Being Commissioner meant that Gordon didn't drive a normal squad car. He arrived on the scene in an unmarked vehicle and easily spotted Carly, Alfred and Dick waiting and expecting a uniformed officer. He turned off his car's engine and observed them for a minute. Carly was holding the Grayson boy protectively at her side. Alfred was standing nearby, keeping a watchful eye on the street's pedestrians. Jim stepped out of his cat and onto the sidewalk.
"I was in the neighborhood." He offered as a mild explanation. "Hi there Mr. Grayson, remember me?" Dick nodded, before hiding just slightly behind Carly.
"It's alright Dick," She promised before giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Commissioner Gordon is here to protect us."
"He has a gun too." Dick whispered. He pointed to the holder at Gordon's side.
"I only use it to defend people who are in danger. Right now, no one is in danger. So, I won't be needing this." The commissioner adjusted his suit jacket to hide they gun from Dick's view. "We're going to go down to the Police Station and hang out for a bit until we can make sure you both are safe and that it is safe for you to go home. Mr. Pennyworth can follow us there in the car."
"Certainly." The butler nodded. Alfred waited until Carly and Dick were safely loaded into the commissioner's car before getting behind the wheel of his own vehicle. Dick was shaking like a leaf when Carly helped him into the backseat. He was obviously still very scared. Truthfully, Carly was still shaken up herself, but she knew there was no room for her to be scared right now. She had to be there for the little boy who was in her care.
At the police station Gordon led Carly and Dick into the children's interrogation room. It was a small room full of toys and games that the cops used to lure information from the traumatized or completely shut down kids they brought in. Carly knew the room well, having been in it once or twice as a kid. It surely said something about the city of Gotham that the police station had a special room just for children involved with crimes.
"It's better isolated over here." Gordon explained when he noticed her shifting uncomfortably. "More privacy."
"Mmm-Hmm." She replied quietly before leaning against the doorframe. Dick settled into the room. He'd obviously been there previously, likely during his very brief stint in foster care. Dick picked up a deck of cards from a bookcase in the corner and began building a house of cards by himself. It gave him something else to focus on; something else to think about.
"Social worker took him in the day after his parents died." The commissioner explained quietly, following her gaze. "Routine for situations like his." Carly nodded remember all too well that she once sat on that same carpet and talked to a much younger Detective Jim Gordon. "She'll have to be called." He added.
"Who?" Carly snapped her head up to look at him.
"The Social Worker, Emily." Gordon answered.
"Oh." Carly shuffled her feet. "Right, of course. Can I call Bruce first?"
"Sure." Gordon looked uncertain. "I assumed you would have already called him. Or at the very least that Alfred would have on the car ride over. If you're in danger, someone should have called him. Especially if these people plan to attack the mansion next."
"Would you want to be the one to tell Bruce Wayne that his wife and foster son of only a few hours were held up at gunpoint in an alley when they left the movie theater?" Carly raised an eyebrow.
"Fair point." Gordon agreed. "Still, someone should let him know what's happened. I could call him if it's easier."
"No, no, it should come from me. He'll only worry if he gets a call from you." Somehow Carly knew that her husband was already back at home waiting impatiently by the phone. He would have rushed home as soon as possible in case the police came to the mansion looking for him. He would know to wait for her call before storming into the station demanding answers. Carly's fingers fumbled slightly as she slid her cellphone out of her back pocket. She dialed the mansion's number and Bruce answered on the first ring.
"Bruce, Honey," She tried to talk calmly to him and even though he already knew the majority of what happened, Carly was finding the words hard to get out. "Don't worry, but police are going to be coming to the house. I need you to ride with them and come down to the station. Everyone is all right, but there was an incident with Dick and I. I said we are fine." She paused as Bruce asked a serious of questions. They weren't anything he didn't already know the answer to, but he had to ask and she had to answer. This is how things would be for them now that they both lived this life of duality. "I'll explain everything when you get here, alright? Dick, Alfred and I are here with Jim. We'll see you when you get here."
"I only got a fragmented explanation from the dispatcher." Gordon said once she hung up the phone. "Do you think you could fill in the gaps?"
"There's not really much to say." Carly combed a shaky hand through her long blonde hair as she brought he mind back to the alleyway. She recounted as much as she could for the commissioner.
"So, their only demand was for Dick?" Grodon seemed surprised. "You offered them money, ransom, anything they wanted and they still just wanted him? Do you have any idea why they would have wanted him? Did they indicate to you in any way that this attack might have had something to do with the incident at the circus?"
"No." Carly shook her head. "I'm sorry. They just kept making demands of me."
"I'll give him some time," Gordon said, "but I want to ask him a few questions too."
"Maybe I can coax something out of him." Carly sat on the floor opposite Dick. She sat cross-legged on the carpet and watched him stack cards in triangle formations. She watched a silent tear slide down his cheek.
"Hey, Dick how are you feeling?" She asked.
"F-fine." He sniffled before wiping his nose with his shirt sleeve.
"Are you sure? Because usually people don't cry when they're fine." Carly picked up a card from the top of the deck that was settled on the floor. "I know that I'm very scared right now."
"Really?" Dick looked away from his house of cards. He studied her face, trying to see if she was lying or not.
"Of course. What just happened was very scary." Carly explained. "And if you are scared we should talk about it."
"I don't want to." He told her quietly.
"Oh? How come?" Carly turned the card over in her hand absentmindedly.
"Is Bruce coming?" Dick asked suddenly. "I bet he's never scared of anything."
"I'm sure he'll be here any minute." Carly looked over her shoulder where Alfred and Gordon where watching them.
"It wouldn't be much longer, Maser Dick, I'm sure." Alfred agreed.
Twenty minutes passed. Gordon had managed to secure a cup of coffee for Carly and tea for Alfred as they waited for Bruce to arrive at the police station. The billionaire showed up, looking positively frantic. His hair was disheveled, his suit jacket unbuttoned and his tie hung crookedly from his neck. He looked like he'd been dressed in a hurry.
"Car!" Bruce gasped as he pulled his wife into his arms. His heart had been aching from the very second he'd found her guarding their son in the alley.
"We're all right." She insisted. All the same she rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in his warm and familiar scent. "I'm okay." She whispered.
"I was watching TV waiting for you to come home when you called...I rushed to get dressed." He explained hastily. Two officers followed Bruce inside.
"They're here for your protection." Gordon explained. "I'm going to call the Social Worker and check up on a few things, in the meantime Mr. And Mrs. Wayne, it would be best for you all to stay here. At least until we can make sure your Mansion is safe."
"Of course, Jim." Bruce nodded. He took one of his wife's hands and held it tight. He never wanted to let her out of his sight again.
A/N: Has it been forever or what you guys? Sorry I'm always working on a thousand things at once y'all! :) but I hope you enjoyed this chapter just the same!
