Jackie sat on the couch while Adia laid on a blanket that had been placed on the floor; the both of them still waking up while Jackie continued to think about what Alfred had told her when Crane left.
"You should have him arrested!" Alfred insisted.
Jackie rolled her eyes "He hasn't done anything, Alfred." She told him.
Alfred huffed "Not yet! You have seen him at his core…what makes you think he will change?" he asked.
She closed her eyes as she took a deep breathe "Because I trust him." She said.
"You shouldn't…he is capable of such evil…and if Bruce was here, he wouldn't have a second's hesitation to send him back to Arkham!" Alfred told her.
Jackie rolled her eyes "Alfred, you have to let me make this decision!" she said.
"Fine. Make a decision. Make a decision of where you'd rather him be: in jail or in Arkham." Alfred said insisted.
It was obvious that Alfred wasn't going to drop this discussion as Jackie crossed her arms "Or what are you going to do?" she asked.
"I'll take Adia." Alfred threatened.
Jackie gagged "Easier said, than done, Alfred!" she said.
Alfred shook his head at Jackie "I tell one judge that Adia is in the care of a career criminal…and that her mother is willingly putting her at risk; that will be all she wrote." He said.
Jackie's jaw locked as her eyes darted at Alfred "Get out." She remarked.
Alfred huffed "You'll be sorry." He told her, walking out of the house.
Jackie went through all her memories of bumping into Crane, or rather Scarecrow throughout her journey with Bruce/Batman.
She took a deep breathe as she sat back on the couch as she watched Adia stare up at the ceiling; knowing that Alfred had a point.
Jackie hoped that Crane would change, and while he did have his moments of clarity, he managed to always been cold; but it was obvious that he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
She grabbed her cell phone that was on the table next to the couch and proceeded to dial a number then hit the call button before bringing it to her ear.
The dial tone went for a moment before a click and a moment of silence "This is Gordon."
"It's me." Jackie said, closing her eyes.
The Commissioner and Jackie strolled through Gotham Park with Adia in silence as Gordon processed what Jackie had told him.
"He does have a standing warrant against him." Gordon told her.
"Doesn't surprise me." Jackie said.
Gordon smiled "Just for a second, ignore what Alfred is saying…what do you honestly think you should do?" he asked.
Jackie sighed as she pushed Adia in the stroller "Keep him at a distance…but that's not easy. He's always around and..." she trailed off, her subconscious coming to the surface but the tried to stop herself.
"…and?" Gordon suggested.
Jackie let a deep breathe out "And…I fear that once he gains complete control over me again…" she trailed off again as she turned to Gordon, realizing what she needed to do.
"We need to get him put back in Arkham." Jackie finally admitted.
Gordon smiled as he took Jackie's shoulder "Whatever you say." He whispered softly.
Jackie nodded as she turned back to Adia, continuing to walk as Gordon cleared her throat "We're having a ceremony for the unveiling of the Batman statue, you should come." He said.
"I don't know." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
Gordon nodded "So, how long did you know that Bruce Wayne was Batman?" he asked bluntly.
Jackie laughed out loud "What are you talking about?" she asked, turning to Gordon.
She quickly lost her smile "How did you find out?" she asked.
"From him…before he took the bomb out into the sea." Gordon said.
Jackie smiled "Surprise?" she said.
Gordon laughed "You should have seen the look on my face…apparently it was priceless, according to Ms. Kyle." He said.
Jackie giggled "Oh, Jim." She said as they both continued to trail along in the park.
Jackie and Gordon devised a plan in the park, and hoping that Gordon could get a few of Gothams' finest to get involved, it would go into effect that night.
Adia fell asleep while Jackie was trying to feed her, she hummed as she adjusted herself on the couch in the evening hours when there came a knock at the door.
Jackie turned to the door "Who is it?" she asked.
"It's me." Crane responded.
"This is going to be easier than I thought." Jackie thought, grabbing her cell phone to text Gordon before getting up off the couch to answer the door.
She opened it with Adia in one arm and smiled "Hi." She simply said.
Crane smiled back at her "Hi." He said with his hands in his pockets.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Crane thought for a moment "I wanted to check up, see how you two were doing." He said before looking at Adia who was asleep in Jackie's arms.
