Emma had learned many things in her nearly three decades of life. She had learned the basics of walking, talking, and functioning. She'd learned to drive a car when one of her foster siblings stole one and expected her to take it on. She'd learned to swim when there was a party at the community pool and someone threw her in the deep end. She'd learned to be a mother by trying to emulate things and a lot of trial and error. But learning what made Killian tick was quickly becoming a favorite pastime. For one, she realized that his accent was thicker with fatigue, almost so thick that it sounded as though he spoke another language. He was a light sleeper and tended to talk in his sleep, saying such things as his affinity for lima beans and worrying that the bathtub was not draining fast enough. She also learned that his blue eyes somehow glowed with emotions she had not yet described even to herself. If she was silent enough, she could hear them in the way he gazed at her and the way his hand touched her in such a way that she felt for a moment that she might be as precious as he seemed to think. All of that had occurred in a single night, which made her wonder what else she didn't know.

Liam was the first to have called that morning, his texts having gone unanswered. Killian grunted more than spoke to his brother, but agreed that breakfast did sound good. Then he promptly rolled over, wrapped an arm about Emma and was falling back asleep.

"Your brother is going to wonder where you are," she said, gently tapping him until he opened one eye to look at her over the corner of his pillow. "You just promised to have breakfast with him."

"Bloody wanker should have invited us to lunch," he muttered. "I'm rather content here in this bed."

"You promised," she reminded him gently. Her eyes were at least open and taking in the room that was dimly lit around the curtains that were pulled. It was a bit of a mess at the moment with their clothes in piles where they shed them and the comforter from the bed over in a corner as though it was a bit traumatized by what it had witnessed. "And just think. It gives us a reason we don't have to talk yet."

His head lifted off the bed so he could look at her rather curiously before a grin cracked through what appeared concerned features. "You mean Emma Swan is wanting to avoid a potentially awkward conversation. I think last night was bloody fantastic. You were…" She silenced him with her finger against his lips.

His face was so close to hers and the weight of his body against hers made her feel as though she was happy, safe, and warm there in his embrace. "I didn't say it was anything bad or awkward. I was thinking it went without saying that I enjoyed last night too. But if you need me to stroke your ego…"

She squealed as he rolled them so that she was splayed across his chest, pulling the sheet up over their heads as though it might protect them from what the morning after always brought and the pending breakfast with his brother. "Emma, I hardly need you to give me a boost of confidence. I am not ashamed to tell you that I'm rather proud that my performance did not send you running for the hills. Though I did consider hiding your shoes so that feat would have been harder to manage."

"I'm here," she said, partially to herself. "I don't want to be any place else." Even as she said it, she felt that drop in her stomach like she did when she rode a roller coaster. Saying such a thing, even when it wasn't laced with other words too hard to say, was something that she avoided. It made her vulnerable, something she loathed to be with anyone.

"Aye, me too," he said, again taking in the sight of her there so close to him. Her hair was more tangled than perfect and her eyes a bit bleary from not quite enough sleep. "But you are right that I did promise that brother of mine. I suppose we should get up and going before he comes barging in here demanding to go for pancakes."

Rubbing her hand over his chest in a half circle, she flashed her dimples at him coyly. "I'm feeling pretty generous here, tiger. You can have the shower first." There is a look of genuine pride in offering this to him, though she wasn't exactly being selfless at the moment. She needed to call her son, check on him, and ensure that everything was fine. He had sounded a bit tense the night before, which she had tried to pass off as her being overprotective. Still, she wanted to hear his voice and even question him a bit on the situation with his father and Tamara. She wasn't fooling anyone, as Killian dropped a kiss on her full lips and smiled.

"Say hello to the lad for me," he said with a smirk as he detangled himself from the bed sheets and headed toward the adjoining bathroom. "I hope he's finding some time to practice."

The bed bounced with the force she threw herself back down on the mattress, frowning at him and biting back a giggle when he wiggled his hips a bit before shutting the door. Blindly reaching down onto the floor, she pulled back one of his shirts and donned it before digging out her phone and placing the call. Her first assumption was that her son was dining on breakfast at Granny's, which would explain why the grumpy and yet caring matriarch's voice was also sounding in Emma's ear.

