Live or Die

Chapter 57

Joker's POV

He returned to the penthouse late that night. That bastard Mason had just needed a bit of intimidation and then he finally had decided it would be wiser to give the Joker his money back. As soon as he transferred the millions of dollars, J had killed the man off. That was the reason why his shirt was blood stained after he closed the front door and entered the hallway.

J quickly took off his shirt and left it on the ground, totally forgotten. Then he walked over to the bathroom, taking a shower to wash the rest of the blood off. After he was done, he pulled his Arkham sweatpants on and left the bathroom. J stopped in his tracks in front of the bedroom and carefully peeked inside. His girlfriend seemed to be fast asleep so J slowly closed the door again, walking over to the nursery instead.

The door to Maisie's room was always a bit open. J carefully pushed it open and entered, getting closer to her crib. He looked down at his daughter and to his surprise he realized that she wasn't asleep. Maisie met his gaze and looked up at him. A smile formed on her small lips as she recognized him. She stretched her arms out for her father and J took her into his arms. "Hey, Pumpkin," he purred, sitting down on the armchair beside her crib. "Why are you not asleep, huh?"

Maisie nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck while J kissed her forehead. "You know, I'm still not happy about you saying Mummy first," he told her as he rubbed her back gently. "I always thought I'd be your favorite."

His daughter spit her pacifier out. "Mummy," she muttered and J let out a sigh. "Yeah, but I'm not Mummy," he said and looked at her. "Cmon, Pumpkin. Do me a favor and say Daddy. I know you can do it."

Maisie looked back at him curiously. She touched his face and started to laugh when she saw his silver teeth. J smiled at her before he got serious again. "I'm not kidding, princess. Say Daddy, please. Say it, say it, say it."

The little one giggled and J got frustrated. "Cmon, it's not that hard, Pumpkin. Just repeat my words, alright? D-a-d-d-y."

"Da—", she began, still smiling at him.

"That's right, go one," J encouraged her.

"Mummy!," she said, clapping her hands.

He rolled his eyes and made her sit on his lap, looking intensely into her blue orbs. "It's Daddy, princess. You're a smart girl. You should pick that up," he said but Maisie suddenly yawned. J raised his hairless eyebrows. "Oh no, you won't go back to bed until you said Daddy, Pumpkin."

Maisie rubbed her eyes. "Da—"

"Daddy," J said clearly.

His daughter pointed at his chest. "Daddy."

A smile broke out on J's face. He got up from his seat and twirled Maisie into the air, making her laugh again. "You did it! That was great, princess," he smiled and kissed her cheek. She smiled back at him until a yawn escaped her lips again. "Alright, let's put you back to sleep."

J placed his daughter in her crib, put her pacifier back into her mouth and covered her with a small blanket. "Sweet dreams, Pumpkin," he said quietly and Maisie closed her eyes, mumbling "Daddy" again before she dozed off.

J returned to his own bed, scooting closer to his girlfriend who suddenly rolled on her other side, facing him. Her eyes were open and he looked back at her. "Happy now?," she asked and smiled at him. J gave her a confused look and Sienna chuckled. "I heard you through the baby phone," she explained.

He grinned at her proudly. "She's a genius, just like me."

Sienna placed her hand on his chest. Good night, you genius," she muttered and closed her eyes again, resting her head on his shoulder. J wrapped his left arm around her, mindlessly running his fingers down her back. Then he also closed his eyes, falling asleep just a few minutes later.