Gotham City, in daylight, really wasn't that bad for the most part. Sure there was the occasional bank robbery, daily muggings in the lower end districts, and usually someone being brutally murdered by a member one of the mob families that controlled the city... But it could have been worse. I was lucky enough to work enough swing shifts so I could usually go home when there was still light.

However, I did see my fair share at Arkham Asylum, where I worked as a Psychiatrist - the majority of my patients were Level One, so there usually wasn't too much hands-on grief with them. I had one patient for Level Two - Maximum Security - and she usually didn't give me too much grief. Poison Ivy was her alias, and she usually cooperated during our sessions. I showed respect for her "children," and towards the Earth in general, so she typically remained fairly calm. She was known to have violent mood swings, but there were times I felt like we had a fairly good connection; even when she was reassigned therapists after we spent six months working together, she gave the staff a lot of grief until I was reassigned as her doctor.

In the two and a half years I'd spent at Arkham, the worst patient I ever had the misfortune of encountering was Waylon Jones, otherwise known as "Killer Croc" to the public. He was terrifying in every way, and I was beyond thankful that I never had to treat him, let alone see him. I only had one run-in with him, and it was while security was moving him down to his cell. They had him shackled and leashed, and it looked like something out of a horror movie. The moment he turned to me and loudly sniffed the air, I felt my blood run cold.

"I've got your scent," he said in his gravelly voice, which left the effect of a poisonous snake bite in my veins. "I'm going to crush your body and eat your bones."

Well, that doesn't sound very appetizing, I thought at the time as I watched the guards pull Croc away.

Regardless of all the patients I've had over my fairly short career at Arkham, there's one who stands out for numerous reasons. They say they call him "the Joker"...

My morning started out normal as ever - I woke up at 4:30 after a fairly troubled night's sleep (my former colleague, Dr. Jonathan Crane, haunted my dreams once in a while. If you kept up with the papers, you'd know why), had my breakfast before feeding my cat (Maxwell), and went through the morning ritual of texting my partner "good morning." He would've already been awake for work, and we always talked while I got ready and he made his commute to Metropolis.

To Derek:

Good morning, sunshine

Sent:
Fri, May 3rd 4:49 AM

He replied within a couple minutes.

From Derek:

Morning. Traffic is bad this morning. Some dickhead cut me off and nearly wrecked into another car

Received:
Fri, May 3rd 4:52 AM

Perhaps it'd help if there wasn't texting... I thought.

I threw together a quick lunch for later that day, since the food at Arkham was usually pretty expensive, and didn't taste that great.

To Derek:

Get a plate number?

Sent:
Fri, May 3rd 4:55 AM

I finished putting together a cheese, tomato, and lettuce sandwich and tossed it in my insulated "lunchbox" (I could never remember if they had an official name or not), then proceeded to put my wavy, dark brown hair up into a bun.

From Derek:

No. How you doing?

Received:
Fri, May 3rd 4:58 AM

At that time, I was hurrying out the door and on my way to work. I replied with an "I'm doing okay. How are you?" and rushed to the underground parking lot to get in my car, forgetting to bid Maxwell a good day. There was a chance he could snub me for that when I'd get home.

Derek and I had been together for a few years. We lived on opposite ends of the city, and I worked longer shifts than him. He had to commute an hour to Metropolis five days of the week, so actually seeing each other outside of a Skype call was pretty difficult. He wasn't a touchy-feely kind of guy, so we didn't go on dates or have romantic dinners. As far as the other stuff goes... well, I'll just leave it at that for now.

Derek and I texted more as I made the twenty minute journey to Arkham. We agreed to try getting together the following day, since our schedules both looked pretty open (his could change at any time, since he worked for his family's business; mine could change depending on how hostile the patients were). Once I arrived at work, I let him know that I'd text him on my break if I had time, and wished him a good day.

"Good morning, Dr. Morgan," I heard a friendly voice say as I walked into the Intensive Treatment wing.

"Good morning, Janine." I smiled at the short, blonde-haired nurse, who was one of my favorite people at the hospital. "Excited for another day of fun here at Arkham Island?"

A light-hearted giggle escaped her thin lips.

"Never a dull moment. Ladies night out some time?" She handed me a chart for one of my Level One patients.

"Definitely." I grinned.

Janine was about to say something when fast-approaching foot steps cut her off. We looked up in unison to see the Head of Nursing approaching us with a chart in her hands.

"Talk to you later," Janine whispered before scuttling off.

"Good morning, Rosina," I greeted.

"Good morning, Dr. Morgan. New patient arrived last night - I think you might be familiar with him..."

She handed me a chart and I opened it, only to be greeted with a mugshot of a man wearing clown makeup.

