While Crane would never admit it, he had a lot of respect for Harleen Quinzel. She was one of the few people that he could tolerate being around, even if she had changed when she met The Joker. Her bright attitude had never annoyed him as much as he thought it should have, and she was knowledgeable enough to hold interesting conversations with, so long as The Joker wasn't around. Something about that clown changed her, but Jonathan had known her before she had been tainted. Brilliant, cheerful, and beautiful.
He really missed that Harley.
Jonathan had been up for a while when Harley arose, sliding down the dusty bannister with a giddy energy. He himself had been peacefully reading Phobias: The Science of Fear, a personal favorite of his.
"Do ya have any grub, Jonny? I can make some breakfast, if you want." Jonathan cringed at the use of the nickname that she had assigned to him several years ago, and still insisted on using
"I've taken care of that, child," Jonathan said, holding up his plain toast and mug of coffee. "There's some for you in the kitchen."
Harley took off after the food, humming happily. It was a stark difference to her attitude the night before, but Harley had always expressed somewhat erratic mood patterns.
"You know Jonny, maybe I could help you," Harley said, approaching with her own piece of toast, which she'd slathered in strawberry jam.
"Pray tell.. what do you mean, child?" He asked, raising a single eyebrow.
"Well… I don't know what I want to do in life now," she said, pausing slightly before continuing. "So… maybe I could stay here and help you with your experiments, ya know?"
"You mean, be my sidekick?" Jonathan asked, blinking in surprise. The thought hadn't really occurred to him in a while. Back before she'd gone off the deep end, he had dreamed that she might help him pursue the power of fear. She was certainly the right type of person to do it- smart enough to understand what the experiments do and understand their effects, but wouldn't be disturbed by the subject's reactions.
"Yeah. That," Harley said, smiling a little. "I don't wanna go back yet."
That one word. Yet. It stung him like a slap across the face. It was just restating the obvious, but it still hurt.
Harley Quinn would always return to The Joker.
"Out of the question. I have no need for a sidekick," Jonathan crane said, waving the notion off. Why get attached to something that would simply disappear? It'd happened before, and Jonathan wasn't the type to let himself be burned twice.
Harley just pouted in response. Jonathan held in a bout of light laughter that rose up in his throat at the sight of the childish face. Some things hadn't changed.
"Why not work with Poison Ivy? I'm sure that she would like to break out of Arkham" Jonathan suggested. Harley's eyes brightened at the mention of her friend, and she smiled a little.
"Yeah… Red would like that," Harley said, her smile breaking into a grin. "But you've been so nice to me…"
"As I said, I have no need of a sidekick," He said, rolling his eyes. He then added, "Not that Poison Ivy does either," under his breath. The truth was that nobody needed a sidekick, but some were willing to humor Harley. Her dependency on others had always bothered Jonathan somewhat. She hated doing anything alone- always needing someone to be with her.
"I guess so..." Harley sighed, pouting. Jonathan felt a light bubble of laughter rise up at the sight of the petty face- one that he'd seen many times before.
Jonathan sat back in the old chair, listening to the wood creak under his weight..] He felt at peace, which was not something he generally felt.
He had a strange feeling that this foreign feeling was because of Harleen.
"Perhaps I could…" Harley muttered as she sat cross-legged on the floor of the farmhouse's living room. She was scribbling all over a blank piece of paper, trying to formulate a foolproof plan to break Red out of Arkham. She'd already memorized the hallways and the optimal ways of entering and exiting, but drawing plan was a good habit for when they changed the security.
She looked down at the map drawn in a vivid orange, which was the only working color of marker that Jonathan had been able to find in the farmhouse. She sighed and started to mark the most optimal path through the asylum.
Harley turned over the half-completed plan and started to scribble on the backside. Without even thinking, she sloppily drew The Joker's face. She sighed, staring at his smile without any expression as the fresh bruise on her cheek tingled. She scribbled the drawing out beyond recognition and doodled a ladybug instead.
She flipped the map back over and glanced at it again, noticing that she'd drawn smiles everywhere on it. She didn't remember adding them, but there they were.
What is happening to me? She asked, carefully striking each and every one of the smiles out.
Her mind was filled with laughter; his laughter. She couldn't think of anything else. A flood of sound, memories, pain… everything linked back to him in her mind.
The orange of the marker was like the colorful ties he wore. The wood beneath her legs felt like the old warehouses she was so used to being in. The red of the decrepit curtains looked like his smile to her.
He's everywhere.
She glanced down, seeing the bruises and scars on her arms and hands. They were even harsher reminders that he didn't care.
He didn't care, but she did. She cared far too much.
Harley felt her heart begin to race and her breathing get shallow. I can't get rid of him. He's there. He sees me.
Oh i love him, She thought, closing her eyes, feeling a tear run down her cheek. The bruises on her arms tingled, and the cuts stung.
Everything hurt so much. She needed to escape. Anything. She just needed out.
