It was a clinking sound that woke her again. For a long time, she didn't bother opening her eyes. Her spot in the bed was comfortable and she could tell by the slight depression in the bed that he was sitting nearby. If she could pretend to still be asleep, maybe he would leave her alone for a few more minutes because though they had been much closer this morning, she had no desire to see him now that she had gotten what she wanted and the last thing she needed was him to ruin her relaxed state. All she wanted was to enjoy her feeling and not ponder too much on what she'd done and who she'd done it with right now.

It wasn't so hard, even before being brought here, she had always been good at compartmentalizing, especially with sex. It was her preferred state instead of having to deal with the closeness and intimacy of a relationship. Looking back, it was clear now why she never had relationships that lasted more than a few months, nothing serious anyway. But the Joker wasn't like the normal trysts she had experimented with. He knew her. Better than anyone had. Better than she did, sometimes. He'd taken the time to study her like a specimen in a jar, figured out what made her tick, and what kept her motivated. As far as she cared, she was simply a science project to him, and she hated him for everything else he'd subjected her too. Would always hate him. Even if she did use him to fill her selfish needs.

Flexing under the blanket discretely, she could tell that she was sore, and that walking would be a pain. But it was worth it, and she knew that she would do it again despite the pain.

The feeling of a cold object hitting her side for the second time today told her that the Joker wasn't fooled by her acting. Pursing her lips, she grabbed what felt like another bag of ice and placed it gingerly on her cheek before finally letting her eyes flicker open again, taking a moment to focus on the nightstand next to the bed where she could see that the Joker had brought up food. As if on cue, her stomach let out a growl, reminding her that she was starving. Her eyes flicked down to the edge of the bed where he was sitting with a blank expression, completely dressed and makeup fully done as he idly chewed his cheeks, not looking at anything in particular. Her stomach dropped a little; now that she'd seen him without it, she much preferred the change. Letting out a tired sigh, she stretched before sitting up against the headboard pulling the blanket with her and drawing her knees to her chest. Through the nearby window, she could see that the sun was high in the sky letting her know that it hadn't been long since she went to sleep for the second time.

"Here." He said flatly, holding out his hand to her as gave a passive glance in her direction. He seemed placated for the time being. A calm that she usually only saw when he was winding down for the night.

Flicking her eyes down to his hand to see him holding out two small pills before turning back to his face trying to gauge his expression in order to decide whether or not she should be worried about the nondescript pills. But his face remained in a casual frown.

"What is it?" She questioned softly, though taking the pills from his hand so that he wouldn't take her questioning for refusal and looking down at them curiously.

His frown twitched in annoyance before looking up at her as if she was stupid. "Gotham's only big enough for one Joker, cupcake." He explained with a shrug, crossing an ankle over his opposite knee.

She tilted her eyes at him confused for a moment before tossing the pills in her mouth, reaching to the nightstand and grabbing the glass of water to finish them off. Surely the Joker would kill her before it mattered.

Setting the glass of water down with a soft clink, she pulled the plate of food closer, grabbing the first half sandwich and beginning to eat hungrily, trying hard to ignore his stare. Those blue eyes glaring at her shielded by black contacts as he thought. She chewed slowly as she continued to mentally remind herself that nothing had changed. He was still the Joker and she was still his play thing. Nothing had changed. Nothing was going to change. But everything had. Swallowing the last bite, she finally glanced up at him. Remembering the question that had popped in her mind hours ago. For a moment, she thought against it. There was no point in opening old wounds. And he always did hate when she got to personal. But she had to know. And now that the idea had sparked in her mind, she wouldn't be able to let it go. Not until she had an answer at least.

Wrapping her arms around her legs as if to protect herself from the extreme vulnerable state she was about to put herself in, she looked up at him unsteadily as his blank expression shifted ever so slightly to one on confusion.

"I have to ask you something." She finally started, trying hard to sound firm because she didn't want to risk him telling her to shut up or telling her no. It was too important. Even still, her voice shook ever so slightly.

He crossed his arms slowly, sucking on his checks noisily but didn't respond. Only stare at her with that blank stare that she hated.

