Bullets and Brainpower

Gordon?

"Well?" I look up at him, confused.

"Well what?" He sighs.

"You're a troubled kid," he says. "You've never had a real family, and that's affected how you look at the world, and how you deal with things. You need help." I go to protest, but he cuts me off. "You need someone to show you that what you've experienced isn't the way the whole world is, but you also need someone to keep you in line." I scoff.

"What, and that's you?" He shrugs.

"It can be." My scowl disappears, and instead I feel lost and confused.

"Why?" It comes out as almost a whisper. "Why would you..." I let out a deep breath.

"Why would I help you?" he asks. I nod. "Because I think you could be a good kid. You've got gifts, I'll definitely say. You could be so much more than what you are right now, and I want to help you."

"Just you?" He shakes his head.

"No. My fiancé can help you too. She'll probably actually be more help than I am." I chuckle lightly. "So what do you say?" I look down at my lap, laugh quietly, shrug, and look back up at him, smiling.

"Sure." He smiles. I think it's the first time I've seen him smile.

"Well, then, Cassidy Alexandra Gordon, what do you say we get you out of here?"

~~~

After that, Jim and I had gone to my roof to grab my stuff.

"This is where you've lived for the past three years?" he asks. I nod.

"Well, I didn't stay here every night," I say. "Most nights though." He looks around.

"Let me guess," he says. "You didn't stay here much during the day." I chuckle and shake my head. I jog over to the bed and bend down to pick up my backpack. "Was this really all you had?" I look over at him, standing up. I think about it, then nod.

"Well, yeah," I say. "I mean, I'm a minor living on a rooftop. I couldn't really do much better." He looks at me with pity, then smiles.

"Well, not anymore." I smile slightly. When we reach the apartment building where I first met Jim--well, stole his wallet--I'm kind of panicking. My first impression when I met Barbara was not the greatest. Jim looks down at me as he pulls out his key to the apartment.

"Hey." I look up at him. "It'll be fine." I let out a deep breath and nod as he opens the door. "Barbara!" he yells. "Can you come here for a second, please?" I hear heels clicking on the floor and inwardly turn into a turtle. The blonde walks around the corner and freezes when she sees me. We stare at each other for a nerve wracking amount of time before she finally looks at Jim.

"Jim," she says. "What is she doing here?" He looks down at me, then back at her.

"It's...kind of a long story," he tells her. "But she's gonna be living with us now." She looks at him, and I'm not sure if she's angry, shocked, or both. Probably both.

"You do realize she stole your wallet, don't you?" He nods, and I perk up.

"Wait!" I exclaim. They both look at me, and I kneel down, take off my backpack, and pull out a small, brown leather wallet. I stand up and hold it out to Jim. "I lied to you. I never spent the money. I kept it." He stares at it, and I swear I see him smile.

"What happened to 'lie, cheat, steal, and survive'?" I shrug.

"I don't live on the streets anymore." This time, I know he smiled.

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.