Thanks for being patient with me. We have gotten moved into our new house, which has a few quirks. The internet and cable have been installed. I'm trying to settle into my new job. So here's hoping I can update and post the last couple of chapters of this fic.

Thanks for all your comments, reviews, and notes of encouragement. I love to get those and know that people are reading and enjoying this fic.

When Emma was 15, Mary Margaret and Ruby had tried to convince her to go out for the cheerleading team with them both. For weeks they practiced heel stretches and tumbling. They worked out all the time, dripping with sweat and keeping smiles on their faces in case they ran into any of the veterans on the squad. Emma and Ruby both admitted they weren't exactly the right types for the team, but Ruby loved the idea of the uniforms and Emma thought it might be nice to just belong.

Just two days before the final tryouts Emma had sat with an ice pack on her knee when David had knocked on the door. His face been an ashen color, lips thinned by his worry and his hands digging into his hips as he rocked back and forth in front of her. He'd broken the news as gently as he could that the girls on the squad had planned to blackball Emma, as she did not belong to one of the finer families and did not have the same financial resources.

"Then I won't try out," Emma had said as if it did not bother her at all. "I wasn't that interested in it anyway." She shifted the ice pack as David sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Don't do that," he cautioned. "You may look like a fragile little flower, but you're one of the strongest people I know. You're so much better than those stupid and insipid little twits who can't be bothered to be original in their gossip." He pushed one of the throw pillows out of the way like it had personally offended him.

"David," she consoled gently, as though it was him who had been talked about and not her. "It is just cheerleading. It's not that big of a deal. And what do I care what they say?" He wasn't buying it, but she said it anyway. She'd cried in front of him before when they had awards day at school and were supposed to invite their parents. Ruth had attended for her, but the school had not bothered to recognize the woman.

"They don't know you, Emma," he said. "If they did, they would love and care about you as much as we do." David's eyes watered though he looked more angry than sad. His protectiveness of Emma was palpable even back then.

It was the same expression on his face when he asked Emma to come into his office that next morning, ignoring the pleas for his signature on a document or a moment of his time to discuss a challenge in a case. "Emma, please," he said, his voice soft as he walked past her desk toward the glass room that was his office. She got up from her seat and followed him, casting a glance at Robin who was chewing on the tip of his pen.

"Dramatic much?" she asked, kicking back in the chair where he indicated for her to sit. "I've already read the files. Looks like preliminary reports are good and that Hans won't have much of a defense."

He nodded, distracted from the idea of reports and the previous day's activities. He'd pretty much gone through the motions and been thankful that Emma had taken his advice for a day off. "You look rested," he commented, drumming the fingers of one hand on a closed notebook. "I guess a day off can be a good thing every now and then."

She nodded back at him. "You didn't bring me in here to discuss the merits of time off."

"I suppose you're right." Leaning back in the chair, he had a moment where he almost lost his balance, but quickly regained it. "I've been going over the interviews with Hans, his brother, and with Edward. They aren't very cooperative, but that's not a surprise. The thing is, Emma, that it appears they were not acting alone, nor were they just trying to assuage the broken heart of Hans."

Pushing a bit of blonde hair behind her ear, she chewed at her bottom lip. From experience she knew this was not his lecture on missing a vital clue. Something else was going on with the case. "Just tell me."

A few short breaths escaped his nose. "My father," he said as though the words hurt to say. "My father set this and everything else into motion. He wanted to make me look more competent and electable. He wanted me to find Anna and Kris – get the headlines and save the day. He wanted to take the heat off me over the missing money so he made you look guilty. When Regina's advisor messed up on the amount of the boat purchase, he tried to frame that on Killian so it looked like I had did not have anything to do with it."

Emma blinked, her eyes beginning to clear with the understanding of what he was saying. "He's been a busy man," she commented. "I'm sorry, David. I wish I could say I was surprised or shocked, but the truth is that we have both known your father isn't exactly Storybrooke's citizen of the year."

