I'm trying to keep the updates coming in quickly, and so far, I must say I'm not doing to bad ^.^ As always, I own nothing, though I wish I could have the Hatter…sigh. Oh well! Enjoy!

Alice and Tarrant didn't remain in their lip-lock for very long for two reasons. One, they were too self-conscious and two, Chessur felt the need to fulfill his very annoying habit of appearing at the worst moment.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the floating cat purred.

Tarrant pulled away and grinned. Chessur, who had been expecting the death stare, was very confused. The Hatter never grinned at him like that. What was going on?

"Normally I would threaten to turn you into a hat, but right now, I am in too fine a mood to be angry at you!" Tarrant said, his grin for once shaming Chessurs.

"There is only one thing I can think of that would put you in this kind of mood, and I'm certain that hasn't happened," Chessur said. He was unused to being confused and wasn't coping well.

"Well whatever you're thinking, I'm sure it is far off, so I will just tell you. Alice and I," he wrapped his arm around her waist gently "are going to have a child."

The look of utter astonishment of Chessurs face was worth all of the awkwardness and shame the pair of them had suffered in the past three weeks. No one had ever seen him look so entirely staggered. His furred chin was flopping open like a door with broken hinges. His eyes seemed to swallow the rest of his face and his pupils had dilated.

"You two have decided to procreate?" he managed to get out through his shock.

"Well, decide might be a little misleading," Alice muttered.

Chessur cocked his head. "How so?" he inquired. "Wouldn't the act of creating new life be a decision?"

"Not when you're drunk," she mumbled.

"So this child was accidental?" he asked.

"Pretty much."

Chessur looked appalled. "How in the name of all that is shiny could you do that on accident?"

"As she said, we were intoxicated," Tarrant said.

The cat shrugged. "Either way, the deed is done. As long as you are both dedicated to becoming good parents, there is no harm done."

"We are," they said at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned, as did Chessur.

"Well then, I wish you a good nine months," the cat purred devilishly as he disappeared.

Alice cocked her head. "What did he mean by that?" she asked.

Hatter covered his face with his hand. "Do they teach you nothing of reproduction in Overland?" he asked without moving his hand.

"Not really, no," she admitted. "Why?"

"Nine months is how long a woman will carry a child before it is ready to be born," he explained.

"Hatta, maybe ye should let a woman explain such things too her," Mally warned.

"You're right, that would create less awkwardness between us." He turned to Alice. "What do you say?"

"Less awkwardness sounds good," she agreed.

"Then away with you," he teased, giving her a little push. Alice grinned and darted off into the palace. Tarrants gaze followed her until she was out of sight and even then, he stood staring at the spot where she had disappeared. Mally snapped him out of it by throwing a sugar cube at his head and cackling maniacally.

"The Hatta is in luv!" she crowed gleefully.

"Yes, we have known this for quite some time!" he snapped playfully. Mally threw her head back and howled with laughter.

"Spoon…" Thackery cooed.

~Alice POV~

'Who would I go to for information on children?' Alice wondered silently. 'I don't know anyone!'

She wondered around the palace for a while, until she happened upon the library.

'The library! Why didn't I think of that before?' she berated herself. Hesitantly she stepped into the library. She gasped in surprise.

The library was huge. It had a cavernous stained glass ceiling. Alice couldn't determine what it depicted, but it was still beautiful. It caused the sunlight to filter in with amazing colors, varying from light pink to dark blue. The shelves didn't extend even halfway to the domed ceiling, but they were still many times taller than Alice. She couldn't tell how far back it reached, but it seemed to go on forever.

"How will I ever find what I need in here?" she muttered under her breath.

"That is where I come in Champion," Uilleam told her.

A/N: Uilleam is the dodo from the movie for those of you who didn't know.

"Alice," she corrected him. "Please, call me Alice."

Uilleam dipped his head. "As you wish. Now what is it that you need to find?"

"Well, I was hoping to read a book or two on pregnancy." Alice couldn't help but blush as the last word left her mouth.

