Disclaimer: I don't own anything
A/N - So, this chapter is pretty long, but a lot happens! And a HUGE thank you to everyone who's added this story to they're alerts/favorites or reviewed.
Night was quickly approaching by the time land was near again. Alice didn't know how she made it across the lake, but she soon found herself staring at the shore – the shore that was quickly approaching. Her stomach dropped as she realized that she had no idea how to land the speedboat, really. Having grown up in New York she'd never had the opportunity to learn to use one of these things, and the one time that she'd ridden in it with Hatter probably wasn't going to help much. Alice pulled back on the speed as hard as she could, but the boat was going too fast to really stop quickly. The crunch of sand on the bottom of the boat and a sudden jerk knocked Alice off balance. By the time she'd righted herself the small boat had stopped. A sigh of relief escaped Alice. She may have beached it, but at least she hadn't killed anyone.
The beach loomed out ahead of her in the failing light. Alice jumped out of the boat, trying to get her bearings. This was definitely the same beach that her and Hatter had surfaced on after they'd crashed the pink flamingo. The memory made her smile slightly, but it also made her remember arguing with Hatter about Jack. She'd been so certain that she could trust him, but she'd been wrong. Hatter had known that and rescued her. Alice shook herself before she could get lost in the memory. Hatter had saved her, but she wasn't done saving him.
However, lifting Hatter out of the boat and carrying him all the way to Charlie's on her own wasn't realistic – especially, Alice realized, since she didn't exactly know which way the ruined kingdom of the knights even was. That would have to be taken care of first. And she was going to have to leave Hatter in the boat while she figured out which direction to go. The thought sent spasms of panic up Alice's spine again, but it couldn't be helped. With a worried glance at where Hatter lay in his boat, Alice ran towards the trees. Hatter would be ok. Nobody knew they where hear, and nobody would be in these woods at night. At least that's what Alice kept telling herself to keep full on panic from setting in.
Get a grip, Alice told herself, stop and think. You need to get to higher ground so you can see which direction to go. She looked around, but the land surrounding her was basically flat with no hills nearby. There was nothing that could convince her to go wandering into the twilight and get herself lost by the time the sun was all the way down. There was nothing for it – she was going to have to climb a tree.
She spotted one nearby that had low, strong-looking branches. Thankful that she had worn jeans this time, Alice pulled herself up into the tree and carefully made her way from branch to branch. The last time she had done this she must have been six, in the backyard with her parents. Luckily getting up the tree was easier than she remembered, and the height didn't even register with her. Fear for Hatter blocked out her phobia completely. Reaching the top, she quickly spotted a giant white rook jutting up out from the forest. To get there she would just have to keep the sunset directly behind her. Alice made sure she memorized which direction it was in then descended the tree. In her hurry to get back down, her foot missed the bottom branch and she landed on the ground with a thud. Luckily she didn't twist her ankle or do anything else serious, but bark had scraped the side of her arm pretty viciously during the few seconds she had fallen.
Alice sucked in a breath – it had stung – but she picked herself up and brushed dead grass off her jeans. Then she heard footsteps behind her. Lord, Alice was sick to death of getting snuck up on in Wonderland. She tensed, ready for a fight.
"Lady Alice! I'm glad to see you decided to indulge my hospitality!"
Thank God. It was Charlie. Alice almost broke down crying right there, but she pulled herself together. She should have guessed that he would be the only person crazy enough to voluntarily go into the Tulgey Wood. There was hope after all.
"Charlie, I found Hatter. You have to help."
The sun had completely set by the time they rode into Charlie's camp. The knight was riding ahead of her, singing incessantly again, but Alice didn't mind at all. She was simply too relieved to be bothered by it. Hatter was safe, propped up in front of her as she rode Guinevere behind Charlie. Not that what she was doing could fairly be called riding. She let the horse have her head and focused on keeping herself and Hatter upright, all the while hoping that the animal didn't decide to wander away from Charlie. But the horse had more sense than most humans and followed the knight all the way home.
Hatter however was still unconscious. He'd seemed to rouse briefly during the ride, but he had seemed so anxious that Alice had murmured to him that he should go back to sleep. He'd mumbled, "I breathe when I sleep and I sleep when I breathe… they're not at all the same thing… unless you're Dormy that is…" before slumping forward in the saddle once again, causing Alice to jerk him back against her body. The last thing the man needed was a fall from a horse. Hatter had stayed that way for the rest of the ride, leaned back against Alice, but she didn't mind. Strangely, he seemed to fit perfectly there. Alice tried not to think about this too much.
