Thank you for the warm welcome back.
Killian was grateful for the hot tub when he woke Saturday morning. It had managed to ease most of his aches from all the falling he did the day before, until they were only minor irritations. He had no idea what Emma wanted to do for the day, but he knew what he'd prefer to do.
Killian was painfully aware that it was his last full day with Emma. They would be flying back to Vancouver the following morning, and Emma would be leaving for London later that evening.
He certainly wasn't ready to let her go just yet.
"Morning," Emma mumbled, snuggling deeper into the warmth of the bed, and pulling Killian's arm tighter around herself. "What do you want to do today?" she asked, her voice still thick with sleep.
"Stay here with you," Killian whispered into her hair, tightening his grip on her subconsciously.
"Okay." Emma was already drifting back to sleep the moment the word left her mouth, and Killian allowed himself to fall back to sleep with her.
When Killian opened his eyes again, the bed was empty on Emma's side, the sheets already cool to the touch. He sighed at the distinct lack of princess in his bed before slipping out and pulling on a pair of jeans.
The cabin was nice and warm, evidence that Emma had either tended to the fire herself, or called Anton to do it for her. And Killian soon found her in the kitchen, her head bent over her laptop and her phone pressed to her ear.
"Yeah, I see it… No, I'm glad you did… Thank you for all your work on this. I trust you'll be discreet with your findings until I can notify the relevant people? Have a good weekend." As Emma hung up the call, Killian noticed the tension radiating off her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, wrapping her up in his arms.
"Work stuff." She didn't elaborate but Killian could tell it was more than that.
"You can talk to me about it, if it's bothering you."
Emma sat in silence for a few moments and Killian was sure she wouldn't confide in him. He had just dropped a kiss to the crown of her head, before letting go of her, to make some coffee, when she spoke.
"Someone's been embezzling money from my foundation."
"What?" She had spoken so quietly that Killian was certain he must have misheard her.
"The quarterly accounts don't add up. At first, I thought it was just a bookkeeping error, but I've asked a forensic accountant to look them over and he found even more inconsistencies."
"How big are the inconsistencies?" Killian grabbed a mug for Emma, making sure to stir in a little extra sugar. She looked like she could use it.
"More than your yearly salary."
"Fuck." Killian ran a strong hand over his face before something occurred to him. "They're not gonna blame you for this, are they?"
Emma finally looked away from her laptop at that, turning to face Killian. "No. The accountant I hired has a pretty good idea of who's responsible. But it's not going to go down well if he's right."
"Can you tell me who or is that something you need to keep to yourself?"
She stood up and made her way over to Killian, who didn't hesitate to pull her back into his arms. "I'll tell you when we have concrete proof. I don't wanna say anything if it's not him. There are some wounds that never heal, you know?"
"You don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to, Emma. I just want you to know I'm here for you."
"I know."
The call from the accountant had thrown Emma off that morning, but after Killian made them a light lunch, she resolved to forget about work for the rest of the day and make the most of her time left with him.
"Oh, I keep meaning to ask you, what are you doing on the twentieth of September?"
Emma sat her book down to look up at Killian. They were sprawled across the sofa, Killian going through some more of his lines while Emma read a little. It was nothing exciting, but they were both enjoying lying in each other's arms, doing the kind of things they normally would alone.
"Nothing, I don't think. Without checking my schedule I can't say for sure, though. Why?"
"We're having a season premier party in LA. We do some press interviews, eat a nice meal and then watch the first episode of the new season. I was wondering if you'd be my date for the night?" Killian ran his hand through Emma's hair soothingly, knowing that there was a huge chance she wouldn't be able to make it out again so soon.
"That sounds fantastic. I've been counting down the days to the new season. I'll do my best to make sure I can get out for it. I've not been to LA for a while either, so that will be nice. Will you get some time in the city or are you just flying out for the event?"
Killian hadn't expected Emma to sound so excited, but her eyes were lit up with enthusiasm at the idea of it.
"I was only going for the event but if you're joining me, I'm sure we could make it into a full weekend there."
"Great." Emma turned around to give Killian a quick kiss before grabbing her phone. "I'll make a note of it now. Formal dress I assume?"
Killian chuckled into her hair as he pulled her back to his chest.
At least now he had a date to look forward to after Emma left.
Thanks for reading.
