A shrill ringing could be heard throughout the small trendy apartment; it was soon followed by a soft thud against a wooden door and a low human cursing. Alice yawned and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. Her body ached and the muscles in her back complained as they strained. She glanced at the empty place where the alarm clock should have been, and she sighed, I need to break that habit of throwing the alarm clock at the door to stop it, she thought as she forced herself to wake up.

Slowly, with the quilt wrapped around her like a cloak, she climbed off the bed and wriggled her toes, in an attempt to wake up one of her feet. She threw the blanket back onto the bed unwillingly and rubbing her bare stomach, she reached for the silk dressing-gown draped over the bed post to cover her slender and naked form. The old gown felt cool to the skin as she slipped her arms through the fraying sleeves. Tying it tightly around her waist, as if that would somehow make her warmer, she blearily padded into the en suite. Must be a Wednesday, she thought as she stared into the mirror and pulled her blonde hair out of the messy bun it had been in, I never feel good on Wednesdays.

Steam crept across the en suite floor and danced around her feet, warming them and her lower legs. With a sigh from the morning sniffles she had developed again; she let the dressing-gown slip to the floor. Stepping over it delicately, she crossed the small room and climbed gratefully into the hot shower. Water cascaded down her back, as she quickly washed her hair, splashing loudly as it hit the shower floor. The tepid water also flowed down her front and legs, soaking everything before she rubbed in shower gel. Her eyes were squeezed closed as she massaged shampoo into her roots but suddenly her eyes opened.

"Bollocks" she muttered and wiped mist from the door. From the shower, with the door open, she could see a wall clock close to the window and it ticked away the seconds, "Please be wrong."

Unfortunately it wasn't and it was now ten to eight. She was supposed to make a twenty minute train journey to the Police Station in the space of less than ten minutes. Growling at herself for not setting the alarm clock to an earlier time, she clambered ungracefully out of the shower and reached for the closest towel to wrap around her hair. She used the smaller one meant for her hair to pat down her legs.

At eight o'clock, the time she was supposed to be meeting the Commissioner, she pulled a pencil skirt on over a red lacy thong. Part of her wished for Harvey Dent to notice her today and if that were to happen, she wanted to be wearing only the best. Pushing her not so innocent thoughts of the new DA to the locked part of her mind, she rummaged for a shirt that would match. Nothing in the large wardrobe jumped out at her as the right thing to wear. Coming across a favoured t-shirt from university, Alice had to smile. Baggy, so that it slipped off of one shoulder, a tattered teddy bear shouted the words 'Are you suffering?' she barely wore the thing now and was surprised it was still in her possession.

"Not exactly helpful for Arkham patients to see that, didn't Jeremiah say that one lunchtime to me?" She mused as she glanced at a blouse before looking for something else. Eventually she decided that a red turtle-neck would be just fine for a meeting at Gotham City Police Station. Even if it was a meeting with Harvey Dent. Scraping her hair into a bun, she grabbed her handbag and filled it with the last of her make-up, a notepad and her keys.

Jim Gordon glanced at his watch nervously. Alice still hadn't turned up for work and she was usually prompt every morning. Clearly setting an earlier time isn't working for the young woman, he sadly realised. Thankfully, Harvey hadn't arrived yet either. Jim had hoped that Alice would be there already with him when the DA arrived to discuss the latest crimes. He'd turned away from the doors for only a moment when he heard the mild cursing behind him, many uttered apologies and a crash of something smashing on the floor. Alice could be clearly heard over the hubbub of noise.

"I am really sorry. I hope it wasn't an antique if it was I think I'll cry." There was a pause of quiet before the doors to Gordon's office were thrown open and a young woman in a turtle-neck sweater half stumbled in. "So sorry I'm late Sir, I woke up at usual time for a nine o'clock start, completely forgetting about the time change for this morning. So I thought I'd pop into the Coffee House to make up for it," she held up the cardboard that were supposed to hold four cups of hot drink apologetically with a cheeky smile, "but there was a bit of an accident."

"That's alright – what matters, is that you're here now. I'll assume you have heard of the Joker?" he raised an eyebrow when she stumbled again slightly as she walked over to the bin. She dropped the cardboard cup holder and looked at him. "Shall I take that as a yes Miss Greenwood?"

Alice nodded uncertainly. Of course she knew who the Joker was – part of her work life in Arkham was to know as much about the main villains in case she had to step in. The Joker was by far the most interesting case to study. He had escaped at least five times and seemed to not mind being re-entered time after time. Often exclaiming things like: "Good to be home" or "Hey Batsy, why don't you grab a jacket and join me?" Dr Arkham had been hesitant to give her the Joker's file because he believed she was too much like Harley Quinn and he didn't want another good doctor being seduced.

The doors opened again and Alice was dragged ruthlessly from her thoughts as Harvey Dent strutted into the office. She sat down in the chair closest to the window, out of the way until she was needed, and pulled out a notepad to take some notes. Secretly, she hoped that Harvey, with his slightly ruffled blonde hair, would turn and just look at her; perhaps even a smile. She bit her lip in anticipation and smiled when he nodded in her direction politely. By the time all the pleasantries were over, she was already not listening to Gordon but instead decided to draw many intimate doodles that held absolutely no resemblance what-so-ever to her or Harvey. She would just bin the page or add it to her collection of doodles. Harvey Dent was definitely on her list of hot males, next to George Clooney and Michael Keaton of course.

*
Several drooling hours later
*

Alice held onto her small heels as she walked home - in the murky drizzle and car fumes. She swore loudly at several cars that honked their horns at her and she was beginning to feel even worse than she had that morning. The small sniffs gradually became worse and she was sure that by the morning she would have to call in sick. It had been one of the most boring days at the Police Station – despite her drawings and daydreams – and she felt that she would have had a better time talking to people in comas.

To make everything seem a lot darker and colder, Harvey Dent barely acknowledged her existence in the meeting, and Gordon seldom engaged her into the conversation. She understood they talked about Batman and the Joker, for they both featured in her doodles and sporadic short-hand notes.
She sneezed as a car full of teenagers sped past cat calling. I'm just a body to that gang, a woman to the men at work and even the patients seem to lust after me, she thought bitterly.

"Would anyone miss me, if I just vanished?"

A high pitched whistle suddenly came from the alley beside her. She tilted her head as she shivered; not because a rain drop was tracing its way down her back, but because the noise had unnerved her - like it had answered her question somehow. She licked her lip and turned to face the darker area. She smiled slightly, the alleyway reminded her of the corridors in Arkham, and there had never been anything in there to frighten her.

"Hello?" she called into the gloom of the alley. Again, she was answered with the grating high pitched sound. Glancing around her, she hesitantly stepped into the alleyway. "Hello?" She asked again, though louder. She continued to edge slowly, avoiding the broken glass and rubble on the floor, until she was deep in the shadows where anyone passing wouldn't see her. The hair on the back of her next rose with fear. She looked around. There wasn't a sign of anyone except herself.

Finally got this uploaded! Rate and Review and perhaps take a guess at who (though I'm pretty sure it's obvious) is lurking in the shadows. Next Chapter up next Friday/Wednesday