Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D

A/N: To make up both for writer's block and taking forever on an update, I've made this chap quite long making up for lost time. Enjoy!


Chapter 29: What's Your Vice?

"Hello?" Abby asked answering her phone.

It was Jack.

"What did you do this time?"

Becker sat and watched briefly puzzled as Abby talked on the phone.

"Nothing. Just—checking up on you." Jack replied.

"Uh-huh." Abby retorted suspiciously.

"How's Connor?" Jack suddenly asked.

Abby froze briefly before answering.

"He's out of the country on business."

"Still? He's been gone awhile, Abby."

"Yeah, still." Abby answered irritated.

Jack went to say something else when Abby cut him off.

"Look, I'm at work, I've really got to go."

"I'll talk to you later then, yeah?"

"Sure." Abby responded before hanging up on her baby brother.

"Jack?" Becker guessed, recalling her brother's escapade into the future.

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just—just leave it." Abby said before standing and walking off.


The next day, Abby went to find Sarah, who was hard at work on her secret project in her office.

"Abby, how are you?" Sarah asked, looking up from the device.

"Alright, you?" Abby answered, closing the door behind her.

"A bit tired, I suppose," She shrugged. "But I'm hoping for some sign of progress."

Abby leaned against the door, lightly wringing her hands.

"Becker asked me to marry him." She stated quietly.

"Did you tell him no again?" Sarah inquired as she fiddled with some wires.

"I asked him if I could have some time to think about it and think things through." Abby admitted. "I'm—I'm not really sure what to do."

Sarah set down the device and sighed from exhaustion before looking up at Abby.

"Abby, I think, maybe, you—should do what's right for you. What makes you happy."

Abby nodded.

"Thanks, Sarah."

Sarah smiled, it was obvious how much she'd been working from the dark circles under her eyes. "No problem."


Mad March continued his leading of the posse through the forest. He was trailing Alistair at a distance, hoping he would lead them straight to Hatter.

Then, it occurred to him that he could create some sort of game out of this.

A race of sorts.

He found himself growing tired of leading so many imbeciles around the woods, looking for two people and a ring.

This was a job he could do on his own.

He could kill them all here and now if he wanted to.

But he was hoping something was in this for him when Hatter and Alice and the ring were recovered.

Something like, a proper head for himself.

He could hear the Ten of Clubs trying to engage him in conversation once more, faintly; but paid him no mind.

What was now feeding his curiosity was the question of who exactly was helping Hatter and Alice?

Surely, Hatter would be dead by now, or at the very least paralytic from the poison.

From what Mad March recalled, Hatter was one to run through emotions faster than anyone in Wonderland, without ever touching the tea in the shop. The tea in the palace was an unrelated event in the case of this poison.


Alice shook thoughts of giving the posse what they wanted. There was no guarantee that they would play fair or that Charlie would make it safely anywhere to get Hatter the assistance he needed. On the other hand, she was still unsure that Jack was even still alive.

She quickly threw the thought away.

Of course, Jack was still alive! He had to be. He just needed to hold on a bit longer for her to buy some more time to figure things out to save him and Hatter.

But she barely knew the man.

She glanced over at where Hatter lay in his feverish state.

She didn't know him well enough; but she did know that without her help he may very well die out here just because he tried to help her.

There was another matter at hand that she needed to figure out: the ring.

She needed to hide it somewhere for the time being.

But where?


Alice, Charlie, and Hatter departed at first light; dismantling camp and any evidence that they had ever been there.

It was a fairly silent ride, as they kept their eyes on the trees and their ears alert. By midday, they came upon a tall building that looked as it were part hotel, part clock tower.

"Charlie, are you sure this is the place?" Alice asked skeptically.

"My Nan never told a lie." He spoke defensively. "She said they called this the Hospital of Dreams."

"It looks abandoned." Alice noted as she climbed off of her horse.

"'Tis only a cover. There are healers, and what have you inside that know a far great deal of medicine than I." He explained as he helped Alice get Hatter off the horse and get inside the building."


