Thackery had come to Nivens to ask for his help. After Nivens created the play list the March Hare asked for Thackery was off again. Nivens was left alone in his dressing room once more with his thoughts. He was happy to try to help, but it obvious he was on the outside of the core group of the band. Tarrant, Mallymkun, Thackery, and Alice had only become a tighter knit group since leaving Underland. Even Mally - who spent all his time sleeping - was more a part of the group than Nivens.

Nivens removed his sunglasses and rubbed his tired eyes. The room was lit only by the screen of his laptop where mixing levels danced. Nivens removed his headphones and sat them on the vanity top. He rose and stretched his arms over his head as he crossed the room to turn on the overhead light. The sparsely furnished dressing room lit up under harsh fluorescent bulbs. He caught sight of himself in the vanity mirror back where he had been sitting. There were dark bags under his eyes and his pink eyes were made even more red by the fact that they were bloodshot.

Nivens had not been sleeping well ever since he'd followed the others over from Underland. Instead he spent his evenings in front of Mad T Party laptop and created dance mixes for the shows he DJ'd. Sometimes he wondered why he'd come at all, but he could never forget the debt he owed. It had been many years since his misdeed and in the end everything that turned out well. He still felt he owed Miss Alice a debt for everything she had gone through. What might her life had been like if she had not followed him down the rabbit hole?

As Nivens stood alone when he was struck by a sudden revelation. The band held practices when they could rouse Mally. Alice and Tarrant went out and did things. Chesshur, Absolem, and Thackery sat around drinking tea or playing cards. All Nivens ever did was keep to himself. He shook his head. Of course that was the problem!

With a decisive air he stood up and left his safe haven. It was still early enough in the day that the halls were practically deserted. He made his way directly to Absolem's room. Before he could change his mind he knocked on the door. There was the sound of movement on the other side before the door swung open. Absolem wore a blue terrycloth robe and not much else as far as Nivens could discern. Perched on his nose were his yellow glasses. A haze of smoke filled the room behind him.

"Hello, Absolem. Is it too early for a social call?" Nivens asked.

"Not at all," Absolem said and held the door open for Nivens. "Please, join us."

Nivens entered Absolem's room and found Chesshur lounging on a pile of pillows on the floor. The cat was wearing a pair of blue sweatpants and a matching hoodie. "Well, surprise, surprise," Chesshur grinned. "The White Rabbit has made it out of his hiding hole."

Absolem shut the door and returned to his own nest of pillows beside the ever-present hookah. Nivens frowned at Chesshur. "I wasn't hiding."

Without losing his smug grin Chesshur shrugged. "If you say so."

Uncomfortable under the Cheshire Cat's gaze Nivens shoved his hands in the pockets of his white jeans. He then pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. He barely glanced at the hands before putting the watch back in his pocket. Absolem cleared his throat. "Won't you have a seat?" he asked and gestured toward another pile of cushions. A glance around the room proved that there weren't any actual chairs anywhere in sight.

Nivens sat down and crossed his legs under him. He shifted the pillows around in an attempt to get more comfortable. After he'd finished fussing for a little while he looked up to find that both Absolem and Chesshur were staring at him. Nivens cleared his throat. "So, um. How are you gentlemen?"

Absolem took a thoughtful pull of his hookah. He breathed the smoke out as he said, "Adjusting." Chesshur and Nivens both nodded in agreement. The transition from Underland to this world had not been particularly easy for any of them with the exception of Alice.

"Have you noticed how very long it takes to get from once place to another?" Chesshur pointed out. "And the fact that you have to get there all in one piece! It is very time consuming."

"Yes, well," Nivens said. "I do appreciate how this place functions on a very set schedule. And there really isn't anywhere very far we have to go, is there?"

"Isn't it more the shame?" Chesshur sighed and rolled onto his back across the pillows.

Nivens shook his head. "I haven't really taken a look around the park. What if I didn't make it back in time for the shows?"

"You've got all morning," pointed out Absolem. "This place may be large, but it is not Underland. There are also signs almost everywhere you go. I don't think you could get that lost."

"Well," Nivens started.

Chesshur interrupted. "I think the White Rabbit is feeling a little too safe in his hidey hole."

"That's not fair," Absolem said. "He comes out and does his own performances. He gets up on the stage and places music for the crowds by himself."

"Yet," Chesshur retorted, "he won't go anywhere else by himself."

"I'm hardly agoraphobic," Nivens muttered. He still felt uncomfortable under the pair's scrutiny and he squirmed in his seat.

