I turned on the coffee pot as I heard John get into the shower. Last night had been odd, but not one of the oddest late night conversations we had had. We had held many drunken conferences in my bedroom and many sad talks. I was worried about how serious he had sounded. He really thought he was going to lose me if I found someone. I guess I understood why he got upset at the club and whenever I met someone. It didn't make his actions better, but it gave me an idea of where he was coming from.

I bit down on a piece of toast opening a folder of paperwork I had brought home. Someone at the courthouse needed me to look over some document and I didn't even remember the topic. I was already ready, but I didn't have that meeting until eleven and didn't need to be in my office until after.

I chomped down on my toast reading through the documents one of the judges had requested. Apparently, there were some old laws regarding property lines that needed to be amended. Probably had to do with the right to shoot your neighbors or something like that. I didn't really care all that much, I just wanted to make sure I had all the files that had been requested.

I finished my toast brushing the crumbs off my skirt. When I first learned I was up for the promotion I was told I would need to expand my wardrobe a bit because of future meetings. I never dressed like a slob, but apparently I needed an expansion. Not that I minded. I liked an excuse to dress up. I had found a new love for pencil skirts, which was great. When you had pretty wide hips and a smaller waist there were a lot of dresses you just couldn't wear. Thankfully fashion from the 50's and 60's was coming back with a vengeance. Today I had gone with a dark red pencil skirt and black blouse. Since I was meeting with a judge and not just a clerk I had even added bold red lipstick to my usual makeup. On a daily basis I normal just went with a bit of eyeliner and mascara to take away from the dark under my eyes. I was becoming quite a fan of the red lipstick. Plus it gave me a little boost to see the double takes I could get because of it.

I poured myself some coffee and filled another mug as John came into the living room. "Elixir of life."

He groaned, hand rubbing his hair to dry it. He grabbed the mug and paused with it halfway to his lips staring at me.

I smiled taking a sip of my coffee. "Yes?"

He composed himself and swallowed a gulp. "Where are you off to today so dressed up?"

"Meeting with one of the judges. The promotion meant I have to dress nicer. So I'm playing it up as much as I can." I turned in a full circle. "What do you think?"

His lips curved into a sly smile. "I like it very much. Reminds me of that show I use to watch with you. What about shoes?"

I laughed. "No, I'm not wearing any heels that you are currently thinking of. I've got a pair of boots that work well enough. It's supposed to rain today so I'd rather not chance it with flats."

John reached around me to grab a slice of toast. "What time do you need to be at the courthouse?"

"Not until eleven, I just didn't feel like sitting around until it was time to get ready. I thought maybe I would visit Gordon for a bit to see if there was anything else he might need me to look up."

John chewed his toast thoughtfully. "Well I was going to see him before I headed into work, so how about we go together? I'll drop you off at the courthouse after we visit Gordon."

"You're my favourite for a reason."

He rolled his eyes hiding behind his mug once again.

John and I pulled into a spot in front of Wayne Enterprises, both quiet. Our meeting with Gordon had been rather short. Apparently Foley would be paying him a visit and Gordon didn't let us say anything.

Gordon held up today's newspaper with a frown. "Bruce Wayne is broke. Apparently a bad investment was made sometime during the stock market fiasco that has left him without anything. I do not think this is a coincidence." He gave John a meaningful look.

I sighed. "We can stop acting secretive. I know John's theory and apparently you seem to agree. But what does this have to do with things?"

"He lost everything and there is a meeting today at Wayne Enterprises. I may have made a call to impound his car. I thought it might give you a good opportunity to speak with him, Blake."

I tilted my head to the side. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Gordon narrowed his eyes. "Where are they?"

I smiled. "X marks the spot. Didn't you ever go on a treasure hunt, Commissioner?"

One of the nurses came in and told us we would have to go while Gordon headed to a test before Foley arrived. Gordon glared at me, but I just smiled and pointed up as we left.

John gave me an odd look. "What was he looking for?"

"His guns."

"You hid the Commissioner's guns?"

I rolled my eyes. "I had to. Can you imagine what the staff would have done if they found out I smuggled in his guns?"

We got out of the car and waited outside of Wayne Enterprises as the reporters swarmed around the doors. A tow truck was already hooking up Wayne's Lamborghini and I couldn't help but laugh in my head. Expensive cars always looked extra ridiculous when they were being towed away.

