Chapter 2

January 2015

Killian walked into the apartment he shared with Robin, located in the Windsor at Cambridge Park apartment homes, dropped his books on a table, kicked over a trash bin and flopped down into a nearby chair. "I can't believe it's been six months and I still can't find Emma. You don't think she's hiding from me, do you?" he tossed out at Robin, who was sitting at their dining room table which doubled as a desk.

Robin dropped his pencil and pushed back from the table, knowing it would be a while before he would be able to get back to his studies. "Could be, mate, but it's a big campus. Could be it's not time for you to meet her yet."

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?" He got up and went into the kitchen, coming back with a couple of apples, tossing one to Robin before biting into his. "I meet the woman of my dreams and being with her has eluded me for six bloody months."

"And you even gave up your carousing ways," deadpanned Robin. "There should be some reward in that."

"Bloody right there should be." He munched on his apple for a few minutes thinking about all the places he had looked for this woman, yet after six months, he was no closer to finding her than he had been the day after their fateful encounter in The Burren. Finishing the apple, he tossed the core in the trash, "Hungry?"

"I could eat. What do you have in mind?"

Leaning his head back against the chair, he tried to think of someplace that he might get lucky enough to run into her. A place where they hadn't been in a while. "Feel up to a game of billiards? We could see if Kristoff and Graham can meet us."

Robin picked his pencil back up, "Sounds good to me. Now bugger off and let me finish this assignment. It's due before midnight."

Shaking his head at his friend's procrastination, Killian disappeared into his room, dropped down onto his bed and sent a quick text to Graham and another to Kristoff to see if they could meet them at Lucky Strike.

cs~cs~cs

Emma finished tying her bowling shoes, pulled her ball from her bag, shined it carefully and set it on the ball return. "What should I order, ladies? Our usual?"

Ruby looked up from slipping on her bright red bowling shoes. "Sounds good to me." She turned to the other two ladies on their team, " Ash, Elsa, the usual?"

Both women agreed and while they finished their preparations, Emma went to the bar and ordered a large pizza, half pepperoni, half Hawaiian, and then carrying the pitcher and four cups, made her way back to their lane. "Beer's cold. Pizza up shortly."

"Thanks, Em." Ashley called as she picked up her powder blue ball with the tiny glass slipper engraved on it and stood up to take her turn.

Emma watched Ashley's ball rolling down the alley and smiled at the memory it elicited. As she, Ruby, and Ashley had entered their teen years, they had each developed attitudes that weren't always conducive to being cooperative with others. Neither were they always considered to be good listeners and so after a weekend of several instances where the girls had been in constant disagreement, Sister Blue had enrolled them in a bowling league because she thought it would teach them teamwork. Surprisingly, they had all enjoyed not only the time they got to spend with each other and Sister Blue but also the game of bowling. That Christmas they were all given their very own balls. Ashley's was powder blue with a Cinderella type glass slipper, Emma's was white with a small swan and Ruby's was red with the head of a wolf. The balls, as well as the girls' friendship, had survived and here they were almost twelve years later, continuing to play the game. This year, however, Blue had opted out so they had coerced Elsa into being their fourth. Hearing Ashley's shriek, she glanced up and snickered as Ashley's ball rolled into the gutter.

"Did you see that?" She threw her hands up in the air and stomped back to the ball return. That was horrible!"

"It's okay, Ash," Ruby laughed, "you can still get a spare."

Ashley rolled her eyes at Ruby, picked up her ball and after lining up a shot, let it fly. As luck would have it, she knocked down the rest of the pins earning a spare and they were off. Next was Elsa, then Emma and lastly Ruby. As the game continued, they took turns moving ahead of each other until game one was completed and Ruby had won by two pins.

cs~cs~cs

Killian and Robin arrived at the Lucky Strike first and moving up to the second floor were early enough to grab their favorite booth, as it had easy access to a billiard table as well as a dart board. They had just sat down when Graham strolled in followed closely by Kristoff who had brought a newcomer. "Guys, I'd like you to meet the newest cardiologist at Mass General, Victor Whale." Kristoff pointed at the men in turn. "Victor, meet the guys, Killian, Robin and Graham."

"Have a seat, mate." Killian stood up and pulled a chair over from a nearby table. "We just ordered. What will you have?"

"Whatever you're having as long as it's cold." Victor sat and looked around the place. "Interesting environment."

