A/N: Sorry I took so long to update! It was my sister's birthday, and then my power was out for quite a while. I'm also very lazy, so some blame can be put on me. Alright, that's all I had to say… Enjoy!

Winona cleared out of her office for the day, still feeling a bit vulnerable after her latest session. She knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, because as soon as she'd walked out of the maximum security wing, the Joker's words began to eat away at her. She hated feelings this way; weak and mentally violated. She especially felt idiotic when she remembered that the Joker now knew about a major event in her past; the event that plagued her with guilt every time it passed through her mind.

People didn't seem to understand how she could feel guilty about what she did, but they didn't know what she felt every day. They had no idea what it felt to wake up in the morning knowing that you took someone's life, to desperately try and fail to forget one instant in your life, to snap out of nightmares of the person whose life you ended in a simple pull of a trigger…

Winona snapped out of her reverie, remembering what her mother had said about that kind of thinking: "Don't dwell on it for too long, honey. It'll eat you up inside."

Glancing at her watch, she walked more quickly in her hurry to get to a taxi and get home. It would be getting dark soon, and she wasn't going to be so stupid as to walk around Gotham past dark.

The frazzled doctor made it home in record time, leaning on her door after she shut it. She was relieved to finally have some time to relax. Until her phone rang.

Grunting in aggravation, Winona trudged to the other side of her apartment to answer it. She passed by the balcony's glass doors, hardly giving them a glance. She was reaching for the phone when a voice startled her, causing her to whirl around quickly.

"Doctor Holland."

Batman stood in front of the now open balcony doors, his cape billowing around him from Gotham's chilly breeze coming into her apartment. Winona leaned against the wall for support and waited for the phone to stop ringing before she responded with anything.

She didn't get a chance to respond, however, because Batman spoke again the second she opened her mouth.

"I've listened to the tapes of your sessions with the Joker. They're worrying."

Winona felt a bit offended at that comment. She responded with the first thing that popped into her head. "T-those are Arkham property."

"I think you're beginning to forget who he is, Doctor. If Dr. Arkham ever listens to them, he'll have you off the project."

Winona's eyes widened. Hadn't she kept the sessions professional? What was wrong with them?

"I can't lose this," she said in a voice that sounded pathetic, even to her. She stared at her shoes, muttering, "I won't end up like her, I'm stronger than that. I-"

"I'm only looking out for your safety. No one wants to see that happen again. Just remember who he is."

Winona cut him off before he could continue. "I've heard it all before, all right! I'll be fine!"she snapped, looking back up to see that he had gone. Her curtains blew inside eerily and she shut and locked them hurriedly.

"Time for bed," she muttered bitterly, stalking off to her room. She'd prove that she could handle this job. She would.

TDKTDKTDKTDKTDK

I stand next to my bed, leaning against my bedside table for support. My breath comes in short, quiet pants and I try to focus on where the heavy footsteps are in the apartment. They're slowly coming in my direction and all I can do is wait.

I want to close my eyes, but I can't. It's like being forced to watch the scary part in a movie but without the reassurance that it's all fictional. I'm trapped in this extremely long, horrifying moment.

The footsteps are right outside my door now. I reach behind me and pull out the drawer of my bedside table. I blindly move my hand around in it, searching for my one and only weapon in my apartment: my shotgun.

My hand grips the cool metal and I pull it out quickly, making a clattering noise as I do so. If he had any doubts of me being in the bedroom, they're certainly gone now.

Suddenly, the door is kicked in. I shriek, startled, and back up against the wall, farther away from him.

"I missed you, baby."

Winona's eyes opened slowly and she began to become aware of where she actually was at an equal speed. She was drenched in cold sweat, making her hair and clothes stick to her body. She noticed that she was still in her work clothes from earlier. What time is it anyway? she wondered groggily. She glanced up at the clock. 3:07 AM. She sighed shakily and got up, stripping off her clothing one by one and throwing it all in the hamper.

"I'm takin' today off," she muttered to herself, climbing into the shower. She spent an extra 5 minutes just to stand in there and feel welcomed by the warm water pelting her skin.

When she finally came out, she was ready to go back to sleep. She wiped her face dry quickly and was about to return to bed until she noticed what was on her bathroom sink.

It was a shotgun with a sticky note that read: "GrEAt JoB WInNie! :-)"

She changed her mind. She wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.