DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the wonderfulness that is Once Upon A Time and their characters or other later-mentioned characters (non-related to OUAT).

This is my first fic therefore, there is obviously no prequel but if you'd like a reference as to what I'm going to use as canon for most of Emma and Jeff's past then I'd recommend "Happily Never After" by L3ftOfCent3r. Plus, I think it's a rather brilliant fic in general so you should just read it anyways if you haven't. (Due to recent updates in "Happily Never After" I have to inform you that the Wonderland situation will be drastically different [because in my story, Regina was locked up/killed in The Enchanted Forest not sent to and stuck in Wonderland and The Looking Glass is still there as the door to Wonderland.])

Thank you ALL for your continued support of this story, you have no idea what it means to me! Thank you to anyone who has read and especially to those who review, favorite, and follow! :]] This chapter includes a lovely reunion and a bit of humor and then a somewhat unexpected twist so read on to find out and let me know what you think! Sorry if you don't like it but at some point the characters kind of start taking over and I no longer have a say in the matter so blame them! :P (And feel free to review and let me know if you loved it or hated it!)

A/N: In my story, Rumplestiltskin set it up so the curse was enacted 28 years before Baelfire appeared in our world therefore, Bae got there when the curse was broken. He was found not long after curse-break (the same age as when he was sent through [fourteen]) so he is now sixteen. Also, Rumple and Belle's 'true love's kiss' took away Rum's darkness but he still has all his powers just without the scale-y skin and deals and general creepiness. But don't worry he still has his quick wit and slightly dark and cryptic sense of humor that we all know and love him for. ;D Oh and please don't shoot me for attempting to write Rumbelle… I know it will never live up to any of the brilliance that has already been written and will continue to be written about them but they are one of my favorite ships so I couldn't not include them. :] (Oh and P.S. They're also married in my fic! ;D)

Chapter 8: I Couldn't Resist

Emma paced across the ten foot entrance to the dining room wringing her hands and muttering to herself. She glanced out the window and the sun was poking out just above the horizon and would be gone within minutes.

"Emma please sit down dear." Snow called from where she was waiting patiently at the table.

"You're going to end up wearing a hole in the floor sweetie." James joked with a small smile but no one laughed.

"A little worry never hurt anyone dearie." Rumplestiltskin remarked from his seat next to his son.

Snow shot Rumplestiltskin a glare as Baelfire rolled his eyes at the overwhelming tension in the room.

"She doesn't need to worry though. And if worrying wasn't such bad thing then why don't I see you pacing the floor?" Snow snapped.

"Who are you to say I am not worried? I was not even informed about this trip until I got here an hour ago and—"

"Please stop," Baelfire demanded, being the only sensible one in the room, as he held his hands up to silence his father and his friends' grandmother. "You do realize that fighting isn't going to ease Emma's worry or bring them back any sooner, right?"

The two adults turned away from one another with low, childish grunts of defeat as Emma stood frozen, staring out the window across the room from her where she watched the sun finally duck below the ocean. Her eyes grew wide as she stood completely still, succumbing to worry. She knew she shouldn't and that she was just being irrational but she could not help the horrible scenarios that could have caused her family to be late. What if they had been captured by the Queen? What if the hat somehow malfunctioned? What is Jefferson had some sort of breakdown? What if Henry or Grace got hurt? What if they couldn't find their way back to The Looking Glass? What if-

"Miss me princess?" Jefferson whispered in her ear causing her to jump and shriek but turn around in a flash with a look full of shock, relief, and happiness washing over her face. Jefferson quickly wrapped his arms around her waist to pick her up into his arms and swing her around as they both were overcome with pure joy and comfort at the sight of one another. He set her down as she wrapped her arms around his neck then crashed his lips to hers. She arched into him, eliminating any space between them as she deepened the kiss, too overcome with relief to think of who might be watching.

"Can you guys please stop so we can give you a hug?" Henry questioned with a disgusted expression at the sight of his parents making out.

Emma shyly pulled a fraction of an inch away from Jefferson to look over to her kids who stood at a safe distance with twisted faces. She glanced quickly back to Jefferson and whispered jokingly, "Eh, I was fine without you." She pecked him on the cheek before turning away from him, to her kids, and spreading her arms wide as she called, "Get over here!"

Her two kids ran to her squeezed her as tight as they could and she returned the gesture with mutual eagerness. She bent down to their heights and asked with wide eyes and a smile, "So, how was it?"

"Amazing!" Henry exclaimed with a beaming smile.

"You wouldn't believe everything we saw and everyone we got to meet!" Grace added with a growing smile of her own.

