The first thing Val did when she walked into her bedroom was lay down on the bed, and let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over, all the worrying and lying was over. That Italian bastard was dead and she could finally move on. 'Too bad I didn't kill Janet and the little brat.' she thought. She couldn't even believe she was thinking such things. Usually she would just think about it once or twice but she never dwelled into it. However when Joker got back in the car, he didn't say much to her. She wasn't sure how to take that, but she seemed to be hiding her hysteria pretty well.

'What if he felt I was such a bad liar? What if I didn't do too good.'

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't hear him come up the stairs, and into the room. She thought quickly of how she could avoid a beating. She closed her eyes and tried her best to be still. Val heard his footsteps walk to the window seat and she heard the ruffle of his coat, jacket and vest coming off. Her heart was pounding when she heard his gloves slide off his hands and join the rest of the clothing on the window seat.

Val heard more footsteps on the carpet and they suddenly stopped. She stayed there frozen for a few minutes, trying to fight off the urge to turn around. Soon she gave in and turned her head slowly and peaked out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her, his charcoal eyes pierced her heart, like a knife in her soul. He didn't look angry but he didn't look happy. He was such a hard man to read, and she always hated that. He had been waiting for her to move ever since he entered the room. He had watched her sleep too many times to know when she was or was not faking.

"I uh, woke up. You scared me." she lied, sitting up on the bed.

"Val, you shouldn't tell lies." he muttered darkly, narrowing his eyes at her. Val shut her eyes waiting for the sharp smack across her face. She waited and waited until finally she opened one eye than the other. Instead she felt him grab the tip of her chin and pulled her into a rough kiss. She at first frowned in confusion, she didn't know what he was trying to do. Gain her confidence? She touched the hand that laid on her chin and kissed him back. He playfully bit her bottom lip, just hard enough to make her moan. He pulled away from her, taking his hand and carefully put a thumb close to her throat.

"I'm sorry." she whimpered, trying to push back tears. "I knew I did horrible tonight-." Before she could finish he took her by the hand, and pulled her off the bed and clasped one large hand around her small one and put the other one on her waist. Val at first couldn't get what he was trying to do, but when she did she put one hand on his shoulder (or at least as far as her small arms could reach) and her head on his chest. They began to sway to the invisible rhythm in their heads.

Every hint of fear lifted off her body, as she felt his rough hands gently sway her, to invisible music. Val closed her eyes taking and memorizing every detail of this moment. She opened her eyes for a split second to gaze out the window to see a large full moon. She smiled contentedly and closed her eyes again inhaling the smell of gunpowder and make up. Even if he didn't say a word to her she knew deep down that he was proud of her.

************

Val gave her hair one more brush and touched up her foundation more to cover up a bite mark on her neck from the previous night. She wore a bright smile on her face and hummed a merry tune. She hadn't felt this good in ages. Joker decided to let her go out and shop around so she could start her own garden, when the temperature rose. She decided to go basic today just a plain black shirt, jeans and black and white converses. It was hard for her to scramble for casual clothing, all she had was formal or skimpy clothing.

Joker wasn't there, he had to leave early for whatever reason but he did let her know that Ray would drive her into town. Town was only a couple miles and she didn't mind walking but she knew the reason why Ray had to come along. She didn't protest she was happy to just get out of the house.

She walked down the stairs and saw Ray waiting for her at the door. He looked up and gave her a smile. Even with a grin on his face he seemed so cold.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded excitedly and nearly burst out the door. She jumped in the car, and sat waiting for Ray to get out of the house. She probably only waited for a minute or so, but she was so impatient to get out, she beeped the car horn at him.

"You're so slow!" she laughed. He smirked as he walked out of the house and entered the car. He stuck the keys in the ignition and drove off down the street. It was a nearly empty road, with trees on either side. It was defiantly no Gotham. The city had buildings everywhere, and cars on nearly every spot of the street and the sounds of horns blaring, sirens wailing and people screaming or talking on their cell phones. All of this equaled zero relaxation. However you learned to ignore after years and years of dealing with it.

She looked at Ray who remained silent as usual. She barely heard him talk in front of the Joker or even with the other men. Just hearing his voice say a few words was an extraordinary fascination.

"So, what do you do besides work for Joker?" she asked scratching her leg, trying to get used to the feel of jeans again. Ray looked at her and shrugged. "Do you have a wife?"

