Ever since Emma Swan came to town and Storybrooke was no longer frozen in time, Jefferson scoured through every citizen in search for Alice.

He never found her. She wasn't in Storybrooke.

Even with that knowledge, he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she wasn't dead. It seemed like he was holding onto false hope, but it was his wife, after all. He knew his Grace was safe – even if it wasn't with him, she was healthy and happy. Jefferson wasn't sure why he felt that Alice wasn't.

This wasn't the time for him to be concerned with his foolish notions. He had just gone to Regina to collect on their deal – to which he was denied, since Henry ate the apple that he retrieved, not Emma.

Regina wanted to be that way? Fine. He didn't need her. She wasn't the only person in town that could help him.

Mr. Gold – no, Rumpelstiltskin – could help. Jefferson knew exactly how to get in his head. Belle.

How did he know where Belle was? The only job he took after returning from Wonderland with his infant daughter was to hide the girl away for Regina. He didn't ask why, he didn't want to. He did what he was asked of for a year's worth of goods to get him and Grace on their feet when they fell into a bad patch.

It wasn't one of his best moments. He would never be proud of it.

Jefferson was quick to render the station nurse unconscious with a tainted tea and lifted a heavy coat from the rack by her desk as he made his way through the winding corridors with keys in hand. It was easy to find Belle's cell, and he jerked open the door and held a hand out to Belle once he stepped inside, "Come with me."

Belle stood with a wary look, "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"My name is Jefferson," He stated in a confident voice. "I need your help to do something that I can't. There's a man, his name is Mr. Gold. Find him. All you have to do is tell him where you've been and that Regina locked you up."

"Okay… wait, what?"

"It's very important. Mr. Gold is going to protect you, but you have to tell him Regina locked you up. He's going to know what to do. You understand?"

"Yes," Belle answered with a faint smile. "I have to find Mr. Gold."

Jefferson quirked his lip in a smile and wrapped the coat around the girl in a swift movement. He got Belle back into the hallway and almost to the stairwell before a heart wrenching wail broke the silence.

It was a noise that stopped Jefferson in his tracks, "No."

"Are you alright?" Belle asked with wide eyes.

Jefferson tore his eyes from the distance and turned to look back at Belle, "Get out of here. Find Mr. Gold." He motioned to the stairwell. "Go to the left when you reach the top. There will be signs to lead you to the exit. Don't look back. Go!"

Belle jumped just slightly at his hurried tone, but did not question him. She hurried up with stairs, only calling back a small murmur of thanks before disappearing out of the door and into the hospital.

With his feet moving as if they had a mind of their own, Jefferson began to wind through the stone walled corridors once again. He frowned as he reached a door with heavier locks on it than the rest. Jefferson cringed in anger. After a small amount of struggling with the keys, he was finally able to pull the iron door open with a grunt. His eyes widened in horror, "My God."

Alice – was that even her name here? Jefferson wondered – sat in the corner of the room. Her bed was overturned with the sheets ripped into shreds. The woman had her chin rested against her pulled up knees while her stringy hair fell over her shoulders. Her once bright and expressive eyes were dulled from her time locked away. She backed further into the corner of the room as Jefferson came into view, "I didn't mean to be so loud!" She motioned towards her hand, which was bloodied and swollen from where it had smashed into the bed frame in her fit of rage. "I didn't… please don't hurt me."

"Hurt you?" Jefferson repeated as he knelt down to be at eye level with his wife – finally noticing the scar around her throat that mimicked his own. Alice appeared to see it at the same time as her fingers flew to her throat. "I'm here to help you, not hurt you. The woman that put you here is a mutual enemy and you shouldn't be locked up."

"Do I know you?" Alice asked, still visibly apprehensive.

"Not exactly," Jefferson answered with a frown as he fought back tears. "You will." He slowly extended a hand. "Come on. I'll get you out of here and cleaned up. What's your name?"

"I… I don't know," Alice whispered with a hint of fear. "I never thought about it. I can't remember anything…" Her eyes hardened as she pushed herself into a standing position, taking note of how the man's movements mirrored hers. "What's your name?"

"Jefferson," He said as he lowered his hand, twitching as Alice extended her uninjured one to take hold of it. A light smile broke out over his lips. "Do you trust me?"