They were taken to a room with a stretch of beds in it, only a handful occupied. Alice and Charlie stood at the foot of the bed, while Hatter continued to breathe heavily in his unconscious state.

Hatter started mumbling and Alice moved to the side of the bed.

"I think he's waking up." She smiled.

"Where are we?" He asked, surprised by how dry his throat was.

"Somewhere where we're hoping to get you help." Alice responded.

Hatter's eyes shot open as he sat up and looked around, a horrified expression covering his face.

"No. Nononono. We can't be here." He hissed.

"Why not?" Alice questioned.

"This is the Hospital of Dreams."

"And?"

Hatter began to breathe heavily once more before passing out.


Sometime later, as the sun began to lower in the sky, a man dressed in dingy clothes and an odd green coat that draped behind him as he walked approached Alice, Charlie, and Hatter.

"I've heard they're looking for you." He greeted, speaking to Alice.

"Both of us." Alice gestured to Hatter and herself. "How did you know that?"

"One cannot lead the people of Wonderland through struggles of hope without hearing something of the Queen's latest quests." He replied.

He walked over to Hatter's bedside.

"Do you know what's wrong with him? Can you help him?" She asked, urgently; unsure of how much time they may or may not have lost in their run from the posse.

"He's been contaminated by a very special type of poison. One that is affected and triggered by emotions." The man explained.

"Which means?"

"Any and every emotion this man feels can either save his life or end it." He replied.

"Is there any emotions that are stronger than others that have caused him to get this sick?" Alice asked, glancing at Hatter, who was still out.

The man shook his head. "Emotions are very tricky. You never know how they react. The emotions causing his dilemma could be being triggered by anything from remorse, anger, hatred, revenge, love."

Alice noticed his emphasis on the final word, but brushed it off.

"But there is a cure, right?" Alice asked urgently.

"It will take some time to find, but there is a cure."

"You said you knew we were on the run." Alice retorted. "Time isn't exactly on our side at the moment."

"Time is not on his side, either; but he is willing to wait." The man gestured to Hatter before taking his leave.


It was going on eight before Danny decided he had had enough of procrastinating his paperwork for the week. He grabbed his coat and headed for Sarah's office to see if she was still in before he headed off for the night.

He knocked on the door, but received no answer.

He opened the door to find Sarah asleep, head on her desk, holding the half put together detector in one hand and a screwdriver in her other hand which she was moving around in her sleep as if she were working.

Danny moved into the room and took both things out of Sarah's hands, startling her.

"Danny." She said surprised, before running her hands over her face. "I must have—dozed off or something."

"I think you are in need of a break, Sarah. You've been working for three days straight."

Sarah ran her hands over her face once more, rubbing her eyes this time.

"Am I—am I losing it?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked quietly.

"I'm afraid I must be seeing things." She admitted. "That blip on the detector that I saw; the anomaly across the pond. Maybe it was all in my head?"

Danny put his hands on her shoulders. "You saw something, Sarah. I'm pretty sure if anyone would lose their mind here fist, it would probably be Lester."

Sarah gave a small laugh.

"Don't worry, we'll figure this thing out. In the meantime, I think we've both earned a good night's rest."


Abby went home to her own flat that night to feed Rex and take up Sarah's advice and reflect on the past few years.

No one had heard anything about or from Connor in roughly five years; and while Abby had been duly ready to wait for his return in the beginning, she was now finding her own hope of his return dwindling.

She half-wondered how Cutter had gotten through eight years waiting and hoping Helen had still been alive before he had found out what she had become.

Connor would never turn against them. That's the hope she now kept.

Her mind turned to Becker.

She had been with him now for a majority of the five years and he had offered to marry her twice now.

She loved Becker, she truly did. Becker loved her as well. He had always gone out of his way to look after her and comfort her. Despite their ups and downs, it really didn't seem all that bad being with him.

Maybe this was her was out from worrying anymore.

Maybe this was her shot at happiness.

Abby found herself wondering if maybe the time now came to move on.


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