Once Upon A Curse

A smile slid onto the man's lips as he listened to the laugh and words come out of the blonde's mouth, his eyes focused on her face as he judged just how bad she thought he was. Would she believe he would harm a child? He had yet to harm anyone around her, so he was wondering where she was getting this belief. Sighing heavily, Hook shook his head as he leaned forward once again, "Miss Swan, as you should know, I would never harm a child. I'm simply using threats to get my way." His eyes were dark as he studied her face, searching it for something before he followed her gaze to Henry. Smirking lightly, Hook turned his attention back to Emma, watching her face as she watched Henry.

When she turned her attention back to him, Hook let the smirk widen on his lips, though it fell when he heard her reference. He had no idea what she meant, but he figured it was something that was supposed to be gentle and kind seeing as how she had thrown in girl in the sentence. Shifting in his seat, he chuckled darkly as he focused his gaze on her eyes, "Perhaps I don't want you to leave me alone." He was, of course, flirting with her again as he always did. Though her quick jab at him made his eyes set in a glare, and his fist gently clench. Was she trying to anger him? He already knew that the crocodile was gone and he had no way of getting to him, but that didn't mean he couldn't cause havoc. He was still a pirate after all.
 
"So you admit to threatening Jefferson." Emma didn't say it as a question, more of a statement of the obvious. She knew Hook would never harm someone without a reason, especially a child. He may have tried to come off as ruthless but his actions always proved that there was more to him. Not that Emma would let on that she knew that about him, she was done with blindly trusting people. "All I'm asking is that you stop and leave Jefferson and his daughter alone."

She pursed her lips together, eyes taking in Hook's glare. She also noted that his fist clenched in anger at her comment seeing as how she had hurt his pride. He was, of course, a man who was used to people fearing him and taking him seriously. At least that's how she took him anyway. For a moment she didn't even process that he was flirting with her, too involved in trying to figure him out once again. "If you're having problems adjusting here I can help you." A moment passed and she cringed, realizing the poor choice in words she had made. "I mean that as the Sheriff. Don't try and warp that into something sexual. It's annoying, she tried to tell herself. But she couldn't deny that she enjoyed these moments with Hook.

Emma noticed movement to her side and saw Henry watching her. From the look on his face she could tell that he was worried about her talking with one of the villains from his book. "Just tell me what you want from Jefferson." Her voice was tired but open when she addressed Hook again. "I can't promise that I'll be able to help you but I can try." Her eyebrows shifted up slightly as she watched the man across from her, willing him to talk to her.
 
His gaze wavered over Emma's face as he took in her words, he kept silent for a while, letting her words sink in and allowing her to continue as she spoke. She wanted him to leave Jefferson alone, to stop threatening him and to stop seeking his assistance. Well now, that was something Hook just couldn't do. He needed the man so that he could get home, so that he could leave this place behind and return to Neverland. There he would not age, and he could spend years searching for a way to kill the crocodile. What that man had done to him was unforgiving, and he would spend every last breath he had in order to make sure that man had suffered, which is exactly why he had shot Belle, making her trip over the line of town and forget her memories for good. He knew that Mr. Gold loved the girl, and what better way to make him hurt than to make her forget about him completely.

Returning his thoughts to what the woman was saying, Hook chuckled darkly as he heard her offer, smirking even more when she tried to correct herself, "I'm sure you mean it as Sheriff. And I would never, Miss Swan." He had a joking tone to his words, though he kept his smirk light as he continued to look over at the woman. Though he had lost his one love, Hook never denied a chance to joke around with a woman, turning most of the conversation into something sexual. And he did indeed enjoy doing it with Emma a bit more than others. She wasn't like most women, and she continued to deny him at every turn, which simply fueled him more.

