A/N: First chapter of 2014! Hooray!

** I've been a little too emotional these past days and I literally cried (with happiness, don't worry hehe) writing this chapter. Stress might have been the cause of this sudden "hyper sensitiveness", but... it's all good now, I think.

** Reminder from the last chapter:

She kissed him back, felt the warmth of his face, the tickling of his shy beard, and the softness of his breathing. She wanted that man, and he wanted that woman.
'Cryptic, you say?'
He turned around and left.

21. White dandelions

Jane's legs were shaking when she tried to breath again. Her ribcage had gotten stuck with his kiss, and her brain had followed the general jam of her body when Bane had left just a few seconds before. His heavy steps paced around the adjoining room creating an image of an angry, tense Bane in her mind, something that, much to her worry, she was beginning to like. She tried to erase the memory of each part of his body, and each caress that she had received, but she couldn't, she couldn't do that at all. Her breathing became more intense when she begun to remember that damn night at her home, and what they had done. Her eyes were fixed on the wooden floor like those of a lunatic lost in some other world, and for Jane that world was just a very realistic representation of a naked Bane ruthlessly taking it all from her. She wanted him, she hated him, she loved him. Jane gulped unable to control the growing heat below her breast, where her stomach seemed to be having a hard time to calm down, where a gigantic bunch of adrenaline gathered waiting to be released. The timber cracked violently under Bane's steps, and Jane licked her lower lip when he appeared right in front of her.

'I'm still full of contradictions, but I really want you right now,' her words had been quick but firm, like a lighting or a thunder, like the growing hunger in her eyes.

Bane's predator gaze travelled up and down her body as he hunted her down between his arms. Jane could breath, live, and love, she knew she could do all that again, and stopped to look into his devouring eyes to confirm it.

'Who am I?' he asked fighting to catch his breath.

'You're Bane,' she held his face, and gently pushed him towards the bed, 'you're Bane.'

Her voice became a murmur muffled by the sound of the sheets, their clothes, and his growl. Bane's body rested carefully on top of hers, their legs entangled, his strong flexed arms protecting her from his crushing weight. Their abdomens touched with a simultaneous breathing that grew in intensity with every stroke and caress. The scars on her wrists mattered no more, the marks on his skin disappeared in his thought. He kissed her breasts, accelerated the hammering heart that beat underneath her skin, and loved her for who she was, and for who she had been.

'You are not sick, or anything, right?' Jane mumbled, ' like, HIV sick.'

Bane didn't bother to reply with words, his stare went flat and his lips pursed. He bit her neck, stroked her arms, and surrounded the green bracelet with his hand with strength. He suddenly stopped moving, and raised his eyes to look at her with a little bit of fear, and also a hint of embarrassment.

'I wouldn't want to father a child.'

'You don't have to,' Jane blushed unable to keep her eyes away from his naked body, 'I'm on the pill... for other medical reasons.'

'What reasons? Are you unwell?'

'Jeez,' she sighed, 'I- I'm irregu- can we please not talk about my period right now?'

'Do you have fertility issues?' he asked very seriously.

'What? No!' she hid her face behind her hands, 'I shouldn't have started this conversation,' she whispered, 'now I'm just thinking about babies, and blood.'

'It sounds rather nasty. Think about something you like. What do you like, Jane?' he kissed her shoulder, 'what would you like to have right now?'

'A big nice piece of chocolate cake,' she said nostalgically with a silly smile, the warmth in her eyes cradling his face.

'What else?' he smiled at her honesty, 'what else, Jane?'

Jane stretched her body, her bare breasts accidentally reaching to touch his chest. Bane breathed noisily when he stopped to look at her. Jane, his Jane. She looked beautiful with that foolish untroubled smile, and those flirty happy eyes.

'You,' she said in a whisper.

He slowly moved her knees apart and rested his lower abdomen on hers.

'Will it hurt you?'

'Yeah,' Jane laughed shyly, 'it's been a while.'

'I don't want you to feel any pain.'

'It's okay. Sometimes it-,' Jane's eyes went lost for a while, 'it hurts to love, right?'

