Dr. Birch chose Dr. Elmer Neilson as the peer that would review her patient. Dr. Neilson was an extremely dedicated and intelligent psychiatrist who specialized in personality disorders, making him an ideal doctor for former District Attorney Harvey Dent. Elmer and Harvey got along quite well, actually, and the doctor had even managed to befriend Harvey's crueler half. Two-Face liked the doctor because he was a poker player, and a game that relied so heavily on the luck of the draw was always appealing to him.
Due to Neilson's relationship with Two-Face he also had a unique insight into the mind of Poison Ivy. Isley and Dent had once been an item, before the assault that scarred Dent Isley had used him as she used all men, afterwards... It was hard to say what had happened afterwards. Hazel had only inquired into their relationship to Isley once, and the lewd stories that Pamela provided led Hazel to note in her personal log to never inquire to Pamela and Harvey's relationship ever again.
Elmer, on the other hand, often discussed Isley with Two-face. The cruel half of Harvey Dent's personality seemed to have a sexual fixation on Isley, driven by pure lust, and for a man who so often decided everything by the flip of a coin it was rare to find such dedicated obsessions. Thanks to this intimate knowledge, Elmer was a good candidate to review Pamela, and he was a man, which would be another test of Pamela's change of character... Would she be able to maintain her calm and polite demeanor when it was a male doctor reviewing her instead of a female?
Hazel hoped that Dr. Neilson would get to review Pamela first, and that a fair review from him might push Hayes toward a more favorable review of her patient, but this was a wish not meant to be. On Monday morning, a mere two days after her visit with Dr. Arkham, Dr. Hayes arrived. She was prompt, arriving precisely at seven and immediately going to the front desk to request Dr. Hayes and Dr. Arkham be notified of her presence.
Jeremiah Arkham, of course, already knew she would be arriving this morning, but he had given no such warning to Dr. Birch that Belladonna would be arriving so soon. Hazel felt extremely put off to be forced to so abruptly confront the situation. She went down stairs to meet Dr. Hayes in the main lobby and was stunned by what she saw.
Belladonna Hayes looked like she'd undergone a transformation. The bags under her eyes were gone, the wrinkles in her face had diminished, the streaks of silver in her curly black hair had all disappeared. The aging psychiatrist looked like she'd arrived at Arkham after a weekend at the best spa in New England, her rejuvenated appearance was astounding and only made more remarkable by the crisp, brand new power suit she wore, a brown pencil skirt and blazer offset by a smart beige blouse. She had what looked to be a new pair of glasses, and her eyes were a more vibrant lively green. Perhaps traveling had done her good, but the transformation was almost unnatural.
"D-doctor Hayes?" Hazel stammered in disbelief as she came down the main stair case.
"Dr. Birch, good to see you again. I know it's early, but I recalled that Isley prefers the morning so I thought it best for me to arrive when she'll be in a comfortable state of mind and open to an evaluation." Dr. Hayes began, then she looked Hazel over with a critical eye. "Did you ever see that psychiatrist?"
"I beg your pardon?" Hazel asked, looking bewildered.
"When you visited me I told you to see a psychiatrist, from the looks of it I doubt you took my advice."
Hazel blushed self-consciously, wondering what it was about her appearance that made Dr. Hayes make such an accurate assumption.
"Don't worry about it now, Dr. Birch, that can be handled later. I assume the therapy chamber is still on the third floor?" Dr. Hayes asked as she clipped her guest clearance card to her coat and began to walk towards the stairs with a self-confidence that Hazel had yet to pull up in spite of almost 9 months working at Arkham. Seeing Dr. Hayes operate with such conviction within a place that she had abandoned in the blink of an eye after such a harsh experience with the Scarecrow left Hazel's mind reeling. How could anyone, even a trained psychiatrist like Belladonna, have such strong will and conviction?
Hazel requested the front desk clerk to radio the guards in Max. Sec. to tell Pamela what was happening then she hurried to catch up with Dr. Hayes. She was practically jogging to keep up with the taller woman's strides, her mind turned topsy-turvy by the complete reversal of personality that the other doctor displayed.
"It's all about appearances, Hazel." Belladonna declared, as if she had read the younger woman's mind. "I don't like being here, in fact it makes my skin crawl, but you have insisted on pursuing this fool hardy attempt to rehabilitate Pamela Isley and I'm not about to let her walk out of here on her own if I don't think she's stable. Dr. Crane scared me, it's true, but he also gave me a new appreciation for this place and what it does to help keep the people of Gotham safe. I'm not letting any one of these patients out of these doors without knowing they truly have reformed."
"All right, Pamela, just remember this is no different from any other evaluation. It's the same thing you went through when you first go here, only this time you're going to get a positive response instead of a negative one!" Hazel said encouragingly as they approached the door to the therapy room.
