Paralyzer [Gotham]

7

For a while, I felt terrible. Not for what I'd done, but for the fact that had Victor had stayed on Mario's sercurity detail, he might've lived longer than his wedding day. Perhaps we wouldn't be gathered around his grave. I watched Victor follow Falcone's gaze, looking up myself in time to watch a man on the nearby hill walk away. He'd clearly been looking down on the funeral, but whoever he was, he wasn't welcome.

Shortly after the service ended and Victor led me away with a hand on the small of my back, he took me to my car and told me to wait, speaking to Falcone a small distance away a moment before joining me. "Everything okay?" I wondered softly.

"Yeah," he breathed, running a thumb over my cheek. The clear lie of the statement and the coldness of his leather gloves sent shivers down my spine. Despite our activities, I hadn't seen him naked, still clueless to just how many scars rested on his skin, leaving sheer curiosity about the situation at hand and Victor as a whole in the shivers' wake. "Let's get you home."

With a nod, I climbed behind the wheel of my car, waiting for Victor to get in before pulling away from Gotham Cemetary. When I reached the house, he stayed relaxed in his place, causing my curiosity to rise again. "You aren't coming with me?"

"Don Falcone needs me to take care of some things." My eyes widened, taking a moment to process his words.

"Don? He's coming back out of retirement?" Zsasz shrugged, not seeming entirely sure of the answer himself.

"Not sure yet, but he'll always be don to me." I nodded, handing him my keys and taking a deep breath.

"Don't screw up my car, I'd like to be able to drive it when you bring it back," I chuckled, finding a smirk on his lips.

"You got it." He leaned over the center console and ghosted his lips over my temple, nodding to the door when he pulled back. "Come on." I nodded as warmth flodded my face, popping open the door and giving him a soft smile.

"Stay safe." He didn't respond, simply watching as I climbed out of the car. I swore I felt the weight of his eyes on me until I entered the building, and by the time I looked out the window overlooking the front entrace, he was gone. Unlocking Andrew's door, I switched out his nutrient drip and sat beside him, realizing it had been a while since I'd talked to him.

"I miss you," I started, not having had a proper converstation with him in almost two years now. "If you were here, you'd definately have something to say about my taste in men." I chuckled to myself and shook my head. "Honestly, I'm not so sure about him myself, but despite everything, he's kind. At least to me...sometimes." I sighed and ran a hand over my face, my eyes running up and down his unconcious body. "I could really use your advice."

I took a deep breath and stood, running a hand over his cheek before turning to the minifridge. I debated it a moment, walking over and grabbing the unlabeled vial of blood Mario had given me last week. I turned it over in my hand several times as I walked to the sink, carefully popping the lid and pouring it down the drain. There was no reason to keep it, as Mario had died and could no longer take it back from me. I gave a short huff when I felt something cold run down my fingers, turning on the sink and washing away the spilled blood.

There was a gentle tingle that started in my fingertips and spread up my arm, causing a shiver to run through me as the tingles swelled in my chest. Shortly after they had started, the tingles stopped, allowing me to finish cleaning up and toss the vial.

[]

I'd taken a patient at my house, easily tending to them and sending them through the door not long after they'd arrived. As I was showing them out, a man I hadn't seen in years stood ready to knock. He stepped aside to let my patient out, the both of us just taking a moment to stare. "Hi, Dad," I slowly started. "It's been a while."

"I had heard about Andrew," he sighed, remorse shining through his expression. He'd made sure we were taken care of, but after Mom found out about Martha, she didn't want him in our lives and he respected it. His other children were his priorities, he wasn't going to fight for two more. I stepped back and let him in, grabbing my keys after I shut the front door and unlocking the door to Andrew's room.

I let Dad in, watched as he slowly approached his vegetable of a son. I'd have to shave his face soon, maybe even give him a hair cut. "What happened to him?"

"I never got the story," I sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "About three years ago, he came to me with a gunshot wound. He's been in a coma since. I lost my medical license trying to keep him alive." Dad turned back to me in shock, looking me over a moment before taking a seat beside Andrew. "You weren't even at Martha's funeral."

He fumbled a minute, frowning as he struggled to find an explaination. "I won't make any excuses. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed me." I sighed and shook my head, turning my gaze to Andrew.

"It's a little late for apologies. All we have left to do is wait." He held a hand to Andrew's forehead before turning and following me into the livingroom, taking in the space.

"You've done well for yourself, Lucian," he observed. "I'm glad I was able to put you through school." Yeah, like it did you much. I turned my head away from my father, trying to decifer where the whisper had come from. It was so faint I could barely make it out, it hadn't been the first one I'd heard either.

"Working for the mob has it's perks," I shrugged, slowly turning back to face him. His eyes were wide, but he knew he was in no place to question my choices. Besides the fact that I was a grown woman, he hadn't been involved in my life in nearly twenty years. "It's Gotham, Dad. I had to keep practicing somehow."

"Are you safe, at least? Do you know that your life won't be thrown into jeopardy because of the people you work for?" Honestly, I couldn't guarentee it. There was nothing stable about our criminal underworld, at least not since Falcone stepped down. But then I remembered how safe I felt around Zsasz - that despite what he'd have everyone believe, he had only good intentions for me and he would protect me from anything that came my way.

"Yes, Dad. I'm perfectly capable of surviving this. Even if I need help along the way." He took me by surprise when he hugged me, slowly returning it. "Thank you for checking in on me," I whispered, holding him a bit tighter.

"Of course, Lucian." He pulled back and ran his hand over the side of my head, offering a small smile as his eyes ran over my face. "Don't stop making me proud." I couldn't find anything to say to him as he walked to the door, letting him leave once again without a second thought.