Chapter 10- Past, Present and Future

Sorry about the super late delay on this chapter. I don't have a great excuse besides life basically happened, and I've just had tons on my plate. Hope you enjoy this! Reviews are appreciated. (Please see more author's note below to get the lowdown)

Emma groaned as she heaved more of her dinner into the toilet. It had only been three months, but the morning sickness showed no signs of leaving. Hair limp and curls dragging, she slumped against the side of the elegant bathtub, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was amazed at how something so little could cause her so much pain, yet so much joy. Graham stood in the doorway, leaning down to bring his hand to Emma's chin and lifted it.

"I'm right here. It's okay," Graham whispered, bringing her head to his shoulder as she sobbed. Emma clutched to his hair letting her tears fall into his shirt. She withdrew her face from his shirt as she turned to the toilet again. Graham slipped out of the room and knocked on her parents' door quietly. Charming threw the door open and looked around with wide eyes.

"What happened? Where's Emma?" Charming leapt to his sword, sprinting to the bathroom down the hall. Snow cast a worried look at Graham before following her husband. Snow and Graham stopped at the doorway as they observed father and daughter. Emma continued to sit at the toilet as her father rubbed small circles on her back, pausing before finally standing up and patting Graham on the shoulder before he and Snow began to leave. Snow stopped herself, staring at her daughter with tears in her eyes before being led from the room by her husband.

Graham sat beside Emma and took her hand. Emma lifted her heavy head, the bout of nausea finally having left.

"We can get through this, I promise," Graham smiled at her before leading her out of the bathroom by the hand.

"What, where are we going?" Emma laughed as Graham continued to pull her down the stairs, stopping at the door of the castle.

"You'll see," Graham answered, pulling her to him and planting a kiss on her lips before leading her down the familiar forest path. Sunlight streamed down through the trees, and a smile coated Emma's face. It was in the forest that Emma felt truly safe. At home. With Graham by her side she felt nothing could harm her from the harsh reality she now saw herself in.

Though she was happy to be having a child, yes, it weighed heavily on her, both figuratively and literally. She had always been the child who had thought nothing could go wrong, she could conquer the world. But that past had been a time when castles were rocks or pebbles and a stick was a sword. The past had been a time when she could be anything she wanted and her future had not been set by things she had no idea about. The reality she now found herself in was not one of elegant beauty as she wanted to think. Pushing these thoughts from her mind, she smiled over at Graham again as he led her towards a path she had walked many times when she needed to think. The old troll bridge stood before them, colorless gray against the vivid forest landscape.

Emma laughed as she ran ahead, whipping her hair around, blonde curls dancing in the breeze. The trolls had long since abandoned the bridge (whether it was due to the fact they had gotten beaten by a woman, her own mother, or for gold she had no idea), but Emma was happy all the same to revel in the silence that was the forest around her and Graham.

"What are you thinking?" Graham asked, lacing his fingers with hers. Emma simply smiled as she felt his lips press to her temple, a loving gesture that she appreciated.

"You know, this is where my mom met my dad," Emma practically whispered gazing around at the bridge. She smiled, almost being able to see her parents meeting. Her mother attempting to mask her feelings but only realizing them after saving her father's life, and her father smiling while unrevealing of his feelings either. As they walked away in Emma's imagination, she was brought back by a poke on one of her shoulders. Graham held branches from a nearby tree in both hands poking Emma in the back. She smiled mischievously and took the branch quickly whirling it around so as to poke Graham in the neck.

"Scared you're going to get beaten by a woman? A pregnant woman?" Emma asked, poking her branch further into Graham's neck. Graham simply gave her a charming smirk; hair falling into his eyes before turning his branch in his hand once.

"It is so on!" Graham yelled and quickly began to attack. Emma however, had been taught by one of the best sword fighters in the realm…. Her mother. Though her father liked to think he bested his wife, in reality her mother was the better of the two. Emma had clearly gotten those traits from her mother as she easily dodged Graham's lunges, being careful not to move too much as to disturb the baby. Moving further into the woods, the sword fight wore on, branch hitting branch as Graham tirelessly attempted to somehow poke Emma in a way that would signal defeat for her. Emma laughed, spinning around and lunging at Graham but just missing as he bent over, sweat pouring down his face.

"If this is your best, I think I may have to teach our daughter how to sword fight," Emma yelled over her shoulder, jogging slightly away from Graham and deeper still into woods. Graham stood stock still. Had he heard right? The faint chirping of birds and the breeze picking up barely registered as Graham continued to stand rooted to the spot. Emma finally stopped jogging and turned back to look at her lover, a confused look sprawled across his face. She walked quickly back over to him as she took his hand his eyes began to well with tears.

