Alice and What Came After

Disclaimer: Nothing except my shiny new copy of Alice on DVD! Yay!

Chapter Twenty-eight: Behind Bars

Alice drummed her fingers on the top of the tiny table in Hatter's kitchen. Her lukewarm cup of tea sat, untouched, a few inches from her hand. Another cup sat across from her, just as cold as her own. Hatter's cup.

The kettle was still on the stove burner.

Where the hell are you, Hatter?

*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in the police station, Hatter glared at his interrogator. "Don't I get a phone call?"

"What for?"

"Isn't it a… right?"

"If you were an American citizen, yes, but you're not, are you? You're some kind of weird foreign drug dealer."

"I'm not a drug dealer! It's just tea. Really!"

The cop banged his fist on the table, making Hatter jump. "And a man is just dead. By your hand."

"I didn't kill anyone!"

"Then why were you there?"

"I came to get groceries for dinner. I was trying to check out when they came in."

"Who? Your friends?"

"No," Hatter snapped, getting rather pensive. "The kids. Hoodlums. They had the guns."

The cop didn't look at all impressed at his sudden memory. "Uh huh…"

"They were the robbers… not me. They shot that man."

"And what? Magically disappeared?"

"Yes!"

The cop closed his folder. "You know what, Mr. Hatter? I've had enough of your lies for one night. Take him to his cell."

"Wait!" Hatter pleaded. "I just need to make a call. One call."

"No."

"Fine… you do it!"

"Why should I?"

"She'll help straighten this whole mess out. She knows me. She's my wife, sorta."

"Fine. What's the number?"

Hatter rattled off Alice's phone number before another guard hauled him off to a jail cell where at least six other men sat, some reeking of drugs, and others just, well, reeking. Even Ratty smelled better than most of these guys.

"Look at what the cat dragged in," one of the men remarked. "He's a little one, isn't he?"

"Look at that shirt. Who do ya think you are?" another inmate joked.

Hatter straightened his bold shirt and jacket without a response. He'd kill to have his hat back right around now.

"Some kinda of odd homo that one is. Is he a girl?"

"How would I know? Why don't you go take a peek?" the second inmate taunted.

"Not my type. Lace is for the ladies…"

"He sure looks like a lady. Wonder if he's ever been with a girl."

"Nah, not likely. She'd have to be one ugly bitch…"

"Oi!" Hatter finally spoke up. "You can talk about me all you bloody want, but don't you dare talk about her like that!"

"Ooohh," three or four of his fellow cellmates chimed in. "Homo's got a girlfriend… or is it a boyfriend?"

"I am not a homo."

His right hand curled into a fist. He was used to being insulted—he was related to the Mad Hatter for cripe's sake—but he wouldn't stand having Alice insulted, even if it was by this motley crew of drunks and druggies.

"Takes one to know one," the first man said, standing up. "You're feisty for a little one."

Hatter stood up as well, his fist at his side. "Really?"

"You might even be a fun little fuck…"

"Well, fuck this!" Hatter hissed, his right hand flying true. It slammed into the first man's face, breaking his nose with a sickening crack.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose in the cell and Hatter was caught in the center of it.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hatter?" Alice called, picking up the ringing kitchen phone. "Where are you?"

"Who is this?" a man, not Hatter, asked on the other end.

"You first."

"This is Detective Lester of the NYPD. I was given this number by a…" Alice heard the rustling of paper, "David Hatter?"

"Is he okay?"

"That depends. Who are you, miss?"

"Alice… Alice Hamilton. Hatter's my fiancée. What's wrong?"

The detective cleared his throat on the other end. "I'm sorry, Miss Hamilton, but Mr. Hatter is under arrest for murder."

"Murder?" Hatter's never killed anyone, well, not on this side of the Glass…

"Yes. He shot and killed a store clerk earlier this evening. He's been babbling nonsense ever since and was found with an unregistered firearm and no permit. Not to mention the drugs in his pocket…"

"Drugs?"

"Yes. Pot and cocaine from the looks of it."

"Have you, um, smelled the pot?" Alice asked, frowning. Hatter didn't do drugs—let alone carry them.

"Are you implying that I'm high, Miss Hamilton?"

"No, no, of course not. It's just… Hatter sometimes carries tea leaves in his pocket. He loves tea."

"The lab will find out."

She closed her eyes, biting her lip. "Can I see him?"

"Visitor's hours are over for the day."

"But—"

"I will see you at eleven o' clock tomorrow. Please bring a photo id and any id that Mr. Hatter has." He rattled off the station's address. "Sleep well, Miss Hamilton."

The line went dead in Alice's hand. She sank back into her seat.

Oh, God, Hatter, what have you done?

