Rose, Rose, Rose Red

Chapter One: Go to Sleep, You Little Baby

"Dr. Crane, paging Dr. Jonathan Crane," the intercom speakers of South Gotham Asylum ('fondly' known as SGA) buzzed with the voice of the head doctor's secretary, Lucille. "Your presence is required in Dr. Miller's office immediately."

This announcement was little cause for concern, as SGA's doctors communicated like this regularly. However, Dr. Miller's order was a source of amusement among the staff and several of the asylum residents. Many shook their heads and went on about their business with knowing smiles on their faces, glad that they would not be in Miller's vicinity for a while. It was common knowledge that the relationship between SGA's head and its most promising young doctor was strained, to say the least.

When SGA's most promising young doctor heard the message, he smiled also. But his grin had the touch of cynicism that the rest of the staff's did not possess. He supposed that he would have to go, as not showing up at a conference with Miller usually resulted in one's immediate dismissal - something Miller would be more than happy to do in his case. But would a dismissal be so bad? Jonathan cared even less for Miller than the other did for him - a dismissal would get each out of the other's hair. Oh no, that would not be wise. Jonathan's dislike of that man was very great, but not so much that it overruled his love for his job. He solved the inner debate, which had been threatening to blow up into an all out war, by compromise. Miller wanted him in upstairs immediately, but his desk was a wreck. Surely it couldn't hurt to do a little organizing...

Seven minutes later, Dr. Jonathan Crane presented himself at Dr. Miller's office. The head of the asylum glared at him.

"Crane, you're late."

"I am well aware of that, sir. I apologize." There was just enough sincerity in his reply to cover the derision that lay just beneath the surface. Miller looked as if he would like to give the younger doctor a good thrashing, but thought better of it and continued, pacing a very well-worn stretch of carpet.

"Crane, I am assigning you a special case. A certain patient 12B needs a psychological reevaluation immediately. I need it to be as thorough as you can make it, so hold off on all your other assignments and devote at least four solid days to her alone. Monday after next I expect a full report on my desk – do I make myself clear?" Miller concluded his order with another well-placed glare. Jonathan refused to shrink under his gaze, looking him straight in the eye as he replied.

"Perfectly – but sir, I have several cases that require daily treatment, and–"Jonathan was cut off rather abruptly as Miller waved him off, obviously not listening.

"Never mind about them, Crane. Hawkins will see to them. The reason I have assigned you this case is – what?" Miller was interrupted by his cellular phone, which delivered a brief message. As it ended, Miller's face hardened and he shoved his phone roughly into his suit pocket. "Damn, I'm going to be late for Shaw's hearing! Ms. Dawes will kill me. Lucille, finish briefing young Crane here and get him started. I have to run."

And he did so - grabbing a briefcase and shooting off down the hallway, footsteps echoing on the floor and doors slamming in his wake. His secretary sighed and turned to Jonathan with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry about that – it's been a rough morning. Three suicide attempts in an hour, I've been told. And now, this hearing - Ms. Dawes won't be happy with him at all."

Jonathan shook his head, putting on a sympathetic front that fooled no one. "Stressful, to say the least. Now, if you would be so kind as to finish what Dr. Miller started?"

"Of course, Dr. Crane! One moment." Lucille gave him a broad, inviting smile before moving to Miller's file cabinet. She pulled out several file folders, checking each tab. "Aha, here we are! Patient 12B, Marie..." she squinted at the paper, as if trying to decipher the handwriting. "Johnson, age twenty-four, blah blah blah…" She trailed off, leaving Jonathan slightly peeved. He shook his head. Lucille was clearly getting into some bad habits. He shifted uncomfortably, wondering how long it would be before Miller fired her. She seemed completely scattered, it was obvious that this information session was not going to go anywhere fast. Pulling himself together, Jonathan decided to take action before any more time was lost.

"Perhaps it would be best if I went over this by myself, Lucille," he suggested, his voice soothing. "I don't doubt your ability –" he added, as she looked up apologetically. "In fact, that's exactly why I don't like keeping you from jobs that are much more important. You keep things running smoothly around here, and we don't want anything to compromise your efficiency," he delivered smoothly, with just the hint of a smile – perfect. The devil himself couldn't have done better, and Lucille was not the brightest person in Gotham. She flashed him a dazzling smile, obviously relieved, her mind already on something trivial.

"You're such a dear! Go right ahead, but remember to bring it back! That's our only set for her, you know." The hint of coyness in her voice sickened Jonathan, but he resolved to grin and bear it.

"Of course I'll bring it back. I never break my word, Lucille," he said, the corner of his lip curling with what could be amusement, but looked like a grimace. With that, he exited the room, looking for the entire world like a perfect gentleman. Mission Accomplished. Crisis Averted. Excellent.

Back in Dr. Miller's office, Lucille sighed dreamily, mumbling to herself,

"What a hottie!" She frowned suddenly, disagreeing with herself. "Don't be silly, girl – you can do better than that…but still, it would be so nice to be his patient…" A schoolgirl giggle escaped her lips as she continued to stare at the door through which the doctor had left.

Had Lucille had eyes to see, however, she would have screamed as loudly as one of the Max ward patients. For beneath the endlessly charming and perfect demeanor of Jonathan Crane, a monster lurked.

A/N: Hello, this is Bear Bum. To whoever's reading this - thanks for taking a look! I really hope you enjoyed my first chapter. Whether or not, please feel free to review - I always have room to improve, and I'll be more than happy to answer questions. As a general note to people who have read this story before - this is a rewrite of the first chapter. When I began writing this story again, I felt that the first two chapters (written over a year ago) did not flow well with the later chapters (written more recently, in my current style). As such, I've updated and edited them to bring this story together as a whole. The concepts behind the first two chapters are still intact, don't worry - I just played with them a bit. :)

Bear Bum