Thank you for reading!
And thank you, itjustanotherbrickinthewall, Jettsetter17, Squeegee Beckinhime, and CatCrazy for your reviews! Sorry, I'm kinda new to FFN and I have no idea how to add author's notes so here we are lol.
I swear this fic is keeping me sane, work has been kicking my ass during quarantine. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
*some recreational drug use near the end* ( Happy belated 420 from Oregon )
Chapter Fourteen: Joker's Girl
Nora had never felt a rush like that in her life. The ground itself shook then all hell broke loose. It was a powerful feeling. Their car sped through the horde of gun wielding masked men causing a wave of destruction amid clouds of purple smoke bombs. The noise of hollering voices and breaking glass was soon being drowned out by the wail of sirens.
Nick spun the car around a corner as a line of police cars rushed past, heading toward the glow of the burning building. Her heart still pounding in her chest, Nora reflexively grabbed hold of the passenger's seat in front of her. They were soon on a straight path again and it wouldn't take long to reach the major crimes unit. She retrieved her drug box from the floor of the car and shoved her keys in the lock to open it and fish out the vial of Midazolam. Using a needle tipped syringe from her medical bag, she pierced the rubber stopper and drew out two milliliters of clear liquid from the vial. Joker watched her with a roguish look in his eyes as she then flicked the syringe with her fingertip to release air bubbles and put the cap back over the needle.
"I like watching you do that, doll. It shows just how, uhh, formid-able you are," said Joker in a deep voice.
Nora chuckled and smirked at him. "You think so?" she asked.
He lifted the corner of his mouth into a crooked grin as he nodded. She returned the devilish smile before Joker made a low growling noise from his throat and lunged forward to knock her over onto her back across the seats. He leaned on top of her and greedily put his mouth to hers, muffling her giggles. Then he moved to her neck and ravenously sucked at her skin as he continued to rumble in his chest. Nora couldn't help but laugh loudly before yelping slightly when she felt him take her flesh between his teeth, making him chuckle against her skin. He pushed himself up on his hands to look into her eyes, licking his lips.
"Mmm I could ea-t you u-p right here, doll," he said as he shivered.
She simply looked up at him with a mischievous grin as she bit her lower lip, challenging him in his already revved-up state.
He lowered his chin and held back a smile before growling, "Oh, youu are gonna be in sooo much trouble laterrr."
Then he suddenly lowered himself and bit down on her neck again, sending her into another fit of laughter. Once he had his fill, he sat up and pulled Nora back to a seated position. Her giggles faded and she caught her breath as they neared the police station. She took a deep breath and looked to Joker.
"You're on, doc," he said after the car pulled into an alley across the street.
Nora nodded and turned to open the door. Before she got out, Joker grabbed her wrist and she turned back to see that serious look on his face as he looked her in the eyes. She gazed back and leaned in to kiss him.
Letting her nose linger against his for a moment, she said, "I'll see you soon." Then she swiftly got out of the car, tucking the syringe filled with sedative under her shirt.
The street was relatively quiet aside from the distant alarms with the tower of fiery smoke from the explosion still tall against the dark sky. Nora stepped quickly across the pavement toward the stairs to the station. She looked toward the car to see Nick give the signal that the security cameras had been disabled. Her determination was at an all-time high as she pulled the door handle and marched inside. As Joker predicted, almost all of the cops on duty had been sent to stem the uproar after the blast and the building was eerily calm. She got herself ready, twisting her face into an anxious frown and began to breathe shakily. It didn't take long for a young man in uniform to approach her. His badge read, "Officer Morgan".
"Ma'am? Can I help you?" he asked.
She brought tears to her eyes and panted, "Y-Yes. I'm Nora Hawthorne a-and I just escaped from the Joker."
His eyes went wide and he responded, "Come with me."
He put his hand on her shoulder and led her through the station. They passed rows of recently unoccupied desks and empty offices. He brought her to a small medic station where he pulled up a chair for her to sit. Then he sat down in a chair opposite to her and asked, "Are you hurt, Nora?"
She shook her head and swallowed before saying, "N-No I'm ok. I g-got away before they hurt me." She trembled as she spoke.
He nodded and said, "Ok that's good. There was an emergency that the Commissioner had to address. I need you to sit tight until he can get here with a medical team. You're safe now."
Nora fell silent and avoided eye contact, pushing him to keep talking. She glanced at a clock on the wall. Two more minutes.
