It took most of the early morning for David, Killian and Emma to thoroughly search Dr. Hopper's home for clues. Thankfully the search was fairly successful with the torn piece of fabric that Pongo had snagged and a partial footprint in some spilled sand in the hallway. The frustration that Emma had been feeling earlier that morning gave way to a small glimmer of hope now that she had something to go off of.

The fabric Pongo had apparently bitten off of the attacker was a very unique polyester/cotton blend which struck Emma as being from a uniform of some kind. The boot print in the sand gave increased credibility to that line of thinking which gave Emma a very credible place to start her search. There couldn't be many people in town that wore navy blue uniform pants and only one with a gaping hole in their trousers.

As the three of them sat at Granny's sipping coffee awaiting their food David cleared his throat and said, "I think there is something we need to clear up before we proceed any further in this or any other matter involving the sheriff's office."

Emma gave him a peculiar look and asked, "Ok. What's that?"

"Hook," David said simply. "Since it seems likely that he will continue being present for any and all involvements of police affairs, we are left with only one option…making you official."

David held out the deputy's badge that had once belonged to Emma for Killian to take. Before he could do so, Emma grabbed his hand and interrupted.

"Whoa. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked hesitantly.

"Excuse me?" Killian asked.

"I just want to make sure you know what this means," Emma muttered quietly. "If you take this badge it means that this is it. You will be a 'no-joke' member of this town. Are you sure that is what you want?"

Emma stared at the table waiting for a response. She became annoyed at herself when she realized that she was nervous for what his answer might be. While she knew how much Killian had sacrificed in order to bring her back to Storybrooke and everything he had done before and since then, she had never really considered him staying in Storybrooke on a permanent basis.

"My love," Killian said as he gently lifted Emma's chin to allow him to look into her eyes, "surely you know by now that there is no where else I'd rather be."

"Great," David said as he rolled his eyes and slid the badge across the table. "Now we need to discuss something else. With people disappearing again, we really need to consider making some kind of public announcement or something."

"No," Emma said immediately. "This is not going to last much longer. Let everyone have their peace."

Killian grimaced and said, "While I agree with the idea of not alarming everyone, I do think that perhaps we should at least let your mother know what's been going on. It isn't fair to keep her in the dark especially when there is such a possibility for harm to come to either of you?"

"I'm not sure that would be best," David interjected, "she has been consumed by the planning of the ball. I don't think that anything good would come of telling her."

"No. Killian's right. I think that we should at least tell her something," Emma said quietly. "She's bound to hear something eventually if more people come up missing and it would be wrong to have her blind-sided."

"She'll be livid with all of us you know," David warned.

Emma sighed. "I would expect nothing less. I'm supposed to meet up with her in a bit for a dress fitting; I can talk to her then. Maybe she'll even forget about this idea of fitting me for a dress."

"I doubt that," David said with a laugh. "You know, usually finding a dress is one of the most anticipated aspects about getting ready for a ball."

"The end result of all of those preparations is one of the most anticipated parts of the evening for the rest of us, lass," Killian interjected.

"It just all seems like a waste of time," Emma muttered.

David smiled and said, "I know, but perhaps you can try to keep those feelings to yourself and just humor her, huh?"

"Fine," she consented. "What are you guys going to do?"

"I think we are going to get the photos from Dr. Hopper's house developed and the see what we can get out of them," David replied thoughtfully. "Do you want to just give us a call when you are done with your mother?"

Emma nodded and stood from the table saying, "Good then. I'll see you boys later."

"Wait, I'll walk you out," Killian said jumping up from the table after her. "I'll meet you by your vessel," he called over his shoulder to David.

The pair walked in silence outside and across the street to where Emma's car was parked. Killian brushed a strand of hair from her face as he searched for the words that would help him put his heart at ease.

"Do you truly believe I would want to exist anywhere but here with you?" he whispered emotionally.

Emma, surprised at the hurt she saw in his eyes said, "I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. It was pretty damn hard for me to take that badge and I didn't want you to feel pressured to do the same."

"It wasn't a hard choice for me in the slightest," Killian argued. "I want to be where you are for as long as you will allow me to be."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I guess I'm not used to anyone wanting to stay in my life. I'm…I'm just not good at this."

