Storybrooke Mainstreet
November 9, 2011 – 6:32 AM
Graham was in the middle of his morning run when he heard it – the howl. The bushes rustled, and he tensed.
"Good morning, Sheriff." Graham jolted, turning to find Mr. Gold in an apron and with a shovel in his hand. "Sorry if I startled you."
Graham breathed, feeling a little ridiculous. "Sorry about that, I… I was taking my morning run and I swear I heard a howl. I thought you might have been a wolf."
Gold raised a brow. "You know, to the best of my knowledge, Sheriff, there are no wolves in Storybrooke. Not the literal kind, anyway."
Graham laughed, but it was empty. "Yes, well, this might sound crazy, but I saw one in my dreams last night, and then I saw one for real. Just a few hours ago. Did you, uh… Did you see anything unusual out there?"
Mr. Gold's eyes never left Graham's. "I'm afraid not. I do wish I could be more helpful." He smiled, as he passed the sheriff. "You know, Sheriff, they say that dreams… Dreams are memories. Memories of another life."
"And what do you believe?"
"I never rule out anything." Gold said, before pulling his shovel back up. "Good luck, Sheriff. I do hope you find what you're looking for."
Graham watched Gold leave and felt his heartbeat pick up. There was something going on. Once again, a howl rang out in the distance and he had made up his mind.
He took off, trying desperately to follow the constant calls. Eventually, he came to a clearing and Graham catches a glimpse of the wolf's fur. The creature was magnificent.
"What do you want?" Graham screamed. The wolf gave him a cold stare, before trudging away. "Hey!"
Apartment 104 – Mary Margaret Residence
November 9, 2011 – 7:22 AM
The next morning, when Emma fumbled her way down the loft's stairs, she found Mary Margaret placing a bouquet of flowers on the table.
"Oh, hey, Mary Margaret," Emma mumbled, wiping her eyes. "I tried to stay up and wait for you, but I guess I passed out."
Mary Margaret smiled, "That was nice of you Emma, but you didn't have to do that."
"Yeah, I know, but you seemed bummed on the phone." She shrugged, staring at the flowers. "So, are they apology flowers from David? Because if they are, I say we put them where they belong: The trash."
"Oh! Hey, wait!" Mary Margaret yelled, pulling the vase closer to her. "They aren't from David… They're from Dr. Whale."
Emma's eyes widened. "What? When did he become a possible prospect?"
The teacher laughed, "Emma, I don't think anyone has referred to men as 'prospects' since the eighteen-hundreds."
"Well, I think this is a good thing." Emma said, pulling up a seat to the island. "If David doesn't think your worth it, then he isn't worth it."
Mary Margaret sighed, "First of all, there's nothing wrong." Emma leveled her a look. "Second of all," she continued, defensively, "This thing with Dr. Whale – if you can even call it that, isn't that big of a deal."
Emma smirked, "Then why'd he'd send you flowers?"
Mary Margret rolled her eyes. "I'm going to work now!" she called out, grabbing her bag and ignored Emma's laughing as she fled out the door.
County Sheriff's Office
November 9, 2011 – 8:53 AM
Emma groaned, pushing her foot off the ground, sending the chair into the hundredth circle. It was already noon and Graham had yet to show up. She had half a mind to just leave. She kicked off once more.
"Our taxes always hard at work, I see."
Emma gasped, slamming her foot down so fast she almost tossed the chair over with her in it. She braced herself on the desk. "There's nothing else to do. The Sheriff isn't here," she explained, without looking at the mayor. "and he hasn't answered his phone all day. I figured he was sick or something."
Regina raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow. "Is that right?"
Mills Residence
November 9, 2011 – 9:52 AM
Graham gripped his car keys tighter. Mary Margret hadn't done much to alleviate the rising tension in chest, but she had given him a solid lead.
"You sound like Henry. Fairy tales," Mary Margaret had shrugged, "He thinks we're all characters from this story book and that we just can't remember."
It was that hope that he clung to as he made his way up the walkway to the Mayor's home.
