DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the wonderfulness that is Once Upon A Time and their characters or other later-mentioned characters (non-related to OUAT).
This is my first fic therefore, there is obviously no prequel but if you'd like a reference as to what I'm going to use as canon for most of Emma and Jeff's past then I'd recommend "Happily Never After" by L3ftOfCent3r. Plus, I think it's a rather brilliant fic in general so you should just read it anyways if you haven't.
Aaaaaahhhh, oh my goodness! I don't even think you understand how incredibly sorry I am that is has taken me forEVER to update this! D: As I have told some of you, my life is just crazy busy and if I could be writing all day, every day I soooooo would! This story still means the world to me as well as all of you who continue to read this despite the fact that I have become the worst updater ever! :[ If you can find it in your beautiful heart to forgive me, I truly hope you like this chapter (it's the longest yet, so btace yourself)! Thank you all soooo much for being the best readers EVER! :D
Chapter 14: That Wasn't An Option
"Mmmm, is that chocolate-chip pancakes I smell?" Emma questioned, sniffing the air as she strolled into the kitchen, ignoring the busy workers running to and fro and choosing to focus on her kids across the room.
"Mmm-hmm." Henry muttered through a mouth stuffed full of his syrup-covered pancakes.
"Papa promised me that if I didn't make a fuss this morning when Lucy left he would make a special breakfast." Grace smiled, picking up the jar of syrup and pouring it atop her stack of hotcakes.
"How many would you like, Princess?" Jefferson looked over his shoulder from his spot at the stove to his wife in the doorway.
"Twenty," Emma answered half-seriously.
"Be careful what you wish for… If I make you all those, it's you who has to eat them all."
"Fine, I'll take three." Emma dodged one of the kitchen staff as she made her way to the small table her kids were eating at. "Did Lucy and them leave already?"
"Yeah, they left super early this morning." Grace semi-pouted.
"We got to see them go through a portal! It was so cool!" Henry chimed in after swallowing his mouthful. "It was like Papa's hat but not really, it just popped up out of nowhere."
"I'll admit; Aslan's portal jumping is rather impressive." Jefferson remarked from across the bustling kitchen.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Emma asked, taking a seat across from her children.
"We wanted to but Papa said you needed your sleep." Grace explained, her focus down on her plate as she cut through her breakfast.
"He said you had a long day ahead of you." Henry added.
"Oh… right." Emma remarked with a roll of her eyes, remembering just exactly what her 'long day' entailed. She lazily swung her legs over the edge of the seat and sauntered past the kitchen staff and to her husband cooking at the stove. Just behind him she stopped and leaned her lips close to his ear, whispering only loud enough for him to hear, "And there's no way I can get out of it?..."
Jefferson's breath hitched in surprise at his wife's hot breath in his ear. Suddenly his pulse raced and he couldn't concentrate, no longer able to focus on the breakfast he was preparing. He blinked a few times to gain back some semblance of a coherent thought and breathed out, dazed, "I, uh, already told you, there's no one else around to watch him…"
Emma grinned, satisfied with his surprised response and whispered again, "Are you sure?..."
Jefferson heard the pancakes sizzling beneath his gaze and was snapped back into reality. He noticed the downward sides almost burning and hastily flipped them onto their uncooked sides. "You realize you're distracting the cook, right? If you keep this up, your pancakes are going to end up burnt."
"An honorable sacrifice if this works." Emma reached her arms around him and slowly slid her hands to his chest.
"Too bad it's not going to." Jefferson smirked then whipped himself to face his wife and catch his free arm around her hip. "But you can still get a good morning kiss." He leaned into her and crashed his lips into hers. Though disappointed she didn't resist and leaned up to him, savoring the taste of his morning tea that lingered on his lips.
"Ew!" Henry gasped as he looked up to find his parents making out.
"You do realize there are other people in here, right?" Grace added with a twisted expression.
As Emma pulled away with an embarrassed look she left a hand lying on her husband's chest and they both turned their attention towards their children.
