Liam Jones

I was beginning to wonder if my brother had just been cursed to a life of bad luck when August called saying he was having a really bad panic attack and had collapsed onto the yard. My heart felt like it had stopped, and only once I felt my brothers pulse beneath my fingers did I feel it beat, and with each breath he took, I took one too. He was barely conscious when I had arrived, and then passed out soon after. With the help of Anton and August we placed him into the back of the truck, before climbing in and taking him back to the flat, August calling someone called Victor and asking him to do a house call to the restaurant, but all I could see was the dark haired prone form in the backseat.

I told August to wait downstairs for his friend to turn up whilst I carried Killian upstairs into the flat and onto the sofa. I wished that Mark could hurry up and come back here so I wouldn't be alone with my crippling thoughts and fears. I couldn't say how long it had been when I heard August knock on the door, with none other than Dr Whale behind him, his cold grey stare immediately drawn to my brother who lay unconscious on the sofa.

"What happened and how long ago was this" Whale started, a worried expression settling on his features.

"About 20 minutes ago. We had been at the horse yard, and we had been talking about some aspects of our pasts and once I revealed my leg to him, he kind of just… stopped breathing and completely zoned out of it, and Anton and I tried making him wake up but nothing was working." I was wondering what was so weird about his leg, for I knew that he had been in the army and had an honorable discharge, but I chose to tune back into the conversation, placing those thoughts into the back of my mind for later.

"Okay, he'll be slightly disorientated at first and very tired from having such a serious panic attack, I was concerned about him collapsing but there wasn't any pressure or impacts on his previous injuries which means although he may be sore he will be fine. Might be a good idea to keep him from doing much tomorrow once he wakes up though" the doctor said as he was standing up, lightly patting my shoulder as he went.

I nodded as he left, only sparing he and August a glance as they left, my attention returning solely to my brother who lay sleeping on the sofa. I knew I should leave him alone to rest but it was beginning to feel like everything was only happening to him because I wasn't there with him; for he had been blown up when I had been sorting deliveries in the back, he had been shot when he had gone to help Marco with the designs on the tables (which had turned out beautifully) while I had been with Elsa and now he had had a panic attack in the middle of the yard while I was at the restaurant. I was wondering whether or not I should just keep him with me at all times until the bastard who was sending out the kill order was taken down, but I knew deep down that that wouldn't be fair to Killian- for in order for him to stay sane he had to keep moving, especially after an episode like this.

We were going to be opening the restaurant in just a matter of days time, and we both needed to be at our bests for that, and Mark would be arriving on Thursday to carry on with the case giving us one last night of freedom before we would be in the restaurant everyday and night(or until we could find some bar staff and more cooks that was). I quickly called Mark to see how he was doing, and to take my mind of what had happened today; you would have thought that nearly four years worth of panic attacks would have me better prepared for this, but still every time I saw him like this I felt my heart break and I would worry as though it was his first time having one all over again. Mark teased me for being a bit of a mother hen when it came to situations like this, but I couldn't correct him because he was right; I was overbearing and protective of my brother since I had to raise him myself practically. Although it was understandable for me to do it to Killian, Mark was never too impressed when I turned it onto him when he needed looking after. Kai would always laugh and say it was karma for laughing at him when I did it for my little brother.

I walked into Kai's bedroom to fetch his duvet and pillows so that I could leave him undisturbed, however as I pulled it off from his bed, I spotted a piece of paper caught amongst the sheets. I knew that I realistically knew that I shouldn't look- but I was worried about him and cursed with the Jones's curiosity which probably killed more than a few cats. Lifting the page up, I realised that it had once been in Kai's sketchbook from before his accident, because the book he used to scribble in had this weird cross in the corner from a logo of who knows what, but staring back at me I saw a drawing of he, Milah and I from when we had taken her out on the water for the first time, and her friend had taken the picture of us two laughing whilst she was screaming in surprise.

The paper was watermarked in places, the smears on the page there from so many nights of crying over the past, over the woman who left when she was needed the most.

