Your Case of Mine

Chapter 3

"So go on then, 'ow the bloody hell did you figure that connection out?"

Will was staring in amazement at the screen as Emma talked him through what Belle had uncovered thanks to the hunch she'd gotten at the crime scene. The hunch that had turned out to be one hell of a hot lead, and which she was hoping could be the first break in the case.

With a smug grin, she told him how the smashed photograph had seemed like overkill compared to the rest. And it had nagged at her, so she'd followed her instincts and returned to the station to follow up on it. She admitted to not expecting too much to come of it, until finding that putting babies up for adoption was a common denominator with all the victims. And surely that couldn't be coincidence.

When it had turned out that all the women had gone through the same agency too…well, she couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself. Even Belle had been impressed.

"An' this adoption agency? 'Ow's it possible they all used the same one? The victims aren't even in the same state."

"They have offices in twelve states. Their Head Office is right here in Boston though. It's essentially a business that trades in children."

Emma couldn't help the edge in her voice, a bitter taste in her mouth as she scrolled through the website of Hopeful Hearts Adoption Agency. It was years since she'd been in the system, but the old wounds and fragile scars were never too far from the surface, especially when her past crept up on her in the workplace.

She felt Will squeeze her shoulder, but didn't acknowledge the silent gesture of comfort, keeping her eyes on the screen. He knew better than to ask her if she was alright, so he left it at that. She hadn't told him all that much about her past, but he knew she'd been in the system from birth, and hadn't had the easiest time growing up. He was intuitive though, and he knew her well, so she didn't have to say much for him to know when something had gotten under her skin.

Deciding to focus on the lead Emma had found and leave well enough alone when it came to her past, Will leaned his forearms on the back of her chair, peering over to see what she'd found on the website.

"So, I'm guessin' we go an' have a lil' chat with the boss man of…'Hopeful Hearts' then, huh? Wow…ironic name, considerin'…"

"Woman."

"What?"

Emma grinned triumphantly, swinging around on her chair and almost causing Will to lose his balance. As he righted himself, he frowned at her grin.

"Woman," she repeated, "The person who runs the agency is a woman. Regina Mills. And yeah, we're gonna go have a little chat with her."

CS

"Jones. Hi. Sorry I disappeared."

Emma was just pulling into the parking lot of an unassuming office building housing Hopeful Hearts Adoption Agency, when her phone rang. Noticing Killian's number popping up, she groaned. She hadn't stopped to fill him in on her discovery yet, and if she was honest it'd slipped her mind that this was technically not her case anymore. She had to answer to the feds. And she knew that probably meant she should be getting the go-ahead before she went straight in to question a possible suspect. But Emma had never really done well with authority figures.

"Where are you? I've just arrived back at the station-"

"Uh…had a…thing…I had to deal with. Emergency. I'll tell you later. Gotta go."

With that, she hung up, pointedly ignoring the disapproving look aimed at her from the passenger seat.

"Shut up," she warned, even though Will hadn't even opened his mouth, "I just wanna see if we're running down the right route here. I'll give him an update later. But he thinks it's a guy, and if I'm gonna prove him wrong – if Regina Mills is someone we need to be taking a closer look at – then I need a headstart."

Will sighed and shook his head, knowing that she wouldn't listen even if he wanted to argue with her. She was the lead on their cases for a reason, and he had to admit that she was rarely wrong when she followed her instincts. He just hoped she wouldn't end up getting her instincts mixed up with a desire to one-up the feds out of spite, or to prove a point. She wasn't a petty person, but she was stubborn and relentless. There was a reason she had the best success rate in their precinct, after all.

Emma strode across the parking lot, chin tilted upward in a show of defiant confidence Will knew was mostly a façade. They'd worked a homicide case a little while back, and during the course of the case, they'd had to interview the victim's daughter who had been in the system for a few years. Everytime they'd gone to the group home, Will had noticed Emma's demeanor change. It was as though being in that environment again, regardless of circumstance, made her defence mechanisms go into overdrive, her subconscious instinctively pulling down the shutters to protect her. He couldn't help but wonder how much she was actually aware of doing it, but he knew that if he broached the topic, she'd snap at him. Something along the lines of, "don't try to psychoanalyze me, Scarlet" and that would be the end of that.

