#the fire alarm kept going off the apartment was full of smoke from the burgers

[voulezloux]

v

[seriouslyhooked]

False Alarms (A CS AU) Part 1/?

Modern AU where Emma is a Boston police detective and Killian is firefighter. They both get called to a fire in progress but it ends up being a false alarm, however there can be no denying the sparks between them. Includes fluff and my usual attempts at humor as well as a touch of fake-dating and meddling friends. Inspired by the song ‘False Alarm’ by Motoma and Becky Hill. Rated M for future chapters.

Also on Fanfiction Here.

A/N: Hey all! So today has not been a great day for me and as such I figured it was as good a time as any to get started on a new story that can distract me with fluff. Since way back when in the sweet summertime I’ve had a few people ask me for stories with Killian as a firefighter and I think I’ve finally stumbled on the exact story I want to write with that element. I hope you’ll all enjoy and thanks for reading!

“Are you going to finish that?” Emma looked up from the slice of pizza that was inches from her mouth to her best friend and partner Ruby.

From anyone else a question like this would be unexpected, but Emma and Ruby went way back and Emma was hardly surprised by Ruby’s quirks anymore. They’d met years ago in the academy training to be good police, and since day one Ruby had made two things very clear. The first was that she would take no shit from anyone ever. Superior, peer, friendly neighborhood witness, or perp, it did not matter. Ruby Lucas would not stand to be disrespected. And the second thing was that she never wasted food and she was never too full to pass up a meal or try and scrounge from someone else.

“You mean the pizza I’m currently in the middle of eating? Yeah I was thinking about it.” Ruby sighed dramatically.

“Fine. I’ll go order another slice from Tiny, but you owe me.”

Emma laughed and shook her head at the statement. Obviously she owed Ruby nothing but it was still funny that Ruby would say so, and if her slightly delusional friend wanted to pretend that there was some injustice in Emma’s finishing her own pizza, she wouldn’t stand in her way. Besides, it should make a more interesting rest of their shift, which had been quiet so far and was over in a few more hours.

“Just be quick about it. We’re back on in ten,” Emma reminded and Ruby scoffed.

“Oh please. I’ve got this.”

Emma knew that Ruby did beyond the shadow of a doubt, but this was their thing. They bantered back and forth like this in downtime and then shifted into a different gear when the chips were actually down. It helped combat the stresses of their job and this system was what kept them working as well as they did as both friends and partners.

Ruby and Emma had been assigned together officially for two years now (ever since they both passed the detective’s exam), and they worked to be the best of the best in their precinct and beyond. They’re number of solved cases was higher than nearly everyone else, and their records were impressive for any member of the force, never mind two cops as young as the two of them. They put in more overtime than anyone, helped out in any case they could, but they both knew when to walk away and how to tell when their partner was getting in too deep. More than anything Emma and Ruby had each other’s backs and that was what made their partnership so successful.

Part of that drive to be better than the rest was because there weren’t that many other women amongst their peers, but most of it came down to personality. Both Emma and Ruby loved this city and they cared about the people who lived in it. That passion was what kept them going day in and day out, through good times and bad. It wasn’t about keeping spotless reputations and earning good marks from their superiors at the end of the day, but about doing the best that they could with the situations they were given.

But sometimes the situations were less than ideal, like right now when the shrill ringing of Emma’s phone designated for the precinct cut through the pizza shop. Before Emma could so much as answer, Ruby let out a groan from the counter. If they were getting a call on this phone, there was a good chance that their twenty-minute break was about to be cut short.

“This is Emma.” The sigh of relief that came through the phone indicated immediately that the person calling was their desk sergeant Leroy.

“Emma, glad I caught you. We’ve got a situation on the corner of Elm and Washington. I know you’re off, but Reynolds and Bryant-,”

“Have about as much charisma as a wet blanket and as much sense as two frat boys on Greek Week. Yeah I know. We’re on it.” Emma waved Ruby to the door and her friend immediately moved with her, but tossed out a little bit of sass for good measure.

“We are so not on it,” Ruby muttered from beside her and after rolling her eyes, Emma handed her partner the rest of her pizza. “Okay now we’re on it.”

“So what’s going on?” Emma asked Leroy and the man proceeded to fill them in.

Apparently two patrolmen in the area had stumbled upon a hysterical old woman claiming that someone was trying to burn her apartment complex down. They immediately dispatched for Fire Rescue when they saw smoke and station sixty-one was en route. The patrolmen were in pursuit of the offender at that moment, but since Emma and Ruby were off the clock, and their dispatch radio was in their car, they’d missed the call for backup blowing up their feed.

