ElseWorlds™: Saving James

Chapter 7

By: Christopher W. Blaine

e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Refer to chapter 1 for the disclaimer for this entire story.

"How is she?"

Dick turned around and regarded the man who had raised him. There were dark circles under his eyes and he thought he detected a hint of silver at the temples. His gaze was tired but his manner was like that of a wound spring. "She'll live, but she won't have children again," Dick responded before turning back to the sleeping Barbara.

"Did the doctors tell you what happened?"

The younger man shook his head. "I'm not family; they can't release medical information to me. It was bad, though, whatever it was. She nearly bled out and…" he started to shake. His hand went up to the bridge of his nose as if he could pinch away the tears. "I could only watch…again…"

Bruce Wayne put a hand on his son's shoulder. If there was anyone in this world that would understand the pain of watching someone die, it was he. Nearly three decades before he had watched his own parents bleed to death in the rain after a gunman had shot them during a botched robbery. "I would have come by sooner, but Gotham has been…occupying a lot of my time." It was as close to an apology as Dick was likely to get. "You were right about Robin."

Dick shrugged. "I don't care if I was right, as long as nobody else dies." He turned again to face his father. "I love her, Bruce."

"We all do; she's a special lady and she's taken more than her share of pain." He looked around the room. "The child?"

Dick nodded. "He's fine. She hasn't named him yet but I heard her talking once about calling him James after her father." There was a look of deep hurt on Dick's face and Bruce realized that Jim Gordon's absence must have been devastating to Barbara. He didn't know if he had the will to let Dick in on the bad news.

Somebody had to he supposed. "Jim Gordon had a heart attack a couple of hours ago. He's in Gotham Memorial in critical condition."

"Good God!" Dick whispered. "It's like someone put a bad luck spell on this family. Is he going to be okay?"

Bruce shrugged and stepped over to look down at the sleeping Barbara. He put a hand to her forehead and pushed away a lock of hair. She looked so peaceful, so happy when she was asleep. How many times had he looked in on her during her career as Batgirl to find her tucked away in her bed, able to put the demons of the night behind her? How he had been jealous of her for being able to do that.

There were other feelings as well, feelings he kept buried deep. Admiration for her spirit, for willingness to find the good in the bad, something he had never been able to do. Her respected her determination when she decided that nobody was going to keep her from protecting the innocent life inside of her. There was also a twinge of something else, something he often did not dwell upon.

He could recall a quick feeling; a sensation rather, when her eyes would look at him and something unspoken would pass between them. Something more than respect. Then he would remember his son and his defenses would fall into place. He would find some way to distance himself from the alluring young woman. It was the way things had to be.

"It's good that you're staying with her," Bruce finally said and then he remembered Dick's question. "I don't know. The Huntress hasn't left his side and I can't get in."

"You're not intimidated by her are you?" Dick asked.

"No; I just don't think getting into a pissing match in Jim's hospital room is going to be of any use." He put his hands in his pockets and Dick noted that the suit was an older one, out of style. Had Alfred been spending too much time with Barbara? It was obvious Bruce was dressing himself. "Jim is the name of the child?"

"I don't know;" Dick said stepping a little closer. There was something deeply wrong with his father but he knew the man would not speak to him about it. Maybe it had to do with the Oracle Group. Dick's informants had been whispering to him that the Batman's reputation had been suffering ever since Gordon had let loose his personal police force. That had to be wearing the Batman down. No wonder he was looking for a partner. "Look, what I said about giving up being Nightwing…it's only temporary…"

"But, you want to live here in Metropolis," Bruce said with a weak smile. "You want to be with her." He turned again and looked at her face and he envied his son for the briefest of moments. Dick noticed the sudden change come over Bruce and knew that something had just happened to trigger his defensive responses. Bruce stood a little taller and his voice was slightly deeper.

The Batman had taken over. "I hope we can speak some more about this some time. As always, the Cave is there for your use."

"Thanks, I'll…"

"I need to get back to Gotham." Bruce then stepped closer and there was an awkward silence between the two of them. They were speaking, but they hadn't mended any fences either. It didn't seem appropriate to hug or even shake hands. Sensing his son's discomfort, Bruce nodded and then left the room.

Dick wanted to go after him, wanted to put the past behind them. He realized that Bruce was dying on the inside. The past few months had been nothing but pain and misery for all of them and it was at times like this that you needed your family. As much as Barbara wanted her father in her life, Dick wanted his.

He had a choice and one quick glance at Barbara made up his mind. Slowly, he moved back to his chair, promising himself that he and Bruce would get together and fix things. Right now, she needed him and she would need him even more once the news of her father's heart attack reached her ears.

Still, he didn't feel right and a dark mood settled over him. He wondered if this was how the Batman felt all of the time.

He didn't like the feeling at all.

"How is he?"

Helena turned around to regard Selina Kyle. In the dim light of the hospital room, the casual observer would mistake them for sisters. Both were tall, dark-haired beauties with a fire in their eyes that made them seem exotic and foreign. Both knew the dark side of the law and had roots deep in it.

Both of them were lethal weapons, though Selina, as the Catwoman, tended to be much more restrained than the younger Helena. They also shared a taste for powerful men, each drawn to the magnetism of dark charisma. Helena had found herself involved with her employer, a man who's inner strength was not just enticing, it was the stuff fantasy novels were written about.

