I had to admit my plan was genius considering I had only come up with it in five minutes. While Kingston was rambling on about how much he was looking forward to seeing Roselyn Hunt's first sessions in the afternoon, I was planning a way to make sure I got the Joker back. Yes I had an obsession, I couldn't deny it. The Joker was mine to open up, mine to discover and I wasn't handing him over to anyone else.

The first step of my plan meant manipulating Steven into giving me what I needed. My priority was knowing what was going on in the Joker's sessions so that I could plan my moves accordingly. The difficulty was that Peter would never let me watch the sessions, he wanted me completely isolated from the Joker. I also couldn't approach Roselyn without arousing suspicion and coming across as obsessed. I might be insane for becoming obsessed with a psychotic clown, but I wasn't a complete idiot. If I wanted the Joker back, and to keep my reputation intact, I had to take a subtle route. That's where Steven came in.

I didn't take much effort to track him down after I'd left Peter's office, I only had to ask a few of the other orderlies to find out he was busy helping subdue patients in the east wing. Apparently a few of the patients had started to act out violently yesterday and it had only gotten worse overnight. Now an entire ward was rebelling. No doubt there was someone behind it, purposefully agitating the patients in order to cause mayhem, it was the norm around here. Normally it would have caused issues for me, I'd have had to reorganise my patient schedule, but today it worked out perfectly. Today it meant that Steven would be busy and wouldn't get his break until much later than planned.

Seems like things are working out in my favour, Steven should be on break at just the right time, right when the Jokers session is.

There wasn't much I could do in the hours waiting, it was torturous thinking of how Roselyn was getting ready for her session. I wonder if she is as nervous as I was. I wonder if her legs shake as she walks in to see him. My mind tried to shy away from thinking about how the Joker would react to her. There was no way he could see her in the same light as me, after all he said I was different to everyone else in Arkham. He called the other psychiatrists sheep, it was only me that could grow to understand him. My mind would not even entertain the idea that the Joker would talk to her the way he had with me. Once the thought entered my mind it took root like a parasite.

I tried, and failed, to imagine my life at the asylum without the Joker as a patient. He'd infected every element of my life for months, without even meeting me. Now I had met him though, finally stared into that void, I couldn't just…give in. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts of him that I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock on the door and Steven's hesitant voice on the other side.

"Harleen, I heard from a couple of the guys you were looking for me earlier. Should I come in?" There was genuine concern in his voice. How touching.

I needed to pull this off right, one wrong move and they'd never let me near the Joker again. The first step was pulling out my hair from its tight bun so it cascaded down my shoulders, I needed to look vulnerable and girly. I stared in my compact mirror, brushing my hair out with my fingers and attempted to pull a sad concerned face. It would do.

"Steven, thank you so much! Please come in" I nearly cringed at my own voice, baby sweet and hollow. It was so fake I couldn't believe he wasn't laughing on the other side of the door. I thought he'd at least be trying to hold back a smirk when he came in, instead he was full of concern that only became more blatant when he saw me.

"Harleen, are you okay? It's not like you to ask for help around here." He had that puppy dog look in his eye.

Guess this was going to be easier than I thought.

"I think that's my problem Steven, I don't really know anyone here at the Asylum that well. I mean I've only been here a few months and I don't even know who I can ask for help" I stared at the floor with my shoulders slumped.

"Harleen please tell me what's wrong"

I deliberately stayed staring at the floor, allowing loose strands of hair to obscure my face. I was able to see through the curtain of blonde as his arm reached out hesitatingly before pulling back.

This is too easy.

"I'm just not used to the stress" I looked up and stared him in the eyes properly for the first time since he'd come in, hoping I looked sad and vulnerable, because if my glee at manipulating him was coming through everything would be ruined. "I've always depended on myself the whole of my life but now I just can't cope with everything and….. you've always been so nice to me Steven"

There was no way he could be buying this stuff, seriously I couldn't be that good an actress, like I really care about making friends.

Inside I was practically giggling at how I had him eating out my hand, his face full of concern and worry. I felt just a stab of guilt staring up at that puppy dog face. I did really like Steven because he was a genuinely nice person, which was rare in Gotham, but that was the only reason this might work.

"Trust me on this, it's not strange at all. You'd be surprised how many people have breakdowns when they come to Arkham. Arkham Asylum is intense, you can't prepare for it and you can't face it alone, you need all the help you can get to survive here. Everyone here is so focused on their career it can be a bit of a system shock to need to rely on people so much. What's the problem?"

