Chapter 1

Cheshire absentmindedly spun around in Hatter's chair.

After the Suits had tried to burn down Hatter's old tea shop the day before, the others had told her not to go back. They said that if the Suits got hold of her they would be unable to save her but she didn't care. She liked spending any time she could there. Some nights, when thing's were quiet with the Resistance, she would go back there and stay the night. She felt closer to Hatter when she was there, as if part of him still remained.

It had been 12 years since Hatter had left and Cheshire's heart still longed for him. Her attitude alone made her unrecognizable: She never laughed any more; the closest thing to telling a joke making was rude and sarcastic comments when someone was being stupid, she barely talked at all anymore except when she was planning. Most of all, she never smiled. Nothing could be done to put a smile on her stony face after Hatter had stepped through the looking glass and out of her life.

Cheshire now knew why Hatter had acted so strange when the person that he loved had left because she felt his pain. Hatter hadn't eaten because he wasn't hungry, he hadn't spoken because he had nothing to say, and now Cheshire wasn't sleeping well because every time she closed her eyes she saw Hatter and every time she forced herself into sleep she dreamed of him and woke in tears. 12 long years…

Cheshire sighed and stopped spinning. She stood up and walked to the shelf where all the old emotions sat.

She picked up a bottle labeled PEACE and smirked. Peace. She'd never known peace in her life. Never! Not once! But no, wait. She had once. It was oh so long ago, when she was only 6 years old. Hatter had just gotten a new apartment, and Marchy had taken her to see him. They had stayed there for a long time and Cheshire had fallen asleep. She remembered feeling Hatter's strong but gentle arms lift her off the floor and place her on the couch, wrapping a blanket around her. Cheshire remembered that short moment of complete and undeniable peace before falling into an uneasy sleep.

Cheshire blinked back her tears at the memory. She wanted to drink the whole bottle. To experience that feeling of peace one more time before the overdose killed her. She uncapped the bottle and pressed it to her lips…

She stopped. She couldn't do it. Death had been the one thing she was scared of when she was little (apart from the lake). She wasn't scared of it any more, but to deliberately kill yourself… that was something she could never do…

She dipped her finger into the bottle of PEACE, getting a shining drop of the emotion, and then let it fall onto her tongue. It had the soothing taste of chamomile tea and made Cheshire feel better then she'd felt in 12 years. Age had strengthened the PEACE and made her suddenly feel very sleepy so she went over to Hatter's bed and lay down. She closed her eyes, the overwhelming feeling of peace blocked out the image of Hatter she usually saw and she fell into a deep sleep…

When Cheshire awoke she was no longer in bed. No, she was most certainly not in bed. She was in a room that Hatter had told her about: The Truth Room, and there, before her were the two men that Hatter had told her about: Dr. Dee and Dr. Dum. If Cheshire had been frighten or surprised she didn't show it on her face.

"Hello, I am Dr. Dee and this is my brother, Dr. Dum." They both gave her identical cruel smiles.

Cheshire's face remained stony. "Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee agreed to have a battle;" she said repeating a poem she'd heard once, "For Tweedle Dum said Tweedle Dee had spoiled his nice new rattle. Just then flew down a monstrous crow, as black as a tar-barrel. Which frightened both the heroes so, they quite forgot their quarrel."

"I know what you're thinking," said Dr. Dum (or was it Dr. Dee) "but it isn't so, Nohow."

"Contrariwise," continued Dr. Dee (or perhaps Dr. Dum?) "if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic."

Cheshire looked at them. She knew they were trying to confuse her and she almost laughed. They were trying to confuse her. She smirked at them and very quickly said: "Well then logic must be wrong because I'm always right. So what I was thinking is so, and what you were thinking obviously is not so despite logic which is, in it's self, illogical."

She had a short moment of triumph when they both looked at each other blankly, before the both started talking and the room started to spin. "Relax." They said together, "Let your mind go and allow yourself to fall into a deep sleep…"

With out meaning to, Cheshire found herself doing as they said…

Alice happily waited for Hatter to come home. They had been engaged for nearly 3 months now, Alice had been so surprised when they'd gone out to dinner at the Gramercy Tavern fallowed by a walk around Central Park and Hatter suddenly knelt before her on one knee by the Alice in Wonderland statue and asked her to be his wife. She had been even more surprised when she'd heard herself say "Yes!"

She heard the door open and close "Alice?" Hatter called.

"I'm here!" she said. She went into the hall and found him hanging up his jacket.

Alice gave him a hug and he kissed her. "So how was your day, David?" Alice's mother, Carol asked.

"It was alright, I suppose." He said, "Alice, I need to speak with you, privately."

Alice looked at him, a little confused. "Okay" she said walking into the bedroom. He followed her.

"So what is it?" she asked him.

"Do you know what tomorrow is, Alice?" He asked.

Alice looked at him. "No." she said.

"Tomorrow, I will have been gone for a year." Hatter said.

Wonderland. Alice had nearly forgotten! He was right! Tomorrow would be the anniversary of the day that she'd gone through the looking glass to find Jack (and found something much better)! She smiled at Hatter who didn't smile back. Alice stopped smiling and studied him.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"I want to go home, Alice." He said, "I don't have to go for a long time. But, tomorrow, I'm going home. I'd love for you to come, but I'll understand if you don't."

Alice really did not want to go back to Wonderland. She had a lot of bad memories there; Her father dying, nearly being killed (several times), FLYING! She really didn't want to go.

Alice looked at Hatter. His eyes were full of longing. She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to be with him. He wanted to take her to Wonderland. Hatter was going to Wonderland, with or without her, but he really wanted her to go.

Alice sighed, "Well then," she said, "how do we do this?"

Hatter smiled and kissed her. "Leave it to me." He said, and kissed her more.

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