This ending was inspired by the climax of "Fatal Attraction", one of the best erotic thrillers starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. :D A tale of a one-night stand gone awry, and how crazy takes on a whole new meaning when one of them refuses to let go and will do ANYTHING to get what they want (in Glenn Close's character's case, and this time being the Joker).

Begins with mentioning the watch of one of my personal favorite films of all time. The experiences of living in the hotel were based off of my experiences with the one near home before we took off for Hawaiian vacation last month. Enjoy! ;D

Chapter Ten

She couldn't even believe what had happened that morning. Remembering her husband making the first move to hold her in his arms when they both fell asleep, she'd decided that she should do the next move in doing something for him, and coffee was in the question, feeble and common as it was. It had worked, and he was beginning to smile and talk to her again.

She and Jonathan spent the day then, just chilling and relaxing, not bothered with impressing today. Neither would have to work for awhile, but they had each other. They could do anything today, and as long as they were both watched and on guard.

The entire day, they watched the latest Hallmarks, as well as a couple old erotic thrillers, such as Basic Instinct which had an interesting tale of a hot-headed San Francisco detective being played by a sexy writer who might or might not be an ice pick murderer he was investigating. Sharon Stone had a knack for being a femme fatale, and that was why Harley fancied bad girls in her blood. Jonathan, on the other hand, found himself intrigued by the fact that a woman had all of the control and could get away with her crimes. A good sociopath would definitely pull such heinous deeds off.

They had a trip down to the pool, also under tight surveillance, although Harley spared Jonathan the trouble of having Bozo brought along for the ride, like he complained that one time. Nevertheless, they had some fun, and she did her best to not touch his bare skin too much given she knew what effects were left from... He didn't recoil when he held her last night, but she had to do this for his sake.

They also had to go out in disguise, deciding to go to lunch in the hotel square and were also back near the end of the day. The babies had to be picked up from the apartment as they had no one to take care of them, but this hotel did not allow animals that it made her cry. Bud and Lou were under the care of Detective Renee Montoya, of all people, and who knew if they were giving her a hard time. That was enough to make Harley laugh and lean into Jonathan as she made them both dinner, the food picked up from the lobby room. Lasagna and exquisite peach tea which was poured into the glasses even though it was non-alcoholic, which amused Jonathan even.

And then they both remembered the one thing they both forgot.

"Oh, the ice cream!" Harley exclaimed, horrified, jumping up. "I can't believe it! It's the best part, and the Rocky Road -!"

"Harleen," Jonathan said softly, reaching up with both hands and gesturing her to sit down, "please relax. So did I. I'll do the honors of returning downstairs for us both." He gave her a slight smile and rose. "I'll take Officer Owens with me."

Harley gasped and looked up at him as he stood from the table. "But Jonny, please be careful if anyone tries to..." She trailed off there, afraid, but he only shook his head and made way for the door, picking up the card key. They each had one of their own.

"I won't let anyone come onto me, I promise you that. A second time around will have to be thought of twice as long as I am with the deputy," he swore, turning his head halfway around before back and exiting, leaving her alone.

Sighing, Harley leaned forward on both hands and stared ahead. She believed in him, but she doubted it would be easy. She wouldn't be taking this so lightly, just to be safe. In order to pass the time, she took the plastic dishes over to toss into the trash, then washed the silverware and glasses in the sink before putting them back into their places.

After dessert, she could have him take a bath and she could give him a massage or something, to make him relax. If he wanted to, they both could take a bath and have dessert there. The idea made her giggle and turn the water on the nearest hot level, so it would take time to cool enough for them both but retain enough heat for their bodies and their pleasure. Nothing sexually thriving, but relaxing.

The steam was covering the mirror that it irritated Harley. She reached up and wiped it off -

- and she screamed when she saw the face of bleach white, red-lipped and green-haired monstrosity, leering at her and waving "innocently" at surprising her. She spun around and held tightly onto the sink behind her as she glared with bared teeth at the Joker.