"Everyone?... As in, more than one person?..." Emma questioned as her brows furrowed and her lips drew back into a curious smile. Henry and Grace exchanged a quick, knowing glance with sneaky smiles as Emma continued, "I thought you were just going to see The White Rabbit…?"

Emma then shot an accusatory look up at Jefferson and he cowered as he took a step back and raised his hands in innocence. His lips pulled into a weak smile as he confessed, "I couldn't resist."

"Sure you couldn't." Emma replied as she cocked her head to the side with an unbelieving smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.

Emma stood up straight as one kid ran to each side of her and began spurting out the major details of the day.

"Whoa, calm down. You can tell me all the details soon but come on, let's eat some dinner first." Emma suggested as she began walking towards the dining table.

Henry and Grace ran to the table and took turns hugging each grandparent before dashing over to their friend, who was like an older brother to the both of them, and began informing him on all he had missed in Wonderland. Jefferson quickened his pace to reach Emma's side and catch her hand in his as he kissed the golden locks that covered the top of her head. They walked pressed to one another's side as Snow and James watched the small yet meaningful display of affection and gave each other a knowing smile.

"Oh so you're just going to leave me trailing behind without even telling me you were going to suddenly run to the castle," Belle accused as she walked through the entrance, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she shook her head in mocking distaste. "Oh," Belle squeaked as she noticed her family sitting at the table and a smile formed as she unfolded her arms, "Rum, Bae. I nearly forgot you two were coming."

Rumple quickly shot up out of his seat and attempted to casually speed-walk to his Belle but his urgency to see his wife was not as subtle as he wished it to be. He gently pulled her into a hug, touching her as though she was made of glass, asking, "Are you alright? Did you get hurt at all? Did anything go wrong? Is everything—"

Belle pulled back from him to look him in the eye and clearly stated, "I am perfectly fine. Actually, better than fine, today was so wonderful. The creatures there are unreal and fascinating like you wouldn't believe."

"Well good, good!" He conceded, finally letting the breath out that he had been holding in. He leaned down and let his lips brush past hers as he hooked one arm around her waist. He pulled away slightly and whispered in her ear as began to lead her to the table, "Next time you decide to travel to another realm could you please inform me at least a little in advance my dear?"

"Promise," she agreed with a smile as she cupped his chin and pulled his lips to hers before letting him return to his seat.

"Hi Belle." Baelfire greeted with a smile as he looked over his shoulder to his step-mother who stood just a foot behind him.

"Good evening Bae," Belle smiled back as she reached to hug Bae from behind.

Belle then gracefully sat into the chair Rumple had pulled out for her as Snow questioned with a smile, "Shall we eat?"

"Yes, please!" A horribly hungry Baelfire replied, eager to get eating after having had to wait an hour for the returning travelers.

Everyone let out a laugh at Bae's non-subtle eagerness to get his hands on the food then began delving into their dinner. All throughout dinner Wonderland was discussed. Henry and Grace gave every single detail of the trip and Belle added in a few thoughts of her own. Emma listened intently but many of the words passed right through her for she could not get past the fact that her family was home, completely safe, with her. Despite original protests to the trip Snow and James' interests had been piqued once they began hearing the details of the wondrous land. They even occasionally chimed in with questions, James more so than Snow, and ended up intrigued greatly by this somewhat 'mad' realm. Bae sat fascinated by the tales his friend and step-mother spun about this unknown place all the while, his father sat back in his seat making snide comments about their trip, namely about Jefferson and his past in Wonderland, causing his wife to have to scold him quite often for his rude behavior. Jefferson, for tonight, let the imp's remarks roll off his shoulder so as to not distract him from his current state of elation due to his being back with his wife, his kids being happy and satisfied, and having had an all-around safe and almost fun journey.

As dinner commenced and all were tired from a long day of travelling, Snow and James helped the wait staff with the dishes as they wished everyone a 'goodnight' and the two families parted ways, wishing 'goodnight's of their own, as they each headed off to their respective quarters.

Snow was the first to finish helping with the dish cleaning so she slowly made her way back into the dining room. She stood still for a moment, contemplating something, but then began pacing the floor and wringing her hands incessantly. She did not want to have to tell her daughter the information she knew she needed to hear. She couldn't keep it from her but she knew once she told her that she had no idea how she would react and it killed her. She felt like she knew her daughter so well and not knowing how she might respond to the news was an unbearable feeling. She did not want her to have to relive the great amount of pain she had already been through but she was a grown woman and unfortunately could not protect her child from every little sting of hurt.

"You two are so alike one another." James commented as he walked back into the dining room from the kitchen.

