Hi all,

I've heard from a number of you that there were errors when trying to read the last chapter. If this persists, please don't hesitate to message me. As far as I can tell, the problem is resolved, but many thanks to those who flagged it as an issue, and I hope you've been able to view it since then.

I had considered sitting on this chapter until tomorrow to tweak a few final details, but I'm too dayem excited about life to let it go unposted. My intention is not to be get too political - that's not what this forum is for - but as an American living in the UK, my eyes have been refreshing the election maps for dayzzz (and late, late nights), and I'm thrilled to see the projection made today. Fireworks have been lighting up the sky outside my window for the last hour, and there's something truly amazing and exciting about seeing such a positive international response to this news.

Cheers,

EQT.95

"Hey."

"Hi," Kate replied dumbly back at Sophie.

"You have neighbors."

"Uh, I do."

"That's new."

"Yea, she's-"

"Rose?"

"Ruby."

"She seems nice. Might be a borderline racist."

"Luke said the same," Kate added.

"But she let me in, so... can't be that bad, right?"

"Uhm, yea... what are you-"

"Sorry, I-I know it's late to just drop by, but… I… I was leaving work and couldn't stop thinking about - uhm about… look, I don't know what this," she began, gesturing between herself and Kate, "is or-or isn't but I don't… I don't want to mess it up. The last few days haven't set a great trajectory for anything, and I just want to ask… to make sure that you aren't going to… that you aren't going to up and vanish again. Because the last time you did, it lasted four years, and then… and then it was three months of nothing, and I'm not sure what I did or-or didn't do, but I've missed you, and at this point I don't really care what or-or how, but I want you back in my life and-and… I..."

"Do you want to come in?" Kate asked, stepping back to give Sophie access.

"I… I can't; I just wanted to… well, honestly I just wanted to see you," Sophie admitted. "And to say 'hi' but it turned into a garbled word salad of-of just… utter nonsense."

"It was cute," Kate said, offering Sophie a small smile before backing into the space and walking toward the kitchen, leaving the door open and a blushing Sophie standing just outside of it.

"Are you hungry?" she called back.

"Uh… no," Sophie replied, shaking herself of Kate's last comment.

"Drink?"

"No, no, I wasn't- I'm- I need to get going. I've got-"

"You sure?" Kate asked from across the room.

Sophie leaned against the doorframe, knowing that if she entered the space it'd be another hour of lost sleep, and she was running on fumes.

"I'm… Kate, I appreciate-"

"Can't hear you," Kate called from the kitchen.

"I'm not coming in," Sophie said, raising her voice. "Kate can y-"

"Hey, can you keep it down? It's late, and I have neighbors."

Sophie felt a grin break across her face as she shook her head in forced annoyance. She caught the smirk play across Kate's own face at her successful manipulation of the situation which only set a wider smile on her own.

"Kate, I am exhausted. If I come in I'll just end up passing out on your rug or… or-"

"Dresser? Kitchen table? Bath tub?" Kate offered with a continued grin.

"You joke, but that is not outside the realm of possibility."

"I've already poured you a drink. If you leave now-"

"I'm sure you can handle a double on your own," Sophie interrupted.

The two shared a staredown from across the flat.

"Fine," Sophie sighed much to Kate's enjoyment. "But one and then I'm-"

"Leaving, yes, yes," Kate waved off, meeting Sophie in the middle of the flat with a pour of caramel liquid.

It was only then that Sophie took notice of the latest upgrades to the space. The kitchen was finished and properly furnished. There was still a questionable transition where the flooring fed into the main seating area, and lighting fixtures were clearly still a work in progress, but overall it was a vast improvement from months earlier. "This looks… this looks really good, Kate."

"You even said that sober," Kate joked back. "I can't imagine what you'll say after your second drink."

"There won't be a second," Sophie corrected.

"Mhm, sure," Kate nodded as she brought her own glass to her lips and made her way to the couch, collapsing onto the far edge of it. She glanced up at Sophie who remained standing; her coat on, bag hanging off her shoulder, and glass in hand. "You can, like, take off your coat if you want. Your fate isn't sealed to eternity if you do that."

