The Secrets of Scary People | Jonathan Crane

Chapter One - The Beginning of a Long Day

Chapter One - The Beginning of a Long Day
Jessica Vince

I walked down the halls of Arkham Asylum, holding the patient medical files close to my chest as I hurried to the office in which a patient was sure to be arriving in any moment.

I was in such a hurry that I didn't realize I was about to walk into someone, until it was too late.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed to whoever I had hit, while I fell to the ground and my papers flew out of my hands.

I looked up and blushed, as I saw it was Dr. Crane, smirking amusedly down at me as he offered me his hand.

"Don't be, Miss Vince, I wasn't watching where I was going." He shook his head as I willingly took his hand, and he helped me to my feet.

Dr. Crane knelt down, and I did so again, and we started to gather my files and papers. My hand grazed Dr. Crane's as we reached for the same file, and I blushed, though Dr. Crane seemed not to notice.

I stood up and so did Dr. Crane, and I took the files that he held out to me and straightened them, before holding them close to my chest, more protectively. I didn't want to drop them again. I smiled sheepishly over at Dr. Crane.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane." I spoke sincerely, and he smiled over at me, looking down at me, his blue eyes piercing into mine through his glasses.

"It's really no problem, Miss Vince. Have a nice day." Dr. Crane responded briskly, nodding his head before he turned and strode off down the hall.

I stared after him, sighing as I watching his retreating figure.

I have known Jonathan Crane for a while now, he is head of Arkham Asylum, and is otherwise known as my boss. Suffice to say, the man has always attracted my attention, and I don't know what it is about him that makes me want him so much...

I smiled slightly and turned, continuing on my own way down the halls towards my office, which was also a surgery room.

I entered and walked over to my desk, placing the medical files on my desk just as the door opened again behind me. I whirled around to see a group of guards hauling in a deranged inmate, before strapping the patient down on the gurney.

"What happened?" I asked, and looked down at the struggling inmate and then up at one of the guards, who were looking down at the patient with disgust.

"This crazy has been freaking out all day. Keeps mutterin' about stuff, and used a pen off a doctors desk to stab himself in the side." The guard explained, and I pulled up the side of the struggling inmate's uniform, to see a bloody wound.

"Alright, I'll take care of him. Thank you." I dismissed, and the guards exited the room, allowing me to start my work on the patient.

I used some medical gauze and applied pressure to the wound, removing it when it was covered in blood and ink from the pen. Then I grabbed a medical needle and some thread, sterilizing the needle before running it through the inmate's skin and starting to stitch him up.

"Scarecrow... scarecrow..." The inmate muttered, and I looked up at him, watching how his eyes were grassed over and whirling around, and his lips were moving as he muttered wildly.

The inmate screamed suddenly, causing me to jump in shock before regaining my bearings and continuing to stick up the bloody wound in his side, once I made sure all the ink was out of course.

When the stitches were done, I tied the end and pressed some gauze to it again, wiping away the excess blood and ink that was stained around the wound.

I grabbed some thick bandages and began to wrap them around his stomach and making sure that it covered the ghastly wound in his side.

Once it was done, I walked over to my desk and grabbed a syringe that was filled with a sedative, before walking over to the inmate again and injecting it into his arm. His eyes slowly closed and he stopped thrashing as the medicine took control.

"Scarecrow..." He muttered before he fell silent, breathing deeply as I watched him rest on the medical table. What was 'Scarecrow'?

I walked to the door and opened it, nodding to the guards and allowing them to step past and drag the inoculated inmate out of my office and back to his cell. I sighed and sat down in my desk chair, and started absentmindedly doodling on a piece of paper.

I looked up quickly when there was a knock on the door. No one ever knocked, the guards just always dragged the inmates in without even knocking first.

I stood up and walked over to the door, opening it and blushing when I saw it was Dr. Crane.

"Oh, um.. Hello, Dr. Crane. Can I do something for you?" I greeted, and Dr. Crane almost smiled, I think he could see how awkward I was around him. I noticed how he was applying pressure to his chest, right below his neck and above his heart.

"Yes, Miss Vince, I was wondering if you could help me. I got into a little trouble with Mr. Zsasz, somehow he had managed to get a knife into his possession." He said, and winced a little bit.

"Oh, of course I could help. Come, sit down." I agreed, and led Dr. Crane over to the table, where he sat down and removed the jacket of his suit. I could see the blood staining through his white shirt that he was wearing underneath.

"Um... could you, um..." I stumbled over my words, and Dr. Crane smirked.

"Of course." He nodded, and took off his shirt. In other cases, I most likely would have stared at him and then turned away, blushing in embarrassment, but in this case I gasped at the wound in his chest.

I turned and grabbed some gauze, applying pressure to the knife wound in Dr. Crane's chest, and smiling slightly when he didn't even wince.

I quickly cleaned up the wound before grabbing a clean needle and medical thread, and then started to stitch up the wound. Dr. Crane didn't even seem to mind the pain, that was one of the things I admired about him.

How collected and calm he always was, even in some of the most difficult situations.

"There, that should be good." I smiled, leaning away from him and admiring my handiwork. I looked up and found Dr. Crane wasn't looking at the wound in his chest, but looking at me.

I blushed and stood up straight, watching how Dr. Crane cleared his throat and brushed his fingers over the new stitches, before smiling over at me.

"Thank you, Miss Vince." He nodded once more, and picked up his stained shirt and examined it, a slight grimace on his face. He smirked and looked over at me.

"Guess I'm going through the rest of the day with a bloodstained shirt." He joked, and I smirked, watching as he replaced the shirt over his muscled torso.

He wasn't like one of those guys that was on steroids and had huge muscles, and he wasn't the weak, gangly man he led everyone onto believe he was. I turned away, biting my lip awkwardly, before looking back to see him replacing his jacket and straightening his tie.

"Thank you again, Miss Vince." He looked at me once more, and I smiled.

"Please, call me Jessica." I offered, and then blushed when Dr. Crane smirked in an amused way over at me. I looked down to the ground momentarily, before looking back up at him.

"Alright, Jessica. Then, please, call me Jonathan." He returned, and I nodded, smiling over at him, while he still looked amused.

"Thank you, again, Jessica. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day." He told me calmly, and adjusted the sleeves of his jacket before leaving my office, throwing me the faintest of smiles over his shoulder at me before he disappeared.

I smiled and sat down in my chair, blowing a strand of my fiery red hair out of my face. I had a feeling this was going to be a long day.