Nothing Ever Hurt Like You, by James Morrison

I got my hands up to take your aim

Ya I'm ready

There's nothin' that we can't go through

Woah it hit me like a steel freight train when you left me

And nothin' ever hurt like you

Nothin' ever hurt like you

I was lying there wide-eyed, but you made me see

That you don't get to taste the honey

Without the sting of the bee, no you don't

Oh yes you stung me good, oh ya you dug in deep

But I take it, I take it, I take it 'til I'm down on my knees, on my knees

I got my hands up to take your aim

Yes I'm ready

There ain't nothing that we can't go through

Oh it hit me like a hurricane when you left me

But I'd do it all again for you

I'd walk a thousand miles on broken glass, it won't stop me

From makin' my way back to you

Hatter sat on the floor of his Tea Shop, heedless of the broken glass and smashed furniture. His ribs ached and his skin burned, but it meant nothing to him. It should have meant something. But it seemed that everything, every single thing that had ever been important to him had lost its meaning. And that infuriated him.

Dancing on the edge of a razor – that was how Hatter had learned to live his life. He had a carefully constructed life and he operated within a rigid set of rules; the Queen's rules, Dodo's rules, his own rules. The framework of his life had never been particularly sturdy, but he hadn't expected an Oyster to completely destroy it.

"Bullocks." Hatter fisted his right hand and slammed it into the floor, driving shards of glass into his knuckles. He hissed at the pain of it and watched the blood run down his hand.

For so many years he'd distanced himself from personal entanglements. He didn't let himself feel anything for anyone, because it wasn't safe. He didn't step out of bounds, because that wasn't safe either. And in just three days – three bloody days – it had all been turned on its head.

Alice. Just thinking her name made Hatter sick with emotion; too many emotions. Real emotions. He didn't like the way it felt, wished he could stop feeling anything at all. Particularly the burning acid of regret that was bubbling in his stomach.

What was it about Alice? She was just an Oyster. Just another Oyster that should have gone directly to the Casino to be farmed like all the others. But from the first moment he'd seen her there'd just been…something. A glint in her pretty blue eyes, maybe, or the way that little blue dress had clung to her curves. She'd been full of attitude from the get-go, stubborn and suspicious. He should have dumped her off on Dodo and been done.

Hatter absently picked glass out of his hand. Alice was a force of nature; she had some kind of pull that kept tugging at him. There was no other explanation for all of the stupid risks he took for her. Alice had taken down the Casino, had dethroned the Queen of Hearts, and had single handedly crashed through his defenses.

He'd go after her. There'd never been any question, really, and no amount of sitting and feeling sorry for himself was going to change that. In just three days…well, much less than that actually…he'd fallen in love with her. Hatter, who never let himself feel anything for anyone, had fallen for an Oyster. And wasn't that the laugh of the century?

"Alice," Hatter whispered. Just the sound of her name sent a tremor through his skin. He'd let her go when he wanted her to stay. He'd honestly hoped that once she was gone, all the emotions would go with her. It had been a desperate, hopeless wish.

He'd get up soon. Drag his sorry carcass back to Looking Glass Hall and do whatever needed to be done to gain passage. He would go to Alice, and say what he hadn't said. He'd do what he hadn't done – he'd kiss her and hold her tightly to him and promise never to let her go. And pray that she felt the same.

Because Hatter couldn't go on like this.