"You're not welcome here," she snarled. "Not after what you did to Jonathan."

He cackled and waved his other hand - and there was the knife. The blade gleamed wickedly and dangerously. She might die before Jonathan came back...and there was the blood lingering on the silver metal, which told her one thing: the remaining officer outside was dead, and Joker stole the key to the room and snuck in. She gulped; what about Jonathan...?

"Oh, Harley girl, I'm always welcome in your life," the clown told her coyly, stepping further into the bathroom. The steam hissing in the air did not block his face entirely, adding to the menace abroad. "Did you really think you and your Scarecrow would ever be safe from me?"

She spat at him, giving him the answer without speaking. Frowning now, he wiped it from his face. "Well, then," Joker said simply.

"Jonathan will be back any second now," Harley warned him. "He's not alone, either, and you won't get away with this..."

"Please, blah blah blah! Spare me the tough girl quotes. You're nothing more than the weak little link you always were!" he snapped. "Your 'husband' got what came to him."

"You had him tortured and raped to near death!" she shouted, her knuckles tightening to a point where she knew they were turning white, but didn't look. She could feel the sweat coming to the surface, and it wasn't just from the steam soaking her flesh. Her face was moist with it. "And I love him more than I ever loved you! I believe I made it clear back in New York City, you disgusting ball of goo." She braced herself for a strike to the face, but none came. But she could see that he was getting all the more angry and wanted to carve her face out now. Well, what was he waiting for? If he wanted to kill her, then she dared him to with her eyes.

His lips twitched with righteous infuriation and itching to raise his hand right then and there. "You insufferable bitch," he finally ground out, "you're so dead that I have lost my concentration of another good joke to make of you and Crane together now. I suppose I'll settle on the aftermath after I am done with you - and your face is too adorable to keep unmarked!"

Harley screamed when the blade suddenly, without warning, came up and then down straight for her.

~o~

They'd run out of the Rocky Road that Harley wanted, but left were vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Vanilla was her favorite, and he preferred chocolate best as his sweet tooth was that much darker than hers - and he meant that because of the simple idea of their past personalities. She was more innocent than he - and now it applied because of recent events.

He'd had the food placed on the tab for their overall stay at the hotel; according to Gordon, Bruce Wayne was taking care of their stay, which made him frown. Why would the billionaire playboy care this much to do this act of kindness for them both? He supposed he should be grateful, and they were both comfortable enough.

He got them both more drinks, consisting of milk, soda water and more peach tea as well as more lunches and dinner of all sorts to last a week. Nowadays these damned hotels and motels alike had such small meals! He sneered at the thought. But at least it tastes satisfactory enough as the bigger version.

"You must be a good husband," Owens noted when they were both in the elevator, and he himself did the honors of pushing the button for the third level, and the room would be around the corner. Because Crane had his arms full of groceries that he couldn't make it to the buttons. "It's something I tried to be for my wife so far in the last eight years we were married."

"You're married?" Jonathan questioned, looking at him curiously, one corner of his mouth twitching with a smile.

"And with three kids. One is seven years old, the other four, and a third on the way," the man answered proudly. "You and the wife ever thought about having any?"

He sighed. Harley wanted children, yes, but it was going to be...difficult now given he feared having a panic attack or a flashback if they ever tried to get physical again. "We talked about it, yes," he answered, in time for the bell to ring that they arrived at their destination, but as soon as they rounded the corner -

"DAMN IT!" The other officer was laying there with his throat slashed open, and a dark pool of blood formed beneath him. "Goddamn it, officer down!" Owens shouted into his comm. "I need backup at the -!"

Jonathan shut it all off as he found himself looking at the door to the room he shared with his wife. Harley! There was only one person to do this, and without thinking twice, he dropped the bags and reached for his key, fumbling with it until the light turned green and he threw the door open - and in time to hear Harley's screaming and crashing...coming from the bathroom.

