AND DREAM AWAY
Chapter 36
After everyone was gone and Rufe was walking the twins home, Alice helped me carry the glasses to the kitchen.
"What a nightmare!" Really needed that dishwasher. "Did you know Chess was coming?"
"No. I thought you invited her." She put a tray of food in the fridge and turned to look at me. "Hatter…"
"mmmm?" Pulled her into me arms for a little kiss.
"Rufe said … twenty-three years? When did you play piano in Soho?" She pushed me back to look in me eyes.
"'83, 84. something like that." Tried to pull her back, but she put her hand on me chest.
"Tell me you didn't sleep with my mom."
"I…You heard her say she met your father."
"You did!" She gasped. "You…you could be my father!"
"No, no Alice. In the first place, I was gone years before you were born and in the second place, we don't…I couldn't…. it wouldn't happen."
"You really don't remember, do you?"
"I told you there were lots of girls. Read the notebook."
"Yes, but it never dawned on me, I mean I know your age but I never put two and two together. The sheer magnitude! My… How many women have you slept with? Hundreds?"
"I dunno. Never kept count." Hundreds? Chuckled to meself.
"Ok. How about in the last year?"
I shrugged.
"The month before I came?"
Another shrug, "Alice, I ran the Tea Shop for years. There were private parties, Bacchanalia nights, select clientele. Girls who'd do anything for some Dream. Shrugged again. "We provided girls for all of it."
"And you slept with every one of them?" She looked at me in disbelief, shock.
"No. of course not!" Not every one, surely not. "I told you to read the notebook, Alice."
"Hatter…" She shook her head and turned away. "How many kids do you have, do you know that?"
"None. That I'm sure of." Needed to talk to cat.
"I told you I wasn't … wasn't good enough for you." Stood behind her and put me hands on her shoulders. "But I promise you, Alice. I promise you there won't be another one. Ever." Her shoulders were stiff and I waited a minute or two and dropped me hands.
"If you want to go, Alice, I guess I don't blame you." Tried to keep me voice even. Took a deep breath and walked to the windows.
"I have to think about this." She shook her head. "I'm going to bed." Turned to look at her but she shut the bedroom door without looking back. Bloody hell. Shoulda forced her to read the notebook.
Grabbed a bottle of wine and climbed out the window and went up to the roof.
Rufe was already up there, sitting in me spot smoking. Bloody hell.
"Whose bed was it?"
"Ah. Dunno. Is she a true dreamer?"
"Yes." I said softly. "Bloody hell."
"It was white and round, in a red room."
"Bloody Jack Heart. Have to tell cat to keep an eye on him. He's no' gonna chain Alice to his bed."
"He's not gonna chain me either!" Rufe laughed.
"You slept with Carol." Sat down beside him.
"Dunno." He shrugged. "She thinks so. You never could deal with the candy aging faster than we do."
"She doesn't know for sure though. She'd never believe the truth. You just keep away from her."
"She's still a nice looking woman." Rufe grinned at me, grabbing the bottle and taking a long drink. "OK. OK. So you ran a Tea Shop. Come up in the world Hatter."
"Alice took the Queen down, Jack shut down the Tea Shops and sent the candy back."
"Still worth something and you just walked off and left it. Suppose you just left Dormie too? Like you left me." Took the bottle back from him.
"Dormie can have the Tea Shop. Cat will take care of Dormie. Didn't leave you on purpose, Queen raided and got the teleports. I couldn't bring you back." He grabbed the bottle of out me hand.
"Cat?" He took another drink. Should've brought two bottles.
"Chess. She also has a cat body hologram thing. Thinks she's the Cheshire cat. She's running things again. Got bloody Jack Heart running tame."
Rufe looked over at me and I took the bottle back.
"He hates you." Nodded his head. "HATES you. What'd you do to him?"
"Alice turned him down ….for me. Twice." Snickered. Another long drink. Bottle almost empty. "He wanted her to be his Queen."
"Alice." He pulled a bottle from behind him and took a long drink. "She's nice and all, but you used to take the best of the best."
"She is the best." Finished me bottle and reached for his. "She's Alice o' Legend, yeah?"
"You used to share too. You were gonna kill me for touching her hand?" The bottle slipped out o' me hand and rolled off the roof. We heard a faint crash from far below. Oops.
"If you touch her, I'll break every bone in your body and then I'll kill you. Slowly. Is that clear?" Reached behind him and found another bottle. Popped it open and took a drink.
"You'd kill me for a candy?" Rufe stood and looked down at me. "You've changed."
