Every Hero's Journey:

Chapter 3:

Previously…

'I can make it.' He thought determined. 'I've never had a gunshot this bad, but I bet Alfred can fix it up.'

His eyes got heavier, and his heart pounded in his ears loudly. It took every ounce of his strength to keep going. Blood drained from him. He barely had sense of what was happening. He couldn't feel a thing as he tumbled to the ground, and drifted away. Darkness appeared before him. For what seemed seconds later, in his mind, a vehicle drove near him. His head told him to get up and escape, but his instincts told him there was no danger.

"Batman! GET UP! Another squad is coming! This is Commissioner Gordon." A dark figure shook him roughly.

'Get up you moron!' He told himself as he groaned letting the last of his adrenalin coarse through his almost bloodless veins. He found himself being pulled up by his friend, and leaned up against the police cruiser. He barely took note of anything that was happening. He was focused on staying awake.

"I need to get you to-"Gordon began, but Batman cut him off.

"NOT the hospital." He growled.

"Get in the trunk." Gordon said curtly.

"I'll try not to bleed all over your car." Bruce said sarcastically and sighed at his sad attempt for humor. He definitely failed on that level.

Next thing he knew, he was in the trunk of the car being painfully tossed around like a pancake. His abdomen shot sharp jabs of pain as the vehicle ran over bumps and pot holes. There was no way he was going to fall asleep. The pain was keeping him awake despite the loss of blood. The car abruptly stopped, and the trunk door flew open.

"Come on. I need you to use your legs." Gordon struggled with Batman. Bruce straightened, and used the last of his draining energy.

"I can't make it back." He said sitting down somewhere on the floor. Bruce hated being in this state especially in front of his friend who greatly respected him. He heard some murmuring, and someone squeezed his hand firmly, but gently.

Someone was tugging on his armor. He looked up to Gordon who was struggling to figure how to unlatch the armor. He almost rolled his eyes, and moved the commissioner's hands away so he could do the work. Once he showed the Commissioner how to do it, he drifted away. He needed to sleep. The next moment he saw the commissioner looking at him. Bruce felt the mask on his face, and understood. His friend was hesitant. He knew this day would come, when it came down to this. Bruce was ready for it, he always prepared himself. He trusted Gordon with his life, he had to. His friend needed the reassurance and confirmation from him.

"Do it." He said gruffly and firmly.

"Bruce Wayne!" He heard Gordon whisper in shock, and he made out the sound of a tiny gasp from somewhere in the room. Things darkened, and night seemed to have fallen. That was the last thing he knew before things around him faded. ..

Bruce Wayne woke up. He heard the steady drops of rain falling just outside the small basement window. He smelled coffee in the air. 'Where am I?' He asked himself as he sat up wincing as pain laced up his middle. Memories flew at him. The gunshot. The pain. The fall. The running. The weak heartbeat. He sat up underneath the blanket, and this time slowly. He examined his surroundings. No one was there. He looked at the clock. 1:22 p.m. He felt dark circles under his eyes.

He strained to hear something besides the rain. For several minutes there was silence, but then upstairs he made out the sound of a door opening and closing, and the voices of Gordon and Gordon's wife, Barbara.

"…the…. MCU…" He heard some of what Gordon said.

"… so… sorry… why did…soon?" He could only make out a little of Barbara's voice.

He lay back in the mattress. The voices upstairs ceased, and he heard the creaking of the stairs to the basement as someone descended. Gordon was coming. Was he really ready for this? What was he going to say to his longtime friend? Gordon was no stranger to Batman, but he barely knew Bruce Wayne. He froze in place closing his eyes as he heard the footsteps on the basement floor. Bruce felt suppressed like a rabbit that retreated in to their hole. Gordon came down in a tan drizzled trench coat, and a bowl of soup in his hands.

"You're awake." Gordon said as more of a statement. Bruce was surprised that the man could tell. Bruce looked up at Gordon and all he could do was nod in appreciation with half open eyes.

His stomach was growling for food, as Gordon slid the bowl on the floor next to Bruce. He took the bowl and gave the commissioner a lopsided smile. "Thank you." He said in a rasp, catching himself. Gordon didn't seem to notice and nodded without looking at him, and sat down in a chair closing his eyes.

Gordon was weary. 'What have I put him through?' Bruce wondered, trying not to wolf down the soup. This man had a family to look after, and a job as the Commissioner. He probably had one of the most stressful jobs in the city. Gordon, he felt, he could trust the most, aside from his CEO and butler. Now was the strangest chapter of his life. Gordon had found out his identity. He knew some, not all, his secrets. The police commissioner who had the power to lock him away forever and not deal with him as a problem was secretly stowing him away in his basement. Bruce felt he had to say something. 'It's now or never…' He thought unsure of where the conversation would go.

"How long was I out?" Bruce asked sitting up ignoring the protests his body gave him, and placing the bowl in his lap. He looked at the weary commissioner wondering if the man had fallen asleep. He could have. Nights were long in Gotham.

