"Thank you for requesting me…" I wanted to say more but I bit my tongue.

"Go ahead," he said, brows knotting as he studied my face.

"What d-"

"Say what you're thinking, doc," the k sound in his last word smacking me from my temporary daze.

Oh. I shifted a little in my chair before I finally responded.

"I did detest the fact that you referred me to me as the 'blonde', thus proving my earlier point," I said in a quiet voice.

His response was a lengthy cackle.

"Gee, doc. I just never got your name," he said, still laughing.

"I told you, it was Dr. Quinzel," I did my best not to show how wounded my pride was that he didn't even remember my name.

"No, I remember that. What's your first name, doc?" he asked expectantly.

I was tempted to chew at my bottom lip but I remembered my mental note, I had already blown it at least twice already.

"Will you tell me something about yourself that I can use in my report if I give you my name?" I said, figuring an eye for an eye would be the only way I'd get anywhere with him.

His eyes lit up and he nodded his head enthusiastically, his grill catching my eye.

"Harleen," I practically sighed.

"Harleen Quinzel," he repeated, his eyes closed as if he were savoring the taste of my name in his mouth.

I found it highly erotic.

I swallowed and glanced down to my notes.

What was this man doing to my psyche?

"I prefer Harley," I said, interrupting him from the depths of his thoughts.

"Harleeeeeeeyyyyyyy…" he growled lowly.

The way he said it made me feel like he was injecting me with some sedative, I couldn't help but mirror his actions and fall deep into thought.

"Harley?"

How long was I in my head for, I had no clue. I hadn't done that since I was a teenager. Zoning out like that was something I had always needed to do, to escape. In that moment with the Joker, there was no need for me to get lost in my head. I had to get a grip.

"Yes?" I tried to look as though I was going over something in my head before writing it down.

"I've always been a natural born leader," my mouth almost dropped open, "always had a natural inclination towards it. It's easy for me, and I'm realllllllllyyyyyyy good at it," he grinned mischievously.

I tried to move my eyes from his, but I couldn't do it. I scribbled a few things without looking down.

"When I was a kid, I used to play with a few other neighborhood brats, let's just call them…Tommy and Annie. Tommy liked to get Annie on edge, liked to scare her, and I enjoyed helping him do it. One day, I convinced Tommy to fake the murder of Annie's little bunny as one last hurrah - I always liked big finishes," he grinned, the evil intent oozing out of every pore.

"Then we'd go straight, ya see?" he waited for me to show that I was listening, I nodded quickly- too enthralled to write anything down yet.

"So, I helped him with the fake blood and the stuffed animal, and we set it up real good…Reallyyyyyy convincing. When little Annie saw the scene, Tommy with a lead pipe in his hand, covered with more of the fake blood, you should have seen the look on her face, followed by that scream," he closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, licking his lips and relishing in what I assumed, was the replaying of that little girl's scream. I watched him, completely captivated by just how lost in the memory he seemed to be. When his eyes finally opened again, they fell directly on me, and my breathing hitched in my throat.

"Annie was inconsolable, even after we showed her it was all fake. I told Tommy I'd walk her home and then meet him later. Annie was starting to cheer up when I told her that it was all my fault, I suggested the fake bunny after Tommy had said that he wanted to do it for real. She was hurt when I lied about Tommy being the one to suggest actually killing the bunny, but relieved that it had been fake, just the same. When we got to her house, I asked if she could let me in and show me the actual bunny. She practically ran to the back porch where she kept the thing, I knew she was desperate to see him. That first scream was so well orchestrated, I didn't think she'd be able to top it. But little Annie was full of surprises. That second scream," he shuffled his arms in his jacket and I knew that he had wanted to make a dramatic gesture with his hands. "My favorite to this day…" he trailed off and I widened my eyes at him, encouraging him to continue.

"I had snuck in earlier and killed that cute little bunny," he smirked, quirking an eyebrow as he gaged my reaction.

I felt my stomach lurch that he was capable of doing such a horrible thing, but then again, there was so much that he had done and so much more he was capable of doing, I honestly shouldn't have been surprised. He smacked his lips together and adjusted in his seat, eyeing my careful reaction to his story.

"Upon her discovery, I of course, had to play along. I had already convinced her that Tommy told me he didn't want to fake it, that he was uh…dead serious," snickering at his little joke.

