- Chapter 11 -

Alex found herself walking down the sidewalk, when she decided to step into the street, and that was when she found herself falling into the darkness of an open manhole which she didn't see.

She seem to have been expecting where she would end up once her fall stopped. And she was right after all. There she was then, sitting on a cot and dressed in gray matching clothes having a number code of some sort on the upper left corner of the shirt.

When she turned her head to her left, she was also expecting to see the huge glass wall including the blond haired man outside from across where she was. He had his back turned to her and that he was also inside a room that looks like the room she was in.

Slowly getting up from the cot, she walked over to the glass wall, pressing both her hands to it and made off to call out to the man.

"Excuse me!"

The man didn't even stirred from how he was seated on his own cot.

"Hey! You there! Excuse me!" she called again. "I just wanna ask you something. Please?"

The man finally turned around to her, only to reveal a very familiar face.

Jervis? she thought to herself.

"Yes?" said the man...or Jervis. "You wanted to ask something?"

She continued to look at him, not saying a word.

"Um, you were calling out to me, were you not?" asked Jervis

"Huh? Oh! Uh, yes! Yes, I was," she said, finally snapping herself back to her senses. "Sorry, it's just... Never mind. I just wanted to ask where I am."

Jervis appeared to be confused but for just a moment.

"Why, you're in Arkham, child," he declared.

"Arkham?" she repeated. "Arkham Asylum?"

All of a sudden, Alex snapped opened her eyes, finding the black ceiling welcoming her line of vision.

She looked around. There was Jervis lying next to her. There she remembered everything. It was just a dream, and she was in bed, in their hideout. It was just a dream... Wait. No. Not just any dream. It was that dream again. But she never had that dream again since she met Jervis...until now. It came back. But why now?

After considering this for a moment, realization dawned upon her. Suddenly, everything made sense to her.

Before she met Jervis, the dream ends on the part where she'd call out to the man in her dream and then she'd wake up. But this time, the dream was finished. She was able to see the face of the man in her dream, only to find out that it was Jervis all along, and she got to find out where she was. The dream was trying to tell her that she'd be going to Arkham with Jervis.

Slowly looking back to her lover, still lying by her side and asleep, she whispered as though he could hear her, "It was you all along."

She scooted towards him to get closer, resting her head on his right shoulder, causing him to be awakened.

Jervis stirred to find Alex snuggling under his right arm.

"Mm, darling? Is something wrong?" he asked in a sleepy tone, rubbing one eye with the back of his hand.

"Hm? No," she replied. "Everything is just perfect."

Pulling her close to him and wrapping one arm around her body, Jervis murmured against his lover's brunette hair, "Mm, if you say so."

They both went back to sleep almost instantly.

- "...In other news, with the Mad Hatter's reappearance last night after two months of 'no-show', just this morning, Gotham P.D. informed the media about the Hatter's apparent brain-washed accomplice." -

Jonathan Crane looked up to the television from where he had his nose pinned on the latest book he was reading which he found from the old bookshelf inside the common room of Arkham Asylum.

Usually, at times like this, when he is allowed to spend time in the common room, he'd be playing chess. Unfortunately, ever since Jervis came to Arkham he found the Englishman was the only one fit enough and at least decent enough to play chess with. So each time he'd be dragged back to the accursed asylum with said Englishman not being around, there was no sense playing chess with anyone else since it wouldn't be the same. Though the idea of winning was tempting, he'd rather lose a game against Jervis.

- "Commissioner James Gordon confirmed having watched the security video himself and stated that Tetch was indeed with a woman also in costume. After having found out who this poor woman was, Gotham P.D. immediately sent for the media and released a copy of the video." -

The said video from the security system then appeared on the screen, revealing the Mad Hatter seemingly talking to a woman with long bunny-like ears apparently sticking out of her Alice band. Whatever it was that Jervis was saying, no words can be heard because the video seemed to be in mute. The video was only shown shortly as the screen once again cut back to the anchorwoman.

- "Police said that the Mad Hatter's new victim is Alexania Erewaker, a columnist in a magazine company here in Gotham who, according to her co-workers and boss, had quit her job before the events of last night occurred." -

"Alexania what?" said Harley, who was sitting on the couch a foot away from where Jonathan was sitting on his side of the couch. "She sure got a funny name."

Jonathan ignored the blonde and kept his attention on the TV screen. The screen cut to a footage of a man being followed by the media with cameras flashing here and there.

- "Mister Fitzralph! Mister Ftizralph! A word please!" -

- "No comment!" -

The man waved a hand to the camera as though it meant to say "go away".

