I am so sorry I did not upload on Tuesday! This week has been insane. Finals are coming up, so I may not have the next update for next Tuesday, but I will try my hardest. I hope all of you who are also facing finals do well, don't get to stressed out, and enjoy your last few weeks at university for the year.

Review responses-

Andria- I love Henry and Emma too! Watch out for more between them and how their relationship plays out (especially with Regina in the way)

Fanfic333- I love that you love this story. Hopefully, after this next week, I will be able to get the updates consistently every week. I will do it for you!

Please enjoy and review! We are almost at 100 reviews! So exciting!

Chapter 22: Rain, Rain, Go Away

One time when Emma was seven, she got stuck outside in the rain. The water fell on her face and the cold nipped at her bones. At the beginning, she hated it. Hated feeling vulnerable, feeling pain and feeling unsteady. Her cheap shoes soaked through and her clothes were sopping with water. But eventually she started to enjoy the rain. If not enjoy, at least tolerate. The noise it made when it hit the ground made her forget her troubles, forget everything about her life. She got used to the rain.

She experienced even more rain after she ran away. There is nothing to shield the rain away from the homeless girl on the street.

Emma was so furious she did not even realize when it had started raining. But at some point, she found herself, in the outskirts of town, dripping wet, her blonde hair sticking to her face and her clothes forming to her body. She had needed to walk, to blow off some steam after her confrontation with Regina. The sky looked dreary when she left the diner, walking with no destination in sight, but no water fell from the sky. At some point during her lamentations the sky opened up.

There were cabins in this area that she never knew about. Houses placed sporadically around the trees, looking homey and quaint. The houses were close enough to town that people had community, but far enough that they could escape.

Emma had no idea how much time had passed since she left the diner. Lost in her own thoughts, she had no sense of time. Her brain told her no more than an hour could have passed, that she could not have roamed around town for longer than that, but Emma honestly had no idea. Regina's actions just made her so-she did not even have the words to describe it. The woman had an amazing son, yet she oppressed him. She did not even listen to Henry back there, just yanked him out like he was some type of animal. Emma knew little about family, but she was certain that was not the way a mother should treat her son.

A voice called out among the sound of the rain and the billowing of the thunder. Emma turned slightly, not able to make out the words. When she was no one around, she told herself that it was her imagination. She was clearly losing it. The noise, sounding just like a person, rang out again though,louder this time.

"Emma" She finally heard real words. She whipped her head around, finding a slightly wet Killian standing in front of one of the cabins. Emma suppressed an eye roll, cursing her bad luck for seeing the two people that she did not want to see all within the matter of a few hours.

"What are you doing out here?" She called out over the rain.

He walked towards her. "I live out here. The real question is what are you doing out here?"

"Walking?" Emma offered a feeble attempt at an answer.

Killian chuckled. "Why don't you come inside until the storm passes?"

Emma hesitated for a moment. They had barely spoken in the past week, since their shared kiss. Obviously things were tense between them. Emma was not good at relationships-any type. She ruined everything she touched.

But then again it was practically down pouring and she was soaked to the bone.

"Thanks." She whispered as she followed him into one of the cabins. She walked through the front door, eying the room subtly. The room was clean and organized, and Emma chuckled a bit to herself. Killian had always been a neat freak, even when they were kids.

"Nice place."

Killian smiled a bit, leaving her standing at the by the door to move into the room to grab a blanket. He came back to her, draping it around her body. "Thank you, lass. Why don't you come sit down while I find you something dry to change into?"

Emma just nodded, not knowing what exactly to say. She sat in silence for a few moments, looking around the room. It was simply decorated, no pictures up and very few personal items on display. Of course, foster kids had a way of not being sentimental.

Killian returned, folded up clothes and a large towel in his good hand. "It's all I have. If you don't feel comfortable-"

"Thanks, Killian." She cut him off.

"Bathroom's over there. Second door on the right." He pointed down the hallway. She gave him a nod of thanks before going to change.

When she returned from the bathroom, still somewhat uncomfortable, but now dry, dressed in what she assumed was a pair of his sweatpants and an old tshirt, Killian was sitting on the couch two mugs in front of him.

"I figured you might like something to warm you up." He said. Emma smiled and moved towards to couch, keeping the blanket he had given her earlier wrapped tightly around herself.

"Might I ask why you were out there in the rain?" He questioned as she sat down.

"It wasn't raining when I started walking." Emma muttered.

"What brought you all the way out here?" He reached for his mug. "Sheriff duties?"

Emma ran a hand through her hair, only managing to tangle it more. "Just went on a walk. Kinda forgot to look where I was going."

"Lost in thought?"

"Something like that." Emma took a sip of her drink. She smiled when she tasted it and saw he remembered the cinnamon.

"I suppose you don't want to talk about it then." Emma knew that after all these years, he could still read her like an open book. She normally hated that, hated that he could still see right through here and she was vulnerable with someone. Everything in her told her not to get close to someone, but that made it hard with Killian.

