Carmichael woke up next to a warm body. He flopped over, as saw Alice watching him. He didn't mind so much that they were sharing a bed, he trusted her. But there was a look in her eyes, a kind of deep regret that made him uneasy. "What?"

"You know I'd never walk away from you." This wasn't a question, but it wasn't a statement either. He wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"I know." he looked at her with his green eyes watering. "I didn't mean to run away, honest. I don't know what came over me. I'm not in trouble, am I?" And Alice understood the fear, she'd had a nanny once who beat her when she was bad, and he'd told her once about the women who ran his orphanage. When they got in trouble, they were beaten with whatever they could find. But Alice swore never to raise her hand to him. Especially over something as ridiculous as this.

"Carmichael." She didn't laugh, though she wanted to. Instead, she reached out and poked him in the stomach, causing him to giggle girlishly. "You don't think I've ever run away? We all do it, just some of us run further than others. For example, I ran all the way to china. Besides, how do you think I ended up here? Twice, I might add."

The question went unanswered, like she'd assumed it would. So she continued on. "This is going to make you uncomfortable, but I don't care. All this time I've been looking for you, the fear of losing you made me realize that I love you. And no matter how much you beg, oh and I'm sure one day you will beg for me to let go, it's not ever going to happen."

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable." He crawled over and snuggled sleepily against her. There was a warm feeling in his chest that he'd only felt since the day he met her on the boat. He had woken up in the middle of the night like he had countless nights before, but this time he didn't wake up sad and cold. She was there, and he could go back to sleep knowing she'd be there in the morning when he woke up.

She looked at him with a smile, her child. What a jolt that was. She'd basically scratched off the idea of children on her thirtieth birthday, as she wasn't married and at that point didn't even have any offers to court. But now they were here, together.

Her own mother had never told her she loved her, but she'd known it. With Carmichael, she'd spend forever telling him that. Making sure he knew that there was someone who was there for him. But that wouldn't fill the gap that would always be there in their small family. A child needed a father, which was something she couldn't offer him. She'd give him what she could, a home and a mother, and hope it's enough.

Pulling the blankets over the two of them, she drifted off as well.

When daylight came there was a knock on her door. She got up, the light fabric of her dress was sheer and while she may not have noticed the night before, she certainly noticed now. Still, with nothing else to wear, it would be rude to not answer the door. So she answered the door with a smile. "Hello, Hatter."

"Good morning." His own beaming smile was like looking at sunlight, happy and peaceful. Obviously whatever had been bothering him last night was gone. "Mirana wanted me to bring you this." He handed her the dress he'd been holding. "And I was wondering if you'd care for a walk in the gardens. Between friends, of course." He added, fearing she'd say no.

"But Carmichael..." She couldn't just leave him there.

"Ah, Mirana's dying to get her hands on him. She just loves children. Especially, it seems, yours." His smile grew into a grin, pleased to already have everything thought out. "Well?"

"Alright." She looked back at the sleeping boy. "I'll just be a minute. Would you care to come in?"

"Well, I... uh...would love to... but I can't." She was going to be dressing, it wouldn't be right. He was torn between decency and desire, it was an odd place to be.

"Relax, Hatter." She laughed, left the door open as she walked around the dressing screen. "That's what this is for."

"Oh, right." Not that that made anything better, he could see her shadow as she stripped off her nightgown. No, this wasn't helping at all. But he wandered in to sit on the edge of the bed next to the boy. As if he could feel his gaze, Carmichael opened his eyes. "Hello, lad."

"Hello, Hatter." He sat up quickly, goofy smiles reflected each other. "Are we going to have tea today."

"Well, of course we are." Tarrant fisted his hands on his hips playfully. "Why wouldn't we have tea?" His brow furrowed for a moment. "You like tea, don't you?"

"Alice and I go to a tea shop every day before we go to the park." Carmichael smiled fondly at the screen, thinking of the days before the adoption went through when he was staying at a local orphanage and she'd take him out every day, never once showing up with an ounce of sadness. "She says that being surrounded by the sounds and smells of people drinking tea makes her feel less lonely."

"Carmichael!" Alice looked around the screen in shock. She could feel her face getting redder and redder as Tarrant gave her the same look he'd given her the night before. Quickly, she went back to dressing.

