It had been three days since Penelope had stopped by with her old college yearbook. Two days since he had brought himself to finally get out of his apartment, even if it was just to get a cup of coffee and a copy of the Gotham Gazette. One day since he finally bit the bullet and called Dr. Leland to set up another appointment. What a wonderful experience that was going to be. Edward leaned back against his couch cushions and let out a long sigh. He was still tired. His ribs were still tender from the thrashing Croc had given him. He still had moments where he would think of Jonathan and the tears would come. He let them come now though. It hurt a little less each time, but Edward was coming to terms with the fact that the hurt would never go away completely. More than anything now though, he was bored. He wasn't physically or mentally up to the task of getting back to the investigation, or even his regular casework, but more than anything, he hated the feeling of stagnation. At least Dierdre and Nina were coming for a visit. That was something to look forward to. They were even staying long enough that they'd finally get a chance to meet Ellen. Edward wasn't sure if he should look forward to that or dread it. They weren't due to arrive until later that evening though, which left Edward nothing to do but flip through news coverage and reruns of game shows. He let out another huff. He hated being bored.

His idle channel surfing was interrupted by a knocking at his door. Edward looked up, interested. Had the girls arrived early? "The door's open!"

His door swung wide open and a woman dressed in black tights and a large red sweater walked in, carrying several large packages that obscured her face. Edward could just see the ends of two blond pigtails and he was instantly on the alert. It couldn't be...The woman placed the packages down on the dining room table and her face was revealed, confirming Edward's worst fears. Her face broke out into a wide grin. "Eddie!"

Oh no. Not her. Not now. "H-Harley?"

Harley squealed and bounded to the couch, plopping herself next to Edward with such force he nearly bounced up. "Right-a-Rooney!" Harley then grabbed his arm and squeezed it tight. "Oh, Eddie! I really missed you!"

Edward sat stiff as a board while he attempted to comprehend the situation. Harley Quinn was in his apartment. Why was she in his apartment? They hadn't spoken for the better part of a year! "Did you now?" he asked.

Harley looked up at him and nodded. "Of course I did!"

Edward didn't believe that whole-heartedly. "Why are you really here, Harley?"

Harley's face fell slightly and Edward felt a slight hint of guilt before stamping it down. "Kitty told me and Red what happened with you and Croc. I thought you could use the company!"

For a cat burglar, Selina didn't seem to know the value of discretion at times. "Is that the only reason you're here?"

Harley let out a long sigh. "You sure don't make it easy on a girl, do you, Eddie?" She paused for a moment before she spoke in a serious tone. "Look, I know things got really messed up between us. I haven't been as good a friend to you as I should have been. But I wanna make it right!"

'Really messed up between us'. That was one way of putting it. "You set me up with Dr. Aesop, Harley. I can't just forget that!"

Harley's lower lip jutted out into a pout. "So did Kitty and you forgave her!" Selina had had to save him from Tetch before he'd been willing to bury the hatchet with her. Edward was about to inform Harley of that fact when she sighed again. "I shouldn't have said that I'm sorry. If you really don't want to be friends anymore, I get it. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I was for everything." She looked up at him with those big, pleading blue eyes and Edward felt his resolve slip.

Maybe it was the painkillers talking, maybe it was the old sentimentality he had regarding Harley. This was a dangerous road to go down though. As loving as Harley could be, she was inconstant. How many times had she sworn up and down that she was someone's friend, only to forget them the moment the Joker came calling? "I appreciate the apology," he said at last. "But forgive me if I'm a little hesitant."

"I get it," Harley said. "I haven't exactly been reliable before, but it's different now! Me and Mr. J-we're done. That's way in my past." Harley clasped Edward's hands in her own. "We can go as slow as you want, but I promise, I wanna do whatever I can to make it up to you."

