Shaking, Emma picked up her phone, knowing she'd just witnessed someone die, but she couldn't imagine why it bothered her this time and not last or any of the other times she'd directly taken someone's life. This was rather indirect, and he had had long enough to live. She supposed it could be a result of the events from earlier that day, her thinking that some harm had come to Regina. Maybe her nerves were just done for and over today, maybe some sleep would help, but she didn't want to sleep, or rather couldn't stomach the idea of sleeping in the room where he'd just died. That was certainly something she'd never had to deal with or worry about before, but it's not like she could just change rooms or leave and go somewhere else. She had six days left on her cruise, six miserable, long days. She started wondering if she could just get off at the next port and not get back on, if she could actually take a vacation there or maybe just catch a flight and go somewhere else.

She had dialed Regina's number, realizing what her actions were once she had placed the phone to her ear and heard the ringing, one, two, three. It took three rings for Regina to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, busy?"

"If I was I wouldn't have answered. Are you alright Emma?"

Emma cleared her throat, "Yeah, about as alright as I can be."

Regina's tone softened, "Talk to me, what's going on?"

"Today's just been rough. This cruise thing is definitely not my style." She let out a strained chuckle, trying to fight back the urge to unload her soul to the person on the other end and reconciling it with the knowledge that Regina would surely think she was crazy if she knew the truth. Emma fell back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, her blond hair splayed out like a crown.

"Well, did you find the guy at least? Or just getting started on your work still?"

"Yeah, I found him, definitely not what I expected. But, you know, the boss gets what he wants in the end right?"

"If he wasn't what you expected, how do you know he was the right guy? I thought he didn't give you a name or anything to go off of."

Emma mentally cursed herself as she remembered that she had said that. Thinking on her feet she answered the only way she could really think of, "Yeah, I didn't but my boss texted me some info today, guess he realized it'd be near impossible to find the right guy without at least a description of him. Turns out it was the captain of the ship, funny huh? I was thinking it'd be a visitor the entire time, but no, he found a staff member."

"So, did you get him to agree?"

"Agree to what?"

"That show you said you recruit people for, what was the name of it by the way? I'll have to watch it sometime, now that I know one of their staff."

Emma could feel the anxiety building in her chest, her pulse started racing, pounding in her ears, she hadn't realized how long she laid there, staring up at the ceiling, silence on the line until Regina's voice pulled her out once again.

"Emma?" The voice was tender, soft, comforting, seeking out an answer, wondering if something was wrong, unsure of what had just happened. "Emma, honey?" She probed again, and Emma felt her heart tighten in her chest.

"Y-yeah, I'm here," she cleared her throat, "sorry, I spaced out, today's been kinda rough for me."

"It's okay, dear," Regina shifted topics; sensing work may be the cause of the distress Emma's currently facing, "So, when you're not busy gallivanting around the country, what do you like to do?"

Emma found herself chuckling at the use of the word 'gallivanting'. Falling into easy conversation, time passed around them, frozen for the two women, their musings wandering, drifting, meandering, learning about each other. Emma committed everything she could to memory; she didn't want a single detail to slip through her fingers. Laughing at how she thought she'd despise the older brunette when she first saw her, how it sharply contrasted with their easygoing and tentative friendship, how it was at opposite ends of her current emotions for the other woman, with her seductively sultry voice, even when she wasn't trying.

With a start she woke up, her phone laying beneath her, she couldn't even remember falling asleep, or getting off the phone with Regina the night before. She ungraciously wiped a trail of quickly drying drool from her chin and pulled her phone out. Tapping the lock button, its screen remained black, she held it, a drained battery icon flashed on the screen. Emma dug out her charger from the depths of her bag, she'd had yet to unpack it, and plugged her phone in. Her stomach rumbled, begging for nourishment that she'd failed to provide for most of a day.

She quickly changed out of her clothes from the previous night, opting instead for something more comfortable- an old t-shirt and a pair of sweats and gaudy lime green flip-flops. It's not like she was trying to impress anyone on this ship anymore, sweeping her long blonde hair back into a messy ponytail, she exited the room, her keycard tucked safely in her pocket. A quick meal would do her some good, and cruises were famous for their all-you-can-eat buffets and never ending drinks. She'd worry about her phone and her job later, for now she needed to relax.

Scouring the directory located by the elevators, she searched for one of the many buffets or dining places that would be open at whatever time it was currently- something she was unaware of. It was times like this that she really realized just how much she depended on a phone, not having one currently was limiting her choices. Alright, looks like I'm going to a 24/7 buffet then rather than one of the restaurants; sooo looks like that'll be deck 4C and I'm… her finger traced the lines on the map, searching for the "You are here" circle and the most direct route, Gotcha, so I'll just go down here, take a left or is that a right? Well, I'll go that way and then figure out which way to turn, it's either a hallway or the ocean. And then up a couple floors, no, no I need to go down. Well, I can always find another map if I need one.

Emma turned from her spot and started walking down the hallway, hoping she was going the right way as her stomach growled annoyingly loud once again. Food was becoming a necessity and fast, trying to hold back laughing at her ridiculous thoughts of getting lost and then having to start eating her shoes, scenes out of horror movies dancing in her minds' eye.

Somehow, she did actually manage to find her location and without having to actually resort to eating her shoe. The scent of food guided her the last few feet, dancing in her nostrils, pulling her along like in cartoons, she felt almost weightless, pulled forward, the smell dancing down the hallway. Her stomach rumbled once more and she placed her hand over it, trying to cover the sound in embarrassment now that people were around.

She walked into the dining area and grabbed a plate, piling everything she could find on it, not sure what many of the choices were exactly but finding she didn't really care in this moment, sauces obscured many of the choices, aromas mixed together, her mouth watering and she found she was willing to eat anything at this point. She'd find out what it was she was eating later.

Making it to the end of the line, she turned and grabbed a roll of silverware before hunting down a place to sit, ready to dig in. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for a table out of the way, she didn't want to be noticed, but close enough to the food. There were people scattered throughout the room, wearing those tacky Hawaiian print shirts she couldn't help but think that the pineapples printed across them didn't deserve it, they hadn't done anything to those people, mostly overweight, balding white men wearing socks with their sandals.

She found a place in the corner, close to a window, she could at least enjoy the view, the waves rolling gently, whipping up against the side of the boat, rocking ever so slightly, it was actually really peaceful if she were to admit it. If it wasn't for the events of the previous night or the reason for her being here, she'd probably really be enjoying this right about now. She looked down at her plate, finding it empty. Had she really eaten all that so quickly? She shrugged to nobody in particular and got up, ready to grab another plateful of food. She'd at least get a decent meal out of this before she disappeared off the ship.

It was from her place in the corner that she noticed members of the crew arguing with each other, their hushed whispers trying to mask the urgency in their voice. And it wasn't like she meant to pry, but she really couldn't help but overhear, and what she heard caught her interest.

"No really, we can't find him."

"He isn't in his cabin we checked."

"Where could he have gotten off to?"

"Not sleeping in one of the lifeboats is he? Or maybe crashed with a lady friend last night?"

"Are you sure he's not in his cabin?"

"Positive, I tried calling him, no answer, he hasn't been seen since last night."

"Was he out drinking last night?"

"No, he left around 7:30, asked me to take over for a bit, said he'd be back in the morning, haven't seen him since."

"And there's no trace?" The group had passed on by and she could no longer hear anything.