One week. One week. One week one week oneweekoneweekoneweek. His heart was racing constantly and his head was all bent out of shape; he was jumpier, couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate. He'd already gotten a warning, and if something else happened, he'd be set back two weeks.
"Hey, you all right, Dawes?" He jumped and whipped around, eyes widening at the guard outside his door. "You need a doctor?"
"I'm surrounded by doctors. I'm in excess of doctors. I don't need a doctor. I'm thirsty. I want soda; give me a strawberry milk."
"I'll have Davidson get you some water. You don't look so good, Dawes. What's up?"
Jack was breathing shallowly, blinking, trying to focus on the guard outside his cell. "Hey, you've got a baby, right? What is it?"
The boy couldn't have been over twenty. What was his name? Nasir. Nasir Barad. He flushed a little and grinned. "Yeah, a little boy. He's eighteen months. Looks like his mama."
"What if you couldn't see him? I mean, here I am," and Jack held his hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing, and dropped them sharply toward the floor before angling them to the side and gesturing once more, "and there they are, and she's a month old today, and I only saw her on Christmas. She's never going to know I exist."
Nasir leaned against the opposite wall. "You worry about that a lot, don't you?"
"Not at all," Jack replied automatically as his gaze slid away from Nasir. "Never crosses my mind."
"I don't think you'd draw her so much if you didn't care. Here, look at this." Nasir stepped forward, digging his wallet out and flipping it open. Jack scootched along the floor until he was by the plexi-glass wall and Nasir crouched down. "This is my boy. I keep his picture with me all the time."
"I keep pictures, too," Jack murmured. The boy was smiling, sitting on a wooden rocking horse, just grinning away at the camera.
"He wouldn't smile, and his mama was about to cry, so I gave her a kiss. Next thing I knew he was giggling, so I kept giving her kisses, and we ended up getting some great photos out of it. Here's one of him and his mama."
"You don't think I'll get out and go after her?"
Nasir laughed. "Dawes, I know you could leave here whenever you wanted, and I also know that instead of running, you sit here all day and draw pictures of your little girls and your wife."
"Do you think I'm going to Hell?"
"Are you asking because you believe in Hell, or because you think I do?" Jack blinked and Nasir chuckled. "The bad guys aren't the only ones who don't believe in a god, Dawes. All I know is that I love my wife and boy, and I'd do anything to keep them safe."
Jack looked away as his water was brought and handed through the bottom of the door. He sipped at it absently. "She was supposed to be born today. Fucking mob . . ." Arkham stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall toward him, Bruce on his heels. "For someone who hates me, you sure visit me a lot, B."
"Because I carry an illicit love for you and I'm just waiting for the perfect moment to declare it."
"Oh, it's me you've been after all these years, not Rachel? Makes sense."
Arkham pursed his lips slightly as he motioned Jack away from the door. Once clear, he and Bruce entered the cell. "Mr. Dawes, after much consideration ---"
"I finally won an Oscar?"
"--- after much consideration, and provided that your remaining time here is spent productively, Morgenson and I have decided that it would be best if you were moved out of Arkham."
Jack perked up, but narrowed his eyes. "I'm not being sent home."
"You're not being sent home. You need to stay in Gotham, under supervision, at least until your part in the mob trial is over. However, it's obvious that a continuous stay in Arkham would be detrimental to your overall mental health, and putting you in Blackwater or County is equally unadvisable."
"So, where am I staying?" At that point Bruce looked away, shoving his hands in his expensive pockets. Jack stared. "Oh, hell no. Not with him. Anyone but him. Why not Bethany? Or Charles. Charles is a much better idea."
"Both of whom are currently in Loleta."
"Where I should be."
"You will be staying at Wayne Manor under twenty-four hour surveillance until I deem you ready to go back to Loleta, or you will stay incarcerated here for the rest of your life," Arkham snapped. "Those are your only options at this point, Mr. Dawes."
Jack held his hands up in an expression of surrender, slightly taken aback by the other man's sudden irritation. "Fine. Fine. When do I move in? Will I be able to see Rachel?"
