AN: Wow, thanks to everyone who reviewed. You really make my day so much happier. And I had to laugh at the wildly varied reactions you all had to the last chapter. Much love. And I apologize again for my lack of internet connection making it hard to respond individually to your reviews, but I do love them! Without further ado, here is the next installment. Enjoy!

…

You've Got a Friend in Me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you
And as the years go by
Boys, our friendship will never die
You're gonna see
It's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

…

Hatter stabbed his fork into another piece of golden waffle, and watched as the syrup dripped back to his plate as he held it up. All he could think was, Why did I touch that stupid mirror? If Alice hadn't seen the handprint, they might have not argued, and he might have had the chance to talk to her – and try to work things out again. Instead, they had fought. And he had awoken her latent abandonment issues. And he had likely broken his favorite tea pot when he kicked one of his boxes.

It had been six days since he had left, and had moved into a small hotel room a few blocks away. He had hoped that after a cooling off, he would be able to move back in and they could work on things again. But after she had seen the tell-tale print on the looking glass, and accused him of leaving her, things had only gotten worse.

Her words, "I don't believe you," still rang painfully in his heart.

He stabbed another bite of waffle, and stared at it for a long moment, before shoving it into his mouth.

…

"So who is she?"

An impish voice cut through Hatter's thoughts and caused him to jump. One of the waitresses, a friendly looking blonde girl, winced and shot him an apologetic smile. She wasn't the waitress who had been serving him, and for a moment, he was confused as to what she was doing there.

Then, as she continued to watch him expectantly, he realized that she had asked him a question. "Who?" he asked back.

"The girl who's memory you're trying to drown with waffles." The waitress shot him another slightly sympathetic grin.

Hatter frowned slightly. "How do you know it's a girl?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "So, it's a boy who broke your heart then?" Her eyes twinkled mischievously.

Hatter knit his brow. "No, it's a girl, but how'd you know?" Was it that obvious?

She laughed, slightly. "All waitresses and bartenders are backyard psychologists. It comes with the job." At his bewildered look, she laughed again. "That, and after three plates of waffles, you still aren't looking any happier then when you walked in."

Hatter chuckled ruefully. "It's going to take something a lot stronger then waffles to drown my sorrows this time." He didn't realize what his eyes were broadcasting at that moment.

He was expecting her to shoot him another sympathetic smile and go back to her customers, but instead she slipped into the seat across from him, and leaned forward on the table for a moment. "Hey," she said, waiting till he looked at her. "Do yourself a favor. Don't go drinking alone." Her carefree manner was gone, even though her smile hadn't vanished. He could see something in her eyes, a kind of understanding.

He looked down again and stabbed another bit of waffle.

"Seriously. A broken heart is a bad drinking buddy. If you have to drown your sorrows, call up a friend first."

That could be a problem. Friend? He had a couple of "buddies" at the construction site, but he never saw them outside of work. And he had gotten to know a few of the regulars at the dojo. But they were more Alice's friends then his. And he certainly couldn't call up Carol, though she was likely the only person he knew that he really considered a friend. He just hadn't made friends since he came from Wonderland. He had been alone for so long there, that Alice had been all he felt he needed over here. Now, in one word, this waitress had shown him that it wasn't enough, had pointed out how alone he really was.

She hadn't thought his face could possibly fall further, but it had.

"Hey." She tried to get his attention, tried to get him to look up from his plate. It took a moment, but he finally met her eyes. "Drown your sorrows in waffles for another couple of hours, and I'll be your drinking buddy tonight, okay?"

He felt himself nodding. He knew she was just a nice waitress, but somehow, having someone show that they cared a bit helped dull the ache.

She gave him another sympathetic smile as she got up from the seat and started to walk away.

"Wait," he called after her.

She turned around for a moment.

"I don't even know your name."

She grinned back at him. "I'm Sami."

…

As it had turned out, drowning his sorrows with alcohol had been a bad idea. He had woken up on an uncomfortable pull-out bed, a loose spring pressing uncomfortably into a sensitive area of his anatomy, his head pounding and fuzzy, and nausea so bad that he only had mere seconds to find the bathroom before he emptied the contents of his stomach violently into the porcelain throne, then again into the sink.

He had only been able to remember bits and pieces of the night before, everything else was fuzzy. He remembered Nick and Matt, a couple that Sami affectionately referred to as her "boys" joining them, and he remembered at one point being in tears. And he had the vaguest recollection of having kissed someone.

