The Joker's usual expression was gone, and a surprised look came across his winter white face.
"Harley painted the mural?" he asked in surprise.
Pam nodded with a grin on her face. She had never seen him with such shock. "Never realized she was quite the artist, did you?"
The Joker couldn't speak. He just shook his head. "Pam…what else don't I know about her?" the Joker questioned sadly.
"Let me show you some things…" she said as she led him out of the room.
The next room was nicely decorated, peaceful, and welcoming. It had a waterbed and tidy violet drawers next to a large oak table.
"Is this your bedroom?" the Joker asked.
Pam shook her head causing her auburn locks to flutter around her lovely face. "This is Harley's room. She comes her so often…it's like a second home to her."
The Joker looked at the numerous pictures on the oak table. The first one was a picture of a sweet-looking child standing by a golden retriever. There was a small barn behind the girl and her dog.
Joker asked, "Is that Harley?"
Pam nodded.
"Where is she? What's she doing?" he inquired.
Pamela answered, "That's her with her dog, Starr, when she was seven."
"Why is she on a farm?"
"She used to live in Metropolis, Kansas. She was mostly raised in Gotham City, but she did live on a farm for a while," Pamela informed.
"She was so beautiful…even as a kid," Joker whispered.
The next photo was of Harley on a stage with an electric guitar, singing with a smile on her face. The next was Harley with a mother and father that Joker had never seen nor heard about, and the following photo was Harley with nameless friends in Paris.
Realizing that he had not known about the content of any of the pictures, Joker mumbled abruptly, "I'm such a failure to her."
Pamela looked sympathetically at the Joker for a second, but her pity quickly passed. She couldn't feel sorry for the clown after all he did.
"Well, maybe when you get home, you can get to know her all over again," she suggested.
Most of the remaining pictures were of her and Pam at various events and places. But there was a section dedicated to her beloved. All pictures of Harley and the Joker together. So many memories. The Joker was saddened by all of it.
"I can't look anymore," he said quickly as he sat down on the waterbed.
The Joker realized that he was showing his true feelings, and he knew that had to stop. He thought it best to lighten the situation with a joke. He picked up one of the photos of Pam and Harley. "Geez, Pammy, I know you don't care much about attracting the opposite sex, but what on Earth are you dressed in?"
"Come on, clown. Let's have some hot chocolate," Pam proposed.
Joker and Pamela sat at a round table in the kitchen as they drank their hot cocoa. The Joker had put lots of whipped cream on his drink.
"Wow, you've got lots of whipped cream left Ivy. Just one night with Harley and the next morning it's gone at my house. But it's…been put to good use," the Joker laughed.
"You know, Joker, we have more in common that I thought. Before I thought the only thing the same about us was that we are breathing, but…you're not so bad," Ivy smiled slightly.
The Joker smiled his famous grin. "Yeah, I thought the only thing we had in common was the fact that we both care for Harley."
Pam's smile quickly faded. "Care for her, do you? I'm not going to scold you, but I really want to understand. Why do you torture her like you do if you care for her?"
"Don't psychoanalyze me, Pammy. It's just when she does something wrong, which is more often than I'd like, I think it's right to give her a little beating. Teach her a lesson. She just doesn't learn quickly, I guess."
Pam looked disgusted. "You know what, I take it back. Whatever possibility there was of actually liking you is gone. You're despicable."
"Now wait a minute, there, Pam. When did you ever care about hurting others? About doing the right thing?" he asked angrily.
"When it involves a woman who has been heart-broken by you so many times it makes me sick. When it's about a girl who is loyal to a fault to an egomaniacal psychopath! I've always had a soft spot for the defenseless. And although Harley is strong and agile, she is helpless when it comes to her unconditional love for you," Pamela barked.
The Joker glared at Pam but he didn't have any comeback, which was extremely peculiar for him.
Pamela sneered, "What's wrong, Joker? Left without a punchline? Well, let me ask you this. I really don't think you beat Harls because she's messes up. I think you abuse her the way you do because you are afraid of her."
Lightening struck outside as the two criminals continued their quarrel.
"Afraid of that blonde jester? That's ridiculous! The girl's strong, but she could never hurt me," he argued.
"She could, Joker, but she never would. Do you see that? She loves you. She'd do anything; she'd commit herself to Arkham if it would make you happy. And you are afraid that you could actually care about someone besides yourself. Isn't that right?"
The Joker scowled and trembled.
"You know, there aren't many things you're scared of…but love is one of your only fears, right? Face it, Joker. You thought you were incapable of love, and of anyone loving you, but you were wrong. And it feels bad to be wrong, doesn't it?" Pamela concluded.
"I will not sit here and have you accuse me and think you can figure me out, Pam!" The Joker shouted irately. He took a swing at Pam, but she quickly dodged his pale fist.
