Chapter 5
Enjoy! *Sorry this one is really long*
When we got there, my brother looked extremely bad. "Oh, Meghan, what a delightful surprise! Did Batman bring me the cure?" He asked. I nodded. Batman held out the vial of the cure, Joker then ran for it and tried to take it. "I need to save some for those who might be infected as well." Batman said. "Oh, I only said that to get you to get the cure. Now, give me it!" Joker said and kicked Batman, but the bottle fell to the ground and shattered. "No!" He exclaimed and he fell to the ground and tried to drink the now useless cure. He rolled onto his back. "You know I'd have given it to you in the end, right?"
My brother began to laugh on the irony. "That's pretty funny." He said and with a final breath, he closed his eyes and succumbed to his disease. I couldn't help but cry; Batman held me in his arms and told me over and over that it'd be okay. "Here, let's go home." He said and lifted me up. He went and picked up my brother and we both went outside where dozens of people were waiting. We were silent as Batman put Joker on the police car and we both walked off. I still had tears running down my face. I replayed all the good times my brother and I had before he went crazy. Bruce didn't take me to my apartment; instead he took me to his home.
"I don't think either you or I are in the mood for anything; let's hold off for right now." Bruce said taking off his mask. I nodded and we both went to bed. When I woke, I felt nauseous and quickly ran to the bathroom. I closed and locked the door and threw up in the toilet. 'I don't think I had anything to eat last night. Maybe it's time for my annual feeding.' I thought. On the counter I found a pregnancy test. 'Why would that be there?' I thought, but it got me curious, so I used it. After a while the results showed positive. I dropped the tester and fell to my knees. A knock came at my door, "Meghan, are you okay?' Bruce asked. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't force a single word. "Meghan?" Bruce tried again. I got up, flushed the toilet and rinsed my mouth. I unlocked the door and opened to see Bruce, his eyes full of worry.
"Are you okay?" He asked. I shook my head, "No." I answered. "Then what is it, what's wrong?" He asked. I showed him the pregnancy test. His eyes came from worried to anger. "I'm sorry." I apologized. He shook his head, "You don't need to apologize. Jonathan Crane's the one who should apologize to you for putting that thing inside you." He said. "Well, you can't just march in his room, because you were Batman when he last saw you." I said. "I'll just go to him as Batman, then. That child in you should've been mine!" He said. "Jonathan won't every lay eyes on the baby less know that he's the father. So, don't go kicking him around, if he doesn't know, he can't interfere." I said. Bruce took a deep breath and let it out.
"Fine, but if he ever finds out and does interfere, I'll be there." He warned. He led me to the dining table where breakfast was waiting for us. We began to eat; Alfred did a real good job on the food. "The thought just came to me, but would you want to have an abortion on the baby?" Bruce asked. I looked at him and swallowed the food, "I don't believe in abortions." I said. "You wouldn't have to put up with is baby." He said. I shook my head, "I don't think you'd like it if your mother aborted you. It's practically murder, the baby inside is alive, its heart is beating." I said. "Meghan, I don't want to take care of that man's child." He said. "Then don't, I can take care of him." I said. "But you need help, you'll get tired and you won't get any rest."
"How do you know so much about this?" I asked. "I read on my spare time." He replied. "Well, if you won't help me, I might as well go to the father; I know Jonathan will help me take care of the child." I said. 'I got him now.' I thought, and tried not to smile. "You are not going to Jonathan's to have him help; he'll make a move on you again." He said. "Oh, so he can't make a move on me, but Ra's Al Ghul's daughter can?" I asked. "That's different, we didn't kiss or make love, and she just pulled off my mask and ran on about how she thought I loved her." He said. "She took off your mask? She could've blown your cover!" I said. "She won't because she's dead." He said. "Master Wayne, I presume both of you are done?" Alfred asked. Bruce and I nodded and he took away the plates.
Tears formed in Bruce's eyes, "Don't go to him, he'll take you away from me." He said, his voice cracked, "I won't, not as long as I'll have help raising the baby." I said. "Fine, I'll help. But it won't get special treatment fro me." He said. I nodded and we sat there, silence filled the room. "How about I take you home." Bruce offered, breaking the silence. I nodded and got up; he led me to his car and drove me to my apartment. I got out of the car. "Meghan." Bruce said, "I love you." He said. I smiled, "I love you too." I said and went in. Once I got to my floor, I noticed my door was unlocked. 'I know I locked the door.' I thought as I went in and saw Jonathan sitting on the sofa. "How'd you break in?" I asked. He had his mask on, "You have a spare key under the floor mat." He said, holding up the key.