He didn't move away either, or tell her to shut up. So she took that as a good sign and decided to continue. Biting her lip for a moment, she took a deep breath before looking back up.

"What's your name?" She blurted out before she could change her mind.

The sucking noise stopped, as the corner of his scars folded downwards. She had never bothered to ask him anything about him or his past. And he found it quite odd that this was the one she began with. He had some interesting scar stories he was dying to tell her. Those always proved fun.

"Why. I'm the Joker, cupcake." He said simply, his voice carrying a warning tone. One that months ago would have shut her up for fear of his reaction.

But she wasn't ready to leave it alone. Not yet.

"You know what I mean." She said flatly.

He tilted his head at her slightly as a heavy silence filled the room. He was trying to figure out her angle. There had to be one. If he didn't know where she was all hours of the day, he would think she was working for the police. But since that wasn't an option...

"Why?" He questioned finally in a slow, nasally voice.

That excited her slightly. If he was still talking she was sure she could get it out of him eventually. Hopefully not earning herself another stabbing in the process.

"I have to know."

"My name…is Joker." He said again slowly with a deep frown, the foot placed on the ground starting to tap rapidly as he began to get agitated with the questions. He wasn't sure why she could never be content with being alive. All of her questions made him want to strangle her.

"What was your name?" She corrected with a frown to mirror his.

Letting out a growl he gnashed his teeth. She was infuriating. But he could tell that she wasn't going to give up until he either answered her or hurt her. And for once, he wasn't in the mood for violence. He couldn't think of a situation where it would hurt to simply give her the information. The police were never going to have the resources to figure that out who he was even if she did tell them.

"Fine." He said throwing his arms in the air with an aggravated shout. "It was Jack."

Another silence settled onto the room as a strange mixture of relief and disappointment crossed her face. "Not Walter?"

His face twisted into confusion again before he finally realized who she thought he was. Eyes widening in response to his realization, he finally burst into laughter, throwing his head back from the sheer force of the sound. "Oh I get it. You think I'm your little friend." He continued laughing. "Sorry to disappoint, kid."

She flashed him an angry glare before moving away, crawling back under the blankets and pulling them over her head with a groan. She was glad that she'd asked, that she'd gotten the question off of her chest, but his reaction only angered her and it was in both of their interests if she got as far away from him as possible, which unfortunately wasn't far in her case. Turning her back to him she lie on her stomach, burying her head in the pillow.

"Oh now now." He grinned, still snickering as she felt the bed shit as his wait was removed. "Don't be embarrassed. I'm not offended." He teased, moving to climb onto the bed. "I'm actually flattered."

She gritted her teeth as he straddled her back, sitting on her backside playfully. The hairs on her back prickled at the movement. She barely wanted him sitting near her, and to feel his weight on her now was almost too much to take.

"Get. Off." She growled, taking slow deep breaths as she tried to control the rapidly rising anger in her mind even as she remained still under him. She was embarrassed and was in no mood to be teased about it.

He only laughed ignoring her tone and pulled the blanket from her head, leaning closer to her. "You see…I've read your diaries over and over. And I know how…'cute' you thought your friend Walt was."

"He wasn't my friend." She frowned, trying hard to control the anger that was rapidly building up inside. Sometimes she forgot everything she had written in those journals. She hated confrontations, but it looked like she wasn't about to get out of one. Any attempt to keep her anger under control was failing as his laughter echoed in her ears. Filling her mind and pushing away all reason.

He giggled, barely able to get words out without laughing. "Is that how you feel about me? Am I the ah…'cutest boy in the neighborhood?" He raised his voice to imitate a young girl. "The one your dear old Grandma warned you about?"

"I was nine." She said flatly, trying to squirm away from him as a last ditch effort. But he didn't budge, frustrating her even more. She wanted to scream.

"Oh I know. But you talked about it for years. Now admit it. You think I'm a 'hottie' too." He bounced atop her happily, shaking the bed as well.

