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chapter twenty-six ━ oh, so you want to bond now?

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❝ mother-daughter bonding time! ❞

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NIGHTMARES WERE NOTHING but a recurring occurrence for her. Now that she was back to sleeping alone, they plagued her, laughed in her face, taunted her with the dreadful memories she constantly shoved out of her mind to at least get through the day. In the short amount of time Jerome was around, she slept next to him and managed to rest peacefully without disturbance. He was gone so she was left vulnerable. Barbara was usually the one to fight back against the monsters but she was gone too. Selina's presence as comforting yet not enough to help her much. So, she was left alone during the night, realizing that she hardly got any sleep at all. Perhaps she had insomnia; she honestly would not be surprised if she had developed that wonderful disorder. But if she did fall asleep, it did not last for long.

Oswald had busied himself to creating a plan for Galavan, researching in any way he could. Skylar decided to let him do his thing since she was exhausted from lack of sleep, keeping to herself which meant she would stay in her bedroom, messing around with that knife of hers and would train lightly, though she always fell asleep on the ground or another inconvenient place from pushing herself too hard.

There was a cook that made the meals every day for Oswald. Well. 'Was' being the keyword. Oswald had high-tailed it since Galavan was after him, leaving Skylar to crash with Selina again. Now all she did was lay in bed and do nothing while her best friend went on errands for most of the day. Cat was worried for her because all the female Valeska did all day was stay in bed like she was sick, even though that wasn't the case at all. She assumed that she was still grieving over Bridgit and Jerome both. That was partially true. Still, Selina had left every day to go steal and get them food.

That one morning was no different. Skylar was curled under the blankets they had, her head buried underneath the pillows, eyes shut as she breathed evenly. Sleep would not take her in, leaving her stranded. A frustrated sigh left her mouth as she gripped one of the pillows and moved to lay her head on top of it like a normal person, glaring up at the ceiling. Her phone, that was still being paid for by Jim ironically, started to ring, causing her to let out another irritated sound.

She reached over the bed while muttering a string of curse words, her eyes shut now, grasping the piece of technology and managed to hit the answer button with her eyes closed, pressing the phone to her ear. "Oswald, I swear, when I see your peaky-nosed ass again I'm going to kick it. You can't just leave-"

"Oswald? Oh honey, what trouble have you gotten into?"

Barbara. Skylar froze up, sitting up as her eyes opened, mentally throwing her knife at an imaginary person. She ignored her mother's concern over the fact that she was buddy-buddy with Oswald now, deciding to take a stab. "Surprised you still remember me." A sigh. "Thought that you were too deep in Galavan land to notice that I was still hanging around. I'm shocked."

"Honey, I know that I've been out of line and distant. . .and a bad mom. I did let myself get carried away, but I'm going to fix the mistakes I made if you allow me to." Skylar did object because, despite the fact that she was furious and hurt by her sudden abandonment, she still loved her mom, held the special connection they had close to her heart. "What do you think about causing some mayhem with Jim and his new girl? Hm? Consider this mother-daughter bonding time."

She had to admit, the temptation was sweet, hard to resist. There was a pause as she thought it over in her head, her legs stretched out in front of her. What did she have to lose? She lost pretty much everything besides Selina, so really, there was no harm in creating some havoc with her. "I have nothing better to do, so count me in. Where do you want to meet?"

Barbara's smile could practically be heard on the other line. "GCPD, be there in twenty minutes. And be safe on the way there, honey."

"Yeah, whatever." She hung up on her, tossing her phone onto the bed and stood up, pushing her messy hair back. There was a mirror against one of the walls, a new stolen item. When she passed by it, she glanced over to look at her reflection, seeing a girl with disheveled brown hair, dark circles under her eyes, no smile, and a permeant look of undeniable pain lingering on her expression. She could not stand to look for any longer, turning the opposite way and grabbed some clothing.

It was nothing fancy, just a plain black long-sleeve t-shirt, black leather jacket, black leather jeans, and her boots, stuffing her knife inside of it. Wearing black made her blend in with crowds and the night sky that was undeniably beautiful to her. While staying with Oswald she would wander the halls in her tank top and long pants, making sure she stayed quiet as she roamed, her eyes attached to the windows that reflected the stars and the moon that would stare back at her with its curved grin.

The streets were busy but she was used to navigating them by now that she slipped through the lines of people, taking the shortcuts to the GCPD. She wondered what Barbara could possibly have in mind. Hopefully, it had something to do with Lee, because messing around with the woman she was supposed to call her new mom would bring absolute joy to her usual downturned expression. Or perhaps they were just going to kidnap Jim and cause some light chaos, then call it a day. That would be utterly boring. So, she prayed for a mix of both.

