Rachel sat on her bed with a steaming cup of tea and her notes from the office. Her unofficial notes that is. It contained everything she'd gathered over her first week back. It didn't seem like much- typcial office gossip- but surely the Joker would find a way to use it to his advantage. Things would get better once she had a case though. The new District Attorney, George Arnolds, thought it best to give her time to settle in. It was kind of him, and very stupid. He had junior lawyers doubling up on cases concerning some of the most dispicable mobsters in Gotham while he sucked up to the mayor. He was everything Harvey wasn't. Gotham needed its White Knight back.

Rachel grimaced with that was just further proof that Harvey Dent was truely dead. His latest actions had confirmed that. Her hand led itself to the letter tucked into her notebook. 'I'll be watching.' That's all it said, but it chilled her to the bones. A lifetime ago, it would have been comforting to know Harvey was watching over her, but this was different. This was an act of deceit and terror from Two-Face intended to scare her. It was working too.

A knock sounded on the door and for a moment, Rachel was frozen with fear. Reason set in though, and she shoved her notes under a pillow before answering the door.

"Hello Rachel," Bruce greeted her with a charming smile.

"Oh, hey. What can I do for you?" she asked, letting him. She suddenly realized how scruffy she looked in her worn, mismatching flannel pajamas in comparison to Bruce's tailored jeans and leather jacket. Why did he have to look so nice all the time?

"Nothing at all. I just stopped by to see how things were going. We haven't really talked since you got back. Oh, and I brought cheesecake!" he added, lifting the white box that she knew contained her favorite, sinfully creaming dessert. There was no way he was leaving now. She hastly offered him a seat then ran to the kitchen for two forks. She returned, curled up next to her best friend, and together they dug into the small pie.

"I thought you'd be out saving Gotham," she told him. It was dark and cloudy, perfect conditions for crime fighting. He shrugged and took another bite.

"Gotham can survive a night without me. Beside, I'm not too popular right now." Rachel nodded. Supposedly Batman was the reason Harvey Dent "died." She thought so too, just not in the way everyone else did. She knew the truth. "Rach, I am sorry about Harvey. He was a good man, and I know this must be really hard now..." he apologized awkwardly.

"It is, but more for Gotham's sake. You don't have to apologize though. I just-" Her thought was cut off by the phone ringing. She didn't recognize the number, but answered in case it was someone at the office.

"Hello?"

"Hey Beautiful, how's work going?" the Joker answered. Panic gripped her knowing how close Bruce (and more importantly Batman) was. then she remembered the gold ring adorning her finger and with a new smile and chirpy tone, she responded.

"Jack! I didn't think you'd be calling considering how sick you are." If Bruce could hear anything, it would be best to cover up the voice. "Works going okay, not much to tell," she responded in code.

"Who's there with you?" he asked picking up on her message.

"Bruce is over right now. Just catching up. Could I maybe call you back?" He would still want his update, but she couldn't give it right now. Bruce tapped her on the shoulder and mouthed that he wanted to talk to Jack. She needed to think fast.

"No, he's still recovering from a bout of laryngitis and needs to rest, maybe later."

XXXXXXXXX

His eyes scanned the street below from atop the fire escape as a smile stretched his face. So, Bruce wanted to talk to dear ol' Jack. This would be too much fun. After all, it wasn't every day he got to talk to Gotham's playboy billionaire.

"Put him on." He heard Rachel stammer a few times, clearly not pleased with his response. What did she think he was going to do, reveal their entire plan? Really, she gave him so little credit.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Jack," she hissed at him. However, he made up his mind.

"Do it." He made out that Rachel said something to Bruce as she handed over the phone, but she was too far away for him to hear.

"Hello?" Bruce's voice broke the silence.

"Bruce? Hello! It's so nice to finally talk to you. Rachel has told me so much about you!" he gushed, adding a raspy edge to his voice to comply with Rachel's cover story. Besides, GNC did have his videos in circulation and his voice was very unique so Bruce would probably have recognized it.

"Really? Well, admittedly I don't know too much about you," Bruce replied awkwardly, hoping not to insult. Too bad for him.

"Oh, so Rachel has forgotten her poor, sick husband now that she's gone off to play attorney for some monster? How sad," he lamented. Bruce began to explain the situation- they haven't talked much- but he cut him off with a laugh. "No, I understand. You're both probably really busy and whatnot. Besides, I doubt she wants to break your heart like that, what with you having a thing for her and all." This was also valuable time to force Mr. Wayne out of the picture. If she had a jerk husband, he wouldn't want to come around and possibly blow her cover sky high.

"I uh- that's a um... thing of the past. I'm actually quite happy for you both," he said in a tone that was both happy and regretful. Oh the poor sap had it bad!

