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Momentum:
Chapter Four
written by destinyawakened
It had been a month since Gordon had his heart attack. He was more bored than ever when the kids were at school and the most he had done each day was either read one of Babs many books, garden, or watch day time television, which proved to be one the worst ideas he usually had. He had taken up going for walks around the neighborhood to keep his mind off everything else. But this, too, proved be the one thing he didn't need to be doing.
The walks usually ended with him wishing he was in his office at Major Crimes signing paperwork and listening to complaints. It would have been better than walking alone and letting his mind drift onto things he shouldn't even be thinking about. For example, the crime rate of the neighborhood, would he be able to defend himself if he were mugged, and why Batman hadn't been by in nearly three weeks. Well that one was simple, the Bat was mad at him for making a decision without talking it over with him first. There was no justifiable reason for Batman to be angry about that though, because in the end it would always be Gordon's decision since it was his life.
But he did understand Batman's annoyance. Gordon knew that realistically he had turned his back on everything he worked so hard for in life. Turned his back on Batman and shoved him out the window. There was no real reason for them to converse anymore, but Gordon still hoped that the Bat would get over it and least drop by now and then for a talk. God knows Gordon needed someone besides himself to talk to.
God, he was so lonely.
Maybe if he walked to the park he could find someone more appealing than his own thoughts to talk to. He glanced down at his watch; Babs would be out soon and Jimmy would be getting done at school in about an hour. The park was right next to the school, he could surprise Jimmy and walk home with him. Of course, that too might not blow over so well, but Gordon had decided just the other day that he needed to start taking charge of the boy and try to pry open his iron defenses.
----
On occasions Bruce would drop what he was doing and drag Alfred out of the work mode and they would go to lunch together. It was something he started doing a few years ago when he needed sometime to think, and Alfred was very good at helping Bruce sort out his problems – most of the time. So they sat at the diner of Alfred's choice, a small place in the vicinity of Jim Gordon's neighborhood. Bruce had never been to this particular place and as he looked outside, he thought of Gordon and then assumed that Alfred had picked this spot on purpose.
“When did you speak with him last?” Alfred asked through the thick silence between them. He was looking over the menu, and didn't even look up when Bruce's gaze went back to him. Alfred always knew just what it was that was bothering Bruce.
“Three weeks or so,” Bruce answered. He looked down at his own menu, suddenly deciding he wasn't that hungry after all. Alfred peeked out over his menu at Bruce.
“That's quite a long time. Any reason why you haven't been to see him?” Alfred placed down his menu and stared at Bruce with concern. It wasn't like Bruce to avoid people, in fact he usually went out of his way to resolve all conflicts. But this was different.
“It feels wrong. I should feel calm and at ease when I talk to him, but these days if I just think about him I feel so much regret and disappointment.” Bruce folded his hands on table, drawing in his eyebrows a bit as he tried to contemplate how else to explain to Alfred how hurt he really was by Gordon's actions.
“Well, sitting here brooding about it won't change the decision he made. I think if you just accept that he did what was best for himself for once, then you might be able to move forward and talk to him again,” Alfred explained, giving Bruce a very knowing look. Bruce chewed at the inside of his bottom lip nervously. Alfred was usually right, and Bruce had never been steered wrong before.
“I said some harsh things, Alfred. Do you think he would forgive that?” Bruce placed his head in his hands. Bruce was angry at the time, so very upset.
“Jim Gordon is a very reasonable man and if he ever considered you his friend, I'm sure he would be willing to let go of words said in the past.” Alfred smiled at Bruce, reaching over and patting his arm with reassurance. “And I do believe he said some awful things to you as well and you let them slide right off.”
“Yeah,” Bruce said as he thought about what he might say to Gordon that evening. Yes, Gordon had said some things to Bruce, but it wasn't to Batman. But either way, Bruce did just let it slide, he was used to people throwing insults at him that he'd learned to not to let it get to him. Small price to pay for leading two lives.
Bruce could do it, and he would. Why? Because it was Jim Gordon and he was more than just a partner to Bruce, he was his best friend. There was no need to ruin their friendship because of one decision. Bruce would still be there for Gordon when ever he needed Batman.
-----
Bruce and Alfred walked out of the diner and started towards the car. Alfred stopped and looked down the street and Bruce stepped back to see what he was looking at. All Bruce could see were houses and cars and a lot of pavement. Alfred glanced over at Bruce and smiled at him with one of those content little grins he was known for.
