11. No Coincidence

"I know this isn't the best time..." Emma began softly as she gazed up at the man beside her. Jefferson's pale eyes were glazed over in an unfocused mist, much like an empty canvas or the ocean after a storm. "...but I need you to try and remember exactly what happened. Anything you can remember might help us solve the crime. For instance, did you see what kind of car it was?"

When she still didn't receive a single word in reply or even as much as an acknowledgement of her persistent inquiries, the sheriff turned and glanced back at David. The fair-haired man merely shrugged his eyebrows in silent understanding.

With a sigh, Emma turned her gaze ahead once more and peered through the glass wall at the fair woman in the infirmary bed. By her sterile, clean bedside, Dr Whale was looking at the woman's chart with a grim look upon his face. Alice's skin was pale where her arm rested against the sheets and neither the off-white band-aid on her forehead nor the dark bruises on her body helped the matters. At last, the doctor turned from his patient and slowly exited the room to face the awaiting trio outside.

As Whale cleared his throat, Jefferson finally showed any form of reaction as he hurriedly turned towards the man with a flicker of worry in his wide eyes. The doctor managed a tight smile and nodded reassuringly.

"She's got a pretty nasty concussion and two or three fractured ribs. I won't know for certain until we get the x-rays back, but it doesn't look any worse than that. It seems the car didn't hit her in very high velocity, if that's of interest to you, Sheriff," Whale nodded down to the woman on his right before turning back to the distraught husband. "Your wife will live, Jefferson. It'll be awhile before she's fully recovered, but if nothing else happens she'll be able to leave the hospital within a couple of days. You can stay with her if you wish, but she's still out cold and on strong pain killers."

Initially, Jefferson felt light-headed but managed to focus long enough to lean back against the wall for much needed support. Relief washed over him and he felt woozy as never before. He'd been so certain he was going to lose her again but Whale's words had pulled him from that brink of despair so fast he was still reeling from the experience. To try and calm his dizzy head and furious heart, Jefferson leaned forward and breathed heavily while tears threatened to spill from his exhausted eyes.

"Thank you... Doctor," he managed in a weak voice and exchanged a look with Whale, who nodded once before taking his leave to check on his other patients.

Jefferson stood tall as he ran a weary hand across his face and turned to look through the glass once more. Against the white sheets, Alice looked as pale as dead to him but he knew she wasn't. This time, she truly wasn't.

"I'll return and ask Alice about the incident later," Emma offered and patted the man's shoulder in a simple, comforting gesture. "Maybe she remembers who the driver was."

"It was just a freak accident," Jefferson muttered and it made the blonde woman pause. "A coincidence... I know it was."

The sheriff nodded hesitantly and also said her farewell. As she walked off, David stepped up to stand by Jefferson's side and gazed into the very same room in which he had for such a long time found himself in a coma during the curse. As he now could see the heartbreaking reality for the one left on the other side of the glass, he knew the Hatter's words in the café had been honest.

"I'm glad she'll make it, Jefferson," the man spoke as he kept his gaze on the wounded woman. "Being on this side of the glass is... not the best of experiences, I imagine. Makes me glad Snow didn't remember our life while I was in a coma. You've been through a lot back home and I think I speak for both myself and my wife when I say that the two of you deserve happiness together. While none of us are living our happily ever after, or at least not the one we were expecting,... none of us should be separated any longer. Rumpelstiltskin never had the right to separate true love like he did with you. It's unfair."

A smooth voice suddenly sounded from somewhere in the room behind them, and David turned as Mr Gold came limping towards them. "It was a deal, Charming. Deals aren't unfair... they're just not always in everyone's favour."

Jefferson's shoulders stiffened but he refused to turn as he growled in a low, menacing voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard the news of dear Alice's accident... I thought I'd come see how she was doing," the elder man offered with an innocent tone that neither Jefferson nor David bought. Neither of them trusted the slithering, deceitful snake that now stood beside them. Even though his skin was like that of a normal man in this world, they knew that beneath the surface lay the shadow of a darkness he would never be rid of.

Jefferson felt an unwanted struggle take place within him. A part of his heart wanted nothing more than to pounce on his enemy again while another part wanted to ask for his help. In the end, he managed to restrain himself as he growled, "Get her back to me."

