Bullets and Brainpower

Arkham

"I'll get it," Barbara says. She opens the door and looks back at him, smiling. "Jim." It's then that I hear a voice I never thought I would again.

"Hello, James," I hear Oswald's voice say. "Old friend."

Jim is frozen as his eyes land on Oswald, who looks at Barbara.

"You must be Barbara," he says. She smiles politely and nods.

"Yes, please come in," she says. He nods and steps past her. I don't move from my spot in the doorway to the kitchen.

"I'm Peter," he says. "Peter...Humboldt." He chuckles kindly as he shakes Barbara's hand. "Lovely to meet you at last. You're even more beautiful than I imagined." She laughs.

"Shush. Nice to meet you, Peter." She looks back at Jim. "I never get to meet any of Jim's friends, 'cause he never tells me anything." Oswald nods.

"Mm. Men."

"Don't I know." He looks past her, and his eyes land on me. He smiles. To Jim and Barbara, he would look like he's just being polite, but I know the truth. We were worried about each other. That tends to happen when people who see each other as siblings don't know if the other is alive or not. "You must be...Cassie, right?" I nod, trying my hardest not to grin like a maniac.

"Hi," I say simply. He walks over and extends his hand. I glance at it 'warily' before shaking it. Barbara steps forward.

"Would you like a drink?" she asks. Jim shakes his head.

"No, uh...he's a work friend," he says. Oswald nods.

"It's a work thing. I'm just recently back in Gotham and I had an idea to pop by out of the blue. But now is clearly not a good time." Jim smiles tightly and nods.

"I'll walk you out." The two head outside, and I look at Barbara.

"Well that was interesting."

~~~

I'm sitting at the bar in the kitchen eating dinner a few days later when Jim walks in, looking tired as ever. Barbara keeps looking out the window as he walks up behind her.

"You're off early for a change," she says.

"I missed you," he says. She turns to face him, and he kisses her. She turns away from him as he takes off his jacket. "You all right?" She looks down.

"Long hours and late nights, Jim," she says. She looks at him. "They make me worry." He sighs.

"About what?" She picks up her glass of wine and shrugs.

"All kinds of things."

"I'm just doing my job."

"Are you?" He pauses and sighs.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She sighs.

"It means I think you have secrets from me. And I hate it." I look down at my plate, twisting pasta into my fork as she turns and starts to walk away from him. He groans and follows her.

"What do you want me to say, Barbara? Yeah. I have secrets. It's part of my job. It's how I make sure-"

"Who's Oswald Cobblepot?" I look up at them at the mention of Oswald's name. It's then that I remember that Montoya and Allen are under the impression that Jim killed him for Falcone. Jim freezes.

"How do you know that name?" Barbara shakes her head.

"Doesn't matter. Who is he?"

"I can't even begin to answer that."

"Can't or won't?" He pauses.

"Montoya. She came to see you, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"Why does she keep coming to you? What is there between you and her?" She sighs, and I frown.

"Years ago, before I was with you...she and I were in a relationship." My eyes widen, and I can imagine Jim's do too.

"What?" I silently pick up my plate and exit the room. This is a conversation I don't need to be a part of. Now, I know what you're thinking. Since when is there a conversation I don't need to hear? Well, to be honest...I don't know. It's like since I came to live with Jim and Barbara, I've developed...morals. I actually dwell on what other people deserve, and not just revenge and stuff like that. I've actually been respecting other people. I don't know why, but I can't decide if I like it or not. It's probably Jim rubbing off on me. Even Barbara isn't really like that.

~~~

The next day, Tony drives me to the station, still trying to be a good friend after all the crap he said, and although I'm not allowed to go with Jim when he leaves to get the mayor as he doesn't want me to get hurt, I'm not completely useless. I help him a bit in figuring out what CLM is (the first letter of the last names of the officers protecting Mayor James), and then I work on some papers left on his desk while he's gone.

When he comes back, he gives me a quick hug and kiss on the head before going to the top level, and, once again thanks to my newfound respect for privacy, I don't follow him. Especially when Barbara comes in and goes up there with him. I do however scoot my chair closer to the railing so that I can see them over the edge.

The conversation starts off calmly, but Jim quickly gets aggravated. I frown as they argue above me, and Harvey comes to stand next to me.

"Do we know what's going on?" he asks. I shake my head, crossing my arms. When things calm down again, Barbara says one last thing. She must wait for him to respond for a moment, but when he doesn't, she sighs and walks away. As she comes down the stairs, her eyes land on me, and she sighs and shakes her head but doesn't stop. I look at Harvey, frowning, and he sighs, looking back up at Jim.

I sigh. Just when things were starting to seem good.

I do not own Gotham or its characters. I do however own Cassidy Alexandra, Ice, Gracelyn Ventura, and their plot, so don't steal. It's not nice.