Dr. Crane had achieved his lifelong ambition. He had presented his miraculous achievement, this new life had made single-handedly, to the scientific community, he had been hailed as a genius and a hero, he had the admiration and respect he had always wanted from his peers…and he was still not happy.

It didn't help that his monster was proving most difficult – he wasn't a very cooperative man to begin with, and he resented being displayed like a freak in a show to be poked and prodded and stared at. And while normally the Joker was a man with a perpetual smile on his face, for some reason since they had left Gotham, his smile had vanished.

But it wasn't just the monster's fault. Crane felt a sense of emptiness – he had done all he had set out to do, and now was unsure of his purpose in life. The fame and respect of others had not filled the holes in his heart as he had hoped they would. And so despite his success, he spent a very gloomy couple of months touring the country with his monster.

He received the shock of his life when a telegram suddenly arrived from Tetch with the short, simple message: You and Joker must return at once. Harley in trouble. Come immediately.

Naturally Crane instantly canceled all his plans, and hurried back to Gotham with the Joker at once. "Where is she?" Crane exclaimed, flinging open the front door to his home. "What's wrong?"

Tetch put a finger to his lips, carrying a tea tray and a bowl of soup. "She's resting upstairs," he whispered.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Joker, shoving Crane out of the way.

"I'm not sure wrong is the correct word exactly," said Tetch, quietly. "But you should see her for yourself, but do be quiet. She needs her rest."

They followed Tetch up the stairs and he opened the door to Harley's room carefully. The lights were out and Harley was fast asleep, and Tetch crept over to her bedside, pulling aside the covers. "Harley is with child," he whispered.

Crane stared in horror at Harley's swollen belly. "Jervis, how...could you?!" he gasped. "I trusted you…"

"I didn't do it!" retorted Tetch, angrily. "I have never laid a hand on Harley in that way!"

"Then who…" began Crane, but his eyes fell on Joker, who was gazing at Harley tenderly, a smile on his face.

"You…disgusting…brute!" Crane gasped. "You did this…to my ward?!"

"Well, frankly, I didn't know that I still had the ability to procreate," retorted Joker, shrugging. "Didn't know the dead could create life. So I didn't figure I needed to be careful."

"Yes, why did you still give him that ability?" asked Tetch. "As long as you were cutting stuff out and making adjustments, you could have neutered him, as people do with pets."

"He's not a pet!" snapped Crane. "He's a man!"

"Damn right I am!" chuckled Joker. "Aw, this is great news…"

"It is not!" hissed Crane. "My ward having a child out of wedlock is not great news!"

"Well, I'll take care of her," replied Joker. "I'll even marry her if you wanna."

"You're a monster!" snapped Crane. "You can't marry her! You're not even a real man, just a creature I created!"

"Well, Harley's condition would say different!" chuckled Joker.

Harley stirred at the noise. "Mmm…Mr. J?" she murmured, opening her eyes slowly.

"Hiya, kiddo," said Joker, bending down to kiss her forehead. "How ya feeling?"

"A lot better now that you're here," she whispered, taking his hand and beaming at him. She placed his hand over her belly. "It's yours, puddin'," she whispered. "Yours and mine. Our life that we created together. And I couldn't be happier. I love you so much," she whispered, kissing him.

Crane stared at the two of them, a slow realization spreading through his brain. And then he headed for the door, sitting down on the steps by the landing and putting his head in his hands.

"Jonathan?" asked Tetch, following him. "Are you all right?"

"I created a life too, Jervis," murmured Crane. "But it hasn't made me as happy as Harley. Why is that? Why is it that with all my brains and intelligence, I'm not as happy as she is over the natural result of the most common act between a man and a woman?"

Tetch took a seat next to him. "Perhaps because…your creation was born out of a desire to impress others," he said gently. "While theirs was born out of love."

Crane was silent. "What is the point of life without love, after all?" continued Tetch. "What is the point of all your brains and intelligence if your work lacks heart?"

Crane looked at him. "Is that the true secret of life?" he murmured. "That nothing worthwhile can come out of it if not created with love?"

"I don't know," replied Tetch. "You tell me. You discovered it, after all."

Crane shook his head slowly. "Perhaps I haven't," he murmured. "Not yet. But I will, Jervis, I promise you. I will."

And Dr. Crane did. He gave up his ambitions to find happiness solely through his work, and focused on other things, like his ward and his creation's family, which turned out to be a set of twins, which they were both very happy about. And eventually Dr. Crane found a beautiful, kind, perfect woman named Emilia, whom he married, and had a beautiful, kind, perfect child named Katrina. And thus Dr. Crane found out the true secret of life, and happiness along with it.

Crane finished the story, kissing his wife and daughter. "I don't remember any of that in the Frankenstein story," said Emilia, bluntly. "Nor do I remember the ending being a happy one for either the doctor or the monster."

"Honestly, my angel, there have been enough interpretations of the story that have been unfaithful to the original novel – why object to one more?" asked Crane.

"Because if we're exposing Katrina to classic literature young, she needs to learn the correct stories, not some new spin on them," retorted Emilia. "Our job as parents is to educate our child, not confuse her."

"She's not confused, are you, my precious?" asked Crane, kissing his daughter, who smiled sleepily at him, yawning and shutting her eyes. "There, you see? That's not confusion."

"No, that's adoration," sighed Emilia. "And that makes two of us."

She kissed him tenderly, and then put the finishing touches on the candy fort. "Time for bed, I think, my love," she murmured, heading upstairs to put Katrina into her crib. "And us too, Jonathan," she added.

"But it's Halloween, my angel," protested Crane, following her after wishing Lenore goodnight. "I usually stay up until the witching hour at least reading ghost stories…"

"We can do that in bed," interrupted Emilia. "Or we could do…other things in bed too. It's up to you, Jonathan," she said, heading for the door. "Coming?" she asked, turning around to grin at him.

Crane smiled back at her. "Goodnight, my angel," he whispered, bending down to kiss Katrina. He then followed his wife out of the room, murmuring, "This really is the best Halloween ever."