Emma (2014)

July bled into August and Killian and Emma's letter exchange became a routine of such, as only a routine can be with individuals who live two years apart. Since Emma's schedule was less routine than Killian's, she tried to leave her letters for him as close to Saturday and Wednesday as possible and he always made sure there was one waiting for her. Emma loved all the little exchanges between them, but the answer she had gotten from him in response to her letter after the trip, had to be the one that caused her to wonder what in the heck she was thinking, writing to this stranger. He had written,

Fair Princess Emma,

You wounded me by asking if I was trying to charm you into thinking I was your Prince Charming, for I am not a prince at all. I am a Pirate. A very dashing one too, I might add. And as a pirate, I do not plan to charm your heart. I do not plan to steal your heart. I, my precious princess, plan to win your heart. And Emma, when I do win your heart, it won't be with any trickery, it'll be because you want me.

And then she remembered how he had signed it with a flourish, Captain Hook.

Through all the flowery prose, she had been feeling pretty good but then his comparison of himself to Captain Hook had taken her back to the times she had read or seen Peter Pan movies and Captain Hook, well, he caused her to shudder a bit, and if she was honest waxed mustaches and perms were so passé.

But then another letter he had made a reference to the Dread Pirate Roberts, which reminded her of Westley, the pirate who had won Buttercup's heart in The Princess Bride and answered another question with "as you wish" but still signed it Captain Hook.

And in another letter in response to her telling him he was such a tease with his answers to questions she had been asking him, which kept getting more and more off track, he had said, "well you just like me because I'm a scoundrel, and there aren't enough scoundrels in your life, love," reminded her of Han Solo.

And then she had asked him who Killian Jones really was, he answered, I'm a pirate Swan. But a pirate who's a bit of a dashing rapscallion as well as a scoundrel.

Every time a new letter arrived, Emma learned a new piece of information. She found it interesting as she felt she knew him better than she knew several individuals she spoke with daily. Archaic communication some might say but each letter she wrote; each letter she received allowed a little piece of their souls to be shared. Hearing a knock on the door, Emma shook off her pensive mood and surprisingly beat Rumple to the door.

Expecting it to be her sister, she was surprised when it was a florist with a bouquet of pretty flowers. Thanking the delivery person, Emma took the flowers and burying her nose in them enjoyed their fragrance, while carrying them into the kitchen to add water to the vase. Rumple was following closely at her heels, whether to protect her from attacking flowers or because he was nosy, she wasn't sure, but as soon as she sat them on the table and pulled out the card, he sat down at attention. "You're a strange dog Rumple," she told him. He barked once and tilted his head as if to say, "Get on with it,". Curiosity got the best of her as she couldn't imagine the flowers were from Killian, but maybe; pulling out the card she read, pretty flowers for a pretty lady, join me for dinner in a week. Bayside dock, slip 6. See you at 7. Emma read the note again, "No, couldn't be, could it?" she asked Rumple. He whined softly and curled up by the window, in the sun to take a nap.

Killian (2012)

Killian was feeling a bit unsettled after his talk with his father, and as much as he wanted to believe that hurts could be swept back into the bag of the 'unknown' he knew that wasn't possible. He had also been wondering if his father had read any of the letters he had returned to him, as he had not heard from Liam and he really hoped that his father had shared their talk with his brother. Taking Rumple down for a walk on the beach, while watching him run until he was tired, Killian got lost in his thoughts watching the waves race back and forth. It was mesmerizing.

He still had a hard time imagining his father giving up everything, retiring early and moving to England, but why hadn't his mum sent that last letter? He knew it was a few months before she got sick but, then again, maybe she had known earlier and chosen not to share. Chosen to suffer in silence, more likely, knowing her, "Oh mum, why," he asked the few seagulls that were brave enough to get close with his watchful guard dog present.

Rumple started barking and when Killian turned to see who he was barking at, was surprised to see Liam walking toward him with his pant legs rolled up, so as not to be covered in sand or seawater. Killian waited for him at the shoreline, curious as to what brought him down here, especially on a work day. "All right Liam? What brings you to my corner?

Liam took a few minutes to look over his little brother, and seeing the questions behind his eyes, commented, "Don't be cheeky, Killian. I know you paid a visit to dad weeks ago and I've tried to be patient, but so far neither of you have been very forthcoming about the visit, so fess up."

