A/N: Okay, here's the fourth chapter. I have been having a few difficulties, because when I origionally wrote it, I put a sign that made it so that it shouldn't appear to be skipping around so much. But once I posted the story, the sign went away. So now I'm going to have to put something else up to show a change of time...

Anyway, I still don't own anything...


David/Hatter

4

Truth with a hint of a tea party

Seconds after the movie ended, Alice passed out in my arms. I smiled, as I carefully placed her head on the pillows. I kept an arm around her, while my left hand was cupped out her cheek and chin. My thumb was gently brushing her cheek, as I thought over today's events.

Tonight was going to be the first night of our engagement. I couldn't help but smile at the thought that she was now mine. Not Jack's.

I kissed her forehead, before I carefully pulled my arm out from under her head. I silently got up, moving the bed as little as possible. I walked out the back door, and went over to a bare patch of grass. I looked up into the sky, and a smile found its way to my lips. Now that the factory making the liquid emotions, aka, emotion teas, the sky was much clearer.

I took off my jacket, and set it to the ground. I sat down on top of it, and looked up into the sky.

As the cloud that was covering the moon past, the moonlight shone brightly on me.

I felt a strange tingling in my arm, and when I looked down at it, I caught my breath. A green, leaf-like mark formed on my arm, and I swallowed.

The mark of an Oyster.

I started to vainly try to brush it off, but that didn't do anything. When that didn't work, I pinched my arm by the mark, but I did feel the slight pain.

"Shit, I'm awake…" I muttered under my breath. Then I resorted to thinking things through.

I wasn't an Oyster, since I was born in Wonderland. So why did I have the mark of one?

I thought about this for a while, then sighed, knowing that there would be one person who would know about this since he used to take extended visits to the Upper World.

Alice


I unwillingly opened my eyes, wishing that I could continue the dream about David. The only reason that I opened my eyes was because I knew that he was real, and that he would be right next to me when I did…

Or at least, I thought he would be.

I quickly sat up, and scanned the room. There wasn't a sign of David anywhere. I started to get nervous, but then a thought popped into my head, and I couldn't help but laugh.

He was probably making tea.

I got to my feet, and walked into the kitchen part of the tea shop, but I didn't see him anywhere. I went back to his bedroom, confused. Then I notice his short top hat on the bedside table. I hesitated, then walked over to it. I picked it up, and saw a piece of folded paper.

I placed the hat on my head, then picked up the paper. I unfolded it, then read what was written.

Dear Alice,

Sorry for my absence, but I had to go somewhere to find something out. I'll be back shortly. By the time you read this, I might even already be back.

-With love, David

I shook my head at my needless worry, as I set the note down. I got to my feet, then walked over to the tea shop. I hesitated, before I started to look through the liquid emotions with disgust, wishing that I didn't know that Hatter sold these…things.

I carefully picked up a bottle of lust, and set it down on the table. I scanned the bottles again, then found a flask of desire. I set that one down next to the lust, then went back to the shelf. I picked up a container of joy, and set it down next to the other two.

I left the shelf, and when to the shelves of glasses. I got a shot glass, and set it down by the emotion teas. I turned around, and thoughtfully bit my lip. I shrugged, then poured a little bit of each into the shot glass.

All for scientific purposes, I reminded myself, as I took a small sip from the glass.

Hatter


I walked into my tea shop, and saw Alice sitting in the white chair, with a slightly dreamy expression on her face. Confusion replaced my anger and thoughtfulness, as I walked over to her.

"Alice? Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly.

She gave a wide grin, and bit her lower lip with a strange glint in her steely blue eyes. "Never better, David!" she told me, with a seductive hint in her voice.

"Um…o-kay…" I was completely puzzled by the time I got to the table. I noticed the Oyster teas on the table, and the empty shot glass next to her hand, and knew what happened automatically.

"Alice, can I see that?" I asked.

"See what?" she gave a slight glace at her chest, before looking me in the eyes. I swallowed, forcing myself to not also look down. "The shot glass."

"Oh…fine." she sighed, sounding disappointed, as she handed the glass to me. I tipped the glass back, over my open mouth, and allowed the last drop fall to my tongue.

