Notes: So this fic was born as a response to Regina's actions in Sympathy for the De Vil/Lily. And specifically the thought of what Graham would do when he found out about Regina taking Belle's heart. This was supposed to be a short thing that would be posted quickly. This is not a short thing that I posted quickly. Nearly two years and over 10K words later, it is at least done, and I hope you enjoy. Betaed by the amazing Arianakristine, so any mistakes are because I ignored her.
Story is complete, Part Two to be posted tomorrow.
Warnings: Significant mentions of abuse. Violence, major character death (not any of the listed characters though).
It had been hard to believe, when Jones had come to him with the imp's tale, but at the same time so easy. He had tried to so hard to believe, wanted so much to believe, that she had changed, if only for Henry's sake. For their safety. But he should have known better that to trust her supposed change of heart. And now his friend had been hurt by her again.
Stealing Belle's heart back from the dragon had proved almost too easy. He had to admit that the pirate was good at creating a distraction, at drawing all attention to himself, and he had some experience of getting in and out of the Mayor's office through the window. No, that had not been the hard part.
The hard part had been explaining to Belle what Regina had done. She had been disbelieving at first, hardly able to grasp that Regna had taken her offer of help and abused it, abused her. He couldn't look as Jones had returned her heart, and along with it the memory of what she had been forced to do. He did not ask, but he could tell be the way she almost fell to the floor before Jones caught her that Regina had done more than just use her as leverage.
His eyes locked with the pirate's over Belle's head as she cried, no words were needed as he nodded, sealing a silent pact.
Regina would not return to Storybrooke alive.
He had let himself out of the shop quietly, his presence unnecessary. He would be there, later, if she needed him, but right now he could better aid her elsewhere. Time was of the essence; in Storybrooke Regina held too much power. Once she was back in town it would be too risky to move against her, not without enlisting aid that would likely not be forthcoming.
He had not been sure how he would be able to confront her outside of town, but Emma had called on her way back from New York, and had unwittingly provided the solution. Zelena was with child, and they were bringing her back with them. It seemed the sisters had more in common than they would like to admit. Emma had asked him to meet her just outside the town border with Pan's magic dampening cuff so Zelena could safely be brought into town. Which would give him exactly the opportunity he needed.
Which left one thing to do, Henry. This would probably be his last chance to see the boy he considered his own. Keeping him safe would not come without a price. Once this was done he would likely no longer be welcome, in his or Emma's life. But he could not go without taking one last chance to see him, to make sure he knew how much he cared. He just had to be careful that the perceptive boy did not catch on to what he was doing.
"You are not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on." Henry had placed himself firmly in front of the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed and a look of defiance on his face. He was so much Emma's son at times.
It was his own fault, he had been too obvious. Unfortunately, as subtle as he was on a hunt, that did not translate so well to subtlety in human interactions, but he had had to try.
Henry had been bent over the storybook once again when he had got home, still looking for clues, for any information that might help them find the author before 'Stiltskin was able to make use of his power. He really did spend too much time on things like this, time that should be spent on school, or friends, time spent playing video games like a child his age should be. It might be too late, but maybe after this he would get the chance to be a child again, even if whatever was left of his innocence would be truly lost forever. He deserved better than what was about to happen, but that could not be helped.
Regina had hurt Henry before to get what she wanted, and he remembered what she had done to the very man from whom Henry had got his name. He feared even Henry was not safe if she was allowed to live.
He could refuse to say anything and just leave, but Henry was likely to attempt to follow if he thought something was going on that he was being kept out of. And of all the possible ways this could go badly, Henry witnessing it was the worst. Hopefully if he told him at least part of the truth, he would stay here, where it was safe.
"It's- it's Regina." He had never quite been able to bring himself to call her Henry's mother. She had not earned that title, so instead he called her by name if forced to refer to her. "She did something. She took Belle's heart, used her against Gold."
He watched Henry crumple in on himself as his words sunk in and wished there was something he could have done to spare him this pain. He did not deserve any of this, did not deserve to have Regina in his life, to be hurt by her again and again.
