Title: What Lies Ahead: XXI
Author: DC Luder
Rating: T
Summary: Happy New Year's!
Author's Note:
^V^
As fluffy snow made its way from the heavens to the streets of Gotham, I was loading Holiday Skip a Payment coupons into the billing records of DJG Security. Although I still wasn't officially working for them, I had been helping out much more around the office. However, with Mattie and Nathan home for winter vacation I had managed to sneak a few days "off" in order to go up and baby-sit.
As much as Alfred adored the children I knew how hard it was to keep up with them, even for me.
"Cass?" I heard Tim before he passed through my makeshift office, "We're going to go to Mason's for lunch, leaving in like ten minutes."
Looking up from the stack of red and green coupons, I was shocked to see it was already a quarter passed noon. I had come in with Tim at nine and had been buried in menial tasks ever since. Dick had dropped in at some point in the morning and had asked if I could send some faxes out for him. He had promptly left my office, doubled over and coughing after I had hit him in the solar plexus with my three-hole punch.
"Sure," I smiled and finished editing one last bill before setting aside my work and following him into the main area of the office. Dick was sitting in one of the waiting area chairs, trying to wipe something off of his blue silk tie.
We approached just as Will commented, "You are cut off from the egg nog my friend."
Dick smirked, "Hey now, I have some dignity. Just because it's New Year's eve doesn't mean I get wasted before noon… Now before six however…"
Smirking, I was about to say that a drunk Dick would be no different from a sober Dick but Tim approached, holding my coat out for me. As I slipped into it, I suddenly realized that there were two faces missing: Jim and Frank.
Just as I opened my mouth to ask about them, Dick seemingly read my mind, "He's covering the site visit at the car museum and then I think he's heading over to check things out at Pyramid Plaza. Guess he'd rather work out of the office today rather than deal with our holiday spirit."
We made our way to the elevator bay and stood cramped in the car with two other patrons. Dick started humming and I gently elbowed the area of his torso I had pummeled earlier that morning.
The remaining ride was silent.
Despite the snow and hovering temperature of twenty-five degrees, we chose to walk the six blocks to Mason's Deli as opposed to doing battle for a taxicab amidst the midday rush. We walked in pairs, Dick with Will and Tim beside me, slowly navigating our way through the fairly crowded streets. I felt warm, gloved fingers entwine with mine and smiled as I squeezed them.
Although Tim was never one to display affection in public, I had noticed that in the last six months he had increasingly grown more comfortable in expressing himself. It had started when Bruce had held a pool party that summer for Mattie and her friends as well as for our small and twisted family. I had been lounging on a chair, absorbing the late June sun alongside Barbara when I had felt two muscular arms lift me. A moment later, cool chlorine water enveloped me. Tim had jumped in after me and I couldn't help but to think back when we had first started out awkward courtship. It had started with him dragging me into the pool and had ended with me leaving him behind in the pool, sans trunks. The good old days.
With the prying eyes of pre-teens and family members alike, I knew I couldn't get revenge in a similar fashion. Before I could come up with a PG rated retaliation, he had already swam up next to me, kissing me softly on the lips.
A few months later, we had been volunteered to chaperone Mattie's school Halloween dance so that Bruce and Selina could attend a charity masquerade. I had never been present at a school dance and Tim had seen to it that I had a complete experience. He bought me an orange soda and a bag of Buncha Crunch from the refreshment table and then treated me to a quick instruction as to how to perform the "Carlton Dance" for when the remix of some Missy Elliot song came on.
And finally, a slow dance.
But it was Thanksgiving that I decided he must have been losing his grasp on containing his affection for me. Before the feast commenced, we had arranged ourselves in the den, chatting and sampling hors d'oeuvres. For years there were exactly enough seats for everyone but a new guest's presence made for one less. Dick had invited Will after finding out that his ex-wife was taking his girls to Maryland to visit with relatives for the holidays. I was just about to sit on the floor with Nathan as he counted stripes on Taffy's back when Tim had patted his thigh.
In front of everyone, I sat on his lap with his arms around my waist, his fingers gently stroking my side
In front of everyone.
In front of Bruce.
I had always been comfortable around Tim, even light years before I had even the slightest thought that we would ever be more than just friends. Unfortunately, Tim had always wanted to maintain his composure, especially around Bruce. We had been together as Batgirl and Robin and as Batgirl and Batman and still he held everything in.
My curiosity finally taking control, I had confronted him about it on the ride back into the city after Thanksgiving dinner. He had driven six miles before finally responding, "Cass… I look back on how much time we've spent together and all I can see is time I've wasted trying to be someone I'm not. I mean… Bruce hides everything from the world and I can only imagine what hellish feuds he and Selina have as a result of that. I don't want that for us. I don't want to hide anything from you."
I had leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I love you, too."
Dick suddenly glanced over his shoulders, "Come on, love birds, step it up, I'm starving."
"Not from the look of your backside," Tim snickered.
Dick shot another look back, "Hey, I have a firm, toned buttocks. At least I better after sinking all that money into that new Bo-Flex home gym."
Will joined the bantering, "I'd smack it to settle this debate but… I don't think I like him like that."
After releasing Tim's hand, I darted the mere feet between us and slapped Dick's rear hard enough to make a small pony kick out. He stumbled forward, bumped into a very disgruntled man on a cell phone and then spun around to face me.
I shrugged, "I don't like you like that. And you should get your money back."