Shaking his head at Emma's offer to help Hook in whatever way she could, the man 'tsk'ed her lightly, lifting his hand to shake a finger at her with a light smirk. There was no that Emma could help him, not unless she had a way for him to get home, in which case he knew she didn't. "You provide no help to me, Emma. So I have no need to confide in you," as he said the words he focused his attention on her face, keeping contact with the other as she tried to get him to spill why he was seeking Jefferson's help, or more so threatening the man into helping.

"Now, it seems your boy isn't too inclined to us speaking. And as much as I'd like to get you to admit you fancy me, I have other things to attend to," as he spoke his last words, Hook stood from his chair, smiling as he looked down now at Emma. He was getting bored of her pressing him to explain why he was going after the Mad Hatter, and Hook was not going to give her even a little hint. Grinning as a thought crossed his mind, the man soon shook his head as he peered down at Emma, "Till next time, my dear." With that, Hook made his way to the front door of the diner, and before he pushed the door open and left, he turned back to give Emma one last wink and a smirk before he disappeared.
 
Emma let out a frustrated sigh. "I hate these people sometimes." She muttered as she folded her arms on the table and put her head in them. She didn't understand how to deal with the fairy tale creatures, a fact proven from the one time she had actually gone to their world, her real world, and failed horribly in trying to protect her mother. But she wasn't about to give up now, not over one of her chats with Hook. He may have been the most confusing of them all but she was determined to keep Storybrooke say. Even if it meant keeping an eye on the pirate. Though she felt like some part of her was pleased with that fact, even eager to run into Hook again. It's that smirk, her thoughts turned bitter.

"Mom?" Henry's voice caused Emma to jump slightly, jerking her head up and around to look at him. "Are you okay?" Just in that moment his attention was taken away as he watch some more customers come in through the door. "Oh. Grace is here with her dad." He smiled and waved at his fellow classmate and Emma let herself slip into her new found mother role.

Jefferson watched his daughter run off to go talk to Emma's son and frowned, curious as to why she hadn't tried to go find Hook yet. He shook his head,a bit disgusted with how she ran her business for a moment, and headed over to a table for two. He knew Grace's order by heart and was eyeing the waitress now, figuring he could get this show on the road. The real reason for being at the diner was because of his interest in the waitress, whom he had never actually met but knew of her. She was Red Ridinghood, and she was always smiling. Jefferson just wanted to know what about. And so he took Grace over to the diner ever since they had been reunited, hoping for a chance to say more than just his order.
 
The diner was getting quite the business that afternoon, watching as people wandered in and out, some she knew all too well and others she only knew of. She had watched Emma and Hook speak for a while, wondering if she should intervene but decided against it. There were plenty of other customers she needed to take care of and she had conversed with Henry for a little as he ordered for himself and his mother. Ruby was quite the talker, and loved to communicate with the residents of Storybrooke. When her memories had come back to her, she became a bit weary of most of the residents, knowing that they now knew she was the werewolf from their previous land. She was Red Riding Hood from Henry's fairy tales, except she was the wolf in the story instead of someone else.

Quirking a brow as a new scent wafted through her nose, Ruby turned her attention back to the front door of her grandmother's diner, watching as a man and a girl walked in. She stood her ground as she watched Henry and the little girl meet up and start chatting with each other. She had heard of this man, Jefferson, for he was the Mad Hatter from a different realm. She had heard Emma, Mary Margaret, and David speak of him before. It had something to do with the man kidnapping Emma and Mary Margaret in order to restore something of his. Ruby had simply agreed to be cautious around the man, but she never turned away from a person until she herself got to know them, especially since she was a wolf and a girl at the same time. She certainly couldn't be preaching to the choir.

Picking up a notepad, Ruby placed a smile on her face as she walked over to the table Jefferson had chosen to sit at, "Hello, may I take your order?" She seemed to always have a smile on her face, being happy about something or a rather. She simply was glad that she had all her memories back, and was glad that she now had her family and friends back. Even though life was a bit hard now that she would be changing each full moon, Ruby knew she had the red cloak back and could prevent the change as long as she wore it. It still didn't deter her from enjoying life and continuing to be happy as best she could.
 
