Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Seventeen: Spirit of the Goat ~

Tensions ran high inside the apartment as Jim and Barbara continued giving each other the silent treatment. Although they tried to act like nothing was wrong in front of Holly, after the threat of a custody battle, she kept eyeing them like she was waiting for confirmation that it was just an empty threat. And once this rough patch was over, they could go back to being the happy family they used to be before Gotham threw them into this endless loop of crime and secrets.

Holly sat on her bed, finishing up the last of her algebra homework, humming to herself as she kept writing the same set of equations over and over again until it was burned into her brain. Math had never been her strongest subject, but it was one she was determined to get through with a passing grade. A knock on her door made her look up, watching as it cracked open to reveal it was her dad. "Hey Hols, can I come in?" He asked. "Yeah, it's fine," She nodded. Jim stepped in the rest of the way and sat at the edge of her bed. Holly set her pencil down, and it was just awkward silence between them.

"Did you need to talk to me about something?" Holly finally asked. "I just wanted to make sure everything was going okay with school. Is it?" He questioned. "Pretty much the same as public school, except for the uniforms and horseback trail. But I did make a new friend," Holly answered, leaving out most of the details. "Good, is it a girl friend or a..." Holly knew exactly where this conversation was heading. She had been through it several times before, and the response was always the same no matter how old she got. "No, boys have cooties!" She chuckled. "But in all seriousness, it's a girl. Her name's Cara,"

While Jim was skeptical about his daughter attending Anders Prep, he couldn't deny the fact that Holly could handle herself. At least, he hoped so. While they did their best to continue building that father-daughter relationship, Jim still felt so distant from her, like he barely knew her. He tried to be there whenever he could, but the second he had a moment to be with his family, something else came up. Holly noticed her father's prolonged silence and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "I owe you an apology," He sighed. "For what?" Holly questioned.

"For being such an absent parent. I know I haven't been around much lately, and it's not fair to you for me to put this job above you. And I'm sorry you're caught up in this fight with me and your mom," He slowly looked up at her, the guilt and shame clear on his face. "Dad, it's okay. I know your job can be quite demanding," Holly assured. "My job should never come before my family. I don't want you to think for one second that I'm ignoring you or don't want to spend time with you. Because I do, you're my little girl. I want to make sure you're happy and safe," Jim sighed.

Holly scooted closer and hugged him tightly, telling him everything was okay between them. "All I ask is that you and Mom try and work it out. I don't want to lose either of you," Holly pleaded. Jim could see the panic in her eyes, and it broke his heart to see her hurting. "I'll talk to your mother while you're at school, I promise," He spoke. Holly nodded, a faint smile appearing on her lips as she hugged him again. Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, Jim wished her a good night's sleep and left the room.

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"Jim, I'm not going to apologize for my past," Barbara spoke calmly. Keeping his promise to Holly, Jim and Barbara waited until their daughter left for school and talked about their relationship going forward. "I'm not asking you to. You're not listening," Jim responded. "No, you're not listening. I'm not asking you to walk away from this," Barbara countered. "Really? Because it sounds like you are. We keep going around and around, and I keep telling you that I don't have a choice!" Jim sighed, resting against one of the windows that looked out into the city. "Barbara, this city... The law and the crime here, they're all twisted up at each other like a maze. I came here to be a cop, but this city needs something else,"