The next couple of weeks passed with ease for Harleen. Go to work, go over Joker's case files, lunch, case files, home, repeat. She didn't explore the grounds as much as she had wanted to because Dr. Leland seemed to be watching her, and if she saw Harleen doing something other than going over Joker's case files, she immediately would ask what Harleen's progress on it was. She seemed determined to keep Harleen's nose to that grindstone.
The staff had even seemed to have the similar routines as well. The same guards walked the same halls, dealt with the same patients and spoke to the same doctors. The Warden mainly kept to his office except for lunch. Officer Cash appeared to be the only one who differed. There wasn't a place he couldn't be found at. If Harleen ever wanted a word, it was easier to call him over his comm unit rather than track him down as he never stopped moving. When harleen had brought up this observation to Dr. Leland, she merely nodded in agreement and said, "Yes. Officer Cash is perhaps the most knowledgable staff member when it comes to Arkham. He's always in the thick of it."
By the time Harleen had scheduled the Joker in for more common room times, they had a developed their own routine communication. She would watch him through the glass and they'd play card tricks (him in control of the cards of course). The jokes she heard him make as he entered the common room or exited it ranged from corky and witty to dark and morbid. At other times it was hard to follow. But no matter what he did, he always laughed at his own jokes. Some of them were hard not to laugh at. If she did, she had to cover her mouth or pretend to cough into her elbow to avoid suspicion.
She had given up on decorating her office because she was so focused on her work. The only colors that adorned her office walls were the colors from all the clippings and pictures of Joker on the cork board on the wall. Which, as it turned out, made her office very colorful. Not only were all his pictures colorful from his hair, skin, and clothes, but all the clippings from newspapers and articles were done colorfully as well. As if the editors knew to always make it eye-catching when writing about him. Probably sold more magazines and evening edition papers.
She now didn't have to lug his files secretly back and forth from her office to her apartment either. A few days ago, she had come into work early and used the copy machine by the nurses station when one of them left for their shift rounds. In 10 minute increments over the span of a few days she had copied all files in the box. She kept the recorders by her bed on her nightstand. She would play them as she went about her time while at home. She had started listening to the second recorder last night. This doctor was Dr. Henkins.
*Knock Knock Knock* "SIR, Can we bring him in?" a distant voice sounded.
"Yes, please!"
*Door opens, shuffling of feet, chair is dragged across floor, more shuffling, sounds of metal clinking(straps?), door closes*
"Patient interview one, Dr Henkins overseeing patient known only as Joker. Good morning Joker, how are you doing today?"
Silence.
"This is our first meeting together. I'm here to help get to the root of your problem. Maybe even help pave the way to rehabilitating you."
No response. Movement like someone shifting in their chair.
"Not in the mood to talk today?"
Sound of paper, a pencil scratching a few quick notes.
"That's alright then, maybe next time. Guards!"
Harleen was sitting in her bed, pillows propped up behind her the recorder playing on her nightstand next to her, a pencil and pad in hand, ready to make notes. Ironic that all doctors had a pencil and paper ready. The next session started.
*Door opens, shuffling, door closes.*
"Patient interview two, Dr. Henkins overseeing patient known only as the Joker. Good Morning Mr. Joker, How was your breakfast?"
*Sigh*
"Are you not talkative again?"
No answer. A pen is heard scratching on a pad of paper.
"Surely, Mr. Joker, there must be something you want to say. The guards tell me that you are quite chatty most days, and .. inventive with your words."
No response.
The doctor's attempts to coax a conversation from the Joker seemed to not work.
"Very well, maybe next time you'll want to talk to me. Guards!"
*Door opens, straps, shuffling, door closes.* Long sigh is heard, then rustling like the recorder is picked up.
"Patient seems uncooperative, looks about the room with boredom, even at me as if I am wasting His time. Unsure if I will get much of a response from him. Will try new tact next session." Did they all say that?
Harleen looked over at the recorder, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The doctor had said 'maybe you'll want to talk to me'. Why would he personalize the need for conversation so early? Hmm. She took the glass of water sitting on the nightstand and sipped as the next session played.
"Patient interview three. Will try patients silent treatment on him, see if he will initiate any introduction. Guards!"
Same tactic that the other doctor tried as well.
*Door opens, shuffling, footsteps, door closes. Pen starts scratching.*
A few minutes go by, neither is talking. A sigh is heard. Shifting restlessly, sounds of clinking. Pen scratching away. More minutes drag by. After 15 minutes, the doctor speaks.
"Guards!" As usual, same noises are heard, Joker being dragged out.
"Will continue to try silent treatment, patient seemed more anxious then before. Unable to say if anxiousness is caused by lack of acknowledgement from me or if from another variable of the day."
At least this doctor has his head a bit straighter than the last.
The next session Harleen listened to was the same way. Only when she came to session 5, did something change.
"Guards!"
*Shuffling, straps clinking, footsteps, door slams shut.*
"Still not wanting to speak to me, Mr. Joker? Look, I'm your doctor. They'll keep bringing you in here even if you don't talk to me, but if you would like another doctor, you need to-
"Need to what? Leave you the way your wife left you?" Joker's gleeful voiced sweetly asked.
