It's long, but here you go.
Chapter 2
Mary Margaret agreed to go on a date with Whale, they were sitting at Granny's and Mary Margaret was talking about her students at school, when Whale started focusing on Ruby. "I want kids, marriage, true love- I want it all. But that of course is..." She trailed off seeing him eyeing her best friend like she was a piece of mean. "... wildly inappropriate for me to discuss of a first date." She finished with an eye roll.
"Hmm?"
She sighed. "Ruby?"
The young waitress turned around to her best friends voice, oblivious to it all. "Yeah Mare?"
"Check please." She said with a sigh.
She entered her house and saw Emma putting Henry to sleep on her shoulder, then lying him on the couch. "Why were you out so late?" She asked curiously.
"Well, I'm a teacher, not a nun." She joked half-heartedly. "I had a date." She said with a sigh.
Emma was kind of shocked. Who would she have gone out with? Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't David. "From the looks of things, it went well." She said sarcastically.
"As well as they ever do."
Emma smiled sympathetically. "Tell me he at least paid." Mary Margaret shook her head. "Ew."
XXX
After Emma drops Henry off at daycare, the sheriff and deputy pull in front of her, sirens blazing. "What's with the sirens?"
"It's so hard to get your attention." He said with that damn cute accent.
David rolled his eyes. "He turned them on when I wasn't paying attention." Emma had to laugh at that, her father was funny, good to know. "I'm here to offer you a job." He gestured towards Graham. "The flirt just wanted an excuse to see you." Emma blinked a few times. "Just think about it?" Emma nodded.
XXX
Emma was sitting at Granny's drinking some hot cocoa- after the mysterious job offer- when Regina walked inside. "Hello Miss Swan. I just wanted to let you know that I'm no longer worried about you."
"You're not?" Emma questioned cautiously.
She shook her head. "No. You know why?"
Emma sighed. "Not really and I don't really care to." She said, annoyed.
Regina smirked. "Because Miss Swan, you're an orphan. And if I know anything about orphans, it's that they travel. They stay in one place too long. They have no one. They don't have roots." She finished and left the diner.
Emma stood up, she was no longer in the mood for cocoa, but when she stood up, her cocoa spilled down her shirt. "Ugh! Really?"
Ruby rushed over with a towel and handed it to Emma. "Eesh."
"Do you have a laundry room around here?" Ruby nodded and pointed to a nearby laundry room towards the back of the diner.
Emma went to the laundry room and heard a blonde woman say, "oh, no, no, no, no."
"You okay?"
The woman turned to Emma, holding a sheet out. "They're uh… they're pink."
"Did you try bleach?" The woman lowered the sheet, revealing that she pregnant, and pretty far along at that. "Oh."
She sighed. "I felt contractions last night and the doctor said the baby could come any day now."
"So… that's great, right?"
"It's just, when the baby comes, no one thinks I can do this." The poor woman was near tears. "No one thinks I can do anything. Maybe they're right."
It honestly pissed Emma off, people did the same to her. "Screw them."
The woman's eyes widened. "What?"
"Screw them. How old are you?"
"19."
Emma smiled weakly at her. "I was 17 when I had my son."
"You have a son?"
Emma nodded. "I know what it's like. Everyone tells you what you can and can't do, especially with a kid, but it's not their life. It's yours and your kids. It's ultimately your choice."
"It's not exactly what you think it is."
"It never is. People are going to tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say, 'No, this is who I am.' You want people to look at you differently? Make them. You want to change things you are going to have to go out there and change them yourself because there are no Fairy Godmothers in this world." Emma told her. "What's your name?"
The woman laughed. "Most people start with introductions. Ashley Boyd."
"Emma Swan."
XXX
Mary Margaret and Emma were at home relaxing, when there was a knock on the door. Mary Margaret answered it and was surprised to see the town pawnbroker there.
"Miss Blanchard, is Miss Swan here?" Emma goes up to the door after hearing her name. "Hello, my name is Mr Gold, we met briefly on your arrival."
Mary Margaret looked between the two. "I'm just gonna go jump in the bath." She walks away.
"I remember." Emma responded to Mr Gold.
He nodded. "I need your help finding someone. She took something very valuable of mine."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you just call the police?"
