"Doc is gone for the day," the Joker said to Adriana as he pulled a ginger ale from the vending machine.
"I was actually here to see you," she said to him.
He pulled the tab on his drink, popping it open.
"I thought that since you're leaving in a couple of days," she said as he began to drink . " I thought that maybe we could talk? Last night it seems like you had a lot that you needed to say to me... And I had to rush off."
"I said what I needed to," he said to her.
"Okay then," she said feeling like she was pulling teeth. "Apart from anything you needed to say, was there anything you wanted to say?"
He looked at her, saying nothing and holding his drink.
"Listen," she said. " In less than three days you'll be leaving the country permanently. I think it would be best for both of us if we just got everything out in the open instead of what we need to, to each other."
" I'm actually a good cook," he said.
Adriana crossed her arms wondering where he was going with this.
"Oh?" she asked.
" Oh yes," he said.
" Are you saying that just because I said you can't cook? You told me that you know how to make eggs. But, you can't just scramble eggs in a pan with no butter. That's just dry," Adriana said. " And impossible to clean from the pan afterwards."
"I can make other things," he said.
" I know what you can make," she reminded him. "You make delicious paninis. But, you can't live on only sandwiches and raw eggs cracked into a glass. Variety is very important for nutrition reasons."
"Seems like you have a lot to say," he said to her.
" So do you," she said, almost laughing. " Anything else I've said that's offended you?"
"Sure," he said. "Perhaps not something that you said, but something that you've been doing."
Adriana uncrossed her arms. "Which is what?"
" You fear me," he said.
"Why would you think something like that? I'm not afraid of you at all."
"Perhaps not with regard to your own well-being," he said and took another drink.
" Whose then? Bruce? You think that's why I've been trying my best to prevent him from coming down here? Because I think you would hurt him?" she asked. "Actually, I'm more afraid of what he could do to you if you found out that you were here."
" Not Bruce," the Joker said, almost under his breath.
" Then-" Adriana started to say but then she realized who he was talking about.
She was quiet for a few moments.
" I'm going to the gym," the Joker said and tossed his empty can into the recycling bin.
" Wait," Adriana stopped him by grabbing his arm. "I just... I thought that.."
The Joker looked at her, waiting for her to finish her thought.
"You're leaving," she said. " I never brought him here because... You're leaving. You're leaving and you can never come back. It's not safe for you here. If anything ever happened, if you ever happened to have a run-in with the police and if they needed run your prints... It would be over. Your life would be over and I don't think they would find you not guilty by reason of insanity after all of this. They'll think you orchestrated this whole thing, faking your own death, changing your appearance."
She was still gripping his forearm. He waited again for her to say more.
" It wouldn't make sense for me to bring him here... I mean why would you want to see a child you would never know? That you would only see a few times and never see again? I just assumed that... you wouldn't want to."
The Joker gently peeled her fingers off of his arm.
"Perhaps in the future, if you ever find yourself in the situation again," he said. " Ask instead of assuming."
He walked away and out of the door and turn left, on his way to the gym.
Adriana felt frozen in place, dumbfounded for a few moments. She wanted to go after him, ask him what he meant. Did he want to see Arsenio? Suddenly, she felt like a horrible person. An idiot of some sort. She had made such a monumental mistake.
Suddenly, she was overtaken by some internal went to the elevator and back up to penthouse. While on her way to Arsenio' s room she ran into his nanny, Evelyn.
"I was just about to wake him from his nap and feed him," Evelyn said to Adriana. " Time for his snack."
" I've got it," Adriana said to her and went into his too room.
She woke him gently and held him in her arms as he gradually woke up.
"Buenas tardes," Adriana sang softly into his hair, feeling so unsure of what she felt she need to do. " How did you sleep, my sweet boy?"
Arsenio made a small noise, and put the back of his left hand over his right eye.
" Still sleepy?" she asked.
He shook his head, no.
" Daddy?" Arsenio asked.
" He's not home yet," Adriana said. " He had a big fancy meeting and a big fancy business dinner, but we'll see him later. He might stop at home before he goes out to the dinner though. I can't wait to see him, can you?"
Arsenio shook his head and smiled. Adriana smiled back at him and kissed his cheek.
" Sweetheart," Adriana said to him. " There's...A friend of mine I'd like you to meet... Is that okay? Just for a few minutes?"
"Yaaa," Arsenio said immediately. "So faww! Faw!"
" Huh?" Adriana asked with a smile, not understanding what he was saying.
"Faw!" Arsenio said and pointed across the room at a brand-new stuffed frog that Alfred had given him earlier that day. It seemed every week Alfred was gifting him a new stuffed animal and Arsenio had quite a collection. He knew the names of many animals because of it.