Uilleam looked at her oddly, but refrained from asking any questions. "Right this way," he said, extending a wing toward the back of the library.

'I wonder why these books would be in the back,' Alice speculated.

When Alice thought the books were in the back, she had no idea just how far back she would be going. Uilleam lead her to the very back of the gigantic room, to a side small room where people could read in peace. He walked to a lantern that was mounted on the wall and muttered a couple words under his breath. A passageway opened in the wall.

"The few books we have on the topic you need are very rare, and to prevent them from being stolen, I keep them hidden in here," Uilleam explained. "Not even the Queen knows the password to open this passageway, though I will reveal it before my passing. Please follow closely. There are many illusions to frighten away trespassers or anyone who attempts to follow me. Stay directly behind me and do not under any circumstances stray away from the main pathway. Not unless you wish to vanish from Underland forever."

'Why would these books be so heavily guarded?' Alice thought disbelievingly. 'Surely they are not so valuable as to need so much protection as this.'

Alice could not ask her question though, for the dodo had already slipped into the doorway.

"Come quickly," he hissed from the darkness.

Alice scurried after him. She kept so close behind him that her stomach brushed his tail. She expected him to reprimand her, but he remained silent. Suddenly, a low, moaning howl filled the tunnel.

"What is that?" she asked.

"One of the many traps designed to protect the precious material hidden down here," Uilleam murmured quietly.

As the baying intensified, Alice found it increasingly difficult not to flee for her life. It was a low groaning sound that made her feel like someone was behind her about to run a blade through her. She shuddered in fear and had to resist the urge to grasp Uilleams wing and run back to the library.

"You may place a hand upon my back if it will comfort you," he told her. It was as if he could sense her terror. Alice didn't think twice. She quickly took him up on his offer and placed a hand upon his silky feathers. The contact did little to soothe her fear however; the howl still filled her ears and tried her muchness.

Alice made the mistake of looking forward into the inky darkness. She saw two blood-red eyes, just like the ones that had belonged to the Jabberwocky she had slain. A deep growl filled the passageway and the Jabberwocky thrust its head toward them. Alice shied away from it, her arms curling protectively around her stomach.

"Just keep moving, it is not real," Uilleam told her calmly.

Alice gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep walking toward the snarling, hissing beast in front of her.

'I want my Hatter,' she thought gloomily.

"'Beware the Jabberwock, my son; and the frimious Bandersnatch,'" she murmured lowly, to low for Uilleam to hear her. The words from the past helped Alice to steel herself. Not that it made her task any less daunting.

Gritting her teeth, Alice forced herself to take the last step into the slavering jaws of the Jabberwocky.

She stepped right through it. It was an illusion, just as Uilleam had told her it was.

"Trust me yet?" he asked cheekily.

Alice didn't respond. She was too focused on the tunnel that branched off from the one she was in. It lead to Tarrant. She didn't stop to wonder how he got down there; she just started walking toward him, a grin spreading across her face.

"Stop!" Uilleam ordered.

Alice halted, more out of surprise that obedience. She craned her neck around to look at the blue bird behind her. More like glare at him, but it was all the same to Alice at this point.

"Do not go to the illusion, lest you wish to bring about your own death," he warned. "It is another illusion, you must keep moving, no matter how much you don't want to. Alice, stop!" he barked again, for she had begun walking toward the illusion again.

To distract herself from the almost uncontrollable desire to run into Tarrants arms, Alice spoke to Uilleam.

"Uilleam, why are these books so heavily guarded? It seems a bit much."

"It was my father's last wish that they be moved here," he explained. "My father was far older and far wiser than anyone who still lives. He swore he would tell me why it was so crucial that such extreme measures be taken, but all he got the chance to tell me was that they contained dark magyk of the worst kind. He said it was hidden deep within the text. I have poured over them time and again, but have found no such thing."

"Then why don't you move them back?"

