"May I ask you something, Swan?"
"Ask away, Jones."
"You don't have to answer if you'd rather not. I don't want to offend you."
"I'm not sure I like the direction you're going with this."
Emma was happy that Killian seemed to be more relaxed and open with her these days. Their therapy sessions together were winding down, and she would much rather spend them having a conversation with him, than in uncomfortable silence.
He shifted the ice pack on his arm. "How long, um...how long did you date Neal?"
Emma looked him in the eye to let him know that she was okay with the question. "We dated for about four weeks. We talked for three or four weeks prior to that when he came by to pick up his friend who I was treating."
"You mean Jefferson?"
"Yeah, that's the guy. He was rather….eccentric."
Killian smiled weakly. "That's a good word for him. He was so odd that at first, he had a hard time fitting into the unit, until Neal took him under his wing and helped him along. He was pretty much Jeff's only close friend. He's had a really hard time of it since all this happened. He is getting some counseling though."
"I'm glad he's getting the help he needs. I had a hard time picturing him being in the Army, to tell you the truth."
"Aye. He works at it, but it's just not a natural fit for him. I don't know how he'll do now that Neal is...now that Neal's no longer here."
Emma could tell that he was being careful with his words so that he didn't upset her.
"Anyway, I had a lot of fun with Neal on our dates, but we didn't have enough time together to form a really close relationship. I do miss him though."
Killian nodded.
Emma changed the subject. "I hear that you're getting your prosthetic tomorrow, is that right?"
"Aye. I'm a bit anxious to see how I do with it."
"I'm sure you'll do fine. Ruby tells me that you've made a lot of progress in the brief time that she's worked with you."
"She's been a big part of that. She has high expectations, but I'm glad that she pushes me. Between the two of you, I feel almost normal again - physically, at least." He glanced up at the clock. "I'm sorry, Swan. I've gone into your lunchtime."
"Don't worry about it, Killian. I'll always make time to talk to you, but your driver is probably waiting."
"I'm sure he is, so I guess I'd better be going."
"I'll finish your evaluations at the next session. Your time with me will be over after that, and I'll sign the papers for your dismissal."
Killian tried to hide his disappointment. "That's good news. I'll, um, see you in a couple of days then."
He had one more day with his therapist, and he wasn't looking forward to their sessions coming to an end at all.
xxxxxxxxx
Emma went back into her office to eat a quick lunch, but she didn't really have much of an appetite. She could lie to herself and say that she didn't know why the thought of Killian's therapy sessions coming to an end bothered her, but the truth was that she did know. She knew it every time she looked at the clock and saw that it was getting close to his appointment time. She knew it every time she saw him walk through the door. She knew it when she touched him to tie the exercise band to his arm, and to do his post-treatment massage. And she knew it when she saw him smile at her before he left at the end of each appointment. The butterflies in her stomach were there every time.
Emma was attracted to Killian, and despite her denials, and against her better judgment, she could tell that she was developing feelings for him that went beyond their patient/therapist relationship.
Now the question was, what was she going to do about it?
xxxxxxxxx
The next evening, Emma was in the Nolans' kitchen with Mary Margaret, slicing the pork loin, when she heard the doorbell ring. Soon she heard David's voice. "Hey Killian, come on in!"
Whipping around, Emma saw that Mary Margaret had fixed an innocent look on her face, as she concentrated on the task of putting the potatoes into a bowl more intently than was necessary.
"Mary Margaret!" she whispered with a bit of panic in her voice. "Why is Killian here? You didn't tell me that you invited him!"
"You heard us tell him that we would be having him over for dinner sometime. We've been so busy that I thought it would be more convenient to have you both over on the same night."
If Emma hadn't known her former roommate's propensity for trying to make sure that everyone was as happily in love as she and her husband were, she might have bought her explanation. But she did know, and she didn't buy it.
"Does he know that I'm going to be here?" she demanded to know.
"No, I...I didn't have David tell him when he called to invite him," Mary Margaret admitted.
"You go out there right now and you tell him! I'm not gonna walk out there and make him uncomfortable because you're trying to play matchmaker! He is my patient, you know!"
"Not for much longer," Mary Margaret replied, in a sing-song voice. Emma glared at her.