I took a big breath to create a nice dramatic pause and pulled my hair back from around my face. I wanted to make sure he could see the apparently expertly faked sadness in my eyes. Steven instantly rushed forwards, eager to do whatever he needed to help the poor, helpless Harley. I had a strange moment where I wonder if the Joker felt like this when he was 'putting on a show'. It felt..intoxicating.

"Its Peter, I fucked up Steven. The Joker case was just so much of a strain for me but he kept telling me how great I was and I thought I could handle it but I just couldn't." I said it all in a big rush, hoping the quicker I talked the less he could focus on details "They took me off the case and Peter is watching my every move and now with David….."

"David?" He replied hesitantly

"Everyone thinks that I've made such progress with David, even I did…but. Well yesterday a patient was discovered covered in bruises, it took a while but he eventually confessed that it was David. Apparently he talks to himself in his cell about how he's got me fooled and how he'll be out in no time. What if he really is as violent and deluded as before and I've just been an idiot?" I gave him my best princess in distress face, blue eyes full of crocodile tears.

"Harleen, that's not a problem at all, honestly. We get patients like that all the time. I'm sure you can fix it, but you don't need to worry too much. I doubt it's true at all. I mean I've seen David a few times and he honestly seems more and more stable these days."

"Peter can't find out though! He already has it in for me because I made him look bad in front of the board members."

Steven looked thoughtful for a moment, I could feel my body tensing for the answer I hoped was coming.

"Listen, I shouldn't really do this without authorisation but... My friend Ozzie runs the surveillance room, I mean usually you'd have to get it signed off from someone higher up to take out footage. I suppose it wouldn't be breaking the rules too much if you were to watch some of the videos of David in his cell. I mean you could easily get the authorisation for them, but if you want to keep it quiet Ozzie would probably let it slide as long as I ask him for you."

Flawless victory, surely it can't be that easy?

We walked in relative silence to the surveillance room, the whole time my heart was pounding so loudly I thought he must have heard it. Thankfully he left me outside to collect my thoughts while he talked to Ozzie. I was practically humming with delight at my successful new persona, although there was an edge of bitterness. I'd spend my entire life, brutally sacrificing anything I had, fighting against the blonde victim stereotype. But apparently, years of hard work and building a reputation meant nothing compared to a few crocodile tears.

"Harleen you can come in!" Steven shouted from inside and I practically danced to the door with excitement before I thankfully remembered I was supposed to be on the verge of a breakdown.

The surveillance room was surprisingly small considering the importance it held. The room itself seemed indistinguishable from the rest of Arkham. The same crumbling walls that wept mysterious substances, the same dim flickering lights, the same stench of decay crawled into your throat. There were only three men at desks watching the monitors around the room, illuminated by their screens, and a small office in the corner that I assumed was Ozzie. Even better for me if it was more private. This wasn't the only surveillance room of course, there were a handful of other offices scattered around the asylum, usually with live feeds of the high risk patients on at all times. However, it still surprised me that the main centre in charge of monitoring all the asylum was so…understaffed. That was Arkham for you though.

Steven guided me straight to the office just as I hoped he would. Ozzie was an unremarkable man, greasy long hair slicked back behind his ears, rake thin frame and an undeniable lecherous stare. A dime a dozen in Gotham.

"Listen Harleen, Steven explained the situation and we're old friends so I'll look the other way. There's a spare computer there, so watch away. As long as you don't take any files out of the room I've not got a problem with it." He smiled up at me, well almost up at me, his eyes seemed to be focused somewhat too low to make eye contact. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Even with my back turned to focus on videos of David in his cell, I could feel Ozzie's eyes undressing me. I suppose it's an instinct all women develop when puberty hits. Steven's chivalrous instinct must have compelled him to distract Ozzie, engaging him in some inane gossip. I mostly ignored them, headphones in so they wouldn't know I was listening to their conversation, but I couldn't control the way my heart skipped a beat at the mere mention of the Joker's name.

"Sure you don't want to stay any longer Steven? The Joker session is about to go live, might be fun to watch, he's always a riot."

"Seriously, my break was over like five minutes ago. I just didn't want to leave Harleen alo….." He stopped abruptly and peeked in my direction, no doubt concerned I was listening and lowered his voice, "Just don't upset her with the Joker stuff okay, she got kicked off the case and is still pretty upset about the whole thing".

Each echo of Steven's footsteps seemed to quicken my pulse, I was getting closer and closer seeing the Joker. With just me and Ozzie left in the room, all I had to do was get him to show me the session without it being too obvious. Taking out the headphones I leant back in the chair, arching my back out and allowing my hair to fan out around me.

"Work is seriously so stressful, glad I got taken off the Joker case. Kingston forced me in with that….animal. Then he humiliated me and dismissed me like I'm twelve.", I turned toward him as a smirk snuck into my face, sure that Ozzie would interpret it as flirtatious and not devious, "Think the new girl will do better than me?"

