Title: Look After You
Chapter Fifty-Four: I'm Sticking with You
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Emma, Ruby, Mary Margaret, & August; Emma/August
Summary: The girls get Ruby calmed down and then Emma and August are adorable assholes together.
Warnings: Nothing major.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Enjoy some adorableness.

Mary Margaret met them at the door with a cheerful smile.

"I'm about to make some grilled cheeses. Are you hungry?"

Ruby shook her head and walked into the loft. On the ride home, she'd become somber again and Emma knew she'd have to tell Mary Margaret about their discovery. Ruby needed someone to talk to about all of this and despite her best efforts, clearly Emma wasn't helping.

An arm snaked around her waist and she let out a small cry of surprise before August's familiar stubble brushing against her neck abated her fears about serial killers. She turned and slapped his arm as he chuckled and pulled her against him.

"That wasn't funny," she hissed, remembering the heart in the box. She shuddered and pushed him away from her before ushering him inside. She bolted the door and then double checked the locks, just to be sure.

"What's gotten into you?" He asked seriously after searching her face.

Emma glanced behind him. Mary Margaret was in the kitchen, fussing over Ruby and trying to convince her to eat something. Neither was paying attention to her or August so she pulled him aside. She didn't want to take any chances of Mary Margaret overhearing. She wanted to tell her without Ruby listening, the poor thing had been through enough.

"We found a heart today."

"What?" He cried out before lowering his voice. "Are you okay?" He reached up to cup her cheek, clearly worried. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. After a moment she opened her eyes and nodded.

"I'm fine. Poor Ruby, on the other hand…" She shrugged and motioned to Ruby who sat at the counter with her shoulders hunched down as she pretended to drink a cup of tea.

August pulled Emma into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She allowed herself a moment to enjoy his embrace before she pulled away to tend to Ruby. She kissed his cheek and moved into the kitchen, taking off her coat as she went.

"I brought some wine and chocolate," August announced. He held a chocolate bar out to Ruby who took it gratefully and immediately unwrapped it and dug in.

"Thanks, August," she said through a mouthful.

"The win-"

"I'll get it," Emma said, taking out four glasses. She left August to it and leaned across the counter to take Ruby's hand.

"Ruby, do you need anything?"

She shook her head and gave August a smile as he handed over a glass of red wine. She downed it in one swift gulp. An impressed August slid another one towards her and she repeated the action. She shook her body as the alcohol hit her and she set the glass aside.

"I just want to go to bed and forget today happened."

Mary Margaret gave Emma a questioning look and Emma shook her head, she'd tell her once Ruby was in bed.

"You can sleep in my bed tonight; it's less noisy up there. Why don't you get cleaned up?"

"Thanks, Emma." Ruby hopped off her stool and gathered her things from Mary Margaret's room before locking herself in the bathroom.

Mary Margaret turned and set her hard gaze on Emma.

"What happened?"

Emma sighed and circled the kitchen island so she could face Mary Margaret.

"You cannot freak out. We don't have any lab results back yet and if you say anything to David, it could hurt my investigation. I am only telling you because Ruby needs someone to talk to; she's clearly not going to get over this anytime soon."

"Emma, you're scaring me."

"We…" She met August's eyes and he gave her a small nod. She focused her attention back on her roommate and sighed. "We found a heart-"

Mary Margaret let out a horrified gasp and covered hear mouth.

"We don't even know if it's human yet, let alone if it's Kathryn's."

"You let Ruby see it!"

"She was kind of the one who found it," Emma replied uneasily. Before Mary Margaret could yell again, Emma spoke. "At least we found something, which is better than not knowing."

"Oh yes, so…ugh…" Mary Margaret threw up her hands and walked away so she could pace and mutter to herself.

Emma buried her hands in her face. August approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned into him as Mary Margaret began going off about 'irresponsibility'. Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How was she supposed to know Ruby was going to find a heart? Plus, Ruby was an adult; she couldn't continue to be sheltered for the rest of her like the way she had been with Granny. Emma suddenly understood where Ruby's self-worth issues stemmed from.