“Fresh air sounds nice after a filling meal. How about we go for a walk?” the older gentleman suggested. Bruce hesitated as brought his keys out of his pocket. It was staring to feel like spring and it wasn't too hot and it was too cold; the weather was just right and it had been years since Bruce just took a few moments out of his life to enjoy the littler things around him.
Sometime to not be the facade and just be himself with the last of what family he had left.
“Okay,” Bruce replied. He pushed the keys deep into his pocket and they started their walk. They didn't speak, but listened to the occasional car drive by, the sound of birds chirping near by, and the soft whistling of the wind blowing around them. Bruce felt a sense of calm come over him, as if in this moment nothing would go around and nothing could touch him. He needed this time, and Alfred knew it. Alfred always knew.
Staring down at his feet as they passed a near a park, Bruce heard the sounds of a few teenage boys arguing. He looked up, curiously, to see two boys shoving each other and yelling words Bruce couldn't even understand. He stopped walking and Alfred slowed his pace as well, coming to a stop just paces ahead of Bruce. They looked on at the two boys and Bruce squinted to see them better. One was a dark brown haired kid and the other was a blond boy, both around fifteen if Bruce had to guess.
But it was when Bruce realized who the blond kid was that he stopped himself from starting to walk away. That was Jim Gordon's son, Jimmy. Now, Bruce usually kept to himself with these things, as boys tended to get into fights over stupid reasons and they learned a valuable life lessons from them. But there was something in the look of Jimmy's eyes that told Bruce this was more than just an argument over some girl or self pride. This was out of confusion and anger that was very misplaced.
“Perhaps, Master Wayne, you should split this up before it gets worse?” Alfred suggested as Bruce placed one foot onto the grass to go over there and do just that.
He took the steps in an even, forceful stride. The boys had started to throw punches at each other and Jimmy tackled the other kid to the ground, getting him in a choke hold around the neck with his arm, brining his free hand up, ready to the other boy in the face. Bruce stepped in front of the boys, and they both froze mid fight and looked up at Bruce with wide eyes. Jimmy was only mildly shocked and after a brief moment continued his path and brought his fist down.
But Bruce's hand was there before Jimmy's even had a chance to figure out what happened. His fist made contact with Bruce's palm, and the billionaire shook his head just before pulling Jimmy off the other boy. The brown haired kid got up off the ground and ran. Jimmy started to go after him but Bruce took a hold of his shoulder with a firm grip. Jimmy shrugged the hand off his shoulder and turned to glare at Bruce.
“Why did you stop me?” Jimmy asked angrily, folding his arms over his chest and furrowing his eyebrows. Bruce heaved a big sigh, sliding his hands into his pockets casually.
“I think the better question is why you were fighting to begin with?” Bruce responded, keeping a cool and calm facial expression, not to show much emotion otherwise. He wanted Jimmy to see that he wasn't taking anyone's side here.
“He made a comment about...” Jimmy drifted off and didn't finish, but the anger that was in his eyes was replaced with a great sadness and Bruce didn't need the kid to finish to know the answer. His mother.
“I don't think she would have wanted you to fight over something someone said about her,” Bruce explained. “It doesn't get you anywhere but in trouble. And once you start you can't stop and everything just keeps getting worse until you aren't even sure why you were fighting to begin with. Or how it even started.”
Jimmy's expression went blank and Bruce wondered if the kid even knew who he was. Most people in Gotham knew Bruce's background, but Jimmy wasn't even sixteen yet, he may or may not have known anything about Bruce.
“How do you know?” Jimmy asked after a moment of contemplating.
“I've been there. I never coped well with my parents' death and the only way I found to release all my feelings was to pick fights. But I found out in the long run it didn't help. And its not going to help you either.” Bruce placed a diligent hand on Jimmy's shoulder and bent down to his height. “Have you tried talking to your Dad about it?”
“No,” Jimmy replied quietly. He was looking down at his feet, ashamed and probably a bit embarrassed. He looked back up at Bruce. “I don't think he would really understand. He and Babs were so calm when everything happened to mom.” Ah, Bruce thought. Jimmy had had trouble coping but didn't want to show his feelings to his family because everyone else was taking things in good stride, and he hadn't.
