Okay, so I know I really shouldn't be starting yet another story with two others already going, but I saw ATTLG the day it came out, and I think I've waited long enough to post a new Alice story using the information given in that movie and the new headcanons developed from that information and from the outcome of the movie itself. Speaking of the movie, that was MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE than worth a six-year wait! My only complaint was that Alice left Underland AGAIN.

Anyway, I disclaim, blah blah blah, and thanks to Billy Jay for being my beta on this. Enjoy!

"Captain on deck!"

Alice emerged from the cabin she and her mother shared on board the ship and looked around. The crew was all lined up saluting her, and the skies were a bit overcast, but she doubted there would be any rain. After a year overseas, it would be nice to return home and get to see Margaret again. Still, she couldn't help but feel as if something weren't quite right.

Helen appeared beside her, and the two of them disembarked together, stepping back onto solid land.

"Aunt Alice!" a voice cried.

A dark-haired little girl appeared from within the crowd, throwing herself eagerly at Alice, who smiled and got down on the child's level to hug her.

"Hello there, Abby," she said to her niece. "My word, look at how you've grown! You're five now, aren't you?"

"Five-and-a-half!" Abigail replied.
"Oh, of course, how silly of me," Alice said.

Helen smiled at the sight of Alice and Abigail together, then turned when Margaret and Lowell appeared.

"Margaret, dear," she said, embracing her older daughter, "how wonderful to see you again."
"It's wonderful to see you, too, Mother," Margaret replied. "We've missed you both so much."

"We've missed you, too, darling."

"Did you bring presents?" Abigail asked as Alice stood back up.

"Abby," Margaret said, her tone a bit scolding.

"Of course we brought presents," Alice interjected. "We have something for all of you."

"What did you bring me, Aunt Alice?"
"I can't tell you, it's a surprise."

"A surprise? Oh, I love surprises! When do I get to see it?"
"As soon as we get back to the house, I promise to give it to you."

"Alice, you really shouldn't have brought her anything," Margaret said, "you spoil her enough as it is."
"Well, what's the point of being an aunt if I don't get to do just that with my niece?" Alice countered.

"And here I thought it was supposed to be the grandparents' job to spoil a child," Lowell remarked teasingly.

"It can be the aunt's job, too, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Can we go back to the house now?" Abigail asked. "I want to know what Aunt Alice got me!"

"Well," Lowell said, checking his pocketwatch, "it is almost time for lunch, so I don't see any reason why we should stay here any longer when there's a meal to be had soon."

"Yes, and I would like to change out of these travel clothes," Helen added.

"In that case, let's get going, shall we? The carriage is this way."

"Mum, can I sit in Aunt Alice's lap on the ride home?"
"Well, dear, I think that's really up to Aunt Alice, not me."
"I don't mind at all, Abby, though I might smell a bit like fish."

Abigail giggled as she followed her family through the crowd to their waiting carriage.

As Alice settled into her seat and Abigail climbed onto her lap, a million things went racing through her mind.

Ever since returning from her second trip to Underland and setting sail with her mother, Alice had been experiencing what might be best referred to as somewhat of an inner turmoil. Her dreams were filled every night with images of the Hatter, and during the day, she thought about him nearly all the time. Even on the rare occasions when he wasn't in her thoughts, it was never long before something somehow managed to remind her of him again. She found herself constantly remembering how terrified she had been of losing him during those moments when it looked like he might not make it, when his orange hair had gone completely white and limp, and how happy and relieved she had been when he ended up being alright. The very thought of him, of his smile and delightful madness, was enough to set her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. And then, one day, it had suddenly dawned on her that leaving had been a huge mistake, because, as she found she could no longer deny, she had fallen in love with Tarrant Hightopp.

She had tried several times while overseas to find an active looking-glass so she could return once again to Underland, but her efforts never bore any success, and so she was forced to resign herself to life Aboveground, at least for the time being. Now that she was back in London, however, she planned on finding either a looking-glass or a rabbit hole just as soon as she possibly could so that she could go back and set her life right once and for all.

