Liam directed Emma as she drove the borrowed SUV through the back streets of San Francisco. It was frustratingly slow going, since there were people and vehicles in their path, and the roads had sustained damage from the earthquakes.

"Do these quakes happen often?" Killian asked, from the back seat.

"San Francisco tends to have a few tremors every year, but not as strong as the quakes we had today."

"I guess that's something we'll have to get used to," he commented. "That is, if Liam is offered the job."

"If there's a bloody building left where the job is located," Liam grumbled. "Looks like there's an obstruction up ahead, lass. Better turn right at the next intersection."

"Our building codes are more strict because of the quakes and most of the buildings around here are supposed to be able to withstand them with minimal damage, but nothing is indestructible." Emma informed them. She reached over and turned on the radio, hitting the tuning button until she located a news station. "Hopefully, we can get some updates."

The sound of newscasters talking about the events of the morning filled the car as Liam continued to help Emma navigate. They learned the largest quake measured 6.2 on the Richter Scale and geologists were speculating the strongest one was yet to come, just as Emma predicted.

The mood in the car was tense as they listened to the reports and watched the chaos happening around them. When Killian noticed that the tie around Liam's leg was bloodied and knew the wound was still seeping, he suggested stopping at a hospital to get it examined, but Liam barked that they needed to concentrate on getting out of town.

"Stubborn arse," Killian groused under his breath.

"I've told you I'm fine, so just drop it, Killy!" Liam commanded.

"You know I hate it when you call me that! I've hated it ever since I was five years old!"

"Stop acting like you're five and I'll stop…"

"Alright, alright!" Emma snapped. "You guys arguing isn't helping the situation. Once we get to my apartment, I'll take a look at your leg again, and if it needs to be taken care of by a professional, there's a Medical Center just down the street from where I live."

"Happy now, Killian?" Liam asked.

"Ecstatic," Killian muttered sarcastically.

Emma caught his eye in the rearview mirror and gave him a smile, then reached over to change the radio to a classic rock station.

"Why did you do that?" Liam asked.

"I think we've heard enough about the natural disaster we just lived through, and the rehashing of it seems to be fraying our nerves."

Killian nodded in agreement and Liam went back to studying the map. When the song "Alright Now" by Free came on a few minutes later, Killian started to sing along in the back seat.

"Whoa, you can sing too?" Emma questioned, clearly impressed.

"He sings and plays the guitar," Liam said proudly. "My li-, um, younger brother has many talents."

"That's because Liam sacrificed a lot to allow me to take lessons," Killian praised. "Worked two jobs the whole time he was in secondary school to pay for them."

"You said you were able to stay together, but you didn't say where you lived after your mother passed away."

"Liam convinced our mum's brother Nemo to take us in. He was a bachelor and didn't really want to be saddled with two boys, but Liam promised he would take care of me if he let us live with him, and he lived up to his word."

"How old were you when you went to live with him?"

"I was eight and Liam was thirteen."

"Oh wow, that's pretty young."

"Aye. Liam had to grow up far too quickly, didn't you brother?"

"I did what I had to do," Liam said humbly.

"That's very admirable, Liam," Emma said.

Liam waved his hand dismissively, then looked up from the phone. "The road to take us out of the city looks pretty clear."

Emma made eye contact with Killian in the mirror again and he shrugged his shoulders.

She turned onto the road and all of them were relieved to see it had lighter traffic than the streets of the city. Just as she was starting to accelerate, the vehicle began to vibrate and rock back and forth.

"Shit!" she cursed, slowing down and pulling onto the wide shoulder on the side of the road. Once the SUV came to a stop, she put on the parking brake. "We'll have to wait it out and hope it isn't the big one."

Liam turned to exchange a look with Killian. "I would have never known to do that, lass."

"Yeah, well, I've felt a couple of tremors since I've lived here and my neighbor gave me some tips about how to handle them."

The shaking increased for a few seconds, then everything became calm again. Emma disengaged the brake, checked her mirrors and pulled back onto the road.

"How long have you lived in California?" Killian asked.

