Disclaimer: Syfy owns Alice. Lewis Carol owns all the ideas that they stole… (though his copyright might have worn out by now)

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All Mimsy were the Borogoves

Hatter slept for thirteen blissful hours. It was a waste of time, and he knew it. But that hadn't been enough to stop him from sleeping late.

He woke up, stretching languidly, and trying to ignore the light that was coming through the window. After being on his feet for most of the night, he just wanted to stay in bed. And he was sure that all of his employees felt the same way.

The club would be opening in just a few hours, but first shift was Duchess's duty. He would relieve her around ten. The early shift shouldn't have too many people, but then again, it was the weekend. One couldn't be entirely sure how things were going to play out. He still wasn't going to worry himself about it.

For the next few hours, he was free. He could do whatever he wanted.

And what he wanted to do was hunt down Alice. Stolen moments together did not compare to going on a real date. He figured this time he would let her decide where they were going.

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Alice sat at the table across from her mother. Carol hadn't brought up the conversation of the night before. And if Carol didn't talk about it there was no way that Alice would. It had been hard enough to tell her mother the truth. Justifying the fact that she had lied would be even more difficult.

The doorbell rang.

Alice looked up, wondering if her mother had ordered anything. When the bell rang again without her mother acknowledging it, Alice went over.

"Come on, Alice, open the door." She looked through the peephole to see an extra large version of Hatter's right eye pressed up against the glass from the other side.

A smile stole across her face despite the fact that her mother was still around. She opened the door.

Hatter popped into the room, sweeping her up in his arms and giving her a hug. They were both becoming more comfortable with displaying affection around other people. It was strange how being with Hatter made Alice less self-conscious.

Carol cleared her throat and Alice regretfully broke off her embrace with Hatter.

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Was there a reason that Carol looked so scary? Even when she had disliked Hatter, he had never received such an intimidating glare from the woman.

"Um… Alice, is it alright that I'm here?" he asked softly, keeping his eyes on her mother. Why exactly did Carol look like she was ready to eviscerate him?

"I told her the truth." Well, that was it then. He was done for. Carol would tell him to stay away from her daughter and probably blame him for the death of her husband as well. It was going to be an interesting day.

He braced himself for the attack that was sure to come. Lying wasn't a generally acceptable thing in either world and he was ready to take his punishment.

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Alice didn't want to look at her mother. The woman's anger was rolling off her in waves, causing Alice to want to run as far and as fast as she could to get away. But this was her mother, a woman who loved her unconditionally. At least that's what Alice hoped.

"Well, I enjoyed myself last night." said Carol finally. "The club really came together. I must say that the music was my favorite part though." The forced civility in the woman's tone made Alice shudder. Her mother was never like this.

"But hearing that my daughter has been lying to me for the last few months didn't really strike me as the high point of the evening."

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Well, it probably shouldn't, thought Hatter. He was being cynical, and he knew it, but that didn't change anything. Yes, Alice had lied to her mother. But he wasn't exactly certain that Alice would have been able to talk about her father's death before now.

"So, you know that she saved my entire world, right? The Queen was ready to sacrifice all of us to make sure that she kept her twisted game going. Because of Alice, my people have a chance. And because of her father, both of us are still alive." Ok, not his most political speech, but Hatter was angrier than he ever remembered being.

"Maybe without you my husband would still be alive." Well, so much for Carol liking him.

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Jack hated the forest. It was one part of Wonderland that he wouldn't be sorry to see gone. It was dirty, dank and was infested by animals that didn't seem to have an actual purpose. But when he became King of Wonderland, he had sworn to protect every part of his kingdom, even this Jabberwock infested nightmare.

He scratched at the back of his neck, feeling sweat trickling down. The last time he had been this uncomfortable was when his mother had sentenced him to be held in the Eye Room.

The Kingdom of the Knights might have been grand once, but all it was to Jack was a ruin. Even the camp that the White Knight had built was rudimentary at best. There were no walls to protect him, and no one but the old knight knew how to interpret the alarm systems.

But Jack couldn't risk calling the knight away from his post. If he did, his pursuers would figure out that he had fled into the forest.

The idea of going back to Alice's world crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. It would be too easy for him to get stuck there, or to be captured by the rebels when he came back through.

He glanced down at the ring that he was wearing on his smallest finger. At least he kept the Stone of Wonderland with him. After everything that had happened with Alice, he knew that much.

Jack heard a rustling in the woods behind him. Surely it was just his guards returning from securing the area. But still, he stretched his hand out towards the sword that was by him.

A sound pierced the woods, a cry of pain; an inhuman cry.

It was the cry of a dying Borogove.

Jack jumped to his feet, sword in hand. Few humans were smart enough or fast enough to catch the wily birds, but a Jabberwock was.

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AN:

"All mimsy were the borogoves" is part of a line of the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll.

Yes, Carol is being unreasonable. She needs to be. She's decided to believe Alice, but that means that she has to find someone to blame for her husband's death, and she isn't going to blame her daughter for it. Hatter, as the only other person that she knows was there, gets that distinction.

Sticking Jack in the forest seemed like fun. He's always too perfect in the show, the idea of him having to live out in the forest appealed to me.

Borogoves are defined in chapter six of Through the Looking Glass as a type of bird, even if the show makes them sound more like a type of wild boar. (Yay for having a poetry anthology that includes "Jabberwocky" and the relevant passages from Through the Looking Glass to explain how Alice knew the poem and how it was explained to her.) So, I'm thinking of Borogoves as extremely big birds, judging from the rib that Alice was munching on in the show.

Anything to say on this newest chapter? I look forward to reading your comments.