Chapter Eight:

Getting to Know Each Other

"Harleen!" Screams Guy from somewhere in the apartment.

"What?!" I scream back from my new bedroom.

"Breakfast!" Ooh, he cooked? Yes!

"Okay, I'm coming!" Looking into my tiny compact mirror, I quickly blush my cheeks and toss everything to the side when I'm done. I'm so hungry; I hope he made pancakes! I quickly make my way to the kitchen and trip over several boxes on my way there. We have random stuff stacked up everywhere. Our place looks like it came out of an episode of Hoarders.

When I near the kitchen, I expect the aroma of whatever Guy made to fill the room but my excitement drops when I smell nothing. When I turn the corner and finally enter the room, my shoulders slump when I see what Guy "cooked".

"Cereal?"

"Yeah." Guy says between a mouthful and then notices my disappointment. "What? You don't want any?"

Defeated, I sit down in a stool next to him and poke at the bowl of cereal that he poured for me. "No, I want it. I just got excited because I thought you made pancakes or something."

Guy laughs. "Me? Cook? No. My greatest dish is a cup of ramen noodles. I actually thought that you were a culinary master. I don't want to eat microwavable dinners and take-out so much anymore."

"Wow, I don't know if I should feel sorry for you or mad at you for your sexist comment."

"That wasn't sexist."

"Oh? So why did you assume that I could cook?"

Guy smiles into his bowl of cereal and says nothing.

"MmmHmm, that's what I thought." I smile triumphantly and scoop a spoonful of cinnamon toast crunch into my mouth.

"So anyway," Guy says around a mouthful. "You have a session with the Joker today huh? How do you think it's going to go this time?"

"Honestly," I say around a mouthful. "I have no idea. The man is an utter mystery. One minute he's menacing, the next he's indifferent, and then out of nowhere he becomes unbearably charming. His mood swings are unlike any other I've ever dealt with."

"Do you think he could be Bipolar?"

"I don't know, maybe. It's way too soon to tell."

"Yeah you're right. You've only had one session."

Guy and I fall into a comfortable silence as we both work on finishing our cereal. Right now, I'm taking advantage of this quiet and peaceful moment to mentally prepare myself for today. I'm not in the mood to feel embarrassed and flustered again. I don't mind taking things slow with him; I understand that there is a lot of things that he's not comfortable enough to talk to me about yet, and that's fine. But that doesn't mean that I'm willing to let him run the show entirely and expose all of my emotions for his enjoyment.

I'm planning on being very careful about keeping my composure today. If I blush -even once- then I've failed myself and I'll just come straight home when it's over and curl up in a ball in the corner of my room and curse myself out profusely. If this little punishment doesn't motivate me enough, then I'll have to think of something else. The harsher I am on myself, the greater my resolve is not to fail; and I really don't want to screw this up. I've been working so hard to get to this point that I refuse to let this opportunity slip through my fingers. Being the Joker's soulmate, I feel that it's my right to be the one who cures him. I honestly believe that I'm the only one who can do it. I've obviously survived one session already, and although I'm not the first person who is able to say that, I am one of very few. Only Time will confirm if I truly am the right person for this job or not. But, I mean, come on; how could anyone other than me be able to get through to him? I'm positive that I'm the one destined to change him.

When I finish my cereal I place the bowl in the sink and maneuver my way back into my bedroom so that I can grab what I need for work. I pick up the Joker's file that I had left open on top of a couple of stacked boxes last night. I was trying to do an early assessment on his personality but, I gave up immediately. I've barely spoken to the man so I don't have much to go by. Today however, will be much different. He and I are having an hour long session together and I hope we've officially broken the ice on Monday so that he can be cooperative and communicate with me right off the bat.

After I shove everything that I need into my purse, I go to the bathroom to have a quick look at my reflection in the mirror. When I'm satisfied with what I see, I call out to Guy to get him moving. "Guy! Are you ready to go?!"

"Yeah, I'm waiting on you!"

I find Guy leaning against the front door with his satchel and keys in hand.

"Oh, sorry to keep you waiting. I thought you were still eating."

"It's fine, I wasn't waiting long." Guy opens the front door for me. "Let's go before I get lazy and decide to call in sick." We walk to his car parked right outside our place and spend the fifteen-minute drive listening to the morning news on the radio.

"I can't believe you're here again. I bet Bolton thirty bucks that you wouldn't show. Is there something wrong with you or do you just want to see me go broke?" I smile at orderly number two; I've really got to learn his name.

