Ok, so I had an idea that wouldn't go away, so here it is. You don't have to have read Touch of Your Hand, just take it as read that Jefferson and Emma have kissed and made up (literally). This is set either during or after Episode 4 The Crocodile but there are no spoilers for that episode.

"Henry, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" The middle of the day wasn't the usual time for callers at Jefferson's house and he certainly hadn't been expecting the sheriff's son. "Why does everyone ask me that?" Henry squinted up at Jefferson, "probably because its where you should be, especially now that you're royalty. No one likes an ignorant prince." He had a serious fatherly expression while he looked down at the boy. Henry sighed, "look do you want to know why I'm here or not?" Jefferson stood to one side of the entrance, "come in Henry, this appears to be serious" Henry grinned and picked up something that had been next to the door, out of Jefferson's eye line. "I found this at my mom's house, and when Grace told me who you were, I thought you might know something about it." Jefferson froze, it was Emma's hat, the one he had forced her to make. Emma's son held in his hands the evidence of Jefferson's less than shining moment. "She kept it? I did wonder where it had gone" Jefferson led Henry into the sitting room "So it is your hat! Can you go through it to get my mom and Mary-Margret back?" Jefferson shook his head, "it's not my hat, your grandpa ruined that when Regina opened the portal. I can't tell you the full story but this is actually Emma's hat, she made it. And I can't get them back with it, The Hat has rules, only the same number of people who go in can come back out. My hat is in pieces and while this one works, they didn't use it, without sacrificing two other people they can't come back, I'm sorry Henry" "But isn't there some way of making it work, maybe if you fix the other hat..." the boy pleaded tears springing to his eyes. "Henry, even an ordinary hat needs more than just a brim to be a hat, and I don't have the magic to finish it, only Emma's hat -" Jefferson paused, his mind turning over possibilities. "Henry, does David still have what's left of my hat?" "Yeah, its on the kitchen table, why?" Henry looked puzzled but hope had lit his face. Jefferson met the boy's eyes "I might be able to combine the two hats, I don't know if it will work, but I promise you I will try. I owe your mother so much Henry, and she needs to come back, not just for you, but for me... and everyone else in Storybrooke."

He showed Henry out, after Henry promised to get what was left of Jefferson's hat and very firmly told him that he'd better not be back here until after school. Jefferson climbed the stairs and entered the hat room, he hadn't been in here since that night. He wasn't overly pleased about being here now, there were too many reminders of her of what he'd done to her, but he had to do this, he'd promised himself that he would earn redemption - earn her friendship, and if he could save Emma and her mother, bring them back to their family that seemed like a good step. Plus anything was better than sitting around waiting - hoping she'd come back, Jefferson wasn't about to lose his friend, it was time for The Hatter to ply his trade once again.

When the sun dipped low enough to shine in his eyes, Jefferson snapped out of his trance, he had gathered all the tools he would need and tidied away the last attempt at hat-making that had gone on in this room, the telescope was back in place and the only evidence that Emma had ever been here was a scrap of black velvet that hung out of his waistcoat pocket. His long fingers stroked the unneeded reminder of what he was about to attempt and why. The change in light made him look at the clock and a frown creased his face. Grace should be home by now, and since Henry appeared to have listened about going back to school, he should be arriving any time now too. As Jefferson got up to look for Grace out of the window and knock sounded at the door.

Standing on the doorstep was Prince James, Henry and his Grace, "There you are, I was beginning to get worried" Jefferson looked at the prince. "I wasn't expecting you here, how can I help?" James was firm in his response "When Henry said he might have a way of getting Emma and Snow back I was naturally curious." his voice became dangerous, "especially when it involved the hat you had already assured me you couldn't get to work." Getting everyone in the house, Jefferson told Grace to take Henry to her room to leave him and the prince to talk. Henry refused to leave until Jefferson promised that no work would start with the hats until the chat had finished. "I didn't lie to you." He started once the children were gone. "This hat is destroyed and will not work as a portal. But what I didn't know until Henry showed me today, is that there is another magic hat. And while I can't exactly use that one to get them back, I'm hoping that there is enough magic left in my hat for me to link it to the magic in Emma's. If I can meld the two hats maybe I can tap into the portal they used." James thought about this for a moment. "Wait, what did you mean Emma's hat? How did she get a magic hat?" "Lets say I... persuaded her to make one for me, something that didn't end well incidently, but what I didn't realise until today was that she kept the hat. I would appreciate it if any further explanation could wait until we have a bit more leisure. The important thing is to get them back." James nodded "I can assure you we will finish this, there is definitely something you're not telling me" Jefferson inclined his head "as you wish, now if you will follow me" he lead the way up the stairs to the hat room, calling for Grace and Henry as he went.