"All day yesterday, to now." He answered tiredly without opening his eyes. They both were exhausted. They both worked equally hard, and paid the consequences during the day. Bruce sighed. He had been sleeping for almost two days. 'Had the commissioner gotten any sleep?' He glanced at Gordon. 'Probably not...' Gordon still sat in his chair with his eyes closed.

Bruce shifted and felt his wound. It was stinging a little, but he figured by the next day it would be healed up better. He had to get out. He couldn't seem to stay off his feet. Even at the prospect of being in bed for almost two days made him feel like squirming, but he didn't because he was far to tuckered out. He felt so useless like a lame racehorse. He didn't know what he should say or do now that he couldn't stand or do something useful.

Gordon didn't seem bothered by his presence. It seemed he had gotten slightly used to knowing who the Batman really was. He believed Gordon didn't even care who the Batman was, just as long as he was doing what was right for Gotham.

Bruce admired his friend in many ways. He saw the goodness of the Commissioner. He first saw it when Bruce was a little boy in the police station. He knew right then that the man was trustworthy. Despite the corruption, despite the havoc, and chaos he still saw the goodness now, and when all was stressful and difficult, Gordon still had the heart to carry on.

It was a strange friendship between them. One was a vigilante who was supposed to be brought in and now the city's most wanted, while the other had one of the highest ranked jobs in the city. They had been friends for two years, but the commissioner he knew seemed far off. They had helped each other save Gotham from Crane, and his disastrous toxins. They had just recently brought down a mad man; the Joker. They had been in life and death situations with each other, but he knew Gordon would not feel comfortable talking to Bruce as freely as he did with Batman. The silence was thick, save the sound of rain fall.

What could he say? 'So uh… you know I'm Batman… Yeah. Well…' Bruce couldn't picture a casual conversation in his head with the commissioner, because he never had one with him. All their discussions had been purposeful, and impersonal. They didn't talk about themselves. They talked about the crime rates, and what needed to be improved upon.

"So… Bruce Wayne huh?" Gordon was the first to speak his tone was light, and seemed more familiar to Bruce. Bruce smiled slightly relieved that the conversation had finally begun.

"Yeah… Strange isn't it?" Bruce asked lamely, his tone not gravelly. He wondered how he was first going to approach Gordon who now knew his secret. 'Ugh! Why am I so bad at this?'

"Definitely." Gordon replied making small talk. Gordon seemed to be just as uncomfortable as he was, and that comforted him a little.

Bruce inwardly smiled at Gordon's comment. The tension had finally broken between them. They both seemed to know what the other was thinking now. The room seemed to have a more relaxed feeling to it now. Gordon's voice sounded sincere and lighthearted as he spoke again.

"I never would have guessed…" Gordon almost mumbled looking at Bruce bending over in his chair with his arms on his knees observing him. Bruce turned his head to Gordon slightly. He was curious as to where the commissioner was going with this. "The fact that it was you all of these years." Bruce felt the urge to say something witty, more in his arrogant playboy persona.

"Well I did a pretty good job, if I don't say so myself." Bruce commented laying his head back on the pillow.

"Well don't say so then, because there were some pretty dumb mistakes." Gordon chuckled lightly. His demeanor had completely changed.

"Such as?" Bruce prodded with his eyes closed.

"The Lamborghini crash, oh and your appearance as Batman right after Bruce Wayne came back from the dead."Gordon nodded raising his eyebrows. Bruce smiled, and this time a real one. A genuine smile.

"It wasn't that bad. Most people thought I had owned a modeling company down in Brazil." Bruce shrugged.

"And the crash?" Gordon raised an eyebrow.

"I was just trying to catch the light." Bruce smiled at the memory. He had crashed the car to save Coleman Reese, and made up a story to cover it up. People wanted to kill Coleman Reese to keep the Joker from blowing up a hospital. He shuddered at the thought of the clown. The day of the accident he left Gordon suspicious, very suspicious.

"Right." Gordon quirked a smile, and sat back in his chair with ease. Gordon seemed relaxed, but something was bothering him. Bruce could tell. After knowing his friend for this long he knew something was up. As Batman he would have asked then and there, but right now he decided not to. He figured if the commissioner wasn't telling him he shouldn't ask.

"Where were you all those years?" Gordon asked his tone serious now. Gordon seemed genuinely curious, and cautious as if he might hit a nerve.

"Tibet." Bruce answered with a tone less mellow. Gordon looked at him with question. Bruce sighed figuring he was going to be there a while. He explained what had happened to him and how he returned to Gotham with resolve, and idealism. Gordon was sucked into his story as he listened intently, and when Bruce finished. The room was quiet.

"And you chose bats because…?" Gordon asked cocking his head slightly. Bruce hesitated, before he answered. He always seemed uncomfortable about this subject.

"Bats scare me…" Bruce answered looking at Gordon's perplexed expression. "My teacher told me once that to master fear you had to become fear. I became my fear and used it against others."

