An Unhealthy Obsession

CH 12: Fighting with Fire

"Wow, Ben and Jerry's for breakfast?"

Rachel smiled weakly. "Yeah, it's my comfort food...I know most don't tend to eat their meals in the middle of a hospital hallway, but I didn't really want Harvey to see me binging like a cow."

Bruce laughed, his gaze warming as he had a seat alongside her on the bench. "Speaking of that nutball, have you talked to him yet? Ever since he woke up, he's been bellyaching about how much he wants to see you."

Rachel smiled, but her eyes reflected a certain sadness. "Yes" she admitted, "but he was very weak...Miranda and I didn't want to bother him for too long, so we only visited with him for about fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, when I was with him, the nurses practically flogged me since I was in the way" Bruce confessed. "It was the weirdest thing, too, because I told Harvey he needed to wake up so he could protect you, and then...he opened his eyes."

Practically choking on her ice cream, Rachel placed the spoon back into the cup as a burning sensation began to fill her chest. Harvey...her dear, sweet Harvey. How could she possibly have forsaken him when he meant the world to her?

Noting the emotions warring across her features, Bruce raised his eyebrows in concern and gently touched her hand. "Hey, you ok?" he asked.

When Rachel nodded, she finally managed to get back in control of her faculties, her eyes lowering as she mumbled, "I'd better go...please feel free to call me if anything changes."

Before Bruce could even argue, Rachel was already a good ten feet down the hallway, his gaze narrowing as he wondered what he could've possibly said to make her so distraught.

--

Leaning against her car in the hospital parking lot, Miranda popped a stick of gum into her mouth and listened to the sound of distant traffic. Closing her violet eyes, she smiled as the wind whipped through her hair and brought her back to memories of being at the beach...memories of being with her sweet brother, Harvey.

Suddenly frowning, Miranda opened her eyes and hugged herself tightly for support. Although she generally had an infectiously chipper disposition, she found that she was over-compensating for the vast hole in her heart. At age thirty-five she didn't have a husband, she didn't have a home filled with squalling brats, and she didn't have the warm and loving life she'd always dreamed of. Harvey's near-death experience had forced her to realize just how precious every second really was, so from that moment onward she had decided to live life to the fullest, and, most importantly, to truly get to know her brother. Although very close in age, she and Harvey had rarely spent any time together as children. Amidst the beauty pageants her mother had forced her into as a little girl, she'd never had a true moment of bonding with her beloved sibling. She adored him, yes, but oh how she wished they had been friends growing up!

Feeling tears forming along her lashes, Miranda stubbornly wiped them away and turned toward her car in order to get inside. Just as she opened the door, she felt the cold sensation of a knife pressing dangerously against her windpipe.

"Hellooo, Mir-an-duh Dent" a chilling voice purred into her ear. "You know if Harvey's ready to be released yet? Hm?"

Trembling, the blonde slowly shook her head 'no', a sharp cry escaping her throat when the stranger whirled her around and pinned her roughly against the side of her car. To her complete and utter horror, Miranda found herself gazing back into two dark pools of apathy. They were dull, yet enticingly predatory, their irises honing in on her every movement as she squirmed amidst his grasp. "I-it's you" she finally managed to choke out.

"Me?" The Joker laughed. "Well I don't know who this 'you' is that you speak of, but he must be one heck of a handsome devil." When Miranda burst into tears, he gave a mocking pout while cooing, "Aww, shh-shh, don't cry, Miss Dent...all I need to know is what room they moved your brother into so I can pay him a nice little visit."

"And...you won't hurt him?"

The Joker gave a whoop of a laugh. "Well no, why would I? I happen to need your brother for my plans very much, Miss Dent, and if I don't have your help, something bad might happen..." Pressing the blade harder against the soft column of her throat, he growled, "Something very bad."

Swallowing, Miranda opted not to move as she marveled over how much terror this single man could evoke. With a slight tremor in her voice, she closed her eyes and whispered, "H-he was in the ICU, but they moved him earlier this morning... He's now in room 206 with Dr. Falloway."

The Joker grinned. "There now, was that so bad? I'll betcha feel so much better now that you've gotten that icky truth off your chest. Lying's overrated, anyway."

'Especially when there's a knife pressed against your throat' Miranda mentally added.

Before she could even think to ask what would become of her, the Joker pinched her carotid artery and left her lying unconscious in the parking lot.

--

"And what are you doing at work? I thought you were given the day off because of Harvey."

Looking up from her paperwork with a smile, Rachel shook her head while asking, "Well what about you, Ramirez? Did Commissioner Gordon send you over here to poke into my business, or is this actually a social call?"