“Great – dealing with some crazy arsonist. That’s exactly how I pictured my Friday going.”

“Ruby!” Emma said, chastising her friend’s laid-back attitude about this. Arson was no joke, and worst of all it was almost impossible to prove unless you caught the person in the act. This was serious and underneath the sarcasm Ruby knew that.

“What? I’m just saying. It’s like the Universe knows we’ve got our first weekend off in months and wants the whole thing sabotaged by paperwork and a citywide manhunt.”

“Now you’re just jumping to conclusions,” Emma replied though she could relate to Ruby’s frustrations on some level.

“I’m imagining possible scenarios. Detective 101 – be prepared for anything.”

“That’s the boy scouts, Ruby.” Her friend considered Emma from across the car and looked doubtful.

“Eh I think that was us first. I’ll ask your Mom next time I see her.”

Emma ignored the comment, trying not to think about her mother as they pulled up to the scene, which despite Leroy’s claims seemed relatively calm. There were two fire trucks out here and a number of firefighters to go with them, but not a one of them was racing into the building at top speed, and the two patrolmen standing outside looked annoyed rather than scared of having let a perp get away.

“Oh this is going to be good,” Ruby said. She was practically giddy at what was coming, and Emma could sense just as Ruby could that this was about to be a huge waste of time.

“Detectives – we’re sorry you got called in on this. It’s a false alarm. An old lady saw smoke on her fire escape but it was just her drunk grandson trying to cook a burger.” Emma put her hands on her hips and shook her head, silently wondering why people thought that was a good idea ever, never mind in the middle of winter.

“Of course it is,” Ruby replied before whispering to Emma. “We’re getting lunch reimbursed for this, you know that right?” Emma smirked but pressed on, trying to be professional.

“Well false alarm or not, we got called in, we have to see for ourselves. Where’s the woman who filed the complaint?”

“She’s inside again, probably throttling her grandson. She’s scrappy that one, when she’s not shrieking at the top of her lungs that is.” Ruby barked out a laugh as the patrolmen gave Emma the rest of the details and signaled for Emma to take the lead.

“After you, partner.”

Emma moved past Ruby through the door and up the stairwell, aiming to get to apartment 3C as fast as she could. The sooner they squared this away, the sooner they could move onto something that mattered again and get to that lovely and long overdue free weekend. Yet as they ascended the stairwell, Emma realized that might not be entirely possible given the firefighters moving down the stairwell at the same time that immediately caught Ruby’s eyes.

“Well hello,” Ruby whispered under her breath low enough so only Emma heard.

“Detective Nolan.” The friendly greeting and gentlemanly tip of a firefighter hat came from Graham Huntsman, a man Emma had known for years. She rolled her eyes at his excessive display. They were friends after all, and she didn’t need the feigned gallantry from her friends.

“Lieutenant. Anything we should know about this on your end?”

“Scarlet made an ass of himself with the ladder. Other than that, just your standard Friday afternoon shenanigans.”

Emma smiled (knowing Will Scarlet well enough to believe Graham’s account) and then noticed Graham’s eyes as they flicked to Ruby. His interest was clear and immediately on display for all to see, Ruby included. Emma had to give him credit though; Graham held back way longer then most guys did and he wasn’t openly ogling her friend, just looking a little longingly at her. Emma decided to throw him a bone for remaining cool when so many others didn’t.

“You remember my partner, Ruby Lucas.”

“We’ve met, yeah.” Ruby tilted her head slightly and pretended to search his features. Emma could read through the ruse immediately, but to anyone else she would appear totally sincere.

“Have we? Huh, go figure. Anyway, Emma, we should go. Don’t want any loose ends on this one.” Ruby offered a polite smile to Graham and then warmer ones to the men beside him as she ushered Emma up the steps with little more than a brief goodbye. When they’d made it to the third floor Emma looked for answers.

“What was that about?” Ruby grinned and immediately looked like the cat that caught the canary and Emma’s suspicions that her best friend was up to something were confirmed.

“Payback. Last time we ‘met’ he didn’t ask for my number.” Emma’s jaw dropped, but she regained her composure fast.

“Ruby we were all working a case.”

“Right, and the second that case was over he should have asked you for those digits.” Emma laughed at the phrasing, knowing that even if it felt ridiculous to her (as someone who never let her professional and personal lives intersect) for Ruby this was totally normal thinking.

“Seriously?” Ruby smirked.