I nudged John in the side and nodded toward the building. We could both see Bruce Wayne coming out of the lobby. Now was John's chance.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come back and pick you up after?"

I laughed. "John, I'll be fine. Right after here I'm going to the office and probably straight home. Have fun harassing Wayne." I turned and paused. I walked back toward John, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

I turned away and headed next door toward the courthouse with a smile. The kiss was to put John at ease because I know how shitty things had been lately. Plus, I had a feeling he was going to forget that I had just left a perfect lip print on the side of his face.

(John's POV)

I watched her walk away with a smile. It was nice having things back to normal with us again. It made the approaching conversation with Wayne a little easier.

Wayne was standing with the tow truck driver, looking a little lost.

"Need a ride?"

Wayne caught my eye and nodded heading toward me quickly. He didn't seem upset about the getting in the squad car. He didn't even look all that upset about the car being towed. He just looked trapped.

I closed the door behind him, staring down the reporters that had begun moving closer. They lowered their cameras looking a bit miffed.

I got back in and pulled out of the street. Halfway down the street I lowered my visor as the sun glared at us. I gave the visor a little smile and looked back toward the road. Everyone had some personal things in their squad car. I kept a photo of the day I graduated from the academy. It was one of the few photos I had where I was genuinely smiling. I was standing between Stella and her dad, the three of us looking thrilled.

I felt Wayne look at the photo and give a chuckle. "That must be the owner of the lipstick on your face."

My eyes widened and I flicked the look in the mirror. Sure enough there was a perfect lip print on my cheek. Sneaky bitch. "Christ. I apologize. My friend has an annoying sense of humour." I rubbed my cheek with the sleeve of my jacket. It was slowly coming off, but my skin was a bit raw. I was going to kill Stella when I saw her later.

Wayne laughed a little harder. "Don't apologize. It's nice to see evidence of successful relationships now and then."

I kept my eyes on the road, feeling a bit stupid. This was not how I planned this conversation going. "She's not my girlfriend. She's my best friend. As it happens she has to enjoy driving me a bit insane."

"Ah, I completely understand." He went quiet after that.

I started thinking about what would have caused the sudden tone drop. When it came to me and I couldn't tell if I was an idiot or if this was the perfect opportunity to question him. Wayne had been childhood friends with Rachel Dawes, who had died in one of the Joker's attacks. She had been linked to Harvey Dent and was in the other warehouse that had exploded the night Dent ended up in the hospital. Dawes death was very hard for many. She had been a tough prosecutor, but had been extremely well liked. From what I had heard whispered, Rachel Dawes was the one person Bruce Wayne had ever actually loved.

I glanced over at him. He was looking out the window and I wondering if he was thinking about Rachel. "When you began…why the mask?"

Wayne was quiet for a moment and I was worried I had blown my opportunity to talk to him about being Batman. "To protect the people closest to me."

"But, you were a loner with no family." I paused. "No offense."

"There are always people you care about." He lifted a hand and tapped a finger on my photo. "You just don't realize it until they're gone." He sighed. "The idea was to be a symbol. Batman could be anybody. That was the whole point."

I gave him a small, encouraging smile. "It was damn good to see him back."

"Not everyone agrees."

"They will. They'll figure it out in the end."

Wayne seemed to pick up a bit and his tone sounded more interested now. "Got anything on Bane's whereabouts?"

"Yeah, I've got five hundred pages of tunnel records and a flashlight. I've got someone helping me with the paperwork, but I could use some help."

Wayne pursed his lips and nodded. "You know what? Drop me off in Old Town."

I was confused, but nodded taking a quick turn. "Old Town?"

"There's someone I think may be able to help. Selena Kyle. She's flighty, a thief, and I am positive she has connections with Bane."

"You think you can trust her?"

"Maybe. We will just have to see." He gave me a smile noticing my surprise. "So tell me, can you trust the person helping you with the paperwork?"

"With my life. Gordon has been working with her on the tunnel system as well."

"Your girl, the one in the photo? She's the head of archives? Miss Sterling, I believe?"

I looked at him for a second, surprised. "You've met her?"

Wayne laughed. "Oh, I have not had the pleasure. Lucius Fox, the one running Wayne Enterprises had a meeting with her last week. He'll be quite glad to hear that she is on our side. He thought so, but you can never be too sure with the clever ones. He was quite interested to see what she would find if we let her into some of our other files."

