FLUFF!

The soft rays of the early morning sun poured through the cracks in the curtains, sending shafts of light across the bedroom. Slowly, Pam blinked her eyes open and was almost immediately blinded by a particularly bright ray of light. She was thinking about getting up to close the curtains and save her eyesight when she realized she was pinned to the bed by a soft, warm weight. Memories of the night before came rushing back to her and she craned her neck to get a better view of her new bedmate.

Harley was cuddly, even in sleep. She was draped over Pam like moss covering a stone, one arm slung over her waist and a single leg threaded between both of Pam's. Her cheek rested against Pam's shoulder, waves of blonde hair splayed out on their shared pillow, since she'd neglected to use her own. Pam could hear the soft snores and murmurs Harley was making in her sleep. She shifted every so often, snuggling closer to Pam, the tip of her nose brushing her neck. Pam felt a stirring deep in her belly as Harley's warm breath grazed against her skin. She tried not to flinch away from the tickling sensation, and instead kept very still, regulating her breathing to ensure she didn't wake Harley. Not anytime soon anyway. It was difficult, however, to keep her limbs from trembling when all she could focus on was Harley's soft body pressed against her own.

They hadn't been this close when they'd fallen asleep the night before. In fact, Harley had curled up on the opposite side of the bed even though Pam had done her best to comfort her. She'd stroked Harley's hair until she'd fallen asleep; the blonde mumbling a quiet 'thank you' just before her blue eyes closed. Pam couldn't help but wonder if Harley had moved closer purposefully, or if it had been an unconscious action.

Either way, she couldn't remember a moment before this that she'd felt more comfortable, content…. happy. In this moment, she could pretend Jay didn't exist, she could pretend Harley wasn't a patchwork of bruises and scrapes, she could pretend that waking up like this was something she could do everyday. She closed her eyes again and focused on memorizing the feel of Harley's body curled against hers. Every curve, every muscle; she timed every breath in and out.

Careful not to move too much, Pam turned her head to examine Harley's injuries. The arm that lay draped across her waist was still littered with bruises, and the one around her eye had turned a nasty yellowish, green. But the swelling had gone down, so Pam considered it a victory. The cut on her lip was already closing, thanks to the ointment Pam had applied, but she guessed that progress would be erased the second Harley gave her one of her trademark grins.

Pam looked over at the alarm clock on her bedside table, her eyes widening a split second before it struck 6 o'clock and the room filled with a loud, incessant ringing. Immediately, Pam flung out an arm to stop the alarm, cursing herself for bothering to set it in the first place when her internal clock always had her up and ready to go well before the mechanized one.

Harley groaned and shifted. Raising her head, she blinked at Pam with bleary eyes and then dropped back down onto the pillow and released a deep, contented sigh.

"Good morning," Pam prompted, smirking when Harley's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"S'too early to be mornin'," she slurred, her grip around Pam's waist tightening.

"Well the sun is up."

"The sun is stupid."

Pam laughed and brushed a few wild strands of hair away from Harley's face. "How do you feel?"

She was referring to the bruises, but Harley opened her eyes and pinned Pam with a gaze that could only be described as dreamy. "I feel like I slept on a cloud."

Harley screwed her eyes shut again and buried her face in Pam's neck, her lips brushing the soft skin just below the red head's jaw. Pam stiffened, failing to quell the thrill that shot through her as Harley's lips ghosted against her neck.

Did she just..? No. It was an accident. It had to be an accident.

Sure enough, Harley moved away, tucking her cheek against Pam's shoulder instead. Pam sank into the mattress, heavy with disappointment.

"We should get up," Pam tried again. She didn't intend on opening the shop today, but nursing Harley back to health meant a proper meal was in order. Harley made a few muffled noises against the collar of Pam's shirt.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, I don't wanna get up. I'm too comfy right here," Harley complained, turning her head so that she could be heard, but electing to keep her eyes shut tight. Pam chuckled as Harley curled up again and squeezed her like a teddy bear.

"You stay here then," she said, trying to extricate herself from Harley's grip. "I'm going to go make breakfast."

Harley moaned something that sounded like her name as Pam finally managed to find her way out of the tangle of sheets and limbs and pull on a robe. Harley flopped an arm out over the side of the bed, reaching for Pam with limp fingers. She withdrew it when she realized she couldn't pull Pam back and squeezed a pillow instead, wriggling deeper into the mountain of covers. Pam watched her with a fond smile. The poor girl deserved to sleep in after the state she'd arrived in last night.

