Once...And Forever Ch 5 Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Emma woke to the sound of the smoke alarm's shrill piercing shriek,and the scent of burning something. She bolted straight from her bed, grabbing at clothing and rushing out into the hall clutching her baby blanket, and almost dove down the ladder to get out. She paused as found her roommate standing on a chair with a dishtowel trying to fan the smoke away from the screeching noise-maker. Emma leaned on the door-frame and sighed in relief. It would have been funny, but Mary-Margaret looked horrified. Finally the alarm stopped beeping and she took a deep breath and hopped down out of the chair. She crossed to the table and picked up her cell phone.

"Hi, no I'm fine. I got it. No really, you don't need to come," she told the person on the other end of the line, then giggled loudly. "David! Behave yourself!" she chided him, and Emma guessed what his response had been, and sniggered, before entering the room fully.

"Yes please behave! No phone sex in front of the child!" she said loudly, and opened the fridge to pull out juice, and eggs. 'Take that for the other night mom!' Emma thought with a smirk. Mary-Margaret gaped and looked over at Emma, who giggled and and looked at the pan on the stove. The charred remains of what looked to be sausage, and a coating of flour that had been used to douse the flames lined it. No using that pan then, she thought as she picked it up carefully, half expecting it to burst into flames again, and put it into the sink to soak, and then opened the window to let some of the smoke out.

Mary-Margaret finished her conversation and had hung up with David. Emma eyed her with amusement. The other woman looked flustered beyond belief. Emma was glad to see she wasn't the only one suffering.

"Okay, so you wanna tell me what happened here?" Emma asked lightly, noting the color in her friend's face. She fiddled with her hands, and nibbled her bottom lip.

"I was on the phone and I didn't notice the flames until the alarm started going off," Mary-Margaret said guiltily. Emma nodded.

"So explain not noticing the smoke," Emma teased.

"It's sausage, there's always a little smoke when you fry sausage. I didn't notice," she replied with a little shrug. "I'm sorry Emma. I didn't mean to wake you," she said sheepishly. Emma smirked.

"David had you occupied," she said enjoying the blush that crept into her friend's cheeks. "Oh, so I was close to the mark about the phone sex then?" Emma teased. Mary-Margaret looked away.

"No, we were just really wrapped up in the conversation, that's all," she said picking at invisible lint.

"Right, an I'm Mary, Queen of Scots. Nice to meet you," she said dropping a curtsy. Mary-Margaret giggled.

"Emma!" she said laughing. "Well, I've had my excitement for the morning. I'm going to work," Mary-Margaret said with a little wave. Emma waved and turned the radio on to play while she was cooking. She found a classic rock station, and turned it up loud. She never sang along with the radio, but she had actually gotten some sleep before the alarm fiasco, so she was in a better mood than she had been last night. She danced around the kitchen scrambling eggs, and poured them in the pan to fry. She took off the button down shirt she'd grabbed to throw over her tank top and shorts in case they had to exit the building, and began to clean the burnt pan.

"I'll give ya something to live for, have ya grab ya til you're sore! Hello daddy, hello mom, I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch cherry bomb!" she sang loudly, and not too well, but she didn't care. Well that is until she heard Mary-Margaret's voice over the radio.

"Emma!" she called. Emma winced and turned the radio down a few notches, not turning around.

"Sorry mom, I'll keep it down," she teased. And went on about cooking her eggs. Mary-Margaret giggled.

"Thanks, but that's not what I wanted Emma. You have a visitor," she said, picking up her forgotten keys and turning to exit, nodding to said visitor on the way out. Emma cursed silently, not wanting to turn around and face him. She must have the same ability sensing him, as he did sensing her. She turned around and nodded to him.

"How ya doing?" she said to Mister Gold. He smiled.

"Oh, I'm just splendid. By the way, very nice rendition you were doing there sheriff," he teased, coming into the kitchen. He didn't miss the fact that she was wearing less clothing than he'd ever see her wear. Thin blue tank top, and matching shorts, bared her pretty legs, and shoulders to his eyes. It made him wish they'd been stranded in a warmer climate so he could appreciate the view more often. She shrugged.

"I'm gifted. You want some breakfast?" she asked him. She couldn't believe herself, offering to cook for him, make him tea, what next? Offer to pick up his dry cleaning? Have his baby? Sheesh! He shook his head, though he appeared intrigued by the offer.

"No thank you dearie, I ate before I came," he said it with a smile, and placed some papers on the table. Emma almost bit a hole through her tongue to hold a straight face. Inside she was screaming. Why those words? Really? Was he trying to give her a stroke?

"Suit yourself, I make a mean scrambled egg," she said turning back to the stove and making a face, and silently screaming. Composing herself she reached up to get a plate with her left hand, since her right was still throbbing. Gold noticed her wincing, and reached up to get the plate for her. At this close proximity to the man she had to fight the urge to reach out and grab something. Her fingers flexed instinctively, wanting to bury themselves in his hair like she'd dreamed of doing the night before. Several heated images danced before her eyes, and she had to mentally shake herself to make them disperse.

"Miss Swan?" he said, breaking through her day dream. She blinked dumbly, and looked at the plate in his hand.

"Oh, thanks," she said, cursing her raging hormones, before taking it from him, and setting it in front of her.

"Not at all. What on earth did you do to your hand?" he asked her lifting her hand to inspect the large white bandage criss-crossing it. She swallowed hard, and managed a nonchalant gesture.