Ruby emerged from the bathroom with her hair still wet and Emma had never seen her look so exhausted. She gave August's hand a squeeze and he moved to clean things up while she and Mary Margaret led Ruby upstairs. Once Ruby was settled, Mary Margaret agreed to stay with her.

"All right, I'll see you both tomorrow then…"

She hoped poor Ruby didn't have nightmares. Ruby leaned into Mary Margaret who embraced her and Emma turned to leave them alone. If anyone could make Ruby feel better, it was Mary Margaret. She grabbed her quilt and a pair of sweatpants before making her way down the stairs. She reached the bottom of the stairs to find the kitchen not only clean but a glass of wine waiting for her on the coffee table.

"Stop trying to make me fall in love with you," she teased before climbing on top of him. He pulled her into his arms as he lay back onto the couch.

"Never," he said as he kissed the top of her head. She closed her eyes and held him while he flipped through the channels for something to watch. She was too tired to go back upstairs and dig around for a movie, so they'd have to settle for bad primetime.

"Bad day in general?"

"What gave it away?" She mumbled, her face pressed to her chest. She turned her head and nuzzled his neck. "Was it the dead woman's heart? Or Regina? Because seeing her once wasn't enough, I had to deal with her twice today."

He moved his fingers through her hair and she let out a small, contented sigh, ready to sleep.

"Sorry, amore," he whispered as he buried his face in her hair. A moment later she heard him chuckle and she groaned.

"What?"

"I may have done something…"

Emma sat up and stared down at him accusingly.

"Not like that, come here." He grabbed her hands and pulled her back against him. She pouted, but he did feel like a very nice pillow so she cuddled against him once more. "Regina and I had a conversation today."

"Ugh, yeah, I meant to ask you about that," she grumbled. She could only imagine what fuckery Regina had started with him. "What did she want? If it's your hot bod, she's shit out luck, because it's mine."

"Yeah it is."

She pinched him and he laughed.

"Fine, fine. Anyway, Regina has it in her head that…" He paused, trying to find the right words. "She thinks I'm Henry's dad and I didn't correct her."

Emma's eyes shot open and she sat up.

"You did what?"

He stared up at her, half-anxious and half-terrified and she smacked his chest, hard.

"You ass!"

While it was stupid, she couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. He pulled her down and tickled her and she playfully hit him in return, mildly annoyed.

"I'm going to have to tell her the truth, why would you-"

"Henry and I thought it was hilarious."

"Henry's in on this!"

"He kind of started it, to be hon-"

"Ugh!"

"Come here."

He grabbed her around the waist and playfully tackled her to the couch. She squealed and grabbed a pillow to hit him with.

"You'd better get off of me unless you have plans to do something other than play games, Mr. Booth."

"Is that so, Sheriff Swan?"

Emma used her elbows to lean up until their noses were touching and she stared him down.

"Oh yeah."

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

Emma rolled her eyes. Of course they would be interrupted again. When it was finally time to seduce him for real, she was taking him out of town and to a hotel and if anyone tried to come into the room she'd pull out her Smith and Wesson, no questions asked.

"Nope, I needed to get changed anyway." She kissed August's cheek and squirmed out from underneath him. She grabbed her things and hurried off into the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, pulled up her hair, and stripped down into her tank top before throwing on her sweats. She emerged feeling ready to cuddle again and waved to Mary Margaret who was also changed as she headed back upstairs.

"What are we watching?" Emma asked as she plopped herself onto his chest.

"I don't know; something about angry chefs."

"Sounds good to me." She settled into his arms as he wrapped her quilt around her body. She did her best to keep her eyes open, but she felt too relaxed in his arms and soon they were closed. He rubbed lazy circles on her back and soon she was fast asleep with a smile on her face.


"You have the most beautiful eyes," he whispered as he pushed back a lock of her hair. He gazed down into her gorgeous hazel eyes. Whenever she wore green they became a brilliant shade of emerald, but now, in the dim light of their bedroom, they reminded him of the sea; a lovely mix of sapphire and jade.

