(*Wipes tear from eye* "You like me! You really like me!"
Joker: "They like the story, sweetheart, they might hate you."
"Shut up and let me enjoy this moment!"
*Joker is silent for ten seconds, looks at pocket watch and back at me.* "Moment's over! Get back to work!"
"What are you, a slave driver?"
"Not a bad idea….")

Chapter Ten

"Reads, get over here!" Dr. Loan yelled.

He and a few other medics were running and pushing a gurney down the hall. Samantha Reads saw a badly burned man lying on it as she rushed over to help push. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who he was. Harvey Dent!

The left side of his face was barely even there and burned to non-recognition! She could see the bone at some places and his left eyelid was gone.

Samantha was temporarily stunned but quickly cleared her head and concentrated on getting him to the emergency room as soon as possible.

Dent's right eye wearily opened and landed on her.

"Dent? Mr. Dent, can you hear me?" she asked.

Dent slowly closed his eye, the left remaining open yet not seeing a thing.

Samantha glanced at the nurse to her right and then back at Dent to make sure she'd see if he opened his eye again.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Explosion, that's all I know," the nurse told her.

When they got Dent to a room, the doctors and nurses began to shout orders out. Samantha unconsciously followed the orders, but her mind was on other things.

An explosion?

She'd find out more hopefully.

She was happy and saddened when she was assigned as Dent's nurse. Happy because she wanted to take good care of him; disappointed because she hated seeing him in this condition.

Later on, Samantha did learn more about the explosion.

"The Joker was responsible from what I heard the cops say," Dr. Loan told her as they walked down the halls.

"The Joker?" Samantha stopped her breathing for a moment. "I thought he was in jail?" she asked.

"So did I. He had the whole thing set up already. Some people on the inside kidnapped Dent and his girlfriend, Rachel Dawes, and took them to two separate locations. Then he busted out of there."

"Rachel Dawes? Where is she?"

Doctor Loan and Samantha stopped in front of Dent's room window. He sighed. "Batman was able to save Mr. Dent…the police couldn't get to Miss Dawes in time." After that bit of news was delivered, he left.

Samantha stood there, speechless. She faced the window and placed a hand on the glass, looking in at the sleeping Harvey Dent.

"Joker, what have you done?" she whispered.

…..

When Alfred learned of Rachel's death, it was like a blow to the heart. He'd known her since she was a small child who played with Bruce around Wayne Manor. The old butler had been like a grandfather to her.

It was in the early hours of the morning that Alfred finally brought himself to read Rachel's letter.

"Dear Bruce: I need to be honest and clear. I'm going to marry Harvey Dent. I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. When I told you that if Gotham no longer needed Batman, we could be together…I meant it. But now I'm sure the day won't come when you no longer need Batman. I hope it does.

And if it does, I will be there but as your friend. I'm sorry to let you down. If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people.

Love, now and always,

Rachel."

Alfred's vision blurred with the threat of tears as he put Rachel's letter back in its envelope and set it on Bruce's breakfast tray.

It was barely the crack of dawn when Master Wayne had returned to the penthouse. He had taken off his cape, gauntlets, and mask and thrown them to the floor as he walked to a chair that sat in front of the large windows over-looking the city. That was where Alfred found him as he carried breakfast to Bruce.

"Prepared a little breakfast," he said and placed the tray on the small table near Bruce's chair. He still starred ahead, unmoving. Alfred waited a moment before deciding to walk away. "Very well, then."

"Alfred."

He immediately turned back around. "Yes, Master Wayne?"

"Did I bring this on her? I was meant to inspire good, not madness, not death."

"You have inspired good. But you spat in the faces of Gotham's criminals. Didn't you think there might be some casualties? Things are always gonna get worse before they get better."

"But Rachel, Alfred…"

"Rachel believed in what you stood for…" Alfred bent down and picked up Bruce's mask, "what we stand for." He laid it in Bruce's lap. "Gotham needs you."

Bruce stared into the mask's eyeholes. They were empty and soulless; like he felt at the moment.

"No, Gotham needs its true hero…and I let that murdering psychopath blow him half to hell."

"Which is why, for now, they're gonna have to make do with you."

Bruce looked up at Alfred. "She was gonna wait for me Alfred."

Alfred froze and remained quiet.

"Dent doesn't know. He can never know," Bruce insisted.

