Chapter 10: Sore Losers

Disclaimer: read chapter 1

By the end of the month, Arkham kept his word and handed the patient's folder over to Doctor Knightly.

In an empty room with nothing but a table and two chairs, Kathy was sitting down, waiting for her new patient to show up. She killed the time by reading his file again a couple of times with her black-framed, reading glasses on. Almost twenty minutes went by, finally, Kathy heard the door open.

She perked up to see one of the head security guards - she later found out to be Aaron Cash - standing by the doorway. Kathy had hardly seen Aaron because he was busy dealing with the psychotics. However, since Kathy was assigned with one, maybe she could get to know him frequently. The only thing Kathy knew about Aaron was that he took his job as a security guard very seriously. What happened with Zeus showed just how much.

"Doctor Knightly, your patient #6056 is here," he said in a serious tone.

Then, Kathy felt her stomach twist into a big knot of nervousness. Holding back the gasp, Kathy nodded.

"Great. Bring him in."

He nodded, peeked outside the door, ushering the boys to come forth. "Bring him in, boys."

Kathy held her breath until she saw two more guards holding a man in his mid-twenties (same age as Kathy) with dark hair and wearing a straight jacket with an orange jumpsuit underneath. The guards led him to a chair across from Kathy's.

Looking at her patient, he seemed confused, highly unusually from a man who claimed to be smart. No doubt, he expected Dr. Young to be here and was a little disappointed. It was a bit unprofessional not to tell her patient that she was referring him to someone else. Eventually, he'll get over it. Kathy hoped.

"Alright, Doctor Knightly, I suppose you wish us to leave," Aaron said with little reluctance.

"Yes, Officer Cash. I can take it from here. Thank you."

Aaron breathed out, casting a deadly look at the patient who winked at him. Mischief twinkled in his eye. He had a plan, a trick hidden in his sleeve. A way to crawl under the guard's skin. Aaron would've ended the session, right here and now if it was up to him.

Once the guards left the two alone, Kathy turned her full attention on the patient and gave him a friendly smile, pressing the record button on the recorder. "Patient Interview #1. This is Doctor Kathryn Knightly with inmate #6056 - Patient Edward Nygma. Good morning, Edward."

"Good Morning to you too, Doctor," Edward greeted kindly. "I believe we've never met before. Are you new?"

Kathy shook my head. "No, but I know all about you, Edward. I watched the tapes and read old newspapers."

Edward widened his eyes and smirked. "You have? Oh, I'm so flattered. I have a fan!"

Kathy mentally shook her head. A fan wasn't how she described it.

"You know I would love to begin the introduction properly by shaking your hand, but as you can see..." He lifted his elbows, gesturing the straight jacket, he was wearing, "there's a problem with that, but if you can get this off me-"

"I'm sorry, Edward, but that's not going to happen."

Edward's jaw dropped, pretending that he was shocked and hurt at the same time. "Oh, Doctor, we barely know each other, and you already don't trust me."

"Well, from what I have seen and heard, do you have reasons why I should trust you?"

Edward smirked up to the point it gave her shivers. "Rest assured, Doctor. I'm always a good boy, especially with Dr. Young. Speaking of which, I have a question for you, Doctor Knightly. What happened to Doctor Young? Did something bad happened to her?"

Kathy shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you, Ed, but Doctor Young transferred you over to me."

He scoffed, a disbelief smile across his face.

"Doctor Young dumped me?" Edward asked in a sad tone of voice. "Oh, I thought things were going so well between us." He leaned forward and whispered. "We've grown so close. No offense, Doctor..." He paused, trying to remember her name.

"Knightly," she replied.

"Knightly..." he smirked as he placed his elbows down on the table. "I love your first name, by the way. Kathryn. Sophisticated, but it kinda reminds me of a kitty-cat."

"Thanks... I think."

"Oh, don't worry, Doctor, it was a compliment." He cleared his throat, leaning back against the chair. "Listen, Doctor, no offense, but I don't really like the new trade. You want to know why?"

