."
"Oh, don't apologize, love. I can't deny a beautiful lass for staring at me. Especially not one with handcuffs," he said, winking sinfully at her. "Are you a cop of some sort, love, or are those for more pleasureable activities?"
Emma felt herself gasp at the crude nature of his implementations, but she also couldn't help herself from feeling a little turned on at the innuendo.
"I'm the sheriff actually," she said, hoping that her voice sounded as even as it sounded in her head.
She saw the man's eyebrow lift, and then he was smirking at her, raising his glass to his lips. "Ah, so you're in infamous Sheriff Swan."
"Yeah, that's me. You new here?"
"What gave me away? The accent or the unfamiliarity with the renowned sheriff of Storybrooke?"
"A little bit of both actually."
He laughed. "My brother moved here a year ago and found a lass in town. I recently lost my job in England, so I moved here a couple days ago for a fresh start."
"What are you going to do here?"
He shrugged. "Preferably something with boats. My brother and I have our own ship, love. Quite a beauty she is. Though he likes to joke that he'd be the Captain of such a fine vessel, and I'd just be his Lieutenant."
Emma snorted. "Are you guys fantasizing about being in the Royal Navy or something?"
"I see you also share my belief that his roles are ridiculous." He smiled at her suddenly, and Emma felt her stomach lurch at the bad-boy grin he was giving her. "I more envision her as a pirate ship."
"Aren't you just a modern-day Captain Hook."
"Aye, and my brother can be Mister Smee. Quite fitting, I dare say."
Against her better judgement, Emma found herself laughing. "Well, I can't say much more about this sailing stuff. I've never really been on anything bigger than a canoe."
The man gasped over dramatically, and Emma bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh again. "We'll have to quickly remedy that, Swan," he said, reaching across the table to grab her hand.
As soon as his fingers brushed hers, she jerked back, glaring at him venomously. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed.
His eyes had blown wide with genuine confusion. "Forgive me, love. I was under the impression I was supposed to be dating you right now."
She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she remembered the whole reason why she had come to sit over here, and with a mumbled apology, she slid her hand back into his, lacing their fingers together.
"So why me, love? I'm a complete stranger to you, and yet you picked me to be your co-star in this little act we've got going on here."
Emma bit the inside of her cheek, debating whether to be brutally honest and tell him she just slid into the closest booth that had a person sitting in it, which wasn't a lie. But for some reason, she didn't want to be brutal and scare him off with the truth. "Obviously it was because of our mutual love of onion rings," she said instead, drawing attention to the fact that both of their sides just happened to be onion rings.
"Quite perceptive, lass. I never understood the deep attraction to french fries that everyone else seems to have."
"Fries are overrated," she said, nodding her head in approvement at his side preferences.
"There was actually this one time that my brother and I-."
"Emma?" Her "date" was rudely interrupted by another man, and Emma winced, turning her head to meet Walsh's shocked face. Sometime during her conversation with this man, who, Emma realized, she still didn't know the name of, Walsh had made his way over to their booth and was now standing directly next to it.
"Hi, Walsh," she mumbled, casting her eyes downward. She felt her "boyfriend" squeeze her hand gently, and she peered up at him from underneath her lashes, catching the reassuring smile he sent her way.
"I didn't expect to see you here."
"I eat here almost every night. Nice to know you paid attention to something other than my chest during our date," Emma said sarcastically.
"Right." At least Walsh had the decency to blush, but his embarrassment was quickly covered up by a smirk that made him look like an evil minion, in Emma's biased opinion. "Well, it's a very nice chest, if I may say so myself. And I paid attention to other things. Like, you ordered grilled cheese and french fries."
Walsh looked so triumphant at his so-called good memory that he almost missed the snicker that escaped her "boyfriend's" mouth. As if seeing him for the first time, Walsh turned toward the man and glared hard at him.
"And who are you?"
"Killian Jones," the man-Killian-responded, offering a hand for Walsh to shake, which was ignored after a disgusted look was cast its way. Killian just shrugged, rubbing his thumb leisurely along the back of Emma's hand as if sensing her nerves.
"Jones. As in Liam Jones' brother?"
"The very same."
Emma felt her eyebrows raise before she forced them to shoot downwards. Knowing that she was dating the brother of her best deputy was something she figured a girlfriend would know.
