Always…

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

Chapter Nineteen

Lisa Rippner willingly helped Jonathan with his various toxin experiments. Her due date was rapidly approaching and she kept forging ahead with their research. Jonathan never permitted her to be present when he was mixing chemicals or testing. She was always a safe distance away, carefully taking notes and organizing files on patients. Lisa was an intricate part of the development of the fear toxin.

The pair was extremely busy. They hurriedly dressed in the morning and rushed to the asylum, where they remained until late in the evening. Lisa took several naps a day upon the couch in Jonathan's office. She was no longer afraid of Arkham and it made Jonathan's life less stressful.

One morning, a few days before Lisa was due to deliver, she felt pains consistent with labor.

"Jonathan! Jonathan!" Lisa called as she gritted her teeth in the searing pain from the harsh contractions.

The bespeckled Jonathan Crane came running down the stairs to the kitchen, skipping steps and his dress shirt halfway buttoned and his tie flapping. For once he looked similar to the patients that he treated over at Arkham with her assistance.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, breathless from his mad dash as he reached her side.

"The baby, the baby's coming, Jon," she whispered before another wave of pain hit. She mentally cursed Jackson for causing this.

The lanky psychiatrist paled. "I'll grab the bag," he said, helping her stand. "Can you make it towards the car?"

"I think so…" nodded Lisa. "Just hurry!"

Jonathan nodded as well and he was off, dashing back up the stairs. He stopped briefly to grab his jacket and Lisa's bag before turning around and hurrying back to her. He carefully helped her out the front door and into his car. He quickly shrugged his jacket on to help cover his wrinkled and messy appearance, before starting the car engine and buckling his seat belt.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, more than a little concerned. Lisa was not just any patient of his—she was his demented brother's widow and part of his fear toxin experiment. He had invested a lot of time and energy in healing her from the damage inflicted by Jackson. Jonathan could have easily stayed at home and delivered the baby thanks to his medical training, but he did not trust himself at this moment. He could not afford to slip up at this late stage of the game.

"I'm fine," Lisa replied; her voice and breathing shaky. She was already exhausted and she had barely even begun.

"Okay, we'll be there shortly. Don't worry."

"Thank you for authorizing this," Jim Gordon said to a haggard Joe Reisert as they stood in a cemetery.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this. I just want my daughter back," insisted Joe. That was all that mattered to the older man anymore.

"I understand."

The once-shiny andpolished casket was slowly raised up from the earth, which had held it tightly for the past several months in a loving embrace. Loose dirt rained down into the hole beside the grave marked 'Jackson Rippner'.

A few hours later, the coffin had been moved into an autopsy room, where Jim and Joe were present for the post-burial examination of one Jackson Rippner, the husband of Lisa Rippner. A killer that had been murdered by on of his former victims, according to the stories that Joe had told Gordon.

A strong corner's assistant deftly wielded a crowbar against the wooden tomb and pried the lid open. Jim and Joe stepped forwards, both men eager to catch a glimpse of the casket's occupant—if there was indeed anyone buried inside.

A young man greeted their eyes. He seemed to be peaceful, just sleeping. But a closer look at the body proved otherwise. The man's nose had been broken and pushed back into place and Gordon was positive that there were many other wounds upon his body. Dark brown hair hid his closed eyes.

"Is this your Dr. Crane? Joe questioned.

"No, but it sure as hell looks a lot like him," sighed Jim. "Is this Mr. Rippner?"

"Fortunately, it is. It's a relief to know that he can't hurt her anymore. Yet, this Dr. Crane fellow… is there any connection between them?"

"I don't know yet, but I intend to find out."

"Do that for me. I missed out on Rippner, and if anyone else hurts my baby, then they'll get what he deserved."

"I don't doubt it."

Author's Notes:

Just a quick little chapter! Only one more chapter left and then the epilogue. Warning, the end is one big cliffie, which will lead into 'Never…' which picks up several years later and will explain what happened over time.