Alice moved about the house, a broom in hand and a rag in another. She dropped the rag on a side table in the living space and began sweeping the dirt around the floor and under the furniture. Her hair was currently pulled into a messy bun with pieces of hair failing out here and there resulting in her blowing or brushing them out of her face. She was alone in the large house today. Jefferson had gone out on a job a couple days ago and had said he'd be back in two days or so. His one and only instruction he left with her was to make sure the house was clean, that she didn't go into his room, and that she didn't touch anything that she shouldn't touch. He had given her a verbal list of those items before he left.

She sighed and brushed the hair out of her face for what felt like the two hundredth time. She wasn't complaining about the work she had to do. She had a place to sleep (even if it was a small cot he set up in a spare room) and she had food she could eat. She had the things she needed to get by. But what made the work tedious was the pressure of making sure she didn't mess anything up around the house along with making sure the house was to Jefferson's liking. He was certainly not the type of man to please easily.

This only brought nerves into a mess whenever he gave her instructions or he had someone come to the house for business with him. He always made her stay silent, leave the room, or leave the house all together. She did as she was told, seeing as it was part of the deal she made with him to let her stay. But sometimes her curiosity got the best of her and whenever she was allowed to stay in the room but remain silent she couldn't help but listen in on the conversations Jefferson had with his customers.

Her thoughts were pulled away from her when she heard a shrill whistle coming from the kitchen. She quickly placed the broom down and rushed over to the fire where a thin line of steam was coming from the kettle placed on the pit. She slowly pulled the steaming kettle off the flames. She smiled as she set up a generous amount of hot water into the tea cup she had bought at the market yesterday with the money Jefferson had left her for food and clothing she'd need.

Just as she set the kettle down she heard the front door slam open. She poked her head out of the kitchen and spotted Jefferson walking through, practically dragging his feet. He shrugged his coat off and hung it up on the coat rack he had sitting next to the door.

"Hello!" she greeted with a smile.

"Hm," Jefferson grunted as he shuffled through the hall. He made his way to the living room where he flopped down into the large cushioned arm chair in the corner. He dropped the hat by his feet and leaned his head on the back of the chair.

Alice pursed her lips and went back into the kitchen for a couple seconds before emerging carrying the tea cup and saucer over to the man. "Here…" she spoke quietly as she handed the cup to Jefferson.

The dark haired man lifted his head and raised a brow towards the cup. "What is that? I don't remember having anything like that in my house before," he said, staring at the floral pattern painted onto the bone china.

"It's tea. I made some and thought you might like some as well," she said in almost a whisper as she shrunk under the man's gaze. "Y-you looked tired and I thought it might help you relax a bit…"

"I don't drink tea," he answered simply before resting his head on the back of the chair once more.

Alice pursed her lips again as she stared at the man. She made a move to turn around, but stopped herself. Quietly she placed the cup of the steaming beverage on the table next to Jefferson before she made her way back to the kitchen.

Jefferson lifted his head and stared at the drink next to him, a blank look on his face as he raised a brow. He shook his head and sighed, running a hand down his face. Tea. Why would she think he would want tea?

"Well are you going to drink it or not?" came a high pitched male voice.

Jefferson whipped his head to stare across the room. In a small wooden chair across from him was a man with greyish brownish skin that almost looked a little wrinkled. He was wearing different shades of brown and a long, dark brown leather coat. Jefferson sighed and rested his head (once more) on the back of the chair.

"Well I wasn't expecting a visit from you, Rumplestiltskin," the hat carrier said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of having you invade my home?"

"Well aren't you in a pleasant sort today, dearie," the dark skinned man said with a wide grin.

"I just returned from a job, I'm exhausted," mumbled Jefferson.

"Yes, yes, sorry to hear that," the man said. "Unfortunately you won't be getting any sleep anytime soon."

"Let me guess, you have another job for me," Jefferson said, pulling himself forward in the chair.

"Exactly. I need you to get me a-"

"Jefferson," Alice called out as she entered the living room. "Do you wa- Oh…um…." She stopped speaking as soon as both men turned to look at her and her eyes landed on the new customer.

"Alice, go back into the other room," Jefferson growled out through clenched teeth. The blonde woman quickly nodded her head and rushed back into the kitchen leaving Jefferson to rub at his temples and Rumplestiltskin to chuckle lightly.

"And who was that?" Rumplestiltskin asked, a smirk on his face as he turned back to the portal jumper.

"No one important," Jefferson said, shaking his head. "Now what do you need me to get?"

