Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

•••

Bruce rubbed his forehead and looked up to the front of the car where Jim was driving towards Wayne Manor and Bird was sitting silently in the passenger seat.

The lack of sound in the car was beginning to make him overly aware of how loud his breathing sounded.

His eyes darted between the back of their heads as he wondered if his breathing sounded just as loud to them, but if it did neither one acknowledged it.

It was then that he caught Jim's line of sight in the rear view mirror and the detective's forehead lined in anger all over again.

Unable to hold his tongue any longer Jim gruffly yelled, "Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

It was only several minutes ago that he'd showed up at Malone's apartment building and got to the ninth floor where he saw Bruce out in the hallway just in time to hear three consecutive gunshots echo through the old structure.

Jim rushed into the apartment to find Bird sitting across the table from a very dead Matches Malone, casually texting someone on her phone as if she hadn't just killed someone in cold blood.

From then he'd pulled her out of the apartment and hurried both Bird and Bruce out to his car.

He wasn't even sure what he was thinking at the time, other than they all couldn't be found there together when GCPD was bound to show up at some point.

"I think you already know what's happened." Bruce was the next to speak.

"Do you have any idea how serious this is?" He lectured, eyeing the teenager from the rear view mirror again, "We're talking about a homicide here-"

"He didn't kill anyone." Bird was quick to defend, but her words only earned her one of Jim Gordon's signature not impressed and highly pissed off looks, so she reminded him, "I told you at the hospital that I was going to kill Malone when we found him."

Realizing how tightly he was gripping the steering wheel and observing the veins protruding from the side of his neck, Bird shook her head, "Jim you need to calm down before give yourself a heart attack."

Letting out a huff of air, he shook his head in disbelief.

If anything was going to send him into an early heart attack, it was going to the Wayne family.

He still couldn't understand why Alfred would agree to have been a part of any of this. He was supposed to be Bruce's legal guardian and yet he was letting him chase down leads all over the city and landed himself in the hospital after taking a bad beating.

Bruce had gotten his hands on a gun and set off to kill someone and then in her usual style, Bird always seemed to make bad situations far more catastrophic; and this time around had actually murdered someone.

"It's okay-" Bird started to tell him, but Jim looked over and snapped, "What part of this is okay? When the police find Malone's body, you do realize the next stop is going to be your front door, right?"

"He had to die, Jim." She argued.

"No." He shook his head, "He needed to be arrested and brought to justice-"

"Oh, really?" Bird was quick to reply with a razor sharp tongue, "I remember you being perfectly fine with a different course of action when it came to Galavan."

Bruce raised his head and looked between them as he started to read between the lines of a conversation that he wasn't meant to hear.

Oswald Cobblepot was in Arkham after confessing to Galavan's murder, but Bird had been very adamant and swore that neither she or her best friend had actually killed him.

But his Bird wouldn't tell him exactly who'd killed him -in her silence she was protecting someone and that didn't make sense to him until now.

"I can't keep doing this." Jim nearly growled.

She always seemed to be holding some over his head, whether it was how many times she'd risked her life to help him or a secret that could bring him down.

Bruce's eyebrows lowered at the tone in which Jim was using with his sister when apparently it wasn't all that long ago when the detective had killed someone too.

"Sounds to me like you don't have much room for judgment, Detective." Bruce spoke up and Bird nearly choked on the breath of air she was taking.

"Bruce, there are things that you don't understand." Jim said; though his voice wasn't as rough as before.

Bruce nodded and tucked his hands inside of his coat pockets. He was sure that was true.

Apparently there was a lot going on that he hadn't known about it.

He couldn't think of two men who deserved to die more than Matches Malone and Theo Galavan, but the conversation he'd had with Bird not too long ago was still fresh in his mind.

He'd chastised her for her life choices and taking it upon herself to decide who lives and dies.

At that moment in time he couldn't imagine a situation, other than in self-defense, in which killing someone would be justifiable.

That was until he'd uncovered the identity of the man who'd killed his parents and then was face-to-face with him.

He'd never hated someone that bad in his entire life and he'd wanted so badly to find the strength to pull that trigger.

But he couldn't.

Malone was made of flesh and bone; no horns, no outward signs of being a monster and for that he couldn't kill him.

At the end of the day Matches Malone was just a man, albeit a bad man, but still human.

Looking back at the night, Bruce was nearly sure that Bird had only given him the gun back because she knew he wouldn't have it in him to kill someone -and had apparently showed up armed herself to finish the job.

Malone might be dead, but he still didn't feel much closer to unraveling the truth of who was the brains behind his parents' murders.

But he wasn't giving up.

He was going to keep searching and when they found out who was behind it all -he'd make them pay.

He'd be stronger then, he was sure of it.

