Nineteen Years Ago…

Bruce tried to match the breaths he was taking to his steps. He had been chasing the man in front of him for the last ten minutes to no avail. At least this bad guy was smart enough to stay in shape he thought wryly. It didn't help that he had a lot of gear weighing him down.

It had been a fairly quiet night until Bruce had run into a bank robbery in process. There had been three men all wearing black ski masks and all black clothing. Runners they may have been, original they were not. The first one had gone down quickly with just a blow to the side of the face. The second had been trickier. Bruce had bobbed and weaved as the criminal picked up one of the poles that created the stand-by line and proceeded to use it as a weapon. The guy got one good knock to Bruce's side before Bruce caught it and brought it down on the guy's head.

Pulling his tracker out, Bruce started up his car and put it on Auto drive. The car would meet up with him so that he could catch the guy in front of him and he could go home to Rachel who was currently asleep in his bed. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his car drive past and pull up on the side street. The man in front of him was taken aback and fell down on the road.

"Your night is over," he proclaimed stepping up to the man whose eyes were round as saucers. Bruce secured his hands before dropping the guy in his trunk and heading towards police headquarters. The night was almost over. He needed to drop the guy off, change out of his clothes, and sneak back into bed with Rachel before she realized that he had been gone. As far as she knew he just liked sleeping in.

Bruce pulled into the police-parking garage until he reached the third level where the main entrance was. Right away he noticed Sgt. Gordon leaning against his car with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The man was of average height with messy brown hair and glasses that made him seem more serious.

"I've got a package for you," Bruce said stepping out of the car and opening his trunk. The bank robber was squirming around trying his hardest to get out of his prison. Without sympathy Bruce pulled him out of the car and dropped him on the hard concrete. The moan of pain gave Bruce little satisfaction.

"You're playing a deadly game citizen," Sgt. Gordon took another puff on his cigarette sending more smoke into the air. He didn't seem in a hurry to pick up the guy at his feet. "This late night game of yours is going to back fire."

"I'll take my chances," he muttered heading back towards his car. "By the way, his buddies are waiting for you at Gotham Bank."

"Note taken. Wait," Sgt. Gordon called to him. "If you are really set on doing this we could work together."

"Sorry. I'm more of a solo act."

"I can see that. But think of what we could do together. You're not bound by laws that I am. The only person you have to answer to is yourself." Gordon dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered in the background. "Think about it and get back to me. We could clean up the streets of Gotham together."

Bruce thought of all the crime that had been running rampant in the streets. The police force had become corrupt. The only person Bruce trusted fully was himself. The problem with that was he was just catching bad guys by accident. All of the bad guys he had stopped so far had been lucky timing. He would be driving by and catch them in the act. If he worked with the police they could give him heads up.

"I'll think about it. How will I keep in contact with you," Bruce asked.

"There is an old search light on top of the building. I will flash it three times and wait for you there."


The school library was home to all the social misfits during lunch; which Savannah assumed she had now become. She could be outside where her friends hung out but she knew Drew would be there. Unfortunately they shared the same friends.

The library was filled with shelves of all sized books that hid a table in the back that she was now occupying. Her textbooks were piled haphazardly across the table so that if anyone passed by they wouldn't sit with her. She was happy dwelling in her misery alone. It had been two weeks since the breakup and still every night she went home and cried herself to sleep. The bad part was she no longer could hide her puffy eyes at school. Drew had seemed concerned but never stepped in to ask what was wrong.

Savannah took a moment to collect herself not wanting to cry in the middle of the school day. That would have completed her transformation into a social outcast.

"I thought I might find you here."

Savannah glanced up from her math homework to see Jake Palmer sauntering towards her. The guy always walked like he didn't have a care in the world. Savannah wondered what that was like. He was tall and broad shouldered for his age. The brown shirt he was wearing made his hazel eyes stand out.

"Are you still hiding from Drew," he asked pulling a chair out from under the table and settling down in it. He stretched his long legs out in front of him.

"No. I just love spending my lunch hour doing homework," she answered dryly. Pulling a brown strand that had come free back behind her ear, she went back to her math.

Jake placed his hand on top of her book so that she had to look up at him. "I came here to ask you out. Tomorrow night is Desiree's party. Only couples can come. Ring any bells?"

"What do you get out of it?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to see you get left out."

Savannah shook her head," as Drew's best friend I don't think going out with me is a good idea."

