November 30th 2000

Gotham General Hospital NICU

Doctor David Thurman cradled the baby girl in his arms who he named Anna after his grandmother. He rocked her in the wooden rocking chair next to the incubator where she spent most of her time careful not to dislodge any of the tubs that were still being used to help her breathe and eat. She was still under weight but every day she got stronger and stronger. Her oxygen dependency was almost to the point where she wouldn't need the tubes anymore.

There were only a few days left till the adoption would be finalized and once she was cleared he could finally bring her home. He and his wife had wanted a child for so long but all their attempts had been in vain. It felt like fate that this beautiful little blue-eyed girl came into their lives the way she did. She was the answer to their prayers. After all, her birth mother did ask him directly to save her before she passed away. He swore then and there that he would do just that. After the difficulties during her birth all the experts at Gotham General said little Anna could have any number of health issues basically guaranteeing she would never be adopted by anyone, anyone except Dr. and Mrs. Thurman. When he came home that morning and told his wife about little Anna, showing her the picture of her he'd taken with his cell phone, she started to cry, "That's her, that's our baby." The couple began the process of adoption the next day.

They would see to it that she received the best medical care, private tutors, attended the best schools for whatever learning disability she may show. With any luck, she would have none at all and could live a normal healthy life as an educated young woman who grew up in a wealthy family that loved her just as much as if she was born from them. Dr. Thurman was already picturing things like Christmases, Halloween themed birthday parties and family vacations. He imagined teaching her how to ride a bike in the park and her first day of school. She would be daddy's little girl.

A cold breeze swept through the room. Thurman looked up to see the infamous Batman standing before him. He froze in terror holding Anna tighter against him. "Please don't hurt my daughter." He whispered.

"I'm not here to hurt her or you Dr. Thurman. I'm here to help her."

"Why would she need your help?"

Batman took a step towards them. "If her real father finds her she will need all the help she can get."

"What are you talking about? I hired private investigators; they all said he was killed. She has no other family."

"They were right Joseph Kerr was killed. The man he became after that is far more sinister than a failed standup comedian."

"You're not making any sense."

"Dr. Thurman, Joseph Kerr now goes by the name the Joker. He thinks his child died with her mother. If he were to ever find out she lived that little girl's life would be ruined."

"The Joker? You mean the guy from the papers? Are you sure?"

"I ran a DNA test from a blood sample the hospital lab took from her with some blood found from a crime scene where the Joker was shot in the arm last week. There is no doubt he's her father."

"My wife and I are adopting her, we'll never let her find out. I'll transfer hospitals if I have to. I know people in Metropolis, Middle City. We can go anywhere."

"And if he goes after the doctors who looked after his wife? He will find you and then find her."

"What are you suggesting we do?"

"I know a home for children upstate, I can falsify her records and make it look as though she died along with her mother. If he looks into their deaths everything will lead to that conclusion. She'll be safe."

"But her health? Her birth was traumatic. She could have brain damage, heart conditions, organ failures. They wont know how to look after her. No one will adopt a baby with disabilities. She'll just bounce around from home to home. God knows what could happen to her."

"At least she'll have a life. If the Joker finds out she's alive, she'll have an eternal target on her back. That isn't even acknowledging the damage she will endure being raised by that maniac."

"But my wife and I, we love her. We already have her room ready for her, and a college fund. She's our baby."

Batman waited a moment before finishing the conversation. "If you truly love her, you will see that this is what's best for her. With you, he could track her down and kill her thinking he'd be getting revenge for you killing his child. My way, she won't have an ideal life but she'll have a life where she won't have to live in fear every day. A father does what's best for his child even if it means letting her go."

Just like that Batman was gone. Dr. Thurman looked at the sleeping angel in his arms and started crying. Batman was right. With the Joker as her birth father she'd never be safe with them. He repeatedly kissed her little head savoring every last moment before he laid her back in the incubator, knowing he would never see her again.

November 4th 2016

Metropolis

"Dr. Thurman?" a deep voice called to him in a singsong style. "Paging Dr. David Thurman?" The voice continued. Thurman slowly regained consciousness. The throbbing in his head growing with every passing second as he became aware of his surroundings.

"Where am I?" he tried to move but couldn't. He realized he was tied to a chair. Last he remembered he was in his office at Ellsworth Memorial Hospital in downtown Metropolis finishing up some paperwork. After that he couldn't remember but the pain in his head told him he'd been knocked out. The room was dark and smelled like mold. "What do you want?"

"I want you to tell me a story." The Joker came from behind Thurman and sat on his lap. "Devil's night, 16 years ago. You were overlooking the ER night shift at Gotham General. A young pregnant woman was rushed in after being electrocuted. What happened to her and her child Doc?"