Pam wandered into the kitchen, her steps buoyant and her entire body tingling. She scoured the fridge, only to realize that she was in desperate need of a shopping trip. It was empty save for a half-used carton of eggs, a few organic cucumbers and a loaf of bread.

Eggs and toast it is then.

Not the most nutritious of breakfasts, but considering she had no idea when Harley's last meal was and what it consisted of, she figured it would do the job.

Pam had just begun scrambling the all the eggs that remained in the carton when her phone rang. Abandoning the skillet, she moved to the living room to retrieve her phone from where she'd left it lying on the coffee table the night before.

"Hello?"

"Pam! What the hell?"

"Good morning, Selina," Pam replied with a rueful smirk, returning to the crackling skillet with the phone tucked against her cheek and shoulder.

"Don't good morning me! The last time we talked you told me you'd call me right back…it's been three days, Pam!"

"Two actually."

"I swear to god…"

"Shouldn't you be enjoying your vacation? Or ogling the entire male population of Spain?" Pam teased, turning the eggs and popping a few slices of bread into the toaster.

"Your sass is unparalleled this morning, Pam, really. Sue me for taking an interest in your love life." Heat rose in Pam's cheeks at that. "I care about what happens to Harley too, you know. So…. what did happen? Did you find her?"

"Yes, I did. Actually, she ended up staying the night."

"WHAT?"

Pam processed what she'd just said and backpedaled furiously. "No, I meant-"

"Pamela!"

"Selina-"

"I mean, I know I told you I wanted to be shocked and disgusted, but I didn't actually think you'd leave me shocked and disgusted. Mostly shocked. Not disgusted. But in two days no less!"

"Selina, stop. It wasn't like that," Pam interrupted as the toast popped out of the toaster. "She showed up at my door last night, in a thunderstorm, beaten to a pulp. She looked terrible. Worse than I've ever seen her."

"Oh," Selina murmured. "Oh god."

"I'm going to kill that man," Pam gritted, stabbing at the eggs with her spatula to illustrate her point.

"I'll cock the gun for you." There was a pregnant pause. "So…. what happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what about her job, Pam? She works with the guy. Are you just going to keep her locked in the apartment from now on? That hardly seems like something anyone would enjoy, let alone someone who's gone through what Harley has."

"I…" Truthfully, Pam hadn't thought about what came next, she was so focused on ensuring that Harley healed. Eventually, she would have to go back to work. Probably sooner rather than later. And when she did, she would have to face Jay, and Pam couldn't be there to help her. "I haven't really thought about it."

"Well, you'll have to figure something out. She's not going to be able to avoid Jay forever," Selina reminded her, although Pam had already reached that conclusion.

As she thought about it, Pam realized that the tattoo parlor was probably still a safe place for Harley. If Chato, Tatsu or Floyd were present, Jay couldn't do her any physical harm. He might torment her, but he wouldn't hurt her in public. And if she stayed with Pam, there was no way he could touch her outside of work. It was a flimsy plan, but it was all she had at the moment, her brain still a little muddled from sleep.

"I'll work something out," she promised. "And I'll keep you updated."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Selina said. Suddenly there was a shuffle and Pam heard her voice lilt into something akin to a purr. There was a deep voiced response and then Selina added, "Gotta go, Pam. Bruce is calling. Talk soon, tell Harley I said hi!"

Pam didn't have a chance to say goodbye before the line went dead and Selina was gone. Shaking her head, Pam dumped the eggs onto a plate and began putting the finishing touches on breakfast.

"Who was that?"

Pam spun around so fast that she nearly knocked the eggs onto the floor. Harley stood at the entrance to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Her hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders and, with the too-big t-shirt she wore, she looked years younger and extremely vulnerable. The sunlight streaming through the kitchen window made her bruises stand out in stark contrast to her pale skin. Pam had the sudden urge to cross the kitchen and wrap her in her arms. She resisted and lifted the phone instead.

"Selina called to check up on you."

"And I missed it?" Harley wailed. She crossed the kitchen and snatched the phone from Pam's hand, glaring at it as if it would bring Selina back if she stared hard enough. Pam smiled and gently pried the phone out of Harley's fingers, setting it on the kitchen table.

