September 15th, 2007

Edward unfurled the map of Downtown Gotham that he had brought with him and lay it flat on Penelope's desk, taking care not to push her books and the vase containing the now wilting carnations off of the surface. In the month since his interview with Vicki Vale, he'd been flush with clients, and their cash. His increased funds had allowed him to hire more informants for his network, including two more in GCPD and a low-level worker in City Hall. That informant was the source of the map and the information Edward was about to share with Penelope. "As part of his beautification campaign," he said, pointing at the map, "Mayor Sharp, or rather, property firms owned by his donors, have been purchasing properties in the Bowery, Diamond District, and Park Row. Most of these properties are either abandoned buildings or low-income housing, which have had their residents evicted."

Penelope leaned over to look at the map and nodded. "Bruce has a friend who's involved in social advocacy for a lot of those displaced residents. Her name is Dr. Leslie Thompkins. She runs a medical clinic in Park Row."

"I'm familiar with the woman," Edward said. He'd been treated at her clinic earlier that year after his 'adventure' with Croc. He shook his head. "Is she part of your little brigade now?"

"Yes. She's come to our last two meetings and brought this situation to our attention. She's also mentioned that despite the properties being bought out, there hasn't been any move made at renovating them. They seem to be leaving them as they are."

"That lines up with what I learned from Oswald," Edward mused. "According to him, business owners in the Bowery are being approached about selling out. Not just the Mom and Pop shops either, but the more successful franchises as well. It's as if Sharp is more interested in the space itself than anything in it."

"What's his goal though?" Penelope wondered. "Renovation would make sense, but what's the point of buying up these properties if they're just going to be left empty?"

"What indeed?" Edward mused, tapping the side of the desk and looking intently at the map. Then a lightbulb flashed. "Do you have a pen?" Penelope passed him a red pen from her desk. When he reached out to take it, their fingers briefly touched. Even though he was wearing his gloves, Edward thrilled at the physical contact, the most he'd had since she'd walked back into his life the month before. However, as soon as they'd touched, Penelope withdrew, just as she had throughout the past month. Her face remained blank as she put her hands back down and Edward fought back a wave of frustration. Instead, he turned his attention to the map, drawing a line between the properties that he knew the Mayor's backers had bought. As he suspected, they connected in a large circle through the heart of Downtown Gotham, including Wonder Tower, as far southeast as the Industrial district, and as far north as the old amusement park pier. "Ah-ha!" he shouted in triumph, placing the pen back down on the desk. "There you have it! It's not the individual buildings, it's the entire blocks! Unless I miss my guess, and I very rarely do, Sharp, and Strange by extension have plans for those parts of Gotham City!"

Penelope's brow furrowed. "What kind of plans? Construction of some kind? That's such a massive area and in the middle of the city. It can't be a prison."

"That is the riddle," Edward quipped. Much to his dismay, Penelope had no reaction to it other than another pensive look at the map. She'd never been the most demonstrative person before Bane, but after returning to him, she'd seemed to withdraw back into herself, closer to how she'd been at the beginning of their partnership. "I'll look into it, Penny. Meanwhile, what's your commission's next move?"

Penelope looked back up at him, her tone brisk. "Bruce has his annual charity gala at his home this weekend. The Mayor, his senior staff, and many members of the Board at Arkham will be there. We're going to talk with the board about the asylum's use of the grant money Bruce gave them back in June. Have you had the chance to look over the profiles I gave you last week?"

Edward smiled. "But of course. You'll be happy to know that I've already formulated a plan." He pulled one of the profiles she'd given him the previous week for research purposes and laid it down on top of the map. There was a picture of a balding, thin-lipped middle-aged man and a few lines of biographical information scrawled underneath it. "Mr. Albert Dodgson. Member of the board for five years, and, unfortunately for him, in possession of poor taste in women. Rumor has it that his wife, a former teen beauty queen twenty-five years his junior, has more interest in her personal trainer, chauffeur, and stepson than poor Mr. Dodgson." Edward grinned at Penelope. "And guess who has just been hired to see if there's any truth to those rumors?"

Penelope's blank look turned to one of shock. "You-how on Earth did you manage that?"

Edward chuckled. "My reputation precedes me, of course." The answer actually, was networking. Edward had a number of past clients who traveled in the same social circles as Dodgson, and many of them owed him a favor. He'd called them in, asking for them to drop his name to Dodgson, until the man finally agreed to hire him three days earlier. "Thanks to my looking into his wife, I have access to Dodgson's personal accounts. If there's anything nefarious to find, I'll have it to you by this weekend."

Penelope shook her head. "I shouldn't be surprised by what you're capable of." A ghost of a smile came across her face and Edward's heart soared. As soon as she met his eyes though, the smile faded and her usual serious expression came back. "Was there anything else we needed to discuss? I need to be at GCPD in an hour."

Yes, Edward thought. We can discuss why you even bothered coming back if you were going to be so cold. Instead, he shook his head, took the profile and placed it back within his waistcoat, and rolled the map back up. "I think that just about covers it. I'll be in touch before this weekend." Edward made one last attempt to needle her. "Try not to have too much fun at the gala without me."