Alfred barely hesitated. He very quickly picked up Rachel's letter and turned to leave. Bruce noticed it though. "What's that?" he asked.

"It can wait," Alfred told him.

"That bandit…in the forest in Burma. Did you catch him?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We burned the forest down."

…..

"Excuse me, nurse?"

Samantha turned to see a man coming up behind her. Her jaw dropped at the sight of him. "Lieutenant Gordon? But you're dead!" she said without thinking.

He arched an eyebrow and smiled. "It was a spur of the moment ruse for the Joker," he explained.

Samantha eyed him critically until she was sure he was flesh and blood.

"I'm here to see Harvey Dent. I was told that you're his nurse."

"Follow me," Samantha said.

Gordon followed her, side-by-side, down the hall. "So, Nurse…" he glanced at her I.D. tag, "Reads, how is he?" He paused and looked at her tag again. "You wouldn't happen to be Samantha Reads?" he asked.

She sighed and gave a tired smile. "That's me."

"I've wanted to meet you face to face, but not like this." Samantha nodded in understanding.

Gordon cleared his throat. "About Dent…?"

"In a way, Mr. Dent's fine. In others…"

"What do you mean?"

"The burns have seared to the bone. It will take years for him to heal physically."

"Physically?"

"The doctor suspects he may be damaged mentally."

"How so?"

"He's in terrible pain, yet he refuses morphine and skin grafts. He tore off the bandages we put over the exposed side of his face."

They paused at Dent's door and Gordon showed the police officer posted to stand watch his badge. "I can only let you speak to him for fifteen minutes."

"Thank you," Gordon said and moved to step inside when Samantha put a hand out to stop him.

"Lieutenant-."

"It's Commissioner now," Gordon said almost bashfully.

"Commissioner, I have to warn you…the damage to his face was very severe. Just try to prepare yourself," Samantha advised.

Gordon nodded, inhaled through his nose, exhaled and walked into the room. Samantha stood outside the door for a moment and watched as Gordon quietly walked over to Dent. She briefly gnawed on her thumbnail before turning to leave. Samantha grunted when she nearly knocked over a man.

She looked up to see Maroni. He adjusted his light brown suit and gave her a sly grin. "Well, isn't this a surprise?" he said.

Samantha lifted an eyebrow. "Have we met?" she asked.

"Not face to face, but I caught a glimpse of you from a window with your boyfriend."

"My boyfriend?"

"The Joker."

Samantha's face screwed up in disgust. "Ugh." She went to push past him but he gave a deep chuckle and grabbed her elbow to steer her back to him.

"Now wait a minute, doll face, where's Gordon?"

Samantha jerked her head towards the room and pulled away. Maroni watched as she left, taking his time to admire the sway of her hips.

"Maybe when this is over, you and I can go out to a fancy dinner, huh?" he called out. Samantha frowned at him from over her shoulder and kept on going.

…

Dent had his face turned to where the burned side was pressed against his pillow, unseen. Gordon stood to the right of his bed where the damaged part was facing him. A few seconds of silence passed between them until Gordon sighed.

"I'm sorry about Rachel," he said. He tried to think of something else to say and remembered Samantha's words. "The doctor says you're in agonizing pain, but that you won't accept medication. That you're refusing to accept skin grafts."

"Remember that name you all had for me when I was at Internal Affairs? What was it, Gordon?" Harvey asked, suddenly.

"Harvey, I…" Gordon stuttered.

"Say it," Harvey prodded.

Gordon remained quiet.

"SAY IT!" Harvey shouted.

Gordon looked down at the floor in shame. "Two-Face. Har- Harvey Two-Face."

Dent turned his head to look at Gordon; giving him a good view of his mutilated face. Gordon's eyes widened and thought his heart nearly stopped beating.

"Why should I hide who I am?" Dent asked spitefully and looked away, concealing the disfigurement.

Gordon tried to find his voice again and was able to speak when he gazed down at the floor. "I know you tried to warn me. I'm sorry. Wuertz picked you up. Was he working for them?"

Harvey scoffed at Gordon's question.

"Do you know who picked up Rachel?" Gordon asked. Dent kept his face turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Harvey, I need to know which of my men I can trust," Gordon begged.

"Why would you listen to me now?" Dent growled.

"I'm sorry, Harvey."

Harvey turned his face to Gordon. Both eyes seemed to be burning with a deep hatred. The left side of Dent's lips were burned away and transformed into an eternal snarl, which made him look even more furious.

