Chapter Twenty-Four

Henry hurriedly entered the hospital and saw Emma, Snow, and Red standing in a corner while Whale and two nurses stood by Charming's bed. "Will he be okay?" he asked Emma, who looked up to meet his eye.

"He'll be fine," she reassured him, as Dr. Whale walked towards them.

"He's up," Whale said, addressing Snow. "You can talk to him." Snow White nodded to him in silent thanks and walked towards Charming's bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, gently placing her cold hand on his cheek.

"All right," he replied, reaching up to take her hand.

Snow White smiled softly and said, "Emma saved us."

"Proud of her," he mumbled, closing his eyes for a long moment, and then slowly opening them again.

"Tired?"

He nodded.

"Go to sleep," she urged kindly, leaning over and pressing a light kiss against his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Snow," Charming said, his eyes closing as he drifted off to sleep. Snow White removed her hand from his and pulled the sheets up over him, before turning to rejoin Emma, Red, and Henry.

"Hi Henry," Snow said, the fact finally dawning on her that she was his grandmother.

"Hi Grandma," he greeted, smiling, as she pulled him into a hug.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Jefferson returned to the main floor of the hospital, and returned to the closet, exchanging his scrubs for his regular clothes. He avoided the group around the prince's bed and left the hospital, hurrying along the street, his top hat tucked under one arm.

"Jefferson!" a voice cried, and he turned around to see Belle running towards him, with Rumpel walking behind her. She threw herself into his arms, and he stepped back sharply to keep from falling over.

"Belle," he greeted, setting her back down on the ground. "Rumpelstiltskin."

"Jefferson," Rumpel responded, coming to stand next to Belle. "I believe I owe you a favor."

"Yes, you do," he said, smiling. "Shall we go to the diner?"

Rumpel nodded, and the three entered Granny's to find it mostly empty, with the old woman behind the countered, wiping a glass. She looked up to see them, and dropped the glass. "Rumpelstiltskin," she whispered, petrified with fear. Her eyes moved to Jefferson, and she recognized him too: the man who traveled between worlds, stealing objects with magical properties.

Belle shyly stepped up to the counter and said, "Three cups of tea, please." The old woman nodded and rushed to the kitchen.

Rumpel laughed, a dry laugh, as Belle turned around to face them. "How about we sit down?" he suggested, settling down at a booth. Belle slid into a seat beside him, and Jefferson sat across from them. "So, what is this favor?"

Jefferson smiled. "I need your help to get my daughter back."

"You have a daughter?" Belle asked. "Where is she?"

He set his hat on the table. "She went through the hat. I can only assume she chose to go to Wonderland."

"I'm so sorry," Belle said, concern showing in her eyes. "Rumpel, you have to help."

"I will, my dear," he reassured. "Now, how would you like me to help?"

Jefferson's eyes darted around the room as he searched for an answer. "I'll have to get back to you on that."

The old woman hurried out of the kitchen with a tray bearing a kettle, cream, sugar, and three little teacups. "I'll get that," Belle offered, and the woman tossed her a grateful glance as she took the tray and brought it to the table before sliding back into place beside Rumpelstiltskin.

Jefferson poured himself a cup of tea, and poured some cream and sugar into it. "I don't really know what my plan is to get her back."

Rumpel shrugged. "Once you have a plan, I'll help you."

"Thank you," Jefferson said, watching as the two seated across from him fixed their tea.

"What's you daughter's name?" Belle asked, after taking a sip of her tea.

"Grace," he said softly.

"That's a lovely name," she replied. "Grace…"

Rumpelstiltskin drank some of his tea and set the cup down, sighing deeply. "Wonderland. That's where she is?"

"Yes," Jefferson replied sadly.

"What's wrong with Wonderland?" Belle asked, glancing between the two.

Jefferson shrugged, before saying, "It's not a very safe place. Especially not for a little girl."

Belle felt a sense of doom as he said those words. "We have to do something, then." She took his hat off of the table and set it on the ground. "What's it supposed to do?"

"Spin," Jefferson said. "But there's no magic."

"How did Grace open the portal?" Rumpel asked, eyeing the hat.

The portal jumper thought for a moment before saying, "She put my old pocket watch inside the hat."

Rumpel nodded, and said, "I might have some sort of magical trinket in my shop."

Jefferson smiled. "Thank you."

The older man shrugged, and Belle smiled up at him. "We'll find her."

. . . . . . . . . . .

I stood up and found myself next to a house. I found that compared to the home, I was a relatively normal height. I went around to the front and pressed my ear to the door. I heard noises, but they were not from inside. I walked around to the back of the house and saw a mouse lying asleep at a table which was occupied by a rabbit in glasses and a coat, as well as a woman in a top hat and trousers, a white shirt, and a jacket. The rabbit looked up at me and jumped in fright, throwing a teacup at me. I ducked and when I stood back up to my full height, I asked, "What was that for?"