She stayed at the table, paralyzed with the news of Hatter's arrest. He couldn't have killed someone—could he? Not when they were about to have two kids. He wasn't the type to bail on her. That wasn't Hatter. He'd just leased a beautiful new apartment for them.

Something was wrong.

Alice struggled to her feet. She wasn't going to stay in this tiny flat all night waiting for Hatter to come home or for eleven o' clock to roll around. She was going to take action.

She packed a light bag with a few outfits for herself and a change of clothes for Hatter. She grabbed one of his favorite hats and deposited on her head. Even if she couldn't get in the police station to see Hatter, she wasn't about to leave without Hatter.

Alice switched into a nice pair of jeans and a loose-fitting top that matched the blue in her ring and eyes. Hatter's old coat went over the short-sleeve top for warmth. She was ready to rescue the man she loved from jail. Or at least find out what the hell was going on.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mr. Hatter, you seem to be quite the troublemaker," Lester said after the fight in the cell was broken up. Some of the men were taken to a medical wing and Hatter was pulled out of the cell and put in a smaller one without any medical treatment despite a black eye and a few cuts.

"They started it."

"I'm sure they did. Now… I spoke to Miss Hamilton—"

"Alice. You talked to Alice?" Hatter straightened up. "Where is she?"

"She will be by in the morning. Provided there are no more incidents tonight, there is a chance that you might be up for arraignment tomorrow. But we'll see… the docket is rather full…"

"Can I see Alice?"

"Not now."

"Where is she? I need to see Alice!"

Hatter brought his fist down, bending the metal bench he was sitting on. Lester eyed him suspiciously.

"Miss Hamilton will be by in the morning."

"That's not good enough!"

"Too bad." Lester headed to the cell door, waiting for it to slide open and then close.

Hatter lunged at the bars as the door shut on him. "ALICE! ALICE!" he shouted.

Lester turned around. "Go ahead. Dig yourself a deep hole, Mr. Hatter. As it is, by the time you see Miss Hamilton again, she'll have white hair and be using a cane to get around."

Hatter spat in the face of the cop.

Lester waited a moment before wiping it off. "That's assaulting a police officer, Mr. Hatter. Do you know what that means?"

"Only that you're a wanker."

"Very funny. Keep it up, Mr. Hatter. I might just throw away the key to your cell."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Alice strode into the police station with her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She went right up to the receptionist's bulletproof window. The receptionist looked up, looking more than bit bored.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I need to see David Hatter."

"I'm sorry?"

"David Hatter. I got a phone call from Mr. Lester that he'd been arrested? He's only a couple inches taller than me, dark hair, and he was probably wearing a hat."

"Oh that one…"

"Is he okay? Where is he?"

"Honey, your friend is in a lot of trouble. Murder, possession of an unregistered firearm, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, not to mention assaulting most of the guys he was stuck with."

"He's not my friend."

"Good for you. I suggest you just go on home…"

"He's my fiancé."

The receptionist looked like she'd swallowed a sour grape. "Oh."

"Please, just let me see him. I need to see him. You see… I'm pregnant and he's very protective of me. I need to see him…"

"Listen… I would love to help you."

"Please…?" Alice begged. "Just for a moment."

The receptionist sighed and pressed a buzzer. Alice gave her a grateful smile and hurried through the door.

"Now… I'm going to go take my break…" the receptionist said.

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it."

The receptionist disappeared, leaving Alice to wander the halls alone. She looked for signs, peeking down the maze of hallways for glimpses of people or a cell block. It took a few minutes for her to wind her way around toward the holding cells.

"Excuse me, miss… visiting hours are over," a uniformed officer said, blocking her path.

"I know. I'm here about David Hatter."

"You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Listen… no one will tell me what's going on. What he did. I know this is some kind of mistake. Hatter's not from around here. I just want to make sure he's okay…"

"I'm sorry—"

"Please? I need to see him."

He tried to turn her around. "You need to come back tomorrow."

Alice pulled free of his hold. "No. I'm not going anywhere until I see him. HATTER? HATTER!"

In the distance, she heard what sounded like him. "ALICE?"

"HATTER!"

She brushed past the officer, the bag on her side bouncing as she ran. She dropped it a few feet from the cell. She leapt at the bars, trying to reach Hatter through them. His hat was gone, his right eye bruised, and Alice could see blood in his hair.

"Alice… you're okay…."

"I'm fine. God, what happened to you?"

Hatter pulled her as close as he could. "Don't worry about me, Alice. Are you okay? What about the babies?"

"They're fine. We're all fine. What about you? What's this about murder?"

"It wasn't me, Alice. Trust me."

"And the drugs?"

"Tea."

"Our tea or Oyster Tea?"

"Ours. Tea leaves and sugar. Alice… I'm gonna fix this."

She shook her head, her hand touching his scratchy face. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going anywhere, Hatter. I'm going to stay here with you until I can get you out. I won't leave."

