Sorry this one took so long coming. I was rushed back to hospital last week, which left me without a desire to even open my laptop, and apparently, it took rewriting this entire piece to finally be happy with it. I just hope you guys are too.

Emma had just finished running a towel through her wet hair when the familiar sounds of the Fairytales theme tune reached her ears.

It took a full second longer than it should have, for her to work out what was going on, before she dropped the towel and sprinted back to her room. She was in such a hurry to get to her phone, before her voicemail kicked in, that she didn't even bother to check who was calling.

"Hello?" she panted.

"Emma? Is everything okay? Are you working?" The sound of Killian's voice, slightly high-pitched in his worry, sent Emma's heart racing.

His call might have been late, but at least it had come.

"No, I'm home," she assured him. "I was just in the shower and I didn't wanna miss your call."

"You, um… you missed the first three," Killian chuckled. But it sounded a little strained.

"I did?" Emma pulled the handset away from her ear to check her call logs. Sure enough, at the very top, were three missed calls from Killian's number. The first had come not long after she'd given up, and shut herself in the bathroom. "Oh shit. I'm so sorry. I thought you weren't gonna call."

"Why wouldn't I call?" he asked softly. "I had a great weekend with you, Emma. I'm just sorry it had to end so soon."

"Me too," she sighed. "I wish I could see you now."

"Well, we could always switch to Facetime," Killian teased.

Emma looked down at herself, sprawled across the bed in her eagerness to get to her phone, wrapped up in only a bright red, fluffy towel. "Probably not a good idea. I'm not wearing any clothes."

"You're what?" Killian squeaked out.

"I was in the shower," she answered lamely. When he didn't say anything else for a few moments, Emma added, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't," Killian rushed to reassured her. "I mean… to be crudely honest… you kinda have. But it's nothing another cold shower won't fix."

When the hidden meaning behind his words finally landed, Emma squeaked out her own, "Oh." Part of her was a little embarrassed that she was currently discussing how little she was wearing, with Killian Jones. The other part of her was busy cheering that she had the power to arouse him with just one small sentence. "Another?" she finally asked, after playing his words back in her head for the umpteenth time.

"Emma," Killian ground out, "I don't mean to be rude, Love, but if we continue this conversation any further, it's going to dissolve into something entirely different. I don't know about you, but the first time I hear you scream my name, I want it to be in person, and not over a phone line when we're miles apart."

Emma swallowed heavily at the heat burning behind Killian's tone. She nodded her head in the empty room, before realizing he couldn't see her, and answered him vocally. "You're right. We should… um… we should change the subject." She cursed her own body for betraying her, even as she squeezed out the words. Just knowing that he had thought about their first time together had arousal flooding her system.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I'm um… I'm sorry I was late calling. Me Mam called not long after my flight landed, and I could not get her off the bloody phone."

"That's sweet," Emma chuckled. "She probably worries about you."

"She does. But she can be a little over the top at times," he explained. "Like, every time she sees that I'm boarding a plane, she worries something terrible is going to happen, and she'll never speak to me again. So, it's a nightmare getting her off the phone before boarding, and then when I land, it's like she feels that if she's not spoken to me, within the hour, I must be dead or something."

Emma picked at a loose thread on her towel as she thought over Killian's words. She knew he was only trying to change the subject. And that he loved his mother. She could hear it in his tone. But, a small part of her; the little lost girl who had grown up without the love of her parents; resented him a little for joking about something as precious as his mother's love.

"You should cherish that time with her," Emma finally stated, softly.

"I do," Killian assured her, picking up on her tone. "I miss me mam. I miss home in general, to be honest."

"Tell me about home?" Emma begged.

She spent the next ninety minutes on the phone, listening as Killian spoke about home, and his family. He told her about where he'd grown up, and the places he'd like to show her, one day. He spoke about his brother, Liam, and his own small family. Emma could tell that Killian missed seeing his nephews. She swooned a little more at the mental images her mind supplied of him, with the two small boys, he so clearly adored. She listened to him talk about fond memories of his parents, and laughed at some of his wilder childhood antics.

"I'm sorry. I completely rambled on there," Killian muttered, a little embarrassed, when he realized that Emma hadn't spoken for a while.

"It's okay. I liked learning more about you, and where you came from. I feel like I know you a little better now. And not just in that obsessive fangirl way I did before."

"Well, I should hope so," he chuckled. "There aren't any other fangirls who know how I kiss."

