TV and Coffee

Emma sighed and leaned back into her chair. She had no idea why she was at the police station so late at night, especially when nothing of importance seemed to be happening. No one was breaking any laws, or if they were, they were doing it masterfully. Besides, it wasn't even her shift tonight. Graham was supposed to take tonight, and he called last minute—like 5 minutes before his shift—to ask if Emma could cover for him. He didn't say why, but she was sure he was at Regina's again.

She sat straight, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed. Why did her stomach churn at the thought of Graham and Regina together? Sure, Regina was a horrible person, and Graham was kind of a nice guy, if not a bit of a jerk sometimes. But, that wasn't why her stomach churned. She was jealous of their relationship.

It didn't take her long to fall for Graham. Underneath that pretty face, he was a pretty complex guy. When he wasn't being a jerk, he was actually really sweet. She remembered one time on her night shift, he brought her coffee even though he didn't have to be there. Maybe, it was only fair she took his shift.

Emma sighed again and stretched her arms out. Her sigh soon turned into a yawn, and she felt tears in her eyes.

As she was about to wipe them, the door to the station opened, and Graham came in, carrying a box of donuts and a cardboard coffee carrier than had two cups.

"Hey," he said. "Have you been crying? Crying because I asked you to take my shift?" he chuckled and put the stuff on the desk.

"Shut up," Emma snapped. She wiped her eyes. "I'm just tired as hell. There's nothing going on."

"Not yet," he countered. "Crimes can strike at any time."

"Yeah, no kidding," Emma muttered under her breath. She was referring to his time with Regina. It had to be a crime to be that intimate with her.

"So you're bored here?" He took a sprinkled donut out of the box and munched into it.

"Yeah. And what are you doing here? Your shift doesn't start for another five hours."

Graham shrugged. "Can't I spend some time here with you?"

Emma felt herself blush, and she turned her head away. "I never said you couldn't. I was just asking."

She heard the scraping of a chair and figured Graham just sat down. "Alright, well, I'm staying."

Emma turned to look at him, and he was grinning. Why was he grinning? Did he just sleep with Regina, and he just had to have a stupid grin on his face about it? Emma frowned.

"Weren't you with Regina?" she couldn't stop herself asking.

Graham's grin faded away, and he titled his head in confusion. "Regina?"

"Well, yeah… isn't that why you asked me to take your shift?"

"Oh, I can see why you'd think that." He leaned against his chair, looked to the ceiling, and sighed. It was hard to read the expression on his face, but if Emma had to tell you what he was feeling, she'd say Graham was feeling ashamed. She wondered what he felt ashamed about, and then it hit her. Could it be he was ashamed of his relationship with Regina? She didn't dare get her hopes up because even if he was ashamed, it didn't mean anything for her.

"I'm breaking it off with her," he finally said, and Emma held her breath when her heart jumped ever so slightly. "I don't know why, but things have been… weird."

"You mean, it wasn't weird before that you were sleeping with a horrible mayor?"

She expected Graham to shoot back at her about how Regina wasn't so bad, but he didn't. Instead he said, "I don't know. I feel… angry with her and myself."

Emma leaned closer to him. "Angry? Why?"

Graham shrugged. "It just came one day…" He brought his eyes back to Emma's, and she drew back, immediately affected by his blue stare. "For some reason, I think it has to do with…"

Despite her determination, Emma felt her cheeks heat up, as if he was going to tell her that the reason his and Regina's relationship was deteriorating was her.

Graham stared into her eyes for a good minute before abruptly cutting it short when he jerked his head. "No matter. I brought some goodies."

Emma smiled sadly and nodded. What was she expecting? Her love life had been nothing to cheer about. She wasn't completely over Neal, which wasn't surprising given the way she fell for him. That loss hit her hard; it still did, if she was being honest with herself. It wasn't as if her relationship with Graham was going to be any better, if there was going to be any relationship at all.

"Want a coffee? Or a doughnut?" he offered, picking up his presents from the table.

"What kind of question is that?" she asked with a chuckle. "Both, obviously!"

"Oh, right, right." Graham smiled and handed her a doughnut and a cup of coffee, which she took with a grin. "I don't know how I can be so stupid."

"Probably has to do with all that time you spend with Regina."

"Probably."

Graham bit into his own doughnut and proceeded to wash it down with a quick sip of coffee.

Emma did the same, and the silence was maddening. She wanted to ask him about Regina, and maybe, together, they could figure out what was making him so uncomfortable, other than him coming to his senses. But, she didn't know how to breach the subject, and it wasn't her business to breach it at all. If he wanted to talk, she'd listen, but it was better if she kept her mouth shut.

"TV?" Graham asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Emma was grateful he was the first one to talk. "It's pretty late, but there might be some good stuff on. Where is that remote?" he asked, glancing around.

"Right here," Emma said, finding it under her chair. She waved it at him, grinning. "Why don't I see what's on?"

"Oh, come on, Emma," Graham groaned. "I highly doubt we're going to find something we both enjoy."

Emma smirked. "Well, let's just see what happens." She turned the TV on and began channel surfing. She didn't really plan on finding any particular show or movie. She just really liked playing around with him.

"Wait, stop, stop," he said, and Emma took her finger off the channel button.

"What, you like this movie?"

"There's nothing else on. I've never seen it," he said, in a way that sounded defensive.

Emma shrugged and put the remote on the floor. It was a movie she had never seen before, and it certainly wasn't anything she'd be interested in. It was a romantic comedy about a woman who meets a man in her college poetry class. She was artsy, emotional, and determined, while he was the stereotypical clueless guy who had no idea what poetry meant. Still, Emma watched, and she laughed. It was pretty funny, and it was pretty cute. They were cute.

Emma leaned back against her chair and hung her arm over the side. She wondered if Graham liked the movie. She watched him from the corner of her eye; he was watching, but it was hard to tell if he was interested, or just merely watching.

Just as they were sharing their first kiss, Emma felt Graham's fingers brush against hers. He had hung his arm over the side of his chair as well. It didn't seem like he was aware of his actions, but it made Emma's heart beat a little faster. Taking a chance, she gently grazed his thumb. She heard his chair creak as he straightened up at their contact.

Emma glanced at him, and she saw him smirking at her. Graham slowly inched his hand towards her and laced his fingers together with hers. Emma tightened her grip on his hand and turned her attention back to the movie. She couldn't help but smile.

The End

Author's Note: Can Graham please come back?