There was something about the docks early in the morning that made Emma feel at ease. The sea over the horizon line, the soft lull of the wind and the salty smell made her shoulders relax as she felt the breeze on her hair. That was until she remembered whom she was meeting and her traitorous heart fluttered in her chest.

She hadn't been keen on agreeing to meet Killian here, but as he smugly pointed out, she was determined to interview this specific couple and neither of them could afford to skip work, so an early interview by the docks was all they could give her.

And Killian had insisted on being there, just in case. A part of Emma could understand his overall protectiveness regarding this couple. It had been one of their most high profile cases - and a media frenzied nightmare - and since it'd been Killian's, he'd taken the brunt of it. It wasn't every day you paired the heir of one of the most successful tech companies with a poor girl who came from a broken family. And it wasn't every day when said relationship ended up with an unexpected pregnancy, a lighting wedding, and the heir being cut off by his family when they vehemently opposed to the relationship.

But leave it to Sean Herman to stand up for his wife and daughter in front of his father and trade a life of comfort and leisure for a job at the local cannery as if there was nothing to it.

This had been the case that had brought the most publicity to Missmatched and it had spiraled the company into success. It was also the case that had brought them an enemy or two in the business.

Emma rubbed her hands together as she sat on a bench and waited. It wasn't long until a truck pulled into the parking lot, followed by a black mustang Emma knew belonged to Killian. A couple got out of the truck - Emma recognized them as Sean and Ashley from the pictures that had been plastered all over the papers back in the day. They headed her way, holding hands and smiling. Emma's eyes moved from them to Killian as he exited the car, his presence pulling her to him like a magnet. He had on a grey cable knit sweater and a navy blue peacoat, and was carrying two paper cups and a brown bag in his hands. Sensing her eyes on him, he lifted his head and his eyes bore into hers with an intensity that almost took her breath away.

She'd barely recovered when the three of them made it to where she was. Killian handed her one of the cups before making the proper introductions.

"Do you want me to stay?" He wasn't addressing her, but Ashley and Sean, and there was an edge in his voice. If Emma had just met him, she'd be put off by his behavior, but she'd spent countless hours by now in Killian Jones presence and she could recognize when his overprotective side was making an appearance. Whatever it was that Ashley had gone through during the worst of the scandal, it was clear Killian felt responsible for it and that he wasn't about to let her or Sean fend for themselves. Not even for Emma.

A part of her - a big part of her - admired him for that.

Ashley gave him a fond smile as she leaned into Sean's shoulder. "I think we can manage, but thank you, Killian."

He reached to scratch behind his ear. It made Emma want to smile at his sudden embarrassment over his previous behavior.

"I'll be waiting nearby. Let me know when you're done, Swan."

Emma nodded and watched him walked away for a moment before she motioned for Sean and Ashley to take a seat.

"Look," she started, suddenly apprehensive about facing them. "I don't want to take much of your time and I know you've had more than your share of uncomfortable meetings with the press and people probing into your personal life."

"It's fine," Sean cut her off. "Yes, I've dealt with press my entire life and Ashley had enough for a lifetime. Neither of us was keen about having our personal life being aired by tabloids." He gave Ashley's hand a squeeze. "But this is different. If there is a chance that any of what we can say makes a difference in your investigation into Killian, then we're willing to answer your questions."

Emma was taken aback for a moment by the passion behind Sean's words, but upon further reflection, she knew she shouldn't be surprised. It had been the same vehement defense she'd encountered with every single couple she'd interviewed so far. These people firmly believed in Liam and Killian Jones, and they were willing to let anyone who wanted to hear them know. It made a lump rise in her throat, wondering if she'd ever find people who would go such lengths to defend her.

She tilted her head and tried to find her words. "I know a lot from the press, but what can you tell me about how it worked out for you two specifically?"