"Good point, Mr. Jones. Would it be rude of me to say I hope it stays that way?"

"Not at all." Killian was silent for a long moment, before a small yawn slipped out. "God, I'm sorry," he apologized. "The long weekend's finally catching up with me."

"It's okay. I should probably get some sleep too. I'm on the early shift, with David having covered for me all weekend."

"Then I'll definitely let you get some rest. I don't want you falling asleep on the job. Yours is far more dangerous than mine is," he chuckled.

"Oh, I don't know. Some of those stunts look pretty difficult," Emma teased.

"I wouldn't know. I have a stunt man for all of that." She laughed heartily at Killian's words, as his own chuckle rang through the phone.

It was a beautiful sound.

One Emma hoped to hear more often in her lifetime.

"I'm filming tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much I'll be around. But I can message you between scenes?" he offered.

"I'd like that. I'll probably be busy with paperwork, and meeting with the mayor, anyway." Emma groaned a little at the thought of the day she had ahead. The mayor was by far the most intimidating person in town. And the fact that he was also her ex-fiancé's father didn't help, either.

"Okay. I'll let you go and get some sleep. Goodnight, Emma."

"Goodnight, Killian," she sighed, ending the call before she could talk herself out of it.

When she woke the next morning, it was with a groan. The early mornings were perhaps the worst part of her job, but Emma knew that a brisk run, in the frosty Maine morning, would help wake her up a little.

A quick glance at her phone showed that she had one Facebook notification, and she pulled it up to load while she was tying her hair back. The friend request from John K Jones left her with the widest of smiles, and Emma didn't hesitate to click accept on it, before grabbing her water bottle to head out.

After her run, she showered and dressed for work. With Ruby still sleeping, Emma opted to skip coffee, and promised herself breakfast at Granny's later that morning, when the sleepy town was more awake.

She was mildly surprised to find the holding cells empty that morning, when she unlocked the station. Either David had been lenient over the weekend, or Leroy had actually behaved himself while she was gone. She suspected the former was more likely than the latter. But, either way, the stack of paperwork on her desk would keep her busy until Granny's was open for business.

While her computer was booting up, Emma opened her Facebook account once more. Ruby's suggestion about displaying her photo ops had been ringing in her head all morning. Neal had never really used the site before, and now that they weren't together, she didn't feel the need to hide her weekend activities, the way she had been previously. If her friends judged her for attending a convention, then so be it.

For the very first time since she'd started attending them, Emma uploaded one of her photo ops with Killian, before setting it as her profile picture, and closing the app.

The morning passed for her in a blur of boring, as she worked her way through the emails demanding her attention, and the paperwork she needed to sign and file away. As she had predicted, the mayor called as soon as was socially acceptable, to request her presence the following day. He wanted to go over some new plans he had for development down by the docks. While it wasn't strictly within Emma's duties as a Sherriff, taking on the role had meant accepting a seat on the town council. It was perhaps her least favourite area of the job, but Emma knew that there were plenty of people in town who relied on her to keep Gold in check. If he had it all his way, the town would be nothing but a tourist hotspot and they would be out in the cold.

When the last file in her first stack of work was signed, and filed away, Emma logged out of her computer, and grabbed her jacket, ready to head to Granny's for some breakfast. Ruby was already there, busy waiting tables, when Emma slid into one in the corner of the room. Ruby threw her friend a quick smile, and wave, before she turned her attention back to Archie, and his overly-complicated preference for his eggs.

While Emma waited for Ruby to take her order, she busied herself with pulling out her phone, and scrolling through her notifications. A few of her fandom friends had tagged her in spoilers for the upcoming episode of Fairytales, on Twitter, and Emma made a mental note to catch up on the show that evening. She'd missed Hook, as stupid as that sounded. And a quiet night in with him, and a glass of wine, sounded heavenly at that moment.

Emma wasn't surprised to see the notifications on her new profile picture. Most of her friends had asked who she was with. Some of her older, more estranged, contacts had commented on how handsome her 'boyfriend' was. Emma shouldn't have been surprised that barely any of them knew who Killian was, or where the image had been taken.

But it was the comment from John K Jones that left her wearing the goofiest grin all morning.

That guy looks so proud to be hugging the most beautiful woman in the room that weekend.

"Should I ask?" Ruby questioned, as she made her way over to her best friend's side.