Six weeks ago, Penelope would have scoffed and made a smart remark of her own. Today, she just nodded. "I'll talk to you soon."

Edward tipped his hat to her. "Adieu, my dear doctor." He walked out of the office, trying not to let on his disappointment.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Penelope looked to the carnations in their vase. Their vibrant color had faded, the petals had begun to fall, but she still couldn't bring herself to get rid of them. She gently touched one of the flowers with a melancholy sigh. She'd thought that by putting up a boundary between herself and Edward, that she could begin to get past her feelings for him.

It wasn't working.

Selina didn't need to be a genius to know that something was bothering Eddie. Since they'd arrived at the Italian bistro for lunch, he'd been short with the waitstaff, huffy with her, and after their orders arrived, he alternated between idly stabbing at it with a fork, or sighing. The third time in two minutes that he let out a sigh was the last straw. "Alright Eddie," she said in a forceful tone. "You've been sulky the whole time we've been here. What's going on?"

Eddie looked up from his plate to glare at her, only to quail at the glare she was giving him in return. His shoulders drooped. "It's Penny," he said.

Selina arched an eyebrow. "Doc? I thought the two of you were ok again." Selina had been pleased the previous week when she'd arrived at Eddie's office only to find him and the Doc completely wrapped up in each other. What was that old saying? 'If you love something, let it go, if it comes back, it's meant to be?' She'd thought it would only be a matter of time until they figured things out. She should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Eddie let out another frustrated sigh. "I thought we were too, but for the past month, she's been treating me more like a colleague than a friend."

Selina took a sip of wine and pondered. "Is she still mad at you about what happened when she was staying with you?"

Eddie let out a dry laugh. "Oh no, trust me, Lina, if she were angry with me, I would know it." He shook his head. "She's shutting herself off again, and I can't for the life of me figure out why."

Selina had a few ideas. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"I just got her back, I don't want to drive her off again!"

A question Eddie was afraid to ask? Deep down, he must know what's going on, she thought. Looked like it would take something big to shake him out of denial. "Well Eddie, looks like you're at an impasse."

"Don't I just know it," he drawled. He began stabbing at his food again. "She's not shy about praising Bruce Wayne to the Heavens though. 'Oh, Bruce donated money, Bruce wants to know more about my research, Bruce this, Bruce that', blah blah blah blah." He punctuated his last words with increasing vicious stabs. He probably was seeing Bruce's face in his pasta.

Selina rolled her eyes. "Be nice. Didn't Bruce Wayne come to pick you up at Arkham?"

Eddie seemed to deflate a bit. "It's not that I'm not grateful to him," he argued. "But you know his reputation with women. Penny deserves better than to be on the cover of every tawdry magazine in this town."

Next time she saw Bruce, she'd have to warn him about this. Selina smirked. "You think that just because they're working together that means he's going to make a move on her?"

As expected, Eddie's face flushed. "He had best not," he growled. Then he remembered himself and cleared his throat. "That's a distraction she doesn't need."

It was mean, but sometimes she just couldn't resist winding Eddie up. "You're jealous."

"I am not!" Eddie shouted. At the looks he received from the other diners, he lowered his voice. "I know what where you're going with this Lina," he hissed accusingly. "I'm not in love with her. I think I've established that clearly."

Selina rolled her eyes again. "Right, Eddie. You're not in love with her. You risked your life to protect her from Bane, you cut off Harley for her, you almost fell apart when she left, you were over the moon when she came back, you're feeling down because she's not acting like your girlfriend anymore, you're jealous of any other man who may even show a hint of interest in her, but you're not in love with her." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "If you're giving off this many mixed signals to me, her head must be spinning."

"She was the one who said we shouldn't pursue a romantic relationship!" Eddie defended. "And I agree with her. There's only one way romantic relationships have ever ended for me!"

At that, Selina felt her face soften. "Eddie," she said. "I know what happened with Jonathan hurt you, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone for the rest of your life."

"I know that," he huffed. He took a long drink from his glass and set it back down. Selina wasn't prepared for the self-loathing look in his eyes. "Ellen's mother, Jonathan...You're the only one who's ever walked away from me unscathed, Lina, and that's because you weren't in love with me. It doesn't end well for people who fall in love with me."

This wasn't just about his own fear of being hurt again, Selina realized. In his own way, he thought he was protecting Doc. She let out a rueful sigh. He really was in love with her.

Penelope didn't always enjoy her phone calls with her mother, but today, it was a welcome distraction. "Yes Mom," she said, sitting in her Ottoman chair. "I have a dress ready for the gala this weekend."

"I wish I was still there," her mother said. "I could have helped you get your hair styled."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "I can manage."

"I know you can, Poppy," her mother said. There was a pause before she spoke again. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, why?" Penelope asked, confused at the worried tone in her mother's voice.

"I'm your mother, darling. I know when you're sad about something. When I saw you last month, you seemed sad. You still sound a bit sad now. What's going on? Is it work? Did something else happen?"

