DA Meadow: The Hellbent and the Broken (Jason Todd) BOOK 2

Seventy Three: The Other Option

Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, Cass and Damian must have all experienced this at least once.

The look of disappointment in his eyes is almost as gut wrenching as his attacks. I glance away when we meet eyes, clenching my fists at the strangeness of it all. 

I never thought Bruce and I would have to pretend to like each other.

We shake hands.

He is still disappointed.

I plaster a smile on my face and so does he as we take a seat with Jim in-between us. This will do for putting on a show. The mayor steps up to the podium and the waiting crowd, full of civilians and journalists, begin listening.

I catch every second word but for the most part I sit plain faced and as still as possible. The same words are swirling in my head like they might do a child's. Particularly a child doused in yellow, red and green.

Batman is disappointed in me. 

It hurts. Already feeling sick from pregnancy symptoms makes it so much worse.

Does this mean he will not want to see his grandchild very often? I hoped at least that they might want a night with him or her every week, but perhaps not.

I wonder how much he is on Jason's side? Have they talked much since then? Jason did tell me all that time ago that he rarely spoke to Bruce. I know I helped in that situation.

Kalie said Jason didn't look well. Does that mean no one is helping him? And where is Roy?

I hear myself get introduced and suddenly everyone is clapping. I quickly get to my feet with a fresh smile, waving elegantly as I take the podium. The cheers for the mayor, for everyone really, do not compare to the excited roar of the cheers for me. They love me more than the others by a land slide.

"Why hello," I begin when they quieten, only for those simple words to create even more screams. It used to be endearing, but now it is frightening.

Imagine the hate should I ever turn my back on this job.

"I think our wonderful mayor covered most of it, but I just want to re-iterate how we in particular at the District Attorney's office are so grateful for this city wide report. Over the last few years the approval rating of the work your leaders are doing has slowly risen, but to get such a jump this year as a result of all of our hard work, from the Wayne Foundation to the GCPD to my Attorneys and I, is such an honour. My number one goal when I came into this job was always to look out for the people with no voice, and to take the voice from those who have been screaming louder than anyone for their own undeserved gain. To have it acknowledged that I have achieved that is just another reminder that I owe it to this city to continue to fight for you. Because it is within my capability to defend you against the injustice that still plagues Gotham. Your strength is our strength. Your hope is our hope. Your vote in this poll has told us what we need to improve and what is actually working. We're doing it together and that's a bigger step than any we have taken this year as a city. So I'd like to thank you for your contribution, because it makes all the difference when we're one."

My team wrote it. I didn't have the time. I was dry heaving in my office to avoid morning sickness. The motivation wasn't there because these polls happen every year. Gotham takes a survey on the city's view of how their leaders are doing to improve the city. It's always improving and I have basically said the same thing every year.

The applause when I return to my seat is just as roaring as when I left it. When Jim goes up he opens with a joke about how he is supposed to follow such a speech. It wasn't even in the words, but the delivery.