A/N: Holy elf on a shelf this is long. Soo I sat down and actually worked on a plot, and a timeline of sorts, so there's actually some substance to this - or there will be, soon, instead of my ramblings. Oh! If you want to see any more characters in the 'normal everyday' setting, let me know - I don't specifically plan on adding more, but am happy to do it if y'all want..
11:15 AM
Emma groaned from her position on the couch. It took her entirely too long to remember the events of the night before. From her failed date, to her couch, and the bits and pieces of Gil - the detective, not officer she'd nicknamed 'friendly' because.. well.. he clearly had a crush on her since.. forever. Like from the moment they met.
She'd been careful to keep him at arms length, and now the status quo had changed, according to Holly, and who knows what that would mean or what would happen with him now.
Nothing she cried, mentally, shoving the blanket away from her face. She instantly regretted it, as the sun was hitting her eyes in the worst way.
She stubbornly sat up, keeping her eyes open, just barely, noticing the empty water glass he had left for her.
In a way, it felt nice to be taken care of, even in this small way. It was a sign of things to come, how he would treat her if she let him in, let him become -
Nope. No way in hell was she prepared for that, even in her imagination. She definitely did not need romance to cloud her new leaf - positive thing - whatever it was that she was doing.
She griped her way to the fridge, scanning the near empty shelves. There was milk, beer, ketchup, salad dressing, and a questionable take out box she definitely should remove. Soon. Eventually. Before it became a science project. Or whatever.
She closed the door, frustrated, the questionable box already forgotten, as she got herself some water from the sink. She debated on more aspirin, but couldn't bring herself to take more. Her pride could burn in hell, sometimes.
Her stomach grumbled, so she weighed her options. Deciding she absolutely did not want to leave and face the bright sun and loud noises of the city, she decided she could splurge on one of those overpriced delivery apps.
It was only after ordering herself some wings and fries, that she noticed it was just after 11am. Screw it. She went through the motions of making coffee despite the time being almost noonish. She really didn't have anything planned on a Saturday. Not really. She wanted to find her son, her real son, but that was a line she didn't know if she should cross.
Done with the coffee prep, having turned the ancient machine on, she leaned against the counter, crossing her arms to wait for it, the pleasant sound of coffee and water and steam behind her.
Her mind went another direction.
She also wanted to run into that handsome Not-A-Pirate-Captain, but had no business being back at the college, not until Monday.
So. Many. Things. Were changing on Monday.
She wondered what his business was there, at the college. He had been casually dressed, jeans and a tee, a former military man, so it wasn't likely he was a professor, and he'd admitted he wasn't a student. So. Why was he there?
The coffee maker sounded like it had stopped, so she turned to pull out the coffee, but there was none. None in the carafe, none in the top paper thing, no paper thing, and no water in the side.
She stared at it for a few minutes.
And then she woke up, with a groaning headache, on the couch.
It took her entirely too long to remember the events of the night before. From her failed date, to her couch, and the bits and pieces of Gil - and waking up to make coffee. She shoved the blanket away from her face. She instantly regretted it, as the sun was hitting her eyes in the worst way -
Ok. That was.. weird. Damn her fucking pride, she took the aspirin, on an empty stomach, wishing she had some food in her damn fridge -
There was a knock at the door.
She blinked when the delivery app person handed her the food she didn't order - or did she?
She closed the door behind her, looking at the couch. Had she gone back to bed? On the couch? What about the coff-
There was fresh coffee in the pot.
Setting the bag of food down on the counter, she shook the morning hangover cobwebs from her mind as she poured fresh coffee into one of the few clean mugs - she really needed to do dishes - before taking it all back to her coffee table.
It was nothing. She just woke - she picked up her phone, noticing the time was around 11:20. She could have, absolutely, gotten up to make coffee, and went back to the couch, dreaming the coffee pot was empty, only to wake when her food arrived.
That had to be it.
1:32 AM
She breathed through her discomfort, having arrived back at the community college campus. She'd decided she needed to tour the place, with a map, so she wouldn't be as susceptible to getting lost on her first day, likely missing her first class.
It had nothing to do with a certain man.
Or a dream she might have had.
She was glad she came when she realized her first class was all the way on the other side of the damn campus. She'd never have made it in time for her class if she hadn't came today - it took her nearly thirty minutes just to translate her itinerary compared to the map.
She decided to go into the building, walk around, see if she could find her classroom because, at this point, why not? She was already wasting time.
She was about to pull open the door when she saw him - Hunky Hunkerson - walking the path along the opposite building, heading toward the parking lot - with a very pregnant woman she'd never seen before.
Part of her wanted to run.
But she couldn't move.
The dream flooded her mind, images of Killian, of being together, their wedding, their baby, how he looked at her, his eyes filled with love and longing -
He glanced her way, stopping short. A confused look crossed his face, but he gave a gentle wave before turning back to his companion.
Of course he's married - a handsome guy like that - military hunk - and of course she's.. She's so very... - she opened the door, crossed the threshold, sitting down on one of the many armchairs that lined the room sporadically. It looked like a place students would visit to hang out, or do homework in. There was a vending machine for food, one for drinks, and another had things like pencils, pens, and paper. There were a few end tables, and about a zillion places to plug into.
