Warning: This chapter has a M rated scene thanks to a subculture my characters are in. If you're offended, I can only say that you've been warned.

Chapter 4

Getting to my Office that next Monday I had to look back at my last week. Other than the attack from Zazs and that one thug Arkham hadn't' gotten its hooks into be… yet. I was placing my bag down on my chair when my phone started to ring. I have every contact on my phone with an individualized song to go with them. My Brother's is Prince's of the Universe. My Dad's is Devil went down to Georgia… if I ever get Jonathan's number I might switch the songs around, that would go too well.

But the song that was playing was the generic ring of an old style telephone. Or the standard Iphone ring now. Looking at the screen I couldn't place the number. So being polite I answered.

"Dr. Coleman speaking." I said putting on my most professional sounding voice I could muster.

The voice on the other end was quiet, and for a moment I thought someone had dialed the wrong number and were just going to hang up. Which by the way is the most annoying thing someone can do, especially to someone like me who thinks a patient has escaped and is now trying to torment me. Instead a voice from my past called from the other end.

"Lynn?" It was deeper than I remember, husky with age.

"David?" I said back, my voice cracking like a thirteen year old boy.

"Yeah. Wow." The voice I once knew as David said. He sounded a little breathless on the other side of the phone. "You sound great Lynn."

"Thanks…" I responded. "Look I just got into work,"

"Oh! Sorry! I thought this would be an okay time. You were always an early bird." There was that casual laugh, trying to break the ice. "Look, could I see you? I mean, you kinda ran in the middle of that semester. I want to know what you've been up to. Other than becoming a doctor… in something."

It was true. David deserved to know a little of what happened. Maybe not the gory details. I'm definitely not telling him that I cheated on him the night before… no. But I did owe him what I have been up to. Mostly what I've been up to. There are some things that I don't think David Sterling would ever understand. He's just so. Vanilla.

"Sure. That would be great."

From the other side I heard him laugh again. "Great. Well I'm about to head into the office as well. I've got a meeting at Wayne Enterprises."

Ooo good job plugging what you've been up to. Impress me early and I might come running back. "Oh! Well, good luck. I've got a session in a bit, so I should get ready."

From the other end I could hear other people talking. "Yeah I'll shoot you a text about where to meet. It's great to know you're back in Gotham Lynn. I've missed you."

"Missed you too." I said more out of habit, an old habit that was hard to break. It was just waiting to come back. Much like my nail biting habit I had as a child once senior year kicked around and stress built up I was gnawing at my fingers like a dog does with a bone. But this habit wasn't as painful, or not physically painful. There was the dull ache, like a sore tooth cavity in my heart. Yeah I really did need to see David, face to face.

Hanging up I was confronted with another emotion that I'd worked through. Guilt. Not the guilt from lying to David. Heaven knows he's had enough sins on him as well. He caused a good deal of what happened five years ago. But I didn't have a mind for that. Right now I needed to get myself together so when Harly came in today I wouldn't be having a fit over that call. Also I had a party to go to tonight. It was Kate's idea to go out on a weeknight. BUt after that phone call I'm so glad I said yes. There's something about a good party that just brightens my mood. Especially since I had a date with a good friend.

A few hours later I had two lunch trays at my feet. One tray was perfectly clean, thanks to yours truley. THe other only had a half of a grilled cheese, a empty bowl of tomato soupe, and crumbs of a cookie left. Harly was sitting cross legged beside me looking at her new nail color. This one a bright grape purple with an acid green that glows in the dark. Harly was in rare form this afternoon. She was suffering from separation from Joker and because of that she was in my opinion acting very protective. Not really protective, but it felt like she was bowing and scraping to everything I ask. Ask the girl to pick a nail color she asked me what I would do. Ask Harly to pick my nail color she agonized over it for a good five minutes, hoping what ever she chose would please me. God, was I really like that? At my worst, yes.

"So Harly, how's the week been?"

"I'll be honest Dr C. I can call you Doctor C right?"

"Call me Lynn. Calling me Dr. C could get me mistaken for someone." I said using my most friendly tone I could. But the other reason why I didn't want Harly calling me Dr. C was there was another doctor, well no longer holding a medical license, but a Dr. C already, and I didn't want to have my name go anywhere near his yes.

"Lynn." Harly said scrunching her face up. "Joker's been under all week. Arkham won't let my Pookums have a moment of clarity. I mean, sure Mistah J did shoot some people, but he's still sweet deep down."

"I don't know if I can do anything about that." I started, then an idea got me. "So Harly, what did you and Joker do on your first date?"