"She's confused and young. I don't want to ruin her life. Let's just be clear, I'm asking for discretion, so no questions asked."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Who is it?" He pulled out a picture from his pocket and showed it to her. "Ashley?"
"So you know her?"
Emma nodded. "When'd you see her last?"
"Last night. It's how I got this." He showed her a gash on his forehead that was covered by his hair. "It's very unlike her, and we don't want the baby born in jail, do we?"
"Of course not."
She saw him attempting to suppress a smirk. "So you'll help me?" He asked.
"I'll help her." She clarified.
XXX
Emma left the apartment and went to ask Ruby if she's seen Ashley. She told Emma about Ashley's ex-boyfriend, so Emma decided to pay him a visit. She knocked on his door and a man about their age answered. "Sean Herman?" The man nodded. "I'm Emma Swan. I'm looking for Ashley Boyd. I thought maybe she came to see you."
A man came up from behind her and to the door. "My son doesn't have anything to do with that girl anymore."
"Dad, maybe we should help."
Sean's father sighed. "It's a waste Sean."
"You're the reason he broke up with her." She realized, then turned to Sean. "Listen, it's your life. You can't let people run it for you. You're a grown man. You can help look if you'd like. If she runs away with this baby, she can get in a lot of trouble." She informed him.
"She's running away with the baby?"
The older Mr Herman turned to his son. "Sean. Inside. Now." The younger obliged and the older man turned to Emma. "If I knew where she was, I'd tell you, trust me. I went through a lot of trouble to get her that deal."
"What deal?"
Mr Herman's eyes widened slightly. "You don't know?" She shook her head. "Ashley agreed to give up the baby, and she's being paid very well to do so."
"She sold the baby?"
The man rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't make it sound to crass. She's a teenager, she can't offer him a proper home. I merely gave her an option."
Offensive much. "Who are you to judge what Ashley's capable of, huh?!"
"She's a teenager, no teenager is responsible enough to raise a child." She took a deep breath and left.
XXX
She was driving around Storybrooke, looking for any sign of Ashley, when she was Ruby's car on the side of the road. That has to be her. She got out of the car and heard a piercing scream. Ashley must be going into labor.
She ran over to her, then helped her into the car. "Don't worry. The hospital isn't that far."
"No, no, no, no. Take me to Boston. I can't go back there."
Emma shook her head. "We don't have four hours, trust me."
"I can't go back there." She sobbed. "He'll take my baby. I want to keep her. I want to keep my baby."
XXX
The OB comes up to Emma. "She's a health six pound girl. The mother's doing fine."
Mr Gold enters the room. "What lovely news. Excellent work Miss Swan. Thank you for bringing me my merchandise."
"A baby? That's your merchandise?" She rolled her eyes. "You're not getting that kid."
The man had a small smirk on his face. "Miss Swan, if we involve the police, that baby will end up in the system. You didn't enjoy your time in the system, did you?"
She gritted her teeth. "That's not gonna happen."
"I like you Miss Swan. You're not afraid of me, which is either cocky or presumptuous. My point is, I'd rather have you on my side."
"So she can keep the baby?"
He smirked. "For a price, of course."
She has a fairly good idea of who this man is now. Rumpelstiltskin. Great. "What do you want?"
"A favor."
Emma nodded and went to go see Ashley and her daughter. "Hey." Ashley looked up from her baby girl and smiled at her. "What's her name?"
"Alexandra."
Emma smiled. "That's pretty." She started thinking about when Henry was born and she couldn't stop her smile from widening at the thought of her son.
"Thanks for getting me here."
Emma looked at her watch. "Look, I have to pick Henry up, but I made a deal with Gold. She's yours."
"Thank you. Thank you."
Emma nodded and left. On her way out, she saw Sean and smiled and nodded at him.
XXX
She got out of her car before going up to her home and called the sheriff.
"Sheriff Nolan" He answered.
"David. It's Emma. I was thinking I need some roots here, I'll take you up on that job offer."
She could practically hear the man's grin through the phone. "That's great Emma! Can you start tomorrow? Or is that too soon?"
"Tomorrow's fine David. Bye."
XXX
She went inside, son asleep on her shoulder. "Hey." She whispered to her roommate upon her arrival. "I'm gonna put him to bed." Mary Margaret nodded and Emma but him in his crib upstairs, making sure to turn the baby monitor on, on her way back downstairs. "So. I have a job."