Alice and Charlie managed to get Hatter off Guinevere and onto Charlie's hammock without much trouble. Darkness had set fully in by now, darkness blanketing the surrounding trees. Although she knew it was very unlikely that anyone would find them this far into the Tulgey Wood at night, Alice couldn't help but stare into the shadowy trees. Wonderland was supposed to have been safe now that the old queen had been imprisoned, but everything was wrong again, and Alice couldn't feel secure no matter how hard she tried.
Interrupting her thoughts, Charlie called out, "Dearest Alice, you may rest while I take the first watch. The harbinger will be safe until you are rested." She turned, smiling at him. The knight definitely displayed some eccentricities and could be quite difficult to understand at times, but he always seemed to watch out for her.
"Thank you, Charlie. I think I'll try to get some sleep. I've been awake for awhile," she replied, walking over to the knight and giving him a firm hug. Then she sat on the bed that Charlie had set up underneath a shelter. She noticed in a distant way that he'd hung some blankets on three sides to give the place a homey feel right before she drifted off. Soon Alice laid stretched out on her side, lost in her dreams.
Alice woke up slowly, unsure of where she was for a moment. Her brain registered the blankets hanging around her and the sound of a wood fire popping. I'm at Charlie's, she thought groggily. A few seconds later, she remembered why. Hatter. Worry caused Alice to shoot straight up and look around wildly for a moment. Charlie was now in the hammock, but Alice soon spotted the man in question by the fire.
Hatter sucked in a breath as he pulled of his shirt. The movement obviously pained him. Gingerly, he felt his left shoulder, grimacing as he moved it in small, slow circles. From the unsteady firelight, Alice couldn't see exactly how badly hurt he was, but she could tell it was bad. Hatter hadn't even been slowed down by Dee and Dum's treatment. Whatever Jack had done to him, Alice would see that he answered for it. Just watching Hatter struggle as he shuffled to Charlie's washbasin was enough to decide that.
This was too much. Alice slid off the bed and padded across the grass to join Hatter. He didn't say anything as she walked up beside him, just continued trying to wash off blood and grime. Hatter's face looked better now that he'd washed the dried blood off, although he still looked as though he'd lost a bar fight. His body, however, had received the worst of it. Hatter's rather pale skin looked like a collection of bruises, scars, and cuts, most clotted and a few still seeping through makeshift bandages. He probably had a few cracked ribs as well, if not a few that were completely broken. Oh yes, Alice decided, Jack was going to pay.
A small grunt escaped Hatter as he reached around to try to wash his back. Alice covered his hand with hers, working the cloth out from between his fingers. She wouldn't have him hurting himself further, now matter how stubborn he might be.
"Here, let me help."
Hatter let Alice take over – he was too tired and in too much pain to argue even if he wanted to. And truth be told, he didn't want to. It was enough for him for Alice to just be here with him. Now she was actively taking care of him. Hatter decided that he was willing to let his male pride suffer and let Alice see his wounds. She could handle it.
He didn't want to pretend any more.
Alice's thoughts weren't nearly so present. Washing off the dirt allowed her to see the full extent of Hatter's injuries. He was pretty scraped and bruised, in addition to a ragged-looking gash that ran up his side. It was still bleeding slightly, and it worried Alice. Even though she cleaned it as gently as she could, contact with it still left Hatter gasping.
Trying to keep her voice steady, Alice asked, "How did this happen?"
"That happened while I was escaping. Rusty iron bar. I was running around a corner and didn't pay attention to wear I was going. My own fault really. Guess that's what I get for not looking before I leap, aye?" Hatter tried to sound flippant, but Alice wasn't buying it for a second.
Alice clamped her jaw shut for a second. "And the rest of it?" she asked.
Hatter replied with a small smile, "You really won't want to know, Alice."
Her mind wasn't that easily changed. Of course, Hatter knew that. Alice crossed her arms and waited for him to start speaking. Hatter decided to sit by the fire. The might as well be comfortable while he told Alice what had happened since she left.
"I followed you through the mirror-" he began, but Alice cut him off.
"You were the construction worker who found me, weren't you?" Hatter stared at her. After a moment he nodded his head mutely. Alice quickly explained. "My mom said the man who found me had a British accent and completely unruly hair. I figured you probably had something to do with it at that point. I don't really believe in coincidences any more." Not to mention the fact that I saw him in my bathroom mirror, Alice remembered, but decided to keep that information to herself for the moment. "And thank you, by the way." Hatter looked away, but not before Alice saw his cheeks turn red.
