"Belle will find you accommodations."
"Belle?!"
"Me."
Belle had thought he was questioning who she was. But he recognized the amount of shock and questioning in his tone when he'd echoed her name. He hadn't been asking who she was, Jefferson had only been stunned that he knew who she was, that he'd called her by name. That was why, hours after Belle had found them accommodations, hours after they should have eaten and gone to bed, he wasn't surprised to hear familiar heavy footsteps on his stairs.
He sighed, irritated at himself, just before the top of Jefferson's head appeared. It was one little mistake…but Jefferson wouldn't be able to let it go no matter how much he wanted him to. However, unfortunately for Jefferson, he wasn't about to admit anything to him, no matter what he thought. He'd been dreading this little encounter, this reminder of how they used to talk when he was a young boy, and therefore he was prepared for it. He was working on a potion, an important potion, possibly the most important potion of his life. It was a potion that hadn't been invented yet because he was inventing it right now. His goal was to get the glass vial he was using to absorb the magic he was pouring into it. With any luck, one day this vial would be capable of pulling out the essence of anything placed inside of it and grow that essence into magic. So, for example, if he placed some kind of identifier of two individuals in love inside of it, one day it might make a True Love Potion. That would be the key to their future.
He hoped that pressure was enough to distract him from Jefferson.
"Hard to believe we once considered a wife a curse," he exclaimed, jumping up onto a table to sit just like he used to.
"I don't anymore?!" he laughed.
"The girl…you called her 'Belle'," he retorted with seriousness. Going in for the kill, he liked to think he'd taught him that, even if he regretted it now. He could play dumb, pretend like he thought Jefferson had made a random comment, but he knew that it was actually an accusation. There was no reason to act like it was anything other than it was. Besides, in trying to ignore it, he hadn't a doubt Jefferson would read more into it than he wanted him to.
"I call you Jefferson, I call Regina by her name as well, perhaps you've forgotten, but I do tend to deal in names."
"This is different."
"She is but a maid!" he exclaimed with frustration, wondering why he was letting this get to him when he'd just decided it wouldn't a few moments ago. He just wanted to work on his potion and for Jefferson and his daughter to disappear into the night. He had enough to worry about where Belle was concerned, he didn't need Jefferson to remind him.
"No…that's no maid, Rumpelstiltskin."
"Caretake."
"I mean she's not of that class!" he rebutted with an amusement in his voice that matched the youth he'd once had. "She has all her teeth, clear skin, and her callouses are fresh. You only have to look at her to know she was raised well, outside of servitude. Not to mention she's too bold for her current status."
"Ah…clever observations," he smiled over his shoulder, trying to pretend like he was proud of himself for something that was currently eating away at him. "She is, in fact, a princess, or was I suppose."
"A princess?" he balked. "What the hell is she doing here?"
"I acquired her during a deal. Her Kingdom was under attack, they needed rescuing, so I chased off the demons and got her in return. Training her was…quite the chore."
Jefferson made a noise of agreement. He felt his stomach turn over at his comment and was grateful he'd turned his back on Jefferson so he couldn't see his face. He hated saying things like that about Belle. When he'd first taken her, he probably wouldn't have been disturbed by them, but now…she wasn't a dog. And she hadn't needed training, she'd "trained" herself and to remarkable success. She didn't need him. He knew that. He just wished he could convince himself that he didn't need her.
"She seems happy here."
"Oh my!" he piqued. "Perhaps you missed the tears and babbling over your daughter's body."
"No, I just have the sense to know that they were over my daughter's situation and not her own!" he insisted with a twinkled of jest in his eyes. Just like old times. He'd forgotten how smart he was, how he could joke and jest with a wit that matched his own. He'd forgotten how they could go toe to toe for hours while he was working. The relationship he had with Belle was different than the one he'd had with Jefferson. He didn't regret anything he'd ever done where Jefferson was concerned. But if pressed to admit it, he did miss conversations like this.
"She's comfortable here."
He missed conversations like this…not conversations about this.
"Perhaps…though that says more about the place she came from than it does about me."
"Does it?"
Yes. He was confident about that. What she'd gone through with Samuel, the conversation that he'd had with Samuel…that proved it. Being his caretaker made her a prisoner, that fact turned his stomach as well, but thinking back to all those days he'd stared at her in his cauldron…she never seemed to shine in her former role as she did here.
"You know…you remind me of this guy I met once in a realm called England," Jefferson went on offhandedly. "Dr. Jekyll was trying to create a serum that would give a person control over his inner beasts or something like that. He always said it was for his patients, but I could see…he too was constantly at war with himself."
He rolled his eyes and turned to face him.
"What are you babbling about?"
Jefferson was smirking. Knowingly. Suddenly he hated just how intuitive he was.
"You like her…and you're fighting it."
His heart was racing. The nostalgia of this conversation had passed. Now he just wanted to be left alone.
"I don't like anyone," he sighed, turning back to his work, though he knew he wasn't really working anymore. He couldn't work on a potion like this and expect to have a conversation of this caliber at the same time. It had been a poor idea to start with.
"That's a lie, and you know it. You like her."
"She's the maid."
"And you enjoy spending time with her. You like having her here."
"You know…I'm in no mood for jokes, tonight," he stated rounding on the boy. First those words from Samuel and now from Jefferson, he didn't want to hear anymore. "And after your daughter nearly died, I would think you'd feel the same."
"I always was a curious one, wasn't I? You told me so all the time."
"A trait I admired and relied upon, but one that I doubt your daughter needs now."
