The Horseman and The Hooded Crane
By Miaiko-sama

Chapter 3


The night sky of Gotham was ablaze with pollution, causing a red tint to fall over the city that mixed with the haze of the rain. Rachel looked out at the downpour which had only started moments before she had arrived at her destination. The young woman had been checking with Carl Finch's contacts in The Narrows after the District Attorney's cell phone began going straight to voice-mail each time she called him. Something was off- even when they had stopped seeing each other Carl never ignored her calls or turned off his phone.

As she left her last possible lead's home, she stood under their threshold to open her umbrella before stepping outside. Rachel was reluctant to return to the monorail so late, especially after her encounter with Falcone's hit-men and the Batman- but unfortunately it was her only option for transportation since her car was in the shop. As she started on the quickest possible route, Arkham Asylum could be seen from a distance- dark and looming over the broken city.

Rachel continued toward her destination, lost in thought as she came up on a side street. Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground, breathless- she let out a loud airy cry of surprise as she reached for her taser and pointed it at the dark figure that had plowed into her.
"...Ow." The figure on the ground said, annoyance lacing his voice as if Rachel was the person responsible for the collision.
"Sorry."
"Watch it." The man picked himself up, shooting a dirty look at the woman as she lowered her taser.
"You ran into me." She shot back, bringing her left leg to her chest so she could inspect the damage from the pavement. As she started to pick herself up, she was immediately kicked back down.

"You've got a smart mouth, honey. What makes you think you can sass me after knocking me over and ruining my good pants?" He growled, advancing on the brunette who was now scrambling to her feet in an attempt to get away- he then pulled her back by the collar of her coat. She cursed her hot temper.
"Help!" He covered her mouth with his free hand.
"Hey, wait a second… Aren't you that D.A bitch that got my brother locked up?" He sneered, upon further inspection of her features.
"Well, fuck me." He exclaimed, keeping a tight hold on the brunette's hair.
"Let's say you make it up to me, eh?" He laughed, throwing her into a few metal trash cans down the street he had just came from. Rachel braced herself for the fall, throwing her hands out in front of her before impact. A searing pain shot up from her leg, making her see stars as she attempted to regain her composure. Just then, she heard her attacker cry out from behind.
Her heart raced as she turned over on her side in an attempt to sneak a peek.
"Batman?"
"Sorry, toots. Wrong vigilante." A frank voice responded from the darkness, she watched as the person made his way over to her.
"Rachel Dawes?" He exclaimed when he got close enough to see her face. The soaked, bruised woman saw a hand extend out to her and suddenly began to recognize the voice. She took the hand and used it for balance until she could stand on her own, then looked up-
"Crane?" She blurted out, shocked at the identity of her unlikely savior.
"Doctor, Miss Dawes." He sighed, curious as to why she was in the area.
"Lost in the wrong neighborhood?" He asked rather smugly, causing her to huff at his remark. She remembered her attacker, and looked down.
"We should call the police." She said, hobbling to the area where she had dropped her things.
"They won't come." He said in a way that sent a shiver down her spine.
"A petty assault isn't nearly enough to bring an officer to the Narrows alone, Miss Dawes." She stopped her limping into the street and cursed. It was sad, but true- nobody would risk coming to the area.
"What are you even doing out here?" Rachel asked the doctor, it was weird to see him in such a setting- let alone fighting crime and saving damsels in distress. He pointed off into the distance at the gloomy Arkham Asylum.
"Home is thatta way." He said sarcastically.
"More importantly, what are you doing out here? …And alone, no less." The psychiatrist said, walking closer to her. Another shiver went up her spine and she stood rigid as he stopped inches from her to pick up her soaked purse. Rachel's heart raced- she blamed it on her adrenaline.
"I was looking into something." She stuttered as he remained inches from her. Crane smirked at her nervousness. To stir things up he moved forward again, brushing against her as he picked up her taser, which had fallen as she was dragged away. He held it out with a smile, observing her as she snatched the weapon from his hand.
"I trust it was worth it?" He arched an eyebrow, curious as to what she was looking into. For his trouble, the man received the classic Rachel Dawes icy stare- he smirked.
"Alright, I apologize. Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Her limp said otherwise.
"Really…?" He sighed.
"What?"
"Just admit you're hurt and I'll help." He stopped himself from rolling his eyes.
"I'm fine, there's nothing you could-"
"I can patch you up and take you home. As you seem to forget quite often Miss Dawes, I am a doctor." Rachel sighed at his words, dropping her hands to her sides as the rain continued to pour. Her umbrella had flown away in all the commotion, and getting a ride would beat walking home in the rain like an idiot, inviting more danger.
"M.D." He said, mouthing the letters and staring at her with the same intense expression he wore in every debate they've ever had. Dark strands of hair matted his face, only adding to the intensity.
"Fine, fine." She relented.

* * * * * *
"Honey, I'm home!" Crane called out as the front gates to his asylum opened. Rachel rolled her eyes and waited for the head of security to greet them.

