A/N:
I was going to post this one tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I will be able to, so you guys get it today instead! This chapter turned out way longer than it originally started out. I think I wrote it one way and typed it different then went back and re-typed it. I hope you guys like it. Please forgive typos. I have had a bad cold and have been medicated all week :(
Dr. Quinzel was having a crappy Thursday. She woke up late, has run out of her protein bars she had for a quick breakfast. When she had stopped at a corner store to grab something quick, they only had junk food. She grabbed a coffee and left. There was a small accident that had traffic slowed. She was not having a good morning.
When she arrived at work it hadn't got much better. Her badge stopped working, and it took 45 minutes to get a new one programmed. She got to her office and was already ready to go home. It felt like a pajama, ice cream, and soap opera kind of day.
"Get a grip!" she scolded herself. She started her work day, only an hour later than normal. She grabbed her things she needed for her session with Crane. The walk to the elevator seemed like forever, the ride up even longer. She just didn't want to be here, but duty calls.
She told the guards to ready Crane, and headed to the session room. She sat and waited, looking to the door when she heard the knock. They escorted Crane in and left.
"Good morning, how are you feeling today?" she asked, hoping to just get a straight answer. She looked up from her notepad and waited for his response.
"You know he is just using you, right?" he said, full of venom.
Harley was taken aback. "I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about." She pretended to make a note on the paper, then looked back at Crane.
Crane scoffed aloud, "Please, I see how you look at him, and he is obsessed with you, it's sick. He uses anyone he wants to do what he wants done. You aren't special, you are a means to an end." He spat at her.
This hurt, but she wouldn't let his see it. She kept her face blank, "Do you often find yourself obsessing over The Joker?" she asked. This threw him, she saw it.
"I am not obsessed." He denied, face turning red.
"This is the second session that you have brought him up. Has he done something to you?" she asked. She almost enjoyed his sputtering.
"This is absurd, I used to study him, I would have loved to treat him. He doesn't seem to have any fear. He's intriguing." He admitted. "I am not obsessed with him. I just don't want to see him use you up like the others."
The confession startled her. She was just trying to deflect his ire to something else, and had a small breakthrough. She made more notes, not wanting to forget this.
"Well, thank you for your concern, but I am a big girl. I can take care of myself." She told him. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" she tried to change the subject.
They finished the session, though not much progress was made. He answered in one or two word responses. She left even more frustrated. She typed her notes and report up and added them to his file. She felt like she was getting a headache. That's just what she needed.
She replayed the conversation with Crane in her head. She could feel her anger bubbling. "Crane is full of shit." She said aloud to her empty office. She decided to leave, she had no reason to hang out any longer. She sent an email to Hugo explaining she had a horrible headache and would be back in the morning.
She drove home in the midday sun, it made her feel slightly better. By the time she was at her apartment, she was feeling much better. She even took the stairs to her floor. She unlocked the door and saw another bouquet to replace the dying flowers from before. She looked for a card and was surprised to find one. She opened the small envelope and saw a heart with J + H inside. Crane was definitely full of shit.
Her horrible day was completely worth it, she felt so much better. She took a shower and decided she would go out. She got herself dressed and ready. She reached for her pills and stopped. She hadn't had them in days. She tossed the pill case back into the drawer and took her knife instead. The dress she had on was a strapless halter. She had to tuck the knife in her cleavage. She made a sandwich and waited for dark.
She called a cab and had it drop her off at a hole in the wall bar. She just wanted to drink and dance. She walked in the door and scanned for the bar. She walked over and bought a couple of shots. She drank the alcohol and turned to look at the dance floor. This place was smoky and a little small. She headed over to dance. The music was good, it was easy to lose herself.
It was pretty late when she decided to leave. She had a good time, for once. She grabbed one last drink and headed home. The night was a strange kind of quiet. There weren't a lot of people out. Harley chuckled to herself. She let the cool air caress her as she walked. She was about a block past the bar when she noticed that dark car again. This was getting annoying.
She walked quicker to the corner and turned, quickly ducking back, hiding in the shadows. She waited and sure enough the car turned the corner, it passed by about 20 feet then stopped. The tail light clicked through the cycle as the car was put into park. The door opened and a man stepped out, turning to look around.
Harley recognized the man, it was the guy who brought her the earrings from Mr. J. She watched as he got his phone and dialed. He started talking into the phone, Harley figured now's her chance. She took off her shoes and snuck from her hiding place. She hurried across the small road to the passenger side of the car.
She could hear his side of the conversation. "Yes boss, I will." A pause "no boss." Another pause. "Yes boss. I'll find her." He ended the conversation. She sneaked a peek over the car. He was headed to where she had been hiding. Suppressing a giggle, she opened the passenger door and got into the still running car. She put her shoes back on and waited.
