Chapter 9: Dawn's

Alfred moved through the Wayne penthouse, opening blinds, raising shades, stopping occasionally to admire the truly spectacular view from any of the windows. He went into the kitchen, placed a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee on a tray and carried it to the master bedroom. He would get Buffy and Dawn's breakfast after taking Bruce his. He stopped in the open room and frowned at the still-made bed. He walked out of the room and down the hall to check on the other two bedrooms and his frown deepened, they too held a still-made bed.

Then he returned to the kitchen, filled a silver thermos with coffee, and took the elevator down to the building's garage.

Seven minutes later, he parked the Wayne limo in a corner of a railroad yard, got out, carried the thermos to a rusty freight container that sat, lopsided, on concrete blocks. He got a key from his vest pocket and opened a padlock on the container's hatch, then stepped inside.

A hiss. The floor lowered, taking Alfred down to the long, low-ceilinged concrete chamber he usually entered through a tunnel that led to Bruce, Buffy and Dawn's apartment building. But today, he though it wise to assure himself that the elevator entrance was in working order, and was pleased to learn it was.

Batman's massive vehicle sat in the center of the room, near a cluster of three computer workstations.

Dawn, Bruce and Buffy sat amid the clutter. Dawn herself was fast asleep, her head resting just beside her keyboard. Bruce and Buffy were awake and watching a television tuned to GCTV, the local all-news station.

"It will be nice when Wayne Manor is rebuilt and you three can swap not sleeping in a penthouse for not sleeping in a mansion." Alfred said, pouring coffee into three Styrofoam cups and placing them in front of Buffy and Bruce. He then nudged Dawn awake before handing her the third cup.

"You're a lifesaver, Alfred." Dawn said as she took a sip of the hot beverage. She set it down and tapped on her keyboard.

Alfred then sat next to Bruce. When the news report ended, Bruce returned to what he had obviously been doing when the broadcast had come on, stitching a gash on his arm from where one of the Chechen's dogs had bitten him.

Alfred took the need from Bruce, and said, "When you stitch yourself up you make a bloody mess."

"But I learn from my mistakes." Bruce said. "Besides I can only practice on myself. Buffy's Slayer healing won't let me practice on her. Most of her wounds are healed by morning, making stitching them up pointless."

Buffy laughed.

"You ought to be pretty knowledgeable by now, then." Alfred busied himself with doctoring.

"The problem this time was my armor," Bruce said. "I'm carrying too much weight. I need to be faster."

"I don't seem to have a problem." Buffy said.

Bruce glared at Buffy as if to say I hate you. "You're also the Slayer," he said as he grinned at her. "Let's see how fast did we clock you at?"

Buffy shrugged. "Twenty … thirty miles an hour I think. Somewhere in there."

"It was around thirty," Dawn said. "I think. You're almost like the Six Million Dollar Man, without the bionics."

"I'm sure Mr. Fox can oblige," Alfred said.

They had informed Lucius Fox about their nightly activities after Bruce had made him CEO of Wayne Enterprise, but just before Bruce had Buffy's armor created.

Alfred peered more closely at the wound. "Did you get mauled by a tiger?"

"A dog," Buffy said.

"A big dog," Bruce added.

"That was before you two almost got ran over wasn't it?" Dawn asked.

For a while, no one spoke. It was obvious to everyone in the room that Alfred was concerned for each of them. Finally Bruce said, "There were more copycats last night, Alfred. With guns."

"Perhaps you could hire some of them and take weekends off. I thought that was half the point of agreeing with Ms. Buffy helping you."

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to inspire people." Bruce said. "And Buffy helps me because she wants to. If she wants to take over I will gladly stand down."

"If you stand down I do to," Buffy said. "I'm not interested in doing this solo. I did that for too many years as the Slayer. Right, Dawn?"

Dawn smiled and nodded. "Right, Buffy," she said.

"Besides we would never resort to guns or to killing anyone. The gang members are making it dangerous, Alfred. Innocents could be killed by their antics, and we don't want to shoulder the blame!" Bruce said.

"I know, Master Bruce. But things are improving. Look at the new district attorney."

"We are," Dawn said. "Closely. The three of us need to know if he can be trusted."

Alfred looked at the monitors and saw the new district attorney, Harvey Dent, with Rachel. "Are you interested in his character … or his social circle?"

"Who Rach spends her time with is her business," Buffy said.

"Buffy is correct." Bruce and Dawn agreed.

"Well, I trust you three are not following me on my day off." Alfred held up a stack of surveillance photos he saw on a side table. There were of Rachel with Harvey. "Are you sure about that?"

"If you ever took one, we might," replied Dawn.

Alfred bit the thread in two as he examined the stitches noting the scars crisscrossing Bruce's shoulders. "Know your limits, Master Bruce. You're not as physically capable as Ms. Buffy. Or have her healing abilities."

"Batman has no limits," Bruce replied.

"Well, you do, sir," Alfred said.

"I can't afford to know them."

"And what happens the day you find out?" Alfred asked.

"We all know how much you like to say, I told you so." Buffy said.

"That day, Ms. Buffy, even I won't want to. Probably."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Fox entered the boardroom, where Bruce, Buffy and Dawn stood, gazing out the window.

"Another long night?" Fox asked.

Bruce, Buffy and Dawn, turned, nodded and then smiled.

"This joint venture was your three's idea, and the consultants love it," Fox said. He was referring to a Chinese company that Wayne Enterprises had been in negotiations with. "But I'm not convinced. L.S.I.'s grown eight percent annually, like clockwork. They must have a revenue stream that's off the books. Maybe even illegal."

Bruce looked to Buffy and Dawn as both of them nodded. "Okay," he said. "Cancel the deal."

