It was odd that someone she was completely repulsed by only two weeks ago, now put her completely at ease. Well, not completely, she still knew that he was dangerous, but generally speaking he was a comfort. In the midst of loosing Harvey and feeling betrayed by Bruce, the Joker was a constant in her life. He had been unusually nice to her in her hour of need. He had even given her free reign of the building, though he did point out that two doors were off guards and to further emphasize the point that she would not open them, he rigged the doorknobs to electric fencing and no one touched them without his permission. One of the goons had forgotten this and the effects were quite unpleasant. Rachel definitely felt it was in her best interest to listen to him on that point. She also didn't sleep in the little interrogation room anymore, a great relief. Admittedly, she had been cautious of sharing a room with this mass-murdering clown, but he had been nothing but the perfect gentleman. The closet had been emptied and a small cot had been put on the floor. She was able to close the doors and have her privacy.

Currently, Joker and Rachel were sitting in the living room watching the morning news. Rachel was raiding the Fruit Loop box and he would occasionally steal a few pieces from her handful. This was followed by a "hey, get you're own," his smug laughter and a reminder that he did own the box. It was a comfortable situation and lightened her heavy heart. The news broadcaster finished the story and a shampoo commercial came on.

"I hate commercials... especially these kind," he declared, throwing a loop at the screen.

"And why is that? Because it reminds you that you're quite neglectful to your hair?" she teased him. She had found that in his good moods, he liked playful banter. However, you had to be careful not to make any personal remarks and avoid mentions of his past. Oh, and remember that this jolliness could change at any moment.

"I will have you know, that I take the utmost care of myself. Can't say the same for you though... how long have you been wearing those sweats?" he teased her, earning a swift punch in the arm which caused him to giggle delightfully.

"Forgive me for being stuck here!" she bit back. He gave her a pointed look of "care to explain?" She sighed, forgetting how fragile his ego could be. "I mean, it's not home, and I do miss having my own place, having clean clothes, the ability to see the sky, and all. But, actually, you've been... nice," she admitted. Since she was such a terrible liar, he was able to see that she was being totally honest and he seemed, for just a moment, surprised, but quickly laughed it off.

"Oh Rachel, my pet, you are too kind!" he told her, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. She tensed up as he betrayed her own boundary. She still wasn't comfortable with him touching her yet. In the past, his touch meant there was a knife in her mouth, or he was trying to seduce her. "I have been so neglectful to you. Here I thought I was doing a good job and suddenly you point out how poorly I've been treating! How can you ever forgive me?" She was unsure whether he was being sincere or teasing her. Probably the later since the former did not seem to be in his nature. "Come, come Rachel, we'll hook you up with something!" he laughed as he led her to their room.

"Now when you say hook me up you do mean that as a figure of speech?" she asked nervously. What if she had offended him in some way and now he was going to kill her in a gruesome way? He skid to a halt and turned to look at her, a hurt expression gracing his features.

"Of course! I could never hurt you. I," he paused, licked his lips, and looked down bashfully, "I know that I have a very violent aspect of my personality, but dear Rachel, you have total immunity from that, especially after what I did to Harvey." She smiled and tapped his shoulder awkwardly as a way of telling him it was okay. He had formally expressed his guilt for taking Harvey from her. He had almost cried! It really was touching. Maybe, just maybe, he would turn his act around.

"I'm sorry for offending you, but your... career choice is a bit scary," she told him. A mischievous smile split his face.

"Only if you can't get the joke," with that he turned and began bounding down the hall again. That was a big maybe by the way.

XXXXXXXXX

Joker tried to suppress the laugh that was boiling in his throat. She was so gullible! She actually believed that he was sorry about poor Harvey... well, she didn't know the truth, and he probably would be sad to see him dead with all the raw potential he had... but that was totally beside the point! She thought he was some kind of nice guy who could be saved from the evilness of their ways. Did she think they lived in a fairytale? He bet she was a Disney kid... well they didn't have teeny-tiny microphones that recorded her every word! Yeah, that had been quite a breakdown she had had when he reminded her that it was only through his grace that Harvey had not suffered for long. There had been screaming and crying for hours on end. That really was the blow that broke her mental shell. She opened up to him after that. Oh how he loved his games!

He ran, full sprint, into his room and skid, much like a baseball player, to a stop in front of his bed. He threw his head back and gave Rachel an expectant look to which she clapped lightly. Such a girl. He pulled a box out from under the bed and began tossing out his older clothes. Much to her surprise it seemed, he did have quite the lack of color in his old wardrobe. Most things were blue and grey. Bleh, how dull! He picked out the smallest items and threw them to Rachel.

