[center][h1]YoshiSkittlez' Jefferson Madden and Vicier's Alice Liddell[/h1][/center]

The very moment Jefferson Madden stepped foot outside, he was greeted with an almost overwhelming amount of fresh air in comparison to the stuffed-up, humid air he had been sharing with four other people in a house built comfortably for only two for the last few hours. Almost forgetting that Alice had followed him outside, he paused after shutting the door on the mushroom house and simply inhaled a deep breath, stretching his lanky limbs as far out as they could go. He may have had some rather... bitter feelings towards Wonderland, but it would always be his home, and there wasn't any other air quite like Wonderland.

With a renewed vigor now pumping through his bloodstream with the increase of fresh oxygen, Jefferson turned his head to look down at Alice (she being more than a head shorter than he) and gave her a wide grin, reaching ear to ear. He had counted on being alone for a while, but should anyone have followed him out, he was glad it was her. True he may have been closer with Edric, even now despite their minor differences they were starting to recognize in one another, but Alice had always been that welcome reprieve from the antics of Edric; the little sister that was always there, but necessary to make the friendship between 'brothers' that much stronger.

Keeping his smile, Jefferson extended out a hand, gesturing for Alice to take the lead. Where? He did not know. Anywhere would be fine. Anywhere away from those that would continually remind him of this... Storybrooke... of his Grace...

The odd duo took a somewhat inlaid path down and away from the Liddel's mushroom house, down the small hill that the home rested on and followed the path up again on a larger hill. The long, blue grass started taking over more and more of the path, leaving the two to create their own as they made the slight incline up to the top of the hill where a single, knotted, warped tree had rooted, a single branch extending out it's arm just a foot or so above Jefferson's head; even with his hat. Coming to a stop, though he knew not why, Jefferson removed his top hat from his head and spun it around his fingertips a few times before tossing it to the side like a frisbee, watching it land in the tall blue grass just a few feet away from them.

[url=http://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8qw4z6iWy1rs25p4o3_1280.jpg]The sun was well past setting[/url], the moon peeking through the dark purple clouds that rolled by making the light of the moon take on a florescent pink color, casting all sorts of glorious shades on the shadows of the grass and the knotted tree they were standing just underneath. Nearby, a handful of different clusters of fireflies blinked their various colors. Greens, blues, oranges, yellows... all twinkling their differed colors in their altered patterns.

"You know..." Jefferson said staring out at the break in clouds where the moonlight managed to stream through to illuminate the plane of grass out before them. "It's nights like these that make me miss Wonderland... if even for just a moment..."

Closing her eyes as she lifted her head up she took in a deep breath of the fresh air, her ever warm smile seeming to grow even wider over her lips as she quickly moved on ahead of him, her arm lifting up as she reached the top of the hill, her hand pressing lightly against the trunk of the tree as she tilted her head, her eyes seeming to glisten slightly as she looked out over the view that was lain out before them. Turning her body slightly so that she was looking back over her shoulder at him her lips parted slightly, her head tilting gently as her free hand played lightly with the skirt of her dress, "I know what you mean, it feels really good to be back home. I can't ever imagine leaving it again Hatter... everything is just so beautiful here, I've missed it all..."

Dropping her skirt back down she lifted her arm up, gently brushing some of her long locks of hair back off her face before she neatly tucked them behind her ear, her attention turning back to the amazing view of their homeland spread out before them, "Every little blade of the blue grass... the sweet songs that float through the air on the breeze... the fireflies that light up the night... just everything... I've missed it all..."

Turning her head back around so that she could once more see him, she let her eyes meet his for a few moments, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly as her features seemed to light up, "..Especially you Hatter..."

Her compliment to his company had Jefferson's smile coming back across his face, looking over at her over his shoulder where the light of the moon lit up her features in a colorful display of beauty. A soft breeze picked up throughout the plain, a ripple coming across the blue grass which had each blade striking a harmonic tune that when all-together, sounded much like a song which caught Jefferson's attention right back in front of him.

