A/N: Hey, how are you guys? It´s been kind of a busy month for Gremma shippers, right? I mean, there was the shoelace (still fangirling about it) and the things that happened last ep(don´t want to spoiler anyone just in case).Anyway, with the exception of my beta no one found out that little clue about this chapter, huh? Oh well it was really hard after all I guess. So, this chapter is shorter than the others, with the exception of the prologue, but I hope you guys like it. Again, further ramblings at the end of the chapter, and the song this time is Wonderwall and while yeah it´s from Oasis, if you´re the type to listen to music while reading I´ll suggest you listen to the cover by Ryan Adams.

Interlude: The fire in your heart is out.

And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I'd like to say to you
But I don't know howI said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

That´s disgusting.

He can still hear her voice in his mind so clearly, see the anger in her face, the hidden pain in her eyes, except … Except, Emma didn´t really said that, did she?

It hasn´t even been 24 hours, and even if he can´t seem to think of anything else, the details of the scene are still blurred. He knows he hurt her though, and he never ever wanted to hurt her. Because she´s Emma and he loves her, has loved her for so long now, that it seems like forever.

I do work at an animal shelter.

He remembers saying that to her, desperate for her to stay, for her not to look at him that way. But he also remembers thinking about saying that, but never really getting the chance, and Emma´s hollow laugh, except she didn´t laugh the first time, did she? But the first time wasn´t real. It was just a dream, a nightmare really, his subconscious playing with his fears.

Graham has always known that his Deputy would find out about his affair with the Mayor. It was inevitable really, but he always hoped it would be on his terms, meaning it would be when he had got drunk enough to break things off with Regina. Also, he wanted to tell Emma in person. Tell her that he used to have a…thing with Regina, but that he never felt anything with the Mayor, that he never felt anything at all until she, Emma, came.

Sometimes, the sheriff thinks that he loved the feisty blonde from the start. Others, he thinks that she sneaked upon him without him even knowing, that one day she was just so entrenched in his heart that it was like she has always been there. Like Graham had always loved her. Like he has always felt that need to make her smile, to be close to her, to hear her laugh, to talk to her, to watch her, to just be with her.

Then there were the dreams. Since the former bail bonds came into town, the sheriff had dreamed about her every night. Sometimes, it would be of normal scenes like them drinking beer together and playing darts, others it would be him impulsively kissing her or, even better, she kissing him. He even dreamed about how he would offer the job of deputy to her, and in real life that scene unfolded practically the same way.

That was why, when he started dreaming about Emma finding out about his mess of a situation with Regina, he tried so hard to not have the same thing happen in real life. He never asked for her to take the night shift, even when Regina herself suggested that he did this. He can´t even remember the story he told Regina of why he wouldn't assign his deputy the night patrol, so he could go to her house. He does remember that he started deleting her texts without reading and ignoring her calls.

Unfortunately, she showed up at the station that Saturday and made quite clear that he had to meet her that night. Graham was just glad that Emma has left earlier and that she didn´t see Regina´s suggestive comments or the hungry look on the Mayor´s eyes.

Of course, Graham could say no. He could have broken things off right then. He should have, but he couldn´t. He could never say no to Regina. He couldn´t because…because…

Because why?

His head hurts, his eyes stings and his heart aches. He keeps seeing these flashes of how Emma´s going to be when he see her again, keeps seeing how she discovered about that mess of affair, seeing two different, but oh so similar, scenes unfold behind his eyelids. In one, the blonde is all anger and surprise; mouth pressed in thin line, snarky comments, thinly veiled disgust and barely held pain in her eyes. In the other one, she´s clearly confused, eyes blinking rapidly, hollow laughs and a gaze full of painful sadness and looking incredibly lost.

He doesn´t know which look he hates more, but he knows that he hates himself enough for putting both of them on her face.

He´s on his way to his apartment, the walking through the forest not helping him relax for the first time ever, when he sees the light on in a certain office. It´s not something unusual, the sheriff has already seems that light on, even on weekends, many times before, but it´s the first time that makes Graham pause. Today he was supposed to have lunch with David, Mary Margaret, Henry and Emma. Supposed to being the key word here. His Deputy has asked for time, and as much as it pains him, that´s exactly what he´s gonna give to her. Because, after all, what could Emma ask that Graham won´t give her?

But the truth is that he needs to talk with someone. He misses Emma, with an intensity that he didn´t think possible before, and he can´t even talk about it with someone. Why? Well, the first person that he can think to talk with is Emma, and that is out of question. He guesses he could maybe talk with Mary Margaret or David, but they only became his friends because of Emma, and suddenly he´s back to square one.

He never really noticed before, but oh God how lonely he was before Emma came into town.

(How lonely he is right now without her)

So, before he can even consciously register, he is already knocking on the office´s door. The one with the light on, even if it´s a Sunday afternoon.

"Archie? Do you have a moment?"

There´s the sound of a dog barking and suddenly the door is open.

"I was wondering when you would show up, Sheriff."

At first, Archie looked the same as ever. The glasses, the clothes, the calm tone of voice. The smirk on his face though, was new, with a hint of amusement, but mostly just sadness in it.

"Yeah?" Graham is scratching behind Pongo´s ears, who came to door as soon as it was open, the dog´s tail wagging happily.

"Miss Swan was the first to come, of course." A pause, Graham´s heart painfully contracting at the sound of her name. "Then Miss Blanchard made me a visit as well, and even Mr. Nolan wanted to discuss the matter in one of his sessions."

The sheriff almost let a sigh of relief escape his lips. So, the town doesn´t know yet about his fight with Emma (there´s a tiny voice inside his head that says that they´ll find soon enough anyway).

"I´m not here today to discuss Henry."

The psychiatrics' face is full of surprise, his mouth even opened a little, and the sight of it makes Graham repress a chuckle.

"No?"

The shake of a head.

"I can´t exactly blame someone for following Regina´s…orders." The bitterness when he says her name is clear, and he only hesitated a second to call the manipulative pressure that the Mayor puts the town under as orders.

(He can be many things, but he´s not a hypocrite)

"Then what brings you here?"

The sheriff stops petting Pongo and smiles sadly at the man in front of him.

"I need to talk to someone."

A brief pause and then the door is open wider.

"What do you want to talk about?" Archie is walking in the direction of his usual office´s chair, pausing a little to turn back to see the sheriff closing the door.

Pongo is already curling up in a ball on the floor mat, when Graham notices the bottle of whiskey on the table. The shrink raises an eyebrow when he notices where the sheriff´s gaze is.

"I suppose you know about…" The sheriff sits on the black couch and briefly closes his eyes. "…my thing with Regina."

Wordless, Archie pours whiskey in a glass and pass it to Graham, who immediately drinks it, the whiskey burning pleasantly on his throat.

"Well, you two weren´t exactly discreet before Henry came." The psychiatric pours some more whiskey on his own glass and, noticing that his visitor´s glass is already empty, pours more whiskey on the sheriff´s glass too.

That´s right. That was what made him start jumping windows at night and having rendezvous at Granny´s inn. Regina was always adamant that her son could never found out about the two of them. She was also always adamant that Graham didn´t interact with Henry either. She was the reason all the happy father´s day cards that he won from Henry were given in secret, and never proudly displayed at the station´s notice board.

"I want to break things off with her."

"But?"

"But I can´t." There´s an incredible amount of helplessness, confusion and self loathing in the sheriff´s voice, especially considering that it was only three words that were spoken. "Do you understand that?"

"I think I do." Archie´s grin is small, full of dark sarcasm and irony, with no small amount of self loathing in it as well.

A hollow laugh that stops suddenly.

(Because of the echo of another hollow laugh in the not so distant past)

"Yeah, I think you do."

The clock warns that is three in the afternoon, much too soon to be drinking. But even if the thought has passed in the men´s heads that they should stop drinking, it´s so damn early, they only take another sip of their respective glasses.

