Hope you all are having a wonderful 4th of July weekend if you live in the USA. If you don't, hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Really appreciate all the feedback. You guys keep me writing.

The murder fic is done for the most part. I'll start posting it this week.

Lastly, I started a new poll to see what you guys want me to write next while I work on Family Matters so please go to my profile and vote! :)

Chapter 9

Gotham; May 26th, 11:30 EST

"Is that everything?" Diana asked as she pushed a shopping through the store, Kaia in the child's seat.

Alfred frowned as he checked his notepad, making sure they weren't forgetting anything important. "I think we just need a couple more items and then we should be done."

"You're being a good girl, Kaia," Diana praised her daughter who was firmly gripping her blanket. "Just a little longer and then we'll get some lunch. Do you think we should see if daddy is free to join us?"

"Dada," Kaia babbled excitedly in agreement.

"I ungry too, mama," Nicholas chimed in from his seat in Alfred's shopping cart, stuffed rabbit firmly in hand.

"What about you, Alfred?" Diana asked. "Care to join us for lunch?"

"Actually, I was going to see if Leslie was free for lunch today," he revealed.

"I'm sure she'd love to have a surprise lunch date," Diana agreed with a knowing grin.

"After that, I need to run a couple more errands before heading home," he informed her.

"Sounds good," she said with a nod. "I'll just meet you back home then. We can begin organizing everything for Tim's graduation party."

"I still can't believe that Master Timothy will be graduating from high school," Alfred thoughtfully stated. "It seems just like yesterday that he came to live with us."

"I know," she commented with a sense of nostalgia, reaching out to gently stroke Kaia's cheek. "They grow up so fast."

"What I need is right over there," Alfred told her, pointing to the next aisle.

"Nicholas, since you and your sister did such a good job letting me and Pappoús shop this morning, you and Kaia can each pick out something special," Diana told him.

Nicholas held up his arms and cheered. Kaia noticed it and began mimicking her brother's actions despite the pacifier in her mouth. She had no idea why they were cheering, only that she wanted to do everything that her brother did.

"Well, I'll go get the last two items and then we can head towards the toy section," Alfred announced as he took his cart with Nicholas in tow an aisle over.

"I'll text Bruce to see if he's free for lunch," Diana mentioned as she pulled out her cell phone.

"Dada," Kaia repeatedly jabbered, trying to reach for Diana's phone in order to talk to her father.

"Daddy isn't on the phone, sweetheart," she tried telling her. "I'm only sending him a message."

"Dada…dada…" she continued to mutter despite the pacifier in her mouth, her small fingers curling in and out in an attempt to get her mother to give her the phone.

"There," Diana muttered. "Hopefully, he'll text me back soon if he's not busy."

Wayne Enterprises; May 26th, 12:03 EST

"So what do you think of the proposal?"

"I think this could definitely be beneficial for both of our companies," Bruce agreed with a nod as he flipped through the files.

"I thought you'd agree," Sienna replied with a grin, pausing to take a sip of her coffee. "I think it could turn out to be quite profitable."

"I'll just have to talk to my research department and see what they think," he told her, not failing to notice how she was leaning against him, her hand on his arm as she looked over his shoulder at the files in his hand.

He wanted to break her hand on his arm, but tamped down on the urge. He needed to gain her trust so he could get more information from her about what she was really up to in Gotham besides trying to drive Penguin out of town.

"I can have Spencer Mills contact whoever is in charge of your research department," Sienna offered as she wrapped her arm around his. "He's the one spearheading this project for me at my company."

"Let me talk to Lucius Fox," he replied. "He's one of my executives. I typically discuss my collaboration projects with him."

"I would love to meet him," Sienna told him. "He sounds like he's a good friend of yours if you discuss all your projects with him."

"He's one of my closest friends," he informed her, sitting back on the leather couch.

The movement failed to dislodge Sienna's hold on his arm. "I hope I'll someday be counted among those close friends," she said, hope lacing her voice.

He turned to smile at her, scorn rising up in his throat. "I'd like that too," he replied, forcing a smile to his face.

Her smile broadened with his response, her hold on his arm tightening. "How are things going with Diana?"

