The feels. Comfort.

Ellie finds a safe haven and solace during strained times.

Let me know if you see any logic mistakes. I had to do some minor changes.

'Cause nobody seems to ask about me anymore

And nobody seems to care 'bout anything I think

And nobody seems to recognize me in the crowd

In the background screamin', "everybody, look at me"

-Angel on Fire by Halsey-

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Only fear itself."

"This won't hurt … well, maybe once the fear toxin kicks in."

"Tell me, what are you afraid of?"

Ellie opened her eyes with a gasp, her hand went to her chest, feeling her heart beat like a relentless drum. Her hands were shaking as the memories of the last nights started to come back. How Strange and Crane abducted her and ... did things to her mind. How she had lost track of time and...

She anxiously looked around, not yet able to trust that she was no longer in the basement. It was still dark outside. Her surroundings seemed familiar for some reason, like she had been here before. How did she even get here?

A barely heard knock accelerated her heartbeat, making her sit up straight. Her fingers clutched the linen of the bed, like the cotton sheets could somehow protect her.

Bruce's head slipped through the small gap, gazing onto her in worry. "You alright?" He asked quietly, almost as if he was trying not to make her uncomfortable in any way.

Tears sprang into her eyes and the corners of her mouth lifted upwards in relief. "You're here," Ellie said in surprise, her voice strained and thick from her emotions.

He instantly closed the door and moved with quick steps towards her bed. His arms enveloped her still weak body, his warm strength giving her comfort. Yet she still tensed up when he touched her. Her throat closed up again, it was ridiculous how emotional she was.

"I don't understand." She shook her head, hoping and needing him to fill in the blanks.

Bruce loosened the embrace and sat on the bed next to her feet. It almost felt like he needed to be close to her. His gaze turned speculative as he asked her, "What was the last thing you remember?"

Ellie pulled in a deep breath. This feeling of ants crawling underneath her skin recurring and not wanting to say aloud what had occurred. She looked downwards at her hands nervously clenching and unclenching. "It's still somewhat of a blur." She breathed through her nose as soon as the white lie went out of her mouth. Ellie wasn't sure if she was ready yet to tell everything what went down. She slowly looked up in confusion. "How did I get here?"

Bruce ground his teeth, her statement must have angered him. "You … Batman brought you here."

The name of the caped crusader made her tense. "He brought me here?"

"You were pretty shaken up."

Her gaze wandered into nothingness, her mind felt empty somehow. Ellie only knew the basics of what happened, yet for some reason she was anxious and filled with terror. Like her confrontation with the psycho doctors was buried in the back of her head.

Bruce's voice snapped her out of her morose thoughts, "I want you to know, I put you on leave for a week, you can stay here and rest."

His hospitality made her unsure. "No, it's okay. I can stay at my place."

"Please." His pleading expression made her stop talking. Bruce seemed really shaken himself by this event. "I need to know you're safe. I can at least take care of you here."

Ellie internally groaned. His puppy eyes could sometimes be total overkill. "Okay, fine." She nodded weakly, she suddenly felt so tired.

Bruce seemed relieved when he stood up, putting his hand on her shoulder. She hugged herself, the feeling of intimate touch made her uncomfortable. But this was Bruce! She wouldn't have thought to be ever feeling uneasy around him.

He took notice of her sudden tensing up and exhaled a heavy breath, letting go of her. "You should rest a bit. I'll see you later again. I will try to leave the company earlier."

His confessed words made her feel warm in the stomach. "Oh, you don't have to."

"It's my company." He smirked at her, before leaving her altogether.

Bruce POV

There was something wrong, Bruce thought. Ellie was probably not comfortable yet with people touching her. He clenched his hands into fists, as he was riding the elevator down into the cave. He had promised himself to never be feeling so helpless again, like he did that night with Jason...

He shook his head and rubbed his closed eyelids with a sigh, trying to rid these thoughts from his head. His gaze met Barbara's, who was sitting at the Bat computer, working her magic. Alfred was standing by the Batmobile, perusing the gear, but neglected that activity when he saw him enter.

She looked at him in worry, her fingers stilling against the keyboard. She must be very tired with the way she was rubbing her eyes behind her glasses. "How is she?"

Bruce sighed heavily, licking his lips nervously. How to say this? "She's … tense and scared."

Alfred interjected, "Who wouldn't be? She encountered one of the most dangerous people in Gotham and lived to tell the tale. It's a wonder her mind isn't going crazy. Judging if it's really just Crane or whoever he was working with."

Bruce's features tensed at his words. "That's what I'm worried about. I need to know who it was, what they did to her and why."

"What did she say?" Barbara asked hesitatingly.

