Better Love

Chapter Six

"So? He try and murder you yet?" Regina asked Jessa when the girl entered her office. The queen has texted her early in the morning, asking her to bring over some papers.

She just chuckled at the mayor's question, laying the documents she was holding on the desk. "Nope. See? All in one piece." She turned on the spot to show her boss that she was alright. "You need anything else?"

Regina seemed surprised at that, but Regina tended to expect that everyone was going to try and kill them. "Oh? Maybe you were right about rehabilitating him. And no, I should be good."

"Cool, and yeah, I have hopes."

"Well in that case, I owe Henry 20 dollars." Regina laughed. "He bet me you could do it." Jess debated on making a joke about the queen doubting her abilities, but knew that Regina was just acting out of a place of concern.

"Gambling? How evil of you." Was what she said instead

"You're so dramatic." Regina rolled her eyes, grinning slightly. The young girl was one of the few people in this town who she actually enjoyed (Despite her loyalty to Gold). "Go home, take a break. Or as much as you can while keeping an eye on your pet monster."

"Just remember that 20 for Henry!" Jessa reminded Regina, shutting the door behind her.

***

Having opted to walk instead of taking her car, she let the sun bask over her as she strolled past the docks. It was morning and she figured the light exercise would wake her up. As least enough that she wouldn't drink too much coffee.

"Hey Jessa!" A young voice called out to her. Turning to face the noise, she spotted the owner of the voice. A grin appeared on her face when she saw who it was

"Good morning, Paige." Jessa walked up to the young girl, who was standing with a man she didn't recognize. "How are you?"

"Good, I-"

"It's Grace." The man spoke up, cutting through Jessa's conversation with the little girl.

Jessa bristled at his harsh tone, looking him over. He was handsome. Dark hair, late twenties to early thirties, someone she could imagine seeing as a love interest in tv. "Oh?"

"Yeah, my real name is Grace!" Paige- now Grace - told her, drawing her attention back to the girl. "And this is my Papa!" She looked up at the man, who didn't look entirely comfortable with the attention. "Papa, this is Jessa, she used to babysit me."

"Nice to meet you." He nodded to her, slightly less hostile. "My name is..."

"Jefferson, I presume?" She finished Graces sentence, looking at the man with a raised eyebrow. "Emma told me about you." More specifically, about how he - the Mad Hatter - had kidnapped her.

The expression on his face immediately turned regretful. "I..." He knew exactly what she had heard about him. "I just wanted to break the curse."

His excuse was weak, but she accepted it anyway. "No worries. Water under the bridge." She made a dismissive gesture, and Jefferson let out a sigh of relief.

"What's water under the bridge?" Grace asked, looked up at the two of them curiously.

But Jessa just knelt down, face to face with the girl. "Nothing really." She lied, smiling gently at her. "You know... your dad worked really hard to get you back. So you be good to him, alright?"

Grace nodded and Jessa patted her gently on the shoulder. "You both have a good day." She told them, standing up.

"You too." Jefferson called after her as she continued her walk home.