A/N - Thanks for the reviews...I'm glad that this is getting as much interest as it is. :)

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Friday, December 11th (3 days later)...

Alfred heard a sigh as he walked into the room where David was staying. He looked up, seeing the back of the boy as he sat at a table with papers all around him.

"Are you having problems with your work?" Alfred asked as he walked over.

David tossed the pencil onto the table and leaned back in his chair.

"I can't do this," he exclaimed. "I miss going to school."

"That is something that I never thought I'd hear a young boy say," Alfred commented with a smile.

"I'm bored here," he said. "There's nothing to do and I'm tired to doing math."

Alfred leaned over and picked up the abandonned pencil.

"Do you need some help?"

"I've never been good at math," he explained. "The numbers get mixed up in my head."

"What subjects do you like?"

A smile appeared on the boy's face.

"I like history and science. I already did the work for that, that Mom told me to do."

"You know, Master Bruce had difficulty with math as well," Alfred commented. "I remember him having a lot of trouble with long division."

David winced at the mention of division.

"Your mother is downstairs in the kitchen making cookies for you," Alfred reminded him. "She told me to send you down once you were done."

David picked up the pencil and brightened. "Help me?"

Alfred smiled as he looked at the questions.

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Olivia leaned on the kitchen counter, searching through the various recipes on the laptop. She was still getting used to using an Apple computer. Alfred claimed that he found it easier but for someone who had never touched a MacBook in her life, Olivia found it like learning a new language. But as the minutes passed, she found it was getting easier.

Alfred was surprised when she asked for a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. He was certain that after working in a restaurant that she'd know one off by heart. Olivia was always searching for something better than she tried before. She smiled as the recipe came up on the screen. She was about to start searching the kitchen for what she needed when she decided to search for music on the computer. Olivia could imagine what Alfred would have on the laptop and was surprised when she found Cascada in the playlist. She laughed out loud when Everytime we Touch began playing in the kitchen. She turned it up a little louder.

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Bruce walked down the staircase and stopped. He turned towards the kitchen as music echoed from the small room into the hallway. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Olivia dancing with her back towards him. In all honesty, she couldn't dance to save her life, but the simple movement of her hips and head and the sway that she did brought a smile to his face and he couldn't turn away. Her simple jogging pants and t-shirt made the image of her even more attractive in an odd way. He stood in the doorway, waiting in anticipation for when she turned. Olivia seemed to be busy mixing and measuring ingredients. So much for his presumptions of Olivia. He always assumed that she was quiet, and reserved. Perhaps he wasn't the only one with a double life. She intrigued him. He felt bad for watching her when she assumed she was alone. He walked into the room and then stood behind her.

She finally spun around to open the fridge and bumped into Bruce. She gasped as her face shown utter embarrassment and turned a bright red. She backed up and turned off the volume on the computer. Silence flooded into the kitchen.

"Sorry if I surprised you."

"Bruce, how long have you been standing there?" she finally asked, catching her breath from being startled.

"Not long. You don't need to stop because of me. I rather enjoyed watching you. It's like I was watching another part of Olivia which I've never seen before."

Olivia sighed, still embarrassed.

"Alfred has an interesting collection of music," she said, changing the subject. "I would've never taken him for a dance type of guy."

"He's not," Bruce affirmed. "You can find pretty much anything on that laptop."

He turned the laptop to see what she was making.

"Cookies, huh?"

She nodded and turned back to the half mixed bowl of dough. "I've been working David hard with school work over the past few days. I'm making him a little something to encourage him."

"What are your plans for tonight?"

Olivia looked next to her, seeing Bruce leaning against the counter. A coy smile pulled at her lips as she mixed the dough in the bowl. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was wanting to look at those pictures with you, if you didn't mind," Bruce said softly. "I'd like to catch up with you."

Olivia glanced over at him.

"We could order something in and lay low for the evening," he suggested.

Olivia sighed. "That would be great. This week has been pretty crazy."

"Yeah, it has," he replied with a smile.

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Later, that evening...

Bruce walked into his study and closed the door behind him. He looked around the room to ensure that he was alone before going to the piano in the corner and pressing the odd combination of keys. A hidden door emerged from behind a case of books. He turned and walked into the passage as the door closed behind him. Bruce walked onto a catwalk elevator and pulled on the lever. He was swiftly brought down into the depths of the caves that were hidden underneath Wayne Manor. When the elevator stopped, he walked off and watched as the lighting came on with his presence. The computers started up and the monitors came to life. He sat down at the console and looked up at the screens. An image of Franco Maroni filled the screen. He sat back and ran his hand through his hair, thinking.