"Heh, Bluegrass..." Shaking his head, Jefferson picked up his feet and carried himself over to the knotted tree where Alice was still standing, tilting his head to the side as he thought over her words carefully. "You very well could stay here for the remainder of your days, Little Rabbit. Edric and me... well... we have to leave. From the sounds of it, tomorrow. Whatever your brother's concerns are in Storybrooke that would pull him back are his own, but I have Grace. Regina tore her away from me, and now I have to get her back. I can't leave her there, or depend on someone else to bring her back to me." Sighing, Jefferson looked away from Alice for a moment, simply staring at the clouds overhead near the parting for the moon. "The Queen of Hearts is still around... somewhere. If she ever catches wind that you are still alive..." Jefferson stopped, shaking his head as he turned back to look at her. "It's not safe for you here... not alone anyway. I could ask you to come along to Storybrooke with us again, but the invitation has already been laid out. It may not be any safer there for you than it is here, but at least you would have people looking out for you. Your brother... me..."

Tearing her gaze away from him she lowered it to the view before them, her soft pink lips parting slightly as she let her hand slide lightly down the trunk of the knotted tree, her other arm coming up to nervously play with the necklace that rested softly against her skin, "He left me Hatter... I was so very frightened, all I could think about was the fact that death was waiting for me... and he left me... He turned tail and ran..."

Her lower lip trembled slightly as she tried her best to push the thoughts of that day, and the days that followed to the very back of her mind, not wanting to have to think about them too much even though she knew that eventually she would have to, "All that time that I was locked away in that dungeon... I thought I would never see you again... never hear you say the words 'Little Rabbit' again... I know you just want me to be safe, and I know that I'm going to have to be really careful because of the Queen, but... I don't know if I can trust him enough to leave with you both..."

Jefferson's neutral expression began to turn into an outright frown, her mention of 'dungeon' taking his thoughts to the years she was locked up by the hand of Rumpelstiltskin. He had done his own time as a prisoner, even had his head completely removed for a while, [i]literally[/i]! But he had lost himself to madness and that... that at least made the last five years tolerable. Alice seemed completely mentally intact. Well, as intact as he could remember her being [i]before[/i] he had presumed her dead. But not only had she spent time as Rumpelstiltskin's prisoner, but The Queen of Hearts and even in the end, Regina's through her curse. Three different captors - always a prisoner.

Feeling an odd sense of protectiveness coming over him, Jefferson took a single step towards her, his right arm wrapping around her back and pulled her into him, practically crushing her into his chest for a close hug; as though the action would make all her bad memories go away or at least his own bad memories he held [i]for[/i] her. She seemed fine, but she had always had a hardened shell around her; it was always difficult to know just how Alice Lidell was feeling, so maybe he was just doing this for himself. He had felt protective of Alice before, but this time there was something... he didn't even know how to explain it other than 'different.'

Moving his free hand to hold the back of her head delicately, he held her there in his embrace, resting the bottom of his chin to the top of her head, getting in a whiff of the smell of her hair as the breeze picked up lightly once again.

"It's alright, Little Rabbit. I know what Edric did. I myself have some bitter feelings towards your brother at the present moment because of what he did to you. But I'm not going there for him. I'm going there for me, for my Grace. I only wish that you can be looked after, safely, while I'm gone but when I moved- when I left Wonderland... there isn't a single person I trust with doing that save for myself. Not here. And everyone I would have gone to in The Enchanted Forest has been cursed to Storybrooke." He paused, pulling his arm that was wrapped around her back to push her into him a bit tighter in a gentle squeeze. "I thought I lost you to death once, I can't do it again."

Lowering her head further down so that her chin was almost resting against her chest she closed her eyes, her breath catching in her throat and her hands coming up to rest lightly against his chest as she felt his arm wrap around her waist, her body turning and falling into his own as he gave her a gentle tug in hopes that he could make her feel better than she was at the current moment, the sweet action causing her eyes to sting as tears began to form threatening to overflow, "Hatter..."

