A/N - I apologize about the long wait, but not many people seemed to care about this story any more, so I started working on other stories. Sorry. :/ But anywhos, in case you don't remember, last chapter Batman arrived too late because the Joker had shot Rachel, so that brings us to the present with her clinging to her life. And I know that this seems like it can't have a "happy" ending, but just so you know, I made tragedy and happiness meet halfway, so it's bittersweet. ;)

--

*I'd also like to dedicate this chapter in memory of Jokerluv, a brilliant author and friend who passed away far too soon. She always supported me during the writing of this story, so I completed this with her in mind. *HEARTS*

CH 2: Restoring the Status Quo

Removing his sun glasses from the bridge of his nose, Jack entered Rachel's hospital room with a sorrowful reverence across his features, his mouth growing dry at the sight of his fianceé lying helplessly before him. Her skin was whiter than her bedsheets, and her lips were so pale that they almost looked blue in the stark light. From each arm snaked various IV's and tubes, her petite form almost seeming to be swallowed whole amidst the sea of medicinal care.

Picking her chart up from the foot of the bed, Jack scanned her status with painstaking care: her body was in critical condition, she was in need of a blood transfusion, and she was...pregnant?

Mouth falling agape, Jack re-read that fateful word over and over again, his limbs trembling as he realized that Rachel was going to have a child...his child. She was in the early stages of pregnancy, so it was possible that even she didn't know, Jack tearfully dropping the chart as he went over to Rachel's side.

"C'mon, babe" he pleaded, gently stroking the curve of her cheek. "You can fight this, alright? And when you get out of here, you and I can go look for an apartment for three -- one overlooking Gotham Park, just like you've always wanted." Sinking down onto the bed, Jack took Rachel's hand in his and ran his thumb along her palm, a small smile coming to his lips as he whispered, "You're going to be a mother, Rachel...you're going to get fat and complain about your enlarged breasts, but guess what? I don't plan on letting you have all the fun by yourself, 'cause whether you like it or not, I'm going to marry you and help raise our child. It'll have its mother's looks, but its father's brains -- talk about an unstoppable force!" Grinning, Jack kissed Rachel's forehead before brushing back her hair, her nasal breathing tube only mildly getting in the way as he began to kiss her eyes, nose, and lips.

Stroking her cheek with his knuckles, he suddenly lost his smile as he gazed down upon her in forlorn desolation. Whether he liked it or not, he had been the cause of pain, and he knew he would never forgive himself. When he'd awoken in an alleyway that morning, he'd been lost and disoriented before all the memories came crashing down on him like an avalanche. That had been the first time he'd remembered what he'd done as the Joker, but his excitement over this discovery had naturally been short-lived.

"Jack?"

Looking up in astonishment, Jack felt his heart leap when he realized Rachel was gazing back at him, her eyes wearily blinking as she reached out to him and touched his knuckles. When their hands interlocked, Jack fought the urge to laugh amidst his relief, his lips brushing against hers as he asked, "How're you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Tired" Rachel softly returned, a listless smile stretching her lips as she reached up and touched his face. Running her fingers through his curls, she gazed upon him fondly while joking, "I must look as shitty as I feel...can I borrow some of your make-up?"

Breathing a laugh, Jack encirled her roving hand with his before gently kissing her fingers, a grin splitting his lips as he returned, "I think I've grown tired of the lipstick -- I don't know how you women do it since it's way too much work to look pretty."

Giggling, Rachel tried to utter a sarcastic retort, but instead all she could give was a wheezing cough. Her slight frame seemed so thin and helpless as she gasped for breath, Jack's features contorting in concern as he clutched her hand. "Hey, you ok?"

Nodding, Rachel gave another gut-busting cough before withdrawing her hand from her mouth, her lips trembling when she noticed the scarlet bloom dribbling across her palm. "I-I'm bleeding" she whispered, her blue eyes appearing large and frightened as she turned her gaze to her fiancé. "Jack" she breathlessly whimpered, "Jack, I don't feel so good..."

