Stupid. Believe it or not, Harvey used to be almost an optimist. And then life hit. And here he was, again, trying to do good and having it blow up in his fucking face. Serves him right. He was a firm believer in karma and, damn, he knew he had a shit storm coming his way from all the hookers and the drug dealing, all the punches thrown at innocents just so he could get information from them, the people he'd killed – it was about time.

First thing, Harvey marched into Cap's office and asked politely if the department could use a psychologist – didn't even throw in Lizzy's name and Essen knew it was the girl. She asked him why he'd even tried sticking his neck out for a 'friend' and then gave him a long lecture on how young Liz was compared to him; how wrong he was if he thought something was going to come out of this. Told him to find a nice woman his age, settle down, and stop trying to find love in all the wrong places. Said he'd push her too far and she'd leave; said Liz was a better friend than anything else. The woman was being protective of her, he knew – that's what women do for each other and if he were being honest, he knew he wasn't the best suitor for a good gal like Liz, but that's not what this was about anyway. This was about getting a good person a good job and getting a good amount of alcohol from the whole deal.

Yes, last night he'd been expecting a 'reward' from his success, but since when did things work out that well for him? They didn't. They don't. And Essen sent him out of her office, practically laughing. They both knew that cops have an ego and won't vent to some therapist. They didn't when the last quack was here, and they wouldn't for Lizzy.

She didn't answer when he called her, so he left the bad news as a voicemail and thought about mentioning getting a cell phone for her. It was late afternoon and he remembered her saying something about teaching Bruce to fight. Maybe that's where she was. Trying to ignore the annoyance from getting her hopes up (as well as getting reamed by the boss), Harvey continued on the case he and Jim were working. This mask man was shady, and they were going to take him down as soon as possible. Get a little anger out in the process, too, if he had any say in it.

When Bruce and Alfred pulled up, Elizabeth got out of her car and made her way over to them. Judging by the way Alfred's ears were reddened at the tips and the way he was chewing on the inside of his cheeks, Elizabeth knew he was fuming. She watched him give the keys to Bruce and the young man ran to unlock the door, holding his hand as if it were hurt.

"They're bloody talking about his mother now," Alfred cussed loudly as soon as Bruce was inside. "This…this is the last thing the boy needs," he paused. "He's icing his knuckles."

"He hit them?"

"Well, yes, but he told me he didn't do a very good job. Said he didn't even hurt them. So I took him over to the little bastard's house and let him hit the bejesus out of him." Alfred handed a watch to Elizabeth; Thomas Wayne's watch. A bit of blood was dried on the face. "Have I made a mistake?"

Elizabeth shook her head, handed the watch back. "There are no mistakes, just lessons. Is he ready to learn how to have a clean fight?"

Alfred nodded sternly, straightening and ushering the woman inside. Bruce was rinsing his hand under cold water in the kitchen when they entered. Elizabeth walked over to help him clean the scrapes.

"Nothing's broken, right?" she ran her fingertips over his knuckles, examined the pink skin, then stared at Bruce when he didn't answer. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes," he spoke softly. "It's just that…sometimes you remind me of my mother."

She smiled softly and touched the top of his head. "Well, I won't be reminding you of her shortly; are we sparring today or what?"

A smirk lifted his features. "Yes."

The three worked for hours; using gloves and teaching him to wrap his hands and wrists. Elizabeth taught him a few tricks of self-defense and Alfred taught the boy how to make a proper fist.

"We ought to get some punching bags in here," Elizabeth huffed as she drank water on the couch.

"Mmm, yes, that's a good idea. That way we no longer have to be his punching bags."

Elizabeth tried to return Harvey's message, but he didn't answer. Working with Bruce was clearly where she needed to be right now, so she didn't mind not hearing good news about a job. She felt like she was trying to find her place. She'd had multiple jobs in her old life in Ohio, but nothing felt right. So much had changed since then, but she still didn't feel like herself.

The rest of the week was quiet: sparring, working with the punching bag Alfred installed, teaching Bruce all that she knew. And then Jim Gordon stopped by with a grim look on his face and a soft 'hello'. Alfred and Elizabeth were standing in the study when Jim showed Bruce a drawing of the man who killed his parents. A girl named Selina Kyle claimed to have seen his face. Jim was asking if Selina could stay. The girl was homeless and a street criminal, which put Alfred on edge.

"No. The answer is no. Her being here would put Master Bruce in great danger."

"Alfred. She's the best chance we have to finding who killed my parents. Then she can stay."

"Yes, Master Bruce." Alfred was slightly flabbergasted, but tried not to show it.

Selina wanted to be called Cat. She leaked sass and arrogance, but had style. Elizabeth was humored by her, but Alfred was not. Kids will be kids, but this Cat had seen a lot. She was wise beyond her years. The attitude, however, could get on the nerves.

The two girls stood watching Bruce and Alfred spar. Cat was there a good few days and it was becoming normal having her around. The lighthearted air about the moment made Elizabeth smile. Bruce was doing pretty well compared to where he started. Alfred's playfulness surprised her as he took a joking jab at the Master's body. Bruce had been making eyes at Cat for the past few hours. It was obvious.

