A/N:This also takes place during Begins. It tends to jump around to different parts, but if you've seen the movie, figuring out the time frame won't be that difficult. I didn't want to go over the entire thing, since this is essentially a TDK fic. Enjoy :)

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Bruce never came back to Gotham after the day of the hearing.

For six months, Maddie would jump whenever the phone rang and diligently checked the mailbox every day after school. But there were never any phone calls or letters. It was as if Bruce had dropped off the face of the planet. Eventually, she just stopped answering the phone... checking the mailbox. Maybe she had just stopped caring. There was no telling anymore. But he was always in the back of her mind.

--
2 years later.

Rachel had become a satisfying replacement for Bruce. Despite her being in law school and busying herself with studying, and her dreams of becoming a public servant, she always made time for Maddie. She would take her out for coffee or to a late lunch and they would talk for hours about anything. They would tell each other about the men in their lives, or the lack there of. Neither of them had been any good at relationships. Especially Maddie, who found most of the boys her age to be simple and uninteresting. That being said, she was still the most popular among them, and was constantly being asked out on dates, or even more horrifying, a trip to the broom closet during lunch period. Both scenarios made her cringe, so she rejected them all on both offers.

It was funny, but Bruce rarely came up in their conversations, and when he would, a dark look would come over Rachel. One of pain and longing. It was obvious that she still loved him. That she'd always loved him. Rachel had never said that to her directly, but it wasn't hard to figure out. Every time that would happen, jealousy would run through the teenager's veins like ice water. She wanted to love someone like that, and even better, have them return her feelings.

Rachel shook her head absently, sipping her coffee. "It doesn't just happen. You have to find the right person. Not just the 'right now' guy. But the one who's going to stick around when you're at your worst." She stopped for a moment and glanced at the traffic out of the window. "Someone who won't leave."

There it was again. Maddie smiled. "Oh, come on, Rachel... look at you. You're smart, successful, and not to mention gorgeous. You're not giving yourself enough credit."

"Most of the time I don't feel all that amazing." Rachel responded dryly. She checked her watch. "Do you have to be somewhere?"

"Nope. No more classes today. Thank God. Why?" Maddie asked, rummaging through her purse for her cell phone.

Rachel shrugged, putting some money down on the counter. "I don't know. I have this case I'm sitting in on. Thought you might want to tag along. You're always..."

Maddie's eyes lit up. "A real case? Seriously?!" She'd always asked Rachel to tag along, but the cases were either too brutal or too boring. There were other excuses as well, but none were very believable. "Is he an axe murderer... something like that?"

Rachel could only laugh. Maddie's fascination with criminals had become a source of amusement for her over the years. She wished she had the same sense of humor. Most of the things she saw at her job, even if it was only an assistant position, no one should have to witness. "I worry about you sometimes," Rachel told her, ruffling some of her hair. "But no, nothing so glamorous, I'm afraid."

--
4 1/2 years later.

Then, after years of silent hope, the day had come.

Maddie was going through her usual afternoon routine at Gotham High School. Weaving in and out of the endless sea of Senior students, like herself, trying to make it to her locker without being trampled. Were they ever going to build that new addition to the back of the G building? The school was overcrowded as it was.

She turned when a hand tapped her shoulder. Adam Valenti. He had been her lab partner for the past year. He was actually one of the only guys in school she could stand to be around for more than five minutes without having an upchuck reflex. "Hey, Adam. What's going on?"

Adam shrugged, walking next to her. His movements were jerky. Sort of nervous. It was hard to control himself, emotionally or otherwise, around a girl like Maddie Wayne. He often forgot how to construct words and even sentences. She was probably the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life. Not a girl, woman. The most beautiful woman. Even better, she had no idea. "Nothing much. I was just going to ask if we were still meeting up on Friday to review for the midterm?"

"Oh, absolutely. I mean, I hope so." She said, with a chuckle. "I can't exactly afford to not study right now. Oh, did you hear back from Harvard yet?"

Adam shook his head, leaning against his locker. "Not yet. Hopefully in the next few days. I probably won't even get in. Let alone early acceptance."

"With your grades? I don't think you'll have much of a problem."

Suddenly, three random guys slammed Adam against his locker head first. He doubled over in pain, trying to play it down for her. He didn't want to seem like a helpless geek... which he kind of was. Some things never changed.

