Here it is, one of our big reveals. And a lot of heavy drama! We're trying to keep this story as realistic as we possibly can and here is where the real drama begins. Especially in the next chapter. It will be hard to stomach but it's going to be wickedly dramatic and really create a bond for our lovers.

Have a wonderful, safe Halloween and enjoy it! Three reviews gets a new chatper and trust me, you're not going to believe what happens next!

Marina & James

Selina felt terrible...and not just because she was sprawled out over the toilet retching up the remainder of last night's dinner. Bruce had so been looking forward to taking her up to the Hamptons for the New Year. They were going to his private estate to ice skate and spend time together, then drink champagne and be blissfully free of all high-society parties for once. But the stomach flu had other plans for Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne. At first she thought that it was just something she ate. She had gotten sick a few days before and thought nothing of it (others had complained of the crab being bad at a gala event they had gone to). But this wasn't food poisoning; it was lingering far longer than that.

Moaning softly, she closed her eyes, "Oh Bruce." She said softly, her throat burning from the acid of vomiting. "I'm so sorry. I know you wanted to go. I did too..." Sitting back, she wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. "You could still go, take Alfred. You could have a boys' weekend..." Still, she felt terrible that she couldn't go. "Maybe we can try another time."

Bruce stood in the doorway to the bathroom watching Selina. The poor woman, she was so sick right now and they both had no idea why. He walked in and grabbed a disposable cup, filled it with water from the sink, and handed it to her. He knelt down beside her and rubbed her back gently. "No, it's alright. I'd much rather be here with you to make sure you're okay. I know Alfred feels the same way I do. He's already downstairs making you a soup with some herbs in it that he claims eases the stomach. He's usually right about those herbal things." Bruce ran a hand through her hair, pulling it away from her face in case she felt another wave of nausea take her again. "We can stay until you get better. We'll just go to the Hamptons next year." He had wanted to go so badly, for her. She had never been to a nice place like that for the holidays before, and he wanted to make it special for her. Too bad she was sick. But, like he'd said, there was always next year.

Sniffling, she nodded and blew her nose again. His hand running through her hair and over her back calmed her, made her feel better...but at the same time she was worried. "Bruce I don't want you to catch anything. Maybe it would be better if you weren't around me. I know you have a really important board coming up and I don't want you to miss work because I got you sick." Flushing the toilet, she used all the strength she had in her body to pull herself up and sit down on the toilet seat cover. Smiling weakly, she accepted the cup of water and took a few sips. "Thank you for caring, it means a lot to me..." It also meant a lot that he thought there would be a next year for them. "Okay," She said softly, "Next year it is."

Bruce chuckled. "Selina I don't need to worry about getting sick. I'm one of the first people every year to get inoculated for the latest viruses of the year. I usually fund a free public vaccination and get in line first to show anyone who might be scared of needles that there's nothing to fear." His reasons for getting vaccinated were completely different from everyone else's though. He didn't want to be sick while trying to fight someone like Joker, Two Face...or Catwoman. That and people like Scarecrow were known to use powders and gases of varying substances against him, and he'd hate to think that he allowed himself to get smallpox or something when he could have been immune. "Of course I care. Why wouldn't I care if my girlfriend was sick?" He looked at her for a moment before leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"I got a flu shot this year too, Bruce. That's why I'm thinking you ought to keep your distance." Selina answered, allowing him to help her over to the bed. Resting against the pillows, she curled up with the blanket, feeling hot and flushed but cold and achy at the same time. Resting her hand over her roiling stomach, she dragged her arm across her eyes, "Don't take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but shoo! The New Year starts tonight and I want to be able to spend it with you, sick or not. I'm going to take a nap, rest up for the big night."

Bruce smiled and nodded, "Alright, if you insist." He leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. "I'm going to see about having that meeting within the hour so I can be here with you. You sleep; you probably won't even know I'm gone." Bruce stood up again and left the room. As soon as he was down on the first floor he went to find Alfred. "I'm going on a quick patrol, make sure everything's alright tonight. Catwoman is notorious for showing up when people are out partying and I don't want her to get the better of me like she nearly did last time." Bruce turned to head for the secret entrance to the Batcave. "You stay here in case Selina needs anything, she's taking a nap. I'll be back in an hour or two, hopefully. She thinks I'm going to a board meeting." With that, Bruce hoped in the concealed elevator and went to start his work.

