A/N: I wrote this as a fill for the OUaT kink meme, as a request for a fic between Kathryn and the Mad Hatter that takes place at the mental ward in the hospital.

Title: Take Me to Wonderland

Summary: After she decides to leave Storybrooke, Kathryn "disappears" to the mental ward. She bonds with another patient stuck in the same situation, and their encounters eventually lead to sex where they quiet the madness and pain for a short while. Kathryn/Hatter meme fill

Pairing: Kathryn Nolan/Mad Hatter

Rating: M for sexual content, referenced drug use.

Reviews/Feedback are kindly appreciated!


"Have you ever heard of Wonderland?"

Kathryn was so startled to hear a voice at her door that she snapped up in bed. For as long as she remembered, this cold, damp cell was her home, and the only human interaction she had was with a nurse that gave her trays of mush.

Her bones and muscles ached as she slowly rose from the hard bunk and walked over to the door. A small blast of light entered the room as a latch opened to reveal a man's face, grinning madly at her like she was the most interesting person he'd ever met.

Who was this man and why was he here? Would he save her from this hellhole she had inadvertently found herself in? Or was he just another one of the minions that would further ruin her life?

Maybe, Kathryn hoped, she could get a message to him, ask him to beg Regina to save her because she wasn't an insane woman. This mental ward, this solitude, was not something she deserved.

She hadn't done anything wrong. All she had wanted was to love her husband after losing him – even if she realized that they probably never really loved each other, not in the right way or the way that either of them needed. It had been an empty, angry sort of love that was more destructive than even David's affair, if Kathryn could even fathom something more destructive than an affair. But, she had forgiven David for his indiscretions simply because she was certain he had never loved her. Yes, the way he had gone about ending her marriage wasn't right, but Kathryn couldn't help but feel that he had done the right thing.

David was finally with the right woman, a woman who wouldn't give him a destructive love that would make him miserable. Mary Margaret would give David everything Kathryn had failed at, and even though it pained her, it was something with which she had made her peace.

That was why she had left for Boston, wanting to make a new life for herself, to find a man who loved her the way David that loved Mary Margaret. Her marriage had ended and she had made the right, healthy decision to move forward with her life from a loveless, miserable marriage.

Kathryn deserved her happiness, and the moment she sought it out, it had cost her.

Now she sat in a padded cell, where her perception of time had vanished with each passing second that threatened to drag her sanity away with it.

"Wh-Who are you?" Kathryn asked slowly, her voice in a hushed whisper as she stood at the door, his face only a few inches from hers. She could even feel his breath, warm and smelling oddly like tea – or maybe that was just her imagination getting the best of her. It had threatened to overrun her senses the past few days, anyway, and she was so close to climbing the walls if she didn't have any solid human contact soon.

"Who am I?" He grinned again, and tipped the brim of his hat toward her. "My name's Hatter."

"Hatter?" Kathryn repeated with a frown. "That's…That's really your name?"

Thankfully, he took another step backward so she could actually take in his appearance, and she would have laughed by his odd clothing if things still had the ability to stun her. He wore a scraggily, brown suit with holes missing to reveal bare skin. His vest didn't match the suit, a vivid green, and he wore a polka dotted tie. But he was wearing a hat, fitting for his name, that seemed too big for his head.

Despite the mismatched clothing, the man before her had an attractive face and a sincere smile that warmed Kathryn's heart.

"What's your name?" He asked suddenly, absently, as if remembering something very important. Hatter cocked his head at her, curious when she didn't answer and only stared at him with a slightly open mouth. "What? Cat got your tongue?"

"I…My name's Kathryn."

"It's nice to meet you Kathryn," Hatter told her happily as he stuck his hand awkwardly through the slot. His hand wiggled when she at first didn't take it, and he smiled when she did and gave it a proper shake. Retracting it from the cell, he asked gently, hopeful and slightly deranged, "Kathryn, may I come in? It's horridly hot in this hallway, and well…the nurses don't like me very much."

"Why's that?"

"They think I'm madder than a hatter."

For the first time in a long time, Kathryn found herself laughing. "That…That would definitely explain the nickname, I suppose."

The man frowned slightly. "Nickname? What makes you think that's not my real name?"