Edward looked at their hands and wet his lip. Harley was fickle, but she had been a good friend to him and to Jonathan once. Then he remembered that there was someone else to consider. "It can't be what it was like before," he said. "I won't get involved in whatever nonsense you and Selina and Ivy get up to and you can't drop in on me unannounced. But I wouldn't be opposed to catching up every now and again."

Harley's face broke out into another wide grin and she let out a whoop. "Yay!" She let go of Edward's hands to go in for a hug when she paused. "Oh yeah. Your ribs." She settled for hugging his arm instead. Edward shook his head in fond exasperation. No one on Earth save Batman himself could ever really say no to Harley. Harley suddenly let go of him to jump up from the couch and walk back to the dining room table. "I almost forgot! Your presents!"

Edward raised an eyebrow as he watched Harley gather the packages she'd brought into his apartment and awkwardly carry them back to the couch. "My presents? You're not trying to buy me back are you?"

"No!" Harley said, setting the parcels down on the coffee table. She looked at Edward with a sheepish grin. "Well, maybe a little." She grabbed one box wrapped in shiny green wrapping paper and nearly shoved it into Edward's hands. "That was supposed to be your Birthday present last year! These two big ones were for Christmas! That little one I got at a gift shop last week because it reminded me of you! And this one I picked up when me and the girls went on a road trip upstate last October..."

Edward listened to Harley prattle on about her adventures with the other two Sirens with polite disinterest as he considered one very important question: how on Earth was he going to explain this to Penelope?

"So what've you been up to, Mr. Bigshot Private Eye? I saw that whole Tut thing on the news!"

He wouldn't tell her about Hugo Strange and that whole affair. Not until she'd proven she could be completely trusted. "Let's just say I've had...quite an experience."

"This is Vicki Vale, coming to you live from Gotham City Hall, where today, the Sharp Commission will officially convene. Members of the commission include City council members as well as members of the governing boards of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison. Mayor Sharp announced the creation of this commission back in January to shed light on how Victor Goodman was able to carry out his December rampage. My sources in City Hall have told me however that this commission will also be taking a greater look at how GCPD has handled the so-called supercriminals over the past decade. Today, the commission is set to question Detective Harvey Bullock, Detective Renee Montoya, and Officer Aaron Cash in detail about the events that unfolded in GCPD headquarters last December. We'll continue to bring you coverage as events unfold. This is Vicki Vale."

Penelope had cleared today on her calendar over a week ago before the incident with Waylon Jones had derailed everything. She walked into the main city council chamber of City Hall, into a crowd of GCPD officers, city officials and reporters. Near the front row, she recognized Jack Ryder preening himself and she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. The questioning today would be enough of a circus without Ryder stirring things up for extra publicity. She also spotted Bullock and Montoya huddled in a far right corner of the room speaking to each other.

"Hey, Doc!"

Penelope turned to see Aaron Cash pushing his way through the mob to get to her. He stopped just in front of her and gave her a lopsided grin. "I didn't know you were gonna be here. Shouldn't you be working?"

If it were almost any other person, Penelope would greet his teasing comments with a sharp retort, but instead, she smiled slightly. "I came to show support for you, Bullock and Montoya," she said. It was partly true, but really, she came to get information. She knew Sharp himself wouldn't be here and she doubted Strange would reveal himself, but it was obvious to almost everyone in attendance that this was meant to be a repudiation of Gordon and his handling of GCPD. Their fingerprints would be all over the proceedings today.

Aaron's smile grew warmer. "I appreciate that, Doc. I really do." He placed his right hand on her shoulder and his face grew serious. "I know I said this before, but I'll say it again: I'm really sorry for what happened last year."

Penelope shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, Aaron. No one knew what Goodman was going to do."

Aaron huffed. "Nigma knew. He tried to warn us, but I thought he was full of it. If I'd listened to him-"

"Aaron," Penelope said. "I don't mean to be cold, but there's no point going over 'what-if's'. It happened. The best thing we can do is learn from it and move on." She was no stranger to regret.

Aaron nodded. "Yeah. You're right. Anyway, I'd better get up there. Wish me luck, Doc."

