Joker's POV

I woke up that next morning only to find my arms tightly around Anne and her head laying on my chest, just under my chin. I smiled. Well this was certainly new. I rather liked this. I liked it a lot. Unfortunately I realized that if I was to get up, which I needed to, I would inevitably end up waking her up. Although, she did look rather tired. So I gently slid out from underneath her and replaced my chest with a pillow. She stirred but didn't get up. Success haha! It was still early, which was good. I needed to get my thoughts in order.

I sat down at my messy desk in the bedroom, which was more of a really large closet with a desk and bed crammed inside. My old papers, books, newspaper clippings and photos were still scattered everywhere and I smiled. I missed this. I set about planning my next move. I needed to know what the police were up to, and I needed to figure out Batsy. He hadn't reared his ugly head in awhile. I shuffled through my stuff, my head spinning with ideas for my next move. And yes, I plan. I know I've said that I don't, but I plan the big stuff. And usually the big ideas come to me spontaneously and then I sorta go with the flow for all the little things. First things first though, I needed to get my suit back and find a nicer place for us to stay.

And there was that other thing looming in the back of my mind. I was an us now. Us was not something I was used to thinking about. It was always me. And us is a weakness. If anyone found out that she was with me, they'd exploit it to the fullest. I don't want that to happen. But I also can't just get rid of her or let her go. I can't part ways with her. I need a solution. I need to find someplace where she can live comfortably and safely. Someplace I feel comfortable leaving her by herself if I need to go. Someplace where if she needed to go out no one would recognize her or care. That someplace would be difficult to find. So I sat back and scanned my map of Gotham hanging on the wall for a good neighborhood. It also had to be someplace discreet and out of the way so that I could come and go as needed. She liked parks and clearly hated the Narrows so I didn't want to keep her here. But being close or in the Narrows is ideal for...my kind of work so to speak. I need a place with breathing room from the cops haha. Of course, they did expect me to live in the Narrows so maybe I should mix it up a bit. Especially with Arkham being there and all. Maybe it's not a good idea having her so close to Arkham.

This leaves one pretty decent possibility. Midtown. I know I know, Major Crimes Unit is there but Midtown is huge and there's the lovely Trillium Park and some shady neighborhoods bordering the Narrows. Now to just zoom in on what neighborhood...I opened my laptop and began searching. Ah yes, that lovely little neighborhood by the Narrows bridge. Basically, that whole area is an extension of the Narrows, only a bit safer. And there are two large parks she could go to and it's by the water. It's shady but there are some nice period buildings sitting abandoned in the area. This would do nicely. Now to just check it out for myself before making the decision.

It feels good knowing that I've made a good decision. It's just something off the ever-growing checklist in my brain. Task number two: getting my suit back. Easy enough. I already knew how to effectively get in and out of Arkham; this would be even easier with all the security systems in renovation. It was almost like they were making it too easy for me. I could go tonight. Yes, that would be good.

I was just about to focus my mind on task number three when I heard movement in the other room. She was up! I strode into the room to see her stretch and yawn as she woke. What a beautiful sight for me to walk in on. Though she wasn't looking her utmost best, she was still the prettiest girl I had ever seen

Anne's POV

I had woken up much later than I usually do, feeling very sore and groggy from the craziness of the past couple of days. And to top it all off, my face and stomach were still sore and bruised and I woken up with a sore throat and headache. Great, so I did catch a stupid cold from that...therapy.

"Good morning." I turned towards the deep voice to see Jack standing in the doorway, smiling at me.

"Good morning." I croaked out. Great, he had a wonderfully deep and husky morning voice, and I sounded like a dying toad. To be fair, I did have a sore throat. I put my head in my hands. I felt miserable. Before I could look up my hands were in Jack's and he was looking at me with concern.

"It's fine, I just think I finally got that cold."

"It's not fine. What hurts?" Silly Jack, always so worried about me. It was too sweet and too weird. I mean, I still was trying to wrap my head around the fact that he was, is, the Joker. I didn't help that he acted so completely different around me that I would sometimes forget that he is the Joker.