"Well you obviously weren't very confident about the bet because if you were, you wouldn't have brought my patient out and gotten him ready for me."

"Well Quinzel I'll have you know that thirty bucks means a lot to me but a full paycheck means a whole lot more. It was the boss's orders to bring the clown out; If I don't follow them, then what am I being paid for?" I laugh lightly. I like how this guy thinks; it's funny.

"Well, you've got a point there." The orderly stands before the door where the Joker is waiting for me. He puts his hand on the door knob and turns to me to have a final word before letting me in.

"Alright Quinzel, you remember the drill right? No physical contact and if you need us, just shout. Bolton will be here in a minute. We'll both be right outside this door the whole time alright?"

"Alright. Thank you," I smile. Before he opens the door for me, I quickly tug at random places of my clothes in an attempt to straighten things out. I mentally chide myself for worrying about my appearance right now. I'm not here to flirt and look good; I've got a job to do.

When I walk into the room, I have the Joker's full attention. A slow wicked smile spreads across his face and his eyes never leave mine. I offer him a warming smile before taking my seat across from him.

"Good afternoon Mr. J. How are you doing today?"

"Oh much better now that you're here doctor," the Joker grins and I do an excellent job of keeping my heartbeat steady.

"Well… I'm glad to hear that you're doing fine." I open my notebook and pull out my pen from behind my ear. I'm ready to make some progress today.

"On Monday you and I didn't really get enough time to get to know each other. So would you mind telling me a little about yourself now?"

The Joker's smile widens. "What would you like to know doll face?"

"Anything that you're willing to share with me."

The Joker purses his lips in a theatrical manner as he decides what piece of information about himself he's willing to tell me. "Hmmmmm, weeellll Dr. Quinzel, if there's one thing you need to know about me, it's this: I hate reruns."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Reruns? What do you mean? You'll never watch the same episode twice?"

"I hate it when people do the same things over and over and over again. People need to mix things up you know?"

"I'm sorry but, I'm not following you."

The Joker sighs a little and then straightens himself up in his seat to better explain things to me. The chains of the handcuffs around his wrists rattle against the steel table with every movement that he makes. "Alright… let's take scarecrow as an example. Now that guy can make some pretty amazing stuff. Fear toxin?" The Joker throws back his head and laughs heartily. I let myself smile a bit at the sound of it while I know he isn't looking at me. His laugh is so comforting to me. I love hearing it.

"You see doctor…" The Joker says, coming down from his laughing high. "The problem with him is that he's always using it. Always relying on it. It was hilarious the first time he infected the city with it. …But the second and third time…" The Joker scowls in disapproval. "…not so much. I'm no one trick pony; and I hate people who are."

I pause for a moment to process what he said and jot some notes down in my notebook. "I see… So you'll never do the same thing twice?"

The Joker leans forward a bit over the table. "Never."

Absent-mindedly I tap my pen against my bottom lip. "That makes sense. Now that I think about it, I can't think of a single stunt that you pulled more than once."

"Of course not. That would be boring."

"Do you bore easily Mr. J?"

"Sure, but I'm easy to entertain," the Joker grins. I smile back reluctantly.

"Is that so?"

"MmHm. A joke or two here, some blood and gore there, and I'm a happy camper," the Joker laughs.

"You don't think that your methods of entertainment are a bit… extreme?"

"Of course, that's why it's fun doc! Don't you ever get tired of doing the same things over and over and over again?" He cocks his head to the side while he waits for my answer.

"Well, of course I do. Who doesn't? But that doesn't mean I go out and have a killing spree just for a few laughs."

The Joker bursts out in a fit of hysterics and I flinch at the sudden outburst; I wasn't expecting it. It takes a few minutes for him to catch his breath to be able to speak again.

"Oh you are so funny doc!" I do nothing but smile in response. I don't understand his sense of humor.

"So you've never done it huh?" He asks.

"Have I ever what? Gone on a killing spree? No. Of course not." I didn't mean to, but, towards the end of my response I sounded insulted. It's obvious that I -or anyone else for that matter- would disapprove of that kind of behavior, but, I want to come off as a patient, understanding person. That way he'll find it easier to confide in me. I'm going to make a mental note to keep my stance on his habits as neutral as possible; for now.

"Well… Have you ever… thought about it, hm?" He asks with hopeful eyes. Oh my gosh, I know I shouldn't be thinking this right now but his eyes have this beautiful gleam to them under these cheap fluorescent lights. -Oh my gosh Harleen, FOCUS!