"Doctor Birch, please, I'm not an infant, I can handle a little interview with another shrink." Pamela replied reassuringly, then she gave a light smile as they reached the door "Besides, it will be nice to see Dr. Hayes again, we all think of her often."
Pamela entered the meeting room and left Hazel outside with the guards. Hazel looked over at Margaret with a thin lipped expression. "That seemed... uncharacteristic."
"What do you mean, doc?" Margaret asked.
Hazel shook her head dismissively. "Nothing, nothing... I'm sure I'm just over thinking things."
"Relax, Dr. Birch." Holly said reassuringly. "Pamela's on the road to recovery, and if anything goes wrong Margaret and I are right outside the door. Just go take a breather, we'll let you know when Dr. Hayes has finished her evaluation."
"All right... Yeah. No reason for me to just stand here waiting." Dr. Birch agreed. "People will start thinking I'm the one who's crazy."
All three women laughed, but as Dr. Birch began to walk back down the hall the two guards exchanged uncertain glances.
Pamela stepped inside the meeting room and made her way to her usual chair, facing the eastern window where the sun could bathe her body. "Dr. Hayes... It's been ages, I'm so glad they chose you for this evaluation."
"Oh really, Pamela, and why is that?" Dr. Hayes asked, settling back in her chair with a clipboard of questions on her lap and a pen held in her hand.
"Because, Doctor, you're the first person in Arkham to ever truly understand..."
"Understand what?"
"Us, Doctor... You understand us. In a way no one else ever has."
"What about Dr. Birch? She seems to believe she understands you quite well."
"Not like you do. You're different." Pamela replied with a smile. "That's why we respected you, and that's why you're here..."
"What do you mean, why I'm here? You know why he spared me?"
"Actually I was referring to why you're here today, but I'm sure Jonathan will be thrilled to hear you remember him so vividly... He says, hi, by the way." Pamela stated, still smiling. "He misses you."
Hayes arched a brow, looking unsettled. "He's... Said that?"
"Please, doctor, we all miss you, none of us wanted to see you go. You're our friend, after all if you weren't you wouldn't have come all the way back here to evaluate me... " the green skinned inmate replied calmly, looking Hazel over with a critical eye. "You look well."
At this Dr. Hayes smiled appreciatively. "I received a letter from a friend, she recommended some special er-"
"Salves and oils from plants to help heal your aging skin, improve the condition of your hair, and bring some life back to those pretty green eyes." Pamela surmised intuitively.
Dr. Hayes stalled, the color draining from her face, but Pamela gave a merry laugh.
"Please, Doctor, it isn't that hard to guess when you can do what I do. I could smell the aloe vera and the mint oil, and at your age one of the best methods to keep your eyes healthy is carotene, which is found in ready supply from a diet strong in carrots." Pamela arced a brow at Belladonna's nervous look and then gave a little laugh. "Relax, I don't get worked up over plants like that anymore.. Carrots are a plentiful crop, they'll regrow, the same can be said for both aloe vera and mint."
Belladonna relaxed visibly, closing her eyes as relief washed over her. Finally she opened her eyes again and wrote something within the note margin of her evaluation form and then checked off the "marked improvement" box regarding the patient's violence.
"Well, you've certainly come a long way from killing people for walking on the grass." Dr. Hayes noted, attempting to keep the meeting friendly and positive with a little humor.
Pamela Isley blinked in confusion. "I never did that. Doing that would be illogical, even I walk on the grass, it's impossible to avoid."
"It.. It was a joke." Belladonna replied, a little surprised. She started writing on the clipboard again. "I'm impressed, Pamela. You're showing much more intuitive cognitive faculties than the last time we met."
Pamela smiled and nodded her approval at the observation. "Well, Dr. Birch has been marvelous; she picked up where you left off and just kept me on the right track."
"She does seem to be talented."
"Indeed; and she's even offered to sponsor my rehabilitation."
"Oh?" Dr. Hayes asked, looking up in surprise. "My, she is confident."
"Yes, yes she is, and I don't want to let her down..." Pamela paused, leaning forward and locking eyes with Dr. Hayes. "So, Belladonna, what exactly do I need to do to get out of here?"
Dr. Hayes blinked again, then lifted her gaze to meet Pamela's. A soothing scent met her nostrils, one of her favorite scents, the scent of olive trees on a summer day, it reminded her of time spent with her family back in Italy. Belladonna relaxed in her chair and gave a contented sigh as Isley leaned closer, a slow smile creeping across her dark green lips like a vine climbing a brick wall.
"Tell me, Doctor. Tell me everything I need to do in order to be approved for the rehabilitation program."
"I'll tell you all I can." Belladonna replied in a soft, tranquil voice.
"Good girl..."