"You'll be fitted with a GPS tracking chip that will monitor your movements and alert the police if you go out of a set area. Wayne Manor needs to be thoroughly inspected and possibly retrofitted with extra security measures, but we anticipate moving you out of Arkham within the month. This isn't a reward, Mr. Dawes, this is a safety precaution. Your therapy regimen will stay the same as it is now. You will have greater visitation privileges," and the word was stressed slightly, "but that's all they are: privileges. This isn't a free pass to do as you like, and you will have rules to abide by."
"I haven't been abiding by rules here?" Jack asked mildly.
"You have," Arkham told him with a frown. "And we've seen that it's becoming more and more difficult for you. That's why we're moving you. Arkham Asylum is no longer fit for your continued mental stability. Mr. Wayne ---"
"Wait, a GPS tracking chip? You're going to inject me with one of those dog-tracking things?"
Arkham took a deep breath and nodded. "Modified, but yes. Is that a problem?"
Jack shrugged and tap-danced his fingers across his scars. "Nope. Can I get one for Ava? For all of them?"
"We'll talk about it later, Jack," Bruce cut in as Jack started pacing.
"And why am I being moved in with you? We're not exactly the best of friends."
"That's exactly why. I have the resources and manpower to keep you in Wayne Manor, and you're not going to throw me into a pity-fit to get what you want. You might be able to do that with Bethany, even if she didn't live outside the city, and Charles would just break you."
Jack stopped and looked over his shoulder at Bruce, then his face split into a grin and he chuckled. "Charles told you to let me stay with you. She did!" he chortled as Bruce glowered. "You are so fucking pussy-whipped, B. Fine, I don't want Charles hurting me; I'm sure we can behave. Now, I get to see Rachel and Ava next week, unless you think I'll try to hurt the baby I gave everything up to save." Arkham cleared his throat and Jack talked on. "I want to hold her. Chain me down if you want, but I want to hold her. It's fine by me if she's sleeping, but I'd prefer if she were awake and could see me. She's mine. I want to make her an outfit." He was pacing, clasping his hands and rubbing them together, then wiggling his fingers as he thought. "Is there a, uh, conjugal trailer or something?"
"I seriously doubt that a conjugal setting would do anything for you, Mr. Dawes," Arkham told him wearily.
"Of course it won't; you've got me plenty drugged up. Doesn't mean Rachel might not appreciate it. Christ on a cracker, I hope she jills off and tells me about it . . ."
Bruce spoke up before he could get much further. "Alfred's making a list of house rules for you, Jack. He's also been to the shooting range more often the past week or so." He grinned at the suddenly blank, somewhat wide-eyed stare he got. "But we'll talk more about that later. I know you have therapy to go to." He breezed out with Arkham on his heels, Jack cursing at him, and Nasir trying not to laugh.
***
Helna looked at her over a steaming mug of cocoa and raised her eyebrows. "So . . ."
Rachel took a sip and raised her eyebrows back at her friend. "So . . . what?"
"You're going to Gotham this weekend."
That made her heart pound and Rachel nodded as she swallowed. "Yes. Mom has to go back."
Helna wasn't going to let her beat around the bush. "Are you taking Ava when you go see Jack?" She watched Rachel look down at the baby, who was awake and looking around as she chewed on her hand. "He'll want to see her. Will they let you bring her in? I've got the perfect onesie for her to wear."
"I have to take her to Gotham. She won't take a bottle."
"And you're taking her to see Jack." The door opened and Veronica flounced to the counter, and Helna watched Rachel's expression swing from surprise to pain to outright loathing and back around. She glanced over her shoulder as the deli girl was thoroughly berated for simply greeting Veronica, then looked back at Rachel. "And this is when you tell me what's going on with Veronica."
"Nothing's going on with Veronica," Rachel said through stiff lips. Veronica turned in a huff and leaned back against the counter as the deli girl hurried to get her order. She glanced their way and started, her face going pale before she turned back to the counter.
"Something's going on," Helna pressed gently. "Rachel ---"
"She slept with Jack, all right?" Rachel hissed. She hadn't let herself be angry about the affair, having been too involved with surviving, but now hot tears welled up in her eyes and she wanted to scream. "A lot. And they taped it and sent it to me so they could take me and the girls. We would have gotten out of that office if they hadn't --- if I hadn't ---"
Helna sat back a bit in surprise and blinked. She didn't stop Rachel from going to the restroom and didn't follow her, and it was only after Veronica had left that Rachel came back. Her eyes were red and she was still sniffling.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just --- he said it was because he didn't want to hurt me or Ava. He said she knew where they were. I knew something was wrong," Rachel muttered as she covered her eyes with one hand. "I knew it. I knew he was lying to me. I asked him, he said he kept getting invited out, told me I had wanted him to be more social, so he was, but . . . but something was wrong. I knew it. I, I ignored it."
