Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass
Disclaimer: I only own the original characters and my plot – SyFy's Alice and related plotlines belong to Nick Willing and SyFy and other bits to Lewis Carroll. The creatures and characters of Primeval belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures. Not moi.
Chapter Nine: Doubled Up
A dark-haired little girl sat on the floor of an expansive flat. There were several windows, high ceilings, and other oddities inside the flat, not to mention the glass aquarium tanks filled with lizards. She played with two small creatures about her size, Diictodons who responded to the monikers of Sid and Nancy.
Little Sarah Temple had her father's thirst for knowledge and her mother's love of all creatures—even extinct ones. Rex watched the three from above.
Jenny Lewis sighed, blowing a tuft of dark hair out of her eyes. Caring for Connor and Abby's daughter was rough. They had spent several years stuck in the past—years during which Sarah was conceived and born. When the happy family returned, Sarah was already eighteen months old.
Sarah celebrated her second birthday in the ARC with her parents' co-workers.
"Recruiting them a little young now?" Lester grumbled, seeing the little girl bouncing on Connor's lap.
"Don't worry, luv. Uncle Lester is just an ole sour puss…" he cooed to his daughter.
"Uncle Lester?" The man in charge of the ARC looked horrified at the nickname. But he wasn't the only honorary uncle—Captain Becker and Danny Quinn were among the others and Sarah Page and Jenny were honorary aunts.
Lester grumbled something about "raptors" and "bait" under his breath before stalking off to his office. Jenny had taken Sarah then, giving Connor a chance to do some work. It had been his idea to invite her back into the fold. And it was also his idea to have her be Sarah's babysitter.
Which was why the former Public Relations manager found herself curled up on the floor across from the Temples' toddler daughter and her two furry playmates.
Most normal babysitters would have run the other way at the sight of Sid and Nancy—not to mention Rex and the other assorted lizards that Abby owned. As long as it wasn't a real monster, Jenny didn't mind it. Like most of the ARC team, she had a soft spot for the stranded Diictodons.
Then again, most normal toddlers wouldn't have played with them to begin with. Sarah Temple was far from the average toddler.
Jenny smiled at the young girl as the flat's doorbell rang.
"Keep playing, sweetie. I'll be back in a minute."
She stood up, brushing imaginary dirt off her trousers as she walked over to the stairs. She wound down them to the front door.
"Who is it?" she called.
"It's me. Sarah," a young voice said.
Jenny cracked the door. "Dr. Page?"
The chain stayed on. The girl on the other side didn't seem to mind. And she wasn't the friendly Egyptologist that Jenny had worked with in the past. This was someone new—someone who reminded her strongly of Connor Temple and the little girl playing upstairs with prehistoric creatures.
"No, it's Sarah… Sarah Temple. I'm trying to reach my dad. Something's wrong…"
Jenny stared at her. This was Connor's daughter? All grown up?
"Sarah? But you're…"
"I know. Listen, Jenny, can I come in? My mobile didn't survive the anomaly."
Without a bit of hesitation, Jenny Lewis unchained the door to the flat, allowing access to the older version of Connor's daughter. "Sure. Come on up."
But that was before a tranquilizer dart struck her squarely in the back.
Jack Heart?
He let his hand brush against the cool marble of the headstone. Surely it was a trick of the light…there was no way… right?
His mother never married Jack. She never would. She loved David Hatter more than anything. There was no way she would forsake him for Hatter, let alone have children with the blond prick.
Connor Hatter's blood went cold. The children had to be him and Sarah. Those were their middle names etched on the stone. What did that mean? What the hell had happened in Wonderland?
What had happened to his family?
Hours later, the Hatter found himself wandering the busy streets of an unfamiliar city. There was a gray cast to the city, much like the smog of New York City, except there was a distinct lack of skyscrapers and yellow taxi cabs. The cars here were smaller—like little tin boxes on wheels—and the people sounded, well, like him.
This had to be the "England" that Alice spoke of—the place they told Oysters he came from.
"Oi! Connor!"
His head snapped up, responding to his son's name. Could Connor have been stranded here as well.
"We've been looking everywhere for you, mate. Why didn't you answer your mobile?" a man said, approaching him.
"I'm… I'm sorry?" Hatter tried.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just go before Cutter calls again."
Cutter? What's a 'Cutter'? And why would he call?
"Uh, okay."
He went along with this strange man, who seemed to know him, or at least know his son. If there was one thing that living in Alice's world had taught him, it was how to keep a low profile.
Author's Notes:
I know, it's just a quickie, but please, comment. I'm back in town now, but I'm gearing up for a month of exams, so updates will be a bit scattered. I'm trying to get a new chapter for each of my stories before my first exam, but we'll see.
Please, please review! Which ARC team member collected Hatter? Any guesses? :)
