A/N: Now this one does examine Harley's emotions, so I'd like to warn you all that it could well be quite heavy to read, a little violence too.

It's also another bloody long one, snacks and drinks again, folks, get comfy and all that jazz.

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Chapter 13 – Little Hell

Harley felt her body come back to life and she wriggled her fingers and toes before she tried to move her body again. She sat up and shook her head as distant and blurry memories came flooding back to her. Her feet and hands felt ice cold, her head was thick and foggy. It took a while for her to be able to figure out where she was. The floor she was laid on was soft and squidgy and as she came back to herself, her hands grabbed at her belly and she started to panic.

Harley scrambled to her feet only to find herself falling down again. Her lower half was still weak and tired and she cursed herself for not being stronger, for not being able to protect her baby. The crushing realisation hit Harley hard and she let out a scream of anguish and despair. She felt empty and broken. All she'd wanted was her baby and they'd taken that from her.

"Give me my baby!" Harley screamed as loudly as she could and she threw herself at the door. She slammed her fists against the padding and tried with all her might to rattle it open. She kept screaming until someone opened the door and she went to hit them but she was zapped by a Taser and she crumpled to the floor.

"My baby, please," Harley stammered.

"He's safe, he's in good hands," Jeremiah Arkham told her.

"He's not, he's not with me, who could look after him better than me?" Harley begged.

"One day when you've healed and Harleen is back to her old self, then maybe we can set up a meeting," Jeremiah replied, not meeting her eye and try to fight the emotion in his mind.

"No, no, I'm his mother," Harley shouted.

"You're a very sick woman," Jeremiah said gently. "We're going to help you get better once and for all. Or you don't leave and you never get a chance at seeing the child or the outside world."

"Jerry, stop, listen to yourself," Harley whispered. "You sound like him, like Sharpe. How many secrets could I tell that would get you into so much trouble-"

"Harleen, please calm down and let us give you some sedation so you can sleep," Aarkham said quietly and gently, as if he were talking a very scared kitten out of a tree.

"Don't touch me," Harley growled and crawled into the corner of the room. "Please let me have my baby!"

"Let's leave her to calm down, there's no point trying to fight her right now," Jeremiah told the others with him and they backed out of the cell and locked it. Harley counted and she heard 10 separate locks click. She cured into a ball in the corner and let her blood curdling screams rip through her from her chest.

It was like her world had been torn apart. She had a gaping painful wound in her heart, an unfulfilled desperation to hold and care for the baby she'd spent months dreaming of. She had been so hopeful, so convinced that she would finally have something that belonged to her.

Something that would love her a much as she loved him.

She had nothing in her world that loved her with undying devotion, she'd never had the kind words parents spoke to their kids whilst they were poorly. She'd never had the gentle partner that would hold her through the worst days, she'd been surrounded by violence and selfishness her entire life and she'd finally had one person that she could love and cherish and not be taken advantage of.

"I told you to let me take control, we wouldn't have lost him," Harleen said in her mind.

"You're really not helping, Harleen," Harley screamed.

"It's your fault we've lost him."

"It's your fault, none of this would've happened if you had just stayed in your box," Harley snapped.

She ached from head to toe, her body in agony after giving birth without any pain relief, she'd then had the sedative and been left to sleep on the floor like a stray animal. It felt unreal, it felt like a nightmare. How could they take a baby, a new born, half hour old baby from its mother? She dug her nails into her forearms and started to scratch herself, hoping the pain would jolt her from a bad dream and she'd wake up in the club with her son and Joker with her.

But it didn't happen.

This was torture, this was exquisite pain and the only thing that could fix it was her son.

Harley had found so much hope and so much happiness from her baby, those short minutes where she'd held him and nursed him, they'd felt like heaven. The normalcy and gentleness felt right and good. Cool water to a thirsty man. Her mind had eased, the noise in her head had subsided and she could see clearly. Her heart felt fit to break, she felt like she just wanted it to stop. What was the point in being around if she wasn't going to be able to look after her son? What was the point when Joker was just going to kill her for this anyway?

