"I jus' can' stand when he looks at me all like I did sumthin' dumb..."

"I know, toots...s'stupid..."

Beth and Harley were at the bar two hours later after much drinking and dancing. They were both attempting to converse about how they felt about their bosses/boyfriends.

"Iz jus'..." Beth went on, "He sumtimes treats me like a...a kid 'r sumthin'. I'm not a kid no more..."

"Wudn't he like...your daddy 'r sumthin' when you were little?" Harley asked in a slur, her head resting on the booth. "Tha'...tha's weird. Tha's real weird."

"Yer real weird..."

"Nah, I'm jus' sayin'. Sumthin' like tha' might be why he's all actin' like yer a kid still. "Iz all psychol...psych...iz all in tha head." Harley tapped her head.

"I don' geddit..." Beth muttered and rest her chin on her cheek. Harley sighed, and sat up.

"Y'see, he wuz once yer sorta-kinda papa. Now he's yer boyfrien'. He might still have those sorta-kinda papa feelings in his head 'r sumthin'. He's jus' protective n' stuff. I would'n worry 'bout it too much..." she said, and took another drink as if she'd just worked hard to manage those words. Beth nodded slowly.

"Ooooh...I geddit. Tha's some deep shit." she said, and also took a drink. Ivy walked over to them, completely sober and shook her head at their state.

"Hello, darlings." she said. They both smiled at her.

"Hiya, Red!" Harley hiccuped. "Join us fer a drink!"

"I'll do that shortly. I just need to get something out of the way first." she said, and Beth and Ivy saw that she was holding the wrist of the handsome guy they saw her with earlier. He was looking rather excited, and even cocky that he was with one of the hottest girls in the club. Beth looked back over to their booth. Chance was being pet by half the girls in the club. He really was a ladies man. "I'll be right back, ladies. Don't do anything crazy without me." with that, Ivy led the boy to the restrooms.

"He's doooomed..." Harley said in an attempt to be ominous.

"Super doomed..." Beth muttered.

"Is someone doomed?" came a new voice, and both girls turned around to see where it came from. Harley giggled.

"Tha's tha guy who was lookin' atcha earlier, kiddo." she whispered loudly in Beth's ear. Beth didn't hear her though. She was too busy staring at the man.

It was Bo Griggs, and he was smiling smugly back at Beth as she continued to look, her mouth slightly open. He threw his shoulders back, making the already tight black polo shirt he wore seem tighter, showing off his build. He swept back his wavy hair.

"Struck speechless, are we?" he asked jokingly. Beth frowned at him in response, and turned around in her seat.

"Go 'way..." she muttered. Harley scoffed, and spun her back around to face him.

"This guys wan's a dance, n' ya only danced wiff me all night. Go dance!" she pushed her out of the stool, and Beth stumbled, but Bo caught her before she fell to the ground. He picked her up like a doll and set her back on her feet easily with his large arms.

"Careful," he said, "wouldn't wanna ruin that pretty face, would you?" he asked. Before Beth could reply with an insult, he had her on the dance floor, both of her hands in his so she couldn't escape if she tried. He danced her in circles, with no form of elegance, keeping a devilish smile on his lips. Beth wanted to go, but she knew she wouldn't be able to fight him off in this condition. She cursed herself for drinking so much. So she'd amuse the fucker for now, then plan to torture him the next time they met, and she'd be sure to be quite sober. "Come here often?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Nuh-uh.." she said.

"I do."

"Tha's cool." she said, purposefully showing as much displeasure with his presence as she could. He cocked his head to the side.

"You know, you're the first chick I've come across that seems to not be at all interested in me." he said. Beth huffed a laugh.

"Tha's 'cause all the chicks you see are bubble-brained nitwits." she said. "I prefer brains over biggo muscles, so yer outta luck wid me..." she said with a scowl. Bo laughed.

"So I guess you're into geeks then?" he asked.

"Only one." she said.

"So you got a boyfriend? Where is he?" he asked.

"Not here. H's in trubble wid me..." Beth muttered, looking to the floor. Bo smiled wide, and leaned in close to her.

