"Nobody just snaps. I mean, a bomb doesn't become a bomb when the wick is lit." – Noah Foster, Scream: The TV Series

•••

"Are you sure we should be going to this thing?" Bird called out, as she unzipped the garment bag her evening gown had been delivered in and trailed her hands over the soft, expensive fabric.

"This thing is a charity event to raise money for the children's hospital." Harvey yelled back as he stood in the master bathroom fixing his tie in front of the mirror, "You already told your brother we'd see him there."

"Ugh, I know." She complained, looking towards the open bathroom door and pointing out, "But we're still trying to get things back on track with us and something bad always happens when we show up at these big events."

"It's going to be fine." He assured her, "Plus, you can't spend every day cooped up in the house, Starling. You were wrongly accused of a crime that you didn't commit and once new evidence came to light; you were released and the charges were dropped. You've got no reason to be hiding away."

"Right." She scoffed, "Even though people still think I'm guilty."

"And hiding from everyone isn't going to prove them wrong..." Harvey's voice trailed off as he stepped out of the bathroom and saw Bird standing in front of the closet wearing only her bra and underwear.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, slowing stepping out further into the room.

"Having trouble talking myself into going to this thing." She breathed, turning to face him.

"No... I mean..." His voice trailed off again and he glanced around the room.

"What?" She pushed.

"Nothing. Just you should probably get dressed, we're already running late." He reminded her.

But she knew him better than that. There was something on his mind that he was keeping to himself.

"Seriously, Harvey... what?" She sighed.

"You're just... it's just that you're standing here barely dressed when you didn't even like for me to see your scars in dim lighting before." He pointed out, motioning to her stomach where her skin had been left permanently damaged from being shot and left for dead as a teenager.

"Do my scars bother you now?" Her eyebrows raised and the question came out sounding closer to an accusation.

"No, No! Of course not. But before you went into Arkham you were still struggling with feeling comfortable without clothes in the dark and now..."

"And now I've spent months in a place like Arkham where you barely have any privacy. Someone even takes you into the shower room and stays the entire time." Looking down to her scarred stomach she gave a shrug.

Harvey was silent as he watched her and started to realize just how much her time away had changed her. There were moments when he'd see parts of her old self show through, but mainly she still seemed hollow. As if the asylum had stolen a piece of her and she didn't get it back when she left.

•••

As they both stepped up to the doors where the event was being held and doors were pulled open for them, Harvey held his arm out ad Bird linked her arm with his. Pulling in a deep breath she gave him a small nod and they walked into the building together.

Almost immediately they spotted Bruce and Alfred just across the way, getting ready to follow the red carpet into the main room.

"This is a waste of time." Bruce complained, looking to Alfred and showing every ounce of disdain he felt towards the way he was spending the evening.

"I don't disagree, little brother." Bird called out from behind him.

He turned around and gave her a smile. They were still trying to work on the damage their relationship had suffered during her time Arkham, but they seemed to be getting to a good place.

"Stop it; the both of you!" Alfred instructed looking between them, "Your parents were both patrons to the children's hospital –therefore, it makes you patrons. Besides... there's going to be magician and you like magicians, don't you?"

"Yeah." Bird sighed at the same time Bruce answered, "No, I don't."

"That's because you're no fun." Bird held back a smile as she looked at her brother.

"That's not true." Bruce argued, "I'm fun." He glanced up to Alfred who avoided his gaze and then over to Harvey who gave him a warm smile, but didn't say anything.

"I know to have to fun." He stressed, feeling the need to defend himself when it seemed no one was inclined to agree with him, "It's just that there is a time and place for everything."

"We'll see you inside." Bird excused, as she and Harvey started for the red carpeted entry way.

Blowing out a breath, he looked around, "I will never get used to these events." With a shake of the head he added, "And why they funnel so much into throwing parties instead of just donating that to the cause."

"Because how else would Gotham's one-percent get to make a big deal about tossing their pocket change into charitable causes?" Bird smirked as she spoke.

"You do realize you're one of those one-percenters." Harvey pointed out before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Which is why I need to go write a check so we can out of here sooner rather than later." Bird said as she started to pull her checkbook from the black satin clutch she'd brought with her.

"And miss the magician?" Harvey smiled, "I'm going to get us something to drink."

She nodded and just as he started to walk towards the bar, she caught sight of her little brother talking to Selina –whom she guessed was there to pick the hefty pockets of the attendees.

Spinning on her heels she walked towards the stage where the donation table was set up to leave a large contribution towards the children's hospital.

It was a little while later that Harvey caught up with her and handed her a flute of champagne. With a small smile and thanks, she took a sip and Harvey questioned, "Does Alfred know Lee and Jim are dating?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, "Why?"

"Well, because when I passed them, I heard him bragging about knowing the head chef at Chez Parnes." Harvey explained, taking a drink from his own glass and nodding towards where Alfred was still trying to smooth talk Leslie Thompkins.

"I love Chez Parnes." Bird commented, "We should make reservations there soon."

"Yes." Harvey nodded, "I'll call them right up and use my district attorney credentials to get us the best seat in the house."

"Shut up." She laughed and nudged his side and for the moment, if only for a single fleeting instant, all felt right between them again.
The tension and the feeling of walking on eggshells around one another faded into the familiar comfort they used to know.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Bird realized, "Oh my god... I think you're right. Alfred is totally flirting with Lee!" With a laugh she brought the glass back to her glossed pink lips and added, "Poor thing. He probably doesn't have a clue she's taken."

"But good for him. He needs to get out more." Bird added and Harvey laughed.

"Miss Wayne." A voice called, "And Counselor Dent."

Turning around the couple was greeted by the friendly face of Deputy Mayor Harrison Kane.

"Deputy Mayor, it's good to see you." Harvey charmingly greeted back, shaking the hand that had been extended to him.

"Any news on Mayor James?" Bird questioned, extending her own hand –only instead of a shake, he kissed the back of her hand.

"No, I'm afraid not." He let out a sigh, "It's a real mystery. No one has seen or heard anything from him."

Harvey shook his head back and forth. Mayor James certainly hadn't been the best mayor that Gotham City had seen –but it also wasn't like him to up and disappear.

"Well, I'd toss out my two-cents, but people are really getting sick of my conspiracy theories." Bird said with a tight smile and a glance over at Harvey's direction.
It seemed like every time she brought up her being framed for murder, he seemed less and less interested in hearing what she had to say.

Kane looked between the couple with his mouth loosely open. He got the feeling he'd just walked up on something he wasn't and shouldn't be a part of.