At this point both Henry and Grace were gathering their breakfast plates and utensils and standing up. Grace looked over to her parents once more and added, "I think we'll just finish our breakfast in the dining room."
"We'll leave you two, and the kitchen staff, to yourselves." Henry joined and scurried out of the kitchen and into the dining room, sufficiently grossed out.
Emma turned back to Jefferson and laughed, burying her face into his neck. He chuckled right along with her then moved her to stand beside him as he faced back towards the stove, while a kitchen staff member rushed past them holding an assortment of fine china.
Emma ceased her laughter and looked up to her husband as he flipped her pancakes from off the stove onto her plate. "Do you think they'll ever be okay with our PDA?"
"Probably not," Jefferson shrugged, handing the plate of fresh hotcakes to her. "For you, your majesty."
"Thanks." Emma smiled and took the plate before leaning up to peck his cheek. She leaned back and figured she'd try one last time to get out of what she was dreading, "And there's still no way I can get out of babysitting?"
"Unfortunately not princess, but it's we, not just you. I'll help with the little monster as best I can."
"What happened to you being mad at me for last night?"
"You know I could never actually be mad at you princess." Jefferson explained sincerely, gingerly reaching up to caress her cheek. "Plus, I'd never wish the torture of watching that monster alone on anyone."
"Gee, thanks." Emma took his hand and they walked into the dining room together, earning questionable looks from their children seated at the table. Before the couple sat down, they had to promise that there would be no other displays of affection while eating at the table with them. They promised by swearing on their stack of pancakes then were allowed to dine with their kids. After working their way through breakfast in no time they sent Henry and Grace off to school with Gepetto, on his way into town.
The rest of the morning was spent going through as much of the castle as they could and making sure there was nothing, within four feet of the ground, that Max could get his hands on and/or "accidentally" destroy. Granted, he never truly did break anything (or anyone) on purpose but he certainly could be much more wary of his surroundings.
Just after noon a messenger came and announced that Gwen, William, and Maxwell had arrived. Emma sighed and braced herself for the fun day ahead of her. Jefferson reached down, interlacing his fingers with hers, and kissed the back of her hand, hoping it would provide some sense of comfort, or at the very least, hope that the rest of her day wasn't going to be entirely miserable.
Emma and Jefferson entered the foyer, where Snow and James were already standing, awaiting their guests' entrance. Emma glared at her mother and father, envying the fact that they did not have to babysit a gremlin all day. They sent back looks of apology and though she was glad they were sorry for it, that didn't make it any better of a situation. Within seconds the castle doors opened and revealed Gwen and William's forest green, silver-trimmed carriage standing just outside the entryway. Their servant descended from his seat beside the coachman and unlatched and opened the door that closed off the body of the carriage.
"Emma!" Maxwell shrieked with a delight, jumping down from the carriage and running towards Emma.
Emma stared towards the skinny, mop-headed child whose height only reached just above her waist, shocked. The last time she had seen him he had ran out of his carriage in a similar fashion but instead ran past all the adults and into the castle, ready to destroy anything in his path. This time a wide grin spread on his face at the sight of Emma and he quickly came to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Emma stared down at him, confused, as Jefferson looked on, about to laugh. Emma's surprise was evident to everyone except Maxwell as he greeted, "I'm so happy to see you Emma! We're gonna have so much fun!"
"Uh, yeah kid, we are…" Emma replied, looking to her husband, still baffled by the boy's actions. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the kind greeting but she definitely was not expecting it from Maxwell of all people. Jefferson merely shrugged and choked back another laugh as he noticed the also shocked faces of his in-laws standing a few feet from them.
Gwen and William descended the steps of the carriage in a much more graceful fashion then their son and happily greeted Snow and James. As the old friends exchanged 'hello's' Maxwell finally let his grip around Emma release. He looked up to Jefferson, with an almost sneer, and gave a reluctant and simple, "Hello Jefferson."
It took all the restraint Jefferson had not to burst out in laughter at the young boy's obvious distaste. "It's nice to see you too Max."