“I think your Dad would understand more than you assume,” Bruce paused, standing back up. “He might have seemed collected on the outside, but he was stressed out than you would know.”
“How do you know?” Jimmy looked up at Bruce curiously. Bruce rubbed at the back of his neck and tried to think of an answer to give, because Bruce Wayne wouldn't have known that about Gordon. He didn't need to think long before Jim Gordon himself walked between the two, staring at Bruce in bewilderment.
Bruce looked back quickly to Alfred, who shrugged. Bruce turned back to Gordon who was questioning Jimmy on what had happened. Bruce didn't feel he was needed there, so he nodded his head at Jimmy and walked back to the concrete path to Alfred's side. They started to walk back towards the diner.
“I wonder if any of that got through to him.” Bruce said when they were far enough away from the park. Alfred smiled at him.
“I'm sure it did. He's seems a lot less stubborn than you were at that age.”
-----
Their walk home was quiet and Jimmy kept to himself, but he seemed a lot less closed up. When they arrived home Jimmy turned to Gordon and looked at him for a few moments and then did something very unexpected, especially of a teenage boy. Jimmy hugged him. It wasn't a a tight one, or something that Gordon would be able to return without the kid closing himself off again, but it was the most he'd gotten in months. Jimmy pulled back and looked his Dad over worriedly.
“I'm sorry, Dad,” Jimmy said and he went into the house without another word. Gordon stayed on the porch for a few more minutes, trying to figure out just what exactly had happened and why Jimmy was sorry.
His son hadn't given him an up front answer about the fight Wayne had pulled him away from, but he assumed it was over something stupid. And whatever Wayne had said to Jimmy definitely seemed to shine some perspective into the teen's life. He had asked Jimmy what Mister Wayne had said and the his son merely shook his head and told him it wasn't important. But it was important, because whatever it was helped Jimmy in some way, if even just a little.
This made Gordon curious about Wayne. First, did he know that Jimmy was Gordon's son? And if so, how? He'd never had personal conversations with Wayne and Gordon had always tried to keep his family out of the newspaper. Second, why was Wayne at the park in Gordon's neighborhood? That was a far cry from the Gotham Ritz. And third, if Wayne did know Jimmy was Gordon's son, why was he being so nice to the teen after everything Gordon had said to the billionaire just over a month ago?
It left Gordon feeling confused. He almost wanted to get in contact with Wayne and ask what he said to his son, but he really wasn't sure how welcome his questions and concerns would be. But, on the other hand he could just apologize and hope that Wayne took it, understanding that when Gordon's yelled at him he had just gone through a lot of stress and Wayne hadn't helped that day.
Gordon decided he'd give it a few days and see if Jimmy still seemed to be less closed off and if that were the case, he would find a way to get a hold of Wayne and ask what he had told Jimmy and if he'd be willing to talk to his son again; if in fact it had helped.
As much as he didn't like Wayne or the way he turned out, this was an odd turning point and made Gordon feel as though he was a it too quick to judge something he knew very little about.
----
Gordon had taken up at least one hobby, and that was gardening. Babs had suggested it, actually, and even found him some books at the library. He started with flowers and few vegetables, most of which wouldn't bloom or grow for quite some time, but it was a start. He had cleared a place in their back yard for it. When the days got too boring, he just went out there and tended to them and if that didn't need to be done, he just sat on the bench there and enjoyed the quiet of the moment.
There had been a lot of moments in the last month; quiet, lonely and almost desperate. And tonight was no different for Jim Gordon. Usually he took his needed moments out in the front, but he didn't feel like watching the vacant streets for another night. Instead, he sat our on the bench near the garden with nothing by the light from the back porch glowing down on him from behind. There wasn't much out here at night to look at, but it felt serene and calm. And this time for a few moments nothing felt as lonely.
“This is different,” came a familiar rasp from behind him. Gordon didn't even turn his head, there was no need to look. Gordon nodded.
“Keeps me sane at least. Grounded,” Gordon replied. What he wanted to say was that he was lonely, and this was all he had to keep him company while the kids were in school. But why would Batman care about that? He'd probably just note that it was Gordon's own fault for retiring.
Batman didn't speak, but Gordon knew he was still there, lurking behind him in the shadows cast by the lamp light. A few minutes past in an unreal silence before Gordon heard the soft crunch of gravel under boots and then Batman was sitting down next to him on the bench. Gordon looked at him out of the corner of his eye curiously. This was very uncharacteristic of the vigilante.
