49. ER
He didn’t know what to do. For the first time in years, he didn’t know what to do.
What was happening had not been planned. And he hated it. Loathed not being in control. Well, he still was in control somehow… For Plumpy’s fate was still in hands. All he had to do was sit down and watch her die… It would take hours… Days maybe… And there was still the possibility to end her life before, nice and swift. But after all that he’d gone through to bring her here, after all that had happened between them, especially these last few days… It wasn’t an option.
He didn’t want her to die. He wanted her to play along… To live.
And yet, if he took her to a hospital, that part of the game would be over. Because he would have to drop it… For the time being. There was no way he could get to a hospital without law enforcers coming at some point… And catching him. He had a feeling about this. Because he hadn’t planned any of this. He had planned their trip here, had planned for bringing her back in Gotham where everything was set for her and the baby. The only thing that he couldn’t plan was the child being too early. And it pissed him a great deal. For it blew his entire scheme. He hadn’t covered every corner here in Chicago, had no valuable Plan B yet… It was absolutely unusual for a guy like him. And unacceptable.
So here he was, sitting on the toilets seat in the motel bathroom, pondering his options as the woman next room was struggling and suffering… and dying. He could hear her muffled cries and screams… Getting higher as pain increased. He could also hear Tim and Wyatt’s voices, trying to reassure her.
The choice was his. Saving Plumpy and most probably getting caught. Or witnessing her slow agony and run free.
A little earlier, he’d discovered that he couldn’t stand to see her suffer anymore, welcoming the opportunity to fetch the doctor to escape that room with some kind of relief. Finding Moby Doc had been trickier than expected though. Last time he’d seen him, he was hanging around a new place in town, finally free of the last remains of the Red Hood gang. The Joker had seen to it that none of these jerks survived. Nor their friends. Nor their families. Nor their associates. Nor their associates’ friends. Nor their associates’ families. Nor…
Yes, he’d killed a lot of people before leaving Chicago. He’d made it quite a neat place, of sorts. But he’d saved Moby Doc… Simply by sparing his life. As a payback for saving his own when all hope was gone. All these years, the good doctor had been the only one alive who’d known his real name. It was Moby Doc who’d hidden and healed Jack after Red Hood henchmen had profanied his wife’s corpse, butchered his face and smashed his left hip and leg to bits… leaving him with an eternal limping. A miracle of sorts, as the doc had thought Jack would never be able to walk again… He clearly had underestimated the guy’s resilience to physical pain… And rage.
Another scream of agony coming from behind the door. The Joker was used to screams and cries of pain… Had been torturing enough people indeed to get used to them and even enjoy them. But not hers. Not in these circumstances. For she was having his baby and he wanted both of them in his life… For a long time.
Still, who was going to save them if he got caught? Who was going to protect them from that Victor jerk and his men? Surely not her lame excuse of a husband! The flying rat had already shown on many occasions how useless he was… How incapable he was… No, he couldn’t count on Batman to protect Colleen properly… To do anything necessary.
Yes, the Clown would probably be caught tonight. But she would be saved, the baby delivered properly. He would just have to figure out a way to get free afterwards, and fast. Not a problem, really. Just the time for him to play a nice game with Agent Kowalski. Talk about fate! How interesting indeed that Plumpy’s former boyfriend had to be the very man who couldn’t nail the Joker when he was conscientiously cleaning Chicago’s underworld. The medium really had a knack for choosing losers… Losers getting in his way.
The Joker had made his decision. Straightening up, he entered the bedroom, almost flying the bathroom door off its hinges, startling everyone else. His eyes immediately fell on Plumpy.
She was half-sitting on the bed, her back steady against several pillows, her long hair tangled and glued to her sweat-covered forehead and shoulders. She looked up his face directly, hope and fear fighting each other. Until another contraction hit her and she arched her back, moaning and grabbing Tim’s hand. The sheet slid, revealing her bosom and part of her stomach, but she didn’t care being naked in front of the Clown anymore, it would seem. She was too exhausted, too scared for that. He could have been disgusted, discovering her body when it was deformed and suffering and looking like it was going to explode. Nothing romantic there. Nothing arousing or sensual. Not the way he would have expected or wanted it to be. And yet… He wasn’t repelled. At all. Now, seeing her naked torso, with thin azury veins travelling over her round breasts, their pink, enlarged nipples and her enormous belly giving way to bumps and waves with each contraction… Full of life. Full of promises. Beautiful. No, he wasn’t disgusted at all.
