Chapter Text
To Harley Quinn, the human mind is fascinating.
“Alright all you chucklefucks, we ain’t gonna hurt ya if ya don’t screw around, so don’t try nothin’ and everythin’s gonna be A-Okay with me an’ Mistah J! Got it?!”
For example, the many different ways that people respond to being a bystander in a bank robbery. There are some people who try to be a hero; they get met with the end of an oversized wooden mallet to the ribs and some difficulty breathing for the next few minutes while they get used to having a broken rib (not nearly enough to be fatal, but enough to hurt like a motherfucker and ensure they stay down).
“Whadid I just fuckin’ say, bozo?!”
There are some who can actually follow directions; they get commended for their lack of stupidity and otherwise left alone.
“See? Lookit, uh…” Harley leans in to read the teller’s name tag, “Darla here! She ain’t tryin’ nothin’ stupid. Darla’s smart, everybody; be like her!”
There are some who are complete crybabies about it; they wet themselves and start floating in their expensive shoes, never having stepped outside of their privileged little bubble in their life.
“Awww, c’mon Benny! Why ya gotta make a mess like that?”
“M-m-my name’s not Benny.”
“Ben Ben Benny boy, don’t be like that. You’re still wettin’ yourself when ya should be way past diapers, just like this boy Benny I knew in the 3rd grade! So you’re Benny.”
There are some who are just… weird. Weird and gross.
“What tha fuck is-? Aw, this guy’s some sorta sicko! Who the shit pops a boner at the chick robbin’ the place? They’re called manners, ya wad.”
There are some people who are actually heroes, like her and Mistah J; they’re doing a number on all those shitbag CEOs and executives by sticking this joint up, Mistah J said so. Harley’s always wanted to help the little guy, and now with her Puddin’, she can.
Mmmmmwah! "I’m so glad ya gave me the chance to help ya out, Puddin’!”
“Of course, Pumpkin Pie! I couldn’t possibly leave my best girl behind, now could I? Especially not for something this fun!”
And finally, there are those misguided buttheads running around in capes and spandex, always trying to get in the way of her and Mistah J’s delivering justice; they come crashing through the walls of the bank at the worst possible time, like Complete. Jerkfaces.
“Aww crud; we got company, Mistah J!” Harley calls over her shoulder, waiting for the dust to settle so she knows exactly who they’re dealing with.
“Oh, goodie!” Mistah J squeals in delight, clapping his hands and giddy from the excitement. “Took you long enough, Batsy! I was beginning to think you’d gone and forgotten about little old me.” He sniffles for effect, wiping away a few imaginary tears. “That almost hurt my feelings.”
He has such a flair for the dramatic; what a dream.
The dust finally clears, revealing someone who is decidedly not Batman. Wonder Woman stares the two of them down, Mistah J’s crew starting to shoot nervous looks at each other.
“Oh, well this is just no fun,” Puddin’ grumbles, starting to gather up his things. “What are you waiting for, an invitation?! Take care of her!” he shouts at the crew, who reluctantly begin the Sisyphean task of trying to defeat Wonder Woman.
“Whadda we do now, Mistah J?” Harley asks, a small bit of worry seeping into her voice.
“I’m glad you asked, Sweetums!” he declares with a flourish. “She’ll just chase us down if we make a break for it, so we need to buy a little more time. Now, how to do that…?” Mistah J strokes his chin pensively. “I’ve got it! She won’t be able to follow us if she’s too busy trying not to let Darla bleed out! Pumpkin Pie, be a dear and shoot Darla for me, would you?"
Harley rounds on Puddin’ in shock just as Darla gasps in fright. “What?! Mistah J, you said we wouldn’t be hurtin’ nobody if they didn’t try nothin’! Darla ain’t done nothin’ wrong!”
Now, this is probably the first real argument she and Puddin’ have had in their relationship. But up until now, she hasn’t hurt anybody who didn’t do anything, so this feels like as good a hill to die on as any, so to speak.
His frown almost breaks her resolve; it hurts so, so bad to see the only person who’s ever loved her looking at her like she’s a disappointment. Robbing rich assholes and taking off with all the money in a bank vault she can live with since it’s all in the name of the greater good, but killing, especially someone who doesn’t deserve it, isn’t something she’s about to get on board with.