Harley ran into the bathroom and let herself cry.
Jonathan Crane sat there, listening to her as she walked around the upstairs. Every once in awhile, he'd hear her singing, talking to herself, or giggling at some untold joke. But now, she wasn't laughing. He only heard sobs.
"Child?" he called up the stairs. he sighed and started walking up to see what was the matter. "Harley, do tell me what is wrong."
He was only answered with broken sobs and whines coming from behind the bathroom door.
"Harley? Is everything alright?" He asked, lightly rapping on the door. "May I come in?"
Something sounding similar to a yes was whined from behind, so he slowly opened the door, finding her sitting on the tile floor, clutching her legs between her arms as if it was her only anchor into the world. "Is everything alright, child?"
"I- I just…" Her words were breaking off as she shook on the ground. "I can't get rid of him. He's still there... " She shivered, and retreated even further into herself. "I don't know what to do." Her words came out as barely above a whisper.
"Do you need to talk about it?" He asked, gently placing a hand on her back.
"I've tried so hard…" She breathed in deeply.
"Come on, child. We'll go make some tea. We can talk it over there," he said, offering her his arm. Harley took it and stumbled down the stairs with him, still sobbing. "Here… sit down." He helped her sit at the old table, going to the stove to put a kettle on.
"I'm so sorry Jonny…" She said, wiping her face. "I-I just… I don't want to be a burden."
"You aren't being a burden, child," Jonathan said, sitting down next to her.
"I'd… I'd better go soon. Night is falling…" She stopped to inhale. "I'm gonna get Red outta there…"
"Not like this," he said, a little more sternly than he meant to. "You're emotionally unstable and are more likely to make a mistake."
"I'm fine.. I really am.." Harley said, her voice wavering. "i just…"
"Calm down child, calm down," he said, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He didn't really know how to comfort her. "Do you want to talk it over?"
Harley made a noise that was somewhere between a whine and a whimper. "No…"
"Alright then. Please try to-" he glanced down, suddenly seeing a stain of dark red forming on her sleeve. "Harley, is that blood?" He asked, gesturing at her arm. She pulled it away, tears leaking down her face once more.
"Please, let me see. I want to get that treated, if it's bad," He said. Harley nodded and held out her arm. Crane gently grabbed it, pushing her sleeve up as carefully as he could. Her wrist had a long cut down it. Not deep enough to do much damage, but it needed treatment.
"Child..." Crane sighed, grabbing some tissues and wiping away the blood. "Is everything alright?"
"I-I need to... " She said, staring at the cut. "I need t-to control the pain. If I can control it, I feel better."
Crane thought of the other bruises that lay beneath the cut. They hadn't been inflicted by her. She didn't have control over those.
"I understand, Child, but you can't hurt yourself. Please, you're stronger than that," Crane said, looking at her. "I know that you are."
The kettle started boiling, so Jonathan got up and poured the boiling water into a mug.
"Thank you.. Jonny…" harley whimpered as she looked down in shame. "You've helped me so much… and all I do…" She cut off to breathe.
"Child, please get a hold of yourself. I'll dress your cut, and you calm down. You're doing fine," He said as he started steeping the tea.
He walked to the bathroom and took out some medical supplies. Walking back, he found Harley with her eyes closed looking very peaceful.
"Are you alright, child?" He asked, gently placing his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there. She nodded, biting her lip to keep the tears back. "I'm going to put some antibiotics on the wound. It may sting a little," He said. "One, two, three.." He spread the cream over the wound, and Harley winced, but stayed in place. "Good girl. Now I'm going to wrap it and we'll be done." He said. He bound up the cut, and Harley started to breathe normally again.
"Thank.. you," She said quietly.
"You're welcome child. Did you cut yourself anywhere else?" He asked. She shook her head.
"I was going to…. but then you came," Harley said. "I get like this whenever this happens," She said. " can usually control it… but every once in awhile…" She broke of, her voice quavering. "I don't know what came over me. It was so sudden- I think I may kill myself one day over this. It's so stupid..."
"Nobody wants you to do that, child." Jonathan said hurriedly.
"I… I won't, Jonny." Harley smiled weakly at him, her eyes red and puffy and her cheeks still wet.
"I'll get your tea. You're doing well, child." Jonathan said, quietly. He grabbed the tea and a blanket and returned.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to leave right now, Child. Perhaps you should wait a couple of days until you go fetch Poison Ivy."
"Okay...' Harley paused and sipped at the tea. "Jonny, will you read to me?" She asked quietly. Jonathan raised his eyebrows and sighed.
"Okay, Harley. If that would help." He wouldn't normally agree, but he felt that the situation called for it.
Jonathan Crane held The Wizard of Oz in his hands awkwardly, unable to move without waking the sleeping Harley that leaned against him. She'd been asleep for some time, and all he could do was sit there, not quite willing to wake her up.
"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better child," he whispered, smiling a little at the peaceful expression on her face. "I know that you're stronger than that."