Ed and Joan's new apartment was based on a real one in New York, but I can't seem to find or remember what the inspired one was.

Chapter Eighteen

Joining the Dance

The apartment that Joan had bought them was far better than the ratholes he'd lived in with Jon. This rare find was only one short block from Gotham State Park. LaParadisa Place was a loft-style building that had one apartment per floor, and a total of only nine apartments. Sun-filled spaces were tough to find anywhere for the average citizen, but this one had just that as well as the desired living space. Outdoor space was a premium in Gotham, and this apartment's gardens were a dream with trees, shrubs, and flowers. There was the master bedroom and two more, as well as French doors opening to a balcony.

Edward couldn't believe his luck. He stared at his surroundings for a few more minutes before finding the strength to move his legs forward to where Joan was unloading a box full of books to put on the shelves. The printed floral blouse was buttoned down by four to show her ample rack as she bent over to grab an armful. Good thing she was able to handle things on her own for now, before she got all large on him. Now that was something he had to watch out for, as once the bump grew out, so would her weight and enable him to do most of the work for her.

He still couldn't believe the fact that he'd once been an eligible ladies' man turned Rogue, now released and moving in with his baby's mama - his first and only love since high school. One of the finest Arkham Asylum doctors who had been with him through this and that the entire time, never treating him any differently than she always did upon learning everything he'd done.

"You need some help with that?" he offered when he noticed that she winced as she carried what looked like a tall stack from her waist to her chin.

"Please," she squeaked, clear that she couldn't hold on any longer. She sighed in relief when half of the stack was taken out of her hands. "You know, I feel like I want to be off my feet already. And I'm only a little over a month along."

Edward laughed as she stacked the books on the first shelf, the bottom one, in place. "I don't know too much about raising a kid. You have a niece and a nephew, but I haven't seen them since they were babes. It's not like I was around kids much all my life."

Joan gave him a little smile. "Neither do I. But we have eight months to get prepared." She had by then proceeded to open a new box. "Iris called. She and Jonathan are asking us to have some fun with them Friday night." She winked at him. "Day off for the both of us the next day."

~o~

"Oh, I don't think I can do this." Joan let out a nervous little laugh as she looked around the room - black from the beginning, now filled with at least dozens of multicolored blazing lights - and the horde of people having their "good time" in them. "I'm not even allowed to drink when I'm pregnant."

"Oh, don't worry about drinking mojitos or booze or anything strong here," Iris told her with an airy laugh. "They got nonalcoholic beverages here, too."

Eddie took a glance around his surroundings, then looked over at Jonathan with a smirk. "Remember I used to drag your ass out of the dorm at school and to the club for a good time?"

Jonathan groaned at the memories. "God, don't even remind me." He reached up to undo the first button of his light blue shirt and tug gently on the collar as he suddenly felt hot in this room smelling of mindless fun and lusting for a random stranger. He frowned disapprovingly at the sight of a man leaning for women in drunken states, and women slithering over the men just to get what they wanted. Old habits died hard when it came to scowling at these types.

He hadn't been here since that one night during the year he had been on the run from Batman and the law, months after Fear Night. This bar was still on the friendly side of Gotham, but it was still isolated from the open public and free to even the roguish. This was also a refuge for the after-work crowd and the teen youth. Iris had been here then on that typical Wednesday night for stress relief from the long hard day - from what he saw, anyways. She had been that way once in a while when he was still head of Arkham, but since she was barely legal age, he'd ended up buying a bottle of bourbon or vodka so they could stir up some Bloody Marys or something.

"Come on, Eddie. Let's dance. I really like this song." Joan was tugging his arm and pulling him toward the crowd gathering in the middle of the floor. The lighting made her short lace dress shine an even brighter lilac than it was. Jonathan winced a little as he recognized the Pussycat Dolls' Don't Cha blasting through the speakers.

"Don't cha with your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha with your girlfriend was a freak like me? Don't cha…?" Iris was laughing as she sang all at once, sashaying her body with the rhythm, the lights shimmering off her tight leather pants, and her slim iridescent blue tank top sparkling madly as her eyes. The sight made Jonathan laugh, too. "Will you join the dance, Professor?" she slurred - not in a drunken manner - her tongue slithering seductively with the S's.

"Not to this song. Not a favorite of mine." Her pout of the lips was adorable if not for the puppy dog look in her eyes. That old trick was so old that it worked on no one now, himself included. "I'm getting us both a drink, first, young lady." He brought her over to the bar and called for shots. Shots weren't his forte, but they were enough to get the party going.

"Remember you found me here that night?" she asked casually, accepting hers and about to bring it to her lips when he lifted his hand to stop it from reaching that destination.

