Safe Haven
Emma runs away from her abusive boyfriend, Walsh and ends up meeting Killian Jones, the Sheriff of Storybrooke who vows to protect her
When Emma Swan arrived in Storybrooke Maine, the last thing she expected was to fall in love with the Sheriff.
Emma had fled from Boston, after her boyfriend had threatened to kill her if she told anyone about his drug dealing. Out of fear, she had been too scared to go to the police, so she stole a car, changed the number plate, and driven from Boston all the way to Storybook overnight.
She had left a note for Walsh, promising that she wouldn't say anything, unless he left her alone. He simply texted her back, you better do that or else, and she hadn't heard from him since, well, that was due to smashing her phone and throwing it in a local river.
Emma had only been in Storybrooke for two days when she first met Killian Jones. She had been checking into Granny's, a place to stay until she found her own apartment, when he had come in through the door, dropping off something that had been stolen from a previous guest.
Killian had been six foot of pure sexiness, dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and in simple terms, just a completely dashing man. And his accent, which Emma guessed to be a cross between Irish and English, had simply made her melt.
"Killian Jones." He smiled holding his hand out.
"Emma Swan." She tentatively shook it.
"Welcome to Storybrooke."
And then he had been gone as quick as he had arrived.
Once his patrol car had pulled away from the front of Granny's, Ruby Lucas, the granddaughter of the owner came out with a smile on her face.
"Dashing isn't he?"
"Uh, yes. Is he the deputy?" Emma questioned, as she continued to fill out her details in the guest book.
"Sheriff. He liked you." Ruby smiled. "I have only ever seen him look like that once. It was for his girlfriend."
"Oh, well she is lucky then." Emma faked a smile, as she handed the book back to Granny.
"Was." Granny said, putting it back under the counter. "Milah disappeared off the street one night. Sadly for Killian, he was the one to find her body in a shallow grave, just outside of the town. She'd been murdered by one of the town's drunks. William Nottingham."
Emma's eyes widened in shock. "That's awful."
Ruby shrugged. "It was at the time. Turned out to be, Milah had been having an affair with him, and when she refused to ditch Killian for him, William went crazy and killed her. Killian was broken for months, and his best mate, David Nolan, who is our deputy, took over his job for a while. It was a terrible time, but it was seven years ago."
"How old is Killian?" Emma asked.
"Thinking of making a move?" Ruby teased.
Emma looked a little surprised. "No just curious."
"He's thirty." Ruby replied. "And you are?"
"Twenty-one." Emma answered. "Nine years is too much."
Ruby got the hint that Emma didn't want to think about relationships, and went quiet.
Emma didn't see Killian again for a couple of days, but the next time she did, she had been sitting in Granny's diner, eating some form of fried breakfast and drinking a hot chocolate with cinnamon, when Killian had parked himself down on the same booth of her.
"Good morning, Miss Swan." He smiled.
Emma glanced up and noticed that he had his breakfast and coffee to, clearly intent that he was going to join her.
"Uh, morning, Sheriff Jones, but you can just call me Emma." He smiled a little nervously.
"I like Swan, but if I call you Swan, please call me Killian."
Emma nodded and returned to the newspaper she was reading, taking a sip of her cocoa.
"What made you choose Storybrooke?" He asked after a couple of minutes.
Emma looked up at him and looked slightly confused for a few moments, before she realized what he meant.
"Oh, I just read about it in a magazine once. It sounded peaceful and quiet." Emma offered him a small smile, which he returned.
"You're holding something back, lass." Killian said with a sip of his coffee.
Emma's eyes locked with his. "My business is my own."
"I meant no harm." He put his hands up in surrender. "Have you considered what you're going to do for a job?"
Emma shook her head. "It's been a couple of days, but I know I should start looking around soon."
"You know, my mate David, the town's deputy, and his wife, are going on some sort of world experience. They're going for a whole year."
Emma looked confused again. "And?"
"Well, I heard from the grapevine that you were a bail-bonds person, and that could come in handy." Killian said, shovelling some egg into his mouth.
"Wow, news travels fast in this town." Emma mumbled, finishing her breakfast.
"You'll get used to it. So what do you say, would you consider working for such a dashing sheriff."
Emma looked at him, debating on whether to say yes or no. Ruby had assured her that Killian was a good guy and wouldn't do anything that could potentially hurt her, but from what Emma had grasped, he was clearly a ladies man, and against her better judgment she accepted.
Emma wasn't stupid. As they continued to work together, it was clear that they were forming a bond with one another, and people around town also noticed the closeness of the two.
Two months had passed since Emma had come to Storybrooke, and not once had she heard anything from Boston or Walsh, and she truly believed that he definitely was not going to come after her, so she finally allowed for herself to fully open up to Killian.
Killian took her on her first proper date in years. He took her to a fancy restaurant on the water's edge, and there they spent the evening full of carefree laughter, and glasses of wine.
Afterwards, he had walked her to her new apartment door like a complete gentleman, kissed her on the hand goodnight, and he had gone to walk away, when she pulled him back for a heated kiss.
They ended up making love that night, and when Emma awoke the next morning, she found she had no regrets. In fact, she would do it all over again.
Soon seven months had gone by, and Emma had moved in with Killian, not even thinking about how fast their relationship was moving, and then he had asked her again for the true reason she came to Storybrooke, and this time, she told him.
"The man I was seeing, Walsh, was a good man at the start. He took care of me and promised me a life full of happiness." She started, as she lay naked next to him, her fingers trailing through his chest hair. "And I believed him. We were happy for eight months, and then I noticed that something was changing with him. He was out all hours of the night and when came home, his eyes were glazed and there was a funny smell about him."
She could feel Killian tense underneath her.
"Anyway, he assured me everything was fine, but I didn't buy it for one second. The next night he went out, I searched around our shared apartment and found stashes of Heroin and Cocaine. Just as I went to hide them again, he entered and went bananas. He was throwing things, swearing and threatening me. I didn't sleep that night. The next morning, he told me that if I told anyone about his drug addiction and dealing, he'd kill me. I left straight away, left him a note promising I wouldn't tell anyone, stole a car, changed the number plate and fled."
Killian's grip tightened on her. "I wish you had told me sooner, darling."
"I hope you understand why I didn't."
Killian sat up and cradled her head in his hands. "Emma Swan, I swear and vow on this day, that I will protect you, until the day I die."
Emma couldn't help the tears which slipped down her cheeks and without thinking, she opened her mouth. "I love you."
Killian looked mildly surprised for a few moments, before he gave her the softest and most loving of smiles a man could give. "I love you, too."
Two weeks later, Emma got a phone call from an old acquaintance in Boston. Walsh was found murdered in an alleyway, intoxicated with drugs, and the police had come to the conclusion a drug deal gone wrong.
Emma didn't attend the funeral. Instead she stayed in the arms of the new man she loved; the man would never hurt her.
The man who had given her a Safe Haven.
