Monday night was difficult for both of them after their weekend together. Emma had thought it was best if they spent the night at their own residences. She had work; he had the crew meeting. They both knew they would miss each other, but neither were prepared for just how difficult it would be.

They both laid awake most of the night, feeling as if the other was missing. How could a weekend, even a long weekend, change so much? Tossing and turning, each had finally fallen asleep very early in the morning in their own too-empty bed.

The next morning came quick and early for Emma. She groaned and hit her alarm clock, then sat up in bed. How could she miss him laying next to her so much? She was not a cuddler. She wanted her space when sleeping. But with Killian, it was different. Each night they had been together, she had fallen asleep in his arms, and had slept peacefully through the night. And now she missed it. She shook her head and trudged to her bathroom, hoping a shower would help her wake up.

The thoughts continued in her shower. Part of her was scared how quickly he had seemed to fit into her life and how quickly her feelings for him were growing. The little lost girl in her was to scared to define exactly what those feeling were, or what it was leading to, because she knew it could all disappear, like it always had. He was too good to be true. She knew she should slow things down; that was part of the reason they had gone home separately the night before, even though she hadn't wanted to.

Soon, she was turning off the shower and drying off. A few minutes later, she was drying her hair and looking at herself in the mirror. She saw the look on her face, felt it in her heart, and sighed, remembering that she wouldn't see him today. "Damn it." She squeezed her eyes shut realizing she was already too far in. She felt too much; slowing down and trying to distance herself wasn't going to work anymore. She was already too deep.
==∞∞∞∞∞===

Killian walked into the workshop, sunglasses on, with a large cup of coffee. He yawned as he walked and waved to various members of his crew working around the shop as he headed back to the offices. He had relented to her request to stay at their own homes the night before. Pulling away from her apartment after dropping her off after work had been extremely difficult. Eating dinner and going to bed by himself was even more so.

He knew she needed to go slow. He could almost feel her tapping the brakes on their relationship. He knew it wasn't personal; whatever had happened in her past was making her feel like she needed to. And he would let her—up to a point. He would just have to find a way to persuade her to progress their relationship at a faster rate. He knew what he wanted; he just needed to make her feel secure in that knowledge.

He smiled to himself as he took another sip of his drink and then knocked at the door frame to his crew chief's office. The man's head turned from the computer and a smile lit up his face. "Well, look who it is?" Killian walked inside and sat in the chair across from him, taking off his sunglasses and squinting at the bright light. "I honestly can't believe you got all your hours completed already, mate."

"Well, Robin, as we both know, Regina is a hard ass." His friend nodded even though the look in his eyes conveyed something else. Killian looked at him for a minute. "What?"

Robin shook his head. "Nothing." He shook his head and looked back to his driver and friend. "Just getting back into the swing of things after the break. So, did you at least get to see your family? Or have any fun?"

"Yes, I got to see my brother, Elsa, and the boys." He wasn't sure if he should continue or not, but then again, Emma did get approval from Archie take the day off so she could go to the car test on Friday. "And…I met someone."

Robin's eyes widened in shock. "Met who, exactly?"

"Her name is Emma." He almost laughed at the look on his friends face. "She is a counselor at the children's shelter I volunteered at." He shook his head in still slight disbelief. "She is...amazing."

Robin laughed and reclined a little back in his chair. "Wow." He sat with his mouth open for a while, trying to figure out the next question. "So, she's not one of your one-night or weekend love'm and leave'm girls?"

"Hey, that's not fair. They all knew. I was upfront."

His friend waved him off. "I know. I'm just...is she long-term?"

Killian smiled, "I hope even longer than that, mate. She's just…" The emotion caught in his chest, and he couldn't express it, but Robin saw it and smiled. "She's unlike all of them, any of the women in my past."

"I'm really happy for you. You deserve it. It's been such a long time." He stopped, not wanting to bring up the past.

Killian cleared his throat, "Anyways...Emma will be coming to the car test on Friday." He looked back out the windows to the shop. "Do you think we can get the boys to be on their best behavior?"

Robin chuckled. "Good luck, man. Especially with Leroy." Killian laughed as well, as they both got up and left the office to go and have the crew meeting.
==∞∞∞∞∞===

Emma was able to avoid Tink all morning, but when her friend knocked on her door at lunch and came in shutting the door after her, she knew the small blonde pixie just wouldn't take no for an answer. She sighed and grabbed her lunch as Tink sat down across from her, not even bothering to open her lunch, just looking at her expectantly.

