AN: Sorry for the delay. Life and holidays and NaNoWriMo, oh my! As recompense, a long-ish chapter with gooey center.
This chapter is chock-full of fluffy cliche and is dedicated to all the Alice stories that have come before. Thanks and enjoy!
I do not own or have any rights to Alice, the good folks at SyFy do.
Can you show me, dear
Something I've not seen?
Something infinitely interesting
Hatter awoke with a start, finding himself not in the abandoned building that would become his Tea Shoppe but instead in the Tulgey Wood under a blanket with Alice still curled up beside him. Thank the stars. The past had stayed where it belonged, confined to dream and memory. He suspected the unnerving remembrance was brought to the surface by his meeting with the Cheshire. The chilling realism of the nightmare lingered but was brushed to the edges of his mind thanks to the warm body tucked safely in his arms.
It was nearly dawn. While the sun had yet to make her appearance, the sky above the trees had brightened from black to blue. There was a dim pink glow to the edges of the forest that made the mist shimmer and the dew sparkle. Judging by her steady breathing unchanged by hours creeping along, Hatter guessed Alice wasn't a morning person.
"Alice, wake up," he urged softly, moving his shoulder in the hopes that would nudge her gently into consciousness.
Alice made a disagreeable face and blinked her eyes open, assessing her current status. Creepy Wonderland forest before dawn, check. Comfy Hatter pillow, check. "What's wrong?" she asked groggily.
"Nuthin'," Hatter assured her. "It's time to get up."
Sensing no immediate danger, Alice closed her eyes and nuzzled her face sleepily into Hatter's chest.
"Alice," Hatter coaxed, brave fingers brushing tentatively across her cheek.
"It's not even dawn yet," she muttered grumpily.
"Remember the stream we passed by?" he whispered into her hair. "If we hurry, before we leave there might be time to wash up."
"Cold water first thing in the morning," Alice grumbled, lifting her head. "You sure know how to entice a girl."
Her cheek still pressed against his shoulder, Alice's face was close enough that he could feel her warm breath on his chin against the chilly morning air. Speaking of enticement, Alice's mouth was an open target that was especially tempting with the rest of her pressed firmly against him. Hatter playfully brushed his nose against hers, giving her fair warning to stop him if that's what she wanted. She only grinned sleepily, a smile that Hatter returned as he leaned in.
If Jack, or March, or the Queen herself had shown up at that moment, Hatter would have said to hell with them all - this morning he was getting the kiss from Alice that was stolen from them yesterday.
Hatter completed said kiss with a hesitant press of lips. Soft and careful, testing her reaction. This was still new. Exciting. Each light touch and borrowed breath was a unique thrill. Amazing. And when she responded with a languid slide of her lips against his it was overwhelming.
Alice inhaled much needed air into suddenly heavy lungs and breathed in spicy chai, well-worn leather, and Hatter. The comforting scent made her worry about her own odor and her fuzzy brain struggled to dig up Hatter's previous comment about a nearby stream.
Too soon, she reluctantly pulled away. "Washing up sounds nice, actually," she admitted.
Hatter blinked and stayed silent for a moment, waiting to process what she had said. His disappointment that she had ended what he felt was a perfectly good kiss was only tempered by the fact that she had yet to disengage herself from his embrace. Thank Wonderland for small miracles.
"Right," he answered good-naturedly, throwing in a quick peck on her unguarded lips for good measure. She didn't seem to mind. She just looked down modestly, dark lashes shadowing pink cheeks.
He stood, bringing Alice with him. The cover fell from her shoulders and she shivered, missing the warmth that only came from cuddling up together. Hatter folded the blanket over and wrapped it round her shoulders like a shawl, his hands lingering longer than necessary and giving her arms a reassuring, if somewhat possessive, squeeze.
"Follow me," Hatter offered. The way would be different today but he remembered enough to get them there.