"As far as anyone is concerned, Matches Malone just...disappeared." Bird said, "By the time GCPD actually shows up at his apartment there won't be any trace left of what happened."

"What are you talking about?" Jim questioned and Bruce leaned forward to make sure he didn't miss anything she said.

"I knew tonight was going to end with a dead body. So I had a clean up crew on standby." Bird smiled, a little too proud of herself, "The best of the best. Trust me. We're in the clear. Police won't find anything."

Jim glanced over at her and realized that must have been who she was messaging on her phone when he walked into the apartment.

He also couldn't help but sigh; the more details she told him about what happened the more he'd be incriminated if the truth came out.

"A clean up crew?" Bruce questioned.

"You don't want to know." Bird answered glancing over her shoulder to where he was sitting.

Swallowing hard and forcing the sick feeling back down in his stomach, Bruce quietly said, "I think I already do."

Jim drove through the open gates and up the front drive where he came to a stop in front of the mansion.

Looking into the backseat he said, "Get your things and I'll drive you to the hospital. Alfred's going to be released in the morning."

Bruce glanced at his sister who gave him a small smile and nodded.

He looked between them again before slowly exiting the car; it was obvious to him that Bird and Jim were waiting on him to leave so they could talk.

Once they were alone, Bird glanced around the inside of the car before reiterating, "You've got nothing to worry about, Jim. As far as anyone is concerned Matches Malone could have skipped town months ago."

"What are you doing, Bird?" Jim asked, turning some in the seat to get a better look at her, "Last time we saw each other you were talking about a fresh start somewhere outside of Gotham. What happened to that?"

"I was wrong." Bird admitted, "I spent so long blaming my problems on this city and everyone in it, but Gotham is my home and I'm not going anywhere."

"This has to stop." Jim shook his head, "There are other ways to solve problems that don't end with the need to call in a cleaning crew."

Pulling in a breath he asked, "Doesn't it ever start to get to you? All the blood on your hands?"

"It washes off." Bird coyly replied, but Jim was at the ready with an argument, "Not all of it, some of it stains."

Now it was her turn to rearrange the way she was sitting in the passenger seat so she could face him.

"Jim..." She ran her tongue over her lips, "Why did you call me last month?"

When he didn't answer, Bird's eyebrow furrowed as she thought back to her strange encounter with Jeri and what the woman had called her; a sin-eater.

At the time Bird had been far too worried about her brother to give much thought or consideration to the term and the meaning behind it.

It was clear that Jim was living to regret the decision he'd made to put Galavan down.

Her eyes dropped down to her hands resting on her legs and she thought of how there was some truth to what Jeri called her.

Not only was she able to make the tough choices that would keep others up at night, but she was also ready and willing to do something bad so that the people she cared about wouldn't have to.

It was as if everyone came to her with their sins and she absorbed them into herself to ease their burdens; as if she somehow had the power to absolve them of what they'd done.

"Oh my god. You wanted someone to tell you that what you did was okay." She said out loud in response to his continued silence.

What the ones she was loyal to failed to realize was that unloading their guilt on her made her load far heavier to carry.

With furrowed brows and a hint of anger in her tone she said, "Well, I'm sorry, but it's not my job to ease your conscience, Jim."

"We were in the wrong. How can you not see that?" His voice raised.

"We did what we had to stop Galavan." Bird argued, "Jim, you've killed people before-"

"Not like that." He shook his head and stared straight out of the front windshield, though all he could see was the events of that night playing over in his mind, "He was on his knees, handcuffed -broken and bleeding and..."

"And you shot and killed him." Bird flatly stated before she bit down on the side of her tongue and tried to choose her next words carefully.

She'd been haunted by a lot in her life; but putting people like Galavan down never quite made the list of things she'd lived to regret.

Leaning closer towards the console between their seats, Bird lowered her voice and said, "Jim, I could sit here and name off a very long list of reasons of why Galavan deserved to go out the way he did, but nothing I'd say is going to matter."

Turning his head to face her, he swallowed hard as their eyes locked and despite his best attempts not to -his gaze briefly fell to her lips.

"Why did you do it?" Bird whispered, unable to bring much volume to her voice in such close proximity to him, "You could have turned the other cheek and let Oswald and I take care of it, but you came with us and you chose to be the one who killed him. Why?"

"I don't know." He automatically answered, but Bird always ended up being the one with the uncanny ability to get him to open up.

Which was something that had never come easily for him.

"Yes, you do." She pushed.

Letting out a breath and turning back to face her he admitted, "I didn't see Galavan for who he really was." With his voice just over a whisper he continued, "It's my job to serve and protect this city from people like him and I... I failed."

At the time he thought doing away with Galavan would be a way of starting to right his wrongs.