"Oh, Emma. I'm not trying to set the two of you up. It's just that, well, as much as I love you, I've never had to deal with loss like you have, so it's hard for me to know what to say to you sometimes. Unfortunately, you and Killian have that in common, and I thought it might be nice if you had a chance to talk outside the therapy room, that's all."
Emma still had a hard time believing her friend's explanation, but she decided that, given the circumstances, she was better off just to accept it.
"Fine," she huffed, "but you still need to go out and give him a heads-up."
"I will, but Emma, please don't be angry. I want this to be a nice dinner with our friends."
"I'm not angry, and I promise to be on my best behavior, as long as you don't try to push anything."
Mary Margaret nodded and headed toward the door that led out of the kitchen.
"Killian!" she greeted their guest. "I'm so glad that you could make it tonight!"
"Thanks very much for inviting me," he answered, producing a small bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "I didn't think it was appropriate to bring a pregnant lady a bottle of wine, so this is the best that I could do."
"They're just beautiful," she smiled, accepting them and lifting them up to her nose. "Oh, I can smell the lilacs! I love Spring flowers, and these colors are some of my favorites. Thank you!"
Killian waved her appreciation away, blushing a bit.
"I'm going to go find a vase to put these in so we can use them for a centerpiece. David, would you please help me and Emma carry everything to the table?" she asked, keeping one eye on Killian.
He shot a look over toward the kitchen door, and then back to his hostess. "Emma's here?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, I know I should have told you. If you're not comfortable, please don't feel like you have to stay."
"No, no, it's fine. As long as it's okay with her."
"To be honest, she didn't know you were going to be here either. When she realized you were here, she wanted me to tell you so that you wouldn't be surprised like she was."
David gave his wife an exasperated look, then turned to his friend. "We'll just be a minute. Have a seat at the table, if you'd like," he said, gesturing to the adjoining room.
The pair headed into the kitchen, where they found a pacing Emma.
"Is he alright with me being here?" she asked.
"Yeah, he's fine," David answered. "I told you we should ask them before they both showed up here together," he told his wife.
Mary Margaret looked chagrined. "I know. I'll remember that for next time."
Emma wasn't sure how she felt about the possibility of a next time, but she decided to let it slide and get on with their evening. She picked up the plate of pork and headed out the door while David helped Mary Margaret search for a vase.
She found Killian in the small dining room, looking at the pictures on the walls.
"Hi," she greeted.
He turned toward her and smiled. "Hello to you, Swan. Fancy meeting you here."
"I know, right? Who would've ever guessed that Mary Margaret would invite us both to dinner on the same night?"
He chuckled at her sarcasm, then looked up as David and Mary Margaret came into the room. David was balancing the bowl of potatoes, one of gravy and another of cooked carrots, while his wife held the vase of flowers. They placed everything on the table, and invited their guests to sit down. Emma was relieved that her married friends sat together on one side of the table that was pushed up against the wall, so that she and Killian had the chairs on the ends, across from each other.
After saying the blessing, they passed the bowls of food around so everyone could serve themselves.
Emma addressed Killian, "How did everything go with getting your prosthesis today?"
Killian swallowed his mouthful of food. "Good. After they put it on and made sure that it fit and was comfortable, Ruby worked with me for a couple of hours. She told me to take it off for the rest of the day so that I can get used to it gradually. Otherwise, it might make my arm sore."
"I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time," Mary Margaret assured him. "I had a student last year who had a prosthetic leg..." She continued her story about the little girl and how she managed, while Emma watched Killian intently. He was trying to cut his serving of pork into pieces, but the fork he was using wasn't accomplishing the task. The tips of his ears were turning red, and she could tell that he was embarrassed.
"Mary Margaret," she interjected. "I like to eat pork loin in a sandwich. Do you have any bread?"
"Oh! Of course! I'll be right back." She gave her friend a puzzled look and pushed herself away from the table.
"That's a good idea! I think I'd like some barbecue sauce on my sandwich as well. I'll come with you," David said, giving Emma a knowing look before joining his wife.
Killian knew exactly what his therapist had done. "Thanks for that," he muttered, with his cheeks still flaming.
"You can ask for help if you need it, you know. Nobody is going to think any less of you."
"I don't like to be a bother."
"I know. But we're your friends, Killian. We really don't mind."
Despite his embarrassment, he looked up at her with a smile. It was the first time that she had referred to him as her friend, and he rather liked the sound of it.