When they arrived on the sixth floor, Emma headed straight for the reception desk, where a bored-looking young woman chewing on the end of her pen glanced up and levelled an uninterested gaze on her.

"Can I help you?"

She asked, in a flat tone that suggested she'd rather do anything but help. Emma offered her a tight smile and lifted her badge. The girl sighed, finally removing the pen from her mouth and reaching for the phone.

"Which one ran away this time?"

She asked without looking up, and Emma gritted her teeth, the tension in her shoulders making her neck ache.

"This isn't about a run away. I need to speak with Regina Mills. Is she here?"

The girl shrugged, punching in a number and staring Emma down as she waited for the call to be answered.

"Ms. Mills, got a cop in the lobby. She wants to talk to you…no, it's not about a runaway, apparently…yeah. Yeah, okay," the girl hung up and addressed Emma again, "She's coming down now. Wait over there."

Emma chose not to say anything more, despite her rising irritation, and moved to perch on an uncomfortable waiting-room style chair facing the reception desk. Will followed, about to make a comment about customer service and the kid's attitude, but Regina Mills chose that moment to appear.

She was pristine in a cold, severe way. Her tailored skirt suit was clearly expensive, her nails manicured and her hair styled flawlessly. She reminded Will of a mean, no-nonsense headteacher and he found himself feeling as though he should tuck in his shirt and stand a little straighter. Her gaze was stony as she looked the pair up and down in one sweeping glance, before gesturing toward the door she'd just emerged from.

"My office, please."

They shuffled after her as she led the way down a short, narrow hallway, which opened up into a spacious office, floor to ceiling windows on one side with framed photos of seemingly-happy families adorning the opposite wall. Despite all the photos, the room felt somewhat clinical the chrome and black color scheme not lending itself to a warm atmosphere.

"So what is it I can help you with, Ms…?"

"Detective," Emma corrected immediately, "Detective Emma Swan, Boston Homicide."

She held up her badge and noticed Regina waver slightly, a flash of surprise in her cold gaze that was gone so fast Emma thought she may have imagined it.

"Homicide, hmm? Well, I can assure you our company has nothing to do with any homicides. And all our children are alive, well and accounted for."

Emma could hear the defensive edge to her voice, and it piqued her interest. Generally, people didn't immediately go on the defensive unless they had something to hide.

"I didn't accuse you or your company of anything, Ms. Mills," Emma held back on sounding too smug, but Regina bristled regardless, "We simply need your help with a case we're currently working on."

Walking toward her desk and perching on the edge of it, Regina carefully appraised Emma, silence stretching thick and heavy in the room, making Will shuffle his feet with discomfort. Women like Regina had always made him uncomfortable, but Emma seemed unfazed by her, much to Regina's chagrin, apparently, because the woman gave an irritated sigh. Moving to sit in her chair behind her desk, she folded her arms.

"Fine, what is it I can help you with, Detectives?"

Emma walked over and sat down uninvited on one of the chairs in front of Regina's desk, Will quickly following suit and taking the other.

"It seems the victims in our current case were clients of yours. Three victims, three children. All put into the system through your company."

Regina looked unperturbed, arching her eyebrow and levelling an icy, bemused stare on Emma.

"We deal with hundreds of children and families every week, Detective Swan. And we're the biggest and most successful agency on the East coast. So, apologies if I find your evidence for coming here entirely circumstantial."

"Again, I'm not accusing you of anything, Ms. Mills. No need to get defensive," Emma shot back and Will winced, able to hear the smirk in her voice, "We're simply here to follow up on what happened to each of the children of our victims. That might help us narrow down our search. There are three files we'll need-"

"And do you have a search warrant? Because that is confidential information, as I'm sure you're well aware. You strike me as someone who's familiar with the system, Detective. Am I right?"

