Mad Love (Harlivy version)

Chapter 3

Harley sat in the doctor's lounge updating her case notes. Her last session with Jonathan Crane had gone rather well, she thought. Their conversation was smooth if not a little bizarre. Crane had been a mental health professional himself once, and it broke Harley's heart to have to put up with delusions that the patient could have easily diagnosed in himself. 'With all the doctors that end up in Arkham, the GCPD should start putting medical students on watch lists,' she thought, chuckling to herself as she signed her name and date at the bottom of the report.

Her impromptu session with Ivy had put her in an excellent mood. Although Harley didn't fully understand the extent of her patient's powers yet, she had confirmed that Pamela was more human than she thought. Harley had also come to the conclusion that Pamela was likely suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which, although fairly obvious, was not denoted in her file. What happens when you give a narcissist super-human abilities? Poison Ivy. That's what happens.

Dr. Leland sat down on the couch next to Harley with an exhausted sigh.

"Long day?" Harley asked, cheerfully.

"They're all long days, Dr. Quin." The older woman said, her eyes partially closed.

"It's Quinzel." Harley smiled. She liked Dr. Leland, she was serious, but also strong willed and sharp as a whip. Harley wondered if that's what Pamela would have grown up to be if she hadn't met Jason Woodrue. Of course, she probably still would have been a narcissist, but a narcissist for the greater good at least.

"I'm sorry." Leland mumbled. "The Joker was my last session and I always come out of those things worse than before."

"Oh." Harley was somewhat intrigued, after all, the Joker made for a fascinating psychological study, but what she really wanted was to tell Joan about the progress she'd made with Poison Ivy.

"Clarence told me you visited Isley's cell today."

Harley almost squealed with joy at not having to bring the topic up herself. "I did."

"Why?" The woman asked, not looking at her.

"Well..." Harley started, trying to sound a little less excited than she was. "In our first session, Dr. Isley made a comment about how the whole 'vixen of the vines' routine usually included the use of pheromones. But she used that word, she said 'routine'. When I was a gymnast my strong suit was the beam, I was pretty terrible on the floor so my coach would make me stay afterwards to practice my floor routine over and over and over again until it was perfect." Harley paused for a moment to make sure Joan was still listening. She was. "The more I practiced the more I hated it, and come competition time I was dreading it even though I could have done that routine in my sleep."

"So..." Joan said, hoping to lead Harley to the end of her analogy.

"So..." Harley said, "I think that, at this point, the temptress act is nothing more than a floor routine, and Ivy is tired of it. But every time she gets into that setting with a doctor or an authority figure, she starts it up like she's on autopilot. Just like I could do my choreography with my eyes closed."

Joan raised an eyebrow. "Is your theory that Poison Ivy is dissociating?"

"Well, no. Not exactly." Harley told her. I'm saying that the only way to talk to the woman underneath it all is to disrupt her routine. Keep her on her toes because otherwise she'll wall up and start going through the motions. That's why I'd like to hold our next session outside."

"What? No. Absolutely not. There's grass in the yard, Dr. Quinzel, and she's Poison Ivy." Joan was adamant.

Harley smiled and pushed her glasses back up the slope of her nose. "I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt."