"Can I have your name please?" Leona asked, clicking away on her computer.
"Jervis Tetch." The voice answered.
"Thank you sir, I'll let the doctor know about your appointment." She told him, and hung up the phone. As efficiently as she could she filled out the calendar slot and rang up Jonathan's office.
"What is it Leona?" he asked.
"You have an appointment scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon with Jervis Tetch." She told him.
"Ah, thank you. I was wondering when he was going to come see me. Oh and…well, never mind, you're not blonde so you're fine." He said, leaving her confused. She wanted to ask questions, but all that escaped her lips was a weak "Yes Doctor Crane."
"Now, I have another appointment in about ten minutes, her name is Jill Thompson, she'll be coming in with her mother. Just send them right in when they get here."
"Yes sir. Anything else?" she asked.
"Yes, I have to leave after I see Mr. Tetch, could you lock up for me if I give you the key?"
"Yes I can. Is that all?"
"Seems like it. Thank you Leona." And with that he hung up the phone. Soon two people came walking down the hall. One was a little girl with curly brown hair and the other was a tall woman holding her hand.
"Hi, we're here to see Doctor Crane. Jill Thompson is the name."
"Yes, go right in, he's expecting you." Leona said with a wave towards the office door. The two went past the desk into the office where they were met by Doctor Crane sitting lightly on the corner of his desk. He smiled and pushed out a chair with his foot.
"Hello Jill, please, sit down. I have some plans to talk over with your mom before I ask her to leave, is that alright?" he asked the shy girl. She nodded. "Good, so I've been finding small hints of some long term mental illnesses. I was hoping you would say that I could take her to the asylum for further treatment? We do have a specialized children's wing that she would feel perfectly at home with."
"Well isn't there a way to treat her at home?" asked Jill's mother.
"The treatments that I would need to administer are only available under the strict scrutiny of health networking. In short, I can only give her what she needs if she's on the Asylum grounds." He told her. She turned to Jill and crouched down next to her chair.
"Sweetie, Doctor Crane wants to know if you want to take a vacation. You can go live in a new house with some new friends and Doctor Crane will make you get better while you're there."
"Will you come visit me mommy?" asked Jill in a small voice.
"Every day sweetie, every day."
"Then I guess I can go, if Doctor Crane thinks it'll make me better." Jonathan smiled and nodded at the small girl.
"It's settled then, Mrs. Thompson, my secretary can provide you with residency papers for the asylum while you wait for Jill and me to be done here." He said. Mrs. Thompson nodded and left the office, shutting the door behind her.
"Hello, Dr. Crane said you could provide me with residency papers for the asylum." She said to Leona. Leona nodded and rifled around in a drawer before pulling out a sheaf of papers and handing them over to the woman. "Thank you." She said with a smile.
Back in the office Jonathan was kneeling down to the Jill's level. "Now, how was your week Jill?" he asked. Jill raised her shining blue eyes to meet his and whispered.
"Well, daddy's gone. That means things are better. Right?" Crane smiled.
"Yes, yes it does. So, let's talk about school today. Do you have any friends?" he asked softly. Jill nodded, sending her pigtails flying around her head. "That's good. What are you learning about?"
"Well yesterday we learned about adding numbers and I counted up to 30." She answered excitedly. He chuckled at the small girls' enthusiasm.
"That's good. How about any favorite subjects?" he asked, trying to open her up to talking to him.
"I like music, and I like computers and gym and reading." Jill said with finality.
"And how about your teacher?" he asked.
"Mrs. Williams is nice. She makes learning fun." She told him.
"That's good, so how are things at home then? Everything going alright?" the girl seemed to shrink into her seat at the mention of things at home. Jonathan sighed and stood up, walking to his desk and picking up a tablet with an attached pen. "Jill you're going to have to talk to me before we take you to your new home. Mom will bring you, but I need to tell them what's going on with you so they know exactly how to treat you." He told her. "Now, how about you tell me how things are at home."
"Everything is better since daddy left. Mommy was happy when he went away, I was too."
"Does mom treat you like dad did?"
"Nope, mommy loves me; sometimes grandma says she spoils me rotten." The girl told him with confidence. "You won't tell mommy I said that, will you?" she asked anxiously.
"Technically, I'm not allowed to unless you say I can." The girl brightened up at the idea of the confidentiality policy held up by Crane Psychology.
"Doctor Crane, your next appointment is here." Leona said over the speaker.
"I'll be out in just one moment." He said and turned his attention back to Jill. "Now Jill, mommy is going to bring you to your new home tomorrow, I promise you'll love it. And I won't tell your mom what you said, it'll be our little secret, deal?" he asked, holding out his pinky in a childish gesture of trust.
"Deal." Jill said and linked her pinky with his, giving it a squeeze before letting go and running out the door. He stood up and followed her out, being stopped by a familiar face.
"Hello Jervis, come on in." he said, stepping aside to allow the other man into the office.
"Such a good looking secretary you have there Jon." Jervis said, taking a seat in one of the office chairs. Jonathan took a seat behind the desk and pulled out his notes from their last session.
"Thank you, I do try to keep up appearances around here." He replied as he scanned the notes.
"I'll bet she looks real nice in one of my hats." Jervis said, leaning in so Jonathan could hear him clearly.
"So last time you were here it was on a court order as required by your parole guidelines. What brought you back?" Jonathan asked, ignoring the hat comment.
"Well you see Jon, that little drug of yours messed up some people real bad, you know? And, uh, well I know I'm not exactly among the sanest in Gotham. Let's just leave it there shall we?"
"I see. So what you're saying is that you came back of your own free will, with no underlying motives. Is that correct?"
"He is onto us, Jonathan. The Batman, he knows who half of the criminals of Gotham are whether they know it or not."
"Is that the only reason you came back?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow at Jervis. He nodded shortly. "Then you can leave my office because I already knew what you have told me, therefore you have no purpose here. Thank you very much, have a wonderful evening." He said, ushering Jervis out of the office and leaning on the doorjamb once he was out of sight.
"Leo, I'm going home. The key is in my top right drawer. Start locking up at around 4:45." He told Leona, rubbing his eyes with his glasses resting on his knuckles.
"Yes sir."
"I'll leave you money for the train. Take the train out to West Victoria street and take a left out of the station, you'll see the house soon enough."
"Thank you. Anything else I can do for you?"
"Yes."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Never give that man an appointment again. He bothers me to no end." He said, tossing a ten down on her desk and walking out of the building, throwing a hasty goodbye to Juliette on his way out.
