Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Honeybee by Blake Shelton, Say Something by Great Big World and Christina Aguilera


Emma reluctantly returned to Mary Margaret's apartment the next day, and the day after that, she returned to work. She was weak, dehydrated, and tired as hell, but she was clean. She might have even worn the deputy's shirt if Graham had pushed the subject that Monday morning. She sauntered into the station, hips swaying to an unheard beat. She felt good. There was a minor hiccup last night when her brain refused to shut off, but Regina immediately answered her text and spent the next 90 minutes on the phone reading to the recovering addict.

"You have an admirer," Graham lilted and nodded his head towards the tall cup of coffee on her desk. Emma straightened her leather jacket and eyed the cup, body turning towards Graham while face remained glue to the cup.

"Is it you?" She asked cautiously, already feeling her playfulness around Graham return.

"I'd have drunk it by now and pretended it was my own. You're late," he grumbled and flipped the newspaper in his hands over, never once looking at her.

She picked up the cup, turning it when she felt pen impressions on the other side. Good morning, Darling. -R- Regina left her a note with enough information to know who it was from but not enough to be discovered by the casual observer. Anyone looking probably believed that "R" was Ruby. Emma smiled. Clever bitch.

"I take it from your swoon that you've uncovered the identity of your mysterious suitor?" Graham barbed and tossed the paper on the desk and propped his feet on top of it.

"Yup," Emma said with a glint in her eye and a wrinkle in her nose. She raised an eyebrow and stared at him over the cup as she took a sip.

"Care to share who R is?" He waved his hand in a circular motion, expecting more information. Emma smirked, an image of Regina's flushed face after their kiss two nights ago flashed through her mind.

"Nope," she took another sip to hide her laughter at the man's flabbergasted surprise. He very much mimicked a fish out of water, and Emma chuckled without pulling her lips from the cup and turned on her heel.

"Ruby?" He guessed. Emma whirled around with a quirked eyebrow and shook her head.

"Roy, short for Leroy?" Emma squinted and sipped her coffee, not dignifying that guess with a response.

"Reginald!" Graham slapped his thigh to emphasize his excitement and pointed at her. She nearly choked on her coffee.

"Reginald? Really? The guy at the grocery store that smells like old cheese and collects carts? That's your best guess. You're not doing much for my ego here, Sheriff," Emma deadpanned with a cocked hip. Graham shrugged sheepishly, and Emma continued towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Graham followed her to the door and leaned on the metal frame.

"Uhh, Mayor Mills mentioned that her shed had been vandalized over the weekend. One of the windows was broken. I was going to go over there and put up some boards and see if there is any sign of who might have done it. Kids, probably," she lied… just a little one, she told herself.

"Oh, you want some help?" He smoothed his shirt and moved to follow, but Emma held up her hand.

"Nah, I got it. You look swamped with that newspaper reading thing you were doing. Don't forget to do your morning cardio with a game of darts," Emma tossed nonchalantly and turned again.

"Oh, Emma, I need you to do you night patrols this evening," Graham pinched out quickly, and Emma whirled on him, getting dizzy from her constantly changing direction. Her good mood faltered only slightly with the new knowledge.

"I only took this job because there were no night shifts," she barbed sarcastically and took another sip of Regina's sweet, literally, present.

"Please, I have a life, too you know, and I just gave you a whole week off. Your first week, might I add," he guilt-tripped her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, holding the coffee beneath her chin.

"Thank you," Graham said and clapped his hands together like he was praying as he backed away slowly towards his desk. Emma stomped into the hallway.

"I'm taking the cruiser!" She yelled over her shoulder, snagged the keys from the hook and disappeared around the corner.

She pulled out her cell when she was safely enclosed in the car and tapped out a text.

Thanks for the coffee. She sipped the warm liquid and waited, smiling when her phone buzzed a few moments later.

You're welcome. Did it suit your specifications? Regina replied, and Emma smiled.

You can never go wrong with something sweet. She added a winky face emoticon for dramatic effect and sent the message.

Duly noted, Deputy. I'm going into a meeting in a minute. Call Stacy if you need me. She has specific instructions to interrupt any meeting if you call. Have a good day, Darling. Regina sent, and Emma wondered if she actually wanted her to disrupt the meeting. Regina seemed to hate meetings.

