Beginnings
In the beginning, there was tea (thank goodness). And it smelled good.
Jervis rolled over and kissed the hand of the woman beside him. "Good morning, dear."
"Good morning. What part of the paper, angel?" she asked, looking down at him through the pair of reading glasses that had to be…good heavens, twenty years old by now.
"None of it, please," he said, shielding his eyes from the morning light.
"Oh really? Are you sure you don't want to catch up? Mr. Nygma has an article about palindromes in the Arts and Leisure section."
"That man should be ashamed of himself. Playing games at his age."
Alice smirked. "You were 'playing croquet' yesterday and didn't seem to mind."
"Alice!"
"Nearly threw your back out in the attempt, my dear Hatter. But you managed to recoup, as you usually do." Then she rolled on top of him, to remind him that sixty was probably a perfectly good age to still be playing games, but seventy-five even moreso.
In the beginning, there was tea (thank goodness) and Alice.
Middles
Alice frowned. "This is important, you know."
"Naturally."
"Go away."
"I don't think I will, actually."
"Go away!"
"I don't think you mean that."
The blonde blew up her bangs. "Why do you always do this?"
"I think you just pick the wrong time of day."
"It's a perfectly respectable time of day!"
"Too late in the evening, I think."
"Well, I'm a little busy!"
"So I see. So am I."
"Get your hands off of those!"
"I'm quite comfortable, thank you."
Alice sighed and shook her head. Why did Jervis always choose to get slithy when she was in the middle of making supper?
Ends
Perhaps frustration was getting to him, he thought, putting down the beaker with a definitive click instead of pitching it across the room as his muscles had begged for him to do mere moments ago. The project should not be nearly as difficult as it was becoming and he was nearing the end of his tether of patience. If only he could find those blasted notes!
The laboratory and office was an absolute jumble—it had been from the first moment he moved in, all these years ago.
Maybe Dr. Cates was right…maybe he did need a secretary. Polishing off the end of the teapot, he started to scribble out a rough draft of an advertisement.
Insides
Jervis has only caught Alice daydreaming once or twice, but he was instantly smitten with the dreamy expression her face took on when she was paying attention only to something going on inside her head. What could she be thinking, he wondered. What sort of ideas did she tumble around that would make her lips pout out and purse that way, that would make her eyes go ever-so-slightly out of focus? What thoughts made her shake her head suddenly, turning back to her typewriter only to drag her back into the depths of imagination, not to return for several more moment?
One had to wonder.
Outsides
There was something about Jervis' features that pleased her…the vaguely asymmetrical quality of his face that drew her attention back to him whenever he called attention to a particular part of his project, gesticulating and turning the device around in his hands so that she could see what he was talking about. His features were friendly, warm, and yet…there was something about them, she couldn't explain, but there was something about them that always made her come back. His hair was the best example; she sort of felt like she wanted to fix it, but then again she would feel like she was ruining it. But her fingers itched to do something, something that they weren't quite sure what it was.
Hours
"How long has it been?"
"Seven hours."
"And he still hasn't come out?"
"No."
"Are you sure he's all right?"
"Well, he is a professional."
"Does that necessarily mean he has any idea what he's doing?" Alice gave Arianna a sharp look, to which Ari grinned.
"He's a genius, Ari, of course he knows what he's doing."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well…we haven't heard an explosion yet. And he did admit that the time he burnt my winter coat, he wasn't completely sure of what he was doing."
"So you equate knowing what one is doing with one not setting anything on fire?"
Alice held up her hands helplessly. "All I know is that I trust him!"
Arianna just smiled self-satisfactorily.
Days
In the days after Bruno left her, Alice found herself doing a lot of thinking. Well, actually Day One wasn't designated for anything more than a lot of crying. So was Day Two. But by Day Three Arianna surprised her by taking a personal day and dragging her out of her apartment to do lunch.
"Have you stopped sobbing over fairy-boy yet, Alice?"
Alice felt her eyes water up again, but she managed to avoid crying. "N-not really."
"I don't know why you were ever with him, really. He was such a deadbeat, honestly." Arianna took a bite of fish. "I think you need to date someone with a job. A trade."
"A trade? Like what?"
"I don't know. A milliner?"
"A hat-maker, Arianna? Do any even exist any more?"
Arianna grinned. "I know a few."
Weeks
Jervis was fairly certain he was going to die. In fact, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion by this point. The agony was just too unendurable…as he made his way through his days he felt the unending pricking of the wound and frequently had to pause to regroup himself. Burning across his chest, he winced every time something bumped him and reminded him of the pain's presence and found himself more than once trying desperately to distract himself. No medicines would work; no amount of sleep could clear his head. He was simply in pain, constant, unceasing pain.
He hoped Alice never took another two-weeks vacation again.
A/N: A quickie, because I ran out of inspiration toward the end. Enjoy! And thank you to the Glorious Cheshire Cat for letting me borrow Arianna! She was a star!