"Bruce," Dick said quietly as he walked towards Batman, draped in shadow and the heavy fabric of his cape. He turned to look at his son coming. "What happened?"

"Where's Robin?"

"I left him on Arkham guard."

"Hmm," Batman grunted. "We were lucky he spotted them and called it in when he did."

"What happened?" Nightwing repeated.

"A few of the criminals from Arkham City got their hands on a truck- they stole as much food as they could grab and they ran."

Dick was quiet for a moment. "How much?"

"A lot. At least a day's worth of gathering."

"Well that's not so bad," Dick watched him, frowning. He couldn't see what the problem was. Batman turned back to the door.

"No, it'll only become a problem if they continue to do it." He pushed the door open, going inside. What had once been an office now seemed dark and gray in the pale morning light. "Eight policemen dead, their throats melted out of their necks," Batman said quietly. There was a figure seated at the desk in the center of the room. "If Robin hadn't seen your truck as you drove out of Arkham, you all could have gotten out clean. Even with your betrayal at the end… I'm curious, Two-Face, so close to the finish line- why'd you try to trip your fellow runners?"

"That's not my name," The figure at the table whispered.

"Dent," Dick breathed, and Harvey looked up upon hearing his name. The corner of Batman's lips turned up in a slight smile. Two-Face may have been a murderer and a criminal, but Harvey Dent was an ally and a friend.

"I'm… I tried to alert you… Even if they're starving, better them than the innocent people here. Better the criminals… I'm a criminal…" He looked down again. Batman took a seat in the chair across from him, and Nightwing hovered over his right shoulder.

"You are," Bruce agreed, "but that doesn't always mean you're a bad person."

"I know. But I... I remember what he does. When I'm finally Harvey again... I know what he did. I know what crimes his hands- my hands- have committed." Harvey looked up. "In the past I've tried to rectify the wrongs, but there's no room for me here to do so. I belong in Arkham City."

"No, you belong somewhere you can get help, Harvey," Batman told him. "This isn't your fault."

"There's nowhere to get help anymore. I can't... I have to take responsibility for this. Those police officers, I may as well have killed them."

"What made you do it?" Batman asked. "What is the Joker planning?"

"He's not planning anything, not as far as I know. I mean, if the fact that they left me here doesn't convince you that I was the expendable member of our A-Team, I don't know what would. I was just the muscle, and they've got Harley for that," he sighed. Nightwing cocked his head a bit. "Crane's the one you'd want. Thick as thieves. Scarecrow and the Joker are working on something, I just couldn't get in to find out what." Lifting his handcuffed hands up onto the table, Harvey looked at them and then turned the burned half of his face away, pinching his eyes closed. "The people in Arkham City are a mess. The Joker keeps control by managing the zombies-"

"-we don't like to use that word," Nightwing mumbled, and Harvey continued.

"We take them for what they are, not what we wish they would be. He keeps them all on Arkham Island in the asylum. Only he and Crane ever cross the bridge to the island. The people in the city… they fight and murder- we have no shortage of hate and alcohol, but food is what we're lacking in. They're slowly starving. They've started fishing in the river, but there's not much that can be caught by the banks, and no boats… We've raided every place that there might be food in Uptown, trying to find more, but it's getting harder. It seems ransacking kitchen cabinets in abandoned houses is all we have left, and that's not enough."

The room went silent when he did, and Harvey Dent looked down at his hands again.

"I'm sorry for what we did. I know… I know you and the innocent people of Gotham need the food more than we do, and even you- standing in that warehouse- barely have enough to scrape by. And that's not right. It's not fair for us to steal what the people need. There are kids on your side, Bats. We shouldn't have done that." Batman was silent for a moment.

"No you shouldn't have," he said quietly. "I understand why you did, but..."

"But there's just not enough," Harvey looked down, closing his eyes tight. Bruce stood up.

"We'll detain you here for now," he said before turning and leaving. Nightwing followed him out. "I'll inform the scouting missions that we need to restock."

"What do we tell the public? They know something happened, Bruce, they just don't know what yet," he pointed out, watching his mentor.