"Nobody wants to know when they're being cheated on," Helna said quietly. "Rachel, I'm so sorry . . ."
"It's not your fault."
Helna sighed. "Is that why you don't want to take Ava to see him? It's obvious you're stalling about the decision," she said when Rachel looked up sharply. "Are you trying to punish him, or do you not think he'll be a fit father?"
"I don't want to punish him. I mean, I , I do, but . . . I don't. I can't. It's not fair, but I look at Ava and I get so mad at him for not telling me, not trusting me . . . I just want to pack us all up and leave, sometimes. Sometimes I don't even know why I love him. He's killed people --- he killed Harvey --- and he's only sorry because . . . I don't even know if he's sorry. Not for most of them. Harvey, maybe, just because I loved him. But he truly doesn't care about anyone other than himself. How can I love someone like that?"
"He cares about you," Helna said as she leaned over to pull Ava's small crocheted hat down over her ears. "He cares about Janet, and Susie, and Mitzi. Jack cares about more people than just himself, Rachel. Not many more, but he's learned to care about others. I can't tell you why you love him, but if it helps, Tom and I hated each other up through middle school. Couldn't stand each other. I moved away for a year or so, and when I moved back we met again, and hit it off almost immediately. I asked him one day why we used to hate each other, and he told me he didn't know. I'm glad we stopped, though, and learned to love each other." She tilted her head at Rachel as Edward Nashton pushed the deli door open and headed to the counter with a grin for the deli girl. "What's bugging you, sweety?"
"Has Tom . . . ever seemed like he might hurt Mitzi?"
Helna sighed deeply. "He gets mad. He's got a horrible temper; I know, it doesn't seem like it, but I've walked out of that house twice because I thought he might hit me. We've been together for five years. I knew he'd been abused, and my father told him point-blank that if he ever hurt me, he'd go after him and no one would find the body. But no, every time Tom gets angry, he leaves the room. He doesn't want Mitzi to see us fight and he doesn't want to hurt her. Why don't you come to schul with us on Friday?"
Rachel blinked at her. "I'm sorry?"
"Come to schul with us on Friday," Helna repeated. "Susie can play with some of the other children, Janet can watch Mitzi and Ava, and you can relax a bit. Bethany and Charles can come, too. Don't tell me you're relaxed at home," she said as Rachel started to speak, "because you wouldn't look so horrible when you come in for lunch if you were relaxing. You're too isolated. Martha just had a baby early, too. She can give you some pointers."
"I couldn't," Rachel protested. "I'm not Jewish."
"So?" Helna rolled her eyes. "I wasn't, either, when I started going with Tom. Well, religiously, not genetically. My grandmother in Israel was so happy that I converted. You don't need to be Jewish to come to schul. Come on, then we'll go to Kiss-N-Tell after." There was spluttering just as Ava was sprayed with coffee. The baby's eyes got huge, then she opened her mouth and started howling in protest as Rachel grabbed for her and started wiping her off.
"I'm so sorry," Edward coughed as he set his coffee down on the next table and grabbed some napkins from it. "Is she all right?" He coughed again. "I'm sorry, you were talking about schul, I wasn't expecting the last part ---"
"Do you make it a habit to eavesdrop?" Helna asked acidly as she checked Ava over. The baby had just been surprised and didn't like being wet. "She's fine, she's not hurt." Rachel cradled Ava against her shoulder and kissed the side of her head gently, making shushing noises at her until the girl calmed down and stopped crying.
"It's not eavesdropping if I can hear you from the next table," Edward replied. "I'm sorry, Rachel, I didn't mean to ---"
Rachel waved him away as she glared at Helna, who shrugged and held her hands out in front of her in a 'What can I do?' gesture. "It's fine, Mr. Nashton. She's not hurt. Was there something you needed?"