"I should get going." He finally said, "I just saw you from the across the room and thought I'd come over and say hello."

Once he was gone, Harvey turned to face her and anger flashed in his eyes, "Why did you have to go and say that?"

"Because it's the truth. I have theories, you know. I have theories on what could have happened to Mayor James, but I know the second I start talking about anything like that –you shut it down so fast." Bird argued with him.

"Saying that you were framed for a crime isn't exactly the best defense, Starling."

"But it's what happened!"

Harvey took in a deep breath and started to say that he didn't want to argue with her there, but stopped when he saw her looking past him with an almost shellshocked expression.

"Harvey..." She breathed, "Who is that?"

Turning around he followed her line of sight to the man that Deputy Mayor Kane was now speaking with, "That's Theo Galavan. He's new to Gotham from what I understand. Some sort of billionaire business man. He spoke at Loeb's retirement." Nodding the African American woman beside him he continued, "That's his sister, I think her name is Tabitha."

"Why?" Harvey questioned.

"I... I don't know, I just feel like I've seen them somewhere." Putting a hand on the side of her head she breathed, "It's fuzzy."

His eyes fell to her still nearly full glass of champagne and he questioned, "You need to sit down?"

"No. I'm okay." She tried to sell the lie with a smile, but when her eyes drifted back over to where Theo was standing and he looked across the room at her, their eyes locked and the glass of champagne fell from her hand and onto the floor.

Bird quickly stepped back away from the spilled liquid and broken glass and Harvey looked around at the people nearby who were staring at them.

"Come on, let's sit down at one of the tables." He quietly said, trying to take her hand in his but she shrugged him away, "I don't need to sit down."

Biting his tongue at the snippiness in her tone, Harvey said he was going to get someone to clean the mess up so no one fell and got hurt.

Once he was gone, she looked back up just in time to see Tabitha wink at her before disappearing into the crowd.

Bird's heart felt like it had stopped mid-beat inside of her chest. Her lungs started to tighten and her eyes darted back and forth trying to find the nearest exit.

"Lady Wayne?" Alfred said, gently laying a hand on Bird's shoulder, "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine." She feigned a smile as she looked at him, but the tears causing her eyes to glisten led him to believe that couldn't be further from the truth.

"What's happened?" He questioned, looking around and making a mental note of where Bruce was in case they all needed to leave.

"It just slipped from my hand." Bird lied, placing a hand on her forehead and scolding, "Clumsy me."

"You are a lot of things, Lady Wayne, but clumsy is not one of them." Alfred said, his voice strong and showing he wasn't buying into her lies, "Come on now. What reason have you got to lie to me?"

"I'm not lying." She sighed, looking around and trying to catch sight of either Galavan sibling, "I just... I thought I might have seen someone I know, but I can't be sure."

Pulling herself together she put on a much more believable expression and assured him, "Nothing to be worried about."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." Bird nodded, "I saw you talking to Lee a minute ago."

"You're familiar with Dr. Thompkins?" Alfred asked, not giving her time to answer as he questioned, "Say, if I needed to pop out of Wayne Manor for a night –would you be able to come by and keep an eye on your brother?"

His eyebrows lowered at the expression on Bird's face and he asked, "What?"

"Nothing." She chuckled, "Alfred, if you get Lee to agree to go out on a date with you –I will clear anything on my schedule to come and watch Bruce. I promise."

His head cocked to the side, "Why'd you have to go and say it like that? You don't think I have a chance?"

"It's not that." Bird admitted, "You can be very charming and the accent is a plus..."

"Then what's the problem, ay?" He pushed.

Bird opened her mouth to tell him that it was because Lee was currently involved with Jim Gordon, but when Alfred saw Selina walking away from a now upset looking Bruce he sighed, "I'd better check on Master Bruce –but we're coming back to this conversation."

Bird watched as he walked away and then her gaze fell back to the floor, before she, herself, turned and walked away from the mess she'd made.

Making her way away from the crowd, she headed over to a dimly lit corner by the stage intending to take a couple moments to try and get a handle on herself.
Maybe she had ventured out to such a big event far sooner than she'd been ready too –or maybe something bigger was at play.

For the moment she wasn't sure, but there was a feeling creeping over skin –like the night was about to take a turn for the worse and she found herself regretting ever coming there in the first place.

Shaking her head, she decided it was time to tell Harvey they needed to leave and find Alfred and her brother so they could all get out of there.
But just as she took a few steps forward to see where they'd all went –there was brute, sharp pain on the back of head just before everything went dark.

•••

With a groan, Bird's eyes started to flutter open and the first sensation she felt was the throbbing in her head. She started to reach a hand up to where she'd been hit, but her arms wouldn't move.

Forcing her eyes open farther she realized she looked around and saw her arms and wrists were tightly locked in place by restraints on a large wheel.

"What the hell..." She breathed.

"Bird!" She could hear Lee frantically calling out.

Blinking several times she finally got her eyes to focus well enough to see Lee Thompkins across from her, also tied up to the same style of wheel.
Getting a better look at the one she was tied to, Bird realized they looked like the wheels that magicians would use when throwing knives at their assistants in acts.

"You've been out a while." Lee stated, struggling to break free, "We have to get out of here. It's Jerome and Barbara."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She managed to ask.

Seeing that she was still waking up from being knocked unconscious, Lee's voice raised, "Bird, you need to focus, okay?" Pausing for a second she explained, "I don't know what happened to the real magic act, but Jerome and Barbara are out there on stage right now. I was in the process of calling Jim when someone chloroformed me and I'm not sure how much he heard before that happened. I woke up a couple minutes ago tied up like this –I don't know much else."

"Other then we need to get out of here?" Bird asked, a dull look in her eyes as she dropped her already sore head back against the wood wheel, as if any fight she'd possessed was long gone.

Lee's eyebrows lowered, "Yes, we need to get out of here. What are you doing?"

"It's pointless." She breathed, "I'm not strong enough to break these restraints and I doubt you are either."

"So you're not even going to try?" Lee's voice came out as a hiss through her teeth, still trying to pull away from the wheel, despite the feeling like she was just ounces away from pressuring her wrists into dislocation.

"Well, I could try to flip this thing over, but chances are it would fall forward and I'm lucky my nose healed in the right shape the last time it was broken." She spoke as she stared up to ceiling behind the stage and listened as sounds of panic started to erupt from the charity event.