Pamela scowled, "Abuse is your solution when you have to face yourself, am I right again?"
Lightening struck repeatedly. After a long time of fighting, the two began to tire.
"It's getting late, Joker. And as much as I enjoy fighting with you, I think this quarrel needs to end. Will you just answer one question?" Pamela asked.
"What?"
"You said you care about Harley…but why don't you love her?"
It took several minutes before the Joker opened his mouth.
"Who ever said I didn't love her?"
"You do? You love Harley?" Pamela inquired with shock in her voice.
Joker nodded vigorously.
"Well…why don't you show it? You know how much it would mean to her to know you really love her?"
The Joker replied reluctantly, "It's a hard thing to say for me. And everything you said was true. I am afraid of feeling emotions again. I tried for years to shut out any feeling in my life, and Harley just brings it all back. I get angry with her. I get angry with myself. And it's hard to come to terms with the fact that as long as she's around, I'll be weaker. I'll have an Achilles' heel. My heart will be open, and I'll be able to be hurt again. I can't have that. Not if I am to succeed at becoming Gotham's most notorious villain. I locked my heart up a long time ago and threw away the key. Somehow she found it."
Pamela was taken aback by all that the Joker was confessing to her. And she knew that none of it was a lie.
Pamela advised, "You should tell her, Joker. You have to learn how to say it, how to show it. And you have to tell her everyday, every night. It would just make us all happier, yourself included. Maybe it's not loving someone that makes you weaker, it's holding back the things that you ache to say and they ache to hear."
The Joker smiled at Pam. "How did you get to be so wise, Pam? Any help from our lovely ex-doctor?"
Pam smiled and jumped up when the TV turned on suddenly.
"I guess the power is working again. Why don't you give Harley a call and tell her you're staying with me?" Pam suggested.
The Joker nodded as he got up and went for the phone. He took the portable phone into Harley's room.
The phone rang at the Joker's house and Harley, clad in a purple nightgown, anxiously awaiting the Joker's call, jumped to answer the phone.
Harley quickly asked, "Puddin'? Is that you?"
Joker replied, "Hello, Harley. I'm sorry I couldn't call you sooner, but the phones have been dead. I wanted to let you know I'm staying at Poison Ivy's for tonight."
"Poison Ivy?" Harley repeated with disbelief. "But…I don't understand. I thought you hated each other!"
"Well, let's just say I got to know the little plant lover, and she really isn't so bad. We had a long fight, of course, but we've got a lot more in common than you would think. The whole night has been full of surprises."
Pamela couldn't help but eavesdrop just a little. The Joker was right. They did have a lot in common.
Harley was overjoyed. "Oh, Mistah J! It's so wonderful that you and Red are gettin' along! Um…not too well though right?" Harley asked insecurely.
"Oh, Harley! There's no chance of Pammy and I being anything besides…perhaps friends. I'm in love with someone else."
"You are? Who is she?" Harley cried.
Joker smiled and rolled his eyes. "You, of course."
Pam smiled and walked past Harley's room. She didn't need to listen in anymore. The Joker admitted his love, and she bet everyone felt ecstatic.
Countless butterflies rose in Harley's slim stomach. Her blue eyes blinked wildly and her smile was one of pure joy.
Harley asked, "You…love me?"
"Yes, and I'm sorry it took me so long to admit it."
Pamela sat in her room and she smiled as she heard the Joker's merry voice talk to Harley. They talked for hours before Pam walked in to tell the Joker to get off the phone.
Pam joked in a motherly tone, "Time for beddy-by, Joker. Get off the phone, dear."
The Joker sighed exasperatedly, said goodbye to Harley, hung the phone up and smiled at Ivy.
Ivy observed, "It's like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders, huh? You guys were on the phone like a couple of high school sweethearts. Well, anyway, I'm going to bed. The couch is set up for you."
"Thanks, Pammy. I'm not going to sleep quite yet," the Joker stated.
"Oh, no? What are you going to do then?" Pam questioned.
The Joker smiled as he responded, "I'm gonna look at these pictures of Harley, get some nice images in my mind, lay on the waterbed…"
"I don't need to hear more! Good night!"
"And Pammy? I still am not very fond of you, but I think I am beginning to appreciate Gotham City's stormy weather."
Pam smiled. "It takes rain to create a rainbow, huh?"
"It certainly does."
Oh, I knew from the first time I saw you
I just had to make you mine
Felt so sad when you told me
About your troubled life, all about your troubled life
So here we are just a few years further
Still tryin' to make it work
I've a feelin' what we really need right now
Is just a little love, oh baby, just a little love
Why should we always have stormy weather?
Why should we have it so rough?
It's not so hard just to stay close together?
Why can't we only have love?
The Joker listened to the song as he whispered to himself, "Now we can only have love."
THE END