A/N: sorry it's taken so long guys, life and Christmas, we all know what that's like x_x to make up for such a long wait, this one is super-sized, packed-full and a turning point in this story. A few things at play here that will affect the story throughout :-) I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a fantastic New Year!

Chapter 7 – Little Challenge

Joker was laid out on Harley's bed, his blonde wife was pressed against him, her head resting on his chest and her hand splayed over his heart. He had one arm around her back but he was staring at the ceiling. Harleen had been making more and more appearances during the night, but so far Harley had managed to keep her hidden from the doctors. It was wearing thin on Joker and he was doing his best to not beat her to hell and back.

However, it had been a week since Harleen's first surge back and Harley was now 16 weeks. From the minute the clock had ticked over, she'd been despondent and quiet when left alone by the staff. With him she was emotional and clingy, she'd been stopped from seeing Ivy despite the fact that both Joker and Ivy knew it would be better for Harley to be with one of them. He'd been to her every single night for hours that he shouldn't have risked, but it had been his loss too and it still hurt him, even though this baby was healthy and strong.

"I'm so sorry puddin'," Harley whispered in her very light slumber.

"Shut up, Harley," he snapped. "Just… sleep."

"I miss them too," she replied and pressed a very tender kiss to his neck. Joker tightened his arm around her and he ran his hand over her prominent baby bump. He had to remind himself that this heir was alive and the Bat wasn't taking him away. He had so many conflicting emotions and ideas already, he didn't need this added to it. He felt something wet on his skin and he looked down to see tears leaking from Harley's eyes.

"For god's sake," Joker growled. "Stop crying. I can't stand it. Makes me want to cut your face off."

"I don't want to," Harley whimpered.

"Then stop it, you're Harley Quinn, not a fucking toddler," he sneered. "Grow up a bit and stop snivelling like a pathetic child." She fell silent again but he knew she wasn't asleep. He knew that she was upset and remembering, but he couldn't take this constant sadness from her, especially when he hadn't caused it. Her greatest pain and it hadn't been because of him.

He hated admitting to anyone what the loss of the twins had done to him. It had had left a gaping hole in his soul, something he'd thought he'd long forgotten and lost. The babies that he hadn't realised he'd wanted had become a part of him before he'd even processed the thought of them. It hadn't been Harley's loss alone, but he hadn't shown his grief like she had, he'd taken it inward and focused his anger and despair into revenge against Robin. Even then, after that, he'd had to take care of her as she slipped into addiction and destruction.

"I hate you, Harley, I hate what you've done to me," Joker said lowly, very aware that she was listening to every word he said. "I hate what you've become. You were a cheap trick, a pretty piece of flesh to disarm Gotham and for me to use when I needed relief. You were never meant to live this long, let alone become what you have. I hate it all, you hear me? I hate it."

He ground his teeth together and jerked his head to the side, stretching the tendons as his conflictions poured into his mind and tried to order themselves.

"I hate that you, the poor, stupid, wretched doctor, who put so much electricity through my brain that it wiped the few damned memories I had away, I hate that it's you that has gotten under my skin," he snarled. "I hate that it's you that fate has decided will have my offspring. Do you want to know why I hate it? Hmm?"

"Why, puddin?" Harley stammered.

"Because it's the perfect punchline," Joker laughed. "Against both of us. The Bat, Waller, Supie, all of them must be rolling in the aisles over us, Harls. The whole joke of showing you that you're as insane as I am, the joke of you not being able to escape me and… all of it… has been turned on its head and I didn't see that it was coming. I mean, that's my trade, isn't it, princess? Jokes, one liners. Why didn't I see this one coming?"

"If there's one thing I know, puddin', it's not to get between you and the bat," Harley shrugged and looked down at their hands on her bump. "And I guess I did, you coulda got rid of me before this if I hadn't."

"You're not listening, Harley," Joker snapped and one of his hands went around her throat. "There's a thin line between love and hate and you skip across that line in no-mans-land like it doesn't exist. You're a second from death and from absolution all the time, I want to throttle the life out of you and then I want to destroy the world because it sees you when you're just mine."

"I don't understand," she said and felt her heart race as his fingers stroked against the soft skin of her throat.

"I knew hormones had made you horny, I didn't peg them to make you stupid too," he sighed and rolled his eyes. "One day I will kill you. We both know that. One day, I will destroy you. But until that day, you're mine and… nobody is taking you away from me again and no one is taking our baby from us. That's the biggest joke of it all. I fucking care about a cluster of cells and the stupid doctor that I should've killed long ago."

