A/N: Well, readers, this is the longest chapter of the story with over 4600 words, but it's also the last chapter! Thanks so much for all the follows, favs, and reviews! I had to get this story out of my head—least it exploded—and the feedback always makes the process more enjoyable. Happy reading, guys!

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Jefferson awoke in his bed as the clock tower chimed in the distance like his own personal serenade. The chimes no longer filled him with dread when they sung him awake. He counted them in his head. …Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. NINE?

Jefferson grabbed the alarm clock from his night stand and blinked as he stared at its face, trying to clear the mirage that deluded his vision into seeing "9 AM". Jefferson stood to his feet and carelessly tossed the alarm clock over his shoulder, letting it fall on to his bed. He flew down the staircase to the first floor and peered through the lens of his telescope. The parking lot of the Sheriff Department was filled with an unusual number of cars. Jefferson focused the telescope on the detention area and saw Emma leading Mary Margaret through a small crowd of people as she escorted her to her cell.

She made it to her Arraignment Day! A small smile tugged at his mouth and he stepped away from his telescope.

A new tomorrow had finally come! At last, his loop had been broken! Jefferson felt an itching need to tell someone his good news, but there was only one person who wouldn't think he was crazy for telling it...

Once the final school bell rang and he caught sight of Grace wearing a pink and white scarf, Jefferson went to the diner. He found Henry there, sitting on a stool with his book splayed atop the bar. Jefferson smiled at the familiar sight before he took the seat next to him. Henry looked up.

"Hey!" he said with a grin, "You're the guy who saved that boy from falling yesterday."

Jefferson gave a shrug.

"I was just in the right place at the right time."

Henry continued to stare up at him with genuine awe.

"You're a hero," he enthused just before glancing down at the pages in front of him, "Like the prince in my book."

Jefferson rolled his eyes.

"No, not a prince," he disagreed, "I'm more of a—"

His expression fell as the words "Mad Hatter" came to his own mind as if it were a truth he was finally accepting. Jefferson remembered then that he hadn't told Emma or Henry about who he really was. It all might as well have been a dream. Now, he was back to square one—stuck in a large house, filled with so many things he couldn't share with his daughter, and no one but Regina and Rumpelstiltskin even knew about it.

"More of a what?" Henry interrupted his thoughts.

Jefferson stared down at the boy whose head was over-filled with the secret lives of others. He didn't want to be another burden on his mind. Yet, the thought of Emma not knowing his story made him shift uncomfortably on his seat.

"Nevermind." he said as he shot a glance at the book before meeting Henry's gaze, "I'm going to ask a favor of you."

The boy's eyebrows knitted together, curiously.

"Uh, okay."

Jefferson gave a small smile and then stood to his feet.

"Will you read the story of the Mad Hatter with Emma?"

Henry screwed up his expression.

"Wh—"

"Kid." Jefferson smirked. "Just promise that you will."

Henry merely blinked as he gazed up at Jefferson, staring at him for a moment long enough that it felt like several minutes had ticked by.

"I promise." the boy finally said.

Jefferson smiled at him and then took a step back.

"Thank you, Henry."

He turned on his heel and headed for the exit before the curious boy could question him. It was a small relief to know that, at least, Emma would know the story of how the Evil Queen had separated a father from his daughter—even if she wouldn't know that it was his story. As he walked away from the diner, Jefferson resigned himself to his solitude. He believed Emma could break the curse. He had once seen her start to believe—a memory that, now, seemed as fantastical as a dream, but he knew she would believe again. Jefferson decided to wait and watch. It was what he had done for the past 28 years and it was what he would do until the curse was finally broken.

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And so he waited, until one morning, while watching his daughter, his attention was provoked. Jefferson spotted a playing card attached to his Grace's bicycle—a playing card with the White Rabbit on it. Jefferson pulled it off the bike like it was a tack he was removing from the bottom of his shoe. His expression darkened into a forbidding scowl.

"Regina." he practically growled her name.

He wasted no time on courtesies like knocking on her door or accepting her offered drink. Jefferson dropped the playing card into the liquor-filled glass, ignoring her proposal. Unfortunately, Regina brought forth his hat, confessed she had magic and made grand promises to reunite him with his daughter. Her promise was a game-changer and Jefferson was just about to accept until she uttered an afterthought.

"Oh!" she began and Jefferson turned.

"After," she exaggerated the word to make sure he knew that her demands would be met first. "After we take care of Ms. Swan."

