A/N: I decided to try this because I saw a post on tumblr where someone said they'd love to read a SQ fic based on The Bodyguard. I've made some changes and obviously it's COMPLETELY AU. We'll see how you all like it.

Chapter 1

"Do your hands shake all the time now?"

Adam Gold glances casually at Emma Swan, her blond hair cascading over her shoulders and over her dark red leather jacket. He smiles, his thin lips dry and almost cracking. "Only in the evening," he says while pouring two tumblers of MacCutcheon Whiskey, the decanter shaking against the glass of the tumblers. He hands the woman a glass and nods. "You didn't always look so calm, you know."

"Unemployment looks good on me," Emma remarks before taking a long drink of the whiskey. It burns on the way down, makes her smile, makes her happy for the briefest of moments.

"You know, I owe you for," he pauses, remembering the night Emma Swan changed everything, "for saving my life."

"Mr. President," she starts, but he's quick to cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"I don't like that I've lost my best secret service agent. Are you sure you won't reconsider this leave… Change your mind?" Adam sits on the arm of the couch in the Oval Office of the West Wing in the White House. He looks down at his hands and then back up at the blonde. "It was nice having a woman on the force. One I could joke with and not have to answer to my wife about."

Emma lets out a small laugh as her face flushes red. "I do miss the First Lady."

"She misses you. Belle talks about you every day. How if you wouldn't have taken that bullet…"

"Mr. President," Emma says softly. She takes two steps towards the thin man on the arm of the couch and smiles. "It was my job. I did what anyone in my position would have done. I left the force because I just needed a break. I needed to take a moment and figure out my life. Figure out what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I am."

"I know," he says, his voice cracking with emotion. "Thank you, though. I mean it."

Emma lets out a small chuckle and then brings the glass up to her lips. "I believe you," she comments, her eyebrow arching, before draining the last of the liquid.

"What's next on your agenda?" Adam asks, standing and moving towards the liquor cart.

"Well," Emma takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I think I'm going to take a break for awhile. Go home to Chicago. I need it. Maybe read a book?"

Adam laughs, deep and hearty. "That sounds like a really good plan, Miss Swan. A really good plan."

Two days later, Emma is unlocking the door to her Wrigleyville house, feeling relieved and excited about being home.

"Swan!"

Emma turns, hand on the doorknob, other hand instantly shooting into the air. "Fritz! How's it goin'? How're the Cubbies doing?"

"Welcome home! They're losing! What's new?" Her large next door neighbor shouts from his front porch. "Maybe you're the good luck we need!"

"Gotta be better than a goat, eh?" Emma asks with a laugh. "Take care!" She rolls her eyes at the stack of mail and newspapers on the small table on the inside entryway next to the door. "Thanks a lot, Ruby," she mumbles, pushing open the door all the way. The house, though is surprisingly clean considering her roommate's typical untidiness. "Hello?" Emma waits a beat before repeating herself.

"Em?"

"Rubes? Where are you?"

"In the kitchen! Holy shit!"

Emma smiles as she lets her bags hit the floor with a thud and then closes the door behind her. She makes her way through the entryway and takes a right into the kitchen. "Hello there, roomie."

The tall, thin brunette drops the spatula she was holding and lunges at Emma, throwing her arms around the roommate she never thought would return. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Emma starts when Ruby finally lets her go and she can breathe again. "I'm home. I'm… done."

"Wait. What do you mean, 'you're done?'" Ruby picks up the spatula and wipes it on the dishtowel and then continues to flip pancakes.

Emma takes a couple steps through the kitchen towards a cupboard and grabs a coffee mug. She fills it with the freshly brewed coffee and then leans against the countertop, taking a sip before saying softly, "Well, I left the Secret Service."

"Emma, oh, my God, why?"

"Ruby," Emma says softly. She tilts her head and shrugs her shoulders. "I got shot… I just… I needed a break."

"But you loved it."

Emma smiles before reaching over and grabbing a hot pancake. She takes a bite out of it and says with her mouth full, "Yeah, but I love you and Chicago more. So, believe me, I'm happy to be home."

"Hey!"

Emma doesn't open her eyes as she continues to sit on the chaise lounge chair on the back porch of the house. It's a beautiful day at the start of summer, her iPod is shuffling her 80's playlist, and it's the first time in months that Emma has been able to fully relax. And it feels nice. "What's up?"

"There's some guy here. Asking specifically for Emma Swan," Ruby drops her voice down an octave when she says Emma's name. "Looks professional," she says, pulling her head back in and then sliding the screen door closed. "What should I do?"

"Did you tell him that I'm not here?"

"I tried. He said he knows you're back in the city. Said he knows people that know. Maybe you need to consider an identity change?"

Emma lets out a deep sigh as she turns her head and looks at Ruby through the screen door. "Tell him I'm around back."

