Disclaimer: I do not own and am not, in any way, affiliated with the Dark Knight franchise.

"Who does she think she is? That girl has tangled with the wrong man! No one says "no" to Gaston! Dismissed! Rejected! Publicly Humiliated! Why, it's more than I can bear."

― Gaston, Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Chapter Six

It was four days before they were on speaking terms again. Audrey threw herself into her work during the day and buried herself in literature at night. Her hunger strike had not been going well and she found it increasingly difficult to subsist on lunch alone. About a dozen times she had tried to sneak into the kitchen when she thought Barsad would be asleep, and every time he was sitting on the couch like some kind of kitchen guard dog. The fifth time he'd politely asked if there was anything he could get for her. Her response had been a haughty sniff and to slam the bathroom door. From behind it, she could have sworn she heard him laughing.

In an attempt to broker peace, she'd woken up on the fourth morning to find the hijacked copy of Frankenstein on the coffee table, a little more banged up than before but still in decent condition. Begrudgingly, she joined him at the ridiculously large, formal dining room table that night, taking a seat on the opposite end.

"Ah, it's lovely to have company. Food's always better when there's someone to share it with," he'd joked. She glared at him over the top of her book and he winked at her. He'd won and he knew it.

Since then they had both tread lightly for fear of disturbing their temporary truce.

It could be worse. I could be dead. Or stuck with someone like Jack. She considered this and then gave an involuntary shudder. Jack, after some scowling and snide commentary, had gone right back to being what he obviously thought passed for charming. In order to keep the peace, and to show Barsad she was taking him seriously, she bit her tongue and tried her best to ignore his macho man garbage.

"Hey, darlin'," a voice said from behind her.

Audrey jumped and smashed into the cabinet she had been rifling through. Plastic and glass shook on the metal shelves. Several bottles fell to the floor, liquid sloshing and pills clattering as they rolled around. One bottle burst open scattering little white tablets everywhere. "Whoa, easy now." Her body prickled with irritation. She was a person, not a horse. And I'll probably have to clean that up.

She turned and scowled at him. "Jesus! You scared me!"

Jack laughed. "Sorry, honey." The muscles in her cheek twitched. "You'd'a noticed if you didn't have your head in the clouds all the damn time."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, drawing herself up to full height, which was at least a foot shorter than he was. "Did you need help with something?"

"No, but I think they're gonna." He motioned to where two men were being led in by a very harassed looking Andy and man who looked like he would have liked to be anywhere else. They were both bleeding, but laughing boisterously. She groaned, watching as they were deposited on separate cots. Drunks. My favorite.

Arjun bustled out from behind the computer and Audrey joined him. "Hey, Doc," the sober one greeted. "These assholes banged themselves up pretty good. Andy cleared 'em when we got in so they're mostly harmless." He glanced at Audrey. "Might want to watch yourself, though. They're liable to get handsy. That one," he jerked his head indicating the man on the left who was tickling Andy's ear. "Has a nasty temper."

"He's all yours, Arjun," she snickered.

The overpowering stench of stale alcohol radiated off him in pungent, sour waves. His eyes were bloodshot and he was bleeding from a cut at his hairline. A cursory glance told her it looked nastier than it was. Head wounds were always bleeders.

"My lucky day. I get the pretty one," the guy slurred.

"You'd better not let the Doctor hear you say that. You bleeding from anywhere else?" He swayed slightly, feeling around his torso and she caught sight of his left hand. Between the thumb and forefinger was a deep laceration. She took it and held it closer for inspection. "This is going to need stitches."

He gasped dramatically and pulled his hand back, cradling it against his chest, and whispering to it that everything was going to be okay. She had to turn away to stop herself from giggling in his face.

This was what the people of Gotham were afraid of.

When she managed to compose herself, she plucked some gauze off the table and pressed it to his forehead. "Talk to me, Goose. Where are you from?"

She worked as he talked, plying him with question after question. It kept him distracted long enough to bandage his head and get him stitched up. She discovered his name was Dylan, that he was 25, from Ann Arbor, and that he liked pretty girls, dogs, MMA, and Keystone Light - in that order.

"So, I came to Gotham because I heard there was work out here. Turned out that was a bunch of bullshit." He hiccupped. "Then I heard about the underground stuff so here I am."

"Bane's underground stuff?"

"Yeah- the bombs and whatnot. Not the greatest work, but it fed me, put a roof over my head. Pretty good for a guy who had nothing." With his free hand, he gently patted the cot. "You know, you're really nice. Like way too nice for this place, you know what I'm saying?" He waved his arm around with a sloppy, drunk grin. "What's someone like you doing here?"

"Wrong place, wrong time." She finished up the last suture and released his hand. "Alright, you're all done."

He held it out, moving it back and forth slowly. "Whoa. I didn't even know you were doing it. You're good." His face and voice were solemn as he pulled her in for a hug. She gave his back a hesitant pat.

"Alright, kid, let her alone." Jack, who had been hanging out at Arjun's desk with Andy to make sure things didn't get too out of hand, pulled him off. Without thinking, Audrey smiled gratefully and mouthed a thank you at him. He nodded and smiled back; unease washed over her.

