It's a great day. She finally closed the case - catching this felon she had been monitoring for months. He was slippery but she finally caught him and his sentence will definitely make him regret running from the law.

A good story to tell Walsh, Emma thinks, as she slips on the black dress she has chosen to wear tonight. She looks at herself in the mirror after putting on black pumps she hasn't worn for what feels like a long time since running after criminals require comfortable footwear. She purses her lips as she tries to figure out what seems to be missing in her ensemble.

Ah, perfume. She walks to her dresser and grabs her old reliable scent but a memory makes her put it back. She walks to her bedside drawer and pulls out a small bottle from inside. Temptation. She opens it and feels the usual comfort it provides whenever she smells it. She's never worn it. The scent of apples is not really her thing. It's too...fruity. However, when she caught its scent at the mall while out with Henry, she followed it and ended up in a perfume store. The clerk told her that it's the only stock they have. She smiled and said, "It must be destiny." Not that she believes in such things. When she got home that night, the last thing she did before closing her eyes was take a whiff of it again.

She's been doing that for a few nights now, especially after particularly stressful days at work. She doesn't understand why and she can't remember anything from her past that would make her nostalgic about the scent. But since she's celebrating, she thinks it's only fitting that she put on Temptation tonight. She dabs a bit on her neck and wrists and puts it back in the drawer.

The beep of her phone distracts her from the moment and she grabs it. It's Walsh reminding her about their dinner reservation.

Be there in twenty, Emma texts back. With a final glance at the mirror, she exits her bedroom and looks for her son. She finds Henry in the kitchen preparing dinner. He smiles at her when she ruffles his hair.

"You look great, mom."

"Thanks, kid. Are you sure you're going to be OK?"

"Mom, I'm almost 15. Not too young to be left at home alone but not too old to be inviting friends over for a wild party at home. Don't worry."

Emma kisses his forehead. "Well in case you change your mind about the party, just make sure to clean up before I get home and no girls allowed in your room."

Henry rolls his eyes but says, "Sure, mom. You smell nice too, by the way."

She just smiles before she grabs her keys and drives to the restaurant for her date.

She's having a good night so far. Walsh is a good man and has been very supportive of her job. She feels lucky to have him. He's the first guy, after Henry's father, that she dated seriously. Dates were scarce and second dates even more so. Some didn't call her back once they learned she has a kid. Some were probably threatened by the nature of her job, which sounds like it should be done by men. So for a long time, she focused on Henry. Until Walsh came.

"Something in my face?"

Emma snaps out of her train of thought. She takes sip of her wine before responding. "No. I was just thinking."

"Want to share whatever brought that smile on your face?"

"I was just thinking -" Emma stops. She catches it - faint at first then growing stronger, and she's sure it's not herself that she's smelling. She turns right, towards the scent, her eyes falling to the waistline of a dark blue dress as the wearer saunters past them and sits three tables away. A maitre'd offers the menu, covering the woman completely from her view.

"Emma, you there?" She feels a hand touching hers over the table and she sees Walsh looking at her with a slight frown.

"Sorry. I thought I saw someone I knew."

"It's ok. So you were saying something about what you were thinking earlier."

"Oh, right! I forgot what it is. I'll tell you later once I remember." Emma offers an apologetic smile. She believes she just imagined the slight darkening of his eyes because it was gone in a flash and he is smiling in that loving way of his.

Walsh dabs at his mouth and stands up. "Wait here."

Emma nods and sips her wine. Her eyes turn to the woman again. She deduces that the woman in blue is not waiting for anyone because there's only one wine glass and table setting. Since the woman is facing her and she now has an undisrupted view, Emma can see her features clearly. She's brunette and her face is smooth and flawless except for a tiny scar on her upper lip. Her olive skin seems to be glowing but Emma thinks it must just be the lighting in the restaurant. And her dress fits nicely.

Beautiful.

Emma realizes what she's doing and shakes her head. She takes a sip again and looks back at the woman. Before she can help herself, she whispers, I hope you'll look at me so I can see your eyes.

"What did you say?"

"Huh?" Emma removes her eyes from the beauty across her and turns to her boyfriend, whom she did not notice has returned and is carrying dessert.

"Just something I need to do tomorrow." Emma places her hands on her lap then added, "I hope that's for me."

Walsh smiles and hands her the plate. Emma smiles back appreciatively and is about to take a bite when he turns the plate and a particular side is now facing her. She sees a ring but before she can process what it means, Walsh takes it and kneels in front of her.

"Will you marry me, Emma Swan?"

Emma looks at him, unsure what to say. She loves Walsh, she's sure of it, but they've never talked about marriage so this is quite unexpected. Emma looks away as if looking for help. Her eyes land on the woman again and is startled to see her looking back.

Chocolates.

"What?"

Emma realizes that she said that aloud. She blurts out "I'm sorry" before she leaves.

Go back, Swan. Emma tells herself as she stands outside in the cold, her arms wrapped around her waist. When she hears the restaurant door squeak, she braces herself for a confrontation.

"Hey, are you OK?" Walsh touches her gently on the arm and turns her to face him.

Emma looks at Walsh. I love you, I do. Emma whispers in her mind. "I'm sorry. You just took me by surprise. And I -"

"It's ok, I understand. I guess I just didn't consider that you will react this way, which is really an acceptable response to this kind of surprise. You don't have to give me an answer tonight. We don't have to get married any time soon. We'll wait until you're ready. I just want you to know that I love you, Emma, and I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you. What if we go home now and you can give me your answer when you're ready?"

"Thank you. I'll call you, ok?" Emma pecks him on the cheek then walks to her car parked in front of the restaurant but not before glancing inside to see if the woman's still there. She's not.

It's weird how her heart feels heavier, not with the memory of how she reacted to Walsh's proposal, but with the thought of not seeing the mystery woman again.

The End (NOW HAS SECOND SHOT)

Author's Note: Thank you coelibear for the editing and beta-reading. You rock.