Jefferson had tried his best not to look at the woman as she stood behind the counter, watching the people around her. But it was hard to not take at least a peek from time to time, mostly hoping that she took it as a sign that he was ready to order and not just being creepy. He had a tendency to come off as creepy to the fellow residents of the town, less so now that Grace was back with him. But it still didn't stop the other people from whispering things about him, talking about how he was one of the bad guys. When I'm not, the thought bitterly as he played with the fork on the napkin in from of him. It was a nervous tick, his fiddling with random objects while thinking. Something he had developed during his time in Wonderland when all he had was time to make hats. So many hats that the building he was in was stacked high with them, making it a surprise that he wasn't buried alive in the. Not at all, he just went a little insane.

His hand stopped playing with the fork long enough to notice that she had left her post behind the counter and was walking over to him, all curves and long legs. He tried to tell himself that he wasn't checking her out, but what sane man wouldn't? It wasn't the clothes she was wearing, since it was a standard uniform, but the way she wore them. Someone could practically see the wolf inside her through her movements. It made him wonder if she had the same affect when looking someone in the eyes. I'm about to find out, the thought crossed his mind briefly as she stopped beside his table with a smile at the ready. "O-order?" He coughed out, a bit shocked at the way his thoughts were going.

"Right." His face struggled to put a smile on it as he soon found himself nervous. He hadn't been nervous since he had first met Grace's mother. "I'd like a grilled cheese with fries on the side and a pink lemonade." There was a pause as he tried to remember his own order, one he always made when ordering from any diner. "And what's the special today?" His eyes could make out a big board behind the counter just beyond the girl that stated exactly what the special was. Honestly, he just wanted to keep her around longer. He enjoyed how she smiled at him, even if she was apparently a good friend to Emma. "I can't quite see the board."
 
When Emma had destroyed the curse, making it possible for all the residents in the town to regain their memories, everything about Ruby had started to make sense. Her odd love for wolves, the interesting feelings she always got when the full moon came around, her intensified sense of smell, and her quick and elegant movements. When her memories flooded back into her mind, she realized why she had been able to do the things she could do because she was a wolf. She changed every full moon, or so long as she didn't have the cloak, and she had all the abilities that a wolf had; the great sense of smell, the intensified hearing, and the ability to move with agility and stealth.

She knew the look that came into Jefferson's eyes when she was making her way to him, seeing as she got that look more often than not. Granny told her it was because of how she wore her uniform; short skirt and white button up, tied at the bottom and only a few of the buttons actually done. After Ruby had left the diner and found a new job, she had removed the red streaks from her hair so now it was just the dark brown of her natural hair color. Red was her color, one of the only colors that she actually wore every day, noting by her clothes and the bright red lipstick. The way she dressed and the way men stared at her was why her grandmother and her got into plenty of fights. But Ruby never minded, she liked the way she dressed, seeing as how she was used to be like the wolf, free in its own skin.

She smiled lightly as it seemed Jefferson was having a bit of trouble saying his orders, finally jotting down his first order as he told it to her. When he finally asked about the special for the day, Ruby let a brow rise curiously as she looked back at him before she nodded her head, "Today is Granny's special ham sandwich." She spoke sweetly to the man, keeping her light smile on her face even though she knew what he had done to two of her friends. But again, Ruby was not one to judge, not at least until she got to know the person, than she could pass her own judgment of them.
 
"Is that any good?" Jefferson asked, feeling like an idiot. He had never been great with woman, especially after the death of his wife. And talking to this particular woman was a bit difficult with how she was dressed and the vibe she gave off. It was a truly amazing vibe, one full of the wolf that she was and he was over powered with it at the moment. He had been right about her eyes, they were filled to the brim with her true nature. His own mother had once told him that werewolves were not people that shifted into wolves at all but wolves that shifted into people, and at the moment he agreed. No longer where his eyes on her outfit and how it settled perfectly against her body, now they were only on her eyes. It was hard to think that any man could look into her eyes and not be swept up in the current that they brought with one look.

