Mother Nature's Affair

Chapter 13: A Day at Work

We see Derrick enter work a few weeks later. Things had been going well as Derrick and his staff continued to rehabilitate a good chunk of Gotham's criminally insane. The first room Derrick went to was the surveillance room. Cash was on surveillance duty today.

Derrick, "morning Aaron."

Cash, "morning boss."

Derrick, "so, has anything happened yet?"

Cash, "well, Nigma caused a scene in the mess hall."

Derrick, "let me guess, Cobblepot wouldn't give him his tater tots?"

Cash nodded.

Derrick, "heh, it's funny how Oswald is taking his community service seriously."

Cash, "I figure he's just buying time until he's on parole."

Derrick nodded and said, "what about Harvey?"

Cash, "he's having his session currently. He's making progress this time around."

Derrick, "anything else?"

Cash, "Jervis was put in solitary confinement when he tried to kiss a nurse. Never have Alice check on him again."

Derrick, "noted."

Cash, "Croc, sorry, Waylon, is currently helping with the heavy lifting in the construction of the new wing. We've got plenty of guards keeping watch on him."

Derrick, "is Donna there?"

Cash, "yeah. As per requested, she's there to make him feel calm. She's the only person who can see him as human."

Derrick, "he is human, Cash. He's just heavily mutated. I know you two have bad blood, but you gotta put it behind you when we're at work. We're lucky our funding from Wayne Enterprises allows us to give everyone help. Now, give me a rundown of the others?"

Cash, "right. We managed to find Victor and Nora Fries. They're both going through treatment for their conditions. Courtesy of our funding."

Derrick, "great. Those two deserve help for their conditions."

Cash, "I'm inclined to agree with you. As for Crane, he's still lost in his own little world."

Derrick, "whatever Batman put into him has shattered his mind far beyond repair."

Cash, "some would say that's a good thing. The nut job nearly destroyed Gotham on Halloween."

Derrick, "sadly, I'd have to agree with you Aaron. What about Pyg?"

Cash, "still going under intense therapy. That guy is nuttier than a squirrel's bake sale."

Derrick, "Mr. Lynns?"

Cash, "we're looking into skin grafts for him. Still can't get him to get over his fetish on fire."

Derrick, "it takes time Aaron. Especially for people who have had these issues for years. What about Syonis?"

Cash, "he's still going through physical therapy after what the Red Hood did to him."

Derrick, "ah. And what about our local preacher?"

Cash, "Blackfire refuses to even talk to anyone."

Derrick, "he's still under some delusions that he's an immortal man doing the work of his religion."

Cash, "yeah, but he's just a damn fool who kept tricking men into doing his dirty work."

Derrick, "what about Mr. Day?"

Cash, "well, he's still obsessed with all of the holidays. He keeps bad mouthing Crane for stealing his idea of defeating Batman on Halloween. We've got him under heavy watch, since the guy's killed a lot of people."

Derrick, "good. And I hear we've managed to finally locate Basil Karlo?"

Cash, "yeah. He was found strolling around the East end of Miagani island. Again, with our funding, we may be able to restore his human form."

Derrick, "good. Now, what about Dr. Langstrom?"

Cash, "Kirk still comes in to do his research on deafness, as well as to keep his condition at bay. He's also convinced that his wife is alive somewhere."

Derrick, "she may very well be. Batman gave word that he returned to Kirk's lab and found that she was missing, and on top of that, there was a message written in what was presumed blood."

Cash, "well, I honestly hope he finds her."

Derrick, "agreed. I couldn't imagine losing Pam. Now, what about Victor Zsasz?"

Cash, "ugh, he's definitely the worst of the bunch."

Derrick, "and I'm having a session with him today."

Cash, "then I recommend you bring along some guards. The guy honestly scares me a Hell of a lot more than Joker ever did."

Derrick, "I think it's because Zsasz seems like a more realistic maniac, while Napier had the whole goofy clown motif. Both of them killed a lot of people, but one was way more theatrical about it."

Cash, "yeah. Either way, most would agree that Zsasz is a lost cause."

Derrick, "even so, we still need to try to get to him."

Cash simply shrugged and said, "most of the other patients are a mix of doing well, and doing bad."

Derrick, "understood. I'm heading off to my session with Zsasz. Tell Harley to meet me in my office after the session."

Cash, "alright. And good luck boss…."

….

Derrick arrived at Victor's cell. The killer was behind a thick glass wall, and in a straight jacket. Derrick wasn't gonna take any chances with him. That's why he had two guards with him. A lot of other doctors had, and had paid the price.

Derrick, "hello Victor."

Victor growled almost like an animal as he stared at Derrick.

Derrick sat down in a chair and asked, "are you in a talkative mood today?"

Zsasz, "I want…. The mark!"

Derrick, "so you say…. Constantly. For years you've had this fixation on leaving a mark on yourself whenever you kill someone. And when you set your sights on a target, all you think about is the mark."

Zsasz growled as he said, "she's still out there. I WANT THE MARK!"

Derrick, "yes, I remember. That incident years ago with Dr. Cassidy. You obsessed over her. Stalked her. And tried to kill her once you escaped. She's lucky to have survived. When Dr. Gretchen called her and warned her that you were free. And before you could…. Add another mark, Batman stopped you."

