Paralyzer [Gotham]

18

Zsasz had his men clear my apartment before he went over there himself, dragging Andromeda and I along only after I gave him no other choice. I kept her wrapped up in my sweater, her chubby little fingers grabbing at my hair as we walked up the annoying amount of stairs. As a precaution, he entered first, giving the place a general once over before nodding me inside.

The place itself was a mess. Looters had torn it apart looking for anything they could find, some squatters had passed through judging by the slept-in looks of the two beds. It was only a gurgle that Andromeda made that broke me out of surveying the place, and it didn't even last long.

Andrew's room was in a debatably worse state than my own room, a quick look around told me that the teeny urn and the table it had once perched on in the corner was gone. Who the hell takes someone's ashes? How messed up would you need to be? But my question answered myself. Gotham, to it's very core, was corrupt - every single rung on the ladder was rotten. The ones left in this town had little, if any, good to pass around, it was evident here.

Many people knew this was my makeshift doctor's office, so on top of knowing what I had here, they had to know who I was and what I'd done for the people of this community - before the cure made me stop, that is. Victor cleared out the space in front of the couch before coming to stand with me. Since he'd gotten ahold of me again he treated me like some porcelain doll, treating me gently as if the pregnancy horomones would make me break. "Why don't you play with her on the floor for a while I get this place cleaned up?" he suggested with a slight frown.

He probably would've liked to take care of this own his own before he brought Andromeda and I here, but I honestly didn't feel as safe without him around. As much as they crept me out, the assassins under Barbara's control provided a constant feel of security, that even if you didn't know they were there you wouldn't be able to shake. All the same I listened, laying out a blanket on the floor and letting her chubbiness hold my attention.

To be fair, a baby was a great distraction. Between the awe, the feeling like I should cry because I created this thing, and the constant needs that came with this bundle of joy, I had my hands full mostly just entertaining her. Every now and again the house would be quiet, and I knew Victor stopped whatever he'd been cleaning or moving to simply watch. I knew it without having to look, because I did the same thing.

Andromeda made him a completely different person, even from the differences in closed quarters and his work behaviors, this was even more out of his character. I think he noticed it, too, because he hasn't spoken her name all morning. When I'd gotten her to sleep God only knows how long later, I set her up on the couch and propped her up with blankets to assure she wouldn't go rolling off the side.

For a while he had finished been cleaning, just sitting on the edge of Andrew's empty bed and staring at the empty table our first had rested on. The rest of the house was clean and, yes, somethings were missing, but I honestly didn't execpt the urn to be one of them. "I could feel you brooding in here from the livingroom," I softly chuckled, sitting behind him and curling into his back. "You doing okay?"

Victor scoffed and took hold of my hands, locking my arms under his as he ran his fingers subconsiously over mine. "This city's just one disgusting turn after another, you know that?" he asked quietly, turning his head to look at me. I met his gaze as I laid my head on my shoulder and nodded.

"It truly is," I agreed. "All things aside, it's our home." He sighed and leaned back into my chest, allowing me to rest my face in the crook of his neck.

"Bubby's farm could be our home. She already started putting animals in that empty old barn. The kid'll have a blast." I chuckled and shook my head, taking a moment to enjoy being here, in this moment.

"Not until she's older, at least. Until then, I have no problem taking some time to visit." I pulled back and looked him over with a dazed smile. "She's got your eyes, you know." He took a deep breath as he nodded, turning towards me a bit to catch my lips.

"I gotta get some air, I have one of my guys just outside the front door. You need me, talk to him." I nodded and held him there a second, unable to help the small curl to my lips that came after seeing the mild irritation on his face.

"You sure you're doing alright?" I checked, letting the concern shine through but keeping my smile. His eyes closed and he pressed his forehead to mine.

"Yeah, the kid just makes me...really happy, and I can't quite process all that right now," he sighed. "I just need the air." I nodded and scanned over his face, finding nothing terribly out of place but at the same time reducing none of my concern.

[]

I had Andy in the same spot she'd been in when she fell asleep, amusing her with toys and bringing back to life parts of myself that I thought I'd lost with just the sound of her laugh. I perked up at the jangle of keys, the door opening wide shortly before Zsasz pushed someone with a bag on their head through the door. "Have you completely lost your mind?" I hissed, moving to block Andromeda's view of the two.

And with a shit-eating grin, Victor simply stated, "Look who I found running around." The person struggled a bit more as he ripped off the bag, breaking Victor's hold as the man stumbled a step forward.

"Christ on a cracker," I breathed, green eyes locking with mine. "Andrew." I quickly shot up from the couch, disregarding the grunge of his clothes altogther as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Hey, little sister," he mumbled, confusion strong in his voice. "Who the hell's the muscle?" I chuckled as I pulled back, meeting Victor's gaze a moment to give him silent thanks as I studied my brother.

"A lot has happened since you got shot. Let's get you a shower and then we'll talk." I almost forgot until one of her undistinguishable babbles filled the room and caught his attention, but he stepped forward and examined the infant kicking her feet and knawing on her hand over the back of the couch. "That's the newest member of the Cane family. Your niece, Andromeda; I call her Andy."