Hi guys, so sorry for the long wait, things have been crazy around here. I was moving, so I needed to get everything ready, and then the move, and then getting settled in... which is not quite completed yet, but we can at least breathe and have some time off.

Alright, enough about me. Here is the next chapter, I know many of you were frustrated with the cliffhanger. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: nope...

Chapter 19A

When he emerges from sleep, Killian can't hear a thing. The house is quiet… not that he expected anything different, but this is an eerie silence. It is just too quiet. And he feels oddly cold. He turns to the side Emma had been occupying the last few nights and finds it empty. He slowly reaches out to touch the sheets, already knowing that they are cold.

Dread fills his stomach as he sits up in bed.

He reaches for his boxer briefs and pulls them on before looking around the room. All of her things are gone. He then decides to check the guest bedroom, faintly hoping that she is in there getting ready for the day.

But he is sorely disappointed when he finds the door wide open, the bed neatly made, and all of her bags gone. There is no trace of Emma, except a faint remnant of her perfume.

Panic seizes him.

He runs downstairs, calling her name desperately. He gets no response besides the faint echo of his own voice.

He'd thought that maybe she had an emergency and needed to go back to Boston urgently, but was still waiting for him to wake up before leaving.

No.

She would have woken him up had that occurred, he realizes.

She's gone.

He takes a seat on the living room couch.

She left without a trace.

Throbbing pain suddenly shoots in his left hand. He tries to massage it, trying to think of what to do. But the pain is too strong, he can't concentrate. Only she could manage to make the pain disappear with her touch.

He makes his way to the upstairs bathroom in a haze. He doesn't recall opening the medicine cabinet and reaching for his bottle of painkillers. He mechanically fills the glass with water to wash down the pill. It's a pill that is hard to swallow, the lump in his throat is so large.

He doesn't understand. He just can't figure what happened for her to leave like this. He can't believe it.

He won't believe that she has left him like this with no explanation when just a few hours earlier, they were in bed together, worshipping each other, making love to each other. She had barely arrived that she had grabbed his hand and smiled at him in a way she had never smiled before: full of adoration and promises.

No, he won't let things end like this. He knows she has a tendency to run when emotions run too deep.

This gives him a flicker of hope. She must have realized something about them and instead of trying to talk it out with him, she let her fear of rejection and abandonment take over and she ran.

They had had such a wonderful evening the night before. He'd thought he was making progress in getting her to lower her walls and to trust him. He'd thought that in the few more days she would have been here, he would have succeeded in convincing her to give them a chance at a relationship despite the distance.

With that, he picks up his phone, opens WhatsApp and types a quick message, asking her what happened. He waits a few minutes, but no reply comes. He tries again, several times, with no success. She obviously wants no contact with him, but he can't quite understand why.

He needs to go after her. He needs to talk to her, to know what happened and see how they can work it out. Because he is sure they can find a solution.

Decision made, he goes to his room to dress quickly and then heads to his office to look up flights online. He is none too pleased when the earliest available flight to Boston is the next day, but he doesn't have much of a choice, so he books it anyway.

And then he realizes that Robin and Regina were to drop Roland off into his care later today while they go on their honeymoon. He sighs, hating to have to cancel like this. He picks up the phone and dials his friend's number.

"Hello?" Regina answers after 2 rings.

"Hello Regina, it's Killian," he greets her.

"Killian? Is everything okay?" she asks, concern filling her tone.

He sighs. "No," he admits, his voice trembling. "Emma's gone."

"WHAT?!" she exclaims "Killian, what happened?"

"I don't bloody know! We had a wonderful night and first thing I know when I wake up this morning, she's gone."

He can hear Regina sigh at the other end of the line.

"You're going after her," she declares.

"Aye, that's why I am calling, actually-" he responds.

"Here, talk to Robin, I'll try to call her," she interrupts him.

Killian is stunned for a moment. He never would have thought that Regina would help him like this. Maybe he had underestimated Emma and Regina's friendship.

"Killian?" he hears Robin call out.

"Aye, mate. Sorry, I was thinking," he apologizes.

