Thank you to iwishtheskywasgreen, The Burlesque Mistress 92, gaarasgrl19, gymnstgrl, RosalieRowen, Franlucylucci and PromiseMeCourage for reviewing! *throws a big ol' party for you guys with copious amounts of cake* :D

Last chapter here, peeps... I felt really sad writing it, as it is a little depressing :'(

Just to let you know the last part has kind of a flash forward into the future to set up the sequel... :O

Last two songs (both VERY different, but they kind of fit for J + G) 'Coming Undone' by Korn, and 'By Your Side' by Sade. Yes, my tastes are wide ranging LOL! Links are on my profile like always :D

Disclaimer: Er, sorry...my dog ate my disclaimer?

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Chapter 28

Jack sat at the table, and watched Georgiana as she slept soundly on his bed. His shoulders were slumped forwards, making his upper torso slouch over the table. He shuffled his deck of playing cards briskly in his hands, the sound of the cards rapping against each other filtered through the room sharply. The monster was still incessantly whispering insidious words to Jack; all the while, his sad eyes surveyed Georgiana as it continued to lull and seduce him.

Also, he now resembled a monster. When he had woken up this morning, his face had been faintly paralysed from the sheer pain of what he had done to himself. Jack had stumbled out of bed and trawled through his first aid kit for painkillers to try and dull the throbbing soreness that plagued his face. When he had reached the bathroom and finally looked up in the mirror, a macabre giggle had inexplicably burst out from his mouth. The bags under his eyes stretched a little as he raised his eyebrows, turning his face this way and that way so that he could take in the full extent of his excessive wounds. Not so pretty anymore, huh Jack?

Georgiana stirred and Jack abruptly came out of his thoughts and found himself staring at her again. He wanted desperately to touch her, but his whole being was numb, and it wasn't because of the painkillers he had taken. It's funny how the exterior now reflects the interior, hey Jack? The monster inside gloated at him. A regular child of sorrow.

Georgiana's eyes gradually fluttered open and she caught Jack staring at her. She lifted her head quickly, not realising she was staring hard at him. Jack lowered his head, but kept his eyes locked on hers as Georgiana's brain slowly awoke from her slumber. His wolfish demeanour did not alert her to the potential danger he was trying to control within himself.

A tear dropped from her green eye, and Jack snorted his obvious contempt. She looked at him with abject confusion, to which he leant back in his chair and shrugged slightly. "Didn't happen to you." he murmured, as he looked sullenly down at the floor.

She scrambled up from the bed and stood shakily, her face riddled with hurt and despair. "You're right, it didn't! But what did happen to you, Jack? One minute you're fine, the next I find you like –" Georgiana was cut off brusquely by Jack barking at her.

"LIKE what? Hmm?" he rose up from his seat, with a look so devastating, she had never seen it in his eyes before. "Why are you even still here?" He growled.

Georgiana was genuinely flabbergasted, "What...the fuck? You think I would leave you because of this?" She walked up to him and whispered harshly, "you know me better than that..." She saw a flicker of the familiar devotion in his eyes, but that warmth was rapidly covered with a cold glaze.

"You don't understand...what has happened here." He lowered his head so his nose was inches away from hers, "My true self came to me last night..." He squeezed his eyes shut, and raised his hands to his head as though he was suffering from an intense migraine. Jack staggered away from her, into the kitchen area and randomly thumped his fist onto the counter making Georgiana flinch. However, she wasn't so easily put off.

She stormed over to him and grabbed his forearm roughly; he raised it slightly trying to pull away from her, but she still held on. Inwardly, Jack was scared shitless in case he should lash out and hurt her – he felt so completely unpredictable. He settled on giving her a vicious look to try and ward her off, but she carried on regardless, "Fight it, Jack. Just fight it." She stared deep into his dark eyes, her green ones flashing with her love and fighting spirit, "We can fight it, together! " He tore his arm away and roared into her face with such violence, it made Georgiana shrivel up inside.