"Really? It's not with Gold is it? Last I saw you, you left with Gold."
Emma chuckled. "God no. Yesterday, David offered me a job as a deputy. I accepted like five minutes ago." She saw her roommate/mother blush at the mention of her new boss'/her father's name. "Don't worry Mare. I'll keep all the gawking ladies away for you. You'll be his one and only gawker." She teased, earning a pillow to the face.
"I don't gawk." She defended weakly. Emma raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I don't!"
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure you don't Mare."
"Is it that obvious?" She asked, embarrassed.
Emma smirked. "You mean the fact that you blush at the mention of anything related to David. Like you are right now." She said after seeing Mary Margaret's blush creep up from her neck. "It's only obvious to me because I'm observant and I live with you. But, maybe you should just tell him how you feel.
"He recently divorced. He's probably still getting over it." She told her. "I mean, they only married because of there father's. Well Kathryn's father and David's dirty adoptive father, but they were together for a while." George. Emma immediately knew.
XXX
Emma arrived at the station the next morning at nine, before David got there. She walked inside and saw Graham was there though. "Where's David?"
"On a run." He told her. "So, I hear you accepted the job offer." Emma nodded. "I'll be right back." He came back a few moments later with a deputy's uniform.
Emma held up the shirt over her. "A tie? You know you don't have to dress a woman as a man to give her authority."
"So you think you can get people to do what you want in that red coat?"
Emma smirked. "I'm getting you to do what I want right now."
"Well, at least wear the badge. You have to make it official." She clipped the badge to her belt.
The David came inside and noticed the discarded uniform on the desk and Emma's badge clipped to her belt, he turned to Graham. "I told you she wouldn't wear it. Ten bucks." Graham chuckled and put a ten dollar bill in David's hand, both of them ignoring Emma's glare.
XXX
She's been working at the station for about two weeks now, things are going pretty great. Henry's nine, almost ten months old now.
Graham came into the station with a box of donuts and sat them in front of Emma. "Some clichés are true."
"You either did something or you want something."
He smiled at her. "Remember when I said I would cover the night shifts." Emma audibly groaned. "Could you work tonight? Just this once?"
"Why?" She whined.
He smirked at her child-like behavior. "I volunteer at the animal shelter and the supervisor is sick."
She looking in the box of donuts. "You're lucky you go bear claws." She told him, pulling a bear claw from the box of pastries.
XXX
She was patrolling, when she saw a figure climbing out of Regina's window. She may not like the woman, but she's a cop- or deputy, whatever- now. She pulled the patrol car over and hid behind a bush and when he was walking by, she hit him in the stomach with her baton. She was surprised to see that the figure was Graham.
"This is volunteering?"
Graham stood up. "My plans changed. Regina needed me to-"
"Sleep with her?" He looked down. "She's twice your age Graham!" She sighed. "Why the hell were you climbing out the window?" She's not sure why she's bothered by this so much, it's not just the fact that it's freaking Regina. It's something else.
"She doesn't want Owen to know."
Her brows furrowed. "Who's Owen?"
"Her son. He's eight."
Emma's eyes widened. "You had sex with someone twice your age, with her eight year old son in the house?"
"He was asleep!" He defended.
Emma scoffed. "This is disgusting."
"I really do volunteer at the animal shelter… once a week." He swore.
She threw the keys to the cruiser at his chest. "You can work at the rest of my shift. I'm done working nights." She told him and stormed off. He heaved a sigh and went over to the cruiser.
XXX
Graham was in the diner throwing shots, obviously drunk, when Emma got there. "Emma, what can I get you?"
Emma saw Graham look at her. "Nothing." She turned around to exit the diner, when her threw a dart less than two inches from her head. "What the hell? You could've hit me!"
"I never miss. You've been avoiding me, since last night… when you saw me."
"Leaving the mayors? And yes, that's a euphemism." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not avoiding you Graham. I just have no interest in having this conversation. It's your life, I don't really care."
He sighed. "If you don't care, then why are you upset?"
"I'm not upset!" She denied.
They were both ignoring the few people at the diner watching them. "If you weren't upset, then you'd be having a drink with me, not running away. Can we please talk about this? I need you to understand."
"Why?"
He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe so I can understand."
