Because of the huge delay between the last chapter and the one before it I decided I owed you guys a second chapter this weekend. This is a Henry and Grace heavy chapter and I hope you love it. Enjoy!

"I don't see why we're even bothering with this," said Henry.

"You're such a boy," said Grace. "All action, no plotting."

After nearly seven months of dating Henry and Grace had finally reached the point in their relationship where they were no longer timid around each other. No longer afraid of scaring the other off they were finally able to say whatever came to their mind. Today's lunch table conversation just happened to be Operation Beautiful Hatter. Henry wanted to jump straight to match making while Grace wanted to do bit more investigating.

"I just don't see the point in this step," argued Henry. "We already know they like each other."

"No we knew they liked each other six months ago," pointed out Grace. "For all we know their attentions might've gone elsewhere. I don't know about you but I'm not willing to put my father's heart on the line without being absolutely sure Belle is interested. Are you?"

"No," drawled Henry sullenly shaking his head.

Grace grinned triumphantly. "Good. So we'll go ahead with my plan. You spend some time with my dad, I'll spend some time with Belle and we try to see if they're still interested."

"How come you get Belle?!" asked Henry dramatically.

"Because I have a very good idea of how to get her to talk with me," said Grace practically.

"Yeah but I don't want to spend extra time with your dad." said Henry. "He doesn't like me."

Grace gave Henry a sympathetic look. "It's not that he doesn't like you. It's that he doesn't like you… dating me."

"Oh well that so comforting to know," said Henry sarcastically.

"Look don't worry," said Grace placing her hand on his shoulder. "I have a plan for you."

That Saturday Henry walked into Granny's more nervous than he had ever been. Grace had told him that her father would be there for lunch like he always was on Saturdays. Sure enough he was at the counter finishing off his sandwich. Henry wasn't exactly afraid of Jefferson but the older man had a certain talent for making him nervous.

"Hi Jefferson," said Henry timidly taking a seat next to him.

Jefferson looked down on the young boy. "Henry."

"Um I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?" said Henry awkwardly.

"And what exactly would this favor entail?" asked Jefferson turning to face him.

"Well Grace and I are supposed to go to the homecoming dance and it's a formal dance meaning I have to dress formally," babbled Henry. "I was just hoping you could help me look for a suit."

Jefferson gave him a strange look. "Can't you ask David or one of your mothers' boyfriend's to help you with that?"

"None of them are really fancy dressers," said Henry quickly. "I would've asked my other grandfather but he's… banished. And my dad is… gone."

Henry hated using the death of his father so manipulatively but Grace had told him that it could help him gain Jefferson's favor. And she was right.

Jefferson liked Henry. Honestly he did. Without the young boy's help he would've never had the courage to approach Grace after the curse broke. It was just that he was still uncomfortable with the idea of his daughter dating and he didn't want to give Henry too much encouragement. However, he could empathize with the boy's lack of a central father figure. He had lost his father when he was only a little older than Henry himself.

"I just really want to look nice for Grace," added Henry softly.

He sighed before responding. "I suppose I don't want you clashing in the pictures. Do you have time now?"

"Yes!" said Henry eagerly.

It was 12:30 and the library was unusually quiet. As much as Belle hated to force out her customers she did have to eat. She had barely picked up her purse when Grace walked through the door.

"Oh! Hi there Grace," said Belle with a smile. "I'm sorry but I'm closing the library for an hour while I go get some lunch. If you come back around two I can help you look for some books though."

"No that's okay," said Grace quickly. "I'm actually not here for books."

"Oh," said Belle questioningly. "Then what can I help you with?"

"Well Henry's taking me to homecoming next week and it's supposed to be very formal. I was just wondering if you could help me find a dress?" asked Grace nervously.

"Me?" replied Belle in shock. She had gotten to know Grace a lot better over the past few months. The young girl spent a lot of time at the mansion and library with Henry. Still she didn't see this coming from her.

"Well most of the girls from school have their mothers to help them but that's not really an option for me," explained Grace sadly.

Belle felt her heart break at Grace's reasoning. She knew what it felt like to have a special moment come up and realize that someone who you really wanted to share it with couldn't possibly be there.

"Well… are you opposed to shopping while eating?" asked Belle with a smile.

"Is there any other way to shop?" responded Grace with a grin.

"Did Grace tell you what color her dress would be?" asked Jefferson.

He'd taken Henry to the only suit shop in town, Tailor Made. He was currently in front of a three-way mirror trying on an all-black, two button suit with a plain button up white shirt.

"She said it would be purple," answered Henry looking over his shoulder.

"You mean lilac," responded Jefferson looking through the ties. "Grace has always loved lilac. Ever since she was a child."

He smiled at the memory of Grace when she was no more than five years old running up to him with the small purple flower proudly proclaiming that it was now her favorite color in the whole world. He'd picked more lilacs than he could count that spring. He picked up a lilac tie and handed it to his daughter's boyfriend. Shopping with Henry was very awkward. Neither of them really knew what to say to the other.

