'A little bribery goes a long way.'

'You tell me; she'll be at our feet in no-time.'

Crane grinned slightly. She was still so incredibly naïve. One simple act of kindness, and she was practically in the palm of his hand.

He could slowly see her walls come down. It was only slightly, but he was glad she could bear to be close to him. It was only the start. Soon…every part of her would be his; her mind, her heart, her body…all his…

…

After breakfast, Diana had retreated back to her room, for some peace and quiet. She was grateful for the journal she had gotten, but she wasn't planning on letting him reading it.

Right now…she was writing to Adam. She knew she couldn't apologize to him anymore, but she wanted to write down how she felt.

'Dear Adam,

I'm sorry I didn't believe you; you were right about Crane. He's completely insane. After he took me outside, he knocked me out, and brought me to his apartment, keeping me in what I can only describe as a modified basement.

As if that's not scary enough, he wants to do all sorts of things to me, and have me dress in provocative clothes for his amusement.

I'm so scared; he can barely keep his hands to himself, and every night, I'm forced to fall asleep feeling him pressing and throbbing against my back.

Adam…I'm so sorry for not believing you. I…was so blinded by my need for affection, I forgot what was important; our friendship. I threw it all away for the feeling of being admired…what I didn't realize was that I didn't need admiration as I already had someone who cared deeply for me…even after everything I had done.

It was you…all along. You were always there for me. You were a loyal friend, a brother and a guardian to me.'

She stopped writing, to swallow the lump in her throat. She wiped a few stray tears. 'I guess all I can do now is to keep on fighting, for you', she mumbled.

She didn't want to bow down to Crane; she couldn't, not after all he had done. He was responsible for her best friend's death. She could never forgive him for that.

But at the same time…she knew she was no match for him. He was stronger and much smarter than she was. She probably didn't stand a chance. She had fallen for his charms so easily before.

She pulled her knees to her chest, sighing. She felt scared, and alone. She wondered if this hadn't happened, would she be back with her dad?

Did she even want to? She asked herself. Her dad had walked away from her and hadn't contacted her since. She had wanted to contact him, at first. She had written many letters to

him, to ask him to come and get her. But she had never sent them. Not after she had told her mom.

'Your father is nothing but a bastard', she grumbled.

She held a grudge against her father for leaving her. Still…if she ever got away from Crane…maybe with some counseling and parental therapy…they could build up their lives again. She hoped that could happen…she really did.

But who was she kidding? Crane would never let her go. She was doomed to stay captive here.

Yawning, she went to lie down. She was absolutely exhausted, and this moment of peace, without him breathing down her neck…was wonderful.

…

'Take a break, Liam', Gordon came walking in, carrying two cups of coffee.

The young, blond officer looked up to his superior. 'I can't, Jim', he paused, to take the coffee from him; 'she's out there, by herself'.

Gordon took a seat, shaking his head lightly. 'I know, but exhausting yourself won't help her, and it won't help you', Gordon argued.

Liam sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew Jim was right, but there was something about this case that was off. Why was the Fischer family dead? And then the O'Connell girl mysteriously went missing? It just didn't add up.

He had read her profile. If she had escaped, she would've gone to the police for help…unless she had been prevented from going anywhere.

'She was kidnapped', he spoke firmly.

'Liam', Gordon put a hand to the younger man's shoulder; 'come on, five minutes'.

Liam blew out some air. He had seen how horribly scared she had looked, when they escorted her out of her old house. He hated that look, on anyone really. Part of it had to do with the fact the mob controlled this rotten city. Gotham had lost its shine and it would take a lot of 'polish' for it to shine again.

'I just can't stand it when people are missing. This girl was already robbed of so many things, and to top that off, she probably got kidnapped', he grumbled.

Gordon took a seat beside him. 'I know son, I know. I get now why you were put on the missing people unit. You're an expert', he joked.

Liam flashed a grin. 'I have a talent for tracking people', he answered.

At that, he didn't lie. Before he joined the GCPD, he had his own little practice. He had been a private detective before. Not exactly legal, but yeah, a boy had to eat. After Gordon found out about him, he had told him to use his skills for a better cause. He was forever grateful for that. Gordon was like a father-figure to him.

'I'm aware of that. But take a break. Have a donut, drink coffee. Anything to get your mind off the case', Gordon urged him.

With an irritated groan, Liam moved away from the computer screen. He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. He was determined to bring this girl back. He hadn't failed before, and wasn't about to start now.

…

'Diana…'

Diana murmured an incoherent reply, turning onto her front, snoring very lightly. A tender grip took hold of her shoulder, and shook her carefully.

She opened her eyes, meeting the foggy figure through her sleepy eyes. 'Dad?' she asked.

She rubbed her sleep-filled eyes. Her vision cleared and she found Crane staring down on her. Her mouth became agape slightly. She felt somewhat disappointed. She would've felt a lot more at ease if it had been her father waking her up.

