LII

"We ate the birds. We ate them. We wanted their songs to flow up through our throats and burst out of our mouths, and so we ate them. We wanted their feathers to bud from our flesh. We wanted their wings, we wanted to fly as they did, soar freely among the treetops and the clouds, and so we ate them. We speared them, we clubbed them, we tangled their feet in glue, we netted them, we spitted them, we threw them onto hot coals, and all for love, because we loved them. We wanted to be one with them. We wanted to hatch out of clean, smooth, beautiful eggs, as they did, back when we were young and agile and innocent of cause and effect, we did not want the mess of being born." - Margaret Atwood

~(Flashback)~

Oswald blew out a sigh as he returned the scattered chairs to the tables; it had been nearly an hour since the last patron at Fish's club had left and the doors locked behind them. Normally the bar staff took care of the cleanup after a busy night, but lately they had been short handed and everyone had been having to pick up the slack.

He looked over to see Butch drag a bag of trash through the room towards the exit near the dumpster and then his gaze stopped on Bird who was sitting at the bar with several papers in front of her.

At first he thought she was going over the books for the night or even double checking the liquor inventory, but as he walked closer he could see she was looking at various pamphlets. Each one with pictures of college campuses on brightly glossed papers, complete with pictures of students who were all smiles.

"What are you doing?" Oswald asked, sliding onto the stool next to her.

"Making a list." Bird simply answered, as she continued to write on the notepad she'd lifted from Fish's office earlier that night.

"May I see it?" He questioned, leaning closer to try and get a look at it.

"No." She chuckled, as she turned it over and tried to quickly gather up everything and changed the subject, "You want to go do something when were done here? I'm not ready to go home."

Instead of an answer all she got from her best friend was an intense stare as he silently demanded to know what was going on.

"We could get something to eat." Bird suggested, "Or go for a walk. Ooh, you could come over and we can rent a movie and stop by the mini-mart on the way to my apartment for snacks!"

"Bird." He complained, shaking his head back and forth. He nodded to the notebook and college pamphlets she was trying to hide with her arms, "What is all of this."

"My mom brought them to me." Bird side-eyed him before explaining, "She came in here last week looking for me, you know?"

"I hadn't heard." Oswald said, reaching up and loosening his tie in an attempt to better catch his breath.
He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but if Bird was debating leaving the club –leaving him, for any reason then it had to be stopped.

"It was a disaster." She sighed, rubbing her tired face as she remembered, "I was upstairs organizing a supply closet because Fish said I wasn't dressed up enough to be down here." Stopping to roll her eyes, she pulled in a breath and continued, "And while she was wandering around some guy was following her and ended up pushing her down and grabbed her purse."

Oswald shook his head as he listened to what had happened, they'd had more than few incidents like that lately.
With Maroni's side gaining more power and territory, some people didn't have the same apprehension over committing crimes in Falcone's territories as they used to.
Just another sign that the old man was losing his foothold as a mob boss.

"I saw the end of the scuffle." Bird admitted, with narrowed eyes as she replayed the night in her head. "I caught the bastard –before he could even make it to the doors. I got her purse back and I broke his arm for what he'd done."

Catching the look in her eyes as she tucked her long brunette hair behind her ears and suddenly grew silent, Oswald guessed, "Did you get in trouble with Fish?"

"No." Bird managed a chuckle, before looking at him from under her brows and pointing out, "Fish would have let me break every bone in his body to make an example out of him."

"But my mom saw it and she was…" Swallowing hard, Bird struggled to clear her throat, "She was completely horrified. I mean, this guy knocked her down and stole from her and yet somehow I'm the bad guy for stopping him –all because I hurt him on purpose. In what world does that make any sense?"

Oswald gave a weak shrug, more concerned about what the college brochures were about then about the story she'd been rehashing.

"Perhaps it shattered the illusion?" He finally offered up, "You're no longer her little girl. You've grown up and ventured off the beaten path."

"Yeah." She scoffed, "Off the beaten path and in their eyes down the worst route I could have taken or something and now they're both trying to get me out of the city. They don't think my life and the people around me are healthy."

"Is your father threatening to stop giving you money again?" Oswald guessed.

Ever since Bird had moved out on her own, she'd still been relying heavily on her parents for financial support and every so often Thomas Wayne threatened not to help her out until she got her life cleaned up.
A threat he never actually followed through with.

"Sort of the opposite." Bird said, her lips pursing into a thin line as she turned on the bar-stool to better face her friend. "They offered me money –quite a bit of money to leave all of this behind." She said, holding her arms out and motioning to the nearly empty club around them.

"How much money?" He questioned.

"A lot." She vaguely answered, "They want me to further my education –somewhere far away from Gotham. My dad said they'd get me set up in a house and with Wayne Enterprises being such a huge company, that I could work part-time for them. You know, in some low level position without much responsibility… because why trust me with anything important?"

His heart started to pick up pace, beating erratically inside of his chest when he could practically see the wheels spinning in her head.

"You're really considering this?" He scrambled to ask. His voice came out strained and higher than usual as sweat started to bead across his forehead.

They still had so far to go with trying to take over the city. In many ways they were just starting to put the plan into motion –she couldn't abandon it now, she couldn't abandon him.

"Not at first. At first I pissed at them for trying to bribe me at all, but then… I don't know. How many people get the chance to start over, Oswald? I mean really get a brand new shiny clean slate to work with?"