And just like that, she felt something snap.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" She screamed at him, using all of her strength to roll over and shove him off of her. Punching him in the gut when she decided he was still too close to her before scurrying off of the bed. Snatching the nearby towel from the floor, she jerked it around her still naked body as she hovered over the side of the bed, fuming.

"It was a simple fucking question. How about next time you answer it and move on? I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe all those beatings you've been giving are finally starting to fuck with my head but you're nothing like him and you never will be." She yelled at him, even as he lay frozen in the spot she had pushed him, a look of sheer surprise on his face.

"Asshole." She muttered, snatching the bag of ice from the bed and storming to the door.

The Joker watched her jerk the thin door open and slam it behind her with enough force to shake the walls. He had been completely taken aback by her outburst. Hadn't even been able to collect himself long enough to force her to apologize or get angry in return. It wasn't the first time he'd taunted her or invaded her space and she'd never reacted this way. Quite the opposite, normally she simply ignored him. And for once he was completely baffled. For a brief moment, he felt a tinge of something that he initially described as guilt before remembering that it was an emotion given up a long time ago. Surely he was simply annoyed. He had never been a liar. Had prided himself on that fact as most in Gotham knew by now. And he hadn't lied this time. It wasn't his fault if she still hadn't learned by now to navigate his complex work arounds of half-truths and misdirection. And it wasn't his fault that she was angry right now. But none of that helped him figure out why he felt so…annoyed.

Scowling, he climbed off of the bed, storming to the door. He didn't feel like dealing with her wildly changing emotions right now. Barely felt like dealing with his own. It was amazing that after the fun morning they'd had, she still always had a way of ruining his good mood.

Stomping down the hallway and heading towards the stairs, he muttered to himself with a sulking frown plastered on his face. At the bottom of the stairs, Dougie peeked his head out of the first room to the right, a large open one that served as his bedroom. Aside from the Joker, he was the only one with his own and it had been conveniently placed closest to the boss's quarters so he would be alerted to anyone that came and went. He was also the only one who dared to be visible when the Joker was a bad mood. There was no fear in his eyes when he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway with a sigh, lip's pursed in annoyance. There never had been in the years he'd known him and even his violent mood swings wouldn't change that.

"What'd she do this time?" He questioned, the large gun that he always kept with him hanging lazily from his shoulder by a thick strap. The Joker had been more irritable than usually lately and it was normally due to the same cause and while the instability didn't bother him much, it made it much harder to control the men in his absence.

The Joker stopped his muttering for a moment, glancing up as if surprised to see Dougie standing there. Lowering his brow into a glare again, he let out a grunt of acknowledgement to his right hand man, taking the last few steps.

"She punched me." He said with an annoyed suck of the cheeks.

Dougie smirked, knowing it wasn't the whole story, albeit a funny part of it. "Not the first time, is it?"

He let out a smacking sound as his lips pursed together, his waning patience running thin. "And she remembered." He finished with a growl.

Dougie furrowed his brows, his mouth slightly agape in disbelief as he thought. "Huh." He finally let out a sound of disbelief, tilting his head before bringing his brown eyes back to the Joker's face. "Really?"

"Aparently." Came the slow reply.

"So she knows then?"

"No." He said simply, pushing past the man into his room, and walking over to one of the gun cabinets where he had stashed most of the weapons and ammo that had previously been in his room.

Dougie only nodded, not needing to ask for clarification. He was well aware of the Joker's ability to talk circles around nearly anyone. An ability that had been picked up from Dougie years ago.

"Are you ever gonna tell her?" He questioned, throwing a lazy glance over his shoulder as the Joker rummaged through the ammo boxes, gathering as many shotgun shells as he could fit in the many pockets of his jacket.

"No." He said again, grabbing a shotgun from the wall. After learning her name in those first few days and realizing who it was he had captive in his hospital, he couldn't believe his luck. Had been ecstatic at all the ways the information could be used to twist her and considered telling her the truth right away or before he killed her. It'd be a fun way to get one last jab in before he did her in. But after reading through her diaries, most of which he found hilarious, and seeing how much the situation had affected her, he decided against it. Decided against mentioning it at all. He wasn't completely heartless. And he didn't care much for dredging up the past himself. It would have been far too easy to use that information and would have taken away all of his fun as he tried to bend her. Would probably have broken her completely in those first few days. And after dealing with her reaction this morning, he knew he had made the right choice. He wanted her pliable, not shattered.