I stood and looked at him. "I'll kill anyone that touches her."
"You walked away from the ship, from a Tea Shop, from your crew….for Alice?" He shook his head unable to comprehend.
"She's the one, Rufe. She's the One." Looked at him, trying to make him understand.
"The one?" He shook his head in disbelief? "A candy? Are you kidding? Have you lost your mind? Have you told her what that means?" He looked over me shoulder.
"No, he hasn't." Alice answered. Bloody hell. Tonight of all nights she climbs up here. Turned and faced her. She was wearing the purple coat and holding tight to the fire escape, afraid to step out on the roof.
Held out me hand and she took it, looking in me eyes shivering only a little. Wouldn't let me pull her into me arms, she wanted to look in me eyes.
"What does it mean? One what?"
"The one I love." Grinned at her and waved at Rufe behind me back.
"I don't believe you." She shook her head. "There's more to it than that."
"Alice.." Ripped off me hat and almost lost it over the edge. Slammed it back on me head.
"What does it mean? Tell me." I swear she thought about stamping her foot.
"Alice." She stood there waiting. Sighed and tried again. "I… My people…we…"
"Oh for crying out loud!" Rufe interrupted. "We only fall in love once. Apparently Hatter has fallen in love with you, and that means…" Shook his head. "he's…"
"Shut up Rufe." Warned him. He stepped back out o' me reach. I'd have to let go o' Alice to reach him.
"….he's become tongue-tied." Rufe finished opening another bottle.
"Means what?" Alice squeezed me hand. "Hatter? Please?" Closed me eyes and sighed.
"Means…" Opened me eyes and looked at her. "Means…."
"Means he's…" Rufe started and I whipped around to glare at him, making Alice stumble and clutch at me. Rufe took another step back and went on. "Means in 50 years when you're old or dead, he'll still look like this and never be able to love anyone else." He said softly.
Alice looked at him and narrowed her eyes. Bit her lip and looked back at me.
"No… that's not what you were gonna say. That might be true, but .."
"Already told you, I won't live longer than you." Chuckled dryly. "Not five minutes."
"No!" Rufe and Alice cried at the same time. Sighed. Was NOT discussing this.
"Come back inside Alice." Pulled on her hand turning her back to the fire escape. "I'll explain it to you in private." Turned around to glare at Rufe. "You stay here. Or go to hell, I don' care."
Rufe grinned and shook his head. "Hey, you got Chess's number?"
Tossed him me cell and followed Alice back inside.
Someone had lit the fire, Rufe probably, but now it was merely embers. We sat on the couch and stared at it.
"Alice." Couldn't sit still, had to get up and pace. She pulled her feet up under her and waited.
"I love you Alice."
"Yeah, I got that much." She grinned.
"What Rufe said was true."
"Ok whatever it is, we'll deal with it."
"Only one thing need concern you right now. And that's… I mean… When we fall in love… when I fell in love, me brain chemistry started to change. Changing me."
She looked concerned, but nodded. "Are you turning into something else?" She frowned.
"What? No. Too many movies Alice."
"Then what? What is such a big deal?" She got up and walked to me and made me stand still. Can't think when I'm standing still. At least I could still use me hands.
"I… I… think.." took a deep breath. "I think I can get you pregnant." Put both me hands around her face and looked closely in her eyes. "May have already made you pregnant."
Alice burst out laughing. "What? That's it? Pregnant? Are you kidding?" She put her arms around me and hugged me. "I thought it was something awful! You can't get me pregnant, I'm on the pill."
"It's a big deal Alice." She took off me hat and laid it on the coffee table. "I'm not explaining it right." Drug me hand through me hair.
"Ok. Explain it right." She put her arms around me waist and laid her head on me chest.
"We're wired very differently Alice, at least in that way." Laid me cheek on her head. Better tell her everything.
"What do you mean?" She looked up at me. "Different how?"
"Well, for one, the pill isn't going to make any difference. The… the embryo isn't made up of both of us equally, he'll be made up o' mostly a recombination of me, my DNA."
"But.." She shook her head. "He?" Let her go and paced around the room. She followed me with her eyes.
"He. Think of it something like a clone, but not exactly like me. Me, but not me?"
"That doesn't make sense? That's how your kind reproduce?"
"Yup. Pretty much. We had medical centers and things at … at home. But not on the ship. Cat might have the knowledge but not the equipment to split DNA."
"Then how do you get little girls?" She frowned at me.
"From the mothers DNA." Thought I was explaining it better, but she wasn't getting it. "It still takes two, there'll be some parts of you in him."