"I know you must be afraid but I hope you understand that I have to ask you some questions," he said.
She let tears roll down her cheeks as she stared at the floor. The holding cells weren't far away. She listened for any other voices or approaching footsteps. Nothing. At least for now, they were alone.
"Nora, I need you to tell me everything you remember," he told her. "What can you tell me about the Joker?"
She responded by suddenly bursting into a fit of loud sobbing, dropping her head into her hands. The young cop, in an attempt to console her, knelt down in front of her and said, "Oh God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you."
Gotcha.
Nora slipped the syringe out from under her shirt, uncapped the needle, and jammed it into his thigh. He threw his head back and cried out as she forced the plunger down, pushing the drug into his muscle. She pulled the needle out with a grunt and the man began to slump forward.
"W-Wha dih you do tuh me?" he slurred in a daze.
She caught her breath and said, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You'll have a nice nap."
His eyes rolled back as they shut and he fell to the floor. After wiping off her tear-soaked face with her sleeve, Nora rolled him onto his side. Then she stepped over the unconscious man to make her way down the hall.
She made a left down another hallway and then a stairwell, jogging at a quick pace, until she reached an exit door. Taking a keycard out of her pocket, she swiped it in the door's card reader, triggering a little green light. Then she grabbed the handle and flung the door open. Joker stood in the doorway, leaning in with his hands against the frame so that his face was the first thing she saw, making Nora laugh.
"There she is!" he exclaimed.
"Here I am," she chuckled.
He grinned and said in a distinguished accent, "I have been looking allll over for you, darling," before planting a loud kiss on her lips and stepping into the stair well.
She grinned back at him before they chuckled together and climbed the stairs into the building. They reached the medic station where Officer Morgan was left on the floor and Joker burst into a fit of giggles at the sight.
He chuckled, "Spec-tacular, doll. You truly are formidable."
Nora took a little bow and said, "I even cried," making him roar with laughter.
"And she's a talented actor!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye and breathing through the last few chuckles. Then he bent down to retrieve the cop's radio and said into it, "Uh, we have an officer down in central intake. Repeat, officer down," before dropping it on the ground next to him and taking the ring of keys from his belt.
"Now we have a little birdie to, uh, set free," he grinned.
They promptly headed into a stairwell and waited for a moment against the wall. After only a few seconds, Nora heard the sound of frantic voices getting closer from around the corner. Five more cops quickly passed by with their guns drawn on their way to aid Officer Morgan. Once they were out of sight, Joker made eye contact and they slid around the corner to follow the officer's path down to the holding cells. Nora kept close to Joker as he used different keys to open the locked doors on their route before using an access fob on the last door. He held it open for Nora, smirking at her and raising his eyebrows.
Detainees looked toward the sound of the opening door to be surprised by what they saw. Nora entered the large room with Joker strolling in casually behind her. The room was silent as men in cells along the wall stood to stare at them.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," said Joker. "Where I might find one Ran-dal E-den?"
"Boss!" Enigma called out from the last cell, sticking his arm out from between the bars.
Joker rounded a desk to swipe a keycard from his pocket in the computer. A loud buzz rang out and the locks on all of the cell doors clicked before they clanged open. "Whoops!" he laughed.
Nora grinned at his strangely charming antics while men from the cells cheered and ran in different directions, taking their chance at freedom. Enigma followed and they wasted no time sprinting toward the nearby exit to the street. Soon, Joker pushed a door open and the night air blew over their faces as they ran for their waiting car. They left the station emptier than they found it and slipped away among the crowd of released criminals for the unfortunate duty officers to chase after.
Joker was putting something back into his pocket as he laughed breathily from the back seat at the mess they left behind for the second time that night while Nick sped away from the scene. Nora rested her head back to take deep breaths. They had Enigma back. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she giggled along with him. Enigma smiled as he panted in the passenger's seat.
Once he'd recuperated enough to speak, he turned to them and said, "Boss, doc. I didn't expect ya to spring me."
Nora smiled at him and Joker replied, "Mmm well someone such as yourself doesn't get locked up again. That's not how I, uh, oper-ate."
Enigma looked like he didn't know what to say. He stared back at Joker and finally said, "Thanks, Boss. I, um, didn't say nothin' to 'em. For all they know, I'm a mute."
Joker responded with a low chuckle, "Good man."