“I...” Batman started to say and he swiveled on the bench to look at Gordon. “I wanted to apologize. I should have never gotten angry with you for retiring. Your health is much more important to me than anything else. I let my emotions get the best of me and wasn't thinking clearly. I value your friendship Jim, and I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize it.”
Gordon blinked a few times, almost sure he was hallucinating. Batman never apologized, never admitted to being wrong. Gordon wasn't sure how to respond. He was grateful, though, that Batman had come by, he did miss their talks, even if they had been harsh and heartbreaking over the last nine months. That would change again soon, as well. As time passed things would change and their talks would become different. Especially now that Gordon was no longer connected to the GCPD. What would they find to talk about?
“Let's not worry about that,” Gordon said finally. “Let's just move forward.” He watched as Batman gave a nod and they fell back into a silence. It was odd to have the Kevlar and armor clad man sitting with him on a bench in his backyard. Surreal was more like it. But it wasn't that strange, it almost had a realism to it, like it was suppose to be that way and his heart knew it even if his head didn't.
“Things are falling apart, Jim. The city isn't afraid anymore. This new change in leadership with the commissioner is bringing the worst out of people. He doesn't listen.” Batman said, placing his hands on his knees, a sighing. Gordon was sure it was first time he'd ever seen the man show so much emotion in one sitting.
“I figured that would happen,” Gordon replied. “I warned him.” What else was there to say? Did Batman want Gordon to admit that he bored at home and that he wanted to go back? Or was that already perfectly obvious. It hadn't even been a little over a month.
“I can't build this city back up with out you,” Batman whispered roughly. He turned his head to look at Gordon, and in the light Gordon could see that the Bat didn't have dark eyes as he usually thought, but hazel ones. Why hadn't he ever noticed?
Gordon shrugged. “I am sorry, you know.” Gordon placed his hands palms down on the bench on either side of himself, looking away from Batman's steady gaze. Batman copied Gordon and placed his hands down on the bench as well, their finger tips just a few centimeters apart. Gordon looked down at their hands reflexively. He thought briefly of the moment when he woke in the hospital and Batman was at his side, like a lover lost and confused. How strange...
“I know,” Batman replied. “It's just one more obstacle.”
The walks usually ended with him wishing he was in his office at Major Crimes signing paperwork and listening to complaints. It would have been better than walking alone and letting his mind drift onto things he shouldn't even be thinking about. For example, the crime rate of the neighborhood, would he be able to defend himself if he were mugged, and why Batman hadn't been by in nearly three weeks. Well that one was simple, the Bat was mad at him for making a decision without talking it over with him first. There was no justifiable reason for Batman to be angry about that though, because in the end it would always be Gordon's decision since it was his life.
But he did understand Batman's annoyance. Gordon knew that realistically he had turned his back on everything he worked so hard for in life. Turned his back on Batman and shoved him out the window. There was no real reason for them to converse anymore, but Gordon still hoped that the Bat would get over it and least drop by now and then for a talk. God knows Gordon needed someone besides himself to talk to.
God, he was so lonely.
Maybe if he walked to the park he could find someone more appealing than his own thoughts to talk to. He glanced down at his watch; Babs would be out soon and Jimmy would be getting done at school in about an hour. The park was right next to the school, he could surprise Jimmy and walk home with him. Of course, that too might not blow over so well, but Gordon had decided just the other day that he needed to start taking charge of the boy and try to pry open his iron defenses.
----
On occasions Bruce would drop what he was doing and drag Alfred out of the work mode and they would go to lunch together. It was something he started doing a few years ago when he needed sometime to think, and Alfred was very good at helping Bruce sort out his problems – most of the time. So they sat at the diner of Alfred's choice, a small place in the vicinity of Jim Gordon's neighborhood. Bruce had never been to this particular place and as he looked outside, he thought of Gordon and then assumed that Alfred had picked this spot on purpose.
“When did you speak with him last?” Alfred asked through the thick silence between them. He was looking over the menu, and didn't even look up when Bruce's gaze went back to him. Alfred always knew just what it was that was bothering Bruce.
“Three weeks or so,” Bruce answered. He looked down at his own menu, suddenly deciding he wasn't that hungry after all. Alfred peeked out over his menu at Bruce.
