ch 1

Allison was waking up slowly. She didn't want to wake up and definitely not to open her eyes and see the contempt in House's eyes. Not only had she first fallen head over heels in love with him, now she was also falling head over heels – literally – at his feet. Ok, she was tired, but that was no reason to trip over one's own feet! But here she was, measuring the carpet in Dr. House's office. Could things get any more embarrassing? Obviously, yes, they could, because she was hearing voices. True they were subdued but she could still recognise Eric and Chase's voices. Great, just great, she couldn't do even this in private! She moved her head a little. The carpet felt funny. She didn't remember it being this soft. And it smelled like grass! And did she hear birds? Oh boy, this was not good. She was really going to make a fool of herself. But then, what else was new.

Allison opened her eyes with resignation. Might as well get all the snickering out of the way. Overhead she saw a canopy of leaves. A tree? Had they carried her outside? Why? This made no sense at all. She looked around trying to find Foreman and Chase. She had heard their voices, after all, and she wanted someone to give her some answers. She didn't need to look far. Only, she didn't quite find what she had expected.

Not too far from her she saw two – well – creatures? A Scarecrow and a Lion! The Scarecrow looked a lot like Eric, only in straw, and the Lion was the spitting image of Chase – that is had Chase been a lion. Ok, so it was probably safe to say this was not Kansas, but other than that she was really in the woods. She tried to sit up but that made her feel dizzy, so she changed her mind and just let herself sink back onto the grass. A little moan escaped and that brought her companions to her side.

"She is waking up, I think" said the Scarecrow "Alice, are you ok?"

"Of course she is not ok" said the Lion "that was an awfully long drop through the rabbit hole. It's a good thing I'm a cat and therefore nimble on my feet or I would have been hurt, too. But it still scared me almost out of my hide."

"Everything scares you, silly, you have no courage!"

"Who are you to call me silly? You are the one who needs a brain."

"Guys, could you pipe it down, please" Allison murmured, "I really don't feel up to listening to your bickering right now. I'd just like to know where we are!"

"We are in the woods, Alice, can't you see?" said the Scarecrow.

"Alison" Allison corrected him.

"Alice on what?" asked the Lion.

"How would I know? It's not like having straw in your head helps you figure things out. You ought to know that, we've been together long enough. You figure it out. What could Alice be on?!"

"Well, she's on the ground" the Lion pondered.

"Maybe she wants us to help her up" brightened the Scarecrow.

They were beginning to give Allison a headache. She started to explain "No, it's my name ... Oh, never mind, just help me up. Slowly." If Alice was who they wanted, then Alice they got, just as long as they helped her to get up and get her bearings.

The help was not quite as expert as one could expect from two doctors, but then, she was pretty sure in this realm they were not doctors. But eventually she was back on her feet and not feeling too bad about it. She looked around but nothing gave her any indication of where she was. Oz was, of course a pretty good guess, but if that was the case where had the rabbit hole come from and where were Dorothy and the Tin Man? Whatever, she needed to find out what was going on. Of course, this was probably just a dream or a hallucination brought about by a concussion, in which case all she had to do was to wait and she would wake up in due course. On the other hand, all of this felt also awfully real – even if bizarre – so maybe she ought not to take any risks.

"We can't just stay here." She said to the other two, "we need to find a way to get back to where we came from. I need to find a way home!"

"Home? What does she mean?" asked the Lion looking at the Scarecrow.

"I'm not sure. I think it's a place or something," the Scarecrow answered. "The Queen of Hearts has a lot of places, does she have a home?"

"No, I think she has a castle but she never has said anything about a home. What about the old woman who lived in the shoe? Didn't she call it a home?" said the Lion

"Maybe, but I don't believe that is what Alice was talking about, or at least I cannot see her living in a shoe. Somehow I think you are supposed live in a home. I believe I have heard people talk about living in a house. Could that be it?" the Scarecrow pondered.

"So you think that home is where house is?" wondered the Lion.

"Oh! Do you know where House is?" Allison exclaimed.

The two guys looked at each other and nodded in satisfaction the Scarecrow telling the Lion, "I think we got it, that's what she means" but then they turned to Allison and said in unison:

"Sorry we don't know any Houses around here."

But then the Lion went on to say: "But we could go and ask people. Surely someone knows how we can find House."

"That's a good idea," said the Scarecrow, "we have been invited to a tea, and it's high time we got there and you can ask people there if they know House."

"Oh yes, I'm hungry! Let's go and have some high tea," growled the Lion.