Chapter Text
When Bridget banished Maddox Hatter to the Isle of the Lost, she hadn’t expected her guards to bring her a toddler with the same eyes as him. Maddox had never mentioned a son, never even acted paternal as a matter of fact. She was surprised to say the least. Out of all the things she thought they would find in his cottage, Bridget had never once considered that there could have been a child. As she looked at the boy now, she noticed how small he was. It was obvious that Maddox’s obsession with that preposterous pocket watch had taken precedence over the wellbeing of his son. It made her want to pull the boy into her arms and provide him with anything he might need. Bridget was pulled out of her thoughts by a voice.
“Should we send him with his father, Your Highness?”
Before Bridget could stop herself she spoke, “I’ll keep him here.” The head guard, the one holding the boy’s hand, gave her a look of disbelief.
“Are you sure, ma’am? With Princess Red and now Pink, are you sure taking in a third child, especially one of his… parentage, is the wisest decision?”
Bridget’s reply was quick, “He is not his father.” Yet, doubts lingered in her mind. Every Hatter she had heard of was at least a little bit mad. It was such a well known fact that the people of Wonderland had coined it as the “Hatter curse”. A more reasonable part of her argued that, surely it came from being raised in such an unusual manner by the previous mad Hatter’s. Yes. That had to be it, and Bridget was certain she could provide a stable enough environment for this boy that he would turn out just fine.
“Would you like a snack?” Bridget aims the question at the boy. He nods hesitantly and Bridget stands. “Come with me. I’m sure the kitchen has something cooking; they always do.”
She took the boy’s hand in hers and began down the palace hallways. She noted how his eyes darted, analyzing every inch of the corridor.
“It’s quite a large place, I know. It’s a hassle when I want a midnight snack and have to descend a flight of stairs.” She knows her joke has landed when she sees a slight smile form on the boy’s face. The hallway ends soon enough, and Bridget opens a large door that leads into the kitchen. As the sweet scent of pastries hit their senses, the boy’s face lights up entirely.
“This kitchen is for desserts. I assumed you’d like that better than a savory dish.” The boy looked to her, obviously asking permission to enter and explore. Bridget led him around the room with a plate, avoiding collisions with the bustling bakers and loading on whatever he picked out. Once the plate had desserts stacked high on top, she led him to the tea room. She watched as he tore into a frosted sugar cookie.
“What’s your name?” She asked as he moved on to a crème puff. She saw the trepidation in his eyes.
“Not sure,” He shrugged before starting again. “Dad didn’t call me one.”
Bridget took this to mean that Maddox had never properly addressed his child by name. The prospect almost made her hope the Isle of the Lost was worse than what she’d heard of it.
Bridget composed her thoughts before beginning, “Well then, I’ll just have to give you one.” Bridget had never been very creative when it came to names, made obvious by her two daughters’ names. “What about… Purple?”
The boy burst out into a fit of laughter. “Purple’s not a name! It’s a color!” He babbled out in slightly stunted speech, due to the evident lack of conversation Maddox made with him.
“What do you mean?” Bridget laughed in fake disbelief just to keep the boy giggling.
“It’s not!” He repeated between catching his breath from such laughter.
“Oh, but I already named my daughters Red and Pink!” The boy thought this to be hysterical. Bridget waited humorously for him to calm down. “All right, all right. Let me think.” The boy went back to dessert, now making his way through a pink frosted and sprinkled donut. Bridget didn’t get the chance to think up another name before the boy spoke up, mouth full.
“What about Maddox? Dad said that name a lot, so it must be good.” Bridget’s heart ached at his words, but they did give her an idea.
“Maybe just Max; to make it your own.” The boy nodded enthusiastically at the name given to him. They sat in silence for a while after that, Max eating until he neared the end of his food. He began to pack some into a napkin that Bridget had brought with them. She was just about to ask him what he was doing when he paused in his movements.
“Can I take this home?”
Bridget, though promising herself to circle back to the topic of the food filled napkin, took this as an opportunity to explain what was going on. She didn’t know what to say or how to tell him that his father was gone and wasn’t coming back for him, so she settled on something soft that also got her point across.
“Max, you’ll be staying here, with me and my daughters, from now on.” Max looked at her, confusion, then understanding etched into his expression.
“Because Dad’s not home?” Bridget was stunned. She hadn’t considered the fact that Max had been left alone after his father was taken into Wonderland custody. They searched his home two days after, leaving an undiscovered Max to fend for himself until the guard would find him.
“Yes, and I’m sorry you were left all alone. None of us knew you were there.” Max nodded, quickly accepting the apology before asking another question.
“He’s not coming back?” His eyes turned wet as he grasped the concept of never seeing his dad again.
“No, I’m afraid not. He has to go away because he keeps getting into trouble. We didn’t want him to hurt anyone.” Max wept quietly as Bridget spoke. Suddenly his sweets tasted sour.
“But, that’s why I’m here. I’ll take care of you. You’ll have all the food you could want, so you don’t need to wrap your leftovers. You can simply get more later if you wish. You’ll have a room here, to decorate however you’d like.” Max wiped the tears from his face, even though they never stopped.
“So, you’ll be my dad?” Bridget walked to his side of the table, enveloping him into a warm embrace.
“I’ll be your mother. It’s like a dad, but a girl instead, and they tend to be more nurturing. I’ll be here whenever you need me. I’ll make everything better for you. I promise.”