A/N: Thanks for all the people who put me on their story alert, reviewed, and put this on their favorite stories list! Thank you! I'm trying to keep the fundraiser scene similar to the movie, but it's a little hard with my faulty memory. I can't really expect to keep watching it over and over again to get the lines right. All of this is from memory.

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman Begins/Dark Knight.

Disclaimer 2: I forgot to mention this in the beginning of the story, but the title isn't my own creation. It's actually the title of a song by Jack's Mannequin.

Chapter 4

I smoothed out my dark blue dress. Despite the small time limit, I had managed to finish planning the party. By pulling in some favors, mainly using Bruce's name, I managed to secure a caterer and everything else the fundraiser would need. I was worried about the number of people that would show up. After all, this was Gotham's elite. With almost a party every night, parties planned last minute usually have the least number of people attending. When the party started at 7, I was pleasantly surprised. Apparently, I had underestimated the power of Bruce's name.

"Katherine, do you know where Master Bruce is?" Alfred whispered. My eyes widened.

"No.." I said. Where was Bruce? I haven't seen him all evening, but I had figured that he already showed up. Alfred handed me glass of champagne and disappeared. I sipped a little to help me loosen up and started conversing with those who were part of the Trust Fund Brigade but weren't too stuck up.

From the other side of the room, I could see Rachel and Harvey arrive.

"So you see, if I choose to make a deal with this company, my revenue might get bigger," some man in his mid-twenties explained. He was quite handsome really, but incredibly dull. I tried really hard not to space out.

"And.." he began.

"I'm sorry, this is really interesting," I interrupted, "but I have to go greet other guests."

He looked crestfallen, and I immediately felt bad. He must not have a lot of people who really listened to him talk. I made my way towards Rachel and Harvey.

Rachel waved and I quickly reached her.

"Hey Rachel, Harvey," I greeted. Both of them said their hello's. There was a weird look on Harvey's face, and Rachel must've noticed it too because she commented on it.

"Harvey Dent, scourge of the underworld, scared stiff by the Trust Fund Brigade," she teased. I laughed.

"The mob doesn't scare me, but these people do," Harvey said seriously. We made small talk until there was a hush in the crowd. Everyone turned towards the balcony. What I saw made me groan. Stupid Bruce for trying to impress Rachel. Did he really think walking in with two extremely hot stick-thin models would make her want to leave Harvey? Rachel looked annoyed, while Harvey looked like he had lost. I'm pretty sure he thought he had no chance against billionaire Bruce Wayne. It's too bad that it was the other way around.

"Where is Harvey? Man of the hour," Bruce said, "And Rachel? She is my dearest friend. You know, when Rachel first told me that she was dating Harvey Dent, I thought, the guy with the slogan, 'I believe in Harvey Dent'? But Rachel.. she saw something in him I didn't, and that's when I started paying attention to him."

Bruce continued his speech that I paid no attention to. I could tell from the beginning he was subtly insulting Harvey in his special way. Rachel looked infuriated. Quite like the way she's been looking a lot actually.

"I'm going to go talk to Bruce," I excused. Then I made my way over to him. He was standing on the balcony, with a glass of champagne in one hand staring out at Gotham's skyline.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" I hissed. Bruce seemingly didn't have an answer as he continued to sip his champagne with a blank expression.

"How can you show up late to your own fundraiser?" I scolded, "Not to mention show up with not one, but two girls on your arm. Do you not know how pissed off Rachel is because of your little speech?"

I used finger quotes around the word 'speech'.

"Kathy, stop nagging," Bruce said, "You need to relax a bit."

"I am not nagging!" I exclaimed.

"Yes you are."

"Whatever," I huffed, "Just don't be mad at me when Rachel comes and kicks your ass."

"Using swear words now are we?" Bruce said amused. He knew that I swore when I had some alcohol.

"Yep. Oh look, there's Rachel. I'm going to disappear now," I said while walking inside. Since Rachel left, Harvey looked lonely standing by himself. I went over to him and grabbed a flute of champagne from one of the waiters.

"Hey," he said looking glad to have someone to talk to.

"Hi. How are you enjoying the fundraiser?" I asked.

"It's... nice," Harvey said hesitantly.

"Please, no polite bullshit. Tell me what you really think," I said earnestly.

He laughed and replied, "It's boring."

"You didn't strike me as the type to be a loner Mr. Dent," I teased.

"I am."

We exchanged some more sentences that compared to the rest of the evening didn't really matter, because in the end, he came. No matter how joyous the gathering had started, it had ended in disaster with a knife to my throat. Rachel wandered back from the balcony where she had been talking to Bruce. I wondered what they had talked about. Probably about Harvey. Or maybe where things were going for them romantically. I excused myself from what I thought would be an awkward conversation and walked to the balcony that Rachel had just vacated.

Bruce stood there in silence. I walked towards his side.

"I think she won't wait," Bruce said finally. I knew what he was talking about.

"Why wouldn't Rachel wait?" I asked, doing my duty. I was his best friend. Rachel had been and still was, but she wasn't as close now that Bruce wanted to be romantically involved with her. Bruce couldn't really confide to her that he was in love with her now could he?

