Snow wouldn't stop clutching Emma's hand in both of hers. Emma tried not to look at her because she knew that her mother was on the verge of sobbing. Normally she'd feel weird about her mother fussing over her but not now. Now she allowed it because they were safe. All three were here…all three were safe. For the first time since they'd gotten here, none of them were under Rumpelstiltskin's threat because he had no idea where they were.
They asked how she escaped. And Emma told them. She felt her husband clenching her hand tighter and tighter as she told him about how Rumpelstiltskin was interested in Grace….the fire in her mother's eyes was lit as well. Emma could only imagine what hers had looked like when Rumpel told her his interest in her daughter.
"And….so I screamed that he wasn't touching my daughter, and…I teleported out," Emma said, "Ended up here."
Jefferson furrowed his eyebrows, "What does it mean to 'teleport'?"
"It means to jump from one place to another by like…magic or science," Emma said. She kept forgetting that these people wouldn't understand a lot of her vocabulary.
"Emma," Jefferson whispered and looked embarrassed for her, "That's portal jumping not teleporting."
"Portal jumping, you need a portal," Emma said and hoped she was right, "I didn't use a portal. I got mad and landed over here….and met….this gentleman. So, it's teleporting."
"Well, maybe you're the portal."
"That would mean that someone would have to be inside me and….," her eyes widened as her mind went to the wrong place, "Oh gross Jefferson! Not in front of my mother!"
Emma turned to look at her mother who blushed bright red as she realized that once again…she'd slept with Frankenstein under the curse. The way Snow looked around, she seemed to be searching for mind bleach.
Jefferson looked at Victor, who had been quiet ever since they sat down, "We need your help."
"Rumpelstiltskin's looking for you," Victor said, "Do you realize what he'd do to me if I harbored you?"
"He doesn't know where we are," Jefferson said, "And he can't locate us through the hat. Snow and I went in and the hat will be useless until two people exit the thing"
"Aren't there other portals?" Victor asked.
"Not every portal jumper has access to the same worlds that I do. There are thousands of worlds…all pressed together. He might not even find us. I might be the only portal jumper with access to this world."
"And what if you're not?" Victor asked.
Jefferson felt his jaw clench, "You can't possibly think of throwing us out. After what we did for y-."
"The experiment was a failure," Victor snapped. But of course Jefferson knew that already.
So Jefferson tried a different approach, "Emma is pregnant."
"I know," Victor said, "I've been listening to the conversation."
"She'll need a doctor," Jefferson continued, "And we know no one else here."
Emma turned to look at her husband incredulously. She didn't want him touching her! He dug up dead people! He sewed them all together and flipped a switched and screamed how it was alive and then he couldn't handle what he created! She didn't want someone like that being the first person to hold their daughter!
"Please," Snow pleaded, "For the baby."
That seemed to strike a chord in Victor and he looked down guiltily. Emma put her hand on her still flat stomach…she expected to start showing soon. And then she'd be a blimp.
Victor seemed to go over the options in his mind, "There's plenty of room…but there are places in the house where I do my work. You mustn't disturb them or me."
"That's fine," Emma said. She didn't want anywhere near his work. She wasn't a big fan of zombies. The only reason she wanted to be here was because she didn't want to be out there pregnant. She imagined Rumpelstiltskin had his spies everywhere.
"Very well then," Victor said but he didn't seem that thrilled to have them there, "I'll show you to some guest rooms."
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Emma and Jefferson's room wasn't as…large as their bedroom back home and it wasn't as ornate as Emma's room in Rumpelstiltskin's place. It was a blue room…with a blue comforter and a feather bed (Or so Victor claimed). There was a couch and a table and a basin and pitcher…and several bookshelves and a desk.
Snow, Jefferson and Emma shared a quiet dinner. It didn't feel right to say anything. There was a tension that was gone now. They were all just…relieved to be safe. Oh sure, Snow talked about how happy she was that they were all together but other than expressing agreement, they all just sort of sat there.
Emma knew that they were crashing. It'd been nothing but an adrenaline ride and tense filled….how long was she in Rumpel's care again? A month? Longer? Shorter? No...it felt like a month. Emma was certain that it was either a week or a week and a half.
Snow had her own room but tonight she slept on the couch next to the bed. She just felt safety. She wanted to make sure that when she woke up she could look over and see that her daughter and son-in-law were safe. Emma didn't mind and neither did Jefferson. They were both too mentally and emotionally exhausted from everything that happened.
Snow fell asleep before they did. Mostly because she and Jefferson were too busy staring at each other in the darkness.
"I suspect," He said while running his hand down her face, "We have much to speak of in the next few months."
Emma smiled as she stared at him in the dim glow of the lantern. She felt…just so safe now but so vulnerable at the same time. She and Jefferson had never been on equal ground. The only time they got along was when Snow was gone and Rumpelstiltskin was a threat….or when Emma was gone and Rumpelstiltskin was still a threat. This was a new dynamic and Emma wasn't sure how she wanted to proceed.
Now that she thought of it, this was a whole new dynamic for her life too. She'd never felt loved AND safe at the same time. Sure, she loved Neal…but with the life they lived, it wasn't exactly safe and secure. And then when she had Henry…and then put her walls up, she wasn't exactly loved….and then the whole thing switched again when she went to Storybrooke.
But here…just for this moment…as her husband touched her face and body like she was the most fascinating thing in the world, she felt safe. She felt loved. She saw affection in his eyes. No man looked at her like that other than Neal. The closest thing was Graham and that…that was over before it even started.
Because of Regina.
And she was here…she didn't think it was love between her and Jefferson…but maybe it was getting there. Maybe in her happiness at being free from Rumpelstiltskin finally, she was allowing herself to pretend that that was the direction that this was heading towards.
Or maybe it wasn't pretending.
Maybe…maybe if they lowered their walls…she could love him and he could love her.
God, that was terrifying.
"Emma," Jefferson tilted his head in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"Just hold me," Emma whispered, "Just for a few moments."
If she was going to love and be loved (Possibly), she wanted to pretend that she was normal. Just a normal mother to be sleeping in her normal husband's arms.
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They didn't sleep well that night.
The only times they slept in the same bed, both were too tired to really move much but now that they didn't have to face some catastrophe the next day…both felt they could relax a little bit more and looked forward to a hard sleep.
But Jefferson snored.
And Emma sprawled and took up most of the bed.
When Snow White woke up the next morning and shot them a beaming smile, she couldn't understand why all she got were glares back.
