Surprise! Yes, it's not a dream. A new chapter is here! I have decided that I'll do my best to try to update more often. I have many plans for this story and I look forward to further progress.

As I told you, this time, it's Emma's and her phone conversation with Elsa. I love Elsa in this story, I never have enough of her. Actually, I love the whole Jones family.

Emma had lost track of time. She remained in the same position, sat on the floor, her legs folded against her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her phone was on the floor beside her. The previous anxiety had disappeared. Her eyes were dry again, her body was more relaxed. In a way, the tears shed had dragged with them any hint of vulnerability, her armor was back again in place.

She had gotten her mind went blank, burying her bad thoughts in the depths of her memory. However, she still didn't have enough courage to make her normal life, so, for lack of a better expectation, she remained there, with her back against the bed, feeling the hardness of the ground, while her gaze wandered absently for her bedroom.

Suddenly, her phone rang, breaking the silence. She startled at the unexpected sound while her heart skipped a beat at the possibility of Killian calling her again. In a way, she felt remorse for having hung the call without giving him any explanation. That has been rude for her part. But she had been unable to speak. However, the answer came soon, at the same time when she looked at the screen. Unknown number. She let out the breath she'd been holding, with a mixture of relief and disappointment.

She hesitated, unable to decide whether to answer or not. Usually, she only received calls related to her job. Killian was the only one who had broken the pattern. It was the possibility of a work call that made her decide to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Emma?" A soft female voice came from the other side of the line. A voice she didn't recognize.

A suspicion grew inside her. Maybe it wouldn't be a work call. "Who are you?" She asked with undisguised suspicion.

"I'm Elsa, Killian's sister-in-law."

Emma straightened her back at the mention of Killian as she wondered why she was calling her. "Why are you calling me? Is he all right?" Her voice, filled with concern and roughness at the unexpected call.

"Yes, uh ... he'll be fine. I'm calling because I'd like to talk to you."

Emma frowned, her skepticism increased. Elsa had responded too quickly, as if she wanted her answer to go unnoticed. "Will he? What's going on?"

A deep breath came from the other side of the phone, followed again by Elsa's voice. "Listen, Emma, he's fine. We can talk about him. Later. The reason I'm calling you is because I'd like to talk about you." The barriers raised at the time when she heard her last words.

"About me? Why?" She muttered, reluctant to make it easy for her.

"First of all, please don't hang up the call." Elsa pleaded. Emma began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. If she said that, it was because she probably would actually have a reason to hang up.

"Look, Killian... he's worried about you. I guess you already know that." She lowered her voice, her tone even softer. "He told us that something was bothering you. You don't have to talk to me. We don't know each other but my family has been through a lot. We have experience with adversities, so maybe we could help."

Emma swallowed the lump formed in her throat, again tears threatened to spill, but she held them. This time, however, she felt stronger, less vulnerable. There was something in Elsa's voice, perhaps her melodic cadence, maybe her sweet tone or her accent, whatever it was, she felt it as a reassuring balm.

She felt she could trust a perfect stranger. "It seems that we all have some ghosts of the past." The words came easily this time. Though her voice was hesitant at first, she gradually gained strength. "Today was a significant date for me. That means some bad memories have been present. But I'm better now." That was all she could say without revealing too much of her past. Now that she had managed to bury her memories, she didn't want them to return to the surface.

"Sometimes the ghosts of the past are so powerful that they don't let us live our present or getting to our future." Emma detected a hint of nostalgia in her voice. Perhaps she was also reliving a bad experience. But it was just a moment, she quickly regained her calm voice. "I know it sounds crazy, you know Killian only for a week. But I really think you both can help each other, that you can trust him."

Emma was overwhelmed when she noticed how his family cared about Killian. Nevertheless, he was a lucky guy for having someone who cared about him so much that they got worried for a perfect stranger. For a moment, she wanted it all, wanted a family, someone to support her, someone she could turn to in her bad times. Elsa's following words nearly finished breaking her again.