The men made small talk as the waiter set several baskets of wings on the table as well as several different dipping sauces. A cold bottle of Bells Two Hearted Ale was placed in front of each and as they ate and drank their fill only minimal talking was heard. Once the wings were gone and new bottles replaced the empty ones, Robin and Graham each grabbed a pool cue, and games for bragging rights and who would buy the next round began.

Killian listened to them trash talking each other and shook his head before turning back to the table where Kristoff and Victor were both staring across the room smiling at something, or someone. Curious as to what was drawing their attention, he turned to look in the direction they were staring but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "What are you two blokes staring after?"

Kristoff looked sideways at Victor. "We saw one of the nurses that work at the hospital and let's just say," he snickered at Victor, "her hospital persona does not match her night out one, right, Victor?"

He shook his head, "I think that would be an understatement. Sex kitten meet nun would be more like it." He looked back out across the room at a large number of people milling around, talking, eating, playing pool and other games, but several deep at the bar. "Are there always this many nubile young women hanging around like this?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Killian responded, "Aye, I guess. I never really noticed." He took another drink and realized that Victor was staring at him. "What?"

"You mean," he looked over at Kristoff, "you've never noticed all the women here before?"

Killian shrugged a shoulder again, a slight frown appearing between his brows, "No, I can't say I have." He tilted his bottle draining the last of the ale.

Victor tilted his chin down, "Oh, okay. Well, there are quite a few men," he got out before he was interrupted by Killian's coughing and choking.

Kristoff patted Killian on the back and laughed, "Killian met, and I say that loosely, a woman last August at a bar and has made it his mission to find her."

"Really?" Victor looked over at Killian, who was scratching his neck, a sheepish smile on his face. "Best of luck with that."

They discussed how Victor and Kristoff had come to know each other as well as the different areas to live close to work. Victor had been looking at places in Cambridge and Beacon Hill and while he hadn't decided which would be the best one, he was leaning toward Beacon Hill. He had heard that it was the best place for young professionals.

"So how long have you known these guys?" Victor tossed at Killian.

Killian, who had been peeling the label from his bottle, pushed it away as he told his story. He explained about meeting Robin at University in England, traveling throughout Europe and moving here to complete their graduate studies, and the plan to go to work for a family friend in New York. "Graham lives in our apartment complex and helped us move in that first day, and we met Kristoff through him."

Conversation after that moved from sports to food to traveling, before eventually moving back to women. After watching numerous females walk in and out of their section, Victor stood up. "I think I'll take a look around. Care to join me?"

"Nah, I'm good," Kristoff yawned. "I'm beat and might head out before long."

Killian stood up, "I'll come. Never know when I might get lucky." He pulled the broken paintbrush from his pocket. "After all, I need to find the owner of this."

cs~cs~cs

Emma sat doodling on a napkin while they nibbled on their celebratory order of Belgian fries. "My bowling sucked tonight." She tossed her pencil aside, realizing that just like every other unconscious drawing that she had done in the past six months, she had drawn the singer from The Burren, except this time she had added scruff. He could be the Captain Hook she had been drawing for years, but why, she wondered, did her mind insist on combining the two.

Elsa flipped the napkin around, "You still have no idea who he is?"

She nibbled on a fry while thinking about how many times her mind said she saw him, only to find out she was wrong and she didn't even want to admit how many times she had dreamt of him. That was her secret. "No, I have no idea."

"But, Emma," sing-songed Ruby, "how come you refuse to go back to The Burren?"

"We've been back there," she ducked her head, "once or twice," she mumbled.

Ashley wadded up her napkin and tossed it in the middle of the table, giggling over Emma's answer. "Once or twice," she rolled her eyes and held up one finger, "the first time was on Halloween when everyone was dressed up in costume so even if he were there, he wouldn't have known you. And two," she held up another finger, "for an early lunch when there was no chance of live music."

"What are you so scared of Emma?" Ruby asked quietly.

She leaned back in her chair and looked around the room wondering why she was really afraid. "I can't afford to be wrong about him." She picked at a split cuticle on her dry hands thinking she needed some lotion. "Besides, I don't know who or where he is."

Ruby reached over and put her hand on Emma's shoulder. "But you haven't tried to find him either, have you?"

"And Emma," Ashley added, "what if you aren't wrong about him? What if he's your person?"

Emma looked at Elsa, "And you? Do you have an opinion too?" She snapped out the question a little too harshly if she were being honest with herself.

Elsa smiled, used to her prickly ways, before picking up the napkin and looking at the likeness of the man that she had drawn. "Emma, if you don't want him, can I have him? Or maybe he has a brother. He's hot!" She giggled and tossed the napkin back on the table.

