The winter after Emma and Killian got engaged was the snowiest winter Maine had seen in years. By the beginning of December, piles of snow taller than her flanked the streets and sidewalks. She had needed to use magic just to get rid of some of the snow on their front sidewalk as they ran out of space to put it when they were shoveling.

At this point, after living together for more than half a year, the pair had established a fairly comfortable routine. Obviously they were anticipating marriage now and were excited to become a formal family but it would have very little impact on how they were already living. They had a chore schedule, they had fallen into regular roles in the kitchen, and they even had a standing date night on Monday nights wherein they would go out and do something, just as a way of breaking up the monotony.

Naturally, as with living with anyone for a long amount of time, they were becoming comfortable enough now that any discontent in their routine was beginning to rear its ugly head. What may have been minor nuisances in the beginning were now fully matured plagues. While they both had improved in their communication skills over the last several months, they were far from experts and they were now going to experience the greatest test in their communication as a couple.

It started early one morning when Emma awoke to a rhythmic thwacking sound outside. She instinctively rolled over, her left hand searching for Killian, and found herself alone in bed. A cup of coffee awaited her on her bedside table but it had long since gone cold. She used a pinch of magic to get it back to a scalding temperature (the way she preferred her coffee) and peered out of the wraparound windows of the round corner of their bedroom and found her fiance down below, in the freezing cold morning, splitting wood.

She quickly threw her hair in a braid (a new style she had been playing around with), yanked on some jeans and a sweater and her boots, and then went downstairs with her coffee to the back porch. "Killian?" she called from the sheltered area just off the side of the living room.

"Morning, love," he returned, facing her with his adorably flushed cheeks and nose. She was not prepared for how hot he looked in a beanie.

"What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged, his right hand toying with the hatchet. "We were running low on fire wood so I thought I would come out here and get some more ready before the weather comes in."

She nodded slowly. He could predict the weather better than any meteorologist, and that was without the use of computers and radars. "But you know I can use my magic and it will take not even ten seconds to be done that whole pile?"

"Of course, love. I merely was seeking something to keep my hands busy. Sailors at winter become rather restless creatures," he explained.

"Roger that. I'll be inside, I guess," she said slowly. She stood and watched him split a few more logs, unabashedly admiring his form, and then went inside to make herself some breakfast. She would be lying if she said she weren't just a little put out by him taking on this chore manually. Their mornings when both of them weren't working were few and far between and she was a little ticked to not have him all to herself this morning as she had planned.

Her frustration carried into the following week when she encountered a similar situation, but this time he was shoveling snow from their sidewalks and from around their cars on the street. Judging from the amount of snow piled against the fence, he had been working for a while.

"Okay, seriously, why don't you just let me use my magic to help you?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

"I don't mind doing it, love," he said, looking up at her for just a few moments before returning to his work.

"But you're out here freezing-"

"I'm fine." She reared back slightly from his short tone and he immediately backed down. "I have rum to keep me warm, and when I come inside, I greatly anticipate being able to warm up with you beside the fire."

His sweet talk was only a veil for something he was keeping to himself and rather than being flattered by him, she felt a prick of anger. He clearly sensed it as he looked up at her from the other side of the front lawn, the white of the snow making his eyes almost iridescent, and she could clearly see that he was considering whether to pursue a potential fight or let it go. He chose the latter as he dug the snow shovel into a nearby pile.

They continued to dance around each other carefully for the rest of the day, both walking on eggshells. It was a blessing and a curse that they could reach the other so easily. It was a blessing on the days when their burdens were too heavy to share with words, but it was a curse on these days when they both could see that the other had things they wanted to say but were holding back. They also both knew that this stalemate could only last for so long before one of them had an outburst (most likely her, as he had a couple of centuries over her to perfect his brooding).

The next day they both were on patrol and neither was looking forward to spending a day at work in this tension. He was comfortable waiting her out even though he was the one who had technically started this particular argument. The station was silent as they both worked on separate things.

Regina stopped by the next morning with some paperwork Emma had requested for finding a fourth person to fill out all of the positions within the department. Having three people share the responsibilities was not sustainable, especially when her father was alluding to wanting to cut back on his hours to be more available for his family. Every now and then they hired people to serve as a part-time secretary or dispatcher but it was never a permanent thing. There was the other elephant in the room that someday, Emma and Killian were going to have their own kids and when that day came, both of them would have to juggle their schedules more delicately and Emma would naturally have to reduce some of her hours.

