A/N: Well, I was able to finish my chapter and get all the way up through Chapter 23, so I will reward you with another chapter. I know you have been wanting to know what happens next after Emma met up with Gold. Thank you everyone for your favorites, follows and reviews, you don't understand how much they mean to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. They belong to Once Upon A Time.
Chapter 21:
Thanksgiving dinner was an awkward affair. Graham and Ruby were still bickering about his relationship with the mayor. Emma had barely spoken to Graham, other than when she had to for work. David had decided to stay home with his wife in a last ditch effort to prove that their marriage was well and truly over. Mary-Margaret turned into a magpie, to get over her anxiety that things would work out between the Nolans and to keep the conversation going on in her own home at a civil level.
Emma had invited Henry over, but he refused. He said his mother would have no one else to spend the holiday with, since Graham was spending time with them. That shocked Emma. Henry was apparently aware of Regina and Graham's affair and longer than everyone realized. Now, as she shoved another bite of mashed potatoes in her mouth to refrain from adding her two cents to Ruby and Graham's fight, she wished Henry was here and Graham was with Regina, no matter how disturbing that thought may be.
Regina had already disrupted everyone in town's lives enough by closing down most of the public buildings for reevaluations from the fire department after the mayor's office caught on fire the week before, just two days before the reunion. Everyone received emails from the committee informing them that the reunion had been postponed until the week before Christmas. Not that the change really effected anyone. Emma had been the only one in her class to leave Storybrooke, other than to attend college.
The weather wasn't being very cooperative with the fire department either, as a blanket of snow had settled upon the town a few days before. The chill in the air kept Storybrooke in a state of Winter Wonderland. Mary-Margaret, always cheerful, seem entranced by it, as she said it reminded everyone of the holidays. The fact that it gave her an extra day off from school before her big Thanksgiving dinner probably also attributed to her calm and peaceful demeanor.
Emma, however, had been anything but calms since her meeting with Mr. Gold. Afraid that Gold may have been having her followed she avoided contacting Killian, however she had slipped an anonymous note onto Graham's desk to warn Killian that Gold was aware of his presence in town. Emma had no idea if Graham warned him, but she hoped that Killian knew and would take heed.
Lost in her own thoughts she was unaware of the fact that Mary-Margaret was addressing her until Ruby kicked her under the table. "Sorry. What were you saying?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to wait for dessert or would you like some pie now?"
Emma glanced down at her half-eaten plate. Everything on it was cold as dinner had been served over an hour ago. Emma decided to decline dessert and reheat her own plate. "Not right now. I think I'll just go put this in the microwave."
She rose and brought her plate into the kitchen. Placing it in the microwave, she watched Mary-Margaret fuss over removing dishes from their small dining table. Ruby also stood and helped her bring them into the small kitchen.
"What's wrong with you, Emma?" Ruby asked after she stacked her dishes in the sink.
Saved for a quick second by the dinging of the microwave, Emma removed her steaming plate. "Just have a lot on my mind. After the mayor's accident a lot of people have been concerned over the well-being of the other buildings around town."
"Tell me about it. Granny was pissed when she had to shut down yesterday for the inspection. She told them to have it done by midnight last night, or no one was going be able to have Thanksgiving." Ruby laughed. "Gotta give it to Granny, she know how to light a fire under someone's butt."
Mary-Margaret and Emma chuckled. Granny was not someone to be trifled with.
"Shouldn't the fire department be fielding the calls instead of the police?" Mary-Margaret asked as she started taking out containers so they could pack away the food in the refrigerator.
"They would, but they have been too busy trying to complete the inspections before the holiday. They still haven't finished, but Graham decided to offer our office as a contact point for them." Emma slid her plate in the only available space on the counter and pulled over a bar stool and sat down.
"Missing something?"
A fork was held in front of her. Emma reached out for it, but Graham held it over her head.
"Childish, much?" Emma glared at him.
"Oh! Who's being childish? Little miss Emma-I'm-not-jealous-but-I-won't-speak-to-you-unless-I-have-to-Swan?"
Emma crossed her arms. "I am not jealous. I just would have thought you would have had a better plan for your relationship with my son's mother."
Graham, who was still holding her fork aloft, grimaced. "It's what she wanted. Who am I to question the will of a woman."
"Henry know, by the way. He told me."
Ruby and Mary-Margaret were doing their best to listen in on the conversation, while attempting to act occupied by cleaning up the food.
Graham looked startled by the revelation. And in his shock he lowered his arm. Emma grabbed her utensil with a triumphant grin and shoved a bite of turkey into her mouth.
"When did he tell you?" Graham plopped down in one of the other bar stools with a dejected look on his face.
"A week ago, after I rescued Regina from the fire in her office," she mumbled while chewing some corn and mashed potatoes.
"No," Graham groaned. "Regina is going to kill me."
"Well," Ruby interjected with a smile on her face, "Whale hasn't delved into mercy killing yet, but I can ask if he can practice on you first if you want. This way you don't have to worry about Regina."
Graham glowered at her. Ruby held her hands up in defense, laughing. "Just teasing, Graham."
Emma and Mary-Margaret chuckled at Graham's growl. Mary-Margaret placed the last of the food in the fridge, while Emma rose to put her now empty plate in the sink. She and Mary-Margaret had agreed to leave the dishes until the morning. Since Emma had the day off, the two of them decided on a day of bonding at home and a small amount of holiday shopping after lunch.