Bruce drew a deep breath before slowly releasing it. "It's been…difficult, but my kids are helping me through it. I'd do anything for them. I want to make it work not only for myself, but for them."

"Has she been distant?"

Bruce slowly nodded his head, raking his teeth over his bottom lip as he stared at the files in his hands. He hated himself for doing this, for pretending that his life with Diana wasn't anything short of amazing, but he needed to get close to Sienna if he was going to stop her.

"I'm sorry, Bruce," she softly said, rubbing his arm. "Do you think there could be someone else?"

He turned his head sharply to stare at her, his eyes narrowing with her question. "What do you mean?"

"I just mean that she's a superhero and she does spend an awful lot of time up on the Watchtower with all of those other superheroes," she explained. "Everyone thinks that Wonder Woman should be with Superman."

He couldn't help but bristle with her insinuation. He'd always hated that notion, despised the perceived notion that Diana belonged with Kent and not him. He knew there was nothing going on between her and Clark apart of friendship, but it didn't seem to stop the occasional flare of jealousy that seemed to come up out of nowhere.

"Diana is not having an affair with one of her teammates," he bluntly stated, anger creating a sharp edge to his voice.

Sienna sensed her mistake, deciding to take a different path. "I'm sorry," she quickly amended. "I didn't mean to insinuate that she would do that. I'm only trying to help you figure out what is going on with her…why she's pulling away from you. Could it be someone else…someone she's spending time with outside of the League?"

"I don't know," he confessed, shaking his head. "All I know is that I feel like I'm going to lose her."

Sienna released his arm to rub his back, her lips gently pressing against his cheek. "I'll help you through this, Bruce. You're not alone."

"Thank you, Sienna," he softly said. "That means a lot to me."

"I'll always be here for you in any way that I can," she told him.

"You've been very kind to me, Sienna," he replied. "I wish there was something I could do for you."

Her lisp curled into a seductive grin. "Oh, you do more for me than you can imagine by allowing me to be here for you."

"If there's anything I can do for you, let me know," he offered.

"Why don't you review the proposal with Mister Fox and then we can meet for dinner at my place sometime next week?"

"Sounds good," he agreed with a nod as he stood to his feet. "I'll let you know as soon as I've met with Lucius."

"Thank you for meeting with me today, Bruce," she said as she made her way to the door. "I appreciate it."

"Any time, Sienna," he told her, opening his office door to escort her out only to find Diana standing in front of Carol's desk with Nicholas and Kaia.

Diana looked up, fury immediately blazing in her eyes at the sight of Sienna Conti exiting Bruce's office. What was Bruce doing spending so much time with her recently? It made no sense to her, inflaming her anger and stirring her jealousy.

Bruce stopped short at the sight of his family standing there, immediately noticing the fire blazing in Diana's eyes at the sight of Sienna. His stomach dropped into his shoes, knowing he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

"Daddy!" Nicholas cried, letting go of his mother's hand before running to greet his father.

Bruce bent down and picked Nicholas up, throwing him up into the air and catching him in his arms. "Hey there, partner," he greeted him. "What are you doing here?"

"We ungry, daddy," he told him. "You eat wif us?"

"That's the best offer I've had all day, little man," Bruce told him. "I just finished a business meeting with Sienna so I'm free for lunch now."

"Hello, Diana," Sienna greeted her. "You're looking…well."

"Sienna," Diana bit out, forcing a pleasant smile. "How are you?"

"I was just leaving," Sienna said. "I'll see you later, Bruce."

Sienna passed by Diana, looking very much like the cat that ate the canary. Diana seethed inside, doing her best to rein-in the fury coursing through her veins. She didn't want to get into it with him in front of the children, but she was going to find out what Bruce was up to with Sienna one way or another.

Bruce could tell by the look in his wife's eyes that he was in definite trouble. "How did the shopping for Tim's graduation party go?" he asked, leading them into his office and closing the door.

"Good," Diana evenly stated as she held Kaia in her arms.

"Diana, there's nothing but business going on between me and Sienna," he softly reassured her, closing the distance between them.

He reached out to caress her cheek, getting as close to her as he could despite having their children in their arms. Diana swallowed back her anger and hurt, trying her best not to let the moment ruin their plans for lunch.