“Just wait. Ten bucks says you get a call by the end of the night and then I get a week’s worth of groveling before I finally let him take me out.”

Emma knew better than to bet against Ruby on something like this, so instead of doing so she knocked on the door to the apartment of the woman who’d thought there was a fire in the first place. There was yelling going on through the doorway but it was too muffled to make out the words. It faded as soon as Emma’s knuckles rapped at the hard wood and seconds later the door opened to reveal a very small old woman. When she made eye contact with Emma and then Ruby her bothered expression immediately looked contrite and apologetic and her voice went up an octave into sweet old-lady territory.

“You must be the detectives. I can’t begin to tell ya how sorry I am. My grandson doesn’t mean to be a nitwit, he just hasn’t got a single brain cell in that thick skull of his.” The kindness she’d extended to Emma and Ruby shifted back to frustration as she turned around and shook her fist in his direction.

“A lot of men have that problem, ma’am. We just have to ask a few questions and make sure everything’s all clear for paper work and such. You understand,” Ruby offered.

“Oh honey, I do. I used to work at the state house as a clerk and I’ve always said that if there’s a God, there will be no paperwork past the pearly gates.”

Emma appreciated that the woman was so amiable to their questions. Sometimes they got saddled with problematic witnesses, but this woman was charming in that typical Boston way. She was brash and she said what she was thinking, but Emma knew deep down she had a good heart and loved her grandson. It was, as expected, a pretty routine false alarm, but as Ruby took notes on the situation, Emma asked to check out the fire escape itself. When she got the all clear to do so she moved to the window and shimmied it open before slipping outside and walking into an unexpected wall.

“Easy there, love.”

Oh shit! That voice was enough to make Emma a little week in the knees, and between the accent and the rumble in his chest that she was still flush against Emma felt this energy and simultaneous comfort she’d never experienced. It was… intriguing, and something she had a hard time moving away from but after a second Emma stepped back and her eyes flicked up to the man who’d uttered those three simple words. When her gaze met his her heart skipped almost painfully.

There were very few moments when Emma felt thrown in the line of duty or in life at all. She prided herself on being strong and stable, unshakeable even in the most trying of times, but right now she was anything but. Her heart was pounding, her mouth had suddenly gone dry, and her mind was racing a mile a minute, talking about how no man had a right to look this good and in a fireman’s outfit to boot.

With dark hair and more than the shadow of a beard, he wasn’t rugged per se, but manly and strong. She felt this kind of magnetic presence being so close to him but it wasn’t threatening to anything except maybe her self-control. She’d met a lot of good looking guys in her life, hell she’d been surrounded by cops and firefighters since she was a little kid, but there was something so different about this guy, this stranger with arresting blue eyes that held hers captive for just a beat too long.

“Apologies, love. I wasn’t expecting you.” Emma blinked and regained her composure, trying her best not to do something stupid like blush as she did.

“You’re new.” The man smiled, with one corner of his mouth tipping up to one side and he shuffled his gear around to extend his hand in greeting.

“Killian Jones at your service.”

Emma glanced at his hand and wondered if this guy was for real. Then she remembered that he was probably too new to realize who she was and why this was a no go. Once he did connect the dots he’d pull back she was sure, but for now Emma had this need she couldn’t quite explain. She wanted to go along with this feeling, even though it went against her M.O. entirely. So she gave him her hand in return and felt a rush of warmth when they made contact. She was shocked and a little overwhelmed, but it was clear that her new acquaintance was right there with her. Killian had no poker face at all, and she watched his wave of shock and then something like hunger before eventually pulling back and trying to put some of her professional walls back up.

“You realize sergeants don’t usually do this part right? No matter how new you are there’s got to be some low man on the ladder to hand this off to.”

Killian (God even his freaking name was hot) grinned and ran a hand through his hair, which was so dark and just a little too long to be strictly appropriate for the firehouse. Emma balled her fingers into a fist to stifle the crazy and ridiculous itch she had to see how it felt under her fingertips.

“Their set up wasn’t up to code. I thought I’d help them out so in case there’s ever an actual emergency, they can get out safely.” Emma looked over to where Killian gestured and saw that there were some newer bolts in the ladder now. She wondered how he’d even had the materials on hand to do this kind deed but decided to deflect from her being impressed at his caring.

“Hero complex?” Emma asked and Killian looked confused.

“I’m sorry?”

“Some guys get one in your line of work. They think they can save everyone and that they’re the only ones who can. They take on too much alone and it messes with their heads.”

