A/N: This is a surprisingly shorter chapter only about 4100 words. I have a few more chapters planned out… currently have almost 10 chapters written, there will be perhaps one or two more, best guess is around 12 chapters. (Unless one super long chapter 9 will be cut in half)

Again thank to my beta jonesfandomfanatic.

Enjoy.

Chapter 6

The crowd's roar followed her and Savy as they left the arena. They'd just beat the clock and did it with no mistakes. This had them in the lead and with only one more contestant to go, she was almost sure that she would win the full showjumping competition today. She urged Savy to move forward. When the crowd got a little too close, the horse's ears twisted and turned nervously.

"Easy there, girl." Emma patted her horse's neck, rubbing soothingly under her mane.

Savvy snorted in reply and moved forward to the area where Emma could cool down her horse. As she jumped down and lifted the reins over Savy's head, Emma noticed the filming crew aiming their cameras at her while she walked around the smaller pen, cooling down Savy. It was not usually something she noticed, but today it was Killian holding the camera. His red ball cap was easy to see in the surrounding crowd, his eyes focused on the shot he was currently doing, but as she moved closer, she could see a small grin forming on his lips.

"Emma!" her mother called out, pulling her thoughts away from Killian and how she would have loved to share her probable victory with him.

She turned to face her mother. "Hi, Mom."

"Congratulations." Her mother hugged her, and as she stepped back, keeping her hands on Emma's shoulders.

"Yeah, well, Grace Hatter is still doing her round." Emma glanced towards the large screen that was on the wall that held the stands. Grace was on her second round and her time was actually pretty good.

Her mother turned around and put her arm through Emma's and watched the screen. Savy snorted impatiently beside her but Emma only paid attention to the screen.

Moments later, Grace made the final hedge and somehow missed the jump by a fraction, and her horse ripped the top bar down. The crowd made a collective, "Oh," but then cheered and clapped as Grace left the field.

Emma vaguely heard the announcer calling out the day's winners. Her name was called out as the winner and her mother hugged her close again. "I knew you'd win. I'm so proud of you."

"We both are." Her father's voice sounded next to them, and Emma disentangled herself from her mother and turned to her father. He smiled and pulled her in for a hug.

"Thanks, Dad." Emma was beyond excited. When her father let her go, she glanced over at the camera crew. They all looked so happy for her. It was crazy to know that most of these guys had seen her grow up. They had kinda become an extended family. Her eyes landed on Killian, standing away from the rest to capture the scene from another angle. His eyes beamed at her, and when he noticed her looking his way, he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and had to repress the urge to rush over and give him a kiss, even though the entire crew, along with her family, knew that she and Killian were dating. It had been a bit of a touch-and-go when everything came to the attention of his boss. But Killian had assured her that the TV network was fine with it all, as long as they did 'cause some sort of scandal'. Any sort of negative issue would draw viewers away from the show, and Regina Mills had no interest in such a thing.

"Emma, you need to get ready for the winner's ceremony," her mother urged, and when Emma turned to look at her, she could see a knowing smile plastered over her mother's face.

"Huh?"

Her mother chuckled, leaned over, and whispered while placing her hand over the small microphone, "You can celebrate with Killian later."

Emma shook her head and tugged Savy towards a water trough so she could drink some water before they needed to be out on the field again.

Once the winner's ceremony had ended, she jumped from Savy and gave the reins to her mother, who would take her horse to the stables and get him settled for the night. They were due to fly home tomorrow, and Emma couldn't wait. The Nationals were a big event that spanned over a week.

"I'll go speak with the press," Emma said with a sigh. She really didn't want to go, but she knew they would frown upon it if the winner didn't at least give the wolves what they wanted. Emma could see that a few of her fellow competitors had already started lining up for interviews.

"Good luck."

"Thanks, Mom." Emma walked to the press area nearby. She could see that Killian kept following her with his camera. It was nice to know that he was there. When she was younger, her parents would join her, making sure the press behaved towards her. But now she was older, she was more or less on her own.