"Can I ask you a question though?" The shrink says while putting his glass on the table and holding his hands together.

Graham takes another sip of his whiskey, and nods while starting to carelessly shake his glass with his right hand.

"Do you want to break things off, because you want to start a relationship with Miss Swan?"

Thank God he wasn´t drinking anymore, he would surely have split all of his whiskey after hearing that question.

And here is the proof to his suspicions that he was being too obvious with his feelings for Emma.

Too damn obvious.

"Why would you say that?"

"It´s a small town, Graham. There are even bets already on you two." Archie´s voice is all amusement, and his eyes seem to pity the man in front of him. The sheriff heard loud and clear the unspoken question: Did you really thought you were hiding your feelings so well?

He also heard the clearly muffed chuckles. He appreciates the fact that Archie is not laughing hysterically now, more than he ever thought before.

Wait just a minute.

"Wait, did you bet on it too?"

"You know there´s not much entertainment here in Storybrooke…" The look on the psychiatrist's face is almost sheepish when he shrugs. "If you help me a little with, say inside information, I promise to split the money with you. You can take your Deputy to a date to The Tavern even." There´s an amused glint in the shrink´s eyes that leaves no doubt that he´s only joking.

Still…

"I would never think that of you, Archie."

"Funny, that´s not the first time I heard this recently…" Archie´s voice is humorless; the glint of amusement in his eyes is gone, and there is something so broken in him that urges Graham to gulp the rest of his whiskey.

(Like he had lost himself somehow)

However, the idea to take Emma on a date to the most expensive restaurant in town is temping. Too tempting. He would show up at Mary Margaret´s with a bunch of red tulips (her favorites), a sweating mess wearing the only blazer he owns, and she would open that door smiling, the same smile that she had on her face when they got Belle to Gold and they would..

Oh God.

"I think I need a drink." The sheriff´s voice is hoarse and he´s trying not to think about taking Emma on a date. If the chances were slim before, now they are almost nonexistent. Besides, why hurt himself anymore this way?

"Whiskey?"

Archie is already walking away, probably in the direction of wherever he puts his alcohol since the bottle on the table is already empty, and doesn´t see Graham´s nod.

"You still haven´t answered my question, you know?"

The voice comes from somewhere behind the sheriff (the kitchen maybe?), but the later doesn´t answer immediately, instead he get up from the couch and starts walking in the direction of the clock. It´s almost four o´clock, but it should already be dark outside. The thought of the sky mirroring his feelings brings him some kind of comfort.

The sound of steps makes him turns and accepts the glass that Archie is giving him. After a long sip, the sheriff finally answers the question.

"I do want to start a relationship with Emma. Of course I do. But, I want to break things with Regina for me, not for her."

\-/

"You love her."

He looked up from his book startled. There´s a small grin on her face, her blue eyes are clearly twinkling in mischief and her voice was all amusement when she talked in an almost nonchalant voice. For a moment, something in him clicks and he realizes that he knows her. He has seen that same expression on her face before, except then her small hands were chained and not clutching a book. Then, that moment is gone and his mind is reeling, but he can only focus on what he heard, not what he saw. Or thought he saw anyway, because why would she even be chained in the first place?

(He blames his lack of sleep)

"Excuse me?"

"Well," Her eyes have lost that twinkle of mischief, there´s embarrassment in her voice, like she had talked too much, too soon. "I believe that you can´t know what is in a person´s heart until you truly know them, but…

"Yeah?"

"I feel like I do know you, I mean…" She bits her lower lip hesitantly. "Don´t you?"

Graham blinks once and looks down back to the book in his hand. It´s a collection of Grimm´s fairytales and in it the Huntsman has just presented the Evil Queen with a stag´s heart. It works in the story, he knows that, he remembers seeing the movie once, or maybe twice, in his childhood. Somehow though, he never believed that the Queen was fooled that easily….