“Puddin’, we can still make a run for it, we don’t gotta to hurt nobody! You promised me we wouldn’t; poppin’ off some innocent broad ain’t the greater good I signed up for!”
Joker closes the couple of steps in between them just as Wonder Woman finishes laying out the second to last goon, rearing back and slapping Harley in the face as hard as he can; the force of it knocks her straight off her feet.
“Will you just shut up?! You don’t make the rules around here, you pathetic little wretch! Now I’m going to give you one more chance to show me you’re not completely useless. You’re going to take this gun, and you’re going to shoot Darla! ”
Joker’s more furious than Harley’s ever seen him, staring down at her with barely restrained murderous rage. The sight of it, especially directed at her, terrifies Harley somewhere deep inside her in a way that she hasn’t felt since her 7th birthday when Dad came home drunk and hit her for the first time. For all its suffering, childhood was a simpler time; just keep your head down and your mouth shut, don’t talk about your dreams or feelings, and hope it all lets you remain invisible. When she was a kid, she’d wanted nothing more than to be a hero, just like…
…Just like Wonder Woman. I wanted ta fly in an’ save another girl just like me, so that she’d have a friend. What am I doin’ here? I’m fightin’ for a guy who wants me to shoot an innocent person just to buy a few extra seconds, an’ I’m fightin’ against the lady I idolized as a kid. Mistah J thinks Darla’s whole life ain’t worth more than the couple minutes shootin’ her might buy us.
When she doesn’t respond or make a move to take the gun he’s offering her, Joker heaves a weary sigh and shakes his head. “You see, this is why no one loves you.” He turns towards a cowering Darla and cocks the pistol.
Harley moves without thinking. The strangest part is she never even hears the gun go off; all she hears is her own agonized screaming as she collapses to the floor with a hole in her abdomen. The pain, though, the pain she definitely registers; if she had to guess, this might be what being skewered by a hot fire poker feels like. It certainly feels like some part of her is on fire, a wet, red puddle starting to form underneath her.
By chance she finds Joker’s eyes, unable to find anything sympathetic or remorseful in them; all she can see is mirth.
“If I’d known you were this eager to help me, I’d have shot you a while ago!” he cackles, doubling over with laughter. “Well, that’s my show folks! I’ll be here all week, but be careful; the first three rows are a splash zone!” He grins at Darla, whose clothes now have a not insignificant amount of Harley’s blood on them. “And please, a round of applause for my lovely assistant!” he calls as he yanks open the door of their getaway car and gets behind the wheel. “She’s been dying to entertain you all tonight!”
Spots start to appear in Harley’s vision as the Joker peels out, leaving her for dead without a second thought. Maybe it’s from the pain, or maybe it’s a consequence of her imminent death, but Wonder Woman looks like she has a halo of light around her head as she frantically starts trying to slow down the bleeding.
“I’m,” Harley hacks a wet cough, grimacing when she sees a red splotch on her fist as she lets it fall limp to the floor, “I’m sorry.” She drags her head to the side so she can look at Darla, too; if nothing else, she’s not dying before she does something decent in her life. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then tell me tomorrow,” Wonder Woman orders her. “You’re going to wake up tomorrow and you can tell me then.”
Harley’s read enough psychology textbooks by now that she could probably give a lecture or maybe even consider working as a psychiatrist herself someday, so she easily can tell what Wonder Woman’s doing even in her hazy state, but the gesture is nice nonetheless. If someone like her wants Harley to make it through the night, then she’ll do her damndest to try.
It’s difficult going though; the temptation to just nod off is gnawing at her fringes, trying to lead her away into oblivion. Every time she closes her eyes for even a fraction of a second, she’s losing small patches of time in between, objects seeming to teleport around before her eyes in her delirium.
She blinks again, and they’re flying through the night sky.
***
Diana looks down at the woman in her arms as she flies towards Gotham General as fast as she safely can. She has so many questions for whoever’s under this garish jester’s costume, so many things inflaming her curiosity. Whoever she is, she was helping the Joker rob a bank without any apparent moral qualms, but still didn’t hesitate to dive in front of that woman and take a bullet to save her while Diana herself was still occupied with the last of Joker’s goons.
She’d seemed genuinely distraught as she’d started apologizing, like she’d only now realized what she’d done. It may have just been a case of regrets at death’s door, but Diana has a feeling that’s not it.
