Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time

AN: Well, everyone, I bring you our newest story! I hope everyone enjoys it! Thank you to GranddaughterOfCaskettAndTivia for her hard work. You're an awesome beta! ~ XOXO MAS


All of the lights land on you


Killian Jones pulled his truck in front of a small diner with a flashing arrow sign pointing to the front door that read "Granny's" in big neon letters. Sighing, he threw the truck in park and cut the ignition. "This looks like as good as spot as any," he muttered to himself, climbing out of his car and slamming the door shut with a loud bang. Shrugging into his leather jacket in an attempt to ward off the cooler evening, he made his way up the sidewalk and through the little white gate that surrounded the diner.

When he pushed the door to the diner open, he was met by a room full of curious stares. He shifted from foot-to-foot as he eyed the large clock on the wall. 7:30pm. Right in the middle of dinner time on a Friday night. Bloody fucking hell. He groaned inwardly, chances are the entire town was here eating. He briefly considered asking if there was a dive bar in town where he could hide in a corner, out of the sight of prying eyes. When his stomach let out a small grumble of protest, he resigned himself to the fact that eating here was better than eating greasy bar food.

"Can I help you?"

Killian pulled his eyes away from the clock and to the leggy brunette with red streaks in her hair and heavy eye make-up. She was wearing tight leather pants, bright red stilettos and a loose red button down. "Um, a table would be nice, lass."

The brunette smiled brightly at him. "Right this way." She picked up a stray menu and led him to a small table right in the middle of the restaurant. Where everyone can see me. Once he was seated, she asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"

"A coffee and water." He paused. "Black," he cut in before she could ask.

"I'll be right back with that. I'm Ruby, if you need anything," she offered. When he shot her a tight smile, she turned on her heel and moved towards the bar counter.

"Ems," Ruby tapped the counter top, "look what the cat dragged in. A very sexy rat." She motioned to the new man in town who was studiously reading the menu.

The blond, twenty-eight year old Emma Swan, turned her head away from the boy who was seated next to her reading a storybook to follow Ruby's gaze to a newcomer in town. A frown settled on her face as she studied the back of his dark head. "Who is he?" Her tone was clipped. Newcomers usually meant trouble. Very few people passed through Storybrooke or even spent time visiting. They came to town with a purpose. The last time, her eyes dropped to her left hand, she couldn't think of the last time.

Ruby shrugged as she poured a cup of coffee. "Dunno, but he's hot as fu-"

"Ruby," Emma warned, her eyes darting to the ten-year old boy next to her. Ruby rolled her eyes and grabbed a glass for water. "Language," Emma scolded her.

"Please, he's not even listening," Ruby scoffed.

"I'm always listening, Aunt Ruby," the boy mumbled as he turned the page of his book.

Emma chuckled. "You heard the kid, Aunt Ruby, he's always listening," she mocked.

"That's because he's your son," Ruby grumbled. Shrugging, she replied, "I'm going hunting." She winked and pushed the small swinging door to the area behind the bar open with her hip. She approached the table the stranger was sitting at and set his drinks in front of him. "Have you had a chance to look over the menu?"

Killian Jones looked up. "You serve breakfast all day?" He asked.

Ruby grinned and leaned against the chair opposite him. "Yup. Breakfast is Granny's favorite meal."

"I'll take an order of pancakes and crispy bacon." He handed her the menu, not offering up anymore information, forcing her to walk away.

When she'd placed her order, she moved back to where Emma was sitting. "He was boring," she whined. "He didn't even look at me."

"He did to look at you," Henry muttered.

"Not exactly what I meant," Ruby grumbled.

Emma chuckled. "You mean he didn't fall all over himself for you?" She mocked, grinning when Ruby maturely stuck out her tongue. She pulled some cash out of her pocket and tossed it on the table. "Come on, Henry, let's go. It's almost bedtime."

Henry looked up, his green eyes pleading with her. "But Mom!" He protested. "It's Friday. No school tomorrow," he reminded her.

Emma chuckled and stood up, pushing her bar stool in. "You have a soccer game at 8:30. Now let's go." She rubbed his shoulder gently, leaned down to press a kiss to the back of his head, helped pull his stool out and picked up his storybook and backpack. "Come on, let's go, kid."

"Alright, alright." Henry pulled himself from his stool and took his backpack from Emma, swinging it onto his back, stumbling when it hit something hard behind him.

"Ah!" A deep voice groaned.

"Henry!" Emma scolded. She moved her son over. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" She leaned down, fussing over the newcomer.

"I'm so sorry." Henry moved by his mother, apologizing as well, his green eyes wide and apologetic.

The man stood up, so Emma straightened as well. He rubbed his head. "It's really alright, lad, no harm done." He was charmed by the young boy and the beautiful blond. He was startled by his own thoughts. It was the first time in quite a while he really noticed a woman was genuinely beautiful.

Emma held up her hands, as if to touch him before she dropped them to her side. "Are you sure?" She asked.

He nodded. "Oh, yes, I'm okay, promise, lass."

Emma bit her lip, dropping his intense blue gaze. "You're new," she observed. "Just passing through or here to stay?" She asked.

The man furrowed his brow and Emma noted his thick eyebrows were almost an entity unto themselves. "Does it matter?"

Emma shrugged. "No, I guess not. I'm Emma Swan. This is my son, Henry."

