The next five days passed in a blur. Jefferson never left his home and Emma never found Snow White in-time for her arraignment day. He realized—without any feeling of pride or justification—that Emma would never have found Snow White if it hadn't been for him, but he didn't care. For 5 days, Jefferson sulked around his home, watching the same scenes through his telescope as the days went by in a perpetual rewind. For 5 days he endured the same, uneventful sameness until he could no longer contain his restlessness...
Under the cloak of night, Jefferson worked to pick the lock on the pawn shop's door. His composure was as calm as the pawnbroker who owned it as he fiddled with the lock. Jefferson knew that Rumplestiltskin would be preoccupied at the Sheriff's Department, just as he knew that no one would be passing by. As soon as the lock clicked open, he slipped inside the shadowy store and began his search. He needed a talisman or a totem or some object that might be imbued with curse-breaking magic! After aimlessly fumbling through the dark, he managed to find something he never expected to find. Sitting on the highest shelf in the pawn shop was Jefferson's old hat box! He scrambled forward and grabbed the box from the shelf, flipping the lid back with a flick of his finger. Jefferson took-in a jagged breath at the familiar sight inside the box.
"My hat." He breathed the words as he lifted it out, allowing the box to drop to the floor.
He wasted no time on logical thinking or doubts as he gave the hat a spin and then took a step back. The hat teetered to a stop before it made a full rotation and sat useless on the floor. A loud growl of frustration rose from Jefferson's throat as he swiped his arms across the glass counter, knocking everything to the floor. He rampaged through the store, kicking over furniture and throwing objects across the room. Suddenly he froze as something caught his eye and he stumbled back over some debris on the floor. Jefferson fell back against a tall shelf, knocking a rather large crystal ball loose as he stared at the gleaming wand that sat on a dresser.
"Fairies!" he exclaimed with a triumphant smile just as the crystal ball rolled-off the shelf and clocked him in the head, unconscious.
.
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Of course, the fairies were useless. After procuring the wand from the undisturbed pawn shop, he visited the town convent. He managed to convince the Blue Fairy to wave her wand at him a few times before she began preaching to him about the good gospel. Jefferson was informed that the only true form of magic was God's divine grace. He settled for having the Blue Fairy bestow him with a blessing to exorcise his apparent demons, or, as Jefferson insisted having her call it—breaking his curse.
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He woke to the sounds of the chiming clock tower, feeling not the tiniest bit blessed. He was utterly cursed. Jefferson had confronted the two most powerful possessors of magic in town, he'd kissed a princess, he'd destroyed a symbol of cursed enchantment, he'd tried his failed hat and he'd even received a divine blessing from a nun. If there was another way to break a curse, Jefferson couldn't conceive of it. He found himself tumbling down the rabbit-hole of hopeless despair. It was one thing to wait-out a 28-year-long curse, knowing it could be broken, but it was another thing entirely to be cursed with no end in sight. With nothing left to do, Jefferson sought-out the only comfort he'd ever been able to find in this land-without-magic: His daughter.
Grace sat at a booth with two of her friends, drinking hot chocolate and laughing. The sound of her laughter was filled with a genuine happiness that wrapped around Jefferson like a warm blanket. It was a momentary distraction from the hopeless situation he was trapped in. He glanced over his shoulder at her from across the diner where he sat at the bar. A cup of hot tea was in his hands and Grace's shared smiles with her friends brought a smile to his own face. Jefferson was hardly aware of anyone else in the dinner as he alternated from nursing his tea to glancing back at his daughter.
"Do you know Paige?"
Jefferson's head whipped around to see that Emma's son had taken the stool beside him. The boy looked up at him with inquisitive eyes and a friendly smile.
"What?" Jefferson questioned with wide-eyed befuddlement.
"Paige," Henry repeated himself as he glanced past Jefferson to the table where his daughter sat, "The girl in the blue scarf—do you know her?"
Jefferson eyed the boy with caution before he turned back to his cup.
