Adriana heard Bruce talking to the doctor in the hall before returning to the room. The nurse sat down Adriana's empty cup and left them alone.
"Good news," Bruce said. "The doctor says that as soon as you can stand and walk a few steps, they will release you. They'll be coming in to help you make an attempt shortly."
Adriana frowned and looked at Bruce.
"What's wrong?" he asked and rushed to her side. "They've given you something for the pain haven't they?"
"Yes," she said, feeling strong enough to walk even though she hadn't been allowed to yet. "Did you...find him? The guy.."
"Oh, Mr. Hayden," Bruce said. "Yes I did and I thanked him for us both. Interesting character."
Adriana asked used her arms to push herself into an upright sitting position. Her neck ached horribly even with the brace, but she wanted to leave the hospital.
She tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed but Bruce stopped her.
"No rush, sweetheart," Bruce said. "Please..we'll wait for the doctors to come back in."
Adriana sighed. "Okay."
Bruce looked at her while rubbing her arm.
"Is he still here?" Adriana asked. "Mr. Hayden?"
"No, he left," Bruce told her. He noticed Adriana let out a sigh. "Do you remember him finding you?"
Adriana couldn't turn to face Bruce, her neck was locked in place with the brace. She turned her eyes only to his.
"Yes," she told him. "I was sleeping and he came in...he untied my hands. Then he left...came back with a key to free my feet..Then he took me out to a car. Next thing I knew we were here."
Bruce nodded. "So...you didn't see Damien when you he took you away?"
"No..I don't know where he was," Adriana lied.
"Mr. Hayden must have gotten lucky," Bruce said. "Pulling over when Damien happened to be away. Damien likely came back and found you were gone and.."
Adriana remembered hearing the words, still not feeling they were real. Damien was dead. He had taken his own life.
"I just..." Adriana said. "Want to go home."
Bruce kissed her hand again and then the doctor came into the room.
"You're sitting," the doctor said happily. "Excellent to see."
Adriana managed a weak smile and the doctor came over to check her again.
"Your neck injury didn't effect the bone at all, these type of soft tissue injuries can heal relatively quickly in someone your age," the doctor said. "Keeping the brace on for at least two weeks will help it to heal properly and more quickly. We will exchange this brace for one you can go home in. You will be able to bathe in it, just make sure you towel dry the outside of the collar. It's breathable so the inside will dry quickly."
"Okay," Adriana said.
"You will need help with bathing until the cuff can be removed," the doctor explained. "The amount of bleeding from your miscarriage was not abnormal. It was nearly mistaken for a normal menstrual flow."
"Right.." Adriana said.
"Are you experiencing any abdominal pain or cramping at the moment?" the doctor asked.
"No.." Adriana said. "It's stopped."
"Alright," the doctor said. "The bleeding should ease up gradually in the next few days. If you are experiencing any bleeding after two weeks you will need to follow up with your doctor. If you are experiencing no pain now, my best guess is that the bleeding should stop within the next couple of days."
After making sure that she could walk enough steps to make it to a wheelchair and back to the bed, the doctor said that there was no reason to keep her and that she could be discharged. She and Bruce waited another half an hour for the discharge papers to come in and be signed. In the meantime, they both spoke briefly on the phone to Adriana's family who assured them they would all be making the trip to Gotham the following day.
They left the hospital through a back entrance and large black van with a wheelchair lift retrieved them and took them back to their home. Adriana and Bruce were quiet during the ride. He wheeled her to their private elevator and to their front door.
Once they were inside, Adriana finally felt her body relax. A familiar and safe place made her feel so much better. It was the middle of the night and it was quiet. Bruce wheeled her to Arsenio's room without her even having to ask him. He was asleep in his crib when they came in quietly.
As soon as Adriana saw him, it felt like she lost control over her mind and body. She burst into tears and began to sob. Bruce kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned forward and began to cry into his shoulder, wanting to avoid waking the baby.
She didn't know why she was crying, but her son was so beautiful it made her weep. He was suck a stark contrast to what she had just been through. Her abdomen heaved as she lamented into the collar of Bruce's shirt. Once she had cried her heart out, Bruce wheeled her closer and she watched her son sleeping quietly for a while.
Then she reached for Bruce arm and took his hand. She was ready to sleep. He wheeled her to their bedroom and she finally stood up.
"Are you alright?" Bruce asked and placed his hand on her lower back.
"Yea...just," she said and looked around. "I never thought I'd be here again...I thought I was going to die out there."
She felt like she was about to cry again.
"You're safe..." Bruce told her and rubbed her back, before wrapping his arms around her.
She inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to calm herself down. The familiar smell of him relaxed her.
"I know," she said.
"Are you ready for bed?" he asked, even though he could see she was very tired.
"I feel gross," she said, hating the feeling of greasy unwashed hair and the diaper. And she still felt like she smelled of the cabin. "I need a shower."