Smiling lightly, she nodded as he kissed her forehead. Rolling over onto her side, she let her hand drape over her belly. It was damn lucky she hadn't planned a heist for tonight...the last thing she needed was to go up against Batman while feeling three steps away from death's door. Pulling the down comforter up around her, she exhaled as she heard Alfred's familiar knock on the door, "Come in." She said lightly, "Although you enter at your own risk."

Alfred walked into the room with a smile. "Good evening young miss. I thought you could use a good old fashion pick-me-up." He had a tray in his hands containing a bowl with some green fluid in it, a soup spoon, and a glass of steaming foggy water. "I used to give this to Master Bruce when he was just a boy and felt a little under the weather." He set the tray down on the bed side table. "The glass has a little Theraflu in it to clear you up a bit, maybe even help you get some sleep. Would you like me to prop you up with pillows so you can eat it a little easier?"

Sighing softly, she sat up again, "Hello Alfred." He placed a tray across her lap and she nearly turned green as the soup in the dish. If the smell of it wasn't so soothing and calm, she might've spilled it running to the bathroom again. But the gentle mint, chamomile and lavender scent soothed her. "Thanks, it seems to be helping me already." Grabbing the utensil, she took a small spoonful and brought it to her mouth. It was very minty but good; it was almost more like a tea than a soup. Alfred went about fluffing her pillows and she thanked him again, "I hope Bruce wasn't too angry with me...I don't want him getting sick too. I all but threw him out of here."

Alfred laughed. "Master Bruce is used to it. I often order him out of rooms when he shouldn't be in them." He gave her a victorious smile. "He went ahead to the board meeting. He should be back in an hour or two." After making sure her pillows were fluffed, Alfred stood up straight again. "I'm glad you enjoy the soup. Eat as much as you can. The more you get in you, the better it will make you feel in a while. Just don't overdo it, or you might make yourself sicker than you already are." Taking a couple steps back, Alfred smiled warmly. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Spooning more of the soothing concoction into her mouth, she instantly felt better. Smiling, she had finished the entire bowl and now felt almost human again. "Now I feel awful for being such a baby...maybe we can still go to the Hamptons after all." Taking another drink of water, she sighed, "I don't think so Alfred, although your company wouldn't be unwelcome. I'm not feeling so tired anymore, your soup perked me right up."

Alfred placed the remainder of the Theraflu on the bedside table while he grabbed the tray. "Very well ma'am. I'll just take this down to the kitchens to be washed up later on, and then I'll come back to keep you company until Master Bruce returns." He quickly left to do as he said. Within ten minutes he was back, a few magazines and newspapers in hand. "I thought you'd maybe like to read something. We've got all the latest magazines, and just about every paper published in the area." He smiled as he set them on the bed in Bruce's usual spot, pulling out a Soccer magazine for himself. "Let's see how Manchester United is doing." Alfred sat down in a chair, and propped his feet up on the bed.

Selina nodded, watching as he cleared the dishes from the room. It had been almost two months since she moved in and she'd only just begun to accept that he really did do everything for Bruce. And it wasn't because Bruce asked him either, the first full day Selina was there she had tried to clear her own breakfast dishes...Alfred nearly had a fit. He liked his job and he was good at it; this house ran in tip top shape. Continuing to drink water, she smiled when he came back and brought her some magazines. There was Sports Illustrated, most likely Bruce's, but also some magazines she didn't expect to see such as Vogue and Parenting. Grabbing the fashion magazine she began to thumb through it as sat at her bedside. After a while, Selina got bored with it and decided to make idle conversation. "So, where did you get that recipe for the soup? It's a lifesaver!" She asked, looking over at him as she picked up the parenting magazine, "You could make a fortune selling it as a flu remedy."