"The frog?" Adriana asked and walked across the room with Arsenio in her arm to pick up the frog. It was bright green on top and a vibrant neon yellow at the bottom.
"Sooo faw," Arsenio said and grabbed for the frog.
" You want to show my friend your frog?" Adriana asked him.
"Ya!" Arsenio said and held onto the stuffed toy.
" Okay sweetie," Adriana said and kissed him again as he became distracted by the brightly colored toy. " Going to change your diaper before we go."
.
When Adriana returned to the medical facility, she found a Joker in the physical therapy gym using the rowing machine. She stood in the doorway with Arsenio and her arms and watched him pulling himself back and forward on the machine. While she waited for him to notice that they were there, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.
She began to wonder if she should have warned him. Perhaps she should have told him that she was bringing the baby. Maybe she should have asked him first. Maybe he didn't actually want to see Arsenio, he just wanted the consideration for her to at least have asked him and to be given the option to say yes or no. Either way, it was too late. He was looking at them and his movements in the rowing machine slowed to a stop.
Adriana watched him turn away from them to get off of the machine. He was moving so slowly, Adriana was wondering how he felt. He had barely looked at them and it seemed like he was afraid to turn around and look back at them again. She watched him take a deep breath before he stood up and turned to face them and began to walk over. He stopped walking while still several feet away from them, and it seemed like he didn't know how close he was supposed to get.
The Joker looked at the small boy in Adriana's arms. The first feeling that came to him was surprise at how small he was. Then the Joker remembered, he was sure it had been over a year and a half since he had seen a child in person. Of course he would look small in comparison to the adults around him. He had never known what to expect, if he were to ever meet this boy, Arsenio.
Somehow, the Joker had imagined Arsenio should look like other children that he had seen, children on TV, or any other child that he had seen throughout the course of his life. The Joker had a generic idea in his mind of what children looked like. The general appearance of any regular kid. But this boy was like no other child. This boy looked like him. There was no anonymity or ambiguousness in his appearance. The child's looks were distinctly representative of his own. He was overwhelmed with the realization that this was real, this was his child.
Adriana took a few steps closer until she was standing right in front of the Joker.
" Arsenio," Adriana said to Arsenio who have been quiet so far. " This is my friend, Jack. Jack... This is my son, Arsenio."
"Dak!" Arsenio said, and Adriana watch the Joker's eyebrows raise as he heard the child's voice.
"That's right," Adriana said. "His name is Jack."
"Hi!" Arsenio said brightly.
At that moment the Joker felt confused. He knew that Adriana had told him that the child was healthy, normal, and that she loved him very much. But in a way, the Joker had always assumed that maybe there was something wrong with him, at least mildly. Because he was carrying his genetics. He had been produced by a madman, a murderer, a terrorist during his worst era. But when he looked at this boy, he did not understand how he could have produced such a beautiful and pure looking specimen of a human.
"Hi," the Joker responded, his voice deep and quiet.
"Faw! See?" Arsenio said about the toy he was holding with his arm.
"I'm sorry?" the Joker asked.
"He wanted to bring this frog to show you," Adriana explained.
"Oh," the Joker said, raising his eyebrows again, looking at Adriana as he spoke. "Well it... certainly is quite...resplendent."
Arsenio frowned and look at Adriana for explanation.
"He means," Adriana started to say to Arsenio, her voice soft and sweet when she spoke to him. "It's really colorful and impressive. He's right, it's a brilliant looking little froggy, right? Resplendent. That's a big word huh?"
The Joker watched at the baby began to smile at her detailed defining of the word.
'"Ya!" Arsenio said brightly.
" He..uhh... understood that?" the Joker asked, surprised that such a small child could understand full sentences.
"He's very very smart, "Adriana explained. " My gifted little baby. He understands everything that we say around him."
The Joker nodded approvingly, and notice the boys eyes opened up very wide and he was looking over the Joker's shoulder.
"Baaaoo!" he said loudly and pointed.
The Joker turns his head and looked at where the boy was pointing. There was a large blue inflated exercise ball on a shelf behind him.
" Yeah that ball is really big," Adriana laughed. "You want to play with it?"
The baby smiled and nodded.
"I'll...uh... get it then," The Joker said and walked over to the shelf to retrieve the ball. As he grabbed it from the top shelf and turned back to them with it, he felt his heart warmed by the innocence of the child, how impressed and stunned he was by something so simple.
"Tayoooo!" Arsenio squealed.
