When Boris returned, Alice was still fast asleep. He smiled as he went back downstairs. He searched the kitchen for something to eat and settled for a few cookies that Alice made for the construction workers. They were a bit stale, but it was better than the jar of pickles that Gowland had left a week ago.

Nightmare visited Alice that day in her dreams moments after Boris came back. Alice slowly gained consciousness in the dream. Nightmare was a dream demon, who creates different dreams for an individual. However, he also visited them in their dreams, including Alice's. He floated in front of Alice, waiting for a response.

"Hello, Nightmare," Alice greeted as she rubbed her eyes. He smiled and bowed.

"Hello, Alice. I see that you finished moving in. How are you doing?" Nightmare inquired, floating around her. She grinned and shrugged.

"Better than I had hoped. Boris is wonderful to me and looks out for me, too. I don't think I've ever been more content in my entire life," Alice answered, still smiling. Nightmare laughed, glad to know that she was doing so well in Hearts.

"I heard that you had a little spat with the Hatter. Not many can say that, you know," Nightmare pried, endlessly curious. Alice's smile disappeared as she sat in the cloud fluff.

"I did, but I would consider it more than just a little spat. He thinks that he can just take whatever he wants. He thinks that he can just barge into my home and confess his feelings to me, even though I'm already taken. He thinks that he can just say whatever he wants and doesn't expect a strong response. Does he think that I'm just going to abandon Boris and jump into his arms, just because he tried to intimidate me?" Alice vented, standing up to pace around the dream. Nightmare shrugged, agreeing with her.

"The Hatter is just discovering his feelings for you. I don't recall him ever falling in love before, which is partly why he has few weaknesses and so dangerous. Besides, now that he knows, he doesn't know what to do. I don't even know how I would fair in that situation," Nightmare pointed out, unlocking secrets from Madson's head. Alice threw her arms into the air, exasperated.

"So? I've been through heartbreak before, and he'll live. That is if he doesn't do something stupid or reckless. He'll be fine if he comes to the fact that I'm taken, and will always be. Even if Boris dies, I would never remarry," Alice vowed, making her opinion known. Nightmare smirked, glad to see her side of this without reading her mind.

"Very noble. By the way, I am invited to the wedding, right?" he smiled as Alice chuckled.

"Only if you stop reading my mind. I would send you a formal invitation, but I don't know how to reach you other than in my dreams," Alice admitted, wondering if he really existed in the real world. Nightmare shrugged and smiled slyly.

""Oh, I'm around. Mostly, I reside in the Country of Clovers, but I wouldn't expect you to make that journey. It's long and rather dangerous. Besides, I don't mind informal invitations," he chuckled, lifting the mood. A large, glowing orb lit the gloomy clouds, nearly blinding Alice. It was the end of the dream. Nightmare sighed as he began to fade away. "Time to go. And thank you for the invite. I look forward to it."

"Good bye, Nightmare," she whispered as the orb sucked her into darkness. Alice slowly woke up in her room, seeing that it was midday. She groaned as she sat up and went downstairs to find Boris in the kitchen. He had fallen asleep on the kitchen table, cookie crumbs scattered around his face. Alice smiled as she started to make some coffee. As the coffee steeped, Boris stirred, reacting to the strong aroma. Alice sat next to him and held his hand. "Good morning, honey. Sleep well?"

"Sort of. As much as one can when they pass out on the kitchen table. Are you making coffee?" he inquired as he gently rubbed Alice's fingers.

"Yep, I am. Would you like some?" Alice grinned as Boris kissed her cheek.

"Absolutely. You make the best coffee I've ever had," he replied before he grabbed an apple from the basket. Alice blushed at his comment as the kettle screamed at her. She jumped up and poured two cups of the black liquid. Boris snuck a sip as Alice evened the two drinks. She laughed as she shook her head. She placed the pot in the sink as she sat back down next to Boris. "So, how did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully. Although, Nightmare showed up toward the end. Just making the rounds I guess," Alice shrugged as Boris chuckled. Afterward, Boris helped with the dishes as Alice dried them and put them away.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Boris implored, tired of the silence. Alice looked over her shoulder, not sure. "We could go to the amusement park, explore the forest, visit Vivaldi. The possibilities are endless."

"I don't know," she said, thinking about it as she slipped the pot back in the cupboard. "Do you want to go see Julius? We haven't seen him in a few weeks."