Bane nodded slowly and embraced her as warmly as he could when a quiet cry of pain escaped her parted lips. He stayed there, motionless, patient, carefully waiting for the pain to pass, kissing her head and stroking her face. He could feel the air she let out with every gentle movement of his body, her flushed cheeks were pressed against his face, her dry lips barely touching his and struggling to breathe. There wasn't anything else he could see apart from her face and the depth of her eyes. He looked at her irises marveled at a whiteness that he hadn't noticed before. Like a fluffy snow flake, a dandelion, or an exploding star, hundreds of electric white radii expanded around her pupils and dissipated within the dark grey ring that contained it all. The white dandelions flew to him, and hid behind her narrowing eyelids in a quick and happy smile. He held her even closer wanting to feel the waves of her body, the movement of her hips, her waist and chest. He kissed her with fierceness feeling the tickle of her eyelashes on his face, her sudden deep breathing, and the unexpected pleasure that finally replaced her pain. Bane gazed at her in an empty lapse of time and felt like the luckiest man in the world for having her between his arms. She was beautiful to him, with her scars, her pale skin, her damaged knee, and hobbling walk. She was beautiful because she was Jane Sykes, and he simply and plainly loved Jane Sykes.

...

Jane couldn't breathe. She gasped for air, but no oxygen would come in. She opened her eyes to the morning sun, her body crushing under a heavy weight, her legs feeling numb, and her stomach really warm. Bane was sound asleep, right on top of her. Jane coughed, pushed him, rioted against his body, and hit his back with the little strength that she had left. Bane murmured unintelligible words, slid down her body until his head rested on her chest, and kept sleeping; his hands on her sides, his chest breathing on her stomach and thighs. He looked so normal when he slept, so calm, innocent, and even vulnerable. Jane passed her fingers over his relaxed eyebrows, his nose and lips, she scratched away a tiny flake of skin that stood out on his shoulder, slid her palm over his upper arm, and played to cover his scars with her fingers.

Bane woke up feeling like he had battled the stars. Jane's heart beat calmly beneath him, the smell of her skin reminding him of the few times he'd woken up next to her before. The first time he'd had to leave her; the second, she'd kissed him; the third, she'd been in pain. Bane opened his eyes. The naked skin of her chest was all that he could see, his head softly moved up and down with her breathing, and her legs moved slowly under his torso. He bent his head downwards and saw her hips; he bent his head upwards, and saw her face.

'Well, hello there,' he said with a sleepy voice, 'are you flat enough already?' he drew a silly groggy smile with his lips.

'I am, but it's fine,' Jane stroked his face.

Bane noticed that he was still holding her sides, he stretched his body and then shrank like a baby, one leg bent over Jane's, the other completely stretched out outside the sheets. He stayed in that position for a while, staring at the little mark on her lower abdomen, passing the tip of his fingers over it, thinking, missing. Jane pushed his chin up, and forced him to look away.

'Don't torture yourself,' she whispered.

Bane sat up by her side, and cleared his thoughts.

'Are you alright?' he asked.

Jane nodded and rubbed her eyes.

'Are you?'

'Yes.'

Bane sat with his back against the wall gazing at Jane with amusement. She lay naked by his side, too exhausted to even move, too lazy to even care. She'd held him close just a few hours before, she'd taken care of him when he had let go, when he had been incapable of controlling his movements at the end of the night. She'd hugged him tight, stroked his cheek, and kissed his neck until his breathing had calmed down and he'd laughed at their exhaustion. Bane hadn't thought that he would ever get tired, but he had, after three or four hours he had.

'Come here, you.'

He slid an arm under her back, and sit her up. Jane followed the movement of his arms, and knelt astride his thighs with her head on his shoulder and her arms curled around his neck. He hugged her, and held her so that she wouldn't fall to a side.

'I'm so tired, Bane,' she sighed in tears.

'What's wrong?' he stroked her hair.

'I love you, Bane. I really do.'

'Is that why you are crying?'

'Yeah,' she snuffled.

'Because it hurts you?'

