Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own Once Upon A Time. ABC, Disney, A&E, and whoever else have that distinction. All opening chapter quotes are from "Till I Found You" by Freestyle. No profit is being made, and no copywrite infringement in intended.

AN: And yeah, I know Ella was Ashley in SB, but I just love the name Ella and went with that one. Hope everyone continues to enjoy!

Until I Found You

by Lady Callista

OoOoOoO

"I didn't know what I was missing 'til I felt you tender lips

Kissing my fears away. I'm so glad you're here today."

OoOoOoO

Chapter 4:

"Wake-up, sleepy head."

"Huh..." Emma came awake with a groan, high-pitched chatter and the bouncing on her bed pulling her from a dream of Killian and her doing way more than sleeping in it.

"Morning Mimosas!" Anna chirped.

Emma rubbed at her eyes. Morning mimosas, a tradition of course started by Ruby, was what she and her friends called gossiping about whichever of them had a good date story to tell, or, you know, got lucky. But it was always done in whoever's house had the story, and... "No, no it..."

"You had dinner together..." Ella cut her off.

"Which we do almost every night..." Emma countered.

"In a place that wasn't the inn, and then you went out for drinks." Ella continued as if she hadn't stopped. "And you left holding hands, that's a date."

Emma cursed the gossip chain in small towns, but she couldn't really argue since they had considered it a date. She had just never been the one on the talking side of morning mimosas before, and most of her friends knew only the bare bones of her past. It was something she wanted to forget, not discuss.

"Who's all here?" She sighed as she rolled out of bed, knowing she wasn't going to get out of this. And part of her didn't want to; much like opening up to Killian, it was exciting even while it was scary. She'd never had girlfriends to talk about girl stuff before.

"Mary Margaret couldn't make it with David being sick, but it was Elsa's turn for breakfast and Aurora of course brought the coffee. And Belle's running a little late, but she'll be here."

"Please tell me no one skyped Ruby." Emma asked as they headed downstairs.

"We thought about it, but no."

Elsa handed Emma a flute of mimosa the instant she hit the kitchen, and for an instant Emma just stood there as they laid out food and chattered around her, not really sure what to say. But of course, her friends broke the silence.

"We waited for him to leave, but he's probably still full anyway." Ella grinned at Emma, winking at her even as they all settled around the table.

Emma laughed, remembering not the uncertainly and vulnerability on his face when he removed his glove, but the look on his face when he'd first seen the burger, and the huge grin he'd given her when he managed to finish it. "Probably. That joke never gets old."

"So... tell us all about it!"

OoOoOoOoO

Killian cocked his head curiously as he pulled up by the inn. Emma's bug was back, and so were two other cars, a shiny light blue convertible and an older sedan with an infant seat in the back. He was fairly certain the sedan belonged to Aurora, he'd seen it parked outside her coffeehouse most mornings, but he'd never seen the other vehicle before.

He walked in the front, hanging his coat by the door and sliding out of his shoes, checking that his glove was firmly in place. He promply froze in place as he heard the female voices drifting out of the kitchen.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Killian recognized the bright chirp of Anna, one of the waitresses at the diner.

"Well, we didn't, I mean..." Emma sounded nervous, and he only weighed the ethics of listening in for a second before moving closer to the kitchen archway while staying out of line of sight. He hadn't been being quiet until now, and they were in an arguably public place. And while he thought he'd had a good read on Emma and her enjoyment of their date, there was nothing like hearing it firsthand.

"So you had dinner, and drinks, with a guy you describe as nice, funny, and charming." Killian recognized the diplomatic voice of Elsa, the owner of the ice cream shop, and wondered if the convertible was hers. "You like him, and had a great time, but you didn't kiss him?"

"I do like him, it's just..."

"He likes you too, sweetie, I almost felt bad about the special thing when he was so sweet to think of asking what you favorite was. Although I did question recommending the onion rings on a first date. Is that why you didn't..."

