They had a session later that morning. As Harley walked down the long hallway to the therapy room, she could not stop thinking about what he meant by "harlequin", in the note he left for her. He couldn't honestly believe that she would become like him, could he? They were nothing alike. She had no desire for destruction and mayhem. She had enough chaos in her life and was looking for normalcy. No, no she hated The Joker. She did not want to become like him.
Before she knew it she was being led into the same therapy room as before. The room was still overwhelmingly boring with its cinderblock walls and sparse furniture. But in the middle of the sea of off white and grey, he sat. He was still bound in a straightjacket, with his ankles chained to the floor. However, this time he was not wearing the leather muzzle. It was shocking to her how beautiful he was. Even after spending nearly half her life with this man, she could never get over how perfect he looked. He had of course changed over the years. Her eyes were always drawn to the scars that puckered around his mouth, especially the left side, the scar she had given him on accident.
She recalled when he first showed up to her house with a box of green hair dye. He had taken in a hissing breath, almost appearing apologetic. He squinted one eye and stated, "Yeaaaah, I'm gonna need for you to do me a favor." The brand he had chosen was cheap and even though she wore the gloves that came in the box, it still managed to leave her hands with a green tint. That was the last and only time he had her dye his hair. It wasn't long after that she started to see him with traces of white makeup or red tinted lips. She didn't understand at the time what was going on and it scared her.
"Doc?", The Joker questioned. But it was when he whistled that Harley focused on her bound husband and left the old memories behind.
Harley cleared her throat, "Excuse me Mister J, I was just lost in a thought." She sat down and crossed one delicate leg over the other which made the dark pencil skirt inch up over her knee. She noticed his eyes follow the hem and continue up her body before reaching her eyes again. "I'm happy to hear that you have been behaving well this weekend. It looks like you've proven that you don't need to wear that muzzle anymore. Doesn't it pay to follow the rules?", she asked with a raised eyebrow.
A smirk played at the corner of his mouth as he listened to her patronizing words. "I knew you were just dying to get a long, hard look at this smile." He sucked at a scar before giving an unnerving wide grin.
"Well it does make it easier to talk without that thing covering your face, I will admit that.", she said as she tried to decide on how to change the subject.
"Clock's tickin', doc. What're we talking about today?", he asked as he leaned in slightly until his chest rested against the table between them.
Harley looked down to her blank notebook. She hadn't planned much for this session, but her goal was to reach inside, past The Joker, to Jack so that was where she would start.
"Well, Mister J, can you tell me a little about your relationships? Do you have any, that is?" She was nervous to ask the question, but she had to know what his response would be even though it wouldn't be truthful. There was a guard in the room and the session was being recorded.
"Now how would you knowing about my relationships help cure me, hm?", he as he sat back against his chair again.
"Well I don't believe me knowing more about you will cure you, but maybe it will help me get to know you better? I think it could help build trust.", she said confidently. She uncrossed her legs and adjusted notebook on the table in front of her.
He tilted his head slightly and paused for a moment. "Maybe I do have an old lady out there somewhere.", he nodded. "Maybe she's sitting in our little apartment in Gotham right now waiting for Daddy to come home for her. She's got my red lipstick smudged all over her body from the last time we were together." He licked his lips as he watched Harley's angry blush creep up from her neck to her cheeks. "We got a few kids running around and she's busy teachin' them how to use, uh, grenades and how to make pipe bombs so they can be good little helpers for me one day. That what you wanna hear, doc?"
Harley could tell he was trying to rile her up so she focused on the ballpoint pen in her right hand and she began to make careless scratches on the blank notebook page just to give herself something to do.
"I'd like to hear the truth, actually, Mister J, if that isn't too difficult."
"Aw see, you're too smart to fall for my ramblings, aren't ya?", he winked. "No, maybe, I'm looking. Maybe I'm searching for the one. There's someone for everyone, right? That's what they say. Do you believe that, doctor? Is there a soulmate out there for Harleen Quinzel?"
Harley sat up suddenly sat up straighter and appeared taken aback. "Well, we are not here to talk about me. I'm here to help you.", she replied.
"I just figured that there must be someone out there that you've got your eye on. Maybe someone tall, dark, and handsome. Someone who has a lot of money to throw around. Someone who doesn't mind taking a beautiful woman out in public. Someone who drives flashy cars and throws fancy parties in their mansion. Someone who has their name scrawled all over this city like he's some kind of savior. Someone like that, doc? You looking for someone like that?" The guard who was standing in the corner was moving closer to him as The Joker was getting worked up and his voice was getting louder.
Harley shook her head and put her hand up to stop the guard from progressing towards her patient. "Now, now, Mister J. Remember, good behavior lets us continue our sessions, right?" She gave him a knowing look, reminding him that there was a game going on and they needed to be together to play. "If you start to get violent, they may not let us meet for a while." Then, just like that he was leaning back in his chair and that vein that had started to pop out of the side of his neck retreated. They stared at each other for a moment, each regulating their breathing again.
