Author's Note: Here's a Once Upon A Time/Captain Swan fic, it's based on a prompt left for me on Tumblr [ swanmo ]

Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to Adam and Eddie, the cast and Disney ABC.

Emma had had quite enough of her dad's bitching about the latest addition to the Sheriff's department, and one night when he returned home after an afternoon of training with the new guy, she'd just about had it. She was setting the table with her mother, when David strolled in, his shoulders drooped and looking worn as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it up next to the door. She saw how his shoulders sagged, not with age but with wear and tear, and with the stresses of the real world.

"Tell me why I have to train up this imbecile…" David moaned, taking a seat at his usual place at their table, rubbing his forehead before he sighed. When Mary Margaret leaned forward to kiss him, he lay his hand on the table and pursed his lips, inhaling her scent; vanilla and flour, she'd been baking.

"Because David, that imbecile is Graham's replacement. You can't be expected to do all the work round here, it's just not possible." Mary Margaret smiled softly, before she walked off to bring over their dinner plates.

It was then David noticed that his daughter had been pretty silent since he'd arrived, and he frowned over at her. After cracking his neck, tilting it side to side a couple times, he sat up and rested both his arms on the table, watching the teen busying back and forth between the table and the island with silverware and glasses. When she whizzed by him, he grabbed lightly at her arm, "Hey, your dad doesn't get a hug when he comes home, anymore?" he joked with her slightly.

Emma sighed and fixed David with a stare, sullen and not wanting to play along. But, seeing his brows raised, she decided against it and leaned in to embrace him briefly. She didn't want to have a long conversation or for him to ask about her feelings. Yes, David was her father, but with him working the hours he did, it almost felt like he wasn't present for her youth, and only now she'd started to feel disconnected from him.

"What's wrong, Emma?" David asked her. Great, was all she thought when she saw that Mary Margaret stopped what she was doing and paid attention to their conversation. David glanced across to his wife and gave a brief parental exchange, to the untrained eye it would merely look like they had caught each other's attention and glanced at each other for a fleeting moment, but to the Nolan's it was an expression that could be read in seconds.

The blonde sighed -more like huffed- as she sat herself in the seat beside David. She stared at the pattern on the table for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, bringing her knees up to tuck under her chin, as she wrapped her arms around her shins, "It's just…I know you can't take time off because there's nobody else who can look after the town, but all this talk of Graham…" she sighed again before she looked up at him, "I think it's getting you down. Like, you don't want this newbie to be replacing your friend. And, I think he knows that." she gave a knowing shrug as Mary Margaret placed her plate in front of her, and she glanced up to catch the look shared between her parents.

Before either of them could speak, Emma furrowed her brows tightly and grabbed at her plate, "I'm going to go eat in my room." She pushed herself off of the chair and scuttled up the stairs, taking some of them, two at a time before she rounded the corner and closed herself off from talking about the things she was scared about. Talking about her feelings. And, more importantly, talking about her feelings for someone she cared about. Downstairs though, she could hear her parents talking in hushed voices, probably about her and Graham, and how hard she was taking his death.

The next morning was a different story. As she was leaving the bathroom, David was entering. They stood there awkwardly, Emma avoiding his gaze, and he not sure of what to say to his teenage daughter, for fear of upsetting her further. She'd hoped, when she was in the bathroom that all the clattering had been her mother, and she could go about her morning before getting ready to head over to the Mayor's Office for work, but it hadn't been so. After a moment, David spoke up, "I just put on a pot, you want some coffee?" he smiled to her lightly, he knew how much she enjoyed it, a newfound addiction.

Seeing his smile, Emma allowed herself to smile back, a small nod to him as she turned on her heel and walked toward the breakfast bar. She perched on one of the seats there, watching as David poured out a mug for her and then filled his flask for the day ahead at the station. When he passed it over to her, she smiled up at him and cleared her throat, "I'm sorry about last night, I'm just…the fact that Graham's gone, you can't change that, dad. And, taking it out on the new guy when he does something stupid, it's not going to help." she blinked, staring across at David.

