Begins right after the kiss we waited three hours for :) If you read and enjoy, please review!


"Your mum's mortified, isn't she," Hatter whispered, nose-to-nose with Alice. She glanced in the mirror and then back at him, making a face.

"Well, she's not ecstatic. Kiss me again, and then I'll explain things to her." Alice held tightly to his lapels as he kissed her for the third time since surprising her. He smelled incredible, as always, cologne he would later insist he 'was born with' (but really just came from a little bottle of something his mother gave him when he was 16).

Alice grabbed his hand and turned to face her mother, whose jaw remained firmly fastened to the floor.

"Mom, this is Ha-David. David Hatter. I have known him since High School… I ran into him the other day at Starbucks and realized I still have feelings for him… It didn't seem right to accept Jack's proposal when I had feelings for someone else." Alice smiled.

"It was luck that I found her at the construction site, we were working overtime," Hatter added. "I'm sorry I didn't mention I knew her; I was afraid she might not make it and I didn't want to put any of my own emotions on you, Mrs. Hamilton."

The lie was easy, simple even. The story had flaws, like why she'd never mentioned him before, how strong her feelings were for him in high school, what had happened to Jack. Why she not only kissed a strange man but also made out with him in the middle of the living room.

"Mom, please, come sit down," Alice led Carol over to the couch and sat down. Hatter stood behind the wingback chair nervously, fiddling with the brim of his black fedora. It's smooth fabric did not quite have the calming effect of his favorite straw chapeau, but Charlie had declared him a 'harbinger hobo' in his favorite hat, so he'd settled on a more classic choice to leap universes. Carol sent Hatter a puzzled glance before setting her lips in a tight line.

"Look, I know you're probably wondering about Jack," Alice reasoned, intercepting a radiating prickle from Hatter at the mention of his former romantic rival.

"You could say that," Carol squeaked.

"Jack thought I'd cheated on him when I told him I had feelings for somebody else, so he went back to England. He was a prick about it actually," Alice laughed, not because Jack had actually been a prick about Hatter, but because Hatter seemed to be radiating a particularly smug energy.

"What did he say to you?" Carol asked softly, indicating ever so slightly with her eyes that it was safe for Hatter to sit in the chair his hat was resting on.

"He said that he was a little jealous that he'd never been the sole object of my affection, asked who 'the lucky guy' was, and told me to have a nice life." This was more or less true. Jack had either said or been the subject of all of those statements, but he'd never been a jerk about it. Save the time he'd walked in on Hatter and Alice's near-kiss in the forest. Then he'd been a prick.

"I went after him to try to apologize, but I must've fallen and hit my head in the construction site; he always walks through it on the way back to his place and I thought I could intercept him there." Alice squeezed Carol's hand but her mother said nothing. Hatter nervously cleared his throat. Keeping silent was torture for the most talkative man in Wonderland, but he wasn't in Wonderland anymore and knew that his future with Alice was dependant upon his remaining absolutely silent, while her lioness-of-a-mother made up her mind about him.

"So… that's how it happened," Alice said needlessly, nervously. If Hatter had been a sweater, which he wasn't, he would've had saucer-sized pit stains at this point. Consequently, his fedora now looked more like a bowler. Hatter knew that Jack was a charismatic S.O.B., and the only thing he had in common with the Prince was a Wonderland upbringing and a charming articulation of the tongue. The fact that his charming tongue had just been down her daughter's throat, he hoped would be moot.

"I should probably go," He stood quickly, after debating whether or not running to the front door would hurt his standing. It had been almost 2 minutes since Alice spoke but it felt like 20 and he was beginning to perspire for the first time in his life. He could bluff over a hand of low cards with a gun to his head and sleep fully clothed in 100 degree weather, all without a drop of sweat, but Carol was a whole new animal, and he wasn't too confident.

"No need," Carol finally spoke and Alice let out a heavy breath of relief. It seemed as if Glinda herself had suddenly possessed Carol's body as she smiled brightly, stood, and embraced Hatter like the son she never had. "Won't you stay for dinner? I'm making meatloaf," Carol tottered off to the kitchen, humming a cheery tune and Alice just stared after her.

"Huh," Hatter laughed, looking at Alice. "That went… better then I thought it would," He said quietly so Carol wouldn't hear. Alice stood and went to him, hugging him.

"She can't possibly be that chipper about this… and if she is, I live a charmed life." Alice laughed and kissed Hatter again gently.

"I'm sorry I came without warning you," He whispered, brushing her cheek.

"It's ok, Hatter, really. I would rather you show up unannounced then not at all. How long are you here?" She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of him leaving again.

"How long until you get sick of me?" He asked after a brief moment of internal debate.

"David! Do you like tea?" Carol called cheerily from the kitchen, squashing any further conversation about the future.

"Love it, Mrs. Hamilton!" He called back, smiling at Alice. "Let's talk about this later."

"Are you free tonight?" She asked.

"Well… I'll have to check my schedule," He grinned, leading her towards the kitchen door where Carol had just appeared like June Cleaver herself.

Though Carol looked like Mrs. Cleaver, she certainly didn't cook like her. Hatter found himself in the bathroom, returning the rubber meatloaf to the evening air. He was highly embarrassed to retch in Alice's house, until Alice showed up a few minutes later and also deposited the contents of her stomach in the porcelain receptacle. They both rinsed their mouths out with mouthwash several times and returned to the kitchen with the explanation that Hatter was jet-lagged and she had gone to check on him. Unfortunately for them, their relationship would always be explained by lies to anyone outside of Wonderland. Alice instructed Hatter to wait for her outside the apartment and she pulled on the velvet coat that had belonged to her since Hatter had given it to her the day they'd met. He brought it with him to her world; it was his first gift to her.

"Mom? I'm going out with David for a bit, but I'll be back late," Alice called, hoping Carol heard over the running sink.

"Don't worry about it, honey! Stay at David's tonight," Carol returned casually, causing Alice to physically freeze in place. Her mother had just given her permission to do anything short of moving in with Hatter. Sleeping at his place. Sleeping at his place in his bed. Even, say, sleeping at his place, in his bed, sans clothes. Other things.

"Ok! Goodnight!" Alice finally found words and scrambled out the door before her good graces took over and her mother's reverse psychology seeped its way into her better judgment. If her mother mentioned sex, Alice would probably join a convent of her own volition. Mothers worked in mysterious, guilt-giving ways and Carol was like Jiminy Cricket.


A/N: Voila! I hope you enjoyed it!