If Nigma was in the rec room, Dee was confined to her cell. Matthiessen had decided to keep them apart, hoping that they would co-operate better. The only thing he succeeded in doing was making the two daydream about each other more. Very few of his questions were answered during a session. Other than that, the two remained almost model patients.

Accidentally, their paths crossed when their escorts stopped to sign Dee into the rec room and Eddie out of it. It was all the time he needed. With a smile, Eddie reached his hand behind her ear and presented her with a shiny nickel.

"How..." she began in a whisper as he pressed it into her palm.

"I have my ways."

They got no further as Eddie was hauled away. Dee backed into the rec room, smiling at the man who glanced over his shoulder. She clutched the coin to her chest, still smiling as her handcuffs were removed and she wandered off to a solitary corner. For the entire time she stayed curled in a chair, stroking the coin.

~ ~ ~

Pam had gotten him the nickel. She wanted to know what it was for. When he said Dee asked for one, Pam then wanted to know what Dee wanted it for. The explanation that she had simply asked for a nickel, making a big deal about it didn't sit well with the other woman. Those two had been together only a couple of months and they had secrets already. Pam attempted to ask Dee about the nickel, but simply got a little grin before Dee would start humming to herself, looking dreamily into the air.

Everyone at Arkham had heard about the two going into bouts of catatonia at the same time, only to come out of it a few hours apart. The two were destroying the theories Matthiessen had about Edward Nigma and the inmates of Arkham. Matthiessen's other patients took delight in rubbing the failure in his face. All attested to the change in the rogue, secretly approving of the pairing, even while being jealous to some degree. Many didn't see the attraction Dee had to Edward but they supposed it was part of the reason she was in Arkham.

Matthiessen was infuriated about the whole thing. He had put them in solitary, withheld meals, rec room privileges, and numerous other punishments. He would have loved to put the girl into ECT, but the nurses and a doctor who was giving her a weekly check up refused to allow him to. The reason had been her hypoglycemia. Matthiessen told the doctor that she was getting her meals regularly, as well as the snacks, only having one or the other withheld should she become too violent. The doctor had believed him.

Despite knowing this, Matthiessen continued to deny Dee meals. In the end, he decided that he would be able to nurture any seeds he might possibly be able to plant easier if the girl were delirious and weak. His only real issue was the smell of her when he let her go too far into the delirium. She showered, but always looked unkempt and had a strange odor about her. He used those aspects of her appearance to enforce the fact that she was plain and unattractive. Often, this made her burst into tears and talk to herself for hours.

As for Nigma, Matthiessen had decided to hook the man up to a machine to test his brain waves and pulse when showed pictures of attractive men and women. The pictures ranged from a single person to male and female couples, and all the way down to same sex couples. The pictures depicted everything from the subjects sitting in chairs, all the way to explicit sexual acts, hetero and homosexual. Matthiessen was furious when he found Edward had closed his eyes and gone to sleep the first time. The second time, he had the man's eyes held open and forced him to look at the pictures.

The only reaction gauged was that Edward Nigma was uncomfortable looking at the pictures, and having the little metal clips holding his eyes open. His complete unwillingness to speak of sex, or of any sexual acts he had engaged in, left Matthiessen to deduce that Nigma was a prude. Probably a gay prude at that. When he had come to that conclusion, he had laughed some. Prude though he may be, the mental image of Nigma flouncing around and dressing the women he hired up in little outfits amused the good doctor.

~ ~ ~

It took him a few days to decide he was going to do it, but he finally came to the conclusion that he would never solve the puzzle of Dee Lemma if he didn't do it. Eddie and Dee had now been in Arkham for almost a month. While it was hard to tell with their limited contacts, both could feel the strain the time had on their young relationship. Exactly two days after he gave her the nickel, Edward once more snuck out of his cell and into Dee's.

"Hey, wake up," he whispered, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Don't wanna see the doctor," she mumbled, snuggling further down into her blankets. When he shook her more urgently, knowing time was wasting, she grumbled a "What?"

"Get up and get dressed, Kitten!"

"Eddie?" Dee sat up, rubbing her eyes. At the sight of Eddie in her cell, she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him.

"No time for that! We have to go now!" He shoved her clothing at her as he pushed her away.

Understanding, Dee quickly dressed, smiling at Eddie as she tucked the nickel into her bra. He didn't return the smile, shifting his eyes to the corner where the surveillance camera was instead. Grabbing her hand, he hauled her out of the cell and hurried her through the halls. Dee was quickly lost in the maze of halls as he twisted and turned, leading her to an older part of the asylum.

An alarm went off and he quickly pressed her to the wall. Placing a finger to his lips, he gestured her to stay where she was as he ducked around the corner. Dee remained up against the wall, afraid to move for fear or running into a guard or doctor. She wished the alarm would stop. She also wished that she wasn't so hungry and tired.