Snow offered a weak smile at his comment that she would have normally loved to hear. She was always ecstatic when she found similarities between her and her daughter but at this moment she was too distraught over the news she had to break to take pleasure in their common quirk.

James gently took hold of Snow's arms and looked her in the eyes with a look of understanding and mutual worry as he insisted, "I know it will be hard but she has got to know. We can't keep it from her."

Snow meekly nodded then slowly poked her head through the dining room entryway and looked out to see her wonderfully happy daughter standing in the hall with her family. She closed her eyes as to help alleviate some of her worry and James gave her hand a reassuring squeeze of comfort.

"Emma. Jefferson." Snow tentatively called to the couple standing hand-in-hand in front of their kids, joyfully kissing and hugging them goodnight. "I hope you don't mind but could I speak to you for just a minute?"

"No problem." Jefferson called back over his shoulder.

"Goodnight you two." Emma restated, pulling both of her children in for one last hug.

"Get some sleep. You've had a long day," Jefferson wished as he pulled them in for a hug of his own. "Now, you better head straight off to bed, no staying up any later tonight," he teased as he playfully swatted them away in the direction of their rooms. "Goodnight," he called out with a smile as they ran off to the staircase leading to the next floor where their rooms were.

"Goodnight," they called back over their shoulders in unison.

Emma and Jefferson turned and strolled back to the dining room with their hands still intertwined and periodically sending glances one another's way with small but love-filled smiles. They stepped into the dining room and immediately noticed the worrisome faces that wore over Snow and James.

"What's up? Are you guys okay?" Emma asked worried at the sight of her anguish-filled parents.

Snow took a step forward with James' firm grasp encircling her waist, comforting her as best he could. "Yes, yes, we're alright. It's just…" she inhaled a deep breath before finishing, "While we were away today Red was helping us handle something here at the castle."

Jefferson and Emma stood no less confused than the moment they had walked in and Emma ushered for her mother to continue, "And?..."

Snow was still hesitant but continued despite herself, "Well it was business only she could handle because of her, well, her special ability."

From that Emma drew the conclusion that it had something to do with wolves but was still confused so she questioned, "What business does the kingdom have with wolves?"

Snow let out a sigh as she finally built up the courage to finish what she needed to let it out, "Well as you know, Graham was—Oh my, Emma! Are you alright?" Snow quickly asked as she watched her daughter's eyes widen and her posture tense as her face drained of color.

Jefferson was gladder than ever that in this moment he was in such close proximity to his wife for instantly when she heard the name of the late huntsman/sheriff her knees went weak and she lost any ounce of strength she had. He caught her by the waist within a second of her arm going limp and held her close. He knew her history with the man and therefore understood why she reacted how she did to the mention of his name but merely wished there was something he could do stop her from feeling as weak as she currently did.

"Emma sweetheart," her father called to her worried.

"Emma sweetie, do you need help?" Snow cried as a fear-stricken expression crossed her face at the sight of her daughter's weak state.

"Emma, it's okay. It's okay." Jefferson soothed, whispering in her ear, as he ran his free hand up and down her side in the hopes it would comfort her.

"Go on." Emma roughly choked out of a now dry throat. She hated being coddled like this and constantly worried about but right now she would probably have fallen to the ground if it weren't for her husband's firm stance around her so she was thankful for at least that. Besides, at this point she could care less about the worry for her because her mind drifted elsewhere. Everyone had known her past with Graham and is his tragic and sudden death in her arms so they always did their best to avoid ever bringing his name up so why in the hell were they bringing it up right now?

Snow continued knowing any more delay of the news would only ail her daughter further though all she wanted to do was comfort her, "Well because of his connection with wolves, the one who was his 'protector' of sorts gained custody of his body once we were sent back here. Graham was never really given a proper funeral in Storybrooke so we had Red convince the wolf to let us host one for him. We owe all of our lives to him and he deserves to be properly honored. You don't have to attend but, I had to give you the option…"

Everyone closely watched Emma for a response as she took a few deep breaths and let some color slip back into her face. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of waiting she gained enough strength and sanity to stand for herself and slowly removed Jefferson's hand from their grip around her as she murmured, "I, I have to go… When is it?"

"In two days." Snow answered hesitantly. "We figured, there's no use in delaying it…"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there." She mumbled as she slowly looked around as though there was something to find but truly it was just to avoid anyone's gaze. "Sorry, but I've gotta get to bed. Goodnight," she wished as she turned and quickly made her way out the door, wanting to be alone.

Jefferson watched in agony as his wife scurried away without him. He was torn between running after her and holding her in his arms, never letting her go, or letting her be alone until she came to him. Knowing full well that his heart told him to do the first option but she would have told to do the latter.