"I'd guess not many." He strained out from between his clenched teeth.

"But why would you want to?" Oswald asked, "Why take an entry level position at your father's company when one day you will rule this city at my side?"

"I don't know." She helplessly shrugged with a low laugh. "Don't you ever just look around at this world we live in and think how entirely crazy it all is? Most people don't go to work every day reminding themselves not to step too far out of line or they could pay the price in blood."

"Yes." He agreed, "But we aren't most people, Bird."

"I suppose we're not." The smile on her lips didn't match the look in her eyes despite her best attempts.

"It will be worth it." He assured her, watching as she stood up and gathered up all of the contents she'd been looking through in her arms and walked behind the bar to drop all of them into the trashcan.

"I know." She agreed, "Just sometimes it feels like it could be lifetimes before we're actually at the top of the food chain." Pushing the thoughts to the side and trying to forget the looks on her parents faces when they'd sat her down and plead with her to take them up on their offer to start fresh somewhere far away.

"Speaking of food… you never answered me if you wanted to go get dinner or something." Bird reminded him.

With a smile and a single nod, Oswald answered, "Dinner sounds lovely."

"I'm gonna grab my coat and tell Fish we're heading out." Bird called over her shoulder as she walked away.

Oswald waited until she was out of sight before he scrambled to his feet and darted around the bar to fetch the notebook she'd thrown away in the trash, still open to the page she'd been writing on.

He saw that she'd been making a list of pros and cons for staying in Gotham and for trying to build a life somewhere else.

A smile spread over his lips when he saw that his name was atop the list of pros for staying in the city.
Though the rush of happiness was soon snuffed out when he saw that on her list of pros for leaving the city she'd listed the possibility of finding love and having a family of her own. Along with the word 'happiness'.

"Oswald!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin and the notebook fell from his hands onto the floor as he spun around to face Bird, who stood with her arms crossed over her chest –clearly not happy with him now.

"My apologies." He sputtered out, and before he could stop himself he pointed out, "You've listed a lot of reasons on why leaving Gotham City would be for the best."

"And I have my fair share of reasons for wanting to stay too." She quickly countered, picking up the notebook and dropping it back into the trashcan.

"Forgive me, Bird…" He cleared his throat, "I couldn't help but notice some of the pros for leaving…"

When she silently waited for him to continue, he sighed, "You listed finding love and happiness as a pro for leaving –as if its something you'd be unable to obtain by staying here."

"Isn't it though?" She asked, with an exasperated sigh.

When she was met by a confused expression on her best friend's face, Bird gave some thought before she explained, "This city is like a wasteland. I'm not ever sure things like happiness and true love can even grow in Gotham."

"You're a romantic." He both accused and started to realize at the same breath as his eyes dropped to the floor.
Bird had never brought up such topics in conversations before and it wasn't until then that he started to see that she hoped for more in her life then she'd openly shared with him.

"Stop throwing insults around, Oswald." Bird tried to joke, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as her friend was now too lost in his own thoughts to hear her.

"Come on." She sighed, nodding towards the doors, "I'm starving, lets go."

"Bird." He called out when she started to walk away. "Haven't you ever seen a flower growing up through cracks in the middle of a sidewalk?"

"Yeah…" She shrugged, arching an eyebrow at him.

He nodded, as if she were to piece the rest of his thoughts together on her own. Something that clearly wasn't happening when she continued to stare at him.

"One can find what they're hoping for in the most unlikely of places." Oswald explained, "If a flower can sprout up from beneath cement; then I'm sure love and happiness could thrive anywhere –even in a place like Gotham."

~(End of flashback)~

The morning light had just started to break through the dark clouds that had shadowed the city the night before as Oswald sat in the passenger seat of the car Gabe was driving.
He'd just come from the hospital where he'd been stitched up and bandaged from the injuries he'd sustained during the fight the prior night.

As Gabe pulled to a stop outside a three story brownstone house, he asked, "This the right one, boss?"

"Yes." Oswald nodded, "Thank you, Gabriel."

With a slight struggle he got out of the car and tried to smooth his suit out, but he knew it was a wasted effort. He was a disaster; in tattered bloody clothes and greasy hair that he couldn't seem to keep out of his eyes.

Being rather embarrassed for his disheveled state, he lingered by the car before finally pushing open the wrought iron fence gate and hobbling up the walkway towards the front door of the house with a one track mind; Bird.

Not only had he seen she was injured and didn't check on her before she'd left, he'd also been regretting the conversation they'd had about ending their friendship when he became the King of Gotham and she gave up a life of crime to be with Harvey Dent.
The things said between them had been spur of the moment and out of passion and rage, or at least that's what he was telling himself.

He didn't want to let her go, though in truth, that fact probably didn't even matter when it came down to it –he wasn't sure he could let her go, even if he wanted to.

He was there to tell her that he wanted to continue their friendship and couldn't imagine a life without her in it.
Deep down he hoped this taking over Gotham would be enough for her to see him in a more flattering light.

Stopping at the door, his eyes fell to what appeared to be dried blood on the cement. Looking behind him he realized there was a trail of blood leading to the door. Starting to feel frantic, he pushed the button for the doorbell and paused for a moment, before placing his ear against the front door and pushing the button again.

Must be broken, he thought to himself.
From what she'd told him they were having to have the house renovated and things didn't always work right.

Raising his arm he knocked on the door, cringing as every strike of his knuckles against the wood made his already sore hand feel like his bones were splintering.

