Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I really appreciate them cuz they let me know if you're liking the story and how to improve

Chapter 32 (several weeks later)

Slowly, Emma began to adapt to her life post Regina. To her life without Graham. She'd hired Ruby to be her deputy, which made being at the station a hell of a lot less lonely. At the very least, it kept her from staring listlessly at Graham's former desk.

At first, everyone had bugged her about getting back together with Graham, saying how cute they'd looked together and such. But they'd finally dropped the subject. It also helped that Graham had practically disappeared from. Out of sight, out of mind.

One day, she and Ruby were eating at Granny's (on the house because what, Granny was gonna charge her own granddaughter?), when suddenly the door opened and in walked Graham, hand in hand with some girl.

Emma immediately sized her up, mentally labeling her as nothing more than a bitchy blonde bimbo. Graham's date wore a black miniskirt, black fishnets, and a black tank top that left nothing to the imagination. Emma already hated her. Who did this bitch think she was, marching around with her double D's and clutching Graham's hand in her meaty hand?

What hurt most of all was Graham's easy smile as he led his date to the best booth in the place, the booth that happened to be their booth, the one they sat in every time they came here. He looked good. Great, even. He'd shaved for the first time in weeks and it looked like he'd even put on some muscle.

"Emma?" Ruby waved her fork in front of the sheriff's face. Then, she noticed what Emma was looking at and whistled. "Wow. Was not expecting that." She hid a laugh behind her napkin, but thankfully Emma didn't notice.

"What?" Emma snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry."

"Looks like Graham got himself a new girlfriend, huh?" Ruby commented, thoroughly enjoying the look of anger on the sheriff's face. "That was fast."

"Whatever." Emma shrugged. "We're over, so he can do whatever he wants with whomever he wants." She sized up that girl again. "Even if she looks like a fucking hooker."

~The New Normal~

From behind his menu, Graham peeked at Emma again. She looked angry. Good. Under the table, he fired off a text to Henry, informing that all was going according to plan. His phone quickly vibrated back with Henry's reply, which simply said: FLIRT!

Graham chuckled as he put his phone away. Looking up at Marcie/Macey/whatever her name was, he smiled in what he hoped was a convincing manner.

"So, um, Marcie," He began awkwardly. God, this flirting thing was much harder than he remembered. Talking to Emma had been so natural. "What looks good here?"

"My name's Bobbi." The girl said. Where had he gotten Marcie/Macey from? She lowered her voice. "Look, if we're gonna do this, at least get my name right."

Graham nodded. He was glad that Henry had found someone who was so willing to go along with this. "Right, um, sorry." His phone vibrated with another text, which read: Relax! You're on a date!

"You'll have to make it up to me later." Bobbi purred, leaning forward and giving him a free show of her double D's.

Graham smiled, but it felt more like a painful grimace. "We'll see about that."

"So, what looks good here?" Bobbi pretended to read the menu. When Graham said nothing, she kicked him under the table and gave him a LOOK to indicate what he was supposed to say next.

"You." Graham flashed his irresistible grin, the one that always made Emma melt, and he could feel his heart breaking a little. He saw Bobbi flash him a surreptitious thumbs up.

"You have the sexiest hairrrr…." Bobbi reached over and started to comb through his brown locks. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emma visibly stiffen.

Suddenly, there was the loud scrap of a chair against a tiled floor, and he looked up to see Emma push her chair back and stalk out, Ruby at her heels.

He leaned back and breathed out heavily. "Well I'm glad that's over. Thanks." He said to the younger girl.

"No problem." Bobbi said. "I needed money for a new car, and you needed to make your ex jealous. Which by the way, I think we succeeded. It's a win-win." She stood up. "Pleasure doing business with you, Huntsman." She winked as she sauntered out.

A win-win. Judging by the way Emma had stormed out, he supposed that Bobbi was right. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to do this too many more times.

~The New Normal~

Over the next several days, Graham and Bobbi were seen everywhere. At the movies, making out on the streets, and of course at Granny's. Basically anywhere where they'd be seen by Emma. It broke Graham's heart whenever he saw Emma during one of his "dates" with Bobbi. He knew that it wouldn't exactly be a pleasant experience to see one's ex hooking up with some slut on the street.

