A/N: Due to the fact that, on the show, they don't have any…I had to take liberties with Collin and Finn's last names. For all intensive purposes they are Collin Miller and Finn Anders. Shrug

A/N #2: So…I know chapters aren't usually this long, but…It just kept growing!

For Ari…who's amazing.

Welcome to Wonderland #12: What in God's Name is a Tisket?

Alice sighed as she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen the following Saturday. "Hi."

"Hey," Jess replied, not turning from the stove.

She awkwardly sat down at the table and watched him make breakfast.

"Scrambled eggs, bacon, and chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries; chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top," he told her.

Alice frowned. "That's my favorite."

He nodded, still not turning around. "I know."

"You hate chocolate chip pancakes," Alice pointed out. "You like blueberry."

"I do." He began piling the food onto a plate.

"That's my favorite plate," Alice said. "With the Campbell's Soup ice skaters."

"Yup."

She sighed. "Dad…"

Jess turned to her and set the plate down on the table before taking the seat across from her.

She stared at him.

He sighed. "You're still mad at me."

"You lied."

"I didn't…lie," Jess said awkwardly. "I just…withheld information."

"Important information," Alice pointed out.

"You've got school," Jess said. "You've got Groin Boy, and the band, and work, and homework…I didn't wanna worry you; or your mother."

"So you told Aunty Gloria?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. It's a lot easier to spring these things on Gloria. She expects to get bad news from me."

Alice nodded.

Jess sighed again. "What's it gonna take? I've tried books, and food, and apologizing, I've tried quality time…how do I make this up to you?"

Alice slid the plate toward her, and thought about this for a moment, before smirking.

And Jess realized, all of a sudden, that he was in a lot of trouble.

oooooooo

Rory snickered as she watched Jess cook the next day.

"Stop that," Jess snapped. "This is ridiculous."

"It is not," Rory smiled. "It's the bid-a-basket festival. And she knew you would hate making her a basket, since you hate the thought of putting your daughter on an auction block."

He sighed and kept cooking.

"Besides," Rory said. "Tristin will be there. He'll bid on the basket, they'll have lunch and that will be that."

Jess turned around finally. "Yes, because that's exactly what happens all the time. To everyone."

Rory gave him blank stare.

He smirked. "You don't remember."

"I remember!" Rory protested. "I do!"

"Remember what?" Jess teased.

"The…obviously important event that you were just referring to!"

Jess laughed. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."

"I do so!" Rory cried. "Except…Dean bid on my basket …"

"Except that in junior year…"

"I…didn't…go?"

Jess narrowed his eyes. "You seriously don't remember."

Rory frowned.

"Huh." He went back to cooking.

Alice bounded into the kitchen, fresh from a shower, and looked between her parents. "What's up?"

"Your dad is mad at me," Rory pouted.

"Why now?" she asked, sitting next to her mother at the kitchen table.

"She forgot our first date," Jess replied.

Rory gave his back a perplexed look. "Our first date? Our very first date? You took me to Sniffy's and then we made out in the back seat of your car for two hours."

Alice slammed her head down on the table. "TMI!"

"What that has to do with the Bid-a-Basket I have no idea," Rory finished.

"We had a first date before that," Jess told her, turning around to lean against the counter.

"No, we didn't."

"We did," Jess replied.

"Nope."

Jess nodded. "So I spent ninety bucks on a basket of rancid food, just so you could forget about it twenty-odd years later?"

Rory paused. "Oh."

Jess nodded. "Uh-huh."

Rory blushed. "Oh, yeah."

"Yeah."

Alice blinked. "Huh?"

"I can't believe you forgot that," Jess chastised. "I feel so unloved. You never remember anything."

"Poor baby," Rory snickered. "So forgotten."

"Dad, is my basket done yet?" Alice asked, her head still on the table top.

"Yeah," Jess replied. "Just let me add the hemlock."

"Jess," Rory said warningly.