Emma didn’t think Killian was that kind of guy (not that she could provide a real reason why past him not looking like a raging narcissist) but she wanted to see how he would handle her in interrogation mode. Most people cowered when she did this, but he stayed calm and didn’t flinch in the slightest. It was an incredible turn on.

“Well those men are fools. Some people can’t be saved… and some people don’t need to be. They’ve got it handled themselves.” Emma couldn’t help but think that last part was meant for her, but before she could ask him about his reasons behind the charged statement, Ruby appeared in the window.

“Emma if you fell down the fire escape I swear -,”

Ruby stopped short when she saw that Emma wasn’t alone and after half a second of surprise she started sporting a familiar grin. Emma tried to harden herself to Killian before it was too late but it was useless; Ruby knew something was up and that guaranteed her being a huge pain in Emma’s ass for a good long time. She was never going to live this down (because for years she’d been stressing no warm, fuzzy feelings on a case no mater what), and now her only hope was to bail and fast before Ruby caused a scene, or worse, flirted on Emma’s behalf.

“I’m all set here. You good Ruby?” Her friend looked from Killian who she was ogling openly to Emma and saw her seriousness. Thankfully Ruby took pity on her and nodded.

“All clear here.”

Ruby threw her one last smirk and then ducked back inside but as Emma turned to go she felt Killian’s hand at her wrist. It wasn’t a harsh hold in any way, and her body reveled in that same spark that had been there before, but she felt a wave of trepidation. Looking at him again was going to be fantastic and terrifying all at once. Still Emma had to be strong and so she faced him head on with what she hoped was a firm gaze.

“Did you need something?” she asked and Killian smiled softly at her. Instantly she felt bad for the edge she’d just had in her voice.

“Just to say thank you.” Emma’s brow furrowed.

“For what?” He let go of her hand and stepped backwards, heading towards the ladder of the fire escape with entirely too much swagger for a mortal, ordinary man.

“Usually a false alarm would be tedious. Today has been anything but.”

Emma ducked her chin in a bit, breaking eye contact and feeling like a freaking teenager under the intensity of his blue gaze. The worst part was he was being totally honest. Killian had game, yes, but he wasn’t a liar and that made the thrill that went through Emma so much harder to regret. There were sirens going off in her head saying that he was trouble and a threat to the way she had always conducted herself on the force, but the attraction between them was somehow stronger and this weird sense of trust was already there between them, muting her internal warning bells enough for her to try and say goodbye.

“Right. Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” She offered casually and he dropped all the cockiness to look at her sincerely.

“I hope so, Emma.”

Before she could make more of a fool out of herself, Emma moved back inside and shut the window, pausing when she did to catch her breath and get herself together. She let herself linger on the feelings that had fluttered through her chest when he said her name like that, and she wished that they could stay because it felt so right. Killian felt so right, but for what Emma couldn’t say, and it definitely was not the time to be having an internal dialogue about hot guys in the workplace. When she turned back around and saw Ruby with a shit-eating grin on her face she jumped, another very unusual thing for Emma.

“Don’t start.” Emma warned as they moved out of the apartment and back through the stairwell.

“I didn’t say anything!” Ruby offered with her hands up.

“You were going to.” Ruby laughed at Emma’s assessment.

“I am going to. I’m just going to wait until we’re not surrounded by dreamy guys who made you blush.” Emma turned to her friend and pointed a finger her way.

“I did not blush!”

“Oh honey, you so totally did. But shh, or Sergeant Sexy is going to hear you.” They were back outside moving to their car and there, just as Ruby expected, was Killian standing by his truck with some of the other guys from the firehouse. Their eyes caught again and he offered her a friendly wave that Emma returned as Ruby chuckled beside her.

“Ooo girl, you’re in trouble,” she whispered and Emma heard the niggling voice in the back of her mind saying that yeah, she very well might be.

……………

Every firehouse Killian had ever belonged to had a local spot – a pub or a bar that the crew frequented after a long shift or in times of celebration. Boston’s sixty-first was no different, but there was something to be said for this hole in the wall they called their home away from home.

It might not be pretty or particularly nice, but the feel inside of JR’s Tavern was perfect in Killian’s mind. There was that necessary combination of mutual respect between his firehouse mates and the rest of the clientele, but there was also a line drawn. Killian could already see that on their worst days (days that were always coming down the pike in this line of work) they’d find some sort of peace here. It wasn’t filled with nosey busy bodies, but people trying to go about their business. This was a welcome relief for Killian, who’d struggled with that in past assignments.