- “P-Please…” Her voice brought him back to reality. She was giving him a pleading gaze, her eyes trying hard to focus.
- “Ah tatata!” He teased her, waving his finger schoolteacher style. He didn’t want to play with her, but it was beyond his control. Good old habits tend to be persistent like that.
Coming closer, he dismissed Tim who reluctantly let go of Colleen’s hand. Bending over her desperate face, the Joker studied her features closely and carefully, sometimes smacking his lips or licking them in his own peculiar way. His eyes dived mercilessly in her brown ones, making them widen in fear. He liked that, but now was not the time for games.
- “You won’t die on me, Plumpyyyyyyyy.” He whispered just above her pale lips, unblinking. “I won’t uh-allow i-t!” He promised.
- “Oh…” She couldn’t say anything else as a sudden wave of relief reached her.
His gaze finally left her face to go down her body. First, the throat. Then her narrow shoulders. And in the end… her bosom, lifting and going down at an accelerating pace. She obviously didn’t want him to linger there and squealed faintly when his hand went in that direction, pausing a little above her chest. But he merely grabbed the sheet and brought it up her breasts, slightly brushing their soft skin on the way with his fingers and the back of his hand.
Colleen shivered but said nothing as his dark gaze came back to her blushing face. He winked and smirked at her embarrassment, before turning to his goons and Moby Doc. They’d been witnessing the entire exchange in a fascinated silence.
- “Prepare the limo and bring the others. We’re moving.” He ordered.
- “W-Where?” Wyatt finally got his voice back.
- “County General.” The Clown replied.
XXXXXXX
This was a rather quiet evening at County General. So far, nothing too critical to handle for Dr Mark Green and his staff. A few cuts and burns… Several lonely people, making up diseases or accidents just to get someone’s attention. They were used to this here at the Emergency Room. No big deal. Especially when Hathaway was around. The nurse had a talent for calming people, for listening. Mark couldn’t imagine they would all need those precious gifts to survive a night that would soon turn to Chaos…
- “All right, Granpa’! This is the second time you come this week!” Haleh Adams told the old sad man when he entered the wide-open space where she was standing at one of the counters.
- “Well, is it my fault if I have a problem?” Mr Miller said with feigned miff.
- “Dr Green already told ya’…” She sighed. “Everything was fine with you last time…”
- “You can’t trust doctors to tell you the truth when all hope is gone!” The elderly retorted with complete dishonesty.
- “There’s no flaw in your twisted logic, heh?” The black woman replied, annoyed and bemused at the same time.
- “Of course not! Since something’s wrong and…” He was cut by the noise of the entrance doors swaying violently.
Turning around, he opened his eyes in shock, as the nurse just raised her eyebrow. A young man with an awfully disfigured face was leading the weirdest group ever… At least for the old man. Nurse Adams had already seen a lot of strange things in her career and kept her countenance quite easily. Behind that first man with the scars came two tall and very muscular guys, one carrying a woman who was obviously going to have a baby. Wrapped up in a sheet and a blanket, she was puffing and panting, casting a desperate look around. Covered in sweat and trembling with cold, she bit her lower lip as a rather painful contraction hit her tummy. Several suspicious-looking guys followed closely.
- “Wow! Wow! Wow! Gentlemen, you can’t come inside like this!” Haleh protested, rushing to them from behind the counter with her hands raised.
- “Reallyyyyy? I though-t this was a uh-hospital here!” The scarred man replied harshly with a high-pitched voice. Mr Miller winced and discretely moved out of his way. One could tell this guy wasn’t the kind you’d like to mess with. But the black nurse didn’t seem that impressed or taken aback by the strange and slightly menacing behavior.
