Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Alice – no rights, no claims, nada – it belongs to SyFy and Nick Willing. Rex, Sid, and Nancy belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures. Sarah, Connor, Damon, and Chase are my own creations.

Chapter Seventeen: Regrouping

Abby Maitland looked up when her colleagues entered the room. The man called Hatter was still unconscious in his hospital bed. "Did you get it?"

Cutter nodded, looking a bit weary. "I already handed it over to the doctors. They're working on it."

"Is Connor okay?"

"He's just peachy. Just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing major. Same with Stephen."

Abby sighed. "Did you figure out who Hatter is?"

"No."

"He said a name while he was out of it. He kept talking about a Sarah. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No."

"Professor, do you think this is because of the anomalies?"

With a sigh, the professor settled into a chair opposite Abby. "A lot of unusual things have been happening because of the anomalies. It's hard to say. It's possible he's from another plane or another version of our world. Or that he's lost—trapped here."

"Do you think he's really related to Connor?"

"We can't rule it out, that's for sure."

"What's Connor think?"

"Did someone call me?" her cheeky flatmate said, entering the room. He had two paper cups of tea in his hands. His jacket was covered in a bit of sludge or slime—probably from the creature they'd been chasing—but he seemed absolute normal. Well, normal for Connor.

"Just me. Do you recognize him?"

"Oh, my double? Nope, haven't a clue. I never really knew my dad, but my mum never mentioned him looking much like me…"

"So, you're not related?"

Connor shrugged, handing her one of the cups of tea. He passed the other one off to Cutter. "Not that I know of. Unless mum's been hiding a cousin or something. I don't know of any Hatters in my family."

"Now you do," Cutter said.

"Now what?"

"It looks like you've got an older brother… or a father," Abby teased. "Maybe an uncle."

"Oi, I hope not!"

"What if he is your da?"

Connor shrugged. "I don't know. I never knew my dad. He was long gone before I was born."

"Then it's possible. Right? What do you think, Professor?"

"Anything is possible. The anomalies have proven that," Cutter said, standing up. "What if your father ended up stuck in anomaly? Like Helen."

"It's possible," the younger man admitted. "He does look just like me."

"Do you think they'll be able to fix him? Stop the poison and what not?" Abby asked the professor. "I mean, if he's really Connor's dad…"

"What will me mum think? It's one thing for him to up and leave—it's another thing to explain that he's been living in an anomaly all this time."

"Don't worry, Conn, I'll help you."

"Thanks, Abs."


Sarah slowly raised her hands to indicate surrender.

The gun nosed closer.

"Don't move you little bitch," snarled the man.

A phone beeped. One of the military bozos touched an earpiece. "Yes, boss?"

"Don't shoot the little one. I still need her. I don't care what she does—I need her alive. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." The goon tapped the earpiece. "Put that away. If she's got a bullet in her, boss is going to murder us."

The other man in black grumbled.

Sarah smirked.

He noticed her little smile. "What are you grinning at? Huh?"

"A jackass."

The gun smacked into the corner of her mouth, tearing the skin. Sarah hissed in pain, falling to her knees.

"Sarah?" Jenny called.

The oldest Hatter groaned, trying to stay conscious.

"Stay down, you little bitch."

Sarah tried not to move. They weren't going to shoot her. That meant she could cause trouble and risk an escape without getting shot. She was too important to Helen Cutter.

God it hurts…

Blood dripped down her face and neck from her torn lip. Forget her ribs—she would be lucky if she lived long enough to see tomorrow.

Get up. Get up…

She struggled to her feet as the hired thugs argued over what to do with her and with Jenny. The older woman met her eye. She was still kneeling on the ground.

Sarah blinked. It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna fix this…


Connor pulled the truck over on the way back to the ARC.

"Connor? Are you okay?" Becker asked.

"Fine. I just… what if it's too late?"

"We're going to get her back. Okay? We're going to get your daughter back."

He nodded, his long hair falling into his eyes. "I need to fix the anomaly opener. If I don't, she's going to kill Sarah. She's going to pick us off one by one…"

"We're going to do that, okay? Why don't we switch spots and I'll drive? We'll get to the ARC and you can work on the anomaly device. I'll get a team together and we'll track Helen."

Connor didn't speak.

"Connor?"

"Helen's gonna kill her…"

"It's going be okay. We are going to find your daughter. Helen won't get away with this."


Two thugs, one visible gun. Two women, both with free hands. Sarah started to calculate the odds.

Screw this…

She leapt into action without thinking it all the way through. It was typical Hatter behavior.

Sarah curled her right hand into a fist and struck the closest goon in his stomach. The military man bent over, giving her a clear shot at his face. One hit to the face broke his nose. A second knocked him out.

An arm encircled her neck from behind.

Sarah cleared her head, forcing herself to remember her training and not to panic.

Step one—clear airway. Step two—upset the balance. Step three—twist and slip. Step four—contain the threat.

Using her left hand, Sarah jerked her attacker's hand down, clearing her airway. Her right elbow jammed into his stomach. Before he could tighten his grip again, she slipped out of his weakened grip, her left hand still gripping his wrist.

She pinned the man's right arm to his back. "Touch me again and I swear I will snap it."

Before the man could speak, Jenny appeared out of nowhere. She had a pistol in her hand. She brought it down on Helen's employee's head.