David nodded and sighed as he rested his arms on the counter, and leaned over it, "I know. And, I know it hasn't been easy on you seeing somebody new come in and take over what Graham left behind…" he saw her look down to the shoelace Graham had given her and she had tied around her wrist, "But, things happen, Emma. Life goes on."

She sighed and stared down into her coffee before she nodded. As she looked up at David, the blonde tilted her head, "I have an idea: you should bring him over, show him you're not all bad. Does he have family here?" Emma found herself asking, "I mean, if he doesn't it'll be something nice for him, right?"

He mulled over her suggestion for a couple of minutes in his mind before he gave a nod, "Alright…" David nodded again, "But, no talk of Graham and no talk about Regina or Gold, okay?" he raised his brows as he awaited her confirmation.

"Got it." Emma gave a brief smile as she clinked her mug against David's flask to seal their deal. After a moment or so, she sipped back some of her coffee and frowned, "Why's mom still in bed? You guys got a little too wild with the wine last night?" she gave a teasing smirk. She heard her father sputter a little before he placed down his flask, turning red, and immediately she regretted teasing him about that. Before he could speak up, she shook her head, "Oh my God, no don't tell me anything,please!" she winced and began to raise her hands to cover her ears.

"Actually, no. But, maybe if she wakes up before I have to leave, we can tell you." David smiled and nodded, sipping more of his coffee before he widened his eyes at Emma's next aside: "What? It's not like she's pregnant or something…!"

Later that evening, Mary Margaret and Emma were once again setting the table, when Emma heard David's voice in the corridor outside, and she glanced across to her mother, "They're here, I think." she gave a small smile as she placed the last set of silverware down. As the front door opened and David stepped inside, she smiled to her father and turned away slightly as she reached for her glass of soda. As their dinner guest stepped inside, she heard his accent for the first time, and immediately he lived up to all the things her father had told she and Mary Margaret about.

"It's a nice place you've got here, David. It's an old fire station, right?" he asked, shucking off his leather jacket and passing it to his colleague to hang up with the rest of the coats. When he turned around, and David finally stepped out of the way, he was free to look around.

Emma almost dropped her soda as she caught a glimpse of him. Tall, dark and handsome was an understatement! She saw dark hair, piercing blue eyes, a good strong build, and those black jeans…she had to gulp back the rest of her soda as her throat was so dry. But, as David closed the door, and the two stepped towards the table, Emma smiled to them, hoping her face was not as red as it felt.

"Killian, this is my wife, Mary Margaret, or you may have known her as Snow White back in the Enchanted Forest…" David smiled, as he let Killian and Mary Margaret acquaint themselves before he turned to gesture the teen, as if he were introducing her to their court, "And, this is our daughter, Emma…"

The stretched out her hand and smiled awkwardly to her dad's new police partner, she wasn't going to lie, he was pretty hot. But, she had to keep that under control as she introduced herself, "Hey…" she shook his hand. Was he shaking?! She thought it was supposed to be just her who was shaking and nervous about meeting this idiot her dad kept talking about.

"Your father tells me this little get together was your idea, lass." Killian smiled to her as he leaned back, straightening before Mary Margaret showed him to a seat, "Generous little offer you suggested, Emma…"

As she watched him sit, she glared to him. He knew what he was doing, and in front of her parents, really? Emma sighed when she realized that she would be sitting beside him. She glared at her mom when she heard her comment about how he hadn't had a proper welcome to the town, and they should throw him a welcome party.

"I mean, you didn't exactly sail into Storybrooke, did you…?" Emma scoffed a little. She actually didn't have any idea how this guy had ended up in their town, and why he hadn't been swept up in the curse like they all had been. But, that really didn't matter, he was here -so it seemed- for the long-haul, the least they could do was throw him a party with lasagna and beers at Granny's.

"Actually love, I did sail in here…" Killian rasped, cutting into her thoughts of how he holstered and re-holstered his gun, or how he chased down felons after a car chase turned to being on foot. As he leaned back in his chair, arm draped over the back, he glanced to her knowingly and smirked, "I have a ship actually, a sound sea-worthy vessel. Sailed her all the way up from New York."

