Title: When Madness Is Like Gravity
Summary: On one unfortunate night, Rachel is attacked and then saved by someone who isn't Batman. As if things couldn't get any worse, she finds herself being stalked by a madman, and all she can think about is how she owed her life to him. Joker/Rachel.
Setting: This particular chapter is set after the attack. I know, these time-skips are annoying, but there's only one more after this chapter, then it's all normal. Oh, and Gotham doesn't know the Joker just yet either.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, I took a long time with this chapter, and just so you know, itis a filler, but the real fun begins next chapter. The reason it took so long was because I didn't know whether to add the fundraiser scene at the end, but then I thought, you guys probably didn't need the whole things written out since you've seen it a hundred times, so I just scrapped the idea. Anyways, enjoy!
Warnings: There are no warnings I can think of in this chapter at all. It's safe...for now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any other recognizable character in the following story.
Chapter Two: Explanations
Rachel's eyes snapped open, only to squint as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. She could see someone hovering over her, and feel something warm in her hand. Her eyes finally seemed to focus, and a feeling of recognition swept over her. She smiled as she recognized Harvey hovering close by, his hand in hers; it was the source of warmth she'd felt as she'd woken up. Her eyes darted around the room quickly, and she realized she was in a hospital.
Harvey let out a sigh of relief he'd been holding in, and his hand tightened around hers, as if he was reassuring himself that she was well and alive.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, concerned.
"As good as I can be" she replied, although she did have a splitting headache.
Harvey lifted the hand he was holding and held it in both hands lifting it to his lips.
"God...I thought I'd lost you" he told her.
"But you didn't".
Harvey looked at her then, contemplating what he was going to say, before breathing out, "Rachel, you really need to be more careful. I don't know what I would've done if...". He breathed in deeply.
"Harvey, you know I had no power over what happened to me. It could've happened to anyone".
"And that's exactly why we're putting more night patrols out on the streets" Gordon said as he entered the room, his coffee cup steaming in his hand.
"You alright Ms. Dawes? You gave us quite a scare" he said.
"Yes, Gordon, I'm fine," she said, before asking, "How'd you find me?".
Gordon gave her a small smile.
"We received an anonymous phone call telling us that, well..."
Gordon scratched the back of his head, trying to find the words before continuing.
"He basically said that the cops should come and see something that'd happened, gave us the location, and simply cut the connection, just like that. When I sent a unit down to see the problem, they'd found you and a dead man, but there was no trace of the caller".
Rachel nodded, but then asked, "What do you mean by 'basically'?".
Gordon shook his head at that, before replying, "It's complicated. He was a little...cryptic, at first, until we finally understood what he was saying. Strange man...".
Her attention moved to Harvey once more, who started speaking. "We've been having a hard time keeping the press off our backs too".
"You mean the press knows about this?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, or at least part of it. Someone who knew about the attack must've told them something. We've got enough attention as it is with the trials...I'm guessing it was the anonymous caller".
"What do they know so far?"
Gordon took over. "They only know that you were attacked. There were no other details about that. They know that an anonymous caller had given us your location, and that a unit had been sent down to handle the situation".
Rachel closed her eyes, remembering the night. She remember clothes tearing and screaming, and blood...some hers, but...
And then she remembered the body. The body in which it's neck had been sliced open by a sharp blade, held admiringly in an outstretched arm from the swing of a man she didn't know, but only mentally referred to as her true rescuer.
"What about the body?" she asked.
"We told the press that after the unit had arrived, he was refusing to cooperate, threatened the unit physically, and we had no choice but to shoot him down".
"The press accepted the story, of course. They shouldn't be troubling you too much now" Harvey said.
Rachel let out a sigh of relief, closed her eyes and nodded.
A minute of silence passed, before a question rose to Rachel's mind.
"Did you ever find the caller? Or the person who killed the attacker?"
"Not yet," Gordon sighed, "But we're working on it".
He looked at his watch before standing up.
"Well, I should go. They probably need me back at the MCU" he said. "I'm going to need you to drop by the MCU asap to get your side of the story ".
Rachel nodded. She knew that it was necessary long before Gordon had asked it.
Gordon looked at Harvey and Rachel, and nodded.
"Good luck with the trial Mr. Dent, Ms. Dawes".
And then he was gone.
Harvey looked back at Rachel. "You know, speaking of trials..."
"Let me guess, you have to go too?" Rachel asked, softly smiling at him.
Harvey nodded. "I should probably go over the papers and documents for this week's trial. You sure you'll be there for it?". Rachel knew what he was really trying to say; "Will you be able to make it in your condition?".
"Of course, don't worry, I'll be there" she replied to him. He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead; "Get well soon". And then he was gone too.
Rachel's stomach grumbled as the doors shut behind him. She hadn't realized she was hungry because she'd been preoccupied by the conversation between her and her visitors.
And then she remembered her headache. Her hands reached up to her head, feeling bandages wrapped around it, and then she frowned as she tried to picture herself in Harvey's eyes, looking down at her. She imagined her messy hair, and her face, lying on a hospital bed clothed in a horrible pink hospital gown.
The sound of sliding doors reached Rachel's ears and she looked up towards them, only freeze. He was in his usual expensive suit, not a hair out of place, his shoes naturally shining. Rachel knew she'd have to deal with him eventually, but she didn't expect it so soon. He walked in, a neutral look plastered on his face and a small cup of orange flavored jelly in his hands.
"Bruce.." She greeted him quietly.
