A/N This story part of a series with my other OUAT AU fic, Longer Than Forever. I have three AU stories planed in total, maybe more as they come to me. They are all Captain Swan based and all take place in different times. The common theme being Emma and Killian will always find each other.
Emma was driving away from the downtown core just as everyone else was heading out. It was ten thirty on a Friday night but she needed to get the car back to Neal's and pick up Henry. Neal and August both worked tonight so she got to spend the rest of the night with her son and the guys would have away to work. Jafar, the owner of Cave of Wonders was a stickler for punctuality and they guys were due at eleven, Emma sped up just a radio blasted out KISS' 'I was made' as she pulled into the driveway of the apartment building and she sang along as she waited for the guys to come down. She tried not to think of the gorgeous man she had just left behind or of her dilemma about Neal.
Henry and Neal squeezed into the back of the Bug, allowing August to get in the front as it was easier on his leg. Emma kept the music loud all the way to her place, she couldn't talk to Neal least she say something about his father, and it was too soon for that conversation. The rest of the night flew by she let Henry stay up late, eating junk food and playing video games together. It was Friday night and they deserved to have a little fun. Emma was supposed to go into work the next day but she didn't have to be there any specific time and if she showed up around lunch time Graham should consider himself lucky for her showing up at all.
It was ten am and Emma was busy making pancakes the next morning when Henry sleepily made his was out to the kitchen.
"Hey kid, how'd you sleep?" She asked bright eyed and cheery.
"Good, you?" he asked stifling a yawn.
"See, staying up late isn't all it's cracked up to be." Her method of teaching was very hands on, if a kid wants to stay up, let him stay up but he'll feel the consequences the next morning.
Henry didn't reply to that so she just plopped a plate of pancakes in front of him and went on her way, cleaning up around the kitchen.
"What's got you so happy?" Henry suddenly asked her, and the question caught her off guard because she wasn't feeling any happier then she thought she was yesterday, or the day before.
"What do you mean kid?" she asked, confused.
"Mom, you were humming." Henry explained without preamble.
"I'm not allowed to hum?" she asked, was it suddenly a federal offense.
"You never hum" was Henry's blunt reply.
Emma thought back, had she been humming and not even noticed?
"What was I humming?" She asked curious.
"I don't know, it was just happy humming, like in the movies. People do it when they're thinking about someone they like." Henry said with a hopeful grin.
Emma knew he always hopped her and Neal would be together again one day and while neither she nor Neal dated much she knew it just wasn't possible. They had been young and in love once but a lot of time had passed and they were different people now. They had respect for each other and that was all that mattered to her.
"You watch too many movies kid." Emma said shaking her head. She hadn't been thinking of anyone, but she also hadn't noticed she had been humming.
With no warning a black cat was suddenly rubbing up against the inside of Emma's leg and she moved to go get Bagheera his breakfast, the little prince that he was.
At eleven thirty Emma made Henry go next door to the elderly lady that lived there. Emma didn't know for how long she would have to stay at work and it being Saturday night she could be sent to deal with any various types of calls. Neal and August worked again and she knew they would be sleeping most of the day to be ready for another long night. She walked to work enjoying the warm sun, knowing she wouldn't get to see it later.
Graham was the happiest looking Emma had seen him in years. He strutted into the office like he owned it, which he did, and took control again. He reprimanded Tinker for flirting with the prisoners, and calling her friends when she was supposed to be working. For the first time in forever it felt like work was actually getting done around here. Paper work was being filed properly, and in a reasonable amount of time. It made Emma suspicious, what could have possibly brought about this change in her friend and co-worker.
Emma was catching up on some of her own paper work when Graham stuck his head out his office door.
"Swan" he bellowed.
With a groan Emma stood, complying with his command.
Graham looked up from his desk as she entered his office, "Emma, I need you to run down to The Den and talk to-"
"The Den, I went to The Den last time, can't you send somebody else." Emma didn't usually complain about her job, she liked the thrill of the chase, the blood pumping through her veins, and generally kicking butt. However the 'bad guys' as Henry would say didn't skip bail every day of the week and while Emma also liked to sit on her butt she could only be idle for so long so Graham found other jobs for her to do.
The Mushroom Den was an underground Hookah Bar some guy ran out of his basement. Emma hated going there it reeked of smoke, beaded curtains hung in all the doorways, and purple mats covered the floor where stoners sat around smoking out of various types of Hookahs and the cops couldn't shut it down because the guy who ran it was a valuable informant.
"He likes you" Graham said with a smile.
"Yeah, well I don't like him. Why can't he come down to the station for once?" Emma protested, she always had to shower after leaving that place.
"You know it doesn't work that way" Graham said shaking his head.
"Okay, fine" Emma consented, "but first you tell me why you changed."
"I haven't changed" he said looking up to meet her eyes, confusion on his face.
"Just remember, I can tell if you lie" she said squinting at him, usually the squinting was enough to make anyone start spilling their beans.
"Here is the folder I need him to look at, ask him if he recognizes any of the faces." Graham said handing her a manila envelope.
"A line up? You're sending him photos of a line up?" Emma asked a tiny hint of rage coming out. Graham just went back to the paperwork on his desk, as Emma turned to go back out the door, she would swear he started humming.
The Mushroom Den was in a dangerous part of town to be sure. And was so greasy, it made The Rabbit Hole look like a five star restaurant. Emma couldn't go there alone and she didn't have a partner. She was just trying to think about whom on the force would be her best bet to bring along when one of the guys in holding called to her.
"Oi, blondie, how about springing a poor bloke" Emma looked over at him, she didn't know him, but he was one of those faces you saw around. His hair was short, almost military buzz cut short, and Emma wondered what he'd done to end up in jail for the day, obviously he had been brought in the night before. Most of the office was empty, the rest of the staff currently being on lunch break, or patrol.