- "How much do you know about Miss Erewaker?" -

- "She's a fine writer. The best I have. Had, anyway. Now please go, I'm going to be late." -

- "Had she ever acted in a strange way while still employed? At least a few days before she quit her job?" -

- "No. I don't know." -

The man being called Fitzralph ducked into a black car and drove away. During the process of Fitzralph getting into the car and getting it into gear, the anchorwoman's voice could be heard from the background.

- "Miss Erewaker doesn't have anyone close enough to call family anymore except for Attorney George Rowlett who has been a close family friend to Erewaker's parents." -

Another footage of a man being surrounded by the media, only this time the man was much older, appeared on the screen.

- "Attorney! You've been a friend of the family, is that true?" -

- "Mister and Missus Erewaker were long time friends, yes, and I have sworn on their grave I'll look after Alex. Unfortunately the girl wanted to be independent and she was at least old enough to do it during that time. But that aside, I care about Alex as much as her parents would and could have. For now all I want is for her to be safely returned and taken away from that psychopath. That is all." -

The attorney then walked off as the screen once again cut back to the anchorwoman.

- "Until then, Gotham P.D. promised to do their best in retrieving Miss Erewaker back, safe and sound, and away from the Mad Hatter's control. Or at least until the Batman himself get's to it first. As for now, based from the security video, the Mad Hatter has dubbed Miss Erewaker as the 'March Hare'." -

Just then, the screen went black, as the TV was turned off by one of the guards.

"Hey! We were still watchin' that!" exclaimed Harley as she shot the guard a subtle glare.

"Group therapy's about to begin so go get your chairs and to your places," said the guard and walked off, back to his post at the door.

"I thought ya said she wasn't under mind-control," said Harley immediately after the guard left, turning her head to Jonathan.

The professor folded a page on the book he had, planning to get back on reading it for later as he stood up and replied, "Child, mostly anyone in this city who knows of the Mad Hatter would quickly make an assumption that any henchman or henchwoman of his is under mind-control."

Harley put a finger to her mouth, appearing thoughtful for a moment. Then she looked back up to the professor and said, "Yeah well, I get that. But how could ya be sure she isn't?"

Looking away from Harley, the professor's gaze fell upon the then empty table with a chessboard on top in the middle of it.

"It's rather simple, really. See I've spent so much time with that man sometimes even discussing his precious devices that I of all people would know whether or not he has someone under mind-control."

As Jonathan left to get a chair and join the other inmates who were also part of the group therapy forming a semi-circle at a corner of the room, Harley eyed him for a moment with a silly smile on her face. It took several heartbeats more before she finally decided to get two chairs and joined the others, taking her place right next to her best pal, Poison Ivy. The other chair she took, was of course, for her dearest puddin' who would be with them a little while later.

He looked down on those written words on the white pieces of paper only to realize that it was some sort of draft of Alex's story. He found it inside a box which he never thought was full of Alex's books, but what Jervis was wondering about it was that, after shuffling through the papers, the story wasn't finished.

When he had already seated himself at the table, still having the drafts in hand, Alex appeared.

"What you got there?" she asked as she approached.

Jervis looked up. "You haven't finished it," he said to her. "Like what the King said, 'Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' You haven't reached the end yet."

At first, the brunette appeared a little confused, bringing her gaze down on the heap of papers in her lover's hands. Her expressions softened a bit upon realization of what it was.

"Oh," she said. "So you found it."

Taking one paper in hand, she took the chair beside Jervis and sat on it. "Actually, I've no more intentions of finishing it since the time when I realized something's changed between you and me."

Jervis kept quiet, finding himself staring intently into the brunette's face.

"Because I knew that when I finish it, you'd have to go," continued Alex. "And I didn't want for you to go."

She was still keeping her gaze down on the piece of paper she had in her hand when she felt a gloved hand touched her cheek. She looked up only to find Jervis smiling at her, his blue eyes were glistening with something despite the fact that it was shaded by the brim of his top hat.

"What if I had finished it," she said to him, her eyes roaming around his face, "would you have left?"

"Question is, my dear," he replied, "could you have come away with me?"

Although he was smiling, Alex knew the Jervis was serious but the only answer she could give was, "To be honest, I don't really know," as she shook her head and looked away from him shyly, a shy smile played across her face. But he made her look back to him again, her chin softly pinched between his index finger and thumb.

"You want me to be honest with you as well?" he asked her softly. "Let me tell you then that I'm happy everything had led to this."

There was something from the way he said that to her, that made her smile so warmly, as she cupped his face in her hands.

"You're wonderful, Hatta," she said. "Just promise me you'll always choose to have tea with the March Hare than Alice, okay?"