There had been a point in Harleen's life when her friends were getting married or having babies and she hadn't even had sex and she'd convinced herself that she was going to be alone and childless for the rest of her life. She had convinced herself that she'd been totally okay with not having children, but she wasn't okay. Deep down all she wanted was to nurture and mother something and she'd had all of that, just in reach, just in her arms and then she'd trusted someone for just two minutes. Thinking that Joker was enough to protect her baby. Of course he hadn't been, she should've known he wouldn't have been enough.

She hurt so much! This couldn't be normal.

"It's called grief, Harley," Harleen told her. "Do you not remember this after the twins?"

"I was grieving with someone then, Harleen," Harley snapped. "I wasn't alone. I had my puddin' with me and he protected me. He helped me."

He was going to be so alone and so conflicted and that made her dig her nails into her skin harder. The thought of him going through this alone made her feel even worse. Not only had she not been able to protect her child, she couldn't stay with her Joker and as much as he'd deny feeling anything for anyone other than himself and the Batman, he'd wanted this baby as much as she had. He would've stormed into that room and tried to take on as many guards as he could and gotten over powered. His raw paternal instincts came out and demanded he protected his offspring.

"You're both very… primitive," Harleen told Harley. "You work on your instincts, why are you shocked that your parental instincts came in so strong for our son? You're both intelligent as hell, but you both like working on basic feelings. Why do you think the child would've been different?"

"Stop talking like the doctor, I know you're hurting too," Harley whispered and she felt Harleen disappear into the same pit of unending sadness. She felt blood on her skin and she looked to see where her nails had cut broken the surface. It didn't hurt, why didn't it hurt? She started to scratch again and was almost relieved when pain blossomed under her skin.

Harley watched as the drops of blood collected and ran down to her hands. It wasn't much, but it was enough to let her know that she was alive and this was happening. Those precious minutes with her son had been the most alive she'd ever felt. She'd had a purpose, a reason beyond being someone's sex toy and minion. She had a purpose beyond terrorising a city and making Arkham Asylum look completely defunct. She'd been more than the Joker's Girlfriend for a few sweet minutes, she'd been totally equal to the man who'd ruined and created her.

That was a fleeting but definite feeling and she wanted that back. She wanted her little boy back in her arms and the ache of loss ran through her heart, into her soul and around again. She trembled as she started to cry and her bloodied hands covered her eyes to try and hide the tears as they fell. Soon enough she couldn't stop them and her soft sobs became wails and eventually more screams.

After an hour of constant screaming, the door to her cell opened again and she saw Arkham stood with a familiar looking guard. He gave her the folded blanket that the baby had been wrapped in for a couple of minutes and Harley snatched it, fast as a snake and with anger in her eyes that should've put the fear of god into Arkham. But he walked out and the guard put a metal tray of food, in the loosest possible sense, and a large plastic cup of water on the floor in front of her.

"Harls," the guard said quietly, knowing Arkham and the others wouldn't be listening in.

"Frosty?" Harley whimpered.

"He's alive, he's with that soldier," Frost stated her. "Joker is… still in his cell, I don't know how. Give me a day or two and we'll get out of here. Where did you hide Drakes card key?"

"On the wall by the bed, third from the head board, two up from the mattress, there's a loose tile," Harley mumbled. "It's behind there with everything else."

"We're getting out maybe not tomorrow, but the day after at the latest," Frost told her. "Just sit tight and try and not damage yourself. The Boss is pissed as it is."

"He's going to kill me," Harley mumbled.

"No, no he's not Harls," Jonny said gently and looked at her. For the first time he saw the scared little girl behind the mania, he saw someone who really just needed kindness and time. How the hell did she end up with Joker? How the hell did she survive him?

