Two chapters in one day?

That's what I'm talking about!

Chapter 3

Harley watched as the time slowly ticked by on her desk clock, watching the minute hand mock her as it slowly made it's way around to the 12. Only fifteen minutes more and she would be sitting across from the very man that had haunted her dream last night, the very man that had haunted Gotham for 10 years.

She had got to the padded room, an integration room used for their more extreme cases here at Arkham, twenty minutes early, eager to get her session with the joker started straight away. Her coffee was filled to the brim of her 'No.1 aunt' cup and her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. She was ready for whatever the joker was going to throw at her. She read through his file one more time just to pass the time; she found her hand wondering over the red smile that graced the joker's face. He was handsome for a villain.

She gave one last look around the room, making sure there was nothing that the joker could use as a weapon. The walls were white and padded, the floor the same texture. The table she was sat at had two chairs, one on either side and both white and padded, the only difference was that one of them had straps attached, to hold the patient in place. She frowned at those, she found them inhumane but she knew they were for her own safety.

The lock moved on the door and she whipped around in her chair, her eyes making contact with the personal guard of the joker, he was assigned to watch him eighteen hour a day, seven days a week. She couldn't imagine a more stressful job than hearing that mans mad laugh every minute of every day.

She straightened herself up, focusing on looking like she was confident and in control, even though inside she was quivering with fear. He strode into the room, as confident and smug as ever and gave Harley his eeriest smile. She gulped and tried to calm herself before she spoke, she could not let him see that he was affecting her. She watched closely as the guard pushed his straight-jacketed form into the chair and tightened all the straps, ensuring that he could not move a limb in any direction that could be deemed hazardous to her health. Once he was finished he looked at Harleen and she nodded, dismissing him from the room.

"Good afternoon, Mr joker, my name is Dr Harleen Quinsel, I will be your therapist through this transition in your life." She looked him square in the eye, which was her first big mistake. Usually there was a hint of regret in a patients eye, a sign that they felt some remorse for what they had done, all she could see in the clowns eyes was madness within the deep blue irises. She gulped and looked around the room for inspiration, he still hadn't said a word.

As she opened her mouth to ask her first question he spoke, his voice raspy, like he hadn't had a drink in weeks, it was somewhat sensual. "Harleen, such a pretty names, do your friends call you Harley?" He murmured, looking into her eyes.

"I don't have many friends, none really." She blurted, why did he have this affect on her.

"Well you have one now doc," he grinned, his silver grill shining in the fluorescent light. She couldn't help but stare at him. His green hair seemed more prominent than ever against the stark white of the wall, his skin almost matching its colour and blending him in. his teeth were white and covered in a grill that made him look so much more like a mafia boss than a madman. His body was athletic, like she had thought at the ball and his lips were red, his usual lipstick gracing them. She wondered how he had got that in to the asylum and she could see his fists tense under the straight jacket. He was so damn handsome that Harley had to try and calm the blush before she carried on speaking.

"Thank you, Mr Joker. Now I wanted to discuss the findings your other doctors had on you whilst you were under their care, I understand that you never divulged much to them. Why was that?" She looked at him and he was analysing her, she could see him calculating whether she was trustworthy or not.

"They weren't as interesting or pretty as you doc, all of them had that clinical look about them and it just never did anything for me. You know if you shorten your name you get…"

"Harlequin, like the clown, I know." Harley mutter, annoyed that he had simultaneously answered and ignored her question.

"Such a clever girl aren't ya doc? Why don't you come and sit on daddy's lap? We can discuss it further." His slow, demented laugh bounced off the padded walls and with each 'ha' Harley felt her heart slip further down. This was going to be so difficult.

"Mr Joker, I think you will benefit more from these sessions if you were to cooperate rather than make things harder for yourself. You do realise I am the one person that can get you back out into the real world, to see batman once again." She watched and she saw it, the little twitch when she mentioned the bat. She knew that he was the joker's weakness.

"My dear doctor, I do not care to see that bat again, unless he is in a coffin." He said behind gritted teeth and Harley was scared, he looked like he could do major damage when he was threatened. She gulped and tried to look like she wasn't affected by the murderous look in his eye, shuffling in her chair.

"Well how would you see that if you are locked up in here?" Harley retaliated, trying not to show her fear in her voice. His answering cackle was her reward and she knew he was no longer mad, this man was walking bipolar, she would add that to her lists of disorders he was believed to have had.

"Ya funny doc, I like a gal who can make me laugh." His words sent a warm flush into her body and she had to take a minute to think. For fuck sake Harls, he is a killer, why are ya getting all schoolgirl over him? Her subconscious knocked her and she knew it was right. She was acting ridiculous.

She sighed and looked down at her next question on the list, deciding to change the subject. "One of your doctors said that you had an infatuation with making others laugh, is that why you call yourself the joker?" She hated that question.

"Hmm… yes I suppose it is. Hahahahaaa," his laugh dulled off and Harley sat, gobsmacked that he had actually answered on of her questions.

"And who do you blame for the way you are today?" She kept going, trying to get as much out of him as she possibly could, she was doing better in one hour than other doctors had done in months before he escaped time and time again.

"Batman of course, he is the reason I look like I do, think like I do." He looked insulted, as if Harley should have already been aware of that.

"What did he..." she was cut off by the knock on the door signifying that it was the end of her session with the joker, she sat back in her chair, realising she had been unconsciously leaning into the mad man across from her. He was like a black hole of craziness. "I'm sorry Mr Joker, it looks like we are out of time today but we will carry on our conversation tomorrow." She looked at him pointedly, as if to say you will tell me tomorrow, he gave her his famous grin as the guard came in and unstrapped him, lifting him from the chair. His cackle echoed through the room and Harley frowned, he was an enigma. The guard and the clown started to walk from the room as Harleen gathered all of her papers up.

"Oh and doc," the joker had forced the guard to stop at the door, looking over his shoulder at her. She looked up and made eye contact with him, her eyes full of questions. "Call my J.," he flashed her his grill and then was pushed from the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

…

Call me J.

That phrase had been going around in her head for hours as she typed her notes from their session, creating a separate folder for the joker and a big box file for all of his paper work. He was a massive project, one she was relieved she had to herself. As selfish as she felt, she didn't want anyone else to set his or her eyes on her clown, he was her enigma to solve.

She packed up her things and turned off the light in her office, waving at the night shift guard on her way out of the asylum. She looked up to the room that she new the joker was occupying and frowned when she saw him looking at her from the barred window, a shiver rolling down her spine. She tried to get the clown off her mind by going over to her favourite Chinese restaurant to get dinner. She had finished work late and cooking anything now would take way too long. She smiled at the familiar girl at the counter and ordered the same food she ordered every week, sighing and she sunk into the plush chair of the waiting area.

"Rough day?" the voice boomed over the soft Chinese music and Harley turned her head to where a very attractive young man was sitting, staring at her.

"You could say that." She smiled politely and looked at the woman at the counter, begging her to cook her food faster.

"You look tired, long day at the office?" He smiled charmingly and Harley couldn't help but feel freaked out, why was he asking so many damn questions.

Just as she was going to reply the woman called her name and she thanked the heavens she hadn't ordered anything else. She looked at the man kindly and nodded in his direction.

"Nice talking to you." He said and shook her hand.

"Um yeah you too… uh." She searched her brain for name, remembering he never gave her one.

"Jonny, Jonny Frost." He smiled warmly at her again and she realised he was quite attractive.

"Harleen." She smiled and left the shop, heading for the safety of her home to analyse probably the weirdest day she had ever had.

So Harley met J's right hand man for the first time, things could get interesting