The woman’s slipping in and out of consciousness as Diana lands in front of the hospital doors, so there’s maybe a few minutes left until it’ll be too late to save her. She bursts through the doors at a speed that manages not to break them by only the tiniest of margins, calling, “I need a doctor, now! ” at the top of her lungs and being swarmed in a matter of seconds. Once the woman’s loaded onto a gurney and no longer cradled in her arms, she finally notices how much blood is coating the front of her uniform now.
On an impulse, she follows them into the operating room to stay by her side as best she can, held captive by the inexplicable feeling that she needs this woman to pull through. A surgeon opens his mouth with a scowl, ready to tell her off for being somewhere she shouldn’t, but shuts it with a click and a paling of his face upon realizing exactly who just barged their way in.
I dislike taking advantage of my fame like this, but I have to know that she’s going to make it. Hera, lend her strength.
When the surgeons start cutting the costume off of her so they can operate, however, it becomes exponentially more difficult for Diana to remain in the room, crushing down on the urge to fly off and hunt the Joker down to wring his neck until it turns to paste in her bare hands as she realizes it’s a teenage girl under the jester costume.
Sometimes the evil of Man’s World makes her wish she’d never left Themyscira; but then, who would have saved this girl tonight if she hadn’t?
***
Gotham General Hospital
Emergency Department
Date: March-03-2022
Patient Name: Harleen Frances Quinzel
HIN: xxx-xxx-xxx
DOB: July-20-2005
Age: 16 Sex: F
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 113 lbs.
Patient was brought in by Wonder Woman at 9:32PM with heavy bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The bullet was still intact inside the patient upon arrival, luckily missing all major organs. Dr. Ristovic successfully removed the bullet and the patient is now in stable condition, recovering in the trauma ward. Patient’s legal guardians have been contacted.
Patient was, with permission from doctors, also given an Amazonian herbal remedy by Wonder Woman after surgery; the remedy has sped up the recovery process significantly, most damage to the muscles surrounding the point of entry already well on the way to healing. Patient is awake and expected to be discharged by tomorrow afternoon, with a full recovery within 3 days.
***
The first thing that Harley notices is that her abs feel about twice as bad as the worst core workout her gymnastics coach ever gave her (a punishment for placing 3rd at the National Championships when she was 14 after coming into the event seeded 26th). Nothin’ compared ta Mom an’ Dad after Dad bet a whole heap a’ money on me not makin’ the finals.
“Ugghhhh,” Harley groans, her entire stomach one big sore spot when she cracks her eyes open and tries to sit up. An almost nauseatingly bright light floods her vision, fading away after a few seconds to lend everything in the unfamiliar room a sterile sort of whiteness.
Well, not everything. It’s a bit of a jolt, seeing Wonder Woman face down asleep on the edge of her bed, a chair pulled right up close. I wonder how many people have ever actually seen her like this?
As for Harley, she only gets to observe Wonder Woman at rest for a moment before she starts to stir, Harley’s groan and shifting about in search of a comfortable position proving to be enough to rouse her. She glances blearily around the room for a few seconds, shielding her eyes from the sterile light with one hand as she gets her bearings, like she doesn’t quite recall where she is either.
All traces of sleep vanish from her face as soon as her eyes land on Harley, however. She looks to be grappling with a decision for the briefest of moments before her face settles on a soft, warm smile that makes Harley feel safe despite not knowing where she is.
“How are you feeling, Harleen?”
Harley can only stare at the Amazonian princess in dumbfounded shock. It’s not every day one of the, if not the, strongest women on the planet addresses you by name.
Wonder Woman seems to realize what this must be like from her perspective after a moment, as she huffs a little chuckle under her breath and gives a small, knowing shake of her head.
“I, uh… what?” Harley asks. After a moment she gets over enough of her shock to process the actual question she was asked, then blurts her answer just as Wonder Woman starts speaking again.
“I asked h-”
“I’m alright I guess! ” The instant Harley’s rushed, polite lie has escaped her lips she gasps and claps her hands over her mouth, blushing with embarrassment.
Wonder Woman just gives her this look that calls Harley’s bullshit. “I don’t need the Lasso of Truth to know you’re lying, Harleen.”
