Because he said he was Victor’s friends and I know who they are. He wanted to come inside and I told him no and... [ Lucy paused there, curling up against jefferson in an attempt to make herself smaller. ] I lost Emma, I thought I was being taken away too.
[ Jim could’ve approached the situation differently, been friendlier, and Lucy should’ve been more respectful. However, she was in shock and mourning over losing her grandma. She thought something else was going to happen and this over reacted....but could Jefferson blame her?
There was a slow nod of her head. Yes Victor was a good judge of character but she wasn’t sure of Jim...not yet. So when Jefferson offers to help her with a pink promise, that lightens her day a little. She looped her pinky around his. ]
Promise. I don’t want Victor to get hurt—and I don’t know if Jim knows about our world or if he’ll believe Victor and not think it’s all made up. [ Better to focus on Victor rather than her own sadness. She was trying to protect her family. While she would give people the benefit of the doubt...their first interaction didn’t go well at all. ]
[ He gives her a supportive squeeze. ] Hey. It's okay. You were right not to let a stranger in just because he said he was a friend.
[ Sure, Jim's actually a friend of Victor's, so it's not like he was lying. But, you know, nobody wants Lucy to get in the habit of opening the door for everyone who says they're a friend of a friend. ]
We won't let him get hurt. You and me, we're a team on this. [ After all: they pinky sweared on this. ]
I know, and I kind of felt bad after Victor said Jim was his friend.
[ She said Jim could stay if he wanted to. She was trying to defend their home from anyone that was a threat. At the time Jim sort of was a threat....to her time with Victor. ]
Jim was shocked to learn Victor is taking care of me...caught off guard and he was very... [ What’s a nicer word for pain the neck and stubborn? ] ...headstrong. He wanted me to call for Victor to prove he was his friend—but Victor was busy and I wasn’t going to take a chance.
[ Victor could’ve been on a break through of some sort! She wasn’t going to risk that to prove whether a stranger was a “friend” or not. But at least she had a partner in this. Jefferson and her would protect Victor. ]
I don’t think Jim likes me very much and if he becomes a step-parent he might turn evil.
[ Ahhh, now that's a good point. Stepparents don't really have the best track record in the Enchanted Forest. In... any version of it. Jefferson sighs, because... god, this goes against his 30-some year grudge against Regina, but: ]
Well. I seem to recall you telling me about a wicked stepmother who decided to become a hero one day. [ Looking down at Lucy, he adds, a light note of teasing in his voice: ] Who was it, again? I don't remember.
[ Okay, that is so not fair! Regina was good and she took an evil side trip—-and Jefferson had a point. Let it be known the Mad Hatter could make sense and be very logical. There’s a faint hint of a smile on her face when she looks up at him. ]
It was Regina.
[She let out a soft sigh, holding her stuffed toy closer to her. ]
...I miss her. [ Regina, Emma, her mom...Henry. She missed all of them and it’s hitting her hard right now. Urgh! No more crying! Think of something else!]
[ Jefferson grins back at her. At least the faint smile is something.
His own smile fades, though, at Lucy's next words. ]
I know. [ His voice is soft, sincere, laced with his own sense of loss. Jefferson offers the end of his scarf again, in case Lucy needs to have another cry. ] You never stop missing your family.
[ ...he really ought to pair that with something uplifting. Something like... 'But it gets easier over time.' But that's a lie. Priscilla, Grace, their absence never gets easier to live with. ]
[At least Jefferson was being honest with her. At least he wasn't trying to sugar coat things and tell her it gets easier. Thinking about it, he must miss his family a lot. She doesn't know much about them, but she can only bet he misses them too.
Lucy picks up the other end of his scarf, trying to drape it over the back of her neck too.]
I would miss you too...if you left.
[He should know. Just in case he ever found a way back to his family in Wonderland or wherever else....he needed to know.]
[His words make Lucy hug him, giving him a squeeze and trying hard not to think of the rest of people she missed. Her Aunt Sabine. Roni. Others in Hyperion Heights who had their own stories and had no idea who they actually were...
Hearing Jefferson had a daughter, that put a new spin on things. It made Lucy realize how much he must be missing his daughter...and if he had the opportunity to see her, to go back to her, Lucy wouldn't be upset. She'd want him to go.]
Hmm... [ Jefferson's not looking at Lucy now, his eyes fixed on some point that's not quite in the here and now. If anything, thinking about his daughter brings a distant, sad look to his face. ]
She was-- is-- [ He isn't sure which tense is appropriate, when talking about a daughter he only knows now through watching from a distance. How long had she been left, abandoned, in the Enchanted Forest while he was imprisoned in Wonderland? That time between his beheading and Regina's curse...
Jefferson swallows and tries again. ]
She's kind. Generous. Clever, like her mother, and... imaginative, but sensible. [ Unlike him, in that regard. Grace had a better sense of priorities than he ever did. And it breaks his heart, because she's a child; she shouldn't have to think about responsibilities. If he could have provided for her... ] Outgoing, too. I always see her with--
[ With friends. In Storybrooke, she's a normal, well-adjusted kid, with everything she could possibly need. The one good thing Regina did with her curse: she stayed true to her word that Grace would be well taken care of. It's a cold comfort. Jefferson wipes his eyes and forces a smile. ]
[When Jefferson talks about his child, he looks as sad as she was feeling. He was away from his family members, just like she was. She doesn't know much of his story, or what role he played when the curse was cast, but she wants to find out. She wants to....she doesn't want him to be just as sad as her.
