Quick answers to those who were kind enough to leave a review:
JaDErUst : Thanks for the nice comment ! I'm a French native speaker, and I still need to improve my grammar in English. Hopefully it'll get better chapter by chapter, and I wish this new one please you as much as the first!
Nightmare1: I'm glad someone else got the same perception on Arkham's staff as me. Cartoons, comics, it seems there's only two competent doctors in this asylum! As for Harleen's hunger for fame and cash, I just couldn't leave it out; IMHO, that's what brought her to the Joker in the first place, because he was THE big fish. This chapter is still light, but it is a necessary step for the future months; hope you enjoy it!
Kelly Renee: Thanks for the nice comment! "Fast food", this chapter still is, but we begin to fall for the Dark Side (laughs).
Amanda: A big thanks for the enthusiastic comment! I'll try my best to make the whole ride enjoyable; after all, these two deserve no less! (wave the "Joker and Harley forever" madly).
Sno-Chan: Welcome to the club of the newly addicted JHQ stuff! I began to write fanfiction because, as you said, stories about them are rare (had you tried the Mad Love C2 community?) I'm glad you like this first chapter (and immensely flattered that you consider me capable!) I'm a French native speaker, so grammatical errors may occur: I need to work on that. As for this chapter, don't worry; although the Joker is acting disgustingly sweet, he's faking (I abhor tamed Jokers, yuck!); October will show he's not as adorable as Harley thinks now…
Thyme In Her Eyes: If I comment on your review here, readers will think I forgot to post the story and simply wrote a letter to you! What to tell you? I'm glad the quick pace is working; I'm relieved you like Darrell; I wish I could show you this calendar and I totally LOVE this quote from "The Man who Laughs"! Insight on the Joker is coming (see author notes at the end), and I leave you with that: chapter one, he made her thought of a puppy; in this one, a schoolboy…(insert evil laugh here).
A MADHOUSE ROMANCE
"Are you INSANE!"
Dr. Arkham's voice resounded through the entire asylum, his anger carrying in his words. The target of his outrage, Joan Leland, was sitting in front of him, calm and posed as ever.
"I'm not. Harleen is strong and intelligent, she'll make it. Her grades are--"
"I don't care about some stupid grades!"
Exasperated, Dr. Arkham threw his arms in the air, trying desperately to regain his calm. Massaging gently the bridge of his nose, he finally went on:
"Seriously, Joan, what on Earth have you thought? Sending Miss Quinzel with the Joker, it's like…putting some innocent deer on the highway. It's a slaughter."
"I tend to differ. Harleen is a determined young woman who will not be easily deceived."
He sighed.
"Listen, Joan, I have no doubt she is a sweet girl. It's just…well, I'm suspicious about her. The way the guards are at her feet really irks me, if you get what I mean."
"That's exactly what I said. Meet the new generation, Jeremiah, dedicated youngsters who'll do everything necessary to meet their goal…and I just know what she intends to do."
"Oh?"
"Cash on him. She wants to write a tell-all book, that sort of stuff."
"And I was wondering why she was so desperate to get a bigger case. God, the foolish girl."
"I know. I thought she'd realise it isn't that easy after some time with him."
"I said no, Joan. I won't lose another psychiatrist to that clown. Besides, Dr. Archer treated him for a full nine months to no avail, what could she do in one?"
"Julius isn't a woman."
"Your point is…?"
"My point is that's the first time we get such an intense reaction from the Joker, and we must use that! We must!"
Jeremiah's eyes softened.
"You still believe every inmate in this asylum can be saved."
"OF COURSE I DO! Otherwise, what's the point of all this? Our job? Come on, Jeremiah, there are always new inmates coming, and more cells to build, and it just seems like the world is falling into madness…and I don't want to believe that. I don't—I can't believe there's a point where you can't be saved anymore. Otherwise…"
Joan's tone wavered. She wanted to sound strong and confident, but that isn't easy when your convictions are torn apart daily.
"Alright, Joan. One month. And she must report to you each time, heard me? If you feel anything weird, if she seems to pity him, I don't care if it's just an insignificant "Poor Pooh", you get her out of this and we send that clown into the isolation room until he calms down, even if it means forever. If anything goes wrong, I'll regard you as the culprit. Got it?"
Joan smiled feebly.
"Deal."
-x-x-x-
September 1st-First session
God, she was so nervous. Her watch had just ticked to one o'clock, and that meant that any moment soon her door would open and the Joker would appear. For the fifth time in ten minutes, she checked her appearance in the mirror, than mentally chided herself for feeling so insecure. This wasn't some romantic rendezvous, no matter the feeling she was experimenting right now.
"Dr. Quinzel?" said a deep, rumbling voice outside.
"'Coming!"