"That night I was relishing my freedom of living among the shadows, my loathing of the world…until I saw you sitting at this very spot having a lonely drink by yourself, with me not there to join you…and then I was there to sneak you away for a dance of our own?" He smiled down at her, then raised his shot glass for a little toast. She clinked hers against it, and then they downed the alcohol like water, both remembering that night with vigor.

~o~

2 years ago…

She looked around her surroundings as she downed her beverage of the evening - a Sunset Sangria, with ruby red wine atop pale limeade and garnished with a nectarine - and scowled. Not at her drink, but at the people around her. Things like this never change over time. It had been this way since the beginning of time and always will be.

Including the disgust she felt, observing the mess before her despite the orderliness of the place. Iris had always witnessed this from high school up to now, along with the one man who had been on the run for over the last nine months. Shared his disgust, his distaste for these simple-minded people, lived day to day under the pretense of being normal. He was lucky enough to finally be away from this cage called society which she remained trapped in but had grown to make the best of, sweet revenge coming always at a time. Here she was among them in dark, blending clothes - a one-sleeved black top and her favorite slim dark jeans and boots - having a name given to her since birth and the title she worked for as he had. And the position that had once belonged to him.

But the moment - and the nights - she donned her mask and armed herself with her blades, she was free.

She was free to do what she wished with those responsible for his banishment - not in public as she would get the same scornful treatment as he did. Especially that meddlesome bitch in the DA's office, who had also been involved in his disgrace. Her, the Batman, the people of her and his abusive childhoods, the students and faculty of the university, and some of those at the asylum…they were all the same. They were responsible for his fall from grace. The man who trained her was killed in the monorail crash at Wayne Tower. Now she was alone in the world, without him once more as she had been in her final year in college.

Right now, tonight…it was a typical Wednesday night for her. Since Iris DeLaine was the asylum's director at only twenty-one years old - the youngest doctor to follow Jonathan Crane - no one would dare criticize her if she awoke with a hangover and arrived late the next day. She had the power to fire them even if she wanted to. But only a couple of drinks of the Sangria was enough, and she needed to head home soon. She finished the last of the glass and paid for it before standing up soberly and leaving with grace and sobriety in her steps.

She stepped out into a breezy autumn night, the wind rippling her hair and sending chills over the bare areas of her arm and shoulder, handbag slung over her shoulder. She stepped over the concrete sidewalk, looking across the street to where her SUV black as her hair, as the clothes she wore, the night sky - and her soul - was parked in the lot some feet away. Gotham was not a safe place even for a young woman her age, but she was always armed and on her guard - packed with namely a pistol and pepper spray all the same - and aided by the shadows. They were good to her as he was when they hid her from prying eyes and guided her to safety. But her car wasn't the top priority at the moment even though she needed to be home for her nightly routine of a hot bath and rest. Darkness and the whispering winds were calling her to another matter; they brought her down the abandoned street, assisting her in her desired destination…to where the van was awaiting her. That vehicle as white as the moon that did not glow on this night was the only vehicle sitting on its own this very night, not caring that someone would see it and alert the authorities at once.

There he was, standing so utterly still beside the half-opened rear doors. Black was his suit as the night, opened to reveal a crisp white shirt buttoned all the way to the top - as dashing as she remembered. Sad to say that his ethereal, handsome features were hidden by a mask of the terror that was whispered in the streets since that fateful night…the face of the name that terrorized the hearts of millions hidden by hideously stitched rags. His profile was known to the public in the "old" days as cold, arrogant, and corrupt - in Dawes' case - and that he had no heart for his evil deeds. All of the above served to the manipulations of society and tall tales of the media that he was blue-blooded and had the coldest heart known to man. Many claimed he had a heart that never beat once; others believed he had no heart at all.

They were all wrong, for she knew it better than any one of them. He did have a heart, and she knew it because she knew him when they did not. And for that, time had not changed it at all.

She willed herself forward, eager to speak to him, to hear his voice once more before he would vanish again, as he was now a wanted man. Then she would have to wait for another long time before an opportunity like this would ever happen again.

His head cocked to the side as he watched her advance in his direction. He stood full regality, hands behind his back. "I've been waiting for you all night, my little flower," he said, his breath a cold hiss in the night air.

"You risked your life and your freedom being out here in public," Iris replied, running a hand through her hair.

He chuckled behind his mask; he no longer wore the speaker in the mouth section, not since the taser shot him at the hands of Rachel Dawes. "You know I would do anything for you, Iris," he said. "Nine months of hearing your succession - but never seeing you - ripped my heart slowly piece by piece. But tonight I've had prepared for us if not all night long." He removed one of his hands from behind his back and held it out to her. "Take my hand, and I will take you far away from here."

