Disclaimer: As much as I love writing fanfiction, I wouldn't be doing it if I owned Alice, I would be forcing Syfy to make this story into Alice Part II.

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The First Refugee

The next day, Alice went back to work. It was hard to focus on teaching a bunch of white belts karate when her mind was on Hatter and what he was doing. The idea of turning the warehouse into a club had been brilliant (once he finally told her about it). And she thought that the idea of making it Wonderland themed would be good for the refugees once they arrived. They would have a place where they could talk and just be themselves without having to worry about the fact that they wouldn't fit into her world right away.

Hatter had promised that he wouldn't get into too much trouble while she was gone for the day. Once the man had found the computer at Jack's apartment and had gotten a quick explanation of how to use the internet, he had gone to work, compiling all the information he would need, including codes and regulations that the club would have to meet in order to open.

She corrected one of the students, showing him how to roll during a fall to keep from getting the breath knocked out of his chest. White belt classes meant that she constantly had to be changing stances and positioning, since none of the students actually knew what they were doing.

Ordinary life seemed tame after what she had been through, but she welcomed it.

"Ok, everyone! Next class is Wednesday at seven. Remember to practice your falls." She dismissed the class.

It would have been nice having someone to talk to about what had happened. Hatter was great, but she wished that she had girlfriends she could discuss things with. But she couldn't tell any of her friends about what was going on, not that she had many. Most other girls she knew tended to view her with either scorn or suspicion. Having had bad luck with men and a habit of running away from relationships was apparently unforgivable. Most other girls had given up on talking to Alice long before, when they realized that her chronic relationship problems were mostly her own fault.

She changed back into normal clothes and walked over to the warehouse. Even if Hatter wasn't there, it was still better than going home so early. She still felt a bit uncomfortable about the idea of heading over to Jack's old apartment, even though she had brought Hatter there, since her map had turned out to be indecipherable to someone who had only lived in New York a few days.

Her heels clicked loudly on the concrete of the construction site. The bare walls and hard floors gave no hint of the future that the building held. She wondered what the place would look like once Hatter got hold of it. She imagined something that looked like the game room from the Casino and shuddered. Hopefully Hatter wouldn't use that particular decorating scheme.

Alice turned the corner to see a tall, blonde woman sitting regally on one of Hatter's chairs.

"Finally, if it's your fault I'm stuck here, you might as well help me out a bit." The woman's eyes flashed as she flipped her hair angrily with the back of her hand. At her feet lay a collection of suitcases, like petitioners kneeling before their queen.

Alice's mouth formed an "o" of surprise.

"Duchess?"

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"What do you mean…? You can't really be serious… What does she expect us to do?" Hatter looked out the window of his new apartment. He refused to think of the fact that it had been Jack's even if there seemed to be far too much red and a few too many stylized heart shapes spread throughout. He forced his attention back to the phone call.

Why had Jack decided that it was a good idea to saddle them with his girlfriend? Even if the man didn't like her, it was a bit more than cruel to make Alice have to deal with her.

He needed a way to keep this situation from exploding in his face. Jack's poor problem solving skills were about to make Hatter's life a lot more difficult.

"Bring her over here, then…Yes, I know you don't like this, but it's not like we have anywhere else to put her. Do you need any help with her things…? Of course not, I'll see you soon."

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Alice snapped her phone shut. If she had been in Wonderland at that moment, Jack Heart would be in a lot of pain. She didn't exactly understand why Duchess had decided to leave Wonderland, but she was sure that it wasn't going to be good. Thank goodness she had come with all the paperwork she would need.

"At least I know that Jack's apartment is going to be nicer than this." Duchess nearly whined. It was painful to think that this woman with her flimsy dresses and big hair thought that she could fit into Alice's world. But then again, maybe she could become a model or something, Alice thought bitterly. She still remembered Duchess's comments about how plain Alice was compared to the blonde, tall, elegant beauty that she possessed.

The brunette picked up a suitcase in each hand, leaving the last two for Duchess to carry.

Public transportation was out of the question with all the blonde's bags, and Alice wasn't sure if Duchess could walk the blocks to Hatter's apartment wearing no shoes at all. The woman certainly didn't need the extra height, but walking around New York with no shoes on was idiotic.

So, Alice called a cab. It took nearly a half-hour for one to arrive and then another ten to get through to Hatter's place, thanks to an accident that had diverted traffic onto the side roads.

Alice tried not to think of the fact that the woman beside her was Jack's girlfriend, the woman that he had been engaged to the entire time that he had been dating Alice. It stung to think that she was "the other woman" in that scenario and she felt a little bit more forgiving of Duchess's behavior. Maybe the woman had insulted Alice because she had felt threatened. Who knew? Alice never understood why some girls acted that way, but she would accept it for the time being.

Hatter was standing outside the apartment. She smiled when she saw him and he helped her carry the bags upstairs, while Duchess trailed after them, commenting on how dirty and smelly Alice's world was.

The woman had obviously never been into the city in Wonderland. Cities were generally dirty places, no matter what world they were in.

"So, where are the Clubs?" asked Duchess as she sat down on the couch.

"The what?" Alice asked, noting that Hatter had made a sour face at the woman's question.

"The servants." Duchess's imperious tone stung. "I doubt that Jack would live here if there were no servants to care for him."

Wow, thought Alice, she has absolutely no clue.

"There aren't servants here, at least not with the amount of money Jack was living on." Come to think of it, why had the man gotten a relatively modest apartment when he had a few million to be able to give to Hatter? Well, he hadn't exactly been the king then, she reminded herself. "Around here, we do our own work."

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AN:

I'm feeling a little bit evil. Why else would I make Alice and Hatter have to take care of Duchess? The idea of her coming to our world was just too fun for me to resist.

And about Alice's problems with other women… It seems that there are quite a few women who are made uncomfortable by their friend having constant relationship problems. Sooner or later, they tend to start blaming the friend and assuming that there is something wrong with the person that they can't have a good relationship. In Alice's case, she admits to this problem, which seems like it would make other people wonder why she can't fix it. In my mind, her friends weren't very understanding and got caught up in the fact that Alice was always in the same situation. I think Carol is the person that Alice is most comfortable talking to, but Alice can't tell her everything, especially not about Wonderland.

If you have comments, critiques or just want to share something you thought while reading, leave a review. I love reading them.