I placed the page back into the his sketch book, dragging the duvet and one of his pillows through to the lounge, moving him so he wouldn't have a crick in his neck in the morning, and wrapped the duvet around him as though he was a child. I knew this total unconsciousness was unexpected but seeing as the doctor wasn't worried I made myself calm down, and began to get ready for bed.

Three days later and Kai and I were standing in front of the restaurant, all the waiters and cooks already inside and awaiting for the first customers to come in to be served. We were waiting for Mr Gold and his Wife to arrive- for as they were the ones who were leasing us the restaurant we had agreed that they would be the first ones in, much to the dismay of the queue that had formed beside us at the doors. Killian was making small talk with me and a few of the customers in the queue whilst he was waiting to finally go back indoors and to the kitchen

Emma Swan

It had been a week since I had last seen August, since he had started working at the Jones Seafood and Italian restaurant at the docks which had opened just a few days before. He had told me that after his interview he had gone back to the restaurant to work things out with the younger Jones after their first meeting had gone so badly. Apparently it must have worked because he had been hanging out with him for two days prior to the opening, meaning that Henry was asking where his 'Uncle' was (I had met August once when I was a child, and then later he found me just as Henry had, suggesting that I move to Storybrooke to be closer to him).

Tonight I would be collecting Henry from the new restaurant after his meal with Regina and Robin, meaning I could try to catch up with August then if he wasn't busy (although I knew he would be; nearly everyone in town was either going, or had been to the restaurant and all were raving about how nice the food was and how it was still healthy and value for money on top of everything else. It was practically every mother's dream restaurant. And students. And everyone else really now that I was thinking about it, except from maybe Gold, but then again he rarely even ate out of his house where his servant had cooked it (yes, the man really did have a servant, and yes, said servant on more than one occasion has wanted to quit and run away from him).

Turning back to the paperwork I was supposed to be filling in, I was glad to see that it was only Leroy's weekly drunken offence and a few parking violations which I needed to fill out before the end of my shift, which thankfully wouldn't be too long considering David was supposed to be here any minute to take over for the evening shift before Robin would come for the night shift.

"That looks entertaining" David called as he entered the office part of the station, a couple of detention cells at the back for short stays, throwing his jacket haphazardly onto the coat stand in the corner, ending up with his jacket over the top of it rather than over a peg.

"I see you finally hit the stand, so maybe next time you could aim for a peg?" I said nodding to where he had thrown his jacket, a gentle jest for the fact I could and have on multiple occasions, throw my jacket onto one of the pegs on the coat stand without even looking. An ability given with practise and knowing the exact location of where everything was in the office, something which I relished in from knowing that I was here to stay and allowing myself to learn the environment.

"Ha ha, very funny Emma. When are you going to go and pick up Henry exactly? Mary-Margaret wants to know"

"Why exactly does your wife want to know when I am picking up my son? She's not going to try and kidnap him is she because both Regina and I may just have to kill her for that"

"She refused to tell me why no matter how many times I tried or how many ice cream cartons I bought for her. She's been craving cookie dough ice cream and carrots for three days now" It was nice having a brother to talk to, and even better was that he always made an effort to include me into his and his wife's lives; something which currently involved Mary-Margaret's pregnancy. David made a face at what his beloved had been eating, suggesting that he might have been forced to eat it more than one occasion since his wife loved to share everything. And I mean literally everything. There are more than a few things which I would like to burn from my memory from that particular trait of my sister-in-law.

"Yeah well, I don't have to go through that so please keep MM's current weird eating habits from gaining detail because some of us would actually like to be able to eat normal things without the taste of that on our tongues forever"

My brother simply laughed before telling me that I could go early ready to go pick up Henry later once I had had some time to myself, quickly busying himself with filing the reports I had made that morning.

