„Aw, crap", I hear Jackson mutter under his breath as we approach the customs area at the airport. Even though I don't get the opportunity to ask what's wrong, I still find my answer immediately. No less than three young girls, each by herself and from different directions, steer towards Jackson, each of them wearing the same huge smile and hopeful eyes.

"Jackson!"

"Sweetie!"

"Hey they big fella!"

Three different greetings are shouted towards Jackson, and then a very awkward silence ensues as the three girls become aware of each other. A short blonde suspiciously eyes a taller blonde:

"Who are you?", the short one gives the tall one a very nasty look.

"Who are you?!", the tall one sassily raises her eyebrow at her shorter rival.

"I'm Jackson's girlfriend, if you didn't know by now..bitch.", the short one is ready for a fight.

"Who are you calling bitch, you slut? And by the way, Jackson is my boyfriend, so you better scram! Isn't that so, Jackie?"", the taller one shoots daggers at the short one and in the same time, very hopeful looks at my remarkably calm son.

In the meantime, the third one, a very cute redhead, remains a few steps out of the way, obviously amused by the entire show and keeps on throwing dirty little smiles and the occasional wink at Jackson.

"Really, Jackson? Three girlfriends?", I roll my eyes at him, "Go clear that mess up, and quickly. Our plane takes off in half an hour."

He just shrugs his shoulders and rolls his eyes back at me, but doesn't find it necessary to give me any explanation. However, I can see a slight smirk on his handsome face as he leaves to greet and hopefully calm down the girls.

I take a seat on a bench nearby and watch his tall figure approach the girls. Each of them talks to him, or better said, at him, in the same time, and he somehow manages to calm the two blondes down and in the same time, wink back at the third one. I never really saw my son interact with girls before – I knew he had female friends and that he had no problem getting a date. I thought it was because of his looks: Jackson is tall, athletic, with a head full of wild brown curls that reach his shoulders. His face is basically the same as his fathers. He's sixteen now, and I met and fell in love with his father when he was sixteen. He's almost the spitting image of his dad – save the scars, of course.

Anyway, I always thought that his good looks were enough to attract girls, but now I observe that Jackson has incredible charm. He twists the girls around his little finger, and soon enough, he's able to shush the two blondes away, giving each of them a chaste kiss on the cheek (and I realize that the little shitter is saving them for later). As soon as they're out of sight, he pulls the third girl towards him and kisses her unapologetically. I avert my eyes in embarrassment, especially as images of his father doing that very same thing to me come to my mind. God, do I miss him. But hopefully, I'll find him soon, and we'll make up for the last 16 years that were robbed from us.

As we settle down for a very long flight from Zagreb via Frankfurt to Gotham, I feel uneasiness creeping up inside of me. What I am basically doing here is leaving my job without even giving a notice, leaving my apartment completely unattended, taking my kid to another continent, in the middle of school year no less, and all with the intent of finding a now very notorious criminal, and then staying illegally in the US with said criminal, in hopes to - what? Continue where we left 16 years ago? All because of one photo containing a vague call for me? Oh, and not to mention the fact that I have a kid – his kid - that he has no idea about in tow. And, to make things more complicated, I haven't got a clue how to find him. Just a few days ago I wasn't even sure he was alive!

"Mom", Jackson's deep voice brings me back to reality.

"What is it, my little potato?", I still use the term of endearment sometimes. When I delivered him, after 10 hours of unbelievable pain and effort, and they put him in my arms, he was so red and wizened, and his head was somehow uneven, so he reminded me of a potato. In the same time, he surely was the most wonderful and beautiful human being I have ever seen, and I cried happy tears over the little bundle of joy that I was given.

"He actually invited only you.", he says matter-of-factly. That's Jackson to you in private: he doesn't waste words, he doesn't make big preludes, he just comes right to the point. One would think that makes him cold or uncaring, but that's far from the truth. The mere fact that he uttered that one simple sentence tells me he's concerned about what we're doing and he's worried about his father's reaction to him.

"You know that he doesn't know about you", I, Captain Obvious, reply. Jackson stays silent at that and I know that my answer was unhelpful, so I continue, albeit with a somewhat heavy heart, "Listen, Jackson. First of all, we're in unchartered territory here. I know your father as a 16-year-old. He's 33 now. Surely, he's changed. So, it would be a lie if I told you that I'm sure that he'll be delighted to find out about you. Truth is, I don't know. I hope and I believe he will accept you."

I sigh a bit before I continue, and in order to put an emphasis on what I'm about to say, I take his hand in mine.

"You're my son and I love you more than anything and anyone. So, if I see that he does not accept you, or if you can't accept him, we're gone. We're just gonna turn around and go home. Don't ever doubt that: you're first."

"That's ok, mom.", he seems glad and a bit embarrassed in the same time. I see that I have said the right thing. When you have a kid who is so sparing on words, you tend to forget that some things still have to be said aloud.