"He's not gonna kill you, he wants to know you're alive and okay, they told him you were dead," Jonny said honestly. "He's as upset as you are, he just… has his own way of showing it." Harley unwrapped the blanket and put her face into the soft material and took a deep breath, it just about smelt of her baby and she felt her stomach turn. She was so… empty without him.

"I need him, Jonny," Harley whispered. "Both of them."

"And we're gonna get you there, I've gotta go before they get suspicious," Jonny said and he touched her cheek. He felt a kind of brotherly-sadness for Harley. No, they didn't get on most of the time, but seeing her in this much pain for a second time tore at him. He'd never let either Harley or Joker see how excited he'd been for the twins or this baby, he'd also never let them see how much sadness he experienced at their losses either. He couldn't afford to.

Jonny stood and walked out of the door and locked it behind him before he joined in the chatter and banter between the rest of the guards. Harley wrapped the baby blanket around her top half and tried to close her eyes. She felt something sharp and hissed when she realised she'd sliced her thumb on a piece of paper. She looked at the scrawled text and frowned.

Flag. Baby. Belle Reve. Come get him.

She thought for a few minutes, why would Flag be helping her? He hadn't exactly talked Waller out of this nasty little plan of hers and he didn't bring the baby to her in the medical centre. What was he playing at? She didn't think he was capable of feeling guilty about taking her baby, he was too much of a slimy soldier boy to do that. She folded the paper into a small square and pushed it into the side of her bra. She winced as it was quite uncomfortable, but she'd get used to it.

Harley made herself comfortable in the corner of the small padded cell and she tried to calm herself down to evaluate her situation. She knew she was in solitary confinement, the other side of the island to the rest of the buildings, the next building to this was the medical centre and then the asylum across from there. She knew there was a system of tunnels and ventilation shafts, she'd been up them countless times, but she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to climb through them. She'd lost a lot of muscle in here, but she was still strong enough to warrant a group of burly guards should she be moved. Without knowing what cell she was in, she didn't know where her closest tunnel or vent shaft was and she knew once she was out, she wouldn't have the time to take a look around.

She just hoped Frost had a plan.

The solitary confinement cells were barren padded cells without windows or natural light. They weren't soundproof, but the soft walls absorbed a lot of crying and begging. She'd spent very little time here as a doctor but she knew the stories of people losing their minds and writing on the walls with blood. The floors were soft enough to sleep on and the rooms were kept warm, but there wasn't a single potential exit or entrance beside the door the guards and doctors came through. The room also wasn't big enough to hide in, or to spring a surprise attack. If she was getting out, she was going to have to just go straight for the jugular and fight her way out. That would've been easy if she'd been healthy and fit, but she wasn't.

She had to level the playing field.

"I'll tell him, Jerry!" Harley shouted and laughed loudly to herself. "I'll tell Mistah J everythin'! There's so many stories that you shouldn't have dragged me into!"

Silence.

"What about the one where you helped Sharpie kill patients with his experiments?" Harley tried. She had a trump card that she didn't necessarily want to play, but she would if it made Arkham slip. "Or what about that time you called me a cheap hooker because I wore red lipstick? He wouldn't take kindly to that. Hey, Jerry, did your wife ever find out that you liked sleepin' with the interns? Or did she die without knowin'? Did you ever figure out who did ol' missus Arkham in?"

"Shut it, Clown," Arkham snapped at the door.

"She'd be rollin' in her grave if she knew what you'd done, Jerry," Harley giggled. "She was a nice lady, she helped me out when you lot all thought I'd fall flat on my bespectacled face. Such a shame that she had to die. I always wanted to tell her about you and Leland but-"

"Quinn!" Arkham shouted and opened the door. He towered over her, but she wasn't intimidated. "I swear to god, I will not be held responsible for what happens to you if you don't shut up."

"Oh, sweetie, you're so cute," Harley grinned. "You think you're scary, but mister, I've seen scary and you ain't got his smile."

