Don't Be Afraid | Jonathan Crane

Chapter One - An Old Flame Can Be Extinguished

Chapter One – An Old Flame Can Be Extinguished

Jonathan stood in front of the shaking woman, narrowed eyes watching her with a soft of sick satisfaction as she writhed in the chair she was bound to.

"You know, it's funny," The doctor began, walking around the woman in the chair to stand behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You wanted to torture me once upon a time. Yet, here we are... and you're the one tied up."

The woman looked up at him, cocoa brown eyes wide with fear, though they were glassed over as an effect of the drugs that Jonathan had injected her with.

"What's also funny is that it's completely legal," Jonathan paused for a moment at his words. "Well... essentially. You're my patient, Carol. You have no family fighting for your rights. I can do as I please."

The woman's lips moved feverishly as she tried to speak, tried to call out for help, but no sound came.

"It's no use, no one will help you. You're part of my experiment now. Schizophrenia, I hadn't even expected that when we were dating. Derangement. Psychotic tendencies."

Carol Hanna was barely listening to her ex boyfriend's words as she faced her own fears, trembling inside a prison that she had no hope of escaping.

"You killed three people, Carol. Are you even aware of that? Or are you so far gone that you haven't a clue?" Jonathan's voice taunted her, followed by a dry chuckle. "It doesn't matter. I have no problems experimenting on you, Carol. You're nothing but an old flame."

Jonathan grabbed a fist full of the woman's limp blonde hair and yanked her head back so she was staring up at him with wide eyes. Jonathan showed no sympathy for her as he spoke with a dark glint in his eyes.

"...and old flames can be extinguished."

~*~*~*~

Jonathan had been enjoying himself with testing on a psychopathic ex, but, his fun was unfortunately short lived as Carol had passed out in the midst of a hallucination.

Currently he was seated in his office, a few hours after the experiment had ended. He was working on filling out notes for Carol and a few of the other patients that he had met that day. Jonathan wasn't expecting anyone else, so the knock on his office door surprised him.

Glancing over at the clock, he frowned as he noticed it was close to the end of the work day, and he had been planning on heading home to get some rest.

He just hoped no one was planning on giving him extra work to do on a Friday evening.

Pushing back his chair, Jonathan approached the door and pulled it open, revealing a middle aged man with balding blond hair and dull blue eyes behind glasses.

"Oh, good afternoon, Dr. Crane," The man greeted with a voice that came off as rather bubbly, holding out his hand, which Jonathan took with an internal sigh. "I'm Albert Klein with Gotham City's Child and Family Services."

Jonathan pulled away, raising an eyebrow at this Mr. Klein. Why on Earth would anyone from Child and Family Services be contacting him?

"What can I do for you?" Jonathan inquired dryly, and the man fiddled with some paperwork in a file before looking up at the taller man.

"Well, recently Ms. Carol Hanna was admitted into Arkham and into your care. This is correct, yes?"

"Yes, that would be correct," Jonathan nodded slowly. "She was admitted last night after the murders of three people on Tuesday."

"Mhm, tragic incident it was. Though, that's obviously not what I'm here for. I'm here regarding Carol's seven year old daughter who was found at her home early this morning when her school teachers became worried wondering why she wasn't in school."

Jonathan was quiet, wondering what this information had to do with him. Why should it be his business what happened to Carol's pitiful offspring.

"We're here regarding the child's absent father, as she will be brought to his custody as she had no other family." Albert continued, his words clicking in Jonathan's head.

"I'm afraid I won't be of much help determining the father. Ms. Hanna is rather incoherent and I doubt at this time it would be possible to extract such information from her. Perhaps you'd be better off doing a blood test."

Jonathan felt rather confused at the weary little man let out a light chuckle, shaking his head before gently pushing his glasses up his nose.

"No, my apologies, Doctor, that wasn't what I was referring to. Child and Family Services already is aware of who the girl's father is and had already located him. That would be why I'm here."

"I... I'm not sure I'm understanding correctly..." Jonathan swallowed nervously, something in the back of his mind fearing what this older man was talking about.

Albert Klein smiled sympathetically, aware that the pieces were coming together in Jonathan's mind.

"You were in a relationship with Ms. Hanna nearing eight years ago, weren't you?" Albert inquired, watching as the blood drained from the face of the man Albert assumed was usually very collected.

"...yes. I was." Jonathan agreed slowly, his heart hammering in his chest, his mind a hurricane of thoughts all running along the same lines; this can't be happening.

Mr. Klein gave a small, understanding smile, before pulling out the front page of the file and handing it to the darker haired man, who took it with shaking hands and held it up to be peered at through his thin rimmed glasses.

Sure enough, neatly printed on the line that read father, was Jonathan's name.