Sorry for the delay with the new chapter. Finals week is rough, but almost over. For all of you taking finals right now, or getting ready to-you can do this! Your grade does not define you!

We are starting to get into Emma's and Killian's past a bit more. Both have some pretty big secrets and demons that will be exposed as the story progresses. You'll have to read to find out!

Thank you for all the support with this story. It means so much!

Chapter 6: Demons Lurking

Two weeks. Emma had been in one spot for two whole weeks. To top that, Emma had been happy in one place for two weeks.

What was happening?

Emma could not remember the last time she felt happy at a new home. She almost was enjoying her time here. Mrs. Abernathy was wonderful. The older woman absolutely loved Emma and made her feel safe and special. She made sure Emma was fed, her homework was done, she went to bed on time, and she was happy.

Maybe this is what it feels like to have a mom Emma thought.

Emma lost all hope for having anything close to a parent a long time ago. When she was little, she would dream of her real parents finding her, and when she realized that that would never happen, she let herself believe that someone would adopt her and she would get a new family. But as she grew older, she saw that no one would ever look at her as a daughter. No one would ever take her in.

Except Mrs. Abernathy. The older woman still had not sent her back. She had not even threatened to send her back. Candice, Emma's social worker, had been very shocked at her first evaluation. Normally within that first week, something would have gone wrong and the parent would be complaining to Candice. Instead, Mrs. Abernathy bragged about how well Emma would do at school and told Candice what a delight Emma had been.

The second evaluation was scheduled for three weeks from then. Emma was to be on a monthly schedule. It was required that the social worker have an evaluation within the first week of a new placement, but after that the gap between visits could be as long as six weeks. Emma was normally on a four week schedule since she had troubling staying in one spot.

When Candice spoke with Emma alone, she ran through the same procedure she did at the other houses. At the end, she lowered her voice and leaned in closer. "Are you sure you like it here?" Emma offered a simple nod and whispered. "More than the others." That was good enough for Candice.

It was midday Saturday and the house was quiet. Mrs. Abernathy was running some errands and Killian was finishing homework. He did not strike her as the studious type, but he insisted that it had to get done at some point. Swimming kept him pretty busy he told her, plus he wanted to go out with his friends that night.

Emma worked on her own homework at the kitchen table. In other houses, she would have secluded herself to her room, but she was not afraid of being out in the open with Mrs. Abernathy and Killian.

Killian came down the stairs, walking into the kitchen and reaching for an apple. He didn't say anything to Emma until he was a few bites in. "So, lass, how's the school work?"

"Why do you call people lass and love?" Emma asked, ignoring his original question.

Killian leaned against the counter. "Cultural, I guess."

"Where you from?" Emma had been with this guy for two weeks and still knew little about him. But, then again, he knew nothing about her.

"Ireland."

"How'd you end up here?" She questioned, setting down her pencil on her book.

"Well, that's quite a story." Killian threw out the apple core and came to sit down at the kitchen table. "But I am more interested in your story."

"I thought I was an open book to you." Emma challenged him.

Killian sighed. "I said you were an open book, not that I am a mind reader." Emma smirked at him, but he continued. "So, what's your story, love?" He asked, putting emphasis on the last word.

"What do you care?" Emma's walls shot up fast. She was not good with real conversations like this. Most previous foster parents got her story from the social worker and no one else bothered to ask. No one else bothered to care.

"Try something new, Darling. It's called trust. Is it so hard to believe that perhaps I may actually care about you?"

"Given my record with people-yes." She answered honestly.

"My record is not much better. I know what it is like to be hurt and how hard it is to trust. But I also know someone I can trust when I see them."

"Why do you think you can trust me?"

"Real question is, why don't you think you can trust me?" Killian retorted. Emma had no reasons not to trust him in particular, but had reasons not to trust people in general. People hurt her. People left her. People were not to be trusted. "Lass, I know what it is like to be abandoned. I won't do that to you. I don't intend to let you down."

Emma brushed off the last comment with a small laugh. "You've known me for two weeks."

"Then let me know you better."