Zsasz, "none of it matters. All that matters is the mark."

Derrick, "you dug your own grave, Zsasz. Rather than seek help for your mental illness, you kept gambling your money away. And when there was nothing left, and a man tried to rob you, you killed them. And added your first mark."

Zsasz grew a nostalgic look upon remembering his first kill. The first time he had marked himself.

Derrick, "but where has all of this gotten you? Being labeled as a criminally insane madman who people know for killing people and posing their bodies like statues before marking himself. Even when you were once thought to have been cured, you killed Sharp's secretary. Sharp nearly beat you to death for it."

Zsasz, "my legacy-"

Derrick, "will not be remembered fondly. Hence why you're under such tight security. Most doctors tried to treat you like you weren't a threat. When you clearly are…. Victor, may I ask you a question?"

Zsasz, "it won't matter…. Ask away."

Derrick, "what happens when you run out of room?"

Zsasz, "e-excuse me?"

Derrick, "when you've killed enough people, so there isn't any room for more marks, what will you do? You won't have the mark anymore. You'll have…. Nothing."

Zsasz seemed to process thus, and began breathing heavily, an enraged look in his eyes. He got up and started running into the glass!

The guards got closer to Derrick and said, "I think it'd be best if we left Mister Zsasz to stew over my words for now."

The guards nodded as they led Derrick out of the room.

Derrick made his way to his office, And just like he had asked, Harley was there in her own coat and glasses.

Derrick, "hello Harleen."

Harley, "hiya Derrick. What'd you wanna see me about?"

Derrick, "you know that I'm looking for some land out in the country, right?"

Harley, "yeah. Some open land for you, Ivy and the kids. What about it?"

Derrick, "once I find some land, I'm gonna need someone to watch over the Asylum when I'm not in town…. Harleen, in offering you a job as Co-Warden of Arkham Asylum."

Harley was shocked, to say the least.

Harley, "a-are you serious? You're offering me this?"

Derrick, "you've made amazing progress over the years. You regained your doctorate, and have become one of the best doctors in the Asylum. I'm confident that you'd be able to run this place while I'm gone for extended periods of time."

Harley couldn't stop the smile on her face as she said, "t-thank you Derrick! I'm honored!"

Derrick smiled and said, "you also get a new office."

Harley fist pumped before straightening herself out and saying, "thank you."

Derrick chuckled as he said, "I'll show you your new office by the end of the week. For now, that's all I needed to see you about."

Harley smiled and said, "thanks again", before walking out of the office.

Derrick sat down with a smile on his face before getting to some paperwork he had to do….

….

Later, Derrick returned home, seeing Rose tickling Solomon in the living room.

He chuckled as he said, "guess who's home?"

Rose, "daddy!"

Rose carried her brother over to their father.

Derrick bent down and hugged his children with a beaming smile.

After working at a place like Arkham all day, it's nice to come home to the smiling faces of his children.

"Welcome home, sweety."

And his beautiful wife.

Derrick turned to see Ivy walk in with a loving smile on her face. She was wearing a red sweater and dark green pants as she hugged her husband.

Ivy, "how was work today?"

The two separated as Derrick said, "as good as it can be. Some patients are doing well. Some aren't. The best part was seeing the smile on Harleen's face when I offered her the, new job as Co-Warden."

Ivy chuckled and said, "I'll bet."

Ivy then picked up Solomon and said, "I'm going to get dinner started soon. Right after I put Solomon down for a nap."

Derrick, "alright. I'm going to change into some more comfortable clothes."

Ivy, "alright."

The two parents went in different directions to complete their actions.

Gabe changed into a blue shirt and grey pajama pants, before making his way into the living room, where Rose was cuddling Clover.

Derrick chuckled before sitting next to his daughter.

Derrick, "did you have a good day?"

Rose nodded as she snuggled up next to her father.

Soon, Ivy came in after putting their son down for a nap, and made her way to the kitchen in order to start preparing dinner.

She would be making shake and bake chicken with mashed potatoes.

As she began to prep dinner, her gaze was drawn to a picture on the fridge.

Rose had drawn a picture of their entire family.

Rose, Solomon and Clover in the middle. Ivy and Derrick next to them. Derricks aunt and uncle were also in the picture, as were Harley, Mark and their daughter, Selina and Bruce Wayne.

It was…. A very big picture.

But it made Ivy smile at having such a large and loving family for her children to grow up with.

And that smile remained as she continued to make dinner….

….

Reviews:

Jinero: for what?

hc94436: I'll try to get more chapters out quicker. As for how this story will end eventually, I'm not sure yet. I've got a basic idea of what'll happen, but still.

Amanny: I'm glad you liked this chapter. I'm excited as well.

Shakespeare1994: I'm glad you enjoy this story so much. And I made sure to fit in what's going on with the other villains.

….

A chapter simply focusing on Derrick working at the Asylum, and returning home at the end of the day.

For those who wanna know how the story will end; Derrick, Ivy and the kids decide to move to the country, appointing Harleen in charge of running Arkham, etc.

Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been very busy with other stories, and LIFE! Covid, work, and a dog. Only one of those I don't mind, (see if you can guess which?)

Try to solve this new story title:

GBMMPVU- OFX OFX ZPSL