"She's lost it," Arkham grumbled after a few moments and then left the cell. "Ignore anything she says. The loss of the baby has obviously proved too much. She's broken. Poor thing."

"Don't flatter me…. Black Mask," Harley taunted. She laughed and felt her grief melt and twist into fury and anger. She didn't know how much of Arkham they were going to overturn, but she knew that their revenge would be total and utter glory and destruction.

For now, she'd wound up Arkham, she'd gotten a good look around the corridor outside and knew exactly where she was. Getting out of here would be a piece of cake.

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The hours passed and Harley flipped between grieving screams and wails to murderous laughter. The crushing emptiness was killing her slowly, but she had to make the guards and Arkham uneasy. She had to keep them unaware of what was going on and when she got the chance to pounce, they wouldn't know what hit them. She managed to peel some of the thick plastic-like coating of the walls and recovered a nail from the boards underneath. She ripped the fluffy filling from the panels and giggled excitedly as the room filled up with white and pink foam and cotton wool type material. It was destructive, it made her feel better and it would piss off anyone that had to clean it up.

"I'm bored and hungry! Someone give me food!" Harley yelled. "Or give me something to watch, or something!"

"You're two hours away from breakfast, Quinn, just shut up and sleep!" One of the guards shouted back.

"Two hours ain't good enough, I need food now!" Harley whined. The guard smacked his fist on the door and she started laughing again. She pulled a piece of the plastic sheeting loose and hid the nail in her hand. She would at least have some fun if she wasn't allowed to escape just yet. She crept to the wall next to the door and held her breath. The door eventually swung open as two guards aimed to come in, the first thing they'd notice was the stuffing of the walls and the second would be her.

"What the hell-" the guard didn't answer as Harley launched herself at him and wrapped the plastic around his face, suffocating him. The second guard went to grab her and she punched him, the nail jammed into his cheek and he screamed in agony as the rusted metal punctured his skin. Harley stabbed him with the nail a couple of more times before she kicked the guard to the ground. She pulled the plastic taught over the first guards face again and he fell to the ground. She straddled his back and struggled to hold the plastic there until he stopped moving. She then put her hands either side of his head and snapped his neck with a quick movement. She laughed loudly and ran through his pockets, grabbing anything she could stash in her underwear.

"Oh shit!" more guards swore as they piled in at the noise and commotion. Harley looked up and felt her happiness at her kill turn into anger.

"Give me my baby!" Harley screeched and leapt at them, dropping her weapons. She ignored the pain in her distended abdomen, she just needed to destroy them. She hit, scratched and fought with the guards until the door to the isolation unit slammed open.

"You!" Arkham shouted and dashed to the panic box by the doorway. He grabbed a fast acting sedative and the new guards joined in the fray. Harley ducked one grab by a guy, before she felt a hand in her hair and a leg kicked hers from underneath her. She tumbled to the floor and they pinned her down. The guy she'd stabbed in the face a few times had his knee in her back, making pain spread and blossom through her labour sore body.

"Give me back my baby," Harley snarled at Arkham as he approached with the syringe. She watched as it stabbed her arm and he depressed the syringe. She felt her world get heavy and her vision went blurry.

"Move her to room 1," Arkham barked. "Someone clean this up. The little bitch doesn't deserve breakfast."

"Ya tell 'em, Jerry," Harley slurred and she cackled weakly as they moved her to the new room.

Come on, Frost, now's the time, Harley thought furiously. If he wasn't going to stage her break out, she'd have to start the days proceeding's herself. She'd been given just a small amount of food and water to last and she was starving. They'd left her handcuffed this time and she couldn't really destroy anything with her hands behind her back like this. She was sure it was the next morning, but time passed weirdly for anyone in solitary. She'd spent most of her time laughing wildly or crying and screaming for her child. There wasn't an in between.

"You're all stupid and boring!" Harley shouted.

