Author's Note: So sorry for the long delay...life and so on, unfortunately. I'm trying desperately to finish this story and my Red Eye one before November 1st! Here's hoping to some fast typing fingers!

The Space Between

Chapter Fifteen: Aftermath

He was used to focusing on other people's fears that he had forgotten what it felt like to experience it first hand. Jonathan was scared, truly, deeply frightened. The insides of Amy's lungs had second degree burns on them from the acidity of the drug she inhaled. Guilt pierced through him along with the fear that she would never recover from this. She had come here to save him, help him. She had left her job, or at least they had given up hope of seeing her come back by now, friends, home and anything else that she had become accustomed to in California for him. And this was the thanks that fate threw at her for her sisterly devotion to him.

Bruce Wayne was more than generous when he had her moved back to the Manor. Despite the extra money it took to set up a hospital room with a private doctor and visiting nurse, it made it easier for Jonathan to stay by her bedside without worrying about the police dragging him back to Arkham with no hope of receiving news of her healing process. He had wanted to thank the billionaire but he never got the chance. All hell had broken loose shortly after the Batman handed the Joker over to the police and Bruce had practically disappeared. Not that Jonathan blamed him for his solitude. His reaction would have been the same.

He watched it all on the local news, with a wide eyed Lynnlee next to him and a very sober Alfred on the fringes of the room. Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes both taken by crooked cops while the Joker had an escape plan already in motion so his stay with Gotham's finest was a very short stay. Dent barely made it out alive. Dawes, not so lucky. True, he had his own issues with the assistant DA, he had even tried to have her killed and kill her himself but something had changed inside of him. That wasn't him who tried to bring her harm, it had been Scarecrow, who was practically gleeful at the news of Dawes' death. Jonathan himself, could only comfort Lynnlee and grieve for the loss of an idealist, for ultimately, that was what he was too.

A hospital exploded, Dent was MIA, there was trouble with two ferry's and a bomb but the Joker was back in Arkham by the end of it all. As if that wasn't enough for them to process through, the Batman was blamed for the deaths of five police officers and Dent himself. Given his own personal experiences with the Batman, Jonathan found it hard to believe that the vigilante would turn on the people he was ultimately helping. It didn't make sense and when he voiced his opinion to Alfred late one night because Amy was still unconscious and Lynnlee was sleeping, the butler gave him an odd, shrewd look before leaving the room. He originally took the lack of response as mere rudeness but on later thought, realized it could have been due to one of two factors: he was upset with the closeness that had sprung up between Jonathan and Lynnlee or the older man knew something more about the whole Batman situation than he was letting on.

Then, there was Lynnlee. He was terrified of losing her now that she no longer had to rely on his protection. Back in the safe walls of Wayne Manor and her Uncle's presence, he fully expected her to brush off their intimate experience in the warehouse and he prepared himself for such a response. However, after he had briefly looked in on Amy at the hospital and was driven back to the Manor by an elder African American man whose name he never found out, he had fallen into bed only to be startled awake by Lynnlee coming into his room. She didn't say anything but just crawled under the covers and curled up next to him.

She came every night after that, too, always sneaking back to her own room before dawn came. Some nights she talked, reminiscing about Rachel and her encounters with the woman and some nights she remained quiet. He spoke of his guilt and worry over Amy and sometimes words weren't needed, tears sufficed. And some nights, they made love, falling asleep entwined and feeling as if the world hadn't gone mad.

They had fallen into this routine for almost four weeks now. Thanksgiving had passed silently, no one wanting to acknowledge a holiday with a family friend not showing up for dinner. Christmas was fast approaching, snow had already dusted the ground and Jonathan was afraid Amy was going to miss her favorite holiday. Not that she would be in physical shape to actually enjoy any festivities, but at least she would be awake. He could apologize for putting her in the state she was currently in and whether she accepted his request for forgiveness or unleash her wrath on him, he would bear it as his punishment.

Meanwhile, he would lay in the dark, staring at the shadowed ceiling and listen for the door to creak slight on it's hinges to announce Lynnlee's arrival for the night.

The first thing that Amy noticed was the burning in her chest. The second was all the beeping and hissing noises that surrounded her. She opened her eyes and quickly wished she hadn't. Sunlight filled the room that was most definitely not in a hospital, though the IV drips, oxygen machine and heart monitors spoke otherwise. It took her mind a few seconds to place her surroundings as being back at Wayne Manor. Then, she started choking. Her hands started clawing at the tube that was shoved down her throat until someone grabbed her wrists in one hand and yanked the tube out with the other. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat and she felt her wrists being released.

"And look who has finally decided to grace us with her conscious presence."

Amy turned to see Alfred, now sitting by her bedside. She couldn't help but smile at the welcome sight of the older man. "Hey."

"It's a good thing you're awake," he said gravely. "Your brother is driving us all mad."

"He'll do that." Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "What's wrong with him?"

"First, we couldn't pry him away from you when we brought you home from Gotham General. Now, Lynnlee has the flu and he's become her around the clock nurse."

"So I'm left with you."

"Unfortunately."

She sank back down into the plush pillows. "Not unfortunately."

"I'm flattered," he quipped. "Here, you need this." He held out an oxygen mask, and slipped it over her head. He saw the questioning in her eyes and responded. "Your lungs were severely burned by the drug. They're healing, albeit slowly. You'll be on oxygen for a while but with some hard work and determination, you'll be back to your active self once again."

Amy tried to breath normally and ignore the almost claustrophobic feeling the mask was giving her. After a few minutes, she fell into a comfortable rhythm. "Bruce?"

