As the steam billowed in the small space of his bathroom, Sherriff Graham stared at himself through the mirror. White knuckles clenching the sink, eyes stared fixatedly on his face searching, searching for… something. Some semblance of himself that he respected, was proud of.

Regina blathered on about the next 'council meeting', but Graham couldn't bring himself to listen. He didn't have to, it happened every week. Happened for as long as he could remember. (Another thing that he can't remember.)

As the door slammed, he dropped his gaze, settling it on his tooth brush. He picked it up and put some paste, scrubbing away until his mouth burned with the taste of mint.

Every week after Regina came, he had the overwhelming urge to rinse her off him, that he could just shower and it never would have happened. That he wouldn't feel the guilt of… something. He didn't ever understand what he had to feel guilty about. He had never had a significant other, nobody to hurt with his trysts with the mayor.

(Until recently.)

He knew of Regina's hate of Emma Swan, he knew the hate was mutual. He tried not to take sides between the women who had come to be integral parts of his life. (He hated to think that in such a short time, Emma had become important to his life.) It was not so easy trying to placate each party over something as precious as their child.

Secretly, he knew exactly which mother belonged with a child like Henry.

That was why he had offered the Deputy Job to her. Emma needed roots, a reason to stay in Storybrooke. She needed something to do, more than just heeding to Henry's whims or the wishes of people like Mr. Gold. So he offered her a job, knowing the ire it would it would inspire from Regina. Ire that would be split between Emma and himself. (He couldn't help the slight humor he found in disobeying Regina.)

He hadn't ever outright defied Regina. She was the mayor, in charge of his job. (And yet when he dreamed, he dreamed about a little girl with skin as white as snow and hair as black as night and Graham knew that he had indeed disobeyed her once.)

The phone was ringing. Graham stepped out of the bathroom feeling the cool air draw out the steam. He tied a white towel around his hip as he answered.

(He tried not to think about the smile that crept up on his face when it was her.)


So this was a short character study of Sheriff Graham. I enjoyed last night's episode however, when they showed Graham as the one Regina was sleeping with, was I the only one wrinkling their nose and thinking 'Eww'?