After dropping off Henry back home at the Mayor's, Emma made her way down the street and into Granny's. Grabbing the first open seat she saw, she dropped her body hard into the stool, letting out a sigh as she did so.
"Ah, Miss Swan." An all too familiar Irish accent spoke up from beside her. 'Of course.' She thought. Out of all the seats in Granny's she had to pick the seat right beside the town Sheriff. Just her luck.
"Sheriff." She says plainly, nodding in acknowledgement of his presence. Considering the day she was having, Emma was hoping that the simple greeting would be as far as this would go. She was wrong of course.
"I hardly even recognized you without bars in front of you." A playful smirk made it's way across his face as he took a sip of his whiskey. An amused chuckle left her mouth as she smirked, "Wow, so you are capable of being funny." Emma had a tendency to compliment you through insults, but it was her way of complimenting you none the less.
"Sharp as ever I see Miss Swan." Graham said with a nod. 'Miss Swan.' Something about that just bothered her for some reason. Sure it beat being called Ma'am, but she was never one for formalities.
"Considering the of number times you've arrested me I think you can get away with calling me by my first name." She wasn't exactly sure why she suggested that, once you started calling someone by their first name you started getting personal. Emma didn't do personal. He probably hadn't even bothered to remember her first name anyway, so she was sure she'd be able to get out of it and maybe even make him look a little foolish in the process, which was always fun.
"Alright then," he said without skipping a beat. "Emma." 'Crap.' The ever observant Sheriff Graham managed to remember her first name. Maybe she didn't give him enough credit. None the less, she wasn't going to start now.
Emma gestured to Ruby for a drink, who without even being told, brought Emma exactly the drink she wanted. Convenient. "It's getting late, shouldn't you be getting back to Granny's? She usually locks the doors to the Inn soon." He asked rocking the almost empty glass of his drink back and forth between his fingers.
"Didn't you hear? Thanks to my criminal record I am no longer welcome there. Another ridiculous rule in this town." She said rolling her eyes in annoyance. Emma had been to a lot of towns over the course of her life, this one was proving to be the most bothersome.
The surprise on Graham's face proved that he didn't know anything about the little stunt Regina had pulled, which she hadn't quite expected. "You… really didn't know?" He shook his head. If she didn't already believe him, her 'superpower' of telling when people are lying further confirmed he wasn't.
So he really wasn't involved. Even if the Sheriff was in the pocket of the Mayor maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. But she hadn't decided what she thought of him yet. Not that she should be thinking about him at all, at least that's what she told herself.
"So where do you plan on staying?" He asked. Emma pointed her thumb over her shoulder towards the door. "A lovely placed I like to call, the backseat of my car." This wouldn't be the first time Emma's slept in her car. Thanks to her line of work and constant need to never stay in one place for long, her car had become her second home.
Graham wasn't satisfied with that answer though. "Surely someone in town will let you stay with them for the night. We're a fairly friendly bunch here." Emma shook her head and instantly waved that idea off, "Look it's fine, I'm not going to put somebody out like that. I don't need help, alright?"
But the Sheriff wasn't quite ready to give up so easily on the issue. Despite the small town charm of Storybrooke he still didn't think Emma sleeping out in her car was wise. "I'm sure I could convince Granny to at least let you stay one more night. I'll make sure she doesn't wind up in any trouble for helping. I promise."
Persistent isn't he? His concern actually catches her off guard. He doesn't even know her, why should he even care what happens to her? Sure he's the Sheriff but she's not apart of this town, it shouldn't matter to him.
"Look I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, really." Emma reiterates. Her tone comes out a little less firm than before and she's not all too sure why.
Graham lets out a sigh knowing he's not going to convince her otherwise. Such a stubborn girl. He's half tempted to arrest her just to make sure she's safe inside for the night. He could easily come up with some charge against her but that would probably only cause more problems for her in town so he decides against it.
The Sheriff takes one more sip of his drink before saying "Alright then. It's cold out tonight." He mentions getting up from his stool. "Keep warm." He says giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder as he passes her on his way to the door.
Emma glances behind her as he exits the diner. The warmth of his touch lingers for a moment on her shoulder. She misses it a little as it fades.
After about 15 minutes and another drink Emma decided to leave. The bell on the door let out a quiet jingle as she closed it behind her and headed across the street to her car. She noticed there was something sitting on the hood of her vehicle that she couldn't quite make out from a distance.
It wasn't until she got closer that she realized what it was. A blanket. Opening it up the scent of pine and musk made it's way into her nose. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She looked around to see if her not so mysterious helper was still around, but she saw no one.
Shaking her head, she laughed a little as she opened her car door. Crawling in the backseat, she pulled the blanket around her and snuggled into the seat cushions. Maybe this town wasn't so bad after all, Emma thought to herself before falling asleep.