Part 6 is here.

Enjoy.

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Faint beeping broke the silence as Tim's eyes fluttered open. Everything around him was a hazy blur and he felt awfully numb, weighed down by the heavy effects of the painkillers injected to him.

"Hello?" He called out, hoping someone was around to hear him.

He couldn't even move his head and he felt it was wrapped in bandages. However, he soon saw the person staying with him in that room as Miguel had woken up and brought his chair closer.

"Thank God you're alive," the man breathed, taking out his phone to tell Jonathan. He had to put it on silent as Jonathan had been calling multiple times an hour, anxious to find out whether Tim had gained consciousness or not.

"Migs? Who brought me here...? Where's Doctor Cra..." But his voice trailed off as a wave of exhaustion struck him again and darkness began to dance in front of his eyes.

"Stay put, I will fetch the doctor. Don't you dare die."

Miguel vanished and Tim blinked twice, trying to restore his vision. It was quite blurred and he didn't remember whether it was due to the injury he had sustained or due to the prolonged hours of working in dim light that had already ruined his eyesight.

Tim was switching in and out of consciousness; he saw the doctor step in but didn't remember what happened after. He had been put to sleep again and when he woke up, it was the next morning already and Miguel wasn't with him either.

He tried to sit up but couldn't so a nurse came to his aid and lifted the bed up. Upon asking about Miguel, they told him he would come in the evening, and if Tim was feeling better, he would get discharged from the hospital.

As time passed, he was able to see better and felt the numbness decrease gradually. With his senses awakening from the stupor that the medicines subjected him to, his thoughts began to wander to Jonathan Crane.

That encounter with the Scarecrow had been truly terrifying and a shudder passed through Tim just upon recalling it. He feared the immense power and control the alter personality could have on Jonathan, turning him into a monster that could easily haunt anyone's worst nightmares.

With nothing else to keep himself occupied with, all Tim could do was think about Jonathan and Scarecrow.

He had hoped he would see the former psychologist waiting for him to wake up, telling him that he was sorry for causing all that mess. But of course, he wouldn't be able to come to the hospital as he was a convict on the loose. Perhaps even if he wasn't a convict, the guilt wouldn't let him face him.

By evening Miguel returned but Tim had bored himself out of his mind by then. He was in a terrible mood, sitting up in the bed with the help of pillows. His arms were folded over his chest and his lips were set into a scowl.

"Ah look, the little devil is back," Miguel remarked, dropping his bag beside the bed as he collapsed on the chair close to him.

It was clear that he was exhausted yet he had still dropped by to check in on Tim. Either he really cared for him or Jonathan had pestered him so much that he didn't want to return to the Narrows soon.

"Where's Doctor Crane?"

"In his apartment," he replied vaguely which increased the boy's suspicions.

"Did you talk to him?"

He sighed, "I gave him a talking down, if you ask me. I was furious that he let you get hurt and finding out that he did it himself wasn't any consolation."

Tim shook his head, "But it wasn't him... It didn't feel like him..."

He could clearly recall that chilling voice, those crazed eyes, and the maniacal laughter. It was anything but Jonathan Crane, the man he had almost started to look up to as a family member.

"Timothy, he has issues and the fact that you chose to live with him regardless shows you're not far behind," Miguel remarked, and the sheer honesty of those words cut through him.

"Did he say anything to you about me?"

"Yes. He said it would be better if you didn't see him anymore."

That seemed to have irked him further, "And who gave him that genius brainwave?"

He shrugged, "My guess is as good as yours. I don't know."

Tim looked down his hands that he had clenched together, as the thoughtful frown on his face deepened. He felt he should talk to Jonathan at least once and try to get him to reveal the truth about Scarecrow. He wanted him to admit that it wasn't him who hurt Tim but someone else who had taken control of him.

"Well, Timothy... I know you're fully aware of this and I need not repeat it but Crane... He's dangerous. You probably saw that for yourself this time and you know now that it is unsafe for you to keep living with him."

He paused, blue eyes cautiously assessing every expression on Miguel's face. "What exactly are you implying?"