- “It is. But I imagine only this lady over here really needs our assistance!” Haleh Adams stated calmly, placing her fists on her round hips and straightening her shoulders as the newcomer gave her a nasty look of warning. “You don’t need to come in here with your entire army!” She hadn’t realized yet how right she was about that…
- “Don’t push your uh-luck!” The Joker said vehemently, and Colleen felt like she had to do something despite her pain and fear. The Clown was all too capable of shooting half the ER staff before they even got started!
- “Miss, please! Just… Just call a doctor!” She asked the feisty black mama, rolling her eyes and breathing slowly as a new contraction was about to come.
- “Sure, Sweetie. We’ll take care of you right away!” The nurse told the parturient softly. “But your people stay outside or I call the cops!” She warned the one who obviously was the leader.
He smacked his lips in a strange way and she raised her eyebrow as if challenging him to reply anything. Colleen was getting even more nervous, for she felt the situation could get out of hand quickly. And they weren’t totally in the ER yet! She looked up from Wyatt’s arms and could see that everybody sitting in the waiting space behind the counters was watching them intently. “Great! Now we have an audience for this nightmare! Would this evening ever end?” So the living were just part of this crazy reality show… Not to mention the dead, starting to gather in the wide yellow room as well. Men, women and children of those who had passed away in here. Some were showing severe traumas and wounds. There was one elderly with a axe stuck in his head, a teenager with an umbrella piercing his chest and who knew what else… It seemed the message about a medium being around had travelled fast in County General hallways… Colleen now also feared too many spirits trying to tell her things. It sure could quickly become overwhelming. And she already had enough to deal with, right now… She shut her eyes tight not to encourage them. Would they understand now really wasn’t the time to come and tell her where the will or money was hidden or who had done this to them? She sincerely hoped so…
- “Haleh?” Came a male’s voice from the corridor on the left, bringing her back to reality… That corridor was leading to several emergency rooms. “What is it?” The newcomer was Mark Green, on the alert.
- “Dr Green.” Nurse Adams replied. “These people have brought the young lady here and…”
- “All right.” He cut her. “Surely you’ll understand only a few of you can come in here.” Dr Green explained quietly, despite the electricity that had been filling the air in less than two minutes.
Colleen immediately liked that man, with his short red hair and his little round glasses. He seemed very competent and authoritative indeed.
- “Are you uh-in charge here?” The Joker asked, focusing on the doctor’s face.
- “Yes. I’m the head of this section.” He told him almost dismissively, before turning to the long hallway behind him and asking Hathaway to prepare Room 1 for a pregnant woman. Then, coming back to the strange group who had literally invaded the place, he asked Wyatt if he could carry her inside.
- “Sure thing, Doc!” The goon answered, before giving a quick, shy smile to Colleen. She looked back and sighed out of relief as the spirits didn’t try to follow.
Seconds later, a tiny nurse dressed in pink and with black curly hair opened swaying doors on their right and Wyatt laid Colleen down on the bed in the middle of Room 1. Carol Hathaway immediately started talking reassuringly to the future mother.
- “I’m Carol. Everything will be fine, Miss…?”
Colleen was about to answer the implicit question when Dr Green entered the room, closely followed by the Joker and Tim. One look from the Clown shut her up. She got it. If she gave her name, her real name now, these good people would be in danger. Well, in ever greater danger than they already were… For she could hear Nurse Adams yelling at the rest of the Joker’s goons, by the counters. She just hoped the strong African-American woman would be able to handle those bad guys without bringing the cops in. Or else… Things would get really ugly.
- “I beeped Dr Ross, our pediatrician. He’ll be here shortly.” Dr Green told Colleen, quickly checking her pulse and her eyes. Then turning to the Joker who was standing on the left by one of the draining boards. “There are too many people in that room and I have to examine her. Only the father can stay here.” Colleen gasped and Hathaway just grabbed her hand gently. “Are you the father?” Mark asked the Clown bluntly. There was no time left for polite conversation, as Colleen was hit by another wave of pain and tried to catch her breath while Hathaway kept whispering kind words to her.
- “Yessssss.” The Joker hissed, looking at Colleen sternly.