Catching movement from the corner of his eye he looked over to see the blinds on one of the windows snap back into place.

Taking the last opportunity to try and make himself appear somewhat presentable, he buttoned his suit jacket and brushed his hair from his eyes, but to his surprise no one came to the door.

After waiting for what he felt was a more than appropriate time, he knocked on the door again.

Finally the door opened, only it wasn't Bird who'd answered it and he was staring up to the very angry face of Harvey Dent.

Oswald cleared his throat and broke eye contact as he looked down, and he could see more blood on the hardwood floor just inside of the door.

"Is she okay?" Oswald asked, backing up as Harvey stepped outside and pulled the door to the house shut behind him.

When he didn't say anything, Oswald did his best to smile at the man who he felt had stolen the light of his life from him and said, "Hello. We've not been formally introduced, I'm Oswald Cobblepot-"

"I know who you are." Harvey gruffly said, cutting him off.

"Yes, well… I suppose there's no need for introductions." Oswald breathed, waving a hand in the air.

"What do you want?"

"I was hoping to speak with Bird." He answered truthfully.

"No." Harvey stated, crossing his arms over his chest as he continued to speak to him in the same unwavering, gruff voice that started to make Oswald feel like he was shrinking down with each second.

"No?" He stammered back, "If you'd only t-tell her I was here, I'm sure she'd-"

"She knows you're here." Harvey lied, knowing very well that Bird was in bed asleep, "She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Well, sir…" Oswald breathed clearing his throat, "I believe if that were true she'd send me away herself. The Bird I know has never needed anyone to speak for her."

"Yeah? Well then maybe this is coming from the one you don't know. The one who came stumbling home hours ago bleeding profusely from a stab wound on her side. Who was so shaken by whatever the hell went down last night, that she wouldn't let me take her to a hospital or call an ambulance."

Harvey's mind drifted back to how she'd made him call a number in her phone of a doctor who 'takes care of these things off the books' which was about the shadiest thing he'd ever heard, but she swore up and down the hospital wasn't safe and she'd rather bleed out than go there.

That the secret of her being Carmine Falcone's daughter was out and now with Maroni's death; there could be people out for revenge and looking for her.

"I spent two hours with her while some so called doctor who wouldn't even tell me his name performed what looked like minor surgery on her on our kitchen table and then stitched up her arm."

"Oh… I had no idea she was so seriously injured." Oswald admitted, guilt starting to rip away at his stomach with each newly learned fact. "I must insist I see her."

Taking a deep breath and telling himself that this was for Bird's own good, Harvey said, "It's over. Whatever kind of messed up bond you think you have with her; the one that sends her into the line of fire to help you time and time again –it's over now."

Oswald opened his mouth to argue, but Harvey didn't give him the chance.

"All the phone calls stop now; no reaching out to her when you're in trouble. No showing up at our house out of the blue. No more anything –she's done with all of it and she is done with you." He said, as he took a few steps closer and in response Oswald continued to back away from him –thinking he seemed even taller than moments before.

"With all due respect friend, she and I-"

"We are not friends!" He snapped, catching Oswald off guard from the outburst.

"No, we aren't." Oswald agreed, his jaw tensing as he spoke. "I understand why you'd be angry with me."

"No, you don't understand anything… but I do." Harvey said, leaning down some to get closer to eye level with the man who stood more than few inches shorter than him, "You got in Starling's mind and you twisted things up. You've been manipulating her since she was a teenager; even coming to see her when she was in a treatment facility after she'd been through something horrific." Seeing the expression on Oswald's face, Harvey nodded, "Yeah, she tells me everything –told me everything about the two of you. You met her at a point in her life where she was vulnerable and you tricked her into thinking you were her friend to fill whatever sick, twisted mess is going on inside of that greasy head of yours and left her feeling all of this misguided loyalty to you."

Looking him over with a scrutinizing eye, Oswald flatly stated, "I have no idea what someone like her sees in you."

"The feeling is more than mutual." Harvey replied.

"You don't deserve her." Oswald said, his voice cracking as he spoke louder, "We share a deep bond, she and I. I know her better than anyone, better than you ever will."

"That's all in the past." Harvey said, his voice taking on a slight growl as he continued, "She wants a clean break from the life she was living. No more living a double life, no more illegal activity and no more you."

"Now…" Harvey breathed, "You got what you wanted –the deal was she helped you get to the top and she was free to do what she wanted and that is exactly what's happening. She's home with me, she's safe and her life will infinitely be better without you in it. So you can go now, Cobblepot… there's nothing here for you anymore."

Oswald looked down to the ground and then back up to Harvey with a hint of a smirk on his lips as he said, "Congratulations on the new house. Enjoy it and head this piece of advice my friend -treasure your time with her, the clock is ticking after all, and soon she'll want to fly free. You can only keep a wild animal caged for so long and you see…" He said nodding to the house behind Harvey, "My Bird grows restless often –she doesn't do well when caged."

No longer backing away from him, Oswald took a step closer as he continued, "That part of her you expect her to hideaway will eventually resurface, she'll break free, and she will no longer be looking for you to save her. Some birds just aren't mean to be tamed."

"Get off my property." Harvey growled through his teeth.

