Thank you for all of your well wishes.

"You're serious? That's all that happened?" Ruby asked, her eyes trained on Emma's back as she bent over the sink to rinse out her mouth.

"Yes. Did it look like we'd been having hot sex everywhere?" Emma threw over her shoulder. "I hurt him. I need to earn his trust back before we even think about getting naked together."

"Well, you looked pretty cozy when I saw you," was all Ruby had to add, as she watched her friend finish getting ready for the day. When she'd woken that morning, Emma was in the bed next to hers and there was no sign of Killian Jones.

"Does this look okay?" Emma asked, gesturing down her body. "I feel like I need new clothes."

"You know I always love an excuse to shop." Ruby smiled wickedly, "But you look fine. I have a feeling you could wear a bedsheet and he'd still think you were the most beautiful woman in the world."

Emma didn't look convinced, but she didn't change either, which Ruby took as a sign of progress. She'd chosen a pair of black jeans, a simple white shirt, knee-high black boots, and a blue military jacket for the day. It was casual and comfortable, but she hoped Killian would like the combination.

"What do we have today?" Ruby asked, moving to take her own turn in the bathroom.

"Autographs," Emma called back. "I wish I hadn't wasted those photo ops yesterday."

"Doesn't he have any today?"

"Nah. Just joint ones and those sell out fast," she replied. "At least I have plenty from the other cons to keep me going."

Ruby chuckled as she left the room, wiping a hand over her face. "You're an addict, Ems."

Emma had to admit, she was feeling much lighter that morning when she entered the hotel for the convention. She and Killian had spent much of the previous evening just talking. He needed to be able to trust her again, so they'd taken some time to get to know each other away from what the internet said about him. And while she hadn't divulged everything about herself, she suspected Killian had held back a little too.

The girls stopped at the coffee bar for a quick snack and a drink, before the two of them made their way to their seats in the hall. But Emma's stomach dropped when she saw the message on screen waiting for her.

Could ticket holder

Gold Row 8 Seat 5

Please report to Sarah at the ticket exchange desk

"Shit, what do you think that's about?" Ruby asked looking between Emma and the message on screen.

"No idea," she replied.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Ruby was a little concerned about the alarming shade of white her best friend had just turned.

"No. I'll be fine," Emma assured her. "I'm sure it's nothing."

She made her way to the exchange desk on shaking legs, worried the entire time that Killian had somehow had a change of heart and decided to kick her out of the convention anyway.

She thought they'd parted on good terms.

Killian had woken her in the early hours of the morning with a gentle shake and a soft kiss to the forehead, before explaining that he had to leave. He'd left her with a promise to see her later that day.

But maybe with time away, he'd changed his mind?

"Hi, I think you're looking for me?" Emma asked at the desk, holding up her badge for the woman behind it to see.

"Oh yes," she exclaimed. "This was left for you this morning."

Emma took the envelope being held out to her with trembling hands. Apparently, the woman behind the desk assumed her job was done, as she turned straight back to the laptop in front of her, and Emma walked away feeling even more confused. She made her way back to her seat with the envelope clutched tightly between her shaking hands, too nervous to open it without Ruby there for moral support.

"What happened?" she asked, as soon as Emma was in her line of sight.

"They gave me this." Emma held up the envelope by way of explanation.

"And? What's in it?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I was too scared to look."

"Well open it, Silly. Maybe you won something?"

"I didn't enter anything," Emma deadpanned.

She slid her finger into the side and gently eased open the envelope to see what was inside. It appeared to be a sheet of paper so she unfolded it gently to see what had been written on it.

"Holy shit," Ruby exclaimed, but Emma was far too distracted by the familiar script that had been written over the page.

Emma,

I'm sorry you felt the need to miss the photo session yesterday afternoon. I know this is not quite the same, but I hope it makes up for what you lost.

See you soon.

Yours,

Killian.

"Well?" Ruby demanded after Emma had been silent for too long.