Even if she had enough breath to yell “No!”, his gaze would have silenced her at once. She did not forget the weapons he and his thugs were carrying under their heavy cloaks. In a matter of seconds, this entire place could become a bloodbath. Or, her delivery could give way to a very nasty hostage situation. She had to avoid that as much as possible given the precariousness of her own situation. So, instead of contradicting her abductor, she bit her tongue and squeezed the nurse’s hand. Still, her fear and hesitation regarding the man who accompanied her had not escaped Carol. She frowned to Mark, but said nothing as he gestured to the machines above the head of the bed.
- “We’ll put a special belt around your belly to monitor the baby’s heartbeat. Don’t worry, we won’t shut it too tight.” The nice nurse explained Colleen with patience as Tim and Wyatt left the room reluctantly. They didn’t go far though, standing just behind the swaying doors and watching by the windows from the corridor.
- “Okay.” Colleen whispered.
- “And Dr Green will have to look down that sheet to check the cervix dilation. Don’t worry, it will be fast enough.”
- “Okay… But…”
- “Do you rather have a woman doctor perform that exam, Miss?” Dr Green asked her with utter civility. She almost cried then. She had stopped worrying about things like this after all that had happened lately.
- “No, Dr Green. It’s all right.” He simply nodded before coming in front of her and diving under the sheet to do his job. His gestures were soft and gentle. She appreciated that, for it was the second time in such a short time a stranger examined her there. This day was a disaster…
- “I’m afraid there’s no dilation at all.” He said with frustration when he was finished. “I’ll perform a scan as well to see what’s going on with your baby, though natural delivery seems jeopardized already.” He told a rather distraught Colleen. She paled but said nothing as Carol squeezed her cold fingers tighter. “Who is your usual doctor? Had he foreseen such a possibility?”
- “No… It’s…”
- “Is this your first baby?”
- “Yes.” Her voice was barely audible.
- “Do you want us to call your obstetrician or…?”
- “No!” The medium replied a little too quickly, making Dr Green even more suspicious. Something was really wrong in here. “No… Please, just help me.” Colleen added more gently, giving him a pleading look. He got it all right and did not insist.
- “Okay. When did the labor begin?”
- “Seven hourssssss ago.” The Joker informed him from his spot on the left. Dr Green didn’t even turn to look at him and went on with his questions as the belt was finally placed on the young woman’s stomach.
- “And your contractions seem to become closer and closer. Your pulse is erratic. How’s the baby’s?”
- “Very fast indeed.” Carol replied as she checked on the belt device.
- “Is it wrong? I mean… I think she’s coming feet first and…” Colleen tried.
- “She? So this is a little princess, heh?” Came a new male voice from the double door, pushing Tim and his boyfriend off his way. The Joker swiftly turned to the newcomer, at the same time processing the news that Colleen’s baby was in fact a girl.
Dr Doug Ross, as he introduced himself, was a very handsome man with brown hair and eyes full of sparks and humor.
- “Done the scan yet?” He asked Dr Green, passing by the Joker and giving him a quick glance before stopping by the bed on the left, facing Carol.
- “Nope. Was going to.” Mark replied, checking mother and child’s vitals and frowning slightly. Then, looking at Colleen: “We’ll have to make sure this baby is coming feet first. We cannot decide anything before that.”
The young woman whimpered as cold gel landed on her naked belly, and Carol smiled at her while spreading it a little.
- “So? Tell me, what name have your husband and yourself come up with for this young lady?” Dr Ross asked Colleen while watching the ultrasound screen with great attention, just like Mark Green who was gently moving the apparatus on Colleen’s belly.
She gave a furious look to the Joker as he was winking at her. Despite the seriousness of the circumstances, he sure was enjoying himself. Their exchange Carol noticed and she frowned again. She felt something was really out of place. The woman seemed afraid, but not only at the possibility of something going wrong with her delivery. She was scared by her ‘husband’. Scared crapless. Colleen answered Doug nonetheless.
- “M… Margaret.” She said, closing her eyes tight not to see the victorious face of the Joker anymore. Strangely enough, she felt this information was like the last line, the last bastion. Like he’d finally robbed her of all her former life by learning the name Bruce and her and the entire family had planned for the child. It was stupid, surely, but it was breaking her heart all the same. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Carol wiped it quickly.
As she studied Colleen’s features more closely, something familiar about them hit her. Where had she seen that face before?
