Christmas with Bruce

A/N: Well this is more of a filler chappie :D I realized how long I had waited to update D: So I sat myself down and shut the door to my room and wrote this with the sound of rain outside which certainly helped. Hope you guys enjoy, the next one will feature the Joker for those of you who have been wanting to read more chapters with him :D Enjoy!

Vento: Cookies...a lot of cookies and coffee, that's the secret to writing this story :D

Random Person 94: He knows it was someone else. And yes...their confrontation shall be epic. XD

Kitkat: Thank you! I really try to keep everyone in character :D

SuperheroAnimeGeek: (runs to the airport with you) I couldnt agree more, I would hate to live in Gotham with the Joker loose XD

Zeny: They'll get what they deserve, dont worry ;D

TheCleverGirl: Yes...MonicaxJoker will live on! XD You'll get to see a bit of that in the next chapter :D

Erik-is-my-angel1234: It's official, I'm a Bane lover XD and thank you for reviewing!

Jokerlover: He does have that weird way of showing he cares doesn't he? :D

allthelovers: Trust me, I would HATE to be those three with Bruce, Bane, and the Joker after them at the same time. XD

LivinJgrl123: Sorry for the wait! Dont worry, those three will certainly pay for what they did to her, one way or another, they'll pay. :D

The Mourning Dragon: Indeed, it does. XD

Ravenclaw992: Several people, actually :D Thanks for reviewing!

: Well it wasnt as quick as I wanted to update but here it is!

Blood Alchemist23: Why, thank you. :D

lynnieloo25: Im honored to have someone look forward to my updates :D It makes me feel like someone out there actually likes this story XD

LaurenvBelladonna: I suppose it will get rather ugly when the time comes and she has to choose, because lets be honest: Joker is rather unpredicatable and dangerous with his pair of matching scars and garish makeup with a rather interesting personality. Bruce/Batman has the looks and the money. He's the safer choice out of the two and certainly the more stable one XD They're completely different! Ah, the horror of choosing! :D

Alfred watched as Monica's hand danced across the paper from her sketchbook. Her brow was furrowed in concentration; the butler wondered where her sudden urge to draw had come from. He placed the cup of coffee next to her after receiving a hushed thank you from her.

Monica stared down at the portrait she was currently working on; she closed her eyes trying to remember what the man looked like. She felt her heart sink upon remembering that night; she knew it was something she had to do, however. Her mind wouldn't let her rest until she knew those bastards had been caught. She certainly didn't want any other woman to suffer what she had gone through, it was the only thing that drove her to finish.

"I don't believe I have ever seen you draw, Miss Van Buren," Alfred's voice commented from behind. Monica turned her head to look at him slightly, pausing from the drawing in front of her.

"It's been a while, Alfred," she replied grabbing the eraser beside her. She carefully brushed it over the man's eyes. Darker, her mind kept telling her they had been a shade darker. She replaced her pencil with another that had been resting on a nearby table and used it to fill in the white space she had left behind.

"I must admit it is a rather disturbing image," the butler continued noticing the Swastika on the man's neck. He noted the careful attention to detail that Monica was applying to everything. Her periodic pauses made Alfred wonder is she was trying to recall what the man looked like.

"It's for a client," Monica lied, not wishing to alarm the butler. She wasn't about to go and tell him it was one of the men who raped her. "I get strange requests now and then."

Alfred nodded in understanding before checking the clock behind him. He didn't know why Bruce was taking so long in returning from the city.

Especially on a day like this.

Monica closed her eyes once more trying to block out everything around her. She forced herself to remember, she had to if she wanted to end her suffering. The nightmares that kept her up at night had to be put to a stop. Her body had already started to lose more weight, she simply couldn't keep anything down when the same memories from before replayed in her mind. The dark circles beneath her eyes disturbed her; she hated herself for neglecting her sleep that severely.