Killian reached up, scratched behind his ear, looking up at his brother he finally said, "It's father's story to tell Liam."

Liam snorted, "Bugger that Killian! So was father's heart condition and you can see how far that got us. Just tell me."

Killian thought back on his life and how feelings just weren't discussed. He thought about how much he and Liam had missed because of some misguided sense of responsibility that both of his parents had carried with them their entire lives and how he really wanted to change that. Opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally relented, "Alright. When I was cleaning out mum's things I found a box in her closet that contained a lot of old letters from father."

Liam rolled his eyes, "And?"

"Not just any old letters, brother." He clinched his jaw and took a deep breath. "Love letters. There were dozens of them. He wanted mum back and since I didn't have her side of them, I'm not sure what happened but his last letter, he told her he was giving up everything here, to move back to the England. She wrote him back but never sent it, so I don't know, but if she hadn't died, I think that they would be together. You're telling me you didn't suspect anything?"

Liam cocked his head in thought, "No, none. And he's not even said anything else about his heart condition."

The brothers spent a few more minutes talking about Killian's visit, Brennan's health and revisiting memories from when they lived in the beach house. Finally, Rumple ran up the beach barking, then back to where they were standing, back and forth a few times, and Killian finally got the hint, "I think someone's peckish. Time for a bite?"

Rumple fed and dinner completed, the brothers took drinks out onto the patio so Killian could remind Liam what he was missing by not living on the beach house. "You like it here, don't you Killian?"

Staring at the moon shining on the dark water, Killian replied with a pensive tone to his voice, "Aye, I can sit here all night and look at this stunning view of the sea. There's no sight quite like the full moon on the waves."

"And what about a woman, Killian? "Is there someone you love too?"

And once again Killian answered, "Aye, but that complicated story is for another day."

Emma (2014)

August was ending and colleges and universities were starting up again all over the country indicating summer was coming to an end and as the temperatures lowered across the upper part of the states, retired individuals began descending into Florida, taking advantage of the warmer temperatures. Trying to get a little peace after a chaotic morning, Emma had ascended to the administrative floor and was buried in one of the chairs that Ariel had shown her on that day so long ago, staring out over the ocean. She took her day planner out of her pocket and opened it to read her latest letter and just as she opened it, she heard, "Dr. Swan?" before turning around to see none other than her boss, Regina Mills walking toward her. "Emma please, Ms. Mills."

Regina nodded her head slightly, "Alright, and I'm Regina." And she sat down on a chair across from her.

Emma returned the nod, "Regina. How's little Roland?"

Regina's face transformed from the high-powered professional to a woman proud and blessed to have a beautiful, healthy child instantly, "He's a marvel, that one. As soon as we got home, he sat down and wrote out a long letter to the tooth fairy about what happened. I was quite impressed, with not only his composition but with your quick thinking. That was amazing."

Emma smiled at the memory of little Roland and how he had gone from sad to excited in the span of just a few seconds. "Well, I can't take all the responsibility for that I'm afraid. My mom was a doctor and helping me write a letter to the tooth fairy was one of the last things I remember about her. I'm glad I could help."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss. How old were you?"

"I was four, and thank you." And because she knew the follow-up questions, she went ahead and explained about being raised by her best friend's parents and how she had been fortunate to have two sets of loving parents. Regina sat and listened a look of empathy on her face for the orphaned little girl, making appropriate comments here and there. Finishing her story with, "Sadly they too are gone and it's just my sister and I, who just happens to be engaged to David Nolan, your head of security."

As soon as David's name was mentioned, Regina smiled, "So that's who has Prince Charming wrapped around her finger. I met her once, a company picnic last summer I believe. Lovely girl."

"Back up here," Emma laughed, "You can't just toss out Prince Charming and not explain that one."

Regina looked up at the ceiling, "Oh, he's going to kill me, but I don't care," and she giggled, totally uncharacteristically, and then went on with her story. "About four or five years ago, we were having a large party to welcome some new staff members and since it was late October, we decided to make it a costume party, but the theme was Fairy Tales, and you had to dress up like your favorite fairy tale character. Well, David came dressed as the Prince, outfit complete with a billowing red velvet cape, white satin shirt, black high boots, sword, everything but pants!" and then she giggled again. "Seems when he picked up the costume, he was mistakenly given the one meant for a ballet dancer who was performing Snow White at a local theater, and well," and she trailed off.