She was going to like it here. If she got over seeing -
The door opened, and in walked the man of her dreams - from her one dream.
"I know you." He accused, pointing at her.
She had to blink. She was, absolutely, not expecting him to follow her in here.
"I ran into you - literally - the other day."
"Aye." He nodded, letting the door close behind him. "But that's not it."
She huffed out a laugh. "Oh? Then where do we know each other from?"
"I've no bloody idea, love."
"Not your love."
He smirked. God he could absolutely stop that bullshit right this sec-
"Do you want to be?"
She nearly choked on her own tongue. "What?"
He held back a laugh, she could see it. "Apologies. I'm merely teasing." He scratched that spot just behind his ear. His nervous tell. Why the hell was he nerv- "What brings you here on a Saturday?"
"I start classes soon. Wanted to familiarize myself with the place."
Crap. What she meant to say was something less truthful, more sass, like, mind your own goddamn business, or wouldn't you like to fucking know.
But no. She just had to be upfront.
This was clearly not her day.
"Mind a tour guide?" He offered, thumbing toward himself with another wide, brilliant grin.
God, he was hot.
"I do mind."
"Bad news then, because I never turn down a damsel-"
"If you dare call me a damsel in distress, I might just punch you."
"And ruin this devilishly handsome face of mine? Tisk tisk, love, you wouldn't be that cruel."
She smiled sweetly. "I didn't say where I'd punch you. Just that I would."
She watched his face turn from amused to horrified as her meaning hit it's mark.
"Then I shall refrain from calling you a damsel, in distress or otherwise."
She nodded, stood, walking past him to the door he was nearly blocking.
"Might I inquire on your name, lass?"
"Inquire all you want." She murmured, trying not to look - but she did, she did look up, and she felt she was the fly caught in the web of his impossibly blue iris'.
She tore herself away, forcing herself to walk out the door, refusing to look back.
Time doesn't matter here
Sunday night
Emma spent the rest of her weekend either in the shop, in her apartment, the police station, and anywhere she could find her skips.. Not to mention any number of fast food places she could eat at on the go. She'd been doing nothing but catch skips since she had left the college. It was a personal best, but she had to do something to keep from thinking about -
The weekend was almost over, Monday was only a few hours away, and she was turning in her ninth crook of the weekend.
David-Dad-Josh took the skip for her this time.
"Swan, what is going on?" He asked, waving over an officer to manhandle the waste of space she had brought in.
"I just - I dunno." She said lamely, watching the officer walk the perp back into holding before looking up, guiltily, at the man who wasn't related to her in any way.
"Come talk to me." He nodded toward his office. "I have a bear claw left from the shift change." He grinned, knowing - damn him - that she couldn't resist a bear claw.
She just rolled her eyes, nodding, following him to his office. He chose to sit next to her on the chairs meant for guests, not at his own behind the desk.
"You've been bringing in a lot of guys this weekend, Swan. Is something going on?"
She grit her teeth. Telling Holly was one thing. Telling her sudo-boss dream-dad was another.
"Do you need money?" He asked, a hint of concern in his voice. "I can loan you-"
"No." She rushed out a little too loudly. "I just - I…" Despite herself, she decided to tell him. Sort of. "Ok. This will sound weird." She took a bite to stall.
"I'm all for weird."
"I had a really weird dream, and in it was a man, who - in the dream - I.. well. I loved him. And we got married. And we had a kid together."
He grinned. "Was it Russo?"
Of course he would think that. "No, actually, I never met him - this dream guy - before. Not until.. after.. the dream."
He blinked a few times. "Ok, now I'm hooked."
She rolled her eyes. "I've seen him twice now. And I think he's married. With a very pregnant wife."
"Think?" He asked. "Does he wear a ring?"
"His left hand is a little bit.. Missing."
He laughed. "Only a little?"
"War will do that to a person."
"So you had a pleasant dream, met the man from the dream, and now have no idea if he's available." She nodded. "Let me guess.. You can't stop thinking about him."
She eyed him suspiciously, taking an entirely too large bite in response.
He sighed. "Emma.. I get how this situation isn't exactly ideal, but you can't overwork yourself. You've brought in seven skips over the last two days, that I know of. Don't think I didn't see the bruise on your arm last night, and there's another one blossoming under your cheekbone. How many more are hidden?"
She winced as she touched the spot on her face. "I didn't think it was that bad."
"It's bad enough to have affected Russo."
"He noticed?"
"Last night, same as me." His gaze scanned her eyes for a moment. "If nothing happens with your dream-guy, you might think about giving Gilbert a shot. He's a good guy."
"I know." She rubbed her face, fatigue taking over. She really hadn't slept much over the weekend. "I don't think I deserve him." He looked like he was about to rebut her, but she spoke before he could. "Not to mention I work with the guy."
"Not exactly."
"I see him almost every time I come in. Can you imagine if we dated and it ended badly?"
"Can you imagine you two dating and it never ends?" She was way too tired for that. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm just suggesting to keep an open mind."
She nodded. She could do that.
What did you think? Can you see my plot yet? Any ideas where I might take this? Thank you for reading/review/favorite/follow!