Harley woke up with a pounding headache. She struggled to open her eyes. With a little groan she attempted to stretch, but found she couldn't move her limbs. Her eyes shot open and darted around the room. The light was dim and the air was cool. She took in her familiar surroundings. A workbench neatly lined with different knives and tools. She was strapped to the same bed she was in when he cut her smile. Her arms and legs were bound to the bed by leather buckles. She was in their basement. The Joker walked up from behind her, and leaned over her as their noses almost touched. His eyes were black holes. He was wearing the slacks from earlier in the meeting, but removed his shirt and his suspenders hung at his side.

He moved to the end of the bed and narrowed his gaze at her.

"Daddy? What's going on?", her voice was dry and she felt hungover. Her headache was beginning to make her feel nauseous.

"Glad you asked, pumpkin. I'm here to help you."

"Help... me?"

"Yeah. You see, it appears you need a little push to encourage you to do the right thing. I get it honey, you're afraid. You're in a new situation. You're feeling emotional. But it's okay, daddy's gonna make it all better." He turned and walked to his workbench and dug through a toolbox of random items. Although The Joker loved knives and guns, he was also fond of unconventional means of torture for his victims, like broken pool cues. But, he pulled out a long knitting needle and turned toward her, brandishing his chosen item.

Realizing what The Joker was planning, she panicked. "Puddin'! Wait! I need to say something to you. Hear me out!"

"You wanna do it yourself?", he smirked and cocked his eyebrow as he slowly walked toward her.

She involuntarily tried squeezing her things together, but the restraints held firm. She squirmed as she said, "I've been thinking! Maybe there's a different way!"

"Harley, dear, listen. Listen!", his voice boomed and she shook. He pointed the needle at her as he spoke, "You can only serve one master, Harley. If I allowed you to keep, uh, this-", he swirled the needle around her naval, "you would be making a choice to put it before me. It's only nat-u-ral, Mother Nature intended it to be this way. I don't appreciate being put second and I won't allow myself to be second to anyone, let alone in your eyes. I don't really, uh, share."

He put the needle between his teeth as he pulled a switchblade from his pocket. He tore a slit along the crotch of her romper and returned the knife to his pocket. "No, Joker! No!"

He looked up at her with a disapproving look. "At tat tat tat- shh shh shh. Let Doctor J have a look see here and don't make any sudden moves, Harl."

"Joker! Wait! Listen to me! Hope is going to take the baby! Do you hear me?", she was screaming and shaking with desperation. "Hope and Matthew will raise it. I agree with you, Mista J, we can't have his baby, but it doesn't mean that someone else can't. Please, let me give it to Hope. She already said she'd take it."

He considered her words, "You've been planning, Harley. Look at you! You musta been nervous to bring up this lit-tle scheme. Hmm?"

Tears spilled from Harley's eyes, "Please?"

"I don't think so.", he positioned the needle at her entrance.

She thrashed around as much as she could. "You may as well kill me then! I will never forgive you for this. Never! You do this and I'm gone. If you don't kill me, I'll kill myself. That's a promise! I will never love you again."

She had never been so oppositional toward him. Even when he beat her close to death, she never said things quite that way. His eyes slowly looked up to hers. She was shaking like a leaf, her eyes dilated, almost black. Her breathing was heavy and quick and sweat was drenching her body. Ooh, he liked what he was seeing in her. He liked his Harley submissive, but something about the way she found a backbone here impressed him.

"If I even for a moment entertained your lit-tle plan. You wouldn't like my rules.", he said as he stood straight.

"Anything!"

"After you have it, it immediately goes to Hope. You don't get to keep it for even a day. Afterward, you never see it or Hope or Matthew again, ever. It will never know who it's biological parents are. You will never, never, speak to me about it either while carrying it or afterwards."

She nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes to all of it! Please!"

"Harley, if you break any of my rules... I will break you.", he said darkly.

