An Unhealthy Attachment

A/N - Holy CRAP, this was hard! I just couldn't get my "groove" on with all the stupid reading and writing papers I had to do, so hopefully it's adequate! I also think it's the longest chapter I've ever written (maybe?) so yay me! :-D

WARNING: Violence and semi-graphic sexual content -- if either of those things offend you, PLEASE do NOT read any further. For those of you who don't give a flying fudge monkey, please read on! :)

CH 9: Beneath the Mask

When Harvey awoke the next morning, he felt as if all the life had been drained from his weary body. Shuffling into the living room like a zombie, he wasn't particularly surprised to find Dusty sitting motionlessly on the couch, his eyes bloodshot and swollen as he continued to bathe amidst the TV's illuminating glow.

Upon driving home after the accident, Harvey became concerned for Dusty and offered him a place to stay for the night. He figured his brother-in-law wouldn't want to be left alone, but the truth of the matter was that he didn't want to be alone, either. Ashleen had gone out of town to visit some in-laws for the week, so Harvey had been left to wallow amidst his sorrows in complete solitude.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

Startled back to reality, it was then that Harvey realized that Dusty had been watching his and Miranda's wedding reception, the DA's throat tightening as his sister's glowing face lit up the screen like a beacon of radiant sunshine.

Mechanically having a seat alongside Dusty, Harvey trembled as he watched Miranda squeal as she ran from the camera, her laughter ringing like bells as her new husband grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back toward the camera.

"Tell everyone why you married such a wonderful man" he urged, laughing along with her as she gave him a shove.

Turning toward the camera and pretending as if she were in deep thought, Miranda warmly decided, "Well I don't really know, but I've always had somewhat of a sweet tooth, so I'm guessing it's because I wanted a giant cake. It's definitely not because of your dance skills, because you stepped on my toes three times during our first dance as husband and wife!"

Harvey heard himself laugh as he filmed the playful couple, his heart feeling a dull ache as Miranda turned back toward the camera and gave him a bright smile. "Speaking of dances, you'd better get ready, big brother, 'cause we're about ready to have ours now. I hope you're a little better about watching my feet than Dusty..."

As Harvey heard this, he recalled how he'd been quite eager to give his sister the perfect wedding, so he'd agreed to take their late father's place by sharing the father-daughter dance.

The camera shook with Harvey's laughter as his hand entered the picture in order to tweak her nose. "Yeah, yeah, I may be a klutz, but you're heavy on your feet."

Miranda playfully swatted at his hand. "Are you calling me fat?"

"If the waistband fits."

"Harvey!" Giggling, his sister took him by the wrist and urged him onto the dance floor, the DJ grinning as he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the father...er, brother-sister dance!"

Beaming, Miranda linked her arms around Harvey's neck in the customary fashion, but that's when "Tango Maureen" began blasting over the speakers and causing their audience to gasp in delight. Harvey had been rather apprehensive about choreographing a duel-like tango with his sister, but now as he watched them dance across the screen, he found that he didn't regret making Miranda happy. She'd always been a fan of Rent, so she'd pleaded with him to act out a scene from the production for their dance; fortunately for their audience, they'd decided to lipsync all of the lyrics.

When Miranda opened her mouth and began 'singing', Harvey suddenly found that he couldn't take it anymore. Seeing his sister happy and glowing with pleasure was one thing, but seeing her happy when he knew he'd never see her beautiful smile again pained him deeply.

Shakily rising from the couch, Harvey bowed his head before mumbling, "Miranda's viewing starts in a few hours, so you should probably start getting ready pretty soon. If you need it, you can use the bathroom down the hall."

When Dusty blankly nodded in return, Harvey bit his lip and dejectedly stalked back toward his room. What a Godawful day to have to wear black...

--

"And why did you feel the need to inform me about a dead woman, Dr. Dandridge?" Gordon demanded, his sharp eyes cutting toward the woman before him as she began fishing around in her purse.

