A/N I own nothing, all characters belong to DC and Warner Bros.

Thanks for the reviews:)

Vic silently strummed his gloved fingers against his keyboard in the darkness of his apartment. Aside from the dim light flickering from his laptop the room was dark and so very comforting. This was his domain after all, his sanctuary where he was free to babble and be as mad as he chose.

No matter how hard he tried to submerge himself in his work Helena refused to leave his mindset. At this moment she was more likely than not in a brutal fight with her husband spewing out insults and pain to each other.

He hoped she would be okay.

Gentle knocking at his door sliced through his thoughts. Vic stood up with a pretty good idea at whom the visitor was and approached the peeling door quickly. When he caught sight of an exhausted Helena with a deep frown on her face and a coat covering her body, he found his initial instinct to be correct.

"Can I come in?"

He nodded and ushered her through the door. "Figured you would come by."

"I'm not even surprised." Helen sighed, collapsing onto the beaten couch in the living room. The Italian ran a hand through her hair and stared at the carpet silently, her head bowed as though she was praying to God to save her from her latest catastrophe. "...You have no idea how bad it was."

"The fight?"

Helen let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Fight? Please, that was a Goddamn war. I can't believe one of us didn't pull a knife on the other."

"That bad?"

"Worse. Vic he's-...he's-..." She paused to wipe a fresh string of tears from her cheek. "He's going to leave me, Vic. He said he would and I couldn't take it so I-..."

"Left. I can see that." Q replied, "Helen, I doubt he'll leave you. He just needs some time and then you'll go back to being happy like you were before."

"That's just it, Vic; we haven't been happy lately." Helena admitted softly. "All we've done lately is fight and bicker and yell at each other like banshees. It's just gotten so bad over the past few months..."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Silence fell over the pair as Helena bit her bottom lip and sighed. Normally beating the hell out of criminals or going a few rounds with the punching bag was the perfect solution for when someone had screwed her over, but now she was the one at fault. She was the one who had lied to her husband; the one that had hidden the truth.

Helena was a virgin when it came to being the one who had done something of this caliber wrong and she had no idea how to fix it or handle it.

So here she was crying like a whiney bitch because her husband might leave her and her life could fall apart. Boo-freaking-hoo, right? So what if she lost the only guy she'd ever really loved? So what if she'd just killed her marriage and wrecked her kids lives? So what if the people she loved the most wanted nothing more to do with her? It wasn't that big a deal that she was going to lose everything she had ever cherished because of her unquenchable lust for blood and revenge.

Helena once again began to weep.

Vic watched utterly mesmerized as small tears streamed down her cheeks and under her chin as the woman in front of him cried. He didn't know whether to be horrified, scared, or honored-after all, Helena had never even cried in front of her own husband to his knowledge, much less him.

"You made a mistake." He whispered softly, placing a hand uncertainly on her shoulder. "Know that it was wrong, correct?"

"No shit! But damn it, I did it for them, Q! Why can't they see that?"

"They don't know any better, Helen. Not their fault. It isn't yours, either."

She took a deep, shaky breath as he sat next to her on the couch and squeezed her shoulder. "Then why does it feel like one?"

"Your intentions were good, the result...not so much. Again, it wasn't your fault." Vic said, "You know what you did was wrong, I know what you did was wrong. Give them time and they will too."

Helena gave a small, sad smile and leaned against him without thinking. "Wise words from Master Q over here. Who knew you had the mind of a geek and the heart of a badass Buddha?"

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you someday." He smirked, "Maybe."

"I know some guys go for that dark and mysterious crap, but I'm not one of them." She remarked with a light frown. "I'll find out one day."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"I think you should go to sleep now." Vic said suddenly, "You look tired and you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Go to bed."

Helena looked around the room in puzzlement. "Where?"

"My bed." Vic replied nonchalantly. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off saying, "You need it the most, correct? Besides, it won't kill me to spend a night on the couch."

"...You sure?"

"Yes."

"Suit yourself, dude." Helen sighed, standing up and facing him. To his surprise she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"Ahem. Yes, well...uh...nice." Vic mumbled intelligently, fidgeting uncomfortably with his tie and looking at the floor. Helena's lips quirked into a light smirk as she walked away, but she remained silent.

