Under Lock and Key #Wattys2016

Chapter 10

Happy 37th birthday to the beautiful and talented Jennifer Morrison!!!!

A little bit more of Emma's past today in honor of that.

Not really. I wrote this book in advance but it just worked out that way. Fate is a wonderful thing. Except when it's not...

Emma set out the plates on the table and put a vase of orchids in the center of the table. Walsh sat on the couch with a beer in his hand while she worked to set out the food. She tugged the sleeves of her red dress down. God knows what would happen if someone saw what she was hiding under the sleeves. The doorbell rang and she rushed over to the door. A woman in a green velvet dress walked in. She had a black belt around her waist and her strawberry blonde hair was in a bun. A black hat was on top of her head. Her bright, mint green eyes scanned the foyer. Walsh seemed to pop out of nowhere when the woman walked through the door.

"Zelena, welcome." He said as he shook the woman's hand.

"Walsh. It is good to see you." She said in a British accent. She turned to Emma and smiled at her. "You must be Emma."

The blonde nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Green. Walsh has told me a lot about you."

"Please, call me Zelena. It is just a pleasure to be here."

They all walked into the dinning room and sat down. The smell of the chicken and potatoes filled the room. The table was covered in a white cloth and the pristine white plates sat on top of it. The orchids adding just a splash of color to the classy room.

"Normally, I do this in the workplace, but because Walsh is my best employee, I wanted to do this a bit differently." Zelena began. "I want to offer Walsh a promotion. You will be working alongside me, no longer for me."

Walsh's jaw dropped. "A promotion? Thank you!"

Emma smiled. "That's amazing!"

"Damn right it is!"

"Let's celebrate, shall we?" Zelena asked as she raised her wine glass.

Emma and Walsh followed her actions and they clinked the glasses together.

After Zelena had left, Emma sat down on the couch to catch her breath. The dishes were piled up in the sink, but she didn't want to do them. Her feet hurt from being in the heels all evening, and she just wanted to scrub the makeup off her face and go to sleep.

"Emma, the dishes aren't going to do themselves." Walsh said as he sat down in the chair across the room and popped open another beer.

"I'm exhausted. I'll do them tomorrow."

"No! I want them done now!" He yelled causing her to jump. "You'll do as I say, when I say, am I clear?"

"Yes." She stood up and ran to the kitchen to clean up.

Emma woke up with an arm around her waist. She looked over and Killian was against her back, sleeping peacefully. They were in his bedroom in the house, but she couldn't remember how she had gotten here. She noticed that she wasn't in her tight and scratchy dress anymore, but that she was in a pair of sweatpants and one of her new nightshirts. She snuggled back into Killian's warmth and he tightened his grip around her. Emma felt safe. She felt wanted and needed for once in her life. She shut her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep again.

Killian woke up alone. He heard noises downstairs and figured that Emma was exploring. He put on a pair of sweatpants but didn't worry about a shirt as he walked downstairs barefoot. He looked around and Emma was doing the dishes. He leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked playfully.

Emma jumped and turned to him. Her eyes looked into his but soon fell down to his bare chest and stomach area. She noticed his abs and his hairy chest and toned muscles. She forced her eyes back up to his. "D-doing the dishes."

"I could have done them." He said.

"If you would have woken me up last night I would have done them then."

"Why would I wake my sleeping little angel just to do chores? I didn't even wake you up so you could get out of your dress."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Emma said as she turned back to the sink and continued to wash the dirty plates. "It wouldn't have been a problem."

"You were asleep, darling." He walked over to her and rinsed the soapy dishes. "I don't have a problem doing chores. Just go into the living room and relax. Turn on Netflix and watch something."

"You go do that and I'll finish up here."

"No, no, no, no, no. Swan, why are so persistent?"

She stopped what she was doing and looked down. "I told you, I was expected to be the perfect little housewife and clean and cook while he sat on his ass and did nothing. I had to do the dishes after every meal, no matter what."

"Oh, Swan. That isn't going to be like that here."

"Old habits die hard, I guess."

They finished cleaning the kitchen and Killian went upstairs to collect the dirty clothes, and carried the giant basket downstairs into the laundry room. Emma raced to him and practically pushed him out of the room and away from the washing machine.

"I'm sorry! I was getting there next." She said as she started to fill the machine.

He huffed and put his hands on his hips. He watched as she turned it on and it started up, before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She didn't kick or punch him as he carried her upstairs and threw her on the bed. Killian crawled on top of her and saw the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. The smile that was on his face faded immediately. He got off of her and pulled her into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around her.

"I didn't mean to make you cry!" He said sadly.

"I'm an idiot." She sobbed into his chest.

"No, you're not, love."

"Yes I am!" She yelled ripping herself away from his arms. "I can't do anything right!"

"Swan, stop."

"You don't know what it's like! I've had to do everything alone since I was born! And then you show up and show me that I don't have to be alone and do things by myself anymore, and I can't trust myself to fall because I'm afraid you won't be able to hold me up!"

"I'll always be there to catch you! At some point, you are going to have to trust me."

"I do trust you! I'm scared of the damage that I will cause! You made a mistake coming after me."

"You see it as a mistake, I see it as the best damn thing that has ever happened to me. It's going to take time to fix you, and I'm happy to be the one to do it if you let me. I'm not going to give up on you, as long as you don't give up on me." He walked over to her and pressed his lips to hers. "Do you promise?" He asked after he pulled away.

She nodded. "Yes."