"Ugh…" Emma let her head hit the desk.

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that terrible."

Emma's head shot up. "What? No...of course not!"

Tink smiled wickedly. "Knew it!" With that, she started to open her own lunch. "Details!"

Emma put her head in her hands and sighed. "Well, I have to tell Mary Margaret that his main sponsor picked the right guy."

Tink snorted. "Alright Emma! So proud." Emma stuck her tongue out at her, and Tink stuck her own right back out at her. "Was he good with that as well?" Tink winked. Emma looked back at her with a shocked look, but the blush and smile gave the other woman all she needed to know. "Wow. Now he's a catch; it's usually only one or the other."

Emma threw her napkin at her friend, and Tink just laughed. She then sighed. "It's moving so fast."

Her friend pointed at her, "Oh, no. Don't you do this."

"Don't do what?"

"This is a good thing. He's a great guy. He really likes you. Don't start seeing the bad in this, and start worrying and push him away."

"But, shouldn't we take it slow?"

"Emma...you waited 'til, what, your 5th or 6th date to finally have sex. I think that is slow enough."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about sex."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"The relationship, it just seems to be getting really...really…" she couldn't describe it. Intense was almost the right word; emotional was another really good one. But that wasn't it; it was more than that.

"Ahhh, I see."

Emma raised her head to look back at her friend, and gave a questioning look. "See what?"

Tink took a drink of soda, and seemed to take a minute to gather her thoughts. "Let me first ask you a question. When was the last time you felt like this?"

Emma sat back in her chair and tried to think about it. She hadn't felt this way with Neal. She had tons of feelings for Neal; heck, at one point, she loved him, or she thought she did. But this wasn't the same. There were bits and pieces that felt similar, but not to the degree, not to the intensity. She thought about her relationship with Walsh and knew she didn't feel like this either. This was different. It was new, it was terrifying. "I can't think of one. I guess the closest feeling was when Neal and I first started dating. But this...this is..."

"More intense than a teenage crush?" Emma nodded and then Tink continued. "Is that what is scaring you?" She watched her friend bite her lip and smiled gently. "That it feels similar to that relationship, and you're worried because how that one ended. Worried that this will go the same way?"

Emma swallowed hard and nodded. Her friend knew her too well. "How all my relationships end."

Tink leaned forward and grabbed Emma's hand. "There are at least two really big differences, Emma. One, you aren't a teenager anymore. And two, Killian is a really good guy, unlike the others."

Emma knew she was right, "You are way too good a this."

"It's what I do."

"So, I should...what?"

Tink let go of her hand and sat back in her chair. "What does your heart tell you to do?"

Emma sat back in her chair and smiled; she knew exactly what it told her when her mind and her fear didn't overshadow it.
==∞∞∞∞∞===

Killian was just leaving the workshop when his phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket and saw a message from Emma. He unlocked his phone and got in his car as he read the message.

ES: Pizza and Netflix, tonight? My place?

A smile on his face bloomed as he started the car and looked at the time. It was just after five as he texted back.

KJ: Sounds wonderful, love. I can pick one up on my way over. Need anything else?

He backed out of his parking space and pulled out of the lot onto the road as he got a text back. His car read him the message.

ES: Just you.

ES: … and beer?

He laughed, and told the car his next message as he drove home. He needed to get an overnight bag himself, he was being extremely hopeful he would need it. He was sure he could find a way to convince her.

KJ: Will do, love. Be there in a half hour.

ES: Okay. See you soon.

He smiled and picked up the pace, but made sure to stay only a few miles over the speed limit.
==∞∞∞∞∞===

Emma cleaned off her coffee table and then moved to the kitchen to get out plates. She had already changed into a tank top and yoga pants. If she had on a pair of skimpy silk panties underneath, so what? She was trying to take Tink's advice and do what her heart told her. And her heart wanted to be with Killian. It also made her feel better that he was coming to her apartment. His house was amazing, but being at her place felt more real. Okay, if she was being totally honest, being at her place felt more safe. It was her turf.

The knock had her smiling in a second and she headed to the door. Once opened he was standing there, looking as handsome as ever with a pizza in one hand and six pack in the other. She stood to the side and he walked in and turned into her kitchen. He sat both items on the counter and then turned to her, and quickly pulled her in for a deep kiss.