"No Ella, it's not your fault, and they are my favorite. He liked them to, and it's not... " Emma's voice started out laughing, but then grew more serious. "We would have only tasted like rum by the time we got home anyway, but I don't have the best history with relationships, guys, and I just... I like him and I don't wanna mess this up."

"You won't, Emma, just trust yourself." Elsa said softly.

"And trust him." Ella added. "I know he's only been here a few days, but he's been like everywhere, and everyone likes him. He's all the things you said, and sweetie, that man is sex on a stick and knows it, but isn't an ass about it. If he seriously tried to seduce you... but he didn't even try to kiss you."

"No, he... he has this incredible ability to read me. I think he wanted to, I mean, I did too, but... but he does this thing where he kisses my hand, and his eyes get all dark, and everything just feels perfect and right, but... but it was like that with Neal at first too and..."

Killian's heart clenched at the softness in her voice, and he moved cautiously back to the front door. He'd been expecting gossip, not a baring of her heart that it wasn't right to listen in on. When she was ready to say things like this to him, she would.

"It's so crazy, cause like you said he's only been here a few days, but he's just so easy to be around. There's this, I don't know, this connection that I've never felt to anyone before."

The girls awwwed in unison, and Killian reached out to silently open and then forcefully shut the front door, allowing its echo to cover his chuckle. The giggling and voices cut off at once, and he was bent over arranging his shoes on the mat when he heard a voice from behind him.

"You're back early."

Killian rose to face Emma, who was leaning with forced casualness in the archway from the kitchen, her cheeks bright pink. He had to force his mind away from getting distracted and wondering just how far down that blush went.

He gave her a soft smile. "Aye, love, I'm finding our night out was perfect inspiration for writing, and I'm eager to get back to it. And I noticed the cars, so I'll just leave you to your company."

Her blush deepened, and he heard a few giggles from behind her but deliberately ignored them. "Some of the girls just came over for breakfast. Did you eat yet, are you hungry or..."

The giggling intensified, and when Killian realized why he had to chuckle. Making sure to raise his voice, he called, "Did you remember to thank Ella for her lovely recommendations?"

A full on laugh barked out, and Ella popped into view behind Emma. "I'd apologize, but I wouldn't really mean it."

"Oh, it's quite alright, love, as long as you can take a joke as well." His eyebrow rose in challenge even as his eyes glittered teasingly, and he smirked as both ladies just gazed at him for a second.

Ella snapped out of it first, grinning back. "But of course. Around here, that's how you know you've been accepted. Screw up and the pranks get less funny."

Emma elbowed the other blonde at the significance dripping from the last two sentences, but Killian only grinned. He liked that she had friends to look out for her, especially since all the ones he'd met he'd gotten along well with. It was good to know they liked him as well.

"I've no intention of screwing up." He said the words softly, a promise to Emma as much as himself, and then smiled once again. "And no, I'm not in the least bit hungry at the moment, you ladies have a lovely morning."

"Happy writing!" Emma smiled back.

He had just turned to head up the stairs when Belle burst in the front door, a forest of daisies filling her arms.

"Oh, bloody perfect timing." Killian muttered. He'd called in the order hours ago, the minute the shop opened, but hadn't planned on being in the room with her when they arrived. He'd wanted to give her a chance to react privately, but now not only was he stuck but the girls were flooding out of the kitchen at Ella's urging.

"Sorry I'm late, but we had to put this order together. They're for you, Emma, from..." Belle broke off as she saw him standing at the foot of the stairs, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else at the moment.

All the ladies' eyes were on him, but Killian focused only on Emma, who looked surprised and just a little bit dazzled. He held her eyes for a long moment, waiting to follow her lead, and smiling when she finally said softly, "Killian, you didn't have to..."

"Of course I didn't." He chuckled, mentally apologizing to the husbands or boyfriends of any of the other girls, "But I wanted to."

