I normally don’t do this, but a very special artist let me use the above pic.  Her name is Everlite on DaviantArt.  Thanks for the inspiration! Now back to the story!______________________________________________________

Also, there is a lemon in this chapter….

Hatter tries to think of a way to jump start the Resistance.  The problem is that he is not high on the food chain and is unaware of what is being planned.  Or not being planned.  So he has to strategize what he can do.

And to be truthful, he really doesn’t want to think of a plan at this time.  He wants to take some time and enjoy having Alice with him safe.  He looks down at her sleeping in his arms.  ‘Of course, it would be AN Alice.  And she will be the one to save them.’  What is with his fa and him?  They both seem to fall in love with Alices that are meant to save their world. Hopefully this time, there will be no slaying involved.  He doesn’t think that he can stay as sane as his fa did with his mum facing the Jabberwocky, if his Alice is in the same predicament.

Hatter looks around after a tingling feeling starts at the base of his neck.  He then realizes they must have entered the Kingdom of the Knights.  He wonders why he is feeling more and more of Wonderland, and especially of this particular Kingdom.  As he looks around, he notices the path is a little neater and better protected.  He shrugs accepting it as a Wonder of Wonderland.  He reluctantly realizes he needs to wake Alice, since they are coming up to the stable.  “Alice… luv, we are almost to the Manor.”

Alice is having a pleasant dream that involves Hatter, a nice wet Hatter and much less clothes.  Then she hears Hatter tell her, “Alice, luv, we are almost to the Manor.” She thinks ‘Is the Manor another word for what they are doing?  Like her world uses baseball metaphors to show how far along they are?’  Then she feels him shaking her and murmuring to her that she needs to wake up and realizes it is not a dream.

She wakes up to see him grinning down at her.  “Alice, what does rounding the bases mean?”  She flushes, realizing she must have said something.  Her mom always loved to wake her up to hear what she will say this time.

Hatter’s grin turns wicked and he leans down and murmurs into her ear, “Hmmm… This may be something that we will want to discuss later and in private?”

Alice looks up at him and thinks for a second.  Then grins back at him, “Hmmm, do you think you can handle what it means, Hatter?”

Hatter looks shocked, then throws his head back, and laughs.  “I can see you are going to be a handful!”  Then his brown eyes turn smoldering, and he leans closer, “But I can handle anything you want to tell me, do to me, or have me do to you.”

Alice’s heart beats faster, she can feel a slow burn of lust start, and a Butterfly Party in her stomach is going on.  She stares at him and concedes that he has won that exchange.

Hatter dismounts the horse, turns, and helps her down.  She is still wobbly and wonders how it never affects him when they ride.  Is this something that she will be able to do also once she has ridden for awhile?  ‘Hmm, getting ahead of yourself, Alice.  Are you thinking of staying here?  But, what of your mother?’  She dismisses the thought for now.  But, she knows that unless something changes drastically, she will need to figure out what to do about her mother. Since, she doesn’t think she wants to leave Wonderland, and more importantly Hatter.

Hatter looks down at her and watches, as her thoughts fly across her face.  He wonders what has her so deep in thought and hopes that it has something to do with him.  He pulls her in for a hug, and asks her softly, if she can make it to the bench, or should he help her out.

Alice holds him tight and then discloses to him, “I should be able to make it.  Just…hurry.”  She smiles at him and walks slowly over to the bench to wait for him.

Hatter watches to make sure she makes it and follows her advice to hurry.  Charlie and he rub the horses down after unsaddling them and then leave them some feed.  He turns around to see Alice sitting on the bench with her legs crossed, her head on her hands, watching him.  He smiles and walks up to her.

Alice is watching Hatter and notices how he moves.  She wonders if all Wonderland males just know how to move or is it just him.  Jack had also that confidence when he walked.  But never the swagger that Hatter has.  She smiles as he comes up to her and holds out his hand.  She puts her hand in his.

Hatter pulls her up, and tells Charlie, “We will be back in a little while, Charlie!”  He puts his arm around her waist and takes her in a different direction than the Manor.  He leads the way confidently and Alice wonders if he knows where he is going.  She leans on him as they walk, and he looks down at her, enjoying the quiet time, before the storm he knows to be coming.

He takes her to a little pool that is surrounded by trees.  Once they make it through the foliage he stops and turns to her.

