Oliver placed the tube of extracted blood into a bag. "Imagine if I was squeamish towards blood."

"I don't think this would be the right job for you if you were. Takes someone with a strong stomach," Albany replied, washing her hands.

Oliver scoffed. "You got that right."

Albany dried her hands and opened the door to escorted Oliver out. As soon as the door was shut behind him she rushed over to Jerome. She slammed a hand down either side of his head and stared down at him. "How the fuck do you know about my father?" she spat. "And trust me? What the hell and I supposed to trust-"

The corners of Jerome's mouth moved a little.

Albany held his chin firmly and watched closely.

The sides turned upwards ever so slightly.

"You can...you can move your mouth?" She looked down at his pale body. "Can you move anything else?"

It didn't move.

A sweet tune came from her pocket. She moved away from Jerome and grabbed her phone from her pocket.

Father.

She pressed deny and shoved the phone back in her pocket. She looked at Jerome. "What are you up to?"

Before Albany sat a man tied to a chair.

Her father.

Albany jumped when she felt something on her head.

"Ya know doll, we gotta stop meeting like this." Jerome moved in front of her, still running a hand through her brown hair. He held it up to his nose. "Mmm, I love the way you smell."

"What is that?" she motioned towards her father.

Jerome gave her a confused look then looked over to the man. "Oh! I thought we could have a little family reunion!" he skipped over to her father and stood over him. "Daddy told me he wanted to talk to you," he turned his head to face her, his usual smile on his face, "he has been trying to call you y'know?"

Albany crossed her arms. "One, I don't want to talk to him. Two, how the hell do you know about him?"

"You're not the only one who has dreams," he chuckled. "As you have been learning about me, I can't help but learn a little about you, and oh my! This little girl has some secrets."

"Look, my job is to look after you. Once you're up and walking again, then I wash my hands of you."

"You mean, we're not friends?" he put on a playful pout.

"There's no room for friends in this job."

"The lone hero act isn't attractive," he said as his face dropped.

"I don't care. Now if you excuse me, I'd like to get a decent night's sleep."

"Okay okay! Forget about daddy!" he turned to her father. "Excuse me, sir!" he took hold of the back of the chair and pulled it backwards. When he brought it back up the chair was empty. "Ta-da!"

Albany heard the sound of a crowd clapping. She looked around, but saw no one.

Jerome bowed. "Thank you! Thank you! I shall be here all week!"

"So you're into tricks as well as jokes."

Jerome took a few steps towards her. "I'm an entertainer doll, it's my thing."

"You still haven't answered my question, Valeska."

"Ohhh, feisty! Talk to me like that again and I will be sure to open my eyes!"

Albany rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay okay! You're the boss!" he ran behind the chair. "Please, take a seat."

Albany unfolded her arms and sat down.

Jerome cleared his throat and brought his mouth to her ear. "I need your help."

Albany snapped her head towards him.

Jerome fell back onto the floor and clutched his heart. "Ohhhhh god that hurt to say! My ego!"

Albany let out a small laugh.

Jerome lifted his head up. "You look a lot better when you smile."

"I can see why the staff at Arkham let you escape now. You're a pain."

Jerome sat up. "A pain," he pointed to his stitched neck, "in the neck?"

Albany tried to keep a stern face but failed when she saw Jerome smiled.

"See! I can be fun! But lets be serious for a while...eugh..." He smacked his lips a few times. "t

That wasn't fun to say."

Albany joined him on the floor.

Jerome crossed his legs and sat up straight, smiling.

"So, you were saying you need my help?"

"You see, the doctors here are not all...hmm how do I say this..." He placed a finger on his chin.

"Nice?"

He shook his head.

"Thoughtful?"

Another shake.

"Honest?"

He clicked his fingers and pointed at her. "That's that one!"

"Well of course they're not! What, you expected them all to be saints?"

"I don't care what they do with their experiments. But when it comes to me," he placed a hand on his chest, "I like to have a choice."

"And what exactly are they going to do with you?"

Jerome opened his mouth to speak, but paused. "Looks like we have run out of time."

"What?"

"Same time tomorrow?" He pushed his face closer to hers. "Wake up!