An Unhealthy Attachment

A/N - Whew, I FINALLY finished this stupid chapter! And let me tell you, it was veeery difficult because of all the flippin' ANGST! lol Please read my final author's note since I've got a few bits of news for ya. :)

CH 13: Alive

When the doorbell chimed hollowly at the front of the manor, Alfred found himself rather unnerved since he had far more important things to attend to than guests. The foyer needed swept, the invitations for Master Wayne's dinner party needed to be written, and he still hadn't polished the silver from the Duke of York that had been given last winter.

Despite it being well after midnight, Alfred couldn't sleep since he feared Master Wayne would be needing his assistance again. Not long after Rachel's "mysterious" escape, Bruce had taken ill with a high fever, so Alfred had firmly insisted that there would be no masquerading in bat suits that night. Bruce had naturally put up a rousing fight, but once he realized how sick and woozy he truly was, he'd allowed Alfred to send him up to his room to get some sleep.

Re-adjusting his tie, Alfred put on his best 'welcome-but-I-don't-really-want-to-see-you' face before opening the double doors, his pale blue eyes alighting in concern once he saw the figure in the doorway.

"Miss Dawes?" he choked out.

"Alfred" she weakly returned, her knees giving out as she fell into his awaiting arms.

Shifting the poor girl so that he could carry her, Alfredy rushed with her toward the stairs before demanding, "My God, what's happened to you, child? There's blood all over the place!"

"He happened" she returned softly, her features almost appearing lifeless as she pitifully clung to her savior. "I wanted to help him, Alfred, but he ran away from me... He ran away from us."

Astonished by this confession, Alfred grunted as he scaled the massive staircase two at a time. "Then you've managed to stir something within that maniac's black soul?"

"It's very doubtful, but a girl can only hope" Rachel mumbled. "I just want him to trust me enough to let me inside his shell...is that so much to ask?"

Choosing not to answer her query, Alfred carried the former attorney into his bedroom (Lord knows he wouldn't be getting any sleep, anyway) and sat her down at the foot of the bed. Now lifting her injured wrist so he could closely examine it, he removed the blood-stained gauze and winced at Rachel's crude stitch job. "No, no, this won't do at all" he decided, his brows furrowing as he got up in search of his first aid kit. He kept it on the dresser since Master Wayne was so frequently getting hurt, so he hurriedly snatched the medium-sized box and brought it over to Rachel's trembling form.

"You're shaking" Alfred observed, his tone colored with concern.

"I'm afraid" she confessed, her eyes shining like sea glass as she held out her arm. "I'm afraid for him...he seemed so furious when he left."

Taking her offered appendage, Alfred screwed his lips when it suddenly dawned on him that Rachel never called the Joker by name. Perhaps it pained her to associate him with his horrid pseudonym?

Wiping Rachel's wound with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball, he gently shushed his patient when she gave a pained cry.

Biting back tears at the excruciating burn, Rachel shuddered when she spotted the glint of a needle within the dull lighting from overhead.

Noting her fearful expression, Alfred sympathetically squeezed her hand before assuring her, "Don't worry, love, it won't be so bad...I'm just going to re-stitch certain areas since your prior job was amateurish at best."

Rachel managed a lopsided smirk despite her fatigue. "Well wow, I never thought you could be such a jerk..."

"I get it from Master Wayne" Alfred returned, the two laughing as he threaded the needle and prepared to insert it through her flesh.

--

'Why would I believe them over you, the man who saved my life?'

Fingers clenching about the steering wheel to one of his goons' old Honda, the Joker glowered at the glistening streets as the windshield wipers slid the rain back and forth in a continuous dance.

'You're the last man I'd fall for, Joker...I fight against everything you stand for!'

With his knife scratching against the surface of his pin-striped pants, the Joker's lips curled into a snarl as he imagined taking said knife and thrusting it through Rachel's chest. It wouldn't slide in like butter or silk, either -- no, it would crunch through flesh, muscle and bone, then cause blood to spill from her delicious lips into his eagerly awaiting mouth. God, he could actually taste it, the imaginary plasma welling within his mouth like liquid copper.

Rachel, he decided, needed to go. He was sick and tired of dealing with her womanly emotions, her constant battle with right versus wrong, and the way she always thought she could fix him. The very notion brought a dark smile to his face, for if Rachel actually thought that she could turn his life around, it proved that it was she who was the crazy one.

