A/N: Hello everyone!
Thanks for the lovely reviews and messages and a warm welcome to the new followers.
A shout out to everyone, who favorited this story or me too!
You are all badass!
I'm here with another update...unfortunately I had no time re-read for typos and stuff (never find all anyway xD), but my internet connection and I...well, we have some sort of on/off relationship.
It died down on Saturday right before I wanted to update...it works now, but who knows for how long? Same old shit every time :-/
Anyway...since it working now...I thought I'll put the chapter up real quick.
It's a shorter one, but the next few are all longer and the story will intensify too...so, stay tuned!
Thanks for all your support...and for sticking with me and my stories! Means so much.
Hope you'll enjoy the chapter!
much love to everyone xoxo
TAKE ME TO WONDERLAND
Chapter 9
Breakfast relaxed Emma a lot, because conversation flew easily and Henry could not stop talking about how he had beaten Killian last evening and the memory alone was enough to make both women chuckle.
"I take it that Graham took pictures throughout the evening?" Regina asked all of a sudden and Emma almost dropped her fork, "Well, yeah...he does that a lot. He lives for catching the moment."
"I see. The two of you seem quite close..." Regina bit her lip, unsure if it was the right thing to say, but when Emma smiled at her she knew that the blonde did not bother.
"We were...a long time ago...I mean we still are. It's just...he's always busy and I am always busy and he is travelling a lot...we don't get to see each other that much anymore", Emma sighed, "I have not even realized how much I miss him till we talked last night. That's why I'm meeting him for lunch today...taking a chance for once...he'll leave town for a photoshoot in a couple of days anyway."
Regina nodded in understanding, "It sounds like you care a lot about him..."
"I do", Emma admitted, "Not in a romantic way though...although I have to say...if Graham and me...well, if we would not be gay...we'd probably be married by now."
The blonde laughed at her own comment and Regina raised her eyebrow in confusion, "He is gay too?"
"Oh yeah...he is."
"Where did you get to know him...if you don't mind me asking..." Regina was surprised over her own boldness, but she had a feeling that there was more to Emma's and Graham's story.
And they were friends for heaven's sake – so yes, she would try to have decent conversations with Emma. At least here and there.
"Graham grew up in some cabin in the woods, not far from Boston. His father was a dog trainer and they lived with three dogs... grey German shepherds or something like that. They looked a lot like wolves...and we had this dog when I was younger...it was some White Shepherd named Duchess", Emma rolled her eyes at the name, "Don't ask. My mother bought her one day, because she thought she was pretty. Needless to say that this dog had no manners and my mother was busy with travelling with my father most of the time anyway. Or with shopping or God knows what else. So my father hired Mister Hunter to work with Duchess...and that's how Graham and I met. I was about thirteen then."
"I always wanted a dog too!" Henry was bouncing around with excitement.
"It's not that easy, Henry...a dog is a lot of work and..." Regina started and got cut of by her son's heavy sigh, "I know, mom. I know. It would be awesome though...maybe one day?"
There was this hopeful sparkle in his eyes and neither woman dared to take that away from him, so Regina just said "Maybe" and Emma nodded to assure him.
It was a weird moment for Emma and Regina, because they realized for the first time that they had, somewhere along the way, started to behave like parents, like they were a real family.
And that thought was scaring and confusing both of them.
"Does Graham's dad still have dogs? Maybe we can visit him sometime?"
Henry pulled them out of their thoughts before one of them could freak out over the recent realisation, but both women knew they had to talk about it later though.
Much later preferably.
"I'm sorry, kid. Graham's dad passed away almost twelve years ago", Emma answered sadly.
"Oh, okay", the little boy dropped his head, "I'll go to the bathroom real quick."
Once Henry was out of sight Regina turned to Emma, "What happened?"
"He shot himself...and Graham...he found him when he came back from school. Two days later he sold the dogs although he loved them more than anything...they've been his best friends, they've been everything he knew...but I guess he could not look at them anymore...after...because they reminded him of his dad too much...it was a horrible time, really", Emma explained quickly, "I talked my dad into letting Graham stay with us till he would be done with highschool and he worked his ass of to save up money for college and everything. And he made it...he became this great photographer...you really have to see his work at some point...it's amazing...in fact he is getting his own gallery now...the opening is in a few weeks. Maybe you want to come..."
The words, the invitation was out of her mouth before Emma could stop herself, but Regina nodded before insecurity could get the best of her, "I'd love to see his work, but it depends on my shifts...and Henry of course.."
This time it was Emma who nodded in understanding, but was thrilled nonetheless, because Regina had not declined as she had expected.
But at the same time she asked herself what the hell she was doing.
The truth was she did not know.
Lunch with Graham had been a blast – the needed distraction to collect herself.
They had talked about the past, their current lives, but they had also discussed some future plans including Graham's gallery opening and even Mary Margaret's and David's wedding once he would wake up from his coma.
