Authors Note: This is a fanfic for Bri-chan's Alice in Wonderland fan comic "When Curiosity Met Insanity". This fanfic starts before the spring dance, for those of you that read the comic. If you have not read the comic, please don't comment on the fact that it's an Alice/Hatter Pairing! Go read Bri's brilliant comic first, and then comment, lol. Look it up on Live Journal under the user curiousinsane. It's well worth a read, trust me!

It's a Start

Alice Liddell rushed down the sidewalk, neat black shoes making sharp little raps as they hit the pavement, her golden hair whipping along out behind her in the stiff breeze. She glanced nervously back over her shoulder, but whether she cast that gaze full of dread back at the looming rain laden storm clouds behind her, or the white haired man in the vibrant orange coat and over-sized green hat that was following her, was unknown.

Perhaps it was both. She certainly didn't want to get caught out in the rain with him.

"Aw, come on now, Cricket! You're not giving me a chance!" The dismayed Hatter called after her.

"I said NO, Mr. Theophilus. I told you last time, I'd sooner have dinner with a rabid bear than with you!" Alice called back over her shoulder as thunder rolled in the distance, followed by a flash of lightning that made her pick up her pace until she moved at a quick trot, clutching her bag of books to her chest.

The hatter, Reginald Theophilus by name, managed to keep up though, only a few yards behind the lovely Alice. How he managed to move in those tremendous shoes of his would never cease to puzzle those around him, especially Miss Liddell.

Finally Alice came into view of her house. A small, cozy cottage-like affair that she'd come into possession of not long after returning to Wonderland. She hurried to the door, unlocked it, opened it, and then promptly slammed it shut in the face of the mad hatter. He crashed into the now firmly closed and locked door with a resounding thud, followed by surprised and outraged babbling on the hatter's end.

The young book keeper sighed in relief, ignoring the tiny tinge of guilt for slamming the door shut in her pursuers face. Irritation quickly squashed the feeling though as the man on the other side of the door promptly began knocking on her door.

She ignored him.

Thirty minutes later though, he was still at it. Sitting in a chair in her bedroom, attempting to read a book and enjoy a good cup of tea, Alice finally snapped. She marched angrily over to her bedroom window and threw it open and shouted down at the man banging on her front door.

"Stop that this instant!"

Reginald looked up in surprise. He'd been standing there banging on the door so long, he'd almost forgotten why he was there.
"Ah, hello there, Cricket. Imagine meeting you here!" he beamed charmingly up at her.

"I live here you half-wit!" the temperamental blond shouted in reply.

"Ah yes, of course you do." was the reply.

Alice rolled her eyes and took a deep breath to keep from shouting any more and calling yet more attention from the neighbors. When she felt like she could face him without screaming, she looked down at the hatter once more and said "Now you listen to me Reginald Theophilus -"

"The third." he interjected.

"Whatever. You listen to me, I will not go out to dinner with you, do you understand?" she said, arching her brows at him, looking tired and annoyed.

"I'm afraid I just can't accept that answer." Reg said with a coy smile up at her over steepled gloved fingers.

Alice felt like banging her head against the wall...repeatedly and as hard as she could.

The white haired hatter watched her bemusedly for a moment before saying "And I won't be leaving until you change your mind."

"Fine! You can stay there all night for all I care, you mercury addled mad man!" Alice snapped, promptly slamming her window shut, cutting off all communication between them.

Suddenly finding herself exhausted, Alice flopped onto her bed, and began to doze off, despite still being fully clothed in her book keeper outfit.
"Well, at least he isn't knocking anymore..." she muttered drowsily as she drifted off.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Alice awoke once more to a loud crash of thunder. Momentarily blinded by the responding flash of lightning, Alice sat up blearily, wiping at her eyes and feeling disoriented. Why was she still in her clothes and on her bed rather than under the blankets?
A moment later, her memory returned to her gradually awakening mind, she had come upstairs and dozed off on her bed...though she still felt like she was forgetting something.

She got up and went over to her dresser, taking out her head band and gently running a brush through her long blond hair. She was just about to change into her night gown when she froze, suddenly remembering what she had forgotten.

"And I won't be leaving until you change your mind".

The hatter's words rang in her memory, causing a wave of dread to suddenly wash over her. She looked out the window and saw that it was pouring rain outside, and had been for quite awhile judging from the veritable lakes that were forming on her front lawn. With most men she would automatically assume they would give up and go home once the downpour started but, well...Reg wasn't called the mad hatter for nothing.

