Jefferson nodded.

"Thank you," he said. "I owe you quite a bit."

"Don't worry about it," Mai said with a quick smile. "I'm just glad things will work out for you all." And if her apartment would be a little lonely now, well, she'd get used to it.

Jefferson held Grace a little longer before reluctantly letting her go.

"Once we get things figured out with the people looking after you, you can come home with me, little bug," he said to her.

Grace turned to look at Mai, who sighed but smiled.

"How about we get dinner first?" Mai suggested. "And then we'll see."

Grace looked at Jefferson hopefully, because she knew Mai had included him in dinner.

Jefferson couldn't resist Grace giving him those eyes, and he smiled.

"Let's go, then," he said, gesturing for them to leave.

Grace grinned and kept hold of his hand as they all headed to the diner.

Mai sat across from them, smiling a little. Okay she'd admit she was a little jealous but she was very happy for Paige.

Lydia smiled when she saw them. Her shift was almost over, but she wouldn't mind staying a bit longer for Mai and Paige.

"Hey," she greeted, going over to the table with a set of menus. "Just in case you don't know, my name's Lydia, I'll be taking care of you today." Mostly, that was for the benefit of the man with them. She vaguely recognized him, but she wasn't anywhere near as familiar with him as she was with Mai and Paige. "Anything to drink to get you started?"

"Water, please," Paige said with a smile.

"Iced tea. Thanks, Lydia." Mai gave her a small smile, already starting to mellow out as the sun went down.

"My pleasure," Lydia said. She looked at Jefferson. "And you?"

Jefferson considered for a moment.

"Hot tea," he said. Lydia smiled and nodded.

"Coming right up," she chirped, hurrying away to get the drinks. She paused at Hook's table. He'd been sitting there for a while, just letting her refill his coffee. "Still doing alright?"

"Mmhm." Hook looked at her for a moment. "Good coffee." He wasn't going to mention it yet, but he had tucked in his hand a pearl that he'd found in his soup, and he was pretty sure he knew where it had come from.

"Where do you live, Papa?" Grace asked, looking at Jefferson. "I haven't seen you out before."

"Need a refill yet?" Lydia asked.

Jefferson grinned.

"I have a house out just inside the woods," he said. "Everything we couldn't have before, little bug."

"Not quite, thank you, love." Hook shot her a charming grin.

Grace brightened a little at that. Mostly because it meant she could stay with him, he had the room. She looked at Mai hopefully.

Mai sighed a tolerantly amused sigh. "We'll see," she said to the unasked question. "After dinner."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything else," Lydia said. Then she went to get the drinks for Mai's table.

"Patience, Grace," Jefferson said, still smiling a bit. "We'll get things figured out soon."

"If you're ready, I don't mind her staying the night with you tonight," Mai said after a few moments. "She doesn't have school tomorrow, but she does the day after. Besides, the earliest you'd be able to meet with the couple would be tomorrow, now."

Jefferson blinked. He'd already made peace with the fact that Grace wouldn't be coming home with him for at least a few more days. The sudden offer surprised him.

Mai shrugged. "I'm sure you two could use the time to talk and catch up," she said by way of explanation.

There was no way to miss the look Grace was giving him, either, so Jefferson smiled and nodded.

"I'd love to let her stay," he said.

Mai nodded. "Once we're done I'll pack up an overnight bag for her and drop it off," she said, leaning back in her seat a bit. She could tell they were both happy to see each other, which was good, and so far Jefferson had been very well behaved.

Jefferson nodded.

"Thank you," he said. "You've done so much more than I can ever repay."

"Don't worry about that," Mai said with a little shrug. "I didn't do it for any kind of recognition or payment. So long as Paige is happy, I'm happy."

"Still, I feel like I should make it up to you somehow," Jefferson said.

Mai just shrugged a bit, ambivalent. She didn't expect anything from him, after all. So she let Grace take over the rest of the conversation through dinner.

Once Lydia brought the meal orders over to Mai's table, she checked on Hook again. He was still sitting there with the coffee, though he seemed to be looking at something.

"Still doing alright?" she asked him.

"Just wondering." Hook held up the little blue-tinted pearl between his fingers. "Do you always leave treasures in your customers' soups, love?"

Lydia's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the pearl. It felt almost as though everything had come crashing down around her just as she'd gotten her feet under her again. Apparently, the magical tightness she'd felt before hadn't been nothing, and her cursed enchantment had followed her after all.

"I'm so sorry," she managed faintly. "I had no idea that had happened." She chose her words carefully, making sure nothing else fell from her lips.