'You look well-rested', he stated.

She sat up, as she continued to rub her eyes. All things considered, she had slept very deeply and rather peacefully. 'I-I am', she answered softly.

'It's about three o'clock in the afternoon. Are you hungry?' he asked.

Her stomach growled loudly. 'Y-yeah, I am -' she wanted to get up, but he stopped her.

'Stay here. I'll get you something to eat', he smiled.

He left her in her room. She sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She dared to let a smile cross her features. He seemed to be a lot calmer and gentler now –

She immediately shook her head. No! She couldn't think like that…but she couldn't help it…she still had feelings for him. It felt so wrong!

She liked the attention she got from him, she knew that. She had never received so much attention and affection from someone before. Not even Adam. He had been so devoted to her, as Jonathan was.

She pulled her knees under her body, when he came back. He carried a tray and she could smell the fresh scent of tomato-soup. She licked her lips, almost eagerly.

He handed her one bowl, putting the tray between the two of them. She inhaled deeply, before taking a spoonful. She could taste that it came out of a can almost immediately. She knew the taste difference between home-made, and store bought soup any day.

'Why don't you make it yourself? It's a lot healthier that way', she asked.

He frowned at her, which made her flush. She averted her eyes.

'It's just…my grandma used to make tomato soup all the time', she told him.

'Your grandmother?' he asked.

She looked up to him. Why was even she telling him this? 'Yeah, before the divorce, when I was younger, I always helped my grandma in the kitchen. She always said cooking food was in our blood, since she's Italian', she explained.

'You're part Italian?' he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a soft smile. 'I am', she answered.

'What happened to your grandmother?' he asked.

She swallowed another spoonful of soup. 'She died a few years ago. Mom didn't even seem to care…' she sighed deeply.

'Your mother was an alcoholic, correct?' he questioned.

She gave a silent nod. She was. And thanks to all the alcohol, nothing seemed to matter to her. She still remembered vividly, how her mother had watched on, as Michael hurt her. She had simply closed the door on her without another word.

'She-she let my stepfather hurt me…' Tears had started to fill her eyes. She didn't notice him coming closer, until he moved the tray out of the way.

'It's alright. You're safe here', he promised.

'Am I?' she returned the question softly.

He ran a hand over his face. 'I know you don't trust me, but I would never lay a hand on you in violence. I only want the best for you', he assured her.

She didn't answer. He only sighed in response. She went on eating her soup, swallowing. Despite how wrong it seemed, she couldn't help but feel flattered he had put so much effort into making her comfortable here. The room she had was nice and cozy, not to mention the soft pink color really calmed her nerves.

'Doing all this must've cost a lot of money', she said softly.

He only smiled at her. 'You shouldn't be worried about that. Every dime spent was more than worth it'.

Her face flushed. No one had ever done something like this for her. No one…had ever cared enough to give her a room where she felt at home.

'You're so beautiful.'

Her mouth dropped. She could feel her nerves creep up inside her, when he came even closer. He slowly reached for her braid, to untie it. He untangled her hair with a smile. Her breathing could only quicken. Why was she feeling so light-headed all of a sudden?

'There. Much better', he smiled tenderly.

She stared at him, wide-eyed and blushing. How was it possible he still made her heart race like this? After all he had done…

'Finish your soup', he told her and stood up.

She tilted her head to the side. 'Where are you going?' she asked.

He bent down, to kiss the top of her head. 'I have a few calls to make. I'll be back in a bit', he smiled.

She couldn't help but return the smile. 'Okay', was her answer.

…

When Crane returned to her a little while later, she was sitting on her bed, lost in her thoughts as she wrote in her journal. He could clearly see she needed to keep a journal, to control her unruly thoughts.

He took a seat on the side of her bed. Did she write about him, he wondered. Did she describe him as a monster? He hoped not, but he knew her distrust towards him. Yet…it seemed she was slowly becoming less hostile. Whether she was simply giving up, or whether she wanted to be here…he had no idea.

She noticed his presence rather quickly; she looked at him, her timid green eyes studying him briefly, before averting her gaze from him. A light blush dusted across her pale cheeks.

Diana gazed at him, feeling her heartbeat pick up when he came closer, to the point where there was little to no space between them. She turned her head downwards shyly, but he took hold of her chin, to keep her in his gaze.

He laid a tender kiss to her forehead.

'W-why do you keep on doing that?' she asked softly.

A kind smile crossed his full lips. 'You still don't see it?' he paused to sigh; 'I'm deeply in love with you.'

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. Had she heard him correctly? Had he really just told her that?

…

CLIFFHANGAR! How will Diana react? Will she feel obliged to return his feelings? Or will she reject him?

Find out next time ;)

Lots of love,

~TheOneWithTooManyInterests