I realized after I uploaded this that I magically switched tenses halfway down. So sorry! My head was stuck in another story. Also sorry about it being a short update, but had I included it with the next chapter if would have been a very huge, very late chapter.

Hatter was silent. He hadn't spoken a word since Charlie had dropped the news about his father. Alice sat behind him arms still wrapped around his waist, hoping he would say something soon. But as the hours passed he didn't speak a world, his shoulders rigid, gaze directly ahead. Worry began growing in the back of Alice's mind – she'd just found Hatter. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him to whatever was occupying his mind Hatter was right between her arms, but he might as well have been miles off.

Night had already fallen by the time Charlie felt that their lead was good enough to stop. The Tulgey Wood became completely black at night. Suits unfamiliar with the forest would be lost or dead if they tried to go anywhere in the dark. Alice hoped none of them would get hurt – they were just unwilling pawns of this Scarlett person after all – but she also didn't exactly want to go and lend them a hand. Luckily Charlie had been living out here long enough to know his way even in the pitch black.

"We will make camp here for the evening," Charlie announced. Duchess gave an audible sigh of relief – she'd never been comfortable around horses and wanted to get of this one at the first chance. "We leave at first light, so get as much rest of possible."

Hatter dismounted wordlessly. The suddenness of his movement startled Alice, who now felt uncomfortably alone in the darkness. Her eyes, unused to seeing in the dark, were almost useless and now her only connection to another person had disappeared. Panic starting rising up her body as her mind registered the fact that she was sitting blind on a very tall horse. She froze. How the hell do I get off this thing? I have no idea where the ground even is!

A hand shot out of the darkness and touched Alice's arm, making her jerk. "Hey, it's just me. Though you might need some help." Hatter. He lifted her down as easily as he had from the ladder that first day she met him. Only now when Alice was safely on the ground he didn't turn away but instead hugged her close to his body. When he stepped away, Alice reached up to touch his face. She was surprised to find tears running down his cheeks.

"Hatter," she began, but he laid a finger over her lips.

"Not right now, love. In a bit, I promise, but – not right now. Please?" Alice understood. She'd dealt with the thought that her own father had abandoned her for years before finding out the truth. It had been a huge shock when she had finally found him – Hatter needed some time to process.

He took a deep breath before taking a few steps back from Alice. "Come on, we probably should help Charlie with Duchess. I don't even want to imagine that woman trying to set up camp." He tried to keep his voice light but Alice could hear the strain behind it. She hesitated following me. He turned back to her, aware of the reason for her pause. "I would say I'm fine, but I know you'll just tell me to stop lying. But I will be. I just need a bit of time, love, that's all." Just then, more cursing from Duchess alerted the pair that they were needed elsewhere. "I never knew that woman had such a mouth on her," Hatter chuckled.

"Oh, you'd be surprised about elegant women," Alice said, allowing Hatter to lead her while her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Alice laid perfectly still beside Hatter on the ground. They were sleeping on some blankets Charlie had produced from his saddlebags. She could feel he was awake but not speaking, and she didn't want to disturb him. There was still an edginess about him that unsettled her. She wanted to let him have time to himself to think things out for a bit without her pushing him, but she felt terribly alone at the moment.

A breeze blew through the camp, making Alice shudder beneath her jacket. Hatter suddenly pulled her closer to him.

"Thought you were asleep," he whispered. After she didn't say anything, he continued. "You didn't need to pretend."

"I didn't want to bother you if you needed some time to yourself."

Hatter rolled over to face her. "As if you even could," he scoffed. "I was actually starting to feel a bit lonesome over here." Once again he took her hand and began absent-mindedly playing with her fingers. Alice couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was far off in thought again.

"A few minutes later he suddenly spoke. "I was six when he left." The words came out heavy and stilted. "There never was any explanation – just one day I came home and he was gone and Mum was crying. She never told me what happened, but she wasn't angry, just sad. And my Dad never contacted us again. Not even… not even when she died." The last words were quick but sharp.

Alice squeezed his hand. He had never shared this with anyone before.

"Things were hard for awhile, but I got through it. That's actually how I met up with the Resistance. Dodo found me wandering the streets and decided to take me in, but of course I had to earn my keep. I started up smuggling for them – not even queenie there would suspect a kid – and kept going once I was old enough to get out from under Dodo. He… he wasn't pleasant to live under. It was around then that the Hearts started to get suspicious and I started to sell teas for them. I did my best to keep anyone from getting too curious about what I did. Sure, I did my best to help the refugees, but I won't lie and tell you that it was my main motivation. I was just trying to survive. And that's how things were when you caught up with me." Hatter paused again, nestling closer to Alice in the dark. She stroked his wayward hair away from his forehead, letting her fingers curl through his hair. Minutes passed.

"All that time, and he didn't say a word. Didn't try to see me. He had to have – he had to have known-" His final words came out in broken sobs. Hatter tried not to cry, but the effort left him gasping for air. The tears did eventually come, leaving burning trails down his cheeks. Alice sat up, pulling him up with her. Hatter held onto her and cried himself out. Years of resentment and misery poured out of him with every tear that splashed onto Alice's shoulder, until she felt that they might drown in the puddle he'd surely created by now. But she didn't mind at all. Hatter needed this, just like she had.

Eventually the calm after the storm arrived. Hatter's head lay against Alice's shoulder as she continued to stroke his hair. Something was different between them now, both now. Hatter had shared his past, however small that piece is, with someone for the first time since his mother died. They were more connected than they ever have been before, and both of them realized this. They were both a little terrified. They were both a little worried. And they were both understood that neither of those mattered in the face of what was now growing between them.

But for the moment, they were both happy to rest in each other's arms.

Reviews are appreciated as always :)