"What makes you think that?"

"I know you, Emma." He said. She did not miss the usage of her first name. He only called her Emma when it was a more serious conversation. "You don't walk to think. You walk to forget."

Emma knew it was true. Nature soothed her, it always had. And walking through it proved to be a form of release. She could just forget everything and not be forced to think-for once. Not have to think about her next foster home, where she would sleep that night, or how her life was falling apart before her very eyes. She could just relax, something she very rarely did.

"Twenty questions?" His voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Emma snorted, leaning over to set her cup down on the coffee table that was in front of them. "What are we, twelve?"

Killian shrugged. "Well, we never did play when we were kids. Thought we could make up for lost time."

Emma could not argue with that logic. Actually, she probably could, but it was not worth her effort. "Fine, you start."

His face lit up. "We'll start out easy, Swan. Favorite food?"

Emma raised her eyebrow at him. "Really? That's what you are going with?" He shrugged, as if his question was completely valid. Emma signed. "Grilled cheese. Let me guess yours, fish?"

He laughed. "Close. Lasagna."

"How is that close?"

"It's not but I wanted to make you feel better. Your turn."

Emma thought for a moment. The context of their question game was quite ridiculous, but she had nowhere else to go and he was saving her from having to walk around some more in the rain and risk catching a cold. "Favorite book?"

"Peter Pan."

Emma laughed. "Why is that not surprising?"

"What?"

Emma reached out for her drink again, taking a sip before she explained. "You always had a fascination with pirates when we were kids. You must want to be Captain Hook or something."

"I believe Captain Hook is not evil, but misunderstood." He said, pointedly

"Anyway, your turn."

He raised his hand. "Not so fast, Swan. You never told me your favorite book."

She sighed, mug still in hand, wrapping her hands around it tighter to pull in more of its warmth. "Princess Bride."

Now it was his turn to laugh. "Oh, is it indeed? I thought you did not like princesses?"

"I'm pretty sure I said I wasn't a princess. And either way, Buttercup is tough. She doesn't need a prince to save her."

Killian hummed, "Aye. So, Swan, how did you get into law enforcement?"

She ran a hand through her hair. It was drier now, the warmth of being inside finally taking its effect. "I wouldn't exactly call being a sheriff law enforcement."

"Bail bonds person?"

Emma nodded. "Well, there are not a lot of jobs for high school dropouts, so I took what I could get."

"Ever think about finishing school?"

Emma shrugged. "What's the point now? I have a job. I'm not proud that I didn't finish, but I did what I had to."

Neither one of them spoke for a moment, a silence falling over the room. Emma had questions for him and she knew he was more than curious about where she had been for the past ten years. It was only a matter of time before she had to lay all of her cards on the table. Killian was never one to push her, but me made it clear he cared about her and wanted to be there for her. She wanted, to at least try, to do the same for him, as a friend.

"What happened to your hand?" The words escaped Emma's mouth before she could even stop them. The question had been lingering in her head since she first noticed that it was gone, but it surely had to be a sore topic for him.

"Would you believe that a crocodile ate it?" He joked. Emma knew what he was doing, it was exactly what she would do. His walls were shooting up. Sometimes Emma forget that he had baggage too.

"Nice try, Captain Hook." Emma retorted. "If you don't want to talk about it-"

"It was a fight." Killian cut her off, his voice wavering ever so slightly. "The other guy pulled a knife, tried to stab me, but I moved. He did a lot of damage to my hand. It was hanging on by threads. Doctors said it would be impossible to save."

"I'm so sorry, Killian." Emma whispered.

"I was nineteen." He never cried, but his words were filled with emotion, catching in his throat every now and then. "He was thirty-three. Attacked me for sleeping with his wife."

"Killian-"

He raised up his hand to stop her. "I didn't know when we met. She lied to me and said she was twenty-three and working on her masters. A couple months later she revealed she was twenty-eight and married. But I was too far gone."

"I'm sorry." She repeated. She felt sorry for making him rehash the event. She never imagined the story of losing his hand looked anything like this.

"Their marriage was failing. It had been since their son died of cancer two years prior to our meeting. They had been together since they were eighteen and had him young. But after his death, her husband changed. She said he was a monster. I urged her to leave him, but she wouldn't. But she wouldn't leave me either and because of me-"

"Killian, it wasn't not your fault." She placed her hand on his shoulder.

"If she hadn't of met me, she would-"

"Killian, stop." Emma said, a bit bolder. "You didn't do it. It wasn't your fault. You made her happy, gave her something when she needed it the most. You gave her a few years of happiness. Don't regret that."

He nodded and for the first time she could see the sadness in his eyes, but no tears. Killian was not one to cry, a habit forming from his youth. "Aye. I guess you're right, Swan."

"I am." She became very aware that her hand was still on his arm, quickly removing it, hoping her very presence was encouragement enough.