It was Emma's turn to bristle, her jaw clenching at the way Regina had read her so easily, evidently picking up on some telling little nuance that had screamed 'orphan' to the woman sitting across from her.

"We'll be back with a warrant. Thank you for all your help."

Emma bit out tersely. The sarcasm in her tone made Regina smirk in a self-satisfied manner as she watched Emma march out of her office, her partner on her heels. She knew she'd hit a nerve.

CS

"What the hell was that? You hung up on me-"

Killian was hot on her heels before Emma had even made it to her desk. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead shrugged off her jacket, tossing a bemused glance over her shoulder at him.

"I was busy."

"Busy? I assume by 'busy' you mean 'chasing your own leads that you hadn't bothered to inform me about before charging headfirst into questioning a person of interest'? That's not how this works now, Swan!"

Emma spun on her heel to face him, fire in her eyes, and heard Will mutter, "That's Detective Swan to you" from across the desk. Unsure whether he was attempting to mimic her or simply supplying what they both knew was on the tip of her tongue, she chose to ignore his comment and instead focused all her wrath on the man in front of her.

"Well, I'm so sorry, Special Agent Jones, that my ability to do my damn job is apparently much better at getting results than yours!"

He wasn't letting up though, stepping closer to her with fire in his own eyes now. Fire which only served to stoke her own.

"You think you can handle this by yourself? This is bigger than you, Detective Swan. This is bigger than one isolated case in one city. There's a reason we were called in. I understand you're good at your job, but this is my job, and you hurtling headfirst into interrogating someone could compromise this entire case!"

"I'm not the one who failed to see the obvious! You're so quick to disregard my work, just because what I've found doesn't jive with your damn profile."

The whole bullpen had fallen silent now, every officer in the room watching the argument unfold before them. The tension between the two was palpable, and no one even dared to whisper, all too intent on watching the fireworks instead of dousing them out as the anger escalated.

Killian growled in exasperation, jaw twitching and eyes flashing. They were both painfully unaware of everyone watching them, too lost in their fury at each other.

"So that's what this is about?! You just want to prove me wrong? That's not how evidence works, Detective. You don't fit evidence to your theories-"

"I didn't fit evidence to anything! I picked up on something at the crime scene, which you failed to notice. I followed it up. I got a legitimate break. Followed that up, got a suspect," she was toe-to-toe with him by now, "Maybe what this is about is that I'm perfectly capable of leading this case without you-"

"Bloody hell, woman! You're insufferable! I have never insinuated for a moment that you aren't capable!"

"Then why the fuck are you riding my ass?!"

The room was plunged into silence, punctuated only by Will spluttering and coughing as the coffee he'd been drinking shot out of his nose and mouth. Emma could feel her cheeks burning and quickly stepped back to put distance between herself and Killian, who was scratching behind his ear and looking decidedly mortified. The rest of the room (bar Will) may have been unaware of what exactly had transpired between them before he'd taken over the case, but she'd just reminded the two of them (and Will) about it with jarring clarity. And Killian was sure his cheeks were as red as hers.

Before either had a chance to say another word, David's voice broke the awkward silence.

"Detective Swan, Special Agent Jones. My office. Now."

CS

Standing awkwardly in the middle of David's office, the blinds pulled shut for privacy, Killian couldn't help but feel a little like they'd been dragged into the Principal's office. David was ranting about "professionalism" and "united fronts" and "setting an example to the team", while Emma glared at the floor with her arms folded tightly and the muscle in her jaw twitching every now and then. He ran a hand through his hair, nodding absently and only half-listening to David's scolding.

"So you two are gonna stay in here and talk it out, using your big kid words like the professional adults you're both supposed to be, instead of bickering like middle schoolers in front of the rest of the station. Got it?"

He didn't give them chance to answer, levelling a withering (and somewhat fatherly) look on Emma, at which she rolled her eyes, before leaving the two of them in an awkward silent stand-off. After a solid minute of nothing but Emma pointedly avoiding eye contact and glaring a hole in the floor, Killian sighed in exasperation.

