"Good morning Papa."
Jefferson looked up from the pan where he was scrambling some eggs at the sound of his daughter's voice. He summoned his strength and offered her a smile which she returned before returning to his cooking. He was still dressed in his clothes from the previous night, though they were slightly rumpled from a night of unrest. After the events with Ana he had been unable to relax, and he spent the night busying himself with meaningless tasks to keep his mind occupied.
"There are waffles on the table," he called to her. When he didn't hear a response he glanced over to see she was already sitting down, to busy eating to answer him. He chuckled.
Once his eggs were ready he dumped them on to a plate and carried it over to the table to join her. By the time he sat down she was already finishing up her first waffle and reaching for a second. They ate in peaceful silence for a few moments, before Grace's curiosity bubbled over.
"So...?" she said in between bites.
Jefferson glanced up at her. "What?"
She leaned forward, smiling inquisitively. "You know, last night?"
He sighed. "Grace..."
"Oh come on Papa," she pleaded. "I heard you playing last night. You haven't done that since mother died." Jefferson stared at his plate, his appetite suddenly lost. "You like her, don't you?" He only blushed in response, but that was all the answer she seemed to need. Beaming, she exclaimed, "You do!"
"Grace," he said. When she still would not settle down he repeated insistently, "Grace! It's not... It's not that simple." She stared up at him, her eyes filled with innocent confusion. "Someday you'll understand."
They were interrupted by a pounding on the front door. The two of them shared a look of puzzlement. "Wait here," Jefferson instructed before getting up to answer it. He ran his hand through his unkempt hair in a desperate attempt to straighten it before opening the door. He was shocked to find Regina standing on the other side, her nostrils flaring as she stared him down.
"Regina," he said smiling at her dryly. "What an..." he paused, searching for the right word. "Unexpected surprise."
She ignored his pleasantries. "What is she doing here?"
"I believe the only intruder here is you," He replied calmly.
"Don't get funny with me hatter," she snapped. "Her. The one I sent you to get rid of." He maintained his relaxed demeanor as she snarled in his face. "You were supposed to dispose of her, you said she was dead."
"No," he said, cutting her off. "I said she was as good as dead. I guess she must have managed to survive."
"Why you little..."
"Papa?"
Regina's gaze fell to something behind Jefferson. "Well. It looks like you've found your dear Grace."
Anger flashed in his eyes when she said her name. "Regina I suggest you leave before you do something you regret."
She scoffed. "Are you threatening me?"
"No. I'm giving you a chance to turn back. I'm sure Henry wouldn't like to find out his mother hurt his best friend or her family."
Regina's gaze flicked back to Grace before softening slightly. "Fine," she said. "But this isn't the last of this." And with that she left.
000
Emma took a seat in the booth across from Ana who currently had her forehead resting on the table in front of a steaming cup of tea.
"Rough night?" She asked the girl, who groaned in response.
Ana lifted her head and used her hand to support it. She told Emma the story, every last detail. "Am I a horrible person?" She asked once she was finished.
"Of course not," Emma replied matter-of-factly. "He did betray you." Ana relaxed a little, the ball of guilt in her stomach beginning to disperse. "But..."
She pouted. "But?"
"But it doesn't sound like it was entirely his fault."
Ana slumped back in her seat. "You're right. And I knew that it's just..."
"...you wanted any reason to keep him out," Emma finished for her.
She nodded slowly and sighed. At that moment Ruby came over and poured a cup of coffee for Emma. "Jeez, you too sure look like you could use a drink."
"Ruby, it's like 10 in the morning," Emma said.
With her teacup in front of her mouth Ana mumbled, "I wouldn't mind a drink." Emma shot her a shocked glance, to which she simply shrugged.
"I didn't mean now," Ruby insisted. "I meant tonight. I don't need to hear the story to know your date last night didn't go well last night Ana, and the what better medicine for heartbreak than a girl's night?"
Emma and Ana shared a glance. "That actually sounds kind of fun," Ana said, grinning sheepishly.
"I would, but I promised Henry I'd spend some time with him tonight. I could ask Mary Margret if she'd want to join you guys though," Emma replied.
"Who's Mary Margret?" Ana asked, not following.
"She's Emma's mother," Ruby explained.
Ana looked at the girl, perplexed. "Your mother?"
"Don't worry, she's our age," Emma assured her.
Ana looked back and forth between the two, trying to piece it together before simply giving up. "You know what; I've got enough of a headache already. I'll take your word for it."
"Great!" Ruby exclaimed. "How's tonight at 8 sound? The Rabbit Hole?"