"No, he's not," David said with a groan. "I hate that he tried to hurt you. He had people kidnapped. For what? All for a job that that I don't even want. I could make more doing private security work or moving to a bigger town."

"But Mary Margaret's not there and her teaching job is here," Emma pointed out. Her friend had said on more than one occasion that she would never leave the town where she had grown up. There was a whole wide world she was willing to visit, but she always wanted to go home afterward. David had respected that and even said that he was more interested in establishing roots than creating a new life somewhere else. "You're happy here."

"I hate being manipulated," he said gruffly. "My father has…my father has taken whatever good I have done as sheriff and reduced it to nothing more than a ploy for whatever game he's playing. I feel like a fool and…I allowed people I care about to get hurt because I wasn't willing to see the problem."

Emma frowned, the lines on her forehead deepening with the effort. "We all want to believe people love us and want the best for us," she said, remembering something that both Mary Margaret and Killian had said to her. "Of course you wanted to believe in your father. There's nothing wrong with that. And he must have some good in him to have had a woman like Ruth love him even for a little while."

"I truly don't know what my mother saw in that man," David sputtered. "I'm sorry, Emma. I'm sorry that he tried to use you to make me look better in the eyes of voters. I'm ashamed of that as much as I'm ashamed of all the other crap that man has done."

Emma tugged at the sleeves of her cream colored sweater, pulling them over the palms of her hands. "David, it's not your fault." She didn't add that she was one of those people who expected others to betray her. David knew that. He knew that she lacked trust when it came to people. She assumed the worst, which made her distinctly distrustful. "Your father was misguided and criminally guilty, but he…"

David slammed his hands back down the desk. "Stop making excuses for him. You, me, and my mother did that all my life. We say he's so into winning that he loses sight of morality. We say that he's so determined that I be successful that he forgets other people deserve a chance too. We say that he didn't know how to be a good husband and father so it doesn't hurt so much when he's just a plain asshole. But he's gone too far. He kidnapped people. He tried to frame people and ruin their lives, careers, and reputations. It could have been…"

"David, you aren't responsible for your father," she stated. "You aren't his parent. Yes, what he did was horrible and I certainly hope you're planning to have him punished for it, but you aren't to blame." She knew that he was taking the betrayal far worse than he was letting on. He had lost all the rest of his family, both his mother and brother, but his father had remained. And with the hope that was a part of his every decision, he had tried to believe that his father loved him and cared for him as more than just another pawn in his game of chess.

"I'm going to talk to the state police about charges," he said softly, as though the words themselves might be too much for him to handle. "It could be a mess if those charges came through this department." He licked his lips in an attempt to ease the next words out. "You'll need to make a decision about his revealing your juvenile record. I have proof that it was him."

"You think…"

"It's up to you," he said. "I'm having a hard enough time with this without adding in all those things like what he did to you. Emma, I know that we both hate sounding cliché, but you're like my sister. I know my mother thought of you as her daughter. I…You have always said you felt like nobody wanted you, but you were and are wanted. Don't let what my father did make you think otherwise."

For Emma it would have been easy to have seen it that way, seen it as her failing. That voice that haunted her came back with the idea that she wasn't enough. She wasn't good enough. She wasn't rich enough. She wasn't pretty enough. Nobody ever thought she was. People tolerated her, but they didn't love her. Rationally, she knew it wasn't true, but the voice was hard to shut up. "When are you talking to them?" she asked.

"Today around four," he said, his eyes wider as he looked to see if his timing was sinking in with her.

"The debate?" She snapped her head up to look at him. "No, David, you can't…"

"Whatever gains I have made in the polls and with people, it's lost once my father's arrested. I may not have been fully aware of his intentions, but I will be blamed. Nobody will believe…" His words broke off as he ran a hand over his face. "Maybe Graham will give me a job when he becomes sheriff. There will be an opening for a deputy, after all."