A minute later, she hears the wooden gate on the side of the yard open and slam shut, then a deep throat clearing, and finally a, "Miss Swan?"

She peels her eyes open and looks at the slender man standing in front of her on the ground. "What can I do for you?"

"I heard you were back in Chicago. I'm happy my sources were correct."

Emma smirks, shields her eyes from the sun. "Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Sidney. Sidney Glass." He leans forward and reaches his hand out, but is only met with a halfhearted stare.

"What do you want?" Emma asks, leaning her head back on the headrest of the chair and closing her eyes again.

"I'm here to offer you a job. You'd be doing me a favor."

Emma lets out a chuckle. "I don't do favors anymore."

"I know, I know," the man says hurriedly. He takes a step towards the edge of the porch and turns, sitting down on the worn wood. "I just… This is big, Miss Swan. This is really big. And, well, August -"

"What about August?"

"He said to mention his name."

Emma sighs, shakes her head, licks her lips. "That isn't necessarily going to make this a better meeting for you, Mr. Glass." She feels her resolve slipping slightly. "What's the job?"

"Regina Mills."

"Who?"

"Regina Mills? The actress? Don't tell me you haven't heard of her."

"Husband was murdered about 13 years ago? That one?"

Sidney purses his lips, hands on his hips and then nods his head. "Yeah. That one."

"What about her?"

"She needs, well, she needs protection."

"Hire a bodyguard then," Emma says dryly, her eyes still closed.

"Listen, I'm her manager and I need someone who is good and -"

She sighs, cutting off Sidney. "I don't protect celebrities."

Sidney stands and turns to face Emma. "So, you only protect people that lie without a script in front of them?"

Emma peels her eyes open and lifts her head from the headrest. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You protect politicians and presidents! Liars and thieves! Yet here's a woman that has a son and a career and you won't even consider it? August said you'd do it. That you're a good woman with a good head on your shoulders. Yet..." Sidney reaches for his necktie and loosens it before starting to roll up the sleeves of his light pink button down shirt. "Miss Mills needs protection. She's filming a new TV show here. Who knows if it'll even make it past the first season, Miss Swan, but this is really big."

Emma's resolve doesn't budge. "There are many good men for the job. I could give you a list the length of my arm."

"She wants you."

"She doesn't even know me!"

Sidney looks up at the sky and then back down at Emma, tapping his toe on the ground. "She knows enough."

"Well, tough shit. I don't want the job."

"Would $2000 a week make it worth your while?"

"No," Emma laughs. "I already said. I don't protect celebrities. Why is that so hard to understand."

"Listen, Emma, can I call you Emma?"

Emma raises an eyebrow and looks Sidney in the eye. "Sure."

"She's scared. She's had some, I guess you could call it 'unwanted attention.'" Sidney looks down at his hands and then back at the blonde. "Haven't you ever been scared?"

Emma leans forward and stands up from the chaise lounge, thinking about his words. Yeah, she's been scared. Every day of her life she was scared protecting the president. And before he was the president, when he was a senator. Being scared is almost as easy to her as protecting people… as finding people. Emma squints her eyes as she looks at Sidney, Don't Walk Away Renee coming from her iPod speakers. "$3000."

"That's a bit steep," Sidney says, clearing his throat. "Are you really worth $3000?"

Emma jumps off the porch and lands on her feet gracefully. She walks over to a group of knives, bends over to pick up them up and smiles when she rises, making eye contact again with Sidney. "Watch and see," she says calmly. She eyes her target - an 8x8 white, wooden post in the ground, 50 paces away. She flips the first knife over in her hand, throws it, missing the target by a long shot. The knife careens to the left, slicing through a large hosta plant and hits the wooden privacy fence that surrounds the backyard.

"That's not really impressive," Sidney says with a huff.

Emma looks back at him, a smirk playing on her lips. "I wouldn't stand there," she remarks playfully. Sidney moves two steps and she shakes her head, "Or there." Turning her sights back to the target, she flips the next knife and throws.

Direct hit.

And again.

And another one.

Emma closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She feels the breeze, hears the birds, Sidney breathing, can feel Ruby watching from the back room. With a final exhale, she throws the next knife and it hits in between all three of the others. She doesn't need to open her eyes to see the deadly hit, so she keeps them closed and waits one beat, two beats, three beats for Sidney's response.

"$3000 it is then. 10 am tomorrow. Don't be late. Here's the address."

Emma eyes the address. "Wait a second. This says Indiana?"

"Yeah. She's staying on a ranch."

"Like with corn?

"That's a farm," Sidney says, sarcasm and disdain dripping from his words. "Don't get out much, do you?"

"So, there are animals? Like, large animals?" Emma asks with a laugh.

Sidney presses his lips together before a chuckle comes out of his mouth. "You know nothing about Regina Mills, do you?" He gauges the blonde's reaction before he puts his hand on the gate and pushes. "Might want to Google her before tomorrow. Have a good day, Miss Swan."