Chapter 85

I set down two cups of coffee for Barbara and myself. While I was unable to save her, Gordon was able to negotiate with Don Falcone to 'spare her life'. Although 'spare her life' isn't very much, since they want her alive to recruit into the Court of Owls.

"Thanks," she mutters, holding up the cup with both hands and taking a sip.

"So...Falcone kept his word?" I ask, "And Gordon knows nothing?"

Barbara sets her cup down, "Natalie, you can call him Jim, you should call him Jim. He's my fiance, and your my friend, so even though you two don't get along you should still be on a first name basis."

I try my best not to roll my eyes, but Barbara can already tell I'm displeased with the idea. She places her hands on her hips, "You two should get along. One of these days I'm going I invite you to dinner with the two of us and the two of you are going to find out you both have a lot in common."

"I appreciate the gesture Babs, but let's face it, that sounds like a recipe for disaster," I confess, taking a sip of my own coffee.

She puts down her coffee, her expression suddenly becoming much more serious, "So...have you given Peter the champagne yet?"

I shake my head, realizing what she's about to confront me with, "No, I got home late, and sort of just crashed on the bed. I'll probably see him tonight, I'll give it to him then."

"And...did you have any idea that your boyfriend also goes by the name 'Penguin'?"

I freeze, my cup of coffee halfway to my lips. Do I lie? No, Barbara would find out eventually, especially if both she and Oswald are tied to the mob and the Court of Owls.

I set down the cup, "Fine, so I knew-"
"And that he's a underboss for Don Falcone? Natalie, this is serious!"

"Yes, I understand this is serious, but what choice do I have? He's stalked me, threatened me with rape, death I...I'm scared of him, and I can't get rid of him. And you know the cops, they treat domestic violence the same way they treat loitering!"

Is what I'm saying true? Am I...truly scared of him? Am I just making excuses for myself or am I confronting something that's been on my mind this whole time? True, there are times when I can control him, but there's always that feeling of unease, that things might get out of hand.

Barbara slowly begins to nod her head, "I...I understand. In the end, the choice is yours but...Natalie...you deserve better."

I sigh, "Yeah, well, not everyone can end up with someone like James Gordon."

"I wouldn't count myself so lucky…"

The doorbell rings, and Barbara gets up to answer it. Flinging the door open, Renee Montoya immediately throws herself at Barbara, "Oh my gosh, I came as soon as I heard about what happened. Are you alright?"

She nods, smiling, "Of course I'm alright. Couldn't be better."

Montoya stares at her for a fraction of a second before responding, "Lier."

She sighs, "Okay, but how do you expect me to feel after being kidnapped?"

"I don't expect you to feel okay, but...oh...nevermind," she waves off.

Montoya leans over Barbara's shoulder and sees me, "Oh, hey, Natalie. Gee, quite the party you've got going on here. Where's Jim? Shouldn't he be...I don't know, comforting you after what happened?"

Barbara practically laughs, "Comfort me? No, no, he's far too busy at work. He took the rest of the day off after I was abducted, but it was back to work the very next day."

"Well, we're here to support you," Montoya encourages, before holding up a basket, "I...I baked cookies."

She grins, "Great, well, why don't you c'mon in, and I'll get you a cup of coffee."

Montoya follows her into the living room, where Barbara takes her cup as well as mine, "I'll get some fresh cups for us as well."

Montoya sits down on the couch across from me as Barbara heads into the kitchen. I grab a cookie as the two of us sit in silence, neither of us knowing what to say to the other.

"So...how's the missing children's case going?" I ask, after swallowing a bite of chocolate chip cookie.

"Well, with the evidence from you and Barbara, we were able to convict the remaining fences. On the downside, administration sent all the kids upstate to Blackgate. I mean, is there somewhere they could send them? Don't orphanages still exist?" she asks.

I shake my head, "There aren't that many left, and there aren't enough foster families willing to take in kids either. And besides, most street kids have committed a crime at one point or another, I guess administration just finds it more convenient to...convict them all indiscriminately."

Barbara comes back with a tray of coffee cups and serving bowls of milk and sugar. We all take our cups and take a sip. I immediately add a helping of milk and two sugar cubes. Barbara takes milk, but no sugar, and Montoya keeps her coffee black, taking slow sips every now and then.

"So Babs...how's the artwork coming along?" Montoya asks.

"Fine, I nabbed several commissions during the feature at the art gallery, including a landscape of Gotham Central Park for the Elliott family! Their son, Tommy, came up and asked me on behalf of his parents, although, I haven't seen them in a long time, there were always rather private…"

Montoya laughs, "Ha! Eccentric rich people, you get by the dozens in Gotham, especially when you run in social circles like you do, Babs."

As I sip my coffee, I begin to feel...warm, and relaxed, slightly dizzy. Woah…

"Hey Babs, you sure you didn't put something...extra in this coffee?" I ask.

She giggles, "Nothing special...just a little vodka, I mean, if I'm going to survive a kidnapping, then I might as well reward myself with a nice hard drink with friends, am I right?"

"I thought you gave up drinking?" Montoya asks.

Barbara rolls her eyes, "No, you're the one who gave up drinking and drugs. Jim just doesn't let me drink during the day. I swear, he's worse than my father when it comes to being parental. I mean...I'm a girl of action! Excitement! He wants me to be the wholesome 50s wife who's barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, and sorry, but I'm not that."