It wasn't often that I had days off of work (other than the weekends when I had Henry) so I always made sure that I did the chores and did not fall prey to procrastination of any kind (I always lost. Netflix was always to good a temptation), but first I got into the comfiest clothes I owned (a big baggy t-shirt and joggers) and put on some Queen, singing along when I knew the lyrics and taking my mind off the monotony that was doing the laundry. And cleaning up from girls night with Ruby and Belle. Belle may look like a sheltered and innocent librarian to most people but seriously, that woman could drink anybody under the table and still walk away sober.

Once I finished the chores I finally let myself fall into the blankets and pillows which I had piled into the couch and to catch up on all the shows I had missed that week. I was halfway through my binge watching session when I got a call from Robin, Regina's husband.

"Robin this better not be a law enforced complaint David said he was going to tell you I'm not in today" I grumbled, unhappy with the disturbance of my peace.

"Don't worry about that Emma, it's just to ask if you could pick up Henry a bit earlier- we were supposed to go and have the meal at the new restaurant as you know however Rowland isn't feeling too well so I can't leave the house and Regina has another meeting with the builders who are trying to rebuild the bridge in the forest after it broke in that storm. The owner himself said he would keep an eye on Henry and that he could have his tea as long as you went to go and pick him up afterwards"

"So you are saying that you are leaving my son alone, in a restaurant where he could literally do anything and none of us would be there to stop him?" Henry was a great kid, but he had a seriously huge imagination- one that had been talking to my sister-in-law recently and was now trying to match me up with one of the brothers Jones; hopefully not the one that Elsa kissed a few days back.

She had called me right after it had happened and explained the situation; for she, like me, was useless with emotions at the best of times so when either of us needed to vent we were there. So she explained how she had developed feelings for the older jones brother when she had been making the statue, something his younger brother had been very encouraging about, even saying if his brother didn't ask her out himself- then he and Mark would set the two on a date. None of this would usually have phased Elsa but on this occasion it did- because for once she actually wanted them to do it and that confused the hell out of her. To be honest it would have confused the hell out of me too.

"I know you have you restraints about this kind of thing but Mr Jones assured me himself that the meal would go on our tab so you won't have to pay, and if he tries anything… Well I think we will just wait and see. I'm sorry for springing this on you Emma"

"No it's fine Robin. I hope Rowland feels better soon"

"Something wrong with the in-laws?" David called as he walked into my apartment for his lunch break- calling his joke of Regina and Robin's relationship with me, for they were legally Henry's parents, but a court case later after Henry said he was the one to find me. After that (and a relationship with my long lost brother later) David had taken to calling Regina and Robin my in-laws. It had made the court case a whole lot more fun to think of them that way.

"Rowland is sick so Robin is back at theirs and Regina's meeting's have dragged on so Henry is going to be eating dinner alone at the restaurant under the supervision of the owner.I have also been instructed to not get there before him so he has to be left alone because Regina and Robin have already paid for him but you know the kind of things he can come out with" I pointed looked at my brother on the last few words to make him know that it is his and his wife' fault for making Henry say some of the things that he did (including his new found passion for match making me and Elsa with different men).

It was nearing six when I finally left to pick my son up, and I knew that Henry would have likely finished all three courses of the meal he had likely had at the restaurant and was probably talking to the owner if I was really unlucky. On pulling up to the dockside restaurant, I saw that there was nearly no free spaces in which I could park, which shouldn't have been surprising considering the reviews I had heard from other people. It did make parking up difficult mind. On getting out of the car I was pleasantly surprised to find that the smell of good food overwhelmed the smell of fish from the cannery.

The restaurant inside was completely nautical themed, up to and including the sculpture which Elsa had made for them (for a very pretty sum too). Every pillar was wrapped in rope coils, and condiments and share dishes were on tiny ships wheels which span around for everyone to access them. I eventually spotted my son sitting on a small two man table at the back of the room, closest to the kitchen, where I spotted a familiar dark haired man sitting with him, talking to him. I recognised him as the younger Jones who not too long ago had been attacked and in hospital. I spotted the Owner nodding at me from behind the bar as he served drinks with August, in such a place that he could see nearly the whole restaurant without moving, but his brother and my son were directly in his line of sight which put me at ease. I still wasn't sure about Henry being left alone with Killian though considering that the latter knew that Anna and my sister in law were currently trying to set me up with him- who knew what had been said between the two of them already.