"She might not be around long enough for it to matter anyway, depending on how next week goes." Dougie gave a careless shrug.

The Joker gave a dark, nasally chuckle, remembering the plans he had been working on for the last few weeks. The one he would use to test his progress so far. At this point, he wasn't sure it was necessary anymore…she wouldn't run. Not anymore. But he wanted her to want to stay, and he would make it happen before he finally delivered the punchline. He could be the hero and have fun at the same time and she would be none the wiser. And in the end, he'd have a good chuckle at it all.

"Oh she'll do what she's supposed to." He turned away from the wall with the shotgun in hand, a smirk on his face. "Did ya get everything I asked for?"

"What do you think? Everything was ready days ago."

"Good." The Joker's smirk turned into a genuine smile, ignoring Dougie's self-important tone. He barely heard it anymore and it didn't faze him in the least. Were he anyone else, there would already be a knife in his throat.

"I hope you don't expect me to babysit for three days. A few hours a day is already enough."

"No." He answered, heading to the door. "And no matter how she does, you won't need to guard anyone after next week." He held his arms out, the shotgun dangling from one hand. "Now…what d'ya say we go shoot somethin?" He smirked, already in a slightly better mood as he moved past Dougie again and started down the hall.

In her old room, Arella was standing in front of her wardrobe staring at the empty rack angrily as if her glare could magically make clothes appear. The Joker had made her move all of her clothes to his room weeks ago and now that she'd stormed out with little more than a towel, she was stuck. There was no going back in there, not right now. He'd surely make fun of her. But if she didn't, she'd be stuck in the room until either the Joker left, or she gave up and got her clothes.

Letting out an annoyed growl, she stormed over to the bed, flopping onto her back with a huff and staring at the ceiling. She didn't know why she was so angry. He hadn't acted in any other way than she'd expect him to but that didn't stop her rage. It was probably only a matter of time before he stormed after her to pay her back for the punch she had given him, but it didn't matter. She hated him. And she was glad that he had reminded her of all the reasons why so soon after her temporary lapse in judgement this morning. He was a psycho and she needed to remember that. Not her friend, not her therapist, and definitely not someone she should be sleeping with.

She could hear when he finally left his room, the angry, heavy footsteps that usually meant trouble coming closer. Holding her breath, she stare at the door, waiting. She didn't care if he attacked her, but she wasn't looking forward to the confrontation or the pain. A tight knot formed in her stomach as she listened. But when the footsteps continued down the hallway, she let out a slow, relieved sigh, running a hand through her hair and rolling off of the bed. Might as well get comfortable if she was planning on spending the whole day in the room. Padding to the bathroom, she slammed the door behind her and turned on the shower.

When the Joker finally made his way back up to the fifth floor, he was much calmer. But as he rounded the landing, he felt the relaxed state he had spent hours fostering slip away with every step to reveal the annoyance that was still brewing beneath his calm exterior. He still was in no mood to deal with her emotional swings that were steadily getting worse. But he wasn't going to allow her to sleep in her old room. He would never admit it to her, but he enjoyed having someone in bed with him. Had since the first night he slept in her bed. It had been a long time since he'd had that luxury, and he wasn't ready to give it up, not because she was throwing a temper tantrum.

Relationships and sex had become an interesting situation in the past few years since he became the Joker. Normally consisting solely of back alley one night stands that ended in blood shed. It wasn't unusual for less cautious women to make passes when he was traveling throughout the narrows, visiting the stacked deck, or even dealing with the mob. And he was happy to comply most nights. But a night with the Joker came with a cost. One that many paid with their lives. It was a habit. One that he didn't feel the need to break. Some women were simply attracted to power, and he had it in droves. But he had never been with someone without his painted mask. Someone to spend the night with after they had satisfied themselves. Not since the scars. It was strange to have her still around, and she would probably never understand how lucky she was to still be breathing, but the thought made him smirk. He couldn't wait to make her scream all over again. But first, he needed to drag her back to bed. His bed.