Hearing his kind words of comfort to surround her she shut her eyes even tighter than she had already done, allowing the tears that she had been so determined to hold back to flow down her cheeks as she buried her face into his chest, her body pressing willingly closer and harder against his as she felt his grip tightening around her, "Hatter... I never wish to be away from your company again... I could not stand to lose anymore time with you than I have already been forced to miss..."

Tilting his head down so that his mouth was firmly pressed into the top of her brown hair (though not kissing it, merely resting) he closed his own eyes, feeling the sting of tears coming on as he heard her voice cracking as her own tears started to shed. This wasn't right. This was supposed to be Edric's job, her [i]true[/i] brother, to comfort her fears and make her feel safe. But the coward had already made a mess of things, to both of them. Keeping his own tears at bay, he breathed out heavily through his nose, causing a few strands of her brown locks to sway at the push of air. He pushed his lips to kiss at her crown, a sweet gesture between friends or even something father and daughter shared in a moment of love and concern.

"Then come with me. I can't stay here, you know that. I can't abandon Grace. But if you come with me, then I can promise you one thing- that I will never leave your side, and to always protect you. Regina and Rumpelstiltskin may be there, but I will never, [i]never[/i] let them harm you. Not again."

Curling her fingers slightly as she took a hold of the front of his top she tightened her grip and pressed her body even closer against his, the young woman savoring the feeling that she got from being in his arms, his strong but still ever gentle embrace making her feel welcome... safe, unlike the embrace that she had shared with her brother upon first laying eyes on him again. Lifting her head up slowly so that she was resting her chin softly against his chest, her eyes opening slowly as she turned her gaze up to meet with his own, a small and slightly shy smile playing over her lips through the pain that was still fresh in her mind about the things she wanted nothing more than to forget and leave behind.

"That's all I could ever truly wish for Hatter... To spend the rest of my days with you, and Grace... even with Edric... But I don't know if I can. You already have Grace to look after when you return, I can't ask you to look after me as well..." Taking a deep breath she dropped her gaze back down to her hands before she let it out slowly, her eyes saddening slightly as she stared at her fingers playing with his top, "I don't know... There's always Dodo's offer... Though no one seems to agree with it..."

"I don't trust Dodo." Jefferson replied blatantly, his voice raising a fraction as the small fears of what he knew Dodo to be capable of started to arise in his mind. He caught onto it quickly, however, and sighed to bring himself back to a neutral level. He moved his hand that had been holding the back of her head to tilt up her chin with his finger, forcing her to look at him though he did it gently. "I don't want to leave you here Alice. Not with Dodo, not with anyone. Please, you have to trust me. I [i]can[/i] look after you [i]and[/i] Grace, just as I looked after Grace and her mother before she decided to leave for her own reasons. I may stumble, I may fall, but I won't ever give up. Not on Grace. Not on you. Should the worst ever happen, it won't be from lack of effort."

Lifting her gaze back up to meet his as he guided her head up lightly with his finger, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she felt her heart stumble lightly in her chest, the young woman not sure as to why she was suddenly feeling so nervous around the man that she had known her whole life, "I do trust you Hatter, and right now, I trust you more than anyone else that I know... If you say that you can do this, then I shall return to live in Storybrooke with you, Grace and Edric... But my heart is still too weary to trust him..."

Managing to blink away the remaining tears that went unshed from his eyes, Jefferson continued to look back down into her bright blues and smiled, moving his hand that had been tilting up her head to hold the other side of her waist. "Good. Saves me from having to track down a genie." He quipped, his famous smile returning to his face that reached his eyes. "I wouldn't know what to do with the other two wishes anyway, except to maybe help your relationship with your brother. But I'd never entrust a wish like that to a genie. Such finicky things they are, wishes..."

"Hatter... My heart... It feels strange..." Biting her lower lip as she felt her heart once more stumbling in her chest at his dazzling smile, her gaze dropped from his for only a moment to rest on her hands as her cheeks took on a soft tinge of red, her stomach churning nervously as she forced herself to once more meet his gaze, her lip slipping from between her teeth as she tried to think of a better way of explaining what she meant.