"Alright then, picking right back up then…" Hatter began his story again. "After I made sure you were safe, I went back by the mirror. I was just going to pop back to Wonderland and pick up a few things that I wanted to take out of my shop. Then those suits grabbed me and carted me back to the Heart palace. I'm not sure, but I think about a month of Wonderland time had passed. Then I was hauled into court in front of Jack, who proceeded to tell me that I was a traitor to the country, a disgrace to my friends, yadda yadda, you get the picture. At first I thought he was just annoyed because I went after you without asking his royal-ness, but then he threw me into the dungeons."
"I figured that he would hold me there for a few days in some half-brained attempt to teach me a lesson – as if – but then the next day I was sent to see Dee and Dum. At first they just played with my head…" Hatter's voice dropped off as he stared blankly at the fire. After a minute he continued as if nothing had happened. "They didn't even ask me anything. After a day or two I guess they decided that they'd had enough of mind games, cause then they got out their cattle prods again. But after about a week, I was taken away from them and sent to a part of the dungeons I'd never heard of before."
"I was blind-folded on my way down, so I'm not quite sure where it was located, but I found myself in a rather dark room, chained to a wall. This woman came in and started asking me questions – some about the organization, but mostly about - well, about you, Alice. Exactly what you were like, how close you'd been to Jack, what you could do, where you live." He paused here and turned back to look at her. Alice tried to keep the surprise from showing on her face. She didn't want Hatter thinking that she couldn't handle hearing the rest of his story, but the fact that a woman was asking questions about her disturbed Alice a great deal. "I didn't tell her anything though."
Alice interrupted Hatter again. "I know you wouldn't. They couldn't crack you before." Seeing that he just looked down at his feet in response to this, she touched his arm. "I trust you, you know."
Hatter cleared his throat. "Yeah, I know. Now if you'll only stop interrupting me," he teased. But he abruptly turned serious again. "Every day after that someone came in, tried to "encourage" me to tell them what I knew. You wouldn't know it, but there are some people in Wonderland more twisted than Dee and Dum, and in the employ of the King, it would seem. That's how the majority of this happened," he added, waving his hands towards his body. "Although I think I got the worst of it from that woman. She came back several times to ask more questions. She can put quite a lot of power into a kick."
"Anyway… I was down there about three weeks, as far as I could tell. I could tell they were getting pretty bored with me. It's only amusing to make the same person bleed for a limited number of consecutive days. Then one day the door opened and someone else came in. A certain tall, rude blonde you might remember?"
"Duchess?" Alice asked, honestly surprised.
Hatter grinned. "Yep. Turns out she wasn't so amused with what was going on. She'd convinced the guard to be elsewhere for a few minutes, giving me a chance to get away. Of course, in my hurry to be gone from there, I managed to gash myself pretty well. But I made a quick stop by the old Tea Shoppe before getting to my boat, where I ran into you. And that's about it." He stopped for a while, gazing into the fire again.
Alice wasn't sure what to say. She knew Hatter was sparing her most of the details, but her entire body was still shaking with horror and anger. Jack had obviously lost his mind as completely as his mother. As for this woman – Alice had a few things she would like to do to her. She wasn't normally a violent person, but this girl had it coming. No one did this to Hatter, especially not in an effort to get to her.
The sound of chuckling interrupted her thoughts. Alice snapped her head up and looked incredulously at Hatter, who wore a self-mocking smile. "I guess this is what I get for trying to play the hero."
"Hatter, look at me," she told him. He did, all traces of humor gone from his face. "Nothing you did caused any of this. None of what has happened to you is your fault."
He nodded. "I know."
Alice wasn't convinced, but she turned around to get a clean-looking sheet that Charlie had said she could use. She ripped a few long strips from it and bandaged Hatter's side back up. He looked better than earlier today, but Alice still couldn't believe the battered man standing in front of her. She'd had enough experience with karate-related injuries to know that he wasn't going to be better anytime soon.
"You'll probably be down for awhile, especially if you have any cracked ribs…" Alice drifted off as she realized that a lop-sided grin was spreading over Hatter's face. "What on earth are you smiling about?"
"I'll be fine in a day or two Alice. Really. It's not much to worry about. Wonderlanders heal up much faster than Oysters. I did have a few cracked ribs earlier this month, but they're all better by now."
The news surprised Alice, but she should have figured something like this. After all, Hatter had bounced back a little too quickly from being held in the truth room. Finally, she just decided to accept that Hatter would always be something of a mystery to her.
"Well, that's… good, I guess. As long as you're sure that you're ok."
