I only read Alice recently, and I'm not the most creative person, so you may or may not find parallels between this story and The Chronicles of Narnia and/or Peter Pan. And I apologize in advance, because I know that eventually it'll be OOC. Oh, and I'm writing as the Hatter from the movie...not the books.

Chapter One

Hatter was shocked to see her again...and with such a large belly! What on earth had she done to herself? It had been so long since he'd last seen her...he could barely recognise her, though he knew those brilliant blue eyes anywhere.

"Hatter!" she exclaimed, running for him. Although she couldn't go very fast, due to the size of her stomach, she ran as fast as she could towards her long lost friend.

He could see that she wasn't well. She was pale and her voice was hoarse, her breathing uneven and quick. But nevertheless, healthy or not, he had waited what seemed like another lifetime to see her again.

"Alice." The word was sweet, like honey. He'd longed to say it for a while, but couldn't bear the pain of it.

Although she had the same blue eyes and mane of blonde ringlets, she had aged. She was approximately thirty by now, according to what she'd told him. She was taller, certainly, and the creases on her brow had become more prominent.

Alice smiled when she was in front of him. She hugged him close tightly, repeating how much she'd missed him over the years. When she spoke, he realised that she hadn't changed very much. She was still incredibly queer, but he loved her for it.

But after a while, she began to grow weaker and had to sit down and then she had to lie down and rest her head. And then she began to scream.

--*--

Alice was in an extreme amount of pain that her frail body just couldn't handle. She knew that she would give birth to these twins that she was carrying, but her strength couldn't carry on after that. When she'd told Hatter this, he didn't believe her.

"Don't be silly." He'd told her, as the White Queen's doctor helped her. "You'll be fine."

Alice smiled at his naivety. "Hatter," she'd said, putting one of her pale hands on his cheek. "I'm going to die."

She'd said this with such finality in her tone that Hatter couldn't help but believe her, even if he didn't want to.

"But...what do we do with your children?" he asked her. "Should we return them to your husband?"

Alice shook her head. "He's long gone by now." Hatter was confused, but hadn't bothered to ask her about him.

Instead, Alice looked into his bright green eyes and said, "Please, please look after them. Name the boy Brendan, for he is my prince...and the girl, Sarah, because she is my princess."

Hatter shook his head. "I...I can't."

Alice grabbed his hand as firmly as she could manage and stared deeply into his eyes.

"You can. I believe you can. I trust that you'll believe it too. These children need a parent, Hatter. I know you can do it. Please."

Hatter shook his head again, not daring to believe it.

Alice looked at him earnestly. "Would you do it for me?" she repeated.

Hatter hesitated, but then knew what he'd answer. "For you, Alice...anything."

"Thank you." Alice smiled, before her hand dropped limply from his.

The doctor stepped away from Alice without a word. The Hatter removed his hat and sat by her for what felt like eternity.

Finally, the doctor emerged with two human infants in both his arms.

"They're yours, I suppose." he said uncomfortably. "Have you names for them?"

Hatter sighed. "Brendan and Sarah."

The doctor nodded. "They're lovely children, you know. Both gorgeous."

Hatter nodded ."Thank you."

What had he gotten himself into?