“That's quite a long time. Any reason why you haven't been to see him?” Alfred placed down his menu and stared at Bruce with concern. It wasn't like Bruce to avoid people, in fact he usually went out of his way to resolve all conflicts. But this was different.
“It feels wrong. I should feel calm and at ease when I talk to him, but these days if I just think about him I feel so much regret and disappointment.” Bruce folded his hands on table, drawing in his eyebrows a bit as he tried to contemplate how else to explain to Alfred how hurt he really was by Gordon's actions.
“Well, sitting here brooding about it won't change the decision he made. I think if you just accept that he did what was best for himself for once, then you might be able to move forward and talk to him again,” Alfred explained, giving Bruce a very knowing look. Bruce chewed at the inside of his bottom lip nervously. Alfred was usually right, and Bruce had never been steered wrong before.
“I said some harsh things, Alfred. Do you think he would forgive that?” Bruce placed his head in his hands. Bruce was angry at the time, so very upset.
“Jim Gordon is a very reasonable man and if he ever considered you his friend, I'm sure he would be willing to let go of words said in the past.” Alfred smiled at Bruce, reaching over and patting his arm with reassurance. “And I do believe he said some awful things to you as well and you let them slide right off.”
“Yeah,” Bruce said as he thought about what he might say to Gordon that evening. Yes, Gordon had said some things to Bruce, but it wasn't to Batman. But either way, Bruce did just let it slide, he was used to people throwing insults at him that he'd learned to not to let it get to him. Small price to pay for leading two lives.
Bruce could do it, and he would. Why? Because it was Jim Gordon and he was more than just a partner to Bruce, he was his best friend. There was no need to ruin their friendship because of one decision. Bruce would still be there for Gordon when ever he needed Batman.
-----
Bruce and Alfred walked out of the diner and started towards the car. Alfred stopped and looked down the street and Bruce stepped back to see what he was looking at. All Bruce could see were houses and cars and a lot of pavement. Alfred glanced over at Bruce and smiled at him with one of those content little grins he was known for.
“Fresh air sounds nice after a filling meal. How about we go for a walk?” the older gentleman suggested. Bruce hesitated as brought his keys out of his pocket. It was staring to feel like spring and it wasn't too hot and it was too cold; the weather was just right and it had been years since Bruce just took a few moments out of his life to enjoy the littler things around him.
Sometime to not be the facade and just be himself with the last of what family he had left.
“Okay,” Bruce replied. He pushed the keys deep into his pocket and they started their walk. They didn't speak, but listened to the occasional car drive by, the sound of birds chirping near by, and the soft whistling of the wind blowing around them. Bruce felt a sense of calm come over him, as if in this moment nothing would go around and nothing could touch him. He needed this time, and Alfred knew it. Alfred always knew.
Staring down at his feet as they passed a near a park, Bruce heard the sounds of a few teenage boys arguing. He looked up, curiously, to see two boys shoving each other and yelling words Bruce couldn't even understand. He stopped walking and Alfred slowed his pace as well, coming to a stop just paces ahead of Bruce. They looked on at the two boys and Bruce squinted to see them better. One was a dark brown haired kid and the other was a blond boy, both around fifteen if Bruce had to guess.
But it was when Bruce realized who the blond kid was that he stopped himself from starting to walk away. That was Jim Gordon's son, Jimmy. Now, Bruce usually kept to himself with these things, as boys tended to get into fights over stupid reasons and they learned a valuable life lessons from them. But there was something in the look of Jimmy's eyes that told Bruce this was more than just an argument over some girl or self pride. This was out of confusion and anger that was very misplaced.
“Perhaps, Master Wayne, you should split this up before it gets worse?” Alfred suggested as Bruce placed one foot onto the grass to go over there and do just that.
He took the steps in an even, forceful stride. The boys had started to throw punches at each other and Jimmy tackled the other kid to the ground, getting him in a choke hold around the neck with his arm, brining his free hand up, ready to the other boy in the face. Bruce stepped in front of the boys, and they both froze mid fight and looked up at Bruce with wide eyes. Jimmy was only mildly shocked and after a brief moment continued his path and brought his fist down.
