Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, Linda Woolverton, Disney, and other parties. Some quotes are from the movie or slightly reworded; I do not own these either only borrowing for the time being. I only own a Mad Hatter poster. This is for fun, and to get an evil plot bunny out of my head.

A/N: Okie dokie here we go folks. Sorry for the long wait been really sick the past week and a half. I feel better now so we're all good! The beginning kinda jumps and if it confuses people…I'm sorry. It's the only way it wanted to come out and just would not change itself at all! Hope you all like it!

Chapter Seven

Unconsciousness is a nasty fellow to associate with. He keeps you under his spell for however long he wants. You could lie there for days without knowing anything of the world around you. Then, when Unconsciousness finally tires of playing with you and moves on, waking up is a tiresome endeavor that always leaves one disorientated and muddled. Unfortunately for Alice (or fortunately), Unconsciousness tired of her, and left her to find her way back on her own.

Fighting her way through the darkness, Alice was slowly returning to the land of the living. Around her she could feel the cool, soft fabric of bedding, completely different then where she was the last time she was conscious. From behind her eyelids she could make light being emitted from some light source, either the sun or a lamp. Slowly, she tried to open her eyes.

~AIW~

The Hatter had not left Alice's side since the Queen had allowed him back by her. His Face looked worn from lack of sleep; the bags under his eyes were a darker shade of magenta then before. His eyes, in his worry, had changed from their usually vivid lime green to the shade of dying grass. In his chair by the bed, he sat staring at Alice unseeingly, as he was lost in his thoughts and memories. His eyes slowly dulling more and more as he watched her fall over and over in his mind.

~AIW~

Opening her eyes for the first time in hours was a challenge for Alice. When she finally succeeded, everything blurred together in front of her. After a few minutes, when her eyes finally focused, she noticed she was in a mostly white room. Everything she could see was white in the dimly lit room. The only exception that she could see at the moment was the brightly colored figure of the Hatter sitting in a chair next to the bed.

Wanting to find out what happened, Alice started to sit up. Half way up, though, the room started to spin quickly. In her distress she let out a low sound. Hearing this snapped the Hatter out of his thoughts. Quickly he rushed to Alice's side to help her continue to sit up, and get comfortable. Once she was settled he pulled his chair closer, and sat back down. "Alice, you're finally awake. You're very late waking up you know; naughty!" Hatter said with a tinge of relief in his tone as his eyes shifted back to their normal lime green.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A day and a half. We were beginning to worry."

Hearing his reply, Alice could only stare at him in shock. The last thing she remembered was following Hatter up the hill towards Mally and Thackery. Regaining her ability to speak, she had to know how she ended up wherever she was. "Oh. What happened, and where am I? The last I remember is seeing the castle in the distance."

At the question, Hatter's eyes slowly started to speck with yellow in remembrance of the events of the last day and a half. Letting out a sigh, he stared at the lighted lamp behind Alice, and began his tale.

~ A Day and a half earlier~

Hatter pulled ahead of Alice easily with his long strides. When he was half way to Mally and Thackery, he looked over to see Alice was not beside him anymore. He turned to wait for Alice to catch up with him; what he saw when he turned, he would never forget. There stood Alice, almost as pale as him, swaying back and forth with a hand to her forehead. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell forward. Already moving, the Hatter picked up the pace as he screamed her name, only hoping to make it to her before she hit the ground. Luck was not on his side, and all he could do was watch as Alice hit the ground before him. As he finally reached her, he fell to his knees and slowly lifted her head to rest in his lap.

Thackery and Mallymkun came running up to his side as soon as they figured out what was happening. Slowly looking over her for the cause of her fainting he noticed something amiss. On her right arm was a scrap of cloth that he did not put with the dress he made. As he tentatively removed the cloth, what he saw underneath tore him apart. On Alice's arm was one long scratch, which would be of no concern, except for the bright red color surrounding it and the infection starting to ooze out. He could feel the fever running through her body, and he was only barely touching her. Hearing a shocked gasp behind him, he turned and looked in the direction from whence it came.

Mally stood there with both paws clasped over her mouth. Looking at the wound, she could only shake. Knowing she was in part to blame, Mally looked up to the hatter and said in trepidation, " Tarrant, we must get her to the castle, and to Chessur now."

Suspicion arose in his face after hearing the sentence come out of Mally's mouth. "Why do we need Chessur, Mally? Why not the royal physician? Do you, by any chance, know what caused this scratch on her arm?" His burr coming through louder with each word.

Trying not to let the guilt show on her face, Mallymkun related the events of the day before to Tarrant. Seeing the rage slowly building in Tarrant's face Mally tried to explain that she simply forgot about it yesterday when they arrived. Hearing this, what was left of Tarrant's control snapped. His eyes turned red, and what came from his mouth would make even the most foul-mouthed person blush.

Mally tried to calm Tarrant down. She used all of the old tricks, and when those failed she reminded him of Alice and her condition. Hearing Alice's name snapped Tarrant back into reality, and his raving stopped. Turning his back on Mally he returned to Alice; his eyes shifting to yellow in his worry.

Picking up Alice, he turned and started walking. Over his shoulder, he yelled for the two animals to hurry up. He looked ahead, determined to reach Marmoreal as quickly as possible.

~AIW~

Reaching the castle in Marmoreal was like a weight being lifted off of Tarrant's shoulders. He was closer to having a healed Alice, and a healed Alice was a good Alice. Everything depended on her being okay. Seeing the Queen waiting at the top of the stairs for him, Tarrant picked up the pace.

The look of worry on the Queen's face was something he did not want to see at the moment. Setting Alice down on the stretcher waiting, he turned to the Queen to explain everything that he knew. After hearing most of the explanation, the Queen took off towards Alice's room with a look of fear. Stopping in front of the door she turned and told Tarrant he had to stay out for now, but she would come fetch him when he was allowed back in.

Tarrant spent the next few hours pacing back and forth in front of the door, waiting either for word on her condition or to be let in the room. The whole time his mind was fighting with him about things he had no control over. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the Queen came and allowed him back in. The fever running through her body was still there, but the infection had been taken care of, thanks to Chessur.

It was now down to waiting for the fever to break. Sitting in the room by himself, Tarrant had time to reflect on everything that had come to pass, and hope that Alice would wake up soon.