The policewoman gave her a smile, but it was noticeably crooked. "Actually, I was hoping to take you out for a nice relaxing shopping trip...with your permission, of course."

Remembering her disastrous outing from earlier that morning, Rachel shook her head in utter disbelief. "You're kidding, right? In all honesty, I think I've had enough shopping trips to last me a lifetime."

"That bad, huh?" When Rachel sullenly nodded, Ramirez laughed before suggesting, "Then why don't we go out for some pizza? If a slice of Pepicelli's won't perk you up, I don't know what will."

"Ugh, that sounds so good right about now" Rachel confessed. Gripping at her growling stomach, she hopped up from her desk and agreed, "Alright, you've convinced me, but you're buying since this will go straight to my ass."

Ramirez laughed. "Oh, knock it off, will ya? I'm sure Harvey will enjoy it...more cushion for the pushin', right?"

Blushing, Rachel followed the policewoman out of the DA department and down the stairs to Ramirez's car, Rachel's lips curling upward into a smile as she asked, "Hey, do you think I could ride in the backseat? I've always wondered what it'd be like to be arrested..."

Ramirez smirked. "Oh, well of course, Miss Dawes...I'd hate to cheat you out of such a thrilling experience."

As Rachel opened the car door and moved to give a smart-assed retort, she was stopped cold the moment something hard smacked her over the head and rendered her completely unconscious.

--

With a groan, Rachel slowly opened her eyes and discovered a room as dark and dingy as her current thoughts. Tempted to rub at the sore spot on the back of her scalp, the attorney decided to act upon her sudden urge with her hands, only to then discover that she was bound securely to a chair.

Panicking, Rachel frantically glanced around her and discovered that she was surrounded by large, plastic barrels interconnected with rope.

'Ok, stay calm' she inwardly urged herself. 'After all, it's not like you haven't been in a hostage situation before...'

With this thought acting as her sole comfort, Rachel began thrashing about with the hopes of setting herself free, but all for naught. The ropes were all expertly tied and wouldn't be giving way anytime soon.

As she continued to struggle amidst her bindings, Rachel suddenly noticed a small transistor radio sitting atop one of the barrels. With a jolt of hope, she lurched forward before screaming, "Hello? Hello, can anybody hear me!? I'm trapped and I need help!"

A cold, merciless giggle crackled over the speaker in response, Rachel's heart practically stopping the moment the Joker greeted, "Well hello, hello, Miss Dawes, so good of you to finally wake up. Although I can't see you from here, I'm sure you look just de-lightful in those rope bindings...too bad we didn't use those last night, eh?"

Tugging at the restraints amidst her fury, Rachel hopped about in her chair before shouting, "You son of a bitch! If you wanted to play Dr. Kinky, you could've just asked instead of kidnapping me!"

Cackling, the Joker gave an amused sigh before assuring her, "Yes, yes, I could have, but what would be the fun in that?" He audibly licked his lips while sustaining, "Now I know we haven't completed our game yet, so I figured that this time around we could let a few friends in on the action."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, it's simple, really... I give the Bat two locations, then he has to choose whether you or Dent pulls through as the survivor." With a giggle, he cruelly added, "Now don't get all excited, Miss Dawes, because I purposely switched your locations. That love-smitten bat would've chosen you over Harvey any day, and I can't have that happening because of certain...developments."

Feeling a surge of panic swell from deep within her breast, Rachel's heartrate quickened as she moaned, "Oh God, but what if he chooses Harvey? You sick bastard, what if he comes in and finds me!?"

The Joker giggled hysterically. "Sshh-shh, Miss Dawes, there's no need to get your panties in a twist, although I must admit that the mental imagery is most pleasing to me." A loud crackle was heard before he sustained, "If you live -- which you won't -- I suppose it'll just mean that we're meant to do this forever, but since I know that will never happen, let me just take the time to say that I'm actually gonna mourn ya, kid. For such a stone cold bitch, you amused the socks off me...no easy task for such a stuffed shirt."

Rachel burst into tears. "Well if you're going to miss me, why the hell do you want to kill me!?"

"Well, since you're gonna die anyway, I might as well tell you: I have no heart, remember?" he irritably reminded her. "If it were to somehow get out that I let a puny, pathetic little woman manipulate me and my methods of playing the game, I couldn't keep my men lying in fear of me." He licked his lips before giving a little giggle. "Just consider this all apart of the plan, Miss Dawes...a little helping push towards chaos."