He knew that Franco Maroni was dead along with any leads he had to the Italian mob. Bruce had to find out where the Joker was before he came after them again. He knew it was only a short time until he would.

He leaned forward and typed in a few commands into the computer bringing up the list of known mob assailants in Gotham. His eyes brightened when he saw the Chechen, the presumed leader of the Russian mob. He didn't go by any name that he knew of, but when someone would mention the Chechen it was mutually understood who he was. Bruce quickly got up and moments later was back in his study where Alfred was waiting for him.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea disappearing like that when Olivia and David are around," Alfred suggested as he followed Bruce out of his study.

"I'm going out tonight," Bruce told him, as they made their way to his room. Alfred closed the door behind him as Bruce walked into the bathroom.

"That's fine sir, but perhaps you should wait until Olivia and David are asleep."

"No," Bruce said. "I'm going out to that Russian restaurant that just opened up. I've been meaning to check it and I just thought, why not tonight? Besides, the Russian mob is most likely to be there and if I can listen in on some conversations, I may get an idea on where the Joker is hiding out."

"Perhaps you can bring Olivia along with you," Alfred suggested. "It would look odd for Bruce Wayne to arrive alone."

"No," Bruce said quickly, as he called out from the bathroom. "I wouldn't want to knowingly bring her into a potentially dangerous situation, especially if it's involving the mob."

Alfred looked down as he thought. "Of course. Well, what about that Russian model? Uh, Karina I think it was."

"Wasn't it Katarina?"

"I'm pretty certain it was Karina, sir."

Bruce shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea. Call her for me."

"I'll tell her that you'll pick her up at eight," Alfred said.

"Tell her seven," Bruce suggested.

"Sir, that's a little more than a half hour from now."

"She'll make it. Believe me. Oh and tell her to meet me here. I feel like I need to being high maintenance today."

Alfred smiled, as the shower turned on. "Very good, sir."

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Bruce walked out of the bathroom, partially dressed apart from his dress shirt and tux jacket. He dried his hair with the towel before pulling on his shirt. Alfred always felt like cringing when he looked at Bruce's injuries on his back and chest. He could just imagine how they felt sometimes.

"Keep an eye on Olivia and David for me, Alfred," Bruce said as he adjusted his tie in the mirror.

"Of course, sir. Will you be coming in late?"

Alfred held out his tux jacket out as Bruce turned and put it on, shrugging his shoulders to get a good fit.

"Depends on how long it takes to get the information I need," he said, placing the small skin coloured audio amplifier inside his ear. He tucked the control into his coat pocket just as he walked out of his room. Alfred walked beside him, handing him a pair of cufflinks which he proceeded to put on. "I'll give you a call if I'm going to be later than usual."

Olivia walked out of her bedroom just as Bruce passed by. She watched his trailing form in confusion.

"Bruce?"

He stopped and turned. Olivia momentarily felt herself go weak in her knees when she looked at him. He always looked good in a tux. And here she was wearing jogging pants and a t-shirt and felt a little underdressed as she looked at him. But as quickly as the feeling came, it disappeared.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

Olivia shook her head in confusion as she walked up beside him as he made his way to the stairs. "But I thought that you wanted to look at pictures tonight. Remember? Eat in and lay low?"

He suddenly stopped, remembered and grimaced. "Oh, Olivia, I completely forgot. I'm sorry. Can we do it tomorrow night?"

Alfred watched the exchange and smiled sympathetically to Olivia.

She sighed and force a smile. She was disappointed. "Sure. That's fine."

A smile appeared on Bruce's face.

"Great."

Bruce and Alfred continued to walk down the marble staircase. Olivia was about to turn to go back upstairs when she heard a woman's voice speaking a foreign language that she couldn't place. Her curiousity got the best of her and she followed them down to the front foyer.

"Sorry I'm late," Bruce said. Alfred went ahead and began to open the door for them.

"No problem," the woman replied in a thick Russian accent, as she closed her cell phone. She glanced past Bruce, where Olivia stood at the bottom of the staircase. Bruce turned to see Olivia and he plastered a smile on his face although he was agonizing about what he was doing.

"Who's that?" the woman asked.

Karina," Bruce said, holding his hand out toward Olivia. "This is Olivia Thornley."

