Last chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: For You & Me

The rest of the day went by as a total blur of interrupted pleasantness in the Gibson residence. It was the most pleasant time any of them could remember spending with each other, period. They had just eaten dinner and, since the conversations were going so well, Terry volunteered to clean the dishes and put them away.

While he did so, his phone rang. It was his mother. He paused and wondered how she would take the news of him and Max. No time like the present to find out. He answered, "Hey, Mom. Merry Christmas!"

"Hi, honey!" his mom replied. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, loser!" Matt screamed in the background.

"Merry Christmas, Matty," Terry said, preferring not to call his brother 'twip' via his mother.

A chorus of 'hello' with 'Merry Christmas' greetings mixed in came from the Gibson family, causing Terry to laugh.

"Did you catch all that?" Terry asked.

"Yes," Mary answered, curious. "I thought you were spending Christmas with just Max."

"I was. Then her family showed up."

"Oh!" she said with pleasant surprise in her voice."Tracy and Melissa are there?" She had already met Max's mother and sister on one, very brief occasion at a Hill High school function.

"Yeah. And her dad."

"Oh…" There was a cause for a slight alarm. She knew from a couple of brief conversations with Tracy about her stormy history with Samuel. "How's that going?"

"Some close calls… and an explosion on Max's part. But we're all good here."

"Max? Exploded?"

"Believe me: you had to be here. But, like I said, all's well now."

"That's good to hear."

"Yep." He paused then let out a sigh.

"Something the matter, sweetheart?"

"No. Just, umm… I have something to tell you."

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Nothing's wrong, just…" He wasn't sure how he was supposed to phrase this; not exactly a class that is covered in high school or the Wayne training regime. "It's about me and Max. We're together now, Mom. Like… a couple. Officially. Max is my girlfriend."

It took a little while for all of that to fully register with the McGinnis matriarch. "Oh. Oh! Really?"

"Yeah."

She went really quiet. For a few seconds.

It wasn't long but any silence in this situation made the teen hero more than a little nervous. "Mom?"

Max grew concerned as well. She was wondering Ms. McGinnis would take this news. She knew that she liked her as Terry's friend. It was as his girlfriend where she worried.

The reaction that came was one neither teen could've predicted.

Mary exhaled loudly. "Oh, thank the Lord!"

Terry looked shocked. "What do you mean, 'thank the Lord'?"

Max blushed brightly and her eyes went wide at hearing that. After seeing the amused looks on her family's faces, she closed her eyes and dropped her head, which lead to the rest of the Gibson family to laugh without reservation.

"I am just thankful that it happened!" Mary hesitated. "You… kind of took forever, dear."

"Mom!" Terry shouted.

"I'm not saying you should've rushed into anything without thinking it over! Especially not with Max! She's too special a girl for that! I'm just saying… if you didn't do something about it over this vacation, I was actually gonna have a talk with you about it."

Terry's eyes grew wide. He ran his hand through his hair, "Oh, my God, Mom. Please, stop talking."

"But why? You don't have me on speaker, do you?"

"No, but I can still hear you!"

At Terry's face, Melissa was dying to hear all of this conversation while Max just kept her head bowed. She refused to look at her family, who were all still grinning like Frosty the Snowman. This was just an excellent moment; with how he handled himself so far, the rest of the Gibsons didn't know Terry could be at a complete loss. It was quite the sight to behold.

"I was just growing a little concerned, that's all," the McGinnis matriarch defended.

Terry shook his head. Could this get any more awkward? Part of him couldn't help but find out. "Okay, what are you talking about?"

Mary took her son's invitation to explain. "Terry, sweetie, I love you and you know that."

He regretted it already. "I don't like how this is starting…"

"But when you told me you broke up with Dana, I just kept praying you didn't come home with one of those… troubled girls who go to your school. I don't want to be a grandmother too soon. Max has a good head on her shoulders and no… surprises will be coming along any time soon." She paused. "Hopefully."

Terry had to rub his forehead in embarrassment. Worst mother/son conversation ever. "Wow. I am so glad this conversation isn't on speaker."

"Give me a chance," she pleaded, yet amused.

He rubbed the back of his head, "Alright."

"I just know that you are alone quite a bit between your job and school. But you do so much, Terry. With me, your brother, Max, your other friends, including Dana, and even Mr. Wayne, you take the whole world on your shoulders. I know you do. Don't you dare think for a second I don't see it. Because I'm always proud of you for it."

He chuckled. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome. My point is that all that shows that you are such a caring person, son. All I want is for the lucky girl that gets you is to see that and be worth of you. Quite frankly, one of the few people in your life who sees that as much as me is Max. And, if I could pick any girl who would be perfect for you, Max is the hands down winner. Honestly… she supports you as much as you do her."

