A/N: Oh hai thar. The whole Brandon/Noelle thingy, guis? It was a series of short e-mails I wrote up and posted on the original site I was posting Speak & Sing; I'll give you the address later, or maybe post them here. We'll see. It was sort of a treat for everyone on the other list. But you'll get to read them, never fear! ^.^
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"Have you seen him?" Rachel demanded as soon as Charles was in the door. "Is he okay? What about Janet?"
"He's awake, restrained, and howling for you, as Nurse McGallagher predicted. The FBI's trying to question him. Janet's . . ." Charles sighed. "They're still examining her. Diana's staying with her. The lassos and super-strength are comforting." She shook her head when Rachel opened her mouth. "The exam can take up to four hours. That's all. Morgenson is with Jack."
"Oh, God, he's going to say all the wrong things," Rachel groaned. "Who is he right now?"
"Hard to know. He's not very coherent. All anyone can get out of him is that he wants his family." She sat down next to Rachel and watched her. "Do you want to see him?"
Rachel blinked at her. "Of course I do. He --- I ---" She waved her hands in frustration. "He needs to know that Ava's all right. I need to know that he's all right. Will they let him see me?"
"I'll ask. They respond well to Marines." She was wearing her Marine Corps dress uniform, the gold-on-red Master Sergeant rank clearly visible against the dark blue of her tunic, her medals covering her left breast and her service ribbons covering her right breast. She had a lot of both; Rachel hadn't realised her friend was quite so decorated. "Superman!" she called. Her voice carried easily and the curtain to the balcony twitched.
"What can I do for you?" the tall, raven-haired man asked from behind it.
"You can come in here so I'm not yelling, for one. Secondly, I need you to bring Jack in here once I get permission."
"If Noelle's around," the man said with a charming grin, "you're on your own."
"You'll do it, or I'll tell everyone you can't legally run for President."
His eyebrows went up. "I was born on America soil."
"You hatched on American soil," Charles returned. "You hatched. There's a difference. And even if you can convince the public that that qualifies as 'birth,' you still can't be President because your parents weren't American citizens. You have to be a natural-born citizen, whose parents were American. Adoption doesn't count, bucko. Now let's get Jack before they kill him." She bent and kissed Rachel's forehead. "We'll be back, Rachel."
"Kiiiii-yah!"
Superman didn't look down when Susie came flying out of the bathroom at him, latching on to his leg and biting for all she was worth. He gave no indication that he even noticed her, walking quite normally out the door with another winning smile for Rachel.
"Susie, leave him alone! Come back here, Susie!"
"It's no problem," the caped man assured her as he picked Susie up and foisted her over his shoulder. She was growling and snapping at him, but seemed content to be carted like a sack of potatoes. "Susie and I are great friends, aren't we?"
"Die, fascist militant scumbag!"
Rachel raised an eyebrow at Superman. He had the grace to look embarrassed. "Well. We're working on it." He glanced out the door as Charles snapped for him to hurry. "Ah . . . Are you all right alone? It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. There's an officer outside the door."
"I'll be fine," she managed to say. "Just get my husband." She closed her eyes against the suddenly oppressive emptiness of the room, tensing more and more as the minutes went by. Ava turned over and Rachel immediately rubbed her stomach. She was trying not to cry. "We're safe," she whispered. "We're safe, Ava. Daddy saved us. Daddy," and she choked up a bit, "Daddy will be here soon." She hoped. Oh, God, she hoped they'd let her see Jack. She needed to see him. He needed to see his baby girl. If he was screaming for her then the Joker must not have been able to take him over completely. She couldn't raise this baby on her own. She couldn't lose Jack.
Rachel was sobbing quietly when there was a gentle knock on the door. Embarrassed to be seen in such a state --- her eyes red and puffy, her nose dripping, her hair a complete mess --- she tried to make some order of her appearance as the door opened. The sight of her mother, though, just made her break down again.
"Oh, God, Rachel . . ." Bethany went to her daughter and held her tightly, stroking her hair as both women cried. "I was so worried about you . . . You're safe now, baby, you're safe, it's all right . . ."
