It had been a very merry Christmas for Rose and the Joker twins. After their morning visit to Wayne Manor, they had come back home for a sumptuous breakfast prepared by Two-Face – Harley had been forbidden from cooking, and it turned out Two-Face wasn't a bad hand at it, especially making pancakes. "You have to flip them on both sides, so I've had a lot of practice with it," he explained.

Afterwards the kids went out to play in the snow. Joker drove them to the observatory on Mount Gotham, where he said he wanted to relive some holiday memories. The children made the most of it by sledding down the slope, and then had a snowball fight. Joker also helped them build a snowman family, which they subsequently murdered by pointing the telescope in the observatory at them and watching them slowly melt in the sun's reflection off the glass. The children tried to engage in snow pun jokes, but their father vetoed that, and had a long talk with them explaining why puns, although sometimes a genius form of comedy, could easily be overdone.

They went home and had hot cocoa and Christmas dinner, again prepared by Two-Face, which meant double portions for everyone. And after dinner, while everyone was in a cheerful mood, Rose dropped a bombshell.

"I have an announcement to make," she said, standing up. "I talked this over with Mother and Father last night, and they're in agreement. I have had a wonderful few weeks spending time with you all, but as my lifespan is so limited, I would like to see a little more of the world besides Gotham before it is over. As beautiful as this city is, Mother informs me that there are many more beautiful places in the world, places not populated by an overenthusiastic vigilante. And so tomorrow, Mother and Father and I will be leaving on a year long trip. We plan to travel the world until I am no longer able to, and then Mother has picked a beautiful spot in the rainforest for me to return to nature. So as this is the last evening I will spend with you all, at least in this lifetime, I would like to thank you for everything you have done to make me feel so welcome. I assure you that I will never forget your kindness, but it is better this way, that I say my goodbyes to you now when I'm in the prime of health, and have my wilting happen elsewhere where you won't have to be subjected to it. Mother and Father assure me that they will not wait so long to grow me again, so this is not a farewell, but rather a see you later, which I sincerely hope I will soon."

Everyone was silent, and J.J. stared at her as if not comprehending what she was saying. "But…but you can't!" he stammered. "You can't leave…I'll never love again!"

"J.J., you're thirteen years old," retorted Ivy. "I assure you, you will love again."

"I will always remember your kindness to me, J.J., and how special you made me feel," said Rose, smiling at him. "But I must admit, lately I've been wondering if your feelings toward me haven't cooled, since you've been so standoffish and often harsh in your speech toward me…"

"No, no, no, it was meant to show you I was interested!" exclaimed J.J. "Dames love it when you play hard to get – that's what Dad told me!"

"I told you he wasn't the best person to take advice from," retorted Ivy.

"Hey, I know women!" snapped Joker. "I can't help it that your daughter is a freak!"

"She is not!" growled Two-Face, standing up.

"No, please, let's not fight on my last night here," said Rose. "I would hate to ruin the wonderful day I've had with unpleasant memories. I do think you should always be honest about your feelings, J.J., rather than playing games."

J.J. looked helplessly at his father, who shook his head forcefully. "But I wouldn't presume to give you advice, as I am not very experienced in matters of the heart, after all," continued Rose. "I am glad to know you sincerely feel deeply for me," she added, taking his hand. "The way I feel for you."

"Rose, please, let me come with you," said J.J. "I can't let you go!"

"You must," said Rose, smiling at him. "If you love someone, you must let them go. Anyway, you have school, and even though you were happy to fail the flour baby project, you can't fail your entire grade by not attending. I would feel guilty being responsible for you being held back, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Rose, please…" began J.J. again, but she kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"I'll say my goodbyes now," she murmured. "We have to go home to pack. Merry Christmas, and thank you again for everything."

Everyone stood up to say their goodbyes, and J.J. raced out of the room into his own. He slammed the door, feeling tears come to his eyes as he sat down on the bed.

There was a knock on his door. "I just wanted to check and see you were ok before we headed out," said Ivy, opening it. "I know the pain of losing a first love, believe me."

"It's my fault," murmured J.J. "She wouldn't be leaving if I hadn't acted like a jerk…"

"J.J., you're going to have to learn now that women don't make every decision in their lives just to get back at men," interrupted Ivy. "Rose has told me for a long time that she wanted to see the world. I didn't think she was ready for it last time, but she's stronger now. Why would you want to hold her back from doing something she wants? You're not selfish like that."

"I'm not," he agreed, wiping his eyes. "It just…hurts so much."

"I know," said Ivy, sitting down next to him and embracing him. "And I'm sorry. But it will get better, and it won't hurt forever. I told Rose, and I'll tell you – pain is the price you pay for loving people. It's worth it, though. Nobody knows that better than your parents, after all. And speaking of your parents, never take advice on women from your father again. He really doesn't know anything about them."

"But then how am I gonna learn?" asked J.J., desperately. "How am I ever gonna overcome this heartbreak if I don't know how to get other girls to like me?"

"They'll like you just for being yourself," said Ivy. "Just like Rose did."

She stood up. "And just a thought, if you want advice on talking to the opposite sex, maybe you should actually take advice from the opposite sex about it. Women know what they like more than men do, after all."

"You mean I should ask Mom?" asked J.J.

"No, I don't think your mother would be more helpful than your father, knowing the kinda guy she likes," sighed Ivy. "Tell you what, when we get back, I'll try and teach you how to really talk to women, how about that?"

J.J. nodded. "Thanks, Aunt Ivy. I guess it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, although it doesn't seem like that now."

Ivy kissed his cheek. "Trust me, sweetie, you are quite the catch," she said. "There's gonna be thousands of girls out there who will be interested. Just be yourself. Before you started listening to your dad, you were quite a smooth operator, you know."

"Thanks," said J.J., managing a smile. "I guess I was pretty smooth when I got her that brooch…"

"J.J.!" shouted Joker's voice from the living room, furiously. "I just got the credit card bill – you wanna get in here and explain what you spent five grand on?!"

"I told you, Dad, it was the brooch for Rose," said Arleen. "J.J. insisted on paying for it, when he could have easily stolen it instead."

"You spent five thousand dollars on a dame?!" roared Joker. "Are you crazy?! No dame is worth that! Especially not one who only lives for a year – that's horrible value for money! You think I'm a billionaire like Bruce Wayne or what?! Oh, you are in so much trouble, young man!"

"There goes my Hanukkah check," said J.J., grimacing. "Coming, Dad!" he exclaimed, racing off to the living room.

The End