"You'll meet her soon enough. Now help me set these plates out. You are hungry right?"

"Starving," Harley grinned, wincing a second later when the smile cracked her split lip. She lifted her hand to the reopened cut, a smear of blood coming away on her fingers. Pam shook her head, amused that she'd predicted something like this would happen.

"Here." Pam grabbed a napkin and cupped Harley's cheek, dabbing at the injury with her other hand. Harley's bright blue eyes met Pam's green ones and Harley's breath caught. Her eyes fell suddenly to Pam's lips, and she could have sworn that a light pink hue tinged Harley's cheeks a second before she looked away and focused on something beyond Pam's shoulder. Deciding it was best not to push the tension between them, Pam took a step back and reached for the arm that Harley still held awkwardly against her chest.

"Can I?" Harley nodded and Pam took her arm in gentle hands, turning it slightly to examine the swelling at her elbow. The bandages she'd applied last night had done a decent job of keeping the joint steady, but she imagined Harley would need something for the pain very soon.

"Whatcha think, Doc?" Harley grinned again. "Ouch... dang it." She continued to smile through the pain of her split lip, her blue eyes sparkling with laughter. "Get it, cuz you're a doctor?"

Pam rolled her eyes despite the amused smile that played on her lips. "I'm not that kind of doctor, Daffodil." The nickname came out again before Pam could stop it. But Harley didn't seem to mind, in fact she positively glowed when Pam said it.

"I know, Red, yeesh. That's the joke!" Harley moved away, much to Pam's disappointment, and began setting plates on the table with one hand. "We'll work on your sense of humor, don't worry."

Pam helped her, all the while wondering how Harley managed to be so cheerful after the emotional storm of the night before. Humor was probably a coping mechanism that Harley relied on, she realized. And quite heavily. Or maybe she was so used to abuse at the hands of Jay that it just didn't phase her anymore. Maybe a little bit of both.

Harley ate with the voracity of a ravenous carnivore, shoveling food into her mouth and then scrambling for seconds. It made Pam wonder if this was how she regularly ate, or if it had been some time since she'd had a decent meal. After breakfast, Harley wandered back to the bedroom, collapsing on the soft sheets and leaving Pam to take care of the dishes. Not that she minded…She was more concerned with Harley's well being than her table manners. They could always work on those later. Pam stopped herself, processing what she'd just thought. She had no idea how Harley wanted to continue at this point. It was hardly prudent to be planning a future with her. Not when Jay was still an issue to be dealt with.

Pam waited until she was sure Harley had fallen asleep before slipping into the bedroom to grab a change of clothes. She needed to figure out how best to help Harley from this point forward, and to do that she needed someone to lend an ear and possibly a few suggestions. And who better than the Police Commissioner's daughter?

Grabbing her clothes, Pam crept towards the door. She paused suddenly, and moved towards the bed instead. Harley was wrapped snugly in the tangle of sheets, knees drawn up to her chest and her hands fisted in a pillow. She looked peaceful in her sleep, content, despite the many bruises that littered her body. Pam just watched her breathe for a few moments and then crouched next to the bed and reached out to brush the stray hair away from Harley's face. Gently, she traced the blonde's jaw with the backs of her fingers and then leaned forward, ever so slowly, and placed a tender kiss on her bruised cheek. Harley didn't stir and Pam allowed herself a few more seconds of contemplative silence before she grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom to change.

/

Harley woke with a start, sitting up in bed and glancing wildly around the room. She didn't recognize it at first and felt panic begin to rise in her throat until she remembered where she was.

Pammy's place.

The bed she sat in was warm and soft and the light green curtains allowed the gentle morning sun into the room, giving it a calming glow. The atmosphere was so drastically different from her own bedroom, it was no surprise that last night was the best night's sleep she'd had in ages. Although, the most important part—her bedmate—was missing.

Abruptly, her mind flitted back to the events that had brought her here. She'd gone looking for her old phone and she'd found it stashed in Jay's bedside drawer. The screen was shattered but the power still worked. She'd scrolled through Pam's messages, one after another, the same one's she'd seen at the coffee shop. An uncharacteristic anger had risen inside her. Pam had been right. Jay had hidden these from her, purposefully. He'd actively tried to make it seem like Pam didn't care, like she never wanted to speak to Harley again.