"So he ain't here, Is that right?" he pressed her against him. "Lady, I promise we can have some fun tonight. Your nerd boyfriend doesn't have to know..." when his breath hit Beth's ear, something rang like an Arkham alarm in her brain. Finding some clarity, she shoved Bo back as hard as she could in her state and backed away. Bo huffed once in agitation, but brought back his smile. "Aw, come on girly. Don't play like that." he said, walking back toward her. He took her arm, and she tried to pull away. He had a good grip on her now, and she couldn't call more strength. "Most likely, you won't even remember."

"Jon...Jonathan..." she said numbly. The strobe lights seemed to be getting brighter, hurting her eyes. "Harley!" she yelled finally when Bo began groping her waist. In a second, the drunk clown girl was by Beth's side. She shot her fist out at Bo and it knocked him in the jaw. He staggered back, releasing Beth. He looked darkly at Harley.

"Take that, ya creepy freako-perv!" Harley slurred, her face full of protective anger. She grabbed Beth and brought her over to their booth where Chance was awaiting them, still being pet by girls. "Alright, get outta here! Clear tha space!" The girls gave Harley a dirty look, but did as they were told, saying by to Chance as they left. Harley sat Beth down and patted her back. "Iz all good." she said.

"I wan' coffee..." Beth muttered, watching as Bo stalked to the other side of the club. She shivered, wondering how far he would have gone had Harley not interveined. It was scary.

"Aw, babe, yer shakin'." Harley said. "Lemme go get tha' coffee. Hold on." Harley walked off to the bar area, leaving Beth alone with Chance. He rest his large head on her lap and looked up at her with his big eyes. She stroked his fur.

"S'okay, boy. I'm fine. Jus' a bit tipsy iz all..." she mumbled. When Harley came back, she had in her hands a tall glass of water and a mug of hot coffee. Beth took it gratefully and sipped it, welcoming the burning warmth. After about thirty minutes and four cups of coffee, she began to feel better.

"You doin' alright?" Harley asked, who was drinking her own cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I'm startin' to be able to think clearly now." Beth said with a small smile. She looked into her mug at the dark liquid. God, what was she thinking, doing this? She wanted to talk to Jonathan. "Aw, shit..." she said, when she realized he was going to chew her ass out for this. She placed her head on the table to hide her shameful expression. "He's so gonna gas me for this for sure..." Harley patted her on the back.

"Aw, c'mon! Ya weren't drunk enough to puke, an' all ya did was get a lil' felt up by some jerk. S'not like ya broke everyone outta jail or nothin'!" Beth eyed her friend.

"Keep drinkin' that coffee, sweetheart..." she said, and sighed. Breaking into a high security asylum to break everyone out. Then barely getting away from the Batman. Completely reckless. Yeah. Jonathan was gonna go mad scientist when he found her. "I don' caaaare..." she muttered, wishing he were there all the same. After that freak attack from Griggs, she really just wanted to be next to him. Jonathan meant safety.

"Why the long faces?" came a familiar silky voice. Ivy sat down next to Beth, curious. Beth pouted.

"I wanna talk to Jonathaaaan..." she whined. Ivy's brow furrowed.

"I thought you wanted to make him angry..." she said. Beth shook her head.

"Was a stupid idea from stupid me 'cause I'm stupid..." she said. Ivy looked at Harley and pointed at the blubbering girl in mass confusion.

"A freako grabbed her boob an' now she's freakin' out 'cause doctor ain't here to comfort her..." Harley said simply, and took another drink from her coffee. Ivy scowled.

"Where the hell is that insect? I'll pull him apart with my bare ha-"

"No, no, no!" Beth latched onto Ivy's arm before she could stand. "That guy's reserved! No stealing!"

"Reserved?"

"Yeah, Jonathan knew 'im a long time ago and now he wants to kill 'im so no stealing!" Beth said, and dropped her hands to her lap. "I can't believe I let him freakin' grope me...I'm dirt..." Ivy cooed at her and tucked back a strand of her hair.

"No, you're not, flower. You were just a little drunk is all. You couldn't have done anything in that state of mind."

"Yeah, an' good thing I was there ta sucker punch 'im!" Harley made a swinging motion with her fist. "That sure scared the stinker off!"

