Bone and Skin

Summary: What if Alice had disappeared after her date with Jervis? And it wasn't Jervis' fault?

Author's notes: I was inspired partly by a mad dream that woke me in the middle of the night with my heart pounding and the song 'Bone and Skin' by Mirah echoing in my head!This is not a song fic, it is simply a song I was listening to while I was writing, that I thought I would share a bit of the lyrics of.

Disclaimer:Don't own Alice and Wonderland, Batman The Animated Series,

or Bone and Skin.

But it's in the mouth it's in the blood

it's sweet the taste this bit of love

poor skin too thick to understand

the gravity and graceful plans

On To the story!

I was so happy, Alice and I had such a nice night last night. I wondered how she would greet me when I came up to her desk... "Did you hear? Alice eloped with her boyfriend!" I froze at the mention of Alice, how could she run away? I thought...I though we had a nice night? Why would she run off with Billy? I continued walking, this wasn't good, she'd turned back to her boyfriend and they eloped...would she returned married then?

I sighed, time would only tell then. About half way to my lab and office I heard Kates talking to someone else. "You're sure you don't need help?" Another conversation, near Alice's desk, but who could Kates be talking to? Did she find a secretary for me in place of Alice already? I came around the corner and spotted Kates, with Alice. I though she had run off? Did she come back and those other women had missed her? Or had they been completely wrong?

"Alice?" Kates turned and shook her head; "Sorry-I'm Johanne Pleasance. Alice is my twin sister." The young woman who looked like Alice, but twins? Alice never mentioned having a sister let alone having a twin sister. "I'm actually surprised she never mentioned you." Johanne shrugged, her leather jacket crinkling about her shoulders, how had I mistook her for Alice? Alice would never wear a leather jacket, or a wide white chocker, maybe the salmon colored shirt that peeked just below the jacket...

"I'm the bad twin. Sides she doesn't like me much, I'm too wild for her. She was always the shy, sweet, oh so naive one." Kates nodded, but where was Alice then? "So, that paper your looking for?" Kates asks and all Johanne dose is shrug; "My sister mentioned it, it's a list of names and numbers for some people in town that I wanted to talk to-me and my sister just started talking again, she completely caught me off guard this morning leaving me the way she did."

Kates smiled and I sighed; so it was true...Alice had eloped with her boyfriend. Kates actually got her act together; "Oh, This is Jervis Tetch. Alice is his secretary." Johanne smiled; "My sister talked about you." I blinked, had she really? Kates looks at her watch; "Oh Christ the time, Sorry. I've got to dash, I hope you find what your looking for." and she rushes off, probably a meeting she forgot about or something.

"It was cruel what she did to you." I frowned; "I don't know what your talking about." A bored look passed Johanne's face. This woman no matter how much she looked like Alice sounded and acted nothing like her. "You took her on a date and she misunderstood." Misunderstood? "She thought you were just trying to cheer her up." But, Johanne had understood that... How could two sisters, twins at that be so different?

"She's not exactly the best at spotting emotions when it comes to other people's. She's been doing that to men for years now." How many times had Johanne had to explain things to her sister of that nature? "I didn't think she would misunderstand..." Johanne nodded and sat in Alice's chair, I leaned against counter. "She's always been so nice to me." She smiled; "She's kind of lost in her own little world."

That was true, how could you mistake what I had been trying to do? I mean it was the sort of thing a normal couple would do for a date, what did her and Billy do if she couldn't recognize that? "Though kind of her lost, I've heard your brilliant." I blinked, did she just? I looked at Johanne and she winked before going back to shuffling around Alice's desk...was she flirting with me? She might have been, or trying to console me on loosing Alice, before I could even get a chance.

"You know, I'm actually kind of interested in your work Tetch, Alice didn't understand most of it, but she knew enough to talk about it." They had talked about my work? "You talked about my work?" Johanne glanced up with a wide smile; "My sister may not have much motivation in life but I did, I'm a chemist. Mind, I dabble here and there in neuroscience, toxins affect the brain after all." Most Chemist stayed with the chemistry rather than dabbling into other areas that certain chemicals affected certain parts of the mind, unless they studied medicine too. I'd met a few of them before at various gatherings.

"Are you going to the fund raiser this weekend?" Ah, that…I'd wanted to ask Alice to that, But now that was impossible. "No, I don't like crowds all that much." I couldn't see her reaction give that she was bent away from me fiddling around in drawers. "I hear you on that one. I hate crowds, social phobia and all." Ah, she suffered the gatherings then. "Mind my sister loves those stupid functions, all the people and the pretty dresses and what not." She sounded a little bitter about that.

"It's not too terrible, the ones here-the hotel it's hosted at is rather grand." Johanne chuckled; "Yeah? Maybe I won't shun it then." Maybe, it wouldn't be too terrible for me to show up if I could have a conversation with this woman, Johanne sat back with a sigh; "Looks like I am going, I can't find that stupid list." She was interesting, Alice never really seemed all that interested in what I did here-just that I kept my job so she could keep hers.

"Maybe we'll bump into each other than." She smiled at me, "Would you go with me? I don't know anyone in town, I work on the other coast-California actually." And Alice left her in town without even telling her? Why had I liked Alice again? No, that was just mean! Alice was a nice woman, maybe she felt that it would be a hindrance to tell her sister, whom she just started talking to again for whatever reason. That her sister might have stopped her.

"I don't see why not, I can point out people to you if you like. I don't know too many though." Johanne smiled at me, "Thank you Tetch, that would be helpful-and I would have someone interesting to talk to as well…" I couldn't help but smile back. "Likewise." She stood and stretched out, she was a touch taller than her sister and unfortunately my eyes wandered. Not only was she taller she was better endowed and slim, but in a muscular way, versus Alice's frail build.

"What time was it at?" I blinked; "At six." She nodded; "Meet you there?" I smiled; "Sure." Johanne looked at her watch; "It was nice talking to you, see you later." I nodded and bid her farewell, She had been wearing dark blue jeans with knee high black boots to match her jacket. Here, I thought Alice looked good. Wait...had I just? Did I just get a date? I walked dazed to my lab and sat next to my mice, "I think I just got a date."

End Notes!

How did you like this? I've already written a third chapter but...I'm not actually sure if I will write anymore, if I don't I'll change the settings on the story. It's kind of funny my dream cuts out to a rather violent scene, but there was still a lot more story left to play out...Now, if I could just figure out what happened between the end of chapter three and the violence. Also would like to mention Johanne was inspired by A) the Scarecrow-I saw a female version and well it just happened and B) when I was on deviantart I was astounded by gold_fish_by_liliaosipova I keep staring at it when I was trying to describe Johanne lol

Review's are appreciated and much sought after!