Harley lay in bed coughing. She coughed until she couldn't breath. She had one arm around her stomach and her other hand covering her mouth.
Joker burst through the door an injection in his hand. The liquid was a milky green colour.
"Baby try this." Harley couldn't stop coughing. Her knees were now up to her chest and she was scared she would pass out. Joker pulled her onto his lap and comforted her while she coughed. Once she stopped he held her for a moment.
"You ok baby?" Harley nodded and lay her head on him. He picked the injection off the bed side table.
"Ok baby try this. Frost thinks this should work." Harley got off his lap and held her arm out. Joker found her vein and injected the liquid into her.
It had been three months since Harley got ill and nothing was working. They didn't know what it was or how to stop it. Joker spent all his time working on an antidote.
He kissed Harley's forehead gently.
"Let me know you you feel in a little bit ok pumpkin?" Harley nodded and closed her eyes. Joker stroked her hair a few times before leaving to go see Frost.
Joker put the needle on his desk and sat down his head in his hands. Frost was in the corner of the room in front of him loads of glass bikes and tests tubes with different coloured liquids in. There were stood left right and centre with things bubbling everywhere.
"How did it go sir?" Frost said pouring the contents of one test tube into another, Joker lifted his head and shrugged.
"She was having another coughing fit when I went up there and she went blue. For a moment I thought I had lost her but she is sleeping now. What are we going to do if we can't find a cure for her? I can't lose her and she can't go to hospital they will let her die." With that they heard a huge thud come from the room above them.
Joker got out his chair and bolted up stairs as fast as he could. He opened the door and Harley was in bed but her water bottle was on the floor.
"Don't fucking do that! You scared the life out of me harl! I thought something had happened to you!" Harley's eyes filled with sadness as she watched her boyfriend scream at her.
"I'm sorry Mr J. I didn't mean to." He sighed and walked over to the bed sitting next to her. Joker pulled her into him.
"I'm sorry baby. I just got worried. I can't lose you." Harley smiled weakly. She knew in herself that there was no coming back from this. For her there was no getting better now and she had accepted it but he couldn't.
"Can I tell you something Puddin?" Harley asked knowing she had to tell him. He nodded and she sat up looking at him.
"There is no getting better for me. I want my last bit of time spent with you. Even if it's just cuddling and watching films. I love you and I know the time I have left is precious." Joker grit his teeth.
"Don't you dare say that!" Harley braced herself for the back hand she knew was coming, but it never did. Harley opened her eyes and he was gone. She sighed and slid back down in the bed. She needed him to except it otherwise he wouldn't spend any time with her before she went. She didn't care about a cure, she just wanted to spend time with him.
Joker stormed through the door of his office.
"Everyth."
"Get out!" Joker screamed at frost before he could finish his sentence. Frost put everything down and walked out the room. Joker put his head in his hands and cried. If Harley had excepted her death than maybe there was no cure. Maybe she knew there was no saving her. Joker couldn't bare the thought of losing her, he couldn't bring himself to come to terms with it. He looked up at a picture he had on his desk of Harley. It was taken a week before she got ill. Her skin glowing, her hair in bright colours and her eyes sparkled. Joker picked up the picture and kissed Harley gently. He put the picture down and headed back upstairs.
"Harley baby." Joker said opening the door slightly. He saw Harley asleep on the bed.
"Harley?" He said slightly louder, still no response. His heart began to race. He walked over to the bed and nudged her.
"Harley!" Still nothing. Joker began to panic. He grabbed Harley's shoulders and pulled her up. Tears streamed down his face as he pulled her onto him lap. "Come on Baby please." He felt her wiggle a little before she opened her eyes. He started to cry tears of relief. He pulled Harley into him squeezing her slightly.
"What's wrong Puddin?" He planted kisses all over her face.
"I thought I lost you." He said crying into her. Harley couldn't help but smile. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He could feel how dry her lips were against his.
"Baby you need to drink." He said handing her a glass of water. She took a couple of sips before handing it back to him. He placed it down and held Harley tight. She felt so safe in his arms like nothing, not even her illness, could hurt her.
They both lay in bed together Harley's head on his chest and his arm around her. Neither of them had said anything in an hour. They both had so much to say but no idea how to say it. Joker had enough of the silence. He took a deep breath and began to speak.
"So harls. How long do you think you've got?" He said his voice cracking. Harley shrugged and a tear ran down her cheek and onto his chest.
"I don't know, but I know it's not long." Joker closed his eyes trying to fight the tears. He squeezed Harley tighter against him.
"Name one thing you want to do before you go." He said to her stroking her hair. Harley thought about it. She didn't know what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go but she knew one thing.
"I want to spend time with you. I don't care what we do. I just want to be with you." He smiled down at Harley before sitting up and her sitting next to him.
"How about I make some popcorn and we watch a few films?" Harley smiled and nodded. She watched as he walked out the door.
It was a week later and ivy was sat on the bed talking to Harley. After a few more minutes she left and closed the door. She walked downstairs and saw joker sat on the sofa. She looked at him and shook her head.