Seemingly untouched by the demanding tone, Gold sighed, "I can't-"

The hurt husband whirled around as his temper beat his logic to the finish line. "I don't give a crap what you can or can't do, Gold! She's in there because of you. You have to fix this!"

Gold waited until Jefferson's breathing settled down somewhat and then pointed his cane in the direction of the infirmary room with a demeaning glare, "Because of me? She's in there because you forced her to break our deal. She told you all about it, didn't she?"

Jefferson's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline as he questioned, "How do you know she did?"

The other man tilted his head to the side as if offended by the mere question. "The woman runs out onto the street and just happens to be run over by a car only minutes after talking to you about something that made her run onto the street in the first place? It doesn't really take being the Dark One to follow the breadcrumbs to that end."

"Wait," David interrupted as he faced the former Hatter. "I thought you said this was a freak accident. A coincidence."

"There's no such thing as coincidence," Gold offered in a sweet, yet dark tone, as he too turned his gaze at Jefferson's stiff form. "In this case, Alice broke the rules... She had to pay the price as according to our deal. You're lucky she's still alive, Hatter. Remember that before you throw any more stones."

"Yeah, well..." David began as he saw Jefferson's anger swell up to new highs. With a hasty move, the fairy tale prince tried to put a lid on the other man's emotions and hurriedly said, "She'll fully recover. Let's just leave it at that and call it a day, shall we? Gold, I'll walk you out. I think Jefferson deserves some time alone."

"Fine by me," the elder man shrugged. "I got what I came for anyway."

With no further words of farewell passing between them, Jefferson watched as David and Gold walked out of the hospital and finally left him to his own self. He sighed and ignored the sounds of the beeping machines, the doctors and the nurses around him as he once more gazed at his resting wife. He just couldn't see past how frail she looked in that hospital room. As he saw her now, old memories of cradling her dead body in his arms flashed painfully before his inner eye and he struggled to keep it together. He wasn't sure just how long he simply stood there, but eventually, with an unsteady breath, Jefferson reached out for the metal handle.

"Is she alright?" the unexpected dark, dulcet tones of a familiar voice sounded behind him and Jefferson halted.

Slowly, and quite unsurely, the man turned around and gazed at the new arrival with a plain frown written across his worn face. "What are you doing here?"

Belle looked up from her paperwork as Gold slowly stepped into her apartment above the town library and gently closed the door behind him. The brunette hurriedly attempted to clean up some of her mess as the man stepped into the living room on limping legs.

As Belle dumped some superfluous paper in the trash and offered to make them a fresh pot of coffee, Gold merely gazed at her with bright waited until she'd turned on the coffee machine before he calmly addressed her in turn, "This is the second time you've asked me to meet you today... Somehow, I have a feeling this is related to the last time."

Belle smiled timidly as she brushed a strand of long hair behind her ear and placed two coffee cups on the table between them. Slowly, she faced her beloved with a hopeful twinkle in her fair eyes.

Belle wasn't entirely sure how to propose her suggestion, nor how he would react, but she still felt she had to. She felt she owed Jefferson something to repay him for his previous kindness to her, and besides she was personally involved now that Alice had opened up to her.

The only thing the couple needed was someone who stood up for them and faced their foe, who just so happened to be Belle's loved one. It was all a bit too much of a paradox for the beauty, but she had made up her mind and there was no turning from the decision now.

"You're right," she admitted in an almost guilty tone of voice. "This is about Alice and Jefferson. I want you to undo their deal, like Snow suggested."

Regina's dark eyes sparkled somewhat as she shrugged her shoulders in a lenient reply to the Hatter's question. Jefferson hadn't seen her since the day the curse broke and he had still not forgiven her for double-crossing him a second time. Of course, there was also the small detail of her need to be in hiding after killing Jiminy Cricket, or Arthur as he was also commonly known as in the town.

Still, as she stepped forward now, Jefferson only saw the opportunities she brought with her with each step she came closer.

"Despite recent events, I'm still the mayor and Alice a citizen of Storybrooke," the woman explained as she came to a halt a few feet away from the former Hatter. Despite her confident words, he noticed she glanced around to make sure unkind eyes weren't paying attention to her presence in the hospital. "I'm here to show that I care for all citizens."

Jefferson snorted in amusement. "You? Caring for someone else? Oh, that's right. I heard you were trying to change for Henry's sake. Remind me again, how did that work out for you? Killed any crickets lately?"

