Insanity // J.Valeska

Part Four: The Beginning of the End

Jim and Barbara broke up. Jim moved out. Jim and Lee started going out. Barbara went a little crazy. Lee was nice. Jim was tense. Stephanie was at her grandparents'. They were upset. So was she. But more important to her, and seemingly irrelevant to Jim, she was alone. Again.

******

"The answer is hell to the fucking no, Jiminy Cricket. Buy your own pity points, and keep me out of it."

Jim groaned at his niece; she was as stubborn and vile-mouthed as her mother - the sister that he found himself missing sometimes. Steph luckily inherited many of her father's more likeable personality traits, however her hot headed temper was directly from her mother.

It was a simple request, to which her grandparents' happily agreed to. All he wanted was to being his niece to a circus while it was still in town; was that really asking for too much?

"Alright, kiddo, I know you're angry about my breakup with Barbara, but I want to spend time with you. So I'll pick you up at seven?" Jim tried again.

Stephanie merely huffed angrily into her cellphone; "I am many things Uncle Jim, many many things. But one thing that I refuse to be is a reason so that you can get a girl to like you. Got it?"

"Lee is a lovely person, which you would know if you got to know her!"

"I don't fucking care if she's found the goddamned cure for cancer or rescues puppies and kittens! I'm not some little girl that you can flaunt around whenever it appeals to your schedule. Believe it or not, but my dad actually enjoyed spending time with me... whenever he did spend time with me, that is. Never once did he use me or flaunt me around like a princess! So fuck you, James!" By that point, against her will, angry tears began to slip down Steph's flushed cheeks as she slid to the floor.

Jim exhaled slowly; so that was what this was about. "Listen, kid, I know this is hard on you. Believe me, I do. Remember Bruce Wayne? He lost his parents recently too. I know there's an age gap, but how about I take you over there tomorrow, huh?"

Steph contemplated his offer - it seemed genuine. But meeting someone who was in her exact place meant accepting that her parents were never coming back. Which was easier said than done.

"I'll think about it," she whispered into the speaker.

Jim smiled softly, at least he was finally getting somewhere with her. Babs had always handled her a lot better than he could. Hell, he couldn't even get her to tell him about her parent's - his sister's -murder in detail. But it was a start.

Steph fidgeted uncomfortably on the kitchen floor of her grandparents house, "so I'll see you tonight?"

Jim finally grinned, "count on it, kid. I'm telling you, tonight is going to change everything."

******

Stephanie Harlem stood uncomfortably beside her uncle, bundled up and awkwardly waiting for her uncle's date to show up. Steph had no doubt in her mind that Dr. Leslie Tompkins was anything but nice, she just wished she would have met the lady on her own circumstances.

At long last, the ebony haired beauty arrived, her lively face alight with a smile. It was clear the doctor only had eyes for Jim, and it was him that she made her hasty, albeit still charming excuse for her tardiness.

Considering that she was still unnoticed by Dr. Tompkins, and how Jim appeared quite enthralled with the dark-haired woman, Steph took her time scanning her surroundings: Haly's Circus.

The dark gloomy sky of Gotham City was illuminated by the clownish lights the decorated much of the grounds. Much of the circus was scattered with tents of varying sizes and colours. However, the main attraction for tonight was the main circus tent, and it truly was lit up from top to bottom, so it shone in all it's cheesy glory.