As the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, the fog off the Gotham City harbor began to roll in. Lightening flashed overhead, illuminating the sky and the dark clouds that lurked, bringing with them the promise of rain that was soon to turn to snow by the following morning if the forecaster had been right. The city was busy as ever, even more so now that Christmas was approaching in three weeks.

It was nights like these Harleen Quinzel loved.

Heat blowing from the vents in her car caused several tendrils of blonde hair tickle her cheeks as she drove, expertly weaving through the streets of Gotham toward her apartment in the better part of town. It had been a long day, and as the first few drops of rain splattered across her windshield, she could tell it was going to be a long night spent listening to the rain fall. She never could sleep when it rained.

Reaching up with a free hand, she tugged the rest of her hair down from the long ponytail she'd swept it back into for work, tossing it in an open pocket in her purse that lay in the passenger's seat, balanced on top of several files that she had opted to bring home to do, rather than get to the hospital in the morning and face them.

It was nearly pouring rain by the time she pulled into the large parking lot in front of her apartment building, the snow piles that had been raked off the lot a few days earlier turning to mush on the sidewalks. She sat in her car for a moment, shutting off the car and merely listening to it hit the roof and windows in large torrents brought against the car with harder forces by the strong winds that had picked up.

It was nights like these Harleen Quinzel remembered.

For a brief moment when she glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, she could almost see the black mask around her eyes. But it wasn't there – the only make-up she wore now were the soft colors above her eyes and the rosy colors on her lips and cheeks.

Harley Quinn was gone.

Or at least, Harleen made it that way. She'd forced Harley back into a separate part of her mind, building up walls around her so she would not escape. This time she had no one to provoke her more 'dangerous' and 'crazy' side. After all, she'd just gotten her job back at Gotham City Hospital, and was finally earning enough money to begin to pay off for her car and apartment properly. She couldn't screw it all up now.

As the rain let up for a brief moment, Harleen grabbed her files and her purse, throwing open the car door and rushing to reach the overhang of the building, heels clicking loudly across the concrete. She pushed herself through the door, into the warmth of the lobby of the apartment building. The front desk was empty, leaving her to begin up the stairs by herself, slipping off her lab coat as she did.

It had taken her a bit to get her life built back up after being pardoned by Gotham's finest – she'd pleaded guilty to her crimes, but had been let off. She'd never really figured out why, but the presence of Bruce Wayne in the back of her trial had always made her question if he had something to do with it. She'd never met the man personally, but apparently he took interest in certain criminals of Gotham. A bit too much interest for her liking.

Then there was him.

She hadn't thought of Jack – well, Joker, as he still continued to go by. He would always be Mistah J to her. She hadn't thought about him a long while, and had almost forgotten about him except those rare morning and nights when she actually paid attention to the news and his picture was flashed across the screen for some crime he had recently committed. Sometimes familiar faces were flashed along with his – henchmen, or other criminals like Ivy. Ivy wasn't as important as the Joker, naturally, but they still showed her picture when she was being accused of helping him.

Of course, it hadn't been Ivy who'd ever helped him in the first place.

She fished her keys out of her pocket and unlocked her apartment door, tossing her keys into the bowl on the small table just inside the door. She threw her coat on the back of the couch, kicking off her shoes as she went.

"Mommy!"

A blur of pink attached itself to her leg, nearly sending Harleen sprawling across the floor. She bent down, pulling the blonde haired, green eyed little girl up into her arms with the flash of a bright grin.

"Hey there pumpkin! Did you miss mommy?"

The little girl nodded, burying her face in the crook of Harleen's neck.

"We just finished with a bath." Her neighbor, Tracy, said, coming out of the bathroom that Harleen's daughter had come flying out of. Indeed, the girl's curls were wet, and Tracy's entire front was splashed with water that she was attempted to soak out of her clothes with a white fluffy towel.

"I see that. She behave?" Harleen asked and Tracy nodded, drying her hands now.

"Of course. The perfect little angel, like always. Still a bit hyper though – I honestly don't know where she gets it." Tracy rolled her eyes slightly, nudging Harleen as Tracy began to gather her things scattered about the coffee table. Tracy had been babysitting Harleen's daughter the entire time the doctor was at work. And naturally, Tracy knew all about Harleen's rather 'odd' past – then again, who didn't?

"Thanks again Trace." Harleen raked a hand through her hair, shifting her daughter in her arms. Tracy flashed a grin.

"Not a problem. See you tomorrow Harls, Evie." She gave a small wave to them both before disappearing out the front door. Evelyn wriggled in her mother's arms and Harleen's set her on her own two feet, in which the girl promptly ran back toward the bathroom.

"So did you have fun with Tracy today?" Harleen asked, following Evelyn toward the bathroom to find the girl struggling to reach the sink as the last of the water drained from the bathtub. She had pushed the white stool up to the counter and climbed up onto it so she could reach to brush her teeth.