Ceasing her actions when she found what she needed, Collette couldn't help but smirk as she raised her gaze to his with a sense of smug satisfaction. "Why, my good sir, I've come to you because she isn't dead" she returned, her hand retracting a slip of paper as she leaned back in her seat. "The day of Miss Dawes' accident, I received an anonymous phone call stating that a Rachel Dawes would be brought under my care in a matter of eight or so hours since she was being transported by plane. When she finally arrived, my orderlies found her completely abandoned on the front step of our hospital. The poor little bint was burnt beyond recognition, so we immediately set to work on giving her skin graphs and hair plugs. Here are her medical papers." Handing Gordon the documented records, Collette studied his disbelieving countenance before sustaining, "I knew her as Rachel Dawes for about three years, but I never even dreamed to question her origin since her anonymous donor was paying us quite handsomely. I know this must seem bloomin' horrid to you, good sir, but I have never been one to bite the hand that feeds."

Gordon frowned. "You said you knew her as Rachel Dawes for three years...what did you mean by that?"

"I mean that after that point I was instructed to call her Harleen Quinzel" Collette returned, her fingers steepling before her as she crossed her legs. "I couldn't bloody well understand it, but her donor claimed that Rachel Dawes had been her alias for some sort of means of protection. Although I was incredulous over this sudden chain of events, I informed Rachel of her 'true' identity as instructed, and, to my dismay, she couldn't recollect a single thing about her former life. When I returned after running some tests, some looney bampot had the poor thing in his arms, so I shouted at him to release her. Unfortunately for us both, I failed to notice the gun, and he ended up rendering me unconscious and hospitalized for quite some time. As I'm sure you can already guess, my assailant was none other than Gotham's balmy terrorist, the Joker."

Gordon balked. "Oh, my God... And you said her so-called name was what, again?"

"Harleen Quinzel."

His brows furrowing, the commissioner motioned to Collette before urging, "Come with me...we've got a situation you should probably be told about."

--

Trembling, Rachel continued to sit on her couch watching the morning news, her arms wrapping around herself for warmth as the story of Miranda's death flashed garishly across the scene.

'That bastard' she thought. 'The Joker let me call Gordon to give everyone a sense of hope, but he knew that Miranda would die along... The son of a bitch rigged the door to explode, and now she's dead! Oh God, she's dead, and I helped lead her to the gallows!'

Biting her lip, Rachel felt tears blurring her vision in hot torrents, but she made no move to wipe her eyes for fear of witnessing more heartache. Turning the TV off with a flick of her wrist, she moved to lie down across the cushions, but that's when she heard it...

Craning her head, Rachel scowled once she realized that the water to her bathroom was running fullforce. That prick was taking a shower in her apartment with her towels, and after all he'd done, he thought he could just get away with it?

'I'll show him' Rachel inwardly seethed, her limbs shaking as she stormed down the hallway.

To claim that she was angry at that moment was an understatement, for she was downright furious. The Joker had known that she would play into his plan all along, but now that she knew the full truth, she was completely determined to let him know that their partnership was officially over.

"Joker!" Banging on the bathroom door with all her might, Rachel leaned in with the hopes of hearing his most likely sarcastic retort, but instead she received an infuriating bout of silence. "Joker!" she tried again, only louder this time, "stop fooling around and get out of that damned shower -- we need to talk!"

When a cheerful humming greeted her in response, Rachel lividly ripped open the unlocked door and went storming into the bathroom with her fists clenched. The steam from the water acted as a type of smoke screen, her eyes squinting through the moist clouds as she grabbed the shower curtain and yanked it aside.

The suddenness of Rachel's actions caused the figure behind the curtain aegis to jump, his chest heaving as he trained his harrowed gaze upon the woman before him.

Gaping up at him in surprise, Rachel felt her jaw drop as her blue eyes fell upon the enraged stranger, his dirty blonde hair clinging damply to his cheeks as his bottom lip began to quiver. He was considerably young -- not much older than her by a far -- and the way he currently hunched his shoulders struck her as being eerily familiar.