Standing outside her door, he fiddled with the knife in his pocket for a moment, sucking on the inside of his cheeks, wondering if it would be easier to threaten her or simply drag her out. But he quickly decided that he was tired, and threatening her successfully was becoming too much work. So he chose the latter. Releasing the knife, he placed his hand on the doorknob and pushed it open, a frown on his face for good measure. But silence awaited him.

The room was empty.

He looked around with a scowl, storming into the attached bathroom and throwing the thin door open with a slam to look around. But he knew she wouldn't be there. It was too quiet and dark. Growling, he left the room. He didn't appreciate not being able to find her right away. It was irritating. And if he didn't find her soon, he was going to be furious. Storming to his own room, he burst into the door, narrowed eyes scanning the room.

Arella gasped as the door opened, her head snapping up from the pillow she had curled up on in an attempt to relax. Taking in his expression, she could tell that he was still angry. It wasn't entirely unexpected. She had assumed that he would be somewhat angry from the punch and name calling she had thrown at him earlier. But when he had left her alone for the first few minutes afterwards, she figured he'd have gotten over it. That didn't seem to be the case right now, though.

After she had spent hours in her own room, tossing and turning in an attempt to make herself feel better, she had decided that she had clearly overreacted. The Joker's reaction had been exactly what she should have been expecting at this point, but she had been caught in a vulnerable moment. Something that had been happening more often lately and she had to try and stop from happening again. As far as she was concerned, he had taken advantage of her fragile state this morning. At least that was the excuse she had settled on this time.

She sat up in the bed as his angry expression quickly turned to surprise before flattening to the bored gaze she was used to, a transition that happened all under a second.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly, her voice soft as she crossed her legs in front of her.

The Joker tilted his head at her, squinting his eyes for a moment as he studied her face. Wondering if she was up to something. Normally she'd still be furious. "For?" He questioned, taking slow steps towards the bed.

"For…punching you." She said with a shrug. "And calling you an asshole." She wouldn't apologize for being angry. Even if she had overreacted.

He chuckled, considering teasing her about her absolutely insane attachment to someone she'd only met once before thinking better of it. He didn't want to continue talking about the topic and she was finally relaxed and where he wanted her to be emotionally. There was no point in dealing with another fallout.

"Have you calmed down?" He gave an inquisitive frown, stopping to stand next to the bed less than a foot away from her.

Arella glanced up at him before darting her eyes back down to the comforter, uncomfortable with the closeness. She was still trying to convince herself that this morning had been a mistake, and being this close to him now wasn't helping the situation. Drawing her legs back to her chest, she gave a curt nod.

The Joker studied her, taking in sudden jittery disposition with a frown. It suddenly became clear why she was behaving this way and why she had reacted so violently this morning. It was the shower incident all over again. She had finally let go and allowed herself a little fun and once the afterglow wore off, she couldn't seem to rectify that happiness with the thought of who she had received it from. He could almost roll his eyes at himself for not seeing it earlier. But then again, he had been dealing with his own issues at the time.

Letting out a breath through his nose that boarded on a laugh he flopped down onto the side of the bed, ignoring her attempt to inch away from him. Resting his arms on his thighs lazily as he stare at the floor for a moment, he chewed the inside of his cheek before finally looking up from the curtain of green hair that blocked his face.

"Ella." He sang with a lazy smile on his face, his tone reverting to the condescending notes that made her feel like a child. "What did we talk about last night?" His lips pressed together in a line as he looked at her expectantly.

Her eyes stay trained on the bedspread however, still not wanting to meet his. "I'm not going back.' She repeated softly, remembering the conversation that had transpired in a dark alley of the narrows.

