Chapter 2

Edward wandered into the records room, his hands in his pockets. "Miss. Tompkins." Ed greeted seeing her talking to Kristen.

"Morning Ed." Lee said. "I heard you had fun last night." Ed blanked, staring at her a moment. "Dinner ... Conversation. Relax Ed ... Kristen didn't tell me anything." She teased. "But uh, you should probably wake up a bit earlier to shave if you're trying to keep that bit a secret." She said with a bit of a chuckle as Ed's cheeks turned red. She winked at Kristen who smiled shyly. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone ... I have work I need to catch up on anyway." She said waving at Ed as she left the room.

"I really didn't say anything about that," Kristen assured him. Not that it had made much difference. They both knew how perceptive Lee could be about people. Still, it was nice talking to someone who seemed so genuinely happy for them.

"I know." Edward said, knowing Kristen wouldn't divulge that information. Even if she had, he knew girls tended to gossip. He didn't mind, it was good for Kristen to have a friend to talk to.

Ed approached her desk. He had been waiting for the last half an hour for her to get off. "Are you ready to go?"

Kristen nodded, picking up her purse and her coat, before taking Edward's arm. "Ready," she said.

"You're not ..." Edward paused looking down at her hand on his arm. "You're not ... Embarrassed? I mean ... To be seen at work with me? In front of Detective Gordon and Miss. Tompkins I can understand, they're our friends but ..." Ed paused realising he was rambling again. He didn't think she'd be so open that she was leaving with him.

"Why should I be embarrassed?" she asked, looking up at him. "Unless you think it's more fun to keep it a secret?" There were maybe a few people who might make an underhanded comment or two, but she didn't feel much inclined to value their opinion on the matter.

Edward blanked. Fun? "I ... Don't see how fun would be derived from keeping our relationship a secret." He said confused.

Kristen couldn't help smiling at the confused, serious look on Edward's face. "Well then," she said decisively. "There's no good reason to hide it then, is there?"

"I suppose ... Still ... Won't people make fun of you?" He asked quietly. "You seemed so defensive about it before ... I mean before we started dating."

Kristen winced an uncomfortable smile. "That's true," she admitted. "I kind of have a history of being pressured into acting how other people think I should act, doing what they think I should do … which hasn't exactly worked out well for me. So I'm trying not to care so much about what people think, and just go for what makes me happy." She looked up at Edward, wondering if what she'd said made any sense to him at all.

"I make you happy?" Edward asked with a slight smile. He glanced down at his watch. "The grocers closes in half an hour. We should head out then." He said, the stupid grin not leaving his face.

"Right," Kristen agreed, her hand still on his arm as they headed out, smiling slightly at the look on Edward's face. She didn't know why it seemed so surprising to him that being with him made her happy. After all, she was still here, wasn't she? And no one had ever been as kind to her as Edward was.

The ride the grocers was quiet, though comfortable. When they got inside Ed grabbed a basket. There wasn't much he needed. "What do you want for supper?"

"Oh, anything," said Kristen, kissing him on the cheek as they went in. "Everything you make turns out amazing." One of these days, she needed to get him to teach her how to cook like that. Her skills in the kitchen seemed woefully inadequate by comparison.

"Anything is a rather broad spectrum." He said. "I mean if you want I can make haggis and mung bean salad ..." Edward said looking at her to see how she'd react.

"Ew," Kristen laughed, shoving playfully at Edward's arm. "Okay, anything but that, then."

Ed walked slowly down the aisle looking at food. "Well ... What do you like to eat? Do you want pasta? Beef? Pork? Chicken? Soup? Casserole? What? Throw me a bone here."

"Pasta sounds good tonight," Kristen said since he insisted on making her choose. She really would have been happy with just about anything, but someone had to decide.

"Pasta it is then." He said wandering around with her collecting noodles, sauce and vegetables. Anything he could use in an easy pasta. It was getting late after all.

Kristen helped pick up any items that Edward needed as she went through the store with him.

"Do you like ice cream?" Edward asked as he turned the corner of an aisle and walked straight into the chest of a man who was almost as tall as him, but twice as large. "Oh, I'm so sorry I ... Officer Collins." Edward said adjusting his glasses that were slipping down his nose. "I'm sorry I didn't-"

Collins shoved Edward back. "Watch where you're going, Nygma," he sneered. He looked over at Kristen, smirking slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a grocery store," Kristen said flatly, unamused. "So we're buying groceries."