"You see?" Ivy said. "We wouldn't have let that piece of garbage take you at all. You're safe with us, don't worry." Beth felt a little more reassured by Ivy's words, but that still didn't stop her from wanting to see Jonathan. She wanted to be scolded for being so dumb. She checked the time on her cell. Yeah. He'd be looking for her right now. She flipped the cell open and found he had apparently been calling, because there were forty-six missed calls and sixteen unread messages. She flipped through some of the messages, all pretty much saying 'where the hell are you' and 'goddammit answer your phone'. Beth gulped, wishing she hadn't decided to put her phone on silent.

"So what happened to that guy you picked up?" Harley asked Ivy after about fifteen minutes of awkward silence.

"Oh, him?" Ivy waved her hand in the air dully. "He was okay, but I think my fly trap enjoyed him a little more than I did. Kind of sad, really..." she said. Harley wrinkled her nose.

"Ew, really Red, can't ya just catch and release?"

"What's the fun in that? Half of what gets me off is just hearing men begging for their miserable lives." Ivy said with a coy smile. Beth snorted into her coffee.

"Way too much information, Ivy."

"Harley wanted to know..."

"And now I'm blocking it!" Harley yelled, and they each laughed. Ivy spotted a small commotion by the door.

"What's going on, I wonder..." she said, pointing to the small crowd of people by the entrance.

"Where the hell is she?" they heard someone asked tiredly with aggression.

"Over there, man!" was some poor soul's reply. A moment later, the small crowd parted to let by the aggressor and the two men that flanked him.

"Oh, looky who's here to ruin the fun..." Harley mumbled, and rest her cheeked on her hands, bummed out. Beth's eyes widened when she saw the person, and squeaked.

Jonathan was walking in their direction with Michael and John, scanning the crowd angrily for someone who she knew was her. John spotted the girls and tapped Jonathan's shoulder to look over in their direction. He did, and as soon as his eyes landed on Bethany, she knew she was in severe trouble.

"Oh my. He looks tired..." Ivy said in amusement. Beth gave a small, hysterical laugh.

"He looks fucking pissed is what he looks like..." she said. Ivy smiled.

"Hey, you wanted to talk to him. Now you can."

"I'd like to retract that statement, ma'am..."

"I could make him go away..." Ivy said, her emerald eyes flashing bright as she did. Beth really thought her offer over as Jonathan stomped closer to them, his composure hiding his rage. She finally sighed, and shook her head.

"If I let you do that, he'd only get more angry. Might as well take the heat now and get it all over with..." she said, and motioned for Ivy to let her out of the booth. When she was standing, she looked down at her feet and waited for Jonathan to finally reach her. "He's gonna blow up the whole club..." she mumbled before he was finally in front of her. She felt his labored breath hit the top of her head, but she still didn't look up. She felt like a child.

"Miss...Niles..." Jonathan's first words to her were barely above a whisper. Beth's toes curled in her shoes as she braced herself for the worst. She peeked up at his face, his eyes boring into her skull through his rectangular glasses. Suddenly, she felt a little better. The fear went away as she realized that Jonathan was finally next to her. Biting her lip, she quickly reached forward and hugged him, pinning his arms to his sides and making him go rigid with surprise. She breathed in his scent.

"Awwwe..." she heard Harley give a little squeal behind her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she talked into his suit jacket. "I was dumb and angry at you and I wanted to make you mad and I busted everyone out of Arkham and then I drank a lot but then I was like 'I wish Jonathan was here' and now you're here and I'm drunk and I'm so, so sorry." she said quickly.

"You knocked Michael out..." Jonathan muttered. Beth nodded.

"Uh-huh..."

"You stole the car he brought you home in..."

"Uh-huh..."

"And now you're here, blubbering like a drunken imbecile..."

"Yeah, I know..." Tears pricked Beth's eyes and stained his Jacket.

"Why did you do all of that?"

"Because you made me mad, but-"

"So, I made you angry, and you in turn decide to make me angry by having me search all of Gotham for you, only to find you because 'That one club has some bigass dog in it'." Jonathan said, quoting multiple people that he passed while searching. "Bethany, you have no idea how absolutely infuriated I am with y-mmph." Beth interrupted him by pressing her lips against his. He attempted to bring her away from him, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her level. He finally growled in annoyed defeat and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly so he could stand up straight.