Sophie sighed into a chuckle as she accepted Kate's prompt. She slipped her jacket off and set it on the back of the bar chair before walking toward the chair across from Kate missing the glance of disappointment that flashed across her face as Sophie sat down opposite her, a coffee table now situated between them.

"If I don't get more than three hours of sleep tonight because of you, I'm going to-"

"Is it that bad?" Kate asked in surprise.

Sophie opened her mouth to complain before she caught herself and adjusted her composure. "It's been challenging. But it's fine; we are making solid progr-"

"Why do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Why do… Your face says it all, so why don't you just tell me what's actually going on?"

Sophie scowled in annoyance.

"I thought field operations had been suspended," Kate continued, prodding at Sophie's stubbornness.

"They haven't been suspended - just reduced."

"So why the crazy hours?" Kate asked, interrogating the exhaustion on Sophie's face that she hadn't noticed minutes earlier.

"There's more to the Crows than just coordinating field operations."

"You've got that new gun technology - from Hamilton, right? That should help wi-"

"It isn't - that isn't why…" Sophie interrupted, breaking from Kate's pointed questioning. She felt her eyes close briefly knowing that Kate's tactics had once again worked before sighing into an explanation: "Jacob hasn't taken to his position of second in command well. And the board isn't thrilled that I haven't approved the rail gun for field use which gives him ammunition to undermine my authority."

"Undermine? How?"

"You remember that night Luke poured over the bylaws and we found out that two board members can override a suspension?"

"Yea, that's how Zienko got reinstated, right?"

"Right, well, apparently it's universal."

"Meaning-?"

"Meaning every time I do something your dad disagrees with, he gets Margaret Cobblepot on the phone and vetoes my decision by using their combined votes."

"That's such… that's such bullshit."

Sophie nodded in exhausted as she fell back into the chair, removing the last of the facade she'd been carrying for weeks.

"Is there any way around that? Can… I don't know, can you veto a veto with two other board members?"

"Even if I could I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would put themselves on the line for it."

"So he's effectively in charge?" Kate asked, her tone exposing a worry she'd been trying to conceal. What started as an inconsequential conversation was beginning to carry far more weight to her alter ego than expected.

Sophie noted this, pausing at Kate's reaction briefly before elaborating. "Yes and no. It's complicated, but basically he won't challenge my position if I'm present. As long as I'm physically on premise or in the middle of an operation, he won't try to override my direction. He will only do it when I've left the facility; that's the only way he'll get Margaret to go along with it."

"I don't understand."

"Cobblepot isn't about to undermine the board's decision to keep me as Lead Crow. As tenuous as that has been, the board is behind me. So, that means she won't side with Jacob unless she can argue it's being done because I'm unavailable, which means I've had to make sure I'm always available. When I'm not though, she signs off on Jacob's whims because she argues he is the acting Lead Crow in my absence, and any change in policy or direction is warranted because I'm not there to say otherwise."

"So what, you're just always at the office?" Kate asked, understanding the extent Sophie must be going to keep Jacob at bay.

"Let's put it this way: my house plants might be dead," Sophie replied with a soft chuckle. "It's fine. It's temporary. I know I won't be Lead Crow for forever; I'm just biding my time until I inevitably lose the board's backing. I just wish it didn't mean fighting Jacob's relentless efforts to undermine me."

"Like what? What is he trying to do behind your back?" Kate asked, trying to keep the conversation ambiguous.

"Let's just say that if he had it his way, every man, woman, and child would have a rail gun under their pillows at night."

"That's a little extreme, but I get the sentiment," Kate challenged.

"You're not serious," Sophie disagreed.

"Didn't Hamilton approve the gun over a week ago? It should be in the field by now," Kate continued.

"That is… Kate, it takes training and time and there are logistics to putting out a new piece of technology like that-"

"None of that should take weeks to deal with. The Crows should be out there right now hunting down these guys."

"Where is this coming from?" Sophie asked, feeling the hint of an argument sneaking into the conversation.

"I mean… I'm not on the board anymore so my opinion doesn't matter, but people are getting hurt. I just don't understand what's taking so long to do anything about it," Kate continued. She noted her own tone was becoming accusatory, but after weeks of fighting alone as Batwoman, her frustration was beginning to show.

"And more people will get hurt if these things fall into the wrong hands," Sophie replied.

