Disclaimer: I don't own Harleen Quinzel or the Joker.

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The First Step

As the two doctors made their way through the large security door Harleen watched from the end of the hallway. Glancing at the blue sign opposite she took a deep breath and waited. Ward D. As the two men passed her she smiled and nodded, clutching the brown file in her palm as though her life depended on it. Glancing at the closing door she quickened her pace and slipped the file between the lock and the frame. She pushed her arm through the gap and nervously walked into the ward.

"Can I help you?" a voice drifted over the top of the small counter to her right.

Harleen turned sharply and smiled nervously at the sitting woman, "Um, could you tell me which cell the Joker is in?"

The nurse sat observing the brunette for a moment before smiling and pointing further down the corridor, "Cell 5, right at the end."

"Thanks," Harleen felt the pressure lift from her shoulders as she made her way down the darkened hallway towards the end of the row of locked doors.

On reaching the final door Harleen glanced back towards the sitting nurse before stepping closer to the cell. Peering through the glass she strained her eyes to see the hunched man sitting in the far corner of the cell. The light from the high window washed over the padded walls and illuminated the top of the apparently sleeping man's hair. The longer Harleen stood watching him the more she could feel the excitement coiling around her insides as she contemplated asking the nurse to unlock the door. As soon as the thought drifted into her mind she pushed it aside, reasoning that she had pushed the rules far enough by simply being here.

As she watched the static man the young intern became aware of her hand resting on the door handle. She wasn't sure what exactly had sparked her intense infatuation with the man, all she knew was that since the moment she had met him he had flicked a switch in her brain and now all she wanted to do was find out as much as she could about him. She found him so…interesting. He was indeed a dangerous man- she didn't doubt that, in truth she did kind of find him a little intimidating. But that wasn't enough to rein in her thirst for knowledge. There was something about him that just seemed to 'speak' to her; something beneath the surface that he wanted her to find out.

"Would you like me to unlock the door, Doctor?" the nurse's voice burst through Harleen's thoughts making her jump.

The brunette stood for a moment peering through the small window before turning to the nurse and nodding, "Please."

As the woman approached her along the ward Harleen felt the tug of nerves in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps she was pushing things too far? The older woman smiled as she slid the key into the lock and watched the Joker through the glass. "He's not restrained, so watch yourself. I'll have to close the door behind you. We don't have guard tonight, I'm not even sure I should be letting you inside with him but since you're a doctor I suppose you know what you're doing," she smiled again before tugging the heavy door from its frame.

Harleen peered inside the dark cell and swallowed hard. As the nurse leaned forward and flicked the switch beside the door the Joker lifted his head. As the room filled with harsh, sterile hospital light he closed his eyes slightly and tilted his head to the side. Harleen stepped onto the padded floor and watched as the door was shut firmly behind her. She could feel her insides tying themselves in knots as her pulse beat out its increasingly fast rhythm in her ears. Her face felt like stone and she cleared her throat loudly before lifting the file slightly and speaking.

"I wanted to speak to you if that's ok," the words cracked as her nerves got the better of her vocal chords.

"Reeeally?" the Joker's eyes sparkled beneath his brow. "Does the dear doctor know you're hear? Huh?"

Harleen didn't answer, she simply started asking prepared questions, "How did your mother's death affect you?"

The Joker frowned, "My Mother? What does she have to do with anything?" He licked his lips suggestively.

"What happened to your father?"

Rolling his eyes the Joker slowly pushed himself to his feet causing Harleen to take a step backwards. "My Father killed himself before they could arrest him. Hmm…do you ah, do you think that could have had some kinda….you know, ah, affecton my behaviour?"

The young woman gazed at him choosing to ignore the sarcasm in his voice, "I'm simply trying to get a better idea of what you've been through. Talking is a great for of therapy…Mr…Joker."

Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth the Joker started slowly towards her. "You see…Jester…she told me you were a psychiatrist…." His eyes flicked from one side to the other as he paused dramatically, "I thought that meant you didn't believe in…ah…taaalking?…Hmmm? What's wrong…Miss Quinzel? Do I intimate you?" his face was fixed in a serious expression and it did slightly intimidate her. He was no more than a couple of feet away from her and she was feeling a bit apprehensive as to what was going to happen next.

The Joker took another step towards her and allowed a sickly grin to dance across his face as he lifted his hand to touch her hair. Harleen recoiled slightly before drinking in the feeling of his fingers in her dark locks. It felt to her as though small fireworks were exploding all over her scalp as the infamous murderer combed through to the ends of her hair. Her eyes were firmly fixed on a seam in the padding on the far wall as the unrestrained man circled her.

The Joker leaned close to her ear, "You're going to be in a lot of trouble when she finds out you've been here."

Harleen felt a small tremor run the course of her spine and stifled a small gasp as it made a bid for freedom. She felt the Joker run his fingertips over her shoulders as he took a deep breath behind her.

"I don't like your perfume," he moved away from her and made his way back to the corner and slid back down the walls to sit with his knees pulled up to his chest. "You should have words with Dr Cunningham…Now theeere's a woman who knows how to pick a perfume." He paused for a moment drinking in the almost unnoticeable disappointment pulling at the girl's facial features. Smiling to himself the Joker revelled in his ability to read her so well. He was actually quite impressed with himself for noticing the subtle intentions of the young intern's visit. Apparently his wonderful Jester wasn't the only one to have an admirer. "Ha, you know…Harleen is it? You seem like a pretty intelligent woman…So, ah…whyyy, uh, why would you come here to see me…um…all by yourself?"

Harleen didn't answer straight away. Eventually her voice quietly gave way, "I just thought that we kinda missed out on a good session this afternoon…what with Dr Cunningham being called away. I wanted to elaborate on what you told me then, that's all."

"Hmm. So you just chose to ignore the ruuules? My my…and I thought my little Jester liked to live dangerouslyyy," he smiled.

"What?"

"Flirting with death," he continued. "Why did you really come here Miss Quinzel?" he sucked his lower lip hard.

Suddenly Harleen felt shy. She turned away from him and scuffed the toe of her shoe over the thick cream padding beneath her feet. As she felt her cheeks start to burn she cleared her throat and turned towards the door, knocking on the small window for the nurse to let her out.

"A pretty girl like you…ah…should be careful who she associates with," the Joker grinned as Harleen stepped out of his cell into the hallway beside the nurse. As the lights gave way to darkness he growled deeply, "We wouldn't want anything to happen to that pretty face now would we?"