A/N: Hello Lovely Readers! Thank you so much for taking your precious time to read my story. After all that excitement Killian takes Emma home. They have some special moments together and you learn why Emma left the Bureau. There is more to come with this mystery. This might also throw off your guesses as to who the arsonist is as you hear her back story. If you like what you read throw me a line, I love your reviews, notes and comments. If you didn't notice I put up a new manip for this story on Tumblr. Enjoy! M / Smuff and content.

Ch. 10

He wrapped his arm around her and they walked to her car. She was lucky she parked so far from the building because her car was safe from the fire, water and she wasn't boxed in by the emergency vehicles. He helped her into the passenger seat and wrapped the blanket over her shaking form.

He nodded towards Robin acknowledging that he was leaving with Emma and sunk down into the driver's seat and adjusting it back for his longer legs. He looked over and saw her staring blankly out the window. "Love, are you alright?"

She looked over and caught the depth of concern in his beautiful blue eyes. The emotions finally hit and the shock was wearing off. Suddenly she could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks. It was something about being safe in her car with him that woke her out of the trance.

His face fell when he saw the look in her beautiful green eyes. He started the car and covered her hand with his giving it a gentle squeeze. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, it's all just hitting me."

"Love, you've nothing to be sorry about. Let's go home."

The fear was swirling at the surface of her thoughts and the enormity of what she just experienced was washing over her in waves. She let the silent tears fall wiping them with the borrowed blanket.

He made record time getting home. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and protect her from all the evils of the world. He ran around to her side of the car, opened the door and helped her out. She leaned into his side and he helped her up to their apartment.

Once they were safely behind the door she pressed her face into his chest and began sobbing. He held her tight pressing soft kisses to her head and smoothing his hand up and down her back to soothe her. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. He let her down easy on the bed and took off her shoes. He shed his coat and boots before sliding in bed behind her.

They lay there silently for awhile. She welcomed his warmth after the experience she'd had. She was happy she had someone to come home to for once. Her life had been a series of traumatic events that she often just wrote off or simply chalked up to just another day in the life of Emma Swan. It had never been easy for her. There was always something. She pressed her back into his chest and pulled his arms tighter.

He lay his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes. He tried not to envision the look of panic on her face when he peered through the hole in the door. He tried to focus on the fact that she was there, in their bed, warm and safe.

He pressed a kiss to her ear and whispered. "You did great back there you know. If it wasn't for you it could have been a lot worse for them." She nodded. "Robin thinks it was a coincidence that you were there. He doesn't think the arsonist meant for you to be in the fire."

She took a deep breath."I don't know. We did find the smoke bomb in my apartment. It might not have gone off but I don't think that was a coincidence. We should call and check on them at the hospital, make sure they are alright. I hope the police are watching them."

"I'll call Robin later to find out. I'm sure they have it covered. You may be right about the arsonist Love but how could he have known you were going to be at the management office today."

"Well, maybe whoever is doing this is watching me. I don't know but it's not something I want to rule out. "She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key with the anchor. She turned to face him. "If I didn't have this with me today it could have been bad. I used it to get the screws out of the door. You saved my life more than once today."

He pressed a soft kiss to her nose."I'm glad to hear my penchant for the sea came in handy. You were amazing with your quick thinking. The fire was closing in when we got there, if I'd have had to fumble with that knob we could have had a much worse end to the story today. "

She smiled sweetly. "I'm not going to focus on that. I'd prefer to think of you as MY guardian angel. It seems you've been helping me ever since I met you."

"Love, perhaps it's just another sign we were meant to be together. Two danger junkies such as ourselves should not be left alone. We need each other." He said softly.

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips."I do need you. I've never needed anyone or wanted to admit it but I do. I want to need you."

His heart skipped a beat. This strong, independent beautiful woman needed him. He caressed the side of her face. "I need you too Love. For me, that's saying quite a lot. I've been alone for a long time and haven't needed anyone but I want to need you too."

She pressed her forehead to his and closed her eyes. "It seems we found each other at the right time." He leaned forward and kissed her softly. She felt a sudden desperate need to prove she was alive, to feel him, thank him, to love him and pulled him closer deepening the kiss. His lips were sweet and his scruff was soft against her face.