'No. Because it doesn't.'

Bane couldn't help but smile.

'I don't understand you, Jane, but I hold you in high esteem as well.'

'I don't understand myself either,' she drew a deep shuddering breath, and straightened her back to look at him, 'and you are being cryptic again,' she laughed.

'Perhaps you should accept that fact.'

'I already have, I'm the same, I just- I needed to let it out this time, I don't think there's need to repeat it over and over again as long as, well, you know, you show it,' she looked at him with a funny suspicion, 'but, we're in the same path, right?'

'No, Jane, my plan is to let you die of hunger and dehydration,' Bane held her in his arms and rolled over her body until he was on top again. He kissed her lips, and stroked her face, 'now, move, we have to go.'

'Where to?' she asked watching him stand up and search the room for his clothes.

'The settlement,' he pressed his shoulders back making his spine crackle, 'there's a boy I need to have a peaceful conversation with,' he finished.

'Do you want me to go with you?'

'I do.'

'Why?'

'Because I want to trust you, and I need to have reasons to do it.'

'Are you sure?'

'No,' he put on his shirt, 'that's why you are coming with me.'

Jane helped him put order in the room, packed some food for the ride, and joined him in the shower where they made love a second time that morning. After Bane checked that everything inside the house had been left in order, they stepped outside, left food for Bernard right under the staircase, and then jumped into the car.

The wonderfully warm weather allowed them to leave the windows of the jeep completely rolled down as they drove through the forest. Jane rested her head on a side, her hair flowing back in the air, clearing up her face. A bag full of food lay on her lap, they had packed enough to feed an army, but it turned out Bane counted as three quarters of that army. Jane teased him every now and them, slowly removing the bag from his reach whenever his hands came back for more while his eyes focused on the road. Bane glanced at the bag confused, took one more boiled egg, and kept frowning as he tried to peel it while driving.

'Here, have mine,' Jane said containing a laugh.

'Thank you.'

'No problem.'

Jane closed the bag with the peels taking an extra time to tie it properly so that it wouldn't leak. It was hard to make the knot tight, the plastic just wouldn't stay closed, and slowly untied itself as soon as Jane stopped pulling. She sighed, her thoughts making strange comparisons between the bag not being tight and the relationship, or whatever that was, that Bane and she had. She wondered if it would ever be possible for them to be as close as Roger and her were, or had been. If there would be a moment when the past would be just that, the past, and wouldn't come back to haunt their slow but steady progress again. She couldn't let that happen, and she wouldn't, so she'd have to pull, and keep it all together to make it work. Bane's fingers appeared on top of hers, he took the bag, tossed it onto the back seat and held her hand.

'You think too much,' he said focusing on the dusty road.

Jane stroked his hand, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

'I know, thank you for distracting me.'

'Is that what I am to you? Nothing but a mere distraction?' he glanced at her and smiled.

'Yes, Bane, a very big distraction.'

Bane laughed, and didn't release her hand until they reached their destination. They parked next to two other jeeps right outside a tall wooden wall with a thatched roof made of dry leaves. There were voices coming from the other side, and sometimes Jane heard the happy yells of a child, or the laughter of a group. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, as usual, and the mosquitos had come back for the rest of Jane's skin that they hadn't bitten yet. They walked around the wall, found an entrance to the place, and after Bane had given her a reassuring look, they both stepped in.

The wooden wall was circular, but the roof only covered its perimeter, and in the middle of the place there was an uncovered space. There were a few half-naked children running amok, yelling at each other, and playing some game with a ball, a game that ended as soon as they saw Bane, and most importantly, Jane. They stared at her with curiosity, whispering things to each other, and trying to hide when she looked back at them. When the kids went silent, the whole place did.

'Do they speak English?' she asked smiling at a girl who had dared to step forward.

'They do,' he nodded beginning to walk again, 'but they have their own mother tongue.'

'Spanish?'

'Most of them, yes, but also French.'