Her arms were around his neck pressing him closer as their tongues came together. His hands ran down her back, and then squeezed her ass. Suddenly she was lifted and found herself sitting on the counter opposite the pizza. Her legs were parted with his hips between them, her chest pressed to his as their kiss continued. She wrapped her legs around him and moaned as she felt the growing bulge in his jeans hit her thin clothed core.

Killian groaned and pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. His fingers flexed at her hip, and she smiled, knowing he was trying to get himself under control. She wanted him, she really did. But they should eat while the pizza was still hot, and he was giving her the option even though he was having a hard time voicing it. From the bulge in his pants, a VERY hard time.

She moved her hands to the side of his face and looked into the dark blue orbs. She swallowed at the passion swirling in them. She gave him a soft gentle kiss, "Trust me...we will be right back here later." She gave another kiss. "But we should eat." His tongue licked at his lips, and she smiled. "Food." He closes his eyes and took a deep breath, took a step back and then she found herself with her feet on the floor.

His fingers trailed over her cheek, feeling the soft skin. Looking into her jade green pools and smiled. "I missed you."

That is when she realized they had a whole conversation without him talking until those three short words. She smiled up at him at the realization and in agreement. "I missed you, too." With that, they each grabbed a couple slices of pizza and a beer and headed for her living room. They sat on the couch and he kicked off his shoes as she started up the TV and Netflix. Soon, they found a movie they agreed on and hit play as they ate.

After the pizza, she found herself in his arms, snuggled to his side. But after a few soft caresses to her side, and her fingers trailing over his thigh they found themselves making out on her couch. Neither of them watched the end of the movie with their clothes thrown around the living room, and them both crying out their pleasure as she rode him on her couch. They did manage to make it to her bedroom that night, where Emma found herself sound asleep in his arms once again.
==∞∞∞∞∞===

The next two nights Killian stayed over at Emma's apartment and in the morning they stopped for coffee before heading into the shelter and then came back to her place afterwards. But on Friday morning they took a longer drive over to the speedway where they would be doing the car test. She sat in his car fiddling with bottom of her sweater as he drove.

He looked over at her and smiled taking her hand. "Emma, relax." She smiled back at him, but he could still see the uneasiness in her eyes. "They are going to like you. There is nothing for you to worry about. Now me, on the other hand."

"What do you have to worry about?" A thousand thoughts ran through her head—was a car test dangerous?

"Calm down, love. I just meant I would probably be the one getting ribbed, or Robin telling you embarrassing stories." His thumb rubbed the back of her hand and he could tell this smile was much more relaxed and real.

"Like Liam told me?"

He sighed. "Let's hope it doesn't get that bad."

She giggled beside him and then took a drink of her coffee. It only took about a half hour and they were pulling up to the race track gates and being ushered inside by security. He drove up to the trucks of his crew. The team was already there, pulling out the car and getting everything ready. Killian parked and got out, and then was immediately helping Emma out of the car and guiding her over to everyone else.

He directed her over to a man with dark blonde hair, who once he saw the two gave them both a large smile. "So you must be Emma Swan." She nodded and reached out to shake his hand.

"This is Robin Loxley, my crew chief," Killian said as his hand moved from her back to her hip, holding her close.

"Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Robin said to her and then looked up at Killian. "How about I introduce her to the rest of the crew and you go and change?"

Killian nodded and turned to Emma. "Will you be okay for a few minutes?"

She nodded. "Yes. Besides, I'll need to be for longer than that, unless you plan on having me ride along in the car with you."

He laughed. "This is true." He placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll be right back." He gave a soft squeeze to her hand, nodded at Robin and then headed off to the trailer to put on his firesuit.

Robin directed her over to the guys after they got the car situated. "Gentleman, I'd like to introduce you to Emma Swan." They all gave a smile and wave while saying hello back. He pointed at each of the men, telling her each of their names. There was no way she was going to remember them all. A grumpy looking man named Leroy grunted a hello to her as she found out he was the crew's gasman. Or was that fuel man? She was sure at some point she would get this straight. A very tall, heavy-set man named Anton gave a small smile and seemed really nice and she was told he was the jackman. When she gave a confused look, Robin just smiled and explained he was the guy that used the jack to lift the car so they could change the tires for pit stops. Emma's face must have made a look that she now got it, because both men nodded and grinned.