Vic watched her go into his bedroom and sat down on the couch. He touched his cheek without thinking and thought about Helena spending the night in his bed alone before letting out a small groan.

How the hell was he supposed to sleep knowing just fifteen feet away a perfectly beautiful Helena was sleeping in his bed all alone and sad probably desiring a good romp in the sack to forget about the latest hazards of her life that she had caused? What was preventing him from joining her? Oh, right: he was a 'good' man and they didn't do that.

Sometimes he loathed always being the nice guy when it came to Helena.

It wasn't what she had expected.

That's all Helena kept thinking throughout the entire evening. Between being dragged into a little whole in the wall Thai restaurant by Vic who claimed it was one of the few Conspiracy-free restaurants in the city to the two of them walking now it had passed through her mind countless times.

Though how they arrived wasn't exactly normal or even pleasant, once they had gotten into the car things had gradually gotten better. About halfway into the ride there had been a debate about where to eat that ended in a sharp 'fine' by Helen when he insisted on taking her here, but after that it had been smooth sailing.

Conversation had been kept to a minimum until their order was placed by a waiter. Even after that the tension was palpable as the pair sat in their seats looking at the tablecloth and refusing to speak. Finally Vic broke the silence by apologizing for more or less kidnapping her to which Helen had smirked. From there conversation was fairly easy.

After their food arrived (Gai Pad Met Mamuang for Q and Som Tam for Helena) Helen had confessed that there might have been a very slight, miniscule, barely there feeling of jealousy towards Myra. Q smirked at this making the Italian smack him on the shoulder and sulk saying that she'd done it because she didn't want her to hurt him.

His still present smirk told her he thought otherwise.

So they ate. They chatted over nothing and everything. It was like any other night between them except Vic had insisted on paying (being the old-fashioned man he was) and a few times Helen had caught him giving her a look she recognized very well: lust.

The look was oddly thrilling.

After devouring their Thai and paying the restaurant the two headed out into the Gotham night. The Hub was only a few hours away, yet it seemed like a completely different world. Vic had been telling her about it as they walked, Helena only half-listening as they strolled though Gotham.

He really was good-looking, she realized, and not just physically. Granted the man was a nut-job, but then again so was she. They had a lot in common and knew each other well so for the most part any awkwardness was kept to a minimum.

As they headed towards wherever Helen couldn't help but notice how close together they were walking. Their hips were practically touching as they strolled through the city and towards the East side. She thought about saying something about it, but decided not to.

She still didn't like to think about why.

It was too hard to admit that she had a...thing for Vic. Nothing so serious to the point where she wanted to get married or into bed, but there was definitely an attraction. It had been nearly impossible to admit to at first, but now that they were alone and on this 'date' it was harder not to.

But she still didn't want to date him.

They were too good of friends and on top of that the last thing she wanted now was a relationship. Helena knew if she did want one Q probably was the guy she would pick (God thinking that was weird) but fact of the matter was she wasn't ready.

"Q, where are we going?"

"Seeing as we're walking in a straight line it could be anywhere and depending on how long we walk we might be walking where we are now."

"Smartass."

"It's a surprise."

"A surprise? So you planned this?"

Q thought about it. "Dragging you out by your ear with me, no. Taking you to our location, just now, yes."

"Glad to see you're not as crazy as they say." Helena teased with a small smile.

"Insanity is insane to those who are not sane."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." He sighed, "We're here, more or less."

Helena looked around where they were. "...The docks? Why are we at the docks?"

"It's symbolic." Q explained, "Well, it's supposed to be."

"This is where we got Mandragora." Helena remembered suddenly as the memory crashed down on her. She thought of the way she'd flirted with him shamelessly on the Watchtower to get him to help, getting to know each other as the night went on, fighting Ollie and Dinah, almost dying when they drove his car in a train tunnel, and Q's plea to prevent her from killing the bastard. Actually, it hadn't been so much of a plea as telling the truth by asking a question she hadn't dared to ask herself: was it really what she wanted?

It wasn't.

Though she hated to admit it, Vic had saved her that night. He had rescued something more important than her mere life; her soul. Had she done it she probably would have spent the rest of her life on the run avoiding not only the League and Batman, but an entire family of pissed off Mafia members.