Sleepy Alice proved to be a very suggestible Alice, as she obeyed without comment. She fell into stride behind him, her hand reaching and almost magnetically finding his. Hatter looked down expectantly, waiting for her to pull him to a stop for some unknown reason. But she just threaded her fingers between his and held tightly, continuing to walk behind him.
Hatter smiled to himself, marveling at the simple yet affectionate contact. It seemed Oysters held hands just for the pleasure of it. The soft warmth of her hand was pleasantly distracting. A constant reminder that she was still there, following quietly behind him.
In the dim forest, the shadows of trees they passed seemed to move independently of their rate of motion walking through the forest. Alice first thought it must be a trick of the early pre-dawn light but soon remembered she was in Wonderland and Kat had told the trees to shift in order to keep them safe on their journey. The dark trunks cleared before them into an open glade.
Alice stopped in her tracks. Dozens of glowing butterflies flickered in colorful, dancing light as they flitted about the clearing. Each creature illuminated its own dazzling rainbow, changing colors with each flap of their tiny wings.
"Damn. Fireflies are out," Hatter griped. "Go on, git." He swatted ineffectually at the shining insects. Alice caught his arm and shot him an annoyed look. "They're pests," he defended.
"They're beautiful," Alice breathed, mesmerized.
"Look all you like," Hatter mumbled, pulling his arm back. "Just don't complain to me if they bite ya."
She watched the vibrant, fluttering display with wide eyes that shone with pure amazement. Hatter followed her fascinated gaze, trying to see the bothersome insects through her eyes. He supposed 'flies didn't glow in her world and if she'd never seen a sparkling bug before this might be pretty astonishing.
Alice watched a firefly drift down toward her and innocently reached out her hand, as a fairytale princess might for a wandering bluebird. The insect landed softly and she was rewarded with a sharp puncture as it bit her finger roughly. She yelped in pain and shook the firefly away, pulling her hand backward quickly.
Hatter sighed but somehow restrained the shameless I told you so that threatened to spill out. Instead, he gingerly caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, gently sucking at the wound to staunch the slight bleeding. It never occurred to him that the action was bold until he heard her small gasp and saw the blush cover her cheeks. He ran his thumb soothingly over her knuckles just once and released her hand.
"Come on," he urged lowly. "It's just up ahead."
Alice nodded and followed him silently through the last grove of trees separating the clearing from the banks of a clear flowing stream.
Blanket dropped from her shoulders and forgotten for the moment, Alice rushed forward and kneeled on the rocks beside the creek. She carefully dipped her hands into the rushing water and gasped at the icy cold feeling. She knew the water would be cool but that didn't prepare her for the shock of it.
"I wish it was warm," she said longingly.
"Just ask," Hatter suggested.
She looked back at him, clearly confused.
"Everything is alive in Wonderland, Alice," he explained patiently. He cleared his throat and spoke strongly. "Stream, please be warm," he said. Magic words that would entice the living waters to obey.
Alice dipped her fingers back into the water. "It's still cold," she said flatly.
Hatter shrugged, "They don't always listen."
Alice leaned down low, dark hair falling into the water as her lips hovered just above the brook's steady flow. The gentle look on her face illuminated by the faint glow of the approaching dawn was enough to steal Hatter's breath away. "Stream," she breathed softly. "Please be warm."
She lowered her hand into the stream again and looked up at him brightly. "It's warm," she chirped happily.
Indeed, wisps of steam were already beginning to rise off the water. Well, of course it would listen to Alice.
"Amazing," Hatter hummed and admittedly he wasn't just talking about the water.
Alice hopped up excitedly and in a bold move proceeded to strip down, starting with her boots. Hatter turned away instantly, his back to the stream and eyes pointed in the direction of their camp.
"I'll just keep watch, then," he decided in that moment.
Alice paused in her undressing to consider him. "Aren't you coming in?" she assumed. Washing up in a cold creek was one thing but she never expected him to turn down a hot soak after all they had been through the past few days.
"Um, no," Hatter replied surely.
