Author's Note: I apologize for the long delay. Real life has gotten in the way and has become way too stressful. No worries I will be continuing the story, especially after last weeks simultaneously depressing and amazing episode. Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! Without your encouragement I would not be inspirid! I hope you guys like it! Please review!

Thank you to: R.J. White, Princesakarlita411, Pri-Chan 1410, Rukia's Reflection, Haley Renee, gypsygal, Nouqueret, NightsideRequiem, & BunheadKitKat19!

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Pawnshop Owner & The Sheriff

After breakfast Emma made her way over to the pawnshop where the infamous Mr. Gold worked. Emma had tried to ask more about the pawnshop owner, but Mary Margaret was very tightlipped, for reasons Emma didn't understand.

What she did manage to weasel out about Mr. Gold wasn't much, mostly it was stuff Emma had figured out. He was intimidating, a man, and owned a pawnshop.

When she arrived at the small wooden store Emma was surprised to find that the man in question was shorter than she'd imagined. By the way Mary Margaret had acted Emma assumed he was some hulking man. Instead, he was on the shorter side, with a wary look in his eyes. However, despite his shortness he was just as intimidating as Mary Margaret had muttered uneasily about.

His brown hair was shoulder length, and he walked with a cane. And yet there was something eerily dark about him. Emma wasn't sure what it was that made him so intimidating, there was nothing outwardly threatening about him, and yet there was. Emma couldn't exactly put her finger on it, though.

He seemed like a man who had no remorse and would drain you of everything if you could help him in any way.

Emma wouldn't let that bother her though. She wasn't going to be frightened by some man. She'd been in the Foster system; she'd already seen everything that could ever scare her.

"Hello, dearie." Mr. Gold greeted looking up from the dusting he was doing to some old looking artifacts.

"Uh hi." Emma said quietly.

She felt as if she were in a library. If she spoke too loudly she knew without knowing how someone would 'shhhh' at her. She shrugged that thought off and attempted to focus on Mr. Gold who was staring at her with a look of curiosity.

"Who are you?" he asked bemused.

"Uh I'm looking for a job—"

"Sorry. Not hiring." Mr. Gold said picking one of the items he had been dusting up to cleaning it more thoroughly.

She frowned, "I was told to ask you if I was interested in finding a job around town. I just moved here and—"

"Just moved here? How interesting." He stated pausing in his actions.

Emma paused unsure what to say to that. Yes, just sounded so...

"Anyway, I was hoping you could point me in the direction of someone who might be hiring." She continued.

"Hm…" Mr. Gold responded looking up and eyeing her with interest.

She gazed back at him unflinchingly waiting to see what he would say next.

"What did you say your name was?" he asked finally.

"I didn't."

Mr. Gold raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to tell him her name. Finally, she relented.

"I'm Emma."

Emma watched in confusion as a mischievous smile began to spread across his face.

"Emma, what a lovely name."

"Thanks."

His smile widened further and he set down the item that Emma now recognized was a cup.

"Come back tomorrow morning and I'll let you know if I find anything."

Emma nodded slowly and moved to leave the shop.

She allowed herself to replay what had just occurred between herself and the pawnshop owner. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, other than he agreed to look into a possible job for her, but it was how he looked and acted with her that was so…strange. She wondered if he was like that with everyone. Was that why Mary Margaret was so freaked out about him? Was that why she didn't want to talk about him?

Emma continued walking down Main Street wanting to put as much distance between herself and Mr. Gold. She wasn't sure where to go, though, since she didn't really have anywhere else to be so she headed back toward the docks. When she got down there she was unsurprised to see Killian sitting near the water drinking from a silver flask.

Walking over toward him she allowed her eyes to linger too long on his profile. Not for the first time she took note of his attractive features. The dark brows, the bright blue eyes, and the half smile that rested on his lips. He seemed to be amused with something and as she got closer she noticed he was watching something that was occurring on the docks.

Two men and a women stood some ways down the docks in front of a boat that read Maranda. One of the men and the woman was half dressed as the other man screamed at them.

"Lovers quarrel?" Emma guessed eyeing the flask in his hand and wondering vaguely what his drink of choice was.

"Ah. The woman's been sleeping with both of them on the boat. It's her husband's boat, as I'm sure you've gathered." Killian answered glancing over at her with slight interest.

She smiled sadly watching as the fully dressed man waved his hands in anger at them and then lunged forward.

"I wager, it's time to call the Sheriff." Killian mused stretching out along the bench beside her.

"Sheriff?" Emma asked copying his movements and taking in the unclothed man attempting to defend his actions.

"It's a shame, really. The two men were business partners for sometime, but it's just like a woman to ruin a man." Killian said a note of bitterness in his tone.

Emma glanced at him torn between curiosity of what had occurred in his past and annoyance at being generalized because of her sex having made a few mistakes.