It was almost as if a child had said her latter words, but that was not what surprised Jervis. It was the fact that he heard her said it.

"Have I ever told you, my dear Alex," he said slowly, "that if this were ever but a dream..." He paused to plant a quick kiss to her lips. "...I'd rather choose to stay asleep."

She didn't say anything else to reply but just pulled him close and took his lips in a passionate kiss.

7:27 p.m. Arkham Asylum. Therapy room.

Batman and Jonathan Crane continued to stare at each other, with the Caped Crusader's expression being neutral while the professor just kept glaring, both lanky arms crossed on his chest. As they sat across each other, the only thing between them was the table.

"Thank you for the cooperation, Professor Crane," said Batman.

Jonathan's reply to that was a scoff as the professor looked away, staring particularly at nothing.

"But there's something else I'd want to know from you," Batman spoke again, but still the professor didn't look to him. "What do you know about the woman Tetch is with?"

The professor's eyes darted back to the Dark Knight, and slowly a smirk crept across his face.

"For that, I wouldn't give you too much trouble," Jonathan said, as slowly shifted on his chair to face Batman, placed both his elbows on the table and put his hands together in front of him. "Let me begin with, yes, I've seen her already in person."

Batman's masked eyes narrowed. "Tell me more."

"Before that, whether or not she's under mind-control I'll leave to you to find out," said the professor, keeping a steady gaze on the Dark Knight.

"Don't worry. I'll find out the truth about that," replied Batman.

"Oh, and I'm quite certain you will," agreed Jonathan. "Now, a few days after Tetch's escape, I ran into him at the Stacked Deck. He told me of a lady writer who came to him one night in his first hiding place at the docks." At this, Jonathan smirked to himself. "Although I couldn't fathom just how she found him there before you did."

The Dark Knight simply ignored this. "Go on," he said.

"He told me she offered him money," continued the professor, "in return that he would tell her his story so that she could write a fiction based on it. After they have come to terms, he said she left him her address. If you ask me, the woman is a natural nut."

Batman was slightly surprised by this. "So Tetch knew just where to find her since before?"

"The second and last time I've seen him," said Jonathan, ignoring Batman's question, "before you dragged me back here in this hell-hole, was in his current hideout. That was the time I first set eyes on her, Alexania Erewaker. Or the 'March Hare' as she is now called."

"Are you telling me that they've been seeing each other for two-months and just after that did Tetch decided to make his appearance and tag along Erewaker with him?" stated Batman, concluding in his own understanding what just the professor told him.

"Except for what I have just told you," replied Jonathan, "there is nothing else I know about the woman. Or what exactly happened during those two-months. I'm not that much in-contact with the Hatter, you know."

There was a moment of silence before Batman finally stood up to leave.

"Shall I accompany you or would you rather see yourself out?" asked Jonathan, a smirk once again appearing on his face. But the Dark Knight didn't say a word and went out of the room.

Seconds later, two orderlies came in and escorted the professor back to his cell.

Give it a few hours, then later tonight, perhaps we'll be having a new inmate in Block C, thought Jonathan.

"Where to tonight, Hatta?" asked Alex, getting dressed in her 'March Hare' costume from behind the screen. "Are we going to steal some more circuitry's? Perhaps get ourselves a new pot? Our old one is rather too old already. The tea doesn't taste the same anymore. I think it's the pot."

"Hm? Uh no, dear," replied Jervis from the other side of the screen, gathering some of his 10/6 cards. "But about the pot, perhaps we could."

"So we're not going to steal anything?" Alex asked again, finally getting one of her peter pan boots on.

"No, dear, we won't be," came Hatter's reply.

"We're not going out for a heist?" Finally having her bunny-ears, Alice band on, Alex stepped out of the screen to see Jervis putting his top hat firmly on his head while looking at himself at the mirror.

"No, dear, no heists tonight," he said, adjusting his bow-tie.

"Then why, pray tell, are we going out?"

This time, Jervis turned to look at her.

He sighed. "Dearest, I want us to go out together for the very reason of simply...well, being together," he said.

She looked up to him as she tilted her head to one side. "You mean we're going out on a date?"

"Um, well, yes, I suppose you could say that," answered Jervis, having a finger to his mouth. "Come to think of it, when was ever the time we went out for, err...a date, as you called it."

Alex moved in closer to Jervis and planted a big kiss on his lips, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck, surprising the Hatter.

"Why didn't you say so, silly?" she said to him when she pulled back. "Let's go!"

Later, the two found themselves at Storybook Land. Alex couldn't say she wasn't expecting it, but not that she wasn't happy with it anyway.