She arrived before the blonde did, hanging out in the alleyway nearby, her back pressed against the wall, her left foot pressed against the bricks at an angle. The very material dug through her clothes and yet she remained unbothered. Her hood was up to keep bypassing people from seeing who she was. Right now she did not feel like dealing with the judgemental stares.

After ten more minutes passed, the sound of heels clicking against pavement entered her ears. She did not glance to the side, knowing who it was straight away from the vibe she got. Her head was turned away as her mom approached her, stopping a good distance away which she noted, noticing the action instantly. Perhaps she did still care about her. Perhaps there was a chance they could be mother and daughter again. Perhaps.

"You ready?" Barbara asked softly, the sound of her voice making Skylar flinch a little, remembering how gentle her mom always was towards her. There was a sigh, seeing as she refused to turn her head or acknowledge that the blonde was even there to begin with. "Honey-"

"Let's get going." Without another word, she pushed herself off the wall and walked towards the one end of the alleyway, turning the corner, not waiting for Barbara to follow because she knew she would. She casually entered the police department, heads moving to face her direction, shocked stares going around. She even heard someone mutter 'ah hell' which made a smirk appear on her face, a tiny laugh spilling out.

Barbara came to stand beside her, giving Skylar the chance to finally see the casual maroon jacket she was wearing, not a weapon in sight. She held up her hands the second Jim started coming towards them, another officer shouting, "Put your hands where I can see them!" followed by almost everyone in the room drawing their guns, pointing the weaponry at them.

"Stand down!" Jim shouted to them, not wanting them to fire with Skylar in close range. She was not a criminal and Skylar herself knew that. The corners of her lips quirked up in amusement when he said it, the officers lowering their weapons slowly, hesitantly. He walked closer to them, clearly trying to keep a collected stance.

"Hey dad," she spoke mockingly, causing his jaw to clench a little. Oh, that was a painful reminder to him alright. "Long time no see. I've missed you." Another jab, her smirk grew. One guy came up to them and grabbed Barbara's arms, dragging her to the interrogation room. She went to follow but he grabbed her, pulling her back. "Let go of me!"

"Go home, Sky, don't get involved with her," he told her quietly, almost sounding as if he were trying to convince her, worm his way into her head and get her to do what he was asking her to do. But the moment he said that one word, she knew there was no way she was going to listen to a word he was saying, even though she never was anyways."

She looked him straight in the eye, scoffing. "I don't have a home. I have a place to live, but it's not home. My home got a knife in his neck." She yanked her arm out of his grip, watching the way his face fell, giving her a sympathetic look she did not want. And so she spun around and followed the only person she thought she could rebuild a relationship with, the only family she had left beside Selina.

Barbara was sitting in a chair at the same table Jerome sat at when he confessed to killing Lila. It felt so long ago but it wasn't. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, noticing that the marron jacket was gone off her mom's figure, replaced by the clothes she was wearing underneath which was no doubt gifted to her by Galavan. She wanted to throw up thinking about it.

Cops came in, trying to talk to Barbara but she never responded to any of their questions, repeatedly stating that she would not talk to them, the only person she would speak to was Jim. So they waited for him to arrive, both completely silent, not looking at one another. The awkward tension was thick, suffocating really. Still, neither broke it, letting it be.

Finally, he came waltzing in, his eyes darting to Skylar and then to his ex-fiancé, before leaning against the wall close to the door, maintaining a safe distance from them, placing his hands in his pockets. "They said you'd only talk to me. I'm listening."

Skylar glanced over at the one-sided glass, smirking since she knew that Lee was watching on the other side, no doubt with Harvey as well, maybe even the new Captain was there too. She hadn't heard much about him, just knew he filled in the gap for the last one Jerome murdered after his GCPD raid. Barbara seemed to know that they were being watched because she too looked delighted, staring at Jim with her crazed eyes.

"Yes," Barbara breathed, a bit of her mascara smeared, intensifying her insane appearance. "Here it is." There was a long pause but she never looked away from Jim. Skylar stood in the same place, unmoving, waiting to see what he would do. Out of the blue, the blonde asked a question, pointing a finger towards the door, her expression changing completely within a matter of seconds. "Is there any chance I could get a latte or something?"

"This is not a game, Barbara."

"Oh. Of course, it is. It's a game you've been losing. Big-time."