Seeing him wipe his eyes, Lucy pulls the scarf off of her neck and holds it up to him. Crying is okay. Being sad is okay. It was okay to cry in front of her. She wouldn't judge him. Right now, she shifts again, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugs him as tight as she could.]
Probably..and I bet we would've enjoyed your tea parties..
[And she was sure her dad and Jefferson would've gotten along very well...same with her mom.]
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[ Jim could’ve approached the situation differently, been friendlier, and Lucy should’ve been more respectful. However, she was in shock and mourning over losing her grandma. She thought something else was going to happen and this over reacted....but could Jefferson blame her?
There was a slow nod of her head. Yes Victor was a good judge of character but she wasn’t sure of Jim...not yet. So when Jefferson offers to help her with a pink promise, that lightens her day a little. She looped her pinky around his. ]
Promise. I don’t want Victor to get hurt—and I don’t know if Jim knows about our world or if he’ll believe Victor and not think it’s all made up. [ Better to focus on Victor rather than her own sadness. She was trying to protect her family. While she would give people the benefit of the doubt...their first interaction didn’t go well at all. ]
Have you met him yet?
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[ Sure, Jim's actually a friend of Victor's, so it's not like he was lying. But, you know, nobody wants Lucy to get in the habit of opening the door for everyone who says they're a friend of a friend. ]
We won't let him get hurt. You and me, we're a team on this. [ After all: they pinky sweared on this. ]
Not yet. What's he like?
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[ She said Jim could stay if he wanted to. She was trying to defend their home from anyone that was a threat. At the time Jim sort of was a threat....to her time with Victor. ]
Jim was shocked to learn Victor is taking care of me...caught off guard and he was very... [ What’s a nicer word for pain the neck and stubborn? ] ...headstrong. He wanted me to call for Victor to prove he was his friend—but Victor was busy and I wasn’t going to take a chance.
[ Victor could’ve been on a break through of some sort! She wasn’t going to risk that to prove whether a stranger was a “friend” or not. But at least she had a partner in this. Jefferson and her would protect Victor. ]
I don’t think Jim likes me very much and if he becomes a step-parent he might turn evil.
[ Cause, you know, her step grandmother did. ]
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Well. I seem to recall you telling me about a wicked stepmother who decided to become a hero one day. [ Looking down at Lucy, he adds, a light note of teasing in his voice: ] Who was it, again? I don't remember.
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It was Regina.
[She let out a soft sigh, holding her stuffed toy closer to her. ]
...I miss her. [ Regina, Emma, her mom...Henry. She missed all of them and it’s hitting her hard right now. Urgh! No more crying! Think of something else!]
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His own smile fades, though, at Lucy's next words. ]
I know. [ His voice is soft, sincere, laced with his own sense of loss. Jefferson offers the end of his scarf again, in case Lucy needs to have another cry. ] You never stop missing your family.
[ ...he really ought to pair that with something uplifting. Something like... 'But it gets easier over time.' But that's a lie. Priscilla, Grace, their absence never gets easier to live with. ]
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Lucy picks up the other end of his scarf, trying to drape it over the back of her neck too.]
I would miss you too...if you left.
[He should know. Just in case he ever found a way back to his family in Wonderland or wherever else....he needed to know.]
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[ He really would. And now, this is his bind: escape, return home, and abandon Lucy as he abandoned Grace... or stay here, and never see Grace again.
If only there were a way to bring his daughter here. It'd beat Storybrooke, that's for sure.
After some moments of quiet thought, Jefferson adds: ]
I have a daughter, you know. She was... your father's schoolmate.
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Hearing Jefferson had a daughter, that put a new spin on things. It made Lucy realize how much he must be missing his daughter...and if he had the opportunity to see her, to go back to her, Lucy wouldn't be upset. She'd want him to go.]
She was?
[That makes her look up at him a little.]
What was she like?
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She was-- is-- [ He isn't sure which tense is appropriate, when talking about a daughter he only knows now through watching from a distance. How long had she been left, abandoned, in the Enchanted Forest while he was imprisoned in Wonderland? That time between his beheading and Regina's curse...
Jefferson swallows and tries again. ]
She's kind. Generous. Clever, like her mother, and... imaginative, but sensible. [ Unlike him, in that regard. Grace had a better sense of priorities than he ever did. And it breaks his heart, because she's a child; she shouldn't have to think about responsibilities. If he could have provided for her... ] Outgoing, too. I always see her with--
[ With friends. In Storybrooke, she's a normal, well-adjusted kid, with everything she could possibly need. The one good thing Regina did with her curse: she stayed true to her word that Grace would be well taken care of. It's a cold comfort. Jefferson wipes his eyes and forces a smile. ]
You two probably would've been friends.
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Seeing him wipe his eyes, Lucy pulls the scarf off of her neck and holds it up to him. Crying is okay. Being sad is okay. It was okay to cry in front of her. She wouldn't judge him. Right now, she shifts again, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugs him as tight as she could.]
Probably..and I bet we would've enjoyed your tea parties..
[And she was sure her dad and Jefferson would've gotten along very well...same with her mom.]
I wish she was here with you.