"We're not speaking," Jess smirked. "You forgot our basket date."

"It wasn't a date!" Rory cried. "I was still with Dean at that point!"

Alice's head shot up. "You dated Dean!"

Rory went silent.

Jess sighed. "Yeah, she dated Dean."

Alice's mouth dropped as she turned to her mother. "Dean? Emma's dad, construction worker Dean?"

Rory blushed.

"Gross!" Alice cried. "How come I didn't know this!"

"Because it's gross," Jess replied. "We were trying to spare you from the knowledge of your mother's bad taste."

"You are so awful!" Rory cried.

"And right," Jess added.

"So…what happened?" Alice asked.

"Your father happened," Rory replied. "He was so annoyingly persistent that I couldn't resist."

"How cute," Alice snickered sarcastically. "You sound like you're eighty."

"You better knock it off or I'll let him use that hemlock," Rory laughed.

Alice smirked at her mother. "Did you make a basket?"

"Your father wouldn't let me," Rory pouted. "He said he has dinner reservations for us."

"Which I do," Jess nodded. "We haven't had a night alone in a while."

Rory smiled. "You're right."

"You guys are getting all mushy again," Alice said, warningly.

Rory snickered and kissed Alice on the cheek. "You should go get ready. You don't have a lot of time."

Alice nodded and got up, rushing up the stairs to her room.

Both parents watched her go.

"Rory," Jess said hesitantly. "Listen…about…what you said…"

"When?" Rory asked quietly.

"Alice's birthday…"

"Forget it," Rory told him casually. "I take it back."

Jess shut his mouth, and watched his wife get up and leave the kitchen.

oooooooo

Alice met up with Joey and Emma on the outskirts of the crowd gathered at the gazebo. "Hey."

"Hey," Emma replied, wrapping an arm around her best friend. "You're late."

"She's a Mariano," Joey cracked. "They're all always late."

Alice stuck her tongue out at him, just as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She glanced behind her and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," Tristin replied, giving her a peck on the lips.

"Tristin, I'm totally bidding on your girlfriend's basket," Emma said with a smirk.

Tristin shook his head, amused. "You won't win."

Emma giggled and kissed Alice on the cheek.

"Oh, gross," Alice teased. "Forrester cooties!"

Emma pulled away from her, a shocked expression on her face.

"I'm gonna get some weird illness," Alice said. "And lose all of my intelligence!"

"You suck," Emma snapped, giving her a shove.

Tristin wrapped an arm around Alice and rested his chin on the top of her head. "You're a piece of work."

"Yeah, you like it," Alice snickered.

"Welcome to the annual Bid-a-Basket festival!" Taylor's voice boomed.

"Am I late?" Molly asked as she ran up to join them.

"Very yes," Joey nodded.

"I will hold up a basket," Taylor instructed, "and place a starting bid. And then-"

Alice, Molly, Joey and Emma placed their hands against their mouths and made rather loud fake farting noises.

"Honestly, you four!" Taylor cried. "Can't you behave?"

"That'd be boring," Joey replied.

"Get on with it!" Emma, Molly and Alice chorused.

"First up, we have this-" Taylor stopped as he looked at the basket he was holding. It was bright pink with an equally bright blue handle. "Lovely…basket."

Emma smiled proudly.

"I'll start the bidding at two dollars," Taylor announced.

"Jerk!" Emma called.

"Well, it's not very tasteful, is it?" Taylor snapped.

"Your mom isn't tasteful!" Mike bellowed loudly from the crowd.

Taylor cleared his throat. "Two dollars."

"Seven!" Joey called out.

"I have seven, do I hear ten?"

"Ten!" Alice called.

Tristin gave his girlfriend an odd stare. "What are you doing?"

"Being mean," Alice snickered. "That basket is mine, Rygalski."

"In your dreams, Mariano," Joey laughed. "Fifteen!"

"Twenty!" Molly called.

"This basket isn't a very nice one, kids," Taylor pointed out.

"Twenty-five!" Joey called.

