Two Months Later

March 2008

In the wake of Batman's desertion from Gotham, the city had certainly changed.

The masked vigilante hadn't been seen in over two months, and there was nothing anybody could do aside from guessing that he was gone for good. The police were left to run the city on their own—but they weren't the ones who were running it.

The Joker was.

For the past eight weeks, the city had been in absolute mayhem. From the Joker planting explosives in the Ritz Hotel to three hundred people being killed at the airport while trying to flee the city, Gotham was in complete and utter chaos. The citizens had dropped everything and were trying to escape any way they could: some by airplane, others by train, and still others had simply packed up their belongings and left the godforsaken city for good. It wouldn't be long before the entire place was destroyed, they proclaimed.

The president had even sent in fighter jets and urged the people of America to rise up against the madman that was the Joker, but how could they fight someone so unpredictable? The Joker himself had barely been seen, but there was no doubt he was behind all the attacks.

Gotham was beginning to descend into anarchy—just what the Joker's intent had been. Fear was sweeping the streets and the people who hadn't been able to escape when they could hid in their houses.

Those who still dared to venture out into the city tried to get on with their lives as normally as possible. Schools were still in session and the stock market still fluctuated, but there was always an underlying air of menace about the city, and people took whatever excuses they could to leave.

What the citizens didn't know, however, was that the Joker's chaos wasn't solely intended for his own personal pleasure, as it had previously been: no, this time it was for Batman.

Contrary to popular belief, the masked vigilante was still out and about: but it was behind the scenes. He had managed to foil numerous more plots from the Joker, although of course the public didn't know about it. Bruce Wayne was supposed to have disappeared to one of his numerous houses somewhere across the world to get away from the terrorism that was currently unfolding in the city under the Joker's reign, but in reality he was working tirelessly, scarcely sleeping or eating. He spent most of the day working with Commissioner Gordon in a secret office, and patrolling the city by night while attempting not to be seen. But it had been two months, and even Bruce had his limits. He knew he couldn't do everything on his own. No, he needed to see the Joker.

So that was where Bruce found himself, on an unseasonably warm March night, in the middle of the Narrows, hovering next to an old alleyway. According to Lucius Fox, who had helped him stake out the area, the Joker had been lurking around the area for the past couple of weeks. As much as Bruce despised the clown, he knew they finally had to have a talk—at least then he could say that he'd tried everything.

Sure enough, he hadn't been waiting long when his eyes caught the sight of a familiar purple coat just ahead. Bruce crept through the shadows of the alleyway, never taking his eyes off the Joker.

The madman was hunched over as usual, his greasy hair falling around his face. Bruce didn't even have to wait for him to step into the light before he could see the clown's bright facepaint. He looked a menacing figure, walking with such purpose down the darkened street. Even the streetlamps buzzed and flickered off as he passed them.

Bruce tailed the Joker for a while, waiting to see where he would go. Here he was, right in the middle of the Narrows in full costume, and the police hadn't caught him yet! Bruce wasn't sure if this was a rare occurrence for the Joker, or if the police were simply corrupt. Unfortunately, the latter scenario seemed the most likely option.

After ten minutes of tailing him, Bruce finally saw the Joker disappear into an old, rickety building. Not wanting to use the same entrance that he had, Bruce stealthily crept along the edge of the ruin until he came to a window. Gently prying open the ancient glass with his gloves, he leapt inside, the only sound the soft whoosh of his cape.

He landed in a pile of glass, but it wasn't from the window. The entire room was dusty and derelict, covered in spiderwebs and mothballs. Then again, Bruce didn't expect the Joker to care much about what his house looked like.

He silently edged his way through the room until he emerged in a narrow, cramped hallway. Bruce wasn't entirely sure what this place used to be, but judging by the numerous poles that were placed around the area, he assumed it used to be a strip club.

Just ahead, he could see a light that shone through a door that was slightly ajar. Even better, the light switch was in the hallway. Bruce waited until he was right in front of the switch before flicking it down. The room was catapulted into darkness and he leapt inside, his ears already ringing with maniacal laughter.

"I've been waiting for you, Batman," the Joker taunted, and suddenly the light was switched on again. The Joker was standing across the room, appearing even taller than usual with the low ceiling. They appeared to be in some sort of sitting-room, with a couch that was so dirty that Bruce could hardly tell what the original color had been. "Took you, ah, long enough."

