I had a lot more time to write this week! Hurrah! So here you go – one more chapter and the start of the turning point of the fic where our random partnership switches hands. But no worries – Joker's not out of the picture just yet.

Thank-you for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 21

The cast was off. The cast was off. Oh thank the stars the cast was off.

Earlier humiliations behind him, Jonathan tossed his legs up onto the coffee table in the recreation room and crossed his ankles neatly. He smiled at the too pale skin peaking out from behind the too short uniform pants. It was so nice to not have that garish piece of plaster in the way. The one benefit of being a captive of Arkham once again was the medical care. A proper check-up and he was deemed worthy to get the damn thing off his leg. No more itching; no more stumbling about on crutches; and no more teasing. Not even the Joker would ruin his day.

Not that he could if he wanted to anyway.

Jonathan sighed to himself happily yet again. Joker was in lock-down in the maximum security portion of the asylum. After two break outs in a row (including one break-in to break out again) they decided that he was worthy of a little more attention. As such, it also meant that Mrs. Quinzel was sulking in a corner doing little more than sighing and begging the orderlies to let her visit when they walked by. And as such it put her out of his hair. Jonathan was almost happy to be locked up.

"I didn't think it was possible for the rec room to be as boring as my single cell."

Jonathan looked up as Harvey appeared next to the couch. Both the healthy and damaged portions of his face were bandaged neatly, his hair sticking out from the top. The resemblance reminded the Scarecrow of old mummy horror films. Jonathan couldn't help but wonder if it was more comfortable having his face wrapped or having the damaged flesh exposed to the air. "It is more of a prison than a mental institution. I don't know why you're surprised."

"Cool it Princess. It was just an observation." Harvey snorted and plopped down next to the only friendly face in the crowd. One of the perks of having half your face burnt and a new nick-name meant he could argue for time out of solitary. Well, that and he was willing to cooperate for once. This deal had been offered when he first arrived at Arkham, but he refused and just put up with solitary in the basement. Before the idea of pretending to be someone else disgusted Harvey. But now, he didn't think it was so bad having two-faces to show to the public depending which was more convenient. As long as no one called him 'Dent' and his face was wrapped he could join the others. "Not that anyone could tell looking at you Mr. Happy."

"Forgive me for enjoying my Joker-free time while it lasts." Jonathan reached around for the remote on the couch and stretched out his back after picking it up. He slumped back into his seat and silently mourned the loss of his quiet time. "Heaven knows its not going to last."

Dent smirked under the bandages, twitched his leg a bit. There was a chance Crane wasn't going to go along with this. "It could."

Jonathan slowly turned to look at Dent, that blue eye staring intently at him. Scarecrow narrowed his own eyes; this meant trouble. "And, how would you propose we make that happen?"

Harvey leant in closer to Crane with a slight tilt of the head; lowered his voice. "We get out and build ourselves up before he has a chance to escape. He bothers us again? We kill him."

"Easier said than done." Jonathan tried to scoot farther away. A few of the lesser known criminals were starting to stare at them. It was bad enough the Joker thought he was shacking up with Harvey let alone the rest of Arkham. The last thing Jonathan needed was a conversation with Joan about a non-existent relationship with a man who is supposedly dead. His paperwork was complicated enough as it is. "And since when was there a 'we' between the two of us?"

"Since I decided that we're partners." Harvey flipped his coin. The doctors had tried to take it from him but he threw such a screaming fit they had no choice but to let him keep it before he 'hurt himself.' "Besides, you agreed to help me before so I see no reason why you shouldn't hold up to that."

"If I recall that was a forced hand due to both of us fearing for our lives from Joker." Crane huffed and fingered the remote. He could feel Dent's breath on his neck. The man had no sense of personal space at all. "You're still planning to go through with it then?"

"Of course." The coin continued to flip in his hand. "This little trip back to Arkham is just a set back."

Jonathan snorted. "I hope you're not planning to discuss your little revenge plans right here and now with all the orderlies flitting about."

Harvey chuckled and caught his coin in a fist. Off to the left he could see Harley pawing at once of the nurses who had gotten too close about visiting rights. Poor souls. "I doubt if they even notice."

"True." Jonathan muttered thoughtfully and flicked the channel on the television. There was nothing good on during the middle of the day. "But still a bit of a risk."

"Then we'll just have to find somewhere more private to chat."

Jonathan looked around the room and the locks on all the doors. It was doable to sneak into a back area or the like, but they'd still more likely than not be caught. "Like where?"

