Author's Note: Look! This chapter took me less time to upload which makes me very happy. I am finally getting into the rhythm of this story (and let's hope I still keep it this way). Anyways, thank you so much for all the review, follow, and favorite. It makes me happy that people are interested in this story.

Please let me know what you think! :)

Chapter Three: Falling into Place

Everything that surrounded her was falling apart. From the rickety doors to the moldy floor, to the ancient furniture to the frail cabinets. At any second, the small apartment was going to collapse and engulf the tiny eight-year-old.

She should probably try to get up. The floor was grimy, just like the rest of the apartment. But Kate's body wouldn't allow her. Her entire body ached. She tried to shift around, but couldn't. Her entire body was stiff. Why couldn't she move? She tried again and managed to move one of her arms. A groan emitted from her mouth and that proved to be the worst mistake of her life.

It was the hollow feeling that was coming from her neck. For a moment, Kate had forgotten the throbbing pain that was coming from her neck. It had subdued the last hour, but it didn't make it easier to breathe. She would still wheeze everything she breathed through her mouth and tried to force herself through her nose.

Laying down in the ground, allowed her to take notice of all the imperfections of the place she called home. She had never really cared about how old it was or how stained the walls were red. But in that cold, dark night, she could finally see all its flaws. And the biggest one was across the hall, slowly rotting away. She should be afraid that she could be seconds away from being another rotting thing in the apartment.

She didn't know how she went from laying down to now kneeling down in the living room, furiously scrubbing the floor with a small ragged pillow, the only clean thing left in the apartment. She breathed out heavily, having been there for God knows how long.

There had been something all over the floor and still was. She had tried to clean it, as much as she could but it seemed she only made a bigger mess the more she tried to wipe it away. Kate had used up all the towels they had and even went to use some blankets. She glanced to her right where she had dumped them carelessly. The blood had started seeping to the floor, making another mess.

"Jesus fuck. Get the fuck out, Kate."

"No," she said, "I need to clean it up."

"Stop."

"No, stop it, Carlos..."

She felt the blanket being ripped off her hands and being shoved violently to the ground, hitting her head. Her vision became blurred and she tried to call out, but couldn't. She just stayed there, feeling her clothes getting wet with blood. Maybe that's how she ended up on the floor in the first place.

Kate groaned tiredly, slowly opening her eyes and when she tried to move around, she winced when she felt an ache in her neck. Great, she had fallen asleep in an awkward position. She pushed herself up and tiredly rubbed her eyes. Everything felt super groggy and she hated it.

She was not well-rested, which was easy to say that day was going to suck. She had fallen asleep later than what she wanted and she had that stupid dream. It had been a long time since she had a restless sleep, but it seemed that one small thing, will drag her down a very dark place.

The dream, if that was even what it was, was still fresh in her mind. If she closed her eyes, she could still see everything fresh in her face. Kate rubbed her face furiously as if that would help her scrub off the exhaustion and dreams. When she opened her eyes, she saw her phone ringing again and despite still being half-asleep, she recognized the unregistered phone and quickly rejected the phone call.

Nope, she was not going to be doing that this morning. She had more important things to focus on. Like not falling asleep on the ferry. She pushed herself off the bed and went through her morning routine almost robotically.

Somewhere between brushing her teeth and arranging her hair, she found out that she did have a refill of her medication, which was a huge relief. She didn't have the time to go to the pharmacy and refill her medication this week. A small part of her was pleased that she always thought ahead and was prepared for anything.

Once she was finished getting ready, she went to do one of her favorite parts of her day: her morning commute.

Kate loved going on the ferry, especially early in the morning, when there was not a lot of people and noise. She would have her coffee and sit outside, feeling the fresh breeze hit her fair, messing up her hair, and giving her that wake up that not even the coffee could give her.

She knew that another reason why she loved the ferry so much was that it was one of the happier memories she had in her childhood. Ms. Evans was the first person that took her to the ferry. She could still remember the thrill she felt as she leaned over the metal bars and watched the water splash around the ferry boat.

There were some mornings, especially when she had a rough night like today, where she wished she could stay there forever. Just stay on the bench, enjoy that tranquility, have nothing to worry about and not be reminded of everything wrong in her life. But every good thing must come to the end.

That morning, she couldn't have that luxury. She had to look over documents that she was supposed to present to Dr. Young and was relieved that all they needed was the head psychiatrist's signature and they were ready to go. The loud bullhorn took her out of focus and she scrambled to shove everything in her bag.

She sighed heavily and made her way down, now about to do her least favorite part of the day: being groped by the prison guards.

Getting inside the prison will always be a tedious process. She hated having to be checked thoroughly every single time she entered and exited the prison. She especially hated when some of the guards would accidentally graze her breast or thighs and then say that they needed to be thorough.

"Have a nice day, Dr. Mercer," the guard told her after she was given the clear.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered as she walked to her office, already wishing she was on her lunch.