"No! She can't've. I've been trying too hard! Ever since we came back, I have been working so hard to keep her good. To keep her from hurting any of us again. She can't've hurt Belle like that."
Graham felt his heart break. How could they not have realised? They had wanted to let Henry make his own decisions in regards to her but they had had no idea that he had been taking all this on himself. They should have been paying better attention, but there had always been so much going on, and Henry had seemed happy. They should have remembered how good he was at hiding things.
Suddenly Henry bolted forward into his arms and he pulled the boy close, trying to give whatever comfort he could. His next words were stained with tears. "She just can't."
"I'm sorry Henry. But that was not your responsibility. It was not your job to keep her good. And if that was not what she wanted to be, it was never going to work." He knew Henry's feeling of responsibility for Regina's behaviour would not be undone so simply, but he spoke firmly, trying to impress his words into the lad. He could feel Henry shaking, knew he was crying, and if his mind had not already been made up, she had earned what was coming to her for this alone.
"You don't get it! I even told her it was a good thing that Robin could not save Marian. A good thing! I said that. Just to try and make her feel better so she wouldn't do anything bad." He had looked up to all but shout those words at him, anger starting to take over from disbelief, but ducked his head again before going on, this time in a voice so small it hurt. "Why wasn't I enough?"
"Nothing is ever enough for her." It was not a good answer, and he wished he had a better one, one that would stop him from sounding so broken, but it was all he had. In the end, she always wanted more than she had. "That is not on you. It is not your fault that she could never be happy with what she had, always wanted what someone else had as well."
He felt Henry pull back slightly, suddenly thoughtful. He could see his brain working to put the pieces together, and he held his breath waiting to see how close to the truth he would get.
"Wait a second, that doesn't explain why you were here trying to say goodbye without me realising that you were saying goodbye."
He should have known he would not be able to fool Henry of all people, the lad was at times too perceptive for his own good. He could see as the realisation dawned and braced himself for his reaction.
"You're going to kill her, aren't you?" Henry's voice was strangely flat as he said the words, and he wasn't quite sure how to interpret it. He didn't sound angry, as he would have expected him to; if anything, he sounded resigned. Graham nodded, the words caught his throat. And really, what words were there, what could he possible say to make this anything other than what it was? He was planning to murder someone Henry loved. However good his reasons, it would never be defensible, never be forgivable. And even so, he could not regret it.
Maybe he really was the heartless killer they always thought he was.
Henry was staring at him, studying him, and he wondered what he was looking for. Would he try to talk him out of it? Plead for mercy on her behalf like he had before? If only they had not granted it then, they may have saved so much pain. But Henry's next question caught him by surprise.
"If she was still willing to do that to Belle, what was she planning to do to you and Mom when she found the author?"
Or to Henry himself, he thought. She would have no qualms about having him rewritten to be more compliant. But of course Henry's first thoughts were for others before himself. Though maybe he had just not thought of that, and if that were so he hoped he never did.
"I didn't even ask what she was planning. I just jumped straight into helping her. I was so glad she wasn't doing anything worse that I didn't think about what she would do, what her 'happy ending' would be. She was going to hurt us again and I was helping her."
Henry's voice was bordering on manic by the time he finished, almost tripping over his words, and Graham leaned down so he could look him in the eye, gripping him firmly by the shoulders. "This is not your fault. She fooled a lot of people, many with much more reason to distrust her than you. You should not feel bad for believing in someone you loved."
"But I didn't really believe in her, did I? If I had believed in her I wouldn't have been so worried about what she was going to do. If I had believed in her, I wouldn't believe you. I knew it wasn't real, deep down, I knew it, but I wanted it so much I let myself believe it." Henry's next words were so quiet he almost did not hear them. "If I believed in her, I would be trying to stop you."
"I wouldn't let you." It might seem harsh, but he would not have Henry thinking he could have done something to stop this, and later start blaming himself. He would accept Henry's resentment, but he would not allow the boy any part of the guilt.
"Why does this hurt so much? She has done such awful things to all of us, to me, to you, to everyone I care about. And she was planning to hurt us more. Why do I still care?" His words were broken by sobs that he tried to swallow, the tears coming thick and fast.
