Valentina lay in the bath with her eyes closed, leaning her head back against the wall. She heard the door to the bathroom open and a moment later felt a hand stroking her hair back from her face, and a soft kiss planted on her lips. She kept her eyes shut, but smiled. "Where were we, Johnny?" she whispered.
He sat in his robe on the ledge of the tub and she leaned her head into his lap as he picked up a book, and read aloud, in a voice that she had come to need desperately over the past four weeks. "Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess. She had hair as golden as…" He stopped reading and gazed down at Valentina. "Hair as black as a raven's wing, and as soft as silk," he continued, stroking her hair gently with his free hand. "Eyes as black and as beautiful as the night, and lips as red as a rose in bloom," he whispered, kissing her again. "And utterly intoxicating."
"Just keep reading, Johnny," she murmured, although she smiled at the compliment.
He drew his mouth away reluctantly and returned his attention to the book. "In order to keep her safe from the dangers of the world, her father, the king, locked the princess in a tower when she was but a child, to await…"
He paused, suddenly wary of the subject matter. "Keep going," murmured Valentina.
"…to await the coming of a noble prince would be brave enough to vanquish the foul dragon guarding her and set her free."
"That'd be Dr. Arkham," muttered Valentina.
He laughed. "So that would make me Prince Charming, would it?"
"Mmm," she breathed, tilting her face up for his kiss. "You are an incredibly charming man, Professor Crane."
"Professor, not prince," he said, smiling.
"My prince," she whispered, leaning her head against his lap again and holding his hand tightly. "Who rescued me from my tower cell."
"It's true what they say in my case," he murmured, grinning. "The pen is mightier than the sword."
She laughed. "Keep reading," she said.
"I can't – my glasses are fogging up," he muttered, taking them off and wiping the lenses. "It's the steam from the bath."
Valentina giggled. "My little nerdy prince," she whispered, standing up slowly. "Never mind, I know how the story ends. They all lived happily ever after."
She reached for her towel, wrapping it around her body and shaking her hair out. Then she turned to look at him, grinning. "Should we go to bed, Johnny?"
"Love…you do make it quite impossible to refuse you," he gasped, gazing at her in adoration. An instant later he was in her arms, pressing her down on the bed in the neighboring room. Valentina fell asleep in his gentle embrace, utterly and truly happy.
She awoke later that night when she realized that she was no longer in his arms. The bed was empty. She sat up slowly and heard him shuffling around in the dark, looking for his clothes.
"You're not staying tonight?" she asked.
He was clearly surprised at her being awake, for she heard him trip and fall against the dresser. "Oh…no, love, I can't tonight."
"Why not?" she asked.
"I have…some…er…business to attend to."
"What business?" she asked. "You're not working at the moment, are you?"
"No. No, not officially. It's just a few…erm…experiments I'm conducting."
She sat bolt upright at this. "Experiments?" she repeated.
"It's not what you think, love, I swear it," he said, feeling his way back over to the bed and kissing her forehead. "Just some minor chemical research, to keep my brain active."
"The chemical wouldn't be fear toxin, would it?" she asked.
"No, no, love, I promise," he whispered. "Just some minor chemicals."
"What do they do?"
"They…erm…it's complicated, love, and difficult to explain…"
"Try," she said. "I'm a doctor, remember?"
He sighed heavily. "Please just…trust me, love," he whispered. "I can handle this."
"You can't, Johnny," she whispered. "I don't want you to start experimenting with fear toxin again. If I lost my Johnny to the Scarecrow..."
"You won't, my dear, he's gone forever," whispered Crane, kissing her forehead again. "Jonathan Crane is yours, and yours alone."
She nodded slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He pressed his mouth deeply into hers. "Try keeping me away," he whispered, grinning. "I love you, Valentina. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she whispered, as she heard him leave the room, shutting the door behind him. She sighed, lying back down, but she knew it was useless. She wouldn't sleep anymore tonight.