No offense, but you're madder than a box of frogs if you think I own this.

Oh, this was nice. This was completely incredible and so worth everything he'd been through in the past few days. As Alice's fingers ran through his hair, he decided it was worth being shot. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms tight around her, and thought she was worth losing his Tea shop, and almost getting eaten by the Jabberwock, the insane amount of worry and stress she put him through, nearly being killed by the Tweedles and -. She sighed softly against his lips before deepening their kiss, and that was it. Nothing else mattered right now other than Alice, and her lips, and kissing her, and holding her, and never ever letting her go again.

"Alice!"

Hatter whimpered a little as Alice's lips left his. He blinked at her in confusion. Why wasn't she kissing him anymore?

"Uh…hey, Mom," his Alice said nervously, slowly pulling her hands from his hair.

Oh. Mom. Right. She was there, mouth gaping in shock at their little display. Still, despite the awkward situation and the slight attempt from Alice to get out of his arms, he refused to let her go (ever again). They were supposed to save this for when they were safe after all. Even though Carol was giving them – him – extremely stunned and suspicious looks, she didn't seem threatening. So he wasn't letting Alice go. Never ever again.

He was still going to help Alice out, of course.

"Mrs. Hamilton," he said, casting a quick glance at Alice, "you're probably very confused right now about…this," he nodded his head towards the woman still in his arms. "We've met before, Alice and I. We actually knew each other for a while, and I actually…fell deeply in love with her. But then there was Jack," he cringed as he said the name, "and I couldn't very well tell her then, could I? Then I tried to just back off, y'know? Get over it, right, and stay out of her life. Right thing to do and all. Lasted a very short while, doin' that grand plan. I was comin' to talk to Alice because, I mean, what kinda bloody coward would I be to never tell the woman I love I love her! When I saw her laid out in that alley, I nearly died right there! So Jack be hanged, Alice, I love you," he finished, looking a little excited and panicked all at once.

"I know," Alice said and looking a little bewildered.

"What? Since when?"

"You said it. Just now. Four times."

Hatter blinked, reviewing what he'd said.

"Oh," he conceded. "So in my head, I'd planned that to be a bit more...something. Um, you – I realize that you've been through a lot recently and that…with your dad, so you don't have to feel obligated to say –"

"I love you, too."

Unless, of course, she wanted to. Then by all means, scream it from the rooftops!

Hatter stared, struck dumb by what he'd heard. Oh, he hoped he wasn't hallucinating right now. Briefly, he wondered if this was some elaborate scheme made up by the Tweedles whom he hadn't in fact actually escaped from.

Nah. Not even they were that cruel.

"Really?" his voice rose an octave, and he cleared his throat and said, "I mean…you do."

"Yeah, I love you," Alice said, an excited smile blooming across her face.

Oh, he loved her smile. He loved her. And she loved him! Who knew? Besides Charlie, and Jack (be hanged), and the Cheshire, and that damn scientist! But this was great. This was wonderful. This was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to him.

With an incredulous but no less cheerful laugh, Hatter impulsively hugged her. Not overly hard to do, since he'd never (ever again) let her go anyway.

"But what happened to Jack?" Carol asked a little anxiously.

Her daughter with the emotional and trust issues was hugging, kissing, and declaring love to some virtual stranger when not a week ago she was being proposed to by her boyfriend. Can you blame her for being anxious?

While Hatter's expression filled with distaste for the name, Alice managed to pull herself from his arms. He frowned at her worriedly (because where was she going now!), but she slid her hand down his arm to catch his hand. He brightened a little at that, lacing his fingers between hers and absently swinging them back and forth.

"He went home to his family," Alice explained to her mother, "and I gave him back the ring. I thought it would be better if he gave the ring to his fiancé anyway."

"Oh, honey," Carol said, stepping forward with her arms out to embrace her child.

As her arms go around her girl, Alice awkwardly tried to hug her mother back with the one arm she had free. She shot the oblivious Hatter a look. Realization came to him all at once, and he gently kissed her knuckles before placing her hand around her mother's neck and stepping back a pace or two.

He'd let her go, but just for a minute.

"My girl," Carol said as she pulled back to look at her daughter, "I'm sorry, baby. But you know that just because Jack," Hatter restrained the flinch, "wasn't all you thought, it doesn't mean you should become involved in another," she sent a careful smile Hatter's way which he returned uncertainly (because it most certainly wasn't a 'I'm-so-glad-my-daughter-loves-you' smile, more of a 'I-don't-know-what's-going-on-and-don't-know-if-I-should-be-concerned' smile), "relationship so quickly."