"I moved here after I graduated from high school two years ago."

"All by yourself?"

"Yep."

"You're very brave," Liam said.

"Brave or stupid, I don't know which. I didn't even have a plan for where I was going when I left Boston. I just hopped in my bug and started to drive."

"Bug?" Killian questioned.

"My yellow Volkswagen beetle. I sweet talked my neighbor lady into selling it to me for less than a thousand dollars when I got my driver's license."

"You drove all the way across the country by yourself when you were eighteen years old?" Liam asked incredulously.

"I had finally aged out of the system by that time and I just wanted a new start, so I took all the money I had saved to come out here and I've never regretted it, earthquakes and all. Besides, what you guys are doing is brave, too. You're moving across an entire ocean."

"We aren't certain of that yet," Liam corrected. "I don't know if I'll get the job."

Killian grabbed the side of the seat in front of him to lean forward. "I think we should move regardless of…"

His words were cut off as the car jolted violently, rocking and pitching as the earth shifted beneath them. Emma jammed on the brakes, but before she could bring the car to a stop, the road in front of them rose up and then split wide open.

"Holy fuck! Hang on!" she screamed.

The SUV plunged into the chasm created by the earthquake, tilting to the left as it fell, and landing with its driver's side wedged against giant chunks of asphalt. The front and side airbags deployed, adding to the chaos inside the vehicle.

The shaking seemed to go on forever and all three occupants feared they would be buried under the falling rocks and dirt.

"This must be the big one!" Liam shouted over the roaring noise.

Just when they thought the earthquake would never come to an end, suddenly everything became still. Emma turned to look at Liam with wide eyes, her hands still gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white. She peeled her fingers off and reached up to remove her glasses, which had been broken by the airbag, then wiped at her nose, her fingers coming away bloody.

"Are you okay, lass?" Liam asked, his quivering voice belying his brave front.

"Y-yeah, I…um…I think so. I just have a bloody nose, but it doesn't seem to be too bad. How about you, Killian?" she unbuckled her seatbelt and tried to turn to look back at him.

When he didn't answer, Liam threw off his own seatbelt and scrambled to face backwards so he could see to his brother's welfare. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. "K-Killian?"

By that time, Emma had awkwardly turned her body around also, and could see Killian's face, which was completely drained of color, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide and filled with tears.

"What's wrong, brother?" Liam asked, leaning as far as he could over the back of the seat.

"M-my…h-hand," Killian stammered. His eyes shifted to the left, and Liam's heart sank when he realized his brother's hand was trapped between the front seat and the crushed side of the vehicle.

"Oh, Killian!" Emma gasped, shoving the broken frames of her glasses into her jacket pocket. "Don't worry. We'll get you out, won't we Liam?"

"Of course we will," Liam gulped, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. His eyes darted around the confined space of the car, then commanded, "Emma, you climb into the back and help him pull his hand free. I'm going to try to move the seat."

She nodded and vaulted over the seat. As Liam moved across to the place she had just vacated, she put her hand on Killian's cheek and turned his face to look into hers. "It's gonna be okay," she crooned, leaning in to brush her lips across his cheek.

A tiny hint of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth, before they heard Liam say, "Ready, lass?"

Emma shifted closer and wrapped her hands around Killian's left forearm, then raised her eyebrows to silently question him. At his slight nod, she verified, "We're ready."

Liam dug his knees into the front seat and pulled with all his strength on the seat, grunting with the effort. Meanwhile, Emma tugged on his arm, trying to pull it free. "It's moving, Liam. Keep pulling!"

"Come on! Come on!" he chanted, his face turning beet red as he redoubled his attempt.

A few seconds later, Killian's hand finally came free and Emma carefully cradled it between both of hers. Liam released the seat along with a huge breath he'd been holding, and craned his neck to peer into the back seat. "How is it?"

Emma tenderly ran her fingers over the back of Killian's hand, frowning at what she felt. Looking up at Liam, she swallowed. "Pretty sure he's got some broken bones in there."