"Woah, strange energy in here today," Regina said, stopping in the door of Emma's office. The savior glanced at her fiance and then appraised Regina. "I have those forms you requested. The top folder outlines how the budget can be restructured and other ways we can allocate funds to expand the department. The second folder are potential candidates and their background checks and personal information."

Emma nodded as she gratefully accepted all of the paperwork. "What, exactly, are we looking for in a background check when everyone in this town came from realms of varying degrees of lawlessness?"

"I would leave that to your discretion, considering the fact that a reformed thief and her pirate lover are the two sheriffs," Regina pointed out. "Oh, and let's not forget, you both were Dark Ones."

"Thanks for the reminder," Emma said sarcastically, making it clear that neither of them had forgotten the events of the last year. She already had been thinking heavily on their struggles with the darkness throughout the day. They had fought in the last several months of living together and every time, it sent ripples through her, like phantom pains, of what they had both done as Dark Ones.

Regina nodded and played with her leather gloves for a moment. "So, are you going to tell me what you and Captain Undead are fighting about?"

"I thought I told you to quit with the names," Emma snapped. "Call him Killian, Hook, Captain, for all I care. Just chill with the jokes, okay?" Not many people knew that Killian had a sensitive side to him when it came to him having only one hand but she didn't want anyone to find out the hard way. She and Henry were really the only ones permitted to poke fun at his hook (no pun intended) and even so, they rarely did. "We're fine."

She raised her eyebrows and looked between the two. Through the window, Emma could see that he was momentarily distracted by the snow falling outside. She predicted he had twenty, thirty minutes at the most before he found an excuse to go outside. "Fine, keep it to yourselves. Please promise me you won't murder each other on the clock?"

Another poor joke that only made Emma wince rather than smile as Regina left. Sure enough, twenty-two minutes later, Killian stuck his head into her office. "I'm going to grab some lunch. Care for anything?"

"No, I packed a salad this morning, but thank you." The formality between them was eating away at her. This was her chance to attack it, to get to the root of whatever this was going on here. The station was quiet, she had paperwork trapping them both here unless there was an emergency, and the odds of them being interrupted were low - for once.

But she backed down, not wanting to get into a fight while at work.

"Right. Okay. Be back in a shake."

She waited for him to cross the room and lean over her desk to give her a kiss as he always did when he left her at the station but he instead withdrew from the door, and she was forced to watch him leave through the windows.

Her heart sat heavy in her chest as she began reading through the folders Regina had brought over. It was nearly impossible for her to focus on what she was reading. It wasn't helpful either that when he did come back, she had to watch him eat soup and a grilled cheese and the smell of it wafted into her office, tearing her attention from her salad. She picked at it with her fork and tried to really take in the words in front of her.

The list of people who were eager to join the police force in Storybrooke was meager at best. Emma supposed that it did require a certain personality to willingly fight monsters and villains on a regular basis. The thought drew her eyes back to Killian. He had done just that. Without preamble, without even discussing it, he simply threw himself into the work here. Part of it was due to her, yes, and how most of their early relationship was built upon them going on treks through the woods after various monsters, but he genuinely wanted to do it. It was both a shame and probably a blessing that there weren't more Killian Jones around town.

Movement caught her eye in the bullpen and she glanced up to see him stand, stretch his shoulders and back, and then disappear around the corner to make copies of something. The station phone began ringing then and she stepped out of her office to answer.

"Sheriff Swan," she answered bruskly, eyes trained on the door to the copy and supply room.

"Emma, it's your mom," Snow said.

"Oh, hey. Why are you calling the official line?"

"Because something's happened at the library and I couldn't remember who was on patrol today. I stopped here to pick up some books for the class but it looks like the place has been ransacked."

Emma's heart sank. So much for an afternoon of finishing paperwork. "Copy that. We'll be there soon."

She was tying up her fur-lined black leather jacket when Killian emerged from the copy room with a small stack of papers in hand. "Where are you off to, love?" he asked amicably.

