Author's Note: This starts off a series of one-shots, just scenes from Alice and Hatter's life together after Wonderland. I don't own any of these characters.

After The Kiss

"Hatter!" Alice ran across the room as if he might vanish in the next second and threw herself into his arms. All her fears left her and she pulled herself as tightly against him as she could. She breathed in his spicy scent – cinnamon and tea leaves and that masculine otherness that was all Hatter.

"Finally," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Alice said breathlessly. She wouldn't let him get away again without telling him how she felt. She pushed back a little so she could look into his eyes, and the tenderness she saw there warmed her clear through. Had she really turned away from that? She must be mad.

Hatter kissed her then and Alice knew that this time, with this man, everything was going to be different. Better. She'd been a fool to ever let him go and she wouldn't make that mistake again.

"I missed you," Hatter said, pulling out of the kiss. Alice put her hand on his cheek and drew him back in. She felt nothing, knew nothing, but Hatter. He completely filled her senses until she was fairly drowning in him.

"Alice?"

"Hmmmm."

"Alice!"

With great reluctance, Alice broke the kiss and pulled back from Hatter. She looked into his warm brown eyes, unable to believe how lucky she was. He'd come from Wonderland for her.

"Alice, what's going on here?"

Finally, Alice registered that it was her mother who was speaking. Carol looked confused and suspicious, her arms crossed over her green dress. Alice had no idea what to say to her, and a glance at Hatter confirmed that he was similarly clueless. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her and she covered her mouth to stop any more from coming out.

"I'm sorry, Mom. Um, this is Hatter. I know him from…"

"…a long time ago," Hatter supplied. "We sort of…"

"…fell out of touch," Alice said. "We were…um…"

"…very close for a while, yeah?" Hatter said. "Now I'm back in town."

"I'm sure I told you about him."

Carol looked at them, clearly not buying their story. "What about Jack?"

Alice looked at Hatter. He gave her the slightest shrug in response.

"I broke up with Jack," Alice said finally. "He's…uh…engaged to someone else. He lied."

And that, at least, was the absolute truth.

"Hatter and I have a lot to catch up on," Alice continued. "We're going to go upstairs, okay?"

She didn't give her mother any chance to argue. Grabbing Hatter by the hand, Alice dragged him out of the apartment and up two flights of stairs to the roof. There was a patio of sorts up there, with a scattering of wicker furniture and some plastic tables. It was the only place they could be alone.

Alice pulled Hatter down on the little loveseat, and, despite the questions she had for him, gave in to the urge to kiss him again. Oh, what a pleasure that was! She felt she could sit there for days, doing nothing but this. But eventually Hatter pulled away, resting his forehead against hers and breathing heavily.

"Wow," he said.

"Yeah," Alice agreed. She moved back so she could give Hatter a critical once-over. She frowned.

"What's wrong?" Hatter asked, looking suddenly self-conscious.

"You are," Alice replied. She put her hand to his head and messed up his hair, which was naturally inclined to stick up anyway, and put his hat back on his head. "That's my Hatter!"

Hatter rewarded Alice with a bright grin and a flash of dimple. She threw her legs across his, cuddling in close. She couldn't help but touch him, constantly reassuring herself that he was here and he was real.

"Tell me," Alice said. "How'd you get here?"

Hatter pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Same as you."

"They just let you come through the Glass?"

"Well, I had to swallow my pride, didn't I? Your old boyfriend helped me out."

"Jack?" Now there was a surprise! Alice knew how the two men felt about each other.

"Did you think I meant Ratty?" Hatter teased. Alice smacked him on the shoulder.

"Jack gave me some papers, a phone thingy, and the key to his flat. As far as the Oyster world is concerned, I'm just another bloke."

"I can't believe you did that," Alice said softly, resting her head against Hatter's chest. "I can't believe you left Wonderland."

"Someone has to keep you out of trouble, yeah?" His tone was flippant, but his arms tightened around her. They sat that way for some time, comfortable in the silence, and in the feel of each other. There were so many things Alice wanted to say, but she surprised herself with the first thing that popped out of her mouth.

"I flew a Flamingo. All by myself."

"Yeah?" Hatter sounded surprised.

"They were going to send me back through the Looking Glass. I was standing right in front of it, you know? But I couldn't do it. I couldn't let them bring more Oysters through. So I got away and got on a Flamingo and flew it back to the Casino. It was amazing!"

Alice could remember the thrill of it, the pride she had in herself for mastering her fears. She also remembered the sadness, because she was doing it alone.

"I'd have liked to see that," Hatter murmured. "Were you frightened?"

"Yes! But it was up to me – I had to do something. And that rabbit guy…he told me…" And now there were tears.

"Shhh. It's okay. Whatever Mad March did, he can't hurt you. He's gone." Hatter stroked her hair.

"He told me he…that he killed you. And I almost went home thinking that." Alice put her arms around Hatter and pressed her face into his shoulder. She could remember it all too well, the emptiness she'd had. And she was mad at herself, too, because she'd believed him. Because she'd taken a heartless assassin at his word. And had almost lost everything in the process.

"It's all done with, Alice," Hatter said, his hands rubbing circles on her back. "You brought down the Queen and the Casino. You saved Wonderland."

"I'm so glad you're here," Alice said. She raised her head and smiled at him through her tears. "Will you stay?"

"As long as you like," he answered.

Together they sat on the roof, kissing and talking and watching the sun go down. Tomorrow would start a brand new day and they would face it…together.

It's me again! Hope you liked this scene. Sorry it's so long, but apparently I can't do short ones, LOL! I appreciate your reviews and any suggestions you might have.