Nick spoke into his walkie, alerting the team that they had Enigma. The radio hissed with static before Dome's voice came through, "Roger that, breakin' it up," with the sounds of shouting and firecrackers in the background. They took a longer route back to the warehouse to avoid road blocks near the blast site. Nora could still see red and blue flashing lights from fire trucks taming the blaze reflecting off of nearby buildings. It was amazing what they had caused, such chaos orchestrated with precision. It even seemed to take minimal effort from Joker. The ability to create such disorder and escape unscathed was certainly a talent of his.
"Any word on how Q is doing?" she asked Nick.
"Sorry, no news yet," he answered.
Suddenly, her heart jumped into her throat when she spotted police cars speeding up the street toward them. She braced herself for what was coming as they got closer, holding on to the door handle. Then they raced right past them, like they were invisible. She swiftly turned around to watch them disappear around a corner. Joker giggled and she shifted her eyes to see him watching her.
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and smirked. Then he mimicked dialing it before holding it up to his ear and, in an uncharacteristically normal voice, he said, "Hello? Yeah, I just saw some guys in clown masks heading north on 67th!"
Nora's eyebrows shot up with surprise as he laughed. The thought of someone on the other end of that call receiving a false tip from the Joker himself and having no idea sent Nora into a fit of hilarious laughter along with him.
The atmosphere back at the warehouse was akin to that of some kind of party. Nora thought it was funny, the way an outsider could mistake their excitement for a celebration of something normal like a birthday or a retirement, not a successful act of arson with an added jail break. A few guys were nearly arrested but managed to sneak away with the disarray from the riot so everyone was in good spirits. Bottles of beer and liquor were being passed around among men with their clown masks pushed up onto the top of their heads while smaller groups laughed and chatted.
Nora was set up at a table with a light shining on a young man while she stitched a bloody gash in his arm. He winced and took a shot of clear alcohol as she passed the needle and suture through his skin.
"You might bleed more with that," she mumbled with her eyes focused on her work.
He resisted squirming while she pulled the needle through once more and said, "Ok yeah, but that don't exactly tickle."
She chuckled at him, then snipped the final knot in the suture line before dabbing blood away with gauze and stepping back to inspect it. Not to sing her own praises, but she thought it turned out looking quite good.
"Alright, you're good," she said, motioning for him to get up so another man from the small line behind him could sit down.
Dome sat in the chair in front of her as she changed her gloves and said, "Hey, doc!"
Nora chuckled, "Hi, Dome! What happened now?"
He held up his hand to show her a very swollen and purple left index finger. "Smashed it pretty good in the truck door," he said casually.
"Jesus, man! Can you move it?" she asked.
He frowned as he gave it a try but was unsuccessful. He shook his head, "Nah."
She gave him a look of sympathy and said, "Well, I don't have x-ray here but it might be broken so we'll have to just splint it for now."
He nodded and she proceeded to look through her medical bag for supplies, then put out her hand. He placed his injured hand in her palm and she gently placed a tongue depressor underneath his finger before securing it with white tape around the digit and across his palm.
"This should do it for now. Don't try to bend it, keep it immobile," she told him. Then she looked around the table before grabbing an abandoned glass with ice from a drink and poured it into the bag that the tongue depressors were in. "Ice it and keep it elevated for twenty minutes, that should help the swelling."
Her eyes shifted to the staples in his head and she said, "Remind me to look at it tomorrow and we'll get those staples out of your head."
"Thanks, doc," he chuckled and she nodded with a small smile.
"Neeext!" cried Joker as he ambled toward them. Then he took Nora's hand and spun her around before dipping her toward the floor.
"How's my dear doc-tor doing, hm?" he purred, with his nose almost touching hers.
She giggled and held on to his shoulders. "Quite well. Though these guys aren't as good a patient as you, J," she teased.
He growled and replied, "Ohhh I'll be your patient aaanytime, doll," before clicking his tongue with a smug smirk on his face.
Nora raised an eyebrow and said, "Ok, I make house calls."
Joker shuttered noticeably and grumbled in a low voice, "Mmmm I love when you talk like that." Then he suddenly stood her upright, his self-restraint showing on his face, and stiffly walked away to leave her to her work.
She smiled to herself with butterflies in her stomach. Nothing had ever made her feel the way his affections did. She turned to the handful of men standing there waiting for their injuries to be tended to and, despite her best efforts to control it, her cheeks flushed pink. No, no, no. Just own it.
