Disclaimer: If I ever get rich enough, I'm buying the rights to Alice and Reginald.

"I think I'm missing a button," Reginald pondered out loud as he studied his shirt. March Hare, head bandaged, was unlocking the door to the Hatter's Hat Shop on Main Street. It had made him extraordinarily happy to learn that the book shop was just down the street and around the corner from his.

"It's fine, Reg," Hare told him grumpily, one paw rubbing his tender scalp while the other fished his painkillers from his pocket. "Now, to work!"

"Fine," the Mad Hatter sulked as he flipped the lights on and dug a clean pair of gloves out from a drawer. "Which order should we start with?" he asked his best friend, eyeing the stack of hat requests warily.

"Lady Tremaine's," Hare replied immeadiately. "She's been grousing for days about it and has even threatened to take her business elsewhere."

"Good riddance!" was Reginald's response. The white haired gentleman winced as he read over the order, wondering how on earth he could fit ten feathers and five bows on one hat.

"Now, we need to order some more material..." Hare started, pulling out the catalogs.

At The Hatter Home

Alice was enjoying her day off, sprawled on the living room love seat and stretching. "Thank goodness March is all right," she thought, wincing as she recalled the morning's events. "Was I really cuddled up to Reginald?"

"Well, time to do laundry!" She reluctantly climbed to her feet and grabbed the laundry basket on her way to the stairs. Her nose wrinkled in distaste, she plucked a lime green bowtie off of the railing. "How--Never mind, I don't want to know," was her response to peeling a pair of lavender boxers from the ceiling fan in his room. "Now, for March's," she thought warily as she ventured down the hall.

She was pleasantly surprised to see that March Hare had piled all of his dirty laundry in his hamper, unlike a certain Mad Hatter she could mention. Alice lugged the now-full basket back downstairs and heaved it onto the top of the dryer to begin loading the washer. She had insisted on the machines after attempting, and failing, to do it all by hand and hang it on a clothes line outside. Reginald had snuck outside when she wasn't watching and stolen her best pair of knickers right off the line! And March Hare had been no better, aiding the would-be felon in keeping Alice distracted long enough to get the deed done.

Alice finished loading the washer and, rubbing her back wearily as she stumbled to the kitchen to prepare some tea. She smiled softly when the light glinted off of her ring as she poured the water into the kettle. She had just taken a seat at the table with a cup full of hot tea and was preparing to take the first sip when the door flew open, startling her. "Babycakes!" Reginald cried, looking disheveled. Alice started so badly at his arrival that she spilled the tea all over her hands.

"Reginald!" She ran to wash the hot tea off, wincing as the cold water stung her burnt skin.

"Oh, my goodness! Are you all right, darling Alice?" he cried in distress, gently grasping her hands and holding them an inch from his face.

"I'm f-fine," she stammered, still not used to his sudden bouts of affection and closeness. "Why aren't you at the shop?"

"I could ask you the same thing, cricket," he chuckled, feeling very clever.

"It's my day off."

"...Oh..." He was at a temporary loss of words. "I convinced Marchy to let me come home for tea time."

"And how did you manage that?" she asked as she got him settled at the table with a clean cup of now mildy-warm tea.

"Bribery," he said proudly, nose-deep in tea.

"What?!" she shrieked, not realizing that she was yelling in his ear. The force of her scream blew the hat right off of his head and tousled his hair so badly people wondered for days what exactly went on in the Hatter Household.

"Tea cup, I never realized you were deaf! I ...SAID...THAT...I...BRIBED...HIM," he enunciated in an attempt to be both helpful and witty all at once.

"With what?" she wanted to know.

"Well...uhh...Ikindapromisedhecouldhavethehouseallweekendbyhimself."

She processed this for a moment, before looking at him in disbelief. "And where are we supposed to stay?"

"...I was kinda hoping you would know. What, no goodbye kiss?!" he stuttered in outrage as she flounced angrily out of the kitchen.

Knowing how he got if he didn't get what he wanted, Alice stormed back into the room, laid a quick kiss on his cheek and marched upstairs faster than he could blink.

"That wasn't what I had in mind!" he told her, standing at the bottom of the staircase with his hands on his hips.

"You have to earn it!" she yelled back, slamming the door to her room. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, tapping one foot while he waited for her to come back downstairs.

He was at the end of his patience and had just started up the stairs when a loud shriek reupted from her room. "REGINALD!"

"Oh, no..." he suddenly remembered that today was the day that Ariel had agreed to pay him back for babysitting.

Reginald's fiance threw her door open, managed to grab him by his bowtie and pull him into her room. She shoved him towards the open closet doors, demanding, "What happened to my clothes?!"

He smoothed his suit prissily, making sure he looked decent before bestowing his attention on the closet's contents. His eyes widened in delight when he saw that all of Alice's clothing had been replaced by shrunken and skimpier versions of the original outfits. All of her sensible shoes were replaced by strappy heels and sandals. "I think I owe Ariel more..."

After tying him up and dragging the truth out of him, all of which Reginald bore suprisingly well, Alice banned him from her room for the rest of the day, threatening to call March and cancel the bribe if he didn't find her clothes AND a weekend place for them before dinner that night. Reginald whimpered and stared at her sadly when she started to pack the alternate clothing up to be disposed of.

"Won't you wear one? For me?" The Mad Hatter pouted, giving her his best kicked puppy impression.

"Oh, fine! But only one and ONLY for a few minutes!"

The nosebleed stain on the carpet was cause for much alarm when March came home, who suspected foul play.