Alfred smiled and put the magazine down. He'd seen all he needed to. His favorite football—or soccer, as they called it here in the states—team was still winning. He could take a break to answer her questions. "I grew up in England, my mum was a scullery maid and my dad was a butler to Windsor Castle itself. Seeing as how I'm so old," He gave a light hearted chuckle, "you can see how medicine was still pretty primitive for us back then. It was still mostly herbal stuff. Hardly a pill on the market… not like over here. Anyway, my mum taught me that recipe. It's great for upset stomachs, the flu. Her mother taught it to her and it's always just been in the family." He gave her a sidelong look like he suspected something. "It worked well on Master Bruce when he'd have the stomach flu as a little boy. Funny, it started as a way to soothe the stomach of a pregnant woman with morning sickness."

Selina's head snapped up from reading an article on adoption when he spoke of his herbal remedy, "M-morning sickness?" She queried, her mind spinning around and around in a circle. She couldn't be pregnant...right? Well, it wasn't as if she was using any birth control...and they had been having sex just about every night for two months. Jamming her fingers through her hair, she looked down at her waist...she had been gaining weight too. She thought it had been Alfred's rich food. Then there was the fact she had been ignoring...she hadn't gotten her period since last month and was still waiting for it now. "Hey Alfred..." She swallowed hard, "You wouldn't happen to have a home pregnancy test lying around, would you?"

Alfred gave Selina an indulgent smile. He reached a hand into one of the pockets on his apron and pulled out a little box with a test stick. "As a matter of fact..." He trailed of there and smiled knowingly. Of course he had suspected. He'd been around when both Master Bruce and Rachel Dawes had been conceived at the manor and was present to help out through both pregnancies. He knew the signs. And Selina was just about a textbook example. He held the box out to her and stood up. "Will you be requiring assistance in getting up and making your way to the loo?"

Well, she hadn't been expecting that. Raising an eyebrow, she took the box from him. "Umm...thanks Alfred. No, I'll be fine getting to the bathroom all by myself." With all the strength she had left, she carefully got out of bed and padded to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. It was easy enough, pee onto the stick, wait five minutes. The peeing was the easy part...it was the waiting that would kill her. Recapping the test, she walked back out to where Alfred was sitting and she sat back down on the bed. "I don't know what I'm going to do if I'm pregnant..."

Alfred sat down in his chair as soon as she was safely behind the bathroom door. He reopened the magazine and started to read the season stats for his favorite team. After a brief moment he hit a button on his wrist watch and then continued reading. When she came back out and sat down, Alfred gave a chuckle. "Well, you wouldn't be the first woman to become pregnant at the manor. Master Bruce's mother, her mother before her, and then there was Mrs. Dawes, one of the maids who used to be employed here." He watched her for a moment. "No need to worry, Ms. Kyle. Master Bruce might not be expecting it but he won't tuck tail and run. I taught him better than that." He gave a proud smirk before his watch started to beep. He quickly hit the button and motioned to the test. "About time to check that, isn't it?"

Moments of her life were ticking away...and all Selina could think about was Bruce. Would he want a baby? He had seemed very jovial about her fake pregnancy...but that didn't mean that he actually wanted children with her! Oh dear, Rita Stevens was going to have a field day with this. "I don't know...I like Bruce a lot, I very well could love him. But I know that he has a lot on his plate..." When he stated that it was probably time to take a look, she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Oh! Well...here we go, Alfred." Swallowing hard, she flipped the test over and moaned as she lay back on the bed, "I'm pregnant."

Alfred watched Selina with one eyebrow cocked up in a manner similar to the way Bruce did it. He'd probably taught the younger man how to do that. He figured he already knew the answer, the test was just confirming it for him. He she announced the results; Alfred stood up and gently took the test from her to see for himself. "It appears so, ma'am. Congratulations! Shall I ring Master Bruce and inform him? Or would you like the pleasure of doing so upon his return?"

Sitting up again, Selina stared at him hard for several seconds. "No, don't interrupt the board meeting. This can wait for another hour or two." Why was he acting like this was joyous news? Selina Kyle, better known as the Catwoman, was pregnant...what would Batman say to that? Resting her head in her hands, she shook her head, "I should be the one Alfred...I think it's important that he hears it from me." Running her fingers through her hair, she closed her eyes, "What time did he say his meeting was getting out?"

