Ivy appeared to be relatively calm. Her hands cupped a mug of plain water. Her eyes are on Harley's sleeping form. It's been more than a day by now. If her internal clock is right, then she's been asleep for about thirty-six or seven hours. It worries her, Harley's come home- Harley's come to her hideout like this before. But never had she slept so long. She sets her mug down, a small sigh leaving her lips. Although she found that she hadn't done this in… years, maybe. Many years, she found herself silently looking up and sending up a prayer. Her desperation was killing her.

She waits, and waits. Five hours later she sees her body stirring on the bed. She doesn't get her hopes up, but she also forces herself not to worry about her state. As Harley slowly starts to sit up, Ivy breaths out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Red." Harley calls out groggily as she wipes her eyes.

"Are you hungry?" Her voice comes out harsher than she expected. In a way she's glad. She hates sounding like she actually cares one way or another.

"Yeah. A little bit…" Harley shrugs off her covers. Her makeup's still smeared, a grotesque reminder of her previous state. Suddenly her eyes are wide in a panic. Ivy immediately tenses, in case she needs to be near her side to help her. "Mr. J. He needs me. I-I can't believe I was gone for so long!" Harley quickly throws the covers off of herself. She rushes to go to the bathroom. "I've gotta' get dressed-" She stops at the feeling of a hand restraining her. "Red?" She turns to her curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Harley you're in no state to go off and parade around with the joker." Her feet dig into the ground, "Besides…" She tries to think like Harley, "You'd be of no help to him… And he's probably not even ready to take you back yet. Stay here and rest a while." Her voice softens, "You need it." Her arm slides down, releasing hers. Releasing her arm and giving her the option to leave or stay. Whatever Harley did, Ivy wanted it to be of her own will.

There a silence between them. Then Harley shifts, and she looks up at her. "Yeah. You're right." Her voice is softer and there's a hint of a smile on her face.

Ivy glances up from her computer screen as Harley exits the shower. A trail of steam briefly follows her, making the surface of her skin seem to glow. Her hair's wrapped up in a towel. Over her body is a white button down shirt that's a bit too large. Ivy pretends to work furiously at what she's doing. Beside her sat an apple, which she raises to Harley. "You hungry?"

Harley smiles, "Hey, ain't that your people?" Harley grins before taking the apple from her hand.

"The apple is a growth upon the plant. Eating the apple doesn't kill the tree. Besides, I need to get my nutrients from somewhere."

Harley shrugs before sitting on her desk. She's all smiles now. She's humming and them begins to bite into the fruit. Ivy glances toward her to tell her to get off the desk. She pauses when Harley crosses her legs. She can make out the purplish discoloration of bruises along her calves and hips. When Harley raises her arm to take another bite of the apple her sleeve falls back a little. It's not a lot, but enough to see that there's purplish on her arms too, starting from her wrists.

Ivy looks at Harley, the calm mask on her face melting way. "Harley…" Ivy gets from her chair to examine her. Maybe she lacked a little… subtlety in this situation. But seeing her like that made it impossible to handle it delicately. "Did he do this?"

Immediately Harley gets a shameful expression. Her eyes look into Ivy's pleadingly and there's a painful looking grimace on her lips. Her hands clutch the apple defensively and her body seems to curl into itself. "Yeah. I mean, I was being dumb. You know?" She scratches nervously at her wrist, "I just kept screwing up this combination and I took so long the cops came and our heist was a bust."

"Harley!" Ivy shakes her hands. "When are you going to stop this?! Huh?"

Harley bites her lip, "You've got to give Mr. J some slack he's under a lot of stress and-and I haven't been as on top of things as I should!"

Ivy's heart sinks. Harley doesn't deserve this. She never did. And she's capable of doing so much, if only she didn't let herself get held back time and time again. Ivy's fists clench, "When are you going to stop making excuses for him?" Her voice is rough, and loud. Her anger is growing, her anger at the situation, at Harley, at the Joker. "You're disassociating from your pain! You're putting yourself in his shoes when you need to be in your own. How long are you going to let this go on? Until he kills you?!"

"He loves me!"

"Even if he did love you it's not alright." Ivy steps closer, "Besides he doesn't love you, he owns you." He voice wavers at the last word in her sentence.

Harley covers her face "It ain't true, it ain't true. It's not his fault."

Ivy digs into her desk drawer and pulls out a switchblade. "Alright, you're pissing me off, so if I stab you it's not my fault right? I can't control myself."

"Red. Stop it!"

She puts the blade in Harley's hand. "Go on, Harley, you're upset, stab me. Hit me, throw me off the roof! It's okay. You're upset, so I deserve what's coming."

Harleys clenches the knife in her hands. She throws it down, it meets the floor with a loud clang and thump. In her eyes, it's like something finally clicked. Similar to when a broken machine finally starts working again. Harley throws her arms around Ivy. "You're right Ivy. You're right. I don't know why I can't stay away. It's like-like I can't help myself."

Ivy hugs her close. "I know Harley." Her breath is heavy. As the adrenaline fades so does her anger. "I'm sorry."

Harley shakes her head before looking to the women whom she affectionately calls Red. "No. Don't be." There's determination in her voice, an unwavering sense of will. There's a silence between them. It's some unspoken message that said so much. Ivy could almost hear the sounds of bonds releasing. Harley isn't going back. She understood it clearly in this moment. And it was a moment of joy, clarity, of peace of mind. She doesn't know if Harley's resolve will stay, but right now it was enough. For her, and more importantly for Harley.

Harley's eyes flick downward toward Ivy. And Ivy vice versa. They stand there unmoving. They draw in a breath simultaneously, but their silence is cut by a beeping sound. Harley flinches at the sound. She turns toward the direction, already knowing that it was her communicator. Ivy bites her lip in her anxiousness as to what Harley will do.

Harley turns away from the device. "Never again." She begins to tear up, falling into Ivy's arms again. She sobs, a heartbreaking sound.

"It's alright." Ivy pats the back of her head gently. A comforting gesture she never did for someone else. Right now, those walls she built around herself didn't matter. Harley's safe, and she needs help, a lot of help. If she was coming to her for it then so be it. She'd be the best she could be for her. "Never again."