Lee stopped struggling long enough to look back to Bird in complete disbelief. She'd heard stories of how tough she was, she'd seen her in action mere days ago at the police station and in truth when she'd woke up to see Bird back there with her, she'd thought if Bird woke up in time they'd have a fighting chance of making it out.

Only now she felt like she was staring at someone she didn't know. Someone who's fight had fled and Lee's heart started to race even faster inside of her own chest when the sounds of rapid automatic gunfire sounded from the other side of the thick theatre curtains.

"Your brother is out there!" Lee reminded her, trying to think of anything she could say to light a figurative fire under the other brunette, "Harvey is out there."

Bird raised her head and looked at her, "Alfred will get Bruce to safety."

Pinning her eyes shut; she pulled in a deep breath and said, "Stop struggling, you're only going to wear yourself down. I meant what I said, we're not strong enough to break these restraints. They're leather cuffs sturdy enough to withstand someone being held in place while the wheel is spun around."

Dropping back against the hard wood backing, Lee exasperatingly questioned, "What do we do then?"

"Hope one of use gets close enough to grab some sort of blade and manage to cut ourselves free." She offered up with an attempt at a shrug, "Aside from that, about the only thing we can do is kick or head-butt someone if they get close enough."

"And hope that Jim understood what was going on from my phone call." Lee pointed out.

Bird closed her eyes and let out another groan when she could hear Jerome's laughing echoing over the sounds of more gunshots and party patrons screams of terror.

It was several minutes later that the screaming quieted down as Jerome and the lackeys he had working for him got every back into their seats from fear of violence, that he walked back stage and stopped to look at Bird.

Flashing her a smile, he greeted, "Hiya gorgeous."

"Jerome." Bird replied, rolling her head to the side to look his direction, "You know I used to think you had one of those laughs that causes everyone else to laugh too... but now the sound just annoys me –to death."

"Hmm." He dramatically hummed, tapping on the side of his chin from where he's just removed the prosthetic facial hair he no longer needed. No point in trying to conceal his identity now. Walking up to where Bird was defensively cuffed to the wheel, he stabbed the knife in his hand deep into the wood next to her head as he lowly pointed out, "Interesting choice of words, don't you think?"

With that he broke out into a fit of laughter just inches from in front of her face.

Pulling the knife back from the wood, he tucked it back into his pocket and turned to Lee as he took the hat he'd been wearing off and motioned towards the main stage, "Shall we?"

Lee didn't give him a verbal answer, just narrowed her eyes at him and Jerome flipped the hat in his hand before tossing it back on top of his head and saying, "We can't keep the crowd waiting."

He took a step forward and then comically added, "Ooh, I almost forgot." Turning back to Bird, he pushed the button attached to the stand on the base of the wheel to make it start spinning around in circles –flipping Bird upside down and then right sight up over and over.

She kept her eyes on a fixed target to keep the motion from making her dizzy, but she was aware that Jerome had taken Lee out to the stage.

It was a few minutes later that Barbara came backstage in her frilly pink magicians assistant costume to find Bird suspended upside down the wheel.

"Oh, B..." She breathed, "What a mess."

Walking over to her, she spun the wheel until Bird was right side up again and asked, "Miss me?"

"Why are you doing this?" Bird questioned, letting her irritation show, "I mean what is even the point of this?"

"I can't give all the details away." She cheerfully smiled, "Lee looks pretty terrified though, right?"

"Yeah, see, I get that you hate her... but why I am here? Is this because Jim and I kissed that one time? Really? We're supposed to be friends, B."

"Don't be silly." Barbara laughed, hitting Bird's shoulder, "You're locked down so you won't interfere with anything. I mean, really, you should take it as a compliment. You're too much of a badass to be left out there in the crowd."

The expression on her face changed slightly as she admitted, "I'd actually forgotten about that kiss though." Walking around and unlocking the rollers that the base of the wheel was sitting on she mumbled, "But apparently it's still fresh in your mind."

"Ladies and germs!" Jerome called out, getting the terrified room's full attention, "What a surprise we have in store for you tonight! Not just one –but two target girls!"
With that he held the curtain over to the side and Barbara wheeled Bird out onto the stage next to where Lee was.

When no one responded, Jerome commanded, "A round of applause for them both!"

Scattered sounds of hand-clapping was heard from various spots in the crowd as no one was entirely sure how to react.

Squinting her eyes, Bird spotted Harvey at one of the tables close to the stage as he stared back at her with fear widened eyes. "It's okay." She mouthed to him and she silently hoped it really would be.

She also spotted Alfred towards the back of the room, he appeared to have been into a fight but it was a relief that she didn't spot her brother anywhere.

As she caught sight of the Deputy Mayor's lifeless body on the stage –all Bird could do was hope that Bruce was somewhere safe.

"Now, if you'll excuse me... I have to make on little call." Jerome announced into the microphone. Taking a few steps backward and bowing, before he took Lee's cellphone from his pocket and called Jim's number.

When Jim answered the phone expecting it to be Lee, Jerome let out a laugh, " Sorry, Jimbo. It's just little old me; Jerome. Are you outside?" Looking towards the television camera from the entire night being a televised event, he gasped "You are, aren't you? Oh, goody!"

I swear to God, if you've hurt her..." Jim started to threaten.

Glancing over his shoulder to where Lee was, Jerome said into the phone, "Breathe, James. I haven't touched a hair on your girlfriend's pretty head. See for yourself. This is live television after all." He listened to sounds of officers in the background as they scene outside started to grow with more emergency responders and heard someone announce the television feed was up and running again.

"Oh, wait..." Jerome taunted, as he looked over to where Bird was and remembered how defensive Jim got when Bird was in the interrogation room with them, "Now which one is it that you're worried about, Jimbo? I mean, I know Lee's your girlfriend but I think we both know you can be a tad overly protective of the other one..."

"What are you..." Jim started to ask until he saw the television feed in one of the media trucks set up outside the event and saw that both Lee and Bird were trapped and defenseless on the wooden wheels. "You son of a bitch!" Jim hissed through the phone.

Cupping a hand over the phone Jerome winked at Bird as he whisper-yelled, "I think he's worried about you."

With a laugh he thought of what Jim had said and conceded, "True, but not the point. Hey, let's talk about what I want." Looking down he mumbled, "Excuse me." To the Deputy Mayor's dead body on his way to get closer to the camera.

Jerome cleared his throat, "Forty-seven million, a helicopter, obviously, the dry cleaning I left at Mr. Chang's... be careful, the man is a crook... and, hmm, I don't know, a pony." Another laugh slipped through, "Uh... You got ten minutes, or I start killing people. Remember, this is being broadcast to every home in Gotham, so, you know, don't let people die. Bye."

