"Hello?" Frederick Rabbit practically shouted into his cell phone speaker. He had been lounging in his office in daydreams of Alice when his phone rang, and the moment he had seen Alice's name printed neatly on his screen he practically broke his phone by swinging it eagerly open.

"Hey White," Alice's soothing voice answered warmly, "how are you?"

"I've been good," Frederick told her quickly, trying not to sound too desperate but failing miserably. It had been two weeks since he'd last seen her, and knowing that she was living alone with Hatter only had his nerves tangled in a bunch. Quietly he tried to gather his thoughts into a coherent sentence. "How have you been?"

"I've been pretty good," she replied gently, her voice still full of the warmth that he absolutely loved—and craved. I just want to be there, to see her shape these words with her delicate lips and hear every syllable in person. I want to hold her, to kiss her, to whisper that she is mine. Frederick suddenly realized that the line was quiet, and hastily he brought up a topic.

"How is work going?"

"Work is…well, I'll be honest. I quit." Frederick flinched.

"Oh," he murmured. "Why did you quit?"

"Don't you remember?" she giggled. "I only took that job so that I could save up enough money to start my own jewelry line. I finally have enough, and I just started yesterday."

"Congratulations," Frederick smiled. "Why don't we go out to dinner tonight to celebrate?"

"That sounds wonderful," Alice said enthusiastically. "Where would you want to meet up?"

"I'll just come pick you up," he told her brightly. "It'll be a surprise."

"You know I hate surprises White," Alice scolded playfully. Oh, it's so good to hear her voice, he thought longingly.

"I'll be there at seven," Frederick announced. That will give me two hours to get ready; that's plenty of time. He paused. "Please don't invite Hatter."

"He isn't here actually," Alice said dismissively. "He's been gone since I woke up. He's probably out on the streets again."

"You mean he's back to selling drugs?" Frederick demanded in outrage. "You're actually letting him?"

"As long as he keeps everything away from me, I really don't care," she sighed. "It's his life, so he can do what he wants as long as I'm kept out of it." Frederick undeniably loved the sound of indifference in her voice. Please, my love, please don't run back to Hatter. You have me now.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you at seven. Wear something nice, but make sure you're comfortable."

"Okay White," Alice chuckled. "I'll see you later."

"Later then," he smiled. The line went dead and Frederick closed his phone, tossing it aside and practically running to his bathroom. He hopped in the shower and lathered his body thoroughly with his best body wash, making sure every inch of him smelled delicious. He shampooed and conditioned his hair, even shaved his face, before finally stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist. As he dried himself off he planned his outfit in his head, hurrying to his closet and snatching the clothes from their organized hangers almost like a thief would swipe a jewel on display. His outfit was simple but elegant; his usual all white suit, spotless red dress shoes, and a crimson silk tie. Once he was dressed he rushed back to the bathroom and set to work on his hair, styling his floppy ear-like layers so that they looked especially rabbity and spraying himself with Alice's favorite cologne; she'd helped him pick it out when he'd taken her to his favorite fragrance shop.

Frederick checked his watch as soon as he had slid his wallet into his pocket, glad to see he only had forty minutes left. It only takes fifteen minutes to get to her house from here, so that gives me plenty of time to pick out her gift. Steadily he made his way to a separate closet of his room and opened the doors carefully, flicking on the light to expose an entire space dedicated to items that Frederick had bought for Alice. There was jewelry he'd seen that he thought she'd like, clothes that would fit her curvaceous body like a glove, shoes that were just her style, books he thought she'd enjoy reading; everything in this room had reminded him of Alice, and so he'd bought each and every item with the intention to give it to her someday. Secretly, though the thought made him a little nervous, he promised himself that the day this room was empty would be the day he had Alice entirely to himself. If that day ever came, he thought, his heart pounding, then I wouldn't need this room. I could just give it to her directly.

Cautiously he surveyed the room's contents, finally settling on a gorgeous lilac cameo he'd found at a boutique in London and placing it delicately in a small box. He tied a purple ribbon around the box lovingly, taking care to make the bow as intricate as he could manage—he was quite a skilled gift wrapper—and tucked the trinket into one of his jacket's inner pockets for safekeeping. Knowing Alice, she'll probably make a beautiful choker with this. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Frederick heard the familiar ringtone of his cellphone and ran to it eagerly, frowning when he saw an unknown number glow on his screen. Hesitantly he flipped his phone open.

"Hello?"

"Watch out for Hatter," Cheshire's voice grunted through the receiver. "The fucker almost killed me."

"What are you talking about?" Frederick demanded, slightly angered by the assumption in Cheshire's voice. "Who almost killed you?"

"Hatter." White's blood ran cold.

"What?"

"He snuck up from behind while I was with Alice. He almost cut my freaking windpipe with a piece of wire. The ER was able to stitch me up, and I'm fine now, but these stitches are a pain in the ass." White took a steadying breath.

"Where are you now?"

"Doesn't matter," Cheshire answered casually. "What matters is that you make sure Hatter doesn't find out about your little date tonight the way I did."

"How did you find out?" White asked in frustration.

"I'm watching Alice get ready, and she's wearing something nice," Cheshire answered snidely. "She only ever gets that dolled-up for two people—Queenie, and you." White sighed.

"Do you know where Hatter is?"

"He and Marchie and Katter Pillar are planning to worm Tweedle out of the mental hospital with their street money," Cheshire reported. "You're in the green for tonight, but I would suggest you are more careful with your scheduling in the near future if you want to keep your life."

"I dare him to come after me," White growled. He paused. "Thanks for the heads-up Cheshire, I owe you one."

"Not a problem," Cheshire replied breezily. "Just make sure Alice has a good time tonight, she's been looking a bit stressed lately."

"Will do," White smiled. "Bye." He shut his phone, grabbed his car keys, and headed out the door. Tonight's going to be splendid, White thought happily, getting into his car and calmly sliding his key into the ignition. It feels like it's been forever since I've seen her. White carefully pulled out of his garage, drove down his driveway, and spent the rest of the trip lost in thoughts of his precious Alice.