Alice looks up at him, and then looks around, noticing that whatever works on the trails into this place worked here also, as there is no break in the trees.

“Alice.  We can be alone for a little while here.  We need to talk, luv.”  Hatter looks down at her.  She looks so beautiful there in the fading sunlight.  He can’t help himself and kisses her.  He feels her arms wrap themselves around his neck tightly and start playing with the hair there.  He realizes this is more important to them than anything else.  They can deal with that later.  Right now they need to confirm to each that they are both safe and alive.

Hatter deepens the kiss, demanding again her mouth open to him.  He growls as she opens herself to him, surrendering completely.   As he claims her mouth, he can feel her matching his passion, moaning a little.  That little moan shot through his body, making him pull her tighter to him.  They break the kiss, as they often do gasping, but Hatter can’t stop kissing her, tasting her.  He kisses down her neck and then back up to her jaw line in a trail of lazy passionate kisses ending at her ear.  “Alice… Luv, if you keep making those noises…   I don’t know if I will be able to stop.”  And then he nibbles at her ear.

Alice moans.  Oh, my… he is turning her legs into jelly.  If this is wrong, she didn’t want to be right.  She has been wanting this since the beach, but at the same time, her emotions had been all over the place.  But here, now, she replies huskily, “Hatter, who says I wanted to stop?”

Hatter pauses, looking her in eyes, as if to confirm that she is being serious, and understands what he is telling her.  “I don’t want you regretting this later.”  He couldn’t take it if she ever regrets them being together.  He knows he loves her, only her.  She is all he wants, and he has already proven he will always come for her, no matter what. What they have is more than he has ever dreamed of having, and if waiting will make Alice feel better, he will wait until the end of time.

Alice stares at him and softly replies, “I will never regret anything with you Hatter, except the time we spend apart.”  She loves this man in front of her with every fiber of her being.  She realizes that it didn’t matter what happens next, she wants to be with Hatter.  But, if his earlier actions were any indication, and she believed they were all the clues that are needed, they will always be together.  Alice really wants this, she needs this.

Hatter groans, and leans down to kiss her passionately, and possessively. Alice will be his in every single way he can make her.

Alice’s hands go to his shoulders, and ease off his coat.  She wants to feel his silk clad upper body. She has wanted to caress this since she has seen him in the Tea Shoppe, but has denied herself.

Realizing what she is doing, he helps her all the while he kissing her wherever he can reach. Hatter always returns to her mouth, he was not done possessing that yet.  To be realistic, he will never be done, not in this lifetime or any lifetimes, Wonderlands or her worlds.

His hands are sliding down her body hungrily, as he breaks the kiss to trail kisses down her neck, noticing where she moans and storing the information for later.

Alice’s hands are all over him; she undoes his tie, and leaves a burning feeling on his skin from where she touches him.  As she removes the tie, she drops it on the ground, and she pulls his shirt from his pants, finding out quickly that she needed more; she requires the feel of his skin.

Hatter grabs her hands before she can reach under his shirt, he is wanting to see, touch, taste, and feel more of her before they go any farther.  He wants to relish this, their first time.  He is learning what his Alice likes, and while he is sure that he will need to attend that school for the rest of their lives, he wants to find out as much as possible.  He wants to not only make love to her; he wishes to make sure his love is pleased.

When he releases them, she puts her hands back on his neck after taking his hat off.  She runs her hands through his hair.  Her touch is light and delicate and is driving him mad; did she know what she is doing to him?

Alice couldn’t get a thought through her head if her life had depended upon it and she barely knows what she is doing.  Never has she been so aroused and they haven’t really started to do anything!  But, Hatter definitely can use his tongue and mouth for more than getting himself out of tight areas.  Somehow he is finding stimulation points on her body that she has never known before.  She can hardly stand up!

Hatter can’t get enough of her taste, her smell, the way she feels under his hands.  He reaches back, pulling the zipper to her dress down.  He has to taste more of her.  Hatter pulls back, making sure again that she is fine with this.  What he sees on her face makes him harder than he is.  Her eyes are heavy with lust and her face… she looks back at him, and helps shrug her dress off, then steps out of it and her boots.  He gasps at the sight of all that creamy skin before him exposed with only a few scraps of cloth covering her.  “Alice, my Alice, so beautiful.”