"It's still a joke on Gotham, Mistah J," Harley whispered. Admissions like that touched Harley normally, but it would take a couple days for it to sink in thanks to her grief. She lived for those moments of quiet approval and gentleness normally, she probably would've picked up on it if they'd been at home.

"How so, precious?"

"Our baby is made of chaos, puddin'," Harley answered. "They might be laughin' at us now, but imagine our baby in a few years' time? Takin' after his or her daddy, runnin' around Gotham shootin' and killin' those useless slobs, darin' the Bat or whoever's taken his suit by then. Learnin' our business, learnin' how to survive it all. Our baby will be the biggest storm that Gotham's ever seen."

"And what if it wants nothing to do with it?" Joker challenged.

"He will, he will want it more than us," Harley said with a nod. "He'll be born with it in his blood, in his heart. He won't have to transform like we did, he will be born as Gotham's saviour. Gotham's only heart. Gotham's only hope."

"Oh doctor," he purred. "There's hope for you yet." He leaned down and he kissed her hard, he didn't want to need her, but he definitely did. She may have been the punchline in more ways than one, but she was his punchline and he knew that she held his strings just like he pulled and twisted hers.

"I just... I just wish I'd been better," Harley whispered. He didn't answer. He couldn't. He didn't want to tell her any more than he already had. He didn't want to tell her that he blamed himself for the miscarriage, which was a level of pain that he wasn't prepared to pour on her, not her. That human part of him that she managed to wake up, was crushed and furious. He remembered the pain and anguish on her face and he knew that he'd never be able to hurt her like that. He could beat her and punish her until she was bloodied and unconscious, but he couldn't find any pleasure or pride in the loss of their twins. Other people he didn't care about. Other people weren't her.

"Sleep Harley, I won't be here when you wake up, but you and the baby need to rest," Joker said quietly.

"Night night, puddin'," Harley yawned as she got comfortable again and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight Princess."

Samantha had just had a really bad morning. She'd woken to find her Cat had missed his litter tray. In three separate rooms. There had also been a distinct lack of coffee, milk and bagels. All the things that Michaela had said she was going to buy on her way home from work the previous night, which had caused an argument before Samantha had woken up in a rotten mood.

She hated arguing with her other half, she hated being angry with someone she loved so much, but there was a particular strain on their relationship right now. That strain came in the form of Samantha's patient. She'd been bringing certain things home to work on and refine, attempting diagnoses with such little concrete evidence and a multitude of potential conditions, Samantha was pulling all the stops to try and nail a treatment plan for Harley.

"She's taking over your life," Michaela said as she noticed Samantha had woken. She'd been getting dressed for work but stopped to go to Samantha's side and sit beside her. "Harley, I mean."

"She's my job, I'm her doctor," Samantha grumbled.

"Yes, you leave her at the Asylum, don't bring her home," Michaela almost begged. "You were talking to her in your sleep, Sam, that's not normal!"

"If I don't come up with something in the next few days, I can kiss my pay rise and career goodbye, Meesh," Samantha replied sharply. "Sharpe and Arkham want something concrete, I have to put in the extra time."

"I don't like this," Michaela said. "I do not like this. Can you not get a week's rotation? Get away from her for a bit? She's getting her claws in and you promised that you wouldn't let that happen! You've been working with her for a couple months and now-"

"Oh go to work if you're going to be like that," Samantha snapped. "I'm going in the shower." She got up abruptly and stormed into the bathroom.

"Don't you walk away from me like this!" Michaela shouted. "Sam!" She heard the shower turn on and she growled angrily. She went to the kitchen and drained a glass of orange juice before she grabbed her jacket, holstered her gun and picked up her car keys.

Samantha heard the front door slam from inside the shower and she let out a very long and annoyed sigh. She washed her hair and took her time trying to make sure that she was ready to face the asylum. She'd gone from enjoying her job, to just wanting to get in and out as fast as she could. This double edged sword of Harley Quinn was starting to get to her, through Michaela ridiculously.

Samantha was broken from her thoughts when she heard her work phone ringing. She wrapped her towel around her body and walked back into the bedroom.