Elsa immediatly took charge of the situation, pushing the other girls back into the kitchen and urging Belle to join them, calling out that they'd just get the flowers arranged.

Emma waved a hand in absent acknowledgement, smiling when Belle pressed one of the flowers into her hand on the way by. She walked slowly towards him, clasping his hand when he reached out to her, her smile growing shy at the heat in his eyes. "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman."

It was so cliche it should have made her laugh, but the sentiment was clearly real and so she only raised the flower to her nose, inhaling the gentle perfume before saying softly, "Thank you, Killian, really. I had a great time and they really are beautiful."

"You're welcome." He brought her fingers to his lips again, it was both natural to him and something he planned on doing more often now that he knew it affected her. "In case they lose the card, it asks if you'll go out to dinner with me tomorrow night."

She pretended to consider, but they both knew the answer. "Hmm, where?"

"Well, that depends on if you like Cajun food."

Emma grinned. "If I lived in New Orleans I'd weigh about two hundred pounds."

Killian chuckled at the roundabout answer. "So will you?"

Emma leaned closer to him, putting her hand on his bicep and going to her toes to whisper, "Yes," in his ear before brushing a kiss over his cheek.

He still hadn't moved when she slipped back into the kitchen.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Killian spent the next thirty hours lost in crafting his story, surfacing occasionally to eat from the trays Emma had started leaving outside his room when he'd stopped coming down for meals. He'd warned her he was liable to bite her head off if she interrupted him while he was writing, and requested when they first discussed meals that if he ever truly got lost in his writing that he'd appreciate being fed on occasion. She'd only laughed and agreed.

Killian took a deep breath as he finished his second reread without finding a single error, and only a few things he might want to change. He closed his eyes for a second, opening them and glancing towards the window, surprised at how dark it was and suddenly worried he'd lost track of time. A quick check of the clock confirmed it was only four, and understanding came quickly as he heard the patter of rain begin on the roof.

He tried to focus in on the page again, debating the benefits of one idiom versus another, but the rain was increasing and he could hear the wind picking up as well. A sudden flash of lightning abruptly lit his room, leaving him blinking at the after images even as he reached out, trying to find the cord of his laptop. He unplugged it just as the thunder shook the windows.

Killian saved the file quickly before powering the device down, glad he had unplugged it as well when a second lighting flash was followed by a crash that sounded close, and the power died even as the thunder echoed after barely a second.

He was fumbling around the desk trying to find his phone, the closest light source he had, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in, lass."

"You okay?" She stood in the doorway carrying a good sized camping lantern.

"Right as, well, rain. Do you know how close the hit was?"

"Sounded like the transformer up by the road, apparently that thing is like a magnet for strikes, like some weird unlucky spot."

"Really?" He asked as he moved towards her, nodding his thanks when she handed him a lantern as well.

"Yeah, it's bad enough Granny put in a generator about ten years ago, I've just gotta go down and get it fired up." Emma answered. "The heat's water, so we're fine there, and I'm sure the phones are out as well but we've got long range walkies. We'll check in with town, and they'll let us know if anyone in the area hasn't reported in."

He raised an eyebrow as she rattled off the list without sounding the least bit worried. "This really does happen often, doesn't it?"

"Well, not this precisely, but small towns have a special way of handling it."

"They take care of their own." Killian said softly. "It's a good town, Emma, I'm glad I decided to come here."

"Me too." Emma wondered which way he would take that, that she was happy she herself had come here, or that she was happy he had. The thought that it was probably both was a little concerning. "Although according to the forecast this is going to go on for most of the evening, so we should probably just cancel..."

"The reservation at the Lily Pad, certainly, but not the date." Killian said softly.

"But how..."

"We'll just have to improvise." Killian winked at her as they started down the stairs, his face briefly illuminated as lightning flashed again.

They took care of the basics, getting the generator and the fireplace in the living room going, it would be helpful for light if nothing else. She radioed in, relieved to find that everyone was safe. She came out of Granny's room, the walkie clipped to her belt, to find him with his head stuck in the refrigerator.