Alice blushes and then arches her eyebrow at him, as she murmurs to him, “Hmmmm… I think you are overdressed, my love.”  She reaches up to unbutton his shirt, hoping this time he will not deny her; she is burning with the need to feel his skin under her hands.

He watches her, as she slowly undoes the buttons, looking at him shyly.  His Alice, shy?  The thought is arousing to him.  He never thought his strong Alice will be shy.  She has finished unbuttoning his shirt, but has a frown on her face.  Hatter looks down, trying to see what is wrong, and realizes he still has the bullet proof vest on.  He quickly realizes she has no idea how to get it off, so he helps her out, removing both his shirt and vest.

Alice smiles possessively as she runs her hands over his body. It is not overly muscled, but he definitely had tone and, oh yes! Washboard abs…

Hatter gasps, as her hands trail down his chest, and flutter around his waist. He can see her look on her face, and is sends shivers of lust through him.  There is no doubt in his mind that she wants him as he does her.

 He pulls her roughly to him and kisses her. He notices he doesn’t even need to ask for entrance, she willingly gives it him. Hatter begins to take in how badly he desires her, it has become so encompassing; nothing exists for him but the two of them.  His hands travel up her back to the clasp from her bra undoing it with a simple flick of his clever fingers.  Without stopping, he picks her up, and lays her on the grass at the edge of the pool. He gazes at her, his eyes darkened with the desire, and love in them evident as he removes her bra.

Hatter takes in the sheer beauty that is his Alice as she lays there exposed on the grass with the dying light making her skin glow. Her nipples are already pebbled.  He leans down and kisses her gently before moving slowly down to her breasts hitting those spots that he has noted before that made her gasp.

 As he leaves a trail of kisses burning on her skin, he continues down between her breasts then down to her stomach.  He glances up at her, wryly grins at her as she lays there gasping under him.  He lowers his head back to what he was doing, licking a circle around her belly button.  He reaches one hand up to her breast gently massaging it, loving how it fit his hand perfectly.  He moves his fingers to take her nipple between them and gently rolls it. She moans loudly as he moves back up her body, leaving a trail of open kisses, tasting her.  Hatter leans up, and watching her face, takes the other nipple in his mouth.  He lathes it with his talented tongue, pulling it with his teeth then soothing it. He repeats this a few times then pulls back and blows on it.  Her reaction is immediate, and gratifying to him, she bucks her hips up to him in obvious pleasure.   He huskily tells her, “Not yet my luv…”

Alice can’t believe it.  He is playing her body like it is a well tuned instrument that is made for him and him alone.  She can feel the lust, desire, and pure wanton want, pooling in her stomach and the fire between her legs.  She needs him, all of him…  She wants to be his and for him to be hers in every way.  She knows this could be considered wrong with them knowing each other for such a short time, but she doesn’t care. She knows at that moment that she is irrevocably in love with Hatter.  There will be no going back, no games played between the two of them.  Hatter is it for her.  He is the one for her, and she will do whatever it takes to be with this man, even staying in this world.  This, this lovemaking, is just an affirmation of their feelings towards each other.

Hatter loves Alice and her body.  He pours out his feelings in every kiss, touch, and caress he does.  He can’t stop himself and doesn’t want to.  Hatter sees no reason why not show this remarkable woman how he cares for her.  He also burns with a desire to make her, his.  He moves his hands back down her body, and removes her panties and tights slowly down her legs.  He can smell her arousal and it inflames him.  He moves to her other breast, while moving her legs slightly apart to be better able to stroke her.  He hears her start to pant out his name. He grins, and goes back to assaulting her breasts with his mouth, moving his hand until he finds her opening, and pushes his two fingers in.  Hatter can’t help himself and moans in pleasure when he finds that she is wet and tight around his fingers.  He moves from her breast up to her mouth, as he pumps his fingers in and out of her, using his thumb to brush her clit every once in a while.  He swallows her moans as he kisses her, searching for her g-spot.   He knows he has reached it when she bucks up her hips. Wanting his woman to come first before they do anything else, he goes faster, using his thumb more often to rub circles on her clit.  She throws her head back and he feels her tighten around his fingers.  He watches as she comes not able to take his eyes off the sight of his love, coming undone because of him.

As she comes down, she looks up at him.  He lays there with a satisfied smirk on his face.  He removes his fingers from her, bringing them to his mouth.  Hatter licks them clean as he watches her and tells her softly, “You taste so good, Alice.”

