A/N: This chapter is probably a strong T-rating. Nothing that really puts it to M, but I just feel the need to warn you. Most of you have read "Wedded Bliss" anyway, so I doubt you'll mind. ;-)

Otherwise, you know the drill, please read and review!

I couldn't believe that in a week, I would be getting married. Me! Crazy Alice who would certainly not accept any proposal from any man in my first world. I couldn't have been more happy.

The details were almost all worked out. Time, date, location, they were all set. The royal dress maker was working as hard as possible to get my dress perfect. Tarrant and I were writing our own vows, and I was working hard to find my something old, new, borrowed and blue.

My dress would be my new. And after discussing this with the White Queen, she insisted that I borrow a beautiful pearl necklace from her own collection. I tried to protest, but she would hear none of it.

So I needed to find the other two. As I sat beneath a cherry tree in the courtyard of Mamoreal, Tarrant found me and sat with me.

"All the details working out, love?" he asked.

"I think so. But there is a tradition for my world that I'm still trying to work out."

"I shall try to help you … if I'm allowed."

"Tarrant, it's just the dress. You're allowed to know the rest. What I need is something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue."

"Alice! You've made a rhyme!"

I smiled. "Indeed. Now, I have the something new. That will be my dress. And the White Queen is letting me borrow a necklace. But I need the others."

"Well, I think I can help you with one of them. Let's go home."

I wanted to question his thought, but the look he gave me said he wanted to surprise me. We got into the carriage and rode home. I was practically bouncing with excitement.

Once we got to the house, Tarrant led me upstairs to his room. He pulled out a jewelry box from the top of his closet and sighed. Then he sat on the bed and beckoned me to sit with him.

"I want you to have these," he said, digging something out of the box. He handed me an exquisite set of pearl earrings. They were a perfect size and seemed to change colors in the light.

"Tarrant! They're beautiful!"

"They were my mother's," he said softly.

"Oh, I couldn't…"

"Alice, I know she would want you to have them. She would love you, you know. I can just picture the both of you laughing and carrying on. No doubt conspiring against me for something." He smiled sadly.

"Are you certain?"

"Please. I want you to be wearing them as you walk down the aisle to me."

I beamed at him. "Then of course I will be."

I placed them gently on his nightstand and then took the jewelry box from him as well. I wanted to peek inside of it, but knew I should wait until Tarrant was ready to show me what was inside.

He turned me back towards him and placed a hand on my cheek, then bent down slightly to kiss me. It was so gentle and loving. I knew I had found the other half of my soul.

Tarrant pulled back and smiled at me. "And I think I have the solution to your something blue problem. I want to make you a hat for the wedding. Something white with veils and pearls and perhaps some blue flowers. Would that count?"

"My sweet Hatter, yes, it would definitely count! Thank you so much!"

I pulled him down to kiss him, but this time, the kiss took a different tone. I'm not sure which of us started it, or if it was simultaneous, but the kiss grew quite passionate.

Once we pulled back for air, Tarrant smiled at me. "Well … that was … new."

"Yes, it definitely was." I paused. "And I liked it!"

His eyes widened. "Alice, naughty!"

There was always something about the way he said "naughty" that gave me the shivers. Another connotation, at least when he said it to me. Even the first time we saw each other at the tea tables, and he called me naughty, something about that made me blush.

I tried to waggle my eyebrows at him the way he had done to me, but mine just weren't bushy enough for that.

"Sweet Alice, perhaps we should get supper ready now."

"Yes, I am feeling a bit hungry."

We went downstairs to work on something to eat. I knew the next week was going to be a long one.

Two days later, and our relationship had taken a new turn.

Mallymkun and Thackery had decided to take a walk in the forest to find the china pieces that were tossed that way lately. The rescue missions, according to Tarrant, could take hours. He told them he would stay behind get tea ready with the remaining pieces. It was the truth … at first.

Hatter was sitting on the couch, with his feet on the coffee table, waiting for the water to boil, when I tried to walk past him.

"Hatter, put your feet down."

He smirked at me. "No."

"Tarrant Hightopp! Put your feet down!"

"Alice Kingsleigh! … No."

Now, I certainly could have just gone around the table, or even behind the couch, but it was the principle at that point. Then, all of a sudden, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his lap. Before I could say anything, he was kissing me. Kissing me the way we did the other evening. It was amazing. He was running his hand up and down my back and I threaded my fingers into his hair, knocking off his hat. He didn't seem to mind.

When the tea kettle began to whistle, neither of us seemed to notice, until it began to scream. We pulled apart quickly and then heard Mally and Thackery approaching. I jumped up and tried to smooth out my dress. Tarrant scrambled behind the couch to retrieve his hat while I went to get the kettle.

"Did you not hear that whistling?" Mally asked as they entered the house. "We could hear it from the tea tables!"

We didn't answer.

Two nights later, things got even more heated.

Everyone else had gone to bed but Tarrant had snuck into my room.

"Tarrant! What are you doing in here?" I asked, putting my book down.

"Lass, I wanted teh see yeh. I've been thinkin' of yeh and some of th' things we've been up teh. I just needed teh kiss yeh."

"Need to, eh? Well, how can I deny such a needful person?" I curled my finger to summon him to me. He flew over to me and smiled.

But then I thought about it. "Tarrant, I thought you spoke with your accent when you're angry."

"Aye, lass. Then too. But tis usually when I'm feelin' stong emotions. Sometimes tis anger. Sometimes tis love. Like now."

His lips covered mine in seconds. Before I knew it, his hands were once again roaming my back and playing with my hair. It didn't occur to me that I was just wearing my nightgown … until Tarrant did.