Twirling the napkin around, she looked into the man's eyes and admitted, yes, he was sexy, at least if she had remembered his looks as well as she thought she had, he was sexy. And his eyes, she remembered, which couldn't be drawn with pencil, were so blue they had invaded her dreams. "Ok," she all but shouted, "if we find each other I will give him a chance."

"Good." Ruby stood up. "Elsa, help me put the balls in the lockers." They each took two bags and disappeared toward the lockers.

"So, Ash," Emma leaned closer so she wouldn't have to yell, "tell me about Sean. Things still going well?"

Ashley smiled shyly, "Yes, of course." She looked around as if afraid of being overheard, and then whispered, "I think he's going to pop the question."

Emma felt her mouth fall open. "Really? I must really be out of the loop as I didn't realize things had moved so far along." She was very happy for her friend but felt a bit disconcerted as each of them getting married and starting families would change their dynamic.

Ashley frowned, "Emma, you like Sean, right?"

Quickly, she reassured Ashley that she did like Sean, very much, but just the thought of one of them getting married was scary. Ashley squeezed her hand, "Emma, we will always be there for each other, you know that right?"

Taking a deep breath, Emma squeezed Ash's fingers, "I do know that. I'm just being silly, it's been a long week. Here come Elsa and Ruby, and you can tell us what Sean has been doing to make you think he's going to pop the question."

She looped arms with Ruby and they threaded their way through the crowds toward the stairs accidentally walking in front of a blond guy taking a picture. Ruby smiled at him, "Sorry, we didn't mean to get in the way."

He stared at her as if he were awestruck and didn't know how to respond, until finally he smiled and said, "No problem," before following them down the stairs, stopping at the second floor.

Ruby looked around Emma, "Do either of you know him?" Once she determined that neither of them had seen him before, she sighed, "Darn and he was really cute. Did you see those dimples?"

As they left the Lucky Strike and walked into the night, the girls separated but not before making plans for the following week. Then Emma and Elsa headed back to their house in Cambridge and Ruby and Ashley back to their apartment

cs~cs~cs

Killian looked up from where he was lining up a shot as Victor stumbled back to the table, falling into his seat. Pushing up he looked over at Graham, "Any idea?"

Graham shrugged, "No clue."

Killian watched Robin engage Kristoff in conversation before both turned toward Victor. "Think we should go over?"

"See blood?"

"No."

"Then no. Now take your shot so I can beat you."

He lined up the ball but when he shot, the angle was wrong and it bounced away from the pocket instead of toward it. "Bugger that!"

Graham sauntered up to the table and positioned the cue ball. "Let me show you how's it's done, son." He tapped the white ball so it knocked his solid one neatly into the corner pocket and then lined up the eight ball, sinking it also. "And that is how it's done," he grinned at Killian as he put the pool stick away. "Next rounds on you."

"Wanker," Killian called good naturally as he left to go order another round of drinks. Walking back to the table he couldn't help but check out the females in the room, and not to "check them out" as Victor had been so obviously doing earlier, but to see if one of them might be Emma. He knew he hadn't imagined her so she had to be out there somewhere, didn't she?

Robin was waiting for him when he arrived back at the table, "Killian, I think you're going to be interested in hearing what Victor has to say."

"Really?" He raised his brows in question.

Pulling out a chair, Robin waved him toward it, "Have a seat."

"I'm quite fine standing." He gave him a strange look wondering what was going on.

"No," Robin insisted, "you want to be sitting down for this, trust me."

Shrugging his shoulders, he looked into the expectant faces of his mates trying to get an answer, but when they were not forthcoming, he sat down as instructed. "Alright, I'm sitting. Let me hear your story."

Victor grinned at him and, as if enjoying being the center of things, launched into a tale of how, after Killian had been called to take his turn at pool, he had decided to see what else the Lucky Strike included, and had left to wander around. He had initially ended up on the first floor where there was dancing and after checking out the view, he had moved on up to the third floor where his attention had been captured by a table of four women: a leggy brunette and three blondes.

Killian sat up a little taller, remembering that night in The Burren when Emma, a blonde had been sitting with two other blondes and a brunette, and several males. "Go on, you have my attention."

Victor smiled at him, "Thought I might." He had stood back and watched them talking and while trying to think of a decent pickup line had watched them rebuff several sets of males who had stopped by, seemingly to talk, or more. "That's when I got the brilliant idea to take their picture, but then the brunette and one of the blondes got up, carrying bowling bags and disappeared.

