James Gordon

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“We will agree with disagreeing here Jim” He mused knowing that their marriage wasn’t the best at the moment but she still got to call herself Jim’s wife someone important in Jim’s life. He chuckles at the other’s face and words “Aww, scared I’m corrupting your cops once again? No worries there Jim, I have you in my pocket why would I need another.” he winked at the other in a joking manner. They were always tied together with no matter how much either of them fought it they always returned to one another one way or another. “I’m very charming, and deadly when I wish to be, How do you think I looked after Edward and Emeli after all these years?” he mused before shrugging “I’m quite clear for the rest of the day, you need a place to eat and rest in peace, it’s perfect” He replied moving to turn to get his car outside. “Come along Jim we can chat about what’s keeping you from resting and eating healthy.”

“I don’t know, Oswald. You’ve always liked a back up plan.” He replied. As hard as Jim worked to ensure that the Gcpd was was uncorrupt as possible, he somehow got corrupted himself. Accepting deals with Oswald and even living with Zsasz. At some point he had thrown his morality out the window. He knew that Barbara dabbled in darkness herself and all he could hope was that their children didn’t pick up their darker traits. Not that he worried so much about his daughter. She was a shining light. He chuckled at his friend’s words. “Well, who were you with then. Prior then with me.” He pried. “Well, I’m glad not to be cutting into your work time then. Thank you, Oswald. You’re honestly too good to me.” 

Her eyes were on him, worried that he was out here during a time like this but no less surprised. The world could be imploding and she’d find him here, trying to help the people of Gotham. Waiting for the rest of the cops to go in Barbara stepped forward to meet her dad. “Yeah - Nightwing hasn’t been answering his coms I’m worried, the sky is freaking red and people are powerless - something otherworldly is going on.” she explained. “How are you holding up with everything?” she asked reaching a hand out to place on his arm. He seemed off, perhaps it was just because this was the first time she had addressed him as dad as batgirl. 

“Nightwing’s not answering his coms?” Jim said, worry in his tone. Dick hadn’t checked in with him either. Which was something he normally did when he decided it would be better to have Nightwing on the streets than Dick Grayson. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” He said. Shen she reached out to touch him, he placed a hand on top of hers. “Don’t worry about me,” He told her. “There’s innocent people in danger right now. Let’s worry about all of them. We’ve gotten a lot of desperate calls today. So I’m going to need you and the rest of the bats to handle some of it. I’ve told Batman already, and he’ll be assigning you something to do soon. I’m sure.” He said, trying to keep things as professional as he could even with the veil of him knowing her identity lifted.

Barbara managed to look up at the sound of his voice, though her stomach lurched as she did. For just a split second, her gaze was completely blank, like she was looking at a stranger. And then the fog in her mind lifted, or at least shifted – Babs still felt a little dizzy, a little confused, but the warmth that flared in her chest at the term of endearment drove enough of the fog away for her to actually be able to think. “I don’t know,” she admitted. She frowned up at him, not because she was offended – it was a fair question considering her past – but because she was annoyed with herself. With her body. “No,” she said. “I haven’t even been drinking. I don’t know why…” She winced as he stood up with her, some of the dizziness returning but fading as they walked toward the house. “Do you still have your key?” she said, sounding more like herself with the partially joking question. “Just take mine.” The keys rattled together as her slightly trembling hand held them out. 

“Have you had many episodes like this or is this your first one?” He questioned her, keeping his voice gentle like he was talking to a child at a crime scene. “Either way, I want you to see a doctor.” He said. Normally he’d just ask her to go see Lee Thompkins. She was, after all, the most brilliant doctor he knew but since finding out about the virus and being successfully swayed by her to take it himself, he didn’t want Barbara to go anywhere near her. For her safety of course, but he’d also rather keep it under wraps that he was sick. He adjusted her weight so he could take her keys and unlock the door. “Of course I still have my key.” He muttered. Once he got her inside, he laid her down carefully on the couch. “Stay, I’ll get you some water.” He ordered.