"Let's go see what holiday movies are playing," Mary-Margaret called out as she shepherded everyone out of the tiny kitchen area and into the living room.
For the first time since high school, Emma felt an easy camaraderie fall over the four of them as they sat there enjoying Miracle on 34th Street. They laughed and joked as if all the problems over the last several years hadn't happened. As if Emma had never left. It felt strange and right all at the same time.
They followed it with It's A Wonderful Life and it had grown quite late. Graham and Mary-Margaret had each fallen asleep. Their bodies slumped into each other on the end of the couch.
"They're exhausted. Mary-Margaret has been up since five a.m. working on dinner," Emma informed Ruby.
"Yeah and Graham is just plain exhausted from his nightly activities at the mayor's office and then working all day at the Sheriff's Office." Ruby went and collected blankets from the closet near Mary-Margaret's room and placed them on the sleeping occupants of the couch.
Emma silently laughed. "You're bad, Ruby Lucas."
Ruby shrugged and smiled.
Emma's phone chose that moment to vibrate on the table by the front door. She ran over to grab it before the noise could disturb her friends. It was a transferred call from the station.
"Hello, Deputy Swan."
The caller quickly outlined a mysterious presence out by the town line. Emma promised to look into it. Graham was supposed to be on duty, but she didn't have the heart to wake him. She hung up and searched for Graham's walkie talkie. When she found it, she realized the battery had died.
"Damn. Guess I have to go to the office for the spare."
"It isn't working?" Ruby inquired.
"Nope. It's dead. A lot of good it'll do me," Emma replied shaking the device.
"Graham's place is closer. He keeps a spare there," Ruby supplied as she gathered her stuff to head out.
"Unless I break in, there's no way to get it." Emma went up to her room and grabbed both her coat and Ruby's, bringing them both down with her.
"You could always use his spare key. It's in the light fixture outside his door," Ruby told her as they left.
Which is how Emma knew to remove the bottom of the light and fetch out Graham's key. It felt wrong to enter his domain without his permission, but she really needed to get out to the town line. She was sure Graham would understand. She stepped inside and flicked on the light. The walkie was easy to spot, plugged in near his television. She hurried over and grabbed it, relieved to see it was fully charged. She placed the one she took from Graham on the charger in its place.
She turned to leave when she heard a sound coming out of one of the two bedrooms Graham had. Emma walked as quietly as she could to investigate.
She opened the door on the left side of the hallway first. Graham's room. The only other time she had been in there was when she helped him to bed when he was sick. After a glace around, she didn't see anything suspicious. She turned the light one and confirmed nothing seemed out of place, however, Graham seriously needed to get a laundry basket. Guess what she was buying him for Christmas, she thought.
She shut Graham's door and crossed the hallway to the other room. Listening, she could hear the sound of deep breathing. She turned the knob slowly and carefully and pushed open the door. It let out a slight squeak and Emma flinched.
Inside she discovered a lump on the bed. The body groaned. Seeing that it was Killian, as moonlight danced inside the room through the blinds, Emma approached the sleeping form. She wasn't sure why, but she moved closer desperate to see his face at its most vulnerable.
This was the perfect hiding spot for him. Gold would never think to look for him at the residence of the town sheriff. Graham had listened to her warning it seemed. Then again, maybe Killian had really been staying her all this time and even she hadn't realized it.
Emma watched the moonlight drift across his face and chest. Oh my God! Killian was naked under the sheet, or at least as far as the eye could see. He lay on his back, his chest exposed by the lowered sheet resting at his waist and one leg was uncovered from the knee down. The chill in the air did not seem to effect him. Emma, on the other hand, was quite affected by the sight of him. Her nipples puckered in response.
Her hand moved on its own violation. It reached out and brushed across the soft cotton sheet. Emma was suddenly feeling quite warm in the icy room.
She begun to pull her hand away, reprimanding herself, when his own clasped hers. It was meant to hold her, not hurt.
"Milah," he moaned.
Emma flinched. Milah might have been dead for a few years now, but her ghost still seemed to haunt the both of them. She shook his hand off gently and turned to go. His next words made her stop short.
"I love Emma. I shouldn't, but I do. The lass enchanted me." His voice turned to a low mumble and Emma returned to her previous spot hoping to hear him say more. She wasn't disappointed. " I can't love you anymore. Go back to your husband."
Emma saw tears slip from his closed eyes. She was transfixed. She desperately wanted to wipe his tears away. The fear of waking him kept her from doing so, as she was too scared to face him after what she had just heard. She needed time to think.
Questions ran around her mind. He loved her? Since when? When did he tell Milah this? Did he ever say this to her or was it just a dream? Emma desperately wanted answers and the urge to shake Killian awake was strong. However, she couldn't face him right now, especially with a job she needed to do looming over her head.
Emma made a decision. She stormed back to Graham's room and searched frantically. In his upper dresser drawer she found what she had been looking for. Taking the cold metal in hand, she returned to where Killian lay in repose.
As silently as she could, she connected one side of the handcuffs to the metal headboard of the bed. She leaned over Killian's head and she tried to quickly warm with her breath. She could just hear Killian with a fast innuendo about pushing her chest in his face and blushed. She slipped it over Killian's wrist, which had come to rest by his head. There. He was certain to stay put until her return. When she completed her duties as deputy, she had every intention of coming back to interrogate the thief who had stolen her heart long before she knew she had a choice about giving it away.