Chapter Text
The curse was broken. The town of Storybrooke had their memories back but to Jefferson that didn’t matter to him as much as the fact he had his daughter back, he had his Grace back. Nothing in the world felt better than the moment where he had his little girl in his arms again after so long.
Now he wasn’t alone anymore in his mansion but for some reason he didn’t feel complete yet, even with Grace back in his life. He often sat in the armchair facing the table in which he had spent so long trying to remake his magic hat but always failing.
When he kidnapped Emma he was so desperate for a way back to his home he never realised that what he was doing to the woman was in fact mad, but he was the Mad Hatter after all. But now as he stares at the scissors laying on the table he feels his chest tighten with guilt for what he did.
No matter how much he had tried to make Emma believe she still thought him insane. But it was different now, she had broken the curse and the truth was revealed to her. She believed. He was right the whole time, he wasn’t mad, but that didn’t make him feel any better. He had to see her.
Grace was at school so this was his only chance to do something about how he felt before he decided to change his mind. He got up from the chair with his mind set. He glanced at the mirror on the wall, looking at the angry looking scar which travelled the whole way around his neck, wondering whether or not he should cover it. However comfortable he was showing the scar around Grace, he didn’t believe he was ready for it to be on display at all times.
Exiting the room and grabbing his scarf from a chair near the door, he walked to the coat rack for his long jacket while tying the scarf securely around his neck. Once he had shrugged on his jacket he headed out the house with his hands in his pockets and his mind with a purpose.
The walk out of his woods and down the road into the town was long but refreshing. There was a chill to the air which numbed his already pale skin but in a way he found soothing along with the sound of his shoes against the ground.
He wasn’t exactly sure where he could find Emma. If he turned up at the loft in which she shared with her mother, Snow, it was likely he would not be greeted kindly and he didn’t feel like being kicked out of another window especially without his hat to save him this time. After watching Emma for so long he knew that she often went to Granny’s for hot chocolate, she definitely would on a day as cold as it currently was, but the thought of having so many watching him confront her was not really ideal.
Finally he decided he would make a trip to the station and see if she was on duty. Jefferson had no doubt that David was likely to be there but he would rather see David than Mary Margaret again, he knows it was wrong to kidnap her but he needed her to make Emma stay.
He noticed Emma’s little yellow bug-like car sitting in its usual space for the sheriff, well at least he knew she was here. Then he realised something, he didn’t actually know what to say if he actually saw her, he didn’t think it through. How do you start a conversation with someone you drugged and trapped in your house? A feeling of uncertainty washed over him, what if she refused to talk to him? He would feel like an idiot for thinking she would forgive him and he would never get her off his conscience.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Spinning on his heel, he turned to leave, cursing himself for being so stupid. He pulled the collar of his jacket up as extra protection for his neck from the icy breeze before shoving his hands in his pocket and heading back down the path from the station.
“Hello?”
Jefferson froze on the spot at the voice. It came from behind him and he knew exactly who it belonged to. Emma. He didn’t know what to do, should he turn around and reply or run. He stood still, not turning around, his whole body was tense.
Emma spoke again, “I saw you standing outside the station. Is everything alright?” The soft thuds of Emma’s boots filled his ears as she came closer.
Slowly he allowed himself to turn around to face her, forcing a small smile to his lips. She looked as bright as ever. Her cheeks were flushed in the cold, almost matching her jacket in colour, her beanie hat was pulled down over the top half of her golden tresses which fell past her shoulders in glowing waves. Her lips parted as her shining green eyes widened in surprise. Jefferson wasn’t quite sure what to say so he just went for the simplest option, “Hello Emma.”
Emma’s face hardened and looked over him cautiously, “Jefferson? Why are you here? I haven’t seen you since...” Her words seem to of drifted off but he knew what she was referring to.
He took a step forward but Emma stepped back straight away, “Emma, I wanted to apologize for what I did to you and Snow. I just wanted my Grace back so badly, I wanted the realities to stop mixing together in my head, I wanted to forget. I thought that if I had another hat it would solve my problems.”
“Jefferson, I-“He cut her off.
He held his hands up to stop her and took another step towards her, this time she didn’t go back, “Please,” his voice was pleading, “Just let me finish. I know at the time I seemed like a mad man and my methods of trying to make you believe were harsh but I felt like I had no choice. I didn’t feel any guilt for what I did then but I do now. All I ask is that you can forgive me.” He paused before he added on the next line, “Maybe we can even be friends?”
Emma furrowed her brow, looking up at him, “You realise how weird this is, right? I thought you were dead or at least gone, you were kicked out a window and never seen, and now you are apologizing. Why didn’t you come back earlier?”
Taking another careful step towards her he was only around ten centimetres away and surprisingly Emma showed no signs of wanting to back away, “You didn’t believe. When you broke the curse I wasn’t sure if you did and even now I’m not completely sure...”
“I believe now. After the curse I was still a bit sketchy but after what I’ve seen I believe. For that I think I owe you an apology as well. You tried to make me believe, you told me about your daughter yet I refused to listen and you got a nasty knock on your head with your telescope.” A frown was turning the corners of her lips down; he could tell she was remembering the encounter.
“If I remember rightly that knock didn’t exactly go to plan as I was already on my feet by the time you got to Snow.” He smiled in hope it would get some sort of reaction out of her, he received a small smile although it seemed sad.
They stood there silently for the moment, Jefferson wasn’t sure what else to say but he didn’t have to as Emma spoke instead, “Hey, as I guess we are friends now, do you want to get some coffee?”
A genuine smile appeared on his face, it wasn’t quite mad but it was just as big, “I prefer tea in general.”
She rolled her eyes, “Of course, I almost forgot. Well, you can have tea then but I need my caffeine.”
Stepping to the side, he waved his hand as a sign for her to go ahead, “Lead the way.”