Disclaimer: Don't own anything except original characters. All material (c) to respective owners. I write these for fun and make no profit. They're just random plot bunnies that live within my strange mind.

Thank you to you for the comments, fav's reviews, etc. They are much appreciated and make me feel better about my writing.

Chapter 11: Truth is Madness

Half an hour after he had called them Max and Grace were both waiting with Bruce outside Selina's room. The doctors were monitoring her condition and seeing what she was capable of on her own, whether she still needed the ventilator or not. She had nearly in her confusion done more harm to herself than good.

Max hated the disguise he wore but risking his true identity would reveal more than he cared to allow, Selina would know the truth and would end what he now had. "How is she?" the question was reflex and he had a feeling it was more for Grace's sake than his own, after all Max hated the woman now again breathing and on her way to recovery.

"Not sure…they've been in there since she woke." Bruce continued to pace restlessly watching the door every few minutes.

Grace watched him pace before feeling arms slowly wrap around her waist, she smiled before feeling how tense Max really was. Familiar words and past events instantly fell onto her shoulders, he still had reasons to hate Selina and yet he was trying to be happy for her. Was Max changing for the better because of his soft spot for her? Her heart swelled with hope at this, but her logical mind told her that it wasn't true, he would wait for the day they could face off and end one or the others life.

"Ms. Sable…she's breathing on her own and asking to see you." Grace glanced up at the nurse and felt her self grow anxious.

Grace normally would want to see Selina alone, but familiar feelings of hurt and resentment came rushing back to her. Bruce watched her hand lace with Max's before she nearly dragged the startled man with her into the room, that was something he hadn't expected to happen.

"What are you doing Gracie? Are you nuts?" She ignored the startled tone Max offered her, before slipping into the room with only two nurses remaining to monitor Selina's progress.

"I need you." He stopped protesting at those words, she was dragging her cousin's worst enemy into the room knowing he wanted nothing more than Selina's death, and was doing it freely?

Max again started to question Grace's sanity, maybe Arkam had did something to her during her brief stay? He wasn't sure but he knew that this kind of thing was rather stupid for anyone to do, especially knowing what she did. He briefly wondered if Grace was doing this just to allow him his revenge, but knew better by the sudden soft look on her expression.

"I know your differences Max." her voice was only loud enough for his ears. "But I need you right now no matter what, I love you and need your help to keep myself from loosing it. I've never been in this situation before and refuse to just let myself feel abandoned because of revenge." She noticed him about to say something but a considerable softness was detectable in his eyes, the cold hard hate slowly melting even if it was reluctantly.

Grudgingly he nodded his consent and felt her tug him to the side of the bed. Selina's eyes were closed and she was breathing on her own, but was considerably thinner than she had ever seen her and appeared to be in just a little pain.

"Nina?" Max felt her hand tighten with his and glanced at her curious to the nickname.

Selina heard the familiar nickname and a whisper of a smile crossed her chapped lips. "Gracie?" she rasped her voice hardened from the various tubes that had kept her alive. "I'm so glad you're alright…" her eyes fluttered seeing Max was at her side and traveled slowly down seeing hands entwined. "…I see you finally took my advice." Grace felt her face flush but smiled despite Selina's amused sound.

"You're in no condition to pull your usual stunts with me Nina. Bruce is waiting to see you…" Grace paused seeing her eyes soften at the mention of him. "…but I need to ask you something that I learned before Max and I escaped." She knew this was not the best of times to ask questions and heard Bruce enter the room a soft smile on his face, before it fell already gathering the question.

"Grace…I don't think Selina is ready for…

"Bruce…let her ask." Selina was oddly calm, her feline instinct again kicking in. She briefly wondered if after a while her nine lives would kick back in, but gathered that this was just pure luck.

Bruce sighed giving them both a look, before waving his hand in defeat for them both to continue. "The Ringmaster…" she felt Max's grasp tighten, but reassured him with a light squeeze. "…told me who you are by night. Why did you hide it from me?" Selina saw Bruce nod in confirmation of which nightlife she was referring to.

"You would think less of me Gracie…being two people in one is difficult." Selina offered in that familiar croaky tone of voice. "I'm sorry." Instead of pushing things farther Grace offered a familiar trained smile, which Selina didn't know at all and leaned down hugging her carefully.