"David," she said, just his name conveying her anger, frustration, and disappointment. "This isn't fair."

"He'll make a good sheriff," David said sternly. "Better than I can do with all this weighing down on me."

She seemed angry as he let out a nonplussed sigh. "You can't just quit. You're not a quitter."

David didn't say another word, gathering his coat off the hook in his office and dropping a kiss on top of her head before he headed toward the door. She knew he was serious about his intentions, but he wasn't about to say anything more just yet.

***AAA***

Mary Margaret knew of David's plans and nodded sympathetically when Emma asked her if she knew if David was serious about his decision. "He decided the other night," she said sadly. "You know his father has wanted this more than he ever has. He's not really big on this whole political career thing. Not like James, anyway. James was going to be governor someday, senator, maybe more. David is content behind the scenes."

"He's good at his job," Emma protested, stirring the hot chocolate she had ordered. It seemed like a perfect moment for comfort food. "Not that Graham isn't, but it's not the same. He's not David."

Mary Margaret appeared more resigned than Emma would have hoped. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, but more than that there is a softness to her that appears to be empathy. "David and I talked about it a lot," she said softly. "He said even if he could win the election that he doesn't want to win this way. He doesn't want to win this way, not with his father's influence or what he's done hanging over everything." The teacher took a long sip of her tea that was in a flower painted mug in her right hand. "If you both go through with the charges, he'll be testifying in court and so will you. There will be publicity from that. It won't be easy for either of you."

Logically Emma knew that her friend was right, but she couldn't squelch the feeling that David was just giving up too easily. She also couldn't help but think that he was fighting again for her rather than thinking of himself and his future wife – something that makes her both sad and proud of him. "I hate this," Emma said sadly. "I hate that his father has this much power."

"Had," Mary Margaret corrected. "He had this much power, but he's not going to any longer."

David was optimistic, at least as much as someone in law enforcement could be, but his fiancé was even more so. She loved to see the brighter things in life. She loved to point them out and make everyone else see her way of thinking. When Emma worried, she never quite understood. It made them a great couple, Emma had surmised.

"Are you going to the debate?" Emma asked. David had made plans to announce his pulling out of the race before the start of it. While he had asked that Emma attend and support him, she had worried it might be too tough to watch.

Mary Margaret nodded before taking another long sip. "You know I have to go," she said. "We all do. It's what we do."

***AAA***

"I just think that a boat might make more sense," Tink said to Killian as she perched herself on the edge of the leather chair. "The orphanage is not in that great of an area. The land is war torn and militant groups are surrounding most sides. If our aide workers could have a sanctuary on some sort of boat, it might make things easier. They could move about and not risk the same things as a traditional camp."

The blonde was still a spitfire and more than a little stubborn with the way she ordered people around to do her bidding. Granted it was for unselfish reasons now, but Killian still found himself vaguely amused by her antics. "And when would you be needing this vessel?" he asked her, waiting for the inevitable impossible answer.

"End of the week," she answered as though she were ordering take out and not a boat that was going to have to be completely outfitted. "And if you know of a good captain familiar with the area, that would be awesome."

He wanted to laugh. "Anything else? Should I search for an enchanted ship for you? One that would fly?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You always did believe in a bit of magic. No, I'm more practical than that. It's just that this orphanage is in quite a dangerous area. I want to ensure that the children and staff are safely rescued before anything else can happen." She pursed her lips together tightly. "I can't sleep at night until I know they are safe."

For as rich and successful as her parents were, Isabella Greene was a true philanthropist. She did much more than throw money behind the causes. She truly felt the plight of those she fought to save. "I'm going to see what I can do, but I cannot promise you anything. This is a tall order and one that might not be something I'm capable of at the moment."

