A/N: I'm so amazed by the response to my fic! Thank you so much for reading and leaving reviews!

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, but the words are :)

Chapter 4

After showering, Killian grabbed his phone, connecting to the hotel's Wi-Fi, his fingers itching over the Facebook application icon. Sighing, he clicked on the Twitter icon instead, going through his feed, retweeting a couple of his brother's tweets, replying to some fellow actors. He typed up a quick tweet about the day's convention, thanking the fans for showing up and for their support.

When he finally logged onto his Facebook personal account, he clicked onto the search bar before hesitating. Sighing heavily, he typed in Ava's name. He easily found her profile and spent the better part of the next hour going through the hundreds of public pictures she had on there, trying to learn a bit more about her via the posts and comments.

The picture that caught his attention was one of Ava and Emma at Ava's high school graduation the summer before. If he thought Emma was beautiful as a teenager, nothing had prepared him for the stunningly gorgeous woman she had become. How could she still affect him that way after so many years?

April 1997

"Where are we going exactly?"

"My secret place!" Emma turned around and beamed at Killian. "Tada!"

"It's… a pond?!" Killian did his best not to laugh, but Emma burst in a fit of giggles.

"Yeah, it's a pond! But it's my pond!"

Emma's secret place was a small pond set in a clearing in the middle of the woods behind her parents' house. It had a small patch of sand and was surrounded by very high grass. Through the years, Emma had placed a circle of rocks to build a fire and dragged fallen logs to be used as seats.

Despite being a pond, it was a nice little secluded place where she could do some thinking and daydreaming. Nobody knew of that place, except for Killian now.

"I come here when I need my peace, when I'm hurt or am sad," she explained.

"It's a nice place, I have to admit," Killian nodded. "May I?" he gestured towards the firepit, inquiring if he could light it.

Emma nodded, keeping her eyes on him as he worked. Killian may have been lanky, but there was something about him that drew Emma in. When the fire was lit, Emma and Killian sat side by side on a long log.

"I never brought anyone here before," Emma softly said.

"Why me, then?" Killian asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know, it feels right," she smiled.

Killian had only been there for a week and Emma could already admit that she'd never been closer to anyone in her life.

"I…" she started. "People don't like me much. I'm not popular, I'm too focused on my grades, guys don't want to date me."

"Why wouldn't they?!" Killian inquired.

Emma shrugged. "You tell me, you're a guy!"

Killian had to bite his tongue before he could blurt out that he would date her in a heartbeat.

Emma sighed heavily. "I guess I'm just not pretty enough for them."

"That's total bullshit! You're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on!" Killian said, almost shrieking, blushing profusely at his admission.

When he heard her sniffling, Killian put his arm around her shoulders and drew her to him.

"Did I… did I say something wrong?"

Emma shook her head no and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I always felt like something was wrong with me. I'll be 17 in a few months and I've never been asked on a date. I've never been kissed! Do you know how that feels?" her voice broke as tears ran down her face.

"I do, yes," Killian softly said. "Look at me! I'm too tall, too thin, too hairy! I prefer arts to sports, even though I AM good in sports. I'd rather stay in my room and play with my guitar instead of going out with friends. Irish girls, they'd rather go for the video game addict than me. They'd prefer a chubbier boyfriend than me with my hairy chest. I always get put in the friend zone, so yes, I know how you feel."

Emma was stunned at Killian's confession.

"I've seen you bare-chested Killian," she said, looking up at him. "I, personally, much prefer a chest like yours rather than a guy who's got either rock-hard abs or no hair and looking like he's 10 years old."

Emma's breath hitched when Killian reached for her face and wiped her tears with his thumbs. And when she stared into his eyes, she found herself completely mesmerized by the blue of his eyes. How was she supposed to befriend him when all she could think about was how much of a great kisser he surely was with those lips? Or how his jet-black hair looked like silk and how much she'd like to just reach out and run her fingers through his locks?

Oh, she was definitely screwed. Barely a week after his arrival, and she already had a crush on the Irish boy. If only he would stop smiling at her like that! And could he just stop licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue when he looked at her?!

Emma was screwed. Totally.

When he realized he'd been staring at Emma's face for 15 minutes, Killian closed the application and opened up his contact list.

Scrolling through the names, he clicked on the one he had been looking for.

"Regina? It's Killian Jones. I… I need to take a paternity test, STAT. Call me?"