A/N This is the chapter I've been waiting to update! This is the episode I wanted to write since I thought up the idea for the fan-fiction because this is my favorite episode of the first season and I just love Jefferson's character! So please review and tell me what you think because I'm excited to find out what you think.

Tessa woke up in a dark room. She pushed herself to her feet and was just going to open the door when it opened from the outside. She jumped back to avoid being hit with the door. Jefferson stepped in. She just stared at him for a minute.

"Hi." Was all she could think to say, knowing full well how lame it was.

"I see you're awake."

"I am."

"I don't know what your plan was, going outside of town-."

"Running away." She interrupted him.

"With a laptop and a bag of Doritos?"

"Nothing is better than Doritos. And you went through my bag?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Jefferson, do you remember your… past life?" She asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes. I remember. I remember everything. Contessa, just know that when I look at you all I see is the girl who ruined me." He turned and walked out of the room again, shutting it behind him. She hurried over to it as she heard the click of the lock.

"Jefferson! JEFFERSON!" She slammed her palms against the door, but she still heard his retreating footsteps. She turned to put her back against the door and slowly slid to the floor.

{Enchanted Forest – Past}

Inside the box, Contessa accepted the piece of mushroom and took a bite out of it. In seconds, she was fully grown again. Luckily her clothes had grown again to accommodate her. Her hands were still bound, but she was free from the box. Regina hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Contessa!"

"This is what she took from you? Your daughter?" Contessa turned away from Regina to look at Jefferson.

"Jefferson?" She asked. She hadn't seen him since she was a child, but it was definitely him.

"The Queen of Hearts has always seen me as a threat. So she wanted some leverage. I got it back." Regina told him.

"You knew only two can go through the hat… which is why you didn't tell me it was her that you wanted back…" Jefferson said quietly.

"Mother, what are you doing? If only two can go back-!" Contessa started.

"Then it'll be us." As Jefferson took a step forward, one of his feet sunk into the ground so he couldn't move.

"Wait, wait, please! My daughter… My Grace… She's waiting for me. I'd promised her I'd be home for tea."

"A promise which you have know broken. If you truly cared for your daughter, you never would have left her in the first place. You were right, Jefferson. You don't abandon family." Contessa tried to move, only to find that Regina had a firm grip on the rope about her wrists.

"Mother, don't-." She was cut off as Regina shoved her through the portal, following her close behind.

Tessa woke up on the floor by the door. She pushed herself to her feet and looked through the keyhole in the door. The key was still in place. She looked around the room before grabbing a map off the wall. She looked through the desk in the room before she finally found a slim pencil. She went back to the door. She slid the map halfway under the door and then poked the pencil into the keyhole. The key fell out onto the map. She slid the map back under the door, grabbed the key and unlocked the door from the inside. She hurried out into the hallway, running smack into someone and knocking herself down to the floor. Emma and Tessa stared at each other for a minute.

"How did you…?" Emma started to ask.

"Long story."

"Okay." Emma pulled Tessa to her feet again and into another room to hide.

"Help me!" They turned towards the muffled voice to see Mary Margaret, tied up in a chair.

"What is going on?" Emma demanded, rushing over and starting to untie her.

"Emma, Tessa, thank God!"

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked.

"I was running away… There was a key, in my cell, under my pillow." Mary Margaret explained. Emma got her untied and Tessa helped her to her feet. The three of them went out into the hallway, but stopped dead when they heard a gun cocking behind them. They slowly turned towards Jefferson.

"I see you found Spot!" He told Emma with a smile, motioning to Mary Margaret.

"I've already called for back-up. They will be here any minute!" Emma warned.

"You haven't called anybody… for the same reason you didn't tell me about her. You don't want anyone to know you're here, so no one does. So now tie her back up." Jefferson ordered. Emma reluctantly went to tie Mary Margaret back up while Jefferson kept a hold on Tessa's arm so she couldn't run.

"Jefferson, just let them go. I thought this was between you and me." She hissed. He tightened his grip on her arm until it hurt.

"You think too much of yourself. This isn't all about you." He snapped. Once Mary Margaret was tied up again, Jefferson led Emma and Tessa into another room. He pulled a chair up against the wall and pushed Tessa onto it.