She heard the door open and put on her best grin. "Hi ya" was all she said. The man nearly jumped back out of the car he had just entered.
"Shit, you scared me." He said, his surprise quickly turned to annoyance. "What can I do for you Doctor?"
"For one, you can tell me why you've been following me." Letting the smile fall from her face.
"Boss's orders." Was all he said.
"Boss being…..Joker." she said. He looked at her and nodded.
"So you have a way to communicate with him while he's in Arkham?" she asked.
"We have designated days each month." He explained.
She sat there for a second. Then she spoke, "So, what's your name?"
He looked at her, "Frost."
"Okay Frosty, give a girl a ride home?" she asked, leaning her head back against the seat.
He released the breath he had been holding, "Sure thing." And he pulled the car around to head towards her apartment. Harley was quiet the few blocks to her place. He pulled up to the curb and she got out. She leaned down to look at the driver, "Thanks Frosty." She said then shut the door and went inside.
Harley woke refreshed and ready to seize the day. She hadn't had bad dreams and night sweats in so long. She hurried and readied for work, eating a small bowl of cereal. The drive to work was unremarkable. Her badge worked no issues. But the best thing was, she would get to see her Joker.
She got to her office and got to work fabricating a report for Joker's file. Half of the things they talked about didn't go in the file anyway. She just decided to make it up as she went. Maybe today Joker would tell her about a recurring dream. 'Yeah' she decided. 'that sounds perfect.'
She finished her report and printed it. Put it in his file folder, which, thanks to her, was filling out nicely. She pulled her folders together, and headed to get her coffee and his treat. The asylum was very quiet today. The only real sound she could hear was her own heels clicking as she walked. They made a slight echo in the empty hallways.
She fetched her coffee and got him a chocolate milk and powdered donuts from the vending area. Harley hurried to the elevators and up to see her obsession. She alerted the guards and went to wait in their room. She suddenly felt very nervous. The butterflies in her stomach were almost making her nauseous.
She was setting her things on the table when the guards knocked. They escorted him in and Harley was shocked to see him back in the strait jacket. "What is this?" she asked the lead guard as she pointed to the offending jacket. "I have told you all that this is no longer needed." She pushed past the guard and began undoing the buckles and straps.
"Dr. Quinzel, he was in an altercation with another patient, this is standard procedure." The first guard explained.
She looked at the guard and then at Mr. J. He looked at her with a small grin and a twinkle in his eye. She fought the urge to smile back at him and rounded on the guards. "Why was I not informed of this?" she stepped forward.
The guard took a step back not realizing he had just lost this fight, "We informed Dr. Strange."
"While Dr. Strange is my supervisor, Mr. Joker is not his patient. He is mine, I am to be informed, at once, if there are any" she used her hands to air quote "altercations involving my patients."
The guard nodded, "Yes ma'am, I mean Dr. Quinzel." He was visibly shaken.
She rounded on the other guard. "Are you finished with the cuffs?" she asked. He jumped and released The Jokers ankles. She finished the strait jacket and tossed it to the guards as they left.
She heard the door shut and then his lips were on hers. A hot crushing kiss. He pulled away and took his seat at the table. Harley walked back to her seat and sat before her knees gave out. This man's kiss could scorch your soul. She took a second to gather herself.
"Good morning, Mr. J." she said smiling.
"I love seeing you in action, sweet cheeks, the only way it could have gone better, would have been if you eviscerated the man where he stood." Joker looked at her, his eyes serious, deadly.
"They don't let me bring my knife inside." She said calmly. This caused him to let loose a string of laughter. She blushed, realizing what she had said aloud. She changed the subject, "Do you want to talk about your altercation?"
His laughter stopped, "Sure, doc, what do you want to know?" he asked, picking at his nails.
"All of it." She said. "Start at the beginning." She prompted.
He sighed, audibly, then started. "I was in the big room watching the TV. The stupid scarecrow sat next to me on the couch and started talking."
She wasn't shocked, Crane had a bug up his ass this entire week.
"It was just blah blah blah at first then he told me he wanted you. He wanted to take you and dose you with his fear toxin and break you. He said you'd make the perfect victim."
She could feel the blood drain from her face. She had never suspected Crane would want to hurt her.
He continued. "He had my attention then. He went on about how he wanted to fuck you while you were dosed and broken and crying." He stopped for a second, like he was thinking about the same thing. He shifted in his seat. "I simply explained to him, I'd prefer you riding me while covered in his blood." He smiled at the thought. "He didn't like that and began shrieking and lunged at me. The guards grabbed him and left. I got sent back to my cell."
