Not a Girl-Chapter three
Megan felt tired the next day. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before. The strange man from the night before stayed in her mind. From what she could see of his features he looked as if he wanted to hug her. His gestures revealed that much. It also revealed that he had to exert a very strong self-control not to do that.
She wondered who he was. He saved her life and Rachel's. He had to have been a good man. A vigilante, but a good man.
Megan knotted her tie and picked up her old blue backpack. Megan grabbed a bagel from the breadbox and waited for her mother to come out of the shower.
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Bruce Wayne felt a temporary blindness as Alfred pulled up the drapes. "Rise and shine, Sir," Alfred said cheerily.
"Bats are nocturnal," Bruce said grumpily, trying to hide his eyes from the brightness. He had taken down Falcone's men and didn't get home until early this morning. He had fallen into bed, happy and pleased that he was able to protect Rachel and their daughter, even if he never met the girl.
"Bats may be nocturnal, but three O'clock is pushing it even for billionaires. Your theatrics played a good impression last night," Alfred said, holding out a newspaper to Bruce.
Bruce woke up at the sight of the paper. "Theatrics and deception are good tools to have, Alfred. This is a good start," Bruce said, reading through the articles on Batman.
Bruce picked up the glass of orange juice on his tray and began to drink it in one gulp.
"If those are to be the indication of injuries to come in the future I suggest you find a sport. Polo for instance," Alfred suggested, pointing to a large bruise on Bruce's arm.
I'm not going to take up polo, Alfred!" Bruce snapped.
"You will if you have a secret identity to protect. If people saw those bruises they are going to wonder what Bruce Wayne does with his time and money," Alfred said, watching Bruce do pushups.
"What would a person in my position do, Alfred?" Bruce asked, looking up at his old friend.
"Buy fancy cars, date movie stars, buy things that are not for sale. Who knows? If you make a pretense of having fun, you just might up and have it by accident," Alfred said a pointed rebuke in his tone that Bruce couldn't miss.
"Alfred, did Rachel ever tell you what her daughter's name was?" Bruce asked, changing the subject. Since he had seen his daughter he'd been trying to find out her name to no success.
"I think she said her name was Maureen or Megan. She never told me the child's last name. Why the sudden interest, Sir?" Alfred asked confused.
I met the girl a few nights ago as Batman. I have every reason to believe that she's my daughter," Bruce said. Alfred's eyes turned grim.
"Are you sure, Sir?" Alfred asked.
"Yes. Rachel was the only one I was ever with and the girl has a lot of my features," Bruce said, slipping on a robe.
"Sir, what are you going to do?" Alfred asked, as Bruce walked towards the bathroom.
"I'm going to find out what I can about my daughter. I want to be near her and to know her," Bruce said firmly.
"What I said about having fun, Sir; you might end up having it with young Miss Wayne," Alfred said, his face hopeful.
Alfred was probably right. Already Bruce was thinking of the things he could do for his daughter. The things he could give her as a way of showing her his love. Bruce stopped at that thought. Love. Already he loved his daughter as if he had always been with her.