Eyes widening, Jack moved to ask what Rachel meant when she suddenly collapsed in his arms, her eyes rolling back in her head as he began to gently slap her cheeks. "Rachel?" he called, now slapping a little harder. "Rachel! Christ, wake up!"

Her pallid features did little to assauge his fears, and her sudden limpness frightened him since she wasn't responding to his actions. Carefully lying her down and propping her up against her pillow, Jack crawled more fully onto the bed and began to shake her, a desperate sob tearing at his throat as she continued to remain unresponsive. "Rachel" he moaned, "oh God, Rachel, please don't leave me! I need you!"

At that moment there came a raspy wheeze, Rachel's eyes fluttering as she weakly directed her gaze toward her fiancé's tear-stained cheeks. Listlessly wiping the moisture from his face, she then slid her fingers down his arm until she grasped his hand. Turning it over so that Jack's palm was facing the ceiling, Rachel's wan, chapped lips delicately curved upward into a smile, Jack watching on in confusion as she took his hand in both of hers. Placing the tip of her finger against his palm, Rachel wordlessly began to trace an image on his flesh until Jack recognized it immediately: it was a heart. Her smile broadening slightly, Rachel closed Jack's hand into a fist as if he was holding the imaginary symbol, her voice tired and raspy as she whispered, "I give you my heart, Jack...do with it what you will, because I will always love you."

Jack's lips quirked up into a weak smile. "Sweetheart, why are you making it sound like this is goodbye? We're going to have a family soon, and then we'll grow old together and start finishing each other's sentences."

Two large tears rolled down Rachel's cheeks as she heard his words, and in that moment Jack knew there was no going back. Lady Luck had dealt him his hand, and now he was going to have to play with the cards he'd been given. Trembling, Jack felt a lump form in his throat as he rubbed Rachel's hand, the lump only growing larger when she asked, "Can you hold me for a little while? It's getting awfully cold in here..."

Nodding, Jack wordlessly enveloped Rachel within his arms and pulled her close, silent tears streaming down his cheeks as he kissed the top of her head. He felt her arms weakly encircle his waist as she pressed her face against his shoulder, her body then slumping against his before going completely still.

When the heart monitor flat-lined, Jack immediately tore at the power cord so that they were once more in blessed silence, his strong arms pulling Rachel against his chest as he cuddled with her as before. Smoothing his hand down the length of her hair, he closed his eyes and began whispering about how he planned on building their baby a crib, his shock soon becoming too much as it tore him down into a bout of unconsciousness.

--

Clutching at a bouquet of red roses, Bruce hesitated as he continued to wait outside Rachel's hospital room. Something inside him was screaming that he should just walk away, but somehow he stayed rooted in place and ignored his gut feeling. Finally knocking on the door, he craned his head to listen for a response, but when he didn't hear Rachel's sweet, lilting voice, he immediately panicked and burst into the room. There, lying before his startled gaze was Rachel, Jack tenderly rocking her in his arms as if she were merely sleeping.

"What have you done?" Bruce growled, dropping the roses once he realized how still Rachel was. "What the hell have you done!?"

Finally seeming to notice Bruce's presence, Jack looked up from his lover and winced, his voice full of genuine sorrow as he whispered, "I-I didn't mean to..."

Overcome by a whirlwind of fury, Bruce stormed over to the blonde and seized him by the throat, Jack's eyes widening as he found himself being lifted and slammed against the wall.

"You killed her" Bruce hissed, his eyes glazed with tears. "You killed my Rachel!"

Jack stared numbly back at Bruce in shock, his face growing pink from lack of oxygen as he became utterly speechless. Somehow he hadn't seen it before, but now as he gazed back into Bruce's harrowed brown eyes, Jack realized tht Bruce, too, had been in love with his fianceé. "I didn't kill her" he rasped, even though he knew it was a lie. Bottom lip quivering, he fought back tears as he willingly let Bruce tighten his stranglehold. The way he saw it, he deserved to die.

