Always Look Forward

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye or Batman Begins!

Chapter Twenty-four

Lisa phoned her father the following morning. He was luckily still in Miami at the time, though he was preparing to leave for the airport shortly. A cheery Henrietta gabbed to her for a few minutes on the phone. JR remained silent and refused to speak to Lisa.

"They've both been acting strange, Leese," Joe told her, once the twins were out of earshot. "They are actually spending quite a lengthy amount of time away from each other."

"That's because their allegiances are split. JR doesn't trust me and 'etta's scared of Jackson," Lisa said solemnly.

"If you ask me, you should all be afraid of Jackson. He's a cold-blooded killer, Lisa. He's proven it time and time again."

Lisa sighed. She knew what he was saying was true in some ways. Jackson was not the killer though—that was Jack's job. "I know, dad. Believe me, I know. But I still love him. I love Jackson with all my heart."

"I still think he's dangerous."

"How 'bout we discuss this when you come here?" suggested Lisa. This was not a conversation meant for the phone.

"Sure, sweetheart. Our plane should be in soon—will you be meeting us at the airport?"

"I can't," Lisa said reluctantly. "Alfred will meet you. Don't worry, he'll find you. He's a really nice older man—very proper with a British accent," said Lisa, trying to suppress a small smile as she imagined her father meeting Alfred.

"I'll see you soon then, Leese."

"Bye, dad," she said softly as she hung up the phone. She hoped that their flight would be safe. She was still incredibly wary of planes, but it was faster than trains or driving. The sooner she was reunited with her children again, the better she would feel.

It was late afternoon before Alfred left to collect Joe and the twins. Before he left Wayne Manor, Lucius Fox arrived with several vials of an antidote that he had concocted.

"Lisa," he said in greeting—they were finally on a first name basis.

"Lucius," she said with a smile.

"I've completed the antidote. It should protect you against the toxin."

"That's great news! Lucius, can you tell me why you became so interested in Crane's toxin to begin with?"

Fox sighed deeply. She deserved to know. "Bruce Wayne was hit by the same toxin. He managed to tell Alfred two things before passing out shortly before your arrival. Those words were "poison" and "Crane". The information you told me helped me figure out how to fight the toxin. It's possible that you saved his life."

Lisa was stunned. Why would Crane have gassed Bruce Wayne? When would he have found the time if he was in the Narrows, hurting Jackson? Was it possible that Bruce had a secret that connected him to Jackson and Crane?

"I have a few vials of the antidote for you. One each for you, your children, your father, and the elusive Jackson," Fox said, handing Lisa the vials.

"Do I inject it into a vein?" Lisa questioned, looking at the vials strangely.

"Yes. Would you like me to show you how?" he offered.

Lisa nodded and rolled up her left sleeve. Fax uncapped one of the vials and explained to her what to do before injecting her with the liquid.

"Thanks so much, Lucius."

"Not at all. Now I'd best attend to Bruce with the antidote."

As Fox walked away, a knocking at the front door grabbed Lisa's attention. She peeked out the peephole and noticed Rachel standing outside. She quickly threw open the heavy front doors and ushered the woman inside. She figured that Alfred would not mind Rachel visiting.

"How are you doing?" Lisa asked Rachel.

"Okay, but Jackson disappeared from the hospital. Someone recalls seeing him with Dr. Crane."

"Crane? Are you sure?"

"Positive," Rachel said sadly.

"I can't believe it! Crane tried to kill Jackson, so there's no way he should be around Crane. What does he think he's doing?"

"Hey, Jackson can fend for himself. You just need to worry about yourself and the twins, okay?"

"Thanks, Rachel," said Lisa gratefully, flashing a half-smile at her new friend.

"No problem. I can't wait to finally meet your children. What are their names again?"

"Henrietta and JR," Lisa smiled. It had been so long since she had seen them. The last time she saw them, she had been under the influence of Crane's toxin and on the verge of going insane.

"Any special meanings?"

"Henrietta was my grandmother's name and my middle name. She died shortly before I met Jackson. It was his idea to name her Henrietta Seabreeze Rippner."

Rachel laughed. "After the drink?"

"Yeah. It was my favorite drink. JR was named after Jackson and my dad. His full name is Jackson Joseph Rippner."

"What did Jackson think?" inquired Rachel. From what Lisa had told her before, it seemed that Jackson was really agitated by his name.

"He couldn't protest because he named 'etta," Lisa smiled warmly, remembering that day fondly. They had all been so happy that day.

But Jack had long since shattered that illusion.

