"Good morning!" Harleen said cheerfully as she entered the therapy room and took her seat in front of the Joker. "How are you doing today?" She said, her smile slightly disappearing as she looked at him sitting there chained and in his straight jacket. "Ah, the doctor lady!" He said with a smile. She could see how his entire body wanted to move in order to express himself properly. it was a shame, he was such a lively spirit, yet he was confined to just sitting there. it couldn't be good for his health. She bit her lip "Does it hurt?" she nodded towards the jacket. "Constantly! Agonizing pain!" He replied. "Oh wait, you are talking about my nice coat? I though you meant being this handsome and charming!" he said laughing. Harleen covered her giggles with her hand, but as they died out a serious expression returned to her face "But, really... I don't want you to be in pain." The Joker tilted his head. "Aaaw, aren't you sweet?" He said. "Nothing wrong with a little pain, though. You get used to it... After a while." His smile faded. "You see, being a guy like me, living in a world full of... Goodness me! Where are my manners? How are you doing? " He quickly added: "Pardon me if I don't get up." He giggled. She smiled at him "I'm doing fine, I guess, thank you." She said looking at him, moving a little closer. She didn't like seeing him like this. She didn't like him restrained, it wasn't right. Sure, she understood why he was, but it wasn't like he was going to be able to do that much damage if she just loosened his jacket, was it?
"Can I trust you?" she asked in a serious tone. "Pffff!" He said in disbelief. Obviously not a question he got a lot."Well, that... I... What do you have in mind?" He asked, composing himself a little. "Can I?" she insisted. She wasn't going to tell him before he'd given her an answer. She needed to know before she did anything... It was the smartest thing to do, right?
"Weeell, suuure. Yes. Sure you can. Yeah." He said and nodded slowly, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Harleen smiled at him. "Thank you" she said and got up, she walk towards him and bend down as got there, her hands sliding behind his back to undo his straight jacket. Her body was a little tense as she did so, she could feel his warmth through the thick fabric. The moment the straps holding his arms in place were undone, he tore his arms out to the sides, almost a little aggressively. "Free! Free at last!" He shouted and laughed maniacally. Harleen tried to shush him up, so the guards wouldn't know what she did. The Joker just made himself comfortable, laying back and placing his hands behind his head. "Much better." He said in a hoarse, mock whisper. Harleen giggled a little and sat back down in her armchair.
"Don't tell anyone." she said with a smile "They'd pull me off your case... if not fire me... if they knew." She said a little worried. She knew it was wrong and against the rules, but she just couldn't stand watching him so held back anymore. "Well, my dear doctor, my lips are sealed!" He moved his fingers across his lips, zipping them, he then turned his hand, as to lock his mouth shut, removed the invisible key and threw it into his open mouth. This made Harleen laugh. It was nice to see him move about. It was nice to see the way he moved.
"So," she breathed in and smiled "How have you been since our last session? Have you been sleeping okay?" She asked noticing the slightly tired look on his face. "Heh, have I been...? You sure aren't like the other doctors, now, are you? You care this much about the other freaks you work with?" The last part sounded a little... What, jealous?
She tilted her head "I only ask because I worry about you... we're... friends, right?" She didn't really want to admit it, but she did sort of consider the Joker her friend now.
"Well sure!" The Joker said, sounding almost sincere. "Well, I had this dream... Again. I'm being chased. I'm always being chased! A Big, black shadow always after me, no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try!" The Joker got more and more aggravated, going so far as to stand up and wave his arms around, when he spoke the last part. Harleen frowned, it was clear he was talking about Batman. It wasn't right, the way he treated her patients.
"Sounds terrible." She said in a low empathetic voice. "You have no idea what it's like!" He continued. "Always having someone after you, judging you. Never feeling like what you do is good enough. No matter how hard you try..." The Joker calmed down and slumped back down onto the sofa with a depressed expression on his face.
"My mother does that to me." She blurted out without thinking, her gaze on the floor. "Oh?" The Joker said in an empathetic voice, hiding a smirk. "Tell me about it Doc." He leaned towards her, expectantly. She looked up at him, debating whether or not she should. Sure she felt close enough to him to trust him with it, but this wasn't really what she was paid to do.
"I just... Nothing I've ever done has ever been good enough for her. I used to be a gymnast, back in high school, I was pretty good at it and, well, I did win some medals... but if it wasn't gold it didn't really matter to her. Silver is just a fancy way of losing, I guess... I even became a doctor to make her proud. It's supposed to be all glamorous," she sighed deeply "But it's still not enough for her, she thinks I'm wasting my time here and that I don't get paid enough. My apartment is too small and I don't live in the right neighbourhood and I'm still unmarried. I don't know, I guess she'll never really be truly happy with the way I turned out." She finished with a sad smile and a shrug. The Joker tilted his head. "I'm sorry to hear that. You are aware that there is nothing wrong with you, right? It's all her. I honestly think you're doing great!" He said, with the closest thing Harleen had seen to a warm smile. Something inside her fluttered, maybe it was what he said, maybe it was how good he looked with a real smile, either way she smiled brightly at him. "You really think so?" she asked happily. "Why, yes!" He said with an intense glow in his eyes. He moved a little closer to her as he spoke. "I haven't met a single doctor who has been anywhere close to what you are! And I have seen my share of doctors." He said with a laugh. Harleen felt the warmth rising in her cheeks as she blushed.
"You are a very special young woman, and any man would be lucky to even talk to you!" He said. Harleen hadn't really noticed, but they had both moved closer to each other as the Joker spoke, and were now only a few inches away from each other. "Maybe I haven't known you for long, but I do know you very well, and I know that you can accomplice great things, if you just find the right person to... push you." He reached out and took her hand.