Bruce kept her in the mansion, after the run-in with Crane. It was a little irritating, to say the least.
She was starting to get cabin fever.
She only had a couple days left, before she had to return to Arkham, but it wasn't getting there quick enough... She felt like she would go insane. She got off of the couch, and went over to the window. It was dark out. She sighed, and looked over at the door to Bruce's library, that he also used for his office. He was on the phone. Again. She sighed. Bruce was great, but she felt like the walls were closing in on her. She needed to get some fresh air.
She left a note for Bruce, letting him know that she was taking a walk. She quietly let herself out, and started walking. She took a deep breath, and smiled. She could breathe again.
She came to a field, and sat down. She brought her knees up, and rested her chin on them. He mind started wandering. Joker shot to the front of her mind. She frowned as she shut her eyes, and shook her head.
She wanted to forget Joker, but her mind wouldn't let her. She had to admit it, she was afraid, worried, that Joker would do something to her. She exhaled loudly. She groaned, and rubbed her face, with her hands.
"Don't be sad doll face, I'm here to save you."
Hope gasped, and got to her feet. She spun around to find Joker standing there. She took a couple steps away from him.
"What are you doing here? How? How did you get out?" She asked.
He laughed.
"I told you I would get out. I came to get you." He told her.
She shook her head.
"No, I'm not going with you. I'm calling Comissioner Gordon, and you're going back to Arkham." She told him.
He laughed, as she pulled her cell phone out of her coat pocket. She started dialing a number, and tried to stay calm. She concentrated on what she was doing, that she didn't realise Joker was getting closer to her. When he got close enough, he grabbed the phone from her, and threw it.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Hope said.
"You won't need that any longer doll face." Joker told her.
She stepped away from him, shaking her head.
"No. You need to stop this now Joker. Please do not make it harder than it has to be." She told him.
"I'm not leaving without you." He told her.
That was bad. She needed to get away from him, or else, she was afraid he was going to take her. She backed up again.
"I'm sorry that you're upset that I transferred you to another therapist, but I'm not going with you. Bruce is waiting for me to return, I have to go." She told him.
She turned to leave, but he stopped her. She stopped breathing as she froze. He caressed her cheek.
"I got rid of Harley for you. I saved you from her, and how do you repay me? You send me to another Doctor. That wasn't very nice of you doll face." Joker told her.
She shook her head.
"You crossed the line." She said.
His hand went to the back of her neck, as he smiled at her.
"You're not my doctor now." He said.
He pulled her to him, and his lips crashed onto hers. She fought against him. It seemed like he was enjoying her struggling. She pounded her hands on her chest.
When he pulled away, she slapped him. He laughed.
"This is ending, right now. I am returning to Bruce." She said.
"You're coming with me." He told her.
He grabbed her. She kicked him between the legs. He doubled over in pain. She pushed him to the ground, and then turned to run.
She tried remembering the way she'd come, but she was having trouble focusing. She rolled her ankle, and fell to the ground.
She heard Joker laguhing getting closer. She stumbled to her feet again, and tried running. It was more like a fast limp. She suddenly heard her name being called. She smiled, thankful. Bruce would find her.
"Don't do it doll face." Joker said.
He was close.
"Bruce!" She screamed.
"Wrong choice princess." Joker said.
He grabbed her.
She screamed out.
"I'll see you when you wake up." Joker said.
He stabbed her in her neck. The effects were almost instantaneous. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Joker caught her before she fell to the ground.
"That's my girl." Joker said.
He gave a laugh.
X*X*X
Hope groaned, as she started to wake up. Her head felt heavy, and sluggish. She rubbed her face. She pried her eyes open, and froze. She wasn't where she should be. She was no longer at Wayne Manor.
She tried to remember what had happened, but her memory was fuzzy. She needed to find her way back to Bruce, before Bruce freaked out that she was missing.
Hope sat up, and put her feet on the floor. She stood up, and stretched, taking a moment to wonder where she was, and how she got there?