Tristin shook his head in amazement.

"Do I hear thirty?" Taylor asked. He waited for a moment. "Sold! To the curly-haired youth in the back!"

Joey glared at the girls. "You guys are so mean."

"God, it's funny when you sweat," Molly giggled.

"Our next basket is very small, but a nice one," Taylor announced.

"Oh! That's mine," Alice smiled. She tugged on Tristin's arm. "Bid on that one!"

"You're not lying, are you?" Tristin asked suspiciously.

"No, it's mine," Alice replied with a snicker. "I promise."

"I'm starting the bidding at five dollars!" Taylor called.

"Ten!" Tristin called out.

"Twenty!" called another voice.

"Fifty!" called another.

Tristin turned around and squinted. "Sixty!"

"Ninety!" called yet another voice.

Alice blinked and looked behind her, giving an odd stare to the three boys who had seemingly just arrived.

"One-fifty!" Tristin called.

"Three hundred!"

"My word!" Taylor cried.

"Five hundred!"

"Five-oh-one!"

"What the hell...?" Tristin muttered.

"Four-hundred clams!"

Mitchum Huntzburger the Second rolled his eyes. "We're already up to five-oh-one, you idiot!"

"Since when!" CJ Miller cried.

Liam Anders sighed impatiently. "Since you started paying attention to everything but the auction!"

Alice blinked at the three boys. "I should kill them."

Tristin shook his head. "I should kill them."

"Don't kill them!" Emma snickered. "They're funny!"

Tristin fumed.

Mitchum sighed and turned to his two best friends. "Here, how much money do we have altogether?"

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Well... I've got five-thirty...you've got...five-forty...and CJ has...four-hundred... that's…fourteen-seventy..."

"Do we have to spend all of it?" CJ whined.

"Nine hundred!" Mitchum called.

Tristin shook his head. "My father will kill me if I spend that much…"

Alice grinned. "Then don't worry about it," she told him, patting his hand.

"Who are those guys?" Tristin asked.

"Sold to the very well-to-do trio in the back!" Taylor cried.

Alice took Tristin's hand and led him over to the three boys. "Mitch the Bitch."

"Now, now," Mitchum said. "What have we said about that nickname?"

"Hey, Alice," CJ smiled.

She nodded. "Hi…so what brings you boys all the way out here?"

"Quite frankly, we're bored," Liam replied with a grin.

"So you dropped a ton of cash on a little of my father's cooking?" Alice asked.

Mitch smirked. "Well, Mr. Mariano is a damned good cook."

Alice shook her head and looked up at Tristin, who really wasn't looking toou thrilled. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Tristin. Tristin, this is Mitch, CJ and Liam."

CJ blinked, looking hurt. "Boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend," Mitch stated.

"I'm crushed," Liam sniffled.

Alice crossed her arms. "Says the boy who tried to make me think I was a lesbian when we were eleven?"

"You were weird-looking then!" Liam whined. "I didn't know you'd turn out so hot!"

Tristin gave a harsh stare to Alice. "Are we done? Can we go now?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Town tradition says I gotta eat with the basket winner…s."

"Screw tradition," Tristin snapped.

"No-can-do," Alice replied.

Liam smirked at the other boy and put an arm around her. "She's ours for the day, mate. Sorry."

"How the hell do you know these guys anyways?" Tristin asked, still baffled.

"Their parents are friends of my mom's from college," Alice replied. "I've known them since we were little." She shoved Liam off of her. "They have yet to mature."

Mitch smirked and shook his head. "Why don't all five of us go to lunch?"

Alice brightened up. "Yeah!"

Tristin sighed.

oooooooo

Joey sighed as he and Emma took a seat on his front lawn. "So…go picnic! What did you make me?"

"Dog poo," Emma joked.

Joey pouted.

She snickered and opened up the brightly-colored basket and pulled out two plastic bags with sandwiches in them.

"Is that…?

Emma smiled and nodded.

