Chapter 2

"What's your first name?"

"Doctor."

The Joker chuckled approvingly and swayed in his seat. This was something he did when he was excited I'd noticed that before, even if this was only our second session.

"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

"I don't need them." I admitted, because I knew he was bound to ask me even more questions and if I lied every time he would notice.

"Fascinating!"

"Can I ask some questions now?" I asked pointing towards my notebook. "Since I am the psychiatrist after all."

"Are you though?" He grinned leaning forward. "Maybe you should tell me your problems."

"Maybe I don't have any problems."

"Ha!" I jumped at his loud voice. "Everyone has problems, Doctor."

"Anyway..." I tried again. "Do you know why you're in the straight-jacket?"

"For my protection." He answered in a tone that seemed genuine and serious. "Because otherwise you would jump my bones right here and now."

"Mr. Joker..." I sighed.

Now he shook his head. "You can call me Mr. J, toots."

I decided to ignore this nickname. "Mr. J, you are wearing a straight-jacket, because you physically hurt three of my colleagues and tried to murder them."

"Is that why they sent such a sweet lamb in here?" He mused tilting his head from side to side, studying me. "One who's first name starts with a H?" He grinned, studying my ID-bagde that read Dr. H. Quinzel.

"Why did you try to hurt them?" I asked. "Why not give therapy a chance?"

"Ok, I'll say some names with H and then you say if I'm right. Heather, Hope, Hayden, Hailey...Ha!" He had read my face expression correctly. "Your name is Hailey!"

I shook my head and as I did so my ponytail swung back and forth. "My best friend is called Hailey that's all."

"Dammit." He muttered. " Holly, Harriet, Hannah..."

"I'm worried about you." I interrupted. "What happened to make you stop fighting?" I looked into his chart, even though I didn't have to. "You stabbed someone in the eye, you strangled another and the third got his head bashed in." Mr. J didn't say anything and looked bored. "Why did you fight the first three and then just give up?"

"I like the name Hannah, but I don't think that's it."

"Fine." I said closing my notebook. "I'm leaving."

"What?" He sounded surprised, but nonetheless amused. "Are you joking?"

"Nope." I stood up and straightened my ponytail. "But you are and you're wasting my time, because you won't give me anything."

"Baby, I'll give you all of me if you let me out of this restraint."

"Keith Pearson has serious brain-damage, he's in hospital fighting to survive as we speak." I said coldly. "I want to know why you hurt him."

"Why do you think, Doctor?" For once he didn't sound like laughing or like he was enjoying himself. "Because he annoyed the shit out of me that's why." He rolled his eyes. "Couldn't take a joke."

"Do you think hurting other people in such a manner is a joke?"

"It's entertaining, yeah. You should try it sometime." He looked at me with something that looked like disgust. "Weren't you leaving?"

I was 26 years old, this was my first real experience with darkness such as Mr. J's. I had no idea what I was doing. But he was my patient and honestly, I didn't want to give him up.

"No." I sat back down. "No I'm not leaving."

"Good. Holly was my ex and I hate that name." He shuddered as if filled with disgust. "She was always bugging me that one."

"Why?"

"She was so clingy, don't you just hate that?" He didn't give me a chance to reply. "Always on and on about how much she loves me..."

"Is that why you broke up?"

He scoffed. "No, we broke up because I chopped her up into little pieces and hid her body in the garbage."

Of course I'd known that he had murdered Holly. It was in his chart. She'd been pretty, a few years younger than me, a perky blonde with a high ponytail and tanned skin.

"And...and did you talk to Dr. Pearson about Holly?"

"Sure, everyone of your colleagues wanted to talk about her." Mr. J smiled but it wasn't a friendly one. "They all asked the same questions and I just got so bored."

"And that's why you hurt them?"

He nodded now and I finally realized that the silence he had put upon himself had been a struggle for him and maybe even a form of punishment too.

"And because they crossed certain limits, especially the last one." He sounded thoughtful as he said that. "Anyway, how about you, are you seeing anyone?"

"What are your limits?" I asked and circled the word on my clipboard. "I didn't think you'd have any."

"Everyone has limits." The Joker said in a surprisingly serious tone. "And I can't wait to find yours." He chuckled. "I would love to find your limits, doctor and stretch them as far as they go."

"What did they ask you, Mr. J?" I asked, ignoring the way he was grinning at me and the obvious amusement in his eyes. We were making headway here and I didn't want to ruin it.

"It's not what they asked me." He said. "It's the assumptions they made."

I knew instinctively that asking him to tell me these assumptions wouldn't work. That I had to give him time to trust me and to open up to me.

"What's your favorite animal?" I asked and I could see how dumbfounded he was by this and that he hadn't expected this question and the fact that I was able to render him speechless made me smile.

"A cat." He finally said. "I like the how sneaky they are. And independent."

Well here we go, I thought. That was easy.

"Like yourself?"

He laughed now, again it sounded genuine. "Yes, precisely, what's yours? A dog?"

Loyal, dependent on it's master, yearning to be petted and loved...

"A lioness." I said, keeping eye-contact. "Everyone thinks the male lion is the stronger one, she even lets him believe it herself, but really she's the master mind."

Mr. J chuckled. "Is that so?"

