Notes:

I'm not sure where this story came from except that I was supposed to be writing another WIP and this story took hold and wouldn't let go. I have noticed that all my fics have a bad guy, a villain to wrap the story up in a bow, something that allows the two main characters a clear and ethical road to love.

But what if there was no bad guy? What if the female could have had a chance at a happy ending with either guy? What if both men were worthy of her love?

This is where this story is born. It's quite different than my other stories, but hopefully you will still enjoy what came out of my brain. If it's not for you, thanks for trying it anyway 😊 You all give me reason to continue writing.

Chapter 1:

Killian Jones was sitting in the darkened room of Hall D, a video playing on the screen in front of him as he tried to scrawl notes and designs in his notebook. It had been a grueling four days in Las Vegas soaking up everything there was to learn at the Architecture and Design Expo his brother had sent him from England to attend.

Normally it would be his brother Liam who would attend these events, but a freak biking accident had taken Liam off his feet for a few weeks, leaving Killian to attend at the last minute.

Killian disliked boring events, content to stay back running the business in his brother's absence. He would have preferred that Liam send Neal or Robin to this convention, he saw no need to pretend to be interested in the glitz and glamor of rubbing elbows with others in the business under the lights of Las Vegas. If there was one thing he was certain of after visiting the city, it was that American's sure did enjoy taking things over the top.

Everything was bigger in Vegas. He found no reason or need for such lavish adornment, and yet he had spent his evening having dinner underneath a replica of the Eiffel tower while watching a water show across the street at the Bellagio. He supposed he should be impressed; someone had spent time designing every corner of the large buildings around him. Yet he couldn't imagine the millions of dollars that had been spent and paid to create such large attractions for no other reason except to drawn in visitors to spend their hard earned cash for a few hours of entertainment.

As the lights came up in the hall, he shoved his notepad into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, following the crowd into the convention center. He was exhausted and ready to fly back to England in the morning.

He pulled out the stool in front of the bar and tossed his bag on the counter. "Dark and Stormy, please."

The bartender nodded at him and began making his drink. Killian unlocked his phone sending off a text.

Killian: I'm home in the afternoon, lets meet on the Chamberlin deal. Need to talk money before you fly back.

Killian tapped his fingers against the bar as he reviewed his emails from earlier in the day. Robin had sent him some docs to review, and Liam had set up a few meetings for him in the evening once he landed back in England.

His phone buzzed with a response to his earlier text.

Neal: I think you're going to like the proposal. See you when you get here buddy.

Killian closed his messages and accepted the drink from the man in front of him. Taking a long sip, he closed his eyes and let the liquid warm him.

"Vodka martini." A voice sounded beside him. From the corner of his eye, he saw a woman take the seat next to him.

His phone buzzed again, and he looked down to see the text from his brother.

Liam: Need you in some meetings tomorrow when you get back, so don't get drunk tonight.

Killian grunted as he finished his drink. Shaking his head, he ordered another from the bartender. He tossed his phone into his bag and pounded out a tune with his knuckles as he waited.

"I'll have a beer and another for the lady." A voice boomed to his right.

"The lady can order her own drink. Thanks." The woman beside him growled.

"Come now beautiful, I'm just trying to buy you a drink." The man insisted.

"I'm not interested."

"Let me guess, you're a lesbian." The man said with a sarcastic tone that caused Killian to pound his fist on the bar.

"I believe the lady said she wasn't interested." He said forcefully without looking at the woman beside him. He didn't need to turn his head to know that the man had skulked away with an angry huff. He didn't honestly care, he just wanted to enjoy what was left of his evening in peace.

His drink was set on the counter in front of him and he took the glass, quickly tipping it back against his mouth. Exhaling loudly, he stared at the television above the bar.

"I had it handled." The woman stated a few minutes later.

"I don't doubt that." He said simply, keeping his eyes on the television.

He sat in silence for a few minutes, not really paying attention to the news that was flashing across the screen. "You here for the convention?" The woman asked and he finally turned his head toward her, the sarcastic comment about to roll off his tongue died in his mouth the moment their eyes met.

"Aye." Was all he could muster, his entire mouth suddenly felt like it was full of cotton. The woman beside him was beautiful. Not beautiful like a model or those women you see on television that you know are in no way born with the body they are displaying. This woman was gorgeous in a natural yet mystifying manner. He could barely keep himself from getting lost in the deep green of her eyes.

The bartender handed her a drink and she raised it toward him. "Well, here's to four days you'll never get back."

He smiled, lifting his glass toward her. "I'll drink to that."

"Sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I'm just not really into this shit. I mean, we're in Vegas, the city that never sleeps and we're stuck in a room all day. If they wanted us to do that, maybe they should have hosted it in Ohio or somewhere else completely boring."

"I'm offended, love. I'm from Ohio."

The woman laughed. "Bullshit, not with that accent."

"I have an accent?" He feigned shock, grabbing his heart. "I had no idea."

"Very funny." She rolled her eyes, and he took the moments distraction to scan his own down the rest of her body. She was wearing a dark blue suit jacket with a matching skirt, with a white button-down shirt under her jacket. She had gorgeous legs and he could see just the tip of her heels peeking out from the tall bar stool. Turning back toward the bar, he took another sip of his drink.

"Are you an architect?" He asked.

"Designer." She said with a smile. "You must be an architect though."

"And what makes you say that?"

"You were staring at my legs. Architects are always looking at how things are built."

His mouth turned up in a smirk. "Aye, I do admire a well-built structure."

"Of course you do." She returned the playful banter with a smile of her own.

He swallowed his drink, slamming the glass down on the counter. "I'm not going to apologize for admiring the view."

"I didn't ask you to." She shrugged. "As long as you don't mind if I do the same."

His mouth sat open for a moment. "Are you checking me out?"

"Maybe." She responded, sipping her drink. "There's always been something a bit sexy about British men."

"I'm not British, I mean, I live in England, but I'm from Ireland. Just haven't lived there in a long time."

Her eyebrow rose playfully. "British and Irish, should I take my panties off now or wait til we leave the bar?"

He turned in his stool so that he was facing her. "That depends, love."

"On what?" She asked quietly, titling her body toward his.

"Your room or mine?"

"That's mighty presumptuous of you."

"Perhaps." He smirked, turning back toward the bar. "However, you've already admitted the accent is a turn on, and I've caught you staring more than once, I think you might be quite taken by my devilishly handsome features." He grinned into his drink before taking a sip. God he had missed this. He hadn't flirted with a woman in ages. She snorted as she sat her drink back on the bar, the ice clinking around in the glass at the bottom. "Can I buy you another?"

He caught her eye, and she shook her head with a sly smile. "Think I've had enough alcohol for one evening."

"Why, love? You a bit worried you'll find me even more irresistible after a few libations?" He teased.

Her laugh was loud and raucous, but it was like music to his ears. He watched as her head tilted back, a smile widening on her face.

One moment they were sitting in the bar, staring into each other's eyes and the next they were in the elevator, his mouth on her neck, her hands pressed against his crotch. They barely made it to his room before he had her out of her clothes, her body pressed against his, long legs wrapped around his waist as he fumbled in his wallet for the condom he had kept in his pocket for a year, wasting away from his lack of dating.

He devoured her well into the night, memorizing every exquisite part of her body, down to the freckles on the inside of her thigh.

It wasn't that he hadn't been with a woman before, back in university he and Neal spent their evenings at the local bar looking for the next woman to warm their bed, but that had been years ago and as he had aged he grew tired of bedding a woman simply to prove he could.

He hadn't intended to have relations with anyone on his trip to Vegas until he laid eyes on the woman who shared his bed that evening. She enchanted him, brought every one of his senses to life simply by looking at him. Sex with her had awakened something in him that had laid dormant inside him for years.

Burning need and desire.

He couldn't get enough of her, the sound he elicited when his tongue slipped between her folds, the way she moaned when he entered her, or the way she leaned against his chest once they were both sated and physically exhausted.

He held her in his arms until his body finally gave way to sleep, content and relaxed.

When his alarm went off on his bedside table the next morning, he groaned as he turned it off, rolling over to find the bed empty beside him.

She was gone. It was in that moment that he realized he never asked her name. Another chapter in the sad story of the life of Killian Jones.

3 years later

"I hate flying." Robin squirmed in the seat beside him.

"Would you stop acting like a pussy." Liam groused as he poured a small bottle of rum into his diet coke.

"I'm just saying it's not natural to fly, we aren't birds." Robin countered.

"Would you prefer we swam here, brother?" Liam teased and Robin grabbed the drink sitting in front of him and downed the entire thing.

"Bloody hell, that was mine."

Killian stared out the tiny window as the world got smaller below him. It would be another seven hours before they landed in New York. Neal Cassidy, his childhood friend, and co-worker was getting married. Neal had been located at the same branch as Killian in London since they began working for Liam. But after traveling every few months to New York to run the accounting portion of the business, Liam allowed him to relocate to New York four years ago. It had been a year since Killian had last seen his friend and now he was getting hitched.