"They'll probably be too big, but they should work," he told her as she stepped into the closet. Apparently, some women actually have the ability to change in under a half an hour because five minutes later, Rachel reappeared in a blue button-down and grey trousers. They engulfed her and did her delicate figure no justice, but it worked. She looked down and tried to smooth the hopelessly wrinkled fabric, but it was a loosing battle. Instead, she pulled her hair into a pony-tail.

"Thanks, this does feel better," she admitted. Her head cocked to the side and her toes wiggled. "I don't suppose you would have a pair of socks I could borrow, do you?" she asked shyly. Did he have socks? One of life's great pleasures was socks! He dug further into the box and pulled out a purple and brown stripped and pink pock-a-dotted pair. They were monstrous! Why hadn't he ever worn these before? He tossed them to her and she gave them a funny look. "Very nice," she laughed sarcastically.

"Aren't they though?" he agreed, ignoring the barb. He threw one leg up onto the bed and pulled a pant's leg up. "What do you think of these?" Today's pair were purple, beige, blue, and green squares of various sizes. She forced a smile and nodded in false approval. Huh, some people just could not handle originality. She slipped the socks on, but froze as the pants pulled weirdly over the pocket. Her hand slipped in and pulled out a piece of plastic. He cocked an eyebrow and leaned closer, not sure of what she had found. Looked a bit like a credit card...

"Jack Napier," she whispered, causing him to freeze. She turned the license around with a picture of his unpainted face. Swear word, swear word, swear word! Why didn't he think to check the pockets? No wonder those had looked so small, they were from his road trip here. Gah, how could he have been so stupid? "Is this you?" His lips were pressed tightly to his teeth, and his knuckles were turning white from his hold on the blanket. He hated his past. He didn't like to think about it. About how the kids had laughed at him, how his dad hadn't been there, how he'd watched his mother die due to Bud's carelessness, how the metal felt against his skin, he didn't want to remember. He stiffly nodded once. Rachel must have noticed his reaction because she put the card down and pushed it away from her. She became scared and defensive. While his initial reaction was to punish her for mentioning it, he knew that it would be stupid to waste such a precious resource. So, he let go, took a few deep breaths, and walked over to sit beside her. He picked up the card and glanced at it without seeing it.

"I was pretty good looking then wasn't I?" he commented in a mostly casual manner. Rachel nodded once and gaged his new behavior.

"You probably still are without the paint," she murmured. He raised an eyebrow. A girl who sees beauty in scars, probably a Phantom of the Opera fan. Maybe he should try bursting out into song one day.

"Yeah, but I like how the paint brings out my eyes," he joked, earning a small smile.

"Your name is very fitting with your card theme," she dared to comment. He swallowed thickly and continued to smile. "I would have taken you as more of an Ace though." Now that did make him snort. Weren't Ace's suppose to be all dark and mysterious, running around in leather jackets and combat boots. That really wasn't his still. "Explains your decks too." Oh, and who said she was unobservant! Hello, obvious. Once again, this proved that the best hiding spots were right in the open.

"Guess it does. Now, you're never going to speak about this right?" he cautioned. She grimaced and nodded. "At a girl. I knew I could trust you, Rach."

XXXXXXXXX

Harvey paced his cell angrily. He had been in here for two weeks and it was driving his crazy! If the solitude and boredom weren't bad enough, the doctors wanted to start therapy sessions. He had heard the words 'grief counseling' thrown around once. He didn't need counseling! Nothing would take away the pain of Rachel's demise. Why couldn't they understand that? These callous, brainless humans. He had fought for them at one point, and this is how they repay him, by throwing him into a padded cell! No wonder people had given up hope on Gotham.

He dropped onto his bunk and gingerly touched the skin graphs. They hadn't been able to do much, but the holes in his jaw and chin were covered and they had formed some sort of an eyelid and tear duct. His lips still pulled back from his teeth and the skin was still pink and twisted. They would serve as permanent reminders for everyone's betrayal. Their betrayal, he felt a new sorrow wash over him. He had been making such progress. With a bit more time and resources he could have saved this town, but people's greed and pride had gotten in the way. Now, the city would burn at his hand. Everyone who had ever stood in his way would pay dearly. But first, he needed a way out of here. Good luck with that.

A/N: YAY a long chapter! So as we can all clearly see, Two Face is still a little bitter about what happened. Yes, he did not die from the fall and he no longer has gaping holes in his face. However, he's not a pretty as before. You can also see that Rachel, in her distress has taken to the Joker quite well, who is loving the attention. We also got a nifty little glimse into his past. Sorry, he wasn't cut up by his dad. But really, do we think he would offer up a real story? No. For full details, check out my other story Trail to Darkness. I need more reviews on that if I'm to keep going. Alrighty then... so just do your thing my lovelies.