Pressing his foot down on the accelerator, the Joker clicked his tongue as he realized that Rachel needed to be disposed of that very night. He couldn't take her presence a moment longer, nor could he deal with the frightening sensations that were beginning to awaken within his breast.

Biting down on his lip so he could relish in the taste of his own blood, the Joker grinned a bloody grin before bursting into a hysterical fit of giggles, for he knew that that very evening would be the end to his madness. With a plan of how to lure Rachel fermenting within his mind, he took a sharp turn and disappeared into the shadows of the night.

--

Staring dully up at the TV screen to his hospital room, Harvey sank back in his pillow and scowled at the images flashing before him. More death, mayhem, and heartache for Gotham that day...what a surprise.

'It's my fault' Harvey realized, his good eye closing in defeat as he angrily clenched his fist. 'My selfishness caused the scum of this city to win, and now...now it's too late.'

In accordance with these thoughts, an eerily familiar laugh crackled from the TV that caused Harvey to look up with a start. The garishly made-up face of the Joker grinned back at him, the clown prince giving yet another guffaw as he giddily began, "Gooood evening, la-dies and gen-tle-germs! It's me, your neighborhood comedian, ready to give you yet a-noth-er laugh riot." Lips pursing as if in thought, he put on a high-pitched, child-like voice before eagerly asking, "Mrs. Quinzel, can Harrrrley come out and play today? I've been really, uh...lonesome with this lit-tle detonator here, and I just thought I'd be a good friend and let you join in on the fun. Oh! But here's the kicker..." Looking from left to right as if protecting a secret, the Joker cupped his mouth before whispering toward the camera, "If you don't come and play, I'll just try out my new toy without you...on that love-uh-ly hospital for terminally ill children. If anyone comes to Shale Avenue besides Harley, and I mean anyone, those lit-tle kiddies won't be singing nursery rhymes much longer." Giving a whoop of a laugh at his sick joke, the Joker giddily jumped up and down before asking, "So whaddaya say, toots? Ready for one last date? If you stand me up, I promise that, uh...you will be the one crying."

As the picture faded out to snowy static, Harvey beat his mattress with his clenched fist. Suddenly remembering his earlier thoughts, he realized, 'No...maybe it's not too late. Maybe I can redeem myself to this city by destroying that madman...'

With this notion driving as his main incentive, Harvey threw back his sheets and went in search of his necessary supplies.

--

Turning the TV off with a shudder, Rachel instantly regretted her decision to tune into the news before bed. Alfred had been kind enough to give her his room, but now that he was nowhere to be found, she felt that she needed his guidance more than ever. It was more than likely a trap of some sort, but Rachel knew that she would never forgive herself if anything happened to those children.

Touching her hip to make sure that her gun was still in place, Rachel gathered up her things before sneaking out into the darkness.

--

Walking down the cold, glittering pavement of Shale Avenue with his large, heavy boots, Harvey placed a clip inside his Glock and smiled grimly at the thought of finally ending his nightmare. A nurse had been kind enough to send for his things, and in return she'd surprisingly only asked that her favorite DA return as soon as possible. Harvey knew he couldn't let people like Nurse Fleming and the rest of Gotham down, but more importantly, he was going to meet the Joker to avenge Miranda...to avenge Rachel.

The moon hung eerily overhead and illuminated Harvey's path as he walked, his grip tightening about his revolver when he spotted a lone figure looming ahead in the distance.

As the purple-clad phantasm turned around, his lips twisted into a freakish grin that almost seemed to make his eyes turn feral beneath the moonlight.

"Harrrvey Dent-uh" the Joker greeted, a giggle escaping his lips as he turned about with an absurdly childish skip. "My, my, my, what happened to your face, hmm? Get in a fight with a cheese grater?"

Abruptly aiming his Glock with the hopes of silencing the Joker's words, Harvey narrowed his eyes while snarling, "I'm here on account of ending your tyranny, Joker, so either we do things my way or the hard way."

"Well, I never was one to go for the easy way out" the Joker admitted with a mocking grin. "If everyone did that, things would be just so...boring."

Harvey scowled. "And is that why you killed my sister? Why you killed Rachel? Because any other way would've just been too goddamned boring!?" Firing a warning shot at the Joker's foot, the DA felt his muscles tense when the clown gave an eager whoop.