"Our time is almost up." And I knew it was slow going, but at least he was talking to me. This was something the others hadn't managed to do. "I will see you on Monday."

"Wait." He said suddenly sounding panicked. "Are you leaving?"

I had a phone date with Hailey and was ready for a nice relaxing weekend. I wanted to get out of here before Daniel came. He used to pick his Dad up every Friday and then they went out to dinner. Every now and then I'd joined them.

"Yes." I closed my notebook.

"But..." Mr. J sounded disappointed. "But I wanted to tell you another joke!"

The mere thought of seeing Daniel made my skin crawl and I'd meant to marry him.

"Ok." I said to my patient who had actually turned to pouting. "One last joke."

His face brightened and he leaned forward. "A woman just gave birth. The doctor takes the newborn and throws it against the wall. The new parents stare at him in utter despair." He paused. "The doctor turns to them, shrugs and announces: it was already dead anyway."

Mr. J grins and chuckled, swaying back and forth in his straight-jacket as I stared at him speechlessly. The fact that his "joke" made my blood boil with rage, seemed to amuse him further and his chuckling turned into downright laughter.

"What?" I muttered through gritted teeth. "Is. So. Funny?!"

"Your limit." He flashed me a smile and leaned towards me. "I found it."

"You're disgusting!"

I didn't wait to see his reaction as I left.

Once I was outside I tried to steady my breath. He's a patient. I told myself. He can't have known.

But he had found my limit in one session.

I steadied myself against the wall outside of his cell, trying to calm down.

It was a long week that was all.

I had to get home.

"Harleen!"

The sound of his voice made me cringe. I couldn't deal with Daniel. Not now.

"Hey!" He was smiling as if we were friends. "How are you?! I heard you finally got him to talk!" His gaze went to the corner, where the cells were. "That's great, I was actually hoping to sneak a peek."

"He's a human being, Daniel." I wasn't surprised by how cold my voice was but he looked taken aback.

"I...I know." He muttered. "I just meant, you know, from a medical point of view. His mind is fascinating."

I needed to leave right now, I had to get out here before I lost it completely. But what if you do? Hailey's voice was suddenly in my head as if she was right beside me. What do you have to lose?

"Dad!" Daniel sounded relieved as he walked past me. "There you are."

There he was indeed. David Kendall was strolling down the hallway, Dr. Leland was right by his side. A large smile on her face.

"Daniel!" His Dad cried out. "Joan is going to join us for dinner! Isn't that great!" His real smile was replaced with a fake one. "Oh, hi Harleen, how's it going?"

"Good." There was nothing else I could say and no one seemed to need more details.

"Anyway...does Chinese sound good to you?" David asked his son, who beamed as if David had just bought him a new house.

"Sure!"

"Great, Joan?"

She nodded and her eyes locked with Daniel's. He was blushing and she giggled.

"Alright, let's go!"

The three of them walked past me and it was David, who called back: "Oh! Harleen!"

"Yes?" I hated how my tone went up at the that single word. It wasn't even because it was question. It was hope.

"Have a nice weekend!"

Dr. Leland laughed at something Daniel was saying and then the three of them left.

I cried the whole way home.

How could he do this to me? How could he leave me after eight years without even trying to adjust to new plans?

And why on earth had the Joker told me that joke?!

By the time Hailey called me I was a sobbing mess.

"Harleen." She said just slightly annoyed. "Stop cryin', Daniel is a horrible person. He's good riddance!"

"I know." I sniffed wiping my eyes.

"What are you doin' this weekend?" She asked now.

"I don't know, I think I'm just going to stay in and watch TV. And you know, cry."

"Wroooooong." She sang and had me laughing almost immediately.

"Oh." I said as I heard a ringing tone in my phone. "Hold on, Hailey. I have another call coming in."

"Sure!" As always she was bubbly and I hung up on her, just catching the other caller.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Quinzel, this is a call from Arkham Asylum, do you expect the charges?"

"What? Eh...yes."

There was a click in the line and then I heard a familiar voice:

"Dr. Quinzel?"

For a second I couldn't speak. My mouth dropped open and for a moment there was complete silent, until I asked:

"Mr J?"

"The one and only." He chuckled.

"What are you...how did you...?"

"I told one of the guards I wanted to call you." He said as if this explained anything. "And that's what I did."

"But..." I massaged my temple, ready to succumb to a raging headache. "Why?"

"I realize I made a mistake." He said. "I'm sorry, Dr. Quinzel."

"What?"

"The baby-joke." He muttered. "It went too far."

"What?"

"I'm sorry." The Joker repeated and I felt like saying what again, but I didn't want him to think I wasn't taking him seriously, but he couldn't be serious, could he?

"I..." I was speechless.

"Cat caught your tongue?" He asked and I could hear how amused he was.

"Something like that." I admitted and felt transferred back to my first date with Daniel, eight years ago when I'd been a teenager and I'd been just as flustered.

"Well..." He chuckled. "Have a nice weekend, Doc. I'll see you Monday."

"Bye, Mr. J."

I took too long to reply and he'd already hung up. Hailey was waiting on the other line and I knew that, but I couldn't do anything else but stare at the phone. He had apologised. I had gotten through to him! There was a part of me wondering, if he maybe had an ulterior motive, something he was planning. But I pushed these thoughts aside. I was good at what I did and I was making headway and I would show them all!

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