*Last month*
"Knock knock." Barbara smiled as she leaned into Alyssa's office at the flea.
"Barbara. What can I do for you?"
"A little birdy told me your birthday was coming up." she came in and sat on the edge of her desk.
Alyssa huffed. "Is this one of those things you're going to drag me out for?"
"Yes! Its not everyday a woman turns twenty five!"
"What's it matter? I passed all the milestone ages now. I'm in double digits, I'm a legal adult, and I can drink. Not that being below twenty one stopped me."
"We're going out. Shopping, movies, drinking, I don't care, but we are not ignoring your birthday Alyssa."
"Yes mam..."
Four very pretty girls were laughing in the cab on their way to the ball. The two that had dates were planning to meet them there, but for now they were all content with each others company.
"No way!" Ivy exclaimed, shaking her head. "You're lying!"
"I wish!" Barbara laughed. "The look on Mrs. Teague's face; she was so red I thought she was going to burst into flames!"
Alyssa chuckled. "Hey, when you marry a sugar daddy, you know he's gonna move on the second you hit forty."
"But he didn't even try to hide it!" Selina pointed out.
"Course not. 'Honey I'm home. I'd like you to meet my girlfriend. Tiffany, this is my wife. So, what's for dinner?'"
They all burst out laughing.
"Oh, you know the world is going to hell when even the high class people have no class." Barbara shook her head.
"Well we're gonna be classy tonight." Alyssa said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Speak for yourself." Ivy said. "You guys can mingle and class all you want, I'm pulling a chair up to the desert table."
"Hell yeah to that!" Selina high-fived her.
"Ladies." the driver called back from the front seat. "We're here."
The tiny diner was buy no means what Barbara pictured for a birthday party, but it wasn't her birthday, so she couldn't talk.
"I'm not a party girl, okay?" Alyssa said, seeing the look on her friend's face. "I prefer a simple night with people who care about me over a loud night with people who are just buying me drinks to get me drunk so they have a shot at getting me in bed."
"No, its your birthday, I can respect what you choose to do." Barbara held up her hands in surrender. "I just don't care for the awkward silence. Talk to me."
"About what?"
She frowned, looking around in thought for a moment before her eyes landed on the silver charms around her wrist. "Your charm bracelet."
Alyssa lifted her wrist to study it. "I've had it since I was seventeen. Eddie and Ozzy got it for my birthday." she set her arm down. "Well, just the first to charms really. I've added to it since then. Every charm represents a person I consider family."
"Which one's who?" Barbara asked curiously.
"The question mark is Ed, the dove is Ozzy, The badge is Harvey Bullock, the key is Harvey Dent, the cat is Selina, and the star is Jerome..." her face fell slightly as she trailed off after the name of the young ginger currently in Arkham for killing his mother, but she composed herself quickly. "Its everything I have. I learned pretty quick that this isn't a city of people you can depend on. Its nice to know that I have people there for me."
"So, which one of these is this Nygma guy?" Barbara scanned the crowd of over-dressed people. "I wanna see if he's the mingle type, or the stand alone type."
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "You put too much thought into my love life. Come on!" she took the woman's gloved hand and pulled her into the crowd.
She found Edward standing off to the side of the dance floor, an untouched glass of champagne in his hand. He was wearing the dark green suit she had gotten him for when he excepted the Whippleburn prize.
"I was right." she grinned, coming up to his side. "You do look amazing in that suit."
"Alyssa." he smiled at her. "I was beginning to worry. Who's this?"
"Edward Nygma, Barbara Kean. Barbara Kean, Edward Nygma." she supplied. "She's been helping me out with the kids lately. Said she had to assess if you were good enough for me."
"Oh. Well, I-I'm certain I could never hope to be." he shook his head.
"Good start." Barbara looked him over. "He's cute, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is." Alyssa nodded, her tone making it clear she was humoring her friend. "Do I have your approval Ms. Kean?"
"Hmm. Alyssa tells me you're really smart."