She'd made the mistake of asking Jay why. His expression twisted in anger when he saw her holding the damaged phone and he'd risen from the couch stalking towards her slowly.

Because that bitch is twisting your mind. She wants to turn you against me. She doesn't care about you. She's using you.

Harley didn't believe him, she couldn't. Pam wasn't like that. She did care, deeply. Harley had told him so; defended the woman who'd offered her shelter and safety, who saw that Harley was broken and sad but still wanted to know her, who believed whole heartedly that she deserved better. She told Jay he was wrong and he'd snapped.

Jay had grabbed her arm and twisted until she felt a white-hot pain that blinded her. He'd hit her too. Twice. His fist connecting with her chin first and then her eye. Then he'd left her in the living room, curled up on the floor. She'd waited until he disappeared and then she'd scampered for the door, her only thought to find Pam.

She'd walked all the way from her apartment to Pam's in the pouring rain, the lightning and thunder blinding and deafening her. She remembered the tips of her fingers going blue, so she'd tried to stick them underneath her armpits for warmth until the pain in her elbow stopped her. By the time she'd reached Pam's door, her entire body had gone numb from the cold. But the second Pam took her inside, she knew she'd be alright.

Harley recalled the conversation they'd had on the couch the night before, where Pam had bared her soul. Where she'd explained what had brought her to Gotham. Harley couldn't remember a time she'd felt more disgust or rage than she did when Pam told her about Woodrue. And what he'd done to her.

Pam didn't deserve what had happened to her. No one deserved that. But Pam least of all. She was so… good. And she seemed to genuinely care for Harley, despite how loud she was, how messy, flighty, broken, screwed up, sad. Pam cared. And Pam had tried to reach out to her for days, even after yelling at her. Even after making her feel like the smallest person on the planet.

Pam had a fire in her that couldn't be contained. But she soothed the burns she made. Harley closed her eyes and thought back to the way Pam had touched her last night, her capable fingers dancing across Harley's skin, caressing her bruises and cuts. She wanted those hands everywhere. Hands that were warm and gentle, but with rough palms from the hours she spent tending to her plants

She reflected on how gently Pam had touched her…like she was the most precious thing in the world. Nobody had ever made her feel that way. She didn't know intimacy could feel that way. It certainly never had with Jay. He told her a lot of things that she imagined were supposed to be affectionate, he'd touched her plenty of times, but never the way Pam had.

Pam made her feel like she was worth something, and she didn't have to utter a single word.

She fell back against the mattress, burrowing into the sheets that still carried Pam's scent. She always smelled so good, like the flowers in her shop. And she could steal Harley's breath away with just a look from those moss green eyes.

Waking up curled around her this morning, nose buried in waves of soft red hair, had been more stimulating than Harley could have ever imagined. The skin she'd been able to reach was so smooth, and Pam's voice, still gravely with sleep, made Harley's heart do cartwheels in her chest.

Part of her was still confused. Part of her felt guilty for leaving Jay behind without an explanation. Realistically, she knew Pam was right. He hurt her. He probably hated her. She was his toy. But she couldn't shake him from her mind. It was wrong. It felt sick, like he was a virus swimming through her body. But Pam couldn't know. What would she say? Harley wasn't sure she could face Pam's fire again.

But the rest of her, the parts unoccupied by thoughts of Jay, knew very clearly that she'd been falling for Pam since the day they'd met. She just hadn't been able to see, not with Jay clouding her thoughts. But now, after the connection they'd made last night…. She'd just had to test those feelings this morning. Ghosting her lips across the unbearably soft skin of Pam's neck. God, it had done amazing things to her body. She wondered if Pam had been able to feel how hard her heart had been pounding, because the sound of it had all but filled Harley's ears.

And suddenly, Harley realized how quiet the apartment was. She sat up again, throwing off the covers, and padding into the living room in her bare feet. It was empty, as was the kitchen and the tiny bathroom. A strangling sense of panic began to rise in her chest until she saw the small note lying on the kitchen table.

Daffodil (She still couldn't get enough of the nickname Pam had given her.)

Stepped out for a bit. The apartment is yours, make yourself comfortable. Be back soon.

