Day 262
It's a special day today. It's a very meaningful day. It's exactly one year since I received the greatest gift of all. I adjusted the tiny party cone hat of his head. His spit trickled down to his bib as usual while he giggled at the peek-a-boos Hassan was doing.
Then, I took pictures of them. I haven't continued my picture scrapbook in months. Thank God for the life expectancy of the camera battery.
"Okay, champion. That's enough peek-a-boos for today," I said, picking him up easily with my left hand and right wrist. "Look at what I made for you. Sweet potatoes and carrots again. Sorry, the tomatoes had gone bad."
I sat him in his baby high chair and then wiped his saliva. I blew blueberries on both his cheeks before taking a seat beside him. Hassan took a seat on his other side. We recite our prayers to thank God for everything and to give us strengths in our well-being and faith; to appreciate day by day, the little joys that had happened; to harden our mind if dreadful things would happen.
"Now, to our little star," Hassan announced in showman manner, his hand gestured to our son. Our son was flapping his legs in elation. "You have gone through limitless number of dirty damp smelly diapers through the year… You have made father proud, son." I had to cover my mouth at this idiocy. "I would like to wish you a happy first birthday."
"Happy birthday," I said, nudging my nose to his forehead. "Mommy loves you."
Hassan was still in his acting. "For your present, my dearest son, you will have a day to spend whatever you like," he stated, tilting his chin up a little. "While your mother and I will retire to our chambers." He looked at me and then wiggled his eyebrows.
I let out a laugh. "Yeah, right…" I picked up the baby spoon. "Maybe you can spend the day by yourself while I spend time playing with baby Malik," I teased back, scooping the sweet potato puree. "Say ah, champion… Bismillah." I fed Malik with his food, snickering when I noticed Hassan dramatically sighed in sadness.
"I've locked the door. Malik's asleep and I got you for myself," Hassan dramatically announced as he stepped into our room.
"Good," I reacted, pushing down the blanket that had been covering my body. I was wearing a beige color lacy night gown. It was found during our purge on one of the department store. We actually needed clothes to prepare for cold weather. But Detective Harper just quickly handed me the gown. She had a few of them in her arms. She winked and then left. I had to admit her gesture made me dumbfounded, nevertheless, I never forgot to express my gratitude. I even had to hide the gown to surprise Hassan.
His face dropped into a serious expression. His eyes swirled with emotions, scanning my physique up and down. When he attempted to approach the bed, I raised my palm up.
"Well… I'm ready but you're not…" I teased.
I laughed when he took off his clothes as fast as he can, leaving his boxers on and hopped onto the bed. He was hovering on top of me, sending kisses on my forehead and cheeks.
"Thank you for giving birth to Malik," he whispered, making my heart soared. "My beautiful wife, I love you."
"I love you too, beautiful husband." I smiled.
He returned my smile. We were lost in each other's eyes, caressing each other's cheek. I made the first move, cupping my hand at the back of his neck, pulling him down to me. I still felt sparks when our lips collided, making me sighed. My lips danced along his, deliberately.
The slow kisses turned passionate as I desperately want to be so close to him. His hands ran up and down my body. I parted my legs to let him settled in between them. He let go of my lips and sent licks and kisses to my jaw down to my shoulder. Closing my eyes, I hummed in pleasure, breathing heavier. It was beginning to feel hot inside the room.
I bit my lip when he cupped my breast over the gown, massaging gently, sending warmth to my nether regions. I pushed him a bit to lift my gown. Once I was free from the clothing, he attacked my lips with his, making me feeling the fire in his actions. I rolled my hips, grinding against his pelvic. He moaned, returning the gesture. I panted as we kept on grinding our bodies together, wanting to feel the sensual friction.
"Please…" I sighed, gripping his boxers.
He moved down, giving flowery kisses to my breasts, ribs and stomach. He rose up to remove his boxers while I took off my underwear as quick as I can. I wrapped my legs around his waist right after, feeling a little impatient.
A chuckle escaped his lips as he nibbled my ears. "Seems a little enthusiastic, aren't we?"
"It's been awhile and we're still newlyweds," I whined, lifting my hips up. I sighed when I felt his hard length touched my core.
He positioned himself and pushed inside slowly. My mouth hung opened at the intrusion inside my lady parts. When he was fully sheathed, I released a sigh. He started to move at a slow pace, groaning into my ears. I gripped his arm, eyes tightly closed, as I was consumed by the pleasure. The said pleasure heightened when he was thrusting faster. I opened my eyes and saw that he was watching me with darkened intense eyes – it aroused me more.
"Ah. Babe…" I breathlessly said. He leaned his forehead against mine.
His hand slithered down and touched my sensitive sweet spot. I arched my back when he moved his fingers on it, rubbing on it, while still driving in and out of me. My head became hazy from the pleasure. I whimpered, begging him not to stop.