Because nobody had a doubt that he would come back, that one day he would open his eyes and smile one of his charming smiles and the world would be right again.
At least that was what everybody was holding onto.
"Want to come over to my studio tomorrow? I wanna show you something..." Graham announced all of a sudden.
"Uhm...sure. Let me check my schedule later and I'll give you a call when I can squeeze you in", Emma countered playfully.
"Wow. Now I feel really important", Graham teased and bumped her shoulder.
Emma chuckled, "You know...with the kid and all...and I can't be late for dinner...Regina would probably kill me..."
Graham laughed out loud and Emma, hit by the realization of what she had just said, froze.
"You know how that sounds, Swan, don't you?"
"Shut up!"
"No, seriously, Emma...you can't run from this. You can't run from the truth either", Graham stated, concern written all over his face.
"I need some air."
That said Emma left the restaurant like a fleeing horse.
"Emma!"
Graham had caught up with her within two minutes and Emma sighed heavily.
What the hell just happened?
Lunch had been great, but in the end it had come down to the one topic she so desperately wanted to avoid – Regina Mills.
"Let's go for some walk through the park", Graham suggested and wrapped his right arm round Emma's shoulder to guide her, "Care to tell me what has you so on edge?"
Emma debated with herself for a moment, aware that opening "Pandora's box" would lead to nothing, but chaos – especially when she had decided to stay silent about the whole thing, but on the other hand – for how long would she be able to keep it in and not go nuts?
She sighed.
Maybe it was better to confess in Graham than to snap at some point.
"I don't know, Graham. It's just...the day I met her...the day I met Regina my whole life turned around."
She had told him the whole story, from the very beginning, and Graham had listened during the whole time without interrupting her once, but now he had stopped walking and looked Emma straight in the eye, "Are you in love with her?"
Emma shook her head hestitantly, "No. No, I'm not...I mean...maybe I like her a bit too much, but..."
"But you could fall in love with her..." Graham suggested.
"Yeah, I guess...I guess I could. But it can never happen, Graham! Never. Because Regina would think that I just helped her, because I want to get her in my bed...she accused me of that once and it's not true. It's just not true!" Emma sounded so desperate and she knew it.
"No need to convince me, Em. I know you...and I also know you'd never do that. But I get that Regina would probably flip since she is not good at trusting people. At least you have that in common", he answered with a sad smile, "Have you ever told her about Jade?"
Emma shook her head once again, "And I'll probably never tell her. Why would I? It's not like we would start a relationship or something like that."
"But you are friends, Em. And I can tell that you trust her. How that happened is beyond me since you trust no one anymore since that story...which is understandable by the way."
"I trust you", Emma replied and sighed, "I don't know what it is about Regina, but I just knew I could trust her. Look at her...she is so damaged by her past, she has this crappy job and has lived in a hell hole of an apartment and yet she has managed to raise Henry the way she did. She raised a smart kid with values, with manners, who is loving and kind, who is ready to explore the whole world...could you have done that? I think I couldn't have done that and I don't even know much of her past...but it can't have been pretty when she has ended up in a place like 'The Rabbit Hole'."
"Yeah, you're right. It's a shame that she didn't give Killian's offer a thought. She told him off right away..." Graham commented with a sigh of his own.
"I know. Killian told me he was serious about it and that I should talk to her about it...which I tried after breakfast. But she wouldn't have any of it. Said that it was nothing, but a dream too good to be true...even when I told her that Killian had offered to help her get some diploma or something...I bet it has something to do with this mysterious Mister Gold...Regina mentioned once that...that she owed him a lot...so, my guess is that he would not just let her leave", Emma spoke out what she had been thinking about for quite a while.
Since Regina had mentioned it in fact.
"Maybe we should have a chat with that weasel at some point...and I'll definitely give this asshole a piece of my mind...how can you let people live in a place like that...without a heater...when winter is right round the corner...", Graham growled and Emma chuckled.
"That's why I love you so much, Graham Hunter. Because you have such a protective nature. And as much as I would want to pay that man a visit and kick him where it hurts...we can't do that. We can't go behind Regina's back. She would freak out...and she'd probably never forgive me."
Graham locked eyes with Emma, watching her intensely, "You're afraid of losing her..."
"Yes."
It was barely a whisper, but it was enough.
"I can't lose her. Or Henry. I don't care that we'll never be a couple or anything like that...but I need them in my life. They are the one real thing in all this madness."
Graham had understood perfectly.
In a world of the rich and famous, where money was nothing and everything at the same time, where everything was about image and parties, one could lose any sense for reality quickly.
One could get lost and worse than that – lonely.
A few lucky ones found something that kept them grounded, but most of them got fooled and taken advantage of.
Emma seemed to be on the lucky side for once and it was about damn time.