They all had beautifully tanned skin, very dark hair, and gigantic brown eyes which scanned her whole body from head to toes. Jane was surprised to see that they didn't seem to be bothered at all by Bane, and on the contrary, they ignored him, and even made fun of him by covering their nose and mouth with their hands and talking with a funny voice. Jane chuckled under Bane's fake annoyed stare, and followed him across the space towards a covered area where John Barsad and another person waited for them.

Jane recognised the golden-skinned woman that stood next to John Barsad as the one that had frisked her in the plane and disappeared into the cockpit. This time, there was a rifle hanging behind her back, and she had a few scratches on her face with fresh blood covering them. Jane felt weak and small next to her, something strange taking into account the woman was slightly shorter than her. It wasn't her body, it was her face and her movements that made Jane feel a deep respect for her. There was something that made her stronger, something that Jane could relate to but couldn't identify at the moment. The woman dusted her hands off on her trousers, and shook Jane's hand.

'Alison,' she said politely looking at Jane with her almond brown eyes covered in freckles.

'Jane.'

'Yes, I know,' Alison turned to Bane, 'the boys are in there.'

'I thought there was only one.'

'We found his friend a few minutes ago, by the river,' Barsad informed stepping into a room.

Jane waited outside while they questioned the boys inside. They sounded like they were in their early twenties, and clearly had trouble to talk. One of them babbled nonsense, and the other one didn't talk at all, just grunted, and cried. It was hard to believe that there could be problems in such a small community. The smell of dry leaves created a relaxing atmosphere in the big space of the silent wooden enclosure, it wasn't exactly silent, but there weren't any cars, or motorbikes zooming about, so that qualified as silent for Jane. There were long brown feathers hanging down the thatched roof, colourful beads tied up in thin brown ropes, and she also noticed some wooden toys lying on the floor by the wall. Jane looked at them for a while thinking of William and how much he liked that type of toys. She missed playing with him.

The voice of an old man scolding one of the children caught her attention. The boy must have been ten or eleven and he kept making fun of Bane, something that the man didn't seem to like. They talked in French, but the intonation was unmistakable, and the pointy finger too. The elder noticed that Jane was staring, he waved at her politely, and kept talking to the child. Jane frowned in astonishment. 'So he's the good guy here,' she said to herself.

Inside the room, Bane was beginning to realise that interacting with the two boys was a useless task at the moment. Their minds drifted away from the conversation, their words were unintelligible, and it looked like it physically hurt them to even keep their eyes open.

'Who gave the call?' Bane asked.

'Garcia. He's sure it wasn't any of the regular sellers,' Barsad helped one of the boys to sit down on the floor and slapped his cheek so that he wouldn't fall asleep.

'We need to know where this Thrill comes from,' Alison kicked the other one on the foot.

Bane inspected the one on the chair, checked the obvious inflamed blood vessels in his eyes, studied his pulse, and the reaction to his touch. He turned his eyes towards the one sitting on the floor, the twitch of his toes and fingers had caught his attention and confused his thoughts with vivid images from the past. Bane squatted down to check his pulse.

'Has he been aggressive?' he asked.

'No, he was unconscious when we found him,' Alison told him.

'He will be,' he said convinced, 'have him locked down until he recovers,' he paced around the room and looked outside the window. A group of people had gathered in the centre of the open space, and talked to the children while staring at Jane. He couldn't see her, but knew it was her that they looked at because they barely received any foreign visitors, and a new face was something that always caused surprise. Barsad had probably informed them about Jane, of course he hadn't commanded him to do so, but it was in his nature to keep the people informed.

'I told them about her,' Bane's second-in-command stood by his side.

'Of course you did.'

'I wanted to keep them in-'

'Informed. Thank you.'

Barsad's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

'I can't really tell if you're being sarcastic or not right now.'

'Well, that's for you to decide, my friend,' Bane nodded and went outside.