"THERE IS NO 'TOGETHER'! I destroyed everything! You almost died, our baby DID DIE!" His eyes were bleak and wild as his voice took on a creepy tone, "I was moulded for chaos and unhappiness. That's what I'm for. It's part of the natural order." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Jack, please...did you take some of the poisoned wine by accident?" Georgiana was desperately trying her hardest to understand her lover's state of mind, but Jack just howled with laughter at her suggestion.

"No, I just..." He wheezed out his laughter like the joke was just too funny, "...got to know the real me." He giggled at her. However, he stopped suddenly as he witnessed the tears that were now streaming down her face. His features slumped sadly and Jack felt a weight tug his heart down; he reached out his fingers to touch her beautiful face, but something stopped him and he slowly curled his fingers back into the palm of his hand.

A sharp pain stabbed him in the head, and he grunted loudly. Georgiana attempted to comfort him, but he brushed her off. "Jack, we should go and see Doc...maybe he can help you?"

Out of the blue, he quickly gripped her by the arms, and held her tightly. Georgiana felt a sudden panic rise in her chest at this unexpected action, but she kept her voice firm and even as she spoke. "I trust you. I trust you not to hurt me." Jack was shaking and trembling, but he still held onto her for dear life. He almost looked possessed to Georgiana, as though he were fighting with some unknown force for dominance over his body. His face contorted as much as it could with his stitches, as he stared down at her, so many unreadable emotions flashed across his face. When he finally spoke, it seemed like he was having trouble getting the words out of his mouth, "You...need to leave...please...I may...hurt...you." A single tear slid from his eye, but his face and body were still shaky, "I would die...rather...than...hurt...you..."

He abruptly let go of her and ran into the bathroom, where he slammed the door shut. Georgiana could hear clattering and banging, and Jack doing God only knows what in there. Georgiana stood on the other side alone, stunned into submission. She looked down at her own trembling hands, "I think you may have broken my heart, Jack." She whispered quietly to herself.

A surge of denial swept over her and she started to scream at the top of her lungs. "No, no, no, no! I won't leave you!" Georgiana ran over to the bathroom door and started hammering on it relentlessly. "Do you hear me Jack? I will never give up on you! And I know you won't give up on me either! Stop lying to yourself!"

The bathroom door swung open and Jack leapt out at Georgiana. He roughly forced a cloth over her face that reeked of some sort of chemical or spirit. Jack held onto her as she tried fiercely to escape his grip, and waited patiently for her to slip into unconsciousness. Slowly her movements began to get less and less as the chloroform took effect, until she was finally out cold. Jack lay her gently down on the ground, throwing the cloth over his shoulder and knelt down beside her.

Jack felt for his switchblade in his right trouser pocket. He pulled it carefully out as he tried to keep his shaking to a minimum. His left hand went to caress her lovely white throat, and gradually slid round to the back to touch the nape of her neck. Jack brought his blade downwards, while his other hand emerged from the back of her neck with a coppery tendril of her soft hair. His blade sliced through her hair, the sound of it being cut would be a sound he would never erase from his mind, however hard he would try. Jack wound the lock into a circle, and placed it tenderly into his shirt pocket. He looked down at Georgiana with a heavy heart, "You'll thank me in the end...I just..."he stroked her cheek, "...look if you need me..." He wavered and removed his hand from her face, and looked longingly down at her.

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"Hey Georgie, how are you feeling?" A warm voice guided Georgiana back to consciousness as she came round.

"Charlotte? Is that you? Where...where am I?" Georgiana was starting to get annoyed at how often she woke up in strange places.

"Shhhh, Georgie. You're at my house, safe and sound." Her lovely friend wrung out a pale lavender washcloth in a bowl of water, and placed the cooling fabric on Georgiana's forehead.

"How did I get here? I don't remember how..." Georgiana's head was spinning as the fragments of the argument with Jack burst into her mind.

Charlotte looked slightly vague, "Well, I'm not too sure about the logistics...but yesterday, I was about to step out at lunch, and there you were...bundled in a blanket on the front porch."