"Mmm, c'mon, c'mon, I wantcha ta do it, I wantcha ta do it! Use that de-lic-ious anger of yours and fire away!" the Joker taunted, his laughter ringing shrilly within the night air as he began hopping back and forth.

"Don't tempt me" Harvey warned, his hand beginning to shake along with the fury building within his breast. As his distrusting gaze followed the Joker's erratic movements, he clicked back the hammer to his Glock and aimed straight at the Joker's heart.

Tickled by the sudden turn of events, the clown prince motioned toward Harvey's pocket before asking, "You, uh...have that lit-tle coin in there, Harvey-cakes? I've got a scheduled meeting with my partner, puh-ret-ty soon, so I'd kinda like to get this show on the road."

"What are you proposing?" Harvey asked, his voice colored with interest.

The Joker rolled his eyes, yet he secretly wasn't bothered by the chance to further antagonize the DA. Licking his lips, the clown prince began to shift from one foot to the other as if deep in thought, a grin stretching his mouth as he purred, "You, uh, re-mem-ber your lit-tle obsession with chance, hmm?" Without granting Harvey the chance to speak, the Joker withdrew his own pistol before clicking back on the hammer. The metallic noise caused the DA to jump, which in turn made the Joker giggle as he slapped his thigh in excitement. "Re-lax, Harvey-boy! I don't buh-lieve in cheating, es-pec-ial-ly if we're going to be honorable and abide by your rules of chance-uh."

Slowly searching his pocket for his lucky coin, Harvey frowned before demanding, "And what exactly are the terms? Heads I shoot, tails you shoot?"

The Joker rolled his eyes. "Oh, Harvey, Harvey, Harvey, that is so buh-or-ing. I figured that we could, uh, have a lit-tle game of chance that's like a borderline duel."

"A duel?"

"Yeah, ya deaf?" Sniggering at the look on Harvey's face, the Joker giddily sustained, "If it's head, we just start shooting blindly and do whatever the hell we want -- hiding being per-fect-ly acceptable, of course -- but if it's tails, we do the good ol'-fashioned ten paces crap. Sound faaaair?"

Although Harvey's features clearly still reflected caution, he nodded before unearthing his coin and holding it up for the Joker to see. "Alright" he agreed, "let's get this over with so justice can finally be served."

"Mmm, now that's more like it" the Joker purred, his eyes swimming with eager anticipation as the DA took a deep breath, bowed his head, and flipped the coin. It whistled through the air until Harvey smacked it against his forearm, a grim smile upon his lips as he coolly announced, "Tails...a duel, it is."

"Mm, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy" the Joker enthusiastically returned, his lips twisting into a blood-thirsty sneer as he approached Harvey with light, airy steps. "I, uh...as-sume you know how to duuuel?"

"The whole pistols at dawn thing? Yeah, I've seen a movie or two" Harvey dryly remarked, his own steps heavy and determined as he met his adversary halfway.

Grinning, the Joker turned so that his back was now facing Harvey's, his voice disturbingly animated as he agreed, "Ah, well that just makes things all the easier, hmm? Heck, I'll even letcha count!"

"You're so generous" Harvey snarled, his adrenaline pumping due to being so close to the man he wished to kill. Taking a deep and cleansing breath, the DA heard the Joker crack his neck as he, in turn loosened up, his voice eerily calm as he announced, "Ten paces...don't turn around until I tell you to do so."

"Right-e-o, Harvey-kins" the Joker mockingly acknowledged, an irritating tune whistling past his lips as he twirled his pistol.

Ignoring the urge to shoot him right then and there, Harvey kept his gaze directly before him as he took a shaky step forward. "One...two...three...four..."

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon" the Joker impatiently interrupted, "I've got a, uh...date, re-mem-berrr? I don't want Harley and her hormones to arrive before we finish!"

"Fine, but you're the one slowing us down!" Harvey peevishly interjected, his limbs shaking with electric fury as he lividly sustained, "Five...six...seven...eight..."

As the countdown continued, Rachel finally found herself at the cross-section for Shale Avenue, her eyes blinking in surprise once she spotted two dark figures looming ahead in the distance. Both had their pistol of choice in hand, the steady, even voice of Gotham's white knight ringing clear as a bell toward Rachel's awaiting ears.

