Chapter 13

After having washed the blood off her hands, Harley was given a blanket to put around her and she sat down in the conference room. Joan stayed with her the whole time. Harley didn't say a word. She just stared blankly ahead. After a while, Dr. Arkham stepped inside. Harley didn't turn to look at him. "The ambulance has arrived. They said Mr. Dwight will be fine. Thank God." Those last words he whispered more to himself. Harley supposed Mr. Dwight was the orderly who had been shot. When they had passed him on their way out of the examination room, Harley didn't want to look down at him. It would have been too much. But at least he was going to be okay. Dr. Arkham went on. "And the GCPD is here too. They want to talk to you, Dr. Quinzel."

This time, she did look up and at the same moment, two policemen walked into the room. One of them was slightly overweight and had a stern, but at the same time, given the situation, sympathetic look on his face. The other had brown hair and a mustache, wearing square spectacles around a pair of kind and wise eyes. Harley had seen them both before in the papers and on the news. Commissioner James Gordon came up to Harley where she sat in her chair and he crouched down to a squat in order to look her directly in the face. "Dr. Quinzel, I'm Commissioner Jim Gordon and this is Detective Harvey Bullock." He nodded to his partner, who was still standing by the door with Dr. Arkham. "If you don't mind, we would like to ask you a few questions." Harley looked into his eyes for a moment. They were probably the kindest eyes she had ever seen. Even more so than her father's.

"That's all right," she said. Her voice was low and hoarse. Gordon nodded and moved to sit down in the chair across from her. Bullock gestured for Dr. Arkham and Joan to leave. Joan asked Harley if it was all right with her and she nodded in response. Bullock sat down next to Gordon and Joan shut the door after her. Now they were alone and the whole room was drowned in silence for a short moment. Then Gordon spoke up.

"Could you please tell us everything that happened?"

And she did. Starting with when Dr. Baker's session with the Joker had started and ending with when the Joker had escaped. She remembered everything in between as clear as day. Every detail. Every word, every image, every scent. They were still fresh in her mind and she feared they would never go away. When she had finished her tale, Gordon was the one who spoke again. "Dr. Quinzel?" he asked tentatively. She looked up into his old and wise eyes.

"Yes?"

"If it's not too much to ask…" He paused and it seemed to her that he was contemplating whether he should ask or not.

"Yes…?" she urged him to finish and so he did.

"We would like you to be part of the investigation."

Harley's mouth opened up just a crack and she inhaled a breath, as if preparing herself to respond, but Gordon made it before her. "I completely understand if you don't want to get involved. It's just that… Well, you're the only one who really knows him. From what Dr. Arkham told me, you're the only one he's ever opened up to." He had a point. Maybe she could help? Maybe she could actually do something good? Be of value?

"I will help you," she finally spoke and Gordon seemed to lighten up. "On one condition…" she added and he nodded for her to go on. She drew in a breath. "He's not to be harmed." She was dead serious, not once wavering or blinking. The look he gave her indicated that it was a promise he couldn't keep. He was even about to tell her so, but then changed his mind once he locked his gaze on her pleading eyes. He had no idea why she would care about the Joker getting hurt or not, but he figured it was unwise to question her.

"Of course not," he said. "Once we find him, he'll be taken into custody and then moved back to Arkham. Nothing more."

"Good." The small word slipped out of her barely open mouth. That's the word Gordon heard, but from her eyes he could read "thank you." He gave her a simple nod and then procured a piece of paper and a pen.

"Write down your number and we'll call you as soon as we need you. Okay?" Harley nodded and grabbed the pen to scribble down her number. Her hand was shaking slightly and Gordon noticed. Once she had written the last digit and dropped the pen, he placed his hand on top of hers. She looked up into his face again. "We will find him," he reassured. She only nodded and then took a deep breath. He gave her a small smile. "You go home now and get some sleep."

Harley did as told and Dr. Arkham had even given her the rest of the week off to recover, but Harley told him that she would come back to work on Thursday. She figured it was a good idea to take at least one day off. In her opinion, she deserved it. Although her intention was to fall asleep once in her bed… she just couldn't. The events of the morning were still fresh in her memory, playing on repeat. But the one moment she kept coming back to more than any other, was when the Joker had told her they would see each other again. Would he come back for her? Or was it just a lie to please her at the moment? She told herself it hadn't been a lie. He wouldn't lie to me. All she could do now was wait for the opportunity to present itself – the opportunity to see him again.

It was well after 10 PM when Harley was still up, watching TV in her apartment. She did it in hopes of getting her mind to rest. But "rest" was a word that seemed to have gone on vacation from her vocabulary these days. She jumped in her seat on the couch when she heard something. Something that didn't come from the TV. Like a thud. Her heart started racing without her being able to control it. She thought about putting the TV on mute so she could hear better, but decided against it. If she did so, whoever or whatever was in her apartment would know she had heard the thud. No, to keep the TV going was her one and only advantage. Maybe it wasn't anything special, but somehow, Harley could sense that she wasn't alone. Looking around for something, her eyes stopped to rest on the vase on the coffee table. It would have to do. She grabbed it by the neck with both hands and turned it upside down, holding it in a firm grip. Quietly, she started to move on tip-toes through the room. She could have sworn the thud came from the balcony. Slowly, she made her way there. The polished surface of the vase and her sweaty palms was not a good combination, but she gripped it tighter in hopes that it wouldn't slip through her hands.

Then she heard another noise, but it didn't come from the balcony. It came from behind her. In a heartbeat, she spun around and let out a shriek when she saw the black caped figure standing in front of her. He didn't utter a sound. She let out a breath and shook her head at him. This was not cool. "Don't you knock before entering a lady's boudoir?" she asked, well aware of the contempt in her voice. He was trespassing after all. She had all the right to be angry.

"Sorry," the Batman spoke in a dark and gravelly voice. Harley raised an eyebrow and glowered at him.

"Prove it," she said.

"I will," he said. "Just as soon as you lower that vase." He gestured with a simple nod towards the vase in her hands, which was still raised in defense. She looked at it, then back at him, then back to the vase again before rolling her eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine," she said and moved to hold the vase in her right hand, lowering it so it rested against her leg. "I suppose you're not here to hurt me. So why are you here?"

"What do you think?" Harley fell silent. There could only be one reason for his being here.

"I think you're here because you want to get some inside information on the Joker and ask me if I know where he could possibly be." She was straight-forward, not once faltering. "And I can tell you right away," she said, taking one small step forward. "All of the information I have on him is confidential. I wouldn't give it to you even if you were the pope. And no, I have no idea where he could possibly be." Batman in turn, grew quiet for a couple of seconds.

"Then I won't ask."

"Thank you," Harley answered with a fake smile and then turned around to put the vase back in the sitting room, but she continued to talk, knowing he could still hear her. "I wasn't expecting company, but is there any chance I can get you anything? Coffee? Or, whatever it is you bats prefer." That last sentence she said more to herself. Once the vase was back in place, she turned around, expecting to see him there, but no. It was just her. She went back to look where she had left him, but he wasn't there. She snorted with a slight chuckle and shook her head. "Son of a bitch."

A/N: This is more of a filler chapter, but at least we got a Batman cameo! Yay! :D And did you find the reference to Batman: The Animated Series? To say the least, Harley doesn't like unexpected guests. Especially if they wear a black cape and cowl. ;) I forgot to say so, but I made another reference in the previous chapter. I named one of the doctors "Timm" which, of course, was a nod to Bruce Timm. ;) Next chapter is sure to be much more eventful and a certain reuinion is going to take place. ;)