County Sheriff's Office
November 9, 2011 – 12:21 PM
If Emma had anything better to do, she would have left the station by now. Unfortunately for her, she did not have anything better to do.
While she previously, hadn't thought much of the Sheriff's absence – everyone was allowed a hooky day every now and again – after the Mayor's surprise visit the young blond was, understandably, more nervous.
She was debating calling him again when her ears perked up.
"Emmmmmmma!" A familiar voice echoed down the hallway.
She had little time to prepare before Henry burst through the office doors, his backpack flopping behind him. "Emma!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said, standing. "What are you doing here? If you're looking for you're mom, she's not here."
"No!" Henry shook his head frantically. "It's Graham," he panted, dumping his backpack on the floor. "I think he's starting to remember!"
Emma's brows scrunched together, "What? You're talking to fast. Take a sec and calm down."
Her brother, ever the dramatic, swiped her water off the desk and chugged it. He finished with a gasp and shot her a look as if to say 'there, happy?'
She rolled her eyes, "Okay, now what happened?'
"The Sheriff," Henry started, plopping down into her recently vacated swivel chair. "He came to see me. He asked about the book!"
"He asked you about the book?" Emma repeated dumbly, the disbelief clear on her face. Certainly, someone as cool and smart as Graham couldn't possibly believe in Henry's stories. "What did you tell him?"
He looked down, avoiding eye contact. That didn't bode well.
"Henry?"
"I told him what I thought had to be true," Henry explained. "I told him that he was the Huntsman, and that those flashes he saw when he kissed my mom," he rushed through quickly, before slowing back down, "were flashes of him remembering that time."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Emma cut in, practically gaping. "What did you just say?"
"He's the Huntsman?" He offered.
"After that."
"He's been having flashes?"
Emma hummed, only slightly amused. "Try again."
Henry's shoulders slumped, "He and my mom… may be dating."
Emma's jaw dropped. "No," she denied, shaking her head. "There's no way Graham would date Regina. He's been so nice to me…"
"They tried to keep it a secret," Henry told her quietly. He had a feeling she wouldn't take it well. "But," he shrugged softly, "I figured it out anyway."
Her mind was on fire. Because, if Graham was dating Regina, what did that mean for her? He'd offered her this job, practically took her under his wing; was that all… fake?
"Where… where is he now?" She asked.
"I didn't send him anywhere," Henry admitted. "I just told him about how the Queen trapped him into a bargain and that she ordered him to go kill Snow White."
Emma felt her heart pick up. "So you don't know where he is?"
"All he said," Henry replied, "was that he had to find that wolf. Before it was too late."
A wolf.
Of course.
Emma had seen one of those once.
Mills Residence
November 9, 2011 – 1:32 PM
Graham was running away from Regina's house when Emma spotted him.
"Sheriff!" she called, rushing forward, "Where have you been all day?!"
He barely spared her a glance, "Not now, Emma," he said, continuing down the driveway, "I'm busy. You should be at the station."
"Well, I was." Emma scoffed, trailing him, "But then the Mayor came looking for you, which was strange, but then –"
He froze, "Regina was looking for me?" He demanded, his eyes darting around the street as if he expected her to just puff into existence.
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, she was her usual pleasant self." He finally smiled, which eased some of the tension in Emma's shoulders. "And then Henry visited me and told me the most interesting story. Apparently, you're secretly dating Regina."
Graham's eyes finally found hers and he at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Emma –"
But Emma wasn't finished. "He also told me that you're the Huntsman from Snow White. Somehow, that revelation pales in comparison to the first."
Graham sighed, "Emma…"
"Hey," Emma held her hands up, "I'm not judging, well, I guess I am. But, really, Regina, I just –"
The man gave her a hard stare. "Emma."
The blond shut her mouth.
He groaned, running a hand over his tired face, "Listen. If you've spoken with Henry, then you know what I'm looking for."
Her eyes lit up, "That's another thing! I seem to remember telling you about a wolf once. You laughed at me."
