Disclaimer: Alice is owned by Syfy and Lewis Carroll still. Since I seem to be lacking an army to take over Wonderland, I have to admit that fact.

Dedication: For JenniferBroadway since she mentioned that it wouldn't be bad to see some kissing.

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An Interlude

"No." After all that had happened the last time she fell through that mirror, she was a bit afraid. Time was different there, things were different. And who knew how much luck Jack was having getting Wonderland back in order.

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"Can't we just spend some time here?" She asked, sounding a lot more vulnerable than Hatter had ever heard her before, except when she had spoken to her father.

He relaxed. It didn't sound like she never wanted to go back to Wonderland, just not now. He understood that well enough. Who knew if the Resistance actually knew they had won the battle yet? Dodo's men might still be after him if he passed back through the Glass.

His arm snaked around Alice's shoulder, slowly enough to give her time to move away. Thankfully, she didn't.

They sat like that for hours, not talking, not even kissing, but just sitting together in silence. It was peaceful, and he hadn't known that Alice even liked peaceful.

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Alice had fallen asleep, curled up in his arms. It was wonderful not to have to do anything with a guy. She didn't have to prove that she was attracted to Hatter. She didn't have to prove that she was stronger than him. Hatter had accepted her through their journeys together in Wonderland. And now it was time to just be, no rushing into things for once, no focusing on a future that may or may not happen. With Hatter, she could finally just sit still and not feel as if there was something that she needed to be doing. She was with Hatter and for the moment that was enough.

And so she slept, better than she had in the hospital, or in her own bed, because the scent of Hatter filled her nose. Peppermint, spice and that wonderful, unnamable scent of a man that made her feel protected.

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Soon after Alice fell asleep, Hatter felt his eyes drift closed. The images of the refugees haunted him. Had anyone thought to tell them that they were finally free to leave the Library? His heart raced as he watched Dodo (a man he had respected, even if he didn't trust him) pull the trigger.

Over and over he felt the bullet hit. If he had any say in it, Alice would never know just how much that one action had hurt him, even if it had only left a bruise.

That's when he had fallen for her: the moment that she refused to hit that blue button and came running back to save him.

As soon as Alice invaded his dreams, forcing Dodo away from him, Hatter's tension eased. His body pressed against the warm, terrifying girl in his arms and he sighed with contentment.

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Something scratched Alice's cheek as she shifted closer to the warmth beside her. She opened her eyes. Hatter's jaw and nose were all she could see. Somehow her head had ended up on his chest, not that she minded at all.

She wanted to kiss the tip of his nose, rub her cheek against the start of his beard and then kiss him. Alice wondered what his eyes would look like if she woke him up that way. Could those chocolate brown eyes get any darker?

Biting her lip, Alice tried to think of something else (anything else). Where should she take Hatter for their second date? Some people might count pizza and then anything else they did tonight as one date, but it felt important to Alice that they be considered two dates. After all, her mother would probably accept Hatter a bit more quickly if Alice explained that she had been on multiple dates with the man.

Who was she fooling? Alice wondered to herself. Her mother would get used to Hatter eventually no matter if she wanted to or not. Alice had no intention of running away from this man. He had already followed her through the Looking Glass.

Giving into her impulses had gotten her a first kiss with Hatter. Now giving in would give her a second one.

She rubbed her face against his. Never before had she dated a guy who allowed himself facial hair. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure if any of her ex-boyfriends even could grow facial hair. Hatter seemed older, more mature than any of the men she had dated except for Jack. Hatter… mature… she felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward.

Her gentle kiss to the tip of his nose failed to wake him. But as soon as her lips closed over that Cupid 's bow mouth of his, she felt him begin to stir.

His arms tightened their hold on her and his eyes snapped open.

They were darker, nearly black. Cute would have been a word she would normally use to describe Hatter. But the look in his eyes, coupled with his lips on hers… Mature definitely didn't cut it. Hatter was a man, from the creases in his brow to the stubble on his chin and the look in his eyes only confirmed that.

He kissed her slowly, thoughtfully and if his mouth still tasted like pizza, she found she didn't mind.

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Hatter wanted her. An entire bottle of Lust couldn't have made him feel this way. He had never needed any other woman in the way that he felt for Alice.

He ended the kiss, nipping gently at her lips.

"Well," he began, his voice husky, "care to show me more of your world?" He rubbed the palms of his hands in his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

If Alice looked a bit disappointed, he tried not to think of it. She might have forgotten Jack Heart so quickly, but Hatter wouldn't. She might still decide that being Queen of Wonderland would be better than living in her world with a former tea shop owner and smuggler.

"Actually, do you have bathrooms here?" He felt disgusting, sweaty and stale from sleeping for so long. His hair felt greasy and was flopping down into his face instead of defying gravity like usual.

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Alice thanked her lucky stars that her mom was at the gallery. It made sneaking Hatter into the apartment less like actual sneaking.

She sat in her room, trying not to think about the fact that Hatter was in her bathroom, literally taking a bath. She ignored the splashes and the faint cursing that she heard through the wall. Or at least she tried to.

He emerged from the bathroom, thankfully fully dressed. His hair looked damp and his usual smell of peppermint was partially overpowered by the combination of her shampoo and her mother's mousse. Hatter had even found her eyeliner.

She grinned at him. The clothes were ones she had seen in the suitcase, but never on him before. His black pants looked almost like jeans and his shirt was a soft brown with a dark green paisley motif that looked more than a bit like the mark that had been burned on her skin by the Scarab lights.

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"You ready?" Alice asked. She looked as if she were trying to be innocent.

"Why do I have a very bad feeling about this?" She was going to get him in trouble again. He had stayed out of trouble very well on his own. But this girl seemed keen on making him die of a heart attack before his next birthday.

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AN:

Insert semi-mandatory kissing scene. Syfy denied us so often during the show that I had to make up for it at least a little bit.

I don't exactly know why Hatter smells like peppermint in this fic. I guess I just wanted there to be something a tiny bit childish about him, since he is based on the Mad Hatter.

Finally, this fic was supposed to 10,000 words long and have a relatively simple plot line. But as I passed word 10,000 last night while planning out the rough drafts of the next few chapters, I drew a Cheshire Cat in my notebook followed by the phrase "Cheshire ate the plot bunnies and has replaced them with a herd of Jabberwockies…" and then came the plot outlines for a bunch more chapters.

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