But Henry was adamant that he continue to "date" Bobbi for at least another week before step 2 of his grand plan to win Emma back. Henry insisted that this was working, but Graham had yet to see otherwise. He kind of wished he hadn't consulted Henry, his ex's ten year old son of all people, to help him win Emma back, but it was too late to turn back now.

One day, Graham was at the grocery store, stocking up on things. His arms were piled high with groceries, blocking his vision, when suddenly he ran straight into someone, causing him to drop everything onto the floor in a huge pile.

He bent down to pick them up, mumbling an apology, and the other person did too. As he gathered his packages into his arms, he noticed their familiar black boots. Uh-oh. He stood up quickly, hoping to get away before she noticed that it was him.

No such luck, of course.

"Oh. It's you." Emma looked as if she'd swallowed something sour. She looked around, seemingly searching for something. "Where's your girlfriend?" She sneered nastily.

Graham knew that this was the exact reaction they'd been looking for, the proof that their little plan was working. But it didn't stop the little dive in his stomach when he saw the way Emma looked at him.

"Home." He gulped, anticipating her reaction. He'd made it sound like they were living together. Sure enough, Emma suddenly looked as if she was gonna puke.

"Home?" She repeated snarkily. "Good to know that while we were dating, you never bothered me to show me your place."

Graham opened his mouth to argue that he had wanted to show her his apartment, but it was far too messy and he didn't want to scare her away. In his old life as the Huntsman, he was used to the messiness of nature, so naturally his apartment reflected that. It was also far too dark, lonely, and quiet.

"Great. Don't say anything." Emma deadpanned. "What do you see in her anyway? It's not like she's your type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Graham couldn't keep the defensiveness from creeping into his voice. Although Bobbi was nothing more than a fake girlfriend (she was 18!), she was a genuinely nice person.

"You know exactly what I mean." Emma crossed her arms over her chest.

"She's everything you're not." It was exactly the right and wrong thing to say.

"Oh, you're right then. She's an airhead. A blonde bitch bimbo. Things I'll never be." Emma snapped angrily.

"And why do you care?" Graham retorted. He knew it was what Henry would want him to say, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Emma scoffed. It was obvious that he'd broken her down. "You're right. I don't care." She grabbed her box of cereal off the floor. "Enjoy each other." She stalked off, but then turned around. "You know, I don't even know why I fell for you in the first place. I thought you were honest. That you had morals. You're sleeping with a teenager, and you don't even care. You disgust me."

~The New Normal~

Emma collapsed against the brick wall outside of the store, overcome with tears. She cried so hard she could barely see three feet in front of her. She'd thought she was over Graham, but that was obviously far from true. Just the mere sight of Graham with that bitch made her chest ache in a way that had nothing to do with getting shot. She couldn't stand to see them together, to see his hand clasped in hers and that happy, dazed smile on his face. A smile that she thought only she could bring to his face.

She missed the way he brushed the hair out of her face, the way his adorable accent made everything he said sound ten times better, the way she'd look up while working and see his gaze fixed on her, a gaze filled with pure love and adoration. Above all, she missed the way he made her feel when she was with him, like nothing could go wrong and the world was perfect.

Emma knew that she'd brought this on herself. Graham had given her so many chances, yet each time she'd screwed it up. She knew he'd crawl to the ends of the Earth for her, but all she'd done was reject him. She so hadn't deserved him. And now he was with someone else, someone who was ten times better than her, regardless of how she dressed. Graham had been right. Bobbi was everything she wasn't. At the very least, she deserved Graham.

Soon, Emma was out of tears. She just sat with her back to the wall, staring numbly at a tree across the street. She knew that people passing by must have thought she was crazy, but who cared?

Just then, someone stepped up in front of her. "Emma?" It was Mary Margaret.

Her mother's voice made her start crying again. Like a true mother, Mary Margaret immediately sat down and placed her arms around her daughter, letting her cry into her shoulder, rubbing her arms soothingly. The gentle treatment just made her cry harder. She didn't deserve anyone's niceness.

"You saw Graham, didn't you?" Mary Margaret said. Emma just nodded, unable to speak. Instead, she just laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"He's with some blonde bimbo." Emma muttered, sounding very much like a pouty six year old.

Her mother sighed. "I know. It's kinda hard to miss. They're a sight for sore eyes." She said, earning a small chuckle from Emma.