"Because she's your mother." And with that he found Henry back in his arms, sobbing in earnest now.
They must have stood there for over ten minutes, him gently running his hand up and down Henry's back to comfort him as he cried, and shedding some tears of his own. As much as it broke his heart to see Henry in such distress, he was not sure this was not both needed and long overdue. He did not think that Henry had ever allowed himself to react to what Regina had done to him, to grieve, too busy trying to believe she had changed. Letting this grief out might be exactly what was needed for him to move on.
The sobs had faded to the occasional hiccough and sniffle when his phone beeped, the noise jarring in the stillness of the room, causing them both to jump. He had a good idea what the message was and silently cursed the timing. The last thing he wanted was to leave Henry alone just yet. He checked, hoping it was anyone else, but it was indeed Emma telling him they were approaching the edge of town. Looking back at Henry he could see he had guessed what it was as well.
"You have to go." It may have sounded like a question, but it wasn't one. Henry straightened up a bit, swallowing and blinking back the last of his tears. "Be careful."
Henry's resilience in the face of every horror that was thrown at him would never cease to amaze him. "I should call Ruby, have her come stay with you. I don't want you here on your own."
"No! Please don't. I swear, I am not going to do anything reckless. I just don't want anyone hovering and asking concerned questions. I just want to be alone." He gave Henry a long look, trying to judge if he was being truthful, and decided to trust him, nodding in agreement. He knew he would prefer solitude if in a similar position, and could understand Henry not wanting to be faced with any questions, however well meant.
"If you are sure? If you need me for anything, I always have my phone." He did not have to say it, they both knew he did not just mean today. Regardless of how Emma reacted, he would always be there if Henry needed him.
"I know." He nodded, understanding what was not being said as much as what was. "Now go."
He took one last look at Henry, knowing that however accepting he seemed now, he may still never be welcomed back here. The reality might be too much for him to live with. He forced himself to turn around.
Stopping briefly outside the door, he wiped the tears from his face as he tried to focus back on the task at hand. This would take all his attention to get right, he could not afford to leave half his mind back here.
With a deep breath, he got back in the cruiser and started out towards the road out of town.
He pulled to a stop a safe distance from the town line, but did not immediately get out. He stayed there, looking over the deceptively simple painted line that marked the border between their town, their world, and the magicless world they had been brought to. This side of the line she was a powerful witch, capable of swatting away most threats like a fly. But cross a few feet over to the other side and she was just a normal woman, no more able to protect herself from him that any of those she had forced him to kill.
He watched them, Emma's bug parked on the other side of the line, mirroring him. Emma, Regina, and a dark-haired woman he assumed must be Lily, had apparently decided not to wait in the car, and he wondered if that had anything to do with the woman bound in the back seat. That would make things easier, no need to get her out the car to avoid the additional danger, and mess, of shooting her while she was still inside.
To an outside observer, it might seem like he was hesitating, and in a way, he was, if not for quite the reason someone might expect. He had no doubts about his chosen course of action. It had to be done; he would not let her endanger those he loved. He would not regret her passing, or that it would be by his hand. That was not what kept him this side of the line.
What kept him from doing what he had so easily done in the past, and what he had previously longed to do for many years, was that for the first time in his life he had something to lose.
It would not stop him, but things would not be the same after this. Emma had never really seen this part of him, not because he had hidden it, but because they had never before been in a situation that called for it. There had been many a battle, she knew he would not hesitate to kill in a fight, but there had never been the need to dispose of threat in this way, to kill someone who was not overtly attacking them. He did not know how she would react to being faced with that.
He knew Snow and David would be horrified. But he did not care what they thought of him. He had made his peace with them, but he could never forget that they had been given the opportunity to stop her, to ensure she would never hurt another, and had instead chosen to let her go, to pay no price for her crimes, and to continue to terrorise them all. He had let go of his anger for his own sake, but he would not forget that they could not be trusted when it came to her, that they would not protect their people from her. And he would not care of their judgement when he did what they should.
Movement caught his eye, pulling him from his thoughts and drawing his attention back to the other side of the line. Regina had turned towards Emma, and even if he could not hear her words, he could see the impatience written on her face and body, could guess what she was saying. And he saw the pained look that flashed across Emma's face, the way her spine stiffened.
