"What do you need?"

"You."

Bree's knuckles turned white as her hand balled into a fist, the sheets wadding between her fingers.

The blood on the pavement looked black.

"I don't care what's fair anymore!"

Edward's voice echoed, angrier than she had ever heard it.

She gasped, abruptly sitting up in the bed. Her eyes shot open, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She turned her head as a light touch on her arm pulled her out of her reverie.

Her wide eyes met Harvey's in the dimly moonlit room. His deep brown eyes looked almost black in the cool blue shadows of the room. Only half his face caught the outside light as he stared at her with concern. She blinked, her mouth opening slightly, but she couldn't find the words to explain.

"Nightmare?"

"Y-yeah…." She breathed rubbing her hands over her face and laying back down. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he placed a light kiss on her forehead. She let herself snuggle against him as she tried to forget how shaken she really had been.

"Another one…need to talk about it?" He asked drowsily.

"No…." she muttered into his chest as he wrapped his other arm his middle. She took another deep breath, trying to just think about being held.

Except….no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't derive much comfort in his arms…..not anymore. Not since she had to keep her mouth shut about what happened that night. About helping her friend-but-more-than-friend get away with murder.

She closed her eyes, hoping that sleep wouldn't evade her again.

/

Seeing Edward was never the same after that night. Sure, they had secrets before, but this was another level. In a strange way, she found herself avoiding him without really meaning to. When she saw him again and he asked how she was…..something broke in her. She missed her Ed. The one with the goofy smile and witty wordplay and a sense of adventure.

How does anyone act normal after that?

Do you just pretend like it never happened? She mused.

It was clear that night took a toll on him as well. He seemed…..different somehow. She wasn't' quite sure how yet, but something felt off. All she could try to do is act like she always did, but she found herself always tired as of late.

She felt guilty, even if she wasn't the one who killed Daugherty. Sure, she was convinced that he did deserve it to an extent for abusing Kristen….but hell she wanted to be an FBI agent one day!

She wanted to stop crime, not become an accessory to murder.

But I guess that's just life. She thought with a sigh.

When she returned to work, it was as boring as always. Of course, being an administrative assistant still wasn't the most exciting job, but it made for better prospects than intern, like she had been previously.

One thing was certain, whether you were a cop or not, people watching was a huge perk when working at GCPD.

Gotham was a weird city. That simply had become a matter of fact.

Bree set to work on the stack of papers at the corner of her desk. She signed and shook her head.

At least some things never changed.

/

Later, when the mug of coffee resting on the corner of her desk had long grown cold, and the small black print on the endless pages blurred into one mess of ink, Bree decided to quit putting off the one thing she had really had wanted to do that day.

Talk to Ed.

More specifically, invite him to her graduation from graduate school…Which had never really seemed odd before, but it would also be the first time he met any of her family, and it really didn't help that Harvey was coming too.

And yet….despite everything, he had become an important part of her life.

She clutched the small brown envelope to her chest as she made her knocked on the door to the forensics lab. She heard what resembled a noncommittal noise of acknowledgement from behind the door. Hesitantly, she pushed open the door.

"Ed?"

The raven haired man sat, hunched over a microscope. His shoulders stiffened, his head raising as she called out to him.

His brows seemed to be furrowed in distress, but he attempted a forced smile as she walked into the room.

"Bree….." he said flatly. She blinked, letting the door shut behind her.

"Ah….what's wrong?"

He let out a long sigh, slipping his glasses off this face as he rubbed his face with his other hand. His head snapped back up as her hand lightly landed on his shoulder.

"I….I just tried to ask Miss Kringle out…." He relented, his eyes meeting hers. Although she knew she shouldn't, she felt a pang of hurt, but quickly brushed it off.

"Oh?...How did that go?"

"I told her house flies hum in the key of F…."

Despite her better judgement, she couldn't help but snort out a short laugh. She immediately caught herself, covering her mouth with her hand at his hurt expression. His lips pressed into a tight line and he looked down.

"I'm sorry, but you have to admit that's pretty good," she said, trying to take back her jab.

"I don't need you to make fun of me too…."

Her mouth fell agape.

"No…..I didn't mean," she added quickly, shaking her head as her hand slid off her shoulder and she.

"Yes, you did," he said, voice dropped sharply, suddenly grasping her wrist, his dark eyes snapping up to meet hers. They gleamed with something that she couldn't quite identify. Her brows furrowed. A flash of annoyance reared its head as she strained against his tight grasp.

"I'm sorry….it's just….you know I'm not entirely unbiased in the matter," she said bit out with more venom in her voice than she had intended.

