I know I shouldn't but I couldn't resist this idea...
Summary: Emma and Graham are stuck in the Sheriff's Station during a storm. What comes out of their boredom? Hot chocolate, Country Music, Dancing and a confession...Based off a tumblr picture edit I found via narniagriff23 of Gremma dancing together. Rated T for language and a small pre-sex scene
Dedicated to my best friend/beta: Laugher. Lover. Fighter :) She reads everything even if she isn't my beta and always is there for me to fangirl with! Now she wanted to be my beta and she's one of the best betas I've ever had! Love ya girl!
Named after Unapologize by Carrie Underwood
Disclaimer: I do not own Once...
Emma sits at her desk at the station skimming her file for the tenth time that day. It'd been an extremely slow day as for the "crime level"—not that Storybrooke had much crime to begin—even slower than usual. Graham had just left to go to Granny's to grab them both some dinner. Emma bites her lip as she thinks of how Graham's hand had briefly brushed her own as he'd walked out of the station. It had felt like sparks igniting her entire arm.
She shakes her head. No Emma, she tells herself, Do NOT let him in. You do not have a silly teenage school-girl crush on your boss. She shakes her head again and continues to scan her file frustrated. There had to be a hint of who her parents were in there somewhere!
"Whatcha doin'?" a husky voice with a slight Irish brogue asks.
Emma looks up and quickly closes her file. She holds it up. "Oh you know, stuff," she tells him casually.
Graham sets their food and drinks down on the desk adjacent to Emma's. He sits on the side of hers and crosses his arms. "What kind of stuff?" he inquires.
Emma shrugs and puts the file back into her bag. No one sees the inside of that file other than Emma herself. She quickly changes the subject. "What'd you get for dinner?"
Graham chuckles. "Alright I'll play. But you aren't off the hook yet. I want to know what is in that file." He pauses and leans forward. "And I plan on figuring it out Emma Swan," he teases, his breath hot on her face.
Emma holds back a shiver and pushes him away from her jokingly. "Fine I'll get it myself," she whines reaching for the take-out bag.
Graham grabs it and holds it up just out of Emma's grasp. She reaches for it but Graham just holds it up higher. He pulls out a wrapped up sandwich. "One grilled cheese for Deputy Swan." He grabs the coffee cup and sets it down in front of her. "And one hot chocolate with whipped cream and extra cinnamon."
Emma grins at him. "Thank you," she says gladly. "I'm starved!" Emma opens the grilled cheese and takes the lid off of her hot chocolate, letting the aroma hit her face.
Graham pulls up a chair next to her and grabs his burger to eat as well. "So," Graham begins his taking a bite of his burger. "Wanna tell me what was in that file now?"
Emma shakes her head. "Not happening Graham. Just drop it." She takes a sip of her hot chocolate and sighs contently. It tastes amazing. Just what she needed right then.
Graham looks at Emma and attempts to hold back a laugh before bursting into a full-blown laugh. Emma glares at him angrily. He composes himself and then proceeds to point to Emma's chin. "You…have a little…well here I got it," he says, lifting his thumb to wipe the whip-cream off of her chin.
Emma blushes. "Thanks," she mumbles, turning away from Graham. They eat the rest of their dinner in silence. Suddenly there's a clap of thunder causing Emma to jump.
Graham chuckles again. "Breathe Emma it's just a little storm."
Emma rolls her eyes and sits down. "Well, looks like neither of us will be leaving for a while. I better call Mary Margaret." She pulls out her phone and dials her number. "Hello?"
"Emma I was about to call you! The storm… Are you alright?" Mary Margaret asks frantically.
Emma laughs. "Yeah, I'm fine Mare. I'm at the station with Graham. We're just gonna stay here and wait out the storm okay?"
"Alright. Be safe Emma," Mary Margaret chides before she hangs up.
Emma leans back in her chair. "She acts like my mother sometimes," she mutters, shaking her head, causing Graham to laugh. "Anyways, what exactly are we going to do whilst stuck in here Sheriff?"
Graham shrugs. "I don't know. You're the Deputy, isn't that your job? To help your boss?" He winks at her.
Emma laughs and kicks his chair, sending him spinning across the room.
"Hey!" Graham shouts chuckling. "What was that for?" he asks while scooting back over to his burger.
"I was bored," Emma replies casually taking a sip of her hot chocolate.
Graham rolls his eyes and goes into his office to grab some CDs and a stereo. "Well, we can at least listen to some music to pass the time. Here, help me pick a CD." He tosses her a couple CD cases and they begin to search through them.
Emma looks at hers. Top 30 Country, Garth Brooks, and The Beatles. "I vote Top 30," she says putting the album on her desk. "How 'bout you?"
Graham holds up a Jon Mayer CD. "This one?"
Emma shakes her head. "No. This has Paisley and Thompson Square. They're like some music gods. I may hate most country music but theirs, I enjoy. We're listening to Paisley and then Thompson. End of discussion." She opens the case and puts the CD into the stereo. She skips to track number 5 and starts to hum as the music begins to play. "I love this song…" she mutters closing her eyes and spinning her chair around to the music.
