Emma had spent the past couple days determined to forget her encounter with Killian. Actually, it was more like she was determined to forget Killian. She could not believe the way he had spoken to her. It infuriated her every time she thought about it. In a way she was glad, though. He might be handsome but now that she had seen his true colors she had no reason or desire to seek him out. She just hoped that she could avoid him for as long as it took.

Miner's Day provided that distraction. Emma figured that with a town celebration she would have enough minor disputes pop up to keep her occupied and the festive spirit of everyone in town would mean Killian was too busy to leave the bar.

Unfortunately, the day provided too much distraction. Kathryn Nolan was missing and as much as Emma couldn't believe that David had something to do with it, the evidence she had in front of her said that he lied. Emma sat back in the chair of the dimly lit office and sighed. Her so-called superpower was failing her hard in this town. David said he hadn't spoken with his wife since the day before but the file in Emma's hand was spelled out in black and white that he had. How could she have missed that?

On top of everything else now she had a blackout in town to deal with. As far as problems go, this was one actually a welcome one. A blackout just required the power company to investigate, locate the source of the problem, and fix whatever was broken. Easy.

Emma heard the door to the station open and footsteps coming toward her office.

"What?" she snapped. It was the last person she wanted to see.

"I know you don't want to see me," Killian started.

"Very perceptive," she interrupted. "What can the sheriff's office do for you?"

"I'm not here for any police assistance."

"Then sorry, I'm busy and I have no time for you," she said firmly. She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a challenging glare. "Maybe you haven't noticed but a shit storm landed in my lap today and it keeps getting worse."

"Yes, I heard about Ms. Nolan," he replied softly. He shifted on his feet and looked down. "And you're right, my timing is terrible. This is just the first free moment when I've had enough courage ... I'll come back at a better time."

"Free moment?" she asked. "It's Miner's Day. I figured business would be booming."

"Well, it was. Until the power went out. My backup generator is out of commission and all the revelry seemed to move to the streets anyway so I locked the doors for the night."

"And you decided to come here and what, see if I wanted to hear from you? You are not stupid – you know how much I have going on today," she paused and looked him up and down. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize," he said plainly. He stopped looking at the floor and looked directly at her instead. "I was incredibly out of line and hurtful and I'm ashamed. I ruined … whatever we had … and I am genuinely sorry."

Emma chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure you regret it. I mean, at the rate we were going you probably would have gotten laid by the end of the week."

Killian frowned. "It's not about that, Swan."

"Sure it isn't."

"Is it so hard to believe that I actually cared about you? Care about you."

"Seriously?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "You are the one who told me that apparently I shut people out so much that if I were to go missing no one would even care." She felt her eyes stinging with the threat of tears but she held them back. She would not cry, not in front of him.

"I'm so very sorry, love."

"I have asked you not to call me love."

He blinked. "Emma, I cannot express how sorry I am or how guilty I feel. I felt jealous and threatened and I chose to be weak. I drank until I didn't feel anything and then you turned up at my door and I behaved terribly. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, I don't deserve that. I just wanted you to know that I was wrong."

Emma put her head back on the chair and focused on the ceiling for several minutes. Killian didn't move and she wondered how long he would stand there without her acknowledging what he had said. Her mind was racing. He seemed sincere but then David hadn't betrayed a hint of deception when she questioned him earlier that day. She had always trusted her instincts but there was so much doubt creeping into her mind today that she didn't know what was real anymore.

"Thank you for the apology," she said, finally sitting up and looking him in the eye. "But I don't know if I can forgive you."

"That's fair."

"I'm really busy at the moment," she continued. "I need you to leave so I can focus."

"As you wish," Killian said and he made a small gesture like a bow before he left the room. Emma felt a small tug in her heart at the phrase. She watched as we walked towards the exit and she let her mind wander for a brief moment. If she forgave him what would happen between them? Did he deserve forgiveness? Would he ever speak to her that way again?

Probably, she thought. She shook her head as if she could clear away all thoughts of him. She had a case to solve and she didn't like what the evidence said. She needed to figure out what to do next.