"Your real name is Hatter?"

"Yes," he answered.

"That's crazy!"

Hatter lifted a finger and corrected, "No, it's mad." He laughed slightly and opened his arms wide. "Mad as a hatter."

"Do you have a real name really, Hatter?"

"Let me in and I'll tell you my real name," Hatter promised gently, his voice a soft coo, as if luring a small child to sleep. Kathryn wasn't falling for his charismatic magic, however, and he smiled when she only shook her head. "Or will it be I'll tell you my real name and you'll let me in?"

"That sounds about right."

Hatter huffed slightly before he told her in a grumble, "Jefferson. My real name is Jefferson. But you can still call me Hatter. Everyone does."

"Jefferson what?" Kathryn encouraged, curious and hoping she'd keep the conversation alive long enough for him to make the decision that speaking to her was worth his time.

If she could only keep him here, that would be less time she had to spend alone.

"Well Hatter, of course," Hatter answered with a shrug, as if it was the simplest thing he'd ever say. "Now, Kathryn, may I come in?"

"I…" She looked down at the locked cell door. "I don't think I can open this without…"

"Not to worry!" Hatter exclaimed, and within moments he had opened the cell door and snuck inside, shutting it behind him quickly without a squeak of noise. He grinned when she took a step back, staring at him with wide eyes. "Did I tell you I'm a man of magic?"

"N-No," Kathryn responded with a shake of her head. She instantly regretted her decision, wondering what this mad man was capable of and why she had been so naïve to allow him into her cell – not that she really could have stopped him. His piercing green eyes mesmerized her as she asked, "W-What did you w-want to t-talk about?"

"Why are you here, Kathryn?" Hatter questioned gently, his eyes locking with hers in an intense fire that lit a flame in Kathryn unlike anything she'd ever felt. The only other time she'd experienced something so wonderful was when she had found out David had resurfaced after his coma, and she oddly recognized the sensation as hope.

"I…" She scratched her head thoughtfully with a sigh, trying her best to keep the tears that threatened to spill over. This man didn't need to see her cry, not when she didn't know how he'd react at the sight of such powerful emotions. "I really don't know."

"Well, what'd you do before you came here?"

"I was on my way to Boston." She frowned slightly when he gave a snort. "What's wrong with that?"

"Boston? What's in Boston?"

"My future," Kathryn answered sadly. "A future that I won't have the chance to return to if I end up spending my entire life in this cell."

Hatter hummed softly before he asked, his hand waving through the air, "And…what future is that?"

"I wanted to go to law school," Kathryn admitted. It had taken her days to admit that to David, her husband, and here she was admitting such an intimate detail about her life to a potentially deranged stranger. What had come over her? Was she really going insane? Kathryn wasn't even sure if she could question the blessing of this man's sudden arrival, because the way he asked her his questions, she knew he genuinely cared about her.

Hatter listened to what she was telling him, hanging onto every word with keen interest that she had never seen in David's eyes. She had thought for a moment that she might have lost him in his own silent musings, but he suddenly asked her, "Why'd you want to become a lawyer, Kathryn?"

"Well, I…" She laughed uncomfortably. "I don't really know. I suppose I want to help people."

"That's very noble."

"Well, yes, I suppose—"

"I hate lawyers," he told her suddenly, blunt with a slight shrug that caught her off guard. His glaring honesty was a huge change than the lies she'd been told by her husband, a man who she realized she hadn't even properly divorced before leaving town. "They make me…" Hatter shivered suddenly, the quake vibrating from his top hat to his shoes, "…uncomfortable and nervous…and just upset."

"Well you might want to hightail it out of here then." Kathryn instantly regretted her choice of words, realizing that she probably just pushed away the only visitor she'd ever see. "I…I didn't mean that the way it came out."

"Or did it come out the way you didn't mean it?"

She frowned slightly and shook her head, flustered. She wouldn't tell him how strange he was, not wanting to offend him and push him away.

Was this what her life was brought to? Begging for the company of a man she didn't know but needed so desperately to stay so she wasn't alone? Jefferson felt oddly like an old friend, what with the way he intently stared and sweetly smiled at her. "Wh…Why are you here, Jefferson?"

