Jefferson downed his fourth bottle of ale, his second choice in alcohol after Ruby cut him off at nine shots of whiskey. She questioned about his alcohol consumption and he gave her a mumbled list of reasons. Being trapped in Storybrooke, being lonely in Storybrooke, being damned to a hellish life in Storybrooke, being cursed to remember in Storybrooke, being childless in Storybrooke, and being stuck in a house all by himself in Storybrooke. Basically he was an alcoholic because he was in Storybrooke. Ruby told him to take a bus out of town and he gave her a deadpan glare.

When Ruby saw him throw down the money to clear his tab and head for the door she called Emma, letting her know a very drunk and angry man was about to be let loose on Storybrooke. Emma found Jefferson standing in front of Regina's house, posed and ready to smash the windows of her car in with a baseball bat he'd found abandoned by Henry in the front lawn.

"Put the bat down Jefferson."

He turned, his movements dulled by his drinking. "Emma."

"Bat, down, now." She said slower, stepping towards him cautiously.

"Are you going to take me to jail?" Jefferson asked, not dropping the bat but stepping away from the car. "Just another lonely place for me."

"Ruby called and told me you had a little drunken grudge about our sleepy little town." She put her hands on her hips, staring at the drunken mad man.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Ever since you turned back up in town you've been a mess Jefferson."

"You would be to if your whole life was ripped apart!" Jefferson shouted, stumbling towards her.

"Jefferson, you're whole life has not been ripped apart. We've been through this…"

"Emma, I lost my wife to Wonderland, lost my head in Wonderland, and I lost my daughter to Regina. Explain to me how I haven't lost my life?"

"Jefferson, you are not the Mad Hatter."

"Yes, I am. Emma, why can't you just believe! That's all I want you to do is to believe. You believed enough to send me through the hat! You believed me and now you doubt it."

"I didn't-"

"You saw this!" He ripped the cravat from his throat, bearing his scar for her to see again. "You saw this and everything made sense. Now you just pretend to not believe." His voice cracked. "I am a lonely man Emma. I have no one."

"Jefferson-"

"No! Don't stop me." He dropped the bat, crumpling to his knees with it. "No one sees me as anything but a mad man. But that's not all I am Emma."

Emma moved to kneel in front of him, watching as he started to cry. "It's okay." She tried to assure him, knowing it was the emptiest form of assurance.

"I am a broken man and you refuse to see it." Jefferson trembled under her touch, the compassionate stroke of her hand was foreign to him. "I don't want your pity."

"Then what do you want?" Emma asked, looking around to see if his drunken shouting had called any attention to them. She might not plan to press any charges against him but if Regina caught him he was doomed.

"I want.." He started to cry again, leaning towards her and hugging her. It was an awkward hug that consisted of him burying his face into her hair and crying even harder. He was pitiful.

"You want someone to care for you." Emma offered, hugging him tight despite whatever she thought about him. "You don't want to be alone anymore."

"Yes."

"I know how it feels to be alone Jefferson. I lived my life without parents, I couldn't make connections to others, hell I gave Henry away." Why were her eyes suddenly damp? He'd softened her heart and it left her feeling vulnerable. "Come on, stand up."

"Are you taking me to jail?"

"No, I'm taking you home with me."

"Why?"

"Neither of us need to be alone."

~o~

It was the first time she'd ever gone to bed with a drunken man when she wasn't also drunk. It was the first time she'd just slept in a bed with someone to be held, just to be with someone and not to be alone. This wasn't because they needed to be physical with each other. They just needed to be with someone, not just anyone – just each other. She curled her head against his chest, his hand wrapping around her back. It was the first time in a long time she slept peacefully and the first time he'd slept the whole night.