She took a deep breath, grinned at them, and said coolly, "Gentlemen? Who's next?"
After fixing up a couple more lacerations, a broken nose, and torn ear lobe, Nora's energy was running low. She heard Enigma chatting loudly at a table where Joker was sat across from him so she closed up her medical bag and headed over to join them. Joker had his shoes propped up on the table top with his ankles crossed and his sleeves rolled up. When she got close enough, she saw something in his lap.
"Bowie!" she exclaimed and the cat raised her head to blink sleepily at her. She was curled up in Joker's lap like it was perfectly normal, making Nora chuckle. "Well, I knew she liked you."
"This creature is, uh, qui-te the hunter," he said, moving his eyes toward the door where several rat carcasses were left on the floor.
"I guess you're not the only one who knows how to track down a rat," Nora giggled.
Joker let out a burst laughter, causing Bowie to jump down and stretch her legs before sauntering away. Then he dragged a chair up next to him, as close as he could, and motioned for Nora to sit.
"Enigma was just about to, uh, regale us with a tale from his time at MCU," he said as she made herself comfortable.
Enigma smirked and said, "Well, when I was waitin' for questioning, there was this guy in the cell next to me. He used to work for Carmine Falcone when he was in charge."
Joker's eyes shifted up from the knife he'd begun to fidget with and he said, "I'm listening."
"Word is that Sal wasn't supposed to take over after Carmine got locked up. His pop, Luigi, was next in line but the old man kicked the bucket right before Falcone was took away. The Falcone clan hate Sal for supposedly killin' Carmine's son, Alberto over some bad drug deal years back. This guy say they all think Sal killed his old man to make his way to the top. So he took over, but he definitely 'aint popular for it."
"In-ter-estiiing," rumbled Joker. He paused and twirled the knife blade against his fingertip. "Maroni may just be paid a visi-t by the ghosts of his past."
"What are ya thinkin', boss?" Enigma asked.
Joker grinned and said, "We'll put the kid on it later. For now, we'll take the night off."
Enigma chuckled and held up his glass. "You heard the man! To the Joker!" he called out to the other men.
The large room roared with cheers and the smashing of a few bottles on the ground as the now slightly inebriated delinquents toasted their boss. The men continued to loudly chatter as Joker looked at Nora with his contented delight showing on his face before dropping his head back over his chair and bringing two cigarettes into his mouth. He lit them and took a puff before holding one out to for Nora to take between her lips. She inhaled the calming smoke, tasting his mouth on the filter. It reminded her of the first night she'd spent there and she smiled back at him. It'd certainly been a tiring day, but Nora felt up for a bit of celebration.
They talked and laughed with Enigma and a few other men, reveling in their success. Nora told Enigma about what she'd done to Officer Morgan as he listened intently.
"So I just started sobbing and when he got closer, I stabbed him in the thigh with it and pushed the drug in. He was out in about thirty seconds, easy," she said.
Enigma started to laugh heartily and once he caught his breath, he replied, "Oh my God! Damn doc, remind me not to piss you off! That is somethin' else though."
"Oh I know some interesting ways to hurt someone," she joked.
Joker laughed loudly. "She's, uh, not wrong," he said, bouncing his eyebrows.
"It's true, J would know. I did kinda stab him in the chest," she said, chuckling.
Enigma looked confused and said, "What? I thought she helped you when you was stabbed already."
"Mmhm, she did," Joker said plainly.
Enigma looked back to Nora and she said, "Don't worry about it E, I won't stab you. Unless I have to, of course."
He chuckled and replied, "You know, I'm just gonna let this one go. The two of ya seem to know somethin' I don't, but I don't think I wanna know."
Joker and Nora laughed together before Joker said, "A fair judgment, my friend."
As they continued to chat, Joker pulled a rolled up plastic bag from his pocket after smothering out the butt from his finished cigarette on the floor. He unrolled it for Nora to see it contained almost an ounce of fragrant marijuana and some rolling papers. The pungent, earthy smell reached her nose as soon as he opened the bag to select a sticky looking bud from the bunch and began to pick it apart with his fingers. In no time, he'd evenly distributed the pieces on the small paper and rolled it up, licking the seam to seal it.
He held it out to her and said, "I'd say we deserve to relax, doll."