"I thought we'd called a truce on…all of this?"

He gestured between them at the invisible tension that was practically palpable. Emma lifted her gaze from the floor, finally, fire in her eyes that he was becoming accustomed to, and scoffed.

"We had, before you went and completely disregarded solid detective work because it doesn't fit with your precious profile."

Killian bit his tongue, carefully measuring his words against a tide of frustration.

"I didn't disregard anything. You just clearly have an issue with authority figures-"

"Oh, I do, do I? Cos you know me so well already. Newsflash, Jones: you don't know me. So stick to the actual case and stop trying to profile me."

He could feel the tension in his shoulders as he stepped forward slightly, noting the way her eyes flashed and her pupils dilated as she watched him.

"You seem determined to hate me, for some reason. I'm not the enemy; I'm not saying you're anything less than a brilliant detective with good instincts. I'm not fighting you, Emma. But you seem intent on fighting me."

Her cheeks were pink, but still she glared.

"Then let me do my damn job."

"I am! But there's certain ways we have to work when it's a federal case, Swan! You go charging headfirst into interrogating someone and you compromise the case-"

"I didn't interrogate her! I just went to talk to her."

Emma argued, refusing to back down, and Killian gave an exasperated sigh.

"Your version of talking is very much like interrogating. And now she's likely to lawyer up too. So instead of waiting to build the case first, you've given her a chance to get herself a cover story."

"It's not like you would've actually taken me seriously and followed the lead though. Your profile says it's a guy you're looking for-"

"So?!"

The tension in the room was rising again, and Killian was somewhat thankful for the privacy of the small office this time. They were almost toe-to-toe again, voices rising, and he'd be lying if he said her proximity did nothing to him.

"So, you're making excuses! You wouldn't have followed my lead if I'd come to you first and you know it!"

"You're wrong, Swan. So perhaps you don't know me as well as you seem to think you do, either. I told you before, I follow evidence, and if it disproves aspects of a profile, we alter the profile-"

"God, I wanna kiss you to make you shut the fuck up."

She snapped, and Killian felt his heart still in his chest for a moment. He watched as she blinked in surprise, her eyes widening, and she quickly stepped backwards, forcibly putting distance back between them. She was quite clearly as shocked as he was, mumbling and cursing under her breath about saying what she'd said out loud. Before he had regained his ability to speak again, she was disappearing out of the door, leaving him standing alone in David's office in a state of shock.

The revelation that Emma Swan wasn't quite as unaffected by what was between them as she had made him believe was certainly a development Killian was keen to explore. He knew that Emma's willingness to do so, however, was unlikely to match his.

CS

Unsurprisingly, avoidance was the tactic Emma chose to employ for the rest of the day. When he emerged from David's office after gathering his thoughts and regaining his ability to string a sentence together, he found she was nowhere to be seen…which is what he'd expected. He may have only known her for a brief time, but she was an open book to him, at least when it came to her ability – or lack thereof – in dealing with anything remotely personal.

Her partner, however, was sat at his desk, turning in half-circles on his chair and eyeing Killian as he tentatively made his way over.

"A'ight," Will greeted him, somewhat coolly, "If you're lookin' for Swan, don't bother. She don't wanna speak to yeh right now."

Killian forced a tight smile.

"I'd like-"

"I don't give a flyin' fuck what you'd like, mate. The lady needs some space, so give it 'er. I didn't get in ya face before 'cos I know she woulda clocked me one in the gob if I'd stepped in, but you don't yell at me partner again, got it? 'Specially not in front of all our people."

Will stood up then, grabbing keys for the patrol car and canting his head toward the door.

"Think you and I should have a little talk. Come on."

Killian eyed Will warily, but acquiesced. He was too tired to argue with another member of the team, and despite the fact that Will came across as nothing more than a dopey puppy dog, Killian suspected he was underestimating the man.

Once in the patrol car, Will didn't turn on the engine. Instead, he sat silently in the driver's seat for a long moment, as though he was choosing his words carefully before he spoke. Killian simply waited, absently watching people coming and going across the parking lot.

