Alice and What Came After

Disclaimer: Nope. Nada. Not even a Jabberwock.

Chapter Six: The Trouble with Alice

Hatter didn't have to wait around the Looking Glass for too long.

He heard a sound almost like a pop before the Oyster sailed through and hit the floor. She hit it rather hard, her head resting on the rough floor. Her dark hair covered her face, her blue dress unmistakable even in the dim lighting of the warehouse.

"Alice!" he called, hurrying to her side.

He turned her over, hoping for something, anything. Her blue eyes were closed, her forehead bruised. The green mark on her arm had faded. She was no longer an outsider. He was the outsider.

"Alice?"

He shook her a bit, listening for even a moan.

Could she be dead? Had her heart stopped beating on the way through the Glass? Was that possible?

Hatter felt for her heartbeat. It was there. Alice was alive, just fast asleep. Very asleep.

Help. I should get her help, right? She's hurt.

He slowly stood up, resisting the urge to cover her with the velvet coat he carried. Anything.

"I'll come back, Alice. I'll make sure you're okay."

Hatter fixed his crooked hat and took off, trying not to look back at Alice. Help. Where could he find help in the Oyster's world?

He jogged down the alley, passing Alice's home. He couldn't very well go there for help. Alice might live alone, plus he wasn't entirely sure which flat belonged to her. He needed to find, well, people.

Further ahead down the street walked a couple.

"Oi! Help! I need some help!" Hatter called, waving his arms like an idiot.

The two Oysters looked up at him. The man took the lead. "What's wrong?"

"There's a girl… she's hurt. Please… help."

"Where is she?"

"In a warehouse. She must've slipped and hit her head. She's unconscious," Hatter fibbed.

"I'll call 911."

Hatter nodded. "Thank you."

While the man talked on a small portable telephone, Hatter led them back to the warehouse. The man repeated a string of numbers and a name into the phone that were printed on the side of the building. An address.

Police and medical personal wearing jumpsuits that said E.M.T. on the back arrived shortly. The entire time, Hatter had a hard time staying still. He didn't know what was wrong with Alice. He didn't know how hurt she was.

The E.M.T. people were armed with light sticks—torches. Torches were rare in Wonderland.

They pushed past Hatter, one of them ordering him to stay put while they searched the warehouse for Alice. It only took a few minutes for them to return with Alice on a stretcher hooked up to all kinds of tubes and masks. She barely looked like Alice.

"She's going to be okay," a police officer reassured him.

"Where are you taking her?" Hatter asked, not taking his eyes off Alice as they loaded her into a large car shaped like a white box.

"To the hospital."

"Can I… can I go with her? To make sure she's okay?"

The police officer looked around. "Normally only family members ride in the ambulance…"

"I just want to make sure she's okay. I just want her to be okay."

"Go…" he urged Hatter, motioning toward the car-box.

Hatter didn't have to be told twice.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mr. Hatter?" a nurse called from a desk.

He jumped, his hat held in his hands. He'd tried not to crush it, but no one would tell him how Alice was. She was taken one way and he was told to sit still.

"Yes?"

"You can see her now."

He followed her directions down the hall to a small room. He stepped inside the door, stopping short when he saw a woman at the end of Alice's bed. She had short reddish hair and he could feel the worry coming off her in waves.

"Yes?" she said, turning around.

"I was just… I'm gonna go now…" Hatter stuttered.

"Are you… you're the one who found her, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you. Thank you."

"It was nothin'…"

"Alice is all I have," the strange woman continued. "My only child."

Mother. This was Alice's mother. "I'm just glad she's okay."

"When she's better, come to dinner. It's the least I can do."

"You don't need to—"

"Please," Alice's mother said.

"Sure thing."

*~*~*~*~*~*

For the first time in almost a week, Alice Hamilton was all alone. There were no Suits hunting her, no Hatter at her side, no Charlie singing or snoring in the background. It was just her and the machines in the hospital room.

Her mother had gone home to get her a change of clothes. The official word from the doctors was that she had suffered a concussion from hitting her head.

Apparently Wonderland was a figment of my imagination…

She'd only been gone an hour according to her mom. Not long enough to follow Jack into another world and fall in love with a con man.

Love. It was a strange word that she'd never truly understood. Not until Hatter.

He can't be fake…

But he wasn't there. Hatter was gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day, Alice went home. She packed up what remained of her father. She didn't need to search. He was gone, whether their reunion was a dream or not. Robert Hamilton would never come home.