Alice hurried out of her room and down the stairs, bare feet hardly making a sound as she did so, skirts flaring out about her legs as she moved. She arrived at the front door, quickly unlocked it, and flung it open.

She let out a little scream of surprise as something tumbled in through the empty space where there had been a door seconds before. Alice just managed to step aside, narrowly missing being landed upon. She flipped on the lights and saw Reginald Theophilus sprawled in her entryway in a disorderly heap, gushing out a lakes worth of water from his clothes onto her clean floor.

"R-Reginald!" she stammered, shocked that he had indeed stayed, true to his word. "What on earth are you doing here?!"

"I t-told you I wouldn't leave until you c-ch-changed your mind." he said, shivering violently from the cold as he looked up at her with a wry grin.

"Are you mad?! You've probably caught a horrible cold pulling this stunt!"

"Yes and-" he sneezed violently here, "yes. I do believe I may be coming down with something." He said vaguely, as though this were some surprise. He pulled a soaking handkerchief from his pocket and wiped at his nose and then replaced it in his pocket once more. Alice couldn't help but notice that the hankie wasn't all that was wet, the man was soaked clear though, judging from the way his clothes stuck to him. Even his normally exuberant top hat looked sad and diminished.

Alice sighed as she looked at him. To be quite frank, he looked pathetic. His white hair was plastered to his face, hat askew, clothes dripping, and he was shivering to boot. He looked up at her beseechingly, and the young woman suddenly found that she couldn't turn him away. After all, wasn't it (in a crazy backwards kinda way) her fault that he had waited out there to begin with? Finally she leaned over and grabbed Reg by one arm and helped him to his feet.

"I know I'll probably regret this later but...come on, lets go get you cleaned up."

Reginald sneezed and then smiled down at her with surprising warmth once he was on his feet. "Thank you Alice, surely you are an angel sent by god himself to have mercy on this poor, unfortunate hatter."

"Mad, you are." Alice said with a shake of her head that hid the tiniest hint of blush that bloomed across her cheeks at that smile.

She led him to the nearest bathroom and pushed him in, regaining her stern composure as she did so. "Now, undress and toss your clothes out in the hall. I'll get them dry while you take a hot shower." she commanded.

"Yes mother." The hatter said meekly, making Alice roll her eyes and shooed him into the bathroom.

Reg, surprisingly, did as he was told and opened the door a crack and tossed out his pile of soaking wet clothes, including his hat, which Alice gathered as she heard the shower start up just behind the door. She bustled off to her laundry room and set to work. She hung up his vibrant orange over coat and blue vest, and tossed the rest of his clothes in the drier. His hat, she wasn't sure what to do with, so she straightened it out as best she could, and left it to air dry lest it shrink , not that it would be all that unfortunate if it did. She couldn't help but giggle to herself as she remembered the last time she'd made fun of the size of his hat, suggesting that perhaps he was trying to compensate for something. The expression on his face never failed to make her laugh, even now.

A little while later she woke to the sound of the drier buzzing, announcing that it was done. Apparently she had dozed off without realizing it. She blinked her bright blue eyes and looked around, squeaking in surprise as she saw someone looming over her.

"Hey cricket, you drifted off there." Reg said with a rough voice, obviously having developed a sore throat as well as a cold during his little romantic escapade in the rain.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I did." She said, blinking up at him from her chair. His hair was wet from his shower and finger combed back from his face. His green eyes watched her curiously and she began to blush when she realized he was standing around in nothing more than a bath towel. Just then, the drier buzzed again, bringing Alice's dithering mind back to earth. She was on her feet in an instant and she said "Your clothes! Thats them! Er...I'll go get them for you." She fidgeted and then hurried off, actually at a loss for words for once.

The hatter grinned to himself. Oh yeah, he still had it. Before he could begin to feel too smug though, he sneezed and began shivering again. Okay, so maybe him wandering around in just towel with a bad cold wasn't his best idea ever.

Alice came back into the room, having collected herself once more, the Hatter's clothes in hand. She looked at Reginald and blinked. Was he...blushing? That didn't seem much like the hatter she knew at all...when she noted that he was shivering as well though, she moved in closer and reached up to feel his forehead with one small hand.

"Reginald! You're burning up!" she exclaimed, horrified at the fever the man was running. He was worse off than she had realized.

Reg leaned slightly against her cool hand, feeling soothed by it.

"Am I?" he murmured.

"Yes, you seem to have a rather high fever..." Alice thought a moment and then sighed and said reluctantly "Well, I suppose I can't very well send you away in this condition. Not with a clean conscience anyways. You'll just have to stay in the guest room I suppose."
She looked up at him to gage his reaction, but he only nodded vaguely, usually bright green eyes seeming a little hazy, making it obvious he wasn't at all well.