She was about to go over to the window, when someone entered the room.
"You're awake, doll face. It's about time, you've kept me waiting."
She froze as she recognised that voice. Her heart started racing. She slowly turned around, hoping that she was wrong. Dread filled her veins, when she saw him standing there, smiling at her. She felt the blood drain from her face. She shook her head.
"No, it can't be." She gasped.
He laughed.
"You are a tricky one to get alone. You send me to a different doctor, the boy blunder, Nightwing, captures my delivery boy, Scarecrow, and then you try to run away from me, to Brucey. That doesn't matter any longer though, you're here now, and you're all mine. No one will ever take you away again." Joker told her.
She frowned. Memories from previous night started coming back to her.
"Bruce." She gasped.
Joker rolled his eyes.
"Wayne is fine." Joker said.
"Why are you doing this to me?" She asked.
He was in front of her in an instant. He cupped her face with his hand. She wrapped her hands around his wrists.
"You gave me no other choice, Doll face. You made me desperate, and I did what I had to." He told her.
"I was doing my job. I was your doctor, and you put your hands on me. I had to give you to another doctor. You want something that I can't give you." She told him.
He ran his thumb along her bottom lip.
"You can't keep saying that anymore, you're not my doctor. I'm not even in Arkham any longer. You have no excuses anymore." He said.
"Bruce. I care about Bruce Wayne. I'm with Bruce." She said.
"Not any longer, my pet. You'll never see him again." He told her.
She closed her eyes. She'd never see Bruce again.
"What are you going to do to me?" She asked, in a whisper.
He laughed.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you, I just got you. I want to have fun with you first." He told her.
"What's in this for you?" She asked, looking into his eyes.
"You." He said.
Before she could say anything else, he pressed his lips to hers.
Her hands went to his chest, while his hands went down her body, to her hips. He pulled her close, then pressed her up against the wall. She tried pushing him away, but it was futile, he was too strong. If only she'd been able to get self defense lessons from Batman.
Batman would find her. He would save her. She started to relax, slightly. Joker deepened the kiss, his hands roaming all over her body. It made her skin crawl. She wished that it was Bruce's hands on her body.
She finally managed to push him off of her. He laughed.
"You might want to stop fighting me, you're never leaving." He told her.
She frowned.
"You kidnapped me, of course I'm going to fight you, until I get free." She said.
"That's distressing doll face. You're going to make this harder on yourself. Maybe some time alone will change your mind." Joker said.
He spun on his heels, and left the room. She hurried behind him, but he locked it from outside, so she couldn't get out. She pounded on the door, but no one came to release her.
She tried the window next, but it was boarded up. She couldn't escape. How was Batman going to find her? Was she going to be stuck here for the rest of her life? She shook her head. She wouldn't let that happen. She needed to return to Bruce. She took a seat on the bed once more. She needed to make a plan of attack.
X*X*X
She was going insane. She'd lost track of time, and she was starving. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. She was laying on the bed, tears falling down her cheeks. She had to constantly remind herself that someone was looking for her. Bruce would look for her. Batman wouldn't give up, and neither would the police. She couldn't lose faith in them.
She had no idea what Joker had in store for her. She was catastrophising the situation. She was having some problems staying calm..
She was exhausted, and was dozing off, when the lock sounded. The door opened, and Joker waked in. He walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her.
"You should play nicely doll face. It's not a suggestion." He told her.
"You kidnapped me! Please forgive me, if I'm a little uncooperative." She mumbled tiredly.
She gave a sigh. He laughed, running his hand through her hair.
"You gave me no choice doll face." He told her.
"You were my patient. I have my morals, and integrity." She mumbled, pressing her head deeper into the pillow.
Joker laughed, trailing his fingers down her body. She groaned, as she shivered. He laughed again.
"That's my girl." He whispered into her ear.
"Are you here to annoy me, or are you here to bring me something to eat?" She muttered.
