Crane had awaken to the sound of rustling and a soft sigh. He didn't move but his glacier eyes sliding open subtly as he looked around the room. He saw Nirvana, her back to him, sitting on the ground. The soft blue light of early morning filled the room and her pale skin seemed to hold the pigment under her flesh. Her skin was bare, her shirt folded neatly and laid on the bed. She wore only her bra though that wasn't what had really made Crane opened his eyes a little more. Her black hair, which usually covered her neck and shoulders was tied into itself in a messy knot. Crane let his eyes wonder her flesh, crawling from her hairline down her spine. He watched as she stretched her arms above her head, hearing her breath out slowly, knowing her joints probably hurt. She held one arm in front of her and it took a while before Crane saw that she was stretching as if she was getting ready to exercise. He moved his body very carefully and quietly as to not draw attention to himself and crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to watch her.

Nirvana kept her eyes closed as she tried to focus on the pain rippling through her muscles as she stretched and not at the growing hunger in her mind. She had a craving, an itch in her veins. She kept her mind off it as much as she could but this need had awaken her from slumber. Was she going to have to go through withdrawals on top of everything else? She lowered her arms and pulled her legs in and placed her feet arch to arch and did a butterfly stretch, leaning down as she held her toes.

Crane continued to watch in silence. He wondered if he should go get her something to eat. If she was going to be stressing her muscles, she should atleast have some protein. He looked at his watch to check the time and saw it was only 6am. He saw her sit back up before she moved one leg out and stretching that way. He unfolded his arms and stood very quietly. He moved to the door and stepped out in a large step and shut the door behind him. Nirvana sat back up and looked at the door and then the corner where Crane had been. She shook her head before going back to stretching. A few minutes later she heard her music come on over the radio. She couldn't help but smile gently and kept on stretching.

...

Crane had a fer large grocery bags in one hand and jug of water in the other. In the bags were random items of food, bread and meat, fruit and veggies. He wasn't sure what she'd be in the mood for. But whatever she didn't want, he'd eat happily. He looked forward to going back for a full days work that day. To focus on something other than Nirvana in the basement. He began his walk down the hallway towards her room when he heard shuffling around. He quieted his steps as he approached, listening very closely before he heard her music thump through the floor. It was just a simple guitar rift that sounded... blusey? Country? Southern Jazzy? He couldn't decide but soon he heard the shuffling again and a soft laugh. And then Nirvana's weak but still beautiful singing voice resonate through his ears. Her clapping hands.

"Came into this world,

Daddy's little girl.

And daddy made a soldier out of me.

Daddy made me dance.

And daddy held my hand.

And daddy liked his whisky with his tea."

Jonathan looked through the peep hole silently and saw Nirvana smiling brightly as she pretended to dance with someone. She sang the lyrics happily as if she felt it with every nerve of her body and Crane just watched in awe. She didn't notice him. Her eyes sincerely seemed to seeing something and Crane investigated though a smirk on his lips as she kept singing.

"He held me in his arms.

And he taught me to be strong.

He told me when he's gone,

Here's what you do.

When trouble comes to town,

And men like me come around.

Oh, my daddy said shoot,

Oh, my daddy said shoot."

When she stopped dancing she clapped her hands to the beat and twirled around, Crane was surprised she remained steady on her two skinny legs. He made the quick decision not to ruin her moment of happiness and very quietly pushed the groceries under the door and moved away, his smirk still playing at his lips. He walked back down the hallway, planning on returning to his home for his own deserved shower and a fresh change of clothes.

...

Nirvana's lips held her smile as she looked around her room, fire consuming the walls. The flames liked her legs. The black figures took their turn dancing with her, romancing her in their own ways as the music rang through her ears. Under her pillow was the uncapped needle and the bottle of fear toxin. She would have to remember that when Crane slept, he was a very heavy sleeper, he didn't even feel her reach into his coat pocket.

She fire felt hot but she couldn't help but celebrate the relief of the pain that had built up in her veins. The hallucinations sang with her, flickering in and out of the flames. The blue flames came out of the smoke and joined her in the middle of the fire pit, gaining a smokey figure with it. The figure looked familiar of course, but Nirvana didn't care, the primal urge for joy filling her chest. She allowed the figure to wrap it's hand around her waist and pull her close as she sang the last lyrics of the song.

"My daddy warned me about men like you,

He said baby girl he's playing you,

He's playing you.

Cause when trouble comes in town,

And men like me come around.

Oh, my daddy said shoot,

Oh, my daddy said shoot."

As the song began to end, the smoke clouded the whole area and the hallucinations began to disappear and before the blackness began to take her vision completely, the last thing she saw was the blue flames growing larger, as if getting closer before she lost everything to the darkness.

...

Nirvana woke, having curled herself on her bed. She looked around the room to see the hallucinations pointing to the food on the ground. She groaned as her body shook awake and she realized she was still smiling. She grabbed the bags and pulled them towards her and ate quietly but still eating very greedily. This was the first real meal she had had in 7 months and it tasted better than anything she could have dreamed. She opened the jug of water and drank it happily.

She finished the whole bag save for the protein bars which she decided to save for morning snacks while she focused on gaining back her strength. After she finished, she laid down on her bed as a new song started and she couldn't help but give a small chuckle as she saw the hallucinations swayed their heads to the beat and she herself tapped her foot to the beat.

...

Jonathon walked back into Arkham with his head held high, his face clean and fresh, his clothes pressed and he looked ready for work. He greeted a few nurses with a small smile before turning the corner and heading to his office. He opened the office door to see Officer Gordon inside once again. He was caught off guard and was slightly startled.

"I've apparently need to get a lock on my door. Good morning Officer Gordon, how are you doing?" Crane stated with slight agitation as he moved to his desk and set his briefcase on it. Gordon didn't say anything, just tossed an evidence bag onto the good doctor's desk. Crane looked down at it for a moment. His eyes narrowed and he looked at Gordon with deathly icy eyes.

In the bag was a shard of glass but on the inside of the glass was a bright orange powder.

((MUSIC CREDIT: "Daddy Lessons" by Beyonce from Lemonade.

And for fun the song that played after Nirvana was eating in my mind was "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel because it's been stuck in my head all day.

Leave feedback and love. And stay turned to see how Crane will deal with Gordon))