"You're sure? . . . Okay. . . . Yeah. . . . Okay. Thanks." Jack set his phone down and stared at the address he'd scrawled on the pad of paper, then tore the top three sheets off, tucked the address into his pocket, and threw the other sheets away. His fingers tapped out a rhythm on the table as he took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. Then he picked his phone up again and dialed. "Hey, Tom. Write this address down. . . . No, I don't want you to send anyone out there yet. . . . Because they'll fuck it up, that's why. . . . Shut up and listen, pig. I've got people tracking their movements; should have a definite plan in a week or so. . . . Yeah, I know she doesn't have that long. You want --- no, I know that." He sighed and leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead. "Look, Mary was dead the moment they took her, all right? I couldn't have helped her even if I'd told the cops everything I knew or suspected from the start. They're psychotic, Tom, not stupid." His friend wasn't yelling, just talking in a very, very low voice and Jack sighed again. "I'm sorry, too. Just don't do anything stupid, all right? Wait until I tell you --- because I know them, Tom, I know how they work. They're predictable. . . . Fine. Talk to you later." He hung up and then sealed the plastic baggie that was laying on the table, sticking it in the back of the freezer. It held a picture of his and Rachel's wedding day in it; he'd need it later.
Janet poked her head in and he turned to her with a smile. "You all packed? Mr. Wayne's plane should be here in half an hour."
"Yeah, it's all in the car already. Excited?"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Front-row seats to Raped by Zombies, and a stay in Wayne Manor itself? Hell yes, I'm excited!"
"Watch your language," he told her with roll of his eyes.
"You're not the boss of me."
"I'll tell Rachel."
Janet laughed. "What's she gonna do? Ground me?"
He shrugged and brushed past her. "She grounds me all the time."
"I'm not as whipped as you are."
"No, she's the one who gets whipped."
Janet had been following him up the stairs, but her footsteps stopped. "Excuse me?!"
Jack paused and turned an innocent look on her. "Yeeeees?"
She had a confused and disbelieving look on her face. "What did you just say?"
He shrugged and turned back to the stairs. "Hell if I know. Rachel! You ready?"
"Two minutes!" she called back. "Can't fit in my damned shoes!"
"Wear your slippers, baby."
She grumbled something about not coordinating as Jack turned around, raising an eyebrow at Janet and the look on her face. "What?"
"Did you . . . never mind. I don't want to know."
"Probably not. Hey, Charles!"
"Yes, every thing's ready," she replied as the stove timer went off. "You're behaving yourself this weekend?"
"Can't get up to much trouble at Wayne's."
"Go put your bags in the car, Janet. You know what I'm talking about," Charles said softly after the girl had left.
Jack looked out the window and shrugged. "I know what you're talking about, and I'm not going to touch her. I'm feeling a lot better than I was. Look, call me if anything happens, all right? I'd rather not leave right now, but Rachel threatened to tell everyone I like Pokemon if I didn't."
"You are such a pushover, sometimes."
A shrug. "Comes with the territory."
He was getting a knowing smirk. "And you're feeling a little guilty, maybe?"
"Not really. Haven't seen Veronica in a while, and she hasn't come sniffing around. I uh, I think I scared her." He grinned at that as Rachel stomped down the stairs in her green dinosaur slippers. "Told you the slippers would fit best."
"Well, I can't wear them to work, now, can I?" She stiffened when Jack hugged her, so he let her go. "Are you and Janet ready?"
"She's putting her bags in the car. Yeah, we're ready." Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned down until he was at eye-level with Rachel, eyebrows raised as he smiled expectantly.
"What?" Rachel asked shortly. "What do you want?"
He sighed a little. "Well . . . I am about to leave for the weekend . . ."
Rachel rolled her eyes as she brushed past him. "I'll kiss you goodbye at the airport."
His shoulders slumped as he followed her. "My wife doesn't love me any more . . ."
Rachel turned to give him a dirty look. "Oh, don't start that crap with me, Jack."
"Like you didn't do the exact same thing for the first, what, four months you were pregnant?" he complained as they got to the car.
