You're My Medication

The lack of sleep was beginning to catch up to me as I started dozing off while leaning on J. He began to talk to the chubby cop that occupied the room with us. J said something about wanting a phone call, but I tuned them out and tried clear my mind so I could sleep a little.

Are they going to separate us again? J said we would stay together and that I just needed to wait because he was going to get us out of here and I trust him. Another cop walked into the room, breaking my train of thought.

“I'm here to take Nicole to her cell,” he said monotone. I woke up all the way when he said that and grabbed J’s arm. I don’t want to leave him. He put his hand on mine and we watched the two cops whispering to each other. The thinner one walked over to me and pulled me up.

J glared at him, but let him pull me to the door. What was he doing? Why wasn’t he tried to stop the cop? J subtly winked at me and that told me he had something up his sleeve.

“How many of your friends have I killed?” I heard him ask the chubby cop as the door shut behind me and the skinny cop.

“Where are we going?” I asked and received a look of sympathy.

“Gordan just called me and told me to put you under lockdown. He doesn’t want The Joker to get his hands on you again. You’re leaving GCPD and going somewhere safe,” he said. After hearing that I struggled and tried to pull away, but the cop kept dragging me along like a rag doll.

“No! He needs me! Bad things start to happen if we’re apart for too long!” I yelled, but all he did was look at me sympathetically again.

“Gordan said you were being brainwashed…” why didn’t they believe me?! This freaking happened before! History always finds a way to repeat itself. I need to get back to J before it’s too late, but the cop picked me up forcefully and took me outside. There, he put me inside a cop car and shut the door.

“Don’t worry, Nicole. We’ll keep you safe from him.” I turned and saw Gordan behind the steering wheel. I thought he was going to save someone J had kidnapped? Gordan began driving away from the station, but not too soon after an explosion went off and destroyed half of the building. I yanked at the car door handle, but it was locked from the inside and it wouldn’t open.

“Stop it, Nicole. I'm going to keep you safely away from him.” The dull ache in my chest only grew stronger as I watched the smoking police station disappear from my sight. What if J got hurt?

“A friend of mine has offered his home as a place for you to stay. It’s Bruce Wayne and his penthouse is one of the safest places in Gotham right now,” Gordan began rambling off details that I didn’t want to listen to. All I could think about was J and the fact that I had to go back to that prick’s place.

I gently leaned my forehead against the cool glass window. I touched my lips softly and smiled. J and I kissed. Thoughts of him swirled through my head, but I finally convinced myself that there was nothing to worry about and that he was probably with the goons now planning to get me back.

Gordan stopped the car and escorted me out and into the building Bruce’s penthouse was in.

“Bruce is a nice guy so I don’t think you two will have any problems. But he did just get back from a business meeting and is a little irritated.” Gordan rang the door bell and his butler, Alfred, opened the door.

“Good afternoon, Commissioner Gordan.” Seems like he got promoted for getting J. Alfred let us in and I saw Bruce sitting on his white couch, looking depressed. Gordan led me over and we sat down across from him on the other white couch. Bruce glanced up, but apparently the floor was much more interesting because he looked back down at it.

“Bruce, this is Nicole Sherman. She’s the one I was telling you about. The Joker seems to have brainwashed her into somehow thinking that they are friends.” I death glared him for saying that. I am best friends with J and maybe soon to be something more…

“I go by Nikki,” I said quietly. Bruce looked at me again with a forced smile. I felt gross. I had taken a shower yesterday morning and spent the night in an interrogation room with J. Not the cleanest place for someone to sleep.

“Can I take a shower?” Bruce nodded and Alfred showed me to the bathroom and gave me a change of clothes. I didn’t question that Bruce had some girl’s clothes lying around. I quickly showered and got dressed before going back into the living room. Gordan was leaving and Bruce was still on the couch.

“Why so gloomy?” I asked as I sat down on the couch next to him. He looked at me up and down before clearly frowning at me.

“Rachel Dawes was blown up by your so called ‘friend’ and you’re wearing the clothes she leaves over here,” he grumbled. I sighed and rubbed my temples harshly. Looks like the police and Batman were only able to save Harvey.

