Harley awoke with a gasp from a dream of cackling laughter and spinning darkness.

She raised her head, which throbbed, looking around the dark room that smelled of pine and earth. For a second, she was confused. She didn't know these surroundings, nor how she got there, but had felt almost at home immediately. Then she realized: it was the smell. Could it be?

"Harley?"

The husky, soft voice sent a thrill up Harley's spine. She looked toward the bedroom door and saw…

"Red?"

Poison Ivy, decked out in her green one-piece, leggings and pixie boots, stood in the doorway with a steaming mug in her hands. Her red hair looked untidy, as if she hadn't had time to do anything with it, and her big, almond-shaped green eyes looked at Harley like those of a fussy mother.

She strode in, confident as always and Harley beamed in disbelief.

"Yes, Harl. Sit up and drink this."

Harley sat up, her head and neck stiff and aching and took the mug, breathing in the camomile steam.

"What happened, Red? What happened to me last night? I felt really weird! How did you get out? And what happened to Batman?"

"Harley!" Ivy said sharply, then checked herself, "Harley? Relax. You've got the flu. You didn't mind the symptoms, and you got dehydrated." She gestured to the other side of the bed and Harley, still fuzzy-headed, realized that she was hooked up to a saline drip.

"Drink up," Ivy persisted, "You're still feverish, so finish the tea and then rest."

Ivy watched hawkishly as Harley finished the tea in a few gulps. I really am thirsty, Harley realized. Then she snuggled back down into the old-fashioned box bed, piled high with quilts and blankets.

"Where are we, Red?"

"Selina's cottage," Ivy said, looking around at the place. "I have to admit I like the décor, and it's in the middle of a wood no less. She gave me the key so I could bring you here."

"Wait, you've seen Selina? When?"

Ivy sighed, "I suppose you won't rest until I've answered your questions? Fine. Perhaps you'll remember that once again you suborned yourself to the Joker's charms and scampered off with him to terrorize some restaurant. Selina came and helped me break out of Arkham so I could use my botanical clones to try and separate you from him and get you someplace safe."

Harley's mind raced. Then, suddenly, she burst out laughing. "No wonder Batsy went down so easy! That was one of your veggie zombies!"

"Yes." Ivy spoke flatly, bringing Harley back into focus. She looked at Ivy, but she wouldn't meet her gaze. "I didn't mean to go back to him, you know. I just…fell off the wagon I guess."

"Sure, Harley. Sure." Ivy said, still not looking at her.

Harley, anxiety rising, said, "I missed you, Red. Thanks for writing to me."

Ivy half-smiled, "After last night, I assumed you didn't get it." Then she got up and left the room. Harley retreated further under the covers as she felt her stomach starting to wobble again.

Selina oversteered the Jag into the gravel driveway in her haste to get to the cottage door. The roomy log house stood in the midst of pine woods northwest of Gotham, with the mountains just visible from a lookout nearby.

She'd changed into her practical street clothes and strode in to find Ivy washing dishes.

Maybe it was because of living a life of privelige when she wasn't swiping jewellery, but she'd always found the simple domesticity of the life Ivy and Harley had lived together very odd. The concept of this costumed villainess causing mayhem in Gotham's streets only to spend the evening doing the washing up was almost funny, or it would have been if not for the second, just as she burst through the door, when she saw the pain and smoking anger wringing Ivy's face as she scrubbed at a Pyrex pan.

"Catwo – I mean, Selina," Ivy said, looking up and her face going blank, if still exhausted-looking.

"How's Harley? Sorry, I had to be at a meeting and I didn't…"

Ivy put a finger to her lips and then came over, grabbing a tea towel en route to dry her hands. "She'll recover. She had some tea earlier and now she's sleeping again. Her fever's down and I took her off the saline for now.

Selina let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

"Goddess, you mean," Ivy said, smirking. "And how are things in show biz?"

"Better than I was afraid. Maybe we'll have everything back on track for Harley's return."

Ivy's expression became a little distant at that. Her shoulders sagged and she mumbled, "I'm so tired."

"You and me both. Thank Goddess it's Friday at least." She held up two large bags of groceries. "Provisions."

Ivy nodded, "Thanks."

"I think I'll stay up here for the weekend myself," Selina said, putting down the bag.

"Can you look in on Harley every so often? I'm going to have a nap."

"You've earned it, Pam."

"Too right." Ivy turned and disappeared into the bedroom.

Selina frowned at the retreating woman. There was something strange about Ivy, and had been ever since they'd fled Arkham. She'd seen Ivy cheerful, sarcastic (mostly sarcastic), furiously angry, and maternally distraught. But she'd never seen Ivy seriosuly depressed, almost bitter.

She considered this as she put the groceries in their appointed places and made herself some coffee. She couldn't afford to let her sleep schedule slide too far to the nocturnal these days. Harley was fast asleep in the second bedroom, and Selina reflected sadly that she hadn't seen Harley look that peaceful since…well, forever, really. Ivy had wiped the greaspaint off her face and undone her hair too.

Selina was more annoyed with herself than anything. She'd gotten so caught up in the Benefit that she didn't even notice Harley getting sick. Running a fever and under stress…the Joker chose his moment well. She would have to have a word with Penguin about how he could possibly have found out about that.

Selina was in the process of putting on a large pot of minestrone when Harley appeared in the kitchen in a bathrobe and yawned.

"Hey, Whiskers," she croaked.

"Go back to bed Harley," Selina said kindly, "I'll bring you something to eat soon."

Harley looked around, "Where's Ivy?"

"She's asleep. She had to do most of the legwork after we got out of Arkham."

"Oh," Harley looked guiltily at the floor and said, "She's mad, isn't she?"

Selina sighed and turned to lean on the fridge. "I don't know, Harl. I think she's a little thrown by seeing you again so soon. She said goodbye expecting it to be goodbye, if you see what I mean."

"Wouldn't she be happy then?"

Selina shrugged, "You'll have to ask her yourself. For now, though, please take it easy. You've got a week's holiday to recover."

"Wow! A whole week?"

"Bruce and I agreed we should have realized you were sick. Although we would have appreciated you paying closer attention to your health, too."

"Sorry."

"I should point out that it made you dangerously vulnerable," Selina added pointedly, and Harley accepted this. "And I had to work hard to make sure nobody found out where you've been."

"Yeah," Harley sighed, "I'd better go back to bed. My head's starting to spin again."