AN: Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy. If so, please let me know. I changed a few things in this one after it was checked by my two fabulous beta-readers, so the mistakes are all mine.

Chapter 9.

As the Huntsman exited the throne room, he found the boy sitting just outside, next to the wall. His knees were pulled up to his chest and he was sobbing in despair.

The Huntsman wasn't very good with people and children even trickier to handle than adults, though they were mostly free of prejudice. He cleared his throat but the boy didn't look up, so the Huntsman crouched in front of him and put a tentative hand on the child's narrow shoulder.

"We have to leave now" he said.

John just buried his face deeper in his knees. The Huntsman heard a scornful laugh from the mirror, hanging on his belt.

"This starts out as a very promising mission" the man in the mirror said gloating.

"Shut up" the Huntsman said simply and turned back to the boy. "Everything will be all right, John, but we really need to leave" he tried to sound less rough than he usually did.

The boy looked up slowly – with fearful eyes – but continued his sobbing. The Huntsman hesitated some more, but then he picked up the child. John didn't fight him, he actually grasped at the Huntsman with both hands and buried his face in the man's shoulder.

That was how they walked out of the castle.

The child was skinny, but he wasn't a baby anymore and right now the Huntsman wasn't in the best condition. His back hurt more and more the deeper they went into the forest. His steps wavered once in a while, and he felt his limp become more pronounced. He felt relieved though, that John had stopped sobbing some time ago and his trembling eased.

When the Huntsman staggered again, the boy raised his head from the man's shoulder.

"You can put me down now." the child said in a hoarse voice.

"Are you sure?" the Huntsman asked back but he couldn't really hide his relief.

"Yes, I am."

He put John on his feet and looked him over. The child's eyes were red and puffy, but he wasn't crying anymore and he stood steady. The Huntsman gave his canteen over and the boy drank eagerly.

They walked silently for a while, John with his head down, sniffling once or twice and the Huntsman threw covert glances at him. This whole situation reminded him of his walk with Snow White. Once again, he was supposed to lead another innocent soul to death. They were quite close to their destination, when John suddenly stopped.

"I've heard about this blind witch. People talked about her in the castle" the child said. "She eats children, they said. She's going to eat me, too." his voice was hollow.

The Huntsman looked around to make sure that they were close indeed.

"No, she won't." he said, as his left hand slithered onto the damn mirror.

John looked him in the eyes, for the first time, with doubt and real terror.

"You can't know that."

"I can, because we're not going there."

He ripped the mirror from his belt and threw it against a tree trunk with all the strength he possessed. An inhuman shriek could be heard as the glass exploded into hundreds of pieces.

He crouched immediately in front of the child and spoke quickly, because he knew that the djinn would be back in the castle soon.

"Listen to me, because we don't have much time. We are one mile south from a village where good people live." At least he was sure they would be good to this child. "Go on in that direction..." he said, pointing North."...and you will find them. Tell them what happened, and they will help you."

"What about you?" the boy asked in a trembling voice, with round and wide eyes staring at him.

"Don't worry about me, just run." he said, pushing John for good measure.

John looked at him for one more second, and there were so many different emotions on his face that the Huntsman couldn't even start to decipher them. Then he turned and started to run in the direction the Huntsman had shown him.

When the child disappeared, the Huntsman took a shuddering breath. At least he saved one child, even though the Queen would simply find another one to do her bidding. By that time, he probably won't be in a position to help.

Only seconds later, pain exploded in his chest, in the same way the mirror had shattered against the tree-trunk. He cried out and fell to his knees, and then onto his side in the grass. He thought that it couldn't be worse, but the pain built and built until he couldn't do anything else but scream.

His last thought before he blacked out was that at least he would be free after death.

ooo

"It's hard to believe that something like that could happen in our town." Mary Margaret said after Ruby told her what had happened last night. "But are you all right?"

They met on Main Street, just a few blocks from the diner, as both of them were on their way home. Ruby – uncharacteristically – wore simple jeans, T-shirt and a sweater and she didn't put on any make-up. After yesterday she didn't want to get stared at as usual. Mary Margaret noticed the change, of course and asked what was going on. Ruby wanted to talk to her, anyway, so she gladly told the story. They were best friends after all.

"Yes. I didn't sleep at all, but now I'm much better. I was thinking about how ugly it could have gone if the sheriff hadn't arrived just in time. It's unbelievable that he managed to fight those three bastards on his own. Don't you think I should give him something? Thank him somehow? A cake, or doughnuts? He likes Granny's doughnuts. Maybe I should invite him to dinner…

"Ruby!" Mary Margaret cut her off in a warning tone. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Ruby frowned.

"I didn't say that I would sleep with him. Although, you have to admit that he's hot as hell." she said grinning.

"It's not funny. The sheriff isn't…" she trailed off as if suddenly she didn't know how to finish that sentence.

"I know, don't worry." Ruby said, seriously now.

She wasn't sure, she knew why, but the sheriff was off limit. Ruby had a funny feeling, as if he had a sign on him that he was taken. It was strange, because as far as she knew he was single. As she was thinking about this, she glimpsed the subject of their conversation over Mary Margaret's shoulder.

"What is it?" Mary Margaret asked

"The sheriff is coming right there." she said.

Mary Margaret turned that way too, and they watched together as the man came closer. They noticed almost at the same time that something wasn't all right. The man was moving unusually slowly and it looked like he was wobbling.

"Something's wrong." Mary Margaret said just as Ruby saw the redness. The left leg of his jeans – from upper thigh to knee – was drenched in blood.