"Jeez..." John muttered.

"I know, right?" Ivy said from her seat, catching John's eye.

"Well hel-lo, pretty lady." he said, and began to walk towards her when she pointed a threatening finger at him.

"Come near me, and I'll make you into plant feed..." she said, and John backed off.

"Oh, miss Ivy, didn't know it was you there." he said nervously, and hid behind Michael, who smacked him upside the head. Beth finally backed off of Jonathan and looked down at her feet again.

"S-sorry...I just missed you...sorry..." she mumbled. Jonathan massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers.

"I need a drink..." he said, and ushered Beth to sit down so he could. Once seated, he rest his arm over Beth's shoulder and noticed the emptied coffee mugs around the table. "Why the coffee?" he asked. He didn't notice Harley and Ivy cast each other evil smiles.

"Well, we were havin' fun, but some asswipe that you apparently know went and ruined everything..." Harley said dramatically. Jonathan raised a brow at Beth.

"What?" he asked. Beth gave a sheepish chuckle.

"Well...uh.."

"She was assaulted..." Harley said. Then Ivy leaned towards Jonathan.

"Sex-u-al-ly." she said each syllable one at a time, putting emphasis on 'sex'. Beth hissed at them to be quiet, but Jonathan's sudden stillness made her realize it was too late. Her small moment of peace was over.

Dammit.

Jonathan was silent for ten painful seconds before he finally spoke in a deathly whisper.

"Would someone care to explain..."

"No," Beth muttered, and grabbed his jacket. "Can we just sit and ta-"

"What the fuck happened?"Jonathan interrupted angrily. Beth felt his hand grip her shoulder tightly and she clenched her jaw shut.

"We were drinking, see..." Harley began. "And a guy walked up to the bar. He took Beth to the floor to dance. A minute later, she called for my help, and I punched him in the jaw when I saw him putting his slimy hands all over her shaking body..." Harley put emphasis on 'shaking', and Jonathan ground his teeth together. Beth glared at Harley.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her own temper rising.

"You said he wanted to kill him anyway." Harley replied. "He might as well do it now, and we wanna watch it happen." she pointed to Ivy, who nodded in agreement. Jonathan narrowed his eyes.

"Who do I want to kill anyway?" he asked. Ivy leaned back in her seat, taking up a glass of scotch and swirling it around slowly.

"I believe the little flower said he went by the name Bo Griggs..." she said. Jonathan was quiet at first as the information sank in, then his hands clenched into fists, and he began to breath heavily.

"Is this true?" he asked, looking to Beth. She nodded quickly, and his lips pressed together to make a thin line. "Taking advantage of the first alcohol induced woman he sees. He hasn't changed much..." He forced a laugh, and slammed his fist into the table. "And he decides to go after my girlfriend of all the women in here." he said. Michael and John cracked their knuckles in anticipation. Ivy and Harley both smiled, hoping for something fun to happen soon. "I'll have his fucking hands run over." Jonathan said, and stood. "Where is he?"

"No, Jonathan-" Beth grabbed his jacket again to keep him from going anywhere, and he looked down at her.

"Why are you attempting to stop me? He touched you-"

"I know, but-"

"Are you taking his side? Is that it?"

"Jonathan, just shut up!" Beth yelled at him, and he blinked wildly at her in shock.

"You dare-"

"Yes, I dare, Jonathan." Beth said, and forced him to sit back down. "Just sit, okay? It's always 'business this' or 'kill them' with you when you're out. I'm trying to have a good time." she said. "Just pretend for a moment that you aren't a mad doctor bent of spreading fear over Gotham. Let's just sit, and talk. Okay? Please?" she asked pleadingly. Jonathan continued to clench his jaw as he ran through his choices. He sat back roughly into the cushioned seat.

"Fine. For now." he said. Beth nodded, and sat back, relief washing over her. Sure, she would have loved seeing Jonathan kill Griggs in the worst ways imaginable. But for now, she just wanted to talk to him.

"So, um. Where did you go looking for me?" she asked. Jonathan sighed.