His heart was pounding at the thought of ever losing her. The strawberry scent took over as he breathed her in. He needed to feel her, to worship her and make her know how much he cared for her. He poured his emotions into their sensual kiss, softly pulling and licking as his arms wrapped around her body bringing her as close as possible.

She leaned away slowly and saw his look in his eyes. He was just as wrecked as she was. "Killian, I need you, I need to feel you." She whispered. "Aye, Love I need you too." He helped her up slowly, pulling her shirt over her head, her hair falling down around her shoulders. He carefully unhooked her bra freeing her soft breasts. He looked up to see her soft smile as his hands brushed over her warm skin.

She leaned forward, helping him out of his shirt, brushing her hands across his chest, trailing her fingers against his taught muscles and soft hair.

He looked into her beautiful green eyes, still glazed with tear drops and caressed her cheek."You are so beautiful Love." He stood and helped her out of the rest of her clothes leaving her bare before him. He quickly divest himself of his pants and slid back into warm blankets beside her. She immediately came back into his embrace and found his soft lips and tangled her legs with his.

He kissed her softly, moving down her jaw to her neck leaving a trail of wet kisses that were driving her mad. His hands roamed over her soft curves pulling her nipple to a tight peak. He kissed down her body capturing the nipple between his lips and sucking softly. She moaned in pleasure as his hands continued to roam and his mouth explored her body.

She rubbed her hands through his hair as his lips moved further down towards her most sensitive place. He pressed kisses across her stomach, her belly button and her side forcing her to giggle where he found her most ticklish.

He looked up and smiled when he heard the glorious sound of her laugh. He rolled her nipple between his fingers as his mouth moved lower breathing warm breath against her sensitive nub. He pressed his lips further licking and teasing her."God that feels good." She whimpered as he found the spot she craved for him to touch most. Her hands were in his hair pulling harder as he continued to pull her into oblivion. He teased and sucked until she was crying out his name, hips bucking from the bed."Killian."

He crawled up her body slowly and captured her moans with his kiss as his fingers continued to work her over, helping her ride out the waves of pleasure. She spread her legs and he settled between her thighs. He slid against her coating his hardened length in her essence."So wet and warm for me Love." He licked along her bottom lip as he lined up to her entrance.

She tilted her hips up and he pushed into her slowly, both groaning in unison as he filled her. "You are so tight Love. God you feel so good wrapped around me." She cupped his face and pulled him towards her capturing his lips.

He moved slowly, dragging in and out. She felt so good, he didn't want to stop but he kept it slow so he could make her feel good. She slid her hands up and down his back caressing his taught muscles down to his arse. She squeezed and pulled him deeper."Faster." she whispered into his ear.

He leaned up on his arms and pressed his hips into her pulling back faster. She bucked her hips up to meet him thrust for thrust catching a fast rhythm. She reached down to where they were joined and teased circles at her sensitive nub. He captured her lips kissing her desperately as they panted together. She fell fast over the edge seeing stars behind her eyes as he continued to thrust into her. Her walls fluttering around him as she dug her nails into his forearms forced him to his happy release, her name falling from his lips softly. "Emma."

He collapsed on top of her, their sweat slick bodies sliding against each other as he rolled to the side. She pressed her warm hands against his cheeks and kissed him softly. "That was so. " she breathed smiling. He gazed deeply into her eyes and smiled as he caressed his hand down the side of her body carefully over her soft curves. "I know Love." He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. They lay there quietly in a state of bliss for awhile. It was nice to just be together and safe in each other's arms.

The moonlight was shining in through the bedroom window and the stars were bright on such a clear night. She was trying to put all that happened that day into a compartment in her mind, much like some of the other scarier events she'd lived through. She didn't survive alone for so long carrying her fears on her sleeve. She had baggage that she neatly tucked away to pull out when she needed it.

He sensed she was thoughtful and knew it would help to talk about it. Even loners like them needed to release and purge sometimes. He decided to try, he saw the look in her eyes and he knew she was worried. "How are you feeling Love?"