"Dad's kind of sick," Henry explained, hurriedly running through both what had happened and how Granny and Ruby had come to his rescue. He even apologized, which Emma realized was what had been wrong before. He was feeling guilty.

"Okay, so I need to come get you," she said, bypassing her initial anger at Neal and Tamara for abandoning her son and not even bothering to update him on his father's condition. They hadn't even bothered to call her and let her know that something was wrong. Swinging her long legs over the side of the bed, she went into that professional mother mode where she was making lists and checking them off in an effort to get this done. Storybrooke was at least a two and half hour drive. She'd have to make it twice. If she left now she could be back by dinner. She'd get another room at the hotel for her to share with her son. Maybe she could arrange that before she left. Henry couldn't come into the club where the two groups were playing, but he could stay at the hotel. Maybe there was a service she could call. Or maybe Ruby could…

"Swan, what's going on?" Killian said. A towel was wrapped about his hips and he was rubbing his wet hair with a smaller towel as the cloud of steam escaped from the confines of the bathroom behind him. "Is there a problem."

She quickly explained the situation, including that she couldn't leave Henry with Granny when it was the woman's monthly turn to host supper club for some of the older residents in town. Ruby had some sort of plans and Mary Margaret was busy with David for the weekend. She had no choice. Throwing the silvery shoes she had worn the night before into her bag, she smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I should have known that…" Again her face fell as she realized she couldn't exactly blame Neal for his condition, but she was not happy to hear that his girlfriend had completely ignored the responsibility to caring for Henry. "Oh God, the bands. I need to confirm…" She dug into her purse again for her notes and was scrolling through them as Killian stepped up behind her. His reaction was much calmer than hers and with a steady hand, he plucked the phone away and waited for her attention. "I need that, Killian."

"Darling, I know. But you can't work yourself up like this. I have a plan. You stay here and get the groups ready to go. Do your job. I will head back and retrieve the boy myself. I'll bring him here and he and I can spend some time together tonight rather than him having to go to some night club. Sound like a plan?"

He had already tossed his hand towel aside and rubbed his nose against her cheek before planting a kiss there. "Killian, that's really sweet, but I can't ask you to do that." She was still in his embrace, his body damp from the shower and making the borrowed shirt she was wearing cling to her body even more.

"You're not asking, love. I'm volunteering." He kissed the side of her mouth. "I am rather fond of Henry. I have no problem spending a little time with the lad. It sounds much more interesting to me than listening to my brother and those blokes struggle through songs that I normally love."

She looked reluctant to accept his offer, exchanging her glances between his damp features and the phone he was holding. "Are you sure? I can…"

"I have no doubt that you can do anything you set your mind to, Emma, but it isn't necessary. Now, go get ready. We'll eat with my brother and your lovely friend. I'll make haste toward Storybrooke, and you go do your magic to make sure tonight is a resounding success."

The fresh scent of soap from his skin tickled her nostrils as she closed her eyes and let her head fall onto his shoulder. "I guess I can't refuse. So I owe you a favor now?"

"We'll talk about that later."

***AAA***

Elsa and Liam might have shared much in common when it came to their abilities with music and interest in such, but their breakfast plates told another story. Liam had piled his high with sausages and eggs. Those items and fresh waffles dripping with butter and syrup were at the base of his mountain. By contrast Elsa was sipping on black coffee and picking at a whole wheat bagel with an egg white omelet.

They gave Killian and Emma knowing looks before directing the duo toward the buffet for breakfast and suggesting that Emma might hurry if she wanted a bear claw. Emma was still fussing with the coffee machine when Killian came back to the table and dropped his items. Having already finished what she wanted, Elsa went in search of her friend to help and left the brothers behind.

"Good night, little brother?" Liam said, not lifting his eyes from his plate. "You certainly took your time getting down here this morning."

In their earlier life it had always been Liam who lectured Killian. He was the one who had expected promptness and cautioned the more impetuous of the brothers to think before he acted. Lately that dynamic had changed as Liam became more free spirited and Killian less so. It was an interesting development to have the roles reversed again, even if just for a moment.

