"Harley, you're late!" exclaimed Pamela, as she met her at the flower shop after work. "Where have you been?"

"The police station, giving my statement about the crime I witnessed earlier," replied Harley.

"What crime?" asked Pamela, immediately concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I wasn't hurt," she replied. "A lot of other people were though. My computer crashed, and I went to a place downtown to get it looked at, and this maniac just walks in and starts shooting."

"Oh my God, that's awful!" exclaimed Pamela, looking horrified. "I'm glad he didn't shoot you!"

"No, he…he didn't," said Harley, slowly. "He dropped his gun when he saw me and started…talking crazy."

"What did he say?" asked Pamela.

"Nothing that made sense," replied Harley, shaking her head to clear it. "But it's weird…he seemed really familiar, Pam. But I swear I've never seen him before."

"Are you sure?" asked Pamela. "Maybe it was some patient you had in Arkham briefly. Someone you just passed in the hall. That would account for the familiarity, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," agreed Harley. "It might."

"I mean, it can't be someone you've dated," continued Pam. "It might be someone I've dated, God knows I've been with some nutjobs in my time, but you haven't dated anyone since Ricky, have you?"

"No," agreed Harley. "No, he wasn't someone I…dated."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up Ricky," Pam said. "It must be hard, helping me to plan my wedding when you just lost your long-term boyfriend…"

"He dumped me, Pam," interrupted Harley. "I didn't lose him – he dumped me. I'm fine with that, and there's no need to tiptoe around it, or use euphemisms, or worry about bringing him up. I have no hard feelings toward him - I actually don't have any feelings toward him. He said I was too focused on my career, and he was right. I never made him a priority in my life. But honestly, he might have just been sick of putting up with the night terrors."

"What did Dr. Crane say about your nightmares?" asked Pamela. "If you think it actually led to the breakup of your relationship, it would be good to get it solved."

"He said he'd look into it," said Harley. "He's been having weird dreams too. I don't think it means anything though – we're probably both just stressed."

"God knows you have reason to be after today," said Pamela. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, baby. Are you sure you're up to looking at flowers? We can go home and do this later."

"I'm fine, Pam," said Harley. "This might actually cheer me up," she said, entering the shop and looking around.

She supposed she should be feeling difficult things, helping her best friend plan her wedding after she had just been dumped by her long-term boyfriend. But what she had told Pam and Crane was true - she had never felt particularly emotionally invested in her relationship with Ricky. He was a guy she had known since high school, and they had stayed together more through inertia on her part than any active desire to be with him. He had been a good guy, a safe guy, a reliable guy, but when she compared her relationship to Pam and Harvey's, it just seemed lacking. Even when Harley and Ricky had first got together, they hadn't been as infatuated with each other as Pam and Harvey clearly were. Neither Harley nor Ricky had proposed marriage after all their years together, but Harvey had popped the question to Pam after a few weeks of dating. Harley supposed any sensible person would have dismissed that as foolish, and would have much preferred what Harley had had, a solid and stable relationship, rather than one based on a silly romantic whim. But Harley couldn't help feeling jealous of what Pam had. Harley had never experienced that kind of whirlwind romance, that truly mad love for someone. She certainly hoped she would someday, but she doubted it. She was far too sane and sensible for that.

Pamela had gone over to examine the roses, and Harley followed her. "These are beautiful," said Pam, picking one up.

"That's a wild thorny rose, ma'am," said the shop assistant.

"Wild thorny rose," repeated Pamela, staring at the red petals. She reached out a hand to touch them, and then instantly replaced it in the vase, shivering.

"Are you ok?" asked Harley, noticing her shiver.

"Yeah, just…got a chill or something," murmured Pamela. "This is a beautiful shop," she added, turning to the assistant and smiling. "Here among the flowers, among nature…it's so soothing to me."

"Pam spends all her free time in the Botanical Gardens," said Harley, smiling at the assistant. "You'd think she'd get enough of plants at work, being a botanical biochemist and all, but apparently she can never get enough of them. But we're actually looking for flowers for her wedding. She's getting married to Harvey Dent in a few weeks."

"The District Attorney?" asked the assistant. "Congratulations. He's a very handsome man."

"Yes, he is," agreed Pamela. "He's also a good man. Always doing the right thing, for himself, and for the city, and for the woman he loves," she said with a smile.

"If I could recommend something, miss," said the assistant, coming out from behind the counter. "I'm sure the District Attorney would approve of these…"

Harley left Pam and the assistant to discuss the arrangements – she went over to the roses and picked one up, smelling it. Her thoughts wandered back to the maniac today, which she supposed was only natural – it wasn't every day you saw people being gunned down, and it wasn't something you'd easily forget, or be distracted from. But she was thinking less about the victims and more about the maniac's eyes, his familiar green eyes, wild and frightened and beautiful…

She frowned suddenly. Beautiful? She had caught herself thinking that. How could the eyes of a murderer be beautiful? The man was confused, no doubt about that, and he needed help, and she would try to help him when he was brought to Arkham. But there was nothing beautiful about him.

Maybe she was more lonely than she had realized – she thought she was fine with the breakup, but maybe her subconscious wasn't. Maybe she was unconsciously transferring her attraction from Ricky to someone completely different and wildly inappropriate. Maybe this was her subconscious revenge against herself for not being able to keep that stable and sensible relationship. Maybe she was afraid of losing Pam as a friend after she was married, and she was distracting herself from her fears with bizarre thoughts. Dr. Crane would probably have supported that theory – he specialized in fears and phobias, and how they subconsciously prompted people to do all sorts of crazy things. Maybe she saw Pam's happiness, and felt trapped in her own loneliness by comparison. Maybe that's why she was dreaming about being trapped somewhere. And the clown…what could the clown mean?

She replaced the rose in the vase, and looked down to read the price tag attached to it. It read: Come down and see me sometime – J.

"Uh…excuse me," said Harley, calling the assistant over. "What does that mean?" she asked, pointing to the tag.

"Mean?" repeated the assistant. "It means those roses are $5 each."

"No, the tag there says…"

Harley trailed off as she looked at the tag again – it now read $5 each.

"I'm…sorry," stammered Harley, rubbing her eyes. "I've had quite a day – I must be hallucinating. I thought it said…something else."

"Let's get you home and to bed, Harley," said Pam, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We'll get the flowers later. I've got plenty of time until the wedding, and frankly, I doubt Harvey would care if I forgot about the whole thing. I'm the only one obsessed with plants in our relationship!" she laughed.

Harley nodded, certain that Pamela was right. A good night's sleep would make her feel better, and clear her head. She only hoped she wouldn't have her nightmare again.