A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter, but necessary to move the plot along...

~I love the way you look at me,

I feel the pain you place inside,

You lock me up inside your dirty cage,

while I'm alone inside my mind~

~Puddle of Mudd~

Tessa felt strange. She was back to her normal routine. Wake up, eat, work, eat, home, then sleep. Sure a few details had changed. She stayed at the new place, though she found herself staying in Joker's room more and more often. She lied to herself saying it was because of the television. She had a car to drive to work. The lack of walking seemed to have caused her to put on a few pounds.

The delivery boy still delivered every week. She'd wake up in the afternoon on Thursdays to a fully stocked kitchen. She did watch a bit more television, She'd followed the story on Joker. The courts believed he may be insane, they have him in Arkham, to see if he is fit to stand trial for his rampage.

Tessa tried not to think on it, she didn't want him to be at Arkham. That place was shady. She didn't want him in prison either. She felt lost. So to keep her sanity, she continued her routine. At the beginning every other story was about the Joker. The second week it was about his mental state. The less she saw on TV the more she missed him. She'd survived 27 days so far.

The stories on the news had less and less information. Maybe the buzz around the story would go away. She'd contemplated going to see if they'd allow her to visit him. Just to make sure he was okay. She knew it was a bad idea. She couldn't really do too much until after her birthday. She only had a few more days.

All she had to do was make it until then, she would be her own person. She held onto that thread of hope. A few more days. A few more days. She repeated it in her head every morning. She thought about going to the warehouse to see if his men still stayed there, but she was a big fat chicken. They were bad guys, any way you cut it.

When her birthday finally rolled around, she woke up sad. She didn't feel any better, she felt exactly the same as she had before. She followed the same routine. She grimaced when she saw the dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping well. She'd been here, alone for 33 days now. Just over an entire month. The 'J' on her chest had healed weeks ago, It was a bright pink raised scar now.

She caught herself tracing the mark through her clothes a lot. She was going insane sitting around here. Tessa decided that she'd do something different for her birthday. She wanted to make it special. She'd thought this day would never come.

She dressed and headed out of the door, locking everything up behind her. She got into her car and sped away. She went into downtown Gotham, stopping by her bank. She parked her car and put some quarters into the parking meter. She hurried in and waited patiently in line to see a teller.

"I can help the next person in line." a face less voice sounded.

Tessa hurried over and laid her ID and the withdrawal slip down. The teller grabbed the items and started tying on the machine in front of him.

Within minutes, Tessa had some spending money and drove to the nearest shopping center. She parked her car and headed to the large mall. She'd never really been here. It was way to far of a walk and she never wanted to spend her money before today. She stepped into the highly air-conditioned building and looked around. The place was full of people.

She smiled and started to walk around. She stopped and bought a soft pretzel. She nibbled the snack as she looked store to store. She finally found one that had local artwork displayed. She looked through the selection, but didn't find anything she wanted.

The pretzel started to make her feel sick, she threw away the remaining half. She wondered around the mall and made a few small purchases. She decided to call it a day and just go home. The drive took no time at all. She parked her car and started up to the door. She stood there, keys ready to unlock the warehouse/apartment she had. Her brain was a mess, she should move, She was an adult now. Maybe she should start looking for a new place, get away from anything Joker related.

The thought thrilled and terrified her. She could start fresh, she had enough money in the bank. She could be a whole new person. She felt suddenly very tired. She opened the door and made her way upstairs. She unlocked Joker's room and kicked off her shoes. She laid face down over the blankets. Sleep took her over almost instantly.

Life at Arkham was, different. When Joker first arrived, he found the entire idea amusing. He loved how everyone was afraid to even look at him. If he was able to catch people unaware, they panicked as his eyes bore into theirs. A few words here, an innuendo there and they'd run off scared and sometimes crying.

After the first week, the night guards started to pay visits to Joker. He had a hard time sleeping in this place, so he was awake when his cell door clicked and swung open. A large man walked in followed by two smaller guys. They closed the cell door behind them.