"Just a headache and sore throat. Nothing to be alarmed about. It's just a cold." He just shook his head at me, helped me up and led me to a room I hadn't seen before. He set me down on the bed.

"I'm going to run out and get you some stuff to make you feel better, ok? You just lay here and rest."

"Jack I'll be fine."

"Listen, honestly you look terrible."

I what? Great, I looked like shit. I frowned at him and his eyes got big.

"No no! You aren't...I mean you aren't terrible looking, you're so pretty! I just mean that you look really sick and exhausted. That...therapy," the word dripped off his lips like venom, "and us running like mad and not getting much sleep probably did you in. You need to rest and get better." I smiled when he said I was pretty. And not just pretty, so pretty. "I'll be back soon." He ruffled my hair, grabbed his coat and left. I was sorta wishing he would kiss me instead of ruffling my hair. Oh well. I heard the door shut and lock and I waited a few minutes to muster up some strength to look around. I started with the glorified closet I was currently in. The bed was pushed against the wall and there was a desk and a chair. Above the desk was a very detailed and humongous map of Gotham with red circles and hastily scribbled words all over it. Post-it notes, newspaper clippings and photos littered the desk. I shuffled through them quickly but then thought better of it. He wouldn't want me looking through his personal things. Plus, his handwriting was so bad I could hardly read half of what he wrote down anyways. Besides, most of what he wrote consisted of incomplete sentences, fragments and random words. His desk gave me a pretty good impression of the chaos that must be going on inside his brilliant head.

I walked back into the main room to look around. Everything had a thin film of dust, not surprisingly. There was a small kitchenette. The refrigerator was empty and the only thing in the cabinets were a few mismatched dishes and silverware. There was also a stale box of crackers and some packs of ramen. Another cabinet contained a single pot. Her certainly didn't seem like the cooking type. That's ok, I could do it for him haha. I tended to be a bit domestic. The rest of the room consisted of an old upholstered couch, a beat up coffee table, the television, a small window and another door.

This other door lead to an incredibly dingy bathroom that was very musty smelling. I couldn't help but cringe and crinkle my nose. It wasn't gross but it certainly wasn't up to my cleanliness standards. I took a look at myself in the mirror. My hair was a disaster so I decided to rebraid it. I had a bruise on my jaw and prominent dark circles under my eyes. I turned on the sink and to my surprise clear water came out. I let it run for a few minutes and checked to make sure no weird odors were being omitted before splashing my face with it. I took another look at myself. Horrible, but I looked better than what I had.

This whole place wasn't really, but it was certainly better than the shady motel. If I was feeling better I would give this whole place a good scrub but my head and throat were absolutely throbbing. Now that I had surveyed the whole place, I collapsed into the bed (which to my annoyance had mismatched sheets) and fell into a light and restless sleep. I woke up frequently but I was completely unaware of my surroundings. I didn't even hear Jack come in nor did I hear him making soup on the stove. I couldn't smell it either. I didn't even know he was back until he opened to door to the bedroom.

"Hey," he strolled over and sat at the edge of the bed with a smile, yet concern was written all over his face. "Did you sleep any?"

"Not really." His smile turned into an immediate frown. He helped me up and practically carried me to the couch and sat me down. He then pulled out a fuzzy blanket from a shopping bag. It was then I noticed the soup and tea and host of medications sitting on the coffee table. I grinned. He was trying so hard to take care of me. After wrapping myself in the fuzziest blanket ever I grabbed the soup. It smelled delicious but...it was chicken noodle. I gave him a questioning look and he knew exactly what I meant. So he showed me the can of soup.

"Acceptable brand?" He asked sorta sheepishly.

"My favorite one actually. How'd you know?" I was genuinely surprised.

"Well, it looked healthier than the others cause it had carrots and celery. And look! It says free-range organic chicken. Isn't that nice?" He looked proud.

"Excellent job." My voice sounded horrid.