Emma read the text over twice, girlish smile growing each time. Oh yeah, this was something she definitely wanted to get used to and never take for granted. She giggled when her ears started burning. What the hell? She cleared her throat, tossed her phone into the cup holder beside the coffee and took off, hoping that being in action would have cleared her mind of Regina. It failed, and the uncomfortable burn of being apart from the woman settled into her chest.

"You are so screwed, Swan," Emma whispered to herself and dropped her head to the steering wheel when she stopped in front of Regina's house.

Emma fixed the shed as best she could, cleaned up the mess she'd made during her second fit of rage, and took a moment to smile at the mattress now on its side and tucked away in the corner where they'd moved it yesterday. The windows needed replaced, but for now the tools were protected from the weather and thieves.

When she returned to the station, Graham sat at his desk, head between his knees. His back heaved with deep breaths. Emma froze and then took two tentative steps forward.

"Hey, you okay?" She said a moment before she touched his shoulder.

"No, I'm not okay. I've been getting these flashed lately, like recovered memories or something. I got one right after you left. It was so real, like a dream but more vivid," he gasped out, and Emma squeezed his shoulder.

"Graham, you look like hell. Maybe you should go home and rest. I think you have a fever," Emma knelt in front of her superior and touched his forehead with the back of her hand.

"No, no, I'm fine," he pushed her away and stood. "Go home. You're right. It's probably stress. I'll manage today and get some sleep tonight. I'll be fine," he assured her. She grabbed his bicep and ducked her head to meet his averted gaze.

"Hey." She wasn't convinced that he'd be fine, but what choice did she have. There was no replacement to call in, just them, and she hadn't the energy to work a double, not after the past week.

Graham flinched at her touch, almost pulled away and then leaned into her. Emma squeaked and pushed him away roughly when he covered her mouth with his own. What the hell? Their relationship so wasn't like that. You're not her, Emma thought suddenly. Crap. She had so fallen hard for that uptight politician. How the hell had that happened? She pushed the thought away and glared at the man in front of her.

"What the fuck was that?" She snapped, hands finding her hips instinctively. Graham hung off the cell bars and panted. His eyes searched the room wildly, like he wasn't completely certain where he was.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I just… I need to feel something. I don't feel anything with her. I'm dead inside, and these flashes make me a little crazy. They make me feel something. There is something out there," he flung his hand towards the window.

"Something is keeping us from remembering. I'm not the only one. Go ask Ruby. Her hearing has increased tenfold. She can hear me leave the station and walk to the diner for coffee. She has it ready for me now. David left Kathryn for Mary Margaret even after he recovered his memories. Leroy is talking about starting a mining company, and Sister Astrid left the convent to run off and start it with him. Tell me that this is all normal. This is not normal!" He yelled, spit flying in her direction. She opened her mouth to speak, but he caught his breath and continued his tirade.

"Do you know what Henry thinks it is? He thinks you're breaking some curse that Regina cast on us. He says your our savior, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. And you know what, the more things keep happening, the more I believe him. He's the only person in this whole damn town who makes any sense right now!" He slid to the floor and slumped against the bars, chest heaving.

"Graham, you need to go home. I'm serious. You can't answer calls like this. Give me the department phone and go home. I'll do a double if I have to, just…" She knelt in front of him and hesitantly touched his shin. "Just go home, okay? Come on, I'll drive you." He nodded and allowed her to pull him to his feet.

She dropped him off at his door and texted Regina as she waited for him to go inside the apartment building.

Graham is sick. I'm pulling a double. Can we postpone our late dinner in the shed until tomorrow? She tapped out, cancelling the plans they'd made last night while on the phone with a heavy sigh. She hadn't seen Regina in 24 hours, and she missed the woman's shy smile.

Is everything okay? And of course, you'll be exhausted by this evening with hours left to go.

I think he just needs to sleep it off and will be fine by morning. Emma reassured her and then pulled away from the curb without waiting for a response.