That did it. He'd chosen his words carefully, and the result was a shadow that erased the twinkling of youthful mischief in his eyes. Jefferson sighed, he rubbed his face with his hand and looked around as if he was seeing the room he was in for the first time, wondering how he'd gotten here. Being up here had been nostalgic, for both of them. But the time between then and now was longer than it seemed sometimes. He thought he was the only one that knew that, but it appeared that Jefferson wasn't immune to it.
"Ah…no. No, not so much," he finally nodded. For the first time since he'd known him, Jefferson appeared uncomfortable. It was like a light had gone out in him. That was what he'd worried about the first time that Jefferson told him that he was "retiring", that he would lose all those wonderful traits that made him who he was. Now he saw he hadn't lost those traits, rather he'd just shut the door on them; ironic considering how his hat worked.
"I wonder, though…do you ever miss it?"
Jefferson paused. He thought about it. The silence between them lasted so long that he could practically hear him considering how he wanted to answer the question. The answer was "carefully."
"I do," he finally settled before nodding slowly. "I do miss it…until I'm out in the woods playing hide and seek with my daughter, and then I know that there isn't a thing in this world that could tempt me into parting with her."
From a Realm Jumper to the Dark One, he thought that was an awful answer, just as he had years ago. It was the part of him still felt that he'd abandoned a remarkable gift for a dead wife and a game of hide and seek.
But, from one father to another, who had now spent close to two lifetimes doing everything in his power to return to his son because he knew there was nothing better than playing hide and seek in the woods-it was the best most truthful answer he could have given. That part of him was glad he'd given it; maybe even proud.
It was probably the human part.
It was probably his "inner monster" that didn't like it. It was also probably his inner monster that was done with this conversation.
"I'm off to bed. I'm sure you'll want to be leaving with your daughter first thing in the morning. I suggest you do the same," he lied. He hadn't slept or even set foot in his own room at night since Belle moved upstairs, and he didn't intend to start now. He didn't know if that was the human side of him or the monster side.
"I know a dismissal when I hear one," Jefferson sighed, hopping off the table. He was going, but suddenly his mind was racing, filling with questions, trying to work on a theory he'd only just put together a moment ago. A monster side and a human side…he knew which side liked Belle. But he wasn't sure that was the side that was going to get him back to Baelfire. Magic could solve every problem. But what if the cure already existed.
"Was your friend ever successful?" he questioned before Jefferson could leave.
"Who?" he asked, pausing on the stairs.
"The man from England…was he ever successful with his serum?"
Jefferson shrugged. "Not to my knowledge. He was younger when I knew him and still working on it. He always claimed it was missing something, but you might know more about him than I do."
"Would I?" he questioned with a small chuckle. Where would he ever get an idea like that?
Jefferson sighed as he looked around the tower and then scowled. A second later he wandered back in and over to a table where he kept a familiar bag. It was the one that he kept all the trinkets Jefferson had given him that led to other worlds. Though he had used it over the years, it still sat on the same table that Jefferson had left it. It was almost in the exact same spot. He watched as Jefferson opened it up and rummaged through it for a moment, before pulling out a small beaker of brilliant blue liquid. He took the beaker and set it down in front of him with a sigh.
"I guess you wouldn't," he stated, before leaving the room. The implication was clear. That was his portal to another world.
And with that, you can wave goodbye to Jefferson because this is his last appearance in this fiction. Just like Belle has a conversation with him in Moments, I wanted Rumple to be able to have this time with him as well, pretty much for the exact same reason. I planned these conversations because Jefferson had to know how they felt about each other. In order for him to free Belle and know that it was a good form of revenge he had to have knowledge that they loved each other. Mutual love. It's not just a silly girlish crush in Belle that is not reciprocated. It's not just male hormones gone wild and unwanted in Rumple. It's a deep mutual love. He had to see it even if they didn't see it or didn't want to see it. The conversations he has with both of them give him that insight. That being said, fun fact about this chapter, I have no idea whether his conversation with Belle comes before or after this one. That's odd. I pride myself on knowing these characters super well, knowing their responses, their habits, and thus their timelines. And yet Jefferson...I can't get a handle on him. Did he see his daughter to bed, eat his soup and just happen to run into Belle while returning the dishes, and then go talk to Rumple? Or did he see his daughter to bed, eat his soup all the while getting more and more suspicious, then go talk to Rumple, and finally use the soup bowl as an excuse to talk to Belle? I don't know! I go back and forth deciding it's one way and then another. But really, when I stop to think about it, being mysterious and tricky, well...it's sort of the most Jefferson thing he could do, right? So...your thoughts? What do you think? Does he talk to Belle first? Or does he talk to Rumple first? Your guess is as good as mine.
Thank you to Alarda, Jennifer Baratta, Ysabel, and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the last chapter. I do hope this question answers one big one that I've been getting lately. How do we get to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, not only how does he get to that world, but how does he find out about him (them?) and decide to go. This is how. Jefferson's return opened this up beautifully, and I'll talk with you a little bit more in the next chapter about why I put it here instead of earlier. Also, I do have a nice little surprise for you, sure came as a surprise to me, after all. This is not the last time you're going to see Jefferson. I know, shocker, right?! This chapter is the last time you'll see him in this fiction, and I had it planned this was going to be his last appearance, but apparently Jefferson hadn't had his last word in yet. Where will he pop up again? How long until you see him? Those are very Jefferson questions to ask now, aren't they? Peace and Happy Reading!