He sighed. "Okay, all that makes sense, yeah and I agree. But, why didn't you start with that?"

"Just came out the way it did. Is that so wrong?"

He exhaled in exasperation. "Yeah, a little bit."

She giggled to herself. "But… since we're talking right now, as your mother, I have to confirm… you and Max have never…"

He flung his head back, "Oh, my God, Mom! No!"

"Alright, alright!" Mary was smiling to herself. "I just had to ask."

Melissa couldn't take it anymore. She decided to get in on this and have some fun. She got up from the table and snuck up behind Terry. "He said he loves her, Ms. McGinnis!" she screamed at the phone.

"MEL!" Max sank in her chair.

"Will you get outta here?!" Terry shouted.

"They've been making googly eyes at each other all day!" Melissa snatched the phone from Terry's face and took off out of the kitchen.

Terry followed after her and tried to get the phone back but Melissa kept dodging him. If she was a supervillain, he would've been able to catch her, easily, but he couldn't use his Batman maneuvers on his girlfriend's sister.

"He said how much he loves Max, couldn't live without her, and how this Christmas would've been just awful if he didn't have Max's heart intertwined with his!"

Though… a swift tackle did enter the teen hero's mind.

His girlfriend had the same idea.

"MEL!" Max screamed. She got up and rushed her sister, causing them to both to crash on the couch. They started struggling over the phone, arguing over it with Melissa screaming how much Max and Terry are in love and Max shouting for her to shut up and hand over the phone. After a lot of struggling, the pink haired teen twisted the phone out of her sister's grip. Max sat on top of Melissa to hold her in place. Melissa tried to move but found herself unable to move her younger sister off of her.

"Stop squirming!" Max ordered.

"You've gained some weight," Melissa declared. She poked her thigh. "Muscles, looks like. Must be why you like tights so much. Shows off your… hard work."

"Oh, shut up!" Max pressed the phone to her ear and, in the calmest voice, said, "Hi, Ms. McGinnis."

"Hi, Max," Mary was laughing, uncontrollably. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Here's Terry." She handed the phone to him as he approached. "Will you hand me that pillow, babe? I'm gonna kill my sister now."

He handed it to her, quickly. "Just be careful. Batman might look into this."

She got a sly look. "I'm sure he'll let this one slide."

"Max, no killing your sister on Christmas," Tracy warned. "We don't want the police to ruin our decorations gathering evidence."

"Oh, that's nice!" Melissa screamed, sarcastically.

"Fine!" Max said. She looked at her sister, "But you. Will. Pay." She got up, letting her sister free.

Terry pressed the phone back to his ear. "See? Happy, happy… happy."

Mary was still laughing. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Yes, yes, you did."

Mary stopped laughing. But she was still smiling. "Terry?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm very happy for you."

He smirked. "Thanks, Mom."

"You have an amazing girl, son."

"Don't I know it."

"I know you do. Tell Max… I said thank you… and welcome to the family."

"Will do."

"We should be leaving tomorrow night. Talk to you soon."

"Okay."

"Bye, Son."

"Bye, Mom." He hung and looked at Max, as she was just ending giving Melissa an evil stare. "Mom says thanks… and welcome to the family."

Though she knew was going to hear it, Max couldn't stop smiling. She received validation from the mother. She was thrilled.

"Look how happy that made her!" Melissa smiled.

"You are smiling a lot, sweetie," Samuel said.

Max covered her face with her hands. God, this was embarrassing.

Terry smiled at her and moved her hands down to look her in the eyes. "I like it."

She blushed more but it wasn't gonna stop, though. Of course, with the way he looked into her eyes, she could get used to it.

The day was drawing to close and Terry had one more thing to do before Christmas came to a close. After dinner with Gibson family, he and Max hopped in his car and headed for Wayne Manor. The couple walked inside the estate, Terry carrying the old man's gift in his hand. They walked in to the study to find him drinking his tea in his easy chair, Ace lying down comfortably at his feet until Terry walked. The Great Dane perked up and barked, running happily to the black haired teen.

"Hey, mutt," Terry bent down and petted him. "Merry Christmas to you, too." He looked at his girlfriend, "Max, you remember Ace?"

Max smiled. "Of course." She looked at Ace, "So nice to see you again."

Ace barked.

Terry looked over at his mentor. "Hey."

Bruce looked up at him. "I didn't give you a key for you to barge in here whenever you want. Unannounced."

"It's only this one time," Terry reassured.

"Doubtful." Bruce looked at Max. "Why is she here?"

