Alex stretched as she sleepily sauntered back to her room. Franny and Pam had been incredibly relieved when she'd returned. Clearly, a mobster visiting an inmate had caused a big stir, and people were now keeping a respectful distance from Alex. Even Laura hadn't tried to disturb her evening.

Although it was nice to have a little reprieve, Alex couldn't help but feel like it was more like the quiet before the storm. Her court date for freedom was quickly approaching. While meeting Falcone had momentarily pushed thoughts of the trail further back in her mind, it hadn't erased the anxiety she felt. Perhaps the meeting with the lawyers tomorrow would help… or maybe make it worse.

With a worried sigh, she paused in front of her door. Alarm bells went off in her head for a moment before she realized something was off. The door to her room was already open. She was sure that she had shut it firmly before she went to meet with Falcone. Goosebumps went up her arms, and she considered yelling for a guard.

"Miss Arkham, is there something wrong?"

Alex turned to see Dr. Crane and a nurse walking her way. Avoiding the nurse's irritated glare, Alex mumbled, "Did someone go into my room?"

Dr. Crane's eyes widened, and he quickly put himself between Alex and the door. After a second of hesitation, Dr. Crane opened the door. Alex's breath caught in her throat as the doorway revealed a woman lying completely still on her floor. Red liquid spread out over the floor, and a knife was a few inches from her outstretched hand. While the nurse screamed for a guard, Dr. Crane rushed inside to check the woman's pulse. Alex's eyes met his, and she knew the woman was dead. A guard soon blocked Alex's view of the room.

A pair of hands gently but firmly grabbed her shoulders. She felt herself being steered away and made no attempt to stop it from happening. After having her sit down in his office, Dr. Crane briskly walked back out, shutting the door behind him. Alex curled up in the chair and waited. Thoughts swirled around in her mind, but they felt… fuzzy. The only thing that kept coming back to her was the soda on the ground. Where did it come from? She hadn't seen it before she'd left.

The door opened and closed. Alex could hear footsteps coming toward her and sprung up… then fell down.

"Easy there," Dr. Crane murmured softly. "Miss Arkham… Elizabeth, I need you to look at me."

Alex looked up into his blue eyes, but the world around her had started to go misty. It was all she could take. She felt the tears well up in her eyes before falling. Looking away, she buried her head in her hands. No doubt Dr. Crane was annoyed. She wasn't being very useful at the moment, but she didn't really care. Letting the misery out was the only thing she felt that she could do right now.

Being trapped in a world with enemies at every corner and losing everything she once had were feelings she'd carefully locked away. Letting misery overtake her wouldn't help her, but she couldn't fight it any longer. Everything seemed so damn miserable.

Arms gingerly wrapped around her and pulled her close. Dr. Crane's embrace was awkward as though he'd never held anyone before. It didn't matter to Alex. She rested her forehead on his chest and put her arms around him. Finally, his body relaxed enough that it no longer felt like she was being hugged by a mannequin.

"It would be best if you didn't sleep alone tonight. I'll have a bed set up for you in Franny and Pam's room tonight. Would that work for you?"

"Yes," Alex whispered as she let go of him.

Dr. Crane seemed to pause for a moment before releasing her. Alex curled back up in the chair and watched him leave the room, noticing him straightening his suit before leaving the room. Alex felt embarrassed now that she'd calmed down. What was she thinking?! Her cheeks felt flushed against her hands.

A knock on the door brought her back to reality as Franny and Pam entered the room. Franny looked openly worried, and Pam seemed to be struggling with what she should say. After a moment of hesitation, Franny threw her arms around Alex.

"Come on, Lizzie," Franny said, holding Alex tight. "Let's get out of here."

Alex slowly got up with Franny supporting her. As Franny led Alex towards Alex's room, Pam put a hand on Alex's arm. The room had been taped off, and it seemed taken over by officers. Keeping her head down, she briskly walked past hoping no one would call out for them. No one did.

Alex couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief as she entered their room. It was smaller than Alex's. Perhaps that was the benefit of being one of the descendants of the rich family that once called this place home. Franny quickly adjusted furniture around the room before scooting the two beds together.

"There! A bit snug but…"

"It's great, Franny. Thank you."