After the married couple returned, the dinner went on, as they moved from one topic of conversation to another. David talked about the increasing number of pet adoptions now that the weather was getting nicer, and Mary Margaret told stories of how restless her students were, due to the same reason. Emma shared the antics of her little dog, which had them all laughing.
Then the conversation turned back to Killian.
"I hear that you only have one more day of therapy left with Emma," stated Mary Margaret.
"That's right. She'll probably be happy to be rid of me."
"That's not true! You're one of my best patients."
"I'm sure you say that to all of them."
"She doesn't say it to me!" David protested.
"There's a reason for that," Emma said, trying and failing to keep the grin off her face.
After throwing a scowl her way, David turned back to his friend. "How long is it going to take for your discharge to go through?"
"A few weeks, it sounds like."
"What do you have planned for when you get out?" Mary Margaret asked.
Killian leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hand over his cheek while rubbing his thumb under his chin. "I really don't know, but I'm trying to prepare a few things. I've been looking online to try to find a car to buy, so I at least have a way to get around. I've never bought one before, so I'm not sure what to look for."
"Oh, David can help you with that! Ever since we found out we're pregnant, he's been looking for a more practical vehicle. He's got all kinds of websites bookmarked."
"Yep! We can look at some of them after dessert, if you want to," David offered.
"That would be great! I'm sort of out of my league, if you know what I mean."
"Where do you plan to live?" was Mary Margaret's next question.
"I, uh, I haven't figured that out either. I don't really want to sign a lease on an apartment when I don't know what I'm going to do. I suppose I'll stay in a hotel for a while, until I have a better idea."
Emma looked thoughtful. She hated that he might have to be in a hotel all by himself for an undetermined amount of time.
"If I remember right, you had an interest in mechanical engineering and product design, didn't you?" David asked his friend.
"I did, but I'm not sure that it's something I can do now," Killian said, raising his left arm slightly.
"So much of design is done using computers now," David said, "Maybe you could look into taking some online courses to see what interests you."
"That's an idea. I've always wondered if I should've tried going to college. I guess now I have a chance to do that."
"Who's up for dessert?" Mary Margaret asked, rising from her chair.
Soon they were all stuffed with peach cobbler and ice cream. Killian pushed back from the table and rubbed his belly.
"Mary Margaret, that is the most delicious meal I've had since...honestly, I can't even remember when," he complimented.
"Thank you, Killian. It doesn't have to be that long before your next home-cooked meal though. Will you please come join us again soon?"
"If you'll have me, I'd love to."
David got out of his chair and clapped him on the shoulder. "Absolutely we'll have you! You're always welcome here." Killian smiled his appreciation at his friend.
With all of them pitching in, they made quick work of clearing the table and taking care of the dishes. Then David and Killian headed to the computer in the corner of the living room to check out the car dealership websites, while Emma sat with Mary Margaret, looking through baby furniture catalogs.
After a while, Killian glanced up at the clock. "Oh wow! I didn't realize that it was nearly nine o'clock. I need to call my driver to come get me." He stood up, as did everyone else.
"I can…" David trailed off as he felt a sharp elbow jab to his rib cage. He looked over at his wife, who slightly inclined her head toward Emma. She didn't need to say anything out loud for her husband to get the hint.
"Um, you don't have to call your driver, Killian. I can take you back to the base," Emma told him.
"I can't ask you to do that, Swan. It would take you half-an-hour to drive me there and come back."
"You didn't ask me to, I offered. It'll take the driver a while to get here, and David probably needs to get to bed. It's obvious that he needs his beauty sleep."
"Oh, you're hilarious," David growled, as Mary Margaret covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
Killian couldn't hold in his laugh, but he sobered up when his friend shot him a look. He cleared his throat and turned to Emma. "If you're sure…."
"I am," she quickly assured him. "As long as you trust my driving..."
"And that rattletrap car that she owns," David threw in.
"Hey! Don't be talking trash about my bug!"
"Ah! So that's your car out front," Killian said.
"Yes it is! Do you have something derogatory to say about it too?" Emma questioned.
Killian raised his arms in a sign of surrender. "Not a thing, I swear!"
The group said their goodbyes and thank yous, with some hugs and handshakes thrown in, then Killian followed Emma out to her beloved yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
xxxxxxxxx