"You?"

"Yes, me! Judging by your look of concentrated fear and loathing I'm going to guess you know exactly why I'm here."

"I'm not telling you a thing!"

"Which in turn tells me everything! Your declaration to not tell me what I want to know means you do know exactly what I want to know. Thus saving all of us a ton of time. And don't hold out any hope of an extra terrestrial rescue. I have him busy on the other side of town where your former place of work is going up in smoke as we speak."

Thurman said nothing.

"Lets cut to the chase shall we doc?" He reached into the breast pocket of his flashy suit and took out a cell phone. "I love technology don't you?" He turned the phone so Thurman could see the picture on the screen. It was a picture of Thurman's ex wife Lisa, she was also tied to a chair, a pink ball gag was in her mouth and the chair she was tied to was suspended over the ledge of their old apartment back in Gotham. The apartment was 25 floors up and Lisa was dangling over nothing but air. In the top corner of the pickute was a perky blond holding some sort of torch who looked too be happily taking a selfie next to his horrified ex.

"Lisa! You son of a bitch!"

"Great you catch on quick. You see the little blond holding a blowtorch there. That's my girl. It'll take approximately 35 seconds for that torch to burn through the rope that's keeping Lisa from a lesson in gravity. Tell me what you know about my daughter or my lady drops your lady."

Thurman sobbed, " What are you going to do to Anna?"

"I'm going to do what any parent whose child was stolen from him would do. I'm going to find her and bring her home."

"Swear to me you wont harm her!"

"Not that this is any business of yours but yes I swear. I could never harm my own flesh and blood."

"It's more my business that you know. I should have been her father! My wife and I we wanted to adopt her. We spent every free moment with her in the NICU; holding her, singing to her, making sure she bonded with us. I'd finish my shifts and come right to her room and read her stories. We were days away from bringing her home. But then…"

"Then what Doc, Time's a waistin!" Envy over the time Thurman spent with his child burned a hole right through him.

"The Batman, he made me give her up. He knew you'd come for her sooner or later and I'd be the first place you'd look. He said he'd take her some place up north and hide her. I never saw her again."

"How did he know I was her father?"

"I have no idea. He just showed up and ruined my life. I lied to my wife and told her that Anna died. She was heart broken! Our marriage fell apart after that. Please, don't hurt Lisa? I know she can't stand me but I still love her. I never stopped loving her."

"Are you the one who named her Anna?"

Thurman nodded. "It was my grandmother's name."

The Joker got off Thurman's lap and turned away. A tear formed in the corner of his eye. It was true, all of it. His daughter was alive and out there in the world somewhere, alone. Being raised by a multitude of strangers. He wiped his eyes and looked back at Thurman. A new form of hate grew inside of him. This parasite held her. He got to see what she looked like as a baby. Something the Joker would never get to see. He should be grateful that for a time Anna was in a such loving hands but he wasn't. He was covetous beyond all reason.

"A little advice for you Doc, next time you wanna adopt an orphan, make sure she's really an orphan." He pulled a gold and black gun from his waste, pointed the barrel at Thurman and shot him right between the eyes. He took out his phone again and called Harley "Time to cut the cord baby, daddy's coming home."

"You got it Mista J, Bye Lisa! Have a nice trip!" Lisa's screams grew more and more faint as she fell off the building. "What did the doc say?"

"It's no hoax Harley girl. My kid had been alive all this time and you're never gonna believe this. The Bat is who hid her away."

"Are you serious?"

"As AIDS."

"Fucking rat with wings. Don't worry Puddin, we are so gonna make the rat bastard pay for this."

"Oh yes but first we need to find Anna. Our girl is out there somewhere and she need us to find her before the wicked bitch of the west does."

"We will. There's no way she's gonna end up in that cunt's claws. By the way, I got a little something for you. Something I think you're really going to like."

"I can't wait to see it, how about you show me over dinner tonight? And light some candles, I have something special for you too."

"Perfect! I'll make your favorite! Love you!"

"Love you more." He hung up the phone and walked out of the dingy basement and into his newly replenished purple Lamborghini. He was one step closer to finding his little girl. But first he needed to make some changes at home. He couldn't bring his daughter into a household where he was living in sin with his best girl. He may be Gotham's King of Crime, that part would never change. But finding out he was a father put a few things into perspective. It was time to make an honest woman out of Harley Quinn.

May I just say that I'm addicted to writing this story! As you may have guessed, Joker is planning to pop a big question in the next chapter. But will she say yes?...

Let me know what you guys think of the story so far!

Thanks

~SL