Chapter 23
Once I could finally stand up I dressed and then paced my office after Mr. J left, terrified that he would get caught and thrown back into solitary. After thirty minutes when there had been no sirens, no alarms and no flashing lights I was finally able to relax knowing he must have made it back safely. I flopped down on the makeshift bed and gathered the sheet he had been laying on against my nose and breathed in his lingering scent. It smelled faintly of chemicals, sweat, musk and sex. I realized then my entire office must smell like sex. I got up and made sure my door was locked then lit one of the scented jar candles I brought in case we lost power to cover the distinct smell of our lovemaking. I lay back down and thought about all that had happened lately and since I have a tendency to overthink things, panic began to set in. I had slept with a patient. What if the CCTV caught him sneaking into my office? What if someone found out? I'd lose my job and my medical license. I had sex with the Joker for God's sake! He was the most dangerous, most notorious, most wonderful, most intelligent, most handsome patient in this asylum. I sighed deeply and thought about how he felt inside of me, how his hands, mouth and tongue felt on my flesh. At some point during my musings I dropped off into a contented sleep.
I woke to the sound of pounding on my office door. I jumped up, still half asleep and threw open the door to see Dr. Zahir standing there looking stressed.
"Mahreen. W-wha? What's going on?" She smirked a little bit as she looked me over. I must have looked ridiculous in my pajamas, with my eyes barley open and a bad case bed head.
"I'm sorry to wake you Harleen, but we've lost power and I could use your help coordinating a game plan." I rubbed my hands across my face and yawned. It was still dark outside and I hadn't gotten much sleep.
"Sure Mahreen, just give me a minute to get dressed."
"Take your time, I'll meet you in the main security hub." She smiled. "I'll make sure there's coffee brewed for you."
I quickly got dressed in gray slacks and a baby blue turtleneck, grabbed my flashlight and ran to the nearest ladies room to get cleaned up and brush my teeth. I threw my hair back in a messy bun and headed down to meet Mahreen. The emergency lights were on but it was still very dark in the hallways. When I got to the main security hub Mahreen handed me a steaming cup of black coffee. I hated black coffee but I needed the caffeine so I took a big gulp and winced at the bitterness. Joining us were the four security guards, and the head orderly on duty. The cells automatically go on lockdown during a power outage so they could only be accessed with the manual door codes but the CCTV systems were down throughout the asylum which was a pretty big problem. We had gas stovetops and ovens in the kitchens, so we would still be able to prepare meals but the refrigeration would be out as well as the freezers, although in this weather that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The most immediate concern was Victor Fries. His cell needed to be kept at sub-zero temperatures in order for him to survive and the temperature in his cell had already warmed by several degrees. I had an idea.
"Look, I know this isn't going to be ideal, but it's 15 degrees outside with wind chills making it feel like negative two right now. Worst case scenario we put him out in the rec yard. There's a covered area out there, right?" Officer Roberts seemed to think about that for a moment.
"It's small, but yeah. I think with a couple of tarps from the storage room, we might be able to make it work, but it means losing one of our armed guards to keep an eye on him."
"Well we can burn that bridge when we come to it."
We sat around for the next hour figuring out the logistics of running the asylum at one quarter power. All in all, I think we had a pretty good handle on things. As for me, this whole situation was ideal. Darkened hallways, no CCTV, only three armed guards, one of which I suspected was on Joker's payroll, no ability to change the door codes to the cells, and a gigantic asylum that was currently three quarters empty. I couldn't ask for anything more. It was like I won the lottery!
We got to work right away medicating the patients, which was only slightly easier than it had been the previous day. I'll admit I was purposely heavy handed on the sedatives today, except for my Joker who got a cup full of sugar pills. Once it was time to bring around the lunch trays I quickly ducked into one of the admin offices and wrote a quick note on a post-it. It said,
'Have your man on the inside come to my office at 10. I'm getting you out. Play sick.'
I stashed the pad in my lab coat pocket. I volunteered to help distribute the lunch trays. When I got to Joker's cell I carefully stuck the post-it to the underside of the tray and slid it through the slot in the wall made for that purpose. I looked Mr. J in the eye, motioned almost imperceptivity at his tray and said,
"Bottoms up Mr. J!"