 Alice never thought that after that last orgasm, he could turn her on even more.  She licks her lips, reaching out to her man, and pulls him down to her, kissing him.  She can taste herself on his mouth and moans.  She needs him now!  She reaches down with her other hand and undo’s his pants.  She feels him spring free.  Her hand goes to cup him and feels him covered in his silk boxers. She break off the kiss to flip him over, and with a look goes down on him, kissing and nipping her way.  She follows his happy trail to the waistband of his black boxers.  Looking up, Alice meets his heavy eyed gaze, his eyes are almost black with his lust and desire for her.

Hatter lifts his hips up in answer to her look, and she pulls down his pants and boxers together.  He makes an odd movement and she realizes he has kicked off his shoes in order to help her out.  She looks back at his cock and is a little taken aback at how large he is.  She feels herself grow even more aroused and finds herself wanting to taste him.  She never understood why her girlfriends talk about it as something they like to do.  But at this time, she understands.  She looks up at him, licks her lips again, and takes him into her hand, her thumb spreading the bead of cum around the head.  He moans and she wants to hear that again.  There is something so sexy about Hatter surrendering.  She stares into his eyes as she comes down and covers his head with her mouth.

The resulting moan and his gasped out words, “Oh god, Alice…my love…” make it more than worth it.  Hatter throws back his head, as she starts to lick her way up and down his cock, treating it as her personal lollipop. She takes him as deep as she can, hollowing her cheeks to make it more enjoyable for him.  Wrapping one hand around where she cannot take him, she pumps her hand in conjunction with her movements of her head.  Soon he is thrusting his hips towards her.

Hatter needs to stop her.  He doesn’t want to come this way; he really needs to be inside her this first time.  He reaches down and pulls her gently from him as he gently tells her, “I want to be inside you Alice.”  He pulls her up to him and turns them over. He looks at her below him, and softly says as he stares into her eyes, his love present in his own brown eyes, “I love you, Alice Hamilton, so very much.”

Alice sighs in pleasure and replies to him as he caresses her, “I love you too, Hatter.”  She wraps her legs around him and can feel him at her entrance.  So close!! She tries to encourage him, but he kisses her. “Alice… love…”  She can’t take it… She begs him, “Hatter PLEASE!!”

He smiles hearing how badly she wants him and watches her face as he enters her.  They both moan at the pure pleasure they feel when he slides home.

“Hatter…” she moans as he stays in position, letting her adjust to him.  He kisses her, trailing kisses down to her neck and back up as he waits.  He feels her relax, then moves her hips.  He takes that as an invitation to start thrusting out and back in slowly in her.   He stares into her eyes, wanting to watch her enjoyment, as he groaned in pleasure of feeling her tight wet walls caressing his cock.  She feels heavenly to him, perfect.

Alice concludes that Hatter is trying to kill her in pleasure.  He is torturing her!  But at the same time, it feels exquisite.  She tries to hurry him, but he takes his time, claiming her in every way he can as his.  She can feel her insides clench and then the fire that he had ignited earlier in her, flares again, sending sparks through her body, and without being aware of it, Alice cries out his name.

Hatter feels her coming all around him and fights to not to come himself yet.  He quite enjoys watching Alice coming.  And he wants to see it again.  He keeps up the pace watching her.

Alice can’t believe him. She stares up at him once she can register the world again.  His face is concentrating on hers; she can see the sweat beading on his body with the effort he putting out for her benefit.   Most men can’t last as long as he is… and, oh God, how he is making her feel.  She can barely register the pleasure he is directly responsible for causing, it is overwhelming her body.  She has never felt this way before when she has had sex, but then, no man before was Hatter.  She has never loved any of the men before with the passion she feels for this man.  But she wants him to lose control as she is starting to do again.  She bucks into him. “Please…  Hatter, faster!”  She can see his control slipping as she wraps her legs around him higher.

 Hatter has been fighting his own pleasure up until this time, but when she shifted her legs higher on him; he was able to go so much deeper in now.  He moans, he can feel her wrapped all around him and can’t help himself.  He starts to move faster.  He can feel his balls tightening and reaches between them to her clit and starts rubbing it.  He is going to come with her!

Alice can feel the pressure building but she is trying to hold on, she wants him to come with her.

Hatter can feel him getting close and orders her, “Alice, luv.  Come with me!”