"You should be careful of who you make enemies of, Mr. Dent. I'll still be here, lingering in the shadows, because mark my words –the day will come when your life no longer holds any importance to her." Oswald warned, his voice low and tone stronger, "And when that day comes…"

"Don't you ever threaten me!" Harvey yelled, the look on his face comparable to a rabid dog that had been set off its chain, he quickly moved forward. The almost demonic growl in his voice becoming more apparent as he continued, "I don't know what kind of game it is you're trying to play here, but you've already lost."

Oswald stared at him with his eyes growing wider as he nearly tripped over his own feet trying to back away; not only had Harvey's voice changed to one that barely even sounded human, but it was paralleled by the look on his face.

Taking a step back, Harvey pulled in a deep breath and made eye contact with nearly every ounce of fire and anger gone. He calmly said, "Look, if you have even one shred of humanity left in you, if you care about Starling at all then you'll just go. Leave her alone and let her move on in peace –let her be happy."

Oswald's eyes darted back and forth over Harvey's face, still shaken and thrown off by the sudden and aggressive shift in his mood, and how quickly he snapped back to normal.

Not feeling safe enough to put his back to him, Oswald backed up until his back found the fence he and located the gate –leaving without another word to him.

Just as he opened up the door to get back into the car, he paused as something white caught his eye on the uneven sidewalk beneath his feet. Taking a step to the side, Oswald looked down to see a single small white flower peeking up from the cement.

Looking back over his shoulder, he ignored the fact that Harvey was still standing outside and looked at house as a smile slowly spread over his lips.
He wasn't sure exactly what it was that Bird thought she'd found there with Harvey Dent, but Oswald was convinced it wasn't the type of love and happiness she truly desired.

Moments ago he'd been plotting the district attorney's demise –it was what he deserved for taking the most important person in his life away from him.
But now, he wondered why he should even waste the effort.

If he died –then the memory of him and the way Bird felt would forever be preserved in both her head and heart. That wasn't good enough, Oswald thought. No, Bird needed to realize just how wrong they were for each other and see the error of her ways.

Like watching a train veer off the tracks, he thought to himself as he finally got into the car and slammed the door shut. He'd been in many situations where he sat back and waited for people to destroy themselves, to tear down their own lives and he was positive that would happen here too.

Just like when he'd discovered Liza had been planted into Falcone's life by Fish. Most people would have rushed straight to the mafia Don with the newly learned information, but not him –no, he was smarter than that.
The entire Liza plan had been a ticking time bomb and waiting for it to blow on its own had paid off in the end.

Essentially, he felt like this was the same sort of situation.

For now he'd bide his time, start getting his affairs as The King of Gotham in order –and soon enough his Bird would fly back to him. He was sure of it.

Harvey stood defensively in place, arms crossed over his chest until the car was out of sight. Then he went back inside the house, locked the front door and made his way up to their bedroom where Bird was laying on her side the bed, sleeping in one of his dark gray t-shirts.

Turning the light back off, he got into bed and scooted up behind her.

"Is everything okay?" She whispered, groggily as she raised her head and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"It is now." He said, giving her a smile as he gently laid his arm across her and she flinched and breathed, "Careful."

"I know." He whispered back, taking care to not touch where'd she'd been injured. Raising up he pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder.

"What do you mean things are okay now?" She asked, struggling to keep her eyes open and awake.

"Just took care of some stuff down stairs." He vaguely answered, not about to tell her how he'd just ran the person she considered to be her best friend off their property.
It was in her best interest he thought, he'd almost lost her that night and he was never going to go through that again.

Feeling her fingers intertwine with his as she moved her arm and laid it on top of his he added, "And it means that you're home, we're together and you're on the mend and…" Raising up some he looked down at her face as he added, "Our heat is actually working for the night."

His words earned a small smile from her despite the pain she was still in, and she turned her face up from the pillow to look at him as she said, "And tomorrows a new day –no more answering to Falcone or anyone else. It's just us."

Nodding he carefully leaned down and gently kissed her, as he repeated, "It's just us." As he laid back down next to her and held her close against him he said, "Now get some sleep –that shady mob doctor of yours said you need lots of rest."

She let out a small laugh, immediately regretting it when she felt like she'd been stabbed in the side all over again.

"I love you, Harvey." She whispered after several moments of silence had passed, he could tell the sound of her voice and the way her words were muffled against the pillow that she was nearly back to sleep.

"And I love you." He quietly said back, "More than anything."

~(A week later)~

There was a restless feeling in the pit of her stomach as Bird sat on the couch in her living room and flipped through channels on the television.

Her eyes darted over to the large decorative clock on the far wall and she blew out a sigh at seeing it had only been a few minutes since the last time she'd looked.

She had nothing to do.

Absolutely nothing.

It was a strange feeling for someone who'd spent the last few years of their life plotting, betraying and working mercilessly towards a goal.
Almost every second of every day for the past few years had been filled with purpose and now here she sat; envious of how busy Oswald must be trying to get his new empire in order.

Maybe he could use her help, she thought to herself as she plucked her phone up from the coffee table but stopped herself before calling her best friend.

If he needed her help; he'd have found the time to reach out to her.
The thoughts burnt behind her eyes as she started to wonder if he hadn't tried to contact her because he really didn't need her anymore.

All these years he'd talked of how he'd have nothing without her. So much so, that she'd constantly pushed her own wants to the back burner so she could be there at his side.
And now here they were –over a week of not speaking and while he had an entire city at his fingertips and what did she have?

Swallowing hard, she pinned her eyes shut and reminded herself that she wanted a sense of normalcy in her life.

To be normal.

