Work Text:
RafeAgnew:
So… what do you say about going out today?
JoErikson:
I’m not sure, I’ll need to check if I’m free.
-Dad? Are you there? – the girl yells from her room.
-In the kitchen, Jig – there’s a yell back.
Josephine gets up from her bed in all her meter and a half of height, shakes her hair and walks to the kitchen where her father is. They look nothing alike. Jo takes after her mother in all her “brownness”, bronze skin (she blames her father being the whitest of whites), long brown wavy hair, brown eyes and short, so short (but taller than her sister, who is still growing so that may not last), all that latino-polinesian mixing up with her Scandinavian father gens. Nilsen Erikson, on the other hand, is exactly what one would think of upon a modern times Viking, tall, broad, blonde, blue eyed and white as they come.
-So, daddy – Jo starts sitting on the counter – am I free tonight?
Nilsen stops the making of his sandwich for a second as he goes through a mental list – I think so, Jeremy asked to stay over at the Hoover’s today – he resumes his sandwich making – do you want to do something just the two of us today? We haven’t watched anime in a while.
-Not since I was an only child – Josephine jokes – actually, I was asking because someone asked me out.
-Do I know them? – Josephine loves how her dad just goes for indefinite pronouns, she’s heterosexual but her little sister is not and so their dad never assumes gender for anyone.
-Nope, first date – she met this guy just a week ago in a coffee shop near Gotham University, he’s hot, and from their texting he’s quite nice so she’s giving him a chance.
-Just be careful, okay? I think I’ll see if Jim has a shift today and if he wants to come over and watch a game or something – not everybody could say the GCPD commissioner went to their home but her dad being in the department for the last 20 years or so gave him friends, hell, the commissioner daughter use to babysit Josephine and her siblings when they were younger.
-Okay, daddy, I’ll go get ready.
JoErikson:
I checked, I’m free.
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-How do you feel about being tied up? – Rafe asks in between kisses.
-That’s hot, definitely hot.
-Good to know – he chuckles.
Then she is tied up and he is getting away from her. Josephine is confused. This is not a tie or something like that, this are real handcuffs. Where did he even get them?
-Rafe? What’s going on?
-You are really naïve, aren’t you?
-What do you mean?
-Your dad is a cop; one would think you would at least check the records of men asking you out - he comes near to her feet and she kicks him in the face as hard as she can being handcuffed to the bed, he reacts bending her foot until she cries and then tie both of her feet to the bed – now, now, now, I’ll need your phone, little miss Erikson.
He trashes her bag, and everything goes out, including her taser and every self-defense weapon she owns, all of it way too far for her to grab it. Finally, he finds her phone and starts trying to unlock it, then he realizes it’s fingerprint locked. Thankfully, he just uses her finger to unlock it.
-Oh, so cute, you call your dad daddy, I’ll just put it on speaker.
-Jig, are you okay?
-She is not okay, Officer Erikson.
-Who are you? Why do you have my daughter’s phone’ – there’s a muffled sound on his end, he said he was going to invite Commissioner Gordon over, he must be there!
-Well, your daughter has been a naughty girl, say hello to your daddy, Josephine – she just glares at him, so he backhands her cheek making her scream.
-Josephine?!!! – Nyles shouts.
-I’m fine, dad, don’t worry – she answers.
-But she won’t be for long – Raphael chuckles darkly – I’ll send you an address, you must come here, alone, unarmed, and then I’ll let her go, my feud is not with her. If you’re not here in an hour, you’ll find her missing some pieces.
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-You shouldn’t go alone, Nyles! – Jim repeats – Just wait a few minutes, I’m already texting the department.
-She could be dead in a few minutes, James! Would you wait if it were Barbara?
-We’ll follow you – Jim sighs – I’ll try to get Batman in it, too.
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-Daddy dearest is here, Josephine – Raphael laughs – and I’ll get justice.
He opened the door while holding a pan and immediately had hit Nyles to get him out of it enough to tie him to a chair. So much for Gotham PD.
-Agnew? – Nyles says confused – you should be in jail.
-I got out early for good behavior – he shrugs.
-Good behavior? That’s a good one – Josephine scoffs.
