Author's Note: Just a one-shot, because Jim Gordon deserves some respect. Enjoy, and please review!
His life never did pan out the way he'd expected it to.
Sometimes, he blames himself for this. Sometimes, other people. Mostly himself, though, because others had their problems, too, and he didn't always help with those.
Jonathan Crane. The Joker. Harvey Dent. Bane. They all played their part in getting him to where he is today. They put Gotham through hell, and so they put him through hell, too. And those he loved. The Batman played a part, too, but that's different.
He feels so old, so tired, sitting in the place he used to call home, but now is just a collection of rooms he owns. Drinking alone. Doing his job the best he can—repairing the city after Bane's occupation. It was during that time that he was almost glad his wife and kids are in Cleveland. At least he isn't putting them in danger anymore. The others created the danger, but his job put his family at the end of loaded gun, and that was definitely his fault. And he misses them unimaginably; he misses the life he couldn't keep intact and still help his city.
Good Lord (though sometimes he doubts his goodness), hasn't he helped save Gotham enough for one lifetime?
He's either very lucky, or very unlucky. Lucky to have survived all the hell that has befallen Gotham the last few years, unlucky that he's lost most everything he cared about in the process. And Gotham still needs him, too, they need their police commissioner, their war hero, even in peace time. And he'll never abandon people in need, because that's not how he was raised and that's why he became a cop. That's why he became a good cop.
He wants back what he had. In some way, he feels like he deserves a peaceful life now. Like he's entitled to it. But the world is unfair, and he knows that as good as anybody. Things aren't always as you think they ought to be, not in Gotham, not anywhere.
It hurts.
He hates being alone, but reaching out to others is not the answer. Only more people to be ripped away from him, should things go bad again.
Maybe his loved ones will come back, maybe they won't. It's out of his hands, because he's invested too much in Gotham to abandon it now, when it finally has a chance to to redeem itself, to expel corruption and end the class war. Maybe his family will return to him. Maybe he'll be able to keep them safe this time. Maybe he'll be able to forgive those that have had a hand in making his life this, those plagued by madness or grief or hunger. Maybe he'll forgive himself. Maybe a new vigilante will be born, not a dark knight, but a true hero. Maybe Gotham will rise from the ashes.
Maybe.