But Bruce's hand was there before Jimmy's even had a chance to figure out what happened. His fist made contact with Bruce's palm, and the billionaire shook his head just before pulling Jimmy off the other boy. The brown haired kid got up off the ground and ran. Jimmy started to go after him but Bruce took a hold of his shoulder with a firm grip. Jimmy shrugged the hand off his shoulder and turned to glare at Bruce.
“Why did you stop me?” Jimmy asked angrily, folding his arms over his chest and furrowing his eyebrows. Bruce heaved a big sigh, sliding his hands into his pockets casually.
“I think the better question is why you were fighting to begin with?” Bruce responded, keeping a cool and calm facial expression, not to show much emotion otherwise. He wanted Jimmy to see that he wasn't taking anyone's side here.
“He made a comment about...” Jimmy drifted off and didn't finish, but the anger that was in his eyes was replaced with a great sadness and Bruce didn't need the kid to finish to know the answer. His mother.
“I don't think she would have wanted you to fight over something someone said about her,” Bruce explained. “It doesn't get you anywhere but in trouble. And once you start you can't stop and everything just keeps getting worse until you aren't even sure why you were fighting to begin with. Or how it even started.”
Jimmy's expression went blank and Bruce wondered if the kid even knew who he was. Most people in Gotham knew Bruce's background, but Jimmy wasn't even sixteen yet, he may or may not have known anything about Bruce.
“How do you know?” Jimmy asked after a moment of contemplating.
“I've been there. I never coped well with my parents' death and the only way I found to release all my feelings was to pick fights. But I found out in the long run it didn't help. And its not going to help you either.” Bruce placed a diligent hand on Jimmy's shoulder and bent down to his height. “Have you tried talking to your Dad about it?”
“No,” Jimmy replied quietly. He was looking down at his feet, ashamed and probably a bit embarrassed. He looked back up at Bruce. “I don't think he would really understand. He and Babs were so calm when everything happened to mom.” Ah, Bruce thought. Jimmy had had trouble coping but didn't want to show his feelings to his family because everyone else was taking things in good stride, and he hadn't.
“I think your Dad would understand more than you assume,” Bruce paused, standing back up. “He might have seemed collected on the outside, but he was stressed out than you would know.”
“How do you know?” Jimmy looked up at Bruce curiously. Bruce rubbed at the back of his neck and tried to think of an answer to give, because Bruce Wayne wouldn't have known that about Gordon. He didn't need to think long before Jim Gordon himself walked between the two, staring at Bruce in bewilderment.
Bruce looked back quickly to Alfred, who shrugged. Bruce turned back to Gordon who was questioning Jimmy on what had happened. Bruce didn't feel he was needed there, so he nodded his head at Jimmy and walked back to the concrete path to Alfred's side. They started to walk back towards the diner.
“I wonder if any of that got through to him.” Bruce said when they were far enough away from the park. Alfred smiled at him.
“I'm sure it did. He's seems a lot less stubborn than you were at that age.”
-----
Their walk home was quiet and Jimmy kept to himself, but he seemed a lot less closed up. When they arrived home Jimmy turned to Gordon and looked at him for a few moments and then did something very unexpected, especially of a teenage boy. Jimmy hugged him. It wasn't a a tight one, or something that Gordon would be able to return without the kid closing himself off again, but it was the most he'd gotten in months. Jimmy pulled back and looked his Dad over worriedly.
“I'm sorry, Dad,” Jimmy said and he went into the house without another word. Gordon stayed on the porch for a few more minutes, trying to figure out just what exactly had happened and why Jimmy was sorry.
His son hadn't given him an up front answer about the fight Wayne had pulled him away from, but he assumed it was over something stupid. And whatever Wayne had said to Jimmy definitely seemed to shine some perspective into the teen's life. He had asked Jimmy what Mister Wayne had said and the his son merely shook his head and told him it wasn't important. But it was important, because whatever it was helped Jimmy in some way, if even just a little.
This made Gordon curious about Wayne. First, did he know that Jimmy was Gordon's son? And if so, how? He'd never had personal conversations with Wayne and Gordon had always tried to keep his family out of the newspaper. Second, why was Wayne at the park in Gordon's neighborhood? That was a far cry from the Gotham Ritz. And third, if Wayne did know Jimmy was Gordon's son, why was he being so nice to the teen after everything Gordon had said to the billionaire just over a month ago?