Bruce lunged at him, but the Joker dodged out of the way, giggling in that high-pitched way of his. "Missed me?" he taunted.

But as strong as the Joker was, he was no match for Batman, and the Dark Knight soon had him pinned down to the ground, growling in anger. "Where is your wife and daughter? I've figured out who you are, Jack!"

"Does it really matter who anyone is?" the Joker laughed. "You, me…it's all in the past. Who cares whether I was a doctor or a hitman, or whether you were an ex-soldier who became a little, ah, crazy or a rich billionaire playboy with too much time on his hands?"

Batman growled and increased the pressure on the Joker's throat, but his eyes didn't lose their sparkle. "And as for my, uh, so-called family…well, let's just say I know exactly where they are. By the way, I never did get to tell you how I got these scars."

"And I don't care," Batman snarled before slamming his face into the floor. The Joker continued to laugh, the sound ringing around the room. "Are they still alive?" he demanded.

"You tell me," the Joker giggled, wiping a spot of blood from his chin. "Since you're such a great detective. Oh, come on," he continued, pretending to be exasperated as Batman landed another blow to him, "Can't you take a joke?"

"What happened to them?" Batman growled. He hauled the Joker up by the shoulders as he had that time in the interrogation room, slamming him against the wall. Like the first time, the clown was not at all fazed by Batman's brute strength.

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine," he shrugged, acting nonchalant. "Haven't checked up on them in a while. I'm pretty sure they've got enough food to last them a while, anyway."

"Why are they locked up?"

"Because my darling wife would have found you and demanded revenge by now," the Joker explained. "As it is, however…it turns out she's still got feelings for me." A giggle managed to escape past his throat, which Batman was holding in one hand. "I'm giving her some time to miss me, ya know? Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so she should be absolutely head over heels by now. It makes me wonder who she would choose if it came down to it: me, or the kid."

A dozen different scenarios each popped into Bruce's head: that of the Joker dangling his daughter over the balcony of the apartment and forcing a gun into Jeannie's hand, making her choose which one to save; or that of one of his henchmen holding a gun to her head and telling her to carve up either her husband or her daughter…it was just like something the Joker would do—similar to the ferry "experiment", but on a much smaller scale.

"But enough of that," the Joker said. "Let's start a less controversial topic, shall we?" When Batman didn't loosen his grip one bit, he let out an exaggerated sigh. "I told ya I've been looking for you for a long time. The people dying—the chaos in the city—it's because of you! If you'd talked to me when I'd called for you, then things would be much different. But you didn't want to see me, so I had to get your attention. It took me two months, but here you are!"

Enraged, Batman slammed the madman's head down on the floor, so hard he was sure the Joker had gotten a concussion. But, as usual, the clown just laughed, although it did admittedly sound like he was trying to force it out. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to let you in on a little secret," the Joker began, suddenly serious. "Listen—a little bird told me that Scarecrow and the Riddler are planning to gang up on us."

"That's impossible," Batman snapped harshly. "They're both in Arkham."

"Apparently that doesn't stop them from planning to kill us," the Joker replied. He had stopped struggling under Batman and was now lying still, his brown eyes burning up into the vigilante's with a peculiar intensity. "I'm just trying to warn ya."

"You don't need to warn me, Joker," Batman hissed. "I'm not concerned about them. What I am concerned about is you."

"That's touching," the Joker laughed. "But I'm, uh, already taken." He continued to cackle as Batman heaved him up and dragged him across the room.

"The police are going to love seeing you again," Batman growled as he shoved the madman out of the room and down the hallway.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the Joker replied. "Ya see, I have…friends who have the street rigged up with explosives, and if they see you dragging me out here, they won't hesitate to pull the trigger."

Batman could do nothing but slam the Joker up against another wall. Of course, it did seem likely that the Joker had indeed done that…but on the other hand, it would be just as plausible for him to be lying. While he deliberated, he let his guard down for a moment—and was sent wheeling backward as the Joker stuck his foot up and kicked Batman, the blades hidden in his shoes piercing the other man's armor. While Batman doubled over, blood already beginning to pour through the Kevlar, the Joker shoved him out of the way and skipped down the hallway, twirling his switchblade in his hand. "I think I'm gonna let you go this time, Batman," he mused, standing half-illuminated in the dark doorway, looking more like a monster than ever. "But consider what I said. I'm just trying to help." Before Batman could reply, he had left, leaving Bruce standing there wondering how exactly the clown had beaten him at his own game.

