It had been two days since the battle with the Joker had come to an end. Rachel had been to urgent care the next morning to have her wrist reset. Not wanting a bullet wound brought to anyone's attention, Bruce had Lucius Fox help him clean his wound. The bullet had gone through and through, making the situation much better than it could have been. Then she and Bruce had fallen into bed for ten hours straight, catching up on sleep they hadn't known they'd missed. Rachel had been so exhausted that she'd fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, despite her fears that the Joker would haunt her dreams.

Now, Rachel and Bruce were preparing to clean out Alfred's room. They were preparing to leave Gotham for a while, neither of them setting a definite timeline, but Bruce very adamantly saying that they would go to Europe for a while. They wanted to have Alfred's things squared away before then. Rachel held Bruce's hand as he opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was neatly kept. The bed was made, laundry put away, and clothes all hanging in the closet with dry cleaning bags protecting them. Shoe boxes lined the shelf above the hanging clothes. A desk sat up against one of the walls perpendicular to the bed, a green writing lamp over the workspace. Letter organizers, neatly stacked lined-paper, and a pencil holder also sat on the wooden desk. A floor to ceiling book shelf sat opposite the bed, lined with old books. One of the shelves had been removed and a TV mounted inside it. The shelf directly above it held several sets of old western series like Bonanza and Wanted: Dead or Alive. On Alfred's nightstand sat a John Grisham book, the bookmark about halfway through.

Rachel stood up on Alfred's desk chair, standing on her tiptoes to reach the closet shelf. At the very back, was a dusty shoe box and she reached for it with a small grunt.

"Rach, please be careful up there," Bruce warned, looking over at her from where he was cleaning out Alfred's nightstand.

"I am," She told him, prying the lid off of the box. A small gasp left her. "Bruce, look…"

Bruce walked over to her, looking into the box. "Oh my god…how much money did he save? I thought I sorted through all of it."

"Well if you think about it, everything he needed was here with you all those years. He probably could save most of his salary."

Bruce lifted the wads of cash out of the shoebox. In the very bottom was a small blue envelope. Rachel opened it, discarding the shoebox on the floor. Tears filled her eyes and her hand covered her mouth as she read it.

"Bruce…he saved this for the baby."

Bruce's eyes flew up to hers. "What?"

She handed him the card.

Dearest Bruce,

You turned sixteen today. I can't believe how quickly you've grown into a young man. You're brilliant and your parents would be proud. I hope that you use all of your talents and your golden heart to accomplish wonderful things. I have no doubt that you will have a profound impact on this world and on Gotham. I am anxious to see whom and what you become, and promise to support you in all of your endeavors. I have come to love you like a son, Bruce, and I am so proud of you.

I am also confident that one day you will become a father. Whenever, and with whomever that happens, I will think of that child as my grandchild. I hope that you allow me to be so. Regardless of the relationship, I am beginning to put back money for the child. You refuse to allow me to help you financially in any way, and as admirable as that is, this is something that I want to do. If you find this that means that I am gone. For that, I am sorry. Leaving your life is not something I look forward to ever doing. But I hope that you know and remember how much I have loved you. Take this money and put it to use in your child's life someday. Tell them about me. Tell them I love them.

Face your fears head on, Bruce, everyday, and they'll unleash something in you, you never thought possible.

Love,

Alfred Pennyworth

Tears coursed down Bruce's cheeks. "I had no idea… Rachel, I never told him what he meant to me. Not in the way that I should have."

Rachel reached for him, pressing his head into her stomach and running her fingers through his hair. "He knew, Bruce. I promise you, he knew," she consoled.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because," Rachel took his face in her hands, lifting it up to look at her. "Because he told me."

Bruce swallowed.

"What better way to preserve his legacy than with this?"

Bruce pulled back suddenly, leaving the room on a mission. Rachel frowned, following him as he went into his office.

"Bruce? What are you doing?"

"I've got an idea. What if we build a park downtown where the building exploded? I'll buy the lot and build a park there in the middle of the slums."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Rachel smiled.

"We'll call it Pennyworth Park."

Rachel kissed him soundly on the lips as he picked up his office phone.

"This will delay our trip a couple of days as I set this in motion."

"That's fine. I understand. I might need a few days to finish taking care of everything anyway."

Bruce grinned. "Thank you."

"You're a wonderful man, Bruce Wayne. I know this is exactly the person Alfred hoped you would be when he wrote that letter on your sixteenth birthday."

Bruce kissed her as someone answered on the other line and Rachel left him alone to sort through his newest project.