"Because you trust Dr. Young more than you trust a new doctor like me?"

"Wrong! It's because she trusts me. All my times with Dr. Young, she tried to earn my trust. You? You seem like I have to be the one to trust you."

Kathy sighed heavily as she began speaking. "I hate to disappoint you, Edward, but I'm not Dr. Young. Okay? If you don't like it that way, fine, but you're just going to have to deal with it." Edward paused and stared at her with uncomfortable silence, as she continued. "Now, since we got the names taken care of, and we have an understanding... let's begin the session."

"You mean it hasn't started already?" Edward asked curiously as he leaned forward touching the table. "Oh Doctor, you are adorable!"

Kathy closed her eyes, already feel a migraine radiating up and down her head. She could understand why Young made the switch, but she refused to give up, especially on her first day with a high profile criminal.

"Anyway, from what I've read on the last session, Edward, you've been leaving threatening riddles on the asylum walls... again."

"Now they are just being paranoid, Doctor. Those weren't threats, my riddles are harmless..." an eyebrow raised, an idea in mind. A challenge.

"May I test you with one, Kitty-Kat?"

Kathy suppressed the urge to correct him. He wanted her to get all worked up. She could only sit still with arms crossed over the chest to think before throwing them in the air dramatically.

"What the heck." Her arms rested on the table. "Give me your best shot."

"I gave this riddle to Dr. Young, but she didn't get it right. Hopefully, you'll get this one."

"What's the riddle?"

"Well, Kitten..." Edward leaned back against his chair. "Here's my first riddle for you... What is it that walks on four legs, then two legs, and finally, three legs?"

Kathy leaned back against her chair as well, thinking of the right answer for his riddle. It wasn't much of a challenge for she knew the answer; she smiled triumphantly, relaxing the mischief eye.

"I was going to say human being. A baby crawls on four legs; but when he grows, he'll walk on two legs; and by the time, he reaches old age, he'll use a cane, counting it as the third leg."

Now it was Edward's turn to smile.

"I think I'm experiencing deja vu," Edward said while laughing. "I gave Dr. Young that exact same riddle, and she gave me the same answer you gave me. Sorry, Kathy, but it's a good try. Really. But the correct answer is..."

"A puppy."

Edward's face faltered. Did he hear that right?

"I'm sorry what?"

"I didn't say my answer was a human being. The correct answer. Your gruesome correct answer is a puppy." She wanted to cry at the thought of her beagle as the answer. It was disgusting and horrifying, but it was Edward Nygma, after all. His riddles were not that simple or sane. "It walks on four legs, and then somebody cuts two of them off, leaving it with two. Then, you give him a wooden paw, giving him the third leg. So the answer to your riddle is a puppy. Am I right?"

Edward's frown deepened up to the point that he was showing teeth. "You cheated." His eyes at her accusingly. "You must have cheated! There was no way you could've known that answer! Did Doctor Young tell you?!"

"Take deep breaths, Edward. It's just a simple riddle." A horrific riddle.

"It's not just a riddle, Doctor!" Edward raised himself from his seat, forcing Kathy to stand as well.

"Sit down, Edward. Don't make me get security."

"It's my riddle! I am Edward Nygma! You don't have the genius brain to know the answer, so you must have cheated!"

Kathy shrugged. "Maybe."

Riddler's rant came to a halt.

She clarified.

"It doesn't take a genius to look at the past notes and read them one by one." Her voice slowed but showed power. Edward raised a brow, impressed that she wasn't scared. Then again, she was the woman who struck down Zeus into isolation. "Now I suggest you sit down until the hour is up. Be a good boy, or do I have to bring in Cash and have him take away privileges?"

Edward frowned at the thought of having his rubix cube taken away. He slowly sank back down to his chair, allowing Kathy to sit down across from him.

"Very well," He agreed, allowing a smile to escape his lips again. "What do you wish to talk about, Doctor?"

Kathy groaned, laying her arms on the table, suppressing the urge to bury her head into her hands.

