Over the next few sessions with Harleen, Joker slowly allowed her into his twisted mind. The woman was genuinely interested and impressed by his quick transformation from distrusting and unwilling to answer any of her questions, to one of the most honest patients she'd worked with. Currently, the pair were situated in Harleen's personal office, with the clown reclined on the couch, and her sitting on the end of the chaise lounge next to him.

"Can we talk a little more about your childhood, Mr. J?"

"Whatta ya wanna know, doc?"

"Well, how was your relationship with your parents?"

Joker burst into hysteric, high-pitched laughter and clasped his hands together over his stomach. Lifting an eyebrow, Harleen simply watched him, wondering what had caused the sudden outburst. Seeing the look on her face, he wrangled the laughter back under his control.

"Oh, oh you're serious, aren't you?"

"Ah, yes, I am."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself a little more from his laughing fit, he looked over at her.

"I didn't have much of relationship with them."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"My mother wasn't around, and my father beat the shit out of me every chance he got."

"You were…beaten as a child?"

"Mm hm. It got to the point I started to enjoy the pain, so then the beatings stopped. Instead he would lock me in our dark, damp, creepy basement for days at a time. No food, no water, nothing."

Blinking, she wrote a few notes in his file and then lifted her head and looked over, their eyes meeting. Her bright green ones filled with sympathy for the man in front of her, knowing now how he had been treated.

"Don't, Harley. I don't need you to feel sorry for me."

"No, of course not."

Closing the file folder around the pencil, Harleen laid it on the desk next to her. Watching her movements, Joker moved and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. Taking a quick look at the clock, she removed her glasses and laid them on top of his folder before turning back to him.

"We still have some time, Mr. J, so I'd like to ask another question."

"What question would that be?"

"In terms of romantic relationships, have you had many in your life?"

Joker thought for a moment, legitimately having a hard time recalling any relationships. A fuzzy memory sprang to the front of his mind, and he narrowed his eyes a bit.

"One…that I remember. It's not a clear memory, so I'm afraid I can't give you many details. I THINK I was married at one point…but again, not 100% sure on that one."

"Married, huh? Do you remember ANYTHING else?"

Thinking for a few minutes, Joker growled in annoyance and shook his head. Running a hand through his hair, the man stood up and paced the length of the room. Harleen watched him quietly, seeing his aggravation continue to grow.

"Ah, why don't we move on to a different topic, Mr. J?"

"A different topic would be best."

A knock sounded on the office door just as she was about to speak again, and she instead moved over to open it. On the other side, stood a guard, who informed her their session was over. Looking at the clock on the wall, she looked over at the guard again and nodded.

"Give me five minutes to finish up, okay? I'll send him out when we're done."

"Yes ma`am."

Closing the door when the guard turned around to wait, she moved back over to Joker and sat down next to him on the couch.

"Our time's up, unfortunately. We'll have to finish this conversation next week. OH! I almost forgot…I talked to Dr. Arkham and got clearance for you to have these…"

Getting up, she walked over to her desk and opened the very bottom drawer. Watching curiously, a smile curled his lips when she presented him with art supplies.

"I know you said in a previous session you're artistic and creative, so I thought this might help you."

"Aw, aren't you thoughtful. Thanks, doc."

Smiling again when he took the items from her, she moved to stand up, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing her chin. A momentary feeling of fear fluttered in her chest, but his grip turned more gentle and he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone.

"What the fuck is this?"

"What…what are you talking about?"

"This bruise that you've obviously tried to cover with did it?"

"It's nothing…I…"

"If you say you ran into something, I'm gonna smack you. WHO. DID. IT."

Giving a light sigh and closing her eyes for a moment, she gave in and told him the truth. She'd been dating a guy off and on for over a year, and once she really tried to leave for good, he wasn't happy. The last few times they'd run into one another, he'd left her with a split lip or a bruise of some sort. Growling, Joker again gently brushed his thumb over the mark, that, in all reality, was well hidden.

"Is it really that noticeable?"

"No, not really. I just have sharper eyes than most normal people. Tell me the truth, Dr. Quinzel…are you safe?"

"I'll be fine, honestly."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Harleen didn't answer him, just looked down at the floor for a few seconds. What she didn't voice, her silence told him anyways, and he grunted a bit. Standing, he picked up the items he'd been given and headed towards the door, only to have himself stopped by her grabbing his wrist.

"Thank you, for your concern, Mr. J. It's nice to have someone worrying about me."

"Yeah, well…I like you, doc, and would hate to see you get hurt."

Smiling at him, their eyes locked again, and she felt the nagging urge to kiss him. Mentally shaking herself, she pushed that feeling down and opened the door. Watching him walk away with the guard, she gave a sigh and shook her head. Back in the hallway, Joker tapped the man in front of him on the shoulder.

"What's up, J?"

"I need you to get a message to Johnny for me."

"Yeah, sure. Write out the message on a piece of paper and slip it to me under your door. I'm the one guarding you tonight."

"Good."

Back in his room, the green-haired man opened the art kit he'd been given, smirking at seeing the sharpened pencils, pastels and chalks. Pulling the sketch pad from his bed, he wrote out the message he needed to get to his right hand man, and slid it under the door. The guard picked it up and tucked it into his pocket, giving a thumbs up through the small window in the door. Moving over to his bed, Joker sat down cross-legged and occupied himself with a sketch. Knowing since he'd become friends with the man outside his door, he wouldn't be bothered, he sat up the majority of the night with his art supplies. When morning rolled around, the guard was switched out, and Joker's message was delivered to his right hand man. The rest of the week passed quickly, and in what seemed like no time, the man was sitting in the recreation area waiting for Harleen to come get him.

"I'm at WORK, Josh! Go away!"

"NO! You're going to talk to me, Harleen!"

Looking up from his seat, Joker stood up when two people burst through the doors of the recreation room. Harleen, and an older man with jet black hair and a soul patch following close behind her. He reached out to grab her wrist, and she pulled away, whirling around and delivering a slap to his cheek.

"LEAVE."

Seeing the feisty woman smack the man bothering her caused a little grin to curl Joker's face, though it vanished immediately when said man lifted his fist. In a few steps thanks to his long legs, the green haired mob boss had the other man on his knees, arm twisted around behind his back.

"What the hell! Get this freak off me!"

"So you're the asshole who's been beating on Dr. Quinzel, eh?"

"JOKER! Release that man immediately!"

Looking up from his captive, he saw guards swarming the room, guns aimed. Leaning down, he growled something into Josh's ear, something that caused the man to shiver and go white as a sheet. Releasing him, he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder, and turned his head. Harleen was standing slightly behind him, a smalls smile on her lips.

"Come with me, Mr. J. I was on my way to get you when he showed up."

Casting one last look to the man being hauled off the ground by the guards, he smirked and turned to follow her down the hallway. They entered the dimly lit office, and almost as soon as the door was shut and locked, she turned around and couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

AN: Chapter 3 everyone! I hope you're enjoying this story so far!