“Bye!” Duela giggled as the man scrambled to his feet and ran off. Her eyebrows lifted as she watched him twitch like a nervous rabbit. “Oof, you alright there, big guy?” She laughed, looking him over. “Although I guess big guy might be inacc – well, to be fair, I haven’t seen everything. Must be keeping Brenda happy somehow, right?” She tapped the tip of his nose with a finger. “Mmm, I think you do. Or you will.” As he walked away from her, she ran and jumped onto the hood of a car, using the leverage to leapfrog over Jim’s head like he was a pommel horse, flipping over and landing in front of him. “Wait, wait, wait, wait!” she said. “I gotta show you something!” She pulled something out of her pocket – a picture frame Christmas ornament. It was almost 30 years old, featuring a grinning teenage Babs (Brenda) with a teenage Jim, baby Barbara held in Jim’s lap, all three of them beaming. “Brenda put up the tree yesterday!” she said brightly, dangling the ornament in front of Jim’s nose. “Isn’t that sweet?” She leaned in again, smiling. “She talks in her sleep,” she whispered. “But I guess you already know that.”

If there was anything he didn’t want to deal with right now it was a clown. Of course, he could take her in but after losing control, he didn’t exactly trust himself right now. It was a show of compassion (as well as annoyance) to walk away from her. When she leaped over him, his brows furrowed and he took an uneasy step back from her. He thought that she would just let it go and leave him be but apparently not. His nose scrunched up like an angry dog when she told him to wait. “Do you want me to take you in?” He threatened. His face softening a bit when she pulled out the picture. Eyes widening as he took it in. Snatching the ornament from her and putting it in his pocket, he grabbed his gun and aimed it easily at her forehead. “If this is supposed to be a treat, you should know I don’t take that kind of thing lightly.” He snarled, “What were you doing there?”

Duela put her hands to her face, mouth open in a caricature of surprise. “What’s this?” she said, kicking the criminal in the stomach while he was down. Just because he was there, her foot was there, it all worked out. “Did Jimbo Gordo finally develop a personality? That’s fun! And pretty hot. Does the wifey know you like it rough? What’s her name again, Brenda?” She paused for a moment before gasping, as if she’d recalled something. “Oh, speaking of fun!” Her grin widened and she tilted her head him, eyes going round. “IIII know something yoooou don’t knowwww!” she told him, her voice slipping into a sing-song cadence. She leaned in and smiled. “Choke me too and maybe I’ll let you in on the surprise, Commish.”

“Get out of here before I change my mind.” He hissed to the man and he scrambled to his feet before taking off. “What do you want?” He turned his head to look at Duela Dent. Someone he recognized right away as The Joker’s Daughter. A no good clown wreaking havoc on the city. She deserves to be put down, like the rest of them. His head twitched in a sort of nervous tick. “Yeah, Brenda.” He said with a scoff. If she didn’t know Barbara’s name then he wasn’t going to let her know. “Yeah... I don’t think I care that much.” He replied in a growl, beginning to push past her and walk away. He knew her type and he wasn’t going to give her what she wanted. 

Mar’i was right, it was strange of Dick not to keep in touch especially when something so out of this world was going on. Red sky, powerless heroes, an uncontrollable Gotham. Unable to reach him on his comms or cellphone, Babs decided to suit up and take to the streets herself. She’d been a little wary about putting the suit back on, especially after finding out her father knew all along. She never wanted to disappoint him and she knew she worried him every time she put the suit on. Today was a dire situation so she pushed her mixed feelings to the back of her mind and suited up. She spotted him almost immediately on her patrol her feet touching the ground the mechanical braces Tony had built her holding firm. “Dad?” @jim-gcrdon​

Since Lee injected him, he’d been feeling a bit off. Not that it wasn’t completely expected. It wasn’t like he didn’t know that this was already like. He’d been infected with the virus before and this time, it was coming on slow. Maybe his body was trying to fight it off. It did however take away some of the crushing guilt that had been eating him alive. Distracting him from torturing himself. Talking to a couple of his officers, he heard the voice of his daughter and immediately glanced over. “Go ahead in, I’ll meet you inside.” He told them, hoping they didn’t hear her call him ‘Dad’. He walked over to his daughter and immediately noticed that she was standing. His eyes went to her legs before tearing his gaze from them. Trying not to feel a bit emotional. He never thought she’d stand again. “Are you patrolling?” He asked her, his voice softer than how he spoke to everyone else. 