Jim looked over to Skylar who remained unaffected, not showing any signs that indicated that she was afraid. Because she simply wasn't afraid. This was her mom, her true colors showing. It was nothing she feared, she knew her mom would never harm her. Just as she knew Jerome never would. The detective may think that she was in danger, but the brunette knew better, she knew the growing crime bosses of Gotham better than he did.

"She's got a point," she hummed, making Barbara turn her head and Jim continue to look at her. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, the fabric of her jacket tightening on her as she did so. "You did start the game after all. By choosing your job over your family you started a very long game that'll end with you realizing your mistake."

"That does not make this a game," he disagreed, moving to press his hands against the chair across from Barbara, addressing them both. "What are you two doing here?"

Skylar pushed herself off the wall and moved towards him, standing right next to him, glaring fiercely. "Oh don't act all professional. Admit it, seeing both of us hurts, doesn't it? It's an awful reminder of what you left behind, what you ruined." She hissed in his face, holding herself back from swinging her balled up fists into his face.

He turned his body to her completely, giving her all his attention. "I regret what I did, but maybe there is a way that things will go back to the way they were." She looked undeniably shocked, her face displaying so, trying to hold back tears. Was he being sincere? "I'm sorry for what happened, I am. I tried to move on and accept that there is no way that we can be a family again but I can't do that anymore."

The tension in the room seemed to spike almost, Skylar taking deep breathes to calm herself down, her balled fists relaxing, clearing her throat as a genuine smile appeared on her face. "Well then, I'm glad we got that out of the way." She glanced at Barbara who hadn't spoken a word, letting her daughter say what she needed to say, yet, she also looked surprised, even happy. The teen turned back to Jim, the smile still there. "We want to show you something. It's not too far away."

"What do you want to show me?"

"Oh now that's a secret, it is a surprise, after all, telling you would ruin it." She spun around, maneuvering to stand next to her mom, her aura different now, hope in her eyes. "Don't worry, it'll be a good surprise. And then after that, we will tell you everything."

Now that grabbed his attention, his right eyebrow arching as he took in what she said, forcing away the guilt on his face, so now she could not see it. He hid it well. And even if she could see it, something told him she wouldn't acknowledge it. He just told her what she's been wanting to hear for weeks and months. And she was still a kid, reaching out, desperate for someone to take care of her, love her. He just single-handedly gave her just what she wanted. "Everything about what? Is it about the breakout at Arkham? Was it Galavan?"

Barbara spoke up finally, looking completely in awe that he was actually willing to listen to them. Still, she would be wary, because Skylar would not be, too blind to the faith inside of her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

There was a knock at the door, the moment broken, but still hanging on. Another officer called out to him. Skylar looked a bit desperate, reaching out for Jim's hand, holding onto it. "That's someone telling you that our lawyer is here. So why don't you take five minutes to think about it?" Another knock. "Please?"

He nodded, giving her a kiss on the forehead and left the room. The second he was gone, both the facades the females held vanished, replaced by blank stares. Barbara stood up silently and walked over to the glass, fully aware that Lee was still watching. She smirked and Skylar followed, giving a little wave and then a kiss before laughing to herself quietly. Fooling Jim had been a little too easy. Never did she believe he would give into her. She knew he believed there was no hope for them to be a family again.

And there was none.

---

Jim agreed to their deal which provided the girls with absolute smugness. Even if he wasn't entirely fooled, it was still hilarious that he was careless enough to follow along anyway. Skylar was sincerely enjoying bonding with Barbara and the said female could tell, smirking but there was an ecstatic glow to her eyes, showing that she was happy to be spending time with her daughter. Though the female Valeska wouldn't admit it, she was feeling better with her mom around; it made her forget her worries for the time being.

They were put into the back of a cop car, Harvey driving, Jim in the passenger seat. The latter turned around for a brief moment before staring forward through the foggy windshield. "So, you want to tell us where we're going?"

"Head downtown," Barbara replied simply.

Harvey glanced over at his partner, looking extremely hesitant about all of this. They had no other choice and the girls knew that of course. He started the car, driving off in the direction he was told.

The drive was silent, no music, no talking, just utter silence. Besides the occasional screech of the tires from Harvey's harsh turns, no other sound was made. Skylar still sat beside her mom, their shoulders pressed together. Barbara had tried several times to make her smile, but because the younger girl was stubborn, she remained passive, not reacting. She wanted to smile, she really did. However, she couldn't trust that her mom was here to stay this time, so, she stayed wary, closed off.