He closed his eyes, "That was the curse."
"Sure," she rolled her eyes, "blame it on the curse. That's a likely excuse, so –"
Emma froze, catching something over Graham's shoulder.
Graham's brows shot up, "What is it?"
The wolf. The wolf was there, standing not ten feet from them.
"Yeah," Emma whispered, "That's the wolf, alright."
"That makes two of us," Graham said. "Come on."
Her eyes widened and followed Graham, 'I can't believe I'm doing this.'
Storybrooke Cemetery
November 9, 2011 – 2:03 PM
It was official, Emma thought blandly, she had officially lost her mind. She must have; why else would she freely chose to follow a wolf on a wild goose chase for a heart.
'Because Storybrooke is crazy, and it may be contagious.'
As they got deeper and deeper into the woods, Graham began to tell Emma his story – or the Huntsman's story. How, in the other world, the Queen taken his heart and that he was certain that was where the wolf was leading them.
"This wolf was my companion at one point," he insisted. "I think it's trying to show me where to find it. Look."
They were almost at the edge of the cemetery when Emma watched the wolf trot up to a large crypt, stopping only to nose at the door.
"In there," Graham muttered to himself before rushing forward. "My heart is in there."
Emma debated whether she should just leave and go get help, but, when he rushed to the crypt and Emma reluctantly followed him in.
The inside of the crypt was relatively clean, everything considered. Immediately, Graham started to feel along the walls and the floor of the small stone room, clearly intent on finding some type of secret panel. Something. Anything.
"It's got to be in here. Somewhere."
Emma just watched, unsure what to do.
When his first search revealed nothing, he looked again. Finally, his eyes came to rest on the coffin itself.
"Nooo way," Emma shook her head, moving forward, "There is no way you're going to open –"
"What are you two doing here?"
Both Emma and Graham froze at the familiar voice.
Emma didn't need to turn around to know who it was, but she did anyway: Regina stood just outside the crypt, with a look of legitimate shock on her face.
"Police work," Emma bluffed, stepping out onto the grass.
"What are you doing here?" Graham snapped back.
"Putting flowers on my father's grave," she said, holding the flowers in her hands up for inspection. "Like I do every week."
"We're looking for something," Graham said to Regina.
Regina's eyes bounced from Graham's crazed face to Emma's. "You don't look well, Graham." Her face was soft, but her voice was stern. For the first time since Emma had arrived in Storybrooke, Regina actually looked concerned… for her. "Why don't I take you both home?"
The mayor moved forward, raising an arm to pull Emma with her, but Graham blocked them.
"No." he growled, his eyes narrowing, "I'm not going anywhere with you; and neither is she."
Regina scoffed in a very Regina-like fashion, but Emma didn't miss the way she discreetly took a couple steps back. "Graham, clearly you're going through something. No doubt egged on by this little –"
"This has nothing to do with her." He corrected, firmly. "It's about you. I don't feel anything, Regina." He shook his head, his eyes finding the ground in frustration. "Everyone keeps telling me I'm not thinking straight, but for the first time, I am. I need to feel something and the only way to do that is to give myself a chance."
Regina took this in, a new rage building in her eyes. Graham cringed at the change, bracing himself for her typical, all-consuming ire, when her eyes snapped to Emma, instead.
"This is your fault." The mayor seethed.
"I told you," Graham reaffirmed, "It's not her."
Her head knocked back and she – laughed. It was awful and cold; chills went down Emma's spine. "Not her fault?" Regina parroted back. "Our town was perfect. But the moment she stepped foot into town, it has been one awful event after the next."
"Henry came and found me."
Regina's eyes found the blond girl's once more. "Excuse me?"
It had been the first time Emma had spoken since Regina had happened upon them.
"I didn't… I'm not…" The 16-year-old choked on her words, suddenly wishing, once again, that she'd called for help before going after Graham. "Henry found me," she repeated, trying to find the right words. "he found me, and I didn't know what to do… I was going to call the police, but then he looked at me with those big brown eyes of his and he just seemed so… miserable." The young girl chanced a glance at the older woman, "Why was he so miserable, Miss. Mills?"