It was a strange thing, but Jeannie had found that the longer one stayed in a place, and the more comfortable they were with it, the more it began to feel like home. Such was the case with the apartment, which had begun to take on a certain familiar quality after four months of living there. She no longer looked at the rooms with the air of someone who was serving a life sentence, but somewhere that could be cheery if she looked at it the right way.

Perhaps it was just the realization that spring was in the air, but both her and Lily had definitely perked up. Jeannie had even heard her daughter laugh for the first time in months while watching television. The sound filled her with a strange, foreign feeling that had taken her a while to realize was joy. They could go out and sit on the balcony, feeling the warm air on their faces and listen to the birdcalls coming from the park across the street. It was as if the new season brought hope; hope that perhaps they would figure out a way to be freed. Now that the ice had melted off the side of the building, Jeannie was trying to work out how they could possibly jump to the next balcony to escape from the apartment. Of course, it was impossible during the winter—they would surely slip and fall to their deaths, but if she calculated the distance right…

The possibility of escaping coupled with the warming air and more sun lifted up their spirits a considerable amount. Jeannie guessed they had enough food to last them four or five more months if they rationed it the way they did now.

However, one thing she hadn't planned on was the absence of the Joker. After they had spent that night together, he had never returned. Jeannie wasn't surprised by this; in fact, she had almost expected it. Of course, he'd disappeared before and had always come back, but he had never left them for this long. It had been just over two months; eight weeks, or almost sixty days. Jeannie knew what he was doing—oh yes, she heard the news, could even see some of the explosions from the windows. The only thing that kept her hope of escaping from bursting out into full force was the notion that he might one day plant explosives in their apartment, too.

She'd taken to sleeping in the Joker's bed, although she wasn't quite sure why. She'd had a lot of time to think about the mistake she had made by giving in to her impulses for one night. He was a psychopathic murderer now, and nothing could make Jack Napier return. Every time Jeannie thought she had accepted this, she would think of his wedding ring, still tucked away in the bedside table, and her uncertainty would return all over again.

She knew, logically, that she needed to get away from him as quickly as possible and never see his face again, because he only brought destruction and terror. It was selfish of her to have wasted her chances of escape, selfish of her not to try to kill him while he was sleeping…not only was she wasting her own life, but Lily's as well. What would happen if Lily got injured or even killed because of him, and Jeannie spent the rest of her life blaming herself for not taking action sooner?

She was currently curled up in bed, clutching the covers to her chest and listening to the low buzz of the television in the next room. Lily would often sleep next to her, but other times she was content to be in her own room, despite only having a blanket to lie on, because she was afraid that the Joker would come in and torture them for staying in his room. "Mommy, I don't want him to hurt you!" she'd explained, tugging on Jeannie's hand and trying to pull her away, but Jeannie was of the impression the Joker wouldn't come back for a very, very long time, and he would care even less about them sleeping in "his" room, as there was nothing of value in it except for his suits, which were still hung in his closet and which Jeannie hadn't dared to touch.

She had slept for over twelve hours the previous night, but she still felt as exhausted as if she had gotten two hours of sleep. For some strange reason, she had been overly fatigued for the past several days, and she'd often spent the entire day in bed, but no matter how often she slept, she was still tired. Jeannie thought it was unusual, as she'd had fairly regular sleeping patterns her entire life, but she chalked it up to not having exercised properly in a long time. She'd been inactive and lazy for months, and her mother had often lectured her when she was a child that the less she exercised, the more tired she would feel. This appeared to be coming true, and strangely enough she also appeared to be gaining weight instead of losing it like Lily was doing. Her jeans had felt tighter when she'd pulled them on the previous day, and now she was strangely bloated. Could she be coming down with the stomach flu? But that was impossible; there were no outside germs to infect her.

Jeannie rolled over onto her stomach and stared at the bedside table, where she'd taken out Jack's ring and kept it lying there as a reminder. It glinted slightly in the weak light shining through the curtains, and she reached out a hand and held it next to her own ring, which was still almost constantly on her finger.

"Mommy, are you still sleeping?" Lily's voice called from outside the room. Jeannie immediately threw the ring back onto the table and sat up, ignoring the head rush that shot through her.

"No, I'm awake," she said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes as the door creaked open and a blonde head poked in. "What is it? Are you hungry?"

