Author's Notes: I honestly don't know how many chapters this story will run. I suspect it will be only 4 chapters, but it could be more, or it could be less. However, I do have a very clear plan for how this story is to go and what needs to happen.
Emma drove up to the large mansion on the hill, stopping her Bug near the steps leading up the doorway. She closed her eyes briefly, forcing herself not to recall the last time she had been to this house.
"WOW!" Henry exclaimed, looking up at the mansion with awe. "This is where Grace is living now? How cool is that?" He opened the car door and quickly got out. Emma followed behind him, not quite as eager to visit as he was.
Suddenly the front door flew open and a small girl came running out and down the stairs towards Henry and Emma. "Henry, you made it!"
"Grace, your house is so cool!" Henry said, looking around excitedly. "What's your backyard look like?"
"It's so awesome! You should see what my Papa had built for me! Come and see," she said, tugging on his arm to pull him around to show him.
Suddenly, Emma heard a throat clearing. She looked up to see Jefferson standing just outside the front door, looking down at Grace and Henry with a bemused smile. "Grace, darling, shouldn't you say hello to the Sheriff as well before you go dragging her son away?"
Grace dropped Henry's arm and blushed. She looked sheepishly at Emma, and said, "I'm sorry Sheriff Swan. How are you today?"
Emma smiled down at the little girl. "Call me Emma, and I'm fine, Grace. Henry and I are glad you and your dad allowed us to visit today."
Grace smiled at Emma brightly then turned to look at her dad. "Papa, can I please show Henry the backyard now?"
"Not until you put on a jacket and cap, young lady," Jefferson admonished. Grace rushed back up the stairs towards the house, throwing out a careless "wait a moment" at Henry. Jefferson smiled at Emma then at his daughter as she ran back out of the house dressed for the outdoors, letting the front door shut with a bang. He and Emma watched as the two children ran off together.
"So you renovated your back yard?" Emma asked casually. She was very uncomfortable about bringing up the subject of her last visit, but really didn't know what to say to him.
"Emma, it's okay," Jefferson said, walking slowly down the stairs to join her. "I had a few things installed for Grace after you broke the curse. Would you like to go see?"
"Sure," Emma said, falling into step next to him as they began to follow the children's voices coming from the back yard. As they reached the children, Emma could see a large child's play set erected in the yard, along with a large and very girlish playhouse. Henry and Grace were already on the play set, laughing and talking loudly with each other.
"Quite a change from last time, I suppose," Jefferson said from beside her.
"Yes, it is," she agreed, watching the two children play. It felt strangely normal to be standing next to this man watching their two children play with each other.
"Would you like to go inside the house, Emma?" Jefferson asked, turning to her. "Unlike those two kids, I don't quite fancy running about in the cold."
"Okay," Emma agreed, and began to follow him towards the house. Instead of walking back to the front entrance, he led her up a short set of stairs to a patio and a set of French doors. He opened one for Emma, gesturing for her to go inside. She walked into a quaint breakfast area attached to the kitchen. She looked around at the very impressive and modern décor. "Nice."
"Thank you," Jefferson said, shutting the door behind him. He turned to Emma and politely asked, "Can I take your coat?"
Emma took a deep breath and took off her brown leather jacket, handing it to him. She watched as he walked away to put away the coat, and she took a long look at her surroundings once again. She could see it was a very nice space, but it still didn't feel lived in like a house should.
Jefferson returned a moment later. "Would you like some tea or coffee?" Emma just looked at him, raising an eyebrow at his offer. "I promise I won't tamper with it in anyway. You can even watch me make it, or better yet, help me make it."
"Why not?" Emma said, deciding that this was an easy way to show her attempt at trusting Jefferson.
He smiled brightly at her. "So which would you prefer?"
"Well, I'm more of a coffee gal myself," she admitted, following him further into the kitchen.
"Coffee it is," he said, reaching into the refrigerator for a canister of coffee beans. For the next few minutes, he and Emma worked together to set up the coffee maker, which a hell of a lot fancier than the one she and Snow had at the loft.
After the coffee had brewed, Jefferson poured each of them a cup. "Do you want cream or sugar?" He asked, reaching into the refrigerator again to pull both out.
"No, I'm fine," Emma replied, taking a tentative sip. "It's good."
"Thank you," he said, smiling again at her. "I'm afraid I drink my coffee with both. I'm more of a tea drinker myself."
Emma said nothing at that remark, remembering all too well the stories she had read about Alice in Wonderland as a child, as well as Henry's book. She followed Jefferson to sit at the table, where they could still watch their two children play while they enjoyed their coffee.
She and Jefferson sat in silence for several long minutes, before he put down his cup. "Emma, you wanted to speak with me?"
She set down her cup as well and took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy, as she was not in the habit of apologizing to people. "Jefferson, I wanted to say I'm sorry for not believing you about the curse."
