I Can't Live Without You (Harley Quinnx Poison Ivy)

Chapter 7

Harley's POV

The days were dragging on, matter of factly I was losing track of the days. I just followed my routine, seeing patients, going home, showering the same old shit just on different days. The alcohol and sleeping pills had only worked for a couple nights. I was getting anxious now adays. When was this fucking toxin going to wear off?! The nightmare was almost always the same every time I fell asleep. Except for last night... In the nightmare last night I was locked up and had to watch as the Joker relentlessly beat Poison Ivy. And there was nothing I could do to stop him.
Apparently my change in mood was obvious to my secretary. Because when I walked into my office she had this look on her face that clearly said she was wondering if I still had my sanity. I gave her a halfhearted smile and a wave as I set my things down behind my desk.
"Dr. Quinzel... Harleen are you okay," my secretary, Janet, asked me.
I sat down and stared at the top of my desk as I contemplated her question. Was I okay? No, I wasn't okay. Having to watch the woman that I... having to watch my best friend beat to death every night while I slept was tearing down my psyche. I finally looked back up at her with a smile that I tried my hardest to make it seem genuine.
"Yeah, I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep, Janet," I said standing back up to get my white coat.
"I get that you're a psychiatrist, but don't psychiatrists need someone to talk to as well?"
I looked at her for a moment and then I shook my head with a halfhearted laugh, "I suppose so."
"Well, Dr. Quinzel, I'm your therapist now," she said with a friendly smile before taking her leave and going back out into the lobby to sit at her own desk.
I gave a small smile, that probably didn't reach my eyes like a true smile would. I went through my patients as usual that day, trying to focus on their problems instead of the nightmare problem I was having.
Later that day I walked into the bank in Metropolis after my workday came to an end, memories came flooding back. Memories of Red and I... I bit my lip as it quivered, trying not to cry. The teller kindly took my bank card and brought me back the money I asked for. Just as I turned to leave, the door was busted open by a bunch of goons in clown masks. I felt my heart skip a beat and fear pump through veins. These men looked like Joker's lackies.
"Everyone put your hands in the air and don't move unless we tell you to move!"
I just stood stock still, the order taking a minute to process. What were these guys doing? Joker was dead, unless they were working for someone else and didn't even bother to change the getups.
"We're making a withdrawal, so everybody with money, hand it over now! We'll deal with you tellers in a minute!"
These stupid idiots weren't taking my money, not if I could help it. I could care less about everyone else's money to be honest but this was my hard earned cash. For once I hadn't stolen it. As one of the men came close to me I held my breath, praying he wouldn't recognize me. But, unfortunately luck wasn't working in my favor that day.
"Harley? Wow! You're lookin' damn fine, how's life without the Joker treating you," he asked with a devilish grin.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said trying to play innocent.
He grabbed me by the throat and put the gun to my chin, "Don't play stupid, Quinn!"
I flinched slightly at his raised voice, my gaze met his as I knew I couldn't let him know he was getting to me. At any mention of the Joker, the gross image of his burnt and vile face came to my mind and made bile rise in my throat. As this man just continued to stare me down the rest of his boys continued with their work of robbing the bank.
"You're comin' with us," he growled.
Before I could do anything to defend myself he slammed the gun into the back of my head, knocking me out cold. Honestly I think that was the first time in a few weeks that my eyes were closed and I didn't see those horrific images of Ivy's life leaving her beautiful eyes. But when I finally came to I had a terrible headache and I had no clue where I was. I fully opened my eyes, forcing my mind and body to wake up a little more. I looked around, trying to ignore the headache as I took in my surroundings.
"So, it really is true. You gave up the crime life," a British accent spoke, making the hair on my neck stand up.
I held my eyes closed tightly, knowing full well who I was speaking to.
"Come now, Harley, it's not respectful to not acknowledge your host."
I felt something crack against my shin and I gave a yelp, opening my eyes to look at the short figure in front of me just to avoid being smacked again. Oswald Cobblepot stood in front of me with his cigar hanging from his lips as usual, his small beady eyes looking at me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.
"You tied me to a chair, P- Cobblepot," I had almost called him Pengy, I had barely stopped myself. "If anything is disrespectful it's that. How can you expect respect if you don't give it?!"
"When my boys brought you in, it got me excited Quinn, because the Joker's been dead for a few months now. The rumors out on the streets were that you left him to die, going with Poison Ivy and then you even ditched her for a 'normal life' as Mr. Nigma so nicely put it."
The comment about leaving the Joker for dead hurt, but when Cobblepot brought up Ivy it was all I could do to not start crying. The Penguin got closer, so close he was up in my space now, making me squirm involuntarily.
"All though... the Riddler told me another interesting piece of information Quinn. He said that Ivy searched for you and never stopped until she found you. But now, she and Catwoman are the talk of Gotham and Metropolis. Making headlines left and right. How does it feel, hm? To know you've been forgotten and left behind?"
