Always…

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

Chapter Twenty

"Almost there, Lisa," Jonathan reassured her several hours later. "You're doing great."

"Jackson," she whispered, extreme exhaustion setting in. "Help me, Jackson."

Jonathan showed no reaction to her misguided belief that he was his twin. "It's okay. It's almost over. One more big push, Lisa, and it will all be over."

Lisa nodded and pushed hard, screaming as she did. She collapsed against the bed as she felt the baby leave her. Jonathan was brushing her loose hair back and wiping her sweaty face with a damp washcloth. She had done exceptionally well for a first time mother.

"A beautiful girl, Mrs. Rippner," announced the doctor from where she was cleaning the baby.

"Jackson. I want to hold her. Jackson, can I hold her?" she asked Jonathan quietly, her green eyes sparkling.

Jonathan looked towards the doctor, who nodded. He picked up the swaddled infant from where she lay and slowly walked over to Lisa. He was holding his niece, the daughter of Lisa and Jackson Rippner. He smiled down the baby and then at Lisa as he presented her with her daughter.

"She's beautiful, Lisa. She really is," he smiled and gently passed the newborn baby to her weary mother.

Lisa took her child from Jonathan and said, "Amy. Her name is Amy Alison Rippner."

"It's a perfect name."

"We have to take her for a few tests now, Mrs. Rippner," one of the nurses said, reaching for the sleeping Amy.

"Okay," Lisa muttered reluctantly before handing over her daughter.

The nurses and doctors left the room, leaving Lisa and Jonathan alone. She sighed and he numbly comforted her. How was he going to get the baby from Lisa?

He did not need to worry for after a few minutes, Lisa had fallen asleep and suddenly woke screaming. Jonathan jumped up from the chair that he had been occupying across the room and rushed to her side. His intent was to calm her down and discover what she had seen. Was Jackson back?

"Lisa, Lisa, what's wrong?" he called out, worried. Everything that he had been working for hinged upon her.

"Get away Jackson! Get away! You'll hurt her! You'll hurt Amy!" Lisa yelled and struck out at him.

Jonathan tried to hold her down. The last thing he need was her injuring herself or tearing the fresh stitches. She clawed at him, using her sharp nails as a weapon. She managed to swipe his face and draw blood.

"Can someone get me that black bag?" Jonathan ordered, praying that someone had heard him. He could not leave Lisa alone for the precious seconds it would take to reach the bag containing Lisa's belongings and his medications.

A nurse rushed in from the hallway, drawn in by the screams of fury from Lisa. "What do you need?"

"There should be a black zippered case inside that black bag by the chair. I need it."

"What for?"

"I'm a psychiatrist and she used to be my patient. She's suffering from delusions."

The nurse nodded and fetched the case. She handed it to him and he took a hypodermic needle and a bottle of clear fluid from it.

"Jackson! You bastard!" Lisa cried as he prepped the syringe.

"It's okay, Lisa," he soothed, injecting his concoction into her IV. "You'll be all right now."

Lisa's eyes fluttered closed as the drug went into affect. Jonathan turned to face the bewildered nurse, momentarily forgetting his bloody face and ruffled clothes.

"Why was she yelling at you?" the curious nurse wanted to know.

"Not at me. I'm Jonathan, Dr. Jonathan Crane. She was screaming at her dead husband, Jackson Rippner. He resembled me."

"Did he die recently?"

"He died nine months ago. She just had their only child."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Now if you would excuse us," he said coolly, waving his hand toward the door.

"Oh, sorry," she whispered and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her. Jonathan sighed. Stupid nurses…

Lisa was released two days later with no further outbursts and no memory of attacking Jonathan. The scratch marks were still visible upon his face, but he lied and said one of his patients at Arkham had done it. She had believed him because she had told him to go to work after the baby was born. She knew that the fear toxin needed to be finished despite what was happening with her.

Early in the afternoon of Jonathan's ultimatum, he knew that it was finally the time to test Lisa and see if the drug affected her in exactly the same way as the other experiments. Inside his jacket pocket was the current antidote, which he would administer after watching her reactions for a few moments. The sooner he gave her the antidote, the less affect the drug would have upon her. And if he was lucky, she would forget all about him attacking her with the gas.

When Lisa's head was turned, he sprayed the gas from the canister hidden in his sleeve into her face. She gagged and choked on the nauseating fumes. Then the screams began once he bent down to look into her face.

Scarecrow eagerly soaked up her terror, her fear.

Lisa kicked at him and ran away. He smirked and followed her, stalking her as some animals stalk their prey. She threw various objects at his head and screamed. He was closing in when she grabbed the fireplace poker.

"Get away, Jackson! NO!"

Scarecrow's fun was over. Jonathan was no fool. She murdered her own husband before, whom she had claimed to love. He was not going to let her kill him as well.

Jonathan jumped at her and ripped the metal weapon from her grip. While she was distracted by his sudden attack, he deftly jabbed her with a needle. In it was the antidote that he had created just for her; his precious pet.

Lisa went limp in his arms and sagged against his chest. Jonathan smiled. It had worked. He carried her to the bed and tucked her in.

"Mr. Reisert? I just got the results of the DNA work-up," Jim said solemnly over the telephone.

"And…?" Joe's eager, anxious voice replied.

"Jackson Rippner and Jonathan Crane have the exact same DNA. They are identical in their genetic make-up. I decided to run their fingerprints against each other, and found that they are not the same person."

"That means…"

"Mr. Rippner and Dr. Crane are twins. Whether or not they knew or Lisa knows is the only question now."

"If they were twins, then Lisa's in danger, isn't she?" Joe questioned, concerned. If this Dr. Crane fellow was upset by his brother's death, then he might very well take it out on Lisa.

"It's possible," Jim Gordon sighed. At that particular moment, his office door burst open.

"Sergeant Gordon? We have to go. There's been a breakout at Arkham Asylum. The entire police force is on their way," reported a young officer.

"Joe, something's going on at Arkham. I'll do my best to get to the bottom of Lisa's situation, I promise. But right now, I've got to go."

"I understand."

"Okay, bye," Jim said hurriedly, hanging up and running from his office to a squad car. He could only hope that the Batman was on his way.

Author's Notes:

Okay, I've changed the Batman Begins storyline slightly. Jonathan was not caught by Rachel Dawes or Batman and gassed. Since his accidental dosage prior to Silvia Monroe's murder, Jonathan has vaccinated himself against the toxin and is now immune. The toxin is in the hands of Ra's al Ghul, who ordered the breakout at Arkham. Jonathan doesn't yet know what's happening, but when he does, he's getting out of town ASAP. That's the last chapter and now all that's left is the epilogue before we move in to the sequel and the third part of this trilogy. Enjoy and thanks for the reviews!