It's Just Another Night.

"Easy love. Stay still. You ain't out of the woods yet.."

Her voice is gentle as she whispers to sooth him, the only illumination coming from the occasional flash of lightning outside the window. The storm had woken him from his deep slumber.

Joker had no idea where he was, or how long he'd slept. He wasn't sure he was truly awake. The last clear thing he remembered was..That. He felt light and not all there, as if his mind were adrift on open waters. Like he'd float away from reality at any moment.

An intense pain began to pulse from his shoulder, vying desperately for his undivided attention now that he was awake to notice it. The bone-deep ache of the wound left him gasping for breath with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

He winced and went stiff- and then he felt a warm hand on his cheek, gently turning his face towards its owner.  A moment later, another forehead rested against his own. Mally.

"Breathe, love. Just breathe." She urged, stroking his cheek with her thumb, trying to distract him from the pain of his wound and the infection. Her other hand grasped his remaining one firmly. They laid there for several minutes without much progress, although never once did Joker cry out, biting the sound back every time it tried to escape his throat.

Mally pressed a few gentle kisses to his face as the minutes passed, and eventually his silent sobs calmed into quiet hiccups.

"That's it. Just like that. Nearly there.." Joker's hand gripped Mally's briefly with a sudden ferocity before going slack once more. Slowly, his breathing began to mirror her own; shuddering, quick gasps being traded for deep, slow pulls of air.

"There we are."

"M-Mally..where-?" He managed, before he had to stop and regain his composure, hissing through gritted teeth at the icy stab of his shoulder. Mally wiped the tears from his cheeks with her thumbs and let her hands linger on his face a moment until she felt him relax against the mattress once more.

"Shh..we're safe. That's all that matters. All you should worry about is gettin' some rest. You've been very ill, and heaven knows you need it."

Joker's eyelids began to grow heavy, having depleted what little energy he had. The pain was beginning to fade to a dull numbness and Mally's words flittered through his ears as if through a thick fog. His utter exhaustion was evident. Beast-..Mally, wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close while being careful of his injuries, and he felt safer for it. Her breath is warm against his neck.

Finally, he allows his eyes to slip shut, confident that he can let himself be at ease, lying in her arms. He's nearly asleep when he hears her whisper in his ear once more.

"Sleep, Joker. I'll be here when you wake."

With her words, his breathing steadies and slows, and sleep captures him once again. Mally watches him a while longer, a similar vigil to the one she kept after they'd found him in the wreckage of Father's mansion. The storm has settled into a lazy drizzle, as if it too has grown drowsy.

Doll continues to sleep undisturbed on Joker's opposite side, having missed their entire exchange. After a while, content with his serene expression, Mally lets herself succumb to her own fatigue, settling against the man she cares for so dearly. His heartbeat against her ear is almost like a lullaby, and soon, all three survivors of The Noah's Arc Circus are enjoying a peaceful night's rest.