I waited anxiously for Jonathan to arrive at Wayne Manor. Bruce had made it home safely, and he let me know he dropped Jonathan off at the penthouse and watched him safely enter the elevator. I paced up and down the parlor room with Bruce, my mother, and Alfred watching, wringing my hands together. My mother made some comment about how maybe Jonathan didn't want to come and stay here because he knew better, but after a few more agonizing minutes, the doorbell rang. I followed Alfred to the front door and was relieved when Jonathan walked through holding a suitcase.

"So sorry I took so long," he said, embracing me, "My things were more scattered than I had anticipated, and I wanted to change out of my wet clothing."

"I'm just glad you're here safely," I smiled at him. Turning to Alfred I said, "I'm going to take Jonathan up to my room, we'll be down in a moment for dessert."

"Take all the time you need, love." Alfred gave me a wink, and walked back to the parlor room.

Jonathan followed me upstairs and into my room. Setting his suitcase down on the floor, he closed the door and came to me, his lips locking on mine as he held me close to him. I gasped at how forceful his kiss was, but was forced to quickly wrap my arms and legs around him as he picked me up and carried me to my bed. Laying me down in the middle, he ran his hands over every part of me he could immediately reach without breaking the kiss, and I did the same. Pulling away for air, we looked at each other for a moment then went back in.

As he ran his hands through my hair, he said into the kiss, "I thought I was going to lose you forever."

A tear slid down the side of my face as I replied, "I thought I was going to watch you die."

"I thought I was going to go crazy not being able to hold you. I kept remembering the feeling of you being ripped away from me… I thought that was going to be the last memory I had of ever touching you again."

More tears fell down my face and soon I couldn't stop crying. Pulling away, Jonathan sat me up and cradled me against his chest. I clutched the front of his shirt and sobbed, letting every pent up emotion I had from the bridge until now come out. Jonathan petted my hair as I cried, his arm tight around me letting me know that he was there. When I finally managed to get control of my tears, he pulled away from me and asked, "Do you want a glass of water?"

I nodded, "There should be a glass in the bathroom."

"I'll get it for you."

I let him untangle himself from me and watched as he walked into my bathroom. I sat on the edge of the bed for a moment and wiped at my face, trying to rid myself of any moisture. As I did so, I saw I was still in my dress. Standing, I reached back and tried to get to the zipper, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be free of my dress. I managed to get it half way down when I felt Jonathan's hand take over. Reaching in front of me, he handed me my glass of water before resuming with the zipper. I felt the garment loosen around me and fall to the floor as I gulped at the drink. Finishing the glass, I stepped out of the pooled mass of fabric and then kicked it across the room to a corner. I stood in front of Jonathan in my strapless bra, underwear, and heels and frowned. "I really liked that dress."

Jonathan nodded, "It's a great dress."

"I never want to wear that dress again."

Jonathan nodded again, "I can totally understand that."

"That doesn't make me crazy?"

"No."

I nodded, "Good." I moved in and placed a long kiss on his lips. Pulling away, I hesitated for a second before saying, "I'm sorry I called you Scarecrow."

Jonathan tensed up at the name and didn't say anything.

I flinched at his response but continued, "Gordon said that it was your nickname before you were arrested. I'm… I'm sorry the Joker used me to bring you back to that world."

Jonathan was quiet for a moment longer, but finally said, "You had no way of knowing."

"W-what does it mean? Why were you called Scarecrow?"

He frowned, "What does it matter?"

I backed away at his anger, but replied, "I just… want to get to know you, Jonathan…. All of you. Even the bad parts."

Shaking his head, he said, "Not that part."

I looked at him and frowned, but nodded, "Okay."

We stood in silence for a moment, then I moved to finish changing. Stepping out of my heels, I removed my bra and went to my dresser where a few change of clothes still remained. Pulling out a large shirt and a pair of sweatpants, I got dressed, then took Jonathan's hand and led him back downstairs. Bruce, my mother, and Alfred were still in the parlor room, but upon our arrival, Alfred left to get the desserts he had promised.

We were all quiet as we waited for Alfred to return, my mother with a drink in hand slowly sipped from it as Jonathan and I took a seat on a couch. Bruce quietly made two drinks, a whiskey neat and a vodka martini, and handed the drinks to us. I took the martini and gave Bruce a smile, Jonathan taking the whiskey with a similar look. Bruce sat down next to my mother and said, "So, Jonathan, how are things going at Arkham?"

"They're going well," Jonathan said, "I'm only finishing paperwork and handling minor cases, but… up until the break out things were going smoothly."

"I imagine this will set you back a bit."