As a rule, Wonderlanders didn't take off their clothes - except maybe to change them. Clothing was a form of identity and being caught without it was to show a personal, intimate truth about a oneself that was best kept hidden. If a Wonderlander were to get naked for, say, a bath, it would be in the guarded privacy of one's home. Certainly not in the presence of another and definitely never in a wide open forest.
Alice shrugged in a suit yourself fashion and continued to undress, folding her clothes neatly on the bank.
"Living streams, walking trees... do mountains move in Wonderland too?" Alice babbled conversationally to Hatter's back as she dipped her feet experimentally into the water.
"Of course mountains move," Hatter replied brashly. Of all the absurd - "Apples in trees. Paper currency. Cities on the ground. Your world sounds like a good bit of nonsense."
"There's a lot of nonsense," Alice agreed. Cheap tabloids, reality television, and frivolous lawsuits were just a few that came to mind. "But not those things. They are normal."
"Then there's no such thing as normal," Hatter muttered gruffly.
"Don't you want to wash up?" she pressed inquisitively. The deeper she sank into the water, the more shocked she was that he had refused so thoroughly.
"I'm all right," he answered quickly. But he wasn't, really. Hatter wanted a warm bath, yes, but not like this. This just made him dream all the more for his little safehouse in the city. The one place he couldn't be bothered with Princes and quests and tempting little Oysters inviting him to bathe with them.
Alice moved deeper into the running water, thankfully slowed by the stony rapids upstream. The lull in the stream widened like a pond around her, fresh warm water running steadily through the pool. In the middle Alice found it deep enough to cover her shoulders if she kneeled slightly. She found a smooth boulder to lean against. The slow current and permeating warmth were completely relaxing, easing her tense muscles gradually.
"Hatter," Alice moaned and the sound affected him as surely as her kiss. "The water's hot. It's lovely."
"Sod it," Hatter cursed roughly. He'd broken nearly every rule of Wonderland already, what was one more? He peeled off his jacket and turned to see Alice watching him from the water. "Well don't look," he complained, voice cracking without his permission.
Alice laughed outright. She couldn't help it. Outspoken, cocky Hatter was shy.
He fidgeted with his top button, a hot flush rising to his cheeks. "Turn around," he ordered.
Alice obeyed, wading further into the stream and turning to face the other way. It was a strange role reversal for her to be the bold one. Growing up, it was always her more daring friends trying to convince her to come out of her shell. Whether it be for skinny dipping, spin the bottle, or even the most asinine and innocent teenage shenanigans. Losing her father had set her on an almost obsessive path with little time for a social life, let alone a love life.
Her romantic past wasn't much more than a string of short and utterly failed relationships that were mostly just going through the motions for her mother's sake. Her mom was always worrying over a fear of intimacy and other motherly concerns. She thought Jack was different. But the more she learned about the real Jack, the more she was beginning to think what was different about him could all be attributed to Wonderland. And now here she was, naked in the water cajoling a man she barely knew to come join her.
But then again, he wasn't just any man. He was Hatter. Her Wonderland guide and underdog champion. A friend, she hoped, and a trusted companion. There were some close calls, namely his attempt to sell her out to Dodo for "his usual cut," that made her doubt... but in the end Hatter had proven true to his word that he would help and look after her in this strange land.
Alice was jarred from her thoughts as she heard Hatter splashing into the water behind her. As it turned out, the certainty of his threadbare state was more daunting than the mere possibility and she felt a flustered blush rise to her face. The water was clear but it was still dark enough for the shadows to hide whatever was below the waterline. Still, even as she felt sure he had waded past his hips, Alice hesitated to turn around.
"Never thought I'd want a bath so badly," Hatter mused aloud.
"I guess you've never been camping," she teased.
"Whaddya mean camp-ing?" he asked, puzzled. They'd certainly made camp last night.
"What we've been doing for the past two days," Alice snickered with a knowing grin. "Sitting around the fire. Being in nature. Telling stories. Sleeping under the stars."
"And Oysters do this for fun?" he grumbled, disbelieving. "On purpose?"