"You'll be fine, Aaron," Penelope said as Aaron gave her a wave and walked towards the front of the room. Penelope felt her heart sink a bit. Aaron was a good man and a good cop. He didn't deserve to be raked over the coals to satisfy a grudge. Shaking her head, she walked towards the rapidly filling benches to find a seat. She walked up a row until she saw Joan sitting near the edge. Joan caught her eyes and waved her over, gesturing to the empty spot next to her. Penelope took it. "Hi, Joan."

"Hi, Penelope," Joan answered. "I'm a bit surprised to see you here instead of work."

"Believe me, Joan, I'm not here for fun," Penelope said. She watched as the members of the commission began to appear in the chamber. She recognized Councilman James Roberts and Councilwoman Ashley Greene. They represented the Bowery and the Diamond Districts of Gotham City respectively. Two of the more..colorful parts of town. Doubtless, they and their constituents had plenty of thoughts on how GCPD conducted their affairs. She also saw a broad, white-haired man with a prominent frown on his face making his way to the chamber and vaguely recognized him as Phillip Ward, an old associate of Sharp's from when he'd worked at Blackgate. Ward was the Warden of Blackgate Prison now and had paid frequent visits to the Asylum while she'd worked there. He'd been there the night of the riot, overseeing the transfer of the Joker's men into the Asylum. He'd also been present when Bane-Penelope dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand. Don't think about that now.

Joan leaned over to say "So far, it looks like the commission made up mostly of Sharp's allies. I don't see anyone who's criticized him yet."

"I think I see Lyle Bolton as well," Penelope muttered. "He's probably there to goad Bullock into saying something rash. Not that he needs the goading."

Joan clucked her tongue. "I feel so sorry for him, Renee and Aaron. They're probably going to be pushed to resign."

"Or they'll be pressured to turn on Gordon," Penelope mused. "I'm convinced he's the real target of the commission. It's too dangerous to attack him directly, so Sharp is going to isolate him by getting rid of his strongest allies in GCPD."

Joan nodded. "Sounds about right." She quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening before she whispered. "Is Edward going to be here?"

Penelope's face softened. "No," she whispered. "At least, I hope not. He's not-he's not up to this right now."

"I spoke to him yesterday about setting up an appointment. Can you give me a hint of what that's about?"

Penelope looked at her hands. "It's...a personal matter. You should hear the rest from him."

Joan nodded, then turned her attention back to the stage. Penelope inwardly sighed. Edward needed to focus on his recovery now. She could handle the commission. She was more than enough.

"Mind if I sit here, ladies?"

Penelope looked upwards at the voice and was shocked to see none other than Bruce Wayne standing before her. He caught her eyes with a dazzling if obviously practiced smile. Penelope said nothing to him but moved over to accommodate the billionaire. Joan looked and smiled. "Bruce! How are you?"

Wayne waved. "Hi, Joan. I've been fine." He turned his attention back to Penelope. "I don't believe we've met. I'm-"

"I know who you are," Penelope answered in a clipped tone. "Bruce Wayne. I'm Dr. Penelope Young. I consult with GCPD."

Wayne looked blankly at her for a moment, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well then. That takes care of introductions. So what brings you here today?"

"I could ask you the same question," Penelope answered, keeping her focus directly on the commission members. She never cared for small talk and she was especially not in the mood for it today. "I'd think that running Wayne Enterprises would keep you busy enough without dropping in on a city commission."

She looked out of the corner of her eye to see that Wayne had a cheeky grin on his face. "Keeps me out of those dull board meetings."

"Penelope," Joan scolded. "Be nice. Mr. Wayne used to be on the Board of Directors for Arkham Asylum."

For the first time, Penelope looked at Wayne with genuine interest. "Oh? When?" It must have been before she'd begun working there. She would have remembered otherwise.

"A few years ago," Wayne answered. "Probably before your time. I supplied grant money for the doctors as well."