Killian flinched at her gentle touch, and looked at his brother in despair. "What if I can never play guitar again?"

Liam looked at him dolefully, then his face shifted to a look of grim determination. "We'll have to worry about that later. Right now we need to get out of this car before it becomes our coffin." He planted his foot on the steering column, giving himself some leverage to push against the passenger door. It squealed in protest as it opened a few inches before stopping. He pushed again, but only managed to move it another fraction of an inch.

"Fuck it all! As trim as you are, lass, even you wouldn't be able to slip through that opening."

"There's very little dirt on the window and no big rocks. Maybe if we can find something metal, we can break the glass. Can you get the glove box open?"

He popped the compartment open and began rummaging around, while Emma began feeling under the seat in front of her. "Hey! I think we might actually have some luck at last!" she shouted, holding up a tool that looked like a small flashlight keychain.

"What's that?" Killian asked.

"It's one of those things you can use to bust a window if the car is submerged in water. They advertise them all the time on TV." She handed it to Liam. "I think you just punch it against the window and it's supposed to shatter it, so shield your eyes when you do it."

Liam took it and examined it for a second, then held it up to the window, put his other hand over his eyes, and pushed it in. Immediately the glass shattered and pieces of it rained down over him.

"Clever little device," he said, pocketing the object, then brushing the glass and dirt off his shoulders. He removed his suit jacket and wrapped it around his hand to knock some more glass out of the window frame. When most of it was removed, he draped the jacket over the edge to protect them from any remaining jagged pieces.

"Liam, you saved forever to buy that suit; don't tear it up. Take my sweatshirt," Killian said, trying to shrug out of it.

"The trousers are ruined anyway, so it really doesn't matter. Now come on, let's get out of here. You first, lass."

Emma clambered back over the seat and took Liam's offered hand to move into position so he could lift her up and through the window. Once she was outside, she pushed herself up to stand on the side of the car, looking down at Liam.

"Ready, brother?" he asked.

"Aye. Give these to Emma," Killian said, handing his backpack and her purse to Liam, who passed them to her. Then Killian threw his leg over the seat and used his right hand to push himself up and over it, holding his injured hand against his chest. Liam squatted down the best he could and put his linked hands under Killian's foot to boost him up. As soon as his arms were through the window, Emma gripped his right one and helped pull him out.

Before Liam could follow them, the SUV suddenly shifted deeper into the fault, throwing Emma and Killian off-balance. Emma fell and began sliding down the side of the vehicle toward the gaping hole behind it, scrambling for something to grab onto. She finally managed to get a tenuous grip on a large rock laying close to the back wheel well.

"Emma!" Killian shouted, flattening himself against the side of the vehicle and extending his left hand toward her while he held onto the edge of the window with his right. "Take my hand!"

"N-no, that's your injured hand!" she responded.

"Take it or you're gonna fall!" he commanded.

She hesitated another second before reaching up with her free hand to grasp his wrist. Meanwhile, Liam was cautiously pushing himself through the window and laying down to help Emma, too.

"Fuuu-ckinnng helllll!" Killian shouted, pulling with all his strength, while Emma sought a foothold to give herself some leverage. Once Killian managed to raise her a few inches, Liam strained to grab ahold of the collar of her jacket, which helped him pull her up enough to get the other hand under her armpit.

Working together, she was finally laying in a heap between the brothers.

"Let's get away from this death trap," Liam panted. He scrambled to his feet to hoist himself off of the car and onto the uneven asphalt of the demolished road. Then he helped Emma and Killian climb out, too.

As soon as he regained his balance, Killian pulled Emma into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Are you alright?" he murmured in her ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, her arms wrapping around him to return his embrace.

"I thought we were gonna lose you there for a couple of minutes."

She pulled back to look at him, running her fingers across his cheek. "Thank you for saving me…again." They looked into each other's eyes for several seconds before his gaze dipped down to her mouth and back up again. In answer to his unspoken question, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his, feeling him reciprocate immediately.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and when it was over, they looked over to see Liam standing right beside them, grinning from ear to ear. "Way to go, little bro!"