"Lay off the booze, young man," she directed. He attempted a salute and hopped off of the cot, wobbling. She watched as he was escorted out and laughed to herself as she cleaned up.

She was washing her hands in the breakroom when Jack approached her. He leaned his back against the counter, arms folded across his chest as he watched her. "Hoo- those boys sure were something, weren't they?"

"Yeah," she answered, drawing out the word. "They were." The electric kettle bubbled away as they stared at each other. Oh my god- what do you want now? she wanted to snap at him. Instead she turned to pick up a mug. "So, uh," she began slowly, almost robotically, in hopes that it would either prompt him to say whatever it was he wanted to say or leave. "Thanks again. For earlier. I- uh- owe you one." Not that he'd needed to step in. Drunks were a dime a dozen in the Emergency Room.

"I got a way you can say thanks," he replied in a thick, gruff voice. A pair of hands seized her shoulders and spun her around.

Before she could even ask what the hell he was doing, he rammed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened, nose wrinkling in disgust at the cloyingly sweet scent of his aftershave. The cup fell from her hand, hitting the floor with a loud crack. Oh my god. Oh my fucking god no. This is not happening. With a hard shove, she pushed him away. "What was that?" she demanded.

The timing could not have been worse.

Loud, hooting cackles echoed in the hallway. Behind Jack she could see Andy, Arjun, and the three mercenaries. At the base of his collar, Jack was beginning to turn pink. Arjun caught her eye and began to shepherd the group away.

Pop.

The kettle timer went off, water inside roiling at full force. Jack reached out with one hand, knocking it off of its stand and into the sink. Hot water hissed as it made contact with the metal basin, some of it slopping over the sink onto the floor. Shit. She watched steam rise into the air in one big cloud then curl into sinister tendrils. Barsad's warning echoed in her head like a refrain: you don't know what he's capable of.

Think, Audrey. Think. "Look, Jack, I'm sorry if-" She took a deep breath. "If I gave you the impression that there was something going on between us." Her hand moved back and forth in the space between them. He seized her wrist, gripping it tighter when she tried to pull away. His face had gone impossibly blank except his eyes which burned into her. A million things to say ran through her head, but none seemed to want to come out of her mouth. Her fingers were starting to tingle.

"It's probably going to be stew again," Andy's voice echoed ruefully from down the hall.

Jack released her, straightening up. She stepped back until she hit the wall behind her. The place where he'd grabbed her wrist was on fire. She began to massage it, working feeling back into her digits, but did not take her eyes off of him. That wolfish grin lit up his features again. Jesus, he's crazy. "Don't worry, darlin'. Won't happen again." It was not reassuring. He winked, turned, and walked away.

She slid down the wall, reminding herself to breath. I will never be alone with him again she promised herself. Never.

Determined, and not wanting to appear weak, she picked herself up off of the floor looking at the broken mug and lukewarm water. Just another goddamn mess that I'll have to clean up, she thought wearily.

(-)

"Is everything alright?" Arjun asked as Audrey dumped the contents of the dust pan into the trashcan. She moved back to the cabinet and began replacing the fallen bottles.

"Fine," she replied airily. "Why?"

"I wanted to make sure-"

She was saved from further questioning by the afternoon lunch delivery.

"It all took care of itself, I promise. I'll help with set up!" Then, like a shot, she was off to assist Barsad in the breakroom.

It turned out to be just what she needed. His presence was soothing, not full of questions or rage or misinterpreted ideas. Or it was at first.

She was reaching over him for a bowl when his brow creased. "Where'd you get that?" he asked, sticking his chin out at her wrist. Shit. Where Jack had grabbed her was now a maroon colored bruise. She hadn't expected that to happen so quickly.

She shrugged and tucked it back into the sleeve of her sweater. "Hit it on the wall earlier." She thought of the way her fingers had gone numb and an involuntary shudder went through her.

"You don't play poker do you?"

"What?" Confusion was all over face. "No, why?"

"Good, you'd be rubbish at it." He sighed. "It looks like someone grabbed you. Patient?"

"Yes."

He turned to face her. "Out with it."

In a hushed voice, she told an extremely abridged version of the events. He didn't stop to interrupt, nor did his face betray what he was thinking. He listened. When she finished all she felt was relief at having told somebody. I miss Beth. The thought prompted unexpected tears to spring to her eyes. She blinked them away. She did not need Barsad to think she was having an emotional breakdown over Jack.

"I'll have a chat with-"

"No!" She must have said that too quickly, too forcefully, because he just stared at her. Then, resentful, but rationally, "You'll just make it worse. I handled it and I don't think we'll be having that problem again."

Andy walked by, whistling and eyeing the food. Wanting to appear normal, she pulled a couple of spoons from the drawer and threw them on the counter.

"You're made of tougher stuff than I gave you credit for."

Instead of an actual reply, she snorted. Her gaze drifted over to the entry way, but she couldn't hide the upturn at the corners of her mouth. She stepped out into the hall to announce, mostly to Andy, that lunch was finally served. She was so distracted that she didn't notice the long, reflective look that followed her out.

A/N: Two updates today because I love y'all so much. Thanks for everything