"Hey!" Maxwell snapped, "That's Maxwell to you! Only my parents and Emma can call me Max." The way he said 'Emma' was a bit too fondly for Emma's liking. How he accentuated her name as though she were some goddess sent from the heavens, made her wary of what their day had in store, causing her to unconsciously roll her eyes.
"Of course King Maxwell," Jefferson replied back mockingly while giving a small bow.
Maxwell scoffed at Jefferson and turned back to Emma. Emma gave him a small, forced smile and suggested weakly, "Hey Max, why don't you go say bye to your parents then we can go get you some lunch?"
"Okay Emma." Maxwell grinned then ran to wish his parents 'goodbye' before they were off to their own lunch.
"What in the world is going on here?" Emma turned to Jefferson as soon as Maxwell was out of earshot.
"Well, to me it looks like King Maxwell has a bit of a crush on Princess Emma." Jefferson grinned, showing his obvious delight at the hilarity of it all.
"How?! The last time he saw me was over six months ago…"
"Well you know what they say…" Emma eyed him curiously as he held in his laughter before bursting, looking off dreamily and stating, "distance makes the heart grow fonder!"
She refused to laugh, this was not funny. "Seriously, when did this happen? What the heck happened to the kid who was here last year and hated me; wouldn't do a single word of what I asked him, complained every two seconds?"
"It looks like he's growing up; and trying to change himself… for love." Jefferson accentuated the second part, holding one hand to his heart and looking off with a sparkling glint in his eyes, mocking Emma's new fan.
"Stop it," Emma finally laughed, swatting at his chest. "It's not funny."
"Oh but it is."
"Shouldn't you be jealous or something?..." Emma questioned, hoping she might be able to get some enjoyment out of this situation.
"Of the seven-year old, wanna-be king you refer to as a 'gremlin'?... Hardly."
The two continued laughing until Emma groaned when she had to turn her attention back to the 'king.' Maxwell came running back to her with a smile and stood close to her side. She reluctantly waved a quick hello and goodbye to Maxwell's parents then showed him to the kitchen. As she walked through the castle corridors and Maxwelll continued grinning up at her, all innocent and full of all the love a schoolboy crush could hold, she mused on how the day was going to go now that things were quite different than she had expected. She wasn't sure which Max to be more afraid of, the one who hated her, or the one who followed her around like a puppy dog... Boy was today going to be a great one!
Luckily, by the time they reached the kitchen most of the staff had cleared out to be at work in the dining room, ready for the luncheon, so there weren't too many people to work around. Emma showed Maxwell to an open seat at the staff table then strolled over to the counter where Jefferson stood and questioned, "So, kid, what do you want for lunch?"
Maxwell considered his options for a moment then quickly replied with a grin. "I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Emma shot him an incredulous look. She was sure the kid knew they didn't have any peanut butter in The Enchanted Forest hence, it was impossible to have a PB&J sandwich. "Maxwell, you know we don't have real peanut butter in this world like we did in Storybrooke."
Max's grinning visage suddenly turned into a deep frown with furrowed brows. "So…? I still want a peanut butter and jelly. You asked what I wanted and that is what I want."
Ah yes, here it was… this seemed much more like the Max she remembered. "But Max, if we don't have any peanut butter, how are you supposed to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"
"I don't know; make some?..."
Well if we could make some don't you think we would have some?! Emma groaned to herself and sensing her frustration but with no solution to offer, Jefferson took her hand and gave it a light squeeze, hoping it would comfort her (and also make sure she didn't rip the kids head off.) Emma looked to her husband, grateful for his presence and sighed, searching for an idea.
Maxwell began tapping his fingers on the table impatiently, waiting for his princess to come up with an answer. "Am I gonna get a peanut butter and jelly or not?"
By some miracle Emma actually sparked a plan in her head and her face shot up, full of pleasure at her not so brilliant, but suitable enough idea. "Yes Max, I'll make sure of it."
Emma quickly turned and began searching through the cupboards as Jefferson followed behind, confusedly asking, "What are you going to do?"