He finally opened his lips and said in a soft mutter. "Used to."

Ray was a painfully shy guy despite his large and intimidating appearance. Normally he liked to remain quiet and out of the way. He would spend less time socializing with the other men and more observing, and pushing the Clown Prince of Crime's goals further. Being the Joker's main man he would normally take orders and every once in awhile have to force himself to talk. Most of the other temporary men would leave him alone in fear of him. He had a reputation for killing a man with no hesitation, and showing no remorse once the deed was done. . Most knew that the Joker kept him around the longest and some had invented stories of how he came to be in that position. Even though he knew that his mortality rate was higher than the other henchclowns he knew that he was just as mortal as the rest.

"Really? Do you have any kids?" Val was dying to talk to someone other than Joker. She used to be a very social person, but when he entered her life her social life was almost non existent Ray cleared his throat and nodded.

"Two." He replied.

"Boys or girls?"

"Boys."

Val frowned, all she was getting was one word answers and they were driving her crazy.

"You don't want to talk to me, right?" she said getting angry. "Here I am trying to make a conversation and all you can do is give me one word answers. Well fine don't talk-."

"I don't talk that much. It's nothing personal." he stated. "Sorry."

Val felt bad for freaking out at him. She hated when she did that. "No I'm sorry. I shouldn't have fussed at you."

"It's all good." he said in a comforting tone. Val still felt bad, so she tried to explain herself.

"Y'know the reason why I flipped out is because most of the guys don't take me seriously. Like I know all the stupid things they say about me. Most are down right insulting. They think I'm just some dumb little tramp that somehow made it with the Joker and I'm pretty much a groupie. Which isn't true. I knew him before half of these mother fuckers knew how to piss. I mean you wouldn't believe all the shit they say about me." she finished her rant with a huff. Ray didn't say anything but he replied.

"Well, you shouldn't care what they say. If the Boss likes you then fuck the rest."

Val nodded and she a lot better than before. She smiled and said. "Thanks Ray."

"Your welcome."

Ray parked on the outside of town and unlocked the door. "I'll be waiting right here. Take your time." Val gave him a quick hug and walked out the car. She smiled at the small little shopping area. There were so many stores to shop in. Some were food, others were clothes and most were random other places, like tailors, and for shoe repair. Val decided to start with what she needed. She reached in her jean pocket and pulled out a list of everything she needed. First it was food.

She remembered the large wad of bills that Joker gave her for her shopping spree and made sure it was safe inside her pocket. She walked into the grocery shop first. It was small and had everything separated in a certain corner of the small shop. It was a small town so everyone stared at her. She ignored them and grabbed a shopping cart. First thing was fruit, and vegetables.

Val moved the shopping cart and grabbed everything she could. She wasn't a picky eater so she grabbed anything she could from lettuce to carrots, strawberries, to pineapples and more. She had to get food or Joker would never eat. He only ate when she cooked and left something out for him. Sometimes he would eat the whole thing and sometimes he would eat around it. As long as he was eating that was important. She worked her way into the can food aisle, then dairy, then meat. It had seem like a long time since she asked for certain types of meat. For awhile she stayed away from meat for a diet. Now she had to make sure Joker got all the protein he needed.

When she was nearly done she went to the bakery. She remembered how much of a sweet tooth Jack had. Him and Nikki would sit and watch cartoons, and eat cake and cookies all day. She sighed and pushed back a tear, how she missed Nikki so much.

She got a strawberry cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies. 'Maybe Joker would like something sweet later.' she thought.

Her cart was nearly full when she was done and she went to the check out to pay. She noticed a magazine, in front of her the headline read. "JOKER STRIKES TWICE! ROBBED BANK AND MOBSTER DEAD!!!!"

She chuckled to herself as she put her items on the belt. In Gotham they usually asked whether she wanted paper or plastic. She wasn't picky at all but in here they only had paper. She didn't mind but she found it odd they only had once choice. When she was done she didn't bother to look at the price. She pulled out a couple hundreds and told the cashier to keep the change. She walked out the store and checked that off on her list. She pushed the cart to the car, threw the groceries into the trunk and made a note to hurry up because she had ice cream in there. She next went to the clothing store.