Jefferson turned his head to look at her and he averted his eyes just as quickly. Take care of Ms. Swan. Her words were a threat and Jefferson's conscience rebuked the idea of bringing harm to Emma.

"Where?" he asked.

Regina smiled, pleased with herself.

"The cemetery."

His jaw tightened at the word. "When?"

"Right. Now."

Regina walked towards his hat box and Jefferson took an imposing step towards her, blocking her path.

"Make it noon," he said, "And I will be there."

Regina tilted her head curiously, and a cruel smile twitched at her lips.

"What—am I keeping you from your daily telescope routine?"

Jefferson narrowed his eyes and took a menacing step closer.

"I'd rather not to be confined in a car with you," he said as he glared at her, "I will drive myself."

"Fine." she fumed, looking slightly offended, "Be there at noon and not a minute later."

Jefferson shouldered passed her and walked out of her house. His teeth ground together at the thought of making another deal with Regina. He refused to be fooled by her this time. He had learned through Mary Margaret's false-trial that Regina was up to her same old tricks and schemes. With the time quickly drawing closer to noon, Jefferson searched the small town for Emma. If Regina was planning something foul, Jefferson thought the sheriff should be the first to know about it.

He spotted her little yellow bug just as it headed towards Granny's and he followed after her in his own car, parking right along side her with the engine still running.

"Emma!" he called-out her name just as soon as she opened her car door.

She froze in her seat as she glanced up at the man who was rounding his car towards her. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.

"Jefferson." Emma mused as her face brightened with a smile, "I haven't seen you since—"

"No time for chit-chat," he said, all-business, as he moved to stand before her, "Regina's trying to use me to plot against you. I am to meet her in the cemetery in just a moment. You should follow along and take surveillance."

"WHAT?" Emma protested as she tried to stand from her car but found that Jefferson's nearness made it impossible, "Why would she use you to plot against me?"

Jefferson smirked at the question as he thought of his hat.

"Well, Emma, there's only one way to find out."

Jefferson shot her a knowing glance as he walked back around to his car. Emma scowled and sighed her exasperation. She was so very done with Storybrooke. Jefferson knew that. He had seen her pack her car with her duffle bags and head out of town with Henry, but he was pleased to see that she had returned.

"The choice is yours." he said before he sunk down into his car and reversed out of the diner's parking lot.

From what he knew of Emma's curiosity, he was certain that she would follow after him, and he trusted her to be discrete. After all, Emma could be pretty tricky herself…

"You're late." Regina scolded him as he crossed the cemetery towards her with his hands stuffed in his coat pockets

Jefferson gave a careless shrug and challenged her with a silent glare as he stopped just a foot away.

"Carry this." she demanded as she thrust his hat towards him, "And follow me."

Jefferson took his hat and glanced back over his shoulder before he followed Regina through the door of a mausoleum. A corner of his mouth curved up as he caught a glimpse of blonde peeping around a tree. He descended into darkness then, following Regina down a secret stairwell that was hidden beneath her father's tomb.

"Watch your step," she warned him as he descended the stairs behind her.

"What is this place?"

"Where I've kept the last bit of my magic," she replied as she took the last step down and turned a corner into a large tomb-like room, "The only magic in this world is in the things I brought with me."

Jefferson pursed his lips as he glanced around at the room, unimpressed. He fixed Regina with an equally unimpressed look before placing his hat on the floor. He took a step back as they both stared at the hat, expectantly, and Jefferson thought he could hear the telltale sounds of Emma's quiet footsteps. The hat didn't move.

"It's not spinning. It's not working." he stated as he gestured to the useless hat.

"It needs to absorb the magic that's here." Regina replied and Jefferson mused over Emma's reaction upon hearing the word "magic". Regina crossed the room towards the stone wall covered with open nooks. The sound of her clicking heels helped to drown-out Emma's quiet approach. "I have some things left," Regina confessed as she carried a small box towards the hat, "A few trinkets."

Jefferson watched as she dumped the contents of the box into his hat, clenching his fists in anticipation, but the hat gave no response. Jefferson shot Regina a disparaging look as he bent down to pick up his useless hat.

"It's not enough. You need something that still works."

Regina reached her hand into her coat pocket and pulled-out a ring. It glowed with magic and produced an image at its center—a face of man—and Jefferson hoped that Emma was seeing it.

"Who's that?" he asked as Regina stared longingly at the ring.

