Chapter 4- Old enemies, New friends

Hatter bit back a groan of pain as DoDo's fist connected with his face for what had to have been the thousandth time. He had lost count after twenty five, which he didn't take as a good sign. As the pain subsided a little, he grinned, spiting blood from his mouth onto DoDo's shoe. DoDo growled, glaring at the man strapped to the chair.

Hi face was swollen, two black eyes and a few cuts here and there. He definitely had a broken nose, and DoDo knew there were holes in his mouth where his teeth and cut the tender flesh; the spat blood was proof enough of that.

"You haven't even said anything yet. What's wrong? Cheshire Cat got your tongue?" Hatter asked with a chuckle. DoDo continued to glare as he sat down in the chair across from him.

"Why did you do it?" this question caught Hatter off guard, "This was your way of life! How could you turn your back on us to help out that little….tart?!" The words little tart a hiss.

"Watch it, DoDo." Hatter warned, his voice coming out as a growl. Even if he was tied to a chair, he still wasn't going to take DoDo calling Alice, his Alice, nasty names. Then, DoDo did something he never expected him to. He threw back his head and laughed, truly laughed. It was a cruel sound that grated against Hatters ears.

"I see! Jack told me you went through the Looking Glass after that oyster, but I never thought I would see the day when the notorious Hatter would trust someone enough to actually fall in love with them." DoDo said with a laugh, eyeing Hatter. All he saw was surprise as Hatter noticed something. He did love her, and all it took was an old enemy beating the crap out of him to know it. He was in love with Alice, deeply and truly. DoDo laughed again as he noticed Hatters surprise.

"And I also see you didn't even know it yet!" DoDo laughed. Hatter glared at him, but as long as he was leaving Alice out of it, he could take the ridicule. He knew now that he would crack if something happened to Alice, he really would go mad. This thought scared him. He had deep feelings for her, but were her feelings just a deep? DoDo had been studying Hatters face as he thought, but his defenses were back up, and damn did Hatter have a good poker face.

He did learn something though; He knew what could set Hatter off.

"You should have seen it. She didn't even fight that hard against the five men I had on her." DoDo snickered. As he expected, Hatter's head shot up when she was mentioned.

"You should have seen her! They had her down on the ground like that." He said, snapping his fingers for emphasis. A dangerous growl erupted from Hatter's throat.

"If you lay a hand on her…If she has one bruise from you DoDo, I swear!" Hatter's voice growing to a roar as he fought against his bindings ferociously. So he didn't know that she had been sent to Jack. DoDo grinned evilly at this thought. He could have fun with that.

*****

Alice lay in the room Jack had sent her to, her eyes on the ceiling. The room was just as splendid as the rest of the Great Library, but she couldn't keep her mind on that thought long enough to appreciate it. Hatter was somewhere being tortured or worse, killed, that much she knew for sure. DoDo didn't seem like the kind of man to go back on his word. She sat up this thought occurred to her, her mind already made up on what she would do. She was going to save Hatter, even if she had to fight her way out.

She stood, grabbing her duffle bag and pulling a couple essential things from it; boots and a flash light. When she went to put her bag back, she noticed someone had brought in Hatter's too. Maybe he had a few things that could help weapons wise.

When she opened it though, she was shocked to find his favorite hat and leather jacket on top, the ones he had worn during their flight through Wonderland. He must have lost them during the fight. Slowly, she pulled them out, placing the hat on her head, it was a little big, and lifting the jacket to her face, filling herself with the scent that could only belong to him. It smelled of tea leaves and spices, of Hatter, of home.

Her eyes burned with tears, and the lump came back to her throat, but she blinked them away, and swallowed. The last thing she needed was to break down, especially when Hatter needed her. With that thought, she slipped his jacket on, grabbed the flashlight, and a knife and gun from Hatter's bag, slipping the knife into her pocket, and hiding the gun behind his jacket, before slipping out the bedroom door.

She looked around, but there seemed to be no Guards. Maybe she would be able to get out without anyone knowing, but she wasn't that lucky. She turned toward the door she had been brought through, but froze when someone called her name.

"Alice?" Jack called, though he didn't sound as surprised as she thought he would. Being with Hatter made her pretty adept to reading voices and faces. He did have a damn good poker face, but she could always read him, no matter what. She turned slowly, cursing at how close she had gotten before being caught. Jack closed the distance between them quickly, and she could tell he was hurt by her sneaking around.

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Jack. I'm going to rescue him and that's that." She said, and he could see the resolve in her eyes and the determined set of her jaw. He knew he couldn't keep her if she didn't want to stay, so he nodded, his hands that had risen to touch her arms lingering before falling back to his sides.

