Smiling, Dumas mirrored Mari’s raised thumb, even though he knew she couldn’t see or hear him.  “They’re always great when you’re here, Darlin’.”  Was it pathetic that her cheerful greeting usually turned out to be the highlight of his night?  Probably.  But she seemed so genuinely sweet and friendly.  Looking at her, Dumas could almost believe that there was still some small bit of innocence left in the world<br/><br/>Without being instructed to, one of the screens began tracking Mari’s progress through the club.  Dumas had noticed that happening more frequently, and it made him wonder if DEE had developed some sort of weird crush on Wonderland’s hostess.  Such a thing seemed impossible.  But the alternative -- that DEE was simply being influenced by some buried desire on Dumas’s part -- seemed even more impossible.  Dumas remembered someone (probably Chester) telling him that it was advisable to believe at least one impossible thing before breakfast.  However, breakfast had been a long time ago, and there was work to be done.<br/><br/>Before Dumas could tell the problematic screen to show something else, one of Chester’s doppelgangers approached Mari.  Dumas felt himself frown as he listened to their exchange.  He knew that Chester’s joking banter was just his way of showing concern, but Dumas couldn’t be equally lighthearted when it came to Mari’s blackouts.  He was really worried about her.  He’d tried to convince her to see a doctor, but she always resisted, until Dumas finally reached the conclusion that part of her was afraid of what she might discover.  And since that was something Dumas understood all too well, he let it drop.<br/><br/>Weren’t they the perfect pair?  The girl who can’t remember and the man who can’t forget.<br/><br/>“Bar,” Dumas instructed, forcibly directing his thoughts in another direction.  If trouble happened anywhere in Wonderland, it usually happened in the bar.  However, no one was drunk enough yet, and the screen displayed a scene of almost domestic tranquility.  Dumas graced Rita with a small salute as he watched her cleaning glasses.  That woman was a special kind of crazy, but she didn’t seem to mind.  She didn’t try to hide it or bottle it up inside.  And for that, in an odd way, Dumas respected her.<br/><br/>And speaking of a special kind of crazy...Dumas arched an eyebrow as the unmistakable striped cat materialized.  “Better call an exterminator,” he instructed DEE.  “There’s vermin in the club again.”<br/><br/>Actually, Dumas rather enjoyed his verbal sparring with Chester.  But he recognized that his role in the routine was as the grumpy straight man (comedy trope, not sexual preference) and he was comfortable with that.<br/><br/>“Why don’t you come visit your handsome security guard in person for once?  The two of us alone, locked in here for a couple of hours.  We’d have plenty of time to work out our personal issues.”  Chester’s flirting had initially flustered and confused Dumas, although probably not for the reasons that Chester assumed it did.  But Dumas quickly noticed that the club’s magician flirted with anything which wasn’t nailed down (and probably some things that were).  Since that made it unlikely that any true desire lay behind the flirting, it no longer touched a painful nerve, and Dumas let it become part of the banter.  He tried to keep Chester guessing about what he really wanted to do if the two were ever alone -- fuck him or beat the living crap out of him.  The truth probably lay somewhere between those two extremes.<br/><br/>“Or are you afraid that Bunny Boy will get jealous?”