"I'm mad."

She laughed again. "You say it like it's that easy!"

He shrugged. "It is. I'm simply a mad man who is paying the debt for a deal I don't remember making…which could have been because of the mercury, but I'll suppose I'll never know."

"Mercury?"

He pointed to his tattered top hat. "The hat. It's brimmed with mercury and drives me mad."

"So then why don't you take it off?"

Hatter gave her a puzzled look before gently brushing his fingers across the brim. Finally, he answered quietly, "It keeps me safe. There's safeness in insanity, I've found. Normalcy, it…There's no safeness there."

"Tell me about it," Kathryn commented with a gentle scoff and shake of her head as she stared down at the same clothes she had worn for days. At night she had stripped the material off her skin, but that hadn't wiped away the disgusting feeling. She'd wake up in the middle of the night, the feel of clothes against her skin, and still found no remedy for the itch it left, an itch she couldn't scratch though it mocked her.

Silence filled the room momentarily before Kathryn uneasily questioned, "Will this place always be so horrible?"

"It is," Hatter agreed sadly. "Until you find something that makes it not so horrible."

Kathryn arched a curious eyebrow at him, at the way his lips curved in a slight smirk that lit the flame in her once again. She didn't want the spark to die, not with the way his eyes lit up suddenly, like such a wonderful idea floated through his mind that he'd lose if he didn't think of it constantly. "Are…Are you talking a-about me?"

Hatter shrugged before giving her an insane smile that made a warm smile spread across her own face for the first time.

"We don't even know each other, you know."

"No, we don't," Hatter agreed rather absentmindedly, like he was in some other world besides the current cruel place in which he lived. "But isn't that what makes it so wonderful? We don't know each other, but we are so similar."

"How?"

"We're both locked up for reasons we don't understand, for things we cannot describe, change, or fix. And we were all alone…until now."

"Until now?" When he simply nodded, Kathryn gave an uncomfortable chuckle. "So, so we're all each other has really then? Just a madman and a hopeless dreamer?"

"Or a hopeless dreamer and a madman."

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"Or two entirely different things," Hatter responded, holding a finger to emphasize his point. "Anything can happen in Wonderland, you must never forget that Kathryn."

Her mouth fell open slightly. "Wonderland? Like Alice in Wonderland, Wonderland?"

His eyes lit up and she could have sworn his ears perked up, too. "Do you know Alice?"

"No," Kathryn answered, surprised by this turn of conversation, that this man actually considered himself a character in a storybook. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Oh." His face fell. "Well…You'd like her if you met her."

Kathryn didn't think she'd like this man after meeting him, but his nervous craziness and odd musings confounded all rational thought. She actually liked him, found his words and smiles interesting if not alluring. Kathryn liked that they found themselves in the same predicament, trapped in this mental asylum without anyone but each other.

When it became glaringly obvious to Kathryn that the conversation was coming to an end, and soon he'd leave her again for his own crazy adventures, she asked him quickly, "What's Wonderland like?"

"W-Would you like me to show you?"

"You can show me?"

"I can," Hatter replied as he slipped off his top hat, holding it in his hands. Immediately, she could see the glaze in his eyes disappeared to reveal a clearness that leveled her. Had that hat really made this man mad? And why had the doctors allowed him to wear the hat if it drove him insane? With a sweet smile, he offered the hat to her. "You can wear it."

Kathryn took an apprehensive step back, alarmed when he took a step forward to bridge the distance she had created. "W-Wear it?"

"Yes," Hatter answered, extending the hat to her again. "Wear it."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"If you want to see Wonderland," Hatter told her honestly, "the way I see it. You have to wear the hat. There's no other way."

"But won't-won't it drive me insane?"

Hatter grinned. "Aren't you already crazy to be thrown in here?"

"No."

He frowned slightly before commenting bluntly, "Well you will be once your stay here is done, I promise you."

Kathryn's hands betrayed her as she found no holes in his logic and seized the hat from his grasp, carefully slipping it on her head. Though she felt odd, the hat glaringly hideous, the moment subsided to leave only a contented bliss that travelled all the way down to her toes. Her mind was suddenly fogged with visions of long, vine trees and elegant colors that threatened to make her head spin. She could even swear this felt oddly like heaven if she had ever reached bliss anywhere near the one she experienced.