Rachel was overcome by the insatiable urge to ask who this man was, but that's when her searching gaze fell upon his haunting eyes. The chocolate sienna orbs were animalistic, yet at the same time they were filled with a deep sense of agony that she couldn't quite place. Although they currently weren't ringed with twin spots of black, Rachel knew those eyes anywhere. It was the Joker...her Joker.

"Speechlessss, are we?" he growled, a manevolent grin stretching his surprisingly pale scars as he observed her. "What do you think of me now, hmm? Are you a-fraid? Do I...dis-gust you?"

Mouth quivering, Rachel moved to answer him when he suddenly seized her by the wrist and pulled her under the showerhead, a cry escaping her lips when he viciously slammed her up against the wall and gripped at her throat. Curling his fingers tightly about her windpipe, the Joker brought his face close to hers before snarling, "Is this the face of a man you could love-uh, or is it the visage of a mon-sterrr?"

Tears of frustration rolled down Rachel's cheeks like molten glass, but she found that she could only shake her head as she gazed back at him in pity. "Why would I fear you now when I've never feared you before? Your soul is what makes you a monster, Joker, not your scars."

Gazing back at her with a critical eye, the clown prince of crime looked as if he were about to speak when he suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, his eyes crinkling along with his mirth as he mocked, "And what school of phi-los-o-phy did you get that lousy quote from, hmm? The same puh-lace where they tell everyone that a lit-tle bit of kindness goes a long way?" Flicking his tongue across his lips, the Joker grinned before sustaining, "Sorry beautiful, but if you were hoping to change me with your oh-so-touching lit-tle speech, I'm afraid to inform you that I'm never gonna change so long as I'm living. I, uh...died the day I got these scars, so I know I'll always be trapped in limbo until my time's fin-al-ly up-uh." Noting the pained look in Rachel's eyes, he gave her a cold smile before cooing, "Aww, well what's the matter, Harley? My story too raw for you to handle?"

"No" Rachel lowly returned, "It's just that I...I never knew you hated your own life so much." Biting her lip, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming rush of pity for the clown prince stir within her breast, her throat tightening as she felt as if she could cry for his anguish. At first she had been tremendously angry with the Joker, but that was before she got a glimpse at the warped and twisted reasoning behind the mask. Being a woman who adored life (albeit rather hectic at the moment), her heart always went out to those who felt that they no longer had a purpose. And the Joker...

Rachel bit her lip.

God, he was actually an attractive young man, so what had caused him to spiral out of control so violently? To seek death and destruction as his only source of solace?

Before Rachel could even think to stop herself, she reached out a hand and traced her fingers along one of the Joker's puffy scars, her gaze softening when she noticed him flinch in surprise.

"Don't do that-uh" he gruffly warned, but she ignored him and slid her thumb across his lips before curving up along the other scar.

"They don't frighten me" she firmly reminded him, the look in her eyes hard and penetrating as she sustained, "I may hate you right now, but you need a friend, and I...if you'll let me, I'd like to be that friend."

The Joker released a whoop of a laugh. "Well gee, why didn't I think of that before? If I'd have just found a fuh-riend, none of this would've ever happened!" Curling his fingers about her throat to the point of pain, he bared his yellow teeth before snarling, "I don't need your pit-y, and I'll never need someone to co-rrect the way I am, so I'd sug-gest that you, uh...end whatever plans you have buh-rewing inside that mind of yoursss."

Gaping up at him in wide-eyed surprise, Rachel gave a yelp when he tightened his grip and wedged a knee in between her legs, a chilling grin splitting his lips when he lecherously observed the damp nightgown clinging to her frame.

Licking at the water droplets that had accumulated along her chin, the Joker chuckled as he purred, "I do, howeverrr, miss those lit-tle run-in's we used to have...the ones where I'd, uh...pin you to the wall and have my way with you."

Feeling her pulse quicken in accordance with his words, Rachel whimpered when he nuzzled the crook of her neck and bit at her pulse, his tongue snaking along her flesh as he heatedly reminded her, "Three years is a looong time to wait, Harley...if you really want to be a friend-uh, you'll let me touch you."