Jonathan nodded, "Yes. We're running security tests yet again."

"Yet again," I asked.

"We run security scans every week," Jonathan said.

"How thorough of you," my mother said bitingly.

"I'm sure Arkham's security team was very thorough," Bruce said, "There are always flaws no one sees."

"Well, to have one of Gotham's most dangerous villains break loose, they would have to be some pretty obvious flaws, don't you think?"

"Mom-"

"No, Bethany, she's right," Jonathan said, "They must have been some very big flaws. I'm not completely sure what they were, I'm not necessarily allowed to see the security details."

"Because you're a criminal," my mother said before taking a deep swig of her drink.

Alfred came back into the room at that comment pushing a trolley of desserts. He handed the first plate to me, and I took a bite of the ice cream and warm brownie. I was thankful for the momentary distraction from conversation, not really wanting to go at it with my mother. Once everyone was served, Alfred took a plate for himself and sat down next to my mother. We all ate in silence, the only sound coming from our spoons scraping against our plates.

A distant ringing came from the hallway and I turned at once to it. Getting up, I walked out and found my purse sitting on the table. I had left it at the restaurant. Picking it up, I found my cell phone in it. Pulling it out I answered it, "Hello?"

"Bethany!"

I relaxed, "Mr Sinclaire."

"Bethany, I just heard about what happened in Gotham on the news. Jesus Christ, you were pushed off of a bloody bridge! Are you okay? What are you doing now? Will you be coming home?"

"Um…. I'm fine. I'm with my family…. I don't know."

"You don't know if you're coming home? You're going to stay there?"

"It's um… gotten a bit more complicated than that."

"That bloke that was pushed off as well…. It's because of him isn't it."

I was quiet for a moment then answered, "Yes."

"Bring him with you!"

"Mr Sinclaire…. I'm sorry, it's not that simple either."

"Look, my dear, I need you to come back safely."

"I'll do my best."

"I'll increase your salary if you come home now."

"Mr Sinclaire-"

"Think it over, Bethany…. I don't want to open the newspaper and find out that you've been brutally murdered. Please come back to me, love. Okay?"

"I'll think about it."

"I'm talking double what you're making. If you cut your summer short."

"I'll let you know." Hanging up, I carried my phone and purse back into the parlor room. "How did these get here?"

Everyone looked up at me confused. Bruce set his plate down, "What is it?"

"My purse. I… I left it at the restaurant. How did it end up here?"

My phone rang again, only this time the ring was replaced by laughter. Gasping, I dropped the phone to the floor, my hands clamping against my mouth as tears filled my eyes. Fear gripped me as I backed into the wall. Bruce was the first to move, scooping up the phone from the floor while Jonathan came to me, pulling me into his arms.

Bruce answered the phone and held it to his ear, "Hello?" He was quiet for a moment then put the phone on speakerphone. The sound of the Joker's voice came from the other end. He was soft, whispering one word over and over again, "Scarecrow. Scarecrow. Scarecrow."

"What is this, Crane," Bruce said angrily.

"I don't know." Jonathan said, "I don't know why he's doing this."

"Tell her the truth, Scarecrow," the Joker whispered, "Tell her the truth, Scarecrow. She'll never truly love you until you do. Tell her the truth, Scarecrow."

Turning to Jonathan I asked, "The truth about what?"

Jonathan lunged forward and hung up the phone. Taking it from Bruce, he pulled the backing off of my phone and removed the baterie. Throwing the phone down on the couch, Jonathan turned to me.

"Jonathan," I said, "Tell me the truth about what?"

Moving forward, he said, "Can we be alone?"

"No," my mother said, "No you can't."

"Yes," I said. Taking his hands I led him back upstairs to my bedroom. Bruce ran up the stairs after us, stopping at the top of the stairs to watch as I closed my door on him. Turning to Jonathan, I asked, "What does he mean, tell me the truth?"

"He… he wants to tell me the truth about… about Scarecrow."

"But why?"

"Do I look like I know?" Jonathan's voice was a bit raised.

I flinched at his voice, but managed, "I'm as confused as you are." Moving to him, I took his face in my hands, "I'm not asking you to tell me. I won't ask you to tell me. I don't need to know about that part of you to love you."

Jonathan looked down at me for a moment, then said, "You love me?"

With a shrug, I nodded, and gave him a smile, "Yeah… I think I do."

With a smile of his own, he moved in and kissed me. Pulling away for a moment, he said, "I think I love you too."

Smiling I kissed him again, but pulled away after a moment, "Let's go to sleep…. I'm exhausted."

"What a perfect idea."