We were still laughing as we passed through double glass doors of Mason's. Despite its amazing menu and perfect location in the business district, there were three tables open. We snagged a big corner booth in the back and went about eyeing the daily specials. It didn't take long for me to settle on the Roast beef panini sandwich and I tapped my foot on Tim's shin until the others decided.
With the best short-term memory, Tim took our orders up to the counter. I was about to ask how much more work we had left for the afternoon when Dick asked Will, "So, any plans for tonight?"
"Nothing in stone. The girls are getting dropped off at my place around six so I'll have to limit the pub hopping, I suppose.
Dick nodded, "Well, if you want, we're having a thing up to Bruce's. His daughter is having some friends over and I'm sure she'd love to finally meet your little ladies."
"And the big kids?"
"Completely segregated from the little kids, by a long, plush carpeted corridor."
Will unfolded and refolded his napkin. He had admitted to feeling awkward at Wayne Manor shortly after Thanksgiving. He said he felt completely out of place amidst such luxury. Dick had quelled his worries by explaining, "You know that crystal chandelier by the stairs? I used to swing off of it when I was a kid. After me, anyone fits in."
Truer words were never spoken.
^V^
As I sat in my closet trying to decide what shoes to wear for the New Year's Eve party I heard my father's footsteps coming down the hall. He had been in the gym for the last two hours, of which I had visited every fifteen minutes to see if he was done. Every time I had looked through the doorway, he was performing a different exercise. I once asked Mom why he worked out so much and she had explained that he was a guy and guys often did things for no reason.
On my fourth trek to the gym, he was doing chin-ups off of a bar mounted high on the wall. On the seventh, he had moved on to the punch bag. On the twelfth, I had interrupted him while he was bench-pressing, nearly causing him to drop the weights on his throat after sneaking up on him.
After he had regained control of what looked to be at least a million pounds, he grunted that he would come to my room when he was finished.
When he finally did make it to my bedroom, I somersaulted on the soft carpet out of my closet and used the speed to jump to my feet. I had hoped that Dad would have been impressed as he entered my bedroom but he passed through the door I had already landed on my feet, "What's up, Kitten?"
I cocked my head to the side, letting the loose waves of hair that had fallen from my ponytail to cross my shoulder, just like Mom had taught me to do, "Can I invite someone else to the party?"
"How many friends do you have coming already?"
"Six."
He sighed before asking, "Who else would you like to come?"
"Well, Brianna wasn't supposed to be coming back from vacation until tomorrow but they came home early so she wants to come and if I invite Brianna I have to invite Stacy, Patrick and Adam," I counted off names on my fingers.
He paused, no doubt put off at the two boy names I had uttered, "So you want to invite four more people."
"Please, can I, Daddy?" I then took a step closer to him, looking up at his face as I bit my lip, also just like Mom had said to do.
"As long as their parents say it's okay."
I then leapt at him, wrapping my arms around his waist, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
He patted my shoulder gently before entangling himself, "You are very welcome, kitten."
As he left I returned to my closet for some more heavy thinking. I didn't dress up very often but hosting what was going to be the best New Year's party in the history of Bristol Elementary had me debating over outfits when I should have been decorating the den. I had narrowed down my selection to three pairs of shoes when I heard Mom's voice from behind me, "The third toughest choice in your life is what shoes to wear."
"What are the first two?"
"What to have for breakfast and what to name your first child," she answered as she sat beside me. When I was little, everyone said I looked just like Dad. But now that I was growing up, I was beginning to realize just how much I looked like Mom. Same hair, same skin tone, even the same face. All that really reminded me of Dad was my eyes.
"So, did it work?"
I grinned, "Yep, they can all come."
"Good, because I already called their parents."
"What if Dad had said no?"
She leaned over and kissed my face, "Since when can he say no to you."
"Or you," I smiled before sitting up and kissing her cheek.
"Of course… And there may be two more guests for your party…"
"Really, who?"
"Will might be coming with his two daughters, Karen and Amanda."
"Cool, now that's twelve… plus me."
"And don't forget Cassandra."
"Right." Mom said I had to have at least one adult present at the party and I was quick to choose Cassandra. I had known her all of my life and she was practically a sister to me even though she was much older. And as much as I loved Dick, older sisters were way more fun than older brothers.
"Well, let's see this ensemble of yours, kiddo."
Mom left and sat on the bed, giving me privacy to change in the huge closet. As I slipped out of my jeans and sweater, I called out, "Hey, Mom?"
"Yeah?"
I pulled on my black dress pants and fastened them on the side, "Is this going to be like Dad's birthday party?"
She paused before replying, "No, it's just going to be close family and friends. Dad's birthday party was more for his business than for his actual birthday. That's why it was so big."
"No…" I hesitated to put my sleeveless shirt on, "I meant…" I stepped out of the closet and asked, "Nothing bad's going to happen, right?"
Mom had been smiling at first, no doubt impressed with my outfit but her face quickly saddened. She patted the empty space on the bed beside her and I moved to take it. "What happened at that party was unpredictable... But this isn't a public event so no bad people will know about it."
"But… We were learning to use the microfiche in the library and the newspaper says that it happens all the time… especially to Dad."
She bit her lip, not in the way she had taught me, "Mattie, your dad is very wealthy and a very powerful man. Sometimes people want to take advantage of that, like his birthday party. Those men knew a lot of other wealthy and powerful people would be there so that's why they tried to hold everyone for ransom."
"But it didn't work, right?"
"It rarely does. The good always seems to find a way to overcome the bad."
"Good … Like Batman?"
Mom smiled, "He is not just good. He… is the best."