"Yeah," she answered, finding the bravery to turn around and face him. "I used to go with my - hey, you kept your hat," Alice noticed with an uncharacteristic giggle. Leave it to him to strip naked but leave the headgear on. Still, Hatter in nothing but a hat was an attractive picture she wouldn't soon forget. With an even darker blush, Alice filed that thought away for later.
"I wasn't gonna leave it," Hatter clarified. He touched the top compulsively as though to confirm it was still there on his head. He nodded to himself, satisfied with the result.
He settled against a mass of rocks a few feet from Alice. He sat stiffly at first, uncomfortably aware of his lack of clothing and proximity to another person in an equally bare state of dress. But he couldn't escape the hot water's relaxing balm for long and soon he was sinking bonelessly against his stony backrest.
"Worth it, right?" Alice goaded with a boastful smirk.
"Mmm," came Hatter's noncommittal grunt in reply.
Alice smiled. "Thank you," she said quietly. And she found she truly meant it.
Hatter opened his eyes and regarded her curiously, "For what?"
"Everything," she replied honestly, and the thoughts came pouring out without inhibition. "Staying with me. Saving me. Bringing me here and letting me have a..."
Alice stopped. Hatter was staring. Not in a perverted way, his gaze focused above the waterline, but more in an I've just seen a ghost kind of way.
"What?" Alice asked self-consciously. She imagined there was a jabberwock, or some equally frightening monster, right behind her. Just her luck. And everything was going so well.
Hatter gawked openly at the phenomenon he'd first started to notice this morning, only now it had grown from a burning ember to a full on blaze.
"Alice," he breathed, awestruck. "You're glowing."
Alice's eyes shot down instantly and she witnessed the golden shimmer covering her body. She jolted as though she could jump out of her own skin. She looked positively radioactive.
"Is this bad?" she asked quickly, her voice wavering. Rarely was anything good in her experience of Wonderland.
"No," he replied, chuckling lightly. "It means you're happy. Oysters glow with positive emotions. Usually just a little iridescence. But only this brightly when the good eclipses the bad."
Alice nodded tightly, having no other choice but to accept his explanation. This was the first chance she'd had to relax since falling through the Looking Glass. And she did find in this moment she was content, soaking in a magical hot spring with only Hatter for company.
The man in question had closed the distance between them while she was distracted with worry and was currently running his hands over her skin wonderingly. She gasped lightly at the soft touch. The moment turned suddenly raw and intimate. His wandering fingers left a burning path on her arm hotter than the surrounding water.
Hatter looked up to her shimmering face, his eyes all amazement and innocence. Alice guessed he had no earthly idea what he was doing to her. At the undoubtedly hazy look in her eyes he seemed to come back to himself a bit.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I've just never seen it close up. It's beautiful." You're beautiful, his mind added helpfully, but he didn't think she was ready to hear that from him.
"Are you?" Hatter asked before he could stop himself. He gave in to the selfish urge because he just had to know. She was naked and approachable and glowing. And all with him, not Jack.
"Am I what?" Alice asked, blinking delicately to try and shake away the fog that had clouded in her mind. His gentle caress, timid apology, and saccharine compliment all left her in a bit of a daze.
"Happy?" he managed in a small voice.
"Yeah," she murmured distractedly. The smile spread slowly across Alice's face but that only made it all the more dazzling.
The air was thick again and Hatter's heart started pounding out of nowhere. He was beginning to recognize this feeling very well. This longing to be close to Alice in every way possible. There was a word for it but it escaped him in the excitement of watching her lips smile for him.
"The Prince is awake," the Cheshire's warning call rang suddenly from above. She was lounging in a tree and it didn't look at all as though she had just appeared.
"Dammit, Kat," Hatter swore angrily. Once was enough. He was really getting tired of being interrupted.
"You could leave him be," Kat proposed lightly. "But then he'll come looking."
"No he's not," Hatter decided firmly. "I'll be there to intercept him."
Alice scoffed, "You. Are going to stall Jack?"