The expression on her face faltered long enough for Jefferson to see her insecurities before she regained her self-control and impassive look. "Not that I think anyone still cares, but I didn't do it. Regardless... I'm not here for that. I'm here for Ms Lewis' sake."

"If Alice knew you were here she'd ask you to leave. And not so politely, one might guess."

"Fair enough," the dark-haired woman consented as she straightened her posture and conspicuously glanced at the fair, unconscious woman in the adjoining room.

"Why are you really here, Regina? What interest could you possibly have in Alice's recovery?"

"Believe it or not... I knew her once. A long time ago. Well, knew might be a bit much..." the woman hesitated a beat as something unreadable flashed through her dark eyes. "I knew her sister."

Jefferson's frown returned as he racked his brain for knowledge. "Her sister? Alice doesn't have a sister. She was an only child."

"Is that so?" the queen asked coldly.

"She would have told me about it if it was true. You're lying."

"Ah..." Regina simply breathed but left it at that with a mysterious, impassive look which was so permanent, Jefferson wondered if it was glued onto her face.

Whatever hesitation had flashed in her eyes had stopped her from expanding on her knowledge and it frustrated the man. He knew the queen well enough to know she could be playing him again and he was aware that neither his mind nor his heart were well enough to handle such a treatment.

Still... "I hate to ask, Regina, but... do you know how to break the deal?"

Gold sighed as he gazed across the room at the fair brunette before he tiredly sank onto a mahogany chair by her dining room table. One of his hands lazily came up to play with the cup before him, as he tiredly faced the woman, "Belle... I..."

"Just hear me out, Rumpelstiltskin," the woman rushed on and sat down opposite him as she tried to organise her arguments to her advantage. "Jefferson reunited the two of us in this world... If it weren't for him, who knows what Regina would have done to keep us apart after the curse broke. Either way it wouldn't have been pretty and you know it. We owe him because of that. And the curse has been lifted and you are trying to change for the better... right?"

The man begrudgingly nodded as he reached out to gently grab her hand in his own calloused one. "You know I am, dear... But, Belle, you need to understand. I can't undo a deal. Though the list of benefits for my work back in the enchanted world was long, it still only entailed making deals, not undoing them."

The brunette clasped his hand tight in her own and boldly met his gaze as she leaned closer over the table. A small flicker of hope shone in her eyes as she inquired, "But you can change them, can't you? You can change a deal or strike a new one to replace the old?"

"In rare cases, dear, yes," Gold nodded in agreement. "But, this-"

"-is one of those times," Belle finished for him. "Please solve this for them. I'm practically begging you here."

"I'd do anything for you, Belle," the man began in a defeated tone as he leaned back in his seat and his hand slipped from her grasp. "But some things just can't be done. It's not that easy. It's never going to be that easy."

"It's like this deal is so important to you and I can't understand why," Belle huffed as she leaned back in her own seat. "It shouldn't be too hard to alter it with a few new terms."

"Perhaps not in theory," Gold spoke cryptically and even his eyes seemed to seek answers deep within himself.

The hour was late but still Jefferson kept vigilance by Alice's bedside. Regina had left them long ago and he'd been relieved to see her back disappear around the corner. He still detested that woman with every fibre of his being for what she had put him through.

Still, he hated himself more for asking for her help now.

But if Gold refused to help him, there was but one powerful being that might still be of assistance to him in Storybrooke. Regina. She had been visually taken by surprise by his off-hand request but had promised she would look into it. Not that Jefferson held her promises in high regard.

Alice, meanwhile, had been unconscious the entire day and most of the night and so blissfully ignorant of the trauma Jefferson was going through yet again in concern to her health. As he sat in a simple chair by her bedside, his eyes could not seem to leave her pale face that managed to look both frail and serene at the same time. He feared that if he were to look away, her physical condition would suddenly deteriorate and she would die during that split second of detachment. So much had happened over the past few days that Jefferson didn't even know where to start trying to make sense of it all. All emotions within his head and heart were in conflict with each other. He was humbled by his wife being alive while livid she had made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. He was glad she had returned to his life but sad that she had been forced to leave him and Grace even for such a righteous cause.

As his mind began to wander once more, he barely noticed that Alice stirred on the bed. It wasn't until she raised a hand to her weary head while letting out a painful moan that he was drawn back to the present.