"Did you meet him at Dad's party, when he saved everyone?"
"No, but… He's not the type to stick around to sign autographs."
"Like Superman?"
She laughed quietly, "You must be your father's daughter with a mind like that."
I shrugged, "And yours."
After a quiet moment, Mom suggested, "Well, why don't you change back, then maybe we can help Alfred finish up the food for tonight."
Since the party was due to start at eight, we were having an early dinner so that I could nap before my guest arrived and so that Mom and Dad could spend time with Nathan before putting him to bed for the night. Alfred had already volunteered to check in on him at night so that the "lord and lady of the manor may tend to their guests".
But where dinner was supposed to be fairly simple, something about a London Broil, there were going to many trays of snacks to help keep everyone fueled up for the big countdown to midnight. On top of that, Alfred had showed me how to make a punch and I couldn't wait to fill the giant crystal bowl.
When I had told Mom at dinner the night before, she had joked that she would be in charge of the adult party's punch, which had made Dad glare at her.
I had replied, "Don't worry, Dad, you can have some of our punch at the kids party."
That made him half-smile at least.
He had never been comfortable about me having parties or sleepovers since my kindergarten class had taken over the house. I can still remember Tim being buried alive in snow and how the Niedlzlekowski twins had used Uncle Clark to pin a tail on. Although nothing even remotely as bad as that had ever happened again, I could still see that Dad was nervous anytime my birthday approached or a Saturday afternoon in the summer.
Mom said that he would never get over it, not because he feared our past behavior but for what lies ahead.
She didn't need to explain any further.
Boys.
^V^
"Dick, I'm leaving in fifteen seconds, with or without you."
As I smoothed aftershave lotion over my jaw line with one hand and swabbed my ear with a Q-tip with the other, I spat out a mouthful of foamy toothpaste and replied, "I only need five." Actually, I could have used another five minutes to get ready but I knew they were not going to be granted to me.
After coming home from the office a little after three, I had decided to have a quick nap in order to rest up not only for the party but for the long night of patrols that would follow. More often than not Gotham's crime levels around the holiday season reached a lull that allowed even superheroes a chance to relax amidst loved ones. Unfortunately, the quiet that spread through the streets of Gotham had been unable to make its way to Bludhaven and I found myself trekking to my former city nearly five nights a week. Although uninvited, Huntress seemed to magically appear more nights than I would care to count as I patrolled the Haven.
To ease any unconscious worry, I joked with Barbara that I'd start sticking my gut out around her and making fun of Catholics in order to ward her off.
She laughed. On the outside.
During several of our chance encounters since her return to Gotham nearly a year earlier, I had an uneasy feeling that Huntress had finally put two and two together. Never a true detective, it didn't take much to recognize my face after it had been plastered on the newspapers and magazines following the shootout. That and she also knew what Barbara looked like…
I had sat down with Barbara in March to voice my concerns and was pleased to hear that she also shared them. We both agreed to feel her out for a while before confronting her on the subject. We also felt that it was best to limit our public interaction with Tim and Cass until our investigation was completed.
The case was closed Christmas Eve.
I had found her on the rooftop of a community center, watching as a line of shivering forms made their way in to the soup kitchen for a warm meal and a place to sleep for the night. A perfect Christmas gift for those trying to survive on the streets of Gotham. I had made the comment that we should hit up the orphanage next, maybe get a chance to spread some holiday cheer amongst the little ones.
She had replied, "Not a bad idea, considering we're both orphans."
Having rarely been confronted with another person learning my identity, I brushed it off at first. She was quick to say that there was no mistaking Dick Grayson, even before he managed to become a hero cop in a hateful city. Without any prompting, Huntress continued to say that she was quick to place Bruce as the former Batman and Barbara as the former Batgirl but that she was still uncertain as to the faces were behind the masks of the current ones. I had expected her to ask me to tell her but was surprised when she said,
"I don't know who they are and God help me, I hope I never do."
"Why's that?" I asked, my mouth uttering the words on its own accord.
"Knowing there is an actual person, a son or a daughter or even a father behind a mask… It's a distraction I can't afford."
Maybe she had changed after all.
I dashed down the corridor with two seconds to spare, grinning as Barbara glared, "We still have to pick up my father."
"Babs, you can't be late to a New Year's party, it doesn't really start until midnight."
Her features softened as she looked me over. She beckoned my closer with her forefinger and as I bent over, I wondered if she was going to slap me. Thankfully, she only wiped a smudge of Colgate Super Whitening off of my chin.
Just as I reached for my wool coat hanging off of the coat rack, Barbara's cell phone rang. She answered on the second ring after fishing it out of her purse. With the chance of having a least two more minutes to get ready, I raced back to the bedroom, musing my hair with a palm full of gel. When Barbara had not called after me, I then proceeded to hit myself up with another spritz of cologne.
I made my way back down the hall in a far more leisurely pace. Barbara was just returning her phone when I paused before her, "Ready to go?"
She nodded, "Yep."
As we made our way into the outer corridor towards the elevator, I let my curiosity ask, "Who was it?"
"Oh, Dad. He's going to drive up a little later with Will and the girls. Said he didn't want to keep us since he wasn't ready yet."
It was nearly quarter after eight and I knew for a fact he had been home since a little after six after I had called in to see how things had gone that day. He had replied in a far too Bruce-like manner, "Fine."
