A/N - I know that I haven't said it, but I really appreciate the reviews. It's like candy...it's nice when it's sweet and gives me the energy to keep going.

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Gotham Public School #14, Friday, lunchtime

The lunch hour bell echoed throughout the school as kids poured out of their classrooms and quickly filled up the cafeteria. Some kids brought their own lunches, while others bought it from the school. The smell of grease-laden foods filled the halls.

David walked through the cafeteria as he carried his bagged lunch. The room was loud with conversations, laughter and the occasional yelling. He looked around the room for familiar faces of kids from his class. He suddenly saw them sitting in the back corner. A smile came to his face as he walked quickly towards them. He sat down next to an African American boy and smiled.

"Hey Chris," he said, opening his bag. "Did you bring it?"

"Sure did," the boy replied, with a large smile. Across from them, Michael and another boy with glasses named Mark leaned forward, eager to see what Chris was going to pull out of his bag. They sat back as Chris put the card on the table. The four boys looked at it in awe.

"I can't believe your dad let you bring it to school!" David exclaimed as he looked closely at the hockey card.

Chris' smile faded slightly. "He didn't. That's why no one can touch it. If anything happens to this card, I'll be grounded for life."

Mark leaned over the card to get a good look at it once David sat back.

"How did your dad get it?" he asked.

Chris shrugged. "He's had it for as long as I can remember and it's gotta be worth at least a milliion dollars."

"A million dollars? Yeah, right!" Michael said sarcastically, with a laugh.

Chris wasn't too impressed with Michael. "Either way, it's worth a lot." He looked over at David as he was examining the card. "So, David, any chance that your mom will be having a party for your birthday?"

David shook his head. "Not this year. She says that she's too busy at work and said maybe next year."

"That's too bad."

"I do have a secret though," he softly said, looking down at the apple in front of him.

The admittion caught the other three boys' ears and they leaned over. "What?"

"It's a secret and my mom said not to tell, so you can't tell anyone else. Okay?"

The boys nodded.

"I'm going to see a Blades game on sunday," he said, quietly.

"That's awesome! I saw a Blades game once last year," Mark said, happily.

"That's no big deal!" Chris exclaimed. "Why is it a secret?"

"'It's a secret cause we're going with Bruce Wayne," David stated.

The boys sat there with their mouths half open, their eyes widened and they suddenly went speechless. It took a moment but finally Michael spoke.

"Bruce Wayne? Are you serious?"

David hushed him. "It's a secret!"

"He's gotta be the richest guy in the city, if not the world," Chris said quietly. "Why's he taking you to a game?"

David shrugged as he took a bite of his apple. "Him and my mom are friends. He's taking us to one of the rooms above the arena."

Mark nodded. "I've seen those along the sides of the arena. I always wondered what it's like in there."

"I'll let you know on monday," David promised with a smile. "Just keep it a secret."

****************

Sunday Afternoon

Olivia drove the Suburban down the road, heading for Wayne Manor. She had called Bruce earlier in the morning saying that she would meet him at his place. She was overly concerned with the Joker and how it seemed that he was watching her every move. The last thing she wanted was to bring Bruce back to her apartment and have the Joker follow them. Once she exited the freeway and was on her way into the Palisades with no indication of anyone around, she felt like she could relax for the first time in over a week.

"I want you on your best behaviour," Olivia said, as she looked in the rear-view mirror at her passenger in the backseat. David nodded eagerly. He had been waiting to leave all morning. Olivia's parents had called the night before to wish David a happy birthday and apologize for not seeing him on his birthday this year. Olivia didn't realize how much her parents had been missing him until she heard her mom's futile attempt at hiding her tears. He spoke to them for nearly an hour about going to the hockey game with Bruce Wayne.

"Yes mom," David chimed, as he watched the cityscape slowly change into tree lined roads. The trees had lost all their splendor of autumn colours and now held onto the drab browns and grays of an impending winter. He felt the car slow down as his mom turned onto a paved drive. At the end of the drive, a large brick fence met them as the cast iron gate swung open at their presence. Olivia drove in, following the path. The yard looked beautiful, even without the colours of the flowers that would brighten up the estate in the warmer months. Olivia slowed down and stopped when they came up to the door. She climbed out of the car as David jumped out of the backseat. She looked up at Wayne Manor. She had heard that it had been burned down and then rebuilt, but she could hardly notice the difference. To her, the home looked the same as it did when she visited for one day over 8 years ago.