"I understand. Something happened with Emma?" his friend asks.

Regina must not have taken the time to update her husband.

"Aye. She left, and I have no bloody clue why," Killian explains, the pain of the situation no more bearable than an hour ago. "I was calling to tell you that I can't take Roland after all, I need to go after her."

"Aye, I would have put you on a plane myself if you hadn't," Robin affirms. "Don't worry about Roland, we will find another solution. I think Zelena was able to clear her schedule after all, she might be able to take him earlier than expected."

"I'm so sorry for letting you down on such short notice," Killian feels the need to apologize.

"Well I must say it IS disconcerting, and you are putting us in quite a position while we are about to leave on our honeymoon, Killian. Sidney, Regina's assistant, may be able to help us out." Robin sighs. "Regina wants to speak to you again."

"Okay, put her on."

He knows he has disappointed his friend, and feels highly guilty about it. But he needs to go after Emma as soon as possible. The timing couldn't be more inappropriate.

"Killian?" Regina calls.

"Aye, still here. Were you able to talk to her?" he asks anxiously.

"No. Her friend Mary Margaret picked up her phone at once when I wouldn't stop calling. She doesn't know what happened either, Emma won't talk to her. She said she'd pick you up at the airport, just email your itinerary. She didn't want Emma to hear the conversation, so she hung up on me."

"But I don't have her email address."

"She gave it to me, I texted it over to you."

"Thank you Regina," he acknowledges.

"Yeah, well… I happen to like her, and you guys look great together. I hope you'll get her back. Even though this is putting us in a very uncomfortable position."

"I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am to let you both down on such short notice. I will make it up to you, I promise."

"You better. Bye Killian, good luck."

As he hangs up, he feels more confident in his endeavour. If Emma's friend is willing to pick him up from the airport, then there must be hope. And it must mean that he hasn't completely messed things up, whatever he said or did to make her run.

With renewed hope, he goes back to his bedroom and starts packing, wondering just how long he will need to stay in Boston… Emma can be stubborn. Good thing he hasn't booked a return ticket yet. But then again, he needs to go back to work soon… He cringes at that, dialling his office.

"Isabelle Greene," his boss greets when picking up the phone.

"Hello Tink, this is Killian," he greets back.

"Ah, Killian! How are you?"

"Not so well. Listen, Tink… I have some kind of family emergency, I need a week off of work, if you don't mind."

He tries to be as vague as possible; she doesn't need to know all of the details.

"Family emergency?" she asks doubtfully. "Killian, don't take this the wrong way, but you don't have any family. This wouldn't have anything to do with the woman that was to be your date at your friend's wedding, would it?"

He sighs, realizing that she won't agree to the time off unless he fesses up.

"Aye, it is about her."

Tink squeals so loud that he needs to pull the phone away from his ear for a moment so as to not become completely deaf.

"I knew it! You can have the time off. I even give you 2 weeks. And I expect you in my office upon your return with a complete report."

Women and their need for details…

"Alright," he agrees reluctantly. "Thank you Tink."

"You're welcome. And good luck."

He hangs up after bidding her a quick goodbye, then resumes packing.

Later that night, as he is sitting on the couch watching… whatever is on the telly at the moment, he forwards his flight information to Mary Margaret. He is surprised when she replies almost immediately.

Hello Killian,

As Regina probably told you, I don't know any more than you do about what happened. It pains me to see Emma like this. But please know that not all hope is lost.

Hope is a very powerful thing.

I will see you tomorrow.

Mary Margaret

Emma's friend's words somehow put a balm on his wound. He loves Emma, he won't let her go without a fight. Because yes, he loves Emma Swan. Has for quite a while now. She's just not ready to hear the words yet.

As he goes back to his office to pack his laptop up, he notices the glass of water sitting on his desk. He wonders for a moment how it had gotten there as he does not recall bringing it up, when the print out of a newspaper article catches his eye. Recognizing the article, he looks back and forth between the glass and the article before realization hits him.

"Bloody hell," he swears loudly. "One day I'm gonna stop chasing this woman," he utters as he slams the sheet of paper down on his desk.

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