Emma took a breath. She had nothing to gain and everything to lose. Her better judgement told her to shut herself off, to ignore him and his prodding questions. But, something deep down told her that she could trust him. What was the worst that could happen?"

"I was found on the side of the freeway when I was a baby. This family, the Swans, was going to adopt me, but they got pregnant and sent me back." Emma explained, her voice not once wavering. She knew her story inside and out and knew how to condition herself so she would not show emotion. "After that I was tossed around the system."

Killian nodded. He did not comment about how sad the story was like most people. Instead he asked her, "Favorite home?" Emma did not answer at first and he spoke again. "We all have one. Mine would be this one, but not counting here, it would be the second home I went to. The Hathaways. They had two other children-a boy, Thomas, and a girl, Lucy. It felt like all of us were actually a family.."

Emma took in his story. From what is sounded like, he entered the system at an older age. or he spent a long enough time at his first home that when he entered the next home he was old enough to have such a vivid memory of it. "What happened?" Emma asked.

"From that I gathered, they could not afford it anymore. They had a hard time providing for the two kids let alone two others."

"Two?" Emma said. He had not mentioned another foster child during his story.

"Aye." He nodded his head. "So, what was your favorite home?"

"The Whites." Memories of the Whites' flooded dinners and potential vacations. She remembered everything she had lost. "Bill and Katie. They had two boys-Zach and Max. They treated me like family."

"What happened?"

"Something from my past messed it up." Emma thought of Lily. She pushed the thought out of her head "What's your story?"

"Went into the system young." He answered simply.

"That's not your story." Emma saw through his lie. "You don't have to tell me."

He looked down at the table and ran his hand through his hair. "Aye, your right. I haven't been entirely forthright. My past is ugly, love."

"Can't be any uglier than mine."

"That's not a contest either of us want to win, Swan."

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments. He did not offer his story and Emma did not push him. She knew how hard it was to open up. She would not make him do something that he was not ready to do.

"I think if things were under different circumstances we could be friends." Emma finally broke the silence.

Killian raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "Do tell, Swan."

"I just mean," She tried to explain. "We are alike, even past the fact we are foster kids. I think we would have gotten along."

"But our label makes it so that friendship is not even an option?" He countered.

Emma sat up straight and pushed her books farther back. "I know you think you are immune to everything, but your not. I can tell you've got wounds too, even if you don't want to admit them. You have a hard time trusting, just like me. So, why the act?"

"No act, love."

"You know, the whole open book thing works both ways." Emma informed Killian.

"You're quite perceptive."

"Have to be. I was forced to grow up quick. And so were you. You know what that did to you. Why are you pretending that none of this bothers you?" Emma pushed. There was a reason he was not opening up, despite his insisting she do that very thing and trust him. He had his walls up as high as she did, just had a better time at hiding them.

He stood up quickly, almost as if he were angry. He paced for a moment before turning back to face her. "You know what, Swan." He said, calmer than she was anticipating. "I have had a pretty rough go of it. Things have been hard and I won't lie and say it never affects me. But I am just trying to look out for myself."

Emma did not respond. She was not sure what he meant, but did not want to probe. His past clearly had been ugly and there was something that had happened that had made him the way he was. He would not, could not, open up. He did not let himself get close to people and see his pain. He was not a hypocrite-pushing something on her that he could not do himself. He just wanted more for her. He wanted her to learn how to trust, even if he felt that he could never do the same.

Maybe the two of them were more alike than she thought. If that were true, Emma could perhaps be close with Killian. She could trust herself. He was one of the first people she met who completely got it. He understood the pains of the system and saw the effects it had on someone.

The opening of the front door brought them both back. Emma stood quickly to greet Mrs. Abernathy, but changed her mind. She went over to Killian. "You can be apart of something you know."

Emma turned around to make sure Mrs. Abernathy was still in the living room. Killian still had not said anything, so she continued hurriedly. "I just mean-maybe we can be friends while I am here. I think we both could use someone."

"What about being foster kids?" He asked her.

"Someone once told me that we are more than that label. Maybe it's time I start trying to believe that."