Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Author's Note: A thousand apologies for taking so long to update this! First of all I went away on vacation, where I managed to get most of this written, but then on the last day there I got really sick, and though I meant to write the rest of this on the 18 hour ride home, I wound up lying down the whole way sleeping or generally being miserable. But I feel better now and managed to finally get the chapter finished. There's only one chapter left after this one, the epilogue, and though I'm really sad that this story is coming to an end, I'm excited about some new projects I have in the works for you all. In the meanwhile, I'm sorry again for taking so long to update this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-Chapter 25-

Tranquil

Alice could pinpoint many times in her life when moonlight had brought her comfort on otherwise dark nights. She remembered the last time she'd been in Underland, when nights were dark far more than they were light, except the single night she'd spent in Marmoreal. Now that she was back, she had yet to see a completely dark night, though she supposed she couldn't say for certain whether that was true for the entire land, for she hadn't really been out of Marmoreal since arriving.

Tonight the moon seemed to glow even brighter than usual, spilling sparkling silver light across the room. What few things had color looked as white as the room's décor now, but Alice didn't mind. She had all the color she needed with her.

She lay with her head on Tarrant's chest, ear resting over his heart. Closing her eyes, she listened intently to its beat, slightly faster than her own even in sleep. She momentarily wondered if everyone's heart beat faster in Underland, but then decided that she'd like it better if it were just her Hatter's heart. For a while she stayed still and silent, just listening, focusing her entire world to that single sound, and the sensation of her husband's (would she ever get tired of thinking, speaking, hearing those two words?) breathing, his chest gently rising and falling beneath her cheek.

Eventually she opened her eyes again, unable to go to sleep. Her eyes fell on her hand, resting a few inches from her nose. Around her left ring finger, replacing the pincushion ring Tarrant had given her when he'd proposed, was a beautiful new ring. Two slender silver circles wrapped around her finger, and between them was a beautiful stone unlike anything she'd ever seen before. When she'd first seen it, it had been black, but when Tarrant had slid it onto her finger it had turned the most beautiful shade of green. Ever since then it had varied in shades and colors, even once shining lavender. Alice was positively bewitched, struck breathless at the fact that there was an Underland stone that changed colors with her moods - just like her Hatter's eyes.

A giggle welled up inside her, but she swallowed it back. Her joy was bubbling so wildly inside her that she felt like she might burst if she didn't let some of it out. She watched her ring wildly flash through a few colors before finally settling on iridescent green, only the smallest bit off the color of Hatter's eyes - for nothing could match that brilliance.

Tarrant stirred. She peeked up, smiling at the sight of two glowing lilac eyes only inches from hers. "Ye all righ', lass?" he asked, burr more pronounced because of his sleepiness.

"Better than all right," Alice said, smiling. Returning to her former position, she sighed contentedly. "You?"

"Ne'er better." He untangled his fingers from her hair long enough to push stray locks away from her face before brushing it lazily. His other arm snaked around her waist, slowing and pausing over the raised scar left over from her injury. His fingers splayed, palm pressing very gently against it. "Excep' for tha'…"

"It doesn't hurt." Alice rested her hand over his, closing her eyes at the rumbling in his chest that was building into a growl. "In fact, I usually forget it's there."

Tarrant turned his head, resting it against hers. "Ah wish Ah coul' promise ye tha' nothin' and nae one coul' e'er hur' ye again. Bu' - I cannae." The weight in those words was monumentally massive, and for a brief moment she wished she could see his eyes. But the yellowish shade her ring had taken on made her reasonably certain she didn't have to.

"Tarrant, do you think I feel differently? My worst fear is losing you, and has been for a good long while. One of my worst regrets was leaving Underland in the first place, and my even deeper regret was almost being the cause of your death. If you had died in Otherland, because of me…" Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, she closed her eyes again. "The thought of losing you, or even seeing you hurt…" She shook her head. "I never thought I could love someone so deeply and so completely. I never really thought there was anyone anywhere meant for me, my other half, so to speak. But now I can't imagine things any differently." A brush of her thumb across the various scrapes and unhealed injuries on his hands left over by making countless hats proved her point. She loved every bit of him, including his Madness and his hands, but that didn't mean it wasn't painful every time she saw or felt how damaged his hands were.