"Huh? Oh." She turned in his arms to face him. She blinked slowly as she stared into those blue eyes that she swore could see to her soul. "I'm getting better thanks to you."

He gave her a soft smile."Being trapped by the fiery beast can be disconcerting to say the least. Fear of losing your life can be worse. If you want to talk about it I'll listen. I've been there myself and I know what it can do to a person. Some of the guys that I've worked with in the past have fallen off because it gets to be too much."

She sighed."I've been in dangerous situations before, actually much worse than how you found me today. "Her voice trailed off towards the end. He pressed a soft kiss to her head."Do tell Love." He felt her freeze up at the question. "I haven't really talked about this before." He pulled lightly at the strands of her hair and smoothed them over her shoulder. He could sense her apprehension to discuss it. "If you don't want to talk about it please don't feel as though you have to."

"Killian, I've never shared this with anyone. Its part of the reason I've been running for awhile. Since we've managed to go from 0 to 60 so quickly I want to tell you. This story is part of the reason I've been running on my own for awhile. I've been alone for a large part of my life and it seems each time I put my heart out there I get hurt." She sat up and pulled him up with her. She snuggled close as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Love, I believe we are very similar in that respect. I trust you and you don't have to talk about it. I'm willing to take things day by day."

She heard the sincerity in the words but she was ready. She wanted him to know, needed him to know because if he was going to run it would need to be sooner than later, her heart couldn't bear it.

She nodded."I want to tell you. I want to let you in. I've been burned really bad in the past by people close to me. The last incident broke me and I had to leave town, my friends, and my job to begin again, and protect myself. I let down my guard and I got hurt. I felt like a fool in my personal life and professional life."

He grasped her hand in his and laced his fingers with hers. She took a breath." You know that David and I worked together in DC. I'm sure you're also aware that I left abruptly and I didn't say goodbye to him and Mary Margaret."

"Aye." She licked her lips and blinked her eyes slowly. "The final case I was working on was very intense. I was tracking a killer who had a thing for red heads. We had 2 women turn up dead, similar look, type, and the method they were killed was the same. Completely heinous and I'm going to spare you the details." He nodded. "I appreciate that Love."

"In both instances the women were dating the same man and when we tracked his previous girlfriends they were all red heads with big blue or green eyes. Beautiful girls and the previous two were alive and happily married in another state. When his girlfriend was killed he seemed to have an alibi but it was shaky at best. He worked as a shore man and when they had catch or cargo he had to be there. He claimed to be working the night the first girl was killed and video would show the image of what looked like him working at the docks. There was also no evidence on the girl pointing to him as the killer. "

He let out a breath slowly."I think I remember hearing about this case Love. You and David were involved?"

She nodded." David and I were investigating; the bureau was called in when the second girlfriend turned up dead. She matched the description of the first and the murder was the same, but again he seemed to have an alibi. The guy was also distraught at her loss and it seemed unlikely he was the killer but just unlucky."

She shuffled a little next to him as she remembered what came next. "They pulled me in because I fit the description of the girls, aside from my hair color which was easy to change. The mayor pulled some strings at the department to get heat on this. Local law enforcement was falling down on the job."

"Anything like Humbert and I wouldn't be surprised." He huffed.

She laughed."Well he does seem to have his own way of doing things and doesn't seem to take the hint let alone find clues but let's not talk about him. My hand still stings a bit."

He picked up her hand and kissed her palm with a smile on his lips.

"The bureau complied, rented an apartment down the street from him and I went undercover. They setup a chance encounter at the local grocery story for us to meet. All went well and he asked for my number before we got to the check out. He seemed like a nice guy, very polite and I didn't get any creepy vibes from him at all."

He listened to her tell the story and he could hear the apprehension in her voice. He still appreciated her telling him her secrets. "So you moved into the apartment and started dating?"

She shook her head."No, we became friends. I watched him and he'd invite me over. He had a group that he hung out with from his complex. They were nice people. A few couples and a few single men would generally join us. It was actually a fairly easy assignment. He'd call me often to hang out. It was always with a group and never alone. He spoke of girlfriend number 1, Ariel, often. He'd been dating her for two years and planned to marry her. He was always a gentleman, never tried anything with me, just seemed to enjoy my friendship."