Bewildered by his sudden change of behavior, Rachel gasped when she felt the Joker press his pulsating desire against her middle, his scars brushing against her cheek as she deliriously closed her eyes. The sensation of his unpainted skin against her own made her shiver, her body squirming as she felt his hands rove across her inviting breasts in a delicate caress. As he touched her, she couldn't help but marvel at said hands, for within those appendages laid such monstrous power and strength that they could slay whomever he so chose. Each finger was an intricately designed instrument of death, yet Rachel was somehow unafraid of him and the possibility of his actually killing her. She knew fully well that if he were going to harm her he would've already done so, and the very prospect of his sparing her life over everyone else was quite thrilling to Rachel.

"Why don't you fight me?" the Joker suddenly asked. The tone in his voice almost sounded disappointed, but for some reason this didn't change Rachel's current string of feelings.

Taking a deep breath, she softly returned, "I'm tired of fighting you because I know I'll never win...you're a hopeless case, and I've learned to just accept that."

The Joker reached for her neck yet again, but this time his hold on her throat was almost tender, the warm sienna of his eyes wavering like a summer breeze as he brought his gaze up to meet with hers. "You are a very foo-lish girrl, Harley...where's the spark, hmm? Or have you fi-nal-ly just resorted to being my lit-tle sex toy? Either way, I win."

A burst of fury spread across Rachel's eyes like a wildfire in accordance with his words, her fist acting before her brain as she sent a surprisingly powerful uppercut across his jaw that caused him to stagger back.

Giving a whoop of a laugh, the Joker rubbed his sore chin as he grinned back at her in excitement, his eyes darkening with lust as he eagerly purred, "Mmm, now we're talkin'...c'mere."

Crying out, Rachel moved to leap out of the shower, but the Joker seized her by the wrist and pulled her body flush against him in response, his scarred mouth meeting savagely with hers as his nails dug into her scalp like knives. The drugging sensation of the warm water mixed with the Joker's firm lips made Rachel groan, her eyes closing in defeat as she allowed him to envelope her within his arms and viciously slam her up against the wall. Keeping her pinned in place with his hips, the Joker scratched his nails down her back before plundering her mouth with his tongue, a low growl rumbling in his chest when he felt her own tongue sweep gently across his lips.

Breathlessly parting his mouth from hers, the Joker grinned devilishly back at Rachel before tearing the buttons to her nightgown asunder, the flimsy fabric parting in order to reveal the smooth curves that'd haunted him for the past three years.

Hungrily lowering his mouth to one hardened nipple, he flicked his moist tongue over the bud while eagerly caressing the other.

Gasping at the incredible sensation at hand, Rachel closed her eyes as she roughly fisted his dirty blonde locks, her head lolling to the side as her bosom began heaving along with her growing arousal. With each tug at her soft breast, there was a responding tug from deep in between her thighs, her liquid desire pooling into her panties as she felt the Joker's hands meditatively drift down to caress the pink lace of the waistband.

When Rachel moved to assist him in the removal of her undergarments, the Joker firmly slapped her hand away and pressed her back up against the wall, his face burying into the crook of her neck as he suddenly gave a sharp thrust against her throbbing nub.

With an impassioned cry, Rachel gripped at his shoulders before squeezing her eyes tightly closed, her teeth gritting as the sadistic maniac thrust against her once again.

"Do I...a-rouse you?" he asked, his tongue flicking across her ear as he punctuated each word with a firm thrust. When Rachel gave a feeble moan in response, he giggled before thrusting harder and faster against her clothed sex, his fingers gripping at her thighs as he forced them apart in order to better accomodate his administrations.

Feeling as if she could cry from the mind-numbing pleasure, Rachel bit her lip to stifle her breathy moans as the heat in between her legs began to spread, her back arching as she suddenly realized that she might come just from his erotic teasing, alone.