He eyed her for a long moment, and she could have sworn a smirk flashed across her lips before his expression softened a fraction as he gently released her arm. His gaze drifted down as he blinked. He slid his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"Apology accepted….."

An odd, pregnant silence fell between the two as he rose to his feet.

For once, he was the one who broke the silence, and normal Ed was back.

"So…..ah…..was there any reason you came to see me?"

She nodded quietly, handing him the now slightly crinkled envelope.

"Ah…..yes, actually. My graduation is actually coming up, and it really would mean a lot if you could come."

Ed's eyes widened slightly and a smile stretched across his lips.

The first real smile I've seen on his face for a while now… she mused silently.

"Finishing grad school…..that is exciting," he said with a chuckle, staring down at the unopen envelope.

"Yep, I'm joining the leagues educated workers, swamped in debt, but full ambition," she smiled with a small laugh.

"Do you feel any smarter yet?" he jested dryly. She shook her head.

"The more I'm learn, the more I realize I don't know shit," she remarked. Ed smiled with another laugh.

"What flies but doesn't have wings?"

"….time?"

"See? You learned something after all. Perhaps yours wasn't as wasted as you imagine."

She didn't hold back her laugh as she stepped and wrapped her arms around him.

"The more you take, the more you leave behind. What is it?" he said as he pulled her tighter into his embrace.

"Hhmmmm…..I don't know," she muttered into his chest. She could feel his chest vibrating as he chuckled.

"Nothing…." He said into her hairline.

"Hmp….always having to be the smarter one, don't you?"

He smiled against her hair before giving a small peck on her forehead.

"I'm still proud of you."

She smiled, her cheeks stretching achingly wide, trying to push away the thoughts of how odd he had acted only moments ago.

/

The afternoon had fallen into a lull. The precinct stayed in its usual bustle, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary until shots rang out and several screams filled the air.

Bree's eyes widened and dread seized her gut as she immediately hit the floor.

Oh god. Not again.

She thought, swearing under her breath.

How many times can a precinct be shot up in one year.

She peered over the railing at the chaos erupting below. She gasped as another round of shots rang out and she scooted back against the wall. She curled beneath her desk, her breathing far too loud to her own ears.

Maybe I won't make it to graduation afterall…

She couldn't make out words from the shouts below, but she reached atop her desk and patted blindly for her phone.

She yelped in surprise as a hand gripped her forearm tightly and yanked her out from under her desk.

"Let….go!" she said between gritted teeth as she yanked back against the man's grip. It was to no avail as he drug her to her feet. She froze in icy fear as her gaze drifted up and met the barrel of a pistol at pointed at her temple. Nearly forgetting how to breathe, she met the man's eyes, and maniacally grinning face. His dark hair was nearly an afro of spider web-like spindles that stuck out in every which direction, and his crooked teeth were stained a decayed yellow.

"Hey, girlie," he chuckled in an unpleasant rasp.

She fought the scowl that crept onto her lips and her eyes flickered to his grip on the gun. When another sharp scream filled the air in response to another round of gunfire, the man turned his head and peered down the balcony. She took this opportunity to push the barrel of the gun away from her face, all the while hitting his wrist with her other hand in the opposite direction and peeling the gun out of his hand in one swift movement. She tried to grasp for it as the momentum knocked it away, but the pistol skidded across the floor, out of reach.

She looked back up with wide eyes as the man began to turn back towards her. Quickly, she drove a hook hard into his ribs, then as he groaned in pain, doubled-over, she slammed her elbow into his jaw.

"….you little bitch!" the man growled, creeping towards her as he cradled his jaw.

She stumbled backwards, her foot getting caught on the leg of the chair. The man lunged forward and she cried out, kicking out against him, but it wasn't until too late that she noticed the flash of some shining object in his hand as he drove it towards her. She felt the punch to her stomach, but it was more than that.

There was pain—white hot and searing, she noted in the back of her head.

It was a sharp, tearing sensation and she couldn't help but let out a half-hearted scream of her own. She flailed her legs out one more time before the man grabbed her head and knocked it back against the wall—hard. The man stood up again and went for what could have been the discarded gun.

Her vision was hazy as she heard a shot fired near her. Distantly, she wandered if she had been shot too. But it wasn't until she saw the man slump down limply that she realized that it was someone else. Her fuzzy gaze drifted up to see Officer Bullock hazy face rushing towards her. She blinked, but her eyes felt heavy. So heavy. They fluttered shut.

And the world went black.

Please do let me know what you think! Reviews are lovely! :)