Her expression contorted with pain as she replied, "Someone long gone."

Jefferson didn't care.

"Well, whatever or whoever it is, it still has magical properties," he said as he held his hat towards her, beckoningly, "Give me that, and let me see what I can do with it.

Reluctance crossed Regina's face and she clenched the ring tightly in her fist. Jefferson forced himself not to be affected by the tears he saw in her eyes.

"If you want your son back," he reasoned, "if you want your revenge, give it to me."

Regina stared at him for a moment before gesturing for him to place the hat down on the floor. Jefferson easily obliged and then took a step back as he impatiently waited for her to make a decision. With one last wistful look at the ring, Regina dropped it into the hat. A faint purple glow emitted from the hat, whipping around it like a small whirlwind as it spun slowly on the floor, and Jefferson hoped that Emma saw it—no matter how small the display of magic.

"What's wrong?" Regina frowned as she stared at the hat, "Why isn't it opening a portal?"

Jefferson crouched down to the floor and stopped the hat from spinning.

"The magic – it's not enough," he said, "We can't go anywhere."

"Then you failed." Regina lamented, but Jefferson was no where near finished putting on a show for Emma.

"Maybe not," he silenced Regina with a stern look, "There's enough magic to touch the other side, just not to get us there. There might be enough to reach through and retrieve something."

Regina was in awe of his information and she sunk low to the ground, intrigued, as she stared at him.

"I can bring something back?"

Jefferson glanced at her.

"Is there an object that can help you? Perhaps, I can open it enough and reach through and grab it," he suggested, "It would have to be small. Something that you can take with your hand. Is there anything like that that can help you?"

A thoughtful smile tugged at Regina's lips.

"Yes," she replied, "Yes, I believe there is."

"Then you need to direct me to the time and place where this object exists." Jefferson stated as he handed her his hat.

"How?" she asked as she took the hat between her hands.

"Think about it," he replied as he stared at it, "Guide the hat."

Regina gave a nod and closed her eyes as she thought for a moment. Jefferson glanced at her cautiously as he considered looking over his shoulder in-search of Emma. But he didn't need to. He could feel her familiar presence, peering behind the arched entryway, just as he could feel the presence of magic. A satisfied smile formed of Regina's face and she sat the hat back on the floor. The two of them stepped back as the hat resumed its spinning, striking-up a whirlwind that was powerful enough to blow at the their clothes. Regina gave a joyful laugh as the spinning hat whirled purple magic around the room.

"Excellent!" Jefferson spoke over the noisy whirlwind, "It appears to be working. Now, what is it we're after?"

Regina looked at him as a grin formed on her face and she simply replied: "An apple."

No sooner had she spoken the words that the hat slowed its spinning and the purple mist was sucked back inside like water going down the drain. The hat stopped. The room fell quiet and an apple flew up from the inside of the hat as if someone had thrown it into the air. Jefferson caught it in his fist and Regina stared in awe. Jefferson gave her a curious look before examining the seemingly innocent apple he held in his hand.

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes," Regina breathed the word as she reached out to take it from him, "Yes it is."

She grinned as she held the apple in her hand like some precious, priceless object and Jefferson looked at her cautiously.

"And my daughter?" he asked, "My Grace?"

"First things first," she said before glancing away from the apple to look at him, "The deal's not done. Not until I solve the next conundrum." Jefferson angrily clenched his jaw as Regina stared thoughtfully at her apple, "How to get the savior to taste my forbidden fruit—"

The familiar click of a gun startled her and Jefferson turned to see Emma appear from behind the arched entryway. He smiled as she pointed her gun at Regina.

"I'm not tasting anything!" Emma declared as her chest heaved with her catched breath and her wide eyes raked over the two of them.

"Ms. Swan!" Regina gasped with genuine surprise before she turned a menacing look on Jefferson, "You! You brought her here?"

Jefferson couldn't stop his smile from turning into a grin.

Regina turned to Emma and threw a pointed finger at Jefferson that could have turned him into a frog if she had magic.

"Whatever this—this madman—told you, it isn't true. It was just the ramblings of a desperate—"

"Save it, Regina!" Emma snapped at her as she held her gun steady, "I heard everything!" Her eyes drifted to the hat and they lingered there. "I saw everything."

Emma's gaze rose to meet Jefferson's and he recognized the wide look in her eyes. It was the same look she had the last time she had started to believe. Her eyes quickly averted to the end of her gun and at the woman it was pointed at.