"Oh, how lovely, a guest," the woman said, turning around to face me. "Come this way. Take a seat."

I approached the table cautiously- in case the rabbit decided to throw something else- and took a seat next to the woman. "Who are you both?"

"That there is the Dormouse," the rabbit said, pointing to the sleeping figure before downing his cup of tea.

"That is the March Hare," the woman said. "And I am known here as the Mad Hatter." My eyes widened in shock as she leaned in to whisper in my ear, "but my real name is Marie."

"Who are you?" the March Hare asked, pouring himself more tea.

I ignored his question, my eyes still trained on Marie. "Why do you go by Mad Hatter?" I asked her.

"Well, he needed someone to join his tea party, but they had to be especially mad. Also, it's such a romantic story. Have you heard it?"

"Yes," I said. "But you can tell me again."

"All right," she replied, rubbing her hands together as the March Hare poured his tea on the Dormouse's head. "A man and a woman came into Wonderland. The woman was a queen from another land, and she abandoned the man here, and he got captured. He got beheaded, and said he traveled here through a hat. He said he had to get back to his daughter, Grace. He was tasked with creating another hat, but he couldn't do, and went mad. One day, he went missing, and the Queen of Hearts has been searching the land ever since."

"Who are you?" the March Hare asked again.

"Grace," I said, and Marie gasped. I addressed the March Hare, asking, "Do you know two people named Jefferson and Alice?"

He nodded. "Oh yes. They stopped by once, for tea. He stole my special tea bag. They came back a few times. Alice was going to have a baby."

"Me," I said.

"You mean," Marie stuttered, "you're the daughter of the Hatter and Alice."

I nodded. "I am. And why are you pretending to be my father?"

"I told you," she said. "There are many like me. It's an identity favored by thieves and other sorts of criminals."

"And madmen?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No," she said gravely. "We're all mad here."

I ignored that comment and said, "I'm here to save Wonderland."

"Here to finish the job for Alice?"

"Finish? What do you mean?" I asked. A teacup crashed against the home as the March Hare's throw barely missed my head.

"I take it you don't know what happened to her," Marie said, sending a kettle towards the Hare.

"I don't," I said.

"She was killed," Marie said, "and that's all you need to know, savior."

"How am I supposed to save this world?" I asked. "And why did Papa steal from you?" The last question was directed towards the March Hare, but he was still recovering from when the kettle hit him.

"I should probably take you to the White Rabbit," she said. "He houses the militia."

"Oh," I said, as Marie stood and led me away from the tea party. "Is it a large militia?"

"No, no," she said, laughing. "It's a small, ragtag bunch. Most of them are just straight-out insane. Madder than your father ever was."

"My father is not mad," I said, stopping. "And he's alive."

She looked shocked, before linking her arm in mine and leading me through the forest. "That's a surprise. How is he?"

"Fine," I said. "Not that you ever knew him."

"True. How did he get out?"

"There was a curse. The queen from our land made a curse that took us from our land and moved us to one without magic."

"Without magic?" she asked, looking appalled. "Not that I practice it. Continue on."

"I didn't know who he was, but then I started having dreams, and I began to believe."

"Once I had a dream," Marie said. "I dreamed I was drowning in a cup of tea."

"Okay," I said, narrowing my eyes at her for interrupting. "Anyways, the curse was broken, and I jumped through my papa's hat."

"Interesting, interesting," she said as we entered a clearing with a blue house in the center. "Here we are." We approached the house, and on the door, it had engraved: W. Rabbit.

"This is the White Rabbit's house," I said as Marie knocked on the door.

"How on earth could you tell?" she asked, and I wasn't sure if it was sarcastic or not. "You're a very bright girl."

"Thank you," I said, and the door opened and we were hurried inside.

"Who is this?" a voice asked, and it was so dark that I couldn't see the speaker.

"Grace. The daughter of the Hatter- the real one- and Alice. The savior," Marie said excitedly as we were ushered down a flight of stairs.

"The savior!" many voices cried, and a light came on, and I found myself surrounded by many creatures; a pig, a turtle, many lizard type creatures, a white rabbit in a waistcoat, and most hauntingly, a single grin.

Overwhelmed, I felt myself grow light-headed, and I saw the world grow dark around me as I crumpled to the ground.

. . . . . . . . . . .

A/N There's the chapter. I hope you all like it. I like the fake Mad Hatter character. I can't wait to continue with Grace. I'm also glad Belle is officially in this story I hope you all enjoyed.

Please review.