Emma's eyes got rather large and she covered her mouth, snickering behind her hand, "He didn't?"

Regina nodded her head, "He did! He made a very debonair Prince Charming resplendent in tights," and then she winked.

Emma couldn't help herself, the thought of David in tights, especially not realizing that the outfit wasn't meant for him, cracked her up. "Oh, I am so going to use this. Any pictures around that you know of?"

Regina hummed in thought, "Maybe. I'll have my secretary see if she can locate them." And then looking at her watch she quietly groaned. "I have a meeting but just wanted to thank you again for your treatment of Roland. Let me know if you ever need anything." As she stood up, she lost her balance and would have fallen if she hadn't clutched the back of the nearest chair.

Emma stood up, putting her hand on Regina's arm, "Regina, you ok? You look a little pale. Here sat back down for a minute."

Regina gingerly sat on the edge of the chair and put her head in her hands, "I'm fine. Just busy at work and then a rambunctious five-year-old at home."

Emma laughed softly as she was sure Regina had meant for her to, "What other symptoms have you had?"

"Just fatigue and a little dizziness, nothing much." And then her name was paged over the intercom system, "Now I really need to go, I'm meeting with a potential big money donor."

Concern on her face for her friend, Emma said, "I'll let you go but come to the ER later and let's draw some blood. You might just be anemic and with a simple vitamin, you'll be good as new.

Regina looked like she was about to decline but then finally relented, "Fine, I'll see what I can do. Now I must go. It's been nice seeing you again." As she was walking down the hall, Emma saw her touch the wall a couple of times to steady herself. She really hoped Regina followed her advice and came down to see her later.

Killian (2012)

A new addition had been added to the NeverLand Adventure's fleet, this one a small 26-foot sailboat that Killian had picked up for a steal at a local auction. He wasn't sure what he planned to use it for in the long run, and although he had a few ideas, he was doing well enough financially that he didn't have to rush. Currently, he was allowing it to be chartered for a romantic evening and overnight trips or friends would take it out if it was available. He had even stuck with the 'swan' theme for the naming and had recently christened it "Svan." Now if he had his Swan to take out on a romantic cruise, that would be something to treasure. Maybe someday.

As he set about putting the ship to rights, preparing the perfect romantic rendezvous spot, he thought about a comment, Emma had written in her last letter. She had mentioned that from several things he had written, he reminded her sometimes of Han Solo, yet other time he reminded her of Westley from A Princess Bride. She had written,

So tell me Killian, are you a pirate, a dashing Rapscallion or a scoundrel? I'm really curious to know.

Wondering which one she thought fit him best, after reading his answer, he almost didn't hear his name being called until he heard footsteps and looked to see who it was.

"Killian, everything ready?" Tink called as she walked into the docking area.

Looking around at the deck of the boat, he shrugged, "Well, I could say yes, and you would double check. I could say no and you would double check, so why don't you just check?"

Tink quipped, "Thanks, I don't mind if I do," and she scurried around, first checking the cushions placed in comfortable, colorful clusters close to the stern, with a bottle of champagne in a bucket close by. She then looked in the galley and saw that the table had been set with linen table attire, gleaming silver ready for a meal and candles spread strategically around the room, ready to be lit. Lastly, she checked the captain's quarters, as she wanted it to be perfect. Opening the door, she looked around and smiled. The bed was covered in a white cotton spread, sprinkled with red rose petals. Sitting on a table off to the side, more petals were strategically placed so two small bowls, could sit in the center of them, one bowl filled with strawberries, the other filled with whipped cream, and again lots of candles. Everything ready, waiting for a lucky lady.

Coming back up the stairs, Tink saw Killian staring up the dock like he was waiting for someone, "Are you expecting someone?"

He slowly pulled his gaze toward her, a sad look in his eyes, before, like a switch was flipped, his face lit up, and there was extra sass behind the words, he responded, "Aye lass. I'm waiting for my very own Swan, to appear so I can sweep her in my arms and enjoy a few of the accommodations the "Svan" has to offer," and then he winked at her.

Killian hadn't said anything specific about a new romance but Tink had a feeling something was different, and when he completed his sassy comment, she was pretty sure there was more that he really wanted to say, but didn't. "I'm sure she will Killian, someday." She said patting him on the shoulder as she left the boat. "Things look great, tonight should be a huge success."