"Let me guess," she said as she looked at the piece of fruit that Regina was holding, "A poisoned apple?"

Something dark flashed in Regina's eyes and her mouth twisted into a scowl.

"Poisoned?" she spit the word like venom from her mouth, "If I wanted to poison you, Ms. Swan, I would have done so already. But this," Regina held up the apple as she gazed at it with pride, "This would have caused you to fall into an eternal sleep, while everyone else only thought you were dead."

Regina gave a wicked smile as she turned her wrist to show Emma the bite that had been taken out of the apple.

"This was the very morsel Snow White had tasted," she confessed as her eyes gleamed at Emma, "How poetic it would have been for her daughter to partake of the same fruit."

Emma swallowed at her words. To her skeptical ears, they sounded so strange, but Jefferson could see she believed them. He could see it in the steadiness of her hand as she held the gun, in the tightness of her jaw, and in the fury that was suddenly burning in her eyes as she glared at Regina.

"No one will be partaking of that apple." Emma said with such conviction that Regina frowned, "Roll it over."

Regina's eyes darted towards Jefferson before focusing on Emma's gun. She held her chin high in that self-righteous way of hers and then bent down to roll the apple across the floor. The tainted fruit rolled to a stop beside Emma's boot and she stared down at it while her gun remained pointed at Regina.

"And after I bite the apple—then what?" Emma asked as she looked up, "How could you look Henry in the eyes and lie to him about what you did to me? How could you live with yourself for lying to him?"

Regina's pride faltered at the mention of Henry and her lip quivered with emotion.

"Because!" she spouted as she clenched her fists at her sides, "As long as you're alive, Henry will never be mine!"

Emma's brow creased at her words and something like pity crossed her face.

"Well, Regina," Emma began as she lowered her gun and glanced down at the apple, "We're just going to have to learn to share," she said as she lifted a leg until the heel of her boot hovered just over the apple, "Because I'm not going anywhere!"

She stomped the apple with her boot, crushing it into the floor and a shock wave reverberated from the impact. It hit Regina and Jefferson like a blast of air that caused them to stumble back as the shock wave radiated-out through the rest of the town.

"What was that?" Emma gasped.

A smirk tugged at Jefferson's mouth as he saw the fear in Regina's eyes.

"It's the curse," he said as he smiled at Emma, "It seems you just broke it."

"No!" Regina wailed as she marched-up to Emma with clenched fists and utter defeat in her eyes.

Emma said nothing as the other woman stood before her, holding her gaze and silently cursing her. Emma had already won—regardless of whether or not she had been trying. Regina growled her frustration, and then flew from the room, ascending the stairway in a flurry of clicking heels. Emma let-out a long sigh as if she had been holding her breath and then she glanced around the room.

"What now?" she asked as her eyes stopped on Jefferson.

He shrugged and stepped forward to retrieve his hat from the floor.

"Everyone will have their memories back, now." he said as he held his hat between his hands.

Emma looked at him curiously.

"You must have already had yours," she guessed, "How?"

Jefferson gave a laugh and rubbed a frustrated hand down his face.

"It's a long story," he said as he moved towards the stairs, "One I'd rather not waste anymore time in telling."

Emma examined the hat in his hand as she followed him to the stairs.

"I think I already know your story, Jefferson." Emma admitted and his steps came to a halt, "My kid, Henry, told me a story about a man who was separated from his daughter—a man who became the Mad Hatter."

Jefferson glanced over his shoulder to see her.

"I thought it was only a story," Emma shrugged, "I thought they were all just a bunch of stories."

Jefferson smiled at her.

"I know," he said, "But now you know they're true."

He turned his back to her then and walked up the stairs and out of the mausoleum. Jefferson stopped once he made his way back out into the sunlight and Emma stepped up beside him.

"Well," she began and they looked at one another, "I guess you have a daughter to find."

Jefferson smiled a wistful smile and he gave nod.

"I do," he agreed, "And I imagine there will be a family reunion in your future, too."

Emma's expression turned panicked at the mention of a "family reunion" and Jefferson laughed under his breath.

"Relax, Emma," he said as he met her hazel-green gaze, "Family is a good thing. It's better than being alone. Trust me on that."

And as Emma looked at him, she knew from her own lonely past just how true his words were. She thought back to Jefferson's story and the illustrations she had seen in Henry's book, and she realized how lonely his past must have been, too.