'I knew I should've left it with Mrs. Brooke.' I thought. "I thought I'd drop by, but when I noticed you weren't home, where were you?" He asked. "I was with Batman." I answered, careful not to say his real name. He nodded, "You know, a little birdie told me you were expecting." He said, smiling. 'How in the hell did he find out!' I yelled at myself. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I said. He sighed, "That you're having a child, my child." He said. "Who told you that?" I asked. "Little old Harley Quinn who heard it from Ivy, who heard it from Catwoman." He said. 'I'm going to have a little chat with Silena soon.' I noted. "So is it true, are you having my child?" He asked.
"I was right in leaving you, you said you'd never hurt me with any fear toxin, yet you did." I said, trying to change the subject. He took off his mask and I saw it in him that he knew I was right. "I-I'm sorry, I just wanted for you to be mine. I know that you're with Batman, but I can't help feeling the same way I had for you since high school through college." He said. "But please, tell me this, are you baring my child?" He asked. 'Bruce, please forgive me.' I thought and sighed, "Yes." I said. Jonathan smiled and gave me a hug. "This is wonderful! We can take care of it together and be a real family." He said. "Batman said that you are not to be near the baby, he doesn't want you in its life. He didn't even want you to know that you are going to be a father."
He let go of me, "So you're going to obey him like you're his dog? Meghan, you're no one's pet and he's certainly not owned you, not entirely. You ran off when he told you to stay put, you helped him when he told you not to. There's still that free spirit in you that's just buried." He said. "I don't want to make him any madder than he already is. He wanted this baby to be his own." I said. Jonathan sighed, "I have the right to take care of my own child." He said. I have to admit, I felt sorry for him. "Meghan, please let me be apart of this baby's life, let me help you take care of it. I have at least that right." He pleaded. 'Bruce will be furious at me, he even might kill Jonathan himself without thinking twice and possibly avoid me for eternity.' I thought. Jonathan looked at me, waiting for a reply.
He sighed, "So he does own you, all of you, like a dog. I thought you were still that free-willed woman I fell in love with, but I guess all people change." He said and came closer to me, "Meghan, show me that I'm wrong. Show me that Batman doesn't own you, that no one owns you." He whispered. "What are you doing with her?" A familiar voice came from behind me. Jonathan stumbled back, "Batman! I-I didn't harm her, I swear." He said. "Are you okay?" Batman asked. I nodded; he picked Jonathan up by his shirt. "Why are you here?" He asked. "Harley told me a rumor that Meghan's baring my child. I came to see if it was true." He said. "She's not, got it?" He said. "Batman, it's no use, I already told him." I said. "She also made it clear that I'm not to look or be any part in the child's life." Jonathan added. Batman put Jonathan down, "Leave before I change my mind of breaking you to a pulp."
Jonathan nodded and ran out the door. "How the hell did he break into your home?" Bruce asked. "He found where I hid my spare key." I said. "You shouldn't have told him about the baby, now he'll try to be apart of its life." He said. "It's his right to, Batman." I said, knowing Jonathan was eavesdropping. Apparently Bruce knew that too, because he didn't object to me calling him that while we're alone. "You want to raise a baby to be like him?" He asked. I shook my head, "I'm raising the baby too. I'll make sure it'll never turn out like it's father. Besides, it'll be around you and me more than it'll be with Jonathan." I said. He nodded, "That's true, just try to be careful when he's around." He said. I nodded, "You might want to get rid of the eavesdropper." I whispered. He nodded and went straight to the door.
He opened it and I heard the door bump into something. "Jonathan, didn't I tell you to leave?" He asked. "Yes, uh, I'll leave now." He said and quickly left. Bruce came back in, "Are you okay, Meghan?" He asked. I nodded and sat down on the sofa. He sat down next to me, "You look tired, maybe you should go to bed." He suggested. I nodded and headed to my room. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I felt Bruce lay down on the bed with me and held me as I was sleeping. I dreamt that Bruce and I were married with another child, next to the first. But then that disappeared, and I was standing next to Jonathan with our child. "You and our child belong to me, now and forever." He laughed while Bruce ran up to me. Jonathan pulled out a gun and shot Bruce, and he fell to the floor, dead.