"I doubt that, you had that freak right where you wanted him"

As Ozzie spoke he laughed and leant towards me like we were suddenly conspirators. I could smell the desperation mixed with caffeine on his breath. I knew I had deliberately stretched myself in a way to catch his attention but a wave of nausea still ran through me. Anger that this pathetic man had emphasised the word freak, and implied that I had any control over the Joker at all. Logically I knew that I had called him an animal myself, and a lot worse in my mind, but coming from someone else it felt…..wrong. Ozzie was too dense to realise my silence was not a sign of approval, but rather my lungs being too constricted to respond, so he continued.

"If you want to destress after what that prick Kingston put you through, I've got a great idea", He walked over to my computer and started typed in some codes, deliberately brushing against me. His skin felt clammy to the touch.

"You really think watching that psycho will cheer me up?" Never had I had to try so hard to embody calm iciness in my voice, I was practically singing on the inside at the sight of the Joker coming up on the screen. "This only gives Peter more ammunition to make everyone think I'm unstable so he can fire me. Why do you think I'm keeping this whole thing with David so quiet?"

"That's stupid Harleen, you're obviously your more stable than most of the idiots working here. I just thought it might be fun to watch someone else stress over him now you don't have to deal with him"

I didn't answer for a second, pausing as if I was seriously considering saying no, and then turned away from him. I tried to look vaguely disgusted when I saw the Joker's face in the centre of the screen before turning back to Ozzie.

"Honestly Harleen, it could be kind of fun for you to watch it. Must be fun watching someone else fail cos I can tell you no one will get anywhere with the Joker."

No one will get anywhere with the Joker? Is that seriously his best attempt at getting on my good side?

"I suppose it's the first session so it will be short….. I guess it might be interesting to see how he reacts to someone else. Oh and feel free to call me Harley" Fake forced dialogue delivered with a sweet innocent grin, clearly I'd spent too much time around Kingston. I wasn't sure how long I'd need Ozzie's access, so I needed to create some sort of relationship between us.

Thankfully Ozzie was back at his own desk and looking over papers and videos of other patients so I didn't really have to keep up the act anymore. I'd missed the first few minutes of the session, meaning my curiosity on her first reaction to the Joker would go unanswered.

There was only one orderly in the room with her, clearly she was trying to follow in my footsteps, but wasn't quite confident enough to go in there with no back up. I hated to admit she was attractive. It was hard to tell on the cheap Arkham cameras, but what I could make out let me know she would be stunning in person. She had ink black hair that flowed perfectly down her shoulders, somehow still shining in the dim lightning, a thin figure and a certain grace in the way she was sat. Calm, controlled and confident, everything I wasn't in front of him. To my relief he was slouched despondently, his eyes staring straight past her to the camera. It was like he was looking directly at me.

"Joker, you need to communicate with me if you're going to make any progress" Her voice was clearly stern with fake concern layered over the top, she must not be a woman used to being ignored, but there was no way a stern attitude would get through to the Joker.

"Obviously you don't think you need to make progress, so why don't you talk about why you think sane instead." She spoke in a level, casual way, damn it she was handling the interview better than I did, she barely seemed nervous at all.

Her new approach seemed to have gotten his attention, if only a little, and I bit my lip as he straightened up in the chair. I had to admit I got a smug satisfaction from Roselyn visibly flinching at having actually gained the Joker's attention, until I realised I'd have preferred him to carry on ignoring her completely. He looked at her properly for what I assumed was the first time for the entire session and let out his signature howling laughter, grin spread across his face. There was life in his face now, no longer a blank stare. He rested his elbows on the table clapping his hands together as he laughed, to give her credit Roselyn only moved back slightly. I watched transfixed as he ran his cuffed hand through his hair as though it was easy, despite the cuffs cutting into his wrist from the strain. He had a manacle on each wrist which were now connected to his chair via a chain ever since Dr Wilkies, yet he managed to make the gesture look effortless despite the obvious strain it took to pull them so far.

"You errr, want me to talk huh?" His tongue darted out over his lips, his eyes brimming with manic pleasure at Roselyn discomfort.

"I think you want to talk Joker. It can't be fun being in isolation all the time, but I'm here so that you can talk." Despite the subtle signs of her discomfort in her body, her voice stayed even and casual. She wasn't like me, voice breaking and panicked and she certainly had his attention. Maybe I was just fun for the Joker.

