Author's Note: I still own nothing aside from my OCs. I love reviews and constructive criticism, so if you like what you see please let me know with your review!

Chapter 3

Saturday morning Alex had been up bright and early, bounding onto Beth's bed excited to get a start to their day together. By some miracle she had managed to get him fed and dressed in under an hour and they enjoyed the cool morning air off the water from the deck of the ferry. There had been several small fishing boats on the bay and Alex had begged Beth to pick him up so he could wave to the fishermen along their path. Many of the fisherman had waved back, smiling at Alex's enthusiasm.

The zoo had been quiet for a Saturday and Beth had allowed Alex to drag her along the various paths to discover what animal lay around the next corner. His favorite had been the chimpanzees and their various antics as the little family group interacted with each other. Alex's giggle had been infectious as he watched them play and steal various items from each other before running across their enclosure or swinging along on the ropes. He had even managed to draw the attention of one of the younger chimps while trying to play peekaboo with the curious animal.

On the bus ride back to the port Alex had fallen asleep with his little head resting on Beth's lap. She smiled down at him as she ran her fingers through his blonde curls and a small smile formed on his lips as he dozed. In her darkest moments he had been the one thing that kept her grounded. There had been days when all she could do was take things one step at a time, but Alex's bubbly giggle and bright smile had been a constant reminder to just keep moving forward.

The road she had chosen when she moved to Gotham had not been an easy one. There were fewer reminders of what she had lost when her husband was killed, but it also meant she had left her entire support system behind. Taking care of Alex and her work at the hospital had consumed her, keeping her from succumbing to the darkness. Her son had given her purpose when she thought she was lost.

They were drawing close to the port and Beth shifted slightly to retrieve the ferry tickets from her pocket without disturbing Alex. Looking at the list of departure times printed on the tickets, she felt the color drain from her face when she realized that she had misread them earlier and the boat she had planned to be on had left 20 minutes prior. She had been so distracted by Alex's excitement and impatience to get to the zoo she had never thought to double check the tickets to make sure she had not made an error. With a sigh she grabbed her phone to try to find a restaurant where she could take Alex for a bit to eat while they waited for the next ferry which wouldn't depart for another two hours.

She unlocked the phone as a text message from Bruce arrived, drawing her attention away from her predicament for a moment.

Let me know when you have a moment to talk about tomorrow night.

She sighed slightly, chewing on her bottom lip as tapped back in response, It'll be later tonight. Missed the ferry and stuck in Metropolis for a couple more hours. Will text you when I get home.

Closing the text messaging app she switched over the maps app and began to type in restaurants. Looking at the locations near the peer, she started selecting restaurants trying to narrow down her choices. Another text message drew her attention back to the messaging app though.

I'm in Metropolis wrapping up some work. Want a ride home?

Glancing down at Alex, Beth chewed her lower lip trying to decide the right course of action. On one hand she could refuse in favor of seeing how things played out with Bruce and subject Alex to two hours of waiting for the ferry and another long bus ride home on the other side of the bay. They would be arriving home well after his normal bedtime, which meant there was the potential for horrendous meltdown somewhere between the time he woke up from his impromptu nap and their arrival at home. If she accepted, she'd be introducing them much sooner than she intended. While it seemed innocent enough, she had made a promise to herself that she would always do her best to be sure any man she introduced to Alex would be someone she knew would be there for the long haul.

Deep down she knew she was over thinking her predicament, a ride home wasn't the same as someone becoming a more permanent part of their little world. Opening the phone app, Beth tapped the little icon next to Bruce's number and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey….everything okay?" Bruce asked when he answered the phone.

"As okay as it can be," Beth said, leaning her head back against the seat and closing her eyes for a moment. "I can't believe I did that."

"It happens," he said, causing a half smile to form on his lips at his attempt at reassurance. "Listen, I can be at the peer in about fifteen minutes. I have a helicopter taking me back to Gotham. Ride back with me."

"Are you sure you want that?" she asked. "I mean...Alex dozed off so who knows what kind of mood he'll be in. I can just take him for a bite to eat and take the ferry home later."

"Beth, what is it you said to me the other day about helping others?" he asked, causing her to smirk slightly as he used her own words against her. "Besides, what kid wouldn't love to ride in a helicopter?"

"The bus is pulling into the port now," Beth told him softly as Alex began to stir from his nap, not giving him a definitive answer.

"I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

He was gone before she could even respond, and Beth couldn't help shaking her head slightly as she placed the phone back in her pocket and set about gathering her belongings and getting Alex up and moving. Bruce had this uncanny ability to ultimately get his way, despite her best efforts to convince him whatever he was plotting in regards to her was not in his best interest. The sleepy four year old followed along behind her, gripping her hand with his the whole way down the bus aisle. Thankfully he seemed to be in a good mood, but she knew that could change with little warning.