"Stop it, you two," Charles cut them off. "Jack, leave her alone."
"What did I do wrong now?" Jack got in the back seat with Janet and almost slammed the door shut, then rested his elbow on the arm rest and propped his chin in his hand as he stared out the window. "I wish you weren't knocked up," he muttered.
"Well, maybe you'll get lucky, and I'll fall down some stairs tomorrow," Rachel countered acidly from the front seat.
"Shut up, you two! Jack, Rachel loves you. Rachel, Jack doesn't really wish you weren't pregnant. I've seen Susie have more mature arguments than the ones you two have been in lately."
"What are you going to do this weekend?" Jack asked.
"Relax," was the answer. "Get pampered."
"I pamper you."
"I meant a pedicure, manicure . . . maybe get my hair done . . ." She flipped her visor down to look at him in the mirror. "So I'll look pretty when we go to class on Monday."
Jack was quiet for a moment before he looked over at Janet. "Is it me, or does that woman not realise how gorgeous she is?"
"I think you're very pretty, Rachel," Janet replied. She'd been a little uncomfortable around him since Rachel's birthday; he'd have to talk with her about that on the plane.
His wife rolled her eyes. "I'm so ready for this baby to be born. Ten weeks, two days . . ."
"Only ten weeks?" Jack squeaked. His eyes were wide and his heart started pounding. Ten weeks, then he'd have to hold Ava, and change her diapers, and feed her?
"Actually, thirty-seven weeks is considered full term." Was it just him, or was Rachel enjoying his sudden panic attack? "So maybe seven weeks. Who knows?"
"Aren't you supposed to know?"
"It's not like I get a weekly memo from her, Jack. 'Okay, Mom, at thirty-seven weeks and two days, at four in the morning, I'm coming out.' It doesn't work like that."
Jack shook his head and rolled his eyes, ignoring Rachel until they'd reached the airport. Bruce's private plane was there, but the only passenger who got off was Hideki, there to keep Rachel company for the weekend. It took a good fifteen minutes for his initial excitement over Ava and Rachel to wear off.
With Janet at the top of the stairs to the plane and Jack at the bottom, he shuffled his feet and looked at Rachel through his eyelashes. On anyone else it would have looked coy, alluring. On Jack it just looked sullen.
"Weeeell," he drawled. Rachel's sigh was almost disgusted as she hugged him, but Jack pulled away. "Don't kiss me if you don't really want to."
"I don't know what your problem's been lately, Jack, but give me a damned kiss goodbye," she whispered. "This is what you do when someone you love goes away for a day or more, even if you're mad at them. You let them know that you still love them. I thought you knew this by now."
"Bad memory," he murmured, pulling her close, angling her body against his so he could hug her better, tilting her chin up to press kisses to her lips. "Oh, Saint Teresa, higher than the moon . . ."
Rachel wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed their cheeks together with a smile. "Every stone a story, like a rosary . . . God, I love your taste in music, Jack."
"You never know what I'm into next," he murmured in her ear, sighing as he ran his hands over her stomach. "How's my baby?"
"Fine, when her daddy's not sulking."
"She's not going to be fine very often," Jack laughed. "I sulk a lot. More blowjobs would help."
"Yeah, I'll think about that one." Rachel held his cheeks in her palms and kissed him again, then pushed gently against his chest. "Go on. Have fun."
"You sure you can't come with?" Jack asked again.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jack. Doctor Howard said it wasn't a good idea. But we're not in trouble," was the hurried addition when Jack's brow puckered in concern. "It's just a little precaution. Now go on, sweety. I love you."
"Me, too," Jack muttered. Rachel just smiled. She always knew what he meant. He hoped, as he climbed the stairs to the plane and turned to look at her one last time, that Ava would also know what he meant . . . provided he was there to imply it. He shook off those thoughts as he settled onto the couch, watching Janet look around in amazement. "There's usually a stewardess or someone, but I guess you and I don't rank that high on Wayne's approval list."