"Younger bro," Emma replied with a smirk.

Both brothers laughed and Killian brushed one more kiss against her lips before releasing her and stepping away, taking his backpack from Liam's outstretched hand. Digging inside, he pulled out two bottles of water, handing one to Emma and the other to Liam. "It's not cold, but at least it's wet."

Emma uncapped hers and took a long drink, then passed it to Killian, who did the same. Liam downed half his bottle, as well. "Thanks, brother."

After collecting her purse from the ground, Emma dug through it and pulled out the bottle of Advil again. "I'm sure you guys can use some of this yourselves," she said, distributing tablets to both of the guys.

"Thanks, lass," Liam said, taking her offering and washing them down with the water, while Killian did the same.

"Well, I guess I won't be returning that car to its owner after this is over," Emma said, looking down at the wreckage.

"I'm sorry about your glasses," Liam said. "Are you able to see without them?"

"Yeah, I don't have a strong prescription. I'm just a little nearsighted."

Killian looked at the abrasions on her face from the airbag, gently running his fingers over the ones on the bridge of her nose. "Do you think your nose is broken?"

"It doesn't feel like it is, and the bleeding stopped pretty quickly." She gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned.

"What's the plan now?" Killian asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and taking Emma's hand.

"I guess we'll have to head back into the city," she said. "We only made it a couple miles down the road, and both of you guys need medical attention. It looks like your leg is bleeding again, Liam."

He looked down to see that his pants leg had a large blood stain on it. "I'm sure our injuries are not going to take priority if we go to a hospital, lass. Once we get back, I think we should look for another way out of town."

"I imagine all the roads are going to be impassable, either because of traffic or damage," Killian said.

"Maybe we need to try a different mode of transportation," Emma suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"If we can get to the harbor, maybe we could find a boat to take us down the coast of the bay."

"Don't earthquakes usually cause tsunamis, though?" Liam asked.

"Land-based earthquakes don't," Killian explained. "That's only if the quake is along the seafloor."

Emma looked at him admiringly, while Liam said, "Impressive, brother."

"I told you I like having a book in my hand," he smiled.

"You said Liam missed his calling as a ship captain, so I assume you've been out on a boat before?"

"A few times. I think we'll be able to manage it ourselves, if we aren't able to catch a ride with someone else " Liam affirmed.

'What kinds of boats do you have experience with - racing, fishing, sailing?" Emma asked.

"Speed boats and sailboats," Killian answered. "Have you ever driven a boat, Swan?"

"Nope. I've never even been on one."

"Hopefully, that's about to change," Liam said. "Okay, it looks like we have a new plan. Let's go."

"Maybe we should patch your wound up a little better before you walk a couple of miles on it," Emma suggested.

"Where are we going to find first aid supplies?"

She thought for a few moments, then asked, "Can one of you guys spare your shirt?"

Realizing what she intended to do, Liam quickly began unbuttoning his white dress shirt. "I always wear a T-shirt underneath. You can have this one." Once he finished undoing the buttons and removed it, he held it out to her.

"Thanks, Liam." Digging in her purse, she found a small pocket knife and used it to cut along the side seam of the shirt. "I usually carry a knife with me because you never know when one is gonna come in handy," she explained, noticing their curious expressions.

"You're quite a resourceful lass," Liam remarked.

Emma smiled as she began to tear the shirt into strips. "Can you sit down here?"

He went over to perch on top of a huge chunk of broken asphalt beside her and undid the knot of the tie wrapped around his leg. The handkerchief they had stuffed in the wound was soaked with blood and he started to remove it.

"No, don't!" Emma said, putting her hand on top of his. "If any clotting has started, taking that out will tear it open again. I'll just add some more padding to it."

She started folding a strip of cloth into a square. Looking up at him, she said, "This would work better if I could get to your wound without your pants getting in the way. Would you mind pulling them down so I can do that?"

"If you wanted to get into my pants, lass, there are more subtle ways to do it," he teased.

"Why, Liam Jones! It seems you do have a sense of humor," she giggled.