"We'll tell them the truth. I won't lie to those officer's families," he replied. "We'll just assure them that the van cannot be used again and that measures are being taken to stop it from happening again. They didn't leave a fatal dent in the food storage, but we'll keep the actual amount stolen to ourselves."

"I can do that." Dick nodded. He turned down the hall and walked in the opposite direction, heading down to the labs. He quickly relayed the messages and orders that Batman had given him before pushing the doors open. "Batgirl?" he looked around the busy lab, smiling a bit. There was so much motion. So much life.

"Yeah?" Barbara stood up from behind her desk, a pencil between her teeth and some papers in her hand. Dick smiled when he saw her.

"Just wanted to make sure you were ok," he commented. Though I don't know why…

"I'm fine." She pulled the pencil out of her mouth. "What's up?"

Dick walked across the room towards her, keeping his voice low so no one else would hear. "Nothing. Apparently Harvey Dent and the Scarecrow busted in and took a bunch of our food, if you haven't heard," he mumbled.

"How much did we lose?" Barbara asked, setting everything down on her desk.

"More than we're going to let on, but not enough to starve," he smiled at her again. "Made any progress?"

"Not really, but we might have something," she said excitedly. "We're going to get a new round of samples from Selina, and hopefully they'll help." She beamed at him.

Dick blinked in surprise before grinning. "Babs… that's fantastic," he laughed. "We should celebrate. Before I go on City Patrol." Barbara paused for a second.

"You know what, we should." She looped her arm through his. "Lead the way."

"What's the catch now?" he grinned, guiding her out of the labs. "You never come with me this easily."

"We just got through testing Selina's blood, and she's as clean as can be. I'm not allowed to be happy?" She laughed a little.

"You're perfectly allowed. Come on, I stashed some chocolate milk downstairs in the fridge," he grinned, getting on the elevator and pushing the button for the lab floor.

"Ew, is it sour?" she asked. The elevator began its quick descent and the doors opened a moment later.

"We'll find out together," he laughed, holding out his hands. "Come on. Or don't you trust me, Batgirl?"

"Why wouldn't I, Nightwing?" She rolled her eyes before jumping up to him. He caught her in his arms and then nearly dropped her, bursting into laughter.

"Maybe because I'm still as clumsy as I was when I was Robin," he laughed, beaming as he carried her out of the elevator.

"You were never clumsy; you're just clumsy with other people," she corrected before the smile slid off her face. "Sorry."

"Nope. I have good memories of Haly's Circus, I'm going to leave them at that. I'm…" he was hesitant to say 'over it'. He'd never be over his parent's deaths. "I'm at peace with it," he smiled lightly. "And who are we kidding, I was never clumsy," he muttered, and then swung her over his shoulder, heading down the hallway as he laughed.

"Put me down! Richard Grayson you will put me down this instant!" Barbara complained as she tried not to laugh.

"Shhhh you can't use my real name!" he hissed. "Someone could hear you! Call me Nightwing," Dick smirked, wrapping his arm around her knees.

"Fine. Nightwing put me down."

"Shhhhhh," he insisted again, laughing. He pushed the door open to the main floor and walked through the cafeteria, bending over to pull the little bottle of milk out of the fridge. He handed it behind his back to Barbara. "Hold that, would ya?" he smiled. She could smell the sour milk from where she held it in her hands.

"Um, I hate to burst your bubble…" She held the bottle away from her face.

"Then don't," he grinned, walking to the elevator. when the doors opened, he set her down in the elevator and leaned against the wall, kicking the button to the top floor.

"You hold the milk." Barbara tossed it to him, putting her hand under her nose as she smiled. Dick sniffed it and coughed.

"Whoo, shit. That's strong. I dare you to drink it," he grinned at her, holding it back out to her.

"No! Why would I drink that?" She pushed his hand back. "Throw it away!"

"I… double-dog dare you," he walked backwards down the hall as they got off of the elevator.

"What are you? Eleven?" She laughed and elbowed past him.

"Don't make me say triple," he warned, turning around and following her to the end of the hall, where a maintenance door led to the staircase to the roof of Wayne Tower.

"I'm still not going to do it," she told him.

"Fine then I triple-dog dare you." He pushed it at her, his eyebrows raised. Barbara grabbed the bottle with a smile before tossing it into a trashcan as they passed it.