Ordinary people didn't spend their days neck deep in underworld affairs and organized crime. Normal people had jobs and families to tend to and didn't typically live their lives constantly looking over their shoulder waiting for someone to take a shot at them.

Apparently, Bird thought to herself, normal was going to take some getting used to.

'In other news; the trial of socialite Barbara Kean is expected to start early next month. Kean is facing homicide charges for the murder of her parents. It's rumored that her lawyers are plotting a defense based around a possible insanity plea. The district attorney has declined to comment at this time-'

With an audible groan, Bird shut off the news and tossed the remote over to the end of the couch before standing up and running her fingers through her hair.
If she didn't find something to occupy her time with soon, she was sure she'd be the next one having to plead insanity.

Bird walked into one of the spare rooms on the third floor in hers and Harvey's house, and looked around at all of the boxes they had stacked up. With everything that had been happening they hadn't had time to unpack everything yet.

It wasn't a permanent solution, but unpacking the rest of the way might fill her days for a few weeks if she took her time with it.

Temporarily forgetting about the still healing wound on her side she started to pick up a box to move, but she could feel the stitches pulling against her skin and she immediately stopped.

With a groan she sat down on the floor and pulled one of the boxes to her, opening the flaps she looked in to see it was a box from her apartment. One of the ones from her living room and right on top of everything was the framed copies of the invitations from the opening night at Oswald's club.

Swallowing hard she picked the frame up and ran her fingers over the glass, wondering how things were working out for him now that he was king. Gotham was still mostly in a state of chaos, but it had only been a week since the fall of Falcone's empire and she knew it would take some time for him to make it widespread knowledge that he was now in charge of the city and he was sure to be met with resistance.

There was a dull ache in her chest as she thought of how much she already missed him.
She kept hoping he'd call her at some point, or maybe even stop by to see her –but she hadn't heard a word out of him since the night he'd killed Fish.

Bird was starting to believe that maybe he'd wanted to truly split up once it was over, like they'd spoke about in her apartment not too long ago –even though it now felt like that day had been lifetimes ago.

Trying to tell herself it was for the best, she thought that perhaps for them both to really move on with the lives they'd chose that maybe it had to happen –maybe they couldn't really continue on their different paths if they were still speaking.
It was a hard pill to swallow, and it hurt on the way down –she still remembered the time that he swore he'd never leave her.

Laying the frame to the side she hoped that he was able to find happiness now that he had what he really wanted; now that he was finally king.

Pulling a few books out of the box and setting them all to the side, she stopped when an envelope fell out from between them and she caught sight of her father's handwriting on the front.

Her fingers shook as she picked the envelope up. It had been over a year since she'd received it upon learning about the large inheritance and shares in Wayne Enterprises that he'd left to her when her parents died –it was the day she'd first met Harvey.

Bird wasn't entirely sure why she'd never opened it in all that time; fear was part of it of course –she was still worried about what it might say. Knowing they were disappointed in her while they were alive was bad enough, she wasn't sure she could stomach reading about it after they were gone. Maybe it also had something to do with how hard a time she had accepting that they were really gone.
There was such a sense of finality to it –holding her father's last words to her in her hands.

Pulling in a deep breath of air that felt so dry it burnt at her lungs, she turned the envelope over in her hands and slowly opened it to reveal a single page of paper –a handwritten letter.

'Dear Starling,
I'm not sure how old you are now, but as I write this letter you are eighteen and determined to take on the world with a sense of fearlessness that can, I'm afraid, only be found in youth. The older I get the more aware I become how time is precious and in a single moment life can end. I've been feeling very mortal lately, which prompts the reason for this letter. I hope that I'm able to be here for many years to come, to share with you in all the important moments life has to offer and that I'm given long enough on this earth to repair what's broken between us.
In many ways you are just starting out in life and I can't shake the feeling that I'm running out of time –there's a sense of dread that follows me everywhere now, weighs heavily on my burdened mind.
I need you to know from the moment you entered our family, all I wanted was to keep you safe, for you to know how much we loved you and for you to be happy. But as I write this, it seems as though I've failed.
I've hidden a great deal from you, details about who you are –I thought you were better off not knowing, but the secrets have been a dark stain on my life for years and now I can't help but wonder if my attempts to protect you has done more harm than good.
You see, I had an older sister, Lilith. We were never close; in fact I don't feel like I ever truly knew her. We didn't speak about her and growing up I'd only see her a couple times a year when we'd visit the family chalet in Switzerland. The truth is, for lack of a better term, Lilith was disturbed. Struggling with demons inside of her that I never understood, often slipping into delusions and it was my understanding that she was kept in a facility for her own good. That she could get the help she needed in those walls, it wasn't until much later in my life that I came to realize keeping her apart from the family wasn't done in her best interest, but rather a strategic one from my parents to keep the Wayne name untarnished.
I'm telling you this because Lilith is your natural mother, you are by blood my niece –but in my heart you are my daughter. Your natural father is in Gotham, but even in writing this letter I don't have the heart to give you his name. It's my fear that such knowledge will only drive you deeper into a world that can bring you nothing but pain and loss.
You struggle with feelings of abandonment and I'm sure you grew up feeling as though you were unwanted by the ones who conceived you. I'm not condoning what my sister did, leaving you at a church when you were barely a month old, but in her way –through the inner workings of her troubled mind, I believe she was trying to save you. She didn't want you to have the life you were born into, nor did she trust the Wayne name or family because of what was done to her. She wanted you to have a chance at something different, live in happiness far away from the pain that she, herself, had grown up in.
You would have been about three years old when I received a letter from her, in it she wrote that she'd made a terrible mistake leaving you behind. I didn't know you'd even existed until that day, she asked me to find you and bring you home. To raise you as my own and give you the best possible life and from that day forward, Martha and I never stopped searching for you. I also tried to find my sister, but there was no return address on the letter and the best P.I.'s I knew couldn't pick up a trail on her –wherever she is, whatever she's doing –I don't think she wants to be found.
You deserve the truth and I hope in some way it can set you free, that better understanding who you are and where you came from can give you much needed peace, but I want you to know that this changes nothing for Martha and I. You are our daughter, you are a Wayne and ultimately I am proud of you. Proud of everything you've overcome and your inner strength that always shines through; you are a fighter –never forget that.
I don't know how old you are as you're reading this, or where your life choices have gotten you so I won't offer up much fatherly advice, but I want you to know that I've seen your struggle. The battle between light and dark, a battle that you so often act like has already been lost –but it hasn't, not as I'm writing this to you. Sometimes the most important decisions to make are the hardest ones, but you make them anyway because it's the right thing to do. You know the difference between right and wrong, and while you seem to have lost your way, I'll leave you with this –look inside yourself, find your own light and always follow it.
I love you.'