Graham smirks as an idea forms in his head. Maybe this idea will be what he needs to get the chance to tell her the truth. That he'd begun to feel something for her. He'd tell her everything. About Regina and how he'd never felt anything until he met her, everything. Graham stands and stops Emma's spinning. He holds out his hand. "May I have this dance?"
Emma looked up at him and glared. "I don't dance."
"Oh come on Emma, everyone dances!" Graham counters.
Emma crosses her arms. "No." The memories from Tallahassee were already painful enough, dancing to this song would just bring back the memories from when she'd first met Neal. One thing had led to another and the next thing she'd known, a year later she was a thief, stealing anything they could get, she was pregnant, and Neal had sold her out to the cops.
Graham pulled her up out of her chair. "Come on Emma, you're dancing with me and that's final." He put her left hand on his shoulder, placed his right on her hip, and clasped her right in his left. "It's simple. We step one-two, one-two. In a square just like that."
Emma fights back tears. Don't think of Neal; don't think about it Emma and it won't come into your head. Everything will be fine. Just…focus on Graham. Yeah that's what I'll do. Focus on Graham…Focus…focus. She just now realizes that Graham has been slowly swaying her to the music. Emma smiles and all her fears of remembering Neal fade away. But she can't let her walls down…she can't get hurt again…being with him though…feels…so right. She's never felt like this before. Was this what love was? She feels her walls start to collapse. And she doesn't stop them. Because for once…for the first time, she was willing to let someone in. To let Graham in and never let him go. To tell him everything about Neal and what really happened in Tallahassee.
Graham pulls her closer. "See Emma? There's nothing wrong with dancing." He spins them slowly in a circle as the chorus starts.
Been so long that you'd forget the way I used to kiss your neck
Remind me, remind me
So on fire so in love. Way back when we couldn't get enough
Remind me, remind me
Graham holds back the sudden urge he has to kiss Emma. That's pushing it way too far. He's already broken through her walls enough getting her to dance with him which obviously must be an extremely emotional recollection for her.
All Emma wants to do is kiss him. But she can't let him in. She can't take that chance. She can't get hurt again. But she so wants too…The song slowly came to an end and Thompson Square's Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not? came on.
Emma bites her lip as they keep dancing. "I'm…not much of a dancer," she mumbles, blushing.
Graham laughs and presses their foreheads together. "You aren't all too bad Deputy."
We were sittin' up there on your momma's roof
Talkin' 'bout everything under the moon
With the smell of honeysuckle and your perfume
All I could think about was my next move
Oh, but you were so shy, so was I
Maybe that's why it was so hard to believe
When you smiled and said to me
"Are you gonna kiss me or not?
Are we gonna do this or what?
I think you know I like you a lot
But you're 'bout to miss your shot
Are you gonna kiss me or not?"
Emma knows what she wants to do. She wants to kiss him. She wants to oh so badly. And she thinks she's going to. "Only because I've got a good partner," she flirts. Oh god…what is she doing? Is she flirting?! With Graham?! She is…oh god…she closes her eyes as memories from Tallahassee come rushing to her head.
"Neal Cassady," the man says charmingly.
She blushes. He's quite handsome. "Emma, Emma Swan." They sway to the music as Thompson Square plays in the background. "You're a pretty good dancer Mr. Cassady," she flirts.
"It's Neal," he replies seductively. "And that's only because I've got a good partner." He winks at her and she blushes.
"Are you sure you want this?" Emma asks.
Neal caresses her cheek. "All I want is you Emma," he whispers.
Emma's heart leaps as he leans in and kisses her softly. She wraps her arms around his neck and deepens the kiss. His hands go to her jacket and he slowly slips it off of her shoulders. Emma shivers in her tank top but doesn't take her arms away from his neck or her lips from his as he gently takes off her top off as well. Emma proceeds to do the same with his shirt, her hands go to unbutton his pants but she pulls away from him. "Neal…maybe we shouldn't…" she says softly as a lone tear starts to make its way down her face.
Neal wipes the tear from her cheek. "Emma, I promise you I won't ever leave you. I love you."
Emma looks at him and cups her hand to his cheek. "I love you too. I just…I want this to be special…Losing your virginity isn't something you take lightly…" she whispers.
Neal laughs. "You are perfect Emma. I promise that every single moment we spend tonight will be special and every moment we have to come." He kisses her passionately and Emma loses herself in his kiss. Her hands go back to his pants and quickly they fall to the floor as he does the same to her. Neal holds her bare back with both his hands and pushes her body against his. Emma searches for something on his chest she can hold steadily to, but Neal just falls back onto his bed and rolls on top of Emma.
Emma swallows hard. She stares down at the test results. She's pregnant…All because of what happened last month…She was so stupid…She needs to tell Neal. She pulls out her phone and sees a text from him: Meet me in an hour we've got a job to do.
An hour later, Emma waits for Neal outside their house. He climbs into the bug and kisses her on the lips. "Hey babe."
Emma bites her lip. "Hey…" she mumbles, pushing her glasses up on her nose.
"You know what we've gotta do right?" he questions.
Emma nods slowly. "Yeah…I'll go in and distract the cashier and you'll steal the money from the cash register…"
Neal grins. "That's m'girl."
Emma sighs. "Neal…we need to talk…about what happened last month?" she suggests casually, her voice squeaking.
Neal laughs. "Why would we need to talk about anything Em? We did what we'd both been wanting to do and we're happy about it aren't we?" he asks her. "Right. Now, we're going to do this job and do it right. And then I'll buy you that ring we've been looking at deal?"
Emma smiles. "…'Kay," she says to him.
Emma curses herself for being so stupid…Neal ran…he ran! He took the money and ran…She pulls out her phone and texts him. WHERE ARE YOU?
She walks out into the parking lot.
"Miss!" a man shouts. Emma looks up from her phone and freezes. It's a cop. "Miss Swan! Put your hands up!"
Emma slowly puts her hands up and tries to play the innocent act. "Did I do something wrong?"
The cop points his gun at her. He jerks his head towards her car. "This your car?"
Emma nods. "Yes, why?"
"Would you mind opening the trunk?" he asks gesturing with his gun.
Emma shrugs. "Uh…yeah sure." She walks over and pops open the trunk. Her eyes go wide as she looks at the contents of the trunk. There inside lies one thing and one thing only. A duffel bag filled to the brim with cash she and Neal had stolen the past year.
"Miss Swan, you are under arrest for stealing over three thousand dollars in cash the past year. Put your hands behind your back," the cop tells her. Emma complies.
"You don't understand I—"
The cop cuts her off as he handcuffs her. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in court."
Hot tears sting her eyes as she tunes out the rest of what the cop says. The only thing she can think is that Neal abandoned her, he sold her out! Never again was she going to trust another man, never would she let someone in again.
Emma opens her eyes and sees Graham staring at her longingly. She had only zoned out for a moment but it had felt like her entire first year in Tallahassee had flashed before her eyes. "You alright Emma?" Graham asks her.
Emma nods. "…Yeah, I'm fine." She smiles at him.
"Maybe we should stop dancing?" he suggests.
Emma shakes her head. "No! I…I mean…the song…it's almost over…"
When the preacher man said, "Say I do"
I did and you did too, then I lifted that veil
And saw your pretty smile and I said
"Are you gonna kiss me or not?
Graham pushes a strand of hair from her face. Emma shivers. She's letting him in. She's letting down her walls all for a sexy sheriff with an Irish brogue. "Emma, can…I ask you something?" he asks her softly as they sway to the music.
Emma nods. "Sure, what's up?"
"I…" he paused. "God Emma I like you. I've always liked you…I can't stop thinking about you and…I don't know what to do. I need to tell you the truth first though…I was—am sleeping with Regina…but ever since you came to town…I don't know but I felt something…I've never actually felt anything with her and then I met you. And you…you are home for me Emma," he gushes.
Emma blushes and looks down at their feet.
Graham sighs. "I shouldn't have said anything…" he apologizes.
Are we gonna do this or what?
Look at all the love that we got
It ain't never gonna stop
Are you gonna kiss me or not?"
Yeah baby, I love you a lot
I really think we've got a shot
Are you gonna kiss me or not?
Graham banters on about how he had crossed the line and Emma can't take it anymore. She takes his face in her hands and presses her lips to his gently.
Graham freezes as Emma slowly pulls away. "What was that for?"
Emma takes his hand. "For saying what I've been trying to say for the past month." She turns off the music and sits down in her chair. "We need to get some things cleared up though…like when the hell were you going to tell me about sleeping with her while my son is in the house?!"
Graham sits down and opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and closes it once more. He sighs. "Today. I'm breaking it off with her tomorrow. I can't go on living in a relationship I don't want. I meant what I said about not being able to feel anything. It's like…like there's nothing there. And…" he sighs again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner Emma. I wanted to wait for the right time and I figured sooner was better than later." Graham takes her hand.
Emma blushes and looks away.
"Well…?" he asks.
Emma shakes her head. "I'm not very good at saying something…"
Graham laughs and stands. He bends over and kisses her forehead. "You are perfect Emma. I promise that if we try and make this work, I'll spend every waking moment for the rest of my life trying to make you the happiest you've been."
Emma freezes. Neal's words from that night over ten years ago hang in the air. She swallows hard. She needs to tell him… "Graham…I wanna tell you about Henry's father."
Graham steps back and sits down in his chair. He rests his hands on his knees. "Alright. I'm listening Emma. What do you want to tell me?"
"What I didn't tell Henry…" she whispers.
So this will be just a two-shot and I'm hoping to get the next chapter up before Tallahassee tomorrow:) Hope you guys enjoyed it! Again another huge thanks to Laugher. Lover. Fighter for betaing! Love ya girl!:D
Please review?:D
Snow