"No!" Dick dove after it, taking it out and dusting it off. "I'm gonna throw it off the roof. See if I can hit the Batmobile." They went up the stairs and emerged on the roof, a light ring around the dark horizon.

"See, I knew you didn't actually want me to drink it."

"No." He stared at her for a moment and looked at the bottle. "Dare me to drink it?"

"No! Ew, stop it." She smacked his arm.

"Would I turn into a zombie? Would I die?" He sat down on the rooftop, grinning up at her.

"No," she sat down beside him, "but you would get incredibly sick, and I am not taking care of you."

"Aw, you never had a problem taking care of me before," he smirked, reaching over to pull her cowl off gently. Dick smiled a little.

"Is this you trying to tell me you need a break?" she taunted. "You're so sick of working you'd rather be deathly ill?"

"No," he smirked. "Just sick of not being able to see you."

"Nice play on words," she complimented him. "Now are you going to do something with that milk before the smell makes me sick?"

"You want to do the honors?" he asked, standing up with the bottle. Barbara shook her head.

"You go right on ahead."

Dick took the bottle and wound up, chucking the bottle off of the roof. It made a slow, graceful arc before disappearing into the streets. He sat down again and took his mask off, dropping it on Barbara's cowl. "There. No more smell. Happy now?" He leaned back on his hands, cocking his head at her. His dark hair fell over his shoulder, his blue eyes piercing. She missed seeing his eyes, he always had to have his mask on.

"Ecstatic." She grinned at him before turning to watch the sunrise. Dick continued to look at her. He couldn't stop thinking about what Harley had told him, to either make a move or move on. He hadn't known at the time, he was just continuing the conversation- but he really wasn't sure that he was over her yet.

"Babs…" He sighed quietly, biting his lip.

"Hmm?" She glanced over at him. "Why are you doing the lip biting thing?"

"I- what?" he looked at her, releasing his lip from his teeth.

"The lip biting thing literally means you're biting your words back." She laughed at him. "What is it?"

"It's just… do you ever miss it?" He looked back out over the city, resting his chin on his knees.

"Miss what?" She laughed. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Us. You. Me. Together. Do you ever miss our actual relationship?" he asked, smiling. He loved making her laugh, but this wasn't the time. Barbara stared at him for a second.

"Us," she sighed. "I'm going to assume you're not talking about the relationship we have now." She leaned back and tilted her head up. "I guess I do sometimes. But more in the way that I miss that happiness. I miss knowing the world would keep turning, and I would have someone to come home to, someone who loved me and would love me." She looked back at him. "You're my best friend, Dick, and you were a great boyfriend…"

"There's a but coming, isn't there," he smiled a little.

"But," she smiled gently, "it just doesn't seem right anymore. You are my best friend, but with everything happening around us…" She shook her head. "It just doesn't feel the same. I mean, you're always there when I need comfort, and I do my best to do the same for you, just with everything else… Looking for the cure is my life now, and yours is patrols. And for starters," she nudged him, "I can't be the worrying girlfriend stuck at home while you're out there. It's just… Our time passed. We grew up. We outgrew each other."

"Yeah, outgrew each other," he smiled a little, looking down at his mask lying beside hers. "That's how I'd have put it." She studied him carefully.

"Do you ever miss us?"

"No. Of course not, I was just curious," he laughed and then shook his head. "All the time." Dick glanced up at her. He bit his lip and laughed again. Barbara sat up.

"Do you… Do you still have feelings for me?"

"I don't know," Dick answered honestly, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Like I told… well I think I miss the idea of you. Like you said. With all this… duty, all of our work to do now… it makes me miss it. Miss you. Makes it kinda hard to tell if I have feelings for you or not, you know?" he glanced at her. Barbara's eyes glanced between his, and her breathing sped up a little bit.

"Dick, why didn't you say anything?"

"What do you mean? You've been in the labs doing the hero thing, and I've been on the streets doing the hero thing. We've been busy." he shrugged a bit, smiling a little.

"We see each other every couple of days. For a year. And you were too busy to say 'hey Babs, I might still have feelings for you'?"