"We got a call," she said, holding his own coat out to him. "Care to join me?"

"Always, Swan," he said in a soft voice and something about the way he said it reminded her that even when they weren't seeing eye-to-eye, they still loved one another deeply, and still wanted to be together.

When they arrived at the library, Emma realized that her mother's choice of the word "ransacked" was an understatement. The entire back corner of the library (the section that housed magical books) had more books on the floor than on the shelves. The other sections were slightly less chaotic but had the same signs of disturbance.

"So, we have an incredibly eager book thief on our hands?" Killian asked, shining his flashlight around the space. The whole library smelled horribly of disuse. Emma waved her hand and the lights came on, followed quickly by the clicking of the radiators by the windows, thankfully.

Snow was lingering by the doorway as Emma walked further into the space. "Mom, has anyone taken over as librarian since Belle?" Belled had gotten a job at the school as their research librarian. It actually paid, unlike the town librarian position. She had enough on her plate between her job and a baby who would be coming in the next few weeks - looking after the town library was not her first priority.

"Not that I know of."

"So this could have happened months ago and we wouldn't have known," Killian said, his tone a touch disappointed.

Emma shook her head. "No. Look at the dust on this cart of books." She drew her finger through the thick gray film. "There's no dust on the books on the floor. If this had happened even a couple weeks ago, there would be at least a little bit. This happened recently. I'd say in the last week."

"Good work, Swan," Killian said absently. His compliment was lacking its normal encouraging lilt he normally gave her. Emma caught her mother glancing between the two of them curiously. Great, Regina was bad enough. Now she was going to have to answer all of her mother's questions. "Any other indications of who it could be?" he asked, continuing to peruse the shelves and look for anything that was left behind by their intruder.

She crouched down at a table where a few books were lying open and haphazardly stacked and set aside. "They stopped to do a bit of reading from the looks of it." She slid her glove back on and turned the books so that she could read the titles. One of the books was on mythical creatures, another one was a book on light magic, and another was a psychology textbook specifically about raising children.

"Hang on. I think I have an idea. A thief who might have an interest in light magic and someone who is due to be a mother soon." Killian tilted his head as a strange thought struck him. "Scarlet?"

"Will Scarlet?"

"Aye. If I remember correctly, he and Belle had a brief dalliance last year."

"A dalliance doesn't mean he still cares about her."

"He also would be familiar with this place, assuming he spent time with Belle here."

"Also true." The evidence that Will was their perpetrator was beginning to stack up and Emma didn't have the faintest idea why he would have suddenly gained an interest in helping Belle, and she wasn't sure she had the energy to get back into this mess. Her peace with Gold was tenuous at best. It would be a risk for her to have a hand in sending Belle into the arms of another man.

"Do you think it's actually possible he intends to be with her?" Killian asked, his thoughts going in the same direction as Emma's.

"I don't know. I'd just like to find him, first. Before he can do anything stupid, like cross Gold."

"Agreed."

"Lucky for me, I have an entire filing drawer at the station filled with his personal belongings from locking him up so many times," Emma said. "Thanks for calling, Mom. We can take it from here."

Snow stepped in front of Emma while Killian stepped back outside and started the patrol car, hopefully blasting the heat so that it would be warm by the time Emma got in. "Honey, is everything okay between you and Hook?"

"Everything's fine, Mom." Snow looked far from convinced. "Really. We're just having an off week. It's nothing to worry about. We will be back to normal soon."

"If you say so," her mother sighed, and Emma hugged her quickly before joining her fiance in the brown and white patrol car.

A half hour later, she and Killian were standing in front of his desk with all of the personal artifacts and evidence of Will's Emma had collected in the last year and there were several empty bottles of locator spell among them, and none of it had worked. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised that everything he owned was stolen," Emma sighed, starting to stuff some of it back into the bags.

"I think this is mine, actually," Killian said as he reached across her for a large gold brooch with an emerald the size of an eyeball set in the middle.

Her eyebrows rose. "Didn't take you for the brooch type."

"I am of the shiny gold objects type, love." She smiled, the tension between them easing slightly at the familiar cadence of their flirty back and forth. "Now, what do you say we go looking for him in the traditional method of finding a trail and following it?"