"I punched a mirror," she admitted with a shrug. He snickered, and released her hand.

"I take it you don't mean the newspaper?" he asked lightly. She shook her head.

"Nope, and this is nothing. You should have seen the other guy," she joked and he chuckled.

"Well, I hope you felt better afterwords," he said and she shrugged. Not one damn bit better thank you very fucking much! She wanted to yell, but she maintained her composure.

"Actually, I didn't, but it doesn't matter. It's not the first time I've wanted to punch glass," she said, meaning Siddney.

"I know the feeling," he replied, nodding understandingly. "I stopped by the station, and you weren't in yet. I brought those papers to give you," he gestured to them. "Mister French has agreed to drop all the charges, if I forgive his debt, which I have done. So there will be no need for a court date," he said simply. She turned and looked at them where they lay on the table.

"Well, good for you. I'll file these when I go in," she said, attempting to scrape the eggs out of the pan and onto the plate, and failing. She winced, and then puffed the hair away from her face in an aggravated manner. He reached and carefully took the pan, and the spatula from her.

"Allow me," he said chivalrously, and finished plating her breakfast for her. "You should see a doctor if it's paining you that much Emma," he advised, setting the pan down and placing the plate on the table for her, not really knowing why he was being so helpful to the woman. He just hated to see her struggling. "You might have broken something." Emma sniggered.

"I did. No fixing that mirror," she said, and walked over to sit down at the table, a little confused by Gold's behavior. "Do you want to sit down?" she invited, he shook his head.

"I can't stay dearie. I have a client to attend to," he replied. She nodded.

"Oh, okay, she said, masking her disappointment. "Nothing serious I hope?" she hedged, curious about what client he'd taken on now. He shrugged.

"Not as glamorous as Miss Blanchard's case I'm afraid. Just a kid who needs legal advice," he said flippantly. His eyes twinkled with mischief as a thought came to him "Your hand aside, it's good to see you are feeling better. You looked a little flushed when you left Granny's last night," he commented, leaning forward on his cane. "I thought you might have a fever," he said. Emma blanched. Never a break! She thought of a reason quickly on the off chance he hadn't heard Ruby.

"I had a drink, and I think I drank it too quickly. It made me kinda sick," she said, not looking at him. He smiled, not believing her for one second. He knew the reason for her sudden departure had had something to do with her watching him. He'd felt her eyes on him, but he hadn't realized he'd caused such a reaction, then Red's observation about her wanting to polish his cane had thoroughly amused him, but then the look on Emma's face had only reenforced what Red had said.

"I wondered why you left in such a hurry," he pretended to ponder the cause, deciding to tease her a bit more to see what she would say. She shrugged, but on the inside she was yelling, 'Oh could it be because you were making me hotter than dragon fire?' she wanted to say.

"Just wanted to get home. It was a long day," she lied, her cheeks flaming. He smirked.

"Yes, and I noticed Ruby giving you a hard time as well, or so it seemed," he said casually. He had heard. Damn him, his cup, and his cane!

"Yeah, she got me good. Almost as good as Mary-Margaret got me the other night," she said with a little laugh. He chuckled as well.

"Your friends like ribbing you about me a frightful lot. I wonder why that could be?" he mused, and Emma wanted to hit him. Smug bastard!

"Search me," she replied, taking a bite of her eggs. His eyes radiated pure roguish delight. Oh he'd love to search her, he thought wickedly.

"Is that an invitation sheriff?" he asked, and she stopped chewing and looked at him, then swallowed quickly trying not to choke on her food.

"Yeah, why not? Mary-Margaret thinks I want to frolic with you, and Ruby thinks I want to polish your cane, but they were both wrong. I really want you to frisk me," she responded flirtatiously, and went back to concentrating on her eggs. 'Ha, take that perv!' she thought. He looked impressed, and regarded her with mock-confusion.

"Forgive me sheriff, but I thought frisking people was your job," he said with a laugh, pointing at her. Emma snickered and looked up at him. That one damnable corner of his mouth quirking up. God she wanted to kiss him there!

"Well, you'd know first hand, wouldn't you?" she replied in a teasing voice. She refused to let him the get the best of her, although if they kept this flirty game of one ups, things were gonna go south fast. Just thinking of things going south made her mouth water. Gold seemed unfazed, but he was anything but. He needed to leave before once of them said something that led to neither of them making it to work that day, but had to reply. He had to.

"Oh yes, I know all too well. If I hadn't been in such a state that night I'd have asked if you were going to buy me dinner first," he replied, trying to keep the flow of conversation light and humorous, remembering her very thorough search for his gun. That had been an experience to say the least.

"You had a gun, and had to make sure it wasn't on you. Sometimes I really love my job," she said wriggling her eyebrows at him. Oh yeah, she'd really loved that part of arresting him, and for a moment she'd thought he did have his gun, but she had been mistaken, much to her enjoyment, and his apparently. He smirked and leaned both hands on his cane in front of him.

"So you feel up everyone you arrest then?" he quipped. She shook her head.

"You're special, remember?" she said leaning on her hand, and turning her head to the side, before batting her eyelashes. "You got special treatment." she said sweetly, and when she leaned, completely unbeknownst to her, he could see the swell of her breasts along her neckline, he swallowed hard, gripping his cane tightly, forcing a smile.