"Liam's actually the one who set us up," Emma interrupted, sending a soft smile at Killian, who returned it as a doting boyfriend would.
"Wait. You two are dating?!"
Emma scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at hers and Killian's entwined hands resting atop the table. She knew Walsh was no Sherlock Holmes, but she thought it was pretty obvious that they were on a "date."
"Yeah. Have been for a month now."
"How could you move on so quickly after me, Emma! I can't believe that after all I did for you, all I sacrificed for you, you can just go ahead and date another guy. Didn't you love me at all?" Walsh had raised his voice at the end, attracting the attention of a couple customers and of the ever-attentive Ruby, who was staring at Emma with wide eyes and a facial expression that said she'd kick Walsh out whenever Emma said so.
"It was one date, Walsh. We weren't even official," Emma scoffed, tensing as Walsh snarled at her.
"You're such a bitch, Emma. Be careful with her, Jones. Everything will be going great until Emma decides she's tired of you and decides to whore herself around."
Emma blinked, her expression floored as she let Walsh's insults sink in. Before she knew it, Killian was out of his seat, his hands fisting Walsh's t-shirt and nearly lifting the man off of the floor. His expression had turned dark, and Emma could actually see his jaw clenching.
"Don't you dare say another word about her. Better yet, don't speak to her. Hell, you even think about her, and you'll wish you were dead."
Walsh opened his mouth to say something, but Ruby chose that moment to intervene, standing behind Walsh with her hands on her hips.
"Break it up, boys. Walsh, here's your food. Now get out."
Killian reluctantly let go of Walsh's shirt, but the two men never broke eye contact with each other until Ruby shoved the takeout bag into Walsh's chest and pushed him in the direction of the door.
"Sorry about that, love," Killian said, finally sitting down and avoiding eye contact with her. "I'm afraid I let my temper get the best of me."
"I didn't realize I had picked the protective type," Emma tried to joke, feeling some kind of victory when Killian rolled his eyes, finally looking at her. If it was even possible, Emma swore his eyes were even more blue than before the encounter with Walsh.
"'Tis bad form to insult a lady."
"Maybe in the seventeenth century it was. But I can take care of myself," Emma said, feeling the need to point out that she was more than capable of defending herself from assholes like Walsh.
To her surprise, Killian chuckled, most of the tension gone from his face. "I have no doubt about that, love. Liam has told me stories about his boss."
Emma didn't know how long the two of them spent talking, but it was long enough for them both to finish their food and for Emma to order another hot chocolate to go. When she stifled her third yawn of the night, she decided it was time to bow out and return home.
"Not that I'm not enjoying myself or anything, because I really am, but I should get home and get some rest. It's been a long day."
"Aye, I saw you nearly falling asleep before you decided to join me."
Emma raised her eyebrows, smirking mischievously at Killian. "You were watching me?"
Killian blushed, scratching nervously behind his ear. "I was merely people-watching as I ate, Swan."
Emma laughed, knowing that she was guilty of many nights of people-watching in the diner. She slid out of the booth, tugging on her red leather jacket and swinging her blond hair over one shoulder.
Killian was scratching behind his ear again, and she tilted her head at him until he finally sighed and grinned up at her.
"May I have your number, Swan? For emergency purposes, of course."
"If you had an emergency, you could call your brother. He has full access to the station."
"Aye, but Liam isn't as interesting as you are."
"Liam is my best deputy."
"Talking about my brother is doing little for my self-confidence, Swan. Especially when I am trying to obtain your number and possibly inquire about a second date."
Emma laughed, feeling carefree for the first time in what felt like forever. Ruby always complained that she never saw Emma let down her walls for dating again, not after Neal screwed her over and Walsh stalked her. But there was something about Killian that made her want to consider that whole dating thing again.
Banter aside, they exchanged numbers before Emma bid Killian a farewell, happily accepting the to-go cup of hot chocolate Ruby made for her.
She had just reached her bug and was fumbling for the keys, shivering slightly from the chilly wind, when she felt a pressure against her back, and suddenly she was slammed into the side of her car. Her hot chocolate slammed in between her body and the car, the cup breaking and sending the steaming drink onto both her car and torso, causing Emma to cry out in pain.
"Hello again, Emma," a voice slurred in her ear, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she realized she recognized it.
"Walsh?"
Emma was swiveled around, Walsh wasting no time in pinning her wrists to her sides and leaning in close, pressing his body up against hers. He smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, and Emma scrunched up her nose, turning her head to the side to avoid looking at or smelling him.
