A few days later, Emma was released from the infirmary. Ruby led her outside to where a limo was waiting. She opened the door and Emma got in. Killian was sitting in the limo on the other side of the seats across from her. He wore a blue plaid suit and his hair was parted to the side like it always was. She felt her heartbeat pick up in her chest yet again. Ruby closed the limo door and a moment later, they were moving. Emma allowed herself to look back over to Killian. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she stepped in. She found it strange, but not overly creepy. Butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach. It made her feel uneasy. She had never been one of the girls that allowed herself to be smitten over a boy, but it was like she couldn't help it when it came to the man sitting in front of her.

When she was a teenager, Emma always had a hard time with making friends and getting a boyfriend. Not only were they so much trouble and too much drama, she just couldn't find anybody that really connected with her. There was nobody who didn't mind being friends with an orphan. Then, enter Neal Cassidy. The first guy who ever actually looked at her as if she was his world. That didn't last long however, because he sent her to jail because of the watches that he stole. He had framed her, telling the police that she stole them in the first place.

She had gone to get them from the locker in Portland. They were going to sell them and get the money for them to change their names and move to Tallahassee. Neal left to go and exchange them, giving her one of the watches so she wouldn't be late to meet up after he had gotten the money. It was a little after nine o'clock when he still hadn't returned. For the time being so important to him, he was late himself. She called him and got a message saying his phone number had been disconnected. Then, a police officer showed up and took her to jail for stealing the watches. The only thing Neal had done for her was give her the bug they had rode around in and a keychain that he had stolen for her. After that, she had never seen or heard from him again. It wasn't like she wanted to anyway. He had ruined her life.

Having his baby in jail wasn't very fun either. She had condemned that child to her fate that she had when she was in the foster system. She could only pray each and every night that the baby had found a good home. That her son was living the life she never got to have. Something inside of her just told her that he was with some family, living the life of a little boy with no trouble in the world. It was that anonymous voice in her head that told her that, that gave her enough relaxation to put her to sleep at night.

Ever since being framed by Neal, Emma Swan never let herself swoon over any guy. Sure, she had her fair share of one night stands to scratch an itch that popped up every once in awhile. She had plenty of fancy dresses for when she had to go out on a 'date' with the occasional bail-bonds skip. Most of them had to be taken to the dry cleaners for when the person got rather violent and ran or threw a glass of wine at her. It was the kind of life she lived, and she was happy. Yes, she was tired of being alone, but it wasn't easy to get a date when the only tips you had was how to catch a thief. If there was a guy out there who actually wanted to know everything about her past, she had yet to meet him.

But as she stared at Killian Jones in the seat in front of her, she just knew that there was something different about him. He had some kind of aura that expressed that he wasn't like the rest of the men. She couldn't explain it. Emma wasn't sure that she even wanted to either.

"Why can't anyone leave the gang?" The question just blurted out of her mouth. She couldn't help it. Not only were many thoughts roaming around her head, but so were many questions.

"If anyone left, they could go to the police. If they went to the police, they would tell them everything about what we do, putting our lives in danger. I can't let that happen," Killian explained.

"Oh." Emma looked away from Killian's eyes. He was staring at her so hard, she was afraid that he would drill a hole into her head. "Where will I be living now?"

"I like to call it Home Base," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "It's the penthouse suite in New York. I live there with two other guys. August and Graham. People will always be coming in and out on the downstairs level. That is where the main kitchen, the living room, the surveillance room, interrogation room, and the gym and training rooms are. On the upper level are the bedrooms. There are kitchenettes in all the bedrooms. A living area is there as well. No one really goes up there without consent of me or Graham and August. Now you as well."

"Why not just assign me a safe house? Then you wouldn't have to have me around."

"I just met you, Swan. I'm not sure if I can trust you just yet. Besides, I am a very fun flatmate," he said with a wink.

Emma rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, though a smile was trying to find its way to her lips. "What position will I be in?"

"You'll be on the field with me, Graham, David, and a few other members of Defiance. I have done my share of research on you, Miss Swan. Trust me, I liked what I read about you."

"How?" She asked defensively. "You liked the fact that you read I was an orphan and sent to jail, then became a bail-bonds person?"

"You have fire," he said, moving to the empty space beside her. "You are strong and you can fight. Not many of the members in this gang have brought that here. We've always had to train them for months before they were ready to get to where I am placing you on your first day. I will still train you, but it won't be months of work. Just a few weeks and you will be ready to go out to the streets alongside me." He leaned back against the door and licked his lips, bringing Emma's attention to his mouth. She quickly darted her eyes back to his. "You know pain. That will fuel your anger when you go out there, making you even more dangerous than you already were. This will be your home. The thing that you have been missing all these years."