"My heart... it feels as though it's trying to take off in flight. It keeps stumbling, like the wings of a hummingbird when it first learns to fly... I don't understand this feeling that I seem to get when I'm around you..." Pausing for a moment as she collected her thoughts she searched his eyes, looking for some kind of answer as to what it possibly was that she was feeling, "Please... tell me what this is so that I can better understand what it is that my heart is trying to tell me..."

He had to chuckle at that, because he hadn't even noticed until Alice had said something that his own heart was feeling the exact same way. Butterflies. Or in the case of Wonderland; breadandbutterflies. He was confused at first, but he had learned long ago that making sense of feelings was a conundrum best left alone, even in Wonderland. Easing up on his protective hold on her, he moved a hand from her waist to take hold of hers, placing both of them on his chest and over his heart with her palm pressing flat with his hand on top of hers, able to feel his own heart beating rapidly.

"Only if you can tell me the same thing, Little Rabbit."

He had always loved Alice, for as long as he could remember. She was the little sister in the relationship between a brotherly friendship. But that had been years ago. Being with Alice now... after such a long time... he never thought those feelings would change, but it seemed as though they had; developed into something more. Something stronger.

Lowering her gaze ever so slightly so that she was staring down at their hands resting on his chest, her soft pink lips parted, a small and gentle smile playing over her lips as her body relaxed into his, the constant beating of his heart within his chest only causing her own to grow even wilder with every beat, her voice soft and almost nothing more than a whisper as she spoke mainly to herself, quoting something that she had read during her time spent living in Storybrooke.

"I love you... without knowing how, or when... or from where..." Pausing for a moment she tilted her head only slightly, her eyes softening with each word that she spoke, both her heart and her mind seeming to tell her that what she was saying was nothing more than the truth in the matter, "I love you simply... without problems or pride; I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this... in which there is no I or you... so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand..."

Curling her fingers slightly under his hand as she continued to speak, her cheeks turned a bright shade of red, her gaze staying fixated upon their hands as she did her best to think about whether or not she should meet his gaze, the young woman only now realizing that in their close proximity, he would have heard each and every word which she had to utter about how she felt, "..so intimate that when I fall asleep, your eyes close..."

Jefferson's ears turned a brilliant shade of red, though the only indication being the sudden sting of warmth coming from them as his ears were covered up by the mop of brown hair on his head. However, his blush continued over his ears, into his cheeks, down his neck and straight down into his heart where it fueled the frantically beating organ into something fierce. And that wasn't something he could keep hidden with his hair. He knew they were not words of her own, but a quote of some kind. It didn't matter, for they had come to her in this very precise moment.

With his free hand, he moved it to place his finger back on the bottom of her chin, tilting her head up to look back at him once more. Searching her own blues with his, looking for something, he quietly and simply whispered, "Indulge me." Slowly, inch by inch, he bent his neck forward, his head coming closer to hers. His eyes never left hers, unable to help but to wonder if she would find what he was about to do at all offensive. It was a very thin line they were walking on; between family and friend. He just wasn't sure which side of the line she was standing and until very recently, neither did he.

He continued pushing forward until the breath of his lips fanned against hers, skin mere millimeters apart and stopped. He waited. For what, he wasn't sure, but as the moments seemed to tick on for an eternity, he closed the gap and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle, feather-light kiss, almost non-existent.

Tearing her attention away from their hands as she felt him gently guide her head back up by her chin, she let her gaze return once more to his own, her heart fluttering slightly at the intense look that seemed to be taking over his eyes, as though he was searching for answers to questions that he wasn't wishing to ask... or was just too afraid or nervous to find out the answers too, "Indulge you..."

Unsure at first, her breath caught in her throat as she finally clicked on to what it was he was actually asking her to do, her light blue orbs never leaving him as she watched him slowly leaning into her, inch by inch bringing his lips closer towards her own as he worked to close the gap that was left between them. Extending her neck only slightly, she lifted herself up onto the balls of her feet, her lips connecting with his in a gentle kiss that until this very moment, she would never have believed would have happened under any possible circumstances. Even now it felt like a dream; a sweet, sweet dream... one that she never wanted to wake from.