"I just can't stand to see them together." Emma sat up straight. "I mean, what does he see in her?"

"You know something about Graham?" Her mother asked. "He sees the good in people. I mean, when you first arrived in town, you weren't exactly emanating very welcoming vibes. Yet he still sought you out, going above and beyond to be nice. He offered you a job despite your little experience with being a deputy and endured Regina's wrath, even refusing to arrest you. He saw through your walls to who you really were. And not many people have done that."

Emma nodded. She had a point.

"So maybe Graham sees something in Bobbi that no one else sees." Mary Margaret continued. "But that's not what's bugging you, is it?"

Dear God, it was amazing how well Mary Margaret knew her. "Yes, it is." Emma said a bit too forcefully. They were not about to go there.

"No it's not." Her mother gave her that look, the look that meant she knew Emma was lying. When she saw that Emma was staying mum, she sighed.

"Ok. Here's what I think's going on," Mary Margaret began. "You're not sad that Graham's dating someone else. I mean, you are, but that's not the main reason. You're mad. Mad at yourself for letting him go. For not opening up to him."

Although Emma knew that these words were true, she couldn't help but argue back. "I broke up with him because he broke his promise. And I can't stand people who break promises."

"He broke a promise that saved your life." Mary Margaret pointed out.

"Still." Emma said stubbornly. "He promised. He knew that I hated being lied to. If he can't honor that then I can't be with him. He obviously didn't love me enough to tell me the fucking truth."

"Oh, Emma." Mary Margaret started to comb through her daughter's tangled blonde tresses. "I think deep inside you knew Graham loved you. That's why he lied. To protect you. Do you know how bad he felt after the attack?"

"It wasn't his fault." Emma scoffed.

"Yes, but he still felt responsible." Mary Margaret continued softly. "Emma. You need to learn how to trust people. That's what this is about. You're afraid to let him in. You're scared that once you do, he'll leave you. Just like everyone else."

She continued. "Emma. You need to trust that Graham's not going to leave. He's not Neal. He loves you more than anything."

Emma bristled at the sound of Neal's name, but she said nothing. She started to cry again, basically confirming that everything her mother said was true. It was such a raw, vulnerable moment, so unlike her usual strong persona. She buried her head in her mother's shoulder and cried for what seemed like an eternity.

"I'm really screwed up, aren't I?" Emma laughed ruefully.

Mary Margaret looked sadly at her daughter. "Yes, you are." She said softly. "I suppose I'm to blame for that, aren't I?" She sighed. "If I hadn't forced your father to put you through the wardrobe, then you wouldn't have ended up in foster care."

"Ok, seriously?" Emma rolled her eyes. "We are not gonna go there."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Listen. The only way you're gonna feel better is if you go and tell Graham the truth."

Emma looked horrified. "Um no thanks."

"I know confronting your feelings isn't exactly your best skill, but you can do it." You need to. Unless you wanna go around crying outside grocery stores for the rest of your life. Think about it this way. What do you have to lose?"

Emma thought over those last words. Her mother was right. What did she have to lose? Worst case possible, Graham would laugh in her face and slam the door. But that was nothing worse than the physical and mental abuse she'd dealt with before. And if he didn't slam the door, well then….

"You're right." Emma stood up. "Wish me luck."

~The New Normal~

Graham sank against the wall of his apartment. His groceries lay in a messy pile on the floor, but he didn't really care. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Emma. Emma's blue eyes, her blonde curls, and her beautiful smile that lit up the room. But above all, he saw the look of pure disgust she'd given him as she stalked out of the store. The stunned, hurt, gut wrenching feeling he saw in her eyes every time he was on a "date" with Bobbi.

It made him feel so guilty that he was responsible for her pain. This time, it was nobody's fault but his. No one told him to listen to a ten year old for advice. Henry had said that eventually she'd grow so jealous she'd come running back to him. But this plan had the opposite effect. It made Emma hate him even more.

No. Graham decided. No more of this immaturity. It was time to move on to Phase 2 of their grand master plan: beg for forgiveness.

Author's note: Yes, I do realize that the whole fake girlfriend thing is kinda stupid. But remember, Graham was taking advice from a ten year old. Since when do ten year olds have exceptional amounts of knowledge on relationships? Review for next ch!