"I could ask you the same, but you look rather frustrated, brother," Killian said, not bothering to ask his older brother to stop referring to him as little. "So I suggest we keep our business to ourselves? Shall we?"

There wasn't much time to argue as the women return to the table and wave off the guy's attempts to get them more to drink or other options. Instead the four of them eat hurriedly so that Killian can get on the road. If Liam had an opinion about his brother again being relegated to caring for a child, he kept it to himself and concentrated more on the litany of requests from Emma. He assured her that he was very much ready for that night and would roust out the other members of the band soon enough.

"I should get on my way," Killian said, standing abruptly and smiling down at Emma. "Anything else you would like me to fetch on my trip?"

"I think you're being gracious and perfect enough as is," she said, rolling her eyes a bit. "Let's dial it back a bit." He lifted her hand up and kissed at the knuckles, raising his eyebrows as he looked challengingly at her. "Alright, alright."

Liam said he still had a bit of work to do on the closing song the band was planning to perform, something about the lyrics not flowing as they should. While Elsa seemed to disagree, she jumped at the chance to spend a bit of time with Emma and promised that she would come find him later. Once alone, she pursed her lips together and stared at her friend until Emma final spoke.

"What?" Emma asked, her fork cutting through her own waffle. "Elsa, you can't stare like that me and think I won't feel uncomfortable."

"You and Killian?" Elsa said wiggling back and forth in her seat, smiling in a way that only she and her sister could. "Come on…"

"Me and Killian," Emma repeated, dragging the waffle corner through a bit more of syrup. "I need more than that before I can answer. What about us?"

Her hands clenching at the edge of the table, Elsa leaned in and raised her eyebrows even more. "You know what I'm asking." Clearly the woman was exasperated as she waited for Emma to respond. When none came, she collapsed back into the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "Seriously, you're annoying when you have a secret."

Licking a bit of the syrup out of the corner of her lips, Emma watched as Elsa practically pouted. "I don't have any secrets worth all that pouting. But I do have a question. Are you okay with doing an interview with a trade magazine later this afternoon? The guy doesn't usually do tests or debuts, but I managed to convince him to check you guys out tonight. He wants to do the interview first though since he's got plans with his family tomorrow."

Normally Elsa would have been panicked to hear that she had to do another interview. The questions were always awkward and her answers more so. No matter how much media training they had her do, she could never see it as just a conversation, hating the way she either sounded stilted or perturbed. However, she was clearly on a mission for information.

"Liam likes you, you know," she said, taking another approach. "He said he thinks you are good for his brother."

Emma hummed as she punched a few things on her phone. "That's nice."

"He was a little disappointed that you and Killian didn't come with us last night to dinner and the movies. But he said that his brother had something romantic planned for you. So was it? Was it?" She tapped her foot impatiently under the table.

"Oh and August said he'd like to talk to you and Anna for one of his blogs. I know he's not really music affiliated, but that is a huge audience right there. It could be great. Maybe we could provide a few samples that he could host for us. I think that would be a good idea." Her eyes scanned her email, not bothering to look at Elsa's petulant expression.

"I would tell you."

That did it. Emma's attention snapped to the blonde sitting there with her. "Elsa, you would not. Don't even try to lie and say you would."

"Okay I wouldn't. But I am curious. I don't need details, but…"

"Things are going well," Emma said noncommittally. She wasn't even sure how to describe the comfortable and yet gnawing feeling that she had right now. Trust was a funny thing and here she was again trusting this guy with her son. Never mind that he was a teacher and Henry seemed to adore him. She was usually fiercely independent and hated the idea of owing anyone for favors or assistance. "We…Things…Well, last night was very romantic."

Elsa seemed to like that answer, wrapping her arms across her chest as though hugging herself. "Anything you can put into words. I'm kind of stuck on ideas for a song that I've been writing."

Turning her attention back to her phone, Emma shook her head. "Don't you have enough inspiration with Liam? I would think that…"

"Fine," she answered sullenly. "I was just trying to find some extra something for the song."