“‘M sorry,” Harley mumbles, fixing her gaze on her lap and looking ashamed of herself. Now that she’s looking at herself, she realizes she’s wearing a hospital gown instead of-
Harley inhales sharply, tears springing to her eyes as everything comes rushing back to her. “I’m so sorry! ” Her fists bunch up in her sheets as she begins to shake with the first quiet notes of sobs.
I know what comes next; as soon as I’m well enough ta move, Wonder Woman’s gonna cart my sorry ass off to Arkham. My whole life is ruined now, an’ I got nobody but myself t’blame. Maybe I deserve ta go ta Arkham and be locked up where people’re safe from me for the resta my life. I’m some sorta villain now; how could I be so stupid?! How’d I ever convince myself that robbin’ banks was justice? There ain’t no forgivin’ what I’ve done, so-
“It’s okay.”
Those two words leave Wonder Woman’s mouth and come crashing into Harley’s self-hatred-filled spiralling like the Batmobile through a brick wall. She finally manages to look away from her lap, finding nothing but genuine care and kindness on the face of the superhero beside her.
“Wha? I don’t- You think- You’re sayin’ I’m forgiven, just like that?” Harley stares incredulously at her company. “It can’t be that easy, it shouldn’t be; I’m not a good person Wonder Woman, I needta be locked away from everyone else before I hurt ‘em!”
Wonder Woman raises a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Are you saying you still want to hurt people right now?”
“No, ‘course not!” Harley shouts in horror.
“Then I don’t see why you think you need to be locked up.”
Multiple attempts are made to start arguing her case against herself, but they all fail, leaving her to gape like a fish in front of an actual warrior princess.
Wonder Woman slowly reaches over and takes one of Harley’s hands in both of her own. “You dove in front of a bullet to save a stranger’s life; that doesn’t sound like anything a bad person would ever do; it sounds like something a hero would do.”
“Okay, so either I’m still dreamin’ or you’ve gone an’ lost your marbles, got it,” Harley huffs, withdrawing her hand from Wonder Woman’s and crossing her arms.
“I can assure you you’re awake and I’m perfectly sane, Harleen; yes, you’ve done some very unheroic things over the past 2 months as well, but you were also being manipulated by a criminal mastermind. I still believe you’re not beyond help; I believe in you, Harleen.”
The pure conviction in Wonder Woman’s voice is awe-inspiring, her gaze never once leaving Harley’s as she says words no one’s ever said to her before. Harley’s tearing up again before she realizes, sniffling as she teeters precariously on the edge of ugly crying, snot and all. Wonder Woman seems to anticipate this, as she gently places a tissue box in Harley’s lap and waits for her to be a little more presentable.
“I’m sorry,” Harley tries, still using a fresh tissue to dab at her eyes, “it’s just that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said ta me.”
A small flicker of concern flashes across Wonder Woman’s face, but it quickly passes as she refocuses to deal with the situation currently in front of her.
“Harleen,” she broaches cautiously, “you are aware of how my lasso functions, correct?”
“...Yeah…?” Harley asks, slow and halting as she works through her momentary confusion; then it clicks, her expression darkening. “Oh, I get what this is; just butter me up with sweet nothin’s so I’ll spill my guts an’ you can get all the evidence ya need to put me away. How very heroic of you; I don’t know what I expected,” she spits with no small amount of venom and bitterness; just one more person only using her for what she can give them.
Wonder Woman’s eyes widen in alarm, although not the I’ve been caught kind of alarm, more the oh shit kind, and she waves her hands in front of her to dispel the notion as she rushes to clarify.
“No, no, no, I promise that’s not what I meant, Harleen! On my honor as an Amazon, I meant every word I said. I’m asking because I’m hoping to receive your permission to question you about the Joker so that I can track him down; the Lasso of Truth is only so that your testimony and cooperation will be impossible to refute. You don’t have to agree, you can turn me away with no consequences if you wish. I only want to know more about where the Joker may have gone or what he might be planning next so I can stop him.”
There’s a lot here for Harley to consider; on the one hand, up until about (she squints at the clock on the far wall) 12 hours ago she thought she was the apple of Puddin’s the Joker’s eye, but then he also left her to bleed to death without hesitation or remorse, her life worth nothing more than an opportunity for him to escape in his mind. In the same basic vein, Wonder Woman could be genuine, or she could be deceiving Harley.