"Doll face, I can be just as stubborn as you." He told her.
"If you want me more agreeable, you need to feed me." She mumbled.
"You're cute when you try demanding things, doll face." He told her.
"Batman will kick you ass, when he gets here." She said, with a tired laugh.
"Bats will never find you." Joker said.
She giggled. She must be delerious.
"If I don't eat, I won't be here much longer." She muttered.
Joker laughed.
"So dramatic baby doll, but I do want to keep you for a little while longer." Joker told her.
"You say the sweetest things." She said sarcastically.
"Only to you." Joker whispered in her ear.
His hand trailed up and down her spine.
"How long have I been here?" She asked.
"Five days." Joker said.
"You left me by myself, with nothing to eat, for five days?! Why shouldn't I be more stubborn?" She asked.
She shivered, as she felt his lips on her shoulder, but kept her eyes shut.
"I'll get you something to eat, and then we can find something productive to do." Joker said.
"I can hardly wait." She said sarcastically.
He laughed, gave her shoulder another kiss, then got off the bed. A moment later, she heard the door shut, and lock once more.
She exhaled loudly. She didn't know how to take this new Joker. It scared her. She groaned, needing a distraction. She thought about Bruce. She was afraid that she'd never see him again. The tears started falling again. Once more she had to remind herself that someone would find her.
She jumped, when she heard the door unlock, and then open.
"Dinner is here." Joker told her.
It wasn't anything fancy, just a sandwich, but it was the best sandwich she'd had in her life. Joker laughed.
"Enjoy." He said, leaving her alone.
She ate the sandwich fairly quickly, then drank down the water.
She put the tray on the bed side table, andcurled back up on the bed. She could feel her strength start returning. She sighed happily.
She had started dozing again, when the lock sounded, and the door opened. She felt the bed next to her dip down, under Joker's weight.
"We're going to have so much fun together doll face." Joker told her.
She felt his lips on her shoulder.
"That's debateable." She muttered.
"You'll learn to enjoy it." He whispered in her ear.
"We'll see about that." She mumbled.
"I like a challenge doll." Joker whispered.
"Good luck with that." She said, as his fingers started trailing down her arms, down to her hip.
His hand rested on her hip. She exhaled loudly.
"Soon enough. We have all the time in the world." Joker told her.
"Or until Batman arrives." She said.
He laughed against her shoulder.
"I wouldn't count on it doll face." He told her.
"Whatever. I believe what I want." She mumbled.
He tightened his grip on her hip. She exhaled loudly. She felt him bury his face into her hair. He breathed deeply, and heavily. He pulled her up against his chest.
"Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep." She told him.
"Sweet dreams darling." Joker whispered into her ear.
Joker feathered kisses along her shoulder blade.
X*X*X
She had no idea how long she had been gone, but she was feeling much better. Joker was feeding her more regularly, since that night. She still wasn't allowed out of the room. She never gave up on the idea of Batman coming for her. She enjoyed telling Joker that too. She would laugh at him, when she said it.
She missed Bruce more and more, and it spilled over into her dreams. She would wake up sweating, and crying. Bruce was being ripped out of her hands and slaughtered, by unseen forces.
It did not put her in an amicable mood, blaming everything on Joker. He only rolled his eyes as she screamed at him. That just infuriated her that much more.
She cried at night, to see Bruce again, and have Batman finally come for her. Joker was getting tired of hearing about Bruce and Batman. He started snapping at her about it. That had just made her do it even more. It soon escalated, and it became physical.
He would put his hands around her neck. He would throw her up against the wall. Bruises were popping up all over her body, because of him.
She started fighting back. She began pushing him. As he escalated, she escalated, as well. It soon got to be an all out brawl between the two of them.
He won more times than she did though. She was worse for wear, but she'd gotten in a few good hits.
Joker started making her watch him kill those that crossed him. Watching him torture his lackies came next. It was cruel and sadistic. It screwed with her, and nightmares plagued her at nights, worse than before.