Destroy the source of an evil that had touched far too many lives and maybe he could save the day.

After all, you cut the head off the snake and the body dies.

But all it did was cause more problems for him and forced him to lie to everyone around him -even Lee.

Barnes hadn't looked at him the same way since that night and he'd lied under oath during a hearing with the DA's office.

This wasn't who he was -he couldn't let himself be that person.

He needed to value justice over revenge; right over wrong.

It wasn't something that he was willing to admit out loud, but revenge played a big part in why he'd chosen to kill Galavan.

Even though Bird was alive and well, he'd never forget how she looked the night she'd been shot.

The feeling of her blood on his hands and how weak her body was when he'd cradled her in his arms on the ground under the streetlights with sirens in the distance.

He'd spent a month thinking she was dead and hating himself for how he'd let her down -and he'd wanted someone to pay for that.

Feeling like he was still holding something back. Bird gave a small shrug and promised, "Whatever your reasons were, what happened the night Galavan died stays between us. Your secret is safe, Jim."

With that she fell back into her seat and didn't look back in his direction as she located the handle and opened the car door to step out into the night air.

It wasn't until she looked up at the door to the house that she realized her brother had been outside watching them.

As Bird neared him she opened her mouth to say something, but Bruce went first, "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" She quickly answered, leaving him more suspicious as he looked behind her towards the car.

He'd came out of the house a few minutes prior, but stopped just outside of the door when he'd saw them both leaned towards the center of the car with their faces so close to one another.

For a moment he actually thought they might kiss.

"Between you and Detective Gordon." Bruce stated, watching her face close to try and gauge her reaction.

"Call me tomorrow when they go to release Alfred and I'll come pick you both up from the hospital." She blatantly ignored his question, "Then we'll talk about what happened tonight."

"We don't need to talk-"

"You stole a gun from me; you ditched Alfred at the hospital to chase down Malone and kill him. Bruce, you pointed a loaded weapon at someone tonight -yeah, we need to talk." Bird's stern tone lightened when she placed her hands on his shoulders and said, "But not tonight. Just sit with Alfred tonight and get some rest. We'll deal with everything else tomorrow."

•••a few days later•••

"Smile." Erin instructed as she hovered over where Bird was sitting in a chair with a make-up artist dusting more matte powder on her face after stating her face looked too shiny in the bright lighting.

With her breath stuck in her throat, Bird tried to jerk her face away from the kabuki brush and admitted, "I don't... I don't think I can do this."

"What are you talking about?" Erin complained, "Of course you can do this. Your interview is the headlining feature on tonight's news-"

"The entire city turned on me once before... if I get on camera and say even the slightest thing wrong then I'm right back to where I started." Bird finally opened up just as she shot the make-up artist a warning look and the woman jumped back startled at the darkness in her eyes.

"Give us a moment?" Erin said with a dismissive shake of her head and everyone in the room who'd been putting last minute touches on the set where the interview was slated to take place quickly left in silence.

Once they were alone, Erin dragged one of the cloth back chairs over in front of her and sat down as she questioned, "Where is this coming from? You were fine when we discussed this before..."

"That was then!" Bird explained, "And, uh, this is now; and my heart is racing like I've just ran a marathon and I haven't really been able to take a deep breath since everyone started showing up and any minute now that reporter is going to walk into this room and all of Gotham is expecting me to -to be some shining star and when they see the truth I'm just going to let everyone down and-"

"No, you're not." Erin sternly said as she cut the rambling young woman off, "You're not going to let anyone down, Bird. You're going to be open and honest, tell your story and answer the questions you're asked and I promise you the city is going to fall in love with you-"

"Ha!" Bird jolted forward in her seat as if she were about to make a run for it, "I'm a mess-"

"You're not perfect." Erin agreed, glancing down to her watch to see how they were doing on time before her eyes locked with Bird's, "Which is good because no one wants to see perfect. They want to see a real person. You're a survivor who's still trying to piece their life back together. You came back from the dead... getting through one on camera interview is going to be a piece of cake."

Nodding, Bird blinked rapidly as the film crew entered the room again and started to get the lighting situated just right.

"You're going to be fine." Erin promised.

The next several minutes passed in a blinding blur as Bird was led over to the chair where she'd give her interview from in a sitting room of Wayne Manor. The already elegantly decorated room had been rearranged with new background props brought in.

Bird's eyes focused for a moment on the large vase of vibrantly colored fresh flowers on a small french wood end table next to her chair as the make-up artist returned and put on the last few touches while the stylist added a final few spritzes of hairspray to Bird's recently lightened hair.

All the while Erin hovered close by and continued to try and ease her nerves by reminding her that they had a few hours before the segment would air to edit the interview and so it was perfectly fine if she messed up or needed extra time to think out an answer.