Emma's hat was sitting on the table, Jefferson placed the remains of his next to it. He turned to the small group and glancing once at James, Jefferson knelt down in front of Henry and grasped his shoulders, "Henry, I want to be honest with you, I don't know if this is going to work. I hope I can do this and I promise that I will try my best, but I've never done what I'm about to attempt and I don't even know if its possible. No matter what happens here today we will not stop trying get her back, OK?" Henry nodded, "don't worry Jefferson, I believe in you, you'll get my mom to come home." Jefferson sighed unable to crush the boy's hope and looked at James, he saw in the prince's face understanding and a brief nod of the head signalled his appreciation of the honesty. They now both knew that the odds were not on their side for this plan to work.

Sitting at the table in front of the hats, Jefferson contemplated what he had to do, he didn't have the skills to simply take the magic out of the ruined hat and place it in the new one. The hat was both a physical and a mystical thing, if this had a chance of working he had to physically and magically combine them. He fingered the velvet in his pocket as he pieced the steps together in his mind. Then he reached for a small pair of scissors to start dismantling what was left of his oldest possession.

With small snips he worked, oblivious to anything else, carefully seperating the brim of the hat from the trunk, concentrating on the feel of the velvet and the slight hum of magic on his senses. The hat definitely still had magic in it and as he cut he pushed as much of it as he could into the brim. Time passed slowly for those watching him, Grace and James left to get food for everyone, but Henry refused to get up from where he sat in a corner of the room, never taking his eyes off the work Jefferson was doing. At last the top of the hat, fell to the table completely separated from the brim Jefferson still held in his hand, stretching his neck, he caught sight of Henry. "Can I ask - why did it take you so long to do that? A bigger pair of scissors would have done that in no time and you kept pausing." Jefferson smiled, "When you deal with magic, it is always wise to be careful and take your time. Plus I was doing more than just cutting, I had to make sure that as much magic as I could find was kept in the brim and I was sealing it off as I went so it wouldn't leak out, much the same as putting a bandaid over a cut." Henry nodded, "so did it work?" "I think so, the next bit is going to be the hard part though even without magic, I'm used to making hats from scratch, not repairing them."

Jefferson looked around, "where is Grace?" "She went with my grandpa to fix dinner" Henry paused, considering his next words, "you like my mom don't you?" Jefferson's eyes widened, 30 years of not being a father had made him forget that children sometimes saw more clearly than adults. "Henry I don't really know her that well-" "that's what makes it so obvious! I wouldn't have known if you two were really good friends, but you're trying really hard to help, you want her back as much as I do, I know you do so that must mean you like her." Jefferson tried to find something to turn Henry's attention away from his feelings for Emma when there was a knock on the doorframe, James stood there, Jefferson flushed at the thought of the prince having heard what Henry was saying, but James kept a bland face and told them dinner was ready if they were hungry.

Dinner had been cleared away and both children were doing homework at Jefferson's insistence. As they walked back to the hat room, James was amazed, "you're really good with him. Getting Henry to listen can be a challenge" Jefferson shrugged, "you just have to mean what you say. He's lived for so long knowing he was right when everyone else told him he was wrong, its hard for him to accept that adults do know what they are talking about. Now if you don't mind I'll get back to work, I would appreciate it if you make sure Grace is in bed by 9, I'll probably lose track of the time, you and Henry are welcome to any of the rooms as well." Jefferson sat down, back to the door unaware that James was still watching, unsure of what to make of this intense man, who if his grandson was to believed, had an interest in Emma.

