"If you use up all my hot water again i'm going to throw you out on your ass Nygma!" Selina called out as she rattled the bathroom door. "I'm serious Ed." If she went without hot water for another day, she would not be held responsible for her actions.

"Those fingers in my hair, that sly 'come hither' stare," Edward sang as he pointedly ignored the voice shouting at him from outside the bathroom. "That strips my conscious bare, it's witchcraft!" Selina eyed the door as she heard his deep voice sing back at her and huffed loudly as she walked away from the door, deciding to just wait for him to finish. It took around another ten minutes for him to emerge wearing black pyjama bottoms and a towel wrapped around his neck. "Uhh, Selina dear." He said in a falsely sweet voice. "I think I might have torn my stitches a little, would you be an absolute angel and patch me up please?"

Selina glanced at his pale abdomen which was bleeding steadily and indicated for him to sit beside her. She sighed as she grabbed her medical kit from under the couch and started to prepare to fix the torn flesh, enjoying the view a little as she did. Edward was not a particular muscular man but he was wonderfully toned and it was clear to her trained eye that he had a decent amount of wiry strength which he could utilise at a moments notice. She smirked as she noted how tan her hands looked next to his pale chest. "Ed the friendly ghost. The last time I saw you this pale was immediately after the Arkham City debacle." She quipped while administering the first stitch.

"Concentrate please Selina." He grimaced. "And you try being forced to walk in circles for hours before realising that you'd been set-up by a moron. See how you look after that." A scowl settled on his face as he remember the events which had taken place in Arkham City. It had been dismantled for two years but the lasting effects of the experiment were still being felt in Gotham and Edward was keen to forget the entire mess. The rumours of the Jokers' death at the hands of the Batman had soon proven false as he was up to his old tricks within weeks of the place closing down while Edward was relocated to a holding cell in Central City while Arkham Asylum was refurbished. He shook himself from his thoughts and spoke to Selina again. "Anyway, please restrain yourself from being distracted by my God-like physique long enough to complete the task at hand. Plus I don't think my other half would be pleased if I found myself with a new admirer." He winced as Selina continued to sew him up.

"So you still have a 'other half' then?" Selina tried to keep her voice as even and free of emotion as possible. Since she had revealed to him the details of Jonathans' visit they hadn't really mentioned the good Dr Crane and Selina did not want to be the one to bring the topic up. She turned her cat-like gaze on him as she waited for him to answer.

"I'm not entirely sure. I won't know for certain until we've discussed it and let's face it, there's going to be a lot to discuss."

"Could you be with him again after what he did to you?"

"It's complicated Selina. Technically yes, Jon did this to me but there's so much more to it than that. I'm not even fully aware myself of how the Scarecrow personality works or if Jon even knew what was happening, but I will." Selina nodded to indicate that she was finished. "I have questions that need answered and if I don't get the answers I need then I am unsure what the outcome will be."

"Just try not to end up in that state again Ed. I can't afford to be making new friends at this stage in life." She stood up as she admired her handiwork. Years of self-administered first aid had made her quite the talented seamstress and, knowing how vain Edward was, she had kept the stitches as small as possible.

"Aww Selina, were you worried for little old me?" Edward grinned but his smile soon disappeared as he took in the seriousness of Selinas' expression. "Oh. You actually were." He faltered, touched by her concern. Selina always put up a front of being a cold-hearted bitch but Edward had come to find out over the years that that wasn't exactly true. "Thank you Lina." He said sincerely.

"Seriously, I owe you one for all this. If you need anything in the future, just ask and i'll do my best." He touched her hand gently to emphasise his point.

Selina smiled at the hand as she walked towards the kitchen. "Sure Ed. You can start by doing me a favour right now and putting on the TV, the news has just started and I like to keep up to date with current events." Edward chuckled as he switched it on but Selina heard him gasp as he took in the days news in Gotham. "What's wrong Ed?"

"It seems Jonathan has been a busy man today." Edward replied and his voice had a odd weight in it. Looking at the TV, Selina was able to read the main headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen which read 'FEAR TOXIN ATTACK ON GOTHAM MUSEUM! PRECIOUS ARTWORK STOLEN!' and they both watched as the flustered news anchor reported on the story.

"...was released into the buildings ventilation system. Sources indicate that the criminal Jonathan Crane, also known as Scarecrow, was spotted on the scene and seems to be responsible. The artwork stolen has been confirmed as the newly-arrived Rinaldo Bianchi piece which was due to be displayed from next week onwards. Thus far no fatalities have been confirmed."

"That's...very unlike Crane." Selina commented as she watched the story unfold. "Since when did Jonathan become a thief? Better than that, when did he become an art connoisseur? Edward? Ed?" She looked at Edward, who had went unusually quiet as he stared at the screen.

Breaking from his mild trance, Edward gave Selina a small smile. "I think Jon is trying to apologise in the best way he knows how."

"By stealing artwork?"

"Not just any artwork. Did you know that Bianchi is my favourite artist of the pre-renaissance era? I mentioned it off-hand to Jon once while we were planning a bank robbery a few years ago and apparently he remembered. This is his way of apologising without actually apologising." He looked at the TV as he contemplated the other mans actions and what they meant.

"So instead of buying a simple 'I'm sorry my alter-ego attempted to murder you' card and a small box of chocolates, he elected to steal a $65million painting instead? That's a little excessive."

Edward smirked. "And he has the gall to accuse me of being the overdramatic one."

"I will admit that I am a little impressed. But does this change anything between you?" Selina rose an eyebrow at Edward as she waited for a response.

"One the one hand, no because I still need answers about exactly what happened that night. But on the other hand, the man literally stole a $65million painting for me to hang inside my $600 a month apartment. That's got to be worth something and since I am pretty much fully healed now, I think it's

about time I found out what."

x-x-x-x-x

Edward made the decision to leave while Selina was out. He knew that she wouldn't consider it rude and even if she did, the $50,000 cheque he left on her bedroom dresser would be sure to cover any offense she might take to his disappearing act. It was time to meet with Jonathan and he had a very good idea of where the good doctor would be hiding out. He felt apprehensive as he approached his apartment and he attempted to organise his thoughts into a cohesive line of questioning. The knowledge that Jon had went to such lengths to try and impress him gave him hope that something could be worked out but it was still too early to tell.

Turning his key in the door, Edward walked back inside his own apartment. Pretty much everything was exactly as he had left it with the noted exception of the new Bianchi painting which had been hung delicately on the feature wall opposite the kitchen. He took his time to remove his jacket and gloves and put them away before heading into the kitchen to speak to the man he knew was waiting for him in there. Deciding that he couldn't put it off any longer, he entered the kitchen and sat down in the one vacant seat which was sat on the opposite side of the table. He held Jonathans' passive gaze as he sat down, "Hello Jon." He said evenly.

"Hello Edward." Jon nodded back in response.