Finding Normal, or Something Like That

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Don't kill me. I don't own anything.

Warning, there is some mild cursing in this chapter. But not excessive cursing. And this chapter contains some references to more mature situations. I'm considering changing the rating of this fic to T, by the way.

Anyway, here is chapter four, in which Hatter and Alice explore the morning after their first date, discussions are had, breakfast is eaten, realizations are made, and parents are compared.

EtherealDemon: I hope you don't get too upset with how I portrayed Carol in this chapter (at least towards the end). Just remember that Alice is Carol's only child and, as such, Carol is perfectly entitled to be over-protective at times.

The sun streamed brightly into the room, waking Hatter up. Normally, he wasn't bothered by the sun, but, today, it pulled him into reality. However, reality seemed pretty good to him at the moment.

Turning over on his side, Hatter gently reached a hand out. There was nothing beside him.

Heart racing, he bolted up, wide awake now. What was happening? Had it all been a dream? What moronic mistake had he made this time?

The tell-tale sounds of cooking and the smell of breakfast wafted in from the kitchen.

Hatter drew a breath, steadying himself. Good, he hadn't dreamt it all. Given the amount of hubbub going on in his kitchen, he guessed that it was safe to assume that Alice was in there, making some form of breakfast. Whatever it was she was making, it smelled delicious.

Eagerly, he pulled himself out of bed. Immediately, he cringed as his bare feet hit the floor. It was unseemly cold. Hatter made a cursory look around his bedroom, searching for his shirt, only to be unsuccessful. He did, on the other hand, find his hat, right where Alice had left it last night – on the night stand. He grinned.

A moment later, the hat was in its proper place and he was shuffling into the kitchen, rubbing the last of sleep out of his eyes. And, upon arriving in the kitchen, he found his missing shirt.

Alice was wearing it.

"You took my shirt," he grumbled, a little more bluntly than he had intended.

She turned to look at from where she stood over the stove, apparently making something that involved toast and eggs. "Well, mine was all wrinkly from being slept in and yours was in better shape. I hope you don't mind I borrowed it."

A grin broke across his face as he stopped to really take a good look at her. She was wearing the boxers that he had given her last night to sleep in and a pair of socks. Hatter wanted to growl. Alice had been smart enough not to freeze her feet off first thing in the morning. But he suppressed that growl as the memories of the night before replayed in his mind as she turned back to the stove without waiting for an answer.

"It's alright, love. Looks better on you anyway," he said, slipping up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Alice leaned back against his chest. "So what're you making?"

"Eggs in a blanket," she told him, lifting the cooking pan off of the stove. "You're going to have to move, Hatter."

He kissed her neck lightly. "Don't want to."

She chuckled. "You will if you want breakfast."

His stomach grumbled, belying any protest he might verbally give. Submitting to her command, he stepped away, letting Alice carry the pan over to where she had put two plates on the counter. Using a spatula, she pulled the food out of the pan and divided them up between the two plates.

"I made some tea, by the way," she said, a moment later, as she put the pan in the sink. "I didn't know which kind you liked, so I had to guess from what you had in the cabinet."

He looked over at the steaming mug on the small table. Smiling in gratitude, he reached over and picked it up. After blowing on it for a moment, he took a sip and his grin got even wider.

"There's hope for you yet, Alice!" She only chuckled.

For all of his faults and quirks, Hatter was still a bit of a gentleman underneath it all. And, because of that, he pulled Alice's chair out for her as she carried the plates over to the table, earning him a blush and a rushed 'thank you.' Once satisfied that his Oyster-girl was situated comfortably, he settled himself down in the chair facing her. His mouth watered at the smell.

"This looks really good, Alice," he told her.

"My dad used to make this for me all the time when I was a kid," Alice admitted. "It's my favorite."

He smiled. "Thank you." That was all it took, all she needed to hear, it seemed. Alice sniffled a bit, looking quickly down at her food. Hatter, sensing the sudden emotional shift, quickly reached across the table – it was a small table, after all – to take her hands in his. He squeezed lightly. "It's okay to miss him, Alice. He's your father, after all."

Alice looked back up at him, tears in her eyes now. "I still can't believe he's not coming home."

"Life throws us curve balls to show what we're made of," he told her. Glancing down at the table, he saw his tea mug and smiled, as an old memory floated to the surface of his mind. Letting go of one of her hands, he pushed the mug in front of her. "Here, you need this."

"Hatter!" she exclaimed. "I made that for you."

"Yeah, but you need it." He nudged it a little bit closer to her. "Besides, everything can be fixed over a nice cup of tea. My mum taught me that."

Something passed behind her eyes that he couldn't quite read.

"Your mom . . ." Her voice trailed off a little.