"You sound horrible."

"Thanks." I could still sound sarcastic even when my voice was nearly gone. I started eating the soup and Jack sat down next to me with his own bowl and turned on the TV with the volume really low.

"This is really good actually." He was gesturing towards the soup. I didn't feel like talking so I just nodded. As soon as I finished my soup I reached for the drugs and sorted through them until I found what I wanted. I may or may not have taken a wee bit too much, but when I'm feeling miserable I take as much as I can to feel better. Jack eyed me suspiciously.

"Um, that's not good for you."

"It'll be fine." I retorted as I grabbed the tea. It was green tea, one of my favorites. How does he know all this? I sipped at it, waiting for the drugs to start curing me as I watched the news. They were still droning on about us escapees, although really they just talked about Jack. He was almost smug about it. I could feel a fever coming on and I fell into a super deep slumber.

Joker's POV

I looked over and lo and behold she had completely passed out. Her cheeks were flushed so I knew that the poor thing was battling a fever. Strangely, I wished I was the sick and miserable one, not her. She didn't deserve it. She had curled into a little cocoon and I decided it would be best to carry her into the bedroom and let her sleep it off. So I picked her up (as light as a feather she was) and carried her to the bedroom. I tucked her in the covers, turned out the light but kept the door open so I could hear her. I turned my attention back to the television. It was only 2 in the afternoon so I had plenty of time to kill before I went out tonight. As usual I was the center of attention in the news. They were worried what I would do next and as usual the GCPD had no idea of my whereabouts. Finding out about me stealing my suit tonight is sure to rile them up a tad. I'm rather excited for it!

I ended up dozing off for about an hour. I woke up and decided to check on Annie. She was still in a deep slumber and her cheeks were still incredibly flushed. I held my hand up to her forehead and she was hot. And sweating. Suddenly I felt panicked. What if she needed to go to the doctor? It was too dangerous for her to do that. I consoled myself with the fact that she is incredibly resilient and tough. I sat at my desk, not only to keep close to her but also to keep working. I mulled over all the thoughts swirling in my mind. She woke up a few hours later; I couldn't help but be amused by her disorientation.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Mmmm, tired?" She looked at me, confused. Her hair had half fallen out of her braid and her voice was still hoarse.

"You need to eat something. I'll make you some soup, does that sound good?" She didn't say anything but nodded her head yes. As I was heating us both up some soup I grew apprehensive about leaving her. What if she got even worse and was in an emergency and couldn't reach me? I didn't have access to my cell phones yet. Honestly I was a bit more disorganized than I would have liked to be because I didn't anticipate her. I needed to get things in order, fast. My mind was racing at its usual quick pace. I relished having all these things to think about. It was giving me quite a bit to do. Grabbing her a glass of water and some more medicine I walked back into the bedroom.

"Here." She sat up slowly and ate the soup carefully. I sat at my desk and ate my own as well, continuously mulling over everything in my mind.

"I'm going to go out tonight to gather up some stuff, but I'm going to have to leave you here without any means of contacting me. Are you gonna be ok? Cause if you'd rather me stay here cause you're not feeling good, I will."

"No no, I'll be fine." She mustered a small smile. What a trooper.

"If you're sure..." I was uneasy about this whole situation really.

"I'm positive." She handed me her soup bowl and I ran them back to the kitchen.

"Hey Jack, you wouldn't have by any chance got some shampoo, conditioner, soap and possibly a tooth brush and tooth paste, right?"

"Actually I did and they are all in a bag out in the kitchen."

"Ok good." She yawned delicately and snuggled back down into her covers.

"I'm gonna leave here shortly."

"Ok, be safe."

"Only if you promise to get better."

"You know, actually I was planning on staying sick and miserable for the rest of my life." God I loved her sarcasm.