"I was hoping to ask Mrs. Fine some questions about Judaism, but it can wait. Ah, thank you," he said as the deli girl brought him more coffee and started wiping up the mess on the floor. Ava had started hiccupping, looking surprised as each hiccup rocked her tiny body. Edward smiled. "She's filled out a lot."
Rachel opened her mouth to give a snappy response, but sighed and closed it as she nodded. She sat Ava on the table and cradled the baby's head in her hands, tilting her own head at her daughter. "Yes, she has. We're going to see Daddy this weekend, aren't we?" she asked the baby. She got another hiccup in response, and patted Ava's back lightly. "Daddy's excited to see you; he misses you." Confused by her hiccups, Ava twisted her face into a bewildered expression and flapped her arms a bit with each one. It was the first time that something she'd done had made Rachel laugh. The squeaks she was making helped.
Edward laughed a little, too, and pulled up a chair and sat. "Where's the little demon?"
"Susie and Janet are . . . busy right now. They should be back soon."
"You're going to have your hands full with that one, in a few years," he went on as Helna rolled her eyes. Rachel flushed slightly and looked away from his charming smile, unable to help returning it a little.
"She's a handful now, as it is. We'll have to put bars on the windows when she's old enough to sneak out." She raised her mug and made a face when she realised it was empty.
Edward flagged down the deli girl. "Let me get you a refill."
"I couldn't impose ---"
"It's not an imposition if I offer," Edward told her. "Another cocoa for Rachel, please," he said as the deli girl walked up. He looked at Rachel's doubtful expression and winked. "Honest. It's not a problem. I have more money than I know what to do with, and treating beautiful women to cocoa is one of the more pleasurable ways I can think of to spend it."
"I'm married, Mr. Nashton," Rachel reminded him as she flushed again.
"Edward. And I know. I think your husband would agree that you're beautiful. He's not the jealous type, is he?"
Rachel honestly had to think about that as she put Ava back in her carseat. When did Jack get jealous? "Uhm . . . No, not really. Only when someone is seriously trying to hit on me."
"Are you kidding me?" Helna scoffed. "His only rule is that he gets to watch, Rachel. Not even join in. Watch." Then her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes bugged out.
Edward laughed. "Sounds like a man, to me."
"Well, I'm not interested in anyone else, so he's out of luck," Rachel said quickly, glaring at Helna. She covered her eyes when the memory of that horrible video came back, but Edward mistook the gesture for embarrassment and handed her the cocoa the deli girl brought.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I won't tease you, I promise. No need to be embarrassed. Just mention that Susie's at the age where she's curious about everything, and if she hears anything odd, she'll probably open the door to see what's going on."
Now mortified, Rachel laughed at the image. "Oh, God, no. Stop it. You said you wouldn't tease me!"
They was still chuckling when Charles stepped through the door, and Rachel turned to her as Edward straightened in his seat. "Where are the girls?"
"With Dr. Wong. You, Nashton." Charles stomped over to him and placed her fists on her hips, looking between him and Rachel.
He looked up at her and licked his lips. "How can I help you, Charles?"
"I got you Internet access; it's not complete, but you can at least do a little research online."
She was still sounding upset, and Edward nodded slowly. "Thank you. Ah, is there anything else?"
"Yes, in fact." She looked pointedly at Rachel. "Is there something you've forgotten to tell Rachel? Something you're legally obligated to tell people?"
Edward had sort of shrunk in on himself, obviously upset. "When you say it like that, people think I'm a paedophile. I'm not," he told Rachel and Helna quickly as they both blinked in surprise. "I'm not. I just . . . have a criminal record." Charles was still staring at him, drumming her fingers on her arms. He rolled his eyes and pulled himself up, leaning on his cane as he looked down at the two women and slapped some money on the table. "I used to go by Nigma. E. Nigma. Figure it out."
With that he turned as quickly as he could and stalked out of the deli, cursing as the cold wind hit him. Rachel watched him work his way across the street and then her hand flew to her mouth in surprise.
"I don't . . . What was that about?" Helna asked.
"E. Nigma was the alias of the Riddler," Rachel told her quietly. She looked at Charles, who nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Because it's his responsibility to tell the authorities and people he's in close contact with who he is, not mine," she said as she sat in Edward's vacated chair.
"The Riddler?" Helna asked.