"Just promise me you'll be careful. He said quietly. She nodded with a smile before taking off down the hall and out the door. She had been wearing Hatter's hat and jacket, and she was determined to save him. She must really care about him. She had moved on.

*****

Alice burst through the door to find herself not where she had expected to be. She had come through to a dark room, no light except a dim flickering coming from underneath a door across the room. She turned to go back, but before she could, the door she had come through slammed shut in her face and disappeared.

"It takes you where you desire most to be." A voice in the darkness spoke. Alice spun around, flipping the flashlight on and flashing it around, her hand gripping the gun she had borrowed from Hatters bag, but nobody was there. A laugh filled the room, its creep, insane tone making her fear spike, but she pushed it down. Hatter was depending on her.

"What do you mean?" she spoke into the darkness, taking a leap of faith. If whatever it was could help her find Hatter, she would do anything to save him. He would do the same, that much she was sure. She waited, and the voice was quiet for so long she thought that Wonderland was starting to rub off on her, when it spoke again, making her jump.

"The door of course, what else?" it said with a chuckle. Then on the wall opposite Alice, something began to appear.

It was a grin, creepy and toothy in nature. After a moment, the rest of its body appeared. By that time she had trained her flashlight on it, she could see that it was a cat. More specifically the cat she had seen on her first trip to Wonderland.

"Dinah?" she said, her voice quiet. She knew it couldn't be Dinah, by the grin, and that fact that her cat never talked or walked up walls, but she couldn't help the hope she felt inside at the sight of the cat. It visibly rolled its eyes.

"I don't know who this Dinah is, or why you keep calling me that, but that is not my name." the cat purred, jumping from the wall to the ground, sauntering over, and sitting in front of Alice, watching her. She didn't know how, but she could tell it was amused by her.

"I have to admit, I've seen some strangely dressed people in Wonderland, but none like you." The cat chuckled, looking her over. Alice looked down at Hatter's jacket, which she had slipped on, and his hat, the brim of it just visible to her eyes. Her eyes burned with tears again, which only made her angry.

"Whatever. Look, where am I?" she asked. She was proud of her voice being as steady as it was when she felt like crying inside. The cat grinned its toothy grin again and then turned, walking toward a door that Alice had spotted upon first arriving. As it approached it, the door swung open to reveal a dimly lit corridor.

"He's down this hallway, but you better hurry. He'll be dead soon." That cat said with an evil-sounding laugh.

"Wait, who-" but when she looked to the cat, it was gone. She shook her head. Things were getting weird, but this was Wonderland, what did she expect? Something in the cat's words caught her attention.

He'll be dead soon. How did it know that she was looking for a guy? But that wasn't the worst of her problems. It had said Hatter would be dead soon, if she could assume that was the man the cat had been talking about.

. With that thought, she raced down the corridor, stopping at every door she passed until she came to one, the muffled screams behind it making her freeze in her tracks. She recognized them. She had never heard Hatter scream in pain before, but she could tell they were coming from him.

She slipped the gun out from behind her, placing the flashlight on the ground. She was going to need both her hands, she could tell. She used her now free hand to slowly open the door a crack. Inside, the room was dark except for one lamp that shone brightly on a man tied to a chair.

She couldn't tell by the mans face who he was, as it was so beaten and swollen, but the loud shirt was enough to convince her it was Hatter. The man who was circling him with a cattle prod could only be described as DoDo.

"She was screaming for your help, Hatter, but were you there? No, you weren't, and didn't help her. You betrayed her trust." DoDo taunted, every so often sticking him with the cattle prod so he would let out a muffled cry of pain. He was trying to hold it in.

Alice bit her lip to keep from yelling at him to stop. She needed surprise on her side. So, she slipped into the shadows around the light cast by the lamp, her free hand pulling the knife from Hatter's jacket pocket, the gun she borrowed from him aimed at DoDo.

When he was the furthest away from her and Hatter, she took a step into the light. DoDo stopped in his tracks when he noticed a gun trained on him, a grin spreading across his face when he saw it was Alice.

"Drop it." Alice ordered, motioning with the gun. DoDo followed her orders, dropping the cattle prod and raising his arms in surrender, a grin still on his face.

"You don't have it in you to shoot." He said with a laugh, his arms still raised over his head.

"You'd be surprised at what I would do." She snarled, putting all of her anger into her words. DoDo dropped his smile when she said this. He could tell she would in fact shot him, given the chance, but he wouldn't give her that chance. He was already thinking of a way to get her.