"No," he replied, "She just reminds me of my daughter. That's all."
Henry tilted his head, curious, as he stared up at the man.
"Where is she?"
Jefferson heaved a frustrated sigh and took a long drink from his cup.
"She's with her other parents."
"Oh." Henry said as he plopped his storybook open on the counter with a thud.
The cup in Jefferson's hand jumped, causing some of his drink to drip over the side. Jefferson glanced over at the boy with narrowed eyes as he flipped through his book.
"Aren't you a little too old to believe those stories?"
Henry turned a page, unfazed by the question.
"They're not just stories." he replied.
Jefferson's expression softened and curiosity had him watching over Henry's shoulder as he silently read his book. A question arose in his mind; a question he felt too foolish to ask, but with a hard gulp, Jefferson swallowed his pride.
"Is there anything about the Mad Hatter in your book?"
A grin lit-up Henry's face as he looked up at the man.
"Sure," he said, "Wanna see?"
With another swallow, Jefferson nodded his head and Henry quickly flipped through the pages he knew all too well. When the page opened to an illustration of a little girl walking through the woods with her father, Jefferson's heart plummeted to the floor. He grabbed the book, sliding it across the counter to sit before him as he hurriedly read the words on the page. A tear burned in his eye at the achingly familiar story and he glanced over his shoulder to the table where Grace sat.
"It's you." a whispered voice said from beside him that brought him back to reality.
Slowly, Jefferson turned to look at Henry. The boy gazed up at him with such hope in his eyes that Jefferson couldn't bare to discourage him.
"You remember?" Henry asked in amazement.
Jefferson nodded.
"That's my curse."
Henry reached-out a hand to turn the page to the illustration of the Mad Hatter in Wonderland.
"Because the Evil Queen tricked you."
Jefferson took in a deep breath and looked Henry in the eyes, thinking that a boy shouldn't be burdened with such knowledge. As Henry held his gaze, his eyes—darker than Emma's—suddenly lit-up with purpose.
"You can help make Emma believe!"
Jefferson winced at the suggestion.
"I'm sorry, kid, but I—"
"HENRY."
The authoritative female voice sprung Jefferson from his seat and he turned to see Regina. Her dark eyes were filled with warning and threats of evildoing. Henry quickly closed his book before she could see the page it was turned to.
"Sorry, mom," the boy was quick to apologize, "I know—I was supposed to come home after school."
"Exactly," she said as she shooed him to the door, "And we'll talk about why you didn't in the car."
Henry spared a desperate glance at Jefferson before he walked out of the diner.
"Jefferson," she forced a cordial smile, "I trust you and my son were having casual conversation."
Jefferson merely regarded her with boredom. Regina took a step towards him despite their audience and then leaned-in to whisper.
"It will be the last time you speak to my son, or mark my words..." Regina's eyes darted towards Grace.
Jefferson glared at her as she stepped back, smoothed-out her suit and put on a smile.
"Goodbye, Jefferson."
He settled back on to his stool as he watched her exit the diner, and then realized the other customers had turned their attention to his and the mayor's curious exchange. He met their glances with disinterest until his eyes fell upon the brown ones of his daughter. He swallowed down a lump of emotion as his own child looked at him without the slightest bit of recognition in her eyes. It was the reason he seldom left his home; he couldn't stand for her to look at him as if he were a stranger. Jefferson turned on the stool and placed some money on the counter before he quickly walked away, exiting the diner.
He placed his hands in his coat pockets as he walked down the street, turning his attentions to the unmarred clock tower. He realized that the one good thing to arise from reliving the same day was that consequences would never matter. Come tomorrow, Regina would no more remember that he had spoken to Henry, then she would remember threatening him for it. It was a good thing, too, because Jefferson had no intention of heeding her words.
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A/N: In case anyone was wondering, I have this story completely outlined to 10 chapters, and although there are other things I'm *supposed* to be doing, I will keep trying to update! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, fav-ed and followed so far!
Thanks for reading! ;-)