The man collapsed.

"Thanks," Sarah said, still standing. She smiled at the other woman.

"No problem. Let's go."

Jenny led the way, limping toward the interior of the ARC. Sarah jogged after her, the gun tucked into the back of her jeans.


Becker pulled the truck into the parking area of the ARC. He froze, seeing two bodies and copious amounts of blood near a van.

"Stay here," he warned Connor, slipping out of the truck on his own.

He took his gun out, approaching the two men. Both were unconscious, yet alive. One of them had a bloody nose and the other had a bruise forming on his head. The blood pools nearby didn't belong to them.

He could see the drips of blood leading toward the ARC. There was another person there, a wounded person, who walked away.

Becker picked up a high heel. It was broken. Jenny Lewis had been there.

But the blood didn't track from where the heel was. Jenny wasn't the injured person. There was another person.

"Connor, it's clear."

The other man joined him. "What happened?"

"I think your friend is here. With Jenny."

"What about Helen?"

"I don't think she's here," Becker said. "But someone's injured. It's not Jenny. There's another person here. The older Sarah, maybe."

Connor seemed to perk up. "Ya think?"

Becker nodded. "Just stay behind me, okay?"

"Sure."

The two moved into the ARC. Becker followed the blood stains right into Connor's lab. He motioned for the other man to stay still as he cracked open the door.

"What did Helen do?" Jenny asked, her voice carrying to Becker's attuned ears.

"She ambushed the team. We were at an anomaly site. She shot Dr. Page and the blonde…umm, Abby?" another voice replied, one similar in tone to Connor's, albeit with a thicker accent.

"Abby was shot?"

"Yeah… Helen killed them, I think. All I remember is action man forcing me back into the truck. Then it goes black and I'm knocking at the door with a gun in my back. You know the rest…"

Becker moved closer to the lab, trying to get a line of sight on the occupants.

"So if you're not Sarah Temple… who are you?"

"My name's Sarah Hatter. I'm trying to find my family. My brother and I were stepping through—I guess you know them as anomalies—when we were separated. I fell down and landed in the future. That's where I met Helen. She dragged me here and told Connor I was his daughter."

"Sarah—that's his daughter's name as well."

"Yeah. But I'm not. I mean—he looks just like my dad and my brother. Younger than da and older than Connor."

"Connor?" Jenny sounded confused.

"That's my brother's name. Connor. He's a computer geek and he loves dinosaurs."

"Just like Connor…Temple."

Becker stepped into the room, gun in hand. "Jenny? You all right?"

She looked up. "Becker! What are—what took you so long?"

He lowered the gun. "It's safe, Connor. You can come in."

"Connor's here?" the dark-haired girl, the other Sarah, asked. She looked up, moving in a blur even though she was bleeding.

She attacked the computer geek in a hug. "I'm so sorry… so sorry… about Sarah…" she murmured.

"It's okay. It's okay… I know…"

"Helen has her. She wanted to send you a message—she was going to kill Jenny. But not me… she had something planned for me."

Connor smiled at her sadly. "Don't worry. Becker's going to call in the troops. We're going to get her back and I'm going to get you home. I promise."

Sarah nodded. Becker took a deep breath. This isn't going to end well.


Confusion sank in as his eyes opened.

David Hatter slowly adjusted to the hospital room. Everything was a bit of a haze as he took in the sight of the blonde girl chatting with the dark-haired boy—Connor. His son.

He tried to sit up. But a hand pushed him back down.

"Take it easy, Mr. Hatter. You were poisoned two days ago. Don't rush yourself," a man with a Scottish brogue insisted.

"Sarah… where's Sarah…?" he muttered.

"Connor, he's awake."

The boy hurried into view. "Hey… you okay?"

"Conn, where's your sister? Where's Sarah…?"

"Sarah? What are you talkin' about?"

"Sarah… where's Sarah? Sarah…"

Hatter tried to sit up again. The other man held him down. "Settle down…"

His son looked over. "It's okay, Professor. He's just disoriented."

"Where's Sarah…?"

"Who's Sarah?" Connor asked.

"Your sister…. Where's Sarah?"

"I don't know a Sarah."

Hatter closed his brown eyes for a moment. "Where are we?"

"In a hospital. In London."

"What's the year?" Hatter asked.

"Umm… 2008?"

"Ya sure?"

Connor nodded. "Yeah. It's 2008. Has it been a while since you've been here… da?"

Hatter tried not to smile. It was nice to be called dad again. Ever since the mirror broke, he'd wondered if he'd ever see his children again. Now he knew he would—he might have even found Connor.

"Umm, I don't know how to explain this, but I'm from the future. About twenty years or so in the future."

"Really?" Connor's eyes lit up. "What's it like in twenty years?"

"About the same. Not much has changed. Why don't you remember New York?"

"New York? Connor's never left the UK!" the blonde girl scoffed.

"Have too!"

"Yeah, when?"

"Loads of times!"

"Name one!"

"Connor…I need you to help me find Sarah. This must be a mess-up with the mirror—the time changes. I need to find Sarah right away. Then we need to get back to Wonderland."

''Wonderland?" Abby and Connor echoed.

Author's Notes:

Daddy Hatter's awake and alive, Sarah's out of trouble at the moment, and Connor's got some help. The next chapter will be set in Wonderland. As always, please review!