"We came to see if you wanted to join us for lunch," Diana replied, not wanting to discuss Sienna with him right now.

Bruce stared into her eyes for a moment, knowing that they were going to have to talk about this later. It was a conversation he was not relishing having, but knew it had to happen. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I would love to," he finally told her.

"Dada," Kaia interrupted, patting his cheek in an effort to get his attention.

"Hey there, baby girl," he affectionately replied, kissing her cheek before pulling back and noticing the bright pink rain boots with red ladybugs all over them. "What's up with the rain boots? It's a sunny day."

"That's your daughter," Diana informed him. "She wouldn't leave the store without them."

"Did she throw another fit?" he asked, remembering Diana telling him about the incident at the bridal store with Kaia and the Cheerios.

"Let's just say that the cashier had to scan the price tag with her wearing the boots," Diana revealed, releasing a sigh. "We're going to have our hands full with her, Bruce. She's so unlike Nicholas."

Chuckling, Bruce leaned in and kissed his wife on the forehead. "She reminds me of someone else I know and love," he teased.

"I am not that bad," Diana insisted with a frown. "She must have gotten it from you."

"That's not what your mother told me," he replied with a grin.

"How do you know?"

"Hippolyta told me several interesting stories about you as a little girl when we were on Themyscira a few months ago," he informed her. "Let's just say that I have a new appreciation for your mother and her enduring patience."

Diana's blue eyes narrowed dangerously, her anger over Sienna abruptly forgotten for the moment. "I was a perfect child," she maintained. "What exactly did she tell you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Where did I even begin?" Bruce thoughtfully muttered, a smirk dancing on his lips. "I believe there was something about a certain seven year old princess getting angry over not being allowed to train with her sword one day and running away into the forest. They searched for you for three days before you were finally found you pouting in a cave."

Bruce's amusement only grew as a faint blush suffused his wife's cheeks. "Mother must have been telling you a story about Donna."

"No, that was all you, Princess," he replied, chuckling with affection. "Would you like me to go on about the time you—"

"No," Diana interrupted with great annoyance. "We need to feed the kids. They're hungry."

"Well, if Kaia got new rain boots despite it being a sunny day, what did you get, Nicholas?" he asked his son.

"Me got a Batman coloring book," he excitedly told him.

"And a potty training chair," Diana added.

"Good choice, little man," Bruce proudly murmured. "If Kaia's already picking shoes over toys, we're going to be in big trouble when she gets older. We'll have to give her a separate room just to store all her shoes."

Diana couldn't help but giggle, kissing her daughter on the temple. "I guess like mother like daughter."

"And it doesn't seem to be limited to shoes," he teased her.

Diana glared at him, her scowl darkening as she noticed something on her husband's cheek. She grabbed a tissue out of the Kleenex box on his desk. "Maybe you should remove Sienna's lipstick off your cheek before we go to lunch," she snapped, handing him the tissue before turning and stalking from his office.

Bruce wiped the lipstick from his cheek with a frown, knowing that he was definitely still in trouble. "Nicholas, don't become a superhero. It'll only get you into trouble," he muttered under his breath before following Diana out.

Watchtower; May 28th, 16:21 EST

"We'll need to each take turns helping to cover monitor shifts until Lantern and the delegation team we sent gets back from Arak-7 next week," Superman told them.

"He can't return home soon enough," Shayera muttered under her breath, more to herself than the other founders.

Flash grinned. "Who misses him more—you or Rex?"

"Right now, it's a tossup," she grumbled, clearly annoyed with her husband's extended absence.

"Next, we need to discuss the recent increase in museum thefts," Superman announced. "Various members of the Injustice Gang have been spotted. Shade, Killer Frost, Cheetah, and Copperhead were most recently seen at the Art Institute of Chicago."

"What are they stealing?" Shayera asked with a frown as she brought up the case file on the tablet in her hand.

"Rare Egyptian artifacts," Batman stated with his typical dark rasp.

"What do they want with that?" Flash asked, absentmindedly stroking his chin as he thought through the case.

"Pieces of an ancient amulet," Batman revealed. "It's called the Eye of Ra."

"As in the Egyptian god of the sun?" Wonder Woman questioned him.