Sliding both her hands up and over his chest, she allowed herself to melt into him; her right hand resting on his shoulder, while her left continued up further, curving slightly as she slid it around the back of his neck. Tilting her head slightly, she couldn't help herself as she took another step closer towards him, her eyes fluttering closed as she put a little more force behind her lips, her heart craving for more attention, begging for more from him.

A flooding warmness enveloped his entire body then as Alice pushed herself forward into him, deepening their kiss. He felt as though his entire being was blushing fiercely; even more so now that his previous blush had been completely washed over with this new feeling. A tingling sensation started at his lips and pooled down through his veins and into his chest, making it tighten, but her hand sliding up his chest to wrap around the back of his neck seemed to loosen those knots almost immediately.

Removing his hand from her chin he wrapped it around her back gently, holding her to him, helping to stabilize her given their height difference as she was forced onto the balls of her feet. Keeping their lips together, feeling the want as she was kissing him back, he pulled away from a breath of a moment and pressed his forehead down onto hers. Their noses touched and their eyes connected, simply looking at one another until Jefferson broke out into a sudden, manic grin.

Furrowing her brows slightly as she felt him pulling away, she reluctantly tilted her head downwards, her forehead pressing gently back against his own forehead as she lightly let the tip of her nose brush back and forth over his, her chest rising and falling quickly as she did her best to catch her breath once more, the grip that her arms had around his neck refusing to let up as she made her choice, the woman not wishing to be apart from him any longer than she already had, "I-... I never in a million years... would have believed that I would want nothing more than to be held fast in your arms in such a way as this... to feel this wanted... to feel safe again... I have no doubts now that what I feel for you is love..."

The tightening he had felt in his chest a few moments ago returned in full vigor, forcing his heavy-lidded eyes to open a fraction more in a short surprise. In that precise moment, Alice, his Little Rabbit, had never looked more adult, mature and altogether absolutely beautiful in the many, many years he had known her. She had always been a girl of exceptional beauty even in her younger years, though a bit on the odd side. It didn't matter. As he held her now, close to him and feeling her heartbeat keeping perfect time with his against his chest, he upheld his grin and kept their foreheads together.

"My Little Rabbit... My Alice..." He breathed out, using her proper name for perhaps the first time since he had given her a nickname so many years ago. "I love you too."

Unable to help the small smile that crossed over her lips, lighting up her features and causing the corners of her eyes to crinkle slightly as she leant in, her lips pressing gently against his once more, his words sending her heart into a frenzy that she both couldn't and didn't want to even attempt to explain to anyone. It felt so right, so natural; like nothing else but this single moment, right here and now, mattered at all... and all that did was just the two of them.

Breaking away from him once again, gently brushing the tip of her nose over his as she did her best not to come across as stranger than she usually was, the five years having spent as a nun showing her just how different she truly was from the others she had been forced to spend her time with, "Jefferson... My dear, dear Hatter... Your words make me happier than even the brightest star, shining in the night sky above the mushroom fields we used to spend hours walking about together..."

Jefferson was only too eager to kiss her back, taking smaller liberties than he had before in their first kiss and pressing his lips to hers harder, already feeling more and more comfortable with this seemingly new method of contact between the two of them. When they broke apart, and she spoke with the fluid word phrase he truly had no idea where she had gotten in the first place, he couldn't help but to let out an airy chuckle. He raised his head up and let it fall back, his throat and the scar that wrapped all the way around completely exposed to her as he stared up into the sky, laughing still.

"Except there was always three of us. Ah, Edric is going to [i]kill[/i] me!"

"My brother has not had any say in my life over the past five years that have been lost and left behind..." Closing her eyes slowly, she lowered her head down slightly, her lips brushing lightly against his neck leaving a gentle trail behind before she come to a stop, her head turning to the side as she let it rest against the nape of his neck, "And until he once more gains the trust and loyalty that he once held in my eyes and that he blatantly threw aside that day... I do not see why he should have any say in what I choose for my life now. He lost that privilege, why should I allow him it once more..."