"...and then Uncle David knocked out the attacker with the hilt of a sword! Like a real one!" I walked in to hear Henry regaling the older man with the story of how my brother and I had to do a raid, and David had picked up a literal sword to protect himself with whilst I grabbed a baseball bat (that was one weird raid- the house even had a room dedicated to top hats).

"Your Uncle is a pretty special man. And very good at his job, as is your mother. Speaking of which she should be here by now…"

"Yes and "she" is standing right behind you" I couldn't help but wedge myself into their conversation, a habit from childhood after being bullied and gossiped about too much by the other children at the schools I went to. On hearing my voice Killian jumped up from his seat into a defensive stance, from the surprise of being crept up on quickly fading into embarrassment and something that resembled… happy? Or perhaps it was relieved I wasn't too sure.

"Miss Swan, a pleasure to see you again. Thankfully it's not for work related purposes this time" his laugh was small and self-depreciating, looking down to the floor and scratching behind his ear with his good hand.

"I will agree to that. It's good to see you up and about again. I hope Henry wasn't too much of a bother for you because I knew you and your brother are working at the moment…"

"Henry wasn't a problem at all Miss Swan. In fact he was perfectly well behaved, if not a tad imaginative" Oh no. Please say he hasn't told this stranger his fairytale theory " say Lad, you should try to write up that story you were spinning, you never know it could become the new standard for fairytales" Crap. I was afraid that Henry might say something about that- it had been over two years since I walked into his life again, and back then everything was fairytales with him, and although he had gotten better with it, it still came up sometimes. Like tonight for example.

"Will do Killian! Hey do you think I could come riding with you and Anton tomorrow?"

"That is not up to me Henry- you will have to ask both your mothers as well as Anton before you can do that, so maybe next weekend you can join us" I had never heard someone both say no and yes all in one sentence, both letting down the teenager in front of him and building him up at the same time. And it seemed to work because while I could see Henry was a bit miffed from not being allowed to ride with them tomorrow he was excited for the idea that he could rise with them the following weekend.

"Miss Swan… I was wondering if when Henry came down to the yard you might like to come along with him, and perhaps we could get to know each other? I mean I know nearly every other person in this town including the illusive Elsa Arendelle and Jefferson" He smirked at the last name, and I wondered how the hell Killian had gotten into contact with Jefferson, for not only was the man hardly ever in town, but he also tried to avoid human contact of anyone who wasn't his daughter. I agreed that I would meet him again sometime soon without thinking, and even if I had thought about it the smile that lit up his face would have taken them away. He quickly said goodbye and see you later to Henry and I before getting his uniform jacket buttoned up again.

Killian got up to take his leave towards the kitchen when Liam whistled at him, beckoning him over to the counter where Liam was dealing with a customer (It was Ashley and her husband out on a date), so I collected all of Henry's things and led him out of the restaurant, and he was talking at one mile a minute to try and say everything that happened that week at school, and what his friends were doing, as well as his surprise encounter with Mr Jones at the horse yard the day before when David had taken him to see his horse Patch.

"He had taken his horse into the arena and his horse was practically dancing! Anton called it dressage, but it was so cool! It's legs were crossing as it went sideways and never faltered, even when it was doing it round the corners!

"That's pretty cool kid, although I'm not sure how either of the Joneses would react if they found out that you had been watching him have a private lesson in the enclosed arena"

"He said it was fine, he came up to me after his lesson and asked what I had thought of it" I hummed in agreement as we got to the door of my apartment, Henry quickly running into the lounge so that he could play on his playstation and play some Skyrim whilst I made up some drinks and checked his bag for letters from school (the kid was great at remembering homework and anything else from school, but as soon as it was a letter for parents he conveniently forgot that it existed and was in his bag for over a week).

