A/N: What's up, guys? I'm happy to say that I've found my way back to , here to pen the sequel to my previous Joker/OC story, The Heart Behind the Madness. This story picks up, at most, five minutes after THBTM left off, with Gwen and the Joker's escape from the scene of the warehouse explosion. It will chronicle their relationship as Gwen faces new obstacles in her life, and this isn't just for Joker/OC fans anymore! Broken Laughter, Shattered Smiles will feature almost every character from the Nolanverse. Gordon, Ramirez, Stephens, Harvey Dent, Rachel Dawes, Lucius Fox, Mayor Garcia, Commissioner Lobe, Alfred, and (of course) Bruce Wayne will all be making appearances. I hope that this will seriously expand on the number of people who might find my story worth reading. In addition, I hope that all of my loyal readers from THBTM have found their way over to the sequel. If you're new to my work, I do recommend that you go back and read my first story before diving in to this one. This story bridges the gap between my first story and the beginning of the Dark Knight, and it's a little hard to cross that bridge if you never saw how everything began! Here's hoping that I *did* manage to close any possible inconsistencies between my story and Nolan's. Any and all feedback/comments are appreciated. I want to hear whatever you had to say. Oh, and one more thing, the disclaimer: Other than Gwen and her three zany friends, NONE OF THIS STUFF IS MINE. On that note, please enjoy!! ~G

Chapter One: You've Been A Very Good Clown

The ride back to Gwen's apartment didn't take long at all with the Joker behind the wheel. As the lights of the city whizzed by, Gwen gripped the sides of the passenger seat in terror, wondering whether it had been wise to allow him to drive. She knew they must have been speeding, but couldn't manage to get a good look at the speedometer as they careened around corners, driving over pothole after pothole. It was a wonder that no policeman attempted to pull them over, but the night was young and the traffic, slowed. The GPD didn't feel the need to have a high concentration of officers in any one area of the city at this time of night.

At last, the Joker eased Gwen's Toyota into her space on the third floor of the parking garage. She got out of the car slowly, her hands clinging to the roof of the car for support. Not only had she just sustained some sort of head injury from the recoil of the warehouse explosion, but she now felt plagued by nausea. The Joker regarded her without expression as she stumbled from the passenger door to the trunk of the car. She turned to look at him.

"I don't think I can make it to my room," she told him. "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

The Joker flicked out a flashlight from a pocket in his coat, clicked it on, and shined it in her eyes. He seemed to study them for a moment before swiftly removing the flashlight from Gwen's sight again.

"No concussion," he muttered, more to himself to anyone else. Then, he took Gwen's wrist in his hand and began to lead her towards the bank of elevators. Her fingers dug into the back of his suit jacket, both for support and reassurance. As soon as she was in reach of the wall, he let go of her and pressed the "up" key on the control panel. She leaned against the brick, breathing heavily.

"What now?" she asked after she'd caught her wind.

The Joker tapped his foot on the pavement, pondering. "You don't have any serious trauma, Gwennie, and it'd be a bad move to walk you up to your room in this getup." He gestured to his makeup and tailored suit. "You have a bad case of nerves, but that's it. I'll find somewhere to stay the night, so don't worry about that. But if anything bad happens, you call this number." At this, he handed her a crumpled sheet of paper. "Oh, and we never did get to have that dinner we were scheduled for this evening. Tomorrow night."

It was more a statement than a question. The Joker then placed a hand on her cheek and said in a low voice, "You've been a very good clown, beautiful." Before she could reply, he was gone. Next to her, the elevator doors groaned open. Though she still felt sick to her stomach, the dizziness was abating. With a sigh of disbelief at what had happened to her in the past hour, she stepped into the elevator and pressed "Lobby."

--

The next morning, Gwen didn't remember the elevator ride or how she made it to her room. All she knew was that she woke up on her couch wearing the dress she'd worn the night before, her hair disheveled but still curly. She felt pretty much normal now, so she quickly took a shower and dried her hair. The curls only partially came out, leaving her hair with a distinctly "wavy" look. Vaguely irritated, she put on a cream knee-length skirt and a baby blue halter top, laced up her army boots and fixed herself a breakfast bagel. She ate it in her living room so she could watch the news, but the only thing anyone had to talk about was the warehouse explosion of the night before. Speculation was already being made that the attack had been orchestrated by the mob to cover their tracks, or a group of teenagers whose dare had gone wrong. Only one man, a private consultant for the GPD, however, expressed his belief that the mysterious "J," the mastermind behind the Why So Serious ARG, could not be ruled out. As talk turned to the Weston's restaurant shooting, also of the night before, Gwen clicked off the television and walked over to her desk.

Since the beginning of the Joker's ARG, she had kept her lime green laptop on at all times. After quickly checking her e-mail, she logged on to Monster, in the hopes that new job opportunities had surfaced since her last login. Though her parents were paying for her rent and her college education, her checking account was becoming depleted, and she needed a new source of spending money. To her delight, three new possible careers had come up when she logged in. She quickly passed by the first two, a job as a teller at Gotham National Bank and a position in customer service for a major internet provider. The third, however, caught her eye. It was a possible job at the GPD. The advertisement stated that the job would be stationed out of an office and would not bring her into any danger in the field. It also said that someone with experience in psychology was welcome and, since Gwen was going to be a senior in that field come fall, the job seemed tailor made for her. She tried not to get too excited as she submitted her resume.

The morning dragged by. Gwen thought about calling one of her friends, but then remembered that she had never told them about the meeting she was supposed to have had. To bring it up would only invoke unneeded concern about both the explosion and the shooting. Though Gwen felt ridiculous for admitting it even to herself, in light of the warehouse explosion (and the events which surrounded it) she had completely forgotten about the restaurant shooting. Later on, she intended to find out what exactly had occurred inside Weston's which she had so narrowly missed.

Gwen hastily fixed herself a chicken wrap for lunch, then succumbed to her desire to check her e-mail for news about the GPD intern job. A new message from the police department was waiting for her. Trying to keep her excitement in check, she opened it.

The message was short and to the point. She'd been accepted!

Gwen whooped for joy, then immediately called her friend Reeva to share the good news. Even though Reeva's boss didn't like her taking calls while at work, Gwen knew for a fact that he usually went out to lunch, something she'd figured out when Reeva started smuggling her texts during lunch break the month before. She picked up almost at once.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Reeve. It's me. I got a job!"

"Oh, my gosh! You did? Whoo-hoo!"

"I know! I'm so excited!"

"Wow! Have you called Deb and Trace yet?"

"I just found out. You're the first person I called!"

"That's so great, Gwen! I'm so happy for you! What's the job?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Something to do with psychology, for the GPD. I don't know the details yet, but the pay was good, and it said it wouldn't be putting me in any danger in the field. I start tomorrow."

"Sounds great!" Just then, Reeva lowered her voice. "Crap! The boss is back. I've got to go. Great job, G!" The line clicked as she hung up.

A/N: Ta-daa! There's Chapter One. ...I kind of wore myself out yakking at the beginning, so I don't really have anything to add. Please read, review and check back soon! ~G