Disclaimer: Alice and all affiliated names and characters belong to Syfy. If you however want to crown me Queen of Wonderland, I'll make sure that our lovely Hatter hands out some biscuits and tea.

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Hatter's Mad Scheme

Alice paid for the meal, leaving a generous tip, even if by the end, the waitress had been leering openly in Hatter's direction. The money was a bit crumbled, but it was the same money that she had offered to pay Hatter with just a few days before. It seemed right to use it to feed him now he was in her world. He had done his part to make sure that she could rescue Jack, even if the man hadn't needed it.

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"So that stuff really is money." He said softly, looking at the green bills that she had thrown on the table. "And here I thought Ratty was just playing a prank." He considered the little pieces of cloth and paper.

I need to get some of that, he thought to himself. Then he could buy her things, or better yet, find somewhere to sleep. A man had to have his priorities straight after all.

"Nope, no prank." She held out her hand for him again. He took it with a smile.

"Good, because I have an idea." He had started a business once before. Hatter freely admitted his own intelligence. He had started the Tea Shoppe single handedly, only bringing Dormie in later. Once he understood how people interacted and what they wanted, he would be able to set up shop again, admittedly a bit more legal this time.

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An idea from Hatter seemed a bit dangerous. But, she had to admit, he was adjusting rather well to her world. No freak-outs or massive social faux-pas. Not at all what she would have done if she hadn't shown up in Wonderland with a firm objective in mind.

She decided that it was probably better not to ask the former (she hoped) con-man about his plan. If it wasn't completely legal, she could always claim she didn't know about it.

Legality… oh shit. How was she supposed to make Hatter legally exist in her world? Yeah he was flesh and blood, but he couldn't exactly get a job without any social security number or an address. At least he could put her address on applications and she could probably buy him a cell phone, but a social security number was something entirely different. He didn't even have a birth certificate as far as she knew.

Had Jack had this problem? Or had the Resistance taken care of it when they sent him to meet her? There were still too many things she didn't know.

They walked back to the dojo in silence, each one considering a different set of problems.

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She had to find Hatter another place to stay in the next few days. Sleeping at the dojo would be alright for now, since her classes were canceled, but once they started again Hatter's stuff needed to be somewhere else.

Alice unlocked the door to the dojo. Maybe one of her students was in need of a room mate? She would have to ask during the next class.

Hatter made his way over to the mats, seeming intent on lounging on them after his amazing display of gastronomical strength. No man should be able to eat most of two large Tom's pizzas by himself.

She sat beside him in silence, willing to let him start the conversation if he wanted.

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Now, if Hatter could accumulate start up funds off the sale of the Tea Shoppe property, he would probably be able to earn something with enough value that he could convince a friend to change into something of value in this world. With the Resistance at an end and Jack on the throne, the city might become a community again. No more people waiting around tea shops for their next emotional high.

The property value could only increase, but he needed the capital now. He might be able to borrow some of the furniture Mad March hadn't destroyed. Yes, it would work out. All that was needed was to do a bit more research.

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So, Hatter wasn't going to start a conversation. That was fine. Sitting quietly was good… Who was she kidding? Sitting quietly is what she had done after her father left (was taken, she corrected herself). Now she was a girl who preferred action, motion, anything to sitting.

"I think my mom likes you." Alice commented, hoping to draw Hatter out of his thoughts. He sat up straighter.

"If by 'like' you mean 'wants to feed me to the Jabberwockies,' then I'll have to agree with you." Her mouth dropped open.

"She said that you were nice." Hatter's hat spun down his arm in a complex trick.

"'Nice', wow, I think I've earned a medal or something." The hat flew back up to land on his head. "Alice, she expected Jack last night, not me. And saying that I was his friend only made it worse." He looked a bit sad and Alice realized she wanted her happy and sometimes crazy Hatter back.

And suddenly it made sense. Her mother didn't know what Alice knew. They had blown it. Now her mother thought she had turned down Jack's proposal because Alice had been cheating on him with Hatter, not knowing that Jack was already engaged to Duchess. And who knew what Carol thought about the fact that Hatter had "found" her while she was unconscious at a construction site.

Why could her life never be simple?

"We'll explain it to her. Or, better yet, I get Jack and he can explain it to her. He has to owe me something after what I did."

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The idea was a bit far-fetched. Jack probably had other things to be doing now that he was king. But Hatter had some questions and favors to ask of him as well.

"Care for a trip back through the Looking Glass?" He asked casually.

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AN:

So, a plot line now exists, and I seem to have followed it down the rabbit-hole, or in this case just through the Looking Glass.

Paperwork makes the world go round according to most countries. The fact that Hatter has absolutely no proof of anything is a significant problem if he wants to fit into our society.

I'm assuming that Alice is from the United States, judging by her comment about money being "bucks" in the first segment (even if the actress is Canadian). But what city do you think she lives in? There was a trolley early on, but it didn't look like a cable car. I was thinking it might be Chicago or New York, since some of the architecture looks a bit old for L.A.

Questions, comments, or problems you caught that I didn't, I want to hear them all.