"Thanks for your help Tink. I hope you're right and tonight is perfect." And completing what he was doing, he was ready to go.

Emma (2014)

The day arrived for Emma to meet her mystery date at the dock. While it was still warm, even in September, she wore slacks and carried a light sweater, as the sea breeze often felt cool when so close to the water. Parking her car, she made her way toward slip 6, seeing a small sailboat docked there, lights decorating the sails and soft music emanating from some invisible speakers. Wondering what was in store for her, she slowly walked up to the boat and saw someone standing in the shadows. As he moved, she held her breath, thinking maybe, and then she saw his face, "How did you get here?"

"A car? How do you think I got here?" he slowly advanced closer to her.

When she could touch him, she pushed his chest, "Really?" and rolled her eyes at him, "You know exactly what I mean."

He laughed at her, "Emma, you're so easy to tease."

"I know Graham, and you know I don't like it."

Graham pulled her close to him for a hug. "Sorry for the subterfuge, but I wasn't sure you'd come."

"Graham I said I didn't want to date you, never that I didn't want to be your friend."

Giving her a long-suffering look he took her hand and pulled her onto the boat. "Come, let's eat. No strings."

Dinner was pleasant and they caught up on each other's lives. Graham told her he was only in town for a few days for business and had hoped that maybe she had missed him as he had missed her. Once she let him down gently regarding her feelings for him, and that they could only be friends, he seemed to relax and conversation flowed easily from one topic to another. After dinner was over, she opted out of a moonlight cruise and strolled back to the Bayside Parking Garage, where he kissed her cheek and she drove back home.

The next day she had been at work for several hours when Ariel pushed a wheelchair into the ER, and in it sat Regina. Emma had just come out of a room so her hands were full of charts, but she quickly set them on the counter and hurried over to see what was wrong. "Ariel, Regina, what happened?"

Ariel, who was dressed for dinner, jumped in before Regina could, "It's my anniversary, of sorts, and when I came out of the bathroom after changing clothes, Regina was slumped over the secretary's station, saying she was really dizzy. I directed her to this chair and here we are."

In the meantime, Regina was trying to tell them she was fine, just hadn't eaten any lunch, she had things to do, most excuses Emma had heard before when someone didn't want to take the time to go to the doctor.

"Thanks Ariel, can you take her in room 4 and I'll be right in." Ariel pushed the chair down the hall and Emma filled the nurse in on the patients she had just completed. Walking into room 4, Regina was sitting in the chair still with her head in her hands, "Regina you were supposed to come see me a few weeks ago," she scolded gently. "Here move up on the table so I can take your vitals. I'm also going to draw some blood and run a few tests."

Once Regina was situated Emma efficiently went about her business of taking Regina's vital signs, drawing blood and then sending her into the bathroom for a urine specimen. While she was in the bathroom, she chatted a bit with Ariel and learned what her 'almost' anniversary meant. They were celebrating the fact that it had been two years ago that Eric had proposed in a very romantic way. He had charted a small sailboat and they had eaten dinner then and after he had sailed the boat out into the Bay, where they had lain among lots of pillows and drank champagne and gazed at stars. The mention of boats reminded her of Killian but before she could ask any further questions, Regina came back out of the bathroom, looking very pale, and it took both her and Ariel to help her onto the bed.

Just as Emma was going to leave to ask the nurse to take the blood work to the lab, the door opened and she walked in. "Blue, will you please take these to the lab stat?" She handed her the vials of blood, a script with what she wanted and instructions where to find the urine sample. After Blue was dispatched to take care of the job, Ariel went ahead and left for her date. And then while Regina was nibbling on crackers and sipping on a sports drink, they talked about why a visit to see her had taken so long.

Turned out to be fear as Robin's first wife had died of some kind of rare blood cancer and she hadn't wanted to burden him so she had just put it off assuming it was stress and it would go away, except it hadn't, it had gotten worse. "Regina, Robin loves you. I saw that when you were here with Roland. He would want to know,"

"You're damn right I would want to know," Robin interrupted as he burst into the room and went right to his wife and enveloped her in both of his arms.

"I'll leave you two alone while I go check the lab for those results." And patting Robin on the back, she left the room.

