HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thank you for the wonderful response to the first chapter.

"Does this look okay?" Emma asked, twisting back and forth in the full-length mirror to get a good look at herself. "I feel like I'm over-dressed. Maybe I should change into some jeans or something."

"For the third time today, you look fine," Ruby groaned, from her position on the bed.

"You're not even looking in this direction."

"That's because no matter what I say, you're going to do what you want anyway. Just pick a damned outfit and let's go. I didn't pay all this money to come to Boston just to sit in a hotel room while you try on clothes. We could have done that at home." Ruby forced herself up and into a sitting position as she looked over to where Emma was standing.

Her friend had this time opted for a deep red sweater dress that she had paired with dark tights and a pair of black boots. The dress probably was a little too much for a convention, but Emma looked good and Ruby knew that was what she was aiming for.

"You look beautiful, Ems," she offered sincerely. "Who cares if you're over dressed? If you're happy and comfortable, then fuck them. But I do think you're missing something." Ruby got up and wandered over to her own bags. After rustling through them for a moment she finally stepped back with a black Panama hat in her hands.

"Oh no," Emma protested, holding up her hands. "That is definitely too much."

Ruby didn't listen. She pulled the hat down on her friend's head and span her around to face the mirror.

"There. You look perfect."

Emma had to begrudgingly admit that she didn't look so bad after all.

"Oh, fancy," Ruby complimented, as they took their seats in the main hall. "How did you manage to get such good seats if you booked so late?"

"They're more expensive than the other tickets. I guess everyone else didn't think it was worth the extra for front row," Emma admitted, a little shyly.

"How much more expensive?" Ruby cocked a curious eyebrow but Emma simply blushed and sat down in her designated seat. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, we wait for the first panel of the day."

"The guy you like?" Ruby teased.

Emma blushed bright red.

A huge part of her was still wondering if she'd dreamed what happened the night before. She had been a little tipsy and she hadn't eaten all day. It seemed like the only logical explanation.

"Yeah, it's him."

"Well… I can't wait." Ruby settled herself back into her seat and pulled out some snacks to keep them both entertained while they waited. "Why aren't all the seats full?" she asked, looking round the room. She never could keep still for long.

"It's a bonus panel for people who buy gold tickets. Nobody else has access to it."

"Ahh, so that's why it was worth the extra money." Ruby's knowing smile had Emma fidgeting in her seat. "You're such a fangirl."

They didn't have to wait long for things to get started. The MC quickly made his way on stage to a rapturous applause and Emma felt her heart kick up a notch. She shuffled forward a little in her seat and tried her hardest to ignore the look Ruby was throwing her way.

She knew she should have come alone.

The MC went through a brief list of rules and regulations, none of which Emma would remember once he left the stage. The more he spoke, the harder her heart hammered, knowing that he was close by. Probably just behind that curtain, which seemed ridiculously close.

"Anyway, I won't keep you waiting any longer," the MC finally announced. Emma could feel the atmosphere in the room shifting. Everyone knew what was coming next. "Ladies and gentlemen… Killian Jones."

Emma sucked in a deep breath as the small crowd around her went crazy.

Damn did he look good.

"Hey, he's not bad looking." Ruby gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow, her eyes firmly fixed on Killian. Emma couldn't bring herself to respond. She couldn't even take her eyes off him.

He was dressed casually in a dark purple shirt and dark jeans. But he looked stunningly beautiful. Emma was certain she'd never seen such a pretty man before in her life.

"Hey, how are you all doing?" he asked.

"Shit, you didn't mention the accent."

Emma wanted to gag Ruby at that moment.

Could she not see that Emma was having a moment?

She wasn't in the right frame of mind for conversation. Not being sat so close to him anyway. Knowing her luck she'd end up blurting out something incredibly embarrassing and she'd be thrown out of the convention.

"You okay?" Ruby whispered. "You're looking kind of pale."

Emma nodded her head stiffly, but kept her attention fully focused on Killian.