A groan of longing escaped her when Hatter quickly pulled the hat away to let the dust of her fog settle and finally dissipate until she blinked clearly. Kathryn was certain the daze in her eyes was gone like his, and she wanted it back.

She wanted to feel that high again, and would have whined if it wasn't so unbecoming and didn't make her feel like a child. Half expecting Hatter to put the hat back on his head, she frowned slightly when he simply toyed with it in his hands, twirling it around his fingers until he threw it on the cot. Unable to take her gaze off the hat, she asked gently, "Can-Can I have that back if you aren't going to use it?"

He laughed slightly. "Miss it already?"

"Yes," she answered hoarsely. "It…It was nice."

"Want to use it to escape your misery?"

"Yes."

"Do you know of anything that works better than that hat?" When she shook her head, Hatter grinned. "I do."

Kathryn absentmindedly looked at him, her eyes going wide when she realized he had bridged the distance between them completely, his mouth merely a few inches away from her, his body so close their skin would have touched if not for the clothes they wore. She was surprised when panic didn't fill her, and realized she was apprehensive of Hatter, but unafraid. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"I know of something that can take your mind off of your situation," he answered softly, bringing his fingertips up to gently caress the firm outline of her jaw. His touch was feather-light as he traced a path until he met her chin, tilting it up so they were even closer. Now the only distance was the slight brush of lips, but he resisted. "And I know you need it as much as I do."

"Don't you mean I need it as much as you do?"

Hatter smiled weakly at her mock. "I can take you back to Wonderland, Katie."

"No one's ever called me that before," Kathryn breathed out, wondering how his restraint was so strong when he had sounded so insane and confusing only a few moments before. "Not unless they're someone I'm close to."

"I suppose I understand you better than we both thought," Hatter returned before getting to the matter at hand. "Do you want to go back to Wonderland?"

"It won't be the Wonderland that your hat creates, will it?"

"No," he answered bluntly with a shake of his head. "It will be better, I'm sure. Do…Do you remember what it feels like to be with someone who really wants you? Passionately, deeply, and completely?"

"Not really," Kathryn answered honestly. The thought was so tempting, sounded so amazingly wonderful to feel the heat of his body against hers, that she couldn't resist as she pleaded, "Please take me back. It felt so amazing, so wonderfully—"

He cut her off with a gentle, tender kiss that, right as he promised, made her toes curl.

She couldn't remember the last time anyone had kissed her so amorously; David had never kissed her like this, not even in their most heated embraces, because he'd never really been there. His heart didn't belong to her. But Hatter, he was richly present as his lips trailed kisses on her jawline before capturing her mouth again, crushing her mouth against his with an ardent passion that stole her ability to breathe.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders when Hatter grabbed her waist powerfully, pulling her against him. When his tongue pressed for access into her mouth, she granted it immediately, wondering vaguely to herself how a man so cut off from society could kiss so wonderfully.

A skilled man in magic as well as seduction, Kathryn didn't want this blissful moment to end, but moaned softly in longing when he pulled away from her with a grin. Eyes fluttering open, she commented softly, when he brought his hand to her face, "You're sexy."

He laughed, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "How long has it been since you've felt like this?"

"Far too long," she whispered in response, letting her head fall back with a heavy sigh when he buried his hand in his hair. "God, this is so, so wrong."

Hatter hummed softly as he pulled her in for another passionate kiss. Her desire matched his perfectly, tongues dueling for supremacy in an ardent exploration that made Kathryn's knees buckle. His hands tangled in the strands of her blonde hair, keeping her mouth firm against his, smiling against her when she moaned gently.

She exhaled heavily when he began to kiss her neck with open, wet kisses that affected her so strongly she gripped his arms in an attempt to steady herself. "Hatter, look at me."

He pulled away from her neck with a quick, playful nip, smiling when her breath hitched in surprise. He met her eyes, the ocean blue matching his bright green with a fire he'd be unable to put out. "Yes, Kathryn?"

She tugged impatiently at his jacket. "Take this off, please."