"Maybe we´ve meet in another life." The sheriff´s voice is light, but he is thinking of Henry´s book and his theory that everyone in Storybrooke is a fairytale character. He knows the book is about interlinked fairytales, but he can´t see how the Huntsman from Snow White could have ever meet Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Though, the idea of Gold as the Beast does make him chuckle. He is making a mental note to ask the kid about it, when he remembers that he´s trying to distance himself from Emma. Funny, but the time spent with Belle, while the girl shows to him her new home, and more specifically the library in it; has almost made him forget about his predicament.

"Maybe… But don´t think I don´t know what you´re doing." She turns and places the book she was holding back to the shelf behind her. When she turns back again, she sighs a little. "What happened?"

It was fun; watching as Belle beams while showing the library and he teases her about Gold, making her blush. The amnesiac girl seemed very happy in the pink manor, even with the requests for her to not go out, so Regina wouldn´t find her. But apparently, she noticed that something was off with him, if the ongoing conversation is proof enough. Not even Archie, whose job involves being able to tell when something is wrong with someone, was that fast in noticing it.

"What do you mean?"

"Emma and Jefferson had dinner with us yesterday. She seemed relieved when I couldn´t get a hold of you."

His heart involuntarily clench at her words. On another hand, that explains why he was the only one invited to lunch, if Belle said it was a thank-you-for-rescuing-me-lunch.

"I was with a friend."

So, while he was drinking and whining with Archie, Emma was having dinner with Jefferson. Sure, Belle and Gold were certainly present as well, but Graham´s mind decided to attach itself to the fact that Jefferson was having dinner with Emma. Sunday dinner.

(She used to have Sundays dinners with him and Mary Margaret on the loft)

Seeing that the brunette is still staring at him, clearly expecting a better answer, the sheriff take a few steps and puts the collection of Grimm´s fairy tales back to the shelf and sighs.

"It´s complicated."

"Love always is." Belle replies without even missing a beat.

True, no one ever said that love was easy. He just never thought that love could render him this hopeless, this lost, this broken. Besides, even if what he had with Emma was not unrequited love, if he ever had a real chance that she would love him back, not just care for him, well… he´s certain now that the chance he got has just slipped away.

"She´s disappointed with me." He laughs curtly, while tugging at his hair with left hand. "She´s angry with me."

I don´t think she will ever forgive me, it´s what he thinks but doesn´t say, And even if she somehow does, I don´t think she will ever look at me like she used to.

"Really? That wasn´t the impression I got."

Wait, what?

"Wasn´t?"

There´s a small contemplative smile on Belle´s face. The light from the library´s window is filtering from the curtains, illuminating her in a golden haze. Standing there, surrounded by books in a small private library inside a manor, with that blue dress and that smile, she looked like a real Disney princess. She looked like the living version of the Beauty in that tale as old as time.

"Nah. She looked disappointed and angry yes, but not with you, with herself."

"With herself?"

He couldn´t have heard that right.

"Yes, I didn´t understand either…" A brief pause and a quick glance in his direction. "Jefferson seems to understand, though. He was the one that managed to keep her focused on the conversation. Not that you need to worry about that."

"Sorry?"

The brunette points to his hands, and it´s then that he realized that they were clenched.

"They are just friends."

"Correct if I´m wrong, but wasn´t it you who thought that Emma and Jefferson were together?" The sheriff´s left hand comes to tug at his hair again, this time more gently, defeated almost. "Besides, at least he never hurt her that way."

"First, of course Jefferson could never hurt her that way. He doesn´t hold that power, you do. Second, well… I thought it would explain…"

He chose to focus on her second point, because the first one made his throat clench and it seems to make his heart do somersaults.

(It is only when he thinks of Emma, that he actually feels like he has a heart)

"Explain what?"

"Why you so clearly disliked Jefferson."

Oh

"It was that obvious?"

"That you were jealous?"

"I wasn´t…" The disbelief in her face is so apparent, that he concedes. "Maybe just a little bit."

"Sure, sheriff" Belle says while laughing.