"I know Nina…I'm going to let you be with Bruce. If you need anything he knows how to reach us." She felt Selina's hand grasp hers firmly; eyes searching hers for some sign of reassurance or forgiveness, but Grace couldn't grant her that elegance just yet and smiled kissing her hand softly.

Once they were in the car Grace refused to speak and allowed her stare to linger out the tinted window. She felt betrayed that Selina was so cold and yet those eyes searching for something she couldn't give; it made her resentment much worse. What else was she hiding, clearly Bruce had known the secret because of the brief nod she had seen exchanged between the pair. Why couldn't Selina trust her with her secret? Why did she have to learn from Max in such an unfitting manor and why did she care? Selina was no longer the cousin she knew, but something all together different and she was growing to feel betrayed in this whole thing.

Slowly she allowed her eyes to meet the cool green eyes that had refused to leave her since they had climb in the car. "Do you think me evil Max?" she saw his expression change to one of confusion. "I think I honestly feel nothing for Selina…she lied to me and yet seemed to not care. Yet Bruce knew the secret and he refused to meet my gaze when we left. I get the impression that no matter how kind Alfred has been he's been covering for both of them." Her voice was bitter, the hurt clearly there.

Max knew she was right, but where was she going with this inquiry and what was she getting at? "Perhaps…families do strange things to protect those that they love, even lovers do this." She furrowed her brow watching his eyes lower clearly lost in his own thoughts again, she knew those actions well.

"I don't need protection…" she faltered, Grace had never really known what she needed; she had always been withdrawn in life and avoided association by nature.

Her mother sending her off to Arkam had nearly crippled her faith in anyone, she had never really come to love or care for anyone in the sense she was supposed to do so, yet she found Max different and almost like her. Two hurt people, two people suffering within their own minds and finding consolation in one another. She truly knew that no matter what she could never hate him, even if protecting her from the truth of what he was capable of unnerved her a bit, she loved him.

She realized that she herself had far more issues than even she had fathomed before. Max brought out her true identity, maybe she was no better than those she condemned in her own mind?

"Max…" her uncharacteristic tone made him actually wince, she knew something and was about to ask something he really didn't want to answer. "…I know the deadly circus planted the bomb…but who gave the order." The accusatory tone in her voice finally hit on his last nerve, she knew and he couldn't exactly deny it.

He hated Selina and loved her cousin, she knew him very well and hiding the truth would only prolong the wait. She would hate him, but now they were part of one another, how would she deal with this.

"I did." Finally he met those green eyes he had grown accustomed to, his expression turned to one of curiosity. "You're smiling?" his eyes were widened slightly, the clear surprise reflected in his expression.

Grace wasn't entirely sure why she was smiling; in actuality this had not surprised her. The night Selina had been hurt had been the night she had waited up for him, without his knowledge of course. He had returned to her room late and she had pretended to be asleep. "I knew what he was doing, why did I not do anything?" in truth she started to wonder if her own sanity wasn't in question.

She had nearly allowed Max to have his revenge and yet Selina survived. All that remained of the deadly circus was the organ grinder, poodle woman and strongman, and she was finding the fact the man she loved had tried to kill her own family. Had she finally gone mad like her mother?

The thought triggered a memory she had thought forgotten, one she wished she had truly forgotten.

--Memory--

Grace felt terrified with the cries around her, the amused tones, and clear laughter that echoed in Arkam. She was sure the terrible place would destroy her sanity, the crazed characters and sounds coming alive at the final shift of the night. Her eyes shut tight against the madness within her, she had to hate those that put her in her prison, she had to hate her mother.

"Nina?" she whispered softly into the darkness, her cousin had been there when her mother began to act strangely, she watched Selina flee the house calling that she would return. "Nina don't leave!"

She shook her head; Selina had left her with her mother who was rambling about some evil being within Grace. Grace never saw herself as evil and her mother saying that just sitting there watching what happened without so much as flinching had been wrong.

Grace had seen her mother do it; with one swift swing of the knife she had used to make sandwiches she had slit his throat. For some reason she hadn't flinched, she had watched her mother kill the man without even blinking almost like it had been practiced.

Her mother's pale green eyes met hers. "Gracie…" her voice sounded horror struck; her little girl wasn't doing anything but staring, a strange smile on her lips. "…oh honey." She dropped the knife to the floor and carefully made her way to her daughter.