She suddenly gasped, for she was now very aware of the present danger. Oh God, they weren't really going to...?

"No!" she shouted, only to shriek when they both turned around and fired at will.

The twin shots reverberated throughout Rachel's body as if she were trapped in a drum, her hands flying to her heart as Harvey fell down to the pavement like a sack of bricks. The Joker gave a whoop of a laugh in response, yet it was noticeably strained as his own knees buckled out beneath him.

"Jack!" Rachel shouted, her heart pounding in her chest as the cold, prickling sensation of dread trickled throughout her veins. Reaching his prostrate form in record time, she found that he was still giggling, a stream of blood dribbling down his chin as he gave a gut-busting cough.

"Oh, God" Rachel sobbed, her eyes welling up with tears, "oh God, Jack, can you hear me? Does it hurt?"

Training his glassy, shark-like eyes upon her, the Joker grinned before lolling his head to the side and giggling yet again. When she touched his chest he suddenly flinched, his irises glazing over as he began to violently convulse again the asphalt.

"Jack?" Rachel questioned, a streak of panic blitzing across her face, "Jack!"

Shuddering and choking on his own blood, the Joker gripped her by the wrist before curling in on himself, his voice growing small and almost child-like as he pleaded, "Don't leave me, Mama...oh, please don't die!"

Feeling her heart clench in her chest, Rachel cupped the Joker's cheeks before sobbing, "Jack, snap out of it! It's not your mother, it's me...it's Rachel!"

Whimpering like a caged dog, the Joker steadied her hands against his scars and nuzzled into her awaiting palms. His child-like plea for comfort and security made Rachel shudder with confusion, her fingers lightly running along his scars before tracing across his quivering, slightly chapped lips. By now the Joker's eyes were cloudy and unfocused, his skin pale, ashen, and cold to the touch due to loss of blood.

When he gave a sharp intake of breath, Rachel clutched at his hands and tearfully kissed them. "Stay with me" she urged, "come on, I know you can fight this...you're the Joker, for God's sake! It should take a whole lot more than a silly bullet to get you down!"

When the Joker continued to stare blankly ahead amidst his delirium, Rachel quivered before seizing him by the shoulders and giving him a frantic shake full of desperation. "Snap out of it, you asshole! Why are you always so goddamned selfish!?" she screamed, her voice now high-pitched amidst her hysteria. "This is just so typical of you to try and leave me when I need you most! Don't you know I love you? You're infuriating and I hate you more than anything on earth, but God help me, I care for you! I do!"

Bursting into tears, Rachel slumped down over the Joker's prostrate form and clung to him like a drowning sailor to a buoy. It felt as if a gun had gone off inside her along with her confession, for the realization that she genuinely loved her partner felt like a slap to the face. How could she possibly love someone so cold? So unfeeling? And yet, he was none of these things. To Rachel, the Joker was a world of mystery, intrigue, and twisted beauty, forever luring her into his web like a spider to a poor, foolish butterfly.

Taking the clown prince's cold hand in hers, Rachel caressed it with her thumb and pressed her face against the shallow rising and falling of his chest. His ragged breath was almost painful to listen to, but as her tears absorbed into the cloth of his custom-made shirt, she suddenly felt him place a shaking hand upon her head. The action was so uncharacteristic of him that it made Rachel jump, yet she soon relaxed into his embrace and willingly snuggled up against him.

In accordance with this response, the dark heavens parted and a crystalline veil showered down upon them, the beaded droplets pelting their bodies in a merciless assault that left Rachel covering the Joker with the hopes of keeping him warm.

"Don't leave me" she begged, her hand tightly clutching his, "oh, please don't leave me..."

The Joker didn't answer her desperate plea, his shivering form wilting within her embrace before growing eerily still. Her breath hitching in her throat, Rachel jolted up in order to search his eyes for a hint of life, but when she found none she screamed in agony.

At that very moment, the sound of police sirens interrupted her jumbled thoughts, her eyes and ears completely unresponsive to the slamming car doors until she felt a hand come down on her shoulder.

"Rachel" Gordon apprehensively began, "we're going to have to ask you to come with us."

"No" she whispered, her gaze never straying from the Joker, "I can't leave him."

Gordon bowed his head. "Rachel, he's gone..."

