A Rose by Any Other Name

Keeping her eyes closed for a moment longer, she felt a kiss placed upon the back of her shoulder. Biting down on her lower lip, she tried to hide her grin as she dug her face deeper into the pillow that she had slept on. Last night had been draining, but at that moment things felt as if they weren’t so bad.

“I know you are awake.”

“No you don’t,” Rosalie said as she continued to lay in the bed. “Why are you even up? It is way too early to be awake.”

“I have to go to work,” Graham said as he leaned down and kissed her shoulder once again. “But I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me and talk to Emma?”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that,” Rosalie said as she sat up. Letting the blanket fall to her lap, she looked at him staring at her. “I believe you when you say that you don’t have feelings for her, but she hurt me Graham. I can’t just blink my eyes and pretend it didn’t happen. Who knows if she would have told me if I hadn’t overheard her talking at the diner.”

“I get it,” Graham said as he leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. “Take your time-”

Stopping mid-sentence when there was loud banging on his door, he looked at her. Laying back down, Rosalie watched as he didn’t make a move to get off the bed. Instead her leaned over her and took her hand in his. “Maybe I will call in sick today.”

“Maybe you should answer the door.” Rosalie told him when the knocking started again.

“I don’t want to,” he said as he watched her grimace in pain as she moved her ankle. “Does it hurt too much?”

“I’ll live,” Rosalie admitted. “Just answer the door. Whoever it is isn’t going away.”

With a nod of his head, Graham grabbed his shirt and pulled it on before going towards the door. Again the person impatiently knocked the door. “I hear you, I hear you.”

Opening the door slightly, he was surprised to see Red standing in front of him looking like she didn’t get a wink of sleep and dressed as if she was getting ready for her shift at the diner. “Good Morn-”

“Where is she?” Red questioned him, her eyes glaring at him. “I know you took her!”

“I didn’t-”

Not waiting to hear what he had to say, Red barged into Graham’s apartment. “Rosalie! Where are you?”

“Red?” Rosalie called out, unsure.

Hearing her friend’s voice, Red rushed into the room where the voice had come from. Once she was in the room and she saw that Rosalie was laying in the bed and not tied to it, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Rose,” Red said as she came over and sat next to her on the bed. “I was worried when you never came home last night from your run and I got worried. I thought the Sheriff here kidnapped you since he has been so desperate to speak with you and when he didn’t show up for coffee at the diner I had to come and see for myself.”

“I’m okay, Red,” Rosalie smiled. “Well mostly.”

“Mostly?” Red questioned her. “What do you mean mostly?”

Moving back into the bedroom, Graham gave Rosalie a smile before looking at Red who was looking at him and then to Rosalie and then back to him.

“I got spooked on my run in the forest,” Rosalie admitted as she shook her head in embarrassment. “I sprained my ankle pretty bad.”

“You followed her, didn’t you?” Red asked looking at Graham. “I am pretty sure that I told you to leave her alone.”

“You did,” Graham admitted. “But I knew you were lying about not knowing where she was. I followed you home and I waited around to see if she would come out and she did. I was glad that she was still in town. I just wanted to talk to her, but I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“You caused her to sprain it?” Red asked, looking at Graham.

“It was an accident.” He said, not looking at Red, but his eyes locked onto Rosalie who gave him a half smile.

“Does this mean you are moving out of my place and into here?” Red asked.

Rosalie’s eyes looked at her friend in surprise. “I didn’t mean to be an inconvenience. I can move out of your place and back to the Inn.”

“What? No!” Red said grabbing Rosalie’s hand. “I want you to stay with me. I like having you around. I just thought that since I found you here that you were moving in here.”

“He took me to the hospital last night and had my ankle looked at. When we left it was late and I didn’t want to wake you up when I came in.”

“And I wasn’t going to leave her so shortly after I finally got her back.”

Smiling, Red looked at Rosalie as Graham took her hand into his and laced their fingers before bringing her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss upon her skin. “Back together? Or is this just a way to get back at Emma for kissing him?”

“We are going to give it another try,” Rosalie said. “I told him last night at the hospital that I forgave him, but I am still not ready to talk to Emma. Maybe when I’m healed and have a chance of running away if she says something I don’t want to hear?”