"He was a bit more Gotham-centric than Jack was," Charles told her. "The Riddler was the least violent of the Rouge Gallery of criminal masterminds. He's mostly driven by ego, proving that he's so much smarter than everyone else, including the other Rogues. Specialised in stealing the unstealable, building gigantic puzzles to trap his enemies in . . . It's all ego, for him. He was really heavily into white-collar crime in order to fund it all. Identity theft, mostly, some black market trading . . . His obsession with riddles is clinical. He can't not leave clues behind. That's why he went to Arkham instead of jail. It was suggested during therapy that he turn his obsession toward something productive, and he started writing. I own his publishing company."
Tom walked in with Mitzi, who squealed and ran straight toward Helna. She veered off at the last moment when she saw Ava, though, pulling herself over the car seat to give the baby a kiss.
"Ava! Ava! Dada, Ava! Mama! Mama, Ava!"
Tom laughed as he bent to give his wife a kiss. "Yes, that's Ava, Mitzi. Hey, beautiful."
"Hold baby," Mitzi demanded as she tried to unbuckle Ava. "Hold baby?"
"Edward Nashton is the Riddler. Do you know who he is?" Helna asked after the kiss.
"Some guy from Gotham. Does this mean Rachel and Charles can't watch Mitzi for half an hour?" Tom asked from the side of Helna's neck.
"I'm serious, Tom," she said as she pushed him away.
"And I've seriously got half an hour to take you home, do some very quick, wonderful things to you, and get back to work. Yeah, he's got a record. Chief Johnson told me. Said Charles has him on a pretty tight leash, too, and when Charles has someone on a tight leash, they don't sneeze without her permission. Mitzi, ask Rachel if you can hold Ava. Are we going home for a bit or not? I have a serious need to get you pregnant again."
Mitzi turned to Rachel and beamed at her. "Hold baby?"
Helna's jaw dropped. "Tom!"
"All right, fine, we'll talk about it later, but we really need to practice. Charles, will you watch Mitzi?"
"I don't see that I have a choice," she muttered. "Go on, get. Nashton's harmless, Helna. Go!"
"Be good, Mitzi!" Helna said as she dropped a kiss on her daughter's head. She was ignored as Mitzi pleaded, again, to be allowed to hold Ava. "Remember, schul on Friday and then the shop!" she called from the door.
Rachel sighed and started unbuckling Ava. "Fine. Sit down, Mitzi. You have to sit to hold Ava. No, on the chair," she corrected as Mitzi plopped down on the floor and held her arms out. Once the toddler was in the chair, Rachel lifted Ava out of the carseat and placed her on Mitzi's lap. "Hold her gently."
Mitzi was beaming as she placed another kiss on Ava's cheek. "Baby, baby, baby, baby," she sang.
"You keep an eye on her," Charles said sternly.
"I will," Rachel said with just a touch of frustration.
"Are you upset about Nashton?"
"I trust that you've got him under control," was the reply. "Jack's not going to be happy he's in town." Then Rachel laughed. "Although I asked him once, what he'd do if the Riddler were reformed and moved to town, if he wouldn't want to make sure he wasn't a danger to me."
Charles smiled and moved closer to Mitzi as she cooed at Ava. "Just don't mention anyone else moving to town. I'm not sure Loleta will survive."
Rachel was looking up toward Edward's apartment, then looked back at Charles. "Could you watch them for a little while? Just a few minutes."
Charles raised her eyebrows as the deli girl brought her tea, and looked out the window. "Are you sure?"
"Just a few minutes," Rachel promised. She ruffled Mitzi's hair and kissed Ava's forehead. "Mommy will be right back, Ava. Be good."
She gave Charles an expectant smile, then hurried out the door when she got a permissive wave of the hand. Once outside, she pulled her parka close and fought against the wind to get to the small door just to the side of Shotz and opened it, sighing at the narrow stairs. She trudged up them as they twisted around, then looked both ways down the corridor they opened up to. Once she'd orientated herself, she walked quickly to the corner apartment and raised her fist. She paused, biting her lip. There was no law saying she couldn't visit someone at home. Jack wasn't there to object, and she wasn't there to do anything but talk. She wasn't doing anything wrong.
So, heart pounding, Rachel lifted her hand once again and knocked three times on the door.