"Miss Wayne."

Bird scrambled to her feet to greet the reporter with an out stretched hand as she quickly replied, "Mrs. Navarro."

Clutching onto her hand with an uncomfortable tightness, Bird nervously added, "Welcome to Wayne Manor."

"Thank you." She answered with a cringe of pain.

Clasping her other hand over Bird's she gave a gentle squeeze and warmly added, "Please, call me, Nancy."

Swallowing hard, Bird let go of her hand and stiffly sat back down in her chair.

Nancy blew out a breath and glanced over at the news station employee that was manning camera one with a unsure expression.

If Bird was this nervous and rigid in person it would only be amplified through the screens of the city.

"Take a deep breath." Nancy instructed as she took a seat in her own chair facing the eldest Wayne, "Tonight is about you. You're the girl who came back from the dead -the girl that lived and everyone is wanting to know more about you."

Bird pulled in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as her eyes still darted around the room until they stopped on where Alfred was standing just out of the camera angle with the news crew.

He gave her a small nod and a proud smile and Bird smiled back at him.

It was then that her little brother entered the room and stood next to their butler. He curiously looked around the room until his eyes landed on his sister and he gave her a soft smile.

Calming down some at having them both there, Bird looked back to the reporter and blew out the breath she'd been holding as she spoke, "I'm ready when you are."

Nancy smiled as she watched the young woman loosen her posture and appear infinitely more relaxed than she had been moments before.

This was what Erin had promised her.

A beautiful charming young woman with a thousand watt smile that would resonate with all of Gotham.

Clearing her throat, Nancy readjusted in her chair some and explained that they were going to jump right into the interview, that the intro would be recorded back at the studio with her providing some back ground before it would air.

"I'm not sure what to call you." Nancy chuckled, "Would you prefer Miss Wayne or is Starling more appropriate?"

"Bird." She answered with a smile of her own, "I prefer Bird."

"Bird?" Nancy repeated back, "That's a little unusual, isn't it?"

"More unusual than Starling?" Bird didn't miss a beat as she glanced down to her lap and then back up to the reporter with a playful look in her dark brown eyes.

"Why, Bird?" Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly with an inquisitive expression.

"It's really the only name that feels like it belongs to me." She openly answered.

"Yes." The reporter nodded as she glanced down to the cards in her hand of talking points, "You were adopted into the Wayne family when you were five years old, isn't that right?"

Without giving her a chance to respond, Nancy got to work asking one of the questions that had been on everyone's mind since rumors had started on the topic over a year ago.

"Would you care to address the rumors that you're actually Carmine Falcone's daughter?"

"It's true." Bird admitted on the exhale of the breath she'd been holding in her lungs for what felt like an eternity, "Carmine Falcone is my biological father -I only recently learned the truth last year, myself."

"And your mother?"

"Is Lilith Wayne." Bird opened up, "Thomas and Martha Wayne are..." Catching her slip up in the tense in which she spoke of the, Bird paused and then corrected, "Were... technically my aunt and uncle."

"That must have came as quite a shock!"

"It did." Bird shook her head, "I didn't learn the truth until after they'd been killed and I'd be lying if I tried to say it didn't jar my entire world. I didn't handle the truth well at first, but then I realized that it didn't change anything for me; my parents were still my parents."

"So, you still refer to the Waynes as your parents?" Nancy leaned forward slightly as she spoke.

"I do." Bird stated, "They were there through every skinned knee, every bout of the flu... they always looked at me as their daughter and loved me even during the times I made it difficult on them."

"Here you sit -both a Wayne and a Falcone..." Nancy motioned with her hand, "Sounds like you'd have the city in the palm of your hand."

"You'd think so, right?" Bird managed a small laugh, "No, the, uh... the truth is that I didn't have an easy start to life. Lily, my biological mother, had struggled nearly her entire life with mental health problems and not long after I was born she took me and ran. She didn't want me growing up a part of the Falcone Crime Family, but she wasn't capable of raising a baby on her own and so I sort of got lost in the system."

"Bounced around from orphanages and unfit foster homes until Thomas and Martha were able to track me down and bring me home. I didn't grow up with a really strong sense of self. I was five years old before I actually had a name." Bird admitted.

"I can't even imagine..." Nancy sympathized with emotion on her face, "I assume this ties in with your comment earlier about preferring to be called Bird; that it's the only name you feel like you own."

"It's funny in a way." Bird half-smiled, "The nameless little girl grew up into someone with many names. I didn't find out until I was in my twenties, but I was given the name Carmina when I was born. And then of course, Starling, after I was adopted -but it never really felt like it was a name I could own. But Bird, that one is all mine."