"Ehhh... You're welcome?" The Joker said, wondering if he had heard right, and if the boy was thanking him.
"Let's go over here," Adriana said while holding Arsenio. They walked over to an area where the floor was padded with a soft multi-colored mat.
The Joker set the ball down and watch Adriana kneel down and put the baby down on the floor. He let go of his frog and went over to the ball on all fours. Adriana wrapped her arms around him and placed him so that he was standing on his feet. The baby hit the ball with both hands and laughed at the sound that it made.
" Sounds like a big bubble right?" Adriana laughed.
The Joker stood and watched them as the baby hit the bowl and continue to laugh. The sound of the child's laughter was the most delightful thing he had ever heard in his entire life. Adriana picked up the frog and set it on top of the ball and both she and Arsenio watched it slide off the side and fall down onto the floor. The baby laughed again, a beautiful sound.
After a few minutes of play the boy looked up at him.
"Dak!" Arsenio said.
The Joker look at Adriana not sure what the baby wanted.
"You want him to play too?" Adriana asked Arsenio.
Arsenio nodded. The Joker was not sure that he knew how to play with children. But Adriana made it look easy. The Joker move into a sitting position on the floor. As soon as he sat, the baby surprised him by crawling over immediately. Adriana set the frog on top of the ball again and watched it slide over the ball, landing by the Joker's feet.
Arsenio giggled as he reached for the frog with one hand and pressed the other hand against the Joker's knee, pushing himself up to his feet again. He lifted the frog and handed it over to the Joker. The Joker held the frog in the palm of his hand, and spontaneously flung it up into the air. It flew over the ball and disappeared on the other side. Immediately, The Joker wondered if he had done something wrong by throwing the boy's toy but right away the baby begin to laugh even louder.
He was still standing with one hand pressed against the Joker's knee to stabilize himself and he began to bounce, bending his little legs several times as if he wanted to see it again. In his excitement he fell back in the Joker caught him before he could land on the mat.
"Faw!" the baby said if a Joker placed him on his feet again.
"Wow he leaps just like a real frog," Adriana said amused. She found the frog on the other side of the ball and tossed it up in the air so that it flew over to where the Joker and Arsenio were.
Adriana and the Joker tossed the frog over back and forth a few times. Arsenio was glued to the Joker's side the entire time. After a few more tosses the baby seemed distracted by the ball and crawled over to it. The Joker watched him move to a squatting position and push himself up onto his feet and press his hands into the squishy ball before falling down again.
"He's fine," Adriana said, seeing the Joker's concern. Arsenio was totally fine and was moving to his feet again.
This time, Arsenio was able to stand longer and was holding himself up with his hands on the ball.
"Dak!" Arsenio said. The Joker was not sure at all what the boy wanted but he moved a bit closer behind him.
The Joker noticed the boy lift one of his legs before nearly taking a tumble again. He was trying to climb on top of the ball. The Joker caught him again before he could fall with both of his hands around the baby's abdomen. The Joker moved to his knees, and placed the baby on top of the ball, holding him. At every turn, the Joker wondered if he was overstepping his boundaries but the baby seemed completely happy and Adriana just smiled at them.
Once the baby's feet were placed on top of the ball he was bending his knees as if he was trying to jump. The Joker held him firmly, and lifted him up into the air and back down onto the ball. The squeal of joy was so satisfying the Joker did it a few more times.
Adriana began to laugh at Arsenio's amusement at jumping on top of the ball and flying up into the air. The Joker moved Arsenio's feet down to the floor when he could see that the boy was trying to hit the ball again with his hands. He held him around his waist even though he knew the boy could stand on his own. He wasn't sure he liked watching the baby fall down, even though Adriana seemed plenty used to it.
Arsenio gave the ball a little kick and it moved a couple of feet away. Something told the Joker that it would be okay to let go just for a second, and he let go of Arsenios waist. The baby took a few steps on his own to reach the ball again, before wobbling and the Joker immediately went forward and held him again to prevent him from falling.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh my gosh!" Adriana exclaimed.
The Joker looked over at Adriana wondering what she was beginning to freak out about. He wondered if he had done something wrong.
" You walked! My baby walked!" Adriana said proudly. She reached forward and grabbed Arsenio and began to kiss his face. "Those we're his first steps," Adriana explained to the Joker the cause of her excitement.
" Well that's quite an accomplishment," the Joker said.
" You want to try it again?" Adriana asked Arsenio and he nodded.
Before she could place him on to his feet he was extending both of his little hands out to the Joker. Adriana and the Joker made eye contact for a second before he reached over to the baby. And again, he held Arsenio around his waist and placed him a couple of feet away from the ball. It seemed like he enjoyed having a target to walk towards. Adriana beamed as her son walked taking over half a dozen steps.