"There is nothing I can do. I wish there was. Just go and be with her, she doesn't have long left. Tell her I said I love her and I'll see her soon." Ivy's voice cracked and she started to cry as she walked out the front door. Joker walked back upstairs to see Harley coughing up blood into a cloth. He walked over to the bed and sat with her.
"So what do you wanna do today pumpkin?" He asked once Harley had stopped coughing. Harley just shrugged and lay back on the bed.
"I want to give up." Joker put his arm around her.
"Don't give up baby." Harley lay her head on his shoulder.
"I don't have long left and fighting hurts. I just want to go to sleep and not wake up." Joker stroked her hair.
"Baby if you go to sleep and don't wake up then... you don't wake up, but at least your pain will end. That's all I want is for you to be happy." Harley smiled up at him a tear in her eye. Harley knew if she stopped fighting and shut her eyes she could drift off. She was so tempted to but she remembered his break down last time he thought she was dead. She didn't want to make him feel that again.
"Promise me Baby. If your pain gets too much you'll just go to sleep." Harley smiled a weak smile as tears filled her eyes again.
"Promise." Harley used the last of her strength to grab his chin and pull him down into a kiss. It was a long soft kiss. Harley opened here eyes and pulled away.
"I love you Puddin." She said laying her head on him.
"I love you more than anything harls. I will always love you." He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes.
"Sweet dreams. I'll see you again I promise." He squeezed her gently and rest his head on hers holding back the tears. Once Harley was asleep Joker felt her breathing get shallow. He put two fingers on her neck and felt her heartbeat slowing down. A tear rolled down his cheek. He stayed there until she wasn't breathing anymore. He waited with her until he couldn't pick up a heartbeat. He kissed her softly on the cheek and lay her down gently before going downstairs. He walked into a room almost full of men. He held back the tears.
"Boys." He said it quietly so it was sucked under the noise of the men.
"EXCUSE ME!" He shouted and they all turned around. He stood in silence for a minute as the situation hit him. He was brought back to reality by the smash of a plate that had been dropped. His head snapped up and the person who dropped it looked terrified. Joker sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn't need this right now.
"It's Harley."
"You found a cure and she's fine?" He heard a hopeful voice in the crowd. He shook his head.
"She's gone. She went in her sleep so it was peaceful. I will make funeral arrangements and let you all know." The room was silent. With that he turned and walked out the room. He went into his office and shut the door. Frost still working on an antidote in the corner.
"Stop looking." Frost put everything down and turned to face him.
"Don't give up sir. I'm really close." He shook his head and slumped into his chair.
"She's gone Jonny. I've lost my Harley." Tears ran down his face he ran his hands through his hair and started shaking.
"I need some time alone. She's on the bed can you..." joker trailed off.
"Of course." Frost said as he shut the door. Joker sat in his office chair. He didn't know what he was feeling. He was angry he was sad but most of all he was scared. He didn't know how he would carry on without her. He didn't know what to do. All he could picture was her. The bit he hated most was he could only picture her lifeless body. Her chest not moving. He could hear her. She was all around him.
4 months later
Joker woke up and looked at the picture of Harley stood next to his bed.
"Happy birthday harl." He whispered with a weak smile before dragging himself out of bed. He threw on his clothes and went downstairs. He walked into the kitchen to frost cooking bacon. The smell filled his nose.
"Harley's favourite." He said sitting down.
"I thought being as it was her birthday I would make her favourite breakfast." Frost smiled at joker over his shoulder.
"What did she always say. No being a grumpy git on her birthday." This caused a little chuckle to come from joker.
"She used to tell me that everyday she just used her birthday as an excuse." Frost handed joke a fry up and left the kitchen. Joker looked at the plate of food in front of him. He ate half a price of bacon before putting it all in the bin. He couldn't eat properly anymore. He couldn't stomach it. He washed up his plate and went into his office. He sat his desk and flicked on the tv he had got in there. He saw the news and Harley's face appeared in the bottom left.
"It's Harley Quinn's birthday today an announcement from the jokers gang a while ago let us know she is dead, no one knows how she died. Everyone knows their relationship was abusive so did he beat her to death? We may never know." Joker shut off the tv outraged. He threw the remote into the wall and stormed out.
He saw frost in the living room. He walked up behind him and grabbed his shoulders turning frost around to face him.
"Is it my fault she got ill? Did I hit her too hard one day? Is this is all my fault?" Joker asked his voice cracking.
"Shall we go somewhere more private sir?" Joker shook his head.
"Answer me. And I want the truth." He said his hand around his throat. He tightened his grin and frost nodded.
"You did something to her lungs. They were bruised." He dropped frost and went out the front door.
Joker stood by the hidden river. It was their hidden river. Jokers and Harley's forever. He looked into the water and cried.
"I'm sorry harls. I never wanted to kill you. This is my fault." He took the small folded picture he kept in his pocket at all times. It was their first photo together. Harley thought he threw it away but it never left his side.
"I said I'll see you again... it's going to be sooner than you think." He kissed the picture and put it back in his pocket.
To be continued