Arkham Asylum sat atop its cragged peaks, a bastion of villainy and museum of madness. Devoid of hope for its inhabitants; it remained stoic in the face of all the treachery dwelling within its walls. Bestowing upon its residents the same apathetic disposition, save one: former Doctor Harleen Quinzel. The same could not be said of her cellmate, for the time, at least.

"Hey, Pammy, d'ya think they'll let us do Halloween this year?" There were but two in all of Gotham who still referred to Dr. Pamela Isley by her given name and not her adopted one: the Dark Knight himself, and Harley Quinn.

"Harl, it's June. Why are you worrying about Halloween?"

Harley lay on her stomach on her bunk, feet swinging idly in the air as she watched Pamela tend her plants. "Cuz it's my favorite and I wanna have a real good plan if they let us."

Poison Ivy paused a moment while pruning her roses and glanced over her at Harley. She lowered a hand over an empty patch of dirt. A small leaf pushed through the soil. Reaching up, it became a vine and coiled around her finger. It grew before her eyes, thickening and turning a richer green. A small flower popped open, its bulbous stem enlarged as the flower withered. It flourished and darkened in color. When it was about softball size, Pamela plucked it free. Holding it in her hand, she smiled softly to herself. Turning, she held out the small pumpkin.

Harley squealed with joy and jumped from her bunk. Pulling Ivy close, she hugged her tight. "Oh, Pammy, you know just how ta make a girl feel bettah."

Ivy smiled. "Even if they don't let us have a big celebration, we can make our own here."

The two women fared better than most inmates at Arkham. Managing to not only maintain excellent behavior during their time, and receiving shortened sentences for it, but also securing a solid companionship founded on more than just crime sprees. As it was, they indulged in one another's company outside Arkham's austere gates. Ivy lounged on the bus stop bench, draping one arm over the back. Harley sat next to her, elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. "Where ya headin', Pammy?"

Ivy half-heartedly shrugged. "Back to my home outside the city." She traced a finger along the ironwork leaves in the backboard of the bench. "There's plenty of room there, Harley. You could join me; we can hit the town together. We're a pretty good pair."

Harley smiled, she did have fun with Pam, but she had other intentions. "Nah, I miss my Puddin'."

Ivy balked. "Harley, he's no good for you."

"He's my Puddin', he's the best." She smiled, staring out into space, eyes dreamy with thoughts of her Joker.

"How many times do I have to tell you before you'll listen?" Pamela scolded her; Harley only shrugged in response. "Harl, the only thing Joker loves is himself. And Batman."

Harley spun round on her. "Hey, you take that back. My Puddin' loves me. And I love him. He's gonna have a big party ta welcome me home, just wait. It's gonna be great. There's gonna be streamers and a big banner." She stretched out her hands and with wide eyes proclaimed, "WELCOME HOME Harley! You'll see, Red."

Ivy sighed. Harley's never-failing optimism was both her greatest asset and her greatest flaw. "You know where to find me, if you ever need anything, Harley. We girls have to stick together."

A Gotham City bus puttered up the road. Stopping in front of them, its brakes screeched horribly. Black smoke spewed from the exhaust in the rear. Harley jumped up and arched her back in a deep stretch. "You coming, Pammy?"

Ivy curled her lip in disgust. "I will not be party to that foul, toxic beast."

"Alright." Harley kissed Ivy on the cheek. "Take care of yourself for me. You're the only friend I got." Ivy smiled, but there was a sadness she hid. How well, she wasn't sure; Harley was a psychiatrist after all, and she could read people well. But she hoped Harley didn't see it.

The driver pulled the bus around the cul-de-sac of Arkham's grand entrance and headed to Gotham city. Harley grinned broad from her window seat, waving at Ivy as she passed. Pamela began the long walk into the city where she could hopefully find something less odious to make her way home.