"So, improvise, huh?"

"Well, I noticed a stack of board games in the library, isn't that the tried and true way to pass the time during a blackout? We've only to find some quick and easy food, and..."

"Why quick and easy?" Emma wondered. They weren't wasting the generator on the lights, fine with a scattering of candles and the bright camp lanterns, and the stove was gas anyway.

"Well, darling, part of the fun of a date is getting to spoil you, it rather defeats the point if you have to slave over the stove. And since you won't allow me to help..."

"That's because you're a guest." Emma said softly, touched at his thoughtfulness. "But tonight you're not, tonight this is just my kitchen and you're my date... so if you can actually cook..."

"Of course I can." Kililan responded immediately.

"I've got my heart set on jambalaya, and it just so happens Granny has Tiana's recipe and all of the fixings. Nights like this always call for that or Granny's equally famous venison stew." Emma grinned as she pulled out a cookbook and found it.

Emma started collecting the ingredients as he read over the card, surprised when she came up from pulling the shrimp and sausage from the chest freezer in the basement to see that he'd already started washing and chopping vegetables. He didn't comment on the fact that he'd removed his glove, and neither did she.

She joined him at the counter, equally surprised at how easily they fell into harmony as they worked, chatting comfortably about food and moving on to other things as the meal took shape, the hour or more flying by with Emma barely realizing it.

Killian stirred the pot one final time before putting the lid on the simmering brew that was already filling the kitchen with a wondrous smell, and Emma closed the dishwasher after loading the last of the dishes they'd made into it.

All of a sudden, with nothing left to do, she felt awkward. "So, uh, we can eat in about thirty minutes, and..." She took her time putting the recipe card away, tucking the book into the cupboard slowly, not sure what else to say.

As always, Killian immediately read her and hastened to smooth the moment over. "There's always scrabble, although I'll warn you I'm a master." Emma's grin was quick and real, and gave Killian the encouragement he needed to slide closer to her, his hand brushing over her lower back as he said softly, "Although I will admit, one of the reasons I chose the Lily Pad was that they have a live band and dancing tonight. Would you have danced with me, love?"

A shiver went through Emma at the heat in his eyes, and her heart raced as she imagined what it would be like to be in his arms. The intensity in his eyes, the way he'd joked to calm her down, the way he was asking without asking, it was almost too much. Emma had to drop her gaze, but it only fell on the portable speaker, with batteries, that sat on the counter hooked up to her iPod.

Just the barest touch of his hand on her back had sent the heat racing through her, and she took a deep breath and looked back to him, hating the worry that was creeping into his eyes. And remembering his face when he'd seen her in a dress the other night, Emma knew how to apologize for all her mixed signals. Plus she loved the way he looked at her even when it scared her. "I still will. But my friends helped me get a new dress for this date, it would be a shame to not put it on."

Killian chuckled even as he rubbed small circles over her back, amazed and grateful that she wasn't closing up again. "It would indeed, I shall change as well. Will you laugh at me if I pick you up at your door?"

"Maybe a little, but..." Emma took another deep breath, saying before she lost the courage, "But you should still do it. Give me ten minutes."

Emma didn't count them after he agreed and they both headed up to their rooms, but knowing him it was ten minutes on the dot when he knocked on her door. The butterflies were both excitement and nerves as she opened the door to find him in all black, the definition of tall, dark, and deadly. The black dress pants weren't a surprise, but it wasn't a dress shirt he wore with them, but what she believed was called a poet's shirt, a light, flowing shirt with a deep vee neck that displayed an expanse of dark chest hair that for some reason was distracting and fascinating.

She was so distracted by the shirt that she failed to notice he was gazing at her with wonder, his gaze flicking up and down over the short, tight, siren red dress. "Are you trying to kill me, love?"