Looking over at the mop of hair which was currently sitting on the couch with his legs crossed as he tried to battle a dragon, I couldn't help but smile at the young man who had crashed into my life again after eleven years of not being there. It was this trail of thoughts that took me back to his interaction with Killian Jones, and subsequently my own.

He had openly admitted that he wanted to get to know me, whether that was a friend or something more I wasn't entirely sure- but I knew for sure If I fell for this man there would be no coming back from it. Henry already loved him and so did pretty much everyone else who met him.

"What are you over-thinking about Mom?" I realised that Henry was looking at me from the couch, his head tilted like Robin did when he was confused.

"Nothing Henry. I'll go get my controller" I replied, desperate to get my mind off of the tracks they had started on.

Killian Jones

I was confused when I opened my eyes to the ceiling of Liam and I's living room, as the last thing I remembered was being at the yard with Anton and August, and August was showing me his leg…. The memory of the afternoon came back almost instantly, the post panic attack headache coming in with the force of a sea storm. I had barely moved when Liam came back in with a pot of tea in one hand and croissants in the other.

"Nice to see you awake again Kai. Thought you wouldn't surface till at least midday"

"Urgh don't tempt me I feel like I could fall asleep and sleep till then. I hate being so lethargic"

"It's not your fault so don't beat yourself up about it. You just need to sleep until it clears over- until then I shall be in the office sorting out a few last minute details as well as putting in reservations. Can you believe that we are getting reservations before we open the doors to the public?" I simply shrugged while I tried burying my head into the sofa in a vain attempt to get rid of the headache which was raging behind my eyes. I must have fallen asleep again because the next thing I knew was that Mark had arrived and was talking to someone on the phone, rolling over I got caught in the blanket which I was confident I had thrown off before I had fallen asleep.

Mark must have seen my confusion because he mouthed "I put it there" while he was listening to whoever was on the phone. Slowly pulling myself upright, I noticed that somewhere along the line of me passing out yesterday and now my prosthetic had been taken off, I didn't know if that had only just happened or was done when I was brought back to the apartment, for I didn't move my left arm at all earlier. Looking around the room I searched for my hand, which for some reason was in the middle of the table posed around a shot glass. No doubt that was done by Mark- Liam didn't have enough of a sense of humour to do that.

"I see you found a new drinking buddy then" I called as Mark got off the phone, gesturing towards where he had posed my hand around the glass.

"Ahh yes, you'd be surprised how good he was, kept his drink all night while Liam and I drank ourselves into oblivion. Or at least I did. I nearly crashed on top of you until I realised you were there, so Li directed me into your room instead seeing as you had stolen mine." I simply laughed as I reattached my hand to my stump before removing the shot glass and positioning it so that it could still be useful. I went to get a shower and thought to myself of what I actually had to do today. Liam had taken all the calls and made the arrangements which I needed to do, and I had finished everything in the kitchen apart from writing down a couple of recipes for the other cooks to use. I also realised I had a lesson with Anton for dressage that afternoon so I should get to the yard sort of soon to get some work done and get some time on with Neptune before I was taken back to the restaurant to rest and catch up with Mark properly over a drink.

I quickly got into some jeans for yard work and left, calling out to Mark that I would bring back lunch with me providing he wasn't as hung over as he was when I left. The winter morning was crisp and cool, leaving a cloud of breath behind me as I walked to the truck, dreading having to warm up the truck with its ancient air conditioning which would probably need repairing before the month was out. Front street was alive with people walking their dogs and on their way to work. I debated going to get a coffee from Granny's but decided against it- I would stay there too long and get no work done at the yard.

Neptune nickered when he saw me, his head around the corner watching for anyone coming past for him to play with. His eyes no longer held fear of humans, although certain types of people he really didn't like; Mr Gold was one of these people. Apparently the man had seen him in the field and asked how much he was not realising that he was a therapy horse. Neptune made it so Gold would never consider buying him before Anton could tell Gold otherwise but either way it wasn't a problem anymore. But it was fun to remember and picture Gold's face as Neptune galloped over, reared and bucked in front of him, then relieved himself as he cantered off. Was sad I missed it but then again I had been busy trying to open a restaurant.