"Sit, stay, good girl." He told her in a mocking way. He turned to Emma.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but if you hurt my friends, I swear I'll make you regret it!" Emma threatened.

"Hurt them? Oh no. I'm saving her life-." He motioned towards the door to indicate Mary Margaret. "-and… okay, well, I might hurt her. Or I'll just keep her here for a few decades to show her how it feels." He added the last part about Tessa with a crooked smile.

"How do you figure you're saving her life?" Emma demanded.

"Don't play stupid. We both know what happens when people try to leave Storybrooke." Jefferson told her.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's talking about the curse." Tessa told her, annoyed at the slow rate this conversation was going at.

"The curse? You… You've been reading Henry's book?" Emma asked, directing the question at Jefferson.

"Henry? You mean the Queen's father?"

"Henry, the Mayor's adopted kid."

"Oh. Henry. Your Henry… and his book of stories, the ones you choose to ignore. Maybe if you knew what I knew, you wouldn't."

"Why have you been spying on me?" Emma asked.

"Oh, don't feel like it's all about you. He's probably been spying on me too." Tessa spoke up.

"I have." Jefferson admitted.

"See? I called it."

"And I've been spying on you because for the last twenty eight years, I have been stuck in this house, day after day, always the same. Until one night, you, in your little yellow Bug, roll into town, and the clock ticks and things start to change. Suddenly she-." He pointed at Tessa with his gun. "-can leave town and the curse is barely fighting back anymore. You see, I know what you refuse to acknowledge, Emma. You're special. You brought something precious to Storybrooke. Magic."

"You're insane."

"Because I speak the truth?"

"Because you're talking about magic."

"I'm talking about what I've seen. Perhaps you're the one who's mad."

"Really?" Emma challenged, her tone of voice showing just how stupid she though that was.

"What's crazier than seeing and not believing? Because that's exactly what you've been doing since you got to our little hamlet." He moved closer to Emma until he was inches away from her face.

"Open your eyes. Look around. Wake up. Isn't it about time?" He whispered.

"What do you want?" Emma asked.

"I want you to get it to work." He shoved her roughly down in a chair at the table.

"You want me to get what to work?" She asked confused. Then she focused on the hat on the table.

"You're the only one that can do this. You're gonna get it work." He dropped some cloth in front of her, almost as an afterthought.

"Make one like that."

"You want me to make a hat. You don't have enough?" She asked, looking around the room.

"Well, none of them work, do they? Or else you wouldn't be here." He pulled up a chair, sitting at the edge of the table so he was between Emma and Tessa.

"Now make a hat and get it work." He ordered.

"I don't-." Emma started.

"You have magic. You can do it." Emma looked around again.

"The hats… the tea… your psychotic behavior… You think you're the Mad Hatter."

"Careful, he won't like being called that!" Tessa warned. Jefferson looked over at her and then back at Emma.

"The name's Jefferson. And you-." He got up and walked over to Tessa. "-you should know. You made me 'the mad hatter'." He growled.

"She's a twenty year old girl that's lived here her whole life, okay? She barely has any friends, let alone enemies!" Emma protested.

"I have him. Depending on what point in my life we're talking about, he fits in both." Tessa told her, not taking her eyes off Jefferson.

"You believe him? You know him?" Emma demanded.

"Of course she does. She remembers." Jefferson answered for her. Tessa jumped to her feet.

"It's not my fault what happened to you, Jefferson! I tried! I tried to get back to you! I couldn't!" She yelled.

"Whoa, whoa, I'm lost here." Emma started.

"Just make the hat." Jefferson ordered without looking at her.

"I'm sorry! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry! It wasn't my choice to leave you there! You know that!" Tessa told him.

"Sit down." He shoved her roughly back down into the chair and turned to Emma.

"You think you're the Mad Hatter and she did something to you? Look, the Mad Hatter is a character in a book. It's just a story. A book I read, as a matter of fact."

"Stories… Stories? What's a story? When you were in high school, did you learn about the civil war?"

"Yeah, of course." Emma replied, obviously wondering where this was going.

"How? Did you read about it, perchance, in a book? How is that any less than any other book?"