X*X*X
One day, Joker was in a foul mood. She was pacing up in her room. Every so often, she would give the bed a quick kick. She was trying to remember what Bruce looked like, what he sounded like. It had been so long since she'd seen him. It was depressing.
She could hear Joker yelling at his minions, for whatever reason this time. She rolled her eyes.
There was a few gun shots, and a loud bang. She growled in annoyance. Couldn't he be quieter? She was trying to remember important memories, but the noise coming from downstairs, was distracting her. She balled her hands into fists, and stormed out to the livingroom. She crossed her arms in front of her, and walkedin.
The book case was on top of a group of his hinchmen. She assumed that they were all dead. There was a puddle of blood, under the unmoving pile of bodies. She raised her eyebrows, looking at him.
"What?!" He demanded.
"Could you be any louder?! I'm surprised you haven't alerted the authorities to where we are!" She snapped at him.
"Don't start with me right now, I'm warning you." Joker told her.
She rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, what are you going to do about it? Kill me? I don't think so, or you would have done it all ready." She spat at him.
He wrapped his hands around her neck, and squeezed. She frowned. It was starting again. They were going to get into it. It would probably get bad.
"You're starting to press your luck princess." Joker told her, through clenched teeth.
"Then maybe you should let me leave, If I'm so much trouble." She told him, between gasps of air.
Joker violently shoved her against the wall. Her head bounced against it painfully. She whimpered in pain, as her hands went to his wrist.
"That is getting old. Stop talking about it." He hissed at her.
She gave a strangled laugh.
"Make me." She gasped out.
He narrowed his eyes, growling at her.
"Don't push it." He snarled.
"Don't make me laugh." She gasped.
Joker pulled her away from the wall, then slammed her against it again. She cried out in pain, as he put his lips to her ear.
"You're mine, you will do as I tell you, or I will make you regret it." He told her.
He put his lips to her collarbone, then licked from her collarbone, up her neck, up to her ear. She shivered.
"Be a good girl." He told her.
"Screw you." She told him.
She kneed him between the legs, and pushed him away from her. She started kicking him. That is, until he grabbed her ankle, pulling her off of her feet. She landed on her back, winding her. She tried catching her breath, as Joker hovered above her.
He got on top of her, pinning her down. He laughed.
"Always ending up on your back, underneath me, where you belong." Joker told her.
She managed to throw him off of her. She tried to get her feet, but he was quicker than her. She tried hitting him, but he caught her fist in his hand.
"Every time you touch me, I wish it was Bruce, and I pretend it's him instead of you. I can't wait until Batman shows up, and I get to see him kick your ass!" She sneered at him.
He gave a growl, then grabbed her by her throat, squeezing tightly, before throwing her across the room, into the wall. She hit with a thud, then fell into a heap, on the floor.
She whimpered in pain, trying to sit up. He was next to her in an instant, pulling her up by her hair. He bashed her head into the wall, then whipped her across the room again.
She screamed out in pain, as she hit the wall, and fell to the ground. Tears were mixing with the blood that had fallen from cuts on her face. She tried hitting him, but she missed. He kicked her a couple times, before everything stopped. Joker had just stopped kicking her.
She gingerly opened her eyes. She saw the Joker fighting with someone. Someone had saved her? That didn't make sense. The minions all knew better than to get between Joker and Hope, when they were going at it. Perhaps it was one of the many new recruits, one that didn't know how things went around there.
Hope coughed, and blood fell from her lips. She wiped it away, with the back of her hand. She groaned, as she pushed herself up. She slid over to the wall, watching the fight.
She gasped, when she realised that it wasn't any newbie. It was Batman. Batman had found her. She gave a sob. Batman was here. She'd be able to go home again, get to see Bruce again. The tears started coming even faster. She watched, as Batman fought Joker.
Someone was suddenly next to her. She looked up, to find Nightwing standing over her. He picked her up intohis arms.
