Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry its taken me so long to update. School and work have been keeping me busy. Thanks to everyone who is following/ favoring my story. A special thanks to everyone how reviewed:

Hufflepuffsfind: Thanks for the review! I appreciate it! Cillian Murphy is such a great actor. I've enjoyed everything I've seen him in. (He's so handsome too! ;)) I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. I hope you'll continue to like it. :D

forgetmenotflowers: We start seeing a tiny bit more romance in this chapter so not as much rejection. I hope you'll like it. I love your reviews, they always make me smile and laugh. :D

PlaguingYourDreams: Thanks for the review. Here's your update! :D

Megushie: I know I love Pan's Labyrinth! Its such a great movie! Thanks for the review! I appreciate it! :D

xxyangxx2006: Haha your review made me laugh. If that's how you feel reading it, imagine how creepy I feel for writing it. :D Normally I'm not into the manipulation things but its so Jonathan Crane. I hope you will continue to enjoy my story. Thanks for the review! I appreciate it! :D

Tonya: Yay! I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. I hope there won't be too many errors in the chapter and that you will enjoy it. I wish you had an account so I could ask you some questions. Thanks for the review! I appreciate it! :D I added your suggestion to this chapter. I thought I had posted something like that already but I guess I deleted it. Thanks! :D

EleanorBlythe: I am planning on finishing this story so don't worry about that!:D Sorry its taken me so long to update. This week has been crazy busy. I'm hoping to get out a few chapter next week during the holiday. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Thanks for the review! I appreciate it. :D

watergoddesskasey:Thanks for the review! I appreciate it. I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. :D

Anyway, here is chapter 10! I hope you all will enjoy it and that there aren't too many mistakes. This chapter is slightly shorter than I wanted but hopefully its still good. I'm excited for the next chapter and will try to have it out in a day or two. Please review if you have a moment. Constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks!-Lin

Disclaimer: Just a reminder I do not own any Batman characters nor am I making any money off of this story. i also don't own any of the movies I included in the last chapter. I only own my OCS and this story is simply for fun and entertainment.

...

"You have a lot of plants." Jonathan commented as he looked around my apartment. I smiled as I started to peel some sweet potatoes. It was the day before Christmas Eve and my family would be here the next day. I needed to finish all the cooking I wanted to get done before my mother got here; otherwise she would try to do everything. I wanted to show my parents I didn't need them to hold my hand anymore. I still had a long way to go but I was proud of the progress I had made.

A few days passed since our little horror movie marathon. I was probably spending way too much time with Jonathan. However, I enjoyed his company. He wasn't as annoying as Karl was. Don't get me wrong I liked Karl but, like my parents, he treated me like a responsibility. I hated that. I guess, technically, I was Jonathan's responsibility as his patient. However, it felt like he somewhat genuinely cared for me. He didn't make me feel like a burden. I appreciated and liked him for that.

"So, if you won't be with family for Christmas, what will you do?" I questioned. I wanted to know more about him. Whenever I would try to ask Jonathan about his past he would shrug it off. The little information he did give me let me know he didn't care for his family. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him. What caused him to learn about psychology, chemistry and then go to medical school? Why was he obsessed with fear? Jonathan was such a strong, logical and calm man. Yet he seemed distant. I had my reasons to distance myself from others. What were his?

"I'll probably work on lesson plans or something 'fun' like that." Jonathan answered, after he thought for a few seconds.

"That doesn't sound like much fun at all." I stated before I placed the sweet potatoes into a pot of boiling water. Jonathan shrugged slightly before leaning against the counter next to me.

'Maybe I should invite him to spend the holiday with my family. He's done a lot for me; it doesn't seem fair to let him be alone.' I thought before Jonathan reached out his hand. I gave him a confused look. He never extended his hand for mine. What was he scheming now?

"Are you finished cooking for the moment?" he asked.

"Yes?" I questioned, still confused.

"I want to try an exercise with you." Jonathan explained before he extended his hand out for mine again. A woman's shriek was heard from TV, I glanced over at it before turning back to Jonathan.