"Batman brought him in last night. Dr. Arkham himself appointed you, given your success rate with patients." Her dark eyes met my own. "I'm not sure how much TV you watch, Doctor, but be careful with him. He's one of the most dangerous ...'people' ... I've seen in recent years."

I studied his chart, feeling a little disoriented over the thought of actually talking the man who threw Gotham into a tailspin while laughing the whole time. Also, there was a rumor floating around that he blew up Gotham General while wearing a nurse outfit. If people hadn't died and the city's best hospital hadn't been destroyed, it'd almost be funny.

"Any damage?" I asked as I closed his chart.

"Mostly cuts and bruises. Nothing broken, surprisingly. We had him hosed down this morning, so don't expect the theatrics."

"Of course. I'll set up an appointment with him for this afternoon." I thanked her and went to my office, and prepared my appointments for that afternoon and the following week, along with shuffling through all of the paperwork I was a bit behind on.

I took my lunch break at noon, only an hour away from my appointment with my new patient, labelled "4479." He had no real name that was documented, and his prints didn't match any on record. All morning I heard the staff and some of our more aware patients whispering about the Joker being brought in. A couple staff members who knew I was put on the case gave me criticizing looks, given how young I looked compared to some of the other doctors, and probably because I was one of the only female doctors there.

Just when I was about to take a bite out of my sandwich, I heard my cell phone ringing, making a nearby security guard (Nicole Sanders, whom I got along with) jump a little in her seat.

"Derek?" she asked as she took a spoonful of her pistachio pudding.

"Naturally." I sighed and answered.

"Hey, Elaine," he said in his semi-nasally voice.

"Hi, sweetheart. How's work?"

"Busy." I heard some guys laughing in the background, followed by him "shush"ing them. "How are things at the crazy house?"

I scowled a little at the derogatory term. He was never that supportive, but I always assumed it was because of the dangers my job had. He didn't really like to delve into personal feelings too much.

"Things are fine here at the hospital," I said with as little bitterness as possible. I cleared my throat and smiled a little. "So... What time do you want to get together tomorrow?"

He sighed. "About that... I can't make it . I have practice."

I frowned. "When'd you find out about that?"

"Half an hour ago. Maybe we can try for a different day?"

He went ahead with his stupid band practice when we already had plans? That's nice.

"Yeah, maybe," I said coolly.

"Elaine..." he started in a semi-stern tone.

"No, no. I get it. Your hobbies are important. Of course, we haven't been face-to-face in a month, but..."

Nicole stopped spooning pudding into her mouth to give me a look of disbelief.

"I know. We'll try for Sunday. I don't have anything going on so far."

"Yet," I added.

"Right. Anyway, I need to get back to work. I'll talk to you tonight." I could hear his co-worker buddies chatting and snickering in the background.

"Okay. Be careful. Bye, Derek."

"Yep, see ya." I hung up and rolled my eyes, irritated how something always came up, or how he would frequently backseat our plans.

"I take it things still aren't heading towards a Chapel in a white gown with Derek," said Nicole.

"No, but does that really surprise you?"

She smiled a bit, almost sympathetically.

"No. Sorry, Doctor."

We sat there for a bit and ate our food in silence.

About three years and still no consummation... Is this even normal? I thought.

Maybe he's just not that into me. Why keep me around? I need to stop letting myself dwell on this.

I shook my head and looked at Nicole, whose mocha skin seemed to glow under the golden sunlight pouring into the breakroom.

"How are things with Greg?"

She giggled at the sound of his name. If you only heard her while she was on duty, you'd never guess she was capable of giggles and smiles, since she was one of the most stern, hard-working guards in the hospital.

"Good. He's picking me up later tonight to go to the Iceberg Lounge for drinks."

I smiled. "How'd he manage to swing that? I heard that place is hard to get into."

"Beats me. But hey, I'm not complaining. Possibly free drinks, and hopefully a great time!" Her excitement practically lit up the room.

"I hope so. I'd tell you to stay safe, but I think you could take any scumbag who'd try anything."

"Damn right!" she said as she went back to eating her pudding.

I checked my watch - nearly half an hour had passed.

"I'd better get ready for my new patient," I said as I stood up.

She watched me with her big, brown eyes that could almost hypnotize you.

"I caught a glimpse of him during rounds last night," she said. "Careful, Elaine. He's..." She sighed. "He's something. Try not to stare at his face much."

"I've probably seen worse." I smiled a bit, though I really couldn't deny that I was pretty nervous about the session. "See you later, Nicole. Have fun tonight!"

"Will do!" I heard her say as I exited the room, and made the trek back to my office to collect patient 4479's paperwork.