He laughed as he stood up, unbuckled his belt, unzipped his trousers and pushed them down to his knees. She paid no mind to the fact he was standing in front of her in a pair of light blue boxers and a tight white T-shirt as she wet a piece of the torn material with some water from the bottle to clean around the wound. Then she placed the clean, folded square of material over it and began winding the strips of cloth around his thigh. "I wish we had some way to clean it better until we can get some antibiotics for you, but this will have to do for now."

When she had knotted the last strip, she nodded to him and he pulled his pants back up and fastened them again. Turning to Killian, she said, "Let me see your hand."

He held it up and she took it gently, examining it critically. "It's really swollen. How painful is it on a scale of one to ten?"

"About a six or seven, I'd say."

She locked eyes with him. "I don't think there's anything I can do to help it right now, unfortunately. Once we get into town, I think we should go into a restaurant to find some medical supplies for both of you. All of them have First Aid kits and ice machines and I doubt if they have very many customers sitting down to a fine meal right now."

He grinned at her joke and leaned in to kiss her briefly. "Thank you, Emma."

"I think we should get moving," Liam said.

Emma nodded and collected her purse before taking Killian's uninjured hand and falling into step between the two brothers.

"What are you studying in your college courses, Emma?" Liam asked.

"I haven't decided on a major yet. I've just taken a few general ed classes so far."

"Have you thought about becoming a paramedic or perhaps a nurse?" he asked. "You seem to have an affinity for taking care of people's injuries."

She shrugged. "I guess I could look into it. I've always admired first responders, but I guess I've never pictured myself being one."

"You're definitely level-headed under dire circumstances," Killian noted.

"I'll have to look into it."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, taking in the destruction around them. The road was buckled and uneven and a few other cars were disabled on it, but the occupants seemed to have abandoned them to go back into the city, so the three of them were the only people around.

"Do you think the quakes are over?" Killian asked.

"I'm sure there will be some aftershocks, but I think Liam was probably right when he said that was the big one. So Killian, you haven't said much about yourself, besides the fact you play the guitar. Do you take classes or have a job?"

"I've thought about going to Uni, but I don't really know what I want to study. I work at the local library and play gigs at night with some of the lads; just some bars and nightclubs, but it helps pay the bills."

"I bet you love working at the library, since you enjoy reading so much."

"Aye, but it makes me sad that so many people have taken to using technology to read, while the books sit on the shelf gathering dust."

"You said you play with the lads. Does that mean you have a band?"

"There are four of us and we call ourselves 'The Rivals'. We played together in secondary school and have continued on, but one lad is engaged, another is going to Uni full-time now, and if Liam and I end up moving here, that will probably be the end of the band. Besides," he said, holding up his left hand, "who knows if I'll ever play guitar again?"

"You will," Emma said confidently. "Once we get you to a hospital, they'll get those bones set and in a couple of months or so, you'll be as good as new."

"I hope so."

After walking for nearly half-an-hour, they reached the edge of the city and started seeing the effects of the earthquake. Streams of water arced into the sky to fight fires, buildings were in various states of destruction, and shocked people were picking through the rubble.

"Let's go this way," Emma directed. "There's a street over here that has several restaurants on it."

They made their way through the crowded streets, their eyes wide as they took in all the destruction, and their ears filled with sirens and people shouting. When they reached the street Emma had in mind, they found that the buildings were damaged, but not to the point of being in danger of collapsing.

The windows were shattered in the first restaurant they came to, and the employees, dressed in their white shirts and black pants, were standing outside, assessing the damage. "Excuse me," Emma said, approaching one of them, "do you have some ice and a First Aid kit we can use?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, sure," the girl responded dazedly. "Follow me."

She led them through the doorway into the main dining room, which had some light fixtures and framed pictures lying broken on the floor, but seemed structurally intact, then into the kitchen. Pans and utensils were scattered across the counters and floor, along with ruined food and dripping water.

They carefully maneuvered through the puddles to get to the ice machine sitting in the corner. The girl opened a cupboard beside it and took down a box of plastic bags, then gestured to a First Aid kit mounted on the wall beside it. "Help yourself."