"The one in the same," Batman replied. "Evidently Luthor is after all six pieces of the amulet. According to ancient Egyptian, the amulet contains magical properties. Some say whoever possesses it can actually control the sun and the weather."

"That's ridiculous," Flash retorted with a snort of disbelief. "No one can control the sun."

Diana looked at him with a cocked eyebrow, a frown on her face. "Are you sure about that?"

Wally sunk slightly lower in his seat. "Okay, so maybe someone can control it," he amended, realizing that he had unintentionally insulted one of Diana's gods.

"How many pieces have been stolen?" Diana asked.

"Three," Batman stated, feeling the tension in the woman sitting beside him.

They had yet to discuss what had happened with Sienna Conti in his office, mostly because he didn't want to discuss it and Diana was still too mad to bring it up without throttling him. He knew they were going to have to deal with it sooner or later, but he was hoping for later….much, much later. Preferably after Conti was behind bars and he could end the charade with her that his marriage was in trouble.

At this moment, it wasn't too far off the mark, though not to the degree that he had led Sienna to believe.

He was none too happy with Diana for meeting with Andrew Rojas for lunch today. Despite her insistence that it was nothing more than just business, he couldn't shake the feeling that more was going on with Rojas and his alleged interest in Gotham's women's shelter.

He had done an extensive investigation into Mister Andre Rojas and he didn't like what he had found. Rather, he didn't like what he hadn't been able to find. His background was shady at best and his past life in Colombia was practically non-existent, leaving him to believe that he had been involved in some rather corrupt dealings.

He had nagging feeling that those unscrupulous dealings had carried over into the United States. He just hadn't been able to find proof of it yet which meant he couldn't bring it up to Diana until he did. Without evidence, she wasn't just going to just believe him that Rojas was bad news, feeling that his paranoia was getting the better of him. Besides, it wasn't in her nature to suspect others of evil without just cause.

"Where are the other three pieces being held?" Superman asked.

"The Met in New York City, the British Museum in London, and the Museum of Cairo," Batman responded.

"Any idea which one they'll hit next?" Shayera questioned him.

"It's more than likely they'll finish here before tackling London and Cairo," Batman answered. "We'll need to set up a watch on all three museums just to be safe, though."

"I'll put together teams to focus on the museums," Superman volunteered.

"Why not just collect the last three pieces of the Eye of Ra and keep it under lock and key where they can't find it?" Flash asked.

"Because we don't know for certain what they want with it," Batman patiently explained. "We need to catch them in the act and stop them."

"Agreed," Superman said. "Can you help with this one, Batman?"

"No," he bluntly stated. "I've got too much going on in Gotham right now, but call me if you need back up."

"Will do," Superman agreed. "Moving on to the next item of business. There are several maintenance issues we need to take care of."

Diana had a difficult time focusing on what Superman was discussing. She couldn't let go of the thoughts swirling in her mind. She was none too happy with her husband and whatever he was doing spending time with Sienna Conti. This was the very same woman who had tried to have her killed and now Bruce was getting cozy with her.

She didn't have to time to indulge in her anger for long when a message popped up on her tablet screen.

B: "How was your lunch date?"

D: "It was not a date and it went very well thank you."

Batman clenched his jaw, his grip tightening on his tablet. He didn't like this one bit, hated how things were growing tense and distant between them again. At the same time, he couldn't let go of his paranoia, not this time. It could cost him everything if he did…just like it almost had last year.

B: "Are you meeting with him again?"

D: "You're jealousy is becoming very tiresome."

B: "So you are meeting with him again and I'm not jealous."

Bruce heard her release an angry huff, knowing he was the root cause of it, but he didn't care at that particular moment. He was angry too; unhappy with her refusal to believe him that something wasn't right about this Rojas.

"How long do you think the computer upgrades will take, Batman?" Superman asked, interrupting the cyber argument Bruce was having with his wife.

"It'll take about a week, maybe more depending on Gotham," he rasped.

"Let us know if you need any help with it," Superman replied. "Well, if there's nothing else, then we're adjourned until next week's meeting."

Diana got up out of her chair with tablet in hand, storming from the room without a single word. Batman growled under his breath as everyone looked at him for some sort of explanation for Diana's abrupt departure.