Now she looked unsure and sat across from him her legs wrapped around his waist as he knelt in front of her as the plane took off, biting her lower lip as she moaned, slender hands grasping at his shoulders and leaving welts in their wake and Jack shook his head sharply. Those were thoughts that were entirely not needed, ever. They held no purpose. They didn't fit like he fit, pressing into her as she gasped in his ear, fingers curling in his hair at the base of his neck, naughty words falling from her sweet lips and he didn't need them agent of chaos that he was or their particular brand of insanity not crazy
Jack stared at someone in the bathroom mirror and it took a few blinks and tilts of their heads for him to realise that it was his own reflection he was trying to menace, at which point he relaxed and didn't bother trying to remember how he'd gotten there. The tap was running and his face was wet; he must have been splashing it with water.
. . . reach down for the sweet stuff, way she looks at me . . . i know any man . . . sees you like i see . . .
"As they saw that you forgot to tell me," he whispered, staring into his own brown eyes and not recognizing the man staring back. He turned and slid down the wall, rubbing his face and shying away from his scars for a moment before exploring them inside and out, like he'd never felt them before.
A soft knock brought him out of his stupor some time later. "Jack? Are you all right?"
No, it wasn't her skin he was remembering beneath his lips. He'd never know more of her taste past what he'd had that once.
. . . way down in the hollow, leavin' so soon . . . oh, saint teresa, higher than the moon . . .
"I'm fine," he said after he'd cleared his throat is there something you forgot to tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me . . . "Just give me a moment."
. . . show me, my teresa, feel it rise in me . . . every stone a story, like a rosary . . .
"The plane's going to land soon." She didn't sound like he'd done anything to her; she didn't even sound concerned. He wasn't sure what he'd told her but it had obviously worked, and now all he needed was to get up --- good, push yourself up --- and wipe himself off --- not too hard, don't leave a mark --- and opened the door to Janet's tilted head and amber-flecked brown eyes.
. . . she down on the corner, just a little crime . . . when i make my money, got to get my dime . . . she bold as a street light . . . dark and sweet as hash . . .
"Uhm, hey. Sorry about that."
"About what? Using the bathroom? Oh no, Jack, how could you?" Janet rolled her eyes and Jack gave her a gentle smack upside the head.
"Shut up." He flopped back into his seat and stared at her. "Hey, you know . . . Rachel's birthday . . . that was a really dumb thing I did." She pursed her lips and flushed, not meeting his eyes. "I just, uhm . . . wanted you to know."
"Yeah, married men kissing other women's generally stupid. And kissing minors. But hey, Rachel always says you've got a severe lack of common sense." She was trying to make light of the situation and Jack snorted.
"I've got plenty of common sense. I just ignore it in favour of whatever's the most fun at the moment." There was a moment of slightly awkward silence, then Janet laughed a little.
"Well, if it helps, I told Hayden to keep his hands to himself until he learned to kiss better. And . . . thank you. I mean, yeah, it was a dumb thing to do, but . . ." Janet blushed again and looked at him from under her eyelashes as she shrugged. "It . . . helped."
A few moments of silence passed as the plane descended, and when the pilot came out of the cockpit, Jack and Janet were howling with laughter. Bruce watched them from the edge of his private landing pad with raised eyebrows.
"Hey, B! Why so glum? Still pissed that I knocked Rachel up?" Jack settled his arm around Janet's shoulder and pulled her close as he explained. "Not that he had a chance, but Brucey boy here had the hots for Rachel. Still hates that I got her."
"And I'm still not sure how that happened," Bruce put in. "You did try to kill her, after all."
"Hey, boy meets girl, boy throws girl out window, boy kidnaps girl and wires her to explosives. That's true love. How could she not want me after all that?"
"You tried to kill Rachel?!" Janet exclaimed. Her eyes bugged out even more than they had when she'd been told she'd be a guest at Wayne Manor for the weekend. "How did she not kill you for that?"
Jack was laughing as he shook Alfred's hand. "I gave her a decade to cool off. How'd she even get loose, anyway? She's never told me. Not that I've asked."