"Hope, everything is fine now. I'll get you home." Nightwing told her.
"Batman..." She said.
"He will be fine. I need to get you safe." Nightwing told her.
"No. I need to see this." She groaned.
"He'll kill me, if anything happens to you." Nightwing told her.
"Joker kidnapped me, and held me hostage. I want to see Batman kick the shit out of him!" She said.
Nightwing exhaled loudly.
"He's going to be supset." Nightwing muttered.
"Help him!" She told him.
Nightwing frowned.
"He's going to kill me." Nightwing mumbled.
Nightwing set her back down.
"Don't let him get away." She told him.
She wiped away the fresh blood that had come from her mouth. With Nightwing helping, Batman was able to take down Joker a little easier. Nightwing cuffed Joker's wrist, behind his back. Batman hurried over to Hope.
"Why didn't you get her out of here?!" Batman demanded.
"She wanted to see him get taken down." Nightwing said.
"I told you." She rasped.
All three men looked over at her. Hope smirked.
"I told you he'd kick your ass when he got here." Hope told Joker.
"We'll finish this later Doll face." Joker said.
Batman picked Hope up, in his arms.
"No, this is finally over. You lost." Hope said.
"It will never be over." Joker said.
"Enough! Nightwing, get Joker to Comissioner Gordon. I'll take care of her." Batman said.
Nightwing gave a nod, got Joker to his feet, and led him away. Hope laid her head on his chest, as Batman started walking. She whimpered in pain when he set her in the batmobile. Batman's fingers caressed her cheek lightly. She tried to smile, but everything hurt. She whimpered in pain.
Batman made sure that she was secure, then got behind the wheel. He pulled away. She leaned up against the door, and looked at Batman.
"I knew you'd find me." She told him.
He didn't speak for a moment. He just stared ahead of him. She wrapped her arms around her ribs, whimpering in pain. Batman turned his head, looking at her. He studied her for a moment.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes. I'll survive. Joker just got a little enthusiastic this time. He got tired of hearing me talk about you and Bruce. I taunted him relentlessly. He didn't appreciate it very much." She said with a giggle.
She coughed, and groaned in pain.
"Why did you leave the manor?" He asked.
Her eyebrows knitted in confusion, as she tried to figure out what he meant.
"What?" She asked.
"Bruce Wayne told me that you left a note saying that you were going for a walk. He went looking for you, he heard you scream his name, and then a scream, but when he got there, you were gone. Why did you leave Wayne Manor?" Batman asked.
She remembered back to that night. It seemed so long ago now. If she could go back, she would. She would do it different, she would change everything. She would have never left the manor that night.
"It was stupid. I was feeling claustrophobic. Bruce was only trying to protect me. I wanted to get some fresh air. I came to a field, and sat down. Joker showed up. I couldn't get away fast enough, and he knocked me out." She told him, her voice breaking.
Batman reached over, and took her hand in his.
"I'm sorry, I should have been there." He told her.
She frowned.
"Stop that. You didn't know he would be there that night. Bruce didn't get to me either. I knew you'd find me, no matter what he had told me." She said, squeezing his hand.
"I should have known. It's my job to protect the people of this city." He told her.
"I'm just one person, in a city of many." She mumbled, as her eyelids dropped closed.
They had been too heavy to keep open. She was losing energy.
"Hope?!" Batman said, shaking her hands.
"No hospital. I need...Bruce. Please, take me to Bruce." She told him tiredly.
"Stay with me Hope!" Batman told her.
She felt the tumbler accelerate. She was so tired.
She suddenly felt searing pain, in her ribs. Batman had roughly jerked her away from the door. She yelled out in pain. She started coughing. As she coughed, blood fell from her mouth.
"Try to stay awake. You've lost some blood, and you might have a concussion." Batman told her.
She wiped the blood away, with the back of her hand.
"I'll try." She said, wincing in pain.
She tried, but in the end, exhaustion won out. She faded into darkness.