Lily nodded sheepishly, so Jeannie reluctantly threw off the covers and stood up. The head rush hadn't cleared; in fact, it had gotten worse and she had to grip the bedpole to keep her balance.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, suddenly worried. She ran over to Jeannie and grabbed her hand, as if trying to hold her up.

"Nothing," replied Jeannie, although she was admittedly shaken. Trying to smile through the sudden lightheadedness, she let go of the pole and moved toward the door, fighting the urge to crawl back under the covers and fall asleep again.

While she made Lily a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, her mind kept churning over her mysterious symptoms. Could she have somehow caught the flu? Maybe it was an airborne virus that had gotten into her system when she'd sat out on the balcony. What if she or Lily became seriously ill and they had no medical care?

Jeannie trudged into the main room, where she sat cross-legged in front of the television and began flipping channels. Lily was sitting at the table in the kitchen, her legs swinging happily as she devoured her sandwich. Jeannie was glad to see that her daughter was cheering up; but there was no way she could live a proper life in such a closeted environment. Some way or another, she needed to get out of there.

Since there was nothing on, she settled for the news. After the broadcaster had announced that the police were still no closer to finding the Joker, although a fire in a retirement home was suspected to be an arson that was linked to him, she quickly skipped stories, much to Jeannie's relief.

"…A woman living in the Narrows was forced to give birth to twins late yesterday evening after her husband deemed it 'too dangerous' outside for them to go to the hospital. The woman, who declined to be named or interviewed, is allegedly twenty-four years old and she and her husband are too poor to move somewhere else. However, her husband told GCN in an exclusive statement that she and the babies are doing fine…"

Jeannie felt a pang of sympathy for the poor woman. At least nothing had gone wrong and the babies were healthy. She couldn't help but feel relieved that she hadn't been in that position; taking care of twin infants would surely be more difficult than taking care of a five-year-old.

And that was when it hit her.

Jeannie froze as the signs suddenly fell into place. As she stared openmouthed at the screen, the news anchor continued talking coolly, as if she hadn't been the catalyst for Jeannie's realization.

She was feeling tired for no apparent reason, her dizziness and shakiness had seemingly no cause, and she had gained weight when she should, by all accounts, be losing it.

Her mind seemed to be stuck on a slower gear as Jeannie tried to do the math in her head: her night with the Joker had occurred two months beforehand, so if she was…pregnant…the symptoms would be due to appear any time.

She hadn't gotten pregnant when they'd slept together at the hotel back in October, so Jeannie must have unconsciously dismissed the possibility that it could happen when they'd done it a second time.

But, part of Jeannie's brain tried to say, You haven't had morning sickness or mood swings. Maybe it is just the flu…

She knew, however, that pregnancies could be very different affairs. Mrs. Kerr had used to say that she'd had a horrible time when she was pregnant with Liam and Rebecca and she'd had to go to the hospital many times, whereas her pregnancies with Harriet and Jeannie had been almost perfect and she'd had next to no symptoms…

Her first symptom of pregnancy with Lily had been morning sickness, followed closely by horrendous mood swings. Now dizziness and fatigue seemed to be the telltale signs this time.

And the real kicker was that Jeannie hadn't had her period since the beginning of January, but she'd dismissed it as her being stressed out. But if the weeks added up correctly, then her night with the Joker had the worst possible timing. She hadn't been thinking about it at the time, of course. In fact, she hadn't been thinking at all.

Still, despite all the evidence that added up, Jeannie refused to completely believe it until she had undeniable proof. But how was she going to get a pregnancy test? Surely the Joker hadn't left one of those lying around somewhere.

"There's someone at the door!" Lily suddenly shrieked, and leapt down off the chair, staring wide-eyed between Jeannie and her bedroom door as if she didn't know where to hide.

All thoughts of pregnancy rushed out of Jeannie's mind as she realized that she could, indeed, hear the ominous rattling sound of keys turning in the lock. "Go into your room!" she tried to say, but Lily had already made her decision to run over to Jeannie, crawling into her lap as if she was three years old and hugging her neck so tightly it hurt. Her knee was pressing into Jeannie's stomach, and she tried to ignore the momentary burst of nausea she felt at the touch, although it could have just been nerves.

A second later, the door swung open and Jeannie saw the Joker for the first time in two months. He seemed taller than she remembered—or perhaps that was just her position—and she'd forgotten quite how frightening he was as he loomed over them, a sneer crossing his features.

"Why, hel-lo there," he began. "I bet ya thought you were rid of me, huh?"