"Samantha Drake speaking," she said with a huff. "Oh, Mr Sharpe, I'm sorry -he's with Batman? But, sir, that's against so many protocols-No, I understand. I just… what do you mean Harley's not okay? Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Joker rocked back and forth in his chair in one of the therapy rooms. He was well secured and the strait jacket was tight, making his arms numb. He was trying to find some kind of leverage to at least get one arm loose in the sleeve, but the orderlies today hadn't been any of his paid henchmen and they'd done their job properly. He looked up when the door opened and a wide grin split his face as Batman walked into the room. He knew they wouldn't be alone and that someone was watching behind the one-way mirror, time to put on a bit of a show.

"Oh Bats, it's so good to see you, it's been so long!" Joker said brightly. "Please, take a seat, help yourself to refreshments, how's the kids?"

"What are you planning, Joker?" Batman asked.

"To the point as ever, I've missed this," Joker chuckled. "I'm paying for my sins, Batsy, I'm getting the help I need. I've not even tried to escape yet."

"Exactly, what is going on?"

"You've forgotten about the little bombshell that Harley dropped last time we saw each other," Joker smirked. "She's 16 weeks pregnant now, apparently it's the size of an avocado. She's getting fat too, sorry, not fat, that got me a slap."

"Joker."

"I'm just pleased that she's in a cell away from me, last time she was pregnant she was all over me like a rash," he chuckled. "It was fun, but I didn't get much work done. But you know how that ended, don't you?"

"We're not discussing this, Clown," Batman growled.

"Then what are you here to discuss? Hmm?" Joker purred. "Old friends don't just drop by here for nothing, you know. There's always a reason and you, Bats, always have your reasons."

"What are you going to do with Harley once she's had the baby?" Batman asked.

"Oh, drop her lifeless corpse on the side of the road," Joker said sarcastically. "Maybe use her as a broodmare, now I know she can be pregnant again, or give her to Deadshot, he took a shine to her. I wasn't planning on keeping her around."

"Good, then we can get her the help she needs and undo what you've done to her," Batman smirked. "And then we can take her and the baby and put them somewhere safe where you will never find them."

"You're not taking my baby from me," Joker snarled. "Or Harley."

"You think you're going to keep both of them?" the dark knight questioned. "You think that you're keeping even one of them? Joker, you've lost. You lost the moment Harley got into the Batmobile."

"You underestimate me, Batsy, I thought you would've learned better than that by now," Joker said lowly. "There are things at work that would baffle your tiny boring brain."

"This isn't like before, this is bigger, Joker, you have lost and all that you once had is now free," Batman smirked.

"Which kid did you pick to take over from dear old Robin?" Joker asked, pulling his trump card. "Does the new boy know what we do to little birds that get too cocky and need their wings clipped? Does he know that the previous Robin and his precious Bat-brain killed an innocent child?"

"I'm trying to help," Batman told Joker. "Harley and the baby deserve a better start, deserve a better life than what you're going to give them. She deserves a better life."

"You got a soft spot for my girl, Bats?" Joker smiled. "And after all this time, I thought you wanted me! I don't know if you can dance a three-person tango. I don't know if I want to share you, Bats. Much less share you with Harley."

"Your sick little games won't do anything," Batman shrugged.

"Oh but her sick little games would," Joker laughed loudly. "Ah today is just getting better and better. After all this time, my greatest partner in Gotham is more interested in my girl, I feel so used, Bats."

"You're getting worse, Joker," Batman said and stood up. "Your last grasp on sanity has gone."

"You got rid of any sanity when you pushed me in that acid," Joker continued to laugh and he slammed his head against the desk, just making him laugh even more. "When did I become such a non-player in this? Since when did I become the second fiddle to Harley Quinn? To you and Harley? Have you been sneaking in and taking special visits to her, Bats? You bad boy, whatever would Quincy Sharpe say?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You seem mightily concerned about someone that isn't me," Joker smirked. "I know you can't help yourself with me, or you couldn't, but now it's all about Harley. I mean, I can understand she's got an okay body, I've seen better, she's a good fuck and makes a nice trophy wife, but not all there between the ears, you see."

"Stop!"

"Consider this a break up, Bats," Joker grinned. "And what a blaze of glory it will be."

Samantha had been paged to come down to watch the Joker and Batman's conversation and she'd managed to see the last few minutes of the conversation before the Joker just stopped talking. He sat there smiling, but not saying a single word and that terrified Samantha, eventually the Bat gave up and left. She then went straight to her interview room and saw Cash standing outside.