"Doesn't sound like a killer. If he is pining for her, I can't imagine he'd have been able to do horrible things to her."

She took a deep breath." I thought so too. One night he had a party and the usual folks gathered. I helped him prepare the food and we were playing games, drinking, etc. David and Mary Margaret were celebrating their anniversary that night so I gave him the night off. I figured I didn't need my handler watching for just a simple party and I knew how much he missed Mary Margaret since the case began so I suggested he go and I'd be fine. I couldn't have been more wrong. That night at the party Eric was called in to work. I excused myself into the other room and quickly called the guys watching the docks to let them know that Eric was coming. I told Eric I'd keep the party going since he had to leave abruptly."

"So he left you at his apartment with the rest of your friends so he could go to work? "

"Yes." She swallowed hard. He caressed her face lightly." You don't have to tell me Love." She shook her head."No I do. You're right I need to get this out." She took a breath. "We continued playing games and one of his neighbors, a guy named Neal, he'd flirted with me before and I liked him. I thought we might have a thing at some point when the case was over. I'd run into him a few times on my own doing laundry, a bar and once at a local coffee shop."

"So you dated one of Eric's friends?"
"Not so much dated but bumped into him in different places. What I didn't realize was the reason I was bumping into him was because I was following Eric's pattern and so was he. He seemed interested in me but only so much as what I had to do with Eric. He would ask about things Eric and I did. I wish I would have noticed it at the time but he was such a charmer, completely playing me for a fool."

"He was playing you for a fool?" He asked.

"Yes, this is where things get scary. As I said, when Eric left Neal stepped up and helped me finish out hosting duties. When everyone else was leaving he stayed and helped me clean up after the party. He handed me a glass of wine and we sat to talk for a bit before I planned to go home. Neal had other plans for me. He was charming again and reeling me in. Since David wasn't there that night I restricted my drinking to a minimum. Neal had no idea I'd only had a few sips of the wine he gave me and that I'd switched to grape juice. He'd drugged my drink and even though I'd only had a small amount it affected me. When I couldn't stand he dragged me to his apartment."

He blinked hard. "He was the killer?"

"It turns out Neal had been monitoring all of Eric's movement. He'd had a secret crush on the first girl that died that none of us knew about. She'd never mentioned Neal to friends, she'd never talked about him and Neal hadn't lived in Eric's building when the first girl was murdered. There were no signs pointing to Neal that would have had us looking at him. When Eric introduced me he told me he was a new friend. " she huffed out a breath.

"What he didn't know was that I always kept a knife in my boot and like I said I'd switched to grape juice when he wasn't looking. He'd been setting up the scene for his next murder and I'd been pretending to be passed out on his couch watching him through slitted lids. He was a sick bastard; you should have seen all the scalpels."

He groaned."Sounds very silence of the lambs." She huffed. "Not far off actually but like I said, I'll spare you the details." He shook his head. "I can't imagine nor do I want to imagine what he did to those women or could have done to you."

She snuggled in closer. "When he wasn't paying attention I was able to grab my knife and cut the tape that bound my hands. I waited for him to leave the room and cut the tape at my feet, I put the knife back in my boot. I was still feeling really woozy so I immediately ran for the door. The bastard took my phone. I made it to the apartment door and pulled it open. As I pulled he came out and grabbed my hair yanking me back. I started screaming but he had a gun so I stopped. Eric happened to be returning from work when I'd pulled the door open. He heard me scream and rushed in. He saw that Neal had me in a choke hold and came foolishly rushing at us. Eric was on top of Neal when I got to my feet. Neal shot Eric before I could do anything. Neal pushed him off and grabbed me. I managed to get the gun out of his hand but he had me pinned. Luckily I had my knife and I caught him off guard by stabbing him in the shoulder. The wound kept him off me long enough for me to get a lamp and smash it over his head. I used his phone and called for back up."

He pulled her into his chest."Thank goodness you weren't hurt. "

"That's just it. I wasn't hurt physically, maybe minor cuts and bruises but emotionally I was drained. That was the most normal I'd ever felt. I actually started to care for those people. It was a window into a life I never had and at that time thought probably never would have. I was so embarrassed that I missed the signs that lead to Neal; I let him get me off my game and put myself in that situation. It just wasn't like me. I felt like I was slipping away."