Gordon fell silent understanding for the first time. It all made sense. It had to. The story filled in the gaps and holes. Gordon shifted in his chair listening for a sound. The rain had stopped. They sat in a comfortable silence. Upstairs they heard a set of footsteps.

"Jimmy! Get up! You've been asleep for half the day!" They heard Barbara shout as she opened a door somewhere upstairs. Gordon chuckled.

"She sounds like Alfred…" Bruce said with a smile in his voice and froze.' Alfred!' How could he forgetful? It just dawned on him. He hadn't talked to Alfred for almost two days. His butler was probably worried sick at the prospect of his employer being gone so long and the fact that he was probably being searched for by every police unit. He just needed to find his cowl with the earpiece in it, and he could make contact. He scanned the room. He hated to ask more of the drained commissioner, but he couldn't wait any longer.

"Do you know where my armor is?" Bruce asked eyes skimming the room again with his eyes. Gordon's eyes fell upon a shelf behind Bruce, and he sat up without a word, and retrieved the box containing the Kevlar. Bruce thanked Gordon again and searched it until he found his cowl, and put his hand inside pulling out a small device.

Bruce tinkered with the gadget as Gordon sat in his chair eyeing the device curiously. Bruce prodded it until he heard the device began dialing. Gordon hadn't seen any of his devices up this close before. Bruce smiled at Gordon's expression as he waited for someone to pick up; he needed to talk to his butler who was probably nervously awaiting a call.

"Hello?" Came the accented voice of his faithful friend.

"Alfred." Bruce greeted with a groggy voice.

"Master Bruce! What happened? Are you alright? You scared me out of my wits. You know half if not the entire police force is after you!" Alfred's voice detected exhaustion and desperation. Alfred was like a father to Bruce, and Alfred thought of Bruce like a son.

"Yes Alfred. The night before I was shot-" Bruce began his story.

"Shot? " Alfred almost gasped. Bruce could just imagine his butler was standing up, and grabbing his coat.

"Yeah. I was on my way back to you, and well things got complicated." Bruce said sighing remembering the night vaguely.

"Where are you now? I still don't know what happened..." Alfred pressed for answers his voice etching a hint of fear and panic.

"Gordon came and picked me up." Bruce glanced over to Gordon who was arching an eyebrow at him. "And he stitched me up good. He knows now." Bruce heard Alfred sigh with relief, but it was a shaky sigh. 'Poor Alfred…' Bruce felt horrible leaving Alfred at the penthouse wondering if he had made it through the night.

"So no harm has been done, but don't you ever do that again. Send the good Commissioner my thanks. How long until you get back Bruce? " Alfred asked his voice more controlled.

"I don't know Alfred. Tonight or Tomorrow? Until I can move with enough speed to evade hundreds of police cars chasing me, I need to see when my stamina has caught up and I left my bat pod in an alley." Bruce paused and continued, "And for however long the Commissioner is able to put up with me. "Bruce set the empty bowl aside, and put his free hand on the mattress and lay back on the bed again. He heard Gordon chuckle.

"I have to go now. I'm exhausted. I just needed to check in, and inform you." Bruce almost slurred feeling the heaviness of his eyes.

"Very good, sir. I will see you in one or two days, and I will tell the public you've decided to tour Paris or something. Oh, and Master Bruce, Stay Out of Trouble. His butler replied as his voice rattled with a hint of anger. "You going to get it when you come home…"He muttered the last line.

"I will Alfred. Get a good night's rest. It sounds like you need it." Bruce urged. Alfred thanked him quietly and Bruce cut the line after saying good-bye. After the conversation Bruce rubbed his temples with his fingers; his head throbbing. He had one growing in his head ever since speaking with Gordon in the afternoon.

Gordon shifted uncomfortably in his seat after the call had ended. He seemed like he was going to talk, trying to find words that would fit. Gordon opened his mouth to speak.

"Mr. Wayne… About my son…" He heard Gordon speak. It sounded like Gordon was going to say something important. Obvious dread filled the older man's voice.

"Hmm?" Bruce looked at Gordon with tired eyes struggling to stay conscious. 'What about Jimmy?' Bruce looked perplexed he worried. The last time he remembered seeing Jimmy was when he saved him from Harvey Dent's wrath. What had gone wrong?

However, the commissioner seemed to have forgotten what he was going to say, and shook his head, and told Bruce "Never mind. I'll tell you later…"

Bruce eyed Gordon suspiciously before he lay back in the bed, and closed his eyes. He would never begin to understand Gordon. His friend seemed to be holding something from him as if the shock would get in the way of his recovery. If that was the case, he would know later. He heard Gordon sigh, and murmur something inaudible, before he fell completely under the curtain of exhaustion. He needed to rest his overtired mind.

A/N: I changed the story. I added lines to the third chapter. I hope you like it better changed up. Thanks for reading this. Thank you for reviewing so that I could go and fix up my mistakes. I really appreciate it! :)