The midday sun blinded his eyes for a few seconds before he was able to see again. Jane stood against one of the wooden columns that supported the roof, her hands behind her back, her eyes observing the actions of the little girl that played on the floor right in front of her. Bane knew the girl, she was Alison's daughter, Olivia, the five-year-old silent shadow that only used her voice to ask uncomfortable questions and smack the truth on your face, although she barely dared to talk because she was constantly scared. That's why Bane was rather surprised to see her there, only a meter away from Jane, kneeling on the sandy ground, trying to hide her smile when Jane playfully stuck her tongue out at her. Olivia looked at Bane with her deep black eyes, pulled her long dark hair behind her ears like the little teenager that she wasn't, and kept playing with a small wooden giraffe.

Jane looked at him when he stepped outside and smiled at the actions of the girl pointing at her with her eyes. The sun illuminated Jane's face and reddened her cheeks to the point that it made her look like the little girl that he knew she wasn't. Bane laughed at his own mental comparisons, and sent a funny look at Olivia.

'Don't be rude and say hi to Bane and his friend,' Alison picked the girl up and cleaned the sand away from the child's hair. The girl shook her head and looked away. 'No? You don't want to?' Olivia shook her head again.

The similarities between the two of them were striking, and Jane was beginning to notice them. Both had their rounded faces covered in freckles, although sometimes they were hard to distinguish because of their tanned skin. Their full lips were the same, their noses were just as small, and even the way in which they lovingly looked at John Barsad was identical.

'Is she your daughter?' Jane asked attempting a friendly interaction.

'Yeah, she is,' Alison kissed the girl's cheek.

'She's smart.'

'Thank you,' Alison's voice sounded really surprised, like it was the first time that someone actually said something positive about her daughter. She froze, and unconsciously tightened her arms around the little girl. She knew about Jane Sykes, and her boy, the one she'd lost, but she'd never really thought about it until that moment in which her arms suddenly felt fuller than ever, and Jane's seemed uncomfortably empty. Alison immediately noticed Bane's effort to keep his face impassive, and to hold his head high against the invisible weight that pulled his chin down. As if a spring had been released from the back of his neck, Bane looked up at her and moved closer to Jane as he talked.

'Perhaps Olivia and you could have a walk around the area with our new visitor. Barsad and I have tedious tasks to do.'

'Yes, sure,' Alison replied almost instantly, 'if you're okay with it, of course.'

'Yeah, I'd love to,' Jane nodded.

'Don't get in trouble,' Barsad glanced at them as he turned around to follow Bane.

'We never do, John,' Alison smiled back at him and followed him with her eyes until he disappeared behind the wooden wall. She let Olivia stand on the ground, held her hand and walked towards another exit on the opposite end of the place.

Olivia walked in between her mother and Jane. After a few minutes, the little girl decided that it was time to play, so she also held Jane's hand and begun to jump over fallen trees, and big sized rocks. Alison scanned Jane's looks discretely, keeping it silent as they walked through the forest.

'So, you're police, yes?' she asked with a thick Spanish accent after Olivia had almost slipped down a rock if it hadn't been for Jane's strong grip.

'Ex-police, now I'm a teacher.'

'That's good here. We don't like the police very much.'

'Yeah, I guessed so, I- I read about it.'

'I read about you. I didn't like the idea of a police coming here, it's nothing personal, but I don't trust Gothamites.'

'I can't blame you, we've gained our fame.'

Alison nodded and smiled at her.

'You can call me Allie. It's only Bane that calls me Alison.'

They kept walking through the forest playing riddle games with Olivia until they reached an immense open clear space. There were a few dozens of people working on crops, cleaning away unwanted weeds, and carefully inspecting the fruits and vegetables that grew on the different bushes and trees. In the distance, Jane could distinguish cows, goats, pigs, and hens. Jane had never been to a farm before, so she supposed that's how a proper one looked like. Allie explained everything about the crops, who worked where, why, and when. She told Jane that their goal was to live off their land without having to buy products from big companies, and without having to enslave themselves to sell to those big companies either.

'So are you selling right now?'

'Yes, we are,' Allie said annoyed, 'but only to one company, and because we have to. They own some plantations in the north, but we are the only ones allowed to work on them. We made it clear that no one else would touch our land. It's complicated.'

'Yeah, I see.'