"Oh, you're a girl of action alright," Montoya repeats in a rather suggestive tone.

Barbara chuckles, sitting down next to her, scooting up rather close. In an instant, they turn and kiss. Well...that escalated quickly…

"I...I should be going…" I mutter, setting down my cup of coffee.

Barbara frowns, "C'mon...stay just a bit. Don't tell me that didn't turn you on just a bit...didn't it?"

Did it? It happened so fast, I didn't even have time to process it. But then again, I've never kissed a girl before. I came close once in college, but that never panned out like I'd hoped.

Against my own best judgement, I sit down on the couch next to them. Barbara wraps her arm around both me and Montoya, and pulls us close, "We make an awesome trio, don't we?"

"I'm not sure if you're referring to crime fighting or in bed," Montoya jokes.

Barbara replies with a knowing smirk, "Well, we're not sure about the latter, now are we? But...that could change…"

She leans over and kisses me on the cheek. It's nice, Barbara's not exactly my type, but it's still nice.

She then kisses Montoya, the two of them being familiar lovers, their kiss lasts much longer than my little peck. I'm actually somewhat jealous.

Barbara leans back, and gestures to me and Montoya, mouthing and gesturing for us to kiss.

The both of us smile, before we lean in and kiss on the lips, before letting go.

I get up off of the couch, "Okay, that's enough excitement for me today."

"Fine, but that threesome is happening one day!" Barbara declares, as she and Montoya resume making out on the couch.

"And Natalie…" I turn around as Barbara's voice calls back, "remember what I said...you deserve better."

I chuckle nervously, before carefully closing the front door behind me, not wanting to disturb them. Yes, Barbara is cheating on Gordon, and while I don't like the guy, it's still no excuse for her to go and cheat. I feel bad...I shouldn't have let them kiss me. But right now, I'm not exactly in the greatest condition to be making good, thought-out decisions. After all, I'm admittedly a lightweight.

But what Barbara said earlier, about Oswald and that...I deserve better. The thought never crossed my mind, do I deserve better than him? The first thing that comes to mind is Ed, but that's never going to happen. As much as the child inside me can hope, he's just too fixated on other things...and other girls.

But...I can stand to be single, it's not like I need a partner. The problem is Oswald can't let go. For whatever reason he needs me to stay, be it for reasons of power, or...actual love. But no, what he feels isn't love, if he really loved me, he'd want me to be happy, instead he just wants to own me, keep me in check. If I tried to leave, would he not eventually track me down? There'd be hell to pay, but...what if I could get him in a good mood? Get him to trust me, maybe even, fall in love with me for real? Then...and only then...would I leave. But to be fair, things haven't been so bad. Most of his death threats have proved to be empty so far...but what if there's a time when they won't be? No…

"Go, while the going is good. Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing that anyone can learn…" I begin, singing in a hushed tone in the middle of the hallway, "...go…"

I lean up against the nearby wall of the narrow hallway, "I'm afraid my heart, isn't very smart…"

"Fly, while you still have your wings. Knowing when to leave won't ever let you reach the point of no return...fly…"

I grasp my hand out in front of me, "Foolish as it seems, I still have my dreams…"

I start striding down the hallway in time to the music, "So I keep hoping day, after day, as I wait for the man I need. Night, after night as I wish for a love that can be. Though, I'm, sure, that, no one can tell where their wishes and hopes will lead, somehow I feel there is happiness just waiting there for me!"

I reach the end of the hallway and make a sharp turn around the corner, "When, someone, walks in your life, you'd better be sure he's right. 'Cause if he's wrong, there are heartaches and tears you must pay!"

"But keep, both, of, your, eyes on the door, never let it get out of sight. Just be prepared, when the time has come for you to run away…"

I take the stairs down, and I grab the railing and slowly swing around it, "Sail, when the wind starts to blow...but, like a fool I don't know...when...to...leave."

Jumping onto the railing, I slide down the rest of the way, "So I keep hoping day, after day, as I wait for the man I need. Night, after night...as I wish for a love that can be. Though, I'm, sure, that, no one can tell where their wishes and hopes will lead, somehow I feel, there is happiness just...waiting there for me!"

I hop off of the railing and landing on both feet, "When, someone, walks in your life, you'd better be sure he's right. 'Cause if he's wrong, there are heartaches and tears you must pay!"

"Keep, both, of, your, eyes on the door, never let it get out of sight. Just be prepared, when the time has come for you to run...away…"

I walk to the door, opening it and am greeted with a strong gust of wind. I start walking down the street, the wind whipping my hair behind me, "Sail, when the wind starts to blow...but, like a fool I don't know...when...to...leave! When to leave!...When to leave!..."

I look upwards and scream the final line, "When...to...leave?!"

Author's Note:

Song Natalie sings: "Knowing When to Leave" from "Promises, Promises"

Guest: Well, while the next standalone is already set to be '66 series, you can bet Tales from the Arkhamverse will be back. And don't worry, the next chapter is an Oswald and Natalie chapter. The Music Meister plot is a while off, but there'll be plenty of excitement in the meantime!

Thalia1: Technically, this is Bruce's first appearance in the official story. His first appearance was in a bonus scene, and then as Batman in "Tales from the Arkhamverse". As for Cat and Ivy, well, they do stay at Barbara's place for a while. So we'll definitely see them during then

Thanks! :)