"Well, I thank you for your consideration sheriff," he replied with a little bow, and then looked into her eyes. "I'll have to return the favor one day," the corner of his mouth quirked up, and he winked. He actually winked at her! Her throat went dry as the Sahara. She swallowed hard. That did it! She was gonna rape him if he didn't leave now!

"Promises, promises," she replied with a very put-upon sigh, rolling her eyes. Gold grinned and looked down at his watch. He needed to get some distance from her before he did something stupid. The damnable woman brought out the worst in him every time he was in her presence. She was so beautiful, and it had been too long since he'd met a woman that stirred him like she did. Not since...well that was too long ago.

"Well on that note, I must go. Have a pleasant day, Emma," he said turning to leave.

"Thanks, you too," she said, glad he was leaving. She was going insane. He turned and looked over his shoulder and graced her with one more devilish smile, and this time when he left the room she did stare at his ass. She couldn't help it. Once he had walked out, and the door was closed, she slumped over on the table. God as her witness, she wanted to do so many illegal things to that man!

After breakfast she headed out to her car, and groaned. August was standing there waiting for her. She gave him a dirty look and forwent the car. Walking was good for you after all. He pushed off from the car and limped after her.

"Emma! Wait up, I don't walk as fast as you do!" he called. She looked over her shoulder and scowled at him.

"If I wanted to talk to a brainless hunk of wood I'd go find a tree!" she snapped and faced forward again.

"Emma! I'm sorry alright. Please stop!" he pleaded. Emma barked a mirthless laugh, and kept walking.

"Right, so you can trap me into another liplock. I don't think so!" she snarled. August hissed in pain but kept following her.

"Emma, I swear I wasn't coming on to you! I just," he began, but she whirled around and almost walked into the man.

"You just what? Just wanted feel something? Huh? You people need to learn about personal space!" she told him indicating the area around her, then rest her fists on her hips. "So what? Did Regina steal your heart too?" she seethed. He looked confused. "Oh wait, you don't have a heart do you? You're a fucking puppet!" she said and turned to walk away. He grabbed her arms to stop her.

"Hey! I do have a heart! Alright? I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry. I don't, I didn't feel anything romantic towards you. I told you I'm dying, and you didn't believe me. I was desperate!" he pleaded. Emma looked down at the arm he held.

"You wanna keep that arm my friend? Then let go of me!" she snapped and pulled out of his grasp when his grip slackened. "By the way, when you kissed me, I think you gave me a splinter!" she growled, and turned to walk away. He looked stricken.

"Emma! I feel horrible about it! I was supposed to protect you," he said limping after her. "Then I go and do that! It was stupid of me, and I really am sorry" he told her. She stopped walking, and turned around again.

"You crossed the line Booth. I trusted you. Is that why you were hanging around Henry all that time? To mess with him and his book so you could get to me? He's in therapy for this delusions, and here you are making them worse!" she accused him. August got angry then.

"And what do you think you're doing then, with all this Cobra stuff? Huh?" he asked her. "Bit like the pot calling the kettle black wouldn't you say?" he scoffed. She bared her teeth, and stepped eye to eye with him, glaring daggers.

"I never mislead him. It's a game to me and he knows that! You told him you believe him!" she hissed. "You messed with his book so he'd believe you!" she said. "You are a liar August! And do not let me see you anywhere near Henry again!" August looked sad then, and backed up.

"Emma, I like Henry. I would never hurt him," he said meekly.

"You don't have to punch someone in the face to hurt them! You're hurting him by feeding into this fantasy of his," she explained tiredly.

"I'm just letting him know that he's not alone. He believes Emma, I believe. So does your friend Jefferson. And he's not the only one. You can bet your ass Regina does too," he warned her. She rolled her eyes.

"Please! She has the kid in therapy because he says these things. She doesn't believe him!" Emma retorted.

"Oh yes she does. She knows all about it, that's why she has him in there. She wants to brainwash it out of him before he tells anyone else," he said gravely. "And if that doesn't work she'll do something worse to him, trust me. I've seen what she can do," he told her.

"When?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Before the curse struck. She's evil Emma, you know that!"

"That's right! She is evil, so are a lot of people. Lex Luthor and Magneto are evil too, and kids pretend to be heroes, and fight them. In our case, I pretend to be a hero and fight the wicked queen. When in reality, I'm just a woman trying to protect her kid from psychotic witch. It's not a fairytale August, it's real life. Real evil. And if you care about Henry like you say, then stop it, alright?" she told him firmly. He sighed.

"When I'm dead, will you be sorry you didn't believe me?" he asked her sadly. Emma prssed her lips together in a tight line.

"Don't you fucking do that to me!" she cried poking him in the chest with her finger, seething with indignation. How dare he play on her sympathies like that? She looked away and then back at him. "Are you really sick?" she asked him point blank, then read his reaction.

"Yes," he said firmly. She sighed. He wasn't lying about that.

"Then you need doctor," she informed him. He shook his head.

"There's no cure for what I have Emma. Not here," he replied dejectedly. Again he was telling the truth.

"Well what do you want me to do about it Booth?" she asked him.

"Help me," he begged, his voice low and pleading.

"I can't! I'm not a doctor. And I'm not a fairy-godmother either! I can't just wave a wand and fix you!" she snapped. "What do you want from me?"

"Just believe me. That's all," he gritted out. His legs hurt so badly tears burned his eyes. Emma swallowed her own tears and looked away from him, he was clearly in agony.