It was Ashley who responded. "Killian, he takes his time you know? He really listens and observes, and is there to understand it all." She worried her lower lip with her teeth, her eyes facing Emma who could recognize the telltale signs of what was to come. "I hadn't the best of families. My father had died and my stepmother - let's say that she wasn't someone who liked to encourage me. I couldn't even hold onto a proper job when I met Killian."

Emma almost recoiled as she felt Ashley's pain. It triggered her own memories, the dread at the pit of her stomach making it hard for her to talk.

"How did you meet him?" It was a miracle she'd been able to utter the words.

"I was a busser at the cafe he and Liam used to go. One time I had dropped a tray of dishes and he leaned over to help me. I don't know how he did it, but somehow he knew I had no one…" Ashley trailed off, a fond smile coming to her lips. "He took to talking to me when he came to the diner. We simply talked, he asked about my day, or my family. He has this special thing, almost like a superpower, it makes you want to tell him all your secrets." Ashley gestured with her hands and Emma nodded, a soft smile coming to her lips as she stole a glance at the man himself a few yards away, standing by the rail and looking out at the sea.

"One day he said he had someone he wanted to introduce me to." Ashley's words brought Emma's attention back to her and Sean, and she could see the way his eyes were looking at Ashley with adoration. "I told him I could never afford his services, but he waved that off, as if he were insulted by it. And when I met Sean…"

Ashley trailed off, her eyes meeting Sean's as he interlaced their fingers and brought her hand to her lips. "Let's say both of our worlds were rocked off of their axis that day," Sean finished for her. "I had never thought you could feel that way. It's the stuff of movies and books, not everyday life."

He tilted his head and pondered on his words. "Before Ashley, I was just going through life fulfilling other people's expectations of me, but I was never able to think for myself. She changed all that." His eyes bore into hers. "Granted, it hasn't been easy and we've struggled to get to where we are, but I wouldn't trade a single moment with her and Alexandra for all the stock options in the world."

/-/

Sean and Ashley couldn't stay much longer, both had shifts to get to, and Emma waved them off with a smile on her lips. She didn't need much more from them than what she'd gotten, her heart filled with a little more hope in the world after watching them depart holding hands.

Her eyes quickly searched the docks and found Killian in the same spot as before, standing a few yards away, his eyes lost in the horizon. She hesitated for a brief second, her fingers playing with a loose curl from her ponytail, before she walked towards him.

He glanced over to her when she was almost by his side, but he didn't speak. He simply stood there, looking at her as if he were already reading the questions she had in her mind.

Emma fidgeted with the hem of her sweater before she pulled herself together and met his eyes. "How did you know?"

Killian cocked an eyebrow at her and she rushed to clarify.

"About Ashley's family, or lack of thereof."

Killian smiled softly, his eyes averting to the wooden planks beneath them. "She had that look in her eyes… the look of being left behind. The look of an orphan." His last words were barely a whisper as he sighed and met her gaze. "Takes one to know one, Swan."

Emma didn't reply as there were no words she could offer. Not really. She just rested her hand next to his on the rail. Killian's eyes darted to the movement and his fingers twitched closer, almost caressing hers.

"Mum died when we were kids. Father took off little after that. It was Liam who raised me. We barely made it back in the day, and it was a miracle that we made it to America in one piece… sort of." From the despair in his voice Emma knew he was referring to his own sad love story. "We took several odd jobs sailing for a while to make the trip. And then, when we were finally here, settled, doing a little bartending and having some luck with the ladies." He flashed her a smile that had little roguish sentiment behind it and continued, "We found out that our father had died and there was a teenage half-brother to take care of."

Emma's surprise must have been clear on her face, because Killian averted his eyes for a moment, his fingers finding hers on the rail. "That is when LJ came to our lives."

LJ Jones. She'd seen the name in the records and she had assumed there was a familial connection, but Emma hadn't wanted to dig deeper into Killian and Liam's family story unless it was pertinent for the investigation. And it hadn't been so far.

