Hestia's blood pumped through her veins as her sneakers smacked against the pavement. She had been itching to get back to her daily runs since her tussle with the viper attack from a few weeks prior. Her ponytail bounced side to side with each step, and as she turned the corner, she felt a sudden spike of panic tingling up her spine. She glanced around, but didn't see anything out of place as she continued, but something pushed her to cross the street. It was then that she noticed a dark vehicle idling outside of a deli about halfway to her practice. One of the doors opened, and a man raised a gun in her direction.

She clambered over a short wall on her left and started to bolt down an alleyway, her heart rate picked up as she caught the sound of the scrapes of shoes over the wall she had just fled over. "Dr. Zaqar!"

She didn't recognize the voice, and so she kept going. Her hands fumbled around in her pocket for her flip phone before she managed to take the silver device between her fingers, her digits running through her contacts. Zsasz's phone rang out a few times before going to voicemail and she clicked her tongue behind her teeth before attempting Harvey's number. It also rang before abruptly cutting to voicemail. She knew her way around the area as she zig zagged through alleyways, the sounds of pursuing steps sharp behind her.

She could try one of the police departments, but she knew it would be of no use. She couldn't chance entering one that belonged to Maroni, especially not since Oswald had disclosed to him that she was withholding treatment from his men. She tried Zsasz's number again, and this time he answered. "Hestia?" His voice was low. It was clear he had been either in some sort of meeting, or she had disturbed him during work.

Her voice caught in her throat as her ponytail was yanked back by one of her pursuers. "Get the fuck off me!" Her knees collided with the asphalt, water splashed up in protest, and it reached all the way up to her shoulders. She managed to keep a hold of her phone as her other arm was yanked back.

"Hestia?" His normally aloof voice rose with alarm as his leather glove squealed from the tightening of his grip upon the phone in his hand.

One of the men lifted her up, and she let out a form of a squeal from the movement before bringing her heel back swiftly into his knee. He jerked her back in the direction of the vehicle from blocks away, and she squirmed to attempt to break free. "Vic!" She cried out as her phone was taken from her grasp. The sound of shattering plastics echoed out into the air as it was smashed against the side of a dumpster. One of the other men brought his heel down to crush the device further.

"Dr. Zaqar, remain calm, and we won't have to hurt you."

Hestia's eyes met wildly with the second man's, and her lip curled in disgust. "Let me go this instant, or else you will regret it."

The next thing she knew, there was a sharp pain in the center of her face, and then there was darkness.

Hestia turned the keys in the lock of a pair of large metal doors before pushing it open. She was greeted with a few rows of plastic waiting chairs, the smell of fresh paint wafting out into the doorway around her. Her heels clicked on new linoleum flooring as she crossed the room. An older man followed slowly after her as her eyes danced about the room. His fingers moved to a lightswitch, and the bright fluorescents came alive above their heads. "This is the waiting room, and," he paused to point towards a well protected station, "that is the front desk and check in. Behind that is the records room, and you have about four surgical units currently. They are still finishing up the rest. You have nine normal exam rooms, and a break room."

He rested a hand on her shoulder as he led her towards the surgical rooms first. "You already have everything you need, of course, but if you find yourself missing anything, let me know. I'll get it ordered and fulfilled quickly."

"This place is huge, Carmine." She muttered as they inspected each of the rooms.

"You have big aspirations, my dear Hestia, and you'll need the room to achieve them." Falcone gestured for her to head down the hall, and they stopped to examine the breakroom before he led her further down the hall. Here, they passed through two sets of locked doors and through a small hall before he unlocked another door. He handed over the keys to Hestia before pushing the door open for her to enter. "This is your home. It has an office, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an eat in kitchen, and of course, a reading window with a daybed in the office."

Hestia took the keys happily before moving through the newly carpeted rooms. They were already fully decorated and furnished, her clothing already in the closet of the main bedroom. "I love it, Carmine, I really do. How's the staffing?"

"Already hired out for now. We can add more staff later on, should you need it. I'll let you get settled. You can open up as early as tomorrow morning, if you'd like."

"I want to get to work, right away, Carmine. How's eight sound?" Her smile beamed excitedly from ear to ear.

-{X}-

Bile tickled the back of the doctor's throat as she looked down at her first evening patient. She knew to expect it, but she hadn't planned on it happening within the first week of her practice being open. He was making strange noises as his arms wrapped tightly around his gut. She shook the panic from her mind before moving to cut through layers of fabric. Her voice wasn't her own as she barked out orders, and soon she was almost elbow deep in the man, her hands moving his insides around expertly to repair damage here, and stop bleeding there. She removed two bullets and worked on getting him stitched up.

It had been hours, and just as she finished removing her surgical gown from this patient, she was pulled off to another room. This man was in much better condition, however, he still required attention. She scrubbed her hands and got to work removing glass from various parts of his face before cleaning up and bandaging a graze on his upper arm. She was exhausted at this point, but she had to push through the rest of this night shift.

As she exited the room, she was met by two rather serious looking men. She recognized them both. "Don Falcone, Don Maroni." She bowed her head, her stomach still turning from the night's events. "I believe your," she gestured towards Maroni, "man is in this room. He can leave after some monitoring."

"And Carlo?" Falcone asked as he rested his hat under his arm.

"He's going to have a long recovery ahead of him, but he'll live." She gave a small smile to both of the men. "I am glad to see that the two of you can abide by my rules."

The two men exchanged glances before turning their attention back towards the doctor. "You're doing us both a great service, and your facility is on the border of our territories." Maroni answered.

Hestia bowed her head politely to both of the men. "I should try and get some rest. I have patient appointments in a few hours."

"You seem to be doing well, since, well you know." Maroni added, his eyes narrowing slightly as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

Hestia mustered up a somber smile. "As do you, Don Maroni. I hope that you both have a good evening."

(Author's Note: It's been a while since I posted anything, but I recently fell head first back into the Gotham fandom, and I am slowly catching up with the series. I had a bit of a rough patch on my end that prevented me from having much of a drive to write anything. I hope that you all find this enjoyable, if you are still following it!)