Jackie looked at Crane "Compared to how we were doing yesterday?" she asked in a mocking way.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Depends." She said.
Crane nodded "Okay. I just wanted to talk…maybe set some arrangements for Adia." He said.
Jackie licked her lips as she thought for a minute "Shouldn't we get a lawyer first?" she asked.
"Mine has dropped off the face of the earth." He admitted.
Jackie sighed "Okay. Come in." she said, letting the door open wider to let Crane in while she held Adia even closer to her body.
Crane entered before sitting down on the couch and looked up at Jackie when her cell phone vibrated.
Jackie smiled as she grabbed her cell phone and read the text message from Gordon: Estimated Time: 10 minutes. Can you stall him?
She texted back with a quick 'yes' and put her phone in her back pocket and smiled against Crane.
"Who are you talking to?" Crane asked.
"Oh, um…one of my ballet friends. We were wondering when the ballet company would open back up…not that I can go back soon or anything like that." Jackie responded as she sat on the lounge chair across from the couch that Crane was sitting in.
"Why can't you go back?" he asked.
Jackie smiled "Because of Adia…she still needs me; and getting a baby sitter is kind of hard to find right now, since Gotham is putting itself back together." She said.
"I could watch her." Crane suggested.
Jackie glared at Crane for a moment "But you work nights…"
"Yeah, so?" Crane asked.
"You sleep all day." Jackie interjected at Crane.
Crane shrugged his shoulders "I can manage." He told her.
Jackie nodded while she began to trail off for a second before her cell phone vibrated in her back pocket making her jump a little.
Adia stirred, almost waking up from her slumber before she relaxed once again; Jackie chuckled as she grabbed her cell phone from her back pocket and read the text: Estimated time: 5 minutes.
"Wow…that was fast." Jackie texted before putting her phone in her lap.
"Are you hungry?" Jackie asked.
Crane shook his head "No. Listen, can we talk about Adia's 'arrangements'?" he asked.
Jackie gave it a moment before nodding "Yeah, sure." She said.
Crane nodded "Well, continuing about me babysitting…maybe I could see her every Tuesday and Thursday?" he suggested.
"What goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays?" Jackie asked.
Crane shakes his heads "Nothing. I don't work those days." He said.
Jackie smirked "I didn't know criminals has days off." She said.
"Well, we do." Crane said.
Jackie's phone vibrated on her lap, she read the text: Here.
She took a deep breathe "I'm sorry. Let me go put Adia in the bedroom so she can sleep, I'm afraid we'll wake her up." She said, getting up off the chair and walking down the hallway.
"He's all yours." She texted to Gordon when she bumped into a lean yet tall man in an officers' uniform; she gasped quietly before the officer began to comfort her.
"Come with me." He whispered, taking her and Adia out through the backdoor.
She stood with Adia in her arms and Gordon by her side as the officers took Crane in cuffs out of her house.
"So are you going to put him in a straight jacket now, or when he gets there?" she asked, turning to Gordon.
Gordon scuffed "Like we're going to attempt to subdue a madman." He said.
Crane turned to Jackie, anger in his eyes as he glared at him; she knew he was cursing her and vowing revenge, but she knew she could stand on her own.
Jackie looked down at Adia who was waking up from her nap and looking up at her mother "We're gonna be okay." She said to her daughter.
Gordon cleared her throat "Lets get you two back inside." He said as he escorted Jackie back into the house as the Gotham Police finally took Crane back to where he belonged: Arkham Asylum.
"Would you like some coffee?" Jackie asked as Gordon stood by the door.
Gordon smiled "I would, but I have to get back to the station…so much paperwork to do." He said.
Jackie smiled "Okay, then." She said.
They both said goodbye to each other before Jackie closed and locked her front door then leaned against it as she looked down at Adia once again.
"I don't know about you, but all this excitement has made me hungry." She said before pushing away from the door and walking into the kitchen.
And that's it folks...I'm sorry it seems kind of abrupt/hokey to end it this way.
I hope you guys enjoyed it none the less.
XOXO
Bunnie