Killian glanced at her with wonder, whether it was because she hadn't defended her sex or because he was waiting for her to ask why he was so bitter, she wasn't sure. What she was sure of is that there were police sirens in the distance and she wondered with indifference who had called the cops.

When Emma got out of the last Foster home she had been in, it had taken some time for her to finally control her flight or fight instincts every time she heard a siren. Even now when she heard the sirens coming she had to push back that urge to jolt.

Killian must've sensed her struggle to remain still because he changed the topic of conversation.

"So, darling, tell me where do you hail from?" he asked taking a sip from his flask.

She looked away not knowing how to answer that question. She generally just told people she was from Boston, but for some reason she wanted to tell Killian the truth.

"Why?" she asked buying herself more time to answer his question.

He shrugged one side of his lip curling up. "Curious, I suppose. It's not every day a beautiful young woman wanders her way into town."

She felt her cheeks heat up at the word beautiful and she ducked her head so her blonde hair would cover her face. She fell silent not knowing what to say.

"Well?"

She cleared her throat and tried to go for nonchalance. "Well, what?" she asked.

He gave her a look of faux amusement and she sighed a rare small smile coming to her lips.

"I'm from…well I'm not really sure. I was…found on the side of a highway when I was a baby." She revealed.

A look of sadness crossed his face, but was wiped away before she could really register it. A look of understanding seemed to replace it and for some reason that helped to loosen the tightness that had formed in her chest at the words she'd tried to throw callously out between them.

"My brother raised me from when I was small. I couldn't imagine being alone…" he admitted trailing off.

She shrugged, "It's my life. I didn't ever care if I was sent somewhere else. It was just me."

His look of understanding turned to sadness once again and seemed to settle there.

She frowned wishing she could wipe the look away. Their quiet moment was interrupted by a tall brunette man walking forward with an authoritative air about him. But instead of feeling uncomfortable around him like she had with the mayor and the pawnshop owner she felt a sense of calm wash over her. When she looked over at Killian she saw annoyance dancing on his features.

"Morning, Jones. Isn't it a little early?" the brunette man asked in an Irish accent.

Emma watched the look of annoyance darken on Killian's face.

"Humbert."

The Sheriff smirked and glanced over at Emma.

"Ahhh, you must be the stranger. I'm Sheriff Graham."

Emma cocked an eyebrow still unsure how she should act around the Sheriff.

"What's your name?" Graham asked.

Out of her peripheral vision she saw Killian smirking.

"The stranger?" Emma asked stuck on her new nickname.

Graham smiled in amusement and opened his mouth to say something else when the yelling reached a climax and he hurriedly excused himself to try to solve the problem.

"Why don't you like the Sheriff?" Emma blurted out.

Killian smiled darkly turning to her.

"Why didn't you give him your name?" He responded.

Emma scowled and Killian chuckled.

"Old habits die hard." He said finally.

"Same." she said smiling slightly.

Their eyes met in understanding and a strange feeling coursed through her. She wasn't sure what to call it, but it was almost a…moment or something. He seemed to see right through her, understand her in a way no one ever had. She wasn't sure what to do with the weird emotion that was blossoming in her chest so she shoved it down and turned away from him needing to end the connection between them. It made her feel uncomfortable and skittish, on the other hand in also made her feel warm and like someone finally could relate to her.

She stood up suddenly needing to distance herself from the sudden onset of too many emotions.

"Do you know of anyone hiring?" she asked changing the subject.

Killian shrugged seemingly not noticing her sudden desire to distance herself from him.

"Where do you work?" she asked when he didn't respond.

"The Rabbit Hole."

"Are the hiring?"

Killian laughed, "no, love."

"Well, can't you like…get me in or something? I've waitressed before."

"The same people have worked there since as…since as long as I can remember."

"Well where is hiring?"

"Do I look like a newspaper? I don't know." Killian snapped.

Emma blinked unsure where his sudden annoyance had sparked from. She wanted to tell him off for being… What? Unhelpful? Treating her the way everyone else did, like a chore? Being like everyone else, treating her like an outsider?

She didn't have the right to tell him off – he didn't know how to help her it is what it is – but for some reason she felt like she needed more from him. She expected more from him and for the first time in her life Emma had expectations of someone.

She swallowed with difficulty at the thought and without another word she turned around and walked back to town needing to get away from the docks and Killian Jones.

That night Emma decided to sleep in the park not wanting to risk running in to Killian leaving or coming from work. She was thankful that the weather was warmer than it had been recently so she curled up in her jacket and used her backpack as a pillow. Generally, she wouldn't do this, but a small town, like Storybrooke was a lot different than Boston.

Curling up she allowed her mind to drift toward sleep, but instead of reaching the blissful darkness she dreamed of a man with bright blue eyes, dark hair, and an accent to make you melt.