This new position, however, was bound to be different than all his ones before. For one thing he was a sergeant now, and that in itself was an adjustment. New expectations, new procedures, they were all factors in his blending in with a new squad, but Killian was a quick study and more than anything he had the experience both back in London and in New York where he’d been the last few years.

Killian also prided himself on staying up to date on the science in his job, jumping at the chance for any extra training and for any extra classes he could enroll in. The hope for all of that extra work was that he might someday learn something that could keep all the men and women he worked with alive. Every day they all got home safe was a win, and every day that they helped the people they were sworn to serve was one too. That didn’t mean he thought himself a hero, just a man with a code trying to better people’s lives when and how he could.

Killian couldn’t help but smile as the memory of that detective this afternoon bluntly asking him if he had a hero complex ran through his mind. She was a force of nature, and all it took was one second in her company for Killian to feel more alive than he had in years. Not even the rush of being amongst the lick of flames in a five-alarm blaze compared to the sensation he’d had out there on the fire escape, but she – Emma – was anything but predictable. Like an inferno with no clear source, she’d keep him guessing and clawing for answers, he was certain.

For one thing she was all together too beautiful for his sanity. She’d tried to tone it down slightly (no doubt in the hopes of appearing more professional and competent) but anyone who would doubt that woman after meeting her was a fool. She wore her abilities on her sleeve and practically radiated capability. Nothing escaped her notice in the moments that they’d been out there together, and though there were tiny glimpses of something more vulnerable between them, and even a few wondrous moments of could-be flirting, Emma was largely the dominating force between the pair of them.

Killian meanwhile stood there perilously close to openly gaping at her. He’d largely avoided any sort of emotional attachments as of late, hating the effects that the demands of his job had in any relationship. He’d seen the tolls it took on the men and women that his fellow fighters loved and their families and Killian reasoned there was no one he’d ever want to put through that. Still as he looked in those curious and brilliant jade colored eye’s of Emma’s and noticed the fullness of her lips and the silkiness of the hair she’d tied back, he found thoughts he’d long ago discarded rushing to the surface. Thoughts about staking a claim and convincing Emma that he was more than an adrenaline junky with a need to put out fires. For her, honestly, Killian could be anything she damn well wanted.

“Oi, Killian!”

Killian glanced up to see his old friend Will Scarlet, another member of the sixty-first and the man who’d put him up for the job here to begin with. He was a British expat too who’d already assimilated to this city after a few years on the force. Will was also the self-proclaimed funny man on the squad but Killian knew that underneath that excess of humor was a fiercely loyal and determined man. Will had fallen into this field because of personal tragedy, but he didn’t let it define him. He worked hard to live each day like it was his last, doing his best at work and then living each moment outside of that with the fullness it deserved.

“Aye?”

“You gonna say something? We can’t drink until you do, mate.” Killian noticed that the others on the squad were looking at him expectantly with their beers in hand. All of them had been incredibly welcoming so far and he grinned and cleared his throat not wanting to let them down.

“Right. Well I guess I’ll say thank you all for the drink and I doubt it will be the last you all buy me.” Everyone laughed at the jest and Killian sobered some to continue on. “Honestly I appreciate the openness you all have and your quickness to accept someone new like myself. It’s an honor to be among you, and I plan to prove my worth to you all before long. You all have my word that I will do my best by this house and this city. To sixty-one.”

“To sixty-one!” They all chorused back and took their drinks before letting out a cheer.

It was only about half of the house right now, for the others were on shift, but Killian had already made a pact with the bartender that a tab would be started in his name and that every fighter who wasn’t here tonight would still get a drink on him as his new buddies beside him would be getting one. It was customary back home, and felt only right to Killian to bring that tradition over here.

“Rough luck that all you got to see this week was routine drills and a false alarm,” one of the younger fighters on the ladder named Gus said and Killian shook his head offering a small smile and his own thoughts.

“Depends how you look at it. Might have been a false alarm but we all came back home.”

Gus nodded thoughtfully, and Killian knew the headspace that younger firefighters often had. They were hungry for the action, mostly because they’d yet to have any of the real trauma to could go with it. He didn’t fault Gus, however, and Killian honestly hoped Gus never lost that mentality, and that the younger man never lost a person in this job to take away that drive to fight fires every day.

“I’ll take a false alarm every hour of every damn day if we get cops like that responding. That Detective Lucas is something, huh?”