As Emma shuffled through the many items crowding the cupboards and began pulling out various jars and kitchen tools she explained, "Well, one time, forever ago, I had no peanut butter and only peanuts in my apartment and for some reason I really wanted peanut butter but was too lazy to go to the store so I Googled how to make peanut butter and kinda remember how to do it… Granted, it probably won't turn out that great since we don't have anything besides a mallet to grind up the peanuts and have no time to roast the peanuts or cool them afterwards, but if we don't tell him then it's more than likely that he won't even notice."
Jefferson stepped back, quite shocked at his wife's random experience that suddenly came in handy. He watched her as she hastily ground up the peanuts and mixed them in a bowl with vegetable oil and a pinch of sugar. He gave no argument when she sent him commands to do other sandwich preparation tasks and within ten minutes they had what was hopefully, a decent PB&J sandwich. Emma hesitantly handed the plate to Maxwell and the couple watched intently as he took his first bite of it. It seemed to take him forever just to swallow the measly bite but as he finished, Emma asked warily, "So what do you think Max?..."
Maxwell stared off for a moment, considering his response, then shrugged and gave an expression that they read to mean 'not bad' and they both sighed in relief. One blow-up/tantrum from the little gremlin avoided; success!
Emma and Jefferson happily, and full of relief, made their way back to the kitchen and made their own respective lunches. After they finished eating Emma was fingering through some of the remnants of peanut butter left on the bowl she had used to mix it. She tasted the dollop that sat on her finger then looked off in thought, a sudden craving coming to mind. "You know what I think would taste really good with this peanut butter right now?"
"I honestly have no idea…" Jefferson replied back from his place at the sink, washing the dishes.
"Raisins!" Emma didn't really know why she wanted it but it just sounded so good right now she couldn't resist the idea.
"Really?..." Jefferson looked over to her questioningly. It didn't sound like the worst combination in the world but it was random, to say the least.
"Yeah," she smiled back. "I mean, I've never tried it before but I don't know… it just sounds good."
Jefferson merely laughed at his wife's random excitement over this odd mixture. She was always a surprise to him and he wondered greatly about how her mind worked. But seeing her smile like this, no matter how random the reason was for it, made him so happy so he didn't question it as he laughed. "You are a mystery to me princess."
He kissed her on the forehead as he turned to rinse off his plate and Emma smiled up at him. "But you love me for it."
"That I do princess; that I do."
For a few minutes there they had almost forgotten they were babysitting while Maxwell had taken to explaining his self-proclaimed fascinating life story to a few of the kitchen staff. The poor souls had no idea what they were getting into when they had merely asked the young royal how he was doing. After keeping a safe distance for a few minutes Emma and Jefferson approached the small group at the table, when Maxwell neared the end of his story.
Maxwell perked up at the sight of Emma and unconsciously allowed a wide grin to slip across his visage. The child's sudden beam of happiness caused Jefferson to poke Emma in the side mockingly and her to glare playfully up at him.
Emma would have gladly let Maxwell continue for as long as he desired but being the natural-born savior she was, she felt compelled to save the innocent employees from Maxwell's endless babbling. "Hey Max, why don't you finish up here and we can go explore the castle?"
The boy hastily replied and dismissed the staff with a quick 'goodbye'. The employees all breathed a collective sigh of relief and silently thanked their savior as she ushered Max into the hallway.
"So where do you wanna go Max?"
"Uuummm… OH! How about the council room? I wasn't allowed up there last time and I still really wanna see it!"
Jefferson scoffed and muttered under his breath, only loud enough for Emma to hear, "Didn't stop you from trying to sneak up there when you escaped…"
Emma shot him a look, though she knew he was right and her immediate thought was the very same. During Maxwell's last visit to their home he had been under the watchful eye of Granny when she turned her back on him playing with his toys for two seconds and he was gone. She was able to track him relatively easily by smell but because of her age she could not keep. She ran into Jefferson in the midst of her hunt, asked him to catch up to the boy for her, and being the polite, chivalrous man he is, he obliged without hesitation. Eventually he caught up to the little monster just before he reached the floor that housed the council room but being the only adult around Jefferson was forced to be the one to reprimand the young king. Jefferson had to march him back down to the ground floors while he threw a fit, henceforth beginning Maxwell's ill-will towards Jefferson.