He waited for her to bite back, except she didn't, she just took a breath and responded calmly with a tight smile. He recognised that, he had seen that reaction from her before. It was how she had reacted when Henry used to act up, back just after the curse broke, when he was first testing his boundaries with them, pushing back at them to see if they would snap the way she had. It was the same tamping down of irritation she did back then, because Henry was a child who had been through so much and was still trying to adjust. But Regina was no child, and had earned no such consideration from them; she was the one who should be showing patience in the face of their anger.
Was this what it was always like with them? What Emma always had to do? Swallow her own irritation in the face of Regina's attitude? They had all been so careful to ensure that he and Regina's paths so rarely crossed, and people avoided talking about her to him. But he had assumed that she had at least changed how she had treated them, that she was no longer so casually dismissive of anyone's feelings but her own. That was supposed to have been why they trusted her, because she had changed.
But then again, wasn't that the entire reason he was doing this, because she hadn't changed?
He briefly wondered why Emma was putting up with it, before shaking his head. Of course, for the very same reason he had put up with her presence in their lives, for Henry.
He really could not delay anymore, and he did not want to leave Emma facing the brunt of Regina's anger, presumably over how long he was taking. He quietly stepped out of the cruiser, carefully pushing the door shut. He did not think sound would carry over the town line in this direction, but he did not want to risk them hearing him just yet. He checked his pocket to make sure he had the cuff, and the scroll that would allow them passage back into town. It would not do to get trapped outside with them. And finally, he took a moment to check his gun. He could not afford for this not to go right first time, there were too many things that could go wrong if this turned into a fight.
He moved closer, still invisible to them, and he briefly wondered if he could shoot her from here or if the magic of the town border would interfere. Another man might have taken the chance, taken the opportunity to have no witnesses, for her death to become an unsolved mystery, too many suspects to isolate just one. But that was not him, he would not hide, would not lie about this to Emma or anyone else, would not be ashamed. And he would look her in the eye when he pulled the trigger. One small part of this that would be for him, rather than for them.
He stopped just short of the line, taking a couple of deep breaths, his eyes closed, pushing all thought other than his target from his mind, letting the man recede as the wolf came to the fore. When his eyes opened, he was eerily calm, motionless as his eyes locked on his prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It soon presented itself as she stepped away from the others and started to pace in exasperation.
Without conscious thought, he started moving, crossing the line, his steps quiet and graceful. There was no need for stealth but instinct had taken over. He heard her snapped comment, her tone communicating her sentiment even if he did not discern the words themselves.
Raising his gun, he hesitated for the barest second, just long enough to see the realisation dawn in her eyes, to see her hands twitch ready to call on the magic that did not exist here, before he pulled the trigger, his aim as true with a gun as it had ever been with a bow. She fell to the ground with a quiet thud, dead before she even had a chance to cry out, and he watched as a small pool of blood began to form on the tarmac beneath her.
He found himself transfixed by the sight, unable to tear his eyes away, unable to truly comprehend that it was over, that she was dead. There was a sudden feeling of lightness, as the weight of fear was lifted, a feeling he had lived with so long he only really noticed it as it faded away.
The commotion his actions had caused was nothing more than a buzzing noise as he continued to stare at his monster, the woman who had caused so much pain and fear, now nothing more than a body, all life gone in an instant. It was too quick, decades of suffering should not be so easily ended, but they were.
She was gone.
It took Emma grabbing his shoulder to finally break him out of his trance, and the rest of the world came rushing back in as he turned to look at her, meeting her gaze unapologetically. He stood by his actions, and he would not cower from the consequences.
"What the hell Graham? What was that?" She may not have quite been shouting, but there was the anger he had expected, but not received, from Henry.
"That…was what needed to be done. What we should have done in the first place." And that was the crux of it; this was something that should have been done before she was even born.