"Hey Babs, I might still have feelings for you," he muttered, a grin breaking across his face. She smacked him.

"What the hell, Dick?"

"Ow! What? I'm sorry! It never came up," he laughed. "There was never a good time."

"Dick," she sighed, looking back at the sunrise. "Why do you still have feelings for me? I wasn't the last girl you dated or loved, so why?"

"You weren't the last, but you were my first." Dick watched her, his blue eyes serious in the dim light. "Do you know… I've only told you a thousand times that I'd never seen anyone more beautiful the first time I saw you in the cave, Batgirl," he smiled. "I'll never forget a feeling like that. And besides, I said I might. I'm not totally clear myself on things right now." For some reason, his thoughts wandered to Harley again, and his brow furrowed a bit. Why?

"Is this because of all those times that we… Because you know those were just because of- everything that's happened- everyone needs comfort during all of this- and they were just- we were just friends…" Dick laughed, leaning back against the building wall.

"You mean the sex, right?" he laughed again. "No, it was long before that. But that's nice, don't get me wrong." Shaking his head, he stood up. "Bruce will get angry if I'm late for patrol. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spring that on you. I didn't think it would be that big a deal." He held out a hand to help her up. Barbara scooped up their masks before letting him help her up.

"Of course I want to know if you have feelings for me." She shrugged. "It's a girl thing."

"Well it's kind of crazy," he smiled and draped an arm over her shoulders, pulling her close, kissing her cheek.

"Well girls are crazy. So keep me updated on the whole feeling thing."

"I'll try." He led her down to the elevator and walked her all the way back to the labs, her ears were a bit pink the whole way, before leaving her, pressing the comm in his ear.

"Bats, leaving for patrol. Take the night off," he commented.

"Did you enjoy your break?" Robin asked disdainfully.

"I did," Dick replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he went down to the lobby.

"I could have died while you were slacking off and no one would have known," he muttered. Batman interrupted them.

"No one is dying, not on my watch. Dick, have a safe patrol. Damian, come get some rest."

"Yes sir," Nightwing agreed.

"And keep in touch with the bridge guards," Bruce instructed as he paced back and forth, "we don't want another incident."

"Yes, Father," Damian nodded. "And Batman? There's something you should know. Something everyone should know."

"Yes?" Bruce hesitated. The rest of the team listened over the comms too.

"While we were in Uptown, the Infected that attacked us were silent, and unnaturally so."

"There were gashes on their necks," Cassandra added.

"Hey wait, Dent said something about them doing experiments." Dick inserted quietly. "Could that be it?"

"He cut their vocal cords," Batman nodded, pressing the button for the top floor in the elevator. "In an attempt to make them quieter. Good work. Arkham patrol; be on high alert, we don't need any more casualties. and see if you can carefully get some samples from one or two; we can see what other experiments they've been doing."

"Copy that, Bats." Damian said seriously.

"Copy-copy, Rockin' Robin."

"Shut up, Todd." he snapped.

"Copy-copy Arkham Knight!"

"Copy that, Dickie-bird."

"-Copy-"

"-God damn it-" Bruce muttered, muting his comm to the laughter of the rest of his team.

He pushed the door to he and Selina's bedroom open, and she straightened up slowly from her bent over position, breathing slowly as she moved into another yoga position, her back arching. Her eyes were closed and she smiled when she heard Bruce come in.

"You stink," she commented lightly. Bruce took a curious sniff of himself.

"Says the woman sweating." He bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she held her position. She held it for a moment longer and then straightened up, turning to him.

"I'm serious. You need a shower. Maybe I do too," she whispered with a small smile, her hands on his chest. Her black tank top left her shoulders exposed, bandages still wrapped around the bite wound on one.

"Weren't you in the middle of something?" he asked with a smirk. "I'm fine with watching you finish up your yoga."

"I know you are," she laughed. She seemed happier than her usual self, and she moved up on her tiptoes to kiss him lovingly. Bruce responded in kind before pulling away.

"I've missed seeing you smile." He ran his thumb along the corner of her mouth.

"I know. I'm sorry," she apologized, looking down. He lifted her chin.

"Hey, no one smiles that much anymore. That doesn't mean I don't miss it."