When he heard the other end of the line go silent, Jim pulled his cellphone away from his ear and leaned in to see the T.V screen better.
Lee looked scared and kept eyeing where Barbara was standing beside her and then there was Bird –who looked more bored then anything.

"We gotta get in there." He gruffly barked at the group of nearby uniformed officers.

After he finished up another burst of laughter, Jerome cleared his throat and looked back to Bird as he said, "Well, I think that went well."

Knowing he wanted a reaction; that he fed off getting a response out of people –Bird rolled her eyes and refused the type of reaction he was looking for.

"Enough!" A voice bellowed out from the crowd, as Theo Galavan made himself noticed and started walking up through the crowd, "You need to pack up your pathetic little side show and leave."

"Is that right?" Jerome asked with a pointed smile.

"It may be presumptuous to speak for all the citizens of Gotham, but we are sick of you! You're a small vicious man with a pathetic need for attention. Enough man." Theo said as he stepped up onto the stage, "For godsakes, enough."

"I'm curious what your leverage is here, mister..." Jerome's voice trailed off, wanting to know the name of who'd been brazen enough to interrupt.

"Theo Galavan." He proudly proclaimed, and Bird didn't miss how he turned and looked straight into the camera as he spoke.

"Well, Mr. Theo Galavan if you don't sit down, I'm going to shoot you." Jerome stated, patting him on the cheeks as he added in a higher voice, "In the face."

"I know there is some human decency left in you." Theo pleaded and Jerome's face changed to one of bewilderment as he pointed at himself with a thumb.

Nodding, Theo continued, "If you need to take a hostage, then take me, but let these people go home to their families; to their children."

Apparently having heard enough of his voice, Barbara picked up a small version of a sledge hammer from the table of stage props and whacked him over the head with it.

Shocked gasps spread through the tables as Theo's body fell motionless to the floor.

"Boring..." Barbara breathed and Bird couldn't help but nod along with her. She still couldn't put her finger on it, unable to pinpoint exactly what it was –but she didn't trust Theo Galavan or his sister at all.

"Now..." Jerome breathed into the microphone as he scanned the room, "Who wants to play a game to pass the time? I'm going to need a volunteer." His eyes darted back and forth, he could practically see people shrinking down in their seats hoping they wouldn't pick him.

"No volunteers?" He overdramatized the look of hurt on his face and placed a hand over his heart, "Well this is quite the predicament-"

"I'd give you forty-seven million dollars and a pony if you'd just shut up." Bird complained, her jaw tense with anger and her head still throbbing from where she'd been hurt.

Looking over his shoulder, another smile spread over Jerome's face as he said, "Say... what's his name?"

"Who's name?" Bird questioned.

"The boyfriend." Jerome answered, his smile growing as he saw the despondent look fade from her face and give way to the first look of concern he'd seen from her all night.

"He's not her boyfriend, he's her fiancé." Barbara corrected him, ignoring the look that Bird shot her, "His name is Harvey Dent."

With his mouth so close to microphone his lips brushed against it; Jerome said in the best announcer impersonation he could muster, "Harvey Dent, step right up!"

Bird looked over to where Harvey was sitting and shook her head back and forth, signaling for him to stay put.

"You don't need him." Bird quickly said, "I'll volunteer."

"Harvey..." Jerome breathed in a deep voice back into the microphone ignoring Bird's pleas from behind him.

When no one stood up, Jerome picked up a gun from the prop table and pointed it at Bird, but faced the audience and warned, "Last chance Harvey, or Bird here-"

"Stop!" Alfred yelled, trying to move but couldn't get anywhere when one of the lackeys pointed a gun in his face.

"Alright!" Harvey yelled as he stood up, "Just don't hurt her, please."

"Harvey, don't!" Bird yelled, for the first time really putting in a fight with her restraints.

All eyes were on Harvey as he slowly approached the stage, his mind racing with all the possible horrors that might be awaiting him.

Stating that Harvey was taller than he expected, Jerome had him sit down in a chair on the stage where one of the men controlling the crowds with an automatic weapon, tied him to the chair.

Pulling a line of seemingly never ending handkerchiefs from his pocket, Jerome handed them to Barbara and looked to Harvey as he said, "Nothing personal. You lawyer types just talk too much."

Bird gritted her teeth and watched as Barbara used the colorful cloths to gag Harvey. Before the blonde returned to her spot on center stage, she leaned down and whispered something in his ear.

He looked up and his eyes locked with Birds; she didn't know what Barbara had whispered to him, but it couldn't have been anything good.

"You!" Jerome called out, motioning to the man who was now standing by the front table after his chair had been brought to the stage too, "Get up here."

The man slowly made his way up the stairs onto the stage where he was instructed to stand next to where Harvey was tied to the chair.

It wasn't until Barbara placed an apple on top of each of their heads that everyone realized what the game was.

Picking up one of the guns from the tray on the stage, Jerome pointed it between them trying to decide which target he'd aim for first.

"Jerome, stop!" Bird growled through her teeth, trying with all of her might to break free of the restraints.

"Shh!" He hissed over his shoulder at her, "I'm trying to concentrate."

When he pointed the gun right at Harvey's head, Bird's face twisted up into an expression falling somewhere between rage and anguish. "If you hurt him, I swear to god I'll kill you!"

A low series of gasps spread through room and Barbara dramatically cupped her hand over her own mouth.

"I will!" Bird continued to berate him, "There is no place in or out of Gotham that you could hide where I wouldn't find you. I will track you down and I'll-"

"Sounds exciting!" Jerome cut her off, grinning as he dropped the gun to the tray next to the few other weapons and pointed to Bird was he announced to audience, "Quite the imagination on this one."

"Isn't it sweet?" Barbara called out, before holding a hand to the side of her mouth and acting like she as spilling a secret as she said to the audience, "I think she loves him."

Holding onto the sides of the black topcoat of his magician's uniform, Jerome boasted, "I'm a very good shot." When he started to reach for the gun again and saw Bird's face twist up in anger again, he questioned, "You don't want to see?"

"No." She growled.

"But these people are here for a show!" He argued with her, motioning to all of the tables, before he looked back at her and wagged his eyebrows and picked one of the guns back up.

Pointing it right at Harvey's head again, Jerome cautioned, "Hold very still." Without giving Bird another chance to try and talk him out of it, he lined his sights and squeezed the trigger.

