#csss 2016

It’s not like they really wanted to be there but Zelena, making trouble again, had sent them into a time portal without any destination in particular. So now the couple was trapped in at least 5 years into the future with no way to go back. Until, of course, the wand made an amazing entrance to the shop.

“I can barely see” Emma sigh before sitting on the floor trying to think up a good plan or at least a mediocre plan that could help them.

“What about a magic bean, love?” Killian said opening some coffins and moving things around “Where the bloody hell is the crocodile when we need him” He said with an exasperated sigh and closed the coffin too hard.

They both sat on the floor watching the shop window where a mickey mouse was exhibited and some swords were hanging there. The night mde good company while they sat there.

Stupid Zelena for trying to kill Regina. Again. And stupid hero complex that made them leave their family to be here, trap again, in a world that even when they know it, it was so much different from theirs five years behind.

“Did you hear something?” Emma asked after a few minutes, her head was on Killian’s shoulder. They both gave up on finding something, at least for tonight.

“Not a thing. Why? Did you?” He asked her before the shop’s door were open “Come on, hide!” He murmur bringing Emma to the floor and moved to a side where they could watch but not be watched.

“You guys, are you sure you saw a new portal open?” Future Belle ask me to a couple with blonde hair and dark hair, both of them where dress with leather jackets and next to them where three kids, all of them blonde hair “Because, it’s been at least 4 years since the last portal was opened”

“Are they…” Emma start asking from their hiding place; but she was interrupt by Killian and his “Bloody hell”

In front of them were themselves, five years from now, and they weren’t alone. They were with two kids at their side, a pair of twins (the boy and the girl) about 3 years old and one in their parents arms and a little girl about 1 year old in her roller, the three of them sleeping.

“Well… I know what I saw, unless Regina thinks 4th of July is in December then I could say a new portal opened” Future Emma said putting her hand around the biggest girl who was in her arms with some of her mother’s hair in her tiny hand.

“So now we have problems. I’ll see if I can visit Rumple at hospital tomorrow and ask him for something in the shop that could help us find out what creature arrived now” Future Belle said trying to find some artifact that could tell them about the new portal.

“That would be great Bells, the last thing we need right now is scare the whole town, love.” Future Killian said with a raspy voice putting their kids close to him “We don’t know what the hell came to town now and we have a bunch of kids running every day at the park and school. Anyone could get hurt”

Emma and Killian where both wordless in their hidden place. They find their future self and now they find their future self with three kids, and really comfortable around each other. It's one thing to know you are true love but another thing to watch their future family –the one thing they didn’t even talk about it-

Belle was almost the same, wearing the same kind of dresses she always wore but got the word tired on her face. Her hair was a little messy and her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Let us know how it goes Belle, will you? We still need to pick up Jennifer from her ballet class and it is almost 10. I swear Tink will kill us when she sees us. The class finished at 8” Future Emma said bringing her family to the door of the shop.

“Yeah, how is it going?” Belle ask with more happy tone.

“Tink said we need to go to Boston next weekend again for some competition” Future Killian add rolling his eyes “Our bloody house looks like a theater right now with all the tutus in every single place” He laugh “Let us know how the search goes and if you need me to go see Gold let me know”

“I will” Belle smile before shutting the door behind her.

After 10 minutes of silence Emma was on her feet again with a hand on head and the other helping Killian to stand up. Neither of them let any word let get out of their mouth, still shocked.

“Are… Are you sure this is the future? This is not a multi-universe again? Or a book written by some weird author?” Emma start asking so fast walking from one side to the other more worried about their future family than find a way to come back.

“i can assure you nothing, but this look like the future love… Why?” Killian start to answer until the idea came to his head “You don’t want this? I certainly hope we get over that phase love”

“No, it’s not that… It’s a lot to understand, I mean… this can be more than three or four years from our time and we already have three kids and they went to pick another kid… I’m not sure about wanting more children I mean we didn’t even have a talk about it, I thought we were fine just the three of us with Henry…”

“And we are going to talk about it when the time arrives, but right now, we need to find a way to go back to our time” Killian said taking her by her shoulder to try to make eye contact.