He didn't say anything for a long while. Alice all but held her breath, waiting, listening to his heartbeat, which had sped up a little. Just when her patience had stretched so thin it threatened to snap, he reached up, cupping her chin in his hand. Gently lifting her head, he gazed at her for a moment, glowing eyes surprisingly dark and quite serious. He studied her face silently, and Alice was unsure if he was trying to see how serious she was, or if he was committing her sincerity to memory. Regardless of his reasoning, she remained still and allowed him to do whatever it was he wanted.

When at last he gently drew her face to his for a kiss, Alice knew that the bond they shared now - even though strong before - was more powerful than any words could express now that they were married. As awareness of everything except Tarrant faded away, Alice fuzzily thought that she liked things better this way. Much, much better.

*~Three Months Later - Underland Time~*

As Alice and Tarrant settled into their new, wonderful life of being newlyweds, Queen Mirana allowed them to stay at Marmoreal. It was most convenient for Tarrant to stay there, anyway, since he was Royal Hatter and had once more taken up his trade now that Alice had come to Underland to stay and he could actually concentrate on his work.

But eventually Alice felt herself beginning to grow a little restless. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy spending days in her husband's workshop, watching him make the most delightful headpieces. And Marmoreal was truly beautiful, a delightful and spacious place to stay. But it was technically Mirana's home, not hers and Tarrant's. And she longed for a place she and Tarrant could call their home. Not to mention the fact that she was beginning to feel a little useless just sitting around the castle doing nothing, watching everyone else work.

One day she decided to broach the subject with Tarrant. He stood at his worktable, and she sat on a stool a "safe" distance away, watching him. Clutching the edges of the stool in white knuckled grips, she said, "Tarrant, are you - happy here?"

He looked up, a shocked expression on his face. "You mean here working, or here with you, or here at Marmoreal, or here in Underland, or-"

"Tarrant!" She was used to his bouts with Madness, particularly during or right after working with his tools. Fortunately all it took was the calling of his name to snap him out of it.

"Thank you, luv," he said, sounding slightly strangled. Shaking his head a bit, presumably to clear it, he said, "What precisely did you mean, my Alice?"

She smiled - it never failed to bring a smile to her face when he called her his Alice. (It sounded infinitely better than "the Alice" ever did.) "I mean here at Marmoreal. I know it is close and convenient for you to work here, and it is a beautiful place to live. But - it is Mirana's home, not ours." She bit her lip. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I want a home we can call our own, not just a room in the castle."

Slowly nodding, Tarrant stepped forward to take her hands in his. "I understand exactly what you mean," he said. "And yes, while Marmoreal is a nice place to live, and it is convenient being right here, I can see where having a place of our own would be quite nice." He gazed at her for a long moment, a keen look in his bright eyes.

"So you don't mind if I approach Mirana about it?" she asked hopefully.

Instead of replying, Tarrant laughed softly and turned toward the door. "I believe I will stop early today," he said. "Follow me, luv."

Alice began to protest, but Hatter anticipated her and shook his head. They met hardly anyone in the halls as they walked, and those they did pass didn't pause to talk. Then again, Alice thought wryly, Tarrant wasn't giving them a chance. He was walking like a man on a mission, gently pulling her along with him.

They left the beautiful front doors of the palace, and Alice was surprised when they bypassed the gardens, instead heading straight toward the front gates. "Where are we going?" she demanded.

"Be patient, Alice," he cautioned. "We'll get there soon enough."

Bypassing Tugley Woods and the chessboard battlefield where she had fought and defeated the Jabberwocky, Tarrant led her down a sweet little lane (though it was barely wide enough to be called such a generous term) she had never seen before. "Teapot Lane," he said, as if anticipating her question. "This is an alternate route to Thackery's windmill."

"So we're going to see Thackery?" Alice asked, wondering what any of this had to do with her and Tarrant finding a place of their own.

"No," her husband replied. "And before you ask, we're not going to see Mally, either."

Alice closed her mouth, deflating when she realized that Tarrant had anticipated her next words. "So where are we going?"

"Right here," Hatter replied. He tugged her to a stop next to him, simultaneously pivoting to his left so they faced what he'd brought her there to see.