Lust, desire…and a hint of joy.

I blinked my eyes a few times, and forced the emotions out of my system as I put the shot glass down. Alice got to her feet, and walked over to me, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"So…where were you?" she asked, still using the seductive tone.

"I'm not going to tell you when you're in this state, Alice," I told her, as I gently pushed her away.

"Oh, come on, Dave!" she pouted slightly, and gave me a slightly pleading look in her eyes.

I nervously rubbed the back of my neck, wanting nothing more than to give in, and give her what she wanted. But that wouldn't be very appropriate, especially if her mood changed right after I did. "No, Alice. Now snap out of it!"

"What if I don't want to?" she asked, as she crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"You're not making this easy…" I muttered, as she put her arms around my neck again, pushing me against the wall as she did so.

"I'm not trying to!" she informed, before she kissed me passionately.

I could taste the emotion teas on her tongue, which was making me feel the same way, but I refused to fall under the spell that she was obviously under.

Normally, this would have been extremely easy, due to the fact that after you drink so many of the teas, you get a slight immunity to them. But now, because of my situation-not just because I had my fiancée pressing me against a wall-I couldn't block the emotions as easily.

But I somehow managed to, and broke the kiss with a violent shake of my head. "No, Alice!" I told her sternly.

She blinked a few times, then groaned. "That wasn't what I expected to happen!" she informed me, as she rubbed her back of her neck, talking normally now.

I smiled, and pulled her into a tight hug. "You can be such a tease when you're in the mood!"

"Um…thanks?" she gave me a confused look, as she sat down in the white chair again.

"You're welcome," I chuckled, flashing her an impish grin. Then I gave her a serious look. "Why were you drinking so many of the Oyster teas?"

"Is that what they're called?" she asked, obviously avoiding the question.

"Alice, tell me why you drank three!"

"Because I thought that I would see when I felt each of them one at the time," she mumbled, as she slightly hung her head like a child who had been caught in the cookie jar. I couldn't help but chuckle at this comparison, even though I really shouldn't be laughing after I just found out what is happening to me.

"Alice, that happened probably because you never felt all of the emotions all at the same time!" I told her.

"Oh…okay," she muttered.

Then I realized that I really should explain to her why I left. "Alice, love, I need to show you something."

"What is it…?" she asked hesitantly, as she pushed the chair back a small fraction.

I shook my head. "It's not that, I promise!"

"Okay, good, what is it?" she sighed with relief, then gave me a confused look.

I simply took off my jacket, handed it to her, and presented my arm.

Alice glanced at her own mark, then quickly looked up at my face. "B-but you were born in Wonderland!"

"I know, and that's the problem," I muttered, as I plopped myself down in one of the white loveseats.

"David, where did you go?" she asked, as she sat down next to me.

"I went to go visit Jack. Let me tell you, the expression on his face when he realized that I was alone and without a weapon was priceless!" I gave a bitter laugh, as I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Jack? Why would you visit Jack?" she asked, giving me a confused look.

"I thought this-" I nodded at the mark on my arm- "Would have something to due with the amount of time that I spent in the Upper World. Well, it did."

"But why would you go to Jack?"

"Because he spent a good deal of time when he went off to find you," I told her.

"What did he tell you?" she asked, worry coloring her voice. I stared at the ceiling as I spoke, "The first stages of transforming from a Wonderlander to an Oyster is when you start going by your real name if you have a fake one. The second sign is if and when you come back to Wonderland, if your arm touches the light, you'll get the mark."

"So you got the first sign when you first came to my world?" she asked, and I nodded before I continued, "Now Jack only went to the second sign, but apparently, this has happened before, so he knew more about it."

"Okay, what happens next?" she inquired.

"When you go back to the Upper World, after a while, you'll start to question your memories of Wonderland. Therefore, you'll probably never visit again. When you don't go back, if you have anything that separates you from regular Oysters, you'll loose it," I informed her.

"Separates you?"

I gripped my right hand a little tighter on her shoulder. "My hand will turn to normal flesh and blood."

"No iron first?"

"Well, it really is flesh and blood, but you got the concept right. No iron first."