"Papa?" Grace was suddenly back in her seat, done visiting with Henry and wondering now why he father looked so awestruck. Her voice was enough to jolt him out of the current and back into reality, pretty much gasping for the right words to say now. "I'm fine." Was all he could manage before returning to look at Ruby, or so her name tag said. And what reason does she have to lie about her name on a name tag? He asked himself stupidly, finally able to smile up at her. "Well?" He tried to keep his voice encouraging and not at all threatening or weird, though he assumed that it came off as weird anyway.
 
Normally the woman was pretty good at figuring out people just by spending a few moments with them, she had an odd way to sense how they were feeling, which usually gave her some kind of sense of the person. But with the man before her, he had an odd sense about him, almost like it was flipping between different things. She couldn't quite grasp at just one or the other, seeing as how there were more than just a few that were nudging at her. Shifting on her feet, Ruby registered his question and tried to push away the thoughts that were running rampant through her head. Perhaps Emma and Mary Margaret were right about Jefferson, maybe he was just a crazy resident of the town. Then again, Ruby didn't want to mark him down as that just yet, especially since she was getting some feelings that he truly wasn't that bad.

Opening her mouth to answer the man, Ruby was cut off as his daughter came up to the table, taking her spot across from her father. Turning her attention to the girl, she smiled warmly before turning her attention once again to Jefferson, "It's delicious. One of the sandwiches I always get." She chuckled softly, more to herself than anyone else, as she waited for the rest of his order. She let her eyes go to Grace once again, before letting them travel to Jefferson, smiling as she waited.
 
Grace looked down at her hands, twirling her spoon between her fingers. Jefferson knew she was shy around new people and that she could probably sense that her own father had some time of discomfort around Ruby. Which was definitely not the case at all, the opposite in fact. "Then I'll take that and some ice tea."

"Did you get my order, Papa?" Grace asked shyly, peeking up quickly at the tall dark brown haired woman beside the table. "Grilled cheese and---"

With a soft chuckle Jefferson nodded, cutting her off gently. "Pink lemonade. I know, Grace." He turned his tender gaze away from his daughter and back to Ruby, wondering over her red lipstick for a moment. It was a nice touch, all the red she seemed to have on her, considering her name. "Thank you." He was about to let her walk away when he found a small amount of courage push through his body. "And if this isn't too forward...Can I possibly get your number?" It wasn't the smoothest thing he could have said but honestly he had never tried to 'pick up' on a woman before. It wasn't the best skill of his, unlike other men. "Just for coffee. I swear." And now he was going through the back tracking stage of his usual flirting style. His wife had found it truly hilarious and he could only hope that Ruby might too.
 
Nodding her head as she jotted down the man's order, Ruby was about to speak again before Grace spoke up, which she turned her attention to the young girl. Smiling warmly as she shyly tried to explain her order, Ruby smiled even more when Jefferson finished her order, confirming that he had ordered and remembered what she usually got. "Alright, I'll get that right out for you guys," Ruby responded with a smile as she was about to turn and go fetch their drinks before waiting for their food to be up and ready. Though she stopped herself from doing so when she heard Jefferson's question.

Looking back over at the man, Ruby raised a brow curiously before letting her smile fall back onto her lips, forming an answer in her head as she then heard his explanation of why he was asking for her number. Chuckling lightly, the woman nodded as she flipped to a different page in her notepad, quickly jotting down her number before ripping the page off, "Yeah, sure," her voice was light, and her smile was still evident on her lips as she set down the paper on the table, next to Jefferson as she finally turned to get their drinks. Returning moments later with the drinks, Ruby set them down, "Your food will be out soon."
 