"No. No, you're not. Not yet."

…..

When Gordon left Dent's room, he found Maroni standing there in the hall, waiting for him. "This craziness, it's too much," he said smirking.

Gordon frowned and walked past him. "You should've thought about that before you let the clown out of the box."

"You want 'im?"

Gordon stopped. He slowly turned to look at Maroni who still had his back to him. Maroni paused as if in thought.

"I can tell you where he'll be this afternoon," he finally admitted.

…..

After the very much alive Commissioner Gordon had left, Samantha stepped inside the room and walked over to the monitors, checking them. She heard a slight movement from Dent's bed. He was staring at her.

Samantha felt her skin crawl at the sight of his face and was immediately ashamed. "Sorry, did I wake you?" she apologized.

"No," he answered in a low voice.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No."

Samantha went about her duties, aware that Dent was watching her very closely. "I've seen you before," he said in that same low tone.

"Yes, you have."

He closed his one good eye as if picturing where they had met.

Samantha wondered if his right eye could still see when he was asleep.

Dent opened his eye and focused on her. "You're Samantha Reads. We met at Bruce Wayne's party."

She nodded. "Yes."

"The police said you made the Joker chase after you to get him away from the crowd."

"That's me."

"Very brave of you."

"Miss Dawes had been brave too. I'm very sorry about her."

Dent fell silent. "Did you ever meet her?" he asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"I bumped into her at Wayne's penthouse before she…" Samantha drifted off, almost afraid to say it.

"Died?" Dent finished for her.

"Yes, sir."

Dent swallowed a knot in his throat and sighed deeply as he gazed at a double headed coin in his hand. One side was damaged with scratches and burns. He had given it to her before he went in the SWAT van. Dent found it on the desk by his bed when he woke up from being unconscious.

Samantha looked around the room and cleared her throat. "Well…uh…you'll be moved to a new room in an hour or so."

"Fine."

She gave a weak smile and began to head for the door. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?" she asked.

"I'm fine," was his answer.

"Okay, I'll be seeing you in your new room soon."

"See you then."

Samantha slipped out and closed the door behind her. The officer flashed her a smile. She managed to pull her facial muscles into something that could pass as one and walked away. It was getting harder to smile now.

…

Down at the docks; cars were parked outside of a shipment warehouse. The Russian, Chechen, was told to come here and meet the Joker. When he walked in with his men, he saw a giant pile of money stacked up high. Chechen searched with his eyes for the purple-suited man, but only found his thugs.

He looked back up at the pile of money and saw a purple- sleeved arm extend into the air, followed by the rest of the Joker as he carefully stood up from his sitting position. Right beside him, bound and gagged, was Lau. Chechen bit down on his cigar as he smiled.

"Not so crazy as you look," he told him.

"I tooold you, I'm a man of my word."

The Joker ruffled Lau's hair before leaping into the air and sliding down the hill of money. He gave a little bounce and landed on his feet. He looked back at the money and watched some of the small stacks trail down after him. He turned to Chechen. "Where's the Italian?" he asked.

"Not coming. He said he was busy."

The Joker licked his lips and picked up a stack of bills. "Uh-huh…" he muttered.

He glanced at Lau and threw the money at him. It hit Lau against the side of his head with a loud 'SMACK!' Seeing that he hit his target, he picked up another stack and again succeeded in hitting his target.

"Please! Joker-man," Chechen said, trying to get his attention back. "What you do with all your money?"

The Joker stopped his game and looked at Chechen. He pulled out his gun and moved his arms around as he spoke. "You see, I'm a guy of simple taste."

Chechen raised his bushy eyebrows in a way that showed he was a little surprised. The Joker went on to explain.

"I enjoy, uh, dynamite, and gunpowder, and-," he raised his voice, "gasoline."

He looked back to see if Red had gotten the message and was happy to find him pouring the can of gasoline on the pile of money.

"What the-?" Chechen began, taking a step forward.

"Ah-ta-ta-ta-tah," the Joker said, pointing his gun at him. Chechen froze.

"And you know the thing that they have in common? They're cheap-ah."

"You said you were a man of your word?"

"Oh I am."

The Joker grabbed Chechen's cigar and blew on it twice. "I'm only burning my half." He tossed the cigar onto the money and it ignited immediately.