"History books are based on history."

"And storybooks are based on what? Imagination? Where does that come from? It has to come from somewhere. You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problems and everyone refuses to believe in magic." He gestured with his gun and added a quick 'now get it to work' before sitting back down.

"Here's the thing, Jefferson. This is it. This is the real world!"

"A real world. How arrogant are you to think yours is the only one? There are infinite more. You have to open your mind. They touch one another, pressing up in a long line of lands, each just as real as the last. All have their own rules. Some have magic, some don't. And some need magic…. Like this one. And that's where you come in. You and your friends are not leaving here until you make my hat… until you get it to work."

"And then what?" Emma asked, fingering the cloth in front of her. Jefferson leaned back against his chair.

"Then I go home." He answered.

"Jefferson-." Tessa started.

"You don't talk." He threatened, standing up and pointing the gun at her.

"You won't shoot me." Tessa said calmly. Emma was working on the hat, but she kept one eye on Tessa, shooting her a warning look. Tessa ignored her, standing up and walked forward until the gun was against her chest.

"If you were going to shoot me, to get your revenge, you wouldn't have even brought me here. You would have left me in the middle of the road, killed me there." Tessa continued.

"Maybe I just want you to suffer." He suggested nonchalantly. She chuckled dryly and shook her head.

"Which is another reason you won't shoot me, not fatally at least. Jefferson, I know you. This isn't you." In a split second, Jefferson had pushed her against the wall, a tight grip on her throat. Then he paused and let her go. She decided not to push her luck and say the 'I told you so' that was running through her head.

"Jefferson-."

"No." He interrupted her.

"You didn't even hear me out."

"I don't want to hear you out; I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth."

"If you really didn't want to hear me talk, you'd have locked me up somewhere." She pointed out. He didn't answer. She pressed on.

"Even if you don't want to admit to yourself, Jefferson, you don't hate me! You hate my mother, but you don't hate me!"

"Oh, don't worry, Contessa, I have enough hate for both of you." He assured her. Emma paused at her work.

"What did you just call her?" She asked.

"Keep working." Jefferson ordered. Emma hesitated, giving Tessa a creeped out look, but then kept working.

"Why don't you lock me up? Show me that you hate me?" Tessa challenged.

"I could do worse to you."

"I'm sure that you could try. But you realize that I remember everything, right? I remember the Queen of Hearts, I remember her soldiers. I remember what they did to me. You think this-." She yanked the sleeve of her t-shirt aside and turned to show him part of the scar on her back. "-wasn't painful when I got it?" She turned back to him, putting her sleeve back on her shoulder. Emma interrupted them by slamming the finished hat and the scissors down on the table.

"I can't make it work! What you're asking me to do is impossible." Jefferson ran over to the table and grabbed the hat to look at it.

"No! It has to be! If it's not, I'm never going home. I'll be cursed to live in this house forever…"

"What is so cursed about your life? Look at this place, its beautiful! It doesn't seem cursed to me." Emma protested.

"It's cursed because, like everyone else here, what I love has been ripped from me. Take a look." He motioned towards the telescope. She walked over and looked through it.

"Her name is Grace. Here it's Paige. But it's Grace. My Grace." Tessa hurried over to the telescope.

"Grace is here?" Tessa asked. Emma moved away so that Tessa could look through. Grace was sitting with her new family, having dinner.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to watch her day in and day out, happy, with a new family? With a new father?" Jefferson went on.

"You think she's your daughter?" Emma asked. Tessa was suddenly sick to her stomach and didn't say anything.

"I don't think. I know. I remember. She has no idea who I am. Our life together, where we come from. I do. That's my curse."

"To remember." Emma put it together.

"What good is this house, these things, if I can't share them with her?"

"If you really think she's your daughter, why don't you reach out to her? Why don't you tell her?"

"And destroy her reality? I'm trapped by knowledge. How cruel do you think I am? You think I'd inflict that awareness on my daughter? It's hard enough to live in a land where you don't belong, but knowing it, holding conflicting realties in your head… it will drive you mad."

"That's why you want me to make the hat work, isn't it? You wanna take Grace home, to your world."

"It's the one world where we can be together… where she'll remember who I am."