"There has to be another spell we can try to make it easier to find him," she said, folding her arms as she thought through all of the magic she knew.

Her fiance tugged on her elbow. "Swan, is it really necessary to use magic? You were great at finding people before you had magic. Why rely on it now?"

"Because I don't feel like wandering the town aimlessly."

"It's not aimless if we are looking for someone." She shot him an unappreciative look. "The town is only so large. Where could he possibly be hiding that we can't find him in one afternoon?"

"You'd be surprised."

He clenched his jaw and backed down slightly, seeming to sense that she wasn't going to indulge his desire for an old-fashioned search party. "I suppose you're right, love. Let me know when you find something." He sauntered off to the coat rack and took the keys for the patrol car, clearly crestfallen. Why was she so reluctant to go on an adventure with him? Adventures were their thing. And it's not like he was only along for the ride. She realized she probably could give him a bit more credit in how good he was at following a clue and she had been taking the lead on this all day, without giving him much room for input.

"Killian," she called, leaning forward on his desk. "Where do you think we can find a lovesick, alcoholic thief who's catching up on his reading?"

His lips picked up in an almost smile, but she would take it. "That's easy, love. The bar."

Emma drove to the Rabbit Hole. The snow that had been softly falling all day was now officially accumulating, causing the roads to be slippery and a bit out of Killian's comfort zone for driving - especially in the rundown, old-school, front wheel drive patrol car. Just as he had predicted, Will was sitting at the bar staring into a glass of presumably whiskey. She sidled up to the barstool beside him and nudged him.

"So, found your mess at the library today," Emma said, pulling the bowl of peanuts in her direction and peeling the shells. In the corner of her eye, she saw Killian position himself by the back door just in case Will tried to make a run for it as he was prone to doing. "Care to tell me what you were doing there?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about, love," he said in a heavy voice.

"Oh c'mon, Will, it's obvious that you miss Belle."

He shrugged. "You goin' to arrest me again?"

"You broke into the library and stole some books. You're not giving me much of a choice." She caught Lily watching them as she poured a beer from one of the taps behind the bar. Emma and Lily had gradually fostered a friendship now that they had some downtime, and they'd had many nights with Lily working at the bar and Emma sitting on the other side when they talked about anything and everything.

"Hard to steal from a place that isn't even open." A tinge of regret colored his words.

"Well, why don't you come with me and we can talk about it at the station? I promise, I haven't put anyone in your cell since your last visit."

"Very well, put me out of my misery," he said, downing what was left of his drink and then holding his hands together behind him.

"Seriously? You're not going to run?"

"Nothing left to run for."

Holy crap, he has it bad for her, Emma realized. She tentatively pulled her cuffs out of her back pocket and locked them around his wrists, escorting him out of the bar while Killian tossed a bill onto the counter to cover Will's tab. Lily offered them a grateful smile.

Emma got him settled in the back of the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Will was uncharacteristically quiet as they drove back to the station. She kept glancing back at him in the mirror and rather than his dopey, relaxed face, he was looking out the window with disappointment clearly written on his features.

They were only a block from the sheriff station when Emma tried to roll to a stop at a stop sign and the car slid several feet before getting stuck on a small incline in a build up of snow and slush. She cursed under her breath, opening her door to peer at the back of the car and found them well and truly stuck.

"Don't fret, love, I'll get us out of this," Killian said, undoing his seatbelt and reaching for the door handle. "Accelerate when I tell you."

"Killian, I can just use my-"

"Hold this, will you? Wouldn't want to scratch the paint." He dropped his hook into her lap and got out of the car before she could argue any further. Slightly grinning as she watched him push on the back of the car, she pressed her foot down on the gas pedal, turning the wheel from side to side as she felt the back tires struggle to find traction. He gave one firm push again and that seemed to do the trick and the car lurched forward and they were free of the offending slush. He slid back into the car with a triumphant smile and took his hook back from her.

"Okay, seriously, what is up with you?" she asked him.

Will leaned forward and propped his elbows up on the back of Killian's seat, prompting Emma to slide the plexiglass window closed to cut him off.

"Love, we should be getting back-"

"No. You've been acting weird all day, all week, and I'm sick of it. Tell me what is bothering you."