"Yeah I get that ... But why with him?" Collins asked. "Don't tell me you rejected me today for this loser." He said sounding rather disgusted.

"You don't have to call people names," Kristen said evenly. She didn't want this to escalate; Edward wasn't cut out for fighting, and she just wanted to spend a quiet evening together, preferably somewhere other than the emergency room. "I told you I was seeing somebody. Just go ask out someone else."

Collins sighed and looked around. He couldn't believe she'd reject him for this socially awkward freak.

Edward didn't even have time to react as Collins swung forward, his fist making firm contact with Ed's stomach, the basket falling from his hands causing food to scatter all over the floor. Edward doubled over with a loud 'oof' the air rushing from his lungs as he tried to steady himself on the ground. He should have seen that coming.

"Stop it!" Kristen shouted, rushing in front of Edward, putting herself between him and Collins. "Just stop it!" She was shaking from both anger and fear. "He didn't do anything to you. Why can't you just handle this like an adult and leave us both alone!?"

An older man in a store apron appeared in the aisle, a stern look on his face. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stop bothering these two and leave."

"Sir, this man was caught stealing from your store," Collins said before the man started laughing.

"Get outta here ..." He said waving him off. "Before I call someone who's worse than the cops." He said threateningly. "Believe you me ... You don't want any trouble kid ... Go." He said turning towards Ed who was still doubled over on the floor, as the cop grumbled and left. "The bullies just get bigger hey Ed?" The man asked as Ed sat against one of the shelves. "You okay kid?"

"Yeah ..." Ed said quietly. "I'm fine. I'm sorry for the disruption."

"Bah ... Ain't no one here anyway. Too close to closin' time." He said bending down to place the items back in the basket.

"Thanks for getting him to go away," Kristen said earnestly, offering Edward a hand up.

"Now Ed ..." The man said picking up the basket as Ed stood up. "Are you going to introduce me to your lady friend here?" The man asked smiling at her.

"Oh, forgive me, where are my manners?" Ed said though he was still holding his stomach and breathing a bit funny. "Kristen this is Ben. Ben, this is my ... Uh ... This is Kristen." He said his cheeks tinting red with embarrassment at saying she was his girlfriend. Not because he was embarrassed of her but ... Calling her his girlfriend sounded so ... Juvenile.

"Pleased to meet you, Ben," Kristen said politely. Though the situation could have been better. She hoped Collins didn't bring his aggressive attitude to work after this… at least at the precinct, he'd be held to some minimal standard of professionalism, but she was still worried that he might continue to hold it against Edward.

"The pleasure is all mine." Ben said with a kind smile. "It's nice to see Ed making some ... Friends." He said knowing that she was clearly more. It was rather obvious. "Making dinner for your girl Ed?"

"Uh ... Yeah." Ed said shyly.

"Well, I must say it's a good thing Marian taught you how to cook then." He said with a laugh. "Otherwise you'd be more useless in the kitchen than I am." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh!" said Kristen, smiling warmly as she made the connection to the kindly librarian Ed had spoken of. "So you're Marian's husband?" she asked. Moreover, that solved the mystery of how Edward had learnt to cook like that; there was no way he had picked that skill up either among the bookshelves of a public library or in the streets of Gotham.

"I am," Ben said. "I take it Ed's told you about her. I can't say I'm surprised. Damn near saved his life. This boy wasn't cut out for that life." He said elbowing Ed playfully in the arm. "Say, why don't you two come for dinner tonight. Stores going to close in a few minutes and I'm out of here."

Kristen looked over at Edward. "How does that sound to you?" she asked. It seemed like a delightful idea to her, and Edward had to be tired after work anyway; he might not feel particularly up to cooking after being punched in the stomach by a muscle-bound Cretin either. Then again, he'd said he had something to tell her, and going over to Marian and Ben' place might not be conducive to that.

"We can. You did say you wanted to meet Marian." Edward said.

"I should warn you though girl," Ben said walking Edward and Kristen towards the checkout. "My wife has a very poor filter on her. I hope you don't offend easily. She never means anything by what she says though."

"I can understand that," Kristen said, unbothered. There were some situations where her verbal filter could completely shut down too, though she was generally better about controlling it than she used to be.

