I woke up the next morning to Lori pulling away my covers. "I swear Selina, if you don't get up right now, I am dumping a glass of ice cold water on you."

"Alright, alright. I'm up."

I groggily said as I stretched my arms. Yawning, I rubbed my eyes and began to open them. I growled in frustration, "It's so damn bright."

"You were the one that wanted to be awake this early, remember genius? Your coffee date with the hot, rich guy?"

"Oh yea," I yawned again. I began to get out of bed. "What time is it Lori?"

Lori rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed. "8:15. You should probably go shower."

"I probably should," I agreed with her.

Dragging myself to the bathroom, I shut the door and turned on the shower. Why the fuck did I say to have a coffee date? Why couldn't I just have done lunch or dinner like a normal person? Taking off my clothes, I was careful not to look at the bruises that still faintly remained on my skin. I didn't want another break down; at least not today.

After a quick shower, I hastily did my hair and pulled on a black dress with red roses on it. I glanced over at Lori, who was sprawled out on the bed. She was lightly snoring and her hair was a mess. I chuckled at the funny sight. "I'll be back Lori," I said as I walked out of the room. She didn't reply.

As I walked into the Cheshire, I scanned the room for Mr. Hott. Nowherein sight. Maybe I'm early. I searched the room again for a clock. It was only 8:50. Oh yea, I'm way early. I sat down in my favorite booth and ordered a coffee as I waited for Mr. Hott to come. Ok first thing's first. Find out his name. I mentally noted as I sipped my coffee. Can't keep calling him Mr. Hott forever.

As I waited, I went over pretend scenarios in my head, making up responses for different questions Mr. Hott would ask me or different things that would happen. I glanced at the clock. 9:10. I sighed and began to tap my fingers on the table. Relax, I told myself, maybe he's trying to find it. You're living in a city, there's traffic.

The door of the Cheshire opened, and I quickly glanced up, heart racing. There in the doorway stood James.

Panic flooded throughout me and adrenaline spiked in my veins. I grabbed a menu and propped it up in front of my face so he wouldn't see me. How the fuck did he find me? I peeked around the menu to see him begin to walk in my direction. Fuck! What am I going to do?

Taking a steak knife from the table, I quietly hid it in my lap. I could hear James's footsteps from my booth. They were long strides, confident, and slow as if he was taking his sweet time, savoring every moment before catching his prey. His footsteps stopped right in front of my booth. I suddenly couldn't breathe.

"Fancy seeing you here, Selina." He hissed my name.

I cringed but didn't put down the menu. My hands were shaking, making the menu slightly quiver.

The bench creaked and groaned as he sat down across from me. "You can't keep hiding from me forever, Selina."

He took the menu and placed it down on the table. His deep green eyes raked me over as I uncomfortably sat in his gaze.

"What do you want?" I spat out at him.

He chuckled. "I'm here for you."

I bared my teeth and growled, "James, we are over."

His green eyes flashed dark as I said those last words. He looked down at the table and began to trace his finger along the menu's spine. He then looked back up at me his eyes a lighter shade of green.

"I never wanted to hurt you Selina."

"Bullshit!" My exclamation made a few heads turn in the Cat.

"You were sober enough to know what you were doing. Hell, even when you were sober you still hurt me!" My voice grew louder as the anger within me began to come out."I never want to come back to you! I never want to see you again! Get the fuck out of my sight James!" I stood from the booth and began to walk away.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back to James and the booth.

"I don't think you heard me Selina. You're coming home with me," he growled, his eyes dark.

"Let go of me!" I yelled trying to pull away from him.

A few of the men in the Cat stood and began to separate us.

"Stay away from her man!" one yelled as he wrestled me out of James's grasp.

"Someone call the cops! This fucker is crazy!" another yelled.

Two guys came on either side of James and grabbed his arms. James began to fight back. He threw one guy down on the floor and the other into a booth.

A larger man got behind James and put him into a choke hold. "If you continue to move, I'll knock you out."

The voice was deep and authoritive. I looked up at my savior; he had hazel green eyes and dirty blonde hair.

James put his hands up in surrender and began to stand.

As soon as the man's grip loosened, James turned and swung, his fist colliding with the man's jaw. As the man fell, James again hit him in the stomach, making the man double over in pain. Then he came for me, but I was ready. I landed a flying kick to his throat and balls. James cried out in pain as he grabbed himself and fell over. I used this opportunity to kick him down to the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, cops entered into the Cat.

"Where is he? We got a call!" One cop shouted.