As it turned out, it took Bruce a week to get everything in motion for the park as well as turning the Wayne Estate over to Gotham. He'd decided that instead of wasting the property, he wanted a home for the homeless and at-risk teens to be created. It would take a few months for the renovations and building to be completed, but Bruce was satisfied that everything was in order and could be completed without him.

The following Saturday, Bruce and Rachel made their way to the lot for the groundbreaking ceremony of the park. It would be their last public appearance in Gotham for quite some time. Rachel's pregnancy was now completely evident, so instead of try to hide it, she wore a light pink lace maternity cocktail dress and wore her new curves proudly. It no longer mattered to her what Gotham thought. The only thing that mattered was the truth that she and Bruce knew; their love was enough.

"Are you ready?" Bruce asked, coming into the room as he adjusted the button on the wrist of his sleeve. He froze when he saw her. "Wow, babe. You look beautiful."

Rachel smiled as she turned toward him, standing on one foot as she put on her white wedge shoes. He reached out to steady her and then kissed her softly.

"You know how to go out with a bang," He teased.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking at him with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Bruce…"

"What is it, love? Why the tears?"

"I don't understand how even after everything that's happened, I can still have so much happiness. I don't think I deserve to have it, but I do."

"Rachel, no one is more deserving of happiness than you."

She smiled softly. "Bruce, you are my hero. Not because of all the things you did as Batman, but because you have given me so much happiness. I love you more than you will ever know."

He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Rachel closed her eyes in contentment as he held her in his arms and crashed his lips into hers.

Three months later, Bruce sat at a white rod iron table watching as Rachel poured over the menu. He'd made his food choice minutes ago, but Rachel was having a hard time deciding which craving she most wanted to satisfy. He'd teasingly suggested that she order everything, but had received a warning glare in response, so he'd sat back to wait. He'd set about watching the people around them at the outdoor café. France was everything they'd hoped it would be; relaxing, refreshing, and renewing. They'd found a two bedroom apartment close enough to the Eiffel tower to have a good view of it from their balcony. They were living well below their means, but both of them were satisfied. They'd married at Lake Como in Italy before coming to Paris. It had been a last minute decision, and Bruce had been happy to give Rachel the wedding location of her dreams. It had been just the two of them and the priest, but it had been exactly what they wanted.

Now Bruce sat people-watching, in a daze of sorts. He was about to turn his attention back to Rachel when he saw him. There, five tables away, reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of tea, was Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce's heart stopped for a moment as realization hit him. Alfred was alive. He had simply found the perfect opportunity to disappear from Gotham, leave his mark, and move on with his life. Bruce couldn't help the tinge of jealousy. Gotham knew Bruce was still alive. He'd have to face it again someday. But as far as Gotham was concerned, Alfred was gone.

Bruce continued to stare at Alfred until Alfred looked up over the top of his paper. Their eyes met, Alfred freezing on the spot. Then, very slowly, a grin spread over Alfred's face. Bruce smiled back, both of them nodding at each other.

"Bruce, who are you grinning at like that?" Rachel asked. "You better not be eyeing another woman while your enormously pregnant wife sits right across from you."

He didn't respond, so she looked over her shoulder. She gasped as she saw Alfred sitting there and immediately went to stand. Bruce reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked back at him in surprise.

"Bruce, its Alfred!"

"I know," He said, looking up at her. When they both looked back to the table Alfred had been sitting at, the old man was gone.

Rachel sat back down slowly, looking at Bruce in confusion. "It was Alfred, wasn't it?"

"Yes. It was."

"Then why did he leave? Why couldn't we say hello?" She asked.

Bruce saw that she was getting upset, and he reached over to caress her cheek. "He wasn't ready yet. He'll come to us when he's ready."

"You're sure?"

Bruce nodded. "I don't think anything in this world could keep him away from seeing this baby. He'll come back to us one day, just like we'll return to Gotham."

Rachel sighed and then smiled. "I'm so happy he's alive Bruce. It means the Joker didn't win."

"Of course he didn't win," Bruce grinned. "The dark side never wins. Light always shines through the darkness, love always conquers hatred, and good defeats evil."

Rachel laughed. "You're so cheesy."

Bruce winked at her.

"So are you still glad you put down the mask?" Rachel asked.

Bruce nodded. "It's time to face this world with who I truly am. The Batman may be gone, but the man behind the mask is still here."

"And I love that man more than anything in this world."

Bruce kissed her hand. "Are you finally ready to order? I'm starving."

"Yes," Rachel giggled. "Call over the waiter. We wouldn't want to keep Bruce Wayne waiting."