One of the event crews greeted her, wearing a yellow vest with the words "crew" printed on his back. "Miss Nolan. I'll walk you down the line." He rubbed his face. "It's mayhem down there. Seems like everyone wants to speak with you."

"Thank you… Mr…?" Emma questioned the small, red-headed man.

"Ah, pardon me, I'm Archie Cricket." He offered her his hand, and she shook it with a smile. It was nice to know that someone had her back, especially if it was as crazy as he said.

The whole press area was filled with people and a red carpet was lined up where she and the other show jumpers would take up the position in a few pre-decided spots to answer questions asked by the reporters.

She knew the drill and dived head-first into the first line of questions. All seemed to agree that her road to the Olympics was now a given. Emma could only agree that this was what she'd been aiming for in the past many years.

As she stepped down the line, Emma answered some of the same questions and gave the same replies, smiling and waving when a photographer asked her to. She glanced to the side and noticed that Killian and Graham had followed her down the red carpet, but still kept their distance so they didn't impede the reporters.

Emma stepped down to the last spot, her head spinning from all the flashing lights and questions. It was just her luck that it seemed to be much of the same questions being asked yet again.

Archie leaned over and whispered, "Are you alright, Miss Nolan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She waved him off and tried to focus on the crowd, waiting for the next question.

"Emma?" someone shouted and when she saw the reporter waving she could see the distinct black and white colored hair of the woman running an online magazine. She was known for picking up any dirty details on just about anyone showing their face in public. Emma groaned inwardly, knowing that whatever questions Ella DeVille would throw at her, it would certainly be some very up-and-personal stuff she wanted to know.

"Yeah?"

"First, congratulations on your win today, one step closer to your dream of the Olympics." The woman smoothed her hair away from her face. Emma nodded for her to continue, trying hard to continue smiling. The reporter tilted her head and tapped her chin. "So what I know my readers are dying to know is…" she tilted her head to the other side as a smug smile spread over her face, "who in the world is Killian?"

Emma blinked a few times, honestly she couldn't believe that the world was still so eager to know who "Killian" was. They'd kept a close eye on her social feed and it seemed as if the interest had died out in the past few weeks. But apparently, there was always that last line of seedy gossip pages that wanted to dig a little deeper.

"I…" She felt her blood rush in her ears before clearing her throat in an attempt to sound fierce and assured. "That is not for the world to know." She turned to Archie and whispered, "Get me out of here, now, please."

The man nodded, so his red curls fell over his forehead. "Sure thing." He took her by her elbow and waved the reporters off. "That will be all from Miss Nolan here. Thank you."

"But…" the black and white-haired reporter shouted, "all we wanted to know is if he is still part of your life… our readers are dying to know who this mysterious red cap-wearing guy is. Who is Killian?"

Emma ignored the shouting and walked swiftly out of the press area. As she turned the corner, she heard Ella DeVille shout, "Are you, Killian?" When Emma backed up and looked down at the red carpet, she watched with dread as the woman now began flinging questions to Killian and Graham.

Archie seemed to have picked up on the problem as he waved over a few heavy-set security guys and whispered something to them. They nodded and moved over to the shouting woman. The other reporters seemed to know that it was time to leave and had slipped away.

Killian and Graham came over to where Emma and Archie were, and she could see that Killian looked shaken and a frown was on his forehead.

"I'm so sorry about that, Killian," Emma whispered with a small sob. Her whole body shook. She honestly didn't care what the security did with the vile woman she wanted to get away from there.

"No worries, love." Killian reached for her, but a hard look from her had him step away. "Sorry."

"Let's just get out of here." Emma whirled around and headed for the mobile home she and her parents had rented for the week. The area was still packed with people and she had a hard time keeping her cool in front of all the wellwishers that kept shouting their congratulations at her. She plastered on a smile and waved to them all but kept her fast pace as she weaved in and out of the throng of people, hoping that Killian would keep up with her. They would have stopped filming by now and she was glad. She knew the network would never include the shots of the woman's inquisitive questions.