"Because you love him?" Jefferson asked, more of in a statement than a question, trying to push away the goose-flesh that crossed over his skin at her gentle kisses across his neck. Even years now after his own beheading, the scars, both physical and mental remained, leaving them both still a bit tender. He allowed both hands to wrap around her in a gentle hold, resting his stubbled cheek on the top of her head. He loved Alice. That much he was certain of now on a more profound level, but his loyalties to Edric were just as strong... even if he [i]was[/i] a moronic, womanizing bastard.

"I... do love him..." Her smile faded slightly as she thought about her brother, and how best to word the feelings that she had about him to the one that she now knew that she loved, her mind doing its best to try and figure out how best to fit her brother back into the picture now that she knew what she wanted, "Families are messy... I realize that, and accept it... and I know that sometimes the best we can do, is to remind each other that we're related, for better or for worse... Not to mention, try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum..."

Lowering her gaze slightly, her arm slipped down from around his neck, sliding down until her hand came to a rest upon his chest, her eyes lingering on her fingers as a soft sigh slipped through her lips, "But his betrayal to me runs deep and will not be easily forgotten... Maybe one day, I will find it in my heart to forgive him... but today is not that day..."

"Take your time, Little Rabbit." Jefferson said raising his head up from its resting position on her head. He in turn looked down at her, finding the way the remains of her blush across her cheeks almost breathtaking. Eyes flickering down to her hands resting on his chest, feeling his heart doing a sort of flip-flop at the sight, he moved his attention to his arms wrapped so intimately around her. He had to stop and wonder just why the hell they hadn't done this before.

His eyes moved back up to hers, a smirk coming across his lips then as he finished his statement with, "I get pissed off at him all the time too." It was a light joke; he knew the severity of what Edric had done, to break the close-knit ties he had created with his sister with one single action. But to allow Alice to dwell on such thoughts would bring a frown to her face, and that was not something he wanted to see ever again.

A small and gentle smile danced over her lips once more at his light-hearted words, causing her to reach her hand up so that she could softly caress his cheek, her thumb lightly brushing back and forth over the skin under his eyes, "As you wish... Also... please forgive me for the stress that I know I've no doubted put on the relationship that you and Edric share... Up until now, I have only been thinking of myself, my time in solitude undoubtedly making me selfish for your attention..."

Lifting her head back up she let her gaze once more catch onto his, her head tilting to the side slightly as she softened her gaze, a flicker of sadness crossing over them as she thought about the strain she had put on him and her brother because of this, "I have done wrong by you and my brother, Hatter... For that I apologize..."

Jeferson merely shrugged his shoulders, though lightly as to not shift her position of her arms or hands on his body.

"Hey, he'll come around sooner or later. I'm not too worried. You can't apologize for what's in your heart." He answered truthfully, taking a moment to lift one of his hands to hold hers that had his cheek cupped, bringing it towards his lips and kissed the top of her hand, keeping his eyes trained on hers. "Besides, whatever he can do to me... I've had worse." He chuckled, feeling the slight sting in the scar around his neck. He dropped her hand gently and returned his own hand to the position he once had it around her waist.

"My Jefferson... My sweet Jefferson..." Biting her lip softly as she felt him lift her hand up to his lips, she couldn't help the soft shade of red that crossed over her cheeks again, her heart fluttering slightly as she gazed back into his eyes, "You have been through so much, I feel so helpless knowing that I was unable to be here for you... Had I not run into the Queens guards, none of this would have happened... and we would never have been parted from one another."

Taking a step back from him, she kept hold of his hand, pulling on it gently as she moved backwards and closer to the trunk of the tree, her back pressing lightly against it before she dropped her head back against the bark, "Would things have been so different otherwise..?"

"Could be." Jefferson admitted, letting her lead him back to the tree and watched her get settled there, letting her hand drop from his though he kept close to her. Bending forward a bit, he pressed his lips to her temple, planting a soft kiss before he moved to her side to rest his own back against the trunk of the knotted tree, shifting a few times before he found a spot where the twists and curls within the bark weren't jabbing into his back too much. "There are a great many things I wish never happened. But then again, as I sit and ponder as I do, I realized that fate is inevitable. Had you not run into The Queen of Hearts' Guards, something else would have happened, something else that would have kept us apart for the same duration, or perhaps even longer; forever even." He pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest and kicking back one of his boots to rest against the trunk of the tree behind him.