"Emma—"
"No," she said firmly. "While I don't agree with your methods of trying to convince me, you were right about everything. I did need to open my eyes to the truth around me." She looked down at her cup, playing with the handle. "I could have avoided so much if I'd only listened to you…listened to Henry, August, Graham…the list goes on and on."
"Emma…what I did to you and your mother was unforgivable," Jefferson said firmly. "I was crazed that night. I honestly thought you would come back and arrest me after everything with Mary Margaret was over."
Emma laughed hollowly. "Believe me, I thought about it."
"Well, can I just say I'm glad you didn't?" He offered.
Emma was silent for a moment, and then looked at him again. "I'm glad you found your daughter, Jefferson."
"Thank you," he said sincerely, gazing back at her intently. "But I really should thank your son. If it wasn't for him, I might have never worked up the courage to find her. I'm afraid I was too much of a coward to seek her out after the curse was broken until he convinced me how important it was to see her again." Jefferson looked at her intently. "He really missed you."
"I know he did," Emma admitted, staring out the window to watch Henry and Grace run around. "When we were separated by the wraith, I finally started to understand just a bit of what you must have went through all these years."
"Emma," Jefferson said softly.
"No," she said firmly, looking at him. "I was only separated from Henry for only a few weeks, and Snow and I were always looking for a way back home. But you—" She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to verbalize her thoughts. "You were forced to leave your daughter for God knows how long in Wonderland, all the while being tortured into madness. And then you get pulled here to Storybrooke only to be cursed again and forced to watch your daughter live her life without you and still remembered everything."
Jefferson looked at her with amazement. For some strange reason, this woman was able to understand a bit of his suffering the past several decades. "I-I don't know what to say."
"You don't need to say anything," Emma assured, reaching across the table to place her hand on his. "I nearly went mad those few weeks away from Henry and to think of what you suffered? I can't imagine. And what you must have endured in Wonderland. I'm amazed you're as sane as you are."
"Don't be fooled by my apparent sanity," Jefferson warned, giving Emma a hard look, pulling away from her. "I may seem alright at the moment, but you've seen my more manic side." Jefferson stood up and walked towards the French door to watch Grace and Henry, and continued in a sad tone. "I've tried to hide my past and my madness from Grace, but I'm not always successful. Do you know how hard it was for me to try to explain my scar from being beheaded by the Queen of Hearts?"
Emma drew in a deep breath. "I can't even…"
"No," he laughed harshly, looking away from the window and Emma. "I'm fairly sure you can't."
"What you must have went through…" Emma trailed off, thinking more out loud to herself. "And I thought I had it bad dealing with ogres, Captain Hook and Cora."
"Cora!" Jefferson barked, turning to face Emma. "What do you mean, you dealt with Cora?"
"She had taken over the refugee camp in the Enchanted Forest. Actually, she killed its leader Lancelot and all of its inhabitants except Mulan, Aurora and Hook. I don't know if anyone else is alive still in the Enchanted Forest to be honest."
"Cora was in the Enchanted Forest with you?" Jefferson demanded, walking over Emma and pulling her out of her chair, keeping his hands secured on her shoulders.
"Jefferson, what are you doing?" Emma stammered, starting to fear the manic look creeping into his face. "Cora is back in the Enchanted Forest with Hook. She wanted to cross over to this world instead of us, but we managed to defeat her. I managed to defeat her."
"Cora was trying to get to Storybrooke?" Jefferson repeated, growing more crazed by the second, giving Emma a little shake.
"Jefferson!" Emma shouted, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him back from her. "What the hell is going on?"
Jefferson just started laughing in a crazed manner. "The Queen of Hearts was trying to cross realms."
"What are you saying," Emma demanded, this time it was her grabbing Jefferson by the shoulders and giving him a shake. "Are you saying Cora was the Queen of Hearts?"
"Off with his head!" Jefferson mocked, starting to rock back and forth on his heels.
Emma, panicking over the revelation and Jefferson's actions, did something she never would have normally ever considered. She pulled Jefferson into her arms, hugging him tightly, and began to comfort the clearly crazed man. "She's not here," she murmured, whispering desperately in his ear. "I stopped her."
"You stopped her," Jefferson repeated in a whisper, gradually relaxing into Emma's arms. Slowly, she turned the two of them around and lowered him into her chair. Kneeling in front of the chair, she tried to get his attention.
"Jefferson, you need to snap out of it. Grace and Henry will be coming in soon and you don't want them to see you like this, do you?" She implored, rubbing his hands that were slack on his knees.
He closed his eyes for several seconds and then began to stand. "If you will excuse me, Emma." He then walked out of the kitchen, leaving Emma to stare after him, not knowing if she should follow, or wait for him to return.