"I have a few more things to say", I sigh again. I'm leaving my comfort zone here. Namely, I have always tried to paint a bit nicer picture of Jack to his son. But, if things turn out as I hope they will, meaning that I will be able to find Jack, this means that Jackson will meet the unedited, raw and very real version of his dad. And the truth is that even I don't know who Jack now is. The Joker persona he uses surely is more than terrifying, so I can't really hope that he'll turn into a puddle as soon as he sees me and junior.

"When we come to Gotham, you'll stay in our hotel for a while. I mean, I'll give you money so you can go and see the city, but I don't want you to search for dad with me.", I say and hope my voice bears enough authority.

"It's not a good idea for you to wander around alone in such a city, mom", Jackson frowns a bit.

"If I was able to handle that city when I was 16, I sure as hell can handle it now with my 32 years", I smile at him, "And don't forget, the toughest and scariest man there used to basically serenade me..and there was that time when I smashed his car…and then I threw a knife at him once.."

"Geez, mom, TMI", Jackson rolls his eyes at my creepy memories.

And one other thing", I say after a while. This is not easy to say for me, but I have to be fair towards my son. It's high time he knows the truth, "I want to test waters with your father regarding you. Obviously, he's changed..and not for the better. I want to make sure if he's…reliable. Before I expose you to him,"

"Expose me? Is he radioactive or what?", Jackson snorts a short laugh.

"Aw, potato head. You'll understand when you meet him. Your dad is really something different.", I shake my head as I wonder about the person my life is unbreakably linked with, "He's strong. He's tough. He's fearless and cruel. He calls himself the Joker now, but from what I remember, there was nothing funny about him."

"I can stand my ground", Jackson is already in defensive mode. He has no bond with his father, and what I have just described sound like a person who he will have to fight.

"I know you can. And I count on that.", I nod, because I feel there probably will be a huge clash between the two of them. They're too much alike, and they won't miss the opportunity for a proper pissing contest. On the other hand, I feel the need to ask him one thing once again, "You want this, right? You want to know who your father is? I don't want to push you…especially because your dad is a bit.."

"Yeah, I know, I know. You warned me a thousand times already. Dad is weird. I googled him. Dad is a freaking psycho, mom, you know that? He's really nuts. But I want to meet him. If I didn't I wouldn't be on this plane.", Jackson rolls his eyes and then turns a bit after that, searching for a comfortable position for a nap, but the combination of his long limbs and the crammed seats offers no comfort whatsoever. He gives up after a few minutes, and turns back to me.

"So why did you hook up with him if he's so cruel and weird and shit?", he asks me.

"Oh. Well. First of all, I was very young and very stupid. And he was this tall, mysterious, scary but attractive guy..", I blush a bit, "I was a teenager, I was pushing the boundaries. And then, when we actually started dating, I must say that to me, he was mostly tender…ok, he was an asshole for a few times, but I wasn't much better, you know? Anyway, we clicked somehow, we really did. We loved eachother."

"Hm. And you think he still loves you?", Jackson curiously asks.

"Bah, I don't know.", a feeling of dread washes over me, "But he does feel something for me, he wouldn't want me back if he didn't."

"You think he was loyal to you this whole time?"

Whoa, this kid sure knows to ask hard questions.

"I highly doubt that.", I honestly say, "At least, if you're asking about sex. Surely he had some fun during the last 16 years. That doesn't mean he doesn't keep a special place for me in his heart. Or maybe that's just my definition of loyalty. I had my share of fun, but still, I didn't make you call another guy 'dad', right?"

"Guess so", Jackson nods, and finally his questioning session is over.

The rest of the flight we spend sleeping, eating crappy airplane food and watching movies. We both chose to watch "Dude, where's my car" in the same time and we have a blast giggling at the stupid comedy. This helps me relax a bit and forget all the fears that I carry inside. Still, I am very aware that I'm taking the person most precious to me-my beautiful, intelligent son-to meet someone who possibly is dangerous for him. I sigh yet again, reminding myself that it would be awfully unfair to Jack to live his life without even knowing he has a kid. He is his father, after all. And Jackson, too, has the right to get to know his old man, and not to depend on my old stories and memories.

The pilot announces that we're about to descend soon. The lights of Gotham are already visible in the distance.

"How on earth will you find him here?", Jackson asks me as he's looking out of the small plane window, "This city is huge."

"I have an idea", I smile lightly, "He knew how to call for me, and I know how to call for him. He will find me."

A/N:

OK, guys, here we go. Sonja and Jack get another round, and now they have Jackson. I don't plan for this story to be as long as 'I hate you, too', but then, I didn't plan for 'I hate you, too' to be longer than 10 chapters max...so, as always, let's just see what happens.

Btw next chapter we have the reunion...! It's up next week, and until then, let me know how you like this chapter. I tried to introduce Jackson a bit more, but he's still in rough shapes and has yet to develop into a character of his own.