Richard Grayson, commonly known as "Dick" to his friends and family members, had been more than grateful when he had been adopted by Bruce Wayne shortly after the deaths of his parents. Not only because he had known Bruce for a most of his life because of his friendship with Juliana, but also because he had nowhere else to go and definitely did not want to be put into the system.

He still remembered the day that his parents were killed as if it had happened the day before. He belonged to a family of acrobats and was even part of some of the shows his parents had performed before they had died. He had always thought that, if his parents had to die tragically, it would be during a performance…not during the funeral of Commissioner Loeb.

Two seconds and two stray bullets. That was all that it took for his parents to lose their lives.

And, it was the Joker's fault.

He couldn't even begin to put into words how much he wished that he was responsible for the Joker being sent to Arkham. How much he wished that he was fighting by the Batman's side the night that he had practically given the SWAT team the Joker on a silver platter. He wished that he could do the things that the Batman used to do when he was roaming the rooftops of Gotham, looking for crime to put to an end. But, he knew that achieving that dream was probably near impossible, no matter how much he actually wanted it.

Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Police Commissioner James Gordon, also had secret dreams of roaming the Gotham streets to put an end to crime in the city, but would never voice them aloud. She was the Police Commissioner's daughter! She would never be able to get away with doing something like that.

Or, could she?

After all, being the Police Commissioner's daughter meant that people would most likely not suspect her of being a vigilante. It would be the perfect cover.

Wouldn't it?

She shook her head. She watched way too many cop shows if she actually thought that being the Police Commissioner's daughter was a good cover when it hypothetically came to her being a vigilante. Obviously, this history paper was getting the better of her and Dick because he seemed to be spacing out too.

"What are you thinking about?"

Dick turned to her, blinking a couple times. "Nothing" he said, shaking his head "Just how much I hate this paper right now"

Barbara laughed. "Well, fortunately for us, it's time to go and get Julie and X from the Manor"

"Thank God!" Dick exclaimed, saving his paper before closing his laptop "I thought this time would never come"

Barbara smiled as the two of them packed up their things and left the library of Gotham University, definitely ready for dinner and a movie.

Bruce Wayne was standing in front of the windows in his office, staring down at the ground below. Fox was out getting the last applicant for the position of being his secretary. He had already gone through so many applicants that he had lost count. But, so far, he hadn't found the right one. He had never expected hiring a secretary would be this hard. There was one woman who was so clumsy that Bruce thought she was going to break something, another was so serious and proper that he couldn't joke with her and another was so quiet and shy that he could barely hear her speak. This process was not as simple as he thought it was going to be.

Bruce pulled his cell phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrate. It was a message from Juliana.

Hey, Dad. Xavier and I are going out tonight with Babs and Dick. Don't wait up. Oh, and X has his homework done, I promise.

Bruce smiled a little as he typed back a quick response of "Have fun". Sometimes, he wished he could have a carefree life like his children did as opposed to the life he led. And, the life he was thinking about had nothing to do with board meetings and business lunches.

He was thinking about his life as Batman.

Sure, Batman hadn't been needed since the Joker was sent to Arkham, but Bruce always had the fear in the back of his mind that Batman would be needed again: that the people of Gotham City would be scared into needing him again. Being Batman had not only caused him to leave his daughter for seven years but it also caused the death of one of his best friends and her fiancé and the deaths of Dick's parents. And, on top of that, it also caused the only other woman that he loved to simply disappear.

And, he was not referring to Juliana and Xavier's mother.

He still remembered the last time he had seen her all those years ago on the night that he had left Gotham. It had been a very stormy night. He remembered that both of them had gotten completely soaked as they stood in the pouring rain. She had been trying to convince him not to leave and he had asked her to look after Juliana in his absence. He couldn't even count the number of times that he had wished that he had decided to stay. But, back then, leaving Gotham was something that he felt he just had to do.

"Does being best friends with the boss automatically get me the job?"

Bruce turned when he heard the familiar voice. A smile broke out onto his face. "Danielle" he said, as the woman smiled and walked up to him "I'm surprised that you aren't a big company executive somewhere"

"Oh, I tried that" Danielle Garrison – who was one of Bruce's best friends in high school and college – replied "But, it was just all so boring. I wanted to come to a place where I knew I'd be welcome and I might have a little fun in the process"

"So, you thought being my secretary would fill that void?"