"Yup! Tracy showed me some magic tricks and we watched movies all day long. And she colored with me!" Evelyn grinned in the mirror, reaching for her toothbrush, her pink heart pajamas riding up as she stretched. Harleen came up behind her, helping her squeeze her toothpaste onto the brush.

"That's good. Sorry I was late today sweetie. Mommy's friends that she works with like to keep her after and make her work a longer shift." Harleen sighed, watching Evelyn brush her teeth. She reached over and grabbed a small towel off the rack beside the bathtub, as well as two hair bands from the basket on the side of the sink. She began to squeeze excess water from her daughter's pale curls before she began to braid them with expert fingers into two long braids that trailed down the five-year-old's back.

"Just think. You'll get to start school in a few years, and you'll have other kids to hang out with and play with." Harleen continued, briefly pausing as Evelyn spit the toothpaste out of her mouth before continuing to brush. She was a well behaved child most of the time – did as she was asked, didn't disobey, quite to Harleen's delight. The other residents of the building were rather jealous that her daughter obeyed so well. Except when Evelyn was on one of those days, where a streak of wildness would appear and she'd be crazy the entire day.

"How come I can't go to school now?" Evelyn asked, rinsing off her toothbrush before placing it back in its holder.

"Well, you're too young. If you go now, the other kids will be bigger than you."

"So? I can show them I'm just as smart as them." She announced proudly and jumped down off the stool, taking Harleen's hand and leading her down the hall as they continued their normal routine from every night. Harleen would get home from work, spent time with Evelyn – which she didn't have time for tonight – help her get ready for bed, and then lay with her and read her a story until she fell asleep.

"I'm sure you would. But I would miss you too much!" Harleen flashed a goofy face at Evelyn, who giggled and let go of Harleen's hand, running the rest of the way down the hall and into the room at the end. Evelyn's name was painted in faded purple letters on the door, and several of her crayon drawings were taped to the front of it.

"Tell you what. You can come to work with me tomorrow." Harleen continued, and Evelyn gave a cheer from somewhere in the darkness of her room. Harleen reached for the light, flipping it on and flooding the room with light.

"What story shall it be tonight?" Harleen asked, watching Evelyn scramble into her bed by the window and slide toward the wall, making room for Harleen. The woman made sure her daughter was safely tucked in and clutching her favorite stuffed white teddy bear that had been a present to her when she'd been an infant. Its faded pink bow was still somehow miraculously tied around its neck too, even while the bear itself showed signs of age.

"You promised to finish the story about the Prince and his party!" Evelyn said loudly as Harleen turned on her nightlight, moving to turn off the main light. The nightlight cast an eerie glow about the room, reflecting off the window until Harleen drew the curtains. After all that, she shifted to sit on Evelyn's bed, leaning against the wall and allowing her to curl up in her lap.

"So I did. Where did we leave off?" She asked, absentmindedly tracing an invisible pattern on the soft skin of Evelyn's arm.

"The party had just started and the Princess had walked in!" The girl proclaimed and Harleen nodded.

"Of course. So the Princess had just walked in, wearing a beautiful gown of red, making her stand out from everyone else dressed in white. The Prince noticed her right away and broke away from making several of his friends laugh to dance with her. The silly party continued around them, with clowns and magicians and animals everywhere. They -."

"Did they fall in love?" Evelyn asked and Harleen frowned slightly.

"Yeah. They did."

After Evelyn had fallen into a deep sleep, Harleen gently lifted her small form long enough to slide out from under her and move her to where she was back under the blankets. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, she silently left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Parenting was a job that Harleen had found much harder than she had thought, but she wouldn't have changed it for anything. Yawning widely, she retreated back into the living room where she found the news playing, flashing the weeks forecast. Snow, snow, and more snow, sometimes mixed in with freezing rain. Great. Getting to and from work on the other side of town was going to be such fun the next few days.

For a moment, Harleen strode toward the window, peering out onto the street below. It had already changed from rain to snow, dusting the streets and sidewalks below. She folded her arms across her chest, blocking out the sounds of the new in the background as something about another shooting came on – she already had a feeling she knew the culprit. It wasn't hard to figure out.

It was nights like these that Harleen almost regretted giving up Harley.

Harley had been apart of her for so long, she'd been sad to see her go. Of course, she couldn't even think about being Harley Quinn now that she had a daughter – in fact, that had been one of the main reasons she'd quit. That and the Joker had been capture and sent to Arkham. Naturally he'd escaped a few days later, but she had refused to go back. Her life was back to normal now, and she had Evelyn, and finally could go out without people glaring at her. Half the city still hated her, but she had managed to win over a few hearts of Gotham – with the help of Evelyn, of course.