The last thing he need right now was her and her walls going up again, it took him a hell of time to bring them down to let them grow again, oh no, he is not here to go to that phase again.

Killian gave another look around the shop accepting defeating about finding something that help them to go back, he gave Emma another look and she was still looking so lost right now to make another plan, so the best he could do was hug her.

“Are you ready to continue our little adventure, love?” Killian said after push her away a little bit to see her face and take away a few tears.

Emma pushed some of her hair out of her face and took a big breath before giving him a little smile. The last thing they needed was a breakdown or worst, being caught.

“You are right, our first and more important thing is come back to our own time and our family, let’s worry about the future when it hits.” She answer taking his hand between hers and pressing a little kiss on his lips.

“Alright Swan, let’s go to our time” He smile.

* * *

The plan needed to change, in the best way possible, Belle gave them the clue as to where to find Gold and ask him about the stupid wand.

They just need to do this when neither Belle nor anyone on Storybrooke could go to see Rumple at the hospital. Lucky for them they were going almost at midnight. Any plans for the future, Emma and Killian could wait for a few more hours.

“Ugh, I hate that even in this future, five years from our time, the same nurse is still working here.  she scare the hell out of me” Emma protested after they could sneak into Gold’s room.

The room was bright white that make you look more pale, the machines were making funny sounds and in the bed even after the hour and looking at least 10 years older, Gold was lying, reading some book.

“Mrs. Jones what a lovely surprise” He said without looking at her “to what do I owe this pleasure?” The man ask again leaving his book on the side table.

Emma stay in shock at her new last name.

Did she really became that kind of woman who change her last name after get married? She always thought and promise herself never be that kind of woman… and look at her now.

“Not Mrs. Jones” She answer slowly taking Killian’s hand and smiling a little at him “At least not yet”

“Another time adventure, I see and you brought that puppy of yours?” The man asked trying to upset Killian again.

“Love, I knew coming here was a waste of time” He answer with heavy voice full of anger trying to leave the room only being stopped by the look of Emma’s eyes.

“Shut up Gold, we need your help” She answer rolling her eyes and walking closer to the man in bed “We need the apprentice’s wand to go back to our time” She said with confidence “What the hell happened to you?” She ask little after.

“What happens to me it’s not your concern dearie” He replied with acidic tone “And I have to tell you that the wand is in the hands of Mrs. Jones, which is you, so I would love to see how that ends” He finish with a creepy smile.

“Isn’t there another way to go back?” Killian asked.

Gold’s tired laugh sounded in the room while he shook his head “If you find a magic bean, let me know” He add time after.

Emma was a little exasperated with the little help they got from the man, to just leave the room without saying more, the last thing they need to do was make a meet with their future self.

“Swan!”

* * *

After Killian looked for Emma in the whole town, he finally found her at the docks with her eyes focus on the Jolly Roger, the ship was the same, big as always and beautiful like any other ship, but the time of the years and some pink ribbons make her look kind of ridiculous.

“Now I know if I lost you again I will find you here” He said sitting right next to her and watching the stars.

“I tried to go to the Jolly, but I guess future me put a spell on it” She answer still looking at the sea “Fuck Gold and his ways to always make me mad about things that are really stupid” She replied taking a bit of rum that Killian handed her before.

“I know you are upset and tired, but this is easier than we think love, we just have to go to our house and tell ourself that we need the wand and that’s all. I can talk you can hide behind me, I feel secure about the future, love” He joke a little bit.

Emma gave him a little smile and put her head on his shoulder, searching for the rum and drink one more time, maybe she was doing a storm in a glass but can’t stop the feeling.

“Do you really feel so anxious to go to our own home love?” Killian ask after some time in silence both of them watching the night over their heads.