"She's on one today, Doctor," Cash shrugged. "She assaulted another female inmate in the shower block, refused to get out of her bed, hasn't eaten and now won't talk."

"The pair of them then," Drake sighed. "Thanks, Aaron, is Mr Wayne here?"

"He's talking to old Arkham on the other side," Aaron nodded. "Arkham wants to see Harley's state before we let Bruce have a chat."

"Okay," Samantha said and rolled her head on her shoulders.

"You okay, doc? You look stressed."

"I'm fine, I had an argument with my other half this morning and then the Joker wasn't exactly cooperative with the Batman," Samantha answered. "Wish me luck." She walked into the room and she saw Harley slumped in her chair, staring at the ceiling. She looked like an impetuous child who'd been told she couldn't have any more candy. So Samantha stepped in with caution. She set her coffee on the table, put her notes down and sat on her chair.

"Good morning, Harley," Drake said calmly. "What's this about you assaulting someone in the showers?"

Nothing.

"Harley? Why haven't you eaten?"

Silence.

"Miss Quinn?" Samantha insisted.

"Dr Drake?" the blonde finally asked.

"Are you okay?" Samantha asked, now quite worried about her patient.

"It's good to finally meet you in person," the woman smiled. "Sorry, I should have… I'm Harleen, Harleen Quinzel."

"Dr Quinzel?" Samantha grinned. "Dr Arkham and Mr Sharpe would be very happy to see you."

"No, not them," Harleen said quickly. "I'm not… ready for them. Not after everything I've done."

"I understand," Samantha answered. Her smile hadn't faded and she was quite excited about this turn of events. "Harleen, you have a visitor today, but I am more than happy to turn him away as you must be a bit confused about what's going on."

"Harley keeps me in the loop, enough to torture me with, but not enough to get control," Harleen answered. "I don't know if I'm up for a visitor just yet. There's a lot I need to sort out to try and stay where I am."

"Of course, I'll just let them know," Samantha said gently. She touched Harleen's shoulder as she headed to the door. "We've got a break through, but I'm afraid Mr Wayne won't be able to attend this meeting. Maybe another day?"

"Yes, of course," Arkham smiled. "It's good to see, Samantha, we were beginning to worry." He walked away to escort Bruce out of the asylum and Samantha turned back to her patient. She saw Harleen was sat up straight and her general demeanour seemed very different to Harley.

"This is such a big favour to ask," Harleen sighed. "I need my glasses, my eyesight isn't awful, but I get such awful headaches without them."

"Of course," Samantha nodded and started writing things down.

"And some make up? So I can… hide some of these awful tattoos," Harleen continued and shivered at the thought of the tattoos Harley had had inked all over her body.

"I was watching a bit of Joker's meeting with Batman," Samantha said carefully. "And he said something that… for medical reasons we need to know about. It could also help with some your mental health. He said something about you being pregnant again."

"We miscarried twins," Harleen nodded. "It had some side effects to Harley and… he did his best to look after her. He tried so hard and he… he was so good. He tried his hardest to help her." Tears formed in her eyes and the pain in her heart felt like it was capable of breaking ribs.

"Harleen?"

"It's blurry and fuzzy, but he stayed with us," Harleen whispered. "After it, after they slaughtered Robin, she got hooked on cocaine. Joker got her off it. She went back on it once they'd escaped Belle Reve because of some level of PTSD, the hallucinations and flashbacks were too much."

"Were you off it when you became pregnant?" Samantha asked urgently.

"Yes, he took us away after she collapsed and he gave her a new addiction," Harleen nodded.

"What?"

"Him," Harleen answered simply. "She loves him, she's obsessed with him and she's addicted to him." After that, Harleen felt very tired and Samantha escorted her back to her cell. Harleen saw her glasses and a change of clothes on the bed and she smiled.

"What have you done to her?" Joker growled furiously. "Answer me, Drake, what have you done?"

"I've not done anything to Harleen, she's here of her own choice," Drake replied and closed the cell door behind her. "I'll see you this afternoon, well done for today, Harleen." She walked away and Harleen looked to the Joker. She could feel the anger in his eyes, she could feel the hatred and she loved it.

"Harleen," Joker said warningly. "Don't think about getting any ideas."

"Oh, I'm not, puddin', I'm just playing the game," Harley grinned evilly.

"You bad, bad girl," Joker laughed realising that Drake had just been played.

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