Emma sighed heavily, recalling that night when Jefferson came to her announcing that the king of Vanguardia officially hated him. Of course this kid picked the one room in the castle that was off limits to basically anyone who wasn't in the council or a member of the royal family. She didn't want to take him up there but she knew she had to avoid any blow-ups from him and he seemed (at least slightly) better and less of a monster than the last time he had visited so she figured maybe, just maybe, it would be okay… "Alright Maxwell, we'll take you up there but only if you promise not to touch anything or go anywhere in the room where I can't see you. And you have to listen to exactly as I tell you to do in there. If you don't listen then I'll drag you out of there quicker than you can even get a word of an argument out."
Realizing he probably wouldn't get a better deal than this Max reluctantly agreed and they began to ascend the many stairwells that led up to the top floors. For the first few flights Maxwell stayed relatively quiet but after the fifth set of stairs was reached he began a series of never-ending complaints about how tired he was, the crazy amount of stairs, and how it probably wasn't even worth this much effort. Emma was always quick to rebuttal and offer to forget about going up to the council room but Maxwell always immediately took back his complaint, only to start again mere seconds later.
Luckily once they reached the council room he shut up almost instantly and just stood in awe of the sight. Emma hesitantly let him search through the room but did not dare let him near her father's connecting office. After Maxwell was satisfied with his exploration of the room Emma and Jefferson led the boy to a few more areas he had suggested, of course continuing to complain as they descended many staircases and rounded through endless hallways. After a couple hours Jefferson took note of the time and reminded Emma they had to get Henry and Grace from school.
With this reminder came the realization that she was somehow going to have to convince Maxwell to come with them so she started simply, "Max, do you wanna go pick up Henry and Grace from school?"
Maxwell's face twisted, considering it. "Does that mean we have to walk?..."
"Well yes… we don't like to take the carriages out unless it's a long trip." Emma didn't know what she was going to do if this didn't work. She didn't have anyone to pick up Henry and Grace from school and was certainly not about to let Jefferson leave her alone with Max. "It's not too long of a walk."
"How long?"
"At most, twenty-five minutes."
"That's too long."
"What if I told you that we could go play soccer afterwards?" Please, please, PLEASE let this bribe work!
Maxwell considered that for a moment, looking off, than looked back to Emma curiously. "But I'll be tired from walking."
"We could rest in between." Dammit, the kid had a point.
"But that would be boring."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Stay here."
"That wasn't an option." She had to admit, this kid was anything if not, persistent. Unfortunately, this was the Maxwell she remembered dealing with last time he was here.
"There weren't any other options you gave."
"True… but what would we do here?"
"Play, explore more, something fun!"
"But won't that make you just as tired as going to pick up Henry and Grace then playing soccer?"
"Maybe… but it will be more fun."
"We can make the walk fun."
"How?..."
"Doesn't matter to me; what do you suggest?"
Maxwell thought for a moment, wanting to get something good out of this. A brilliant idea popped into his head and he looked back to her shyly, almost too embarrassed to suggest it. Almost. "Well…. you could let me hold your hand when we walk?"
Emma gave him a quick sneer before realizing that it was a small sacrifice if it got him to go with them and stop complaining. She sighed and stuck out her hand, "Fine…"
Max reached out for her hand with a wide grin but she pulled it back before continuing, "But, there's one condition…"
Max pouted and let his hand fall down to his side, waiting for the condition that he most likely would not appreciate.
"You can hold my hand only if you promise not to complain, or whine, or argue, for the rest of the day!"
Max considered this… It wasn't a horrible condition. If it meant he could hold Emma's hand it would probably be worth it, but… "As long as you let me hold your hand on the way back too!"
Emma huffed out a groan but agreed and stuck her hand back out, proclaiming, "It's a deal."
Maxwell let a large smile slip across his face as Emma led him down to the ground floor and out the castle doors with Jefferson following just to the other side of Emma, nearly ready to burst out in laughter at the twisted mix of embarrassment, flattery, and resentment on Emma's face.