A million questions were racing through Bruce's mind all at once, yet he only acted on his first impulse and struck Jack square across the jaw. Hitting him again and again, tears blurred his vision as he slammed his fist into Jack's gut and elbowed him in the chin, his pain only growing since he knew this wouldn't bring Rachel back. And what was worse, he'd promised Rachel that he'd help her protect and take care of Jack, and yet here he was, beating the ever-living snot out of the grieving man. Jack Napier had loved Rachel just as deeply as he had, and that much was certain.

Fully aware that he was unable to control his emotions, Bruce threw Jack to the floor and went barreling toward the exit, Jack watching after him in shock as he suddenly realized what he must do: that night, the infamous Joker would come out to play one last time.

--

Hugging a pillow tightly to his chest, Bruce continued to glumly watch the news as GCN raved on about various politics, car accidents, and irate protestors in the street. Apparently people were becoming fed up with the Batman wrecking public property, and in result wanted the GCPD to crack down and stop him.

'Fine by me' Bruce thought vindictively, a lump forming in his throat amidst his sorrow. 'If Gotham doesn't need Batman anymore, Batman doesn't need Gotham.' The way he saw it, he no longer had a purpose now that his only reason for living was gone, so why even bother trying to live a lie?

"Because she'd want me to" Bruce softly mumbled, hating this realization more than anything. After all, how was it fair that she'd gone up to heaven and he couldn't follow? Why did he have to suffer for her foolish decisions? If Rachel hadn't fallen in love with Jack, she'd be wrapped up safely in Bruce's arms and spending all her freetime enjoying their married life.

Suddenly angry, Bruce found that he was fed up with watching people complain about their meaningless lives, so he moved to turn off the TV just as the station went completely blank. Brows knitting in confusion, Bruce began changing from channel to channel, but just like each one before the last, there was nothing but snowy static to greet the perplexed billionaire.

Clicking again and again, Bruce finally stopped when the picture was restored to what looked like some sort of warehouse. There came the sound of someone clearing their throat, then a nasal voice cheerily spoke up, "Guuuh-reetings, fellow Gothamites! We interrupt this exceedingly boring program to give you something more fun...me!" With these words, the camera was spun madly around until it focused on the Joker's horrendously large grin, his tongue swiping across his lips as he gave a giggle.

Subconsciously tightening his fists, Bruce looked on in utter contempt as the clown prince continued, "Now then, who wants to play a little game, hmm? Per-haps the ever valiant Bat would care to join me and leave his cave for a few hours? Because, uh...as I re-call, we have quite a bit of unfinished business to attend to. I thought you might like to know how much the little bunny screamed when I de-livered the fatal blow, or, if that doesn't light your fire, we can talk about how much she screamed when I fucked her back at the fundraiser. What fun, what fun!"

Tightening his fists as he imagined he was strangling the clown, Bruce listened in revulsion as the Joker continued, "Now then, the rules are ex-cee-dingly simple, Batbreath: you come to the largest building on Tredeger Avenue -- ya can't miss it! -- and we'll have ourselves a good ol'-fashioned fistfight so you can, uh...a-venge your little girlfriend. If you win, I'll come quietly and take a dose of my own medicine, but if I win..." Here the Joker giggled, his lips curling into a devious grin as he continued, "If I win, Gotham will have one less Bat on its hands. Oh! And by the way, if you little cops and lawyers try to get in the way of our fun, I'll blow up a veeeery important building...it's City Hall, in case you're wondering. Toodles!"

In an instant, the screen went blank and then returned to the proper program, Bruce gritting his teeth as he turned and went racing for the Bat cave. One way or another, he was completely determined to bring the Joker to justice...even if he died trying.

--

Slipping his fingers into his gloves, Jack pursed his lips and flexed his hands as he gazed down at his hated ensemble. The broadcast he'd just made had deeply pained him, for the very realization that he'd denounced the woman he loved made him want to retch. Rachel's memory deserved far better, and yet, he knew the only way to get Batman to break his one rule was to incite him in such a strong, abrasive manner that he couldn't help but lash out. He knew Batman had cared about Rachel -- that much had been made obvious over the years -- so if Batman cared about her as much as he, himself did, Batsy was almost certain to show up with arms swinging and a need for vengeance. Although the Joker didn't believe in justice or doing the right thing, Jack did, and he wanted Rachel to be avenged more than anything else in the world.

"My stupidity won't hurt the innocent much longer, beautiful" he softly whispered, his gaze now trained upon the brightest star in the sky. "I was the one who started this mess, so now I'm going to finish it."

"Talking to one's self can be a sign of dementia" a gravelly voice spoke up, thus causing Jack to whirl around in surprise. There, standing along the curtain of shadows was Bruce in all his glory, his eyes almost seeming to blaze beneath his cowl as he clenched his kevlar-encased fists. There was something almost animalistic about his fury, but since he was a level-headed man, he merely growled out, "You wanted me, so here I am...what are you hoping to prove with this so-called game, Joker?"

Despite being caught off-guard, Jack quickly bounced back as he jovially returned, "Why, nothing at all, Batpoop! If I actually told you my intentions, that'd be defeating the purpose!" Scratching his chin with his blade, he added as an after thought, "I already told you that we had some unfinished business, so here we are. I mean, do you even re-a-lize how nice I'm being? I set up this little meeting so you could a-venge your little bunny, but do I hear a thank you?" Mockingly holding a hand to his ear, he called out, "Hel-looo, is anyone even out tre? Are we going to do the whole ten paces thing, or what?"

Gritting his teeth, Bruce finally lost his cool as he growled out, "Rachel is dead because of you, and despite the fact that you claimed to love her, you don't even seem to care! Either way we choose to resolve this issue, it ends tonight!"

Bruce's words felt like shrapnel exploding inside Jack's heart, his gaze growing pained as he found himself nearly going out of character. He wanted to scream "I do love her, I do!", but instead he threw back his head in a delighted laugh. "Ah, such passionate words for a winged rodent! Tell me, Batsy, do you re-hearse lines like that in front of a mirror? 'Cause I can tell you've been practiciiiing!" Giggling, he added, "Too bad for Rachel that you worried more about your own theatrics than saving her life, eh?"

Finally unable to take it, Bruce's fist connected harshly with the side of Jack's face, the clown prince hurtling backwards until his back collided with a beam from the building. Momentarily winded, Jack couldn't help but grin as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Now that's more like it, Batbreath! Why don't you hit me again, hmm? Hit me for all the times I thrusted into Rachel's warm, scuh-reaming body!"

Bruce lunged forward again, but this time Jack rolled out of the way and grabbed a crowbar. Thankful that they were fighting at a construction site, he paused momentarily to spit out a mouthful of blood before turning back toward his adversary. "Baaaaatter up!" he called, giggling as he lunged forward and smacked the crowbar across Bruce's chest.

Grunting, Bruce skidded backwards and fell onto a tarp, his arm quickly moving to block the blows from the crowbar as Jack began striking him at a maddening pace. Bruce was confused by the sudden aggression, but had he looked more closely, he would've seen tears in the clown prince's eyes -- tears of frustration since he couldn't get Batman to break his one rule.

Just as Jack moved to strike Bruce for the umpteenth time, he found himself suddenly airborne as he was kicked a good three feet away. Landing with an unceremonious 'oof!', Jack looked up at his adversary while inwardly pleading, 'C'mon, c'mon, I know you can do it, Batsy...just kill me!'

Bruce, however, was suddenly determined not to kill him. Even though he desperately wanted to maim Jack until he screamed for mercy, he knew that his vow to Rachel was far more important than his own feelings. Despite the fact that Bruce felt as though Jack no longer deserved to live, he knew it wasn't his decision to make.

When Bruce moved to help Jack to his feet, the blonde suddenly lunged forward and stabbed Bruce in the chest. Stunned, Bruce acted on his first impulse and struck Jack soundly in the gut, the clown prince giving a yelp as he staggered back toward the edge of the building. Panicking, Bruce whipped out his grappling gun and shot it towards Jack's teetering form, but amidst his haste, he miscalculated the shot and hooked nothing but air.

"Jack!"

Racing forward, Bruce moved to catch the clown prince just as he toppled over the edge, Bruce gazing at his empty fist in disbelief when he realized that he hadn't caught him. He'd let Jack slip. As he helplessly gazed down after the falling clown prince, he was stunned to see Jack wearing the most peaceful smile he'd ever seen.