He stood to his feet, stalking out of the conference room as well, not bothering to give an explanation. He made it halfway done the hall towards the transport room before being stopped by Superman. "Hey, are you and Diana all right?"

"We're fine," he snapped without slowing down.

Superman fell into step with him, knowing that was the furthest thing from the truth. The tension between Bruce and Diana had been palpable. "Something is definitely wrong. If you need someone to talk to—"

"I don't," Batman bit out as he entered the transport room.

Superman stood there outside of the transport room with a frown on his face as he stared at the doors Batman had just passed through. Something was definitely wrong between his two best friends and he was going to get to the bottom of it one way or another.

Gotham; May 29th, 01:13 EST

Sirens screamed as several emergency vehicles raced through the streets of Gotham towards the scene. Flames shooting up into the night sky could be seen along the Gotham skyline, thick gray pillars of smoke filling the air and attempting to block the moon from view.

Batman was already on the scene, watching the blaze before him, but it was futile at that point. The building was going up in flames, nothing inside of it even salvageable. The fact that it was Systilogistics that was going to burn to the ground did not sit well with him at all.

This war between Conti and Cobblepot was swiftly escalating. She had blown up his warehouse, costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars. In retaliation, Penguin had set fire to her company, destroying what she had managed to build since coming to Gotham.

"NO!"

Batman turned at the sound of her scream, finding Sienna Conti running towards the building. She was dressed in a nightgown and a brown trench coat, her hair in a messy ponytail. He grabbed her by the arms, forcing her back. She struggled against his hold on her, refusing to stand by and watch her life go up in flames.

"Let go of me, you freak!" she screamed at him, slamming her fists against his Kevlar-covered chest as tears streamed down her face.

"It's too late, Sienna," he rasped, tightening his hold on her.

He felt a small twinge of pity for her, but it didn't last. She had done this to herself by deciding to take on the Penguin for control of Gotham. He had warned her well over a year ago that he was watching her and to not corrupt his city or hurt the people of Gotham. She hadn't heeded his warning and now she was reaping the consequences of her actions.

Sienna jerked away from his hold on her, a dark glower in her tear-streaked face. "This is your fault!"

"I had nothing to do with this," he growled at her. "This is all your doing. If you hadn't decided to take on the Penguin, this never would have happened."

"If you would've done your job and arrested him, then he wouldn't be free to roam the streets and destroy my life!" she screamed, slamming her fists against his chest.

"You should have been behind bars for shooting Penguin last year, but he refused to give you up," Batman spat out. "I guess he decided to deal with you personally."

Sienna was taken off guard by the fact that Batman had figured out that she was the one who had shot Penguin, but she didn't have time to dwell on it for long, though, as emergency vehicles began pulling up. She pulled away from him again, hatred blazing in her eyes.

"I will make him pay dearly for this."

He closed the distance between them in three strides, his fury barely restrained. "Stay away from him before the two of you destroy Gotham," Batman yelled.

"This is just the beginning," she seethed. "No one is going to keep me from getting rid of Penguin."

"I will stop you," Batman swore to her, his fists clenched as tightly as his jaw.

"Get in my way and I'll take you down too," she darkly threatened, turning towards Commissioner Gordon who had just arrived. "I'll make you wish you'd never decided to dress up as a Bat."

Batman watched as Sienna Conti stalked away to talk to Commissioner Gordon. He was not about to let this continue to escalate. One way or another, he had to put a stop to this senseless turf war between her and Penguin.

"Robin to Batman."

"What is it?" he snarled.

"Got another body beaten to a bloody pulp," he informed him, unfazed by the irate greeting he'd received.

"Where?" he demanded.

"Down by the docks," he replied.

"I'm on my way," Batman stated, turning and racing towards the Batmobile.

Jumping into the Batmobile, he took off with a screech of tires, tearing through the streets with the fury that blazed through his veins. Conti and Cobblepot were going to burn the entire city to ash, leaving nothing in their wake but destruction and death.

He had to find a way to stop this madness and soon before any more people were caught in the crossfire of this stupid war. "Batman to Batwoman."

"Batwoman here," she quickly responded. "What do you need Batman?"