"It's from Killian," Emma whispered, making sure she kept her voice as low as possible. "But I don't know what he means."

Ruby took the note from Emma and scanned it briefly before she replied. "I do." She held out the three strips of bright coloured card that Emma hadn't seen fall out of the envelope when she opened it. "He brought you three of his duo photo ops," she explained, handing them over.

Sure enough, the tickets were for three photos with Killian and his best friend, both on and off-screen, Robin Locksley.

"You definitely won," Ruby sighed, slouching back in her seat as she watched Emma tuck the vouchers away safely.

"I told you, I didn't enter anything."

"Oh, you did. It's called Boyfriend Lottery," Ruby joked, before she turned around in her seat to watch the MC make his way onto stage.

Emma pulled out her phone while the MC did his bit to warm up the crowd and hesitated for a moment, before trying Killian's name in her messenger app. She was relieved to see that he'd apparently unblocked her since he'd left that morning, so she fired off a quick message to him.

Thank you for the photo op vouchers.

They were unnecessary, though.

They were more for me than you ;-)

See you soon.

"So, when are those photo ops?" Ruby asked, as they left the autograph room for the first time. Emma had managed to add a few names to her poster, and Ruby had started filling the boxset she'd purchased with signatures.

"In an hour," she replied. "I don't think I can face the thought of lunch."

"Then we can skip it and head to the bar."

Emma laughed a little at Ruby's bluntness but allowed her friend to guide her down to an empty chair before she headed to the bar.

Unfortunately, Ruby's plan to get Emma a little drunk before the photo ops to give her some confidence didn't work and Emma was more nervous than she had ever been before. Thankfully, Ruby had agreed to share one of the photo ops with her, so at least she had some kind of moral support.

As the line crept slowly forward, Emma did her best to keep her mind off the night before and think of something creative to do with Robin and Killian.

But she was drawing a blank.

When she finally made it into the room, her eyes were immediately drawn to Killian. He seemed much more relaxed with Robin by his side, the two of them sharing a laugh between photos. She watched as each attendee in front of her took their place between the boys for a hug, before leaving the room looking slightly dazed.

"So, I guess I get Robin while you take Killian?" Ruby teased, as they made their way closer to the two men in the center of the room.

"You don't mind, do you?" Emma asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Of course not," Ruby scoffed. "Robin's kinda hot too. And I got like four with Killian yesterday when I told him to come see you."

"You did?" Emma asked, her head swiveling round to face her friend.

"How else do you think I passed all that information along?" Ruby scoffed. "They're shit photos, though. I should demand a refund."

Emma didn't have time to ask any more questions as they were being pushed in the direction of Killian and Robin. She was pleased to see that Killian's face brightened when he caught sight of her.

"Emma," he greeted, not waiting for either of the girls to say what they wanted before he pulled her in to a hug. Emma had no idea what Ruby and Robin were doing behind her. Every part of her body was focused on the way Killian had his pressed against her, his head resting on top of her own. "You look beautiful," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear before the first click of the camera.

She blushed and muttered her thanks, as Ruby excused herself for the second shot.

"Group hug?" Robin asked, throwing an odd look at his friend over the top of the pretty blonde's head.

"Please," Emma replied, allowing Killian to move her in to a position between the two of them. She angled her body slightly so it was turned more towards him, and didn't miss the way he seemed to be pulling her as far out of Robin's reach as he could, without making the photo awkward.

When the camera flashed once more, Emma blinked away the bright spots as Killian asked, "Any ideas for the third?"

"None at all," she replied honestly.

"Good job I have one." Killian didn't wait for a reply from Emma. He simply swept her up and into his arms, leaving Robin to look at the two of them with genuine confusion.

When the third picture had been taken she gave Robin a small smile of thanks before Killian squeezed her once and released her to welcome the next person.

Emma barely had time to relax after the photo ops before she and Ruby were taking their places back in the hall for Killian's final panel of the weekend.

