In Love With A Good Man

Chapter 27: Bad News

Harley and Casey sat on the couch in the living room. She was curled up next to him, lazily laying her head on his chest while he rubbed her arm affectionately. He let out a yawn and laid his head back tiredly.

"You gonna make it, baby? It's a little too early for you to be nodding off like that." She said just to tease him, giggling a little as she ran her hand in a circle on his chest.

"I'm just tired, babe, that's all. I haven't been sleeping too well lately." He said.

"Really? How come? I'm not keepin' ya up, am I?" Harley asked, lifting her head up to look at him.

"No no, not at all."

"Was I snoring?! 'Cause sometimes I get all congested and-"

"No, honey. I mean you were but that's not why," Casey clarified with a chuckle. "Nah, I just haven't really been able to get good rest. I've been getting these weird half-dreams and some anxiety." He explained.

"Oh, honey. It sounds like you're stressed," Harley diagnosed, sitting up a little and putting a hand on his cheek. "You gotta get more sleep. And relax some more." She recommended, patting her hand on his face.

"That's what I'm doing right now, Harley." He pointed out with a little smile.

"Touche. Do ya wanna go to bed early tonight?" She offered.

"Nah, I'll be alright. It's still a little too early. Just, uh, I'll put something on TV and fall asleep here." He decided, reaching over to grab the remote. He turned it on and started flipping through channels.

"Okay hun. You knowww, I can think of a few other things we can do since we're staying up." She teased him with a smile, putting both of her hands on his face and kissing him. He chuckled as he returned the kiss.

"Then I'll definitely fall asleep." He joked.

Harley laughed and continued to kiss him.

"Mm babe I can't see the TV." He pointed out with another chuckle.

"Eh, it rots your brain anyway." She joked in response.

Casey continued flipping through channels as he made out with Harley, wrapping his other arm around her. However, he passed over the news channel Gotham Tonight, and that's when they heard three words that caught Harley's attention immediately:

"...out of Arkham."

"Hm? Wait, babe. Go back. Go back." She quickly said, reaching for the remote.

"Hold on, love, I got it." Casey said, sitting up a little and going back to the news channel. Much to their dismay, it was bad news.

"...investigation has been opened to figure out the means of escape. But for now, authorities are encouraging all citizens of Gotham to exercise extra caution, and to call the number on your screen if you see any suspicious activity." The news anchor spoke above a terrifying headline:

JOKER ESCAPES ARKHAM

"Oh my god," Harley's face dropped. She put a hand over her mouth and looked at Casey worriedly. "Mr. J's escaped again." She said.

"How? How did he get out? He hasn't even been in that long!" Casey wondered aloud, staring at the TV with a confused but also seriously concerned expression.

"I-I don't know! I...oh I'm gonna throw up." Harley groaned, standing up and beginning to pace around the living room while holding her stomach.

"Harley?" Casey stood up too, unsure of what to do. He'd never seen Harley this upset and afraid before.

"Shoot, I-I'm gonna have to get my suit and my hammer again and-and talk to Ivy. I don't even know where he is, but if I don't do something now, I'll-" Casey interrupted Harley by grabbing her arms and getting her to look at him.

"Baby, take a deep breath. In and out now, come on." He coached her into taking a few deep breaths. She followed along with him shakily.

"Oh god...h-how are you not freaking out right now?" She asked, looking in his eyes.

"I am...I am," He admitted. "But we can't both be running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Not in this situation. And you can't go out picking another fight. Not so hastily." He said while rubbing her arms soothingly.

"But we gotta do something! And fast! I can't let anything happen to you, baby." She said, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Let's take this one step at a time, okay? What do we need to do first?" He asked.

"We...I gotta call Red and Selina. See if they've heard the news." Harley said.

"Okay. You call Selina, I'll call Ivy." He decided.

"Alright...alright." Harley's hands were shaky as she reached into her pocket. She started pacing around the living room again while the phone rang. Casey gave her a kiss on the cheek before going into his office to call Ivy.

"Come on. Pick up, pick up." Harley said in a hushed voice, brushing her hair back with her hand. It took two more tries to get Selina to answer the phone.