The guard looked at his watch before he spoke, "Doctor, this session is about over. Should I take the patient back to his room?"
Harley tore her eyes away from The Joker's gaze and nodded to the guard. "Yes, but I would like to come with you. I would like to see the patient's room."
Moments later Harley and the guard were escorting a bound Joker back to his cell. The trio stood in a large metal elevator as they descended to the underbelly of Arkham Asylum. The Joker began to whistle and stared up at the mirrored ceiling. Harley glanced up to the mirrored ceiling when their eyes met and he puckered his lips to blow a kiss. She suddenly looked away with a blush. The elevator came to a stop on the bottom floor where the most intense cases were kept.
The guard turned to Harley and asked, "You are credentialed to be down here, right?"
Harley had no idea if she was, but she wanted to see where Jack was staying. He had been moved since the first day she saw him at Arkham, when he had killed those men in the hallway. She nodded, "Oh, of course. I would never ask you to do something that wasn't by the books, I assure you." The Joker gave Harley a skeptical look as he was guided out of the elevator. The first door they came to required a key card and a code to open. The guard covered the keypad from The Joker, but Harley was still able to see the numbers he punched. She repeated the numbers in her head several times before they seemed to stick.
"Home sweet home.", The Joker said gleefully once they reached his cell. The heavy steel door required a swipe of the guard's key card and the little light on the lock turned green. A loud click signified that the door was opened. Harley watched from the outside of the doorway as the guard led The Joker into the room to remove the straightjacket. It was quite an ordeal. The Joker rested his forehead on the cement wall as the guard undid each buckle from behind. The Joker turned his head slightly to peer at Harley out of the corner of his eye. She appeared cold and uncomfortable standing there alone. They made eye contact just as the last buckle was undone and The Joker whipped his head back making a hard contact to the guard's forehead. The man hit the floor unconscious with a thud and Harley let out a squeak as The Joker reached out to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into the cell. He slammed the door behind her and pushed her body against the now locked door with his own. With his hands now free, they rested on either side of her head. Harley's heart raced and her eyes locked onto his both in fear and something else she couldn't put her finger on, but it felt like excitement. There was adrenaline pumping through her veins.
He leaned down slightly to level his face with her own, but his body still held her in place. Their breath mingled and she could smell the familiar scent of her Jack under the sweat and unwashed hair. His voice was low when he spoke. "You sneaky girl. What are we doing here, huh?" He ran his fingers lightly down her face which made her breath hitch.
"I want to help you, Jack.", Harley whispered. Her hands longed to touch him and she found her fingers reaching for the hem of his orange Arkham shirt.
"Help me what, Harley?", he whispered on her neck. His hands moved to her waist and she found it difficult to find her words.
"I- I- want to bring you back. I want us to be a family again." Finally her hands floated up and gripped onto his biceps.
His head tilted back as he let out a high pitched chuckle with his eyes pinched closed. He stepped back shaking a finger at her and said, "Oh you, you naïve little thing. You… you, uh, think that you're gonna cure me and we are going all go back home and live happily ever after, huh?" There was a mocking in his eyes which made Harley feel infinitely small.
"Well, no, it's not like that-", she started.
"We're gonna have coffee on the porch in the morning. Take the little brat to the park-" Harley cut off his rambling as she poked his chest.
"Don't call her that!", her voice rose before she could catch herself. "That 'little brat' is your daughter, Jack. She adores you and talks about you all of the time."
He rolled his eyes. "You live in a fantasy world, doc. You might need to, uh, get your brain checked out." He gave her a condescending look. "I can recommend some people."
Harley looked to her feet and crossed her arms. She was at a loss for words when she noticed the guard on the floor start to slowly move his head side to side as he began to regain consciousness.
The Joker took a step toward Harley again, closing the gap between them. "Now listen, dear.", he whispered. "Just because you're little dream of being a big happy family isn't going to, ah, pan out, doesn't mean we don't have a future." He looked her in the eye and nodded. "I've kept you around for some reason, Harley, even though it would make my life much easier if you were gone. You just need to wait for the right time."
"What do you mean?", she said as she continued to watch the guard's eyes fluttered open as he rubbed his forehead.
"I mean, I'm not done with you.", The Joker growled in her ear.
"Doctor Quinzel!", the guard shouted. He was on his feet again although a bit unsteady with his gun pulled. The Joker raised his hands as he still faced Harley.
"Now, now, the doctor and I just had to have a little chat.", The Joker said cheerily.
"Step aside, freak.", the guard yelled as he reached for his walkie-talkie and called for back-up.
The guard continued to hold his gun as he shouted orders into the walkie-talkie, The Joker took the opportunity to whisper one last thing. "Stay away from Bruce Wayne, Harley." The seriousness in his tone was sobering and Harley slowly nodded.