There were some benches along the peer and she led him to one, letting him settle next to her again. She pulled a packet of fruit chews from the bag, and handed it to him with a small smile.

"Listen buddy," she said softly. "Mommy messed up the times for the ferry so we're not going to be taking it back home." His eyes looked up at her, and she could see the disappointment on his face. Before he could fully process what she said which she was sure would lead to a dreaded emotional meltdown she continued on, "I have a friend who was working in the city and he came here in a helicopter and he offered to take us in it to get us home faster. Would you like that?"

There was a sleepy little nod and smile before he went back to his snack and Beth relaxed against the bench, looking out at the water. Next to her she could hear Alex babbling on a bit about the adventures at the zoo and helicopters, his excitement at getting to fly growing as his mind and body finished waking up from his nap.

Alex was just finishing up his snack when Beth spotted Bruce walking towards them on the peer. She waved as she allowed herself a moment to take in the appearance of her rescuer. He was impeccably dressed, as she imagined he was most of the time. The sleeves of his dark blue dress shirt were rolled up, blazer draped over his arm giving her a moment to appreciate his broad shoulders as he closed the distance between the peer entrance and the bench she had settled on. It was certainly a stark contrast to her jean capris and loose fitting green t-shirt she had picked for the expedition across the bay.

Standing up as he drew near, Alex followed her example, snuggling up against her leg shyly. Beth placed a hand on his shoulder, taking the moment to center herself as she prepared to make the introduction. Alex tended to be more shy around men, and she knew it was likely due to the reality of their family dynamic. He had been robbed of a true male role model and it often made the little boy unsure around adult men. The handful of men she had introduced to Alex had also ultimately ended up bailing shortly after meeting him and he seemed wary like his mother.

"Alex, this is mommy's friend Mr. Wayne," she said softly. Bruce smirked at her, shaking his head as he crouched down to get on Alex's level.

"Hi Alex," he said. "You can call me Bruce. Your mom told me a lot about you."

Alex relaxed his grip on her leg slightly and Beth noticed a helicopter landing on the pad a short distance away in another part of the port, the Wayne Enterprises logo visible even from a distance. Alex had also noticed and started pointing to the helicopter, his little body bouncing with excitement.

"That's my ride back to Gotham," Bruce told him, smiling at Alex's excitement. "I've been trying to convince your mom that you two should come with me instead of waiting for the next ferry. What do you think? Do you want to go for a ride in the helicopter?"

Alex nodded his little head, his curls bouncing as he did so. Beth shook her head, an amused smirk tugging at her lips.

"What?" Bruce asked, standing up, giving her his best attempt at looking innocent.

"You're incorrigible," she said, laughing a bit. "Do you ever not get your way?"

"Not usually," he smirked. "Come on, let's get you two home."

Grabbing her bag, Beth let him lead them back down the peer in the direction of the waiting helicopter. Alex held onto her hand, practically bouncing along between her and Bruce. It was so strange to think that a little over forty eight hours earlier Bruce had simply been a name and a face in the newspaper. Yet, here he was coming to her rescue without being asked or expected to do so. If she was being honest, Beth knew he was slowly chipping away at the walls she had built up to protect herself and Alex.

"Are you usually working on a Saturday?" she asked as they walked along the port.

"When you own the company you're rarely not working," he told her with a small shrug.

"Well...I'm certainly glad you decided to indulge in being a workaholic," she quipped, earning a soft chuckle from him that caused her stomach to flutter a bit. "Seriously though, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. "So, Alex, you went to the zoo today?"

"Yes!" was the excited reply from between them.

"What's your favorite animal?" Bruce asked, and Beth was able to take on the role of the quiet observer for a few moments.

"An-zees" was the response from below.

Beth took pity on Bruce and translated, "Chimpanzees."

She listened as Alex talked Bruce's ear off about the zoo and the animals. To his credit, Bruce listened patiently, letting the little boy drive the direction of the conversation. Somewhere along the short walk, Alex's hand had found Bruce's and the boy bounced along between them. She felt a slight tightening in her chest when he did so, and Bruce's smile did not go unnoticed. Beth had heard more than once about children being a good judge of character, and she focused on that instead of her old insecurities in regards to letting her son get close to someone.

Once they were settled inside the helicopter with Alex on Beth's lap, Bruce handed Beth a set of headphones and adjusted a pair for Alex as she put on her own. The adult sized headphones were too big for him, but Alex still left them in place clapping his hands as the helicopter took off.

Beth closed her eyes for a moment, taking a steadying breath. A warm hand found hers and she gratefully took it as her body relaxed. Opening her eyes, a slight blush crept into her cheeks as she slowly met his eyes.

"First time?" he asked, his voice coming through the headphones.