"Like outside."

Jonathan flipped the channel again with almost a flinch. It seems Dent was really serious about this escaping thing. Partnership or not; quiet time or not. That might be something he should give his attention. "You can't possibly have an escape plan already. It's been barely two weeks."

"Wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't." Harvey tapped Crane's shoulder with a couple fingers. "Should work well enough."

Jonathan frowned. "I take it you're only including me then if I choose to assist?"

. "About sums it up." A coin flip. "And I know at the very least you want out, despite the show you're putting on pretending to be content."

"Who's to say I won't lie to get out and then drop you?" Crane added eyes flicking around the room to see who was paying them mind. It seemed only a few giggling in the corner were even watching and Crane had a feeling it had more to do with Harvey's proximity than the subject matter. Crane tried to scoot even farther away but was stopped by an arm wrapping around his shoulder.

"You won't." Harvey smirked and pat the shoulder he was holding. "You've got no where else to go, yourself. And I'm bigger than you."

"You sound like the Joker."

"Worked well enough for him, can't see why it won't work well enough for me." Harvey smirked and Jonathan just rolled his eyes in aggravated defeat.

"I guess I'll go along with whatever you've come up with since you're not giving me much of a choice." He paused. "For now anyway." Crane huffed heavily and shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Let go. You're gathering unwanted attention."

Harvey pulled his arm up and moved back to his original position on the couch, putting his legs up on the coffee table to join Crane's own crossed feet. "Sorry, Princess."

"Stop calling me that." Jonathan practically hissed.

"Whatever you say, Partner."

Crane rolled his eyes. "Forget it." He rubbed his eyes. "Just stick with Princess."

Dark, calm nights were Gordon's favorite times to be up on the G.P.D rooftop. With nothing but a cool breeze on his back and the sound of the city beneath him, Batman's looming presence in the roof corner - nothing could ruin the mood. "It's been pretty quiet out there since we returned Dent and the rest of those mad men back to Arkham."

"Yes." Batman agreed from his perch watching the city. Usually after returning major players of crime, the lower levels stayed quiet. Somehow taking out their betters reminded them all that no one was above getting caught by the law. And this last time Bruce had brought in three at one time and a wannabe tag-a-long. "Let's hope it stays that way."

Commissioner Gordon sighed thoughtfully as he sipped at his coffee. "Amen to that."

The two sat in a companionable silence for a while before Batman stood, ready to leave. Once a week he'd come check up with Gordon and see if there was anything going on that had slipped under the radar. Thankfully, all truly was quiet in Gotham; well aside from the usual riff-raff roaming the street hunting tourists. All Batman had to do was do one last round and he was headed for home and a warm bed. "I'll see you next week, Commissioner."

"Good-" Gordon started to say but turned around to find the roof completely vacant of life. "Did it again." The commissioner shook his head and drank the last of his coffee. One of these days he'd put a bell on the Batman and catch him before he could disappear like a whiff of smoke.

Gordon opened the door to the roof stairs and headed back down to the main offices of the building. He had one or two papers to file and then he was going home to sleep in his own nice warm bed. Maybe he'd still get to pull out some dinner leftovers if he hustled. However, when he reached the main office there was far too much activity for a quiet, crime-less night.

"Commissioner!"

"Yes?" Gordon turned to the lieutenant.

"We finally found you." The officer handed over a file to his boss and started to describe events. "There's been another break out at Arkham."

"Already?" Gordon looked over the files and cursed under his breath. "How long have these two been missing?"

"The orderlies are guessing three to four hours."

"Can't these lunatics have the decency to give it a month before breaking out again?" Gordon sighed and headed swiftly towards his office. "Is it just these two or is this the only file you thought was worth my attention?"

"There was one other who escaped as well in the confusion. A Thomas Schiff, who was present when the Joker attached the mayor."

"Yes, I remember that." Gordon rubbed the spot where the bullet impacted. "Is he dangerous?"

"More so to himself than others."

"Fine, put out someone to look for him on the side and concentrate on the dangerous ones."

"Yes, sir!"

"Dismissed." Gordon waited for the younger man to leave before throwing the folder open on his desk. Jonathan Crane and Harvey Dent were out again. Gordon laced his fingers together and stared at the file. Something was bothering him about this. "Wonder why the left the Joker behind?"

"The Two-Step, Dent?"

