"You're going to work?" Isabelle checked with her mother as she stood with her in the entrance. The automatic doors in front of them were constantly sliding open and shut as people walked into the hospital. They ranged from expectant mothers who were joyful to relatives who knew their relatives didn't have much time left. Lydia sighed once, pushing a strand of her daughter's hair behind her ear as Isabelle looked at her mother with wide doe eyes.

"I have to," she simply responded, pulling the bag on her shoulder further up her arm as Isabelle looked slightly disappointed. "The company have some big investments coming up...Bruce Wayne's business...I can't do anything here, Isabelle."

Isabelle sighed for a moment, knowing that her mother was right. She turned her head to the side, looking at Jonathan was sat down near the elevator, his legs crossed as he flicked idly through a magazine, yawning as he did so. Lydia followed her daughter's gaze and a small smile arched onto her lips as Isabelle turned back to her mother.

"What?" she asked, instantly blushing and running a hand through her hair as Lydia shook her head, crossing her legs at the ankles as she did so.

"Nothing," she replied. "I just can't believe how you fell for a guy without me knowing, and a professor, at that."

Isabelle remained silent as Lydia shook her head, still smiling as she did so.

"He's only six years older than me," Isabelle muttered and her mother shook her head quickly, raising her hand in the air to stop her daughter from feeling that she had to make excuses about what had happened.

"Daniel is eight years older than me," she shrugged. "Age doesn't matter to me. The fact he was a Professor when you were a student is something that does, but, it doesn't matter now. He seems a nice, young man."

"He's..." Isabelle trailed off, biting down on her bottom lip as she looked back at Jonathan who was frowning at the magazine and muttering something under his breath. "He's different."

"That's not a bad thing," Lydia promised her daughter. "He seems to care for you and if he waited six months for you to graduate and still wanted you...then...well...he may be a keeper."

"Mom," Isabelle complained with a roll of her eyes. "We've hardly been out...and this...it's all too sudden and..."

"He's sticking by you for this," Lydia snapped gently at her daughter and Isabelle sighed but shrugged once. "He's not a bad young man...I just wish things could be different...meet in different circumstances..."

"Do they know...mom...what's going to happen to dad?"

"I don't know," Lydia answered her. "I don't know what's going to happen...but staying here...it won't help you, sweetie."

"I can't go," Isabelle replied, messing with the cuffs of Jonathan's jacket as she did so and Lydia sighed as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and Isabelle nodded at it. "I'll stay here. You go to work. I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Okay," Lydia said, quickly grabbing her phone from her pocket as she smiled and winked once at her daughter, trying to be encouraging. "Love you."

And then she grabbed her phone, moving out of the hospital as Isabelle watched her for a second and then turned her attention back to Jonathan as she walked back over to him. He dropped the magazine from his hold and back onto the small table by the side of his chair as he looked up and over at Isabelle.

"Has your mother left?" he asked her out of politeness and she nodded. Her eyes glanced back at the elevator and Jonathan followed her. He never missed a trick and he never would. "Do you want to go back and see your father?"

"I can't," she said quickly back to him, an arm moving across her waist and the other extending upwards so that she could bite her nail on her ring finger. "I can't go back up there...it wasn't...it's not him..."

"It is," Jonathan promised her and he stood up, offering her his hand and she looked at him sceptically. "Your father is the man upstairs, Isabelle. I'll come in with you. There is nothing to be scared of."

"You haven't seen him," Isabelle said to him and Jonathan shrugged. If only she knew what he had done. Oh, how she would run for the hills then. And, he wouldn't blame. He would understand if she ran. He was no good for her. She deserved someone who would look after her, treat her with the respect which she needed. But, he could do that. He just couldn't be like that all the time.

"I don't know," Isabelle drawled out, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. Jonathan placed his hand to her cheek and gave her an encouraging smile.

"You can do it." He pushed her. "I'll be there the whole time."

Jonathan managed to take hold of Isabelle's hand as he led her into the elevator and wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly to him. Isabelle couldn't be sure if his grip was extremely tight or if she was just numb.

He stood behind her the whole time she looked at her father, talking to him quietly and saying that she was sorry for the whole argument they had had. She pleaded for him to talk to her, for him to understand why she was annoyed with him. She said she was sorry for causing his breakdown.

Jonathan had to grind his teeth together when he heard that. She was sorry. She hadn't done anything. She didn't need to apologise to him. He didn't control her.

Jonathan escorted Isabelle out of the room and they sat on the meshed chairing once again. Isabelle rested her head on Jonathan's shoulder as she drifted to sleep, but, he couldn't do the same. He was tired, too, really tired. His thoughts were too time consuming. He had many things which he had to deal with. And one of them was sleeping in the room down the corridor.

Jonathan slowly moved Isabelle's head from his shoulder and she didn't wake. He sighed once and stood up, moving down the laminate floor to the private room. He was still muttering his name. Francois had been broken. Jonathan sat in the chair which Isabelle had taken and he looked across to the man, his mouth yawning. He pulled his glasses off from his eyes and placed them into his pocket. His hand moved through his hair.

"I don't intend for you to know what I am talking about," Jonathan drawled. "I don't intend for you to wake up and remember this, either. But, you need to know that your daughter...well...she's weak now. She's weaker than normal, I should say. Without you, she has no one to protect her. No one to protect her from me. Her mother believes I'm a nice guy. More fool her. But...I'll look after her. I'll be there for her. No need to worry."

...

A/N: So what do you guys think? Not many reviews recently so is no one bothered? I don't know, so let me know! Thanks if you're taking the time to read this!