A/N: Sorry for the wait, I was out of town for a couple of days…I hope this is worth it for you. To my kind reviewers, I absolutely cannot thank you enough for telling me what you think...in written form…as a review. Thank you!

Chapter 46

Hatter lay in bed awake long after Alice had fallen asleep, thinking. He couldn't still the turmoil in his mind, but for once the thoughts that chased themselves around in circles were mostly good ones. Alice had explained that it would likely be a couple of weeks before the inheritance money would be accessible, but once it was they could get a lawyer and make the purchase of the tea shop official. Alice had finally admitted to him that after the purchase of the shop, her inheritance would be mostly gone. They would have to live off of what they earned, but Hatter was confident that he could bring in at least enough to live off.

Hatter was glad to have Alice as a business partner although he didn't like the idea of what might happen if the business went under; failure was not an option. He hoped that this was a sign that she'd agree to be his partner in life as well; and now that money wasn't going to be as much of a concern, he would be able to buy Alice's ring. He was a strange mixture of excited and terrified now that his timeline for asking her had moved up.

Now he just had to figure out how he could make it to the jeweler's without Alice. He'd seen the ring in passing, but he'd been with Alice, so he had noted the store's location so he could come back and look at his leisure. He knew as soon as he saw it that it was for Alice. It was delicate but bold, much like Alice. It couldn't be more different from the Stone of Wonderland, and that was a deliberate chioce on his part. So too was the fact that there was no possible way that this ring could be mistaken for anything other than what it was. It looked like an engagement ring.

He stroked her hair absently as he planned how to ask her, played it out in his head. He imagined her accepting, happy. She'd smile and kiss him senseless. Life was never that simple, or that easy, but he wanted to pretend. He wanted to imagine that she'd be as excited with the prospect of marrying him as he was about marrying her. Exhaustion overcame him finally, and he slept and dreamt of Alice.

Hatter woke at the sound of the whistle on the tea kettle. Alice was up already, and by the sounds of it, she was trying to give him a not so subtle wake-up call. He shambled into the kitchen after a few moments and took the proffered cup of tea from Alice. He sipped at his tea, tried to shake off the lethargy that came from not enough sleep.

"Are you going to my morning class today?" Alice asked hopefully.

Hatter groaned at the thought of movement so soon after waking up. He'd forgotten that he promised to start back at the dojo this week. No wonder she had been trying to wake him up; if he was to go, it would have to be the morning class. At least he had got out of bed before she resorted to stealing his blankets. Alice could be right brutal. He stole a sidewise glance at her, saw the hope there and caved. He nodded, not up to actual speech as of yet. She planted a kiss on his cheek and patted his ass before flouncing into the other room, leaving him alone to finish his tea.

Alice wandered back into the kitchen after Hatter had time to become a little more human. She had found that avoiding him first thing in the morning was prudent for both of them. He was not a lot of fun to be around before he was fully awake. Hatter was standing in the middle of the kitchen scratching the back of his head as he looked through the cupboards. He saw her come in and smiled, just a brief twist of his lips but he was obviously more awake. She looked up and down the line of his body, happy that he had a tendency to wander around shirtless in the mornings; his smile broadened as he noticed her appraisal.

"Do you fancy flapjacks?" he asked.

Alice shrugged, "Sure. You know, I can just eat a bowl of cereal. You don't need to cook all the time."

Hatter shot her a disgusted look, "Cereal? No. Just…no. I like to…okay?"

Alice smiled slyly, "And what's wrong with cereal? I have eaten cereal most mornings of my life," she argued.

Hatter laughed, "You didn't have me around then, did 'ya? No need to suffer any longer. I am here to tend to all of your needs properly."

Alice snorted, but collapsed into laughter at his lecherous words, and accepted his rationale. She watched him gather oats, golden syrup (she'd never heard of it, but he was very excited to find it on the last trip to the grocers'), brown sugar and butter. She watched, curious, as he assembled something similar to rice krispy treats, but with oats.

"I thought you said flapjacks?" she asked, watching him press the sugary mixture into a baking dish.

"Yep," he answered.

"I guess your flapjacks are different than ours," she mused.

When she bit into the crunchy, chewy concoction she was impressed. It didn't look like much, but tasted like heaven. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty about eating something this sugar laden for breakfast, but it was wonderful.

"You have got to sell these in the tea shop," Alice insisted.

Hatter gave her one of his blinding grins, and nodded, "I wanted you to know what it should taste like. I want to go look at those bakeries you found tomorrow and try them out. You've already tasted a proper scone… If we find what we need, we can start serving a small amount of tea biscuits, scones, cakes… maybe next week."

Alice smiled at his enthusiasm, "Okay. We'll do that, but hurry up and eat. You have a class to go to, and I hear the instructor isn't tolerant of students walking in late."