"You're the musician, Elsa. I'm just the behind the scenes person. Speaking of which. You and your sister need to decide about your outfits for tonight. I want something with small or no patterns. It will photograph better. If you insist on skirts or dresses, make sure they are long enough that you are comfortable sitting on a stool. Oh and make sure you have your stuff ready for my kit. You know…guitar strings, hair clips, tape, aspirin, etc. I don't want any panic tonight. And go over your answers for these interviews. Got it?"

Giving her friend and manager a mock salute, Elsa pushed back from the table. "Got it. You don't want to do the friend thing today."

"Thank you," Emma added with her own mocking. "Oh and by the way? He turned dancing on a boat and sitting under the stars and talking about everything and nothing from a fairy tale into reality. How's that?"

The grin that broke out on Elsa's face was adorable as she practically hugged her friend around the neck. "That's what I'm talking about."

***AAA***

Killian could barely contain his smile as he watched Henry bound from the jeep and hug his mother as if he hadn't seen her in months. She clearly loved her son, as she reciprocated the hug with a tight squeeze and nuzzle before she pulled him close with a hand under his chin. She said something to him that the music teacher couldn't hear, though he could tell that whatever it was seemed to sit well with the boy. His smile grew and he waved over Killian who had thrown the boy's overnight bag over his shoulder and was making his way there.

"Glad to see me?" he asked Emma, not fully expecting her to regard him with any sort of affection in front of her son. He received a bit of a surprise when she brusher her lips against his cheek and welcomed him back.

"So I have a plan, if you are both up to it," she said, throwing her phone back into the pocket of her leather jacket. "I've got this concert thing tonight, but we have a little time tomorrow before we need to be back in Storybrooke. Maybe we should try to take in the afternoon game at Fenway or we could go the aquarium."

Henry snuck a look at Killian, smiling almost shyly at his teacher. "You mean all three of us?"

"That's what I meant," she said. "I mean unless either of you have other plans." To Killian's surprise she had not moved from his side and even lightly snaked an arm around his waist. "It seems like a shame to come all this way and not do something fun."

"I'm certainly game for it," Killian chimed in, realizing he hadn't agreed and both mother and son were looking at him expectantly. It was not lost on him that Emma did not seem the type to include men in on her family time. She kept a bit of a divider on her romantic life and her son. So an invitation to be included on such a thing was more momentous than even the favor of transporting the boy from Maine to Boston. "I can't imagine a better way to spend the day than with the two of you."

The phone that Emma had just discarded chirped again, causing her to roll her eyes. "Sorry. I'm trying to get the local radio station to play a sneak of Elsa and Anna's song. This might be them. You two discuss what we're going to do, okay?" She took about ten steps away with the phone at her ear and the other hand covered her other ear in an attempt to hear better in the large and echoing parking garage.

Killian switched his gaze from her to Henry, nodding toward the double doors into the hotel. "So which option do you prefer?"

***AAA***

Elsa buttoned her shirt and then grimaced in the mirror. Nothing she was picking out to wear really suited her, but her options were limited. Turning back to the simple blue and purple dress that was just tight enough to hug her curves and long enough that she could sit comfortably, she settled on it and matched it with a purple belt, matching shoes, and a silver pair of earrings that Anna had given her for Christmas the year before.

From the main room she could hear Liam strumming his guitar, his voice faint through the door. She could barely make out any of the words or notes, but she was sure he was as nervous as she was. Occasionally he would stop, probably scribbling something on that small notepad she had seen him carrying around.

Emerging from the bathroom, she heard none of the music as he stopped his work to stare at her with something akin to awe. "Darling, you look beautiful."

She wrinkled her nose as she smiled, running her hands along the sides of her dress. "Are you sure? Maybe I should go more casual."

"You are a vision," he told her, throwing the guitar aside on the bed and circling round to her. "I want nothing more than to see you perform tonight, but I'm starting to realize how bad I am at this. The thought of sharing you with adoring fans is a bit hard on my ego."