"Well, that doesn't sound too horrible!" she stated, sounding a little relieved.

"That's not the end of it, Alice," I told her soberly.

"What's the end?"

"When you completely turn into an Oyster, you'll loose all of your memories from Wonderland. For me, I'll loose my memory of meeting you," I told her, while silently adding, 'And the Alice before you.'

"You'll forget meeting me?" she swallowed obviously hating the idea as much as I did.

"Yeah." I gave a slight nod.

After a few minutes of silence, I got to my feet, deciding that it was time for me to stop thinking about becoming an Oyster. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"Isn't that the first thing you said to me?" she asked. I thought back to that wonderful moment, then nodded. "Yep! But you didn't answer my question."

"Um…sure?" her uncertain voice made the words a question.

I flashed her a grin. "Or, better yet, a tea party! Would you like that?"

"I haven't had a tea party since I was a kid!" she told me, rolling her eyes.

"Then it's about time you had another one!" I informed her, as I rushed over to the kitchen section of my office.

"Wha-?" she asked, completely lost by my sudden decision to act like everyone's view of The Mad Hatter.

I flashed her a smile, as I got out a pot. "Tea. No funny stuff!"

She just shook her head, as she got to her feet. She walked over to me, as I got out some ingredients for chocolate cake. She recognized the ingredients, and gave me a amused, slightly confused look. "Isn't the female suppose to do the cooking in a relationship?"

"Isn't the male suppose to be the sexist one?" I asked simply, as I cracked an egg into a bowl. She nodded, granting me that. "Looks like we switched rolls."

"In this relationship, I'm doing the cooking. Got it?" I asked, as I poured some flour with the egg.

"Got it."

"Good." I nodded, and flashed her a smile. "But you can set the table."


"Ta da!" I set the kettle on the table, and flashed Alice a smile. She simply rolled her eyes. As she set the last cup down next to where she was going to sit.

She sat down, and I took my seat next to her. I cut the cake, and placed a piece on each plate. Then I took out a pocket watch, and saw that it was a few minutes late according to oven timer. "Hm. The clockwork isn't ticking properly."

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"See? The clockwork isn't ticking properly!" I presented her the watch.

"Isn't The Mad Hatter from the cartoon Disney movie stuck in time?" she asked. I thought about it, and shrugged. "Maybe. I dunno."

"You can be so strange, David!" she stated, and I smiled. "I'm proud, impish, and cynically insane at times!"

"Most of the time," she muttered under her breath.

"I'm The Mad Hatter, what do you expect?"

She sighed, and rested her head against my shoulder. "I don't know."

After a few moments of silence, she spoke up, "Hatter?"

"Hm?" I curled a lock of her brown hair around my fingers.

"Is there a way to reverse you becoming an Oyster?" she asked, and I was slightly surprised that she actually used the term, since she was one herself.

"Yeah, but I doubt I'll do it," I told her, as I gave a slight nod.

"What is it?"

"I'll have to stay in Wonderland for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Many months. Many Upper World months," I admitted, then closed my eyes, bracing myself for her reaction.

"That's a long time," she stated, and I nodded again.

"Why wouldn't you do it, though?" she asked, as she looked up at my face.

"Because I know you wouldn't want to spend that long here, and I want to stay with you. And even if you do stay, you wouldn't want to," I told her, forcing a slight smile.

She searched my face, then buried her face into my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I asked, as I wrapped my arm around her.

"You really do love me," she told me, as I felt my shoulder get wet. She was crying.

"You're crying because I love you?" I asked, completely baffled.

"No, I'm crying because when I first met you, I was so hesitant to even trust you!" she told me, regret clear in her voice.

I glanced at the exact spot where she was when I first saw her, and placed a light kiss on top of her head. "It's okay, Alice."

"Tell me something." she lifted her head, and looked me in the eyes.

"Alice, you know that I will tell you anything!"

"When did you first realize that you loved me?"

That question caught me off guard, but I had a feeling that I should of expected it. "Since I first saw you completely soaked in that amazing blue dress," I murmured.