While he did as she requested, slowly in an attempt to torture her, Kathryn tried to even out her breathing but found that impossible when he didn't stop at his jacket, carefully removing his green vest and throwing that to the floor. Now he only stood there, wearing a brown dress shirt and trousers that she so badly wanted to rip off his body.

She swallowed hard, her arousal growing simply at the thought that it wouldn't be long before she could feel his skin against hers. "What next?"

"You call the shots here," he reminded her. "This is your adventure to Wonderland."

She smiled before slowly trailing her ups up his torso, feeling his muscles contract to her touch, until they rested on his chest. His entire body went rigid in anticipation at the sensation. Her grin widened as she began to unbutton his dress shirt, stopping halfway through and murmuring to herself, "Oh, screw it."

Hatter raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't have time to question her curse when she grabbed hold of the fine fabric, ripping his shirt open, sending buttons flying to the floor with a gentle ping. Hatter grinned madly at her, shaking his head in amusement when she ran her fingers down his bare chest and toned torso, settling finally at his belt.

"Kiss me," she ordered, her voice filed with a passion he couldn't resist as he cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her fiercely. Her knees threatened to buckle again when he let out his first show of desire in a gentle moan. "This is insane, Hatter. Someone could walk in."

"Then we'll have to put on a show," Hatter answered simply in reply as he tugged at the hem of her shirt, lifting it up her body until she helped him remove the fabric. Another groan escaped him at the sight of her breasts. Within seconds he had removed her bra as well, and tucked his head to place soft, sweet kisses on her warm flesh.

Kathryn tilted her back with a gasp when he took her nipple in his mouth, sucking gently until she buried her fingers in his short hair, arching into him. Before she gave him the opportunity to trail kisses across her abdomen, she pulled him to her mouth and kissed him suddenly. His shirt was gone within seconds, and she threw her arms around his neck.

After a quick kiss, Kathryn pulled away and asked, "Let's do this in the bed."

Hatter grabbed her waist, curving his hands down her thighs so he could pick her up, coaxing her to wrap her legs around his waist. Certain she was secure, he tilted his head to meet her fiery kiss and carried her over to the cot. Falling onto the bed with her, he propped himself up on his hands so he didn't crush her.

Her face was flushed as she breathed heavily, gently stroking the back of his neck with her fingertips. When she tried to pull his head down to her for a kiss, she smiled faintly as his head turned, instead placing gentle nips on her neck. Exhaling softly from the pleasure of his mouth against her neck and hands on her body, Kathryn intertwined her fingers in his hair, digging her fingers into his scalp when his teeth scraped against her skin roughly.

She hadn't expected this – nor did she expect how much she enjoyed the roughness of his actions, the way his hands would leave marks on her skin. Kathryn arched into him with a soft moan when he placed tentative kisses against her collarbone before kissing down to her abdomen, stopping when her his mouth met her jeans. "C-Can I take these off?"

Was that uncertainty she heard in his voice, when he was the one who held the most certainty despite his obvious oddness? Gazing down, she met his curious eyes and nodded, unable to remember how long it had been since a man she was with actually wanted this. Kathryn had to plead with David for intimacy, but with this stranger, it came so naturally that the butterflies tightened in her stomach so strongly that for a moment she couldn't breathe.

Hatter didn't wait for an answer, and within seconds had her jeans joining the pile of clothes on the floor. He grinned, laughing when she arched up into his touch as he lazily traced his finger across the front of her panties until he gripped her thighs to spread her legs apart.

Kathryn wasn't even aware what was happening until she felt his mouth explore her curiously, intimately, and within only a few minutes she found herself unable to control the quick, jarred buck of her hips against the amazing magic of his mouth and tongue.

Her shuddering sighs transformed into deep, low moans as she felt the tension build until, with a hard flick of his tongue on her clit, she came off the bed with a silent scream, one hand pulling gently at his hair, the other fisting the flimsy sheet beneath her.

Her high lasted for a few moments as she tried to regain her breathing, her chest heaving as she laughed in exhilaration.

His groan of protest didn't bother Kathryn as she yanked him up toward her, capturing his mouth once again, smiling when he moaned against her. Separating for air, she asked in a whisper, "Why are there holes in your suit pants?"

