In Another Life IV

Chapter 14

"You ok?" he asked, as they lay in each other's arms afterward. He brushed aside a lock of hair from her face and she smiled at him.

"Better than ok," she whispered. "I feel...whole. I've never felt complete before – something was always missing. But I never...wanted it before with Ricky. I just felt like...he didn't belong there. His touch felt wrong. But everything about this felt right," she murmured, snuggling against him.

"Mmm, we can make it feel a little more wrong next time if you wanna," he murmured, grinning at her.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," said Harleen, in mock innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me, kid," he murmured, kissing her. "You may look innocent, but you're a lot more of a bad girl than you let on."

"Don't you like it?" she asked, concerned.

"I love it," he murmured. "I love you, Harley Quinn."

She beamed at him. "Yeah?" she asked, hopefully.

"Yeah," he said firmly, kissing her nose again.

She giggled. "I love you too, Mr. J," she whispered, curling up into his arms. "And it don't matter what anyone else says. You ain't a bad man. You can't be bad. And if the world thinks you are, then it must be bad instead. I dunno why it's taken me so long to see that."

"You were afraid," he murmured. "I understand. I think I must have been afraid most of my life too. But you ain't afraid anymore, are you, Harley?"

"Nah uh," she agreed. "I'm only afraid of losing you."

"Well, that won't ever happen," he said, grinning.

"Pinky promise?" she said, holding up her hand.

He shook her pinky. "C'mon, kid, you really think I'm crazy enough to leave all this?" he said, throwing aside the covers and beginning to kiss her body.

"Mr. J! Stop it! It tickles!" she giggled, writhing around happily. "Mr. J! Mr. J...oh, Mr. J!"

He kissed her mouth. "You wanna play a game, toots?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Mmm...what kinda game?" she whispered, smiling.

He stood up, throwing on his robe, and rummaged around in the closet for a bit. "Here they are!" he exclaimed, holding up a pair of handcuffs.

"Oh, Mr. J," breathed Harleen, as he approached her. "That's so naughty."

"You like it, huh, baby?" he whispered, kissing her.

"Uh huh," she said, grinning.

He handcuffed her wrists to the bedpost, kissed her again, and said, "Wait here just like that. I'll be back in a second."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"The kitchen," he said. "Just to get some stuff to play with."

"What kinda stuff?" she asked, confused.

"Stop being so curious, my little minx," he said, kissing her forehead. "Just enjoy the surprise."

He paused in the doorway. "Do you like whipped cream or chocolate pudding better?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Oh, puddin'," she murmured, smiling. "It's messier."

"My thoughts exactly," he chuckled. "Back in a second. Don't go anywhere."

He whistled happily as he headed downstairs into the kitchen. "A hundred and one pounds of fun, that's my little honey bun! Get a load of honey bun tonight! I'm speaking of my sweetie pie, only sixty inches high – every inch is packed with dynamite! Her hair is blonde and curly, her curls are hurly-burly, her lips are pips, I call her hips 'twirly' and 'whirly.'"

He opened the door to the refrigerator and pulled out the bowl of chocolate pudding as he continued singing: "She's my baby, I'm her pap! I'm her booby, she's my trap! I am caught and I don't wanna run, 'cause I'm having so much fun with honey bun!"

He shut the fridge door and turned around with the pudding in his hands to come face to face with Batman. "Aw, son of a..." he began, but was cut off with a punch to the face.

Harleen heard the commotion coming from downstairs. "Mr. J?" she called in concern. She struggled against the handcuffs, but they held fast. "Mr J!" she cried, as she heard something heavy fall to the ground.

A second later, the bedroom door was thrown open, and Harleen saw, for the first time, the man known as Batman.

She was too stunned to do anything but stare at him for a second. Batman stared back, clearly shocked at the scene before him. "Oh my God," he muttered, rushing to cover her up. "It's ok," he said, fiddling with the lock on the handcuffs. "You're safe now."

"Where is he?" whispered Harleen, terrified. "What have you done with him?"

"He's unconscious," retorted Batman, as he released her. "Don't worry – he won't avoid facing justice for this."

"For what?" demanded Harleen, her fear quickly turning to anger. "You brute! What right do you think you have to go around breaking into people's homes and invading their privacy?!"

"Dr. Quinzel, I understand you're upset, and that's only natural having been through such a traumatic experience..." began Batman, trying to help her up.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, furiously, clutching the blankets to her as she stood up. "Just get lost, would ya?!"

He nodded slowly. "I'll leave you to...get dressed while I take the wanted felon downstairs into custody. Excuse me."

He disappeared down the stairs. Harleen dressed quickly and raced after him. The hideout was empty now, and she rushed to the front door, throwing it open.

She was immediately assaulted by the blinding flashes of what seemed like a hundred cameras. She tried to shield her eyes while also trying to figure out what on earth was going on. Through the mass of voices that kept shouting her name, she dimly saw Batman in the distance, dragging a bound, bleeding figure toward a waiting police van. "Mr. J!" she shrieked, shoving her way through the sea of reporters. She reached the van just as Batman threw the Joker inside.

Harleen's heart broke to see how bruised and bloodied he was, but he opened his swollen eyes to grin at her through missing teeth. "Hey, kiddo," he whispered.

"Oh, Mr. J," she gasped, tears in her eyes as she clapped a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry..."

The door slammed shut at that moment, and the van drove off. "Dr. Quinzel, if you'd like to come with us," said one of the police officers, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We just need to ask you a few questions, and then we can take you home."

Harleen felt lost and dazed, and numbly followed them into the waiting police car. She saw Batman standing a few feet away, talking with the police commissioner. Batman nodded at her, and suddenly Harleen's fury returned. "You monster!" she shrieked, starting forward. "I'll kill you for what you've done to him, do you understand?! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Batman stared after her as she was dragged away, stunned. "What happened to her in there?" asked Commissioner Gordon, puzzled.

"I don't know," murmured Batman. "But I hope she's gonna be ok."