Emma used the Clarence House kitchen once more the next day, to make a protein filled breakfast for Liam. The fitness tests were one part of his entry into the Royal Navy that she couldn't help with, but she could definitely start his day off the right way.

While Liam enjoyed his breakfast, Emma took Rogan down to the gardens, for a walk. Liam had been unusually quiet that morning, so she suspected that he could use some time to himself. And Rogan was always happy to explore the grounds while Emma trailed along after him.

When she returned to the apartment, Liam was already in the shower, but he'd left a small note that simply read, Thanks, Little Sister, on the kitchen island.

She busied herself with eating a light snack of her own, before washing their dishes, as she waited for him to finish. She had an engagement later that afternoon, in London, but Emma's morning was completely free.

"Thanks for breakfast," Liam said softly, as he made his way into the room.

"You're welcome. I take it you enjoyed the meal?" she chuckled, thinking back to his plate, which had been scraped clean.

"Yeah. Definitely hit the spot." He slid onto the nearest stool, but kept his gaze focused on the tabletop below him.

"Hey." Emma quickly dried off her hands and reached out to cover one of his. "You're going to be fine. You can do this."

"You're not gonna hate me if I fail it, are you?"

"Of course not," Emma chuckled, trying to break the mood. "You're my big brother. I'd love you no matter what you succeed or fail at in life."

"Yeah… I'm not sure family works that way," Liam sighed bitterly.

"Liam, I love you because of who you are, not what you do. I don't love you because I feel like I have to. If I did, I'd care for my aunts and uncles more than I do." Emma waited for Liam to lift his eyes, before she continued. "Me, Killian, your parents… even Ruby. We all love you, Liam. We don't want you to succeed at this because we feel like it's your last chance to accomplish something. We want you to succeed because you want this so badly."

Liam stood awkwardly, before pulling Emma in for a quick hug. When he released her, she moved to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, before handing it over to him.

"Good luck, Liam."


While Liam was on his way to the training facility, Emma opened the latest batch of RSVPs and added them to her spreadsheet. When she was finished, she made herself comfortable on her sofa to do a little reading.

Emma's engagement that afternoon was a lecture at the University of Westminster. She had been invited to speak to those who would be graduating later that year, from the International Relations department, and Emma had been thrilled to agree to it.

Dressing for these kinds of public engagements was always a little daunting. She had been taught to dress not only for the occasion, and her position, but also for her audience. So, while she usually liked to dress a little more playfully than her mother and grandmother did, she usually aimed for a more conservative look for the elder generations. Dressing for the younger ones, however, was always more difficult. While they identified, and appreciated, her sense of style more than most other age groups, Emma was also aware that the last thing she needed was to arouse a bunch of already horny teenagers.

With all of that in mind, she selected a conservative, sleeveless, grey shift dress for the day. The reason she'd purchased the dress, a few months back, however, was for its jewel embellished neckline. The accents added just enough to give it the playful touch she loved, while remaining respectful by keeping her almost fully covered. The gold jewelry Emma added helped to keep her look young and fresh, while she settled on a pair of her favourite black velvet, pointed-toe pumps to finish the somewhat professional look.

After quickly debating what to do with her hair, Emma finally settled on pulling it back into a ponytail, but left her bangs down on either side, to frame her face.

When Emma was happy with the way she looked, she took a quick picture for Killian, before slipping into her black trench coat and grabbing her bag to head out.


"Afternoon," Anton greeted, as he helped Emma into the back of the car, and closed the door softly behind her.

She waited for him to take his own seat, in the passenger side of the front, before she replied. "Morning Ant. How was your weekend?"

"Not too bad considering we spent it with my in-laws," he chuckled. When Emma quirked a brow at him he simply replied with, "We can't all have in-laws like yours, Emma."

"True," she conceded.

"So, I had an interesting call last night," Anton began, breaking the comfortable silence in the car.

"Killian?"

"Nope. One of his friends. One of your friends," he corrected.

"Who?" Emma asked.

"A Belle French. She was looking for information about how to get you away for a weekend, without being seen by the press. I told her I'd need to actually check with you first, before giving her that information, I'm afraid."

"It's okay," Emma soothed. She knew the security procedures, and how they had a habit of ruining anything spontaneous.

"As long as you're happy with a weekend away, I'll come up with some locations. At least part of it will still be a surprise for you."

"I'm more than happy about that," Emma assured him, sinking back into her seat to pull out her phone.


Emma's look here is based on Jen's look for SDCC 2011. (Pictures are on Tumblr!)

Thanks for reading.