Chapter 2

'I've made you hot coco', Mary Margaret says as I walk down the stairs.

'Got some booze to go with it', I say as I sit down. Mary Margaret apparently knows me well because she pulls a bottle of wine from behind her back.

'Talk?' She asks. I nod.

'We kissed', I say with a shy smile.

'Really?'

'Regina and I got into a fight tonight. Physically I mean. She hit me and I hit her. Graham defended me instead of her. I realised she was not worth the fight so we left. Graham took me back to the station to clean the cut on my head. That's when I realised... Nobody ever took care of me like that. So gently and without a hurry. It got me thinking about what you said', I take a sip of my coco and look at Mary Margaret, 'so instead of running I decided to put my heart on the line for once. I saw something, someone that would be good. So I kissed him. But something happened... he got this haunted look in his eyes and he said something about remembering his life. He still has to explain that but it scared me a little', I admit shyly, 'that's why I took him back here. I hope you don't mind. But he was so tired, shaky and still a little feverish I didn't kn...'

'Emma', she stops me as she lays her hand on mine, 'it's more than okay. And I know you're scared and afraid to lose him but I will always, always listen if you want to talk, okay. You're not alone anymore', she says. I nod and try to hide the tears in my eyes.

'Thank you', I whisper. She squeezes my hand before letting go. We talk some more and finish our coco. The wine was, after all, not necassary. It's almost midnight before I head back to my room. Graham is sleeping peacefully. Gently snoring. I quickly change into some pyjama's before sliding in bed beside Graham. I roll on my side to look at him. His sleeping face encourages me to think about everything what happened tonight. It's a little overwhelming. I stroke the side of his face with my thumb for a while.

'Hmm... nice way t'wake', he says still half asleep.

'Shh, go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you', I whisper. I turn over and shut my light off before rolling back to Graham. He reaches out under the blankets for my hand. We hold hands and after Graham falls asleep again, so do I.

I wake up when Graham moves beside me. I look up and see him gasping beside me. I reach out and lay my hand on his back.

'Graham?'

'She has my heart...', he mumbles over and over.

'Hey, hey, look at me', he's still breathing heavily, 'Graham, look at me.' I urge him again. Finally he does.

'Nightmare?' I ask.

'Memory...', he whispers.

'What happened? You keep saying you remember and you keep having this haunted look in your eyes when you do. What happened?' I asks worried.

'You won't believe me', he says sadly.

'Try me. Graham, I will listen, okay. Just tell me and let me decide if I believe you', I try to get him to talk but he looks so insecure that it's breaking my heart. 'Hey, you have me now. You're not alone anymore.' I kiss his cheek hoping I get through to him.

'Everything Henry is saying is true', he says quickly. Of course I look disbelieving. 'See, told you.'

'Explain, please', I try to calm him.

'Henry's book. It's all true. I know it's crazy. I realise I must sound crazy. But somehow kissing you brought back my memories. In Henry's book I'm the Huntsman. And it's true, Emma. But most importantly... Regina took my heart as the Evil Queen. And she has it locked in het volt at the cemetary.' I try to find any signs of a lie in what he's saying. But there isn't any. But then again... if he truly believes it, there wouldn't be any.

'Graham... I don't know what to say', I answer honestly.

'You don't have to say anything.' He whispers before lying back down.

'It doesn't mean I don't believe you. I want to, though. Because if it's true what you're saying... that the stories are true. That would mean that the woman downstairs is my mother. And I want to believe that more than anything', I tell him. There are tears in both of our eyes. He gathers me in his arms.

'Why don't you?' He asks.

'I've been let down too many times to count in my life. If I started to believe that after 28 years I finally found my mother and it turns out not to be true... I don't know how to get back from it than', I cry softly.

'Shh, Emma. It's okay', he says as he kisses the crown of my head. We lay like that for a while. The only sound are my sniffles.

'Let's go back to sleep, okay', he says softly when my sniffles die down. I nod and close my eyes. Graham's arms still around me. His lips touching my head every now and than. His breathing sooths me back to sleep.