For now, though, her family deserved as much of her attention and focus as she could give them. After all, there would soon come a time when she would vanish from their lives never to return.

But they, of course, had no idea of this.

For some time now, Alice had owned her own house not far from the one she had grown up in, which was where her mother still lived. She employed exactly four servants—A cook, a head maid, and two other maids. Their names were Mathilde, Susanna, Violet, and Ophelia. Mathilde and Susanna were both middle-aged, while Violet and Ophelia were younger than Alice's twenty-three years. None of these women was very prone to gossip, which was part of why Alice had chosen them since she didn't want them to go around talking about what she did to anyone they happened to meet while they were out of the house, though Susanna did often report to Helen on what Alice was up to. They were all very reliable and quite good at what they did, and Susanna did an excellent job at keeping the household running during Alice's absences.

The day she returned home from her year-long voyage with Helen, the very moment that she stepped through the door of her own house, Alice was suddenly overcome with a huge wave of exhaustion. As she stood in the front entryway taking her coat off, Susanna appeared out of seemingly nowhere, as she was sometimes prone to doing.

"Welcome home, Miss Kingsleigh," she said. "How was the journey?"
"It was absolutely marvelous, Susanna, you should have been there," Alice replied.

"Well, you'll have to tell us all about it over dinner. Mathilde almost has it ready."

"Oh, I absolutely hate to do this when I know she's been working so hard on it, but I'm afraid I really don't feel like having dinner. I'm absolutely exhausted, I'm afraid, all I want to do is just lie down and sleep."

"I can bring your dinner up to your room if you'd like," Susanna offered.
"That might be for the best. I can't promise I'll be awake enough to eat it, though."

"I'm sure Mathilde will understand, Miss Kingsleigh. Well then, you go on up to your room and get some rest, I'll make sure your luggage is brought in."

"Thank you, Susanna, I really appreciate it."

Alice turned and began making her way towards the stairs. She went up to her room and took her shoes off, then collapsed onto the bed and just lay there face-down and fully dressed. After several long moments, she managed to slowly turn over onto her back, and then she lay staring up at the ceiling past half-closed eyelids. She sighed heavily as her eyes slowly fell closed, and she welcomed the peaceful darkness that came over her like an old friend.

Tarrant's eyes flew open as he shot into a sitting position. He sat there in bed breathing heavily and looking around the darkened room. Oh...it had only been a dream. He sighed. Of course it had been a dream, what else could it have possibly been? Alice was gone, and that was the long and short of it. There was nothing he could do to change that.

But oh, what a wonderful dream it had been...

For the last several months or so, the Hatter had been suffering from bouts of insomnia. He would wake up in the middle of the night for no discernible reason, and then struggle to go back to sleep. When he dreamed, he dreamed of Alice. He dreamed of her laugh, her smile, her beautiful brown eyes and blonde hair, the beauty mark near the corner of her mouth...

He was glad to have his family back. Nothing could take that joy away from him. But along with that joy, he also felt a strange hollow emptiness.

Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep and having nothing else to do with himself, Tarrant threw the covers off and got out of bed. He got dressed, then went into his workshop, going over to the table where he did most of his work. He picked up the design sketches for a half-finished hat that was sitting there. It was a light blue sun hat, and when it was finished, it would have a navy sash around the brim and white flowers on one side. He'd had Alice in mind while designing it, which was why he'd chosen to make it light blue—he knew it was her favorite color.

Looking at the sketches, he was suddenly overcome with a wave of sorrow and longing. Oh...bollocks. He couldn't deny it any longer. He had to face the facts and just admit that he was in love with Alice.

But what was the point, he wondered, when all it did was cause him to suffer? She wasn't around, so it wasn't as if he could tell her how he felt. And even if she was there, he still wouldn't be able to admit it out loud to her. What if she didn't feel the same? What if she rejected him, and it ended up ruining their friendship? That was the last thing Tarrant wanted. Alice was his Very Best and Dearest Friend in all the world, and he wouldn't change that for anything.

Still, though. What he wouldn't give to have even just a single kiss from her.