I pointed down at James.

Three cops surrounded James and one began to cuff him. "Get off me you fucking pigs! I've done nothing wrong!"

"Not by my diagnosis," my blonde protector said.

My savior came and stood protectively in front of me, a blood stained napkin in his hand. He stood before me, watching James as he got shoved out of the Cat. He dabbed his mouth with the napkin before he turned to me. "Are you alright?"

I nervously glanced at James, who was desperately trying to get out of the police's grasp.

Before I could answer, James yelled, "Selina! Selina tell them it wasn't my fault! Come on babe! Please!"

Anger rose within me again. I walked over to him, put my face directly in front of his and hissed, "He tried to hurt me again. I'm getting a restraining order against him. Please take him away."

James's eyes grew wide as he realized I just sealed his fate. "NO! NO! You can't do this! Selina!" He yelled as one of the officers dragged him out to the car.

I turned back to my savior, "No, I'm not alright." Before he could respond however, one of the officers began to question me.

My savior yet again stood protectively next to me as the officer questioned me. The officer asked me questions like who I was, who James was, why James was here, what our history was, etc. When I was telling the officer about the abuse, I suddenly stopped and began to tear up. I looked to the ground quickly as I tried to calm my voice to tell what happened. An arm fell across my shoulders and I found my face buried into my savior's shoulder as I cried. He held me and told the officer that it seemed like I was mistreated.

The officer wrote this down and patted my back saying, "Don't worry miss. We will help you get that restraining order right away. He won't be bothering you anymore. Thank you for your cooperation."

Turning my head, I nodded at the officer as more tears fell. He nodded his head back and walked away.

"Where do you live?" my savior asked. "Let's get you home, you need rest."

I nodded and quietly said, "Upstairs. I live in apartment 113 upstairs."

Suddenly I felt my feet being swept from underneath me and strong arms wrap around me, bridal style. My savior had picked me up and was taking me home.

"Wait." I said. "What is it?" he asked, green eyes softening.

"What's your name?"

My savior chuckled. "I suppose you're new here."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

He smiled as he said, "Harvey Dent, but please, call me Harvey."

We got to the door of my apartment before I realized that I needed a key to get inside. "Hold on," I said, as I tried to get out of Harvey's arms. Gently, he set my on my feet. I dug in my pocket until I found my key and opened the door.

As soon as the door was barely ajar, it sung wide open and Lori's arms pulled me into a hug.

"Oh my god! Selina! I saw and heard what happened! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Lori. I'm fine. Just a little shaky still."

She pushed me to arm's length and looked at me up and down before saying, "Let's get some food into you. You look like you're starving."

Then she looked behind me at Harvey, standing in his protective stance.

"And who is this?" Lori said, glancing at me with a questioning look on her face.

"Lori, meet Harvey Dent. Harvey, Lori."

"Pleased to meet you Lori," Harvey said, hand extended for a handshake.

Lori took his hand in hers, "Pleasure."

She quickly dropped it and said, "Now let's get her inside so she can rest."

"Oh, yea." Harvey put his hand on my shoulder as he guided me inside.

Once inside, Harvey guided me to the couch as Lori began to start making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Do you know if they took him to jail?" Lori asked from the kitchen.

"No, all I know is that he is arrested and that they are going to help me get a restraining order against him." I said as I lay on the couch.

Harvey took the blanket that was draped on the couch and tucked it around me. He then sat next to me and began to scratch my back. I breathed in deeply, smelling the cooking eggs and bacon that Lori was making me for a late breakfast. I closed my eyes as Harvey began to massage my back. Still breathing deeply, I began to fall asleep.

I didn't even eat breakfast. When I woke up, Harvey was gone and so was the smell of breakfast. However, I felt oddly relieved and calm. I looked around the living room, confused. Getting up, I shuffled to the kitchen and saw what time it was: 1:35. What the…How long have I been out?

Suddenly, Lori came into the room. "Good morning sunshine."

"Where did Harvey go?"

"Oh, he told me that he had to go to work. He left something for you by the way," she said as she pointed at the counter. I looked to where she was pointing. On the counter lay a small business card with his name and office number. I flipped the card to find his personal cell phone number and the message, Call me scrawled on the back.

"I take it you didn't see Mr. Hott today," Lori said as she pulled out the food she made for me hours ago.

"No, but I met someone else," I said with a small smile.

Lori grinned back, "Good. I'm glad."

She warmed up my plate for me and handed it to me when it was done.

"Thanks."