“I know it’s stupid, but I can’t stop the feeling of being scare. We just started living together and we are still trying to figure things out” Emma start to blow up some words without even thinking “And my dad is still coming to my house and makes us his pancakes” She still was throwing words like crazy until she looked Killian’s face “I’m talking like an idiot , aren’t I?”

“What I think is that you are overthinking something that we don’t have to worry for some time love. I told you before, we will worry about it when the time comes, not before” Killian said with easy voice trying to give her some comfort.

That night they both slept on some benches at the docks, Emma tried for two solid hours to take the spell from the ship without any good results and Killian tried to get in with some secret enters but they were part of the spell.

Abruptly, the alarm stopped. A few minutes of blissful silence unfolded, and Emma relaxed, beginning to drift away.  

  And then it started up again.

She cursed loudly, shooting up out of bed, and threw her pillow across the room. It landed with a loud Fwap! against the opposite wall. 

  "Oh, that is it," she muttered, as she threw her blankets off herself with a few violent kicks.

Her neighbor, handsome as he was, was about to experience the full extent of her sleep-deprived wrath, and she didn't pity him in the slightest. 

  She whipped on her robe over her nightie and slipped on the shoes closest to the door that weren't a pair of heels, muttering angrily beneath her breath the whole way. 

  She wasn't sure what she expected, necessarily, but she found her neighbor's door unlocked. In all honesty, she hadn't thought that part through, but counted herself fortunate she didn't have to break his door in. 

  The door gave a muted squeak as she pushed it open. Her first few steps in were soft, hesitant, as she was hyper aware of the fact that this was considered breaking and entering. After a moment, she straightened, and had to chuckle at how ridiculous it was she was trying to stay silent when the whole idea of trespassing was to wake the guy up.   

Her neighbor's apartment had almost the exact same layout as Emma's, and she found the bedroom easily. Save for the color of his carpet, the apartment was a carbon copy of hers, down to the asylum-white walls (which they weren't permitted to paint) and the outdated 90s kitchen appliances. Admittedly, his place was kept much tidier, but that wasn't difficult to accomplish. 

  Her neighbor—and she realized then that she didn't even know his name—was lying in his bed, wrapped up in a thick navy comforter. She could see the top of his dark head poking out from beneath it. Anger flared hotly inside her at how easily he seemed to be sleeping, even as his phone alarm went off, yet again, for what had to be the tenth time. 

  "Okay, buddy," she said through clenched teeth, "Time to rise and shine." She took the blanket in both hands and yanked it off him in one fell swoop. She felt a twinge of guilt when he flopped over like a giant, heavy rag doll, rolling from his stomach to his back-- And he was naked. 

  Her eyes bugged out, naturally drifting down to confirm, and yes—yup yup yup—he was most certainly naked, not a stitch of clothing on him. With a gasp, Emma turned away, her hand shooting up to cover her eyes, immediately abashed. 

“I'm sorry,” she stammered out, “I mean, I shouldn't have—just—can you please turn off your alarm? And maybe put some clothes on?” 

  She turned back to face him again, splitting her fingers open over her eyes to peep at him from behind her hand. 

  He hadn't moved. He was still lying there in the exact same position, sprawled out limply on his bed, stark naked. Emma's blood ran cold. 

  “Hey,” she said, panic rising up to overtake her voice. The sudden onslaught of cold air should have aroused even the heaviest of sleepers, but her neighbor hadn't even twitched. 

  She leaned down over the bed, fingers fumbling over his neck as she scrambled to find a pulse. She swore she heard him moan ever so slightly when her warm fingers pressed against the skin just below his jaw, and it was then she felt it—the faint beating of a pulse. 

  She all but sprinted back over to her apartment to grab her phone, and she had the 911 dispatcher on the line in seconds. “9-1-1, what's your emergency?” 

  +++ The paramedics made her wait in the hallway when they arrived. She noticed one of them had carried in a small defibrillator, but she didn't hear it being used, which she took as a good sign. Within minutes, her neighbor was carried away on a stretcher, a portable oxygen mask attached securely over his mouth. She watched his dark head pass, the only thing she could clearly make out around the mask he wore and the blanket they had laid over him. 

