The portal he guided Emma through was a doorway with rippling water. It almost looked like the mirror on the other side of the room with doors….but it rippled like someone had stuck their finger in it.

How was the water staying in place like that?

Oh wait, logic didn't work here…just like it hadn't worked the minute she drove through Storybrooke.

Jefferson waited as Emma tilted her head and stuck her finger through the door…the water immediately rippled away from her finger and just kept….going. It didn't stop like water normally did.

"Are you done?" Jefferson asked.

Emma withdrew her hand and grabbed her bag, "Yeah."

He grabbed the hand that she had just stuck in the water and he led her through the portal. Emma expected to walk into water. So she drew a big breath and stepped through and…automatically released it when her feet sank in sand and she was on a beach.

Jefferson heard the release of air and gave her a confused look, "You alright?"

Emma looked down to see that she and her clothes were still dry, looked up at him, and felt a bit embarrassed because she wasn't expecting to step out on dry land, "Yeah."

Emma took in her surroundings. The portal doorway stood behind her…but beyond that the back stretched for miles, just like it did to her right and left and in front of her. Emma could see that there was a jungle in the horizon…but the walk almost didn't seem worth it.

In front of them there was a one room shack. It was a bit away from the beach and was elevated. The porch was covered in dried palm leaves and between two pillars there was a hammock. Emma hoped that wasn't their bed.

She leaned heavily on the railing and followed Jefferson up the steep stairs and into the shack. It wasn't that big…it was smaller than the front room of the pawn shop actually. Emma looked to her right and saw a bathtub. On the far wall, there was a bed that would just barely hold the both of them. To her left, there was a water basin and pitcher on a table and right above it were cabinets nailed into the wall.

Jefferson sighed, "Someone stole my chairs and trunk."

"Why didn't they take anything else?"

"Everything else is either nailed down or locked up," he opened a small trapdoor and pulled out several pots and pans.

Emma looked around, "What do we do for water?"

"There's a pump outside. Rumpelstiltskin enchanted it to give us clean fresh water when we were here."

"For what?" she asked curiously.

"Whatever it is that he does," Jefferson said, "He was the one conducting deals. I didn't interfere or get involved, I built this house."

"It's very nice," Emma told him after a moment of silence, "Very…sturdy."

He blinked and gave her a quick genuine smile, "Thank you."

Emma quickly averted her gaze. She looked around and saw he had several windows, which he seemed to be a fan of, "I suppose Rumpelstiltskin was satisfied with the house too."

"So satisfied that he took the bed and made me sleep in the hammock," Jefferson pouted.

Emma gave him a faux sympathetic look, "Poor thing."

Instead of getting annoyed, he looked amused, "Would you like something to eat?"

"I suppose…"

"Most of the food we'll have is from the sea," he said, "Occasionally we'll go into the jungle and get some fruit but I don't think you'll accompany me as much with your foot. And sand is hard to hop through."

"I can probably get some fish easily enough if I stay on the rocks," she said, "I used to fish with one of my foster families. As long as my foot stays out of the water then I imagine I'd be okay."

"Yeah, about that," Jefferson cleared his throat, "There are rocks out there with markings carved in them. Don't go past them on the rocks or in the water"

"How come?"

"That's where the mermaids can get you. And they'll drag you under and rip the flesh off you before you know what happened. ."

Emma blinked in shock at how blunt he was. She needed to go back and read 'The Little Mermaid' again, "That's…not what I remember from the stories."

"Then you'd probably be thinking about the peaceful mermaids, they're on the other side of this world. Or at least said to be, I've never had an occasion to meet one of those kind," he set out a tea kettle, "Are you thirsty?"

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They had fish that night. It tasted sort of like orange chicken which was odd. Jefferson even went to the jungle and came out with some purple bananas and coconuts for them to eat together.

While they ate, Jefferson drew several floor plans in the sand. He showed her every access point to Rumpelstiltskin's castle so they could think of a plan

"The castle is sort of like an extension of himself," Jefferson explained, "It's like he's mentally connected to it. It magically replenishes supplies, when someone in the house is ready for a bath; the water appears at the right temperature. Anybody's movement in the castle, he'll know about. Even if we break in when he's not there, he'll know."

"What if we distract him?" Emma asked.

"He'll know," Jefferson said again, "The only way it wouldn't would be if he's too emotional to focus or something has his attention. I suppose one of us could distract him while the other gets your mother out but there are several variables that could go wrong. One of them being that whoever distracts him isn't going to be the one walking out. Another one being that if he suspects a trap, which he probably will, none of us are walking out. Either way, I probably won't live to see the next day."

"He could always keep you alive," Emma said, "If I could somehow convince him that I cared about you, then maybe I could save you"

Jefferson blinked and stared at her…his eyes searched hers for something more in that statement. Emma looked at the fire that Jefferson had guilt. She didn't even know why she said that. For some reason, the will to keep the man that had betrayed her earlier to Rumpelstiltskin alive had creeped in on her. It wasn't for sentimentality's sake. Emma was too smart for that. She would save him because he was genuinely scared and needed saving. Nothing more.

"I think keeping me alive would be worse for me," Jefferson whispered.

Emma felt the heat creeping up her neck and she stared at the lines in the sand again, "So then it's…useless. There's no way to get her out."

"We'll find a way to get her out," he promised.

"I don't see…anything," Emma ran a hand through her hair, "There's nothing to help us. Once we get in that house…just getting into that yard…it'll be a cage."

"We'll find a way, we just need more time," he looked at her and realized she was starting to nod off, "and sleep." '

"No," Emma wiped her eyes, "I need to stay awake….

"Alice, you haven't slept since before we were married," He told her, "You won't help your mother dead on your feet. It's been a really long day, we got the cabin cleaned up and fixed and dinners done and these maps are still far enough away so that they'll probably still be here in the morning. We can talk then."

Emma wanted to argue. She wanted to hold her ground but the adrenaline was wearing off…and the waves were crashing against the shore and she was tired.

Jefferson put out the fire and gave her his hand. Emma grabbed it and let him help her up. She hopped up the stairs. She was getting to where she could take small steps on her foot but it still hurt.

She got inside the cabin and lit the lantern Jefferson brought with them. It barely lit the room up but it did give Emma a good view of where everything was so that she didn't trip over anything.

Jefferson held out a small package to her. She accepted it and found it wasn't a package but a shapeless brown dress that would end mid-thigh.

He went to open the windows, "It'll keep you cooler in here."

Emma stopped unbuttoning her shirt, "You're not staying."

"I'll sleep outside; I suspect I'm still not welcome to bed next to you"

Emma bit her lip. He could just be playing her…but he might not be. Anyway, forcing him to sleep outside of his own home was wrong. Emma wondered why he didn't insist more on sleeping in his own bed but she realized he was probably as tired of fighting as she was, "Wait."

He stopped, "Hm?"

"You're not too bad of a bed companion," Emma said.

He smirked, "Wait till you see what else I can do."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Are you staying or not?"

She couldn't see him too well in the dark, but she could hear the smile in his voice, "I suppose if my wife is scared of the dark."

Emma rolled her eyes again, turned her back and slipped into the cooler dress. She slipped underneath one of the covers.

Jefferson followed right afterwards and when his chest brushed against her bare arm, her eyes widened, "Where's your shirt?"

"Too hot for one," he rolled on his side, "If it's an issue, you could always take off yours and we'll be equals."

"Of course you'd say that," Emma muttered, "Go to sleep."

They laid there for a few minutes, Emma started to drop off until she felt Jefferson stretch on the bed and then wrap his arm around her, "Hands."

"Yes dear," he automatically pulled his arm away