Memory

"No!" Alice said. "I'm not five, I'm…" she paused trying to figure out how old she was. "Mommy how old am I?" Carol who was still in shock didn't say anything. She walked closer to her daughter then paused.

"Her… her scars back," she stuttered. "Just before she didn't have that scar above her eyebrow. She got it when she was five…" Her lip trembled and she sagged slightly. It had to be really had for her to understand this. It was hard enough on him!

"Duchess, can you go take Carol for some tea?" Hatter asked. "Camomile and lavender should do the trick."

"What are we trying to put her to sleep?"

"No but it will help her relax, now please just go!" Duchess stood and led Carol out of the room. He turned back to Jack.

"So what are we going to do since you refuse to let her get professional help?" Jack asked him.

"Well I don't know. But she just aged two years and we didn't even notice… do you think it's wearing off?" Jack shrugged.

"There is a chance that something else trigged it. I've seen what they do at the hospital. Different things help with different effects. One man turned into a lion because he drunk too much 'Courage'. Every time he got scared he'd slowly change back. And there was a woman who got a big shock when she had taken 'Serenity'. She froze still, it was heat that brought her back."

"So nearly anything could trigger it," he summed up.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Charlie muttered from behind them.

"What's wrong Charlie?" he asked.

"I… I - I – I… I didn't mean to! She was here and then I went to grab her teddy and she…" They looked around the room which was devoid of a certain little girl.

"Alice?" he called. He rushed to the bed and looked under… no Alice.

Jack began to look too and ruffled through all the piles of teddies.

"She can't of gone far!" he said desperately. "Let's split up and look out here." The three of them dashed out of the room and ran off down separate hall ways. He yelled her name as he searched. He was about to give up on this hall and try another when he looked out the window.

There pressed up against the glass for dear life, was the tiny form of Alice. He went out the nearest door and stepped onto the path that ran around the level. Little Alice stood not far away, her gaze glued to the ground far below. Fear was painted across her face. Her hands were grappling against the glass like she was trying to find a grip.

He realised that this Little Alice hadn't even slightly gotten over her fear of heights.

"Alice?" he said. She didn't even look away from the edge. She was shaking and her breathing was heavy, she seemed on the brink of tears. "Alice Sweetheart, look at me." she looked at him and he held out his hand to her. After a moment she took it. "That's a good girl, now don't look down, okay?" She just blinked up at him and allowed him to lead her to the door.

He gasped in shock when they reached the safety of inside. Because right before his eyes Alice seemed to age a year.

The second they got through the door Alice wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's okay," he said putting his arms around her. "It's okay Sweetie. Come on, you got everyone really worried you mischief!" he took her by the hand and lead her back down the halls to Jack and Duchess's room again.

Suddenly Alice stopped walking. He turned to see her staring up at a picture on the wall. It was of her father. He had only seen the guy once, but he knew she had loved him.

She stared at it blankly for a moment. "Daddy…" she murmured, then she burst into tears.

"Alice! Alice, what's wrong?" he said drawing her into a hug.

"D-Daddy's dead!" she cried into his shoulder. Sighing he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way, stroking her hair.

She must be old enough now to have figured out what Duchess had spelled out earlier. He tucked her into the bed and held her as she cried.

"I'm thirsty," she whispered to him after a while. Smiling sadly he got up and poured a glass of water.

Alice had grown again… but what had caused it? She had been on the ledge and he had said… he had said more or less exactly what he'd said to her two years ago. Perhaps it was memory that mage her age.