"There are a pair of shoes I need that I need to get to a place," the man explained.

"And what's in it for me?"

"Do this for me and you can have as much gold as your heart desires."

This caught the portal jumper's attention. A smirk grew on his face as he leaned forward. "Well how can I refuse that?"

ooOOoo

"How's collecting money for repairs going?" Ruby asked as she and Rose grabbed their orders from Granny.

"It's getting there," Rose sighed. "I think I almost have enough."

It was going well actually. Four weeks in and she had already made at least five hundred dollars. Well a lot of it was from tips from friends and neighbors. Even Emma had gotten Leroy to do some community service and help fix up the tea shop. Even Marco offered his assistance in the repairs. In a matter of days the place was looking better and better and more like a tea shop than an abandoned warehouse.

She honestly couldn't thank them enough. And if it wasn't for Emma she wouldn't have had Leroy's help. In the few weeks that Rose had first met Emma the two blondes had gotten along well with each other. Granted, Rose never got into trouble so she never had a reason to pay a visit to the sheriff's station, but whenever Emma and Henry stopped by the diner, the two women would start up a conversation.

"That's good," Ruby smiled brightly. "How many more days do you think until it's open."

"Maybe by the end of the week," Rose said, unable to contain the smile that grew on her face. She placed the order down on the table in front of her customer and gave them a quick smile before she went back to Granny to get the next.

"Really? That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping up and down. "You know what this means? A celebration!"

"A celebration?" Emma asked as she and Henry walked into the diner.

"Rose's tea shop is almost done and I'm thinking of taking her out to celebrate," Ruby said with so much glee that the two new customers couldn't help but smile.

"That's great, Rose!" Henry said, smiling brightly at the blonde.

"Where are you planning on going to celebrate?" Emma asked as she peered up from her menu that Rose had just placed down.

"I was thinking the Rabbit Hole!" the dark haired beauty stated proudly.

Henry's face lit up. "The Rabbit Hole? Are you gonna go there, Rose?"

"Oh uh I'm not sure," Rose said, chewing her lip as she handed Henry his menu.

Emma rolled her eyes at Henry when the other two women weren't looking. "You're really dead set on her being Alice aren't you?"

"Yes I am," Henry grinned.

"Hey, maybe your secret admirer will be there," Ruby said, a cheeky grin on her face as she nudged Rose's arm with her elbow. "Aren't you a little curious as to who he is?"

"Um not really. I mean I am, but curiosity killed the cat you know?" the blonde said with a small shrug and sheepish grin. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I'm just not sure I want to go there."

Ruby frowned for a moment before she put a smile on her face. "That's fine! I'll grab a bottle of wine and we can hang out at your place! You can give me a tour of the shop before it opens!"

Rose smiled lightly at her friend and nodded her head. "Okay."

"Yes!" the dark haired woman exclaimed. She quickly turned to Emma, a large smile on her face. "You can join to if you'd like."

"Sounds like fun," Emma said, sitting up straight in her seat. "I could use a break from all the sheriff duties I have in this exciting little town."

"Well the most exciting thing that you've been dealing with is the mayor," Ruby pointed out as she grabbed the new plate from Granny.

"Yeah, but I think the both of us could use a break from pulling each other's hair out," the sheriff said with a smirk. "Plus it'll give me an excuse to have a drink.'

"Alright! This will be so fun! Oh and Emma tell Mary Margaret she's invited. I know you two have been hanging out a lot lately and I don't see her that often." Ruby said as she went off to the customer to give them their order.

"I'll be right back," Rose said as she took her order to her customer.

"You're brilliant!" Henry stated as he smiled up at Emma, his eyes shining brightly.

"Why am I brilliant?" the blonde sheriff ask as she scanned her eyes across the menu.

"You're going to hang out with Rose, Ruby, and Mary Margaret," the little boy said. "You can get close to them and find any hints as to who they are and see if they remember anything."

"I thought the plan was Operation Cobra," Emma said, raising a brow as she placed the menu down. "I thought we were trying to stop your mom?"

"We are, but we also need to have everyone try and remember who they are," he said, picking up his menu.

"Right right, because Mary Margaret is Snow White, Ruby is Red Riding Hood, and Rose is Alice in Wonderland.," Emma said with a chuckle. "How about I just have a night where I don't have to worry about the book and if anything happens I'll let you know. Deal?"

"Deal," Henry said, grinning up at his mom.

ooOOoo

"The place is looking great, Rose!" Mary Margaret stated as she looked around the freshly painted shop.