Reluctantly, Olivia walked over to where Bruce and the Russian woman stood by the door. She was tall. With the four inch heels, the woman towered over Bruce by an inch. Everything about her seemed perfect. Her hair was cascading down her back in hues of walnut and amber. When she smiled, Olivia could pretty much count the dollar signs that went into making that smile scream perfection. Olivia ran her tongue over her teeth, suddenly conscious of her own smile. Karina was beautiful. Olivia had to admit it. Karina simply nodded and Olivia could feel her scrutinizing eyes nonverbally berate her.

"Thornley? This is the woman that had your child?"

Bruce nodded.

"I would never have children," Karina said, with a smug smile. "I wouldn't want to get stretch marks."

Olivia bit her lip and smiled as politely as she could. "Fortunately for me, I didn't get any."

"Olivia, this is Karina," Bruce interrupted before the conversation could escalate as he saw the fire ignite in Olivia's eyes.

"Nice to meet you," Olivia said before turning to Bruce. "I didn't know you were going out tonight."

"Yeah, well something came up and I've been meaning to catch up with Karina," he said as he cringed inwardly.

Olivia sighed and slapped a smile on her face. "Well then, enjoy catching up Mr. Wayne."

Olivia turned and walked away as Karina took Bruce's hand as he watched Olivia walk away. Olivia could hear the door shut as she made her way back up the stairs. She couldn't believe how she was feeling. Jealous. Angry. Hurt. And it was all because of that Russian woman.

Alfred looked over his shoulder after he closed the door, but Olivia was already gone. He couldn't blame her for being angry. She was another 'Rachel' being tossed into the world of Bruce's persona and she didn't deserve it.

He walked up the stairs and looked into Olivia's room. It was empty. He could hear laughter and splashing echoing down the hallway. He made his way towards the sound and peered into the bathroom as the door was partially open. He could hear David's voice and saw the boy sitting in a mountain of bubbles as Olivia knelt on the floor beside the tub.

"Are you turning into a prune yet?" Alfred heard Olivia ask.

"Nope."

"Okay, but just a few more minutes. After you get out, get ready for bed," Olivia said.

"But Mom, it's not bedtime yet."

"That's too bad," she said sharply. "You listen to what I tell you."

"Excuse me, Olivia," Alfred said, pushing the door open. "I'll help David if you'd like some time to yourself."

Olivia stood up from where she knelt next to the tub. She smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Alfred."

Olivia walked out of the room.

"What's wrong with Mom?" David asked.

Alfred smiled reassuringly. "I think she's just tired. You've been through a lot lately."

David looked out of the bathroom, still concerned.

"Was Bruce nice to her?"

Alfred looked up into the eyes of the eight year old boy. He was shocked and wasn't sure how to answer the question.

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Olivia had walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She couldn't believe that she was short with David over being angry with Bruce. Once she got into her room, she fought to take deep breaths and put her anger aside.

For what seemed like just a few minutes of time alone, a knock came to the door.

"Come in."

Alfred gently opened the door. "David is in bed. He's waiting for you to come say goodnight."

Olivia nodded and turned to leave the room.

"David is a very perceptive boy," Alfred commented before she left. "He asked me if Bruce was being nice to you."

Olivia smiled.

"How do I answer that?"

Alfred shrugged.

"I can't even be honest with myself," Olivia admitted. "Bruce confuses me. One minute he's thoughtful and gentle and then the next, he's selfish and arrogant. How can I tell myself that I'm falling in love with someone when I don't even know who they are?"

Alfred smiled. "You do know the real Bruce Wayne. He doesn't show that side of himself to many people and you've seen him."

"Then what's with the jackass personality of his?"

Alfred sighed, not sure how to answer as Olivia spoke again.

"How can I be falling in love with Bruce again when I haven't seen him in over eight years and we've only been in Gotham for less than two months?" she asked. "I know it sounds ridiculous."

"No not ridiculous at all. He does care for you," Alfred said, softly. "He cares for you a great deal. Perhaps more than you know."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Olivia left the room and walked across the hall to see David. She smiled lovingly when she saw him sitting up in the bed with a book in his hand. He smiled when he saw her at the door and held the book out to her.

"Alfred gave me this to read," he said. Olivia looked at the title.

"Treasure Island," she read. "That's one you haven't read yet. I'm sure you'll like it."

She sat down on the bed next to him and lifted her feet up to rest beside him.

"I'm sorry sweetheart for how I talked to you," she said.

He smiled. "That's okay Mom."

"Alfred told me that you asked if Bruce was being nice."

David looked down, awkward knowing that Alfred had relayed to her what he had asked him.