Neal had been unusually quiet about his personal life, no one at the firm had even met this mysterious woman that he had been seeing for the last 3 and a half years. When she gave birth to their son a couple of years back, no one was more shocked than Killian to get a photo of a newborn with the caption, "Look what I made" underneath it. Neal had always been a ladies' man, children were never a priority for him, so seeing him on the screen with a child in his arms was something he could hardly believe.

Killian had called Neal that evening, demanding to know why they had been kept in the dark for so long only for Neal to act his usual self, promising to provide more details when they all could meet in person.

Six months ago, he received a photo of a woman's hand with a large diamond ring on it, captioned "she said yes." He was happy for his friend, and anxious to meet the woman who had stolen him away from them for so long.

"Maybe she only has one eye." Killian snapped his attention to the conversation going on beside him. "Or she's unusually grotesque." Robin was stating.

"Are you talking about the last woman you bedded, mate?" He teased.

"This Emma woman that Neal is marrying, we were just saying that Neal has never sent a photo of her." Liam answered. "Seems odd."

"Seems like something Neal would do. Most likely she's bloody gorgeous and he was afraid one of us would steal her away if he showed us her photo." Killian shrugged.

"Well, you do have a history of…" Robin began.

"Bugger off, Shelia doesn't count. Neal wasn't even interested in her." Killian countered.

"But he was in love with Susan, and I seem to recall he found you in bed with her the morning after she spent the night with him."

"Is it my fault that she was roaming our flat at 3am in nothing but lacy panties and a smile?" He joked.

"You're impossible." Liam snorted.

"I'm happy for Neal. Honestly, I never saw him settling down, he was always a selfish bastard, I'm shocked he had time to make an honest woman out of this lass." Killian shrugged.

"Love is magic, mate." Robin winked.

"Makes many a man falter and give up his selfish ways." He brother sighed.

"And that's why I avoid love at all costs." He mumbled.

"He'll never get laid again, the stupid git." Robin laughed.

"A toast to the poor bastard." Liam raised his glass. "May his drinks be as plentiful as his balls will be blue."

"To Neal…" They all cheered.

Emma ran around the apartment picking up dishes and clothing that had been left strewn throughout the rooms. There were toys littering the floor of every corner in the apartment. Henry was barely a few months older than two and he had more toys than he could even play with in a full day.

She needed the apartment to look clean, or perhaps clean enough so she didn't look like a failure as a mother and future wife. But the house was a wreck, and she had no time to keep up with it.

Today she was finally going to meet Neal's co-workers, who were practically the only family he had growing up. She had heard so much about them, or as much as Neal would share with her, and they were finally coming to New York for the wedding on Sunday.

She was so anxious that the men Neal had grown up with would find her to be lacking as a match for their friend. In particular, she was most interested in the opinion of Killian Jones, he was Neal's closest friend and the one who knew best what Neal was like when he was younger. She couldn't wait to hear stories about him. Neal was a private person and kept much of his past life hidden from her, but Emma was naturally curious what he had been like before she met him.

"Are you wearing that?" Emma looked up as Neal entered the living room, standing in front of her in a blue button-down shirt and jeans. She looked down at her yoga pants and stained t-shirt.

"Yes Neal, after I cleaned the toilet, I thought I would just stay in these clothes to meet your closest friends." She said with a snort. "I'm changing after I finish the living room."

"Oh, ok good. Not that I don't appreciate the yoga pants, but I'd prefer you not have your ass on display when you meet Killian." He walked up, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Just Killian? Not Robin or Liam?" She narrowed her eyes. "Interesting, is there a story you aren't telling me?" She teased.

He fidgeted for a moment and then smiled. "Just a little brotherly rivalry." He bent his head to her neck, pecking lightly at her skin.

"Ah, well, don't forget, you're the one I'm marrying." She reassured him.

"Wanna prove that to me right now." He growled against her ear as their son bobbled into the room.

"Mama…"

Neal sighed and she felt his weight against her shoulder as he deflated against her. She stepped out of his embrace and picked up her son. "Hey bud, you ready for a bath?" She asked excitedly.

"Bubbas."

"Yes with bubbles." She said, offering an apologetic glance in Neal's direction. "Rain check, babe."

"One of these days I'm gonna need the sun to shine…" She heard him shout playfully as she took Henry to the bathtub.