"Hello Neptune. Have you missed me?" He nudged into my hand, his ears relaxed and his temperament happy. "I certainly missed you, although it's been longer for you as I have not been awake for a lot of it. But now it's time to muck out your stable and put you out for the day. May as well make what you can with there being no rain or snow about." The gelding nodded his head, his forelock flying up and down as he did so before it was flicked to the side as I walked to get his headcollar and outdoor rug.

Neptune trotted up to his field, happy to see that his field mate was already out and standing beside the gate for him. Patch was already muddy up to his knees, and his head and rug were too from obviously rolling in the mini mud pool beside the right field. I laughed as I watched Neptune go straight for the pool once I closed the gate to do as his friend had done, both completely muddy but I couldn't find it in me to care. He was having fun, and so I should be too. Except that wasn't truly in the cards for me with a mucky stable, bags of shavings and one hand. I was done nearly an hour later, with the exception of the hay net because the hay wasn't being delivered to the afternoon and both Mary and Anton were busy teaching lessons and taking out hacks.

As the wind blew into the stable, I was glad that I had opted to put Neptune in his heavier rug for he wouldn't get cold, but it did leave me in the cold without too much to do. So I opted to do a task which would take a while and allow me to stay in the cold; taking cleaning and polishing. Thanks to Anton, all the kit was brand new, but it was still a little stiff in places and dirty from where it had been used on hacks. The mindless activity allowed my mind to empty as I took off each piece of dirt away, leaving the leather shining and supple beneath my hand. I had lost track of time and before I knew it my alarm was going off saying that I needed to go back to the restaurant with Granny's to make mark feel more human. Because I knew there was no way he wouldn't still be hungover by the time I got back.

Granny's was surprisingly busy considering it was a work day, but then again I had it figured that everyone in this small town ate pretty much all their meals there anyway.

"Three grilled cheese and fries please to take away please" I asked the waitress behind the counter before turning around to look at who was in the restaurant for their lunch. I saw the towns psychologist who more often dealt with families and children, Dr Hopper over in the corner with his umbrella, there was Ruby on her lunch break with Dr Whale (or Victor as he had demanded I called him when I had been out for drinks a couple of nights ago) sitting in a secluded booth towards the back, but I was also surprised to see the Town sheriff also having her lunch,her back turned to me while she ate, a copy of the local paper in hand. I was about to go over and say hello when my order was passed over the counter for me to take away.

It had been perfect timing because Liam had texted demanding food. I wasn't sure if it was really just Mark using my brothers phone but I knew it would be a bad idea if I left either of them hungry for long. They were both grouchy assholes otherwise.

"Took you bloody long enough. We've been here wasting away while you dawdled your way here" Mark complained as I came in the door, and he had most likely have been watching the window for me to pull up too.

"Well if you wanted it so badly you could have just walked over there and got the food yourself instead of being so lazy. It is just a five minute walk away" I argued, mark and Liam already picking out their meals from the bag.

"Yes but that would require effort. Plus I was working on getting this restaurant open. And you were going past it at the time so it made more sense. So let me eat my food!" Li ranted, and I was tempted just to lock away his food so that he could smell it but couldn't reach it. But that would have been a waste of my time and money had I have done that so I just let him inhale the sandwich like it was nothing, Making sure to eat my own before either of the two men could eat my share. It was mindless talk which we all enjoyed, nothing had to have a purpose, none of us had to be anywhere for a while and we could just catch up. Of course that eventually led onto the topic of relationships which meant I could land Liam in it with Mark.

"Shame you missed it Mark, he was practically a love sick puppy over Elsa and she wasn't much better!" I cut in, watching Liam shake his head before giving me a death glare.

"Oh come off it you two"

"No please carry on Killian I'm liking the sound of this" Mark's expression was cheerful, the mischievous glint returning to his eye as his thoughts aligned to mine- to set up them both on a date.