We made good time to Bristol, mostly because most Gothamites went into the city for New Year's rather than celebrating it in estate country. I had celebrated in the city once with Wally and Roy and was quick to see why Bruce deemed the holiday as a crime fighter's worst nightmare. Not only did you have to deal with the regular sort of criminals but you had a few ten thousand drunkards to spice up the night. While Roy and Wally had been screaming along wit the countdown, I had managed to slip out unnoticed to knock out a few unsavory characters before making my way back to yell out, "Two, one… Happy New Year!"
Upon arriving at the Manor, I already spotted a few familiar vehicles parked in front of the garage. Tim's new pimped out Honda that his father had gotten him for his birthday that year and Will's hybrid SUV in addition to Bruce's Jag. As we pulled up and parked, I was about to ask why it was out when Barbara offered, "Lois and Clark flew in this evening, must be Lois wanted to be picked up in style."
"Wait, flew in as in 'please put your trays in the upright position' or flew in as in 'sorry about the bugs, sweetie, I'll go to a higher elevation' ?"
She smiled at me, "You'll have to ask them."
As we made our way into the house, I offered to check in the kitchen with Alfred and suggested that Barbara greet our host and hostess. She smiled again and shook her head, saying I needed to leave something for the rest of them to eat later on.
Following a collection of heavenly aromas, I found Alfred arranging miniature crab cakes on a tray. Without looking up at my silent entrance, he greeted me with, "I believe there is a platter of crab stuffed mushrooms on the far counter in need of test testing, Master Dick."
"Figured it was the least I could do to help out," I replied, spotting my favorite treat. I popped three in my mouth before chewing thoroughly and swallowing. "Perfection. But just to be on the safe side…"
"Ahem," Alfred cleared his throat.
"Just kidding, Al. Where are we setting up shop?"
After placing the last crab cake perfectly in the center of its kin, Alfred responded, "The dining room has been organized into a buffet, sir… But these are for the den," he gestured to the trays lined up beside my mushrooms, "And those will be for the children's party in the entertainment room," he then pointed to the trays and platters on the opposite counter.
I took the platter of stuffed mushrooms and then selected another of baked filo dough cups filled with romaine lettuce and what appeared to be a Caesar dressing, "Consider the children fed."
On my way to the kids party, I sampled another two mushrooms and one of the filo salad cups. Before passing into the room, I rearranged them slightly to hide my gluttony. Walking into the entertainment room, I was surprised to see it one piece. Nearly a dozen of Mattie's friends were spaced throughout the room chatting excitedly as most pre-adolescents did at a party. The only thing that stood out was the tall, dark haired man chatting with Terry.
As I approached with food, several of the guests closed in on me and before I could set the tray down with the others it was half empty. Mattie waited for her friends to fill up before she walked over to me, "Guys, this is my older brother, Dick, the one I was telling you about."
A boy with closely cropped and overly gelled black hair smirked, "Your name is Dick?"
Before I could explain or even defend myself, Mattie spoke up, "A long time ago it was short for Richard."
With my self-esteem plummeting, I watched as a few of the kids walked away snickering my name again. As much as I wanted to make a speedy exit from the lion's den, I spotted Terry and the older gentleman approaching.
Once again, Mattie was quick to be the proper hostess, "This is Terry's dad, Tom. Mr. M this is Dick."
Mr. Miller offered a fairly calloused palm for me to shake, and I suddenly wondered what activity left the bookworm's hands so rough. I found myself saying, "Glad to finally meet you… you know we're having a grown up version of this down the hall, if you don't have any plans you're more than welcome to stay."
He smiled softly and adjusted his glasses before replying, "I'd love to but I have to drop off my oldest at a party yet and I have three classes worth of lectures to prepare for next semester."
Terry glanced up at his father, "You don't have to work all the time, Dad."
I found myself thinking that someone had to pull in the additional income that his late wife no longer provided…
Guilt filling me, I walked Miller to the door after he said good-bye to his son. As we made it to the front steps, he paused and glanced back at me, "I want to thank you… and Bruce and Selina too… It's been a rough few years for him… But whenever he comes to visit Mattie… he seems like he doesn't have a care in the world." He pulled his wool coat tighter around his lender form, "I guess that's what best friends are for."
The excitement I had been filled with upon arriving at Wayne Manor not twenty minutes earlier had been nearly depleted. As I finally made it to the adult party, I shuffled over to where Barbara was sitting on one of the big leather couches and sighed. She set her glass of wine down and asked "What happened?"
"Those kids are mean… They picked on my name… and didn't even say thank you when I brought them food…"
She reached over and patted my head, "There, there. I told you not to go in there didn't I?"
I pouted and offered a slight nod.
"Next time you'll listen, won't you?"
A bigger pout and a slighter nod.
"Here, have some of these," she offered a small plate of Alfred's divine miniature stuffed manicotti, "They'll make you feel better."
^V^
"I'll have another Stoli, while you're up!" Lois called out to her husband as he rose from the couch. I thought to myself that the five tumblers of vodka she had already consumed had robbed her of the knowledge that her husband had super-hearing.
Clark sighed and bypassed his original course of the little buffet table and proceeded to the small bar that Tim and Cass had arranged shortly before the guests had arrived. They both had been at the Manor since a little after six that evening, Cass to play with Nathan and Mattie.
Tim to play with Bruce. Or at least his mind.
An unknown villain had made Gotham his home since December first, leaving his naked victim on the steps of the courthouse with a printed sheet declaring that "the defendant, hereby charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery and resisting arrest, has been judged, by his peers, to be guilty." Four more similar bodies had been delivered in the same manner, each with their identity and supposed crimes listed in detail, each to various official buildings around the city.
