The sun shone down over the small Spanish Island as Alison stood on the pavement, leaning onto the large, stone railing which looked over the small bay. Everything was still and there wasn't a cloud in sight as she watched the fishing boats move away from their harbour, trying to find food to catch for the locals and tourists who would be dining in the town later on in the evening. Alison sighed once, content with everything as she turned around and looked back at the villa which they were renting out. Well, Rob had bought it and allowed John and Alison to go down for a few weeks whilst he and Annie visited his mother on mainland Spain.
"Daddy!"
Alison stopped looking at the traditional whitewashed building, turning her head to the private pool where the two people were messing around in the water, enjoying the sun in comparison with the cold air of Gotham.
"What?" John asked his daughter innocently as he held her in his arms in the shallow end of the pool, her hands clinging onto his bare neck as he picked her up and out of the water, smirking as he did so.
"John," Alison spoke, moving to the side of the pool, depositing the sun cream she had been holding onto the lounger as she did so. "Be careful with Elizabeth."
"Lizzie loves to be thrown in the water," John said, his eye wide and innocent as Elizabeth laughed loudly in her father's hold and he threw her into the air.
"One...two...three..." he called out in between throwing his daughter into the air and catching her. And on the third one he let her go, throwing her as far into the water as he could do and Alison looked on with an arched brow and sceptical look on her face as Elizabeth laughed and John smirked, swimming down the pool to where Lizzie was emerging from water.
"You two need to be careful," Alison informed the pair of them, folding her arms against the black material of her swimming costume as John rolled his eyes and Elizabeth began to float in the water.
"Mummy needs to relax, doesn't she, Lizzie?" he question his daughter who nodded in agreement with him hastily and Alison sighed once, sitting down on the edge of the pool, allowing her feet to dangle in the cool water.
"Lizzie, sweetie, come and put some more sun cream on. We don't want you burning, do we?" Alison informed her daughter who nodded in agreement, moving to the side of the pool and climbing out from it with ease. She inherited her father's grace; that was for sure. Along with his colour hair and her mother's curls. She had his eyes but she had her stubborn jaw. The six year old really was a mixture of both of them.
"And do you intend to get into this pool?" John asked his wife as he floated in the deep end where she was sat and she shook her head.
"Chlorine isn't good for my hair," she excused herself and John rolled his eyes, moving closer to the side of the pool. "John," she warned him as he neared her and extended his hand. "John, I'm warning you."
"Yeah, yeah," he shrugged off and grabbed onto her hand, hauling her from the side of the pool and underneath the water as she pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling his arms wrap around her waist as she bobbed to the top again and he looked at her with his large grin on his face as she pushed the water droplets from her skin.
"Oh my Gosh, it's cold in here," Alison said and John shrugged.
"You'll warm up," he promised her, his hand resting on her cheek as a loud splash entered the water and they turned to see Lizzie begin to swim up and down the pool.
"She's as fearless as her father," Alison commented and John shook his head gently.
"I didn't do anything fearless," he replied. "I just work in a boys orphanage and help them get onto their feet, remember?"
"I do," Alison mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck as she managed to stand up in the pool. "I'm also glad that you didn't...well...follow my Uncle."
"Hey," John shrugged. "You were right. Risking my life...and not being able to see her grow up...it wasn't worth it."
"And she certainly is growing up, isn't she?"
"I suppose so."
...
"Elizabeth, keep a hold of daddy's hand," Alison implored her daughter who did as she was asked and they crossed the busy road, looking for the local restaurant they had found and loved. It was situated on the beach front and the view was quite something at sunset. The three of them sat down by the beach, glancing at the menu before they settled on the usual and Lizzie began to retell stories to them which they had heard a hundred times before. John often imputed, mainly to be told off for being so silly and not understanding as Alison smiled, holding the glass of wine in her hand as she thought about how they neared the end of their two week vacation.
"Mummy, can I go and look at the sea?" Elizabeth asked as Alison nodded once, not seeing why she needed to go closer to it due to the fact it was only one hundred yards away.
"Go with her and I'll pay the bill," Alison implored her husband who nodded once, kissing her on the top of the head as she finished her wine.
"The bill has already been paid, senorita," Alison was informed as the waiter came over to the table.
"Excuse me?" Alison wondered, the cool breeze setting in as he nodded once and pointed over to the bar where a tall man sat, his eyes dancing over to her table and Alison's mouth hung open.
"That man over there...he pay for it..." the waiter spoke before taking off and Alison watched as he stood up, making his way over to where she sat, a woman watching him as he left the bar, fiddling with pearls around her neck.
"This is either a vivid dream or I'm going crazy," Alison whispered as he took John's empty seat and a smile graced his lips.
"Neither," he assured her. "It is really me."
"How?" she wondered lightly.
"There's always a way," he promised her. "I can't stay for long. I just needed to make sure you were all right."
"It's been six years," she responded to him and he shrugged, undoing another button to the white shirt which he wore.
"I've been travelling," he explained. "I'm not supposed to be here."
"But, you are."
"I am," he agreed. "I see you've had a daughter."
"Yes," Alison nodded as the pair of them looked over to where John and Lizzie stood, John bent down and pointing into the distance. "Elizabeth."
"She's very beautiful."
"We like to think so. Who is with you at the bar?"
"Oh," he said, turning to look back at her as he smiled gently and rubbed the back of his neck. "She's my fiancée."
"You're getting married?"
"We've been engaged for four years. I think it could be a long time before we marry," he replied, smirking down to the table. "You're doing okay for yourself though, aren't you?"
"We're doing fine," she assured him. "We left the cave how it was."
"I see."
"John didn't want to risk it in the end. He said he'd rather live happily and watched Lizzie grow up."
"I cannot blame him for that," he said, his hands held up in surrender as he did so. "I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't think when I left you the coordinates."
"It doesn't matter," Alison shrugged. It did six years ago, but not now. "Why are you here?"
"I realised that you had the right to know that I was alive," Bruce informed her. "I'd have done something earlier but I was-"
"-Travelling," Alison finished off for him and he stood up, his hand stroking her cheek as he did so.
"Look after yourself," he implored her.
"You too, Uncle Bruce." Alison smiled gently, realising he wasn't going to stick around for long. He moved back over to his fiancée, wrapping his arm around her and paying the remainder of his bill before leaving the restaurant. Alison remained sat where she was, watching as John and Elizabeth dashed in between the waves, her laughs moving through the bay as John smiled widely, looking back at Alison for a second as she smirked at him and he nodded once, both of them finally understanding that they were content.
...
A/N: The End! Well, I can't believe that is over with now! I had a lot of fun writing it and I just want to thank every single reviewer who had stuck with it through the past few weeks and to anyone who has read, a big thanks too. So, one last review? Pretty Please?