XXXXXXX
- “You were right. That young lady is coming feet first. This is a typical breech presentation, I’m afraid.” Doug informed her.
- “Oh no…” The medium let out in fear.
- “Don’t worry, everything will be fine with your baby. It happens more often than you think. It will be all right.” Hathaway tried to reassure her, still wondering where she’d recently seen that woman’s face.
- “Heartbeat?” Ross asked Green.
- “Erratic and fast on both parts.”
- “What does it mean?” The Joker asked menacingly, coming closer, right by Doug.
- “It means the labor is largely engaged.” Mark answered harshly. He surely didn’t stand that strange man’s behavior.
- “Move away! Move away!” Yelled a powerful voice from just outside the door. Haleh Adams entered the room with authority as she pushed Tim and Wyatt aside without even looking at them. “Can I help you, doctors?” She proposed, glancing sternly at the scarred man.
- “Yes. Beep Dr Coburn at once. She’ll probably have to deal with our patients here.” Mark Green answered, smiling kindly at Colleen.
- “Why? What…”
- “Dr Coburn is a gynecologist. She’ll have to deliver your baby herself, Ma’am.” Doug explained.
- “No way.” Rose the Joker’s cold high-pitched voice. “Do it here and now.” He added.
- “Just who do you think you are, dropping by with an army like a gangster and giving orders around?” Adams growled. “This is no Mob Chicago anymore, Sir!”
That’s when Carol remembered where she’d already seen the woman… And heard her companion’s voice. It had been all over the news for days… All the way from the East Coast.
She was Colleen Wayne. Gotham favorite billionaire’s wife. Supposedly dead. Supposedly murdered by the Joker. That man here wasn’t her husband at all. He could only be her kidnapper himself. Everything fit.
During the blinding second of her discovery, Carol Hathaway caught her breath and paled, attracting the Joker’s attention without realizing.
She looked at Colleen right in the eyes and stroked her cheek softly. The medium got what was happening to the nurse at once and horror filled her gaze. If that woman said anything, they could all be doomed. What if the Joker found out their ‘cover’ was crumbling?
But it was too late.
Carol tried to catch Doug’s attention from across the bed, and gave him a knowing look full of fear and warning. Unfortunately, the Joker understood what was in that gaze before Dr Ross did.
XXXXXXX
- “Aaaahhhh… We have a uh-problem.” The Clown stated quietly and the sound of a flick knife could be heard in the suddenly silent room. He’d taken his favorite blade out of his pocket, staring at each person in Room 1.
- “Please! Don’t do anything! Don’t hurt anybody!” Colleen screamed at him. He merely licked his lips.
- “What now?” Dr Green asked him, annoyed but still extremely calm. “Can’t you just let us do our job?”
- “Your job isn’t the problem, Doc!” The Joker replied. “Ask that sweet swee-t nurse here what the problem is!” He waved at Carol.
- “I wasn’t going to tell anything.” She assured.
- “Tell what?” Haleh asked angrily. “What’s going on here?”
- “Please, everyone! I just want to have my baby! Stop it!” Colleen yelled.
- “Put the knife away, Sir.” Doug Ross told the Joker. “We just want to do that, actually. Help your woman. The situation is difficult enough without you threatening everyone around. We’ll do our job, and Hathaway won’t say whatever it is that upsets you. We don’t care.”
- “Is that sooooooo?”
- “Oh! What the FUCK!” Colleen shouted, startling every one, including the menacing lunatic. “I might be dying here and you’re playing supervillain with doctors! Just drop it!” She was red with absolute rage. The danger she was still in, the ever approaching contractions and increasing pain, not to mention the absurdity of this entire situation made her totally berserk. For now, she didn’t give a damn about the Clown’s dangerousness. She just wanted these guys to deliver her baby. Period. “Just let them beep Dr Coburn and leave me alone for once!”
- “Hmm… Plumpy you’re not…”
- “Look, Sir! She’ll need surgery, okay? We can wait for the gynecologist to confirm it, but basically that’s where we are heading here!” Dr Green informed the Joker. His calm facing such danger was truly incredible. Colleen was impressed. The Joker too, in a way.
- “Okay. Operate now!”