"Yes." He said slowly, his lips turning back up into a smirk. "You're not going back. And I know you want to…enjoy however much time you have left. So why don't you stop with the morality crisis everytime you have the tiniest bit of fun?" He squinted, holding his thumb and forefinger together to show to mimick how small he meant. "Hmm? Just…do." He finished with a gesture of the hands, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't, he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and moved closer to her and throwing his arm across her knees casually so that their faces were only a foot apart.

"Ya see, I know you enjoyed yourself this morning." He continued casually with a laugh. "Oh did you. So what does it matter who you enjoyed yourself with whether it's a…..ah…charming young fellow like myself or a spoiled richie?"

She finally looked up at him at the jab with narrowed eyes. "Shawn isn't a murderer." She commented in a firm voice.

"Oh sure he is." He said lightly, his eyes widening to resemble an innocent child. He just hadn't found the right motivation yet. Everyone is a criminal just waaaiiiting to happen. And all it takes is one little old bad day to give someone a reason to let go." He gestured wildly. "You've had yours. Now all you have to do…is let go. A whole world of fun opens up when you do. As you already know. You let go last night with your friends in the narrows and you let go this morning. And there are no taksie backsies." He wagged his finger, licking his lips. "So tell me, who are you trying to impress by pretending to feel guilty? Hmm?"

"You'll just kill me if I give in." She said softly.

He let out a light laugh at that, leaning forward and resting his chin on her knees now as well closing the gap between them to only a few inches. "I've already won, cupcake." He smirked. "And yet, here you are."

Arella was silent, letting his words sink in. She wasn't sure who she was trying to stay so well behaved for. She had already killed, and in the grand scheme of things, she was sure that sleeping with a madman was far down on the totem pole of offences. She could allow herself some happiness and still not be complacent in the situation, she was sure. At least when no one was watching.

Sighing, she lowered her eyes from his, shaking her head. "I don't know."

"Then stop-ah." He said with an annoyed growl.

She pursed her lips, wishing it was that easy, and wishing that he wasn't able to see through her so easily all the time. Unhooking her arms from her legs, she sat back against the headboard, gathering her hair over her shoulder as she looked over at her paintings, one of the only reminders she had of her old life. Stroking strands her hair nervously, her eyes dazed as she almost forgot that he was there and so close to her. Missed the flash of admiration in his eyes as the smell of her shampoo wafted to his nose. Not just for her body, the one that had brought him so much pleasure; he wanted all of her. He wasn't sure when his motives had changed, or what exactly they had changed too. But he wasn't content with simply twisting her anymore. He wanted to turn her into something more. For once, he thought it might be fun to create something out of her instead of constantly filling is incessant need for destruction. Maybe if she had seen in, she would have felt more comfortable about the situation. Would have remembered that underneath the makeup, the Joker was simply a man. But she missed it. And as his face returned to the bored gaze that he maintained, he was glad that she did.

Bombshell time! Did you guys catch who he is or have you known all this time? There've been subtle hints throughout the story so far but sometimes my subtle is more like a labyrinth. Haha. When do you think Arella started to pick up on some of those hints? And do you think he's right for not telling her? There's definitely about to be some changes soon so we'll find out? We're probably about 2/3 away from the end at this point! I have an entire back story about the Joker and Dougie roughed out already that pretty fascinating so I'm trying to incorporate some of that into the story as well.

Also, I was listening to a cirque du soleil soundtrack the other day after going to see one of the shows, and if you guys haven't heard "Steel Dreams" yet, you should definitely give it a listen. (Brace yourself, my inner music lover is coming out) It was a perfect musical rendition of the Joker and Arella's story so far. If you think of Arella as the musical part and the Joker as the bass heavy percussion. The whole song is a melody being constantly overtaken (or beaten down if you will) by the percussion, even as it keeps coming back. You can literally hear the crazy in the violins and loose screw sounds. Then there's a part of significant melancholy before both melodies come back in. It's amazing. I've listened to it so many time with the story in mind since and it blows me away. That and cirque du soleil is amazing anyway.

Anyway, let me know how you like the story so far! And thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed for the last chapter. You don't know how much I love reading them. It makes writing and sharing that much more fun.

Love you guys!