D: I feel like I lost people again. I'd go down the list, but really, there's a load of you and I'm too lazy to look at the list that I was sorta keeping track.

Joker: And I miss, ah, all of you who hadn't reviewed. I swear, I didn't, ah, kill anyone.

D: How's school going for people, btw?


I was greeted home by a chorus of barks. My three rottweilers leaped up on me, yipping happily. I grinned as I crouched, letting them lick my face madly, their tails wagging at a hundred miles per hour.

"They missed you," Crane said, coming from the living room.

"Thanks for looking after them," I thanked him.

"The Joker did most of the pupsitting. I just did it when he wasn't here to play rough with them," Crane said as he scratched behind Prince's ear.

"All right, calm down," I told the happy puppies. "Where's the Joker now?"

"In your bedroom. The door's locked, and I didn't want to disturb him, no matter what he was going, raging, sleeping, meditating-."

"You think the Joker meditates?"

"I was just giving an example, Shadow," Crane said, seriously.

I smiled and smacked his cheek playfully. "I know, I was only teasing, Jon. You must be tired if you didn't see the humor."

"I've been up waiting for Teresa who is currently…" He waited for me to finish the sentence.

"Sitting in the car, pondering whether or not she should get an apartment close to me, wishing she had asked me if I wanted to stay with her tonight, and waiting for you."

"She's doing that all at once?" Crane asked, surprised.

"Wow, you are tired, Doctor Crane. It's called multi-tasking, and women tend to do it better than men. Go home, Jon. Teresa's tired too."

Crane stared at me for a few seconds, enough for me to realize that he looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept the night before when my whole drama thing occurred. He surprised me by wrapping his arms around me, embracing me.

That must have been a sight. A six-foot man hugging a five foot five woman. Off by seven inches. There was half an inch between the top of my head and the bottom of his chin.

"Be careful, Shadow," Crane said, quietly. "This may sound strange coming from me, but I don't want you getting hurt anymore than is necessary."

"Is Teresa rubbing off on you?" I asked as he let go.

"I think we're all rubbing off on one another." Crane grinned and then headed out the door.

The rottweilers began yipping again so I shushed them. I made my way toward the bedroom, steeling myself for the unpredictable. The puppies nudged my legs as I stood before the door, picking the lock.

"Go on the couch and let Mamma handle Daddy," I told them. The three of them gave me a disapproving look and went to sulk on the couch. They kept looking back so I quickly went into the room and put my back to the door.

The first I heard was deep breathing. I looked over to the bed to see the Joker sprawled on it. His warpaint had smudged, but fortunately, he had covered my pillows with a towel before he fell asleep. His gloves sat on the nightstand along with his cell phone, though he had a hand resting on the nightstand, beside the phone.

He looked so troubled in his sleep, his expression constantly moving as if he was being tormented.

Suddenly, he sat straight up, gasping for air. I jumped, clapping a hand over my mouth before I made a noise.

The Joker's dark eyes were wide, and his face glistened with sweat. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat, but stopped, like he remembered he had paint on his face. The Joker swung his legs off the bed, bending over and remaining in that position as he tried to calm his rapid breathing.

"Heath?" I whispered.

The Joker jerked up, spinning to face me, but his eyes didn't quite meet mine, searching like he didn't know where I was.

I approached slowly, moving around the bed toward him. The Joker seemed to follow where I was going; his eyes wary. He took several steps back.

"Heath, it's just me," I said as I stopped by the foot of the bed.

"Sara?" He exhaled in relief, like he had held his breath. "When, ah, did you get back?"

"A few minutes ago. Jon's gone home with Teresa. The pups are sulking on the couch because I wouldn't pay them enough attention."

The Joker reached for the light, but his hand couldn't quite find it. I rolled my eyes and turned on the light. He jumped in surprise, leaping back from me; I was surprised to find that he had only been inches away from me when I had gone to switch on the light.

"Are you okay, Heath?" I asked, seeing something in his brown eyes that shouldn't be in the infamous Joker's orbs. I saw pure fear and panic.

"Fine," he said, a little too quickly.

I took a step toward him, and he retreated. "I'm not going to hurt you, Heath. Does this have to do with what happened last night? Or is it related to what you were dreaming about?"

The Joker had retreated to the window, clenching the windowsill behind him. "I don't, ah, usually dream, Shadow," he began, his voice shaky.

I had never seen the Joker act like this, not even when he was Heath did he have this sort of thing happen to him. "Listen, Heath. Take a deep breath and-."

"I don't remember the dream," the Joker interrupted me. "It's the same as the last one, but I don't remember!"