Alice tilted her head to the side as she took a step forward, "Do I have another choice?"

Alice sat on the steps to Jefferson's front porch, staring out at the sky with a teacup clutched in her hands – one of which was lightly bandaged. A pair of black pajama bottoms was cinched at her waist, while a loose cream sweater hung limply over her torso and left one of her shoulders exposed. Anything was better than the drab hospital clothing.

She didn't look over as Jefferson took a seat next to her. Instead, she began speaking in a quiet tone, "The tea is wonderful, thank you." Jefferson knew all of her favorite things – it hadn't been hard to put together a drink that he knew would bring her comfort. She didn't need to know that, though. "I don't know the last time that I saw the sky. My… room didn't have a window."

"I'm so sorry," Jefferson whispered against the cold air. "If I would have known…"

"How would you have?" Alice asked with a confused tilt of her head. "You said that we didn't know one another. You wouldn't have known to look for me."

"Yeah, you're right," Jefferson's voice was low and dark. "My mistake."

Alice took in a low breath as she turned her eyes enough to look at his neck, "It's like mine. I don't understand."

Jefferson moved on of his hands to rest on top of Alice's right kneecap, "You will. You'll understand soon, I promise. Everything will come to light."

"Can I just… can I have a minute?" Alice asked as she moved away from his touch. "You're so polite and I'm sorry. I'm confused and I can't gather my thoughts while someone is staring at me. I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize," Jefferson could barely mask the hurt in his voice as he turned and disappeared into the house. As soon as the door was closed, a grunt of frustration left his lips as he hurled his teacup against a far wall and watched it shatter into countless pieces. "Damn it!"

His daughter didn't know him.

His wife didn't know him.

How else was he supposed to react?

Alice winced as she heard the commotion from inside the house. What was this man not telling her? First, he freed her. Then he gave her clothing and a place to clean up. The matter of their identical scarring – as if someone tried to take their heads – was a whole other question. He was keeping a secret, she could feel it.

That was the moment Alice decided that she wanted to know what it was.

As she stood up, a gust of wind pushed through her and she stumbled forwards, latching onto the railing at the side of the steps with her good hand as her teacup fell into the bushes beside her.

Every event that happened since her birth flooded her memory – her wedding, the birth of her daughter, the torture that she had been subjected to, and the windowless cell that housed her when the curse took hold. Every last moment clashed together in her brain. It was overwhelming.

Alice stumbled forward and pushed the front door open with a few shallow gasps as she made her way to the living room.

Jefferson looked up from his spot on the couch as Alice entered the room. He had felt the blow, but wasn't entirely sure what it meant. He had all of his memories already after all, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"You swore that you'd get me back," Alice breathed out as she crossed the room, tears falling loosely down her cheeks. "My Jefferson."

"You… you remember?" Jefferson choked out as Alice straddled his lap and slipped her arms around his neck. "You're back. I have you back." He ran his hands down her back and through her limp hair. Jefferson brought their foreheads together and watched Alice's eyes light up at the closeness between them. "I've missed you so much, Alice. I love you."

"I love you," Alice said with a sniffle as she closed the final gap by pressing their lips together.

Jefferson didn't care what broke the curse. This, right here, would have been enough to do it all over again. This was true love's kiss. This was what he had been missing for so long, "I thought I had lost you forever." He pressed a few more gentle kisses to various points of her neck and face. "How did you get out of Wonderland?"

Alice pulled back with a scowl at the mention of that dreadful place, "The white rabbit. I chased him again and I found a looking glass. I was trapped for years, Jefferson. I was…" Her voice trailed off with a shake of her head. "I'm not ready to get into that. But, when I went through the looking glass, I wound up in another prison."

"Regina," Jefferson growled.

"Yeah," Alice gave a slight nod before reaching out to trace the scar on her husband's neck with her thumb. "You went back."

"Regina," He said again with just as much contempt. "I was tricked – I was a fool. I did it for Grace."

"Grace!" Alice nearly jumped out of her skin as her eyes darted around. "Where is she?"

That was the moment that Jefferson fully realized what it meant that the curse was broken.

It meant that his Grace would remember him.

He jumped to his feet after helping Alice to hers. With a firm grasp on one of her hands, he pulled her towards the door with a small murmur of, "I'll explain on the way."