The girl was easy to navigate, and that was a minor blessing. She told me about this supposedly 'amazing' first date, honestly it sounded more like she was grabbed by her wrist and forced to watch a bank robbery. It just so happens that Joker tossed her a necklace or two from the safety deposit boxes. Not my idea of a magical date, but what am I saying, my first date was looking at police reports under a scarecrow.

"Man, next time I see Mista J. I'll have to remind him about that night." She ended with a sigh. "Maybe I'll get one of his boys to tell him."

"One of his boys?" I asked my interest renewed. "Joker has some of his gang in here?"

"Yeah, everyone does. It's how we keep protection." Harly said as if this was the most simplest explanation in the world. "Why?"

"Last week I was attacked, I don't think-"

"You? You got attacked? By Who?" Harly said. Her voice getting higher and louder as she spoke.

"Just a thug, I was just wondering-"

Again the girl cut me off. "I'll talk to Pookums about this. No one is going to hurt my gal pal."

Gal pal? When did I earn that title?

"You're the only person here who supports me and Mista J. I mean, Arkham keeps up separated, and the guards just make fun of us. That's why Joker sliced a few of them last time."

"And the medical team?" I asked thinking about my new friends.

"Oh them? ain't they sweet! Mary always compliments my hair. It's natural you know." Harly said giving a playful wink.

That brought me back. There was a bar in L.A where I saw her. Both of us were relaxing after a long day in conferences. I had been rapt at her ideas of the criminal mind. and I thought she would be interested in my experience from when I was sixteen. We had gotten so drunk that night. And then the quote 'It's Natural you know' complete with the wink. I knew I had made a friend for life… or I would have if I hadn't lost her phone number.

"So what about you? Have you gotten to hear from Mr. Long yet?" She said nudging me.

"No… but my ex did call me today. We're having dinner sometime this week."

Harly just blinked at me. "The Ex? The one you cheated on?"

"Yes. I think I owe him at least an update. I mean I've known him since high school. He's the one who still knows where all my graduating class is and what they've been up to." I said relaxing into the sofa. "It'll be good for me."

"You've changed a lot since you last saw him?"

Oh boy did I.

"Yup." I answered.

Harly slapped her thigh with her bare hand. "We're going to do your makeup. Move my session to right before you go see him. It'll be the best. I'll make him wish he treated you better. Hell I'll make him wish he was Mr. Long."

I couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes Harly, in her most innocent moments knew exactly what to do and say. She didn't know I needed that confidence boost to see David. I knew I did, but I wasn't going to ask for it from her. Maybe from Logan, or someone in my support net. But Harly just jumped in head first, much like how she does everything it seems.

The ropes were black, a specially dyed rope that he had bought for the occasion. The wall he was facing was a hard concrete, the grey walls made up the whole room, there wasn't a single window in this room. Only the door. The room was dark, half of the lights were out, and that was fine by me. I didn't need to see everything. Only the man in front of me.

See I had done a single column tie, your basic as I was told, and secured him to two large rings that were stuck in the wall. His legs had a spreader bar, more like a simple rod with rope that keeps the man's feet a good two feet apart. In a hour he'll start to feel pain if he can't change the way he's moving. But for right now this is all part of the act.

To my right I see my tools. Floggers, riding crops, a whip, and my favorite my dragons tail. The man tied away from me had a clean back. No blemishes, except for the few reddened pores that were threatening to become pimples. His blond hair was shaggy and really needed a trim. After the session I would need to tell him to get a hair cut. That's my job after all. It's exactly what Mr. Huntin wanted from me wasn't it?

Looking over my shoulder I could see the small group of people watching. On the other side of the room a man was just finishing with some Rope work on a woman that was simply stunning. Her breasts had been squeezed by the rope and her waist was cinched to give her a more defined hourglass look. Outside of The Warehouse people would call the police on her partner. But how can you call the police when the woman is having the time of her life? Same goes for the man in front of me? After we're done he will be bouncing on his feet saying how great he feels. No one outside of here can understand, I don't expect them to. I didn't for so long.

I picked up my first flogger of the session. A soft pliable suede that felt good when you touch it, but could be teasingly painful if used with their full force. I back up from the guy waiting. Part of what I do for people is I play with them both physically and mentally. One of my best uses with my psychology degree was learning how to make people squirm without even touching them. It really come in handy if I have someone who isn't into pain but wants to be put down.

My swings starting out are soft, this is the warm up. Getting people into sub space, a place where there is nothing except sensation. It's a simple relaxing place, though no one would would put getting flogged and relaxing in the same place. But that's the perspective of the outside. In The Warehouse this was normal.