"I'm sorry. Have I ever thought about what?"

The Joker grins, showing off his silver plaited teeth, and leans forward over the table. "Killing someone."

Uh oh. This is some super dangerous territory I'm in right now. I need to be super careful with this topic, but at the same time, I want to be honest with him. For some reason, the thought of lying to him seems unbearable to me. I think I'm incapable of doing it.

"Well…" I explain slowly. "To be honest… who hasn't thought about that sort of stuff? Of course we all have that one person in our lives who we wish terrible things would happen to; even I have a person or two in my life like that. But I never act on those feelings."

The Joker cocks his head to the side and looks a bit disappointed. "Why not?"

I stare at him as if locking eyes will help gorge my answer into his brain. "Because it's wrong." I sounded a bit more earnest than I had intended.

The Joker furrows his absent eyebrows and looks up to the ceiling in thought. "Hmm… It's wrong huh? Well I wish someone would have told me that sooner." He busts out laughing and I can't help but feel a pang of panic in my chest. His lack of remorse is making me a little anxious.

"Do you kill people just for fun Mr. J?"

"Yes," he grins. "I only do it because it amuses me."

"I-it amuses you?" I stuttered… damn it.

"Do you think that's wrong Dr. Quinzel?" He challenges. "Does that scare you?"

I clear my throat. "Well, it doesn't scare me but it does concern me. Amusement is not the appropriate feeling someone should have after they've committed murder."

"And…" The Joker leans back in his chair with his hands resting comfortably on the table. "In your… opinion, what sort of emotions do you think would be 'appropriate?'" He air quotes the last word.

"Well, remorse for one. Then of course there's guilt, shock, panic, regret-"

"Regret?" He raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes. Regret for taking someone else's life away, that's a perfectly natural emotion to feel. Are you telling me that you have never regretted killing anyone?"

The Joker looks disinterested. "Nope." How can he say that so casually?

"Not even once?" My voice is an octave higher than it should be.

"Nope." He answers tepidly and starts picking at his nails. This conversation has clearly lost his interest.

Inside, I'm panicking right now. How can he be so casual and indifferent about killing people? Is there not an ounce of remorse somewhere in him? If there is, I need to find it. I need some glimmer of hope that this man has the potential to change.

"Mr. J, I'd like to talk more about your views on killing people."

The Joker furrows his eyebrows in annoyance and with a wave of his hand, dismisses my request immediately. He releases a sort of growl/grunt sound from the back of his throat before he speaks. "No, no, no, no, no. I don't want to talk about me anymore doctor. I want to talk about you."

I stare at him for a brief moment. "You want to talk about me?"

"Yeah. This whole 'getting to know each other' conversation is starting to feel one sided. Because that's what you said- we should get to know each other."

Damn it, he has a point. I don't really want to start talking about myself right now because I'm too interested in him. And then of course there's the fact that I'm not really allowed to share my personal information him because he's too manipulative and he might use it against me somehow. But then again, there is a huge part of me that really wants him to get to know me. The fact that he's interested in learning something about me right now is enough to make my heart swell. I can't fight this feeling in me that refuses to deny his request. It's almost as if I'm afraid to deny him anything. Plus, sharing some information about myself will help us establish a level of trust sooner rather than later, right? I'll just be careful that this conversation doesn't get too personal.

"Alright Mr. J, you have a point." I sit up straight and fold my hands over the table, ready for his inquisition. "What would you like to know?"

The Joker smiles and his eyes glimmer with amusement. He seems a bit surprised that I'm actually willing to cooperate and talk about myself. He obviously must be used to his other doctors redirecting him away from this topic instead of inviting him in like I'm doing now; which is probably really stupid of me but I've already somewhat rationalized my decision.

"Hmm… Where to begin." The Joker strokes his chin theatrically as he thinks. I notice the tattoo of a smile that he has on his hand for the first time. It's cute. I wonder what he looks like when he covers his mouth to sneeze or cough. I bet it looks funny. I fight against the muscles in my cheeks that are begging to pull up into a smile at the image I have of him in my head right now. My daydreaming is cut short when the Joker finally decides on a question.

"How old are you Dr. Quinzel?"

Okay, this seems safe enough. "I'm twenty-six." I answer coolly. Then I decide to push my luck. "How old are you?" I raise an eyebrow, daring him to answer.