"Because you were always Mr. Grin before all of this," she laughed. "At least I'm used to it," she traced his lips. "But that disapproving scowl has always made me smile."

"You know," he wrapped his arms around her waist, lightly, so that he wouldn't disturb the bandages on the claw wounds there; "it's supposed to be intimidating, not endearing."

Selina looked up at him. "Maybe to people who don't know you it's intimidating." Her dark hair was getting longer, curling at her neck and falling over her white-green eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck, on her tiptoes so that she could stand even with his lips. "I know you. When I look at that mask, I see your gorgeous eyes, and the love in them." She gently pulled his mask back from his face. "I see you're human."

"Well don't tell anyone else that." He pulled her closer, his hands bunching in the fabric of her tank top until their noses were almost touching.

"Right. The untouchable Bat," she breathed, her lips brushing his. "I've missed you."

"I'm here now aren't I?" He pulled her up against him and kissed her gently.

But you won't be come sunrise, she thought, whimpering slightly. She grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, her eyes shut tight. Bruce held onto her like she was spun glass. She always seemed so breakable these days, and he dreaded when he'd have to tell her goodbye again. He couldn't stand the sight of his leaving crushing her every time. He hooked his thumbs under her shirt as he leaned his face down toward her.

"You can stay here, can't you?" She breathed, still holding onto his face. Her eyes stayed closed as she kissed him again. "Please." Her panic was already setting in.

"Shhh." He stroked her hair. "It's going to be okay. I'll stay as long as I can. I promise." He softly kissed her eyelids. Selina smiled a little, taking a deep breath.

"You need a shower and some rest," she pointed out, kissing his lips gently. "But I don't want to let you go."

"You don't have to," Bruce pointed out as he hugged her close. "I've always been a great multitasker." She laughed, her back arching as she closed her eyes again.

"Then let's multitask," Selina whispered, kissing his neck. Bruce's comm crackled.

"So Bats, I relayed the messages I was supposed to, and I'm headed out."

"I'm with him!" Jason called.

"Shut up," Dick mumbled. "Anything else we need to remember?" he asked. "I know I've got to watch the bridge, Arkham patrol has to watch for the silent Infected, and Damian is keeping an eye on the supply troops." Bruce pressed the comm in his ear, still keeping his arm wound around Selina's waist.

"Keep an eye on the citizen's reaction to the food theft. We don't want any possible mutinies within the city." He leaned back down to kiss Selina.

"Yes sir. Get some rest, don't work too hard," Dick laughed. Jason giggled like a child as well. Selina whimpered again and pulled on Bruce's cape, kissing his throat where it met his collar.

"No promises." He turned the comm off and pulled it out of his ear, tossing it aside. He scooped Selina up in his arms. "So shower or rest first?"

"Mmmm both," she cooed, stroking his chin. "I love it when you carry me."

He laughed. "You know rest is starting to seem like less of an option."

"Be patient, Mr. Wayne," she purred in his ear. It was strange; no one but her had called him that in a year.

"I'm not a very patient person," he mumbled, kissing along her collarbone, "Mrs. Wayne." Selina ran her fingers through his hair, pulling it to drag his face away from her neck and back to her lips.

"Neither am I," she kissed him passionately, holding him like she'd never let go.

"One of your finer qualities," he assured her before kissing her back. He cradled her close to his body.

"And here I thought I was perfect," she laughed, her hands frantically yanking his cape over his head.

"All of your qualities are good," he assured her, kissing down her neck. "It's just one of the better ones."

"Bruce," she sighed quietly, leaning her head back. She suddenly curled her leg behind his knee and pulled it out from under him as she shoved him back on the bed, straddling his waist and pulling his bodysuit off slowly. She kissed the bat on his chest. "Don't leave me," she whispered again, pulling it over his head.

"Selina," Bruce said gently. He cupped her face and looked into her eyes. "You know I'm going to have to go back out there."

"But I don't want you to," she breathed, her eyes so fearful it could have broken his heart. She pulled his hands away from her face and placed them on her hips for him, leaning down to kiss his chest.