It was quiet between us, too quiet. J is usually bouncing off the walls or at least talking my ear off by this time. To occupy myself, I began to draw circles into the couch’s fabric with my finger.

“Bruce, I need to be with him,” I whispered not looking at him directly, but I could tell that he was staring at me intently.

“With the Joker?”

“Yeah with J. See, I’ve known him since I was 15. I know what he’ll do if I'm not around. Bad things, Bruce, bad things. I’m the only one who is able to calm him down. Without me, he probably would have burned down the entire city by now. Please take me to him,” I pleaded. Bruce just stared at me and shook his head.

“Gordan told me not to let you out of my sight. I can see why. The Joker really has done something to your head…” I felt my throat close up and the tears started forming in my eyes. Why isn’t anyone listening to me? I know how to stop him!

People are going to die tonight! He won’t be able to stop killing unless he sees me. That’s why he’s always at my freaking apartment!

A tear slowly trailed from my eye down to my cheek and then proceeded to fall onto Bruce’s white couch. I saw the infamous playboy stiffen. What? He can't handle a crying girl?

“Why’re you crying?” he asked.

“Because people are going to die because of me,” I hiccupped a little and wiped a few more tears away. Bruce shifted in his seat so he was closer to me and started to pay attention.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, folding his hands together.

“This is exactly what happened before,” I mumbled as another tear fell. Bruce leaned even closer.

“What happened?” I shook my head not wanting to talk about it. It was too much of a long story.

“Nicole, tell me. If I know what’s going on, I’ll tell Gordan. It might help all of us deal with this situation.” I sighed and finally nodded. Maybe if I tell him, they’ll let me see J. It’s worth a shot.

“J and I used to live in England. It was about 5 years ago when I was 18. The police got tired of J’s schemes and started paying closer attention to us. They figured out his weakness…”

“You’re his weakness. Because you’re able to stop him from killing.” It wasn’t a question, he was stating a fact. I nodded and wiped my eyes again.

“The police took me away from him just like what you and Gordan are doing. J slowly started to lose control. Without me there, he began bombing the entire city of Hampton. Building after building. Children, parents, the elderly…so many of them died. J was getting closer to where I was being held.

“I begged them to let me see him. I knew I could stop him, but they said they were trying to protect me. All those people died because they were trying to protect ME.” I squeezed my hands tighter thinking about all the destruction J caused back in England.

“What did he do?” Bruce asked completely enthralled by the story.

“There was…blood. So much blood… He mutilated people trying to get to me faster. Every cop, FBI agent, every person that he thought was standing in between us. They were all killed by his hand, but I was happy he found me. Happy I was with him again.

“When he saw me in that holding cell, his expression changed in a split second. He actually hugged me and told me we were leaving for good and never going back to Hampton. I hadn’t even graduated high school yet, but I still went with him. I know what he is capable of and I never want to see it happen again. I don’t want any more blood to cover his hands because of me.

“We decided to come to America and laid low for a while, but after a year or two he found Gotham and now here we are.” I took a deep breath and tried to relax again. There, our past was all out in the open, well most of it anyway. I left out the details of J’s pain and suffering…

“How did you two even meet?” Bruce tried to remain calm through the story, but I knew he was itching to call Gordan.

“I don’t like talking or thinking about that.”

“You didn’t want to meet him?” I shook my head.

“No, I'm very happy that I met J. I met him before he became The Joker. I don’t like thinking about it because he got his scars because he met me…” I mumbled and squeezed my hands together so tightly that my knuckles were turning white.

“He got his scars because of you?? Was he married or was it his dad?” I tried to force a smile.

“Neither, he couldn’t be married. He was only 17 when he got them. J is 2 years older than me. Bruce, I'm tired. Can I go to bed now?” he nodded and had Alfred show me to my room. Bruce was probably on the phone with Gordan now telling him everything, but I didn’t care. Maybe this will let me be rejoined with J. I just hope that he’s okay.