There were two stores. One was a second hand store that smelled like moth balls and a moldy old attic and the other was a store that was run by an old hippie woman. Val was sure there was more than this but these were the closest to the car. She decided on the hippie store. It smelled strongly of incense and candles. It was dim and the walls and ceiling covered in many different fabrics of all types of design.

Val only stayed in the store for less than ten minutes but she bought a few sticks of incense, a hat, a skirt, a skimpy shirt, and a few rings. The old hippie woman gave her a discount for no reason but Val wasn't complaining. She left the woman a nice tip. When she was done with that she walked into the floral shop.

When she walked in the smell of fresh flowers of all sorts hit her nostrils strong. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent with a sigh of serenity. It reminded her of her home back in New Orleans. To the side of the door were the seeds. She grabbed daisy, dahlia, and lilies. Along with tomato seeds. She decided to start off small. The winter would hit very strong soon, so she decided in the spring to buy more. She was in line to purchase them when a guy about her age maybe a little older came up behind her and bumped her.

"Sorry." he apologized.

"It's alright-." When she turned around she was taken back for only a moment. The man was goregous. He had shoulder length black hair, and bright green eyes. His skin was tanned to perfection and his body was perfectly toned.

"Are you new here?" he asked. "I mean it's a small town and I've never seen you around here."

"Yes, I just moved here a couple months ago. Wanted to get seeds for my garden." She stumbled on her words and cursed herself for sounding like a bumbling idiot.

"A little late for that." he laughed.

"Yeah, well I'll do it inside." she smiled sweetly.

"You're next." he said pointing to the counter.

"Oh." she laughed going up to the counter and putting the seeds on the counter, and taking out another Benjamin.

"So, what's your name?" the guy asked.

"V-uh.. Holly." she said thinking of the first name that came to her head.

"Well Holly, I'm Travis." he said holding out his strong hand. She shook it quickly flashing her shy smile. When she paid for her items she waved a shy goodbye.

"Maybe I'll see you around." she blushed.

"Maybe." he said giving her a wink. Val walked clumsily out the door, down the street and to the car. The expression on her face was light and distant. She was another countless victim of the sharp end of Cupid's arrow. Even as she stared out the window she seemed to be on cloud nine.

"Are you alright?" Ray asked after awhile.

"Mhm." she said to the window.

"Need me to help you with the groceries?" he asked.

"No." she sighed.

"Do yourself a favor and don't put away the groceries yet. I got some news for the Boss." Ray said shortly. Val wasn't too concerned at the moment.

He frowned he wasn't sure what to think or say. It only made him wonder what had gone on in that shopping center. Of course he didn't want to investigate, that would mean he would have to tell the Boss and judging by the "love marks" she had beaten into her flesh it wasn't good for her. He made up excuses in his mind and ignored the day dreaming girl.

Val tried to push away all those feelings she felt towards Travis. She remembered she had that same feeling when she first saw Jack, even though she didn't show it. She couldn't feel this way towards him, she had Joker. Besides Joker would kill her and him before he let her run off with some guy. Only he had the right to end the relationship not her. She was easily replaceable and she couldn't let some good looking guy with a charming voice and a wonderful smile ruin what she had worked so hard to keep.

************

Val changed into small black shorts and a white sleeveless shirt, when she finished putting the groceries inside the house. She cut a piece of cheesecake and put some chocolate chip cookies next to it. She bravely walked from the kitchen to his study. She had never entered it, mostly because if he wasn't in there it was locked and if he was it was locked anyway. The door seemed different from the other ones, in an odd way. With her free hand she knocked on the door.

At first she didn't hear anything, so she knocked again.

"What?!" she heard Joker bark.

She jumped and hesitated. Her brain was saying to leave right then and there but for some reason her body wasn't getting the message.

"It's me love."

'What the fuck do you want?' he fumed in his mind.

"What is it?" he asked,

"I uh..got you something to eat."

Joker usually would've just ignored her, but today he was in a good mood so he entertained her. He unlocked the door and walked back into the dark room. She followed behind him, holding the desert in her shaking hands.

"Close the, ah door behind you." he ordered. She did as he commanded, closing what little light that came in the room. The room would be pitch black if he didn't have the small lamp on. All the windows were covered with curtains making it even harder to see. Joker was sitting in a large chair, cutting out a article from the paper to add to his collection. He was lost in his accomplishment that he forgot she was there.

