Dinner for the next night was a silent affair at first. Emma didn't expect any less since she'd invited Jefferson and…Rumpelstiltskin hadn't forgiven him for his part in Emma leaving yet.
But it was for the best in the long run, putting them into the same room. Emma needed both of them for support and that wouldn't work as well if they were angry at each other.
So they sat in silence. Emma had to say that that was far better than how she thought it would go. Her father had promised that he wouldn't slam Jefferson upside the face with the cane but that didn't mean he wasn't going to hurt him in another way.
He had promised to try and change but she didn't expect results in the first 24 hours.
So they sat quietly, Rumpelstiltskin had made a large breakfast for dinner, which had always been Emma's favorite. Hash browns, and eggs, and pancakes and sausage and biscuits…Emma hadn't had a home cooked meal in two years and she needed to make up for lost time.
"So…Jefferson started and stared into his hash browns awkwardly, "How is it out there in this world?"
Rumpelstiltskin shot him a furious glare, "How dare you think to ask her that."
"It's only a question."
"You have no right after what you did," Rumpelstiltskin seethed.
"I wouldn't be talking about what I did if I were you," Jefferson snapped.
"It's fine!" Emma said harshly to both of them. She didn't want this to spin out of control and it looked like it was about to go down that route, "It's fine. I got my fill of the world out there and I'm back now. I'd happily take ogres and witches as compared to some of the things that I saw or went through-."
"No, you wouldn't," Rumpelstiltskin said and took a drink of his orange juice.
"Yeah…your father has a point," Jefferson said, "Ogres and witches aren't something to mess with. At least with things out there, you came back-."
That earned him another glare from Rumpelstiltskin. It was a sore spot that Jefferson didn't know about but she was quite aware of it herself. Her father had barely survived a battle in the Ogre war and that was because he ran. There was no way he could've won and so he'd done the smart thing…not necessarily the right thing and so when the recruiters found him, they pulled him out of the bushes and made sure he could never run again and sent him home in disgrace.
It was only a story that she was told last night. His leg had been the price he had to pay for his cowardice and in the end, he lost so much more.
She better change the subject before they began fighting again, "Graham offered me a job."
Rumpelstiltskin stopped but Jefferson kept eating. Her father studied her for a second, as if he was trying to figure out if this would benefit him or not, "Are you going to take it?"
"I don't know," she said and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I don't know."
"Well why don't you take it?" Jefferson asked.
"Because I have a baby," Emma said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, I could watch him while you work," Rumpelstiltskin said.
"Yeah, it's not like he does anything all day," Jefferson smirked, "Or if you want, I imagine you could put him in the office with you. Ever since you used Graham's heart to keep him out of Regina's bed, she's had no reason to go in there."
"Sidney still does, I imagine," Emma muttered, "Constantly trying to expose a scandal. He's been circling me like a vulture, trying to get an interview out of his story; Runaway Landlords Daughter returns home Teen Mom with a Juvie Record."
"I can make him drop that story," Rumpelstiltskin hissed.
Emma looked at him sadly, "And give everyone more reason to talk? He's just putting on paper what everyone is saying, we all know it."
Rumpelstiltskin tensed, "I will not have you being reminded constantly for something you did and are now trying to atone for. Especially from one of Regina's pawns. I will not let that stand."
He said the last sentence so loud that the baby began crying from the living room. Emma and Rumpelstiltskin stood to see to him at the same time but Emma was already to the door before he could grab his cane.
Rumpelstiltskin sat back down and they listened to Emma's gentle whispers and the baby stopped crying.
Jefferson looked at Rumpelstiltskin, "I'm sorry for what I did."
"Emma explained it to me," he said tersely, "I know why you pushed her away. But it doesn't mean that I have to like it nor does it mean I have to like you for your hand in robbing me of two years with my daughter."
Jefferson looked ashamed of himself. Good, "It's still nice to have her back though."
Rumpelstiltskin felt himself smile slightly at his daughter as she whispered gently to David and rubbed his back. She was home now. She was safe for the time being.
"Indeed."
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The worse thing about making breakfast for dinner was the mess it left in the kitchen afterwards. Emma cursed the dishes as she scrubbed and scrubbed until they showed signs of being clean. Jefferson was no help, he was too busy holding David and leaning against the part of the sink that was unoccupied, "I could work as a deputy."
"I think you'd do well," Jefferson said but his concentration was more on David, who was slapping at his face in some sort of game the baby was playing. Or maybe he was just discovering his limbs. Emma wasn't sure.
"What do you think?" she asked.
He turned his focus on her and shrugged, "Well, it's a job. Do you want it?"
"Yes."
"Then take it. What's holding you back?"
She sighed and looked for the right words to say, "I just got home two days ago, I'm trying to learn how to be a mom, I'm trying to readjust to being Rumpelstiltskin's daughter…and the Graham drops in to my 'Welcome Home' party and tells me that he wants me to work for him? I haven't even had time to let everything my dad told me last night sink in."
"Well Emma, everyone's stuck in the same loop and it's not like anyone's going to take that job from you. Graham will need a deputy when you're 18, 21, or 25 years old. So, there's no hurry. If you want to rest then take a month off or two. If you want to take it later then take it. If you want to take it now, then take it now."
Emma nodded and then said thoughtfully, "Do you think he'd let me turn that other office into a nursery."
"I don't see the taxpayers going for that."
Emma shrugged, "Me either."
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It was near sunset and it was quiet in the house. Emma had seen Jefferson off, normally that would worry him because of his daughter's previous attachment but she'd seemed to take a couple of steps back form him since having her heart broken by that worthless scum she was dating.
He grabbed a cane and walked to the porch where Emma was sitting on the swing with an awake but content David resting on her chest, "Do you mind?"
She shook her head, "Go ahead."
He sat next to her with a sigh and smiled slightly. He couldn't put into words how much he missed this, "Lovely evening."
"Yeah, it was…nice out here so we decided to have a moment."
"I often did this with you when you were a baby," he told her, "Some days, if it was warm enough, I would bring you out here and we would just spend a few hours outside enjoying the nice warm weather."
"I remember you chasing me around the yard telling me to get back on the porch," she said with an eyebrow raised.
"Well, that was a different story and you were walking then and you had a remarkable habit of going right to the place where you'd end up in the most danger," he smiled at the memories.
"Things were simpler then," Emma noted and rubbed her son's back.
"They were," he agreed.
"Still have a horrible habit of wandering off and getting in trouble though," she said bitterly.
He looked down, "I know this life has been hard for you…and I'm so sorry."
"It hasn't been all bad," Emma wiped a stray tear away before it could fall down her face, "You haven't been so bad as a father…far less horrible than you seem you think you are and I did miss you. A part of me even came to miss the town a bit too."
He took his daughter's hand and then froze when he saw the familiar car drive by.
Regina.
Emma saw her too and her hand automatically went up to hold her son tighter to her chest. Their eyes met through the passenger window but Regina didn't slow down. She just kept driving.
Calm before the storm.
Emma looked unsettled, "I'm going inside."
"I think I'll join you," he told her. There was no point in sitting out here now that the moment was ruined.
A/N: Bit of a calming moment before the next wave of Hurricane Regina tries to tear the small family apart. And I've really wanted to write a little family dinner with Emma and her best guys for a while now.
Well, thanks for everyone's input last chapter. I'm honestly surprised at how many reviews I got. Don't worry; I have a plan in how this is going to go down. And don't mentally panic, I'm not so unorganized as to allow popular vote determine several features of the endgame for the story. There is a plan. I just wanted to see where everyone stood in this.