"I know." He lifted her up by the hips to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing and kiss me," she snapped, her eyes flashing. Selina planted her hands on his shoulders. She wasn't stronger than him, but she was strong enough that he felt the pressure as she kissed him hungrily, inhaling slowly as she did. Bruce hesitated for a second before complying. He lifted one hand up to the back of her neck, the other running down her thigh. Selina moaned into his kiss, her slender fingers unbuckling his utility belt and throwing it away. She yanked his pants down, her lips never leaving his as she pressed herself against him. Bruce pulled her tank top up, breaking off the kiss for a second before finding her lips again and tossing the shirt aside. He ran his hands along the smooth skin of her exposed waist.

She moaned again, her fingernails digging into his skin. He tried to sit up to take her shorts off, but she shoved him back down so quickly he barely had time to cry out, and her hands tightened on his biceps. He couldn't move. He knew she wouldn't let him. She didn't want to waste a second before he had to leave her again. He skimmed his hands up her sides and cupped her face.

"Selina," he whispered.

"Shhh I know," she bit his lip, kissing him hard. Bruce grabbed her shoulders and rolled them over. He knelt above her and stroked her cheek.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured against her lips.

"I know. Are you going to help me, or not?" she mumbled, biting his lips again before kissing up from his collarbone to his ear. Bruce yanked her shorts down. One hand tightened around her thigh while the other held her against him by the small of her back. Selina gasped, moaning, and kissed his ear, her hands still on his arms as she kissed down his jaw. Bruce closed his eyes, but they flew open again as she bit his neck- hard- and he cried out, reflexively throwing her away from him. It had hurt. He put a hand to his neck and his blood ran cold when he felt the wetness on his skin. Selina scrambled away from the bed, her head down, and Bruce could hear her gasping across the room, her whole body shaking.

"Bruce?" she whispered, looking at her trembling hands and then touching his blood on her lips. "Bruce!?" her voice rose to a shriek, and she looked up at him, her face twisted in cold terror. His blood was smeared on her lips, and she looked back at the traces of it on her fingertips before screaming, horrified, and stumbling out of the room. She broke into a run in the hallway.

"Selina!" Bruce tried to scramble after before he remembered his cowl lying on the floor. "Damn it!" He picked up the comm. "Red Robin," he demanded. "Are you in the labs?"

"Yeah, I'm just finishing up-"

"-Selina is somewhere in Wayne Tower. Find her," he ordered as he pulled his suit back on and burst out the door.

"What do you mean?" Tim asked unsurely, going to the bank of computers in the next room that housed the building surveillance. He scanned the screens. "Oh, um- North stairwell. Down to basement storage, it looks like- towards the armory?"

"Shit," Bruce swore. He sprinted to the stairwell and jumped over the railings. He fired his grappling hook up as he fell; it yanked him up just before he hit the ground, and then he took off running again. Bruce slammed into the locked armory doors, peering through the glass just as Selina pressed a gun to her head.

"Selina no!" he cried, his voice breaking. "Don't do it!" She turned at the sound of his voice, the gun still pressed to her temple as she covered her mouth with her hand, her body trembling with her sobs. Slowly shaking her head, she closed her eyes, gesturing- begging- for him to look away. "Please. We can figure this out," he pleaded.

"Look away!" she screamed, weeping into her hand. Her finger on the trigger shook violently, but she steeled herself and pressed the gun harder into her temple. You have to. For him. Save him for once. She peered at his face through the glass, her resolve starting to crack. He'd do it for you.

"No!" He finally got the lock picked and threw the door open. He flew over to her before she could react and yanked the gun up, his finger sliding behind the trigger so she couldn't pull it. "No." He could feel the pressure of her finger against the trigger. She would have pulled it.

"Yes," she sobbed. "I have to- If I don't- I'll turn- I don't want to be a- a monster," Selina wailed, struggling to pull away from him as she cried. He tossed the gun away from her and held her close, not letting her move away.

"You're not going to turn into a monster."

"I am!" she pounded on his chest before collapsing against him, stopping her fighting. She sobbed quietly for a moment, before the comm in Bruce's ear broke the silence.

"...Father?" Damian asked unsurely.

"What happened," Dick said quietly. The open line… they'd all heard it. His sons listened in silence on the other ends of the line. Bruce took a deep breath.