"NOOOO!" he roared, diving around in time to see her on the ground, tussling with a knife-wielding Joker, who was raising it in the air and slashing at her only to miss and stab the blade into the porcelain tiled floor. "Get away from her, clown!" he bellowed, exciting the monster's attention and that leer as he raised the knife to show blood, but it wasn't Harley's. It was dried now, obviously from the officer down outside the room.

"Well, well, well, lookie here," Joker crooned. "Come to enjoy the party, eh, Jonny boy?"

He bared his teeth and stood his ground. He was making a foolish mistake, given he had no weapon and the clown did. "Back away from my wife now. The police are on their way, and you're not getting away this time..." He was interrupted by sharp barks of laughter.

Joker had moved a distance away from Harley enough for her to slide away from him; he must not care for her any longer now that his attention was on Jonathan. "Pah, always trying to be stronger than the ones bigger than you! I always get away, with the exception of the Batman at numerous times. You're not him, so you're not so tough, Crane. Last month I saw it with my own eyes."

"A month enough to make me stronger now, and now it is just you and me!" he shouted, diving forward, risking a slice-at with the knife, but he dodged it in time to slam into the wall, the sound making a horrific metallic effect. He was losing his touch, and Crane knew it. It made him smile, not only because of that, but that it gave him the advantage to throw a kick at the clown and send him backwards, into the shower curtains which splashed some of the still-warm water onto the floor. "This is for Harley, and for what you let your men do to me!"

He cried out when his opponent struck back as he regained his footing, the blade cutting across Jonathan's chest; steel sliced through cotton and skin, drawing blood and staining the crisp fabric. Joker laughed as he knew he got him down, but Crane was going to let him guess again. He was prepared for the next blow, and that gloved hand with the knife came at him again, but he grabbed that wrist and jerked it downwards so the pointing steel was in another direction so Jonathan could throw himself forward. His body collided with his opponent's and threw them both into the water beneath them.

Quickly, he pulled his own head up and kept his strong hold - one hand around the clown's wrist holding the knife, and the other as well as his entire body against the other's so he could drown the madman. He would have grabbed the knife out of the clown's hands, but the other's grip was that much stronger to keep it away from him. And that was not the half of it: Joker's thrashing beneath him as well as under water was so violent that he must be desperate enough to save his own life, lost his shell completely and left him so vulnerable which made Jonathan crack a grin that it was he who broke the clown down now. But that did not mean he would let go until this demon stopped moving and breathing.

His arms and his whole body was getting tired now. His bruises still lingered in certain places, but he would not stop for the sake of it...

And then the clown stopped moving. No thrashing, no bubbles to the surface, and the hold on the knife beneath the water loosened. A part of his mind warned him that he should take it away from the dead Joker, but he was too tired now. You've done it...you killed the Clown Prince of Crime. Now he won't hurt you or Harley anymore - or anyone else in Gotham City.

A second thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he should double check and see if the clown was REALLY dead, that he was only passed out. But the way his eyes remained open, unblinking and devoid of any malignant sparkle, his mouth curved in his final grin...

Jonathan shouted in surprise and spun around when water splashed behind him in the tub, and ferocious gasps of air followed along with a furious shout of "YOU WILL DIE NOW FOR THIS!"

And then a gunshot pierced the air. Jonathan jumped backwards when a dark maroon hole appeared in the middle of Joker's chest. Someone shot him through the heart. Joker's face was that of surprise and dismay at who the shooter was, and managed, "Harl...that was not funny...at all..." This time he did not have time for a last grin on his face, slumping further into the tub as the life drained from his body.

Exhaling sharply, Jonathan Crane stared at the corpse of the Clown Prince of Crime for a few moments, then turned to stare at the doorway where the "killer" stood. "Harley," he breathed, managing a smile, ignoring the stinging cut across his chest and drying blood.