"Thank you," Liam said, as the girl turned and started to leave.

Emma slid the door of the ice machine up and was relieved to see that the ice inside hadn't melted, despite the power being out. She grabbed the scoop off the top and filled the gallon-size ziplock bag with ice cubes, then zipped it shut and handed it to Killian, who immediately placed it on his injured hand.

"Your turn, Liam," she said, taking down the box of medical supplies. "Let's go back into the dining room so you can sit down."

Once they were seated, Emma opened the kit and dug through the supplies, removing antiseptic wipes, a small bottle of peroxide, butterfly bandages, gauze, medical tape and scissors. Liam had already pushed his pants down to his knees before sitting down on the edge of the chair, and Emma began unwinding the strips of cloth from around his leg. Killian stood nearby, watching intently.

"Killian, go into the kitchen and see if you can find a clean towel, please," she instructed, keeping her eyes on her work. When the top layers were removed and the blood soaked cloth came into view, she began to work more methodically, being careful not to pull on the wound too much.

Killian returned with two white dish towels just as Emma was removing the last strip of cloth. He held his breath as she took off the folded square of material and gently eased the handkerchief out of the cut. They all let out a sigh of relief when very little blood oozed out of the open wound.

She opened the bottle of peroxide, looked up at Liam and, at his nod, poured a small amount into the cut. Liam hissed at the sting of pain when it began to foam, indicating that it was effectively doing its intended purpose of cleaning the wound. She continued to pour more, while Killian used the towel to wipe away the excess.

Once the small bottle was empty, Emma started tearing open the packets containing the antiseptic wipes and butterfly bandages. Killian dabbed at Liam's leg and held the towel over the wound, soaking up what was left of the peroxide, then stepped back out of Emma's way. She used the wipes to efficiently clean around the perimeter of the injury and allowed some time for it to dry.

"Okay, I'm gonna need you to squeeze the sides of the cut together so I can put these bandages on it," she told Liam, who was looking at her with awe.

He quickly did as she bade, and watched as she stuck the butterfly strips across the wound. When they covered the full length of it, she placed a gauze square over the top and began winding a roll of gauze around his leg. Once she was satisfied that it was sufficiently covered, she used the scissors to cut the gauze and tore off three pieces of tape to secure it.

Sitting back in her chair, she declared, "That's the best I can do."

"You've done an excellent job, lass," Liam praised. "Thank you."

He stood and pulled his trousers up, refastening them as Emma replaced the supplies in the first aid kit and took it back into the kitchen. Killian followed her to throw the trash away.

"Is the ice helping at all?" she asked.

He removed it from his hand and they examined it. "Perhaps a bit," he said.

"Maybe we should find something to make a splint for it."

"No, I think we should get going. We have a ways to go to get to the harbor and it will be dark in just a few hours. I'll be fine, Love."

Her eyes shot up to look at him, unused to the term he used, but liking the way it sounded coming from him. She pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw then stepped back and smiled at him. "At least let me wrap something around the ice to help keep it in place."

Glancing around the kitchen, he spotted a roll of duct tape on a shelf and walked over to retrieve it. Handing it to her, he was rewarded with another bright smile. "Perfect."

She used the tape to secure the bag of ice, then replaced the roll on the shelf and followed him back out to the dining room. "We can fill our water bottles while we're here," she said.

"Good idea," Killian agreed, setting his bag on the table so they could get the bottles out. The two of them went back into the kitchen, filled them at the tap, and returned in less than a minute.

"Ready, brother?" he asked Liam.

"I've been looking at this map to try to figure out the best route to the harbor," Liam said, pointing to Killian's tour book. "I think we should stay on this street for several blocks, if possible."

"Sounds like a plan, as long as it's not blocked," Emma said.

"We won't know until we try," Liam replied.

Killian handed Emma her purse and slung his backpack over his shoulder, then took her hand and led the way out of the restaurant, with Liam following behind, still studying the map.

