"Everything looks amazing," Adriana told Bruce as she admired the spread of dishes. A celebratory dinner complete with ham, vegetables, dinner rolls and wine.
"Four days, cooped up in that hospital room," Bruce said. "You deserve it."
"I guess," she said. "I mean you have the best hospital food ever. Seriously, what other medical facility has caprese salad and Bourguinon?"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it all," Bruce said with a smile and pulled out a seat for her at the dining room table in his penthouse.
"Who else is coming?" she asked, noticing the table was set for three. As soon as she asked the soft beeping of the doorbell was heard.
"Lucius," Bruce told her and watched her smile before going to the door.
"Good evening, Miss Navarro," Lucius said before handing her flowers.
"Awww, thank you," Adriana said and stood to give him a hug.
"I'll put these up for you," Bruce said and took the flowers away.
"I hear congratulations are in order," Lucius said, with a smile.
"Right," she said and nodded. "Yeah..I'm expecting."
"That's wonderful," he said to her. "I'm sorry for your loss, I know this must be difficult."
"Loss?" she asked.
"Bruce told me your child's father passed away," Lucius said carefully, but she could see his suspicion.
"Oh...right...that," she said. "Thanks for your condolences."
"Adriana, is everything alright?" he asked.
She knew she could talk to him. Lucius was very understanding and he was the only other person who knew that she was Shade. But could she tell him about everything that had happened? How would he react to such news?
"Well...actually-" she started to speak but then Bruce returned to the room.
"Later," Lucius said and touched her arm before sitting.
Later. She thought about the fact that she may tell Lucius everything and was changing her mind. It would be insane to share the truth.
"This ham is fantastic," Adriana said once they began to eat.
"I agree," Bruce said.
Adriana half listened as Bruce and Lucius began discussing business. Her mind was elsewhere and they didn't seem to notice or mind. She was thinking about her future. What would happen now? Should she just move? Moving to Chicago had been on her mind for a while, and now it seemed like a real option. But then she began to think, Gotham needed her. Gotham needed Shade. But perhaps the Batman could fill her shoes. She wasn't sure she wanted to fight right now..what if she took a bad hit or fall? And then she began to think of her child's future. What would she tell him? She would have to lie..she could never tell him about his father. She would have to tell everyone that he was dead. Harri would immediately know that she was lying, but she would deal with that later. Her sister could never handle the truth either. She would be a single mother and maybe once her child was old enough...Shade could return.
"It's been a few days," Bruce said to Lucius. "She seems to have gone on some type of hiatus."
"Who?" Adriana asked, wanting to appear like she wasn't paying attention.
"Shade," Bruce said. "She showed up at my office and the disappeared."
"Oh.." Adriana said, wanting to change the subject. "What was she doing at your office?"
"She ahh..." Bruce said and Adriana noticed his smile as he looked down at his plate. He was blushing a bit. "Just, demonstrating how smart she is. Figured out I was trying to learn her identity and she wasn't happy about it. She takes risks. I could have been armed in my office. Demanded the truth."
"Maybe something happened to her," Adriana said. "Maybe she was hurt or killed or-"
"I'm sure she's just fine," Lucius said and looked at Adriana. "She can handle herself."
"I guess," Adriana said.
"I know you're a fan of Shade," Bruce said. "But don't worry about her. There are much more important things going on."
"LIke the Joker being detained," Adriana said.
"Well," Bruce said. "He's still in police custody. He was supposed to be transferred to the prison but everything is being continued with his case. He'll be back in court tomorrow. Shorter transit from the main police precinct than from the prison. The entire thing is being expedited...new judge, new jury. They want to wrap this up in two weeks, tops."
"Is that even possible?" she asked. "A full..criminal procedure...trial in two weeks?"
"No," Bruce said. "Just presenting all of his crimes takes almost two months as we've seen from the last round. But it will be done. They will get him sentenced as soon as possible."
"Okay...but then he'll be in prison," Adriana said. "Or executed...or sent to Arkham.."
"Yes," Bruce said. "Let's hope for the best."
"The best?" Adriana asked.
"The death penalty," Bruce said as thought it was obvious.
Adriana looked back at her food, suddenly losing her appetite.
"And furthermore," Bruce went on. "He forced you to work for him. Only God know what he put you through-"
"Theft," she said. "Robbery. Dropping off bags of money at the train station..."
"And kicking me down an elevator shaft," he said.
"I'm sorry about that, Bruce," she said. "Truly. I had to cooperate with his team and the mission-"
"I know," Bruce said.
"Bruce," Adriana said. "What if they just send him to Arkham? Or give him life in prison?"
Bruce leaned back in his seat and looked at her. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Lucius as well.
"If they don't give him the death penalty," Bruce said, thinking of Rachel...and thinking of the young girl Pavla the Joker was about to kill in the same way. "I will deal with it. He won't harm anyone else ever again."
They ate the rest of the meal in silence. When they were done Bruce pulled out his phone.
"Duty calls," he said, and both she as Lucius knew what he meant. "I also need to make a call. Go on and have dessert, you two. I'll be back."
Once he was gone, Lucius poured himself another glass of wine.
"I could really use some of that right now," Adriana said, longingly. If only she could drink.
"Well," Lucius said. "I heard rumors that there was also a pie."
"What kind?" she asked.
"Peach, I believe," he told her.
"Amen," she said and walked with him to the kitchen where sure enough, there was peach pie under a glass cover on a gold colored dish.
Once they each had a plated slice, they walked to Bruce's den where a fire was burning out in the fireplace. They sat on the couch silently and began to eat the dessert.
