Author's Note: I will never own Alice in Wonderland, no matter how much I migtht want to :( I also don't own the song "Home" by Daughtry. This is probably going to be my final chapter, but I may add more later on. Anyway, I wanted to end on a happy Alice/Hatter note, so here it is! Enjoy!

P.S. - I've been noticing that seems to messing up some of my formatting when I publish the stories. Songs lyrics that are supposed to be in italics haven't always been showing up that way. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Home

I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

Alice stood on the balcony, staring out at the stars that flecked the evening sky in London. It was hard to see the stars here because of all the city lights, but somehow she managed to pick out the one she was looking for. There. Right there, just above Orion's belt. At the very tip of his sword. It was their star. Her star.

When she had been young, her father used to take her out to look at the stars every night. He told her that if she looked close enough, she could see stories written in the stars, pictures of valiant heroes woven into the blanket of night. She smiled sadly. In Underland, the celestial figures actually acted out plays in the sky. The Hatter had shown them to her once on a different balcony in a different land…

Alice sighed. When her father had been gone away on extended business trips, she would look up at that star with the comfort of knowing that somewhere, halfway across the world from where she was, her father could see the same star, the wishing star. But that trick didn't work for the friends she'd left behind in Underland, for Underland did not have the same stars as London. She missed them, had missed them terribly since she left. All the way to China and back, they had been on her mind. Now that she had tied up all of her loose ends in Overland, she began pondering the unanswered questions she had about Underland. Somewhere along the way in her adventures in Overland, she had discovered that she was madly in love with a dashing Mad Hatter. What would her life be like if she chose to spend the rest of it with him? The last time she was there, he had asked her to stay, but did he still feel that way now, after all this time?

Well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.

Alice did not belong in Overland, of that much she was sure. There were so many expectations in this world that she could never live up to, so many standards that she never met. There were silly rules about what was proper and improper – rules about corsets and stockings and who was allowed to marry whom.

In Underland, none of that mattered. No one cared about wealth or title. No one cared how strange you looked or how mad you acted. They loved one another for who they were, not what they looked like or how much money they had.

The adventure to China had been a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience that she would never forget and a magnificent tribute to her father. But would her father really want her to continue the business if her heart was not in it? Charles Kingsleigh would have loved Underland…perhaps he had even visited it himself! She wouldn't doubt it from the way he had talked of impossible things! No, he would have wanted her to be happy, to follow her heart. And it was then that she made a decision that would change her life forever.

The North Star had led countless sailors home over the years. Long ago, the Christmas Star had led three Wise Men to the home of the One who was the Savior they had been looking for. Perhaps tonight the Wishing Star would grant her request and lead her home, as well.

I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.

"Alice?" Helen Kingsleigh stepped quietly onto the balcony, placing a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Alice, why are you still – " She cut herself short, suddenly noticing what the girl had been staring at. She smiled softly. "Charles used to love looking at the stars with you when you were young. He said your eyes would light up like Christmas candles whenever he told you stories."

Alice smiled sadly. "Father's stories were always the best…" She bit her lip, not knowing how to tell her mother about her decision to leave. "Mother, do you remember when I turned down Hamish how I said that he wasn't the right man for me?"

"Yes." Helen waited for her next words with baited breath.

"Well…I believe that have found the man who is." She was silent for a moment, watching her mother's face to see her reaction, but there was not one – not judgment, not anger, not even surprise…There was simply a calm, knowing look in her eyes. Alice took this as a sign to continue. "Mother, it's not that I don't love the life I have here, I do! I-it's just that…I have finally found someone who understands me, who would risk his life for me!...Mother, I love you and Margaret and working for the company, but I don't feel as though I belong here anymore and – "

"Go to him, Alice."

Alice stared at her mother in shock. "What?"

Helen smiled. "Ever since you got back from China, you've been restless. I suspected as much, but I didn't want to say anything, since I know how you despise being pressured about suitors…" Helen sighed and placed a hand beneath her daughter's chin so that she was looking directly into her eyes. "I will miss you, but if you are happy with him, then I cannot ask you to stay. Charles and I prayed every day for your happiness and that, in time, the Lord would send you the right man. If you have found him, then who am I to you away? It is your life, Alice. Go live it."

Alice smiled and wrapped her mother in a tearful embrace, thankful that she understood but sad to leave such a wonderful family behind.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love remains true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.

The Hatter trudged through the Tulgy Woods toward the Room of Doors. He had made up his mind – or at least, whatever was left of it – to go visit Alice. Something had been eating him up inside ever since she left to go back to Overland. He was left feeling void and empty, like he had lost some of his muchness. And perhaps he had. He'd had enough muchness to ask Alice to stay, but he hadn't had enough to tell her how he really felt about her. Ever since that day in the Red Queen's castle, he knew that what he felt for her was more than just friendship. And if Alice wasn't willing to stay in his world, then he would go stay in hers if she would allow it.