Emma ran the water, setting her son into the tub. She knew Neal was frustrated, their lack of sex lately had been noticeable to her as well, but she could rarely help how tired she was after a long day in the office and then taking care of Henry once she got him home from daycare. Neal was ok at parenting, but he wasn't the most attentive parent, so Emma spent a lot of time keeping a watchful eye on Henry as he became more curious around the apartment.

Emma did love her life. She loved her son. And she loved Neal.

She wasn't always sure that she wanted to settle down with him, she had struggled when he asked her to move in with him. Emma did what she always did the night he asked her, she ran. She had a convention in Vegas that week and she used it as the perfect excuse to postpone her answer.

Of course, that excuse turned into an entirely different problem in Vegas. A sexual encounter with a stranger she met at a bar, something she had never done in her entire life, ultimately made her realize that she needed to stop running and settle down. She was getting too old to begin having one-night stands, it was time to grow up. So, she did what every responsible adult should do when they reached a certain age, she did the walk of shame back to her hotel room, got on a plane, moved in with Neal, and acted like a grown up.

And then she found out she was pregnant and well, here she was now…a two-year-old son, a busy life, and finally giving in to the M word. Marriage. She shivered as she thought about the approaching date. She was going to be someone's wife soon.

It was all part of the plan, she reminded herself.

Neal had a 5-year plan, get married, have another kid, buy a house, and retire to Florida. Emma had resisted getting on board with the plan, she didn't understand why they needed to map out every aspect of their life. She was used to just doing what felt natural to her.

Though she supposed that's what got her into this whole mess to begin with.

Had she walked away from the bar that night, had she not gotten into an elevator with a man who's name she still didn't know…perhaps things would be different. Maybe her life would have taken her somewhere else.

Lately she spent a lot of time thinking about the what ifs of Emma Swan's life. What if she had left the bar alone that night, would she still be marrying Neal? What if she stayed until the man woke up that morning, would she have asked his name? What if she got his number? Would he still be in her life?

She brushed her son's dark hair out of his face and smiled down at him, his blue eyes shining back at her. She knew she wouldn't change anything in her life, without the decisions she had made, good or bad, she wouldn't have her son. Henry was the most important thing in her life. She would do anything for him.

She supposed if the man in the hotel room had taught her anything, it was how to love something so fierce that you would do anything to hold on to it. Even if she never knew his name, he had given her the most important thing in the world. Henry.

Neal never questioned her; never took into account that she became pregnant almost immediately after moving in with him. There was always the chance that the child could be Neal's, and she couldn't bear to tell him the truth about the man in the hotel, the man she was with before she had settled on Neal. It was selfish on her part, but she didn't know the man's name she had spent the evening with, so he could never be a father to Henry, but Neal could. She was always determined that she would make that be enough for Henry.

Killian grabbed his bags from the turnstile, heaving the strap onto his shoulder. He watched as Robin struggled with another woman over his own bag, arguing over who the bag belonged to.

"I beg your pardon, are you telling me that your name is Robin Locksley as well?" He pointed to the name on the bag with an indignant stare. "Of course you aren't." The woman removed her hand and Robin dragged the bag away from her with a triumphant raise of his chin.

"Did you want to take her outside?" Killian joked. "Perhaps a lashing is in order."

"Bugger off."

"He gets very cranky when he travels." Liam whispered as Robin flashed his middle finger in their direction. Killian laughed and followed his brother through the halls of the airport. They were to meet Neal outside the terminal where he was going to pick them up.

The moment they stepped into the sunlight of New York City he recognized Neal stepping out of his car. "Jones." He greeted him with a hug.

"Cassidy. Where's the ball and chain? I'm starting to think she's not real." He joked.

"Trust me, she's real. She's back at the apartment, Henry gets cranky in the evening, so we thought it best he take a nap before we go to dinner. I'll drop you at your hotel and we can all meet back up at the restaurant."

"Who the hell are you? You sound so domesticated." Robin wrinkled his nose as he reached them, embracing Neal in a hug.

"You know me, I'll never be fully domesticated, but I suppose it can't all be helped." He laughed. "Shall we?"

Killian climbed into the back of the car, watching the city fly by as they drove to their hotel. He had been to the city before, they had done business in New York a multitude of time in the past, but he hadn't been back to the states since his trip to Las Vegas. Since her.

Many nights, he found himself imagining what her name could be. He would sometimes dream about her, she would introduce herself, her name on the tip of her tongue and then he would wake up in a cold sweat, still wondering what it was, or if he would ever find out.