"You know, I have to say that it's sobering to be having this conversation with you. On the drive up to Wayne Manor and the tour your butler so graciously gave me when I got here, I found myself trying to imagine what it could have possibly been like to grow up in such a grand house." Reaching out, Nancy gently laid her hand on Bird's as she continued, "Sitting here with you now, I can clearly see that while you've lived a privileged life... you have most certainly faced down your share of hardships. I hope you don't mind me saying, but you're much more down to earth than I'd expected."

After earning a smile from the young woman she was interviewing, Nancy sat back in her chair and said, "Forgive me for the sudden shift in conversation, but I know that I, as well as everyone watching from home, has one topic that is just looming in front of all the others."

Laying the cards down on the small table beside her, Nancy threw her hands up as she exclaimed, "You're alive! It was just a couple months ago that news of your demise was splashed across every paper in town. So, how are you sitting here with me right now? I've heard the world miracle tossed around."

"It's been a really long road to get to where I'm sitting . I thought I was going to die. I did die." Bird answered, pausing to take a sip of the water from the crystal class off the table beside her, "I think in a lot of ways I'm still mourning my own loss. I know that sounds silly-"

"No, it makes a lot of sense. I imagine there has been a lot to come to terms with. None of that could have been easy."

"So much of my life was decided for me. From the time Lily took and abandoned me as an infant. I didn't get a choice in that. Then being adopted as a child, as grateful and blessed as I was for that... the Wayne name is sometimes a heavy crown to bear and there were times where I felt crushed under that weight. The night that I was shot and nearly killed, Carmine Falcone had a contingency plan. His idea was that I could start over... make my own decisions in a life where I'd been stripped of that right countless times."

"But that decision was, in fact, taking another choice away from you?" Nancy caught on, "Your family and friends were left behind to think they'd lost you for good."

"His heart was in the right place." Bird dismissed, "But this is the city where I was born. It's the only home I've known and I couldn't just walk away from that -away from everyone who matters to me."

"Well, Bird, I for one, am very glad you're back among the living. Theo Galavan's time in Gotham left a dark mark that's sure to still be felt years from now, but you're here despite his every attempt to bring your family down." Nancy said.

"That was no easy feat." Bird blew out a breath and moved her hands as she spoke, "Galavan was out for revenge against me and my family long before I even knew he was was. He blew through Gotham -through my life like a storm and yes, I'm very much still trying to pick the pieces."

With a nod of understanding, Nancy asked, "Looking back, I can't believe how deeply the city fell under Galavan's spell. To the point that he even had the full support of the GCPD and the DA's office."

Shaking her head in disbelief she began her open ended statement, "It would be completely understandable if you were still harboring any ill feelings towards the police department."

There was a thoughtful pause on Bird's end.

She usually never missed an opportunity to openly speak her distaste for the police department, but Erin had already stressed to her how important it was to work on building new bridges and not go burning them down.

"You know, it would be all too easy to point fingers and start assigning blame, but I don't hold the police department responsible for what happened. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course looking back there are all of these telltale signs that everyone missed, but the only person who actually deserves to be blamed for what Theo Galavan did -is Galavan himself. Everyone else who got swept away in his larger than life campaign is just as much of a victim as I was."

"You don't really strike me as the type of person who so willing refers to themselves as a victim."

"I'm not." Bird stammered before taking a moment to compose herself, "Or I wasn't. There's a lot of stigma surrounding that word. Like being a victim means that you're weak or somehow to blame for 'letting' something happen to you and that's not true at all. The truth is that you can be incredibly strong and fight with everything you have and still end up losing; still end up being victimized."

"That's very true." Nancy nodded, but didn't get to say much else as Bird continued, "I'm not just a victim. I'm a survivor. I know the whole 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' saying is a cliche, but there is some real truth in it. You don't go through hell and come out the other end weaker, you just don't. Gotham City is full of survivors; I'm just one of the many."

••• later that night•••

"Has it started yet?" Bird called out as she hastily rushed into the study where Alfred had moved the table with the T.V on it in front of one of the couches.

"Just about." Alfred answered, keeping an eye on Bird as she darted around the side of the couch and plopped onto the cushion right beside him with a nearly over flowing bowl of popcorn.

With a small sigh he watched as some of the popped kernels spilled over the side of the bowl and down onto the furniture and finally the floor.

She'd never been one who cared about making a mess, probably because she wasn't the one who'd have to clean it up.

"There's nothing to be nervous about." He tried to assure her, "You're a natural, Lady Wayne. Would have made mum and dad damn proud today."

"Thanks Alfred." She managed a small smile, but before she could say much else she caught a familiar face grace the screen and gasped, "It's Nancy Navarro!"