"Get up, freak." the larger man demanded.

Joker laughed. This should be good. He complied, standing to his full height. He stretched his arms above his head and listened as the vertebra popped in his spine.

"Don't get me wrong fellas, it's not that I don't love a good party, but it's past my bedtime, a girl needs her beauty sleep." he said.

The large man punched him, a solid hit to his solar plexus. Joker doubled over, grunting through the inability to breath in. The three guards didn't move. They stood watching the Joker, curious as to how he would react. Joker, finally able to breath in, stood up straight. The gleam in his eye caused one of the smaller men to take a step back. Joker looked at his name badge. Jones. He'd remember that.

The larger man moved towards him, Joker caught the movement. His eyes darted to the leader of the small group. This man was angry, Joker could only assume he'd killed or maimed someone the man knew. He smiled. The doctors may be refusing him his face paint, but he'd learned to improvise. Baby powder and water made a flakey white mask. He had stolen shoe polish from a desktop, but the chemicals burned his eyes. So he started using the graphite from pencils to darken his eyes. He had used his own blood to stain his lips and scars. The result of his homemade war-paint may be more terrifying than the grease paint.

"What's the matter ladies? Did the big, bad Joker hurt a loved one?" He asked.

The larger guard's face turned red with rage. "Grab him." he said.

The two smaller men started to move, Joker focused on them. Daring them to step up. The men hesitated. "Maybe we should just go?" Jones said. Joker grinned, smart man.

"I'd take his advice." Joker warned.

"Fuck this." The larger man said and reached to grab Joker. The man's large hand moved to grab Joker's neck. Moving his chin down Joker was able to bite the man. He locked his teeth into the man's flesh. For such a large man he screamed like a woman, high pitched and very loud. Joker didn't let up. the two smaller men grabbed the larger man and pulled him.

Bad idea, the flesh on his hand tore, Joker spit out a large portion of the man's finger. Blood was everywhere, Joker spat it out of his mouth. The three men stumbled out of the room, leaving behind the chunk of flesh. Joker laughed, picking it up and flushing it down the toilet. He laid back down on his bed. He missed Tessa, but it was kind of fun in there.

By the second week the novelty wore off. He was bored. They started giving him all kinds of meds. They made him mostly sleepy. At least groggy enough that the guards felt braver than before. He would wake up the next morning with new bruises and no memory of the fun. That would not do.

Once the therapy started, he decided to get out of here. It wouldn't be too hard. He'd have to find a guard or an orderly to pay off. It would take some finesse. Joker was confident he'd be back home soon.

By the third week, He was ready to blow the building sky high. What he had found amusing at first, was now biting him in the ass. They were all too scared to even look at him. When he tried to speak, they hurried away. He was on his third therapist now. He would meet them in the morning.

The first was old, skittish. Joker had convinced him to take a dive off the top of the asylum. That had been fun. The second therapist wouldn't stop staring at his scars, it annoyed him to no end. Then the man made mention of the scar on his chest, Tessa's mark. One of the orderlies had taken a pic for his file, causing the Doc to grow curious. At their last session, the doc had made the mistake of loosening his strait jacket to take a peek. Joker gouged out his eyes using only his thumbs.

The feeling when the orbs popped and the hot fluid running across his hands was amazing. Joker sat in his cell now with a raging erection just thinking about it. This new doc could be fun. At least something to pass the time.

Joker was shocked when a lady doc had walked through the door. She was blonde and kinda ditzy. He chuckled. This could be fun. He laid on a thick story of his abusive father and sad childhood. She was in tears by the end of the first session. By the end of his first month, she was putty in his hands.

This was his ticket out, he just knew it. No one could resist the charisma of The Joker. He laughed at the entire situation. The doc had been sliding him all kinds of contraband. Harmless stuff really, lipstick here, extra dessert there, small touches to his arm. He laid in his room at night and thought about Tessa. At least he had her set up at his place and gotten her a car. She would be fine there until he got out. She was tough.

This wont be a Harley/Joker fic.. but she is in the story ...