He scanned the faces of the pedestrians walking by, always hoping that one day, he would see her face. He knew that was ridiculous, she was one in millions, he had no idea where she even lived.

"What does one even say to a baby?" Robin asked as he stepped into the hall from his room. "Do two-year old's talk?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine; just pretend you're talking to Killian." Liam scoffed as they entered the elevator.

"You're hilarious brother."

"But I'm not wrong." He winked, climbing into the cab as they headed out that evening.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Killian could feel the anticipation of finally meeting the woman of Neal's dreams. Would she be short, tall, maybe a red head, or perhaps dark hair, Neal had always been attracted to dark haired women?

When they entered the restaurant they were led to a back room where Neal was waiting for them, he approached them immediately, hugging him with a giant smile. "I'm so glad you guys made it. I hope you were able to get a short rest at the hotel." Killian smiled as Neal turned toward the back of the room. "I want you to meet, Emma."

A woman approached them, blonde hair bobbing at her shoulders, she stepped next to Neal and his heart stopped the moment their eyes met. It was impossible. This couldn't be happening.

"Emma, this is Killian." The woman swallowed, extending her hand without a word. He blinked, trying to stop his chest from heaving, needing to catch his breath. He looked at Neal, waiting for the cameras to jump out from behind him and announce that he had just been pranked on one of those ridiculous comedy shows American's loved so much.

Robin elbowed him and he flinched back to reality, lifting his hand to take hers, he smiled nervously. "Nice to finally meet you Emma." He barely recognized his own voice, and he was sure she had paled when his eyes met hers again, certain that she was suddenly having the same panic attack as he was.

"I can hardly believe we're meeting like this." She said with a shaky breath and a nervous laugh.

"You're telling me." He laughed uncomfortably. Robin glanced at him with narrowed eyes and Killian dropped the woman's hand.

"This is…" Emma started. "Just wow. I mean…wow."

"I'm Robin." He interrupted the trance that was held over Emma and Killian's stare, pressing his hand between them to shake hers.

"And this is the big man, Liam." Neal smiled largely. "He's the entire reason we met." He said proudly. "If he hadn't sent me to New York for that negation, I never would have met you at all."

Killian cursed under his breath as he glared angrily at his brother.

"Mama…" A child with dark brown hair, nestled his way between them, reaching up to pull on his mother's skirt. Emma reached down and lifted the boy against her chest. Her hand instinctively brushing his hair back from his face.

"Um, this is Henry." She said timidly. "My…our son." She added as she looked at Neal. The boy turned his attention toward Killian, the brightest blue eyes staring back at him. He bit his lip, a strange sensation overtaking him as he felt sweat start to bead on his brow. Something about the child clearly affected him, something he couldn't explain.

"He's adorable." Robin mused, making a face at the boy.

"I'm two." The child said, holding up his fingers.

"Two years old, I'm surprised he's survived that long with Neal around." Liam joked.

"We just had his birthday party a few months back and he was just so amused by everything at the party."

Killian was counting on his fingers, adding numbers in his head. It was ridiculous and yet staring at the boy, seeing his face, his blue eyes, the fact that he looked nothing at all like Neal and so much like…

No. It wasn't possible.

"When's his birthday?" Killian interrupted and Emma jerked her head in his direction.

"August 15th, right in the middle of the hot summer, it was rough on Emma." Neal laughed.

Not possible. He stepped away from the table, mumbling to himself. "9 months…that's November…convention was on the 11th…"

"Have a drink." Robin pressed a beer into his hand.

"I need rum." He grumbled, looking over at the woman currently at the crux of all his anxiety.

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing, I just…I need air." He pushed his way out of the room, stumbling toward the bar at the front of the restaurant. "Rum, ice. Make it a double." He said in a haze.

"We've really got to stop meeting like this."

Killian glared at the woman who stepped up to the bar next to him. "Were you already with him…" He asked, refusing to make with the niceties any longer. "The night we met?"

She sighed. "It was complicated."

He laughed loudly. "Apparently so." Grabbing his drink he sank the shot, swallowing the liquid with a gulp. "Does he know?"

"About us?"

"No not about us. Of course he doesn't know about us, if he knew that, he never would have invited me here. I'm talking about your son. Does he know the lad isn't his?"

She paled, blinking a few times as she looked around the bar nervously. "What are…" He laughed again as she feigned some sort of ignorance at the topic, gesturing for the bartender to bring him another round.

"I know how math works." He remarked softly, staring at her hands. "He was born in August, that's nine months after the conference."

"I was already dating Neal before the conference, even if it wasn't exclusive, sex was involved."