"Hey..." he managed to whisper as his hand closed around hers and lowered it from the band-aid on her forehead. "Don't touch. Doctor's orders. You have a pretty nasty concussion... How are you feeling?"

Alice wet her lips slowly before she attempted to reply. As she spoke, her voice was weak and hoarse, "Been better, I suppose."

Jefferson nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Vividly," she croaked and slowly opened her eyes to meet his. Jefferson felt deflated as he saw sadness dance within her pale orbs and defeat was written all over her bruised features. "I remember everything... You have to go, Jefferson."

The man shook his head even as he felt his mouth go dry from fear. "I can't."

"No," Alice shook her head. "We can't do this."

"...What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. This is over, Jefferson."

"It's not over. Of course it's not over. It can't be… over."

"I was hit by a car because I broke my deal with-"

"It was just a hit-and-run, Alice. That had nothing to do with your agreement!" Jefferson argued even though he didn't even believe it himself. Somehow he just felt he had to disagree with her to make her change her mind, even if his endeavour was futile. He was grasping at straws already as it was to keep her in his life, he didn't know what else to do.

"It had everything to do with the deal, and you know it. These things don't happen without reason..."

"It wasn't without reason. You ran into the middle of the street, Alice! It was just… a misfortune. You were distraught and didn't see the car. Accidents like that happens every day."

The woman shook her head slowly and closed her eyes as a dull pain invaded her head. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have told you anything and I paid the price. Let's stop here… and not wait for something worse to happen."

Jefferson shook his head and rubbed his eyes warily. "You're impossible, you know that? I just don't understand you anymore! When I think about it, maybe I never did! You were always the most curious, stubborn, tempered girl I ever knew! But I loved you! I still do! But you're... not acting like yourself. You're so stuck on what can't be that you won't even fight for what could be, something you would never have missed out on back home."

Dread flashed in her eyes, as she hurriedly changed subject with the straightforward question, "...What if we continue and next time it's Grace in front of that car? Our feelings are irrelevant, don't you see? I can't risk your life or our daughter's life no matter how much I want the two of you back. I can't break the deal again... This was all a mistake."

"No..." the man said and felt extreme anxiety seep into his voice. "Not a mistake... I need you back."

Alice gazed into her husband's eyes as she meekly said, "You said it yourself, Jefferson."

"Said what?"

"The happily ever after in which good triumphs over evil… was never in our future."

Jefferson shook his head, unwilling to listen to her denial any longer. "Yes, I said it. But you never believed it. You never listened to my mad mind. Your own curious soul always hoped I was wrong."

"But I'm not arguing anymore," Alice whispered. "There's no hope left. I know you were right."

"I was wrong, Alice!"

The woman shook her head slowly. "Were you? Were you, really?"

Jefferson reached out for her hand and clutched it tight within his own as he tried to find a way to convince her not to give in. "I thought you were dead, Alice, but you've returned to me. That's one thing I never thought would happen, but it did. It's given me hope… And Grace will-"

"Please, stop," Alice pleaded and the pain in her eyes were almost unbearable to Jefferson also. "I don't want to hear this."

"I honestly almost don't care anymore," Jefferson said and held onto her hand even as she tried to wriggle it free from his grasp. "I've listened to your weak excuses and desperate attempts to escape, but I can't do it anymore. In the past, you would always be my rock and the one person I could count on who would always pick me up from the dust, brush me off and send me into the fight again. It's terrifying to see you've lost that spark, Alice... But I might have spark enough for the both of us. We'll find a way."

A single tear spilled from Alice's eye and found its way down her cheek before it dropped onto the cushion by her head as she struggled to keep her voice even, "You should go."

With those three, impassive words, that each felt like a punch to the groin for Jefferson, Alice turned her head away from him to indicate the end of their conversation. The man was speechless. Utterly speechless.

It seemed it didn't matter which path he tried to go down. Denial, revelation, coincidences, cause and effect. It seemed all roads were bound to lead him to the same discouraging end.

"I know you're afraid," he began even as he felt his own inferno lessen with each passing second. "... I am too. What I fear more than anything, however... is the defeat in your heart. I don't even recognise the woman I married in you anymore. Truth is, I'm not strong enough on my own. I can't do this without you. I can't fight the ties that bind me to this life if you don't fight with me. I see that now. If you keep on giving in... I'm going to surrender, too. And then we'll never have a chance. Is that your wish, Alice? Say the words and I will leave you."

To be continued.

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