Alfred checked his watch and shook his head. This could be a problem. They never had a set time for Bruce to return, but he had said he'd be back within two hours time. Well nearly half an hour had passed already, he could wing it. "These meetings can go on forever if the directors can't come to an agreement. He did mention he'd try to be back within two hours. So, you have about another hour and a half to wait."

Selina swore bitterly, standing up and pacing the length of the room like a caged animal. "Alfred I need to practice this...help me. Pretend you're Bruce for just a little while," She pleaded, her hand coming to rest over her abdomen as she looked at him. "When I tell him it has to be right, it has to be perfect."

Alfred nodded his head and stood in his best imitation of Bruce. "Don't be surprised if I don't talk exactly like him." He gave a slight chuckle. "He's so...American." He gave her a soft smile at that and took off his apron. "You want me to go from Master Bruce walking in the room? Or just pretend he's already here?"

Still pacing, Selina thought about it. "Walk in," She decided finally, seating herself on the bed in preparation. "I don't mind if you don't sound like him but...if you know how he'll react so I can get my bearings. That would help." She hoped he wouldn't explode...she didn't know if she could handle it. The memories of her childhood, the things that all gone wrong; if she'd just had a good mother and father, maybe things would be so different for her today. "Okay, I'm ready Alfred. Let's try it."

Alfred nodded and walked outside the room. He closed the door for a brief moment and then opened it with a smile. "Hello, love. Meeting was a bore." He approached her at a gait similar to Bruce's and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. He might be pretending to be the Master, but he wouldn't kiss her on the lips. That was just going too far. "Money this...fire that, you know it goes." He looked at her for a moment and then sat down next to her, one arm circling around her shoulders. "Did you get any sleep? How was Alfred's soup?"

Selina had trouble not laughing when Alfred came in mimicking Bruce's every habit. He sure did a very good impression (besides the obvious differences in accent). He even gave her a kiss on the cheek, surely that went above and beyond his duty. Composing herself, she put a small smile on her face, "I'm glad you had a good meeting, Bruce. I didn't get much sleep but Alfred's soup really did wonders for me. He's such a wonderful friend," She smiled softly. "I actually have some really interesting news." She opened her mouth to speak but she found that her throat was bone dry. Grabbing the glass of water at the bedside, she swallowed hard, "I have something very important to tell you."

Alfred adopted his best Bruce concerned look, "Something important?" He rubbed her shoulder a little with one hand. It was hard to try and get the little facets down for him, given that he chose not to be in the room when they got lovey dovey with each other. It just wasn't gentlemanly to watch that sort of thing. "Alright, I'm listening."

"Life altering actually," Selina intoned softly, looking over at him. Her dark eyes were already watery from getting sick, but she was getting emotional just talking about it. "Bruce, I'm pregnant."

Alfred/Bruce stared at her for a moment expressionless. He was taking the necessary time for Bruce to process it all. After a moment a small smile broke out on his face, "Seriously?" At her small nod Alfred wrapped her in a hug, trying to do as Bruce would. "That's...we should tell Alfred."

"I think he already knows," She teased lightly, swatting at the thick tears running down her cheeks. Alfred was really helping to assuage her fears...and Selina did fear, she feared very greatly for the fate of the child that rested within her. Suddenly dreams she'd never thought she'd see were coming true...she had a wonderful billionaire boyfriend, she was pregnant, and for once she really felt like there was hope for her in the world.

Alfred chuckled and gave her a brief squeeze. "See? That wasn't so hard. I think you'll do marvelously when he comes back. Just remember to do it like that. I don't think there'll be any problems." After a moment he removed his arm from her shoulder. He scooted a little bit away form her on the bed, to return to the proper distance he should be from the Master's girlfriend.

Lying back on the bed, she let her hand run over the place where her child grew inside of her. She should've noticed that where her washboard stomach used to be, a slight bump had begun to form in its wake. No rich dessert or fine meal could make the same impression as a child. "I have to say, Alfred, you could knock them dead in theatre. I've never seen such acting skills!"