She sat there a second. "Well, that's and idea." She said then slapped her hands over her mouth. Where the hell had her filter gone? She just kept blurting out whatever was floating through her mind. This all caused Joker to cackle all over again.
His laughter died down, and he looked at her. "Naughty, naughty doc, you scared Frost last night."
It was her turn to laugh now. "Well if he had just introduced himself, we could have been friends. He didn't have to sneak."
The Joker's face went very serious, it was a scary and thrilling look.
"Does my little Harley girl want new friends? Is her Mr. J not enough?" He asked in a tone that told her to tread lightly.
"No Mr. J, I just meant he could have told me he was tailing me, I thought I was gonna have to hurt some guy who decided to stalk me." She said, then gave him the best smile she had. His face relaxed and he smiled back at her.
"Well doc, what's new?" he asked.
She decided to push her luck a bit. "Which guards are yours? You know that's gotta be the only way you are able to arrange phone calls. Unless you've managed to hide a cell phone somewhere." She looked at his face trying to gauge his reaction. He was just so hard to read sometimes.
"There are a few." He smiled. "I'm not telling which ones. You have to figure that one out on your own."
"Fine. Keep your secrets." She pouted. She reached for her coffee and remembered his treat. "I almost forgot, these are for you." She passed him the chocolate milk and package of powdered donuts. "Slim pickings in the vending machines today." She explained.
He devoured the treats anyway. She sipped her coffee and watched the man in front of her. Harley was waiting for him to finish before she started on the serious stuff. He caught her staring at him and smiled.
"What's on your mind?" he asked.
"I was just waiting until you finished. You still owe me a secret Mr. J."
"Oh Harley girl, you only had to ask. Though after your confession you may be disappointed." He leaned forward, she followed. "This is something I have never told another soul." He explained. "I am sure you have read all of my little fibs I have told to my other docs about my past." She nodded, not wanting to speak and break the spell. "Yes, well, I've told so many stories, so many names, places. They are all lies. Well I assume they are all lies. I don't really know." He sat back.
She sat there amazed at how lucid he was at the moment. "You don't know what?" she asked almost in a whisper.
"I don't know if they the truth or a lie. I have no memories of… before" he explained.
She sat back as well, staring off blankly, brain going a mile a minute. "You mean, you are the Joker, and only The Joker because you don't remember before the accident?" she looked at him. He was looking at the wall to the left.
He nodded, still not looking at her. "Thank you, for trusting me with that secret." She said
He looked at her again. His face suddenly changing again. "You're my best gal, if I can't trust you…" he trailed off.
She smiled at the thought Joker's girl. Her heart fluttered. Then she remembered her talk with Crane yesterday. "Mr. J?" she asked.
He frowned, "What is bothering my girl?" he asked.
"Are you just using me?" she sounded pathetic, even to herself. She wasn't some 12 year old girl upset because her crush might not like her. It was an honest question though.
He looked at her and shook his head. "Harley, who have you been letting put lies into your head? Your Mr. J cares about you. Would I have told you my big secret? My shortcomings? Would I have touched you or let you touch me?" he was getting a bit heated now. "Harley, once I am out of this place, you will be my Queen and we will shake this city to it's core." He finished his rant by reaching across the table and grabbing her arm. Hard.
She was shocked by the words he just told her. The pain of his grip on her barely registered. He kissed her hard. This pulled her back from her astonishment. He stood and walked around the table to her and pulled her up close to him, her breasts pushed against his chest. She winced slightly.
"You're hurt?" he asked.
She smiled and unbuttoned her blouse. His breathing sped up as he watched her expose the creamy flesh. She pulled the cup of her bra down and showed his perfect teeth prints that circled her areola and nipple. He groaned and kissed her again.
She pulled back reluctantly and fixed her appearance. "I think our time is about up." She told him.
He pouted, and she laughed. She alerted the guards and once they arrived she left. She refused to watch them put him back in that ridiculous jacket. She went back to her office and just sat there digesting everything he had told her.
She was sick of this. She wanted to see him whenever she liked. Without worries, or guards, or fucking strait jackets. A crazy idea came to her. She packed her things away and grabbed her stuff to leave. She had business to attend to.
She got home and changed into normal clothes, noting the ring of bruises on her arm. It took her a minute to remember where they had come from. She smile and headed out the door. Once outside, Harley just started aimlessly walking. It took about 15 minutes before she found the car she was looking for.
She flagged him down and opened the door jumping in. "Heya Frosty." She said grinning.
"Hello, doc, what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked wearily.
"I need to ask you a favor." She said
"Sure thing, what do you need?" he agreed readily. Boss said keep her happy.
"I need help breaking Mr. J out of Arkham."