"Please tell me you aren't one of those destiny and hope and "you were meant to join a group that takes down bad guys for justice" kind of men," she pleaded, looking at him with amusement in her eyes.

"Of course not. But I do believe that you will be the best new recruit we have had in a very long time."

Emma took a deep breath, letting that thought hang over her head. If Killian expected so much of her, she definitely couldn't let him down now. She would be disappointing now only him, but herself as well. He had so much faith in her. She couldn't let him down now. He was the first person to ever really have faith in her before. The thought of having someone doing that for her was foreign to her. No foster parent had ever trusted her. They had never loved her. Killian was giving her something that she didn't have much of. Something she had never had much of.

Hope.

"Graham is going to give you the tour around the penthouse. I had Mary Margaret and Elsa go to your old apartment to get some of your essentials. You will find them in your room. You can unpack there. Please, help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge and pantry." Killian offered her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder before walking away.

"I've heard a lot about you, Miss Swan," a man said as he walked towards her. He held out his hand and shook Emma's. "My name is Graham Humbert."

"Killian's mentioned you," Emma said, nodding her head.

"More than today?" He asked. She nodded and he laughed. "That's shocking. Killian never really talks about any of us." He waved his hand, "come, I'll show you your room." Graham led Emma to a spiral staircase. They went up and to a wooden door. He opened the door and Emma gaped at the room.

It had white carpet and chocolate brown walls. There was a white couch in front of a flat screen television that was mounted to the wall over a brick fireplace. The bed had white sheets and blankets. Brown decorative pillows sat at the head of the bed. There was a closet in the back of the room and a bathroom attached. A white dresser with a mirror on top sat next to a set of floor to ceiling windows.

"This room is huge," she said, looking around.

Graham chuckled behind her. "Yes. Killian picked this room out for you specifically." Emma turned around and cocked her head to the side, but the man ignored it. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the penthouse."

Graham took her around, showing her the rooms in the penthouse. The surveillance room had a bunch of computers and equipment that she had no idea how to use, but was interesting nonetheless. The gym had weightlifting sets and treadmills, steppers, and ellipticals. In the training room, there was padding on all the walls and the floors. There was also a few punching bags scattered throughout the room. Boxing gloves sat on racks. There was even a boxing ring in the center of the room. The training room seemed to be the biggest room in the entire penthouse. Graham also showed her the kitchen and the living room. He showed her the bathroom that was on the downstairs level before taking her back upstairs and showing her where his and August's rooms were. They came down to the end of the hallway, but he didn't open the door.

"What's this room?" Emma asked, pointing to the door.

"Killian's room. No one really goes in there. You'd do best if you stayed out of there," Graham warned.

"What would he do if I didn't? Punish me?" Emma asked jokingly. But, Graham's facial expression didn't change. She cleared her throat and nodded. "Stay away from Killian's room. Got it. Is that all?"

"Pretty much. You'll get the feel of everything with each day that passes and you are here."

She nodded. "Great. Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go unpack."

Graham smiled. "I hope you find a place for everything. If you need any help, don't hesitate to come to either me or August. Killian will help you too. Anyone here will, really."

She nodded again and turned away from him. Emma made her way back to her bedroom and closed the door. She put her clothes away and put her medicines and toiletries under the sink and in the cabinet in the bathroom. It didn't take her long to unpack. She didn't have much as it was. She had never been much of a sentimental person. Once she was done, she laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. So much had happened that day. She could only imagine that things would get even more busy with the days to come.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed later when there was a knock at the door. Emma got up off the bed and opened her bedroom door, seeing Killian on the other side. She offered him a small smile and stepped aside, allowing him to come into the room. He did and looked around for a moment before shifting his attention back to her.

"I see you are all unpacked," he stated.

"Yeah. I'm not much of a sentimental person. It didn't take long."

"Aye, neither am I." As he looked into her eyes, his gaze became distant. He fixed that so fast, Emma questioned herself if he had really just lost himself in his thoughts, or if it was all in her head. He dug in his pocket for something before handing it to her. She opened her palm and saw a key. "It's for your bedroom. You might as well lock the door whenever you leave." She nodded and put the key in her back pocket. "Well, since that was all I needed you to have, I might as well go. Dinner will be served at six o'clock sharp." She nodded and he went to the door.

"Thank you for everything, Killian."

"It's not a problem, Swan." He flashed her a toothy smile. His pearly white teeth showing. "Welcome to Defiance."