  The ambulance technicians had asked her a few questions, and she offered what little information she had. Emma had no idea what to do next. So, she did the only thing she could think to do: she found out which hospital he was being taken to, put on a change of clothes, got in her car, and drove. 

  +++

Emma decided to wait as long as it took to get an update. It was only right. She didn't have anywhere else to be, after all, and she wanted to make sure the guy was going to be okay. She felt a certain level of obligation, to be sure, and mild curiosity. But, strangely, she genuinely cared what happened to this man. She barely knew him, and had realized halfway into her attempt to wake him that she didn't even know his name. 

  But still, she found herself concerned with what happened to him next. As her mind wandered, bored silly in a nearly empty waiting room, she realized she did know his last name, at least: Jones. It was listed on the tiny metal mail box next to hers, down on the main floor of the complex where everyone in the building came to get their mail. So, she sat in a waiting room, waiting on Mr. Jones. 

  The room was almost empty, save for her. A middle-aged woman sat on the other side of the room, engrossed in her knitting—or crocheting, Emma wasn't really sure. She hadn't even looked up when Emma entered the room. Briefly, Emma had wondered who the woman was waiting for, and what kind of news she would receive. She hoped it was something happy awaiting her on the other side of the waiting room doors, like the arrival of a new grandchild. 

  Emma wasn't sure what kind of news she'd get. She was fairly certain her neighbor—Mr Jones, she had to keep reminding herself—would have died if she hadn't found him. He had been so completely out of it, unresponsive and weak. She had barely been able to find a pulse, and if it hadn't been for the quiet sound he made when she placed her hand at his neck, she would have thought he was already gone. 

  There was a small television in the corner of the room, set to a news station. The news tended to bore Emma, or depress her, so after about five minutes of staring blankly at the screen, she was looking around the room again. She found a few magazines on an end table, but they turned out to be just as interesting as it would have been to watch the other woman in the room knit, and eventually, Emma got up and left the room in search of something to drink. 

  +++

An hour later, as she had sat in the waiting room nursing a cup of cocoa, trying not to fall asleep in her chair, a young doctor came passing through the waiting room. Emma recognized him easily as one of the doctors who had been discussing her neighbor with some of the paramedics when she had first arrived at the hospital. It was hard to miss the bleach-blonde hair, and as soon as she lay eyes on him, Emma jumped out of her seat. 

  “Hey,” she said, a little too loudly, and she shot an apologetic wince to the other woman in the room, who had nearly leapt out of her skin. The doctor turned to look at her. “Sorry,” Emma stammered, “Just—I'm waiting for an update on Mr. Jones? It's been a while.” 

  The doctor stared at her blankly for a beat before he spoke. “Sorry, were you waiting here for him? No one told me there was anyone here to see my patient. Your friend overdosed on heroin last night and we've been trying to keep him stabilized.” 

  It was so matter-of-fact, lacking in all bedside manner, that Emma felt her jaw drop slackly.  “I'm sorry, what?” she asked. “Did you just say heroin? Like, the drug?” Emma could feel the gaze of the other woman on her, sensed the judgment radiating from her, and she physically had to resist the urge to snap at her to mind her own business. 

  The doctor was watching her intently. He nodded. “Yes, heroin the drug. It's easy enough to overdose on by itself, but I'm pretty sure the stuff in your friend's system was much stronger, likely laced with Fentanyl. I'm still waiting on the toxicology report.” Emma felt the urge to correct him every time he called Mr. Jones her friend, as she hadn't even met him officially, but she didn't bother. 

  “Does he have a history of overdosing?” 

  Emma hadn't realized her mind had been elsewhere, stuck on the image of Mr. Jones, lying motionless in his bed, until the doctor asked her a direct question and ripped her, thankfully, from her thoughts. “Uh, I really have no idea,” she said. The doctor gave her an unexpectedly warm, albeit tired, smile. “Fair enough,” he said. “He's resting now, but we expect him to be awake soon. Would you like to see him?” Emma gaped. She hadn't thought this far ahead, beyond making sure her neighbor was okay. “Sure,” she heard herself blurt out. 