Really, everything boils down to whether or not Harley trusts Wonder Woman. After a moment Harley realizes she doesn’t have to. She has the solution right in front of her.
“Use it on yourself an’ tell me that again first. I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’ unless I got a guarantee I’m not bein’ tricked.”
A few owlish blinks of surprise are the only reply Harley receives at first, before a mildly offended look comes to rest in her eyes even as her lips twist upwards into a pleased grin, the Amazon impressed with her, although mildly hurt by the lack of faith in her own integrity.
“You’re rather clever, aren’t you, Harleen?” The offense fades, leaving only an aura of satisfaction surrounding Wonder Woman as she wraps the lasso around her own hand. “Very well. I, Diana of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta, promise that nothing you tell me will be used against you; I only wish to stop the Joker.”
…
“Did it… work?” Harley hesitantly questions when nothing happens. “I was kinda expectin’ some flashy glowin’ lights or somethin’.”
Wonder Woman barks a short, amused laugh, nothing but mirth filling it. “If I had been lying to you, the Lasso would have caused me immense pain to compel me to speak the truth so far as I know it.”
There’s always the chance that she could be lying about that, but her description lines up with roughly a decade’s worth of knowledge (ever since Wonder Woman started fighting crime), which would be a very elaborate, high-effort hoax considering how some villains like the Riddler happen to be super-geniuses, so it seems a fairly slim chance now that cooperating will backfire on Harley.
“Alright,” she declares, taking hold of a segment of the lasso, “whaddya wanna know?”
***
The next hour is spent with Harley giving up every last scrap of information she has on the man who left her for dead; it turns out that’s a fairly effective way to uproot any love she thought she felt for him.
Once they’ve finished, Wonder Woman looks like she wants to say something else, something that seems to be bothering her, but a gruff, familiar and worrying voice breaks through the temporary silence before she can.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Quinzel,” Batman says, emerging from the shadows by the now open hospital room window and startling both women.
“By the goddess, Batman!”
“Gah! Ya scared the bejeezus outta me, Bats! Quit skulkin’ around like that an’ just knock for once, wouldja? What if I’d been indecent?!”
Both heroes stare at Harley in blank disbelief over her casually teasing Batman, so she explains with a laugh.
“Once you’ve seen someone pants the same guy who’s punched tha daylights outta ya before, it kinda makes a girl stop feelin’ quite so intimidated by ‘em. Don’t worry though, B-man, you’re still very scary ta everyone else, promise.” Harley flashes him a cheerful smile, abusing the knowledge that (especially with Wonder Woman right by her side) she’s not going to eat a haymaker for taunting the Batman to his face.
Batman sighs heavily and scrubs a hand down his face in annoyance as the Amazonian warrior by her bedside shoots Harley a questioning look.
“Joker once pantsed him ta buy time ta escape.” She leans in to whisper conspiratorially (and loud enough for Batman to hear) into Wonder Woman’s ear. “Don’t worry though, he still wears his Bat-Drawers underneath the suit, so I didn’t see nothin’ ‘sides a tiny bit a’ heiny.”
(If there’s exactly one benefit to having been lured in by the Joker, it’s that she’s much funnier than she used to be; she can actually get an undignified snort of laughter from Wonder Woman, who turns and barely avoids laughing at Batman while she struggles to compose herself.)
All the hilarity drains out of Harley like a plug’s been pulled, however, when Batman stalks over to her and starts pulling a pair of handcuffs off of his utility belt to tell Harley that she’s apparently gravely misjudged the situation.
Wonder Woman’s quick to rise from her chair and block his path. “And just what do you think you’re doing with those, Batman?”
“I’m placing a known associate of the Joker who can be tied to 5 bank robberies in the last 2 months under arrest, Wonder Woman.”
“You’re victimising a young girl, is what you’re doing. She’s been through enough.”
“I’m very grateful for her cooperation, and I’ll gladly advocate for a light sentence in juvenile detention as part of a plea deal, but her actions can’t be without consequence.”
“Oh, for the love of-” Wonder Woman stops and turns, wrapping the Lasso of Truth around Harley again. “How do you feel about everything you’ve done with the Joker, Harleen?”