The flames quickly licked up the gasoline and ate the cash. Chechen and his men watched in horror as millions of dollars began to disappear before their eyes.

The Joker stared at Chechen intensely. "All you care about is money. This town deserves a better class of criminal and I'm gonna give it to 'em." He tapped Chechen with the barrel of the gun. "Tell your men they work for me now. This is my city."

"They won't work for a freak," Chechen's voice shook with fury.

"Freeeak-ah," the Joker mocked Chechen's accent, leering at him.

A knife suddenly appeared in his left hand. "Why don't we cut you up into little pieces and feed ya to your pooches? Hm? And then we'll see how loyal a hungry dog really is!"

He tossed the knife to one of Chechen's men who came up behind Chechen. The man caught it and pressed the blade against Chechen's throat as he and another thug dragged him away. The sounds of three Rottweilers barking grew louder and more aggressive.

The Joker pulled out a cell phone and began to dial a number. "It's not about money, it's abooout sending message. Everything burns."

He finished dialing and put the phone next to his ear. At that point, Lau's screams of agony reached him like sweet music. He had left the squealer on top of the money and now Lau was dying the way he deserved to.

He focused his attention back to the sound of the phone ringing. Before coming to the warehouse, he heard that a man by the name of Coleman Reece, knew the identity of Batman and was going to announce it on GCN live at five. GCN would be accepting calls from people to get their opinion on whether he should go through with it or not.

"You're on the air, who is this?" a voice asked. It was Mike Engel.

The Joker rolled his eyes. He found the man to be too cheesy sometimes.

"I had a vision, of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit and the police try to shut them down one block at a time. And it was sooo…boring. I've had a change of heart. I don't want Mr. Reece spoiling everything but why should I have all the fun?" Even though he knew they couldn't see him, the Joker shrugged in a comical way. "Let's give somebody else a chance. If Coleman Reece isn't dead in sixty minutes, then I blow up a hospital." He slapped the phone shut and slipped it into his pocket.

He jerked his head towards the doors. "Come on, boys. I'm driving!"

A few scattered groans were heard. The Joker eyed them and strolled to the exit. He caught sight of the three Rottweilers and stared at them thoughtfully. "Bring the dogs," he ordered and continued walking.

"You got it, boss," one of Chechen's men replied.

The Joker grinned and began humming to 'Sway,' which caused a few men to lift an eyebrow.

….

Red sat quietly next to the Joker in the passenger seat. He couldn't figure why the Joker wanted to bring the dogs along? They came to a sudden stop at the back of Gotham General Hospital.

"Get to your stations," the Joker told them.

They spilled out and immediately went to their places. The Joker went to the back door of the hospital and grinned when he found it unlocked.

"Who said you couldn't buy people with money?"

…

Samantha walked down the hall to Harvey Dent's new room as she looked over his papers. She had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and stuck a pen behind her ear.

So far, Dent was healing the best that could be expected. She let out a sigh of relief and looked up from the papers attached to her clipboard. She saw a red-headed nurse standing with her back to Samantha.

She walked past the woman and was suddenly pulled backwards and shoved into a corner, out of sight from anyone coming.

Samantha grimaced from the pain she felt in her back.

"I can't believe we keep running into each other," a voice said.

Samantha's jaw dropped when she saw that it was the red-headed nurse…or so she thought.

The Joker wore the nurses' dress, a red wig, and a surgical mask. He took off the mouth piece and grinned. "Did you miss me?" he asked in a playful tone.

Samantha took in the outfit. This was more ridiculous than the purple suit!

"What are you doing here? And why are you in a dress?" she whispered.

"The less you know, the better," he said.

Samantha had an idea, but had asked so she could distract him as she slowly moved her clipboard behind her back.

"Where's Dent?" he asked.

"I'm not telling," she said coldly.

The Joker leaned in closer and put his arms on the wall behind her, trapping Samantha in the corner with his face inches from hers. "Playing games are we?" he asked.

"Do I even look like I'm stupid enough to answer your question?"

"No, you're a smart woman. But I don't need you to answer me." He suddenly reached behind her and swiped the clipboard out of her hands. He waved it in front of her face. "I got aaall I need, right here," he said with a smirk.

Samantha closed her eyes in disappointment.