With that she lunged forward for the remote resting on the coffee table and turned up the volume as Alfred called out, "Master Bruce!"

"Good evening and thank you for tuning in. Tonight we have a channel 82 exclusive interview with Gotham's very own, Starling Wayne -or Bird as she likes to be called. I had the absolute pleasure of getting to sit down and have a very candid conversation with her earlier this evening. We spoke about everything from her rough start in orphanages and her setting the record straight about her ties to the Falcone Crime Family up to her recent brush with death and if she feels the GCPD should be held accountable for their role in Galavan's rise to fame.

I may have only spent a few short hours in her company, but I can tell you this beautiful young lady is wise beyond her years. Every bit as charming and as graceful as her parents were. Hers is a story of loss and heartache, one of triumph and finding inner strength.

This is one interview that you don't want to miss. Again, this is Nancy Navarro for channel 82."

"I'd say you did a fine job winning that one over." Alfred smiled over at Bird as they both anxiously waited for the commercials to end so they could see which parts of her lengthy interview made the cut to be shown on air.

"She did." Bruce agreed with a smile as he entered the room and caught the end of the introduction to the feature of that night's news. Sitting down on the couch next to Bird, he looked over at her and offered a smile, "I thought you did very well today."

•••a few nights later•••

"Bruce?" Bird called out as she walked into the study expecting to find her little brother, but when she saw entrance open to the secret stairwell behind the fireplace was open she let out a small sigh.

She was all for training, staying strong and learning new fighting techniques but, it was starting to feel like all her little brother did anymore was stay down in that room and train to fight; while strangely enough she'd become the face of the Wayne name.

Her lawyer had been right.

Once news broke city wide that she was alive and everyone learned of Galavan's criminal activities -the city loved her.

More requests for interviews from local news stations and the papers were coming in daily and ever since her interview had aired, she'd been receiving letters in the mail from people of Gotham letting her know they stood behind her and expressing their distaste and anger for Galavan.

It was a whole new world for her and she was still learning how to try and navigate the terrain.

"Bruce, hey, I was thinking maybe instead of Alfred cooking we could all go out to dinner..." Her voice trailed off as she stepped off the last stair and looked around the room they'd unveiled under Wayne Manor to see her brother was nowhere to be found.

"Bruce?" She yelled out again even though it was clear he wasn't in the room.

But it was entirely unlike him to leave the hidden doorway to the chambers open if he wasn't down there.

Just as she started to turn and leave something caught her eye, a while envelope propped up against the screen of the computer that Lucius Fox was still trying to repair.

Her footsteps sounded unusually loud as she made her way over to the desk and plucked the envelop up.

Opening it up she pulled a piece of paper out to see it was a handwritten letter from her brother, addressing both herself and Alfred.

"I have left home for a while to live on the streets with Selina. Please, wait and listen before you react. You need not worry that I'm in danger or that I've lost my mind. I've thought long and hard about this decision and I know it's the right one. Malone's death made me realize a couple of things. You can't kill murder. You can't get revenge on evil. You can only begin to fight such things by not doing them. And you can only fight them where they live, not just at Wayne Enterprises. In the streets, in the slums, in the bad parts of town. So that's where I'm going.I'm not going to start battling muggers or anything. But one day, I am going to do something to help the people of Gotham. I don't know what yet, but I will. Meantime, I need to learn stuff. Number one: I need to learn how to live in the same world other people have to live in. Selina's giving me a place to sleep and will show me the ropes, so, like I say, there's no need to worry. I'll be in touch soon and I'll come home eventually. Please, trust me and honor my wishes. Don't try to bring me back. I need to do this. Sincerely, Bruce Wayne."

Bird read over the letter again, her heart falling even further through the floor with every single word.

In the days since they'd went after Malone, she'd noticed her brother had been quieter than usual. But she'd chalked it up to the events of recent -she'd never thought it was because he was planning to take off and try living as a street kid.

"Lady Wayne!" Alfred called out with a slight huff as he reached the bottom of the stairs and complained, "Couldn't you hear me? I've only been calling you and your brother for the last ten minutes..."

His voice trailed off when Bird turned around and faced him; it was clear to see something was very wrong.

"What is it?" He asked, eyes growing wide, "What's wrong?"

"He's gone." Bird answered, as the hand she'd been holding the letter in dropped down to her side and she gave a defeated shrug, "Bruce is gone."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Alfred's voice raised from panic and in a matter of seconds he was at her side and had taken the letter from her hand.

"He's..." Alfred had trouble catching his breath as he read over it, "He's... he's lost his mind. Gone round the bend."

Bird silently crossed the room and sat down on the stairs as she hung her head and waited for Alfred to finish reading the letter more than once over, just like she'd done.