-Jo? Are you okay?
-I’m fine, dad, don’t worry about me.
-You said you’ll let her go, now, let her go – Nyles orders.
-I lied, of course – he actually sticks his tongue at him – you got me in jail, I’ll make you suffer, and she is the way to do it. Now, now, now, should I rape her and make you watch or cut off her fingers? Or should I cut off your fingers then rape her and make you watch? Yeah, that one sounds nice.
-Jigllypuff, close your eyes and sing to me – Josephine hears the nickname and obeys.
She sings while trying to ignore her father’s yells at the pain. Sings a song he loves, a song that means so much to them, and the emotions that come with it. It’s like everything is building up and she just needs to let it out. She sings and sings until it comes out, and everything is silence.
Cautiously, Josephine opens her eyes, she can’t see her father, the chair had fallen. She can’t see Raphael either. But she can see the windows that had broken for some reason. And a figure comes in from the window. A bright red helmet on a broad body. Red Hood.
-Is my dad okay? I can’t see him or hear him – she asks, the helmet moves looking at the floor and he kneels to touch something.
-I’m sorry, miss Erikson.
No. No. No. No. No.
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-Josephine? Are you okay?
-She hasn’t said anything, commissioner – one of the paramedics with her answered, they had covered her with a shock blanket once Red Hood had gotten her out – Not since finding out about her father, according to Red Hood. Do you know if there is any family we may call?
-There’s no family, I’ll stay with her. Is that okay, Jo? I’ll call Juliet, okay?
-No – she whispers before looking at him with eyes full of tears – I’ll do it. I’m the oldest. I’ll take care of them.
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Josephine feels numb. It was her fault. Her recklessness got her father killed. She is legally an adult, yes, but her siblings are not. Juliet is fourteen. Her cheer coach brought her home after Josephine called. It wasn’t easy to tell her, but she was old enough to understand. Jeremy is not. He is six. He doesn’t even remember their mom. And now she needs to tell him she got his dad killed.
-Hi, Jer – Juliet was the one waiting for him at the door, Josephine just around the corner.
-Hi! – He sounds winded, like he ran from Mrs. Hoover’s car to the house – wait, weren’t you at cheer camp?
-I had to come home early.
The door closes and they walk towards the living room where Josephine waits for them – Hi, baby – Jeremy allows her a hug before dropping his backpack on the couch.
-What’s going on?
-Jeremy, I – she makes a pause, trying to find the words – I need to tell you something.
The boy stills, something clicking in his mind – Where is dad?
-He… Dad is… - Juliet gets between them, leans down and hugs Jeremy, seeing them like that, supporting each other helps Josephine say it – Dad is with Mom, Jeremy. He died last night.
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Juliet and Josephine sing again. The same song they sang on their mother’s funeral. A song about living even after dying. Four years ago, after burying their mom, they planted a cherry blossom tree. Now, they’ll plant another one, for their father. Their parents will be together in dead as they were in life, bringing beauty to the world and the gray skies of Gotham.
-Josephine, may I have a word?
-Of course, Commissioner – Juliet takes Jeremy towards Barbara and her boyfriend for them to talk without worries – what is it?
-I helped your dad with his will, so I feel like I should tell you some things before the official reading – this may be worrisome – it is about your siblings’ custody.
-CPS isn’t taking them, right? We got no family but I’m an adult, I can take care of them.
-I know you can. And so did your father. He was very clear in his will, if you agree with it, you are taking their custody under my supervision. I’ll help you out as much as you allow me. The house is completely paid for, he settled everything as well as he could.
Nobody would separate them or take them somewhere far away. The only family they had were distant cousins in either Norway or Chile. They were staying together. And Josephine would make sure her siblings would be alright.
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-Batman? This is 00’s Takamina requesting communication.
-Comms open. Start talking, Takamina.
-Around two months ago our kirara force radar caught a disturbance, as you may recall from our introduction, kirara’s are behind most of our strength, a few days later another one was caught. We investigated the disturbance and have managed to identify the epicenter of both as Gotham City. We are requesting support from you or your team in finding the origin.
-Granted. I’ll communicate to you the instructions and your Gotham contacts shortly.