"Aaaw, come on. The Joker grinned as he caressed her cheek with his index finger's knuckle. "You tried to hide it," he said in a mock comforting voice. He stared at her for a moment and the looked out at the hallway to see no one. He faced Samantha again. "I'm going to blow up the hospital," he whispered.

Samantha's eyes widened.

"The cops should be pulling up with all sorts of buses any second-."

There was a click as the loud speakers came on. "Attention all staff, patients, and visitors. We have been ordered to evacuate the hospital immediately. Empty the building now. Transportation is being provided." There was another click and the announcement was over.

The Joker looked at Samantha with a mischievous smile on his face. It was like he was saying, "Told ya so."

"I suggest that you get on one of those buses."

"Not until I get my patients out of here."

"Alright then, but I need to 'check up'," he waved the clipboard, "on Mr. Harvey Dent."

The Joker began to walk away but Samantha grabbed his shoulder. "Don't you dare!" she hissed. He simply brushed off her hand. Samantha's anger rose. She ran in front of him and shoved him back. "Back off!" she ordered.

The Joker's eyes flashed and she realized she'd made a mistake. He raised his hand and back-handed her. Samantha fell to her hands and knees as he kept walking. She touched the spot where it burned from the blow. He had not struck her before. That wasn't a good sign.

Samantha quickly stood to her feet and looked around. She did not see him. "Oh no," she whispered. She ran down the hall he had headed and came to a cross section.

There was still no sign of him. A thought occurred to her.

"He must have the detonator."

Samantha ran a hand through her disheveled hair and took a deep breath. She did not get the chance to look up the new number of Dent's room. She did know it was down the right hallway, so she headed for that direction.

She wasn't completely at wits end. Samantha knew that Dent had officers ay his doors. Armed officers. Surely they would stop the Joker. But the Joker was highly intelligent and he probably knew there would be armed guards and came armed himself.

That thought caused Samantha to quicken her pace.

On her way down the hall, Samantha saw most of the staff escorting visitors or patients out of the building. It was becoming chaos. She asked several people if they had seen a red headed nurse; not wanting to scare them even more by saying it was the Joker. They all said 'no'. Everyone was too busy getting out to notice anything.

She saw no officers guarding a room, so she asked a doctor if he knew where Dent's room was. He did in fact know and told her the number. She hurried even faster down the hall, bumping into people as she did.

Samantha glanced at all the people she passed, wishing she cold help them. But she couldn't help them now. At the moment, she had to find Dent.

She ran down an entirely empty hall to Dent's room and screeched to a stop around a corner.

A cop was in the room and the Joker had just shot him with a silenced gun. Samantha's scream was anything but silent. The Joker's head snapped up in her direction and she covered her mouth. He hurried over and grabbed her by the arms.

"Get on the bus," he said.

"You're gonna kill him."

"I may and may not," he answered and flicked his tongue over his scars. "Get in a bus," he repeated.

Samantha glared.

"Go now!" he urged and pushed her away.

She stepped back up to him. "No!" she said defiantly as they locked eyes with each other.

The Joker clenched his teeth and balled his fists beside his head. He suddenly aimed the gun at her. "Go!" he yelled.

Samantha froze.

"Would he…?"

He fired the gun and a chip appeared on the wall beside her; very close beside her. Samantha let out another surprised scream, her heart hammering within her chest. She glanced at the chip in the wall and looked back at the Joker. His eyes were black and narrowed at her. She slowly started to inch away.

The Joker gave a low growl from the back of his throat and fired again, missing but still very close.

Samantha turned and ran. She skidded on the floor as she quickly turned down the hall to the main lobby. She pushed past the doors and the sunlight momentarily impaired her vision. Samantha squinted and made out a policeman near a bus, helping load the patients and visitors.

"Officer!" she called as she jogged towards him.

He looked at her with beads of perspiration dotting his forehead.

"Officer-!"

"Good, I need your help loading this patient," he said, grimacing as he tried to hold a crippled man in his arms while others were loading the man's wheel chair into the back door of the bus.

"The Joker-!"

"We know the Joker is responsible for making the threat. Please hurry."

"But-."

"Ma'am, please help me!"

Samantha growled in frustration and helped the man onto the bus. When he was taken care of, she tried to speak to the officer again.

"Sir, what I've been trying to tell you is-."

That's when the hospital began to explode. Everyone around her screamed.

"Get in the bus! Get in the bus!" a doctor yelled. A camera man pulled reporter Mike Engel into the bus she stood by.