She yawned silently and opened her eyes when she recalled the small detail she had been trying to remember. She paused after she had applied it and held her sketchbook out in front of her. It was perfect.

No.

Monica corrected herself immediately. It was far from perfect, the only feelings the portrait evoked from her were utter sickness and disgust. She snapped the cover of it shut and placed it on the table before her.

After a month she had finally finished.

She had managed to draw up the three men despite all of the trips she had done to the bathroom whenever she felt the need to throw up. It had taken its toll on her; she was merely content with having finished such an exhausting task.

Alfred turned to look at her when he noticed her rise from the leather sofa she had been resting on. He had to stop himself from smiling when he looked at the fur that draped over her shoulders and came down between her arms.

"Master Bruce informed me the other day that you remind him of royalty whenever you walk around dressed like that," the butler informed Monica after she gave him a questioning glace. She had to resist the urge to snort at the comment, royalty?

She was far from royalty.

"Alfred, I am rather petty when compared to Bruce, I cannot fathom what he was thinking when he thought of that particular resemblance," Monica laughed lightly taking a seat at the kitchen counter to converse more easily with the butler. He turned to look at her before his brow quirked upwards.

"You do not need riches to be considered royalty, Miss Van Buren," Alfred commented turning towards the door when he heard it open. The harsh winter air that howled outside was heard briefly by the pair at the kitchen before the door closed.

"Master Wayne, I was beginning to worry," Alfred told the man who entered the kitchen in a rush. Monica turned to look at the billionaire who was trying to shake the snow out of his hair with one hand while he balanced a package on the other.

"I'll be down shortly," Bruce replied in a rush disappearing from the room rapidly. Monica turned to look at Alfred with a worried expression.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked with concern trying to recall if she had said anything to upset Bruce. He hadn't even looked at her when he came in, he merely spoke to Alfred and left.

"I can assure you, Miss Van Buren," Alfred started, "that had nothing to do with you." Monica uttered a sigh of relief upon hearing the butler. For once she wasn't to blame for something that had gone wrong.

Before she could further ponder on the matter Bruce reappeared dressed in yet another expensive suit. Monica turned away from him missing the small box in his hands. Alfred smiled unable to stop himself from giving the surprise away.

Bruce reached over Monica's form and placed the black box in front of her. She turned to look at him with surprise upon receiving something from the billionaire. A red ribbon had been hastily wrapped around the top of it which caught Monica's curiosity.

"Why?" she asked still confused as Bruce's expression turned into one of shock. He looked at Alfred with confusion; the butler merely nodded back knowing something like that was bound to happen.

"It's Christmas eve," Bruce replied unsure of whether Monica knew, "I won't be here for the most part of the night, I thought I would give you this before I left."

Monica jumped back in horror when the box shifted and a whine reached her ears. She shot out of her seat in fear and poked the side of it cautiously with a pencil. Bruce had to stop himself from laughing at the expressions she was making.

"What is that?" Monica asked slightly worried poking it again. This time the box moved even more from side to side as if something where in it. More whines followed after she poked it for the final time with her finger.

"It won't open itself," Bruce commented eager to see her reaction. The one he had gotten when she saw the box move had already been priceless. Monica moved forward cautiously and unlaced the ribbon letting it fall to the side.

Her shaking hands opened the box hesitantly. Before she even had a chance to look inside of it something small and furry bounded out of the box with an excited yip. She was completely shocked at the small bundle that jumped into her arms.

Bruce stared at her trying to figure out if she liked her gift. The satisfaction that he got when he noticed her smile made the trouble of getting the animal in her hands worth it.

"Bruce, it's perfect!" Monica exclaimed cuddling with the black pitbull puppy in her arms. The playboy's breath caught in his throat for a brief minute when he noticed the familiar spark in her eyes return. For once they didn't hold sorrow or regret, only utter joy and amusement.