"I missed your body so much, Em," he slurred, nipping at her jawline as she twisted and turned her head wildly, wanting nothing more than to be far away from this man. "I watched you every morning getting dressed, teasing me."
"Walsh, what the fuck-."
"My sister's guest room has a lovely view of your bedroom, Emma," he laughed, and the sound sent a chill down Emma's spine. "I bet Lover Boy in there doesn't make you feel half as good as I did."
"Walsh, you never touched me," Emma growled, writhing under his hold. Emma prided herself on being strong, but no matter how strong she was, she was still overpowered by Walsh's taller and bulkier frame.
"Right," he let out a short, dark laugh. "You left me before we could have any fun. Well, I'm sure we could fix that now, right?"
Before she had time to scream out for help, Walsh had turned her back around and pinned both of her wrists behind her back, held there by his entire body pressing against her. One of his hands had covered her mouth, squeezing her jaw painfully, and the other was wandering her body, brushing against her breasts over her thin t-shirt that she wore.
"I always did love your breasts," he drawled into her ear, and when Emma fought against his hold, he removed his hand from her chest and smacked her jean-clad bottom hard. "But not as much as I loved your ass."
His hand trailed over her waist, his touch leaving behind a burn that made Emma feel like vomiting, her stomach churning with fear and repulsion. She felt his fingers play with the button of her jeans, the tips of his fingers delving inside to brush along the top of her panties.
"Finally. You'll finally be mine. Jones probably doesn't love you anyway. Who could love an orphan like you?"
Emma shut her eyes, feeling tears build up as she prepared herself for the inevitable. She could feel her hearing start to shut down as her body prepared itself for the assault, and she forced her entire body to deadweight itself just to make things harder on Walsh in his already drunken state.
She could feel the tears start to slip down her cheeks as she stood there, powerless and pushed against her car by her stalker of an ex-boyfriend.
She heard a door slam, followed by a muffled yell, and all of a sudden, Walsh's hands and body were gone, leaving Emma to collapse onto the floor next to her car. She rubbed her wrists, turning around to witness a blurry vision of someone punching Walsh. The drunk man fell to the ground, knocked completely out cold, and his attacker stood above him, shaking his hand and breathing heavily.
The man turned towards her then and cautiously walked towards her, holding both hands up. "Swan? Emma, it's me."
Emma sniffled, willing her vision to clear so she could see if it was really him.
"Killian?"
"Aye, love. Can I help you stand?" She saw him reach out a hand to her, and she hesitantly grabbed it, allowing him to pull her to her feet and into his arms. She didn't think twice about resting her head on his chest, her hair brushing just underneath his chin as she loosely gripped his t-shirt in her hands.
He said nothing for a while, just let her stand in his arms while his hands traced patterns across her back.
"Are you alright, Emma? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. He only touched me," she shivered. She could physically feel all of the places his hand had been, and the urge to vomit returned once more.
"Give me your keys and handcuffs, Emma," he said quietly, and Emma didn't even fight with him before handing over what he asked for. He unlocked her car, sitting her down on the driver's seat before going over to Walsh and handcuffing him.
"I'm calling Liam to come here and arrest this bastard," he growled, already dialing his brother's number.
"I'm already here. Just let me do it," she weakly argued, and Killian shot her a look that clearly said he wasn't letting her anywhere near Walsh, not even with a ten-foot pole. The phonecall with Liam was short and sweet, and he assured Emma that Liam would be here soon. She nodded her head silently, and Killian crouched down in front of Emma, taking his hands in hers.
"Thank you," she mumbled, her eyes meeting Killian's.
"Of course, Emma."
Liam arrived five minutes later to find a still-unconscious Walsh on the ground and a half-asleep Emma in her car. Killian told him what he could, and Liam told him to get Emma home safely and tell her that she was banned from coming into the station for the next week. Killian moved Emma to the passenger seat and drove her to her apartment, getting there easily thanks to his brother's directions.
"Swan, wake up, love. We're at your place."
Emma blinked her eyes open, staring aimlessly out the windshield before turning to gaze at her apartment complex.
"Do you want me walk you up, love?"
"Are you trying to be a gentleman?" she whispered back, and he held back a grin at her attempt to banter with him.
