Alice and What Came After

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with SyFy's version of Alice or the original books by Lewis Carroll. I'm just borrowing.

Chapter One: Lost in the World of Oysters

Two weeks. Hatter had been stuck in Alice's world for two weeks so far. He'd tried to blend in, get a job, rent a flat, and buy new clothes. He hunted for Alice in his spare time, but he didn't have much to do on. He didn't even have a last name for her.

It turned out that Alice was a common name for Oysters. Even knowing that she did some type of fighting—what was it called again? Ka-ra-tea?—didn't help him too much. He went to those studios looking for her, but there were dozens of those places.

Hatter climbed the stairs to his third-floor flat. It was a small place, but he didn't really need much space. The flat had the basics: a bed, a small closet that smelled like old people to hang his clothes, a place to put his hats, and a stove to put the tea kettle on.

He went into the kitchen, putting the dinged metal kettle on the burner. His taste for tea had followed him through the Looking Glass.

A map was tacked to the dirty wall. It showed the area surrounding the Looking Glass. Names were scrawled on it; names of buildings and people. There was also a big black 'X' drawn where the Looking Glass was located.

Lines ran through the names of places he already looked for Alice at. He was running out of areas near the Looking Glass to check.

It wasn't as if he could return home to Wonderland. His shop was ruined and King Jack-ass would have taken the stone away from the mirror by now. All he could do was try to set up a new life here and keep looking for Alice.

He settled down into a chair he'd found at a rummage sale—it was a brownish-orange one similar to his old desk chair—and reached for a tea bag. The kettle whistled, reminding him that the water was ready.

Hatter poured himself hot water over the tea bag, savoring the spicy aroma rising from the tea leaves.

Across the tiny kitchen, the wall phone started to ring. It was a curious device, a telephone. Apparently it was how everyone in Alice's world got in touch with one another.

He lifted the receiver and answered with a tentative "'ello?"

"Mr. Hatter?" a female voice came over the line.

"Yes…?"

"This is Jenny from Eastern Martial Arts. You called about an instructor, Alice, was it?"

Hatter nearly dropped his tea cup. "Yes, yes! Is she there? Alice?"

"Mr. Hatter, calm down. We do have an instructor here named Alice. Would you like to sign up for one of her class?"

"Yes!—Urm, sure. When is it?"

"How does tomorrow evening sound?"

"Fine, um… what time tomorrow?"

"7."

"Okay, I'll be there."

"Thank you, Mr. Hatter. We'll see you tomorrow at 7."

Hatter had to resist a small cheer as the phone went dead in his hands. He'd found her. Alice. Waiting until tomorrow was a small price to pay for seeing Alice again. After all this time, after weeks of searching, he'd found her.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Alice Hamilton slipped into her karate whites in the changing room. She tied her black belt around the top, securing her outfit. Her dark hair was tied on top of her head in a long ponytail.

She took a deep breath and headed out to meet her class. All she really wanted to do was go home, get a glass of wine, and kick back and relax.

Instead, she had to teach a class of beginners. Most of them were going to spend the hour flat on their asses, thanks to a lack of balance, but they kept coming back. She would give them that much credit at least.

Alice took her place in her part of the studio with her back to the mirrors. Her chattering students, ranging from young teens to adults a bit older than her, filed in with their bags. They dropped their stuff along the walls, took off their shoes, and prepared for class.

Most of her students wore a white uniform similar to her own. A few just wore regular workout clothes.

The man who stepped in the room just before she was about to start wasn't wearing either. His dark hair stuck out at all angles underneath a hat. It was a dark-colored felt, styled similar to a fedora. He wore loose jeans, a leather jacket, and had a scarf wound around his neck. His shirt had a loud pattern that clashed with his striped scarf.

"Alice!" he called, a smile breaking upon his face.

He jogged into the room, arms pumping a bit at his side. Alice felt her weight shift automatically; a defensive move without putting her hands up to block or attack him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Are you here for this class?"

He stopped a few feet short of her. "Alice, it's me. Hatter."

He spoke with a rather thick accent. It sounded vaguely British to her. She couldn't remember ever knowing anyone British, let alone one that went by Hatter. It was an uncommon name. Was it a nickname?

"I don't know any 'Hatters'. Are you joining my class?"

The newcomer seemed crestfallen. She watched his face fall and his shoulders slump forward. "Umm, yeah, I guess so."

The door banged open behind him. Another man walked in, this one with short brown hair. "You're late, Chase," Alice said loudly in her best teacher voice. She felt strongly about punctuality. All of her students knew that.

He gave her a sheepish look and took his place on the thick, blue mats.

The other man, 'Hatter', looked at the latest arrival. She could see hatred flashing over his face. His eyes, warm brown eyes, gave it away.

*~*~*~*~*~*

That… prick!

Jack Heart was a few feet away, well within the range of his sledgehammer of a fist. Alice didn't remember him. There wasn't even a flicker of recognition. Jack must have done something. Alice wouldn't have just forgotten about him. Would she?

Wait… Chase? That was the name Alice used when she first came to Wonderland. The name he used with the Oysters—not his real name.

Did I go back too far? Is that…could it--?

Hatter shook his head. "You know what? I think I got the wrong studio. Sorry for the… inconvenience."

He turned. He couldn't watch this. It was like when Charlie's flamingo was struck by a bullet. He didn't need to watch Charlie to know that the old knight was about to crash into the lake. As soon as smoke started exiting the engine, Hatter knew all of three of them would be swimming to shore. He didn't need to watch, but he did.

Seeing Alice with Jack was like watching the flamingo crash and burn. He knew how this story ended—the only question was when? How long did he have before Alice fell through the Looking Glass? She hadn't been to Wonderland yet; of course she couldn't remember him.

Feeling more than a little bit foolish, Hatter shoved his hands into his pants pockets and headed back to his flat.

This was not the reunion he had been dreaming of since he heard that Alice was there. Since he found out where she worked.

Time. He just needed to give her time. This was Alice. She could have all the time in the world if it meant she would trust him. If he could see her happy again, her light eyes alight with sheer joy when he appeared after a dangerous situation, the wait would be well worth it.

At least, he hoped. Dealing with the Looking Glass was never a sure thing.

What's the worst that could happ—oh, don't even go there…

The mental image of Alice running to Jack, smiling at him, her arms hugging him tightly made Hatter sick to his stomach. He couldn't let that happen.

Which meant he'd have to keep an eye on Alice.

Well, I suppose there are worse ways to spend my time than following a very pretty girl…

Author's Notes:

Hatter's trying to fit into the Oyster's world. I feel like he has a good deal of knowledge to begin with, and he's learning through trial and error. His outfit is this chapter is a throwback to Connor Temple, the character Andrew-Lee Potts plays on Primeval (a rather awesome show, if I do say so—provided you don't mind dinosaurs).

Anyways, please review! The story's going to catch up with Alice and Hatter soon, I promise. He came back a bit too early, but only by a few weeks.