Daddy's Girl

Chapter Twelve

Third Person

The Joker was sitting in the kitchen when he heard the first whimper. He figured that he must just me hearing things, so he continued to work on the plan he had been drawing out. The single whimper soon turned to heart wrenching screams and sobs, causing him to sprint to his daughters side. Ace was thrashing around violently on the couch, as if she were struggling to fight back against someone. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she had small beads of sweat on her forehead. She was having a night terror. The Joker kneeled down beside her, restraining her arms. "Ace! Baby, calm down please. Wake up!" He began to shake her in an attempt to wake her. Her eyes shoot open as she sits up quickly. She starts backing away as far from her father as she can. "Please, get away from me! Stay away!" The hurt on the Joker's face was evident, but Ace didn't register it in her blinded state. Once she couldn't scoot back any farther, J reached out to touch her shoulder lightly. She flinched heavily and whispered, "Please don't hurt me." This broke her father's heart. "Ace? I'm not going to hurt you. It's me. I'm here. Please look at me." Obeying his command, Ace meets his icy blue eyes. Something about those eyes made something click inside Ace and she realized what she had done. She leaped forward into her father's arms, letting the remaining tears flow freely down her face. J simply pulled her close and rocked her softly, just as he had done when she was an infant. Soon, her tears stopped and J picked her up. "Where are we going?" she asked lightly as she buried her face in his neck. "You're going to stay with me tonight, okay?" Ace nodded quickly to acknowledge her understanding. They soon reached his bedroom. He set her down softly on the bed as he left to go change into more comfortable clothing. He returned quickly and laid down next to his daughter. He debated on whether or not he should put his arm around her. That action had once seemed so simple but was now much more risky and complicated. As he contemplated, Ace slid under his arm and rested her head on his chest. J smiled lightly as he pulled her close, protecting his baby girl. "You know Ace, I really thought I lost you. I thought I lost my baby girl. I hate that. I hate that so much. After everything happened with your mom, you were all I had left that kept me sane. I had to take care of you alone. And that terrified me, Ace. Such a beautiful, fragile creature, in the hands of a monster. But I promised myself that you would always be safe with me. That you would never hurt again like you had been because of you mother. I wanted to be your savior. I'm just so sorry that I couldn't protect you Ace. I've failed as a father." Ace pushed herself into a sitting position so that she could look at her dad. "Daddy, I just want to say that I think you're really, really wrong. You are my savior. You've saved me from real danger twice in my life. That's more than I can ever thank you for. You're the best father I could want or hope for and I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have you to love me and take care of me." The Joker grinned and placed his hand lightly on Ace's thigh, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles. "I love you so much babydoll. Ill do everything I can to keep you safe. Ill try harder, I promise." Ace giggled lightly, looking down. "Thank you Daddy. I love you too." Ace laid back down in his arms. As the comfortable silence fell over the room, Ace lightly added, "And for the record, I don't think you're a monster at all."

That brought a tear to the Joker's eye and a grin to his lips.