"Bravo!" Adriana praised. " Oh, Daddy is going to be so sad that he missed it."
It actually took the Joker a second to translate, and to remember who she was talking about. Daddy. Bruce Wayne. The Joker moved back down to sitting on the floor as the baby took a final few steps over to Adriana.
The baby was now grabbing on to her arm and was making a sound that the Joker had not heard him make yet. He sounded a bit agitated or like something was wrong. The Joker watched him grab at Adriana's arm and chest. The Joker was surprised that the baby's mood had changed so suddenly.
"Sorry I have to-" Adriana begin to say as the baby seemed to become more impatient.
Very quickly, before the Joker even had time for to prepare for it, Adriana had pulled a boy onto her lap. She undid a few buttons on the front of her shirt and stuffed one of her breasts into his mouth. The Joker watched as the boy became almost immediately quiet and tranquilized as he nursed.
Adriana looked at the Joker somewhat apologetically but he did not mind. It was just something that was foreign to him and was unexpected. He knew that women nursed small children, but it seemed like there were so many things that he had forgotten about that were simply natural. He found it fascinating that a woman could assuage a baby so easily. It was as if she had everything that this tiny child needed.
" How old is he again?" the Joker asked.
"11 months," Adriana answered. " He eats solid food now too but he still nurses on occasion."
"And he's healthy?" The Joker asked her, even though he felt like the answer was obvious. The child looked very healthy.
"He's in perfect health," Adriana told the Joker and then looked down at the baby. "Aren't you little one?"
The baby didn't respond, and the Joker thought he looked like he was drugged as he drank from Adriana's chest. His eyes were half opened.
"He okay?" the Joker asked.
"Not to worry," Adriana laughed. "That's just how babies look when they're being fed."
" Okay," the Joker said.
" I think we should be going in a few minutes," Adriana told him. "My husband will be back soon."
The Joker nodded. He was unsure if this would be the only time that he would see the child. He didn't know if it was appropriate to ask her if she would be bringing him back before he left the country for good so he just stayed quiet. The boy was her child and he was sure that she would make the decision on her own whether or not to let him see him again.
"I'll see if we can stop by tomorrow or the next day," Adriana said seeming to read his mind. "If we have any free time."
Adriana saw the slightest hint of the most genuine smile she had ever seen on the Joker appear on his lips, but mostly through a sparkle in his eyes.
.
"How was your dinner?" Adriana asked Bruce when he returned again later that evening. It was a little after midnight and he looked very tired.
" Long," Bruce told her.
They were standing in the kitchen and Adriana was sipping a bottle of water. Bruce loosened his tie and stretched his neck by bending his head to both sides.
"Awww, you look sleepy," she said and walked up to him and gently caressed his cheek.
He gave her a soft kiss and murmured against her lips, "I am."
Adriana look into his eyes and felt something different. Somehow, she no longer felt like he was looking at her like she was a victim. Or someone he felt bad for. He was looking at her simply as someone that he loved very deeply. It made her feel like she could tell him anything.
"Something happened today," Adriana told Bruce.
"Was it something good?" he asked her.
"Our son took his first steps today. I'm so sorry that you missed it. I wanted to tell you earlier before your business dinner but I didn't want you to feel bad about missing it-" Adriana begin to explain.
" Oh sweetheart that is amazing," Bruce said to her.
In truth, Bruce had not missed it. He has seen Arsenio's first steps. It happened around this time before he had to go back and change the past. He had seen the first Steps, his first birthday,. All he felt was joy that his wife was around to see it this time.
" I really wish you could have seen it, it was amazing," Adriana said to him.
"I know it was. Our child is amazing," Bruce said to her.
Adriana of smiled and kissed him again.
"You look like you're ready for bed," Adriana said to Bruce.
"I really am," he said with tiredness in his voice.
The sound of the doorbell made them both sigh.
"Now who could that be?" Bruce asked.
Adriana shrugged and Bruce left the kitchen. She finished her bottle of water and Bruce came back into the kitchen moments later carrying a bucket with a bottle of champagne in it.
"What's that? Someone delivered champagne in the middle of the night? " she asked Bruce
Bruce set the bucket on the countertop, and looked at the ice. He felt an overwhelming need to be honest. Things that changed today would soon be well known. He needed to tell Adriana the truth.
"I need to tell you something, " Bruce said to Adriana.
"Well this sounds serious,"she said and sat her empty water bottle down on the counter.