Killian stepped closer and carefully stroked her face with one finger. "Not good at what, love?"

"At any of this," she snapped in frustration. "I don't know how to be a daughter, a mother, a sister or… whatever we are! All I know is how to be alone."

Drawing her into his arms he stared into her eyes and quietly whispered, "If it were up to me, I'd never allow you to be alone again."

Before she could respond he captured her lips with his and once again Emma felt as though the world around them had disappeared. Her heart beat so fast and loud and that was sure her father could hear it across the street inside Granny's. She entangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. When he finally pulled away she could barely keep the world from spinning around her.

"Stay safe," he said softly. "Call us if you need us."

Emma forced a chuckle. "I think the only dangers that await me in the next few hours are ones involving pins and needles."

With a quick peck on the forehead Killian released Emma from his hold and they parted ways.


Although Emma would never admit it to anyone, she surprisingly had a good time at her dress fitting. She had been surprised to learn that the seamstress, Robyn that owned the shop had once been a bird back in the enchanted forest, but had to admire her skills. After such a short meeting, Robyn had been able to come up with a dress design that Emma was actually excited about wearing.

Her mother's excitement about the event was quite contagious and Emma was most hesitant to deliver the news that would put dampen her mood. She knew, however, that Killian had been right about her mother needing to know the truth about what was happening.

Mary Margaret remained quiet as Emma explained everything and when finished Emma braced herself for her response. So naturally, her mother did the very opposite of what she had been expecting her to do. Instead of scolding her for keeping secrets, Mary Margaret approached her daughter and pulled her into a comforting and supportive hug.

"I'm so sorry," Mary Margaret whispered.

Confused Emma pulled away and asked, "What are you sorry for?"

"For somehow failing to make you understand how very important you are to me; for not being the mother that I so wanted to be to you; the one that you can talk to when you are upset or in trouble. Instead you think I am someone that needs to be sheltered and babied to be kept happy," her mother responded.

Emma felt her heart sink. She had expected a verbally tough-lashing, but this whole guilt trip approach was unanticipated, although she did have to admit that her mother had quite the knack for laying it on thick.

"Why can't you just yell at me?" Emma asked with an eye roll. "I know it was a stupid idea, but it seemed to make sense to me at the time."

"You're right. It was stupid," Mary Margaret agreed in frustration. "All I want it to be a part of your life and you seem to keep finding new excuses to keep me out."

Emma couldn't help feeling like she just couldn't do anything right and it all just seemed to be getting worse as the day went on.

"Look, it isn't like that. I just thought that it was something that I could handle on my own. By the time it became something more than I could handle it was too late. Or so I made myself believe. I am sorry," Emma mumbled.

Mary Margaret sighed. "So now what? What are you guys planning to do about the Sandman? Do you have any ideas where Leroy or Dr. Hopper are?"

"I don't. About anything," Emma admitted. "I'm hoping David and Killian have come up with something, actually."

"Let me get a search party together," Mary Margaret offered. "I can get the dwarfs to do some looking around quiet enough that they won't alarm anyone else."

"I like that. I'll meet up with dad and see what they have found out. If you want I can see if Belle can watch Neal and you can meet us at the station," Emma suggested.

Her mother shook her head sadly as if she could see right through her desperate attempt to include her and make things right.

"I am supposed to be meeting Regina here in a little bit. We decided to use the mansion for the ball and need to get out there to figure out the logistics of everything," Mary Margaret explained.

Emma nodded and knew that she ought to be getting on with her day, but seemed to be finding it hard to get up and leave. The guilt she was feeling about keeping secrets from her mother was eating away at her, but she knew that there was nothing else she could do or say to make things any better.

Finally she stood and approached her mother giving her a tight hug and turned to leave. Before she could reach the door her mother called out to her.

"Wait!" Mary Margaret cried out as she ran to her daughter's side. "Please don't think I'm angry with you. I love you. I'm sorry. I know why you chose to not tell me, but please don't think you need to hide things from me."

Unable to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes Emma stammered, "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just not used to any of this. I deal with things alone. It's just what I do."

"Not anymore," her mother corrected as they shared another hug this one laced with tears from both women.

By the time that Emma had finally made it to her car and was heading to the sheriff's station, she couldn't keep from wondering who else she was going to disappoint before she put an end to the Sandman and his antics.