Author's Note: (My readers should know how much I LOVE reviews!... A lot)(And sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm not much of a reviser). (This story is set AFTER the movie takes place).

Begins with fluffyness, but after this... not much fluffyness will follow. This was just to lay out the 'scene'. Also, in this fanfic, Jonathan Crane might appear a bit out of character because I'm planning on writing him in a 'darker' way. Those are my intentions, but my story intentions aren't always written out. Maybe not 'darker', but... maybe that the inner works of his mind and his desperation will be more apparent. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Don't own Batman Begins, any of the Batman movies or comics, Gotham, or the characters from the movies or comics. Characters that aren't in the movies or comics are mine, though. (ie: Alrick, Melissa). (So take your sticky hands off of them!).

Sequel to Serving the Scarecrow:
The Darkened Love

Chapter One:
Happy Birthday

"Ah, c'mon, Alrick!" She begged. "Where are you taking me?" Alrick's soft green eyes flickered up to her blue ones and he gave a hearty laugh as he leaned back into the soft leather of the limousine. He shrugged one shoulder and tilted his head to the side, bringing a small glass of wine to his lips. Even as he was drinking the sweet wine, he couldn't force his lips down. The corners were seemingly cemented curled upwards in a broad smile. He had attended countless acting lessons with his sister when he was young, but none had rubbed off on him. He couldn't act or pretend to save his life. Alrick held up the bottle to his fiancee with his eyebrows raised in a questioning way. With a pouting frown on her lips, she reluctantly held out her glass to him. He poured her half a glass and let his grin soften into a smile.

"As charming as you can be Melissa, you can be quite nagging and whining when it comes to surprises." The words came smoothly with no hint of unkindness.

"Surprises." Melissa said the word as if it was the most ridiculous thing ever thought of. "I'm not the type of girl for surprises."

"Tell me about it. The first time I gave you flowers, I had to go to the emergency room for stitches. What a time explaining that to the doctors. 'My girlfriend hit me with a bottle because I gave her flowers'."

"That's not fair! I didn't hit you because you gave me flowers. I wasn't even you're girlfriend at the time. Plus, it isn't like you showed up at the door with the flowers. You were waiting inside my house when I got home. Not even out in the open, not waiting in the light, you had to be hiding! You brought the bottle upon yourself. You just had to sneak up behind me to surprise me, didn't you? I thought you were– I don't even know. A robber, escaped convict, you could've been anyone! I just protect myself, that's all."

By this time, Alrick was running his finger along a small scar near his hairline of where the bottle had hit him. "Well... You were surprised by it. That was my aim in the first place." He ran his hand over his smoothed-back chocolate-colored hair.

"You were an idiot then and you're an idiot now." Melissa said without remorse. He flashed another small grin and she couldn't help but laugh. She briefly ran her hand down his olive-complexion face before turning away from him. She sat close to him, her arms wrapped around his arm the rest of the drive. "But I don't know what'd I'd do without you and your stupidity." He nodded in agreement with this comment as he glanced as his golden wrist watch. Things were moving along smoothly.

It had been a three hour drive. The car had moved along freeways and highways, town roads and country roads, and by the time they stopped, quite a bit of dust had gathered along the sides of the limousine. The driver frowned at the sight of it, but Alrick paid it no attention, dismissing it with "Well if it's that much of a bother to you... We can stopped at someone's else along the way and spray it clean with a hose." Then gave him a solid pat on the shoulder before smoothing out any wrinkles that may have formed on his pin-striped tuxedo. After making sure he was decent enough, he turned to offer his hand to Melissa. She stepped onto the ground wearing a form-fitting black dress that fell to her knees, the dress becoming gradually looser at the hips for easier moving.

She looked into the blackness of the forest for a silent moment, then turned to Alrick with a questioning look on her face. He was busy looking at the night sky dotted with stars. "The moon's bright tonight, isn't it? Good. Don't want to be tripping in the woods... Just look at all of those stars, Melissa! Never could see them in the city." Before she could comment, he began to lead her along a path in the woods.

"Alrick, I don't know-"

"Trust me, Melissa." He passed her a glance and offered a reassuring smile before squeezing her hand gently.

The moon was not the only light that lit the way for them. Every few yards, there was a small fire on the ground. Melissa opened her mouth to ask about these, but Alrick only shook his head. In silence they walked for fifteen minutes, Alrick carefully helping Melissa over dead logs and pointing out small puddles of water to her so she would not step in them. Alrick whispered quietly: "Close your eyes, Melissa." And she did. "Don't peek." He reminded her. She nodded. He pulled her a few more steps ahead before taking a deep breath and saying "Ok, go ahead. Open your eyes."