"It's n-not," Rachel moaned. "They're g-going to t-take J-J-Jack from m-me. We'll ne-ne-never ---"
"Shh, they won't," Bethany cooed. She pressed a kiss to Rachel's temple.
"B-but, Ava ---"
"Rachel, listen, Ava's all right. I talked with your doctors. They said Ava's all right. She'll probably be early, but she's just fine. Jack was smart, Rachel, he did a lot of good things for Gotham this time. They shouldn't put him on trial for anything." She was rubbing Rachel's back firmly, letting her child cry herself out as the stress from the past three weeks finally found an outlet.
Half an hour later Rachel had cried herself to sleep and Bethany sat with her, holding her hand as she watched her only child. Alfred had been and gone, making sure they had a hotel room for at least the night. They'd agreed to take turns sitting with Rachel while the other made arrangements for clothing and personal items to be brought down from Loleta, kept Susie occupied, and took care of whatever might need taken care of for the next few months. There was so much to do, and she'd almost lost her daughter.
Bethany's shoulders shook as tears fell once again. Rachel didn't deserve this. Janet and Susie didn't deserve this. Even Jack didn't deserve this, Jack who called Bethany in the middle of the night when he was overcome by he and Rachel's relationship, when he didn't know how to handle it on his own any more and needed someone to guide him. Jack, who was subconsciously waiting for Rachel to leave him, who told Bethany of his fears of fatherhood, of something happening that would take him away from his daughter. To him, such a simple life was too good to be true. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop . . .
She was afraid that it just had. Bethany wiped her face clean with the tissues on the stand next to the bed before going into the bathroom and wetting a washcloth. She dabbed at Rachel's face as Susie's voice drifted in to her; hopefully they'd be bringing Jack in, too. They all needed to know that everyone was all right. Bethany covered her mouth and fought back tears when she remembered Janet. She'd been told the girl was being treated for heroin addiction and rape.
"--- so I bit him."
"Did you, now."
"Yeah . . . It hurt my teeth."
"He is the Man of Steel, you know."
"He could have pretended."
Dr. Morgenson chuckled as he pushed the door open. "Mrs. Dawes?"
"Rachel's asleep," Bethany replied. She stood up and had to sit back down when the psychiatrist wheeled Jack in. Her son-in-law was bound to a wheelchair at the wrists, elbows, ankles, waist, and chest, with two police officers on either side of him. Susie was pushing the chair, with Morgenson's help. "Oh, Jack . . ."
He didn't seem to notice her. He looked terrible in that hospital gown, with his hair in his bruised face and his scars twisting into a snarl. His dark eyes were trained on Rachel and his hands clenched. He whined a little and strained against his bindings, but all that accomplished was raised firearms.
"She's all right," Morgenson said firmly. "She's just sleeping. Look at the monitors, Jack. Rachel's asleep."
Jack did look, his gaze darting around the room. He was checking the monitors and for any intruders --- and potentially, Bethany realised with a shiver, for a way to escape. She cleared her throat and straightened when that brought his animalistic attention to bear on herself.
"She's been asleep for about fifteen minutes. Do you want me to wake her up?" He blinked at her, then looked back at Rachel and leaned forward as far as he could, whining again in the back of his throat. "Jack, answer me."
He rolled his eyes back and up, toward Morgenson, then looked at Rachel again. ". . . No. Let me hold her hand."
"You're not allowed out of the restraints."
"Let me hold her hand," Jack snapped. The officer who had spoken frowned down at him. "What am I going to do with one hand? I need to be closer." He was wheeled next to the bed at Morgenson's approval and Bethany scooted out of the way. There were unnoticed tears falling down Jack's face and Bethany took Rachel's hand and brought it down to his. He choked a little and held her fingers gently, his own hand shaking as he bowed his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry . . ."
Morgenson knelt by Susie and smiled at her. "You're a very smart girl, Susie. Do you want to find out exactly how smart you really are?"
"You can do that?" she asked in awe. "Daddy says I'm a freaking genius. That's smarter than a regular genius."