  The doctor nodded, and he was walking away from her before she could retract her answer. “I'll send someone to bring you back in a few minutes,” he called over his shoulder. 

  Sure enough, a nurse soon came to fetch her and brought her back to Mr. Jones' room. The room itself was dingy and poorly lit, with yellowed wallpaper and absolutely nothing pleasant about it. Emma caught herself thinking, before she could shake the errant thought away, about bringing him flowers from the hospital store to brighten the place up a bit.

Did men even like flowers? She had no idea. Neal would have thought flowers were sappy and stupid, even though Emma happened to like them. She gave a shaky sigh, willing thoughts of her ex back into the shadows where they belonged. She didn't know this man, Jones, at all. She had no right to think about bringing him flowers, or paying him another visit. She barely knew his name. All she knew was his last name, the fact that he lived next door to her, and he was apparently addicted to heroin. “And you've seen his penis,” she reminded herself. She felt blush rising to her cheeks at the thought, and she willed the image away.

He looked so much smaller somehow, lying in a hospital bed. There were IVs in one of his wrists, hooked up to a bag of clear fluid that hung by his bedside, and perhaps being attached to heart monitors and mystery liquids always made people look smaller. At least the oxygen mask was gone, and for that, Emma was relieved. His face looked the same as when she had found him, peaceful and relaxed. 

  Emma swallowed nervously as she lowered herself to sit in the chair next to his bed, her eyes never straying from his face. They flitted over his features, taking in the dark hair matted to his forehead, the back of it still sticking up in odd places from sleep, and the heavy stubble covering his jaw. He really was quite handsome, even like this, and for a long while, she merely watched him, lulled by the gentle rise and fall of his chest. 

  Then, she pictured how awkward it would be if he awoke while she was there. How would she explain to him why she was in his room with him, sitting at his side? Would he even remember what had happened to him—what he had done to himself? 

  Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about any of that. She stayed exactly four minutes before the stress of the situation drove her away. At one point, she had thought she saw his lashes flutter, as if he were about to wake up, but nothing happened. When she realized she would have absolutely nothing to say if he did awaken, she left. 

“What can I get you then?” Killian asked, meeting her gaze evenly.

“I will give you all the money in my wallet to make me a grilled cheese sandwich and shut the hell up.” She paused, looked him up and down and seemed to realize that he really didn’t deserve his ire. So she added a quiet and growled out, “Please.”

“As you wish,” Killian replied, holding his hand up in surrender.  “But how about I only charge you $3.49 for the sandwich instead of all the money in your wallet? And perhaps a cab to get you home safely if you’re worried about falling asleep into your grilled cheese?”

She cracked the smallest hint of a smile at that, starting to relax. “Actually, um, a cab would be great. Thanks.” She shrugged and added awkwardly, “So do you call cabs for all the women that walk into your deli looking like a hot mess?”

“Only the ones who threaten me first,” he teased. Her eyes lit up briefly when she laughed, before it gave way to a bone-deep exhaustion.  He hummed sympathetically, deciding to add a tomato soup on the house for her. She looked like she needed it. “Would you like to sit down, lass?” he said, gesturing to the completely empty diner. “I could bump one of the reservations for you.”

She rolled her eyes but it was impossible to ignore the upward quirk of her lips. And her lips…

“Can I have a name for the order?” he asked, praying that his voice was steady.

“Emma Swan,” the woman said tiredly, resting her head into her hand. Her eyes fluttered shut and it wasn’t long before she was asleep, sitting up at the table.

As quietly as he could, he managed to make her a grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup and called her a cab. He quietly wrapped up the order in a paper bag and placed it in front of her. “Emma?” he murmured gently.

She jumped awake and grabbed her shoe, hitting him in the ear with it before turning bright red once she realized it was only Killian beside her. “Oh shit! Sorry!” she exclaimed.