She´s still laughing softly and he´s so clearly blushing, it´s apparent even with the beard, when the door to the library is opened.

"Belle? Lunch is ready."

Gold is leaning on the door frame, his posture more relaxed that Graham has ever seen him (and he has known Gold his entire life it seems), a smile on his lips.

"Thank you." Belle says with such softness, and her entire being seems to start to glow the minute the pawn owner walked on the library. It´s such a clear contrast that the sheriff finds himself incredibly amusement by the sight.

"What?" The girl has just turned to the sheriff, and appears to know instinctively what he´s so amused by.

"Nothing." Graham says between small chuckles.

She huffs a little and starts to walk in the door direction, the now much happier than before sheriff trailing behind her.

Love might be hard and complicated and it might break you. But, looking at Belle with Gold reminded him why people say that love can be strength as well. After all, the brunette doesn´t even remembers her once boyfriend, but it´s clear to anyone with eyes that even without remembering she still feels something for him.

(She just may have not noticed that yet)

"Say, sheriff, would you stay for desert? I know you need to head back to the station, but Belle is the one who made the crème brûlée." Gold´s voice is, very probably, the epitome of happiness. Like there was any doubt he was less than thrilled with his new roommate.

"I read the recipe in one of the cook books." Belle says after looking at the puzzled expression on Graham´s face, answering his silent question.

He´s prepared to say that he couldn´t stay much longer after lunch when he remembers it. Emma is not at work today. He would go back to a silent station, one without Emma´s teasing of his awful jokes, without her laugh when he manages to actually tell a somewhat decent joke, without her singing under her breath while doing paperwork, without her complains about Miss Ginger´s daily calls, without the smell of hot cocoa with cinnamon, without her stealing a sip of his coffee, without her smiles when she wins over him in one of their silly competitions, or her muttering when she would lose.

A station without Emma.

"No, I wouldn´t mind staying for desert. Any call can be redirect to my cell anyway." The smile he gives the couple seems to be lacking, since Belle looks worried and Gold looks actually pitying.

It doesn´t matter. He´s in no rush to go a station where Emma isn´t, he´s in no rush to get anywhere that Emma isn´t.

God, it´s been just two days, but oh, how he misses her.

\-/

Graham died last night. Or at least, he dreamed that he died last night, and while that should be what is bothering him, the fact that he died in his dream, it´s not. It didn´t even bother him when he was dreaming to tell the truth. Of course, he should have been a bit worried in his dream, since he was dying after all and didn´t know he was dreaming, but all his focus was on Emma. Because she was crying, sobbing actually, and he was dying in her arms and all that he could think was how much he loves her and that she should stop crying.

And to think that the dream had started so good.

They were at the station, he was tending to the cut on Emma´s forehead, they talked a little, but in the dream he couldn't heard the words very well (or at all), or maybe he could, but he doesn´t remember now that he awoke. Then he turned around and she was looking at him. It wasn´t a look he had seen before, he had long ago categorized all the many face expressions of Emma Swan. Her eyes were incredibly soft and there was just something…it was like her defenses were down. Like her walls never existed in the first place.

She walked slowly in his direction and it was like something in him knew what was about to happen. Her eyes seem a little unsure, looking for something in his eyes, their noses lightly touch and then…She was kissing him. Emma Swan was kissing him. Him, Graham Humbert!

At the beginning it was just a lightly brush, but then his hand went to graze her waist and she started to slowly rub the area between his shoulder and neck .They separated a little and were back at kissing at each other. Her lips were as soft as he imagined, he thought that she tasted like cinnamon and something that he couldn´t quite grasp, but that he wanted to find out soon. Then, his mind went blank. It was like a flash or a multitude of flashes in rapid succession. After he woke, he could only remember the strange white wolf and a teenage girl with long curly black hair dressed in white.

The flashes disoriented him and he fell a little on the desk behind him. Emma seemed worried, a worry that only grows with time, with just a little hint of confusion. He, on the other hand, was elated. Graham doesn´t think he has ever been this happy before, be it in reality or even in dreams. He was still a little confused when he walked to Emma (when had she distanced herself from him?) and carefully grabbed her face in his hands. A tear escaped his eye, a tear of happiness, and Emma smiled and he felt like he could burst.