Alfred gave a brief chuckle. "Thank you, ma'am, I always wanted to be a thespian. I even tried out my youth to be part of the Royal Shakespeare Company…but, that was when father died, and mum's wages as a scullery maid weren't enough to make a living. So, I gave up my dream to live a simpler life. Still, I have no regrets." He would have continued but the sound of clapping from the doorway made him stop wide eyed and turn to see Bruce standing there clapping and looking hardly amused. Alfred was on his feet in seconds. "Master Bruce, welcome back! I trust your meeting went well?"

Bruce stopped clapping the minute that Alfred noticed him. He'd seen most of it, having come in shortly after they started their little charade. Alfred had left the door open, so Bruce hadn't needed to open it and give himself away. "Alfred always was a good actor when he chose to be." Looking between the two once more, Bruce's gaze settled somewhere between them, "So, what this all about? Wait...do I even want to know?"

It took all the strength in Selina's body not to bolt up and run for the door. Looking over to Alfred for support, she held out both her hands to Bruce as she sat up slightly, "I think you should sit down. There's something important that I have to tell you."

Bruce shook his head and stayed exactly where he was. "Oh…I think I already know." That should clue them in to how much he had actually seen. "So, is this some kind of joke that you two decided to play on me? Or is it real?" He looked to Alfred who looked down at the floor. Seeing the butler wouldn't answer him, Bruce turned his gaze on Selina.

So he had heard it all...she didn't know whether to be relieved or frightened. She settled on nauseous; that was the way to go with it, she thought. Wrapping her arm around her belly, she slowly nodded her head, "No, it's not a joke. I..." She looked away from him, not daring to meet his eyes as she said the three words that would change the entire course of their lives, "I'm pregnant, Bruce."

Bruce took a step back. For a second he'd actually hoped that it was all a joke. This changed things drastically for them. He was Batman, he'd already taken enough risk by getting involved with her, now they were going to have a child, and that meant another life in danger because of his secret. Turning toward Alfred, Bruce's eyes were filled with anger while he spoke, "You should have called me and told me right away. Instead you decide to play at being me and leave it for me to witness on my own?" He was angry with the man for this, and the fact that he'd let it be seen at all. If he couldn't stop Bruce from seeing something as simple as this, then how could he continue to keep Batman a secret?

His anger scalded her. "Bruce...please," Standing up, she ignored the sickness that threatened to overwhelm her. "It's not his fault. I wanted to be the one to tell you and I wanted to make sure that I got it right." He hadn't said anything about the baby...all he was doing was getting angry and upset. "If you want to blame someone, blame me."

Bruce turned to face Selina. The anger died a little in him. He was settling in, slowly digesting the news: he was going to have a baby. "Alfred, leave the room. I'll talk to you later." He watched as the old man left the room, closing the door as he went. Once he was certain that Alfred was gone, although he could still be at the door listening in, Bruce turned back to Selina. "You're pregnant?" He still couldn't really believe it.

Jamming her fingers through her hair, she exhaled heavily, "Don't treat him like that!" She snapped, her eyes reflecting her anger. "Yes, I'm pregnant," She walked over to the end table and grabbed the pregnancy test, handing it to him. "It either says pregnant if you are pregnant or not pregnant if you aren't...these things are foolproof. There's almost no chance of a false positive." She sighed and sat back on the bed again, "Not to mention I have all the classic symptoms. Weight gain, nausea, fatigue...I'm pregnant, Bruce."

Bruce took the test from her and looked at it. Yup, clear as day 'Pregnant'. No mistaking that one. "So, you guys decided you might be pregnant and left to go to a store to buy a pregnancy test?" They should have told him sooner. "Why didn't you call me to tell me what you thought? I could have gone with you!" Now that she mentioned it, she had been showing the signs. Why hadn't either of them noticed before?

"No, it wasn't like that." Selina explained. She closed her eyes as the sickness built inside of her again. "It hit me when Alfred was saying the soup me made me used to make your mother feel better when she was pregnant with you. Suddenly things started clicking and when I asked if Alfred had a pregnancy test, he actually did. The man is always prepared..." Sighing heavily, she opened her eyes again, "Bruce, I wasn't hiding this from you, I swear it."