"Peanut-butter, marshmallow and strawberry jam sandwiches!" Joey cried as he snatched one. "You're the best girlfriend ever!"

Emma grinned and took her sandwich out of the baggy, just before Joey leaned over and kissed her with a "Mmmwah!" noise. She giggled and shook her head.

He took a bite out of his sandwich and nodded. "Perfect."

Emma smiled and bit into her own sandwich.

ooooooo

"So then, Liam runs over to Digger Stiles and pretends to sneeze, and squeezes the open ketchup packets and it sprays all over the guys."

Alice snickered, along with CJ, as Mitch finished up the story. Tristin looked bored.

"Oh!" Alice laughed as she took a bite out of her sandwich. "Do you remember when Gigi was around?"

CJ nodded. "I remember. Didn't I smack her on the ass?"

"You smack everyone on the ass," Mitch pointed out.

"But she was the first," CJ mused.

"She tried to kill you," Alice smirked.

"Like she could run in those heels," Liam remarked.

"So how's boarding school?" Alice asked.

Mitch sighed. "Oh…you know…sucky."

"Aww, poor bastards," Alice mocked. "When do you think your parents will let you go to a school closer to home?"

Liam smirked and shrugged. "Soon, hopefully…although I'm sure Louise will loathe having to look after me."

"Aw, come on," CJ replied. "Your mom is hot."

Liam threw a potato chip at his friend.

Alice giggled and Tristin shook his head.

oooooooo

Jess sighed as he sat at his computer, working on his latest article. He glanced at his wife, who was sitting a few feet away at her own desk and computer, doing her own work.

He swiveled around in his chair to face her back.

"What, Jess?"

He blinked. She hadn't seen him turn. "Uh…Can we talk?"

"Sure," she muttered, typing on her computer.

"It'd be a little easier if you looked at me," Jess said.

"I'm busy," Rory said.

She didn't turn around to see the hurt look in his eyes.

"Fine," he said quietly, turning back around to face his computer.

Rory sighed as she kept typing, until an Instant message window reading "Hi," popped up on her screen.

The screen name read Price!Yeah.

She sighed and turned her chair around. "Jess…"

"I'm working," he replied.

"You wanted to talk!" Rory cried. "You just instant messaged me!"

"Busy."

She groaned in frustration and picked up a blank sheet of paper, crumpling it up and throwing it at Jess's head.

He flinched and turned around with a glare. "Hey!"

"You are such an asshole!" Rory cried.

He shrugged.

"You wanted to talk, so talk!"

He stared blankly.

She rolled her eyes and turned back around.

A moment later, she heard him typing, and a moment after that, she received another instant message.

Rory didn't bother to read it. She merely closed the window, and blocked Jess's screen name.

Her screen name vanished from his buddy list and he sighed, got up and left the room.

Rory frowned sadly, but didn't go after him.

ooooooo

Alice smiled as she hugged Liam goodbye. "Drive safe."

Liam smirked and kissed Alice on the forehead. "Be good."

Tristin sighed and watched Mitch walk up and kissed Alice delicately on the cheek.

"See you later, Alice."

"Bye, Mitch."

CJ rushed up and hugged her. "Bye, Alice!"

She snickered and hugged back. "Bye. Have a good drive, guys, keep in touch."

They got into the car, and drove off.

Alice smiled and turned to Tristin, who was glaring. "Uh…what?"

"Them," Tristin replied.

She looked completely dumbfounded. "What?"

"They completely crashed our picnic, and they were all over you the entire day!"

Alice frowned. "Oh…"

"You could have told them to leave."

"I'm sorry…You didn't say anything…"

"Are you blind!" Tristin cried angrily.

"Back off, Tristin!" Alice cried back.

"God! You're my girlfriend!"

"They're old friends of mine!" Alice yelled. "I haven't seen them in a while! If you were so god-damned offended by their presence you should have said something!"

"Excuse me for believing you more perceptive than that!"

She stayed silent.

