The soft pattering of raindrops on the windowpane made a comforting drone as a drowsy young woman burrowed her face further against her pillow, and clutching the draped pile of blankets tightly around her form. She sighed in contentment before rolling over to check how much longer she had until her alarm would disrupt her moment of peace.

She froze, her body tense as she stared wide-eyed and the glowing numbers, if only to check their accuracy.

"Shit," she swore in a sharp exhale, urging her body into motion as she haphazardly threw the blankets aside glanced at the clock again in disbelief as it read 8:39. She pressed the side to check what it had been set for.

7:30…..PM

"You've got to be joking…" she muttered with a groan of annoyance at her own carelessness. She leapt from the bed, nearly tripping on a discarded sweatshirt as she bolted to get dressed. Snatching her toothbrush and dress pants, she got to work brushing her teeth with more aggression than likely necessary and precariously balancing on one foot to pull up the trousers with her free hand. Her elbow wacked into the towel rack by the sink, and she swore under her breath, her toothbrush falling back into its cup with a light ding.

She had to be at the Gotham P.D. at 9 and barely had enough time to catch a bus. She grabbed her collared blouse from the rack and fumbled with the buttons until she looked vaguely presentable. Her hair fell into a messy halo of lightly tangled dirty blond waves around her face and she sighed, stuffing it all into what she hoped would seem like a fashionable messy bun.

"Great first impression, Bree….really nailed this one," she muttered to herself, throwing on an abbreviated version of her usual makeup, mostly beneath and around her tired dark eyes to hide her late night of Netflix and paper-writing. Warpaint, check.

She stuffed all her necessities in a bag and ran out the door, silently thankful that the keys didn't get stuck in the door to mediocre apartment. It really wasn't so bad. Not an awful side of town, and affordable, considering they gave Gotham University students discount rates for their housing. Yet, the building and the amenities weren't well maintained. However, she was desperate for any reasonable cutting of living costs, considering graduate school was anything but cheap. The GCPD nternship wasn't looking so great for pay either.

At least I'm getting paid at all. She mused, sitting on the bus and staring out the window at all the commuters rushing to their respective jobs. She sat stiffly, wringing her hands in her lap and mindlessly toying with the threads on the strap of her bag, loosened by wear and nervous habits.

When her stop finally arrived, she hurried out the door and zigzagged through crowds of commuters. The insistent drizzle of rain shot a chill through her and she hugged her dark jacket closer to her frame. She glanced at her watch as she ran up the steps of GPD and pushed through the doors.

9:05.

Not bad, all things considering, but not great. Her heart still raced, but she allowed a façade of calmness to take hold as she approached one of the front desks.

It was difficult not feel overwhelmed in the already loud hum of the large, bustling station.

"Excuse me," she said, resting her palm on the large wooden front desk. The woman at the desk with short dark hair didn't even bother looking up. Bree held back a frown and continued.

"Hi, my name is Brianna Taylor. I'm part of the graduate internship program here?….I was told to report here at nine," the woman still didn't even look up, but she flipped a page in a book she was reading. She then felt a pang of annoyance and paused, trying to gauge any reaction from the woman. She mustered most cordial tone she could and continued.

"It's my first day….do you—"

"Report to Captain Essen. She'll be in the third office to your right," the dark haired said in a flat tone.

"Thanks," Bree said, her eyes flickering to the row of offices. She took a deep breath, turning on her heel and stepping out into the marble walkway. She glanced back while stepping around the desk and collided into a tall figure with a big oophff.

"Oh, careful!" a voice chimed from slightly above her, and she realized that she had run into a person, her head running smack into their chest.

"I'm so sorry!" she said turning to face him with wide eyes, "I wasn't really paying attention where I was walking," she admitted with a small laugh and an apologetic smile. She looked up at the tall figure and met his dark eyes and tight smile.

"It's quite fine, just wouldn't want to drop this," he said, flourishing a small bag labeled EVIDENCE.

"Oh….well, that does seem like it would be important," she said with a small smile, trying to shuffle around him, but he just stood still, smiling politely.

"Ed! Show us what you got!" a gruff voice rang out from across the room. The man in the suit snapped out of his stationary position and hurried over to where two men were standing, talking.

Bree blinked, the corners of her lips quirking upward in mild amusement as she shook her head at the awkward tone of the entire morning as she knocked on the Captain's door.

