Alex must've sensed that Regina wasn't that great because he was fussier than usual when Jefferson was trying to go to sleep that night.
Or he could sense the stress that his father was going through, because Jefferson's frantic pacing was both making him calm and fussy, depended on which turn Jefferson took.
He had to go to Rumpelstiltskin tomorrow. He had to talk to him and see what they could do now because Emma was going to be on Regina's radar and she was going to look as hard as she could until she found something that she could use and their hidden identity would fall apart and she'd realize who Emma was and she'd kill her.
The idea of burying Emma…the idea of seeing Emma in the coffin and having to put her in the ground terrified him more than what he was willing to admit. To raise Alex and have to tell him what happened to his mother…..
He didn't want to hurt another of his children to grow up with only stories of their mother.
"It's okay, Alex," he bounced him gently, "Just please go to sleep for daddy? Please?
His answer was an indignant scream. Alex was going to be mouthy when he grew up.
He heard a knocking at the door. It opened, Emma never waited for his permission for her to come in.
"Emma!" he scolded and ran to the bathroom. He didn't want her to see that grotesque scar; he always managed to hide it when she wasn't looking. He was ashamed of it and she would ask questions. Now she was so comfortable that she was gallivanting into the room.
He grabbed a turtleneck and put Alex on the counter so he could pull it on. Alex cried louder and had the nerve to give him a hurt look.
"Oh please, you're the one that doesn't let daddy sleep," he whispered and made sure the scar was hidden. HE carried Alex out and rubbed his back. The moment Alex saw his mother, he calmed down.
"He okay?"
"Yeah he's just being him," Jefferson rubbed his son's back and gave him a loving kiss. Of course he stopped crying when Emma came in. Now Jefferson looked incapable of handling their son, "You hear him cry?"
Emma nodded and sat on the bed. She rubbed her eyes and gave a yawn, "And I had a nightmare anyway so…"
He could just imagine, with what she went through.
"You want to stay in here."
Emma tensed immediately and gave him a nervous look, "No I don't."
Over a month of living here, and he was still no closer to getting through those walls of hers. He liked to think that sometimes he did, but then she'd say something or do something to remind him that he was still on the outside looking in. The only person she lowered her defenses for was Alex.
"I'll sleep on the couch," he told her gently and nodded to the black leather couch.
Emma's eyes widened, "No….no, this is your bed, I should just…go back to my room."
"You go, Alex will probably start screaming again, the little matchmaker," he said somewhat teasingly.
"I could sleep on the couch," she told him.
"Or, we could share the bed," he told her, "I'll sleep on one end, you sleep on the other, we'll have Alex between us….we're both adults, it's just a bed. And we both need some sleep."
He didn't tell her what was really the issue. He wanted her close by, he didn't want her out of his sight as long as Regina was poking around and Rumpelstiltskin didn't know what was going on.
"Fine," Emma muttered and plopped face first on the bed. Jefferson sat down and wondered just how reluctant she really was and how much she was saving face.
"Okay," he whispered and …wasn't sure why he felt uncomfortable about this now. Pretty girl sleeping in his bed….it didn't mean anything; she just wanted to feel safe while she slept. He wanted her safe while both slept. It didn't mean anything.
Then why did he feel so uncomfortable?
Okay," he put the baby between them. Alex cooed happily as Jefferson turned off the light and slept on the other side of the bed.
Or at least tried to.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Jefferson paced the back of the shop angrily, "And she doesn't even make it subtle, she just breezes in like she owns the stupid town."
Rumpelstiltskin rubbed the baby's back. HE had a spit up rag on his shoulder as he held Jefferson's son. It hadn't taken much for Rumpelstiltskin to lock up and take Jefferson in the back to talk. Jefferson just had to walk in.
"Well, she does own the 'stupid' town," he reminded Jefferson.
"Stop making cute faces at my son, we have important things to talk about" Jefferson snapped, "Regina knows about Emma, she's going to close in on her. She'll kill her!"
"No she won't."
"She doesn't think right, she'll kill Emma!" Jefferson said frantically.
"She kills Emma, the curse will break. You can't have a curse if you don't have a way to break it. Every curse can be broken! So it would just…end."
"I don't care! Does she know that?""
Rumpelstiltskin shrugged.
"Okay, so what happens if she doesn't kill her, what happens if she drives her away? We need Emma here."
Rumpelstiltskin smiled down at the baby, "That we do."
"And it's going to be hard enough to tell her without sounding insane, Emma doesn't believe in anything," Jefferson muttered.
"She doesn't know yet," Rumpelstiltskin noted.
"No, she doesn't."
"Well you have to tell her."
"And how do I do that without sounding like I'm off my rocker?"
"No one ages but her and the boy, she'll have to notice. She'll have to believe you."
Jefferson went and lifted up his son from Rumpelstiltskin's arms, "If I tell her that we're all under a curse and everything she believes is wrong, she won't stick around long enough to see for herself, she'll take the baby and clear out!"
"And if you don't tell her and she figures it out by herself, she'll take the baby and clear out. That is if Regina doesn't hurt her first. Given her past, she doesn't seem that trusting."
"I'm only starting to get her trust," Jefferson said.
"Wow, it's only been a month."
Jefferson gave him a dirty look, "I never realized when I brought her here….I didn't realize until recently how screwed I was when she started to figure things out or Regina saw her."
"Well, she needed to be here. You hardly did the wrong thing."
"I brought her and her son into a warzone."
"Well, what are you going to do? I provided her false identity but you know there's only so much I can do."
"I don't know," Jefferson said panicking. He was terrified that she would leave. Was it because he was growing closer to Emma? He wasn't sure; He wouldn't even allow himself to think about that. What he knew he didn't want was to lose another child because of Regina, "That's why I came to you."
"Give her a reason to stay then."
"That's what Alex is for,"
"She can take Alex and leave," Rumpelstiltskin reminded him, "And you can't protest it because legally, that boy is missing and you have no right to him."
He knew that but to hear it spoken sent a bolt of fear through him, "That's my son!"
Rumpelstiltskin gave him a tired look, "How will you stop her if it comes to that?"
"I don't know," Jefferson said and rubbed the back of his head.
Rumpelstiltskin leaned heavily on his cane as he stood up, "You need to think of a reason for her to stay."
Jefferson cursed, "There might be a way I can get her to stay….or give her a reason to want to stay more. But it might not work; she doesn't trust me as much as I'd like her to."
"And what idea is that."
Jefferson cursed again. Even know he knew this wasn't a good idea. The betrayal she felt when she found out the truth was going to be worse and she'd never forgive him.
But maybe if this happened…maybe she would do it. Maybe she would stay.
"Let me see your engagement rings."