"Jody ..." Ben called out to the girl at the till. "Bag up Ed's stuff here. Don't worry about the bill."

"Ben, no. It's okay I can pay for it." Edward said his cheeks turning a deep red. He hated it when Ben gave him things. He wasn't a homeless kid anymore.

"Nonsense ... You know as well as I do you don't make enough money to do the job you do ... Might as well work at a coffee shop. Less stress and probably almost as much pay." Ben said knowing the GCPD seriously underpaid Ed for such a stressing job. "It's fine Ed." He said patting him on the back.

"That's really very kind of you," Kristen said sincerely. She felt a little bad about it too, but she could tell Ben wouldn't take no for an answer. It was nice to know, really, that someone else was looking out for Ed. She took Edward's hand in hers as they followed after Ben.

"I'll give you a ride home then." Ed said. "We're parked out front, just come meet us when you're done your shift." He said not wanting to distract him from his close out.

"Sounds good to me. See you in a few Eddie Boy." He said ruffling Ed's hair despite being more than a head shorter than him.

Kristen smiled in quiet amusement as Ben ruffled Edward's hair. "He seems nice," she said as Ed fixed his hair.

Once Ben reached the car, his apron now gone, they were on their way back to Ed's apartment building.

"We live in the same apartment building as Ed, just a few floors down. The buildings not the best, but it looks a sight better since Ed took it over for us." Ben said as they pulled up to the apartment. "I can't figure out why he wanted the one with that damned neon light on the window, though ... Thing would drive me batty, trying to sleep with that thing on all night."

"Sounds like a good arrangement," Kristen said, smiling slightly. "Though I can see how that light could get to be a problem." It certainly was relentlessly bright right outside Ed's window. She was surprised personally, that she'd been able to sleep as well there as she had. Perhaps it was because she'd found his presence comforting. It was a definite improvement, at least, over waking up alone to some sound in the middle of the night, worrying that Tom had come back and was lurking somewhere in the darkness, about to make good on his threat … "It's a good thing Ed likes green so much."

"Yes well ..." Ed said as he parked out on the street. "It was my condition when they approached me about putting the thing on the building. And I'd rather have it outside my window rather than someone else's, I'd have to lower the rent on that apartment." He said as they got out of the car, Ben collecting the two bags of groceries that were in the back with him. "Besides ... It looks neat. And I don't really like the dark, so it never really bothers me."

"It does look neat," Kristen agreed, patting Edward affectionately on the shoulder. And it gave his apartment a certain unique feel to it.

Ben lead the two up to his apartment, unlocking it with a quiet click. "Marian! I'm home. I brought guests I hope that's okay."

"Oh, when do I ever mind?" a cheerful voice called out from inside, before a bright-eyed and energetic lady bustled out of the kitchen, smiling when she saw Ed. "It's good to see you again, Edward dear," she said, then looked over at Kristen. Her eyes lit up as she looked from Kristen to Edward and back again. "Well," she said delightedly. "It's about time! That does explain why we've seen so little of you lately … Oh, where are my manners?" she amended quickly, though she didn't seem terribly bothered. Marian held out her hand, shaking Kristen's warmly. "I'm Marian. You must be a friend of Edward's?"

"Yes," Kristen smiled. "We work together. He's told me so much about you."

"Pleased to meet you," Marian said. "But could you tell us, please, what exactly are your intentions with Edward?"

"Um…" Kristen stammered, taken aback. She glanced over at Ed, hoping he knew the right way to respond to that. Edward might be awkward in most social situations, but at least he knew Marian better than she did.

"Marian." He said in a kind but scolding tone, his hands going to her upper arms. "I love you but be nice ..." He said smiling as he kissed her cheek.

"Eh you know Marian," Ben said going into the kitchen and pulling the lid off the giant pot to see what Marian was making.

"Hey hey ... Get out of that." She said waving her tea towel at him.

Kristen relaxed a little as the tension broke. "Is there anything I can help with?" she asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Marian. "Everything's almost ready… I said almost, Ben. Put that down." She said smacking his hand with a wooden spoon that had been sitting on the counter.

Ben shook his hand as she smacked him and dropped the lid with a light clang. "Alright, alright woman!" He said backing away. Edward chuckled as he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out some plates to set the table.

Kristen followed Edward's lead, going to help set the table. She smiled slightly at the way Ben and Marian messed with each other. They were kind of adorable, really.

