Disclaimer, etc., in the prologue. Thanks to everyone still sticking with and enjoying this one. :)

Part Twelve

She hated waiting.

She also found herself wishing that the construction to rebuild Wayne Manor was done, because then she could at least do her waiting down in what she and Alfred called the 'Bat Cave'. Instead, she was sitting on the couch of his penthouse, dozens of floors above the ground, and miles away from the warehouse that served as Bruce's temporary Batman command center until the Manor was finished and he could move everything back there.

"Miss Chloe-"

"I'm not going to bed before he gets back," the blonde declared, assuming that the older man was going to try and get her to go and get some sleep, but Alfred shook his head slightly at that.

"That wasn't my question. I brought you some tea, actually," he told her, coming and putting the tray down on the coffee table in front of her, carefully pouring a cup, then handing it to her. Chloe heaved out a sigh as she took it from him.

"I'm sorry, Alfred. For snapping at you-"

"I do believe you've had a stressful night. You're entitled."

"Not to take it out on you," the blonde replied, gesturing for Alfred to join her and, after a brief moment, he did so, taking a cup of tea for himself, then sitting in the chair that was closest to the couch that Chloe was seated on. The little blonde had her legs curled up on the couch with her and covered by a blanket she'd tugged down from the top shelf of a closet. Sighing, she let her head fall against the back of the couch. "This probably is not going to be pretty."

"Life never is, Miss Chloe," Alfred told her, smiling gently, and Chloe opened her mouth to say something, then immediately snapped it back shut again when she saw Bruce making his way into the room. Noticing her reaction, Alfred turned his head to see the younger man approaching, smiling again as he stood up and made his way out of the room, leaving Chloe and Bruce alone.

"I brought you something you might find more comfortable to sleep in," Bruce commented as he approached, putting a bag down on the couch next to her. A messenger bag that Chloe recognized as her own... Just as the yoga pants and t-shirt inside were hers as well, both items she slept in fairly regularly. Arching a brow, she looked over at him.

"You broke into my apartment and got my clothes?"

"Well, technically, Batman did. Don't worry. Entered through the balcony, and no damage was done to the locks," Bruce told her, and Chloe just shook her head at him, rather unsurprised by the fact that he would have no problem breaking into her apartment... But a little surprised that he would think to take the time to do so just to bring her something more comfortable to sleep in. Part of her wanted to get up and change immediately, but the rest of her wanted to know exactly what had happened while Bruce was gone. So, instead of bolting for the bathroom with the t-shirt and pants, she looked up at Bruce, an expectant look on her face.

"So... Does Oliver have any new bruises on his face?" she wanted to know, not really sure how far Bruce would go to warn off the other man, but pretty sure he would resort to a few punches if he felt it was necessary.

Bruce gave a slight smirk as he sat down in the chair that Alfred had so recently vacated. "Not from me, anyway. When I arrived there, he wasn't alone. The woman from the benefit was with him-"

"Her name's Zatanna," Chloe supplied, and Bruce gave a slight nod that said he heard her, though he didn't correct himself.

"However, she wasn't the only one there. Two others were. One of them was your cousin," he said, and Chloe's eyes widened in surprise.

"I... Lois was there? But..." She shook her head, biting off the 'why didn't she tell me' because she had the feeling that, if she'd been able to, then Lois definitely would have warned her that Oliver would be at the benefit that night. She probably just hadn't gotten the email in time. As for how it was that Lois was in Gotham City at all... "You said there were two others? So there was one more? Besides Lois and Zatanna and Oliver?"

"Another man." Bruce frowned. "He never introduced himself to me, and I didn't catch his name during the conversation. But he was tall, about as tall as Oliver, with very dark hair-"

"Clark," Chloe interrupted him. She'd figured as much, but from the description, she was absolutely sure. Clark was the only member of the group that was Oliver's height, the others were pretty much all at least a few inches shorter. Not to mention the fact that AC, the next tallest of the group, was blond. On top of that... Well, it was highly possible that Clark had been the one to bring Lois to Gotham after Oliver had found out Chloe was here - and inevitably blown a gasket over it - and that made more sense than Lois coming to Gotham without letting her know she would be there.

"I'm sure you would know better than I would. His main concern was whether or not you were happy. It seemed important to him. He seemed... sorry," Bruce told her, and Chloe nodded slightly, part of her wanting to say it was too late for him to say he was sorry. And really... She'd stayed in Metropolis for six months after Jimmy's death, after she'd been basically abandoned by the others... He'd had plenty of time to say he was sorry. So even though it was nice to hear it... She wasn't ready to see him yet.

"I'm guessing they all know where I am," the blonde said quietly, and Bruce nodded.

"I imagine they do. But they aren't welcome here, Chloe. Not unless you want them to be," he told her, then paused, frowning slightly. "Well, I did tell your cousin that she was welcome to visit. But only her. I wouldn't be surprised if she showed up first thing in the morning."

"I would. Lois has never really been a big morning person," Chloe replied, then reached out and grabbed the messenger bag with her nightclothes in it, the young woman rising to her feet, letting the blanket she'd had covering her legs fall away. And even though the sweater of Bruce's she was wearing kept her fairly covered, she was still very aware of the fact that a good portion of her legs were bare... and she was pretty sure Bruce was looking at them. Shaking off the feeling, she stepped forward, leaning down to kiss Bruce on the cheek. "Thank you. For helping me tonight."

"It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't talked you into that benefit."

"But it would have happened eventually. At least this way, you were there," she replied, giving him one last look before heading toward the bathroom to change.