"Harley? You know I hat it when you spam call me. I'm working." Selina said irritably after answering the phone.

"I'm sorry but it's important! I just saw on the news that Joker escaped Arkham again! Have you heard?!" She asked urgently.

"What?! No, I haven't heard, I've been out all night...it must've just happened." She guessed.

"Casey and I need your help, Selina. If he's out, he's definitely gonna come after me. And if he finds out about Casey, he'll kill him! He'll kill us both!" Harley said fearfully.

"He'll try, you're right about that," Selina agreed with a sigh. "I'll see what I can do, okay? I'll give Batman a call too once I'm out of this place. I'm sure he's probably already on it."

"Thank you so much. Sorry to bother ya." Harley apologized.

"It's alright, Harley. Just hold tight, okay? Where are you and Casey right now?" She asked.

"At home – Casey's house." Harley answered.

"Okay. Do you think that you two will be safe there?" She asked.

"Um...y-yeah, I think so. He doesn't know about Casey yet, so he wouldn't think to look in some random house. And Batman knows we're here." Harley remembered.

"Okay, then just stay here and play it safe, alright? Maybe think about doing your makeup differently so you don't get recognized. That's a little trick I picked up recently." She advised.

"Okay...yeah, that's not a bad idea. I'll do that." Harley nodded.

"I have to go, but I'll let you know if I hear anything. Stay safe." Selina said before hanging up the phone. Harley let out a shaky sigh, putting her hand over her mouth again and fighting the urge to start crying...

At the same time, Casey was calling Ivy from inside his office. He had left the door mostly closed behind him so Harley's conversation didn't interfere with his. He stood in the center of the room and waited for Ivy to pick up...

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, Red. It's Casey. Do you have a sec?" He asked.

"I do. Is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not. Joker's out of Arkham. We just saw it on the news early." He explained.

"So soon? Unbelievable! That's terrible! Are you both alright? How's Harley taking the news?" She asked.

"Not well. She's freaking out over here. I'm tryna keep her together, but you know...this came out of friggin nowhere man." Casey sighed and shook his head.

"What can I do to help, Casey?" Ivy asked, doing her best to speak calmly despite being worked up herself.

"I'm the wrong person to ask," Casey said with an ironic chuckle. "Talk to Harley when you can. In the meantime, could you just keep an eye out for us?"

"Of course. I'll come by soon and plant some of my babies around your house for security." She decided.

"Yeah...well won't that attract more attention?" Casey asked.

"It'll keep you safer. I think that's more important, don't you?"

"Maybe...thanks, Red. Hopefully this'll pass by without any issues." He said with a tired sigh.

"It would be a miracle, if you believe in that sort of thing." She commented frankly.

"Fair enough. Talk to you soon. Bye."

"Bye, Casey. And please, both of you be careful." She urged him.

"Okay." He nodded and hung up, letting out another sigh as he slid his phone back into his pocket. After a minute, Harley entered the office.

"I just got off the phone with Selina. She says she'll talk to Batman. What did Ive have to say?" She asked.

"She's probably gonna call you later. She wants to start by planting some of her babies around the house for security, and then figure out with you what to do from there." He explained.

"That sounds like a good idea." Harley nodded in agreement, breathing in with a quick sniffle through her nose. Casey walked up to her and leaned forward a little to look in her eyes.

"Are you crying?" He asked.

"A little...I'm really scared, baby." She hugged him tightly again. He hugged her in return and stroked her back.

"Scared about Joker coming after you?" He assumed.

"No. I already know he'll come for me," Harley shook her head. "But if he finds you...I won't lose you, Casey. Not after how hard we worked to get his far!" She said, pressing her hands on his shoulders.

"It'll be alright," Casey said quietly, putting his hands on her cheeks and lifting her chin a little. "We'll figure this out together." He promised.

Harley nodded wordlessly, biting her lip to stifle back the urge to cry again. However, tears forced their way out anyways. She closed her eyes tightly and let out a whimper.

"I'm so frickin tired of this. Why can't I just be happy?" She lamented before giving way to tears.

"It'll be okay, baby." Casey said again, unsure of what else to say. He held her in his arms again to comfort her. But truthfully, he wasn't really sure if he believed his own words...