As soon as the girl demanded food, Alfred's temper showed. Elizabeth was going to offer to make something, but Cat called Alfred 'old man' and she knew this was a teaching moment so she just stood by and watched. When Cat left, Elizabeth took a turn with Bruce.

"Gloves will come off eventually, if I have any say in it," she muttered to the boy. Alfred went after her, pinning her against his chest.

"Yeah? That right, Ms. Sorkin?" he taunted.

When she broke from his hold, she held her hands up, palms out, fingers splayed. He bowed and she curtsied then went to find Cat.

The girl was in the kitchen now, digging through cupboards. Upon Elizabeth's entrance, she halted.

"So you're his shrink?"

A smile, "Yes. What would you like to eat?"

"Do you think you're his mother?" she snapped. "Playing house. I've watched you. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Elizabeth tried to stay calm, she did. But her anger got ahold of her. "You're a guest in this house. You haven't been here long and all you've done is complain. Mr. Pennyworth doesn't need to keep you here. The attitude is getting a little overbearing, Selina."

"It's Cat."

"Cat, Bruce needs a good support group, not another family. I'm trying to be his friend. Maybe you should take notes." And she left for the evening after saying a quick goodbye to Bruce and Alfred.

When she got home, she called Harvey and asked him to come over and watch the baseball game that was on. One of his favorite teams played a 7 o'clock game and she knew he was getting off soon. Harvey hadn't expected to hear from her, as he hadn't heard from her in quite some time. Jim told him that she seemed comfortable in the Wayne's home when he paid a visit the other day, but otherwise he'd heard zilch.

She'd ordered a pizza. He let himself in, trying to offer back the key, but she wouldn't let him. There was beer waiting and the TV was blaring in the living room.

"Been keeping yourself outta trouble, Ohio?"

"If I say 'no', what harm befalls me?" she joked. "I may or may not have put Selina Kyle in her place today."

"And I may or may not be surprised it took you this long to do so," he laughed, paying attention to the game.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. Jim had mentioned something about keeping quiet - Cat wasn't supposed to be here anymore, but Jim basically pardoned her. So she focused on the game and pretended like she hadn't said anything. Harvey seemed like his head was somewhere else. Thank God he hadn't caught her slip up.

Harvey sat comfortably on the couch, beer in hand, sipping occasionally, watching the baseball game after finishing up his pizza. Lizzy's place was cozy and he found it more so now that he had a key. Call him crazy, but it was like he could pretend this was his place, instead of his little shit apartment.

Lizzy walked by, blocking his view of the screen momentarily, then she threw herself on the couch beside him. He did a double-take. The woman was in shorts and a t-shirt, sipping on a wine cooler, eyes fixated on the game, right leg arched up beside her. He'd noticed she began stocking her fridge with Labatt. See, she wasn't the only one who could analyze things.

"You're a baseball fan?" he finally mentioned it. After the time at the diner that one night of truth-telling and a few weeks back at her apartment, he kinda figured she liked the game. Or she was keeping up appearances.

Lizzy scoffed. "Yes, and I don't think your team is gonna pull this off," Harvey narrowed his eyes. "What!? It's the bottom of the eighth and they're down by five."

"Skeptic." He sipped his beer.

"Realist," she corrected. When a commercial came on, Harvey found himself glancing over at her legs. It was the first time he'd seen her in anything but dresses, slacks, or jeans. Even the workout outfit a few weeks ago didn't show this much skin. Maybe a moment's glance at her sports bra-clad torso, but nothing like this. These were decently short shorts. She hadn't caught his gazes until the commercial break was over. "Harvey…?" her voice was slightly flirtatious and it made his eyes widen and snap to her face. She shifted, setting her wine cooler on the end table. "Were you just ogling at me?"

"What? No! I…"

"You were." By now, she had slipped her other leg off the couch and began inching her way towards him. He expected a slap or a punch on the arm, but when she climbed on his lap, he almost lost it.

"Lizzy..."

Only she didn't reply, just inched closer until she planted one on him. Cold hands were on either side of his scruffy face, soft lips punitive against his. He was so surprised that he let it last a few moments more than his alert mind would have. Before he broke away and kissed her again, he pulled back completely and hung his head against the back of the couch. Elizabeth took this as an opportunity to kiss his neck, which was a big thing for him, but he warningly pressed his hands against her hips and shook his head. She stopped instantly.

"Liz, I-I can't." Harvey's voice was dull and a tone Elizabeth had never heard before.

Her brown eyes were wide as she shifted off of him, back to her space on the couch. Harvey noticed the look on her face – like a scolded dog.

"Harv, I'm so sorry." Her fingers were against her lips. "That was inappropriate, I shouldn't have-"

Pushing himself up, he threw on his jacket. "I should go, before I do somethin' stupid."

Instantly, she was up too, following behind him and calling his name to get him to halt, but the door was slammed before her long legs could make it to the foyer. As soon as he was out of eye-shot, Harvey slammed his fist into the brick beside her door. Damn, damn, damn.