Hatter hurried back to his flat after getting out of class at the dojo for a quick shower before work. Alice had cut him absolutely no slack during class, and he was already sore, tired, and soaked in sweat… and not in the way he usually preferred to be when Alice was involved. He wouldn't get to see her for quite a few hours; Alice was going to pick up Carol at the airport after she was done teaching her early evening class, and then she said she'd stop in at the tea shop to help out until closing.

Hatter's shop was busy that evening. The new layout was proving popular, and customers kept asking about what else he had planned. They had responded enthusiastically, so far. When he relieved James from the morning shift, he had asked him if he could come back by and watch the shop for an hour while Hatter popped out to go ring shopping. To his relief, James had agreed, and had seemed genuinely happy for him.

Hatter had confided that he wasn't sure if Alice would accept, but James had laughed at his concerns. James assured him that every man worried about that, but he'd seen the way Alice looked at him, and he shouldn't worry. James didn't seem to bear any grudge about what had happened with his niece, to Hatter's relief. He had greeted him warmly and had even clapped him on the shoulder in congratulations when he brought up ring shopping.

Hatter was hesitant to leave James with such a busy crowd, but he made sure to take care of everything he could to make it easier on him. James waved him off as he took over, so Hatter made the most use of his time and left.

He was in luck, not only were the rings in stock, but they were in Alice's size. His would have to be sized to fit, but that was the least of his concerns. He had the ring. He studied it; he thought the white gold would look beautiful against Alice's skin, and the delicate modern swirling design on the delicate band would set off her long thin fingers without overwhelming her small hands. The square cut center stone sparkled beautifully, and the small sapphire accent stones matched her eyes perfectly; Alice loved blue. He secured it in the inside pocket of his jacket and hurried back to the shop.

He showed James the rings, proud and terrified and anxious to know if he had chosen well. James reassured him, as did several nosy customers that couldn't resist looking when a man was brandishing a ring box nervously. He swore them all to secrecy, and then secured the ring back inside his jacket. He debated putting it in the safe, but he was afraid Alice would see it when they closed up for the evening.

Hatter was busy at the shop, but as nervous as he was at the prospect of asking Alice to marry him, he was grateful for the distraction. He attempted to focus and put it out of his mind completely. Hatter had waited this long, a little longer wouldn't kill him. He blended a special tea for Alice; this one was not for the menu. He worked on it all evening, struggling to get it perfect. It had to be perfect.

Alice hated driving her mother's car, but her mother had asked her to bring her car to her when she picked her up at the airport, so she acquiesced. She had missed her mom, they were close…sometimes more like friends than mother and daughter. They had been through so much, just the two of them. Alice had planned to spend some time with Carol this evening, and it had started well. They made hot cocoa, talked about what Alice had been up to, discussed all Carol had to do with securing Helen's estate, discussed how long Carol would be back in town before she was on the road again… and then Alice dropped the bombshell on her plans for the money she had inherited.

Carol had been relatively supportive of her moving in with Hatter, or at least, not openly disapproving. She was not so supportive of the idea of Alice investing her inheritance in her boyfriend's business. Hatter wasn't even a long-term boyfriend, and Carol was convinced her level-headed daughter was making an uncharacteristically irresponsible decision. She liked Hatter; she thought he was good for her, but they were moving way too fast for her comfort. Carol desperately racked her brain for something she could say to convince Alice that it would be a mistake to sink all her money into the tea shop.

Alice understood her mother's reservations, but she wasn't going to change her mind. Hatter was here to stay, despite what her mother may believe, and she wasn't afraid of investing in their future together. She thought that her mother genuinely liked Hatter, but this was simply too much too soon for her to accept. She had stormed out when Carol had told her that Hatter was likely to leave her after he cleaned her out.

Carol regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Alice had enough abandonment issues without her suggesting that her current boyfriend would leave her, too. It was unfair to Alice, and unfair to Hatter. He had made her happier than anyone ever had, and it was blatantly obvious that he was completely devoted to her. Carol didn't believe Hatter could do anything to hurt Alice… but at the same time, she didn't want Alice to take the chance, not with her future.

Alice entered the tea shop, her eyes searching for her Hatter. He looked up from the customer he was with and knew something was amiss. He broke off his explanation of how to properly steep the tea that the man was paying ten dollars an ounce for with a promise he would be back shortly. His brow furrowed in concern, he led her around the corner in back out of view of the customers. He ran his hands up and down her arms soothingly.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Alice clenched her jaw and just shook her head, "Later, okay?"

He tilted his head at her, confused, and then tried to pull her into a hug. Alice stepped back, her hands on his chest to push him away. Stung, he let go of her arms and took at step back.

"Did I do somethin?" he asked, the surge of hurt thickening his accent and slurring his words.

Alice sighed, feeling terrible. Now she had both of the people she loved most in life angry at her. At least she could do something about one of them.

"No. But if you hug me, I'm going to lose it. I'd rather be pissed off than hurt right now," Alice explained.

Hatter's expression cleared after he took a moment to mentally translate the expression. He nodded, understanding completely. He raised an eyebrow and looked her square in the eyes, "Okay. But later, you'll tell me, yeah? Promise?" he demanded.