"Probably not," Emma chuckled.

"So, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?" Robin asked, as he flopped down next to Killian, in his trailer.

"I wasn't aware there was an elephant in the room." Killian kept his attention fully focused on his phone. He knew what Robin was hinting at. He knew the moment he'd posted that picture of Emma, on Instagram, that people were going to start asking questions. But that didn't mean he had to freely offer up the information they were looking for.

"The girl in your picture?" Robin prodded.

"What about her?"

"Do you have to make this so fucking difficult?" Robin snapped. "I'm your best friend. I just wanna know if you're seeing someone? Is that such a crime?"

Killian's stance softened a little at the hurt in Robin's tone. It wasn't that he wanted to keep the information from him. It was just that everything with Emma was still so new and fragile. He didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it.

And Killian knew that once Robin had heard the entire story, his friend wouldn't approve of how they had met.

"I am," Killian offered. "I'm seeing someone, and it's relatively new. So, I don't wanna say anything just yet. I wanna see where it goes first, and then we can have this conversation. Please… let me have this for myself? Just for a little while?"

"It's serious, then?" Robin asked softly.

"At the moment? No. But I think it could be."

Robin gave his friend a long and searching look, then nodded his agreement to drop the subject. But, before he did, he added, "Well, she looks beautiful, Mate."

"Yeah. She is," Killian agreed, as he turned his attention back to the message Emma had sent him.

"So… um… I booked a ticket for Chicago," she admitted that evening. Killian had messaged to ask if he could call her, when he got in from filming. Emma had replied less than ten minutes later, with a resounding yes.

"I'm not entirely surprised," he chuckled, making himself comfortable on the sofa with a bottle of beer. "But you know, I could always speak to the organizers and get you in for free? You don't need to waste your money on me."

"It's fine." Killian could imagine her waving away his concerns, even if he couldn't see her doing so. "I don't mind. I enjoy supporting you. And I've always had fun at every event I've been to. I'm actually meeting a friend there, who I met in Boston."

"I'm glad you won't be alone. But I don't like the idea of you spending all of your money on me." He didn't know much about how well law enforcement positions paid. But Killian knew far too well how much convention tickets could set back the fans.

"I have plenty in savings. Don't worry about me. I wouldn't be doing this if I couldn't afford it. I was, um…. I was thinking about maybe trying for your meet and greet this time."

"Really? You don't see enough of me as it is?" he chuckled. A large part of himself was flattered at just how much Emma supported him. Killian had dated before, while trying to make it big as an actor. But his past girlfriends had never really been that big on supporting him. Every part he got was either an inconvenience to their schedule, or not big enough, or appealing enough, for them to want to see him perform.

Since meeting Emma, he'd done his homework on her. He'd found her Twitter and Tumblr profiles, as well as her Facebook account. All three had suggested that she'd not only been a big fan of his on the show, but that she'd also seen most of his past filmography too.

"I don't think I could ever see too much of you," she admitted, shyly.

Killian had no idea how she managed to do it, but, somehow, Emma's compliments and praises never failed to send his heart into overdrive. He'd been surrounded by beautiful women before. Although, none quite as beautiful as Emma was. He'd had all kinds of compliments, from the sweet, to the down-right weird, thrown at him by fangirls, since he'd begun attending conventions. And yet, none of them ever managed to touch him the way she did.

"I know that feeling," he agreed softly. "Chicago seems too far away."

"It really does," Emma sighed. "But this helps. Being able to talk to you, even when I can't see you."

"Well, I can't promise that I can call every night," Killian reluctantly admitted. He knew that their work schedules would make that impossible for them. "But, I can promise that we'll stay in touch until then."

"I'd like that."

"Now, how was your first day back at work?" he asked, as he pulled his laptop closer to him. "I wanna know all about being a sheriff. Your job has been an endless source of fascination for me, since we met."

Emma giggled down the line, as she explained some of what her daily duties included, with being the sheriff for a small town. She added in a few of her more eventful weekends too, just to spice things up, given how uneventful most days were in Storybrooke.

As she spoke, Killian listened intently, asking questions whenever they came to him, about everything from the difference between state and federal laws, to just how much the show got right, when it came down to their own town sheriff. He even made a few notes to pass along to the writers for their next season, when Emma pointed out some glaringly obvious flaws.

She had absolutely no idea that he was also busy searching for flights to Maine, for his next free weekend.

Thanks for reading.