"I was going to reach out to him, take him up on his offer. Should've done it sooner."

Carla stared across her desk at the Commissioner sitting opposite her. The room inside of Arkham Asylum had always been a dark and dingy place even with the screams that had always echoed down narrow corridors and shook vents and rattled windows, but now the building seemed far more haunted than it ever had done before.

"He wanted to help, to do something good. He didn't deserve to die this way."

Jim Gordon had an endless list of reasons to not trust Carla Fiori, though for whatever reason, he did. Her stunts in the courtroom had always struck up conversations within the police department and sending Jonathan Crane to Arkham was perhaps the biggest frenzy she'd ever conducted, but Jim's gut feeling had yet to be wrong.

He didn't know her well and didn't particularly want to and while she'd told him in no uncertain terms that there was some information she would never reveal to him, Jim still felt keen to move forward with the intel that she was willing to share.

Despite his curiosity towards how she obtained such information, Jim didn't ever press her. Carla always came to him armed with something so share, a way to help bring Carmine Falcone's empire crashing down on top of him and for that, he thanked her by keeping his questions to himself.

He didn't, however, believe that Doctor Crane had been a good man and wasn't sure why Carla did either considering his toxin had almost killed her, but he'd felt sympathy for her ever since that day and that still remained.

He remembered the way she'd sat alone after her and Harvey's encounter with the Joker and how when she recalled her story, it sounded like she didn't wait a second to help her friend. Carla was often cold and unapproachable but she had a recognisable loyalty to all things good, and to Jim, that was more important than a few secrets that almost everybody in Gotham hoarded.

"We will get justice, Doctor. I can assure you of that."

"I know," Carla nodded.

A knock came at the door and for a heartbreaking split second, Carla had expected Jonathan to stroll in with a coffee for her and a stack of files beneath his arm, an irritating smile that let her know he was about to tell her something she didn't want to hear. His hair would've been swept back with his glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, a grey suit and white shirt being his usual attire. He wouldn't have opened with a polite good morning or anything close, he would've hit her with something sarcastic or made fun of her, something that would've forced her to bite down on the inside of her cheeks to refrain from smiling at his contagious charm.

So when the realisation kicked in that it wouldn't be Jonathan walking through the door, Carla was struck by a bolt of grief all over again.

"Sorry, Commissioner. Am I interrupting?"

Harvey poked his head around the door, a navy blue tie hanging from his neck behind the collar of a white shirt, a matching navy suit sitting well against a brown leather belt and polished brown shoes.

"Not at all, Mr Dent," Jim rose to his feet and picked up his coat from the back of the chair, turning to look back at Carla once more, "I'll be in touch, Doctor. My condolences again."

Jim left the room after giving Harvey a quick handshake, the door closing behind him. Harvey sighed loudly and sat down opposite her, head tilted with an analysing stare that Carla returned blandly, a natural frown pulling down the corners of her lips just a touch.

It was Wednesday, just five days since Jonathan had been murdered only a handful of staircases and hallways away from where they were sat right then. That entire section of the building had been cordoned off and other patients had been moved to a separate wing while investigations continued, most of the establishment filled with police and forensics teams.

"I'm sorry about Doctor Crane, I know he was your friend."

"Thank you, Harvey."

Carla wasn't exactly sure what Harvey was even doing at Arkham that afternoon since the courthouse and MCU had both been in close to hysterics ever since the Joker escaped. She hadn't spoken to him since before Jonathan's death and truth be told, hadn't spared him a second thought, but that was only because she hadn't spared anyone or anything besides that horrendous death a second thought, either.

"You shouldn't be here." He said.

Carla shrugged, "I'm fine."

"You shouldn't be working at all, you should be at home. You should be as far away from this place as you can get."

"I said I'm fine. There's work to be done."

Harvey sighed heavily and leant back in the chair with his arms resting on the sides, shaking his head at her.

"You can you say you're fine all you like, but nobody would be after what happened. You need to get away from here, Carla, you need time to process it all and that can't happen while you're sitting in the middle of a crime scene."

Her jaw tightened and eyes hardened, "Did Bruce put you up to this?"

Anger flared in her chest at the thought. Bruce had been trying day and night to convince Carla to take some time off work, or even just to work from home after the events of Saturday morning occurred, though to no avail. He hit a brick wall every time he tried talking to her, Carla always being nothing but insistent on continuing with her job since there were other patients that needed treating and their world didn't stop just because Jonathan's had, and neither did her own.

If he hadn't seen Carla fall to pieces in his arms on the bathroom floor, Bruce would've believed that she really was fine - only he had, and so he didn't. No matter how brave of a face Carla masked herself with, Bruce had seen her broken heart fall from her eyes in tears and cut through her chest in painful sobs, sights and sounds he would never forget as he held her in his arms.

Maybe she had been fine after falling from a building or narrowly avoiding being shot in the head, but that time, she wasn't.

"Bruce?" Harvey raised a brow with an inquisitive tone, "I haven't talked to Bruce in days. I was going to come and see you sooner but the courts have been a madhouse."

Carla swallowed her words and lifted up her chin, loosening the accusing stare she had Harvey gripped in.