'Well, if you are hungry, you can come here and take whatever you need. It's free... as long as you give something back.'

'Oh, that's-' Jane let out a laugh, 'that's- does that system work?'

'Yes. John, Bane and I made it work.'

'Oh.'

'Yes, oh,' Allie laughed, 'I know what they say in Gotham, that we are terrorists, but well, you can judge yourself.'

'I'm trying to, but it's hard after... you blew it all up.'

Alison turned to her with burning eyes. She looked around a few times impatiently before approaching Jane and then whispered to her.

'Talia did. Not us. That woman lost her mind and everyone saw it, including Bane.'

'Why did he follow her then?' Jane asked in a burst of anger.

'Because he loved her too much, wouldn't you have followed your son to his grave?' Alison's lips closed quickly as if she had regretted saying those words, 'I'm sorry.'

Jane blinked repeatedly still trying to digest that last comment. Her eyebrows furrowed, her fists were closed tight, and she glared at Alison controlling her arms not to throw a punch at her face.

'You shut the fuck up about my son, you hear me?' Jane's voice didn't even flinch, the look in her eyes was deadly, and her whole face transformed into a marble column covered in ice.

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'

'You- you could've stopped her, if you all saw it, you could've stopped her.'

'Believe me I would've liked to do that, but it wasn't only her, there were more who wanted to see Gotham in ruins, there were... more,' Alison checked that Olivia was still talking to one of the workers a few meters away from them, 'there were more, like Olivia's daddy, so I know how you feel.'

'I- I didn't know.'

'Of course you didn't.'

Jane brought her hands to her hips and purser her lips.

'I'm sorry.'

''s okay. I'm sorry too,' Allie cleared the sweat away from her forehead and drank some water, 'do you want to go and see the pigs? I think there are no pigs in Gotham.'

'We actually have a bunch of pigs in power, but I bet these ones are nicer.'

Jane, Allie and Olivia spent the rest of the day walking among the crops, visiting some kids that were learning by the river, and trying to get Jane to learn some Spanish and French. They came back to the settlement lost in conversations about weapons they had used, fights they had gotten into, food they liked to cook, and the behaviour of their children. It was the first time that Jane talked about William normally, without mixing past and present, without having to hold tears, without having tears at all. Of course, she missed him more than anything, and wondered how he would have looked like at six, imagined how she could have taught him to read, to write and to spell his name, and thought that he would have liked to play with Olivia, although Allie's daughter would had probably gotten tired of him.

'So he was a hyperactive kid?' Allie asked laughing.

'Yeah, he wouldn't stop talking sometimes. I'm sure he would have driven Olivia crazy.'

'Yes, she doesn't like it when it's noisy, she gets scared.'

'I noticed.'

'It wasn't always so safe to live here, she was small but she remembers.'

Allie gently pushed Olivia to keep walking into the open space of the settlement. Bane stood in the middle of the place surrounded by men and women who talked in groups and sometimes approached him to ask him questions that Jane couldn't understand.

'They ask about safety,' Allie clarified, 'Bane's like the head of security here. He does what they say.'

'Does he now?' Jane laughed.

'Yes, especially what the old people say, they can be very mean to him sometimes,' Allie sent her an accomplishing laugh.

'Where did Olivia go?'

'She's probably with John,' she looked around until she saw her daughter quietly standing behind Barsad, 'John was her daddy's friend. She likes him.'

Jane had the suspicion that it wasn't only Olivia who liked John Barsad, but it wasn't her business to get into those that type of conversation with a woman she'd just met. Allie was very nice though, she was much friendlier than the people in Gotham, she liked to talk a lot, and she liked to ask a lot too. Jane had missed talking to another woman apart from her mother and sister, and it felt relaxing to start fresh with a person whom she knew next to nothing about.

Bane finished replying to the questions of a seriously annoyed old man, and managed to escape from the crowd. It was still strange for Jane to have him there, standing with a white T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. No furry winter coat hiding his shoulders, no protecting vest covering his chest, and no mask hiding his face. The thing that shocked Jane the most was to see him surrounded by people of all ages who were trusting their safety to him. She snorted. Safety and Bane could actually go together in the same sentence.