Bird didn't even realize tears had been running down her face until she finished reading the letter and folded it up to slide it back inside the envelope. Tucking it between the books again, she placed them back inside of the box and laid the picture frame on top of it all before closing the flaps back shut and pushing it the side.

All that time she'd been afraid to read it, afraid to think that the last thing she'd hear from her father would be how disappointed he was in her when the exact opposite had been true. In many ways she felt silly now for how scared she'd been to open the envelope, but now she couldn't help but wonder how different the past year might have been if she'd only read the letter sooner.

She spent some time upstairs, sitting alone in the silence with only the company of her still troubled mind. Finally she made her way downstairs and realized how late it had gotten and as she neared the front door she slowed to a stop at seeing Harvey's keys in the decorative dish on the end table in the hallway where he always left them.

"Harvey?" She called out, finding it strange she hadn't heard him come in.

Her eyebrows lowered when she didn't hear anything in the quiet house. She checked his office, their bedroom, checked the bathrooms and still couldn't find any sign of him.

Her bare feet padded against the stairs as she quickly went back to the first floor and out of the front door, her heart starting to race with fear inside of her chest when she saw his car was in the driveway, but there was still no sign of him. It had gotten dark and all the streetlights were on, a soundtrack of sirens played in the distance and her head was spinning.

Going back inside the house, she went into the living room to get her cellphone and called him but stopped when something caught her eye. Turning her head, she looked out of their back patio doors that were standing wide open and she could see their back yard was illuminated with nothing short of hundreds of different color Chinese paper lanterns.

Dropping her phone back on the coffee table, she advanced towards the open door and stepped outside, as she looked around at all the beautiful lights, strung throughout their trees and floating in the three tier fountain. On the ground was a rose petal covered pathway with white light paper lanterns illuminating the way, biting down on her bottom lip she followed the path to a small table with a candlelight dinner set up. Even through the metal plate covers she could smell the herbs from their favorite Italian restaurant.

Turning back around her heart fluttered when she spotted him.

"How did you even…" She breathed, looking back around their backyard that had been transformed into something that looked like it had been pulled from a fairytale, "I've been inside this whole time…"

"I worked fast." He smiled, walking up and leaning down as he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss, before admitting, "I might have also had some help from your brother and Alfred."

"What?" She laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "This is amazing… it's magical… I love it."

As his mouth landed on hers again, he thought back to when he'd proposed and she'd told him no, smiling he pulled back just enough to whisper, "How's this for a grand romantic gesture?"

"Harvey…" She breathed, shaking her head in disbelief as he kissed her once more before taking a few steps away from her. Swallowing hard and unable to wipe the smile off her face, she blinked rapidly in all of the twinkling lights as she complained, "You're going to make me cry."

By the time he'd knelt down on one knee, she was already swatting a few stray tears from her cheeks. It was beautiful, he was a beautiful person inside and out and she knew in those moments that she had never been more in love with him. Over the past year sometimes the ground they'd been standing on was shaky at best, but somehow they'd made it through together.

"I meant everything I said before." He softly said, smiling as he looked up and saw her eyes glistening in the lighting. "You are the most amazing person I've ever known and you mean everything to me. I want your face to be the last thing I see every night and the first thing I see when I open my eyes in the morning –every single day for the rest of my life. We've had our fair share of problems and disagreements, but I wouldn't trade a single moment of my time with you for anything. You are my entire world and I love you."

Raising her hands to her cheeks she wiped the tears away as she stared down to where he was knelt, it almost felt like a dream to her. It had to be a dream.

These miracle moments didn't happen in a place like Gotham, they didn't happen to someone like her.
This should be the moment where some masked gunman jumps out from the shadows, or her phone would ring with new orders from Falcone.

But there wasn't any enemies to fight off in that second. Falcone was retired somewhere and she was free -no longer forced to live under anyone's thumb.

She was afraid to move, afraid to blink for fear of losing the moment –like if she actually let herself believe it was real that it would evaporate into thin air.

"Starling Wayne, will you marry me?" He finished.

