Mad Swan

Mad Swan
GENERAL
Once Upon A Time
Character	Emma Swan
Character	Jefferson
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Former enemies
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Het

3

Mad Swan is the het ship between Emma Swan and Jefferson from the Once Upon A Time fandom.

Canon

Hat Trick

Jefferson showing Emma his maps

The relationship between Emma and Jefferson did not get off a good start. Emma first meets Jefferson when she goes looking for Snow. As Emma drives down the street, she swerves to avoid hitting the man who later introduces himself as Jefferson. Jefferson asks why she was out late at night, to which she replies that she was looking for a dog. Emma insists on giving Jefferson a ride home because she noticed he was limping. Emma and Jefferson arrive at his big house, and he explains that he has no family. Emma goes in with him and he gives her a map of the area and some tea. The tea is drugged and she gets dizzy, so he catches her and puts her on the couch. Before she passes out, she notices that he no longer limps.

Emma wakes up bound and gagged, but manages to free herself by breaking her teacup and using the shards. She finds no way out and realizes that Jefferson has been watching her. She finds him in a room sharpening a pair of scissors. She sneaks into the next room to hide, where she is shocked to find Mary Margaret, also bound and gagged.

Emma begins to free Mary Margaret, who explains why she is there, how Jefferson jumped her in the woods. She explains how she got out by finding the key to the jail cell. Jefferson finds them and holds them at gunpoint with Emma's gun. He makes Emma tie and gag Mary Margaret again and says he needs her to do something. Jefferson takes Emma into a room and confronts her with the knowledge that he knows about the curse. He has been trapped here for 28 years, doing the same things every day, but he remembers the Enchanted Forest and that this is not his life. He tells her that he knows she is special and that she has magic. He tells her he wants her to make "it" work, and she notices a hat on the table.

Jefferson wants Emma to make him a hat, since none of the ones he has made so far have worked. Since his hat is a portal jumper, it can jump to other worlds. Emma thinks he is crazy, but seems sympathetic. Emma accuses him of thinking he is the Mad Hatter. She says he is insane for believing that magic is real and that she can use it. He questions her belief in a real world and tells her that she and Mary Margaret are not leaving until she gets a hat to work so that he can use it to go home.

Emma says she cannot make Jefferson's hat. Frustrated, he tells her to look through a telescope where she sees a girl named Paige having dinner with another couple. He says that she is his daughter Grace, and he remembers their life together, but she does not. He has to watch her with her "new parents", but he will not curse her as he was cursed by telling her who he is. Emma says she realizes he just wants to get his daughter back home, and she sympathizes with him. She pretends to believe what Jefferson is saying and admits that he is right that she needs to believe more. Emma waits until he turns away, then grabs the telescope and hits Jefferson with it. She goes to free Mary Margaret, but Jefferson catches her. A struggle ensues, during which Emma notices a scar around Jefferson's neck. Mary Margaret saves Emma by hitting Jefferson with a croquet mallet and kicking him of a window.

Emma visits Henry when Paige walks by. When she sees her and examines the storybook Henry happily lends her, Emma discovers that Jefferson was telling the truth, for inside is a picture of Jefferson and Grace.

Fanon

The couple has a small but dedicated fan base. Fans of the pair believe that there was enough chemistry between the two that they could have worked as a couple. Many were upset when Jefferson was written out of the show due to Sebastian Stan joining the MCU. Despite only appearing in the first season of the show, love for the ship continued throughout the entirety of Once Upon a Time's run, and even beyond.

On AO3, Mad Swan is the most-written ship for Jefferson. It has over 200 works. Its biggest rival ship is Captain Swan.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Jefferson/Emma tag on AO3

Emma/Jefferson on FanFiction.Net

Emma & Jefferson: Crazy Love Fanfiction.net Community

TUMBLR

Mad Swan tag on Tumblr

Emma x Jefferson tag on Tumblr

Trivia

• Jennifer Morrison and Sebastian Stan dated in real life.

Gallery