Throughout the dinner, Bruce kept trying to talk me out of seeing Batman. I was a woman and I could not be persuaded. He gave me several reasons why not to meet him, ranging from "you'll become a target if you're seen" to "he could hurt you." I was touched that Bruce would care if Batman would hurt me, but I was not that touched.

When we had finished, Bruce looked at me with the most sincere of stares I've ever received. "I'll talk to him, but I can't make any promises. If he hurts you…" Bruce trailed off and looked away, back at his empty plate.

I finished what was on my plate, much later than Bruce had. "I'll give you a tour of this beastly mansion… if you want," Bruce suggested, standing up and pulling out my chair again. I stood and smiled at Bruce.

"I have nothing better to do," I said and shrugged. Bruce took my hand and tugged me back down the stairs to the first floor. The white walls were decked out in paintings of the highest quality. Lamps hung in between each piece, lighting up the whole hallway. The hallway was at least fifteen feet long. As we walked down the hall, my hand pressed tightly against Bruce's, I examined each picture. They were all similar, featuring soft, pastel colors and dark blotches here and there.

"Alfred picked those out," Bruce said, pointing to the paintings.

Bruce and I walked into a lavishly furnished sitting room. The two black leather chairs surrounded a navy blue leather sofa, which faced a large TV set. There were green plants and painting all around the room, under large windows with dark red curtains. The carpet was tan and soft under my toes. A fire crackled welcomingly in its hearth. I smelled a hint of freesia, to top the whole room off. My jaw was agape as I took all of this in. All Bruce did was laugh at my expression.

"You spoil yourself," I scolded. He shrugged and walked to the fire. I followed like a lost puppy, watching the orange flames dance in the fireplace. I felt a comfortable change in temperature from chilly to warm as we got closer to the fire. Underneath our feet was a crimson rug, very similar in color to the velvet chairs.

"I still have money left over after building and decoration this whole house," Bruce said, slapping himself down on a chair. I sat on the sofa.

"Mansion," I corrected. "This place is a monster. I'll get lost if you ever leave me alone. And if there are any trapdoors, you would never see me again."

"I'm sure there's probably a few. Just don't take anything from any bookshelves and don't move any statues. You'll be fine. And I'm sure if you sent smoke signals someone would eventually find you," Bruce said. I snorted.

"Yeah, I'll be found a month later. Or I won't be found at all after I burn down the whole place… again. Speaking of burning down the place, how'd that happen?" Bruce smiled and nodded.

"I figured this would come up some time. But I'll tell you that was the truth: I got drunk and burned down Wayne Manor… I was almost crushed under the roof, but Alfred found me. One of the disadvantages of alcohol…" Bruce said thoughtfully. I watched the fire and found that it was a lot more dangerous than it looked.

"So the Riddler is a lot more dangerous now than her was twenty-four hours ago?" I asked. I started reclining in the couch, feeling a little more comfortable that way.

"I would say so. He's already committed one murder and another murder in question. He's obviously gotten guns and knives back to be doing this. And, from what I've heard, he's gotten more riddles for whoever's trying to save the unfortunate," Bruce said, yawning and stretching.

"Our tour's over already?" I pouted at Bruce and he stood up. He stretched one more time and helped me stand up. I yawned and rubbed at my eyes. Bruce glanced up at the clock I never noticed that was above the entrance. It was a little after eight.

"Do you want to stay the night? It's getting late and Gotham's not safe anymore and all… And our tour isn't finished, Miss Sharpe," Bruce said, lifting an eyebrow at me. I thought about it, staring thoughtfully at the space behind Bruce's shoulder. If I stayed, I would not have to go home to an empty house and start thinking about Marissa. On the other hand, if I did stay I would have to get ready in Bruce Wayne's house to be at work by nine in the morning. "You can take a paid leave from work. Your sister did just die and all…"

Ooh, what a tempting offer. "Okay, I'll stay," I said, cocking my head to one side and gave him a crooked smile. "But I'll probably be gone by eight tomorrow so I can change. But I'll be back, if you want. My house is probably going to be a lot more lonely even thought nothing's changed…"

"I know what you mean… sort of," Bruce said, trying to offer me some sort of comforting words. He put my hand in his elbow again and took me back down the hallway and up the stairs. We went to the second floor where Alfred's room and bathroom was. There was a study with several bookcases, which I made sure not to touch. Our tour was postponed on the third floor when we found a bat in the southeast corner. I was not painfully afraid, but I was scared it would bite me or something of the sort. But Bruce said that it was harmless and they usually found their way up in the same spot in the house, but he never found out how.

"Even after rebuilding the whole manor, you still get bats?" I said aghast. How was that even possible? Bruce just laughed and nodded.

When we got to the fourth floor, I was taken to another, less extravagant, sitting room. We lounged in the room again, talking about pointless things that I could hardly remember. The fire was lit in there too, and I just watched it while Bruce talked about his past and sipped on some wine we had been served earlier. He talked about his parents and was very detailed when he came to the part where they were murdered. After that, he talked about how Alfred took up raising him. He went on about Alfred for ten minutes. I had switched my position on the couch and I was now lying across the whole thing.

"Wait… you were gone seven years after the hearing of Joe Chill… where'd you go?" I asked drowsily, my head lolling off the side of the couch.

"Places," Bruce answered, standing up. I groaned when he tried to help me up. He led me to the guest room, pointing out all the things that I might need. I was ready to collapse on the bed when Bruce headed towards the door.

"'Night," he said, kissing me softly on the lips.