The frown she wore was fleeting. "I know you can do it," she said. "And perhaps I can convince you that you should captain her? I know you're more than capable. It is nobler than this career." Most people who were thinking about purchasing such an expensive item would be dressed in dark business clothing, maybe a silk scarf or something like it to decorate the drab wardrobe. Not Tink though, she was outfitted in a short green dress with patterned tights and matching ballet flats. Her wild hair was pulled back by a ribbon and emeralds dangled from her ears.

"I'm happy here," he said without acknowledging her offer really. It was not something she had even asked, but he had felt the need to tell her.

"I'm glad, but I can't help but think you might find yourself more fulfilled…"

"I already am," he said, not blinking as he looked toward his computer screen and the database of inventory at his disposal. "I might have something you'd find appropriate for your needs. If you could get a list of supplies and equipment to Smee by tomorrow evening, I'm quite certain we can accommodate that part of your request." He typed in a few notes. "I don't know of a captain available on this short of notice though, but I doubt you'll have too much trouble finding one that meets your needs."

"I guess I can't change your mind," she said sourly. "I guess after the way things…"

Again he had the urge to laugh at the way she was unable to see the enormity of anything. The last time they had been together had been on a similar adventure to bring back a few orphans she had decided to rescue from Haiti. They had been dating only a few weeks when she had burst in and demanded that they go. Like most men, he had followed and been in awe of her combination of steely grit and feminine wiles. They had rescued the children just as planned and she had celebrated her victory in the arms of an aide worker named Peter. She'd never so much as apologized, reminding him that their relationship had been new and far from settled. That was her other talent, making you feel guilty that you might be upset with her for something.

"Good luck, Tink. Smee will handle this for you. See him about the invoice."

She nodded, seeming to recognize his reluctance. "I was hoping you might help at least interview some of the volunteers. You know how I am about such things." The smile on her face seemed genuine. "I could pay you back for your time. Most are coming tomorrow…"

"I have plans," he said shortly. Emma had agreed to another one of the meetings with Henry and Regina. She had shyly brought it up to him, asking if he might join them. He had said he didn't want to intrude, but she had suggested that it might be easier to have another male present given that she did not know what to say to her son.

"Of course," she said, gathering her belongings. "I'll see myself out."

***AAA***

Emma paced in the backstage area of the school auditorium where the debate was scheduled to take place. She had first thought to take her seat with the others in the audience, but the loud titter of excitement over the public spectacle had turned her stomach with the knowledge of what was about to happen. She was still wearing her cream colored sweater and dark jeans while the others backstage seemed more conservative with their suits and dresses that were more stately.

"I guess there is no convincing him?" she asked Mary Margaret who was leaning back against the pillar that held the roof in that section of the hallway. "He's dead set."

"The police are planning to arrest his father any moment now. He wants to do this before that happens."

"Why? So his father can see it and have a heart attack?" Emma had met with the police herself, signing the complaint and not bothering to make a lengthy statement. She had not even seen David who was meeting with the officials behind closed doors and brought nobody with her for moral support.

"I doubt you're too concerned about the state of his heart." The teacher's eyes scanned the small crowd of men and women rushing about in the hallway. "God knows I'm not."

It was disconcerting to see Mary Margaret react in such a way. Earlier she had been resigned to the facts of David's decision, but standing there in the black dress with the large white collar, she looked quite upset with the idea. Her pink lips showed the wear of someone who had been chewing incessantly upon them. "What's gotten into you?" Emma hissed at her friend. "You were okay with all this a few hours ago."

The teacher wrapped her arms around herself and shivered in the drafty hallway. "I can tell how much this is hurting him. And I can't do anything to stop it."

Emma's hand shakily went to her friend's shoulder, tugging her toward her with an awkward but gentle hug. The two embraced for a moment longer until the clacking of high heels signified another arrival.

"Have you seen the sheriff?" Regina asked, her eyes scanning the half dozen people in the hallway. "He wanted to go over his speech before he took the stage."

"He's on the phone," Mary Margaret answered, pulling away from Emma and dabbing at her eyes. "He'll be ready on time."

