Five long painful months ticked by. Alice was falling into the same routine.

Wake up, run to bathroom, throw up, brush teeth, get dressed, take incredibly large horse pill sized prenatal vitamin, and spend the rest of the day waiting.

Waiting for Him.

Now that Alice was no longer teaching classes at her dojo, it left her with much more time to do other things. She had spent a good week finding a substitute teacher for her classes. Now, all she had to do was wait.

And wait

And wait.

And wait.

Several times she debated, she had moved the old giant mirror into their apartment. Claiming that she had bought it from a garage sale. Carol had looked at her like she was crazy for buying such a large mirror, but let her keep it anyway.

Alice would often sit in front of it. Watching and waiting. She had promised hatter that she would never return to wonderland. She promised him. But. He also promised her that he would come for her to. Now who wasn't holding up on their side of the bargain?

Alice sighed heavily. She had been sitting in a large arm chair, facing the giant mirror for several hours now. Watching it as she re-read "Alice in Wonderland" for the 11th time since her return. She jumped as a nudge from her stomach area dug gently into her side.

"Ouch! Your hurting your mommy." Alice said softly poking her belly with her finger. She groaned as she received a kick in response. She swore this baby was had inherited its fathers "sledgehammer" arm the way it seemed to beat her up from the inside. She placed a hand gently on her stomach again. Feeling the tiny baby's movements as it shifted beneath her.

"Do you want me to read to you again?" She asked her bulge. The baby kicked again, harder this time.

"Okay okay…" Alice began to read, telling slowly the story of the original alice to it.

When she got to the part when alice met the mad Hatter, she paused. She stared oddly at the picture. The short man with the crazy white hair and the large nose and top hat. Alice glanced around. Making sure the carol wasn't within ear shot.

"Don't worry baby… your daddy's not as mad as people think" she whispered to her belly. She finished the story, content that the baby had drifted back off to sleep, its movements finally stilling. She leaned back in her chair, putting her swollen feet up on the coffee table and staring at the mirror.

"You'll know him someday. He's coming… he has to.." She whispered as she drifted slowly off to sleep.

The baby rolled gently in her, setting off to sleep, listening to its mothers heart beating softly above it.