"Michael, John." he said to his henchmen, "Go have a drink and talk with people or something. I'll call you when I need you." he said, and turned to Beth as they walked off.

"I went home, found Michael, woke him up, then searched everywhere. I went to our old place, I went to the park, I went to some past hideouts. I was going towards the Iceberg Lounge when I heard people mentioning the mutt." he jutted his thumb at Chance, who lolled his tongue out the side of his mouth and yipped. "And now we're here."

"I got everyone out of Arkham and came here." Beth said. Jonathan nodded.

"I saw on the television." he said. "Red Riding Hood kills guards and frees psycho allies. It was an interesting story."

"Batman almost got us, but I hit him with a bunch of toxin." she said.

"Yeah, knocked him right offa the roof!" Harley said cheerfully. Jonathan sighed.

"You're too reckless." he said. "It would have taken me weeks to free you if you'd been captured..."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Ugh, Jonathan..." Ivy said from her seat. "Take off your damned coat already. You look like a stiff..."

"He always does..." Harley said. Jonathan hooded his eyes at the women, but took off his coat, revealing a white, long sleeved, collard shirt and tie.

"Happy?" he asked, placing the coat neatly next to him.

"Lose the tie..." Ivy ordered. "We're at a club, not a church." Jonathan huffed and removed his tie.

"There, that's it. No more." he said, and crossed his arms after setting the tie down on his coat. Ivy smirked.

"I dunno, Crane darling. You might need some more fix-ups to meet club requirements." she said coyly, and turned to Beth. "What do you think, flower?" Beth looked over Jonathan's attire and appeared to think.

"May I?" she asked, finally reaching out towards him. He raised his brow at her, but nodded for her to proceed. She reached over and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, then reached up and tousled his wirey red hair a bit, making some of his once slicked back bangs fall over his forehead. She felt his eyes on her as he allowed her to unbutton the cuffs to his shirt and bunch his sleeves up to his elbows. She then took off his glasses, but put them back on after a moment of consideration. "I like the glasses." she said. "Okay, I'm done."

"Woo, ol' Scary trashes up pretty good, huh, Ivy?" Harley said, making an exaggerated purring sound.

"Hmm, have you ever seen Jon like this, Bethany?" she asked. Beth shrugged.

"Only when he's working on his chemicals." she said. Harley grinned mischievously.

"Ya mean when he's all sweaty and agitated with those calculations?" she asked.

"Chewing on that pencil, trying to think and sort out notes." Ivy added. Beth blushed slightly, and said nothing. Now Ivy was grinning.

"I think we just tapped into one of our darling Beth's sexy fantasies, Harls..." she said.

"Wha-huh?" Beth asked in shock. "I don-I never did."

"Denial." Both Ivy and Harley said at the same time. Beth blushed furiously, and the women had her in their claws.

"I bet you'd love Scary to throw you on that work table and make you scream..." Harley said with a giggle.

"Perhaps punish you for dropping some vials...on purpose..."

"I'm going to kill you both with with a dull axe..." Beth muttered darkly, and both Harley and Ivy cackled in delight, falling over each other as they went.

"I don't know..." said Jonathan, taking everyone's attention. He smirked at Beth. "That would explain that odd look I always catch you casting towards me..." Ivy and Harley laughed louder now, and Harley banged her fist against the table.

"Oooh! That was priceless! Scary's got a funny bone! I can't believe it!" Beth went to yell at Jonathan, but paused. He really did make a joke. She analyzed him. He was smiling as he took a sip from one of her coffee mugs. Chuckling, even. He was having a good time, and it wasn't due to a successful experiment. He was just happy. She couldn't believe it. She smiled, and looked into the crowd, mentally locking the image of this moment in her memory forever, making sure to add all the details. Someone caught her eye though, and her smile faded.

Bo Griggs was staring at her from the bar, a smirk on his face. She scowled at him, and he only smiled wider, happy with the discomfort he gave her. Beth cursed under her breath. If she told Jonathan, the moment was over. But Bo's glaring eyes was ruining the moment anyway. She'd have to be clever. An idea formed in her mind. It was ridiculous, but it would work. Sighing, she looked seductively up at Jonathan, who took another drink of coffee before noticing her gaze on him.

