Author's note: It isn't clear how much time passes after 1x08 when Emma wins the sheriff's election so this chapter takes place during that time. :) As always, thank you for all the follows, favorites and especially the oh so kind reviews!

"Sheriff's station," Emma answered the phone with all the professionalism she could muster.

"There's a fight here," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Okay, where is here?" she asked.

"The Rabbit Hole." Of course. Emma's first official call as the sheriff would just have to be at Killian's bar. "You'd better hurry; this isn't going to be pretty."

"I'm on my way," she said. "Can I get your name?"

"I'd rather not say," the person said. "I don't want to get involved in this feud."

Emma grabbed the keys to the sheriff's car and headed out the door of the station. Flipping on the lights she drove the short distance over to the town's only late night establishment. It was getting near closing time and she braced herself for what was no doubt some drunken misunderstanding. What she found when she walked through the front door was much, much worse.

"Calm down, Tucker," Emma heard Killian say. His voice was calm and steady but the situation was anything but. It seemed that most of the patrons had cleared out of the bar but over by the pool table was a small group. Emma quickly deduced that Tucker must be the guy that was holding a broken beer bottle to the throat of another young man. Killian was standing a few feet away in a defensive stance trying to diffuse the situation.

"Drop the weapon and back away," Emma commanded, drawing her gun from the holster at her hip.

"Tucker, listen to her," a female voice pleaded. "Please, don't get into trouble."

"Jessica, he's only after you for one reason," Tucker said in response. "I'm not going to stand for this disrespect and you know your father won't either."

"It's not like that, man," the guy at the other end of the broken bottle said. His voice was broken and he looked desperately at Jessica.

"Hey!" Emma shouted. "I said drop the weapon!"

Tucker looked over at her and saw the gun pointed at him. His face went white and he did as he was asked; he took a step back and dropped the beer bottle to the ground. Killian kicked it out of his reach.

"Thank you," Emma said. She lowered her gun but didn't put it away yet. "Now, you guys want to tell me what's going on here?"

Over the next hour Emma gathered everyone's information and let everyone go that wasn't directly involved in the incident. Killian went back behind his bar to clean up for the night. When it was just Tucker, Jessica and the third guy – whose name was Ryan – Emma found out that it was just a bar fight that had escalated a little too quickly.

"I love her," Ryan exclaimed. "And he just thinks it's all an act."

"It is all an act," Tucker said. "Jessica is my cousin and our families hate each other. The only thing he is interested in is causing more trouble."

"And what do you think, Jessica?" Emma asked.

"She knows better.." Tucker began but Emma held up her hand to stop him mid-sentence.

"I asked her."

"I love Ryan," Jessica said. "It doesn't make any sense but I do. Ryan's not trying to trick me. We just want to get married but our families don't approve."

"Star-crossed lovers, huh?" Emma said with a smile. She turned toward Ryan and looked him in the eye. "Is that all you want? Just to marry the girl you love?"

"Yes," Ryan said. "It's our families that don't get along. Why should that stop us?"

Emma listened to his answer and searched his face. He was telling the truth. "Listen, Tucker. I'm going to do you a favor and let you off with a really big warning. You need to let your cousin make her own decisions."

"She's making a mistake," Tucker mumbled.

"Then it's her mistake to make," Emma told him. "She's a grown woman and she gets to make her own choices. If I hear that you or your families caused any more trouble for these two then I will make it my business to make sure no one gets another off on a warning again, got it?"

"Got it," they each said.

Emma let Jessica and Ryan leave and held Tucker behind for a while. She didn't want the argument to continue on the street. After about ten minutes she let him go with a reminder of the warning that she had given him. By the time the whole incident was dealt with it was way after midnight.

"Care for a nightcap, sheriff?" Killian offered, locking the door after Tucker left.

"Can't," she said. "I don't drink and sheriff."

"It seems to me that your sheriffing is done for the night," Killian pointed out. "I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your impressive defeat of the news man."

It wasn't an accident that he hadn't run into her. Emma had been avoiding him successfully up until tonight when she had no other choice. Their last encounter had left her feeling vulnerable and that was not what she needed to feel, especially not around a guys like Killian. But now that she was alone with him again she couldn't seem to leave.

"One drink," she said. "I have to get a statement from you anyway."

Killian grinned and took the familiar bottle off the shelf and poured two drinks for them. He placed them on the bar but this time he didn't come to sit next to her. Instead he leaned on the bar and clinked his glass against hers. "To the new sheriff of Storybrooke."

Emma sipped her drink this time, careful to keep her wits about her. She was expecting Killian to bring up their night in the sheriff's station and she had no idea what she would say if he did. She smiled to herself when she imagined just bolting out the front door.

"Something funny, Swan?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not really," she answered as the color rose to her cheeks.

"I can only imagine what you must have been thinking if it made you blush like that," he said, watching her closely.

Emma only blushed more and rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

"If you knew the role you played in my dreams you would be blushing a lot more than that, love," Killian said in a low voice.