Will whistled in appreciation and then got a punch in the arm from one of the few women in the firehouse who everyone lovingly called Tink. She was small by any standard, but she was tough as nails and a fighter through and through. Killian had instantly taken a liking to her, and her silently but forcefully reprimanding Will for the comments now only solidified that more. Will winced and rubbed his arm after she made contact as Graham growled out a reply that was unexpected.

“In your dreams, Scarlet.” Killian wasn’t used to any sort of dark emotion from Graham. The lieutenant was kind and mostly quiet if a bit more serious than most of the others. This felt hostile though, but Will laughed all the same.

“No Graham, in yours. What are you waiting for on that anyway? You should have locked her down months ago when you had the chance.” Graham stared at his phone and blatantly ignored Will’s jest so Killian took the opportunity to divert attention for Graham’s sake and to get the information he himself had been wanting all day without seeming too suspicious.

“And what of her partner?”

“Oh you mean Emma?”  Killian nodded, trying to give off an air of not really caring even though he was desperate for more information on her. “She’s a looker for sure with brass balls to match and a stubborn streak that knows no end, but she’s off-limits.”

Killian raised a brow at Will’s words but everyone around seemed to agree with him. This was strange to Killian and he felt a need to know why anyone thought that was the case, because the idea of not pursuing Emma weighed on him like a ton of bricks. Then the worst-case scenario flashed into his mind:

“Is she married?” It hurt to even consider that possibility, and there had definitely been no ring on the lady’s finger today when he checked, though Killian knew of some cops who took them off in the line of duty. Firefighters did the same thing, though Killian couldn’t help thinking he wouldn’t want to if he’d finally married a woman he truly loved.

“Ha! That’s rich. No, mate, Emma Nolan is definitely not married. I doubt the woman’s ever dated given her parents. They’re not exactly the most accessible, easy to impress people.”

“Her parents?” Killian asked, confused. Why would a grown woman’s parents play into this in the slightest? And why did that last name sound slightly familiar?

“Yeah her parents. Her Mum’s the police superintendent and her Dad’s the district chief.” Fuck!

“Our district chief?” Killian asked after choking a bit on his beer and Will nodded.

“The very same.”

Bloody hell! Well that was a bit of a problem wasn’t it? Though Killian couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t enough to keep him from wanting her. With another woman he’d have taken the hit and walked away, but the idea of not seeing Emma again or feeling that same rush of warmth that came when he’d taken her hand today cut him to the core. He had never been the kind of man to cut and run when he felt strongly, and there was simply nothing that compared to meeting her today. He had to see her again.

“Before she was made detective people called her the princess. They said her parents were like some sort of Boston bureaucratic royalty and she was just their legacy getting preferential treatment.”

Graham offered the intel like it was nothing at all, but Killian’s fingers clenched around his glass, his anger rising. He hated the thought that Emma was judged for something she couldn’t help. Hell, he barely even knew the woman, but he knew in his heart she hadn’t deserved that kind of response from her peers. She was exceptional. Why couldn’t they see that?

“But something changed?” Killian asked, hoping for some resolution other than Emma’s being maligned unfairly.

“Yeah it did. Emma told every last asshole who said that shit where they could shove it, and then made detective at a younger age than any other person in her district. She’s kind of my hero,” Tink said jovially before waving the bartender over for another drink.

Killian grinned at that, knowing without doubt that Emma could handle herself. It bothered him that people had judged her, but it made him weirdly proud that she’d handled herself. Not that he had anything to do with it, but he liked knowing that Emma was strong enough to speak her mind and push back when other’s wanted to box her in. That wasn’t an easy feat for anyone, but it only proved to Killian what he already suspected – Emma Nolan was special.

“Well Tink, you can be sure to tell her all about it at that bloody gala we’ve all got next week. Remind me again why we’re going to that?” Graham snickered into his beer as Killian replied.

“Because it’s sixty-one’s turn to represent this year… and because there’s an open bar and decent food.” Will looked merrier already.

“Well I’ll drink to that!”

The crew laughed at the frivolity of Will’s wants and wishes, but the night passed pleasantly from there on out, and for Killian there was a new form of hope: because now he knew there was a moment coming when he’d see Emma again, and he had a few days yet to figure out exactly how to show her there was something between them worth exploring no matter what might stand in their way.

Post-Note: So there we have it. I want to thank my lovely readers who asked for this kind of story. It’s different then the other stuff I’m writing, which is always good for my muse. It will also likely be a little shorter than my typical stories, but I promise it will pack the usual smuffy goodness my others always aim for. Anyway let me know what you guys think and thank you all for reading!