Finally, they reached the RV camp area. Emma thanked Archie for helping them through the crowd.

The friendly crewman nodded his head and wished her good luck, then he headed off towards the arena again while speaking in a walkie-talkie.

Emma looked towards Killian who was untangling himself from the camera he'd been carrying on his chest.

Graham took the equipment from him and nodded toward Emma. "Go speak with her. I'll bring this to the truck."

"Thanks, mate." Killian waved to the retreating Graham, leaving them alone in front of the RV. He rubbed his hands on his denim jeans and looked at her with a worried look.

"Let's go inside," Emma suggested and reached into a small inside pocket of her riding jacket to find the key. She hoped Leo wasn't around.

Luckily for them both, the RV was empty so Emma walked in and slumped down on the small couch inside. Resting her elbows on her knees, she hid her face in her hands. "That was brutal."

"Aye," Killian agreed.

She felt Killian sit down next to her and when she glanced at him, Emma could see that he looked at her with worry.

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I know those gossip wolves can be brutal," Killian said in an inaudible murmur. "But that was just plain evil."

"Yeah, I know what online mag she is from," Emma grumbled and searched the nearby desk, looking for the phone she knew she'd left there that morning. It was hiding under a magazine, and she quickly searched for the online gossip site called, "ONE-oh-ONE". Sure enough, it already had a picture of her panicked face and some sleazy comments about her not wanting to disclose who she was dating. It had many theories, and to her horror, she saw a smaller but lucky, quite blurry picture of Killian and Graham's backs as they walked away from the press line. The text below the picture asked, "So is this camera guy the elusive boyfriend our dear Emma Nolan won't share with us?" It was pure luck that the magazine camera guy hadn't snapped a photo of Killian's face.

"Fuck!" Emma exclaimed, clutching her phone in her hand.

"What?" Killian leaned over and before she could close the site he gasped. "Bloody hell, is that?"

"Yup, you." She closed her phone and sighed. "I don't know what to do,"

"Hmm." Killian rubbed his face and slumped back on the couch. "I'm pretty sure my boss is going to be less than thrilled once she sees this."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Killian." Emma twisted in her seat so she could face him. She reached for his hand that rested on his thigh. "This is just going all wrong." She sighed. "I just wish that we could have some peace and not worry about the press."

Killian squeezed her hand and smiled ruefully. "I know what you mean, but still I don't want to not be with you." He lifted their joint hands and kissed her knuckles. "I love you. We will get through this."

"I don't want you to lose your job over this," Emma whispered and smoothed her other hand over his cheek, her fingertips touching his ear.

"I'll most likely be talking with Regina once we go back home." Killian pursed his lips and did a small, humorless chuckle. "And get my ass chewed out by my brother on our trip back home tomorrow."

"I'm sorry."

"Shhh, no more, I'm sorry, love." Killian eased forward and gently urged her closer. She went willingly, and soon she found herself wrapped up in a sweet kiss. Her heart soared at the thought of how sweet and understanding Killian was during all of this. It had to be quite daunting to see himself online in this way. She'd become so used to it in the past eleven years while their family had done the reality show.

The kiss turned more heated, and she soon found herself sprawled over his chest, her knee digging into his thigh. Her fingers weaved into the hairs on his neck. His red cap was still in place on his head. She chuckled and when he pulled back and raised a curious eyebrow; she flicked his cap with her fingers. "Perhaps you should lose the red cap."

"Hmm, might be a good idea," Killian mumbled against her lips and then continued to kiss her, making her toes curl in the riding boots she still wore. Right now, all she cared about was kissing her boyfriend and the world could just leave them alone.

"Emma…" The voice of her brother pierced through the bubble she and Killian had wrapped themselves in and then Leo yelped, "my eyes, oh god my eyes."