"Alright, come on then. Back in the bathroom and get dressed, then I'll put you to bed I suppose." she said, speaking more gently then she had been before, once again playing mother to her guest.

The Hatter managed to do as she bid and a few minutes later, came out of the bathroom once more, dressed in his shirt and pants, (His vest, hat, and jacket were all still drying) and looking a little embarrassed.

Reg ran a hand through his ruffled white hair, which was drier now for having been rubbed vigorously with a towel, and said "I feel a little foolish." in a scratchy voice.

"Whys that?" Alice asked curiously. She'd seen the Hatter act foolish on numerous occasions, practically every day since she had met him, but had never actually heard him confess to actually feeling so, much less seem embarrassed about it like a normal person would.

"I came after you with the intent of romancing you, and only ended up with a cold." Reg said, making a face.

Alice stared up at him. Was this really the Hatter she knew? Normally he couldn't care less about such things, in fact normally he probably would have taken a great deal of joy in the situation, not that he seemed terribly displeased at the moment though. Perhaps, Alice thought, his fever has fried his already mercury addled brains so much that he's come full circle and is sane again?

Alice shook herself, that thought was just plain nonsense. Peoples brains just didn't work like that.

"Ah...well, that as it may be, we should get you to bed." she said, avoiding the subject all together. She led him up the stairs, taking his arm in hers to help support him. Reginald wrapped his hand around hers like it was nothing, making her tense warily for a moment. She let it slide though, she didn't feel like berating a sick man, so long as he didn't try anything else.

They managed to make it up the stairs without incident, and into the guest room. Alice turned on the bedside lamp as Reg clambered into the bed. She felt relieved that she had just cleaned the room the other day. It had been a long while since she'd had company stay over night.

Seeing the hatter was in bed and already starting to doze off, Alice stood to leave but was stopped as Reg's hand suddenly caught hers, making her look back in surprise.

"Cricket, wait. Would it be to much trouble for you to..." he hesitated.

"Yes?" she prodded, ready to get some sleep herself.

"get me some tea?" he asked with a weak smile.

"What? You..." Alice was about to storm out, but thought better of it. Like it or not, he was her guest. "Oh very well. But only one cup." she said firmly and went downstairs.

She rummaged about in her pantry and located a box of lemon tea. That, she figured, and a little honey would be good for his throat. She put on a kettle of water and hummed idly as she waited for it to come to a boil, pulling out two tea cups in the mean time. She quickly added a few tea bags to the kettle as she removed it from the fire. A few minutes of steeping and she poured some for herself and Reg, adding a spoonful of honey to each.

Alice returned to the guest room, a cup of tea in each hand, to find that the hatter had dozed off while waiting. She placed his cup on the night stand by the bed, waking him with the quiet clatter of china.

Green eyes opened and looked at her, tea in hand. "Ah, my two favorite things in the world. My Cricket and a cup of tea." he said with a charming, though tired smile.

"Hush now, that's hardly proper, even from a sick man." Alice said, waving off his comments like she always did as she handed him his cup of tea.

The hatter only sighed at the fact that he had been rebuked once more. Normally he would have tried again, but he was just too tired and didn't feel up to it. Reg sipped at his tea, enjoying the soothing effect it had on his throat. It warmed him from the inside, and made him increasingly drowsy.

Alice sat and watched as the hatter drifted off to sleep, still holding onto his half-finished up of tea. She smiled at him over the rim of her own cup. His face held a gentle, peaceful expression, something one didn't see often on the face of a mad man.

The young woman reached over and gently pried the cup from the sleeping mans hands lest he spill it on himself while he slept. She quietly placed it on the nightstand and sat back in her chair once more. Alice quietly fetched her book from the other room and decided to read a little before going to bed herself. She brushed her unbound blond hair out of her face and settled back comfortably as quiet encompassed the house. The only sound was the gentle patter of rain as it hit the roof and windows, along with the occasional low rumble of thunder.

Alice didn't look up again until a sudden groan distracted her from her reading. Her blue eyed gaze went to Reg's face, her brows furrowed in concern (though she would never admit it to anyone) at the man's pained face. His cheeks and forehead were turning red again, making her reach out and run one of her cool hands gently down his face. He leaned into her cool touch, muttering incomprehensibly under his breath, but smiling all the same. The poor man was burning up under her hands, making her worry all the more. She got up and hurried down to the kitchen, leaving the hatter frowning as she removed her hands from his person. She came back a minute later though with cloths she soaked and cold water, as well as a glass of water for him to drink from should he wake. she gently lay one of the cloths on his forehead, and he sighed in relief. He gradually drifted off into a more peaceful slumber, leaving her to change the wet cloth on occasion for a cooler one to keep his temperature down.