Sixty seconds later, there was the sound of footsteps and a strange shout.

"Holy-!" the Guard yelled before a muffled pop went through the air.

"Silencer?" Harley frowned. She grabbed her baby's blanket and huddled into the corner. If someone was going to come in and try and kill her, she was going to try and survive the first few seconds before she attacked. She heard the locks on the door slid open and she sat on the balls of her feet, ready to spring at the attacker. The door opened and someone walked in. Slow, meaningful steps and Harley launched her body at them. The man wrapped his arms around her body and lifted her upwards, catching her mid jump before she could knock him down. She struggled against the lithe body and finally, with a growl, looked up to the persons face.

"Puddin'!" Harley grinned and threw her arms around him. Joker put her up against the wall, rested his hands on her waist and he kissed her deeply. Harley ran her fingers through his hair and revelled in having him there and against her.

"I'm so sorry, puddin'," Harley whispered against his mouth.

"It's not your fault," Joker told her and made her look him in the eye. "I underestimated the situation. It won't happen again." He kissed her again and she felt life return to her soul. That soul destroying sadness was made slightly easier to bear because he was there.

"Let's go home," Joker said softly.

"Let's get our son back," Harley smiled.

"We're not bashing skulls in tonight."

"But puddin'-"

"You're not fit enough, I'm not carrying you all the way out of here because you've started bleeding," Joker snarled. "We don't have any weapons aside from these shitty guns, the Bat will already be on his way and I want our boy, not to be locked up elsewhere."

"I want my revenge!" Harley protested.

"Do it on your own," Joker huffed and waved her off before he turned and walked away. He wasn't going to argue. If she chose bloodshed over their son, he was done. For once and for all. He rubbed his eyes before he took a gun from the no-longer disguised Frost.

"We come back and we destroy Arkham when we have him back," Harley told Joker. This was a mother denied immediate revenge, denied her child, denied everything she felt she deserved and wanted.

"Of course, princess, by then we'll be able to track down Sammie Drake too," Joker smiled and he turned back to her. "And then we can tear this place to the ground."

The three of them walked straight out of the isolation unit and Harley noticed the bodies of many guards. She couldn't help but giggle and she felt her bloodlust rise. How come Joker got all the fun? A large seed pod of Ivy's suddenly opened up and Harley's best friend appeared out of it.

"Red!" Harley gigged.

"Hey, sweetie," Ivy grinned and hugged her friend. "I'd say congratulations but…"

"He's so gorgeous, Red," Harley whispered as her heart clenched painfully.

"I figured something wouldn't go to plan, so I hid in the gardens and my babies brought me out here to meet you," Ivy smiled. "We will get him back, you've got me with you now. Of course we're gonna find him."

"Can we move it along please," the Clown huffed. He hadn't wanted Ivy to tag along, but he knew he'd need the back up with Harley over the next few days.

Joker found the entrance to one of the hidden tunnels and Frost pulled back the rusted old door. They climbed down and snuck out of Arkham Asylum's perimeter fencing. There they found the Joker's car and Frost got into the driver's seat, Ivy sat in the passenger seat whilst Harley and Joker sat in the back. He couldn't keep his hands off her and the kissed and made out like they'd been separated for years.

"Push the button, puddin'," Harley grinned. "I know you've got it wired up."

"And so I do," Joker laughed and brandished a detonation trigger. He pressed it with his thumb and the gates to the Asylum exploded. "Now, let's go track down our boy."

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A/N: I'm awful at writing fighting or action scenes x_x and I've made it so there's loads more to come! Blimey, I don't learn.

If you want to emotionally torture yourself, I wrote this chapter whilst listening to I Want You Here - Plumb, Shattered - Trading Yesterday and My Skin - Natalie Merchant. I Want You Here is definitely a painful song to listen to in this context. Why do I do it to myself? haha!

Anyway, your challenge is to get this chapter to 100 reviews, go on, make my month! I love each and every review!