When Emma glanced over her shoulder with a frown, she saw her brother with both hands covering his eyes while he mumbled more explicit words about how this was going to scare his poor young soul.

"Buzz off, Leo," Emma grumbled, but disentangled herself from Killian, rose to her feet and walked to her brother. She smacked his arm. "Cut the drama."

"Are you decent?"

"I'm right here in front of you," Emma sighed and pushed his shoulder again. "What do you want?" She was quite annoyed that her little peaceful moment with Killian had been so rudely interrupted.

"Everyone else is outside." He grimaced. "I don't know what happened, but mom is looking worried and Liam Jones looks pissed and everyone else is just somewhere in between." The teenager shrugged his shoulders and pushed his hand through his floppy hair.

"Bloody hell." Killian had come up next to her, and she shared a worried look with him. "We better go face the music."

"Yeah, I guess." Emma pushed past her brother and walked down the steps and saw that the entire film crew had gathered outside, along with her parents. Liam was speaking furiously on his phone by the front of the RV. This couldn't be good. She was more than happy that her father had found a spot at the far end of the row where far fewer people came by, so the area in front of the RV was deserted aside from the assembled group of crew and family.

She rubbed her hands down her thighs; she was still feeling grubby from the contest and the stress of doing the press line. Her mother came over and hugged her. "Oh honey, Graham gave me the rundown of what happened." She pulled away and wrapped her hands around Emma's face. "I'm sorry we didn't join you."

"Mom, I usually do these lineups alone now. It just went downhill because of one sleazy gossip mag." Emma tried to calm her mother, then she glanced at Liam who was still speaking in an indistinct murmur on his phone. "What's going on with him?"

"I don't know, but it's Regina he's speaking with."

"Oh…"

"Bloody hell," Killian mumbled next to them, and both women looked at him. He looked down and rubbed behind his ear.

"Killian." Her mother reached out a hand and patted his arm. "I'm sorry you guys had to experience this. You don't deserve it. The press and gossip media can be ruthless sometimes."

"So you saw what they posted?" Emma asked worriedly.

"When Liam heard who had shouted the questions, he seemed to know where to look." Her mother pursed her lips and then shook her head. "I don't understand why it's so damn important who my daughter dates."

"Welcome to the social media hell of the twenty-first century." Emma chuckled with a wry smile. She glanced at Killian, and he looked a little lost as his eyes kept shifting toward his brother. With a small smile, she slipped her hand into his and when he looked down at their clasped hands, she noticed a smile form on his face. They were in this together and he was there by her side. It was a comfort to know that he didn't seem to want to run for the hills, even when something like this tried to ruin their happiness. He did, however, look a bit shaken.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered, and pulled him away from her mother.

"I hope so, love." His eyes shifted towards his brother, who had finished his phone call.

Liam looked serious and slightly aggravated as he walked with purpose-filled strides toward them. "Killian," he said, and glanced with a brief nod at Emma. "Miss Nolan."

"I guess you spoke with our boss-lady?" Killian asked with a false sort of chuckle, while he clenched his jaw, making the muscles of his neck stand out. Emma squeezed his hand reassuringly. He looked at her with a half smile, but she could see that his eyes still held a trepidation of what news his brother might deliver now.

"Aye, Mrs. Mills is royally pissed, that's for sure," Liam sighed, then held up his hand when Killian was about to say something. "It's not entirely focused on only you guys, more on the woman, Ella DeVille, who runs the digital magazine 'ONE-oh-ONE'. Their specialty…" he grimaced. "Is picking up sleazy gossip about just about anyone."

"I know," Emma sighed and looked worriedly at Killian. "What happens now?" Her eyes found Liam again.

"She said that Killian will no longer be in the film crew outside of the ranch."

"What?" Emma questioned.

"Bloody hell!" Killian exclaimed.