I took it to the living room and sat back down on the couch as I began to eat.

"Hey. So, I read an article about the Batman a while ago." I told Lori.

She looked over at me from the TV. "You did? Isn't he interesting? Goes after the biggest mobsters in town and actually takes them out. One guy."

"Yea, I read that. There's no way he's doing it without help."

"He has to be rich. He has the latest technology and gadgets."

Lori fell silent for a moment; I could see her gears grinding as she tried to understand why I brought the Batman up. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized me.

"Does this have to do with that I think it has to do?"

"If you're talking about stealing…" I hesitated before I said, "Yes."

"Selina..." She groaned, then sighed.

"What?"

"You know how I feel about this."

"Yea, but I'll be super careful this time." I smiled.

Lori rolled her eyes. "What does the Batman have to do with you stealing?"

"If I was to start breaking in and entering again, I thought he would be a problem."

Lori remained silent as I talked, thinking of a solution.

"I can't afford to have him track me. I don't want this guy catching me; I'd rather not go to prison. But at the same time, I need to start stealing again to help provide for myself. I can't just keep relying on you, that's not fair to me and especially to you."

"Selina, it's fine, really. I don't mind – "

I raised my hand and interrupted her.

"Lori. I love you, but I can't mooch off of you forever, and I really appreciate your offer to work for you, but…I can't do that. I can't do that again."

I averted my eyes.

"I understand."

I looked back up again. "With that being said, I'm going to start training with Ted again. Maybe I can talk him in to double teaming again so I have someone watching my back. That way, the three of us can get a profit, and we can be somewhat safe doing it."

"Well, I doubt that the Batman will have time to hunt you and Ted down. The both of you are very good at what you do, you leave no traces." Lori got up and got a mug from the shelf.

"I know. It's still a concern though."

"I know it is, but I'm just reassuring you that I don't think he has the time to track down two cat burglars with fighting the Mob and all."

"Assuming that Ted says yes," I added.

Lori poured herself coffee and got creamer out from the fridge. "Honestly, I think he would say yes. You're like a daughter to him, there's nothing he wouldn't do for you."

"I just don't want to put him on the line though."

Lori looked me in the eyes. "Selina, don't doubt yourself. You're an amazing thief."

I laughed. "Well that's one talent that I at least have."

Lori chuckled, and said, "Better than nothing."

I finished eating my plate of eggs, then got up and rinsed my empty plate in the sink.

"Should we visit Ted tomorrow?" Lori asked me. "Or how about today? That is, if you're feeling up to it?"

There was a small silence as I thought about it. "Sure, let's do it today."

"Ok. When did you want to leave then?"

"We can leave now. It would be good for me get out."

"Alright," Lori said as she grabbed her keys from the counter.

I followed her out the door and down the stairs toward the street. "Want to drive?" She asked holding the keys up by one of her fingers. I smiled. "Yes!" I grabbed them from her hand and ran across the street to her car.

As we sped down the freeway, Lori turned on the radio. "Is it weird that I trust you and I feel relaxed even though you're a scary fast driver?"

I laughed, "Nope, not at all."

"Alright, cool." Lori laughed and turned up the radio as Get Lucky by Daft Punk began playing.

I looked at the GPS system in the dashboard. I needed to get off in a few miles. I relaxed as I drove the Audi at a comfortable pace of 80 miles per hour. I loved how the car responded so easily and quickly, it felt so natural to drive the car fast. As I weaved in and out of traffic, I felt oddly in command of the speed of the Audi. We got off the freeway and headed to downtown Gotham where Ted's martial arts studio was at.

I parked in front of Ted's studio and a wave of excitement crashed over me. I get to see my "father"! I haven't seen Ted in so long because of James… I grimaced thinking of when James forbade me from seeing Ted and taking martial arts from him.

"There's no reason why a woman like you should need to defend herself," James had said in a drunken state. "That's my job."

"Young Foo's Martial Arts", I said reading the neon sign above the studio, "Interesting name choice. He changed it since last I remember."

"Yea, Ted changed it to accept all different types of martial arts. You know how he is. He couldn't pick one."

We laughed at the thought was we walked to the door and pushed it open. The smell of sweat, deodorant, and cleaner hit our noses. "Aw gross," Lori complained.

I looked around the room. There were a few guys practicing their combat on punching bags, others were stretching, and a few pairs were sparring. I looked around for Ted.

"Lori, I don't see him."

"Maybe he's in his office? Here, follow me."