"Yes." She answered, in a broken voice as she nodded frantically; but it wasn't until he'd slide the engagement ring onto her finger and stood to face her that it actually felt real.

Rushing forward she threw herself in his arms and he effortlessly caught her, their mouths sought out each other's and Bird wasn't sure if her feet were dangling above the ground or if she'd somehow defied the laws of gravity and was floating.

She was happy and that terrified her because it always seemed like every time she let herself be happy, something bad always followed. Good things never seemed to last for someone like her.
But she tried to ward those feelings off and let herself enjoy the moment with the man she loved. It had been a long and often painful journey to get to where she was, but she'd fought tooth and nail to claw her way to this moment and it was worth it.

This was what she'd been fighting to gain her freedom for. This was what they both wanted and as he lowered her back down until her feet touched the ground she clutched onto him. Feeling safe and secure in his arms –a feeling she was still trying to get used to and she hoped that their love for each other was enough to keep the darkness in her at bay.

When her mouth found his again, she realized what being with him truly felt like –it felt like home.

~(Later the next week)~

Bird trailed her fingers along the railing as she walked down the large staircase in Falcone's mansion. She remembered the dread she used to feel being there when she was working under him.

Now here she was, willingly stepping foot back inside –which was decidedly easier now that he wasn't going to be there.

In truth, she wasn't entirely sure how she ended up there to begin with. She'd left her own house intending to stop by and see her brother at Wayne Manor, before making a trip to the store.

Only she'd ended up at the mansion instead and had spent the last thirty minutes exploring rooms she'd never had reason to enter before and along the way had found a small box she'd been filling with random items she'd always had her eye on.

Nearly everything was still intact from when Carmine Falcone was residing there. It seemed as if he'd really left Gotham the very night Oswald had taken over.

Bird remembered back to when she'd had a discussion with Oswald of how she didn't want to turn into Falcone. She didn't want to live into her so called golden years alone with nothing but regret for company.

In many ways, seeing the state of his former residence reminded her of that conversation and how her words had rang true.

By the looks of it, he couldn't have taken more than a few packed bags with him when he'd gone. Everything else was disposable, nothing else was worth staying behind for –apparently not even her.

She tried to brush the bitter sting of those thoughts away. After all, she wasn't even entirely sure she wanted to ever see him again. The term 'bad blood' between them took on an all new meaning when she learned he was her biological father.

Walking over to a display case in the corner of the room, she opened it and pulled out a delicate glass figurine in the shape of a bird that had specks of purple hues nearly glittering when the sunlight passed through it.

Gently she laid it down in her keepsake box and closed the glass door over the front of the case just before she heard near silent footsteps enter the room followed by the sound of a gun being cocked.

"Victor." She greeted, holding back a smirk at her ability to know who was trying to sneak up on her by the sound of his footsteps alone. He was almost as quiet as her –almost.

Turning around to face him, she eyed the gun, "And here I thought we'd moved past your wanting to kill me."

"We have." He agreed, flashing a predatory smile that was all teeth when he added, "But that could change if there was a high enough price on your head."

She watched as he returned the gun to its holster, "We both know if you were trying to kill me it would be a fight to the death."

"Your death." He countered.

The pair stood and stared at each other for several intense silent moments, before Bird offered a small smile and asked, "What are you doing lurking around Falcone's old place?" Raising her eyebrows and guessing, "Victor Zsasz things?"

"I could ask you the very same thing." He replied with a smile of his own, "Bird things?"

"I don't even know why I'm here." She admitted, setting the box of down on a small end table and shrugging, "Maybe trying to find something –some trace of her."

"Her?"

"My mother."

"Ah." Victor nodded, walking further into the room to see what all she'd planned on taking with her when she went.

"Did you know?" Bird questioned, not giving him time to ask what she meant, she added, "That Falcone is my real father?"

"Not for certain." Victor explained, "But I had my suspicions. After all, why else would he have wanted to keep you around when you were far more trouble alive than dead and then there's the picture-"

"Picture?" Bird cut him off.

Instead of an answer, he turned and left the room.

"Are you coming back?" She called after him, but didn't receive any indication that he'd even heard her.

Several minutes had passed and Bird was just about to finish gathering her things and leave, when Victor returned to the room and silently held out a framed picture.

Bird slowly advanced forward and took it from him, gathering a bit of strength with a deep breath before she looked at it.

It was a black and white picture of Falcone, clearly taken many years prior considering he looked quite a big younger. He was sitting on the stone steps in the park –where he'd often spend time in the morning throwing bits of bread to the pigeons.

Only he wasn't alone –sitting next to him was a woman in a floral print dress with a wide brim sunhat atop her long raven hair. The photo had caught her in the middle of a laugh, with her head tilted back and mouth open wide.

Bird's own mouth hung slightly open as she gingerly trailed her fingertips over the glass inside the frame, noting that the nameless woman wasn't the only one who appeared happy. Falcone was wearing a smile on his face as well –a smile, the likes of which she hadn't seen on him before.

It was a moment struck in freeze frame –from another time that felt worlds away.

She had no idea what was had been said between them and found herself wondering if he'd said something funny to elicit the laugh or maybe they'd both seen something laughable. Either way; they looked happy.

Her eyes went back to the woman in the picture and Bird could feel it in her chest that she was catching a glimpse of her biological mother.

Victor told her of how he'd caught Falcone looking at the picture a few times, but he'd normally kept it on the bottom shelf of a bookcase in a locked upstairs room out of sight from everyone.