Olivia took David's hand and walked up the vast stairs that led to the front entry. She looked around the door for a sign of a doorbell. David smiled as he pointed to it. Olivia sighed and smiled before pressing it. A few moments later, they heard the sound of the door being unlocked and opened.

"Miss Olivia Thornley!" Alfred said, standing back to allow them to enter. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

"Good, Mr. Pennyworth," she replied as she walked in. David followed behind. "And yourself?"

"Never better," he replied as the door closed. He turned and looked at Olivia and then to David. "This must be your son. Master Wayne has told me that this young man is celebrating a birthday."

David smiled.

"Yes," Olivia said. "This is David. David, this is Mr. Pennyworth."

"Oh, you can call me Alfred," he said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Alfred," David said, shaking the elderly man's hand. Alfred smiled as he held onto David's hand. He looked into David's eyes and paused as he stared. He had seen those same eyes before and seeing them on someone else seemed to haunt him. They were so familiar that he couldn't mistake them for anyone else's. Bruce Wayne. Even the smile at certain times resembled a younger Bruce. Alfred wondered how Bruce couldn't see it, or if he didn't notice.

"You look a lot like your mother," Alfred finally said, with a grin. "You even have her dimple on the right cheek."

David smiled timidly and looked up at Olivia behind him. "That's what grandma always says."

"And she's right," Alfred said with a smile.

Footsteps on the staircase caught their attention as Bruce made his way to the front door. It was odd seeing Bruce Wayne wearing anything but a suit, but the jeans and a blue long sleeve shirt with a jacket suited him well. "Sorry Olivia. I know I'm running late."

"That's fine," Olivia said. "We just got here."

"And how's the birthday boy doing? Are you ready to go?"

David smiled widely. "Oh yeah!"

Bruce looked at Alfred as he stood beside David.

"Your Porsche is out front sir," Alfred said, passing Bruce the keys.

"Thanks Alfred," Bruce said as he opened the door for them to leave.

"Enjoy the game," Alfred said as he watched the three climb into the car. He knew that Bruce was a smart man but could he really be that blind. He waved as the car pulled out away from the house and closed the door.

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Gotham Blades Arena

The door to the VIP entrance opened and Bruce Wayne shook the hand of the security guard as they passed through. Ahead, Olivia could see a small swarm of well-dressed people.

"Wayne!" a man called out as he made his way towards him with his hand outstretched. "Good to see you."

"You too, Mr. Watts," Bruce said, shaking the man's hand.

"How were your second quarter stocks looking this time around?"

"Not too bad is the word around the office," he replied.

Olivia watched in awe as Bruce seemed to meld into the business banter. He really was a smooth speaker.

"Who is this lovely woman you're with? And what's with the kid, Wayne?" Watts suddenly asked. Olivia looked scornfully at the man, and held David's hand tightly. Bruce bit his lip and smiled.

"Olivia Thornley, this is James Watts," Bruce said. "Mr. Watts is an executive of a company which Wayne Enterprises does business with from time to time."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Watts," Olivia said.

"And this is her son, David," Bruce added, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Hmmm," was his only response, before turning back to Bruce. "We'll have to do lunch sometime. Call me."

And like that, Watts disappeared into the swarm of people. Bruce smiled apologetically to Olivia.

"Sorry about that," he said, softly as he laid a hand on her back to lead them away from the crowd, praying that no one else would stop them.

"Is he the kind of people that you do business with?" Olivia asked.

"Unfortunately," Bruce replied as an attendant opened a door for him. Bruce paused before entering, and stood back letting Olivia and David to walk into the suite first. They were both in awe at what they saw. It resembled a small exquisite hotel room with a large glass paneled wall overlooking the ice rink below.

The crowd was pumped for the game. The low bass of the music could be heard all around the arena. Olivia looked over at David as he stood, glued against the glass. He watched as the players skated around as they were preparing for the game. She couldn't help but worry about who was in the arena. Olivia swore that she was getting more gray hairs since she arrived in Gotham city.

"Mom!" David exclaimed, as he looked over his shoulder at her. "You can see everything from up here!"

Olivia walked down the two small rows of stadium seats at the front of the suite to stand beside David. "It is an amazing view."

David pointed excitedly down at the ice. "There's number 24. That's Grandpa's favourite player. Oh and there's 31. That's the guy that Chris from school said was in a fight last game."

"Let's hope it doesn't happen again," Bruce said, as he walked up next to them. "He's one of their better players and if they're going to get anywhere this season, they're going to need him."