"She's a tough lass," Will finally said, his voice softer than Killian had expected, "But only on th'outside. And she'd kill me if she knew I was 'avin' this little chat with you."

When Killian didn't reply, Will continued.

"Look, I know she's infuriatin'. Believe me, I know. She's me partner and she gets on me last nerve some days. She's stubborn and argumentative and hates admittin' if she needs help. But she's also a bloody fantastic cop. Gifted, even. I swear she's got a superpower for tellin' when people are lyin'. And it's not my place to tell you about her past, but she ain't had it easy and there's a reason she is the way she is. So give 'er a break, a'ight? And trust her instincts."

Killian took in everything Will was saying, unable to help but wonder about Emma's past and what had led her to become so closed off and self-sufficient. It was quite clear she didn't trust easily, and he wondered how badly she'd been burned in the past to make her so suspicious. It couldn't just be her job that had hardened her heart.

"And maybe remember that she's used to leadin' investigations now, not takin' orders from some bloke she's just met…" Will added, quirking an eyebrow, "I know you think you know her, but sleepin' with her and actually knowin' her are two different things."

Killian's eyebrow shot up and he could feel the color rising on his cheeks. So, Will knew. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't wondered in passing about the nature of Will and Emma's relationship, or the stab of jealousy he felt at the idea that maybe they were more than partners. She clearly trusted the man, and Emma Swan's trust wasn't easy to come by.

"So uh-…she told you about that, huh? Are you and her…?"

Will barked a laugh, seemingly amused by the question, and shook his head.

"Nah mate, she's me partner. That's it. More like me big sister than anythin' else. And she scares the shit outta me, to be honest. Not ashamed to admit that either. But I care about 'er a lot, and it's part of my job to protect 'er, even though I know she'd have me balls in a jar if she knew 'bout this conversation. But as I said, bein' a hardarse is her way of protectin' 'erself. She's a proper softy behind all that armor she wears. Just takes a lotta chippin' away for her to let you see it."

After a beat, with Killian not knowing how to possibly respond other than to nod as he locked the information away to mull over later, Will sighed and nodded toward the building in front of them.

"We better get back to work. Murderers runnin' round an' all that."

CS

It was a little before 9pm by the time Killian returned to his hotel room that night. After staying late at the station to pore over the three victims' files, trying to find as many links between the three as possible, as well as digging into what he could find about Regina Mills, he grabbed a bite to eat and walked back. Dropping down heavily to sit on the edge his bed, he tugged off his tie and loosened the top few buttons of his shirt with a sigh.

The case was wearing heavy already, but this time it wasn't just the usual emotional weight of being faced with the terrible things human beings were capable of doing to each other. No, this time there was the added pressure of also dealing with a detective who had gotten under his skin since the first minute he'd met her. He'd inevitably find his thoughts drifting back to her and the single night they'd spent together. No one-night stand had ever screwed with his head this much.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Killian stared at it for a long moment, glancing at the clock on his bedside table before quickly unlocking the phone and pulling up his recent contacts. Before he could overthink it, he pressed call on Emma's number. He knew it was her work cell phone, so he wasn't sure she'd even have it to-hand, or even switched on, especially after their latest little altercation.

But sure enough, after four rings, she answered, and Killian pointedly ignored the way his his pulse fluttered involuntarily just from the sound of her voice.

"Hello?"

"Uh- Swan...hello. It's Killian…Jones."

She paused, making a sound somewhere between a scoff and a chuckle, before replying.

"Yeah, thanks for that helpful hint. The fact that your caller ID comes up kinda gives it away. And you don't have to clarify your last name...I don't exactly know a whole bunch of Killians."

He could practically feel her rolling her eyes at him across the line and smiled despite himself.

"Oh. Right. Of course. I'm not entirely with it this evening…"

"Let me guess, you can't sleep again because you're scared you pissed me off. Again."

She was teasing him and he could hear the amusement in her voice. He couldn't help but smile at the mental image he had of her sat in bed, tucked up with some murder mystery novel that he'd interrupted, joking at his expense.