His gaze wandered around, his imagination was running wild at what these two criminals had done to her the last two days. "She doesn't remember much. As far as she told me. I believe she will tell me when she's ready."

Barbara's expression turned hopeful, albeit wary. "Well, maybe that's a good thing? I mean, … we got lucky so far. It could have been so much worse. Normally, these kinds of things tend to have repercussions."

"I guess we'll see," Bruce told, his face darkening at the possibilities.

"It is alright if you want this to end. I mean, why not just give up? Why are you protecting someone who doesn't give a damn?" The menacing soft voice said above her.

"I don't …" Every time she spoke, she panted. "I don't know anything. I don't know who he is. I don't even know him!"

Crane sighed. "This is useless. Well, maybe we need to increase the dose."

"Please." A sharp pain could be sensed at her neck. She felt numb, yet sensitive from all the toxin filling her body. God, she was so tired. Ellie couldn't move her neck from her sore muscles, everything hurt.

The face changed. The smile on his face only filled her with a wave of terror, her body felt paralyzed by it. These two didn't even have to restrain her anymore, she felt already to numb and afraid to even move an inch.

"Perhaps you do tell the truth. Excuse my partner, he's impatient and aggravated. Our pesky nuisance managed to send one of our leading scientists from tomorrow straight to prison." Strange exhaled a tired breath. "Even if you don't know anything," That smile again. "you can still prove to be worthy of my time."

"I swear, I don't know-"

The scenery changed. She was kneeling on the ground, her nightshirt reaching her knees. Blood was covering her hands, as her little hands pressed against the ribs of her father. His eyes looked right at her, somehow proud.

Her mother dropped the gun, she had shot him with and dropped as well. Their home was swarming with cops. Her mother went to Arkham, while her father went to prison for being a hacker.

Two days later she killed herself.

Another memory.

"I don't recognize you anymore, Max! You've been lying to me all this time. I thought you'd never abandon your moral compass in this world."

"Well, things change. Sometimes you must do things that are necessary, knowing that no one else will."

Another face appeared.

"Bruce?"

A suitcase was lying next to his feet, his face showing no emotions.

"I can't do this anymore, Ellie. I thought I could, but … it's too much."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't be me and be with you at the same time. People are depending on me, they need me."

"Are you leaving me?"

"We both knew this was only a matter of time."

Hot sweat was sticking to her body as she awakened again. She pushed the sheet that was sticking to her form, to the edge of the bed. Panting, she tried to stop her racing heart and her clenching hands from shaking. Ellie licked her lips and looked around, discovering that it was already around 11 am.

While she was dreaming, her mind had been trying to fill in the blanks, she so desperately yearned for. Her fingers grasped her head, leaning forward, as tears sprang into her eyes. She was starting to remember what these sickos did to her mind. How they played with her emotions, her fears. Twisted her thoughts, so that she was confusing dreams with reality. Well, as she was lying there on the stretcher, the toxin playing tricks on her, she felt confused as to why she remembered the events of when she became an orphan and when she encountered the true nature of her ex.

It was peculiar how she could interpret the meaning behind the hallucination of Bruce. Her fear of abandonment.

Anger filled her body. What did they want with her? Why did they choose her?

Her heart began to pound in her chest, her thoughts were running wild. Ellie didn't know many people who were experimenting with toxins. The Joker came to mind, but these two didn't seem to be working with a lunatic mastermind. Something else came to mind, how Crane was so keen on finding out all her fears.

Ellie gasped. Scarecrow.

"May I come in?" The hopeful voice of Barbara spoke through the door, knocking, and managed to thankfully disrupt her mind from wandering.

Ellie cleared her throat. She looked down, noticing for the first time that she was only wearing a white shirt and thin pajama bottoms. Either Alfred or Bruce must have changed her clothes, while she was asleep. She was unsure whether to be grateful or embarrassed about it.

"Yeah, come in."

The familiar vibrant color of her friend's hair instantly sent comfort through her bones and a smile showed on her face. She knew they called just … oh my God, how many days was she in control of the Scarecrow and Strange?

Barbara seemed unsure, not knowing how to start the conversation. "I was wondering, are you hungry?"

Ellie didn't even think about that. "No, not yet. Maybe later."

"Okay." She nodded vigorously. "Just say the word. Alfred can cook a mean lasagna, let me tell you."

Her features twisted at the memory of how long it had been since she ate something. "I'll think about it. Besides, I don't think I could eat anything right now."

"Okay," she said again, sending her furtive glances.

"How long … was I gone?" Ellie looked down, not yet ready to see Barbara's reaction.

The redhead cleared her throat. "Uh, two days. We were all so worried. I swear, your boyfriend was going crazy."