~000~000~000~

After her session with Nygma, Kathy returned to her office, giving herself time to breathe. That man was a pain in the butt and definitely insane when it came to the subject of riddles. She had to take a pain reliever from Arkham's nurse to ease the migraines. She laid back against her chair, placed her feet up on the desk, and closed my eyes, trying to relax before her next session.

As she was beginning to relax, her cell phone buzzed in her bag. Kathy's eyes opened, placing her feet back on the floor, reaching for her bag that was lying under her desk. She pulled the phone out to see that she got a text message. Pushing the OK button on the screen, it opened the inbox revealing the message from one of her coworkers.

"You still in Arkham?"

She smiled at the name above which she nicknamed - Johnny. "Yeah. Where r u? I didn't see u at work today."

It didn't take too long for Jonathan to reply to the message.

"Today, I'm testifying in court for the Zsasz case. Remember?"

"I forgot about that. How long do you have to be in there?"

"Longer than I want. Unfortunately."

Then another message popped up.

"Do you have any plans after work?"

Kathy's smile widened. "Not really. Why."

"Meet me at the courthouse then. I must discuss something important with you."

"Why can't we discuss it now?"

She waited for his response in thirty seconds until he replied back.

"Sory, I gotto go. Thy startd the tril. We talk latr." It didn't take too long to comprehend what he was saying from his misspelled words, but Kathy knew he was either in a hurry or an attempt to avoid the question.

She didn't know what he wanted, but she didn't mind seeing him again.

~000~000~000~

Kathy gathered her belongings, heading towards the Arkham's entrance.

"Dr. Knightly," a man voice cried out for her name.

Kathy stopped and turned, surprised to see Officer Cash running after her. Not sure what he wanted, she looked up at him in confusion before asking. "Is there something wrong, Officer?"

"Nothing, except this," he held his hand out and opened it, revealing key ring with a bunch of keys and reward cards looped inside. "You dropped it."

Kathy immediately took the key ring from his hand and placed it in her bag. "Oh! Thank you! Thank you! You're a life saver."

He shrugged,=. "That's what I'm here for." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck before he continued. "Listen, Dr. Knightly, it's a good thing I found your keys."

"I know. If I lost this, I wouldn't get into my car."

"Yeah, but that's not what I meant."

Kathy scrunched her brows together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I never got the chance to thank you. You know... about the Zeus incident."

"Oh!" Her eyebrows raised in understanding, letting out a laugh. "Oh, you don't have to thank me. I am just glad that no one got hurt... except for Cassidy with minor bruising... and Zeus for he got shot."

"You're not like the female doctors, Dr. Knightly."

"Well, I don't know about that. I pretty much dragged myself in the middle of the hostage situation."

"Maybe," Cash shrugged.

They looked at each other for a moment, before Kathy spoke again. "Listen, I want to stay and talk some more, but I better get going."

He nodded. "All right. I need to get back to work anyway. Look, if you need help in Arkham or some lunatic trying to get to you, let me know."

Kathy smiled, taking his word for it. "Thanks. I will. Be careful, Officer."

"I will." For that he walked away; Kathy exited the asylum, ready to meet the handsome doctor.

~000~000~000~

After the long ferry and car drive, she finally made it to her destination. The Gotham City Courthouse. She walked inside the building and asked a police officer for directions to where the Zsasz's trial was located. She followed the officer's advice and followed down the halls, climbed two flights of stairs, and headed straight for the double doors.

She opened the door, making a loud squeak, earning attention from the people inside especially Judge Faden. Kathy's face flushed, quickly walked to the nearest seat and sat down quietly. A few moments later of awkward silence and stares, they continued the trial.

Looking around the courtroom, she noticed there wasn't a lot of people here: only the defendant, the prosecutor, his assistant, and the head judge.

To the left was the defendant - the bald head man with a goatee beard was Victor Zsasz, one of Falcone's thugs who butchered citizens for the mob. His lawyer sitting next to him. Kathy, personally, don't know much about Victor, except the rumors about him. Rumor had it that Victor cuts tally marks on his bare skin. She didn't know if it was true or not. Victor was currently wearing a long-sleeved blue jumpsuit, so the rumors could be true.