For a fraction of a second, Emma thought she'd seen the mayor's eyes soften, however it was gone in a flash. Anger quickly took its place, as it usually did with Regina. "You little brat,"
She took a threatening step forward and Emma panicked. She'd been in enough homes to know when someone was escalating to violence. Instinctively, the young girl flinched, stepping backwards. Unfortunately, her foot caught one of the jagged stones jutting up from the uneven ground. She fell. Hard.
"Emma!" Graham gasped, lunging for her.
Regina froze.
Luckily, Emma's head managed to miss the sharp corners of the coffin. Unfortunately, she still managed to bang it on the stonework floor.
Emma groaned, pulling herself up.
"Emma!" The Sheriff repeated, anxiously, kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay?"
The young blond winced, pulling her right arm up to inspect it. It seemed she hadn't managed to avoid the coffin, completely, after all. Along with the bruise that was no doubt forming on the base of her skull, she had a long scratch that extended from her elbow to her hand.
Still, all things considering, it could have been worse.
"Emma." Her eyes flashed to the Mayor, who looked absolutely mortified. "I wouldn't have…" the older woman floundered, her voice taking on a pleading tone. "You're a child."
Emma could only stare. Truthfully, the young blond wasn't sure what the older woman would do – where her boundaries laid. The blond didn't like the lady, but she wanted to believe that Regina loved Henry – that she'd never really hurt him. She needed to believe it, because despite whatever lies she's told Henry, she knew this wasn't going to end well for her. Realistically, she'd end up back in her social worker's office before being shipped to another crummy group home. It was only a matter of time.
So, she stared into the Mayor's eyes and she searched – long and hard – until she found what she was looking for.
She wasn't lying.
Emma held back a sigh of relief. 'Good,' she thought, calmly, 'One of us deserves a happy ending.'
The 16-year-old studied the Mayor for another moment before breaking eye contact. Graham held out his hand and slowly helped Emma up from the cold ground. The blond ran her hand along the back of her head and winced. 'Yup, definitely bruised,'.
Then, without another word, she moved forward. Graham immediately shadowed her, probably afraid she'd trip and hurt herself again. When the duo went to pass the Mayor, her hand shot out, gripping the Sheriff's almost desperately.
"Graham," Regina tried, moving to him, beseechingly. "You know I wouldn't have –"
"Don't talk to me," Graham cut her off. "Don't talk to me anymore. We're done. Forever."
And once again, the Evil Queen was left alone.
Storybrooke Mainstreet
November 9, 2011 – 4:25 PM
They were halfway down Mainstreet when a familiar face exited Granny's.
"Emma?!"
It was David.
He was at her side in a blink of the eye, the concern practically palpable as he ran his eyes over her. Once he seemed to confirm she wasn't at risk for immediate death, his attention turned to Graham, his stare hard. "What happened?"
Despite both men being around the same size and the fact that David had spent the last few years in a coma, Graham gulped.
The Sheriff opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a girlish scream.
"Is that blood?!"
The sigh that left David's mouth was long-suffering. "Katherine, it's not even bleeding."
David's 'wife' came into Emma's view and she had to hold back a snappy comment. "I'm fine," she assured her, instead. "It's just a scratch."
"I'll be the judge of that," David replied, before turning back to Graham. "Help me get her to the deck?" he asked, nodding at Granny's outside seating. "I'm sure she has an emergency kit inside. Katherine, why don't you go ask?"
Lucky for an escape, Katherine was gone before the question could finished being asked.
Graham moved to her other side, but Emma held her uninjured arm up. "Whoa, I said, I'm fine! You're not even a doctor. If you're not a doctor, you don't get a say."
David raised a brow. "No, but I am a vet. Which, out of all of us, leaves me the closest."
"A vet?" Emma repeated, the new information distracting her. "I didn't know you were a vet."
The man smiled widely, "Yup. Do you like animals?"