Much to Emma's surprise, Maxwell, for the most part, kept his promise and the few times he did start to make a comment about being fatigued she gave him a simple reminder and he looked away, wallowing in self-pity. Luckily, the time passed rather quickly once Jefferson took hold of Emma's other hand and began making small talk while tracing circles on the back of her hand. Finally, they reached the school and found Henry and Grace chatting amongst a few of their friends. Once the siblings caught sight of their parents they quickly wished their friends goodbye and ran towards them, smiling brightly.
As she let go of her husband's and hugged her children Emma could see them both give odd, confused glances to her holding King Maxwell's hand. She gave them a knowing look, informing them she would explain later. After greeting their parents the two children turned their attentions fully towards the young boy beside their mother and smiled.
"Hi Maxwell!" Grace greeted, waving to the young boy standing beside her mother.
"Hello." Max answered, holding his chin up and trying to look and sound royal.
Grace rolled her eyes at the boy's pointless attempt to seem dignified as her brother greeted the young king.
After the mandatory greetings were made Emma explained to Henry and Grace her promise to Maxwell and they gladly offered to participate. It didn't take long for them to reach the soccer field that lay just past the garden on the land-adjacent edge of their castle's bridge which wasn't surprising, considering the kids practically ran there.
After they got to the field the dilemma of who would be on which team arose. Since there was an odd amount they decided it would only be fair if someone opted out of playing. Jefferson made the sacrifice and offered to be the referee, while the kids decided the teams would be boys against girls. They all played a fierce game, as best as they could, though Henry stood out by far, mostly due to him being the player with the most experience. Though Grace did not enjoy playing in a skirt and neither her nor her mother's boots were well-suited for soccer they didn't complain, silently noting their discomforts as their rightful disadvantage, since they had the older average of the two teams.
Emma and Grace made sure to establish quickly that they needed to hold back so as to not set off Maxwell by the girls winning. They were quite sure Henry realized this but, for obvious reasons, he didn't seem to mind all that much. After a half hour or so of running up and down the field, Emma was growing tired, and slightly dizzy, so she decided to call it quits. She told the kids they could keep playing and just have Jefferson sub for her but they didn't mind a break, considering they'd all had a pretty long day. Jefferson also refused to let Emma be without him when she wasn't feeling well so the break was basically a must, unless they wanted to play an entirely unfair game.
As they began to sit throughout the middle of the field, Grace asked her mother to do her hair for her and Emma happily obliged. Grace then settled herself in front of where her father held her mother in his lap, running his fingers through the ends of her hair. As Emma began to waterfall braid Grace's hair, Henry and Maxwell settled themselves to sit a few feet from one another in respective criss-crossed leg positions, not far from the rest of their group.
Henry sat back on his hands, catching his breath while Maxwell looked down at the grass, plucking individual blades from the ground. Maxwell decided to be the conversation starter and recalled what he knew he wanted to ask Henry about. "Hey Henry; so I heard you guys got to see Wonderland? What was it like there?"
Henry took in a breath and smiled, happy to talk about one of his best trips ever! "It was so cool! We got to see so many different creatures and met a bunch of new friends and it was awesome. It wasn't like anything you've ever seen!"
"Cool! Did you speak with any talking flowers?" Max questioned excitedly, eager to learn about his friend's adventures. His favorite thing to do was go on adventures. Granted, the only adventures he'd ever been allowed to go on were in his own kingdom or occasionally at neighboring palaces, but they were still adventures to him.
"No… we didn't really see any."
"Oh, well did you get to meet Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum? I heard they are so dumb it's hilarious."
"Didn't come across them…"
"How about a dodo bird?"
"Didn't see one of those…"
"What about one of the giant card army men?"
"Nope." Geez, Henry had never realized how much more there was to Wonderland that they didn't get to see or experience.
"Did you at least get to see the Queen of Hearts?"
"No, we did our best to avoid her!" Henry assured, his smile shrinking ever so slightly at the mention of the cruel queen.
