#indieswanfire

He wasn’t sure how to answer. Why had he jumped in front of the bullet? Because he cared about the man and he wasn’t about to see him hurt. “I hurt you in the past. . . .  I won’t let you get hurt again,” he said quietly, his voice hoarse from not using it for a while. He wasn’t even sure how long he had been in the bed. 

Emma pressed the buttons repeatedly until one buzzed and then she ran up the steps.  Elevators would be too slow.  She finally reached the fourth landing and knocked on the door with the right number.  “Come on, come on, Neal.”  She swore under her breath.  She wouldn’t be here if she could change anything from the last month, but this was the only place she’d been able to think of.  She’d found his address and that night someone had started to follow her.  He always seemed one step ahead of her, she’d seen the motorcycle while she was coming out of the subway.  She couldn’t go back to her apartment tonight.  Neal was the only person she knew in this town, and whether she’d intended to use his location or not, she was here now.

The letter had been waiting in the shop and with Belle running the place, she’d handed it over the first time Emma and Neal had come by to check on her.  The outside only said Baelfire, but it looked like it had been waiting for a long time.  Emma and Neal had left with it, gone back to the apartment.  She’d left him on the couch, going into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee and to give him a little space.

Emma blinked, wincing a little at the light, but she smiled up at him.  It smelled like someone had been very busy.  She sat up and took in the sight.  She hadn’t really expected this sort of thing, not so soon after they started back up.  “Thanks.”  She looked from the tray to his face, leaning up to kiss him.She hadn’t expected anything, not with Henry at Reginas.  It was heartwarming that he had thought to do it.

“Maybe, know where I can get one?”

Sitting on the bus, it had been the last place Emma had thought she would ever run into Neal.  Who went to New York to hide?  Apparently two thieves running from a dark past.  How they’d both run to the same place after  years of separation was another story, but she was sitting across from him and she wasn’t sure what to say.  If she should – or could – say anything.  Other people were talking, acting like it was normal.  How could this moment not be affecting everyone?

“I don’t need a baby sitter. I’m not going to drive the wheelchair into the bay.”

What a time to joke. “Neal, what happened to you?” She reached forward, fingers flitting weightlessly around his bandaged head. “Are you okay?”