In reality, across town, Emma was curled up on her sofa, lights turned down low and a bottle of beer in her hand. When he called she'd been browsing through Amazon on her laptop, looking for a housewarming gift for David and Mary Margaret's new place, with the TV turned to some trashy reality show that had been providing background noise but not much else.

Killian chuckled softly, scratching behind his ear; a nervous habit he'd never been able to break.

"Are you mocking my gentlemanly sensitivities, Detective Swan?"

He joked, pretending to be hurt and making sure to keep his tone void of anything seductive for fear of scaring her off. She sounded like she was in a better mood than she'd been in when he last saw her at the station, and he wasn't about to ruin it.

"Oh, please," she scoffed lightly, before switching the subject, "So, why did you call?"

Back to business. Right.

"Well, I worked late tonight, going over all the files and trying to find anything or anyone that could even remotely link our three victims. They all used different companies for everything - TV providers, banks, insurance companies. No common denominators. The only thing they all have in common...is the adoption factor, and the fact that they all used the same agency. And that's a pretty compelling factor-"

"Congratulations on catching up with the rest of the class, Captain State-the-Obvious."

She cut in smugly, and it was his turn to roll his eyes as he bit back a grin.

"Alright, alright. I admit, I'm impressed. Your hunch was pretty spectacular."

"Well, I'm a pretty spectacular cop."

"I've noticed."

There was a beat of silence, and he was half expecting her to say goodnight and hang up, but to his surprise, she didn't.

Instead, she shifted her position where she sat on her sofa, untucking her legs out from under her and pulling them to her chest instead, her laptop pushed aside and long-forgotten.

"So, tomorrow we're gonna focus on Mills then? See what we can dig up on her? Maybe pull her in for questioning? I didn't trust her a single bit; she was definitely hiding something."

Killian dropped back to lay across his bed, staring up at the ceiling and sighing.

"We'll invite her in. Ask her to volunteer the files of the victims' babies. At this point we don't have any solid evidence that she or the agency were involved directly with anything. But we can't ignore that all our victims used them and the fact that they're the only thing we can find at this point that links them all. If she doesn't co-operate and give us the files, then we'll get a warrant and do it the hard way."

"Mhm. I doubt she'll co-operate. She was a Grade A bitch when I met her."

She stretched her legs out and stood up, flipping the lid of her laptop down as she made her way to the kitchen to get rid of her now-empty beer bottle. Across town, Killian chuckled and shook his head, running a hand absently through his hair.

"Aye, love, but I imagine that may be more to do with you charging in there and rubbing her up the wrong way."

"Are you saying I'm abrasive?!"

She sounded affronted, but there was an edge of amusement to her tone that had him grinning. She was stood barefoot in her kitchen, the phone tucked between her ear and shoulder.

"Not in the slightest. On the contrary, actually. But even without meeting the woman, just from digging up what a Google search offered up about her, I get the sense she's one of those feisty, high-flying women-in-power who take an immediate dislike to beautiful, intelligent women who are equally as feisty."

There was that beat of silence again, and Killian realized a little too late that he'd outright called her beautiful. He held his breath.

Emma had stopped in the doorway to her bedroom, trying to steady her pulse as his words ricocheted around her head. He had sounded sincere with his offhanded comment, and her instinct had been to shut him down fast and hard. But she didn't.

"Bet you say that to all the girls."

She finally replied, her voice softer than she'd intended. Killian's heart stuttered in his chest, his breath catching in his throat for a moment. This was a side of Emma he hadn't really seen yet. He'd had the pleasure of her flirty, sexy persona on the night they'd met, and her tough, dedicated detective side in the days that followed. But he hadn't seen this relaxed side of her until now, and he had to admit, he liked it.

"I assure you, it's simply the truth, Swan," he said with a smile, "So, do tell, what is it that's put you in a good mood this evening?"

Emma rolled her eyes, switching on her bedside lamp and slipping into bed.

"What makes you think I'm in a good mood?"