I woke up; Bruce was still there, still sleeping. I checked the time, six o'clock in the morning. I looked at the calendar, 'Looks like it's my day to work.' I thought and dressed into my nurse uniform. "You're up early." Bruce yawned. "I have to go to work." I said. "Oh, I can take you there." He offered. "That's okay, can drive." I said. I went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Bruce walked in, "You're starting to show." He noticed. I looked down and saw my baby bump. "They may take me off for maternity leave." I said. He nodded, "So...Uhm, when do the mood swings come?" He asked. I shrugged, "I don't know, really." I said and started to eat my bowl of cereal.
He sat down across form me, "Are you going to waddle anytime soon?" He asked. I laughed, "Not until later, and if you dare call me a penguin, it'll be the last thing you do." I warned. He laughed, "Don't worry, I won't." He promised. I put my bowl in the sink and started to head out, "Good-bye." I said, he did the same and I headed to my car. I drove to work and got there in a matter of minutes. "Welcome back, Meghan. Heard about that incident at the Asylum and City, are you doing okay?" My boss, Mr. Macintosh asked. I nodded, "I'm fine, Mr. Macintosh." I said. Yes, Mr. Macintosh is Scottish, but he's really funny and a good man. "May I ask, are you pregnant?" He asked, pointing at my belly. I knew there was really no point in lying, "Yes."
He nodded, "Congratulations, who's the lucky daddy?" He asked. "Mr. Crane, sir. But…it was forced." I said. "Did he rape you, Meghan?" He asked. I nodded, tears forming for no reason. "Oh, it'll be fine. Is he staying with you for the baby?" He asked. "He wants to, but Batman won't let him, he's afraid he'll raise him to be like him." I answered. "I have to say, he's got a point, we don't need another Scarecrow. But that baby's going to need a father." He said. "Batman agreed to help me out." I said. "That's good; Batman can teach the child the correct ways of what's right and wrong." He agreed. I nodded, "Yeah, I'm lucky to have him looking out for me and everyone else." I said. "Sure are, Meghan. As much as we need you here, I'm afraid I'll have to put you on maternity leave." Mr. Macintosh said. I nodded and said good-bye.
"Good luck with the baby. You can have a check up here anytime." He called out. "Thank you, sir." I said and got back to my car. When I got home, I guess Bruce decided to come back. "Did he put you on maternity leave?" He asked. "Yeah, he did. Mr. Macintosh agrees with you, on not letting Jonathan help me raise the baby." I said. "Well, that's a first. But did he say he shouldn't be able to see him or her?" He asked. "I'm guessing he meant that too." I said. He nodded, "Jonathan's a bad influence, and he would make another Scarecrow out of the baby." He said. I nodded, "But still, it wouldn't be fair to him if he can't see it." I said. "Meghan, it's your child." He said. "I wouldn't be having the baby if it weren't for him." I said. "Exactly, that baby is a mistake."
I shook my head, "No child's a mistake, and either it came from rape or sex that you didn't intend on getting a baby in the end." I said. He nodded, "You're right, just…don't let him see the child for too long." He said and left. I would rather him stay, so he could hold me while I slept, but I'm used to sleeping alone. I got ready for bed, and thought why people ask me since I'm a vampire, why can I go out in the sun. It's quite hard for me to answer, since they don't really understand. I'm made to where practically nothing kills me. Except for those guns Hugo made, I know they would kill me due to it containing my own blood. Silly at the thought of my own blood can kill me if mixed with some gunpowder.
I lay down and fixated on going to sleep. I dreamt of just the baby and me, it had my eyes and hair, but Jonathan's nose and chin. Suddenly, the baby turned into a miniature Scarecrow. "Finally, I now have an heir to the Scarecrow name!" Jonathan's voice echoed in my head. I woke up, 'That was all a dream?' I asked myself. It was still dark out, I check the clock to tell met hat it was four in the morning. I lay back down and tried to go back to sleep. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen, hoping some water would help me sleep. After I was done, I went back to the bedroom and tried to sleep again. But, yet again, I couldn't. 'Maybe I need to feed.' I thought, so I got dressed and put my shoes on, and went outside to find my usual donor.
His name was Mark Hamill, a middle-aged man with a good humor. He's a good man, and nice enough for a poor girl like me to feed off of him. I knocked on his door, "Who is it?" He asked. "Meghan. I need to feed." I said. "I was wondering when you'd show up, and speaking of show, are you pregnant?" He asked. I nodded, "Yeah, I am." I replied. He nodded and let me in, Mark wasn't the type to peer in personal business, unless you wanted to tell him about it. We both sat down and he bared his neck, I could tell he's been expecting this due to his cologne. He thought it'd make it more appetizing for me, and it did, a little. I let my fangs grow out and I bit him. He wouldn't feel a thing, thanks to the endorphins that my fangs have.
