The Joker was once a little boy named Jack. Since they were in diapers, Eva Hartman was his best and only friend through the hell that they both endured behind closed doors.
When they are suddenly separated, as far as Jack knows, she has abandoned...
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William James Napier and Teresa Camille Napier were newly-wed and expecting when they moved into a decent middle-class neighborhood in a little town called Worthden. On February 19th, 1981, Jack William Napier was born.
It was a joyful time for the new family. William had always struggled with mental illness, but he had been doing well for years now. Things were going so well, he could function well enough to hold a job as an office clerk.
Two years later, William was pleased to discover that their new neighbors moving in directly across the street happened to be his high school friends. They had been a couple since senior year; Reese David Hartman and Dawn Lisa Hartman. They were expecting when they moved in as well.
The families spent a lot of time together, reminiscing about their high school days. The Hartman family babysat Jack for William and Teresa, as they both worked a lot.
On July 8th, 1983, Evangeline Joy Hartman was born. The Napiers came to visit in the hospital. This was the first time little Jack had ever seen a new baby up close.
Jack was in love with her from the moment he saw her. He begged to hold her until they finally sat him in a chair and placed her carefully in his arms.
Even though he was just two years old, he held her carefully and studied her little face and her tiny fingers. He held her for several minutes before she needed to be fed.
Teresa noticed the parent's lack of connection to their new baby. Even in the hospital, Dawn didn't hold Evangeline unless she had to, and she never even attempted to breastfeed.
Dawn would place her in her bassinet with the bottle propped up on a receiving blanket, rather than holding and feeding her herself.
Teresa, who was a nurturing and kind hearted person, would hold and rock her as often as she could, afraid that if she didn't, the child would have problems later in life.
When she gently brought up the possibility of postpartum depression, Dawn insisted that she was fine.
The real problem was that Dawn struggled with having any true connection. She didn't really know how to love. She married Reese because it was comfortable and easy, and had a child because it was what was expected. But throughout Evangeline's life, she would always be self-involved and distant.
When Jack was six, William had lost his office job after he accused his boss of being possessed by a demon and had started taking things apart with the belief that he was being spied on. His disorganized thinking and delusions prevented him from getting another job.
At home, Jack witnessed his father hurt his mother during his episodes. He was scared for her and for himself, and afraid that his dad would never be himself again.
Jack's mother, who was a nurse, began to work more hours since his dad couldn't work. Jack spent a lot of time over at Eva's while his mother worked and his father slept all the time, a side effect of his medications. He was glad to have a break from the chaos that was his home life.