She then met a shorter more rounded man, with a red hat, Killian's pit crew coordinator, named William Smee. He told her just to call her Smee, that's what everyone did. She found out that it began when Killian started calling him that. She immediately knew why—that man's love for Peter Pan, or more accurately Captain Hook, knew no bounds.

She met the rest of the team in quick succession, the names were a blur. There was an extremely joyful and happy fellow that was Killian's spotter. A shy man changed the front tires, and a man who must have been having a severe case of allergies changed the rear tires. A non-talkative man carried the rear tires and one who obviously got out of bed too early and was yawning carried the front tires. She wasn't sure exactly why you needed so many men to do everything, but she was looking forward to finding out. They all seemed to get along well, and seemed to care about Killian, so that was a good thing in her book.

She was still talking to the crew, asking questions and apologizing for not knowing. The men were all very nice, patiently answering her questions, especially Robin. Though Leroy did seem to roll his eyes every so often. Robin was trying to explain something about the aerodynamics of the car and down force when she jumped as two strong arms wrapped around her. She immediately calmed down at the deep, familiar chuckle in her ear. "Relax, love." He kissed the side of her neck and she leaned back against him.

He nuzzled into her neck, and squeezed her tight. He had slowly walked over from the truck to see her intently listening to the crew and asking questions. He knew she didn't know much at all about racing, but the fact that she was trying made his heart soar. He turned to Robin and the man smiled back at him.

"We are all ready for you, mate."

Killian nodded at his crew chief and then turned Emma in his arms, "You are going to be okay, right?"

She turned towards him, and let out a soft gasp. She knew what a firesuit looked like, had seen commercials with racers in them, but seeing him in one was a different story. Well, she like most women did like their men in uniform and this one looked damn good. It was mainly a deep maroon, with large black side stripes. His main sponsor name across the front, then small patches of his other sponsors. When her eyes made it back to his face he was smirking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"See something you like, love?" She nodded slightly and bit her lip. He pulled her closer and whispered into her ear, "Maybe you can help peel me out of it one of these times soon."

She swallowed hard and he watched her pupils dilate looking up at him. He couldn't help it and leaned in and kissed her hard. She returned it, but he pulled away due to the sounds of his crew whooping and hollering. She turned away, looking at the ground and blushing, and he gave a look to his crew that had them immediately stop and turn back to their work.

Robin moved closer to Emma. "Hey, don't worry about them. They just aren't used to having Killian bringing a girl to things like this." Her head shot up as he continued. "So this is all new to them, and we all have a teasing relationship among the crew."

She nodded and gave him a smile. "You don't look as surprised," she said and leaned back into Killian's arms, his wrapping back around her waist.

Robin smiled. "I was when he told me you were coming. He's never brought a girl to tests or the races, even back in Formula One." Killian tensed behind her.

Emma was shocked. "Oh, come on. I can't be the first girl you have wanted to bring." She said to the man behind her, with a soft elbow to his side.

Robin laughed. "I don't think it was that he didn't want her to, it was that she couldn't…" The man cut off the rest of what he was going to say from the hard look on Killian's face. He coughed and then looked at the crew and car then back to Killian. "So, we need to get this show on the road."

Emma knew immediately what Robin was about to say. Milah wasn't able to come to the races and tests because she was a married woman. So no matter how much Killian had wanted her there, she couldn't be. She turned her head to look up and back at him, "So, let's see what you do."

He smiled at her and handed her a headset. "This will protect your ears, but you will also be able to hear me talk with the rest of the crew." He gave her a quick kiss. "The car gets very loud, so leave these on, until Robin motions for you to take them off. Okay?" She nodded and then he placed the headset on her, and she couldn't hear a thing. He brought her into a hug and looked over he shoulder to his crew chief. "Nothing further, about...all that. Aye?"

Robin nodded. "Aye. Sorry." He looked to Emma and then back to his friend. "You need to tell her."

Killian took a deep breath. "I will." He then walked the two over to the monitors and got her to sit.

Robin put his own headset on then, speaking into the microphone. "Can you hear me?" He asked looking at Emma. She immediately smiled and nodded.

Killian walked over to the car, the same dark maroon and black as his firesuit with the number seventy one on the side, and slid through the window. He put on his helmet, got strapped in, and put up the window net. The crew all stood back, got on their helmets or headsets, and then he got the go ahead from Robin and started the car.