A few spiraling briars caught on his sleeve, slightly ripping the already tattered material. He mumbled a few colorful Outlandish curses at the offending plant. He hadn't seen her in quite some Time, and he wanted to look his best for her. He took a moment to straighten his top hat and brush away a few leaves that gotten themselves stuck in his mess of flaming orange hair. He wondered what people from Overland dressed like. Would he fit in among them? Most like not, for even among the colorful characters of Underland he stuck out like a sore thumb. But he didn't let the thought trouble him for very long. He was going to see his Alice, and that was all that mattered…

That is, if he could ever find his way out of this bloody forest! The Hatter knew his way around Underland like the back of his hand. He was certain that he was headed the right way, but it seemed as though with every step he took closer to Alice, it was taking longer and longer to get there. Which should have been impossible, but…this was Underland, after all.

The Hatter giggled. When Alice was little, she always hated such nonsense. If it didn't make sense to her, then it wasn't so. But that was part of what he most admired about her…She was never afraid to stand up for what she believed in or speak her mind...which is why it had meant so much to him when she told him that all the world's best people are mad. Alice just didn't lie about things like that. And up until that point, he realized, he hadn't been a very good friend to her…He had lashed out at her when she said she didn't slay as though it was her fault that his family was gone. He had pushed her to do something she didn't want to do out of selfishness and a desire to avenge his clan. Yet she had come for him, she had forgiven him, and she had put the needs of Underland above her own safety to slay the Jabberwocky. What an amazing woman.

So I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,

The Hatter was leaving everything he ever knew behind. His friends, his tea table, his home…No, that last part wasn't true. He belonged with Alice. Wherever she was, his heart was with her, and as long as they could be together, he would be home. Besides, what was left of his home here? The charred remains of his village? A half-broken old windmill? He would miss his friends, but besides them, he wasn't really leaving anything that important behind. He had already said his goodbyes, and he wasn't looking back.

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

When Alice had left Underland, she'd thought that she knew what she wanted to do with her life. Ever since she was young, she had loved stories of adventure, and ever since her father had died, she had hoped to one day take over the company, leaving a legacy for the only man besides the Hatter who had ever held such a special place in her heart. She got everything she wished for, but when she returned home to London, she had realized that there was still something missing…or rather, someone. She had been half way around the world and seen more than most women of her day and age would see in a lifetime, but no place on earth could compare with Wonderland, and no man could compare with Hatter. How foolish she had been! She had gone on a journey to find her place in the world when the only place she would ever truly belong had been right beneath her nose her entire life! And that place was in the Hatter's arms.

Oh, well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.

I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.

Alice was running. But for once, she was not running away from something, she was running toward it. Running toward her future, her home, her Hatter. The trees clawed at her dress, the wet leaves and roots tried to make her stumble, and the briars bit into arms, but she didn't care. There was only one thing on her mind, and she nothing would stop her until she found him.

But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.

A swirl of slate-gray mist settled in the tree just above Tarrant's head. "You're headed the wrong way, you know," the Chesire cat grinned down at his old acquaintance. The cat momentarily disappeared, then reappeared holding the top hat just barely out of the Hatter's reach.

The Hatter's eyes turned a dangerous orange. "Chess, if ye think ya can stop meh from goin' tah see the lass, then you're sadly mistaken. Now give me back mah hat!"

"I'm not trying to stop you, dear friend…I'm simply trying to…stall you…"

There was the sound of approaching feet. It seemed as though someone was in quite a hurry! Then the footsteps suddenly slowed. "Chess, is that you?"

Tarrant would know that voice anywhere. He stood open-mouthed. The cat merely winked, returning the top hat before he disappeared, leaving only his signature grin behind.

"Alice?" The Hatter could hardly believe she had returned.

"Hatter?" The bushes rustled, then suddenly burst open to reveal Underland's Champion. Her dress was torn and dirty. Her hair was tangled and had twigs sticking out, and her arms were scratched from the many briars she had fought, but to the Hatter, she was the most beautiful sight in the world. "HATTER!"

She came flying into his arms at lightning speed, nearly knocking him over from the force. She grinned up at him. "I'm staying this time, Hatter. I'm staying here forever."

"B-but I thought you had things to do…Questions to answer…I-I thought…"

"All finished."

The Hatter's eyes turned a light violet, a color she had never seen before. His accent was present, but soft. "Well, then, lass…Ah 'ave one question that Ah still need ye to answer…" He slowly got down one knee, took her hands in his, and looked into her eyes. "Would ye ever consider marryin' a lowly hatter?"

Alice knelt so that she was at eye level with him. "Only one particular Hatter." She smiled, and the Hatter looked as though he might futterwhacken right then and there. "But I forgot about one particular question that I still have not found the answer to."

The Hatter's face fell.

Alice leaned in close kissed him gently on the lips. "Hatter, why is a raven like a writing desk?"

I'm going home.