Twas the night before Christmas (because THNMY), and Harley has gifts for all her friends and family. There are gifts from her (which just might be a little too technological for some recipients), and gifts from April. They are all hand delivered, if they can be. And for those who are not in the Dark City, send via special messenger.

For Charlotte: Harley extends to her a place to come for the Christmas holidays, if she so selects. And if Charlotte would rather be with the Strangers, then Harley will gift them all a complete Christmas meal. From April, Charlotte gets a digital photo frame, which has been installed with pictures of them together having fun at that Carnival that came to the City.

For Markus: Harley gives him a GPS system for the cab, so he will never get lost (not that he could in the City). But it might also be handy, as the GPS can act as a PINpoint for the cab itself, so that if Markus is interested, he can give cab rides to Nexusites. Hidden in the glove box of his cab is another gift, a pair of silver cufflings. From April, Markus receives one of those bobble-head decorations for his cab. It is a guitar-playing Rat.

For Daniel Schreber: Harley gives him a Blackberry, so that he can do some of his important City work anywhere (and hopefully will give him more time with Sarah). From April, Daniel receives a framed school picture of her.

For Thorn: Harley will send him a goodie basket of non-perishable foods. From April, Thorn receives a framed school picture of her.

For Sarah: Harley gives her an electronic mixer (to assist in all her wonderful cooking), a couple of new cook books, and a beautiful blue butterfly necklace that Sarah can wear for her wedding. From April, Sarah receives a photo album with pictures of the two of them (some taken while Sarah was watching over April when Harley had been kidnapped), and of course a school picture has been placed inside.

For Tom: A difficult gift decision for Harley, but Tom receives a couple of empty journals, an engraved memory box (for him to start building his own memories) and a gift certificate for him (and a guest) to a fancy restaurant. From April, Tom receives some equipment and food for his new pet.

Of course, April and Harley exchange gifts too. But mostly, it is being together during the holidays that mean the most to both of them.

There is not much or fuss over Thanksgiving for Harley this year. The biggest thing to celebrate is that the holiday means April is home for school. And so there is home cooking ... just not the big efforts of a turkey or stuffing (you know, things that could easily get ruined by an inexperienced cook).

Nah, it is simple food items that bless the table. Food that April loves to eat, such as hot dogs and french fries. At least with cooking such a smaller meal, one doesn't have to worry about leftovers.

After all, the most important thing to the holiday is being thankful for all they have. It is those things — family and friends — that Harley is very thankful for this time of year.

The day started simple enough. With no sign of anything troubling Harley. She had said her daily goodbye to April, who was heading off to her classes (and was very exciting about an upcoming dance). She had done her chores. She had seen that Markus would have easy access to the papers he might need when talking to Daniel in regards to the paper. She had gardened. And in the afternoon, under the calm November sun, Harley had taken up into a chair and had been reading a book.

But beneath the calm, something else lurked. Worry: little girls should not be going to dances, especially dances with boys at it. Boredom: there was little she could do to help Daniel or Markus with their paperwork at this point and there had been no further direction on setting up a mental-health clinic. Sadness: the final harvest of her garden always had her thinking about Gotham and Pamela Isley, a friend who was separated by a whole dimension now. Fear: she would go visit her friend, but the issue of having to deal with the big, bad Batman would be the main obstacle to any visits.

Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. The book slid out of her hands and her mind found safety in its problems by seeking sleep in the mid-afternoon. Of course, anyone who knew anything about the complicated mind would know that was a defensive stance. The problems were piling up and thus, this part of her mind closed down for a moment to try to run away from dealing with them. Fight or flee, when it came to non-physical issues Harley had always fled.

Another part of her mind awoke moments later, to ensure that things still seemed on the right and right. However, something in the disorder that gave Harley two minds did not quite click right. And instead of waking in her other 'playful-Harley' mode, she opened her eyes as someone else. A personality based on memories that had been implanted, was not Harley at all, and did not belong in this body.

She awoke as Caitlyn. A very confused Caitlyn, with the last thing she remembered being trying to escape the City that had been her home. But here she was... back in the City, feeling safe and obviously in a state of comfort.

The change shouldn't bother anything else for the moment. Or would it?

Today, Harley is cackling over a pot on the stove. Something green and bubbly spits up at her now and then, causing another cackle and playful smirk from the blond. Behind her, another blond woman (about 18-year-old) is reading over what looks to be a spell book.

It is the younger of the two, the one with the book, that looks up. "You know mother, that the cackling is not necessary to the spell."

Harley laughs, throwing in another dash of something. "Oh I know April. But sometimes, it pays to get into the spirit of something."

"Besides, this is the first time I have done something like this, since leaving Gotham. I might as well have a bit of fun with it."

"You did spells in Gotham?" April asks, interested. Brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Well... not really spells. But Red and I did now and then mix some interesting things. Toxins, poisons, that sort of thing. We always had fun with it. It was our girl time."

"So this is our girl time?" April smirked.