"Hey!" Maddie screamed after them. One of the guys turned and she recognized him. Brian. Why, oh why, did she make out with him last year at that party? She could recall even letting him graze her breast for more than a few seconds. The thought disgusted her. She leaned down to check Adam over. He had a long red mark on his face, but no permanent damage. She had seen him endure worse over the years. "You okay? That didn't look pleasant. At all." She laughed, trying to keep a straight face.

Adam couldn't help but laugh too. "No, it wasn't. At all. Thanks for the concern. I see we're already getting in some practice for med school."

"Don't hold your breath." She told him as her phone started going off. It was Alfred's ringtone. Why would he be calling now? He never called when she was still in school. Though she was a Senior and it wasn't uncommon for kids to answer phone calls, leave in the middle of class, and not come back. That always made her angry for some reason. It had to be an emergency. "Alfred? What's wrong?" She said, phone to her ear.

"Miss Madolyn... he's come home." She stayed silent. He? Who was he? No, it couldn't be. "What?" She asked.

"Master Bruce."

Maddie smiled as heat rose to her face and nervous energy overtook her entire body. "Alfred, I swear, if this is a joke... I'm running off to join a convent and never speaking to you again." That seemed like a valid threat.

"That would be a shame." A familiar voice said on the other end. "Devastating all of those boys lined up to take you out. We may have to move."

He was really home. She knew he would sound the same as the day he left.

--

That night, they had a celebratory dinner to welcome Bruce back to Gotham. Alfred went all out, more so than usual, and put out everything that was in the kitchen. Even the things that had been there for awhile.

When he started to clear the table, Maddie and Bruce both insisted on helping because of the huge mess they had made. At some point during the feast, it had turned into an all out food fight between them. The look of horror on the butler's face was something for the history books. But he shrugged it off, without bothering to try and stop them.

After Alfred had gone with the plates, Maddie was still working on her mashed potatoes. Bruce stared at her intently from across the table. She knew he was waiting for her to ask questions that she had been avoiding. It had been such a great day. Why ruin it? But, her head took over. "We thought you were dead."

"I was for awhile." Bruce said, picking at his carrots.

He may have sounded the same, but something had happened to Bruce. Something life changing. Maddie could only imagine what. "Where did you go?"

"All sorts of places." Bruce sighed, trying to find the words. This had been so much easier to rehearse in his head on the plane. Saying it out loud was a different thing all together. "I was very angry after I came back."

"At me?" She asked.

"No. No, of course not. At-- a lot of things. I know it hurt you when I didn't come back. And Alfred. I just want to move on. I'm ready to move on here in Gotham. I can make this up to both of you." Bruce explained, resting his chin on his palm.

Maddie was skeptical. She had spent her whole life trusting him and all he had done for the past seven years was let her down. She couldn't even look him in eye.

"Maddie. Look at me. Please."

His voice was calm and undemanding. At least he wasn't playing the big brother card. He knew he had messed up and was only trying to make it right. So, Maddie did as she was asked. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "We can get through this. We're a family, the three of us." Bruce said.

He reached in his pocket and put the necklace on the table. He still had it after all of this time. The silver was worn and it looked like it had been through hell and back. But he still had it. That's all that mattered. Suddenly, all of the pent up anger from the last seven years diminished.

Funny how that happened with brothers.

--

It was three months until graduation and Maddie was growing more restless by the day. She was still waiting to hear back from colleges, notably med school in Gotham, one of the best in the country. Her academic adviser assured her that she was a shoe in and because of her exceptional grades, should have no problem with being accepted. But, of course (always prepared), Maddie had applied to four other schools she was only mildly interested in. One of them was in Italy, another in Prague, and the other two in New York.

Any other girl her age would be thrilled for the opportunity to go to a school in another state or country to get away from their families and gain independence. But she loved Gotham, and despite the painful memories it held, it was her home.

She would most likely have a hard time leaving anyway. Once, she had left the applications on the dining room table, and after returning from the kitchen, found Bruce standing over them with a morbid look on his face. That look was common. It was one of his only expressions nowadays. He'd been spending too much time alone on the grounds.

"You do know that prostitution is legal in Prague?" Bruce said, standing in her doorway.

Maddie rolled her eyes, throwing a piece of paper in the garbage. "That's Amsterdam! You're secretly worse than Alfred. Do you realize that?"

He moved into the bedroom and slowly paced the floor, one hand on his hip. "I don't want you trekking off to some other country that you've never even visited. There's no reason why..."