"I met up with Tommy later and told him that Annie wanted to get back at him so badly, that she'd do anything to get even. Tommy didn't understand what I meant, so I told him that I thought Annie was planning on killing the bunny herself, before running to her parents to tattle on him. And just like that, I had both of them in my pocket. I was the catalyst for all the chaos that ensued, and I had been granted full immunity by each party!" he laughed, completely enthralled at what I assumed to be one of his first crimes.

"How do you see this as a prime example of your leadership?" I tried interrupting his continuing laugh.

He stopped and glared at me, his nose twitching as he considered me for a moment.

"Leaders are conniving, convincing, and that's what makes fellas like me, con-men!" he threw his head back, laughing once more.

I shook my head, fighting off the stupid smile that was tugging at my cheeks. I wrote a few more notes down as his laugh faltered and finally stopped.

"I thought I'd get you with that one," his voice low and baiting.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I thought I'd get to hear that beautiful laugh you keep hiding from me," he said, flashing his grill at me.

"That would be inappropriate, Mr. J," I frowned.

He took a few seconds, as if he were reading my thoughts before leaning forward again and tilting his head to the side.

"What would be inappropriate?" he questioned.

Shit.

"It is my job to remain, for a lack of a better word, sterile, for your benefit," I responded rather quickly.

Shit. Shit.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I thought you meant something else….Harleeeeey," he said, winking at me.

He knew that I meant engaging with him in a certain manner was only demonstrative of this strange pull I felt towards him. He clearly saw this, I'm sure he wasn't even giving me a hundred percent of his charm, and I still felt it. I glanced at my watch, we still had fifteen minutes to go.

There was this strange thing floating in the air between us, like electricity or static or something. He continued to stare at me, and I, him.

"Y'know, I liked Annie. She was the cutest little blonde on the block, but she cant hold a candle to you, toots," he grinned. "Besides, your all grown up-" he spitted out a huge laugh that made me shrink back in my chair a bit. I wrote down a note about the variety of laughs he seemed to employ at any given chance, taking the time to scribble a few "hahaha's" around the note itself. I liked the way it looked, the bold lettering making a sort of cage around my little sentence. It was kinda cute, a little morbid, but cute.

"Harley?"

I hadn't noticed that he had stopped laughing. I looked to him, his face rather blank.

"Yes?" I replied, surprised at how naturally I was already responding to him when he said my first name.

"Tell me, is that little story good enough to show the vultures upstairs?" he asked pointedly.

"I can assure you, no one will get the details of the story even after I've analyzed it. And that could take days, weeks even," I replied with a smirk that even he'd admire.

"I wouldn't plan that far in advance, doll," he smiled openly, distracting me with his smile again.

Then his words sank in, and my face dropped as I contemplated what he actually meant.

I had to ask.

"What does that mean?" I demanded.

"Just saying, you don't know how you're going to feel about me by then- You won't even give me a sip of that soda that you've been ignoring, even though you're obviously not interested in it anymore AND you know I'm dying of thirst," he spoke swiftly, I wouldn't comprehend what he was doing until our session was already over.

He was blatantly manipulating me, tugging on the caregiver side of me that I was so annoyingly aware of. I immediately stood up and grabbed the soda, walking towards the door and checking my watch, completely ignoring him.

We had three minutes left.

I walked back over to him and eyed him carefully,

take precautions in there…

The director's warnings went in one ear and out the other as I braced my hand at the back of his neck and held the can to his mouth.

"If anyone finds out about this…" I warned as he began to gulp it down, he knew there was no point in me saying that. Who would he tell, and why would he? They'd just place him in confinement after. No one likes confinement, sane or not.

His eyes squinted at me, as if he were smiling, but I couldn't really focus on anything but the fact that I was touching him. The hairs that fell over my hand were soft, his skin searingly hot and perspiring slightly.

I'd have to see what I could do about that strait jacket.

He moved his mouth away slightly, and I knew that he had finished the entire contents. I brought my hands away from him and took a step back, examining his demeanor slightly.

"Wish you would have done that sooner," he grinned at me.

I felt blood rush to my cheeks and I knew our session was over. I grabbed my things off my desk as quickly as possible before the orderlies came in. I did not want them to see my face as it was, there was no way I could explain if they asked if I was alright.

I flung open the door and almost ran right into them, I quickly apologized and headed down the hall, the only sound being the clicking of my heels until I reached the elevator.