Hi all! I have a brand new fanfic. This one came to me one afternoon and I had to start writing. I know the pairings in this are slightly unusual, but not unheard of in this universe.

Warnings – This story contains sensitive subjects that could be triggers to some people (such as marital abuse, mentions of suicide, mention of the loss of a child). I have tried to keep this material written in a way that is not too graphic and I will do my best to handle these subjects with sensitivity. While there will be sex scenes in this story with an obvious M rating, they are there to assist the telling of the story and develop the characters and their intimacy, not just for smut. The primary focus of this story is the nature of complex relationships, grief, loss and healing. Please excuse any liberties with my timeline, this is an AU/no curse Storybrooke, present day.

Much Love, Lady Eowyn

Chapter one: Welcome to Storybrooke

It was just past 10pm and Belle drove down the almost deserted road on the way home to Storybrooke. Calling Storybrooke 'home' was a bit of a stretch given she had been away for so long. She rubbed her tired eyes and realised she had been driving since early that morning. She had only stopped long enough to refill gas and scoff down food. Roadworks had delayed her for several hours, which just added to her frustration.

Her graduation from Columbia had only been yesterday, and she was only going back home to make arrangements for her father's funeral. Facing graduation alone, knowing that her father had died and she hadn't been there for him wracked her with guilt. Belle shook her head to wake herself up. Now was not the time to fall apart, she had to focus on the task at hand. Get to Storybrooke. Plan the funeral. Pack up the house. Close the estate with the lawyer. Find a job. She muttered under her breath as the road stretched out endlessly in front of her.

Finally she drove past the 'welcome to Storybrooke' sign, relieved she had almost made it. Suddenly she heard a loud bang followed by the screech of a tyre and she immediately pulled over to the side of the road. She couldn't have broken down in the middle of nowhere! Fishing in her bag for her phone, she realised she had zero cell reception. Belle felt exasperated and did not feel safe alone with no visible sign of help. It was still at least 2 miles to the centre of town, and in the dead of the night the fog and trees looked far spookier than they had a minute ago.

Her hands shook when she found the flashlight she always had in her glove compartment and carefully got out of the car to check for damage. After walking around the car she realised it was the front passenger tyre that blew, and was relieved she hadn't skidded off the road. At least she could replace it with the spare, except at the moment the spare tyre was hidden under all of her worldly possessions in the trunk. Belle had packed up everything she had owned, which was not much by most people's standards, but she still felt overburdened. She had one suitcase full of clothes, a suitcase with her sheets, towels and pillow, a box of novels, a box of textbooks and binders and an overnight bag stuffed with her camera, laptop and cables. She also had a smaller box of sentimental items and photos. Belle tried not to think of every slasher movie ever made when she saw the lights of another car approaching her. She waited nervously for the car to approach, and then realised the car belonged to the town Sherriff, Graham. He pulled up in front of her car and got out immediately.

"Belle, are you alright?" Graham asked, face full of concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can't believe I blew a tyre two miles from town. What are you doing here?"

"I was on my usual night patrol, I like to drive to the border to check on things before signing off."

"I'm glad you did. It's way too creepy out here by myself."

Graham smiled. "Come, on. Let's get this tyre changed. You must be exhausted." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry about your father, Belle." He said sincerely.

"Thank you." Belle said quietly, a lump forming in her throat. "I'm sorry you were the one to find him. When I couldn't get dad on the phone I didn't know who else to call."

"Belle, it's ok. I'm sorry you had to hear the news over the phone." He let his words hang, avoiding further conversation for the moment. Belle and Graham began unloading the trunk so they could reach the spare tyre. Silently, they were able to replace the tyre and began repack the car with Belle's things.

"How long are you here for, Belle? Did you need to go back to New York to collect the rest of your things?" Graham asked.

"I'll only be in town a few days, for the funeral – and this is all my stuff." Belle admitted.

"What, everything?" Graham asked, looking at the meagre belongings.

"You look surprised. My dad was the hoarder, not me."

"Sorry Belle, I shouldn't have assumed." He cleared his throat, shifting his posture awkwardly. "There is something else you need to know. Your Father was a lot worse towards the end. The night I found him it took an hour for the paramedics to get his body out of the house. The whole house has been condemned."

Tears welled in Belle's eyes, guilt washing over her again. "Belle, there wasn't anything you could have done. Moe shut the world out long ago, you did everything you could." He placed his hand on her shoulder for some comfort, and Belle took a deep shaky breath.

"Where were you planning on staying tonight?" Graham asked, finally lifting his hand off her shoulder when he realised he had lingered too long.

"I was going to stay at Granny's. I had a feeling I couldn't go home."

"I'll follow in my car to make sure you get there safely." Graham offered.

When they arrived at Granny's they found the place completely shut up given how late the hour was, and Graham immediately offered Belle to stay in his guest room for the night. Belle initially wanted to decline. Graham was married to the mayor, Regina Mills, whom she was secretly a little scared of. She felt Graham had already done enough to help her and spending the night in the mayoral mansion felt dangerously like overstepping her welcome. She was uncomfortable getting help from anyone at the best of times. But she was overwrought and exhausted, desperate for some sleep.

As much as Graham had insisted it was fine, she noticed he pulled out his phone on the way back to his car, possibly to let Regina know she was coming. She followed him in her car to the mansion, and let out a sigh when she parked. The mansion was so beautiful and imposing at the same time, such a far cry from the tiny house she had grown up in. She quickly retrieved her suitcase and overnight bag, reasoning the rest of her things could stay in the car for the time being.

Regina welcomed them at the door with a smile, immaculately dressed and in full make-up considering it was eleven o'clock at night. She was more than a little intimidating to the plainly dressed, makeup-free Belle, who was feeling grimy from a day of driving and eating fast food. Regina had the kettle boiled to make tea for everyone and the three of them sat quietly winding down from the day. Belle felt so out of place in such a grand, elegant home, but made sure she thanked Regina for her hospitality. Surely Regina must think Belle's whole family was a dysfunctional, degenerate lot that couldn't look after themselves. She also wondered what she would have done if Graham hadn't been there when he was.

Once she had installed herself in the guest room, she took a much needed shower, letting herself cry while the water was running, but no longer. Even though she was exhausted, it still took a while for her to eventually fall asleep in the unfamiliar room. Tears still found her in short little bursts, and Belle wondered if her heart would ache this way forever. Eventually, the softness of the pillow lulled her into a fitful sleep.