Chapter 12

Of course, Harley had no choice but to do as she'd been told. She knew she was close to losing her job and if she did, chances were she would never come back again. And that meant she would never meet the Joker again. Probably. She just had to deal with all the boring, long days that lay ahead of her. Patient therapy went on as usual, but her sessions with the less dangerous inmates were, just that: less dangerous. She supposed she should be thankful for that, but she missed the thrill of seeing him. Now, there was nothing to look forward to anymore.

Dr. Arkham hand been able to find a new recruit who was willing to take on the Joker's case over the weekend. Even from the beginning, no one was really eager to take on the case, which was understandable. This new doctor was named Ethan Baker, from Central City this time. Of course, Harley was still jealous, but at least this one made a good first impression on her. He seemed like a nice man. Maybe too nice to be facing the likes of the Joker. Harley couldn't help but feel worried when they all sat down in the conference room once again on Tuesday morning to witness Dr. Baker's first session with the Joker.

"Good morning," Dr. Baker said, attempting a small smile to appear friendly. If the Joker looked disgruntled the last time, that was nothing compared to the face he was giving Dr. Baker now. The Joker rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, apparently not amused.

"So, how much did he pay you in advance?" the Joker asked.

"Who?" Dr. Baker questioned. A smirk appeared on the Joker's lips. Harley knew what that meant – he had found someone to play with. The Joker leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table.

"Why, dear ol' Dr. Arkham, of course!" he said and turned his head for a couple of seconds to look into the camera on the wall. He knew they were watching. "Or are you telling me you volunteered for the job?" he inquired, looking back at Dr. Baker. "Perhaps there's a whole line of other shrinks just waiting to have a go at me? Hmm?" He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, waiting for an answer. Dr. Baker remained his calm and polite nature.

"I'm not here to discuss the circumstances of my being here. That is of no importance. You just know that I'm here simply to help you." Harley cringed involuntarily. She knew the Joker hated to hear that.

"Perhaps they didn't tell you about the last shrink they sent me?" There was a slight pause, but Dr. Baker resumed the dialogue, albeit a little hesitatingly.

"That – that doesn't matter to me." His voice seemed almost childlike. Harley got her fears confirmed. This guy was obviously not capable of handling the Joker. The Joker looked around the room, as if to check no one was in sight, when he very well knew he was being watched from another part of the asylum. He leaned in even closer over the table.

"Wanna know a secret?" he asked Dr. Baker. Foolish as he was, he leaned in ever so slightly. This is not going to end well. "She would have stood a better chance against me."

In the blink of an eye, the Joker had closed his hands around Dr. Baker's throat, despite the cuffs restraining him. They could hear Dr. Baker choking. "We have to do something!" Joan exclaimed. For the first time, Dr. Arkham actually looked clueless. One of the orderlies were present in the conference room and he was waiting for orders.

"Get down there and take him to his cell!" Dr. Arkham finally blurted out and the orderly was about to leave when the Joker suddenly spoke up and all eyes turned to face the TV screen again. During those few seconds, the Joker had managed to twist Dr. Baker around and they were both standing up now. The Joker was slowly choking the life out of his prey with his right arm around Dr. Baker's neck.

"You don't get how this game works, do you?" he spoke, looking into the camera once more. "This game has. No. Rules. You can play it how you want. So… you can either choose to send Dr. Quinzel to me or watch lil' Dr. Bakey here get his neck twisted. The choice is yours."

He wants me to come. There was no other choice. Harley headed for the door, but Dr. Arkham stopped her. "Stop! You're not going in there!" Dr. Strange made it before Harley.

"So you'd rather have Dr. Baker die?"

"Of course not!" Dr. Arkham defended himself. "But we shouldn't do what he wants. There's gotta be another way."

"Don't you get it?" Harley said and everyone turned to look at her. "The fact that there are no rules means that we're playing by his rules. This is his game. Only he can win and he knows it. I'm not going to let that man die on my behalf!" The Joker's loud and impatient sigh was heard through the screen.

"Ugh, you know, I really don't like to be kept waiting. Last chance: if Dr. Quinzel isn't here in two minutes, then this is the last you'll see of Mr. Nice guy." Harley didn't waste one second, but ran out of the door and headed for the examination room.

Once she reached it, she fiddled for her access card and then unlocked the door. She froze at the sight in front of her, her eyes fixed on Dr. Baker who had gone pale. "Ah, there you are!" the Joker said. "Just in the nick of time." He let go of Dr. Baker, who collapsed onto the floor and gasped for air, coughing violently. Now she could see the Joker's full body. He was tall. Very tall compared to her. She was only 5'3 and even in heels, she would bet that she only reached up to his shoulders. She had never felt this inferior in her entire life. The Joker held out his tied hands. "Care to help me a little, here?" Harley shook her head slowly.

"Why would I?" The Joker rolled his eyes again and bent down to Dr. Baker's level.

"And here I thought you'd learned the very principle of this game." He went for another choke hold, but Harley stopped him.

"No, wait!" The Joker stopped in his tracks and looked expectantly at her. "Let me just get the key," she said and as if on cue, when she opened the door again, she was met by the orderly who had followed her from the conference room.

"Are things all right in there?" he asked.

"Let's hope they will be if you give me the key to his handcuffs." Harley held out her hand. She was stressed more than anything else. The orderly hesitated and the stress really got to her now. "God damn it, just give me the fucking key! There's a life at stake here!" He dug his hand into his pocket and grabbed the keychain which held the key to the handcuffs. She snatched it from his grip and returned to the room.

