Mama Gotham

Think Well Of Me

To say that Mrs. Nygma was surprised when she found a girl in her son's bed would have been an understatement.When she finally gave the children a chance to speak, it was Edward that did all the talking, Alyssa clinging tightly to his hand and slightly hiding behind him. It only worried the boy all the more, if you had asked him yesterday he'd have said Alyssa Connors wasn't afraid of anything.

Mrs. Nygma softened and apologized when she finally understood. As a mother will, she then fussed over Alyssa's injuries.

"Edward's told me a lot about you." she said, her voice soft and kind in an attempt to sooth the girl. "He says you scared off the kids who were bullying him. Thank you for that."

"They're like that with everyone." Alyssa shrugged, "I guess I'm just a little protective of him cuz he is my only friend...."

"That's not true." Edward frowned. "I see you with other kids all the time. You're always getting into trouble with them."

"Yeah and what does that tell you?" she sighed. "They don't really know me. I'm just a cheap thrill."

"And I know you?" he raised an eyebrow. She hadn't really admitted much about herself, the answers were few and far between.

Alyssa smiled slightly. "You can have me but cannot hold me; gain me and quickly loose me. If treated with care, I am great, and if betrayed I will break. What am I?"

Edward blinked, even his mother looked surprised at someone asking him a riddle for a change.

"Trust." Edward answered, slower than he otherwise would have.

"Precisely my dear poindexter." Alyssa nodded. "You don't have to know everything about me, and I don't have to know everything about you. There's time for that later. I trust you. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't."

*******

The peace of the day was short-lived. Once Mrs. Nygma was no longer fussing, she called the police on Alyssa's parents. Now, this was Gotham, so no one really took her seriously until she mentioned that Mr. Connors was a drug dealer.

Yet another thing Alyssa didn't like about Gotham.

Her sister Jamie went ballistic. She insisted that her parents were good people, that they'd never do anything to hurt anyone. She herself was another story however; one of the cops had to hold her back when she saw her sister.

"Why did you have to do this?! We were happy! Why wasn't that enough for you?!"

Alyssa clenched her jaw and turned on her heel, stubbornly ignoring Jamie calling after her, demanding answers. The youngest Connors girl would be sent into foster care, and she was young and sweet enough that she'd be snatched up by a nice family in no time.

Alyssa didn't care what happened to her, as long as Jamie was safe.

"Hey kid!"

"Gah!" Alyssa jumped and whirled around. She glared at the man in a fedora and leather coat who was three times her size. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry." he didn't seem sorry at all. "You're that Connors girl, right? One of the drug dealer's kids?"

"Who wants to know?"

The man pulled a badge out of his jacket. "Detective Harvey Bullock. I was curious as to why we got one girl screaming her head off that her parents are good people and why we got one that called them in."

Alyssa shrugged. "Jamie's nine. She's just a kid."

"So are you."

"I'm mature for my age."

Harvey fought the urge to roll his eyes, annoyed at the girl for avoiding his question. "You're parents are both scumbags. But your sister thinks –"

"I know what she thinks, its her parents!" Alyssa cut him off. She bit her lip and looked down. "A girl should be able to think well of her parents, detective."

"You're tellin' me she has no idea what they're really like?"

"How long you been in Gotham detective?"

"Couple'a years, why?"

"In that time, how many pure, uncorrupted people have you come across?"

Harvey was silent.

"That's what I thought." Alyssa nodded. "Now, Jamie's gonna get adopted. She's gonna be on the first bus out of this city, and she's never gonna know how lucky she was to get out alive."

"She's gonna grow up hating you."

"Doesn't matter." she shook her head. "She'll be safe."

"Wow....that's pretty noble a' you kid."

"Thank you." she nodded. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go find the Nygmas. They're the ones taking me in until further notice."