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

Elsa knew. Somehow she knew that she had no one. And she, rather than pull her away, was offering her the possibility of being part of something. A wave of gratitude to this woman came over her.

She cleared her throat to try to answer. "I, uh ... I do trust Killian." Saying his name she recalled the start of the conversation, her suspicions appeared again. "By the way, what happened to him?"

"Emma, I think I'm not the best person to talk about it. You can talk to him later." Elsa replied evasively, increasing her concern.

"Okay, now I'm the one that is beginning to worry."

Elsa sighed. "Okay, but I want you to know that none of this is your fault, right?" Far from reassuring her, that was getting her more nervous, her heart was in her throat expectantly. "When you hung up the call, well ... that somehow triggered Killian's memory and he revived a very painful moment for him."

"Oh, God!" She murmured, shocked at what she had just heard.

"Emma, really, I don't think this is necessary. I don't want to add you one more worry, he's fine now. That's all that matters."

That was no consolation. She had been so cowardly or so weak that she had not been able to give him any explanation. She needed to know more. "How could my act trigger his memories?"

Elsa was silent for a few seconds while Emma's heart threatened to get out of her chest. Too many emotions for one day, she didn't know how much more she could bear. Finally, Elsa spoke, her voice barely a whisper charged with emotion. "It was five years ago. Killian lost someone while he was talking to her on the phone. The call ended abruptly and..." Elsa stopped, apparently, this also seemed very painful for her.

"Oh, my God!" Would she have died? She did not dare to express this thought aloud. "What did I do?" She could hardly speak, overwhelmed by guilt. She felt as if her heart had been ripped off and someone was squeezing it.

"Emma, nobody's blaming you for what happened." Elsa tried to reassure her.

Suddenly everything made sense. His calls, his insistent messages ... Instinctively, she glanced toward her bedside table where she had left Killian's phone. She extended her arm to reach it, while a horrible feeling began to appear in her mind. From the outset, it was clear that Killian's phone kept something important to him. What if...? She had to know. She was afraid to ask, but the feeling growing inside her was so strong that her words came impulsively, without giving her time to retain them.

"Elsa, tell me Killian's phone has nothing to do with his loss."

"Sorry, I think I've already said too much. I'm not going to reveal anything more about Killian. If you want to know, you'll have to ask him." Elsa responded with a calm tone, but firm at the same time, so Emma did not insist, even though that feeling of regret was far from disappearing.

Her hand curled over the phone. That simple gesture was a clear attempt to protect it from suffering any damage. Although Elsa hadn't said anything, she had disclosed enough for her to suspect that Killian's loss was related to what he kept on his phone. She had stolen the damn phone... She breathed deeply, trying to expel the remorse that was taking over her. "I stole the phone. I feel responsible if that has caused even more damage to Killian." That's all she managed to say.

"Emma, whatever happened to the phone, Killian forgot it first. Don't do this to yourself, don't blame yourself for something you weren't aware." Elsa's reassurances had an effect on her. Little by little, her heart was calming down, although the weight of remorse was still present.

Elsa continued. "In fact, the loss of that phone has been beneficial for him. Killian was so attached to his past that he wasn't able to move on. And now he's trying. That's thanks to you." The previous pain was gone from her voice, now she seemed much more confident, in control of the situation. "Do you see why I think you two can help each other?"

She was so convincing that, despite the pain, Emma believed her. She decided to take a leap of faith and trust in this family that was offering her a lot with hardly know her. It was worth helping Killian. Perhaps in this way, their ghosts of the past finally would turn away. She took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm her restless heart enough. "You're right, I'll try. I can feel how somehow Killian and I are connected. Perhaps this is a good opportunity for both of us."

"Oh, I'm happy to hear that." Elsa sounded relieved. "You know you can count on us, right? If you need to talk, just call me. Now I have to go, it's late and it's dinner time, I need to take care of my kids."