"Penguin just set Sienna Conti's company on fire," he informed her.

"Was anyone hurt?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"No, the building was empty," he replied.

"Thank Hera for that," she said with a sigh.

"I need you to have Alfred make a uniform for you," Batman told her. "You're going out into the field with me."

There was a long moment of silence before Diana could gather some semblance of a response. "Are you serious?" she asked, afraid she had heard him wrong.

"Yes," he evenly stated. "Things are escalating between Conti and Penguin. Robin and I can no longer handle it all on our own, especially with the death toll rising with the underground fight club."

"I'll tell Alfred," she finally said, still stunned by the revelation.

"I've already designed it," he informed her. "It's on a USB drive in the drawer to the left of my computer labeled 'BW'."

"You've already designed one for me?"

"Yes," he simply stated, not willing to talk anymore about it right now.

Bruce could tell that he had taken her off guard, but he truly hadn't intended to keep her in the cave forever. Once he'd been better able to deal with his issues, he was going to invite her to join him on patrol. Unfortunately, he no longer had the luxury of waiting until he had come to terms with certain things. He needed her out there with him now if he was going to stop Conti and Penguin and save Gotham.

While he hated having to ask for help, he knew in his heart that he could trust Diana to be on his team in every way, that she was the best one able to assist him now. He had to lock away his fears and push aside the issues he and Diana were currently having if he wanted to stop this before his city went up flames.

"Thank you," she softly murmured, having a difficult time finding her voice. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"You're welcome," he solemnly answered, a slight twitch of a smile at the corner of his lips despite the fury still consuming him.

He wished that he could see her now…touch her, but he couldn't. He had work to do. He did feel as though they had just resolved a measure of the hurt and anger that she'd felt, but they still had some things they needed to work out together and he knew they eventually would in time. He was quickly learning that a marriage took a lot of work, giving and taking and trusting each other no matter what.

"I heard Robin found another body," she ventured.

"Down at the docks," he told her.

"Be careful and call me if you need anything," she told him. "Batwoman out."

His commlink went silent, but the unexpected peace that filled his heart with his decision brought him the solace that he needed to get him through this night until he was able to hold her in his arms when he got home. He'd expected to feel nothing but sheer anxiety over his sudden decision to bring her out on patrol with them, but instead, he'd been surprised by the rightness he felt.

Arriving at the docks, he swiftly exited the Batmobile to find Robin already gathering evidence. "What have you got?"

"Dead guy," Robin quipped as he looked up at his partner from his crouched position beside the body.

"I know that," he growled.

Robin grinned at him. "Another body builder beaten to death. What does this make it now? Five?"

"Yes, counting Zach Singleton last night we're up to five," he agreed. "Same wounds on the hands?"

"Yep, beat the crap out of someone, but didn't win the fight in the end," he informed him. "What happened at Systilogistics?"

"It went up in flames," Batman flatly stated as he kneeled on the other side of the body. "Does Oracle have an ID on the guy yet?"

"Tyler Smith," Robin replied. "Twenty-seven years old. Worked as a—"

"Roofer," Batman interrupted him as he inspected the man's legs.

"How did you know that?" Robin asked, scrunching up his face.

"Look at the calluses on his knees," Batman pointed out before moving to his hands. "His hands are callused as well."

"Oracle said that he was heavily in debt," Robin explained.

"That's a common thread through all these deaths," Batman stated. "Money is the key to this. It's what causing these men to risks their lives for the big pay-off."

"That's just crazy," Robin retorted. "It's such a senseless risk. I mean what's worth more than your life?"

"In some of these cases, it is a matter of life or death…or at least it is in their eyes," he told him.

"Man, things just seem to keep getting worse around here between Penguin and Conti and now all these stupid deaths," Robin grumbled.

"That's why Batwoman is going to be joining us in the field," he announced as he stood to his feet. "We need the help out here. There's no point in keeping her talents in the cave."

Robin straightened up in shock, excitement thrumming through him. "Are you serious? That's way awesome! She can start patrolling with me. I'll show her all the ins and outs, where the worst parts of Gotham are, and—"

"She'll start out with me," he stated in no uncertain terms as he stood to his full imposing height.