She walked toward Hatter, flipping the knife out and cutting his bonds, her eyes glued to DoDo, the gun steadily trained on him.

"Alice…" Hatter whispered, his voice sounding hoarse. At the sound of his voice, she turned to him, her eyes finally filling with tears. She touched his face gently. This was his chance. DoDo lunged for the cattle prod and turned, heading straight for her.

Alice turned, her instinct and feeling taking over. This was the man who had tried to ruin the only thing in her life that was worth living for, besides her mother. She pulled the trigger once, and DoDo fell to the ground with a thud. She was blinded by anger, and kept shooting even when there were no bullets left in the gun.

"Alice." Hatter said, his voice sounding a bit louder as he stood, touching her shoulder. She turned, hot tears of anger running down her cheeks, to see her Hatter standing before her. She wrapped her arms around him, the gun falling from her hands as her legs gave way, the hat on her head falling to the ground.

Hatter lowered her to the ground, cradling her in his arms. He kissed her head softly, her arms wrapping around him, pulling him as close to her as possible. She buried her face in his chest, tears spilling over her cheeks.

At that moment, Jack burst into the room, a few suits flanking him, to this scene.

"Shhh…" Hatter cooed, his hand rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I-I killed him!" she cried, her hands gripping his shirt as gut-wrenching sobs took over again. He held while she cried, waiting until her sobs turned to hiccups. He had thought she was dead. DoDo had told him that he had taken her captive as well, and had tortured her to the point that she screamed for him, but he couldn't help.

Alice gripped him tightly, his presence and the scent of him lulling her into a feel of security, and she dipped into a deep sleep in his arms.

He held her close, until it seemed that she had cried herself to sleep in his arms. He pulled away just enough to get a look at her. She had worn his tan leather jacket, and his brown hat, the ones he had worn when they first met. She definitely hadn't been taken captive by DoDo if she had them.

"Did Alice…" Jack asked, one of the suits going to DoDo's body to confirm his dead. Hatter shot Jack a warning glance.

"Would you treat her differently if she did?" he asked, knowing that even though she wanted him, she still was friends with Jack, and him looking at her as a killer, that would break her heart.

"Of course not." Jack said, his eyes falling on the sleeping girl in Hatter's arms, cradling so gently against him. Hatter looked away, nodding. Jack pursed his lips. He knew he should have never let her go alone. That was why he had went after her, but apparently he had been too late.

Hatter reached for his hat, moving so as to not jostle Alice, and placed it on his head before scooping her up in his arms and standing. He held her close like a precious item to his chest. He wobbled, Jack moving to help but stopping when Hatter shot him a wary look.

Jack nodded, and they left, leaving DoDo's body for later. They went back though the door Alice had come though, Jack showing Hatter to Alice's room. He carried her in, the door closing behind him, and placed her on the bed. She looked so small and fragile, with the tears staining her cheeks

Without changing, he slid into bed behind her, his arms slowly encasing her in his embrace. He fell asleep with his face buried in her hair; her scent just as comforting to him as his was to hers.

He had been told that she was dead, and had foolishly believed it. He would never believe it without proof again. After a moment, his tortured body fell limp with deep sleep.

*****

"HATTER!" Alice screamed as she jolted up in bed. Her heart was pounding and sweat beaded her forehead. Tears were streaming freely down her pale cheeks. He was dead, she just knew it. It had to have been a dream, him holding her, comforting her.

She gripped her chest as the pain took hold of her. He was dead, and she didn't do anything to help him. He was gone forever, and it was her fault. She hadn't done enough to save him.

Hatter stirred, sitting up when he noticed Alice was wake and sobbing madly again. He grabbed her face gently with his hands, turning her to face him.

"I'm here love, it ok." He said, his thumbs wiping away her tears as he looked into her eyes. Her hands moved up to touch his face, finally seeing him for the first time. By the dim light, she could see all the bruises and cuts he had received from DoDo, which made more tears burn her eyes.

"Hatter….look at you." She said, her fingers brushing one of his black eyes gingerly as she looked at him. He laughed.

"Don't worry love, I'm not that fragile. I'll be fine." He murmured into her ear, hugging her close. She nodded into his shoulder and they lay back down, Hatter waiting until Alice's breaths were those of a calm sleep before he allowed himself to fall asleep.

Before sleep took him, he found himself thinking, would she ever truly believe that he was never going to leave her if he could help it? He loved her so much, and it sort of hurt to know that she didn't fully trust him yet, evn though she had admitted to loving him.