"Yeah, you kissed me," Sami had confirmed after she had reappeared, bearing the offering of feel-good pills and Gatorade. At his horrified expression, she had brushed it off. "You were drunk. It doesn't matter." She had ruefully added that the only time she had ever let herself drown her sorrows, she had woken up naked in bed with a man she didn't even know, so "really, a kiss isn't that bad. And you probably would have kissed Nick too if he had been close enough. Matt might not have liked that though."

Apparently he had spent most of the night babbling. Sami had found it cute that he had referred to Alice as Alice of Legend, and had found it odd that he referred to Americans as Oysters ("must be some weird British thing, huh?").

She and her boys, who had proved to be her roommates and fellow struggling actors ("the waitressing is just to make ends meet"), had brought him back to their place rather then risking him doing anything stupid if left alone at the hotel.

Later that day, they had invited him to move in. It would be cheaper then living in a hotel, Sami had pointed out, and they could use the help with the rent.

Hatter had agreed, but he had insisted on buying a new fold-out couch, refusing to spend another night on the "bloody uncomfortable contraption".

Having roommates and friends had made the last month and half bearable for Hatter. He had still been miserable – missing Alice terribly, and he had quickly learned that living with three other people presented its challenges. Especially since Sami and Nick were both incredibly messy. Matt had laughed at him when he had caught Hatter cleaning the kitchen. "I gave up on cleaning up after them a long time ago. Just watch, it'll be a mess again by the end of the night."

…

He had been skeptical when Sami had insisted on taking him ice-skating, but he had given in. Now, sitting across from her at the coffee shop, trying desperately to warm himself with an earl grey tea, he was beating himself up once again. What else could Alice have thought, seeing him hanging on to Sami? Yes, it had been for balance, but he could only think of what it had looked like to her. Back to square one. He had really been hoping that enough time had passed that he and Alice could have talked without fighting, and maybe worked things out.

"I'm such an idiot," he moaned into his arm.

Sami sighed and squeezed his arm. He was so good at blaming himself for everything. She had listened, over and over, as he had talked about everything that had gone wrong, everything he had done wrong. And the conversation was heading in that direction again.

Not if she could help it.

"Davey... Dave?" She waited until he looked up at her. "How did you and Alice meet?"

She was rewarded with a faint smile. "The real story, or our cover?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Cover?"

Hatter chuckled slightly in spite of himself. "You really want to know?" When Sami nodded, he took a deep breath. "I helped her save Wonderland and overthrow the Queen of Hearts," he told her honestly.

Sami laughed. "Oh, I get it. Alice and Hatter. Wonderland. Cute cover."

"Actually, that one is the true story."

Sami looked intently at him, a disbelieving smirk still on her face. "Really?" She shrugged and laughed again. "Okay, tell me about that then."

He spent the next two hours reliving his adventures with Alice, and everything that had happened. How she had come, dripping wet, into his office. How Alice had run back to save him from Dodo. How he had saved her from a jabberwock. Charlie. How he had ridden into a cluster of suits armed only with a dull sword to rescue her. How she had brought down the casino and freed the Oysters. How she had overthrown the Queen of Hearts.

How he had followed her back to her world, because there was nothing left in his world for him, after she had gone. Thinking about that again, his heart ached with longing. He wanted, no needed, his Alice back.

When he finished, he looked back at Sami, expecting to see the same skeptical look in her eyes. Instead, she was staring at him, a strange expression on her face.

"Wow," she finally said, softly. Then she shook her head. "That was the truth, wasn't it?"

Hatter was startled. "You believe me?"

Sami took a deep breath. "Well, either you are the best actor I have ever met, or you're delusional... or that's what really happened. And I think I would know if you were delusional." Her mouth quirked upwards into her trademark grin, but her eyes were serious. "And if that's really what happened, then you need to get her back!"

Hatter blinked back against the heat of tears in his eyes. "I need her, Sami."

"Call her."

…

Alice's phone rang in her pocket. She glanced, apologetically across the table at Tim, before pulling it out. The display flashed a name and a number. Hatter.

Her face fell, and she shoved the phone back in her pocket, before forcing a smile back onto her face.

"You okay?" Tim was watching her with a concerned but knowing look.

Alice nodded, though in her mind she shook her head. "Fine."

...

AN: So, I tried to make this chapter a little lighter. Alice and Hatter still need to work some things out, for sure. And how is Alice's date with Tim going to go? My goal is to have this story completed by Christmas... but things are starting to get busy, for sure. Thanks for staying with me on it. Cheers! And please review.