By 11 that night, Emma rubbed her eyes, not even bothering to look for suspicious activity as she patrolled the dark, wet, and incredibly boring streets of Storybrooke. Why Regina insisted they patrol at night was beyond her. Storybrooke was the sleepiest and friendliest place she'd ever been. The mine disaster was probably the most excitement they'd had since Regina had become mayor. She probably scared people into behaving with that cold glare she'd mastered so well. Emma smirked.

Screw it. If she got into trouble, Mayor Mills could punish her and then heat up her dinner. She hoped Regina was awake. She pulled to an abrupt stop in front of Mrs. Ginger's house and glanced around. Seeing no one, she snuck into her flower bed and plucked some purple and yellow flowers. A light came on inside the house, and Emma scurried back to the cruiser and took off. She barely contained her chuckle when the department phone rang a moment later.

"Deputy Swan," she answered professionally, just barely.

"Oh Deputy, I'm so happy you answered!" The older lady exclaimed, and Emma snorted. Why the hell wouldn't she answer?

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Ginger?" Emma asked.

"Oh there's prowler in my flower garden. Can you come over here?" The elder implored, clearly shaken up by the 'prowler.'

"Sure thing. I'll drive by and flash the lights if I don't see anything. Okay, you wait until you see them, and I'll be there in just a minute. I'm on your street right now," Emma assured the woman in a mock serious voice and hung up the phone. She guffawed as she turned around in the middle of the street and returned in the other direction. She flashed the lights as promised and waved at the elderly woman on her front porch.

"All good, Mrs. Ginger!" Emma yelled out the crack in her window. The woman covered her heart with one hand in relief and waved gratefully with the other. Emma saluted with two fingers and drove on.

"Another satisfied citizen," she smiled to herself and turned onto Mifflin Street.

The cruiser rolled to a stop behind the large hedges obscuring the bottom floor windows from the street, but Emma noticed a light on in Regina's study. Of course Regina was up late doing paperwork on a Monday night. She popped the trunk and rummage in the first aid kit until she found a small gauze pad, tore it apart thread by thread and tied the flowers together. A smile spread on her lips at the delight that would surely be in Regina's eyes when she tapped on the window of the study and handed her the flowers over the sill. God, she was so screwed. When had she become such a sappy romantic?

All thoughts of Regina's smile faded, however, when a figure clad in dark clothes rounded the corner of the house. Emma slowly faded behind the hedges again, crouched and set the flowers on the ground. The figure moved towards her, and at the last moment she swung her leg into his shins. He stumbled and crashed into the pavement with a yell. She sprang on him in a second, pressing her knee into his back.

"Don't move!" She yelled and twisted his wrist behind his back.

"Emma, get off me," the familiar accented voice demanded, and Emma faltered. Running on pure adrenaline, she rolled him over and jerked him to his feet with two fists in his black leather jacket.

"What the hell are you doing at Regina's house!" She yelled, uncaring that the entire neighborhood probably heard.

"I told you this morning. I have a life, sort of," Graham said much more calmly and jerked her hands from his jacket.

"What?" Emma's heart clenched.

"What the hell is happening on my lawn?" Regina called from the front door, already traipsing to the two arguing law enforcement officers.

"This is the her you told me about this morning? The one you felt nothing with?" Emma asked coldly as her vision darkened around the edges. The world slowed, the only sounds were the roaring in her ears and the deep breaths she released.

"Who did you think it was?" Graham asked hotly. His head snapped back and his hands flew to his face. Emma felt the sickening crunch of his nose cartilage breaking beneath her knuckles, and reality slammed into her. All this time, Regina had been fucking Graham and lying to her.

"Emma, please let me explain," Regina said, hands up in a placating gesture.

"Wait. This is R?" Graham squealed around his hands, his voice higher than normal from pain.

"There's nothing to explain. Clearly, I am the unwanted factor in this party," she stated coldly, staring Regina directly in the eyes. She jerked the cruiser keys from her jacket pocket and threw them at Graham.

"If you're well enough to fuck, you're well enough to patrol," a cold voice that Emma hadn't realized as her own surrounded them.

"Emma wait," Regina pleaded and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Emma grabbed the flowers from the pavement and threw them at Regina's feet. A solitary tear tumbled onto Regina's cheek when she realized why Emma had driven to her house on duty. She knelt and scooped them off the ground.