"What is it?" he asked. She bit her lip and grabbed his shirt, batting her eyes. His own eyes widened at the gesture.

"Dr. Crane..." she said in as best a mock-Ivy voice she could muster. Jonathan gulped, and Harley and Ivy watched intently. Beth brought his face next to her lips. "I've been bad..." she said in a whisper just next to his ear. Jonathan seemed to stop breathing as his eyes locked onto the neon purple pumpkin on her shirt. Beth's next words brought his gaze back to hers. "Aren't you going to punish me?" she asked sweetly.

"I-ah...what? I..." he cursed himself mentally for acting like such a schoolboy. What the hell was she doing to him? She leaned forward and brushed his cheek with her lips.

"Make me scream, doctor..." she said in a begging voice, and kissed him, her arms finding their way once again around his neck and her hands tangling in his hair. Harley and Ivy whistled at them and told them to get a room. When Beth pulled back, she glanced over at Griggs' spot at the bar. He looked agitated, and she smirked.

'Yeah, this scrawny nerd is with me, and you aren't. Let that sink into your thick skull, you piece of shit...' she thought devilishly. She took Jonathan's hand and stood, pulling him gently from the booth.

"Where are you two going?" Ivy asked suggestively.

"I wanna go home..." Beth said. "You guys mind if we take the car?"

"Nah, we can hotwire a new ride anytime." Harley said. "You two have fun."

"And give us details, flower."

"Lots of 'em!" Harley and Ivy laughed again, and began talking excitedly. Beth whistled for Chance, and he followed her and Jonathan.

"What about John and Michael?" Jonathan asked in a tone that didn't seem to care what happened to them anyway.

"Give 'em the rest of the night off. They seem to be having too much fun anyway." Beth said, pointing to them both. They were flirting with some girls at a booth, totally oblivious to the rest of the world.

"Alright..." Jonathan said, and followed Beth outside the club, where the noise of the city greeted them. Beth spied the car, and began to walk towards it. Chance ran ahead of them to it knocking someone over as he went. Beth shook her head and picked up her pace a bit to catch up.

"It ain't fun to mess with a man, sweetheart." came a voice from behind them. Beth knew it instantly, and her heart sank into her stomach as she turned to see Bo Griggs leaning against the club building. Jonathan saw him, and his hand that held Beth's tightened its grip instantly.

"You..." Jonathan said with intense hate.

"Dammit..." Beth mumbled. Bo cocked his head at Jonathan's comment.

"Do I know you, scrawny?" he asked. Jonathan seethed. The son of a bitch made his life a living hell, and he didn't even have the courtesy to remember his name...

'Break his back. He'll remember then...' he heard a familiar voice say. He shook his head, ignoring it and focusing on the situation.

"You touched my girl..." Jonathan said instead. Griggs scoffed.

"You sound like you're going to do something about it..." he said. Jonathan went to touch the pressure pad that was usually located on the palm of his hand and released a smog of toxin from a vial in his suit coat, but cursed when he remembered he'd left the coat in the club. He had nothing. Bo eyed his displeasure and smiled, looking him up and down. "Girly, you really coulda done better than this toothpick..." he said. Beth narrowed her eyes, and walked towards him. Jonathan tried to stop her, but she wrenched her arm out of his grasp and continued walking. When she reached Bo, he raised a curious brow at her. "Whatcha gonna do? Ya gonna hit m-"

*SLAP*

Jonathan widened his eyes as Beth backhanded Bo across the face. Bo touched his cheek where her nails grazed him, and he glared at her.

"You got some nerve, girl-"

"My name is Bethany, you uneducated fuck..." she said, and turned around and walked back to Jonathan. She rest her head on his shoulder when she was next to him, still staring hard at Bo. "There might be a million muscle-heads like you in the world who can pick up almost any girl they want. But there is only one person in the world who is Jonathan Crane. And sadly for you, I'm only interested in him." she said. Bo looked like he was hit by a train when she said Jonathan's name. He gawked at Jonathan, searching his features.

"Crane?" he said after a moment of processing. "You're Crane?" Jonathan, who was given confidence by Bethany's actions, smiled politely and adjusted his glasses.