- “No way! We need an absolutely sterile environment for the caesarian. This is not the place to perform such an operation.”
- “Caesarian?” Colleen mumbled.
- “It’s all right.” Hathaway explained, her voice soothing as usual. She hadn’t give way to her fear either. Colleen guessed these people had seen many stressful situations like this before. They were lucky Carol was around though, for her soothing presence was important to the future mother. “You cannot have this baby the normal way. But Janet Coburn is a very good doctor. Everything will be fine and you’ll soon hold your daughter in your arms. I promise.” At this, Colleen finally burst into tears. The reassuring words crushed what was left of her emotional control. There was nothing she wanted more than believing these words. But with the madman and all…
Meanwhile, Dr Ross had been pondering his options to overpower the maniac. After all, he was simply holding a knife. But his men were just outside the double door and looked like living adds for a bodybuilding center. Not to mention someone else might be hurt if the guy was struggling too much. Doug tried to communicate instead of using force, when he noticed the woman’s tears seemed to undermine her lover’s aggression and self-confidence a little.
- “Look, Sir. Let us call Dr Coburn. She’ll bring her up in Surgery and take care of everything. We won’t tell a thing about your knife… We’ve seen many stressful situations. This won’t be the last one. Just put the blade away and we’ll forget this entire business.”
The Joker raised his eyebrow. The guy sure was making quite an offer! In other circumstances, he would have tortured and killed him just to teach him some manners. But the situation was a little different than his usual. Still, he had to admit these medics had guts. Especially the nurse still “shhh-ing” Plumpy, for she’d obviously found out who he really was and therefore had more reason than her coworkers to be scared.
He looked at the black mama, who merely squinted at him, absolutely not shaken by his behavior, then his eyes dived in those of the doctor in charge, who was still calm and mastering his anxiety. They were good, no doubt about that. And he didn’t really need to have his knife to be menacing, he knew that. He bet these people would have no idea how to deal with a guy like him in a hand-to-hand combat. And he also had his goons outside. No big deal.
- “All righ-t.” He just said, placing his blade back in his pocket.
XXXXXXX
Bruce entered the ER in a rush, Kowalski’s useless order not to get in still ringing in his ears… He spotted the henchmen at once and before they could react, he had them knocked out for good. His rage and fear were giving extra strength. It was like nothing he’d experienced before, even while wearing Batman’s outfit.
They’d learned where the Joker was taking Colleen the second they’d sat in the unmarked cars waiting for them at the private airport. There was no time left to ponder their options, and Peter had waited just long enough before calling backup… Just long enough for them to get closer to County General and leave no chance to anyone intercepting the message to be on site before themselves… They still had to mind Victor’s people and resources.
Still running, Bruce reached the counter where a young nurse was screaming at him.
- “Sir! I’ll call the cops!” She warned him as he passed by her side, looking everywhere.
- “You do that! Where are the others?” He asked her, pointing at the unconscious thugs on the floor.
- “W-W…” She read so much anger in his eyes, his voice was just a snarl and she was going to panic, giving him nothing.
He felt like beating her… When he heard a screeching noise from the left and swiftly turned his head. He just had time to catch a glimpse of a wheeled litter surrounded by medics in green and pink heading fast to the corner. And on that litter… a woman with very long curly hair. His heart missed a beat and he became oblivious of anything else, even the sound of Peter and his men entering the hospital right behind him and the nurse’s renewed scream.
- “Colleen?” Bruce whispered, walking down the hallway and going after the stretcher.
He was about to turn towards the elevators where it had disappeared when a double door opened only inches on his right, giving way to the Joker.
XXXXXXX
Only a few seconds after Dr Coburn and two nurses had taken Colleen out of Room 1, heading to Surgery, the Clown was about to follow like a devoted ‘husband’… when a commotion could be heard from the ER entrance. Rushing out, the Joker found himself facing a really distraught Bruce Wayne.
The two enemies were standing only inches from one another. They stared at each other for an eternal second in that cold hallway. Dark eyes against even darker ones. Full of fire and hatred on both sides. A second during which the tension and electricity in the air reached a peak.
- “Hi, Bats.” The Joker whispered only for his opponent to hear, smirking.
