Alice and What Came After

Disclaimer: I only own the characters of Chase Heart, Sarah Hatter, and Connor Hatter. Rex, Sid, and Nancy belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures. Wonderland and its various characters were created by Lewis Carroll. This version of Hatter and Alice is based on Nick Willing's screenplay for the SyFy production of Alice.

Epilogue: Back to the Looking Glass

After a long sit-down, Sarah agreed to go to rehabilitation for her drinking problem, as well as seek counseling for her other little addictions and to cope with the loss of her baby. She wasn't happy about going, but Hatter wasn't going to budge.

Less than a week after his return from Wonderland, Hatter dropped his daughter off at a rehabilitation center in New York State—a good hour and a half outside the city. Alice and Connor said their good-byes at the flat, leaving father and daughter to handle rehab.

Sarah cried when it came time to go inside. She promised to behave better if she could just go home. Hatter stood firm through the begging, even though it broke his heart, and kissed her good-bye.

"I'll be back soon enough," he promised. "I'll even send you letters, huh?"

"Daddy, don't leave me here!"

"We talked about this, luv. You have to do this. I know you can do this. Okay? Be strong like I know you are."

She buried her face in his bright paisley shirt. He rubbed her back, wishing he didn't feel like he was abandoning her. It's for her own good. Stay strong…

"I love you, Sarah. Nothing's gonna change that. I just want you to feel better. The drinking has to stop. You can't walk around in a haze and expect Connor to pick up all the pieces. You need to learn to deal with life…" he said, trying to block out the sound of her tears.

"But…"

"You can do this, Jabberwock. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for me."

Sarah sniffled, her eyeliner smeared. He slowly let go of her.

Her dark hair stuck up at all angles. Hatter was struck by how much she looked like the little girl he'd once come home from a trip to find sitting on his bedroom floor, surrounded by a pile of hats. This sullen teenager before him didn't look like her mother or the little girl he knew and loved. This worn-out, make-up covered, black-clad anorexic waif wasn't the Sarah he knew.

Hatter wanted that little girl back. He wanted to see his Jabberwock smile again. He wanted to listen to her laugh.

"Do this for me, Sarah. Get well. Please?"

She looked at him, this lost, lonely young woman. Sarah, only this wasn't his Sarah.

"Okay…"

He took off his straw porkpie. He placed it on her head, smiling at her. "Keep this safe for me, luv. Can you do that?"

"Yes…" Sarah said in a small voice.

After one last hug, Hatter watched as the orderlies in scrubs led his daughter away.

With a bouquet of flowers from New York in hand, Chase Heart knelt beside his parents' grave. A small statue of the pair had been erected out of marble.

He laid the flowers at the foot of the statue.

"Mum, dad… it's me. I'm sorry it took me so long to visit. A lot's happened back in New York. Umm, well, for starters, you were almost grandparents…

"Sarah and I… we were together about two years. Just dating. She got pregnant, but, uh… she miscarried over Christmas. Mum, you might have heard about it, since it happened here in Wonderland. We broke up after that."

Chase sighed. "She started drinking after the miscarriage. Hatter sent her off to rehab a few weeks back. Connor tells me how she's doing sometimes. He's finally talking to me again. He swore to kill me a few times if I hurt Sarah.

"But he approves of me, sort of. He even told me that Sarah still cares for me."

He stood up. "Anyways, I should be going. I've got to work today. But I just wanted to say… I love you both and I miss you. But Wonderland isn't for me. Not without Sarah. I'm sorry if I'm a disappointment to you both."

Chase walked away, his hands in his pants pockets. He couldn't stay in this place. Wonderland was no longer his home. Maybe it never had been.

Three months later…

She sat cross-legged on the couch. Her unruly dark hair was cut into a bob. A well-worn straw porkpie sat on her head, her bangs curling out from underneath the brim.

Gone was the black-on-black. Her fingernails were trimmed short and natural—no more black polish here—and the multiple chokers were gone as well. The combat boots stayed, the toes peeking out from underneath her loose-fitting corduroy pants. The burgundy pants went well with her tan blazer (corduroy, like her pants) and a navy blue top.

Sarah Hatter looked healthy. Her collarbone still jutted out a bit, as did her hips, but the doctor had given her a clean bill of health. She was at an ideal weight for her bone structure and height.

"How do you feel today, Sarah?" the psychologist sitting across from her asked. This would hopefully be their last session.

"Excited. I've really missed my da, me mum, and Conn. I even miss Rex!"

"Rex is your brother's lizard, correct?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. Nancy's my… dog. Sid is Conn's."