When his temperature started falling into a safer zone on its own, Alice took away the cloth, dried his brow and ran her fingers gingerly through his hair to get it out of his face. She was surprised to find that the hatter's fine white hair was downy soft. She had always taken pride in her own silky locks but he managed to get his even softer, like the finest downy feathers, she thought. I wonder what kind of shampoo he uses? Alice asked herself with a small, bemused smile.

"Mmm...feels good..." Reg murmured, turning his head slightly so she could finger comb more of his hair, a content smile on his full lips, making Alice blush slightly. She continued though, after all, he was feverish and unconscious, who would even know the difference? Besides, it obviously helped him sleep, so who was she to deny an unwell guest a service? Or...so she kept telling herself.

The night wore on and Reginald's fever fluctuated, going from bad, to good, to worse and back again. Alice had lost track of the time, but knew she was exhausted. Finally she gave up and flopped onto the bed beside the hatter, pausing only to kick off her shoes and roll under the blankets before finally passing out, exhausted after so long without sleep. Luckily for them both, the hatter's fever had leveled out, leaving him to sleep peacefully throughout the rest of the night.

It was late in the morning when either of the pair began to stir. As it was, Reginald woke first, blinking the sleep from bleary green eyes and trying to get his bearings. He propped himself up on one elbow and ran a hand through his disheveled white hair while looking around at his distinctly feminine surroundings. What had happened again?

The hatter's eyes fell on the sleeping blond beside him and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Alice?! Had they...? Had she finally...?! Gods above why couldn't he remember?! As he hit himself in the head with his hand, he happened to look down at himself to find that he was fully clothed. Reg blinked in confusion; pants, shirt, boxers...they were all there. A quick peek under the covers at Alice confirmed that she was still fully clothed as well, and, unfortunately, looked no more disheveled than one normally would after a nights sleep in ones clothes.

Reg let out a gusty sigh of disappointment and flopped back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, trying to remember. Eventually, it all came back to him: his hours long wait in the rain, Alice's discovery of him on her front porch, her taking care of him, bringing him tea, the book keepers gentle fingers running through his hair, her cool hands on his overheated face...Reginald smiled to himself. Sure, it may not have been what he'd originally had in mind but...it had been nice having her care for him. Granted he would have rathered to have not been sick so he could have really enjoyed her care but, well, beggars can't be choosers, now can they?

The mad hatter looked over at Alice with adoring green eyes. With the morning light cascading across her golden hair he thought, once more, that she looked like an angel. Granted, she was an angel with the devils own temper sometimes, though it balanced out with her kind heart, he had found.

After a few minutes more of admiring Alice in her peaceful repose, he propped himself up on one elbow, resting his chin on his hand and reached over and gently shook the girl.

"Alice? Wake up, Cricket." he said in a low voice.

Alice only groaned and hid her golden head under the blankets, clearly unwilling to awaken. The hatter laughed and said "C'mon Cricket, you'll be late to work at this rate."

At his words, Alice peeked out at him with sleepy blue eyes from under the blankets, making Reg smile fondly at her. She really was adorable when she wasn't tearing him a new one with her sharp tongue.

"Reginald?" she said as she sat up, rubbing her eyes, trying to collect her wits about her. "Wait...R-Reginald?!" she exclaimed as she came closer to wakefulness, tumbling backwards out of bed with a bang.

Reg pulled himself over to the edge of the bed, still laying down, and rested his chin on his forearms as he folded them in front of him, looking down at Alice with mischievous green eyes.

"Whats'a matter there, Cricket? You forget all about our little night together last night?" he asked with a sly wink.

Alice only snorted and shook her head as she leaned back against the wall, scratching her head. Unlike the hatter, she had quickly remembered last night, since she had spent the majority of it tending to him.

"Mind your tongue." She said, though only half-heartedly, to tired to even throw in her usual barrage of well formulated insults his way.

"I'm going to get ready for work, I expect you out of here by the time I get back, do you hear me?" She said sternly, back to her usual business like self with him. "Your clothes are downstairs in the laundry room to the right of the bathroom." she said as she walked out, closing the door behind her and sashaying off to ready herself for work at the book store.

Reginald blinked as the door snapped shut behind the blond beauty. He was still for a moment before a sly smile broke out across his face. Well, it was a start.