"So, what, you were just pretending to go along with it until you had an opportunity to kill her?" Her scathingly voiced question took him by surprise, it had not actually occurred to him that she would think this was part of some long-held plot to kill her, and he rather hoped that if he had had such a plan it would not have taken him so long to find a way. But it made sense that the woman who found it just as hard to trust people as he did would first jump to the conclusion that he had been lying all this time. "I know what she did, but she was trying to change, she was helping us."
"No, she wasn't." She was the one who had been pretending and biding her time. "She may have been helping when it benefitted her, but she was not trying to change. As long as I believed she was trying, I was willing to stay my hand. I wanted to believe she was changing more than most, for Henry's sake at least, but she had not changed at all. She had just got better at hiding it."
"How can you say that? You have barely seen her in years. How can you say she has not been trying, you don't know." Her words hurt, even if he knew it was anger fuelling them, prompting her to say things she would not otherwise. But it still hurt to have her deride him for not having been around Regina.
"She took Belle's heart." He saw the shock as the words sunk in, saw the disgust that crossed her face as she quickly glanced back at Regina's body. "That is what she has on 'Stiltskin."
"So you thought the best thing to do was kill her?" There wasn't as much anger in her voice now, but knowing Regina's crime was not enough for Emma just to accept his actions. She still seemed to struggling to believe what he had done. Had he hidden his true nature from her that much, or had she just not understood that this was who he was?
"Yes." Maybe not the answer she was looking for or expecting; she probably expected him to start trying to justify himself, or make excuses, but it was the truth, plain and unvarnished. Regina had proved herself to be too much of a danger to be allowed to live, and for him, it was that simple.
"That was not your call." His blunt response seemed to have thrown her off for a moment, but she was partially right. Really it was her parent's responsibility, but they had abdicated it too many times. And he, too, had claim to that responsibility.
"It became my call when no one else was willing to make it. I was elected Sheriff of this town, I was trusted to protect the people here. She was a danger, and I dealt with it."
No-one had been willing to do what was necessary, too scared of the danger, or the reaction of those who should have protected them but had chosen to protect her instead. He had stepped up to do what no-one else could or would do.
"That's not how it works, we have rules, laws, ways of…" She lifted a hand to stop him from responding. "No, don't, just don't right now. I can't deal with this, deal with you."
She turned away, using a hand to push her hair back, stopping it briefly at the nape of her neck before she turned back. "I have to get home; did you even think about how I was going to break this to Henry?"
"He already knows. I went to see him before I came here. When I told him what Regina had done he worked out the rest." He expected another outburst, and she did not disappoint. But he was not going to leave her going home worrying about having to explain everything to Henry. He could at least let her know that she would only have to tell him it was done.
"What! You told him? What the hell were you thinking?" Once again, she cut him off before he could respond. "Don't bother, clearly you weren't thinking. Did you at least remember to bring the scroll and cuff?"
He reached into his pocket and silently handed them to her, and he watched as she stomped over to the car, leaning in to put the cuff around Zelena's wrist.
Emma gestured at the third woman, Lily, he reminded himself, who had remained a few yards away watching their argument. Lily followed the silent instruction with a wary glace at him that he met unflinchingly until she looked away, climbing into the passenger seat. He knew this woman held some animosity towards Emma's family; let her see how threats to his family were dealt with.
"You." Emma turned, pointing at him and gesturing vaguely in the direction Regina's body lay. "You are going to deal with the body. With respect. And since I now need to get home as quickly as possible after getting Lily to Maleficent, you just became responsible for Zelena as well. Think you can manage that without murdering her?"
He nodded in agreement, thinking better of saying anything aloud. It took a little coordination, made harder by the fact Emma would barely look at him, but eventually they were all back over the town line, Zelena handcuffed to the front passenger side door of the cruiser, Regina's body in the back.
As soon as Zelena was safely secured, Emma was back in her car, door slammed behind her, and she drove off without backwards glance, leaving him to watch her go.
He was not exactly surprised. If anything he had been expecting her to react worse, but however prepared he had thought he was, it did not lessen the pain of being dismissed by her like that.
He had let himself think that he might get to have this, get to be happy. Have a family for the first time since the wolves. Belong somewhere, be wanted.
But instead, the price of protecting his family would almost certainly be to lose them.