"Look," he continued, "You need to be away from here, just for a few days. Let's get out of the city for the afternoon, fresh air, take a walk. You can't trick me into thinking you're fine Carla, I know you better than that."

Harvey had been right, Carla wasn't fine at all. She hadn't slept since Friday night and whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was blood draining from a cut across Jonathan's throat while he choked out for help that didn't come. She was haunted in the nighttime and even in the day, news and phone calls never ending and giving her no respite from it all. Bruce finally snapped on Sunday evening and took her phone and laptop away from her, unplugged the television and made them both sit in silence on the couch together, doing nothing but being still in each other's arms while they watched the sun set once more over Gotham.

Carla was never the most talkative of people but she'd reserved her words even more so since Saturday morning, falling into a mundane trance that left her walking around with glazed over eyes that Bruce hated seeing, an emptiness that he resented for consuming her.

When Monday rolled around however, Carla was up and dressed for work before Bruce had even opened his eyes. They'd argued and he'd lost, he'd apologised when they both got home again that evening and then on Tuesday morning, the same thing happened all over again.

Despite wanting to argue with Harvey, Carla didn't have the strength and so she closed her laptop as a sign of defeat instead of using her words. He nodded and stood up, unhooking her jacket from a stand by the window and handing it to her.

He opened the door and his face turned sour at the amount of police roaming the halls, pacing back and forth with guns in holsters and rolls of extra crime scene tape.

"Come on," Harvey said, putting a hand on the small of Carla's back and ushering her out of the room, "Let's get you out of here."

Carla parked her car back at her apartment building before Harvey drove them both over the bridge and out of the city. The journey was quiet but neither of them minded, the radio switched off and the windows down just a crack to feel the hot breeze cool their skin.

They drove for almost an hour before reaching a small town that couldn't have looked more different to Gotham if it tried. Quaint houses lined the streets with trimmed front lawns and neatly painted white picket fences. The sidewalks were clean and all the stores were open, boutiques and delicatessens free from graffiti or broken windows while patrons enjoyed coffee on small tables underneath the shade of a veranda.

"How did you even find this place?" Carla mumbled when Harvey parked the car, both of them getting out and heading in the direction of the cafe they'd passed.

"Rachel and I stopped here on our way back from South Carolina, we took a road trip down there in the summer last year."

She said nothing in response, only being able to wonder what taking a road trip down the coast of the country with Bruce would be like yet having an unshakable feeling that she would never get to find out.

They walked together into the town and wandered into the cafe, Carla telling Harvey what she wanted before disappearing out of the back of the building and finding a terrace overlooking a lake. She sat down at a table and watched as a weeping willow blew in the breeze and adults rowed their children across the water in brightly coloured little boats, not a scream or a siren to be heard for miles.

She felt something twist in her heart at the sight of a mother and father swinging their little girl through the air by her hands, a sight so pure it didn't seem real. Carla had never liked the idea of having children, being the furthest thing from maternal you could possible be, but also despising the thought of bringing a child into a world as dark as the one she lived in.

How nice it would be, she thought as she looked out at that lake, to live in a world that wasn't a locked cage without a key.

Harvey took the seat opposite her a few minutes later, pushing an iced latte across to her as she pulled a pair of cat eye sunglasses from her purse and covered her face from the glare of the sun with them.

"I won't ask how you are, don't worry." He said as he cracked open a can of Diet Coke.

"Good." Carla responded bluntly.

He observed her as she took in their surroundings, noticing the way her gaze lingered on people laughing or children playing. Carla had always been hostile but Harvey had never believed that ran all the way down to her core. From the day they met he knew there was more to her and thanks to his persistent nature, he was one of the few people that knew warmth did reside inside of that cold front.

"What did you do in South Carolina?"

Harvey tried to contain his shock at her question, not expecting her to say anything let alone ask him about a vacation he'd been on. She'd turned her head back to face him and lifted her glass to her lips, taking a sip through a paper straw after mixing the coffee and ice cubes around a few times.

He pursed his lips and shrugged as he trifled back through his memories, "Went to the beach, tons of long walks. We stayed in a lake house that had a view almost as pretty as this, ate breakfast outside every morning. We did a whole lot of nothing, too. Just switched off, relaxed, you know?"

"Hm," Carla cocked a brow, "That doesn't sound awful."

Harvey chuckled at her remark, "Far from it, actually. You'd like it there."

"I would?"

"Sure," he nodded, "I can see you in one of those puffy dresses riding around on a bike-"

"Shut up, Harvey."

For a glimmer of a hopeful second, Harvey saw her smile. It didn't last long, less than a heartbeat perhaps, but he'd seen it, and that was all he'd wanted to achieve.

They fell back into silence for a short while, watching the rowboats on the lake and finishing their drinks until Carla's phone ringing interrupted their peace.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I called your office but got no answer, is everything alright?"

Carla mouthed Bruce across the table to Harvey when his eyes enquired as to who was calling. She dug a fork into a slice of coffee cake that had sat untouched in the middle of the table, cutting it in half and lifting one piece onto a separate plate, flicking it towards Harvey.