The Penguin pushed the tip of his umbrella into my chest, using it to rip two buttons off my shirt, exposing my chest a little. I shot a dangerous look at him as I felt my face go red, but the tears now running down my cheeks kept it from looking very threatening. He was right... Red had moved on... She had Selina now, so she wouldn't need the stupid, annoying blonde jester.
"Now why would Ivy go looking for you? I didn't think she cared that much about you. So tell me, Harley, did the two of you have a little bit of fun between the sheets with each other whenever the clown kicked you out or got locked up," he asked with a disgusting and perverted look on his face.
I refused to answer him, I just tried to look away but he wouldn't let me. I was starting to get emotionally unstable, all the thoughts about Red, all the memories and fantasies... They were just too much for my already weak mind.
"What do you think boys? Think Ivy would do anything for the dumb blonde here?"
They all laughed and snickered at the comment and that only served to hurt me worse. That's all anyone in this world saw me as when the Joker wasn't around? A dumb blond? The stupid slut that ran with the Joker because he paid attention to me...
"So... You think if I threaten you, Ivy will come running? Because then I can get rid of my competition. I'm sick and tired of her and Catwoman making the front page."
Oswald backhanded me hard with the umbrella before making me look him in the eyes with blood dripping down my chin from the corner of my mouth. I bit back a scream as I felt a blade stab into my side, I hadn't even seen the damn knife in his hands... I didn't know what fucking point he was trying to prove by stabbing me. Maybe he was just doing it to be the twisted fuck he was known to be.
"My dear, there's no one to save you anymore. If Ivy comes for you my boys will kill her like the damn treehugger that she is. And with the Joker gone, there's no one to stake a claim on you. So I think I'll just use you for my own amusement until I've decided that you don't serve a purpose any longer," he said in a sinister tone.
He was standing even closer now and I did the first thing that came to mind. I drew my head back and threw it forward, right into the Penguin's nose. I got to my feet and jumped, higher than a normal human could because of the mixtures Ivy had given me. I leaned back slightly so that the chair would shatter beneath me when I hit the ground. I knew it was going to hurt like all holy hell but it was my only option at that point. If I didn't stay here then Ivy wouldn't have to come for me, if she even wanted to that is.
The Penguin looked at me with fury in his disgusting beady little eyes as he held his nose. Blood was dripping from between his fingers as he glared at me. I was on my feet now, the chair in pieces on the floor. I glanced around trying to come up with a way out. Then a guy ran at me from behind, shooting to take me down but I jumped up, flipping backwards over him. As I soared over him, I grabbed a fistful of the collar of his shirt. I pulled him back against me as I landed and I glared at the Penguin.
"I'm walking out of here, Cobblepot. Shoot me and you lose one of your men," I threatened as I kept myself behind the man just enough so that no one could get a clear shot.
"You really think I care about losing one guy? He's expendable," the Penguin snarled.
"Shit," I said under my breath, realizing I had made a bad move.
I took the gun off the man's belt and pushed him into the Penguin. I was still holding onto him, using the goon as a ram to get through the Penguin. They wouldn't risk shooting their own boss. As the henchman and the Penguin hit the floor, I front flipped over the two in a heap and grabbed hold of one of the women that the Penguin always seemed to have in his company. Clicking the safety off I put the gun to her head, a cold look in my eyes.
"I'll do it, Cobblepot," I growled, I knew he wouldn't want one of his women shot.
Now the rage in his eyes was pure fire and I couldn't help but smirk at the fact that I was the one getting under his skin now.
"Hold your fire, boys," he said through his teeth, the blood running down his face beginning to dry.
I started to back out of the club; I wouldn't put it past the Penguin to put a bullet in my head the minute I turned around so I kept his girl between me and him. When I got outside I found a black motorcycle and climbed on it, forcing the girl to as well. But as soon as I got on the bike shots were fired at me by men rushing out of the club. I ducked behind the bike pulling the girl with me. Thankfully the Penguin's dopey headed goons were terrible shots. I looked up just over the top of the bike and shot each of them in the knees, causing them to hit the ground hollering in pain.  I didn't want to be in Gotham, I didn't need B-Man breathing down my neck anymore than he already was. The girl wrapped her arms around my waist after I kicked the bike to a start and took off away from the Iceberg  Lounge.
My grip on the handlebars of the motorcycle tightened as I thought of Ivy. I could go to her, her apartment was just up the street from here, assuming she would still even talk to me... A single tear slid down my cheek as I pushed the bike to go faster; this only causing the girl to tighten her grip around my waist and press her face into my back. Shots were being fired at us now as we drove off so I pulled the pistol out of the waistline of my skirt and fired off some shots, hitting one of the men in the neck and another in the leg. Soon we were out of firing range but little did I know I had flown right past Selina who had been standing out front of Ivy's apartment. The gunfire had caught a lot of people's attention; it wasn't quiet after all. Upon reaching the outskirts of Gotham I stopped at a gas station and filled the bike up, but then I realized I didn't have any money to pay for the gas.
"Do you have any money on you," I asked the girl in a deflated tone as my blue eyes met her brown ones.