Lori began to walk to the back of the studio, and I started to follow when someone caught my eye.

There sparring with another man was Mr. Hott. Or at least that's who I thought it was.

I grabbed Lori's arm. "Lori!" I hissed, "Is that who I think it is?"

I pointed discreetly at Mr. Hott. Lori squinted as she looked at him.

"No, there's no way. He wasn't that built."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." She started to walk again, and then abruptly stopped.

"Wait, why the fuck am I answering questions about him? He's your man." I laughed so hard that a few guys around us looked at us in confusion. Lori rolled her eyes and we made our way to Ted's office.

From outside of Ted's office we could hear him yelling at someone from inside.

"Damn, I'd hate to be the one on the other end," I commented. "Think I can make it all better if I knocked?"

Lori smiled, "Wouldn't hurt. You're gonna give him a heart attack though."

"Even better," I smiled evilly.

Before I knocked I noticed the shiny gold name plate on the door. "Ted Grant the Asskicker" it read. I chuckled as I knocked on Ted's office door.

"What is it?"

"I need to come in, sir," I said in my gruff "man voice".

Lori stifled a laugh.

"I'm a bit busy right now, can it wait?"

"No sir, it can't."

I heard Ted sigh.

"Fine, come on in."

I opened the door and peeked my head inside.

There, behind his desk, stood Ted. His hair was still the same dark brown and he still had the well-kept beard. His brown eyes were dangerously sparking at the young trainee. His jaw dropped when he saw me.

"Oh my fucking god. Is that who I think it is?"

He rushed out from behind his desk, almost tripping over a chair.

"Selina Kyle? Is it you?"

"The one and only," I said with a smile.

"Oh my god!" Ted picked me up and pulled me into the biggest bear hug I have ever had. "I have missed you so fucking much! Why the hell haven't you called me?"

"I did! I left a message!"

"I haven't check my voicemail yet. I've been busy preparing for a tournament. What brings you here?!"

"Well, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"I need to start training with you again, and you need to hear my full story."

Ted looked at the boxer standing next to his desk. Ted nodded at him and said, "We will talk about your fighting later." The boxer muttered, "Yes, sir" and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ted put his hands on my shoulders and looked me directly in the eyes. Tears formed in his eyes as he whispered, "It's good to have you back Selina." I felt tears of my own dropping down my cheeks as I pulled him into a long hug. I heard Lori sniff and we both looked up at her.

"What?" she asked. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, get over here!" Ted said and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The three of us remained in a group hug for another moment, before Ted said, "Alright, enough crying for one day. Tell me your story."

I chuckled as I wiped the tears from my face. "It's a long story Ted."

Ted looked at me as he walked to the door and opened it. "Nate! Get in here!" he barked making me jump. I looked at him quizzically.

Suddenly a tall, buff man appeared at the door. "Yes sir!" he answered just as loud.

"You're in charge today Nate. I have personal business to attend to." Nate looked over Ted's head at Lori and I before nodding and giving Ted another "Yes sir." Ted shut the door and motioned at the chairs.

"If this is a long story, might as well sit down." Lori and I took our seats in front of Ted's desk as Ted sat down in his office chair.

"Alright. You have my full attention Selina. Ready when you are," Ted said.

"Where to begin…" I muttered. "It all started when James and I moved in together. He told me to quit combat because it was too "expensive" and "unneeded"," I said making air quotes. "His drinking got worse, as did his temper." I sighed and looked down.

Lori reached over and took ahold of my hand for support. I looked back up and smiled at her. Ted crossed his arms over his chest, as if preparing for what I had to say next.

I looked back at Ted. "One day I visited and hung out with Lori. I came home to James drunk and upset. I had tried to explain to him that I was just visiting because I needed a day away from life. He got angry and told me never to visit "that whore" again. I got mad and told him never to call Lori that name again. And then…"

My voice trailed off and I could feel tears forming in my eyes again.

I heard Ted sigh.

"He hit me."

That was all I could say before I began to cry. Lori put her arms around me in an attempt to comfort me. Ted got up and began to pace, furious. I could hear the anger in his voice as he muttered, "That fucking son of a bitch."

"I woke up in the hospital," I continued, "James told the nurse I fell and threatened me to not say a word of what happened. After that, things got worse. He would hit me over stupid things like forgetting to get something on the grocery list or making him the wrong thing for dinner. He would hit me if he thought I had attitude in my voice. I would get yelled at every day for how stupid I was."

The tears flowed freely down my cheeks, but somehow my voice stayed calm.