Samantha saw the Joker walk out of the hospital's front doors as if nothing was happening. As if a building was not bursting into a flaming ball of orange and red. He was still wearing the nurse uniform.

Samantha clambered into the bus through the back door. She expected someone to close it any second and they would drive off, leaving the Joker behind.

The explosion slowed and then stopped all together. Samantha made her way to the back door again and was about to close it, but paused to see what the Joker was doing. He was messing with a remote in his hands…the detonator. It seemed it wasn't working to the Joker's liking.

Suddenly a loud 'Boom' sounded, making the Joker visibly jump, and the explosions continued. The Joker started running towards her bus!

Samantha reached for the door handle but the Joker reached the bus before she could shut it. He pushed her down, jumped in, and shut the door behind him. He sat down in the back seat and the bus began to move.

Now Samantha understood. She and everyone else on the bus were hostages.

As the hospital was being destroyed, the Joker never looked back. Not once. He looked down at Samantha and grinned. She got up from the floor and glared at him.

There was an elderly lady sitting two seats away. She saw him and fear sprang into her eyes. "The Joker!" she exclaimed.

All heads turned and saw him. People began to scream.

Five people stood up and held guns in their hands. Two were in doctors coats.

"No," Samantha thought, fearfully.

Only two real doctors were on the bus and one other nurse. "Nobody tries anything," a henchman yelled.

The old lady put a hand to her heart. She looked like she was going into cardiac arrest! This was too big of a shock for her!

Samantha hurried over to the lady.

"Hey!" the henchman yelled and fired at her. Samantha gasped and ducked; the bullet went through a window.

The Joker jumped up and pointed at him. "No! I want her alive!" he snapped.

The henchman looked at Samantha and gave a dirty grin. "I would too," he said.

Samantha ignored him and bent down to look at the old woman. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm worried about my granddaughter. We were separated and had to get on different buses. What if what's happening to us is happening to the others? She's only nine years old," the woman said fearfully.

Samantha had been wondering the same thing. "Stay calm. I'll ask the Joker."

The elderly woman grasped her arm. "Oh, no! Don't do that!" she begged.

"You have to know, so does everyone else who's worrying about the same thing," Samantha told her and gently pried the woman's hand off.

The bus jolted as she stood up. The Joker was pulling on his pants and shirt at the moment. Samantha's cheeks colored and she decided to wait. When he was still buttoning up his shirt, she went over. He stopped when he saw her and grinned.

"Hello," he said. There were still four buttons left open.

"Are other buses being held hostage?" she asked immediately.

"Of course not," he answered calmly.

Samantha narrowed her eyes. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

He put a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt," he pouted.

"Well, how can I trust you?"

"I promise you, no other buses are being taken. I'm a man of my word."

"Okay, fine. Is the district attorney still alive?"

The Joker looked at her and a sick smile spread across his face. His tongue darted over his lips. "Yes," he said darkly.

"What did you do?"

"It's a surprise."

Another jolt, bigger than the last, made Samantha loose her balance and fall on the Joker. He giggled and put his arms around her.

"Let go," she hissed.

"Mmm…No."

"I said let go!"

The Joker's arms locked around her. "And I clearly said 'no', didn't I?" He leaned back in his seat, pulling Samantha with him. Her heart pounded as she struggled to get away. He only laughed. "Why don't you stay with me for awhile?" he asked, jokingly.

She had no choice. He wrapped a strand of her hair around his bare finger.

"What are you doing?" Samantha whispered.

The smile disappeared from his face and he just stared into her eyes. The last time he had looked at her like that was ….

Samantha tensed as the Joker ran his fingers through her hair. "Relax," he said.

"Relax? How can I relax when-?"

He took her hand and kissed her wrist. She jerked her hand away like she had been burned. He grabbed it again.

"Don't stop me," he whispered in an aggravated tone.

He kissed her wrist again and she brought her other hand up to slap his face. He caught that hand and wrapped one of his around both her wrists and pointed a finger at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you-?"

One of the thugs dressed as a doctor walked over and his gaze landed on the two of them. He paused when he saw Samantha and the Joker's positions together and grinned as he turned back the way he'd come.

"What are you grinning about?" one of the other thugs asked him.

"The Joker's got himself a girl, that nurse you shot at," the fake doctor said.

"Oh really?" the henchman asked with a grin.

