'I am the first you ever saw, what greets you every morning and what goes out in the end.'


Friday was finally here, what to most office workers would signal a sigh of relief and happiness to Susan signalled desperation and panic, Susan still hadn't found anywhere to stay and in the corner of her office sat her suitcase tucked away out of sight, she'd managed to come in quite early and pass it off to a few of the officers she'd befriended that she was going away for the weekend to visit some friends and her lies had easily convinced the dull lot. Sometimes Susan wondered how some of these people had managed to pass the entry requirements to go on the force and then she reminded herself times were hard and the GCPD wasn't the most attractive of places to be working right now.

By now Susan had come to the end of her second week in the GCPD and managed to update more than half of the system in the GCPD but it was a slow process with what she'd been given to work with and with constant interruptions when officers had to access the station she would be working on. Susan had spent more time making cups of coffee than she had sat implementing the systems but at least she was getting paid for doing so.

There had been an awful shock to the place and to herself at the start of her first week in the GCPD, a series of crimes had happened all within a day, first a painting had been robbed from the Gotham art gallery after a fake bomb had gone off, then there had been another bomb planted in Gotham central and finally to end the day, that same evening one of the GCPD's own, officer Pinkney, had been bludgeoned to death and Gordon had been found at the scene of the crime by Barnes. The whole of the GCPD was an entire mess over the situation and couldn't hold themselves together without their golden boy to head the investigations. Susan's, thought shocked at the news, wondered what the city would do to her if a normal guy like Jim could go off the rails so easily.

As for Edward, he'd been around and made himself known to Susan, every now and then when his schedule allowed he'd enter the dusty filing office of his ex partner and feign interest in a hot beverage so that he might speak to Susan and delve a little deeper into her mind, trying a little more everyday to intrude more but as of yet he'd been unsuccessful at luring out anything, the woman was a firmly closed book but he felt she might be warming to his 'socially inept' exterior that he was getting good at putting on in front of everyone.

It was midday lunchtime and Susan was sat on the wall across from the department eating a sandwich with her face buried in the 'to let' section of the folds. Right now she would settle for anything so she made a few calls which were unfruitful, there had to be something, anything, she was desperate.

"Fuck." Susan said snapping her mobile shut after the last call and squeezing it tightly in her hand so she heard the tiniest of snapping sounds; another place taken, it seemed impossible, every place she'd called had either been snapped up or the deposit increased, the odds were just stacked against her.

"Still looking for a place?" A voice said and she looked up to see Edward stood a few feet away with that familiar grin she'd come to know. Their conversations were short but not entirely a horrible experience, Susan had noted that Edward had learned the social queue of when she no longer wanted to talk and he kept his questioning and topics fairly polite but from time to time a little intrusive, she'd decided that the man was just a curious creature with no friends, very much like herself. As much as Susan wouldn't admit it or knew she was starting to enjoy his company, odd as it was, he wasn't another meat head in the department trying to ask her out for dinner.

"Seems like I'm not very lucky." Susan said closing the paper and placing it down ready to engage in the short Edward Susan moment of the day.

"I somehow doubt luck has something to do with things." Edward smiled at Susan.

What an odd thing to say she thought and shrugged her shoulders, "Well luck, fate, coincidence, whatever. I'm just going to have to fork out on a hotel a little while more. I don't think this can last much longer..."

Edward just smiled at Susan's persistence and fake positivity, he knew that she wouldn't find anywhere anytime soon or at all for that matter, why? Edward had sabotaged her every attempt since day one the previous week, whether it had just been a little game a first to keep himself occupied it had now turned into a full blown plan that would benefit himself.

"Listen," Edward said, "If you're interested at all, there's an apartment going in my building. The place is nothing special but it's cheap and an inexpensive tube ride away. I would have told you sooner but I have a feeling you'd have called me something untoward." Edward stood and watched Susan's face change ever so slightly, the power to produce hope whenever he thought the time was appropriate was a compellingly nice feeling. Edward liked to hold all the power and her reaction was more than satisfying.

Susan wasn't sure how to respond, she'd conversed with Edward nearly every day since she'd started at the GCPD and he'd been fully aware that she'd been struggling to find a place to stay, so how long had he been holding onto this knowledge?

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She quizzed him suspiciously.

"Well," Edward grinned picking up on the tone of her voice and her protective body language, "It so happens that I was speaking to my landlady today about a problem in my apartment and she asked if I wanted to switch, seems one of the residents have left the city, they were threatening to do it for sometime. Looks like they finally made their decision."

"Oh," Susan said relaxing, she was too quick to jump to conclusions, working in the GCPD had turned her into an anxious nervous wreck with so many psychopaths hanging around the building all day, "Thank you Edward... I'm pretty desperate now..." Susan let herself open up for a moment, someone was genuinely trying to be helpful and nice instead of staring down her blouse.

"I know," Edward said quietly his smirk spreading, "I'm guessing you're in need of the place by tonight seen as though your things are in the office." Edward said starting to walk off slowly back over to the department.

"Yes." Susan said her cheeks flushing from embarrassment, how could she have thought it would evade Edward's quick mind. Susan collected the remainders of her lunch and quickly followed Edward to find out more, plus it was coming up to the end of her break.

"Right," Edward said in a cheery tone once they reached the doors of the GCPD and he held it open for her, "I'll meet you in the lobby at 6pm. We can go home together." Edward stated looking down at the anxious expression and wavering smile on the woman's face. Things were coming together quite nicely, then again they couldn't have gone any differently, Edwards plans had been successful once again, there'd never been any doubt in his mind that Susan wouldn't end up in the same building with him.

Things would be oh so easy now.