"You have the magic ingredient?" asked Jefferson as he practically skipped down the stairs to the basement.
Forcing herself to be patient towards his childlike attitude, Regina followed at a more sedate pace behind him. "I do."
On reaching the bottom step, he turned suddenly. "I'm curious as to how it looks."
Regina pulled the glass vial of True Love from her pocket, allowing the hatter to inspect the contents.
"Her magic is gold," he commented, watching the royal purple and gold mists swirl around each other. "Figures." Seemingly satisfied, he stepped back, allowing Regina to make the final step into the basement. "So are we going to jump right in?"
"Our arrangement was that you jump first, and providing you jump back, I join you," the former Queen reminded him.
"Yes, yes!" he nodded, waving off the comment. "I know. I'm just excited to feel that portal jumping high once more!"
Regina rolled her eyes. It seemed the hatter was just as much of a junkie as ever, even if now he no longer indulged in most of his recreational pursuits on account of his daughter. She watched as he swept the cover from the mirror with a theatrical gesture. "Time to throw your love forward."
Regina stood in front of the mirror, taking a deep breath before throwing the vial against the glass, gasping as surface rippled and began to swirl.
Jefferson stepped forward, placing his hands carefully against the surface, directing the portal, closing his eyes as the familiar dizzying feeling tugged at his mind. Finally, he stepped back, smiling when the mirror's surface settled into a view of the Enchanted Forest. Flashing a grin at the former Queen, he eagerly stepped through the surface, returning only a few moments later. He swept low, in a bow, holding out a flower freshly picked from the floor of the forest. "Your portal, your Majesty."
Accepting the flower, Regina smiled kindly at the hatter, glad that they were once again on good terms. "Jefferson, I don't know how I can repay you for this."
His manic grin didn't fade. "I was actually wondering when the topic of payment would come up."
The brunette regarded him warily.
"Don't look so concerned, your Majesty, I'm hardly asking for your first child," he chuckled. He gave her enough time to visibly relax, before speaking again. "My daughter is."
"What?" Regina asked, eyes wide.
"My only request for payment, is that when Grace asks Henry if he'd like to go out with her, that you allow him to. She's a girl with a crush, Regina, and I'm merely an indulgent father."
The witch's first response was to say no immediately. Henry was still so young…She looked up at Jefferson, who stood before her, patiently waiting for her to work through the minor crisis in her head. "I shan't say that I'm entirely supportive of my child 'dating' so early, but if they are adequately supervised, then I shall not object…too loudly."
The hatter grinned. "I wouldn't worry, Regina. Grace has only just blushingly plucked up the courage to ask me if she can invite Henry to her birthday party. I think 'dating' is still a long way off. As I said, it's a crush. There'll be some hand holding, and perhaps a peck on the cheek if one of them is feeling particularly bold."
Regina pressed her lips together in a firm line. She still wasn't particularly happy about it, but she would learn to live with it, so long as it remained the innocent notion Jefferson made it out to be. There was no point in worrying herself more if it wasn't necessary. Henry might even say no when asked. She could only hope.
"And if it's love, well, Henry would be the one to know all about it," added the hatter with a smirk. "True Love seems to run in his family."
Regina leveled a glare at him.
"Even you can no longer be angry at the notion of True Love, Regina," Jefferson smirked. "After all," he gestured to the mirror, "You've just shown your own powerful enough to break down the barriers between worlds."