Tarrant had given a lot of thought to how he'd do this, and he decided to start with the boy first. Whatever Carmichael chose would influence what Alice's choice would be. He dropped his voice, not wanting Alice to hear him, fearing she'd stop Carmichael from answering. "If I told you I wanted you to stay, what would you say?"

"Is Alice invited too?" Carmichael wouldn't stay without Alice.

"Of course she is," Tarrant decided to lay it all down, the boy deserved to know what was what. "I've spent a lot of time waiting for Alice to return to us. I don't want her to leave again. You see, I love her and I'm going to ask her to marry me. If she says yes, then I'd be honored if you would become part of my family as well. That is, would you be alright with it?"

"Would you, like, be my dad?" Carmichael looked at him with hope in his eyes.

"Something like that." Tarrant wasn't expecting him to take to it so well that the boy would lock his arms around Tarrant's neck, but in the same amount of time it'd taken to fall in love with with Alice. If he remembered correctly, it was two days, but that might not have been accurate. He didn't know, didn't care. Anyway, in the same amount of time he'd managed to grow incredibly fond of the boy.

"Alright." Alice came around the screen to see Carmichael embracing Tarrant. She didn't know why, but tears sprung to her eyes. She wiped them away just as they separated and Tarrant's eyes met hers. She smiled a little and knew that she was lost, her heart was his. But he didn't think that way about her, she reminded herself, she was no more than a friend to him.

Tarrant rose, looked at her with a secret smile. Whatever they were talking about, she knew she would be finding out when they were ready, from one of them.

The gardens were beautiful, they spent the first five minutes walking in silence before Tarrant said, "Did you do all the things you had to do when you left?"

"I told a man I wouldn't marry him, went to china, became a partner in a firm, and live in a mansion where I'm driven insane by a woman who could rival Tweedledee." She laughed at this before looking at him curiously. "Why are you so interested?"

"I just want to know if you got everything you wanted when you left." He looked straight ahead, stopped himself before he could say anything out of frustration over the past.

"You talk like I never intend to come back." She saw the quick flash of guilt in his eyes. "I told you I was coming back, and I did mean to."

"Well," He took her hand in his casually as they walked. "You're back now."

"I'm not staying." She didn't pull her hand away, but spoke with the honesty she naturally possessed."I wanted to when I was leaving. I wanted to when I got on a boat after my time abroad. I was going to retire from the firm and I was going to say my goodbyes, then I was going to come back. But Carmichael needs me more than I need this place"

"He likes it here, you know." He stopped, they were in a dark, shaded corner of the garden he'd been aiming for.

"I know that." She didn't want to have to explain why she couldn't stay, even if Carmichael would want to. "Trust me, it'll be better for everyone if we don't stay."

"Why are you so bloody impatient to leave?" He whirled when she started to walk away, his brogue coming back thick and quick. Next thing she knew, she was pinned against the wall. "You come back here, looking, talking, and smelling the way you do, and you expect me to let you walk back out again? I love you but you can only push a man so far. You're not goin' nowhere, lassie."

She'd been prepared, even expecting some kind of anger, but not the passion. When his lips crashed down on hers, she had no choice but to surrender everything to him. Or did she?

Her hands entwined in his hair, pulled him closer against her. Meeting him head on, heat for heat, frustration for frustration. She forced him to take as well as give. When his hands left the wall to trace and memorize the lines of her face, she trembled and her knees turned to pudding. Every thought she'd been trying to form dissipated.

Tarrant pulled away, misreading her reaction to him. "I... I'm sorry. Did I frighten you?"

"No." She braced herself against the wall, her head was spinning as it cleared. "You could never frighten me, Hatter.

"Oh, I doubt that." he laughed. "in fact, I intend to try right now."

"What do you mean?" He loved her, she was till trying to wrap her head around that, he told her he loved her and Tarrant wasn't one to lie about such things.

He took both of her hands this time, faced her. His eyes were that same dark shade of green that they'd been earlier and the night before. It was a color that she was becoming so enamored with. His eyes never leaving hers, he brought both hands up and kissed her knuckles. "I have to ask you for something, and I want you to think before you answer. I know how awful you are with decisions." For example, he thought to himself, the way she'd run when faced with becoming the champion.

"Alright." She had been wrong, this gentle, sweet Tarrant terrified her. She loved him with everything she had, and that gave him an advantage. He could ask for an eye or a liver and she'd give it to him without question. "Ask."