When she opened them, she saw a small clearing with a small table set up in the middle. Candles were lit on the tables, and a basket set in the center of the table. "I found this place a few years ago while horse-back riding. Loved it. I haven't brought anyone here before. I thought... maybe we could celebratd her twenty-first birthday here, Melissa..." He looked at Melissa, who was staring at the scene in silence. Nervous, he took a breath and continued on, "I mean, I know it isn't much. I could've taken you to any restaurant or thrown you a big party with more than a hundred guests, or I could've... and I would've, too. I would." He nodded, "I would... But I just came up with this on my own. I didn't get any advice or anything, I did this all on my own. I mean... I had people come out and set up the fires and the table and whatnot, but I mean... I didn't have as much help as I could've. I just wanted you to-"

"I love it." She said quietly. "Thank you, Alrick." He smiled and dropped his eyes to his shoes.

After the late-night dinner, they took their time walking back to the limousine. They moved into the limo, settingling into the backseat. The car began to roll over the country roads, back to the highways and freeways of the city from where they came. Melissa rested her head on his shoulder and he put an arm around her, letting his head rest on the back of the leather seat. He could feel himself drifting in and out of sleep. He was half-dreaming and half-awake when, barely above a whisper, he said "I love you, Melissa." He did not expect her to hear. He was sure that she had been asleep, but she replied back "I love you, too." Those were the last words that Alrick said before falling asleep.

A heavy feeling in his stomach made him open his eyes groggily. It was not a feeling of sickness, he could tell, but it was a feeling that something was happening. Something that he should be awake for. Alrick stifled a yawn and carefully leaned Melissa off his shoulder. The backseat of the limo was being flooded by lights of red and blue. He squinted his eyes, looking again down to his watch. It was nearly two-thirty in the morning. He looked out through the back windshield to see a cop car sitting behind them. Alrick looked out of the windows. They were stopped on some back country road. Again he yawned as he watched a man in a police uniform walk up to the driver's side of the car.

Melissa was slowly waking. She sat up in the seat and looked at the cop as he passed Alrick's window. She looked out of the window to see another cop walking towards the limo window. She folded her arms across her chest, rested her head against the door, and closed her eyes again– making no attempt to stay awake. Hearing the officer ask for the driver's license, she opened her eyes and mouth to ask Alrick for his overcoat. She stopped herself before she spoke, her attention suddenly drawn to the driver and the cop. Before there was time to do anything, a BANG went off the front seat. The cop pulled his gun out of the window as the driver fell over into the seat. He quickly mvoed to the back of the car, pulling the door open.

Alrick had his feet toward the door, trying to protect Melissa behind his back, moving her against the oppsite side of the car. The cop pulled opened the door and received a kick to the jaw from Alrick. "Melissa, GO!" Without hesistation, Melissa opened the door and got out, only to stumble into the arms of another man.

Alrick heard Melissa's voice shout a "Let me go!" and he quickly looked to see who had her. It was then that the cop reached into the car and pulled him out, throwing him to the dirt road. Before he could move, the cop smacked his ribs with his baton.

"STOP!" Melissa was struggling to reach Alrick. The man holding her only twisted her arm behind her back and pulled her back to him. She did not see where else Alrick was hit, but she saw the baton raise in the air and heard the thump of it hitting Alrick. Melissa was being pulled back to the cop car, despite her shoutings and attempts to wrestle against the man. She looked back to Alrick. He was being half-carried and half-dragged to the cop car by two men. Tape was over his mouth and had hands were cuffed behind his back. Bruises were already coloring his face.

"Stop it! What do you– Just let him go! Please! PLEASE!" She watched as the man moved him to the back of the cop car, "What are you doing with him?! STOP!" She could hardly see what was happening through the tears in her eyes. They had opened the trunk, pushed Alrick's unconscious body into it, and slammed the trunk. The two men moved into the front seat. "Let him out!" Melissa shouted as she was pushed into the backseat. The man that had grabbed her got in next to her, and closed the door behind him. The car began moving.

Her hands were cuffed infront of her and tape was put over her mouth as well. During the process of all of this, her thoughts were on Alrick. He probably had broken bones from the beating! What if he had internal bleeding?!

"There, there, there, Melissa. It wasn't that bad, was it?" The voice spoke calmly to her from her left. It was then that she noticed that she was in the center of two men. The one that had grabbed her and the one that was speaking to her.

"No...no, it wasn't that bad at all." He answered his own question. She didn't want to look at him. She felt his fingers against her cheek, turning her face towards his. She closed her eyes tightly. He began to softly wipe her eyes with a tissue, "You don't need to cry anymore. It's all done. You're perfectly fine."

"I've missed you, Melissa. Three long years, but you're back with me." Melissa couldn't help it. She opened her eyes to see the icy glacier eyes of Jonathan Crane's looking back into hers with gentleness.

She started to cry again, sobbing into the duct tape against her mouth.