"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Emma asked, as she watched over her father's resting form.

While David had been unconscious, Killian had moved him to the small sofa in Gold's office, and her Watcher had quickly cleaned and dressed his wounds. Gold was pretty confident that David wouldn't require any stitches, but with her father still out of things, Emma was worried.

"His heart rate's steady and even," Killian assured her. "He should be fine. I'll know if that changes faster than any medical equipment will ever be able to tell you."

Gold threw a confused glance at the man stood beside him and Emma sighed as she considered her options. She'd wanted to keep Killian's true nature to herself for a little longer - just until she was certain she knew how she felt about it all. But it looked like the fates were conspiring against her that evening, forcing her into difficult conversations she hadn't been ready to have.

"He's a vampire," she eventually whispered. Her calmness didn't stop Gold from taking a large step back and away from Killian as his eyes darted around the room, looking for some kind of weapon. "It's okay. He won't hurt you." Emma leveled the vampire with a look that said she'd ram a wooden stake through his heart before he could blink if he tried anything, and Killian gave her a firm nod of agreement.

"How uh… Why?" Gold eventually settled on.

"It's a very long story," Killian said. "One that Emma should probably hear first, when she's ready to listen to it."

Emma stood silently for a moment, her gaze back on her father's unconscious form again. For the longest minute, both Gold and Killian became convinced that she wasn't going to reply to his comment. But finally, she pulled her eyes away from David's resting form and fixed them on the vampire stood just behind her.

"Will you help me get him home?" she asked. "We can talk then."

Killian nodded his head once again. "Of course. I have a car we can use. I'll be right back." He didn't even bother to hide his true nature at that moment, as he'd left the office before Emma could draw another breath. Even though she knew what he was, seeing those traits in someone she'd once trusted still left Emma feeling a little shaken.

And apparently, Gold felt much the same way.

"What's wrong?" she teased. "That wasn't your first vampire encounter, was it?"

"Not my first… no."

"But… your first when you were unprepared and unsupervised," she guessed. Because of course this Watcher's Council of his would have shown him an actual vampire before they sent him out to Storybrooke. They just wouldn't have sent him to face one alone. "Don't worry," she assured Gold, taking a small step closer to rest her hand on his arm. "I think we can trust him."

"You think?" he asked a little hysterically.

"He killed someone he used to love to save me and my father tonight," she replied softly. "I should at least hear him out before I tell you guys to light the torches."

Gold nodded his head in understanding and Emma was grateful that her Watcher wasn't giving her grief for not staking Killian the moment she'd found out the truth about him. She also appreciated the trust he was putting into her at that moment. She might not have been the most skilled Slayer the world had ever seen, but Gold seemed to believe in her. And it was his belief that had Emma vowing to train harder than ever when she returned to the library the next morning, just so that she wouldn't end up letting him down.

"Just um… just be careful," he warned. "I'd hate to see another Slayer called so soon."

"I'll keep a stake on me at all times," she promised. Emma didn't have the heart to tell him that Kilian would likely disarm her before she could pull it out. Especially as her words seemed to relax the older man a little more.

"Okay… well, I guess we'll get back to our research. If you need anything, you can call me."

"Thanks, Gold. I really appreciate that."

The Watcher gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as he made his way past her to head back out to the library, where Zelena and August had been busy making their way through more of the texts that had arrived that week. Emma knew that he'd offer them both a vague explanation about where she was going and why, but just as he trusted her judgment, she found herself trusting him to keep Killian's secret until she was ready to share it with August. So while she waited for the vampire to return, Emma took a seat in Gold's desk chair to watch over her father.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, as she watched Killian gently ease David's body from the back seat of his car. The vampire didn't even struggle as he lifted her father into his arms before striding across the sidewalk and up the path towards Emma's front door.

"I'm fine, Emma. This is nothing to me, I promise."

Even though Gold's books had taught her that vampires were impossibly strong, seeing Killian carry her father so easily was still a little unbelievable for her. The two men were roughly the same height and build. And yet, Killian was acting like he was carrying a feather pillow.

Emma gave her head a little shake to snap her mind back to the moment and then quickly glanced up and down the street. The Swans were still the new guys in town, and she knew that if any of her neighbors happened to be looking out of their windows at that moment, what they saw would create quite a stir.

When she was certain that nobody was watching them, Emma hurried up the path herself, fishing her keys out of her bag to unlock the front door. As she pushed it open she flicked on lights in the hallway before making her way through to the lounge and turning on a few more. It would be better for Killian to leave her father on the sofa than in his own bed. Emma knew that if David could remember anything when he woke, he'd have enough questions for her without wondering how his daughter had gotten him upstairs and into his bed. Emma wasn't sure she was ready to admit to her father that the only guy she'd kissed since moving to town had carried him up because he was a vampire with superhuman strength. So the couch was a much safer option.

But when she turned back to tell Killian where to take her father, Emma found the house empty.

"Are you planning to just stand out there all day holding him until he wakes up?" she asked, as she made her way back down the hallway to find the vampire lingering on her porch, biting down on his lower lip.

"I uh… I can't come in unless you invite me," he explained. But there was something more than that behind his eyes, so Emma waited for him to voice what was on his mind before she spoke. "Once you invite me in, the only thing that will stop me from coming back any time I want is if you guys sell the house. So… be sure that's something you want before you say anything."

Emma took a moment to let the full implication of Killian's words settle over her. If she invited him in that evening, there was nothing stopping him from coming back and draining both her and her father while they slept. But Emma was more confident than ever before that Killian would only return to her home when invited. After all, he could have kept the truth about his access to her house a secret. Instead, he had offered her all of the information that she would need to make a reasoned decision about what to do. And in a way, she also knew that the decision she made that evening would help him to understand where they both stood, now that Emma knew the truth about him.

After considering her options for a moment, the Slayer took a deep breath in and prayed that she wouldn't end up regretting this moment, before she finally uttered the words, "Please come in, Killian."

Thanks for being so patient with me while I battle these health issues. Hopefully once this next surgery is out of the way, I'll be a little more reliable.