"Alice! I'm sorry! I didn't think tha' yeh would be dressed like tha'. I should've paid more attention. I would think yeh want me teh leave now. I understand. I would ne'er do this teh yeh if I was thinkin' properly. Agin' Alice, I'm sorry! And I—"

"Tarrant! It's fine. We'll be married in a few days. We can't go much further, but this is fine."

"But it's proper –"

"I'm so tired of proper. Proper dancing, proper dressing, proper, proper, proper! I'll keep us in line. Stop thinking." I leaned over and began to kiss him again, effectively shutting him up.

His hands began wandering again and so did his lips. They kissed down my throat and made me squeak in such delicious ways.

"Is this alrigh' my love?"

"Oh yes, Tarrant. It's very alright."

Feeling bolder, he kissed across my shoulder and then back across.

"Alice, yeh're so beautiful. I dannae know what I did teh deserve yeh."

I grabbed his face and made him look at me. "Tarrant, you are a wonderful person. It's not a matter of deserving. It's a matter of loving. I love you and you love me and that's all there is to it."

"Aye, lass. Yeh're right … as usual."

"Get used to it," I teased. "Now, get back to your room. I don't want to get caught by an outraged dormouse."

"Thackery and Mally stay in the windmill."

"Yes, I know, but she'd be the type to come check on us." I kissed him gently. "Now, I shall see you in the morning."

"Yes, you will. I love yeh, Alice."

"I love you too, Tarrant. Sleep well."

He got up to leave and I heard him mutter something about doubting he would sleep now. Oops.

Suddenly it was the evening before the wedding. Mally and Thackery had gone to the castle to help decorate and I was packing the things I would need to spend the night there. I told Tarrant I wanted to observe the tradition of not seeing the bride until the wedding, so I wasn't sleeping at his, er, our house that night.

"I'll miss you tonight," he whispered as he watched me pack.

"It's just a night," I replied.

"Yes, but it'll be lonely not having you across the hall."

"Don't worry about it, you'll be fine. Besides, just think of how wonderful it will be to see each other at the ceremony."

He nodded, but kept quiet.

"Come to think about it, I should have separated us all week! Just think of the anticipation!" I teased.

I could see his eyes turning just a bit yellow at that remark.

"Lass, if yeh would've done tha', then we woul'nae have done th' things we did this week."

I blushed. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"And I'll miss that tonight as well."

"But tomorrow you'll get something even better!"

"Aye, but perhaps I'll need somethin' afore yeh leave."

"And what might that be?" I asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Yeh know…" he murmured and then bent to kiss me. It started off slowly, and then began to heat quickly. "Maybe we shou' stop."

"I'll stop us. Keep going."

My comment must have made him bold because before I knew it, he had pulled me onto his lap, straddling him. It felt so wonderful that it would have been shameful in the Otherworld. Here, it was perfection.

His hands began to roam again and I moaned into the kiss. This time they moved with more nerve as he brushed against my chest.

"Tarrant!"

"I'm sorry, love, I dannae know wha' happened. I won' let it happen agin'."

"Nonsense! … I want you to do it again."

His jaw fell and his eyes darkened to a beautiful deep emerald. It was suddenly my new favorite color.

His hands moved again and he definitely got braver with his ministrations as he gently caressed me. I whispered his name and tossed my head back.

"Mercy, Alice. Yeh keep makin' those noises and I won' be able teh continue!"

"Sorry, but that felt really good…"

He smirked at me and began to kiss me again. I decided to be bold as well, letting my hands wander as well. We never got below the waist, as I knew that would just be something we wouldn't be able to come back from. So, we continued to kiss and touch and was it warm in here? and it made me want it to be the next day already!

"Tarrant …" I panted. "Tarrant, we should stop."

"Aye, I know," he said just as breathlessly. "I don' really want teh tho'."

"Oh trust me, I know. But at least we have a preview of how wonderful tomorrow night will be."

He smiled. "Th' whole day will be wonderful. It'll be th' day I become yehr husband."

"And I'll become your wife."

"And then I'll ravish yeh until yeh're too tired teh walk."

I shivered again. "How do you know it'll be me too tired to walk?"

Now he shivered. "My minx! My naughty minx."

There was that word again. How could I be this warm and yet shivering so much?

"Perhaps I should go now," he said, pulling me close.

I sighed. "Yes, I do need to finish packing. I will let you know before I leave."

He nodded and kissed the top of my head. I finished my packing and looked around my room. In a few short hours, this would go back to being a guest room. I would become Lady Hightopp and move into my husband's room. I couldn't help but smile at each of those thoughts and many others.

Finally, I decided I was ready. I found Hatter sitting outside at the tea tables.

"I'm going now. Please don't sit out here too long."

"I'll be fine. I'm just reminiscing."

"Good reminiscing?"

He grinned at me. "Very."

"Then that's alright. Now then, I shall see you tomorrow. Do not be late!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said wistfully.

"Good. I'll see you there then. I'll be the lady in white who isn't the queen."

Tarrant giggled and stood to embrace me.

"I'll be sure to find you. I'll be the one in the top hat."

"I'll recognize it."

He kissed me and hugged me once more. "I shall see you tomorrow, soon-to-be-Lady Hightopp. I love you."

"I love you too, mo gradh."

"That's my girl." He kissed my forehead and then sent me on my way, telling me that if I didn't leave soon, he wouldn't let me leave at all.

As I sat in the carriage on the way to Mamoreal, I couldn't have stopped smiling if I had to.

End note:

Holy moly that turned out longer than I expected. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know!