"Thank you, Mista J!", she said through tears and she began laughing with relief.

He felt slight relief wash over him. He was not looking forward to plunging the knitting needle into his wife. As much as he loved causing her pain, he feared it may be the thing that broke her completely. No, his little Harley took initiative for once in her life and he would allow it this time. Oh, but she was not going to enjoy the next eight months. No, no, by the end of it, she was going to regret her decision and he would make sure she never put him second again.

He released her from her straps and she scrambled to him seeking comfort. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood still and refused to return her embrace. She didn't notice at first, but then pulled back and looked up to him. He removed her arms and walked back upstairs leaving her alone in the cold, dimly lit basement.

After Harley made it back to their bedroom she was alone. She saw the light spilling into the hallway from The Joker's office. She changed out of her torn romper and into a nightshirt. After crawling into bed, she tried to close her eyes and relax, but her heart was still beating wildly. She was shocked that he had actually changed his mind. That just wasn't something he did. Her hands rested on her still flat stomach and she imagined how it would feel as it started to swell with the little life she would never get to witness. She would call Hope tomorrow and let her know about J's decision.

The Joker sat at his desk, a pen carelessly drifting through his fingers as he stared at a speck on the wall of his office. His emotions drifted between anger and confusion. He was angry at the situation. This wasn't supposed to be able to happen. Harley shouldn't have been put in this situation to begin with. That little minx and her scheming behind his back, working with her sister. He didn't even know. He hated not knowing what was going on in her head. He was confused as to why he changed his mind. He didn't want children. He had done that before and it ruined him last time. Why couldn't he just get rid of it like it was the problem it was? Why did his hand refuse to plunge that needle into her womb? He felt himself wavering even before she begged him to stop. Oh, not just anger and confusion, but jealousy. He was jealous of that little blob that would be consuming Harley for the next several months and likely until the day she died. He didn't want to share her headspace with anyone else, let alone a child he never wanted. He would have to make her realize that he was all she needed. She would be desperate for him by the time this was over.

The sun was spilling across the bed as Harley slowly opened her eyes. She had slept restlessly since she heard The Joker leave his office around 4am. He came into the bedroom and rummaged through their closet. Harley pretended to be asleep, but watched him in the darkness. He pulled out a few shirts and grabbed some other clothes from their dresser. He walked closer to the bed and Harley had quickly shut her eyes. He stopped right next to her and grabbed the pack of cigarettes that were laying on her nightstand. He must have brought the items back to the office because it wasn't long before he passed the open door of their bedroom on his way down the stairs. She heard the front door open and close.

Now it was about 10am and she grabbed her phone from her nightstand. She had a missed call from Hope from about fifteen minutes prior. Harley pressed the call back button and waited for her sister to answer.

"Hey Harl. Sorry if I woke you."

"No, it's okay Hope. I must've slept through your call. It was a long night."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, listen, I talked to Mista J last night about the baby."

"Oh Harl, what'd he say?"

"Well, he was about to do it himself, Hope. He had me tied down and was gonna do the abortion." Hope gasped. "But after I told him about our plan, he changed his mind!"

"Harleen, this is ridiculous. It's his own child! What kind of man-", before she could finish her rant, she was cut off by Harley.

"Okay, Hope. I know, I get what you're saying, but this is happening. Don't you think my heart has already been shattered? This isn't how it was supposed to go, but it is. It's for the best."

Hope was silent for a moment. "I reached out to an OB that I know. I'm going to exchange some of my lawyer services with her so she can provide you with prenatal care. I'm bringing her by in about an hour. Is J gone?"

"Yeah, he left a while ago. I'm sure he won't be back til tonight. Honestly, I don't think he even wants to look at me right now. He said he doesn't want to hear anything about the baby. Hope, he wants you to take it as soon as it's born and he won't let me see you or the baby ever again."

"What?!"

"Listen to me Hope, you need to be the strong one right now. I need my sister. Please, you might be all I got."