Bruce’s jaw tightened imperceptibly and, in a blink of an eye, Batman definitely took over.
With a cry of rage, pain and fear, he jumped at the bastard’s throat, squeezing it with his strong hands, obviously trying to choke him. They both fell hard on the ground as Tim and Wyatt, along with the entire medical staff coming out of Room 1 froze in amazement.
- “He has a knife! Take care!” Hathaway yelled at Bruce. She’d recognized Colleen’s true husband at once.
It was as though Carol’s scream of warning was all the others waited to move into action. Tim and his boyfriend rushed to take the Joker out off Bruce’s deadly grip, but Doug and Mark jumped on the first, and nurse Adams forcefully smashed the swaying door in Wyatt’s face, knocking him out at once while producing a loud “Bang!”. She was strong indeed.
Batman heard the flicking noise of the knife and let go of the Joker in a swift move of his arms and hips, avoiding the blade from a hair.
He disarmed the madman easily, breaking his wrist in the process with a roar of pure rage and delight, almost covered by the Joker’s maniacal laughter. He was laughing and cackling high, like during that disastrous interrogation business back in Gotham… so long ago. Batman kept beating him to a pulp after that, shaking off the FBI agents trying to separate the two antagonists. His eyes were blocked by a red veil of primal wrath, making him impervious to anything that wasn’t the enemy he wanted to destroy. Really destroy. Like making him disappear from the face of the earth.
It took four strong FBI agents to take Bruce off the Joker’s bleeding and wheezing form. Kowalski was shouting, women were screaming, Bruce was panting and growling…
And the Joker suddenly burst into an ever-insane laughter.
XXXXXXX
During the flash moments when they were rushing in the corridor, Colleen felt a familiar presence. Despite her pain, fear and mental exhaustion, she was able to catch that feeling.
- “Bruce?” She mumbled. “No! Wait! My husband is here!” She told Dr Coburn.
- “Of course he’s here.” Janet replied kindly as they entered the elevator. But she was obviously referring to the Joker.
- “No! You don’t understand! That’s not…”
Colleen started moving and struggling on the stretcher, shaking the elevator cabin.
- “Stop! What are you doing?” Coburn and one of the two nurses yelled.
- “My husband is down there!” The patient screamed, trying to get down despite the lack of space inside.
- “Connie! Grab her arms! She’s going mental!” The doctor ordered the two nurses. They strongly caught Colleen’s arms and legs and maintained her flat on the mattress. “Stop it! You’ll hurt yourself! Your husband will join us in Surgery soon!”
- “Nooooo!” The medium snarled, uselessly trying to bite the closest nurse.
- “She’s crazy!”
- “We’ll sedate her as soon as we get up there!”
- “Bruce!” Colleen shouted. “BRUCE!”
She was still shouting when then rushed inside a surgical room ready for them. Quickly, Dr Coburn placed a mask on Colleen’s face. The psychic smelled of medicinal herbs of sorts for a second or two, then blacked out.
XXXXXXX
Running on the hill. Feeling her bare feet crush the thick green grass. Playing hide and seek behind trees and laughing… Following the jolly little girl waddling and clumsily running ahead of her. She was wearing some sort of white cotton dress on which two feathered wings had been sewed in the back. She truly looked like an angel, her brown curly hair floating around her face while she was trying to escape from Colleen, laughing happily. She was no more than 3 or 4 years old, it seemed, and couldn’t run fast, but Colleen always left her escape to catch her better afterwards, kissing her pink chubby cheeks, breathing in the scent of her hair, tickling her sides and enjoying her high-pitched laughter as it reached the infinite sky… And healed Colleen’s wounds.
At some point, Jo and Mani joined them on that hill. They played with their friend and her little girl for a long time. It was so good to see them as well. She’d missed them during these last days. Running, they started moving away from her as she stopped to catch her breath. Mani finally grabbed the child and placed her on his shoulders. Riding him like some weird horse, she laughed even higher. The sound was so pure and crystalline it was almost painful. Something hit Colleen’s chest and she kneeled in the grass. The feeling of a huge vacuum suddenly filling her body. As if a part of her had been taken away forever.