Her heart went down. A big—enormous fitted better—chestnut short haired guard was standing in the doorway, his hand extended for a shake, which she lukewarmly took.
"I'm Daniel O'Keefe, Miss. 'Be the guard to bring the patients to you from now on, with Darrell, that is. Pleased to meet you, you have no idea."
Don't bet on this, boy.
"Call me Harley, Danny—oh, you don't mind this nickname, do you?"
"Not at all, Miss.", he smiled widely, proud like a rooster. He was about to say something else when a whining, fake high-pitched voice came from behind.
"Would you shut up? I am her patient! Go find your own shrink!"
Somewhere among the "Quiet, clown!" that ensued, Daniel reluctantly gave up the doorway, and she repressed a smile. Her guest had obviously done his best to look great, even in shabby, plain asylum clothes, but the general expression on his face was just adorable—he was pouting.
"Alright guys, thanks for escorting me here, now shoo! Let the adults alooooone…"
As Daniel roughly strapped the complaining maniac ("Careful! My tender skin!") on the couch, Darrell gave her the usual instructions, made her promise to call if there was anything and wished her a happy two hours of torture. The door closed after them with a fatalistic clack, and she was finally alone with the Joker.
Taking a deep breath, she turned around, taking some time to look—really look, you know—at him.
He sure had a lot of presence. His aura was invading the space, and Harley understood on some level how people can find him frightening; it seemed you couldn't hide from his intense gaze. But his face? It stunned her, for he was so…real, the true thing, not just some paper clip, but apart from that…from the general expression, he looked like an overexcited schoolboy, not some demented murderer.
"Like what you see, Doc? I sure like the view." he added with a whistle.
"Thank you. Shall we begin now?" she said, a pleasant expression on her face.
"I love straight-forward women. Of course, go on: I'm completely yours to please."
He smiled seductively (or what he thought was, Harley reflected), twitching his eyebrows in a manner that clearly suggested "ravage me!", and she had to stifle a laugh.
Poor Pooh.
"Slow down, mister…in fact what should I call you?"
"Whatever your want me to be, sweets. I can be Lovetoy for you."
"Then it'll be…mister… Joker until I find something more appropriate."
It sounds grotesque. Urg.
"I like how my name sounds on your lips, Doc. Could you say it again?"
Instead of obliging him, she sat down, elegantly crossing her legs, and victoriously noted the way his eyes were glued to them.
"Let's begin with some basics. Tell me one of your memories, anything you want."
"Anything?"
"Tsk, tsk, not this kind of anything, you naughty patient. Like…anything about your parents, perhaps?"
"Parents?"
He said the word like it was such a foreign notion to him, and she momentarily lost her composure: pity and genuine understanding softened her features.
"Your father?", she suggested softly.
"Oh, that…well, you know, my father used to beat me up pretty bad…"
-x-x-x-
"How did it go?"
Harleen offered Joan her most collected exterior: inside was another story. She just couldn't tell her how badly she was shaken by all the confidences she just received, or how she nearly cried when he threw a tantrum because their time was up. His heartrending scream would probably haunt her forever.
"I don't wanna goooooooooo!"
She just…wasn't prepared for that. But she'd be next time.
Besides, she had this feeling that disgust was the proper emotion to display when referring to the Joker if she wanted her month with him to be extended.
"Harley? What's the matter?"
"What? Oh, sorry Joan, here is the complete report for you to read, everything is in it…it's just…"
"Yes? Go on Harley, you know you can tell me anything. I'm here to help you."
Harley put her most unsure-what-to-think-borderline-repulsed look.
"I don't know…you think he'll be offended if I decline his offer to be my sex toy?"
Joan made an incredulous expression, then her usual serious face cracked a smile. Soon both the girls were laughing madly in the staff's room.
-x-x-x-
September 29th-Last session of the month
14h45. In 15 minutes, he's gone, and perhaps I'll never see him again.
In fact, Harleen was pretty confident that the work they had accomplished so far in their eight sessions together would give her access to another month with him; after all, he had made subtle but sincere improvement that the whole staff could notice, and that alone was a free ticket to October, in her opinion.
But she couldn't help the thought—nor the sting it brought to her heart.
They had an agreeable routine; he came in, made a joke at the expense of the guards; then they exchanged a few pleasantries and she'd ask a question that he'd pass the whole session giving answers—answers that never failed to make her heart cry out for him. At first she thought she was unprepared, or too soft; she after came to the conclusion that she'd have to be completely insensitive not to be moved by his horrible childhood.
Of course, she never shared her musings with anyone; anyway, they surely wouldn't understand. The Joker was a beast to them, human just in form: if he had one relative, it would be Dracula in a Donald Duck outfit, and even then the vampire would be considered the less threatening of the two.
