Harley stood in the middle of an empty room, imagining how it would look filled with everything the baby would need. She had tried to interest the Joker in her plans for the nursery, but he had blown her off to go work on his newest project.
"Be glad I gave you this room, Harley," the Joker had warned. "Don't keep asking for more. You promised the brat wouldn't be an inconvenience."
Harley sighed and put her hand on her stomach.
"Don't worry, little one. Daddy loves ya, he just don't know how to show it. He has trouble with that sometimes. Anyway, Mama's gonna put the crib over here, and the changing table here…"
Harley trailed off when she felt a flutter in her womb, as if butterfly wings had brushed against her. She smiled, and ran down the hall, bursting into the Joker's office.
"Mistah J! Mistah J, feel!"
Harley stuck out her rounded belly, and grinned. She was five months along exactly, and was more than thrilled that she had finally felt her little one move. A small part of her had been afraid that something was wrong, and now that she had felt that little movement, Harley's heart soared.
"What do you want, you insufferable-"
"Feel, Daddy," Harley said, taking the Joker's hand and placing it over her stomach.
"I'm busy, cupcake," the Joker snapped, jerking his hand away.
"The baby's movin'!" Harley whined. "It'll only take a second."
The Joker slowly turned in his chair and stood, towering over Harley's petite frame. He glared down at her, and Harley instantly knew that she had made a mistake. She bit her lip and tried to back out of the room, but the Joker stopped her with a firm grip on one of her pigtails.
"What does it mean when Daddy says he's busy?" the Joker asked, tightening the grip on Harley's hair.
"I'm sorry, Daddy, I'll leave you alone. I didn't mean to upset you!" Harley cried, wrapping her arms around her stomach protectively.
"I asked you a question, stupid. What does it mean when Daddy says he's busy?"
"To leave him alone?" Harley replied questioningly, her voice small.
The Joker nodded, and pulled Harley towards their bedroom by her hair.
"Yes, Harls, that's exactly what it means," he said, releasing Harley's hair and sitting down on the bed.
The Joker grabbed Harley wrist and pulled her down over his knees. Harley grabbed her stomach protectively, and a fearful cry escaped her lips. The Joker flipped up the hem of Harley's short maternity dress, and ripped off the lacy panties she was wearing underneath. Slowly, he rubbed Harley's smooth ass, before raising his hand and bringing it down hard on her soft flesh. The Joker spanked Harley over and over, each time smiling as she cried out in pain. When the Joker finally stopped, bruises were already forming on Harley's porcelain flesh.
"Daddy doesn't like hurting you. You know that, right Harls?" The Joker asked.
"I know, Mistah J," Harley sniffled, wincing as she sat down on the Joker's lap. "I'm sorry I'm so stupid."
"I know, sweetheart," the Joker replied. "But guess what? I do have a surprise for you."
"What?" Harley asked, instantly perking up.
"I decided you and the baby need to see a doctor. Me and some of the boys will be taking you to one today. You'll get to hear its heartbeat, maybe even find out if it's a boy or a girl. How does that sound?"
"Oh, Mistah J, thank you so much!" Harley squealed, wrapped her arms around the Joker's neck and squeezing him tightly.
Harley had wanted to see a doctor about the baby for some time now, but the Joker had refused. He had said it was useless to see a doctor this early in the pregnancy. It made Harley's feel so good to think that the Joker cared enough to want to make sure that the baby was healthy.
"What make ya change your mind about the doctor, Mistah J?" Harley asked, smiling shyly.
"I found out he can do a test to make sure it's not retarded," the Joker replied. "We're gonna have that done, that way we can take care of things if it is."
"Oh," Harley replied, disappointed. "When are we goin'?"
"In about an hour," the Joker replied. "Now go get ready."
When Harley stood up, the Joker slapped her ass and she whimpered in pain. She went to the shower, and stripped off her dress and the ruined lace panties the Joker had ripped off of her. Harley glanced in the full-length mirror and sighed. Her body was a patchwork of bruises, some new and some healed. Harley forced a smile, and rubbed her bulging stomach lovingly.
"Mama loves you, little one," Harley whispered. "I get to see ya today.
After Harley had showered, dressed, and fixed her hair and makeup, she met the Joker and two of his henchmen in the living room. The Joker smiled, and wrapped his arm around Harley's waist.
"Ready, babe?" He asked.
Harley nodded, and the group walked down to the garage, where they chose a discrete black car for their trip. The doctor was located nearly an hour out of Gotham. On the way there, Harley stretched out in the backseat, her head on the Joker's lap. He petted her hair, and Harley fell asleep halfway through the trip.
When she awoke, the henchman was pulling into the parking lot of a large warehouse. Fields surrounded them, and Harley looked around, confused from sleep and the odd location.
"This isn't a doctor's office," she said, looking up at the Joker.
"Of course not," the Joker scoffed, slapping the back of Harley's head. "You think we can just waltz into a regular doctor's office? Don't be so stupid, cupcake."
Harley winced, but forced herself to smile.
"Sorry, Mistah J, I wasn't thinkin'."
The henchmen lead Harley and the Joker into the warehouse. The inside of the building had been partitioned off into several different rooms. Each room had a sign on the door, indicating that it was the office of a different kind of doctor. Down a long hallway and on the left, the henchmen entered one of the doors. A lopsided sign read "OBGYN" in hastily scrawled handwriting.
"Is this the place, Puddin'?" Harley asked, fear creeping into her voice as she hesitated in the doorway.
"Looks like it, Harls," the Joker sneered. "Don't act afraid now, this is what you wanted, isn't it?"
