The first time he saw her, he thought he was seeing things, just as he would when he had been working too long on the grounds. He was on his way to dig up a new grave for tomorrow when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look there was no one there, until the most stunning woman he had ever seen stood up from behind a gravestone, stopping him dead in his tracks. Her long, blond, gently curled hair framed her distraught face. He remembered digging the particular grave she was visiting not even a week ago. She seemed to notice he was standing there like an idiot in the middle of the road. He gave her a sympathetic smile, but it seemed as if she was looking straight through him, like he wasn't even there, or perhaps she wasn't even looking at him at all. So he left her.
The second time he saw her, he was raking leaves. He had just finished clearing the leaves from around a tombstone when he noticed her standing behind him. She was even more beautiful up close, but her jade green eyes were missing a spark. He stood there for a second before realizing she wanted to be alone. He nodded to her, and she gave him a smile of thanks before he left her to her mourning. As he walked away he saw her scrunch her nose, before wiping the tombstone of dirt. When she had finished he had made his way back to pick up the pile of leaves he had left there. She must have heard him because she turned around almost instantly. He was scared that he had still managed to interrupt her, but when she realized it was him, she gave him a small wave goodbye before getting into her car. After that day he was adamant that there would never be a speck of dust on that specific tombstone.
The third time he saw her he had just finished his shift, and was visiting his wife's grave. They had been in a terrible accident two years back, and while he escaped virtually unscathed, the only permanent damage being to his left hand, his wife was not as lucky. She was not alone this time, however, instead a young boy, maybe four or five followed her. Despite the cold weather he was carrying flowers, poinsettias, he believed. The boy had noticed him staring, and pulled on her coat. The boy pointed him out and she looked up and met his eyes. Her face seemed to soften when she realized it was him. She looked better, happier, but he could tell she was still hurting. He smiled and she blushed. They looked at each other for a few seconds before the boy called for her attention. She left with the boy to visit who he now assumed was her husband, but he noticed as she was walking away she looked back.
After that he did not see her for a while. Whenever he did work in the cemetery he kept an eye out for her, but never got lucky enough to see her. He knew she was visiting though. There were little signs of her being there that he noticed. He made sure to keep the tombstone she visited in pristine condition. He knew she would appreciate it and hoped she realized it was him.
The fourth time he saw her was the time she saw him first. The weather had been getting warmer and he had been asked to plant flowers around the grounds. He was tending to the tombstone when her voice called out to him,
"I knew it was you."
He stood up quick, having not noticed anyone was approaching. When he saw it was her who had spoken to him he was almost shocked into silence.
"Y- yeah." He managed to croak out.
"Thank you."
He scratched behind his ear, embarrassed.
"It was no trouble, Ms…" He stopped, realizing he didn't even know her name.
"Swan." She said in haste, "Emma Swan."
"Killian Jones," he replied with a smirk.
"It's nice to meet you, Killian." He took a sharp breath as his name fell from her lips.
"Believe me love, the pleasure is all mine."
Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfiction for Once Upon A Time. I hope you all enjoyed it and please let me know what you think! I originally wrote this piece for one of my classes, and it was not supposed to be Captain Swan/OUAT related at all. However, half way through writing it I saw him as Killian and her as Emma and could't get it out of my heal. I had to share it.