"I couldn't fight back. No matter what happened. Something in me told me no. Even thinking of fight back made me feel bad; I couldn't hit someone I loved."

Ted stopped pacing and put both of his hands on either side of my face. "You are not responsible for this Selina. You did nothing wrong. Do you understand me?"

"Yes…" I said before more tears began to fall down my cheeks. Ted then held me until my sobs stopped.

"I'm going to hunt this son of a bitch down," Ted said with venom in his voice. "No one hurts my Selina. No one."

"You don't have to," I said through tears.

"No Selina. I do."

"No Ted, he got arrested earlier this morning."

Ted looked back at me, a confused look on his face. "What? How?"

"I ran into him, or rather, he found me at the Cheshire Cat today. Cops were called because he made a scene and tried to pull me away with him."

"Good. Let him rot in jail."

Ted still held me.

I looked up at him and asked, "Can you start training me again? I need to be prepared and I want to start again."

Ted looked down at me and smiled as he ran his fingers through my hair, "Of course Selina. I would be more than happy to start fighting with you."

After a small moment of silence he added, chuckling, "And don't worry about paying me."

I chuckled with him and said, "Are you sure? I don't mind Ted."

"Selina, you've been through enough. This is my gift to you."

Happy tears filled my eyes as I whispered, "Thank you so much Ted".

"Don't mention it kiddo. You're like a daughter to me Selina; I would lasso the moon down to you if you asked. Don't ever say I don't love you."

"I won't. I promise," I said as the tears fell down my face again.

"Good," Ted said as he pulled me closer to him.

After a few more minutes of silence, Ted started to get up from my chair. "Let's set an appointment for your training."

I sniffed, wiped my nose and nodded. "How about this Friday?" he asked.

"That works, but there's a problem."

Ted raised an eyebrow, "And what's that?"

"How am I going to get there?" Ted looked at Lori who pulled out her phone.

"Hold on, let me check my schedule," Lori said.

After a few seconds Lori groaned, "I can't. I have to go to work."

Lori looked at me and added, "I would let you take my car, but I actually need it that day."

"I can take her," Ted said suddenly giving a curt nod. "I don't mind at all. Plus, it would probably make you feel safer."

I sighed. It would make me feel safer rather than going alone. "Ok."

"Great. I'll pick you up Friday morning at 10." Ted wrote the time down in his planner, then suddenly asked, "What else are you girls doing for the rest of today?"

Lori and I looked at each other, then Lori said, "Nothing. All that we had planned as to visit you."

"Excellent," Ted winked, "Want to go out for dinner and a drink?"

"I would love to," I said. Lori nodded in agreement.

"Awesome! I know just the place to go to. It's in the higher end of Gotham, and dinner is on me." Ted grabbed his jacket and car keys and started to head out of the office, Lori and I in tow.

Ted shut and locked his office door, and shouted to Nate reminding him to lock up and turn off the lights when the nighttime sparring was done. "Who's driving?" Lori asked.

"Me. Your Audi will be fine here," Ted said over his shoulder.

"Ted, is your driving just as crazy as it was?" I asked.

Ted looked at me, threw back his head and laughed. "Even more so," He said with a wink.

"What does that even mean?" I asked.

"You'll see. Oh trust me, you'll see," Lori said.

As we rounded the corner of the street, there sat a white Corvette. "No way." I stopped suddenly. "That's yours?!"

Ted laughed. "Yep! I sold my truck for a sports car."

My jaw was still dropped. "But why? You loved your truck!"

Ted shrugged. "It's not really fuel efficient and I didn't use it as much as I thought it would. I bought a small BMW that I usually use for work. Then after winning tournament after tournament, I decided to buy something a little nicer."

"I'll say," I muttered.

Ted laughed again and said, "Alright, let's go get some food and beer!"

As we peeled out from the curb, I gripped the side handle of the car. Ted hadn't changed a bit; still the fast driver he always was. I guess all those years he spent racing paid off, I thought. We sped down the freeway, heading closer and closer to high end Gotham. I leaned back in the seat and relaxed. It had been a long day. I decided to train with Ted for a month or so, and then begin stealing again. I'll talk to him about it when the time is right, I thought. I don't want him to get pressured into it like the last time. The last time Ted and I had stolen together we almost got caught and sent to jail. Luckily, we got away, but it was a lesson we would never forget: don't pressure each other and don't rush things. I need to start finding gear if I'm wanting to steal. I'll worry about that in a week or so. No need to rush.