He had never felt this complete before, hell he had never felt this much before. His heart was beating wildly in his chest and all of his focus was on the beautiful blonde in front of him, still there´s just something… something was trying to warn him. It´s like he had that dream before, and there´s this feeling of dread enveloping him. But there´s also Emma, and he knows he can not focus on anything but her.

(Even if he knows that´ll be his undoing)

He goes to kiss her, he can´t wait to taste cinnamon and that something indecipherable again, and their lips are almost touching when suddenly there´s this pain in his chest and he falls. It´s like the dream finally has sound, because he remembers hearing Emma scream his name quite clearly. He can hear her sobs also. He wants to do something, he wants to do anything, but he knows he is dying. If he could just maybe open his eyes then…

"Graham?"

The sheriff blinks once. There´s light coming in from the curtains on the window. He is at the station, but it´s obviously daytime and he´s sitting on a chair, with a mug of coffee in front of him, not lying down on the floor. He´s alive, not dead. He blinks twice. There´s a boy in front of him, instead of a blonde woman. The two do have the same chin though, as well as the same confused/ worried expression.

"Are you ok?"

Henry is standing up in front of his desk, school uniform still on and a hand gripping his back pack. His brown eyes are wide and Graham wonders how long has he been there, trying to get his attention.

Long enough for him to worry it seems.

"Yeah, I am." The kid´s face is still apprehensive, and the sheriff sighs a little. "Really, it´s nothing. I just didn´t get a good night of sleep."

Dreaming that you died in the arms of the woman you love, who is currently not talking to you, apparently can do that to someone.

Still, Graham forces a little smile and takes a sip of his coffee.

"Because of what happened with my mom?" Henry´s voice sounds innocent enough, but the glint in his eyes tells another story.

Hiding a grimace, he finds out his coffee was cold, the sheriff almost choke when he hears Henry.

"Yes, because of that."

Well, it is kind of the truth. He just omitted the part about his morbid and depressing dreams.

"Did you two have a fight?" Henry´s eyebrows were scrunched and the way he momentarily bit his lip was so Emma, that Graham clutched his mug tighter. "She doesn´t tell me what happened, but she´s been really sad too."

Too?

"Well, what did she tell you?"

"That you wouldn´t be having breakfast with us for a while, that she´s trying to understand something and that she thinks about that something better when you´re not around." Henry speaks fast, words almost tumbling over each other and the grip on his backpack tightens. "She tells me it´s complicated."

Graham doesn´t even miss a beat.

"It is."

"It really is?" Henry´s voice is skeptical. He has stopped gripping his backpack and is now facing Graham with arms crossed and an expression that all but screams to not underestimate his intelligence (Like the sheriff would ever be dumb enough to do that). "Or is it just adults complicating things again?"

There´s nothing simple about the fact that your mom caught me sneaking out of your house, where I clearly just had sex with you other mom.

Yeah, like he´ll actually say that. He doesn´t want to scar the kid for life, not to mention that he doesn´t want Henry to think that bad about him either.

(It´s enough that Emma already does)

"A little of both, I guess." The sheriff finally says.

Besides, there´s this feeling that somehow this isn´t the whole story… Like there´s something he´s supposed to know. Something that Emma apparently already knows.

"I just don´t understand why you two don´t made up already." A sigh. "You´re both so sad about it anyway."

"It´s not that easy, Henry."

It should be, he knows that. But it´s just like why he won´t break things off with Regina. He wants to go to Emma, he already gave her too much time anyway, and he wants to apologize, to beg for her forgiveness and to ask for a second chance. He desperately needs to do that.

But he won´t.

And he doesn´t know why, only that he won´t. It´s a knowledge ingrained inside of him, just like he always knew that he doesn´t have feeling for Regina, but that he still won´t break up with her.