“It’s quite all right,” he muttered, wincing as he rubbed his ear gently. “I just wanted to let you know that your food was ready and your cab is here.”

“Thanks,” Emma said with a little smile, getting up and putting her shoes back on. “I’m sorry I hit you in the head with my shoe…”

“Ah, what is that old phrase? Let sleeping swans lie?” Killian asked weakly.

“I’m pretty sure it’s ‘let sleeping dogs lie’,” Emma mumbled, her cheeks still flushed.  “Anyway, I’m gonna get in my cab and go. Thanks for the food and the nap. I owe you one.” She shuffled out of the door, trying to hold on to her remaining dignity.

“Let me know when you get home safe,” he yelled after her. He didn’t really think that she would find a way to tell him. That watching her go would be the last time he’d ever see her again.

Until a few hours later, he received notice that he got a review on Yelp for his deli. From a user called “Swansong1022”.

“This man makes the best grilled cheese that I’ve ever had in my whole life. But not only that, he was incredibly kind and considerate to me. I definitely will be coming back here again.

(By the way, I made it home safely. Thank you for the cab.)”

--

 At 11:13 in the morning, two days later, she returned to his deli. Her hair was swept up into a ponytail, she was sporting a red leather jacket and looked far more comfortable and at ease than she had the last time he saw her.

“I didn’t know if you got my message,” she explained, tugging on her bottom lip with her teeth. “I, uh, made it home safely.” She gestured awkwardly to herself. “Clearly.”

“Can I get you something to eat?” Killian asked with a smile, leaning in toward her over the counter. He had been hoping to save her from some embarrassment, and from the relieved look on her face, he definitely had.

“Grilled cheese, right away,” Killian murmured. “Anything to drink?”

“Uh, yeah, actually, if you have any hot cocoa with cinnamon, that’d be great,” Emma said, rubbing her shoulder.

“A grilled cheese and a hot cocoa with cinnamon,” Killian repeated, scribbling it down. “And will that be for here or to go?”

“To go,” Emma said. “I’ve got to get to work and it looks like you don’t have enough room for me here today,” she said, her face lighting up as she took in the scene of many happy customers eating lunch.

“A very nice and thoughtful Yelp reviewer incentivized a lot of people to come in,” Killian called over his shoulder at her, still grinning from ear to ear. “A reviewer by the name of Swansong1022. Know where I can find them?”

“Not a chance,” Emma called back, leaning against the counter with a grin. “But maybe I can do some digging for you.”

“That so, love?” Killian asked, arching an eyebrow at him. “What do you--?” He was broken off by a man, holding a purse running past the deli. “Oy!” he exclaimed, but Emma was on her feet faster than that.

Before he could blink, Emma had sprinted outside of the deli, tackled the perp and had him face down on the ground. “Walsh Osmund, don’t move,” she growled, digging her elbow into the perpetrator’s back. “I’m your bail bondswoman. I’m so glad you’re stupid enough to keep stealing, otherwise I would’ve had to buy a new pair of heels to find you.”

Killian had to scrape his jaw off the counter. “Your order,” was all he could spit out when she returned.

--

“Well well well,” Killian chuckled, when Emma walked in a few days later. “Emma Swan, bail bondswoman extraordinaire, I have your grilled cheese and hot cocoa all ready to go for you.”

“How did you know I’d be coming in now?” Emma asked, flabbergasted. She was still wearing her red leather jacket. Privately, he had to admit that he loved the red leather jacket, but he definitely wasn’t in a position to say anything to her.

“It’s 11:13,” he replied with a shrug. She raised an eyebrow at him and he added, “You always come in at 11:13 in the morning. Your order is a grilled cheese and hot cocoa with cinnamon.” The look on her face was unreadable. “What?” Killian asked, really starting to get nervous. “I like knowing what my customer’s orders are. It’s a part of my service.”