Alex sat on the edge of the bed. Franny jumped into the middle of the bed, and Pam sat on the other side of the bed from Alex. As Alex settled into the bed, she looked over to see Franny giving her a worried smile.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it right now, but… just… I'm here if you need me."

Alex could feel her eyes welling back up in her eyes and tried to stop them, but then Franny pulled into the bed and into a hug. The emotions she'd been trying to wrangle back flooded out of her. Franny quietly held onto her. After a moment, she felt a hand gently run through her hair.

"We'll be here…" Pam said quietly.

Alex noticed that it was different this time. This time it wasn't the fear or sadness that made her break down. It was the warmth. These two people truly cared for her, and that fact alone made it easy to collapse into their arms. From the moment she'd woken up here, she'd been alone. Now she wasn't. That alone was worth a few tears. After a while, she calmed down enough to say quietly, "I think… I'm all cried out."

Franny stopped hugging her and got comfortable on the bed before asking, "Do you want to talk about something else, or do you want to get some shut-eye?"

Alex considered sleeping for a moment before she replied, "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep just yet."

"What do you want to talk about? Got any big plans after you get out of here?"

Alex laughed at how odd the idea of leaving this place was. After a moment of silence, Pam answered, "I'd like to go back to university."

"Oooh! What did you study?" Franny excitedly asked.

"I had a masters in botanical biochemistry. I was on my way to getting a doctorate when… I had a bit of a breakdown."

"Ah, understood," Alex answered, remembering Pam's story of how she got put in Arkham. "I'd like… I don't really know honestly. I think I'd just enjoy the freedom. Maybe leave Gotham for a bit. Go to the beach. Feel the wind in my face. What about you, Franny?"

"Me?!"

"Yeah, you. What would you want to do?"

"Hmm… I don't really know either… except there is one place I'd like to go to, but… it's a bit childish."

"And where would that be?" Pam asked with a tone of amusement.

"Well… there was this carnival that would come to our town once a year… it wasn't particularly great… or safe to be honest, but what carnival is?"

"So do you like the rides?" Alex asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, of course, but… it was just the atmosphere. The bright colors, the loud music, the danger!"

"Sounds… like your idea of fun," Pam said as though just picturing was giving her a headache.

"I'll go with you," Alex said, causing Franny to turn her head and look at Alex with a hopeful expression. "We might not be able to find that exact carnival, but we can go to one… hopefully one a little less dangerous."

Franny laughed and held onto Alex's hand.

"I suppose… I could also… tag along," Pam said with a huff, and Franny cheered with glee. "Only once though. Those places are crawling with… people."

Alex laughed at Pam's obvious disgust and asked, "Where would you like to go besides back to college? Something we could all do together."

"I wouldn't mind going camping…"

"That settles it then! When we get out of here, we'll have fun at a carnival, take a trip to the beach, and venture into the wilderness."

"I'm game," Alex agreed and heard Pam murmur in agreement.

"So… what's your favorite animal?" Franny asked cheerfully, and Alex giggled. "What?!"

"It's just… kind of random."

"We're bonding right now, and I think you can tell a lot from a person from their favorite animal. I'll go first. My favorite is the hyena. Can you tell why?"

"Not a clue," Pam answered tiredly. "But… I'm not overly fond of animals in general."

"Too close to people?" Franny joked.

"Hyenas…" Alex murmured as she tried to figure out the answer. "Well, they make a sound that sounds like laughter, and you do love to have a good time. They're also ruled by females."

"Really?" Pam asked thoughtfully. "Pretty smart… for an animal."

Franny giggled, and Alex continued, "They actually are quite smart… and misunderstood. Made out to be a villain when they're really only trying to survive a harsh environment…" Alex trailed off for a moment as Franny went quiet. "My favorite animal… is probably the crow."

"Ugh! Birds are the worst. There's a reason we have the word 'bird-brained'."

"Actually, Pammy, crows are actually really smart!" Franny spoke up. "There have been a whole bunch of studies on them… Apparently they can even recognize human faces."

"So what you're saying is… I could piss off a crow and never know if it holds a grudge."

Alex laughed, and Franny said jokingly, "Sounds like you might have made an enemy."

"Not on purpose," Pam said with a laugh of her own.

"I think Pam might like honeybees," Alex said thoughtfully.

"Because they're pollinators," Pam replied seemingly thinking over. "I suppose you're right. They do help spread plant life."

"Or butterflies."