Eddie's hand suddenly grabbing her uniform front, pulling her around the corner, almost made her scream. Holding her close to him, he whispered into her ear, "Quick now! Down into that drain! We'll be out of here soon."

Nodding, Dee carefully climbed down the uncovered hole in the floor. He followed behind her, replacing the grate over his head as he went. At the bottom of the ladder he splashed into the shallow water of the storm drain that ran under the asylum. Once more taking her hand, he pulled Dee along behind him, following the schematics he had memorized. The alarm faded as they plunged into the darkness, saying nothing to one another.

The route was wet and Dee was not happy with the cold water soaking her feet. The quick pace kept her warm, however, and she knew she would soon be able to dry herself off and be comfortable again. Water trickled and filled the cement and brick tube with a strange echoing sound. A gentle downward slope helped her keep up with Edward's long strides. After what seemed an eternity, she saw pale moonlight growing brighter.

"Ok, Kitten. It's your turn. This latch is easier to open from out there. You can get through without opening it. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Eddie," she said, fatigue already heavy in her voice. Her stomach growled.

"I'll get you the biggest breakfast you want when we're out of here. Be quick now!"

Shifting into a small cat, she managed to hold the form long enough to squeeze through the little gate. The latch Eddie had pointed out was rusty and she had to use both hands to open the bolt. The squeak of the gate opening sounded loud in the quiet of the night. Dee stared up at the black shadow of Arkham. Lights began flickering on all over the exterior of the building.

"Dee! We don't have time to look! Let's go!"

She took his hand, wanting nothing more than to sleep. Matthiessen had denied her any food after lunch and with the unexpected escape, she was quickly using any energy reserve she had. Trying as hard as she could, she ran with him, holding tightly to his hand.

This is not good! She's slowing me down. I should've been a mile away from here ten minutes ago! He said to himself as he pushed onward. I can't leave her behind though. Not even to come back for her. She obviously needs food and needs it badly. Even as he hurried, he found himself singing in his head, If you want her, you should tell her. Take her by the hand. But he couldn't tell her just now. She wasn't coherent enough. So get a hold of the girl. He tightened his grip on her hand, feeling her start to lag.

Pushing on through the wooded area, they crossed under a bridge and at last came to the city. Knowing they couldn't just flag down a taxi, Edward broke into a nearby car and hot-wired it. Dee was curled up on the seat and almost asleep before he hit the main roads. Traffic was light and they had no problems in getting to the warehouse hideout.

"Let's get you to the kitchen and get you something to eat before bed. Would you like that?"

No longer having the energy to speak, Dee nodded as he half carried her into the hideout. Benny and Trigger were nowhere to be seen, and he got no answer when he called out for them. It suited him just fine as he settled Dee into a seat and found a bottle of juice. She drank that as he made both of them a sandwich with bread he found in the freezer. As he lathered the now toasted slices with peanut butter and jelly, he kicked his wet shoes off, listening to the police scanner.

"Eat," he said placing the sandwich in front of her.

It was increasingly hard for her to stay awake. Even as she ate the sandwich, she started to doze. Before he was finished with his food, she thanked him, weakly hugging his head before stumbling out of the kitchen and down the hall. He kept one ear out for her even as he adjusted the frequency on the scanner. Eddie smiled when word came through that no trace of Dee or him could be found. Popping the last of his food into his mouth, he chuckled and headed for his room.

Curiously he found Dee's asylum grays in his bathroom. Shrugging out of his own, he simply figured she had used his bathroom in her incoherent state, rather than remembering her own. Once cleaned up and in a pair of clean boxers, he went to bed. He was delightfully shocked to find Dee sound asleep, snuggling one of his pillows.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed. And she's still here," he quoted.

Dee mumbled and sighed when he touched her cheek. Not wanting to wake her, he crawled under the covers. Carefully he took his pillow back, only to have her cling onto him and nuzzle into his neck. Edward almost panicked, uncertain what to do next. Part of him wanted to flee the room for the reaction from his body. Part of him wanted to stay and see if there couldn't be more of the same reaction. Yet another part of him reminded the other two that she was asleep and he shouldn't worry or encourage her. Settling down, Eddie took a couple of deep breaths.

"Eddie?" she mumbled suddenly.

He cringed, waiting for her to yell at him. "Yes?"

"You are here," was all she said before leaning over and slowly kissing him.

Edward's eyes went wide when she kissed him again, pressing her breasts against him. She wore one of his silk dress shirts and from the feel under his hands, nothing else. Dee pulled back and kissed his neck once, twice...

She laid still, her warm breath tickling his neck. A sleepy sigh escaped her lips and her left hand held his right bicep, while her right hand slid across and rested on the left side of his belly. Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, muttering curses to himself. If Dee had been awake during that, he would be surprised. Nevertheless, it showed she was thinking about him. Sighing at the unfairness of it all, he patted her arm and went to sleep.
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