'I suppose that the tour with Alison was more than pleasant since you've been away the whole day,' Bane said as he walked towards her with that characteristic movement of his body that Jane had begun to distinguish and to like too.

'Yeah, she's really nice to talk to,' Jane looked up at the darkening sky. The night was always feared in Gotham, but in that little settlement it was full of life, warmth, and protection. Not because there were armed people, but because Jane had the impression that those people, the old and the young, would defend their little society to death. That was the difference with Gotham, that their small settlement was a compact society in which everyone relied on everyone to get food, water, education, and protection. They all needed each other and were perfectly fine with it. 'I like this place.'

'I'm glad you do,' Bane observed the reflection of the sky in her eyes and got lost in them for a moment. Jane's smile looking at the violet clouds, the voices of the people laughing and complaining in the background, the refreshing night air, the dryness of the sand, and the wetness of the trees. That was what he wanted, what he liked, and he had it.

'We're going home, it's getting late,' Allie said, 'remember that you have to give them something back!' she told Jane as she picked up Olivia and turned around to leave.

'What did you take?' Bane asked intrigued.

'Flour, and a few eggs.'

'I have eggs.'

Jane laughed out loud.

'Yeah, I know you do, but they're boiled. I want to bake something, I remember I liked to bake.'

'Well, you're quite the housewife, aren't you?' he mocked.

'No, but I come with extra frosting.'

Jane walked outside towards the car, jumped onto the co-pilot seat and sat down like she hadn't sat in ages. She was tired because she hadn't slept, because she had walked and talked for hours, and she was happy as hell for that. She let her eyes close down when Bane started the jeep, and in the darkness of the night they drove back to the house.

Bane showered, Jane ate, and Bernard cried with pitiful eyes when the food he had been promised disappeared into Jane's stomach instead. When Bane got out of the shower, both Jane and the dog had vanished.

'Oh, my,' Jane's voice and laughter guided him outdoors. She was downstairs sitting on the grass, with a bucket of water by her feet, a pair of scissors in her hands, and a short-haired Bernard between her arms. There was more dog hair on her clothes than on the ground, but her eyes were fixed on Bernard and she wouldn't stop saying oh, my. 'We have a situation here, Bane.'

'Is he injured?' Bane walked to stand by their side and inspected the dog, 'he looks fine to me, it's a lovely haircut.'

Jane chuckled.

'Does he, really?' Jane pointed embarrassed at the animal's crotch. Bane shrugged. 'Oh, jeez, he doesn't have a- he's not- he's a she, Bane!'

Bane squatted down next to Jane, grabbed Bernard's body and inspected the area in question with a worried look.

'Well, one logically couldn't see anything with all that fur.'

'Yeah, it was quite a lot.'

'Perhaps we should call her Bernadette.'

'I think I'll stick to B,' Jane laughed, 'there's a scar down there, so I think she's been spayed.'

'Good. I meant it when I said that I don't wish to become a father.'

Jane stared back at him calmly, with her head uncomfortably resting against her shoulder, and her sleepy face obviously blushing.

'Let's go to sleep, I'm tired,' she said.

'Yes, I am tired as well.'

'Bane,' Jane called behind him when she had finished standing up, 'I- I want to sleep in my own bed. Alone.'

'Of course,' he nodded slowly.

Jane followed him up the stairs, said good night to Bernard-ette, locked the door, closed the windows, and shut the lights. The ingredients that she needed to bake were in place inside the storage room in the back, as were the fruits and vegetables that Bane had brought the day before. She thought of the people working in the crops, of Allie and Olivia, and of all the efforts they put to take care of the animals under the burning Caribbean sun. Jane knew that Gotham was one of those cities that took everything from them without paying more than a few cents, and it wasn't fair, of course it wasn't, but now that she had met the people that unfairness had grown to a whole new dimension of injustice. It was admirable that they wanted to support themselves, to live off the land without exploiting it, to be a healthy community, safe and secure. Bane paced around the room and said good night to Jane.