"She has him," Bruce said meaningfully.

"You mean Harvey," I clarified.

"He's probably going to fucking marry him," he seethed.

"Using swear words now are we?" I had replied using the same exact sentence he had said to me.

"Shut up," he mumbled. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Bruce, it's going to be okay."

"What do you know?" Bruce turned on me, "You've never been in love. Hell, you've barely dated anyone since Stephen!"

I cringed when I heard his name, but Bruce went on.

"All you do is sleep around. When are you going to have a real relationship? You can't just breeze through life like that!" he exploded. I slapped him.

"Shut up," I hissed, "You don't have a fucking clue what he did. And I used to sleep around, but do I do that anymore? No. I know more about relationships than you with your gazillion so-called relationships."

Bruce finally realized that he had hit a sore spot.

"I'm so sorry Kathy," Bruce apologized, "I'm just frustrated with this Joker thing and all the other shit that has been happening." I automatically forgave him. That was how our friendship worked. Rachel held grudges, but I was constantly forgiving. You start to learn how to forgive after numerous fights with Bruce and Rachel.

"It's okay," I said quietly. Stephen wasn't the ideal boyfriend. He was always putting me down, and I would take it. Snarky comments really, like "Should you really be eating that?". With the combined force of Bruce and Rachel, they finally convinced me that he wasn't good for me. When I broke up with him, I was a wreck. Stephen had ruined my confidence and self-esteem, and I had to work hard to get it back. Sometimes I still felt like I had to pretend that I was confident and in control. Play make-believe that I wasn't what Stephen had made me out to be.

Bruce wandered off, and I stared at the night sky. It was beautiful in this chaotic city wrecked with desolation and a rising level of crime. To me, nothing would be as beautiful as Gotham at night. It was breathtaking. I tucked my hair behind my ear. It had been left loose and long, just the way my mother had liked it. Sometimes we would watch TV and she would just comb my hair soothingly with her fingers. She said she loved it long because it felt like a smooth wave of silk. My father would always ruffle my hair a little, just enough to annoy Mom. She always slapped him playfully and told him not to mess up my hair. I missed them. Both of my parents had died in a car crash when I was in college.

I was startled out of my thoughts at the sound of a gunshot. I sneaked in to see what was going on. What I saw was a mess. Some people started screaming until the thugs pointed guns threateningly at them. And there he was, walking around like he owned the place. The Joker was drinking champagne casually, as if he wasn't waving a gun in everyone's faces. I searched for a face I recognized. Rachel was on the other side of the room and Bruce was nowhere to be found. I hoped I blended in with the rest of the Gotham's wealthy.

I watched with sick fascination as he danced around people, all the while questioning everyone on Harvey Dent's whereabouts. He was unpredictable, that much I could tell when he pulled out his knife on a poor man. A familiar clear voice snapped me out of my thoughts about this undoubtedly cruel man.

"Okay, stop," Rachel said firmly. I felt the need to reach out to her and yank her back into the sea of people. But she was too far away, and I felt frozen. What if something happened to her? Oh Rachel. You just had to be brave and noble didn't you?"

He slicked his green hair back and greeted her.

"Why helloooo beautiful," he said, "And you are beautiful. You must be Harvey's main squeeze."

Rachel gulped and stared at him reproachfully. There were an exchange of words, mostly silence for Rachel. I wondered why she didn't speak, but from the back where I was, I couldn't be sure if she was staying quiet or answering softly.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he said almost gently. When Rachel didn't listen, his voice turned rough. I noticed that he was waving around a knife instead of the gun he had been carrying earlier. When did he make a weapon switch? He began telling the story of how he received his scars which I didn't pay attention to. Rumor has it, he changes the story every time he tells it, so I saw no reason to pay particular attention to this version. He was gesturing with the knife the entire time, and it seemed to gravitate closer to Rachel's throat. I pushed my way to the front, and gulped. Always look before you leap I suppose.

"Stop." That one word took a lot of courage to say. When he turned his gaze to me, I felt like a little girl playing grown-up.

"Please," I added on. He kept his gaze on me and dropped Rachel. She stumbled, but managed not to fall ungracefully to the floor like I would've. He laughed in that unnerving voice of his.

"Now there's a girl with some manners!" he barked. I glanced at Rachel and saw that she looked a little relieved. But relieved about what? Then I saw Bruce as Batman punching the Joker. Ouch, that has got to hurt. I tried to sneak away by blending into the crowd, but one of the Joker's thugs grabbed me. I struggled even though I knew it was a hopeless cause. My dad used to joke that I was as weak as a newborn kitten. It's a lot of an exaggeration, but I was still pretty weak compared to others. The thug that grabbed me passed me to the Joker. He placed me in such a way in front of him that it would be impossible for any police or Bruce to shoot him without hurting me.

"Not to ah, ruin the party, bu-t you know, places to go, people to kill," he said with a little giggle at his own joke. I shivered as I felt the cold bite of steel against my throat. He made his escape with me as a human shield. And Bruce had been unable to stop him.

I knew this fundraiser had been a bad idea.