--

Groaning, Jack slowly opened his eyes as the sound of rolling thunder greeted his senses, his blurred gaze resting upon a calm, blue sky and grey, gentle waves as he suddenly heard a light giggle.

"No, Penny, don't put sand on his head!"

Jolting to attention at the sound of that voice, Jack's gaze finally focused as a familiar face came into view. "Rachel?" he croaked, his heart swelling at the sight of her laughing blue eyes.

Giving him an amused look, Rachel smirked while teasing, "Well gee, did you forget who I am, already? Of course it's me!"

"And Penny...?"

"Yeah, she's right here beside me" she acknowledged, ruffling the girl's soft, butter blonde hair.

Feeling himself choke with emotion, Jack tried to lunge forward and embrace them both, but instead found that he couldn't move an inch. "Uhh, a little help here?" he urged, indicating his sand-entrapped body.

With a self-satisfied grin on her face, Rachel leaned over him while smugly purring, "Hmm, maybe later...we did work pretty hard on getting you in there, after all."

"It was my idea!" Penny spoke up, grinning broadly as she crawled over to her brother. "Would you like some mud pies in case you get hungry?"

Jack chuckled. "I'm on a diet, angel, so no mud pies for me. I would, however, like to take a nice walk with my two beautiful girls, but in order to do that, you're going to have to let me out of here."

"Clever" Rachel praised, smiling as she stroked his sand-encrusted cheek. "Are you sure you want out? Once we take that walk, there's no going back."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, suddenly a little fearful.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time" Penny softly explained, her eyes almost appearing sad. "If you come with us now, we can finally go to the place we're supposed to be."

Jack balked in astonishment. "You mean...we're actually...?"

Rachel nodded before kissing his cheek. "Come on, Penny, let's help him out of this."

"Ok!"

Blithely assisting Rachel in unearthing her brother from the sand, Penny squealed when Jack suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and tackled her to the ground. Holding her in a headlock, Jack grinned while exclaiming, "And this is for not helping your big brother!", Penny shrieking with laughter as he gave her a semi-gentle noogie.

Giggling, Rachel moved to intervene when she suddenly felt a hand come around her ankle, a gasp escaping her throat as Jack pulled her down into the sand beside them. "Jack, you are so dead!" she snapped.

"Dead? Well yeah, I guess I am" he agreed, chuckling as he pressed his forehead to hers. Before he could give her a kiss, however, Penny launched herself onto Jack's back with a squeal of laughter.

Trying to fight off her giggles because of the pained look on Jack's face, Rachel finally broke into full-blown laughter when Penny wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and squeezed.

Finally managing to laugh as well, Jack hefted Penny up onto his shoulders before holding his hand out to Rachel. Smiling warmly when she accepted, he helped her to her feet and gave her hand a tight squeeze. "I really missed you" he mumbled, his unyielding gaze never leaving hers.

Smiling back at him fondly, Rachel gently reassured him, "I really missed you, too", her thumb brushing across the top of his hand as they started walking. Moving closer to his strong form, she softly added, "Now that you're here, we can finally be together forever."

Jack grinned. "Hmm, sounds like Heaven to me...aside from the fact that that also means an eternity of your snoring."

"Jack!"

Chuckling, Jack easily evaded Rachel's slap as Penny shrieked with laughter, the trio giggling and shoving one another as they gradually disappeared into the shadows of the horizon.

A/N - Wow...sorry if that sucked, but this took me forever and a year as it is, so I just winged it. lol And I didn't want to say they were Heaven since I want it to be up to your interpretation. The beach was like "limbo", though, so you can decide where they went after that. Anywhos, hope you enjoyed this story, and if you want to read something "new" (as if you haven't seen ENOUGH of me, haha), I've got a Secretary/Dark Knight crossover out there called "Ink and Bandaids", and it's a whole lot of fun so far. It's also a completely different tone from this, so if you're sick of "unhappy" crap, you might wanna check it out for some "happy" crap. :P I'se so eloquents! lol