"You… are amazing," Hassan complimented. I brought him down and kissed him lips with passion, rolling my hips up to meet his.
The peak of pleasure could be felt getting nearer and my movements were getting desperate. My stomach tightened, my eyes closed and my jaw slacked open, as I came. My lover slowed down while my body shuddered. I tried to normalize my breathing; exhaling and inhaling deeply.
"You good?" he asked, after a while.
"Yeah," I sighed. He bend downwards to kiss and lick my chest area. "That was amazing."
"Where do you wanna go for our honeymoon?" His question caught me offguard. We're not even sure if the ban on the island will be lifted. But I guessed there's no harm to dream.
I smiled slightly. "Where do you want to go?" I returned the question since I don't really have preference.
"I ask you first," he jokingly scolded, biting my skin. That earn a friendly smack on the shoulder from me.
"What about baby Malik?" I then asked.
"Of course, he can join us." He lifted his head from my breasts to glance up at me.
My hand caressed his hair, patting him affectionately. I pursued my lips. "Hm… What about Japan?" I suggested.
"Because you love anime?" He leaned into my neck, kissing my skin.
"Yes, and Japan is a beautiful place. And because you love Japanese cuisine and those awesome rock gardens. What are they called again?"
"Karesansui," he fluently pronounced.
"Karesansui," I copied him. "They are very elegant and beautiful."
"So Japan?"
Before I got to answer, I could feel a smirk against my neck and he moved his hips suddenly, making his hard length went deeper since he was still inside me and hadn't reach orgasm yet. He thrust in a calculated speed – slow but sharp.
"Ah. Yes," I answered to both his question and the pleasure. We spend another period of time, pleasuring each other.
Day 290
"This is stupid," Barbara complained.
"This is not stupid," I scolded. "Now follow me." I was on my palm and knees on the floor.
She still refused to do so, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at me. I removed my left palm and amputated right hand from the floor, and placed them on both sides of my hips.
"You said you have backpains, and this is me trying to help you," I reasoned. Come on. I even can do it with one hand. On your knees, please." I returned to my position.
She grumbled something under her breath, but copied my pose anyway. We were in her office in the Sirens.
"Inhale while bending your neck down, face towards your baby bump and gently contracted your abdomen, making a bow with your back," I stopped to take a peek at her and smiled when she followed me. "And then… slowly release your breath as you let your baby bump fall towards the floor, arching your back, with your face facing the ceiling… So far so good?"
She refused to answer me so I repeated my question until she does. "Yeah, yeah, so far so good. Can we please continue?" she exasperatedly replied.
"Of course," I playfully said. "As long as you behave."
Day 314
I huffed as I tried to handle his weight while trying to balance myself. I never though that he would be this heavy. He was staring at me, trying to figure out who I was.
"Eeeey, Muffiiiiiin. Whachu doin 'ere?" Bullock slurred. His breath attacked my face.
A few days ago, it became my habit to hang around at the collapse bridge to watch the mainland. Today, I came here again and noticed a figured lying on the ground. I thought someone was hurt so I quickly ran towards it. When I got closer, it was someone familiar and he was heavily under influence. I tried to get him up, placing his arm around my shoulders and stood up, but he was very heavy. He opened his eyes when I finally got him to stand, though he was mostly leaning on me.
"Oh my God. Don't talk right on my face. You smell awful," I recoiled. We were very close to the edge and I need to bring him closer to the ground. What was he thinking, being drunk on the bridge? He might fall into the green water! I will scold him when he became sober later.
Suddenly he began to move the other way and I was alarmed.
"Bullock, you're gonna make us fall!" I shrieked, pulling him away from the edge.
"My driiiink," he moaned, reaching out for something.
Then I noticed a bottle of rum on the ground and he attempted to crouch down to take it. I twitched in anger and kicked the bottle away. We watched silently as it flew in a beautiful arc and entered the water, no where to be seen.
He snapped his head towards me. "What the Helllll?" he screamed.
I rolled my eyes and dragged him away from the bridge as he complained of how I didn't have to kick his drink away. Slowly, I let him sat on the ground at the start of the bridge. Then he was fiddling into his jacket, pulling out a hip flask. I wondered how many alcohol he had with him.
Okay, so we're not going anywhere for at least an hour. I can't just leave him here.
Sighing, I sat on the ground beside him. "Bullock, you know that I'll always be there for you, right?" I asked as he chugged down his whiskey. "We're the only one here. You don't have to be brave and strong all the time."
He didn't respond. I wasn't sure if he could actually processed on what I said since he was very drunk. So I let it be and we just wasted time sitting by the bridge, enjoying each other's company.