He handed her the cup of orange jelly and a plastic spoon, and placed both hands inside his pockets. His face expression didn't change, but she could tell that on the inside, he was trying to find something to say to her.
'Well, the least I could do is start the conversation..'
"Bruce, I--".
"No, Rachel. Don't".
Rachel's words died in her throat. Bruce was obviously shaken up about the whole thing, a lot more than she was. Or, at least, the events of that night had caught up to him a lot faster than it did to her.
"Rachel, I'm so sorry, I should have been there--"
"Bruce, don't, its not--"
"No, Rachel, hear me out".
'There's no point in arguing with him' Rachel thought. If there was anything she knew about Bruce it was that he was persistent. If he wanted to be heard, everyone had to listen. If he wanted to clean up Gotham by dressing up as a masked vigilante, he'd fight 'till every criminal was behind bars.
He sat down in a chair beside her, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
"When...when I heard what happened on the news, I didn't know what to think".
Bruce removed his head from his hands, and looked up to Rachel, sighing.
"I knew the cops had fabricated the story, and that led me thinking what could've happened to you...I know...I know that, no criminal in this town attacks a woman without the possible intention of raping her".
Bruce's eyes locked onto Rachel's, which were becoming teary, and his eyes asked her a silent question, one which Rachel understood without a doubt, and she nodded her head quickly, remembering the night.
"Rachel...".
"Bruce, nothing happened, I-I'm fine" she stuttered, her hand reaching for the tissue box beside her.
"You don't look it".
"Thanks.." she said, rolling her eyes.
"Rachel, what really happened?" Bruce asked, worried, his voice gentle.
Rachel was silent. It wasn't that she couldn't trust Bruce, no, she trusted him with her life. She just didn't know what he would do if he found out that she'd been hoping he'd help, and he never came.
Then again, knowing Bruce, he would probably never leave until she told him something.
"I...was attacked--"
"Something I don't already know, Rachel" he interrupted.
"I'm getting to that!" she raised her voice, and Bruce put both hands up.
Rachel sighed.
"I was dragged into an alley," she started, a reminiscing look taking over her features, her voice devoid of any emotion, and it was simply like a tale being told in the simplest way.
"And...I was beaten, and almost raped...".
Bruce's hands clenched into fists.
"And then I was saved by someone, and...I don't remember anything after that, except waking up here" Rachel said truthfully. She couldn't lie to Bruce, not because she literally couldn't, but because he'd always caught her in the act.
Bruce seemed convinced, but she wasn't giving him the details he wanted to hear.
"The man who attacked you...how did he really die" he asked.
Rachel's eyes looked at the white blankets on the hospital bed.
"Rachel, anyone who's dealt with cops in the past knows that they don't kill unarmed criminals. The one that attacked you would've threatened you if he had a gun or weapon, rather than...beat you. If he'd been armed...you would've been hurt a lot more than you are now".
Rachel closed her eyes.
'He's always right,' she thought. 'It's like he can see right through me, all the time. Is this how criminals he deals with feel when they're up against him?'.
"Rach..."
"The man who saved me killed him. I saw it with my own eyes," she said, bringing her eyes up to his once more.
"God...he could've hurt you--"
"But he didn't--"
"He could've killed you if he wanted--"
"He left after he killed him"
"That makes him just as dangerous--"
"And I owe him my life!" Rachel finally said. "I owe him my life...".
Bruce was silent, his gaze scrutinizing her face.
Rachel explained herself, blurting out the words that came to her mouth before thinking.
"I was calling out, for so long, but no one came".
Bruce visibly winced. She'd obviously hit a nerve.
"And then he came. I know he killed my attacker, and I was scared at the time, but he saved my life! He had no intention to hurt me--".
"How do you know that?".
"Because he didn't! If he was anything like the criminals we know today, he would've hurt me while he had the chance".
The room was silent for a long minute, before Bruce asked, "Has he been found?"
"No" she replied immediately.
Only when Bruce finished studying her face did he relax into his chair. Rachel remembered the orange jelly cup she held in her hand, and placed a scoop in her mouth, savoring the taste.
"I thought you'd be hungry after that, so I decided to get you something" Bruce said quietly.
"Thanks," Rachel smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. It was those little things Bruce did that she appreciated the most. Expensive dinners and gifts were just too much, and even though she appreciated every gift Harvey gave her, it just wasn't necessary. She loved him either way, with or without the gifts.
"Hey Rach, you sure you're okay?"
"Bruce, I'm fine, really, I just hit my head. No big deal...it doesn't look that bad, does it?"
"No, no, of course not! I was just--"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne, but visiting hours are up" a nurse said as she entered the room. "Ms. Dawes needs as much sleep as she can, but you can visit her tomorrow".
"That late already?" Bruce thought out loud, walking over to Rachel and squeezing her hand. "Get better soon Rach," he said, smiling slightly, and walked out.
"Everything alright Ms. Dawes?" the nurse asked when she stopped in the doorway.
"Yes, I'm fine, thanks" Rachel replied, suddenly feeling tired, and she relaxed into the bed.
"Alright then, good-night".
"Good-night..." Rachel sighed, as she fell asleep once more.
End Chapter Two: Explanations
Alright, so pretty bad way to end it, huh? And before you ask, the nurse is not the Joker. Anyways, this was more of an experimentation of sorts with the characters' personalities, so this is the way I'm probably going to write them for most of the time, I think. Eh, its too early to decide, but you know, please point out any OOC-ness if you find any. Anyways, please review! The next chapter should be up soon.