It felt like ripping off a Band-Aid. Bruce would have to tell Adriana the truth about their finances, and he was not sure how she would react. He just needed to do it and get it over with. He was wondering how many questions she would have, and how concerned that she would be. The champagne was from the new part owner of Wayne Enterprises that he had just come from a dinner with.
"You asked me a while ago if we were having money issues," Bruce said to her.
"Are we?" She asked.
"Due to some...decisions that I've made, we've lost a lot of money," Bruce said. "I've had to sell off many assets. I've had to sell some of my smaller businesses and most of my most valuable personal assets ...today a deal was closed. I sold a quarter of the ownership of Wayne Enterprises. The other part owner sent us the champagne. Going forward, there shouldn't be any more losses but our net worth has declined significantly... By billions."
Bruce waited for the questions. What bad decisions had he made? Who were these new people that were part owners of Wayne Enterprises? How much was their net worth now that they have lost billions? How long would it take to recover the losses?
Instead, Adriana walked up to him quietly and placed both of her hands gently on the sides of his face and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. She turned around and went to the bottle of champagne and looked at it. After that, she went over to get to champagne glasses and the champagne bottle opener. Bruce watched her with a puzzled look on his face.
"Bring the bucket" she said to him and left the kitchen and walked to their bedroom.
Once they were in their room she opened the bottle and poured them both a glass of champagne.
"Adriana," Bruce said. "I'm sure you have questions-"
Adriana stopped his words by placing a single finger over his lips as she sipped her champagne.
"I don't have any questions, I trust you," she said.
" But I'm sure you want to know how much we have lost? Its quite substantial amount," Bruce told her.
"I don't care about that," she said and kissed him again. "All I care about is that you're looking much better, you're gaining weight back and you look healthy again. I don't care about the money, I don't care about any of it."
At that moment Bruce realize he had truly found love. His wife loved him for him and she did not care about his money at all. For all she knew they were flat broke and would be living in a studio apartment the next month. And Bruce could tell that she truthfully did not care. All she cared about was him.
Bruce lifted his glass of champagne to his lips and drank.
"Are you tired?" Bruce asked her.
"No," she answered truthfully. "But we should head to bed because I know you are."
"What do you want to do right now?" He asked her.
" Honestly?" she said. "I feel kind of ... Energized. Like I want to have a party or dance."
Bruce smiled at her unexpected answer.
"Then let's do it," he said and she smiled.
Without any hesitation, she verbally told the stereos in their bedroom to play the song that she felt like hearing. She disappeared into their closet for a second and came back out with a feather boa around her neck.
They finished the entire bottle of champagne and danced for half an hour. Adriana lept up onto the bed and began to jump up and down twirling the boa around in the air. Bruce watched her and wondered how she had so much energy. He laid down on the bed while she still continued jumped up and down.
"Somebody's getting sleepy," she teased him.
"Just enjoying the view," he laughed.
She stood over him and then sat down on his hips and giving him a deep kiss. She reached above him for the bottle of champagne on the table next to his head, disappointed that it was empty.
"Those new business partners you have are amazing, that was the best champagne I've ever had," she told him over the music.
"Yes," he said, barely hearing her as his hands roamed over her body. She was wearing a satin cami dress that glided easily over her skin.
He sat up and tried to kiss her but she pushed him back onto the pillows and smiled at him teasingly. He smiled and try to get up again to kiss her but she crawled off of him and screeched as she tried to get away. He rolled over and chased her over to the end of the bed. They were both affected by the alcohol as they clamored over each other.
Adriana try to crawl off the bed and had both her palms flat on the floor but felt Bruce grab her around her legs. She felt him pulling her legs upward and screamed with laughter as her feet went straight up into the air. She saw his feet come down onto the floor on either side of her hands as he picked her up.
"Stooop," she laughed and screamed loudly as he stood up, holding her upside down.
She screamed louder as he held her firmly and began to spin around, and she felt his lips on her foot.
"Waiiiit," she kept laughing as he stopped spinning.
She grabbed onto his leg and saw another pair of feet standing in their doorway.
"Oh... Hi there," she said, as if trying to sound serious but unable to stop laughing.
Bruce was wondering who she was talking to and turned around to the doorway to see Alfred standing there, looking at them with reprimand. Bruce felt that he should probably be embarrassed because he was standing there holding his wife upside down with several of her toes in his mouth. Alfred was probably wondering why there was so much screaming and why they were acting like children, making so much noise in the middle of the night with their door left wide open. But instead of being embarrassed Bruce began to spin again and Adriana began to scream. A few seconds later they both burst into laughter as they heard Alfred shut their door firmly.