Lifting her head, she started calling at her friends. As they went on walking away without looking back, she screamed and shouted and finally pleaded.
Oh no! Don’t take her away! Leave her be! Why can’t she stay here with me? Don’t take her away! Come back! Come back!
Jo! Mani!
Margaret…
- “Colleen…” A low voice calling her name. Urging. Insisting. “Colleen.”
- “Oh no! Don’t take her! Come back!” She whined, crying and sobbing as strong arms caught her and started cradling her gently. “Come back!”
- “Shhhh… It’s all right. It’s all right.” A familiar voice.
Colleen finally opened her tearful eyes full on Bruce’s pale face. He was holding her tight and whispering reassuring nonsense.
- “Bruce?” Her voice was broken.
- “It’s all right. I’m here. It’s over.” He repeated, over and over again.
- “Bruce?” Colleen couldn’t believe he was here at last. She’d been calling his name for days… Wanting for him to come though all hope was gone.
And here he was… Warm and strong and caring. She lifted her little hands to his face, touching him to make sure it wasn’t an illusion. Touching his nose, cheekbones, eyelids, and forehead. He let her fingers travel on his features, understanding how she felt. He could only imagine what she’d been through during these last days.
- “It’s all right. I’m here. I’m real.” He said again, before kissing her hair.
- “You were… You were in Gotham… You were not there!” She cried in her despair and confusion. His heart tightened, but there was no reproach in her voice.
- “I’m sorry… I’m sorry Colleen. I couldn’t… I had to…”
- “Margaret!” She suddenly screamed. “Oh my God! They took her away!” She moaned and tried to escape his arms.
- “What? Colleen, look at me!”
- “No!” She was struggling now, but he wouldn’t let go.
- “Stop! You’ll hurt yourself!” He growled, catching her wrists firmly and staring at her.
- “I don’t care…” She told him in a short breath before going limp in his arms. She obviously had no energy left to fight him.
- “Stop… Everything is fine.”
- “No…”
- “Trust me… There’s someone here you have to meet.” He said, gently kissing her nose.
- “W-What?” Colleen opened big brown eyes and Bruce gave her a shy smile.
- “Just stay quiet now. We’ve had enough excitement for a lifetime last night.” He joked, before turning his head to the side. “Alfred?”
Coming from the furthest corner of the room, the old butler walked towards the couple. He was carrying a blanket or a ball of towels in his arms. As a surprisingly loud babbling and a pink little hand popped up out of it, Colleen’s heart blew up with love and relief, casting away the last remnants of her nightmare. Bruce held her tighter and brushed her forehead with his lips.
- “Sweetheart… Say hello to Margaret.”
Smiling broadly, Alfred placed the blanket and its precious content in Colleen’s desperately open and offered arms. Her feverish eyes went straight at Margaret’s face, devouring it as she brought the child to her chest. The baby had a pretty little face, with pink round cheeks and a funny little nose. Her big brown eyes were wide open and incredibly focused for a newborn. They immediately found her mother’s beaming face and Colleen silently started crying with pure joy. Margaret looked healthy and perfectly fine, smiling, babbling and waving her little arms with a lot of energy. Bruce was still holding Colleen tight, kissing her hair. His throat was tightening, like he was going to choke with an emotion overload.
- “Welcome, Margaret. Welcome!” Colleen whispered with a strange mix of shyness and reverence.
She finally lifted her eyes to her husband. Their gazes merged for a very short time but there was so much going on between them… They really didn’t need words to understand each other now, and their lips finally met to seal that peculiar day with a kiss of relief, and hope… and love.
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Author’s Note: I know. I’m evil. But eh? Where would be the fun without a little drama? I couldn’t resist using ER characters here. How could I do less, when Colleen was having her baby in Chicago? I own none of Michael Crichton’s material, of course. I merely borrowed his fantastic characters for this. Hope you liked it. Since I didn’t actually watch the show and know almost nothing about medical stuff, this chapter was mostly written with my wonderful beta reader kkwette, who is a huge fan of the series and a nurse. She helped me a lot. We chose to use the old team of the five first seasons, because I absolutely love and fancy George Clooney (who doesn’t?) and wanted him (or rather, Doug Ross) to make a cameo appearance here.