Yawning again, Harleen convinced herself it was probably time for her to crash. She had to be up in the morning, and if Evelyn was going to work with her – well, it was going to be a tough day keeping her out of the way of the other doctors and keeping her from touching things. She'd brought Evelyn to work with her once before and it had gone well for the most part, except for a few incidents that Harleen didn't want to see repeated.

Reminding herself to grab a shower in the morning, she flipped off the television, heading back down the hall and entering her own bedroom only a door away from her daughter's. She left the door open – as always, just in case – and changed into the t-shirt and shorts she normally slept in. It was almost still odd, to actually wear clothes that weren't made of rubber or had secret pockets for weapons on the inside. And that she had her own soft bed, instead of sleeping on a rock hard mattress in some abandoned warehouse.

Despite the bad, there had always been a few good things.

She all but fell into her bed, suddenly realizing how tired she was. She barely had enough left in her to pull the blankets over her, but she managed, remembering at the last moment to set her alarm before she fell into a dreamy slumber.

However, her sleep didn't last long.

It was nearly three hours later, and Harleen wasn't sure what had pulled her from her sleep. But she was sitting up in bed in an instant, briefly glancing at the clock – it was nearly one in the morning. Her senses were on high, and she was alert, listening carefully for the noise that had awakened her. After being Harley Quinn for so long, she'd learned to be careful and listen for things, causing her senses to be slightly enhanced.

Creak.

There it was, the unmistakable sound of a floorboard being stepped on – just outside her door. Her eyes trained on the doorway, she silently slid out of bed, bare feet touching the carpeted floor with as little noise as possible. She had managed to keep a gun – but it was in her wardrobe across the room.

She couldn't see into the darkness of the hallway beyond her door, so Harleen attempted to cross the room with as little motion as possible.

However, someone screamed and she stopped dead in her tracks.

Evelyn. They were taking Evelyn.

Without thinking, she ran for her doorway, not even caring about the gun anymore.

The moment she stepped into the dark hallway, a fist came flying from the darkness and nailed her in the jaw. She lashed out in the direction the punch had come from with her foot, managing to nail whoever it had been in the knee. It didn't seem to faze them as they grabbed Harleen, pinning her against the wall. Several others rushed by, heading for the living room of the apartment, having come from the direction of Evelyn's room.

Fumbling in the dark, Harleen reached along the wall until her hand came into contact with the light switch. Light flooded the hallway and the man pinning her suddenly let go, letting out a strangled cry. There were several shouts coming from the front room, but faded as Harleen focused her attention on the man in front of her. He had on night vision goggles that had allowed them to see in the dark, but now he was attempting to rip it off.

Harleen took her chance, swinging her arm around to elbow him in the back. He fell to the ground and his goggles rolled off, allowing him to see. He reached for her leg, knocking her to the ground. She winced – she hadn't fought hand to hand in a long while, but she was about to relearn. She scrambled to her feet the same time the lanky man did – he actually looked almost familiar, but she couldn't place it. But that didn't matter now – it mattered that he was about to lunge for her.

Arms came from behind her suddenly, grabbing her arms and dragging her backward toward Evelyn's room. Harleen screamed and brought her leg back, hitting her captor in the groin. He groaned and doubled over, giving Harley just enough time to duck as the first man came lunging for her, attempting to tackle her across the bed and through the window. Instead, Harleen had ducked and rolled to the side, making him hit the bedpost. In the faint light from the hall and nightlight, she managed to locate on of her daughter's glass figurines, throwing it at the second man who had began to get to his feet.

"Mommy!"

The faint scream had come from the front hall, just outside her apartment. They had Evelyn.

"No!" Harleen screamed, her attention becoming momentarily distracted. A third man appeared from the hall. The man took his chance with Harleen's distraction, and ran at her, managing to tackle her onto the bed. Harleen lashed out, coming back to her senses as she tried to find something to use against him, since he was pinning her down completely.

She wriggled, managing to wrap her hand around the nightlight to bring it down on the man's head. He rolled off her and she moved to get back up, but the first man who'd run into the bedpost grabbed her ankle. She tripped on the bed, her head and upper body falling forward to hit the window, shattering it upon impact. A cold breeze blew in, blowing in flakes of snow and bring a deep chill with it as Harleen's head smashed into the windowsill. She winced as something cold trickled down the side of her face, but tried to focus her attention back on the fight.

As she whirled, she punched the man who'd grabbed her in the face, his nose cracking under her fist. The two others from before now came toward her again, one moving to punch her, the second attempting to push her out the window.

Harleen defended herself against the punch and managed to throw the man back, but the other had already grabbed her by the hair and shirt, shoving her roughly forward. The rest of the window shattered beneath her body and she tumbled backward, falling toward the alleyway below.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter should be up soon! I've never really written for Batman before, so excuse any mistakes or sucky-ness.