"Morning, my angel," said Crane the next day, heading downstairs to see his wife curled up with his daughter, the latter sleeping peacefully while the former wrote in a notebook. Their pet raven, Lenore, was perched next to her, and cawed happily at seeing him.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Emilia said, tilting her lips up for his kiss. "I thought you needed to be out early for work today."
"Theoretically, but it's just to collect the new shipment of fear gas from the factory, so I'm sure the men can handle it," he said, kissing her and Katrina gently.
"You don't think fear gassing the entire city is a little trite for your Halloween scheme?" Emilia asked. "It isn't the first time you've tried it, after all. And the last thing I want is my husband locked up in Arkham again – single-parenting, even temporarily, is very difficult, so I hear."
"They wouldn't be able to keep me locked up away from my beautiful girls for long," he retorted, taking Katrina from his wife as she stood up and headed for the kitchen. Lenore fluttered onto his shoulder, cooing over the baby. "Anyway, I've never successfully fear gassed the entire city. This will be a Halloween for the people of Gotham to remember for a long time now."
"If there's one thing I love about you, Jonathan, it's your determination," she said, emerging from the kitchen with tea and kissing his forehead. "That and everything else, of course."
"What are your plans for the day, my dear?" he asked her, taking the mug she handed him.
"The usual," she said, shrugging. "Playing with Katrina, feeding Katrina, changing Katrina, and, when I get a spare moment, writing."
"Have you given any more thought to publishing your book?" he asked. "You really should, my dear – you're an excellent writer."
"I doubt anyone would want to read my stories," she said, shrugging as she sat down with her notebook again.
"You never know until you try," he said. "I have absolute faith in you, my darling. Anyway, if they refuse to publish your book, I can always threaten to fear gas them until they do."
"That's sweet, Jonathan," she said, smiling at him. "But I'd like to succeed on my own merits, if possible, rather than on the fearsome reputation of my supercriminal husband."
"And I'm sure you would, if you just sent it off to some publishers," he said.
She shrugged again. "I don't think it's ready – I should probably redraft it a few times before…"
He reached out a hand and tilted her chin up. "You don't need to be afraid of rejection, my love," he murmured. "Or of anything. Not anymore."
"I try not to be, Jonathan," she said, grinning. "I try to master fear like you, only…it's harder for some of us. And I do fear rejection, I can't help it. I was rejected so much growing up, by friends and everyone at school and…I'm just not sure I could take it again now. I'm not sure I could take some publisher telling me my work's no good, and that I should just give up…"
"And you wouldn't be foolish enough to listen to him if he did," said Crane, nodding. "I believe in you, my angel. I'm not going to let you give up on something you love, no matter what anyone says."
She kissed him. "Well, I suppose I haven't given up on you yet, so that's a good sign," she murmured, grinning. "But then you're impossible to stop loving."
Katrina stirred in his arms, opening up her wide, brown eyes and beaming happily at her father. Lenore cawed in greeting, and Katrina smiled at her too. "You entertain her while I get breakfast," said Emilia, heading back into the kitchen.
"Good morning, my sleeping beauty," Crane said, kissing his daughter as he held her up in his arms. "Who's ready for her first Halloween? I'm getting the cutest little costume for you – just wait until you see it!"
"Halloween's still two weeks away, Jonathan!" called back Emilia.
"Never hurts to be prepared," he retorted. "Especially for Halloween, the most important day of the year. Isn't that right, my angel?" he cooed.
The baby giggled, smiling at him. "Except for our anniversary, and Katrina's birthday," added Emilia, entering the room with two bowls of cereal.
"The third most important day of the year," corrected Crane. "I can't wait until you're old enough to experience real terror, my dear, in a safe, fictional, completely non-threatening environment, of course."
"Only you would be looking forward to scaring our baby," sighed Emilia, tucking into her breakfast.
"She'll enjoy it," said Crane. "If she's anything like her father, she'll be completely fascinated by fear."
"I'm not letting her watch horror movies until she's old enough to know they're not real," retorted Emilia.
"But part of the thrill of fear is the uncertainty as to whether it's real or only imaginary!" protested Crane. "You'll be depriving her of an enriching experience…"
"Did you want to feel afraid as a child?" interrupted Emilia.
Crane shook his head slowly. "No. Neither did I," agreed Emilia. "So you're not scaring her until she's old enough to know she's safe."
"Believe me, my dear, she will always know that," murmured Crane. "She will always know that I won't let any harm come to her, whatever happens. I want her to feel fear so that she knows whenever she feels that, which she inevitably will in life, she can come to me and I will make it right."
"Tell me again why I was the only woman who ever wanted to marry you?" asked Emilia, grinning at him.
"Because you have impeccably good taste," he said.
"I certainly do," she agreed, kissing him again. "But you'd better finish your breakfast and get to work," she said, glancing at the clock. "I don't trust the henchmen to have completed that transfer competently, and neither should you."
"If I were a paranoid man, my dear, I'd say you wanted to get me out of the house," he retorted.
"Yes, I do," she agreed. "I'm having company round whom I don't think you'll be in the mood to see."
"Oh. Who?" he asked.
"My lover," she said, completely deadpan. "I've been carrying on an affair while you're at work – he's a football player, with more muscles than brains, just the kind of man I like. In fact, Katrina's paternity is in doubt."
"You're not funny, you know," he muttered.
"I am, because it's ridiculous for you to be insecure," she retorted. "You are my one and only love, Jonathan Crane."
"It just seems too good to be true sometimes," he replied. "My whole life feels like an incredible dream I'm destined to wake up from, alone and unloved."
"There's my gloomy God of Fear," she said, kissing him. "But you're welcome to stay for the visitors, Jonathan. Only don't say I didn't warn you."
A knock came on the front door suddenly. "That'll be them now," said Emilia, grinning. "Too late for you to run."
"If it actually is a lover of yours, my dear, I think it only fair to warn you that I'm fear gassing them to death," said Crane.
"It's not," said Emilia. "In fact, it used to be a would-be one of yours."
"What…" began Crane, but Emilia opened the door at that moment and Crane got his answer. Because standing in the doorway, holding their twin children, stood Harley Quinn and the Joker.