Jake leaned forward, his cocky smirk firmly in place. "I'm not afraid of Drew." Jake took Savannah's hand in his stroking it with his thumb. Again Savannah felt tears well up in her eyes. It had only been two weeks and she already missed being touched. "You're my friend Savannah. I'm not going to pick sides. Instead I'm going to take you to Desiree's party where we are going to spend the whole night hanging out. I'm going to make you laugh and dance with you until the sun comes up. If Drew has a problem with that, it's his problem."

Savannah smiled feeling the dark cloud that had been over her head disappear. "There is one problem."

"What's that," he asked.

"It's a costume party and we don't have costumes."

Jake seemed to contemplate it before a big grin broke out on his face. "I got it. We could go as Top Gun. You can be Goose to my Maverick."

"What? No, I can be Maverick to your Goose."

"We can discuss the specifics later. For now you are going to pick up your books and have lunch with me."

Savannah looked up into Jake's hazel eyes wondering for the first time why she couldn't have fallen in love with him. He was more relaxed than Drew. Drew was more of the romantic. When he loved, he loved deeply and unconditionally. If she had been with Jake it would have just been fun.

"I guess I will have lunch with you. If you insist."

"I do. Come on Savannah," Jake took the books out of her hands and together they walked out of the library.


Bruce lay casually on the blanket Rachel had set up beside the lake. He had only gotten a few hours sleep after he made it home from his eventful night. He was still considering Sgt. Gordon's offer to help the police but he wasn't sure if that was the best thing for him. First of all he didn't want someone to discover his identity and more than that he wasn't sure how long he was going to keep working as the night patrolman.

Beside him, Rachel was busy pulling out the breakfast she had made for them. There were containers with vibrant color fruits and some that had croissants. It was a beautiful morning that she wasn't going to let pass them by. The sky seemed bluer this morning and the bird's song a little sweeter. Everything seemed right now that he had Rachel.

It had all started the night he had invited Matt and her to dinner. When she came back he had tried his hardest to stay aloof but he loved her. For the first time in a long time he was going to let himself be happy.

"Where are you today," Rachel asked smoothing his hair back. "You seem a million miles away."

"No way. There is no where I'd rather be," he answered settling her over him. She leaned down till her hair canopied them both. Her lips tentatively touched his growing more aggressive. They were the softest lips he had ever kissed and playing Bruce Wayne, the playboy, he had kissed a few women. "I love you Rach."

"I love you too," she replied before dropping down to lie beside him. Her breath fanned out on his face in a rhythm that matched his own. It was like they were two halves of a whole.

"I'm going to miss you when you're gone," Bruce said hoping that they would broach the subject of their future. Neither one of them had put a label on what they were. As far as Bruce was concerned the only label he wanted to put on her was "wife."

"You know I've been thinking about transferring my credits to the University here. I don't need to go to school out of state."

She seemed anxious for him to respond but he knew he couldn't do it. It had been her dream to go away to school and he wasn't going to take it from her. If he asked her to move back, pushing her away that night would have been all for nothing. He had to earn her love.

"Yes, you do," he started. "You need to go to school out of state and become a big time lawyer and anything else you have your sights on. You can't stay here for me."

"I'd do anything for you Bruce," she kissed his cheek before burrowing back into his side. Her statement hurt worse than she could ever know. Part of him was elated to hear how much he meant to her but he knew he wasn't good enough for her. He just hoped that the work he did at night would make him feel worthy of her. She was the whole inspiration behind his work.

"Then come back to me. After you have finished school and maybe dated a few more guys. Come back to me."

Rachel took an exasperated breath," I'm not going anywhere. I'll leave my heart here with you." With nothing else to say she poured orange juice in two glasses and handed him one. Bruce took a sip letting the acidic liquid settle on his empty stomach. He was more than ready to chop down on the feast she had prepared.

"I can't imagine what it must be like to live here. It's beautiful," Rachel, said grabbing a strawberry and popping it into her mouth.

Bruce kept his mouth shut but found it difficult. He wanted to give her everything she wanted and more. Hopefully one day he could take her home to live at Wayne Manor, but for now he would have to bide his time.

The next morning Bruce and Rachel held on to each other taking in the last few moments they got together. Alfred had the car all ready to take her to the airport where she would be flying out of Bruce's life for the second time. It was heart breaking listening to her soft sobs against his chest.

"Tell me this is real and you're going to be here when I get back," she sniffled.

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere," he answered dropping his head in her hair and giving her a final kiss. She put on a brave face turning and getting in the car. Alfred closed the door behind her and gave him a nod.

Bruce knew he should be getting ready for work but he couldn't seem to make his legs move. He felt in his heart that that was going to be the last time he saw her. He could feel it in every part of his being.

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