"Yeah, fine. I'm with Harvey, actually."

"Harvey? Has something happened?"

"No, no, don't worry. I uh, I decided to take the afternoon off so we're just getting coffee out of town. I'll be home in a couple of hours, will you...are you going to be around?"

"Of course," Bruce let out an audible sigh of relief, "I'll be waiting for you. See you later, alright?"

"Alright, goodbye."

She ended the call and picked at the coffee cake, avoiding the teasing stare from Harvey as he picked up his half with his hands instead of the fork.

"What?" Carla eventually spat, sick of his toying glare and irritating smirk.

He laughed and dusted crumbs from his trousers and hands, looking up and being grateful for the sun scorching his skin since the Gotham that they'd left behind had been dull and grey that particular day.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Then stop looking at me like that before I stab you with this fork."

He scoffed and shook his head, his smirk turning into a smile that relaxed his blue eyes, the sun making them shimmer like diamonds as he looked at her.

"We'll take a walk and then I'll return you home to your owner on time."

Carla's face seethed with anger and Harvey grinned at the response, "I'm not a dog."

He laughed as they both stood up, "I'm kidding. You're so easy to rile up, you know that?"

She just glared at him before walking out of the cafe, leaving him trailing a few steps behind. Carla knew he was only messing with her and for those thirty minutes that they spent by that lake, she felt free from the grief and the guilt of Jonathan's death, Harvey's friendship somehow doing what it always did and making her feel better.

They walked for little over an hour, strolling mindlessly along the pretty streets and dusty pathways around the edge of more lakes and green parks. Their conversation never once entered the realms of work or crime, not even anything to do with Gotham. They talked about the rest of the world and places they'd been and places they wanted to go. Harvey continued to make fun of Carla at every chance he got and after a few threats to push him into the lake, she actually laughed.

That was how Harvey knew his job for the day was done.

The sun was still up when they arrived back into Gotham and they brought the blue skies with them, the time nearing seven o'clock in the evening. The journey home couldn't have been more different to the one out of the city, arguments over who controlled the music and asking each other what they both hoped Bruce and Rachel had made a start on for dinner.

Carla seemed lighter when Harvey parked his car outside her building, a refreshing air about her that hadn't been there when he'd walked into her office earlier that day. She still wasn't holding a smile on her face and he knew she probably never would, but the fact he could tell a difference in her mood was all that mattered to him.

"Thank you," she said with a nod, "I appreciate what you did for me today."

"It was my pleasure, Carla. You ever need me, you just call, alright? For anything. And if Bruce decides to be an asshole again, you know I'm the perfect getaway driver."

She rolled her eyes and opened the car door, picking up her purse before stepping out, "Goodbye, Harvey."

He grinned at her with one hand on the steering wheel, revving the engine with his foot, "Later, Doctor."

Carla headed up to her apartment and was greeted by the scent of fresh tomatoes and basil from the kitchen, sinking down onto her feet after sliding off her heels and leaving her coat and bag by the front door.

She wandered through her home and into the kitchen, a smile threatening her lips and sparkling happiness into her eyes when she saw Bruce frowning at the screen of his phone as he stood over the stove with three pans simmering at once.

"Need some help?"

He looked up and his agitation was immediately displaced by relief at the sight of Carla. Bruce ditched the cooking and walked around the island to snake his hands around her waist and lean down to kiss her lips without wasting another second.

She kissed him back, reaching up with her arms around his neck and holding herself against him even after their kiss broke, Bruce half expecting her to walk away like usual but being grateful that she clung onto him for a few extra moments.

"You alright?" He said as he kissed her forehead.

Carla just nodded, looking up into his hazel eyes that seemed golden in the shimmer of the sun and being reminded that regardless of how dark her world was, there would always be a light coming from him.

"Better."

"Why? Because you spent the afternoon with Harvey?" He teased.

Carla pushed him away from her and walked over to the stove, peering beneath the lids of pots and pans to try and work out what Bruce was attempting to cook.

"Are you jealous?" She mused in response.

Bruce scoffed and leant against the counter with his arms folded at his chest, "You know I am. Look at you."

It was the first time things had felt normal in five days and while it was the last thing that Bruce had anticipated, he accepted it with open arms and a thudding heart to see her come home to him happy.

Carla picked up a pinch of the chopped basil on the side and sprinkled it into the bubbling tomato sauce, stirring it with a wooden spoon before tasting a small sip and adding a dash of black pepper. She turned the heat down and washed her hands before looking over at Bruce, eyes admiring his muscular arms and how attractive he was with a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder, sleeves of his work shirt rolled up past his elbows.

"When this is over," she said, tapping her nails against the counter, "Can we go to South Carolina?"

Bruce almost laughed but held in the sound, a confused grin landing on his face instead, "South Carolina? What do you want to go there for?"

"Harvey said it was nice."

Bruce's smiled turned genuine and he walked over to Carla, spinning her around by her waist and holding her with her back pressed against his chest, walking over to the window to admire the view as the sun started to set.

"There's a whole world we can go and see," he said, kissing down her neck before his lips grazed the shell of her ear, "But if it's what you want, South Carolina sounds like the perfect place to start."