"I'm going to kill that witch," Alice growled out as they made their way through the streets – which were populated with individuals looking lost and confused. "I'm not all too happy with you, but at least you had good intentions when choosing to take on a job for her. She took you from our girl. She lost both parents, Jefferson. It's not right."

"I know," Jefferson mumbled against Alice's hair as he drew her in to place a kiss on her head. "I messed up. I made her a promise that I couldn't keep. I failed both of you."

Alice pressed a finger to his lips – fighting back a smile as he pressed a kiss to it, "Please, don't. You didn't fail me. And if she is anything like either of us, she won't hold anything against you. She'll just be happy to have you back."

"I hope you're right," Jefferson sighed as he looked towards the school that they were rapidly approaching. Children were filing out of the building, and it wasn't hard to spot the face he was looking for in the crowd. "Grace!" Alice dropped his hand and pushed him forward. He shot a teary smile over his shoulder as he picked up his speed. "Grace!"

Grace looked up and her eyes widened, "Papa!" She let her book bag fall to the ground as her feet pushed her into a run. Her head was throbbing and full of confusion from the mass of memories that hit her and everyone else in a wave. None of that mattered when she saw his face. It didn't take long before they reached one another and she felt his arms wrap around her and lift her from the ground. "You came back for me, Papa."

Jefferson peppered her hairline with kisses, "Baby, I never should have left. I shouldn't have gone with the Queen. I'm sorry."

"Papa, no," Grace shook her head as Jefferson set her back on her feet and dropped down to meet her at eye level. "I know you did it for me, I understand." A wry smile played out on her lips. "Can we still have that tea party, Papa?"

"We can have as many tea parties that you want," Jefferson laughed as he brought Grace in for another hug, before turning to see Alice sitting on the edge of a bench a few feet back. "Honey, I have someone for you to meet."

"I know," Grace whispered out as she moved over to the woman with Jefferson lingering back, far enough to allow them a moment but close enough so that he could hear. "I've seen you."

"You have?" Alice quirked an eyebrow into the air in surprise.

"Just moments ago," Grace answered as she rubbed lightly at her temple. "I saw you pushing me and Papa through a mirror and you were both crying." She tilted her head to the side in such a childlike manner that Alice nearly laughed through the once again threatening tears. "You're my Mother, aren't you?"

Alice gave a tiny nod, "Yes, I am." Before she could say anything more, Grace stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Alice's waist in a steady hug. Alice hadn't realized she was holding in a breath until she was wrapped in her daughters embrace and a shaking one left her lips. "Oh, my beautiful girl. You're so grown." She placed her hands over Grace's cheeks to stare into her eyes. "I've missed you much. I missed getting to know you. So many things…"

"Don't ever leave again," Grace pleaded as she cut her off. "You'll stay with me and Papa, right?"

Alice shook her head, "I'm never going anywhere without the two of you." She got to her feet and shifted so that Grace was comfortably nestled between herself and Jefferson, who swiftly lifted the child into his arms. Alice brushed her fingers along Grace's cheek as her eyes locked with Jefferson. "Not for all of the gold in the kingdom."

Grace giggled as Jefferson broke a small smile of his own, which only lasted for a few seconds before shifting into a look of terror, "Oh…"

"What is it, Papa?" Grace asked with a tone full of worry.

Alice turned her eyes to where Jefferson was staring in the distance – at a purple mist that was fast approaching, "What is that?"

Jefferson moved so that both of his girls were tucked into either of his arms with a tight grip as his eyes lit up in shock, "Rumpelstiltskin."

"Papa, I'm scared," Grace whimpered.

Alice wrapped one arm around Jefferson's back and let the other reach out to hold one of Grace's, "It'll be alright." She wasn't sure of how much she believed her own words. "We'll be fine."

"We're together," Jefferson stated in a soft tone. "Everything will be fine now."

Before another word could be said, the mist enveloped them.

The magic was returning.

My original intention was to end the story here. Now, I think I might want to take it a few more chapters. What do you think? If I continue it, I need various plot ideas to add to / further those floating around in my head. Help, people! I might not use them, but I would love the suggestions.

Also, something I have been debating if I continue on... The magic is back. Should everyone be taken back to the fairytale world, or stay in Storybrooke with their newly returned memories? It's an important decision.