Selina, on the other hand, preferred her men closer to her own age and much more muscular. She was one of the few women in the world who could say she bedded the Bat and it was much to her sadness. Once you had a man like that, all others failed in comparison and Selina knew that if she didn't end up with the man in the cape and cowl of Batman, she might as well switch to women.

No man could match him.

"He's resting," Helena said as she put her hand on his forehead. Selina recognized the look on Helena's face. All of the love that the Huntress had inside of her for a strong male, be it a father, brother or even boyfriend, was being given freely to Jim Gordon. It made sense in a way she supposed. Jim was estranged from his daughter, alone since his wife died; he needed to be needed. They fed off of each other. The sex was just commentary. "The doctors think he'll pull through."

"He's strong," Selina commented. "Obsidian did a trace on the phone call; it was the Joker like you thought."

"I think it's time we paid him a visit, Oracle-style," Helena muttered. She kept her voice low on purpose; Selina did not see things quite the way the more conservative members of the group did.

"I wouldn't recommend it," she said, reminding Helena that they were deputized by the governor and therefore had to obey all applicable state laws. "He didn't do anything but make a phone call. Go in there with guns blazing and we'll lose our charter. What would that do to Jim?"

Helena said nothing for a moment. "You're right, of course, but one day, that bastard will slip up and when he does, I'm going to make sure it's a righteous shoot."

Selina shrugged and stepped a little closer. Jim Gordon had offered her the chance to get a second chance after the Batman had caught her in a very major jewel theft. The theft had been nothing more than a reason to get the Batman's attention; she had noticed he had been acting odd for several weeks, especially after the Gordon girl had been shot. In her haste, she had made a mistake.

Still by the book no matter what, Batman had turned her over to the state police, who then had turned her over to the Oracle Group. Recruitment was tough; not many professional crime fighters wanted to live in Gotham City and so Jim had reasoned that maybe a few non-violent criminals might want some redemption. Selina had hoped it would get her closer to the Batman so she could find out what was wrong, but he seemed to be even more distant once she joined up.

The Oracle Group was not a pleasant place. Jim Gordon was a man on a mission to rid Gotham of crime. The Huntress and Obsidian were well-schooled in the art of the application of deadly force as it was stated in the law and criminals were now more scared of Oracle members then of the Batman. Batman would not kill; Oracle Group would.

Six weeks into the Group, Selina had seen a young teenager pull a gun on Obsidian. The dark clad man, who claimed to be the son of the original Green Lantern, used his dark powers to freeze the boy's soul, literally. His cape had swung over the punk, there was a scream, and a chalk-white body then lay at Obsidian's feet.

The state police had ruled it justifiable; the boy had threatened to shoot Obsidian.

Batman would have taken the gun out with a batarang and the boy would still be alive. Selina had hoped to be a calming influence in the Group, but she was seen more as a nuisance because she demonstrated compassion. "Has he been by?"

"The Bat? No, but I guess that is to be expected." Helena continued to stroke Jim's head. "He's not as great as you think he is."

"And you're not as good as you think you are," Selina replied. "He'll be by."

"Over my dead body."

"What is it with you and him?" Selina asked. "He's Jim's best friend."

Helena laughed. "Was his best friend. The Bat had his place at one time, back when the rules were different. Now these madmen think we're their personal torture toys. We are the future."

"We would be more effective if we all worked together instead of working against him. He's got the most experience with the Joker…"

"You mean he's let the Joker off too easy more than anyone else," Helena responded. She leaned over and gave Jim a kiss on the forehead and walked Selina to the door. "You don't belong here. You don't belong in the Oracle Group."

"It's not your decision to make," Selina said. "If it makes you feel any better, though, I'm quitting."

"Good. This job requires more than what you have to give," Helena said. She looked back to Jim. "He believed in you. Walk the straight and narrow; don't make us come after you."

Selina smiled at the threat and she got a brief flash of her fist hitting Helena's face. She wanted to say something more, have the last word, but she didn't. Helena was making her power move and with Obsidian supporting her, there was really nothing Selina could do about it. She would have to bide her time.

"Tell him I hope he gets well soon," Selina said.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

Selina left the room and let the door close softly. A shadow moved down the hallway: Obsidian. He was keeping an eye on Jim. Selina took that as a good sign; at least he wasn't at the Arkham Asylum, choking the Joker.

She made her way to the hospital lobby and stopped by a pay phone. She dialed a toll-free number and waited for the other end to pick up. "I'm out."

"You didn't belong with them. I'm glad." The voice sounded tired and there was static; he was on a cell phone. "I don't know how much good it will do."

"I'm free tonight," she said. "In fact, I'm free every night now."

There was some hesitation. "I…

She couldn't believe how different he had become. He was questioning everything he was doing. "It's time to put your cards on the table." There was some silence. "It's Talia, isn't it?" she asked, referring to the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul.

"No…I'm just not sure…"

She continued to coax him until he gave her and address to meet him at. She knew it quite well, having cased the property in her criminal days. It was no surprise; Bruce Wayne had always been on her short list of suspects.