"That's asking too much," she said shaking her head.

" Fine," he gritted out. "I gotta go. Papa, I mean, Marco, is waiting for me," he stammered, and stepped around her. Emma blinked and stopped him.

"Did you call him papa?" she asked him, remembering her own words in that one dream. Who calls their dad papa anymore? He looked at her mildly.

"Slip of the tongue. 'Scuse me," he said and turned to walk away.

"So he's supposed to be Geppetto?" Emma asked sceptically. August turned around again.

"You don't want to hear that," he sneered. "Consider yourself lucky Emma. At least your son knows who you are. The rest of us aren't so fortunate."

"Is Marco your real father?" Emma asked him.

"Match our DNA if you like. He cut himself carving me, so we share the same blood, if you need proof. It worked for Grace and Jeff didn't it?" he asked her. "Awfully funny isn't it? That a ten year old little girl doesn't know her own father? Or a sixty year old man has a son, but he doesn't remember him or his wife ever having kids?" he shook his head and sighed. "Of course if you want blood from me you may want to take it soon. You can't take blood from a dead hunk of wood," he said, and turned in the direction of Marco's and walked away.

Emma walked the rest of the way to the station in a daze. Jefferson was already there waiting on her when she got there. He'd made coffee, and man did she need it. She started to take a sip and then looked at him.

"Not laced with LSD I guess?" she teased and he smiled.

"Nah, I used Valium this time," he retorted. She'd forgiven him for drugging her, since he was just disturbed about losing his daughter, and she knew how he felt.

"If it makes me sleep I'm all for it," she said sipping at the strong hot beverage. "Anything going on right now?"

"All quiet on the western front chief," he said with a salute.

"Good, do you wanna do patrol today?" she asked dangling the keys to the cruiser.

"So I'm official?" he asked her happily. She nodded, and handed him the badge.

"If anyone asks, you don't believe in fairies," she quipped. He smirked.

"But Emma, every time you say that," he began.

"A fairy falls down dead, yeah yeah. Whooptie fucking doo!" she said twirling her finger around. He laughed.

"Well, aren't you Susie Sunshine today," he said. "What's the matter Em?" he asked her. She sighed.

"I talked to August, and now I'm getting a headache," she groaned. "I mean is it possible for a parent to be looking in the eyes of their kid and not know who they are, or that they even had them to begin with?" she asked aloud.

"You talking about Snow, or James?" he asked her, and she glared daggers.

"Neither! It's August I'm talking about, not me!" she fumed. He backed up.

"Down kitty! Sorry! So, you mean Geppetto doesn't know Pinocchio," he said, and she nodded.

"Is August Marco's son?" Emma asked. Jefferson looked away.

"I want to say no. I want to respect your no talking about the curse rule," he hedged. "But you know what happens when you lie," he said, placing a finger on the tip of his nose and extending it outward like it was growing. Emma grunted, and rolled her eyes.

"Not funny Jeff," she sighed, and he folded his arms.

"Run the test," he said with a shrug. "If it's the only way to ease your mind, then do it. What could it hurt?" he said, and she nodded.

"You're right. What could it hurt?" she repeated. Just then the was a bang, as the door slammed open.

"Sheriff Swan! Where's my van?" Moe French bellowed, coming into the room. She winced. What was with the yelling? Sheesh!

"Easy there! Now what are you on about?" she asked him. His face was almost purple he was so worked up.

"My van. It's gone! I was making a delivery, and I got hung up for a few minutes and when I got back it was gone. Where is it?" he asked. Emma sighed.

"I warned you," she said holding up her hands in defense. "It's more than likely down at the impound lot," she replied and picked up a pencil to fill in a form. He came closer and stood in front of her desk.

"I need my van back sheriff!" he demanded.

"Then you have to pay for it!" she retorted. "That's how this works. You broke the law, you pay the price. Not my problem bud!" she told him grouchily.

"If you hadn't given me all those bloody tickets this wouldn't have happened he complained.

"If you hadn't parked where you're not allowed to park then those 'bloody tickets' wouldn't have happened French!" she replied, mimicking his accent a little too perfectly for her taste and his. Where the hell had that come from. "I was just doing my job," she said hotly. French sneered at her.

"Your job. I know all about your job sheriff, and how you got it," he said disdainfully. Emma flushed, and stood up leaning on the desk.

"Just what the hell are you implying French?" she asked acidly.

"I'm saying, that you didn't have a hope of becoming sheriff, and the mayor was against you from the start. You've been arrested twice since you've been here, and your record speaks for itself, and yet there you sit. Why do you think that is?" he asked. Emma stared a hole through him daring to finish what he was saying. "And just how did you get him to back you 'eh? What could a pretty young blonde possibly have to offer someone like him?" he asked scathingly. Emma was a hair's breadth away from diving over the desk and clawing his eyes out.

"Alright pops, you need to go now," Jefferson said stepping up next to him, and seizing his arm. Emma was staring at him open-mouthed. Tiny pricks of red were flashing behind her eyes. She wanted to throttle the man! "Go, or you'll be sorry. I'm not all there when I'm not mad," he said darkly. French looked at Jefferson, and pulled away from him, before storming out. Jefferson looked at Emma.

"I'm gonna go medieval on his ass Jeff, I swear to God!" she seethed. "How dare he say that I'd, I mean not that there anything wrong with the guy, and he did help me, but not for that reason!" Emma cried, and Jeff hugged her.