Their gold panel was only thirty minutes long, so Killian didn't waste any time getting stuck into the questions that were asked of him. He answered them all as thoroughly and thoughtfully as he possibly could, without giving away too much about upcoming episodes. Emma was impressed with the amount of detail he'd managed to put into each one. It showed just how much thought he'd put into the role and she found herself falling that little bit more for him.

It was close to the end of the panel when it happened. Emma had been hanging on Killian's every word, listening so intently to his answers that she almost missed it. A fan sat just behind her had yelled, "WE LOVE YOU KILLIAN," and his head had whipped round from the woman who was asking his next question, to follow the direction of the voice.

That was when his eyes locked on hers.

Emma held her breath as his eyes widened in recognition and she gasped, realising that what had happened the night before had definitely not been a result of a few too many drinks and an overactive imagination.

She had actually been inside Killian Jones' hotel suite.

Killian gave her a small smile before he shook his head clear, called back, "thank you," and carried on with the rest of his panel.

The entire moment had lasted no longer than thirty seconds, and nobody else seemed to have realised what had happened. But it left Emma on the verge of yet another panic attack.

"How the hell am I going to survive photo ops with him?" she whispered, leaning over so she was closer to Ruby.

"I dunno, but I'm starting to regret not getting one myself. He's cute."

Emma almost bolted for the door the moment Killian left the stage. The hall may have been large, but it felt almost suffocating at that moment. Ruby followed after her, concern for her friend etched into every line of her face.

"What the hell is going on, Emma?" she asked, finally catching up once Emma was outside the hotel, leaning back against the wall.

"Just a little star struck is all," Emma lied. "I'm sure I'll get over it soon."

Ruby didn't look terribly convinced but she didn't push the issue either.

"Regina and Belle want to know if we wanted to meet for coffee? You up for it?"

Emma really just wanted a moment to be alone. But she had been the one to force Ruby onto the trip and she didn't want to keep abandoning her. So instead, she reluctantly agreed.

Perhaps the caffeine would help.

Regina and Belle had already secured a table when they arrived. The girls had silver passes, so were not in the first gold panel, but they wanted to know all about it. Emma let Ruby do most of the talking. She wasn't sure she could handle it. Regina and Belle swooned just as hard as she had when Ruby filled them in on how he looked for the day.

"I can't wait for the photo ops to start. I need to get my hands on that man," Regina cackled, rubbing said hands together. "Think he'll let me touch his butt?"

A flash of jealously roared to life inside of Emma and she stamped it down as best she could. It was ridiculous. He wasn't hers to feel jealous over.

"Probably not," Belle answered for her. "I'm sure they have policies in place to avoid inappropriate touching."

"Hey, it's not inappropriate if he agrees to it," Regina defended, sitting back in her seat.

"Do you have a photo op with him?" Belle asked Ruby softly.

"Nah. I was only here for Emma. I didn't bother with that stuff. Kinda wish I had now." Ruby looked a little dejected, which was the only reason Emma made the offer she did.

"You can have one of mine, if you want?"

"Really?" Ruby eyed her friend with an odd mixture of hope and curiosity. "I thought you'd wanna keep him all to yourself for a little longer?"

"It's okay. It's the least I could do, really." Not really true. Emma had paid for most of the weekend. But she felt obligated to do so, given that it wasn't really Ruby's cup of tea.

"As long as you're sure?"

"Of course," Emma agreed, before finishing off the rest of her coffee.

Emma was distracted for a few hours by the other cast member panels that were running in the hall. While she had mainly booked her ticket for Killian, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed listening to them talk. It was fascinating to hear their takes on their characters and what motivated their actions. She loved hearing about the behind the scenes hijinks that had happened and she enjoyed learning about what they wanted to happen at some point in the future, for the show.

If anything, it just made her love for the show grow. And apparently it had the same effect on Ruby.

"Remind me to borrow your DVDs when we get home," she whispered, after a particularly funny story had been told by one of the female leads. "I think I'm gonna love this show."

