Chapter 6
Batman made sure to stay by Harley's side as the ambulance got them to Gotham General Hospital; she hadn't woken up since she collapsed in his arms after she'd been shot. She looked unnaturally small on the stretcher in the ambulance, her makeup had been washed off by a medic and they could all see how pale her skin was now. She wouldn't have long if they didn't operate on her soon. She let out a low, painful moan every time the ambulance turned or hit a bump in the road. Even through the stony face he always had to put on as Batman, Bruce was terrified that something could happen to her. A few minutes later, they got to the hospital and she was immediately rushed into emergency surgery. He spoke to her Doctor and told him that he wanted to speak to her when she came out of surgery, he agreed and left to tend to his patient. It took a couple of hours due to the severity of her gunshot wound but she came out of surgery alive and well and her bed was taken to a room in the hospital, hers was the only bed in there. Batman stood over her as she lay unconscious, her doctor came over to speak to him after the surgery. He stood next to Bruce and looked at her, saying, "We found something strange on her while we were operating on her. Her brain, it seems as though electro shock therapy has been applied a few times to modify her behaviour. We think it's going to affect her memory temporarily when she wakes up, we've no idea how much she'll have lost. Obviously I don't know for sure, but it looks like every time she started to question Joker, he shocked her brain to make her...behave. Poor girl" he shook his head and left, leaving the two of them alone.
It was only about half an hour until she woke up, her baby blue eyes fluttered open and they scanned around, going wide with fear and surprise. She sat up quickly and saw Batman standing next to her. "What's going on...why am I in hospital? B-Batman...why're you here?". She started to breathe heavily as she was obviously panicking. He put a hand on her shoulder, "You're safe Dr Quinzel, you're in the hospital. You've been shot but you'll live. Is there anyone that I can call for you, family or anyone?". Her eyes went wide again and she wriggled in the bed in a panic before lying still. "S-shot? How was I?" She shook her head, trying to repress the thought, "...my parents are back in Brooklyn, they wouldn't be able to get here". She closed her eyes and shook her head, as if trying to not hunk about something. He reached out and touched her shoulder, trying to calm her still, "Try not to think about it...what was the last memory you have?". She looked up at him with wide eyes and sighed, a small smile coming over her face, "I'd just been on a date with my boyfriend, Bruce Wayne. The last thing I can remember is him dropping me off at my apartment...you could try calling him...". He nodded, telling her that he'd call Bruce before leaving her to rest. When he'd gone, she closed her eyes and slunk back under the covers.
About an hour later, Bruce had changed out of his Batsuit and into his normal clothes and was heading back to the hospital. It seemed as though she had no memory of Harley Quinn, she was back to Harleen Quinzel for now, he knew that she'd remember at some point though she'd remember and she'd need him. When he got up to her hospital room, she was asleep. He went over to her bed and placed his hand on her arm, gently shaking her awake. Her eyes went wide again and she flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "Bruce, baby...I'm so sorry I worried you. I-I'm scared, I don't know what happened.", she started to cry into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her gently. He spoke to her gently, "You're safe now Harley, that's all that matters. You're going to be fine and you'll live". She bit her lip and looked up at him, shaking her head, "I just want to go home...can you take me home please?". He nodded, trying to comfort her still, "You can come home with me, I'll just go and ask your doctor when you can leave". He kissed her on the cheek and left to go find her doctor. The doctor told him that they'd done all they could for her during surgery and there was no point in keeping her nay longer, she'd just have to make sure she rested until she was fully healed. She was delighted when he told her she could go home with him and he helped her out to his car. She smiled softly and lay her head on his shoulder, her arm around his shoulder as he took some of her weight.
To be continued...
Authors Notes: Hi guys, sorry there was a little wait for this one, I'm afraid this is how it'll be for the foreseeable future. Hope it was okay that this chapter was a little slower, I promise I'm building to something nice and big. Please leave me a review if you enjoyed!