"Yes. I'll tell you everything," she agreed, "But right now I'd just like a nice cup of your most calming tea."

He seated her in her customary spot (he'd left it unchanged because it was Alice's spot); after a quick appraising glance that reminded Alice entirely too much of the one he had given Ratty in his tea shop, he decided on Softly Warm. He deposited in front of her with a nod, confident in his choice. She accepted it gratefully and settled in to watch the show.

Hatter was entertaining as hell in his shop owner persona, and she couldn't help being a little charmed by it also, even knowing that it was all a put on. She noticed him watching her, and she gave him a small reassuring smile. She felt better already, sipping Hatter's special tea, watching him, just being in Hatter's… no… their tea shop.

Alice was upset, and Hatter was driving himself mad with worry about what the problem could be. He thought it must have something to do with her picking her mother up from the airport, but he was at a loss to what could possibly be the problem in that. Unless… unless she had told her mother about buying the tea shop. He cast another glance at Alice, relieved to see her attempt to smile at him. He started thinking he might be wise to spend less time worrying about Alice's reaction to his proposal and more time worrying about her mother's. Tonight would definitely not be the best night, but soon, he promised himself.

Hatter started going through the routine of locking up for the night. He told Alice that he would finish up on his own if she wanted to go upstairs. She had snorted derisively and went to grab the broom. She had barely begun sweeping the floor when the conversation with her mother tumbled out of her in short angry bursts. Hatter was afraid she might break the broom with the violence of her motions; he thought she might be working on gouging the concrete.

Hatter allowed her to vent without interrupting, knowing she needed to get the words out. He also knew that she was more hurt than anything else… she had hoped her mother would just believe in her. He didn't let any of Carol's words bother him until Alice disclosed that Carol had said he would leave Alice after he stole all her money. He had frozen where he stood as a wave of fury rolled through him. He clenched his jaw so hard that it hurt, balled his hands into tight fists and shook in anger.

"How dare she play off of your fears like that," he growled, his voice low and dangerous.

Alice went to him; her own anger forgotten as she noted how much her mother's words had affected him. She touched his cheek, tried to get him to look at her, "Hatter… I don't think that. I don't think she does either… she's just…" Alice trailed off.

She didn't know why she was trying to defend her mother, either. That had been a low blow, and it was stupid of Alice to even mention it to Hatter. She'd had such a hard time convincing him that it was okay to accept her help, and then her mother made a jab like that and she had been dumb enough to relay it to him. Hatter looked down at her finally; immediately his expression softened. He pulled her into a hug, and this time Alice allowed it. She didn't know which one of them needed it more.

"She doesn't mean it," Alice whispered against his chest.

"I know, love. She's just trying to protect you. You know I would just as soon cut out my own heart as I would hurt you. I'll never leave. Never," he promised.

She hugged him tighter, "I know it."

She did know it, but she couldn't help understanding her mother's point of view. They had moved fast, "We haven't been together very long. I'm sure she doesn't think you would ever do that to me, but you have got to admit that it seems crazy."

Hatter tensed, "Do you think that?" he asked, his voice strained.

She pulled away from him to look into his face. She saw the fear behind his eyes and wondered what had put it there, "No. Not anymore," she admitted.

He relaxed slightly against her, "So what changed your mind?"

Alice thought about it, tried to pinpoint exactly what it was that had changed her way of thinking. She shrugged, but attempted to put it into words for Hatter, sensing that he needed to hear it, "Well, you did," she answered with a shy smile.

He smiled slightly in return, but she didn't believe he was convinced.

"Hatter… what we have gone through together in such a short time is more than most people would ever experience in a lifetime. You sacrificed your home to be with me, you put your life on the line over and over again to protect me… and more than that… I love you. Completely and utterly with my whole heart. I know I tried to run away from us before… but I'm done with that."

Hatter's arms tightened around her; he bent to give her a soft kiss, "Good," he whispered, before kissing her more deeply.

Hatter's heart leapt in his chest. Maybe he could ask her… maybe she'd even say yes! He took a deep breath, reaching down for every ounce of courage he could muster. He released her and moved back slightly, giving himself room to drop to one knee.

Alice's phone rang, and it was her mother. He ground his teeth and sighed in resignation. It seemed he was cursed with interruptions at inopportune times. Alice had sunk into one of the lounge chairs, and by the sound of it, she would be conversing with her mum for a while. Hatter shrugged to himself and finished locking up the shop. Later… he promised himself.

A/N: The links to "the rings" are on my profile page, at the bottom. I think they are very much Alice/Hatter. The pattern reminds me of paisleys :)

Oh, I know…I can hear you from here. Damn interruptions, eh?

I hope you like this…please tell me what you think so my muse stays well fed and productive?

Side note: I finally published my Primeval one-shot, and an M rated one is next on the docket. I started putting story updates on my profile, so if you want to see what/when I have planned…by the way, also a link to season 4 Connor pics there (by popular demand.)