Once Jefferson woke up, he walked over to the open door of the bedroom and he could see Grace sitting up in bed. She smiled and waved. He went back to put a shirt on and poked his head into her room.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi." He said, "how long have you been awake?"

"Just a few minutes. I could see Baby Hawk sleeping." Jefferson turned and yes, you could see him asleep on the bed across the hall. "And Star too. And if I move just enough," and she demonstrated, " I can see you too."she said and smiled.

"If you want to, when you wake up, you are more than welcome to come in. The door is open." It was so heartwarming to have these precious few moments with his daughter. He sat on the edge of the bed. "Ready to get up and get dressed for school?" Grace nodded. "I'll go downstairs and make you some breakfast."

As Jefferson scrambled some eggs he wished Grace didn't have to go to school and they could spend the whole day together. Grace came downstairs fully dressed, carrying Hawk. She put him down on the floor and would roll a ball to him while he sat on a blanket. He tried very hard to roll it back but was much more successful at just trying to eat it.

"Maybe after school we can play a game outside. I have the croquet set. I could set it up in the back yard." Jefferson suggested as he poured Grace a glass of orange juice.

"That sounds like fun." Star commented as she entered the kitchen.

"Sure." Grace said as she sat down and began to eat her food. Maybe it was his imagination but the sun seemed to shine even brighter through the window. Star offered to brush her hair and made her two braids. Jefferson remembered trying unsuccessfully to braid her hair and he just settled for brushing it and leaving it down with a tie in her hair.

They all got into the car and were heading toward the bus stop. Cody was walking by. "Hi, Cody!" Grace called and waved.

"Hi Paige. What are you doing here?" He asked as he walked over to the car.

"I'm staying here until my mom gets better. "

"Want to ask your friend if he wants a ride to school with us?" Jefferson offered.

"Sure!" Cody said before Grace even asked. So with his wife and three children in the car, he drove into town. Life could not get any better.

/-/

Jefferson happily took Hawk around town as Star went for a run. She usually runs earlier in the day but today she went later to coincide with picking up Grace at the bus stop. With Hawk wrapped up in a carry on his back he just walked down the streets. Many people stopped to say hello. Most just gushed over Hawk. Sometimes he'd grab Jefferson's hair, but he didn't mind.

After getting Star a cup of iced water from Granny's he met up with her at the park. They waited for Grace as she excitedly got off the bus. "Guess what?" She said in greeting.

"You made spelling bee champion?" Jefferson guessed.

"No. I wish. I'm not very good at spelling." Grace replied. "Henry, my friend, he found his book. He's was so excited. I told him I was telling you guys about it and maybe Hawk would like to hear some of the stories too. So he said if I promised to take extra care of it, that I could borrow it! Well he also said maybe it'd be safer away from him. Something about Operation Cobra or whatever that means."

"Well that's great. We'll definitely read some tonight." Star said. "Let's get home and started on your homework then we can have that croquet game. It's all set up and waiting for you."

"I've been practicing my swing." Jefferson said as he made an imaginary swing.

Grace just laughed and linked her arm with his while she skipped along. He held Star's other hand as they all headed toward the car.

Unbeknownst to all of them, they were being watched by Regina.

/-/

Even though Grace chatted about her day, she did manage to finish her homework quickly so they all could go out to play. Before going out, she asked to phone her mom and checked in on her. She spent the most of her day in bed and Grace wished her a speedy recovery.

They had a wonderfully fun time playing. Each person taking turns holding Hawk at the table while the other two played. They did not keep score and at one point they were entirely making up the rules.

Grace helped with dinner. She went out and picked a few nice pieces of squash and helped slice them. Star watched her carefully over the stove as they we sautéed. Hawk helped smash a banana that no one would eat.

That night, Jefferson sat on the edge of the bed and read about Snow White and her escape from the Evil Queen. Star sat nursing Hawk in the rocking chair that was temporarily moved into the room.

"Can we read another?" Grace asked after the first story was done. Not willing to say no, Jefferson read about the huntsman who spared Snow White's life. Jefferson began to piece together who the huntsman was. The sheriff, Graham. Jefferson was fairly certain Regina had something to do with his death. He didn't want to think about Regina or her threats. He wanted to enjoy his daughter.

After the second story was finished, Grace was yawning. But that did not stop her from asking for a third story. "I think it's time to sleep." Star said. She leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"You were right about this book being interesting. May I borrow it?" Jefferson asked "I will take the best care of it. I mean how bad can I be? Star leaves a baby in my care daily." He joked. He had noticed in the book a story of the daughter of Snow White being a baby wrapped in a blanket with the name Emma embroidered on it. He began to wonder.

Grace seemed to think it over. "Okay. I'll tell Henry you like the book. It makes him happy when adults take an interest. He thinks the stories are real."

"What do you think?" Jefferson asked.

She yawned again. Then she shrugged. The second her head hit the pillow she was asleep. Again Jefferson kissed her goodnight and told her he loved her.

"You have an interest in Fairy Tales?" Star asked.

"My daughter does, so why not take an interest in what she is interested in?"

Star smiled. "You really are a good father. Don't be afraid. Tell her who you are." She said as she got into bed.

"You are a wise woman, but I just don't know if I could do that just yet." He laid in bed reading the book well into the middle of the night.

He read the entire book and really wanted to discuss with Henry what his thoughts were as to who the people were. Some he knew clearly. He had a theory on Emma Swan and learned something about Rumplestiltskin. Much made more sense about him, but Jefferson ventured to believe he would never discuss his son. But if Regina had any interactions with the maid that Jefferson saw so verify briefly, the poor girl is certainly dead. By whose, hand is anyone's guess.

The story that struck him the most was his own. He considered reading it to Grace and see her thoughts. The last night she was to stay he did.

"I think this is it for tonight. What do you think of this story?" Jefferson asked. He usually did after a few tales. "Do you think Grace would ever see her father again?"

"I'm certain of it. It wasn't his fault he was tricked into being trapped in Wonderland. I'm sure he'll find his way home."

"Do you think his daughter would be happy to see him?" He could barely get out. Grace always believed in true love and always had hope that families would find each other and be reunited. As for himself, Jefferson just couldn't believe.

"Of course! She's probably never given up hope that they'd find eachother." Nothing could have given Jefferson more hope.