They sneaked around behind groups of people, barely being able to be noticed, as they arrived just in time for the place to close.

"You really are good in sneaking around, aren't you?" commented Alex in a whisper.

Jervis shrugged. "Three years of being in and out of Arkham has to account for something, what?"

After slipping a card into the unfortunate guard's ear, they were let in without any fuss, as Jervis escorted his March Hare towards, well, the Alice in Wonderland themed attraction in the place.

They strolled around the place, sometimes chasing each other, but mostly talking about so many things. What couldn't be helped was sharing a few things about pasts, including the ones that wasn't that so long ago.

"Didn't you brought Alice here?" said Alex. "I remember you told me about it." Jervis's answer was a nod and a silent "Mm".

Alex blinked, noticing something has changed in her lover's expressions.

"But you said you don't wanna remember much of what happened then," she said, keeping her gaze on the Hatter.

"True," replied Jervis, still keeping his gaze away from his March Hare.

"So why bring me here?"

Jervis halted in his tracks, turning around to see Alex looking at him expectantly, her dark eyes glistening questioningly and with worry.

He shrugged. "In truth, because I didn't know where else to take you."

Stepping in closer towards the Hatter, Alex asked, "You just wanted to be here, don't you?"

He looked at her for a moment before he nodded as for an answer.

Not saying another word, she just smiled to him and took his hand in hers.

Again they continued to stroll, not really going anywhere in particular. They were silent then, until a thought came to Jervis.

"My dear, can I ask you something on a particular matter?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

Jervis hesitated, trying to think of a proper way to begin with it.

"Um, first, when was the last time we engaged into...you know." He moved his free hand in a circling motion as though to indicate to Alex what he meant to say, as he looked at her.

"Oh, that?" said the brunette. "About two nights ago, I guess. Why did you ask?"

"How long have we been...um." Jervis bit his lower lip. He was still not comfortable in saying it. But in actuality he just didn't know what call it. Saying the 's' word would be too vulgar, and although he could use other sort of words that meant the same, again, he wasn't comfortable with it.

"Well, you know. Doing it?" he decided to say.

"Doing what?" Alex looked up to him with a playful smile. "Making love?"

Making love. Jervis smiled at those two words. Perhaps he could use that one.

"Yes," he nodded. "Making love, if that's what you want to call it."

"I think I already know where this is heading," declared Alex, coming to a halt in her tracks, causing Jervis to stop as well. "Are you trying to ask me if I'm pregnant?"

"Well are you?" Jervis ask in return.

"You don't want to?" countered the brunette.

"No, not that," explained the Hatter. "It's because...well, a child would complicate things. I'm not just an ordinary criminal, my dear, I'm the criminally insane! A Gotham rogue. In and out of a mental institute. And if you were ever in such a state, then your he-"

"I can't be pregnant, darling."

Alex's words cut Jervis off mid-way through his sentence.

"Oh?" was his only reaction. "How so?" he asked.

"You remember when I told you about what happened when I was thirteen?" said Alex, taking her hand off Jervis's own gloved one, as he let her go without fuss. She took a few steps away from him before turning around to face him again.

"Yes, I remember," he replied. "What of it?"

"I wasn't just psychologically tortured," she said, "I was drugged too. And it cost me. The doctors said because of those drugs I won't be able to bear children. So relax, because I can't be pregnant." She ended her sentence with a sweet smile.

Jervis found himself nodding, having remembered a particular red-haired woman.

"Just like Miss Isley," he said almost to himself.

"Isley?" repeated Alex. "You mean Poison Ivy?"

"Yes, dear. She can't bear children as well," said Jervis as he led Alex away. "But that would be a story for another time. Now, what says you about going home?"

"Already?"

"Suddenly I had this urge of wanting to take you somewhere more, shall we say, private?"

The Mad Hatter gave the March Hare a devious smile, as though she'd be able to read his mind by it. She understood immediately and only went along with him, saying along the way, "You are such a naughty boy, you know that?"

The door to the abandoned hat shop opened, as Jervis quickly closed it again and locked it. Both he and Alex were laughing as they entered, until Jervis caught sight of the table sensing that something was off with it.

Suddenly, he looked around the shop as though something or someone might jump out all of a sudden.

"Hatta? What is it?" asked Alex, her voice sounded worried.

"Something is wrong," said Jervis.

All of a sudden, a dark figure with pointed ears stepped out from the shadows. Jervis quickly stepped in front of Alex, as though trying to get in between the figure and the brunette.

"Evening. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

It was none other than the Batman himself.