FINALLY!!1 i've finally uploaded this chapter, it seems like forever since I updated this story. I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!

Disclaimer: Don't own, never have and never will.....damn...

Alice once again woke up in Tarrant's bed but this time was different. This time she wasn't' alone. There, with his arm wrapped securely around her waist, was Tarrant. He was positioned behind her with her pale face buried in her neck. His hot breath sent shivers up her spine and back down to her core.

She wanted to bring her legs up to her chest but she soon found that Tarrant had tangled their legs with his leg between hers. The way they were tangled made it quite impossible for Alice to move. After a few moments, she finally gave up trying to move at all and paid more attention to becoming accustomed to the new position.

She settled her body against Tarrant's and reaching for his hand around her waist, she intertwined their fingers. She let out a soft sigh of contentment, staring out the window next to the bed. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon so it was still quite dark. Alice would have been up and working by now, doing chores and such. She had never idled like this before, in the arms of a stranger no less. She rather liked it.

Suddenly, Tarrant's body twitched and his grip on her waist tightened to the point where she found it hard to breathe. Alice twisted around to where she was facing him and soon knew the problem.

He was having a nightmare.

He began to thrash violently, letting go of Alice. Quickly, she reached over and grabbed his hands, trying to pin them but he fought back with a vengeance, and almost hit Alice right across the face. She ducked out of the way, her little heart beating furiously. She thought for a moment then made her decision. She threw her right leg over his hip and straddled him, grabbing his wrists and successfully pinning them above his head.

Tarrant flailed aggressively for a moment then stopped completely. The only sound that filled the room was Tarrant's heavy breathing. Alice, quite certain that he was done, let go of his wrists and then began to get off of him. He reacted immediately, grabbing her waist and flipping them over to where he was on top of her. He laid his head on her chest, wiggling around to get into a comfortable position.

Alice let out a sigh of relief and began to play with his unruly hair, soothing him. She curled a strand around her index finger, finding it soft rather than coarse like she thought it was. It was smooth and silky like her hair was. The bright electric orange color was strangely beautiful to her; she had always liked orange hair, finding it a more pleasing color than just plain old yellow.

She, all of a sudden, felt Tarrant tighten his grip on her, letting out what sounded like a choked sob. Immediately, Alice wrapped both arms around the poor hatter and smoothed back the curls in his pale face; she brushed her lips against his forehead and gently kissed it.

This feels almost…natural. She thought, suddenly. It felt so nice, so…real to her. Something she had never felt before.

Tarrant's breathing slowed down and the sobbing stopped as he fell into a more peaceful sleep, nuzzling Alice's neck affectionately. She felt her whole body warm up instantly at that and her heart soared because she made him feel better; she closed her eyes and pulled Tarrant closer to her as she drifted off to sleep.

They stayed like this until the sunlight began to shine through the window onto the peaceful couple. The light hit Tarrant right smack in the face, which made him flinch against Alice when he opened his lime green eyes. His eyelids slammed shut and he settled against Alice again.

A second later, his eyes snapped open again. He jerked up and looked down at the beautiful girl. Her dress was still covered in blood and there were specks of it on her pale, flawless skin. Her rosy lips were pursed and her eyebrows were bunched together. She was dreaming.

Oh, let her be dreaming of me…

Gently, he untangled himself from her embrace. He looked down at her; an affectionate smile crossed his face. He reached over and pushed a stray lock of golden blond hair out of her face.

I should wake her up. He played with a piece of her collar. But she looks so lovely and content like that.

Before he could make up his mind, Alice stirred. Her big baby blue eyes opened and landed on her smiling hatter. Her heart fluttered in her chest and warmth spread across her whole body; She smiled shyly back to him, blushing prettily.

"Good morning." He whispered.

"Good morning." Alice replied, quietly.

"Did you sleep well, cricket?"

"Oh, yes. I slept very well." She said.

She didn't ask him if he slept well and he noticed this but said nothing; He knew why. His nightmare had ended so abruptly and there was no one in Wonderland who could make his nightmares end like that. Except Alice.

Tarrant stood up off the bed, earning a confused look from Alice. "I'm going to find you something else to wear." He answered.

She nodded, watching leave the room.

Alice sat up in bed. Looking down at herself, she scrunched her face in disgust. She was absolutely filthy. She was in serious need of a bath, a very, very, very long, hot bath that involved a lot of soap and scrubbing.

Footsteps from the hallway indicated that Tarrant had returned. He peeked in with a happy grin on his face; he had picked out a long purple dress for her. She smiled back at him. "Thank you, Tarrant. It's lovely."

"You're very welcome, Alice." He said, softly.

He handed her the dress and pushed her gently into the bathroom. "You need a bath, cricket."

Alice gave him a mock insulted look. "I'm so hurt, Hatter."

He grinned mischievously at her and winked. She glared playfully at him then went into the bathroom. She didn't undress until she heard Tarrant leave the bedroom; She unbuttoned her ruined dress and threw it on the other side of the room. She untied her boots, took of her stockings, and her underwear, and placed them near her new dress. Alice quickly ran a hot bath with bubbles that smelled like jasmine.

Sinking into the sweet smelling water, she sighed contently. The hot water warmed her cold skin and she felt cleaned already. Alice reached over and found a washcloth. She dipped into the water then began to gently scrub away the dirt and blood that had accumulated onto her person. After she reached for a bottle of shampoo and opened it, inhaling. It smelled like honey so Alice poured a nice amount onto her head. She ran her fingers through her long hair, making sure to get shampoo on every last strand; she rinsed out her hair then stood up and unplugged the drain to let the now dirty water out.

Alice found teal colored towels next to the sink and reached for them, wrapped the soft fabric around the body. She began to dry herself off, slowly.