To the right was the DA, one of them was a woman Kathy recognized in Arkham. It was the woman who had a loud debate with Crane in his office on Valentine's Day. Kathy remembered her name to be Miss Rachel Dawes.

It's clear that they don't see eye-to-eye with criminals and Doctor Crane. Kathy and Crane wanted to help the criminals turn from their horrific ways, but Rachel's only answer to the situation was to send a criminal like Victor Zsasz to jail. Spending time in jail wasn't always the answer to every criminal's problems - some of them were insane, and some don't know what they were doing up to the point they needed mental help.

"Now," the judge cleared his throat, "I would like to have Dr. Jonathan Crane, a psychiatrist in Elizabeth Arkham for the Criminally Insane, come to the stand, please."

Kathy couldn't help but noticed that Rachel's body language. Tight and clenched. She couldn't see her face but knew that there was a strong dislike for the doctor. Kathy wasn't surprised if Rachel cursed something under her breath.

A police officer opened a door from the side of the room, escorting Jonathan to the witness box. As Jonathan was about to step up to the stand, his head turned, and his eyes landed on Kathy. He looked surprised that she came here to this trial. She slowly formed a smile on her face and waved, mouthing out one word.

"Hi."

"Dr. Crane," the bailiff said bluntly to him and gestured the steps for him. Jonathan looked at him before his eyes were on the stand. He quickly climbed up and stood in front of the chair.

The bailiff held the bible up in front of Jonathan. "Raise your right hand." Jonathan laid his right hand on the bible. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or so help me God?"

"I do," Jonathan replied.

"Please be seated," the bailiff ordered. Jonathan obeyed and sat on the chair behind him.

"Now Dr. Crane," the judge began his first and only question for Jonathan, "would you be so kind as to give us your expert psychological opinion for Victor Zsasz?"

Jonathan leaned forward towards the microphone. "In my opinion, Mr. Zsasz is as much a danger to himself as to others, and prison is probably not the best environment for his rehabilitation."

Victor was sitting there, secretly smirking, satisfied with Jonathan's answer. However, Rachel was the opposite. She let out a huff, stacking her papers into her folder in frustration. Her boss, sitting next to her, laid back against his chair, sighed in disappointment.

"Then so be it," the judge declared the obvious. "Victor Zsasz, instead of imprisonment, you will be taken to Arkham's highest security unit for your rehabilitation immediately." He hit his gavel against his desk. "Court dismissed."

Two police officers walked over to Victor and made him stand up so they could put the handcuffs on his wrists. They locked arms with Victor's arms and took him away.

Kathy stood up and smiled at Jonathan as he stepped down on the witness box. Her eyes turned to the DA and saw that Rachel was sitting there and was staring at Jonathan intently and angrily. Kathy hoped that she won't try to interrogate Jonathan like last time, but that was just wishful thinking.

Her boss - Carl Finch - stood and said something to Rachel, she didn't quite make out, then left his table as he walked past Kathy.

He smiled at Kathy in a friendly manner. "Good to see you, Dr. Knightly."

Kathy returned the greeting. "Nice to see you too... Carl?" She said his name more like a question than a statement. He let out a chuckle as he exited the courtroom. Did she get his name, right? She hoped so. If she didn't, she would blame it on Crane.

"Doctor Knightly." her thoughts were interrupted when Jonathan walked towards her. Speaking of Crane. She followed right beside him.

"Hello, Doctor Crane," Kathy greeted.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, you wanted to discuss something with me. So here I am."

Jonathan stopped his tracks and looked around the courtroom to make sure no one was listening. "Can we discuss it privately?"

She nodded as they walked out of the courtroom and down the steps together. It didn't take too long to notice that someone was following them from behind, and it didn't surprise them that it was none other than the DA Devil herself, Rachel Dawes.

"Dr. Crane!" Rachel cried out for his attention.

Jonathan took a glance behind before he looked ahead, continuing walking toward the exit. "Miss Dawes, how are you?"