"So, Swan, what about you?"

"What are you talking about?" She asked confused.

"Who hurt you?"

Emma gave a sarcastic laugh under her breath. "That's a pretty long list. You want the condensed version?"

He looked straight at her, blue eyes meeting green. "You know what I mean, Emma. When we kissed I could see it. The look in your eyes. The look of someone who has been hurt."

"I didn't realize this was the time to talk about all of our past, how do you say, dalliances." Her voice was bitter. She knew that was uncalled for, especially with what he just revealed to her. But her heart was still hard and her walls were still strong and Emma was still Emma.

Without even bothering to see if the rain had stopped, she shrugged the blanket off her shoulders and stood up, intending to leave. She got a few steps away before Killian realized what she was doing and grabbed her wrist, yelling after her, "Emma."

"What!" She turned around to face him. "You want to hear about how stupid I was? How I was seventeen and this guy ruined me for life and the best part was that I let him! That I did not learn my lesson the first time around and then found another guy who stole everything from me! That what you want to hear!" She knew she should not be yelling at him, that she was not really mad at him, but all the years of pent up anger were finally pouring out. "Because that's what happened. The little foster girl didn't learn her lesson as a kid to not trust people and got screwed in the end."

"Emma." He repeated, this time softer. He did not move closer to her, standing exactly where he was in front of her to give her space.

'I was seventeen." Emma was quieter now. "His name was Neal. I thought he loved shoplifted and moved from town to town, but I loved him so I didn't mind." Emma's words rushed together as she tried to keep a cap on her emotions. "He had stolen some watched a couple years before I met him and he thought he was going to get caught so we came up with this plan to sell the watched and move to Tallahassee. But he tricked me. He set me up to take the fall so he could run. I went to jail for two years."

"Emma, that's-"

"I was pregnant." She didn't look at him. She couldn't manage to look him in the eye. Looking past him she could do, but not at him. "I found out after I went to jail that I was pregnant.I was just another statistic. Another foster kid who got pregnant within a few years of the system. I was devastated. I never told him though. Why should I? It's not like he cared. And I was seventeen, in jail and a high school dropout! What was I gonna do with a kid? So, I gave the baby up for adoption. I gave him up just like my parents gave me up."

He took a small step closer to her. "Emma, you gave him his best chance."

"I gave me my best chance. I was thinking about me."

Killian shook his head. "I know you, Emma. You think of others before you. You knew you couldn't raise a baby then. It was not fair to either of you. But you also knew abandonment, and you did not want that for the child. So, you took a risk and hoped it was for the best. You hoped he would never end up like us and that he would have a real shot at a real future. You did the right thing, love."

She finally let a tear run free. "Thank you."

He closed the gap between them, bring his good hand to her cheek to wipe the tear away. "You're welcome, lass."

She looked down and he dropped his hand, him standing, waiting for her to say something.

"I got out and started working as a bail bonds person. Ironic, right?" She gave a pathetic laugh. "Then I met this guy Walsh while I was moving into my first apartment. I finally had enough money to get an apartment and I was so excited. He worked at the furniture store and we hit it off. We dated for eight months before he proposed. I wasn't sure, though. I waited a few days before answering, but before I could he stole all my money."

Killian opened his mouth to respond, or maybe apologize, but Emma spoke again before he could. "He must have forget that I made a living out of finding people."

Killian laughed. "That's my girl."

"I was just relieved that I was not back at square one."

"Would you have said yes?" He asked her, catching her off guard.

Emma thought for a few seconds, before answering. "No."

Killian's face lit up a bit, but he tried his best to conceal it. "Really, now?"

Emma smiled. "I don't think I could have seen a future with him."

Killian did not respond at first, instead moved a bit closer to her. There was still a good amount of distance between them, but it was closer than they had been in a while, at least since they kissed. "Emma, what are we doing?"

She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Are we just going to keep pretending that there is nothing between us?"

Emma sucked in her breath. "Killian, I'm not good at relationships."

"Neither am I."

"Everyone leaves." She pushed. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose our friendship."

"Love, I will never leave you upon my own will. Even when I did as a youth, I hated every minute of it. I won't leave this time unless you tell me too."

"Killian, I'm broken." She whispered.

"You're perfect." He told her. She gave him an unbelieving look. "Love, I'm broken too. But I want to try and become whole."

"I can't make you whole, again."

Killian shook his head. "That's not what I was asking. I have to do that on my own. As do you. But I still want to be with you, brokenness in all. Believe it or not, Emma, but we still make quite the team."

She gave him a slight smile. "Maybe we do." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm not promising that I will be any good at this."

"I'm not either. But we figure it out together."

"Okay."

"Really?" He asked, a mixture of shock and surprise on his face.

Emma nodded and whispered. "Yeah."

His smile grew, stretching across his face. It looked just like how he smiled when they were kids.