The Joker roughly pushed Harley into the room. She let out a cry of surprise, and nearly tripped, but one of the henchmen steadied her. Harley looked around the room, her eyes wide. The room was bare, except for a table against one wall with cruel-looking metal stirrups jutting from the end, an ultrasound machine, and a table full of supplies that Harley couldn't even begin to name.
The blonde jumped when the door crashed open, and a heavyset man waddled into the room.
"Hello, hello," he said. "My name is Dr. Patterson. You must be Ms. Quinn?"
"Harley," she replied automatically, shaking the doctors hand.
"Now," the doctor said, "The gentleman and I will leave for a moment and I'll have you change into this gown. Then I'll have you sit on the bed and put your feet up, and we'll start the examination in just a bit."
Dr. Patterson, the henchmen, and the Joker started to step out of the room, but Harley pulled on her boyfriend's sleeve as if she were a child.
"Stay, Puddin'," Harley whispered.
The Joker smiled.
"Sure thing, Harls," he said, squeezing the woman's hand.
Harley slowly removed her clothes, and put on the flimsy gown. She sat on the bed, put her feet in the stirrups, and slid to the edge of the table. The Joker smiled down at her reassuringly, and took her hand. A surge of love rushed through Harley, and she smiled.
The doctor stepped back inside the room.
"Today, we're doing a pelvic exam, an ultrasound, and an amniocentesis, right?" Dr. Patterson asked.
"That's right," the Joker confirmed.
"Wait, what's an amnio…amino….What's that last thing you said?" Harley asked.
"It's a procedure we can use to test to for an fetal abnormality," the doctor replied. "Don't worry about it just yet."
The doctor slipped on a pair of gloves and did a quick pelvic exam.
"Everything feels normal, now let's get to the part you've been waiting for," Dr. Patterson said, stripping off the gloves.
The doctor pulled up the gown Harley was wearing, and cringed when he saw the bruises dotting her stomach. The Joker gave him a warning look, and the doctor paled. When he went to pick up the ultrasound gel, he nearly dropped it, earning him another frown from the green-haired man.
Dr. Patterson spread the gel over Harley's stomach. Then, he turned on the monitor and placed the ultrasound wand to her belly. When the picture on the screen came into focus, Harley squealed in delight. Even the Joker smiled as the image of their baby filled the screen. The doctor began taking measurements, and jotting down notes in Harley's chart. When he was finished, he looked at the parents, smiling.
"You have a healthy baby," he said. "Would you like to know the sex?"
"Can we, puddin'?" Harley asked, looking up at the Joker hopefully.
"Why not?" He replied.
"In about four months, you'll have a beautiful baby girl," Dr. Patterson said.
"Oh, Puddin', a little girl!" Tears sprung into Harley's eyes, and she squeezed the Joker's hand.
"Would you two like to hear the heartbeat?" Dr. Patterson asked.
Harley nodded eagerly. The Joker looked down at her and with an indulgent smile and nodded as well. The doctor hit a button on the ultrasound wand, and the steady sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room.
The tears in Harley's eyes spilled over, and she looked up at the Joker. He was smiling slightly, looking at the image on the ultrasound machine with quiet wonder.
The doctor pressed a button on the end of the wand to capture a few pictures, then handed Harley a towel to wipe herself off with. The Joker helped her clean the gel from her stomach, and kissed her on top of her head.
"I'm so proud of you, Harls," he whispered.
"Now, the scary part," Dr. Patterson said, turning to the table where all his instruments lay.
The smile disappeared from Harley's face.
"The scary part? You didn't say nothin' about a scary part, Mistah J."
"It's not a big deal," the Joker reassured her, glaring at the doctor.
"He's right," Dr. Patterson said nervously. "I'm just going to take a needle, and insert it into your uterus through your abdomen. I'll take a small portion of amniotic fluid, and we'll test that to make sure the baby is developing normally."
Harley looked at the needle that Dr. Patterson held. It was thin, and so long. Harley's stomach flip-flopped, and she felt woozy all at once.
"I don't think this is necessary, thanks anyway doc," Harley said, trying to stand up.
The Joker pushed her back down on the table sharply, and shot her a warning glare.
"It only takes about two minutes," the doctor promised, trying his best to smile.
"Okay," Harley said, her voice small.
Tears ran down Harley's cheeks, smearing makeup with them, but she lay back on the table as still as she could. She closed her eyes, and felt the doctor rub an antiseptic liquid over her stomach. When the needle pierced her flesh, Harley cried out in pain. The Joker squeezed her hand again, and whispered softly in her ear that it was almost over.
"All done," Dr. Patterson said. "The results will be ready in about 10 days."
The Joker pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to the doctor, who nodded and made the money disappear in his white coat. Harley was unsteady on her feet as she tried to climb off of the table, so the Joker picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the warehouse, his henchman following close behind.
When they sat down in the car, Harley snuggled up to the Joker, burying her face into his warm, muscular chest.
"We're gonna have a little princess," Harley whispered, drifting off to sleep.
"We sure are, Harls," the Joker replied. "And she's going to rule Gotham one day, just like us."
Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Batman sat in front of a bank of computers, watching as a program ran through a list of variables, narrowing down possible locations of the Joker's hideout. The caped crusader was nearly asleep when a loud beep erupted from the machines in front of him. On the screen, an area the size of half a city block was circled in red.
"I've got you now, Quinn," Batman growled, as he dialed the direct line to Amanda Waller's office at Belle Reve.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed. I appreciate it all so much. I would also love some feedback, as this is the first time writing these characters, on how you think I'm doing writing Harley and the Joker. Thanks again!