"I-I'd like to think so. I start with 'T', end with 'T', and within me is 'T'. What am I?" he said quickly.
"Teapot." Alyssa said instantly.
"Correct!" Edward's smile returned.
Barbara looked between them. "Okay." she nodded then turned to Edward. "You break her heart smart guy, I break your everything. Capiche?"
"Yes mam." he nodded quickly.
"Good." she smiled. "I'm going to go get a drink." she walked off, leaving the couple alone.
"You have strange friends." Edward remarked.
"Hey, its Gotham. All the interesting people are strange." she shrugged. "Besides, I like having a girl to gossip with. And I think she likes you."
"That, was liking me?"
"Oh shut up and ask me to dance, poindexter."
Edward smirked at the old nickname. "May I have this dance?"
It was about a week after Alyssa's birthday that Barbara came up to her with a big grin while she was doing budgeting at the front desk of the hotel. She set a small box ontop of her pile of papers.
"What's this?" she frowned.
"Open it." Barbara prompted.
Sighing, she did as told. Laying comfortably in some cushioned silk, there was a small silver charm in the form of a paint palette and brushes.
"Barbara..."
"I've been working here for a while." she said, her voice taking on a nervous tone. "And I do consider us friends. I thought...maybe I could be someone you could count on too?"
Alyssa smiled. "Yeah. God knows I could use a girlfriend."
For once Alyssa was enjoying the Wayne ball. She and Edward laughed, danced, and kept half an eye on the kids. At one point in the night, she saw Barbara dancing with a handsome man and was instantly intrigued.
"Mind if we cut in?" she said as the man spun Barbara, a quick move swapping their dance partners.
"Hello." Edward smiled at the blonde, happy to be party of one of Alyssa's schemes again.
"Alyssa!" Barbara exclaimed.
"What? You can meddle in my love life, but I can't meddle in your's?" she said innocently before turning to the man she was currently waltzing with. "Hellooo. I'm Alyssa Connors, who the hell are you?"
"Jason Hamilton ." the man said with an amused smile.
"And what are your intentions with my friend here tonight?"
"Well, I met Barbara the other night. I came here in hopes of seeing her again."
"Oh?"
"I felt something with her, something I've never felt before." he shrugged. "Couldn't let it slip away."
"A true romantic." she assessed. "Careful with this one B, his kind get attached fast."
"Are you done?" Barbara gave her a look.
"No. As a matter of fact, I'm not." Alyssa countered with a look of her own before her gaze turned back to Jason. "This woman here is my friend. That means; you hurt her, I come after you. And you really don't want me to come after you. Do we have an understanding Mr. Hamilton?"
"I believe we do Ms. Connors." he nodded with a small smile. "There's certainly something to be said for a woman who's friends care for her so much."
Alyssa wasn't really sure when she'd fallen asleep, but she woke up with Edward's arm around her to the sound of her phone ringing.
"Hello?"
"Alyssa! Have you seen Barbara?" Jim Gordon's worried voice came over the other end. "I heard she's been working with you, have you seen her?"
"Not since the Wayne ball." she rubbed at her eyes. "She left with some guy, told me not to wait up."
"What did he look like?"
"Why do you care?" she asked, finally noticing his tone.
"The case I've been working on? I think the Oger may have taken her to get to me."
Alyssa was suddenly very awake. "Gimme five minutes to get dressed. I'll draw ya a picture of the guy and meet you at the precinct." she hung up the phone before he could respond and turned to shake her boyfriend. "Eddie! Wake up!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" his eyes opened at he sat up, reaching for his glasses.
"The boyscout just called. Barbara's been kidnapped. Come on!"
There was a certain irony to the fact that this Jason guy had kidnapped Barbara right after Alyssa had questioned his intentions with her friend. Still, she had said that if he hurt her, she'd come after him, and Alyssa Connors was nothing if not a woman of her word.
Storming into Oswald's bar was more of a Jim Gordon thing, but Alyssa didn't have time to care for appearances.
