The Method of My Madness
Summary: It's for Grace-always for Grace. What kind of father would he be if he did anything less than everything to get her back? Even working with Regina. A snippet from my This Rose Universe. Jefferson, Emma and Grace and a poison apple.
Disclaimer: Not mine. But really, I'd still be willing to steal Jefferson. I love me a man in a top-hat!
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"You came for me!"
"I told you I would."
-Kim and Bryan Mills, Taken
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When Regina comes to him with the deal, Jefferson knows it's a terrible idea.
No sane person would work with the woman who took their daughter from them-not once but twice-abandoned them in Wonderland where he got his head-his fucking head-chopped off, and cursed an entire town for thirty years, just to punish the actions of a child who didn't know any better.
But, as it's been previous noted, Jefferson is hardly sane.
And he has to try.
Because he likes Emma, he does, likes her muchness and her smile and her hair, and he believes her when she says she's trying, but this is Grace-Grace who he would light the world on fire for and smile as it burned.
His Grace.
He thinks even Rumpelstiltskin would do the same, if it was his Rose.
So he goes along with it, takes his hat and when it doesn't work as she had planned, he offers her a new plan, not quite sure if magic enough for a small object will be satisfactory.
It turns out it is.
Too well perhaps.
Because Regina sticks her hand in a pulls out an apple-an apple with a very telling bite taken out of it-and Jefferson finds that he wants to snatch it out of Regina's hands, because he knows exactly who she's going to give it to.
But he doesn't, because a deal is a deal and he needs his daughter back.
If Regina succeeds, and the apple puts Emma to sleep then he'll figure out a way to save her. Snow White had her prince and true loves kiss, and although Jefferson's nobody's prince, he'll find a way.
And so, that in mind, he lets her go, and waits for the wheels to be put into motion.
Naturally, it backfires horribly, because instead of Emma, Henry takes a bite and Regina reneges on their deal.
Fucking bitch.
And of course, just to rub salt into an open wound, Grace shows up at the hospital, her little face streaked with tears as she rushes to Henry's bedside and takes his hand in hers, entirely unaware of the man who is actually her father in the corner of the room.
And then Emma and Regina disappear-to do what, he's not sure, but it's likely a quest of some kind-it always is-and Jefferson is left alone with his daughter for the first time in an eternity.
And it's a violation of the promise he made to Emma, but surely this doesn't count-he didn't seek his daughter out. This is just an accidental meeting between two people, completely out of his control.
And then his heart clenches because his daughter-his Grace-finally looks up and sees him, for the first time in thirty years, and she looks at him like he's a stranger, because to her he is.
The list of things Jefferson intends to do to Regina grows exponentially larger at that look.
But he is distracted from his bleeding heart by the sound of Grace's voice, a sound he'd recognize anywhere, even through the congestion of her tears, as she asks fearfully, "Will he wake up?"
And his heart can't help but clench, once. Too soon, far too soon. His little girl is only ten, and she's already falling in love, and one day he'll have to give her away and be happy for her, and Jefferson isn't ready for that, not when he hasn't even gotten her back yet.
But that is then and this is now, and now Grace is terrified and sad and needs someone to comfort her, and Jefferson may be mad, but he's also her father, and so he pushes those thoughts down in favor of something that will help soothe her fears.
"Yes," he says, because Grace needs Henry to be happy and Jefferson needs Grace to be happy, and so he will wake, because anything else is unacceptable, "Yes he will."
And then, just to make a liar out of him, Henry flat lines.
And then there is a flurry of doctors and nurses and Grace's tears, and Emma and Regina arrive, just a second too late, and then there is their sorrow as well, and Jefferson watches the Evil Queen cry.
It doesn't move him.
But Emma is crying, and Grace as well-heart wrenching sobs of pain-and that is just not alright-not when Jefferson has an idea of how to fix this.
"True loves kiss," he says to Emma quietly, the thing she hasn't thought of and the only apology he can offer, "can break any curse."
Emma looks at him, and through her tears he sees a woman with so much muchness that his heart skips a beat, in a way it hasn't since Alice.
And then Emma leans down, and kisses her son, and everything goes a little crazy.
Because well, Jefferson is a magician-he was expecting Henry to wake up.
He wasn't expecting everyone else to as well.
And in the aftermath of the rainbow magic ring there is the fairy and Regina running, but the satisfaction of that moment is all forgotten the moment that he hears the word, "Papa," which Grace says-Grace says-and then there is nothing to do but draw his daughter-his daughter, and anyone who disagrees will find out exactly why they call him mad-into his arms, and never let her go.
"Papa I missed you," Grace says into his neck, and Jefferson lets a few tears slide into her hair before he draws her little face back just enough so that he can see it and says, just for the joy of saying it, "Grace." And then, because this is important, a truth he will make happen no matter the cost, "Grace I missed you too. So much sweetheart-but I'll never leave you again, I promise," and Grace nods solemnly in agreement as her fingers anchor in the lapels of his coat, so no one can pry her off, and for the first time since he saw a white rabbit in a marketplace, the Mad Hatter is happy.
It's then, naturally, that the giant ominous purple cloud rolls in.
But while Emma and the Fairy worry, and Henry declares ,"Something bad," Jefferson tastes something on the wind, something familiar and long lost, and so he has to disagree.
Magic is back.
This is most definitely good.
And so as magic tingles once again under his skin, the Mad Hatter cradles his daughter in his arms, thinks of Queens and retribution and heads and smiles, and it is a terrifying sight.
Oh, this going to be so much fun!
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FIN
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A/N: So, Jefferson! Because let's face it, he and Grace deserve a happily-ever after just as much as the next fairy-tale character! For those of you who have never read any of my fic before, this is part of an alt!canon/canon-don't even ask how that works-that was started in my fic This Budding Rose, where Belle was pregnant in that jail cell. You should read that one-go ahead, I'll wait…ok I won't wait that long! So the inspiration for this fic was, why the Jefferson of the This Rose universe would still deal with Regina, and so, voila, a fic that does that and is also a shameless reunion fic! That said, for anyone who enjoyed this or This Budding Rose, there will be more snippets from this universe coming up, so please, enjoy, and as always, reviews and constructive criticism are welcome.