"More like drunk bar patrons and a few bored housewives." She looped her arms around his broad shoulders and smiled. "What were you working on?"

"That sodding chorus is doing me in," he said, looking as tired as he sounded. "Technically it could work, but it's just off. I can't get the words to flow like they should. I don't want to touch the music though. The lads already know it and we can't change it at this late date." He kissed one of her cheeks and then the other, stopping to kiss both the tip of her nose and her forehead. When she giggled, he smiled back at her with tired resignation. "Dot to dot snogging?"

"You're cute when you're tired, but come on. Try and get a nap before the show. I'm going to go find Anna and see if we're all set. I can't believe this is all happening. It feels like we're making progress. Like this could all be real." She could feel the heat of her blood rushing through her as she realized how young and hopeful she sounded, full of dreams and aspirations that were not exactly grounded in practical thinking. But she truly wanted those things, even if it meant she might have to be a little less than her usually pragmatic self.

"I'd love to, darling, but I need to finish this…"

She dropped one of her hands from his shoulder and pressed a finger to his lips, which he promptly kissed the pad of and made her laugh again. "It'll come to you. But you don't want to go on stage tonight and appear to be tired or disinterested. So just take a power nap, okay?"

"You're adorable when you are bossy."

***AAA***

Emma stabbed the earring through her lobe and ran a hand through her hair. She was used to these sneak peek shows and knew that it would be a small crowd with few who were there for it. The hope was that the girls and the guys could entertain and win over the people there to celebrate the end of the week with a drink or a game of pool. Smoothing her hands over the burgundy top and her jeans, she made her way out of the suite that she had managed to upgrade to for the night and headed down to the heated pool where Killian and Henry were spending some time before their "men's night out."

The scent of chlorine was pretty strong as she entered the glassed in area where more than a few families were having races from one end to the other and games of water tag. She couldn't help but hear Henry's loud laugh even over the sounds of everyone else as he and Killian did cannon balls into the deep end and came up to the surface with sputtering laughs of joy.

"Don't you dare get my clothes wet," she said, holding out her arms for protection when Killian climbed out and headed toward her with a predatory look. "I don't want to have to explain that tonight."

"Where's your sense of adventure, love?" he asked as Henry joined along side of him and waved his head to dispel drops of water from his hair.

"It goes out the window when it comes to work," she said, taking a step back in her knee high black boots. "Don't you dare."

Killian stopped mid trek, water dripping off every surface of him. Henry however took three more steps before he realized his mother was not playing games. "I suppose we should take a note and admire your mum from afar," he suggested. "Tell her how absolutely lovely she looks."

Rolling his eyes in a way reminiscent of his mother, Henry muttered a compliment about his mom's hair and then looked to Killian for approval. When he got no more than a slight twitch of a smile, he turned back to Emma. "You look nice, mom," he said with a lack of enthusiasm. "Real nice."

Emma laughed and crossed her arms over her chest. "That wasn't awkward at all," she teased. "I think Killian should have you practice on someone other than a blood relative though. Keep the creepy factor down."

Taking the opportunity, Henry pointed toward the diving board several feet away. "Mom, you have to see this new dive that Killian taught me." Without waiting for an answer he was headed toward the diving board.

"Killian?" Emma asked, having already discussed what Henry should call his teacher outside the classroom.

"Mr. Jones seems a bit awkward and formal when we're outside those walls," Killian said taking the towel from her and attempting to do as much drying off as he could. "And I was sort of hoping that we might be seeing each other enough that he would have the occasion to use it." The color in Killian's cheeks stood out as he stared down at the decorated concrete around the pool. "You aren't upset, are you?"

"Not upset," she assured him. She stared toward where her son was two away from diving into the water. He waved to her enthusiastically and pointed toward the water in case she had forgotten what he was going to do. "Are you sure you're willing to watch him? I did not mean for you to end up on child duty again."

He smiled tenderly at her and waved off toward the pool himself. "Love, this is hardly a hardship. And your son is hardly the worst of the demon spawn I have met in my line of work. He shows no signs of an affinity toward arson or homicide. I'd say that an evening with him will be entertaining and enjoyable. We have some very manly things planned. I am thinking a trip down to the quarter is order, perhaps some beer and burgers. Maybe movie at that little red adult rated movie house."