Alice felt her ability to breathe vanish. "Tarrant-!" she squeaked out, unable to find any other words. Though it was quite obviously unfinished, the cottage they were facing looked like it was going to be absolutely beautiful when finished. "This is ours?"

"Do you like it?" he asked anxiously. "I wanted to consult you about the designs and such, but then I decided that I wanted it all to be a surprise, and then I figured you could choose the colors of the curtains and the like, and-"

"Tarrant," she prompted softly.

"-Thank you." Squeezing her hand, he drew her forward. "Come see the inside!"

The front door opened soundlessly when Tarrant turned the knob. He motioned for her to precede him, following anxiously behind her as she stepped inside.

From the outside, Alice had expected the house to have a pretty basic layout. But she was immensely surprised when she saw the inside (though really she shouldn't have been, since things in Underland were done a little or a lot differently then Otherland). The entryway was open and airy, opening at the end into an equally spacious common room. Large windows offered a beautiful view of a garden and small pond in the back, and she could just see the tip of one of Marmoreal's towers over the trees.

Turning back the way she'd come, Alice found entrances to the kitchen and a dining room, which was small enough to be informal, but large enough to double as a formal when needed. Then she saw what she had missed before - a staircase curving along the wall to lead to an upper floor that she could see part of through the unfinished ceiling. "It's all beautiful," she said. And it was true. Granted, the house was much smaller than the one she'd lived in with her mother, but it was her and Tarrant's future home. And as long as he was with her, she would live in a dank and leaky cave and be happy.

Wrapping a gentle arm around her shoulders, he gazed down at her hopefully. "You really like it, then?" he asked anxiously. "I had to make a whole lot of people Promise not to tell you."

"How many know about this?" Alice asked, her eyes wide.

Tarrant grinned sheepishly. "At least I was able to keep the secret from you, luv. That's what's most important." He leaned in for a kiss, which Alice happily gave him. "It should be finished soon. And then we can move in whenever you're ready."

Alice looked around the interior of her and Tarrant's future home and smiled. She could hardly wait!

*~One Year Later - Underland Time~*

The sound of snipping scissors and Tarrant's humming provided the perfect background noises as Alice pulled another sheet of parchment towards her and gazed thoughtfully at it. The quill pen in her hands idly spun between her fingers as she read over the precise calligraphy, deciding whether the offered trading agreement would be best beneficial to both parties, or just one.

Alice hadn't had to go to Mirana after all - the White Queen had come to her. Since she knew that Alice had been involved in a trading company in Otherland, she had wondered if her Champion would be interested in taking up a similar post in Underland. At first she was hesitant, unsure of how similar things were in Otherland and Underland. She didn't want to completely destroy relations between Marmoreal and somewhere else because she was doing things the wrong way.

McTwisp, who had (among many other things) been wearing the mantle of Trader, was more than happy to teach Alice the ins and outs simply in gratitude for her taking over one of his less-enjoyable jobs. So, within a few months, she was in charge of brokering several very important trading deals with Marmoreal's neighboring lands. The fact that she was able to have a desk installed in Tarrant's workshop only sweetened the deal, especially considering the fact that she was able to work at home. Given her current condition… Despite the fact that Marmoreal was close to their home, Alice wasn't exactly in a shape to walk the distance.

As if in response to that thought, the tiny stirrings that had been present since she woke turned into a great punch-kick that made her grunt in surprise.

"Alice?" Tarrant was there immediately, wide eyes focused on her ever-expanding waistline. "Are you all right?"

Smiling reassuringly, she took one of his hands and rested it next to hers so they could feel their baby moving. "I'm fine. Baby's just active today." Everyone, it seemed, had an opinion on whether the child would be a boy or girl and which parent he or she would favor, but Alice and Tarrant were just hoping for a healthy child.

Kneeling next to Alice's chair, Tarrant leaned forward and rested his head on his wife's stomach. He started whispering something, and though Alice couldn't hear what he was saying, it still made her smile. He often carried on one-sided conversations with their baby, and recently she felt their child move in reaction, trying to get closer to the Voice the baby recognized as his or her father's. Alice had had her fair share of talking to the little Hightopp, and could often be found singing, as well.