"I got the key," she said and the Joker stood up again and held his hands out. Harley didn't want to look at his face, but she could feel his stare upon her as she desperately tried to get the key into the locks with her shaking hands. There was a click and the right cuff was off, then she proceeded to the left one and with another click, the cuffs dropped to the floor with a loud clatter.

"Now that's much better," the Joker said and Harley was surprised when he grabbed her by the hand. She froze, feeling his touch run through her entire body like electricity. Her heartrate increased. Now she was forced to look into his face. "Much obliged," was all he said and the next she knew, he had got hold of the key in her hand.

"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked as he returned to Dr. Baker who was still trying to catch his breath. The Joker bent down over his face and now Harley understood what he was about to do.

"NO!" It was too late. In one swift movement, he had cut Dr. Baker along the throat.

Harley watched as the blood started making its way out of his throat. She acted upon impulse and rushed over to kneel down next to him and place her hands over the wound. He was gurgling blood and it came from out of his mouth, rolling down his chin. The tears began falling down her face as she looked down at Dr. Baker's clear blue eyes. The light in them was quickly leaving. She kept her pressure on the wound, but it didn't help the blood from trickling underneath her hands and down onto the floor. The red liquid was warm and sticky and the metallic scent was almost unbearable. That pulse which had been vaguely throbbing underneath her touch was now gone. She looked at his eyes again. His lifeless stare would certainly haunt her for the rest of her life.

She sobbed as she realized what had just happened. A man had died right in front of her eyes and all her attempts to prevent it had been so meagre. She had let this happen. She hadn't even tried to fight the Joker when he took the key from her. The Joker grabbed her by the neck and brought her up to her feet again and spun her around to face him. This time, she did want to look into his eyes. She needed to see that they were alive and well. And they were. Cold and emotionless as they may have been, they were nonetheless soothing. He brought her face closer to his. She had no idea what he was about to do. Then suddenly, the lights went out and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Looks like there's a power outage," he said. The darkness was such a contrast to the light. She didn't even see his lips as he spoke, but she could feel they were still close to hers.

"Looks like," she breathed out, trying her best to keep her voice from shaking. He drew back slightly, taking a firmer grip by the nape of her neck.

"You see Harley, life isn't fair. You better start taking what you want while you still can. Or you might and up as your, uh… little pal over there." He nodded to the lifeless body of Dr. Baker.

It all suddenly became so clear to her. And all it took was this one deed from him. He was right. He had been right all along. All this time she had been doing nothing but trying to prove herself to everyone else. Trying to please everyone. Harley wanted to laugh at the fact that it wasn't until now that she realized how wrong she had been. Up until this moment, she had been clueless and foolish. It was time she grew up and faced the truth – life wasn't fair.

She tensed up at the voice of the orderly outside. She was just able to make out his words. "Hey, you there! Stop!" But that was all he said before there was a gunshot and Harley jumped at the sound.

"That would be my exit cue," the Joker said. He let go of her neck and then dug his hand into the right pocket of her doctor's coat. She didn't even try to stop him. She was like nailed to the floor. She felt numb. "I'm gonna have to borrow this," he said and showcased the access card in front of her face. "You don't mind, do you?" He moved up to the door and that was when she felt she could move again. All because of one thought that she couldn't help thinking: He's leaving me.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, reaching out to him. "Don't leave me like this." She was well aware that she sounded pathetic. Probably looked pathetic as well, what with the blood on her hands, her red eyes and wet face and she felt her knees shaking slightly. She regretted having decided to wear heels today.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "We'll meet again sooner than you think." There was a glint in his eye and she wondered what he meant by that. He used the card to unlock the door and when he opened it, he was greeted by the sound of another man's voice. Harley saw two guys wearing clown masks right outside the door. "Ah," the Joker pronounced. "You're just in time." He glanced back at Harley and winked at her. "See ya!" And with that, he and his goons disappeared down the halls which were just as dark as the room from the power outage. So they had planned to break him out all along? She fell to her knees. She wanted to bury her face in her hands, but the blood kept her from it. Instead, she stared down at her palms. It might as well have been her who killed Dr. Baker.

She heard hurried footsteps coming closer and then they stopped outside, followed by a gasp. "Someone call an ambulance!" It was Joan's voice. They must have shot the orderly outside. Harley just hoped they hadn't killed him too. "Dr. Timm, keep pressure on that wound! I need to check on Dr. Quinzel." Joan stepped inside the room and put her hand over her mouth at the sight in front of her. Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my God! Dr. Baker… Has anybody called 911 yet?" she shouted into the hallway over her shoulder. Joan's eyes fell on Harley. "Harley!" She bent down to help her stand up again. "Are you all right?" she asked, worried for her friend.

"I – I…" She couldn't get any words out of her. Joan looked at Dr. Baker again and then came to the horrifying conclusion. "He's gone, isn't he?" she asked and Harley nodded.

"I'm sorry," she choked out of her.

"It's okay," Joan tried to convince her and put her arms around Harley for comfort as well as support. "It's not your fault. Come on, let's get you washed up."

A/N: Things just keep going downhill for Harley, don't they? What is she going to do now that the Joker has escaped? Go after him? Or maybe she's too shaken up at the moment? I can't even imagine what it's like to watch someone die like that. So yeah, I got this chapter up quick, but it was practically finished already before I started posting this fic. As I said, I started on this a couple of years ago. From here on out though, I need to organize the story a little better and I have more things to fill out, so I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'm working on it. ;) Thanks for reading/reviewing/following! It helps me move forward! :)