~Nine~ Minyadagniriel

Chapter 1: Hurt

Madison woke up in the hospital two days later. Her eyes slowly opened to a room flooded with sunlight and monitors. Her arm was attached to an I.V. and an oxygen mask was placed over her nose and mouth. She no longer felt the pain, which the Joker inflicted upon her. She didn't want to move, only sleep; but the dream filled luxury would not come. She only saw wild green hair, skin resembling a leper's, and the eyes of the devil.

Moments after her awakening, she was joined by a doctor who began taking her vitals. It was a woman, young…maybe even fresh out of medical school. Her nametag said Dr. Valerie Schonen.

Madison looked up at the brunette, "Doctor…"

"Shh…it's okay. I'm just here to check on you Madison."

"What happened to me…doctor?"

Valerie sighed, "We'll discuss it with you when you're feeling better. We don't want any more stress on you."

Madison pulled herself up and regretted the action immediately. She fell back onto her pillow.

The doctor adjusted the bed upright, "Please don't try to sit up so abruptly. You're under a pretty heavy dose of morphine and local anesthetics."

"Doctor…I need to know what happened to me," Madison said and touched the doctor's hand, "Please…tell me…"

Valerie's head drooped and she sat down on the mattress, "Very well…"

Madison patiently waited for the explanation and she allowed the doctor to grip her hand.

"Madison, you were found two blocks away from Wayne Enterprises seizing violently. A woman leaving Mr. Wayne's Halloween party found you and called for an ambulance. Our paramedics picked you up and began emergency procedures and were forced to restrain your arms. You were thrashing about and even took a bite of one of our staff members."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry…" Madison spouted and she clamped a hand to her mouth in shock.

"That's not the end of it, I'm afraid. Madison, you were in such bad shape when you got to the hospital that you were in dire need of surgery and we were forced to deliver your baby early."

"My baby! Oh shit, where is my baby!" Madison jolted forward and grabbed onto Valerie's white lab coat. "Doctor please! Tell me!"

Valerie grasped onto Madison's shoulders and gently pushed her back to the mattress, "Madison, the combined shock and seizures you had, plus your fall to the ground…well…"

Madison's eyes widened, a sense of dread filled the room.

"When we delivered the infant, he was…stillborn…."

It was her worst fear…her baby…he died…

Madison released her grip from the doctor's arms and immediately began to cry, "No…no! This can't be true! NO!!!" she screamed, her voice cracking as she sobbed and grabbed at her hair, attempting to pull some out. Dr. Valerie tried to calm her but she knew it was futile. A mother's heart had been broken and repairing it would take a lot of time. The only thing the doctor could do was medicate her and hope for the best.

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One week later…

Madison was cleared for release and one of her friends was kind enough to take her home. Entering her two-bedroom apartment was not very relieving after the horrible incident and the loss.

"Well, you're home now Madison," said her friend. It was her closest friend; her name was Robyn. "Do you want me to stay with you a couple of days until you're well?"

Madison glanced at her blonde friend and she steadily walked over to the couch and sat. She flinched a bit, due to her stitches. "No, I'll be all right, you can go home Robyn. I just want to be alone for a while."

"Okay, well is there anything that I can do for you before I go?"

"Robyn, can you tell the boss that I'm not going to be able to come to work for a while and can you give him my doctor's orders. It's in my bag. The doctor says I'm going to need a couple weeks to myself."

"Sure," Robyn replied and began to dig through the small black purse lying on the couch. She claimed al of the documents and bid farewell, "Call me when you're up to it, okay?"

"I will, thanks Robyn."

After her friend left Madison dragged herself up and headed for the bathroom for a much needed bath. She turned on the faucet and waited for the tub to fill up. She wasn't allowed to use salts or oils, doctor's orders. Her reflection in the mirror was a dismal one. Her medium brown hair looked shaggy and was in need of a good washing. Her matching brown eyes were tired and haggard. She stripped off her over-sized tee shirt carefully and removed her bra. Her breasts looked the same, only swollen and engorged…but the doctor said that she would stop producing breast milk because there was no baby to feed. She needed about two months before it would end. Her eyes traveled down to her belly, where her baby once resided. The skin was still protruding, but overall she was shrinking. Then she peered down at the bandages covering her stitches. Hints of blood seeped through the material and dried into a dark brow color. She carefully peeled back the medical tape and took off the dressing. It was going to be a wide scar she thought as she glanced over the area of surgery, right above the womb. Puss dripped from the stitching and crusted blood flaked off.