Georgiana looked blankly at her friend, but she snapped herself out of it, "Thank you...for looking after me. I'm sorry I've been such a...shitty...friend." But Charlotte merely looked at her like she was crazy.

"I wasn't the one that was locked up by her douchebag of a dad in Arkham!" Charlotte shook her head sadly, "Karma's a funny thing..."

Georgiana glanced at her friend, "Why do you say that?"

"Because Hugo Quinn has been committed..." Charlotte removed the cloth from Georgiana's forehead and rinsed it again, "Apparently he went schizo and shot a cop at point blank range in his home." Georgiana hoisted herself onto her elbows, and raised her eyebrows. "Good. Let's see how he likes it in there."

Charlotte jumped slightly as though she had remembered something, "Ah, I found this in your blankets...I don't know what it means?" Charlotte handed the over the object to Georgiana. She took it delicately in her fingertips and twirled it round...it was a playing card, a Joker to be exact. "Me neither..." Georgiana muttered and traced the knave's face that smiled enigmatically up at her.

Charlotte had left Georgiana to get herself dressed. Charlotte had kindly lent her some clothes for the time being, and assured Georgiana that she could stay at her home for as long as she wanted. She was astounded by the goodness of Charlotte, the pure generosity of her actions made Georgiana feel magnificently inferior to her remarkably forgiving friend. But she couldn't help but selfishly let her mind wander back to Jack. Her soul had been torn in two by his horrific words...she couldn't believe that he had discarded her, thrown her away like garbage But, Georgiana still craved him, and if she were honest with herself, she probably would never stop craving him. And she had a niggling thought that sat at the back of her mind that told her that he felt the same. This however did not stop her from feeling utterly devastated...and furious. Georgiana flumped down onto the edge of the bed and cradled her head in her hands. Her stubborn streak started to shine through as she thought to herself, I meant what I said, Jack. I'll never give up on you...but I fucking hate what you've done. She knew deep down inside, that their last moment together in his tiny flat in the Narrows...would not be their last. Not by a long shot.

Georgiana squeezed back a tear, as she finished getting ready and made her way downstairs to join Charlotte, and the next phase of her life that awaited her.

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~5 years later~

She had finally sold Quinn Hall, to none other than Bruce Wayne himself. She had watched him carefully as he sauntered around the beautiful rooms, taking in the subtle grandeur of the decoration.

"Why would you want to sell your family home, Miss Quinn." Bruce asked her politely. "It's your history."

She arched an elegant eyebrow as she gave her answer, "Well, Mr. Wayne...it is a little too large for one, don't you think."

Bruce laughed warmly, and Gotham's most prized bachelor regarded her with a new admiration. At 25, he was only a few years older than her, but Georgiana had oddly always thought he was younger . She had also thought he was a complete asshole when they had met at parties... but when you got the guy on his own...he's got some hidden depths, that's for sure. Georgiana thought to herself.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Bruce." She shook his hand, and they turned to walk out of his new property together. As they strolled to their respective cars; his - a sleek, silver Lamborghini, and hers -a dark blue e-type Jaguar convertible, Bruce casually asked her how her new job was going.

"It's going pretty well actually; the Gotham Herald is a great place to start out as a journalist. Getting stuck into all those hard hitting stories about...animal fashion parades, z-list celebrities opening up brand new 7-elevens..."

"You have just started there, Georgiana..." he drily remarked.

"Oh I know, I know..." She waved her hand in the air, "but my God, if they don't put me on something big SOON, I'm going to go crazy!" She cried out. Bruce glanced over at the beautiful, red headed woman that walked beside him so confidently. "I can't attend another creepy cat fashion show..."

"I'm sure you'll get a big story soon enough." He laughed, and added smoothly, "Did you, uh, want to go and get a bite to eat somewhere?"

Georgiana looked at him, and put her hand to her chest and said, "Mr. Wayne...I must think of my reputation!" He smiled at her, and it reached his grey eyes, "Another time perhaps, though." She said sincerely.

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Author's note: Yeeesss Georgiana's a journalist when she's older! :D but don't worry, I'll go in to her life in more detail...soon :P