"Yup," Hatter answered, leaning into her space and putting a solid 'pop' on the 'p' as he had at their first meeting. Alice didn't flinch this time, just fixed him with a skeptical look. He placed his beloved hat on his beloved Alice's head, as though that would end any and all further arguments. "Keep that for me," he requested, then tugged the brim down to cover her eyes. "No peeking."
"And you," Hatter turned and pointed an accusatory finger at the Cheshire in the tree. "Keep her safe and make sure she gets back to camp in one piece."
Kat saluted stiffly with a mock serious expression on her face. But she dutifully remained in the tree with no signs of disappearing. The Cheshire had proved herself useful in commanding the trees so Hatter decided to trust her with the task of protecting Alice at least back to the campsite.
He took a deep breath, mustering up courage, and slowly made the inevitable journey from the safety of the water to his clothes on the bank.
"Me-ow" Kat purred appreciatively as he reached the shore.
"Shut it," Hatter snapped. He kept his eyes on his work as he started to dress and tried not to imagine Kat staring at him intently.
"How come she gets to peek?" Alice pouted. Whether she was ready to see a nude Hatter was beside the point. The fact was, the Cheshire was getting a show that Alice was denied. And that just wasn't fair.
"No blindfold fast enough to cover her eyes," Hatter reasoned, daring an angry glare up at Kat now that he at least had his trousers on.
"Don't you know, wild card," the Cheshire grinned madly. "It's impolite to deny a lady. Especially an Alice."
"Just get her back safely," Hatter ordered, annoyed at her teasing. He buttoned his shirt faster than he ever had before. In a flurry of movement he was fully dressed again and ready to be on his way. "Don't let her try anything funny, Alice," he warned. "Just follow Kat back to camp."
Alice nodded, pulling up his hat to watch him go. "Be careful," she said before thinking. It wasn't that far but after finally letting her guard down she was sad to leave his presence even for a little while. She supposed her worry was also Jack. She hoped they wouldn't quarrel too much before she got there.
Hatter gave Alice an all-business nod, shot Kat one last threatening stare, and disappeared through the woods.
"Just us girls, now," Kat chirped good-naturedly. She faded from the tree and reappeared on the bank with a bell chime, holding out the blanket like an oversized beach towel and squinting her eyes shut. "Come along. Boys are waiting."
Alice smiled despite herself at the Cheshire's antics. As irritated as Hatter seemed to be in her presence, he obviously trusted Kat if he left them alone. For Alice, girl time meant answer time.
"Why does the Resistance want to kill Hatter?" Alice asked clearly as she waded her way through the water.
"No mincing words?" the Cheshire hummed. Her eyebrows raised curiously but her eyes remained shut. "Straight to the point, then. You were there, my sweet. He didn't give up the ring. Or you."
"Jack said he had enemies on both sides," Alice elaborated as she reached the bank. She tapped the middle of the blanket to let Kat know she was there and the Cheshire wrapped the ends around her snugly. The almost maternal nature of the gesture was not lost on Alice. Satisfied that she was covered, Kat stepped away and turned to give her privacy to dress.
"An Ace makes quite a few ripples when he betrays the Queen," the Cheshire told her solemnly. "She never forgets treason."
"His father was a Suit," Alice realized gravely. A large shadow to outrun. A tremendous danger to be forced into the Queen's spotlight. She felt guilt seize at her chest at the thought that she had dragged him into certain doom.
Kat frowned at her simplistic statement. "Spades was a good person who did bad things to stay alive, like most of us in those days. He made the right decision. In the end. His life was the cost."
"When he saved Hatter's mother from the Casino?" Alice proposed for confirmation.
The Cheshire cleared her throat, a decidedly human response, and showed a crack in her overzealous confidence for the first time. "Isn't this a story for the Hatter to tell?"
"He started, but I didn't push it," Alice admitted. "I don't want to hurt him."
Kat nodded, it would seem, in understanding, though it was hard to tell from behind.
Alice pressed on, changing tactic and topic as she finished dressing, "If all the Cheshires are gone, how did you survive?"
