Isabelle watched as Batman rushed over the bay of Gotham, her eyes completely transfixed as she did so, unable to believe what she was looking at. He'd saved Gotham. He had risked his life for an entire city and no one was going to know who he was. No one knew on that bridge except for her and John, both of them not cheering in joy as he dropped the bomb into the bay and the explosion echoed loudly.
She recoiled slightly, a large gust of wind rushing their way as she remained stood on the spot, unable to believe what had happened. She looked up to John who looked back down at her, both of them nodding in understanding as she turned around, expecting Jonathan to be there.
But there was no one. Her eyes scanned up and down the bridge, looking past people as she searched for him.
"Jonathan?" she called out his name, wondering where the hell he had gotten to as John watched her frantically look for him.
...
"He hasn't been brought in ma'am," the woman behind the desk informed Isabelle as she shook her head quickly, resting her hands onto the small table as she looked around the vast hospital and the woman checked on her computer once again. "There's no one here by the name of Crane."
"Jonathan," Isabelle said again to her. "Are you sure there's no one here?"
"Positive," she promised her. "We've had many bodies brought in, miss...some of them haven't been identified but they're not recognisable. We've done fingerprint checks and no one by that name has been brought in."
"He...I saw him..."
"The city is afloat with people with lost people, miss," the woman said, looking up at Isabelle and wishing she would leave as the queue began to grow. "I'm sorry, but there really is nothing which I can do for you."
Isabelle nodded once, realising she was being dismissed as she wandered off, pulling her blazer tighter around her body as she stood in the cold air of Gotham.
"And?" his sudden voice asked her and she shook her head at him as he moved from his spot against the wall, kicking it with his heel as he looked at her and she bit down on her bottom lip, wondering what had happened.
"He's not there," she said; her voice quiet as John looked at her with slight pity and offered her his hand. "Where could he be?"
"Anywhere," John said in a mutter. "He could be anywhere in the city, Isabelle."
"I just don't think it is right," she shook her head. "In the end...he...he showed that he cared for me...I feel bad if I just leave him."
"We've both looked and we can't find him, Isabelle," John informed her, opening the car door for her to climb into as he took a deep breath and thought about what he was about to do. Bruce Wayne's funeral was bound to be a quiet affair. He knew that.
"Look, you're going away from here, Isabelle," John said to her, starting the car up as she remained lost in thought and he shrugged gently.
"I'm staying away from Gotham," she said back to John and he took a deep breath. He knew this conversation was bound to arise between the pair of them. He didn't intend to leave Gotham. It wasn't part of his plan.
...
Isabelle nodded as John checked she would be alright whilst he went to speak with Gordon about leaving the force. Isabelle stood next to Alfred, Wayne's butler, as he sobbed uncontrollably.
"He was a good man," Isabelle said, trying to comfort him as she rested a hand onto his arm and he looked at her, remembering who she was as he sniffed loudly, stopping his crying for a second.
"I...that day..." he recalled. "That day when we were in the car...I hoped he'd follow you, Miss Dubois. I hoped that he would go with you...but...then you and him...there was no chemistry and I knew you'd get away from Gotham because there was never anything here. I wanted nothing more than for him to follow you. For him to try and make chemistry. I wanted him to get out of here."
"I... Isabelle began but she closed her mouth, wiping a tear from her eye as she did so. "Bruce and I were...there was nothing between us. He couldn't leave Gotham."
"And that's the part which hurts me," Alfred said. "But, he would have been happy to see you...to see you...moved on..." he forced a smile onto his face as Isabelle smiled gently back at him. "He often wondered how you were doing. Your odd letter made his day when it was dull."
"We'll never forget him," Isabelle promised as she felt a hand touch her back gently and she turned to see Blake stood there.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly.
"Yes," Isabelle nodded, kissing Alfred on the cheek as he turned back to look at Bruce's stone, his eyes filling with tears once again.
...
Isabelle had nothing. Her home in California had been lost. Her job given away. Her possessions sold to pay for the mortgage which she had. There was nothing in California for her. John had allowed her to stay at his apartment, making a make shift bed for her on the sofa as she tried to figure things out.
A whole month had passed by the time she noted something wasn't right with her. And she wasn't talking emotionally. She'd gone to the Chemist and checked the stick three times. She'd been extremely curt to the woman behind the counter as she bought three pregnancy tests. And then when she'd done them...well...they'd all come back positive.
...
"I'm just over one month gone," Isabelle informed John as he picked her up from the hospital. He sat in his car, his hands holding onto the wheel as he watched her as she looked forward, her eyes emotionless and her body shaking as she thought about what was growing inside of her.
"I take it that you're keeping it?" he checked with her and she nodded at him. She didn't have the heart to do anything other than that. She leant back in her seat, taking a deep breath as she took a moment to think.
"My shrink's going to have a field day with this," she complained and John chuckled gently at that, beginning to drive through the streets of Gotham.
...
Isabelle had been seeing a psychiatrist for just over two weeks. Two sessions a week. John had forced her into it, telling her that she needed to talk to someone to make sure she was okay.