Jefferson was bright red at what he had just done and stayed that way even when Ruby brought their drinks out. He couldn't believe that he had done such a thing, and in front of his daughter. He would have liked to pretend that he knew Grace didn't understand what had just happened but he hadn't raised an idiot for a daughter. The paper with Ruby's number was still on the table, a reminder to all that had just seen that happen that Jefferson was an idiot himself. I have to stop beating myself up about things like this, the man thought as he grasped the slip of paper between his fingers and eyed the number for a moment. Then he quickly slipped it into his pocket, trying to push back his embarrassment.

"Thank you." Grace said in place of her father, noticing that he had forgotten his manners, which to her consisted of saying please and thank you. "You're really pretty. Right Papa?"

My god, Jefferson pursed his lips together as he held back the urge to bury his face in his hands. The next words out of his mouth sounded strangled and he hoped that neither of the girls would be offended. "Right, Grace. Very pretty."
 
The woman wasn't usually one to pass out her number, especially when she knew so little about a person. Billy, or should she say Gus, had once asked her out on a date, in which she declined. It wasn't for the fact he wasn't a nice boy, but because of who he truly was. She was a wolf, instincts and all, and he was a mouse, something that Ruby knew she would have chased around like a toy. Though she knew Jefferson was the Mad Hatter, thanks to Henry's book, she still knew barely anything about him. But for some reason, Ruby had actually felt really good when the man had asked for her number, actually wondering how their date would go, if he did indeed call her that is.

When she had placed the drinks before her, Ruby had caught sight of Jefferson's face and used every muscle in her body to stop herself from laughing, noting how embarrassed he looked. When it was Grace that thanked her for their drinks, Ruby turned her attention to the young girl, "You are quite welcome," she said this with a smile as she looked down at her, though the smile faltered as she heard the next words that came out of Grace's mouth. She was slightly caught off guard, even more so with Jefferson's strangled answer. Looking between them, Ruby finally smiled once again, "Well, thank you. Both of you."
 
Jefferson eyed his daughter, because anything was better than having to watch Ruby laugh at how pathetic he was. Which was exactly what he thought she'd be doing by now. The fact that she wasn't helped to calm his nerves, if only by a little bit. "Anytime." He said, trying to come off as if he did this sort of thing all the time. Hit on women he barely knew in front of his impressionable daughter, yeah all the time. Then to Grace he raised his eyebrows in a way that only she would understand. Between them the eyebrow lifted and slightly wide eyed look meant 'What do you think you're doing?' It had been so long since he was able to be with his daughter like this that he wondered if she would even remember their secret language.

Back before he had taken Regina into Wonderland via his Hat he had spent every waking moment possible with Grace. He had even tried to quit his world jumping days after her mother died, wanting nothing more than to be around the only thing that she left behind for him. Their daughter. It wasn't until Regina had played on his love for his daughter and need to give her the world that he had foolishly taken one last trip to Wonderland under the promise of untold riches. Or at least enough to give Grace the life she deserved. But he had been lied too and left behind, stabbed in the back by a woman he should have never trusted. He thought the curse was the best thing that could have happened to him when he realized that once more Grace and him were in the same world. But then he realized that she was not his daughter in this world, but a child to another family. And the big house with all his expensive things had turned into nothing in the face of the reality of his new world. Because she hadn't remembered him.

Now that Emma had broken the Curse though Grace had remembered him. Every time he tried to test her memory, to see if maybe she had forgotten something that had happened between them and replaced it with new memories from her new life, she showed him up. Because she did remember, all of it. Jefferson knew that. He also knew that it would take him a while to accept that she was his again. His Grace.

And in the mean time he wanted to focus on himself and what he wanted. With that thought in mind he looked back up at Ruby, with a real smile this time. "Sorry. You know how children can be." He said this just as Grace returned his look with an innocent wide eyed one of her one, showing that she did remember his famous looks. "I'm looking forward to the food." As an after thought he added. "And the coffee later on."
 