"I can," the man said with a soft laugh. Rachel shifted in the bed and he glanced up, then held his hand out. "Let's go find out, all right?"
The child looked at Jack and Rachel, then at Bethany. "Is it all right, Gramma?"
"Of course it is," Bethany told her as she got up. She waved the two officers out. "Wait outside; give them a little privacy, for heaven's sake."
"Ma'am, we were given orders ---"
"Just do it," Bethany snapped.
"Time alone with Rachel will be good for Jack's mental stability right now," the psychiatrist seconded. "Come along, Susie."
Jack stared at Rachel's hand before raising his eyes to her face. She was laying on her side and someone had tucked some pillows around her to keep her comfortable. Her fingers were warm against his.
"I should leave," he murmured. It hurt to think it, much less say it. "You're all better off without me."
"I need you," Rachel whispered.
Jack looked up quickly and swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I've managed to destroy almost everything. No one will ever let me near Ava or the girls again. It's not . . . safe . . ."
"Will he try to hurt them?"
Jack shook his head before shrugging. "He says he won't. I don't . . . Look, this, a, a family, people to love and be loved by, it's what we always wanted. We never got it, but . . . we wanted it. He's willing to . . . step aside. Stay out of the way. He brought me out, so we're . . ." Jack sighed and lowered his head. "I don't know. Integrating, whatever you want to call it. He likes this Jokester idea people've got now. He thinks Gotham's his, he should be the only one causing mayhem. If we've done this right, hopefully the FBI will overlook us not telling them about Anita and Maury. We took down almost the entire mob, and the police should have enough information to crack down on the rest. That's gotta count for something, right?"
Rachel's hand left his, then her fingers pressed gently against his chin until Jack looked up at her again. "Jack. Listen to me." He leaned toward her when she ran her fingers through his curls, scratched his scalp gently. "I love you. Janet and Susie love you. Ava loves you --- yes, she does. Trust me. You are the best thing to happen to all of us, and I don't want to split this family up. But it's not going to be up to us." He closed his eyes and hunched inward a little. Rachel shifted so she could touch him more comfortably. "I think you have a point about the FBI, but I'll talk with Bruce and see what his lawyers think; you know he's going to insist on paying for whatever happens."
Jack snorted, opening his eyes once more. Rachel struggled until she was sitting up, then slowly eased off of the bed and into her husband's lap despite his half-hearted protests. She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his cheek against her breast, inhaling deeply.
"I need you, both of you, on your absolute best behaviour. I've been thinking about what might happen and how we need to handle it. What's left of the mob will be put on trial. Their lawyers will do their best to make you into the bad guy." Rachel rested one palm on Jack's cheek and leaned her forehead against his. "No sarcasm, Jack," she whispered. "No tantrums. Cooperate. Don't give anyone anything to use against you, please."
"The better-behaved I am, the more likely it is they won't take you away from me?" he asked.
Rachel bit her lower lip and blinked back tears. "The more likely it is they won't keep us apart forever."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "They'll send me back to Arkham, won't they? Even if everything goes perfectly."
She nodded. "I'm sorry, Jack. I can't think of anything that will keep you out of that place. I don't ---" Rachel's voice caught and she took a few panting breaths to calm herself down before continuing. "I don't want you to go. But for Ava, for Janet and Susie . . ."
"The state will need to know I'm not a threat to my children," Jack finished quietly. He leaned his head back and fought against the other's anger. They'd known something like this would happen. It wasn't a big surprise. Painful to have confirmed, yes, but not surprising. "How long do you think I'll be there? Will they let you --- no, I don't want you near that place. Not you, not Ava, not anyone."
"We'll see about visits," Rachel promised. "I can't guess how long you might be there, but if you behave no matter what, I'm positive that we'll be able to work out a, a day or weekend out of Arkham."
"Eventually," Jack murmured.
Rachel nodded. "Eventually."
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I didn't want this to happen. I just wanted . . . I wanted you all to be safe."