"Nah, ah, ah, Harleen." The Joker grins and wags his finger at me. "We're not turning this into a give-and-take." I sigh resignedly and rest my chin in my left hand, waiting for his next question.

"Why did you come to Arkham? You know people have to be pretty crazy to get in here. Doctors included." I smile at that last part. It's an interesting thought.

"Well as a criminal psychiatrist, this was sort of the only place in the city that I could work at. Blackgate wasn't exactly hiring full time psychiatrists; they get by just fine going through interns. And I didn't want to leave Gotham so…" I shrug my shoulders. "Here I am." Of course the reason I didn't want to leave the city is something else entirely, but he didn't ask that did he? J

"So you're a Gotham girl huh?"

"Kind of, but not really. I wasn't born here, I only moved here to go to Gotham University." He leans back in his chair and just stares at me. He looks like he's trying to figure out a complicated puzzle.

"Are you… seeing anyone Harleen?" He finally asks and I have to admit that I'm a bit thrown by his question. He's asking me if I'm single! How should I play this? Should I be cool about this or act totally innocent? Damn me for not thinking about the possibility of this question coming up. I'm not ready to answer it yet because I don't have a game plan for this! Actually now that I think about it, I remember Dr. Arkham had told me that the Joker wanted to know if I was married or not but Dr. Arkham didn't answer. So I guess I should have expected him to ask me this question personally.

Ugh, how do I answer? Is it weird that I want him to think that I'm unavailable? I don't want to lie to him though… But then again, I don't want him to think that I'm some boring, lonely single person. I guess I'll just be cool about this…

"Well, if you must know Mr. J, I'm sort of in between guys right now." Way to be coy Harleen…

The Joker smiles, clearly amused by my answer. "Is that so?" He asks half-heartedly and I nod in response. Then my curiosity takes over.

"What about you? Are you seeing anyone right now?" The Joker throws his head back and erupts in a fit of laughter. I stare at him with a clear question mark painted on my face. Why is my question funny?

"Oh doc," he says coming down from his laughing high. "You are funny!" He giggles a bit before catching his breath again. "Jeez Harleen, I know I'm insane but I'm not crazy."

My face drops. "It's not crazy to be in a relationship with someone."

"Oh of course it is. Dating is a mind game. As a shrink you should know this better than anyone," he chides.

"Well I suppose there is some truth in that."

"You have… a uh soulmate don't you Harleen?"

Uh oh. Red alert! Red alert! "Of course I do. We all do."

"Have you… met him yet?" Shit. I want to lie to him and say no but I just can't bring myself to do it. I wonder if this is a typical soulmate thing or is this just me?

"Well… I'm hoping that he and I will be able to really get to know each other soon enough." It's not a lie. The Joker and I just met. We don't know anything about each other yet.

"Do you hear him a lot?" Can we please drop this topic? It's making me nervous.

"Not as often as I'd like to," I answer honestly. "I'm lucky if I understand two words from him." The Joker smiles as if he's enjoying his own private joke. I decide to turn the tables.

"What about you? Do you hear your soulmate often?" How often? What do you hear? What do you think of her? I'm dying to know!

The Joker laughs a little to himself. "Who knows. There are too many things happening in here for me to take notice." He taps his temple.

"How can you not notice her? Don't you hear her thoughts?" I ask a bit alarmed.

The Joker only shrugs. "I barely notice her." Ouch. He just stabbed me. My poor heart.

I open my mouth to speak when the orderly knocks on the door's glass window and taps his wrist at me to indicate our time being up.

"Well it looks like our time is up today Mr. J," I say as I gather up my notes together. "It was really nice talking to you today. Let's pick this up again on Friday."

"Sure doc," he smiles. "Same time and place?"

"You know it," I joke and he laughs. It's such a comforting sound; it makes me want to laugh too. But of course I won't. I only smile as I rise from my seat and exit the room.

His laughter continues long after I'm out of the room. As I walk down the halls towards my office, I hear him still. His laughter never cut off from me since I left because I can hear him in my head. I smile to myself and grip my notes a little closer to my chest. I can't wait till Friday.

AN: Hey guys. Sorry -once again- that it took me soooo long to update. I just finished my finals and this semester is officially over. So, now I have nothing better to do with my time but write. And I expect to be updating like crazy for the next four weeks, so please look forward to it. :)

Thank you so much for reading the story thus far; it means a lot to me. Please feel free to review and comment. I read everything! I'll see you all in the next chapter.