He pulled the note off and palmed it, then he read it as a large grin split his face. He winked in acknowledgement then crumpled the note and popped it into his mouth. I winked back and then went back to work. I went through the rest of the workday with a spring in my step and a song in my heart. God, I really had it bad. I mean, can you really blame me? I hadn't had sex in three whole years and the sex I finally did have was absolutely mind blowing! I was thinking about all the things Mr. J had told me during our sessions on his philosophies and worldview and some of it suddenly started to make a little more sense to me now. He really was a genius and he really was mine. Well sort of. I mean sleeping together one time did not a relationship make, but he had admitted to having some kind of feelings towards me last night. I had faith that over time and many, many sessions together it would grow into something more.
We did indeed have to go to our plan B in regard to Victor. The temperature in his cell reached 29 degrees and you could see the physical toll it was taking on his altered body chemistry. He couldn't have been happier. It was still snowing when we brought him outside and there was almost three feet already on the ground. He frolicked out in the yard like a damn kid until he simply fell backwards into the snow and relished the flakes hitting his skin. It was the first time I had ever seen Victor smile and I was pleased with myself for coming up with it. Officer Roberts got stuck on guard duty. He was bundled up in a parka, snow boots, gloves, hat and scarf but he still looked like he was freezing. He was up in guard tower three which wouldn't have heat but at least he could get out of the wind. I didn't envy him.
I finally finished up my rounds around nine in the evening. I went down to the women's showers and got cleaned up. Good thing I remembered to bring my own shampoo and soap, the stuff they gave the inmates smelled horrible. The water was barely tepid with the power out. Once I was nice and clean I changed into a pair of black yoga pants, a tight red t-shirt that said 'I can't adult today' and my hoodie. Once my hair dried I put it back up into pigtails since Mr. J had commented on liking them last night. It was pretty cold throughout a lot of the asylum due to the power outage. I gathered up a ton of blankets, the candles, the bag of items I ordered online, some sandwiches, candy, snacks and drinks I got form the vending machines in the employee lounge then headed to the common room in the A ward and got everything set up. I headed back to my office just a few minutes before Officer "Weasly" aka Mike Stone showed up at my office. I instructed him on what I wanted him to do, which security officer to switch rounds with, gave him the door code to Joker's cell, then told him which path through the buildings to take and where to bring him. I could have easily sprung him from his cell myself, but the other inmates would be suspicious as to why I was even in the ward at that time of night and the jig would be up. We would need to be very careful in the future. But tonight was completely ours and we needn't have a care in the world. I planned everything very carefully and made sure I dotted my I's and crossed my T's. We would never have another opportunity like this and I wanted it to be perfect.
Mike escorted Joker to my location and quickly left to handle rounds in the Intensive Treatment ward like a good little lackey. I had laid out a makeshift picnic on the floor in front of the couch in the common room. I had candles lit and lots of pillows to sit on. Joker walked in and looked down at me with a curious smile on his face.
"What's all this Poo?"
"Well Mr. J, I figured we only had this one chance to spend a night together. I made it so we'd be all alone where no one could find us. So even though there isn't any power I did my best to make it special."
"Well aren't you just a peach?"
"Why dontcha have a seat? I gotcha some food that didn't come out of the cafeteria. I had the pleasure of trying the asylum cuisine yesterday and I figured you would appreciate a change of menu."
I let my put on "professional" voice go and spoke the way I normally would. He crossed the room and sat down next to me on the blanket.
"So how did you manage to pull all this off?"
"Well, we had to put Mr. Freeze outside because we can't divert power down to his cell and that meant one of the armed guards got stuck outside in the guard tower to keep an eye on him. Then I had "Weasley" switch rounds with Adam so no one would sound the alarm that you weren't in your cell." He chuckled and raised an eyebrow.
"Weasley?"
"Yeah, your guy Mike looks and acts like a weasel, thus the nickname. Say Mistah J, how'd you recruit him anyway?" He picked up a sandwich and swallowed a bite before answering.