"You're not fired, little brother," Liam soothed, lifting his hand to appease them.

"Younger brother," Killian said in a monotone voice. He then sighed, "So I'm restricted with what I do at the network?"

"You're still our cameraman on the ranch." Liam reminded him.

"Hmm." Killian's shoulder sagged, and Emma knew he would need some time to process this.

"It doesn't matter. We only have one more outside filming scheduled, right?" Emma looked at the older Jones brother.

"Aye, the Christmas market day," Liam affirmed with a small smile. "I am very sorry, but Mrs. Mills was very adamant that Killian is not to be seen with you outside, so that might limit your options for hanging out. As long as things between you guys are still so new and nothing is publicly announced, it will have to be a bit more under wraps." He gave her a rueful smile. At least it seemed as if Killian's brother was still in favor of them being together. It was just circumstances that limited their options and freedom right now.

"So what if we want to go public?" Killian suddenly blurted out, surprising both his brother and Emma.

"Do you want that?" Emma asked and stepped in front of him, her eyes searching his face. His eyes wavered a bit, and he pursed his lips as his mind most likely went over what that would entail.

"I don't bloody well know, love." Killian sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't like being held back from where I can be with you. But I'm just not ready…" He looked away.

"To let the world in on the fact that we're together." Emma finished calmly, knowing his past secluded life hadn't prepared him for the life in the spotlight. Now he was thrown into the circus, completely unprepared.

"Aye." His eyes found hers again. He looked a little lost, so she smoothed her hand over his scruffy cheek. "Can we just take things slow for now, and then we'll just have to spend time out on the ranch?"

"I'd like that very much, and I know my parents won't mind you hanging out with me there."

"That is a small blessing in all of this." He grinned at her cheekily. "So we're not Romeo and Juliet."

Emma laughed, "No, we're more like victims of gossip-hungry vultures, like Ella DeVille."

"Bloody hag she is," Killian tried to joke, but she could still see his eyes look worried.

"You have me, Killian," Emma whispered, and ignored the fact that his brother was right behind her. "I love you." She raised herself up and pecked him. His sharp inhale told her that this surprised him, but she also felt his lips form a smile beneath her searching tongue.

"Love you, too." Killian kissed her back, his hands anchored at her waist.

"You guys better cut it," Liam said with a chuckle. "Leo looks like he is going to vomit and your parents are sending curious looks your way."

Emma rolled her eyes, but she pulled away, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. "Sorry that my family is also meddling in our life."

"They're family, it's what families do," Killian shrugged and nodded towards his brother, who walked away. "I know how it is. I have a meddling brother."

"Oh, aren't we just lucky?" Emma laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

Killian kissed her temple. "I feel bloody lucky."

"Me too," Emma whispered, then sighed. "I should probably go take a shower before dinner."

Killian inhaled deeply and chuckled. "You smell like a horse stable."

Emma smacked his shoulder and grumbled, "Shut up."

"I don't mind the smell." He nuzzled closer and kissed her below her ear, making her skin prickle with desire. Had they been alone, the small tender kiss could easily have urged her to seek more of this, but she was well aware of how everyone was looking.

"We have an audience," Emma whispered with a sigh and finally pulled away from him. "I'll see you at dinner?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Killian said and gently touched his warm hand to her cheek, his thumb caressing her heated skin.

"Later," Emma promised.

"Hmm." He lunged forward and planted a brief kiss on her lips. "Later."

Emma felt her face heat as she finally pulled away from him; she tucked her wayward hair behind her ears as she walked away, acutely aware of how her family suddenly seemed so focused on anywhere else than the display of affection she just shared with Killian. Emma rolled her eyes when she caught her brother making fake gagging motions behind their parent's backs. Happiness spread through her, despite knowing that the world was still desperate to know who Killian was. Emma knew she loved the man, and that she didn't want to share him with the world before they both felt ready. Whoever wanted to rush them to change this could go to hell.