They were on a large ship struggling to make it through some storm. She kept hearing people yell her name, and she was yelling for everyone to hold on. She and Killian were trying to steer the large ship through the storm, the rain pelted her hard soaking her to the bone. When she looked over at Killian his eyes were on her a look of concern settled there. The wind, rain, and yelling seemed to drift to the background as their eyes met and Emma felt the simultaneously comfortable and uneasy feeling course through her.

"Swan." Killian yelled yanking hard on the steering wheel of the ship.

She looked down and noticed the hook in place of his hand.

"Swan!" he shouted again drawing her attention back to him.

"You need to keep looking!" he added looking toward the front of the ship.

She followed his gaze and saw Mary Margaret, the mayor, and a blonde haired man fighting to hold on to the ship as they descended deeper into the storm.

"Do you see?" Killian asked.

She looked back at him not sure what she was supposed to be looking for, or seeing. She opened her mouth to ask when suddenly she was being shaken awake.

Slowly opening her eyes she came face to face with Sheriff Graham looking at her with concern.

"Why are you sleeping out here?" Graham asked furrowing his brow.

"No place else." Emma grumped still half asleep.

Graham tightened his hold on her arm and began to drag her into a sitting position.

"You can't sleep out here."

Emma sighed heavily slowly becoming more away of what was going on. It was becoming light out, so it was probably around six in the morning. The Sheriff caught her sleeping on a bench so he was probably going to take her in and she was cold and stiff from sleeping outside.

"But it's so comfortable." Emma snipped.

Graham smiled slightly and helped her stand up and gather her things.

"Come on." He said leading her by the arm.

She followed after him not having much of a choice. They walked through the slowly waking town until they were at the police station. Unsurprisingly Graham led her inside and told her to sit. She waited for him to begin to book her, but instead he picked up the phone looking at her with the same look of concern he'd given her outside.

"Are you allergic to anything?" he asked.

"What?"

"What do you want to eat?"

"What?"

He huffed and then dialed the phone without casting her another look. She listened as he ordered pancakes, eggs, bacon, French toast, and some bagel sandwiches.

"Do I look like I can eat all that?" she asked.

"It's not all for you."

Emma watched as Graham began to go through his usual morning routine; making coffee, checking messages, the mail, and the night log.

"Why did you take me here?" she asked breaking the silence.

"You were sleeping on a bench."

"Then arrest me."

"Do you want to be arrested?"

Emma shook her head.

Graham nodded, "I'm going to leave to go grab the food."

Emma waited for him to tell her not to move, but instead he grabbed the keys and left her alone in the station. Unsure what to do she sat there quietly. She had never been alone in a police station before, and she had never been trusted enough to be alone anywhere where she could easily escape.

When she was in her Foster homes she was usually sharing a room or at school. She hadn't been allowed to do after school activities by most of the parents, and when she had been allowed more freedom she generally abused it by running away.

Now, someone was actually trusting her to stay and wait and because she had no where to go, she did until he returned with a large bag of food. They ate in silence and then Graham asked what she was planning to do for the rest of the day.

"Find a job."

"And?"

She rolled her eyes, "a place to sleep that's not a park bench."

Graham nodded taking another bite of eggs.

"I'm Emma, by the way."

He smiled slightly after swallowing his bite to eat. "I know. Regina's told me all about you."

Emma frowned and narrowed her eyes, "why?"

"Because that's just Regina. It's her town and she needs to know what's going on and if there are any…newcomers."

"She sounds like she needs a hobby."

Graham chuckled and shrugged, "She probably does."

"So what did she say?" Emma asked curiously.

"That you were new to town, not much else really."

A prickling on Emma's spin alerted her to the fact that he was lying for whatever reason. Regina had probably said more about her, nothing nice either.

"So where are you looking for a job?" Graham asked finishing off his breakfast.

"The pawnshop guy offered to look around and let me know."

"Well instead of doing that why don't I help you?"

Emma bit her lip contemplating his suggestion. "It's okay, I think I'll just stop by his shop like he told me to. I don't want to…" she trailed off not knowing how to finish her sentence.

"It's okay, Emma. I know someone who needs some help."

"Who?"

"Well, Regina mentioned she needed someone to help her out. It's pretty good pay, and great health benefits. Kinda boring tasks, like filing, answering the phone, taking messages, that sort of thing." Graham said smiling.

Emma stared at him not knowing what to say. On the one hand she was thrilled to find a job, on the other she knew what the mayor was trying to do. The mayor, wanted to keep her close, for reasons Emma wasn't too sure of. It was like the mayor was playing a game, and Emma didn't know the rules yet.

"I don't know…" Emma said looking at the clock on the wall.

"It's a great opportunity. I can take you over there now and you could probably start today."

"Really, Graham I—"

"How about this; think about it and let me know by this afternoon."

"Fine." Emma said and then finished the rest of her food off before making her way out the door and toward the pawnshop to see if Mr. Gold had a better job than working for the Mayor that seemed bent on keeping tabs on her.

(A/n: Thanks for reading! And please review!)