Breathing heavily, Rachel moved to respond just when the radio clicked and left ten minutes on the timer. With each unbearable tick of the clock, she could literally feel her life slipping away like a balloon drifting out of reach. Oh, God, the Joker was right...she was actually going to die!

Rocking about frantically in her chair due to this notion, Rachel felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks once she realized that she still had so much to live for...that she still hadn't married Harvey, started a family, and watched her children grow up and have children of their own. Her bottom lip quivering, Rachel felt the tears blur her vision as she realized she'd wasted four minutes of her life feeling sorry for herself. But then, what could she do? She was powerless to save herself from harm!

In accordance with these pitiful thoughts, a brief crackle sounded over the radio before a familiar voice called, "H-hello? Hey, can anybody hear me out there!?"

With a gasp, Rachel immediately jolted to attention in her chair, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed, "Oh, Harvey! Thank God you're alive! I was so worried he'd hurt you..."

There was another crackle, then a soft, "Yeah, I'm ok, but what about you? That maniac has me tied up to some chair in an abandoned warehouse, but I can't make heads or tails of what's inside these barrels. Somehow I doubt it's candy..."

Rachel sorrowfully bowed her head upon hearing this. "Yes, I'm tied up, too" she confessed. "The Joker told me only one of us would make it out alive, Harvey, so I need you to listen to me, alright?"

"Rachel, no..."

"Yes, Harvey, I need to tell you something" she insisted. "For the past few days I've been a liar and a fraud, and I...I need to clear my conscience before I go."

There was a long string of silence before Harvey painfully pleaded, "Rachel, please don't talk like that...you're going to be the one to make it out of here and you know it!"

"No, I don't know that!" she shouted. "I love you more than anything in the world, Harvey, and because of that I need to tell you what I've done. From here on out, I don't want there to be any more secrets between us."

"Rachel, please" Harvey begged, "please don't tell me your secret...I couldn't bear it if we were to part on bad terms. I just want to keep loving you, even if it means loving a lie."

Rachel choked on a sob, her head shaking back and forth as she whispered, "Oh God, Harvey, I am so sorry...if I could re-live this life over again, I would've married you right from the start just so we wouldn't have gone through all this pain."

"You really mean that?"

"Yes" she whispered tearfully, "I do."

"Then let's do it now" Harvey suddenly spoke up. "If we just say the words, we'll always know in our hearts that we were able to marry. I've had to see so many damn weddings over the years that I pretty much know the whole ceremony by heart, so it's all worth it, right?"

Rachel gave a tearful laugh. "Well fortunately for you, it's every little girl's dream to be a blushing bride, so I happen to know the words by heart, too." Quivering, the attorney closed her eyes as her heart began to palpitate painfully within her breast, her gaze drifting skyward as she once again wondered how she could've possibly forsaken such a wonderful man. With a deep bow of the head, Rachel choked on her emotions before chanting, "I-I Rachel, take thee Harvey to be my lawfully wedded husband." As Harvey recited the same mantra (but in the opposite order), she softly sustained, "In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, in pain and adversity, until...u-until..." Suddenly unable to finish, Rachel shivered as Harvey gently finished, "...Til death do us part."

Still quivering, Rachel whispered a hushed "Amen", her eyes closing as she prevented herself from looking at the dreaded timer.

Although she was content to sit in amiable silence for the remainder of their time together, Rachel's affectionate thoughts for Harvey were soon disturbed when she heard him scream, "No, not me, you bastard, get her! You should be rescuing her!"

Squeezing her eyes tightly closed, Rachel forced a smile to her lips as she gently reassured him, "Harvey, it's ok, honey...Gotham needs it to be this way because they need you." Trying her best to block out his agonized shouts, she bit her lip while assuring him, "It'll be ok, Harvey, I promise. When it's all over and done with, we'll meet one another again...somewh-"

With a gasp, Rachel felt her body jolt violently forward as an explosion erupted in a blast of crimson-tinged fire. The flames that licked at her flesh were so hot that they felt cold, an agonized scream escaping her throat the moment she curled into herself and entered the frightening world of darkness.

A/N - Just so you know, this is NOT OVER YET!! Granted, there's only one more chapter left, but...heh. And yeeeah, sorry about the cornball fluff, but I thought it'd be kinda cute if Harvey and Rachel recited wedding vows, cuz I am THAT much of a romantic at heart. :-P And hey, I know those words by heart, so I figured that there had to be SOME nerd out there who also knows them, so why not Harvachel? lol Also, I KNOW it seems like this is the end and that I couldn't possibly make a Jokachel sequel, but trust me...I SO can. ;) And no, I am NOT doing that wacko theory that Rachel's coming back as Catwoman, hahaha.