Chapter Seven - Sporadic
Jonathan paced methodically back and forth in front of his desk, the day had just begun and already his thoughts were overwhelming him. He finally stopped his stride to glance up at the clock on the wall; it was 6:52 in the morning.
Ooh… our little assistant will be arriving soon. The Scarecrow cooed from the recesses of the doctor's mind. What fun things shall we do to her today, eh Jonny boy?
I have come to a decision.
Yes?
I am going to fire her this morning.
The Scarecrow was flabbergasted.
Why in the world would you want to go and do a thing like that, Jonathan? I thought we were just starting to have fun with her, I thought she was going to be our little pet!
I can't deal with the work that needs to be done in the basement and try to control your little outbursts around her. If the work doesn't suffer from our lack of concentration, then we are bound to get arrested when you go too far with her again and she tells someone about us.
Ever the good doctor, Jonathan… always thinking ahead. It would have been a compliment if the Scarecrow's tone hadn't been filled with such contempt.
Jonathan let out a tired sigh as he slowly removed his glasses from his face, firmly pinching the bridge of his nose as he always did when he was greatly annoyed. As he sat his glasses onto the top of his desk he was then distracted by the creaking of his office door as it opened.
"Good morning Dr. Crane." Her voice was more hushed and apprehensive this morning, her gaze fixed on the drab carpet as she stepped into the room.
He looked up at the clock one last time before turning to face his assistant.
"Seven o' three, Ms. Matthews I do believe you are late this morning." The usual malice of his tone was now lost from exhaustion and the statement came out sounding more of disappointment than reprimand.
"I.. I'm sorry, I was up all night studying…" she began to explain herself but stopped immediately at the sight of him waving his hand at her dismissively, he didn't have time for her excuses today.
"It's not important, besides I have something I need to discuss with you." He responded dryly, looking her remorseful figure up and down, it was then that he noticed something odd… she had not shut his office door behind her when she entered the room.
Well there's a first, I wonder why she suddenly feels the need to keep the door open, hmmm?
I'm sure she is just tired and has forgotten.
Sure, you see forgetfulness, I smell fear.
"Ms. Matthews, please have a seat." He then gestured towards the chair in front of his desk as he quickly made his way over to the door behind her.
Jessica slowly traipsed over to the chair, feeling as if she were back in grade school and being sent to the principal's office. She sat down as the doctor closed the door to his office, the thought of being alone in the room with him now filling her with an odd sense of uneasiness.
"What would you like to discuss with me, Dr. Crane?" she questioned timidly as he returned to his seat across from her.
Yes, Doctor… what would you like to discuss?
Jonathan let out a deep troubled sigh.
You can't do it can you? You can't fire her, she's far too much fun to play with and you know it!
He cleared his throat before gathering the strength to begin.
"Ms. Matthews I think that you have learned all that you can from your time here at Arkham." Her face paled as the words left his mouth.
"Oh?" was all she could seem to say in response, the single syllable sounding so small and depressing to him.
Why is this so hard? I have fired dozens of assistants and employees at this asylum… hell, I enjoyed every minute of firing those incompetents-
Yes, but they weren't this cute or interesting, especially when they were scared! The Scarecrow interrupted his thoughts.
He quickly shook the words away as he returned his attention fully back to the job at hand, firing his assistant.
"I will make a note to the university so you will get as many accredited hours as is allowed, but I am afraid that I must-"
"Meconopsis." She blurted out with certainty, causing him to pause mid sentence, his mouth slightly open and confounded as he stared her down blankly.
"I'm sorry?" he finally found the clarity to ask her, his words laced with utter confusion.
What in the hell does this have to do with me dismissing her?
"Meconopsis, it is a blue poppy found primarily in the Himalayas." She then produced the small dried blue flower from her jacket pocket and held it up for him to see.
He blinked a few times while looking from the dehydrated plant to her expectant heart-shaped face. The memory of her taking the flower the previous day had completely slipped his mind.