"NO!" she screamed, viciously swatting at the commissioner's invasive appendages as he reached for her. Giving a strangled wail when he finally managed to pull her away from the Joker's body, Rachel reached out desperately to her fallen lover as Gordon continued to drag her toward the awaiting police car.

The last thing Rachel saw before Gordon loaded her into the vehicle was two officers lifting the Joker off the ground, her screams for them to leave him alone falling on deaf ears as they pulled out of the cross-section and into the main street.

--

"Rachel, please just answer me. I know you're in a state of shock right now, but we really need to find out why the Joker and Harvey Dent were dueling" Gordon wearily insisted, a sigh escaping his lips when Rachel stubbornly shook her head.

"No" she argued, "I'm not answering any of your questions until you let me see him."

"But Rachel, he's being held down the hall for Dr. Cobolt to..."

"Let me see him!"

Stunned by the violent fury behind her otherwise docile gaze, Gordon's eyes couldn't help but soften. "Alright" he gently agreed, "I'll give you ten minutes alone with him, but no more than that. Dr. Cobolt wants to study him before the morticians do, so he won't be particularly pleased if he finds out that you've been messing with the body."

Rachel winced at his blunt words. "His name is Jack, Commissioner, and I'm not going to mess with him. He lived every day in complete solitude, so now all I ask is that you let me give him the companionship he lacked in life."

Gordon's features colored with empathy for the young woman before him, so he rose from his seat, took her by the elbow, and solemnly began leading her down the hallway toward the containment room.

"Ten minutes" Gordon warned, but Rachel barely heard him as he turned and left her to her own devices.

Slowly stepping toward the body laid out across the metal table, Rachel took in a quivering breath when she noticed that all of the Joker's make-up had been removed. She knew he didn't like being vulnerable because of his scars, so this simple realization made her cry since she couldn't cover him back up with his war paint. It was back at her apartment with the rest of her belongings, and she wouldn't have enough time to go and get it before Gordon came back.

Now so close to the table that she could touch him, Rachel took the time to study every detail of the Joker's body since in life he never would've allowed this. Running her fingers along the surprisingly soft fabric of his purple pants, Rachel couldn't help but smile when she noticed the diamond-print socks peeking out of his equally custom-made shoes. They were almost elfin since they curved slightly at the toes, but Rachel found that she loved them -- silly ugliness and all -- because they were both an irrevocable part of him.

Now straying her hands up toward the Joker's peculiar green vest and blue honey comb shirt, she winced when her fingers ran along the tear from the bullet that had taken his life. With tears streaming down her cheeks in hot torrents, Rachel found that the Joker looked like a tragic watercolor through her veil of sorrow.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, she then took the Joker's cold, pale hand in hers and placed it over her heart. She'd never noticed until that moment how soft and perfect his hands were, but the thought that he'd never again hold her in his arms chilled her soul.

"Oh, Jack" she mournfully whispered, her hot, molten tears dripping down onto his face, "why did you have to leave me?"

When the Joker naturally failed to respond, Rachel wiped the tears from his ice-cold cheeks and kissed his forehead, her lips trailing down over the bridge of his nose before pressing gently against his scarred mouth. Even in death he was well out of her reach, and the thought that she'd never fully gotten to understand him deeply pained her.

Crawling up onto the sterile table so that she could lie beside him, Rachel tearfully wrapped an arm around him before resting her head against his chest. When she couldn't hear or feel the heart that had always exuded so much strength, she closed her eyes and finally gave in to the sorrow that longed to overtake her soul.

A/N - ONE MORE CHAPTER LEEEEEEEEEEEEEFT!!!! Oh, and please don't kill me. :P lol I'd been planning this all along, because a relationship such as Jokachel's can only end tragically in my eyes, which is why I'll be trying a new one pretty soon with a completely different angle. And if you thought the whole Joker-morphing-into-his-child-self before his death was weird, I've heard it can happen when someone's undergoing serious bodily trauma. But anywhos, my new fic will most likely be called "Jack's Descent", and the first couple chapters will deal with Jack and Rachel's lives before he spirals out of control. So far I'm having a lot of fun with it since they're all goofy and playful, so it's basically more of the style I follow with my original stuff.


And YES, there WILL be one more chapter...I know it doesn't seem like I can write more, but trust me, I can. ;0) Hope you don't completely hate me! lol