Nine
Joker POV:
Finally she had left the bloody Commissioner's house. After nearly a week she had been pushing the impatience inside him and it was lucky she had decided to leave now or he would have been tempted to do something he would both regret. He followed the car through Gotham, behaving for once and not even speeding. He whistled as the houses grew grander and the concrete dust bowel was left behind. He stopped some hundred metres as the car turned into one of the gates; laughing at the intercom joke. Jack reached inside the jacket he wore and pulled out the photo he had managed to save from the warehouse, smoothing the creased paper and staring down at the smiling girl. His mind burned on the last time he had spent with her. It had all started as a joke and now the joke was on him; she was gone. He hissed in pain as the wound in his side flared up again. The fucking thing was getting worse, he would need to get it looked at soon. Just a little longer. Finally he saw the commissioner leave, waited while he passed by then got out of the car. It was getting dark which provided him with good enough cover to get to the high walls that surrounded Mia's new home. Something hummed nearby and he looked up and smiled at the obviously electrified wall. It appeared to e stone; perhaps sandstone, but at the top he could guess metal plates hummed with electricity which would probably kill him and set off an alarm.
"Now Doll, I need to get in but how?" An idea struck him and he went for a walk.
Jim POV:
After seeing Mia to her door where an ecstatic Harriette took her inside. He was going to miss the girl and hoped to see her again soon. Maybe things would begin to work out right for her, god knew she deserved it. He exited the property, passing a biker with his head buried in a piece of paper. He almost stopped to offer assistance but then thought better of it; the paper was probably a map and there wasn't much out here if you got lost. Humming to himself Jim set off for home; anxious for a good night's sleep.
Mia POV:
All Mia wanted to do was sleep. She hadn't done much but simply being back in this depressing place seemed to sap her energy from her.
"I'll go get you dinner mon ange, you must be famished." Harriette said and bustled off to the kitchen. Mia dragged her suitcase up the stairs and towards her room on the second floor. It was a large, white walled room that overlooked the rose garden. Everything was as she had last seen it; black covers neatly made, carpet an organized mess of books, papers and clothes, walls were lined with celebrity posters and photos, window open and stirring the grey curtains and the study over in its little corner was cluttered with whatever she had been doing before she had left. She dumped her bag onto the bed and lay back against the soft covers with a soft sigh. She needed a new colour scheme; although black would have suited her mood at the moment, lying around waiting for her life to reassemble itself wouldn't happen without some sort of positive activity. She liked the bedspread she decided, it would stay but the curtains had to go and all the posters; she had grown out of them. Her eyelids felt really heavy and with a yawn she closed them and began to drift off. A knock at the door drew her upright. Harriette opened the door and walked in baring a tray of thai salad; light and exactly hat Mia could handle at the moment.
"Thanks Harriette. I'll eat it now then probably go to sleep; I'm really tired right now." She said and her housekeeper smiled.
"Bon amie, I'll just put zis 'ere and collect it in the morning." She said and placed the tray down, kissed Mia on the head and left.
"Bonsoir Mia." She called over her shoulder and closed the door after her. Dragging herself upright Mia started to devour her salad, unfortunately only getting halfway through before having to stop. With her hunger satisfied she lay back against her pillows and curled up, rifting off to sleep with minimal trouble. Something woke her in the middle of the night. It wasn't a sound but more a feeling that someone was close by.
Jack?
I think so.
What do I do?
I don't know.
What a helpful answer Tess.
Hey, your not doing so well either.
Shut up, what was that!
A noise outside her window made her roll silently off the bed and creep to the side. The noise came again, the sound of someone climbing. There was nothing she could use so she prayed that having the surprise advantage would be enough to at least knock the bastard cold. In terrified silence she waited, hardly daring to breathe, then a shadow fell across the floor beside her and Jack stepped cautiously into the room. He quietly surveyed the room taking in it's emptiness for a second before Mia was upon him. She jumped on is back and knocked him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him and positioning herself so her knee was pressed harshly into his spine. He lay still, wisely deciding not to try her patience.
"What the fuck are you doing here Jack?" She demanded, he chuckled, gasping for breath as he shook beneath her.
"I came to find you Doll. Did you think I had left you for good?" He teased.
"That," She snapped viciously and pressed her knee harder into his back.
"Is exactly what thought you did." She continued and her balance faulted for a moment as she struggled to contain her tears. In a second he was out from beneath her and standing, backing away from her. He was grinning from ear to ear and Mia fumed silently as he chuckled at her from across the room.
"Miss me?" He jeered. With a snarl Mia lobbed the nearest thing, a book, at him and although he ducked it struck a glancing blow upon his shoulder.
"Get the fuck out of here. If I ever see you again I will kill you!" She screamed. He grunted and stumbled, grasping his side briefly, then recovered and faced her again. Mia's rage was replaced by concern.
"Are you alright?" She asked and it was his turn to snarl.
"I'm fine." He said and she smirked.
"Stop behaving like a three year old and come here." She commanded and he shook his head.
"I came only to return this." He said and pulled her photo graph from an inside pocket. Carefully he laid it on the floor and stepped back. Suddenly his knees seemed to fold and he collapsed. With a cry Mia moved to his side and rolled him over. He was warm to the touch and was breathing rather heavily. His hands brushed hers away insistently but she ignored him; and her fury, and helped him over to her bed.