I smiled. "She's one of the smartest people I have ever known. Stella would have a field day accessing your files, I'm sure of it. The first day she had access to some files that had been restricted to her I actually had to drag her out of her office. Thankfully she was friends with everyone she worked with and they found her more amusing than mad. Don't get me wrong. Stella doesn't have any sanity issues, she just believes that if there is information she can access, she has to do it."

Wayne laughed. "You've got a dangerous one on your hands. Take a right here and it's the second building on your left."

I pulled the car over to the side and watched Wayne get out.

He moved toward my window with a nod. "I'll get a cab back, don't worry about waiting."

"You've got money for a cab?"

Wayne's eyes widened and he patted down his pockets.

I shook my head with a smile and pulled out my wallet handing him some cash. "This should get you there."

Wayne took the money carefully and gave me his hand. "Thank you Officer Blake."

I took his hand with a smile. "Glad to help Mr. Wayne."

Wayne smiled and slid his eyes to my photo again. "You take care of her Blake. Don't let her get away. Trust me."

(Stella's POV)

I waved to Danielle as I walked out the door and saw John waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He was in nice slacks, a button up, and a tie. He was also leaning against a brown car and had a wide smile on his face.

I paused at the bottom of the stairs. "You're smiling and dressed up. I am very confused and a little worried."

John pushed off the car moving toward me. "Like the new car?"

"Are you going undercover? Is this a getaway car? Are you going to kill me because of the lipstick?"

John pulled me toward him, on hand on my waist the other holding my hand in his. He danced us in a little circle, smile widening. "No, though trust me, I'm working on what to do to you after the lipstick incident. I got a promotion. You are speaking with Detective Blake right now."

I let go of his hands and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Holy hell. Congratulations, John. Oh we need to celebrate!"

"And we are. I'm taking you out for a nice dinner. Just the two of us celebrating our promotions. I want to make up for the other night."

I looked down at myself. "Should I run home and get changed?"

John smiled and opened the door for me. "No, you look perfect."

I smiled and pulled down the mirror. I removed my hairclip and shook my hair out, feeling better. I poked John in the arm as he got in the car. "So how did this come about?"

"Gordon just likes me. Foley is a moron who has done nothing but call me a hothead. I'm not even sure if he knows my name. Gordon decided to promote me and I am reporting directly to him until future notice. So I don't have to go into the department anymore. I'm just going to work out of the car, the hospital, and my place."

"You're living the dream Johnny boy."

"You get to say that once. The next time, I will tie you up and put you in the trunk."

"Kinky."

John's eyes strayed to me for a moment and he muttered something that even in this close of space I couldn't hear.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just. Nothing."

Dinner had been fantastic. Good Italian food and delicious red wine. I was thrilled I had remembered my lipstick. Whenever I had wine without lipstick my lips turned purple and I felt like a child with grape juice. I had learned my lesson the one time I was on a nice date and couldn't figure out why my date was giving me funny looks. It took a bathroom break and glimpse of my reflection to learn that red wine lead to awkwardly stained lips.

It was nice to talk with John about good things. We hadn't had an "us" night out in a while. We talked about promotions, what we could do now, and what we would do. I told John that I would look at some of the apartments in his building, but I wouldn't make any promises. He agreed that he wouldn't push me and if he did I was allowed a free shot to punch him in the face. I liked that point.

John was driving me home and fully enjoying his new car. Yeah it looked like shit from the outside, but it was more comfortable than the squad car and the radio was better. Things hadn't been easy for John and hell knew that he wasn't always a fan of the rules. For once, going with his gut had put him far ahead in the game.

John pulled the car over. "So did you have fun?"

I smiled and unbuckled myself. "I really did. Thank you for dinner. It was nice being dressed up and going somewhere that wasn't work. Don't get me wrong, I love our pizza and beer nights, but this was a nice treat." I gave his tie a little tug. "I like the tie. So does this promotion mean I get to see you all cleaned up more often?"

"I'd hope you like this tie, I'm pretty sure you bought it for me. I think it was for some benefit or dance. I don't really remember. I'll be a bit more dressed up, but nothing to the point of you pulling out the camera."

I gave a dramatic sigh. "I long to see you in a suit again. Mostly when it is appropriate for me to take your photo. I don't think taking your picture at my father's funeral would have gone over too well. Though I feel he would have approved of my actions."