Samantha overheard them and yanked one hand free from his. She hit the Joker on the chest hard, making him grunt.

"Jerk," she said through clenched teeth.

He cackled and captured both hands again. "Feisty," he said.

"Shut up, freak," she hissed as she pushed away.

The Joker grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. He put his face close to hers, his brown eyes positively blazing. "If you don't stop struggling, I'll-!"

"Samantha!" The other real nurse, Veronica, had come to the back and saw them. She glared at the Joker, grabbed Samantha by the shoulders, and pulled her out of his arms.

The Joker jumped up and towered over Veronica. He grabbed her ponytail of black hair and pulled out a knife.

"You wanna know what I do to people who butt in like you just did?" he snarled. Samantha could tell he was clearly enraged.

"Stop it, Joker!" She didn't really believe he'd listen to her, but it just came natural to say it.

Veronica's brown eyes widened as he brought the knife closer to her face.

"Joker!"

Not knowing what else to do, Samantha grabbed his hand and sunk her teeth into his skin.

"Ah!"

He about lashed out at her but froze. They locked eyes and remained that way for nearly a minute. Slowly, he lowered the knife and let go of Veronica. The Joker licked his lips, bared his teeth at her, and then walked to the front of the bus to the driver.

Veronica and Samantha sat down, wondering what would happen next. Samantha shivered.

"Are you alright?" Veronica asked her.

"I'm not entirely sure."

"Nurse Reads!" one of the real doctors yelled.

Samantha's head shot up to look at the front and saw one of the patients had stopped breathing. She recognized the patient. He had been on a breathing machine and the doctors must not have had enough time to grab the transportable machine for him.

She rushed to the front, shoving aside a minion of the Joker.

The Joker watched her with a sneer and a look in his eyes that chilled her. There was a hungry look in those brown eyes of his. Very hungry and very dark.

In less than a minute the patient was breathing again. Samantha was responsible for these peoples' lives, but so were the other doctors and Veronica. She made herself a promise that she would get these people home safely.

Later on, the bus pulled up to an old warehouse. Samantha peered out of her window.

"What is it with criminals and warehouses?"

The Joker looked at Mike Engle with a stomach churning stare. "Take him inside and tie him up," he ordered his henchmen.

Mike was taken away as Samantha hurried over to the Joker. "What are you going to do to him?"

He switched his gaze to her, debating on whether or not to be angry with her. He chose to brush off the fact she had bitten him.

"Calm down, Esmeralda."

"Tell me what you're going to do!" she demanded.

"My, my, my, aren't we being pushy?" He let out a short laugh and licked his lips before taking her hand in his. "Come on, I'll show you!" He began to run with her in tow out of the bus and to the warehouse.

He took her to a large room where the two men had just finished up tying Engle. There was a chain with a hook right above Engle's head.

"Hoist yer colors! Hang him upside down," the Joker laughed.

He took out a small video camera from the pocket of his purple suit. Samantha backed a step away from him. His arm shot out and seized her wrist. "Oh no you don't." The Joker pulled her back beside him. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're staying here with me."

Samantha was tired of being pulled around, so she stood still for the moment. That seemed to surprise and please the Joker.

The henchmen hung Engle upside down as the Joker requested, and he handed Engle some sheets of paper with messy red writing on it.

"When I tell you, I want you to read what I wrote on those papers. Got it?"

Engle nodded fearfully and took the sheets.

The Joker snickered as he and Samantha stepped away from him and the henchmen hung a mock Gotham Tonight background behind the reporter.

"Now for your make-up! You can't let the public see you like this!"

The Joker dug out a tube of bright red lipstick and quickly smeared it over Engle's mouth.

"Perfect," the Joker said. He held Samantha closer to his side as he trained the camera on the reporter. "Now."

Engle stared at the camera, glanced down at the papers and began to read.

"I'm Mike Engle, for Gotham Tonight. What does it take to make you people want to join in? You failed to kill the lawyer; I've got to get you off the bench and into the game."

The Joker sometimes repeated snippets of the words. "Bench, game," he snickered.

"Come nightfall this city is mine,"

"Mine…,"

"And anyone left here plays by my rules."

"Rules…"

"If you don't want to be in the game-," here they said it together, "get out now."

"But the bridge and tunnel crowd are sure in for a surprise. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha," Mike read with a dead pan expression on his face.

