"Jefferson, what if I told you I think I might be able to help you with your hat now?"

Emma watched as Jefferson's jaw dropped in surprise at her admission. The possibility fixing his hat had crossed her mind a few times since helping Regina open the portal for the Wraith. Of course, it wasn't a priority while she was stuck in the Enchanted Forest, but during down times on the journey when she wouldn't allow herself to think about Henry so she wouldn't go crazy, she had pondered the idea once or twice.

"What?" Jefferson sputtered, looking at her dumbfounded. "But the hat's destroyed."

"Can't we make a new one?" She countered, giving him an appraising look. "That's what you wanted me to do in the first place."

"But that didn't work," he retorted.

"True," she admitted. "But I didn't believe in all this magic stuff back then. Now that I've seen magic happen…helped magic happen, I think I can help you with making a new hat."

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious as he leaned against the counter top.

"When I touched Henry's storybook right after he ate the cursed apple turnover was when I had my first true encounter with magic," she started, looking at Jefferson. A pained expression crossed Jefferson's face. "What's wrong?"

Shaking his head, he said, "It's nothing. Please continue."

"You probably heard about the second time I experienced magic was when I kissed Henry to wake him from the sleeping curse he was under, and broke the curse on Storybrooke," she went on, recalling the feeling of magic bursting out of her when her lips touched his forehead. "Later, when Regina was trying to get your hat to work, she couldn't get it to open the portal until I put my hand on her arm."

"Go on…" he urged, as he watched her with a curious and hopeful expression.

"The last time was when we went against Cora for the last time. She was threatening to take Snow's heart, so I jumped in front of her instead. Cora had her hand on my heart, but she couldn't remove it and something happened within me as I literally blasted her away from me," she finished.

"Cora tried to take your heart?" he croaked, looking appalled. "And you managed to blast her away? Emma, do you have any idea what that means?"

"Gold said I was the product of true love," she confessed.

"Yes, that would explain your power," Jefferson breathed, moving closer to Emma. She stood there, gazing into his face, waiting for his explanation. "Emma, you have no idea how powerful you are. You're most likely more powerful than Cora, Regina, and even Rumplestiltskin."

"Yeah, maybe," she said skeptically. "But I don't have any idea how to use it, and there's no one I can trust to teach me magic anyway."

"Yes, and magic is unpredictable in this realm anyway," he mused, thinking out loud.

"Do you think I can help you with your hat?" Emma asked, honestly wanting to help.

Jefferson looked down at her and smiled. "I guess it can't hurt to try. Shall we?"

Emma walked around the hat room, looking at the various items in the room. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jefferson pulling out various fabrics and tools for the hat. "No offense, but the décor in this house is kind of hideous."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled, amused by her observation. "It was like this when I got here twenty eight years ago. Believe me, I've tried to get rid of it many times in the beginning, but it kept coming back."

Emma walked over to the table across from Jefferson. "What do you mean, it came back?"

Jefferson put down the tools he had been holding and looked at her. "Well, I'd throw out some hideous piece of furniture and the next day, it'd be back right where it was before I threw it out. Or I'd try to get rid of some of the wallpaper on the walls or paint over it, and the next morning it would be back to normal. Apparently for some reason, Regina didn't just feel the need to keep me trapped in this house, but she also wanted me stuck with horrible interior decorating."

"What cruel and unusual punishment," Emma smirked.

Jefferson inclined his head at her, "Indeed."

Emma looked at all the various tools Jefferson had assembled. "So, about how long does it take you to make a hat?"

"A few hours," he answered, going back to his tools. "About as long as several Disney movies."

"I'm not going to have to make the hat again?" she asked. "That last hat I made was hideous."

Jefferson started to laugh as he recalled her last attempt at hat making. "It was pretty ugly."

"Hey now!" she exclaimed. "It's not like I've made one before, and you were holding me hostage at gun point. You try making a hat under those conditions."

"Point taken," Jefferson agreed, not wanting to admit he'd experienced similar treatment in Wonderland. "And no, I don't think you'll need to make the hat. From what you've told me, it sounds like you're might be able to infuse an item with magic through touch, so I can make the hat, and later you'll just…" he waved his hand.

"Ah…okay then," she said, thinking over what he just said. Suddenly she blurted out something completely random. "Love."

Jefferson looked at her startled. "What?"

"Love," she breathed. "My power is there because of true love. When you are making your hat, think of Grace or…" she trailed off.

"Or?" he prompted, curious about where she was going with her train of thought.

"Well," she said, becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the current topic. "I wasn't sure about other people you've loved, like Grace's mother."

"Ah," he said slowly, looking back down at the work bench and began to gather material for the hat. "I see what you mean." He was quiet for the next several minutes as he sorted through all the various materials. "So, shall we get started?" And that said he began construction on the hat.

Emma watched him silently for about 15 minutes as she watched him cut the various materials to size with his shears, beginning to form it into a top hat. "This is probably a stupid question considering what happened to you, but do you like making hats?"

