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Gotham was satisfying. As it turns out, Seb was right; Jim needed a holiday. It was a pleasant change of pace, watching the chaos explode around him without having to worry about conducting it himself. But of course, eventually enough is enough. Too much of a good thing will always turn sour.

So, when a Door to Milliways turns up shortly after the death of Harvey Dent, Jim takes it.

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She rubs her face with both hands, a gesture strongly reminiscent of the one Jenny used just a short time ago.

"All right," she says, casting one last glance over the surrounding wreckage. "See you in a bit."

Instead of wading through the icy flood, she glides over it, and when she reaches dry carpet she directs a slight frown at her shoes and they obediently become dry.

"It's magic, by the way," she adds as she's walking away. "All of it."

Of course it is.

He doesn't answer. He knows a good exit line when he hears one, and she's certainly earned it.

Briskly, he turns his full attention to the situation at hand. It's been a while since he's had to get rid of a body himself, without a crew to deal with the heavy lifting (so to speak), but he'll manage. Agatha Trunchbull will remain on the books as officially missing, no one will be coming round to ask Jenny any difficult questions, and this particular problem will never bother them again.

Matilda and Jenny take their time getting home. There are hugs first, and hot chocolate at a nearby donut shop, and a modicum of sniffles all round. Jenny calls the school to let them know that she's fine now and would really rather not talk about it, thank you, and yes, she will be coming back on Monday just like normal.

It's probable, however, that they still get there before Jim.

They do.

He makes his way back eventually, though. When he appears in the living room, he's a mess.

It was not a clean process.

More than that, though, he looks tired. He's still running on lingering adrenalin, but that's all he's got. After the extended tour of Gotham and the physically demanding nature of the last few hours, his body is finally prepared to rebel. Once he crashes, he's going to crash hard.

For the moment, though, he looks quite cheerful.

"Evening, ladies."

"Oh my," says Jenny.

"I'm gonna get muffins," says Matilda.

Jim laughs and drops onto the couch without comment.

That was more or less the reception he was expecting.

(He would have looked for a Door to go straight to his room at Milliways, but he doesn't think Matilda would be best pleased if he left without at least checking in first. He'd just as soon not have to deal with that later.)

The muffins (four of them, floating in a neat line) arrive in the living room faster than Matilda does; she had to see them to get them out, but she knows the house well enough to send them exactly where they need to go without bothering to lead the way.

While she's out of the room, Jim closes his eyes.

His muffin is going to have to wait.

When she sees him there, Matilda sighs.

She leaves the muffins on the coffee table, fetches a light blanket from the linen closet, and carefully tucks him in. Jenny watches.

"You're an amazing little girl," she murmurs at last.

"I know," Matilda says quietly. She turns off the lights in the room without touching them. "Most of the time it's fun."

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