They made their way down the street, dodging people, fire trucks, police cars and debris, trying to maintain their focus on their objective while taking in the unbelievable sights around them. When they reached the end of one block, they were shocked to see half-a-dozen white sheets covering dead bodies. Before they could avert their eyes, Emma gasped, "Oh my god!"

"What is it, Swan?" Killian asked.

She pointed a shaking finger at one shrouded body, whose hand was uncovered and had a familiar, ostentascious watch around the wrist. "I th-think that's…Walsh."

"Do you want to check and make sure?" Liam asked.

"I…I don't know. Should I?"

"Perhaps you could leave some form of identification if it is him, in case they have no other way of identifying him," Killian suggested.

"What if he…he's unrecognizable?"

"I can look if you'd rather not."

She swallowed hard. "No, it's okay." Approaching a police officer who was standing near the bodies, she said, "Excuse me, sir, but I think I may know who the person is under that sheet because I recognize his watch. Would I be allowed to identify him?"

"How sure are you?" the officer responded.

"Quite sure. He was also wearing a gray suit," she said, pointing to the sleeve of the jacket above the watch.

"It would actually be very helpful if you were able to positively identify him," the policeman verified, then indicated for Emma to approach the body.

Tentatively, she stepped closer, took a deep breath and reached down to lift the corner of the sheet. Taking a quick glance, she let out a squeak and dropped the cloth like it was on fire. "It's him."

Liam turned to the back of the tour book and tore out a blank page. "Do you have a pen, lass?"

Emma nodded and unzipped her purse, took out a pen and held it out to him, her hand shaking so hard she almost dropped it. He accepted it and asked, "What's his last name?"

"Ozman," Killian answered for her.

Liam wrote 'This man is Walsh Ozman' on the paper, then asked, "Do you know his address?"

She numbly shook her head. "I don't remember."

Liam handed the pen back and folded the paper, making sure the writing was visible. Then he handed it to the police officer, who bent down and tucked it under the watch band. "Thank you, miss," he said to Emma.

"Okay, let's get her away from here, Liam," Killian said.

He gently tugged on her hand and she stumbled after him, shaking her head. "I know I said I wanted to kill him for abandoning me, but I didn't really want him to be d-dead."

"It's not your fault, Love. The man obviously made dubious decisions and one of them cost him his life." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, tugged her against him and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Emma."

"He was a jerk, but he didn't deserve to die like that."

"Nobody does, but unfortunately in a natural disaster, things like this happen."

"I know," she said quietly, her mind obviously still on what she had just seen.

"We need to turn left at the next intersection," Liam said, coming up alongside them.

Killian gave him a look that conveyed his gratitude for changing the subject. Liam squeezed Emma's shoulder, then moved ahead of the couple to lead the way.

It took them the better part of two hours to work their way across the city, stunned by the damage they were passing, although Emma assured them it could've been much worse without the building codes. They stopped a couple of times to let Liam take a break, which allowed Emma and Killian to help people who were attempting to extract property from under heavy debris, although he was careful not to use his left hand. They were pleased to see many acts of kindness between people, and distressed to see others taking advantage of the situation by looting.

They experienced a few more nerve wracking aftershocks, but didn't let that slow them down much. When they passed the building where Liam had his interview, they were heartened by the fact that it hadn't sustained too much damage.

"Do you want to go by your hotel and get your things?" Emma asked.

Liam considered for a few moments. "They'll just be a burden to us right now. Perhaps in a couple of days we'll be able to make our way back to collect everything."

"If not, there's nothing there we can't live without," Killian said, and Liam nodded in agreement.

They finally came within sight of the harbor and were disappointed to see that scores of people apparently had the same idea of using a boat to get away from San Francisco.

"We'll just have to start asking people if they're willing to share their boat," Liam said.

"I live in Millbrae, so if we can just get in the vicinity of it, we should be in good shape."

"We need to make sure it's a speedboat, though," Killian added. "Sailboats might be harder to maneuver through the debris that's sure to be in the water."

"Good point, brother."

They began scoping out possibilities as they walked down the boardwalk. Liam approached a couple of people, but was brushed aside by them before he could even get the question out of his mouth.