"That you shouldn't live with him," his answer was simple but it caused Tim to erupt.

"Oh really? Then where should I go? To Bat Man?" He snapped, looking away from the man who was trying to explain that he didn't say that with any ill intentions, he only wanted Tim's betterment. "Or should I just go back to my basement and continue living like a rat for the rest of my life? The Doc put you up to this, didn't he? He told you to convince me to leave..."

Miguel was losing his patience but he kept himself composed as he knew Tim was hurt and the medications were putting him in an even worse mood than usual. "Yes because he is not safe for you. He loses control and then he wrecks shit, you saw that yourself. And if you still want to live with him, then I think you should be locked up in Arkham too."

"But I can't go anywhere else!" He screeched and the nurse came running to check if he was in pain. Miguel had to assure her that he was fine and only being dramatic.

It took him a while to convince her to leave and by then, the exhaustion on his features had deepened as he looked wearily at the angry little fourteen-year-old. The resemblance between Tim and Jonathan when they were in a bad mood was uncanny, he thought but then shrugged it off, focusing on the matter at hand.

"You know what, you should come live in my apartment for the time being. Crane doesn't want to hurt you again and he told me I should figure something out for you. I only have my apartment, so you can move into Seth and John's room. They wouldn't mind."

Tim was at a loss for words at that offer out of the blue and when he did speak up, it was something Miguel didn't expect to hear either. "Well, no offense, Migs, but your apartment is a burrow. Adding one more person is not a good idea."

"We don't mind, do you?"

He paused, knowing he didn't have another option, "Will I get to talk to Doctor Crane?"

He sighed, thinking about it but then gave in, "After you recover. Until then, you must stay away from him."

Tim was about to object but then paused, realizing Miguel had so far shown him much more kindness and patience than he would ever show anyone else. It didn't feel right to take his concern for granted.

"Right. Thank you, Miguel. I'll try my best not to bother you and your family."

He thought about his eight children and the havoc they got into daily, "I think I should be worried about my kids bothering you instead. But then, they all like you so I think they will adjust nicely."

Tim nodded but all those worrisome thoughts about Crane occupied him again as Miguel went to the doctor to ask him when Tim had to be discharged from the hospital.

***

Tim's assumption was correct.

Jonathan no longer knew how he would face the boy whom he had hurt so terribly under the Scarecrow's influence. He felt guilty about hurting Tim even though the boy had always been a great help to him and was staying with him. He could have left when Batman offered him a chance at a normal life but he didn't.

All that guilt, regret, and fear of always being overpowered by the Scarecrow was weighing him down.

It had been three days since Timothy returned from the hospital. He was staying with the Hansons and Jonathan kept inquiring about his health and well-being from Miguel. But he didn't dare to drop by and see him for himself.

He was scared of what the boy would say to him. But more so, he was worried that he would see fear in those large dull blue eyes the second he came into his peripheral vision.

He didn't want to witness that.

For the past few days, Jonathan had been very detached, feeling as if there were long periods of time when he wasn't in control of his body and mind. It felt as if he was slowly succumbing to the darkness around him, his mental defenses falling weak to the preying of isolation and loneliness.

Whenever he was in control of his body, his mind would be flooded with unwanted thoughts and loud voices that he could not get to shut up.

There was one particular image that he was unable to drive out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. He could see it as clearly as if he was still there holding the lab coat against Tim's bleeding head, trying to shake him into consciousness while feeling the guilt of being responsible for whatever the boy had suffered. And it certainly didn't help that Scarecrow took pleasure in tormenting him about it.

"You are still moping about that boy? Did you forget what he did to you that time he created the so-called antidote?"

He tried to shut out that scratchy accusatory voice but to no avail. He hadn't forgotten his first encounter with Tim as well as the five days after that in which the boy had painstakingly recreated the fear gas and come up with an antidote for it. But then he had offered him to let him go and become his apprentice instead after which a lot changed for Jonathan.