"Alice…"

She leaned forward, kissing him through the bars. It was awkward, but she had her Hatter with her, even if it was for a moment.

"Miss! You can't be here!"

Alice tried to cling to Hatter as two officers appeared to pull them apart. Both of them protested, Alice's hat falling to the floor outside his cell as they were separated.

"Hatter!"

"Alice!" he called as the officers dragged her out of his sight. "Alice…"

Hatter bent down, his arm snaking out of the bars and snagging his hat. He pulled it through, holding it in his hands. Alice wore his hat. She brought him a hat.

He sniffed it, catching a whiff of Alice—her shampoo, he guessed.

Hatter's chest felt tight. How dare they drag Alice away? What were they thinking? If she broke as much as a fingernail…

He could feel the rage boiling inside him; the Madness. That was never a good sign.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Hamilton, I presume?"

An officer took a seat across from her.

"And you must be Lester."

"Correct. I thought I made it clear that you were not to come here until tomorrow morning?"

"I needed to see Hatter."

He smacked his file down on the table top between them. "I'm afraid that's out of the question. Mr. Hatter is a dangerous individual."

"You've got the wrong man. Hatter didn't kill anyone. He doesn't deal drugs. He's not a pimp. He's a good man."

"That's what the girlfriends always say…" Lester muttered.

"I'm not his girlfriend. I'm his fiancée. We're getting married in March. We're going to have kids. Twins. He couldn't do what you're accusing him of."

"Really? Then why was he wearing body armor?"

Alice paused. She hadn't known Hatter had gone back to his old habits. It was rather touching actually. He was wearing it for her—to make sure he stayed alive.

"He was shot not too long ago. I didn't know he was wearing it."

Lester consulted his file again. "Was there a police report filed?"

"I believe my mom filed one. I was out of town when he was shot."

He jotted it down.

"Can I see him?"

"No," Lester said, not even looking up. "You already saw him. Besides, he's in solitary for a reason."

"He was attacked. He was just defending himself."

"We had to send three men to the infirmary because of him and two of them had broken bones. How do you explain that, Miss Hamilton?"

"Self-defense."

"He resisted arrest and assaulted a police officer."

"It was an unlawful arrest. You've been denying him his rights."

"Miss Hamilton, he doesn't have any rights at the moment. He is not a U.S. citizen. Frankly, he doesn't exist. I ran his name through all the computers."

"He doesn't drive."

"There wasn't even a birth certificate."

"He was a home birth," Alice tried. "With a midwife."

"There are no records of him attending school."

"He was homeschooled in England."

"No tax records. No social security number," Lester rattled off.

"He worked as a volunteer. He didn't have a paying job. I don't think his parents ever applied for a social security card. They moved overseas when he was very young."

"Uh huh…"

"Look, Mr. Lester…"

"Detective Lester."

"Detective Lester," Alice tried again. "Hatter's a good guy. Really. He's odd, sure, but he wouldn't kill anyone. He doesn't like guns."

"Then why was there one in his hand?"

"He was framed?"

"Nice try, Miss Hamilton. Really, bravo. Now I suggest you go home and forget all about David Hatter."

Alice put her face in her hands for a few moments. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes. She needed to get Hatter out of there. For her sake, his sake, and their babies.

"I can't…"

"I'm sorry, but you can't stay here."

"I'm not leaving without him."

"Would you like to be arrested as well, Miss Hamilton?"

Alice glared across the table at him, hating her world and its rigors laws. Laws that were hurting them instead of helping them. Laws that said Hatter didn't exist and because he didn't exist, he was some sort of criminal and a liar. Someone they could peg as a murdering drug lord and no one else would care.

No one except Alice.

"If trying to help a wrongfully accused man is a crime, go ahead, lock me up. Hatter didn't do this. Whatever you think he did, he didn't."

"I didn't want to show you these, but this is what your precious Mr. Hatter did."

Glossy photographs slipped across the table. One of them was the cashier, punctured by multiple gun shots, his blood streaking the wall behind him. He was clearly dead, his eyes still open in surprise.

Another was a gun in a man's hand. Hatter's hand—she knew that hand anywhere, especially with his rings.

The third was Hatter, face-down on the floor, his head bleeding, and the gun in his hand.

Alice choked back a cry at the sight of him, hatless, and hurt.

Off in the corner of the shot, she could see a basket. She held the picture closer to her face, examining it.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing it out to the detective.

"A basket. So?"

"That's his. Hatter's. It had to be. That's the only kind of bagged tea he'll drink. And the rest of that—he was going to make dinner tonight. He probably got eggs and milk as well since we're out of those. And… I bet there's vitamins in there somewhere. Prenatals."

"Miss Hamilton, that basket could be anyone's."