"Perhaps we should call Archie," he suggested.

That pretty much sent her over the edge. "I am trying to have an honest conversation with you and you want to go talk to a cricket? Why can't you say whatever it is you've been holding back for the last week?"

"Because I know it will upset you-"

"Oh, and I'm not already upset?"

A car honked behind them and Emma realized that they were blocking the intersection. So maybe this wasn't the best time for them to settle their relationship issues.

They got back to the station and she and Killian continued to dance around each other as they went through the necessary steps to book Will. She breathed a sigh of relief when he left to pick up dinner for him, if only to have a break from the tension. She should have known better than to pick a fight with him while on patrol.

If her father picked up on any tension when he showed up for his night shift, he didn't remark on it - much to their relief. It was a silent drive home that night and an even quieter dinner. Henry cast them uneasy looks as both of them picked at their food. He continued to try his best at distracting them with stories from school and he eventually resorted to basically reciting an entire book report he had just finished for English.

As she got ready for bed, he made no move to leave the couch in the living room, one hand clutching the remote for the TV and his other arm folded behind his head. She lay in bed for ten minutes or so before she finally heard him moving around downstairs. Throwing the covers aside, she stomped down the steps and found him sitting by the front windows where he could watch the sea, flask propped up on his knee.

"Killian?" she called into the dark room. He didn't respond. Her anger from earlier had all evaporated under the exhaustion of living like this and she needed it to end. "I called Archie. He said we can come in tomorrow morning." Again, no response. That frightened her. He only went quiet when he was genuinely livid. "Look, I know you're upset and I know we'll talk about it tomorrow but please, don't leave tonight. Sleep with me, or down here, or on the front porch if you really want. Just stay, please."

His head tilted imperceptibly at her words. He tilted the flask back for another long swig of rum and his voice was thick as he spoke. "I could never leave you, Swan."

Those words were enough for her to have the courage to approach him and scratch her fingers through his hair at the base of his skull. "Come to bed with me?"

He surprised her by immediately capping his flask and rising. She automatically took the flask for him so that he had his hand free to take hers and he allowed her to pull him upstairs where they went to bed together. Their love was strong and even when she didn't know what exactly it was that was going on between them, she knew that they would weather this storm and come out on the other side stronger than before. She knew that because despite this tension, he pulled her close to him as they slept and didn't complain like he normally did when she tucked her freezing feet between his warmer ones. She knew that because when she woke up in the morning, there was a cup of coffee on her nightstand with just the right amount of creamer in it (which happened to be a lot). She knew because he gave her a kiss in the morning when she met him in the kitchen.

They dropped Henry off at school on their way to Archie. Pongo greeted them with a wagging tail when they arrived at Archie's office and they sat at opposite ends of the couch.

"So, Emma, what is it that you brought you both here?" She looked to Killian to fill in the blanks. "Or, I can let you two talk as if I'm not even here."

Having already decided that she was going to try to be understanding with whatever he had to say, she reached for his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Love, it's about your magic." She reeled back, not expecting that to be what was wrong. "It's just that you have been using it a lot recently."

"My magic is part of who I am," she said slowly.

"Yes, a part, not all of who you are, so is it really necessary for you to use it for every little thing?"

"I don't think I use it for everything."

"Washing the dishes, starting your car so that it's warm before you get in, even turning the lights on when you enter a room," he listed.

"It's a matter of convenience. What's so wrong with that?"

"I could be doing all of those things for you," he snapped. "I love you, Emma, and we fought all last year to have a future together and yes, that future has all of the big moments like getting married and having a family but it also includes all of the little things. I want to show you that I love you but how can I do that when you are already doing everything yourself."

Emma tilted her head. "But, you know that I'm independent. I've never hidden from you the fact that I save myself."

"I do know that, and I love you for it, but a man likes to be needed from time to time."

"But what does that have to do with my magic?" He hesitated which again, that clued her into the fact that he was holding something really close to his chest. They both had walls but they looked different for both of them. Emma had a myriad of them with landmines in between but they weren't so hard to get over, it just took time. Killian's were built tall and wide and were invisible until you ran right into one and were looking up at it, wondering how you were possibly going to get through it. She had just run straight into one of them. "Killian?"