"Love, it's only natural to want to have friends and everything you mentioned sounded like the most normal thing in the world. I can see the appeal and I wouldn't fault you for that at all. Even the best of us falter at times. "

She smiled sweetly at him." Not me. I didn't make mistakes, I aimed for perfection. That mistake haunted me. I felt like I lost my edge, the cases weren't what I wanted anymore. I was being used and I didn't like it. I also felt bad that Eric was killed trying to protect me. He really was a decent guy after all. He just liked red heads and the first girl was the love of his life. The second really just reminded him of her and he missed her. Leave it to Neal to exploit that poor man's heart ache further and take it out on the second girl. I decided that was it for me."

"What happened with Neal?"

"They found enough evidence to put him away for a long time. He's lucky that I missed a main artery with the knife. What he did to those women was horrific and the thought that it could have happened to me well that was another thing. I needed to change my line of work. It was taking its toll on me mentally too; I couldn't get the images out of my head. There are some seriously damaged people in this world. "

"Love, all of that sounds perfectly understandable. You can't always be perfect. What about David and Mary Margaret, why not tell them? Did he ever find out?"

"I'm not sure if he was clued in after I left but I couldn't face him, either of them. I didn't want to give them a chance to talk me out of it. I let him off for the night and I didn't want him to feel responsible for what almost happened. He deserved to spend time with his wife. He'd been burning the candle at both ends just like me. I was also embarrassed. That was an easy pick up if I just looked hard enough."

"I'm not so sure Love. Like you said there were no indications that Neal knew Eric or his girlfriends."

"That's just it. All the signs were there, I just chose to ignore them. The way he watched Eric, I thought he was in love with him, but it was really just careful listening. When he found out Eric and I weren't dating he backed away from me. I think it was the party that set him off. We gave it together and he must have thought we'd stepped over the friendship line. Neal had been tracking him and he was the one who got Eric called in all three occasions. We found out later when we found a burner phone hidden under his floor boards along with other personal effects from the two women. He had quite a bit of Ariel's things, including some of her hair, finger nails, and jewelry. "

He hugged her tight. "Sounds like you have been through quite a lot even just with that case."

She nodded."It was the final straw for me. The following morning I turned in my badge and never looked back. It was what I needed to do for myself. I gave everything up and went back to surviving on my own. I had some money saved so it got me through until I started with the perps. I took on a few investigations as a PI as well, photographed some unscrupulous couples and made it work. I've been doing it on my own ever since. "

"Ah, but then you met me." She leaned over and kissed him softly. "Yes, and all those niggling thoughts about loneliness came into my head. I may have turned it off but I am human. I knew they were there but I didn't let myself really feel them. You really made me pause. You got me, it was easy to talk to you and you're seriously the most gorgeous man I have ever met. "

He laughed." I know what you mean Love. From the moment you walked into that bar I couldn't keep my eyes off of you. I considered myself a lucky man when you spoke to me at that bar. You can imagine how I felt when I got to hold you in my arms, to learn how alike we were, and to really feel the connection between us."

"I know. It's like an electro magnet pulling me to you. I can't help myself. It's never been like that for me before." She looked down hiding her vulnerability. He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes."Not for me either Love. I'd say perhaps we were meant to find each other. It just took awhile."

She looked up and smiled. He pressed a kiss to her smiling lips. "You're right and here we are snuggled together in our apartment, a couple of loners like us." He laughed."Not loners anymore."

She smiled."No, not anymore."

He squeezed her tight."So we're going to dinner at David's place and this is the first time you'll see Mary Margaret since this happened."

"Yep."

He nodded."Should be interesting then."

She could feel her stomach growling. She hadn't eaten since that morning. "Speaking of dinner, I'm hungry. "

He looked at her and reminded himself she was here, alive and well. "If you want to take a shower I can whip something up."

She gave him a mischievous look."How about we shower together and get a pizza?"

He raised his eyebrow and smiled. "I like your plan better."