"And back in the room by nine?" Emma asked, biting back a laugh. "He does have a curfew."

"But of course, love. We'll do the early bird manly thing. We can rent a few things on the telly, charge them to your expense account."

"Don't forget to empty out the minibar. I mean if you're going to live like rock stars." She could not lean in to kiss him like she was dying to do. Instead she settled for brushing back a bit of his wet hair from his forehead. Henry was now one person away from jumping into the water and she didn't want to miss it. "But seriously, I'm sure it will be fine. Just don't let him sucker you into too much. I mean no trips to Disney World or anything."

Her hand was still hovering beside his face and he tilted his head toward it, encouraging her to cup his cheek. As she did, he twisted a bit to lay his lips at her wrist in a soft kiss. "We're about to go upstairs and get cleaned up a bit. I've spoken to the lad and he's craving a bit of a hamburger so we're headed to some little tourist spot that looks like a diner from the 1950s. After that I believe we are about to watch one of the Harry Potter flicks or whatever else we can find. He did mention that Granny has been teaching him to play poker. We may try our hand at that if I can procure a deck of cards." Thankfully the itinerary left off there as Henry called out to both Emma and Killian to watch him as he jumped into the air and tucked his knees up under his chin to turn a back somersault all before hitting the water.

Emma clapped her hands over her head and cheered as her son came up for air with the proudest grin possible. Even Killian lifted his hand to his mouth, stuck in two fingers and whistled loudly. Trotting back to them, Henry was greeted with congratulations for his efforts and a comment from Killian that it was far better than he had been doing before. The three of them enjoyed a few more minutes of conversation before members of both musical groups stopped in to gather for the ride over to the club for sound check. Will was, to everyone's astonishment, the first to arrive. He plopped into one of the lounge chairs with his legs crossed at his ankles.

"No one told me it was children's hour," he said, giving a sour look at the pool's occupants. "Seems to me that there would be better places for these lads."

Killian chuckled, tossing Henry a towel, as the boy kept dripping all over everything. "You do realize that Anastasia is going to expect to have children someday. You'll be a father of one of these miniature humans."

"Mate, it will be different when it's mine. No grousing about for one. I'm going to have me a proper kid without all the muss and fuss. And since when have you become the expert, mate? Just because you're trying to get at the mom by siding up with the son. Don't worry though. Nobody will see through that at all."

Emma, who was sipping on a drink, looked angrily at the man spouting such nonsense. "You wouldn't know how to get on anyone's good side, would you? That's going to come back to bite you in the butt."

***AAA***

Emma wiped off a spot on the table that seemed to wobble a bit too much. In her years working for the Mills sisters she had been to plenty of clubs on scouting missions and soft openings like this one. However, it was rare to have two acts to worry about. Between Anna talking a mile a minute – a sure sign that she was nervous – Elsa turning practically green, and Robin mentioning three times already that he would rather being on a camping trip, she was about to go crash men's night with the boys and forget this line of work. Maybe there was an opening at Granny's or perhaps she could become a deputy. Maybe Leroy would hire her at the mines. It all seemed preferable to dealing with this.

Emma marched in the direction of where Elsa had her head resting against the edge of the bar as Liam tried to fan her with one of the menus and listen to Anna try to recall in some sort of order what states she had visited. Kristoff, Robin, and one of the men from the band for the ladies are Googling some question that Anna had asked at least four times in hopes of finding an answer and putting an end to that conversation.

It wasn't even just the people there in the club that were getting on Emma's nerves. Zelena had texted her and sent a request for Facetime twice, saying she had fantastic news to share. Regina's messages were less upbeat and reminded her that money and reputation were riding on this little outing. Squaring off her shoulders and taking a deep breath, Emma dropped her phone into her bag and signaled the bartender to cut off the members of both bands.

