She looked up at the alarm that had gone off and left the report files she was viewing about the missing people over that month. Something terrible had happened as she saw a squad line up shortly after.

Having a guess at an explosion in the city square or some such public place, Barbara too left her cubicle, coming out to find either Richard or her father from who she could ask what exactly was going on.

She spotted Jim Gordon soon enough and his face was drained of color indicating that whatever calamity had struck was more than just alarming. Probably worse than a mere explosion.

"Dad, what happened?"

"The Joker has broken out of Arkham," Jim spoke up in a low voice, as if unsure of saying it out loud either, "and not just today but it has been a month since he has been out in the open. He left a decoy in his place."

The words rang in her head and she could only focus on the fact that the Joker had been free for a whole month and that was roughly the same time when all those sinister disappearances started.

"And where are you sending this squad right now?" She asked watching the cops that were ready to leave the building and though Richard wasn't with them, she knew he would be joining the team at the given location by himself.

Commissioner Gordon shook his head, worry dripping from each feature of his, "Joker left an exhibit in the sewers. Batman had been the first to check it out and now I am sending this squad for clearing up."

An exhibit could only mean a spectacle of corpses littered to gain Batman's attention. That was kind of Joker's thing, he loved making a huge spectacle each time he was out of Arkham.

And every time it happened, things went horribly wrong for all of them, putting many innocent lives at stake and threatening each citizen's safety drastically. Deep down, even Barbara didn't get why Batman hadn't put an end to the Joker once and for all. He could not be detained in Arkham, he caused havoc and murders in his wake and yet still he was alive just because Batman had a no-killing rule.

All of it at the time being seemed completely absurd.

"I am going along with them," she spoke decisively, "I have a few things I need to clarify and that can't be done if I don't go and see for myself."

His worried face turned towards her going even paler, "but Barbara, that's not your line of work... It can be dangerous."

"I know. I suspected something like this would happen. That's why me and Richard had asked you to reopen the missing people reports," she elaborated, "all those people started vanishing within this month and I have a feeling it's connected to Joker's escapade."

Jim nodded realizing that she was right, "fine. Richard is already there, he will tell you about it in detail. After that go straight home, I don't think I will be coming back tonight though."

"Yeah I'll manage," she went back to her cubicle, quickly packing up and then joined the squad on their way out. There were a lot of questions whirling in her head and the answer lay only in the sewers where the Joker had left his first exhibit.

But Barbara had a dreadful feeling gnawing at her heart because deep down she knew that exhibit would be just the beginning and it wasn't going to be the last they would see of Joker's insanity.

For as long as the maniac lived, he was only going to cause death and destruction.

***

The door opened and she buried herself in Neal's embrace, eyes falling shut out of fatigue. Concern flickered on his face as he wrapped one arm around her and then closed the door, bringing her in.

"Barbara, are you alright?" He asked when she didn't let go of him.

"No..."

She had just returned from the place where Joker had put up his first performance, a cluster of dead people seated on chairs as if listening to a stand-up show, permanent grins carved into their faces.

The whole place had stunk of a disgusting stench of death and horror. Such that even though Barbara had left the place soon afterward, the feeling of dread still lingered, marked prominently on her features and especially in her wide green eyes.

He held her close, his fingers running through her hair reassuringly, "what happened?"

She did not reply so he made her sit down on the mattress then went to fetch a glass of water for her. When he returned she was still sitting there with a haunted look on her face and her eyes were dim from exhaustion. 

He sat down beside her, gently making her drink from the glass. "Sweetheart, you're making me very worried for you right now."

"I'm fine," she replied at last, looking at him, "but I don't know for how long... The Joker's broken out of Arkham again."

"Oh."

"And he is up to something dangerous... I am worried that maybe we've gotten too late and we won't be able to stop whatever he's planning to do. Too many people are at stake and I have a very bad feeling about it."

He listened attentively to her and when she took a pause, he spoke up, "and you came here because...?"

"Because all of it is getting too much to handle right now," she confessed honestly, "and I didn't know what to do."

He nodded, understanding the situation and held her close in a comforting gesture, "do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm afraid I can't say anything more, it's confidential information."

"I understand," he interlaced her fingers through his own, "do you want to perhaps forget about it for the time being?"

She was silent for a while pondering on his offer, "perhaps."

"Then I'll make sure not to disappoint," he remarked, giving her a reassuring smile, "I can see that this case is very important to you and you are worried. But if you keep on stressing about it, it will affect your health and that may restrict you to pay due attention to your work eventually."

She nodded, "yeah. I... I think so too."

"Now as long as you're here with me, I want you to forget that any such thing was troubling you, okay? Just let go of it for now," he spoke in a soft tone that calmed her down eventually, his hands gently caressing the soft skin of her cheeks. 

He leaned closer and captured her lips with his own in a sweet lingering kiss, watching as her eyes fluttered shut and she dissolved in the moment, eventually letting go of all the fears that were preying on her mind.

Deep down, Barbara knew she had come to him because she indeed wanted to take a break and so far the only person who could completely distract her from her rather risky life was Neal Hastings himself.

***