"Oh yes she was just here to deliver the statue and they practically pounced on each other!"

"I will murder you both in your sleep if neither of you are careful" Mark and I shared a glance before shutting up, chuckling under our breath as our attention returned to whatever food was remaining in front of us. We continued chatting until I needed to return back to the yard for my lesson with Anton, so I left Mark and Liam in front of the formers laptop as they went over things that he had found while he was back up in New York and Boston.

It was nice to be able to just concentrate on my riding and nothing to do about the attack or the restaurant, and was so deep in my thoughts I nearly didn't notice the small boy beside officer Nolan who were sitting at the top of the enclosed ring, where there was a small ring of seats. I only just heard Anton telling me to bring Neptune into a canter to do some figure of eights and to work on bending him around the corners- something that he was fine with on walking and trotting but when he was cantering he wasn't as good at it.

We were close to the end of the lesson and Anton was just allowing me to do as I pleased before the cool down, so I was cantering around the arena, just to feel Neptune rocking beneath me and listen to his feet hitting the sand, watching his ears twitch forward and back, listening to me and to his surroundings. We had both worked up a bit of a sweat in the session and I was looking forward to the cool down and to groom Neptune afterwards.

"That was a good session today Jones, I keep forgetting that you have one hand, you're better at dressage than most with two!" Anton called cheerfully as he came up to me as I was leaving the arena, as he had been talking to Nolan and his nephew who owned the horse who shared the field with Neptune, probably to organise a lesson.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to get out of this gear, you worked us both hard and ran us so ragged we couldn't think. In other words it was a good session and I can't wait to do some jumping. I like doing dressage do not get me wrong, but I also love showjumping and would appreciate it if we could do that soon" Mary called out to us both before Anton could reply, and I could only laugh at the antics between the married couple.

"I believe that that can be arranged. Now if you don't mind Killian I need to steal my husband back so he can do some work for a change and stops avoiding his chores" Mary poked Anton in his side in jest and I was jealous of the relationship which they had with each other, remembering how similar it once was to my own relationship with Milah.

I waved them off as I took Neptune back to his stable, spotting the young lad from earlier outside the arena waiting for something. I decided to call out to him and ask what he had thought of the lesson.

"It was awesome! I have never seen a horse dance like that before" I chuckled to myself at the boys answer, for in a way dressage I guess could have been classed as dancing to someone who didn't know much about it.

"That dancing was called Dressage as Anton no doubt told you before. And as for how well it was, well let's just say I'm not the best at it but Neptune seems to have a natural affinity for it, just needs to work and bending around corners when he is cantering." I stroked Neptunes mane, his nose nudging my back pocket in the hopes to find something to steal; thankfully I had left everything in my other coat so I wouldn't have to pry my phone away from him. I noticed that Neptune was starting to cool down so I excused myself from the boy and took Neptune back to his stable so I could groom him and put him to bed; I figured he wouldn't have much time if he went out so it would just be easier just to give him some early tea and leave to get my own.

The following days were a blur as we opened the restaurant, and I met the boy once again, Henry, he said his name was- his mother was the Mayor and for some reason couldn't come but still sent Henry to come for a meal before his other mother, Miss Swan would come to pick him up. He graced me with stories which he had created in his mind that everyone in town was a storybook character, and had even found a way in which he could include my brother and I; according to Henry I was Captain Hook and Liam was my first mate (thankfully he wasn't the bumbling idiot Smee in the boy's imagination but rather was a hardworking man who was good with a sword. Of course I had to stop myself from laughing as I thought about Elsa and my brother being good with it.)

It was when Miss Swan came to collect Henry that I realised that it was the first time we had talked for something that didn't involve her job as the sheriff. And then I did something stupid. I asked to get to know her better. And practically invited Henry to a private hack between me and Anton. I had a feeling that if Mark and Liam found out I had actually initiated a conversation with a member of the fairer sex I would never hear the end of it. So what could I do? Prepare a date for my brother and the woman of his affections, that would be a good distraction for Mark and Liam...