"But we miss you." Henry´s slightly whinny voice stops his confused train of thought, and the headache that was sure coming. "Game Night in not the same without you, even if David is now joining."

Oh.

So that´s what it feels to have someone miss you?

His chest is heavy and he has this crazy urge to laugh and cry.

They missed him, or at least, Henry did.

Still, someone actually missed him.

(He doesn´t think someone ever did)

"I miss you guys as well. But, if you miss me, you can always come and visit me." Graham´s voice is a little raspy and, maybe, he´s blinking too much, but he just can´t help these feelings he´s having.

(He never thought someone would actually miss him. The town would certainly miss its sheriff, but it would quickly found a new one. Now, miss him, as Graham, as a person, instead of someone who does a necessary job? He never thought someone would.)

"Really? I won´t be bothering you at work?"

Ah, so that´s what Regina told him. He always wondered why Henry never went to see him at the Station, since that time Regina caught him teaching the boy how to play darts.

Henry was having as much luck as Emma at throwing darts, before Graham started teaching him.

Like mother, like son.

"You never bother me, Henry."

The boy smiles happily and, throwing his backpack to the floor, he sits on the chair in front of the sheriff.

"And if my mom wants to see you?"

"She can see me anytime she wants."

Graham just doesn´t think she will.

Not after that night.

"Henry." The kid looks up when he hears his name. He´s holding a dart that was on the desk, twirling between his fingers. "You know that I would never intentionally hurt Emma, don´t you?"

He´s not sure if he´s trying to reassure himself or Henry. However, it is important that Henry knows that, because that´s the whole reason he went to the Station, isn´t it? To ask Graham why his mom was hurting?

The sheriff may be stupid, but he can read between the lines.

(Sometimes)

"Of course I do, Graham." Henry´s eyes shows some surprise, but it´s the conviction in it and what he says next that surprises the man in front of him. "You love her."

What?

"I´m sorry?"

Sure, Graham knew he was being obvious about his feelings for Emma (Belle and Archie left that pretty clear), but he didn´t knew he was being so obvious that even a 10 years old knew about it.

"Well, you two are like Snow White and Prince Charming, right?"

Funny, he can´t see anything charming about himself.

Apparently, his confusion shows up on his face, since Henry sighs and starts talking again.

"You and my mom are True Love."

\-/

Lately, he´s been almost wishing for that lonely existence he had before. Drifting through life cut off from feeling for others, and not having anyone who could harbor any feelings about him. It sounded so easy now, with no confusion or pain. But it´s already too late, he realizes that. Emma has changed him irrevocably, and he just can´t regret have ever meeting her. He can´t regret loving her.

He does regret all the pain he´s putting her though. She has come back to work on Wednesday, bags under her eyes, tired face, chipped nails and lifeless eyes. It scared him. He had thought he would find an Emma with walls high up, ignoring him, full of silent fury and bitter remarks.

Sure, she still barely looked at him these last three days and she is clearly avoiding him, but the expression on her face when he caught her looking at him… It´s like she was the one that lied to him, the one who betrayed him somehow. But that it´s ridiculous.

Graham spent three days carefully observing his Deputy to find out what´s wrong, because he can´t be the sole person responsible for that vulnerable creature Emma became (walls so low, it´s like they never existed in the first place). He saw Mary Margaret, David and Jefferson taking turns showing up with food for her.

(For some reason, they always bring food to him as well)

He watched her biting her nails till they bleed, closing her eyes and exhaling softly, and her right fingers doing that familiar gesture on her left wrist( like once upon a time there was a bracelet there) when she thought no one was looking. He saw the barely hidden concern in David´s eyes, the tight smile on Jefferson´s face and the worry, all but exhaling in waves, of Mary Margaret.

He doesn´t know what hurts more, the possibility that he was the cause for Emma´s current state or that she may not trust him enough anymore to tell what it´s really wrong.