"Was Emma the blonde who got up and went with her?" Killian asked, excitedly thinking that maybe he would get a break.

"No," Graham broke in, "I believe that was a woman named Elsa."

Killian frowned at his friend, "We'll get to why you know Emma's friend but have failed to help me find Emma in a moment." He rubbed his hands on his pants' legs and turned back to Victor. "Go on."

Victor went on to say that he had tried to follow but had gotten caught in the middle of a crowd going the other way so had just scooted against the bar and waited. Shortly his patience had paid off and they returned and all four women got up to leave, but not before he got a quick picture of them while sitting. "See?" Victor pulled up the picture in question and held the phone out toward Killian.

Killian took the phone, almost hesitantly, as if he found the possibility of finding her almost too good to be true. Could it be that after searching everywhere he could think of, it would be as simple as this? When he looked down at the picture, it was evident that Victor's eye had been on the leggy brunette, because she was featured prominently, and all he could see of the blondes were their profiles.

He put his finger on the phone screen, not caring if he left a print behind. His shoulders slumped as it resembled her, but without getting an opportunity to look into those green eyes, how could he be sure? "Bloody hell, Doc," he looked up at Victor, anguish and frustration evident in the tone of his voice, "I can't see anything but the brunette who is all legs and teeth. Is this the only picture you took?"

A sheepish grin flitted across Victor's face, "I tried to take one of them as they stood up, but someone walked in front of me so I'm not sure about it. Slide to the next picture."

Killian advanced to the next frame and there she was, his Emma. "You did it!" He said in awe, a huge smile covering his face. "You found my Emma."

He stood up as if preparing to go find her right then but was interrupted by Victor, "Killian, she's gone." Sorrow could be heard in his words.

Dropping back down onto the chair, Killian stared at the doctor who had taken him from the highest high and then jabbed a knife into that hope within the span of five minutes. "Gone? When? Where?" He asked quietly.

I'm not sure but I walked down the stairs with them earlier and heard them talking about catching the train home. Maybe," his eyes lit up as if an idea had just come to mind, "think it's possible they left something behind?"

Without hesitation, Killian stood. "Can you show me where they were sitting?"

"Sure, let's go." They got up to leave and after only a couple steps, Killian turned back to Graham. "So, why the hold out? And how do you know Elsa?" An undertone of annoyance could clearly be heard.

Graham looked taken aback by the accusatory tone in his friend's voice, and answered using the voice that rankled those he arrested when performing duties as a detective for the Boston Police Department, "1-if you remember, I wasn't with you the night you met her so I had no clue what she looked like, and 2-I only know her friend's first name, as she is a law student and as an assignment, she tagged along in a cruiser one day, and that's how she was introduced. Elsa, law student."

Kilian studied him, tilted his head in silent apology, and turned to follow Victor to the third floor. Taking the steps three at a time, he burst through the stairwell with not only Victor on his heels, but the others as well. "Our drinks," he reminded them.

Robin took a step forward. "We told them we would be right back. Let's go check for clues as to the identity of this mysterious Emma."

Victor pointed out the table where the women had been sitting. Killian noticed it hadn't been cleared yet and almost ran to check for hints. His cursory glance revealed nothing out of the ordinary except empty glasses and old napkins, until he shoved the napkins aside in frustration and a folded one opened as it fluttered to the floor. When he looked down and saw the drawing there, his breath caught in his throat. "Bloody hell."

April 2015

Emma opened her bleary eyes to the early morning light sneaking around the edges of the curtains and rolling over picked up her phone to squint at the time. "Ugh," she blew out air forcefully. "Sneaking into my dreams and stealing my sleep, just like a dirty pirate," she scolded the painting that had kept her up half the night. "I'll show you," she continued her tirade, "sneak around like a pirate then you become a pirate."

She snuggled back under the blanket, not quite ready to face the day, but unable to resist slipping on her glasses to stare at her latest work. Captain Hook himself stared back at her from the canvas across the room, dressed all in black, complete with a long leather duster that would swirl around him as he pillaged and plundered. The image so like the one she had been drawing for years, yet this time, no facial hair adorned his strong jaw, for she had given him the innocent face of the singer, complete with his beanie.

"Serves you right," she muttered, "for daring to steal my sleep." Placing her glasses back on the table, she tucked herself around a pillow hoping to get at least another hour of sleep before the busy day ahead.

cs~cs~cs

Robin picked up a pillow off the floor and chucked it at Killian's head, "Wake up lunkhead, we leave in fifteen."