"They have five shots, Soph. If they fall into the wrong hands it's not like they have limitless power," Kate continued.

"Yea, well it only takes one," Sophie shot back. "These things are powerful, Kate. Yes, it's temporary, but in the wrong hands they could do real damage."

"Better a temporary fallout than letting the city live in continuous fear of-"

"Wait. How… how do you know it only has five shots?" Sophie interrupted, a scowl of confusion on her face.

"What?"

"The gun; how do you know there are only five shots?"

Kate stared back blankly for a moment before a reply came: "It was… I must have read it somewhere. In an article or… the Gotham Gazette, maybe."

"Shit," Sophie muttered.

"What - why?"

"We didn't want that to leak. I mean, obviously it was going to, but... not this soon. It might be used to their advantage."

Kate nodded in understanding, feeling a pang of regret for sending Sophie down a path of concern and uncertainty with her lie. She watched Sophie take her first sip from the glass as she fell into contemplative silence.

"So does that mean the gun is almost ready or d-"

"What happened?" Sophie interrupted, looking up from her drink toward Kate. Her gaze was focused, and it briefly hid the exhaustion that hung on her face.

"I… what do you mean?" Kate asked, knowing full well what Sophie was implying and wishing she had poured Sophie something less riddled with memories of their relationship.

"With us. With.. you just… where did you go for three months? You just stopped responding to my calls or-or messages or-"

"I thought that's what you wanted," Kate said softly, her head turned in feigned confusion. "After the call and the-"

"Kate, wh…" Sophie gaped back in bewilderment. "I thought… how was it not clear that… that the conversation we had didn't… I came to your place."

"But only because you thought I was dead," Kate said, recalling the night of the parade. "As far as I knew, that didn't change the conversation."

"And what was it about my twenty unanswered calls, voicemails, and text messages that had you believing that didn't change the conversation?" Sophie challenged back.

Kate fell silent at Sophie's words, dropping her gaze to her glass. She had expected this conversation to come up, but a part of her had hoped it would be under the dim glow of a public bar with the haze of alcohol to soften the confrontation. She felt a sense of irony at the situation: her flat was un-fixtured and cast in low lighting, and there was alcohol present; the problem was that none of it had hit Sophie Moore's bloodstream yet.

"Did I do something to… to-?"

"What? No," Kate answered easily.

"Then what was it?"

"There's just been a lot going on with the… the renovations and, I was… I was just going off the phone call we'd had," Kate scrambled together.

"Why do you do this?" Sophie asked, throwing Kate's words from earlier back at her.

"Do what?"

"Why do you still try to lie to me?"

"I don't know," Kate admitted with a sigh of surrender, and for a moment Sophie's demeanor softened.

"Kate I just… I just want to understand because I don't like this."

"I know," Kate said, feeling conflicted by the whole conversation.

"So what was it?"

"Renee," Kate said simply. Her memory flashed to their conversation from months earlier when Renee had confronted her about her feelings for Sophie.

"Renee?"

"Yea."

"I don't understand."

"Well you two were together-"

"Kate… Wh- we broke up the day after the parade attack."

"What?" Kate asked, unable to hide the surprise. "You… really? I-I didn't realize-"

"You never listened to any of my messages, did you?" Sophie asked, her voice filled with exasperation and relief.

Kate shook her head. "Maybe the first few words but… I-no, sorry."

"So for three months you just… just…" Sophie began, unable to find the words, "you just thought I didn't deserve an explanation? I mean, what… what happened?"

"The night of the parade - you were asleep, and Renee was there, and we got to talking."

"About what?"

"About… she told me you told her about what happened."

Sophie glanced away in understanding. Sophie had brought Renee into the world of Point Rock and all the complications that went with it.

"And I was just… she had her doubts, and I realized it didn't work to be around if you wanted to give that relationship a real try," Kate said. It was a half-truth, and that made it easier to weave convincingly into the larger story.

"So why reach out now? What changed?"

"Uh, well, Renee, actually," Kate said.

"Renee?"

"She was… I ran into her at The Hold Up. She was flirting with some girl, and then she saw that I saw, so she explained you two had broken up."

"When was this?"