The lasso practically drags the words out of her mouth, launching them in Batman’s direction. “I feel so incredibly fuckin’ awful. I hate what I did, an’ I hate myself for fallin’ inta that stupid fuckin’ scuzzy clown’s hands and dancin’ for him like a little puppet. I really wanna make things right, so I’m gonna do everythin’ I can ta make people’s lives better an’ make up for it; even if you throw me in Arkham, I’m gonna try an’ be the best behaved inmate in the world. I gotta do somethin’ ta help people. I don’t know how he did it, but Joker had me thinkin’ we were makin’ a difference an’ stickin’ it to the man. I just wanted someone ta give me the time ‘a day; I didn’t want this.”
She stares up at Batman with watery, pleading eyes, her voice breaking as she continues. “How do I make this right, Batman? Tell me how ta make it right. Even if it’s goin’ out an’ bare-knuckle brawlin’ Superman, I’ll do it. I just wanna be someone I don’t hate.” The last bit fades all the way down to a pained whisper, Harley praying for even the slightest chance to make things right.
Both heroes gape at Harley; apparently she had a lot more uncomfortably personal things to say than they were expecting. Wonder Woman snaps out of it first, leaning down and giving Harley a hug that she crumples into, the dam finally breaking as she starts crying.
“You’re okay, Harleen, I promise everything’s going to be okay,” Wonder Woman coos into her ear, petting the back of her head as Harley clutches tight to her. The Amazon looks over her shoulder to address Batman without breaking the hug or jostling Harley and aggravating her injuries. “Batman, please, just… Call it a personal favor or whatever else you have to, but let this one go. She’s given us a treasure trove of information about the Joker and has been through more than enough. She needs her life back.”
Batman studies Harley carefully for what seems like eternity before he finally acquiesces with a weary sigh. “Okay. If anything happens, though, I’m holding you responsible.”
“I have no problem with that,” Wonder Woman instantly shoots back as she turns to face Harley again. “I’ll stay with you until your parents get here, alright?”
A lot of emotions attempt to break free of Harley’s grip on them in that moment, but she manages to stifle them in favor of flashing Wonder Woman an unconvincing smile. “Thanks.”
“Batman, could you-?” There’s no one there, just the still-open window. Wonder Woman groans in frustration, too familiar with that tactic that you can never quite get used to.
“Maybe he hates doors so much because one bullied him as a kid,” Harley jokes, more to cover her nerves than anything else. Admittedly it’s not her best material, but Wonder Woman still offers her a quiet laugh anyways.
It’s around noontime when Harley’s parents finally arrive at the hospital to collect her (roughly 14 hours after they were contacted by a hospital they live an hour away from and informed their daughter who has been missing for the last 3 months was brought in with a life-threatening gunshot wound). They plaster on smiles and weep with “joy,” convincing all of the doctors and nurses, but Harley’s lived under these shysters’ roof for 16 long years, so she knows better.
If only she could stay with Wonder Woman; the woman’s shown her more compassion in three hours than she’s received in the rest of her life combined. Like most of Harley’s dreams, however, it’s a pipe dream at best; if she’s lucky, she can go back to high school (maybe even not have to repeat sophomore year, although that’s unlikely with 3 months’ worth of absences), keep her head down and get straight A’s in the hopes of earning enough scholarships to actually be able to afford to go to college (extra-lucky would be somehow getting emancipated so she can claim no financial assistance on FAFSA and go to college almost for free, but knowing her parents they’d fight that tooth and nail, if only so they can continue to claim her as a dependent on their taxes). Then she could get her degree and go to graduate school, receive her doctorate in psychology and maybe even take a job at Arkham or somewhere like that; then she could help Wonder Woman and Batman by actually rehabilitating supervillains when they’re brought in (instead of whatever it is they’re doing there now, which clearly isn’t working).
She casts one last wistful glance at Wonder Woman over her shoulder, and then the car door shuts behind her and she’s heading back to Bensonhurst.
***
Diana doesn’t like how uneasy Harleen looks as she gets into the backseat of her parents’ car. There’s always a chance that she’s just nervous about going home after having left, but then that begs the question of why she left in the first place.
I’ll just have to drop in on them in a week and check on her to make sure she’s well. Hopefully she’ll be readjusting to her normal life and be able to move forward given time.