"It's okay Emma," he soothed. "Calm down sweetie. He's a bastard. Always has been. You know he disowned his son for falling in love with a girl that he didn't approve of. He did the same to one of his daughters,or so I hear," he said with a shrug. "Don't give him a thought. You deserve to be sheriff Em. Fuck him and his opinions," he said gruffly. Emma hugged him back and sniffed. What the hell had she done to offend that man in another life? Jefferson stepped back and smiled at her "So, you want me to do patrol?" he asked her. She nodded and handed him the keys to the cruiser.

"Be careful Jeff," she told him, and he waved.

Emma leaned back in her chair and rubbed her face. What in the fuckall hell had she done to French? Gave him a ticket? So what? He deserved a ticket! Actually he deserved a swift kick in the ass!

Think you can just park where ever the hell you want to? Not on my watch!

Living in a small town was good in a way, in that crime was not at an all time high here. But it was a little bit boring sometimes. She wondered if there would be any cats up trees reported.

"Nope, that's the fire department's thing. I get barking dogs, and stolen tea cups," she said laughing to herself. She really wanted to punch French when she thought of that. That was another reason to not like him. He was a thief! It had obviously meant a lot to Gold if he had wanted it back so much, not that a man like French would care!

Her thoughts drifted to Gold as they had lately whenever her mind was idle for too long. She remembered his face when she'd returned from her outing with Henry that day. He'd looked so sad, and lonely too, sitting there holding that little chipped tea cup. She'd wanted to hug him.

Flashback

"Hey there, you look like a guy who could use some chocolate ice cream," she said holding the cone out to him. He looked up, and smiled a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Thank you for remembering," he replied, and took it appreciatively. She smiled and leaned on the bars.

"You actually have Henry to thank too. He paid for it out of his allowance. He said it's an 'I'm sorry for leaving you alone with my incredibly evil mother present', she smiled, and he chuckled.

"I owe the lad a cone then," he said kindly. Emma smiled, but it melted away as she looked at his face.

"Did everything go okay? She didn't try anything did she?" she asked him, concerned that Regina had done something to him. His eyes twinkled slightly.

"Your concern is touching Miss Swan. No, she just wanted to rub it in my face that she was the reason I'm in here," he replied holding up the tea cup.

"That's what was missing?" Emma asked, looking confused. "A tea cup?" he nodded. Emma looked at it carefully. It looked so ordinary, but who was she to judge? She still slept with a baby blanket sometimes. Then a thought struck her. "Wait so Regina was involved in the break-in?" he smirked ironically.

"Not directly, no. That's not how she operates. She told Moe French what to steal, knowing that I'd be pissed, and want it back," he sighed in a defeated way that made her want to hug him again.

"Sounds like she should be the one in there, not you," Emma said sympathetically. "I'll bet I could do something, with your testimony," she began. He chuckled lightly.

"No thank you dearie. Regina wouldn't be in here long enough for it to matter, and she'd be angry. Then she'd take it out on you for arresting her. No, I've contacted my attorney to post bail, and I'll strike some bargain with French. He'll drop the charges, I'm sure of it," he smiled for real then."Thank you Emma, we are lucky to have you as sheriff," his words brought a smile to Emma's face.

"You're lucky to have me as a friend," she replied and he looked hopeful.

"So you consider me a friend now?" he asked. She nodded, making him grin from ear to ear.

"Good," he said almost playfully, and began to tackle his ice cream cone. Emma shook her head. He looked like a kid sitting there. She felt a kind of tenderness for him when he was vulnerable like this.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"It'll be a bit before Drew comes with my bail, since he's in court. My leg is aching something wicked," he complained. Emma clucked her tongue, and looked toward the storage closet.

"I can get you some spare blankets, and a pillow to prop it up on," she offered helpfully. He looked embarrassed, but nodded.

"If you would, damn leg," he grumbled. She went to the closet and pulled out the blankets and pillows. Then unlocked the cell and placed them on the cot.

"Come on," she said patting the bunk. He looked at her wryly.

"Really Miss Swan, here?" he teased. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes here. Take me now you bad bad man!" she said dryly. He laughed.

"Careful what you ask for dearie," he said. "I may take you up on it " he teased, and made to stand, then winced.

"Oh God, I forgot! You don't have your cane!" she turned and held her arm out to him. He took it , and stood up gingerly. She placed his arm around her shoulders so she could get a better grip on him, and put her arm around his waist. She kind of liked the way they were holding onto each other, but she shook it off,and helped him over to the bunk, and he dropped onto it hard, gritting his teeth in pain. Emma winced for him, and helped him elevate his leg, then placed one of the pillows under it. She then took the other one and put it behind his back. He looked up at her with wonder, and settled back against it.

"Thank you Emma," she smiled.

"Anytime, and no this doesn't count as your favor," she teased. He smirked.

"Oh I know that dearie," he replied, and she lay her hand on his shoulder.

"Well, you have a snack, and you look comfy, so, are you good?" she asked him. He smiled.

"A man could get used to this kind of treatment," he said with a sigh and shifted his back against the pillow. Emma shook her head and made a little bow.

"Anything to make you happy, sahib," she replied sarcastically, making him chuckle. And then turned to exit the cell. It wouldn't look good if anyone came in there and the sheriff was fraternizing with the prisoner...