Right away, Two-Face's history with justice had made him the initial suspect despite the fact that he had been behind the glass walls of Arkham Asylum since Bruce had put him there shortly after he took the cowl back from Dick. When Tim paid a visit to Arkham to interrogate Harvey, he was welcomed with twenty-four hour surveillance tapes showing that Harvey had been in Arkham every minute since he had been incarcerated. No visitors outside from his lawyer, mail that was scanned and read and printed before being handed over and no phone calls.
And a stern refusal of the head administrator to have Batman harassing one of his model inmates.
Not letting a Ph.D. in psychology stop him, Batman quickly gained access to the maximum security wing as he had when there had been an escape scare that had panned out to only be Harley wanting alone time with the Joker. His midnight visitor didn't surprise Harvey in the least but he had evidence backing up a solid alibi. Feeling defeated in not getting the truth out of Harvey, Tim had reported back to Bruce the night after the first body had been found.
After tucking the kids in, I had made my way down to the Cave just in time to hear Bruce offer a few words of encouragement to his young protégé, "Perhaps you did get the truth from him… The basis for these crimes do cry out Two-Face… but then again the showiness indicates someone who doesn't really care about right or wrong… and in the end that was what Two-Face always reflected back on, albeit not in the same way that we see right and wrong. A different kind of justice."
When Bruce realized I was listening, his tone shifted immediately to a gruff, "But I certainly wouldn't let him off the hook. Not yet."
A month later and still no solid evidence. And with the bodies piling up, the alliance between the DA, the commissioner and the Batman was somewhat tense but still moving forward.
I couldn't help but to think back on the days when a similar tension was present for a very similar reason, as the Holiday killer wreaked havoc on Gotham as well as it's protectors.
The good old days.
Bruce's hand touched my leg gently and I looked over to him, trying to put away the headlines of Gotham Gazette's both past and present. He offered a slight smirk before asking, "Would you like another drink?"
I glanced at the near empty glass of wine in my hand, of which had been the fourth he had volunteered to get me. After smiling at him, I replied, "Trying to get me drunk?"
"Never," he smiled back briefly but there was a twinge at the corner of his left eye that told me his smile was strictly for show.
Despite having been on medication for his cluster headaches for several months, he still suffered through the cycles nearly once a month. He dutifully refrained from complaining but the tension he kept inside was certain to reach a boiling point. Whenever I questioned him about the more invasive procedures to help relieve the pain, he'd list off reasons why the risk wasn't worth the benefits.
Just before Christmas he had the latest cycle and we fell into a fairly heated discussion about it. When he had yelled at me in a fairly Bat-like manner I had stormed out of his study and headed for the den where our children were decorating. After practicing a few verses, I sent them in on him singing at the top of their lungs, "Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la la la la la la la la la la!"
Payback was in fact a bitch.
In the holiday week that followed, I let him suffer in silence. Even though the pained look on his face while the kids, both old and young, opened their gifts Christmas morning urged me to knock him unconscious and send him to the nearest hospital for treatment. Luckily the cycle came to a close three days before New Year's Eve. Certainly a house full of guests, both old and young, would have sent him over the edge.
As Clark tried to figure out how to water down straight vodka in order to keep his wife's BAL from rising any higher, I scanned the room briefly. Jim and Will were chatting with Dick and Tim while Barbara sat by herself on the far couch. I leaned over and kissed Bruce's cheek before setting a hand on his thigh, "Meet me at midnight upstairs for a New Year's kiss."
Before he could reply, I rose from the couch and made my way over to Barbara. She seemed surprised as I sat down beside her. I asked, "Long day?"
"Long night, rather. We had another guilty victim last night… This time it was one of the generals for Pasqualle's old ring."
I watched from across the room as Jim left Dick to sit with Bruce, "Well, that's a loss."
She hesitated, "True… But he served ten years after the bust… He's been a stellar parolee… It's almost a shame this guy couldn't have gone after any other of Gotham's scumbags."
"Any links yet?"
Barbara shook her head and looked at the plate of appetizers in her lap, "Tim thinks this guy has watched V For Vendetta one too many times."
"And my darling husband?"
"He thinks Tim shouldn't profile criminals based on comic book movies." Barbara laughed but just as I had seen with Bruce a moment earlier, there was a certain degree of falseness to her glee. I was about to ask about Jim when she cursed lowly. Without asking, I followed her intent gaze towards the massive windows that encompassed the front of the room. It offered a gorgeous view of the city at night, twinkling happily from fourteen miles away.
It also showed the Bat-signal whenever it seared the night sky.
When I looked up again, Dick had disappeared and Will was staring in wonderment out the window. The port he'd been sampling allowed the volume of his voice to rise slightly above a mutter, "I can't imagine that's any cheaper than a cell phone or a pager…"
Looking back to Barbara, I asked, "Aren't you going to leave?"
She rolled her eyes and offered a true smile, "And miss that champagne at midnight, hell no…" she paused and looked over as her father chatted with Bruce, "Do you think it will work?"
We watched on as Tim tiptoed behind the couch Bruce and Jim were sharing. He flashed a quick smile before making it to the door without notice.
"Hopefully… At least for a little while anyway. We got him to sit on the couch facing away from the windows… Your Dad has him by the ear… And hopefully Alfred will bring Nathan down for a faux tantrum before he notices it."
"Good thing we planned ahead."
