Disclaimer: Alice is owned by Syfy. Yeah, I know it's sad, but we all have to deal with it.
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What's in a Name? … Apparently a Chess Piece
Alice didn't even look at the papers that Broker had given her until the next morning. It was basic information on the refugees that Jack was sending through. The papers almost read like job applications, listing skills that each person had and what jobs (legal or otherwise) they had held during the Queen's reign. Looking at the documents, Alice realized that Jack must have picked up her world's habit of putting everything down on paper. It was funny to think how different Hatter and Jack were. But she figured that she had picked the better of the two.
"What are you doing, honey?" asked her mom, poking her head into Alice's room.
"Looking over some papers for Hatter." It was the standard response these days. She spent as much time working on things for Hatter as she had looking for her father. Carol frowned at her.
"If David keeps working you so hard, he should at least put you on the payroll." Alice's eyes shot up. Payroll? Well, she did spend more time on his project than her own business. But that was mostly because she wanted him to succeed, because that meant she would be able to keep him.
"Maybe I'll ask him." She mused. "So, were you checking on me for any real reason?" Alice teased her mother.
"I was hoping that we could do something together, just the two of us." That one sentence made the bottom drop out of Alice's stomach. She had been so focused on Hatter and Duchess (mostly Hatter though) that she had forgotten to spend time with her own mom. She and Carol weren't just mother and daughter; they had been best friends for years, since Alice had problems hanging on to other friends. Before Wonderland, Alice used to go out with her mom at least once a week. But since she got back, she figured there had only been two afternoons she had spent with her mom, and most of the time she had been preoccupied.
"Oh, Mom…" Alice began to apologize. Carol held up a hand.
"It's alright, Alice. I just wanted to remind you that there are other things in the world than David." Not that Alice had been acting like there was. "I was thinking… there's a sale going on…"
Alice grabbed the coat that was on her bed. It turned out to be the purple velvet coat that she had worn in Wonderland. She shrugged it on.
"Let's get going."
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Hatter sighed, allowing himself the comfort of putting his feet up on his desk. After all, this was a small victory. The first inspection had gone well the day before and everything pointed to the fact that it would continue to do so. But there was one significant problem.
The club didn't have a name. He needed to pick a name to put in neon lights above the door outside and to put on the paperwork. Hatter realized that he probably should have picked a name around the same time as he picked the interior décor. Now he would just have to figure something out. It was his club after all. He didn't need to consult with Alice and Duchess about everything (though he usually did).
What was a name that he could choose? He couldn't exactly name it "The Looking Glass" that would invite far too much trouble if any of the Oysters who had been held at the Casino remembered the portal.
Something to go with the chess theme would be nice. But Hatter would rather be damned than name it after anything that could be associated with Jack. No comments about kings, hearts or crowns in the name, Hatter swore to himself.
A slow smile spread across his face, though no one was there to see it. If anyone had, they would have realized just how malicious Hatter could look when he was up to one of his schemes.
"Oh no, Jack isn't going to like that one bit." He said to no one.
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"Could we stop by the club?" Carol asked, rather unexpectedly. Both women were holding shopping bags full of new clothing and Alice could only think that she really wanted to set the oversized bags down somewhere.
Carol hadn't shown much interest in the club beyond asking both Alice and Hatter a few basic questions, such as what type of music was going to be played. Trying to explain Wonderland music to her mom had been difficult for Alice, especially since she knew so little about it.
"Um… I suppose. Don't you think that we should stop by home first and drop this stuff off?" Alice hefted a bag, hoping that her mother would realize that Alice was carrying a lot more than she was.
"Nonsense, I think that David will be more than happy to see us. Or you at least, anyway." Alice sighed. There was no getting around her mother once she had an idea in her head. But at least it was true that Hatter probably wouldn't mind them stopping by.
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A banner hung on the door that Alice hadn't noticed before.
cROOKed Opening Soon! It stated in letters almost as big as her head.
cROOKed? He wasn't serious, was he? Though, the name did seem like something that Hatter would think was funny.
"What in the world?" Alice realized that her mother must have read the sign as well. The reference to the theme of the club was obvious to someone who had been inside. But other than that, the name looked a little strange in her opinion. Not that she would tell Hatter. It was probably just another in his long line of jokes that he liked to play on people.
They walked inside to find Hatter sitting at one of the tables. The place looked even better now that the tables and chairs were in place; it broke up the checker board effect of the floor and allowed the eyes to look at the strange curved designs of the chairs. These at least Alice was familiar with, since Hatter had made her and Duchess pick them out.
Alice sat down across from Hatter, happily dropping her bags to the floor. Her mother was still standing, looking around in awe at the work that had been done.
"Alice," started Hatter, "as much as I love you stopping by unannounced… why is your mother here?" His question was thankfully quiet enough that Carol didn't seem to have overheard him.
"She decided that she was interested in what I've been doing. You aren't serious about the name, are you?" Alice asked, switching the conversation just in case her mother heard them talking.
"I'm perfectly serious." He said, with a grin that contradicted that fact. "Do you really think that I would do something so childish as to name this glorious place cROOKed as part of a joke?" Alice raised her brows. Of course she thought that it was a joke. In fact, she might be more frightened if it wasn't.
"David, this place is amazing." Carol's voice cut into their conversation.
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Hatter stood up, excited to have another person who understood exactly how much work had gone into making this place in such a short time.
"Just wait until we open. Everything should be even nicer before that happens." The thing that he couldn't wait for was hooking up his stereobox to the music system. He thought that he had figured out the wiring well enough to hook them together without too much trouble. Fixing the electronics around the Tea Shoppe every one in awhile had prepared him at least a bit for this.
"I wanted to ask you. Would it be alright if I came to the opening? I wasn't sure if it would make this place look too un-cool if I was around." Of course Carol wasn't exactly the clientele that they were looking at, but considering that they would be playing a type of music that didn't have a following in this world yet, he really wasn't expecting too many people at first.
"Mrs. Hamilton, it would be wonderful if you could come. We might need a bit of support. I hear opening nights are always rough." He turned up his charm, hoping to get a smile out of her. His plan worked.
"Call me Carol."
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AN:
Mother/daughter shopping trips are in reality evil plots to destroy the world, or to at least ruin credit ratings.
I had to name the club something funny and a bit off-beat, since that's exactly how Hatter is. cROOKed seemed like a good enough choice, even if other people might think it's lame. Though, most names for clubs tend to be kind of strange to begin with.
The stereobox is a reference to earlier chapters, and it's what I call the device that they use to play music in Wonderland (because my creativity had died that day).
I am willing to read any questions or comments that you have on this fanfic. I'll even answer questions if you want me to.