A Rose by Any Other Name

Groaning as the pounding in her head intensified, Rosalie slowly opened her eyes and then immediately shut them as she dug her face into the pillow. Last night had been a new one for her. She had every intention of going out with Red and drinking but making sure she didn't over do it. That plan went out the moment Red showed up with Graham at the door.

Sitting up in the bed, Rosalie made her way to the bathroom but before she got too far, she realized that she wasn't at the inn where she had been staying at. Looking at the bed, she didn't see anyone and she was still in the dress she wore last night. “What the hell did I do last night?”

“A lot of drinking.”

Spinning around, she saw Graham in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else. “I was about to wake you up. It's almost noon and Red has been calling me. She wants to talk to you I think.”

“About last night?” Rosalie asked.

“I'm assuming so,” Graham said. “She said she went to your room at the inn but you didn't answer the door so she called me and found out you stayed here.”

“What happened after we got back here?” Rosalie asked. “Things are a little blurry at the moment.”

“Well you drank and I drank,” Graham smiled. “And when you agreed to stay here, the moment you got inside you kissed me before dragging me to my bed and falling asleep with your clothes and shoes still on.”

Covering her face with her hands, she groaned. That wasn't the first time she had done something like that, but she hadn't planned on actually staying in his apartment.

“I'm-”

“Don't say sorry.”

Wrapping his hands around her wrists, Graham gently pulled Rosalie's hands from her face before releasing her wrists and cupping her face in his hands. “There is no need to apologize when we both wanted to do it, right?”

Looking into his eyes and knew that he was saying that he had wanted to kiss her. Liquid courage tended to bring out the honest truth in people. “This is a little fast.”

Watching her eyes close, Graham leaned closer to her. “But it feels right, doesn't it?”

The feeling of his lips on hers, Rosalie didn't back away. Graham thought that would be her first reaction, but instead she moved closer kissing him back. Wrapping his arm around her, Graham let his lips leave hers as they traveled down her neck. Moving back up to her lips, Graham grinned before reclaiming her lips. Gasping in surprise, Rosalie backed away as images raced through her head. Scattered images of him with a knife while hunting and the last one was of him raising a knife to kill someone. It was the person Emma said was her mother.

“I should go.”

Gathering her things, Rosalie didn't allow Graham to say anything as she left. As she stood outside of his apartment, she slipped her heels on her feet and started walking towards the stairs where she saw Emma in the patrol car.

Watching her friend get out of the car and give her a small smile. “Need a lift?”

Nodding her head, Rosalie walked to the passenger's side as Emma slid back into the driver's seat. “So you and Graham?”

“There is nothing with me and Graham.” Rosalie said as she looked out the window.

“Okay,” Emma said. “But you were leaving his place in the clothes you wore out last night?”

“How did you know I wore this last night?”

“Ruby or Red. She was telling me about what happened and then what you wore. Sorry that your girls night got ruined.”

“Not that big of a deal.”

“You had a good time with Graham?”

Running her hand through her hair, Rosalie turned and looked at Emma. “Ask what you want. Don't beat around it.”

“I was just wondering what was going on with you and Graham.”

“Emma,” Rosalie sighed. “I haven't been in this little town long enough to figure out how I feel about all of this. And to be honest, I'm not sure I can believe that you are the daughter of those two people. I mean, c'mon, they don't look much older than you do.”

“The curse-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Rosalie interrupted her friend. “The curse made everything frozen until you decided to stay and then things moved forward in the breaking of the curse.”

“I'm sorry, Rose,” Emma said. “I shouldn't have pulled you into this. After everything you've been through, you don't deserve the extra heartache.”

Once Emma pulled up to the inn, Rosalie looked at her as she took off the seat belt. “What's going on between you and Graham?”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked. “We work together, that's all.”

When her eyes locked with Emma's she could see the confusion in them. Not confusion in the question, but confusion in what was to what was going on with them.

“Please don't lie to me.”

Releasing a sigh, Emma looked at her friend. “Graham died, but before that we had kissed and I felt like it meant something.”

“Oh god.”

Holding back the tears that threatened to escape, Rosalie drew in a deep breath and then released it. “I didn't realize...”

“How could you?” Emma said grabbing her friends hand and giving it a squeeze of reassurance. “You weren't around for any of that and things are just complicated.”

“I'm sorry Emma.”

Before Emma could say anything else, Rosalie opened the door and headed inside the inn.

Once she was in the safety of her own room, Rosalie locked the door and stripped out of her shoes and clothes before walking into her bathroom where she turned on the water. Once the water was hot enough for her, she stepped under the spray in hopes to clean herself of the dirty feeling she had. Never in a million years did she think that Emma and Graham were involved. Had she known that there was anything between her friend and a man Emma was starting to have feelings for she wouldn't have gone out drinking with him. She definitely wouldn't have allowed him to kiss her.

Cringing at the thought of what she did with someone Emma liked made her a little sick. What kind of friend was she? The friend that kissed someone that the other one liked, that's who. That wasn't who Rosalie was at all. At least she didn't think she was. She didn't want to hurt Emma so she knew what she was going to have to do. Avoid Graham at all costs. After washing and rinsing out her hair, Rosalie scrubbed her body clean and rinsed all the soap away before turning off the water that had become luke warm. Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed the robe that was on the back of the door and put it on.