The mayor scoffed, her eyes scanning both women as if inspecting and judging their outfits. She clearly didn't approve based on the look on her face and the way she spun on an expensive heel and stalked off to where Robin stood near the stage entrance talking to Graham. Emma was only mildly amused that the woman had said nothing to her, basically ignoring her very existence.

It was not more than a few minutes later that David walked into view. There was an uncomfortableness about him being out of his typical jeans and button down shirt though his suit fit perfectly and seemed to call attention to all his best features. To Emma's surprise, he didn't look nervous like she would if forced to make such a public proclamation. She was not shy, but she was not big for letting people see the real her. It was one thing to make an announcement about a road closure or a case she had been working on and quite another to admit to her own life's failings.

"You don't have to stay, Emma," he said as Mary Margaret gave him a quick peck on the cheek and smoothed the lapels of his jacket. "Sidney or one of the others might ask more questions of you. I wouldn't want…"

Her chin lifted in a resolute position. "I'm not letting you go out there alone. You would do this for me."

He smiled weakly at her, holding his fiancé's hand tightly after she finished her fussing over him. "I do appreciate this, Emma. I know you aren't thrilled with my decision, but you standing here means so much to me. You are my family."

***AAA***

Killian had not taken it personally when Emma had said that she did not want him to attend the debate turned press conference. He knew that she was strong enough to handle it and likely to be less than amiable with her personality. While he had known her only a short time, he had already realized that she was not a woman who liked to be around people all the time. She craved her independence, which he could certainly give her.

Pouring himself a glass of rum, he had toed off his shoes before collapsing onto the couch. He could still sense her there on the furniture, the sweet and alluring smell of her or the fact that her shampoo was still in his shower. There was something comforting about that, as he had never been one to share his home or life either. He preferred to keep himself occupied with acquaintances rather than friends, but he was finding Emma to be different.

It wasn't just holding her at night or making love to her when their bodies required nothing else. He loved to see her smile, hear her laugh, and listen to her stories of her day. Each nugget of information he had of her was turned over and over in his mind like a shiny new coin. He inspected and studied it before tucking it away for further reference. None of it was taken for granted. All throughout his day he found himself wanting to tell her things, share news or sights with her. It was maddening and lovely all at the same time.

She had not mentioned if she would be over later, but he kind of felt that she could be so he kept himself busy with a proposal he was working on and trying to persuade the manufacturer to finish the renovations on Tink's order much faster than was probably necessary. The television droned in the background as his fingers ran across the page.

David's speech was short, succinct, and directly to the point as he told of his plans to exit the race for sheriff. Not surprised by the news, as Emma had already told him, Killian watched the reactions of the others and felt for the man who was clearly making a life change without the security of a safety net. One of the cameramen zoomed in on the face of Mr. Nolan, who had no idea of his own fate.

His phone sounded again, but he'd already checked it twice and knew that it was Smee and then a message from Tink. Neither were ones he cared to answer at that moment.

His eyes flipped from the phone to the screen where David was inundated with questions. None of them were polite, asking if he was having some torrid affair or if he was entering rehab. Though the sheriff was patient, he could see the tense set of his jaw and the clenched fist at the podium. Again the screen flipped to Mr. Nolan who appeared horrified at his son's announcement.

***AAA***

"I didn't think you'd be alone here," the familiar voice said to her as he commandeered the seat next to her. "David wasn't in much of a celebratory mood?"

Emma downed the rest of the beer bottle, narrowing her eyes at her co-worker suspiciously. She had stopped into the Rabbit Hole on her way back from the press conference, finding herself wanting a few moments to digest the day instead of just settling in for it with the rest of her friends. Ruby was working late. Mary Margaret and David had taken off for her loft in search of a bit of peace and quiet. Robin had driven Regina home to Henry while John took the evening shift. It was the kind of night she was used to having, alone with her insecurities and thoughts, but truth be told she no longer felt as comfortable with that alone time now. She knew that Killian would welcome her, but she wasn't sure she was ready for that either.