"No," she said. "My dad took me up a couple times when I was a kid. I just never got used to that feeling when you first take off."

He made no move to let go of her hand and Beth allowed herself to enjoy the comfort of his calm and steady presence. She listened, looking out the window as he pointed out various landmarks along the Gotham skyline to Alex. It was a view of the city she had never been lucky enough to enjoy and she felt herself getting lost listening to Bruce's voice through the headphones.

After making a complete circle around Gotham, the pilot brought the helicopter down on a landing pad near Gotham's port. Bruce helped Alex and Beth from the helicopter and it was then that Beth noticed an unfamiliar car parked next to the one she had ridden in the day before. It was the same silver color as Bruce's two seater sports car, but had four doors and was clearly meant to carry more than the driver and one passenger. As they approached the vehicles, Alfred emerged from the drivers side of the new car, handing Bruce the keys.

"Everything is arranged as requested, sir," the butler said before turning to Beth. "Ms. Andrews, it is a pleasure to see you again, and this must be young Master Alex."

"It's good to see you too, Alfred," Beth said before looking over at Bruce, whose hand had come to rest on the small of her back. With a smirk she asked, "Care to tell me what it is you requested?"

"I promised to give you and Alex a ride home," he said with a shrug. "Alfred helped with the arrangements."

Beth grinned, shaking her head as she turned back to Alfred and said, "Thank you for your help, Alfred."

"Of course, miss," he said. "Master Wayne, I shall see you later."

With that, he took his leave, making his way over to the sports car as Bruce led her to the other vehicle. He opened the back driver side door and Beth once again shook her head in astonishment as there was a child safety seat already waiting inside. Apparently he and Alfred had thought of everything after he offered her a ride home.

"You know," she said as Alex climbed in to settle in the seat, "I could get used to you coming to my rescue like this."

"That's my plan," was the response as she ducked in to secure the safety harness.

Once Beth had buckled into the passenger seat, Bruce put the car into drive, starting the trip across the city towards her apartment.

"It appears my plan is working then," he teased with a smirk, glancing over at her for a brief moment before returning his attention back to the road.

"Don't be so smug," she laughed. "I am grateful for the help, but I am not some damsel in distress constantly in need of saving."

"I never said you were," he told her, "but sometimes it is okay to let others help."

With a sigh she said, "Well, it seems you already found my weakness then. I've spent four years learning to do it all alone. I'm not particularly good at letting someone else pick up even a tiny bit of the slack."

"If it makes you feel better, my motives weren't completely unselfish," he said and she could see his smirk even though he didn't take his eyes from the road.

"You really are incorrigible," she laughed, earning another chuckle from the drivers side of the car that made her insides flutter.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that for the remainder of the ride. She pondered briefly her expectations of the man next to her versus what she had learned about him in just a couple days. Clearly there was a lot he hid from the world. His calm demeanour was disarming, chipping away at her carefully built walls and defenses. Alex had also taken to him almost instantly, much to her shock. She hadn't really expected a wealthy bachelor to be good at connecting with children, yet she couldn't forget the sight of her little one taking Bruce's hand as they walked.

When he pulled over to park, she said softly, "Do you want to come up for a bit? I could make some dinner as a thank you."

"If you're sure," he said, looking over at her as she nodded.

It was then she realized they hadn't heard a peep from Alex since they pulled out of the port, and she glanced to the backseat to find him fast asleep. His little four year old legs had carried him all over the Metropolis zoo and it seemed all the adventures of the day had finally truly caught up with him. His head dropped slightly to one side and she could now hear the soft snores coming from the back seat.

"Get the door, I got him," Bruce told her and Beth nodded before retrieving the keys from her back and exiting the car.

After unlocking the door, she turned back to see Bruce gently lifting the sleeping boy out of the back of the car as if he weighed nothing. In his sleep, Alex snuggled into the crook of Bruce's neck, his little arms wrapping around his shoulders. Beth felt a familiar yet long buried yearning in her chest at the sight, but she said nothing as she held the door open for Bruce to pass through.

Leading him up the stairs to the top floor of the building, she unlocked the door that led to her modest two bedroom apartment. She was suddenly thankful she had taken a little time the evening before to put away the various toys that were usually scattered across the living room.

"It's the door on the right" she said, pointing to the hallway that led to the bedrooms and followed Bruce into Alex's room as gently placed him on the bed before making his way back towards the door to allow Beth room to get the boy settled.

Beth took her time gently pulling off Alex's shoes and socks. She hummed the tune of "You Are My Sunshine" as she worked, which was the song she usually sang to him before bed. Alex smiled in his sleep as she placed a quick kiss on his forehead before pulling his blanket over him. She could feel Bruce's eyes watching from the doorway, but she focused on Alex.