'How was your day?' she asked all of a sudden.

Bane stood in the middle of the main room, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

'Good, thank you.'

'What did you do?'

Bane felt uncomfortable in a strange way, but made an effort and replied because her voice had sounded as innocent and sincere as it could get.

'I talked to the boys, and their families. When you went with Alison, Barsad and I met the people at the landing lane, confirmed the next commercial flight, and then tried to repair some broken generators,' he looked around, 'anything else that you wish to know?'

'Can I borrow your notebook again?'

'May I ask why?'

'I feel a bit guilty, you know, for being a Gothamite,' she looked at the floor embarrassed, 'I want to give them something back.'

'What would it take for you to stay?' he asked more loudly and quicker than he had expected and being completely aware that it wasn't exactly the perfect situation to blurt that question out.

'I- I don't know... a purpose, I suppose, the possibility of being self-sufficient, and independent, having my own place, getting my own food, and being able to give them something back,' she laughed, 'lots of requirements, huh?'

'It all sounds reasonable to me.'

'Do you think I can have all that here?'

'I do.'

'What about my family? And Roger?' she stepped closer to him, 'I have my mom, I have a sister, a nephew, and a niece, and I have Roger too. What am I supposed to do about them?'

'I-'

'I'm leaving lots of people behind for you, Bane,' she said with care, 'I don't want to be... disrespectful, mean, or anything, because I care about you, and I don't want you to feel bad, but I want you to be aware of it, and to take it into consideration.'

'I do take it into consideration, as you say, but perhaps you should do a little bit of introspection and realise that I'm also leaving quite many plans behind.'

'You were gonna die in Gotham, what kind of plans did you have for your life?' Jane snapped.

'I will take that inappropriate burst of rage as a manifestation of your growing concern about my life, and I will tell you that I did have new ambitions after waking up sedated in a hospital with a pneumothorax in my right lung, and without- without Talia.'

Bane made an effort to keep staring at Jane, but his eyes gave up and he just looked away from her face. It was the first time that he had done that, and also the first time that his voice had cracked so much.

'Do you miss her?' Jane asked as softly as her voice allowed her.

'Yes.'

'I'm sorry, I'm a blabber.'

'I know.'

Jane chuckled. He did so too.

'The notebook's in my room.'

'I'll go and get it.'

Jane blamed herself for not shutting up as she entered his room and searched for the leather covers. She found it on a night table, right besides the small metal box that she had seen in his room at the hangar. She sat on the bed, and opened it. The inside looked just the same, no new objects had been added, but there was one missing. Jane unraveled her green bracelet, took the black button, and placed it on top of William's photograph. She recognised the patterns of the white shells as the ones she'd seen on the shore of the lake, she took them and stroked their lines. Bane sat next to her.

'Don't leave,' he said.

Jane put the shells back and closed the box after taking a quick last look at William's face. 'I'll see what I can find in here,' she showed the notebook a drew a forced smile. She stood up.

'I meant don't leave the room.'

Jane stared doubtful at the wooden floor. She took a deep breath, left the notebook on top of the metal box, and hugged him with her eyes closed. She liked how it felt to hold him close, like he was an oversized child that needed someone to perk him up. She removed his shirt, made him lie down under the sheets, and kissed his cheek before removing her own clothes. Like when he had just woken up, Bane slid down her body, wrapped his arms around her sides, and rested his head on her chest. He liked to listen to her heart, smell her skin, and stroke her hips. He liked all of her, except for her blabbering, stubbornness and sporadic depressing moments, but he was willing to deal with that.

'Jane,' he whispered in the middle of the night, 'are you awake?'

'Barely,' she replied after a while.

'I do love you.'

A/N:

- Things that I have learnt while writing this chapter: how self-sufficient settlements work! :)

- So, there's that... he loves her... **trying not to get emotional again** :D

- Thanks thanks thanks for reading! I know I repeat myself with this a lot, but I really thank you for taking part of your free time to read this story :)

- I hope to come back soon with more Bane and Jane, the settlement, and... Barsad and Allie!