He peered from the corner of his eye and shrugged. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well what do you want?"

Val held the cheesecake out in front of her. "I went grocery shopping, and I got you a cake."

"What kind?" he asked peeking from the news paper article.

"Cheesecake and some chocolate chip cookies."

Joker through his fading war paint rasied his eye brow and used the scissors to point to the table that the lamp was sitting on. "Put it there." Val did as she was told and quickly walked out to leave.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked. Val stopped, turned around on her heel shrugged. Her eyes were facing down on the dirty floor. He put the newspaper on the floor next to the chair and he motioned her over to sit on his lap. She slowly did so wrapping arms around his neck.

"Is my Val happy?" he asked. Joker never asked this before, or at least not in a very long time and this queston took Val off guard. She nodded her head happily.

"Good. I like it when you smile." he awed, running the tip of the scissor up and down her arm. Val enjoyed the cold metal being dragged up and down. It gave her a sensual chill. The more he talked the deeper he would drag the tip of the sharp edge.

"Y'know when I saw you trick ah, Michael into beliving that you cared for him, that was pure art." he emphasized the "t" sharply. "You know why you're my muse? Hmm?" She shook her head, the grip around his neck growing tighter as the tips dug into her arm. "You're the absolute outcome of my ah, philosophy. You're not wearing your mask anymore. You used to be like all these other civilized people, constantly wearing a mask but now my dear the mask is off which means what? Hmm?"

The tip of the blade began to draw blood. She moaned in masochistic pleasure. He squeezed the wound until blood was running down her arm. He pulled her arm closer and licked the metallic sticky liquid up to her wound. When he was done he continued.

"It means theres no going back. You're one of us. You're a freak." Val smiled and gave him a rough kiss on the lips which he returned. Their tongues danced together, as Val slid her hands in his coat pocket, and he slid off her shorts. He picked her up and laid her on the dirty floor that was scattered with crumbs, pieces of paper, and many broken knives, and scattered bullets. Val felt a handle to a broken knife press on her back but she didn't care. With the scissors still in hand Joker made deep cut after cut into her bare flesh. She sharp pain made her dig her nails into the skin of his back leaving marks all over it.

As he thrusted into her over and over he muttered something into the thick hot air.

"We accept you, one of us!"

****************

Val woke up in his chair still in his study. She looked at herself and noticed her legs and stomach were covered with cuts, and even a couple on her arm. She still had on her shorts, she remembered only earlier before she passed out that she had slid them on because of the rough material of the chair. However she was topless. After searching around her for a minute or two she finally found it on the dirty floor and put it on. Meanwhile Joker was putting knives in his jacket pockets and loading up guns, while humming a made up tune.

She got up from her chair and walked over to the clown. She wrapped her arms behind him, and dug her face into his back.

"You're up." he said plainly. "Good. So pack up some stuff."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Do it." he said pushing her off of him and out towards the door.

Val frowned with her head down trying to skip over the objects in her way that lined the floor like a mime waiting for passing soldiers to slaughter. She was still sore from him, and walked with a slight limp. Not just becasue he cut her, but he also pulled her hair, pushed her wrist down, and bit her hard on the shoulder that was still sore from her mistake a couple days ago. Now it was turning black and had dried blood surronding it. Their special moment together was a blur but she did remember clenching her teeth and groaning with pain as he dug his teeth as far as he could into her trembling flesh. Judging by how bad the bruise was he liked it.

It didn't take her long to pack a few pairs of pants, dresses, shirts and other items, it was more finding something to wear that covered up her many cuts and bruises. She decided on a off the shoulder tight black dress with only a barely a inch heel. She couldn't find anything to cover up the bruise so she wore a small fur jacket. As she walked down the stairs holding her suitcase, she saw the back of Joker's freshly dyed green hair. He was talking to Ray, and a man with bright blue eyes, high cheek bones, and full lips. He was a handsome man, but he seemed all too familar. She'd seen him on TV when Falcone entered Arkham. His distinctive blue eyes raised themselves to face her.

"Ah, you must be Joker's little lady."

***********
The line "We accept you..." is from Freaks a old movie that came out in 1932. It added a little weirdness to the chapter, and I love it. I don't like this chapter.. blurgh. Review loves and tell me what you think. I always love hearing from you. -Val