"You already knew." Fox asked.

"Thanks to Dawn we had a closer look at their books," Buffy said. "While they were distracted with the negotiations."

"Anything else you can trouble me for?" Fox asked.

"Well … I need a new suit," Bruce said.

Fox scrutinized his boss. "Three buttons is a little nineties."

"I'm not talking about fashion, Mr. Fox, so much as function," Bruce said. "It might not hurt for Buffy to have one also."

Dawn took some large sheets of blue paper from her shoulder bag and spread them on the table. For the next few minutes, Fox examined the diagrams on them. Then he said, "You want to be able to turn your head?"

"It would sure make backing out of the driveway easier." Buffy said, smiling.

"I'll see what I can do. Anything for Ms. Summers?" Fox asked looking at Dawn. "Any new upgrades you need for your network?"

Dawn shook her head. "I think I'm fine, thank you for asking Mr. Fox. Actually that's not true. I would like a camera mounted to," she didn't mention the Batmobile by name, but she didn't need to, Fox knew what she was talking about, "devoted specifically to detecting thermal signatures and routed to a monitor at my terminal back in the bunker."

"I'll get right on it," Fox said.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The restaurant that Rachel and Harvey sat in was Gotham's newest dining sensation. They allowed themselves to be seated at a table in the center of the cavernous room. As they waited for menus, Harvey looked around and frowned.

"It took three weeks to get a reservation and I had to tell them I worked for the government."

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"This city health inspector's not afraid to pull strings."

Rachel smiled, and half stood to look over Harvey's should at Bruce, who was accompanied by Buffy and Dawn. Bruce shooed away the maîtred' and strode toward her and Harvey's table.

"Rachel!" Bruce said. "Fancy that."

"Yes, Bruce. Fancy that," Rachel said. "Hey Buffy, Dawn."

"Hey Rach," Buffy said.

Dawn smiled. "Hi Rachel."

Harvey looked up at Bruce, Dawn and Buffy. "The famous Bruce Wayne. Rachel's told me everything about you."

"I certainly hope not," Bruce said.

"And this must be the friends you mentioned Rachel. Buffy and Dawn Summers?" Harvey asked.

Rachel nodded as she said, "Bruce, Buffy, Dawn, this is Harvey Dent."

"Let's put a couple tables together." Bruce suggested.

"Will they let us do that?" Harvey asked.

"They should!" Bruce said glancing at Dawn. He wanted to keep up the surprise for a moment longer. "I own the place."

"For how long?" Rachel asked. "Let me guess, about three weeks?"

"How'd you know?" Bruce asked and then he smiled. "Actually it's not mine anymore."

He motioned to the maîtred' and whispered in his ear.

"You sold it already?" Dawn asked as two busboys carried an extra table from the kitchen area and placed it next to Rachel and Harvey's.

Bruce shook his head. "Nope. More like a birthday gift. Happy Birthday, Dawn."

Dawn's eyes lit up as she looked around. "I didn't think you remembered. This is mine?"

Bruce nodded. "As of three weeks ago. Or did you not notice the name on the sign outside."

"Name?" Rachel asked as she remembered the sign outside had been covered up. "The sign was covered up."

"That's right. Have to show you when we leave Dawn." Bruce said.

"I'm not sure I can wait that long." Dawn said.

Bruce nodded and clapped his hands as a waitress came over and handed them menus. On the cover of the menu the saw the name: DAWN's.

"Wow. Thanks Bruce," Dawn said.

"Let me order for everyone," Bruce said.

It was almost eleven when the five of them ate their last bite of desert. The restaurant was empty except for the wait staff and a handful of diners.

"Is Wayne Manor in the city limits?" Dent asked.

Rachel gave Harvey a withering look.

"The Palisades?" Bruce said. "Sure. You know, as our new DA you might want to figure out where your jurisdiction ends."

"You know Gotham's proud of an ordinary man standing up for what's right," Harvey said.

Dawn looked to Bruce and Buffy and back to Harvey. "Gotham needs heroes like you—elected officials, not a man who thinks he's above the law."

Bruce winked at Dawn. He, Buffy and Dawn had agreed they would publicly be against what they do during the night. "Exactly," he said. "Who appointed the Batman and Huntress?"

"We did," Dent said. "All of us who stood by and let scum take control of our city."

"But this is a democracy, Harvey." Buffy said.

Dent leaned forward, his elbows and forearms on the table. "When their enemies were at the gate, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. It wasn't considered an honor. It was considered public service."

Rachel said, "And the last man they asked to protect the republic was named Caesar. He never gave up that power."

"Well, I guess you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain," Harvey said. "Look, whoever the Batman or Huntress are, they don't want to spend the rest of their lives doing this. How could they? Batman and Huntress are looking for someone to take up their mantle."

Buffy looked directly into Harvey's eyes, smiled and purred for added effect. "Someone like you, Mr. Dent?"

"Maybe. If I'm up to it."

Dawn leaned over the table and covered the top half of Harvey's face with her flattened hands. "But what if Harvey Dent is the caped crusader?"

Harvey took Dawn's wrists and gently drew her arms away from his face. "If I were sneaking out every night someone would've noticed by now."

Rachel glanced quickly at Bruce, Buffy and Dawn.

"Well, you've sold me, Dent," Bruce said to Harvey. "I'm gonna throw you a fundraiser."

"That's nice of you, Bruce, but I'm not up for reelection for three years. That fund-raising stuff won't start for –"

"I don't think you understand," Bruce said. "One fundraiser with my pals, you'll never need another cent."

"I think my new restaurant would be more than willing to cater it." Dawn said smiling.