"I remember you preferred to call me Scarecrow..." he said. Jonathan felt something odd then, as old memories came back. Images of his shadow flashed in his head and he coughed awkwardly as he felt his mind numb.

'Scarecrow, Scarecrow, Scarecrow...' the familiar voice echoed, and Jonathan felt lightheaded. He touched his forehead, trying to think clearly. He felt like he was sinking back into his conscience, his control over his body slipping away from him. It was suddenly as if he were in a theatre, and he was the only one attending the show.

'What the hell?' he asked, but no sound came from his mouth. He looked over at Griggs, who was livid.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, Crane..." he heard him say before Griggs lunged at him. Jonathan wanted to dodge, but he couldn't. He had not control.

"Come at me, you piece of shit..." he heard himself say, but he didn't say that. Someone else did. Beth called his name from next to him in worry as he tried to fight for control. Griggs was near him now. Only a matter of seconds. Jonathan's body seemed to crouch predatorily, preparing for the attack.

The attack never came, however, for Chance jumped in front of Griggs and barked viciously in deadly warning. Griggs lept back in shock and surprise at the enormous beast who continued to snap at him. Jonathan felt like he was rushing towards the surface then, and clarity filled his once numbed mind. He lifted his hand as he regained control of himself, and he felt Bethany tugging on his arm.

"Jonathan, let's go." she said, and he nodded dully before allowing her to drag him to the car. She called Chance, and the wolf growled once more at Griggs before bounding to the can and climbing into the backseat. Griggs ran, and Beth placed Jonathan in the passenger's seat. She sat in the driver's seat and revved up the engine, quickly making her way out of the parking lot and into the street.

Jonathan was beside himself, staring outside the car window to the city lights. It was impossible. It couldn't be. The signs would have shown up much sooner had it been possible.

"Madness.." he whispered to himself.

'Correct as always, Jonny-boy...' came the familiar voice, and he shivered. No, it couldn't be.

Beth eyed her boss as she drove, remembering the moments before Chance interveined. She couldn't shake that horrifying smile Jonathan had as Griggs went after him. And that voice. That low, rasped voice gave her the chills. Even his movements were different in those few seconds. So loose. So...predatory. She shivered when a possibility entered her mind. No, it couldn't be that at all.

"To home..." she said, but Jonathan didn't answer.

...

When they walked inside, Beth flicked on the living room light. Jonathan sat down roughly on the couch, pinching the brim of his nose. She walked to the kitchen for a moment, and came back with a small bottle of wine. She sat down next to Jonathan, unscrewed the cap, took a swig, and offered the bottle to him. He accepted it and took a particularly long drink. Beth rest her chin on his shoulder, rubbing his back.

"We had a long night, huh doc?" she asked. He snorted and nodded.

"Yeah, that is what I believe they call 'understating'..." he said.

"At least I don't think I'll want to party for a while after this."

"Good." Jonathan said with severe agreement. Beth laughed, and sighed.

"I guess I'll be going to bed now." she said. Jonathan raised a brow, and looked over at her.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Bedtime. Sleep. Y'know." Beth said, and went to stand. Jonathan put down the wine bottle and grabbed her waist, setting her back down on the couch. He leaned over her.

"I went all over Gotham searching for you, and you think you can just go to sleep like that?" he asked. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her neck. He felt her shiver, and smiled.

"Jonatha-"

"Miss Niles..." he muttered, shutting her up. He brought his lips to her ear. "You've been rather disobedient..." he said, and bit her earlobe. She arched her back instinctively, and he grinned. "I'm afraid I'll have to punish you accordingly..." He placed his hand under her shirt.

"I...Jon..huh? I..." Beth squirmed under him, and he held her still. Her eyes locked with his as he continued to speak, her breath seeming to catch in her throat. His eyes narrowed to amused slits.

"I'm going to make you scream, Miss Niles..."

...

Author's Note: Yeah, I ended it there! I'm just not good at that stuff! Shut up!

Lol, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay tuned for next! School's out next week, so I should be able to work more on this! Yay!

Plus, I watched the new The Great Gatsby last night. That movie was frickin' wicked. I liked how it kept pretty close to the book. Plus, dat Leonardo DiCaprio. *squee*