A/N: Ok, ok, more plot. But we're getting Rachel and Jack closer to being, um, closer….Please review, love you so much.

Reeniecat

The Batman came to, stiff and groggy. His body wanted him to stay asleep, but his brain made an urgent effort to force him into action. Once he cleared away the fog, he realized Alfred was still out. Bruce sat up and crawled over to his butler, calling his name and administering a series of small, sharp slaps onto his cheeks as he anxiously watched his face for signs of life.

Alfred's eyes fluttered open, and he slowly brought himself into a sitting position.

"Master Wayne, did the Joker escape?" he finally asked, still a little muddled.

"I'm afraid so, Alfred. This is what I get for stupidly letting my guard down…"

"I did tell you to watch out for the rabid dog, didn't I, sir?" Alfred asked.

Bruce stared irritably at the older man. "Yes, you did, you certainly did. Thanks so much for reminding me…"

"He took Miss Rachel and the child?"

"Yes, he did." Bruce stood up and helped Alfred to his feet.

"Do you think he'll do them harm, sir?"

"I…I don't know, Alfred. Somehow, I don't think so, at least not in his current state of mind, with the medications he's on. But I don't know what'll happen when the stuff wears off…"

Bruce Wayne picked up the phone and began making phone calls.

***

Harvey Dent felt as though he was swimming in Jello; Rachel had never come to pick up Jacob; his mother had called to let him know that she had put the baby to bed, and was going to go to bed herself, assuming that Rachel was caught working late at her office, which wasn't very unusual. Harvey had begun calling her cell phone, her office phone, and, when he got no response from either, finally just drove to her office. He found her car, but no Rachel.

He called the police, and he tried to contact Bruce—the only other person he could think of that might have some idea of where she could be at that hour. But he wasn't answering his phone, either.

Harvey stayed awake all night, in contact with the police in the field. He was growing increasingly disturbed, only to hear from his mother at the hour of six a.m. that Jacob was missing. The police had no information whatsoever; in fact, the lieutenant handling the call dared to suggest that Rachel might have taken the child, herself, and stolen away with some secret lover. Harvey, already raw with emotion, let him have it in no uncertain terms.

It wasn't until later that morning that Bruce Wayne made the call to Harvey.

Harvey had the receiver in his hand before the second ring.

"Hello?" he asked anxiously.

"Harvey, it's Bruce. This is about Rachel and Jacob…"

"My God, Bruce, where are they? Are they all right?"

"Uh…yes and no. They're…with the Joker."

Harvey was dead silent. Not only did the statement freeze his heart, but it made no sense.

"The Joker's dead, Bruce. Goddammit, the bastard died…what the hell are you talking about?"

"He faked his death, Harvey, and…he rescued Jacob from Maroni, and he helped me rescue Rachel from him, too."

Harvey's brain was becoming toast, but he tried to articulate his bewilderment.

"Maroni? Maroni's targeting my family?

"Not…exactly. He's targeting…the Joker."

"Huh?"

"He's trying to bring the Joker back into his mob family, and he was using Jacob and Rachel as bait."

Harvey was at a loss. How could a psychopathic creature like the Joker care enough about anyone else to be influenced in that way?

"You mean…I've lost my fiancée and son because of that monstrous piece of garbage?" Harvey's voice was like steel. He had felt emotions strong enough to understand how someone could commit murder before, but he had never felt this…this cold fury. If the Joker had stood before him, he would have torn him apart with his bare hands.

"Harvey…I think he's trying to save them. I think he's taking them away somewhere to keep them out of Maroni's reach; he seemed…to care for them both, believe it or not," said Bruce, still amazed by what he had witnessed.

"I have Gordon handling this personally. But…the Joker's smart. They…they may not be able to catch up to him in time. And I haven't a clue as to where he would go." Bruce hated to say the words, but he had to make Harvey understand the gravity of the situation.

"We've got to find them, Bruce. Whatever it takes. Rachel is my life—I will not lose her because of…him."

***

The Joker carried Jacob in his car seat to a waiting vehicle, and Rachel monitored his movements anxiously, watching to see that he wasn't too out of it to drive. He seemed ok, but she once again asked him "Are you sure you should be driving, Jack? With all that medication you're on?"

"I'm fine. The stuff that knocks me out is cancelled out by the stuff that hypes me up. My brain is home to a perfect ecosystem of psychotropic drugs." He cast a smug glance at her, and caught her face in his hand.

"I wouldn't take any chances with you guys in the car, Rachel. I promise," he said in a suddenly serious voice.

"Ok, Jack. It'd be a shame to escape from Gotham only to die on a lonely road in the Mexican jungle," answered Rachel scathingly.

"I completely agree," he asserted.

The two rode mostly in silence. As she had so often in the past, Rachel studied Jack's face, looking for clues to his thoughts and intentions. She didn't like how thin and pale he was, the after-effects of bad prison food and no sun for months…she wondered once again where he was taking her and what kind of facilities would be there, and if she would be able to cook some decent meals… she suspected she would count herself lucky if they had indoor plumbing.

"When's the last time you had a home-cooked meal, Jack?"

"Shit…probably the last time you cooked for me. Long damn time. But, don't worry, I didn't bring you here to do stuff like that. Anyway, Elena's a hell of a good cook."

Elena?

Rachel had to remind herself that if Jack had a Mexican mistress stashed somewhere, well, she had no right to feel jealous. Even so…

"Who's Elena?"

Rachel's tone wasn't lost on Jack, and he grinned to himself.

"Elena? Oh, a beautiful woman. Amazing dark eyes. Perfect skin. Really knows how to please a man, too…"

He glanced at Rachel's aggrieved expression and cracked up.

"Plus, she's like, sixty-two or something…she keeps house and her husband Carlos takes care of the grounds…hey, I've only fucked her a few times…" he couldn't resist adding.

"Jack, you are such a creep," Rachel said in relief. They both started laughing, and Jack stuck a disc of Sinatra's Greatest Hits in the player. They began chatting about one thing or the other as the miles flew by, and somehow, they settled into an easy alliance that lasted for the rest of the drive.