She sneered.
"…and then my neighbour was…Doc, are you listening to me?"
Guiltily, she snapped out of her reverie, a faint blush quickly coloring her cheeks.
"Sorry" she said meekly. "Could you repeat the last sentence?"
"Aah, forget it. You're right, it wasn't a funny story at all! In fact, what don't you tell me one of yours for a change?"
"That's because I'm not supposed to. I'm the doctor and you're the patient, and that's how the things go", she said with a small smile, like a mother to a child.
"But I'm getting tired doing all the talking!" he whined pitifully, shifting on the couch like an impatient toddler. "Come on sweets, I'm a harmless little pet, I won't repeat our conversation to anyone…nobody listens to me anyway 'cept you."
"It isn't like—"
"Pleaaaaase? Please please please please?...I see you twice a week, Doc, I can tell when something troubles you…"
At least somebody noticed.
"No! No wait, let me guess", he said, snapping his fingers; " Papa isn't happy?"
"Hardly could be. He's dead."
"Oopsie. I'm so—"
"Don't be, he's not worth it. Always…dissatisfied. He sure is happier now."
"What a meanie! I sure would have been proud having a girl like you…sure you were the perfect student, right Doc?"
She laughed softly. He said that with such childish, blind fate, like it was an impossible she was less than perfect, and she had the most unexplainable urge to hug him.
He's so adorable. And Joan always repeating me he's the Prince of Scum, bet she never got to see this side of him…
"Quite right. I was a model student. Or so the teachers said", she added as an afterthought, pen tapping lightly on her chin.
"You sure could make them say whatever you want with this body of yours, eh?"
Coldness seized her; she went rigid for a moment, quickly peering at him, but he was just leering at her with his usual lecherous grin, because he always takes any occasion to make sex-oriented jokes on my body, she remembered. She really should be accustomed to that by now and stop being paranoid, because anyway he couldn't possibly know, and thus reasonably reassured she relaxed slightly.
"You're flattering me. My charms don't work that much!"
"Think I didn't notice how our Danny-boy is looking at you, sweets? I'm gonna puke."
"Stop that. He's a nice boy."
"Well, you nailed that right! A nice boring boy!"
"Hey!"
"Trust me on this, sugar; nice guys are boring. Don't you watch TV sometimes?"
"I'm too busy trying to help you out!"
That was not even a lie. She brought more and more work at home—therapy was not improvisation, and helping heavy cases like the Joker was sure a full time job. Besides, tell-all books don't write themselves in two days!
"Really? That's sweet of you, Doc, it sure feel great knowing someone cares for this poor old clown…"
"What? You liar! You can't be more than forty!"
Too late she realised she had made one big mistake (don't ever do that, Harley, has said Joan, part of his madness literally lives on it!): feeding his monstrous ego. It always has been him flattering her before, and never the reverse: she liked having the rules straight.
But looking at the happy, cocky grin now plastered on his face, she found herself not feeling that guilty.
"You're right, Doc, no matter I don't remember when I'm born! I'm sure must still in my prime!"
Her heart went down again, and she slapped herself mentally. It was true; he ignored his own age, and practically most of his own story. His life was to begin anew each morning.
Great job Harl. You're lucky he took it well and isn't sobbing on the floor right now. Just the way to end the session.
"Come on, Doc, ravage this sexy clown before he crumbles to dust! You have my permission!"
He opened large his arms (or what he could, considering he was shackled), and unable to repress herself, Harley began to genuinely laugh her heart out.
"You're impossible!"
"And ya sure are more pretty when you smile, Doc. Wait 'til I tell big Danny-boy I made you laugh!"
"Oh my God, don't! Don't! I'll never hear the end of it!"
"Alright, then, it'll be our little secret…ouhh I love the sound of that. Almost dirty!"
"Shh, shh, be nice. You ought to be if you want to see me Friday."
"We have the next month together too, then, Doc?"
"I'm positive so. Don't worry."
-x-x-x-
A Madhouse Romance- 63 sessions remaining
Notes on Chapter 2
My God, what a pain this chapter was…Harley is softening, yet isn't that changed from the previous month, while Joker gets unnoticeably more power…blah. He sure is boring to write, all falsely tamed like that. Guess I'm not accustomed to write dialogues where Harl still is sane enough to resist him, or him having to be careful about what he says to her.
Besides, I'm so eager to get to October, where we'll see some REAL action…and better, see the things from Joker's point of view! OH PURE JOY! It took me a lot of discipline to concentrate on September in these conditions.
But hey, here it is. I'm not entirely satisfied with the result, but it turned out better than I first expected…
Chapter 3 is scheduled next week, still in the PG-13 section. In the meantime, please leave a comment!