"What did I sa- oh," Emma felt tears of her own coming on and silently cursed herself. Why had she told him now? Why not when she was good and ready, in an intimate moment or with her mother and father by her side? Words were just another thing that did not come easily to Emma. She had now just revealed a secret she had wished to keep from Graham and wanted to tell him when she was ready. The words already having slipped from her mouth; she landed dejected on the forest floor, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Graham kneeled in front of Emma, his eyes glassy with threatening tears.

"Emma, don't even think to blame yourself. I know you probably wanted to tell me when the time is right and you are ready but saying it now does not change anything about the words. I couldn't be happier that we're having a daughter," tears finally spilled from Graham's eyes, coating his cheeks. Emma gave a short, choked laugh, smiling through her own tears. Emma brought her lips to Graham's and she could still taste his tears on her lips. She smiled into his lips, glad and both saddened to finally tell Graham the truth about their unborn child.

They walked back to the castle hand in hand. As they entered, Emma smiled at her parents fixing dinner. Snow scolded James as he sampled the turkey but she merely crinkled her nose in laughter, a move that Emma also made often. James looked up and smiled as his daughter and Graham sat down.

"Have an eventful day?" James asked, helping Snow into her chair. Snow elbowed him in the ribs, and both Graham and Emma's faces flushed pink at the implications.

"Yes Dad it was nice. We went to the troll bridge, and I told Graham the story of how you and Mom met," Emma replied, continuing to eat. She cast a glance between both her mother and father and they shared a laugh before launching into their "right" version of the magical tale.

"Did you tell him how I helped your father because he was simply helpless with a sword against those trolls?" Snow giggled, turning to her husband. He laughed but countered with a stare of his own.

"Is that so? That is not how I remember it dear," Charming gazed lovingly into her eyes, but Snow was not so easily convinced. Graham laughed and reached out to intertwine his fingers with Emma's under the table.

"How so?" Snow crossed her arms and defiantly stuck her chin up.

"Well for one thing, I practically bested those trolls. They just outnumbered me is all," Charming continued.

"Seems to me Charming that we may have to have a little duel to prove who is superior with a sword, " with this, Snow made a grab for the wooden swords lying near the table. Emma rolled her eyes and groaned before laying her head in her hands. Graham put an arm around Emma's shoulders as he watched Snow and Charming begin a wooden sword duel. Emma tried to repress a yawn, but her eyes began to droop as she continued to watch her parents.

Graham finally picked Emma up in a cradled position and lifted her towards her bedroom. They finally reached her bed; Graham tried to leave silently but Emma reached out and grabbed his hand, silently asking him to stay. He gave her a warm smile before lying beside her, smiling again as she lay against his chest. Just as he was about to shut his eyes, Graham heard movement near the door. His eyes darted about the room, looking for a source of the noise, but finding nothing, he began to fall asleep again until his eyes fell upon a mouse. As he was about to shoo it away, it evaporated into a plume of black smoke. Graham opened his mouth to yell but the seeming witch shut his mouth with a hand.

Her brown eyes bore a deep darkness Graham had never seen before. The woman spoke in a hostile, whispered tone: "You will forget everything about this girl and her family. You will be your father's son as he deserves and you will never disobey him, understood?" Suddenly another flash of smoke burst from Regina's hands and the light in Graham's eyes also began to fade and his eyes darkened. With a final burst of magic, Regina and Graham disappeared from the room, leaving behind only a faint breeze.

Emma woke quickly, the breeze coating her face as she reached for Graham. Her hand hit the sheets and she shot up in confusion. Whirling her head around the room, Emma immediately assumed the worst. Tears threatening to spill from her eyes she began to yell. "Graham? Graham? GRAHAM?" she screamed into the darkness, sobbing into the blankets. Charming and Snow burst through the door-finding Emma with her head bowed. When she lifted it, her tear tracks could be seen from across the room. Snow ran to her daughter and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Charming rubbed small circles on Emma's back before looking down at a piece of paper on the ground in confusion. Snow turned to look at her husband with questioning eyes before he finally read aloud.

Emma,

Hopefully finding people runs in the family, or you will never see Graham again. Snow and Charming, perhaps you can help your daughter to do what you are so good at. Good luck in your journey though you will never be able to find him.

Regina

Emma repressed her final sob, eyes alight now with anger. She took the note as her parents continued to console her; but her thoughts were only on Graham.

She would find him. Or would they never get to be a family?

Thanks again for reading! I apologize a million times over for the delay of this chapter. I have been thinking though, I might update again once I have the next few chapters written. I have plans for them, and if I write them all and then publish every week or so, it may be more fair to you as the readers. Let me know if you agree or disagree with this. Reviews are welcome, and thank you for keeping up with this!