"I'm so sorry Jefferson," Snow sincerely apologized, noticing the distraught look on Jefferson's face.

"No, no it's okay. She needed to know about it." He confirmed with a still horrified expression. "And, if it wasn't obvious I will be there as well… I owe him my wife's life and I could never pay enough respect to him." He paused to collect his thoughts then finished, "I'm sorry but I've got to go find her. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Snow called after him as he rushed out the door. Snow heaved a sigh as she looked down at her hands and pondered, "Oh, Charming. Was that the right thing to do? Did we go about it the right way?"

"Yes, of course. We couldn't have kept it from her." James soothed as he pressed his palms to her cheeks and brought her gaze up to his. "I don't ever question your judgment so neither should you."

"But did you see her face? She couldn't even bear to hear his name…" Snow added grimly, still questioning herself.

"That may be true but, it's to be expected. He was the first person, besides you, that she ever opened herself up to and he died in her arms. That has got to be harder on her than we could ever imagine. I hate knowing how hurt she is at the mere thought of him just as much as you do but we cannot protect her from everything… And unfortunately, coping with the death of a loved one is one of those things we just, have to help her get through." James added determined to take away his wife's doubts though he wanted to run after his daughter and vanquish anything that hurt her in any way just as she did. She had been through so much of her life alone, without anyone to comfort her, and it killed him to not go after her but he had faith in Jefferson being able to comfort Emma. Jefferson loved her unconditionally and there is nothing he wouldn't do for her and nothing he wouldn't be rid of if it hurt her. James gently pulled his wife by the arm and as he led her to their room he ushered, "Come on Snow, let's get to bed. We have got a long day of planning ahead of us."

Upstairs, Emma and Jefferson's Room

By the time Jefferson arrived at his room, after checking to see if his kids were both sleeping soundly in their beds, Emma was already tucked beneath their covers. He could easily tell she wasn't asleep and was simply trying to hide but nevertheless, he played into her wishes to be thought of as asleep and as quietly as he could, he slipped off his shoes and crawled into bed. She was turned away from him but without even touching her he could feel she was lying tensely with her face pinched in mock sleep. He stared her down for a moment longer before finally breaking the silence and with concern he moved towards her and questioned, although he knew the answer, "Emma, are you alright?"

Emma let out a heavy sigh as she realized her fake slumber was not enough to fool her husband and without turning around she replied with a simple, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lies. "Are you sure?" he questioned as he tucked an arm around her and pulled her back against his chest.

"Of course," she sniffed, refusing to let any tears out, as she lost her train of thought.

She could feel Jefferson's chest move slowly up and down as he breathed out, "You know, it's okay not to be alright." He paused, listening for any sort of response then continued, "It's understandable to feel grief."

Finally she turned to him and sat up to meet his eyes as her face filled with a mix of pain, anger, sadness, frustration, and remorse. "What? I barely knew him. Yeah sure, he was a nice guy and it's sad that he died, it's sad when anyone dies, but there's nothing we can do about it so why dwell on it?" she cried as a few frustrated tears finally slipped out. She threw her hands around in frustration as she continued and began sobbing, "I mean there's nothing we can do about the guy who sacrificed his heart to save my mother. And was only ever nice to me even when I was cold to him. And gave me a job when I wanted to stay and help out my kid. And wholeheartedly excepted me for who I was even though he barely knew me. And did nothing but try to tell me the truth and convince me that this place was real without being a total psycho about it. And the same guy, who died in my arms all because I didn't believe that he really didn't have a heart. The guy who never did anything but fight for me and my family. Why should I grieve over a guy like that?!" she cried out through violent sobbing as tears rushed down her face, much like they had the night Graham died, and collapsed into Jefferson's chest.

Jefferson held her as close as he could whilst quieting her and whispering soothing words to comfort her, understanding full well why she would be like this. She cried for another hour or so, eventually falling asleep in his strong arms as he watched her only wanting to take away the sadness she felt.

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and like where I took it even though it's upsetting. I know it's not cool that we finished on an extremely somber note (trust me I would have much rather had a happy ending and not been sobbing into my computer as I wrote it) but come on, every story has got to have a bit of drama. I wanted to tackle a tough situation that not many (if any [that I've seen]) have tackled in fics before, how Emma deals with Graham's death and her feelings for him after having moved on because she may not have known him for long but she witnessed his death, didn't even get to say goodbye, and she cared for him and no matter how thick a person is there is no way she would just forget about something like that once she had feelings for someone else. That is what the next few chapters will focus on so I'm really sorry if you don't like it. :[