She reached out and brushed her hand over his stubble with a lazy smile.

"Yours aren't so bad, either. They're very…blue."

He smiled and kissed her nose. She wasn't a wordsmith, but he understood her meaning. He shifted his weight and lowered his head to place kisses along the underside of her jaw. She moaned and he moved his lips to her pulse point, lapping at the area with his tongue before sucking lightly.

"August," she sighed, moving her hands into his hair. "We can't, what if-"

"I'll be quick," he interrupted as he slid a hand between her thighs. The moment his hand made contact with her warm center, screams filled the air.

Emma groaned and pushed him off of her.

"I told you."

"No, you stay, I'll get it," he told her with a smile as he kissed her quickly. She smiled and got back under the covers.

"You're the best."

"I know."

He moved into the next room to find two large eyes that were identical to Emma's staring at his tearfully.

"It's okay, Princess, daddy's-"

"Mother fucker."

August's eyes shot open and he heard Emma hissing and muttering to herself. His body felt the absence of her warm form pressed against him and he sighed. He found her across the room, rubbing her knee and glaring at whatever she had knocked into before pacing in a small circle.

"Hey."

She froze and turned to him before making that adorable pout he loved so much.

"Did I wake you up," she whispered?

"No, come here, what time is it?"

The sun wasn't even out yet. What was she doing up and pacing at this hour.

"Um…it's like five thirty, I think?" She moved to the sofa and he pulled her into his lap.

"What's wrong? You have hours before you need to be at the station." He kissed her temple and she burrowed her face in the crook of his neck. "Hey, come on," he whispered, rubbing her back. He got the sense that Emma was not a morning person, but she looked like she'd been up for a while.

"Nothing, I just…" She sat up and rubbed her fingers together nervously. "It's this case. I need to send the heart out and everything depends on what I do and I just…" she shrugged, unable to go on.

"You're afraid because you're not used to being responsible."

Her bottom lip quivered and she looked at him, amazed.

"How do you get me so well? It's starting to creep me out."

He toyed with a loose lock of her hair.

"Because I'm the same, Emma. I understand not being able to handle responsibility because I've spent my whole life avoiding it and running from it. But…" He shrugged. "You have Henry, now. You can't run anymore. And I get that it's stressful and it puts a lot of pressure on you, knowing you have to stay when your brain is telling you to run.

But you have me and Mary Margaret and Ruby. Anytime you feel like running, we'll remind you why it's a bad idea."

"But if I mess up this case-"

"You won't. The fact that you're so invested in this case is why you won't. You care, Emma. You're not going to be sloppy or careless; you're going to find out what happened and catch whoever did this. I have faith in you."

"What about you? You run all the time, how do I know I'm not going to wake up one day with the urge to leave to find you beat me to it?"

August took her hands in his and raised them to his lips. Very slowly, he kissed the tip of each of her fingers. Her breath hitched and she glanced up to meet his eyes, half-terrified. He maintained contact with her gaze and he kissed her palms and then the inside of her wrists. By the time he finished, her heart was racing and her breathing labored, but she looked calmer.

"I'm not going anywhere, Emma. We both have issues with running, yes, but I wasn't running from something, I was running towards something, and I've found it. I'd be an idiot to leave the one person who makes me want to put down roots and be responsible." He remembered the dreams he had almost nightly now, of the two of them having a family; Henry, a couple of rugrats of their own, and their parents; a life where they were happy and together. He wasn't going to give up on that dream because of his guilt over his past. He was done hiding behind a bottle. She made him a better man and he intended to stick with her until his dying die.

"Stop saying things like that, it-"

He lowered her chin and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You're stuck with me, Emma," he whispered as he linked his fingers with hers. "And you should try to get some rest. You're going to need it, we do have a hot date in a little over a day," he teased.

"I can't wait," she replied, hugging him around the waist.

"Neither can I, Princess." He ran his hand over her back and kissed the top of her head. "Neither can I."