"All right, calm down," I told him, soothingly. "Everything is going to be all right."

"No, it's not, not until that boy's out of my sight for good, out of your life!"

I knew he was talking about Dean. The Joker, as angry and as jealous as he was, wouldn't listening to me if I tried to explain things to him so I attempted changing the subject.

"At least I don't have any major problems," I told him.

A smile curled on his lips. "Don't, ah, change the subject, Sara." He sounded amused, but still angry.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't enjoy it when you're angry, Heath. We can't talk about Dean because it makes you mad."

"Do you want to, ah, to talk about him?" The Joker was strangely calm, cocking his head to the side, giving me an impression of a puppy.

"No, because you never seem to trust what I say."

He straightened, and his eyes glistened mysteriously. "Try me," he dared.

"Not this time." I turned and headed toward the door.

The Joker grabbed my arm, pulling me back. I turned to face him, a stoical expression on my face. "Why is, ah, the Tiger backing down?" he asked, his scars peeling back his lips in a menacing grin.

"Because the Tiger realizes that there's no use trying to convince a jealous madman that she's not cheating on him." I tried to pull away, but the Joker's grip turned into a vice.

"I'm not mad," he insisted, "I'm, ah, just curious."

"I don't mean 'mad' in that sense. I meant 'mad' as in 'insane'." I attempted to get away again, but the Joker roughly pulled me back, clicking open his switchblade.

"Why are, ah, you do difficult?" the Joker asked.

"Who did you call to stay here with me?"

"Does it, ah, matter since you got out anyway, to save the Deanboy?"

I glared at him. "You didn't seem to be thinking clearly so I had to intervene. I don't think it's Dean's time to die."

"In other words, ah, you don't want it to be Dean's time."

"I have him working on something, Heath," I yelled, losing it. "It's something I don't have time for, and he has all the time in the world. I don't want you laying a finger on him! And don't tell me that you don't have to," I snapped as the Joker opened his mouth, "Don't kill Dean. Do you hear me?"

The Joker pouted, but he said, "Per-fectly."

"Great, now let me go. I'm going to sleep on the couch." I tore my arm free and stormed out of the room, expecting the Joker to follow after me. As I approached the couch, my three rottweilers got excited, even when they knew I was in a foul mood.

I laid there with Scout and Prince resting between my legs and on my chest. Buddy fell asleep on the ground, his nose touching my hand. With the puppies asleep, I couldn't move, or I would wake them up so I closed my eyes and hoped that I wouldn't have to move in the night.

I was still awake when I heard the Joker in the bathroom, running the water faucet. He had to be washing off his makeup so I tried to ignore him as he gurgled for the fun of it. I began to fall asleep, but I was only halfway there when the Joker said, "I can, ah, tell that you're still awake."

"Maybe I was just about to fall asleep," I snapped, sleepily.

His feet shuffled faintly on the carpet. "You can more to the bed, ah, if you want," he said softly.

"I'm quite comfy here."

He sighed and went away, probably going into the bedroom.

I tried to adjust my position, but Prince mouthed my leg in his sleep, telling me not to move. I lay there, feeling guilty. I was being so mean to Heath; I'm surprised he was letting me act like this. Two months ago, he would have beaten me for misbehaving.

As I drifted off to sleep, I figured I would apologize in the morning.

Unfortunately, the Joker had gone, and I had slept in late. As I hurried to get ready for work, I was grateful that the Joker had taken time to deal with the rottweilers.

Someone knocked on my door, and I nearly tripped over Buddy - who looked like he was headed toward my bedroom - trying to answer it.

Anna Ramirez stood there. "Are you in a hurry?" she asked, giving me a critical look.

I held the door open slightly, using my foot to keep Scout from attacking. "Getting ready for work," I responded, "Sit, Scout."

"You have pet?"

"Three of them, rottweilers, got them two months ago. No, Prince, get back. I'm sorry, Anna."

"That's all right. I came by to see how you were going. You should take the day off, Jane. You just came home last night."

"I don't have anything better to do." I pushed Scout and Prince back before opening the door completely. "Let her get in first, pups," I told them.

They waited a split second before surging forward, begging for Ramirez's attention. Ramirez crouched so that she could give the puppies pats.

"Puppies," I murmured.

"Is Dean working?" Ramirez asked, casually.

"He's getting his car fixed with a friend," I said, lying easily. "Would you like a drink or something?"

"Water will be fine." Ramirez looked around from her crouched position. "Nice place. You're not only tidy at work, but you're clean at home."