John gave a little laugh and pulled down his visor. Clipped to the corner was a photo that I couldn't see that well. He pulled it out and leaned closer so I could see it. It was a photo of my father, John, and I from when he graduated from the academy. I loved this photo of us. I had my arms wrapped around John's waist, his arms were around my dad and I, and my father had an arm slung around John's shoulders looking like the proudest man in the world. I actually kept this photo in my bedroom. It was one of the photos of the three of us I loved the best and one of the last ones taken of my father before he died.

John's voice was soft. "I've carried this photo with me since my first day. Everyone has pictures of their family, kids, or some half naked woman. This is my family."

I wrapped my arms around John's neck holding him close. "Thank you John. For everything. Really."

"I'll always be here."

I pulled back from him and smiled. "Goodnight John." I went to kiss his check, but he must have remembered the stain earlier because at the last moment he turned as if to yell at me, which meant I kissed him full on the lips.

We both paused for a moment. We had kissed before and it was fine, but hadn't really been a regular thing in quite some time. Part of me wanted to laugh it off, but there was something in John's eyes that stopped me. People said that brown eyes were boring, but I had to disagree. John's eyes were a deep chocolate, a brown that was rich enough to get lost in. It was one of the reasons that girls fell for him so quickly. When you were talking to him he could just give you a look and it put you at ease. It helped him on the force as well. The eyes that could put you at ease could also darken and become so very cold. Right now they were warm and zeroed in on me. I don't think I could have moved if I had tried.

"Stella."

"Yeah?"

John was barely inches from me, breath covering me. "I'm going to kiss you. This time on purpose."

I gave the slightest nod and closed my eyes as John closed the space between us.

John pressed his lips against mine. I hadn't realized I was cold until I felt how warm he was against me. He urged my lips open and I complied without hesitation. John's hand snaked behind my neck tilted my head a little more to his liking. I was having one of those experiences where my mind was yelling at me to stop, but my brain wasn't listening. John's thumb was running down my throat and sending chills down my spine. I shivered and John slowly broke the kiss.

I blinked slowly opening my eyes. I was finding it a little difficult to breathe under John's gaze. His eyes were dark in an almost predatory way, which made me unsure if I wanted to run or stay. One hand was still at my neck while the other was in a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel. I lifted a hand to his face and ran my thumb across his lips where he was now wearing a good portion of my lipstick. I liked this lipstick for the fact the color lasted on me, but it had a tendency of sticking to anything else that got near it. I smiled a little to myself as I smudged the lipstick a bit more. I like how he looked with my lipstick around his mouth.

John grabbed my hand pulling it away from his mouth. "Stella, I need you to go inside now."

"What?"

His jaw looked a little tight as he placed my hand back on my lap. "I need you to go inside. I can't think straight right now."

Part of me wanted to argue, but the look on his face told me not to. I opened my door and wrapped my arms around my waist. "Goodnight, John."

(John's POV)

I watched Stella walk up the stairs to the lobby, part of me wanting to run after her. She was going to either hate me in the morning or never talk about it again. I slammed my head against my headrest and started driving away.

I don't know what came over me. Stella was just trying to kiss me goodbye and I was going to yell at her for trying to get more lipstick on me when she met my mouth. She looked like she was going to laugh, but I was glad she didn't. I wanted to kiss her properly in that moment. I wasn't sure why then or why at all, but I did. The bit that surprised me was that she not only let me, but she seemed to want to kiss me just as much. She had tasted like smoky wine and her scent made my heart race. Her skin had been soft and when I touched her throat I could feel her pulse quicken.

I was already behind my building without realizing it. It was a good thing my body understood autopilot because I would not have made it home otherwise. I walked up the stairs pulling at my tie. I felt like I was being strangled and I yanked it from around my neck, shoving it into my pocket.

I opened the door to my hallway seeing Ross sitting in front of my door.

Ross looked up and gave me a half smile. "Well good evening Detective, what-" His eyes widened. "Holy shit did someone punch you in the mouth?"

I sighed and fished my keys out of my pocket. "It's lipstick. What are you doing here?"

"Well I called you about four times earlier to congratulate you and ask if I could crash with you tonight because I may have gotten in a little fight with Kim."

I laughed to myself as my door swung open. "Sorry I must still have my ringer off. Come on in. I plan on drinking myself to sleep tonight."

"I'm guessing this has to do with the lipstick." Ross went to my fridge grabbing to beers.

I took a beer from him and fell into my armchair with a groan. "I am a fucking moron. A huge fucking moron."

"A huge fucking moron with a promotion. How the hell did you get a date within a few hours of your promotion?" Ross stretched out on my couch looking at me with a mix of humour and admiration.

