Disclaimer - I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters.
A/N - I've been toying with this story for a long time and am finally getting it out. Some of the NYPD notes are thanks to Blue Bloods and another, much older police show I used to watch. I feel like, as a whole, Emma's and Killian's characters in Once lend themselves quite well to the ones I'm using them for.
Thank you for reading!
"Detective Swan, meet your new partner, Commander Killian Jones." For a brief moment, Emma just stood there willing her brain to function. Blinking to clear her head, she shook it briefly as she could barely believe the sight standing in front of her.
After what felt like an eternity with her heart pounding in her chest, Emma stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Killian." She said, forcing a smile. Those eyes, they entranced her with a power unknown to most.
Killian knew, as he held her hand for just a millisecond too long, only releasing it as she cleared her throat. He reached for the back of his head, a clear sign of embarrassment. "So, how long have you been with the department Detective?"
At this point she had already headed back to her, or rather their, desk. He couldn't think straight at this point.
"Here are the current cases I'm… or, I guess… we're working on." She almost seemed to choke on the words as they came out. Handing the files across the desk, she couldn't quite meet his eyes.
"Thanks." Killian muttered.
He knew there was something special about this Emma Swan. He wasn't sure exactly what it was….
And so as their first week was off to a great start, at least in his mind, he insisted on worming his way into her life and getting to know all the pieces that made up Emma.
Emma shoved her apartment door open, arms loaded with a few grocery bags and her computer bag. "Finally, some peace and quiet…" she grumbled as she unloaded.
She'd had it with Killian's insistence on their little getting to know each other chats as they moved about their week. He'd even made it a point to stop for coffee, or lunch, or find any way to could to infuse some casual conversation into their days. Frustrated as all get out, she put away the groceries with a fury, tossing things here and there, careful not to break any glass, other than that, anything was free game.
She knew she needed to run, needed to do something to escape her rampant thoughts. With her mind filled to the brim with memories of Graham and her, she changed her clothes and headed to the gym. Hopeful that a half hour on the treadmill would clear her mind. If not that, then maybe some punches to one of the punching bags littered around the gym would calm her down. Or both. She'd take anything at this point.
Killian walked home from work, unfazed by the thoughts swarming in his mind about Emma Swan. The woman intrigued him, he'd never had a partner like her in his career. She was a fierce, walls up, stubborn, hardcore detective to say the least.
He would get inside her head. He would crack those walls. Because he knew from the second they shook hands that there was already a love growing in his heart for her.
Emma ran, she ran hard. Racing to escape the memories that threatened to drown her. Graham had barely been gone two months, one of those months she'd been forced to take off. The hurt, betrayal...guilt. All the feelings and emotions that had threatened her night and day. Most had finally spilled at her required therapy sessions. Those stupid government enforced sessions that she'd started off hating, had become therapeutic.
Her lack of family, growing up in foster homes. Homes full of abuse. Homes where even she didn't feel safe. After years of searching, she had made her way to the city and into a job that she loved. Being a detective meant not only finding people, but also getting justice. Two things that pumped her adrenaline and kept her going.
Running in itself was freeing. So freeing in fact that she didn't even realize she'd been at it for over an hour and had totally wiped herself out. Her legs felt like noodles as she walked home.
It was after midnight when she arrived home and after a quick shower, she still needed to wind down. She heated up water for tea and opened her computer, pulling up a search for Commander Killian Jones.
Two hours later Emma found herself fighting sleep, hunched over her computer. Finally she gave in, exhausted she closed her computer. She'd found out enough about the Commander to make her head spin.