"I.. wha...How did you.. *ahem* My personal life isn't any of your business. However I am glad you have chosen to speak to me. Finally."
"Tell me something, good doctor, is putting a 'Mr.' before my name supposed to make me feel respected by you? Is that why you call me Mr. Joker? As if were are on the same level? A human level? A, daresay, moral level?"
"I use Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. for all my patients. It is a sign of mutual respect I hope to have. You are not beneath me, nor I beneath you."
"REEEAaaally? Is that what your self-help books told you? What they teach you in quacks-r-us school? Tell us that we're all the same, that you white-coat-wearing-lab-geeks want to help us poor degenerates? That we're all supposed to hold hands and be grateful? That's what SHE told you before she ran off with some bloke she met at a bar, right? That she was grateful for the time she had with you?"
"Again, Mr. Joker, I will not speak of my personal life to you. It's unprofessional and-
"But you just said we are equals. You want to shrink-y-dink my head. Well, it's my turn, Doc!"
Harleen wasn't in the room with them and she could hear Joker's snarling hostility in his voice. Could almost see the cruelty on his face as he spoke down to the doctor.
"From what I hear, your wife was a bit younger than you wasn't she?"
"We're not-"
"So I imagine all those years in medical school and then interning and then this job really took a toll on the relationship. Lonely nights were cured quickly, weren't they? But... not by you..."
"Final warning. My ex-wife is NONE of your business!"
"Why NOT?! She LEFT YOU! You are all alone in this world, and now, all you've got to look forward to IS ME! AHhahahhaaahhaaa!"
*Click*
Harleen looked at the recorder and saw it was at the end of it's tape so she took it out, flipped it, and hit play. As it started, she jotted down notes about not acknowledging personal life with Joker at all possible. And the importance of keeping control of the conversation. While obvious, she still wrote it down just the same.
"Patient interview 6. It has been 2 weeks since the last session. I needed some personal time to collect my thoughts and, admittedly, my nerve."
*Knock Knock*
"Yes, bring him in please!"
*Footsteps, a slumping noise, a grunt, footsteps, door closes*
"Hello Doc, long time, no see. I was beginning to think you were mad at me," Joker sarcastically pouted.
"Not at all. I needed to take some vacation days so they wouldn't expire. Since this is the first session we've begun civilly, I thought you may like to start the conversation?"
"Oh Yes! I'd like to start by saying sorry."
"Apology accepted Mr. Jok-
"No, no, no, no, you misunderstand. I'm not apologizing to you, HA! No. I'm apologizing to Me."
"I don't follow."
"Well, you see, last time, you didn't get the joke. I try so hard to make the world smile... and yet, no one Gets. The. Joke."
*Pen scratching* "I see. And what joke did I miss?"
"THAT'S THE PROBLEM," Joker shouted, sounding suddenly enraged, "IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU THE JOKE, THEN IT ISN'T A JOKE! A genius like me never explains comedy, doc!"
"Please calm down. I'm only trying to understand you."
Heavy breathing could be heard. Creaking of someone's chair.
"Of course... of course. But then, how can you understand me if you couldn't understand someone as simple as Marcy?"
"...Enough of this! How do you know about my ex-wife?" Dr. Henkins voice sounded very angry now.
"No need to shout, sheesh. Ha! About ol' Marcy? Easy! That's a classic story. You met when you were in medical school, married young, she became a housewife, but after a while she couldn't take the strain of you being gone all the time... so she hopped on the first guy with a motorcycle and ditched you!"
"You're still not telling me how you KNOW!" The doctor was shouting at the top of his lungs by now. The guards burst through the doors making them slam.
"Sir, sir! Is everything ok? Do you need us to escort him out?"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY WIFE LEFT ME? HOW?!" Dr. Henkins seemed to have lost his nerve -and temper- completely.
There was a short silence followed by "Easy, she left with this guy here. HAHAHA!"
A thud was heard like someone getting hit, Joker's laughter echoing off the walls.
"No, sir, stop! Get the Joker out of here! Get the doctor off Peter! Help, we need help in here!"
*Click*
Harleen shut off the recorder. Huh. So Joker had ignored the doctor because he saw the doctors need for attention? How had he known about the doctor's failed relationship? The loss must have been painful if the doctor was so quick to be angry. And was that guard really responsible for the divorce or was it another joker?
Harleen's thoughts were buzzing trying to solve this. There were no notes from Dr Henkins in Joker's files. Only the recorders.
Hmm, Harleen thought more, Joker probably heard the nurses or guards gossiping about the doctor's divorce. Then pieced bits and pieces together. Maybe adding in his own twist.
If anything could be said about the Joker, he was very perceptive of his environment. Very strategic as well. Harleen looked over at the clock on her dresser, the neon green numbers glowing 10:56PM. She had to get up in 7 hours. She stretched, her back feeling stiff and yawned. Shutting off the light and flopping down in bed felt great. Tomorrow she had her last common room observation with him before she could schedule their first one-on-one therapy session. She didn't know what to expect. She only thought about his face, his smile, his funny antics which usually turned horrific, and wondered what he would say about her. As she drifted to sleep.