"So you've said, but I never did think that boy looked much like Cassidy. I chalked it up to grainy photos over the internet, but seeing him in person, well that just smacks you right in the face doesn't it, love."

"I couldn't tell him. And I didn't know who you are. I didn't know what to do so I…"

Killian couldn't stop his laughter, grabbing his drink and downing the liquid again in one shot. "So, you lied to my best friend, trapped him into having your kid, my kid?"

"It wasn't like that." She shot back. "You weren't there, you don't know what it was like being faced with raising him on my own."

"Maybe if you hadn't disappeared in the middle of the bloody night." People were beginning to look at them and Killian lowered his head and turned back to the bar.

"What did you want me to do? Drop my life? Beg you not to go back to London because of one night together? We had sex, that's all it was."

"And you didn't think it pertinent information to try and let me know I had a son?"

"I didn't know your fucking name." She screamed, tears dripping from her eyes before she reached out and laid her hand on his arm. "I did what I had to do; I'm not going to apologize to you for that. I'm just asking you not to destroy my life." He met her eyes and found fear behind her green irises. He realized she was terrified that he could take everything she had away from her by telling Neal her truth.

He sighed. "I'm not going to ruin your life, love."

"You're not going to tell Neal."

He shook his head and closed his eyes. "I've never lied to him before, but I have fucked shit up for him in the past. I don't want to be responsible for doing that now. But be careful love, because eventually, the truth always comes out."

"I really am sorry."

"For which part, cheating on Cassidy, having sex with me, disappearing without a trace, or giving birth to a child I knew nothing about?"

"I didn't cheat on him. We weren't exclusive yet."

"Aye love, that will help me sleep better at night." He stood from his seat, leaving her standing at the bar alone wiping her eyes.

Emma stared at herself in the mirror of the restroom. She had streaks of mascara on her cheeks and her eyes were red. She knew she needed to clean herself up and get back to the dinner table. Neal would start to wonder where she had gone. She was sure that Henry had probably gotten into something he shouldn't have by now.

She reapplied her lipstick, cleaned her face and took a deep breath. She had no idea how she was going to get through this night, much less the weekend.

When she saw Killian standing there, still the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on, she almost vomited on the floor. At first she thought she must have died and was stuck in some sort of purgatory where you are forced to face your worst fears, in the same room, all at the same time, and then he took her hand, and everything stopped.

He was there right in front of her, the man she had wondered so often about, the father of her child. Standing right there in front of her, and of course he would be Neal's best friend.

Fuck. Life really did have it out for her.

She knew the moment he laid eyes on her son, their son, that he had known the truth she desperately wanted to remain hidden. She could see the wheels turning in his head. Everything she had worked so hard to build would be ruined, destroyed.

It was selfish, she knew that. He had a right to know his son, but after all these years, she had thought that wasn't possible. She had moved on, accepting Neal as Henry's father. She had convinced herself that she had done the right thing by Henry. And now she couldn't ignore the screaming in her head that one day soon she was going to have to face the consequences for her deception.

But she couldn't deal with that now, not days before the wedding. She would tell him later. Once the wedding was over, once Killian had returned home, once she was ready…who was she kidding? She was never going to be ready for this.

She returned to the back room, taking her place next to the man she was going to marry.

"You alright?" He asked as she sat down.

"Yes, I haven't eaten all day, just feeling sick to my stomach."

"As long as you aren't pregnant again." He laughed loudly and Emma felt Killian's eyes staring into her. "Last time was hell. Never seen a woman vomit like that, except for maybe on the Exorcist."

"Neal…" She glared. "I'm sure your friends don't want to hear horror pregnancy stories."

"I find them quite fascinating." She heard Killian lament across from her. "Do tell Neal, how did the two of you find out that Emma was pregnant."

She glared at him from her spot at the table, but Neal carried on. "Honestly, she'd been gone so much during that time we thought she was just tired from all her traveling or perhaps that she had caught some sort of illness from being around all sorts of people."

"One never can be too careful with travel." He said, lifting his glass and taking another sip of his drink. Emma wanted to smack the glass out of his hand.

"Exactly, did you know that you had the chance to meet Emma back then?" Emma choked on her water.

"Do tell?" Killian smirked.

"I didn't know it at the time, but she attended that convention, the one in Vegas that you had to attend because Liam forgot how to ride a bike." Liam gestured inappropriately at Neal.

"Did she now?" Their eyes met and she narrowed hers. "How unfortunate that our paths never crossed."

"Small world right?" Neal laughed. "But fortunate for me."