When Killian spotted a couple tossing shopping bags into a mid-sized speedboat, he boldly stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, are you going down the coast?"

The man looked over his shoulder, "Yeah, why?"

"Would you be willing to take on three passengers?"

"We'll pay you for it," Liam threw in.

The man eyed them, shifting his eyes from one person to the next. "One hundred apiece," he finally announced.

"Arthur, we're going down the bay anyway. Why can't we just take them along without charging them?" the woman asked.

"Hush, Gwen. They offered to pay; I didn't ask them." Turning back to Liam, he said, "Do we have a deal?"

Killian leaned in to whisper in Liam's ear. "Maybe we should keep looking."

"It's almost dusk and this might be the only chance we get," Liam said out of the corner of his mouth. He stuck his hand out to Arthur. "It's a deal."

"Money first," Arthur said, shaking Liam's hand. Killian dug into the side pocket of his bag and removed a money pouch. He peeled off a few bills and returned the wallet to his bag. Then he hesitantly handed them to the man, who counted it very deliberately before sweeping his arm in front of himself. "Welcome aboard."

Killian helped Emma embark and steered her to a seat at the back of the boat. Liam sat across from them, while Gwen and Arthur boarded the boat and secured their packages.

"I'm Gwen Pendragon and this is my husband Arthur," the lady smiled, before sitting on the bench seat beside Liam.

"I'm Liam Jones. This is my brother Killian and our friend Emma Swan."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. What a day, huh?"

"You can say that again," Emma replied, as Arthur started the engine.

"We thought it would be a good day to go shopping in San Francisco," Gwen laughed lightly. "Guess that was about the worst decision we could have made."

"We're visiting from England. Picked a bad time to do that, as well," Liam said.

They fell silent as Arthur began slowly steering the boat through the harbor, carefully avoiding floating debris and other vessels. It was tedious work and they were all on edge as they watched him.

When they finally reached the open water, they found it was still crowded with fleeing boaters, but Arthur was able to ease the throttle forward to gain a little speed.

They had been traveling for about ten minutes when Emma turned around and knelt on the bench seat to look down into the murky water. "I can't believe there's still debris in the water, even out this far."

Just then, a speeding boat zipped past them, cutting close to the front of Arthur's and he swerved suddenly to avoid it, throwing Emma off balance. Killian realized what was happening and made a grab for her, but before he could prevent it, she pitched over the side and into the water.

"EMMA!" he screamed. "STOP THE BOAT!"

When Arthur didn't take action right away, Killian jumped up on the seat and dove into the water.

"Killian, you absolute idiot!" Liam yelled, as Arthur finally slowed the boat to a crawl and began to turn it.

Liam's heart was in his throat as he searched the choppy water for his brother and Emma. It seemed like an eternity before Killian's head popped up, turning this way and that as he frantically searched for her. "Do…do you see her?" he managed to shout between gulps of air.

The people in the boat swept their eyes over the surface for nearly twenty seconds until Gwen pointed to what appeared to be Emma's hair below the surface about fifty feet away from the boat. "Is that her?"

Killian swam as fast as he could to the spot and dove down, remaining underwater for several moments. When he broke the surface again, he had a limp and unconscious Emma in his arms. Arthur turned the boat to cautiously pull up alongside them, then cut the engine and helped Liam reach down to pull her up over the side of the boat.

Killian quickly swam to the ladder at the back of the boat and climbed aboard. By that time, they had Emma laid out on the deck and Liam was pumping her chest, trying to get her to expel the water she had ingested.

Killian knelt beside her, grabbing her calf and pleading, "Come on, Swan - breathe! Please breathe, Love!"

Liam paused to give her some rescue breaths, then resumed chest compressions. He continued this routine for a couple of minutes with no results. Emma lay still and ashen, her eyes slightly open but unseeing.

When Liam paused and looked at his brother after another minute, Killian looked stricken. "No, no, no Liam! She…she can't be…NO! You have to save her, please!"

xxxxxxxxx