"Take off your coat Jack." She demanded and he smirked.
"Shut up, I can call an ambulance if you want?" She mocked and his eyes darkened briefly. With a wince he removed the coat, vest and shirt with difficulty to reveal a blood soaked bandage wrapped around his middle. Even though she hated his guts, Mia still admired the tone abs.
"Wait here." She said and raced to her desk, rummaged in the drawer until she found the medical kit she had stashed their years ago. She rushed back to him and cut the bandage open with a pair of scissors and revealing the wound. It was deep, angry and disgusting. The smell nearly made her gag but to be honest it could have been worse.
"Well good news, you'll have another scar to add to your collection." She said.
"Lucky me." He hissed as she began to rub the wound with antiseptic. Without another word Mia set about cleaning both the wound and re-wrapping it carefully. Jack had been wincing and swearing.
"Stop acting like a baby, it's over now and at least I got to it before it became too infected." Mia snapped and he shut up. He lay back against the pillows and looked at her with his dark, painted eyes. Uncomfortable with his unending stare Mia collected her photo from where it had fallen and looked at it.
"Thank you." She said.
"No problem Doll, have to say your security is one of the best I've ever come across. There's only one point of entry into the whole place and it took me hours to fid it." He remarked and she glared at him.
"You shouldn't be here at all. You gave up that right when you handed me over to the cops." She spat and he giggled.
"I didn't mean to, had no real plan, did I? Anyway, I would have thought you'd enjoyed having a proper family around you for once." He pointed out and she crossed her arms and scowled. Silence reigned between them.
"You've gotten fatter." He commented. She opened her mouth to berate him.
"I mean in a good way, first time I met you I was talking to a bag of bones and last time you were still gaining weight. Curves are definitely nicer this time around." He teased and Mia bristled.
"Fuck off." She muttered and he laughed.
Why does he make me so…
Impassioned? Romantic? Weak-kneed? Take your fucking pick.
Oh fuck off Tess.
You're going to fall for it again. At least ask where he got the bloody wound from.
Searing at Tess in three different languages, Mia opened her mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door. She flew to the door and opened it a crack. Harriette stood in the dim light of the hallway and her concerned face looked shocked at her sudden appearance.
"What iz ze matter? I thought I eard you scream." She said and Mia smiled.
"I just fell out of bed, nightmare." She said and Harriette looked worried.
"Do you want me to make you zome tea?" She offered sleepily and Ma felt bad for dragging the obviously tired woman from bed.
"Oh no thank you Harriette, please go back to bed." She said and watched as the woman nodded and moved back towards her own room. When the door had closed Mia leaned against hers and swore.
"What the hell is your problem?" She hissed the reclining form of Jack who mocked her with a mouthed "Me".
"Yes you. You come in here, banged up and bleeding after you handed me to the authorities nearly a week ago and offer no bloody explanation even when my oldest friend just about walks in on you!" She spat and he sighed. With a groan he tired to get up. With ease Mia sat down on the bed and pushed him back down again. It was easy to see now why she had been able to best him; in full form he would have had her but even injure he had managed to get away. God damn him. He lay back and pressed his hand to hi eyes.
"Got busted bad this time-ah Mia. The whole lot of us were ambushed at the-ah warehouse. Bat's had a lead on our whereabouts and Calone's mob got wind of it-ah through the police department. They-ah torched the place after just about shooting up everyone inside." He said and gingerly touched the bandage around his waist. Mia felt as though a blow had been landed on her stomach.
"Lewis?" She asked and Jack glared at her.
"Bastard's dead alright, everyone but-ah my lovely self is dead Doll-face." He said and Mia stared at him in shock. He indicated to the photo she had in her hands.
"Managed to get that bloody thing out before the whole place burned to a fucking cinder." He said and she felt all the hatred she had felt disappear in an instant. With a small sob she threw herself at him and grasped him tightly to her. Mindful of his side she squeezed him gently.
"Well thank God your okay Jack." She said and buried her face in his chest. She felt him sigh.
"Hang on a moment." She said and rummaged under the bed. She pulled out a remote and pointed it at the small TV screen on her desk. It flicked on and she switched stations till she came to a news station. She watched from her bed as the story unfolded. Camera crews swarmed the area where the Joker had supposedly died. Plice rummaged through the wreckage a the reporter tried to get one of them to talk. Mia laughed as she watched Jim force the nosy woman out of the way as the charred remains of one of the men was moved towards an ambulance.
"Shit." She said as she watched.
"How on earth did you get out?" She marveled but looked around to find that he had fallen asleep.
"Silly man." She said and moved to her walk I closet. Rummaging though the mess inside drew out a blanket. She siddled next to him and threw the blanket over the both of them. Closing her eyes she drifted off the sleep and for the first time in over a week Mia slept without nightmares.
Mon petite ange. My little angel.
Cava tre bein? How are you? (Used amongst friends and family)
Bon Good
Bonsoir Good evening
Bon Voyage Good journey
Merci Thank you
Merci to all my lovely readers. This chapter was fun to write and I hope you all liked it. Love the fluffy goodness at the end. Yay! The two lovebirds are back together. Should I keep them that way? Make him leave? Bring in Bruce Wayne? All will be revealed *cough*after reviews*cough* in time. XXXX