Alfred's face fell and a momentary panic rose in her damaged chest. The older man cleared his throat. "Master Bruce is…coping with some sudden and unsettling developments. He's stopped in a few times to check on you. You'll see him soon."

"Is he alright?" She didn't like how the oxygen mask was making her voice sound. It reminded her too much of what Jon sounded like from behind his scarecrow mask.

"Like all of us," Alfred answered, "he will recover eventually."

The door squeaked open and Amy saw her brother peering into the room. She tried to smile but realized he wouldn't see it because of the mask. She thought about taking it off when what passed for color in his face completely left, leaving him a sickly white. He only reacted that way when he was frightened. It was an odd response and she wondered what was wrong. Alfred saw her diverted attention and rose from the chair.

"If you want or need anything," he pointed to the phone by the bed, "just pick it up and hit the pound button."

"Thank you, Alfred," she rasped and watched him leave. Jon still hovered by the door before squaring his shoulders and coming over to the chair, folding his lanky self into the seat. She tried smiling at him again but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, she held out her hand and after staring at it for a few bleeps on the heart monitor, he took it with a heavy sigh. Amy pulled the mask off with her free hand. "You look like you saw a ghost."

Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say as she watched his eyes close and tears leak out beneath his lashes. She was the crier, she always had been. When Jon cried, there something catastrophic going on inside of him. It shook her to the core to see her brother cry and she struggled to sit up, trying to get to him to give him some comfort for whatever tragedy had struck while she had been out. He was oblivious to her struggles and her lungs were burning with just the minor effort to sit up straight. She tugged on his hand and finally got his attention.

"What's wrong?"

His grief quickly turned to confusion. "What do you mean 'what's wrong?'"

She shrugged. "Why are you so upset? Did someone die?"

Confusion turned to incredulity. "You almost did!"

"But I didn't. I'm here. I'm alright, Jon. It's okay."

"No, it's not." He shook his head and then pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Your lungs-"

"Will heal."

He huffed impatiently. "Not completely."

"They'll heal enough for me live a normal life. Tell me you're not blaming yourself for this."

He didn't answer and looked sheepishly down at the floor. Amy wished she had something to hit him with, to knock some sense into him. Instead, she put as much strength into the squeeze of his hand as she could, hoping that would assure him she still had some strength left in her.

"Now, I want an update on what I've missed. How long have I been out?"

He cleared his throat. "Five weeks."

That was much longer than she expected. She pulled the oxygen mask back over her mouth and motioned for him continue with the five week update. She tried to listen to him, make sense of everything that he was telling her. But by the time he had reached week two, she was drifting asleep and into dreams with dangerous clowns, two faced men and a giant bat that fought them both.

Lynnlee was on her way to Jon's room when she decided to take a detour to Amy's room. She had poked her head in earlier in the evening to find Amy sound asleep and hoped to find her awake later on that night. She had spent most the night throwing up her dinner and trying to hide it from everyone. She didn't need any extra attention or worry on her right now. Everyone seemed to be dealing with their own personal demons, she didn't wanted to add hers to the pot. However, she was hoping that Amy might be able to help her.

When she opened the door, she was relieved to see the light over the bed on and Amy scanning the many newspapers that they saved for her. Lynnlee saw the blue Crane eyes shift their focus from the black and white print to her. She gave Amy a small smile as she approached the bed. Amy pulled the oxygen mask down so it dangled around her neck.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Lynnlee said.

Amy shook her head. "Not at all. It's good to see you. Your uncle said you have the flu."

She made a noncommittal sound and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Ready for the Boston Marathon."

Lynnlee leaned back in the chair. "It's so good to see you awake and hear your voice. Jon was just beside himself with worry."

"That happens sometimes with a split personality."

Lynnlee tried to figure out how worry and split personalities go together when Amy laughed tiredly.

"I'm sorry. It was a joke…beside himself…split personality. Never mind. Must be the drugs." Amy sighed. "Jon was always a worrier. He should be better tomorrow. I tried to assure him I'm was fine and not mad at him. Keep me updated on him, okay?"

Lynnlee nodded. "I can do that."

"Has Scarecrow been around much?"

"Not since the Batman rescued us at the warehouse. He's been good natured, gentle Jon. Aside from the worry and guilt, that is."

"No, that's Jon."

Lynnlee fell silent. Amy was right, as she should be, which was what brought Lynnlee into the room in the first place. Amy would know how to best approach the situation that she found herself in at the moment. "Amy, I don't know if you're feeling up to dispensing advice right now, but I have an issue."

Amy sat up straighter. "Shoot. I've been sleeping for weeks, I have all the energy in the world."

Lynnlee fiddled with the hem of her shirt, trying get up enough courage to admit the truth. "You have to keep this between us until I know for certain."

Amy nodded slowly, her clear blue eyes already holding a hint of understanding. "Go on."

Lynnlee squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out her secret. "I think I'm pregnant."

The grandfather clock struck an early morning hour and Lynnlee opened her eyes to see Amy's reaction. The other woman seemed slightly shocked but grinning widely. "I think that's wonderful."

"How is Jon going to take the news though?"

"Oh, he'll be thrilled. Despite his past actions, he's got quite a soft spot for children. I would wait though, until you know for certain before springing it on him."

"I go tomorrow for a blood test."

Amy nodded. "Wonderful."

Lynnlee returned Amy's pleased smile, trying to convince herself that this really was good news instead of the destroying blow of all that had brought her happiness in the last few months.