"Well, you should have included you in that wish, man. Saved us all a lot of grief," Tom mumbled from the doorway. Jack and Rachel both looked up in surprise. Tom was leaning against the wall, bandages criss-crossing the lower half of his face and leaving his lips uncovered. "Told 'em it was just a hunch, out by Folsom. Dunno if they believed me. Glad you're alive."
"You, too," Jack muttered. "Help Rachel lay back down."
She didn't protest, just reached her hand out for Jack's again, once she was nestled securely in the bed. "How are you healing?" she asked.
Tom snorted and ghosted his fingers over his cheeks. "Some crazy singer chick paid for the surgeries." He sat down next to Jack with a sigh. "Never paid attention to what doctors can do these days. They say the nerves'll grow back just fine, and no one'll ever be able to tell I was cut up like a turkey." He looked at Jack. "You ought to consider it."
"They're a part of me."
"An old part. Outdated." Tom waved his hand as Jack frowned. "Whatever. I'm doped up, man. Get to go home today. Tomorrow. Soon." Then he groaned. "I'm sorry, man."
"It's fine," Jack muttered. "Look, I'll be in Arkham for a while. Maybe a long time. I need you to look after Rachel and the girls for me."
Tom was quiet for a long time before he nodded. "No problem, Jack. Anything you need."
"I'm sorry I got you hurt."
The other man snorted. "Wasn't your fault. Thought I could handle it; I was wrong. How long are you in here for?"
Jack shrugged. "Just got out of surgery. Dunno."
"Yeah, I heard Janet shot you. Lucky girl."
Jack scoffed. "You know what? Fuck you. After all the good shit I did for Gotham and everyone, not one damn person takes pity on me for being shot. I swear, I am never going to help again. Ever."
Rachel was smiling at him. "I'm sorry you got shot, Jack. I'm glad you're all right."
That mollified him somewhat, but Tom was snorting with laughter and Jack glared at him. "You're lucky I'm strapped down, Tom."
"Don't I know it," his friend agreed cheerfully. "They've had me seeing a shrink while I'm here. Think they'll put you in the psych ward while you recuperate from your, ah, battle wounds?"
Jack glared at him again, then shrugged. "I was hoping for that bed right there," and he jerked his chin at the other bed in the room, "but I doubt they'll let me have it."
"I think I managed to talk the doctor into putting Janet and Susie in here, once Janet's cleared," Rachel offered. "They're doing what they can to keep us together. Mom and Alfred are taking care of . . . well, whatever we need taken care of, here and at home."
"What about the kitten?"
"We'll take it, for now," Tom offered. "Can you keep the foster system from taking the girls?"
"Rachel's Bruce-fucking-Wayne's best friend," Jack said. "They don't stand a chance. I may not be a fit parent, but Rachel's more than fit. With me out of the way ---"
"Stop it, Jack. Don't talk like that!"
"It's true," he argued. "With me in Arkham, Janet and Susie will be fine with you. Besides, Janet's got, what, a year and a half until she's eighteen? I'm sure I'll be in Arkham for at least that long." He hated thinking about it. "When she's eighteen she can petition for custody of Susie, if she wants. Weren't you saying the house was left to them? I mean, Mary's house? No mortgage or anything, right?"
Rachel closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. "True. But that doesn't mean you're staying in Arkham for the rest of your life."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Bunny, if I wanted out of Arkham, nothing could stop me. But I'll stay until I'm cleared to leave. It just . . . might take a while."
There was a knock on the door. "Rachel? Jack?"
"Come in, Bethy," he called.
She smiled at him and Rachel. "You look better."
He twisted his face into a scowl when she kissed his cheek. "You think it's funny that I got shot, too, don't you?"
"Not at all. I think it's hilarious that it was a sixteen-year-old girl who shot you, but I don't think it's funny that you got shot."
"Even the people who are on my side think it's funny," Jack muttered. He looked up at the police officers who had come in and sighed. "Fine, fine, take me away. I'm cooperating, see? See how cooperative I'm being? Wait. Hold up." Jack looked back at Rachel. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she whispered with a smile.