Chapter 5

"Alright let's get this over with." I mumbled and turned the keys to my car. I locked it up and headed for the dark building, trudging through the snow and hoping like hell I would just get stuck and freeze to death. Wait, no. Actually freezing to death would be worse than my silly anxieties.

The lights flickered in the lobby, catching my attention and unnerving me even more. Everything else was untouched and vacant per usually, but the lights bothered me to no end. Despite feeling freaked, I made my way to the elevator and descended into the basement to relieve whatever nurse they had working afternoons. As of late, they weren't consistent.

"Hey." Craig said with a smile. I sighed in relief, happy to see him instead of Allison or Jessica. Craig was easy to get along with, and I enjoyed relieving him on the few times he worked. We talked quite a bit between shifts, and I found him to be quite humorous. He was fair looking and of average height, too sweet for his own good to tell the truth. I wondered how he ended up in Gotham.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked, hanging up my coat on the rack.

"Well I'm doing great actually, especially now that you're here." I heard him click a few times on the computer mouse before swiveling around in the chair. "I've got plans tonight."

"Very nice, what do you have going on?"

He stood up and took off his reading glasses. "Not a lot, just meeting up with some old friends at a bar."

"I'm jealous." I told him. Craig smiled before flipping out his phone to check some texts. I wished he wasn't in a hurry, but I wasn't going to keep him any longer than needed. "So, good day?"

He glanced back up at me before turning back to his phone. "Oh, yeah. Pretty quiet I guess. No outbursts or anything weird." Craig started tapping on his phone furiously, not paying any attention to anything other than that screen. I raised my eyebrow at him. This wasn't like Craig.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." I grabbed his coat off the rack and held it out, wondering if he would even notice. He didn't, and started reaching in the air like I thought he would.

"Oh, thanks Mira." He smiled, taking the coat from my hands and headed out the door. I watched him walk out and into the elevator where he fumbled with his phone. Maybe he just had a really secretive hot date? Or maybe I just needed to calm down and mind my own business.

"That was weird." I sighed, and checked the cameras casually. My sights zeroed in on camera two, and I felt myself freeze instantly at the sight. Eventually, I just pushed my face onto the monitor like an idiot as if it would make me see any better.

"Who was the fucktruck that let you back in?" I growled, looking at the monitor with distaste in my mouth. Crane was spread out on his back, resting on the cot. Through the blurriness of the monitor, I could still sense that he seemed quite proud of himself. Surely he didn't just waltz back in without an explanation of why he was gone and how he escaped? No, there's something else isn't there?

Instead of angering myself with thoughts of Crane, I hopped onto the chair and started online shopping to cool down; something which typically consisted of me packing a virtual cart full of three hundred dollars worth of items before closing out of the websites altogether. In the end, I did splurge on some expensive lotion and skincare.

"Three, two, one. One, two, three." Patient twelve counted incessantly.

"September fourth, September fourth, we're all going to die!" Patient eight screamed repeatedly.

I turned off the volume. It was safe to say that everyone was quite vocal, and I soon realized I would have to start my rounds soon before someone decided September fourth couldn't come fast enough. Hmm I wonder if patient eight is getting the natural drugs or the real shit? I thought Craig said everything was quiet?

I notated the patient's behavior in their files and proceeded to fill my cart up. After pre-drawing the drugs, I supplied the cart with pepper spray and candy. Suddenly, I realized that I would never find another job where I would keep sweets and drugs in the same place.

Nathan was half asleep in his cell, looking kind of sour. He lifted his arm lazily for me to take as he rested on his side. His skin looked pretty grey in the light, prompting me to question him about his appearance.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?"

"Just tired." He responded. "You got candy?"

I gripped his arm and felt for the vein before giving him the injection. "Of course, just let me finish." After cleaning the blood, I felt his forehead to check for a fever. He wasn't warm, but he seemed a little clammy. His temperature was ninety nine point one, so it wasn't bad, but I figured I should probably keep an eye on him.

"Here." I handed him a Reese's and saw him smirk just a bit before closing his eyes. I sat for a minute and watched him drift off, wishing I could just stay and entertain myself instead of going to see my next patient.

Oh joy, here we go.

I locked Nathan's room and proceeded with my cart into the hallway. The lights still flickered annoyingly, and I told myself I would just pay to fix it myself. Arkham probably wouldn't let me do that; maybe they kept those dingy lights because they missed the shit show that this place used to be. God, I was over thinking everything; just so I could avoid him.

The tension swelled between the door and I. Finally, I just unlocked it and went inside with the cart in front of me. Crane looked just like the picture on the monitor; laying back casually while staring at the ceiling with those wide eyes. He ignored me as I held the large needle proudly, not caring which part I would have to stick him.

"Hi, Crane." I said with a fake smile.

His lips gave a slight twitch. "Come back for more?"