"She's beautiful." Bird whispered, trailing her fingers over the intricate carved designs on the old wood frame.

"You look like her." He acknowledged and she joked, "Did you really just compliment me?"

"So, what's next for Victor Zsasz?" She found the strength to ask as she pulled her eyes away from the picture and laid it her keep box.

"Falcone's retired." He said out loud, thinking how the words sounded alien to his ears. The man he'd worked under for years was no longer calling the shots in Gotham and in the matter of a few weeks it felt like his own world had been partially uprooted.
With a despondent shrug he guessed, "Find my next payday… looks like I'm a free agent now."

Giving some thought to how much she'd grown and learned during their time of training and working together he wondered if they'd end up vying against one another for contract kills.

"What's next for Bird?" He finally asked.

"Living my life out of the shadows for the first time in a very long time." She said with an airy sigh, "I've got my brother I should be looking after and I'm engaged."
No longer speaking to him and more so thinking out loud, she added, "I don't know what's next for Bird… maybe she's done. I guess it's time for Starling Wayne to step up appearances at company events and there's a wedding and parties to plan and-"

"It sounds terrible." Victor observed, cutting her off when he couldn't stomach the mundaneness of it all. Nodding to the engagement ring on her finger, he continued, "Guess that ring really does come with a ball and chain."

"Ha-ha." She sighed, "It doesn't sound that bad."
In the same breath, her heart started to race and she blurted out, "Oh my god, it does sound terrible."

"Told you." He nodded.

Managing a smile, she shook her head and tried to convince herself that it was just new-life jitters and the adjustment of it all causing her to feel like she couldn't be the person she was expected to be.
"It'll be fine."

His forehead wrinkled as he gave her a disbelieving look and started to turn and walk away.

Her breathing was still a little rattled as she helplessly called after him, "It's what I'm supposed to do, it's who I'm supposed to be. Someone my parents would have really been proud of-"

"Aren't they dead?" Victor said in a teasing voice as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"You know they are." She gruffly replied, her eyes narrowing as she took a few steps towards him.

"Then what's the point of trying to make them proud?" He couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the ridiculous thought of it all.

"It's not that simple." Her tongue was sharp with the argument.

"Silly. Little. Bird." He teased with another menacing smile as he turned around to face her and referenced the first time they'd ever crossed paths, "Deep down you're still that teenager with glitter in her hair –always making everything more complicated than it is."

Rolling her eyes, her arms crossed defensively over her chest and she stubbornly shook her head at him.

Letting out a frustrated sigh of his own, he walked back up to her and gruffly pointed out, "You're complaining because the people around you expect you to be something you don't want to be. It is simple –Falcone's gone and no one is forcing you to do anything anymore. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" A laugh slid out from between her teeth and she shook her head, "Does that even matter? Has that ever mattered to anyone?"

"Not if it doesn't matter to you." He simply responded with another shrug.

Swallowing hard she broke eye contact with him and he gave one last look around the room before he started to leave.

"Victor!"

He came to a stop and pulled in a breath, about to let her know that he had better things to do then stand around listening to her problems.
If he were to have a business card; it would read hitman –not therapist.

Before he could say anything she offered some advice of her own, "You should for see Oswald for work."

"Penguin?" He scoffed.

"He's going to meet a lot of resistance to him running the city. Think about it, there's going to need to be a lot of threats eliminated and he knows you're the best out there. He's fair… probably might even pay you more than Falcone did." Her voice lowered some and there was a tinge of sadness as she added, "He needs people on his side."

"Goodbye, Bird." Victor said, glancing back at her once last time before leaving the mansion.

Gathering the box back up, she looked around the now otherwise empty room. Pulling in a deep breath she slowly exhaled and repeated his words, "Goodbye, Bird."

A/N - …and the end!
^_^ Thank you guys so much for reading all 52 chapters of We Were Born Sick.
This story is now complete, but Bird's journey is far from over. I will soon be posting the next installment which will be titled 'Wasteland'.
If you'd like me to message you when the sequel is up, just let me know either in a review or a message.

I hope you all liked the ending chapter! I wanted to give it a sense of finality for those of you who might not be planning on reading the next story.
I've given a lot of thought and consideration to where Bird's journey is leading and the sequel is going to be Jim/Bird/Oswald.
Harvey Dent will still be in there, especially towards the beginning of it, but in writing this story I just really fell in love with Jim and Bird and I can't wait to develop a deeper relationship between them and see where it goes.
And of course, Oswald is still going to be a major part of Bird's life and we know how he feels about her, but the line for how Bird feels for him is blurry at best. So who knows where this could all end up? Lol.

I'm hoping you'll all continue to stick with me no matter what the pairing is.
I've always felt from the beginning that this is much more about Bird's story and struggles and the romance aspect is secondary.
But if you happen to be so invested in Bird x Harvey that you don't want to read it without their pairing, then hopefully you can take some solace in the ending here and pretend that they get a happily ever after. :P

I want to thank Shadow knight1121, Melody Jane and SwingingOnAStar for reviewing chapter 51! :)
And an extra special thank you to Miss E Charlotte, who has been there with me and supporting me from day one with this story. Thank you for supporting me every single step of the way and for your reviews. I'm glad you got caught up!

I feel like there is so much more to say, but this is a long enough note as it is. Lol.

As I said earlier, if you'd like to know when 'Wasteland' is posted –just let me know.

Thank you all so much!

xx