"Selina may be experiencing some side effects from her Infection bite."

She burst into a fresh round of tears at his words, struggling to break away from him again. "Bruce you have to let me go, I can't-" she sobbed, reaching a hand towards his face but pulling it back quickly. "I can't hurt you. You have to let me go…" her voice cracked and she looked away, pulling against his hands around her wrists.

"No," he said harshly, "we're going to figure this out." He pulled her back into his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"But what about you?" She whispered in terror against his chest, her eyes wide. Bruce clenched his jaw.

"I'll be fine. We'll have the lab run tests, and if you feel like you need to protect me from you, I can have them restrain you, okay?" He kissed the top of her head. "I won't let anything happen to either of us." Selina trembled in his arms.

"I'm so sorry. You have to forgive me, I…" she whimpered, her fists bunching in his cape.

"It's okay." He took his cape off and draped it over her shoulders to cover her before scooping her up in his arms. "You don't have to apologize."

"It's all my fault," she whimpered, tears still streaming down her face. She looked up at him suddenly. "Oh God, what if you turn!? What if I…" Selina burst into sobs.

"Your blood is clean remember? It's going to be okay." He carried her out into the stairwell. "I'll have them test me too. This isn't your fault." Selina closed her eyes and laid her head against his shoulder, her hand on his chest.

"Don't leave me," she whispered weakly.

"Harley Quinn! Get your little bleached-white keister in here! NOW!" The Joker screamed from the other of the three rooms at the top of the Warden's Tower. Harley jumped up from the couch. She glanced at Nygma before hurrying toward the tower control room. Joker met her in the doorway, backing her up into the living room again.

"Yes Mistah J?" she asked tentatively.

"What the hell happened!?" He hadn't spoken to her since the last of the citizens had dispersed with their meager helpings of food. "How did you let Dent get captured!?" Joker shouted, glaring at her.

"I... I mean, Batman already had him. Crane threw me into the van and... We couldn't go back for him." She clasped her hands behind her back and bounced on her heels as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"So you're blaming Jonathan, then?" He watched her, snapping his fingers. Nygma shot out of the corner, growling and reaching for her as he caught on the end of his chain. She'd only been a few feet away.

"No!" she cried jumping as far away as she could. "I'm sayin' we couldn't stop him from being taken!"

"Well evidently you didn't try hard enough," Joker growled, advancing toward her. His belt was folded in his hand, and he slapped Nygma's shoulder as he walked past him towards Harley, sending the zombie fleeing away into its corner. The Joker's nose was inches away from Harley's, his smile twisted down angrily, his green eyes shining.

"I'm sorry, Puddin." Harley cowered backward. "I'll try harder next time. I promise."

"We take care of our own," Joker grabbed her face, making her look at him. "We need to bring Dent home."

"Okay," Harley nodded vigorously, "we will."

"Okay." Joker narrowed his eyes at her, cocking his head a bit. "Smile, Harley. You're still alive, aren't you? What reason do you have not to smile?" His laugh cut through the silence as he walked away from her, tossing his belt onto the desk.

"Well," she strolled forward a little, "we didn't get that much food. What are we gonna do, Mistah J?"

He looked over his shoulder a bit and then took his coat off, draping it over the back of his chair. His thinly muscled, white-skinned arms were exposed by the torn-off sleeves of his amber Arkham Asylum jumper. "I haven't considered it," he mused, his scarlet lips pulling back in a smile again.

"You'll think a something." She shrugged and perched herself on a table, her legs swinging. "Ya always do."

"I do, don't I? I suppose we'll just conduct another raid. Batman has two places for storage, the slaughterhouse, and a place in Red Hook. But that's far past Wayne Tower and past the GCPD. It's dangerous." The Joker turned around, unbuttoning the top of his jumper and letting it drop around his hips. Underneath it, he wore a green tank top as emerald as the hair falling in his eyes. Harley watched him and grinned.

"That's all righty. Danger is my type."

"We can't afford any more casualties. Unless, of course, Dent had gotten himself caught," he smirked, leaning against his desk with his hands spread out on the papers littering it's surface. Old newspaper clippings, scrapped plans, and crumpled photos. His eyes flashed as he looked at her. Harley pursed her lips. He knew.