Danielle smiled. "It's a perfect way to get close to the boss" she replied "Not that we weren't already close, that is."

"As you can see, Mr. Wayne," Lucius Fox said, coming into the room "I saved the best for last"

Bruce chuckled a little. "I do see that, Mr. Fox" he said "My only question is why did you have me sit through all those others?"

"Well, I certainly didn't want to all by myself" Fox replied "Besides, even though Danielle was here, we had to be fair"

"Now, Bruce, I don't want you to pick me just because we grew up together" Danielle said. She handed Bruce a piece of paper "Here's my resume"

Bruce looked it over. "Danielle, are you sure you want to be a secretary?" he asked "Your resume makes me think that you would be better off being one of my right hand men"

Danielle laughed as Fox smiled. "Yes, Bruce" she said "I need a break from that kind of life. If you hire me, I'll start off as a secretary and maybe, if it's in the cards, work my way up like I did at my previous job"

Bruce nodded and smiled a little as he put the resume on his desk. "I believe you have a job, Ms. Garrison"

Danielle smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that"

"Xavier, I don't care what you think!" Juliana practically groaned as they entered Wayne Manor "The butler didn't do it!"

"Think about the facts" Xavier replied, as he and his sister both hung their jackets up in the hall closet "The butler had more means and motive to do it than the gardener did. The butler had to have done it!"

"And, why did the butler have to do it?" Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne Family Butler, asked as he came to greet the two Wayne children

"Alfred, you have to see this movie" Xavier explained, as Juliana rolled her eyes "The gardener had absolutely no reason to commit the murder. Everything pointed at the butler!"

"X, that's the point" Juliana replied "They want you to think that it's one character so that, when the true culprit is revealed, you are shocked and then you'll want to watch it again and again to see what you missed"

"Well, they did a very good job" Xavier said, as he and Alfred followed Juliana into the living room of Wayne Manor "Because I definitely want to see that movie again"

"Well, I refuse to take you" Juliana said "There's no way that I am sitting through your rant again"

"Did you enjoy the movie at all, Julie?" Alfred asked, as Juliana plopped down on the couch

"I did until we were on our way home" Juliana replied, as Xavier sat down "This boy would not stop talking about how much the ending made no sense the entire ride home. I'm surprised that Babs still wants to be my friend. Oh, that reminds me, Dick is still with Babs supposedly because they 'didn't finish their history reports' but I think it's because Dick is trying to avoid hearing Xavier's rant again"

Alfred chuckled as Xavier rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm glad that you had a nice time"

"What did you do, Alfred?" Xavier asked "This was your night off, after all"

"I made myself a cup of tea and read a good book" Alfred replied, as Juliana smiled "Best night off I had in a very long time"

"Good" Juliana said "I'm glad that you had fun"

"And, as part of that day off, I might have made a special dessert for everyone…" Alfred said "If anyone wants to have any…"

Alfred laughed as big smiles appeared on Juliana and Xavier's faces as they raced to the kitchen. It was a well known fact that no one could resist one of Alfred's chocolate cakes. Everyone who tasted some practically obsessed over the fact that the cake just "melted in their mouths".

"Children, children!" Alfred said, coming into the kitchen just in time to stop Juliana and Xavier from digging in with their hands "Forks, plates, get a knife to cut it. We're not animals, after all"

"Sorry, Alfred" Xavier said, as Juliana got out the plates and silverware "You are just such an amazing cook"

"I thank you for the compliment, Xavier" Alfred said

"I'm home!"

"Kitchen!" Juliana yelled back, as she started to cut pieces of the cake for everyone "Alfred made cake!"

"Alfred, your cake is deadly this late at night" Bruce said, with a smile, as he entered the kitchen "Xavier will be up for hours"

"Thanks a lot, Dad" Xavier replied, as Juliana and Alfred laughed "But, for the record, so will Juliana"

"Yes, but she doesn't have school tomorrow" Bruce replied, sitting down at the table with the rest of the group

"The beauty of college" Juliana said, as Alfred passed a plate to Bruce "No classes on Fridays"

"You might eventually, Julie" Xavier said, taking a bite of his cake "Keep that in mind"

"I can also choose my classes, X" Juliana replied "I can choose what days I want to go to school"

"Alright" Bruce said "Speaking of school, how was it today? Anything fun and exciting happen?"