"Of course." Harley placed a finger in the spell mixture, then leaned over to place a green goop on April's nose. "We will always have girl time, you and I, April."

A Halloween costume party is being hosted at Harley's house. Food, goodies and a couple of surprises await you all.

Tonight, Harley has decided to go out for an evening and check out the bar scene of the Dark City. It was a good night to get out by herself for a little bit, as April was studying at her Nexus School for an upcoming test and Markus was catching up with paperwork with Daniel.

For the occasion, she wore a time-appropriate dress that still flattered her figure. A dress that still turned a couple of heads when she entered the first bar that she found. Especially since the bar in question seemed to be more of a mans-club, with no other girls seen around the booths or at the bar.

Of course, Harley was not going to just back away from this challenge. Instead, she found a seat at one of the bar stools and ordered herself a simple rye on the rocks. She could feel the other patrons giving her the once over, before they returned to their normal routine of drinking away their sorrows and disappointments.

There was so much one could learn from going to a bar, Harley had discovered. Just by sitting there, listening to the conversations around her, she was able to get a better understanding of the state of mind of other citizens of the Dark City. The ones who did not know they were on a floating City. The ones who never heard of the Strangers or how things really worked.

After completing her drink, and downing a couple of courtesy refills from others in the bar, Harley moved from her bar stool to a table where a couple of men where playing poker. They glanced up at her, as she smiled, took her seat and said in her best dumb-blond voice, "This looks like an interesting game. Got room for one more?"

Of course, how they could pass up trying to win money from a lady, who they assumed was drunk. How little did they know that even though Harley did have a couple of ryes, that there was no effect on her mind or her alertness. So she played along with their assumptions, purposely loosing the first couple of rounds to strengthen their misconceptions and to carefully study their 'tells' of when they had a good hand and when they had a bad hand.

Later in the game, she was winning now and then, more when there were big pots to claim. Of course, the other players were clueless to how fast their luck had turned and were claiming this was 'beginners luck'. Harley knew the truth, she was just smarter and more cunning than any of them, but also knew better than to claim any such statement at the moment. Besides, the poker game was also helping her to understand the lives of other citizens in the City right now. Besides ... it was sort of fun to play the game by her rules again.

It felt like a good day to do some fall preparing of her garden. Harley was in a good mood. She had heard the news that Daniel had proposed to Sarah (and maybe her clumsy attempt to help Daniel had something to do with the announcement). April was home for the weekend, with a lot of exciting news about school and her accomplishments over the last month. And Markus was slowly improving from his injuries.

The beautiful fall air felt good, especially with the feeling of fresh dirt in her hands and the smell of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables.

Everything was at peace in her world right now.

It had been a wonderful labor day weekend, especially with endulging in the barbecue that Sarah had hosted in her backyard. It had been wonderful to socialize with new people, visit with familiar faces, and connect with others who had been through the same experiences in the other Dark City that Harley did.

The weekend had been excellent. It had been a bright shining ray of light, that seemed to be fading today. When Harley had to help April get ready for her return to school. The morning ritual of getting ready was an almost solemn performance, as neither mother nor daughter wanted April to have to leave. But what other choice did they have? The Nexus school would give the best education to April, and help her expand her knowledge of her unique abilities. It was something that could not be offered in their City home, no matter of how much April and Harley wished otherwise.

So after April was all packed, for a week's departure at least, Harley knelt down to study her daughter carefully. "I know that returning to the boarding school is difficult, but at least we will be together at least every week. I do expect you home during weekends. I wish you did not have to stay every night... but some of your classes this term have unique requirements of being held during the evenings. And it is important you do your best in your studies."

Moving to hug her child, Harley felt a lump in her throat. She could tell April was holding back tears too. "It will be okay. I have faith you will be strong. And if you need to come home, I will be here waiting for your return."

With a final hug, Harley carefully wiped away the red tears on April's face, and gave her an encouraging smile. Seconds later, after the PINpoint teleported April to her school, the flood of tears came. An overwhelming feeling of darkness came over Harley in a sudden rush and she fell back to her knees, crying like she had not cried in a long time.

It had taken only an hour for Harley's unique biology to heal her wounds, and she was able to make it from the garden to her home. It was still early, the sun was rising, and checking into April's room - she noted her daughter was safe and asleep.

With that little comfort, Harley headed to the bathroom, and entered the shower. The water felt good, and what felt even better was being able to cry softly to herself. Her mind still felt confused, especially in regards to what had happened to her in the other Dark City. A part of her could still remember being Caitlyn. And how that felt. It was so different being Harley again.

When she exited the shower, Harley went to her room and changed into something comfortable. A moment later, there was a sound at the door, and looking up Harley saw April. Her daughter moved quickly to hug Harley tightly, giving relieved sobs at seeing her mother again.

Through the tearful embrace, and the excited talking of April, Harley learned who else had been taken. Who else had returned before her. And that the others were able to find some peace from being taken - which gave Harley hope that in time, she would have someone to talk to too.

But for now, holding her daughter close was the most important thing she could do.