"Okay," Bruce said and wrapped his arms around her as they walked into the bathroom.
For the first time she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked rough, puffy and swollen. Her eyes were red and her hair looked horrendous.
"Wow..." she said while looking at herself. Her appearance made her want to cry all over again.
"You..." Bruce said and held her hands, turning her away from the mirror. "Are beautiful."
She rolled her eyes sadly, feeling a tear slide down her cheek as she did.
"Thanks," she said to him.
He kissed the tear that had fallen, taking it away.
"Do you think a bath would be easier?" he asked her.
She tried to nod but her head wouldn't move in the brace. "I guess."
"Okay," he said and kissed her quickly before turning on the water.
The water flow was powerful and their tub usually filled extremely quickly. Bruce checked the temperature on his hand before returning to find Adriana looking in the mirror again, touching her hair with a look of disgust. She turned to him and sighed.
Bruce gave her a sweet smile and told her again that she was beautiful. She thanked him again and began to pull of his jacket that she was wearing.
"Let me," Bruce said and pulled the jacket off.
She was wearing very loose pants and the hospital gown on the top. Bruce untied the strings in the back and she wriggled out of the shirt. The first thing he saw was the bite mark on her shoulder, which looked deep enough to have drawn blood.
He touched her back, just below the mark, and felt angry. Damien was dead and the other man had not been found.
Adriana was trying to wriggle out of the pants which distracted Bruce from his fury. He bent down to help her out of them and saw the scratches. Once he removed the medical diaper, he saw them more completely. He saw the cotton saturated with blood. His lost child. More than anger, he felt confusion over how anyone could treat her like this. She was the most beautiful, forgiving, loving and kind woman he had ever known. She did not have a malicious bone in her body. She was the last person to deserve such treatment.
Bruce stood slowly and she turned to face him. She knew he was staring at the bruises and marks. He could see shame in her eyes. He knew that she had no reason to be ashamed.
"None of this was your fault," he reminded her, lovingly.
"I know," she said even thought she knew it would take some time for her to stop blaming herself for falling for the fake cop, not fighting the handcuffs that had clamped over her hands so quickly..and for not running. She should have tried to run..she doubted Damien would shoot her or have his men do anything of the sort. But she didn't know it was Damien at the time.
Adriana and Bruce went to the tub and he held her arms as she stepped in. She sat still in the water with her knees pulled up to her chest as he cleaned her hair and back, careful not to hurt the bruising on her shoulder. Once he was done there she moved back and let her legs lay flat on the bottom of the tub.
There was no visible blood in the water that Bruce could see, which made him relieved. Perhaps the bleeding was almost over. He put his arms into the water and began to clean her legs and as he went upwards to her thighs he looked at her face.
She looked completely absent. Staring ahead as though she was daydreaming. She didn't react as he moved her legs and finished cleaning the rest of her body. When he was done he kissed her cheek and she seemed to snap out of it.
"All finished," he said and then kissed her by the ear.
She placed an arm on the side of the tub and he was prepared to help her out but she didn't move. She began to lean forward and he could see she was going to cry again. It hurt his soul to watch her so hurt. She seemed very strong and held it together well in the hospital, but now it seemed she was falling apart.
"How...didn't I know I was pregnant?" she asked him weakly. "I should...I should have run...I shouldn't have stopped-"
Bruce could now see that she was blaming herself for the loss of the child. He was blaming himself for the loss. There had been two deaths and Bruce was not sure which one was meant to replace Adriana's. Surely, the child was lost first, and the cruelty of it all made his heart ache.
"You did nothing wrong," Bruce told her, feeling overcome with emotion himself, but refused to cry in front of her. He was the one who started the argument that she had stormed out of, full of hurt and anger. He was starting to hate himself.
"I could have..." she said. "I could have run..I had a chance.."
"Shhhh..." Bruce held her and soothed her by rubbing her back.
Once she finally managed to get out of the tub, Bruce dressed her for bed. He needed to be strong for her. He found the loosest nightgown and underwear to put her in, and attached a menstrual pad in them to catch the remaining blood.
When she was in bed, she seemed to have finally calmed down a bit from the crying. Bruce sat on the edge of the bed by her side for a while and they looked at each other.
"I meant..." Bruce said, after they were both silent for a while. "None of the things I said to you. Not a word of it.."
Adriana gazed at him. "I know," she said. "I know you didn't."
She took a breath and glanced down at his hands.
"I didn't mean what I said either.." she said. "I don't hate you."
"I know," Bruce said to her.
"I'm really tired," she said and leaned back onto the pillows.
Bruce nodded and leaned down to kiss her forehead, feeling her arm reach on to his shoulder to give it a soft squeeze. It seemed like an eternity ago, but Adriana remembered the last night that she slept in this bed. She banished Bruce to a guest room. She couldn't imagine being by herself now.
"I don't want to be alone," she said to Bruce.