Title: Alice In Wonderland
Author: SyrupandHoneybuns
Pairing: Aidan/Josh.
Rating: M
Summary: Josh is an awkward orderly who one night gets kidnapped by a rebelling vampire prince Aidan.
Warnings: Clumsiness and strong language. You have been warned.

Josh groans as morning light fitters through his hotel window, bathing the room in a faint orange glow. Rolling over onto his side, he snuggles deeper into the plush bedding under him and tugs the comforter over his bare shoulder. Even though Josh is in a state of perpetual bliss he can't quite shake the feeling that something is off. For one thing, his head is pounding furiously, and for another thing, his mouth feels like he swallowed a dozen cotton balls.

Josh can't remember drinking anything before he went to bed, but yet he has all the symptoms of a hangover. He is nauseated, his body aches all over, and he has a horrible taste in his mouth. It is like someone had dumped an entire ashtray inside of there. At first, Josh ignores the uneasiness he is feeling, then he realizes it is morning yet his alarm clock didn't go off. This can't be right, because he always sets his alarm for five, since he usually has the morning shift on Fridays.

With a half moan and the thoughts of a tall glass of water, Josh opens his eyes only to meet a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring mischievously up at him. Sally is crouched down next to the side of Aidan's bed, watching the wolf curiously. It is a rarity for Aidan to bring dinner into his room, much less let it stay the night. "Oh, ladies and gentleman, the Bobbsey twins! I am God, I am everywhere, I drive all night just to get back home," Sally says while standing up and lifting the back of her grey sweater up so it fluttered ominously behind her as she waves her arms up and down, very reminiscent of a bat flapping its wings.

Sally chuckles at her antics, knowing full well that Josh can't see or hear her. Or so she thinks. Josh blinks a couple of times, not fully believing that someone had broken into his dingy hotel room. For what? It isn't like he owns anything of value besides his Star of David pendant, which is .999 pure silver and is thankfully still fastened around his neck. Josh bolts upright and grabs the first thing he sees, which happens to be his alarm clock, and raises in the air like a pitcher getting ready to throw a ball. "Who are you and what are you doing in my hotel room!" Josh yells, then adds as an afterthought, "and stop trying to scare me with Bon Jovi."

Sally stops flapping her arms and stands completely rigid. Josh absently notes that there's a hint of fear and surprise etched on her face. Sally laughs nervously; she wraps her arms around herself and stands there like she's in a daze. "You can hear me?" she mutters to herself but Josh doesn't realize that and answers her rhetorical question.

"Uh, yeah," Josh says like it is the most obvious thing in the world, "look, lady, you went searching for drug change in the wrong hotel room, I'm calling the co-" Josh's eyes widen as he looks around the room for the first time since he's been awake. He had been so preoccupied by the would-be theft he failed to notice that he is no longer in his small hotel room but what appears to be a cluttered bedroom. Clothes and magazines litter the floor and an assortment of different types of coffee mugs cover every flat surface in the room.

"Where have . . . you. . . taken me?" Josh squeaks, his voice going up a notch. He throws the alarm clock at Sally. It hurls across the room and goes straight through her chest, smashing into the back wall. Sally was too busy having a breakdown to notice what Josh did. Josh starts hyperventilating. He can't believe what he just saw. Clocks don't just pass through people like that, it defies the laws of physics.

"He saw me. . . he saw me. . . he saw me. . . ." Sally repeats, over and over like a mantra. Humans can't see her. It isn't possible, she knows this because before she met Aidan she spent four years of her undead life haunting the apartment where she died. Sometimes people would be standing right in front of her or walk right through her and no matter how hard she screamed no one ever seemed to notice her. Josh watches dumbstruck as Sally disappears in a puff of silver smoke, leaving him alone in the room.

Josh sways. He grabs the side of his head with his hands in a desperate attempt to make the room stop spinning. He can't believe what he just saw. People don't disappear into thin air. "Or have a clock pass right through them," the voice in Josh's head comments.

Sally materializes in a huge ballroom that serves as the dining area inside the mansion. Overhead of her, a crystal chandelier hangs suspended over a long wooden table that could easily seat more than fifty people. She sees servants scurrying about setting the large table with silverware and plates before she blinks out of the room.

Bishop is sitting behind a large mahogany desk in his study, shuffling the numerous documents that litter his desk into a neat pile. He feels the hairs on his neck and arms stand up a moment before Sally blinks into his study. He can tell the girl is distraught over something, but before he can say anything she materializes out of the room. Sally involuntarily phases in and out of a couple more rooms before she ends up in the hallway outside of Aidan's bedroom. She presses her back to the wall and slowly slumps down it. Once on the floor, she hugs her knees to her chest and cries.

As Aidan pulls up to the mental gates enclosing Bishop mansion, he can't help but wonder if leaving Josh under Sally's care was the best thing to do. It was like leaving a baby waterbuck alone with a lioness on the Serengeti. It wasn't like he had much of a choice; Sally is the only person in the covenant he trusts. Aidan flashes his fangs at the security guard. The security nods his head and buzzes the gates open from the booth he is seated at. Aidan drives forward up the mansion driveway and parks his car in front of the large building. He grabs the two large duffel bags filled with stuff he retrieved from Josh's hotel room and exits the car.

To be continued|