"Why is that Cassidy?"

"Well, if she had met you, she might have never come home to me. I know how well that Jones charm works on women. It's that fucking accent, man. I could never compete."

"You did quite well for yourself as I can recall."

"Except for the ones you stole right out from under my nose." He winked. "Bastard always took the best ones out from under me."

Killian blinked, finishing his drink as if he was contemplating how to respond. "Well, looks like the best man won this time. Seems you've bested me." Emma swallowed hard as his eyes met hers. She felt Neal's arm wrap around her shoulder.

"I won the lottery with this one." He beamed and Emma felt the sharp knife dig a little further into her chest.

"Aye, you certainly have, Mate." Killian responded softly and Emma forced herself to look away, avoiding the sincere gaze of regret across the man's face.

"You were in rare form tonight, brother." Liam lectured in the cab. "It wasn't a bachelor party; you know that right?"

"Aye, but we were celebrating." He countered with an angry slur.

"Not with the entire liquor cabinet." He responded in disgust.

"Apologizes for not living up to your expectations." He pouted.

He avoided the disapproving glare from the front seat, focusing only on the blur outside the window of the cab. When he got to his hotel room, Robin stayed back as Liam bid them goodnight.

"What got into you tonight?"

"Can't a man be excited for his best friend to marry the love of his life?"

Robin chuckled. "He can, but I didn't sense that you were there to congratulate him. Do you not approve of Emma?"

"What's to approve of, he's in love with her, she has a child…"

"Well yes, and they are getting married."

"How wonderful for them." Killian opened the door to his room, groaning as Robin entered behind him.

"I've never known to you be so sour when meeting someone, it was like you wanted to stab the woman in the eye all night."

"Oh, to be so blunt." He groaned, reaching for the tiny bottle of rum in his mini bar.

"Don't you think you've had enough alcohol tonight?"

"There isn't enough alcohol in all the world to cure what ails me." He shot back.

"Henry was cute wasn't he, it's hard to believe that of all the people we know, Neal would be the first to procreate."

He snorted a laugh, taking a large gulp of his drink. "Find it hard to believe myself. Odd that he looks nothing like him, don't you think."

"Killian." The man said with a warning tone.

"Is it a crime to point out the obvious." He said loudly.

"Can you try just being happy for your best friend for once, without there being some reason to doubt it. I swear, I have no idea what made you such a cynic, but sometimes good things just happen to good people."

He scoffed. "But not to me. I just get fucked up the arse, don't I?"

"What is your problem, mate?"

"That could have been me." He shouted. "I could be getting married, a child in my lap, staring at the woman who made me happier than I've ever been, but of course that goes to Neal."

"Killian, you don't even date, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why should he have everything!" He shouted. "He gets to live my life. With my child. With her."

"You're not even making sense, you're drunk, go to bed." Robin spat as Killian reached out for the wall, feeling the room spin around him. He turned and slid down the wall of his room.

"I met her in Vegas." He said through tears. "I didn't even know her name."

Robin turned around and faced him, hands on his hips. "Bloody hell, tell me you're fucking around right now!"

"I wish I was. I swear I never knew she was with Neal. Not until tonight. Not until I saw that boy."

"Oh my God." Robin paced the room until realization washed over him, he walked over to the mini bar and poured himself a drink before draining all the liquid in the glass. "How is this possible?"

"Someone hates me up there." He laughed.

"You're serious aren't you." His friend exclaimed as he sat down on the floor next to him.

"Aye. I met her at that bloody conference. We had the most amazing sex I've ever had in my life; it's haunted me ever since. I never got her name; I had no idea she was with Neal. But tonight, the moment I saw that boy, those damn blue eyes, I knew."

"Are you sure?"

"She all but confirmed it when I spoke to her, she's worried I'll ruin the ruse with Neal by telling him the truth."

"You can't tell him." Robin insisted suddenly.

"I have a child." He stated angrily.

"I know, but…" Robin sighed. "He's Neal's. He has been for over 2 years. What are you going to do, walk in there and tell him you took yet another thing from him?"

"That's not my fault. I didn't know."

"I know that, and honestly I'm sorry, this sucks. But Killian, he's getting married in two days."

"I've thought about her for over two years."

"Thinking and doing something about it are two different things. While you've been having wet dreams, Neal's been raising this child, living with Emma, he's getting married to Emma."

Killian hit his head against the wall behind him. "If I had known, I would have destroyed heaven and earth to find her."

"You have to let it go." Robin said softly.