"He used to work for the Penguin. I used to see him around the Iceberg Lounge quite a bit. After a particularly dangerous job, he decided to go straight and got the job here. The next time I was in Arkahm for a little vacation I offered him a job that paid five times more than he ever made with Pengers and the rest, as they say, is history." I gazed at him in admiration for his resourcefulness.
"You're so smart Mr. J."
"Yes, I know Pumpkin, but thank you for saying so."
Once Joker had finished eating I pulled out the bag of games and novelty items I brought with me.
"I wish we had power over here so we could watch a movie or something, but I have a deck of cards and a couple of travel games in here if ya wanna play." He eyed the bag.
"Let's see what else you have in there."
I handed him the bag and he started rummaging through it. He laughed as he pulled out each item. There was a shocking pen, gag gum that dyed your mouth, fake vomit, a screaming pickle, a rubber chicken, the chattering teeth I found in his belongings and some other joke items.
"They're silly, but I thought you might get a kick out of some of it." He pulled out a Whoopee Cushion and that almost malicious looking grin crossed his face.
"I think I know something we can do to keep ourselves occupied. Come to Daddy, Pumpkin." He said as he crooked his finger at me.
He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me onto his lap so that I was straddling him. He kissed me deeply and when he broke the kiss he asked me,
"Ready to have a little fun?"
"Oh yeah Mr. J!"
I won't go into too much detail here. What happened that night was just for me and Mr. J. What I will tell you is that it was passionate, unique and utterly amazing! He did things with a Whoopee Cushion you wouldn't believe! And those chattering teeth? Totally multi-purpose!
Afterward while we basked in the post-coital euphoria and caught our breath I climbed into his lap and laid my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and lazily stroked my side, running his fingers over my scars.
"So, how did you get these Poo?" I was a little embarrassed to tell him, but I did.
"Well, when I was growing up my dad wasn't around a lot. I found out when I was nine that he was a crook, the cops busted in and arrested him while I watched." He shifted me a little on his lap and looked down at me.
"What did they arrest him for?"
"Fraud and embezzlement. He was living a double life, swindling widows. I found out he had a whole other family at one point. He was living with this woman, Linda Gilmore and her son Robbie who was about my age. Here I am just dying for my dad's love and attention and he's playing daddy to this other kid. He took him to little league and played football with him. I can't tell you how hurt I was by that.
"As I got older that pain never went away. In fact, once I hit puberty it got worse, I was like, totally hormonal. One day I was sitting in the kitchen by myself and I took a knife from the butcher block and just started making cuts on my arm. I didn't know why at the time; I just know it made me feel better. As a shrink, of course I know it was my way of escaping my emotional pain, if only for a little while. That pain was the only thing in my life I had any control over. Well, a friend of mine at school saw the cuts in the girl's locker room and told on me. My mom got called in and I had to see the school shrink. It was humiliating. So I started cutting in places where no one could see. I cut in the same places over and over again. It was oddly…. comforting. I don't know how else to explain it." Joker turned his mouth down into a little frown.
"Awww, my poor widdle Harley. No daddy to help you grow up, what a cad. No wonder you wouldn't talk about him. Is he still in the pen?" I sighed and cuddled closer to Mr. J.
"Yeah, he's doing a twenty year stretch this time. I went to see him over the holidays and he tried playing on my emotions to get him a transfer here. He's never gonna change." I pouted. "Whatever, I'm done with him anyway." Joker chucked me under the chin.
"Well chin up kiddo, you've got all the daddy you're gonna need right here."
"I know Puddin'." He turned his head and looked at me with one verdant eyebrow raised.
"Puddin'? Really, Harley?" I smiled and leaned forward to give him a quick peck on the lips.
"I like it."
"Well I don't."
"Okay Puddin'." He flipped me off his lap and onto my back and started tickling me. I squealed and laughed and tried to get away, so he straddled my hips effectively pinning me down and kept on tickling until tears were streaming down my face.
"Okay, okay Mr. J! No more Puddin'…Puddin'!" He smiled down at me.
"Oh, now you're really asking for it."
The tickling led to kissing and the kissing led to heavy petting and…. well you get the idea. Afterward I fell asleep in his arms and we stayed that way until Mike came back at four thirty in the morning to bring Mr. J back to his cell.