Tanya was sitting back at her desk, flipping through footage, only half paying attention. She was back at work. The damage that had been done when she had been kidnapped was gone, evident only by the empty desks nearest to the door whose occupants had taken the blast. No one dare sit next to the door now, especially since she was back. Due to rumor, police reports and news stories centered on her, it was common knowledge that Tanya was Joker bait. People were on edge, waiting for what they thought was the inevitable. Some even refused to come to the office. Tanya was not insulted. She could not blame them for not wanting to die. She typed half-heartedly on her computer. Work had lost its luster. It was all part of the game now, a final ploy to draw the Joker out. She was certain that this would be the last attempt. Either the Joker would be caught, or she would expire.

The thought kept her up at night, listening to the tree branches scraping against the window, in constant fear of every sigh of the wood. The world which had once captivated her seemed like a giant graveyard. Her final resting place could be anywhere, the market, her car, the crosswalk, the stairwell of her complex, or the very desk she sat in. Her office became like a tomb. It terrified her, the things she had yet to do, the people she had yet to love, the life she still wanted to live. She didn't want to die. Not yet. Not like this. She succumbed to a weeping fit. Salt water tears splashed the surface of the long stale coffee in the ceramic mug on her desk. She did this often now, bursting into tears at strange times, like in the checkout line at the grocery store. No one questioned her. The whole city seemed to know who she was. Poor Tanya Heathrow, marked for death.

A touch on her shoulder startled her out of her silent pity party. She hastily wiped her face, a vain effort since her visitor knew very well what she had just been doing. In fact, it was the whole reason he had entered her office. Jim pulled a chair up next to her, a box of Kleenex in hand. He didn't speak, but just sat, handing her tissues and rubbing her back comfortingly, occasionally muttering nonsense sounds of comfort. Tanya allowed herself to cry until her eyes were spent. The pile of sodden tissue was growing to an alarming height. Jim again didn't acknowledge it more than to push it nonchalantly into a wastepaper basket at the foot of her desk. He sat, head propped on his hand, just watching her, waiting for her to speak first. His chestnut color hair was a little overdue for a trim and fell over his eyes. Tanya found herself staring at his eyes. They had always been beautiful, warm and knowing, the lush color of foliage. Now they were watching her, as they often did, a hint of sadness in them. She knew in an instant that he understood.

"I'm scared," was her open admission. She hadn't told anyone else this, perhaps fearing that vocalizing the fear would make it real. But it was real anyway, and continued to grow the more alone she felt.

"So am I." Jim scooted his chair closer to her and touched her arm reassuringly. "I've been scared since he put out that first video of his."

"Me too," she whispered. "How can someone be so evil?"

"I wish I knew. I always thought that maybe he was more sad than evil." So, Jim had been thinking about this too.

"Why did you come back?" the questioned bubbled out of her lips. "You were out, you could have run."

"Why didn't you run that day he came for you?" Jim replied with a question of his own.

"I wanted to. But if I did, people would die, all for me. I couldn't do that."

"There's your answer then. People are terrified of him. But someone has to show him that he can't dictate everything. That he can't make people run. Someone has to prove him wrong."

"Batman already tried."

"One man can't save a city. Not alone. We have to save ourselves." Tanya's sighed.

"It sucks," she wished there was a more poetic way to put it.

"It does. But it will pass."

"Before we are killed?"

"I wish I knew." Jim looked away for a moment, obviously debating asking something. He looked back at her, green locked on brown. "Why didn't he kill you? I've heard that he could have, even after you escaped. He was in your apartment."

It did not shock Tanya that Jim knew. Journalist made a career out of knowing. What did bother her was the answer to his question.

"I don't know," she stammered. "He keeps trying, but then he always stops. He says that I am interesting."

"You are," Jim smiled, silently urging her to go on.

"He almost slept with me," the confession burst forth like water from a dam. Jim's face instantly became alarmed.

"Did he try and rape you?"

"No." Tanya was going to tell him the truth she could not bring herself to tell Batman or Gordon that night. The Batman had returned, dejected that the Joker had escaped yet again. He had questioned her, harshly at times, about what went on in the apartment. Tanya explained it all but carefully circumvented the near mishap. Something about Jim was different than Batman or Gordon. Something about her experiences with Jim told her that he might understand, might even know why it had happened. "He came into my apartment and I was stalling, trying to find a way to summon help. So I said that since it was Christmas, he at least owed me dinner. And we were in the kitchen…" the story poured out. Jim did not interrupt and his face betrayed no definite emotion. She recognized the apathetic expression of a journalist in the field. It concerned her, but she kept on telling the story, finally reaching the conclusion where she had decided to come back to work as bait. He listened, reserving judgment until the end.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I think I am as crazy as he is," the confession marked the conclusion of her story.

Jim clasped her hands. "Tanya, you were kidnapped for over a month. You saw and heard things that most of us are lucky enough to have never seen. Of course you're confused."

"But he hurt you and you aren't like this."

Jim smiled wryly, the fresh scar on the right side of his face twisting. "I am just as confused. I wonder why this happened to me. I look at my reflection and wonder how he got his scars. If it was them that drove him to be how he is. If the same thing is going to happen to me. But mostly, I wonder when he's going to come back and finish the other side. You went through more. Maybe on the outside you look fine, but your scars are on the inside. They'll take a while to fade. But you're not crazy. We're not crazy." His tone was authoritative. He was convincing the both of them.

Tanya's eyes watered with fresh tears. "I don't want to die alone."

"You won't. If you need me to, I'll spend every minute with you until this is over, For better or worse."

Tanya took him up on it. They needed each other now, two friends in the same boat. They left the office together and headed for Tanya's apartment. She threw some belongings together and left for Jim's house, deciding that her apartment had too many memories. Jim had given her the tour and then they fixed dinner together. There was something instantly soothing about his company. They laughed as they ate, almost as though life was back to normal. And at night when it was time for sleep, Tanya curled into the king bed in the master bedroom, relishing the feel of a warm form next to her. It went like this for a week and a half before Tanya gave into impulse and kissed the man who selflessly offered her comfort. His kiss was one of genuine tenderness and caring and when she kissed his scar, she knew that he understood what it meant. They slept together, only sleeping, kissing and cuddling. The world had an axis once again. She only hoped they would both live long enough to explore this. Tanya was certain that if this all turned out right, if they lived and the Joker was captured or killed, that the world might heal. She might have a future, hopefully with the man sleeping peacefully next to her, his arm draped round her waist, holding her close. She felt his heart beat steadily under her palm. Tanya closed her eyes and said a prayer that it would continue to do so for much longer.

A/N: This story has already gone on way longer than I intended. In the next chapter or two, it's going to wrap up with a "final showdown." Will Batman finally capture the Joker? Will Tanya and Jim survive to have a future together? Find out in the next installment, same bat time, same bat place. Thanks to all the reviewers!