"I see that you have discovered what the flower is, and this is all well and good Ms. Matthews but as I was saying-" He began to fire her again before she stopped him once more.
"Precipitation reaction." These two words however he knew.
"Excuse me?" he questioned, a deep look of concentration now on his angled face as he looked across his desk at her, she swallowed hard before answering.
"That is how you can best break down the plant into a compound that can be rehydrated later and then absorbed into the lungs, precipitation."
Of course, how in the hell could I have overlooked a process that is so simple? I mean it's one of the first things they teach you in chemistry!
Does this mean we can complete our work finally?
Yes, I do believe I can have the job done before the month is out.
Good… The Scarecrow crooned with satisfaction. So does this mean we can keep little Miss Matthews?
What? Jonathan snapped with aggravation. For the last time, she is not a kitten you found on the street!
Oh course she isn't! I know that.
Good.
She is a timid little mouse in a cage.
Am I going to have to remind you what is in my left pocket?
The Scarecrow was instantly silent as the mention of the small pill bottle Jonathan was carrying in his suit coat's pocket.
That's better.
The day was nearly out and he still had not finished his conversation with his assistant. Jonathan instead chose to immerse himself in his work in the basement of the asylum, leaving Ms. Matthews to the tedious job of transcribing the notes from his therapy sessions. Even if it was breaking every doctor/patient confidentiality rule in the book, having his assistant look over his notes and copy them down into his computer, the important thing to remember was that this work was keeping her out of his way until he could muster the energy to actually fire her.
The Scarecrow had been eerily silent for most of the day, whether it was his way of letting the doctor do his work in peace or purely out of fear of disappearing into another Haldol fog was unknown, either way Jonathan was grateful for the silence.
Shouldn't we be checking in on out little assistant? I mean lord only knows what kind of mischief she could be up to in our absence. The Scarecrow's raspy voice broke through; it would seem that the doctor had jinxed himself.
I have more daunting things to think about at the moment than playing with her! Jonathan spat in retort as he slowly poured a milky liquid from one glass beaker to another.
The Scarecrow thought carefully before speaking again.
All I am trying to say, doctor, is last time we left little Miss Matthews alone to her own devices she found your secret stash of anti-psychotics. I wonder what she could be discovering about you just by reading all of your private patient notes, hmmm?
Jonathan could tell the Scarecrow was reaching but on the other hand he did make a very valid point.
"Perhaps we should make a surprise visit to my office after all." The doctor said aloud into the empty confides of his makeshift laboratory.
The Scarecrow couldn't help but smile wickedly.
It was 11:43 a.m. and Jessica sat alone at Dr. Crane's desk, an open patient file spread out before her as her nimble fingers briskly typed away into the early afternoon. Her stern attention was suddenly broken by the piercing ring of the doctor's phone at the end of his desk. She helplessly looked out of the open doorway of the office towards the end of the hallway where Dr. Crane's personal secretary normally sat, the chair behind the woman's desk was however empty on this occasion.
"Must be her lunch hour…" Jessica softly muttered to herself before focusing her thoughts back on the nagging echo of the phone's ring.
She chewed anxiously at her bottom lip as she counted ring after ring in her head, after about the 16th ring she decided enough was enough.
"Thank you for calling Dr. Crane's office, my name is Jessica, how may I help you?" She asked into the phone's receiver, a reflex from when she used to answer phones in the office of her high school for extra credit.
"I need to speak with Dr. Crane." Came the snippy female voice on the other end.
"Well…" Jessica stalled, looking around the empty office to no avail. "Dr. Crane isn't here right now, but if you would like to make an appointment-" She tried to offer but the woman caller was having none of it.
"I don't need an appointment I am with the District Attorney's office." The woman said sharply, completely cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.
"I, um…" Jessica had never felt more ridiculous in her entire life.
"Will you just tell him that Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes has called and would you please remind him that if he does not return my call before the day is out I will be forced to stop by!" With that the woman hung up, rather rudely in fact.
Jessica sat at the doctor's desk, still holding the phone to her ear in complete shock of what she had just endured.
