Disclaimer: I don't do exciting enough things in my life to warrant dreaming up something like Alice in Wonderland. Nothing you recognize is mine.

Madness with You

Chapter Two

Alice closed her eyes and breathed in the night air. Wonderland. She'd done it. She was home.

This time her fall down the endless rabbit hole hadn't been racked with panic. If anything she'd wanted to fall faster. She had places to be after all. At least this time around she'd remembered to move both the key and the upelkuchen cake beside the door before she'd drunk the shrinking potion. She had to admit, pulling her dress through the tiny opening had been a bit tricky but she wanted to be her proper size when she met her friends and that required clothing.

Now she stood in the forest, trying to remember the way. Unlike before there was no one waiting to greet her. She wondered where the white rabbit had gone off to but had more important things to do at the moment than track him down.

Taking a deep breath, she picked a direction and started walking. Here's hoping her feet remembered the way.

As she wandered through the dark forest she grew more and more anxious. What if the fortuneteller had been wrong? What if the Hatter wasn't waiting for her after all? Maybe this world had gone on just fine without her.

"You faced the Jabberwocky," she whispered to herself. "Surely one man isn't as frightening as that."

Except that the Hatter wasn't just any man. He was the only person she'd ever met who saw the world as she did, in all its mad beauty. The only man who had ever encouraged her to be herself and loved her for it anyways.

A smile curved her lips as she picked up her pace. If he didn't want her anymore than she'd just have to convince him how wrong he was. This time, she was done running away.

It wasn't long before the trees around her started to thin.

"Almost there," she murmured, racing forward. Sure enough, the forest parted before her to reveal the Hatter's clearing. The old windmill still stood in the distance, looking as tattered as she'd remembered it. At the heart of the clearing she could see the long table. It was still set for tea, though cups had been broken and pots were overturned.

And there at the head of the table, all alone, sat the Hatter.

His hat was pulled low to cover his eyes. Alice moved cautiously closer. She studied his still form as she walked, noticing the changes in him. His clothing was no longer as threadbare and worn as it'd been on her last visit. The tangled red hair she remembered was longer now, and less ragged. Apparently life free from the Red Queen's rule suited him.

But no guests gathered at his table to share the tea. He looked almost lost among the broken plates, just a lone man trying to survive as the world changed around him.

The sight tore her heart. She quickened her pace, eager to meet him. The Hatter didn't so much as twitch as she approached. Finally she reached the table and stopped before it.

Slowly the Hatter lifted his head. Mismatched green eyes met hers and she caught her breath. Here he was. So very close and yet, just this once, Alice felt hesitant. Monsters she could fight. Queens she could battle. But this one man left her unsure.

"Alice," he breathed.

"Hello, Hatter," she replied, trying to smile for him.

Only a broken table separated them but it was a barrier Alice didn't know how to cross. Instead she waited, needing to know if he would welcome her.

"I must be mad," he murmured, closing his eyes.

"Undoubtedly," she agreed. "But I'm still here."

A slight smile curved his lips. "It is a nice dream. I do hope I don't wake up too soon."

Alice took a hesitant step forwards. "Now it is you trying to convince me this is all a dream?"

The Hatter grinned, leaning his head back against the chair. "You are far away from here, my Alice."

Her heart leapt at the endearment, giving her the courage to take another step. "But I'm not," she assured him. "I came back."

"Why would you do that?" he asked, sounding only mildly curious.

"Because, Hatter, you are here."

The Hatter studied her with his eerie green eyes before laughing softly. "Sometimes it is a gift to be mad."

Alice crept closer, careful to step over the broken crockery that littered the ground.

"I thought you'd be at the White Queen's court," she told him.

"Oh I was," he replied, tilting his head back to stare up at the bright moon. "But I've found I do much better here." He laughed again. "That court reminded me of you."

She swallowed hard. Guilt filled her. It was her fault he was like this. She was the one who had left him behind.

"I'm sorry, Hatter," she whispered.

"Fairfarren, Alice," he replied, closing his eyes once more.

Shaking her head, she stumbled the last few steps to his side. "No, Hatter," she told him. "I'm never leaving again."

Reaching out she cupped his face between her palms as she'd once down so many years before. "I'm here," she assured him. "I'm real. Please, see me."

The Hatter blinked. Slowly he lifted his hands to touch hers. She smiled encouragingly as his fingertips trailed over her flesh.

