He walked away to protect her from what he thought he might become, but when these former lovers cross paths again, will he be so noble twice?

Long before she wears greasepaint and he puts on sackcloth, the lives of Harleen Quinzel and Jonathan Crane overlap at Gotham University. There, they play the roles of student and teacher...among other things.

Before he was Scarecrow, he was merely seventeen year old Jonathan Crane. Meet the broken boy before the mask and the girl who could not change his fate.

Shannon Marks has lived a very traumatic life. After her mother was killed, she suffered from extreme xenophobia and claustrophobia. School was a nightmare with only one redeeming quality- Jonathan Crane. However, the day the genius of her dreams noticed her became her second worse day after her longest lasting foster father was killed, along with many others, by Victor Zsasz. Shannon herself was almost killed, but instead ended up with a forever lame leg and a new life. One as Shannon Gordon. Sadly for Shannon, homeschool does not last forever, and to become a psychologist, she has to attend Gotham University. It's not all that bad, though. Especially not when a familiar face shows up in the classroom... And then again when she gets a job at Arkham Asylum. But when Zsasz escapes once more, intent on finding out if his unfinished victim actually died, will Shannon be able to stay with Jonathan? Will her fears start ruling her life once more? Will she even live?... Or will the one without fear come to her rescue?