"So how is your mother?" asked Jefferson trying to strike up some polite conversation.

"Which one?" joked Henry with a smirk.

"Both I suppose," said Jefferson with a small smile.

"My birth mom is fine. Pretty bored with being sheriff now that things have calmed down but she seems pretty happy with Hook. And my adopted mom has been really good. She's been going through all the stuff my grandfather left behind in his shop," answered Henry.

"Seems like quite the chore," commented Jefferson.

"Well she has Belle to help her," said Henry. It didn't go unnoticed by him how Jefferson seemed to go still at the mention of the librarian.

"Right. And how is Belle?" he asked in a nonchalant manner.

"Um she's doing a lot better," said Henry seeing a chance to get some information. "I think she's finally starting to get over my grandpa."

"Really?" said Jefferson raising his eyebrows. "Good for her."

"I think my mom's been trying to get her to go out more lately. She thinks that Belle might be lonely," fibbed Henry. His mother had been trying to get Belle to go out more but only so she would take a break from working so hard.

"Why would she think that?" questioned Jefferson as he adjusted Henry's jacket.

"Well it's been nearly nine months and the only date she's been on was mine," said Henry with a small laugh.

"I remember it," said Jefferson with a small involuntary smile. He thought about that night more than was probably necessary over the past few months but he still found himself enchanted by the time he spent with her. He'd give almost anything to have another night like that with her.

"Well I'm sure that when she meets the right person she'll tell him when she's ready," said the Hatter wistfully.

"That's probably true," said Henry with a small smile. Jefferson was definitely still into Belle.

Grace was really having such a good time with Belle that she almost forgot that she was on a mission for information. There weren't many dress shops in Storybrooke but she and Belle had managed to find a few decent options. The older woman had convinced her that the best place to buy clothes was actually the consignment shop. The vintage dress she had on right now had to be her favorite. It was lilac with a bateau neckline and with a circle skirt that fell just above her knees. It was beautiful. As she admired it from the three-way mirror she felt an overwhelming need to twirl.

"That one looks amazing Grace," commented Belle with a wide smile. She was having a really good time helping the younger girl get ready for her dance. It'd been so long since she'd allowed herself to relax like this.

"I think this is the one," said Grace nodding her head with a smile.

"Well if that the case then it's time to move on to accessories," said Belle leading Grace to the jewelry counter. As Belle looked at the various necklaces and earrings Grace remembered that she was supposed to be finding out whether the older woman was still interested in her father.

"So how are things at the mansion?" asked Grace casually picking up a ring.

Belle shrugged her shoulders absentmindedly. "Same as always I suppose."

"If you don't mind me asking what's it like living Henry's mother?"

"It's not as scary as most people would think, I promise you that," said Belle with a chuckle. "She and I get along really well and I love being around Henry, obviously. It just feels like home."

"It must be nice," said Grace setting down the ring. "I was actually thinking about maybe having someone move in with me and Dad."

She noticed how Belle lifted her head at the mention of her father.

"Really?" she asked. "Why?"

Belle hated it but she was really hoping that the answer wasn't because Jefferson was seeing someone. True to his word the Hatter had given her the space she desired. Storybrooke being as small as it was, they'd ran into each other a few times over the past months. He was always just a little more than polite to her but he never pursued her.

"Well I just think that he's lonely sometimes," said Grace sadly. "I mean I love that we're back together but sometimes I still go see my curse parents overnight and I just feel a little guilty leaving him alone in that big house by himself."

Belle looked at Grace with sympathy. She could understand that type of pressure. She'd felt it when she lived with her own father. She laid her hand on top of Grace's.

"Grace your father loves you very much. I'm sure he completely understands that you still feel a bond with cursed parents. You shouldn't worry so much."

Grace just shrugged. "I guess I would just feel better if he was at least dating someone."

Belle felt her cheeks go red at Grace's statement. "Well your father is a very… handsome man. I'm sure if he was interested in someone they could hardly say no."

She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject by pointing out some necklaces. Grace just smiled. Belle was definitely still interested in her father.

After leaving Tailor Made Henry went home and plopped on his bed waiting for Grace to call with more information. It wasn't wrong before her personalized ringtone blared from his phone.

"Hey what'd you find out?" he asked urgently.

Grace smiled deviously as she walked back to her house. "She is definitely still interested in my dad. You should've seen her blush when I mentioned him."

Henry chuckled. "Well your dad is still interested in her. She was practically the only topic he felt comfortable talking about."

"Okay," said Grace. "Now that we have confirmation the only question is: what do we do now?"

"Well it's time for phase two," said Henry. "Get them in the same room."

Coming up in the next chapter Emma, Regina and the rest of the family find out about Operation Beautiful Hatter. What will their reaction be? Stay tuned to find out!

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