Emma shook her head to clear it. Gold had since been very nice to her, and of course they flirted occasionally. But the past few days had been murder on her libido. That dream last night had been the cherry on top. She just couldn't escape the man. She liked him, a lot, and he seemed to like her, but it never went beyond teasing words. She still wasn't sure she wanted a relationship with the man, or if he wanted one with her for that matter. Still she knew he felt the pull that she felt. He was like a flame to her proverbial moth, but she was worried if she got too close she may wind up burned.

After Jefferson returned from patrol, he'd been giddy after his first assignment, and had offered to do some of the filing. Emma was about to write the day off as a slow one when things picked up.

Someone banged on the door-frame. Emma turned to look and saw a young girl standing there. She had bright blue eyes and long fiery red hair. She hurried over to the desk and looked scared.

"Oh hi there. What's the matter?" Emma asked and the girl look wildly around. "Here, sit down!" Emma cried and stood to help her sit down in the chair next to the desk.

"What's your name?" she asked her. The girl started to sign, and Emma understood.

"Are you deaf?" she asked her slowly, pointing at her ears. The girl shook her head and pointed to her throat then opened her mouth to speak, and no sound came out. "Oh, you can hear, but you can't talk," Emma said, and the girl nodded. "Okay, well I don't do sign language, so can you write down your problem?" Emma asked her. She nodded, and took the pen and paper from Emma.

"My name is Arianna Versely," she wrote. "I'm looking for my father. He never came home last night, and I'm worried something has happened to him. He's the captain of The King Fish, and I need help finding him!" she scribbled the last part because she was in a hurry for Emma to read it. Emma looked up and nodded.

"Where was he last seen?" she handed the paper back to the girl, and she started writing furiously.

"On his fishing boat in the bay. He's just gone!" she wrote back.

"I'll start looking. Where can I reach you in case I find something?" she asked her. The girl gave her her cell number.

"Text me," she wrote, and Emma nodded.

"What's your father's name?" she needed to know. Arianna wrote it down for her.

"Trevor Versely," she wrote on the paper, and handed Emma a picture of him. He had long white hair, and a beard. He almost looked like Santa Claus

Emma told her not to worry and she'd call her if anything turned up, and hopefully not body parts this time. She had in a way wished for some excitement, and now she had it. Yay! She did go over to Granny's and ask if Ruby could come with her. Ruby agreed.

"Emma, what are we looking for this time?" she asked, and Emma told her about the missing man.

"God I hope that there's no heart in a box this time, urgh!" she said as they made the round, asking questions, and then went to check out the boat.

"He was here, eight hours ago, or so," Ruby said. He's not been hurt, at least not here. There's no blood," she said looking over the railing. If he fell in the water here, he'd be fine. It's not deep, and I know Mr. Versley. He's the swim coach and swims like a fish himself. I don't think he'd drown, not here anyway," she said.

"Well, that leaves kidnapping. God, why do people disappear so much here?" Emma asked her. Ruby shrugged.

"Dunno, when people do disappear they always turn up though. Kathryn did," she reminded Emma.

"Yeah, lucky thing too. Mary-Margaret almost went down for a crime that didn't even happen," Emma replied.

"Lucky thing you're so tight with Gold. He's the one that really made that happen," Ruby smirked. "He's a magic man!" she squealed and Emma rolled her eyes. "Just how tight are you two these days anyway?" she hedged.

"We're friends Ruby. That's all," she said and nodded towards her car. "Come on. Let's go canvas a while. If you're up to it," Emma said with a smile. Ruby shook her head.

"I'm up for it. Do you want to go get Jeff? He could help us," she suggested

"I'll give him a call. Maybe he can check on his end of town," she replied and phoned Jefferson. He said he'd ask around and call her if he found anything.

"So, tell me what you know about Arianna," she said to Ruby. The other woman shrugged.

"She's a sweetheart. She loves music, a total song lexicon. Her dream was to be a singer, but..." Ruby trailed off with a little sigh.

"No voice. That sucks for her," Emma said, as they climbed in the cruiser. Then an odd thought hit her. "What does Arianna do for a living then?"

"She's the lifeguard at the pool, and she teaches swimming at the Y. Everyone likes her, and even though Mr. Versley is a tough coach I don't know of anyone who'd hurt him," Ruby said, twisting the dial on the radio.

"Henry would probably say she's Ariel," Emma sniggered. Ruby looked at her blankly. "You know, The Little Mermaid?" she elaborated. "Made a deal with a witch to be human, lost her voice, married a prince. He father was the king of the sea," she continued.

"Well his boat is called The King Fish. It does make sense, but then he thinks I'm Little Red Riding Hood, so..." she giggled. "Could you just see me skipping through the woods with a little basket, picking flowers. So not cool!" she joked. Emma nodded.

"At least you have a story," Emma complained. "I'm not a character at all, I'm just me," she sighed.

"Hey if you were a character, who do you think you'd be?" Ruby wanted to know. Emma thought about it for a minute.

"I'm not princess material, All the girls in those stories are princesses. All of them are always locked up in a tower, or cursed to sleep forever, or in some other horrible way," she said with disdain. "I'd rather be a knight or something. "Slaying dragons, riding horses, now that sounds like fun," she said excitedly. "I mean, could you see me in one of those ball gowns or something?" she laughed.

"I don't know. I think you'd look pretty Emma. I've never seen you even wear a dress," Ruby observed. Emma gave a derisive snort.

"I've worn them, just not since I've been here. Nowhere to put my gun," she quipped. Ruby laughed.