Bruce felt his anger rising. Alfred did believe in always being prepared, but they didn't keep pregnancy tests this advanced around the manor. Any that might be lying around were from when his mother was pregnant and they'd probably be expired by now…that was, if pregnancy tests ever expired. But this was brand new technology, which meant that during one of his shopping trips, Alfred had decided that she was pregnant and bought a new test. He had suspected all this time and kept it from Bruce. She might not be keeping it from him, but the old man was. "He gave this to you?" He just needed to make sure, but the anger at Alfred was evident in his voice.

Turning toward him, she furrowed her eyebrows. She'd seen Bruce angry before...but never at her and not about something this serious. "Yes he gave it to me, Bruce. What, do you think I'm lying to you?" She snapped, standing up off the bed. "You think this is some kind of conspiracy to hurt you? I JUST took that test."

Bruce grabbed her by the shoulders, to try and calm her down, get her to look at him. "I'm not saying that. But, we don't keep these kinds of tests here. This is way too new. Alfred must have suspected for some time and gone out to get a test." He squeezed the stick in his anger before tossing it down on the bed. "He should have said something, instead of going behind my back like this." Shaking his head and running his hands through his hair, Bruce said quite possibly the worst thing to say at the time. "If Rita Stevens finds out about this, she'll have a field day."

Lighting quick reflexes kicked in and she pushed Bruce away from her. In a heartbeat she was on guard, both her arms slung protectively around her waist. "I guess you didn't hear me, you bastard. I am pregnant; I am having your baby!" She yelled, her face burning red as she stared him down. "I am standing in front of you, the mother of your child, and all you care about is your damn image? You care what Rita Stevens and the papers are going to say more then you care about me and your child?" Suddenly her anger exploded and she stalked toward the door, "Well, don't worry Bruce, I will tell everyone that it's not your baby. And maybe after a while, you can forget it's yours too." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she threw the bedroom door open, "Good riddance."

Bruce could almost taste the rubber from the proverbial foot in his mouth. He couldn't believe he'd just said that. He got up to chase after her, but by the time he got down to the front door, she was already gone. He slumped against the wall, beating the back of his head into it. After a few minutes he heard foot steps approaching and looked up to see Alfred looked down at him.

"You've done a lot of stupid things in your life, Master Bruce. And I let them go because it's your life and I'm just the butler. But this," He motioned toward the door that Selina had left from, "Is beyond all of those things. You quite possibly ruined the best thing you had going for you in this life." Shaking his head, Alfred said the words that always got to Bruce to make him realize his follies, a set that Alfred had never used before, and hated to use now. "You're father would be so ashamed." With that the butler turned and walked to the kitchen. He had dishes that needed cleaning.

Weeping bitterly, Selina opened the door to her apartment and shivered. She hadn't turned on the heat because she hadn't been here to use it...and now it was freezing cold. Setting the thermostat up as high as she dared, she fell to her knees, shivering so hard she vomited again. In her pain and sadness she almost didn't dare breathe for fear that it would ache as fiercely as the last breath she took. Bruce didn't want to be a father...he didn't want her or love her and he never would. What she needed now was a plan and money...definitely money. She couldn't raise a child on prayers alone. Just as soon as this morning sickness subsided for good, the Catwoman would walk the streets again.

Bruce stared at the spot Alfred had vacated for almost a good hour. He was angry beyond belief but at himself this time. Alfred was right, his father would be ashamed. He was probably rolling over in his grave at that very moment. He couldn't believe what he'd just done. He had to fix it somehow, but he didn't know how to do that. After a few long moments, Bruce rose to his feet and walked back up to his and Selina's room...well, his room now. It'd be a miracle if he could ever get her to talk to him again at work. Closing the door behind him, Bruce flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling until late into the night, when his eyes drifted closed and he fell into a restless sleep. He'd really blown it this time…some hero he was.

Minutes ticked away to seconds as the New Year came in with a bang. People sang in the streets, confetti blew every which way; it was a time of joy and new beginnings. But for Selina and Bruce, it just seemed to be a new dead end.