He pulled his hand away and stood so that he could pace away to the windows and collect his thoughts. "It's not that you use your magic too much. It's what your magic reminds me of." Oh. Oh. "Emma, you never used to need your magic for anything. You only asked Regina to help you with your magic to help her defeat Zelena - to help Regina, not to do the whole job yourself. But after that I watched you become stronger and stronger until finally…" He couldn't finish the sentence but he didn't need to.

"Until finally I went over the edge and became the Dark One."

"And you used it to make me a Dark One."

"We've been over this, Killian," Emma said as she stood and joined him at the windows. "I thought you had forgiven me for it."

"I have, but that doesn't mean I love the idea of magic."

"It's saved your life how many times-"

"Only because you used it to save my life in the first place."

"For our future-"

"You forget that I spent two centuries at sea trying to exact my revenge on the Dark One-"

"I could never forget-"

"-and all he took from me because of magic. I wanted him gone so that I would never have to bloody deal with it again."

"And yet you chose me. You have known from the beginning that magic comes with me."

"No, Swan, I did not know that very first time I laid eyes on you and felt something for you that you had magic."

"But you've stayed, even after all of that."

"I have stayed because I love you, Emma Swan. You have said that people don't see you as anything but the Savior. I see you as Emma first; my fiance, my True Love, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, Henry's mum. The Savior is the bottom of that list. Your magic is not everything about you but lately, it's felt like this third person in our relationship."

Archie clapped his hands, suddenly reminding them that they weren't alone. "Well, I think we have made some great progress here. Why don't we continue next week-"

"We're not done here," they both snapped at him with Killian gesturing for him to sit down.

The former cricket sank back in his chair with a controlled sigh. "Who do I call if I'm being held hostage by both sheriffs?" he asked no one in particular.

Emma crossed her arms defensively. "Then what do you want me to do?"

Lowering his voice and placing his hook and hand on her shoulders, he said, "I want to love you, and care for you, and serve you, because that's what a husband does for his wife. I want us to be equals in our marriage. So you don't need me to save you, job well done. At least let me show you that I love you."

"That's really what all of this is about?"

"Emma, you have shown me that magic can be used for good and that it isn't all evil. I just want a normal life with you. The time for spells and potions and monsters comes at work but when we are at home, together, I want to be just Emma and Killian. I rather enjoy doing the dishes, you know."

"You do? I thought you were only doing them out of obligation."

"No, well, partly. I enjoy doing them but I also like to contribute in that way."

Her eyes burned with tears as he spoke. "Why haven't you said anything yet? We agreed no more secrets."

"Because I know how proud you are of how far you've come in using your magic. I didn't want to take that away from you, and I didn't know how to say all of this to you without giving you the wrong impression." He removed his hand from her shoulder to intertwine her fingers with his, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her engagement ring. "I have said before that I am grateful for what you did in order to save my life so that we can have a life together, but I want our relationship to be more than that."

"Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated, surprised that she agreed so quickly.

"I have been to Hell and back to split my heart in half and bring you back to life, and you are shocked that I'm willing to do this for you? I did a lot of things to save you. I can let you take over as the savior in our house."

He scratched behind his ear bashfully. "I don't know about the savior thing, but I would be honored to be your partner, Swan."

They both thanked Archie and left his office to return home. The next day, they woke up to another several inches of snow. Together, they bundled up and went out front and she shoveled the sidewalks and porch steps while he worked on the chunks of ice and snow around both of their cars. As they worked, they exchanged knowing smiles with one another and she realized that while shoveling snow was one of her least favorite things to do, she loved being able to spend this time with her fiance doing something so normal.

At least, she loved it until he snuck up on her and dropped a handful of snow down the back of her jacket, making her squeal. She then proceeded to chase him around the yard and managed to tackle him to the ground, sitting on his butt and pressing his face into the snow until he surrendered. Of course, he only surrendered for the moment and as soon as she gave him some room, he flipped her over so that he was the one straddling her. By the time they had officially called a cease fire, both were freezing and soaking wet. As soon as they were inside, they both stripped out of their cold clothes and Killian got working on starting a fire while she retrieved clothes for them from upstairs.