"Don't." Grace's smile hadn't faded, her eyes fixated on the body within the kitchen. "Show me?" she met her mothers gaze and saw the fear within her gaze, a cloud of unknown coldness seemed to linger there.

That was the day her mother had apparently lost her mind, Selina had returned with her mother in tow and the discovery had been too much. Grace's mother had already turned her over to Arkam officials stating that her daughter was delusional. No one knew what happened that day for sure, but it wasn't long before those officials had returned to claim her mother, no one knew that the man that had died had tried to kill Grace's mother and she had done it in defense, they all thought her mad and her daughter wrongly fully put away.

--End Memory--

That was why Grace hated the nickname so much; her mother had seen something wrong in her daughter at such a young age. Her mother had seen the strange glee in her eyes, the cold calculating need to learn how to hurt there. Grace was not entirely right in the head and that memory had been buried for so long, now it surfaced clearly because she now understood herself.

She understood why she hated Selina now; the girl had left her to her mother instead of saving her from those two nights in Arkam. It had taken her childhood, the innocent glee she had and now understood. She had been a monster herself at such a young age and it had diluted over time, her Aunt had seen it when she was young and took her from the city that would feed her obsession.

Her aunt had turned her normal by sending her to the country, her new mother had did just the same as her own mother had, only faired much better at it.

Max for the first time since falling for her was never this concerned with her smile before, he saw something in those eyes that resembled something he had internally battled with himself. "Did I miss something in her?" a disturbing thought, but her past come back from that discussion not long ago and he began to think perhaps her mother hadn't been entirely insane for putting her into Arkam.

"Gracie?" she snapped back to reality seeing the inquiry in his expression and felt her heart pound nervously. "What is it?" he was hesitant to ask, but the sudden amusement in her expression had definitely been far too different for his comfort levels.

"Memories…I finally remembered why I was put in Arkam." His brow quirked at her tone, her eyes darkening slightly, her hands slowly brushing at her black slacks finally meeting those green eyes.

Grace found her voice and told him the whole story; she even explained why she had scared her mother. If it had troubled him at all there was no sign, he seemed to be sitting there absorbing things, his eyes half lidded in intense thought.

The silence was exasperating; he had yet to speak to her since they arrived back at the house. He left her to her room and disappeared still off in his own world. She started to consider maybe telling of her past was a bad idea, but he hadn't told her otherwise. Max had left her to wallow in her own thoughts. Her past coming back to haunt her, familiar feelings she wished had never resurfaced and finally a strange finality calming her completely.

She was no better than the person she loved, Selina was no better than a memory to her now. Shockingly she no longer cared either way, all she did care about was keeping Max at her side and life the way she now knew it. Chaotic and yet secure in those arms she had found the first comfort in since her grandparents had died. "I need Max." the idea brought her from her continuous stare into the nothing of her room; she lingered in the bed they had shared not long ago before finally standing.

"I won't let him easily ignore me like this." Her jaw set determinedly she started for her door her hand freezing when it began to turn.

Max had been lost in his own whirlwind of thoughts. He had always thought she was off but this knowledge had thrown him. Yet it was also a comfort, Grace was similar to him in many ways and together they kept their own dark sides under control. There was a connection from day one and it all resorted to where they were now. He wasn't going to let her withdraw from him and he was not going to leave her.

Selina was no longer his most prominent issues, perhaps the evil woman would live for now. He had what he needed most, a woman that shared that same internal madness that kept him up at night.

He stepped hesitantly into the room pausing when he came face to face with her. "Hello Gracie." His voice was the familiar amused tone she knew him to have often. "I love you." She didn't get the chance to say anything that had gone through her mind, before his lips claimed hers.

They were both drowning in each others madness and the world would never know. Their shared secret would stay between them. Selina no longer mattered to either of them, Batman and Catwoman could go to the darkest depths of hell and neither of them would blink.

Past, present and future was determined by how they would live themselves. The Ringmaster would only come out if their world was threatened, she would always be there at his side. If anyone tried to ruin this or them, they would die trying because both were just crazy enough to do it together.

A/N: I may do another part to this when I get the inspiration, I'm not so sure I like leaving the ending like this or it hanging, but for now it is done. Hope you all enjoyed the twist.