@jim-gcrdon​​

The dizziness and the mental fog had only been getting worse over the past few days, and it didn’t help that some miscreant had already set something on fire, smoke staining the sky and making her eyes sting. Fortunately Peter was safe with Lucius Fox, but she had no idea where her husband and daughter were – well, she had no idea where they specifically were, but she had no doubt they were in the thick of this mess, as usual. She was heading down a side street, trying to get home where she was intending on calling Jim, and the next thing she knew, she was on her knees in her front yard, her head swimming. She couldn’t look up when she heard footsteps approach, she was too dizzy. “–what?” she said thickly. “Who is that? What do you want?”

“Barbara?” He was coming home to check on her when he saw her kneeling on the yard. Seemingly out of it. His first thought was drugs. For a short while she had been a bit of a user sometime near the beginning of their relationship. He rushed to her side and got down to his knees to be on her level. “Honey, what’s wrong?” A rare pet name slipped out. Something that only really happened when he was concerned. He placed two fingers on her neck, curious what her heart rate was at. “Did you take something..?” Was that too weird to ask? She hadn’t done any drugs in years. She was acting off still so he pulled her into his arms, slowly and carefully he stood up with her. Deciding to take her inside so she wasn’t in the open. 

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Oswald chuckled “Ahh you’re such a tease jimbo, how lucky Babs is” he mused before looking at him “ Do I need a better one to drop by and see my friend? though I suppose I was hanging out with someone else in the GCPD but I do worry about you is that illegal?” He teased watching the other he’d seen how Jim looked and he knew enough to know he wasn’t taking care of himself. “Well the news would be better if you took better care of yourself” He replied before shaking his head “I’d deny ever speaking these words but I agree with Harvey, you don’t look well Jim and unlike your wife I have no issues knocking you out to ensure you sleep.” He replied shaking his head “Better Idea You come back my house for some much needed food and a nap?”

“She’s not lucky to have me as a husband, but thank you. I guess.” He said, his voice soft. “Someone else?” He asked, “I didn’t know you had other friends here. Should I be concerned that you’re paying off one of my cops?” He questioned. He didn’t really think Oswald talked to anyone but himself at the GCPD and he thought he only talked to him because of their long and twisted history. He’d made a choice not to shoot Oswald off the dock and now the two of them were tied together by a string of fate. “How charming.” He said about knocking him out. He glanced down for a moment like he was thinking about it. It was probably better for him not to go to the Iceberg lounge. He’d been drinking there too much lately and Oswald must have noticed the unhealthy habit. “I thought you had work.” He said, lifting his head. He’d decided he would, but only if Oswald really wasn’t busy. He could use the supervision anyway. As stupid as that felt to admit.

He’d lost himself for a moment, sucked into the rage like it was an all consuming Vortex. His hand closed around someone’s neck. Pressing them up against the wall. They were chocking clearly, but he couldn’t hear the sounds over his own thundering heartbeat. Very suddenly brought back out of it when he felt someone touch him. Gasping, he let the criminal go. Watching as he fell to the ground. He was still alive, choking, but alive. Jim looked at his hands for a moment before turning to look at who had touched him. “I didn’t mean to do it that hard....” The virus had clearly already began its hold on him. He should have never taken it.