"Emma," she tried again and took a step towards the angry deputy.

"Don't. Don't fucking touch me. Don't you fucking dare come near me. You lied to me. You've been lying to me since the first night I brought Henry home. I opened up to you! I fucking trusted you, and this whole time you were fucking Graham. What? Our plans got cancelled so went to your back up? Or was I your back up just in case he took the night shift?" Emma clenched her fist, knowing she edged towards a precipice of rage that might have led her to strike the woman she thought she could have loved.

"You lied to me, Regina, about something as simply as sleeping with Graham. How am I supposed to trust you ever again? You said that you'd wait until I figured it out. How is this waiting?" Emma waved her hand in frustration.

"You're right. This shouldn't have happened tonight, not until you made your decision," Regina admitted guiltily. She clutched Emma's gift to her chest like a lifeline, and Emma's stomach tightened.

"I should have trusted my first instinct about you. You're a snake, Regina Mills, a fucking reptile," she said sadly and somehow found the strength to walk away.

Her chest felt hollow, like all of the happiness had been sucked out of her soul. Regina lied to her, practically cheated on her. It may not have been a big deal to other people, but she and Regina weren't like other people or so she had believed. They felt and perceived even the slightest betrayal on a much deeper level. She thought Regina understood that.

No, Emma berated herself, she understood that, but she hadn't cared.

"Emma!" Regina called down the street. "Deputy Swan!" She tried in her best mayoral voice. Emma walked away without a flinch or pause.

"Graham," Regina turned to the man who helped cause this disaster. "You need to follow her," Regina ordered.

"No. She's pissed off. She has a right to be. She's right about you, you know? You are a snake," he stated coldly. "At least with me, I knew it was just about the sex. You led her on, made her believe there was something between you. She's a good person. Hasn't she suffered enough for one lifetime?" His voice was calm and even, a testament to a rage far beyond anger. He hated her.

"I want my heart back," he demanded, and Regina gasped through her tears.

"You remember?" She said before she considered the ramifications of her words. His eyes widened.

"It's true?" He confirmed and shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the sudden shock to his system. There was a curse. Henry was right.

"If you follow her and make sure that she doesn't hurt herself, I will return your heart in the morning," Regina bargained, head high and spine straight though tears continued to drip onto her cheeks.

"Deal," he agreed and stalked towards the cruiser.

Regina returned to her study numbly and sat behind her desk. She touched the soft petals of the flowers Emma picked for her. Her grief pulled her forward, and she buried her head in her arms as sobs shook her violently. Everyone she loved was destined to be destroyed. She pulled herself up and fumbled with her phone. She barely read the screen through her blurry vision and punched Mary Margaret's name.

"Hello?" The sleepy voice came though the line.

"Miss Blanchard, it's Regina Mills. I need your help," she jumped in with both feet and heard shuffling on the other end, presumably the teacher getting out of bed.

"What could you possibly need at 11:30 on a school night?" The teacher groused but stayed on the line.

"There was an altercation at my house between Sheriff Graham, Deputy Swan and myself. She left on foot and is extremely upset. I fear she may try and do herself harm. I was wondering if you might wake Miss Lucas and look for her before that occurs. Graham is also searching. I'd go myself, but Henry is here and my presence would only exacerbate the situation," Regina explained without actually explaining anything. Only breathing answered her for a moment. She held her breath and counted to ten to prevent her anger from exploding on the woman.

"What did you do to her?" The normally docile and soft-spoken teacher accused boldly, and Regina gritted her teeth against her snarky retort.

"The details are not important. You may ask Miss Swan herself once she is recovered. Will you look for her?" Regina brushed off the question in true regal fashion and waited.

"Of course I will. I'll call Ruby as soon as I get off the phone with you. She better be in one piece, Madame Mayor," the teacher threatened a moment before the line went dead.

Regina slumped into her chair and tossed the phone onto her desk. She may have just prevented Emma from breaking the curse, but at what cost? She touched the flowers again. A cost too high to pay. Emma's happiness as well as her own.

What had she done?