The Joker began to laugh and turned off the camera. "Send that video to GCN," he said as he handed it to a henchman.

He and Samantha watched as the other man took down Engle. "Put him back on the bus and join the others…I'll be there in a few minutes."

They left the Joker and Samantha alone.

"Alone at last," he said with a smile.

"Why?" Samantha asked him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"Why me? You could choose to kill me without a moment's hesitation, I know you could, and yet you don't. Why?"

He wrapped a strand of her hair around a gloved finger. "You fascinate me. You amuuuuse me." He leaned in to whisper in her ear, his lips brushing her cheek. "You're…unpredictabl-ah…like me."

Samantha stiffened. She felt sick. He was comparing her to him?

She caught herself looking into his brown eyes. Puppy dog brown eyes on the face of a killer. The contrast was dizzying.

"You know something, Samantha? I think…I like you too much."

She felt her skin crawl when he took off his left glove and lightly traced her lips with his fingers.

"Joker..."

"Hm?"

"Stop."

The Joker paused with the tip of his finger touching the corner of her mouth and withdrew his hand.

"You can't stand me, can you?" he asked.

Samantha gazed at him for a moment.

"Why the make-up?" she wondered.

"Let me see your face," she asked suddenly.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Will you kiss me if I do?" he teased.

Samantha didn't answer and the smile left.

He backed away and took out a purple bandanna and a small bottle from a coat pocket. He wet the rag with the liquid in the bottle and turned away from her. He wiped his face for a few minutes.

When he turned back to face her, Samantha was dumbstruck. She remembered how he looked in high school and how cute he had been; now he was eleven years better. And yet at the same time he looked ragged.

His skin, what would have been a glorious tan, was pale and despite the fact he always wore black paint around his eyes she could tell that the black smudges were also from a lack of sleep.

But there was no denying the obvious. He was extremely handsome…except for those horrible scars….

The Joker replaced the rag and bottle in his pocket. "Now you see me." He walked up to her until there was less than seven inches of space between them. He spread both arms out with his palms up. "What do you think?" he asked.

Samantha bit her lip. "You've changed," she said.

The Joker snickered and licked his lips. She could see the scars more clearly, still a bit smeared with red and white paint. He took a step closer and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Hello beautiful," he said in a low voice and placed his mouth over hers.

His hands latched onto her when she tried to fight, which restricted her movements. But that's when she realized…he was a great kisser. All the more reason for her to fight him off!

Samantha broke away from him, but he wasn't having any of it. "I'm not done with you yet," he said as he pulled her back.

"Don't-!" She was cut off from his lips covering her own. His arm pinned Samantha against him. A low moan escaped from the Joker.

"Hey boss!"

The Joker's head quickly snapped away from Samantha; breaking off their kiss suddenly.

"Hey boss! The guys are getting antsy!" a thug called out from somewhere unseen. He appeared from behind a wall and his steps faltered when he caught the Joker holding onto Samantha so closely and without his face paint on.

"Dopey, take Miss Reads to the bus," the Joker ordered with annoyance.

Dopey nodded and grabbed her by the arm. As they began to walk, Samantha cast a glance over her shoulder to see the Joker staring at her with an intense look on his face.

He didn't follow them; he stayed behind so he could reapply his war paint. He didn't smile when Samantha had looked back at him. He just stared right back until she turned away. It was the only thing he could do.

Samantha had been shocked, but not as much as he had been when he kissed her. Sure, he had known he wanted to, but for a joke and a good laugh at her expense, but…he didn't expect to have wanted it so bad…or enjoy it like he had all those long years ago.

He slowly ran his tongue over his lips, and looked up at the ceiling before digging into another pocket to get his back up face paint. He spotted a cracked office window that lent a decent reflection and walked to it.

As he covered his face with the white paint, he couldn't help but think that at one point during their kiss…it almost felt like she had stopped struggling and let him kiss her.

(Alrighty, there's chapter ten! I hope you enjoyed it. It's nearing its ending and I have one thing to ask my readers….how many of you would continue being my readers if I wrote a sequel? I want to know what you think of this chapter and you thoughts about it…which is another way of me begging you to press that pretty little button below that says 'Review'. Yeah, that one right there. I know you're looking at it right now, so why don't you go ahead and press it? Press it! It's easy! Click your mouse!...*clears throat* Anywho, I would really like to hear back from you and be on the look out for the last two chapters to this story.)