"You know most people watch The Year Without A Santa Clause or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer this time of year." I commented before I took his hand. I had started to get used to Jonathan's touch. I wasn't sure why. It was probably because of his subtle approach as he tried to get me used to human touch. If anyone else tried to touch me, at this point, I would probably freak out.

"Are you complaining about my horror movie?" Jonathan inquired as he led me into the front room of my apartment.

"Not at all, it's just different from what I'm used to watching this time of year." I told him. He nodded. "What are we doing this time?"

"I want to dance with you." Jonathan informed me. My hand left his and I slightly backed away from him.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know why the idea of dancing scared me. Dancing was a very common and normal thing to do. I still didn't like it when he would place his arm around me. The idea of being close enough to dance with him made my heart race.

"Its alright if you don't want to. I won't force you. I just thought this would be a fun exercise to help get you used to touch." Jonathan explained. His eyes looked me over as he tried to decide what action to take next.

'Dancing should be fairly harmless.' I reasoned with myself. 'I've sat fairly close to him while watching those horror movies of his. We wouldn't be any closer than that. Besides dancing could be fun.'

"Are you hearing the voice again?" Jonathan inquired. "You look like you're arguing with yourself. Is the medication not working?"

"It's not that. I haven't really heard him in the last week." I told him. I was grateful for that. One of my biggest fears was that I wouldn't be able to overcome the voice. I didn't want to lose my battle with him. Now, thanks to Jonathan, I was starting to live a somewhat normal life.

"Its good to hear the medication is working. Let me know if the voice starts acting up again." He said.

"I will." I nodded.

"Shall we skip this exercise?" Jonathan questioned. I hesitated for a moment before I shook my head.

"No, we can try it." I answered.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He was studying me; probably trying to determine if I was really alright with it.

"Yeah it should be…fun." I stated. I didn't understand; dancing shouldn't cause problems. Why did it make me feel nervous?

One of Jonathan's hands rested on my waist while the other took my hand. He pulled me slightly closer to him. Damn I was nervous. There was a side of me that felt trapped and I wanted to run.

'It's in my mind. I can't let my fear control me.' I tried to remind myself. 'This is so dumb. Come on, Liv, it's just dancing.' My heart was racing. I wondered if he could see it pounding in my chest. I let in a deep breath when I felt Jonathan remove his hands from me.

Jonathan's P.O.V

I watched Olivia closely as she tried to calmly deal with whatever inner turmoil my hand on her waist was causing her.

'It's fascinating how such a small act can cause her this much fear.' Scarecrow observed.

"It really is. I wish I could know exactly what she's thinking and feeling." I replied. "Of course, for someone like her, this would be a normal response. I need to back off. I still need her to trust me."

'But she's so sexy with that little quiver in her lip.' Scarecrow whined slightly. He was right, seeing her so scared was a turn on but I was still in the brain washing process. I needed to back off or else all the work I've done this far would be for nothing.

Olivia eyes met mine as I moved my hands away from her. She gave me a questioning look.

"You're not ready." I explained.

"I can do this." She said to my surprise.

"You don't have to. I'm not going to push you to." I reminded her.

"Jonathan, you're the one who has always told me it's in my mind. I want to overcome this now. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to do something as simple as dancing."

"If you try to force yourself to overcome something before you're ready it could backfire." I commented.

"I used to love to dance." Her voice shook, "I don't want to stop doing something I used to love just because I'm afraid of being touched."

"Are you sure?" I asked, somewhat surprised she had come to that conclusion. Olivia nodded; her eyes seemed to plead with me. I didn't want to lose all the work I had done the last little while but she had a determined look in her eye. She wanted to overcome this and she was willing to try. If something as simple as dancing with her could help her reach a small break through, it would be worth the gamble.

"Ok." I answered before gently placing my hand back on her waist. Olivia was still nervous but her hand still grabbed mine. Her eyes slowly looked back to mine. I tried to mesmerize her with my eyes. I didn't want her to look away from me as I slowly danced with her across the room. The whole reason for this particular part of the plan was to try to help her see me as something more than just a friend or therapist. Nothing would come of it just yet but I wanted to slightly begin alter her feelings for me. For some reason, dance seemed to be a way to do that.