Jefferson threw back his head, laughing at Emma's inane question. Only she would ask the Mad Hatter if he liked making hats. "Actually, it can be rather soothing, to tell the truth. Creating something out of scraps of fabric." He mused, as he picked up another needed tool. "Of course, I had no idea what the hell I was doing when I was forced to make another magical hat in Wonderland. I'd made clothing for Grace and I when she was growing up in the Enchanted Forest, but I'd never attempted making a hat until then. My first hundred or so attempts were about as good as yours."

"What was it like living in the Enchanted Forest back then?" Emma asked, curious to hear what his life had been like.

Jefferson stopped for a moment and thought back to that time of his life. "Simple." He began working again on the hat. "I stopped portal jumping after the death of Grace's mother, and we lived off the land in the forest. We weren't rich like your parents were, and made do with what we had."

"Hey," Emma protested, feeling the need to defend her mother and father. "My parents didn't have the easiest lives either. They both lived like your family did at one point in their lives."

"True," he agreed, working to shape the hat once again. "But you have to admit if we were still living in the Enchanted Forest today, you'd be living life as a princess most likely married to another kingdom's prince, and I'd still be in the forest, selling mushrooms to make a living."

Emma refused to acknowledge the truth of Jefferson's blunt statement. "It doesn't matter anyway, because I didn't grow up a princess in a castle. I grew up in the foster system, and then on the streets for a long time. My life wasn't a picnic, you know."

Jefferson didn't respond to her confession of her past to him. He had learned quite a bit about the savior after she arrived in Storybrooke. Spying on people through telescopes wasn't the only way he learned about people. Thankfully, while Regina had somehow managed to control the décor of his mansion, she didn't control the advancement of technology, so he had learned about the internet and other useful technologies thanks to his cursed wealth. He had done numerous background searches on Emma soon after she had arrived, and probably knew as much about her as Regina and Sidney Glass did.

She was quiet for a long while, simply watching him construct the top hat. Then she asked out of the blue, "Why top hats?"

"What?" He said, giving her a bemused look.

"Why always make top hats for your magic hat? Why not try making a bowler or Stetson?" She pondered, quirking her head.

Jefferson looked down at the fairly standard top hat he was making. "Umm, I don't know? Tradition maybe? Most magicians use top hats for magic? They look more distinguished?"

"If we get this one to work, maybe we should try another type of hat," she mused, looking thoughtful.

"Why on earth would I need another hat?" He demanded, not sure where she was going with her line of thought.

"Well, I'd think having a spare would be helpful," she muttered. "Considering Regina stole your first one."

Jefferson snorted at her comment. "Fat lot of good it would have been to have a second hat back then, considering I was stuck in Wonderland and the spare would have been left in the Enchanted Forest."

"Good point," she conceded, still looking thoughtful. She watched him attach the brim to the hat. "But if you could have a spare, would you want one?"

"I suppose," he said, not looking up from his work. "Still wouldn't help if I was stuck ever again."

Emma was silent, deep in thought. Slowly, she asked tentatively, "Do you think we could add some sort of magic that would call the hat to you if you needed it?"

Jefferson dropped what he was doing and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Emma looked distinctly uncomfortable about what she was about to say. "I don't like the idea of anyone, not just you, being stranded in some other place without a way to get home."

"But the hat has specific rules, Emma," he patiently explained. "One goes in, one must come out, etcetera, etcetera. That's why I was stuck in Wonderland in the first place. Regina tricked me when she and I went in together, never telling me she was going to rescue her father and leave me behind."

"But who wrote those rules? The hat? I don't think so," she continued stubbornly. "Whoever spelled your hat the first time must have made that condition."

"Honestly Emma," he admitted, going back to work on the hat. "I've never really thought about any of this. I just followed the hat's rules."

"Well, the hat's rules are stupid," she muttered, and wandered away from the table. "I'm going to check on the kids for a bit."

"That's fine," he said, working diligently on finishing. "I should have this finished up in a half hour or so."

He heard, rather than saw the door shut to the room. He continued in silence trying to finish the hat as quickly as possible, however, Emma's questions were running through his head. Why couldn't the hat's rules change with whomever made the enchantment on it? It would have been damned helpful not to have the same number in, same number out rule gone from his portal traveling.

A half hour later, he was placing the final stitch in the silk lining of his new hat. He'd been able to work much faster on the hat once Emma had left him, but he missed her silly questions. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed talking with Emma today, and wished he could look forward to other days like this again. He was about to go look for Emma, when the door to the room opened and she reappeared.

"Done?" she asked, nodding towards the hat in front of him.

"Just finished," he said, holding out the hat to her. Tentatively she took it from him.

"What should I do?" she asked, looking up at him. "Everything I've done with magic so far has been by accident."

"Well, earlier you mentioned love as a factor," he began, trying to rationalize for her what she should do. "And you've mentioned touch, so maybe you should think about the hat and how it could have helped you reach Henry?"