It still wasn't and she knew Killian was sharing his story with her. Not the PI who was investigating his company, but with Emma Swan. It made the gesture much more meaningful somehow.

Her fingers closed on his and she heard Killian's breath catch. "What does LJ stand for?"

"Liam Jones."

"What!?" She blushed as soon as the shocked word left her lips, but Killian didn't seem to mind.

"That kid loved his father so much. And when he died - can you imagine? Idolizing someone your entire life only to find out he had two sons he left behind with almost nothing to fend for themselves… and that the bastard even named you after one of them." The words were tumbling from his lips as if he needed to let it all out as quickly as possible. "That you weren't special or unique, not even in your name?"

There were no words Emma could offer him, and yet she felt the need to say something. "Shit, Killian. I'm so sorry."

His lips curved into the hint of a smile as his fingers caressed hers. "We tried to shelter him from the truth, because it wasn't his fault. It was clear that Brennan had been for him the father he'd never been for me or Liam. The father Liam had been for me. But he figured it out. He's a smart lad, you know."

There was such pride in his words that it tugged at Emma's heart.

"When he came to live with us, Liam refused to call him Junior. Because he wasn't, not really. Everyone had started to call him while we got all the legal aspects sorted it out - actually that was when Liam met Regina." Killian offered the side story, a mischievous smile on his lips. "She and Liam had a huge falling out when she called LJ Junior. But we couldn't call him that. We sat down with him and told him that he'd be Liam for us. But he didn't want it, our baby brother. He didn't want to be second best to the original Liam, someone he'd come to admire so much in the little time he'd met him. So he asked us to call him LJ. We wanted to refuse, but it was his wish." Killian took a deep breath, meeting her gaze. "It suits him, you know? It makes him unique."

Emma nodded, trying to find the words to explain. "You've done a wonderful thing for him."

"What were we supposed to do? Leave him to be raised by the system? Being an orphan like Liam and I were? I - we couldn't do that…"

"You'd be surprised how many people leave their children abandoned for the system to raise them." Emma met Killian's eyes and in that the moment she knew that he'd always known where she came from. Takes one to know one. "I bounced in and out until I finally broke free at sixteen. I lived on the streets until I met -" she trailed off, not wanting to relive that part. "You know the rest."

His fingers closed on hers, his hand now holding hers. "Aye, I know." There was so much more meaning hidden in those words that it almost brought tears to Emma's eyes.

Her hand still in his, Killian let a moment pass between them before he went back to his story. "LJ grew up to be such a great bloke. He applied himself in school and then chose to go to community college to stay near us, and he desperately wants to get into what he calls the family trade." He sighed, reaching with his free hand to scratch behind his ear. "I think a part of him wants to prove himself to us, to prove that he has what it takes to be a full Jones brother, as if us not sharing the same mother would make him less of one of us somehow. But he doesn't need to."

"And you don't think he has it?" Emma asked bluntly.

His lips twitched into a smug smile. "Careful there, Swan. One might think you believe I have it."

She could spot a diversion tactic a mile away. "You're avoiding the question." She cocked an eyebrow at his surprise. "You're not the only one who is perceptive."

"I don't care if he does or not, he's my brother." There wasn't one hint of a lie in his words. There was nothing but the sheer force of family love that Emma had desperately wanted and craved while she was growing up.

This time, she couldn't avoid the tears that filled her eyes. "You're a good man, Killian Jones."

He shrugged, brushing off the compliment that seemed to make him uncomfortable. "Liam is the good one. I just learned from him."

He started to step back from her, but Emma tugged his hand and swayed in closer. "Just one more thing I want to know."

She could feel his breath on her face, watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed. "Whatever your heart desires, Swan."

"When we first met, did you recognize that look in me?"

His eyes bore into hers, crystal clear and for a moment Emma forgot everything else around them. "Aye, I did."

His nose nuzzled hers, his lips a breath away from hers. "Come on, love. I'll walk you to your car."