"So, you're a pirate?" she questioned. She wasn't sure whether she'd heard curiosity, awe or judgement in her tone, but whatever his answer, she was sure it would be a good one.

"Aye, but I'm not alike those from the books and movies. I don't pillage and I don't steal. In fact, I've changed my ways entirely since arriving in Storybrooke."

"You've changed your ways…?"

"Emma…" Mary Margaret jumped in, her tone slightly stern, giving her daughter a warning for almost crossing the line with their dinner guest.

"Not to worry…" Killian began, turning his head to Mary Margaret, and smiling, "The girl's just curious. I do-"

"Curious or not, there's no need for her to be rude. Emma, Killian's our guest this evening, you could do with showing him a little respect and be friendly." Mary Margaret scolded her, "He's new in town, and the last thing he needs is this big interrogation."

"Okay, I'm sorry…" Emma slumped in her seat for a moment. She pouted briefly before she shifted and straightened in her seat, the whole time, feeling Killian's eyes on her. She glanced sideways to him as her parents began to eat, and she frowned before grabbing at her silverware and violently started to attack what was on her plate, knowing he was still watching her.

After dinner, David scooted his chair closer to Mary Margaret's and smiled as he placed his arm around the back of her chair and rested it there. Glancing across to Emma, somewhat forgetting that Killian was there, he spoke up, "So, I said I'd talk about this this morning, but since your mother didn't wake up until after I'd left, we're telling you now. Emma…" he glanced sideways to Mary Margaret before turning back to Emma.

"We're going to have another baby…" Mary Margaret spilled their news, she'd been bubbling dangerously close since before she served up the pie she'd made. She grasped at David's hand and giggled, briefly looking to him before she turned back to Emma and waited.

Nothing. It was actually Killian who spoke up first, "Well, congratulations to you both." he nodded and smiled brightly before he too turned to look at Emma. He saw she was in shock, and he gave her a small nudge, "What do you think about the news, lass?" he asked her, hoping she was just in a daze over this revelation.

Emma stuttered slightly and glanced from Killian to her parents and down to her plate, "I…don't know what to say, congratulations?" she shook her head and looked up at them, her brows raised slightly. She forced a smile, for Killian's behalf then stood and began to clear the table, "Are you finished…?" she asked, taking the plates as David and Mary Margaret moved to the living area and switched on the TV.

Killian was kind of confused about what to do, it was obvious there was a little tension, and he didn't know whether or not to leave or to stay and watch TV with David. But, he stood and carried the other few things to the island, coming face to face with Emma. He gave her a small smile, "It might not be as bad as you think, love…" he tried.

"What do you know? You don't have any family here…" she bit back a little, tipping the dregs of juice and soda into the sink, avoiding his gaze as she kept her voice low so her parents wouldn't catch onto the fact she was slightly emotional about their news.

"Not here, but I did have a brother. We sailed together, he was my Captain, my best friend. And I was his right hand man. When he went off to start up at sea when he was just sixteen, I wanted desperately to go with him, to be like him." Killian stated, "He did everything he could to make the most of his life at sea, and when he returned our mother had passed, and I was working, doing odd jobs for money. He took me under his wing on his ship, and I haven't looked back on a single day since I stepped aboard with him."

"Why is this all in the past tense?" Emma tilted her head.

"Because love, he was killed. I became a pirate after that. Wanted revenge for his death, justice for his name to be kept good, for him to be remembered for all his good deeds on the seas." he told her before he sighed and rounded the counter, so he stood beside her. Killian cleared his throat softly before he continued, "My point is, love…a sibling can be more than a sibling. They can be your best friend, someone you can look up to, or in your case, someone you can guide and teach." he nodded to her, before he gently tucked his finger under her chin, giving her skin a quick flick to tickle her and make her smile.

It worked. Emma let out a small chortle before she nodded, "I know, it's just– I've been an only child my whole life, I get to eighteen and they're having another kid." she turned to him and looked up at him, only now realizing how blue his eyes were, and how much of a contract his almost black hair was against them, "Is it normal for me to feel like this…?" she questioned, sucking in her lower lip before she swallowed, straightening up slightly.