"Why have you worn the same clothes for longer than normal?" He grinned when she frowned lightheartedly at him, tucking his head to playfully bite her neck with a soft whimper of desire.

Her hands went to his belt the moment he bucked against her hips. The garment was removed quickly, thrown to the floor as Kathryn focused her attention to undoing his pants.

Before he could push the fabric down, Kathryn stopped him with set eyes by grabbing his hands and keeping them steady. When he tilted his head at her curiously, asking her what the problem was, she could only muster, "Under the covers."

Hatter raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Under the covers," Kathryn repeated, her voice shaky, faltering slightly at his quizzical stare. "Please."

"But w-why?"

"If someone comes in," Kathryn answered softly, her gaze drifting toward the cell door, "I just…that would be embarrassing."

"But that's half the fun."

Kathryn only shook her head slowly. "No." She shook her head again, this time more determined, when he frowned slightly. "No, Jefferson."

He laughed as he rose from the bed, removing his pants and boxers as she quickly slid under the flimsy sheet, and he shook his head, choosing not to mumble under his breath that the sheet wasn't much for a barrier from the outside world. But he wasn't a crazy man like the doctors claimed, and he knew better than to ruffle the feathers of the only woman he'd ever touch for a long time.

The feel of his body against hers sent a thrill of anticipation threw Kathryn so strong that she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him aggressively, sighing when he rocked his hips against her encouragingly. When he pulled away from her kiss, prompting not a moan of arousal but one of longing, Kathryn gazed up at green eyes that she saw had blanketed in a haze. "Are we going to do this?"

She had her answer when he pushed inside her, and she let out a gasp so sharp that she dug her nails into his back, not caring if she drew blood with his sudden, powerful thrust. Her grasp didn't change when he stilled, not moving to give her time to adjust to the sensation she hadn't felt for such a long time.

Hatter kissed her gently, running his fingers across her flushed cheek. "Are you all right?"

Kathryn nodded, her eyes pinned shut as she reveled in the sensation. "Yes," she finally hissed when he pulled back to thrust again, "oh, yes."

He laughed gently, kissing her once more before driving until he had established a magnificent rhythm, the buck of his hips perfectly in sync with hers until all he could hear was her soft whimpers and deep groans in his ear, begging for more, pleading for this wonderful feeling to never end.

He could never refuse her.

Kathryn was certain he had taken her to her own personal Wonderland when his pace quickened, bringing her legs around his waist so he could sink deeper, forcing a gasp from her as the bliss suddenly became more than she could handle.

Not even the moment her years without sex had ended with David had felt this amazing.

The way this crazy man made her feel, the way his movements elicited sounds from her she hadn't known could exist, the way he felt so perfect against and inside her, took her breath away.

Kathryn didn't even care that it didn't take him long to drive her to the edge, a sharp cry echoing on the walls of the jail cell when her climax hit in such a profound way that she clutched his back until the quake of her body seized.

For a few moments, Kathryn couldn't feel anything except the way his thrusts turned jarred and frantic until, finally, he cried out and shook against her, clutching her hips with such power that she could already feel bruises form.

She locked her gaze on his perfectly deep, green eyes, feeling for the first time that she could truly see him as who he was, not a mad man, but a man that wanted love as much as she.

She didn't care about the marks he left on her skin, as it stood as a reminder of the peak he had just brought her toward, that they had more in common now than she originally anticipated…that they had each other.

Kathryn knew she had this crazy man in her life, who felt more real to her than David ever had, when he kissed her sweetly. Her haze hadn't faded until she realized that he had dressed and leaned down to kiss her once more. Kathryn didn't let him leave her as quickly as he wanted, holding his head so she could kiss him like she'd never kiss anyone again.

Hatter chuckled gently as he pulled away, and flipped his hat on his head. "Until next time," he whispered in a promise.

She smiled to see his eyes glaze over again, but one different than the one she'd help bring him toward, a Wonderland so much different, so much better, than the one in which he now lived.

"Until next time, Hatter," Kathryn promised in a whisper as soon as the cell door closed and he had left.


A/N: I've decided this will not be a one-shot, but will last four chapters detailing the development of Hatter/Kathryn's "relationship." Thank you to everyone who favorites and reviews!