AN:You'll probably notice that this story leaves off where Once Upon a Christmastime begins. We've come full circle now.

I hope everyone is liking this canon divergence series so far. The next installment should be up fairly soon. Be on the lookout for Frozen in Darkness.

It was about a mile away from the Dark Castle that Dorothy materialized, with Jefferson, Belle and Ruby in tow.

"Looks like this is as close as I can get you," Dorothy announced. "This Rumpelstiltskin might be gone, but there are still some enchantments lingering around his old castle that prevent me from getting anywhere closer with the slippers."

"No, this is fine!" Belle insisted. "We don't mind walking the rest of the way. Thanks again for your help."

"And if you're interested," Ruby added. "You're more than welcome to visit Storybrooke sometime. I'm sure everyone would be more than welcoming."

"I'll think about it," Dorothy replied.

With one last nod of acknowledgement at the three friends, Dorothy clicked her heals, activating the power within her slippers to return to Oz. Once she was gone, Ruby, Jefferson and Belle made their way along the path that led to the Dark Castle. When they were still a ways away, however, they heard a familiar voice shouting out.

"They're back! They're coming back!"

"Well, I see Leroy is still in good voice," Ruby quipped, shaking her head as the front gates opened up, allowing the fairies to hurry out to greet them.

"Belle, it's great to see you!" Astrid exclaimed. "We're so glad you're awake."

"I'm sorry for worrying all of you," Belle said, looking sheepish.

"Don't even worry about it. No one blames you for what happened."

"So, what did we miss while we were gone?" Ruby asked.

"We've actually finished clearing out the vault," one of the fairies announced. "Only a few artifacts haven't been properly deciphered and cataloged. Like that strange golden urn. We're probably going to have to take them back with us. Maybe Mother Superior will know what to do with them."

As Ruby and Belle conversed with Astrid and the other fairies, Jefferson found himself face to face with Leroy.

"Hey, Hatter," Leroy began, seemingly unable to quite meet his eyes. "Thanks. Thanks for getting Belle back for us."

"I'd do it again," Jefferson replied without hesitation.

"Yes," Leroy agreed after a brief pause. "I suppose you would. Perhaps I was too hard on you before."

"Perhaps?" Jefferson scoffed.

"Don't push it," Leroy grumbled. But it was with a lopsided smile that the dwarf held out a hand in a clear invitation of a civil handshake. And invitation that Jefferson accepted.

Anton moved through his bean field, making sure the tarps covering the bean plants were secured and the ground was fully covered by a lair of mulch and leaves. Doc had informed him that there would be a huge blizzard hitting the town in a few days' time, so he wanted to make sure everything was properly insulated from the approaching cold weather. When the bean field had been burned by an angry Regina months ago, it had taken all of his skill to salvage the beans. But he now had to make extra sure the remaining plants stayed healthy and strong. Even now, he wasn't sure how hardy the new crop was, and he therefore had to do everything he could to protect it. So he was grateful that Happy, Bashful and Dopey had come out to give him a hand.

Just when he was testing the ropes holding down a tarp, a sudden noise caught his attention. He looked up over his shoulder just in time to see Jefferson, Belle, Ruby, Leroy, Astrid and the other fairies who had left on the Enchanted Forest expedition appearing through a magic bean portal, landing a short distance from the road.

"You're back!" Happy cried out, leading the way to the expedition members, being the first one to reach them. As Leroy broke apart from the returning group to reunite with his brothers, Anton turned to adress the others.

"Welcome back," he greeted. "How did your mission go?"

"There were a few bumps along the way," Astrid stated. "Overall, it was a success, though. But we should get this chest back to the convent. It's filled with the few items we could not decipher or identify. Hopefully, Mother Superior can figure out what to do with them."

"Of course. We'll give you all a ride back into town when we're finished up here," Anton announced, gesturing to the bean field.

"What's going on with the bean field?" Ruby asked.

"There's talk of a snowstorm on the way. We were weatherproofing the beans to keep them safe from the weather."

"A snowstorm?" Belle repeated, glancing up at the sky. "Well, looks like we timed our return perfectly. I wouldn't have wanted to have come back in that sort of weather."

"Exactly what's the date today?" Jefferson inquired. "We sort of lost track of the days while we were gone."

"Oh, it's the 19th of December," Bashful replied.

"Wow! That was good timing!" Ruby exclaimed. "Imagine if we'd missed Christmas."

In no time at all, Anton and the dwarfs were helping the fairies load the chest filled with the remaining artifacts in the back of David's old truck, which he'd allowed them to borrow in order to tend to the bean field. As they worked, Belle noticed that Jefferson had physically distanced himself from the others, silently looking down at the enchanted compact mirror he'd used to keep in touch with Grace while they were away. Without hesitation, Belle stepped over to his side, casually taking his hand once she reached him.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Yes, it's just… what Ruby said. About missing Christmas," he clarified. "I don't know what I'd have done if we had. Especially since….it would be the first Christmas in Storybrooke when Grace remembered who she was. Who I was. If we hadn't made it back in time…."

"Yes, I think I can understand that," Belle agreed. "From what I heard about Christmas, it wouldn't feel quite as special if you know someone isn't there."

"That's right," Jefferson realized with a sad frown. "You haven't been able to experience Christmas in Storybrooke at all."

"No, this would be my first," Belle admitted.

"Well….maybe we should do something about that."

"Like what?"

"Well, we've all been gone for months now. And people in this town have a tendency to throw parties when people come back from extended absences. I remember seeing them hold a potluck for Emma and Mary Margret after they got back from their unplanned trip into the Enchanted Forest. Maybe we can beat them to the punch by throwing our own party, in honor of the holiday."

"You'd be only with that?" Belle asked, visibly surprised. "I mean…you never struck me as a very sociable person."

"That's true," Jefferson allowed with a shrug. "But…I think we've both spent enough Christmases alone."

"Also true," Belle agreed with a smile.

For a brief moment, the pair stood in comfortable silence, watching as Anton secured the chest in place with some leftover ropes. But then Jefferson remembered something he'd been meaning to say since the Dream World.

"Belle?"

"Yes?" Belle asked, immediately looking over at him.

"I just wanted you to know. If I had gone to the Dark Castle back then? I would have noticed you."

At those words, Belle's face broke into a wide smile, hearing the underlining meaning to Jefferson's statement. He was telling her that, if their paths had crossed back in the days before the Dark Curse, then things between them would have played out almost exactly as they had in the Dream World. Even if he hadn't had memories of her beforehand, he still would have approached her. Maybe even opened up to her about his past, and what happened to his family. It was his way of saying he would have wanted to be with her, regardless of how and when they met. And so, not caring that they had an audience, she closed the distance between them, initiating a heartfelt kiss that Jefferson returned with earnest.