Once Upon a Time

A Time to Remember

Chapter 16

Addison ran from the hospital, her memories full restored. She stopped just outside and looked around, unsure where she should go first. Grace. She should find Grace first, she would need her mother. But Jefferson must feel so much shame having left her, he would need help going to Grace and confronting her again. She turned, running back toward the police station and Jefferson's home.

Addison was focused on where she was going, passing the people of Storybrooke regaining their memories without a second glance. She was less than a mile from the hospital when she collided with someone, almost falling to the ground but the man had caught her. Looking at who saved her from the fall, her eyes lit up.

"Saving me from cracking my head open again?"

He smiled down at her. "I'll always be where you need me."

"Jefferson." Addison smiled, throwing her arms around his neck. "God I have missed you!"

"I can't begin to tell you how much I have missed you."

Addison pulled away, kissing her husband with all the passion she remembered. "I thought you would have been home by now, Emma and I left you an hour ago."

"I was almost there, home. But…I had to come find you."

Addison realized how far she was from home and how close they were to the hospital. "You were at my apartment?"

"There was no answer so I just started looking, then you ran into me."

She took a step back. "If you got here already, you had to have followed me and Emma." Addison turned her head, she could still see the hospital from where she stood. "Jefferson wouldn't have done that." She took another step back, really looking at Jefferson.

That's when she saw it, or saw what was missing. He tried to hid it with a scarf but it wasn't pulled up quite enough. Jefferson, Addison knew, now had a long scar around his throat though she hadn't found out yet how he had gotten it. But the man in front of her now had no such scar, the skin was smooth and clear under that scarf.

"If you wanted to pass yourself off as my husband, Jack, you should have pulled the scarf up high or found a thinker one."

"Clever girl." Jack smirked with a lowered gaze. "This was the best I could do, Addison may not have noticed, thought it was a trick of her eye, but Alice. Even you would notice one thing off about my brother even if it was something you saw as Addison. You remember everything about him don't you. I'll admit I should have been more careful but I didn't intend to impersonate Jefferson for long. He really is pathetic. You know I have been watching him these last few weeks following after you, trying desperately to get you to see the truth and come around."

"Stop talking. What do you want."

"What I have always wanted." Jack step forward, towering over Alice. Staring down at her he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Everything my brother has."

"I'm not afraid of you Jack. You are nothing." Alice shoved him back. "Stay away from me. Stay away from my husband." She shoved passed him.

"And your daughter?" Jack called to her. "Should I stay away from her too? Cause you know, she loves me."

Alice turned around. "What?"

"Oh, you didn't know? The curse made me her uncle here too, I was real close with her parents here too. Went over every Sunday for dinner, went to her dance recitals, have over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. All of it. And you know what. I bet she wouldn't even realize I'm not actually her dad if I went to her now." He looked at his watch. "She should be getting off her bus in a couple minutes, she stays late on Thursdays for art club."

Addison stomped up to Jack, looking fiercely up into his face. "I swear, if you go near my daughter I will kill you."

"Get me my brothers hat and I will gladly leave."

"The hat?! This is about that damn hat!? You would threaten me and my family over a hat your father gave to your brother?"

"Is belonged to me! It should have been mine! But he was our fathers favorite! That hat does so much more than just open portals. He can't even use it properly. Get me that hat or I will take something else that you both cherish. You have two days. Prepare yourself Alice, we both know how much of a failure Jefferson is. You may want to say your good-byes to Grace now."

There were muffled cries around them, Jack and Alice looked around and saw clouds of purple smoke rising above the trees. "Magic is coming Alice. You and my brother better be ready."

Alice ran back to the hospital, looking for Emma who was still up in a room with Henry. "He's here, the curse brought him here too."

"Who? Addison, are you okay?"

Alice shook her head. "Jefferson's brother, Jack, he is here and he's threatened to take Grace. Regina made him her uncle in this world, he's familiar to her. She'll trust him, think he is her father. Emma, I need help. I don't know what to do. He wants that stupid hat and I don't think its here."

"If it was Jefferson wouldn't have needed me to make him a new one. You need to find Jefferson, he's probably already out there looking for you if he's seen everyone else beginning to remember again. Do you really think Jack will go after Grace? Won't she know he isn't her father? Jefferson has that scar on his throat."

"She wouldn't know that, it happened sometime after he left her. That scar is the work of the Queen of Heart. That happened in Wonderland. Grace has never seen that scar, as far as she knows Jack could be her father. She would never know the difference."

"You did."

"Because I saw that scar as Addison and remembered it now."

