A/N: How did you like that last chapter? Now, this particular part in the story was thought of on the spur of the moment. And by that, I mean that I thought of it a few nights ago in the shower. Anyhow, I how you enjoy it.

Chapter 9- One Dark Night

Catherine sat back in the chair across from Commissioner Gordon's desk. The commissioner was pacing back and forth behind the desk while Detective Bullock chewed on, what appeared to be, a toothpick. Finally, Gordon sat.

"Care to explain yourself, Miss Massa? Just what were you doing up on the roof, in a restricted area?" he asked calmly.

Catherine muttered her answer so softly that Gordon had to ask her to repeat it.

"I was using the Bat-signal, sir," she said, staring intently at the floor.

"Might I ask why?" Gordon pressed further.

"I asked for his help in finding Jo."

Bullock spit his toothpick into the trash can beside Gordon's desk.

"What! So, you think we can't do our job, is that is, Miss? That the police are obsolete when it comes to finding one little girl? Is that it!" the detective yelled.

"That's enough, Bullock. You are dismissed. Go work on that problem now, if you don't mind," Gordon said, pointing to the door.

Muttering something about a "freak" and a "menace to hard working policemen and women," Bullock left, slamming the door as he went. The room went silent. Gordon was rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses. He seemed to be trying to decide something. Finally, he looked up at Catherine.

"Miss Massa, I'm afraid I have some horrible news. You see, a few nights ago, a convict escaped from Arkham Asylum. We, that is, Batman and myself had reason to believe that this particular convict would have a keen interest in your niece. So, Batman took her…so that she would be safe. But, a few hours ago, it seems that this convict has…taken Joanna. We're doing everything we can to get her back, but…"

Gordon shook his head. Catherine gasped, placing a worried hand over her heart.

"The Joker. Oh my God, he has Joanna!"

Gordon smiled weakly. "I take it you watch the news? I'm sure his breakout would be all over the--"

"No," Catherine interrupted. "I mean, I do watch the news, but that's not how I know. You see, the Joker…is Joanna's father."

The commissioner's eyes widened. "I know," he said. "But how…how do you know? I mean…"

"You want to know how I know and how long I've known," Catherine said, taking her turn to smile weakly.

Gordon nodded.

"Well, I've known for longer than Jo has. Yes, Jo knows too. She's known since the morning she discovered her mother dead. You see, Mary had left a note behind, addressed to Jo. It told Jo who her father was. However, many years ago, Mary described her night with the Joker to me."

Gordon looked up at Catherine. "Continue, if you'd like."

Catherine nodded. "Well, you see, my sister loved to sing. She had an excellent voice, too. She worked in a little nightspot for a little while on the condition that she would be the one to choose what song she sang each night. She thought herself an artist, so she was picky about those sorts of things. That worked alright for a while. She made good money and moved out of the house. She was about twenty at the time. Then, the owner of the club began making suggestions to her. Maybe she should sing this song tonight. She would never follow course, you understand. Finally, he began just to tell her that she had better sing this song tonight. She wouldn't have it, so she quit.

"She had saved up some cash, but she couldn't find another job. Well, not one she would take. She began to run out of money. She came home to ask Mom and Dad for some money, but they thought her reasons for quitting selfish and stupid. They wouldn't give her any money. Finally, one night after being rejected for the fifth or sixth time by Mom and Dad, Mary left. She was in danger in losing her apartment is she didn't pay rent. According to what she told me later, she went back to the nightspot where she used to work. But it was different. It had been a year. It was no longer a little get together place, but a dirty night club where the lowest of society came to hang out. Mary told me that even some of the most notorious gangsters were there. She inched her way inside and took a seat at the bar."

Catherine stopped speaking for a moment. She was looking off into the distance. Finally, coming back to herself, she continued.

"Then, she heard him. Over at the end of the bar, laughing his maniacal laugh, was the Joker. She told me that she had never been so scared in her entire life. You could imagine her fear when he caught sight of her staring and winked at her? She immediately stood and left. However, out in the alleyway, the Joker stepped out in front of her. Believe it or not, he actually began to hit on her! She was going to put him off and try to run and call for help, but…Commissioner, do you remember earlier when I stated that my sister was running out of cash?"

"Yes…" Gordon replied cautiously.

"Well, God help her soul, she remembered that the Joker had recently robbed the First National Bank of Gotham. So, she began to flirt back with him."

Catherine stood and walked to the water cooler. Pulling down one of the little cups, she filled it and drank deeply.

"Oh, no. You don't mean to say…?" Gordon said, the shock of the truth finally dawning on him.

Catherine nodded. She crushed the little cup in her hand and tossed it into the wastebasket.

"She went with Joker that night and…well, as you might as well guess, slept with him. She made sure to stay awake until he was sound asleep. Then, she searched his hideout and found the cash. She took only enough to pay for her bills. Then, with the greatest of luck on her side, she snuck out."

Catherine made a noise of disgust in her throat. Gordon wasn't sure if it was at the idea of her sister sleeping with the Joker or the idea of her sister stealing…could've been at both.

"So, let me get this straight, Mary Massa's and the Joker's child was conceived because…"

Mary let out a grim little laugh. "Because my sister needed the money."

Gordon shook his head. "I remember that robbery. All the cash wasn't retrieved, we just figured the Joker had spent it on something. My God..."

Sighing, Catherine added, "Jo doesn't know why she was conceived, Commissioner. Mary never wanted her daughter to know that. She loved Joanna from the moment that the doctors laid her in her arms. Mary always thought of Jo as her second chance. A chance to forget that little night club and the theft of the cash."

"But how could Jo ever be that? I mean, she was the result of that night."

Catherine sighed, "Jo can be that because…she is nothing like her father."

Outside, on the ledge just below the commissioner's window, Batman sighed.

End Notes: So, how did we like this chapter? I'm not entirely sure how long this fic will be, but I think it is winding down. Please R & R! Thanks!