The more that Jefferson thought about it the more he realized that Rumpelstiltskin might have plans for his daughter.
And that scared him.
It was all he thought about. When he worked, he became distracted. When he was at home, he was distracted. Grace crawled up in his lap to read to him and he was too distant to even follow to make sure she was reading it right.
If Rumpelstiltskin wanted something from his daughter, it couldn't be good.
Was this all his plan? Did he give Jefferson a practically barren woman knowing she would suffer two miscarriages and a mental breakdown just so he could give her the potion and get her under his thumb? Was this honestly a long con on his part? Why? Karenina would kill anything he told her to kill anyway.
It was better to pretend that Rumpelstiltskin was just taking advantage of an opportunity instead of playing the two that he had known for so long.
But if he just pretended that, then he couldn't protect Grace properly if this was indeed a long con.
"You've been quiet lately," Karenina told him as they lay in bed one night close to Grace's fourth birthday.
"Just…distracted I guess," he was worried about telling Karenina his own fears. If she suspected what he did then she'd do everything she could to kill the Dark One to protect her daughter.
Rumpelstiltskin didn't need her in one piece to fight the Jabborwock.
Karenina rested her chin on his chest, "You used to talk to me more than you have been."
His hand intertwined with hers and he kissed her hand. He chose not to tell her immediately about Rumpelstiltskin, but he could talk to her about something else he was planning, "I'm thinking we should put Grace in a school."
"Why can't we use a tutor?"
He looked down, "She should be with children her own age, that's why."
"We don't have any schools near here, everyone hires tutors," Karenina lifted her head, "And it's not like she'd be making friends. You told me how competitive it is at those schools. You told me how isolated you felt"
"Only because we were competing for Rumpelstiltskin's favor."
"And you think it's going to be any different for the other kids?"
"It could be."
Karenina sat up, "I know you. I know how you think. You would want our daughter to have the best schooling and the best school isn't anywhere near her. You'd be taking her away from us."
"She needs an education."
"Which we can hire tutors for," Karenina argued, "She can go out and play with the other kids in the neighborhood."
He scoffed, "It's not the same."
Karenina tilted her head, "Jefferson, you get up to check on her several times a night. What makes you think you'd survive her being gone for months at a time?"
If it meant that she was safe…if it meant that his daughter was out of sight and out of mind from Rumpelstiltskin while they dealt with this Jabborwock deal, then he'd happily send her away. It'd gut him. Karenina and Grace were his life but if he felt it was best then he'd do it.
Karenina waited for his argument...and when he didn't start, she continued, "Don't think about separating us from our daughter. We fought so hard to get her into this world and I don't want to separate from her because of something that we can do here."
"Karenina-,"
Karenina held his gaze, "We've been married long enough for me to know that there is something more that's bothering you."
He wanted to deny it. He wanted to refuse but he knew that look in her eyes. He knew that if she sensed something was wrong with him, then she wouldn't let it go until she knew what was bothering him.
He had to tell her.
And so he sat up and he took his wife's hand. And he told her his fears and suspicions. He watched as her face went from fury towards him to fear as he told her why he thought Rumpelstiltskin was setting them up, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you'd probably react angrily."
"Well yes, I'm angry!" she said, "You're telling me that Rumpelstiltskin wants to use our daughter for some sort of purpose."
"You can't go down there and confront him," Jefferson said when he saw her looking toward her weapons, "Please."
Karenina looked at him. She looked like she wanted to argue but there was something in his eyes that caused her not to, "Okay."
"Okay," he kissed her.
"But if Rumpelstiltskin is going to use her, then I think its better we keep her here. Out there, she may be away from us but we can't protect her. And you know Rumpelstiltskin has his hands in most of the schools that have been erected."
"But if she's here then we have to worry about protecting her as well as dealing with this jabborwock problem."
"At least we can protect her here," Karenina said, "I can't keep her safe if she's hours or days away. And we've fought too hard to bring her into this world just to lose her on account of what an imp COULD do."
He nodded, he knew she had a point but he thought he also had one in sending her away. But in the end…his own need to see his daughter with his own eyes so that he knew she was safe won out and Karenina got her way.
And he prayed he wouldn't regret it.