Emma scoffed, "What type of person doesn't?"
"Exactly," David nodded, wisely. "So, if people trust me with their pets, surely you can trust me with your arm?"
Her jaw dropped. 'Well played.'
David laughed, "I'm going to take your angry silence as a yes. Graham, if you would?" he asked, motioning towards the young blond.
This time, when Graham approached her, Emma allowed him to boost her up.
At some point during their discussion, must have returned, because there was a first aid kit waiting for them on one of the outside tables. But no Katherine. Not, that Emma minded.
David expertly opened the kit, pulling a tiny spray bottle and some gauze pads out. She tried to protest when he brought the saturated pad near the cut along her arm, but she let him in the end. Whatever was going on between him and Mary Margaret aside, Emma liked David. How could she not?
Perhaps that's why she hadn't fought Henry as hard as she could have when he'd claimed the coma patient as their father.
He exuded kindness; something, that Emma wasn't used to receiving. He was gently – so very gentle – as he moved her arm. Her heart gave a tight squeeze. This is what it must be like, she realized, to have a father.
He dabbed the medicine over the open cut and she winced. He smiled apologetically, "So, what did happen?"
Emma's eyes went to her shoes, embarrassed, "I sorta… fell."
He raised a brow, "You don't strike me as the tripping type."
"Well," Graham spoke up, reminding the two that he was still there. "That's partly my fault. She was helping me look for something."
David's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Yeah, I hear you're having a rough day."
Graham winced, "You hear about that?"
"Pretty much everyone has." David nodded.
"Yes, well, Regina has –" Graham paused, a terrified expression crossing his face before his legs buckled.
Emma gasped and David moved forward in concern, grabbing the other man's shoulders for support. "Graham, you okay?"
He wasn't okay.
His mouth opened and closed, trying to muster a sound, but nothing came. Soon after his eyes began to roll to the back of his head.
"Sheriff!" Emma yelled, her eyes shooting between him and David. "He's going to be okay, right?" she begged quietly, "He's just dizzy?"
But it was worst than a dizzy spell, and they both knew that.
David laid the Sheriff on the ground as gently as he could manage. Graham stared at them both with an awful sadness – and it terrified Emma.
She was on her feet now, slowly taking steps towards them.
"Emma," David yelled, holding out a hand, "Stop it, Emma."
She didn't listen, she really only half-heard him anyway. After all, how could you hear anything when someone was…
"Emma," he tried again, more forcibly. She finally looked at him and his heart sank. She was absolutely terrified. "Emma, honey, listen, "Go get someone, okay?"
Her wide eyes blinked, "I don't… I don't know what to do."
"That's okay, I do." He smiled, calmingly, "Remember, I'm a –"
"Doctor-Vet," She finished, absent mindedly.
If they hadn't been in a life-threatening situation, David would have laughed. "Yes, exactly. So please, go inside and get somebody for me, okay?
She blinked a couple more times before nodding. "Okay."
David waited until she was out of sight before turning back to Graham. "Graham, what is happening?"
"Regina," He groaned, his breaths becoming more and more labored. "My heart."
David's eyes widened. "She has your heart?"
Instead of answering, he just winces, "I'm sorry," he gasped, "I tried."
David rested a hand on the other man's shoulder. "I know, old friend. I won't let her get away with this."
Then, for the last time, Graham closed his eyes.
He was gone. Gone, just like that, with little explanation. The doctor said it was cardiac arrest, that his heart had just… stopped. By the time Emma had come back with somebody to help, David had known he was no longer with them. She'd screamed, then, not leaving their sides even as the paramedics arrived.
She'd watched, numbly, as they placed him on the stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance. The young blond was a mess. How could she let herself get so attached? Because, even if Henry's crackpot theories somehow held even a modicum of truth, it wouldn't matter. She wasn't a hero. She couldn't even save herself, so what hope could she ever have of rescuing anyone else? Look at Graham. She's just been fooling herself the last couple of weeks, allowing herself to hope and dream, as if she really had a shot.