Ben sat at the table as Ed and Kristen set the table. "So how is work Ed?"

"Good. It's been busy lately." He said pulling out Kristen's chair for her when the table was set. "No surprise there, it is Gotham."

"And what do you do Kristen? Assuming you're a career woman." Ben said. It seemed more women these days were choosing to work.

"I just take care of the files at GCPD," Kristen said with a modest smile. "Nothing terribly exciting."

"Nothing terribly exciting?" Edward said. "She basically keeps the entire place in line. Every time there's a case she keeps track of it. She knows where every case file over the past twenty years is located ..." He paused before muttering. "Even if the organisation system is in quite a state of disarray." He said clearing his throat.

"I'm sure it's well organised." Marian said. "We women like our things just as is! Isn't that right Christina?" She asked as she ladled what looked like cabbage rolls into a casserole dish and brought it to the table.

"It's just Kristen … but that's exactly right," Kristen told Marian, shoving Edward's arm playfully. "Hey, it's an organisation system that works for me. I know exactly where everything is," she said.

"Yes, but it's wrong ..." Edward insisted.

"Edward," Ben warned. "I will convey some very ... Very important information to you. But you must listen to me very carefully." He said as if telling the whole room a secret. "The success of any relationship ... Is dependent on a man's realisation ... That women are never wrong." He said patting Edward's hand. "Take that from a wise man ..."

"Surely you don't mean you dear?" Marian laughed as she sat down.

"Oh, you wound me." He said grabbing his chest as if he were actually hurt. "Of course I mean me dear, who else would I mean?" He said pulling a few cabbage rolls onto his plate.

Kristen laughed at the pair of them. "Well, I don't know about that," she said. "But you do seem to be onto something." She took a bite of one of the cabbage rolls. "Marian, these are amazing," she said sincerely. "I don't suppose I could trouble you for the recipe?"

"Family recipe, I'm afraid." She said with a bit of a smile on her face. "Now if you had intentions on becoming a part of the family ..." She said glancing at Ed.

"Marian." Edward said again, the woman really had no filter.

"What?" Marian asked. "You're the closest thing to a son we have since-" she paused and went silent a moment. "Well ... You're our family Edward. And I want some grand babies before I die!" She said muttering something under her breath making Ed choke slightly on his food.

Kristen blushed profusely. "I do appreciate how welcoming you're being," she said, smiling it off. "But I'm afraid you're going to give poor Edward a heart attack."

"Oh well it's nothing to fuss about. You're much better than that hussy he dated a while back. What was her name Edward?"

"She wasn't a hussy!" Edward said his face turning red with embarrassment.

"She was a hussy Edward. What did I tell you about her? She was using you and what did she do?" Marian asked pointing her fork at Ed. "She used you. As I said. But I'm glad you found a nice woman Edward. You fight to keep this one!" She said digging into her food.

Kristen blushed further. Marian certainly did seem staunchly in favour of her … and they'd only just met her. How could they logically know if she was any different from this supposed 'hussy' from just a few minutes? And could she lose Marian and Ben's approval as quickly as she'd gained it? She glanced over at Edward, commiserating with his embarrassment. She was a little surprised, really, to hear that there had been someone else before her. But she didn't feel really bothered by it. She was hardly one to talk when it came to bad past relationship choices.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Yes well ... Forgive me for my poor judge of character." He said stabbing his cabbage roll a little harder than he had intended. He hated how they always brought up his ex's with his new girlfriend. It always started a fight later, and a fight was not what he needed tonight. Him and Kristen really needed to talk.

Seeing that Edward seemed a little upset, Kristen reached over and lightly touched his hand for a moment, trying to let him know that she didn't intend to make a big deal of it. So Edward had exes. He already knew about hers. "Yes, well," she said. "You know I haven't always been such a stellar judge of character myself."

"Well." Marian said, raising her glass. "To new relationships." She said as Ben raised his own glass.

"Hear, hear!" Ben said as Ed smiled.

"I'll drink to that," Kristen agreed, giving Edward a sidelong smile. She'd become so disillusioned about what to expect out of a relationship before she'd given Edward a chance… But everything seemed different now. She really hoped this would work out.

((A/N - Sorry for the long wait. I'll be posting another chapter hopefully tonight once it's proof read. As always please leave a comment, we feed of them.))