"Fun and exciting things happen every day, Dad" Xavier replied, sarcastically "And, that's because we are learning about so many interesting things"

"It can't be that bad" Alfred said "There's got to be something that catches your attention"

"Sometimes" Xavier replied "But, most of the time, it's pretty boring"

"And you, Juliana?" Bruce asked, licking some frosting off of his fork

"Today was the day we started World War I, so I got bored pretty easily" Juliana replied "I love history, but I guess I just love all the history pre-20th Century"

"Well, just don't forget that the 20th century is important" Alfred said, as Bruce nodded "It might bore you, but it is important"

"So, Dad" Xavier said "Did you hire the secretary?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes, I did" he said "And, it's actually someone I like"

"Who?" Juliana asked "Didn't you get pretty much all just out of college people?"

"Mostly" Bruce replied "But, I also got a girl who was as quiet as a mouse, a woman who had no sense of humor, and a girl who I seriously thought was going to break the entire building"

"So who did you choose?" Xavier asked, with a chuckle

Bruce smiled a little. "Danielle"

"Danielle?" Juliana said "I thought she was working for another company?"

"Apparently she wants to be my secretary" Bruce said "Don't ask me why. Danielle's always been a little strange. Plus, she had the best resume out of all the people I saw today"

"Well, I think it's nice that your old friend is now at Wayne Enterprises" Alfred said, as Xavier began to clear the dishes "Maybe that means she'll be coming to the Manor more"

"What? As a girlfriend?" Xavier asked

"No" Bruce replied "I love Danielle, but as a friend. Not as anything more. Me dating Danielle would be like Julie dating Dick. It almost doesn't make sense. Besides, when we went out for dinner and drinks just now to catch up, she informed me that she has a new boyfriend"

"Oh, we've known that for a while" Juliana replied, as Xavier sat down at the table again

"How?" Bruce asked

"Facebook, duh" Xavier said "Seriously, Dad. Get with the times. Facebook is how people find out things now"

"Yes, well, I have no need for one" Bruce said "Nor will I probably ever have a need for one"

"Besides, he can just get all his information from you two" Alfred said

"One of these days" Xavier said, pointing at his father "One of these days, you'll have one. Just wait and see"

"Yeah…" Bruce said, slowly "I think the sugar is already starting to kick in. How was your movie, by the way?"

"And, before he breaks out into his rant, I'll get him upstairs" Juliana said, standing and quickly covering her brother's mouth before he could respond to Bruce's question "Besides, you really don't want to hear his rant about the movie we went to so I'm getting you out of it. I'm just nice like that"

Bruce chuckled as Juliana quickly dragged Xavier out of the kitchen. He looked at Alfred. "I wish that nights like these can happen more often" he admitted "Maybe with a few more people"

Alfred sighed a little. "We can't change the past, Master Bruce" he said "But, I'm sure that, if Rachel and Mr. Dent were alive, they would enjoy something like this very much"

"Rachel always did love your cake" Bruce said, with a smile "So did Danielle…and…"

Alfred looked at Bruce carefully as he looked at his lap. "So did Miss. Sarah"

Bruce nodded, but didn't look up. "I miss her, Alfred" he admitted "I still can't believe that she…"

"She did just as she warned me she was going to do" Alfred said, as Bruce looked up "I couldn't stop her, Master Bruce. Just like you, she did what she felt that she had to do"

Bruce nodded again. "She always did" he said "No matter what"

Alfred watched Bruce carefully again. He could tell that Bruce still had feelings for Sarah, just like he had when they were in school. He knew that he would never forget the love triangle that had occurred between Bruce, Sarah, and Rachel. Bruce had always been torn between the two women but, deep down, Alfred knew which one Bruce had always loved more. "That she did"

"I think it's time I turn in" Bruce said "Good night, Alfred"

"Good night, Master Bruce" Alfred said, as he watched Bruce leave the kitchen. He sighed a little when Bruce was gone.

Bruce's life was almost perfect. He had money, he had a beautiful home, he had two children and an adopted son who he adored, and he had no more nights running around as Batman. The only thing that he was missing was the love of his life.

The only thing he needed now was Sarah.

Please don't be angry at me for changing how Dick's parents died. Believe it or not, there was a reason for that change that will come up later on in the story. I can't tell you why because that will be spoiling stuff.

I really hope Bruce and Alfred weren't too OOC in this chapter. If they were OOC at all, I apologize.

I really hope that you like this chapter!

Please Read and Review!