"I wasn't here when the Hearts launched their coup," the last surviving Cheshire replied with a knowing grin.
"Why didn't the Queen kill when you got back?"
"Such a clever girl," Kat patronized loftily. "Cheshire were here before people were. I only look human so I can speak to you. We are of Wonderland. You need a vorpal sword to kill a creature of Wonderland."
"A vorpal sword?" Alice repeated with a measure of disbelief. Just when she thought she knew all the wacky Wonderland trivia, there was more.
"A weapon unique to Wonderland. Cannot be replicated in your world," the Cheshire explained in a bored tone. "The knights lost their battle with the Queen of Hearts for the throne. But the last vorpal sword they won back. Now the Queen has none."
"Where is it now?"
"Safe," Kat replied and Alice recognized the evasive tone she had used herself to protect the ring. If the vorpal sword was the only way to kill her, Alice understood the Cheshire's desire to hide it.
"We should hurry along," the Cheshire urged. "Not a good idea to leave those two alone."
Alice nodded in agreement. That just may be the understatement of the century.
"Where is Alice?" Jack demanded the moment Hatter came in sight. The Prince was staring at him suspiciously. So untrusting.
"Wanted to give her some time by the stream to wash up," Hatter replied simply. "Kat is bringing her back."
"You left her alone with the Cheshire?" Jack growled disapprovingly.
"With Kat," Hatter amended. "The Cheshire who promised to help us. Who I've known a good bit longer than you. Yes, I left her with that Cheshire."
"For your sake, I hope she arrives soon," the Prince warned icily. "And safely."
"She's not as delicate as you might think, your majesty," Hatter grumbled as he began packing his horse. "Alice 's already taken out Dodo, outrun a jabberwock, and dispatched her fair share of Suits before you showed up."
Hatter smiled proudly as he reflected on each perilous adventure on their journey so far. As aggravating as Alice could be sometimes, there was no doubt she was fierce and strong-willed. A lesser Oyster - a lesser woman - might have crumbled under the madness they had endured so far. But Alice always pulled through with an impossible determination to overcome any obstacle that stood in the way of her goal. He admired that... most of the time.
"It was not my intention to bring her into peril," Jack snorted derisively. "If that's what you're implying."
Hatter rolled his eyes heavenward and sighed, "I'm just saying she can handle herself."
Leave it to the Prince of Hearts to take it personally. Not that Hatter found Jack completely blameless in putting Alice in danger. Because he didn't. In fact, he was pretty sure he had Jack to blame for every deplorable mishap they had encountered over the past few days. And he fully intended to hold him accountable.
The Prince moved past the petty glowering and on to planning out their next moves. "Since you're here," Jack began, begrudging Hatter's mere presence with them. "I'll need you to keep a wary eye about. When we get to the Hospital - "
"The Hospital?" Hatter cut him off sharply. "That's where you're taking us?"
"That's where Caterpillar is," the Prince replied. As though it were plain as day.
Hatter shook his head in disbelief. "You can't take Alice there," he protested. "She's an Oyster, they'll tear her apart."
"I am well aware of the risks," Jack said dismissively.
"You're furious with me for leaving Alice with Kat for a minute," Hatter fumed. "And yet here you are ready to drag her into an asylum full of Tea addicts?"
"You let your emotions get the better of you," the Prince scolded calmly. "If you react this strongly to every decision it will be you who puts Alice in danger."
"You're the one claiming to love her. Don't you care about her safety?"
"For pity's sake, Hatter," Jack snapped angrily. "Shut off your Oyster side for just a moment and think logically."
"What's logical about taking Alice to the Hospital of Dreams?"
"What's the hospital of dreams?" asked a quiet voice at the edge of the clearing.
A sparkling clean Alice wearing his hat was possibly the most welcome site Hatter had ever seen.
AN: A glowing thanks to my beta celticvampriss for her continued edits and encouragement. See you next time at the Hospital... oh, they give me the heebie-jeebies.