"So…so I can't have your daughter?" She looked so sad, I went to hold her.
"I'll talk to cat. We'll figure something out. I'm sorry Alice."
"I'm not sorry." She took a shaky breath.
"You're not?"
"No. I was afraid we wouldn't be able to have kids at all. You're an alien you know." She giggled.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think. It wasn't till I was telling Rufe to keep his hands off you, that I said it out loud and realized." Held me hand over her abdomen. She could be carrying me son right now. Blimey. Me own son. Dropped a kiss on her head.
"We could get cat to freeze the embryo and thaw it out when we're ready. People do that."
"No one is freezing my baby." Alice protested. "Anyway, this is way too soon. We can't have a baby now. It hasn't even been two weeks yet! No. No baby." She pushed away. "There's plenty of time to figure it out."
Alice walked around the room blowing candles out. I stared after, unable to speak. What would she do if she was already pregnant? There was only one way to make sure she didn't get pregnant. Turned to get more wine and go back up on the roof. It was gonna be a long night. A lot o' long nights.
"Hatter, about earlier, when I went to the bedroom…" She looked down.
I'd forgotten all about that. "Yeah?"
"I said it didn't matter and it doesn't. It just freaked me out that you might have slept with my mom. And all those other women. But.."
"But what?" I asked turning around to look at her. She hadn't noticed her mom looking at Rufe.
"But …you …they …I can't compete with that, can't compare… best of the best?" She tried to smile. "I'm not beautiful…"
"Alice, None of them was more beautiful than you. Didn't you hear a word I said? I love you Alice. You're the one. My one." Walked over and held her.
She looked up at me with big sad, serious eyes. "All that was nothing. They were nothing. I love you, Alice." Kissed her. "I couldn't tell you one o' 'em's name." Well maybe one.
"Yeah?" She smiled up at me.
"Do I need a reason to help a pretty girl in a very wet dress?"
She giggled against me ear and slid her hands under me shirt. "Hatter?" Up me chest and down again. I shivered and put me hands under her shirt.
"Hmmm?" Tried to kiss her again, but she turned her head.
"Hatter!" She stepped back. "I'm hungry. Is there any of that dip left?"
"What?" dip? She wanted dip? "I dunno." Tried to change gears. Dip?
"It's my turn, lie still." She whispered. "Let me hold you tonight. At least as long as you stay in bed."
"What?" Was trying not to think o' everything that happened tonight.
"I know you leave after I go to sleep. I woke a couple times and you were gone. I saw that bruise on your eye the other day."
"Alice..."
"I knew you were coming back." She grinned. "You didn't take your hat."
"I'd come back cause you're here."
"I know it must be hard for you, being here. Are you homesick?"
"There's nothing on the ship for me. Everything I love is here. You're here." Made a note to remind meself when I went to do a job for cat, no' to take a hat. "Go to sleep Alice"
Rufe was still on the roof. From somewhere he'd gotten a dozen more bottles, the hard stuff. Grabbed one and took a long, long drink. It wasn't enough.
"So, you got it all explained and everything?" He looked out over the city.
"Yes. No. I don't know. She doesn't wanna have a baby now." Took another drink.
"Well, there you go." Rufe took a long drink. "Problem solved."
"I've slept with her." Finished that bottle and reached for another.
"Figured that. Oh." Rufe shrugged. "You used to be smarter."
"I used to be a lot o' things." Sighed. "What did cat have to say."
"She wants me to go with you on jobs, hold your hand and keep you safe." He grinned.
"Bloody hell. I don't need you to hold me hand." Drank half the bottle in one gulp.
"No? What 'bout the other night? Chess said.."
"Fuck Chess." Rubbed me eyes. Left me hat inside. "Fuck everything!" Threw the bottle off the roof.
AN: Can you see the big fight coming? Can you see why there's no smutty scenes for awhile? Can you see Hatter at the drugstore trying to choose condoms? Can you wait till I get moving on WORKING for the CAT to find out what jobs Hatter is doing? Can you figure out how Alice and Rufe get chained to someone's bed?
Yes, he's an alien. I don't know how the whole pregnant thing came up. It just happened. I rewrote it twice and they kept insisting. Apparently, Hatter has some pretty potent … stuff.
I seriously, seriously considered ending this after the tattoo scene, when he says it's gonna be all right, that woulda been a good place to stop. However, there's one more Hatter vision, and now a Rufe vision and so much more is going to happen. I just don't know. It feels like this is going on forever. Lol I don't want to turn it into a soap opera. But I'm afraid it already is.