Killian frowned at his friend's chipper behavior so early on a Saturday. "Lunkhead? What the devil is a bloody lunkhead?"

Robin shrugged his shoulder, "No clue. Heard a couple guys use it the other day and thought to myself it might come in handy some day and, hey," his grin grew larger, "it must be your lucky day."

Pushing himself up to the side of the bed, he rubbed his hands over his face, trying to wake up. "And where are we going again?" He called to Robin, who had gone into the other room.

"Some rowing race, Harvard vs. another school that's a color, I think." Robin clarified as he came back down the hall. "Black, maybe? No, Brown, that's it."

Making it to his feet this time, he grabbed some clean clothes. "And why are we going?"

Robin huffed as if he had given the same set of instructions numerous times, "I'm not sure why, but they made it a requirement for class."

Killian opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted before getting very far. "I wasn't listening that closely either, but we have to go. Leaving in ten." And he practically ran down the hall as if worried there would be more questions.

Killian showered, shaved and dressed and came out of the bathroom ready to go in eight minutes, only to find Robin on the computer scrolling through some site on his computer. "Come on lunkhead," he smirked at his friend. "Time to go." Robin gave him a disgusted look, to which Killian shot right back, "You know, you're right. That is a good word."

cs~cs~cs

Emma met Ruby at the shuttle stop by the Currier House and after getting off at the Widener Gate, they sauntered toward the Weeks Footbridge. "I'm so glad the sun is out." She tilted her face to the sun hoping to get a little color on her cheeks.

"Me too," Ruby held her arms out, "I really need a tan."

Emma side-eyed her friend, "Oh so that explains the outfit. I thought I missed the memo that we were going to the beach." Her friend had on minuscule shorts and a tight tank exposing a lot of skin to the first sunny spring day in a week.

"Oh poo," shooshed Ruby, "I'm perfectly covered, but I say, when you've got it, flaunt it." She winked and then giggled when they passed by a group of boys who whistled. "I'm sorry Emma, I know you aren't too fond of it, but I do love it when 18-year-old boys whistle at me."

"Of course you do." She rolled her eyes and laughed at her friend's silliness. They walked a little way in silence, enjoying the warm day and catching up with each other until finally Emma asked about Ashley.

Ruby smiled, "Well..."

It had been a rather interesting year for their friend Ashley. Turned out she wasn't wrong when she had told Emma in January while at Lucky Strike that she thought Sean was going to propose to her, because propose he did. In fact, not only had he asked her to marry him but he had been so excited about being her husband that he had convinced her to drive to Atlantic City one weekend and they had come back married.

It hadn't stopped there, for a few weeks ago she had continued her surprises with the one that she was eight-weeks pregnant and due around Thanksgiving. With their friend eloping and now expecting a baby, they had decided to throw her a combination bridal shower/baby shower in a few hours but thankfully, Blue had volunteered to host it in the group home where they had grown up, leaving Emma and Ruby free to be college students for a few hours.

Arriving at the bridge, she followed as Ruby wiggled her way past several groups until they were pushed against the railing of the footbridge and able to relax and wait for the race to begin.

cs~cs~cs

Killian followed Robin as they wound their way along the banks of the Charles River where Harvard had been competing since the late 1800's. They were finished with their required classwork, which today consisted of helping some undergraduate environmental engineering students set up some soil and water tests, and now they were free to watch the race.

Finding a place to stand with a good view was important and they ended up not far upstream from a boathouse, in the middle of several groups of students, but able to see quite a bit of the race.

Robin dropped his rucksack onto the ground, reaching in for his sunglasses, a ball cap and carafe. "Coffee?"

Killian peered down into the bag. "Any chance you have something to eat in there?"

Pulling out a wrinkled Dunkin bag and holding it aloft, as if he were presenting Simba, Robin bragged, "Have I ever let you down?"

Killian stood there for a few minutes with his hands on his hips, "Well, there was that one time..." he started to say, but when Robin turned to take his donuts with him, he acquiesced, "Sorry mate. You've always been perfect."

Rolling his eyes, Robin handed him a donut. "No need to be cheeky." Busying himself, he poured coffee for both and turned back to the river to watch the preparations continue.

Killian took his coffee and sweet and walked away from the others, noticing the number of students who lined the banks of the river as well as the footbridge. Was Emma here, he wondered, wishing that they were closer to the bridge where there seemed to be a large group of people as well as vendors peddling their various wares.