"Next right." Another brutal turn that made Skylar move to the side, yet the blonde reached out and grabbed her body gently, pulling her towards her. When the turn was fully made, she shrugged out of her grip, catching the sigh Barbara gave.

"I know it's a trap," Jim told them. "And Galavan's using you like a puppet. It is Galavan who's behind all this, right?" Skylar froze up at the mention of the man, taking a deep breath, clenching her fists. How could she so easily dismiss that? Her mom didn't make this plan, Galavan did. Just like that, her trust in her diminished. "He's a psychopath, Barbara. He's using you. He's laughing at you. And when he's done with you, you're just a loose end. He'll kill you."

"Yeah, maybe you'll get a knife in your neck," Skylar chimed in, looking at her, seeing the way her mom's eyes dimmed, looking guilty. "Wouldn't that be ironic?"

Barbara said nothing, merely turned her head and looked out the window, her cuffed hands moving with her. The military green truck was still behind them, following after them just in case things went south. Skylar didn't know what was going to happen after they got Jim in the car. All her mom had told her was that they were going to the GCPD building and that was it. So, it was most likely a trap. Maybe Galavan was waiting here, maybe he would kill her, just as he did with Jerome.

"She's not talking, Jim," Harvey murmured to the said male, leaning over to him as he drove. "We need to turn this car around now."

"Just give me a little more time."

So they kept driving. By this point, Skylar was no longer enjoying herself. All she wanted to do was go back to Selina, curl up in blankets, go to sleep, and maybe never wake up. Now she was mentally cursing herself. How could she fall victim? Wasn't Jim supposed to do that, not her? Now she was the fool, letting her mom worm her way into her head like this.

They were getting close to their destination it seemed, and Jim noticed, turning around to look straight at them, addressing one, but his words were aimed at both. "Barbara, listen to me. Are you listening? You have a lifetime ahead of you. Don't throw it away on madness."

Barnes called in and Harvey picked up. The Captain was reluctant and had every right to be. "I don't like this. You're boxed in. There's lots of cover, high vantage points all around. Perfect spot for an ambush. I gotta pull you out."

"Turn around, you get nothing," Barbara hummed, shaking her head at the men in the front seat. She knew they were going to listen to her from the looks of it, turning to Skylar and gave her a loving smile, going to grab her hand but the girl flinched away, causing a flicker of hurt to go across her face. "Baby. . .please. I just want to hold your hand, that's all, nothing sinister."

"No thanks, I'll pass," Skylar scoffed, looking away from her, scooting over till her side met the car door.

"You hear me?" Barnes questioned the detectives. "I'm pulling you out."

Harvey played dumb, going off Jim's wishes. "What was that, Captain? You're breaking up." Their Captain snapped at him, but the officer turned off the radio before he even got the chance to finish his sentence.

Jim went back to pleading, his words growing more emotional, more frantic because time was running out. If they reached where she was taking them, then it was all over. "Barbara, think hard. Don't throw away your life."

"What life?" she asked with an emotionless gaze. Skylar slowly looked over at her as her mom poured out how she felt. "You, me, Skylar... we had a life. We had real love, a real family. You asked me to marry you. I booked a church. I bought a damn wedding dress. We adopted a kid." The brunette had to look away, the words hitting her deep for some reason, making tears reach her eyes. "Jim, fool that I am, I still love you, I still think we can be a family, even now. And I know you still have feelings for me, 'cause you said so."

He didn't appear to care, brushing her off completely. "We can talk about our feelings later. There's more at stake here."

"I love you, Jim. And I think, deep down, you still love me." With that, she grabbed Skylar and pulled her close to her, making sure her daughter's body was protected. The said girl gasped and then screamed as she saw a truck about to hit them, but Barbara covered her eyes, holding her close as they car spun around, glass from the windows shattering upon impact. Guns started firing off, but the sound was dim, her ears ringing when the car finally stopped moving.

She felt her body being pulled out of the car and her eyes were uncovered, blinking repeatedly to see the scene. People in full black armor, their faces included, were shooting rapidly at GCPD officers that followed after them in the truck. Skylar started to breathe quickly, gasping for air. Barbara appeared in her line of vision, standing in front of her, caressing her cheek, running a hand through her brown hair to help soothe her attack.

"It's okay, baby, you're okay," she whispered to her, her voice sounding soft in her eyes, making her relax slowly. Everything around her became nothing. The only thing she saw was her mom's kind eyes, the only thing she heard was her mom's calming voice, the only thing she smelt was her mom's vanilla scented perfume. "Close your eyes, baby girl, close them for me? Mommy's got you, okay? And I'm never leaving you again, ever. I promise."