It´s Friday night, Emma has long gone to her house and Regina keeps sending messages (he doesn´t read) and calling him (he doesn´t answer). Graham is still at the Station, an empty bottle of whiskey on his desk (that was almost empty when he started drinking), this pressing sensation on his chest and a blank paper in front of him.

He´s certain he will end up at Granny´s before the night is over, drinking and playing darts in all probability, but for the moment he wants to take a step in the direction to clean the mess he made. He wants to say he´s sorry to Emma, and he wants to tell her all these things that he was never brave enough to.

It´s more than time for him to start doing all that he was coward enough to never try.

Henry described the Huntsman, his counterpart in the Enchanted Forest it seems, as a brave honorable man. Basically, everything he never thought he was, and everything that he always wanted to be.

Gold´s voice, from that Monday´s lunch that seems so distant right now, is echoing in his head: "Someone once told me, sheriff, to do the brave thing and that bravery would follow."

Breathing deeply, the sheriff´s grip tights on his pen.

Do the brave thing.

Archie is right, he should start making his own choices, not just drift through life like before.

He has never felt anything before Emma, but now he does and even if he feels too much, he´s not about to give it up.

He doesn´t want to have a void inside his chest again.

He doesn´t want to stop loving Emma.

He may have never felt so much pain before, but he never felt so much happiness either.

That bravery will follow.

Maybe, writing instead of saying, is still the coward´s way, but baby steps. Tonight, he will write a letter for Emma, after that he´ll go to Granny and get drunk enough to break things with Regina. Tomorrow… Tomorrow he´ll give the letter to Emma. And he´ll find out if the others are right, if this love is not one-sided. If she actually could, miraculously enough, feels the same.

But first things first. Baby steps, remember?

My dear Emma,

It´s strange the things you found when you´re not looking for them.

\-/

A/N: First, a big thank you to everyone who favorites, follows or left a review. So, thanks so much to Milarqui, harrylee94, Fallen Outcast, Angels-heart1, MusicalLover17, Bosslady( I do feel that Emma and Jefferson would be amazing as friends. They´re both alike in some ways and both are in need of a friend. Jealous!Graham was apparently a hit and I´m glad that you liked him too. And oh, Rum certainly has some interesting ideas about what he´ll do to Regina. Also, thanks so much for wishing me good luck in uni, I certainly need it.), Alex, Line (loved the dearie btw), Summoning Secrets, Grahams shoelace, Guest and For3v3rwithyourSoul.

Second, I don´t know if anyone, other than me, noticed but on October 5th it was this fic´s anniversary. Seriously, it´s been a year since I posted the prologue. I know I´m kind of awed too.

Third, a huge shout out to my beta ArianaKristine, who btw has an amazing Gremma fic called Wilding. And yeah, you should totally read it, if you haven´t done it already.

Ok, so I´m pretty sure that it wasn´t the chapter you guys were waiting, right? I did try to warn you though. Besides, I´ve been planning to write this little interlude since the very beginning and even if it wasn´t what you guys hoped for, I do hope you all liked it. But hey, the next one is exactly what you´re all thinking, so there´s that. Not to mention, that I hoped I answered the question about if Graham had travelled in time as well. As you can see, he only remembers about the canon timeline and that´s only because he and Emma have a special connection.

Oh, and helenluvsboo remember that you asked about Archie? Hope you liked him in this. He was a little hard to write, but Kristy says he sounds in character.

Anyway, next chapter will be the last. I´ve always planned to write just until 1x 07 and I´m sticking to the plan. There will be an epilogue though, and I´m planning a sequel too. The sequel won´t come out soon by the way, since I plan to actually finish some others Gremma ideas that I have already started to write it. But my main priority is TLHE, and I want to finish it still this year.

So, hope you all are well and have a good Halloween, even if you´re like me and your country doesn´t really celebrate it (I usually just watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, wearing black and eating candy). I´ll try to update quickly but, as usual, I´m not sure I´ll make it so no promises.

Again, reviews are an author´s best friend. I seriously love receiving them. And I´m pretty sure this was my long author´s note yet, so sorry about that.