Finishing his coffee, he collected their rubbish and deposited it in one of the temporary receptacles that had been placed along the path. Contemplating wandering around, he decided looking for Emma in these crowds would be like looking for that proverbial needle in the haystack and made his way back to where Robin appeared to be holding court.

When Robin bent over to dig around in his bag, pulling out a pair of binoculars, Killian frowned at his friend's zealous behavior over his first racing competition. "Your eyes not good enough for you to see everything?" He teased his longtime friend.

Robin held up the binoculars, "You talking about these?"

"Aye," Kilian admitted, "what do you plan to do with them?"

"I don't plan on doing anything with them, lunkhead." He took the binoculars and shoved them into Killian's stomach hard enough to cause him to grunt in pain. "I thought maybe Emma would be here."

It took Killian a few seconds to process what was said. "Oh," he stopped and then started again, "you're good. Thanks man! I hadn't thought of that." A large smile lit his face.

"I know I'm good. Now get busy looking. The quicker you find her, the quicker you can stop moping around." He moved off to talk to some people from class who had just arrived.

Killian didn't have to be told twice, but brought up the binoculars and started scanning the crowd.

cs~cs~cs

Emma watched the boats coming toward them on the relatively quiet river, Harvard in their crimson and Brown in white, and nudged Ruby's shoulder. "Know anything about rowing?"

"Not really," Ruby whispered quietly, "but I do know that one team wins and one loses. How's that?"

"‛Bout all I know, too." She leaned on the railing, looking around at all the students watching, talking, milling about, mostly in small groups, some in large, but on both sides of the river. There were plenty of smells too on this spring day. Not only the natural smells from the river and newly mown grass along the banks, but sweat, sunscreen and various smells from the vendor carts. Subconsciously, she caught herself scanning the groups close to the bridge where she was standing, looking for anyone she knew or, if she were honest, for someone she wanted to know.

Once Robin had given him the binoculars, Killian moved away from the others and, carefully lifting them, he systematically moved the glasses from group to group looking for a certain blonde that had captured his attention over nine months ago.

Starting with the far bank, he moved the glasses from person to person, realizing it was going to take longer than he had originally thought, because people were wearing hats and sunglasses. Exhibiting the patience that he had always been known for, he covered the far bank and moved closer to the water so he could look up and down the shore where he was standing. Unsuccessful with his search, he focused the binoculars on the crowded footbridge, not really having much hope of finding her, but realizing a little hope was better than none.

"Find him yet?" Ruby hip bumped her. "You've been looking quite intently."

"What?" She tried to go with confusion but when Ruby gave her an all-knowing look, she changed her answer. "Not yet, but I didn't really expect that I would."

"Chin up girl. Day's still young."

"Actually, it's not." She pulled out her phone to check the time. "We don't have a lot of time before we have to get ready for the party."

"True. I'm excited to see Ashley and rest of the old gang. I don't think I've seen Blue, Green or Astrid for a month or more."

"Agreed. It should be fun." She turned so her back was toward Ruby. "I brought us some water. Can you pull them out?"

Slowly moving the binoculars along the bridge, Killian sighed with disappointment. He hadn't spotted her on the bridge, but decided to give it one last scan for good measure. Nearly ready to give up, he caught sight of a blonde, but her face was obscured by large sunglasses and the bottle of water she held to her lips.

Moving on, he saw she was standing next to a brunette who was holding a bottle against her face as if she were using it to cool off from the heat. When she lowered it, he removed the binoculars from his eyes and blinked them rapidly several times as if trying to clear his vision.

Lifting them back to his eyes, he once again located the brunette and saw that he had been right. "Bloody hell."

"What did you find?" He heard Robin asking.

Killian didn't respond but with his heart in his throat and his breath coming rapidly, he moved back to the blonde and he couldn't believe that he had finally found her. He opened his mouth to say her name but found that he couldn't get any words past the lump in his throat. Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath and tried again, "It's her. It's Emma."

As soon as the competitors slid under the footbridge and headed toward the Anderson Bridge, Emma was ready to go. She followed Ruby as they worked their way around and between all the people, some moving in the opposite direction. Once they exited the bridge, they passed by the Leverett House and turned left on Mills Street and then back right on Plympton Street.

Robin punched Killian in the shoulder, "Then why are you still here? Go get her."