"Sounds good," she said as she gather her things and paid Ruby. Before she left she turned to Emma and said "Tell Henry hi for me."
000
"Hey Henry," Grace smiled as her friend took a seat next to her at the picnic table. The boy grinned back at her as he set his books on top of the table.
"Hi Grace," he said. "How are things going on Operation Amphibian?"
"Ok, I guess," she replied. "I was thinking, maybe we should change our code name. To something a little bit easier to say perhaps?"
"No way!" Henry defended. "Amphibian sounds really official."
Grace raised her eyebrows in doubt but didn't say anything more on the matter. "Anyway, they seemed to get along well when we were having tea, and I tried to listen in as much as I could after my papa sent me up to bed, but it was hard to tell what was going on. But she did get him to play the piano, and the only other person to do that was my mother."
Henry beamed. "A good sign! What about this morning?"
"Well he was still in his clothes from last night. Is that good?"
The boy gave it some thought before saying, "I'm not sure. We might have to get a second opinion on that. What else?"
"I don't know. When I asked my papa if he liked her he blushed, which I took for a yes, but then he got really serious. He started talking about how it's more complicated than that, and that I would understand in time."
Henry frowned. "Adults like to say stuff like that. But it sounds to me like things are pretty much on track."
"I suppose," Grace said, still slightly confused by the whole matter.
"Keep up the good work," he said before they dismissed the meeting.
000
Ana stood in front of the Rabbit Hole, staring up at the ratty looking building. With a sigh she mumbled, "It's not the worst rabbit hole I've been in." As soon as she opened the door she was struck by the smell of body odor and alcohol. She crinkled her nose in disgust, but pushed on. Once she was all the way inside she spotted Ruby sitting at a high-top table with whom she assumed to be Mary Margret. Much like herself, Mary was dressed casually with jeans and a floral button down top. Ruby, on the other hand, had on one of the slinkiest dresses Ana had ever seen, and she'd been to some pretty raunchy places in this world and the next.
When Ruby noticed her she grinned and waved her over to them. Ana smiled at them politely and made her way over there.
"I'm so glad you're here. Ana this is Mary Margret, Mary Margret this is Ana." The two shook hands upon the introduction. She certainly looked nothing like Ana had imagined when Emma had said she was inviting her mom.
"Nice to meet you," Mary Margret said. "You look really familiar. Have we met before?" She tilted her head inquisitively.
Ana furrowed her brow as she searched her memory. "I don't think so," she admitted.
Mary shrugged. "You must just have one of those faces."
After the exchange Ruby declared, "Let's get this party started shall we?" She got one of the server's attentions and said, "A round of martini's for me and my girls please."
Mary Margret looked at her in mild dismay. "Red..."
"What?" Ruby said dismissively. "It's a girls night isn't?"
The waiter arrived with their drinks and the three of the looked around at each other to see who would make the first move. After a minute Ana exclaimed, "Oh screw it." She grabbed her glass and held it up. "To a good time."
000
"... and then I shoved him out the window!"
The three of them cracked up as Mary finished her story. "I wish I could have been there to see it," Ana exclaimed once she finished laughing.
"It was pretty awesome," Mary admitted. As she went to take another drink she happened to catch a glance at her watch. Her eyes grew wide as she realized the time. "Oh my gosh, I need to get going. I promised David I'd be back by now."
Ana and Ruby groaned simultaneously. "Oh come on, you can't stay for a while longer?"
"I wish I could you guys, but I think it's been enough for one night." She smiled at them and waved her goodbyes.
Once she was gone Ruby downed the rest of her drink and began to gather her things too. "I suppose I ought to go to before Granny gets suspicious." She started to walk away before she realized Ana was behind her and she paused. "Are you coming?"
"I will, I'm just going finish this drink first," she said, gesturing to her still half full glass. Ruby bid her farewell and suddenly she was alone again. Most of the bar had cleared out. Only the unfortunate stragglers like her were left. She took a few sips from the glass before giving in and chugging its remaining contents. Grabbing her coat she set out for the trek back to her hotel. As she through the parking lot she heard the jingling sound of her room keys hitting the pavement. She turned and bent over to retrieve them, but the amount of alcohol in her system caused a wave of dizziness to rush over her and she staggered. She began to fall but she felt a hand grip her arm. She looked up to see who had caught her.
He gave her a devilish smile as he steadied her. "Woah, you alright there love?"
"Yeah... yeah I'm fine." She was confused, and starting to feel even dizzier, even though she was now right side up. She looked up at the man and squinted as she tried to make out his features. "Wh-who are you?"
His grin grew to the point where it was blinding. "My name's Killian Jones," he said, before adding. "But I prefer Hook."