Poison Ivy had become accustomed to a solitary lifestyle. A general disdain for almost all people and preference for the companionship of the viridiplantae variety, combined with her affinity for most toxins, she had come by an isolated way of life naturally. And then there was Harley. They had been occasional partners and occasional enemies, though Ivy's grudges were almost entirely with Harley's paramour rather than with her. Sharing a cellblock, staring out from those glass walls into each other's private landscapes, with no one else to talk to, Harley had practically forced herself into Pamela's life. Begrudgingly at first, but Ivy slowly warmed to the woman. It was so hard to resist that childlike enthusiasm and innocent smile. For the first time in about as long as she could remember, Pamela Isley found herself saddened by the idea of being alone.

Harley wandered the streets of Gotham as she meandered her way through the city toward Joker's hideout. She felt alone. Leaving Arkham was a process of going through the motions now. Walk five block to the next bus stop to take the uptown transfer and ride it until the end of the line, catch a cab—if you could get one—that would take you as far as the driver was willing, and then walk the last fifteen to twenty blocks to the abandoned amusement park that was their home. She stood at the entrance to the park. Her body hummed all over, equal parts excitement and anxiety. Why was she so nervous? She'd just strut back in and her Clown Prince would welcome her with a laugh and a joke and whisk her off to bed to make up for all the time they'd missed.

Right?

Then why didn't she just rush in?

She walked up the main thoroughfare of the park, funhouse looming in the distance. "It's fine, Harley. Nothin' ta worry about." The front door was cracked and the sound of voices filtered out. Harley's spirits climbed. Running up the steps, she burst through the door. "Hello boys! Mama's home!"

The room was empty. A TV in the corner played unattended. "Where'd everybody go?" She walked over to the TV and turned it off. "Puddin'?" Harley frowned. "Hey Puddin'!" There was no answer. "Mistah J?" Silence. Her shoulders slumped. Downtrodden, she reached over to a nearby table and popped a noisemaker; its fanfare sprayed confetti into the air. "Welcome home, Harley." She plodded sullenly along the hall and collapsed onto her bed. She found herself wondering what Pam was doing.

Pamela crested a hill and Paradise Meadows came into view. Without her careful hand, the vegetation had grown wild. Gnarled vines and thick weeds choked the landscape. There were large patches of half-dead yellowed leaves and wilting flowers. Most of the exotic species were close to lifeless. "My babies." Ivy shook her head in dissatisfaction. "I'll bring you back, my lovelies. You just need a little nurturing." She caressed a leaf as she walked past; it brightened and lifted in response. Pamela made her way through the abandoned subdivision, tracing fingers along vines and whispering sweetly to drooping flowers. Her wake was a path of bright colors and fresh growth.

Ivy came to the house she had chosen as her domicile. Kikyo morning glory vines covered the door. "My little snowflakes, guarding my home for me." She cupped a flower and leaned in to smell it. "Mama's here now, you can go." Slowly, the vines pulled back, releasing their holdfasts and branching out along the walls and up over the roof. Poison Ivy smiled as the vines netted together to create an archway, blossoming with blue and white starbursts, like fireworks in a sky of green. Her babies had missed her.

Pamela took in the state of the house: there was a thin layer of dust over everything and the table was covered in scattered papers. Clucking her teeth, she shook her head. "So much work. She stalked over to the fridge, a memory board of news clippings and photos of her misadventures with Harley. Ivy sighed deeply. "Will that poor girl ever leave that egomaniacal bastard?" Her eye fell across a set of pictures from a photo booth. Chuckling softly, she remembered when they were taken.

The summer sun shone brightly in the cloud-spotted sky. Salty air swept over the boardwalk with the soft ocean breeze. The two women walked through the midway. Harley toted a large stuffed dragon in one arm. She'd won it at the ladder climb, which almost felt like cheating. Almost. It was hardly Pamela's idea of a "girls' day," but it had been Harley's pick and she was enjoying herself, so Ivy would soldier on.

Suddenly, Harley grabbed Ivy's arm with a gasp. "Pammy, look!" She pointed to a booth along the beach railing. Ivy barely had enough time to recognize it was a photo booth before Harley was tugging her along. "We HAVE ta go!" Ivy followed begrudgingly. "Come on, Red, do it with me."