Killian handed over the binoculars and took off at a sprint for the bridge. He had to dodge vendors, joggers, and people pushing baby strollers before finally arriving at the bridge and making his way over it to where he had last seen her. When she wasn't there, and he hadn't passed her going the other direction, he continued in the only direction she could have gone.

Once he exited the footbridge, he stopped to get his bearings, thinking if she took the shuttle it seemed that the Mather House Route would be a safe bet and the closest stop was at the Mather House. Turning right on Cowperthwaite Street he ran up to the stop to see students still waiting, and a quick perusal of the crowd revealed no Emma or her friend.

Thinking the next stop would be one of the libraries, he cut through the Leverett Towers to De Wolfe Street.

Passing Quincy House on the right, Ruby and Emma took a left at Rosovsky Hall onto Mount Auburn Street and passed the Harvard Lampoon building on the right on their way to Linden Street.

Crossing over Grant Street on De Wolfe, Killian kept running, St Paul Church standing majestically ahead. Next intersection was Mount Auburn and then he could choose to go straight, cross Bow Street and reach Lamont Library, or he could take Mount Auburn and cut through to the Widener Gate.

At Linden Street, Emma and Ruby turned right and passed by Adam's House on their right and Fairfax Hall on the left, arriving at Widener Gate where they stood and waited for the shuttle.

"Assuming we continue to make good time, want to stop for lunch before heading to the Home?" She looked toward Lamont Library where she could see the shuttle already heading in their direction.

As it drew to a stop, Ruby followed her up the steps. "You know you never have to ask me twice about food.

Sliding into a seat, Ruby next to her, she stared out the window watching as the bus loaded.

Killian slid into the Lamont Library stop after the bus left, but he could see it in the distance picking up riders. A deep breath and he took off running at a sprint arriving just as it took off up Massachusetts Avenue toward Harvard Square.

Stopping to catch his breath, he felt like screaming but saw that the shuttle had gotten stuck in traffic before turning the corner, so he took off running again.

He had just caught up with the bus as it turned onto Peabody Street and just before the driver picked up speed, he spotted her sitting toward the back of the bus. "Emma!"

Emma wasn't sure what made her turn around and look out the window after the bus had turned off Massachusetts Avenue, but when she did, the sight caused a huge smile to light up her face.

"It's him," she said in surprise as the shuttle picked up speed. Turning to Ruby, she grabbed her arm in excitement, "It was him, Rubes.

Ruby stretched across her to look out the window. "Are you sure, Emma? It's been almost a year."

Thinking about the quick glimpse that she had gotten of the guy, she asked herself the same question. "Ruby, I'm an artist and am trained to memorize faces. It was him," she said with finality. Besides, she thought, he's taken up residence in my dreams, both sleeping and waking.

"Sorry, Emma. Is there anything I can do to help?"

She sighed, "Unless you have magic and can find him, I don't think you can help this time."

Ruby squeezed her hand, "Things will work out the way they should."

"I hope so Rubes. I really do."

They changed to a shuttle at the Caspersen Student Center that would take them to Currier House, where they departed for the yellow bug that Ruby had parked at Botanic Gardens.

Ruby pulled the key out of her bag and tossed it toward her. "Here, you can drive. I know how much you love her."

Emma laughed with glee, "Yea me!" before adjusting the seat and starting the car. "You know, Ruby. I feel like he and I are destined to be ships that pass in the night.

"Don't say that, Em. Have a little hope."

Putting the car into gear, she pushed the button for the oldies radio station and eased out onto the road, laughing at the song that was playing on the radio.

"We're two ships that pass in the night,
We both smile and we say, "it's alright"
We're still here, it's just that we're out of sight
Like those ships that pass in the night"

"See Ruby, even Barry Manilow agrees."

cs~cs~cs

Winded, Killian stopped and leaned forward with his hands on his thighs, trying to catch his breath. He knew he could continue chasing her, and that damned shuttle, but had no idea where she would get off. He also thought perhaps she had seen him when he called her name and she had looked out the window, but again, nothing definite. He felt as if his emotions were on a roller coaster with the next step being either another uphill climb or a free fall drop, and all he could do was stand there on the precipice, waiting.

Once his breath had returned, he dejectedly started walking back toward the footbridge to try to find Robin, even though he really didn't feel like conversation. He kept thinking of the colorful words that Liam had learned, and shared with him, from his years of service to the Royal Navy, but decided that while it might serve to let off steam, a colorful vocabulary was not a very mature way to solve problems. That would require patience and planning, both areas in which he excelled.

