December 6th, 9:58 am.

Session Six.

The burnt down building was still casting a large cloud of gray smoke into the sky even though the flames were finally beginning to die out. A man walked through the scorched remains, his shiny black shoes shuffling through ashes and dirt. He recognized this place although he didn't know how. Something about the way the hallways were. How he could see the structural remains though the entire insides were gone. The frame was still there and he knew it somehow… The rooms were all very tiny and very close together and most had very little things inside of them when the place caught on fire. Maybe it was already empty before it was burnt down. Or maybe it wasn't.

When he looked up he saw a sign that hadn't been there before and blinked at it with confusion, squinting his eyes to read the soot-blackened letters. ARKHAM ASYLUM. HITCHHIKERS MAY BE ESCAPING PATIENTS. And that made him laugh.

So he was in the old looney-bin, eh? He wondered who had burnt it down and wondered how they'd beaten him to it. This was a mausoleum of memories, memories of being locked away in the Box, weeks without a living soul to tell a joke to… And then came Harley. Where was Harley? Had she escaped? Had she gotten away before the flames took hold? Or would he find her body here somewhere? He hadn't seen any other skeletons, though… Where were all the people?

A sweet, high pitched hum interrupted his thoughts and his head jerked in the direction of it. Who was humming? And why were they here? He followed the noise, weaving in and out of hallways and wreckage until finally he reached a familiar spot. He knew this door… Ah, that's right. It was Harley's office. Anger flared in his stomach. Who was in his doctor's office and what were they doing in there? He kicked open the door and was about to take out his rage on the poor victim when he saw a small girl sitting cross legged across the room. She was humming, playing with something in her hands. Maybe it was a doll, he couldn't tell. Her blonde hair was parted into two high pigtails and she continued to hum her little song in that childlike voice. The man couldn't figure out who she was. It was driving him mad.

Finally, he approached and laid a soft hand on the shoulder of the girl. "Why are you here?"

"I'm always here, Mr. J," The girl said sweetly and his eyes widened. The girl's head jerked around and grinned at him and his eyes fell upon her face. Huge gashes were slashed from the corners of her mouth up her cheeks in a very poorly done glasgow smile. Blood was still dripping from the wounds which she hadn't bothered to stitch back up. Her pupils were both different sizes, watching him like a hawk and the blonde hair that a moment ago had been in cute, perfect little pigtails was now ratted up around her head, coming out of the ponytails, wild and unruly. In her hands, she held a knife. And as she started to giggle, she said, "Aren't you happy to see me, puddin?"

I gasped as I woke up.

My eyes were blurry and I rubbed them furiously with my fists until they burned and I could finally see again. The image of Harleen Quinzel with my scars ripped across her face, mania in her eyes… It was burned into my eyelids. Something about that image made my stomach twist, but it wasn't in a sick way… It was in an… Almost a deja vu kind of way. As if I'd dreamt it before and hadn't remembered. Like I'd seen her that way. "Good morning, Mr. J. Tired, much?" Harley asked and I blinked. The door closing must've been what woke me up. I licked my lips a couple times and coughed.

"Heh. You could say that."

"You look a little startled," She said with a furrowed brow, her eyes creasing down with concern. I swallowed. I could only see the girl in my dream plastered over her face. My vision got blurry as I stared at her for a while, memorizing the lines of that smile, those wild eyes. "Are you alright?"

And then I chuckled and laid my head back against the couch, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. "Peachy keen, sweets." And then I cringed dramatically and hissed in through my teeth. "Ooh, sorry about that. Force of habit, you know…" It took her a moment to process that last part and I grinned slyly. She hadn't even realized what I'd called her. She wasn't noticing it anymore. She tried to act like it bothered her… But I knew different. She didn't mind at all. And then I giggled again.

"Are you not getting enough sleep?" She asked, sweet and caring, her blue eyes sparkling with concern. I licked my lips slowly.

"Actually, Doc… I've been a little, uh… Preoccupied?" I said, testing out the word. "Lost in thought? Haven't had a good night's sleep in a few days." To reiterate my point I stretched my arms out as far as the chains would let me and popped my neck from side to side.

She frowned again. "It could be the medicine they gave you the other night. How long have you been noticing your lack of sleep?"

"Oh, quite a bit before that, Doc," I whispered, looking deep into her eyes. Watching her squirm made my skin tingle and crawl deliciously. I could say even the smallest thing and just a look in the eye could make her imagine a thousand different meanings. Silly Doc. "You look like you have something to say?" I said politely and leaned back, resting my chin on my fist and watching her with a curious stare. She flushed under my gaze and licked her lips and I smiled, my lips twitching up at the corners.

"I... Uh, I just…"

"Sweetheart, after all the time you've listened to me talk, you have the right to share your thoughts," I purred. Harley blinked and bit down on her lip. I was curious about what exactly she was thinking, not sure if she was still hung up on the strange mumblings the other day induced by sedatives.

"I'm not really sure, J," She murmured and then realizing that she appealed to me simply by my nickname with no formalities, she blinked and blushed, those red lips parting in surprise. Blue eyes met mine and then fluttered to the window, trying to look anywhere but at me. My head lolled forward in irritation, giving her a look. "Just a concerned doctor, I suppose."

I cleared my throat. "Concerned, Doc? One of your, uh… Other patients?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. She smiled sweetly, a little sad before she replied softly.

"I don't have any other patients," Harley said, resting her elbow on the table and propping up her chin with her wrist. She looked like an infatuated school girl, gazing at her crush from across the room, big eyes watery and needy, sighing. Of course I was close to certain that wasn't exactly the case, I couldn't stop a smile from rising to my face, both in reaction to her actions and her words.

With a sly grin, I said, "Why's that?"

"You have enough personality to stand in for five patients, Mr. J," She said and I smiled even wider. Then she cleared her own throat into her fist and sat up straighter. "Do you mind if we talk about more… Personal things, today? I know so far we've tried to keep things light, and I can tell that trying to get into your childhood background is not a good approach… But I do have some questions. About you, about the things you do. Questions that I've come up with, in curiosity, before you were even my patient."

This could be interesting. I licked my lips and decided it might be a good time to pull her leg a bit, too. Jerk the Ole' Doctor around for some laughs. I let my eyes flitter over to the wall, then the other wall and then my hands which were chained on my lap. "I dunno, Harley. I don't really… Do well. Talking about that kind of stuff." I raised my eyes and gave her a grimace, making it as sincere as I possibly could without wanting to puke and her blonde brows lowered in concern.

"You know you can trust me, J. Everything you say stays between us. I can't help you if I don't know you." Yes, that's true, but then again, when did I ever ask for your help, sweetheart?

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek and narrowed my eyes before sighing. "Okay. I… Guess I can try. What did you want to ask?"