"Also pollinators."

"And they're pretty."

Pam playfully reached around Franny to lightly punch Alex's arm. Franny went on to create her own argument with herself on which one truly matched Pam. Unfortunately, Alex missed the conclusion. After closing her eyes to relax, she quickly drifted to sleep to the sound of Franny's voice. The morning sun peeking through the blinds woke Alex from her slumber. Her head hurt, but that was probably just the stress.

The door opened, and a guard waved for her to come out. She hesitantly walked to the door. The guard didn't seem to be offended at her distrust of him and waited patiently, which just made Alex more nervous. The guards weren't particularly helpful. Most of them were actually quite brutal to the inmates; was this the power of being friendly with Carmine Falcone? She didn't close the door completely after she walked out just in case.

The guard noticed her worry and said, "I'm just here to escort you to the showers. The detectives will be here to speak with you soon."

Alex quickly and quietly shut the door. It would be better to get this over with sooner than later. The guard slowed his steps to hers as they walked down the corridor. Maybe Dr. Crane had told them to be careful with her. What use would she be if she broke down now? Part of her chastised herself for thinking so negatively of a man who'd been trying to help her, but she wasn't quite convinced that he was a good guy just yet.

The guard stopped at the entrance to the showers and picked up a bag that had been left by the door. He handed it to her. Inside the bag was a fresh change of clothes. Alex hoped that it had been the nurses who'd went through her clothes. Her own room was probably still marked off a the scene of a possible crime.

With a quick wave of her hand, she entered the showers. Alex bathed as quickly as possible and changed in a flash. She didn't want to keep the detectives waiting as from what she could remember the Gotham police weren't particularly nice people… except for Gordon, but she doubted that she was that lucky. The guard seemed surprised at how quickly she finished but quietly led her down the hall to an office.

An officer was inside speaking with Dr. Crane. As she entered the room, the doctor gestured for her to take a seat next to him. The sound of the door closing filled her with dread as she sat down. The detectives eyes were on her now.

"I'm Detective Flass, and you must be Miss Elizabeth Arkham."

"Yes," Alex said quietly, confused at his tone. Had she already done something to make him angry?

"So you were the first one to find the body?"

"That's incorrect, detective," Dr. Crane spoke in a calm but icy voice. "Miss Arkham and I were the first ones to see the body… along with Nurse Brody."

"Yeah," the detective said irritably, scratching his chin. "So tell me what happened, Miss Arkham."

"Well… I had just left the dining hall. Before I opened the door, I noticed that it was already open, so… I hesitated."

"And what made you hesitate?"

"A little while ago, my brother… had broken into my room… he tried to strangle me, so I think a little bit of caution is warranted." Alex's voice shook a little, but she didn't like how this man was acting in reaction to her story. It was almost like he wanted her to be guilty of something.

"Easy now, Miss Arkham. No need to get worked up. I just need the facts."

Alex continued, uneasy but reassured by Dr. Crane's icy glare at the detective, "Dr. Crane and Nurse Brody happened to be walking down the hall and saw me stop. Dr. Crane opened the door and… there was a woman… face-down on the floor… and blood."

Alex stopped and heard the detective sigh irritably.

"Is it true that you have been bullying a Miss Laura Thorne?"

"No… if anything it's the opposite."

The detective looked at her with a cocky grin and said confidently, "So you two don't get along, huh? A bit suspicious that your 'bully' would end up dead in a room, don't you think?"

"That was Laura?" Alex whispered with horror. There was no way that this was a suicide. Laura wasn't the kind of person that would willingly hurt herself. Other people? Of course, but not herself.

"Yes, and her uncle thinks her 'suicide' is very suspicious."

"Well, he must be an important man if he can change the course of a police investigation," Dr. Crane noted with obvious disdain creeping into his voice. "Miss Arkham has given you what you need. The truth. If your intention with my patient is to badger her into confessing to a crime she did not commit, then I will have to ask you to leave."

The detective and the doctor stood up. While the detective was taller then the doctor, he seemed unnerved by Dr. Crane. Fixing his tie, the detective said irritably, "We'll speak again soon, Miss Arkham. And next time… without the good doctor."

The detective muttered to himself as he left the room. Dr. Crane's cold eyes followed him out the door. If Alex could be grateful for anything at this moment, it was that she wasn't the detective.