"He was tryin' ta get away with us... in the end."

"Yes, in the end. Yet it's hard to be loyal when you only give fifty percent," he broke into laughter.

"But it wasn't his fault!" Harley defended. "Ya know how… indecisive he can be."

"Everyone's indecisive when they've got multiple voices in their heads," Joker sighed. "But he made a split second decision. I just wish I could say it was the right one."

"Ya can't be mad at him, Mistah J," she pleaded. "He couldn't help himself."

"He coulda kept his flirtatious comments to himself, that's for damn sure," Joker snorted. "And I know. We're all mad. And it's perfect. Why condemn him for his perfection?"

"Well he's not half as perfect as you," Harley joked hopefully. He smiled and started to laugh, turning around to look at her.

"You flatter me, Doll, I'm flattered," he grinned, crossing the room to her.

"Well ya know it's true, Puddin." She beamed.

"Oh I know it's true," he laughed, running a finger along her cheekbone.

"So you're not mad?" She leaned forward on the table.

"Mad, yes," he laughed. "Out of my mind. But… angry? Not as much as I was upon discovery of Two-Face's… well, two-faced-ness." He looked down and giggled again, brushing her cherry red pigtail over her shoulder.

"It really wasn't his fault." Harley shrugged before reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of his face. Joker smiled, his hands wrapping around both of her pigtails, the red and black standing out starkly against his white skin. He pulled her nearer to him, his scarlet lips brushing hers.

"There aren't many of us left," he said quietly, his breath whispering against her lips as they pulled back over his teeth in a grin, his eyes crinkling as he watched her, his gaze guarded. "We've got to keep together."

"Of course," Harley breathed, her eyes glancing between his eyes and his lips. He continued to smile at her.

"Am I making you uncomfortable? This close?" Joker laughed quietly, licking his lips. He continued to stare into her eyes, seeming to look through her in his vacancy, and yet, he seemed to see her. The real her. She shook her head.

"No," Harley gasped. She grabbed onto the hem of his shirt. "Not at all."

"Good," he laughed shortly and leaned his head back, his green hair falling over his face again as he closed his eyes. His lips brushed her forehead and traced over her closed eyes, her cheek; gently trailing over her own lips. She could feel him grinning in his ghoulish way, like he always did when playing his games. Her breath whimpered past her lips as her hands tightened in his shirt and she pulled him closer, inching her lips closer to his. He leaned away teasingly, but barely. It was a slight movement. He wasn't turning her down so much as playing with her, now. His hands tugged at her hair a bit and he craned his neck towards her, their lips finally meeting.

Harley sighed into the kiss. She pulled him desperately closer by the shirt as she tilted her face up toward him. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she kissed him hungrily. The Joker grinned, chuckling into her kiss as he pulled her hair, dragging her closer. Harley happily complied, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed herself against him. He broke away suddenly with a gasp. He laughed merrily, his cunning green eyes meeting hers again, his eyebrows raised. Joker kissed her lips harshly, his hand cupping the back of her head before he broke it off again.

"Harley Quinn, you little porcelain tease," he muttered, beaming. "What am I to do with you?"

"Well I was kinda hopin' you'd keep doin' what ya were doing," she said, breathing heavily. Her cheeks were flushed, and her fingers played with the back of his shirt. Joker's smile twisted down a bit in a frown, before he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, What the hell," he laughed. "When in 'Arkham,' right? Just this once." The Joker lifted her off of her feet suddenly, his arms wrapped around her waist as he kissed her again. Harley giggled and grabbed his face as she kissed him back ecstatically. Joker pulled away from her lips teasingly again, hovering just in her reach, waiting like a dog with a treat balanced on its nose for him to allow her to take it. He set her on the ground again and dragged her, laughing, into the makeshift bedroom off of the control room. He threw her in and followed, catching her as she turned around and he kissed her furiously, still smiling against her lips. Harley clung to him by his shirt, savoring his kiss before she broke it off.

"I love ya, Puddin," she beamed.

"Hush, Doll, I wouldn't want you to ruin it," he laughed loudly, and then grabbed her by the arm, throwing her on the bed; laughing as he followed.