Pamela sighed. "Harley, I really don't see the point in that."

Harley looked at her with those big, innocent blue eyes. "It's so you can have somethin' ta remembah the day and all the fun we had. Don'tcha wanna remembah today, Pammy?"

Ivy looked at Harley: those bright eyes full of childlike excitement, that big, sweet grin, her body humming with enthusiasm as she bounced in place. Poison Ivy caved. "Alright, Harley."

Harley squealed with pleasure as she yanked Pamela into the booth. "It'll be fun, I swear."

Ivy sat on the bench; Harley threw herself around Pam's shoulders with a doofy grin. Ivy remained stone-faced. The camera flashed. "Come on, Red, smile."

"I don't want to smile."

Harley leaned down so she could look up at Pamela with puppy dog eyes, hands together under her chin, eyelashes fluttering as she pleaded. "Please, Pammy?" The flash went off.

Harley shot back up. "How 'bout a joke? What's the difference between Batman and a burglar?" Ivy stared blankly at her. "Batman can go into a store without Robin." Harley burst into laughter, but Ivy remained unmoved. Another picture was taken.

One photo left, one more chance to get her to smile. Harley narrowed her eyes at Ivy. She had one last trick in her bag, the one thing that always seemed to perk up Pammy's mood. Harley planted a big, fat kiss on Ivy's cheek. Pamela smiled. It was small, but it was there. Harley jumped back, howling in victory. "I GOTCHA!" The camera flashed one last time.

Pamela stroked the photo strip; she'd always had a soft spot for Harley, buckled so easily to her. It was just so hard to resist her enduring, endearing spirit. It took until that last photo to get her to smile, but Harley had managed it. That girl had so much fight in her, if she'd just one day get away from the bastard who kept beating her down. Ivy frowned, pensive. "Stay safe, Harl."

Joker's place was decidedly lacking a woman's touch, so Harley cleaned up in the hours before he returned. His laughter foretold his arrival. She waited for him on the bed, in her underwear. Joker trotted up the stairs and in the front door. He tossed his jacket in the corner, expecting the coat rack to catch it. The rack was gone and his jacket fell to the floor. "Huh?" He turned hard to chastise his henchman and ran smack into the coat rack. "Who the devil moved my coat rack?! Vinnie!"

Vinnie held up his hands in innocence. "It wasn't me, boss."

Joker growled, muttering under his breath. "Can't find good help these days…" The silence dawned on him. "Why's it so quiet in here?"

"The TV's off." Another of his hired hands, Marco, explained.

"It's too quiet, I can't even think." Joker stalked over to the TV and flipped it on. A game show was running. "That's better." He stepped back to flop down into his armchair and smacked down hard against the floor.

Marco and Vinnie laughed. Joker glared at them and they cut themselves short, swallowing snickers. "The joke's not funny when it's on me! Now somebody better tell me right now, WHO THE HELL IS MOVING MY STUFF?!"

Harley heard him scream from the bedroom. She frowned and tossed on one of Joker's Hawaiian shirts; it was too large for her and reached to the middle of her thighs. Coming around the corner, she stood in the doorway. "I did, Puddin'."

"What the…" Joker turned. "Harley. When did you get here?"

She smiled softly. "When you were out."

"'Bout time you came back, what took you so long?"

Harley furrowed her brow, wounded. "I was in Arkham, Puddin', remembah? With Poison Ivy."

Joker squinted, trying to recall. "Oh, yeah…"

"I missed ya, Puddin'. So I figured I'd clean up the place and make it all nice and pretty for when ya got back." She crossed the room to kiss him on the cheek. "I'm sorry ya got hurt, I just thought it would be a nice surprise."

"HA. Harley thinking. Now there's a good joke." Joker laughed.

Harley pouted. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"Next time don't think so much, you'll strain yourself." He looked down at his watch. "You like surprises so much, surprise me with some dinner, darling."