Walking into the room, she grabbed her brush off the dresser in the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she brushed her hair so that there would be no tangles. After she was done, she left the brush on the bed as she walked to the dresser and pulled out an outfit to wear. Once she was dressed, she walked back to the bathroom to apply some make-up. Just as she was finishing up, she heard a knock on the door to her room. “Please don't be Emma or Graham.”

Unlocking the door she opened it and was surprised to see Prince Charming standing in front of her with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Emma isn't here.”

“I know,” he smiled as he handed her the cup of coffee. “I was hoping that we could talk.”

Taking the coffee that he offered her, she walked back into her room so she could get a pair of boots. Leaving the door open for him to come inside, Rosalie picked up the gray boots and pulled them on as she set the coffee down. Getting up, she grabbed her jacket and purse before turning again to pick up the coffee and left with him.

Ignoring her car that was parked outside, Rosalie and Prince Charming just started walking down the street. After a few minutes of silence Rosalie turned her head and looked at him. “So you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Yeah,” he said looking at her. “Emma says that you say you are having a hard time with everything.”

“Well I like to think that I’m handling it alright,” Rosalie said as thought about what she wanted to say next. “When I was a young girl I would make thinks up so that I had something to look forward to.”

“What do you mean?”

“After the third or fourth time being sent back after being adopted, I started thinking about what I did that was so wrong that my parents didn't want me around. That they would rather have me go through the pain of rejection from people that aren't family than to keep me,” Rosalie admitted. “Then I would get to thinking that they sent me away to keep me safe because they were in danger. They had to be important people if they were in so much danger that they willingly gave me away. But I always would hope that they would come for me. Year after year I held onto that hope and then when I hit my teens I stopped believing.”

“You had hope for so long,” he commented. “And then you didn't believe anymore? I thought you didn't believe in fairy tales.”

“I don't believe in them, at least not anymore. Like I told you all that night, they are not worth the heartache. I went through more than my fair share of foster homes. Sometimes I would get sent back and other times I would just run away. I was really unhappy no matter what because I didn't have a family that loved me and understood what I was going through. No one was there for me ever. Then I met Emma.”

“She says that you found her.”

Letting out a small laugh, Rosalie looked at him. “She didn't tell you the story then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was being used as a scapegoat and she figured it out and got me out of the situation before it got any worse. That's when she showed me the world of bail bonds.”

“So you were in the same business as Emma?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Rosalie admitted. “It is one of the most thankless jobs ever. Emma taught me a lot. I owe her that. Who knows where I would be if it weren't for her.”

“You and Emma are good friends.”

“We were,” Rosalie nodded as they found a bench to sit at. “But that was before she disappeared for a year and didn't tell me anything and had someone pack up most of her stuff out of the apartment.”

“You don't like change, do you?” he asked her.

“I don't mind change, but a little warning would have been nice. Not for me to show up to borrow something and having the apartment packed up and then having her ignore my call.”

“That must have been hard.”

“I managed,” Rosalie said. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” he nodded. “Ask away.”

“If this curse is real then why aren't the people who you all believe to be my parents here or somewhere?”

“Before the curse took place your mother was laid to rest after giving birth to you,” Prince Charming told her. “Phillip was the one that had to send you to this world. I know how hard it was for him to let you go.”

“He shouldn't have let me go,” Rosalie stated feeling the tears in her eyes. “If he had kept me then I would have had a family.”

“It was nothing but war in your kingdom,” he told her. “There was nothing left but war and he didn't want to take the chance that you'd be hurt.”

“So it was better to have me to be alone and wonder what I did that was wrong?”

“I wish there was a way to show you that you were safer here,” he told her. “That world was dangerous. Especially with the curse coming.”

“But you all said that Emma broke it,” Rosalie said. “That was when you got all your memories back from this other life you talk so much about. A life where there is nothing for some of us.”

“I can see both of your parents in you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The uncertainty that you have reminds me of when your mother was pregnant with you. She and Snow both found out they were expecting around the same time. You ended up coming a week before Emma did.”

“Did she ever hold me? Before she died?”

Looking into her face, Prince Charming wasn't sure that Rosalie truly wanted to know the answer.

“I-”

“Please. Don't dance around the answer,” Rosalie requested of him. “Did she ever hold me?”

“Yes, she held you right after you were born,” he said. “And then something happened and to this day I don't know what it was. But it must have been powerful because after she let you go to Phillip, she passed away.”

“And what did he do?”

“As hard as it was he made a promise.”

“A promise?” Rosalie asked.

“Aurora made him promise that if she didn't make it for whatever reason,” he started. “That he would take you himself to give you the best chance you had. In this world.”

“Was it easy for him?”

“No,” Prince Charming said shaking his head. “Before Emma came, it must have been just days before she came, Phillip showed up. He was in bad shape, but at first I couldn't figure out why.”

“Heart break?” Rosalie asked.

“Yeah,” he said nodding his head. “He lost his two loves. His wife and his daughter within a week. He admitted that he didn't want to let you go. It broke him to leave you alone.”

“But that's where I've been all along,” Rosalie said. “Alone in this world. If you really are Emma's parents, then she has you, but I don't have anyone.”

“I don't know where he was when the curse took over,” he told her. “But I can promise you that if you go back when we are able to, I will find him.”

“You'd do that?”

“I would,” he told her. “Because no matter what, we are family.”

“Family isn't always blood.”

Smiling, Rosalie let the tears fall that had threatened to spill earlier. The man she was talking to, he wasn't lying to her. She could tell. Unsure how she could tell, but she just knew that he wasn't lying to her.

Maybe there was a reason to have hope after all.