It'd been a long time since Nora had any weed but the prospect of smoking it with Joker was… enticing. She smiled and put the joint between her lips, leaning in for him to light it. Nora took a controlled inhale but was unable to stifle a cough.
She laughed through it while Joker chuckled, then she said, "No no, I promise I've done this before! It's just been awhile."
He looked at her with a soft gaze and replied, "I just want you to enjoy yourself, doll."
Nora smiled at him and handed him the joint after successfully keeping in another puff and slowly letting it out. He lifted the corner of his mouth and kept his eyes locked with hers as he inhaled to fill his own lungs.
It wasn't long before Nora had moved to sit in Joker's lap while they blew smoke from a second joint up toward the ceiling. She laid her head back on his shoulder, enjoying the light, floaty feeling that was coming over her. The crook of his neck was warm against her cheek and she could feel his steady breathing beneath her. It felt nice. She watched the men drinking and socializing around them, their activities suddenly more interesting than they were before. A few of them were playing a card game, stopping every minute or so to argue loudly. Another group were attempting trick shots as they threw darts at a target drawn on a large piece of cardboard, making Nora giggle. Then she overheard someone talking about Joker.
"Boss has been in a good mood lately," one voice said.
"Yeah he's sweet on the doctor. You 'aint heard about that? They were makin' out in front of some of the guys earlier. She's Joker's girl now," said another.
Nora didn't hear another word after that as blood began to rush in her ears and her stomach did cartwheels. A huge smile pulled at her cheeks and she closed her eyes. Joker's girl. If she heard that she'd be referred to as the Joker's girl months ago, she would have said whoever told her that was crazy. But now she was elated.
Joker chuckled and asked, "What are you giggling about, hm?"
Nora sat up on his lap and swung her leg over to straddle it. Then she grabbed Joker's face, to bring it in close to hers. She hovered her mouth over his for a moment and their breath quickened, washing over each other as they froze in place. Her parted lips tingled intensely as she waited, so close to his but not touching, sending their hearts racing. Then Nora brushed her lips against him before pressing her open mouth to his, hard. He closed his eyes and returned the fevered kiss, lacing his fingers in her hair. It felt like the first time they kissed. Goosebumps rose up over Nora's skin and her cheeks flushed hot. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Joker held the back of her head to keep her close as their mouths tangled together. All they could hear was their ragged breathing, savoring each other while the world continued on around them. Soon their movements slowed, along with their breath, and Joker held her face as they opened their eyes and released from the kiss.
He grinned at her and tucked her hair behind her ear as the two sat with their foreheads pressing together.
"Well hello there," he said in a low voice.
She smiled and giggled softly through her nose. Then it was suddenly obvious that the room was almost completely silent. The crowd of two dozen men in the warehouse around them had all stopped what they were doing at some point and were watching them. No one dared to move once they saw their boss had noticed them staring. Joker glanced around the room for a moment, licking his lips. He looked back at Nora on his lap in front of him and suddenly leaned forward to swiftly capture her lips once again. She brought her hands up to hold his face while hoots and whistles from the crowd of men echoed off the walls while they kissed, the attention on them making it feel that much more intense. The two smiled at each other once they parted, the noise around them like something out of a movie. Nora knew there was no question about it now, she was Joker's girl. The tension was gone as quickly as it had shown up, leaving the party to pick up where it left off.
Joker stood with Nora still straddling his lap, lifting her with him to wrap her legs around his waist. She giggled and held on while he walked toward the side door.
"Let's get some, uh, fresh air, doll," he said.
He kicked the door open and carried her out into the cool night air, letting her get to her feet once they reached a patch of grass. He took her hand and flopped down on his back, taking her down with him.
"Oops!" Joker chuckled, sarcastically.
His resulting fit of giggles was contagious as they shifted to lay next to each other in the grass. Nora caught her breath and blinked slowly before looking up at the sky.
It was a rare night in Gotham when you could see the stars and that night they were beautiful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the moon was a tiny sliver. She got lost in the dark black heavens scattered with sparkling twinkles of light above her. The longer she looked, the more it felt like she was floating up there. If she reached her hand out, she swore she'd be able to touch the stars. She imagined they would feel something like cold fizzy water.
She heard Joker's voice over the chirp of crickets, "What do you think, doll?"
"I think I like being Joker's girl," she answered.
Song for this chapter: Strangeness And Charm by Florence + The Machine