Disclaimer: I only own my thoughts
Henry was the only reason she put up with him, the mad bastard who lived in a mansion tucked away in the woods. Henry had become very good friends with his daughter Grace, meaning that Emma was forced to put up with him a lot more than she would have liked. Today though, was proving to be especially difficult. Jefferson had invited her and Henry over for dinner with him and Grace and after much pleading from Henry, Emma had reluctantly accepted. She was, sitting in silence in his living room. Dinner had gone by easily, but afterwards Henry and Grace and rushed off to play upstairs leaving Emma and Jefferson alone. So there she was sitting across from the man that have drugged her and kidnapped her and her mother. To make matters worse, this was the room where it had all started.
They were silent. Jefferson obviously saw the awkwardness of the situation as well, as he was staring intently at the patterns on the carpet trying to come up with something to say to ease the tension. "Uhm…" He started cautiously, "Would you like a cup of tea?" Bad move.
Emma's eyes grew wide. Was he seriously asking her that? Last time she had been here and he had offered her tea she had found herself knocked out on his couch. She wasn't going to be going anywhere near his 'tea' in the near future. "I think it's best if I don't take any tea from you. I've see what that stuff can do." She said with a slightly infuriated look.
"Right, of course. My apologies." Jefferson looked genuinely apologetic, which was a start. "But Emma, I promise that I would never do a thing like that again." He looked into her eyes, searching for any shred of forgiveness.
She wasn't about to just forget what he did to her. It would take quite some time for her to trust him, if she ever even did. "Yeah, alright," Emma muttered awkwardly; she just wanted the night to be over.
Jefferson gave a sigh and shifted uncomfortably, "Emma, we're going to have to deal with each other a lot because of the kids. I personally have no problem with it, but I know how it's hardly ideal."
"I know Jefferson. And, I'm trying… It's just hard." She knew she needed to find a way to act civil towards him, maybe with a bit of time, they could even start having actual conversations.
He gave her a small smile, "We should try to make the best of it for Grace and Henry's sake. They'd be so happy to see us getting along." In response all Emma could do was give a weak half-hearted smile back at him.
The two were silent for a moment before Emma looked up at him again. "You do know I only tolerate you for Henry?" She felt the need to clarify once more, after all, Jefferson's mind worked in odd ways.
He merely gave her an amused look and chuckled as he got up to fetch the kids. This was a start.