Turns out, they didn't put those clothes on for another hour or so. For the rest of the day, Killian insisted on waiting on Emma hand and foot and for once, she embraced it. He cooked for her, he kept the fire going strong all day, he went to the store for her (and even took her car so that he could fill her gas tank) and then capped it all off with preparing a bath for her in the massive clawfoot tub in their master bathroom.

She decided that she would get things back to normal between them tomorrow. For now, she was going to embrace being pampered by her pirate. And okay, maybe having him care for her may have had some advantages to it, which she decided after she dragged him into the tub with her.

"Hey partner," she greeted when she got home the following day, finding Killian in the kitchen cooking pancakes for dinner. Henry was seated on the couch in the living room playing some game on his phone from the looks of it. She dropped her purse to the floor and stowed her gun in the safe.

"Hello, love," Killian returned.

She ducked underneath his left arm so that he would still have his right hand free to flip the pancakes in the skillet. "About what you were saying when it came to being my equal...I know you technically are a sheriff and that puts us on level ground at work, but we split up the duties so that I have more of the paperwork…"

"Out with it, Swan," he gently goaded.

"Would you be willing to help me pick someone out of this pile for the open deputy position? I have been through every file and submission and none of them are appealing to me so maybe I could use another set of eyes on them. And bringing them home with me was the only way I was going to get out of the office on time tonight."

"Absolutely," he agreed with a flirtatious wink, because he had a talent for flirting with her while doing even the most mundane tasks.

Following dinner, they spread the files out on the coffee table and she gave Killian time to read through each file before throwing in all of her notes about each candidate. Of course, she also poured them both glasses of wine to accompany the evening's festivities. Henry didn't budge from his place on the couch so she took the floor while Killian sat at the other end of the sofa, leaning over the coffee table, Brig using her leg as a pillow. She wanted him to be completely objective his first time looking through them all.

When he was finished, she lifted her eyebrows at him. "So?" He released a long breath and slightly shook his head. That was all the response she needed. "God, this is hopeless."

"Perhaps not, love," he quickly interceded. "Granted, it was rather convenient that you, your father, and myself didn't need training to do the job outside of some target practice. Perhaps there are one or two people here that could do the job with the proper training first."

Her shoulders wilted. "But we need someone now. I don't want to wait months for them to be trained, and who will train them anyway? That's just more time out of our days."

"Only for a few months. Surely we could make it work until then."

"I refuse to believe that there is no one in this town that is already equipped to be a deputy. Someone who knows criminals, who can think like criminals, who is in good shape, who isn't afraid to be a little scrappy and certainly isn't afraid of magical creatures. Someone with a good tolerance for weird," she said into her wine glass.

Killian also took a drink of wine and began to say something when Emma's phone vibrated loudly on the table.

She swiped it open and answered. "Hey, Dad, what's up?"

"Hey, honey, I have a present for you at the station."

"Something's telling me I am not going to like this present."

"I picked up Will tonight. He's asking to speak to you."

"Tell him I'll talk to him tomorrow morning."

"He's threatened to sing all night if you don't come now."

Emma honestly weighed in her mind how much she was willing to make her father suffer to avoid leaving the warmth of comfort of her home. "Fine. I'll be there in ten." She was already up and pulling on her leather coat by the door. Her fiance followed her and did the same and she paused when her eyes landed on Henry. He noticed her hesitation and offered her a warm smile.

"I'll be in bed by ten, don't worry."

"Nine-thirty," she corrected, throwing open the door and practically running to her car.

True to his word, Will was belting out an unfamiliar tavern shanty when he walked into the station. Her father was holed up in her office, the deep grimace on his face giving away just how bothered he was by listening to Will. Emma stopped in there first.

"What was it this time?"

"Same as always - picking a fight with Leroy." He handed her the report and a secondary folder. "Thought you might want to see this."

She pursed her lips as she read and then left her office to approach Will in his cell. He swung his legs over the side of the cot, waiting for her to address him. "I heard you wanted to talk to me. Wanna explain why you picked a fight with Leroy?" For once, when she examined his expression, she didn't see a trace of humor in his eyes.

"You were wrong assuming I took a shining to Belle," he said, bracing his hands on either side of him. "Can you call off your guard dog?"