"He is being nice to me," Olivia said. "He had to go out tonight and he forgot to tell me. Okay?"

"All right."

She picked up the book from his hands and began to read to him for the next hour.

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Bruce pulled the lambourghini up in front of the newly restored building that had once been a bank. The sign, Potemkin Restaurant, shown brightly above the entrance. He climbed out and handed the keys to the valet as he walked by and took Karina by the hand. The restaurant was busy. Nearly every table was filled and the look of horror on the face of the Maitre 'd when he saw Bruce Wayne was priceless to the billionaire.

"Oh, Mr. Wayne," the man gushed. "Welcome to our restaurant. It's an honour to have you here, sir."

"Yeah, you seem a little busy," Bruce commented, nonchalantly.

"Yes, this is our opening weekend."

"Well, if you have no room, we'll be leaving," Bruce said, as he turned.

"No!" the Maitre 'd said. "Wait, I'll make some room."

Bruce watched in amusement as the Maitre 'd gathered a few waiters and waitress around himself and instructed them to move tables and possibly patrons around to accommodate the billionaire. A few minutes later, the Maitre 'd approached him to say that their booth was prepared. Bruce and Karina followed the man as he brought them to their booth. Bruce reached into his pocket and handed the man a fifty dollar bill into his hand and smiled before sitting down.

"I always enjoy going out with you Mr. Wayne," Karina said with a coy smile. "No one can change a room like you can."

Bruce smiled back as he glanced around the restaurant. He looked around the VIP area, noticing a few people he recognized and a few he didn't. His eyes travelled around until they set themselves on a few people who he knew as members of the mob. Behind them sat the Chechen. Bruce could see the man had a few glasses of half empty wine glasses on the table and seemed to be having a good time. He reached into his pocket and turned on the amplifier, hoping that this new creation of Fox's would work. It took a few minutes to filter through the other voices around Chechen's table until finally, he could hear him.

"Be sure to tell your customer to meet me in the market district tonight," he said. "If they're wanting the drugs they're going to have to come to me to get it. I'm not a delivery service."

"They're afraid that the Batman might show up," another mob member stated as Chechen laughed.

"The clown has been keeping the Batman busy," Chechen assured him. "If your customer has the balls to light up in daylight, then he should make it out to meet me at night."

Bruce looked over at Karina, noticing that her lips were moving. He wasn't noticing what she was saying, but did an occasional nod and smile to assure her that he had some of her attention. Bruce was more eager to hear more about the drug exchange that evening. If he wasn't going to get information from Chechen at the restaurant as Bruce Wayne, he'd have to do it another way.

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A few hours later...

Chechen sat in his car, fiddling with a pack of cards as he waited. A knock on the window caught his attention. He looked up and opened the door along with the three other passengers in the car, all with guns in their hands. Chechen measured up the buyer with his eyes. He looked behind him, seeing a group of two other men. The man handed out a bag which Chechen promptly took from him and opened it up. He looked inside before tossing it to one of his men beside the car.

"It's all there," the man told him.

Chechen smiled. "I have a trust issue with my customers."

"It's good," one of his men, drawled out in Russian after checking the money in the bag. He turned and tossed a bag back to Chechen who handed it to his customer.

One of Chechen's men suddenly turned after noticing movement behind them.

"We have company!" he called out as the customer and his men ran off in fear.

Chechen turned and looked in the direction his men were looking. He didn't even see the darkness envelope him. Within seconds, he was standing on top of the main market building, standing precariously close to the edge. He looked up and saw the Batman standing two feet in front of him, with one hand on his shirt.

"Where is the Joker!?" Batman bellowed at him.

"What? How the hell should I know?" Chechen stammered.

"You have worked together," Batman said.

"In the past! I don't work with that freak!" Chechen exclaimed. "He has his own little private mob group. We don't deal with them."

"Maroni did."

"Maroni was an idiot and so was his brother! Look where that got him!"

Batman pushed him closer to the edge as Chechen looked down below over his shoulder.

"I'm telling you the truth!" he exclaimed.

"I don't believe you."

He pushed him so close that only one foot was still on the rooftop. Chechen grabbed ahold of Batman's wrist, hoping that he wouldn't let him go.

"Okay, okay. I don't go there but I've been told that he's been known to hang out around the old theatre district. Where exactly? I don't know!"

Batman suddenly pushed him off the edge and Chechen screamed as he fell off the building. He was within a few meters of the ground when he suddenly stopped falling. He opened his eyes and saw that he was hanging in mid air by his ankle. Chechen looked up and Batman had disappeared.