"I know what it's like to separated from your kid." Emma went back over to the telescope. Tessa moved out of her way numbly.

"Yeah, you do, don't you?" Jefferson asked.

"Jefferson, there's something you need to know." Tessa finally spoke up. He looked at her questioningly.

"You won't believe me but-." While Jefferson was distracted, Emma struck him with the telescope. Tessa let out a yelp of surprise.

"Why would you do that?!" She cried.

"He's a lunatic!" Emma yelled back. She grabbed the gun and then pulled Tessa out of the room. They ran back to the room where Mary Margaret was. Emma started setting her free. Tessa turned towards the door worriedly just as Jefferson burst in, knocking her to the ground.

"Emma, look out!" Mary Margaret yelled. Jefferson knocked her to the ground and they struggled for the gun. With no other choice, Tessa ran and grabbed Jefferson. She threw him off Emma, ripping aside his collar in the process. Jefferson kicked her legs out of from under and she landed hard on the floor. He stood up, grabbing the gun. He put the hat on his head, leaving the scar on his neck exposed. Tessa could only stare.

"Off with his head." He declared, grinning wickedly. Mary Margaret suddenly hit him with a croquet mallet. When he was stunned, she kicked him and sent him tumbling out the window. Tessa scrambled to her feet and leaned out the window. Mary Margaret and Emma looked over her shoulders. All they saw on the ground below were shards of glass and the hat that Emma had made…

Outside, the sun had risen and Tessa was standing at the end of the driveway, arms folded tightly across her chest. Mary Margaret and Emma were talking behind her, but she paid no attention to those two. She jumped when Emma nudged her shoulder.

"Are you okay? You seemed to know him." Emma mused. Yeah, no crap, Sherlock, Tessa thought bitterly.

"I did." She agreed instead of saying what she was thinking. Mary Margaret walked over to them and stood on the other side of Tessa.

"You were going to tell him something. Before I, you know-." Emma started to ask.

"Beat him about the head with a telescope? Yeah, I know. It doesn't matter." Tessa interrupted her.

"Do you want a ride back?" Emma offered. They'd found her car in the driveway and she had the keys. Tessa glanced over her shoulder at the little yellow Bug but then shook her head.

"I'll get back myself. Thanks." Emma and Mary Margaret hesitated, staring at her, but then went to get in the car. Tessa sidestepped out of the driveway as Emma backed up the car. She stood there, watching the car disappear around a bend. When it was gone, she let out a steadying breath and looked back at the hat. She walked over and stared at it, but didn't touch it.

"You'll find your way back here, Jefferson. I know you." She whispered. Then she turned and walked back towards the town.

Tessa came into the house, looking like she could lie down on the floor and go to sleep right there. Regina came around the corner.

"Where were you-?" She started. Red hot anger burned in Tessa. She grabbed Regina and pushed her up against the wall, hard. Regina looked shocked.

"What has gotten into you?" She demanded. Tessa yanked her hands off Regina's arms and backed away, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Don't even ask me that! Jefferson…. You just left him there! YOU'RE THE REASON HE WAS TRAPPED THERE!" Tessa's voice rose until she was screaming. Regina's gaze hardened.

"I was getting you back!" She shot back, not bothering to ask any questions. Both of them knew no questions should be asked here.

"I would have rather died there than leave an innocent man, a man with a daughter and no wife, there to rot!"

"The Queen of Hearts had leverage of me! I had to get it back!"

"It's all about you and Cora all the time, isn't it? Or it's about you and Snow. Hating Cora I can understand, mom. I hated her too! She killed my father, I know-."

"You don't know anything about that!" Now Regina was angry, very angry. She walked forward until she'd backed Tessa up against the opposite wall.

"Snow White is the reason your father was killed!" Tessa didn't know how to respond to that for a minute.

"No… That's not true." She finally choked out. Regina's gaze softened silently, realizing the truth that she was about to unleash on her daughter.

"She promised she wouldn't tell my mother about Daniel and me. Then she did. She told Cora. And Daniel paid with his life. You know it's true. You suspected it for years. You wouldn't let yourself admit it." Tessa couldn't do anything but stare at Regina.