"What you wanna taaallkk about Doc? My childhood, my abusive father?" He was leaning forward now, his arms folded on the table. Again I noticed the cuffs still straining against his wrists, but I was absorbed in every small gesture the Joker made, anything that could help me understand him better. It was much easier to do that without his haunting laughter echoing around you. Then again it was hard to trust even his gestures because everything he did was so calculated, it was hard to tell what was real and what was an act.

"You mentioned Peter Kingston in your last session, the head of Arkham. Why don't you tell me what you think about him?"

Roselyn was still carefully tilting herself away from the Joker but her face betrayed her happiness. She was clearly using Kingston as a tangible figure to represent his attitudes to authority, and using his already established distaste for him as bait to get him to talk.

Damn her for being good, how am I ever going to compete if the Joker keeps talking to her?

"Kingston", the Joker toyed with the name in his mouth, exaggeratingly smacking his lips as he spoke, "He's an idiot, but then you won't see it. You're all so…blind. I can see it in you, you adooooore him don't you?"

"Kingston and I have a completely professional relationship. I don't know about adore, but I certainly respect him." Her tone had lost that casual edge.

The Joker's only response was to laugh straight at her and give her a patronising stare, one eyebrow raised and scarred lips pulled back in a mocking puckered smile. I could tell that he muttered something from the small twitches along his ravaged face but the camera didn't pick it up. It was strange without his makeup, the scarring so much more prominently but it somehow…suited his face.

"So what's your little plan for me then Doc? Gonna get on my good side so I'll spill all my deep dark secrets? You gonna fix me up, make me a normal upstanding Gotham citizen?" He had the same smug look on his face, same fierce stare and yet Roselyn wasn't unnerved at all, she seemed to be completely pulled into every word the Joker said, no longer edging away.

"Yes I am here to help you." She was so confident with what she was saying, even I half believed she really did just want to help him "You're an intelligent man so I'm not going to pretend I don't have a plan but it's for helping you, that's all".

"See the thing with plans is, they don't errr…. always go the way you want."

I was waiting and praying for him to go back to being despondent, to ignore her presence again. I knew that Kingston was somewhere staring at an identical screen with glee. The Joker had an enchanting allure to me, a dark whispered promise of something new and unique. Although he hadn't complimented Roselyn, that didn't he wouldn't choose her to reveal himself to. I looked back at the screen, determined to at least watch to the end of the session before I gave up hope. Maybe it would be a good thing my obsession ended here? The Joker was still leaning forward on the table, his mottled green hair hung over his face and he was vehemently surveying Roselyn.

"You're pretty interesting Doc, I'll give ya that."

Like lightning he lashed out. I nearly stumbled out of my own chair because the movement was so sudden, he'd gone from being taunting to outright violent in a second. Clearly he'd been straining at his chains in order to loosen them, or test how far he could pull them. He'd reached across the table where Roselyn had slowly been leaning closer and closer to him and, like a viper, grabbed that glossy black hair and pulled her towards him. I flinched at the sound of her stomach colliding with the table as she was yanked like a rag doll.

"I don't need your help!" He spat as Roselyn began to flail, desperately trying to get away from his grip on her hair.

She clawed at his hand, pulling wildly back from the Joker, while shrieking for the orderly to sedate him. Her struggling had worked against her, the Joker had used her thrashing to his advantage and maneuvered her onto her back while maintaining an iron grasp. It didn't look good.

"You just don't understand. . ."

He punctuated each word by violently yanking her head, I barely caught what he said over Roselyn's pained whimpering and begging. All my previous unearned resentment melted at the sound of the terror in her voice. I could see his free hand inching closer to her neck, almost lovingly caressing her cheek as he agonisingly approached her most vulnerable point.

What real damage could he do with one shackled hand?

I would never find out, thankfully. The orderly who had previously been frozen by the chaos had begun to unthaw. As if sensing his 'play time' was over, the Joker got bored of Roselyn and abruptly let go and pushed her away from him. I'd been so captivated by the Joker I hadn't even noticed the second orderly rush in to help, or the nurse kneeling on the floor holding a sobbing Roselyn. The Joker held his hands up as a sign of surrender, not struggling as a needle was plunged into his arm. The whole struggle had been less than a minute. However, the Joker wasn't quite finished yet. Even with heavy tranquillisers flooding his system, he made sure to stare directly into the camera and cackle.

"Hey Pete, if you don't want to be replacing any more staff…..I'd suggest you just send our Harley in from now on."

This was so insanely fun to revisit and tweak. This was one my favourite scenes originally and I love that I've been able to give it a coat of fresh paint! I'm forever sorry for any grammar issues, it's a huge weakness of mine but I like to think I've improved over the years. Please drop reviews and let me know if your enjoying it for the first time, if you've come back and still like it, or even if you don't like it and think I need some pointers!