Day 339
I almost accidentally snipped a huge strand of Hassan's hair as I heard what he had told me. I was trimming his hair in the washroom while he was updating me on the progress of the reunification program.
"Are you, uh, sure that's a good idea?" I asked after placing the scissors down. I grabbed a comb and groom his hair, checking any imbalance on my cuttings. "Because it's a bad idea to me."
"We have progress for the reunification and the captain thought that it would be best to control the other gangs," he shrugged.
"By gathering all the leaders in one place? That's crazy!" I wondered what was going on in Jim's head? Will the leaders listen to him?
"It's tomorrow and he picked City Hall as the gathering place."
"Of course," I said exasperatedly with heavy sarcasm. "More bills to pay Oswald. Yipee yay." I rolled my eyes.
I focused back to my work, not feeling very satisfied. Hassan seemed to notice my unsated face. "It looks fine. I like it," he commented.
I flashed a pointed look at him from the reflection of the mirror. I know how much he loves his hair and I ruined it. "I told you I can't cut your hair, but you insisted. Now, there're some areas that I cut too short. And if I try to balance it, your hair will get shorter and..."
"Babe," he stopped me. "It looks fine. Thank you for cutting my hair."
There! That dimple of his appeared again, making me melt again. Suddenly, my waterworks switched on. My lips trembled and I blinked rapidly.
"No, it's not fine!" I wept, wiping my tears with the sleeves of my clothes. My eyes and nose felt warm frim the crying. "It looks awful."
He turned around to face me, smiling softly, opening his arms wide. I got closer and wrapped my arms around his head and he leaned against my chest.
"There, there." He patted my back. "I'll stay with you for the day. Okay?"
I nodded. "Okay." I don't like it when I have PMS. My emotions are just all over the place and I got more nightmares during menstruation.
"Do you still have some pads?" Hassan asked softly. "I could get them from the precinct's store."
"Should be enough for a few days," I sniffled.
He pulled away to stand up and his body was towering me. I was still sniffing from the aftermath of crying. "Everything is going to be alright. When you're on your period, sometimes you suddenly become this adorable child." He cradled my face with both hands. "And you would become clingy. Very clingy. It's cute."
"Shut up," I pouted.
Day 340
"No one has to die…" I cried out.
"Then you're selfish," she responded. Her auburn hair danced, following the direction of wind. "What about the plants? Why do they have to die?!"
The kids and I were supposed to spend our time on the rooftop again today. I had had everything prepared with Troy's help; the mat, foldable table, board games, story books… but then Ivy Pepper happened.
"Ivy. Please," I begged. "Listen to me. Stop this…" I held Malik tighter in my embrace.
"You know how rotted this city is, yet you chose to stay. I have made plans… and they will be a success."
"But please let the boy go." My lips trembled and my voice was shaky. A hypnotized Troy was just less than a step away from jumping off the roof top.
Her eyes flashed in anger. "I'm trying to save you again! He's going to remain here until my perfume worn off. He'll jump if anyone else tries to save him or… if you walked away from this rooftop."
I took another cautious step forward.
"I will kill James Gordon and I will reset this world," she maliciously said with strong determination. "It's going to be beautiful, Sarah. And I will make sure you'll witness it." With that she left the rooftop.
Then I quickly reached for my radio transmitter after setting Malik down on the mat. "Don't even try it!" shouted Troy, warning me. "Ivy wouldn't like that. Let go of the radio or I'll jump."
I frowned, gritting my teeth. Then, I dropped the radio on the mat. "Whatever I say won't move you but… I care for Ivy and I can't let her do this," I said out loud.
He sneered. "I listen to Ivy, not you."
I huffed slightly. "You never listen to me," I bickered, while thinking of a way to figure this out; to save him and tell the blue boys about Ivy.
Along the hours on the rooftop, Hassan kept on contacting me through the radio. I knew about the shooting of Jim. I knew about the shooter: Victor Zsasz. And I surmised that Zsasz was under the influence of the perfume as well. Hassan also kept on asking why I didn't reply as usual. I hope he noticed that I'm in trouble.
"Okay. I'm getting weird vibes. You're still not replying. I'm going home," Hassan radioed.
"You heard that, Troy?" I said. "It won't take long."
He smirked, tilting his head up, looking at the sun in the sky. I was worried that he swayed and fell off the ledge.
"Troy," I reprimanded. "Be careful." I walked a few steps to him. When he looked back at me, he seemed hazy. His eyes were blinking rapidly. He staggered slightly. When he closed his eyes, I darted forward, fisted his shirt and pulled him away from the ledge. We fell on the cement of the rooftop. I think I scraped my elbows. Feeling hopeful, I quickly looked at the boy. "Troy?"
"Fuck. I'm not going to let that woman get close to me ever again!" he exclaimed. I felt at ease that he was back. "She just spray some perfume on me and the next thing is I do everything she says. Fuck her."