"Last week… Friday?" Kate replied, searching her memory for the day.

Sophie didn't immediately reply as she began piecing together Renee's Monday morning prompt.

"Why?" Kate asked.

"You messaged me in the middle of the night Friday."

"Not the greatest timing, but yea…" Kate mused.

"You had no idea we'd broken up until Friday?"

"No," Kate answered honestly, polishing off her drink and standing to get a refill.

Silence fell between them as Sophie contemplated Kate's response.

"So... you ran into Renee, found out, and then you just decided to message me for drinks?"

"Yea," Kate said with less confidence than her lies usually had, walking back over with the bottle of whisky.

"Why?"

"Hm?" she asked, reaching the bottle's neck to Sophie's glass and adding a splash.

"Why are you lying?"

"I mean, we chatted for a bit," Kate continued vaguely.

"Who?"

"Renee."

Sophie could barely contain a smirk as she shook her head in mock disapproval. "You're unbelievable."

"What?"

"You chatted for a bit?" Sophie asked as she watched Kate's cheeks catch fire.

"Yea, she had… there was a whole - a whole thing with expanding the bar and-and-and we-"

"I don't need the details," Sophie said, waving her hand to quiet Kate's stammering. She felt a well of emotions as she imagined Kate with someone else, but quickly reminded herself she'd done the same for years. It didn't stop the small pang of jealousy that hit her, but she brought her glass to her lips and let the bite of the whisky wash it away.

"It wasn't - I didn't-"

"Kate, stop. Please don't explain," Sophie interrupted. "That is the last thing I want to hear about."

"I'm sorry."

Sophie froze, her mouth open ready to interrupt Kate again. An apology was unexpected, and she watched as Kate averted her gaze toward the empty fireplace as the words processed.

"Kate, I-" Sophie began, searching for words that matched her feelings. "I'm not… you don't need to apologize," she continued finally, abandoning any attempt to articulate her emotions.

Kate's face was strained with a detached worry as she kept her eyes on anything but Sophie. "She encouraged me to message you; Renee, I mean."

"That's funny."

"Why?" Kate asked, expecting Sophie to reply with something sarcastic.

"She did the same to me."

"Really?" Kate asked in surprise.

"On Monday."

"That's why you changed your mind," Kate said with a chuckle as she connected the dots.

Sophie nodded with a small smile. "She's got some guts."

"Well, I for one am glad."

"I can imagine," Sophie said.

"I didn't mean - I just meant that I'm glad she intervened. I don't think I'd have actually… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I m-"

A buzz interrupted Kate, and she turned to see her phone glowing with Luke's name. She stared at it for a moment, weighing whether to answer it. It was unlike him to call so late, and a panic hit her.

"You need to-?"

"It'll just be a minute," Kate apologized, lifting the phone to her ear and making a beeline for the door.

"Soph."

Sophie blinked awake, scanning her immediate surroundings: they were much dimmer than before. A single lamp illuminated the space, and Sophie tracked Kate's voice back to the hand on her arm.

"Hey, you dozed," Kate said softly.

"You let me."

Kate shrugged. "I'd do it again."

Sophie could barely contain her annoyance with a chuckle as she observed Kate's cheeky grin. "Kate, I… this isn't how-"

"Soph, it's fine. It's not like you didn't warn me. You did ruin my plans to host a rave tonight, but-"

"A rave? Yea, I'm sure Rose-"

"-Ruby-"

"Sure. Ruby seems like the kind of tenant who would endorse that."

"She looks like she partied in her day."

"That's the key phrase: in her day," Sophie joked back as she rubbed her eyes of sleep. "Ok, I need to go," she continued, glancing around for her phone and the time. "Have you seen my phone? I need to call a ride-"

"Soph."

"What?" she asked, feeling the annoyance of falling asleep creep into her voice. She didn't regret stopping by, but she knew by morning she'd be off her game, and the last thing she needed was to give Jacob another excuse to undermine her.

"You really should sleep more. You aren't twenty anymore," Kate insisted, not missing the irony in her own words.

"That's what I was trying to do earlier and then you - you… what time is it? How are you still awake?"

"Sorry?" Kate asked in confusion.

"What's your secret?" Sophie asked.

