Treasures Untold
 

Hook had heard some rumors of a girl in town that he very much wanted to meet, someone who could give him all the riches he would ever need. Someone who, when she spoke, also spoke diamonds, gemstones, and flowers. Flowers he didn't care about; the gems he did.

So he was going to see if he could find her.

On the other side of town, Mai was helping her favorite little girl find her father. Her real father, not the people she'd been living with under the curse. Which put Mai in a bit of an interesting and awkward position, but the girl was fine staying in her apartment for now, and it wasn't that big a town. It couldn't possibly take too long to find one man.

Lydia was helping out at the diner, for the most part. It had been her job before the curse, and now that the curse was lifted, she needed something familiar in her life while she sorted things out. Thankfully, her own personal enchantment hadn't seemed to follow her over from the other world.

Jefferson, on the other hand, was in the center of town, checking in with the reuniting center. He checked in all the time, looking for some sign of Grace.

Hook stopped in at the diner, figuring he may as well get some food. Swan had been nice enough to introduce him to food in Storybrooke, and he rather liked the diner. So he picked a seat and settled in to wait.

Mai happened to pass by the reuniting center and paused when she saw an unfamiliar man. Black hair, check, kind of odd clothes, check. He could be Paige's father. Could. Possibly. She wasn't going to expect anything. But she would go talk to him.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lydia happened to be near that table when he sat down, and she paused briefly when she realized he was a new face.

"Here you are, Marco," she said, setting down the old man's tea. "Give a shout if you need anything else." With that, she headed over to the newly-occupied table. "Hello! My name's Lydia, I'll be taking care of you today. Can I start you off with something to drink, or do you need a few minutes?" Like always, she could feel the faint tightening in the back of her throat that signaled a flower or a precious stone trying to form, but like always, it stopped there. She hadn't known what it was, before the curse over the town was broken, but as soon as she had her own self back, she knew.

Jefferson looked up from the updated lists. He'd been looking for Grace's name.

"My daughter," he said after a moment of collecting his thoughts. He felt a bit easier in his head, now that the curse was broken and he wasn't fighting against broken fragments of his old self. "Her name is-- was, I mean-- Grace."

"Perhaps a coffee?" Hook said, looking at her with a charming smile. Because he was kind of bullshitting his way through this, but he was practically an expert at that.

"Ah. Grace. Her name was Paige, under the curse." Mai considered him for a few moments, her eyes just faintly narrowed. She hadn't seen him around much, so she wasn't sure what to think of him. Paige, of course, thought the world of him, but little girls often did. Mai wasn't quite sure if he was actually going to be a good father, though.

"Of course," Lydia said, nodding. "All set to order, or do you need a few more moments with the menu?" Her words were quick, chirped out before the tightening in the back of her throat could prove too tempting for fate to ignore.

Jefferson's focus immediately shifted to her completely.

"You know her?" he asked, trying to reign in how desperate he was to see his little girl again.

"Not quite sure yet. What do you recommend?" Hook noticed she talked fairly quickly, but he was willing to write it off as enthusiasm so far.

"I know her," Mai agreed. "I know where she is. She's safe, don't worry. I just want to make sure she's going home to a good place where she can be happy." She looked at him, waiting for his reaction. Because she was just a little protective of Paige after all this time.

"The burgers are good," Lydia replied. "The cook makes a good hot sandwich. Granny makes a mean soup."

Jefferson visibly relaxed some. It was a relief to hear that Grace was safe.

"I would never do anything to hurt her," he said. "She's my little girl, and all I have left. I want her to be safe and happy."

"Soup sounds good today," Hook said, looking at her. "Whichever is your favorite kind." He smiled again. Something about her seemed a little more than normal, but he couldn't tell what.

Mai relaxed a little at that and nodded. "Well, then, you're in luck," she said, glancing at her watch. "Why don't we all meet somewhere in a few hours?" She conveniently left out the part where Paige was in her apartment watching a movie.

Lydia smiled.

"No food allergies or anything?" she asked, just double-checking. She pretty much knew the food allergies of most of the town (poor Red couldn't have more than a couple of Hershey Kisses without getting sick), but she'd never seen him before.

"Where?" Jefferson asked. Anything to see Grace again.

"Not that I've found yet," Hook said with a little grin. "I'd be very surprised indeed if I was allergic to something."

Mai was quiet for a moment as she thought. Not the café, that was too public.

"The park," she settled on. "It's not far from where Paige is staying currently. Say two hours?"

Lydia grinned.

"Coming right up, then," she said. "I'll have your coffee in a minute."

Jefferson nodded.

"I'll be there," he said.

"Thank you," Hook said, watching her go. Well, at least she was pretty. Quite pretty.

Mai nodded and went on her way. She did have a few things to do, after all. And then she'd take Paige to the park.

"No problem," Lydia said. She quickly went to pour the coffee and brought it back to him, and then went to check on a few other people.

Jefferson headed back to his home, making sure everything was cleaned up and in place. If he was very, very lucky, he'd be bringing Grace home with him, finally.

Hook just kept part of his attention on her, taking his time with his coffee. He'd found that he liked coffee, after all.

Two hours later, as promised, Mai and Grace were in the park, each in a swing, talking quietly.

A few minutes later, Lydia buzzed by the table again, dropping off a bread bowl of creamy chicken soup.

"Enjoy," she said. "Give a shout if you need anything else."

Jefferson got to the park right on time, but was hesitating slightly. What if Grace didn't recognize him? Or what if she didn't want to stay with him? He wouldn't force her to, after all, he wanted her to be happy, but it would hurt.

"I will, thank you." Hook watched her go before he tried the soup. It really was pretty good, and he was pleasantly surprised.

Mai spotted him and raised a hand in greeting. That made Grace turn to look, and her face lit up. She jumped out of the swing and ran for him. "Papa!"

"Grace!" Jefferson knelt down and hugged her when she got to him. He held her close. "My Grace. I've missed you, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay."

"I missed you too, Papa." Grace held on to him for several moments before she pulled back a bit. "Have you been here this whole time?"

"I have," Jefferson replied. "Just like you. This town is something, isn't it?"

"It is. There are some very nice people here." Grace smiled at him. "So does this mean I get to go back with you now?"

Jefferson desperately wanted to just say yes.

"I think we should talk to the people who looked after you first, little bug," he said. "After that, we'll see."

Grace pouted a bit but nodded. She understood, and at least the other family was nice.

"The couple who had her already said they're more than willing to discuss joint care," Mai piped up from her seat on the swing.

"I'll talk to them," Jefferson said. "We'll figure something out." Because joint care was better than not having Grace at all.

"I'll let them know," Mai said, watching the two. "See when a good time is for them to meet you." She could do that much at least.