A/N: Note sure how long this one is going to be yet. Right now it's looking like probably three parts. Also, I love reviews. Please leave me a review.

Obligatory disclaimer: If I owned any of them I'd be on the Warner Lot swimming in a pool of money like Scrooge McDuck. ;)

"You're sure you won't be coming?" Jim Gordon asked, as he vacated the rickety chair.

Selina nodded, standing to clear their mugs. The irony of having just made tea for Jim Gordon was not lost on her, but it was still low on the list of recent ridiculous events in her life.

"I don't belong there," she told him flatly.

"You have a right to mourn him as much as anyone," he eyed her carefully before adding, "Maybe more."

She knew he was thinking about the kiss she planted on Batman before the bomb went off. Jim likely thought she and Bruce had been lovers. The twist in her stomach that accompanied the thought surprised her.

"I'm sure you boys will manage fine without me." She set the dishes in the sink and returned to the packing that Gordon had interrupted. She gestured to a small stack of books on the end table next to him and he held them out to her.

"There is prodigious strength in sorrow and despair," he quoted.

"What?"

Gordon held up the top book of the stack. "A Tale of Two Cities. Exiled nobility. Anarchy. Kangaroo courts. Actually quite fitting given the times."

Selina shrugged, "Never read it. That's stolen."

"So the monogramed bookmark isn't yours either?" he said, holding up the little strip of cardboard that slipped from the pages of the book. His mustache twitched as he smirked.

She said nothing, but snatched the rest of the books from him, stuffing them violently in her bag. "Keep it."

Gordon dusted off the cover of the book almost affectionately before flipping through it. "It's a first edition. In other times I would worry that this was a bribe."

"I wouldn't dream of it Commissioner," she said wryly. "It should be with someone who will appreciate it."

His eyes lightened too as he tucked the book under his arm. "Thank you."

She zipped her bag closed and slung it over her shoulder. She was only taking with her the essentials and the items of which she couldn't part. So not much. The sum of her possessions fit into two average duffle bags. She picked up her other bag and signaled to Gordon that they should both make their exits.

He didn't patronize her by offering to carry a bag, but he did hold the door open for her. He put his pipe in his mouth, chewing on the end.

"You know you could stay in Gotham. No one seems to be able to find your file anywhere. Some think it got torched along with the files on The Batman." He struck a match, watching the flame just a few moments longer than necessary before lighting his tobacco. "I've no idea how something like that could have happened," he added, as he blew out the stick very deliberately.

"Thank you, but we both know I need to go," she said. She dropped her keys onto the doormat of her walk-up for emphasis. Gordon followed her down the stairs to the stoop of her apartment. The day was grey and there was a bit of a chill in the air.

"I'm guessing we won't be seeing each other again," he said once they got to the steps outside. She nodded. He extended a hand to her. "Then I hope you find whatever it is you are looking for. Do try to keep out of trouble, Miss Kyle."

She shook his hand and tossed a coy smile his way, "No promises." She gave him a once over. "You're a good man Commissioner. An endangered species in this world. Try not to forget that."

Nodding, he puffed on his pipe, tucked his hands deep in his pockets and strode quietly in the opposite direction. She watched him go until he turned the corner.

She set off, once again alone.

She was supposed to be on a bus bound for Central City. Damn the awakening of her long dormant conscience. Selina had never been one for goodbyes. Yet, she could not suppress the obligation to pay her respects to him. He deserved that much from her. Making her way across the abandoned Wayne estate, the ground soft from winter's thaw, she cursed for the very first time her ever impractical choice of shoe. Her heels sank into the damp soil throwing off her usual grace. Selina Kyle was not a woman who liked trudging. The breeze picked up and she pulled her coat tighter around herself.

The funeral was long over, the outline of muddy foot prints that surrounded the three marble markers, the only sign anyone had been there. She slowed as she neared the head stones, rather uncertain to what exactly she was doing here. Gotham's favorite son had been laid to rest with only four people there to mourn him. Another pang of guilt shot through her. The injustices of this world would never cease to astound her.

"You damned idiot," she said to the stone. She took the fabric eye mask she had worn to the masquerade months eariler from her pocket and kneeled down onto the grave. The mud's dampness seeped through her pants and the cold nipped at her knees. She positioned the small mask among the bouquet of flowers left there. "I hope you're happy with yourself. You went and made an honest woman out of me," she smiled then. "Mostly."

She ran her hand along the etching of his name. "We could have been great you and me. The Bat and The Cat. You would have liked chasing me." Her voice didn't waver or crack, but to anyone listening there would have been no mistaking her sorrow. She sat there for another minute, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. "Goodbye Mr. Wayne."

She stood up, and tried in vain to wipe the mud from her pants. She strode a bit away, then paused and turned back to the stone. "I wish we'd had more time," she said, tucking her hands into her coat pockets, "I think I could have loved you."

For one mad moment she expected to see him as she turned around again. The disappointment that swelled within her at the sight of the empty grounds only served to fuel the anger she felt towards herself. She tilted her head down against the wind and started trudging back to the street.