Things between her and John were interesting, to say the least. She cared for him. He was a good man and he informed her that he would wait. He said that he would wait as long as it took for her to get over Jonathan.
She just didn't know if she ever would get over him. But she tried.
"Dr Jacobs isn't in today, Miss Dubois," the secretary informed Isabelle as she sat in the waiting room, flipping through the magazine which sat on the side and she looked at the brunette woman as she motioned to the door which contained the large white couch which she was to spend the next hour on. "But, we have a Dr Rance."
"Okay," Isabelle said, not too fussed with who she saw. It wasn't like she had a connection with her psychiatrist.
"If you'd like to go in," she motioned to the door and Isabelle stood up, moving into the office which was empty at that moment in time. "He'll be through in a moment."
Isabelle sat down on the sofa, folding her legs and resting her hands onto her stomach as she took a deep breath, becoming nervous as she thought about what she was about to go through. Admitting she was carrying his child would be quite something.
"It'll be fine," she whispered to herself. "It'll be okay."
"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."
Isabelle remained silent, listening as he said it and she didn't turn around. She knew who it was. Her breathing faltered as she remained silent, watching the desk as she heard footsteps move over to the small leather chair and then she looked at him.
He sat down, crossing his legs as he looked at her, the usual grin on his face. His hair was clean cut and his chin shaven, his eyes staring into hers through his new glasses and he wore a pinstriped shirt with his black tie and brown sweater as he watched her.
"You're back," Isabelle whispered and he shrugged.
"We're here to discuss you and not me," he simply informed her as her mouth continued to hang open in disbelief. How was this happening? "How have you been?"
"Me?" she checked with him, shaking her head in disbelief. "I've been...I've been okay..."
"Good," he said, sounding sincere as he placed his notebook into his hands and she shook her head, unable to believe this was happening.
"Dr Rance?" she checked with him and he leant forward, still grinning.
"Anagram," he whispered and she worked it out. "I can't go around with my real name, can I?"
"How are you going around at all?" she asked, sounding confused as he chuckled at her.
"I...I pulled a few strings..." he admitted. "The less you know the better. I'm not staying here for long."
"Why?"
"I have to move on," he said with a shrug. "Somewhere that no one really knows me. The people pass me by without noticing me, but, I still worry someone will one day."
"You left," Isabelle whispered. "One minute you were there...and the next...you were gone..."
"I couldn't stand and watch," he mumbled. "I had to go. I can't explain it."
"I looked everywhere for you," she informed me. "John and me...we looked..."
"You're with him?"
"He's letting me stay at his. I don't really have anything left in California. I'm trying to figure out what to do."
"And the counselling was his idea?" Jonathan checked with her. "He thought it would help you get over me?"
"It's not working," she promised Jonathan and he smiled once, moving into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper.
"I don't have too long left, so, I need to cut the session short."
"It's not really a session," she deadpanned with him as his scrawled writing moved onto the piece of paper and he remained smiling as he wrote. "I bet I still have to pay full price."
"Of course," he nodded. "The price for private."
"Where are you going?" she whispered as he handed her the piece of paper he had folded up, his fingers tickling against her palm as he did so.
"It's there," he informed her. "You can either follow me...or stay here...with John."
"What?" Isabelle snapped at him. "How can you do that to me? Give me a choice?"
"Quite easily," he said, rubbing the lens of his glasses. "Because I don't control you. Not anymore."
"So, you're making me choose?"
"I'm giving you an option," he shrugged back to her. "As I said, I have to go. It's your choice."
"The voice?" she asked him and he shrugged at her.
"It's there," he promised. "Subdued, but there...quiet...I'm on medication to control it. The man I was...he's back again..."
"And what you said?" Isabelle wondered and he grinned, moving over to her as he dropped his lips onto the top of her head.
"I meant it," he promised her. "I love you."
Isabelle remained silent, watching as he moved from the room and she remained still, undoing the paper and looking at the address as she began to wonder what to do.
She sighed once, standing up and folding the paper into her pocket before grabbing onto her bag and pressing a hand to her stomach. She should have told him she was carrying his child. He had a right to know.
She walked onto the streets of Gotham, her face scrunched up in concentration as she moved through the crowds of people on the streets.
...
Isabelle stood at the departure gate, a ticket held in her hand as she waited to board the plane. She'd told Blake she had to leave him. She told him that he deserved someone who would love him unconditionally. Someone who would treat him right. The way he should be treated.
She remained silent as she felt a hand suddenly rest on her back and she messed around with her boarding ticket and she looked up to see him stood there, his eyes looking straight ahead as his coat remained held over his arm. Neither of them said anything as they boarded the plane. She pushed her hair behind hear ear, thinking about what she was about to do and hoping that it was the right decision. He wasn't born a monster, she was sure of that much. And, as he stood beside her, she saw that. He wasn't a monster. He had just been messed up.
...
A/N: So, I had the last two chapters out last night, truth be known, wasn't happy with them. So, I rewrote them again and this is the result. So, it is all finished just before I go to Ibiza (TDKR scene!) so let me know what you think.
I thank all of the reviewers through the story. Couldn't have done it without your support so thank you, so very, very much!