It was then I realized how young she looked; the poor thing couldn't have been any older than seventeen or eighteen. She nodded, handing me some money from her pocket.
"Thanks," I mumbled as I took the money inside, gesturing for her to follow me in.
When we walked back outside I could tell she wanted to run, but I put my hand on her shoulder.
"Look, I'm really sorry I put a gun to your head. I just wanted out of there, I... I did it to protect someone I care about," I said filling the bike.
"It's okay... It's not like I haven't been threatened before," she said so quietly I almost didn't hear it.
I looked at her with a question in my blue eyes, but I didn't need to ask it. I knew what she meant, the Penguin had to be an abusive man, that much was clear with how he treated me. Just like the Joker... I shook my head and finished filling the bike. When I turned to put the nozzle back pain shot through my side, reminding me that Cobblepot had stabbed me. WIth all the adrenaline pumping through me I had forgotten about the stab wound. I grimaced and held my side, only to find a blood spot had long ago formed on my shirt.
"Here," the girl said softly, pulling some paper towels off the roll above the windshield washer.
She lifted my shirt and pressed it against the wound, making me give a little yelp. The girl took the belt off her pants and put it around me tight enough to keep the paper towels in place.
"That should hold long enough for you to get back to Metropolis."
"H-How did you know I was living there," I asked, more than a little stunned.
She shrugged not meeting my gaze, "After Ivy went looking for you and came back empty handed it became the talk of Gotham. The infamous Harley Quinn had walked away from her life of crime, living out a life of normalcy in Metropolis."
I just shook my head and ran a hand through my hair, getting back on the bike. I wanted away from the damn crime life but it seemed my past wouldn't leave me be. Scarecrow, now Penguin. Who the fuck else was gonna show up to harass me?
"You can go back now if you want, I just needed to get out of Gotham."
The girl just stood there as I kicked the bike back into a start. I looked at her in confusion, why didn't she jump at the chance to take off?
"If I were you, I wouldn't go back to the Penguin though. You don't need him; make a life for yourself before you ruin it for one man," I said, trying to nudge the girl into action.
I sounded like a goddamn hypocrite, here I was telling this girl to get away from Cobblepot when I couldn't even get away from the Joker while he was alive. It took him getting killed for me to finally get away. Now I could kind of see what Ivy probably saw in a way... On the outside looking in, it was sad and pathetic to see someone rely on another person so much that they would give up anything and everything for the person, even if they were abusive. Details like that were pushed aside, sometimes even completely forgotten. Like with me and the Joker... He tried to kill me, and yet I went back to him each and every time, saying that it was just tough love.
"Can I come with you?"
The girl's question caught me off guard and jerked me out of my thoughts.
"I... why? Why do you wanna run around with the 'dumb blonde'" I said a little more scornfully than I had meant to.
"I don't want to go back and I know he'll track me down if I stay in Gotham..."
I took in the sad and almost pathetic look on the girl's face. Lowering my head with a sigh I gestured for her to climb on, revving the engine a few times before peeling out of the parking lot on the black bike. My side was throbbing and I was getting a little light headed but I got us back to Metropolis in one piece.
When we walked into my apartment I practically collapsed onto the couch, regretting it when pain shot through my side. I heard water running and cupboards opening and shutting. Then the next thing I knew the girl was beside me on the floor with a bowl of water and some towels and bandages. I frowned as memories of Red patching me up came to mind. I stopped the girl before she could do anything.
"What's your name?"
Her brown eyes searched mine for a moment, clearly wondering why I had stopped her.
"My name is Rachel," she said.
I grabbed the bowl and bandages and things she had brought out to take care of the wound. Red was the only one I was going to allow to take care of me like that, and that wouldn't be happening anymore, since she wanted nothing to do with me. From that point on I vowed to take care of myself, it's what Ivy wanted me to do all along. The redhead just wanted me to be able to be independent so I was going to start; for her...
I smiled at Rachel before saying, "The guest bedroom is down the hall, first door on your right, bathroom's across the hall."
I made my way to my bedroom not giving Rachel a chance to really say anything. I put the bowl of water in my bathroom and then went to my closet grabbing some clothes for her. I smiled softly to myself, wondering if Red would be proud of me for doing what she did for me, helping someone down on their luck. I gave the girl her clothes and started to head back to my own room.
"Thanks, Harley," the girl said softly.
I stopped and looked at my feet, frowning at the use of my name.
"It's just Harleen," I whispered, feeling pain creep back into my heart.
I closed my door behind me and began to care for the stab wound. I cleaned it out, biting my tongue the whole time to keep back a scream. I tried to stitch it up but it was just a gross mess. I didn't even want to try and touch it anymore so I put a bandage over the top and laid down to go to bed. My head still hurt and now my side hurt to boot. But the biggest pain of them all was the pain I felt in my heart. I knew the nightmare's were going to ravage my sleep. Trying my best to mentally prepare myself for it I took the sleeping pills beside my bed and downed a shot of whiskey to wash them down. When my head hit the pillow it took me a few minutes to sleep and when it finally came my sleep was no different than it had been for the past couple weeks now.