Chesshur rolled to his side once more to look more directly at Nivens. "That isn't what I'm saying. I think you're still stuck in the past. In Underland. And that is all in your head. If you step outside of your hidey hole you have to accept that things have changed."

Absolem puffed out some more smoke. "I see…" Nivens waited for Absolem to continue, but that was all the Caterpillar said.

"You see what?" Nivens demanded.

"What does it matter what I see if you can't find it for yourself?" Absolem replied.

Nivens let out a sigh of frustration and jumped to his feet. "What are you two talking about? I know things have changed. How could I not? And I'm not hiding! I should have known coming to see you two would have only been a practice in frustration. Good day to you both."

He marched from the room and was halfway back to his room before he stopped. This wasn't why he'd left his room and he refused to go back to his so-called "hidey hole." It would only lend more credit to Chesshur's suspicions that he was hiding.

At that moment Tarrant came walking around the corner and passed Nivens as if he couldn't be seen. The Hatter seemed more distracted than mad as of late, but perhaps that level of distraction is a level of madness in and of itself. Only a moment later did Alice come rushing around the corner after Tarrant. She halted with a surprised "o" on lips. "Nivens! Hi. I didn't expect to see you out and about."

"Well, I am," Nivens said. He pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.

"Are you late?" Alice asked.

Nivens arched an eyebrow at her and slipped the watch back in his pocket. "Late?"

Alice just grinned. There was something of the young girl that had followed Nivens into Underland still in the face of this blooming young woman. "You know. For a very important date?"

"Well, no." Nivens considered the question. "There has been a lack of very important dates as of late."

Alice's grin turned into a warm smile. "Maybe we can fix that. Would you like to come to tea with Tarrant and me? We were going to visit a café in the park."

"I wouldn't dream of intruding," Nivens said automatically.

Alice gazed shifted down the hall in the direction that Tarrant had disappeared. "I wouldn't say it was intruding, but I won't push you if you don't want to come." Her blue eyes turned back to Nivens' face. "You look tired, Nivens. Maybe you should get some sleep."

"I haven't felt very tired," Nivens said and immediately knew he was lying. "Well, perhaps tired. I just can't seem to have the desire to go to bed." He tried to grasp what the feeling was exactly.

"Maybe Mally is soaking up all the sleep rays?" Alice offered as a joke, but there was concern in her voice.

Nivens tried to smile for her. "If only that were the case." He looked back down the hall and Tarrant had completely disappeared from sight. "Don't let me keep you from him, Miss Alice."

"You don't have to call me Miss Alice," she laughed and put a warm hand on his arm. "Take care of yourself Nivens. I know you can. Tarrant on the other hand…" She gave him a wink and took off at a jog down the hall after Tarrant. Nivens watched her go and felt the absence of her presence immediately.

After a moment of indecision he gave up and reluctantly made his way back to his room. His short excursion gave him a lot to think about and maybe trying to get some rest would help sort his thoughts. He shuffled back into his room and shut the door behind him.

The laptop's screensaver glowed in the dim room with just enough light that he could make his way to the roll-away cot that he'd barely used. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jeans and crawled under the covers in just his t-shirt and boxers. He reached down under the cot and pulled out the tiny wind-up alarm clock. He set it to go off in an hour and laid back down.

He laid his head on the pillow and right away felt an itchy urge to get back up. There must be something he ought to be doing. His limbs felt restless as he attempted to shut his eyes and rest. He hadn't realized how heavy his head felt until he laid down, but still his body rebelled against sleep.

Back in Underland there were always things to do. Places to go and meetings to keep. He wasn't without an important date for such a long time. Ever since they came here from Underland the only appointments Nivens had to keep was the shows. Those were easy to make and required only that he had fresh play lists. Well, he'd spent so many of his restless nights creating those that he had more than enough for several months of worth of shows.

Again he found himself wondering: if there was nothing for him to do here then why was he here? Alice seemed happy and didn't need him. He had resigned his position for the White Queen to come here. Even if he went back could things really go back to the way they were? He had begun to feel restless. After being a double agent between the Red Court and the Resistance the day-to-day life of court had seemed dull.

So what was next for the White Rabbit? Sleep finally won out over his restless and anxious limbs and he slept deeply for the first time in a long time. It was a dreamless and restorative sleep so deep that he slept through his alarm. He didn't wake until a stage hand came in and shook him awake before his first set of the evening.

The question still remained: what purpose did Nivens' life have now? And what should he do to find that purpose? Would his debt ever be repaid?

Nivens dressed quickly in his white outfit, grabbed his White Rabbit ears and laptop, and went out to make the crowds dance. If only that were enough.