Emma glanced to the side to see Killian leaning against the desk behind her. One look was all he needed to return to her office and close the door behind him. "You were saying?" she asked Will as she crossed her arms with the folder pressed to her chest. "I don't want to hear about who you shine for or whatever. I want to know about you fighting Leroy."

"I have a good reason-"

"You have a good reason for being arrested for the third time in the last six months? Will, if you are arrested again, it's no longer a local issue. I am obligated to file the report with the county and then you're dealing with the state of Maine, not me. Do you want that?" He sniffed and leaned back against the brick wall. "It says you instigated the fight? Wanna tell me what that's about?"

"Because Leroy can't keep his thoughts to himself. Every night, I listen to him yammer on about her, callin' her names and remarking on her looks and sometimes, I can't listen to it anymore and my fist might just slip into his face. Savvy enough explanation for you, Sheriff?"

"Hang on, this is about a girl?" A light bulb went off in Emma's head. "Lily? Really? I thought you had a thing with Belle."

"Last year, princess, I've moved on. I know people don't do a lot of that in this town but believe me, it is normal."

She heaved out a long-suffering sigh. "So you picked a fight with Leroy because he wouldn't shut up about Lily?"

"Are you deaf?"

"I'm just trying to wrap my head around this."

"She doesn't deserve the things he says."

Bypassing his surprisingly sweet comment, she considered something else: she had never had to pick him up from a different bar. All of his fights took place at the Rabbit Hole. "You go there just to defend her, don't you?"

"Not just to defend her. They also have the best scotch in town." Emma gave him a look that she wasn't buying it. "And the prettiest bartender."

"There we go."

"But don' tell her any of this."

"Why are you telling me about this?"

"So you see that I am the victim in this."

She laughed out loud. "Oh, you most certainly are not the victim. Defending a woman's honor is not enough to get you out of trouble. Though maybe you should try some yoga or meditation, something to rein in your thirst for justice…" She trailed off as her mind really processed what it was she was saying. "Will, do you have a job?"

He shrugged. "I do the odd delivery for Granny. Pick up shipments of flowers for the florist. Nothing regular."

"How would you like to be deputy?"

"What? Patrol around town like you?"

"Will, I need someone who understands criminals, who is good in a fight, and gets along well with the rest of us. You tick two of those boxes and I think eventually, you might grow to like me."

"Wouldn't count on it, sweetheart."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Or I can send you to jail. Your choice."

He thought it over for several minutes, sniffing a couple times and clicking his tongue as he contemplated it. "Will you pay me?"

"Of course I'll pay you," she said as if it should have been obvious.

"How much?"

"The same amount any other deputy would make." He still looked unconvinced. "We'll have to train you, but it will at least fill your days. And, if you do this, I might be able to talk to Lily for you."

His eyebrows shot up. "You would?"

"Yup."

"Is it common practice to bribe people to work for you?"

"This will only benefit you. Steady pay, a clean record, and at least a date with a girl you're interested in. Oh, and quality time with me."

"Fine."

"Really?"

"Will you let me out now, princess?"

She smirked. "Sorry, it's Sunday night. Your paperwork won't be processed until tomorrow morning."

When she returned to her office, Killian and David both looked at her expectantly. It was then that she realized one of the doors to her office had been open the whole time, meaning both men had heard her conversation and were clearly unhappy about it.

"Emma, I know we're strapped for people and you want help, but Will? We can't trust him."

"Oh yeah? I'm only here because Graham chose to trust me, an ex-con and bail bonds woman. Killian spent over two hundred years living according to his own law before taking this job," David didn't appreciate the reminder, but Killian smirked at him anyway, "and you assumed the role as sheriff a few hours after remembering you had once been a prince and only because I had been sucked through a portal. None of us were qualified for these positions on paper but I believe we're all damn good at what we do. I believe in Will. I think we can all agree that we're better off because people chose to believe in us when it was the crazy choice. Why can't we do the same for him?"

Her father raised his eyebrows, expression still guarded, while Killian stepped up closer to her and put an arm around shoulders. "As you wish, Swan. Your instincts haven't led us astray as of yet."

They looked at David, waiting for him to say something. "Fine," he sighed. "But if he steps one toe out of line, he is your problem." Emma smiled triumphantly.