"He's..." Alfred exclaimed as he angrily threw the letter down on the desk, "We have to-"

"Let him go." Emotion was dripping from her words as she spoke.

"What?" Alfred spun around to look over in her direction, thinking both Waynes had gone mad.

"He's not a little kid anymore." Bird reasoned, "If he wants to be out there on the streets then it won't matter if we drag him back here, he'll keep looking for the next opportunity to take off."

Logically, he knew there was a great deal of truth in her words, but his knee jerk reaction was to track Bruce and Selina down and drag the boy back home -kicking and screaming, if need be.

"He's not me." Bird offered up. Swallowing hard she added, "You didn't see him that night in Malone's apartment, but I was there and he could have easily killed him, but he didn't. Alfred, he was staring the man who killed his mom and dad in the face and even after years of wanting to see that man bleed and suffer... he walked away."

Crossing the room and taking a seat on the stair beside her, Alfred quietly said, "You put a great of deal of trust in him that night."

He still wasn't happy about hearing how Bird had handed him the loaded gun and let him walk into Malone's apartment, but he understood why she did.

"I bet the house on him and I was right." Bird nodded, "Dad always pushed us to make decisions for ourselves and Bruce is doing what he was taught. And -and Selina is street savvy and she's smart, if he's sticking with her then that's a hell of a lot better than him running off on his own."

Alfred pulled in a shallow breath that failed to inflate his lungs. It now felt like there was a blackened hole where his heart once sat.

He'd never been a parent himself, but in the time that had passed since Thomas and Martha were killed, he'd put everything he had into raising Bruce the way he'd been instructed too.

Done everything he could to fill the shoes of being the boy's guardian and the time had finally come where he needed to take a step back and trust in all the work he'd put in.

He always knew that moment would come, he just never expected it to show so soon.

"I'm at a loss, Lady Wayne." Alfred admitted, looking over to where she sat, "I haven't the slightest what to do now."

Bird nodded in agreement with him, though in truth she knew he was probably feeling more lost than she was.

Her head cocked to the side as she started to understand that her parents' murders didn't just turn hers and her brother's world on end, it had done the same to Alfred.

Not only had he lost two of his closest friends, but in one night he'd essentially went from being the family's trusted butler and friend -to being entirely responsible for the life and well-being of her brother.

She'd been thankful for Alfred being there, on countless occasions she'd thought of how she was so glad he was there because she'd never considered herself fit to be a guardian over someone else, but she was just now seeing that he was questioning that in himself.

Now that Matches Malone was gone, Bird had planned on finding herself an apartment again. The time she'd gotten to spend with her brother and helping him train was nice, but felt like her life was somewhat moving in reverse.

She'd left home the very day she turned eighteen and had been out on her own ever since and now here she was, living back at Wayne Manor several years later.

Bird hadn't told Alfred or Bruce that she'd been looking to get her own place, just as well she thought, now that those plans would be on hold.

The mansion often felt lonely enough with just the three of them living inside the walls, she couldn't imagine how the place would feel to Alfred with both she and her brother gone.

"Well..." Bird breathed, "There is that new Greek restaurant that opened up across town?"

Caught off guard, Alfred looked back over at her and asked, "Dinner? What, at a time like this?"

"We have to eat, Alfred." Bird managed a smile despite the fact that her chest felt cracked up from pain and worry, "We'll take the most inconspicuous car here and after dinner we'll take our leftovers and drive by the last place I knew of Selina staying at."

Managing a smile of his own, Alfred asked, "And what happened to letting your brother run off on his own?"

"I said drive by it." Bird repeated, "Besides, Selina isn't going to turn food down and I think we'll both sleep better knowing Bruce at least had dinner."

Nudging him on the arm, Bird stood up and started up the stairs as she said, "Come on."

"Dinner?" Alfred said with a small chuckle, "Of leftovers?"

"Hey-" Bird called over her shoulder, "He's the one who wants like a street kid."

Letting out a small sigh, Alfred found the strength to pull himself up to his feet and returned the letter to the desk where Bird had lifted it from.

He still didn't like this.

He'd much rather have Bruce at home, safe and sound inside of the walls of Wayne Manor, but at least keeping a distant eye on him would bring a slight peace of mind.

And in truth, he was thankful to have Bird home again. He wasn't so sure he'd be holding up as well in these circumstances without her there.

•••

Bird blew out an irritated breath an took the stairs two at a time on her way to answer the front door.

She wasn't sure who on earth was there this time of night, but it sounded like whoever it was about to break the door down.

Alfred had left just an hour earlier claiming that he needed to pick up a few things from an all hour market in town, but Bird had the feeling that he was probably going to spend most of the night parked close to where Selina and Bruce were staying.