"Go." she ordered him and then flashed a white smile, "Go find your daughter."

Jefferson regarded her for a moment before he nodded at her request and said, "Thank you."

The words represented more than just his appreciation of her understanding and more than just his gratitude that she had broken the curse. In an indirect way—that not even Emma was remotely aware of—she had taught him to be a better man. Trial and error, from having relived the same day for so long, had forced him to come to grips with reality. Emma had taught Jefferson about reality, about "The Real World". A real world. And he would be reuniting with his daughter—not as a man who had drugged, kidnapped and pointed a gun at a woman, but as a man who was above such actions—a better man, a saner man. Emma nodded, accepting his "thank you", and then the pair went their separate ways. Emma drove off to find her family and Jefferson drove off to find his…

The sidewalks were filled with people trying to catch-up with the loved ones they had forgotten for 28 years. Jefferson kept a lookout as he drove through the town, searching for Grace. He feared he'd have to find her with her other family, her other father, and Jefferson wasn't looking forward to dealing with that particular drawback. His heart about leaped into his throat as he drove towards the school and spotted her sitting on the bench across the street, all alone. Jefferson slammed on his brakes and parked in the middle of the road, without any care to the laws he might be disrupting. He climbed out of his car and sprinted across the street until he was standing on the same side as his daughter. Grace rose to her feet and a grin spread across her face as she recognized him.

"Papa!" she cried before running towards him.

Jefferson went down on one knee so he could catch her in his arms. The air had already left his lungs upon hearing her call his name, but when she collided into him, he could breathe again.

"I thought I might find you here." she confessed as she buried her head into his shoulder.

Jefferson closed his eyes tight, trapping the tears from falling as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"It's that bloodhound nose of yours," he replied before gently pushing her back so he could see her face, "There's no better seeker."

Grace grinned and threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him as if she had missed him just as much as he had missed her. Jefferson stood to his feet—even as his daughter practically dangled from around his neck—and he carried her towards the bench she had been sitting on.

"The other children are still talking about it, Papa," she said as she leaned back to see him, "How you saved the boy who fell out of the tree."

Jefferson gave her a small smile as he put her back on her feet, and then sat down on the bench. Grace sat down beside him as she smiled up at him, her brown eyes dancing over his face as if she were trying to imprint him to memory. Jefferson knew this because he was doing the same thing—so afraid that their moment together was only temporary.

"Now I can tell them that it was my Papa who saved the boy."

Jefferson gave a nervous laugh, and then watched as Grace's smile turned to a frown. Jefferson frowned in-turn and pressed his hand to her cheek.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked.

Grace looked down at her feet

"I didn't recognize you," she confessed, "I had forgotten who you were, but you recognized me."

Jefferson swallowed at the guilt he saw on her face and it pained him.

"Come here," he said as he scooped her up onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, "That wasn't your fault, Grace. It was just the curse. I was cursed to remember and you were cursed to forget."

Grace pulled away and she looked up at him with a worried expression.

"You mean—you remembered this whole time?"

Jefferson gave her a sympathetic smile as he nodded. Grace frowned and threw her arms around his neck with a grip that nearly choked him.

"Oh, Papa." she cried into his shoulder, "That must have been terrible."

Jefferson took-in a deep breath as a contented smile curved at his mouth. He carefully pried his daughters arms loose from around his neck so he could see her brown eyes.

"None of it matters now." he said as he held her gaze, "We have each other and that's all we need."

Grace smiled at his words and nodded in agreement.

"And ice cream." she added as an afterthought and Jefferson laughed.

"Well then, my dear Grace," he said as he lifted her off his lap and sat her down on her feet, "Why don't we go have some?"

Grace grinned up at him and reached-out for his hand as he stood to his feet. Jefferson took her little hand in his and they walked-off together to enjoy one of the benefits of the new world that their old world hadn't offered: Ice cream. Grace likes ice cream. It was the first of many new things that Jefferson would learn about his daughter—about Paige. And they would have ice cream and tea parties and embellished bedtime stories about the Mad Hatter in Wonderland. And Jefferson would use his time spent reliving the same day to teach his daughter about the importance of being heedful. Because not all curses were meant to be harmful, some were meant to teach lessons. And so, Jefferson and Grace resumed their life together in the Land Without Magic, taking full advantage of the second chance they had been given and remembering that just being together was simply enough.