"Still, I want to see you in a dress. Come shopping with me tomorrow! You can model one for me!" Ruby squealed.

"Oh, I don't know Ruby I...what the?"Emma slammed on her breaks as she saw someone wondering across the road.

It was Mr. Versley. He waved to them. Emma and Ruby jumped out of the car and walked around to the front. Mr. Versley had a large purple bruise on his face, and looked fearful.

"Hey there, Mr. Versley," Ruby said jovially. "Are you okay? She asked him. He looked from Ruby to Emma.

"I need to get to Mister Gold. It's an emergency. Have you seen Arianna?" he asked in a dazed voice.

"Yeah she's looking for you and worried out of her mind. What do you need with Gold?" Emma asked him. He looked up at her and swallowed hard.

"That's all I'll say until I've spoken with him. I know my rights," he said. Emma nodded.

"Alright, but you need to let your daughter know that you are alive. She was frantic when she was at the station," Emma told him. "Here, use my phone to text her," she handed it to him, and waited while he sent her a message. Then let him in the cruiser.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Emma watched the road occasionally looking in the rear-view mirror. Mr. Versley was flighty, and fidgety. Ruby continued with no success to find a good song on the radio.

At last they got to the shop, and Emma had never had such a awkward car ride. She walked in with Mr. Versley, hoping to catch a hint as to why he needed Gold's legal services. The man himself was looking very carefully at what looked like a contract, when they entered.

"Ah good day, Trevor, and Miss Swan, always a pleasure. What can I do for you?" he asked looking form one to the other.

"I need counsel," Versley said quickly before Emma could speak. She looked at him and scowled.

"I found him wandering on the side of the road," she told Gold.

"I need to talk to you, privately," Versley said, over her. "I need you help," he pleaded.

"Alright, come to the back. We'll get something on that eye, and then something for the nerves, eh?" he said helpfully. "Emma, a word?" he asked her as Mr. Versley tottered to the back room.

"Gold what the hell is going on?" she asked him, and he surprised her by putting his hands on both sides of her arms, and looked in her eyes.

"Emma, Trevor needs counsel. I assure you that he's a good man. He came to me before about this. Someone was making threats against his fishing business, and his daughter. I promise I'll let you know if there's anything to report, trust me, yeah?" he asked her, with a small smile. She blinked and nodded. She did, trust him that is.

"Just, make sure that he hasn't murdered anyone, okay?" she requested weakly. He chuckled.

"I'll see what I can find out," he said, giving her a little squeeze and then letting her go, sliding his fingers down her arms a little as he did. She drew her breath sharply. He smirked.

"Be sure to let me know if you're ever in the mood to get frisked," he teased, and turned to go attend to Versley. Emma's eyes almost popped out of her head. Really?

"Damn you," she said. And heard him chuckle lightly as he disappeared behind the curtain.

She returned to the car. Ruby was leaning on it looking excited. "Well?" she wanted to know. Emma shrugged.

"I don't know. He wouldn't talk in front of me. Gold said someone threatened him, and his daughter. We'll just have to wait and see," she said leaning on the car hood.

"Damn, oh well. At least he's alive. So, shopping tomorrow?" Ruby hedged. "You, me, and maybe Mary-Margaret too, if she wants?" she looked so hopeful Emma nodded.

"Yeah, okay. But I draw the line at ball gowns." Emma said with a smirk.

"Yay!" Ruby said happily, then looked at her watch. "Oh crap! I gotta get back to the diner, or Granny'll skin me alive! See ya tomorrow, about noon? We can have lunch," she said. Emma nodded, and Ruby waved and took off at a run towards the diner, drawing a lot of attention as she did so. Emma sighed. What had she gotten herself into? She called Jefferson and told him she'd found Mr Versley, before heading back to work.

Emma had lots of ideas about what to do with her day off. Pretending she was a princess playing dress up was not on the top of her list. Standing in a dressing room, in a dress she would never wear in a million years, Emma felt as ill at ease as she had when she had been made to attend a seventh grade dance, and had worn her first heels. This dress was a far cry from ball-gownish, but still,

"Come out Emma," her friends called from the other side of the dressing room door. Emma sighed, and stepped out earning her a long loud wolf whistle from Ruby, and a gush of compliments from Mary-Margaret.

"Emma, you look gorgeous!" she cried, standing up and taking Emma by the hand leading her in a pivot turn. Emma blushed. The dress they had railroaded her into trying on was a soft blue spaghetti-strap dress. It had jeweled detailing on the bodice, and had a thin layer of black lace over the bubble hem skirt. It fit just perfectly, falling just above her knees. Not too long, not too short. She stood there self-consciously. Mary-Margaret gushing over her made her feel like she was eighteen, and picking out her prom dress.

"I feel naked," she complained, rubbing her bare arms. "This isn't suitable for Maine's weather," she said turning to look in the mirror.

"You look hotter than July Em!" Ruby raved. "You'll heat up the whole town if you wear that!" Emma smirked and turned to see how it made her ass look. Not bad, she mused to herself, but still.

"I'm not buying it. Where would I wear it anyway?" she reasoned. Mary-Margaret giggled, peering past her with interest.

"On a date with your stalker maybe?" she answered. Emma sighed. Gold was driving her to the point of distraction

"I'll be right back," she said and turned to meet eyes with said stalker. He looked her over appreciatively, and smiled.