It was endearing to Ruby, watching how father and daughter acted together and noticing that there was something there that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Ruby couldn't remember how her father and her acted together, seeing as it had been so long ago. She had lived only with her grandmother for years, only knowing that her mother and father had been killed on one of the wolf nights. When she found out she had inherited the wolf curse from her parents, and run off with Snow White, is when Ruby learned of her mother. That she hadn't died all those years ago, and had simply run off. Her mother had mastered the curse and could enjoy the turn each full moon. Ruby was then taught by her mother and others how to let go and enjoy the turn. She had intended to stay with her mother and the pack, and only with the odd turn of events involving Snow White and her mother getting killed did Ruby choose to leave once again with Snow White.

"Of course," Ruby answered with a smile as she was pulled from her thoughts, looking down at Jefferson only to smile even more as she noted he was also smiling. She found the smile to look good on him, and nodded before turning and heading back to the front counter. It would only be a few more moments before the food was ready, so Ruby took the time to check on her other customers, making sure they were enjoying everything and seeing if they needed anything else. Getting a few more customers refills on their drinks, Ruby was once again behind the counter, waiting for the orders to come up as she cleaned the counter and put away clean dishes. She did most of the hard work around the diner, seeing as her grandmother's health was failing her as of lately, so she was getting ready to take over when her grandmother chose to retire from working there.
 
Once Emma and Henry had finished their meal she told him to head on home, wanting to hang back for a moment to talk with Ruby. She had seen her friend give Jefferson her number, or so she assumed from how red he got after asking, and couldn't believe that anyone would trust a man who had kidnapped people before. Though she tried to remind herself that everyone deserved a second chance, it was hard when she had experienced first hand the bad things the people had done. It was why she had such a hard time believing that Regina was changing for the better. Her love for Henry and their shared relationship with him was all that kept Emma from completely writing off the woman when ever she burned someone. That and the fact that underneath the tough exterior she tried to show off was a soul that wanted to believe that everyone was good.

So with all of that waging a small war in her mind she made her way to the counter, stopping when Ruby was just across from her. "What was that?" It was a slightly blunt way of getting the answers she wanted but blunt was just her thing. She placed her hands on the counter and leaned against it, lowering her voice. "You do realize that is the man who kidnapped my mother and me, right?" Her stormy blue eyes swam with the millions of questions that she was holding back but planning on firing off when the chance came.

~X~

"How has school been?" Jefferson asked, though his attention was on Emma and Ruby. Great. There goes my only chance. Vaguely he heard Grace chattering on about how things were a bit weird for her now since her memories were back. Her experiences with school had apparently been confusing at first, especially since her teacher's husband kept showing up randomly with flowers or some other kind of romantic gift.

"It's so sweet." She said, looking out the window of the diner as if fantasizing about her own future love life. "I never really thought I'd be getting taught by the Queen and watching her Prince Charming show up to sweep her off her feet in a new way every day."

(Sorry for all this random info I'm adding in that the show doesn't say. O.O I think it's a cute touch but if it's bothering you then let me know.)
 
With her knowledge that Emma was in the diner when she had given her number to Jefferson, Ruby could only suspect that the other would have some choice words for her. Yes, she knew of what Jefferson had done to Emma and Mary Margaret, but hadn't he done it out of love for his daughter? Could Ruby really turn a cold shoulder on a man that was simply acting upon love? The man hadn't actually brought any harm upon them, even if it was because they had fought back against him. But as Ruby always thought, people deserved second chances. Especially since everyone had given her a second chance, after she had brutally killed Peter, her lost love. She didn't deserve a second chance, not after she had ripped apart another person, not after everyone knew that she was the wolf. And yet she had been given that chance, so why didn't this man?