"Oh my God..." Mary Margaret whispered, so she probably saw it too.

"Call the ambulance" Ruby said and hurried towards Graham. He suddenly stopped and then – to Ruby's honest horror – he collapsed. Ruby was at his side in a second, and she knelt down.

Graham tried to sit up, but without success and his eyes were hazy. He looked at Ruby but she was sure that he didn't recognize her.

"Hey, Graham. Just stay down. Help is on the way." she tried to calm him down.

Ruby had never seen so much blood. One look, and she had to will herself not to vomit. She had no idea how to help.

She felt Mary Margaret step to her side and Graham's eyes suddenly focused on the other woman and his lips moved. Ruby bent closer, trying to hear his words. Ruby heard only one word and then his eyes rolled back, and he went totally limp.

"What did he say?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I think he said snow, but maybe I misunderstood."

"The ambulance is coming." Mary Margaret said. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"I don't dare to touch him." Ruby said. "But I can already hear the sirens."

The ambulance arrived in just a few moments, and the two paramedics started to work immediately. They cut the bloody jeans off and found even more bloodied bandages covering a deep, oozing wound.

"Do you know what happened to him?" The older medic asked, while he was pushing clean gauze against the wound. The other one went back to the ambulance to bring the stretcher.

"No, we just saw him coming down the street and then he collapsed."

The paramedic opened the sheriff's shirt, listened to his heart and checked his breathing. His partner came back too, and he put on a blood-pressure gauge.

"How is he?" Ruby asked.

"His pulse is thready, and he has lost a lot of blood, obviously, but the wound seems manageable." one of them said. "We are taking him in."

Together they loaded the sheriff onto the stretcher and into the vehicle. Ruby watched these all unsettled, then she decided suddenly.

"I'm going with him." she said.

Mary Margaret looked at Ruby in what could be called shock or fear...

"Are you his girlfriend?" the older paramedic asked.

"No, just a friend."

Actually, she wasn't even that, despite the fact that they met every day. The sheriff saved her life, though and if anyone then he deserved somebody to be there for him when he needed help. The paramedic hesitated only for a second, then shrugged.

"Hop in, then!" he said.

The road to the hospital and what came after was a blur. Graham was whisked away, but for a while, Ruby could see Doctor Whale and two nurses working on him. Finally, one of the nurses closed the blinds, and Ruby was left alone to wait. She sat there for a while immersed in thoughts and worries, before remembering to call Granny and explain where she was and not to worry. After what seemed like hours - and probably was - Doctor Whale came out. Unlike the sheriff, Doctor Whale was someone Ruby flirted with many times and more. The man shared Ruby's opinion on one-night stands, so they had spent more than one night together, maintaining a casual relationship, otherwise.

"Hey, Ruby" he started. "I heard you came in with the sheriff."

"Yes, I did. Is he okay?"

"Yes. He needed minor surgery to repair the damage to his thigh, but he will be all right after getting some blood and antibiotics. He's sleeping right now. As far as I know he doesn't have any family but it would be better if he didn't wake up alone. So, you could go in there if you wanted. "

"Gladly." she answered.

She was led into a standard hospital room with three beds but only one was occupied. The doctor checked the machine next to the bed and nasal cannula that was administered, then he left. Ruby sat down on the plastic chair next to the bed and looked the patient up and down.

Graham was pale and to Ruby he looked surprisingly vulnerable especially considering how she remembered him from the night before. She realized again how little she knew about the sheriff. He came to the diner every day, but their interactions never went farther then small talk. He was always kind and friendly but never shared any private information. He always had lunch at the diner and sometimes dinner too. Ruby guessed as a bachelor, he didn't care much for cooking, but he always ate alone. Everyone greeted him, he often shared a few words with people, but Ruby has never seen him with anyone who seemed more than a casual acquaintance. Maybe, she should change that when he was released from hospital. Everyone needed friends, especially someone who didn't have a family.

"I hope you get better soon." she said to the unconscious man. "I want to thank you properly, you know. Invite you for a dinner maybe. Not like a date, don't get me wrong, just a friendly meal. Maybe Granny could be there too... I'm sure she would smother you in her gratefulness."

She continued in that manner for at least an hour, talking about everything and nothing, making sure that the injured man heard a friendly voice while resting. She was watching him closely, so she noticed immediately when Graham moved. It didn't seem though as if he was waking up, it looked more like as if he was in pain. He moaned and Ruby stood to lean in closer.

She jumped back, though, as suddenly, the machines started to beep in warning, and the line monitoring the patient's heartbeat went crazy.

TBC

AN 2: There's only one more chapter to go. It will be up this weekend, I promise. But before I finish posting this story I'd like to ask a question. I'm not really sure how many people actually read (and like) this story because it didn't get that many reviews. I liked writing it though and I have many other ideas. It seems to me that when it comes to Graham only the Emma/Graham stories are really popular. Don't get me wrong, I don't write for the reviews, I write because I enjoy it. But honestly, I'm only interested in Graham/The Huntsman and I'm sure that I won't write any romances. All my ideas are about the Huntsman's life with Regina in the Fairy Tale Land, so Emma definitely won't be in them. (Not that I dislike her or something, it's just that no story-idea popped into my head with her.) So, after this long ramble my question is:

Are you interested in stories about the Huntsman without any 'shipping? (There will be other characters of course but no love-interest!) I'll probably write at least one more story anyway, but I'm curious.

Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!