Batfamily Oneshots

11. Harvey Dent (Arkham Asylum)

Being a doctor at Arkham Asylum was always interesting. Not a psychiatrist mind you, a doctor of the body not the mind. The prisoners often got into scuffles and some of the guards were far too rough with them. Also whenever Batman brought them directly to the asylum they were more than battered and bruised.

I had seen everyone, almost everyone. Some of them I didn't have the clearance to treat. So, I had tended to Penguin, Two-face, Riddler and even Scarecrow, an old colleague of mine. There were other "big names" that I had come across but in this Asylum that was bound to happen. 

When I wasn't doing my best to keep bones of these criminals becoming irreparable breaks I was either doing paperwork or treating my long term patients. Most were just here for therapy but some needed physical care and one of those people was Harvey Dent. Or should I say, two of those people were Harvey Two-face.

He had rejected any proper care for his burns when he first got them and that didn't change now. Although I had managed to get him to have some treatment to avoid the high risk of infection. He had had infections before and that had him in my ward for longer than anyone would have liked. Although he had been surprisingly pleasant. He hadn't at first, being the most foul I had ever encountered and at first I thought it was because of pain, but it had turned out they confiscated his coin. As soon as I found that out I convinced them to give it back. Taking it and giving it back to him myself and he was oddly quiet about it, even smiling as he turned over his precious coin before flipping it, looking at it land on heads and then letting me treat him properly. Since then he had been nothing but nice towards me. 

Nice might be too strong a word. Tolerant is more accurate. Even his Two-Face side had become warmer towards me. I think it also helped that I never treated them as the criminals they are and instead just as someone who needed medical attention. Was probably a nice change from all the name calling and roughhousing. 

Harvey was waiting for me now, sitting cuffed on a ward bed with four guards around him, guns holstered but ready as they waited for me to come over. Harvey watched me as I approached, giving them all a smile as I came close.

'Thank you, gentleman.' I nodded to them and they hesitantly left, keeping an eye on things further down the room. We had also found that he would refuse treatment if they were looming over us, so we had compromised and managed to get them to stand down and keep an eye on things from afar. I also had a panic button on me, warning them of if I was attacked. But overall I just felt safe around Dent, probably a stupid thing getting so comfortable around him but here we are. 

'Doc.' Two-face greeted with a nod. 

'Two-face.' I said back with a nod and then smiled as I looked down at him. He was still nearly as tall as I when he was sitting down. 'How are you both today?' 

'Sick of this place.' Two-face growled.

'Aren't we all?' I grinned and he smirked. 'Alright, let me look at you.' He sat still as I turned his head to get a good look at the healing burns. Years ago this happened to him but his lack of treatment had made this a long process. He flinched a little as I gently touched a particularly difficult area. 'Sorry.' I muttered not liking the fact that he was in pain. He flinched away again, leaning back and I hesitated. Lowering my hands away from the burns I leaned forward, taking to looking over them instead to still get a closer look. 'How is the ointment I prescribed? No side effects?'

'It's fine.' Two-face said. Gingerly I placed a finger on his chin, tilting the burned side towards me a little more. He did as directed as I took a half step closer to get a better look. All in all his burned side seemed in relatively good health. The ointment was indeed doing its job and the once weeping and painful looking burns were healing over. He would forever be scarred without skin grafting but they would both forever deny that option.