Harvey's eyes pinned shut and he waited –waited for the loud crack of the gunshot to echo through the room, waited pain or total loss of senses. Waiting for whatever would happen once the bullet left the chamber and made impact.
He couldn't even hear Bird's voice as she screamed out for him.

But instead of the loud sound or pain, he was hit in the face with a cold stream of water. Slowly opening his eyes he realized that Jerome had been holding a very realistic looking water gun. His eyes cut over to where Bird was now hanging rather limply in the restraints on the wheel, her head dropped back against the wood in relief and her heavy breathing was shaking her entire body.

"Damn..." Jerome breathed, looking down to the gun in his hand. Looking up to the man who'd he'd forced to stand next to where Harvey was seated, he instructed, "Turn around."

Slowly the man turned around, careful to keep the red apple on his head for fear of what might happened if he didn't comply with the demands.

With a shrug, Jerome dropped the gun back to the table and picked up another –took aim and fired a shot –blasting the apple off of the man's head and into bits and pieces.

Somewhere in the crowd a woman screamed and several others gasped as they ducked for cover or tried to shield their dates and loved ones.

"Well, clap!" Jerome yelled.

Almost immediately the audience started to clap for him and he smiled as he blew on the end of the recently fired gun and then took a bow before motioning for the man to leave the stage and take his seat.

While Jerome continued to feed off the attention from the crowd that his stunts were getting him, Barbara looked at Lee's terrified expression and smiled, "So, Lee, how's Jim doing?"
Her eyes drifted over to where Bird was watching them and her smile grew as she added, "Or maybe Bird's the one I should be asking, hmm?"

When neither of them said anything back to her, she continued, "I hope he isn't blaming himself for this whole Essen being killed thing."

"You are one crazy bitch." Lee stated with gravel in her voice.

"So rude..." Barbara observed, "And to think Jim kisses that mouth." Without taking her eyes off Lee she added, "Of course it's not the only mouth he kisses."

Bird's eyes narrowed at the blonde, just waiting for her to announce to everyone what had happened between her and Jim –but her to surprise; Barbara didn't.

Blowing out a sigh, Barbara pushed the button on the side of the wheel stand and Lee's wheel started to slowly spin. She gritted her teeth and breathed heavily through the pain and stress the movement put on her joints.

"I'm going to make a prediction. Within a year, Jim and I will be back together." She laughed, leaning down to stay in Lee's face while she continued to be turned upside down. "Wanna know why?" Barbara asked.

Refusing to play into her antics, Lee stayed quiet.

"Because we're both the same. We both have a dark side and one day we will tell our grandchildren about how this man eating harpy almost tore us apart." Taking a few steps back, she held her arms out to the side and dramatically spun on the stage as she finished, "But in the end... love conquered all!"

As the wheel finally came to a stop, and Barbara walked closer to her, Lee brought her knee out and managed to hit her hard in the stomach. The blonde doubled over in pain before she picked up one of the sharp throwing daggers and lunged forward, but Jerome stopped her.

"It hasn't been ten minutes." He reminded her, as he struggled to pull the knife from her hand and mumbled, "Do we need to buy you a watch."

Birds' eyebrows lowered. Ten minutes? What were they waiting on?

Just as he turned around, Barbara punched Lee in the face with all her strength. The brunette cried out in pain from the impact and her head being knocked back against the wood.

"Well..." Jerome lowly breathed into the microphone, "I think it's time for tonight's first official victim. You all know and love; poor rich boy, parents murdered in an alley and my favorite volunteer. Where is Bruce Wayne?" He carried out the name, like an announcer of a television game show host.

Bird's eyes darted around the room, rechecking for any sign of her brother that she might have missed on first blush.

"You know I'm an orphan too, Bruce. I killed my parents though." Jerome continued before stepping away from the microphone and calling out, "Where are you hiding?"

"Bruce!" He shouted, causing the crowd to jump from the outburst, "Where are you buddy?"

"Kill his butler." Barbara offered up an idea of how to draw the youngest Wayne out.

"Don't you dare!" Bird hissed through gritted teeth as she returned to fighting against her restraints.

"We could." Jerome agreed, before his cheeks pointed from his smile and he countered, "But we have his sister right here."

"Now, wait just a minute-" Alfred yelled out from where he was standing when he saw Jerome turn back towards Bird, but he couldn't get closer to the stage when two armed men stepped in front of him.

"Hmm..." Jerome breathed as he stopped right in front of her, "Why don't you call that brother of yours out here. I know he's hiding somewhere..." He smiled as he trailed the edge of the blade he'd taken off Barbara across Bird's jaw.

The exits had been either locked or blocked off before he'd ever taken the stage. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew Bruce was still in building. Now it was just a matter of getting him to show himself.

Not shying away from the feel of the cold metal against her skin, Bird said, "He's not here. You're wasting your time."

"Last chance Bruce..." Jerome yelled over his shoulder as he gave one last scan of the audience –almost all of whom were looking around themselves trying to catch a glimpse of the young teenager.

When Jerome continued to slide the blade down from her jaw to her neck, Harvey angrily yelled out and tried to pull his arms from the ropes he'd been bound with.
Bird looked over at him, not able to able to understand what he was saying with his voice muffled against the clothes that had been used to gag him –but she could see the fear in his eyes.

"It's okay." She assured him.

"Is it?" Jerome laughed. Not sure how she was coming to that logic while being rendered nearly defenseless and entirely unarmed while he held a knife to her throat.

"Please..." She tightly smiled, her eyes moving from Harvey's face out to where Alfred was being forced to stand and watch the stage with armed men waiting for him to try and make another move. "Compared to some of the things I've had to face down, you're about as dangerous as a little puppy." Her eye sight stopped back on Jerome at the end of her sentence.

His smile grew at her words; eyes locked entirely on hers as he started to slide the blade down the side of her neck, applying enough pressure that a line of blood immediately pooled to the surface and started to run down her chest and soak into her strapless dress.

She didn't cry out in pain like he'd expected. She didn't even flinch.
His head cocked to the side and he stepped even closer, bringing the knife out to where her arms were restrained out to either side; he started with the right arm. Making another cut running along her forearm; this one deeper than the last.

But again, she didn't react the way he'd expected.

The smile slowly fell from his lips and a look of sheer intrigue filled his eyes as he made another cut on her skin and she didn't appear to feel any pain from it.

Lee's eyebrows furrowed as she watched the scene taking place beside her on the stage.
In some ways it reminded her of watching them together in the interrogation room together when he'd refused to speak to anyone but Bird.

It was the same sort of channel that seemed to be open between them, where nothing else around them existed –especially for Jerome.