Disgusted with the image she saw, she quickly slid into the tub ad turned off the faucet, letting the warm water wash away the blood and oils covering her body.

As she rested against the edge of the tub, she thought of al the nice people who paid her visits during the week. Her co-workers, her friends, even the famed Bruce Wayne heard of her story. His visit in particular meant a lot to her.

He stayed for a full day, starting off with apologies and giving her a dozen roses. She gratefully accepted them. He also gave her promises of covering her medical expenses, which she refused, however he insisted heavily and she allowed it. He felt so guilty hearing about a woman in attendance to his party being attacked just outside his corporate office. Then for some reason, he probed her for answers…asking if she remembered whom her attacker was. She did…clear as day. When she told him it was the Joker, Mr. Wayne stiffened. She asked what was wrong, but he didn't give her a direct answer. Before he left, Wayne offered to take her out to dinner when she recovered and even asked if she would consider working for his company. He had an open position for a secretary in his office and he hoped she would accept.

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Batman had been chasing him again, but he evaded capture…

The Joker enjoyed his time with Batsy, as he would call him 'affectionately'. They've been playing tag for years. There were so many heists, so many murders, and so many pranks that he wanted to commit. This time he wanted to find a victim to play with and send Batsy the message that Joker will never return to Arkham Asylum without a fight.

It was night and Joker was out walking the streets looking for that particular victim…until he stumbled across a newspaper stand and noticed the front page. The merchant running the stand recognized him and took off running. Joker grinned and ripped one of the papers off the shelf. The front page of course had an article about Batman sightings and Wayne Enterprises but he enjoyed flipping through the pages to find anything about his most recent activities. He didn't find it immediately but it was on page three labeled under obituaries and the latest person that he killed. His laugh echoed through the streets and he read on to the next hoping to find more. One particular article caught his eye…it was the brunette he terrorized a week ago. Her photo showed her smiling and next to it, another photograph of the ambulance that carried her away from the crime scene. He read on…

Pregnant Woman Sent To Hospital For Traumatic Attack

"Well, well…my little vampiress survived," he commented, a smirk upon his face. The article continued…

Doctors managed to save the woman, 26-year-old Madison Florence. However, the trauma from the attack proved to be too much for her unborn child. The baby died prior to emergency surgery leaving the mother distraught. Families all over Gotham have sent their support and well wishes to Madison in her time of need.

Joker stopped reading and threw down the paper, his freakishly huge smile still plastered across his face, "Perhaps I should forward my condolences to dear Madison…" He then departed from the newsstand in search of a phone book.

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Madison slowly sipped at her tea. She spent over an hour in the bath, carefully cleaning around her stitches and spending an ample amount of time washing her hair. She felt so much better, but her mental state remained the same. She put her teacup down on the kitchen counter and wandered quietly through her apartment, towards the second bedroom. She opened the door and flipped on the overhead light.

The room was painted a pastel green. In the corner to her left sat a large baby crib; hand crafted in mahogany. A matching three-drawer dresser rested to the right. A rocking chair resided in the middle of the room and she strolled in to sit. Baby clothes were laid out on the dresser top, all in pastel colors of green and yellow. She didn't know the baby's gender before her stay at the hospital so she spent money on unisex colors. Stuffed animals and assorted toys lined the walls; most of which were gifts from a baby shower. Robyn threw it for her in September…the party was wonderful. Madison curled her toes in the softness of the carpet and she sniffed. Looking at all of these things hurt her deeply and tears began streaming down her cheeks. She hunched over, sobbing once again.

"My baby…my sweet baby…" she said over and over. "My son…"

To be continued…

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Chapters will become longer, promise. Happy Reading!