Emma was shocked she could actually hear the car even through the ear mufflers of the headset, or whatever they were called. She also swore she could feel the vibrations of the car, she quickly pushed aside the thoughts that her brain started thinking about...that, and tried to concentrate on Killian.

Soon, Killian was pulling out of the pit lane and onto the track. She stood up to watch him go around, his speed picking up faster and faster. He was moving over the track, trying to get a feel for the car. Then she heard him. "We are going to have adjust down the brightness on this new digital display when the sun is out like this. It is blinding the hell out of me."

Robin answered, "Pull into pit, and we will make the adjustment." On the next lap around the car came into pit lane and stopped perfectly into his stall. Smee rushed over and took down the net, leaned inside the car and made a couple adjustments. The window net went back up, Smee backed behind the wall and Killian took off again.

Emma watched the car and then looked down at the monitors, watching the car get faster and faster. He was quickly approaching 190 mph. She was amazed that he could be driving that fast and talking on the radio, telling his crew about the car. What he was saying didn't make much sense, but the display was at least now at a comfortable light that wasn't blinding him anymore.

Robin got the crew ready and they had Killian pit just prior to 50 laps. Then she got to see the crew go into action, and see what each of the crew actually did. She was extremely impressed. From the time Killian stopped till the crew was done and he was leaving the pit it was barely over eleven seconds. She now had a better sense of that they did and why they needed the number of crew.

Robin had him try the different lanes to see which had better grip or got more speed. He came in a few more times and they made some adjustments. Something about a wedge, and another about a trackbar. But after the adjustments, Killian was back out on the track and the car was then able to reach 192 mph. After one more pit stop and twenty or so laps, Robin radioed for him to come in and call it a day. The rest of the adjustments wouldn't be able to be done on track.

A few minutes later, the car was parked, turned off, and Killian was climbing out and taking his helmet off. Robin motioned for her to take off her headset and she was glad, but knew her hair was probably a mess from them and the wind. Killian strode over to her and in an instant she was in his arms and he was kissing her. This time the crew just ducked their heads and worked on getting the car ready to move back to the shop.

She could feel his heart beating rapidly under her hand, felt his hands grip at her waist and could almost smell the testosterone pumping from him. She had a feeling that if the crew wasn't here he would already be ploughing into her on the hood of the race car. And damn if she didn't wish it was true; maybe he could have even left it running. Her imagination was getting out of control, and the small growl against her lips and hard bulge against her hip weren't helping at all.

She pulled away panting and his mouth chased hers; a strong hand on his chest had him stopping. They both needed to bring this back down; they were, after all, not alone. Unfortunately. She nodded her head at his crew, and he huffed and then rested his forehead against hers.

She tilted her head back and brought her hand up to the side of his face, "How much longer before we can get outta here?"

His grin was predatory, and it made her body ache for him. He turned to look at Robin, "Anything else, mate? Or are we good here?"

Robin gave the two of them a quick once over, smiled, and shook his head. "Get out of here, you two."

Killian wanted to pull her with him to the truck to change, but knew that wasn't a good idea. "I'll change and be right back, love." He kissed her once more and than ran in the other direction to change and try to get some control over himself.

She stood there and tried to get her bearings back. He must have really changed in a hurry because he was already back in his normal clothes and running back to her in no time. He pulled her to the car. They quickly waved goodbye to everyone and in a whirlwind she was back in the car and he was driving away.

"Where to?" he asked.

"I need to grab something at my apartment at the very least. Also…" She looked at the time. "Not sure about you, but I'm a little hungry."

"Oh trust me, I plan on eating." He turned to look at her and licked his bottom lip.

She swatted his arm. "I mean real food."

"Okay, we can stop at that sandwich shop and head back to your place." He bit his lip looking over at her, and sighed internally. He knew he needed to tell her about what happened prior, the topic Robin had brought up. Maybe eating something and talking would be good. Even if he wanted to do much more pleasant things.

They both were able to calm their libido on the way back to town. Once at the sandwich shop, they grabbed grilled cheese and onion rings and then went back to Emma's place. He sat the takeout containers on the coffee table and she grabbed two sodas and sat down next to him on the couch.

Killian steeled his courage by taking a deep breath and then decided he had to come clean. Hopefully she would understand. "I need to talk to you about what Robin was talking about earlier."