She rolled her eyes. "Need an analysis? Talk to Archie. Your bad judgement is your problem, not mine." She leaves the diner.
He follows her outside. "You don't understand. I don't feel anything with her. Can you understand that?"
"A bad relationship? Yeah. I just don't wanna talk about yours."
"Look, I know you and Regina have your own issues, and I should've told you about that before you took the job."
Emma nodded. "Yeah, why the secrecy? We're all adults. You can do whatever you want."
"Because I-I didn't want you to look at me the way you are now." He admitted.
Emma stopped walking away from him. "Why do you care how I look at you?"
"Because…" He kissed her and saw images of a blurred forest. As the scene came clear, he saw a wolf with eyes of different colors - one red, the other one blue.
She kneed him in the groin. "What the hell was that?" She asked angrily.
"Did you see that?"
She rolled her eyes. "How much have you been drinking? That was way over the line."
"I'm sorry, I just..."
He was really starting to piss her off. "What? You just what, Graham?"
"I need to feel something."
She sighed. "Listen Graham. You're drunk and full of regret. I get it, but whatever it is you're looking for, you're sure as hell not getting it with me." She stormed off, much like the previous night.
XXX
He shot up in bed, next to the mayor. "What is it?" She asked him.
"I just had the strangest dream. I killed a deer in the woods, then there was a wolf."
Her heart stopped. "A wolf?"
"Yeah. One eye was red and the other was blue. The weirdest thing is, I think I've seen it before."
Just a dream, she reminded herself. "Come back to bed Graham. It was just a dream."
"It doesn't feel like a dream." He told her. "It felt like a memory." He stood up and started putting his clothes back on. "I need some air. I need to think."
"Graham, please. Come back to bed." He shook his head and left the mayor's house.
XXX
Emma came downstairs and saw a vase of flowers. "Seriously?!" He picked up the flowers and threw them out.
"Hey, I took Henry to Day-… wait, what are you doing?"
"If Graham thinks he can-"
Mary Margaret cut her off. "Those were mine."
Oops. "Oh. From David?" Please say they're from David.
"Whale."
No. "Why would Whale-" Mary Margaret gave her a look of guilt. "Are you serious?
Mary Margaret heaved a sigh. "I know. It's a disaster. But it was just a one-night stand."
"Not judging by the flowers."
Mary Margaret grimaced. "Maybe I shouldn't have called him after..."
She had to stifle her laughter. "You… you called him?"
"I felt guilty!"
Emma shook her head. "You don't have any reason to feel guilty. Trust me, you did nothing wrong. One-nighters are as far as I go." Not the best thing to tell her mother- especially since she's only a teenager- but it's true. She hasn't had a real boyfriend since Neal. Guys were overrated anyway.
"That's because you're-" She cut herself off.
Emma raised an eyebrow. "Because I'm what?" Mary Margaret shook her head. "Tell me."
"You're protecting yourself, with that wall you put up."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Just because I don't get emotional with a man."
It was Mary Margaret's turn to roll her eyes. "Don't get emotional with a man? The floral abuse tells a different story."
"What story?"
Mary Margaret looked at Emma, with loving eyes. "The one that's obvious to everyone- except, apparently you- that you have feeling for Graham."
"Come on."
"There's that wall." She said on her way to exit the room.
Emma groaned. "There's not a wall!" She called after her.
Mary Margaret stopped and turned to face her. "Emma, that wall of yours, it may keep out pain. But it keeps out love too." And with that, she left the apartment and went to work.
Was she right? Did she have feelings for Graham? She started thinking back to how she had to suppress a blush when they first met. Then again every time she sees him or hears his accent. She remembers not understanding why she was so angry with him over sleeping with Regina. Not just because it's Regina, because she has feelings for him.
XXX
Graham went to Emma's apartment and knocked on the door. She opened the door and smiled. "Ems, can we-" She cut him off crashing her lips to his.
"No." She pulled him into the apartment by the lapels of his leather jacket and lead him upstairs. They started ripping each others clothes off.
"Are you sure."
She nodded. "Absolutely." When they were in her bed, making love, she knew. She knew this wasn't a one-night stand.
It wasn't long until she fell into a restful sleep. Graham decided to take a walk, he left Emma a note, so she knew he'd be back.