He took her into the white van, which was currently vacant save for the two of them. She imagined he gave his goons the night off just for her. Not that she had a problem with his men, but it was so hard for him to find decent help with a brain like his. But at least his driver who remained knew how to tie his shoes. Said driver took them to Gotham Park - she panicked for a little bit as she imagined the Batman finding them there at this time of night and could take Jonathan back to Arkham. She felt his hand massage her back gently as he led her through the trees that grew older and more leafless as they ventured deeper into the thicket. "Relax. He won't find us tonight. He's busy…elsewhere. I made sure of it." His breath was warm on her ear through the burlap mesh of his mask. She giggled.

"Here we are." They stopped in a clearing, at the very end of the park that was still surrounded by trees, but this spot was still the same as the way they passed through. Except for the barren tree branches of the season were hung with glowing glass lanterns, with a few on the ground in a few not-so-random places. A picnic table had been set up for the two of them, two chairs in place, one facing opposite sides. The table was covered with a plain white cloth that glowed in the light of the lanterns, set with a fine, elegant but simple meal that was pretty on the plate…and in general, classified as a romantic dinner for two. Not to mention, the table was scattered with red and white rose petals here and there, some littering on the green grass. Iris gasped.

"It's beautiful." Did Jonathan intend for this to be a romantic getaway for them? He wasn't the romantic type, but at least he knew how to please a woman and make her happy. Soft, nature music filled the air instead of traditional classical music. She didn't see the source of the sound, but it didn't matter. The appetizers consisted of skewers of melon and mozzarella balls, while the main course was a rack of lamb with herbs and roasted tomatoes, followed by Easy by Decadent Nutella Mousse. The champagne flutes were filled with a single fresh strawberry.

"Jonathan, you did not have to do all of this," she said once they were done, and by then a new song was playing somewhere in the distance. Immediately, she forgot what she'd said and instead focused on just this one that she knew all too well. "This is our song."

"Yes, it is." He stood up and walked over to her, holding out his hand to her. He had long since removed his mask when they began to dine out in the open, showing his black stain of hair tousled over a pale moonlit face, pale petal lips twitched into an amused smirk at her attempts to tell him he didn't have to treat her as he did - like a princess - but he'd gone all this way just to make this once-in-a-maybe-lifetime chance tonight last. "Will you join me for this dance, my lady?"

We de ze zu bu (We regret our sins, but…)

We de sooo a ru (We sew our own fate, and)

Un va-a pesh a lay (Under my face, I remain feeble)

Un vi-i bee (Under my face, I smile)

Un da la pech ni sa (Even alone, afraid)

Un di-i lay na day (Under my face)

Un ma la pech a nay mee di nu ku (I will be waiting)

~o~

Today

Three months went by, and life was good for everyone.

Iris groaned under her breath as she read the report from the asylum detailing the escape of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. What the hell were those two thinking?! Not like Batman would be out much because he was a fugitive who took the fall for Harvey Dent's death - the details spilled out to her in private by the Joker himself, whom she thanked just that one time for the death of the insufferable Rachel Dawes for riding her ass on her own after Jonathan's disgrace - but what could those two be up to now?

She felt Jonathan come up behind her and wrap his arms around her for a hug. "I heard about that," he said, leaning over and reading the letter. "I wonder what those two are up to now."

"Well, if I ever see them again, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind."

Just then, there was a ring of the doorbell. Jonathan stood up from sitting beside her on the sofa and walked to the door and answered it for her. It was a Thursday, June evening, the typical end of a summer day. The weather in Gotham tended to be hot on only rare occasions like this, and this was precisely what she needed, a long day and summer heat, and now a report detailing the escape of two of her patients for the first time in a good long time. And her all-black short set didn't help matters much, either.

Jonathan came back into the living room, carrying a white envelope. "It's for you," he said, handing it to her.

She sat up, confused as to who would be sending her whatever was in that thing at this time. "Me?" Reading the name on the envelope, the sender had been Mr. Jim Farnsworth, Grandma Sylvia's lawyer. Chills of dread ran up her spine as she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. The last time she saw her grandmother was less than two months ago when she appeared frailer than she did before then at the wedding.

"What is it?" Jonathan asked, noticing her tight grip to the point of whitening her knuckles as she read the paper. Her heart had stopped in its tracks, as did her blood flow. This was even worse - and more than her heart could bear - than she expected.

"Grandma Sylvia died last week."

I'm sorry to do this to Sylvia and to those who loved her. :( But her death is the drive for the upcoming events to follow, and things are back on the dramatic track. Her lawyer, Jim Farnsworth mentioned, is named after and IS the same one from "Texas Chainsaw 3D"; he was a good old man with a big heart for Marilyn Burns' character as well as Alexandra Daddario's, and he will be so in here. The dialogue in the final scene regarding the receiving of the news of Sylvia's death was also borrowed from the movie.

The flashback with Iris and Jonathan from two years ago with the delicious romantic dinner was sort of inspired by Vytina's two-part "Within My World", which takes place sometime after Crane was fired from GSU. The song "Now We Are Free" from Gladiator was always the theme for them even though it's universal. :)