Jeannie could feel Lily shaking against her, and could do nothing but put a comforting hand on her back. "I'll admit the possibility did cross my mind," she said, trying not to think of what they had been doing the last time she had seen him. "What are you doing back here?"

"Ya know, tiger, I've been asking myself that very same question," he mused. Jeannie's head followed his movements as he walked over to the table and, after surveying the kitchen, stuffed the remainder of Lily's sandwich into his mouth. "But you should be thanking Batman for this. He was asking after you."

"Batman?" Jeannie asked, who had been under the impression that the vigilante had gone into hiding. So he hadn't forgotten about her, after all.

"Yes, I just spent some time last night with him," the Joker said nonchalantly. "Why? Are you jealous?" He raised his eyebrows and looked sideways at her, unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face.

"No, of course not," Jeannie snapped, too quickly. "I was just thinking it was a shame he didn't manage to catch you."

"Oh, he tried," the clown said, dusting his hands of bread crumbs and walking over to them. "But let's just say I outsmarted him." He crouched down on his knees to reach out and grab Lily's face, turning it to face him. "Still hiding behind your mother, huh, kid?" he asked. "That'll look hilarious when you're a teenager."

"Go away," Lily mumbled. Jeannie tensed, waiting for the Joker to snap and pull out his knife. But the clown just giggled, shaking his head in dark amusement.

"Here's a good idea," he began mockingly. "How about you go away instead of making me do all the work?"

Lily's eyes snapped up to Jeannie's, and she gave a quick nod. "I'll be fine," she whispered, letting go of her. After a moment of hesitation, Lily stood up and darted out of the room. Her door slammed a second later, leaving Jeannie alone with the Joker.

Her first immediate thought was that even if she wasn't pregnant, she could not, under any circumstances, let him know that something was off. He would find her weaknesses and exploit them until the truth came tumbling down. And if she was, well…there would be nothing stopping him from doing whatever he wanted to get the child out of her this time.

"Soooo, Jean-nie," the Joker began, comically sitting down and stretching his legs out beside her, as if they were two teenagers having a chat, "Didja miss me?"

"I can't say that I did, no," Jeannie replied, somewhat honestly. However, the Joker saw right through her half-lie and snorted.

"Yeah, you're a terrible liar," he said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't think that someone who went to all the trouble to, ah, seduce me would be glad to see me go, especially not you. By the way, we need to have a little chat about you assaulting me again."

"You—you went along with it!" Jeannie said furiously, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Even if you were sick, you could have still resisted or—"

"But I never said I didn't want to do anything," the Joker interrupted, looking as if he was having great fun with their conversation. "It was all you."

Jeannie didn't know how to respond, but luckily, he wasn't finished. "You got yourself into this mess," he explained, gesturing around them. "Now you'll have to find a way to get yourself out of it."

"I didn't get myself into it!" she argued. "You're the one who blackmailed me to go to our old apartment where you blew my best friend and her family to hell, and then you brought me to the warehouse and then here—"

"But you're the one who came to Gotham!" the Joker pointed out. "If you had just stayed put, you wouldn't be here right now!"

"Yeah, well, I'm regretting not doing that," Jeannie shot back. She tried to stand up, but the Joker grabbed her wrist and she tumbled down on top of him.

He held her tightly to him as he whispered in her ear, "You and the Batman just cannot let me go. I know I'm an attractive guy, but—" Luckily, he was cut off as the resounding boom from what sounded like an explosion erupted outside, so powerful that it rattled even the windows on the glass.

The Joker's head jerked toward the sound, and he roughly pushed Jeannie away from him as he stood up and stared out the balcony window. Jeannie couldn't see the explosion, but the smell of smoke was already beginning to fill up the air—it must have occurred somewhere close by.

He smacked his lips in disapproval as he muttered, "Speaking of the Batman, he's getting closer to finding me. I'm, ah, sorry to cut this so short, but I gotta go now, tiger," he said, slipping his gloves back on. Jeannie clumsily got to her feet and began to walk toward Lily's room, but instead the Joker grabbed her hand and yanked her back toward him. "Where's my goodbye kiss?" he taunted, before pressing his mouth to hers in a brutal, twisted display of dominance before letting go. The last thing Jeannie saw was his smirking face as he closed the front door behind him.

She stayed rooted in the spot for another moment before sprinting to the bathroom and retching, despite not having eaten that day.

Yes, she was definitely pregnant.