He preferred to see her happy, to see the woman he had known before the incident with Bane. The pain of having to search for the perfect puppy was certainly worth going through when it brought her laughter back. He was capable of buying her an entire litter of them if it meant keeping her smile and her elated spirit.

"Thank you!" she told him as tears of happiness escaped from her eyes. She moved forward and hugged Bruce without even thinking. The playboy tensed upon feeling her so close, he certainly hadn't been prepared for it. He hadn't expected her to want any contact with another man after what had happened weeks ago.

Despite everything he found himself wrapping his arms around her small frame. He held her close needing to feel her against him. The small puppy in between them, however, prevented him from it. Monica pulled away and kissed his cheek before cupping his cheek in her free hand. Bruce was rather surprised upon feeling her touch, he wasn't about to complain either.

"You listened, you didn't have to, but you listened," she told him unable to control her emotions. The fact that he still remembered her request stunned her. She had thought he would have forgotten by now after he had dismissed it so quickly last time.

Bruce leaned into her touch finding everything about her surreal. A few months ago she had been avoiding him and now she was actually making contact with him.

Alfred shook his head in amusement at Bruce's reaction. He looked like a statue in front of Monica, the butler wondered if the playboy had forgotten to breathe.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with me tonight?" Bruce asked as Monica dropped her hand from its previous position. She smiled up at him; Bruce's day was practically made with that simple act.

"I can't," she replied not really wishing to attend the Christmas party Bruce was hosting in Gotham. She really didn't feel like mingling with the aristocrats tonight. Not to mention every time she went to one of those something seemed to go wrong. "Don't come back late," she warned him after Bruce sighed. Without her there he would certainly return earlier, there would be nothing to keep his mind off of the women attending the party.

As soon as he stepped in alone they would probably swarm around him and follow him until he either picked one of them or left. He was dreading the event already without Monica there. Come to think of it her absence would be noted by several aristocrats and the paparazzi. Going suddenly became much more of a bother than he had originally thought. He would need a good excuse for her not being with him.

"Master Wayne, you will be late again if you stay here any longer," Alfred reminded him snapping Bruce out of his thoughts. He would have to come up with an excuse later; he had to get to the party first. "Just like last year," Alfred added making Monica laugh at Bruce's expression. The playboy threw his butler with a warning glance; he obviously hadn't wanted her to find out about his lack of time management.

"I'll be back soon," Bruce told the pair. Alfred merely nodded back in understanding. Monica shifted the puppy onto her other hand before offering him another of her rare smiles. Bruce turned away from them content with her change in moods before heading for the door.

Monica set the puppy down when she heard the door shut behind the playboy. She headed back into the living room while trying to coax the small pitbull to follow her. Much to her surprise the small puppy had been right behind her the whole time. It wobbled from side to side clearly unbalanced but managed to keep up with her by making short little jumps towards her.

The small puppy lost its balance after one of its jumps and fell on its side before rolling over several times on the floor trying to get back up unsuccessfully. Monica had to stop herself from voicing how cute the pitbull was when it continued its battle against the floor beneath it.

"You're going to be the death of me," she commented reaching down and placing it back up onto its feet. The puppy merely whined in response and chewed at her sleeve finding it interesting all of a sudden.

"What am I going to name you," Monica thought out loud wondering whether the puppy was male or female. She picked it up despite its obvious squirming and protests upon being interrupted from its previous chewing session with her sleeve. She nodded in confirmation before setting it down once more.

"Boy," she said with slight happiness, the puppy glanced up at her before sitting sideways and placing its head on her crossed legs. She couldn't stop the sad smile that crossed her lips when she recalled the Rottweilers that she had taken care of a few weeks ago. They had done the same whenever she sat down beside them. Her mind suddenly clicked and she stopped searching for a name. She had the perfect one already.

"Voodoo," she commented making the puppy look up at her and yawn in disinterest. Monica laughed and ran a hand through its soft fur content with her gift from Bruce. "You're name is going to be Voodoo."

