"This is my last day with you, Mr. Napier." Dr. Trenbeau adjusted his glasses.

The stuffy room divided in two by a table. No windows, white walls with hardened drip patterns from the amateur paint job, and two doors, one behind The Joker, one behind the doctor. Ideally, they never even touched.

"Oh, goody." The Joker sneered. He held up his hands, linked together by cuffs. "Parting is such sweet sorrow. What drives you away? Me, or me?"

"I am not driven away. As it happens, we have a new staff member who wishes to take your place, and I have been asked to serve the suicide ward."

The Joker's eyes narrowed. "What new staff member?"

He looked at his chart. "Dr. Quinzel."

"The woman?"

"Er…Yes. I believe she –"

"The intern?"

Dr. Trenbeau winced. The Joker's voice had gone up shrilly. "Yes. I believe that she transferred here with a very prestigious reference. She is the most qualified doctor in the hospital as of yesterday, when she arrived."

"So I don't even rate a real doctor now?" The Joker hissed.

Dr. Trenbeau looked pale. "I am not suggesting –"

"You are!"

"She is at the top of her class."

"I don't care what class she comes from! I'm not some sort of lab experiment!" The Joker stood. "I demand to be transferred to someone else!"

"I'll tell Jeremiah." Cringing, the doctor retreated.

Not without a parting shot, however. "You do that! Tell old Jeremiah if I don't get my way, I'll rip her pretty little head off and put it on a plate! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

--------------------

"You have a death threat." Dr. Jeremiah Arkham stared at the paper he held in his hands without much expression on his face.

"From who?" Harleen's mouth opened in confusion. "I've only started yesterday. I haven't seen any patients yet."

"The Joker." He locked eyes with her. "Are you sure you want to do this? According to Dr. Trenbeau, he's putting up a lot of resistance to the idea."

"Is it because I'm a woman?" Harleen asked indignantly.

Jeremiah was still looking at the note. "It is because you are an intern."

She crossed her arms. "Then make me a doctor. I want to speak to him."

He sighed. "It doesn't work that way."

"Then how does it work?"

"I'll put you on the rounds in each of the wards. When you've completed your internship, we'll discuss your job prospects."

"I…" She looked down, disappointed. "Alright."

I'll do a really good job! I'll show The Joker I can handle his treatment.