Slipping a hand past the waistband of Rachel's panties, the Joker grinned as he ran his fingers along her nub and eagerly retracted the digits before holding them up to the light. "Aaah, so you are a-roused" he purred, his tongue snaking out in order to taste her essence as Rachel watched on with quivering lips.

Licking his fingers until they were clean, the Joker grinned a shark-like grin as he suddenly forced the attorney's panties down to her knees, his voice low and husky as he explained, "Just one taste isn't e-nough-uh."

Whimpering, Rachel closed her eyes as the Joker placed rough, artless kisses from her breasts down to her navel, only to then lick his way toward the soft flesh of her inner thighs. When he roughly forced her knees apart, Rachel gave a small squeak of surprise at the sudden action, her teeth biting into her lower lip when she felt him give her entrance a slow, deliberate lick.

"Joker" she whispered, "please, I..." Before she could complete her sentence, he pressed his tongue deep inside her moist haven and eagerly swirled it around her plush walls, a cry escaping her lips as she subconsciously began to thrust her hips in time to the delectable rhythm of his tongue.

Just when Rachel thought she would finally be granted her sweet release, the Joker suddenly withdrew and slammed her against the wall so that her head cracked against the tiling, his lips meeting with hers in a brutal kiss that forced her to taste her own exotic flavor. Moaning when he sucked on her tongue, she moved to touch his scarred chest when he suddenly grabbed her by the rump and hefted her up into his arms, her eyes widening in surprise before he vigorously impaled her with his throbbing shaft.

Whimpering at the sensation of her body adjusting to the Joker's girth, Rachel bit her lip as he began to roughly hammer his hips against hers with little regard for her personal well-being. Gripping at the soft curves of her bottom, the Joker angled his thrusts so that he penetrated her deeper and faster, his eyes rolling back in his head as he gritted his teeth amidst his pleasure. Feeling her wrapped so snugly around his firm arousal just felt so good...

With a hiss of pleasure, Rachel wound her legs about the Joker's hips to better accomodate his frenzied pumping, her breasts bouncing amidst their brutal dance as she pulled him in for yet another fierce kiss. All of her prior anger and frustration channeled into that one kiss as she met with each of his thrusts, her teeth gnashing painfully against his bottom lip until she drew blood.

Not surprisingly, the Joker fully enjoyed this little act of violence, a predatorial growl rumbling in his chest as he bit her back and lapped at their intermingled blood. When he felt her body tense and grip at his member like a warm vice, he grunted and sensed his release coming on at full speed. Leaning in toward her ear, he urged in a strained whisper, "Call me Jack", Rachel's eyes widening in astonishment as his sudden declaration of identity fully dawned on her.

With three more quick and hard thrusts, the Joker emptied his seed deep inside his conquest in a burst of liquid fire, a gutteral cry escaping his lips as Rachel blissfully shouted his proper name.

When the Joker shakily withdrew from Rachel's warm body, he discovered that she had tears in her gentle blue eyes. With a deep-set scowl on his face, he turned off the water and irritably stepped out of the shower, his voice surprisingly emotionless as he instructed her on where he'd left the towels. Giving her one last indifferent glance, the Joker grabbed a towel of his own before turning and leaving the room without another word.

Positively stunned by this unexpected behavior, Rachel's legs suddenly gave out beneath her and she went sliding down the tiled wall until she landed on her rump. With her damp hair sticking against the surface of the gaudy tile, Rachel hugged her naked form for support and cried. She cried for her loss of dignity, she cried for the abundant revulsion she currently had for herself, but most of all, she cried because the Joker had almost let her inside his unbreakable shell.

--

Miserably looping his black tie about his neck, Harvey kept his eyes trained solely on his task at hand as he slowly walked down the hall. "Dusty?" he called, "Hey buddy, you almost ready?"

When he didn't answer right away, Harvey frowned and curiously approached the bathroom door. From what he could discern, the light was most definitely on inside, so he raised his fist and rapped impatiently against the oak finish. "Hey, Dusty?" he tried yet again, "C'mon, we've really got to get going...our friends and family are waiting."