Before he could finish, a pillow was thrown at the side of his face. He quickly caught it with one hand. Maddie was almost shocked but didn't let it show. His reflexes used to always be something of a running joke. Now, they were almost inhuman. She also noticed that his sky diving habit had become some kind of a strange obsession as of late. The bruises were becoming more and more noticeable. "Bruce, stop. You're going to give yourself a coronary." She pointed to the bruise on his arm. "Sky diving?"

He nodded, pulling his sleeve down over it. "I need to be more careful."

Maddie put her pencil down and pushed her notebook aside, giving Bruce her full attention. "Look, if it's any consolation, the woman practically forced me into applying to those other schools. They're just backups. I want to go to med school here, and if I'm accepted, I will." She leaned back in her chair, and nodded at the television. A newscast about the latest criminal acts was being broadcast. "I've always wanted to help people, and there are so many casualties happening in Gotham every day. I'd be selling myself short to go anywhere else."

She rolled her eyes as a reporter began discussing the latest Batman sighting in the Narrows. She never understood this Batman guy. Obviously he was just a normal person like everyone else, unless he had some sort of military training, which most of the police themselves had. Who appointed him Gotham's savior? "And then you have this guy who thinks he's some sort of a... what, bad ass...?"

Bruce's head snapped from Maddie back to the television. He quickly shut it off. "Seems like he's trying to make a difference."

"Give me a break!" She continued, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail. "How is being a vigilante making any kind of difference? This guy, he's fighting violence with violence. That won't do anything but create more. He's just as bad as the criminals he hunts for. Whether he likes it or not."

Bruce took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. He couldn't exactly disagree with her. How would that look? "The bat guy--"

"Batman." She corrected with a laugh. "Apparently that's what everyone is officially calling him."

He had also known that. Bat guy sounded mundane enough for him to get away with. His Bruce Wayne image had to be upheld after all. "Batman isn't the first person to take the law into his own hands. People have been doing it for years. They just normally don't wear costumes."

"Why does he need a costume then? Why is he hiding himself from the public? He's obviously ashamed of what he's doing." Maddie wasn't as captivated by this Batman as everyone else in Gotham was. It was all anyone talked about anymore. The only person who seemed to agree with her was Rachel, who had her own valid suspicions about the caped crusader. At least Rachel was trying to do something good. She was working within the law to change things.

Bruce didn't have an answer for her. He only shrugged, changing the subject. "Don't you have that exam on Friday that I saw you studying for the other day with... glasses..."

"Adam."

"Right, Adam. How is Adam?" Bruce asked, fiddling with one of her knickknacks on a shelf.

Translation. Are you sleeping together... what are his intentions... is this guy really right for you? She knew Bruce too well. It was scary. "I don't know. Maybe you can call and ask him. I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from you." She retorted, smiling down at her paper. "Seen Rachel since you've been back?"

"Last week at that hotel benefit. It... I don't think it went very well. It was awkward."

"Of course it was awkward. You haven't seen her for seven years. She probably thought you were dead like everyone else." She stopped, looked up at him. "Wait a minute, you brought the European models didn't you?"

He didn't respond. There was her answer. No wonder it was awkward. "I love you, but you're such a jerk. That is so typical."

Bruce knew she was right, though in his own defense, he wasn't expecting to run into her. Rachel didn't seem like the type to even attend something like a benefit for an overpriced hotel. That he now owned. Damn it. He couldn't even remember why he'd bought it. Oh yes, the pool area. "You should invite Adam over for dinner sometime."

"What for?" she demanded.

"Is it a crime to want to get to know the kid who's wooing my sister?" he replied.

Everyone had assumed that she and Adam were together, but it just wasn't the truth. He was just a nice guy that she happened to be friends with. Couldn't males and females just be friends and nothing more? "He's my lab partner, Bruce. No ones wooing anybody. That's the last thing I need to be thinking about, anyway, with all of these exams coming up."

She straightened in her seat. "Nice try at diverting the subject from your love life to mine though. Very commendable."

Bruce sighed. It was no use getting any personal information out of his sister. He had realized since he'd been back just how dedicated she was to her education and future. She had real goals. Real things that she wanted to achieve. As much as she was embarrassed to hear it every time he told her, he was proud of her. That was more than he could say for himself at her age.

He felt a draft coming from somewhere close by. He glanced over, realizing that the window by the bed was wide open.

"You need to start locking this." Bruce commented, closing the window himself.

Maddie giggled to herself. "Now who's been watching to much news? Besides," she continued with an eye roll, "We have our own personal savior. Some idiot civilian running around in a bat get-up. I'm sure if anything were to happen, he would save the day."

"I don't watch television." Bruce responded dryly.

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