"I'm supposed to just pretend like I never saw that boy?"

"Yes." He said matter-of-factly. "Move on, go home, continue on with your life."

"How is that fair?" He asked sadly.

"It's not. Look I don't know what to say here. You met her once…"

"She's haunted me every day since she left." He responded honestly. "I haven't been with a woman since."

"Ok, so I don't know what to unpack there. The fact that a woman you slept with once is that good in bed that you can't stop thinking about her, or the fact that you haven't slept with someone for over two years."

"Either way, I'm in hell." He grumbled.

"The fact still stands; Neal is marrying her in two days. He's your best friend."

"I hate him. He doesn't deserve her."

"You don't hate him. He took care of her; he took care of her child. No matter who made the boy, Neal has been his father. Has she said anything that has given you cause to think that she doesn't want to go through with marrying Neal?"

He turned toward Robin and glared. "I hate you too."

"I am sorry. I'm sure this was not how you expected this trip to go. I wish you would have shared this torment with me earlier."

He hung his head against his chest. "How do I just walk away?"

The man beside him sighed. "You hold your head high, be there for your best friend, and go back to your life. It won't be easy, but it's the right thing to do."

Killian cried softly, feeling the arms of his friend wrap around his back. Just this once, he didn't want to do the right thing. He wanted everything. But alas, he knew his friend was right.

Emma woke the next morning with a heavy weight sitting on her chest. The evening prior had gone worse than she could have ever imagined. She rolled over and reached for the man beside her, only to find an empty pillow.

The door opened and Neal walked in with a tray. "Good morning, future wife."

Emma sat up on her elbows. "What's this?"

"I figured since I wasn't going to see you until the wedding, I'd feed you before I go."

"You're leaving already?" He leaned over and kissed her on the head.

"Yeah, gonna go out with the boys tonight, I'm staying at the hotel."

She frowned. "I thought you were coming home tonight?"

"I can't come home drunk the night before the wedding." He laughed. "You'll be good though, you've got Henry."

"Yeah, I guess I'll just see you at the ceremony." She frowned.

"Come on Ems, it's just one day. We'll have the rest of our lives to see each other." He patted her on the head before picking up his keys and leaving the apartment.

Emma spent the rest of the morning wandering nervously around the apartment, she needed to get out of the house, to clear her mind. She dressed Henry and put him in his stroller, heading toward the park.

Emma wished she had a mother or even a girlfriend to share all her problems with. Right now, she just needed someone to talk to. Henry cooed in his stroller and Emma absentmindedly shook the toy in front of his face. "Mama sad."

Emma looked down at her son and smiled. "I'm not sad, baby."

"Mama sad." He babbled again.

"I'm not sad, I just…" She watched as her son grinned at her. She envied the innocence of a small child. "I never thought I'd see your dad again." She realized how ridiculous it was that she was talking to her two-year-old child about her problems. "I only met him once." She continued, knowing she had no one else to talk to about this. "He was beautiful." She mused. "You have his eyes, you know. Those bright baby blues that have me completely at your will." The boy laughed and Emma lifted him into her arms.

"I don't know what to do." She gulped as a tear slid down her cheek. "Neal's been good to us. But I can't help but wonder…" She sighed. "Is it fair to you, not knowing who your father is?" The boy pressed his palm against her cheek.

"Mama sad."

She laughed. "Ok yes, Mama's sad."

Killian threw his empty beer bottle onto the ground, reaching over to grab another one from the cooler. "Yeah but didn't you have sex with Kayla anyway?"

Killian watched Neal and Robin sitting in the lounge chairs across from him. "I had to get to her before Killian did."

He rolled his eyes, "You act like I fucked everyone you've ever laid eyes on, Mate." He said with an icy tone and Robin shook his head warily.

"Someone's cranky." Neal teased.

"I'm not bloody cranky, I'm just tired of you making everything that ever went wrong in your life somehow my bleeding fault."

"It's just jet lag." Robin interjected before Neal could respond. "Perhaps you need a nap."

Killian titled his beer back and swallowed. "Perhaps." He knew he was behaving poorly; he just couldn't control himself.

"We got a few hours before we head out tonight, why don't you go lie down. I need my best man in the right frame of mind." Standing up, Neal walked over and held out his hand to Killian, pulling him up from his chair. "Brothers for life, man."

Killian patted the man on the back. "Brothers for life." He repeated.

He walked slowly back to his room but stopped short as he turned the corner. Emma was standing in front of his door, a stroller next to her, and a screaming child in her arms.

"Emma?"