I smiled; thinking how earlier in the day Barbara and I had schemed over the phone a number of ways to make sure Bruce did not interrupt Mattie's party. As much as she loved her father, she had been adamant that he wasn't allowed and if he did barge in, it would ruin her life. Knowing that New Year's always seemed to require the use of the Bat-Signal to call in the city's guardians, the plan to prevent Bruce from realizing everyone had left for Gotham, namely Chaperone Cassandra, had been most important.
As Bruce looked over at me and smirked softly, I thought to myself, So far, so good.
Lois hiccupped before saying, "Almost midnight, are we converging the two parties? Seems to me this one shrank…"
Damn Tim for putting out the port.
Bruce glanced up, ignoring Jim as he tried to change the topic back to his thoughts on the Judgement case. He quickly scanned the room, his eyes locking on the massive window. I knew we should have closed the black out drapes but Alfred wanted everyone to see the city skyline…
"Where's Tim and Dick?"
Barbara spoke, ever the creative one, "Oh, Dick went to see if Alfred had any more mushrooms and I think Tim is using the restroom."
A good cover seeing how the only person in the room who didn't know the truth was well on his way to drunk town.
Lois giggled as Clark sighed, looking at a pager-like device at his belt while he was still stirring vodka with water. He let the glass be and looked over his shoulder, "Bruce, it looks like the chief wants me to get down to the city to get a few interviews in after the ball drops, you mind if Lois stays the night?"
Distracted for a moment, Bruce nodded, "Of course, I'll have Alfred set her up in a guest room."
We watched on as he kissed his wife's brow and pleaded quietly to behave. She replied, less quietly, "Oh sometimes you have to live a little, Smallville," before she leaned forward on the couch and smack his buns of steel.
"I'll drink to that one, Lois," I replied, raising what was left of my wine.
Regaining focus, Bruce asked, "What about Cassandra?"
After licking my lower lip clean of red wine, I looked to Barbara. She looked right back at me before turning to Bruce, "Oh, I think she went to lay down. Pretty long day at work."
"So that means the kids are by themselves, right?" Will deduced, an odd clarity coming through the inebriated former police detective's voice.
"Right," I shrugged.
"So… but… the kids are alone then…" Bruce paused before leaping from the couch, racing for the door crying, "The kids are alone!"
^V^
Peering through the open doorway, I spotted Cass sitting with Mattie and a few girls I didn't recognize. Quite honestly, I hadn't been to many of her social events since her horrific sixth birthday party where I had been turned into a snowman. Even as Batman, I was still wary of the overwhelming power of a group of spoiled children…
"Psst."
Cass looked up and smiled before leaving her pack of young ladies. When she was within a foot of me, she asked, "What's up?"
"Signal. You coming?"
She glanced over her slender shoulder before replying, "Sure, let me just…" I watched on as she walked back and spoke to Mattie, "Tim and I are going to go for a little bit but I'll be back later."
Two of the girls started giggling and another snickered before saying "Oooo-oooo."
She defended herself, "It's not like that, I'm just going to go check out the other party for a bit."
A few of the boys looked over at me and I nodded as Cass glanced over as well, "Right, it's not like that…" when she looked away, their pre-pubescent eyes were still on me and I nodded before mouthing silently, "Oh yeah." Terry, who had become a staple in Wayne Manor in the last few years, laughed out loud while the other boys chuckled quietly.
Cass grabbed a wool coat off of one of the couches and approached me again, "I saw that. Ass," she tried to keep a straight face.
Before closing the door, I winked at the boys again before saying, "Well, I see your ass, too," which was followed another roar of laughter, much louder than the former.
We were a few yards down the corridor when she asked, "Anything?"
"No, Signal just went up, probably the Commish wants a pow wow about last night." We made it to the study with long, quick strides and after I opened the clock entrances, she darted passed me, crying out, "Race you!"
Although she had a slight lead, I managed to catch her at the bottom of the granite steps and we were neck and neck to the costume vault. I tried to trip her on the way in, but she lashed out with a flat palm and smacked me on the cheek much harder than a love tap would ever be classified as.
Disrobing feverishly, we quickly went about suiting up and stocking utility belts. I had my leggings, boots and gloves on and she had on her tunic and gloves when Dick walked in, already in his guise. We paused as he looked over the chaotic scene before him, "You two… are so… weird"
Cass chucked one of her discarded dress shoes at him, "Get out, perv."
He caught the shoe without looking, "Sure thing," he replied before turning, "Chicken legs."
The second shoe caught him right between his buttocks, causing him to hop a step, "What's with your girl hitting my ass, lately?"
"Big target," I replied as I pulled on the Dragon Armor chest plate.
He paused before turning back to face the open vault entrance, "After we see the Commissioner, I am totally pummeling you with a snow ball."
"Oh it's on," I smirked before pulling my tunic on over my body armor.
Dick put on his Nightwing mask, activating the lenses before replying, "Like the break of dawn!"
Cassandra, fully garbed and ready walked passed me, out of the vault and towards one of the Bat-cycles, muttering, "Idiots."
Despite the light snow, the ride into the city was fairly easy. Nightwing opted to ride with me in the Mobile while Batgirl had gone ahead on her own. Even in the chilly weather, she still loved a cycle more than the warm safety of a car. We made it Tri-Town less than thirty minutes after the signal had first seared the sky. On the way, Nightwing had checked all o f the police lines but nothing major was being broadcasted. Thus either this was a private consultation with the Commissioner or someone else had flipped the switch…
I opted to go alone and have Batgirl and Nightwing ready if anything unsavory were to take place. With a single shot, I landed a grapple on one of the larger gargoyles before activating the draw mechanism to pull myself up to the rooftop. On the side of caution, I chose to stop at the last story window ledge in order to get a look before landing into unknown water.