While waiting for the lab to get back to her with the test results, she finished up her charting and had a part of a sandwich she had brought from home. When she was handed an envelope, she pulled out the results, looked them over and went to talk to Regina and Robin.

As she opened the door, she saw them break apart and Regina surreptitiously wipe her eyes. Deciding to just get it out there, she looked at both, "Well good news or bad news first?"

Robin wrapped his arm around Regina's shoulders a little tighter, "Just tell us, please."

The bad news is that you're anemic and your electro lights are abnormal, but the good news somewhat explains a few things." And she stopped a moment, "Congratulations Regina, you're pregnant."

Silence. She was greeted with silence, which was not what she expected. "Do you have any questions?" she asked the stunned couple.

Regina looked at her, a small pucker between her brows, "Pregnant? How?"

Raising her eyebrows at her questions, Emma smirked, "Surely, I don't need to explain the birds and the bees to you, do I?"

Looking at Robin, Regina leaned her head down on his shoulder, then taking a deep breath, she explained to Emma that she had endometriosis and had always been told that pregnancy might be impossible, and so hearing this news, while she really wanted it to be true, it was terrifying to believe. They were given the name, Elsa Arende, an obstetrician who specialized in high-risk pregnancies, another congratulations and Emma left them alone to finish her shift.

Killian (2012)

One day in late September, Killian sat at his desk, holding a piece of paper in his hand, waiting for Tink to get off of the phone. As she hung up, he turned to her, holding the paper so she could see it, "Really? We don't do children's birthday parties."

Tink looked over at Killian, a look that could be interpreted as slightly pleading, "I know, but it's a favor for a friend. His little boy is turning 3 and he loves Captain Hook and when I mentioned the Swashbuckling Good Times Cruises, he asked about parties, and well,"

"And you jumped on the idea for a party, for not only your friend's child but also as another idea for helping expand NeverLand Adventures," he finished for her.

Tink sat there for a minute, a thoughtful look on her face, "The idea about helping my friend, yes, but that idea about offering themed birthday parties to children is all on you Captain. Well done, mate." And she winked at him and went right back to work on the paperwork in front of her.

Killian thought about having birthday parties on board the Schwan, and cringed. The idea of all those miniature people running around his ship, spilling sticky punch on the deck, cake frosting on the rails, chocolate handprints on the sails and what if they tried to swing from the rigging and either tightened or loosened the sails? That wouldn't be tidy and if there was one thing he couldn't tolerate, it was a ship that wasn't kept tidy. A lass as fine as his lady deserved to be handled gently. Her sails trimmed expertly and her jib smoothed lovingly. After all, that was good form on the handling of a lovely vessel, such as his "Schwan."

It wasn't that he had anything against children, really. It was just that he could probably count the number of times on one hand that he had been around them. To him they had always been a vague 'maybe' at some time in the indeterminate future. Thinking of a recent letter he had received from Emma, made him want something he wasn't sure was even possible. She had written;

Killian,

Do you ever think about the future and what you want it to look like? Do you ever picture your family and what that may look like? Things you may share? I know those comments may be coming out of nowhere but some cases I've treated this past month have awakened feelings I never realized resided within me. Feelings that surprised me in their intensity.

I treated an adorable little boy who had these really big dark chocolate eyes and the deepest dimples I have ever seen. All topped with a curly mop of dark hair and a sweet disposition, who was more concerned about what he was going to tell the tooth dairy about his missing teeth than he was about how sore his mouth was going to be. And a case that could have been had a dismal life for some beautiful blonde, blue-eyed infant girl who was found wrapped in a blanket, on the side of the road, apparently abandoned, only to be found and adopted by a beautiful loving couple. I was so touched, it made me wonder what if? You know?

"Oh Swan, I do know," Killian murmured quietly. Since he had read her letter the first time, he could see a family. A family he had never been able to picture. His family. He could see them standing on the beach, him beside his Swan watching a small lad and lass run in and out of the waves. He saw a wee lad with his dark hair and blue eyes but his lass' hair and eyes were in shadow, as was his Swan's. How can a feeling this strong develop without a face or a voice to match? How can love develop without a face or voice? While the thought of children had been a what if, now he knew that a family was what he wanted but the family he wanted was with his Swan, his Emma and she was two years ahead of him, how he wondered could they ever be?