That is all it took and they both come together in an explosion that was unlike any orgasm they have ever had.  It felt as though time itself has stopped for them both.

Hatter keeps up a slow movement, letting them both ride out the bliss that they are feeling. As he slows down, he looks down at her, and kisses her gently.  He gazes into her eyes lovingly.  She was his, he was hers.  There was no going back for either of them.

 Alice looks up at him, and repeats what she has admitted to them both earlier, “I love you.”

 Hatter smiles at her, his heart feeling light, “I love you too Alice… MY Alice…”

In answer to that, she reaches up, and pulls him closure to her, telling him in his ear, “My Hatter.”

He sighs happily.  Knowing that if he didn’t they will never talk tonight; he pulls out of her to lie on his side.  He draws her closer to him, not wanting to be any farther from her than they absolutely have to be, and watches her. “You’re so beautiful Alice.  And you know you ARE mine now.  No one will ever take you away from me.”  He brushes her hair out her face so gently.

Alice exhales in contentment, and tells him, “I know.   And you are mine as well.”  Nothing more needs to be said.  They are each others, from now until the end of time.  Both of them realize the significance of what they just did; seal their love to each other permanently.

Hatter smiles and kisses her softly.  He knows they don’t have much more time before Charlie gets worried.  “Alice.  While I would love nothing more than staying here, with you, for the rest of our lives, we got to get moving.  Charlie will come looking for us and be worried when he can’t find us.” He caresses her face as he talks to her, his face tender.  “Plus, on the way to the Kingdom I found out some news.”

Alice relaxes with his ministrations and shows of affection.  Letting herself exist in the moment, not worrying about the future.  She knows that it will contain Hatter and her no matter what.  But she is curious about how and when he found out news on the ride here.  It must have been when she was asleep.  She looks at him curious.

Hatter has seen the look on her face enough times in the last three days to be able to tell what it is and tells her in the same soft voice that holds a note of unease, “You remember my secrets, luv,”  She frowns for a second and then nods, “Well, this is part of them.  I didn’t expect to hear from this secret, but someone has stepped forward to help us out.”

Alice is worried.  Hatter has his secrets, while he has promised her that he will not only tell her about these secrets as soon as he can, but will keep them from interfering with them.  Now these past promises are actively making a choice to come to him.  What do they want of him and why him?  “Hatter.  What is this going to mean about us?”

Hatter looks at her, and frowns, “Do you trust me, when I say that nothing,” He cups her face gently to make his point, “nothing, will come between us?”  He drops his hand from her face in pain.  He thought they had solved all their trust issues.  Does she not understand how it hurts him to keep this all from her?  How much he hates it with every part of his being?

Alice looks up at him, realizing that she has hurt him, cups his face between her hands, “Hatter, I trust you completely.  I know you will allow nothing to come between us.  But, we saw what happened two days ago.  Outside events came in between us.  Something we cannot control.  I do not doubt that you will come after me.  If I ever do, all I need to think of are the last couple of days, and how many times you have rescued me.  I also know that I would come for you.  But, there are others that will work to separate us.  I am worried this may be the case in this situation.”  She stares into his brown eyes hoping that he understands.  She then tells him softly, “Hatter, in case you didn’t hear, I love you.  I would die for you.  I know I have loved you for awhile.  And I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”  She leans forward and he meets her in a gentle, loving kiss.

Hatter pulls back just to tell her, “I love you, too.” and kisses her again, his lips gentle on hers.  He leans back over her, holding her to him with one arm.  He sighs and informs her, “Alice… I want so badly to tell you everything.  But I promised not to tell anyone.” He closes his eyes, wishing there was a way he could tell her something, anything. Alice is everything to him and this is truly causing physical pain to keep anything from her.  The sooner that he can take care of the Queen, the sooner he and Alice can start their lives together.

Hatter tries to relay this to his Alice that nothing to him is more important than she is, “I will try my damndest to not let anything come between us.” He opens his eyes to gaze into her eyes. “Alice, you are mine.  Any other promises or actions we take are just icing on the cake.  In every sense of the word you are mine and I am yours.  And it is painful for me to keep these secrets from you with that in mind.  But, that is why I told you about them right away, and why I am trying to tell you what happened.  I don’t want to keep anything from you.  Trust me, when I say I will tell you everything as soon as I can.  I will also do whatever is needed to make you safe and mine in everyone else’s eyes.”