"Yeah, dear old mum. She was one of the sanest, insane people I've ever known. But she always had enough room in her heart to love everyone, even me and my mad great-grand uncle." He laughed softly, the memories washing over him now. "Especially me and my great-grand uncle. You would've liked to meet her."

It was Alice's turn to catch the emotional shift. She leaned forward a bit in her chair.

"What happened, Hatter?"

"She died, a couple of years back. Some kind of sickness no one could identify. Great-grand uncle had gone a bit before that. Dad was happy that she went. Said that he was glad that she wouldn't have to live to see me fail."

It hurt, it really did, to admit that to Alice, but, if they were going to make it work, he figured she should know. His past wasn't fluffy, rose petals, and puppies. It was far more checkered than he usually let on, but he had no doubt that she had figured that one out on her own. After all, he had been something of a con man.

A second later, he felt her wrap her arms around him, pulling him tightly against her. He wasn't exactly sure how she had managed to get up and around the table without him noticing. But the memories were so strong.

"Hatter, I'm so sorry."

He turned his gaze up to her and saw the quiet, fierce determination that he so loved about her.

"It was a long time ago, Alice. Dad and I never agreed on anything, except that I was a disappointment to him."

Alice shook her head, still looking at him intently. "No, Hatter, it still hurts you. I know that. I can see that." She cupped a hand to his cheek. "Your father was wrong. You didn't fail."

"Good to know you disagree with him," he said with a snort.

The hand on his cheek tensed. With more force than he would've expected from her, Alice tilted his face a bit higher, holding it there firmly with just that one hand.

"Now you listen to me, David Hatter," she forcefully, passionately told him, "you better not believe what your father said. You are not a failure. You are the bravest, kindest man I know and I'll be damned if you think that you're not good enough. I love you too much to see you beat yourself over an idiot's words."

His heart literally warmed at the conviction of her statements – and her declaration of love. She didn't even seem to notice that she had told him that she loved him. Hell, he wasn't even mad that she used his full, birth name. In fact, hearing it come from her say it was strangely fascinating and he rather liked the sound.

Hatter pulled Alice down onto his lap, earning a cute squeak from her. He captured her lips in a light kiss, to which she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself close to him.

When he drew back, Hatter looked her straight in the eyes and declared, "I love you too, Alice Hamilton. "

Now, she blushed, but she smiled as well. She didn't seem to have the words to respond to that but Hatter didn't really mind.

He kissed her again, a bit more passionately. And it all seemed to be going in a direction that he liked. Alice even took his hat off of his head. For a split second, he allowed himself a grin until he felt her use said hat to smack him on the arm. That caused him to draw back.

"'ey," he grumbled, "that's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war, Hatter. Get used to it," she said with a laugh, making to get up off of his lap. Hatter tightened his hold on her, preventing her from escaping just yet.

"Where do you think you're going, Alice? I'm not finished with you yet!"

She kissed him on the nose. "You'll have to be for right now. I promised Mom that I would be home by eleven. Besides, I have a few classes this afternoon and I don't want you bumming around here while I'm teaching."

Hatter growled lowly as he let her up, remembering Alice's phone conversation with her mother the night before. As willing (and secretly happy, they had both agreed) as Carol was to let them go out for dinner, the woman seemed more reluctant to let her only child spend the night with him. Despite her age, Alice respected her mother and her mother's wishes, for the most part. It took a lot of promises, from the both of them, to keep Carol from storming over there, kicking the door in, and dragging Alice off.

And that was why Alice had grumpily told him that Carol had, in effect, all plans of sex, at least for "the time being." Apparently, in their phone conversation, she had made very direct implications to Alice that she didn't want to be a grandmother any time soon, which was more than enough to make both of them pause.

Hatter had to give her credit for being sneaky though. She had, in essence, told them that she didn't feel entirely comfortable with the status of their relationship just yet.

Yep, all of the brownie points that he had earned with Carol were effectively gone and used up.

He wasn't normally the type to bend to the wills of mothers. His own mother had been an exception, but that was because he loved her with everything that he had. Carol, he respected because she was Alice's mother and he desperately wanted to stay in her good graces, especially since he was planning on making a life for himself in this world and with Alice. If she absolutely despised him, then all of the horror stories about terrible mothers-in-law that he had heard would invariably come true.

"So what am I to do today?" he innocently asked, as he unwillingly let her up.

Alice smirked at him. "Well, I fully expect that you have a plan for that tea shop that you told my mom about last night."

"You know you're going to have to help me out with the procedures of this world."

"I know." She slid down into her chair. "Now eat your breakfast, Hatter. You're going to need your strength. I told Mom that I bring you by while I was teaching."

"You are an evil, evil woman, Alice Hamilton."

Alice only smiled sweetly at him as she took a bite of her food.

Ta dah! That was chapter four. I hope you liked it. Now go push that button that says review and let me know! I'll try to get another chapter up soon.