The woman looked up, and motioned her in.

Bree walked in and smiled politely at her, extending her hand.

"Hello, I'm Bria—"

"Brianna Taylor, yes, I am aware. Please, have a seat," the woman shook her hand and gestured to the chair.

"My name is Captain Essen. So I hear you're a grad student from GCU, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Bree nodded, hands folded nervously in her lap, "criminology."

Essen smiled, "Very good, well I do have to say, Ms. Taylor, you won't be seeing much of the action here. You will do mostly filing paperwork and running errands that most of us are too busy to do."

Bree groaned inwardly, but nodded politely, seeing as she had expected as much.

"Now, you are likely to float around the department at times, but we do have a few officers and detectives who are worse at the paperwork aspect of their jobs than most, so you will be assisting them the most frequently. I'd like you to sort a few of these potential witness accounts today. There should be an open desk up the stairs to the far left, by the forensics lab, but feel free to work at any open space. I'd like to get these done by the afternoon. Are you good?"

She nodded her head.

"Very well, and good luck," Essen said, handing her a daunting stack of papers. Bree smiled half-heartedly and grabbed the door with her foot.

"Here we go…" she breathed into the tall stack of papers, making her way to the rumored desk up the stairs. Sure enough, she found it. It was a rickety wooden thing, stuffed in the far corner next to a small window, but at least she had a half-dead fern to keep her company.

She hummed quietly to herself as she flicked through the papers. She considering listening to music, but she opted for people watching and drinking in the general atmosphere of the precinct. She was drawn from her thoughts by movement in the corner of her eye. She glanced over and realized the odd man in the suit from before emerging from the nearest doorway to her desk.

The forensics lab. She observed, well that makes a lot more sense.

She saw his eyes flicker towards her, and she quickly looked away, despite knowing it was too late. He had definitely caught her staring. She pretended to be fascinated by the paper as she noticed him approaching the desk.

"What belongs to you, but others use it more than you do?" the man piped up, tapping the desk.

"Sorry, come again?" she looked up, blinking in confusion. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't a riddle.

"I said, what belongs to you, but others use it more than you do?" he repeated, his grin never faltering.

Her brows furrowed, looking away in thought for a moment before resting her chin on her hand and looking back up at the odd man.

"Your name?" she offered with a small shrug.

"Correct! Which, leads me to realize that I don't believe I caught yours," he said, his eyes gleaming with an edge of pride at his introduction.

She resisted the urge to laugh at the unnecessary amount of effort, when he easily could have just asked for name, but she smiled genuinely and stood up, extending her hand.

"I don't believe you have….Brianna Taylor, but I just go by Bree," she said as his gaze dropped to her hand and then back up to her face as his hand met hers with a half-moment of hesitation.

"Edward Nygma, but call me Ed if you like," he said with a wide smile, "I work in forensics. I haven't seen you around here before and I at least know every face."

"Ah, well, that would make sense considering it's my first day. No fancy position, just an intern I'm afraid." Bree said, her smile wavering as smoothing her palms over the wrinkles in her dress pants.

Ed nodded, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses.

"Ahh, Well, I better be off then. I have lots of things to analyze, and evidence to sort," he slid his hands into his pant pockets. "See you around, just an intern, Bree Taylor," he said with a small laugh as he began to step back, running into the corner of the wall behind him. She began to laugh, but immediately stopped herself as she noted his grin twisting into a grimace and she felt a pang of regret.

"Hey, we already have something in common. That's been happening to me all morning," she shook her head with a reassuring smile, "Maybe it's just one of those days," she added, sitting back down at the rickety desk. He raised his brows, evidently taken by surprise at her response. His eyes moved over her face once more before he returned a small smile as he turned and left.

Bree found herself shaking her head, wondering if all their interactions would take on the quirky nature of their first two. Ed seemed nice. A bit socially awkward, but well meaning. After all, it wasn't like she didn't have her own socially awkward moments. He seemed to actually want to be at GCPD, unlike some of the other workers she had encountered, and she found that enthusiasm oddly endearing. At least now she had a somewhat friendly face to talk to at GPD. God knows she'd need it, she sighed, filing through the stack of files.

Bree Taylor: Just an intern.

She'd be sure to get that on a plaque for her desk.