A/N: Okay, so here it is. A possible look at what might have happened if Casey died at the end of "The Unknown Child", my other story. You don't have to know what happened in that story to understand this.

"You don't realize what you have done to me. You don't know what you have taken away from me."

Her voice echoed in his head and stabbed violently at his heart. He was sorry for what he did to her, yet uncertain of his reason. He wanted to be able to love her and he wanted her to love him back. But Bruce never got what he wanted. He only got what he deserved.

"I'm sorry. How many times do I have to say it? You know I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you."

"Do you? Do you really?"

Of course he did. Even if she didn't love him, he knew in his heart that he loved her.

"This isn't something you can easily fix, Bruce. It isn't. We can't stay together and lie to each other everyday for the rest of our lives."

"I thought we were willing to try to love each other. You know I am willing to try to make it work."

"Well, I'm not."

Bruce remembered how she started to cry. All she thought about was the child they lost. No, not they; the child he lost.

One month ago…

Vicky had been living with Bruce for six months now, having been apart for eighteen years. They were engaged to be married in two months time and both of them saw it as a chance at a normal lifestyle. Vicky knew that Bruce would never give up his role as Batman. He couldn't bring himself to do that, and she wouldn't ask him to.

Bruce and his daughter, Casey, immediately connected and established a relationship. They had an eighteen year hole in their lives and they have finally met the one person who would be able to fill it.

Life carried on as it always did, no matter what obstacles arose. Bruce hid his secret from his daughter, and Vicky worried about him constantly. Bruce had finally come to realize that he was able to start loving again. He remembered how hard it was for him to let her go, but he never stopped loving her. Casey strengthened his love for Vicky; something he never though he'd ever lose.

It wasn't fair. Casey was taken away from her parents before their life together really started. An old enemy of Batman's sought out revenge and achieved it. Both Bruce and Vicky were there when Casey died. They held her as she left their world, never to return.

Vicky knew that Bruce had known about a possible threat on his small family. She was angry at him for doing nothing to stop it. She felt that if he took action, that Casey would be alive. She called off the engagement and moved to a small apartment on the eastern side of Gotham.

Bruce was left alone; abandoned by those who filled his life with purpose. He was a man without a purpose. His parents had died in front of him. He loved a beautiful woman who loved in return. They had a daughter together, and planned to be married.

Then his daughter died.

He was there. He knew it was going to happen before it did. Nigma said it would, but Bruce didn't believe him. The only time he ever held his daughter in his arms was at the moment of her death. He hadn't been there to see her life start, but he was there to see it end.

"Dad never meant to hurt you, Mom. You know that. Stop being so naïve and open your eyes to see that he still loves you. You know you love him too."

Vicky knew her daughter's voice. But her daughter was dead. There was no way she could be talking to her if she was dead; unless she dreamt it. Casey had always been the strong one. "Just like her father."

Vicky knew that if it was possible, that Casey would come back to visit her mother. It was possible, and Casey came back in her mother's dreams.

"He never meant to hurt you. Don't you think he'd give anything to spare you pain?"

"But he did hurt me, Casey. He knew you were going to die and he did nothing to stop it."

"Mom, please don't blame him. He misses you. He misses you more than you could possibly imagine. You are his world; his everything."

"If I am his everything, then why did he let you go? I am nothing without you, and he knows it. He said that he loved you too, so why did you die?"

"I died because I had to. You need to understand that. I had to die so you could be happy."

"How can I be happy? I had to bury my daughter, Casey! I had to bury you. You couldn't hang on any longer. As soon as I saw your face, I knew it was over. I had to let you go, but I couldn't. Do you have any idea how hard ---"

"And you think dying is easy? You really think I wanted to leave? I am so alone, Mom. So alone. I can't stay with you too long. My light is already going out. I just need you to understand one thing: I was the gift you and Dad shared. It was me who brought you two back together. My death is hard on him too. Don't make believe that you don't care about him. You are meant to be together. I did that. I brought you two back, and then I left. Just like I was supposed to. You have to continue without me. Please Mom, do it for me."

"Bruce, I am so sorry," Vicky said as soon as he answered the phone the next morning. "You don't need me to be mad at you. You need me to be there with you."

"What makes you think that?" Bruce replied, somewhat annoyed.

"Our daughter," Vicky said. "She wants us to be together. We have to stop lying to each other and keep our relationship going. We have to cherish it and we have to remember the one thing that will tie us together for eternity."

"And what is that?" Bruce asked.

"Casey."

-Fin-

A/N: Okay, I know it might have been bad, but what can you do? I just really thought it would be a goo d idea for me to have seen what would have happened if the story ended a little differently. PlzRnR…good and bad.