The Hunting Grounds - Chapter 1: The Hunted Hunter
Spoilers: Everything up to ep1.07 is canon, except the fact that Graham lives.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, nor any of the characters. I'm certainly not making any money out of this, it's just for my own amusement (and I hope the readers' as well!).
Note: I know that a lot of us are upset that they killed off Graham (myself included), so I wanted to write a fic where Regina decides not to kill him, and see where it would go from there. Ideas are welcome, and a beta reader as well if anyone's interested.
"How could he betray me? It's not possible, there must be something wrong," Regina mused when both Emma and Graham had left her standing on the outskirts of the cemetery. She walked back and forth in front of her father's tomb, and with each turn she became more agitated. Rage was filling up her veins, poisoning her blood; her fists clenched and ready to hit something or rather hit a certain blonde again. She didn't even feel the pain in her jaw where Emma had struck her any more; Adrenaline had replaced her pain and was fuelling her hatred for the both of them.
"How dare he reject and disobey me!" Regina stomped into her father's mausoleum, slammed the door shut and made her way to the secret underground room. She approached the wall full of little safes, where she hadn't been since the curse was cast 28 years ago. However, Regina had no trouble at all remembering where the heart of the huntsman lay.
The heart was warm and beating an easy rhythm. She felt comforted by holding such a vital organ once again in her hand. It made her feel the full extent of her power once again, an unbeatable feeling. The difference between life and death literally was in her hands now, a power she hadn't had to use during these long years in Storybrooke… Until now.
Her comfort subdued her rage somewhat, and gave her the opportunity to consider what she was about to do. Regina wondered if he could feel her hand enveloped around his heart right now. She couldn't resist giving it a little squeeze, and she felt the heartbeat quicken for a moment. A smile crept across her face as she considered how fragile it was, and the person whom it belonged to.
Regina carefully placed the heart back into its safe, closed the entrance of the secret passage on her way out, and walked straight home. She had a mischievous smile on her face, the whole walk back, and it was still there when she got into bed. Before she closed her eyes she made a silent promise.
"This is the second time you've underestimated me. You have no idea what you're up against. Let's see how you like being the prey, Huntsman."
Emma was watching Graham intensely while he disinfected the wound above her left eye. Earlier that evening she had witnessed how he stood up to the mayor, and left her. Emma might not have been long in Storybrooke, but she knew well enough how much courage it took to stand up to Regina, something which nobody dared but Emma it seemed. She felt her admiration for him growing, and she felt things that she hadn't felt in a very long time.
"All better?" Graham asked.
Emma nodded, and as he put away the emergency kit her affection took over her expression. It was clear as day, and she didn't even bother fighting against it. Not many people had seen her so open like this. Normally she'd keep everyone at an arm's length, never letting anyone even approach the thick brick wall she'd built around her ever since she was young, but Graham had touched her in some way, and it wasn't until this evening that she really fell for him.
Graham didn't fail to notice the sea of emotions that were taking over Emma. "What?"
She stood up and closed the distance between them, step by step, all the while never losing eye contact with him. At the last moment Emma closed her eyes and kissed him very softly. Graham put his arms around her waist and kissed her back, but as she tries to deepen the kiss another flashback hit Graham, even more powerful than the previous ones.
It was all coming by so fast it felt like a whirlwind. He saw a deer, the wolf with the one red eye, the Evil Queen, himself with a knife raised to Snow White, his heart… It all came by faster and faster, until he couldn't keep up any more and fell back against his desk.
"Graham? Are you OK?" Emma asked worriedly.
"I remember," he replied with a tone of wonder in his voice.
She grew more and more concerned, as she didn't know what just happened and why he was acting so strangely. "Remember what?"
Graham smiled with a look of gratitude, tears streaming down his face and said, "Thank you." Emma returned his smile, albeit somewhat unsure. They leaned in for another kiss, and as their lips almost met, Graham suddenly fell down to his knees and groped for his chest. He found it hard to breath and it felt like his heart was being crushed.
"Graham!" Emma exclaimed. She got down to her knees beside him and tried to support him so he wouldn't fell over. "I'm calling 911 right now, hold on."
While Emma was on the phone, his pain was already subsiding, so he tried to convince her to cancel the ambulance, but she wasn't having any of that.
"Oh no you don't. They are going to check if you're really al right, no arguments."
He let out a somewhat painful snicker. "And here I thought that I was the sheriff and you the deputy."
The fact that he was still able to make jokes relieved some of the tension that Emma was building up. She smirked at him and replied, "Whenever the sheriff is indisposed, I'm in charge. Really, you should know that by now."
The ambulance arrived within minutes, and by that time Graham already felt much better, except for a light pain in his chest when he moved his torso. The paramedics took him to the hospital to do a few tests, just to be sure, including an ECG. Graham was happy that Emma was there for him. He always dreaded going to the hospital and certainly in this situation he didn't want to be alone there.
The tests and ECG came out normal, much to Emma's relieve. However, the doctor couldn't explain what had happened, and therefore demanded that someone would stay with him tonight, in case the complaints returned. The other option was to stay overnight in the hospital for observation.
"I'll watch him tonight, doc," Emma offered, after seeing Graham's face fell at the mention of that second option.
"Excellent, Miss Swan," agreed Dr. Whale, now turning his attention to Emma, "During the night, if there's something amiss, or if you don't trust what's going on, call us immediately. We'd rather have you call ten times unnecessary than not calling when it's needed."
"Don't worry doc, I'll take care of him." Emma shook Dr. Whale's hand, thanked him and left with a very grateful Graham.
Note: Thanks for reading! Reviews always makes me happy and gives me an extra boost to continue this fic. :-)