"What? Is it my fault the condemned night club has a name that fits my new name?"

"Next thing you know your M.O. is going to involve things that deal with the number 'two.' You'll need two alarm clocks and two wrist watches and two-"

"Shut up, Princess."

"You first." Jonathan shoved a board off a chair so he could sit down. This building had seen better days. The wallpaper was peeling, the floors creaked, the windows were boarded up and the air was stale and full of dust. It worried him to think it probably looked this bad when it was in operation as it did now that it was condemned. "I thought your name was Two Face not two mouth."

Harvey snorted as he started to unwrap his face from the suffocating bandages. The Two-Step was a great nightclub when it was open. A little dirty, but it was cozy and comfortable and almost always had some old fashioned Vegas style show on stage. But he himself shut it down for illegal gambling in hidden rooms in the back. At the moment he was considering himself lucky that the demolition dates kept getting pushed back from more important projects. "You should be more grateful I got you out of Arkham instead of complaining."

"I'll complain all I want." Jonathan muttered. "Though, I still can't believe that plan worked."

"It's the oldest trick in the book."

"Again, I can't see how it worked. They should have seen right through it."

"You're just upset because you had to pretend to be worried for me so they'd let you come with me."

"You have no idea how it pained me." Scarecrow turned to the side and sat his head in his hand. He wondered if any of their multiple apartments over the past escapades was still available. It'd be nice to have some of his things again. And a change of clothes wouldn't hurt either. "They're idiots. All of them."

"I'll second that, too." Harvey smiled dumping the last of the bandages on the floor. All it took was some pained shrieking and holding his face to get all the orderlies on him. From there, a concerned Jonathan took his side and when they were near the open door – BAM! Hit and run. And run they did. Between Jonathan dodging and Harvey putting his big size to use to knock guards out of the way, they were out the front door before they could catch them. It was a horribly slapped together plan that involved going out the guarded, gated front door.

No one at Arkham saw it coming.

It also helped that it was still visiting hours so the main gate was open. Harvey was also counting his lucky stars that the guy responsible for locking said gate during an emergency had been asleep. It was just more proof to put all his faith in his lucky coin. He had flipped it right before everything went down to decide if it was worth attempting or not. The coin said it was a go and he and Crane were sitting happily in freedom. He took a deep breath and frowned. "I need a shower."

"I doubt there's running water here." Crane yawned into his hand before looking up at his hair. He fingered the greasy strands with a frown. "Besides, I could use one myself."

"We also need a change of clothes."

"That we could probably find here." Jonathan stood up and walked around. "This was a nightclub with a stage show right? Perhaps there's some unclaimed costumes in the back room." Jonathan tugged at the tablecloths. "They left enough of everything else in here."

"I'm amazed all of this is still here." Harvey looked around as he followed Crane towards the stage. "With all the crime in Gotham you'd think this place would be stripped."

"Perhaps even beggars have taste." Jonathans scrunched his nose at the wallpaper. It had multi-colored diamonds on it. "This place is positively gaudy."

"And yet you want to wear clothes you find in here."

"Beats an orange jump suit." Jonathan pushed open the back stage door and smirked at the rows of costumes still on racks. They were covered in dust, but still usable. He lifted the sleeve of a tuxedo. It was bright blue even under a thick layer of dust. And there were sequins. "I may stand corrected."

Harvey laughed and started to flip through a rack himself. Purple, yellow, green and fuchsia suits galore hung along the racks. Harvey picked up the fuchsia jacket and pants with a white tux shirt. "You could use the color."

"And that pink is going to clash with your face."

"Ouch, Princess. That hurts." Harvey chuckled as he ducked behind a changing screen. He shed the Arkham jumpsuit and started to put on the new, dusty clothes.

"I'm sure you've suffered worse." Jonathan muttered as he continued to sift through the men's clothing. All of these colors were ugly. What type of shows did this club perform? Eventually he settled for a sky blue silk shirt and a pair of black pants and settled to wait for his turn behind the screen. "Hurry up."

"I'm moving as fast as I can."

"Move faster."

Harvey shrugged on the jacket and came out from behind the screen. "There. How do I look?"

"Like a flower."

"Thank-you."

"It wasn't a compliment." Jonathan brushed past his new "partner" and started to dress himself. The sooner he could get out of that tacky uniform the better. He sneezed when some dust came off the new clothes.

"Bless you."

"Screw you."

Harvey could tell this was going to be a wonderful partnership already.