With one hand on her stomach next to Tarrant's, her other twined in her husband's hair, their baby contentedly moving within her, and friends everywhere, Alice closed her eyes in bliss and lifted her face to the sunlight streaming in the window above her desk. Could life get much better…?

Bang bang bang!

The sudden and urgent knocking on the closed door to the workshop made Alice jump. Almost before she could blink Tarrant was standing up, standing protectively between her and the door. Motioning for her to stay back, he went to the door and slid it open.

McTwisp burst in, breathing hard, ears twitching nervously as he gazed between Tarrant, whose eyes had gone an angry orange, and Alice, who was still staring in surprise. "Forgive me for intruding," the White Rabbit said, "but I come with most important news!"

"Importan' enough tae come bargin' in an' nearly scarin' me missus tae death?" Tarrant demanded.

Nivens cowered a bit. "It - my news - comes straight from the Queen," he whispered. He nervously wrung his paws together, gaze darting between Alice and Hatter.

"Come closer, McTwisp," Alice invited, holding out her hand. A quick look up at her husband showed him looking sheepish as he went back over to his hats, and he mouthed an apology to her for his outburst.

Eager to concentrate on the seemingly friendlier of the two, McTwisp patted her hand with his paw and looked a little less apt to faint at any moment. "The White Queen sent me to tell you that we have discovered another way back Up There," he said proudly. "We have a Looking Glass in Marmoreal that connects with Otherland!"

Alice felt a smile stretch her lips as excitement bubbled up within her. "Really?" she asked. She looked up towards Tarrant, but when she saw him the smile slid right off her face.

His shoulders were stiff, clothes faded, his movements clipped and even more precise than usual. As she watched his eyes, she saw them flash from color to color, never settling on one for more than a second at a time. "Thank you, McTwisp," she said. "And tell the White Queen I'm thankful for the news, and shall see her tomorrow for tea."

Offering a quick bow, Nivens glanced nervously in Hatter's direction before beating a hasty retreat.

Rising from her chair, Alice smoothed down her skirt and moved over to Tarrant's worktable. Reaching out, she rested her hand on his arm. "Tarrant," she said softly.

"Ah won't blame ye for wantin' tae go back home, ye know," he said. "Ye maun miss ye family somethin' horrible." He didn't even look at her.

"Tarrant, I am home. I meant it when I said I will stay in Underland, and with you." Her Hatter was brave, he truly was, but sometimes it saddened Alice to know how little self-confidence he had. She knew one of his deepest fears was that he would wake up one morning and she would be gone again, and she knew she was mostly to blame for that. She'd left him twice before, after all.

He didn't say anything. He kept working, seeming completely focused on whatever he was thinking as his hands continued their task by rote. This continued for a while, until he nicked himself with his scissors. He cursed loudly in Outlandish, scissors and various other instruments scattering as he cradled his injured hand with the other.

Alice caught his hand in hers, holding firm when he tried to pull away. Even after all this time he was still wary of her paying too much attention to his hands, but she never let him pull away from her, even when he got into one of these moods. Firmly keeping hold of him, she led him to the washbasin in the corner that she'd had installed for just such instances. Tarrant finally deflated, standing quietly as she cared for his hands as she had so many times before.

When she'd finished, she immediately wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest. "I know what you're going to say," she said. "And you're not selfish. You're anything but. You might want me to stay in Underland, but I want to stay, too. Now that the way back to Otherland is open again, I can send Mother and Margaret letters. They're sure to be wondering how I'm doing. So I will pen a missive, and McTwisp can take it Above and deliver it. And hopefully they'll send me one back, and it can continue as such. And then, maybe, after our baby is born - I might go Up There to visit, if it's possible, but I won't go to stay. I promise. My home is here now."

Tarrant finally wrapped one arm around her waist, the other around her shoulders, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She felt him smile, and the last of the tension ease out of him, and sighed softly in relief.

Now her life was perfect.

~To Be Concluded~

So there's only the epilogue left after this one. I promise that all remaining questions will be answered in it! And one tiny tidbit of interesting information - while on vacation I actually drove down a Teapot Lane, and it delighted me so much and sounded so Underland-esque that I couldn't resist working it into the story! Thank you all so much for being so patient with me for this late update, and I hope you enjoyed it! The epilogue should be up much sooner, I promise.