Divination (Joker x Batman x OC)

Chapter 122

"Vancomycin," the doctor said to Adriana. "Typically used as a last resort but it worked very well."

"Mhm," Adriana said.

"His blood work was much better than I expected," he went on. "His kidneys will likely be fine, and perhaps the swelling in his ankles and feet is due to his dehydration. The numbers are a little elevated but I suspect they will resolve. We will keep an eye on it."

"Mhm," she murmured nervously again. She was exhausted, she told that the doctor was trying to make her feel better about the situation but she was still worried.

"So, the only conclusion I can draw about his loss of consciousness is that it was due to severe pain," he said. "My guess was correct."

"Mmm..." she said.

"He won't require dialysis..he has some inflammatory markers but that is normal..." Dr. Kapoor went on.

"Yeah...mhm."

"Adriana?" Dr. Kapoor asked.

"Yes?" she asked.

"We did a good job," he said and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Adriana looked at the Joker, unconscious on the table. His body flat and thin, and now the center of his face so hollow since all his teeth had been removed, she almost couldn't recognize him. But he was alive. He was stable.

She felt traumatized, remembering the doctor dropping each of his teeth onto the tray after pulling them out. He even allowed her, once he realized that she knew what she was doing, to remove a few teeth from the left side of his mouth where she was sitting. The doctor had been impressed with her knowledge and skill, even though she did not explain how she knew so much. There was a lot of blood. But he was going to make it.

"So.." she said. "He'll wake up soon?"

"The IV opiates for his pain should keep him...comfortable," he said. "And calm."

"Calm?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Has he been unconscious since you found him?"

"What do you mean?" she asked. "He was unconscious when I got there this morning."

"So, he doesn't know who you are, and he didn't see you there at all," the doctor said. "He will wake up...not knowing where he is or who either of us are."

"Oh..." she said. "Well, he knows who I am and...I was there last night. Lucius and I tried to get him to leave but he freaked out. He was conscious then. He was terrified. So we came back this morning with antibiotics and we found him like that. Passed out. He thought he was imagining me..thought I was a hallucination or..I don't know."

Dr. Kapoor had many questions. How did the Joker know who she was? How did she find him? He bit his tongue. But medically, there were some things he needed to know.

"Do you know how long he was imprisoned there?" he asked.

"Fourteen months," she said.

She saw Dr. Kapoor's air leave his lungs.

"It sounds like he will require psychotherapy as well," the doctor said.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Not only for that ...but for waking up with no teeth."

Easily, Adriana could see the doctor's thoughts. He thought she seemed very concerned for the Joker and didn't understand why she seemed this sad. She didn't seem afraid of the fact that he might likely wake up soon. The fact that he had been given opiates that would calm him did not seem to offer her any relief. The operation was a success, he was going to live, although even more disfigured.