"Mom, I – okay. We should sit and talk about this."

They three situated themselves on the couch, with some little confusion of who would be the one sitting next to Alice as she'd sat at the end. To stave off some predatorial fight, she'd moved to the middle only to be sent away to the kitchen by her mother a moment after to make tea (that no one really wanted).

This left Hatter to deal with Mother. And the way the woman was giving him skeptical looks really made him wish he had his security blankets: his hat and body armor. The ticking of a grandfather clock a ways off was heard above Alice moving about the kitchen. From below, the hum of traffic could be heard dimly. Hatter would wager they'd be able to hear a pin drop.

Goodness…this was awkward more than that time he'd stammered a good-bye to the only woman he ever loved after he convinced himself that she'd be better off without him. Seems like just yesterday.

"David."

He flinched at the unfamiliar name and sudden voice.

"Ma'am? Sorry. I'm…more than a little nervous. Comin' here to begin with, for one thing, and tellin' Alice…wow. That's mostly settled, but now you're the one really worrying me, ma'am."

"Am I?" the woman crossed one leg over the other and stared him right in the eye. He felt like she was looking straight through him. "How so?"

"I love Alice, as I'm sure you heard me say. Four times," he reached a hand up to tug on the brim of his hat before he realized it wasn't there and ran it through his hair. "What I'm tryin' to say here, Mrs. Hamilton, is Alice is important to me. She is everything. And the things, and people, she cares about are by extension. Important to me, that is. She holds a great deal to what you think, as you two are close, and while I don't want to come between that, I want her. Still, I would like for you to like me, as I'm sure I'll have no problem with you as your Alice's mother and –" he stopped himself at the somewhat amused and stunned look on Carol's face. "And…I'm rambling on like a mad man."

"Only a little, dear," she assured him not unkindly, just not...overly affectionate. He'd work on that.

He took a moment to re-think what exactly it was he was trying to say rather than say everything running through his head, like some fresh kid that just took his first pull of Excitement Tea. With a calming breath, Hatter met Carol's stare and straight out asked,

"May I have your blessing to date your daughter?"

The time it took Carol to answer felt like days. It felt incredibly longer than the two minutes it took him to follow after Alice, during the most-second-guessed ridden two minutes of his life. She stared at him like he was quite possibly one of the more interesting, indecipherable wonders of the world. Like she saw what she was seeing but was hesitant to believe it.

Hatter counted the clock tick twenty-five before the woman said,

"After what you've done for my daughter and they way she was with you, how can I say no?" As Hatter continued to look near-panicked (because that wasn't a real answer, woman!), she smiled and said, "You have my blessing."

All at once, he released a breath of air he hadn't known he held.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hamilton."

"No. It's Carol, dear."

"Then you must call me Hatter."

"Oh?"

"I usually have a hat," he explained, feeling much more at ease.

"Ah."

Hatter turned his attention to the doorway Alice had disappeared through as the sound of shoes on hardwood grew louder. Alice re-entered the living room carrying a tea tray and a porcelain tea set. The picture of Alice and tea was one that would be forever ingrained in his memory under 'Favorite Things'. She carefully placed the set on the on the table and reclaimed her seat in between Hatter and her mother. The man had already seized her hand before her bottom hit the cushion. Alice sent him a smile before turning to her mother.

"Now, Mom, I know this is – seems sudden to you. And I know that –"

"Alice, it's fine," Carol said, "Hatter explained it to me."

Alice held in the bit of alarm that Hatter had explained everything to her mother. Turning back to him with wide eyes, he just smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Relax," he grinned, "Carol is all right with us," the smile faltered a little, "There is an us, right?"

"Of course!" Alice replied.

Hatter practically sagged with relief.

"Is this really that much of a surprise?" Carol asked as she rested her head on her fist and watched the two.

"Carol," he rolled his eyes, "you wouldn't believe the mixed signals this girl can give off! Utterly. Exhausting."

"Oh, I was giving of mixed signals? What about you?"

"When? You mean when you left?"

"Uh, yeah! That was just one huge mixed signal. I didn't know if you wanted me or not!"

"If that is ever a question, I always want you. What I don't want is you anywhere near his highness. Besides that, you had to go. You didn't belong there."

"And you didn't?"

"I belong where you are. As long as you'll have me."

As simple as that. He was hers. If she didn't want him, he was still hers. There was nothing he could do to change that and wouldn't if he could. It seemed that Alice was just starting to really understand that.

In his personal opinion, it was about time.

Hatter leaned towards her to share another kiss (because this really seemed like one of those moments to share a tender kiss) and she moved to meet him. His lips just touched hers before a clearing of the throat nearly had him jumping ten feet. Honestly, one couldn't blame him for being jumpy.