Into the night he worked, cutting, trimming, glueing and sewing, sewing not just the hats, but the magic. Jefferson sat up to stretch a crick in his neck and saw Henry, curled up in the chair fast asleep. Smiling he crossed to the boy and scooped him out of the chair. Carrying him out into the hallway, Jefferson picked the bedroom next to Grace's and placed Henry on the bed, covering him with a blanket. As he left the room, James came up the stairs. "I just put Henry to bed in here, he was fast asleep in the chair" "Thanks, he wouldn't leave, he's so desperate to get Emma back." Jefferson nodded, "we all are and hopefully, when I finish my work, we'll be able to get her and your wife back." "How is it going, do you think its going to work?" Jefferson led the way back to the hat room, "its a slow process, at the moment nothing seems to be going wrong, but I won't know for sure until I use the hat." Jefferson stopped and turned to face the prince "Look, we both know this probably won't run smoothly. For all I know it won't work at all, so it would probably be best if we had more of plan." James nodded, "what do you suggest?" "If I can get the portal to work, I don't know how long it will take me to find them, it could be an hour, a day or even a week, you need to give me time to find them, but if, let's say, two weeks pass and we're not back, I suggest you start looking for another way." James frowned, "well I'll wait until you come back and then we'll work on another plan." The hatter shook his head, "I come back with them or not at all, I'll not simply walk away once I find them." James opened his mouth to argue, but the look in Jefferson's eyes told him it would be useless. "What can I do to help?" "You can take care of Grace for me, if you could stay with her here until we get back, I don't want her uprooted again so quickly especially since I won't be here." He fingered the scar through his cravat. "The last time I left her to go travelling it didn't end so well" James quickly agreed, "of course, I promise I'll protect her as much as I will Henry, its the least I can do." That agreed to, Jefferson sat once more at the table and continued his work.

The sky was lightening when Jefferson finally sat back and looked at the finished product. It wasn't the prettiest hat he had ever made, but looks weren't important, the magic was, and to the best of his ability he was sure that the two magics had combined, he tiredly ran his hands over his face. Looking at the clock he thought there might be time for a nap before Henry and Grace got up, if he could only find the energy to stagger to his bedroom...

"Jefferson! You did it!" He jerked awake, still slumped at the table. Henry was standing next to him staring at the completed hat. Grace was on his other side, pressed up against his chair, he put his arm around her and kissed her temple, "good morning Grace - yes Henry its finished." "So that means you can go after them now, you can get my mom back?" James broke in "Henry, come and get breakfast, Jefferson has been working all night at least let him refresh himself before pestering him" Jefferson glanced across his shoulder in gratitude as Henry followed his grandfather "Grace, you stay here for a minute, I need to talk to you". Getting up, he placed Grace in his chair and kneeled in front of her. "You're going to go away again aren't you papa?" Jefferson sighed "I have to, you remember how sad you were when I went away last time? Well that's how Henry feels right now because he misses his mother." "Can't someone else go? I only just got you back" "I'm the only one that can work the hat's magic properly Grace, I need you to be brave." She sniffed and Jefferson pulled her into a hug. "Grace, I won't promise to be home in time for tea, but I do promise that I will do everything in my power to come back to you, no matter how long it takes me and Prince James and Henry will be here to look after you while I'm gone" He felt her nod and they both stood. "Now go and get some breakfast, I need to clear my head." As she ran downstairs he wandered to his room to find the shower.

Half an hour later, showered and changed, Jefferson felt slightly better. He walked into the kitchen where James was watching the two children chatter. He slung a heavy coat and the hat on the counter and made a cup of tea, stirring it absent-mindedly as he watched his daughter. It was not lightly that he left her again so soon, but this had to be done. "You don't have to go right away, I'll understand if you want to sleep or prepare before this, they've been gone a week, one more day shouldn't make much difference" Jefferson blinked and looked at James, "I may as well go now, I won't sleep properly until I know whether I can get the magic to work or not anyway. I'll go once I've had breakfast" James nodded and tried not to show his relief that this would get going sooner rather than later. Jefferson got his breakfast and sat next to Grace at the table, chatting about school. All too soon it was over, Jefferson collected his hat and coat and they moved into the entrance foyer, placing the hat on the ground, Jefferson backed away and turned, kneeling infront of the two children. "Now while I am gone, I need you two to look after each other, that means that unless Prince James is with you, you stay together understand? Henry, that means you don't cut school, you stay together and you stay out of trouble, this is going to be hard enough, without worrying about you while I'm gone." Two heads were nodding at him and he pulled them both in for a hug. After a while he let go of Henry and wrapped both arms around Grace, his eyes tightly shut, hoping it wouldn't be too long before his did this again.

Finally he let her go, and ushered everyone back to a safe distance and shaking James' hand, Jefferson said one final goodbye to Grace and to James and Henry "I'll find them, don't you worry." He went back to the hat, lightly grasped the edges and set it spinning, concentrating on his destination as the magic billowed around him, the portal stabilised and he jumped.

Author's Note: The second half of this shouldn't take too long to be up. Originally this was going to be one chapter, but it kept getting longer and this seems like a good place to split it. I promise that Jefferson and Emma will see each other in the next chapter.