Disclaimer: All aspects of Once Upon A Time belong to ABC and the show's creators.

Emma aimed at the paper target, arms held out strong in front of her and clicked off the safety on her gun. After a slow breath she pulled the trigger four times in rapid succession, all four bullets going through the head section of the target. Her body barely moved from the pistol recoil, experience giving her confidence. Emma stepped back from the shooting range's counter and pulled down her ear protection, hanging them around her neck as she reloaded her pistol's magazine, pulling the bullets from her back pocket.

"Is there a reason you're down here today, Sergeant?" A voice behind Emma asked. She jumped and whirled. With the gun shots and the heavy duty earphones she wore when practicing shooting she hadn't heard anyone come up behind her. When she arrived at the shooting range earlier with the intent on blowing off some steam with gunpowder and lead she'd been the only one there. Which had suited her just fine.

Standing behind her, hands on his hips as he appraised Emma's work, was Graham, town sheriff and her boss. Wavy brown hair swept lazily across his forehead, his chin covered in a three day scruff that was more attractive than unkempt or slovenly. Pretty much any woman that came into contact with him swooned but Emma wasn't interested.

Graham had been interested in more when they'd been partners for her rookie year but he kept a safe distance romantically from Emma, knowing enough about her to realize that she wasn't frigid so much as protective of her own interests. One surprise kiss was all she'd allowed of him before ending it. They were partners and friends and Emma wasn't looking for anything else. Graham had thankfully respected that. They'd been separated as partners a few months ago when Graham was awarded the position of sheriff after the previous one had retired. Eyes sparkling he took a step closer.

"Needed to blow off some steam," Emma replied noticing Graham was out of uniform, wearing dark jeans and a rugged checkered shirt under his sheriff's coat. She glanced at the clock- it was after five. She had a date in less than two hours. Shit.

"And what would you need to blow off steam for on a Friday, Emma?" Graham was concerned, eyes searching her face carefully. He knew some about Emma's past, knew that she had been through a lot and that sometimes she dealt with things differently than someone with a more stable upbringing. Even though he wasn't romantically interested in her anymore he still cared whether she was happy and safe.

Emma sighed. The man would want to know why Emma was upset, not because he was Emma's boss but because he was her friend. Friends told friends things that we're bothering them. She could tell Graham.

"I have a date tonight."

Graham laughed, clearly relieved that it wasn't something more serious. "Isn't that a good thing? I mean, it's been years."

"You sound like David," Emma groaned. David was another Sergeant at the department and had actually become Emma's new partner after Graham's promotion. Graham knew the other officer well, along with his spitfire of a ballerina wife. "Mary Margaret set it up. I had no say in the matter."

"Well with that attitude you're sure to thrill the guy. This mystery man will be pounding down your door just to hear your loving tones," Graham drawled, eyebrow raised.

Emma shot him an unamused look before holstering her gun and leaving the headphones on the shooting range's counter. She wasn't even going to respond to that comment.

Emma glanced at the clock again. Mary Margaret would kill her if she didn't get back to her place within the next ten minutes to start getting ready. Emma might be a police officer and carry a loaded gun but she knew better than to cross Mary Margaret.

"If you need a way out tonight shoot me a text and I'll call you with some bogus emergency."

"And risk Mary Margaret finding out and thinking I went instead of calling David? Yeah, no thanks, Sheriff. That would end worse for me than the date ever could."

Graham's warm laugh followed her out of the shooting range and Emma couldn't help but smile along.

The smile was gone by the time she reached her place though, Mary Margaret's car already parked in the drive. Emma's house was a small, a one level tan and brick bungalow with a small manicured front lawn that she rented. Emma knew she could have had an apartment closer to her friends' houses, who all lived in apartments downtown, but she enjoyed having her own house, a place that was all hers, no walls shared, no noisy neighbours to interrupt her routines. Emma had found a real home and was now saving up to actually buy it from her landlord. Until then she would continue to pretend she owned it and revel in the idea of actually having her own place. Finally.

Emma let herself in through the front door, only to be greeted by both Mary Margaret and Ruby, neither looking impressed by her tardiness. Mary Margaret was still wearing her rehearsal clothing, a wraparound sweater, light skirt and tights with sky blue leg warmers. She must have come straight from work and picked Ruby up at her family's diner along the way.

"You're late. Bathroom. Shower. Now." Ruby growled before grabbing her arm and towing her into her bedroom and then into her ensuite bathroom.

"You have ten minutes," Mary Margaret added before shutting the bathroom door.

Emma started the shower then undressed before slipping into the steaming hot water. She let the burn calm her. She could do one date. How hard could it be? Emma had done many things in her past she didn't want to do and survived. And a lot of those things had gone on longer than a few hours. Everyone else seemed to think that Emma was ready to date again. Maybe they knew something she didn't? After stalling for as long as she could Emma shut the tap off, wrapped herself in a clean towel and joined her inpatient friends in her bedroom.