"Hello Barry." Jonathan smiled as the man ran down to the gates in a heavy coat and rubber galoshes.
"Oh, Dr. Crane. What happened to your ride?" The guard's words made the assistant D.A quirk an eyebrow as they were ushered to the guard kiosk.
"Car trouble." The doctor said monotonously, grabbing the keys to one of the security patrol vehicles parked alongside the small building.
"Get in." He called to Rachel who soon ran over to the patrol cart, grateful they didn't have to walk up the long and winding driveway. The dark haired guard helped her into the backseat before moving to the front and getting behind the wheel. Once they reached the front door another guard greeted Crane and ushered them inside as Barry drove back to his post. Rachel, as usual couldn't help but allow her eyes to drift back to Jonathan. Something curious about him made her both uneasy and strangely pulled toward his charismatic persona. She found herself drifting behind the man as he made his way through the familiar halls of his asylum, much like a ghost. Silently falling in step with his echoing footsteps, rhythmic but also fleeting as the floor's carpeting found it's way under their feet. After a few twists and turns that she certainly wouldn't have remembered on her own without help from a few orderlies, they were finally outside of Crane's office. He reached for his keys and fiddled with them for a moment before finding the key to his door. He seemed like a janitor or an olde time jailer with so many keys, but though excessive it wasn't necessarily suspicious for the chief psychiatrist of a mental hospital. The door then opened with a thick click from the deadbolt.
"Please, come in." Crane said, ushering the limping woman inside before checking the hallway for any unwanted attention. He craned his head upward in an attempt to see around the corner of the hall before realizing that on his floor, aside from a few security cameras, they were completely isolated from the rest of the hospital.
Home turf advantage.

* * * * * *
Jonathan Crane observed Rachel making her way to the sleek lack chair closest to her- it was almost too easy, her coming to the asylum so late. He couldn't have planned it better himself if he tried. The doctor waited a moment before making his way over to the brunette, who had now seated herself at the edge of the chair, exhaling in pain as she extended her leg. Jonathan grabbed a small medical kit from the back room as she inspected the damage, brushing what pieces of dirt and pavement still clung to her skin and torn stocking. Rachel, though she hated to admit it, was was thankful that he had prevented the altercation from escalating any further. She doubted that she would have walked away at all, had he not shown up. The assistant D.A was surprised that Dr. Crane of all people, someone who didn't seem all that muscular- could get the best of someone so much bigger than him, he was actually quite lanky from what she could tell. The thought of the doctor's physique made Rachel visually uncomfortable, especially now that he appeared before her on bended knee to tend to her wound.

'Get it together Rachel.' She thought, staring intently at the wound to avoid looking the doctor in the eyes. Jonathan inspected the already bruising abrasion and made a faux wince to portray an emotion that wasn't unbelievably rude in this scenario. He somehow doubted Rachel would appreciate him smiling gleefully.
"Take them off." He commanded, adjusting his glasses.
"Excuse me?" She said breathlessly.
"Please remove your stockings so that I may treat your abrasions, Miss Dawes." Dr. Crane said carefully constructing his sentence so that it sounded as professional as possible. Jonathan, suddenly realizing how exposed the woman must feel, took off his glasses and began rubbing at them absently- this time fighting to keep the air from turning even more awkward than it already was.

Rachel, feeling silly for thinking otherwise, complied. Slowly reaching for the waistband of her stockings, she wiggled in her seat and after bending her long tanned leg inward she was finally able to slide one foot out of the sheer, wet, nylon material without feeling too exposed. As the woman pulled at her stocking, Jonathan's eyes sensing movement- looked up. The two's eyes met and lingered for a few seconds, before Crane cleared his throat and returned this glasses to the bridge of his nose.
"J-Judging by the way you have been distributing your weight to your opposite leg, at worse you may have bruised the bone." The doctor said hurriedly, inspecting the wound from afar. Rachel seemed to listen intently, but both knew the situation was bound to get even more awkward. After a few moments Jonathan decided he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, taking the leftover fabric of her stocking and pulling her leg out of the torn nude material. In that moment, the woman jolted upright, hissing through her teeth at the feeling of the coagulated blood fused with nylon separating from her skin. Somehow she managed to grab his hand before he could retract, and squeezed until the pain subsided before letting go. She stared at him for a moment, curious at his expression when they lost contact.
"I'll need to use disinfectant." He said frankly, taking an alcohol swab from his medical kit.
"No, no, no. Wait-" She pleaded, biting her lip as he quickly began his work on her wounds. Strands of wet hair clung to the sides of her face and Crane's eyes intensified as he watched her squirm at his touch. Having such an intense reaction from the Assistant D.A. amazed him almost as much as his experiments. He felt his mouth go dry as he watched Rachel bite down on her lip, and though he knew he was finished cleaning her wounds he couldn't help himself as he went for another swab.
"Crane!" The fresh sting of a new alcohol pad caused the brunette to grip the edges of the chair and muffle a small squeak of pain. Their eyes met again, and Rachel's tear rimmed ones dilated at the sight of him, holding her slick wet leg in his arms as she bucked away from the sting of the antiseptic. His messy wet hair...
"Doctor." Time stood still and Crane suddenly found himself with a new urge. He had seen Rachel's emotions range from pain, to anger and unease- but this time he yearned for something different. The man's hand reached out, hesitantly at first- as he soon gained the courage needed to move the wet hair from Rachel's face. She sat perfectly still, uncertain of the doctor's motives- but soon found herself lost in his piercing crystalline blue gaze. The feeling of her damp skin underneath his fingertips was like an electric shock, and soon he wanted more.


[Author's Note:]

Oh yas. They finally got some o' da business. Haha. Well- now that I've watched Bats Begins for the millionth time, quoting almost every scene with Crane by heart, I feel like I can say I really went all out to research for this fanfiction.
YOU'RE WELCOME. ...Or if you happen to hate this fic, I TRIED.
Also, pertaining to more Crane related things... I've gotten my first request to do another oneshot Crane/Dawes. We'll see how that works out, I try my best not to make my characters OOC because it just doesn't feel right no matter how I pace the story- BUT I WILL DO THIS, probably because it's a request, definitely because I'm curious.

Also also, and very lastly I have been working on a fem cosplay of Arkham Asylum's Scarecrow for New York Comic Con 2014. If you're going, I'll be there Friday only to walk around and possibly/definitely poison you with some of my fear toxin. Stop me for a picture/hug/high five if you'd like!

-Miaiko-sama