"Okay," Adriana said, finally after finishing half her pie. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the Joker forcing me to work for him."
"Not to worry," he said. "It's over now. Not to worry."
He looked into Adriana's eyes.
"I only wish I could have helped you," he said. "You were nearly killed while working for him. And that it the worst thing that I could imagine."
"Yeah but.." she said and sat her plate down on the table in front of the couch and turned to him. "It um...actually gets worse."
Lucius looked at her for a few seconds and then nodded, carefully sitting his plate down onto the table too next to hers.
"Alright," he said. He was ready. "What is it?"
"This isn't easy," she said, taking a few deep breaths. "I don't know what you're going to think of me."
"Whatever it is," he began to say. "Will not change my opinion of you. You are a wonderful, bright and strong young woman with a good head on her shoulders."
Adriana looked down, unable to look him in the eyes as she began to speak.
"Yeah...we'll see," she said and wiped a tear that had fallen from her eye. "So...he knows that I'm Shade. The Joker."
"The Joker knows," Lucius said.
"Yeah...he saved my life," she went on, remembering. "I was about to fall to my death and he told me he would only help me if I worked for him. I was out...as Shade. He made me take off my mask."
"Has he threatened to expose you? As Shade?" Lucius asked with concern.
"No, not at all," she said. "I don't think he even cared about that much."
"Okay," Lucius said. "Go on."
" Right," she said and wiped more tears. "He threatened to kill children if I didn't do what he asked. If I didn't work on his team. Things just...got out of control...and-"
"Adriana," he said, seeing that she was distressed. "If this is too difficult, you don't need to talk about it now. You are safe now-"
"It's his baby," she blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. She had finally told someone the truth and now it was real. Lucius was completely quiet and she couldn't even bring herself to stop looking down at her lap. She continued to stare down at her hands until she saw Lucius' hand moving to cover hers and giving her left hand a soft squeeze. Finally, she looked at him.
"The Joker is the father of your child?" Lucius asked for clarity.
"Yes," she said. His eyes drifted away from her a bit and she almost felt like she would burst into tears but then he began to speak.
"Are you planning on telling Mr. Wayne?" he asked.
"I...no...no...no never," she said, suddenly shaking. "I can't even believe I just told you. I can't tell anyone...ever...no-"
"He will understand," Lucius said. "You don't need to be ashamed."
"No...he won't," she said. "No one would understand this...especially not Bruce. You heard him talking at dinner. He wants to kill the Joker if they don't give him the death penalty."
"And you don't want that?" Lucius asked, a bit surprised.
"No...no I don't want him to die," Adriana said. "Which is...awful I know...he deserves it-"
"After what he's done," Lucius said. "And what he has done to you-"
"He never hurt me Lucius," Adriana said. "Not...physically."
Lucius looked like he was trying to understand what she was saying.
"I had sex with him because I wanted to," Adriana said.
Lucius blinked a few times.
"And when did this happen?" he asked.
"Well," Adriana said. "Over the past month and a half."
Lucius looked surprised, and it took Adriana a moment to understand why.
"It didn't just happen once," she said. "We slept together regularly."
"So, you are certain the child is his," the Lucius asked her.
She nodded.
"So..." Lucius said and turned to face her again, after he had digested what she had just revealed to him. "You care about him."
"You think I'm horrible," she said, fighting the tears that were beginning to erupt.
"No," Lucius said and sat beside her again taking both of her hands. "No, no... I'm just trying to understand. He's a dangerous man Adriana."
"I know but.." she said. "He was different."
"Different from how we see him publicly?"
"No...not really..I mean different from other men I have been with. He never really hurt me," she said. "At least not in the way I was used to being hurt. He never looked at other women or though about other women. Gosh...I sound crazy. I mean those are regular things that a man should just do right? Not cheat on you or hit you? And I fall for the one that does those simple things but also is a terrorist-"
"You don't sound crazy," Lucius said, and she could tell he was being sincere. "I can't judge you for this."
More than ever, Adriana wanted her gift back. She wanted to know what Lucius thought, truly.
"Tell me the truth..." she begged. "Tell me what you really think. Do you think I'm sick in the head?"
"Well," Lucius said. "When you worked for him, did you feel like you understood his cause? That you were on his side?"
"Hell no," she said. "I sabotaged him whenever I could! When we started having sex, he stopped asking me to work for him...but I kept going on my own, I kept showing up without being was because I wanted to try to derail him."
"I see," Lucius said with relief. "I don't think you are sick."
"You don't?" she asked.
"Despite the circumstances...you are a woman and he is a man. It's not the most outrageous idea that something would happen, but not by a large margin. That doesn't make it any less shocking and...yes it is shocking. If you had begun to ally yourself with him I would be concerned," Lucius said.
"Trust me," she said. "I hate what he does. I hate all of it...he's fucking terrible. But...also...he was..."
"I understand," Lucius said.
"I can't tell Bruce," she said.
"That's up to you. More than likely the Joker believes that you are dead. Bruce told me that you were not moving and hypoxic when he moved you from the warehouse. The Batman would have no reason to conceal the wrongdoings of a criminal who tried to kill him. So since word of your crimes are not circulating at the police precinct, you more than likely believes you are deceased and perhaps not yet identified. And chances are very high that they will give him the death penalty, especially after the death of the governor. It will be over soon," Lucius assured her.
"Yes..." Adriana said. "I know."
Lucius kissed her hand and nodded, as if he was relieved that she understood the Joker's inevitable fate.