And so she listened, leaning forward onto Barbara, allowing the warm touch to enslave her, her body falling limp as she passed out.

---

When she woke up, she was lying on a bench. Her eyes blinked open a few seconds at a time and she realized what had awoken her. Jim was crouched down next to her, shaking her awake. He had some blood on him, dried, no doubt from the accident. She sat up slowly, rubbing her temple and shoved away from his hand when he tried to touch her arm. "Hands off, asshole." He made a face, looking like he wanted to scold her but thought better of it.

"Skylar. . ."

"Where's my mom?" His face fell as she said that, standing up and looked around, seeing all of the cops moving in and out of the church. Why was she in a church. "Where's my mom?" She began to walk to the exit but Jim grabbed her arm before she could go. "Let go of me!"

"Skylar listen to me!" he exclaimed, making her flinch at the volume, yet she quieted, listening to what he had to say. His eyes dimmed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, her hand slipped out of mine." She started to shake her head, thinking of the worse. "She's stable, she'll be okay. She's in a coma. . ."

Everything else he said fell deaf on her ears. Skylar shoved him off of her and dashed outside, not even hearing him shouting for her and running after her. But he was too late, the second he got outside, she already hopped into the vehicle that was transporting Barbara to the hospital. She saw that the driver noticed her arrival, looking at her through his rearview mirror, and then focused back on the road. She looked to the stretcher and there she was. Some of her bones were twisted at an odd angle, making her sick to her stomach.

Slowly she inched her way closer, reaching out and touched her face, the plastic of the breathing mask brushing against her fingers. It became apparent to her that she had started to cry, seeing a tear that had fallen on her mom's cheek. When she reached up her hand to feel underneath her eyes, she felt steady streams flowing down. Skylar didn't fall to the ground, moving her hands to grip onto the stretcher. Her tears felt hot, burning her skin almost.

This wasn't Barbara's fault, it wasn't Jim's. He had hurt them but he would never let something like this happen to them. This was all Galavan's doing. She took out her phone from her pocket, texting Jim the address of the building, doing what she should have done ages ago but didn't do because she thought she could get revenge on her own or with Oswald. Neither worked out, so she settled for justice. For now.

They arrived at the hospital and the doctors placed Barbara in a private room full of empty hospital beds. Still, no one else stayed in the room so it would just be her. Skylar was adamant on staying by her side, sleeping there every night. She even texted Selina, letting her know that she was welcome to join her if she pleased. By the time she laid down in the bed with her mom, it was two in the morning, and yet her eyes refused to shut. They weren't bloodshot this time, rage in them instead.

She caught the faint sound of murmurs outside the room and raised her head, sitting up. The door opened and in walked a male, wearing casual clothing. His hair matched that of a raven's body, his eyes an icy blue. He looked startled when he made eye contact with her, pausing his walking before he resumed. He stopped in front of her, not saying anything for a moment.

"Can I help you?" she snapped, not in the mood for any bullshit.

He took a steady breath, his hands in his pockets. She had to admit though, he radiated a sense of familiarity she couldn't quite understand. And he was calm, collected. He knew just what to say. She stayed cautious, her eyes not leaving his, challenging him. Despite her behavior, his posture never stiffened, his voice never wavered.

"I know you may not believe me. But my name is Damon Cicero, I'm Paul's younger brother."

---

Sorry for the lack of updates yet again, motivation has practically been non-existent and the last few months have been rough for me mentally. Anyways, I hope you guys can forgive me for that. I did make the decision to leave Wattpad a while back. And though it did, I came on here occasionally to follow other people, or look at books, or even write. I wrote when I felt ready to do so and had the energy + time to. So, I was able to prewrite a lot of chapters and for that, I am extremely happy. When I'm writing this, I don't know how far I plan to prewrite, all I know is that I am going to and I hope these updates will make up for the lack of updates.

Damon and Skylar have officially met! I found it fitting for him to arrive when Barbara went into her coma because it gave a perfect opportunity for him to bond with Skylar and also help take care of Barbara. If you guys haven't already, go check out his book which will have him as the main character.

Basically how this will work is that this book will be based on Skylar, sometimes Damon will appear, sometimes he won't. For Damon's book, it will obviously be based on him, sometimes Skylar will appear, sometimes she won't. It'll make more sense once you guys read more chapters. Charlotte Cobblepot will be joining us very very soon ;)

I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!

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