Harley set the note down and glanced around the small apartment. There wasn't much she could find that would occupy her time until Pam returned. There was a heavy book on the coffee table-Plant Science: Growth, Development, and Utilization of Cultivated Plants- that Harley took one look at and then set back down, her nose wrinkling in disgust. The little television seemed to be Harley's only hope for entertainment, so she turned it on and huddled underneath the blanket from last night, the silence of the empty apartment ringing in her ears.

/

"Wow," Barbara breathed, leaning back in her wheelchair and shaking her head as she took in Pam's story. The coffee shop was quiet today, only a few customers scattered here and there, so Barbara had wheeled out from behind the counter and joined Pam at one of the tables.

"So, she's staying with you now? Permanently?"

"I haven't asked her yet," Pam admitted, taking a sip of her tea.

I want her to.

"Well, she can't go back to her own apartment," Barbara retorted, her fingers drumming nervously on the handlebars of her wheelchair. "Who knows what that monster will do to her if she does."

"It's her choice to make."

"You really think she'd choose to go back to him after what he did?" Barbara's brows were furrowed low over her eyes.

"I don't know." Harley's interest in Jay still didn't make sense to Pam. Her attraction felt rooted more in obsession than anything else. But surely, after what Pam had said at the party and after she'd suffered through one of Jay's more violent beatings, she had to see that staying with Pam was the better option.

"Do you want me to get my Dad involved?" Barbara prompted when Pam continued to stare at the table in silence.

"That's also Harley's choice to make." There was a hint of defeat in Pam's tone. "If she decides she wants to press charges them yes, she'll need your father's help. Until then, there's not much we can do."

"Except keep her safe," Barbara added. "And convince her that going back to a psychopath like Jay is completely insane."

"I think she believes that now," Pam said, remembering how readily Harley had admitted that Jay didn't love her any more.

If he ever did.

"What about work?"

"That's a brilliant question," Pam replied with a wry smile. "One I have yet to answer." Barbara pursed her lips, her brow creasing again. "My thought is that she'll be safe from Jay as long as she has her coworkers nearby. They'll be willing to protect her."

"Yeah, but that won't stop Jay from firing her if he feels like he can't control her anymore."

Pam's lips twisted into a frown, she hadn't thought of that outcome. If Jay realized that she'd not only effectively 'dumped' him, but that she was staying with Pam instead of him, then he'd have no reason to keep her around. And where would Harley go without the tattoo parlor to occupy her time?

"Back to school," Pam mumbled to herself. Barbara looked up from her lap, confused.

"Huh?"

"Harley mentioned to me once that she wanted to go back to school, but the parlor…and Jay…kept her from revisiting that opportunity. Maybe losing her job at the tattoo parlor would be a blessing in disguise," Pam reasoned. Barbara looked thoughtful, her fingers drumming on the armrests again.

And if she needs money, the flower shop could always use an extra pair of hands.

"Maybe she could help out at your flower shop too," Barbara suggested, unaware that Pam had already reached that conclusion.

She smiled quietly. "Maybe she could."

"A lot of these decisions can't be made without Harley, unfortunately," Barbara sighed. "Where is she anyway?"

"Sleeping back at the apartment. I didn't want to disturb her. Not after the night she had."

"Do you think it was a good idea to leave her alone?"

Pam was almost certain Jay wouldn't be able to find her, there was no way he could get her address from any of Harley's coworkers and she'd bet anything he was expecting Harley to come back to him. He wouldn't go looking for her…Yet…. Maybe. Now that Barbara had brought it up, Pam wasn't so sure. Jay was unpredictable and the idea of finding him in her apartment with a weakened Harley filled her with dread.

"I should probably get going," Pam said, rising so quickly she almost knocked her chair over. Barbara nodded and wheeled her to the door.

"Hey, let me know if you need any more help, alright? I'll be here."

Pam smiled, thanked Barbara and hurried out the door, dashing down the street to her apartment.

/

"Red!" Pam was nearly knocked off her feet the second she walked in the door by the blonde rocket that was Harley. She threw her arms around Pam's neck, her voice muffled against the red head's collar when she spoke. "You're back."

"Did you get my note?" Pam asked, worried that Harley had been under the impression she'd simply left her alone without the intention of returning. Harley pulled back and held Pam at arms length.

"'Course I did. But it didn't say when you'd be comin' back."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Pam reached out and brushed Harley's bangs aside. She'd put her hair up in multicolored pigtails again and Pam supposed that was a good indicator that she was returning to her usual self.