By the time I finish with the warm up I put the flogger down and look up at the canvas. The man and i had agreed to flogging, maybe the riding crop, and he wanted to try the Dragon's tail. His hard lines, things that I was not allowed to do under any circumstances was caning or any blood play, even though I was skilled at both. I pick up my next flogger, this one was made out of old rubber strips. When I first saw it I thought it was a cheap excuse for a toy, then I let someone hit me with it. This flogger stings worse than any bee. Hence is why I nicknamed it Beesting.

Again I let the guy wait, he was shifting around some more. Probably curious about what I was doing behind him. "If you keep squirming I'll give you two lashings form the dragon's tail."

That got him still.

When I brought this flogger down I could hear the snap and the yelp of pain from the man. In the wake of the flogger was a bright red streak down his back. It would probably go away in a day or so, but until then it was going to hurt. I took a step closer, and when I spoke my voice was colder more clinical than it is when I'm with Harly, with anyone. "I'm going to play tic tac toe on your back with this. If you continue to squirm I'll have to move on to the next stage."

The man nodded his head and I backed away. I'm true to my word in these scenes. If I say I'm going to do something I'm going to do it. I finish making a grid on his back and contemplate my first move. With each mark I leave I see him loosen his shoulders, his knees stop shaking. Small moans can be heard from him, though it's hard to hear since on the other side of the room the male Dom and his female sub were getting pretty loud. I could hear the constant thwacking of his crop on her ass. I spoke to them before hand and learned he was planning on giving her a blue ass, this was a personal term of his for making her ass hurt so much that it would turn blue while it healed.

Finishing my game with a stalemate, since no one can ever win with tic tac toe. I looked at the very red marks, I've worked with this guy before, he turns as red and a neon sign but it doesn't hurt. Very few people work with him because of that. Many people worry that they'll go too far on his delicate skin, and I'll be truthful I was worried too, but after a few sessions like this with him I've learned he was soft on the outside tough on the inside.

The Dragon's tail was the latest toy to my toolbox. It's a whip in it's basic construction. Complete with a thick cut of leather. This has a potential to hit very hard, and had a good chance on actually splitting skin. And because of that I've been reluctant to pull it out and use on anyone. Kate's felt it once, and the door frame in my bedroom has small dents from my practice sessions. I knew how to throw it, now it was time to use the whip in a real scene.

I walked up to the man and grabbed a large fist full of hair and pulled him slowly back so I could look at him. He was a middle age man, probably single or is seeing someone who doesn't know about his kink yet. He has the wide eyed look of someone who has slipped into subspace, good, that's where he needs to stay for a while longer.

"Do you know what this is?" Bringing the Dragon's Tail to face him he nods slowly. I smile at that. "Good. Since you squirmed you'll be receiving two lashings with this. You got that?"

"Yes madame." He muttered.

I nodded and let his head fall forward again. The group behind me backed up as I uncoiled the length of the whip. Giving it a few test throws I looked for a good part on his back. My target was just under the shoulder blades where he had the most fat on him. since I was going to give him two lashings I planned on doing one on each side, keeping things symmetrical.

When the whip was first thrown I knew he was going to shout his safe word. Dragon's Tails are not for new people like him, hence is why I was holding it for last. It was only because he was curious about it that i had allowed myself to use the whip on him. Someone calling the safe word was always an option, and as soon as he did well…

"RED!"

It was more of a scream. I put the whip down with the bag near me and raced over to him to make sure he was alright. Sure enough the whip left one hell of a lash mark on his back. And when I looked at his face I could see tears were forming.

"Do you need me to get you down?" I asked the lightness coming back to me.

He nodded. "I'm sorry… it was."

"Intense." I said reaching up and pulling one cord that would undo my handi work. "You're alright. You were pretty brave up there. When I was hitting you with the rubber I thought you were going to pass out."

With his arms down I could see a small smile forming. "Yeah, just I can't do the whip…"

"Don't feel bad about that." I said picking my white dress up. My white greek inspired dress. I had about four of these in a number of colors… only no black.

Freeing him from the spreader bar I picked up a large fuzzy blanket that belonged to him and wrapped the guy up in it. "I'm going to pack up, just stay right there, you did really well." I said coiling his rope in a braided fashion to tell him later that he would need to wash it. The spreader bar belonged to one of the other Dom's in The Warehouse and I would need to return that before I left for the night.

Once I was packed I picked my bag up and put another arm around the guys shoulder and lead him out of the room and into a brightly lit hallway. There were other people out there milling around. Some of the rooms we passed had windows that people were watching in. My eye caught on a woman who was strapped down on a stood with her back facing two men who were using scalpels to cut lines into her back. That was pretty amazing in my book. The amount of work that goes into learning knife play like that… I'm sorry I can gush about this all day.

