The day finally over and most people home for the night, Gordon was just getting around to moving his stuff back into his office. In some ways it felt as if he had never left, in many others it felt like he had been away forever. Either way, it was good to be back.

Backing in through the door with a box that seemed much heavier than the one he had left with, he ignored the light switch and went straight for the desk, dumping the box gratefully. Stepping away, he placed his hands in the small of his back and attempted to stretch out a threatening muscle cramp, his gaze going to the darkest corner of the room.

"I don't suppose you'd accept an offer for a coffee, would you?" he asked the shadows.

"I can't stay long," they replied in gravelly tones.

Gordon nodded and made for the battered old kettle that resided in the opposite corner. "I don't want to see you here again," he said quietly, pulling a stained mug towards him and spooning level amounts of instant coffee into it. "Or anywhere near the police headquarters." He hesitated over the sugar, and then added some of that to his mug as well. The kettle was checked to see that it still contained water. Seeing that it did, he switched it on.

Just as he'd expected, Batman made no reply. Gordon massaged the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses, wondering how best to continue. He'd given this matter a lot of thought and finally come to a decision; he just hoped it was the right one. "I'm – we're all very grateful for your help on the Mister Freeze case. And I trust that whatever… assistance you might have had is now over?"

He paused and was rewarded with an "It's over." That was all he'd wanted to hear, that reassurance, so he would push the issue no further. Whatever reasons Batman had for allying himself with the Joker must have been worthwhile and now it was over, he could be sure they wouldn't be troubled by the clown again. At least, he hoped that was the case.

"It's not for me to say whether in the long run you're a force for good or for bad, and I suspect that even if I actively acknowledged the illegality of what you do, you'd still carry on regardless," Gordon continued gravely, his eyes fixed on the slowly boiling kettle although they did not see it. He just concentrated on getting through the speech he'd prepared, making sure everything came out the way he'd intended. He couldn't even be sure if Batman was still there listening, but he had a pretty strong feeling that he was. "All I know is that at the moment you're a great help to us and that's being compromised by your fugitive status.

"Which is why in a couple of days time I'll be releasing a statement clearing you of any involvement in the murder of Harvey Dent. You were mistakenly identified as having been seen fleeing the murder site, but as we both know, you've attracted a fair number of copycats that like to affect your style of dress. It was dark, the situation was stressful, it's understandable that mistakes were made. You're cleared of suspicion.

"That isn't to say I officially approve of your actions. But for practical reasons, you're back in on the loop."

"You just don't want to see my face whilst I'm there?" Batman queried, an edge to his voice that might just have been Gordon's nerves.

Before the Commissioner could answer, the kettle started to boil with an ear-splitting screech. Having forgotten all about the thing, he jumped and scrabbled for the switch to turn it off. Over the hissing whine of the appliance cooling off he replied "I think it would be best if you kept a low profile for the moment. Public opinion is still strongly turned against you and after… Well, I'm sure you understand. You just have to win their trust back. Things got out of hand after Harvey, but we're going to put them right again. It's going to be a long, difficult process, but we'll manage."

His piece said, Gordon wanted only to forget about it now. He especially didn't want an argument about it. Listening to the silence of his unseen companion provided shaky reassurance that no such thing was forthcoming, so he poured boiling water into his mug, gave it a stir and then carried it over to his desk. He sat down, pleased to be behind a desk he thought he'd never see again, and glanced over at the other man.

Batman still stood in the shadows, but now a bar of light from a street lamp outside lanced through the office window's blinds, distorting his cowled face into strange shapes. He had his head turned slightly away from Gordon in the attitude of a man either deep in thought or trying to hide something. As Gordon watched, the Bat absently lifted a hand, his arm strobing through the splashes of light, touching it momentarily to his cheek. Then he seemed to rouse himself and spoke, although he kept his head turned away.

"How's Janice?"

"She's calmed down; although that might be due to the tranquilisers we gave her." Gordon took a sip of his coffee, scalding his tongue, and contemplated telling Batman how the DA had cried for hours about how her father had devoted all of his time to the study of vigilantes, how she'd always felt second best in his affections compared to his fascination for the Dark Knight, how she should have been a son. Despite his dislike for the woman, it had been heart-wrenching to watch her let go of her dignity like that and he wished he hadn't had to have seen it.

She'd confessed to flying Freeze into the country, renting accommodation for him, telling him where he could find Doctor Strange when he'd asked and helping him plan out his schemes for holding Gotham to ransom. But she said she'd only done it to help Gotham. He remembered the look of zealous devotion to cause on her face when she had said that, the sort of look the Crusaders might have worn upon going into battle or the witch-burners of Salem, and once again he had to suppress a shudder.

She'd been planning to use Freeze not only to trap the Batman, but to also show him up as inadequate, thus getting the vigilante out of the way and freeing Gotham from his stranglehold. Obviously, the plan had backfired in her face. Gordon was glad about that. The woman's scheme had been a destructive, dangerous one. At least now her madness had been revealed and she could no longer pose a threat to the city in the powerful position of District Attorney.

He decided not to tell Batman. It would be no good for either of them and if the Dark Knight really wanted to know, Gordon had no doubt that he would find it out on his own.

"And Freeze?"

"He's accepted his punishment. He'll probably end up in Arkham to get help for his 'bereavement issues', but at least he'll be out of the way there. Speaking of which, that Arkham doctor he abducted – Hugo Strange – he died in the explosion."

"I couldn't save him…"

Gordon didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing. He merely sipped at coffee that had already begun to go cold.

From somewhere outside on the street, a scream suddenly rent the air. The Commissioner was on his feet and at the window so fast that he almost spilled his drink all over himself. He could see nothing, but knowing Gotham, the scream could mean anything.

"Sounds like you've got a job to do," he said, but he was talking to an empty room.