Emma nodded. "Go find Jefferson. Tell him everything, meet me back at the apartment in a few hours. I'll find more help."

"Who?"

Emma smiled weakly. "Who do you think, my parents are Snow White and Prince Charming."

Alice nodded and headed back out to look for Jefferson.

Alice looked all over, asking anyone who might recognize Jefferson if they had seen him. She came up empty at every turn. Feeling ready to give up, she headed to Granny's to see if Ruby might have seen him.

"Granny, is Ruby around?"

"You're looking for Red? She took off the minute the smoke came rolling in, magic in this town mean bad news for her. What did you need from her?"

Alice sighed, sitting at the counter. "I needed to ask her if she's seen someone."

Granny nodded. "Everyone is looking for someone, trying to reconnect with family. It's chaos out there right now with this damn curse. Maybe I can help, who were you looking for?"

"My husband, Jefferson."

"That boy the sheriff arrested the other day? Sorry hun, haven't seen him but I keep my eyes open for you."

"Thanks. Can I get a coffee to go? I'm just running to the back."

"Sure thing."

Alice walked to the bathroom in the back, she was in hallway when the front door slammed and someone started shouting.

"I need to find my wife! Has anyone seen her!? Addison? Has she been here? I've been all over."

Alice closed her eyes, sighing with relief. Forgetting the restroom, she turned back to the diner to find Jefferson standing at the counter with Granny and her paper to go cup. She stood in the doorway for a moment, seeing him for the first time as herself again. She instantly felt like everything was going to be okay, that they were going to figure it all out and take care of Jack. Nothing bad could happen, not now.

"Jefferson." She said softly.

He turned from the counter, his eyes meeting hers. "See, she just went into the back. Like I told you. No need to be hollering in here when people are trying to eat."

Jefferson stepped away from the counter, Alice took a few steps into the diner. With two long strides, he was across the diner, picking Alice up in his arms and swinging her around. "Alice, my Alice!" She could tell he was grinning by the sound of his voice. Jefferson placed her back on her feet, keeping her in his arms with his head bent down and his face in the crook of her neck. "I swear to never let you go again." He pulled back, pressing his lips to hers.

This was what was missing, it feels right now, I should have known the minute Jack touched me that he wasn't Jefferson. "Jefferson." She whispered. "I…Jack is here."

Jefferson jerked back, his hands falling to Alice's hips. "What!?"

"He's here, he came over with the curse like everyone else. I didn't realize it was him at first, I should have I am so sorry."

Jefferson winced. "What did he do?"

"I thought he was you. I kissed him, but it felt different."

Jefferson squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Okay, it's…" he sighed. "It's okay."

"I saw he didn't have your scar." Alice reached up, running her thumb along the mark at his throat. "He's going after Grace, Jefferson. He wants that hat, he said we have two days to give it to him. He didn't say what he'll do but he's going to take her. He's going to take our daughter." Alice felt her eyes welling up with tears.

"No, he won't. I won't let that happen, I promise you Alice. She's a fighter, Grace will never go with him. She knows who he is and what he's done."

"He was made her uncle here too, he's been a part of her life here. Jack says he was close with the parents she had here. She'll trust him, think he's you."

Jefferson reached down, wiping away Alice's tears, "Nothing is going to happen to our daughter Alice, I swear to you. We will go to her now. Find a safe place for her to be, tell her what's going on."

"Emma said she'd help, she wanted me to meet her at her apartment. She should be there now with everyone."

Jefferson nodded. "Okay, we'll go get Grace and head over to Emma." He grabbed Alice's hand and the two left the diner. Outside, on the sidewalk, Alice stopped, holding Jefferson back. "Alice?"

She began to cry. "What if we can help her Jefferson? What if he takes our baby? I already lost so much time with her because of him. He took me away from her now he wasn't to take her away from me. I tried to get away, so many times I tried but I couldn't. I got lost, I had no idea where he had taken us and everything looked different each time I made it outside. It was impossible. I knew she needed me, that she would be crying for me. I can't lose her again Jefferson, I can't."

Jefferson pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair to sooth her. "Everything is going to be okay, Alice. Nothing is going to happen to our Grace, she's going to be fine. I won't let Jack get anywhere near her. Come on, let's go get our daughter."

A/N: Thanks for reading. Thank you to those who have continued to wait patiently for me to update, I know its frustrating when you get into a story and the writer never updates. I've been there, I don't mean to do it I swear. Lack of inspiration and direction are to blame.

Thanks again for the support and reviews!
Jen