A year had passed since then and after that much time with the slightly unhinged but genius kid, he had started to see him as an equal. A young mind that was interested in finding out the solutions to already existing problems. A boy who wanted to help him and was willing to work with him and figure out the solution to his problems even though he had a better opportunity to accept Batman's offer and leave him behind.

"He's just a boy... He shouldn't have gotten hurt. I should not have let you take control..."

"You were letting me take control? Jonathan, why do you keep insisting that we are different? I am as much a part of you as you are a part of me. We are one, we are the Scarecrow."

"That's not true..."

"Or did you honestly believe Timothy's explanations? He's just a boy, as you said so yourself, what would he know?"

Shutting his ears or stuffing them with his fingers would still not silence the taunting remarks playing on repeat within him.

"You are the Scarecrow, Jonathan. Embrace it. The fear you instill in others is power, and power is everything. Don't underestimate the hell we can raise together, the world we can conquer by becoming one."

He clenched his fists tightly, still trying to resist the malefic whispers. "No... This is not what I want, you are not going to steer me in your darkness again."

"You can't escape me, Jonathan, no matter how hard you try. Didn't you see what happened when that boy tried to help you? Does it not serve as a lesson for you to stop interfering? You keep underestimating yourself and I am sick of this foolish sentimentality! You always believed that fear is the only true power in this world, the only thing that can grant you release, so why are you backing out now?"

"Because it's not... There are other things worth living for..."

"Maybe for other people but for an insane convict like you, I don't think so."

He closed his eyes, trying to focus on something, anything, that could serve as a temporary distraction.

The walls were closing in on him and he wanted to leave the apartment. But where else could he go? He was out of Arkham because the GCPD wasn't looking for him and Batman hadn't put him behind bars for some reason. If he started going about the city freely, he would be back in Arkham before he knew it.

However, staying inside was getting suffocating so he stepped out of the apartment, coming to the corridor to get some fresh air.

Night had fallen and even Miguel's kids had been put to bed, he judged by the absence of noise around his apartment. The corridor was empty so Jonathan decided to walk the length of it, trying to collect his thoughts that had been dispersed by the Scarecrow continuously tormenting him.

Three days and yet he had not seen or talked to Tim. The guilt had started to turn painful by then as he returned to the rails of the staircases, leaning against them and looking down at the abyss of the stairwell.

He didn't know how long passed with him standing like that. It wasn't until a familiar voice shook him out of his spiraling thoughts that he turned, startled to see the unexpected visitor.

"Hello, Doc," Tim was standing behind him at a safe distance, "Spoiler alert, you can't get rid of me that soon."

No words came out but his blue eyes were analyzing Tim instead as if checking that the boy was no longer hurt. A thin bandage was still wrapped around his head but he looked fine otherwise. 

"I am sorry for what happened last time," Crane spoke up at last but his voice was choked as if it was taking him quite an effort to even bring those words out of him.

A thick syrup of guilt drenched those words and it left a bitter aftertaste in Jonathan's mouth. He wanted to say so much more than just a lousy apology. He wanted to explain but it felt like a poor attempt at justifying himself so he couldn't do so.

Tim could see the dilemma he was stuck in so he decided to put him out of his misery by cutting straight to the topic, "I know it wasn't you who hurt me. It was someone else using you and now, I also know that my assumptions about you and the Scarecrow were right."

"Well... I don't think it's a good idea to..."

However, the boy interrupted him, his eyes piercing through Jonathan's equally cold and unfeeling blue ones. "But you can't hide things from me now. You know what, we do have a lot to talk about, whether you like it or not. And I suggest you start by telling me the truth. About yourself and that Scarecrow."

He tried to shut out the maniacal whispers that were constantly raging in his head, a series of landmines laid forth by the alter to force him to surrender. But right then, he kept his focus on Tim, paying no heed to those voices in his head.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything," the boy replied, perching up on the rails beside him.

***

Things have taken an interesting turn. I can't wait to write more of this AU.

I hope you guys are enjoying reading it too just as much as I am enjoying writing it.

See you soon with the next part.

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