"Actually, I'm quite interested to know why you're here." I slyly felt for the tiny pepper spray in my jean pocket before sitting on the cot next to Crane. He didn't protest as I grabbed his arm and pushed the meds inside.

"That's not important." He smiled. "Did you like the medicine I gave you?" His voice was so crisp and smooth. Crane let his arm hang lazily over the cot while I put the needle away and grabbed the blood pressure machine.

"I don't remember." I lied to him, watching the band squeeze his arm tightly.

"Would you like me to remind you?"

I ignored him and waited for the machine to finish. When it was loosened, I ripped the Velcro off and set it back on the cart before preparing to leave.

"I can show you blue." I heard him say softly as I approached the door.

Crane was now sitting up, hands folded in his lap with a presumably sweet look on his face. I wasn't buying it. "Dr. Crane, I'm thankful for what you did for me that night when I was attacked. From the way I see it, letting you test on me was my way of paying you back. However, I'm not interested, and I would appreciate it if you would stay out of my house."

The look on his face remained exactly the same. Lips were neither in a frown or smile, but they looked dangerously charming. His eyes remained intriguing, unreal shades of blue. I needed to stop looking at him, because the more I did, the more I wanted to try blue. "Besides, what's the point of these drugs anyway? What are they supposed to treat?"

He sighed deeply. "I'm sad to say, that I can no longer inform you of any information pertaining to the trial. You've made it clear that you no longer wish to participate." Crane cocked his head slightly, watching me intently.

"Sure. Not like I needed to know anyways." I fibbed with a grin. Okay, now leave! Just walk out that door and forget all about it!

"What a disappointment. You seemed to react quite well." He said with a touch of condescension in his voice. "Besides, I find that you have quite an overindulgent personality. It works amazingly for this type of medicine."

As he spoke, my fingers made their way to the cart and found the empty syringe. I squeezed it, full of fierce temptation. He was right, I was over indulgent. Everything I wanted, I sought after and held close to me. Just like William; he was my first taste of forbidden desire. But, the worst part was that I couldn't simply pay for the things I wanted. Sure, I could spend money and get a new car or go eat fancy food. God, where was the fun in that?

"You're bleeding."

What are you talking about?

"I'm sorry?"

"You cut yourself." He told me. When I glanced at the cart, I saw blood dripping from my fingertips and onto the tray. I was shaking. Somehow I had managed to prick my fingers on the tips of the needles.

"I'll be fine." I assured him and wiped the blood on my scrubs. "Now, I have some other patients that need my attention."

I unlocked the door and pushed the cart through, continuously wiping blood from my fingertips to my clothes. Crane called out to me just before he was out of sight. "As your doctor, I feel that it's necessary for me to check on that wound in the morning."

For just a moment, I paused, but only for a slight moment. I softly closed the door and wished him a good night before leaving. As I finished locking him back up, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. That was when I heard the soft ding. Someone was about to get off the elevator.

She looked deadly fake, with a smile upon her face that presumed she was trying desperately to keep it together. Her hair was much paler than usual. I noted the strange amount of frizz as her ponytail swung back and forth; taking quick steps my way. I barely recognized her, but those glasses and pastel colored scrubs gave it away.

"Jessica?" I said tiredly as she stopped in front of my cart. "Is everything okay?"

Her eyes averted to Dr. Crane's door before dramatically flinging back to my fingers. Jessica took a deep sigh and modified her smile, looking a little less insane. "How is he?"

"Uh..he's…I mean he's okay." I fumbled with my words.

Jessica nodded. "I noticed the blood on your fingertips. Is that yours?" Her voice was cold, cutting into the silent air. I felt like I was tied up in an interrogation room.

"I accidentally cut my finger on a needle. I'll be fine."

"Great. I just stopped by to make sure you were well. Luckily, Dr. Crane found his way back here. I know how distraught you were to see that he escaped."

"I was terrified." I admitted to her. "He's a dangerous man."

She frowned and twisted her lips as if deciding what to say. "Dangerous? Sure. He is brilliant, though. Sometimes you can't have one without the other, right?" I hung on her words, watching her bright pink lipstick form every syllable. I would have to remind myself to stay from that shade.

"Is that why you let him in and out of the asylum to do as he wants?"

Her lips parted in what appeared to be shock. It was a bold statement; one that I wasn't even completely sure about. Considering the look on her face, she just gave me the answer. I smiled to myself on the inside, but kept my mouth shut on the out.

Jessica leaned in uncomfortably close. "You're in Gotham City, Mira." She whispered to me. "There are no rules here, only bad people and their friends."

As scary as her words were, and how true I knew they could be, Jessica couldn't scare me as much as I had been scared before. "I'll remember that. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Jessica straightened back into her perky self and grinned happily. "No, that will be all for tonight!" She turned around, and I bit my lip to refrain from that quip I was desperate to say. I watched her trot down the hall and back onto the elevator, ponytail swinging back and forth. When she punched the numbers, she waved at me like the fucking freak she was.

"Jester." I whispered with a knowing grin.