XXX
Graham was following a wolf he saw into the woods, when he's hit with more flashes. He sees a dagger and Snow White… no, Mary Margaret, with long hair. She looks terrified. The wolf howls. He can see… Regina's vault. How does he know it's hers?
When the images go away, he runs in the direction of Storybrooke Elementary School, he really needs to talk to Mary Margaret.
When the school bell rings, he enters her classroom. "Mary Margaret, can I talk to you?" She nods. "How long have we known each other? Do you remember when we met."
"Now that I think about it, it's been forever. I don't remember exact-"
"Isn't that odd to you? I don't remember meeting anyone for the first time? Other than Emma, of course. Not you, David, Archie, Marco, no one." He sighed. "Have I ever hurt you?"
"God no Graham. What's going on? Are you okay. You don't seem well."
He sighed, ignoring her question. "Do you believe in other lives?"
"Like heaven?"
He shook his head. "No, like past lives, things like past lives. Do you?"
She felt his forehead. "Graham you're burning up! You should get home and rest. I think you'll feel much better if you do so."
XXX
Emma was at the station playing darts, or rather attempting to play darts, when her phone started ringing.
"Emma Swan." She answered.
"Hey Emma. It's Mary. I know you've been avoiding Graham, but I'm worried about him. He came in earlier asking me strange questions about other lives. He has a fever and obvious sweats. He was delirious Em. I told him to go home and get some rest, but I doubt he listened."
"I'll find him and check on him. Thanks for calling me Mare."
XXX
"Hey! I hear you're having a rough day." She approaches Graham in the middle of the road. "Mary's worried about you. So am I. Please Graham, what's going on."
"I figured it out Emma! It's my heart! I need to find it!"
She nodded. "Okay. How are you gonna go that?"
"I just need to follow the wolf. The wolf from my dreams. He's gonna help me find my heart."
She placed her hand on his chest. "You have a heart Graham. Feel?" She placed his hand where hers previously was.
"It's not real." He spots the wolf and begins following it. Emma followed him. The wolf led the to the graveyard. The come across Regina's vault and he convinces Emma to help him get in, since it's locked. She kicks the door down and they enter and begin looking around. "It has to be in here. Somewhere. It has to be."
"It's going to be okay Graham."
He nodded. "Okay." He sighed.
"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" A voice snapped from the entrance.
That's when they realize the crypt belongs to Regina's father. "Don't blame her. She tried to stop me. I was looking for something."
"What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I was uh- nothing. It was nothing."
"You don't look well dear. Let's get you home." She tries to grab his hand, but he pulls back. "Graham?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you! I can't- we can't be together Regina. I don't feel anything with you."
Regina scoffed. "Let me guess. You feel with her?" She turned to Emma. "What did I ever do to you?"
"Did you ever think that I'm not the problem? He's not happy with you! That's not my fault! It's yours!"
Regina responded by punching Emma, which she gladly returned. Emma had her pinned against the wall when Graham pulled them apart. "Stop."
Emma backed away. "Not worth it."
XXX
The two of them went back to the station, where David was. "Are you guys okay?" They both nodded in response. "Are you sure? Neither of you look well."
Emma smirked. "Gee, thanks David."
Graham chuckled. "We're fine David. I'm just gonna clean this up. You cam get back to what you were doing in your office." David nodded and made his way back into his office.
Graham gently began cleaning the cut on Emma's forehead with iodine and Emma winced. "Felt that."
"All better."
Emma smiled. "Yeah." She leaned in and kissed him. Suddenly, Graham had all his memories, she broke his curse. "Graham?"
"I remember!"
Emma raised her eyebrows at him. "Remember what?"
He cupped her cheeks. "Thank you." Emma smiled at him.
Regina stood in the basement of her vault, squeezing Graham's enchanted heart, until it was turned to dust.
He leaned in, to kiss her, then he felt a sharp pain in his chest, he stiffened, he knew what was happening. He dropped to the floor with a loud thud. "Graham! Graham! Graham! Come on! Graham!"
David rushed out of his office. "Emma, what-? Graham? What happened?!" He pulled out his phone and called an ambulance.
"Wake up Graham!" She turned to David. "Help me! He has to wake up!" She turned back down to Graham. "No! Graham! Please! Please wake up!" She began giving him CPR, she took a class on it in high school. "No! You're not leaving me!"
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