Emma swallowed. "It's okay, you don't need to tell me—"

He cut her off. "No, I need to tell you." He took another breath and started. "When I was back in Formula One, I was in a relationship. It was extremely serious." He kept his eyes on her face, trying to gauge what she was thinking. "I didn't know when I met her. I didn't know who she was. It wasn't until after I had fallen," he looked down for a second, "really fallen for her that I found out." He looked back up into her eyes. "She was married."

He was waiting for the shock, but he didn't see anything. It was a little unsettling, but he continued when she reached for his hand and squeezed. "She told me she didn't love her husband, that she was miserable, that she wanted out. I asked her to leave him, repeatedly. But she was afraid of him. He was...is...a powerful man and she wasn't sure what he would do if she tried to leave."

All of what Emma knew was being pieced together, and she was sad to know that she was right. She was glad he was willing to tell her, she just wished that there was a way for her to tell him it was okay besides squeezing his hand again.

"I should have got her out earlier. I should have confronted him myself. We thought it was all worked out. He was supposed to be at a race in Germany at the same time I was. She was supposed to move out and have her lawyer serve divorce papers." His other hand clenched into a fist. "Somehow he got word of it, or something...still not sure how." She squeezed his hand again, the sympathy on her face didn't make sense yet in the story. "He 'found' her dead in their bathroom." He swallowed. "She had supposedly overdosed on some prescription medication that she had never taken before, even though she had supposedly been on it for months."

Emma's mouth opened in shock. "So he did do it."

Killian looked at her in shock. "What?"

She shook her head. "I mean…it sounds like he...I mean, that's what you think, right? That's why you tried to get back at him, wreck those…" She stopped immediately as her words caught up to her and the look on his face.

He dropped her hand and stood up, his world seemed to fall around him. "You knew?"

Emma looked around, "I...after we first met...after we had our fight...you told me I didn't know anything about you. So I looked. Tried to figure out what you meant."

"You KNEW? This whole time? Since we met? Before all of this?" He was angry, everything he knew about her falling into question. Was it all real? Why had she apologized to him? What was she after? Did Gold get to her?

Emma stood and walked towards him but he stepped away from her. "Killian, at first I just looked at your bio and stuff. Just tried to get to know you. It's all online. It's all public. I found out about your childhood, realized why the shelter was important to you."

It wasn't just Milah; it was also his childhood. "You knew? Before I told you, before Liam told you. You already knew. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted you to tell me when you were ready."

"No! No, you didn't tell me because you knew what you did was wrong." He looked up at her shocked. "If you hadn't misspoken, would I have ever found out?" He saw her look away. "You know about my childhood. You found out about Milah. Why I left Formula One. Did you have your brother do a background check on me too? Find out my net worth. Find out everyone I've ever dated. Find out what I like so that you can worm your way in?"

She felt as if she had been backhanded by his accusations. "How dare you! I did no such thing. My brother would never do no such thing. I just pieced it together from public information online. I'm not an idiot. And you know damn well I don't give a damn about your money! In fact, that was a reason I didn't want to date you. That you could just give a load of cash to charity as if it was nothing scared the hell out of me that I wasn't good enough for you!" His eyes widened at what she said and she cursed herself for letting that spill too.

"So you figured that out, too, huh? Bloody hell, another thing you didn't tell me about. Another thing you found out before you agreed to even date me. And here I was thinking that I had to try to convince you to date me. When really you were just baiting me."

"I was not! You aren't even listening to me. And I didn't find out about the donation until after our kiss and me agreeing to go out on a date. Archie told me about the donation from the Lost Boys and Girls. I only figured it out on our date."

"But why didn't you tell me? Why keep it from me?" Everything he thought, everything he wanted was evaporating in front of him. He should have realized he could never have this, it wasn't real. "You are just like all the rest."

Tears started streaming down her face. "Killian. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Please...listen to me."

He shook his head. "I can't do this." He backed towards her door. "I should have known better."

She walked to him and tried to reach out for him, "Killian...please. Don't go. We can talk about this. It's not what you think, I swear."

He backed away. "How can I believe that, Swan? How can I believe anything you've told me?" He shook his head again, opened her door, and left.

She followed him, chasing him to the elevator screaming his name, but he let the elevator doors close and didn't turn to look at her. She walked back to her apartment, shut her door behind her, and slid to the floor, tears streaming down her face, sobs wracking her body, knowing that she had just lost the best thing that had walked into her life.