Henry beamed up at him. "I'm really sorry, sir." He paused. "Your jacket is really awesome." He nodded. "It kind of looks like something you would own, Mom." He glanced up at his mom, motioning to her red leather jacket.

Emma chuckled. "Maybe we can find you one too, kid." She hugged him into her side before clearing her throat. "Well, if you decide to stay, feel free to let me know if you need anything." She dug into her pocket, and fished out a business card. "I'm the sheriff, as well."

Killian arched a thick brow. "Well, Sheriff Swan, it was nice to meet you." He paused and held out a hand. "Killian Jones," he finally introduced himself.

Emma shook his hand. "Emma works fine, Mr. Jones. I'm off duty."

"As am I, Killian will do, love." He studied her, trying to hide a smirk as she flushed lightly under his gaze before his eyes noted the small band on her left hand. Raising a hand, he flushed and scratched the back of his ear. "If I did want to stay for the evening, where could I find a room?"

"Right here," Emma informed him, her brows furrowing at the sudden shyness that had overcome him. "If you go through those swinging doors there," she pointed to the back, "they lead to the inn. Granny owns it as well. There's a door just around the side, too."

"Does she have a parking lot?" He asked. "I parked on the street."

"Your car is fine there," she assured him.

"Well," he rocked back slightly, "I guess if the sheriff says so, it must be true."

Emma nodded. "Well, perhaps we'll see you around." She nudged Henry forward. "Come on Henry, it's time to get you home to bed."

The boy sighed. "Yes, Mom. It was nice to meet you, Killian!" He waved before darting to the door. "Night Aunt Ruby!" He called back to Ruby.

"Night Henry, night Emma!" She called out as the door slammed shut.

OUAT

"So," Emma settled into her fold out chair at the soccer field next to her best friend who happened to be the town mayor, Regina, the following morning, "have you talked to Ruby today or last night?"

Regina Mills-Locksley, tucked her t-shirt into her black shorts and opened up her own chair. "No, why, is everything alright?"

Emma shrugged. "Not sure, someone new came to town." She paused. "It's just, with what happened last time, it makes me worried."

Regina arched a dark brow. "Who is he?" She asked sharply.

"Killian Jones. I googled him. He's an author. English, from just outside of London." She pulled a folder out of her bag and held it out to the mayor. "This is what I put together last night before I went to bed."

Regina flipped through it slowly, reading through what Emma found. "Interesting," she murmured.

"Mom!" A little boy with dark brown hair ran up to them. "I forgot my Gatorade."

Regina looked up at her stepson, Roland Locksley. "Oh, I grabbed it." She reached into her bag and pulled out the blue sports drink. "Good luck, Roland!" She called out as the boy darted back across the small soccer field. "So, I wonder if he's staying or not."

"He stayed the night at least. Ruby did text me that he checked into a room last night," Emma commented. She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it just struck me as odd-"

Regina snapped the file shut and interrupted, "You mean because the last visitor to town was Neal and he threw the entire town in chaos?"

Emma's eyes narrowed. "Yes, that's exactly what I mean." She leaned back. "I just want some peace and quiet," she admitted softly. "No chaos, no drama, just peace."

Regina reached over and set her hand over Emma's. "You'll get it, Emma. You deserve it."

"Everything okay over here?" A slip of a woman with short brown hair set her own chair up. "Emma? Regina?"

Emma looked over and blinked back tears. "Oh, yes, everything's great, Mary Margaret," she promised. Clearing her throat, she asked, "David ready for his first soccer game as assistant coach?"

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. "He's totally into it. He was running plays in the living room last night with Robin."

"Which is why Robin was home so late," Regina muttered.

Emma glanced down at the simple diamond flashing in the light on her left hand. "Well, it was nice of him to step up." She cleared her throat again. "Robin always needed help wrangling those monsters." She motioned to the field.

Mary Margaret reached around Regina to set her hand lightly on Emma's arm. "If you can't be here right now, it's okay. Henry will understand."

Emma shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'm excited to see the game." She turned back to face the field as the kids started warming up.

OUAT

"Did you see my goal, Mom?" Henry asked excitedly as he bounded down the street towards Granny's, where everyone was meeting for lunch.

"I did, kid. I even got it on tape." She motioned for him to hurry across the street. "You definitely deserve Granny's now."

"I want hot chocolate!" Henry cried out as he pushed the door to the diner open.

"It's all ready for you, Henry!" Granny beamed from behind the counter. "I heard my little Knights won."

"We did, Granny, it was awesome!" Henry dashed to the bar top and scrambled up on the stool. "I even scored a goal and everything."

Emma smiled softly as she watched Henry animatedly give Granny a play-by-play of the soccer game. "It seems the lad's game was quite exciting."

Emma turned at the sound of the soft, lilting voice behind her. "You're still here."

Killian chuckled at the shock in her voice and Emma clamped her mouth shut. "I take it you don't get too many visitors in Storybrooke," he surmised.

Shaking her head, Emma agreed. "No, we don't," she admitted. "And yes, the game was very exciting. Henry played very well."

Killian nodded. "Well, Emma," he smiled softly at her, "I'm sure I'll see you around." He picked up his leather jacket and slipped it on.

"You're staying?" She called out the question.

"For awhile." He turned without another word, the little bell over the door chiming as he left.

OUAT

XOXO

MAS