"It wasn't exactly a date. I took Stella to an apology dinner."

Ross sat up, choking on his beer.

I put a hand over my eyes. "Thanks for that."

"No, I just…there's lipstick on your face and you were out with Stella. That means either you fucking grew a pair or you kissed another girl and Stella got pissed."

"I kissed her. We were in the car and saying goodbye and she went to kiss my cheek and I tried to stop her so I wouldn't have lipstick all over my face like this afternoon."

Ross nodded, trying to sound serious. "Yeah, I can understand that. I mean you wouldn't want lipstick all over your face."

"Do you want me to tell you what happened or kick you the fuck out?"

Ross laughed into his bottle. "Go on man."

"When I went to tell her not to be a smartass, she ended up kissing me. I don't even know what I was thinking, but I told her I was going to kiss her. I grabbed her and we were making out in the car. I just wanted to grab her and…fuck." I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair. "I told her to go inside and she looked so confused."

It was hard to tell her to go. When she pulled away from me, I looked at her in a way I hadn't looked at her in years. When we were freshmen in high school I started looking at Stella as more than just a friend for months. It was finally seeing her acting like more than the little tomboy I had grown up with. She was laughing, in her uniform, and it just hit me that she as beautiful. It all ended the moment she got her first boyfriend, which crushed me for all of four days. I hadn't really thought about that since.

Tonight I had almost a flashback when I looked at her. Her eyes were a deep green that could pull anyone toward her, especially with her long, dark lashes. Her face was framed by thick dark brown hair with rich red undertones. It was the kind of hair you wanted to run you fingers through and pull. She had given me a little smile and that nearly sent me over. Aside from the red lipstick that could stop any man in his tracks, Stella had lips that could only be described as juicy. I wanted to sink my teeth into them and listen to her moan. When she finally got out of the car, I watched her walk up the stairs and noticed she glanced back once before hurrying on. I realized the real problem when she walked up the steps. I always thought her pencil skirts were cute until I watched her walk from behind. That skirt hugged her in a delicious way. There was a little slit in the back that made me want to rip the skirt up the back. I could imagine the surprise on her face and it made my pulse quicken. That was the moment I pulled the car away.

Ross cleared his throat. "You're in some deep shit aren't you? I know that look on your face. You don't even need to say anything. You got smacked in the face with realizing that she's more than your friend. That she's a woman and a fucking attractive one at that."

I glared at Ross. "I know."

He laughed. "So how many beers will it take until you stop thinking about ripping off her clothes?"

I groaned. "A lot."

(Stella's POV)

I crawled into bed and pressed a pillow against my face. I had been fine until I was taking off my lipstick. I pressed a cloth against my lips and they were still tingling.

What had made John do that? What the hell had made me kiss him back?

That had happened only once before. It was back in high school and I had just broken up with one of my boyfriends because I found out he had been cheating on me. I went to John angry and crying. I was just upset that I hadn't seen it and he was trying to calm me down. I had given him a kiss and it turned deeper in moments. I tried taking it further, but John pushed me off looking angry. We didn't really talk about it, we just went back to acting normal. It had bothered me for some time, but like most things, I learned to let it go.

This time it would bother me. We weren't just a pair of absent minded teenagers. We were adults now and this wasn't just something to brush off. I enjoyed the kiss, maybe a little more than I should have in the moment. The way he grabbed me, his scent, and the aggression in his kiss made me wish it had lasted longer. We couldn't just ignore this and he knew it. That was why he made me get out of the car. The look he gave me was the way I always thought the wolf looked at Red Riding Hood. He looked like he wanted to eat me up and I would have stayed.

I plugged my phone in and stared at it. I opened my text messages before I chickened out and hit John's name.

So. Are we going to talk about this?

I stared at my phone afraid to fall asleep and shivered under my blankets. A few minutes later my phone buzz and I nearly fell backwards to reach it.

Go to bed Stella.

John, please. I'm just confused.

It doesn't matter. I told you I couldn't think straight. Just go to sleep. I don't want to talk about it.

Please.

Don't beg. I said no.

Fine. Go fuck yourself Blake. I pressed send, my jaw locking in place. Before I could read another angry message to get a phone call, I shut my phone off.

A/N: Putting this up a little early tonight. One of the nice things about having chapters in queue is that you don't scramble to make a deadline. If only I had done this for my other stories.