Emma grinned, finally breaking out of the spell and meeting his eyes, the nerves melting away at the mix of heat and softness in his eyes. "Just trying to see what you can handle."

"I can handle whatever you can, Emma. You look simply ravishingly."

Emma felt the blush rise to her cheeks as he swayed slightly closer to her, clearly wanting to kiss her but keeping himself from doing so. Like everything else, he was making it her choice, and she smiled softly as she took his right hand in her own, not wanting to push him quite yet.

"You're looking good yourself. And you promised me a dance." It wasn't a deflection, she really did want to dance with him, wanted their first kiss to be as he held her in a room lit only by fire and candles. It was one of the things she'd imagined as a child, and dreamed even after her conscious self was convinced happy endings didn't exist in real life. No, happy endings didn't exist, but happy moments still could, and what girl didn't dream here and there about her first kiss? And while this certainly wasn't her first kiss, it was the first one in a long time that would actually matter.

"So I did." Whatever he read in her eyes caused him to smile rather than worry again, and with their hands still linked they wandered back down to the living room, where she'd already moved the speaker and set it playing at random.

A soft, romantic ballad was playing as they entered the living room, and they smiled almost shyly at each other as he used their joined hands to raise her left one to his shoulder, sliding his fingers lightly through her hair before setting his hand low on her waist.

Emma trembled lightly as his thumb slid back and forth in tiny, arousing circles, but she didn't miss the way his body had stiffened slightly, and she understood why when she felt the barest brush of his fingers over her right hand, which still hung at her side. Even though he now seemed to be okay with her seeing his scarred hand, he was clearly uneasy about touching her with it, and she didn't know if it was because he feared rejection or because he himself was uncomfortable with it. "It's okay, Killian, it's just your hand."

His eyes shifted, something bright and hot going through them, along with a twinge of disbelief that was quickly hidden.

His touch became slightly more sure, but he was still hesitating to take her hand fully, and so Emma took his hand in hers. Deliberately keeping her eyes locked with his she did what was probably the cheesiest thing she had ever done. Imitating his move, she raised his fingers to her lips and kissed them softly, the wonder and relief she saw wash over his face making it worth it. She deliberately dropped her eyes to his hand then, compassion swirling though her as she realized how much pain he must have endured. She turned his hand over, wanting only to comfort him, to make him see and believe that she really didn't care, and so she dropped another soft kiss on a particularly bad spot on his palm.

Killian's breath hitched at the surprising tenderness of her touch, her walls and masks were completely down in this almost frozen instant, and he wanted to kiss her so much he could barely stand it. He was also on the verge of seriously profound tears at the clear truth in her eyes that it didn't bother her, that she didn't care. "Emma..."

Her eyes slid back up to his, green meeting blue with an intensity that made Emma take a shaky breath even as his hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing over the blush on her cheek even as his fingers feathered along her neck. "Are you sure, love?"

His voice was barely a whisper, and Emma could almost see his control fraying, a pure note of feminine amusement and pride flashing through her that she was the cause. With that joy came another flash of heat that was stronger than the fear, and for an instant she thought about just fisting her hands in his loose, ridiculously sexy shirt, and pulling him in for a kiss. She knew he was leavng it up to her, knew he wouldn't try to kiss her first, but that didn't necessarily mean she had to make the first move, she just had to let him know it was okay.

Still feeling a little silly about it, but for some reason wanting that childhood dream, Emma slid both of her arms around his shoulders, fingers playing with his hair. Both of his arms slid around her waist in reply, and she gave him a soft smile when he, deliberately she was certain, slid his left hand under her shirt to let his fingers play over her bare back.

"I can handle it." Emma whispered, rising to her toes slightly, and he understood instantly but she watched his face until she could see he believed it as well, that she actually was saying what he thought, what he hoped she was.

He whispered her name again, pulling her close, his hand sliding back into her hair. He could feel the heat of her body against his as he pulled her into a gentle kiss.

TBC...