"Of course you are," he teased him. "Believe me Bruce, I did you a favor. She nearly forgot you or something. No talk of you at all until she got the assignment! You were chasing a lost cause there buck-o." At this point Rachel intervened.

"JACK NAPIER!" she shrieked, causing his blood to chill with pleasure. "Just because you are jealous and scared does not mean you need to spread lies. Bruce is just a friend, a brother really. Get some sleep," she demanded and hung up. He cackled maliciously when the phone beeped, ending the conversation. Good times, good times.

XXXXXXXXX

"Bruce, I don't know what got into him," Rachel apologized, knowing that was going to be a huge mistake. "I talked about you all the time, I swear."

"Yeah, it's okay," Bruce said crestfallen. "Hey, I have to go," he said, suddenly getting up. "It was nice catching up. Hope you liked the cheesecake." With that he nearly ran out the door. Rachel slumped into the couch and pushed the pie aside, suddenly not in the mood for it. Stupid Joker, having to go and interrupt her fun.

Speak of the devil. Her window slide open and in jumped the Joker in a frenzy of purple and green. As he straightened up, he pushed his green-blonde hair out of his painted face and Rachel immediately forgot her anger towards the beautiful man.

"Hello Beautiful," he greeted her in her traditional manner. "That friend of yours is too sensitive. Lucky for us, I needed him gone. So, where are your notes?" he asked joyfully. She indicated for him to wait a moment, but as she went to turn around, she found him leaning against her door post, watching her as he chewed on the left over dessert. She couldn't help it, but her blood began to heat up with the image of him in her bedroom. "Uh, your notes?" She started a bit and returned to her cat-scratch. Suddenly, she was really nervous. He sighed and walked over to sit next to her and grabbed her notes, reading them in between bites of cake.

"Eh, not bad," he chewed. "Fair bit of blackmail. I imagine what's-his-face is letting you ease in and all?" She nodded and scooped a bit of the filling with her finger.

"Unfortunatley. I'm his best lawyer and he's swamped with cases, yet he won't let me near one! I mean, if he wants to see those mobsters behind bars, he needs to put experienced people on their case so that obviously guilty people stop getting off!" she complained, only to eat her words the next second. "Oh, sorry... these are your business friends aren't they?" Surprisingly, he chuckled.

"Nah, pawns for the most part. I don't care what you do with them. Someone will always rise up in their place and I'll use them should they prove necessary. Really, they are snivelling, greedy children fighting over something they don't actually own," he explained. "The fewer the better though. I have plans, and I don't want them in the way," he alluded, quickly moistening his lips. She perked up at this revelation and inched a bit closer.

"What plans do you have?" she almost whispered. It was going to be another test for Gotham, and she wanted to know what it was. More importantly, she wanted to know if she would pass. He giggled more lightheartedly and pulled her against him, causing her heart to race.

"Rachel, Rachel, I can't spoil the surprise! You might be my favorite little minion, but I can't tell you. You get to see tomorrow like everyone else!" he teased her, placing a gloved finger on the tip of her noise. She smiled sadly, but couldn't feel properly excited about this after being refered to as only a minion. She hoped he could have seen her as more. Before she could stop herself, it slipped out.

"Then, that's all I am to you, an employee?" Her face reddened and she suddenly wished she could have a face of white paint. His grip loosened on her and he forced their eyes to meet. Those amber orbs probed her soul for really a few seconds, but it seemed a lifetime. The arm around her shoulders fell to her waist and the other hand met the curvature of her face. He slowly leaned in and brushed a kiss against her unsure lips.

"Never," he breathed. Rachel died in his arms.

XXXXXXXXX

He wanted to laugh, but as he stood in the dark alley below an hour later, he couldn't. He had Rachel so at his whim now. She was in love with him, even better than in debted. He should be howling with her fickle emotion, but all he could do was tingle. He felt her weight against him, her skin beneath his lips. It was imprinted into the paint, seared onto his flesh. It wasn't unpleasant, but he wished it was. It didn't seem healthy. He needed a diversion. Perhaps tonight was a good night for his plans actually. With furious determination, he took off for the docks. Who needed women anyways?

A/N: OMG! I am so sorry everyone! It's been forever, I know! Just, this was a slow chapter and life has been really busy and exciting, I just never found the time to write. I will try and update more though. We are quickly approaching the climax of all of this. But anyways, was this at least worth the wait? :D I hoped you liked it. I wasn't originally going to have her admit anything to him, but figured you guys deserved it. And no, he was not confessing anything. He's still not into her yet. That's a few more chapters off. We need to revisit Harvey too. Kind of forgot about him. He's been up to stuff and wants to tell you all about it. Yeah, so please read and review! And enjoy too.