She stood with her hair entangled, her face twisting with determination and hatred at the man who tried to tear them both apart. He'd taken back what control had been taken from him for an entire month, killed the man who orchestrated it - or thought that he had killed him - before the clown burst back to life and tried one last time to slash his throat before his former abused flame delivered the final shot to the heart. It was all over, and they both knew it.

"Broken heart for ours - exactly what he deserved," she said with a beam. Lowering the gun, she walked over to him and knelt beside him, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him close.

~o~

Three weeks later, morning broke over Gotham in a haze.

The city had been in utter spirits even though the filth haunting the streets was still far from being cleaned, but the Joker's reign had come to an end. And on that day the news broke out, she was named the hero. She, Harleen Crane, and not the Batman.

She and Jonathan were swarmed with press for being valiant enough to finally pull the trigger, but underneath the smiles they both gave for the camera, and to each other, there was the regret about this attention. A part of her didn't deserve this, and she saw in her husband's eyes that he didn't want this either. He just wanted to get them both out of here as they had always talked about.

And the time had come.

"I'll miss you, Red," she said to her best friend as the five of them - both women, as well as Jonathan, Nygma and dear Jervis who was trying his hardest not to break down - all stood before the charted flight for England. Jervis had been born there before he left as a young man for the states, but his life had not improved then, as it turned out. He was going with them back home, but first he had "business" to attend to before he met them. So, one familiar face was going overseas with them.

Ivy returned the embrace with vigor. "I'll miss you, too, Harl," she answered, trying not to cry. Harley was her only real human friend, and she was going to miss her big time. She would miss all their times shared, but perhaps she could one day escape Gotham for Britain. "You can always come back for a visit, too, you know," Ivy said to them both, but Jonathan chuckled and shook his head.

"I've had enough of this miserable city...but a visit would qualify enough."

"I could go for a getaway myself - but not any time soon," Nygma piped up, slapping Crane on the back of the shoulder, laughing with him. "I'm not entirely sentimental, Jon, but it's going to be different without you. Now that Joker is gone, Gotham is going to change in the events of the criminal underworld."

Jonathan sighed deeply. "It certainly is, Edward." He took the Riddler's hand in his and held it in a simple gesture. "I shall never forget you, my friend. And I look forward to seeing you soon, Tetch," he said when he turned to look down at the short blond man who blushed madly.

"It won't be a burden to either of you, will it?" he asked nervously.

"Of course not!" Harley said. "You're absolutely welcome."

And then Edward broke it off with a tap on his watch. "On top notch, the both of you don't want to miss your flight," he reminded them.

So it was done with final embraces and farewells, and the most tearful came when it was time to say good-bye to Bud and Lou who were going to miss their mistress. They would be taken care of by none other than Edward, who had taken a liking to them both, and the hyenas seemed to like him, too.

By the time their suitcases and everything were ran through, Jonathan and Harleen Crane were aboard their first-class flight, and seated by the window so they could look at Gotham City one last time before they were off to their new life over the ocean. Harley had never been overseas, so the childish part of her was excited. She looked at her husband's side when they were both approached by an attendant who offered them both champagne. "Excited?" she asked him as they clinked glasses together before taking a sip.

He nodded, but nothing else. The dullness in his gaze was back. It made her sad once more. He had promised to talk to her more by the time they got settled in, and she would hold him to it. But the spark of life was no longer there; it would not stop her spending the years to come with him, however. He was half past forty, and who knew how many more years of life he had left, but Harley would not think like that and make the best of it with him. Leaning up, she kissed him on the cheek and promised that they would be happy again, that their old lives would be behind them soon.

Jonathan looked down at her and gave her a smile - and then sealed it with the first passionate kiss in so long a while.

I don't really have much of anything to say other than I am happy with how it came out. :) "Fatal Attraction" was one of the best films made, especially with its ending helping me out with the climax between the couple and the Joker. Now Jonathan and Harley can try to pick up the pieces again of what their life was before - at least, the best they can do.

Read and review. :D