"My secret? I don't have a job," Kate lied easily with a soft chuckle, chalking Sophie's comment up to being disoriented from a lack of sleep. "Come on. Bed."

"What?"

"I've fallen asleep in this chair. It does not feel good in the morning."

"No, I'm not - I just said-"

"And you look like shit."

"I… I'm leaving and you're an ass."

"An ass who isn't taking 'no' for an answer. You're not leaving at this hour. There's curfew, remember? Which you broke to get here, I might add."

"I was leaving the office; it doesn't count."

"You're only furthering my argument: this isn't your office. Now, up," Kate said, offering a hand to Sophie.

This stare down lasted a fraction of the time their first one did. Sophie crumbled into her exhaustion and sighed in frustration before standing in compliance, ignoring the hand Kate offered. It wasn't that Kate made a convincing argument, it was that Sophie realized cabs weren't running because of curfew.

"I threw some clothes on the bed."

"That isn't necessa-"

"Sorry in advance: they're grey," Kate said, interrupting Sophie's dismissiveness.

"What, no bright pink?" Sophie joked through a stifled yawn.

"No, but I do have half a dozen toothbrushes in the bathroom drawer to choose from."

"Diane Moore raised you right," she said, accepting her fate and grabbing the clothes before stepping into the bathroom.

"Left drawer," Kate called as the door clicked shut.

It only took a few minutes for the door to reopen and Sophie to reappear in one of Kate's faded t-shirts and shorts. By then Kate had migrated to the kitchen where she was posted up at the bar with her laptop.

"I've never seen grey tooth brushes before," Sophie remarked.

"Diane Moore can influence my toiletry inventory, but she can't make me like colors."

L: Parker found another hit. Sending location now.

K: The Upper West Side?

"Mhm, well your bathroom walls are mauve though, so-"

"That was Luke," Kate interrupted, scowling at her computer.

"Are you working?" Sophie asked as she glanced between Kate and the couch.

K: This doesn't make sense.

L: Agreed, but it checks all the boxes

"For a bit. I'm behind on emails," she lied seamlessly.

"Ok, I-"

"Take the bed," Kate interrupted, sensing Sophie's hesitation.

K: All of them?

L: Even owned by Delia Pflaum

"No it's ok - you take it; I'll use the couch-"

"There's plenty of room," Kate continued, her focus on some concealed text on her screen.

"What?" Sophie asked in surprise. "You want to… what?"

K: Bingo.

"What?" Kate asked, tearing her gaze from the text, confused by Sophie's confusion.

"N-nothing. It's… ok, uh, thanks."

K: Would be good to double check though

L: Will do

K: No, don't; I'll take it from here

"Mhm," Kate said, already staring intently back at her computer.

L: You aren't thinking of going out tonight, are you?

K: No, something else came up. If Parker confirms, I'll check it out tomorrow

Kate navigated the map on her screen to pinpoint the exact location Parker had provided. Over the last few weeks Luke had sent Kate from one location to another trying to track down what they speculated were greenhouses being used to grow the blue poppies. Unfortunately for them, every location was a bust: they were always abandoned. It was at the second location that Kate uncovered any evidence supporting their theory. Forgotten plant trimmings had been discovered, and Luke was able to confirm their identity with the assistance of Bruce's journals. They speculated that the greenhouses were being set up on a temporary basis, allowing for quick teardowns in case GCPD or Crows caught wind of their activities.

This discovery made them more confident they were on the right path, but figuring out the latest locations required access to current energy consumption which was impossible without hacking into Gotham Energy's servers. Kate realized that in order to get ahead of the blue poppy growth, they needed real time data. Enter Parker Torres, the spitfire teenager from Gotham Prep who outsmarted Alice and saved both her and Kate's life with some quick thinking. It had taken her less than a day to break into the energy meters throughout the city and provide on-demand readings, and even Luke had to admit she was a strong asset.

The strange thing about the latest intel was that the site was within a densely populated area of Gotham. It struck Kate as reckless to set up shop there, and she wanted Parker's confirmation before risking a run in with Fear Toxin around that many people. After firing off a message to Parker, Kate realized how much time had passed and glanced up to see Sophie was passed out on one side of the bed, feeling a small smile form.