“You know my sandwich order, what time I come in, you know where I work...look, if you're some kind of serial killer, just murder me and get it over with,” she teased, her voice brimming with affection. His shoulders slumped in relief. “Were you worried about creeping me out?” she asked, a note of disbelief in the question.

He opened his mouth to deny it, feeling flustered, but she started to laugh.

“You were!” she exclaimed delightfully. “That’s adorable. I don’t even know your name and you’re worried about freaking me out. You know I could just look you up without a thought? You don’t scare me, buddy.”

“I’m not adorable,” he complained half-heartedly, his face bright red.

She leaned in closer, over the counter. Her lips were a breath away from his, before she murmured, “See? Adorable.” She grabbed her food from his hand and placed her money on the counter. She always paid in exact change. “See you tomorrow.”

As she walked away, he called after her, “My name is Killian by the way!”

--

He had her order ready to go the next day, but she didn’t show up. He didn’t think much of it at the time. He knew she sometimes had late nights at work. That was how they met, after all. He figured her missing one day of her usual grilled cheese and hot coca wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Then one day became two.

Then three.

Then four.

He knew it was a stalker-like move to go to look her up and find her place of work. But it only made him feel worse when it was clear she was closed. He had no address, nothing to look her up with, nothing but a name. He nearly filed a missing person’s complaint with the Boston Police Department, but he didn’t even know if she was missing.

She was just a woman that came into his shop, really for three days in a row and teased him a little bit. She could just decide to stop coming to his shop for any reason and he’d never know.

He clicked on her Yelp page and tried to see if she reviewed any other restaurants, but it was just his deli.

It had only been three days, but his last four days felt so empty when she wasn’t there to tease him.

“I just hope you’re safe, Swan,” Killian whispered. “I miss you.”

--

11:13 pm. Killian looked up at the clock, rubbing his eyes. He knew deciding to stay open on New Year’s Eve was a stupid idea. But he’d had it in his head that the drunk people would come in looking for a fattening sandwich. A great business idea in theory, and it allowed him to forget about Emma, who hadn’t come in for almost a week now.

So here he was.  Alone on New Year’s Eve.

With a sigh, he began to hang up his apron when the bell to his shop rang. “We’re just about to close up,” he called, not turning around.

“Killian?” Emma asked in a soft voice. He whipped around and saw Emma standing in his deli, a small boy cradled in her arms. “Do you have something that a five year old would like?” she asked hopefully.

“Well, I like boiled mackerel on rye,” Killian laughed softly, afraid to break the moment. She laughed and he smiled. “Bet he’d like a BLT, wouldn’t you lad?”

 The boy shifted in Emma’s arms, blinking up at her sleepily. “Momma?” the boy yawned. “Are we home yet?”

“Almost, Henry,” Emma promised into her baby’s hair. “I just thought you might like something to eat before we get home. I know we didn’t stop for snacks. This is Momma’s friend, Killian. And he makes the best grilled cheese in the whole wide world.”

“I like grilled cheese,” Henry replied with a big smile. “And hot cocoa with cinnamon.”

Emma grinned and pressed her forehead to her son’s. “Me too, kid.”

Killian’s throat closed, knowing that he was witness to incredibly tender and special moment. He began working on their sandwiches to avoid his tears.

 Later, he’d find out that Emma had driven across the country to Pheonix, Arizona, so get her boy from his father, who had died. That there was no time to let him know because if she waited any longer, her son would’ve gone into the system like she had.

But he found all that out, he got to ring in the New Year listening to Henry’s pirate stories and Emma’s laughter.

 --

“So, do you eat anything other than sandwiches?” Emma asked him, when she came in the next morning, right on time.

“I eat lots of things love. Why?” he asked.

“Well, uhh…I was thinking we could go out some time. To a place that maybe didn’t serve sandwiches? I’d like...dress up and stuff. It could be fun. I’ll get a babysitter for Henry,” She rocked back and forth on her heels nervously.  

 He beckoned her closer to the counter. She leaned over and he leaned in closer to her. “I like things that aren’t sandwiches,” he murmured before he kissed her gently.