"I'm always a gentleman, Swan." He exited the car, rushing around to her side and opening the door for her. The two of them walked up to her apartment, Killian waiting until Emma unlocked her door to bid her farewell.
"Wait!" He stopped in his tracks at the sound of her voice, turning around on his heel to glance back at her. She was twisting her hair nervously, shuffling from foot to foot. "I-. I don't want to be alone."
It had been three weeks since Killian's and Emma's "first date." Emma had returned to the station two weeks ago, not taking it well when Killian delivered the news the morning after the assault that her deputy had banned her, the sheriff, from the station. Killian agreed with his brother though, and so Emma reluctantly stayed home for the week, Killian leaving the morning that she finally left to go back to work.
To say she was surprised was an understatement. Killian had been supportive and caring throughout the entire week. The two of them did nothing inappropriate, and even more shocking was the fact that Killian remained patient and attentive to her during the entire week. Emma knew she was a difficult person to deal with; years in the foster system and a couple broken hearts did that to a person. But Killian didn't shy away in the slightest, and while that should have scared her to pieces, it strangely didn't. Not one bit.
"He's smitten, you know," Liam told her one day in the station as the two of them sorted through some paperwork. They were the last two there, Emma sending Graham and David home early on this particularly slow day. "I haven't seen him like this since he was dating some lass named Milah back in university."
Emma blushed, signing her name on one of the forms.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen you this happy in the time that I've known you. Tell me, Sheriff. Do you fancy my little brother?"
"Do you ever stop talking, Jones?"
"Avoiding the question. That's bad form," Liam said, winking playfully at her before leaving the room to go file some of the folders he was sorting through. Emma sighed as soon as he left the room, resting her forehead in her hands. As annoying as he was, Liam Jones was right. Somewhere along the line during the past three weeks, Emma had started to fall for Killian Jones.
Emma entered Granny's, Ruby waving at her and subtly nodding her head towards the back of the diner. A quick glance back there told her that Killian was here, playing darts with himself. She watched as he took aim with the dart and threw it, hitting the board dead in the center.
She took a deep breath before striding over to him. He must have heard her approaching, for he quickly spun around and smirked at her. "Ah, Sheriff Swan. To what do I owe the pleasure? You catch that thief that broke into Gold's yet?"
"Oh. No, not yet. There's no sign of him yet."
"You'll find him, Swan," he said as he shot her a smile.
"Yeah, I know," she said, shaking her head. "That's not why I'm here though."
"Well then enlighten me, Swan," he said, winking playfully at her. "Why are you here?"
"I talked to your brother, and then I thought about how we've become friends over the past few weeks. And I figure you must be some kind of survivor if you managed to tolerate me so far."
"Well, love, what can I say? You don't have to worry about me." He turned back around to his game, aiming the dart once more.
She took a deep breath. "Good. 'Cause I'm here to ask you out."
Emma flinched slightly as Killian threw the dart, completely missing the board.
"To dinner," she added as an afterthought.
Killian turned around slowly, his face a mixture of confusion and playfulness. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you out?"
"I should've known you'd be old-fashioned given the way you speak. Are you sure you weren't born in the seventeenth century?"
"I'll confess that I read many old British novels in my youth. But I happen to think my manner of speech is part of my charm. And even if I was born in the seventeenth century, I think it'd be more than obvious to say that I've retained my youthful glow." He smirked at her, and Emma shook her head, fighting a grin. "And I humbly accept. On one condition. You let me plan the evening."
Emma gaped at him, offended. "I know how to plan a date."
"You know how to chase a bad guy. I know how to plan an evening out."
Emma grimaced, knowing he was probably a little right. Her date-planning skills were rusty after she vowed never to use them again.
"Fine," she conceded, ignoring the grin that formed on his face after she agreed to his condition. "But I don't pillage and plunder on the first date, just so you know."
"That's because you haven't been out with me yet," he said, licking his lower lip and gazing at her under hooded lids. "And lucky for you, this is our second date."
Emma let out a breathy laugh at that, and when she met his eyes again, they were alight with fondness and admiration. "I'll see you tonight, love. I'll pick you up at seven."
Emma nodded, smiling at him before turning around and walking out of Granny's. Once she got to her car, she leaned against it, physically not able to stop smiling. She bit her lip, looking down at the ground as she dipped the toe of her boot into a puddle next to her car.
Maybe someone would be willing to love an orphan like her after all.