"That's an interesting look for you, my dear." A lazy voice drawled.

Alice yelped and spun around, grasping the towel tightly. She saw Chessur floating near the door and she narrowed her baby blue eyes at him.

"Chessur! I'm not decent! Get out at once!!" Alice exclaimed.

"My dear, you don't have anything I haven't seen before."

"T-That's not the point! It's very ungentlemanly to walk in while a lady is bathing." Chessur promptly ignored her and floated over to her, nudging her legs with his big, furry head. Alice suddenly realized that the Cheshire cat only wanted some affection and she gave it to him.

She scratched him under his chin and he began to purr happily. He licked her fingers and nudged them with his face. She giggled softly, petting his soft fur with her other hand. Then Chessur apparently felt that he had been given enough affection for he, without a word, disappeared.

Alice took the opportunity to get dressed. She found that the beautiful purple dress fit her perfectly, like a glove. She was searching for a brush when Chessur returned; he smiled his famous smile and produced a brush out of thin air!

"For you, my dear. You look like you need it." He commented, lazily floating around his new favorite human.

Alice laughed quietly when she looked in the mirror. "Yes. I suppose you're right."

Her hair looked like a rat's nest. There were at least a dozen tangles and many twigs, and leaves. She gently brushed through them, untangling and pulling out many things that certainly did not belong in hair. When she was finally done, her hair felt like silk. Or at least that's what Chessur said after he gently ran his paws through it.

"Thank you, Chess." She kissed the top of his fuzzy head and he purred happily, floating next to her as they made their way out of the bathroom and bedroom, and into the hallway.

"Where is everybody?" Alice asked.

"Probably asleep. Thackery and Mallymkun don't wake up until teatime." Chessur replied, rubbing his face against her arm.

"Well, you certainly are affectionate today." Alice giggled.

"You kept Tarrant from killing me. You are officially my favorite human." He returned.

"I'm your favorite, am I?"

"Pretty much."

Alice laughed, petting his head. They walked into the living room and saw Thackery and Mallymkun passed out on the couch. Thackery was laying on his back; his arm and leg were hanging over the end while little Mallymkun was sleeping contently on his stomach. They looked absolutely adorable.

"Aw, they're so cute." Alice cooed, softly

"Yes. Well, this isn't really new." Chessur explained, "They always sleep together. They seem to have a relationship."

Alice felt her eyes widen. "B-But he's a hare and she's a dormouse! How do they…" she looked away from the floating cat, her cheeks turning a light pink.

"My dearest, not every romantic relationship involves sex." He said.

Alice turned a bright red.

"Do we have a problem with the word 'sex'?" He teased, floating around her.

"Oh hush, would you?" Alice quietly stomped away, leaving the grinning cat. She went to the front door, hoping to find Tarrant outside.

Alice opened the front door and peered out of it, looking for her Hatter. There wasn't a soul outside, near the where the tables were set up. Where could he have gone?

She returned to the living room where she found Chessur curled up in a chair near the two sleeping lovers. She gently shook him until his big eyes opened and peered up at her with a smile. "Where did Tarrant go?" She whispered.

"Oh, he went out back to his workshop." Chessur said nonchalantly, examining his long, black claws.

"Why is his workshop out back?"

"He doesn't like having mercury fumes in the house or so he says."

"Right. Can you show me, please?" she asked.

"It's in the middle of the backyard." He yawned, curling back into a ball, "It's pretty hard to miss."

Alice rolled her eyes at the lazy cat. "Thank you so much, Chess." She left the three sleeping creatures and went to the backdoor, opening it. Sure enough, there was a large shed out in the middle of the backyard. Oddly enough it was shaped like a large top hat; Alice felt the corner of her lips twitch uncontrollably. She walked quickly over to it and knocked on the door.

"Oh! H-Hold on!" A gentle lisp-y voice came from inside.

Tarrant opened the door and smiled happily at Alice. "Oh, Alice!"

She smiled at him. "Hello, Tarrant. May I come in?"

He complied with her request and happily let her into the shed. Alice looked around, amazed at how many different types and colors of fabric Tarrant had. There were teals, greens, bright pinks, dark purples, and light blues, and many others. Her eyes wandered the room until they settled on a large rack with at least a dozen colorful dresses hanging from it.

"I didn't know that you made dresses too." She said, turning around to look at him. She finally noticed that he wasn't wearing his jacket or his hat.

"Well, normally I don't make dresses but a certain girl has changed that." He replied, smiling sweetly at her.

She stared at him, surprised. "You made my dress?" She asked.

"Of course. I couldn't have you running around in my clothing. I need those!" He pouted at her, causing her to giggle.

Alice resumed her exploring of his workshop while he continued his work on a hat. She fingered all the different fabrics especially the silk. When she became bored with looking around the room she decided to look at her Hatter.

He was hunched over, working aggressively. His shoulders were so tense and soon Alice noticed that his whole body was tense.

"Tarrant, am I bothering you?" She asked, hesitantly.

He turned around and looked at her. "Oh, no! Of course not!" He lied.

Alice smiled. "Tarrant, you are a very good hat and dress maker but you're a terrible liar."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

Tarrant pouted at her again and she laughed. Then he motioned for her to come see what he was working on. She took one step and tripped over a loose floorboard; she twisted around and began to fall backwards, and would've hit the floor quite hard but Tarrant quickly caught her.

She smiled up at him. "Thank you."

She suddenly realized that their faces were inches apart. Her heart began to race and her cheeks turned a bright red. He didn't seem to noticed as he just kept staring down at her.

Then he leaned forward.

Hahahahaha! I did a cliffy! I feel so bad! Anyways, I hope you all liked it! Review! Reviews make me want to futterwaken. :)