"I would like to speak to you for a second..." She stopped and turned to face Kathy, giving her a cold glare that made Kathy blink, "in private."

Jonathan chuckled at her statement. "I'm sure whatever it is you want to say to me, you can say it in front of Doctor Knightly."

Rachel glared at Kathy, who returned her gaze with an eye roll.

"Go on, Rachel." Kathy dared. "Say what you wanted to say to Jon- Doctor Crane." Kathy cursed herself from almost letting his first name slip from her tongue. She knew that Jonathan would disapprove the lack of professionalism.

Rachel continued to stare down at Kathy intently until she turned her attention back to Jonathan. "Fine. Dr. Crane, do you really think a man who butchers people for the mob doesn't belong in jail?"

Kathy let out a snort, earning full attention from both Crane and Rachel.

"Something amused you, Doctor..." Rachel trailed, trying to figure out the girl's name.

"Kathy Knightly," the woman doctor replied. "And yes, something did amuse me... It's you."

"Me?"

Kathy didn't have to look at Jonathan to see that he was amused too, a bit annoyed but the smirk on his face showed there was more to the story.

"Yes, I think that this wasn't a necessary private conversation. This is typical. It's ludicrous."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked.

Jonathan continued walking, while Rachel and Kathy followed. "Let's be honest, Miss Dawes," Jonathan began in a bored tone. "You always ask me the same questions, every time I testify in court when things just don't go your way."

"You didn't answer my question," Rachel spat.

Jonathan sighed. "Well, Miss Dawes, I would hardly have testified to that otherwise, would I?"

Rachel stepped in front of Jonathan, refusing to back down from the debate. "This is the third of Falcone's thugs you've had declared insane and moved into your asylum."

"The work offered by organized crime must have an attraction to the insane," Jonathan said as he placed his hand on Kathy's back, motioning her to continue walking.

"Or the corrupt!" Rachel added challengingly.

The couple stopped walking. Kathy turned to Rachel in shock. Did she really just accused Crane of being part of Falcone's mob.

"What exactly are you saying, Rachel?" Kathy demanded. She could handle a lot of things from Rachel, but this woman had crossed the line this time. Accusing Jonathan of dishonesty with no evidence was just plain wrong.

Rachel turned to Kathy and asked. "Doctor Knightly, you're a psychiatrist in Arkham. What is your expert opinion on Zsasz?"

Before Kathy could open her mouth to answer, Jonathan cut in with narrowed eyes at Rachel. "Miss Dawes, don't drag Doctor Knightly into this."

Rachel shrugged in an innocent manner. "I just want her opinion."

"Well, don't," he snapped. "You obviously have something against me. I don't care what you accuse me of doing, but leave Dr. Knightly out of this."

"Or else what?" she asked, stepping closer to him in a threatening manner. "Besides, it was a simple question. There's nothing wrong with that." Rachel turned back to Kathy for the answer. "Well, Doctor Knightly?"

Kathy shrugged. "I don't know much about him honestly, but if he butchers people for a living, then there must be something wrong with him."

"But do you-"

"Mr. Finch," Jonathan called for Carl, who was talking to some blonde woman, who was probably a colleague or an ex-girlfriend of his. "I think you should check with Miss Dawes here just what implications your office has authorized her to make... If any," Jonathan motioned for Kathy to walk with him.

After Carl finished talking to his blonde client, he made his way to Rachel, without taking his eyes off the doctors walking out the door.

"What are you doing, Rachel?" Carl demanded, giving Rachel his undivided attention.

"What are you doing, Carl?" Rachel asked back, unhappy that Carl wasn't backing her up.

"Looking out for you," Carl answered in a hushed tone, before pulling her a few feet away from the crowd, so they could talk privately. "Falcone has half the city bought and paid for. Drop it."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Carl in disbelief, shocked by his words. "How can you say that?"

"Because as much as I care about getting Falcone, I care more about you!"

"That's sweet," Rachel leaned forward to give Carl a kiss on the cheek. What they didn't notice was that some guy in an orange hoodie and blue jean jacket with a cap on his head was standing outside the courthouse, next to a payphone, watching their every move. The man could tell that Rachel and Carl were an item.