Both of the teens faces went a little red. They opened their mouths to explain but they never actually did discuss what to tell him.

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

Terry sighed; he decided to just be honest. It wasn't like he wasn't going to find out, anyway, sooner or later. "Let's just get this out of the way. Bruce… me and Max, we're…"

"Dating now?"

Or like he hadn't already figured it out right this very moment. No sense in being surprised. "It's more serious than that."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is," he said without fear or hesitation.

Though his face didn't show it, Bruce was a little taken aback. Terry was serious. No anxiety, no wavering, no uncertainty; there was a lot more between these two now. It wasn't just a crush. Even Max was a little surprised. She knew Bruce was going to be the real wild card when it came to their relationship and she didn't know if Terry was going to tell him right away. To hear him not only do so but with such authority gave her more insight as to how much she meant to him.

"Are you mad?" Terry asked his mentor.

The first Batman sat for a second then just shook his head. "No. I doubt it will affect your performance any more than it already has."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Max smiled.

"So, why are you here?"

Terry held up the present.

"I told you…"

"Yeah, I know and I wasn't gonna until I found this." He handed his mentor the gift and stepped back. "I hope you like it."

Bruce looked at him unsure but decided to humor his protégé. The retired hero took off the paper and found an antique picture frame with a restored black-and-white picture of a young Bruce and his parents for several decades ago. It was taken on the day of Wayne Enterprises opening a new building that would bring in more jobs. It was about two weeks before the day Bruce's parents were killed.

Bruce couldn't believe Terry found such a picture. "Where did you get this?"

"Was doing some research and came across that picture in a database from an old newspaper article. I figured you already had the article." Terry shrugged, "I thought just the picture would be better."

Bruce shut his eyes, letting the memory and warm feeling hit him. He looked at the young lad. "It's very nice." He stared for a handful of seconds before saying, "Thank you."

Terry nodded, "You're welcome." He looked at Max then back at Bruce. "We'll go ahead and leave you alone." He paused. "Merry Christmas, Bruce."

"Merry Christmas," Max said, as well.

They started to leave.

"My tea was getting cold," Bruce said, suddenly.

The teens stopped and looked at each other, curiously. They turned back around and looked at the original Batman.

"Yeah?" Terry asked.

Bruce set the picture frame on his side table and got up. "I'm going to make some more. Stay and have a cup."

"Even me?" Max asked.

Bruce nodded.

Terry nodded. "You got it."

"I'll be back in ten." Bruce looked at them. "Make yourselves at home." He stared at Terry, "Keep her out of the cave."

"We already talked about that."

"I have to be sure."

"You know you really love me," Max said. "Admit it."

Bruce grunted… but smirked. "Don't push it."

The teens laughed.

He walked out of the study, heading for the kitchen. Ace following right behind.

"That's as close to a 'Merry Christmas' as we are gonna get out of him, aren't we?" Max asked.

"I'm surprised we got that much. Didn't know I'd get a 'thank you' for the gift." Terry smiled. "But it was worth it."

She stared at him and said, lovingly, "All this has been worth it."

He smiled at her. "You're right. All in all… not a bad Christmas."

"Okay, I know why I think it wasn't. But why do you think so?"

"You're going to make me say so, aren't you?"

"Duh!"

He laughed. "It was the Christmas I got a pretty amazing girlfriend."

She smiled. Yet, she was curious if he just being sweet or being genuine. Hopefully, both. "You really mean that, right? Like… everything. All the screaming, the awkwardness, the fighting, everything. At the end… right here, us. Does it make it worth it?"

He put his arms around her. "Every last bit. Besides, you're leaving out all the good parts: the admission, the lounge, the hugging, the kissing, and everything else."

She smiled. "I didn't forget it. Just saving the best for last."

"Sweet-talker. So, was it worth it for you?"

She put her arms around his neck. "If I had the choice? I would do it all again. In a heartbeat."

They leaned closer and kissed again. They embraced.

"Merry Christmas, Max."

"Merry Christmas, Terry."

A/N: And, so, we have come to the end of our tale and honestly... I'm sad. I'm gonna miss it. I really, thoroughly enjoyed this story and I hope you all did, too. Please, leave me your comments and your reviews and let me know what you think.

I want to thank chocolate1, jtdarkman, Watership's Nightwish Rat, koryandrs, Zanza Flux, and shejams and everyone else for all of the love and support. I hope this ended well for you guys and I hope you liked it. Thank you all so much for your everything. It means the world to me.

Be on the lookout for my book to be done and out in 2014. That is my goal and I will make it.

Be well and be blessed!

T2 Angel