"Miss Van Buren, there are some men at the door," Alfred informed her making Monica look up suddenly with confusion apparent in her eyes. "They claim to know you; I will not hesitate to get rid of them if you do not wish to see them."

Monica shook her head at Alfred and rose placing the sleeping pitbull in her arms on the leather couch carefully making sure it hadn't stirred. She walked towards the door with Alfred behind her. She couldn't fathom who would come to Bruce's mansion at this hour, much less to see her. The only people who knew that she was here were Bruce and her brother.

A part of her wanted to turn around and run back into the mansion when her hand wrapped around the doorknob. She scolded herself for being so weak over something so meaningless, she had to start being stronger if she wanted to get anywhere. She breathed out slowly trying to calm her nerves before she opened the door.

She didn't know who they were at first, the sight of the two men standing there in the cold made her want to slam the door in their faces. They certainly didn't look like they were the type to be messed with. It wasn't until she heard one of their voices that she relaxed slightly.

"Hey, babe," the taller one commented. Monica turned to look at him and started to slowly recognize him. That particular tone of voice and his green eyes were enough to make the connection. He was one of the Joker's goons, Grumpy, if she remembered correctly. The only thing that had stumped her was the fact that he wasn't wearing his usual mask.

"God, sorry," she apologized stepping aside, "its freezing outside, come in." She gave Alfred a nod letting him know that she knew them. Well, it wasn't a complete lie, she knew one of them. The second goon that stepping in after Grumpy startled her briefly before she closed the door behind them.

"I will be in the kitchen if you need anything," Alfred informed her. The butler had a feeling that she would want to talk to the pair of men alone. The fact that she had let them in gave Alfred some sort of comfort, she wouldn't have greeted them if she didn't trust them. He merely hoped he wouldn't be needed.

Monica nodded back and watched as the butler left before she entered the living room where the two goons where. She sat down on one of the couches cautiously before the pair sat down on the one opposite from her.

"How did he know I was here?" Monica asked in a hushed voice turning to look at Grumpy. The goon laughed rather carelessly knowing the butler wouldn't hear them. The mansion wasn't built that way, sound didn't carry through easily.

"Darling, he knows everything," he replied in his usual low voice. Monica found it in herself to actually look at him for a second realizing it would probably be the last time she saw him without his mask. Now that she really had a good look at his face she found that he was rather good looking. He had a certain biker look to him that Judas had before; she stopped her thoughts before she went any further. She wouldn't recall him tonight.

Her attention shifted to the goon who sat quite still beside him. The thing that got to her was how young he appeared to be. No older than 17, the fact disturbed her greatly. She didn't know the Joker recruited goons that young. The scars on the boy's hands made Monica wince inwardly, they must have been rather painful when they had been open.

The young goon paid no attention to her; instead he kept his eyes closed and his jaw clenched in control. Monica found herself rather interested in him; he seemed too young to be working with the clown. Surely there had to be a good story behind him. She ignored it when Grumpy elbowed the goon beside him in obvious displeasure.

"The boss wouldn't like it if he saw how you're treating her," Grumpy growled warningly. The other goon's eyes snapped open upon hearing what the older man had just said. Monica saw a brief flash of panic in his eyes before it disappeared as quickly as it came.

She was rather shocked to see his eyes; they resembled those of a cat. She tilted her head in amusement before smiling, contacts. That had to be the explanation behind them, they had to be contacts. She stopped her obvious staring when he shifted. Even then he didn't look up at her.

"Guten abend," the young goon mumbled making Monica tilt her head even more. She had to stop herself from smiling even more at the rather unusual boy. The fact that he had just said 'Good evening' in German lightened her day. It had been a while since she heard her native language.

"You're German?" she asked as the goon looked up briefly at her. He dropped his gaze quickly and shifted once more clearly uncomfortable with having to converse with her. He didn't want to upset the Joker either when they got back and Grumpy informed the clown of his failure to entertain the woman in front of him.