"We've been through all that," Rachel said, before walking past him. Carl sighed heavily and followed right behind her.

As soon as Carl and Rachel were out of sight, so was the man in the hoodie.

~000~000~000~

Jonathan led Kathy outside the courthouse and into his car. Jonathan took the driver's seat, while Kathy took the passenger's. They sat there in awkward silence before Jonathan started speaking.

"I apologized for Miss Dawes's behavior. She shouldn't put you in a position that was yours, to begin with."

Kathy offered him a reassuring smile, placing a hand over his. "It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. It's Rachel!" She groaned in frustration. "That DA Devil really crossed the line this time. I can't believe she accused you of being dishonest."

He frowned, staring down at their interlocked hands. "I should get used to it by now."

"You shouldn't have to," Kathy retorted, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"You know what? We're not here to talk about Miss Dawes..." He removed his hand, placing both on the steering wheel. "We're here to talk about something important."

"Right," Kathy leaned against the passenger seat and stared at the courthouse in front of her, watching the people coming in and out of the place. "So what's so important that you had to drag me over here. Not that I don't mind, of course, but just out of curiosity."

He cleared his throat. "We need to talk about the currency between us."

"Currency?" Kathy knew what he was implying, but was amused about the way he was saying it. She couldn't help but giggle. "What do you mean?"

Jonathan heaved out a deep breath, continued to stare at the wheel. "I believe we should discuss in a different setting."

"Something wrong with the car?"

Finally, Jonathan looked at her, not amused by her dumb question. She knew what he was implying. Did he have to spell it out for her?

"Kathryn, I have arranged a dinner reservation at my apartment."

Kathy raised a brow. His apartment? She had never set foot in his apartment before. This was new. She couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement.

"If you care to join me, tomorrow night?" Jonathan finished.

"Jonathan Crane... are you asking me out on a date?" She asked with a smirk.

"No," he clarified bluntly. "This is a business discussion between the professionalism of two co-workers."

"Ah. Well then in that case," Kathy picked up her purse. Her free hand hovering over the door handle. "I would have to decline."

Jonathan's mouth dropped slightly, refusing to show the reaction to this rejection. "You have plans."

Kathy shrugged. "No. Not really."

Jonathan scoffed, shaking his head.

"I just don't think it would be professional to talk the professional in your apartment... unless it is a date, then by all means. But if you insist it's not..." She pulled the handle to open, only for the door to be locked. She glared at him with a raised brow. "Seriously?"

"Fine," Jonathan gave in. "Fine. I am... asking you on a date."

Kathy suppressed the urge to smile triumphantly. She pretended to be in a debate, thinking it over. "Hm... Tomorrow night, you say?"

"Eight o'clock?" Jonathan offered.

"Hm..." She finally gazed at Jonathan, slyly unlocking the door. "I'll think about it." She swiftly got out of the car, leaving Crane dumbstruck. She ignored him calling her name.

Jonathan sighed, running his fingers through his hair. This woman was definitely going to be the death of him. She brought out emotions that never existed. At the moment he felt used and played, yet amused of the way she played along for the ride. He ignored his dark half ranting about how ridiculous was this moment.

It silenced him when a bang hit his side window. He jumped, gazing through the window to see Kathy waving at him. He rolled down the window, asking what she needed.

"My phone," she offered, holding her hand out.

He looked down at the middle console, her silver phone sticking out. He slipped it out, handing it to Kathy.

"Thanks," she said, placing the phone back in her bag.

Jonathan stared at the front window, waiting for Kathy to say her goodbyes. He jumped slightly, not expecting heat radiating his left cheek. He looked in the corner of his eye to Kathy placing her lips on him, probably leaving a pink, cherry, glossy stain lips on his pale skin.

She pulled back slightly, wiping the stain with her thumb. "That's a taste of what could happen if tomorrow night goes well."

He didn't have time to respond for she already left, heading back to her beetle.