Ruby tossed Emma a shirt as soon as she'd stepped through the door. Emma caught it easily in one hand, using the other to keep her towel in place, and held it up. It was black cotton with leather cap selves and leather panelling down the side, form fitting but not overly tight. It was sexier than Emma would have gone but she knew better than to argue when Mary Margaret was looking more like a trained assassin than a company's principle ballerina. She was really taking the date seriously. Emma took the black skinny jeans from the bed and retreated back to the bathroom without a word.

"You have one hour before I'm shoving you in your car so get out here," Ruby called, giving the door frame a smack after a few minutes. Emma opened the door and gave her a sheepish look. She hadn't meant to upset her friends. She just didn't want to go on a date. But her friends had worked so hard in the name of her happiness so she felt bad. She'd been doing a terrible job at paying back such kindness.

Emma sat on her bed without any more complaints or hesitation while Mary Margaret began to apply makeup to her face, running foundation over her skin before a light dusting of powder to lock the pigments in place. She dusted a natural peach blush over the apples of Emma's cheeks and a bit of highlighter on top of that. A thick band of eyeliner was painted on before Mary Margaret applied a few coats of mascara. Mary Margaret let Emma apply her own peach lip gloss, handing her a tissue to blot off the excess once Emma had capped the colour.

While Mary Margaret worked on her face Ruby began blow drying Emma's hair. Once finished she proceeded to curl the blonde hair into loose curls that fell down Emma's back. Emma was thankful for that- at least she was not going to be subjected to an updo and the bobby pin headache that came with such a style. She was pretty sure she would have a big enough headache as it was after the date.

"There," Mary Margaret said, stepping back and appraising Emma. "All ready."

Emma stood and smoothed her shirt. "Thanks for doing all this guys, you didn't have to."

Ruby gave her a hug. "Sure we did. We wanted to make sure you were smoking hot for this Atlantic Captain. Atlantic Captain won't know what hit him when you walk in." Ruby handed Emma her red leather jacket which she slipped on, glad that she could use it as a type of safety blanket for the date.

Emma tried to smile as they towed her out of the house. Her friends were only asking for one date. It was the least she could do to repay all the kindness they'd showed her over the years. Maybe this date would turn out to be a good thing and Emma would finally find someone? She quickly squashed that thought away as she walked to her car.

Emma drove to the restaurant, nearly turning back five times. The only thing that stopped her was knowing Mary Margaret and Ruby were still back at her house, waiting for the play by play of the evening when she got back. Once parked she had to stop and breathe deeply, head against the steering wheel until her heart slowed to a reasonable pace.

That feeling of weakness made her angry. Because Emma was strong and Neal had turned her into a blubbering mess when it came to relationships. This was all his fault. Neal had ruined her life even though there shouldn't have even been a place for her ex in her heart to begin with. She should have known better than to trust someone like Neal Cassidy. The anger towards Neal pushed Emma out of the car and into the restaurant.

The hostess smiled as she walked in. "Table or reservation?"

"Reservation," Emma answered, scanning the room. Where was this man who supposedly would love to meet her? Was Atlantic Captain there already or was he late? Or had he bailed altogether, not that she would really blame him? It was his only night on land and he was meeting a blind date, who he owed nothing to, instead of going out with friends. Emma wouldn't have made the same decision as
Atlantic Captain had, not when her friends were also her only family.

The hostess nodded, checked her seating plan then led her to a table near the back where a man was sitting. Emma tried not to panic when she realized her date was waiting for her, probably with some false idea of who she was. One that she would quickly disappoint, as she did every time someone thought they knew her.

The man smiled as Emma approached and stood. Emma tried not to freeze immediately at his handsome appearance. Dark brown hair somewhat styled but messy all the same, as if he'd done it while still out on the boat, fluttered across his forehead. The Atlantic Captain wore black denim and a black button up, the top three buttons undone to reveal dark chest hair. A necklace with strange metal charms hung around his neck, twinkling in the fluorescent glow of The Harbour Light's dining room. Ice blue eyes gleamed in way that was both saucy and endearing. It was obvious that he knew what kind of an effect he had for a first impression from the confident stance he took, balanced strongly in beaten up leather boots, one hand running up to further dishevel his unruly hair.

A nagging feeling started in the pit of Emma's stomach and her hands began to sweat. She immediately wanted to run. Something told her she knew this guy as a kid, back in her foster system days. Which meant he knew what she was, where she came from. That was something she didn't want for a date she was forced to go on. The knowledge of that was too much. She just couldn't place the now mature
face.

When the man raised a single eyebrow as he motioned for her to come closer it hit Emma. She knew that movement as well as she knew the way David slid into the driver side of the police car they shared or the graceful flickering of Mary Margaret's feet as she practiced in Emma's living room on her days off. This man had been the only friend she'd had during the first fourteen years of her life, even though he had known her for only a short time. And Emma had left that placement without ever telling him goodbye.
She froze. "Jones?"

Killian froze and balked as well. Recognition dawned on him at the use of his last name. It was what she had called him in the past. Killian looked at her as if she wasn't real. As if she couldn't be real after going missing from his life all those years ago. "Swan?"

Emma turned and ran.