Time to Pretend

I used the title of the song "Time to Pretend" by MGMT. It sounded so...whimsical to me. Haha. And I totally fell in love with Alice on Syfy and Hatter of course, so I had to write about the men in her life. They're all so cute.

The night after Alice returned—or, woke up, actually, she slept restlessly in the hospital bed. She drifted in and out of dreams, fitful and confused about the turmoil going on inside her. She should have found peace now right? She'd found him. She'd found him.

Feeling close to tear and unsure if she was sleeping or awake, Alice suddenly felt someone smoothing her hair back away from her damp face. "It's okay, Alice. It's okay."

"Mom?" she tried to murmur, blue eyes opening and closing. Her eyelid felt so heavy.

"It's going to be alright, Alice. You'll see."

This voice was masculine. Despite that, she wanted to scream at him. Everything should be alright…but it wasn't. She hadn't just left her father behind…she'd left him. But the voice was familiar.

"Daddy?" That's right. Dinah. Maybe that's why he was comforting her. Dinah had been hit by a car. It had to be his voice, right?

"Shh, Alice, go back to sleep. I'll be here to protect you, Just Alice."

Alice's eyes fluttered open again. Her vision was still unclear and fuzzy. White, she caught. White, just like a familiar knight.

Was it…Charlie? No, it couldn't be. Charlie was in Wonderland. Not in a hospital in her world. He was in Wonderland with—

She let out an almost inaudible groan. When had the line between Robert Hamilton and Charlie the White Knight begun to blur? Their soothing voices and compassionate eyes.

She felt something cold and heavy slip on her wrist. It was fastened with a small clicking noise. "There you go, my dear."

"Charlie, wait…" Her voice sounded slow and raspy. But she had to tell him to find the person she'd left behind.

But he was gone, his presence washed away like a quick whisper.

Alice attempted to move and open her eyes once more, but to no avail. Darkness was all she saw. She was still dreaming. She had to be. Of course it was: she still felt the weight of cold metal on her right wrist.

Then…almost as quickly as Charlie had disappeared…something warm…

Someone brushed their lips against her cheeks and eyelids. She could feel the small smile on the person's face, their underlying laughter that could bubble up at any moment.

"Oh, dearest, don't cry," was the low, familiar, heavily accent voice. She could hear the soft, ever-present chuckle in his tone.

Crying? Was she crying?

"I'll see you soon, I promise you, Alice. I promise."

She felt her mouth turn up into a blissfully silly smile at the unusual seriousness. She trusted him completely.

Even with her eyes closed she could still see that mad grin and insufferable hat. She could still see his dark, sorrowful eyes in the looking glass as she was pushed back.

"I'm coming, Alice. I'm coming."

She finally drifted into a calm, deep sleep. She dreamt peacefully of leaping white hares. And when she awoke to her mother's voice, she had her father's watch on her wrist and the taste of tea on her tongue.