"Nothing better to do," I explained, filling a glass from the faucet. I returned to her, and as she straightened, Scout and Prince winced. "Enough of that," I told them. "Go bother Buddy." They yipped at me and then raced away into the bedroom where Buddy had taken a spot on my bed.

"Take the day off, Jane," Ramirez told me. "Gordon's order."

"Why?" I asked. "He knows that I recover quickly."

"He's asked me and Stephens to have the day off as well. It's not just you, Jane."

I looked at her, curiously. "Any particular reason?"

"The new district attorney's been selected, after the last one the Joker decided to kill."

"How long have we been out of DAs?" I asked.

"Over three months. A man named Jason Hawkins has decided to step up. The only problem is that he's not from around here."

"Wait, who was the last DA?"

"Maria Hartwell, killed during a press conference. The Joker showed up and shot her in the head."

I winced. "He must not have liked her very much," I remarked.

Ramirez sipped her water and then nodded. "Maria caught him twenty-seven times in her five-month period."

"Busy woman," I replied nonchalantly as I could.

"You can say that again. Anyway, Bruce Wayne is having another of his traditional parties for the new DA. It's formal, but since we'll be going on duty, semi-formal is allowed." She must have seen the look on my face because she started laughing. "You're not a party person, are you?"

"I'm a quiet person until you get to know me."

Ramirez clapped me on the shoulder. "Mr. Wayne won't have a hard time cracking your protective shell. He's Gotham's playboy."

I smiled. "I'd like to see him try."

"He likes challenges. Besides, he already has a girlfriend," she replied with the hint of amusement in her tone.

"He's settling down. With who?"

Ramirez smirked. "You're observant, Jane. You'll be able to find out who." I was very curious, but I just shrugged and let it slide.

"When is it?" I asked.

"Tonight as eight."

"It's not a dinner party then."

She shook her head. "Gordon wants you and me to go with him to it, to protect the new DA. He also wants you to meet him at-."

My cell phone rang, cutting Ramirez off. I checked to see who was calling and grinned. Flipping it open, I greeted the caller. "Hi, Gordon."

"Aren't you cheerful?" he commented. "Has Anna arrived?"

"A few minutes ago."

"Has she told you what I want?" he asked, sounding a little amused.

"She was getting to it."

"Meet me at the MCU at seven thirty. I didn't tell Anna why, but it's because you need to get your weapon license, despite the fact that you've already handled guns before. No need to tell anyone that though."

"All right, Gordon."

"I'll drive you up to the party for Jason."

"Thanks, Gordon." I hung up. "Guess you don't need to tell me why he wants me."

"He has the best timing," Ramirez chuckled.


I sat in my Sentra, waiting for seven thirty to arrive. I couldn't see Gordon's car so I figured I'd wait for him before I went in.

A sudden bark startled me, and I whipped my head around to see Scout sitting in the backseat.

"How did you-?" I cut myself off, hitting the steering wheel in frustration. Scout had intelligence, getting out of the apartment and getting into my car. How she did it was a mystery to me. "Go home, Scout," I ordered, climbing out of the car. I opened the back door, and Scout leaped down, pressing against me affectionately. "You're not a cat," I told her. "Go home!"

Then, I saw Gordon's car pull up beside mine, and I swore.

"Home, Scout, now," I ordered.

"Who are you talking to, Jane?" Gordon asked, closing his car door.

I sighed. "My dog Scout." Gordon came around my car and saw the puppy. Scout bared her teeth at him, standing in front of my protectively. "Down, Scout, he's a friend." The rottweiler approached Gordon cautiously, her ears perked up. "You're not allergic, are you?" I asked Gordon.

"No." He held out a hand toward my puppy, and she sniffed it, still cautious. "Training her as a guard dog?"

"Rottweilers are bred as protective dogs."

Gordon had Scout licking his hand, and she nudged his leg, begging to be pat. "It's just Scout then?" he asked, a smile on his face.

I had the urge to lie, but he might find out about Buddy and Prince from Ramirez. His tone set warning bells off in my head; I had a bad feeling about his purpose of asking if I had more puppies. Luckily, the Joker wasn't an actual puppy, even if he did ace like one sometimes.

"I have two boys at home," I replied casually with a shrug.

"Mind if we take them along. They seem well-behaved," Gordan asked with a smile while scratching behind Scout's ears.

I wanted to tell what their ages were, but he had seen how the youngest acted. I sighed and shrugged again. "What do you have in mind, Gordon?"


D: Party time, everyone!

Joker: I'm, ah, not invited.

Shadow: Since when did you need an invitation?

Joker: *smirks*

NxS: Don't forget to review!