"Why did you stop?"

Wayne's face darkened somewhat. "Let's just say that I had some...misgivings about the direction the Asylum was going."

It seemed to make sense and Penelope was about to lose interest in him again when something he'd said hit her. "Before my time? How did you know I used to work at Arkham?" Had they met before?

Wayne actually looked a bit surprised. He was about to answer her when a hush fell over the room. Penelope turned her attention to the front of the chamber, where Ward was speaking into a microphone.

"Thank you. If I could have complete silence in the room, we can begin. This commission was formed to delve into the events of December 2006, when Victor Goodman, after eight years of silence, went on a murder spree and set off a bomb in GCPD headquarters. We're going to be looking into the causes of Goodman's rampage, as well as the GCPD's response and the involvement of certain third parties. Finally, we will be addressing whether GCPD's conduct in similar cases over the past ten years may have led to this event unfolding in the manner it did."

'Certain third parties.' That had to mean Edward. Her stomach began roiling in worry. If he was a target of the commission too, he wasn't here to defend himself and she doubted anyone in here would. Her resolve strengthened. She would. If no one else would, she would defend him as far as she could.

At the front, Ward continued, "We've all read the official case report and copies will be made available upon request. We'd like to begin with questioning the lead detective on the Goodman case. Detective First-Grade Harvey Bullock. Detective Bullock, will you please make your way to the front?"

Penelope watched Bullock get up from the front bench and shamble up to the desk set up in front of the chamber. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell from the stiff posture he had when he was seated, as well as the way that he clenched his fists, that he was less than happy. "Please state your name for the record," Ward said.

"Harvey Bullock," Bullock spat out. "I just wanna say for the record, that this whole 'commission' is a big fat waste of everyone's time! Mayor Sharp didn't have any problems with GCPD back when we had to save his ass in Arkham-"

"That will be all Bullock," Ward cut in, his voice neutral, even though from her seat near the back, Penelope could detect his face reddening. "In the interest of keeping things civil, we ask that you keep such comments like that to yourself. Now, do you have anything to say with regards to the Goodman case itself, before we begin asking questions?"

"Yeah," Bullock said. "Yeah, I got something to say. What happened last December wasn't the fault of anyone in GCPD. It was all Nigma's."

A noise of surprise spread in the chamber and Penelope brought her hand to her face. Well. It certainly hadn't taken long for Bullock to throw Edward under the bus.

"I'm sorry?" Councilwoman Greene asked. "You blame Edward Nigma for what happened?"

"Damn right I do," Bullock said. "He compromised our investigation from the beginning. He withheld evidence from GCPD. He egged Goodman on TV. If he hadn't stuck his nose in, GCPD would have taken Goodman off the streets and the people who died in the bombing would still be alive. He's a freak and a menace and it's only a matter of time until he gets people killed again!"

Before she knew what she was doing, Penelope was on her feet. "That's not true!" she shouted. A wave of faces turned to look at her and she felt her face flush when she realized what she'd done. She quickly sat back down and tried to ignore the shocked look on Joan's face. She didn't notice the calculating look on Wayne's.

"Silence from the gallery please!" Ward said loudly into the microphone. "Now, Detective Bullock. Please explain in detail how you conducted the investigation into Goodman's crimes. And keep your commentary to a minimum, please."

Penelope's face still burned as Bullock began to gruffly detail the investigation from his point of view. What in the Hell had she been thinking? She didn't know who Sharp or Strange had here. She couldn't afford to lose objectivity or expose herself and Edward like this. She was here to support GCPD, not to publicly undermine one of the most senior detectives-but he was attacking Edward. Edward, who wasn't here to defend himself. Edward, who although had made plenty of mistakes while investigating Goodman, didn't deserve to be made a scapegoat. One question began to repeat itself in her mind: If she had to choose, between protecting Gordon and GCPD as an institution, or protecting Edward, what would she choose? Or, she realized, had she already made that decision?