"My father may have been old, but he was not senile. He wished them to stay here, and so they shall as long as it is under my power to keep them here."

"What happened to your father?"

"The Red Queen happened," he said venomously. "She murdered my father."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It is done and he has been avenged." He stopped. "We are here."

Alice looked around. They had reached a dead end. "There is nothing here."

Uilleam gave her a sly look and started chanting in Outlandish. When the final words left his beak, the ground started rumbling. A piece of the floor slid out of it position and left a hole large enough for only one person to fit through at a time.

"Ladies first," he murmured. "Don't worry, there are no illusions down there and the drop is short," he assured her when he saw her worried expression.

Trusting his words, Alice lowered herself into the opening and dropped down. She hit the floor before she even knew she was falling. The opening was only a foot or so above her head. Alice studied the chamber she had dropped into, but all her efforts were for naught. It was still pervaded by an inky darkness. It could have stretched for an inch or a mile for all she knew. Suddenly Uilleam dropped into the hollow next to her.

"This way," he said, walking away. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Coming?"

"Yes," she said. "I am."

They walked no more than a dozen steps before the darkness evaporated. The room they stepped into was small. It contained only one shelf, which was carved into the wall and held only two books. Below it was a small wooden chair.

"All this…for that?" Alice asked skeptically.

"I told you what my father said," Uilleam snapped. The moment the words fled his tongue, he was contrite. "I apologize; my temper is not normally so short. I think it has something to do with the dark magyk. It is corrupting my mind."

"So if I read these books, my mind will be corrupted?" Alice asked, horrified by the thought. The urge to flee back to the surface returned and Alice braced herself to run.

"Nay, you must be around them for years for the magyk to seep into your mind. I've been protecting them since my father died." He pushed her forward. "Go. Read your fill."

Alice stepped forward and pulled the smaller of the two volumes off the shelf with a puff of dust. She sneezed once, then sat down and began to read.

~Tarrant POV~

'I've searched the entire palace, where on earth is she?' Tarrant thought anxiously. It had been four hours since Alice had run off, and she still hadn't been seen by anyone. Tarrant was beyond worried. He was on the brink of slipping into a maddened frenzy until he found her. 'I swear if something happened to her, I'm going to lose my mind. Or what's left of it.'

"Hatter?"

Tarrant whipped around. Behind him was a very tired looking Alice.

"Alice!" he cried. He threw his arms around her waist and squeezed tightly.

"Don't crush me please," she begged. "Or the baby."

Tarrant loosened his grip marginally, enough to allow her to breathe. "I was so worried about you," he whispered.

"I'm fine," she said into his shoulder. "Uilleam was with me the entire time."

The Hatter pulled back and looked at her questioningly. "Uilleam? The librarian?"

"Who else would be with me in the library?" she asked.

"Why would you be in the library?"

"I was reading."

"Reading?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It's a fast way to learn what you need to know."

"I didn't think the library had books on that particular topic."

"You just have to know where to look."

"And where do you look?"

"You'd have to ask Uilleam," she said evasively.

He arched his eyebrows, but the comment slide. "Come, come," he said. "We really should head for a more private location."

Now Alice raised her eyebrows. "Why? Were you planning on creating twins?" she teased.

Tarrant blushed furiously and looked away. "No," he mumbled. "We may have already done that."

"What?" Alice gasped.

"I'll explain, I promise, but we really must move to a more private location."

"Lead the way," she said coolly.

He quickly led her through the winding corridors of Marmoreal to his room. He opened the door and motioned for Alice to enter.

She stepped into the room, seeming unperturbed by the garish colors. "The room fits you," she murmured.

"Thank you," he said nervously. "Please sit." He gestured toward the bed.

Alice seated herself daintily on the edge of the large bed. Tarrant sat down next to her and gently grasped one of her hands. His thumb traced patterns on her skin. Alice waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts and begin to explain.

"When someone is a twin, it is likely that any children they may have will also be twins," he told her. "Every person on my fathers' side of the family has been a twin for the past several generations, myself included."

