A/N: Okay, so. I really wanted to do a Hatter/Alice fan fiction, and I was having a difficult time thinking up a storyline. I was going to do AU, but I really like the whole Wonderland, and Hatter being Hatter and all of this, so I decided to just keep going with that.
I realize this starting chapter isn't very long, and it probably has some mistakes in it. Forgive me. I've been running on no sleep for the last three days and when I got inspiration for this, I need to write and I'm so eager to get this posted. So, again forgive me for any mistakes, but I hope you enjoy. I think this story could be something, and I'm really excited to get some feedback.
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Everything seemed spectacular right now. The happiness I felt once I held Alice in my arms again was unbelievable. I felt relief, and like a million pounds was lifted off my shoulders. Being away from her was not something I was good at. To think that I was doing just ordinary, running the tea house and going about my life when she showed up and it's like she flipped my world upside down, as if it needed it. Wonderland was enough flipping for an eternity. I hate to say this, but I'm glad Jack wasn't real about wanting to be with her. I was still angry beyond belief he was two timing her, and she kept denying, but I'm glad I had her. She was all I was looking for to make my life mean something again. Being in Wonderland, seeing the world fall apart underneath the Queen was like a knife in my heart. All those refugees, and when I saw the kingdom of the knights when we followed Charlie through the woods, it made my heart clench. These were my people that were let down, and if I didn't do something, then everything would've been completely destroyed. Even now, it hurt to think about it. I left Wonderland at a very poor state. It had to build itself back up and I wasn't there to help, and I would have to tell Alice I had to go back at some point. My time in Wonderland wasn't up. Not even close. Thanks to the time difference, if I were to go and fight for a week, then it would only be about an hour for Alice. Talk about long distance not working.

I had spent about a week in Alice's world. We did so much together. Once of the first things was we ordered about a dozen pizzas, sat up her living room and just started to watch old black and whites movies such as 'The heiress', and classics like Wizard of Oz, Meet me in St. Louis. I suppose she had a slight obsession with Judy Garland? She was a very beautiful woman when she was younger. We cuddled, ate popcorn. We just spent a week talking about each other, and Wonderland and what happened there, and we even read 'Alice's adventures in wonderland' together. She laughed at how different the two were, and I just enjoyed and embraced her smile. I couldn't imagine not seeing that smile every day. How could I have lived so long without her? I didn't know there were girls out there like here, especially not in this world. It was a shock to me.

Today, we were sitting on the couch together, feet propped up on the coffee table, bag of popcorn on the table, along with empty soda cans and water bottles and pizza boxes. On the television was the 1957 version of Alice in wonderland. She was really intrigued by everything that had to do with wonderland. This movie made it look so… easy. At one point, it was like this, but not now. It was no longer a kid's story, it was real. It was not something to be messed with. So, I got up the courage to look down at Alice, pull her closer and say, "Alice, I have to go back." Her big, blue eyes looked up at me immediately and it made my heart break. Pain laced her iris' and I could tell she was heartbroken about what I had just said.

"Wh-what do you mean you have to go back? You don't have to go back, Hatter." Her fingers grasped onto my jacket, as an effort to keep me from going. That just broke me even more. She started shaking her head, probably unconsciously. Maybe, this was how men felt when they said they were leaving, but I wasn't leaving for good. I wasn't leaving her. I would never, but I had to go back and fight. "You have to understand, I left Wonderland with no work filled. I left without any promise of going back. It's my home, Alice. I can't just abandon it now." As I spoke, I tried to keep myself under control when I looked at her. She looked so paralyzed, like she couldn't move. Her eyes never blinked, but only got wider, and as grasp on her jacket grew tighter, and now she just wasn't trying to stop me and make me stay on the couch, she was clinging onto me like her life depended on it. I never thought she would act this way before. After explaining to her I wasn't going to leave forever, and that I wouldn't get stuck there, she managed to calm herself down. I was to stay there a week, one hour in her case. She didn't think it would be too bad going an hour without me, so I got dressed back in my regular clothes. The clothes I wore the whole time we were there together. After putting on my hat and making sure I had everything I needed, we said our goodbyes and I found the looking glass luckily and went back through.

While I was falling, my thoughts just lingered to Alice, and how much I would miss her. No more Judy Garland, no more pizza, no more cuddling coiled up on the couch and just talking. I had to get serious real quick, now. Charlie would most likely be waiting for me when I got back. We had a lot to do, and we needed to help those people in the great library. All that I was glad about was Mad March was gone again, thanks to my helpful right hand. Or Sledgehammer as Owl liked to put it. I completely forgot about Owl and Duck. Finally, after what seemed like days and days, I fell through the looking glass, tumbling down the stairs and rolling right in front of Charlies feet. I looked up at him, laughing loudly as he helped me up. "Charlie! Never a dull moment when seeing you." I hugged him realizing how much I did miss him. He was still mad as a box of frogs, but he was still fun to be around.

The next week, Charlie and I started to clean up the kingdom of knights. We made proper graves for all the knights that had passed and it was time to move on. We got a few refugees out of the great library and into buildings here. I had a woman watch over them and Charlie started to gather knew armor for volunteers that would fight with us. At night, when everyone was asleep, I would tell Charlie about Alice's world, and how different it was. I told him what we did, and how she told me to tell him she missed him and hoped he would come through the looking glass and visit sometime. He laughed and agreed to come sometime, but not until he had won this battle. It would take some time, but I knew he'd get through it all, with my help and the help of everyone else, we could do this. Wonderland could a home again, and maybe once it was back to the way it used to be, then Alice would consider coming back. For good. My heart still ached when I thought about it here, when I was in her world. I realized how much I loved it.