She stalked toward his cell as if she was considering it then asked him straight up, "what are you in for?"
"It won't me, I swear." He said raising his hands defensively.
"Yeah, what didn't you do?" she asked, just a little flirty, they responded better to her when she was a little flirty. "It's okay, you can tell me" she said taking on the tone of conspirator, "I can tell when someone is lying so if you didn't do it then I'll set you free.
He broke like a water balloon.
"Well, I might'av stolen some things, from this bloke and me partner is going to sell it back to 'em tonight." He confessed.
"What's your name?" she asked going to the filing cabinet.
"Will Scarlet" he said just a little bit smug.
Emma flew though the folders until she came to one labeled Scarlet, W. and she opened it examining its contents. Mostly piety theft, a few minor break-ins, EX member of The Hood Gang, met her eyes. He was twenty-six and perfect.
"Who did you steel from?" she asked ready to make a deal. If he helped her tonight she would let him walk.
"You're not gonna like it." He said, giving her a full warning.
"Name, now." She said aggressively and he mumbled something she couldn't quite hear. "What was that?"
"The Caterpillar" he said in barely more than a whisper.
Emma froze, well there went that plain out the window, she couldn't drag him back in to The Den if that was where he had pinched from. She strode over to her desk and did something she had never done before, opened the envelope meant for The Caterpillar.
Dumping the pictures onto her desk Emma sorted through them until she came across the one of Scarlet. Frustrated she swore and shoved the pictures back in.
"That's quite the mouth you got on you Swan" said David Nolan as he walked past her desk.
"Hey Dave, what are you up to tonight?" She asked him, trying to sound casual. David was single and thirty, recently divorced after he found out his wife had been cheating on him, not hard on the eyes, and the perfect back up.
"I've got a date tonight" he said grinning madly at her.
"Who's the lucky lady?" she asked keeping up the conversation, not letting her disappointment show should he get the wrong impression.
"A waitress I met on my last failed date." He answered.
"Well have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Emma said with a cheeky smile of her own. David had been plan B, now who was she going to ask?
"Are you going to let me go or not?" Scarlet called from his cell, Emma hoped her resounding silence was answer enough.
A few hours later Emma knew she had no other choice she would have to use Jones as her back up, if she could find him. Red hadn't replied to any of her messages and she had no other way to contact Jones her best hope was to head to The Hole and maybe catch him there. It was only three in the afternoon but it was maybe her only chance.
Luck must have been on her side, Emma noticed Killian right away. He was where she had seen him that first night, in the back corner playing pool with Leroy while two other men watched. She strode toward the pool table with purpose, Killian's back was to her and he didn't see her coming. He was too busy bent over the table lining up his shot.
"All right boys" he said "this is it. Number two in the side pocket." Killian pulled back the cue just as Emma made her presence known.
"Jones, I'm here to ask you out." She said standing behind him and a little to the left so as to avoid being hit by the cue.
Emma watched as he missed his shot spectacularly. The cue ball jumped over the two as he scratched, it jumped right off the table and fell to the floor, hitting the wall to the side of the table, it rolled back coming to a stop at her feet.
"Come again?" he asked turning to face her, his eyes shone brightly, and she couldn't believe the affect she had on him with a few words. This man was powerless where she was concerned.
"I want you to go out with me" she said not ready to show all her cards just yet.
"What's changed your mind, only last night you seemed quite opposed to the idea." He said, a little guarded.
She suddenly felt sorry for leaving him the way she had but life kept bringing them back together. She believed everything happened for a reason, if he wasn't meant to help her tonight than he wouldn't have been at The Hole.
When she didn't respond he filled the silence, "did you have something in mind, or should I start planning?"
"I do have something in mind." She said, bending down and picking up the cue ball, "meet me at my place at eight.
"And Killian," she said handing back the little white ball, "I'm sorry I made you drop your ball."
She could hear him audibly take a gulp of air and swallow it down. Clearly she affected him more than she thought.
At eight o'clock precisely Emma heard the now familiar sound of the bike pulling up to her home and she hurriedly stepped out the door not wanting awkward conversations in the doorway or worse for them to get sidetracked.
Emma was dressed in decidedly work type clothes, a pair of blue jeans that had seen better days, a light blue silky top that simply buttoned up her front, and her reliable red leather jacket. Her black boots were solid looking, not balanced on pinprick heels.
It didn't stop Killian from giving Emma an appreciative gaze and it didn't stop her from noticing.
Emma made Killian park the bike a safe distance away from their destination and as he looked around them concern crept into his features.
"I usually don't take dates to such dismal parts of town love, what are we doing here?" He asked.
"Alright, you caught me, this isn't a date. I needed you for backup to talk to a witness." She confessed, no longer willing to keep the truth from him.
"Not a date" he said a little disappointed, "you know you could have been honest with me, I would have come anyway."
"You would have?" she asked concerned.
"I still will, on one condition." He said stopping short.
"What's that?" she asked suspicious of his requests.
"You go for drinks with me sometime. Just one drink." He said, his voice almost pleading.
Emma didn't have time to respond to that, at least six maybe eight bulky shapes were making their way out of the darkness around them. Some carried baseball bats, one had a golf club, the all looked angry to find two lost strangers on their turf.
Emma reached to the small of her back, where her gun should be, but it wasn't. "Shit" she cursed aloud, suddenly being surrounded and defenceless she longed for the claustrophobic space of The Den and having conversations with a Caterpillar.
I was told to never apologize for your work before you put it out that's why this note comes at the end. I am sorry this took so long, I've had most of it written for days now but I wasn't happy with it. I'm sorry if it seems mostly filler at this point but it will lead to other things. Thank you for having patience with me.