Unlocking the door, she pulled it open to reveal a very agitated Detective Bullock.

"What are you doing here-" Bird started to ask, but blew out a sigh when he breezed inside the house past her, "Sure, come on in." She added with a roll of the eyes before closing the door and turning to face him where she was immediately met with an interrogation.

"Where's Alfred and your brother?" He demanded to know.

Biting down on the side of her tongue and managing to keep her cool despite the tone in which he was speaking to her in, Bird lied, "They ran out to get a few things from the store. Why?"

"Because, this conversation isn't exactly for their ears." He admitted, before jumping right into his reason for dropping by the house unannounced, "An officer was killed tonight. Carl Pinkney."

"Okay..." Bird trailed off, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Oh, you know, not much-" Bullock grumbled, "Other than the fact that Jim just got arrested for his murder!"

"Wait, what?" Bird's eyes widened, "Obviously he didn't kill this guy-"

"I know that!" He tossed his arms up in the air, "I know my partner. I know he didn't do it, I don't need you to tell me that."

"I know other things too." He continued upon seeing her dumbfounded expression, "Like how they've reopened the investigation into Galavan's death. Did you know about that?"

"No, Bullock." Bird shook her head, "Why did they reopen it? Oswald confessed to-"

"A call came into the anonymous crime stoppers line. Someone saying they saw what happened by the water that night. Penguin beat the crap out of Galavan, but Jim was the one who pulled the trigger. Also knew details that weren't released to the public; like the umbrella stuff down the dead guy's gullet."

"You think that was me who called?" Bird's face twisted, "What possible reason would I have to call and stir up a mess like that?"

"Don't know." Bullock shrugged, "Maybe you just like to stir up as much chaos as you can in Jim's life, or my personal theory that you're trying to get your buddy outa Arkham at any means necessary. Up to and including throwing my partner under a bus!"

"First off, yeah I'm pretty pissed about Oswald wasting away in there... but he's the one who turned down my help. Secondly, Jim is a friend and I wouldn't do this to him." Bird yelled, not longer able to hold back her anger.

Bullock took his hat off and rubbed a hand over the top of his head.

Jim said the same thing, he was sure that Bird hadn't had anything to do with the call to the tip-line, but Bullock didn't have the same faith in her that his partner had acquired.

In fact, he wasn't sure what the hell to believe anymore.

He'd been on the force for a number of years in Gotham and he'd seen some crap in his day, but nothing like the happenings of recent.

It seemed like ever since the night the Waynes were killed, the city had been on a downward spiral and there didn't seem to be an end in sight.

Jim Gordon was one of the most honest men he'd ever known.

During their time as partners, Jim had even managed to get him to turn his ways around from the crooked cop the city had bent him into; and now he was sitting in jail waiting on a bail hearing set for the next morning.

"I didn't have anything to do with this." Bird repeated with more conviction in her tone.

"Yeah, so you say and so Jim says, but the one thing that really irks me about this entire thing isn't what this anonymous caller said -it's what they didn't say." Bullock admitted, giving her a moment to catch on before saying, "Now, Jim finally told me what really happened that night and the callers version of the night matches up to every last detail... except for you. Your name didn't come up once, you want to tell me how that happened?"

"I don't know!" Bird exclaimed, not sure what else the tired detective expected from her.

She didn't have the first clue about what had happened.

"Yeah, cause it don't make sense." Bullock said jabbing an accusatory finger in her direction, "Someone wants Jim to go down for that crime, but apparently keep you clean. Maybe Oswald talked to someone?"

"I doubt that." Bird said.

It wasn't as though snitching on someone would be totally out of the realm of possibility for her best friend, but if he'd wanted to Jim to take the fall then he'd never had confessed in the first place.

Bullock put his hat back on and shook his head. Jim didn't think Oswald was to blame for it either, but again, Bullock wouldn't put it past the greasy criminal.

"What do you want from me?" Bird finally sighed with defeat as she tried to letter the anger go, "Want me to contact an attorney? You need bail money for him? What is it?"

"Bail hearing isn't till morning." He said, "They're holding him in county till then. I just need to know what happened so I can fix this. Can't you get a hold of Dent or something?"

"And what?" Bird scoffed with her arms folded over her chest, "Ask him to have his office drop the charges against Jim? Yeah, that would go over spectacularly."

Not only was her friendship and deepening bond with Jim the reason for many fights when she was engaged to Harvey Dent, but if the DA's office had enough evidence to let a case go to trial then his hands would be tied. He was just doing his job.

"Look, crazy eyes, clearly you're not grasping how serious this is." Bullock breathed, "He's a cop, if this things go to trial and he loses... the only way he'll be leaving Blackgate is in a body bag."

•••