"It's alright." Harley leaned into Pam's touch, her eyes fluttering closed. They snapped open a moment later, and she grabbed Pam's hand, dragging her into the living room. "Come on, now that you're here you gotta watch this movie with me."

Harley leapt onto the couch and dragged Pam down with her, her eyes zeroing in on the TV. Pam had been intending to talk to Harley about her options regarding the near future, but she looked so engrossed by the film playing on the television that she decided to save the conversation for later. It didn't take long, however, for Pam to begin expressing her distaste for the film.

"You're actually enjoying this nonsense?"

"It's not nonsense, it's funny."

"It's violent and crude."

"Yeah, but he's so quippy. And I like his costume."

Pam decided not to point out that quippy wasn't a word. "His 'jokes' are rather crass, don't you think?"

"That's why it's funny! Seriously Red, we gotta work on your sense of humor."

"My sense of humor is fine, it's this disaster of a film that's off."

"Paaaaam. You're ruining the fun!"

Pam huffed and crossed her arms, opting to study Harley rather than pay anymore attention to the 'merc with a mouth'. Harley was still dressed in the clothes that Pam had lent her last night, and it struck her then that, even if she decided to stay, they would need to return to Harley's apartment to retrieve her belongings. She watched Harley's eyes light up as she laughed at some undoubtedly offensive joke Pam had missed. For someone who had been beaten as viciously as Harley had the night before, it was a wonder she was smiling at all.

Pam was so busy watching Harley enjoy the movie that she didn't realize it had ended. As soon as the credits began to roll, Harley turned to Pam and asked, "Whatcha think, Red?"

"I think it was an absolute-" Pam caught herself when she saw Harley's eager expression. Biting back her scathing review of the movie, she continued with, "-an entertaining film, if nothing else."

Harley smiled briefly and looked back at the TV, her eyes suddenly unfocused and distant. "Hey, if you could pick any superpower, what would it be?"

Pam considered her answer for a moment. The thought had never crossed her mind. But for someone like Harley, impossible instances must pass through her head every day.

"The power to save the planet," she answered, only somewhat jokingly.

Harley nodded. "Like…a crusader for Mother Nature."

"Something like that."

"I think I'd want to be able to fly."

Away from here?

Harley's eyes were dim, her smile replaced with a thin-lipped grimace. She stared blankly at the rolling credits, until Pam reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I went to the coffee shop hopin' you'd find me, you know," Harley mumbled into her lap. It took a moment for Pam to catch up with Harley's train of thought. As always, she seemed to bounce from topic to topic on a whim.

"You mean after I…. after your party?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd end up there eventually, and I didn't know you were tryin' to get in touch with me, so I just went there and hoped you'd show up." Harley looked up, her eyes rising to meet Pam's. "And you did."

"Stay with me," she blurted. Harley blinked, her brows rising.

"Huh?"

"Stay with me," Pam repeated, with more confidence this time. "Here. Where he can't hurt you."

I can't stand to see you so broken again.

Harley cocked her head, as if she couldn't even fathom the offer. Her eyes flickered across Pam's face. "Stay here?"

"For as long as you like," Pam continued. "It's not a burden at all. We can go to your apartment together to gather your things and then… you can stay here, with me, where it's safe."

Harley stared at her, the expression on her face something Pam couldn't read. "What about work?"

"You can still keep your job." Unless Jay decides otherwise. "Chato, Tatsu, Floyd, they'll watch out for you."

Harley's face scrunched up as she considered Pam's offer. Pam reached out and took Harley's hand, holding it gently between both of her own. "It's your decision, Harley. Whatever you choose, I'll support you. But you have to consider what Jay might do to you if you go back. He's not going to change, he's a manipulative, abusive, horrible excuse for a man." She lifted one hand and graced her fingers across Harleys cheek. "And you deserve so much better."

"You really want me to stay?" Harley repeated.

"I really want you to stay." Pam waited with baited breath. This was not a trivial decision, she knew. If Harley agreed to stay, it was a massive indication of the trust that they'd managed to build in the span of a few short weeks. If she decided to stay, it meant one more step away from Jay. Away from the abuse. And another step closer to the life she deserved. Pam watched a slow grin light up Harley's face.

"Good," she said, squeezing Pam's hand. "Because I think I wanna stay too."