"Well, Judy Garland died, but there's always her daughter Liza." I nudged him, laughing lightly. He looked over at me with an annoyed looked, so my laughing died out and I looked away slowly, back into the fire.

The moment I heard a crow croak, I snapped my neck to look behind me, and I saw that all the perimeters were broken through. I quickly grabbed my gun I had laid on the ground in front of me and started to walk towards the buildings where the people were. They looked at me, then at each other in pain. "Okay, everyone get their weapons! Armor, whatever you need! I need four groups. East, west, north, and south. All the perimeters were broken through which means were being attacked from every side. Hide in the bushes, behind trees. I know it's dark, it's night. That's why they're getting us now. OI! Get up!" Men started to put on armor, and hiding the woman in small trap doors and in the walls to make sure they wouldn't be spotted. When I saw how they were protecting them, I thought of Alice and how I was so glad she didn't come here. Without another though, I ran into the woods, hiding behind trees every now and again to make sure no once saw me. I was able to run pretty far up until I got to a sort of open field after walking up a hill. It was the same place me and Alice were when I came back from sending out help. She told me she was beginning to think I wasn't coming back.

I heard a loud gunshot, and it didn't register in my mind it was so close. I turned my head slowly and I saw a suit standing there, his gun aimed at me. It took me even longer to look at my body and I saw crimson soaking my pant leg. I exhaled, trying to not think about the pain that was beginning to set in. Instead, I looked back up, aimed the gun and fired at the man. I hit him dead on in the chest and he fell over, obviously dead. I dropped down, ripping my pent leg and seeing blood starting to gush out of my calf. With a deep breath, I put my hand over it, making sure I didn't bleed to death. Luckily, I heard more footsteps coming from the kingdom, so someone could help me. Once my eyes focused on gray hair and that all too familiar beard, I felt relief. Charlie gasped and ran over to me. "Good God, man!" I sighed lightly as he ripped a piece of cloth of his clothing and wrapped it around my wound. I hated being so vulnerable, so right for the picking. Charlie then picked me up on the horse he had tied up on a tree, in case of emergencies and got on behind me so I wouldn't fall off.

In a matter of minutes, we were back at the kingdom and I was on the horse, in a building getting treated by a doctor. He gave me some medicine to ease the pain, and I laid there while he pulled the bullet out. I screamed loudly, hearing it echo down the halls. The pain was so excruciating. I gripped the cement underneath me, trying to forget the pain and think of the wicked witch of the west melting and how Dorothy said she didn't mean to do so. Nothing worked. The pain kept climbing up my leg and engulfing me. I felt like I was drowning and my legs and wrists were tied, so I couldn't swim. Then, suddenly, the rope disappeared; no longer binding me and I swam to the surface. I took a huge breath, my chest heaving and sweat dripping down my face. Charlie was real sentimental when he wanted to be. He sat there the whole time, watching over me. I could tell he had felt terrible, watching me suffer and not having any way of helping me. The bullet was out, and my wound was stitched up, that's all that mattered. My week was up tomorrow, and I would be heading back home to Alice. I hope I can hide this from her, but the obvious limp I would have would give it away.

So, the invaders were scared off, and many of the men had killed some of the suits and brought he bodies back here to learn if they had any papers or anything that would help us better understand their plan. I slept that night, not like a baby, though. Tossing and turning from the pain, waking dead in the middle of the night from nightmares. This had to be one of the worst nights. Why couldn't he have shot at my chest where I at least had armor underneath? If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

Finally morning broke, and the sound of Charlie's snore awoke me from my deep sleep. All I wanted to do was sleep. I was so exhausted, and the pain made it even worse. I could barely even move my leg, much less stand on it. "Charlie!" I yelled softly over to him. He was sleeping peacefully in his hammock, cuddling a small teddy bear in his arms. After hearing me yell, he quickly flipped out of the position and fell to the ground quickly getting up and saluting. I furrowed my brows, but shook my head and stood up slowly, using a log to help balance, then a tree. After riding Guinevere for an hour or two, we finally made it to the looking glass, and I was face to face with myself. I looked a little beat up, and my leg was hidden by a new pair of trousers I had put on earlier. After putting on my hat, I shifted my eyes back to Charlie's reflection in the mirror. "Keep it safe for me while I'm gone?" He nodded, knowing I was talking about Wonderland.

With a huge breath and my eyes shut, I stepped through the looking glass, making sure I held m hat on my head so it wouldn't fly off. Again, I thought about Alice the whole time, and how she would be. She couldn't have changed much since it's only been an hour her time. When I fell through the other side, I evidently landed on my leg and I held in a yelp if pain as my hands instantly flew to my calf. After about ten minutes lying there in agony, I was able to get myself up on my feet and limp through the alley way and get to her building. Slowly, I took one step at a time, teaching one floor, then the next, then the next. It was progress. I was one step closer to holding Alice again. Finally, I was in front of her door, and I stood as straight as I possibly could, well… straight as I possibly could without having pain written all over my face. I knocked a few times and waited, dusting off my clothes and deciding to just lean my arm on the wall as I waited for her to answer.

I heard rustling and rambling and then the door finally flew open. Her presence caught m by surprise. Her hair was jumbled up into a messy tie and anger was written all over her face. What could I have done wrong? I was only there for an hour her time, just as I said I'd be. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me in, slamming the door and pushing me up against the shut door and started to claw at my clothing. I tried to grab her wrists from my shirt, but by the time I finally caught then, it was too late. I knew exactly what she had been looking for, and her eyes were glued to my chest like a deer in headlights. My chest was filled with air, I didn't have the bravery to breathe right now. Her saddened, blue eyes looked straight up to mine, tears welling up in them. That pain in my leg just seemed to go away, but it went straight to my heart, and I'm sure hers was smashed completely.

"You son of a bitch."