"Well, for a start, we've been talking for longer than thirty seconds and you haven't hung up on me or called me any names yet. Other than Captain State-the-Obvious, and I can live with that."

Emma snorted a laugh and Killian couldn't help but chuckle at the unladylike sound and how weirdly attractive it was from her. But a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered accusingly that he'd find anything she did attractive. He ignored it.

"Well, if you must know, I have these bath salts that are the fucking shit. I swear the fumes must get me high or something because I'm chilled out as fuck after I've soaked them in for long enough. Oh, and beer. That helped. So, yeah, I guess I'm in a pretty good mood. That, and the fact that you've called me to tell me I was right all along. Which I knew, for the record. But hearing you say it is a bonus. Maybe you should get me cupcakes that spell out "you were right, I'm sorry". They would be well-received."

Killian couldn't help but laugh, a hearty sound that was apparently infectious, because before she knew it, Emma was laughing too.

"Alright, I'll bring you cupcakes. I think it warrants it after I called you insufferable in front of the entire station this morning…"

"Wondered when you'd bring that up."

Shuffling back on the bed to prop himself up by the pillows, Killian felt the urge the drive the conversation back in the direction it had just been going. He enjoyed hearing her laugh, especially when he was the cause of it.

"What are you doing?"

He asked, swiftly maneuvering their topic of conversation away from the events of that morning.

"Uh...I just got into bed…?"

He could hear the suspicion laced into her words, as though she was half expecting him to ask her what she was wearing next.

"Aye, same here. Got back late and figured I'd call you and let you know what I'd found from the files before I called it a night."

She relaxed a little when he refrained from steering them down a decidedly less innocent route. Now that they were working together, she was hyper-aware of every interaction, not wanting him to read too much into anything or give him the impression that she wanted a repeat of their night together. Well, okay, she totally did want a repeat of the sex, but not with someone she now worked with. It was complicated. And Emma Swan didn't do complicated.

"Well, if you're working late again and you're stuck for somewhere to grab food, there's a great little place a couple blocks from your hotel called Granny's. Tell Granny I sent you. And if you stop by there for breakfast, the bearclaws are homemade and to-die-for."

"I've no idea what a 'bearclaw' is, love, but I'll keep that recommendation in mind. Thank you. Perhaps...maybe...you'd like to join me for breakfast tomorrow?"

There was a pregnant pause on the line until Emma cleared her throat.

"Uh...I dunno. I'm usually a grab-and-go girl…"

"Yes, I'm acutely aware of that."

Another pause, and Killian cringed. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. Wishing he could take back the words that had slipped thoughtlessly from his mouth, he fumbled for a way to backtrack.

"Emma, I didn't mean-"

"No, I got it. I know exactly what you meant. I gotta go, Jones. Bye."

And with that, she hung up, leaving Killian with a heavy, sinking feeling in his gut, mentally kicking himself for once again ruining what had otherwise been their best conversation to-date. He was cursing himself and his careless mouth when his phone began to ring a few seconds later. Frowning, he stared down at Emma's name on the screen, before hurriedly answering.

"Swan, I-"

"I'm sorry. For uh-...hanging up," she sighed wearily, "I'm not very good at...being a normal, functioning adult. We're good, right?"

Killian's heart skipped, and he couldn't help the grin that lit his face.

"Of course-"

She cut him off again, "And I'm sorry for yelling at you in front of the whole station and telling you to stop riding my ass. That was-...unprofessional. So yeah...sorry."

"Water under the bridge, lass, I assure you."

Killian assured her, wondering if she could hear the smile on his face down the line.

She could.

"I'm-...gonna get some sleep now. You should too. Goodnight, Killian."

"Goodnight, Emma. Sleep well, love."

They both hung up then, sinking down into their pillows on opposite sides of town. And that was the first night since they'd crashed into each other's lives that they both managed to get a good night's sleep.

CS

[Once again, thank you so much to everyone who reads and reviews! Feedback is so very greatly appreciated! Special thanks to Lanni for editing, and Marta for the continuously AWESOME reviews she always leaves.]