He nodded slightly, "You?"

"Ja," she replied with a smirk catching him off guard. He hadn't expected her to know German. Grumpy merely stared at the young goon next to him expectantly. The other seemed to remember something as he shifted once more and reached inside of his blue hoodie.

Monica wondered if he wasn't cold, the weather was rather nasty and a simple hoodie wouldn't protect him against the cold. She tensed when she saw him pull something out of it. She dropped her head into her hands when she realized what it was.

Could the night possibly hold any more surprises for her?

"It's from the boss," Grumpy explained as the other goon handed off the small bundle of fur to her. Monica took the white pitbull puppy into her hands, its stumpy tail wagged wildly when she placed it on her lap. Its cropped ears twirled around excitedly at every new sound. The fact that it had green eyes made her want to laugh her head off, the puppy reminded her of the clown who had given it to her. "I guess it's his payment for getting us out of the warehouse."

Monica looked at him sharply; Grumpy immediately clenched his jaw understanding her warning. She didn't want to be reminded of her time spent with Bane; he would make a mental note of it.

"We gotta go, we've been wanting to catch the men who did that to you," Grumpy commented standing and stretching. Monica's jaw dropped open when the realization suddenly hit her. All of the reports on the news that she had seen of mob bosses showing up dead on the streets suddenly resurfaced.

"He's responsible for all of those deaths?" Monica asked setting the puppy down beside the black one Bruce had given her. Grumpy turned to look at her briefly noticing that she had just come to that conclusion.

"We haven't found the right people," he replied with a slight smirk, "come on, Blade, we got work to do." The younger goon shot out of the couch instantly upon hearing the man. He moved towards the door followed by Grumpy. Monica paused slightly; they were going to continue killing innocent people until they found the ones that had abused her.

"Wait!" she called after them. Grumpy stopped and turned to look at her questioningly as she grabbed her sketchbook and gave it to him. The goon took it into his hands with a confused look on his expression.

"I managed to draw them up, it'll make it easier on you guys," she explained pointing to the book he held in his hands. Grumpy nodded in understanding before Blade opened the door more than eager to leave the mansion.

"We'll get em' for you, babe," Grumpy told her seriously before turning and closing the door behind her. Monica sunk back into the leather chair and wondered if she had done the right thing. She had basically sentenced three men to their deaths the moment she handed Grumpy the sketchbook. Was that wrong of her?

Did she deserve to decide whether they lived or died? Her conscience started to eat away at her; she had no right to play with people's lives. Then again, she had probably saved a lot of mobsters from their deaths when she narrowed it down to just three. Either way, she couldn't win; she was still to blame for whatever happened next.

She noticed the pair of puppies struggling with each other on the couch. Voodoo nipped at the white one rather ferociously while the other puppy continued to provoke him.

Monica pulled them apart and took the white one into her hands much to Voodoo's dismay. The black puppy pawed at her arm wishing for her attention. She noticed the white pitbull was also male, she smiled at the coincidence.

"Hoodoo," she told the puppy with her smile back in place. She had their names picked out, with that thought she set the white one back down only to find Voodoo ready to pounce on it.

Hoodoo whined pitifully reminding her of a hyena's laughter, perhaps that had gotten the Joker's attention in the first place.

Monica could only wonder.

She sighed before moving forward to pull them apart. Voodoo's golden eyes stared at Hoodoo with a hint of boredom and displeasure. Hoodoo on the other hand stared back provokingly, the puppy kept pawing at the Voodoo even when Monica held them apart by the scruff of their necks.

She sighed and rolled her eyes before realizing the mistake she had made. Perhaps she had named them wrong; their rivalry reminded her of certain pair. Their color schemes and attitudes certainly fit the men she was thinking of.

Monica set hem down away from one another and ran a hand through their fur until they managed to fall asleep beside her. She shook her head in amusement before coming to one conclusion.

"Perhaps I should have named you two Batman and Joker."

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