That morning had been slow, which was a good thing. It allowed Kate to catch up with all the paperwork that Dr. Young had been wanting her to get it done months ago. Putting on the radio as background noise, it didn't take long for her to get in the rhythm of things.

"Do you live here?" a familiar voice disrupted Kate from her work.

"What are you doing in my office, Officer Gomez?" Kate asked, not bothering to look up from her work.

"I knocked for the past ten minutes but you never answered, so I figured that was my queue to come inside and make sure you haven't died."

"Unfortunately for you, I am very much alive and working."

"I know, I can see that," he said. "I like the music, but even with that, its all work and no play with you. You worry too much."

The number of times she had heard that phrase was starting to irritate Kate.

"How much I worry about my job is none of your concern," Kate muttered, shoving papers into one of the manilla folders, and frowning when she realized that she was missing one. Where is it? she wondered as she flipped through the many folders that were scattered in her desk.

"See? There. All you do is frown and worry. Is that all you do?"

Kate sighed and finally looked up. Officer Gomez was standing in front of her desk. He gave her an impish smile, that she did not return, not in the mood to deal with him.

"What do you want, Gomez?"

"Dr. Young has requested you to go to her office."

Kate internally sighed but nodded. She wasn't happy about the interruption but she did need to talk to Dr. Young. "Alright, let's go. I'll meet you outside in a minute."

"Okay," he said and mockingly saluted her before he left her alone.

She made a face but didn't call him out on that. She turned off the radio, and took a deep breath, smoothing out the non-existence wrinkles in her clothes. She knew that being nervous was silly, but she couldn't help feeling that way. She knew that she had the tendency to always agree with Dr. Young and never go against her orders.

"I need to do this," she said under her breath. No matter what Dr. Young felt or said, Kate was going to go to the orphanage, just like she had promised to Ms. Evans.

"Dr. Mercer," Officer Gomez said, knocking on the door. She picked up her folders and went to meet Gomez outside. He smiled at her and nodded towards the direction of Dr. Young's office. "Lead the way, doctor."

He always chose to walk next to her, which she liked. It made her feel less like she was being babysat and more like she was walking like any other person. They walked in silence for less than a minute before Gomez spoke up.

"Any weekend plans?" he asked her conversationally

"Hmm, sleeping, working, nothing exciting."

"You know there is a fair this weekend and I'm taking Darcy," he told her.

"You have her this weekend?" she found herself asking.

"I've actually had her this entire week," he said. "Her mother is out of town for a work thing. So me and Darcy have been spending a lot of time together."

"That's good."

"Yeah, it's great. I love having her with me. So, we've been going out a lot these past few days. Anyways, about the fair, I've been told that it's not just for kids. It's pretty exciting for adults."

"I've never been to a fair," she admitted.

"What?" he said, looking at her in disbelief and stopping. She looked back at him, not seeing the big deal of it. He shook his head and continued walking beside her. "When I was a kid, I was always looking forward to going to the fair. It was the best thing. The cotton candy, the rides, the games…"

"The loud crowds, the expensive food, the dirty rides," she said and glanced over at Officer Gomez. "Sounds exhilarating."

That didn't seem to deter him. Not that anything really stopped him.

"You say that now, but when you experience that thrill when you go on the ferris wheel, the air going through your face and seeing the entire city, you will eat your words."

"Seem like the fair is very important to you," Kate said, and that made Officer Gomez groan.

"No, no, no, no," he said. "Don't do that. Don't do your psychological crap on me."

"I'm simply making conversation," Kate said, which was true. He should appreciate it. In the beginning, she refused to talk to the talkative guard but after years of working, and seeing that he wasn't one of the lapdogs of Dr. Young, she tentatively started reciprocating in his one-sided conversation.

Despite the rough start, he slowly became one of her favorite prison guards. Probably because he wasn't sleazy and respected her boundaries, well, at least her physical ones. He was a little too nosy for her liking, always wanting to know how her weekend was.

She's never bothered to analyze him but if she did, she was sure that he would have some interesting skeletons in his closet. No one that worked in Blackgate was innocent. Not even friendly divorced prison guards.

"No," Officer Gomez disagreed, "you're just being an asshole."

"You know that can get you fired."

"That would make Alice happy," he muttered darkly. "Another reason why I am not fit to have Darcy."

She smiled sympathetically and decided to throw him a bone.

"Alice is just jealous that you take Darcy to those fairs. Where their sugar, funny-looking people, dirty rides and..."

"Okay, okay." He raised his hands in defeat. "Never mind, forget it. I just wanted to be a nice person and suggest you go out and have some fun. Don't turn this into one of your sessions."

"I wasn't trying to turn this into a session," she muttered and more loudly reminded him, "I legally cannot council you. Thank you though for the offer, but I have work to do."

"Why am I not surprised," he said, shaking his head, "but it was worth a try."

Kate was glad that they had reached Dr. Young's office, ending their conversation.

"Thank you," she said and was about to go in when Officer Gomez spoke up.

"But you do need to go to the fair one of these days. Its something unforgettable."