When Jim pulled away from her, Babs swallowed, instantly missing the feel of him in her arms. Her hands fell into her lap, the fingers of her right going to the ring finger of her left, absently twisting the engagement band back and forth. Her brow furrowed slightly at the question. She had to search her memory – which admittedly had been scattered of late – for the name, but then she nodded. “The Christmas party, two years ago,” she said softly. It hadn’t really been much of a party, at least not in her eyes, but of course that wasn’t the point right now.  She swallowed softly. “I know it must be hard for you to talk about,” she said quietly. “So thank you for telling me.” Babs dropped her eyes to her lap, struggling to find the right words. “I can’t imagine how badly this must be weighing on you, Jim….I don’t want to say the wrong thing. But for whatever it’s worth, and I understand if that’s not much, considering what you must be dealing with…” She pressed her lips together, trying to stop herself from babbling like an idiot. “I know you,” she said finally. “You’re a good man. Even if you don’t think you are.” She smiled thinly. “It’s like those who can’t do, teach. Those who aren’t good recognize people who are.”

“Yes...” He nodded his head when she said that it must be hard for him to talk about. It was hard for him to think about it, let alone talk about it. He dropped his head and stared at the blankets. He glanced up at her with a disapproving gaze. “You’re a good person, Barbara. You’ve never killed anyone.” He sighed. “You’re better than me and you deserve so much better. I know how it must have been like... me keeping my distance from you. It isn’t how I should be behaving as Peter’s father or as your husband. I’m just trying to cope.” He said, knowing he shouldn’t justify his actions. His heart felt heavy. “I’m not a good man.” He told her, “I killed him. I could feel him beneath me squirming. Fighting. And I didn’t loosen my grip on his neck.” He recounted, staring at his hands. “I’ve been getting therapy. Talking to Lee, and all... I told her about it but uh-” He swallowed. “It still doesn’t feel like enough. I can’t just get over it and come home to you when I don’t even trust myself. Only yourself, Lee and Oswald know.” 

❛❛ I made some tea. Now, do you need to talk? Or should I just put on some music? ❜

“Uh, thanks.” He said to her. He didn’t speak much with Lois Lane. She reminded him a lot of Vicki Vale. Of that odd time he spent apart from Barbara. He took a seat when she had said she made tea and shook his head. “Better put on that music, then.” He told her.

❛❛ You look like you need a hug. Come here. ❜❜

“Yeah, I’ll pass.” Jim said, trying to step past her but someone rudely walked by which forced him back into Harley’s path. He’d just come from the Iceberg Lounge in which he spent a little too much time in lately. He placed a hand on Harley’s shoulder to stabilize himself. “What are you doing here? Causing trouble?” He asked, forgetting he was on Defiance Territory. 

Babs waited for a moment, her chest aching. She wanted to tell him to look at her, but she sensed that he needed a moment away from her gaze. So she let him, though she felt relieved when he let her hold him, holding her in turn. She didn’t say anything as the silence stretched between them, though her fingers kept stroking soothingly through his hair. She barely suppressed a shiver at his words. She had lived in that reality for a year and she never wanted to go back to that. Being without him had been like being trapped at the bottom of the ocean, where the light didn’t reach – cold and dark, a crushing weight stealing the breath from her chest. “That’s not true,” she said, keeping her voice soft so that it wouldn’t tremble. “Of course you should be here.” She kissed the top of his head. “You don’t have to tell me what it was, if you’re not ready,” she murmured. “But you can. It’s not going to change how I feel about you.” 

The guilt ate him alive. Every day he could feel it’s teeth sinking into his flesh. Tearing him apart limb from limb. It wasn’t just killing his Officer that got to him. It all did. Every time he failed to bring someone justice. Every time he pulled the trigger to stop a criminal. He was just as bad as the people he locked away. The only thing that differed them was the badge he wore. Giving him a free pass to kill. Like he had any moral right to. Sometimes he could forget. If he was busying himself with work or drinking. But not right now. Why did it take killing one of his own to realize how in the wrong he was? He pulled back from her and swallowed. Thinking about telling her. His brow furrowed and his gaze fell from hers. “Do you remember Officer Manning?” He asked, “He... went with my patrol to Trigate Bridge to investigate the explosion. He uh-” He cleared his throat. “His body was never found because he was taken with me by Arcade. We survived together for months but he- Arcade... he um. He offered one of us freedom. If we killed-” He could barley spit it out. It stuck in his throat, choking his words. “It was a lie but- he attacked me...”