"What about your friends? Are you looking forward to seeing them?" Joanne Winters asked, her glasses perched on the end of her nose.

"I don't have many friends, except for Conn. I haven't talked to Chase in… nine months or so. Not since before Christmas. Actually talked."

"Are you going to see Chase again?"

The hat rolled down her arm. She unconsciously played with it. "I don't know. I'm a little nervous. I mean, I really do still care for him, but I don't think he'll forgive me after everything. I wouldn't forgive me. I've been a royal bitch."

Joanne leaned forward. "Why do you think he won't forgive you?"

"When I needed him most, I shoved him away. I wanted to wallow, so I threw him away. I was going to have an abortion without talking to him. Then it all went wrong and I lost the baby anyways. But I never even told him that I might be pregnant. We never talked about it."

"Are you sorry that you didn't tell him?"

"Yes, oh God, yes! I mean, if we'd discussed it, instead of me panicking, there's a chance our baby would be alive today."

"Are you still having the nightmares, Sarah?"

She shook her head. "Not really. It doesn't hurt as much to remember."

"What about drinking? How are you coping with being sober?"

"It's a struggle, but I'm done with the quick fixes. I want to finish my college degree. It's bad enough that my little brother's about to get two Bachelor's Degrees. I want to get mine. Well, finish getting it. My thesis has been done for a year. I want my life back," Sarah admitted.

Joanne smiled. "I think you're ready to make the next step, Sarah. I've already spoken with another psychologist near your home who will see you as an outpatient twice a week to start with. She's already got a copy of your files."

"Thanks so much, Jo."

Her therapist gave her a hug. "Go home, Sarah. There's a very nice looking man here to get you."

"Really? Who?"

Joanne shrugged. "He's young. Very—hot, is that the word?—in my opinion."

Sarah frowned. That really narrows it down…

"Go on. Enjoy your life."

She left the office, heading toward the front. She'd thought about escaping the clinic in those first few weeks where they monitored her food intake, her weight gain, took away her alcohol, her drugs, and her cigarettes. She'd had to struggle just to function. The one thing that kept her going was her father's words.

She started trying just for him and soon enough, she was fighting the cravings for herself. She didn't want or need the alcohol or the drugs. After about two months of the gum, she even distanced herself from her nicotine addiction.

Sarah walked toward the front door, feeling incredibly light and happy for the first time in a long time.

Standing near the door, bags at his feet, was a dark-haired figure.

She broke into a run, launching herself into his arms. "Conn! You came!"

Her brother spun her around for a second, grinning like a Cheshire. "Of course! Someone had to break ya out, ya know…"

"I thought da…"

"Emergency at the sho-P."

Sarah grinned, hugging her brother tightly. "I hate to say this, but I missed you!"

"Wait… you missed me?" He touched her forehead. "Do ya have a fever or somethin'?"

She ruffled his dark hair. "No, you retard!"

He laughed. "Nope, you're definitely my sis. Darn, I'd hoped they'd do a personality transplant or somethin' while you were gone…."

"No such luck, brother dear."

Connor grabbed her suitcase. "It's s'okay. I'm rather used to you."

"Now who's got a fever?"

He just laughed, leading her out into the sunshine. "I guess we're both a little Mad."

"We bloody well better be! Da's the Mad Hatter after all!"

"You're supposed to say 'we're all a little Mad here'!" Connor hissed, wearing their father's cheeky grin.

Sarah shoved him off the gravel path, grinning when he stumbled into the grass.

Why bother stating the obvious? We are Mad. We're Hatters.

Behind them, the door to the rehab clinic shut. Just ahead, a Looking Glass awaited them—a gateway to more adventures. Adventures that Sarah couldn't wait to start.

THE END

Author's Notes:

Thank you all so much for sticking with this story over the past six months! Woah, has it been a ride! Hopefully the next chapter for "Glass" will go live this weekend. I'm guessing right now "Glass" be around 30 chapters when done. Once that's completed, Connor's story will go up. I can't spin-off of "Glass" yet because so much of his story depends on how things play out in "Glass".

I tried to give a bit of closure to do with Chase, but not much. Timewise, "Glass" starts in May-June. This epilogue ends in late August. That means there's another Christmas (one year anniversary of her miscarriage) before "Glass" happens. Neither Sarah nor Chase have the guts to talk to each other yet. She's still struggling to stay sober and clean. But Connor has forgiven Chase a bit.

Once again, thank you so much for reviewing! You guys are the best! I hope to see you all in "Glass"!