Barbara watched as her partner in crime made another cut on her friend's skin –then another and another; each one deeper. Her eyes moved down to the floor where blood was starting to pool into puddles.

"It's not working." Barbara sternly said as she walked closer to them.

When Jerome moved the knife down to her side and started to push the blade into her skin, Bird slowly exhaled through the pain as he pushed the blade deeper. She was determined to not make a sound no matter the amount of pain she was feeling.
She wasn't going to let him win –not about to give him the big reaction he was trying to get out of her.

Plus, if her bother was still in the building somewhere, she wasn't going to let the sounds of her in pain draw him out into danger.

"Hey!" Barbara snapped as Jerome continued to bury the blade deeper into Bird's skin.

The smile returned to his lips as he readjusted his grip on the handle and started to turn the knife in the freshly opened wound. Aside from the quickening of her breathing, she showed no other reaction to what was being done to her.

Their eyes locked and his own breathing was growing uneven –he'd have sworn someone turned the heat up in the room.

He could feel her blood on his hand how, seeping between his fingers and making it harder to keep a grip on the handle of the knife.

Jerome looked down to his crimson stained hand and then back to her face as he said, "I think I'm in love."

"Enough." Barbara complained, as she saw Jerome pull the knife from Bird's side and start to pick the next spot to stab her. She grabbed onto his arm and stopped him, "Clearly this isn't working. Kill the butler."

"Oh, what's the matter, B?" Bird choked out, "You don't wanna get in on this."

"It's definitely love." Jerome repeated glancing over to the television camera as he spoke.

Switching the knife to the other hand, he wiped his bloody hand on his pants and made his way back to the front of the stage where the microphone was.

Once his back was turned, Bird dropped her head back against the wood and pinned her eyes shut as she tried to catch her breath.

"Hey, hey!" Lee whisper yelled over at her, "Keep your eyes open. Stay awake."

"I'm fine." Bird argued with her.

Feeling something on her hand, she looked over to see Barbara and started to ask her what she was doing, but then she saw the blonde was placing a small knife in her hand.

Barbara's eyes locked with Bird's and she winked at her, before spinning on her heels and going to stand beside Jerome.

Bird tightened her grip around the knife, she wasn't sure if Barbara was really trying to help her or if this was going to be some sort of trick. Either way, she wasted no time in getting to work on trying to cut through the thick leather strap around her wrist.

Jerome called back out through the microphone for Bruce Wayne, this time threatening Alfred's life if he didn't comply. "Last chance, Bruce. It's about to get very butler brainy up here."

"Brucey!" Jerome's voice came out high-pitched and with a squeal of interference in the speakers, everyone cringed from the sound. "Or maybe I should pick back up where I left off with your sister..."

Bird's attention was drawn to the back of the room where she saw her brother's face from between the dark red curtains just before he was pulled back out of sight and she caught a brief glimpse of Jim before they were both hidden by the curtain again.

Sweat beaded across her forehead with her struggling even harder to get the restraints cut so she should break free.

"Ah, I'm bored." Jerome waved a hand as he walked away from the microphone, "Shoot the butler."

He turned back towards Bird, but Barbara stepped between them, staring him down as she crossed her arms over her chest –clearly not going to let him inflict more damage on her friend then he already had.

"Stop!"

Everyone looked up to see Bruce walk out into the room just as Alfred was about to be killed.

Bird watched as her brother ran to Alfred and upon first glance to the average witness, it would have just looked like a hug. But to Bird's well trained eye –she saw Alfred slip something out of Bruce's suit jacket and quickly hide it in his own.

It had to be a gun, she thought to herself. Looking back to where she'd spotted her brother behind the curtain to see that Jim was still there.

As Jerome started to pull Bruce towards the stage, Bird tried to stay calm and focused. Telling herself that there was some sort of plan at work, but as much as she'd grown to trust Jim –it didn't ease her worry much as she could see Jerome holding the knife he'd used on her, against her little brother's neck.

"You." Jerome called out to one of the men working for him, "Check behind the curtain; make sure no one's playing silly buggers."

As the man started for the curtain, Jim emerged; firing a couple shots and killing him.

Alfred fought the men who'd been glued to him since Jerome took over the room, and Jim continued to pick off the armed goons.

Once he got his arms free, Alfred pulled the gun from his suit that he'd taken off Bruce and turned to the stage.

"Drop the knife!" Jim yelled, taking aim at Jerome as the redhead pushed the knife blade against the teenager's throat. Smearing Bird's blood on her bothers neck.

Jerome manically laughed as he looked between Alfred and Jim –both of whom had a gun pointed at him, but neither of them willing to risk pulling the trigger.

"I don't have a clean shot." Jim admitted, not taking his eyes off his target.

"Stay calm Bruce." Alfred instructed.

With another fit of laughter, Jerome spoke into Bruce's ear, "Seems like we got ourselves a pickle. What do you say, Brucey boy? Want to boost our ratings, huh?" His laughing grew deeper as she readjusted the blade against his neck, "Smile."

Finally getting the restraint cut off of one wrist, the knife she'd been using fell to the floor and Bird scrambled to unfasten the secure buckle on the other wrist.

"I said, enough!" Theo Galavan yelled as he got back to his feet after coming to on the floor where he'd been laying since Barbara got him in the back of the head with the hammer earlier in the night.

Letting go of Bruce, Jerome turned to look at Theo just as Bird fully freed herself.

"Look, B-" Barbara started to whisper as she turned to Bird, but clearly she wasn't interested in anything her friend had to say when she brought her arm back and punched Barbara square in the face.

With a cry of pain, Barbara hit the floor of the stage, holding onto her heavily bleeding nose and gasping for air.

Bird quickly lunged forward and grabbed onto her brother's arm, pulling him back behind her to keep him safe as Theo and Jerome stared each other down.

She looked back up just in time to see Theo plunge a knife deep into the side of Jerome's neck. Shocked screams and gasps echoed off the walls of the room and she could feel Bruce's arms tighten around where he was holding onto her.

Everyone watched as Jerome started to collapse onto the floor, chocking and gasping for air. Theo lowered him down, keeping the blade buried in his skin as blood started to run out of Jerome's mouth.
Bird watched as Theo spoke to him, though from where she was standing she couldn't make out anything that was being said.
The gasps had quieted and the room was in a state of complete silence as Jerome breathed his last breath and died with a wide smile on his face –showing off his blood stained teeth.

