The evening had passed quickly and Nora was surprised to find herself exhausted. It took all her effort to focus on Jefferson's words and her replies to his random questions became punctuated by long pauses. She was even more surprised when she glanced at the clock and saw it wasn't that late. Despite the early hour, Nora decided it was time for bed. In between yawns, she issued Jefferson a swift good night and returned to her room.

After quickly changing into her pajamas, Nora double-checked that the bedroom door was locked. The anxiety of falling asleep in a strange place with a mostly unknown host had mostly dissipated but she was still on guard. For good measure, Nora pulled the desk chair in front of the bedroom door. With the blanket tucked in close and feeling guilty for the way she left the conversation with Gwen, Nora picked up her phone and typed out a short apology.

Gwen responded almost immediately and asked again about Nora's location. Nora provided a very abbreviated version of how she ended up in Storybrooke and then shared that she had gotten a flat tire upon arrival. Nora, her exhaustion now forgotten, fumed about not having the spare. In her unguarded rant, Nora's fingers seemed to have a mind of their own and typed out that she was now waiting for it to be fixed with Jefferson. Gwen immediately pounced.

Who's Jefferson?

He took my car to the garage

Took your car?

I pulled into his driveway with the flat

You're waiting with him? What does that mean?

He offered to let me stay at his place

Nora squeezed her eyes shut after typing her reply and put the phone down. She knew that she had taken a chance entering Jefferson's house and then choosing to stay there had been not the smartest decision she had ever made- she didn't need Gwen to tell her that. After a few deep breaths, Nora steeled herself and picked up her phone again. As she had guessed, Gwen held nothing back.

WTFUCKKKK is wrong with you? You don't go with a strange guy... or stay at his place. you know that

Says the girl whose last date occurred 15 minutes after talking to someone in a coffee line

I didn't stay at his place

Not that night

The rapid-fire conversation paused. Nora waited for Gwen to collect her thoughts.

He hot?

What?

Is he hot?

I know you. You don't do things like this

I didn't DO anything

LOL... Blonde, tall... short, dark...

Stop

Give me something

Victorian steampunk meets modern goth

Definitely your type

I don't have a type

Right... you sure you're okay.

I'm fine...tired from writing all day

I bet hot, steampunk goth guy is a new character

I can't believe you're making wait for the book

Gwen

LOL

If you need anything, call, okay

I will

I mean it

Okay... night

Nora shook her head as she put the phone on the nightstand. She turned off the lamp and scrunched down into the pillow. Gwen was right, she knew better than to go off with some guy she didn't know. But, Jefferson seemed normal when he offered help and their conversation over dinner had been enjoyable. Nora decided to stay vigilant and ask about her car again first thing.

Nora's excusing herself for bed caused Jefferson to look at the clock. Seeing the time, he hurriedly turned off the lights in the kitchen. He methodically climbed the stairs as the realization of how much he had missed having another person around hit.

Jefferson silently moved down the hallway stopping at a door almost directly across the room he had given to Nora. He eased the door open and after entering closed it being careful not to make a sound.

Jefferson looked at the telescope perched in front of the window and took a deep breath. This had become his nightly ritual. Although he had been doing this every evening since being trapped in Storybrooke, Jefferson still had to prepare himself for the moment. With the exhale, he peered into the eyepiece. Grace was eating dinner with her new parents; it was the same scene every night. As he watched the young girl, his daughter, laugh with her family, a sad smile emerged on Jefferson's face.

With tears forming in his eyes, he whispered, "What if she came back to us, Grace?"

Reluctantly, and sooner than on previous nights, Jefferson pulled himself away from the telescope. He eased back out of the room, his eyes lingering on Nora's closed door. Jefferson wondered if she was still awake. While Nora had appeared to relax over dinner, he knew that bothering her at that moment would have her wanting to leave immediately. After offering a silent wish for pleasant dreams, Jefferson traveled the few steps to his room.

Once inside his bedroom, Jefferson loosened the scarf around his neck and tossed it on the back of the chair where another was hanging. He retrieved Tati's portrait from the desk drawer and paced for a bit as he stared at it. More than once his eyes went from the sketch to the wall that was shared with Nora's bedroom before returning to the picture. With a huge sigh, Jefferson collapsed into a large chair drawing in hand. His fingers lightly traced the contours of Tati's face as memories came flooding back. With the recollection of his past fresh in his mind, Jefferson picked his head up from the sketch and began mumbling as he stared off at nothing in particular.

"You died. I was there."

"Dead is dead... you can't be here. "

"Regina. It had to be."

"Why don't you remember?"

"The hat.. the hat.."

Since Jefferson's unexpected visit, Regina had spent many moments thinking about Storybrooke's new resident. He hadn't really shared much but it was enough to be disquieting. The last average person from The Land Without Magic had wandered in or rather been surrounded unexpectedly. Memories of Kurt and Owen came suddenly came rushing back. Regina slammed her hand on her desk in an effort to bring her focus back to the conversation with Jefferson.

Using her position as mayor to her advantage, Regina had asked almost everyone she encountered if they had seen anything strange the past week or so. The answers were all the same; if they were all being honest, no one had seen or heard anything. Instead of it being reassuring, the lack of definite answers only raised more questions in her mind.

"Tell me, is anything new going on in town?" Regina asked Sidney. The editor of the town newspaper was one of the few people she hadn't yet questioned. She made no effort to announce herself or call out a polite greeting as she strode through the open door of his office.

"You're asking me what's new? You approve almost every article that gets printed... and you're the mayor." While Sidney was a bit shocked by Regina's sudden presence or question, his face remained placid.

"I was just wondering. Jefferson stopped by my office the other day and was babbling that his wife had returned."

"Jefferson?" Sidney asked pronouncing the name deliberately slow. He looked up at Regina with raised eyebrows. "The man is a recluse."

"I know he generally keeps to himself, but..." As Regina did her best to still her impatience, her eyes scanned the office.

"He's not quite all there, Regina. He wanders into Granny's every so often to get muffins and is always talking about getting his hat to work. I really wouldn't put too much stock in anything Jefferson says."