"That's the truth. That's why I hate Snow White. Now you know." Regina finished, backing away. Then she turned and strode from the room, trying to control her emotions. Tessa slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest. Tears rolled down her face. All she could do was sit there, overcome with angry and sadness. Suddenly the mirror over the table next to her shattered, sending shards of glass everyone. She let out a scream of surprise but found that all the shards of glass landed in a neat circle around her, not touching her. Magic surged through her like hot lava. She gasped in surprise. Then she scrambled up to her feet and ran from the house. She ran around the town, not caring where she ended up. As it turns out, she ended up by a bench at the elementary school. She stopped for a breath, sitting down on the bench to cry some more. Head in her hands, she didn't realize someone had come up to her until they spoke.

"Miss, are you okay?" Her head snapped up and she looked at Grace, standing by her with a worried look on her face. Tessa swallowed hard.

"I'm fine." She replied, wiping at her face. Grace, however, didn't believe her. She sat down on the bench next to Tessa.

"Well, I'm sorry for whatever happened." Tessa forced a smile onto her face.

"Thanks. I'm Tessa." She introduced herself.

"I'm Paige." Right, not called Grace here, Tessa reminded herself as they shook hands.

"That's a cute shirt." Tessa motioned towards Grace's pink t-shirt with a white rabbit on it.

"Oh, thanks." They both heard the school bell ringing. Tessa motioned for to get up and go.

"You can't be late for class, kiddo." She told her. Grace smiled and hurried off, yelling a 'bye' over her shoulder. Tessa watched her until she was inside the school. Then she leaned back against the bench, closing her eyes.

{Enchanted Forest – Past}

Contessa stood in the market place, looking around. Her eyes rested on a young girl pining a piece of paper up on a wall. Contessa walked over. The piece of paper showed a drawing of Jefferson, with the words 'Have You Seen My Papa?' written under it. Contessa swallowed hard.

"I'll keep a look out for him." Contessa finally spoke. Grace looked up at her and smiled hopefully.

"Thank you. I'm Grace."

"Contessa. It's nice to meet you." A couple nearby at a stall called for Grace to come back. Contessa followed her over.

"Let's go get some jam." The woman led Grace off. Contessa turned to the man.

"Are you taking care of Grace?" She asked. The man gave her a confused look but nodded.

"Yes, we are. Her father had her come over to us a few weeks ago, but he hasn't returned. He did have a dangerous job before…" The man mused. He stopped when suddenly Contessa put a large pouch full of coins into his hand.

"Consider me a former family friend. I'll check in, make sure you are all well and want for nothing." She whispered. The man just stared at her.

"I do not know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Your wife and Grace are coming back. Good day." Contessa turned and disappeared into the crowd again.

Tessa let out a sigh as she returned to the present. She thought back to what she was going to say to Jefferson, about how she had made good on her mother's promise to make sure his daughter wanted for nothing. But then again, he probably wouldn't have believed her anyway…

A/N Okay, it's time to reveal a big thing: eventually (I'm not saying it's going to happen soon because even I don't know the exact episode) Tessa and Jefferson will be together. There is an age difference, I know, (Jefferson is 28, Tessa is 20) but this is one of the things I knew was going to happen before I even started writing this fan-fiction down.

Here are the hints that I put in the story to point towards Jefferson being the one who Tessa's going to be with:

Her pets give away three hints:

1. Sebastian is Tessa's border collie puppy and his name is the hint: Sebastian Stan is the actor that plays Jefferson.

2. Chess is Tessa's cat and his name is also the hint: it's a short form of 'Cheshire' who is the cat associated with Alice in Wonderland while Jefferson (a.k.a the Mad Hatter) is also from Wonderland.

3. Romania is Tessa's Carpathian Sheppard Dog and his name, again, the hint: Sebastian Stan, the actor for Jefferson, is originally from Romania

{I know that those weren't obvious (at all!) but I'm a nerd and I had fun picking those out as hints.}

4. Her line in Snow Falls is another hint that I thought was more obvious than her pets names; 'No one in town is good enough. I like my men fashionable and slightly insane.': Jefferson doesn't live in town and he is quite fashionable and insane.

I hope you guys liked this episode and I'll try to update soon.