Turning, she followed Bruce out the door before closing it behind her. They would likely be left alone the remainder of the evening as Alex tended to be a good sleeper. However, she could feel the nerves building in her stomach a bit at the prospect. When she mentioned dinner she hadn't realized Alex had fallen asleep and had assumed the boy would be bouncing around the apartment during the meal causing various distractions.

"So, any food allergies I should know about?" she asked, leading him towards the kitchen.

"None," he said, leaning back against the counter as she grabbed some ingredients from the refrigerator. "What can I help with?"

"There's a bottle of wine to your left with a corkscrew," she told him. "The glasses are in the cabinet above it."

Turning, he began opening the wine as she ran water into a pot to cook pasta. When he set a glass of wine next to her, they made small talk while she cooked. Beth quickly discovered just how much she enjoyed making him smile or laugh when she was able to elicit one of those responses from him. It wasn't long before the meal was prepared and they found themselves sitting across from each other at her small dining table.

"You know, we never did get to talk about tomorrow tonight," she said with a slight almost nervous laugh, taking a sip of her wine. Three dates in three days was definitely not taking things slow, but after he swooped in to her rescue she had sort of given up on things going as expected.

"No, I guess we didn't," he said, his expression unreadable.

She had a sense she wasn't really going to get much more from him on the topic without prompting. His expression seemed apprehensive, as if he hadn't wanted to bring it up, yet she couldn't quite determine what it was he was thinking. He had a way of hiding his thoughts most of the time it seemed, an almost perpetual poker face that caused her to feel pride when she could get him to crack. It was likely he had the same thought as her, and she wondered if he also felt the same disappointment she did at the thought of cancelling their plans for the next day and was trying not to let on so she didn't feel pressured.

"Well," she said, placing the wine glass on the table with a slight smirk tugging at her lips, "I did already pick out a dress and make arrangements with Alex's sitter. It would be a shame for that to go to waste if we didn't talk about it."

She was rewarded with one his rare true smiles, his eyes dancing mischievously as he answered, "It would indeed. Does seven work?"

"Seven sounds perfect," she said, as they turned their attention to the meal in front of them. She added with a laugh, "I'm not sure how you'll top a helicopter tour of the city though."

"I'm not out of surprises yet," he retorted before taking a bite of pasta. "This is excellent."

"Thanks," she said, with a slight blush. "It's nice to cook a grownup meal from time to time. As the only girl in the family it was my mom's mission to make sure I knew how to cook. She tried with my brothers before I came along, but they were never interested in anything outside of the basics. What about you, any cooking skills or does Alfred take care of all the meals?"

She took another bite as he answered, "Alfred taught me a bit when I was growing up."

"He told me the other day he's known you for your whole life," she said. "Watching you two interact he certainly seems more like family than an employee."

"He is," Bruce told her. "He's a snarky bastard, but he raised after my parents died and I owe him a lot. Just don't tell him I said that, I'll never hear the end of it."

She laughed slightly, adding, "I like him and his snark."

"I'm doomed," he quipped back.

The information about his parents wasn't lost on Beth. She had known about his parents from various articles she had read about him during her time in Gotham, but it was the first time he truly mentioned it to her. They had both endured the pain of the death of loved ones, and if she had to guess he had built up many of the same walls she had over the years. It always seemed safer to keep others at an arm's length then risk losing someone again.

They continued to banter as they ate, enjoying each other's company. After their meal he helped her clear the plates before mentioning taking his leave for the evening. Beth tried not to dwell on the disappointment that their time together was ending as she walked him to the door. She knew she was growing increasingly fond of the man who now stood in her doorway, ready to bid her goodnight, but she didn't trust her feelings or in someone she had only known for two days.

"Thank you for dinner," he said, his face softening a bit as he looked down at her.

"It was the least I could do to thank you," she told him. "I'll see you tomorrow at seven?"

"Of course," he said, smirking, "you've already piqued my interest with this dress we don't want to go to waste."

A blush once again formed on her cheeks as she laughed. She was about to call him incorrigible again when his fingers reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes and the words died on her lips. Her breath caught on her throat as she looked up at him, enjoying the sensation of his fingers trailing across her skin to rest on her cheek. Her eyes closed as he leaned in and placed his lips against her forehead for a moment before pulling away with a bit of a smug smile.

"Good night, Beth," he said, his hand slowly falling away from her cheek causing her eyes to flutter open once more. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Bruce," she said smiling back at him before watching him make his way down the hall before descending down the stairs.

When he was out of sight she closed the door, securing the lock. Turning, she made her way over to the sofa and settled on one side, drawing her legs up so she could rest her chin on her knees. She knew she was going to spend the rest of the night and probably most of the next day trying to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her good things like this wouldn't last. Yet, with the memory of his gentle touch still so fresh in her mind, she let that carry her at least through the next few hours as she prepared to try to sleep.