"What a bitch." She said a bit too loud under her breath as she finally placed the phone back on its base.
"I don't believe I have ever heard you swear before, Miss Matthews." The sudden male voice caused her to visibly jump at least an inch in the air.
To her surprise, there stood the good doctor in the open doorway of his office, looking her seated figure over in both amusement and curiosity.
"Dr. Crane, how long have you been standing there?" Jessica asked meekly, he let a small smirk play on his face as he blindly reached back and shut the door to his office with a resounding thud.
"Oh, just somewhere around 'Dr. Crane isn't here right now, would you like to make an appointment'… quite the little secretary you would make." There was an almost playfulness to his tone that caught her off guard.
Jessica looked him over closely; his usual stiff and professional figure was somewhat casual and slack.
"I'm sorry if you didn't want me to answer the phone Dr. Crane, but your secretary is at lunch and-" Before she could even finish her explanation they were both distracted by the sound of paper being slid under the office's closed door.
He looked from the floor where a small pile of letters now lay to up at his assistant's pale face.
"It would seem that Mrs. Andrews is back from her lunch break." He mused with another half smile before reaching down and scooping up his mail from the floor.
"I… I have a message for you from a Rachel Dawes." She began, the mention of the woman's name made him look up from his mail with a rather pointed stare.
"Oh really? And what did that uptight bitch want?" his words instantly shocked her, which he quickly took note of and found very entertaining.
She suddenly realized that her mouth was hanging wide open and she quickly clamped it shut before continuing to tell him the woman's message.
"She wanted you to call her back and said that if you did not before the end of the day then she would be forced to stop by."
"Oh, I see she has resorted to petty threats now, how mature of her." He said with distraction as he turned his focus back to the mail in his hands, Jessica couldn't help to think if whether the doctor was really in a position to talk about maturity after his previous statement to her.
She watched him idly as he tore open one of the pieces of mail, the small smile from before had now returned to his lips as he read over the letter in his hands.
"What do you know, Gotham's best and richest are having a welcome home party for Bruce Wayne and as the director of Arkham Asylum I have been invited." He announced more to himself than to her, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"Bruce Wayne?" she said the name aloud with confusion. "I thought he was dead."
"As did I, but not according to this." He held up the piece of paper before returning his attention back to its written words. "It says here that they will be having a party in his honor this Saturday at the Plaza downtown around 8 p.m., and oh look, I get to bring a plus one." He read to her with total amusement to the whole thing.
"Sounds nice." She offered simply, trying her best to keep on his good side, after this morning's near dismissal she knew that she was walking on egg shells.
His head suddenly shot up to meet her curious stare, his expression completely blank, it was as if he had forgotten she was even in the room up until that moment.
"Would you like to accompany me on Saturday, Miss Matthews?"
It sounded so odd to her, his tone, his invitation… there was something off about him today but she just couldn't seem to put her finger on it.
"I'm sorry?" she asked from her fog of distraction, she simply could not think of anything else to say.
"Would you like to be my plus one to the event, I mean you are after all my assistant, it seems only fitting that you would represent the asylum alongside me." He replied simply.
Now she was very confused, hadn't this man had wanted to fire her a mere four hours earlier, now she was somehow the best the asylum had to offer.
"I would love to." Jessica didn't even realize the words had left her mouth until it was too late to take them back.
"It is settled then." The doctor stated calmly, folding the invitation back up and placing it neatly into its envelope; he then looked down at his wristwatch. "Speaking of lunch hours, I do believe it is time for yours, Miss Matthews." He then looked up at her expectantly.
"But I still have work to do…" She began to explain, dropping her gaze from him to down at the desk's top where all of the un-transcribed files lay.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about those, I will finish transcribing them while you are at lunch." He said while pacing up to his desk, he flashed a somewhat cheesy smile as she stood from her seat across from him.
"I will be back in a half hour." Jessica offered softly, gathering her purse from the coat-rack beside one of his many bookcases.