Furrowing her brows as her smile dropped completely from her face, she shook her head softly, her body turning against the tree so that she was now facing him completely, her eyes meeting his, her expression showing him that to her, such a thing... such a path in life, a path without him in it... to her it would be nothing short of unforgivable, "If that was the case, then I take it all back..!"

Reaching up she placed her hand lightly on his neck, her fingers curling slightly to match the line of his neck, while her eyes seared his, unafraid to show the panic that was could clearly be heard behind her words, "I would do nothing differently... change not a single thing, if it meant that I would be able to spend the rest of my life by your side..."

His heart fluttered, and for a moment, Jefferson had to wonder if his heart would ever be able to beat normally again with her by his side. Bending his neck back a bit to embrace her hold on him, he let out a content sigh before pushing himself back to sit up straight and then hunkered himself down a bit to accommodate to her (smaller) height. He brushed away her hair covering the left side of her neck and planted a firm kiss at the juncture of her shoulder and neck.

"The rest of your life, hmm?" He asked quietly, moving his lips up an inch to kiss her there. "A topic we will have to revisit once I'm sure Edric doesn't run me through." His lips moved up another inch, just below her earlobe and kissed her there firmly, trying to pull her mind away from those thoughts she held onto, the ones that had her frowning, and in a small panic.

Pushing himself away from her, just a bit, enough to take both her hands to hold in his gently, he looked down into her eyes, taking on a serious expression once more.

"You told me not moments ago that you trust me, Little Rabbit..."

"Yes..." Shifting slightly against the trunk of the tree so that she was a bit more comfortable, her heart fluttered lightly, her light blue orbs gazing deeply into his own, unable to pull them away for any reason, though in fear that she may lose herself to them. Nodding softly, she leant forward but a fraction, her thumbs brushing lightly back and forth over the skin of his hands, her lips parting as she tilted her head slightly, her long brown locks falling down over her shoulder, "With all my heart, and all of me... I trust you..."

"Then trust me when I say that Edric thinks of little else; how he wishes he could go back and change what he did. He knows he did wrong by you and he knows what he did was unforgivable. So trust me when I say that he is truly and deeply sorry. And trust me when I say that he will [i]never[/i] make that mistake, or any like it, ever again."

"If that is what you see, and what you truly believe... then I shall find it in myself to give him a second chance... And in turn, I shall indeed return with you both to Storybrooke." Tightening her grip on his hands, her lips turned up in a small but weary smile, her hands twisting slightly until she was able to entwine her fingers with his, the young woman seeming lost in her own thoughts until she focused again, her expression changing slightly as she once more let her smile become more natural, "Although, upon my return, I think I shall give up on my profession as a nun... Thinking about it now, I do not believe that I am suited to that particular lifestyle..."

Offering a light chuckle, Jefferson, still holding onto her hands, pulled her away from the tree and began the walk back down the knotted tree hill (after collecting the faux top-hat) and back to the mushroom house where Edric, Snow and Killian were still, though they had probably long gone to bed by now.

Reaching the mushroom stem door, Jefferson opened it up for Alice, letting her in before he followed inside. Spotting Killian and Snow in the center of the living room, 'camped out' with a plethora of blankets and pillows, Jefferson smirked a bit to himself, wondering just how much longer this 'peaceful' reverie would last before things got all topsy-turvey again. 

Walking Alice to the foot of the staircase, he gave her a simple kiss on her cheek and wished her goodnight, planning on joining in with Snow and Killian on the floor of the living room. He wasn't quite sure where Edric had ended up, more than likely having taken up his old room upstairs where Alice's was also.

Watching her retreat up the stairs, Jefferson stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels, unable to keep the sly grin off his face as he thought back on his good fortune. Alice was back in his life in more ways than he could have ever hoped... and Grace would soon be with him again as well.