Meredith jogged at a hurried pace through Gotham City's streets. She was on her way to the hospital again. Police tape blocked off many buildings. There were noticeably a lot more graffiti-covered walls and broken windows since last week.

She barely slept the night before, or for the past four nights for that matter. Even though she still showed up each morning to help the other inpatients, she worried about Arthur constantly. He was all by himself, trapped in a human-sized cage in a forbidden section of the hospital. Meredith initially wanted to demand for Arthur's release since the start of his punishment, but she knew that the guards would just push her away. She didn't have any authority over them.

Nearly every person around her wore a Joker mask, and this unsettled her. There was no way of knowing if any of them were hostile or not. Despite the risky situation, she kept moving forward. She had to know if Arthur was safe. As if he wasn't already isolated before, being kept away from any form of human contact for too long was enough to destroy anyone. He could snap and try to hurt himself. Or, he could hurt someone else when it was time for him to come out.

Meredith entered the building and went past the front desk to look for somebody in charge. She came across the supervisor's room and found the person she was looking for sitting at his desk.

The supervisor was currently having a meeting with a mix of security guards and orderlies. She felt nervous about having to interrupt an entire group of people, but in her mind it needed to be done.

"Excuse me. Hello," she addressed with a wave.

The lead figure looked at her and crossed his arms. "I don't believe we've met."

"My name is Meredith Sinclair. I'm a counseling intern." She showed him her badge.

"And why are you here?"

"Well, as a volunteer, I was put in charge of treating one of your inpatients, Arthur Fleck. And I know what he did in the cafeteria the other day was no small incident. But even so, I'm here to ask if you could release him from seclusion."

The man chuckled along with the guards next to him. "Why the hell would I do that?" he asked. "Don't you realize why he was put there in the first place?"

Waves of anxiety stirred within her, but she pushed the feeling aside. "Look, I was only given two weeks here and this is cutting into my time with him. I just want to make sure he receives proper help."

He shook his head. "You can't help that guy. Trust me. He's a lost cause. A crazy guy like him is way better off by himself, away from everyone else."

"But he's practically been by himself since he was brought to this hospital. He has no one to talk to during visiting hours. And you won't let him socialize with other people because of his influence. That kind of treatment won't help his mental health; it'll only damage it," she reasoned.

"He still has to face the consequences for nearly beating another patient to death."

"I was attacked by that patient and Arthur protected me! Why was that person wandering around on his own, anyway? From what it looked like, some of your employees were on a smoke break and not doing their jobs!"

Some of the staff members wore guilty looks on their faces. But the supervisor stood firm, not budging at anything she was saying. Meredith was starting to lose hope.

"Please," she begged. "You have to listen. He was making so much progress."

A woman's voice from behind her spoke up. "I think you should hear her out."

Meredith turned around to see a familiar face. It was the same counselor who helped her on the first day.

"Alison," she uttered, surprised.

"Arthur never got to receive group therapy like everyone else," Alison spoke as she stepped forward. "Give him a fair chance to get better. Getting better is what we want for all our patients, isn't it?"

With that point, the supervisor let out a resigned sigh.

"Fine, I give up," he said. "I don't want to debate with you two anymore." He turned around to face his accompanying guards. "Go release him."

Meredith locked eyes with her supporter. "Thank you," she whispered. The woman returned a subtle nod and left.

Meredith walked into Arthur's empty room and sat in her chair to wait for him.

* * *

Arthur was brought into the room a few minutes later. He was still delirious from the sedative he'd received a few hours ago. He looked absolutely exhausted as he laid on his side, resting his head on his arm.

"It's you," he said with an incredulous look. He could barely keep his bloodshot eyes open.

"It's me," she repeated with a small grin.

She noticed some self-inflicted scratches on his face and arms. The marks were deep and red.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He laughed. "Not really." His voice was hoarse and weak.

"God, it must've been awful in there."

"Yeah. I need a fucking cigarette."

Arthur closed his eyes and turned on his back to face the ceiling. He placed a hand on his forehead.

"It was too goddamn quiet," he described. "Nothing but silence. Nothing to keep me company except… moments from my past. I never thought I'd see those moments again."

Meredith recalled learning about his dissociative amnesia in his file.

"You repressed your memories, probably as a defense mechanism to protect your sanity. But they came back somehow."

"Everything came rushing back to me, down to the last detail," he told her. "It was crazy."

With the limited amount of time they had left together, Meredith wanted to help Arthur as much as possible.

She leaned forward. "Tell me everything."

* * *

Arthur sat cross-legged on the bed as he told Meredith his stories. She listened intently as he talked.

He opened up about his past. He came clean about ending Penny's life. His voice broke when he talked about her.

Meredith was overwhelmed by how much information she had processed. She was absolutely crushed. She couldn't help but let a few tears escape from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I-I can't even believe this," she stuttered. "I-I'm so sorry," she said again, but this time she instinctively pulled Arthur into a hug.

He tensed at the initial contact. Such a warm feeling was nearly unfamiliar to him, but he never knew how much he needed it until that very moment. He slumped, completely collapsing into her arms.

Meredith pulled back and wiped away a few more tears. She exhaled a shaky breath and looked down at her lap. There was something in particular that he mentioned that hit home for her.

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "I don't have my parents either," she revealed. "They were killed in a car accident a long time ago. It was a hit-and-run, and the person responsible for it was never found."

She paused before continuing. "At the funeral, my aunt told me that they were on the way to pick up a present for my tenth birthday. I still have nightmares about it to this day. To think that whoever took them from me is still out there somewhere, free of any consequences while I'm heartbroken… It hurts. So I promised myself that I'd help people deal with their pain, so they don't have to suffer like me."

Arthur nodded and gazed at her with a newfound sense of sympathy.

She recomposed herself. "Well, enough about me. Tomorrow's our last session. Before I leave, I'd like to discuss your childhood memories more, and help you process them in a healthier way."

Arthur felt a pang of sorrow after being reminded that her presence would soon be gone.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked.

Meredith paused for a moment. With her type of work, visiting the same client twice was unheard of. Preferential treatment was not allowed, and the patients were always assigned at random to ensure equal care for everyone. Seeing Arthur again would be impossible, but she didn't want to directly tell him "No".

"To be honest, I don't think that it's very likely," she replied. "But if I ever get the chance to come back, then I'd love to."

He disappointedly looked down. "I don't want you to leave."

"I…" She didn't know what to say.

A loud knock at the door from the guard signaled that their time was up.

"Hey, we're not done yet," she reassured. "We've still got one more day, so let's make it count. Tell you what; I'll bring more candy to celebrate your official completion. Oh, and you still have your pen and journal, right?"

He checked his trusty hiding spot and confirmed they were still inside his pillow. "Yeah," he replied.

"Why don't you write some more? Then we can talk about your entries when I come back."

"Sure."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Arthur."

"Goodbye, Meredith."

She left.