A smile found its way to her tear covered face, and I brought my lips to hers. This was the reason that I was hesitant to stay in Wonderland. This was the reason that I was willing to give up the only life that I know, to go to the Upper World.

For Alice.


After the tea party, we went into my room, and watched a random movie, which I'm still confused about what it was. Alice picked it, and I was too busy staring at Alice and talking to really pay attention to the movie. (I think it was Kill Bill, volume one, but I wasn't sure. But I did hear a lot of clashing swords.)

"Hey, Alice?"

"What is it, Dave?" she asked, as she rolled her eyes, and turned off the TV.

"When we get back to the Upper World, can you teach me karate?"

"Sure, but I don't think you'll need karate; you already defend yourself pretty well!" she gave a slight nod.

"I know, but I think it'll be fun!" I told her, as I put my arm around her waist.

"Okay, whatever." she shrugged. "Hatter, can I ask you something that has to do with the names here?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Why do half of the Wonderlanders have real names, but the others go by what they are?" she inquired.

"Well, some people have a repetition to keep, so they don't like people knowing their real names. Others don't like to be called what they are, sometimes because they're not proud of who they are. Like Jack. He doesn't like being the king, so he doesn't go by that," I informed her.

"Ah, okay." she bit her lower lip, and seemed to be in deep thought.

After a few seconds, I sighed. "Okay, tell me what you're thinking about!"

"If-now this is a huge if-if I decide to stay here with you, in Wonderland, what will I be known as?" she asked.

I couldn't help but smile at the idea of her staying in Wonderland with me, but tried to hide it the best I could. "Well, since you helped save this place, everyone would probably know you as Alice. But after a few Upper World years, you might be known as something else. If we're married by then, you might be known as The Mad Hatter's wife."

"Or Mrs. Mad Hatter?"

"Probably just Mrs. Hatter, but yeah, you get the point." I nodded, still trying to hide a smile.

She continued to chew on her lower lip, as she thoughtfully rubbed the engagement ring on her finger.

"Alice may I ask you a very serious question?"

"Of course, David!" she nodded, giving me a quizzing look.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" I inquired, and she burst into laughter. I just gave her a confused look, as she continued to laugh.

When she caught her breath, I asked, "What's so funny?"

"That's The Mad Hatter from the book's famous line!" she told me, sounding a little out of breath.

"I know that, but what I don't know is the answer!" I rolled my eyes.

"You're…serious?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Um…" she bit her lower lip again, and seemed to be in deep thought once more for a few seconds, then snapped her fingers. "Edger Allan Poe wrote on both!"

"Who?"

"He's a poet in the Upper World," she explained.

"Ah, okay."

After a few more minutes of silence, I asked, "Alice, do you remember when you told me that I needed to get a good job? A job other than working at a tea shop and being a hatter?"

"Yeah." she gave a slight nod.

"Well, I thought of something else that I technically have experience in," I told her, and she motioned for me to continue. I drew in a deep breath. "Bartending."

"Bartending?"

"Yep."

"But you got your experience from selling Oyster teas!" she reminded me, and I gave a slight nod. "I know."

She stared at me for a few seconds, then rested her head on my shoulders. "Well, it pays more than selling tea…"

I kissed the top of her head, glad that she actually didn't put up much of a fight.

"Alice, why did you drink both lust and desire in one drink?"

"I don't remember ever feeling those two, so I wanted to see what would happen," she told me, as she glanced up at my face.

"Never?" I asked, giving her a disbelieving look.

"Never." she shook her head.

I looked her over, then gently tilted her chin up, looking her in the eyes. I searched her face, and saw that she was being honest. I pulled her into a passionate kiss, and her eyes widened with surprise, but she didn't pull away. After a few seconds of shock, she took off my hat, and placed it on the nightstand, before tangling my hair between her fingers.

I pulled away, a little out of breath, and asked, "What about now?"

"Not really." she shook her head, also sounding a little breathless.

I kissed her again, and slowly pushed her downwards, with her head on the pillow. I pinned her down, and broke away again. "Now?"

A slight smile played across her lips, as she shook her head. "No."

"Now you're just lying!" I accused, as I chuckled under my breath, before kissing her again.