"Thanks for talking me into this," she told Ruby as they made themselves comfortable.

"Well, I had considered driving to Vancouver to kick his ass but this seemed like a better idea. Plus… Vegas," she explained. "Which reminds me, we need to do something tonight. It's Vegas. We can't spend it sat in a hotel room."

Emma really wanted to spend her night with Killian. She was hoping he'd stop by again after the convention was over. But she couldn't find it in her heart to deny Ruby's request after everything that she'd done that weekend.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The hall around them fell silent as the MC took to the stage, and Emma shuffled forward a little in her seat. Ruby chuckled but didn't say anything else. It was nice to see her friend smiling again and if Killian Jones could make that happen, she wasn't going to complain.

The final panel followed much the same way as all of Killian's others had done that afternoon. Emma listened as he spoke about his favourite scene to shoot, who he enjoyed working with the most, and what he loved most about portraying Hook.

However, the penultimate question of the day caught her off guard when a young girl got up to ask, "Do you have a girlfriend, because my mommy's single?"

The crowd erupted into laugher and Emma watched as Kilian brought his hand up to scratch nervously behind his ear. His eyes flicked down to meet hers briefly in the audience before turning back to the small girl at the side, who was dressed as Cinderella.

"Um…" he hesitated. "I don't," he began and Emma felt her heart sink a little. "But there is someone I met recently who I think could be my girlfriend very soon."

The little girls' face dropped before she turned back to her mommy and declared, "Sorry Mom, he's taken."

The room once more erupted into laugher, which helped to hide Killian's blush, as his eyes darted back to Emma once more before settling on the person who would be asking the final question of the day.

"So, girlfriend material, huh?" Ruby teased, as they joined the queue for Killian's autograph session.

"Shush," Emma chided. "It's not like we've talked about it at length."

"Maybe you should," she suggested. "Doesn't hurt to be on the same page."

Emma threw her friend a dirty look. "One success in the relationship world does not make you an ultimate match-maker, you know?"

"It does when my success is this big," she gloated.

The girls waited patiently in line, trading plans for the night ahead and banter while they waited for their autograph. This time, Ruby pushed Emma ahead of her when they were at the beginning of the queue.

"Hey, Emma," Killian greeted, as she slid down one of their photo ops for him to sign. He raised a simple brow at her and she sighed, digging through her bag to pull out her folder and the remaining photo ops. "So, any plans for tonight?" he asked, as he bent his head to sign the picture of her sandwiched between Robin and Killian.

"We're gonna go out tonight, I think," she answered carefully.

Killian's head shot up, his hand pausing to look at her. "Anywhere in particular?"

"I think Ruby just wants to make the most of being in Vegas for the night. I don't really care. I'd rather be curled up with Friends reruns," she explained, watching as Killian's expression softened and he went back to finishing his inscription.

When he'd finished with the first, he slid it over to her quickly before taking the next. "When do you leave?" he asked casually, aware that the person sat beside him was listening to every word he spoke.

"Monday afternoon," Emma replied. "Have to get back to work."

"I know the feeling," he chuckled, handing her last photo op back to her. "Thanks for coming, Emma."

Emma forgot to wait for Ruby as she made her way out of the room, browsing the inscriptions on her pictures. The one she'd shared with Ruby was simple enough. Kilian had signed the space above the two of them and simply written;

Sweet Emma,

I missed your hugs,

Killian Jones.

The second one, of herself in Killian's arms, with a confused Robin watching on read;

Emma,

How I would love to whisk you off your feet some day…

Killian Jones.

The final message, however, gave her reason to pause. She could see now why he'd passed it back so quickly. The message simply read;

Sweetheart,

I'm here until Monday afternoon.

Call me.

00 353 (86) 079 3000

Killian Jones.

Please note the author does not advocate asking to be lifted in photo ops - but if they lift you by all means enjoy every moment of it!