Setting down what she had been doing, Ruby turned her full attention on Emma, who stood on the other side of the counter from her, "I know, Emma. But he doesn't seem that bad." The woman kept her voice low, making sure that nobody else heard them speaking. Turning her attention to Jefferson, she frowned lightly before letting her gaze go back to Emma, knowing that the conversation was nowhere near finished. But Ruby was fine with that, knowing that many people would ask about it, seeing as most people knew what Jefferson had done to her two friends.

(( No worries, it's fine by me :] ))
 
"That bad?" Emma asked, eyebrows shooting up at all the responses that bubbled up inside her. And then she just pictured Henry, her son who once told her that Good always beat Evil. That fighting Evil with Evil would just end in chaos. It was something that she had tried to apply to her every day life, without telling anyone about it of course. She wanted to be the mother that Henry could look up to and want to be like. Someone who gave people a second chance. But with her old trust issues it was always hard to ignore that everyone lied at some point in their life. Liars could always give in to Evil. So with visible effort she pushed back her beef against Jefferson and started to nod slowly, as if coming to terms with the idea of Ruby and Jefferson doing anything together. "Fine. Sorry. I...shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that." Not that Ruby needed an explanation, the other woman was very good at reading people. Saying the words just helped Emma feel better. "Tell Granny that the food was great, like always. Bye." And with that she quickly left the diner, but not before sharing a look with Jefferson.

~X~

"Henry's mom is so cool." Grace was prattling on about another subject but Jefferson just couldn't quite tune into her at the moment. He was too caught up in the fact that distrust was still held against him by Emma. And probably Mary Margaret too. It was enough to make him wonder if Ruby would even accept his call, if he even dug up the courage to dial the seven digits. "Is are food done yet? I'm hungry."
 
Frowning as she looked at Emma, she knew that the woman still held a grudge against the man, for what he had done to her and to her mother. Ruby knew that sometimes grudges couldn't simply be pushed away that easily, but perhaps everyone could get over the fact that Jefferson had made a mistake, a mistake made out of love for his daughter. Feeling at a loss for words for a moment, the woman simply nodded her head, watching Emma as she knew something was going on in her head as well. Hearing the woman's quick apology, Ruby blinked out of surprise, as she had been startled by Emma's apology and choice of words, "No, it's alright. I understand." Watching the other for a few moments, she was unsure of what to say really, "Oh. Ok. Of course."

After watching Emma take a quick leave, Ruby kept her gaze on the front door for a few moments, lost as to what exactly do with herself. Perhaps Emma was thinking of giving Jefferson another chance, maybe seeing that the man had acted out of love and not just because he was crazy. Hearing her name being called a few times, the woman shook herself from her thoughts and turned her head to see that the cook was calling her name. Quickly moving to grab the plates of food, Ruby apologized to him before moving to the table that Jefferson and Grace were sitting at, "Sorry for the wait," the woman spoke with a smile on her face as she set their plates in front of them, "Anything else I can get you?"
 
Jefferson paused in his response to Grace, having finally turned his focus on his daughter to find that she had forgotten about the food for a moment and was more concerned about dessert. "Uh, yeah." He eyed his little girl for a moment before looking up at Ruby. "I think." A small smile spread across his face as he peeked over at Grace while picking up the menu. He opened up the menu as if he were preforming a magic trick, making a big deal out of it for the little one. She giggled and watched her father in amusement, wondering what exactly he was up to now. "She started out wanting to order all the types of pie you guys have but I believe that I talked her down to a slice of cake with some hot cocoa for dessert."

Just as quickly and exaggeratively he stood up and leaned down, using his hand to brush back some hair so that he could better whisper in Ruby's ear. "I don't think she'll be hungry after dinner so if you could just place that in a box and put it on my bill but not mention it?" He knew Grace was watching him and could tell from her wide eyes that she thought something truly amazing was happening. So he gave her a small wink, urging on her thoughts. "She gets sad when she doesn't eat all the food I've gotten for her." And then he easily folded back into his chair, stacking the two menus together and putting them to the side to make more room for their plates. "Let's eat, Gracie."
 
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