Laughing, Red got to her feet and smiled at them. “I’m happy to see you smiling again. I think I will get out of your hair for awhile and I’ll see you at home tomorrow. Rest up. And when I see her at home tomorrow, I mean Rosalie and my place, not here.”

“I got it Red.”

“You better,” she said looking at Graham before looking at Rosalie. “Feel better and if you don’t mind I’m gonna give an update to Grams since she was worried since I told her you didn’t come back last night.”

“Go for it. I know Grams can keep a secret.”

“And she can supply us with free food.”

Laughing, Rosalie watched as Red left. “I guess I have until tomorrow to make my way back to Red’s apartment. Although with the way I was limping after leaving the hospital last I might want to start now so that I make it there by then.”

Ignoring her joke, Graham leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. After a moment, he broke the kiss and grinned at the groan coming from the woman who was laying in his bed. “I am glad that you have decided to give us another chance.”

“What are you going to tell Emma when you go to work today?”

“I’m not going to work,” Graham said with a grin on his face. “I called while you were asleep. That nasty flu bug got to me and I’m just not up to coming in on this particular day.”

“Amazing how fast that flu bug can get to you,” Rosalie said trying to hold back the grin that was trying to spread across her face. “And there is nothing you can do to stop it from getting to you.”

“You think you are so funny.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

It was her. The one he had been looking for ever since the first part of the curse broke. He knew that she was going to play a part in the next part, but if she was as stubborn as Emma Swan then he was definitely going to have his work cut out for him. Last night in the woods when he saw her, he was surprised to see her with the Huntsman. Emma had told him that he had died, but then again with magic in Storybrooke anything could be possible.

Walking back to his trailer that was hidden away in the woods, August looked around before getting inside and locking the door. He could feel the stiffness throughout his entire body. Time was starting to run out for him and he knew that he needed to get the daughter of Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora to truly believe that this wasn’t her land. No her land was very different than this world, but did she even want to leave? He saw her with the Huntsman and listened carefully to the words that they threw at each other before she conceded to him and allowed him take her away from the forest. When he had first left his trailer that night he had no idea that he would see her again, but he didn’t think that she believed in everything that everyone was telling her.

That was his job, or it was supposed to be. He was the one that was supposed to take care of Emma and Rosalie until the curse was lifted. Only he didn’t. He failed because he left them and there was no excuse for what he did. That was something he had to learn the hard way. But maybe there was still a chance for redemption. If he could get Rosalie to believe then everyone would be able to return home, well those that were born in the Enchanted Forest. That was something they would all have to consider, if they wanted to return home or stay in this world. August knew that Emma wouldn’t want to go back, not without Henry and since Henry was born in this world they wouldn’t be able to bring him back.

Maybe that was the point, one savior to stay in the current world and one to return home. But that didn’t seem fair that it was Emma to stay in this world when her parents had just found her. Rosalie didn’t have anyone in this world, well besides Emma. Even that didn’t seem very strong lately. The last he had heard was that Emma had called her and asked her to bring something to her and she had yet to leave. That had to count for something, right?

But the Huntsman, he might pose a problem to getting Rosalie to believe if he wouldn’t let Emma talk to her. Or maybe he was working on that in a secluded place. But why not just have Emma talk to her friend and get it over with? Why drag it out for so long? There had to be some reason for why things were at a standstill. But there was no way he was going to find out by just isolating himself in this trailer in the middle of the forest. It would be soon that he would no longer be a real person but a wooden boy.

Knowing what he had to do, he grabbed his jacket and left the trailer and the forest. He knew that he had to avoid seeing his father. There was no way he could look into his eyes and see the disappointment that he caused. He just couldn’t do that to his father or to himself. No, he knew exactly where he needed to go and who he had to see. He hoped that they were alone. The last thing he wanted to do was explain things more than once.

As quickly as he could, he made it to the sheriff’s station and he walked in without seeing anyone. Then he saw the blonde behind a desk working on a report, or at least that is what it looked like.

Clearing his throat, he gave her a half smile upon seeing the shocked expression on her face.

“Hello Emma,” he said walking further into the room. “I think we need to talk.”