"What the hell, Miss Matthews, take forty five minutes!" he announced as she opened the door to his office, she then looked back at him in total disbelief.
"I... I will be back in a half hour, Dr. Crane." She stated slowly, her face a complete mask of confusion… with his changing mood and professionalism, how could she be anything but perplexed by him.
"Very well then." He was back to his calm and stern demeanor now, she narrowed her gaze on him one last time before slowly turning and leaving the office.
As she shut the door behind herself, Jessica couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts which were now a whirling sea of diagnosis'… bipolar disorders, borderline personality disorders, the list went on and on.
He listened carefully for the light clicking sound of his assistant's Mary-Jane like shoes to dissipate down the hallway behind his closed office door.
"Well congratulations! If she didn't think there was something wrong with me before I am convinced that she does now, thanks to your little performance here today!" Jonathan spat aloud, angrily tossing the handful of mail he held onto the desk before him.
Relax, Jonny boy, she doesn't suspect a thing. Besides, I think I did a pretty good job of pretending to have a constant stick up my ass!
The doctor released a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and began to quietly count to ten in his head.
One, two, three…
Very mature, Jonathan.
Four, five, six…
You know, I don't know why you are acting so upset, if I were you I would be thanking me right about now!
Seven, eight- Excuse me? Thanking you? Why on earth would I need to be thanking you for anything you have done today!?
You would be thanking me for finally getting you a date! I mean when was the last time you got laid, Jonathan? Over a year! The Scarecrow was becoming very upset now, how dare the doctor under appreciate him like this.
Oh yes, thank you! Thank you so much from inviting her to a public event with us where you can continue to further humiliate me!
You can be so ungrateful sometimes, Jonathan. The Scarecrow stated sadly, whether his feelings were truly hurt or it was just another act, the doctor was unsure of.
Jonathan's lean figure collapsed into the leather office chair behind his desk with an exhausted 'oomph' as he sat down.
Look, I just think that it would be best to get her out of our lives once and for all, I mean things were so much easier before I hired her. He now tried reasoning with his darker half.
You can try to change the subject all you want, but we both know how you really feel about her!
Oh, and how do I feel, hmm?
You forget that I know your thoughts just as well as you do, and I can see your little fantasies that you day dream up between paper work and therapy sessions…
The doctor began to nervously gather all of the loose papers he could find on his desk, pretending to be too distracted with mock work to listen.
To be honest, Jonny boy, there have been times when your fantasies have even given me cause to cringe, like the one you came up with this morning while you were in line at Starbucks…
Jonathan had begun to loudly hum to himself as he flipped through the unorganized papers he held, mimicking a child that refused to listen to his parent's instructions.
You remember, the one where you had her naked and tied down…
The doctor's hands were starting to shake now.
Then you started to tease her with the scalpel, slowly tracing it over her skin… oh how she screamed when the blade sliced into her soft thighs-
"Stop!" he exclaimed through gritted teeth, slamming his paper filled hands down onto the desktop so hard that he heard the floorboards give an ill creak beneath his desk.
Easy, doctor. The Scarecrow's taunting voice was now calm and even.
This! This is what I am talking about! Jonathan was almost in a frenzy. This is why she needs to go! Too many distractions!
No, this is not why she needs to go, this is why you need to go out with her on Saturday!
That doesn't make any sen- The doctor began to think before the Scarecrow viciously cut him off.
So you can finally fuck her, Jonathan!
They were both suddenly silent.
"I know." Jonathan whispered with defeat into the emptiness of his office.
Good boy.
A/n:
I would first like to apologize to all my readers out there, I am so sorry for this delay in updating. I never dreamed it would take me a whole year to submit a new chapter! I actually have had this one written for some time and felt that it wasn't complete enough to submit, but after realizing it had been a year I decided to just get over it and give you all something to read.
I promise to update as soon as I have the next chapter written, and I will stop second guessing myself so much that it takes 13 months to get a new chapter out. I just want to let you all know that I have not abandoned this fic, and I hope you all will not either.
Thanks so much for continuing to read my story.