She nodded and took the hat in both hands, bowing her head over it. For the next few minutes, she stared intently into it, yet nothing happened. "Should something be happening?"

"I don't know," he admitted, holding out a hand for his hat. He held it for a moment, but couldn't sense any magic within it. Looking up at her, he finally said, "Emma, I don't think this is going to work."

Emma stepped closer and grabbed the hat as well, placing her hands next to his. Suddenly, a warm glow started to emanate from their hands where they touched. "Jefferson," she gasped.

He grinned at her and threaded his fingers through hers, yet still managing to hold the hat between them. The glow grew even brighter. "Emma, I think we may have done it! Think about your experience with the hat and I'll do the same."

Emma grinned back at him, closing her eyes. "I really hope we can make this hat work better than the last."

Jefferson thought about all the problems the hat's rules had caused, and fervently hoped they could be changed. Suddenly he sensed a portal beginning to open from within the hat. "Emma let go!" he shouted, the winding starting to pick up within the room.

They both dropped the hat to the floor, and Jefferson grabbed her arm to pull her back from the portal opening. He looked at her, and asked, "Want to go for a quick trip?"

"Uh, last time I saw one of these, I was trapped in the Enchanted Forest with ogres and giants," she shouted back, looking at the portal warily.

"This will only open to the realm room," he said, giving her a hopeful look. "We can just pop down for a quick look and come back."

"Are you sure we'll be safe?" She asked, searching his face for something.

"I'm positive," he replied, looking confident.

"Okay," she said. "What do we do?"

Linking his arm through hers, he said, "Jump!" and together, they jumped into the portal.

A few minutes later, Jefferson found himself in a place he hadn't seen in decades. "A lot has changed," he commented.

Emma looked around the vast room of doors in awe. "Do all these doors lead to…"

"Each door leads to a different land," he answered, itching to open one and go exploring. But neither he nor Emma could go anywhere today.

"Oh, wow," she breathed, going to walk around to look at a few. She stopped by a green curtained door. "Does this go to where I think it does?"

Jefferson nodded, and watched her continue on. She stopped short at a blue door with a sign that said, Police Telephone, Free for Public Use. "This goes to the TARDIS? The Doctor's real?"

"You've watched Doctor Who," he asked, amused. Emma didn't really seem the type to enjoy science fiction.

"I used to watch a lot of PBS as a kid," she admitted. "Have you met him?"

"A few times," Jefferson said, his face pulling up in a grimace. "He doesn't like portal jumpers much. Time Lords tend to get fussy when you mess with different realities."

"Okay, I'm going to sound like Henry, but that is so cool," she gushed, walking back to him.

"Emma, we should probably return now. While I can manipulate time to a certain extent, it's been a while and I really don't want to chance being gone too long," Jefferson said, sad he had to interrupt her discovery. He was delighted she seemed as excited about exploring as he was.

"Is it bad I really want to go exploring right now?" she asked wistfully, looking longingly at the blue door. "I always wanted to run away with the Doctor, you know?"

"We could come back, Emma," he said softly, taking her hand and looking at her. "We could even bring Henry and Grace with us. Go and visit Hogwarts or something."

"Henry would love it," she smiled. "But you're right, we need to get back."

Jefferson took her arm and called on the hat's magic. Another portal opened and together they jumped, finding themselves back in the hat room, which looked a little worse for wear after the portal openings. Looking around the messed up room, Jefferson mused, "Probably shouldn't have tried this here."

Suddenly the door to the room burst open and Henry and Grace ran in. "What happened?" Henry cried, looking around at the disheveled room.

"Your mom got another hat to work," Jefferson said, smiling at the two children.

"Cool!" Henry exclaimed and gave Grace, both of them turning pleading faces to Jefferson and Emma. "Can we try it now?"

"Not today," Emma replied, walking over to Henry. "We need to get going if we want to make it home in time to meet your grandparents."

"Emma's right," Jefferson agreed, walking over to give Grace a hug. "Now that we have another hat, we can come and go as we please."

"But only with adult supervision," Emma warned, knowing exactly what antics her son could get up to. She didn't want either Grace or Henry to get ideas about traveling without Jefferson. "Absolutely no using the hat without an adult."

"Okay," the two children agreed sadly.

Jefferson looked at the two children and said, "Grace, why don't you go with Henry to gather up his things." Grace nodded, and then led Henry out of the room.

"Jefferson," Emma said softly, grasping his arm lightly. He looked at her in surprise. "You're not planning to leave with Grace, are you?"

For the longest time, getting a hat to work was his main priority in live so he and Grace to live their old life together, but now, he could see the benefits of staying here in Storybrooke. "No."

"No?" she asked.

"No, Emma," Jefferson said confidently. "I think I find Storybrooke quite appealing."

Emma smiled at him. "I'm glad you think so. I'd hate for you to leave."

"Really, Sheriff Swan?" He asked, his eyebrow raising.

"I've just gained a new friend," she said, giving his arm as squeeze. "And I don't want to lose him."

"Don't worry, Emma," he replied. "I'm here to stay."