Kate stood from the chair, her mind counting down the seconds till she could sleep when her eyes landed on her phone, and one last interruption delayed her plans.

A cry woke Sophie from her sleep. She refamiliarized with her surroundings, half-wondering if she dreamed the noise when another soft cry turned her attention to the other half of the bed. She let her eyes focus for a moment on the curled form of Kate nestled under the blankets, studying her for signs of movement.

"Kate?" Sophie whispered softly. When no response came Sophie sat up and surveyed Kate. She was asleep, but her face was set in heavy scowl. In that moment Kate twitched and let out another set of indecipherable sounds before one was clearly articulated: Beth.

Sophie paused, absorbing the situation: she had spent years sharing a room and a bed with Kate, and never once had she shown signs of succumbing to nightmares. It took only a moment for her to piece together Kate's state with the pervasive after effects of Fear Toxin. A number of her field operatives were on medical leave from the same lingering impacts. She watched Kate for a minute longer, waiting to see if her mind would settle back into a peaceful state.

When instead another slur of sounds and cries cut through the darkness, Sophie juggled with whether to wake Kate or let her sleep through the nightmare. If the stories were anything to go off, Kate would eventually wake herself up anyway, and she weighed whether sooner than later was better.

She hesitated only a moment longer before deciding, even though that decision was filled with uncertainty: the line around their relationship had been drawn and redrawn so many times that Sophie wasn't sure where it currently existed, but it took only another small cry from Kate to risk crossing it.

She slid across the mattress, removing the space that existed between her and Kate before slipping her arm around Kate's waist. She pressed herself against Kate's body, feeling the warmth of her back radiate against her chest. It had been years, but the act was as familiar a gesture as anything Sophie could think of. She briefly pressed her lips onto the back of Kate's neck and heard Kate sigh into a calmer sleep. Sophie felt her lips curl up as she adjusted her head to rest on Kate's pillow.

She let her eyes fall closed, taking in the smell and comfort of Kate's presence when another single word escaped Kate's lips: "Soph?"

Sophie froze as Kate's whisper faded into the darkness. A series of inarticulate sounds followed before another set of words: "Soph, don't… please don't go."

Sophie instinctively pulled Kate closer, realizing her comments were an extension of the dream. A small sob escaped Kate's lips, and Sophie felt her heart ache.

"Kate," Sophie whispered softly. She paused, feeling a mixture of foolishness at comforting her sleeping form and desire to protect and reassure Kate. "It's ok… it's… I'm not going anywhere."

Sophie's words felt empty as she replayed the scenes she imagined appearing in Kate's world. In that world those words never happened.

Minutes passed in silence as Sophie interrogated Kate's breathing patterns before feeling confident that whatever terrors were swimming around Kate's mind had passed for the moment. With it came a comfort that allowed her to succumb to her own dreamless sleep.

A familiar buzz stirred Sophie from her slumber. It took a few seconds to orient herself again to her surroundings: the space felt grander than she was used to, the blankets were different - softer, and most out of the ordinary was a sleeping Kate in her arms.

She uncurled her arm from Kate and reached over to the side table, quickly hitting dismiss on the alarm before sitting up and blinking in the dim light of sunrise bleeding into the flat. The rhythmic breathing of Kate next to her sent her into a wave of regret as she lifted herself from the bed, snagging her phone as she did and walking toward the bathroom. She unlocked the screen to light her way, taking the opportunity to skim through the siege of notifications she'd already received. Her thumb blindly swiped until three notifications caused her to pause midstep:

K: In case you're awake before me: dad's taking the day off. You should consider doing the same.

K: Please don't be mad, but I understand if you are. I'd do it again either way.

K: Plus you looked like hell. Get some rest, and thanks for stopping by.

Sophie looked back at Kate's curled form sleeping soundly in bed, and instead of the usual wave of frustration she'd feel at Kate crossing a line, she felt nothing but gratitude at the gesture. She couldn't remember the last day she'd taken off, and she wasn't about to let it go to waste. She glanced over at her jacket and bag carelessly adorning a chair and considered all of the to-do's she could strike off her list, but there was one option that beat all of them. Without a second thought she set her phone down and took the handful of steps back to the bed before sliding under the still warmed blankets next to Kate.