I entered a new room where people were curled up in small numbers. Someone was humming a lullaby another person was brushing someone else's hair. Aftercare. After a sub has been put through a scene there needs to be a moment where the Dom sits down with them and reconnects so they sub can come out and feel safe again. I lead my partner over to a sofa and pulled out some lotion for his back. I covered him with the scentless stuff so it could heal properly. Some people don't do that, but it was part of my ritual.

"You were very brave letting everyone watch you this time." I muttered my voice was softer now that we had come into this room. "You even let me play a game on you. That's really amazing."

He nodded, his eyes still very unfocused. I would continue telling him how great he was for the next thirty minutes. Slowly he would come back to earth and with one of his large smiles he would say. "Thank's Miss Red."

Giving him another pat on the head I smiled. "Next party if you're up for it, I was thinking more rope work, less impact play."

His large brown eyes grew. "You mean you'll still play with me?"

I didn't laugh, but I wanted to. Male subs are not normal. Men are taught to be big and macho, hence is why female Doms are also rare. The big male Doms forget sometimes that there are other people out there. People like my friend here. "Of course dear. I'd hope you'd let me continue. I think you're growing a lot, and that you're discovering yourself."

The guy weaved back in fourth happily. "Thank you Miss Red. I-I should see what my friends are doing. Thank you again." He gave me a small bow and bounced out of the room. What did I say, the guy bounces back.

A bit later I followed his lead and went to the main area. This is where a lot of people come to hang out. See The Warehouse is owned by a BDSM Club here in Gotham. It's legal, mainly thanks to one of the owners being a lawyer in his 'normal' life. The local club members pay fees to keep the place running and so they can buy new toys. The most recent addition was a vacuum bag that you stick someone in and vacuum seal them shut with a tube to breath from. If there is one thing I've learned since I came to the community, it's that someone else's kink might now be yours, but you should respect it.

"Miss Red!" Said someone further in the room. It was actually my friend Kate. Kate had come with me to my first leap into BDSM. She found her passion in being a sub, well more than being a sub, she would call herself a 'little girl', it's the opposite to someone who wants to be a Mommy or a Daddy. Kate was dressed cutely in a short pleated skirt and a large sheer knit shirt that let everyone see her bra. Her blond hair was up high in pigtails and they bobbed around as she raced up to me. "How was the scene."

"Got him all the way up to the tail, but he can't handle it."

Kate pouted. "Well damn, everyone has a different tolerance right?"

"The sure do."

We both turned to see Kyle. Kate's long time boyfriend and her 'Daddy'. Their relationship is one of the strongest I've ever seen. Kate has a problem and Kyle is there to help her through it. He spoils her with gifts and she's there for him with domestic stuff. The two of them have always worked well together. And when Kate jumped into the kink community Kyle was right behind her. It was more interesting to see that their already healthy relationship be gifted with this new way for them to express themselves. They were the kind of relationship that should be shown to the world as one that works with BDSM.

Kyle was almost as tall as I was, but she still towered over Kate. His brown hair was short in a buzz cut. Today he was wearing a simple black t-shirt and black jeans. Easy to move in and easy to clean if anything were to happen. "Has Katie been bothering you?"

Ahh that playful sound of a set up. See since Kyle is Kate's Dom I get messages from him saying what he has planned for her. I'm also a good sound board for ideas he has. His latest one was to get her in trouble so he can go home and pull out the new paddle he bought. He got it custom carved to leave the words "Baby Girl" on her ass. Not utterly original, but it's their level of play.

"A little. You might have to give her a small spanking when she gets home." I said my voice lowering again.

Kate let out a little yelp and looked at the two of us. "You're working together on something aren't you?" Her voice was getting higher in pitch, giving her a child like sound.

"Always Baby Girl." Kyle said smiling evenly. "But there might be a surprise in it for you, if you are extra bad."

Again Kate looked from Kyle then to me. "A surprise?"

"But only if you're a bad girl." I said grinning.

Tomorrow I would hear about the paddle. And later tonight I would end up in a conversation about Gotham politics and about new medical technology. Such is the nature of a party such as this. Sure outside in the Vanilla world people would think we should be locked up. But in here we know what we are. We can be a small girl. A puppy who wants a owner. Or a woman who has the world in her hands. That's the beauty of it. As long as you consent and get consent, you can be and do anything.

A/N: And that's how Lynn knows how to hogtie a guy in the dark. I need to thank a few of my friends who are very active in the community. Their stories and my own research made Lynn who she is today.

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