Hatter's mood was abruptly serious again. "I will be. I just need a bit of a rest."
Alice nodded. "Oh, ok. Yeah, you definitely do. Take the bed. I guess I'll just keep watch for awhile then…" Alice was looking at the ground, unsure of herself.
Hatter hesitated, not really wanting to go straight to bed. Alice looked so small, standing by the fire. He wanted to stay but didn't know if he was welcome. Alice had gone through a lot today and might just want to be alone. But even as he turned to go to bed, Hatter felt a new pain in his chest. No, he wouldn't leave her alone like this tonight.
"Actually, do you mind if I stay up for a bit more?" he asked turning around. Alice looked up with a smile.
"I guess that would be ok. For a little while." Hatter sat back down a few feet away from her, once again looking at the flames as they charred the logs. But eventually his gaze drifted back to Alice.
Her long brown hair hung in her face, obscuring her expression. She was clearly upset, although Hatter really didn't know why. She wouldn't really be this dispirited over him, would she? He would be fine, and besides, Alice had more important things to worry about. For example, the fact that she was stuck in Wonderland again with another insane royal on the throne. Why had she come back anyway?
"Alice, can I ask you a question?" She nodded without speaking. "Why- why did you come back here? Not that I mind of course… but I thought you'd had enough of Wonderland for a lifetime."
Alice blurted out her answer without thinking. "To rescue you of course. I had to find you. There was no way I was going to let anyone hurt you."
Well, that wasn't what Hatter had expected to hear.
"How did you know…?"
She sighed and let her head fall into her hands. "I promise I'll tell you, just not tonight. I can't even process everything that's going on. Is that ok?"
Her statement completely confused and intrigued him, but he agreed. "Sure, don't let me press you. How are you anyway? With being here, I mean. Are you all right, Alice?" A thought occurred to Hatter that he hadn't considered before. One that made his heart tighten. "You're putting yourself in an awful lot of danger being here, you know. Whoever that woman is, I don't think she wanted to ask you to tea."
Tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks. Hatter, who had been held in a dungeon for a month, who had been tortured more cruelly than he would ever tell her because he wanted to make sure she was safe, who was right now covered in bandages and bruises, could only worry that she was risking her safety. Could anyone possibly care that much? Alice turned her face away from him as her emotions overwhelmed her.
But Hatter wasn't having that. No, he'd seen this girl go through too much to allow her to keep hiding her feelings and hurting herself. He placed his finger under her chin and gently turned her face back towards him. Shining, wet tracks ran down her face as she raised her eyes to meet his. Hatter had to restrain himself from kissing her right there.
"Why're you crying, love?" he asked, his voice soft.
Alice opened her mouth but stopped and shut it again. After a moment or two, she tried again. "I… Hatter, you… why on earth are you asking about me? You've got to be in pain. You passed out earlier today. And you're still worried if I'm ok? That's insane."
Hatter flashed a half-smile at Alice. "They always did call me a bit mad," he joked. But he became serious again as he looked at the silent girl in from of him. The stubborn, lovely, brilliant girl that had come back to Wonderland just to find him. "I'm never going to stop wanting you to be safe and happy, Alice. I told you once that I would take care of you, and that I'll do until I can't anymore. You will always be the most important person to me."
Hatter really cared. He wasn't going anywhere voluntarily. He wasn't going to abandon her. Alice's carefully constructed walls had taken a beating over the past weeks, but Hatter's words had finally destroyed them. Not caring about letting her feelings show for once, Alice threw her arms around Hatter. It hurt like hell, but at that moment he really didn't care. Alice was here, in his arms, not trying to run away. She wasn't trying to hide from him. He pulled her even tighter against him.
"Finally," he murmured against her hair. He couldn't believe he'd gone for months without this girl.
Alice pulled back for just a second, and looked him in the eyes. "You have no idea how happy I am just to see you – alive. I didn't think…" Alice paused for a moment. And so Hatter did the only thing an intelligent man could.
His lips met hers, gently at first, gauging her response. Alice pulled his head even closer to hers, her fingers winding through his glorious hair. She'd wanted to do that for a long time. The kiss grew in intensity until they were both breathing a little too loudly to ignore. Hatter moved his head back, resting his forehead on Alice's. He felt as though he was flying. His body was still incredibly sore, but he didn't care at the moment. It was enough just being here with her.
"I missed you."
Ok, so leave me a review and let me know what you thought! Ask me any questions you have, and I'll do my best to answer without giving anything away. New chapter should be up in about a week.