I stopped myself and put my spit on the marks so it'd heal. Mark was sleeping, like he always did after I fed off of him. I picked him up with ease and carried him to his room. "Thank you." I whispered and walked out. I remember my brother used to let me feed off of him every once in a while. I smiled at the thought; I went to wal-mart and picked up a card that said 'thanks'. I bought it and put a check worth of one hundred dollars. I signed the check and hurried to Mark's place and put the card into the mail box. I then walked home and went to the bedroom, and finally went to sleep. I knew in the morning Mark would check his mail box to see my card and laugh. He'd mutter that I didn't need to give him anything.
But I felt like I needed to, I mean he's the only one that let me feed off of him, the least I could do is send him something with money to help him get through. I woke up around nine-thirty, I heard someone in my kitchen. I waked to see Elena. "What're you doing?" I asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I sneaked in and slept here." She said. "He's beating you up again, isn't he?" I assumed. She hesitated but then, nodded, "Yes, but he's more violent this time." She said. "Honey, you need to leave him. Pack his bags up and tell him to be gone." I said. She nodded, "It's so hard, though. He looks at me and tells me he's sorry and he'll never do it again. For the first ten days, he does what he says, but after that he goes right back into it."
"Meghan, I read on the internet that if you drink formula once the baby is at ten weeks inside the womb, it'll get healthier and learns stuff quickly." Bruce walked in. "Meghan, why would you need to know about baby stuff? You're not pregnant." Elena asked. I pointed at my baby bump which was way more noticeable since the past week. "Who got you knocked up?" She asked and turned to Bruce, "It was you, wasn't it?" She accused. He shook his head, "Nope, Jonathan Crane raped her, and now she's expecting all because of him." He said. "Jonathan Crane, Meghan's ex-boyfriend? Wow, I guess he's still not over you." She said, giving me an apologetic smile. "I guess not."
"Have you figured out if it's going to be a boy or girl yet?" She asked. I shook my head, "I need to schedule an appointment." I said. She nodded, "Is Jonathan going to help out with the baby?" She asked. "Absolutely not; he's not setting one hand on that child. The only thing he'll be able to do is look at it." Bruce said. "Well, if the biological father isn't allowed to take care of his child, who'll help Meghan?" Elena asked. "I'm going to, Meghan and the baby will be safe and sound with me." He answered. "I don't know, I'd think Batman would be able to protect Meghan better, that's saying a lot too, I hate him. He about killed her, squeezing her half to death." She said. I could tell Bruce was replaying that night in his mind, "You have nothing to defend for Batman?"
"Batman saved Meghan from her brother from killing her, he changed into that monster to keep her alive! It looked like he was squeezing her to death, but he was hugging her." He said. "Meghan, you're cheating on Bruce! Are you going to let her do that?" Elena said. Bruce sighed, "They're just friends." He said. "Oh really? I saw the two of them kissing." She said. "Elena, please stop causing drama." I said. "What? I'm not cheating on my boyfriend." She said. "At least they don't beat me, and you're not even Elena, Harley. Where's Elena?" I asked. "Took you long enough don't worry, Elena's safe and sound, sleeping in her bed. I just came to see how things are going with your baby." She said and left.
"You really need a better hiding place for that spare key." Bruce said. "I know." I mumbled. Bruce walked up to me and put a hand on my baby bump, I picked him his hand and brought it to my face, and rubbed his hand, smiling. "You don't want me touching the baby bump." He assumed. "That's not it; I just wanted you to touch my face." I said. He nodded and kissed me, "I need to ask you something." He said and bent down on one knee. "Meghan Serena Shawl, I've loved you for almost eleven years now and each day I fall more and more in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?" He asked. I smiled and nodded, "Yes, I will." I cried and hugged him.
He smiled back and kissed me. "Oh, I was so afraid you'd say no." He said, still smiling. "Why would you think I'd say no? You know I love you as much as you love me." I said. He nodded, "I was just nervous, that's all." He said. I laughed, "I remember when I first met you, I was walking one late night, and you come up behind me as Batman." I said. He laughed, "Yeah, I asked; 'What's a lady like you wondering the streets all alone?' and how you just smiled and told me that you were just fine, but then a bunch of thugs gathered up. The look on my face when I saw you take on all of those men at once." He said. I nodded, "Then you kept asking questions, and I answered them. After that night, you couldn't stop seeing me, or talking to me."