She didn't say anything and closed the door behind her. The conversation left her mind as she went toward Dr. Young.

"Dr. Young," she said, her way of greeting and also letting know that she was there. Dr. Young didn't look up from her notes for a while, but that didn't bother Kate, use to the ways of the head psychiatrist. After a few minutes, she finally stopped working on her notes and looked up.

"Katherine," she said in a rather pleasant tone. "What do you have for me?"

"Tomorrow, I am going to have to go to the police station and turn in the paperwork for Joel Carter."

Dr. Young looked up and frowned. "No, I need you here. Send McAdams to do it."

Kate tried not to smile.

"Unfortunately, having McAdams go would prove basically moot. The psychiatrist that was put in charge of the client has to be the one that turns in the paperwork. That's the law, Dr. Young."

The head psychiatrist did not seem happy about that, but she knew better than to go against a law that was placed after the death of Harvey Dent.

"How long do you think that is going to take you?"

Kate pretended to think about it before she spoke up. "I don't know how busy the station is going to be and because you want this to be done within this week, I don't have an appointment with anyone there, so I will be there a while. Four to five hours minimum."

Dr. Young drummed her fingers against her desk, looking deep in thought. Kate felt unnerved at how long it was taking her to make a decision. She was almost about to cave in and tell her the truth about why she really wanted to get out of the prison when Dr. Young finally spoke up.

"Take the day off," Dr. Young said and Kate literally almost dropped what she was holding.

"Wh-what?" she said and took a deep breath, trying to get it together but wasn't able too. All the years she has worked under her, Dr. Young had never given her the day off. And yet, here she was doing exactly that.

"Yes, you need to file that paper properly and knowing Gordon, he is not going to make things easier for you." Dr. Young looked irritated at the reminded Gotham's commissioner. Kate had seen Dr. Young and Commissioner Gordon interact a few times, but it was obvious from those interactions, they did not see eye to eye.

"Okay, so do I come here or...?"

"You will report here, as always and then you may leave and deal with the paperwork. Afterward, you may have the day off."

"Really?" she asked, still not being able to believe the good news.

"Yes, that should allow you to go to your event that you have this Friday."

Oh, fuck me.

"What?" Kate blinked and for a second thought, she had misheard her. "Ho-how did you know about that?"

"Your old social worker called me yesterday, asking if there would be a problem if you take the day off tomorrow because apparently she needs you for something."

"Oh."

Kate's mind was racing, so many things she wanted to say which was leaving her silent. Dr. Young knowing her actual intention was an unexpected curveball and she really didn't know what to do, but like always, the head psychiatrist took over.

"I don't mind you going, actually. I think it's a good opportunity for us," Dr. Young said. The fact that Dr. Young knew and she didn't seem to care was a little… concerning, to say the least.

"Really?"

"Yes, Katherine. You are the best in this prison, so you going to the orphanage as a representation for us will benefit us. Show that we are not all coldhearted."

Okay, now I get it, she realized.

"Alright, okay, okay," Kate said, finally being able to muster more than one word. "But if you need me here, I can cancel everything and be here tomorrow all day."

No, no, no, stop talking. Shut up right now before she changes her mind.

"That won't be necessary," Dr. Young dismissed her. "You have worked hard, you've earned the day off. And you're going to promote the prison as I said, you are fine with having the day off."

"Thank you, Dr. Young," Kate found herself saying, trying to express how thankful she was. Because she really was. She didn't realize how much she wanted to take part in the event in the orphanage until she was allowed to go.

"You are dismissed," Dr. Young said, already going back to her work.

"Thank you," Kate said again and left the office. Closing the door, she stood in the middle of the hallway, her mind reeling. She was happy that she was going to see Ms. Evans but she was also concerned about what was going to happen that Friday. Dr. Young was up to something and like always, she didn't want Kate involved until she needed someone to do her dirty work.

She was so lost in thought that she had forgotten that Officer Gomez was still there, waiting on her.

"Dr. Mercer," he called out and tentatively touched her shoulder, making her job at the unexpected contact.

"Shit," she said and looked at him.

"Sorry about that," he apologized and pointed over his shoulder. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, yes, I am ready. Let's go," she said and found herself smiling at him, a much more genuine smile than before, which seemed to throw him off.

"I take it went good?" he asked, following her lead.

"Well enough."

"Enough to consider going to the fair?"

She simply smiled, her mind miles away as she walked back to her office with Officer Gomez continuing his weekend's plans with his daughter.

Dr. Young will tell me though, she reasoned with herself.

After all, Kate was Dr. Young's right-hand person. Whatever the head psychiatrist did, Kate knew since she was the one that always did the dirty, so to speak. Maybe it had something to do with her insistence to lead out all those patients earlier than intended. Kate did remember how much Dr. Young stressed the importance of filling out a release form in the last meeting to everyone.

It doesn't matter, she told herself. She now needed to focus on what she was going to tell all those kids tomorrow. How was she going to sell that working in the most dangerous place in Gotham was a fun job?