"Gordon's men were barely quick enough," Bruce replied as he gave Janet a winning smile. "There was some confusion over which hospital she went to, also, which was why we all thought she was dead."
"Well, I'll have to thank Gordon when I see him," Jack said. "Would you believe me that I'm sorry?"
Bruce looked over his shoulder as they entered the mansion. "Yes," he said simply.
"Janet, this is Sally Monroe," Bruce said, kissing the tall brunette on both cheeks. "Sally, this is Janet Mills. We're going out tonight; she's yours for the afternoon."
Jack had no clue who the woman was, other than a beautician or something that Bruce kept on retainer, but Janet obviously did. As Monroe took Janet by the elbow and started looking her over with pursed lips, Bruce gave her an encouraging nod.
"Sally will take good care of you, Janet. Jack and I will be back in a couple of hours, all right?"
"I have to stop by the police department and let Raoul know his man got there safe," Jack put in. "You'll be fine, Janet." She was looking nervous, but let them leave without a fuss, flattered to be having so much attention heaped upon her by Monroe and her cronies.
"Will she be all right?"
"Small town girl thrust into the arms of Gotham's elite beauty squad?" Jack scoffed. "She'll be fine. Janet's tougher than she lets on. Plus it's all girly crap, anyway, and she loves that shit."
Bruce laughed. "Raoul, next?"
"Yep." Once at the police department, Jack breezed through the doors and headed straight for Raoul's desk. "Hey, he got there just fine."
The younger man looked up, his phone to his ear, and placed the tips of his fingers on his chin briefly before pulling his hand down in an arc to mid-chest. Then he held his finger up in a 'wait' gesture.
"What'd he just do?" Jack asked Bruce as he stepped back and looked around.
"Sign language for 'thank you,' idiot. I already invited him to dinner tonight. Let's let him work."
"What did you do now?"
Jack turned to Gordon with a grin. "Knocked Rachel up; Bruce is still pissed about it. What's up, Commissioner Awesome?"
The older man rubbed at his eyes with a snort. "Congratulations. When's she due?"
"January ninth. It's a girl, and we're naming her Ava Mirelle."
"She make you memorise that?"
Jack shrugged. "Yeah, after the third time I told someone to piss off because it wasn't any of their business. Here, she makes me carry a picture." He dug his wallet out and pulled out the most recent picture of Rachel as well as the most recent ultrasound. "She was twenty-eight weeks here, and seven months in the ultrasound."
Gordon was grinning as he looked the pictures over. It matched Jack's grin. "She's beautiful; you must be proud."
"Yeah, well, Ava's my little accident. Rachel would have come down this weekend, but the doctor didn't want her traveling, so Hideki's babysitting." He took the pictures back and put them away. "Hey, lemme talk at you for a bit." Gordon pulled him into an empty office and took the piece of paper Jack handed him. "I'm pretty sure that's where they are. I've let Tom know, and he's not supposed to do anything yet. I don't trust the FBI to not screw this up. I need to make sure that's the right place, too."
The grins were gone and Gordon was at the computer, punching in the address. "You've got names?"
"Maury Moskowitz, or Maureen, and Anita Bentley. Raoul's been looking into it for me."
"I know," the older man murmured. "That's why Hideki and Charles are up there with Rachel?"
"Yeah. If they nab her while I'm in Gotham, it'd make getting me to cooperate easier. Oh, here, by the way." He pulled a thumb drive out of his pants pocket and tossed it on the desk. "A lot of it's probably out of date, but it's everything I could remember about the mob. Fuckers think they can screw around with me and get away with it."
"Thank you. They're getting desperate; the Justice League's cracking down pretty hard, these days. It might help with older cases; new evidence is almost always useful. And . . . you're not going to, ah . . ."
"Innocent people aren't going to die," Jack told him. "I can't guarantee anything else."
Gordon nodded. "But you'll warn us, right?"
Jack was staring at the picture of Rachel, holding her stomach as she leaned against the porch railing. "Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah."