Emma comes to these woods of the Enchanted Forest to get better acquainted with this new world she's found herself in. Though not a big fan of nature, she finds that she enjoys this place more than she'd expected to, but she can never place why exactly. They seem familiar to her despite never being here.
As she walks through the woods a sound catches her attention. What happened next seemed like a blur. An arrow appeared out of nowhere directed straight at her. A flash of brown streamed right before her eyes, which was followed by the sound of a yelp.
It took her a minute to comprehend what had actually happened. An assassination attempt on her it would seem, likely from one of the Queen's followers. Then something had jumped in front of her to block the attack. But what? Looking around she spotted what had protected her.
The assassin fled the area after his failed attempt, and she rushes to the animals aid. As she knelt down she saw that the creature was a wolf, with light brown fur that was almost curled like in appearance. Gently she touches the arrow and realizes it's in there deep, she knows better than to remove it as to prevent causing any further damage.
Attempting to comfort the animal, she strokes his head, not sure what else she can do to help him. His breathing is heavy and she can feel him shaking some under her hand. "It'll be okay boy." Emma says in a soothing tone. Looking around, she finds that there is no one to be found that could help.
'Why would a wolf protect me?' She asks herself. Then almost as if reading her mind, the wolf lifts his head up, looking back towards her. It's familiar blue eyes cause her to freeze up. Suddenly it hits her, her eyes go wind at the realization. It doesn't make any sense and she doesn't know how it's possible, yet without a doubt she knows exactly who this wolf is.
"It's you isn't it?" She asks quietly, choking back the tears that threaten to fall. The animal whines a little and she swallows hard knowing its confirmed what she already knew. 'It can't be, it just can't... How?' She shakes her head in disbelief at the sight before her.
It sounds crazy, but it's not like she hasn't had her fair share of that so far. Her gut is telling her she isn't wrong. She has to help him. But what can she do? The castle is too far away to get him there in time. She feels helpless all over again just like before, unable to save him for the second time.
"Your always protecting me." She says running her fingers through his fur. It's then that she thinks back to her early days in Storybrooke, "You'd always defend me whenever Regina tried to pull her crap, like getting me arrested or trying to run me out of town. Even though you barely even knew me at the time. Maybe if you hadn't of done that you wouldn't of..." Her voice cracks unable to finish the sentence. A sense of guilt builds up within her at the thought.
She buries her face into his coat, "I can't lose you again. I just... can't. Come back to me Graham. Please... come back." As Emma pleads, she's unable to hold back her tears any longer as they soak into his fur. The entire forest seems almost silent, until suddenly something breaks it.
"Em... Emma?" A weak voice calls out. Her eyes fly open and suddenly she finds she can't feel fur between her fingers anymore, it's now clothing instead. She pulls back and blinks a few times to clear the tears from her vision. The sight she finds when it clears brings a smile to her face. "Graham...?"
All she can do is just stare at him, part of her is afraid if she moves it'll turn out to just be a dream and that she'll wake up. But it isn't, it's real. Upon looking him over, she finds his injury from the arrow is magically gone. "Are you okay?" She finally manages to ask. He sits up and brushes himself off a bit, then nods.
Her mind is spinning, completely brimming with both questions and feelings. She's not sure which to focus on first. Confusion takes over so she has to ask, "Why... Why were you a wolf?"
Graham takes a deep breath before answering, "Back in Storybrooke when you broke my curse, I returned here. But because I had died there, I lost that part of myself and so I was turned into a wolf. Only if a person who truly cared for me spoke my name could I return to this form. And you did that for me Emma. You brought me back." The sheer warmth and happiness that exuded from the smile on his face brought a smile to her face as well.
He grabs her hand, then places it in his and looks into her eyes, "And I never want you to blame yourself for what happened. Because that's the furthest thing from the truth. You say I'm always protecting you but, your the one who's always saving me."
The way he looks at her after he says those words bring tears to her eyes. Rubbing them, she tries to hide how touched she is by his words. She doesn't succeed however. "Darn you Graham for making me get all emotional. You know I don't like getting like this." A chuckle escapes between her sniffles and he smiles.
It's then he pulls her into an embrace, placing one hand on her back and the other behind her head as she buries her face into his neck. She can't believe he's really here back in her arms. The tears she had managed to temporarily keep at bay come back full force. "I thought I lost you. I thought I lost you forever." Graham pulls her closer to him and reassures "You didn't, I'm here."
Oh how Emma has missed his touch, it's been so long since she last felt it. They just stay there wrapped in each others arms for awhile in silence. She finally says, "Promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again." "I can't promise that." Graham says with a laugh. Though she doesn't need to be protected, he will always be there should she ever need it. That won't change.
"Your so stubborn..." She mutters and he kisses her on the top of the head, "I learned from the best." Graham's teasing grin makes her laugh. "Guess I'm gonna have to find a way to keep you quiet now won't I?" She says smirking, then wraps her arms around his neck and plants a kiss on to his lips. "I'm okay with that." He tells her pulling her in for another one.