"It's Hatter's. I know it is. The robbers must have surprised him. He tried to help the cashier. He didn't kill him."

"That's an interesting theory, but there's no evidence to support it," Lester said, almost with a smirk. "It's just hearsay."

"Then find some. I'm telling you—he didn't do this. I know he didn't."

"You know what? I've had enough nonsense from both you and Mr. Hatter tonight. I'm going home. I'll see you in the morning. Preferably with a lawyer. Good night, Miss Hamilton."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Alice slept in the interrogation room on the floor, her head propped up on her duffel bag. Down the hall and around the corner, Hatter lay wide awake on his bench. He couldn't turn his mind off or stop worrying about where they'd taken Alice.

Please be all right, Alice. Stay calm. We'll figure this out…

*~*~*~*~*~*

"You've got a visitor, Mr. Hatter," a guard said, poking him in the ribs with the toe of his boot.

Hatter jolted awake.

"Who is it?"

"You'll see. Hands where I can see 'em."

Hatter held his hands out to be cuffed again. His hat was crooked on his head, but it was there. He looked a little worse than usual, thanks to sleeping on the cold floor, but the little nap had energized him.

The guard escorted him into a small room not unlike the one he'd been in the night before. He was pushed down in a chair and secured to the table.

He sat at the table for a few moments before the door open again.

"Hatter!"

In a flash of blue and purple, Alice launched herself at him.

Her arms were around him before the guards could stop her, their lips pressed together.

"Alice…" he murmured as the guards pulled her back.

"Miss Hamilton… you need to stay over here," one of the guards said, escorting her to a chair across from Hatter.

But they were too slow. Alice had dropped something into his palm. It was thin and cool. Knowing his Alice it was a hair pin. Was she trying to arrange an escape?

*~*~ *~*~*~*

"Hatter…" she whispered, her hands sliding across the table to touch his fingertips.

"I'm okay, Alice. What about you?"

"I miss you. It doesn't sound good, Hatter. They're talking about life sentences….for felony murder."

"We'll figure a way out, Alice. We always do."

She nodded, seeing the pain in his eyes. "I know… I just… this time is different."

"Stay strong. Try not to worry about me, okay?"

"I can't do that."

"Alice, you have to. For the babies. Please…"

She stretched her hands further across the table. Their fingers caressed. "I'm going to get you out of here. Daddy knows a good lawyer."

"I trust you."

"I'm gonna get this fixed. Just… hang in there."

"Time's up, Miss Hamilton," Detective Lester said, striding into the room. "Lovely to see you again."

Alice didn't get up. "Did you look in the food basket?"

"Spoiled milk, eggs, prenatal vitamins, vegetables, fruits, a bag of flour, some chocolate, and three boxes of Twining's tea," he rattled off.

Hatter seemed to perk up at the mention of tea.

"I told you. He didn't do this."

"Actually, the store manager was able to pull camera footage. It's grainy and hard to see, but it looks like Mr. Hatter was off to the side, not in the center."

She gripped his fingers tighter. "Does that mean…"

"He fired a gun, but not the one that killed the cashier. Two hoodie-wearing kids did that. Hatter doesn't appear until the middle of the shooting. He's hit on the head and the gun forced into his hand."

Alice breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we go?"

Detective Lester looked at her then at Hatter. "Since we were only charging him with murder, that charge has been dropped. However, I'd stay in the area, Mr. Hatter. We might have more questions for you."

"Thank you!" Alice cried, rushing around to hug Hatter. "Did you hear that? You're free!"

She kissed him on the cheek, just about sitting in his lap. He looked stunned, both by the news and her kiss. Alice didn't care. He was free. He wasn't going to rot in a jail cell.

"Home…" he whispered.

"Yes, home…"

Author's Notes:

Seriously, how could Hatter not start a fight in jail? He's Hatter. Memo to Hatter—don't wear bold color clothes next time you get arrested…you look so good even the men get jealous.

I've got my copy of "Alice" mere inches from me. It's only one disc, sadly, but Hatter's on both the front and back covers and ALP is listed second in the credits. I'm not watching it until after I post this chapter and do some statistics homework.

Wooh, that was a long one. I decided to get Hatter out of jail in this chapter and move on. Yeah, the detective's not happy but he can't keep Hatter hanging around too long since he already pressed charges. But this probably won't be his only scrape with the police. He is Hatter after all.

Yes, I know I made the police rather mean in this chapter. In reality, they probably wouldn't act like this, but it's a stressful job and Hatter looked really good for it. Without Alice, he'd probably still be chilling in a jail cell.

Thanks for all the reviews! Now, go watch "Alice!"

Hattersgirl1- Thank you very much. He does have Alice and he's very lucky to have her. His little stint in jail was defiantely one of those 'wrong place, wrong time' kind of deals. There will be more about the twins coming up. ;)