"I hope so," Emma whispered back, careful not to disrupt the others around her. "We can come back next year if you do."

Emma skipped lunch again that afternoon, painfully aware that the time was creeping closer for her photo op with Killian. Instead, she down a glass of vodka and cola, hoping that it would give her some much needed liquid courage.

When the call was finally put out for their ticket numbers to join the queue for his photo op, her heart kicked back up again.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she mumbled, hugging the wall tightly as the line crept slowly forward.

"You'll be fine," Ruby assured her. "Want me to go first?"

Emma nodded her agreement. She really didn't want Ruby behind her, watching her from the sidelines. In fact, she really didn't want anyone watching on from the sidelines. But at least complete strangers were better than her best friend.

The closer she crept to the front of the line, the more her heart rate increased. She couldn't believe that she was getting this chance to be in the arms of the man she'd lusted over for the last three years. Those kinds of things just didn't happen in the real world.

When they made it into the photo op room and set their bags down, Emma took a moment to look over her appearance. She was paler than usual, probably because all of the blood seemed to be slowly draining out of her body. But other than that, she had to admit, she didn't look too bad. Ruby touched up her own lipstick and fluffed her hair, before dropping her bag to the table.

What Emma wouldn't give for her confidence.

The girls kept relatively quiet as they inched closer to the front. The music in the room was pretty loud, which made speaking difficult anyway. But Ruby seemed to sense that her friend needed the time to compose herself.

When it was finally Ruby's turn at the front, Emma's heart kicked up a final gear. She wasn't sure it was even possible to race as fast as it was, but she couldn't seem to calm herself down.

Ruby's confidence faltered only for a moment when she was finally face-to-face with Killian, but he pulled her in for a hug as the photographer snapped her picture, before releasing her with a small smile. Ruby spared a quick look over her shoulder at Emma before she left to collect her bag.

Emma took a deep breath before she approached Killian, praying to anybody who was listening that she wouldn't embarrass herself.

She noticed the moment that he recognised her. A small smile lit up his face and he slid his hands into his pockets, awaiting her arrival.

"Good afternoon, Emma." He had to speak a little louder than normal for her to hear him, but thankfully the photographer couldn't hear them from her position.

"Afternoon," she replied, a little shakily.

"You have two, right?" he asked, holding up two fingers so that the photographer would know to take both shots.

"Actually, just the one. I gave my second to Ruby. You just met her."

"Well, I won't tell if you don't." The wink he gave her had Emma's knees threatening to buckle again. Killian must have realised that as he wrapped an arm around her to keep her upright, and pull her to stand in front of him. "I like your hat," he whispered.

He moved so fast that Emma couldn't have stopped him if she'd wanted to. One moment she was stood slightly facing him, his arm supporting her weight. The next, he had her hat perched on top of his head, both his arms wrapped around her waist, and his head perched on her shoulder. He was so close Emma could feel his breath, as it ghosted across her left cheek.

When the flash went off, she prayed to God that she'd been smiling for the picture.

"Is there anything you'd like?" he asked, smiling down at her, his hands still slightly gripping each one of her hips.

"I'm not sure what'd I'd like would be acceptable," she blurted out, her eyes widening in horror once more.

Killian just let out a sharp bark of laughter before he sat her hat back on her head and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Maybe next time," he whispered, just before the second flash went off.

Emma wanted to say something. Anything in reply… but the volunteer barked out a loud, "NEXT," before she could.

"Until next time, Emma," Killian winked once more, giving her hand one final squeeze before he let go. Emma just made it out of the room before she collapsed back against the wall, her legs finally giving out.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked, rushing over to her friend. "What the hell happened in there? You took like four times longer than anyone else did."

"Nothing. Just a little technical difficulties," Emma lied. "Mind if we go and sit outside for a while? I think I need some fresh air."

"Of course not." Ruby helped Emma up from the floor and pretended not to notice the way her best friend was shaking. "You know, I was wrong about him. He's much better looking in person than he is on TV."

"Tell me about it," Emma mumbled.

Thanks for reading.