She didn't know what to say to that, the hallucination of him coming to mind. Not to mention, she didn't know what to feel regarding her usage of the word. "Yeah, well, he's not – I don't know. And I guess, being abducted by Scarecrow doesn't happen every day."

Barbara's head whipped in her direction in shock, finally going near her. "Wait, what? You saw Scarecrow? You remember what happened to you?"

Ellie leaned back, her body seeming to react to closeness. God, what was wrong with her? First Bruce, and now Barbara?! This was Babs for crying out loud!

"Bits and pieces." Yet for some reason, she didn't want to say more. She felt afraid for her friend … and distrusting. It was frustrating, how her brain kept pulling her in all kinds of directions.

Barbara appeared hesitant as she bit her lip. Maybe she expected her to reveal more to her. "Well, just … take your time. It will come back to you. I just want you to know, I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay." Ellie nodded with a strained smile, feeling all alone when she left the room again.

Around noon, she felt thankful for Alfred's thoughtfulness, when he brought her something light for her stomach.

"Oh, soup," Ellie noticed with a small smile, touched by his actions.

"Do no strain yourself, Miss Ellie. In a few days you'll be able to enjoy every Italian dish I can throw together."

She chuckled. A dull pain throbbed against her head, making her rub the spot in discomfort.

"Everything alright, dear?" Alfred frowned, his worry clear on his face, as he stilled.

"Yes, just … I didn't even know I was hurt physically." She exhaled, the pain dissipated slowly. "I'm alright now." She sent him a smile, to prevent another gray hair to grow on his head.

Alfred nodded, the wrinkles on his forehead still present, as he gave her the bowl. "If you say so. I reckon, you'll be able to move in a few hours. Please do refrain from doing any exerting tasks." The older man sent her an admonishing glare over his glasses. Damn, that guy could be strict sometimes. She imagined a younger Alfred raising and scolding Bruce in equal measures.

"Yes, Sir." She saluted him playfully and was rewarded with a sigh leaving his lips.

Around the afternoon she was trying to find her bra, so she could finally move her legs a bit. After a while it got tedious just lying around, not able to do anything. She could see her undergarment right under the bed, knowing it was probably Bruce who changed her clothes. Alfred was damn meticulous, she took him for someone who would fold her clothes neatly on a chair.

Ellie exhaled. Who would have thought she'd actually need help reaching a bra?

Clear three knocks interrupted her bra collecting times, making her sit up in bed with a sigh. "Yes?"

For a second, she was rendered speechless at seeing this person standing there. Ellie was debating putting on her glasses, just to make sure.

"Damian?"

He cleared his throat several times, looking away.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked, feeling like he needed a bit of help, seeing as he didn't know what to say. Not the same as Barbara, who was just unsure of the situation. While Damian just in general had no idea how to be civil and how to talk to people.

Clearing his throat again, he didn't look at her as he quietly murmured, "I'm sorry you were harmed." His hands were hidden behind his back, she could imagine he was rubbing his hands nervously and maybe in discomfort as well. It took her by surprise that he was apologizing to her.

"It's okay. It's not your fault, Damian," Ellie said carefully, her voice just as quiet and soft as his.

For some reason, she felt like she was reaching a ceasefire with Damian Wayne. Who knew how long this would last?

The little boy was slowly moving his hands behind his back, showing a plate with … cookies. Huh.

Damian wasn't looking directly at her as he said, "I heard cookies made people feel better."

Tears were gathering in her eyes. For the first time that day, Ellie was showing a real smile. Small, but not less true. "They do. Thank you, Damian."

He gazed at her in surprise, his expression changing to one of embarrassment, as he quickly dropped the plate on the edge of her bed, before rushing out of the room.

Ellie was still smiling as she took a bite from her self-made cookie.

She was dreaming again. Her fingers clenched the sheets, her knuckles turning white. Not again, please.

Damian was looking at her, his stare hateful and full of resentment. It pained her to see him look at her like that.

"I hate you. You think I could actually love you? You are not my mother, nor will you ever be my mother."

A tear streamed down her face, her features twisted in agony.

His screaming voice was piercing her eardrums. "Did you really think my father could ever love you? He doesn't. You're merely an obstacle to seeing my parents back together again. I should just put you out of your misery myself!" A knife was glinting in his hand, paralyzing her.

Ellie was breathing erratically, her muscles strained from exertion. Light footsteps were nearing her bed, watching her. Gazing at her pain-stricken face in worry. Quiet feet went around her bed again, so that someone could crawl onto the free side of her bed.

She twisted around in her sleep, her hand unclenching several inches next to her. Ellie didn't even notice Tim's small hand lying next to hers, his small frame giving her comfort without touching her.

Reveal your minds, loves. Oh God, even re-reading this chapter made me feel sentimental and teary-eyed.