"Sure, I'm sorry if this has taken you so long. Thank you, Elsa, for everything."

"You're welcome. I'll talk to Killian. I don't want to hide him anything. Maybe you two can talk later, okay?"

"Maybe. Thanks again. Bye."

After saying goodbye, Elsa hung up the phone. Yet, the silence didn't last long because, within seconds, Emma received a message from her. Along with a text, there was a picture of a little girl. An angelic face framed by blond curls, almost silvery, a bright smile and pretty blue eyes.

This is Eileen, my daughter. She has a calming effect on Killian. I hope she also can help you. By the way, I'll tell you a secret, she has his eyes ;)

Emma grinned after reading the message. So she has his eyes... No wonder Eileen had such an effect on Killian, her face conveyed so much peace and her eyes were so deep that she found herself spellbound for a few seconds, staring at her picture. Until then, she had never thought she could care for someone she had never seen. But this Irish family was upsetting all her established beliefs.

She hoped that the roller coaster of emotions had finally stopped for the day, giving both her mind and her heart a much-needed respite. The conversation with Elsa had been quite revealing, offering new information about Killian. The fact of knowing part of his past had caused her to feel even more connected to him. She wondered not for the first time what would happen if she withdrew her armor to let him in. She wondered if she would get to heal her wounds or if instead, she would get new wounds inflicting an irreparable damage. The fear was real, almost paralyzing, but another feeling was making an appearance, gradually increasing its importance. Hope.

With these thoughts in mind, she finally rose. Although she still had all afternoon ahead, the idea of going outside was not in her plans. In the absence of a better alternative, an afternoon of pizza and Netflix sounded like a good plan. She changed her clothes for some others more comfortable, grabbed the two phones and went to the living room, collapsing on the couch.

After half an hour watching television, Emma realized that she was not paying attention to the screen, her mind was too busy as she thought about Killian's revealed secrets.

Without even realizing it, with undisguised morbid curiosity, she had begun to recreate what could have happened with Killian. Everything seemed to fit. He'd come to Boston five years ago, probably fleeing his ghosts, perhaps trying to start again away from his memories. Or maybe those memories were so painful that he couldn't handle them around. She then recalled the conversation they had the night of the songs when he spoke about the song that he used as his ringtone. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Maybe he was looking for getting rid of his past to start living his present.

Emma focused on the phone she was holding. She marveled at the idea that this little device could contain so much information, so many secrets inside. The need to know more about Killian became something almost physical, her body reacting to the contact of her skin against the smooth surface of the phone.

She bit her lower lip uncertainly, wondering if, now that she had calmed down enough, it would be a good idea to talk to him. After checking the time, she decided it was probably best to test the waters first, so she grabbed her phone and began typing.

Hey, are you awake?

Her gaze remained fixed on the screen, waiting for some response from him. This was not hard to get, within seconds the three dots located in one of the corners of the screen appeared.

Hi, love. I was about to go to sleep. It has been a busy day.

I just wanted you to know that Elsa called me. I've been talking to her for a while.

I know. She told me.

Are you better now? I'm so sorry, Killian, for everything.

I'm fine. You have nothing to apologize for. I am who should apologize for having pressured you somehow, Swan. How are you?

I'm better. The ghosts have returned to their hole.

That's good. I'd love to keep talking to you, but I'm really exhausted. Would you mind if we talk tomorrow? I already have something in mind for our evening talk, but I need a break today.

Sure, we'll talk tomorrow. Sleep well, Jones.

Good night.

When the screen went blank, Emma leaned back against the sofa cushions. The conversation had been too short, she could not deny her slight disappointment. But they would speak tomorrow. The corners of her mouth rose slightly at the thought of hearing his voice again. Hopefully, the painful events of this long day would have been soon forgotten.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to update again next week. Emma will continue opening up to others. Both she and Killian are willing to leave the past behind, but maybe they have to face it first.