"You know, in my kingdom I don't have to fear anything," Maxwell stated matter-of-factly, glad to turn the conversation on himself. The tale of this adventure was starting to bore him, it didn't seem like all that great of one.
"Well, you are brave and the creatures respect that I'm sure."
"Yes, I am. That's why my parents made me king."
"That's what I've heard." Henry wanted so badly to roll his eyes at the slightly pompous young boy, but out of courtesy he used all of his strength to resist.
They sat in silence for a moment till Maxwell perked up again, ready with another conversation topic. "Oh Henry, whatchya doing for your birthday? It's next week, isn't it?"
"You know, I'm not sure…" Henry looked up, considering what he might do to celebrate. "I hadn't really thought about it."
"You should do something big! Like have a huge party; or ask for a really big present."
"I don't know. It's only eight days away so I don't think we can really plan something that big."
"I'll think about it and let you know when I figure it out."
"You better." Maxwell was hoping that whatever Henry might come up he could be included in it. Anything lavish or expensive basically required King Maxwell's presence.
At this point Emma had finished Grace's braid and her dizziness had, mostly, ceased so she gave the kids the option of heading back to the castle or finding another game to play for a short while. The kids decided to play tag but the game basically ended in a failure, after twenty minutes or so, when it was decided that Jefferson was base and everyone ended up dog-piling him.
They all laughed hysterically as he struggled to get free and were eventually kind enough to let him break through the stack of bodies. As enjoyable as it all was it was getting close to sunset and Emma had high hopes that her parents' luncheon was well over by now. They gathered themselves, Maxwell quickly ran to grasp Emma's hand, Jefferson laced his fingers through her free hand, and they began making their way back to the castle.
As the family and their guest walked across the bridge back to their palace Henry interrupted the silence, taking the quiet moment as a good opportunity to suggest an idea that had been stirring in his mind since his conversation with Maxwell, "Hey mom, papa; so I was talking with Maxwell earlier about what I wanted to do for my birthday and I kind of had an idea…"
"Sure Henry, what is it? We've been telling you we're entirely open to suggestions." Emma smiled down at her son, eager to hear what his idea was. They had been asking him for months what he wanted to do but, like herself, he had a bit of trouble making decisions, no matter how trivial.
"Well…" Oh goodness, where was this going? Emma knew whenever one of her children started an idea off with a dragged out 'well' it was something she would likely be wary of. "I was thinking that we could go back to Wonderland… but we could all go this time."
As much as she didn't like this subject being brought up again it wasn't an entirely horrible idea and she understood what was, likely, his reasoning. She looked up to her husband, searching for his reaction. She saw in Jefferson's eyes that he was extremely hesitant but in an attempt to please his son, he merely shrugged, masking his wariness. Emma gave his hand a squeeze of comfort and thanks, beyond happy to have a husband that longed so much to please a son who wasn't even his by blood and had only truly been his for a just over a year. She was glad she was able to give back a response that would hopefully please her son. "Yeah, I guess that could be a possibility."
Henry beamed up to his mother in silent thanks then looked towards his also smiling sister. They both beamed at the thought of the family all getting to travel and experience Wonderland together.
"Oooh, could I come?" Maxwell perked up and almost jumped with excitement at the thought, interrupting the family moment.
Emma should have seen this one coming, this wasn't the first time he'd asked to travel with her family. Maxwell wanted his part in everything he heard about it; she should have watched her words more carefully around him. "Well Maxwell, for one, we didn't even say yes yet and two, the last time you asked us your parents were very clear that they did not want you jumping through any portals to other worlds."
"But I've been to other worlds before!" Maxwell stuck out his chin defiantly and proud.
Jefferson rolled his eyes and countered, for his wife, "You've been to two other worlds Maxwell; one, not by choice, and the other technically doesn't even count since there is no portal required to reach it, it presses up so closely to this one that it might as well be considered a part of it."
"But I know you can still get to it through your hat," Maxwell snapped back, hoping his argument might just work.
"That doesn't mean your parents want you using that as your means of getting there, or anywhere else."
