We're All Mad Here (Jefferson x OC)

Chapter Forty

After he was sure Regina had left, Jefferson went back to the woods to find Serena and Grace. The sound of faint giggles made him smile, taking his mind off Regina's offer. He continued to look around, knowing his girls were messing with him.

"You can come out now." He called out, turning around as he waited for them to show. When he didn't get an answer, he started to panic. The giggles could've been Regina messing with him. She could've taken Grace and Serena while he was distracted. "Serena? Grace!"

A moment later, he felt a hand on his back and spun around to see Serena smiling up at him. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as she pulled him in for a kiss.

"Surprise, sweetie." She laughed against his lips.

"Not funny." He grumbled, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I thought Regina had taken you. You scared the shit out of me."

"That's not very nice." She joked, kissing him again. He rested his forehead against hers with a soft smile.

"And you making me think something happened to you wasn't nice." He told her, cupping her cheek with his free hand. "Anyway, where's Grace?"

"She went to collect mushrooms." Serena explained, softly kissing his lips. "She was worried, so I tried to keep her mind off things." He nodded with a hum of understanding before slipping his hands down to her hips and pressing kisses to her neck. "What did Regina want?"

"Not now, baby." He groaned, lightly sucking on her skin. "We'll talk about it later. I just want you to myself right now."

"Come on." She pushed him off her neck, earning a disappointed grunt from her husband. "We won't have much time before Grace gets back, and I don't want to talk about it in front of her."

"I know, princess." He sighed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Regina gave me a job offer."

"What was it?"

"She wanted me to take her to Wonderland to find something."

"What could she possibly need from Wonderland?"

"I have no idea." He answered with a sigh, taking her hands in his. "She just said something of hers was taken there."

"You're not thinking about taking the job, are you?" She asked him. When he didn't say anything, her face dropped. "No. You're not actually thinking about going back to Wonderland. That place is awful."

"I know, but if I did this for her, she could set us up for life." He tried to convince her, but she just shook her head and moved away from him.

"This is coming from the person who said he didn't want to live off Regina's money." Tears formed in her eyes as she spoke. "From the person who said he didn't trust her!"

"I don't trust her." He told her, moving towards her. "But this could be it for us. We could give Grace everything she ever wanted. We would never have to hunt for mushrooms again."

"That's not the point." She walked around him to get away. "You seriously don't see anything wrong with what Regina was offering? I can't believe you. Regina hates you. She would never offer you something that didn't end in her hurting you."

"I know, princess." He walked up behind her, gently massaging her shoulders. He kissed the back of her head, making sure she didn't pull away. "But I want you to have the best life."

"I already have the best life." She turned in his arms. "I don't need money, or jewels, or handmaidens covering for me. I just need you and Grace. All we need is each other. Okay?"

"Okay." He nodded and kissed her forehead as she wrapped her arms around him. "Let's go get Grace. She's probably found enough mushrooms for the next week." She nodded as Jefferson pulled her towards the trees to find Grace.