It left Gordon feeling confused. He almost wanted to get in contact with Wayne and ask what he said to his son, but he really wasn't sure how welcome his questions and concerns would be. But, on the other hand he could just apologize and hope that Wayne took it, understanding that when Gordon's yelled at him he had just gone through a lot of stress and Wayne hadn't helped that day.
Gordon decided he'd give it a few days and see if Jimmy still seemed to be less closed off and if that were the case, he would find a way to get a hold of Wayne and ask what he had told Jimmy and if he'd be willing to talk to his son again; if in fact it had helped.
As much as he didn't like Wayne or the way he turned out, this was an odd turning point and made Gordon feel as though he was a it too quick to judge something he knew very little about.
----
Gordon had taken up at least one hobby, and that was gardening. Babs had suggested it, actually, and even found him some books at the library. He started with flowers and few vegetables, most of which wouldn't bloom or grow for quite some time, but it was a start. He had cleared a place in their back yard for it. When the days got too boring, he just went out there and tended to them and if that didn't need to be done, he just sat on the bench there and enjoyed the quiet of the moment.
There had been a lot of moments in the last month; quiet, lonely and almost desperate. And tonight was no different for Jim Gordon. Usually he took his needed moments out in the front, but he didn't feel like watching the vacant streets for another night. Instead, he sat our on the bench near the garden with nothing by the light from the back porch glowing down on him from behind. There wasn't much out here at night to look at, but it felt serene and calm. And this time for a few moments nothing felt as lonely.
“This is different,” came a familiar rasp from behind him. Gordon didn't even turn his head, there was no need to look. Gordon nodded.
“Keeps me sane at least. Grounded,” Gordon replied. What he wanted to say was that he was lonely, and this was all he had to keep him company while the kids were in school. But why would Batman care about that? He'd probably just note that it was Gordon's own fault for retiring.
Batman didn't speak, but Gordon knew he was still there, lurking behind him in the shadows cast by the lamp light. A few minutes past in an unreal silence before Gordon heard the soft crunch of gravel under boots and then Batman was sitting down next to him on the bench. Gordon looked at him out of the corner of his eye curiously. This was very uncharacteristic of the vigilante.
“I...” Batman started to say and he swiveled on the bench to look at Gordon. “I wanted to apologize. I should have never gotten angry with you for retiring. Your health is much more important to me than anything else. I let my emotions get the best of me and wasn't thinking clearly. I value your friendship Jim, and I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize it.”
Gordon blinked a few times, almost sure he was hallucinating. Batman never apologized, never admitted to being wrong. Gordon wasn't sure how to respond. He was grateful, though, that Batman had come by, he did miss their talks, even if they had been harsh and heartbreaking over the last nine months. That would change again soon, as well. As time passed things would change and their talks would become different. Especially now that Gordon was no longer connected to the GCPD. What would they find to talk about?
“Let's not worry about that,” Gordon said finally. “Let's just move forward.” He watched as Batman gave a nod and they fell back into a silence. It was odd to have the Kevlar and armor clad man sitting with him on a bench in his backyard. Surreal was more like it. But it wasn't that strange, it almost had a realism to it, like it was suppose to be that way and his heart knew it even if his head didn't.
“Things are falling apart, Jim. The city isn't afraid anymore. This new change in leadership with the commissioner is bringing the worst out of people. He doesn't listen.” Batman said, placing his hands on his knees, a sighing. Gordon was sure it was first time he'd ever seen the man show so much emotion in one sitting.
“I figured that would happen,” Gordon replied. “I warned him.” What else was there to say? Did Batman want Gordon to admit that he bored at home and that he wanted to go back? Or was that already perfectly obvious. It hadn't even been a little over a month.
“I can't build this city back up with out you,” Batman whispered roughly. He turned his head to look at Gordon, and in the light Gordon could see that the Bat didn't have dark eyes as he usually thought, but hazel ones. Why hadn't he ever noticed?
Gordon shrugged. “I am sorry, you know.” Gordon placed his hands palms down on the bench on either side of himself, looking away from Batman's steady gaze. Batman copied Gordon and placed his hands down on the bench as well, their finger tips just a few centimeters apart. Gordon looked down at their hands reflexively. He thought briefly of the moment when he woke in the hospital and Batman was at his side, like a lover lost and confused. How strange...
“I know,” Batman replied. “It's just one more obstacle.”