"But I-" Maxwell barked out, about to continue until Emma butted in, trying to ease a bit of the tension.
"Max, all Jefferson is saying is that we would like to respect your parents' wishes. We're just looking out for your safety."
Maxwell was certainly not giving up on this but he pouted and looked off angrily, planning to discuss this with his parents later on.
Both Emma and Jefferson looked to one another, both stifling laughs as they continued their path back to the castle. Much to their delight, once inside and after heading towards the dining room they found Gwen and William awaiting them in the hall. Maxwell reluctantly let Emma's hand go free, determined to start working on his parents' reluctance to let him travel through portals. Emma noticed the smiles that crept onto her children's faces as they noticed their guests whom they were actually glad to see.
Emma ushered them off, stating, "Go ahead, go say hi."
Henry and Grace ran off with bright smiles as they went to greet their guests they had yet to see.
Jefferson smiled towards his children before turning back to his wife and looping an arm around her waist, glad to have even just a moment alone with her without having to worry about their children or the boy-king disturbing them. "So, was today as bad as you thought it would be?"
"You knew he'd gotten better," Emma smirked up at him, intentionally not answering his question.
"Maybe… but even so he's no Grace or Henry. And you were still wonderful with him when he was acting less than desirable."
"I dealt with him, there's a difference."
"You were great with him and you know it."
"I just did what I'd do with any other kid and tried to get him to listen or behave, or shut up, when he wouldn't."
"And you succeeded."
"I'm sure it didn't hurt that he has a crush on me," Emma reluctantly countered with a roll of her eyes.
"I'll give you that," Jefferson laughed. "But even in moments when he wasn't smitten with you, you handled him like a pro."
"Pure luck," Emma shrugged, dismissing any thought that she might actually have a natural gift with children.
"More than luck; you're a natural." He truly did admire her natural way with kids. He had honestly never seen someone who worked so well with even the worst of kids yet had so little experience of raising their own.
"Believe what you want."
"Can't you give yourself credit for anything?" Jefferson eyes pleaded with her. He truly wished she could have just the slightest bit more confidence in the fact that was she basically an angel sent from above who was blessed with the ability to do anything she set her mind to.
"Yes," Emma stated matter-of-factly looking at him from under her brow, "but only when it is deserved."
"It is more than deserved."
"Really?..." Emma didn't necessarily consider it to be true, but she saw his belief in the truth of his words. He meant them wholeheartedly.
"You know I would never lie to you princess." Jefferson cupped her cheek and looked her in the eye, seriously.
"I know… but sometimes you are a bit," she paused to search for the right word, "over-complimentary."
"You're the only one who thinks that."
Emma pulled her face back in thought, pursing her lips and squinting her eyes. Sadly, he was right, and she had never heard anyone ever state the same claim so she looked back to him and sighed.
He could tell the sigh meant she had no argument and smiled, nearly satisfied. He cupped her chin then pulled her face up to meet his as he pleaded, "Please, just take the compliment."
He planted a gentle kiss on her lips and she pulled back with a growing smile. "Fine… thank you."
"You are more than welcome love."
Emma smiled back to her husband, grateful to have him there. He treated her far better than she deserved and she truly could not understand why. As she took his hand and began walking towards their kids in front of the dining room she leaned her head onto his shoulder while thanking her lucky stars that it turned to be not such a bad day after all.
I hope you all enjoyed it and don't think waiting so long for this was just a waste of your time… but if you did, I wouldn't blame you. =[ But hey, good news! :D Even though it won't really matter for a LONG time, when this fic ends I already have a flurry of ideas lined up for a companion fic that is going to fill in some of the spaces between this story's last chapter and it's epilogue! Yeah I know, there I go again, thinking WAAAAYYYYY ahead, but for some reason I just can't help it and I keep coming up with these ideas that won't fit in my story for quite a while, so yeah… As I said, I hope you don't hate me entirely for taking so long to update and you thought this chapter was a good one! I love you all so mucho and I can't thank you enough for your support; you're all amazing beyond belief!