"What happened down stairs?" I asked while rushing to my son and my radio transceiver. The other kids worried me as well.
I heard a groan. "They were asked to be sitting ducks." Then, the door of the rooftop was slammed opened. Kid was there, eyes wildly searching for us. And when she saw us, I could tell that she relaxed her posture. Rue came after, panting heavily.
"Dee Dee and Sean?" I asked.
"Downstairs. They're good," breathed Rue.
I pressed the radio. "Hassan, I'm fine. We're all fine. But Ivy was here, hours ago. How's Jim?"
There was a slight pause before he responded. I could hear shootings from his side. "He's not doing good, but Thompkins' with him. I had to return to the precinct. Zsasz just open fired at us.."
"Have you seen Ivy?"
"No."
Then I told him to be careful and he did the same. I turned to the youngsters who were standing by the door. "Everyone okay?" I asked, strapping Malik in the baby carrier on my front. I walked to them, and ruffled Rue's hair. "It's been a long day, let's have our specials."
I wanted to rush to Gotham Central but the kids here are shocked because of Ivy's perfume. I can't abandon them here. I had made stir fry shredded carrot and onion as well as stir fry garlic and potatoes. They are the most luxurious cuisine that we have in our apartment, thanks to Hassan's agricultural project. At least, they look like food than the ones in cans.
It's a few minutes past seven in the evening already and Hassan hasn't gave me update on Jim's condition. They had managed to apprehend Zsasz an hour ago. So I decided to call first. "Hassan? How is everything?"
"Hey, sorry. It's hectic here," he responded a bit late. "Gordon survived."
I let out a relieved sigh, praying to God for his fast recovery.
"Oh, and Lee has something to say to you," my husband added, sounding a little uplifted.
I furrowed my eyebrows, curious to what Lee wanted to tell me.
"Hey," she said and I responded her the same. There was a slight pause. "Jim proposed."
Day 344
I cried as I looked at her giddy face. In any minute, she will walk down the stairs to the center of the room, to tie the knot with Jim. She looked very beautiful for this occasion. "I'm so happy for you," I sniffed, hugging her for the nth time today. "Jim is a lucky man."
"It's time," my husband radioed.
"Go and get that man," I joked, before releasing her from my embrace.
I moved to the other side of the stairs to see her when she descended. Hassan appeared by my side and clasped my hand, our fingers entwined together. I rested my head against his shoulder. The precinct was decorated with flowers and everyone is dressed up for the day. Jim appeared awestruck at Lee's appearance.
"You were very beautiful on our wedding day. I still remember," Hassan murmured.
"You were beautiful too," I replied, tightening my hold.
My heart soared when Lee finally stood face to face with her soon-to-be husband. It was not me who's getting married, but I felt nervous and excited.
"You may sit," Bullock announced. He's the officiator. He even volunteered it. As everyone sat down, he continued his speech. "I'm just gonna say, this isn't gonna be some long, drawn-out, tearful affair like you all are used to, okay? This is gonna be a short wedding. I'm gonna try and make it quick so we can all get to the bar. Okay?"
Most of the people in the room let out a little laugh at his remarks. That's the Bullock we know.
"I first met a young Jim Gordon when he was a, uh… pain-in-the-ass, moralistic rookie detective," continued Bullock. "In the years since, he's evolved into a pain-in-the-ass, moralistic captain. I'd say he's my best friend, but in truth, he's my only friend."
"Hey, what about me?" I shouted in a joking manner, earning pointed looks from him.
"So we'll skip that," he ignored me. Then he shifted his focus to Lee. "Uh, on to Lee. Lee's always had his back. Except for the time when she was infected with the crazy-making virus and she tried to kill him, but that's love. But I will say, if there's one beautiful thing that's happened over these last few crazy years, it's that these two people met each other. And that truly is… a beautiful thing."
When Bullock put on his reading glasses, I took a deep breath. It's finally happening! My inner-self screamed.
"Jim, will you please take Lee's hand?" Jim did as Bullock instructed. "Do you, Jim Gordon, take Lee Thompkins to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish till death do you part?"
"I do," Jim answered. I began to start crying silently.
"And you, Lee Thompkins, do you so the same?"
"Sure, Harvey," Lee replied with a smile, lips slightly trembling. "I do."
"By the power vested in me… by absolutely no one… I now pronounce you husband and wife."
The new married couple received a standing applause when they kissed each other. Love is such a powerful thing. They had been through a lot and they deserved each other. After wiping away my tears, I joined the others, cheering for them.
I felt a kiss on my cheek done by my husband. He had this full blown smile on his face. "I'm gonna ask Rue to take care on Malik tonight," I said. "You and I have matters to take care of. In our bedroom."