"Whoa! What's got you a riled up Connors?" Butch asked.
"Not now Butch. Where's Oswald?"
"Boss is busy."
She scoffed. "Not for me." she pushed past him to the back office that used to be Fish's. Sure enough, that was where he was.
"Alyssa." he said when he looked up to see who had barged in. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but I –"
"Shut up." she cut him off. "For over ten years I have been there every single time you've asked; you do not get to be busy the one time I need your help."
Oswald paused, taking in her worried and angry state. Knowing she would not be like this – let alone actually ask for help – without good reason, he nodded. "Fair enough. What can I do for you?"
"Jason Hamilton. Dark hair, dark eyes, fair skin, top 1% of the city. I need his address so I can mess 'im up."
"May I ask why?"
"He's a serial killer. Kidnaps then kills women. And his most recent kidnap was a friend of mine, so I'd like to get there before the killing part."
"Understandable. I use every resource at my disposal to track him down. Why don't you go talk to Butch? Pick out a decent weapon for the job."
Alyssa usually didn't like guns, but she was surprisingly comfortable with the one currently strapped under her jacket as she picked the lock that kept people using the elevator from going up into the penthouse.
It clicked with ease and she looked up as the doors opened. The apartment was dark, and there was no sign of Barbara.
What she did find was still disturbing however.
"Ugh, there's kinks, and then there's torture man..." she cringed, then frowned as the home phone rang. Against her better judgement, she answered it. "Hello?"
"Alyssa? Huh, when I heard my alarm was triggered, you are not who I expected."
"Well I did warn you, didn't I?"
"Why whatever do you mean? I've done nothing to harm Barbara."
"Your sex dungeon and criminal record would say otherwise."
"Oh." he laughed. "That. I've got to hand it to you Ms. Connors, you really do care for her don't you?"
"Yes. Now where the hell is she?"
"With me, of course. But don't worry. I'll be sure to keep her safe for you."
He hung up before she could respond, so her response was to throw the phone at the wall. Once she wrangled her temper, she ran over the phone call in her head. There had been a horn – a train horn. And rumbling...like a bridge.
What bridge has a train? Damn, where was Edward when she needed him?
Oh yeah!
Pulling out her cellphone, she was quick to hit his number on speed dial.
"Hello?"
"Ed, quick, what bridge in Gotham has a train?"
"White Cross." he said instantly. "It has the upstate train."
"Upstate..." her eyes widened. "Holy crap. Boyscout still down there?"
"No, he and Detective Bullock went to follow a lead."
"Damn. Call me if he gets back there."
"Will do."
Alyssa hung up and made her way for the front door. She ran into Jim and Harvey just outside of it.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Jim demanded.
"Your job, and apparently better than you." she countered quickly, not having time for their usual banter. "They aren't here. Jason called the apartment from the road. They're on White Cross bridge, headed upstate."
"Upstate? That's where her parents live."
"My thoughts exactly boyscout. Race you there." she pushed past him, ignoring his calls for her to wait.
Maybe it was her disregard for traffic laws, but it was Alyssa that got the the Kean residence first. The door was unlocked, and she came in just in time to hear screaming.
Alyssa was quick to follow the sound and ran into the living room. The bodies of an old man and woman – who she recognized as Barbara's parents from pictures she had shown her – sat dead on the sofa with several stab wounds in them.
"Alyssa?"
She whirled around. "Barbara!" she sighed in relief and ran over to her. There were blood splatters on her dress, but she was unharmed; none of the blood was her's. "Are you okay?" she asked anyway.
She shook her head. "You're not supposed to be here." her voice was eerily calm.
"I came to rescue you, B." Alyssa smiled at her, resting her hands on her shoulders. "We're goin' home."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that."
Alyssa was quick to whirl around, pointing her gun at Jason before he could get his knife anywhere near her.
He laughed at her. "You gonna kill me?"
"Yup." she nodded.
BANG!