"That sounds like fun. Let's do that," Boris cheered, eager to irritate the clockmaker. Alice grinned as they left hand in hand, off to see their old friend.

As the arrived to the Tower, Alice wasn't able to find Julius anyway. they checked his office, his room, the kitchen, and even the roof. Alice moaned as they ended up back at the entrance. It was odd for Julius to go missing, since he always had so much work to do. Boris patter her shoulder comfortingly.

"He may be out getting parts, since that's what you did when you lived here," he reasoned, letting Alice relax. She nodded as she straightened.

" You're probably right. We'll just have to come back later. What do you want to do in the meantime?" She looked up at Boris and smiled. He shrugged, grinning back.

"We should go see Gowland. He's always complaining that we don't ever see him enough," Boris suggested as Alice led him out the door.

"Sounds good to me," she cheered as they journeyed to amusement park, trying to get her mind off Julius's disappearance.

The workers started to whisper among themselves the second Alice and Boris entered. Alice kept her head down as Boris held his head high, ignoring all the gossiping voices. They retreated into the crowd to find Gowland's office. They quickly ducked inside, startling the owner. He looked up from his work and grinned when he recognized Alice and Boris.

"Well, hiya. What can I do for ya?" Gowland greeted as he stood up from he desk.

"We just wanted to come say hi. We had bit of a bumpy day yesterday," Alice replied, surprising him. Howland glanced at Boris and turned back to Alice.

"How so?" he pressed as Alice told the stories of the Madson encounter. Boris remained silent and still, determined to keep his own meeting with the Hatter a secret for as long as he could. Gowland sighed and rubbed his forehead. "God, I hope he slips up soon. That way Vivaldi can catch 'im and put 'im in prison, where he belongs, if ya ask me. I'm sorry he caused ya all that trouble."

"It's fine now. I just hope he keeps his distance," Alice admitted, glad to have to the owner. Boris nodded, agreeing with her. Gowland noticed Boris's odd, suspicious behavior and turned to Alice.

"Would you be a dear and check to see if I grabbed the mail? I've been expecting a package and it hasn't come yet," Gowland asked as Alice nodded. She left the room, letting it grow silent in her absence. Gowland turned to Boris, wary of his attitude. The cat closed the doors as his pupils narrowed. "What did you do now?"

"A few hours after Alice fell asleep, I left for the Hatter's. I confronted Madson about his actions and told him to back off Alice. I think I may have just pissed him off, though, and now he's still after Alice. I just barely dodged his bullets, and I haven't told her any of this yet. I don't want her to be worried about this right now," Boris quickly explained, glancing at the door every five seconds. Gowland rubbed his brow, questioning his bravery and possibly stupidity.

"I see. Be careful. If ya die, Alice will be devastated and I don' wanna have her grieve anymore. I just found out about 'er sister this mornin' from one of the workers. She's been through enough without losin' you," Gowland warned, knowing Boris would gladly die for Alice's happiness and safety. Boris nodded as Alice came back in with a large parcel.

"Is this the package you've been waiting for?" she asked as she placed it on the desk. Gowland nodded, trying not to seem surprised. He had made up the package to talk to Boris alone. He slowly approached it and carefully opened it to find a large wall clock. Gowland pulled it out as it counted down to two p.m. As the clock chimed twice, a small note popped out. The owner picked it up and carefully read it. After turning pale, he handed it to Boris. The cat turned away to read it as Alice was suffocating in the suspense.

"What? What is it?" she urged, extremely curious. Boris took a deep breath as he handed her the note.

"After you went to sleep, I went to go talk to the Hatter," he explained as she looked at it, glad she had a knight in shining armor. The note said:

Dear Cheshire Cat,

We didn't get a chance to finish our little conversation. I would very much like to talk about it civilly. I have been feeling much better and I think we need to talk. I will expect your arrival at my mansion within the next two time periods. And do choose your words wisely. I'd hate to shoot you.

Sincerely,

Madson Hatter

"That maniac," Alice hissed as she passed the letter back to Gowland, who was equally shocked by it. "There must be something certifiably wrong with him. And why did you go see him? That just seems like a bad idea."

"He needed to hear my opinions about his actions. I just didn't plan for him to pull a gun on me," Boris confessed, feeling no remorse. Alice laughed under her breath as she embraced her fiance.

"I don't think anyone does when speaking of such a topic," she teased as she sat down on the nearby chair.