Getting to her feet and seeing what all was happening, Barbara darted towards the set up that led to an escape hatch set beneath the stage. She jumped onto the hatch and threw her arms up as the red curtain dropped around it to create the illusion she'd vanished into thin air.

"Jim, get her!" Lee shouted, but it was too late. The curtain dropped and the escape hatch was closed –with no sign of Barbara anywhere.

•••

Bird looked over to Harvey as he drove them home. He'd stood by her while the paramedics got her stitched and bandaged up, but he'd barely said three words to her the entire time. Aside from when he'd pleaded with her to listen to their advice and go to the hospital, but she refused.

"Harvey?" She quietly said.

"Yeah?" He answered, not even looking over at her. Though, she had a feeling it was more that he didn't want to look at her versus paying attention to the road.

Silently, she stared out of her window and watched the city lights blur as they passed neon signs.

Something was different, she could feel it, something had shifted between them.

"Hey..." She barely said over a whisper without looking at him, "Remember all the times we got into life and death situations before and once we made it through –all the fighting and whatever else had happened between us before that... well, it didn't matter anymore because we'd lived?"

His grip tightened on the steering wheel and in an almost eerily calm voice he countered, "Hey, remember when you were just as invested in us; in our relationship as me?"

"What are you talking about?" Bird asked, whipping her head back in his direction.

"Barbara told me about you and Jim." He finally admitted, running right through a red light without even noticing it, "I knew it. I just knew something was going on with the two of you. I knew it the night we ran into him at the circus and you both were acting so strange..."

"I'm sorry, Harvey." Bird quickly said.
But the tone in her voice didn't sound entirely sincere, more like it was an automated response.

"Are you?" He scoffed, his foot pressing down harder on the gas pedal harder but he didn't seem to notice how fast the city scenery was moving around them, "Just like you were sorry when you kissed Penguin too? Or sorry that you completely neglected to tell me you were involved with the Falcone Crime Family when we met and started seeing each other. Or are you just sorry that you got caught and that things finally caught up with you."

"All of it." She shook her head; while it was the truth, she was also feeling attacked and as much as she knew she'd screwed things up –she also knew the problems between them didn't lie on her shoulders alone.
No matter how much he'd like to put all the blame on her.

"It's not like I kissed him to hurt you, okay? I didn't just wake up one day and-" She started to try and explain, but he didn't –he couldn't hear it right now.

"Just stop talking." He cut her off, "I don't even want to know."

"You don't want to talk about this?" Bird questioned, her forehead lining as she finally looked over at him.

"Nope."

Bird bit down on the side of her tongue. They'd both been through such an ordeal that night; been pushed to their breaking points and utterly exhausted.

Leaving it be would be the smart choice, of course. Deep down she knew that, but for some reason she'd never been one to let a sleeping dog lie.

"It happened after Falcone had those men jump you." Bird admitted, "I was in a bad place and-"

"And that's not an excuse." He loudly spoke over her, before the interior of his car got unnervingly silent as he thought about what she said. Looking over at her he asked, "Are you really trying to defend what you did by telling me that you kissed Jim Gordon while I was lying in a hospital bed?"

"I'm not defending it!" She hissed, "He's the one who kissed me and I just need you to understand-"

"Oh, I understand!" His voice causing her to cringe in the enclosed space, "I understand it perfectly that nothing is ever your fault, is it? For over a year I've been faithful to you, you were the only person I had eyes and feelings for –while apparently, you've been going around kissing everyone!"

"That's not even-"

"But I guess I'm just supposed to forgive this too, right? Because it's not your fault, because he kissed you and what was your excuse for when it happened with Penguin? Too much wine?"

Bird opened her mouth to try and speak, but he wouldn't let her get a word in.

"How am I supposed to trust you, Starling?" He yelled, "What am I supposed to do here?"

Before she could stop her mouth from moving she muttered, "Hit me?"

"What?" He yelled, looking back over at her as the road and other traffic became the least of his concern, "What the hell did you just say?"

"I think you heard me." She flatly said, turning in her seat some to face him, "Am I not supposed to bring that up? Hardly seems fair considering you're determined to throw my wrongs back in my face no matter how many times I've apologized."

Their eyes locked on one another in an intense stare –until the sound of a car horn honking shook both of the concentration and they both turned to see they were no longer in their lane and heading straight towards a red SUV who's driver was repeatedly honking.

Swerving back over into the correct lane, Harvey over-corrected and the tires on the passenger side of the car scraped against the sidewalk.

Seeing an upcoming parking lot, Harvey pulled in and shut the car off.

Both of them were sitting in silence; breathing labored from the close call they'd just had, until he cleared his throat and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded, looking over at him in the dim lighting, "You?"

"I'm okay." He answered.

Pulling in a breath, Bird looked down to her hands as he softly asked, "But we're not are we?"

"It's been a rough night." He tried to excuse, "I think we're exhausted more than anything."
But his white knuckled grip on the steering wheel contradicted his words. He was clearly still mad at her.

When he finally started the car and pulled back out onto the road to drive them home, Bird had feeling that the fight was far from over.
It didn't seem like either of them would be getting much sleep that night.

•••

Bird had just filled the kettle with water and was getting a cup down from the cabinet when she heard a knock on the door.

She glanced over to the time showing on the microwave and thought it seemed strange for anyone to be visiting so late at night.
Maybe it was Jim, she considered, or maybe even the neighbors Harvey had apparently been making friends with in her absence.

Crossing the room, she opened another cabinet and pulled down the box of tea bags just before hearing the doorbell chime.

Realizing Harvey must have gone upstairs and wasn't getting the door, she made her way into the living room and opened up the door surprised to see a familiar face there.

"Butch?" She greeted, a smile appearing on her lips, "Hey..."

"Bird." He replied, giving her a nod and a smile.

"Uh, come in." She quickly said stepping to the side and allowing him to enter her home.

He let out a low whistle as he looked around and commented, "Some place you got here."

"Thanks." She politely nodded, but before she could question what brought him there –Harvey came down the stairs and demanded to know, "What is going on here?"

"Harvey... this is Butch Gilzean-"

"Yeah." He gruffly cut her off, "I know who he is, what is he doing in my house?"

"He's my friend." Bird strained with a tight lipped smile, "And last time I checked it was our house."

"Oh, is it?" Harvey's voice bellowed through the room, "Because last I checked –I've been here trying to build our life together and you've been doing anything but; in fact you've apparently been going around sabotaging things yet again. Oh and that's right, kissing other people-"

"Slow it down haas." Butch grumbled, "And watch the way you're talking to her or we're gonna have a problem, understand?"