Penelope shut her eyes. It had devolved into a long argument when her mother had found out about her encounter with Bane. The older woman had been ready to strong-arm her onto the plane back to Ohio. "It's nothing, Mom. I can handle it."

"It's a man then." Almost as if she could see Penelope's surprised expression, her mother chuckled sadly. "You said the same thing when you and Michael had your troubles. It's that friend of yours, isn't it? The one from Arkham?"

Penelope sighed. She truly hated how perceptive her mother was at times. "It's a long story."

"I don't have anywhere to be tonight."

Penelope wet her lip. She was half-surprised she'd been able to keep this from her mother for this long. "Well to start with, I should tell you his name. It's Edward."

"Edward," her mother said. Penelope heard her take a quick breath. "And you say you knew him at Arkham?"

There had only ever been one Edward at Arkham that Penelope had spoken about. "Yes."

"His last name...it wouldn't be 'Nigma', would it?"

Penelope spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "Yes."

There was another long pause. "Poppy, tell me everything."

It took about half an hour for Penelope to succinctly summarize the last year of her relationship with Edward, leaving out as much about Strange as she could. "I never meant for this to happen, Mom," she finished. "I never meant for it to go this far."

"Of course not," her mother soothed. "No one ever chooses who they fall in love with, although I have to wonder what you see in him."

Penelope smiled half-heartedly. "I can't even begin to explain it," she said. "He's arrogant, he's obnoxious, he can be self-centered, but he has a great capacity for caring. No matter what happens to him, he pulls himself back up. He's the most intelligent, dynamic, exciting man I've ever known. And..."

"And what, Poppy?"

Penelope sighed again. "Except for Aaron, Joan, and a few others...most of the people I know, when they find out I used to be at Arkham...when they look at me, they only see what I did at Arkham. They only see me as the Joker's victim, or as his accomplice. Edward...he sees me. When I was at my lowest point, he was the one to get through to me, to help me remember that I'm more than what I did at Arkham, that I can be better."

"If that's true darling, then I owe him a debt I can never repay, but you know who he used to be. Do you feel safe with him?"

Penelope nodded firmly. "Yes, Mom. I trust him with my life."

Her mother let out a long sigh. "I can't imagine how your father would have reacted, but as long as you feel safe...I won't worry too much."

Penelope felt a weight lift off of her at her mother's words. "You're not angry?"

"Penelope, I'm your mother. I will never hold anything against you. If you love him though, why haven't you told him?"

"I told you Mom, after what happened with Bane...he said that he wasn't ready for another relationship. And even if he was...there are so many reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea."

"I can name a few myself," her mother said. "But Poppy, he needs to know. Even if it's not a good idea, even if he's stupid enough to not love you back after everything, it's not fair to him to keep this from him. It's not fair to you, either."

Joan had said the same thing to her after she'd gone back to him. Penelope pinched the bridge of her nose. "It wouldn't do us any good to bring it up now. I'm trying to work through it."

Her mother let out another sad chuckle. "You can't think your way out of everything. If I'd done that, I never would have left Greece and you wouldn't exist. Some things, you need to let yourself feel. You have your reasons why you shouldn't be with him. Why not ask yourself why you should? You said that you feel safe with him. Can he take care of himself, or would he need you to do that for him?"

"He was taking care of himself before we met again," Penelope said. "He made the decision to improve without me being around. He has a support system too." He'd publically affirmed his commitment to his reform without any knowledge that she'd come back to him. He wasn't dependent on her.

"Well, that's one point in his favor. Do you feel like he could support you? Would he be a good partner to you?"

She remembered in a flash every time he'd encouraged her, that he'd praised her, that even if he personally didn't care about Arkham, or Gotham at large, how he supported her efforts because she did. "Yes, I think he could be."

"Do you have common ground with each other?"

They were both deeply flawed, broken people who'd been violently ripped out of their former lives and forced to find themselves all over again. Who could better understand what they had gone through than the other? Something like hope was blooming in Penelope. "Yes, we do." Maybe it could work. Maybe, maybe...

Her mother's next words came like a bucket of ice water. "Do you see a future with him?"

Penelope's hope died. She wanted to reform Arkham, improve mental health care in Gotham City and do away with the past forever. It was work that would take the rest of her life. Edward? If he wanted anything beyond getting rid of Strange, he'd never said so. Once the professor was gone...was there anything else to keep them together? Would he stay with her and continue to support her work, or would he move on to the next case? "I don't know," she murmured.

"Well, it sounds like you still have time to think about that. I can't tell you what to do, Poppy, but I'll always be here if you need to talk No matter what you decide, I'll support you."

"I know Mom," Penelope answered in a thick voice. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And next time I'm in Gotham, I insist on meeting him. I want to size up the man my daughter is in love with for myself."

Penelope let out a laugh despite herself. "I'm sure he'll enjoy that. I have to go. Thank you again."

"Good night Poppy."

Penelope hung up and placed it on her coffee table. She got out of her chair and wandered to her living room window, taking a look out into the busy night. She had a lot to think about, and sooner or later, she had to come to a decision.