"Good afternoon sheriff," he said inclining his head her way. She nodded back, and Gold watched her walk with the grace of her namesake. She was a swan, without even trying she was every bit the princess she was born to be. He had to mentally shake himself to break the spell she cast on him, so he could focus on her words.

"Hi there, and no cracks about where I'm hiding my gun," she threatened. He smirked.

"You have my word," he said, and then looked at her politely. "I will say you look lovely though," he commented, and she smiled a little.

"That's nice of you to say. I feel like a life-size barbie doll. All that's missing is the Velcro snaps on the back of this thing," she joked, not feeling like herself, but the way he was looking at her made her think that dresses weren't all bad. She did feel pretty in it.

"It's a wonderful thing when the truth can be nice my dear. Too often it's not," he said wistfully. "I planned on coming by the station to talk to you about our conversation yesterday. I didn't know you were here. I came by to collect rent, and lucky me, here you are," he said. She smiled.

"Lucky me as well," she said dryly, crossing her arms in a signature 'Emma' pose, earning her a snigger from him. Inside she was truly glad to see him, but she hid it well, and she was curious about the thing with Versely. "So are you gonna tell me, what that was all about?" she watched his face closely to detect any trace of a lie, although she'd never been able to find any. He stepped closer to her so they wouldn't be over heard. Emma looked up into his face, and waited.

"Trevor had an altercation with a woman named Sue Morgan. She has a rival business, and tried to gain control of Trevor's business with blackmail, and threats. She threatened his daughter, and that was all it took. There was shouting and she came at him with a hay-fork, of all things. They fought, and he wrested it away from her and when she came at him again he hit her with it. It was self defense," he said. Emma's mouth fell open.

"So she's dead then?" she asked. He nodded. Emma looked disheartened. Another damn murder!

"Yes, but he didn't murder her. It was an accident. All he meant to do was stop her so he could call you, but there was no time. He had to defend himself," he explained with a shrug. Emma nodded in agreement.

"Are there witnesses?" she asked, needing to get the facts straight.

"Yeah, the two young fishermen that work for him," he replied.

"I'm gonna need statements from them. All three of them," she said. She was clearly stunned.

"I'll talk to them, and get them to come in," he replied. "Oh there is one more thing. Sue was, well, an acquaintance of Regina's. She won't be happy to hear of this," he said gravely. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Shit!" she snarled with a grimace.

"My thoughts exactly. We need to make sure she doesn't have anything to threaten the boys with. Until they can speak for Trevor at the trial," he leaned on his cane.

"I'll try to keep it quiet. As far as Regina's concerned they were never there," she said with a smirk. He returned it.

"Am I rubbing off on you Miss Swan?" he asked playfully, and she shrugged.

"Maybe a little. Not that that's a bad thing. Dealings with Regina have to be handled with care," she said, and he nodded, looking at her with pride.

"That's my girl," he said with a wink. She blushed. He noticed. "Well, I just wanted to keep you in the loop. I'll go speak with the boys, and Trevor. They'll come in and give a statement." he said turning to go. She started to tun away when his voice stopped her. "Oh and Emma," he said as an after thought. "From a man's perspective, you should buy it my dear. It does wonders for your eyes," he remarked, eying her in the dress once more. She sniggered.

"It's doing wonders for yours too, I see," she teased, not being able to help it. He certainly had taken an eyeful after all. He smirked, and kept walking.

"Among other things," he quipped, one final parting remark, and a little wave over his shoulder and he was out of the shop, and down the street before Emma recovered. The man had just told her in the nicest, and most charming way possible that she turned him on! Well, good! It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one suffering from sexual deprivation. She turned and walked back over to her friends with a little bounce in her step.

"Hey what was that about? You getting it on with Gold?" Ruby wanted to know.

"I wish," Emma grumbled, and the girls laughed. She did too, a little bit. "No really, he was telling me about what happened with Mr. Versley the other day. I probably shouldn't talk about it. I don't have all the facts anyway," she said, and her friends nodded.

"So what else was he talking about? He couldn't take his eyes off of you," Mary-Margaret observed. Ruby nodded. Emma looked away.

"He liked my dress, said it did wonders for my eyes," she said quietly. Mary-Margaret emitted a little squeak, and Ruby covered her mouth and giggled.

"Ooh hoo hoo! Emma's got a boyfriend," Ruby sang at her. Emma shook her head at her immature friend.

"I told you he liked you! Who was right?" Mary-Margaret said in a self-assured tone. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Stop guys!" Emma pleaded. "Now I'm gonna go take this off, so I can pay for it, and we can go get lunch. I'm starving!" she said, and headed for the dressing room. Ruby looked at Mary-Margaret.

"She's buying it!" Ruby said gleefully.

"Yeah, a perfect dress for a date with a stalker," Mary-Margaret said with a secretive smile.

"He can stalk me anytime," Ruby remarked. Mary-Margaret's eyes bugged, and she swatted at her.

"Ruby! He's Emma's guy. Or will be soon, I have a feeling," she said in a low whisper. Ruby sniggered.

"Well maybe, but he's still kinda hot," Ruby sighed. Mary-Margaret rolled her eyes at her. Leave it to Ruby to state the obvious.

A/N : Wow long long chapter here. Longest yet! My brain just wouldn't stop adding things. Anyway, I hope y'all liked it. I'm still plugging away at it. I'd love some reviews, tell me what you think. :)