Throwing his hands up in the air, Harvey turned and headed back up the stairs.

"Nice guy you got there." Butch added, turning to look at Bird.

"He's had a stressful night." Bird excused, "Or did you miss the broadcast of the children's hospital benefit and the debacle it turned into?"

"That's why I'm here." He explained, but didn't get to say much else as the kettle started to whistle from the kitchen and Bird offered, "Tea?"

With a nod he followed her into the kitchen, thinking to himself how normal the place looked. In the few times he'd been inside of her apartment, the place had been cluttered with empty alcohol bottles and weapons stashed just barely out of sight.

Once they were sat down at the table, a concerned look grew on her face and she asked, "Oswald is alright, isn't he?"

"He's fine." Butch assured her, stirring some sugar into the hot tea in the cup as he admitted, "Worried about you though. He saw the hospital benefit on television too."

"So he sent you to check on me? He couldn't even find the time to show up here in person?" Bird questioned, her eyebrows raised high.

"He's busy." Butch tried to excuse.

"He's punishing me." Bird argued, "He's still mad at me for wanting to choose my own path. That's why he never came to see me in Arkham, or use his connections to help me and it's why he sent you to check on me instead of facing me. He wants me to suffer."

Her eyes narrowed and she quietly said with gravel in her voice, "You go back and tell him that I'm doing just fine on my own. That you've never seen me happier and-"

"We both know I can't lie to him." He said, even though he knew he didn't need to remind her of how Victor Zsasz had broken him down and brainwashed him to blindly follow Oswald's orders.

Blowing out a sigh, Bird ran her fingers through her hair and when she looked back up to Butch she started laughing.

"What?" He asked.

"It's just..." Shaking her head and containing herself, "Aside from the time Barbara came to see me, you're the first friend I've had over. I mean, here we are sitting in my kitchen drinking tea –things couldn't be any more normal..." Her voice trailed off and her laugh returned, only this time there was a tinge of madness in it. "This is what I wanted all along, right? Normal."

Rubbing her hands over her face she questioned, "Is this really what I gave my life up for?

Butch looked around the kitchen, taking another drink from his cup and waiting for her to pull herself back together.

"Maybe I should go see Oswald?" She finally questioned.

"Look..." Butch breathed, "I'm not even going to pretend that I understand whatever it is you and Oswald have with each other. I don't really wanna know, but I know you got out of that life for a reason, right?"

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"I'm saying that you got out once and damn neared died to get there. We both know if you go back to Oswald that you're gonna get pulled right back in and then isn't it going to make everything you went through pointless?"

"I don't know." She shrugged and he noticed with the way she was sitting that she seemed of a smaller statue than normal.

He watched her as she picked up her cup and slowly took a drink, before setting it back down and wrapping her arms around herself –almost as if she was trying to fold herself up and disappear into nothingness.

"I feel so stupid." She whispered, with another helpless shrug and while she was sure Butch had better things to do then sit around and listen to her troubles, for the moment she didn't have anyone else to talk to and she felt more alone than she'd care to admit.

Thoughts of the last few months and events of earlier that night flooded into her thoughts and she confessed, "I got myself to this point, you know? I'm the girl who always plays with fire and somehow still shocked every single time I get burned."

Butch avoided her eyes and took another drink. He'd never been that good at comforting anyone and he didn't have the slightest clue what to say to help her. Plus, even though he'd never been scared of her –over the years he nearly always felt like he had to walk on eggshells when talking to her.

There were times he'd tried to joke with her, or even times he'd tried to cheer her up and she'd flown off the handle about something.

Despite both his and Fish's fondness for her, they'd both said from trying to deal with her was a gamble. She wasn't exactly the most stable person.

"I gotta be honest." He finally said, "I hate seeing you down like this, but I don't know what to say to fix it."

With a sad smile, she chuckled, "You're supposed to tell me that it's not my fault. That I had no idea Jerome would want to kill my brother for whatever reason and that Barbara would be trying to help him-"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I did say all of that." He pointed out.

"True." She conceded, "But you could still say it."

With a small laugh, he finished the tea in his glass and looked around the kitchen. "You're not stupid." He assured her, "You are one of the smartest people I've ever met, you know that? I'm not gonna argue about the playing with fire part, because you're always flirting with danger –but you're resourceful and you're someone who never just gives up."

When she raised her head and looked at him, Butch added, "I'm not gonna sit here and act like I know what you went through in Arkham –cause I don't. I'm also not sure if that man you say you love has had anything to do with this... but you need to get rid of whatever it is that's broken you down so much. I've known you for years, Bird, and I'd like to think that I've gotten to know you pretty well and I gotta say that I barely recognize you right now."

"I lost hope." Bird spoke up, "The whole time I was in Arkham. Thinking that Oswald would finally show up, or my lawyer would eventually bring me some good news. Waiting for my brother to apologize for being an ass, for Harvey to actually be there when he promised he would. I just hoping that someone-"

"That someone would what?" Butch cut her off, "Save you?"

"I guess." She shrugged, "But the hours turned into days and then weeks and then weeks into months and I don't know how to come back from that. I went away, my life –my entire world hit the pause button only it turned out the rest of the world just kept spinning."

Tears stung at her eyes, but she didn't let fall them down her cheeks and her voice took on a tinge of hysteria as she stared at Butch and admitted, "My parents were killed well over a year ago, you know? And from then I'd been so worried about my own mortality because I'd convinced myself that my little brother wouldn't be okay without me. Harvey always seemed so worried about losing me; said he wouldn't be able to go on if he lost me, that even the idea of it was paralyzing to him and then I go away for months and he gets along just fine on his own. Even made some new friends and changed things around the house. Oswald told me that without me he didn't have anything and here he is running the city and he's doing fine on his own."

"Turns out I'm not nearly as important as I'd led myself to believe." She rested her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, "Tell me how I'm supposed to come back from that? Knowing that I don't really mean anything to anyone in the grand scheme of things?"

"You going away to an asylum for a few months is a lot different then you dying, your bother probably needs you a lot more then he even realizes. And Penguin? We both know he'd have gotten himself killed years ago if you weren't always there to have his back." Butch glanced up at ceiling and thought of how Harvey was on the second floor as he admitted, "And I never liked that one."

"Thanks." She struggled to give him a smile, "That's sweet of you to say, but it doesn't exactly help anything."

"You wanna know how to keep going? You stop waiting on them to realize how important you are –stop waiting on someone to save you." He paused, before reminding her of the answer she'd somehow lost along the way, "You have to save yourself."

•••