The front door opened and in walked a weary Joe Reisert and a bouncy Henrietta. JR was scowling and Lisa was instantly reminded very much of Jackson. Her heart ached for Jackson, longing to be reunited with him as well as her children.

"Mommy!" cried Henrietta in joy, rushing straight to Lisa, who bent down to greet the bundle of energy and dark, curly hair that was her daughter. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, 'etta," smiled Lisa, giving her a peck on the cheek.

JR hung back by Joe. His distrust towards Lisa was apparent. Joe guided him towards Lisa, not allowing him to ignore her. Lisa felt bad that her own children could show such open hostility towards her. Was there anything that day that she could have done differently to prevent this split of loyalties and trust within her own small family?

Rachel, Alfred, and Joe watched as Lisa and JR eyed each other for a moment, each of them waiting for the other to make a move first. Henrietta remained by Lisa's side, having always been mommy's little girl, even though she was close to Jackson—or had been before the 'incident'. How often do your parents try to murder each other in front of your eyes?

"JR, baby," Lisa whispered, her voice pleading. "I'm sorry that I hurt daddy. I know that you don't trust me, and I don't blame you. But I did it to protect you both."

JR listened to her, before shouting, "Daddy's not a bad guy! He don't wanna hurt us!"

"I know, I know. Mommy was scared though. Mommy was scared that daddy would accidentally hurt you and 'etta."

"Daddy won't hurt me," JR said confidently.

How could she explain to her children that Jackson had two sides? That their daddy would not hurt him, but Jack would? How do you tell five-year-olds that their father was mentally unstable and a deranged psycho and sociopath? Or that part of him was?"

"Mommy made a mistake because daddy accidentally hurt me," Lisa told him, telling him the truth. Lisa had never wanted to hurt Jackson, but it had been necessary. If she could go back and change the events of that day, then she would. But she could not. Both her and Jackson had to leave with the choices that they made that day and the consequences of their actions.

"I want daddy!" he cried. "I want to see daddy!"

Lisa winced, close to tears. JR did not know that he was breaking her already injured heart. She wanted him to see Jackson, but there was nothing that she could do at the moment. She had not the slightest clue were Jackson was.

"Baby, I don't know where daddy is," sobbed Lisa, finally breaking down. "I wish I knew. I want to see daddy too."

"Liar!" accused JR before running down the hallway, far away from Lisa and others.

Lisa collapsed to the ground, crying. Her own son had broken her strong will. Her heart plummeted to her feet.

The following morning, Lisa was wandering the manor when she caught her first glimpse of Bruce Wayne. He was standing, his back turned to her, speaking to Rachel at the front door.

"Hi, Rachel," Lisa greeted, sliding up beside Bruce. "What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping off Bruce's present," smiled the other woman.

"So, you're Bruce," Lisa said, turning to face the man that Rachel had told her so much about.

"And you must be Lisa."

Rachel's cell phone rang, interrupting the awkward silence. Only two words of her quick conversation stuck in Lisa's mind, but those two words frightened her.

"…Dr. Crane…" said Rachel.

Lisa froze and began to shake. Bruce noticed her adverse reaction to Rachel's words.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, concerned.

"Crane…" her green eyes were wide in fright. "He's crazy."

"How do you know Crane?" asked Bruce curiously.

"He, he gassed me back home. He took my children from me and turned my husband and my fears against me. Then he hurt Jackson. I'll kill him…" Lisa swore. Never again would Crane hurt her family. Not if there was anything that she could do about it.

"I've got to go," said Rachel, annoyance crossing her face. "I've got to head out to Arkham."

Lisa shuddered and Bruce asked Rachel, "At this time?"

"Sorry, but Dr. Crane's up to something. I've go to stop him. Bye, Bruce—Leese."

"Rachel, don't go!" pleaded Lisa, rushing towards her friend. "Don't go to Arkham! Crane's crazy! He'll hurt you for helping me escape!"

"That's a risk, I'm going to have to take," Rachel said with a shrug as she turned back to her car and exited the house.

Lisa stood in shock for a few moments, before racing back to her room. She grabbed the vials of antidote and called her father in. She gave him three vials.

"What are these for?" Joe questioned suspiciously.

"They'll stop the toxin. Inject them into yourself, Henrietta, and JR. Don't leave the house," she cried, before tucking one into the hip pocket of her jeans.

"Where are you going?"

"To stop Crane," she said strongly, with a sad smile before racing from the room. She was not just going to stop Crane, but find Jackson as well.

Author's Notes:

That chapter took forever to type up. I wrote four pages of it by hand on the bus this morning. Well, the first bus ride. I spent a total of 6 hours on buses today. Damn traffic. Well, next chapter soon. Enjoy and please review!