Bringing himself back to the present with a mental shake, Killian thought about the possibility of having parties for children on the ship and knew of only one way he would enjoy them, but he also knew parents wouldn't go for it, hell, Tink wouldn't go for it. Bouncing his pencil up and down between his fingers he tried to come up with a way to make his party idea come true but after a half hour he still hadn't come up with anything. Deciding to get it over with, he turned to Tink with a long-suffering sigh, "Ok, give it to me, what do I need to do?"

Tink looked up at him, and raised her eyebrows, "Well, nothing much different, that is except," and she looked everywhere but directly at him,

Killian saw the instant she decided to grant him his wish, but knew that he couldn't let on that he was happy, so while she was trying to come up with a way to ask him, he rolled his bottom lip over his bottom teeth, bit down on it with his top teeth and waited,

"Killian you can say no if you don't want to, but I was thinking that maybe you and Eddie,"

Here she goes, thought Killian, and inside he was doing flips, bouncing up and down, outside, however, he was the picture of calm, cool and collected."

"Would, maybe sword fight," she finished, "You know, as Captain Hook and Blackbeard."

"Inside there were loud squeals, louder he was sure than many girls, and pogo stick type jumping. Oh yea, this I could enjoy. Taking a deep calming breath, he asked, "So if we did this, could we maybe tie up the birthday child?" There, he thought, that didn't sound too excited.

Tink looked at him, "You'll do it?"

Killian ran his finger along his lower lip as if contemplating his answer, "Maybe we can try it this once," he said while on the inside he was giving himself high fives and giggling like a loon. "I should speak to the parent though, just to make sure, before Eddie and I plan anything."

"Ok that sounds fine, here let me write down the parent's contact information and you can call and ask if it's ok if you tie up his son. He's a cutie, his name's Roland, and the father is Robin." She wrote the number on a piece of paper and handed it over.

Killian picked up the paper and looked at the name, "Seriously, his name is Robin Locksley? As in Robin Hood?"

Tink shrugged, "Whom do you think I got the name Tinkerbelle from?"

Killian nodded and picked up his cell to go out and call Eddie. As soon as the door had shut behind him he did a little jig, complete with the requisite heel click and added a fist pump for good measure. Unfortunately, their sourpuss neighbor who reminded him of Cruella De Vil happened to step outside her office at the same time. "Milady," he said as he turned and walked the other way.

Killian and Eddie spent a few hours working out exactly what they planned to do during their sword fight. They spoke to Robin and got his approval and decided that Blackbeard would grab Roland and tie him to the mast. He, dressed as Hook and Eddie would fight around the deck, using their long coats to twirl around, adding a bit of flair, and then Hook would be the victor rescuing little Roland.

The afternoon of the party which was the first Saturday in October arrived and there were around 20 children and assorted parents on board the "Schwan" for the celebration. Killian set sail with his ship full of party goers, dropping anchor only a mile off shore, and they were ready. He gave "Blackbeard" the nod and he swooped in, capturing their "prisoner" and tying him to the mast. "Hook" then swung into action by grabbing the rigging and sliding a few feet to land in Blackbeard's path. All was going well until a little girl, who was about three, came running toward him, and stepped right in between Hook and Blackbeard, "Stop!" she yelled.

Eddie had been in the middle of a turn so hadn't seen her until was completely back around but stopped and raised his eyebrows at Killian. Shrugging his shoulders to let him know that he had no idea what was happening, he laid down his sword and picked up the little princess. "Aren't you a bonnie lass? How can I be of service to you?"

He couldn't stop himself from smiling at her as she had a pixie face with blonde curls and beautiful green eyes. She put her little hands on each side of his face, "No more fighting pirate! Your face is too pretty to hurt," she said in her little girl voice. And right then he was enamored. He wanted a little lass, like her for his very own.

"Ok, princess, we're all done for now. Would you like to help me rescue Roland?" She bobbed her head up and down causing her curls to move along too.

"Yes, please mister pirate." Setting her down, he took her hand and let her lead him to Roland, where he was untied and "rescued". The party was a success and as long as the lasses and lads behaved like Roland Locksley's party goers, then he could probably handle a few Captain Hook themed birthday parties. He couldn't wait to tell Swan. He was already thinking about what he planned to say before the party was even over.

Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for Chapter 8 when Emma and Killian actually meet. ;-)