"I'm sure you can guess why not," Emma answered, pushing the brown beer bottle back across the bar to signal she was finished with it. "I thought you would be out with your contributors and supporters. Congratulations by the way."

Graham nodded his acceptance with a muttered thanks. "You know this isn't how I wanted to do this? I wanted to win. Hell, even if I lost, I wanted to know I had fought a good fight. It was never just about the election." His eyes looked downward and sad for a moment. "David's not a bad guy. I never…"

She cut him off. "You won," she reminded him. "Be proud of that. In a few weeks I'll be calling you boss."

"Thank you for your congratulations, Emma," he said, swiveling to stare at the handwritten menu on the chalkboard above the bar. "But I don't think now is the time to celebrate. I don't think I would have won any other way, but for him dropping out."

Emma agreed, motioning to the bartender and buying her new boss a drink. "You have earned it," she told him, gathering her jacket and taking her leave before he could thank her again.

***AAA***

"He did quite well with them," Killian commented when Emma arrived, sliding the water she had requested in front of her. "I was impressed." Still in his socks, he had padded to the door to let her in with no surprise evident but no cockiness either. She sat at his kitchen table as he tried to pamper her with whatever she might want, only slightly disappointed that it seemed she was satisfied by a glass of water.

Emma nodded absently, face clouded with the memory. "I don't want to talk about it," she said. Her voice was firm, but she caressed his cheek as though she was saying something much sweeter to him. Tilting her head back and pulling him by his collar, she fused their lips together hastily.

When he pulled back, he could see the dimness of her eyes and the lack of fire that was usually there. "I suppose we should get you to bed," he said softly. "You've had quite a day."

She hesitated, hands wrapped around the water glass. "Are you still coming with me tomorrow? To see Henry?" Suddenly he face turned horrified. "I shouldn't ask that of you, should I? He's just a kid. He wants to get to know his mother and his mother is bringing along a guy she's dating…how horrible is that? I should just keep it simple, right? Just me and him and Regina."

Though he opened his mouth to respond, he shook off the initial words and smiled. Sitting down next to her, he folded his hands in front of her. "Love, you would know best about that, but I don't think your son is going to be that upset to find that you have a life outside of work and finding out about him. His adoptive mother is dating someone so it is not a new concept to the lad. But if you feel this is something you need to do alone, then I won't insist upon interrupting."

"I want you there," she said slowly. "I just don't want him to think that I chose to give him up so I could have the life I have now. My future didn't seem that good while I was pregnant and in jail. I…"

"Your future seemed quite bleak, I'm sure," Killian said. "And I'm also sure that your boy can understand that. Emma, your fear that he somehow feels as you have about his childhood is unfounded. He was not abandoned. He has a loving home and mother who has raised him. Now he has you too."

She stared at him incredulously. "I don't even know what to talk to him about," she said. "It has been a long time since I was his age and I was never a boy."

"Thankfully," Killian said, holding his hand out to her as he stood. Gripping hers, he pulled her to her feet. "I was a young lad at one point. And I have an idea." He kissed her temple, guiding her back into the living room to the sound of her questions. "Just sit, love. I promise this will help you with your boy."

Depositing her on the sofa, he turned away from her to fiddle at the television set. He answered none of the questions about what he was doing or why, even darting into the kitchen again before returning with popcorn and a couple of drinks. "You want to tell me what this is about?" she asked as he situated himself on the sofa too, pulling her in to rest against his chest and between his legs.

"When your son was at your apartment I happened to see a few items in his bag. Seems that like most lads his age that he's an avid fan comic books. So I selected a few movies we could watch so that you might have something to talk with the boy about." He smiled proudly, holding the remote out in a big show of pressing play. "So do you think we can avoid ravishing each other long enough to watch a few superheroes save the world?"