Olivia was an alright dancer. She stumbled a little bit but that was more out of nerve than lack of skill. Her nervousness seemed to die down as I managed to keep her focused on me. I pulled her a little closer to me. She didn't seem to notice as I had her enchanted by my charm. There was a small light in her eyes.

"I need to check that." Olivia said after we heard a small high-pitched beep. I nodded and again removed my hand from her. She didn't seem to realize how close we were until now. She gave me a small smile before making her way back over to her kitchen. I couldn't help but smirk. I had managed to start a small spark. It wasn't hard to see her feelings for me were starting to change.

Now it was time to shift gears and turn my attention to the next step.

Olivia's P.O.V

'Well that was kind of weird.' I thought as I checked the sweet potatoes. 'That was a long 8 minutes.' I went through the motions of putting the rest of the dish together but I couldn't get my mind off of dancing with Jonathan.

I knew I liked him. I didn't realize how much I liked him though. I still didn't want to be in a relationship with him or anyone else. Jonathan was a smart, strong and confident man. I was incompetent, slow and afraid of everything. I hated that about me. I wanted to gain the confidence and knowledge he had.

I looked up when I heard Jonathan enter the kitchen.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?" Jonathan inquired.

"I'm fine. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." I answered, as I finished up with my cooking for the night.

"Good. Maybe we could go dancing sometime?" Jonathan suggested. He watched me closely. It looked like he wanted to make sure he hadn't crossed a line.

"Sure. I'd like that." I smiled. He smirked.

"Are you done cooking?" he asked.

"Yes actually. Do you want to start over that movie you brought and we'll actually watch it this time? I don't have any popcorn though." I stated.

"Sure. I think you'll like this one."

"If you say so." I said unconvinced. He smirked before he left the kitchen. I quickly put things away. My eye twitched at the mess I had made in my little kitchen. I joined Jonathan in the front room not wanting to let my OCD get the better of me. I didn't have to clean up the kitchen right that second. I really wanted to though. I sat next to my friend as he started the movie.

…..

"I'm choosing the next movie." I told Jonathan as the end credits appeared on the screen. Jonathan turned his attention to me. He sent me another one of his smirks. My heart skipped a beat as his eyes met mine. Jonathan was a very handsome man; I was amazed I hadn't really noticed that until now.

'No, I'm not doing this to myself.' I started to scold myself, 'I am not going to get a crush on my therapist.'

"Sorry you didn't like it." Jonathan commented. There was something about his eyes; I almost didn't want to look away from him. I forced myself to look away.

"I'm worried about my parents coming tomorrow." I told him, changing the subject. Jonathan gave me a surprised look.

"Why?" he inquired. " I thought you were close to your parents."

"My parents are good people and they hearts are in the right place. What if they don't see the progress I've made? What if they think I'm just wasting my time?"

"Well, you and I both know that you're not wasting your time. You've made some excellent progress. I mean you still look like a toothpick but you are doing better. There's no reason for them to think you're not making progress."

"I hope you're right." I told him.

"I am." Jonathan smirked. I smiled. He did have a talent of being right all the time.

"I hope this isn't inappropriate, and if it is let me know, but I was wondering if you'd like to join my family and I for our festivities?" I invited.

"We're friends so I don't think it's inappropriate it but your family might think it is." He answered.

"Actually my mother has wanted to meet you for a while now."

"Why is that?"

"You're my therapist. She wants to know why your techniques work better than Dr. Bennett's did. Plus you're the extent of my social life. I think she wants to make sure you're not a weirdo." I told him. Jonathan smirked yet again.

"I am a werido." he joked while he sent me a wink. We both let out a small chuckle.

"Sure, I'll come over."

Jonathan's P.O.V

This was perfect. I didn't have to weasel my way into her family gathering as I had originally thought I would have to. I needed to see how she and her family interacted with each other. It was almost time to start turning her against them.