Then there was always the possibility of Edgar growing up and hunting her down as well. What would she have truly accomplished by killing him? Her parents would have still been dead and an innocent child would have been put through an ordeal she had faced.

No one deserved to go through what Helena had.

"Hey, Vic?"

"Yes?"

"Did I ever thank you for saving me that night? I mean directly for that?" She asked softly. "I know I've thanked you for other things, but did I ever say thanks for the most important one of all?"

"You've thanked me for everything. I assumed it fell under the same category."

"Thank you. If you hadn't been there that night I think my life would have been very, very different."

"My pleasure." In a jolt of confidence he added, "Though it is my duty to help beautiful women in need."

"Flatterer."

"Only for you."

"So why are we here? I mean I know this, uh, date isn't normal but it still seems like a funny place to go."

"It's symbolic. Like I said, this is where it all started." Vic explained, taking her hand in his as they stared at the dangling beams above them. "This is where we became connected, Helena. Had we not then I probably would have been killed by Cadmus and you yourself most likely would have been killed by Mandragora's son at this point. The Universe intended for us to meet."

"Okay." Helena blinked, not quite sure what he meant. "Why exactly were we supposed to meet?"

He turned away so she couldn't see his face. "Suppose that's up for interpretation."

"I guess."

"I-I'm really happy you came with me." He admitted, squeezing her hand. "Didn't think I would ever get you to."

Helena ignored the flutter in her stomach. This was as good as a time of any to set him straight. "Vic, stop."

"Stop what?"

"Just...stop. I don't know why we're doing what we are, but it has to stop."

He tried to hide the hurt on his face, desperately wishing he had his mask on. "What do you mean? I thought you wanted to-"

"No. Vic... We're friends, good friends. We've known each other so long -too long- to..."

"To what, Helen?"

"I only got divorced a few months ago, Vic. I'm not ready to go jump back into a relationship. Do you know how long it supposedly takes for someone to get over that?"

"...Seventeen months and twenty-six days on average." He mumbled, "Researched it. It takes the average person almost a year and a half to be completely over their divorce and about seven months to be ready to pursue a new relationship. Those who do find it easier to get over it if they have a significant other."

Helena was speechless and chose to simply stare at him. "...You actually looked it up?"

"Yes."

"Well, I-... It doesn't matter, Q. I still don't want anyone right now."

"What about in the future?"

"Can we please not talk about this?"

"I don't understand." He frowned, "You displayed interest in me when you were jealous and I thought-"

"You thought wrong."

He bit his lip. This wasn't going the way he'd hoped at all. "Helen, I'm just trying to make sense of things. I'm not looking for a relationship, okay? It's just...a date."

"Just a date." Helen repeated hollowly. "Right."

Not another word was spoken for the next hour and a half as the two walked back towards Helena's house. When they arrived Helen dared to steal a look at Vic and felt a pang of regret in her chest when she saw his confused expression. The poor man had no idea what she meant or wanted anymore.

The quietness remained prominent as they walked up her driveway and onto the porch in front of her apartment. Helena turned to face him and apologize for not being gentler or even speaking at all when she felt Vic cup her chin, pull her face close, and press his lips to hers.

Helena was stunned.

When they finally broke apart from the kiss Helena's breathing was heavier than usual and she noticed Vic looked a little flustered himself. Gathering a breath she asked in disbelief, "What-What was that for?"

"Correct way to end a date, no?" He shrugged, "Night."

"N-Night." Helena stammered as he turned towards her driveway. She watched him go as though nothing had happened and tried to ignore the feeling in the bottom of her stomach from when he kissed her. How nice his lips had been against hers. How warm he felt and how much she wanted to give in to him.

Sometimes she hated that man.

Allesandro Copperilli kept his head bowed down low as he looked over the weapons sprawled out on his wooden desk.

He had an array of them and loved every one of them equally like any good assassin did. Sure he tended to favor his guns a little more, but his daggers had a special place in his heart as well. Or at least what was left of his heart.

His gloved hands selected his TBK-059 assault rifle and he looked it over with a smile. This would be the perfect weapon to kill the Bertinelli bitch with.

Just two more weeks and she'd be dead.

A/N Review please!