Within the past few days, he'd been shot, beaten up by an extremely portly man, had that extremely portly man beaten up by a petite yet feisty woman, yelled at by same woman, hunted down by a formerly dead, sadistic, mad man, been on the List (that you really don't want to be on) of the Resistance and the Suits, repeatedly had his decisions undermined and questioned by the woman he loved who seemed bound and determined to get them both killed in a number of varying ways (the girl had such talent!) , had to go through the emotional trauma of actually falling in love with said woman while she was in like with another guy (the freaking Prince, of all people !) , had to deal with her leaving with (the lying, two-timing, heartless) Prince, get captured by the madman and be psychologically and physically tortured while the fate of his beloved (who still didn't know it) remained unknown, having to kill the mad man (again) , find and rescue the incredibly insane, brave, beautiful, suicidal, kick-ass woman he loved (who still didn't know it) and escape from now collapsing Casino after her father was shot dead in front of them, later to come upon the woman he loved with the man she (for all he knew loved) liked in what looked to him to be an entirely cozy situation (any situation in which the two were speaking was too cozy to his liking), having to talk to the most amazing woman he'd ever met while concinving her ( and himself) that they were just friends (because she was an Oyster, and she couldn't stay here no matter how much he wanted her to) then having to watch her go through the Looking Glass.

Leaving him forever.

Because he'd been a damn fool and let her go.

Then Charlie had slapped him (and very nearly got himself Sledgehammered) and proceeded to tell him that it was the will of the 'mystical dark arts' that they two be together and went on to call him a knave, charlatanistic, cowardly, foolish, mimsical cur not fit for the Jabberwock to pick its teeth with. Somewhere in his rant, the old knight had come up with a bit of reason. And when Charlie became the voice of reason, things must be dire indeed.

Back to the business at hand, that being kissing Alice, or rather the interruption from him kissing Alice.

Hatter eased himself away from Alice and angled forward so he could see Carol.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hello," Carol returned.

"Would you mind terribly if I stole your daughter away for an hour or six?"

Carol arched a slim brow, glancing between the two.

"By all means," she conceded.

With a sly grin, Hatter practically bounced out of his seat and helped Alice to her feet. He gave a quick, little bow to Carol.

"It has been delightful to see you again, Carol."

"You, too, David," she said graciously, "I'd say don't be a stranger, but I think that would be redundant."

"I certainly hope so."

"I –" Alice began only to be cut off by Hatter.

"For once, luv, don't argue with me. Not on this."

"But – "

"Nope," he said as he led her to the door, smiling mischievously.

"You –"

"Don't say it!"

"Will you just – "

"No," he opened the door and pulled her through.

"Hatter!"

Halfway in and out the door, he stopped and tilted his head inquiringly. Despite her yelling and the hard face she currently displayed, both could tell Alice was more amused than upset with Hatter's behavior. She wasn't the only one.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To get pizza, of course!"

With that, Alice threw back her head and laughed as Hatter drew her through the door. The last thing Carol saw before the door closed was the young man lean down to wrap her daughter in his arms and lower his head to hers. She shook her head as she reached for the forgotten tea cup and pot. As she poured the tea and doctored it to her liking, she mused aloud,

"Only your daughter, Robert Hamilton, would find a man named Hatter."

She slipped off her shoes and sipped her tea. After counting a few moments, she rose and moved to the front window. Setting her cup and saucer on the sill, she pushed the window up and sat on the bay seat. From below, she heard the front door of the apartment building open.

Hatter walked hand-in-hand with Alice down the three steps to the cement.

"I think your mum likes me."

"Hm," she pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. "It's very hard not to like you. Now, David, tell me what you think of a city with its buildings built on the ground," she said cheekily. "It's nice, right?"

They continued to walk down the street and the conversation was lost to Carol's ears over the sounds of the city. She reached up and pulled the window closed again. She sipped her tea and thought.

Alice had been different after she came home from the hospital. Quiet. Solemn. She looked at everything around her as if she was looking for something beyond it. Within a few minutes, this Hatter had her commitment-phobic daughter spouting 'I love you's and sharing adoring looks and tender kisses. Just smiling and laughing and happy.

And he'd asked her permission! How cute was that?

"I like him, indeed," she thought to herself. "You would, too, Robert."

My second story for this fandom, and the first time there's been real dialogue and interactions. The one-shot was more…mind-wanderings of a Mad Hatter as his Alice makes her way to the Glass with show-snatched dialogue.

Feedback, anyone?