"See?" she asked. "You can feel me. I'm not a dream."

"Impossible."

"We believe impossible things all the time, you and I," she replied.

His eyes widened as his hands gripped hers firmly. He drew away from her touch, staring in amazement at her hands.

"I'm here," she told him again.

Stunned eyes met her own. "No dream," he asked in a whisper.

Wordlessly she shook her head.

The Hatter dropped her hands, pushing himself backwards out of the chair.

"Hatter?" she asked in question as he stood silently in the moonlight.

"Why are you here?"

"I told you," she said, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. "I came back for you."

"It's been…years, hasn't it? Years."

She nodded. "I know. But I'm back now."

"So you say."

"No, this time I mean it."

"You have a life in the above world," the Hatter replied with a sad shake of his head. "You always leave."

Alice stepped around his chair, moving to stand before him. "Do you want me to go?"

A smile twisted his lips. "Never," he replied.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Because of all the lands I've seen, of all the people I've met, I know now that there is only one place I can call home."

"Where?"

"Here," she replied. "With you."

He chuckled at her words. "What madness."

"Yes," she agreed, stepping closer. "Utter madness."

"Why would you want to stay here with me?" he asked her.

Alice took a steadying breath. "Do you really not know?"

"I know many things," he replied. "Half of them are even true."

She smiled at his words. "Alright, I will tell you what I know."

The Hatter watched her closely, his strange eyes missing nothing as Alice took a step closer and placed her hands on his arms.

"I know," she whispered, "that you like my nonsense."

"I insist upon it," he agreed.

"And I know you give me courage. I couldn't have fought the Jabberwocky without you by my side."

"Oh, Alice," he murmured, shaking his head. "Of course you could have."

"No, Hatter, you believed in me before I even did. I needed that. I needed you."

He said nothing, merely watched her in silence.

"I know tea tastes best when I drink it with you," she said, sliding her hands up to his shoulders. "And I know the world doesn't seem so small when your hand is in mine. You make me believe in impossible things, Hatter, and see possibilities I never knew existed. In the world above, I can't do that. I lose my muchness. That's not the way I want to live my life."

He reached out to her hesitantly, his fingers brushing her waist. "I've missed you, Alice," he told her. "Every moment I've missed you."

She closed her eyes in pain. "Forgive me," she whispered. "I should never have left."

The Hatter pulled her closer. "You came back," he breathed. "You came back to me."

"Always."

Her breath hitched as she looked up into his strange face. Never before had they stood this close. All it would take is a tiny step on tip toe and she could brush her lips over his. Would he welcome such a touch? she wondered.

"You will truly stay?" he asked her.

"I promise. In all the time I was away, you were the only man I ever dreamed of. My heart lies here, in Underland. I won't make the mistake of leaving again."

The Hatter tilted her chin up with a gentle finger. His mouth drifted closer to hers, their breaths mingling in the cool night air. Both hesitated, almost afraid to change their relationship from friends to lovers. But he was the reason she had come here. He'd been the one she'd longed for. And she hadn't given up her former life just to lose her courage now. Gripping his coat, she pulled him down to her, sealing their lips.

He wrapped his arms around her automatically. Alice had no complaints. She wanted to be as close to him as she could get. Titling her head, she drew her mouth lightly over his, exploring the new sensations.

It was a light kiss, one of new lovers, but Alice didn't mind. After the years of waiting and dreaming, it felt perfect to her.

"My Alice," the Hatter whispered against her lips.

"My Hatter," she replied.

He cupped her face in his hands, running a finger over her cheek. "You must be half mad," he murmured.

"Probably," she agreed. Smiling up at him, she asked, "Won't you be mad with me?"

"Och, aye." The Hatter grinned widely. "Madness with you is better than clarity with anyone else."

"Then kiss me again, Tarrant," she urged. "And we can forget about the rest of the world for a little while."

As he bent to kiss her, Alice couldn't help smiling. She'd finally found her Wonderland. And this time, she wouldn't ever let go.

The End

A/N: I've written this fic to celebrate my first venture into the strange new world of publishing. If you like my writing, please check out my debut paranormal romance novella "Deals with Demons" by Victoria Davies, out today via Samhain Publishing. To learn more about why one should never make deals with the damned, please visit my website listed on my profile or check Amazon. Thank you for your support!