"And here's that awesome silent treatment!" Tristin yelled. "God! Grow up, Alice!"

She looked down and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know you were so pissed off. I'm not a mind reader."

Tristin nodded and sighed.

Alice uncrossed her arms and shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to do now…"

He shrugged back awkwardly.

"You're still mad," Alice nodded.

"I love that you can selectively tell when I'm pissed off," Tristin snapped.

"If you're gonna be a dick, I'm gonna go home," she told him.

"I feel like I have the right to be a dick!"

She rolled her eyes.

"You owe me."

"Fine," Alice replied. "I owe you. What do you want?"

ooooooo

"Mitch, Liam and CJ crashed our picnic!" Alice yelled as she walked in the door that evening. "And now Tristin is super-pissed at me, and I owe him, and apparently, the only way to pay off my debt is to have dinner with him and his father!" She rushed up the stairs to her room and began digging through her closet. "And I don't know what to wear, and I don't know how to act, and I'm kind of afraid of this guy because he's a big old Harvard graduate-lawyer guy and if I say something stupid it might just get me dumped!"

Jess blinked and leaned into his daughter's doorway. He was wearing a suit, but no tie. "Huh?"

She turned around and held up two different dresses. "Green or blue?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

She rolled her eyes. "You're no help! MOM!"

Rory walked over and squeezed into the doorway next to Jess, while putting a pair of nice earrings on. "What?"

"Green or blue?"

"Where are you going?"

"The Dugreys' house," Alice replied.

"Green," Rory nodded. "Blue is a Chilton color. He'll be less likely to call you Mary if you wear green."

"Mr. Dugrey is gonna call me Mary?" Alice asked, perplexed.

Rory shrugged. "Mary Junior."

Alice gave them a helpless look.

"Act like your father," Rory smiled. "You should be fine."

"What if the guy hates me?" Alice asked.

Jess shrugged. "Who cares? Do you know long it took your grandparents to actually like me?"

Alice stared at them blankly. "Man, the past is just flying out of your mouths today."

Rory sighed. "Jess, where's your tie?"

"Not wearing one," he replied.

"Jess…"

He shook his head and walked off.

Alice blinked. "What is with you guys lately?"

Rory frowned. "We've hit a rough patch…"

"That sucks," Alice replied. "Can you close the door so I can change?"

Rory nodded and closed the door. She turned and watched Jess put on a pair of nice shoes in their bedroom. "Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah?"

She bit her lip. "Maybe we should stay home."

He looked over at her quizzically. "We've been planning this for weeks…I thought you wanted a night out."

"I did…I do…" Rory shook her head. "But we're not exactly on good terms right now, are we?"

"Do you wanna be on good terms?" Jess asked.

She nodded.

"Then talk to me."

"You first," Rory replied.

Jess sighed and got to his feet. He leaned on the doorframe of their bedroom and stared at her. "Are you gonna brush me off?"

She shook her head.

He nodded slowly. "I uh…I think I want another baby, too."

She crossed her arms a little.

"I uh…I'd never thought about it before," he told her softly. "I just thought…" he sighed. "If you don't feel that way anymore then, forget it. But…if you do…then…"

Rory frowned and slowly walked toward him placing a hand on his chest. "What about your heart…?"

He brushed his nose against hers as she came closer. "You heard what the doctor said. As long as we don't try and go through the entire Karma Sutra, I should be fine."

She kissed him briefly and nodded.

"BLIND!"

They both looked over to see Alice, fully changed into her green dress, her hair put up nicely, with hand hands over her eyes.

"Do you need a ride to Tristin's?" Jess asked.

"No," Alice replied, keeping her hands over her eyes. "I'll take the car."

"Well, open your eyes when you drive," Rory commanded.

Alice nodded, and made her way down the stairs and out the door, shutting it behind her.

Rory turned back to Jess and smiled, as she wrapped her arms around him. "Maybe we should stay in."

Jess smirked. "Huh."