"Anna, why don't you save your voice for the stage? I want you to have a bit of hot tea. Robin can you get that for her. Liam, why don't you make sure that Will isn't sneaking out of here to grab alcohol some place else. I see him headed toward the door. And Kris, I need you and Anastasia to claim some seats. This place gets busy on Saturday nights. I won't have time to deal with that later." The band members scattered about, even the ones without direct orders to follow. Emma took a step toward Elsa and brushed back a few of the strands of nearly white blonde hair. "Are you okay?"

Slowly the woman's eyes opened as she stared back blankly at Emma. "I don't know."

"If you need to throw up, I'm going to suggest you do it now in the restroom. Don't wait to go on stage. I can't spin that into a good thing. And after you do, get some water. Gargle half and drink the rest. It will help."

"You must be getting annoyed with me. I'm not worth all this fuss."

Straddling the stool next to her friend, Emma requested a glass of ginger ale before turning back to face Elsa. "You aren't allowed to say that," she told her calmly. "Do you remember when I was up for a promotion from Regina? I told you then that I wasn't sure if I could do it. I wasn't sure why I was going to try because I was afraid of failing. I was so sure that I was going to fail, so sure that I was going to get fired. But you told me something that night when I was crying on your couch. Do you remember what it was?" Emma accepted the ginger ale with a nod and mouthed thanks, waiting for Elsa to respond.

"I told you to believe in yourself."

"More than that," Emma prodded, pushing the drink toward her friend. "You told me that sometimes you have to be your own cheering section and you have to be your own cheerleader. You can't expect people to talk you up and tell you everything you need to hear. Sometimes you have to push yourself because nobody else is going to do it."

"Is this your way of saying I'm all alone?"

"It's my way of saying that I have no idea what will motivate you or change your mind that you are worth it. So dig deep and figure out what you need to hear. I'll be glad to provide the voice. But seriously, if you're going to puke, please go do it now."

***AAA***

When Elsa did return from the restroom she found her sister, Emma, and the others at a table off to the left of the stage and out of the footlights. Liam's band is on the stage, a microphone close to him as he holds the guitar and strums softly.

"Did I miss anything?" she whispered to Emma.

"Not a thing. They just took the stage. I'm glad you're here though. I didn't think Liam was going to go out there if he couldn't see you." As if he could hear the conversation, the older of the brothers stared into that darkened corner and locked eyes with Elsa for a moment. That seemed to give him a bit of a boost as he sat up a little straighter.

The first two songs of the mini-set seemed to rouse the attention of the otherwise distracted audience. Both featured Liam's voice well and the other members of the band had their moments to shine. There was just enough feeling in the lyrics and beat to the melody that people were moving in their seats to that same rhythm. By the time the third song was about to be played, Emma smiled in recognition of the titter of applause and a few cheers that began to sound around her.

For the first time since they began to perform Liam looked slightly uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat on the stool a bit and bit his lip before announcing the song's message. Emma clearly understood that it had to do with Elsa and reached over to squeeze her friend's hand.

The group at the table seemed to enjoy the song immensely, Anna sneaking looks at her sister and Emma humming along a bit. It was only Elsa who seemed off from the mood of the room. She was pale and her mouth and jaw firmly set. Her fingers curled into fists and she did not even blink as she stared at the stage. Emma tried twice to elbow the blonde woman into showing some other emotion, but it was unsuccessful.

Later Emma would wonder what exactly it was that Elsa had heard, but there was no time to question her as the three song set came to an end and Elsa and Anna were on their way to take their places. Emma managed to mention the woman's odd behavior to Liam, who merely closed his eyes and shook his head in response. To his credit he cheered her on, but his calls out to her and clapping were largely ignored, as Elsa performed for every other table in the room. When the show was over and the group began dispersing, Emma fully intended to see if her friend might need to talk. She had her bag over her shoulder and was walking backstage to ask about sharing a cab when Liam stopped her.

"She left already," he said, twin splotches of pink on his face as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Ran is more like it."

"What? Why would she do that? The set went perfectly. I've got half a dozen people demanding the album release now. How can she just leave?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she saw the color of his face deepen and then blanch under her scrutiny. Licking his lips and then looking toward the door, he shook his head slowly.

"It's my fault."