"Alice!" her mother called, rather cheerful. "Come meet David!"

David. Her mother had been gushing about David since Alice woke up. Apparently David found her in the warehouse and got help. He went in the ambulance with her and hung around the hospital. Carol really seemed to think he was a good match for her.

Sure. He's probably just a charming creep like Jack…

Half-heartedly, Alice walked into the main part of their apartment, her hands twisted together.

This David person stood near her mother. He had dark hair, wore a jacket over his white shirt, and had a black hat in his hand. She stared at him for a moment before a rush of memories flooded her mind.

He leaned into kiss her, only to have Jack interrupt. He took a bullet for her. He helped her overcome her fear of heights. It was him.

"Hatter!" she cried, running straight into his arms.

You're real. You came back!

He wrapped his arms around her like he didn't want to let her go. She hoped he never did.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Alice. His Alice. She was back in his arms again. She remembered him.

The blue dress was gone but he didn't care. Alice was okay. She was okay and she was hugging him. The hug felt so good, much like the too short one in the Casino.

Being stuck here alone for all that time… it was worth it. Oh so worth it…

"Finally…"

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Alice said, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

Slowly, she let go, taking a step back. Their hands became almost interlaced as Hatter bent his head down a bit. Alice's lips met his in a rush.

Her hands touched the back of his neck, sending a chill down his spine.

"I missed you," he said softly. It had been so long since he'd held Alice in his arms. For her it was only a day at most since they last saw each other. But not for him.

Another kiss, this one deeper and longer.

Alice's fingers curled around the collar of his brown jacket, almost as if she were trying to pull him down to her, as if he might fly away at any moment. His hands caressed her lower back, his hat almost falling out of his grip.

Both of them completely forgot about her mother, just mere inches away, until Carol Hamilton cleared her throat.

"Alice? David? What's going on?"

They turned away, Alice's hand in his. "Mom, David and I… we…"

"It's my fault," Hatter said quickly. "I knew Jack from school. I ran into him by accident and I met Alice. We hit it off."

Alice nodded, taking his lead. "David and I… we decided not to do anything because of Jack. But then David found out that Jack was cheating on me."

"Engaged to another woman," Hatter said, clutching Alice's hand tighter.

The shock began to wear off. "Oh…" her mother said, taking a seat.

"I was worried about her. I happened to see her go after Jack. He pushed her away. She…she slipped," Hatter fibbed. It was Jack's fault that Alice went flying through the mirror and hit her head. "So I went for help."

Carol seemed to accept their story. She probably wasn't happy that Alice had ditched Jack for him. Most mothers would be furious—Alice's mom didn't even know what he'd done back in Wonderland—especially if they knew that Jack was a king.

"Well, David… thank you again. Are you hungry?"

Hatter let out a sigh of relief before turning back to Alice. She melted into his arms again. "I can't believe you came…"

"I never got to say good-bye."

"You didn't have to come."

"I had to…"

"No, you didn't—"

"Alice, I need…" He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I love you, Alice."

She took a step back. "Hatter—"

"I've loved you for a while now, Alice. I know it feels like we just met, but the truth is, I jumped through the mirror after you. Except I made a mistake. I came back too far."

Alice frowned. "How long have you been here?"

"Almost longer than Jack."

"So, the studio—"

"It was me. I'd been hunting for you for weeks."

"Why didn't you—"

"I couldn't risk it. Changing things." He pulled her close. "Alice, I'm not going to leave. I just… you deserved to know. How I felt…"

Alice looked up into his brown eyes. "Hatter…"

"I'mma gonna go now…"

"Wait…"

Hatter froze, not sure what was going on. "Alice—"

She leaned up and kissed him. "Stay. Please…" she whispered, her lips barely apart from his. He closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

He didn't even bother to speak. He just kissed her back.

Author's Notes:

"Torches" are the same thing as flashlights. The Brits call them torches, so I figured that's what Hatter would know them as.

Hopefully Carol isn't too lax about Alice suddenly kissing David despite having Jack propose to her. She's mainly in shock and once reality settles in, she's going to have a lot of questions for Alice.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed their reunion! Please, please feel free to comment. I do accept anonymous reviews and I will respond to all reviews either right before or right after I post a new chapter (anonymous reviews are responded to in the chapter).

There will be another new chapter shortly. :)