"It looks so cute!" Ruby exclaimed as she looked at the display case behind the register counter. She leaned down and examined every last floral patterned tea cup on each shelf. "Where did you get all these?"

"A lot of them I got from my Grandma after she died," Rose said, smiling fondly at the bone china cups and saucers. "My mother gave them to me and they've been in a box in my apartment since. I didn't know what to do with them so I thought they'd make a great display for the shop."

"Are you letting customers use them?" Emma asked, looking at a tea cup that had a bunch of purple flowers scattered around it."

"Oh no," Rose said, shaking her head. "They are only for display. I'd rather not have random strangers using my Grandma's cups and saucers. I ordered a bunch for the shop. They're in the back."

"Smart move," Emma said. "Yeah I don't think I'd trust anyone with anything of that sentimental." She placed her hands on her hips as she stood up.

"So how much longer until it's ready to open?" Mary Margaret asked, looking around at all the table clothed tables and cushioned wired chairs.

"In two days," Rose said, glee clear on her face.

"I'll be sure to stop by after class then," Mary Margaret said, smiling at her friend. "I could use some tea after a long day at school. I love those kids to death, but grading papers isn't my favorite thing," she laughed.

"I'll see you then," Rose said brightly.

She looked around her shop. After four weeks, the dust covered abandoned building was now a brand new tea shop. Looking around she couldn't believe how different it looked now than before. The pale blue painted walls gave a bright and yet calming feel to the shop and the small round tables with the white table clothes and iron chairs surrounding them gave it a lot more room than one would think. The sugar jars were placed on each table beside a very tiny vase of flowers.

She smiled brightly. Her shop was ready and she was ready to open.

ooOOoo

"You're back," Alice said as she stopped mid sweep and watched Jefferson walk through the door.

"Yes and I expect you to remain silent," Jefferson said as he walked past her. "I'm going to rest and I don't want any loud noises."

"Oh okay…" the blonde said, watching as he walked by. "Would you like me to make you some tea?"

The man stopped and slowly turned around to face her, a hand rubbing his face. "I have had two jobs right after the other and I just got back from finishing the second one," he said, remembering the job he had with Rumplestiltskin and Doctor Frankenstein. He sighed and glared at the woman in front of him. He had enough of whining women for one day after dealing with Regina and her complaining about her lost love, he didn't want to deal with this woman here. "I want to sleep. What makes you think I want tea?"

"I-I-I th-thought that you'd like something to drink and help you sleep," Alice said quick, nearly squeaking the words out. "I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head and walking away.

Jefferson sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before he let out a groan. "Fine! Fix me a cup of tea then leave me alone."

"O-of course," she said and quickly set to work on fixing his cup of tea.

Jefferson stood there, watching as the blonde woman went about the kitchen pouring the hot water from the kettle into a small tea cup. When the hell did she get those? he thought, shaking his head. He continued to stare at her, watching as she moved around before sighing in exhaustion and turning around to head to his room. He didn't have time to wait for tea. She could just bring it to him. If I'm not passed out by then. he thought as he rubbed a hand across his face.

So I'm not sure how I was able to actually write another chapter in just a day, but here it is. Like I said I'll be skipping around a bit in the backstory and progressing the Storybrooke part more. Not that I won't focus on the backstory I just don't have a lot planned. Actually I don't have a lot planned with this story. I have some ideas, but I'm also writing as I'm going. Hopefully you can sit through my horrible writing and if not I understand.

Also you if anyone is curious as to what Rose has lost in Storybrooke its her sense of curiosity. Like everyone else in Storybrooke during the curse they all lost something. Example: Mary Margaret lost her courage to stand up for herself at the beginning of the series. I tried to convey that with the whole "curiosity killed the cat" bit. Sorry lame I know.

Clarification as to why Jefferson is basically a jerk to Alice. In the episode called the Doctor in season 2, we see Jefferson before Grace, before he becomes Daddy Jefferson. Clearly before then he was the kind of guy who only looked out for himself and did anything to get an advantage in life. But obviously something happened between those times that made him actually have a heart. Obviously it was his wife and Grace. And I'm just completely disregarding Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (clearly) and making this Alice THE Alice and she ends up with Jefferson. Because I love the pairing of Alice and the Mad Hatter not a genie. Although I never finished the spin off series I might rewatch it since Will Scarlet is in this season. But enough rambling, just wanted to clarify as to why Jefferson is harsh to Alice.

I hope you liked it and feel free to leave a review. I'd love to see what you guys have to say because I could use any critiques for this since I don't think I'm doing so hot with this story.