"I didn't know you are a twin."

"I was supposed to be," he said quietly, pain clear in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"My sister was a stillborn," he said. "She dies before she had a chance to live."

"I'm so sorry," Alice whispered. "That's terrible."

"It's fine." He wouldn't look at her when he said it, but Alice could see the tears building in his eyes.

She gently took his chin and turned him to face her. "Don't you ever lie to me Tarrant Hightopp," she scolded gently.

Tarrant lowered his eyes, but Alice could still see the pain in them. They had turned to a dark grey color, bordering on black.

"It's not fair," he whispered angrily. "Why should I get to live when she did not? What did I do to earn the right to live?"

"Tarrant," Alice whispered. "You had done nothing. She had done nothing. Fate made His decision, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. It was not your fault."

"Why did Fate victimize her and not me then?" he demanded in a whisper. "Was there a purpose? Was she not supposed to live? What would've happened if she had lived?" The tears that were building in his eyes spilled over and flooded down his cheeks.

Alice was startled. She had never thought him to be one who would cry so unashamedly. But right now she knew she needed to push her own emotions down and comfort him, so she pulled the miserable hatter into her arms and let him cry. His tears stained her dress, but Alice did not care. What was a dress when the man she loved was so distressed? She gently rubbed his back in a soothing motion. After a long time, his sobs subsided, but he remained in place, his head on Alice's shoulder.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?" she asked.

"For holding me. It's been far too long since I've had a shoulder to cry on."

"Everyone needs a shoulder sometimes," she said softly. "Even the Bandersnatch I bet."

"Teufel," he said, raising his head. "His name is Teufel."

"Well then I bet that even Teufel needs someone to comfort him sometimes," Alice corrected herself.

"Maybe."

"Hatter."

"Okay, okay, you're right," he surrendered. "As always," he added slyly.

Alice snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "If you think I'm always right, then you are sorely mistaken. I am very rarely right when it comes to the things that matter most."

Tarrant mimicked her snort. "You were right when you decided to came back."

"So? I said rarely, not never."

Tarrant hugged her. "You were still right."

Alice wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes. 'I love it when he holds me,' she thought. 'I feel so safe and loved in his arms, like I could stay here forever.'

'I love holding her,' Tarrant thought. 'It feels so right, like we were meant to stay this way forever.'

They remained locked in each other's arms for a long time, until the sun started going down. Tarrant squeezed her tighter for a moment then moved to let her go, but she didn't move. It took him a second to realize that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Panic flashed through him. The last time they had shared a bed, she had ended up pregnant, so he was leery about sharing a bed with her again.

'She's already asleep, but would she panic if she woke up with me again?' he thought worriedly. He sighed. 'I think I'll risk it.'

Tarrant gently laid her on her back and slipped her shoes off her feet. He dropped them gently on the floor and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Now he faced a dilemma. Where was he too sleep? He could sleep in the bed with her, but that would cause problems in the morning, or he could sleep on the floor.

'To hell with it,' he thought. Quickly he pulled his own shoes off and placed his hat on his desk. He stripped off his jacket and shirt, leaving his chest bare. 'She'll probably hit me anyway, so I may as well be comfortable,' he mused. He slipped under the quilt, making sure to keep on the opposite side of the bed from Alice. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"Tarrant."

Tarrants eyes flew open. He looked over to Alice and he realized she was still sleeping.

"Tarrant," she mumbled again.

'Why is she saying my name in her sleep?' he wondered. Then it hit him. 'She must be dreaming about me.'

"Tarrant," she whimpered, her hands roaming the bed, searching. When her hand made contact with his, she wriggled toward it. She curled up next to him, one of her arms sliding across his bare stomach and wrapping around his waist. "Tarrant," she murmured. "My Hatter."

Tarrant smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a content slumber.

Sorry about the delay, I've been really busy, but I hope this chapter is enough to keep you content until I can get the next chapter up!