I looked at the officer as a medic tended to me. I winced at the ice pack pressed against my neck. "He just left." I rasped. "The lights flickered, and he left." I let my head fall.
"That must have been a signal. Which means he definitely wasn't working alone." I watched as he jotted things down on his little notepad and then talked with the paramedics. I was going to be taken to the hospital. "We'll have a guard posted outside your door and at your home." I thanked him and the gurney was pushed into the ambulance. I wasn't the only person the Joker had hurt, in fact, I wasn't even the worst. But he had left me alive and he had stayed with me the longest.
At the hospital, I was hooked up to every machine they found space for and a guard was posted outside as the Commissioner came in. "Hello Doctor Reese. I'm Commissioner Gordon. I've just come to follow up and see how you were doing." His voice was soft, reverent of the hospital setting, Like he'd done thins many times before. He probably had.
He sat in the closest chair as I watched him. He was older, with a magnificent mustache and gray hairs. He had definitely been at this a long time.
"They tell me I'll be here over night for observation. Worried about my throat, I think." I brushed my fingers along the bandages. My voice was so hoarse even now. And my throat so swollen. My voice was just a whisper, but in the quiet of the hospital night, I could have been shouting. "He didn't tell me anything. He just beat me up and ate my candy."
"That's a lot better than what he did to Dr. Gerald."
"Dr. Gerald?"
He nodded. "Poor man probably won't talk for good long while. Do you remember anything from your sessions with him? It was my understanding that you've been his doctor for the past couple of months."
"I was his secondary doctor. They're using him to weed out possible threats. Dr. Gerald was his primary."
"I see." He wrote that down. "And do you remember anything specific about your sessions?"
"No. And if I did, I couldn't talk about them anyways. Doctor- patient confidentiality." I picked at a corner of the blanket. "But if you were to get a warrant to seize my notes, there wouldn't be much you wouldn't know."
The commissioner looked at me, a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Dr. Reese. I hope you feel better. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." He stood, holding out a small white card with his title, name, and four different phone numbers.
"Thank you, Commissioner." I put a hand to my throat again as I coughed a little.
After that, I was left alone to my own devices. My thoughts. They swirled and swirled around my mind. Why had he tried to kill me and then flipped a switch? Did he really try to kill me or was he just testing my reactions? I'm sure if he'd truly wanted me dead, there would have been nothing I could have done to stop him. But the switch that had flipped from trying to hurt me to just breaking through my desk and eating my candy. He hadn't even touched the drawer with the file.
He'd known where it was.
He had decided to eat my candy.
And leave me alone.
Like I didn't matter.
I'd kicked the nurses out for another hour after they checked my vitals and was just starting to go back to sleep when I felt a strange presence in my room. Like someone was watching me, waiting for me to notice them. I tried to lay still, to pretend to not notice, but my throat was itchy and aching from the yelling.
I fought the coughing as long as possible, but it was no use. I sat up again, searching for my water glass, gasping for enough air to cough. "When did it happen?" A low growl asked as hands helped me sit up and pushed my cup within reach.
"Few- few years a-ago." I coughed out, but they subsided as I took a few sips, the water soothing the irritated flesh. My voice was hoarse and weak. "Have you caught him yet?" I looked at the man as lightning flashed, giving light to the otherwise dark room. Man dressed in black, his costume made to resemble a large bat. The symbol on his chest giving him away.
"I will." He assured.
I gave him a weak smile. Most people thought the batman was a dangerous villain, but I knew better. He had saved my life. He'd beaten my attacker off of me and trussed him like a cow ready for branding before getting me to the hospital. "Thank you." I whispered, watching him leave.
I coughed again, less violent this time.
When I was released from the hospital the next morning, I was so tired. I grabbed a cab, dressed in wrinkled work clothes, and gave him the address as I fiddled with my scarf. "Have a bad day?"
"Had a bad couple of years." I admitted with a smile as I ran my fingers through my hair. I cleared my throat.
"You don't sound too put out about it."
I looked at him though the little window and met his eyes as he flicked his to and from the rear view mirror. "Do you play games?" I asked, leaning forward a bit.
"I like to."
"Video games?"
"Sure."
"Well, I see these past few years as my character development phase."
"And the next few?"
"I haven't gotten that far yet. It's an open world, after all." I gave him a smile and leaned back, watching the scenery soar on by. "You're going awfully fast." I noted.
"Does it bother you?"
"If you get a ticket. I have a date with my bed and I'd hate to miss it."
The cabbie laughed. "You won't."
When I got home, there was a cat at the door, meowing for me to feed him. "I know. I know." I sighed, pulling my keys out of my pocket and shoving the correct one into the door. I reached in and snatched the bag of treats and gave him a handful. "There, now you better go home before Sammy gets worried." The cat purred in response, flicking his tail slowly.
I barely made it to the couch before my heavy lidded eyes closed and my body started to go to sleep, despite the thoughts plaguing my brain.