I chuckled. "Of course." Once I noticed that she was well on her way to falling back asleep I got my stuff ready to go. She was fast asleep again by the time I was ready to leave. I decided my best course of action was to leave her be. Of course, I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, and I really rather liked kissing her forehead, so that's exactly what I did. I am unsure of her thoughts on this whole situation and I definitely sure that she's at least slightly uneasy with the whole thing. I am the Joker after all and she probably thinks I'm just messing with her. I was determined to prove otherwise. I really did care about her. I'll admit, the only other person I have ever cared for is my mother, and I am in totally unfamiliar territory here. My whole being is screaming at me that this all goes against my philosophy and morals that I hold so dear. That I hold higher than my own life. But for some reason with her, that faded and she became a priority. And somehow, because we thought the same, she fit nicely. She was like the missing puzzle piece I didn't know I needed, but now that I had her the whole picture was complete.

My trip in the Narrows was uneventful, but I realized how much I missed this. Tricking people, dodging in and out of dangerous situations, weaving my way into places I shouldn't be. Getting into Arkham was a breeze. With the temporarily downed security system, I knocked out a night shift construction worker and stole his uniform. I then easily sneaked inside to the storage room where the inmate's belongings were kept. I grabbed my suit, oh how I missed that suit, and stuffed it into my duffel bag. I then decided it would be a great idea to get the rest of Annie's clothes. I knew exactly where her locker was and I knew her combination, so it was an easy grab. My time here was not done just yet, however.

Dr. Benson's office was empty when I walked in. Everything of course was neat and orderly in his office. I was searching through his files until I found both her's and mine's. I knew that not having my record wouldn't make any difference, but I certainly didn't want them to have any of Annie's records. That wasn't all I was searching for however. Hidden in his desk was a set of separate, more personal files. One was on Pines. Actually I didn't know that any documentation on the man existed to this extent but I nearly whopped for joy when I saw it. I also grabbed the secret records of Benson's unsavory dealings here at Arkham. You never know when that will come in handy.

The whole trip didn't last long but it was late when I got back. When I got home Annie was up.

"You're awake!"

"You're back!" She desperately tried to match my enthusiasm but all that came out was a pained whisper.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit better I think." I noticed that she was looking less flushed and she had showered. She was also wearing one of my undershirts and the leggings that I bought her. It was such a turn on to see her wearing my clothes like that.

"Oh, sorry about wearing your shirt. I didn't have anything else to put on and..." I stopped her, chuckling at her incessant worrying.

"It's completely fine. And, I brought back you're own clothes." I dug them out of the bag and she smiled broadly.

"Thanks! Finally, real clothes!" She took them from me and folded them neatly. I set the duffel down, double checked that I locked the door and headed to the shower.

"Take the bed tonight!" I called out to her; I knew she would be the giving type and take the couch even though she was still sick. As soon as I got out of the shower I checked on her; she was sound asleep in the bed. I left the bedroom door open and took my post on the couch. Really, even though I was too tall for the dingy thing, I didn't mind one bit. And that bothered me. Normally I would mind. I couldn't fall asleep right away because I was bothered by the thought of how much I cared about her. One side of me couldn't get enough of it; it was like I found an oasis in the middle of the desert. The other half of me was angry and frustrated that I could even have these feelings. It was like two separate people fighting for control. My thoughts started racing so much that I stood and paced the room. I needed to figure this out and reach a conclusion. Was she worth the threat and danger? Was she worth even having alive? Why did she make me feel this way - is it because I'm growing weaker? Or maybe stronger? Why her? Well I knew the answer to that one, because she wasn't just a normal person. She understood me. She understood my principles that I hold so dear. She even agreed with most of them, as far as I could gather. Because she brought out something in me that I thought was dead. Because her person, her personality, her beauty was amazing and I was falling in love with her. So then yes, she was worth the threat and the danger. She was certainly worth more than just having alive. She was worth protecting. And it's not a weakness. I had I suppose thought of myself to be above this romantic love; above thinking of myself as having another half. Not anymore. I had found someone who maybe was that other half. And she was probably the only person in the world like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not obsessing with her. I'm just trying to figure this all out. And I think I know which side wins. And knowing that, I can now sleep.