There was no sign of the Commissioner but rather the shivering camel hair coat wearing form of District Attorney Bryce. Deciding it was safe, I landed soundlessly on the roof before clearing my throat.
Unlike Kelsey or even Gordon, Bryce didn't jerk or swear at the shock. Instead, he turned around and offered a weak smile. "Happy new year."
I glanced over my shoulder to the Clocktower, "Almost."
"Kelsey had planned on meeting me up here but the mayor is force feeding her egg nog up at his mansion."
Had I still been Robin, I would have said, "It was good of you to hit the signal, we'll do what we can to save her."
But I wasn't, so I didn't.
The rooftop was nearly silent aside from the faint cheers of those celebrating down below.
"Special Crimes has this whack job Bennett running the Judgement murders now… He's trying to convince everyone on the case that you should be a prime suspect."
Not entirely surprising. Raymond Bennett had been with GCPD since before I had first donned green tights. Bruce had never had any positive interactions with the man, mostly because of Bennett's strong anti-vigilante policy. I recalled a string of triple homicides by Mr. Zsasz shortly after I had started. Batman had told me to stay back as he had approached the crime scene, leaving me on a fire escape while he broke in the window. Montoya had been present, talking notes and sketches of the bodies and had paid no mind to the dark looming figure that was carefully examining evidence.
Bennett had suddenly entered the room and drew his gun, quickly taking aim at Batman's head. Before Montoya could respond, Batman had already taken the defense and thrown a batarang that stunned Bennett's gun hand. When the barely injured detective started crying out charges of assaulting an officer and demanding the arrest of his assailant, Commissioner Gordon had passed into the room. After a brief reprimand of his detective, Gordon had ordered him off the case and out of the apartment building.
If I recalled correctly, some of the crime scene crew had laughed as he had passed.
"I wanted to let you know before it got to the papers. I'll knock him down as many pegs as I can but with his solve rate it'll be tricky. Maybe I can get Kelsey to reassign him--."
"I'll talk to him."
Bryce nodded, "I suppose it would be best coming from you. Might make a stronger impression than I ever could, that's for sure…"
Not really too pleased I had been called away from the Manor for a social visit, I asked quietly, "Anything else?"
After a sigh, Bryce shook his head, "No… Wait, yes…"
I watched on as he returned to the Bat Signal, leaving the bright beam of light on to sear the cloudy sky. He bent over at the waist and picked up a small wrapped package before walking back towards me.
"As stupid as it may be, my wife wanted me to give this to you… She… We want you to know how much we appreciate you… what you do, rather."
He proffered the green and red gift and I hesitated before taking it from him, wondering just how many late Christmas gifts Bruce ever received in the mask…
"When we first met… After you left anyway, I told Nigthwing how you had saved my wife and I a few years ago from a mugger. I know you don't remember, probably not anything that is really that important to you compared to everything else you do but…" he lost his words and suddenly looked like an embarrassed child.
"Every life saved is important, Bryce. By my hand or anyone else's."
"Dana… My wife… She says that to me whenever I feel like I haven't accomplished anything with a case but... But you, you save people. Same with her, she's a doctor working in the inner city. We joke that we should have a family business, she puts the victims back together and I put the criminals behind bars…"
We listened once more as the cheering increased below to a monotonous count down. I glanced again at the Clocktower just as it struck midnight. Not a moment later, fireworks filled the night sky and the cheers below tripled in volume.
"Happy new year, Bryce," I said before jumping off of the rooftop.
Before meeting back up with Nightwing and Batgirl, I found recluse on the roof of the Piedmont Bank and opened the small box. A handwritten note sat atop the tissue paper and I read silently: Batman – Tim wanted to keep these as souvenirs from Bruce Wayne's birthday party but I thought you might want to put them to better use. Happy Holidays and best wishes for a peaceful new year– Dana (and Tim!)
Beneath the tissue paper was a pair of Batarangs, an unused gas pellet and a white linen napkin that held part of my left boot print.
^V^
It was one thing for Mattie and a few of her girlfriends to be alone for a party in my house.
It was an entirely different matter for Mattie and a few of her girlfriends to be alone for a party in my house with boys.
As I had practically ran out the room, Selina had called after me to let the kids be. I had growled something undecipherable back to her about Spin the Bottle and Lois had laughed, "I want to play!"
Just as I turned down the corridor towards the entertainment room where uncertain chaos was no doubt taking place, I spotted a still form between me and the door I had all intentions of barging through, despite my daughter's pleadings.
"If you take one more step Master Bruce--."
"Alfred, not now."
"I beg your pardon, sir, but Miss Mattie as well as Ms. Selina requested I take any necessary actions to prevent unlawful intrusion of that room."
I glared at him, "Unlawful intrusion… this is my--."
The soft sound of footsteps on carpet interrupted me
As I turned, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Clark waiting to pin me to the ground so that Alfred would be able to tranquilize me and lock me in the coat closet so that my daughter's guests could enjoy the remainder of the evening without interruption.
Instead, Jim Gordon stood mere yards down the hall, "Selina said I should shoot out your kneecaps if you open that door… Or at least one of them."
"Did she."
He smirked, causing his gray moustache to twitch, "Good thing the Beretta's in the car."
Jim looked beyond me and offered a curt nod to Alfred. When I looked at him as well, Alfred sighed in defeat, "I only ask that you knock first, sir."