When Dusty still didn't respond, Harvey was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming sense of nausea. The hairs prickling on the back of his neck, he shakily fumbled for the door knob -- which was surprisingly unlocked -- and forced his way in past the entrance.

Upon Harvey's first once-over of the room, everything appeared to be neat, orderly, and in place. When his gaze swept over toward the bath tub, however, he swore under his breath when he noticed the bloody arm draped over the side of the tub. "Dusty!" the DA shouted, his limbs shaking as he frantically rushed over to his lifeless friend. Slapping the brunette on the cheek, a sense of panic pierced Harvey's heart like a harpoon when he spotted the razor. "Oh Jesus, Dusty" he cursed, his entire body shaking as he tried to move his brother-in-law into a sitting position. "Oh God, can you hear me?"

"M-Miranda?" Dusty choked, a dreamy smile crossing his features as he looked up at the DA through foggy eyes. "I knew you'd be here...I've always had a distinct suspicion that you like seeing me naked."

Wincing, Harvey argued, "No Dusty, Mandy's gone...i-it's me, Harvey. I'm going to go call for help, so I need you to..."

"Oooh, hey, Harv" Dusty groggily interjected. "I came to ask you a big favor, so I'm really hoping you'll say yes."

"Dusty, I..."

"No, no, hear me out" he forcefully urged. "As you already know, Miranda and I have been dating for a while now, so I wanted to do things right and ask you for her hand. Will ya say yes, Harv?" When his brother-in-law failed to answer, Dusty weakly searched for him with his eyes, but found that he couldn't see him due to his irreversible delirium. Languidly fluttering his lashes, he hoarsely assured the DA, "I'll take real good care of her, I promise...I'm crazy about that girl."

Harvey swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched Dusty deteriorate before his very eyes, his blonde head bowing as he sorrowfully returned, "I-I know you will..."

"Then I have your blessing?"

Nodding, Harvey felt his fractured heart break when Dusty breathed his last breath, a strangled cry escaping the DA's throat as he pulled at his hair and began to sob hysterically. As he rose and began to violently tear the bathroom apart, he found that it wasn't faceless appliances that he was destroying, but the Joker...

A/N - Done! THANK GOD! Hopefully it didn't disappoint! For those of you who were wondering what 'balmy', 'bampot', and 'bloomin'' mean, I included the definitions below since I used an actual British dictionary of slang. Somebody had mentioned to me how Collette didn't sound British, so I tried to adapt some of their sayings into her speech patterns. I was surprised to see that we (Americans) got some of our slang from the British, like 'biatch', 'butt munch', and 'bling-bling'! lol

balmy - insane

bampot - A foolish and objectionable person

bloomin' - very


JOIN TWITTER AND FOLLOW ME ON THERE! WE CAN BE NERDS TOGETHER!!!!!!!! I created a Kendra Luehr page, a Miranda Dent page (cuz OC's are fun!), and a Rachel Dawes page when I found that the chick who was already on there was kinda lackluster. No offense to her or anything, but she had zero personality...guess she's staying in-character then, right? hehe You can tell the difference between us when you're searching by reading the bio; I'm the one who professes a love for Ben and Jerry's ice cream. :-D PLEASE follow me, especially for the character pages, cuz nobody's talked to me in-character yet, and that's no fun to have fan pages without any interaction. :( There are other TDK pages on there too, but the one who actually responds to fans the most is Dr. Crane. He rules. :)

I also made my first non-Jokachel vid on youtube called "Love Song for a Monster", which is basically about Harvey realizing Rachel's really gone. It was fun, and the song's gorgeous, so it gives me chills every time I hear it, especially since I know the underlying message. Welp, please check me out on both Twitter and youtube! Oh, and review please. ;0P That's the only way I get inspiration, after all. lol I've also made a trailer for the previous chapter "She Came and Left with the Wind". It's called "An Unhealthy Attachment - Harvey's Downfall", and you can find it on my youtube page. :)