A/N: I've written a lot of fanfic, but mostly for Lois & Clark. This is my first BatB ficlet, and quite a lot of it is taken directly from the episode "Heart of Darkness". I don't own the characters but the thoughts and some of the dialog is original to me. There were just a few things that I thought needed to be added, and then things shifted from there.

Subway Conversation

Found him. Finally. Vincent took a moment to fortify himself before confronting Evan. This was the man who'd kissed Catherine, who had "feelings" for her, the man who'd investigated cross-species DNA and signed up with Muirfield. He didn't like or trust Evan, but he didn't have to. This was about limiting the damage and shielding the woman he loved. He'd do far harder things than this for her.

Evan wasn't looking happy, looking somehow lost, staring at his phone. Vincent stepped forward quickly. "Don't even think about calling her."

Evan looked up in surprise as Vincent sat to face him. After a strained moment he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to stop you from getting Catherine killed, like you tried with me." He nodded towards Evan's hand. "They would have bugged your phone by now; you push "send" and they will track her down, and they will kill her."

Evan put his phone away. Good, he still cared about Catherine; Vincent could work with that.

"Now what? You gonna rip out my throat?"

Yeah, the man clearly believed all the vigilante crap. Never mind, it wasn't important what Evan believed about him. And, anyway… "Oh, it's tempting." he replied, only half joking. "But here's your other option. You're going to pick up my trail somewhere else, somewhere that Muirfield will follow. Somewhere you wanna live, where you can get lost, and never come back."

Evan was clearly shaken, but he rallied at that. "So that's it. I just abandon Catherine to your so-called hands."

So-called? Never mind. Focus. "You have no idea of the people you just signed up with, do you? They are dangerous."

"And you're not? The vigilante who's killed countless New Yorkers. And Catherine's better off with a menace like you?"

Vincent smiled slightly, remembering. "She seems to think so."

"She's just fascinated by you. That's the only reason why she's with you."

Okay, the insults were getting a little annoying. "Or maybe she's in love with me." It felt so good to say that out loud.

Evan's eyes narrowed. "You really think dragging her into your world, forcing her into some twisted relationship with a monster, is protecting her?"

In spite of everything, Vincent laughed a little. "Dragging? Forcing? You don't know Catherine very well. Look, I actually agree with you. I tried to keep her out, I tried pushing her away. For months. But she's a stubborn woman, and she… kept coming back."

"No, you're to blame," Evan insisted. "You knew that Muirfield were after you, but you put Catherine right in the middle of it all. You put her life on the line, just so you could selfishly be with her."

There was more truth in that than Vincent was comfortable with, but that wasn't the point. He needed the man's cooperation to shield Catherine. "Are you really so naïve as to think this black ops agency is just going to let her go? I know them. I know they're going to ask you how you found me." He paused, then upped the pressure. "How long do you think you'll last before you give up her name?"

"I would never—"

"They have killed men ten times stronger than you. When push comes to shove, you will break, and then who's the threat to her?"

Evan swallowed. "There won't be a threat, once you're gone."

"Evan, they will not stop with killing me." Vincent sighed. "If I thought they would, I'd turn myself in. I *have* turned myself in."

"Oh really? So how is it that you're here, then?"

"Catherine. She and JT, they just wouldn't accept—"

"Hang on, JT? JT Forbes? You know him?"

"We grew up together."

That seemed to shock him. "Grew up?"

"What, you thought they made me in a petrie dish?"

Evan didn't reply, but the look on his face was almost comical. Vincent shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Catherine is all that matters, and if you'll cooperate with me, we can protect her. Come up with some story about how you spotted me that doesn't involve her."

"Why?"

Vincent frowned at the other man's puzzlement. "So they won't think she—"

Evan shook his head. "No, I mean why would she choose to be with you? What can you possibly have to offer her?"

"Honestly? I don't know." He'd asked himself the same thing, countless times. "I guess you'd have to ask her. But anything and everything I have is hers for the taking."

Evan was silent for a long moment, studying Vincent. "I want to talk to her."

That sounded like a good sign. "Can you stall Muirfield another day?"

"I—I don't know. I'm afraid they're watching me."

The subway train swayed, beginning to slow as they approached the next station. "This is my stop," Vincent said, standing and looking around warily. "Okay, you need to disappear now." He hesitated, then made his decision. "You can come with me; there's a way to get into the tunnels. You need to leave your phone."

Evan slowly nodded, then pulled a cylindrical object from his pocket, holding it carefully away from him. "I'll need to leave this, too. It's to call them. They might be able to track it."

Vincent took in a sharp breath. "Definitely keep that away from her."

Evan stood, leaving the object along with his phone in the corner of the seat. "Right." As they moved towards the door, he murmured, "All I ever wanted was to protect her."

Vincent didn't reply. He didn't like or trust Evan, but he didn't have to. If Muirfield came for him now, there'd be no obvious link to Catherine. But Tess had come around, and maybe Evan would, too. Between all of them, they'd do their best to protect the one person they all loved.

They exited the subway car and slipped through an access door, unnoticed in the crowd.

The End

(Please review if you'd like me to write more. Thanks.)