Olivia looked over at Bruce, surprised. "I had no idea that you were interested in hockey. You never liked the sport when you were in college."

"I watch a game from time to time. Besides, since Wayne Enterprises is co-owner of the arena, I've been on top of what's happening in the games," he said with a smile as he walked back towards the main area of the suite. Olivia followed him, leaving David to watch the players warm up on the ice.

The suite was completely furnished with a sofa, mini fridge, a flat screen television and private bathroom. Olivia was in awe at the amount of food that Bruce had ordered for just the three of them. A fruit and veggie platter as well as 2 pizza's and a large chocolate cake.

"What did you do after college?" Bruce suddenly asked, as he sat down on the couch.

"Shouldn't we go watch the game?"

Bruce looked over at David. "The game isn't going to start for another 15 minutes or so." He slid over on the couch, encouraging her to sit next to him.

"After college?" she asked, as she sat down. "Not much. I worked for a little while until David was born. After that, I worked here and there until I decided to teach piano out of my parents house. It was easier than relying on them to look after David while I worked. Yeah, that's what a degree in music gives you."

"What about his father? I mean, couldn't he had helped out any?"

If only you knew, Olivia thought as she smiled awkwardly.

"I'm sorry if I brought up something uncomfortable," Bruce said, quickly after he spoke.

"No, it's all right," Olivia said, looking over at David. "He couldn't have helped. He's never been around."

"I'm sorry," he said.

Olivia shook her head. "There's nothing that you could have done. Besides," she began, looking over at David as she smiled, "I'd never change things."

"Mom!" David called out. "The game is about to start!"

Olivia and Bruce stood up and walked over to where David sat in the stadium seats.

"I can tell that you've sacrificed a lot for him," Bruce said, taking her hand.

"And I'd do it all again too," she said, smiling as she sat down next to David and Bruce sat down next to her.

They watched the game as it played out. The only sport that Olivia was interested in was volleyball and the last time she played was when she was a senior in high school. She was surprised to find that she was enjoying the excitement of watching a live hockey game, especially from their vantage point. Olivia was glad that David was enjoying himself.

Near the end of the third period, the players were beginning to become more aggressive with their play. The crowd watched as the puck rounded behind the opponents net and two defense-men quickly skated to retrieve it just as the Gotham forwards checked the player into the boards. The player obviously wasn't happy about the roughness of the checking. Within seconds, a fight had begun. David stood up to get a better look.

"They sure are taking a lot of pictures of the fight. Do you think that some might be in the newspaper tomorrow?" he asked.

"Possibly," Bruce replied, standing up to look just as the referees were ending the brawl and ushering both players to their respective penalty boxes. "It doesn't look like the Blades will be able to get ahead now that they're one player short."

Bruce's prediction was correct. The home team lost by two goals. David watched as the players left the ice and a pair of zamboni's drove into the arena.

"You don't know how much you made his day," Olivia said, as she stood with Bruce by the small kitchenette in the suite. "This whole move has been enough of a change for the both of us and I know that he was missing his grandparents and friends. I appreciate everything you've done for us."

"My pleasure," Bruce said, kissing Oiivia on the cheek.

************

The next day....

Olivia stretched in her bed as she reached over to turn off the alarm. 8:20am. It was a new day and the start of another week. She sat up, and lazily swung her feet over the edge of the bed before looking over at her 8 year old, happily dozing away under a pile of blankets. She walked over to the bed and pulled them off until she reached David. As usual, he was all sweaty from being in such a deep sleep. Olivia ruffled his hair.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she said. "I'm going to get breakfast ready. We're leaving in 20 minutes."

She heard a mumbled reply and made a mental note to come back in the room in a few minutes to make sure that he didn't fall back asleep. Olivia walked out into the living room and was greeted with nice sunshine brightening up the room. She flipped on the television and walked into the kitchen to start breakfast. Olivia listened as the newscaster went through the days weather forecast, the traffic and was eager to hear the reporters view of how the hockey game went. She opened the fridge as she listened as she pulled out the milk, juice and butter and started up the toaster. She reached over for a mug and began to pour her morning tea before walking back into the living room to watch the news. Olivia's literally felt her heart stop and she dropped her mug on the floor, breaking it to pieces. Her eyes were glued to the screen as she felt like she was watching a dream. Her mind kept on repeating the bold headline beneath the talking reporter in disbelief. BRUCE WAYNE HAS A SON.