Emma locked eyes with him. She should probably be offended by what he was saying but instead she was relieved. She could take his flirting and innuendo; she couldn't take a discussion about her opening up to him. It would be better to just keep this relationship what it was – a mutual physical attraction. "Oh, yeah?" she said with a smile. "Try me."

Killian raised his eyebrows. "Ooh, I do love a challenge," he said. "But a gentleman never tells."

"So now you decide to be a gentleman?" she asked flatly.

"You wound me, Emma," Killian said, placing his hand dramatically over his heart. "When have I not been a gentleman?"

She scoffed. "How about the last time I was here?"

"I seem to recall you were the one acting like a scoundrel that night," he accused with a smile. "You came here looking to scratch an itch and I was just the man to do it. And then you left me unsatisfied."

It was Emma's turn to raise her eyebrows. "And what satisfaction should you have had that night?" She paused for a moment wondering how this odd exchange sounded so vaguely familiar.

"Whatever the lady pleased, of course" Killian said. "But my lady apparently thought the best course of action was to run out the door."

"And the self-proclaimed gentleman decided the best course of action was to hurl insults at me as I left," she countered.

"Touché," he conceded. "I may have been out of line. So let me offer you something that I don't usually offer to anyone. My apology."

She hadn't expected that. "Apology accepted," she said. She kept her eyes cast down to her drink. She didn't want to know if he was sincere.

"You didn't have to run out on me, though," he said in a low voice.

"Oh, but I really did," Emma said. She swallowed the rest of her drink. "And I'm afraid I have to do the same thing tonight. Thanks for the drink." She took out her wallet and pushed some cash across the bar before quickly heading for the door.

"Getting too intense for you?"

"Hardly," she replied; wheeling around to face him. "I just can't very well leave the sheriff's car sitting out front of the bar while I sit and have a couple drinks."

"I see, so you're worried about what people will think," Killian said. He stepped out from behind the bar and walked closer to where she stood near the exit.

"I just need to get the car back to the station," she said again.

"No, I think there's more to it than that," he said.

She shook her head. "You can think whatever you want. Goodnight, Killian." She turned around and opened the door to leave.

"Swan."

"What?" she asked a little too loudly.

"Your keys." She looked back and saw him standing there with her keys dangling in his hand. "You left them on the bar."

He didn't make a move so she stepped forward and reached out to take them. When her hand connected with his she shivered and the keys fell to the floor. Neither of them moved to pick them up. It suddenly felt like the two of the in this room were the only residents of the small town that were still awake. Emma found herself mesmerized by the blue of his eyes. They were as bright as the sky on a cloudless day but had flecks of deep blue that was the color of the ocean during a storm; she had never noticed how intensely he looked at her – or maybe she had but didn't want to recognize it. Without thinking she linked their fingers together and closed the distance between her and the darkly handsome bartender. She rose up on her tip toes and forgot to remind herself of all the reasons she shouldn't be doing this.

The kiss was everything that their last encounter wasn't. This time she felt the softness of his lips as he lowered his head to meet her halfway. None of the groping passion was present, just an achingly tender need to be consumed by the moment. Emma's mouth opened for him when she felt his tongue run gently over her bottom lip. Their hands unlinked and she raked her fingers through his dark hair. Killian's arms encircled her waist and she felt herself relax into his embrace. Her heart was beating rapidly as his tongue swept into her mouth. A small sigh escaped from her throat and he responded with his own appreciative moan.

His mouth moved away from hers and he began kissing a slow line down her jaw to her throat. Emma wanted so badly to lose herself in this. She'd already had a taste of what Killian could do to her in the bedroom. She could go back to his place and spend the night and maybe even have some kind of no strings attached arrangement until she decided it was time to move on … except she wasn't planning on moving on this time. She was here to stay, right? She had a job, a great place to live …

"Hey, where'd you go?" Killian asked suddenly. Emma realized that her racing thoughts had won out and he had known the instant it happened.

"I … I have to go," Emma said. She pressed her forehead against his. "I don't want to but I have to."

"The car might be spotted," he said. "I understand."

"Well, there's that," she began. "But ... I just … I can't get involved. I have to focus on Henry right now."

"No, there's more to it than that," Killian said.

She really needed to get better at lying to this man. "I just have to go," she repeated.

He leaned down and picked up her keys before opening the door for her. "Goodnight, Sheriff Swan."

She hesitated for a moment. "Goodnight, Killian."

The door closed behind her and she headed back to her waiting car. She climbed into the driver's seat and leaned her head against the steering wheel. She remembered now why she had spent the last year trying to avoid any kind of emotional connection. It always led to heartbreak and disappointment. Killian might seem like a nice distraction but she knew that she could too easily let herself be carried away thinking that he was something that he was not.

She turned the key in the ignition and drove quietly back to the sheriff's station.

Author's note: Every time people ask what stories I would like to see on the show one always comes to mind. I changed the names but put a few not too subtle references into this chapter ... did you catch it? :)