Arriving back at the spot where they had been standing, he found Robin there, alone. "You run everyone off?"

"They scattered in different directions, but want us to meet up with them later at a place called The Rabbit Hole." He finally looked around, realizing Killian was alone. "You didn't find her?"

Killian sighed, "More like I couldn't catch her." He explained about chasing the bloody shuttle around campus only to lose them at the Square. "But I learned more about her. I learned that she knows her way around campus and can easily get on a shuttle, so I think she's a student."

Later they walked into The Rabbit Hole, and squeezed between some dancers while making their way to the bar. Taking a stool, Killian and Robin looked around for anyone they knew. "See anyone?"

"Nah, but the night is young," Robin finished, just as someone Killian recognized but didn't know by name walked up, hugged Robin and asked him to dance. "Grab me a beer?"

Killian signaled for two beers and drummed his thumbs on the bar along with the beat, thinking about the day's mishaps, going over every action after Robin had handed him the binoculars and wondering what he could have done differently. "Should have started on the bridge," he mumbled under his breath. He was so lost in self-flagellation, he didn't hear someone sit down next to him until he recognized the laughter as the man repeated, "Should have started on the bridge for what reason?" and saw that the stool was now occupied by another classmate, Arthur Campbell.

Killian gave him a dirty look and grunted, "Looking for my mystery woman. Slipped right through my fingers yet again."

"Need some pointers on how to catch a woman, Jones?" Arthur grinned, "I'm sure I could come up with a few suggestions."

"Get stuffed, Campbell, I don't need ideas from the likes of you. How you captured the heart of the sweet Guinevere, I'll never know."

Arthur tapped his bottle against Killian's. "That makes two of us, my friend. I thank the gods every day."

Nodding his head in agreement, Killian smiled, "I'd be thanking the gods, too, if they sent Emma my way." He added, "Speaking of the lovely wife, where is she? I didn't think she let you out alone very often."

Arthur looked up and a smarmy smile crossed his face, "'My lovely wife is at a combination bridal/baby shower tonight," and then he continued in a self-deprecating voice, "and if I'm truthful, I am not always willing to share our time. Being married to a baby doctor can be difficult at times." A cheeky smile crossed his face. "Interruptions can occur at the worst times."

Killian stopped, his bottle half way to his mouth and thought about what Arthur had said, and was tempted to say something crass, but instead responded, "Better interrupted than not at all."

"True that," Arthur patted him on the back. "Keep your pecker up my boy." He slid off the stool, "I think I'll head out. Catch you later."

Watching him go, Killian couldn't help but be a bit envious that while Arthur's wife wasn't currently at home waiting for him, she would be in a few hours. Looking for Robin, he passed off his bottle of beer and went outside to get some fresh air. Stretching out on the step, he stared up at the night sky, admiring the stars. In the distance, a shooting star caught his attention and he wondered where Emma was at that moment. His wish was that wherever she was, her thoughts were of him.

cs~cs~cs

Emma looked around the room at all the women who had come to the party to support Ashley. Quite the eclectic group from several phases of her life, but a testament to what kind of person Ashley was, that she had remained close with them all. She smiled at Blue who had sat down next to her when Ashley started opening her gifts. "You are amazing for getting so many of her friends here for this celebration. You know that, right?"

Blue smiled maternally at her and then looked back out at the room. "I enjoyed it. It was like having all my girls home again."

"I recognize most everyone here, but who's the dark headed woman sitting over there next to the party girl?"

"That's Guinevere Campbell, Ashley's OB/GYN."

"Emma sat back and raised both brows, "That's interesting. How did they meet?"

"Hmm," She wrinkled her forehead while trying to remember what she had heard, "I think Sean introduced them, but how he knows her, I'm not exactly sure."

Sipping her wine, she continued observing the group, happy that Ruby had volunteered to make the list of the gifts so she could sit back and relax. Once the last gift was unwrapped and they had moved on to the cake, Emma felt like she needed a breather from the noise, and hoping to get a moment to collect her thoughts about the day, moved out onto the front step and stretched out, looking up at the sky.

The stars seemed brighter tonight, she thought, wishing that her mystery man had arrived at the shuttle stop just a few minutes earlier. What would she have done this time? Exchange numbers? Ask him out to dinner? She wasn't sure but considering he had been living front and center in her brain for nine months, it would be nice to just talk to him, she thought. That was her wish, she admitted to herself as a shooting star lit up the sky. As it faded from sight, she smiled and went back to the party.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think. Stay tuned for Chapter 3