With permission, and caution seeing how I was unsure whether or not Alfred was armed, I knocked three times on the door before hearing laughter and my daughter's voice, "Come in!"
The room wasn't in pieces. There were no signs of sexual misconduct. There wasn't even a stray piece of popcorn or cracker on the floor. The kids were lounging about on the chairs watching the scene of downtown Gotham on the big screen, wearing party hats and practicing with a variety of noisemakers. A glance at the screen showed it to be the final ten seconds of the year.
Mattie glanced back at me, snuggled in one of the leather recliners with Terry. She waved as I called out, "Happy new year, kitten!"
"Happy new year, Dad!"
I looked back to Alfred as the kids counted down loudly and almost in unison. Maybe Selina was right, maybe I was overreacting to Mattie growing up. Maybe all these years spent agonizing over her future as a young woman had been wasted. Maybe I should be cherishing these moments rather than dreading them...
As they reached one and proceeded to jump up and down on thousands of dollars worth of furniture, I looked back to my daughter with a smile on my face.
One that quickly vanished when I spotted her leaning towards Terry, lips pursed…
As every muscle in my body lit afire, Alfred stepped forward and closed the door in my face. As I reached for the doorknob, Jim spoke again, "Bruce." My heart rate had doubled in the last moment but somehow I managed to keep my cool as I looked in his direction. He continued, "Let's go for a walk."
Despite the fact that I knew Mattie's party had indeed taken the turn I had dreaded, I found myself walking the stone path that surrounded Wayne Manor rather than in my rightful place.
Namely, the entertainment den warding vile young boys away from my daughter with two handfuls of recently sharpened Batarangs.
With the temperature easily below freezing and my mind definitively elsewhere, I wanted to ask Jim why he deemed it necessary to continue our chat from earlier outside. However, I had all the respect in the world for him and knew when he wanted me to know, he would.
"Tough couple of years," he finally said as we neared the first complete lap.
"I suppose."
"I suppose… they'll only get tougher." I was about to ask how he had handled Barbara's adolescence when he continued, "Now, I don't want you to get the way you do about things… and I especially don't want you to take this out on Selina because she is at no fault for telling me."
The sound of our feet crunching the snow stopped as I turned towards him, doing my best not to look at him with a glare, "For telling you what?"
"She only did so because of what I told her--."
"For telling you what, Jim?"
He paused and let out a puff of air from his lips after clearing his throat, "The headaches. She told me about the headaches."
Although I had not expressly told Selina not to tell anyone, I felt that she would have kept it to herself out of her respect for me. Obviously, I was mistaken.
Something must have changed in my face for he continued, "I told you not to get angry with her, it's been three seconds and I can already see it in your eyes. Life's too short to be angry with those you love, you of all people should know better."
Jim and I had always been fairly frank with one another, especially after he had learned of my secret identity. But the words he had just uttered hit somewhere deep in my body between my heart and my stomach.
"Now, before I was interrupted… she only told me because of what I told her."
An all too familiar silence fell between us and I found my heart rate rising again.
"I have lung cancer, Bruce."
Although hundreds of questions flooded my mind, I found myself unable to utter a single word, giving him all the time in the world to answer what I could not ask.
"It's the non-small cell type… Adenocarcinoma… Stage one so at least we caught it early enough to do something about it. I've done chemo once now but I'll be starting radiation next week…"
I finally managed, "When did you…"
"Last October. Right about when Selina found out about your headaches…" I opened my mouth but he interrupted me, "And don't you dare lecture me about keeping secrets from you. It's about time I finally knew something you didn't."
Although he smirked, I found myself barely able to breathe.
He rubbed his hands together, "I guess all those times you said I should quit smoking…"
"Jim, if there's anything I can do to help…"
Jim nodded before looking into my eyes, "There is, actually. I want you to get radiation treatment for your headaches. Selina says you're popping pills and there's no change… You need to take care of yourself, Bruce. For her. For the kids. You may not think it, but there are people who still need your help."
He left me standing in the cold without saying another word.
It took another hour to see to it that all of the party guests were settled in for the evening. Jim took Will home but the girls chose to spend the night. Lois was in the guest room on the second floor as were the boys from Mattie's party. I set a motion sensor on the doorknob just to be safe. The girls all chose to sleep in Mattie's room, of which I also set up with a sensor.
I made it to the master bedroom at ten after one. Selina was laying on the bed, facing away from the door, still dressed in her dark slacks and blouse. When I paused at the dresser to disrobe, she commented, "I said midnight."
"Sorry," no sign of humor in my voice.
As I unbuttoned my shirt, I heard her rise from the bed. When I went to remove it, her arms snaked around my waist and I felt her face press against my shoulder. After turning, she kept me in an embrace but looked up at me.
The mascara that she had laboriously applied earlier that evening had run down her cheeks along with a number of tears. Before I could ask what was wrong, she said, "Barbara told me… that Jim was going to tell you…"
Without a thought, I wrapped my arms around her as well, letting her rub her black streaked face over my Armani dress shirt. Eventually, she pulled back and looked up at me again, "I'm so sorry, Bruce, I know…" her breath caught suddenly.
"How much he means to me," I finished for her.
Her smile came across sad but it was still a smile. Selina let out a gush of air and began wiping her face, "God, I must look awful…"
Raising my hands, I cupped her face in them, tilting her head to me slightly.
Life's too short to be angry with those you love…
I pressed my lips to hers, with no intention of removing them.
…you of all people should know better.
^V^