Hatter then closes his eyes again; not wanting to see her pain, knowing what he is going to tell her is going to make her upset.  “Alice, my… source tells me that I am wrong.  Somehow your father is alive.”  He opens his eyes, unable to not watch what is going on with her, facing the pain that he may cause with his words.

Alice becomes very still under him.  She then very carefully asks, “How sure are you of your source?”

Hatter answers, “So very, very sure, luv.  If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t tell you this until I had confirmed, then double made sure.  And even then I probably would have triple checked.”  His voice gentles, “I promised to keep you safe.  Your emotions and sanity is part of that.”  He kisses her anxiously and waits for her to come back to him.

Alice thinks about it all.  Jack has not lied about her father.  But, did this mean she trusts him?  No.  Hatter is sure of his source.  Did she trust him?  Yes.  So therefore since, he trusts this source so much, she will need to trust it also.  She looks up at him and knows he is waiting on her answer. “So how do we find out where he is?”

Hatter sighs in relief, thanking the Gods.  He smiles down at her and realizes something very interesting, now that he is no longer worried about her.  He looks at her and smirks.  “Well luv, first we need to get dressed or we may just have….” And he kisses her mouth sensuously, “a “ and nuzzling her on her neck, “repeat” and leaves open mouth kisses  on the hollow of her neck “of” and then his lips caress the tops of her breasts, “earlier.”  He nips with his teeth then soothes the marks he leaves with his tongue, as he moves towards her nipples on a clock wise motion.

Alice sighs in pleasure and is about to make a remark back when they hear Charlie calling for them.

Hatter groans, and leans his head against her chest, “That man has the worst timing in the world.” Knowing the Knight will not stop until he finds one of them, Hatter sighs.  Leaning up, he kisses her on the lips, murmuring, “I will get dressed and take care of him.  Afterwards luv, I will come back to you to escort you back to camp.  Please remain here until then.” He grins down at her. “We will finish talking later and as for the rest…” his grin turns into a smirk, “We will see what we can do.” Hatter slowly admires her body below him then groans at the reaction his body has.  He then rolls himself into the water beside them.

Alice gasps as some of the icy water hit her. “Hatter!”  She turns over to see him surface and then grin at her.

Hatter moves to the side of the pond and raises himself out of it, the water sheeting over his lean body.  He walks over to where their clothes are and gets dressed.

Alice leans back and enjoys the show of watching her man dressing.  This moment in time makes her happy that Hatter is all hers. She loves him, his mind, soul and right now, his body.

Hatter looks over his shoulder after he gets his pants on and sees that she is watching him.  He puts on his shirt, buttoning it quickly, leaving the shirt loose.  He gathers her clothes and brings them to her.  He drops down to one knee, kissing her softly, and looks at her, tells her softly, “I love you.”  He then picks up his bullet proof vest and retrieves his hat from the pond (where it must have fallen) and carries them with him.

Alice can almost see the trees moving out his way and back after he gets past them…Wonderland!  She will have a lot to learn about this place.

Alice hurries up and gets dressed, leaving her tights off.  She walks around the perimeter of the little oasis, not finding any exits.  She was not serious about escaping, content in waiting for Hatter.  She snorts to herself, realizing that this is the first time in her life that she is willing to wait on a man.  She was just curious if the trees were really not going to let her out until Hatter returns for her.  Alice heads to the pond, removing her boots again to soak her feet in the pond.  She feels, like she is walking on air.  She has a man that loves her and she loves him back.

Hatter leaves feeling like he has drunk a heady batch of unfiltered Tea.  But, none of what he is feeling is fake, which makes it more potent and more meaningful to him.  His Alice loves him.

Unable to hold his pure joy inside, Hatter is grinning when he finds Charlie, “Charlie!  Good evening!”

Charlie is shocked at Hatter’s exuberance and is unable to say anything. He has never seen Hatter looking so happy.

Hatter continues to tell Charlie, “Alice is taking advantage of down time.  We heard you calling for us and I told her I would let you know that we were fine.  If you don’t mind, I will go escort her to the Manor as soon as she is ready.”

Charlie looks at him and knows something significant has happened.  “Is Just Alice okay?”

Hatter smiles to himself and tells Charlie truthfully, “She is better than okay.  We talked and everything is… fine.”  ‘Better than fine.  Alice is mine.  And the best thing is?  I am hers.’