"We're Dr. Foster's 10 o'clock," Bruce said to the secretary in Dr. Foster's office.
"I'll let him know you're here Mr. and Mrs. Wayne," the young woman said to Bruce with a smile.
Adriana and Bruce walked over to where the couches were in the waiting room but remained standing.
"Let's make a pact," Adriana said and touched Bruce's hair, smoothing it in place with her fingers.
"Alright," Bruce said as she fixed his hair. He felt loved.
"Let's...agree to just...answer his questions and not go off in tangents in our own conversation," Adriana said. "I don't want us to repeat what happened yesterday with Dr. Kapoor.."
"Agreed," Bruce said as Adriana touched his tie.
"Bruce and Adriana?" they heard a man say behind them.
They turned to see a man of short stature, in glasses and wearing a grey suit, standing behind them.
"Dr. Foster," the doctor said and shook Bruce's hand. "You can come this way."
As Adriana and Bruce went into his office, Adriana suddenly felt nervous. Talking about their personal issues with someone she didn't know was nerve wracking. There was no way they could tell him everything and she hoped that the session wouldn't be a waste. They needed help.
As soon as they sat, Adriana reached for Bruce's right hand and pulled it onto her lap, holding it between both her hands. She felt more calm and safe immediately. She felt protected.
Adriana saw the doctor look at the way she was holding Bruce and she knew his thoughts without hearing them. Their problems would likely be simple. They were close, in love, touching. He had couples come in that refused to even be seated on the same couch.
"I'm Doctor Foster," he introduced himself. "You were referred by a close friend of mine and I'm glad we could get you in so soon. I'm sure whatever issues that we need to work through here can be resolved with enough dedication from you both."
"That's the goal," Bruce said.
"Excellent," the doctor said. "My purpose here is to assist the both of you in addressing any problems in your relationship that may be standing in the way of you both having the most fulfilling and stable marriage you could have. After talking today we will determine if you two will need to continue seeing me on a consistent basis or if I can assign you both things to work on to improve your marriage in the future."
"Alright," Bruce said.
"So to start, I would like to get to know you both," the doctor said. "I would also like to get an idea of your relationship. A snapshot if you will. I will be asking you both various questions and you simply need to answer them honestly."
Adriana and Bruce looked at each other and then back at the doctor.
"So, let us begin," the doctor said. "How did the two of you meet? And how long have you been together?"
Adriana and Bruce looked at each other again, communicating without talking. Adriana was surprised and how well they seemed to almost telepathically agree on who would answer.
"My husband hired me for a job," Adriana said. "That was how we met. We dated for a little while...went our separate ways for a while after that. We got back together for a couple of months and decided to get married. We married pretty quickly..we've been married for a year."
It almost felt like a repeat of the previous day. Neither of them wanted to sabotage this session. They focused on their agreement, to just answer the questions.
"And do you have children?" the doctor asked.
"We have a son," Bruce replied, even though he was sure the doctor and everyone in the city knew this. "Arsenio. He's a year old."
"You said that you married quickly," the doctor said.
Adriana and Bruce looked at each other knowing where his questions were going. Everything here was confidential but it was still a bit stressful to share.
"And that you only dated seriously for a few months before marrying," he said. "And you've been married for a year and also that your son is a year old."
"I..." Adriana said, deciding the truth was the only thing that could work. "I was pregnant when we started dating again."
The doctor raised his eyebrows and looked at Bruce.
"I am not.." Bruce said. "Arsenio's biological father."
"I see," the doctor said. "And the two of you were married shortly after his birth."
"Yes," Adriana said.
"And is your son's biological father involved in his life?" the doctor asked.
Adriana felt like everything was going to quickly. Bruce gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"He..." Adriana said. "Has been... but not consistently."
"Alright," the doctor said. "Tell me, what are your goals for therapy? How would you like to see your relationship improve?"
Again, it felt like a repeat of the previous day.
"We would like to communicate more, build trust," Bruce said. "We've...had some problems recently in our relationship that we need to work through."
The doctor looked at Adriana and could see that she agreed with Bruce's words.
"Tell me," the doctor said. "At this moment, both of you...how do you feel about your spouse?"
Bruce answered first.
"I love her very much," Bruce said. "I don't want to lose her. She's an amazing woman and I've made mistakes...I've wronged her..and I'm hoping to gain her forgiveness and trust."
"And you, Adriana," the doctor said.
"I don't want to lose Bruce either," Adriana said. "I love him...he is my rock and I need him. I...want to trust him again."
"You both speak of trust," the doctor noticed.
"I had an affair," Bruce confessed, wanting to get it over with. It needed to be said eventually.
The doctor nodded once.
"Will you both tell me, how do you believe your spouse feels about you at this moment?" he asked them both.
"I believe," Bruce answered first again. "She loves me. I know that she knows that I love her but she doesn't feel loved. I know this is because of my betrayal. She...at times...seems to be bothered by my presence. Enough so...that I have considered giving her more space but I know now that she doesn't want that. We are in a tough spot right now and we are just trying to navigate this.."
"And you, Adriana?" the doctor said.
"I feel that Bruce..." Adriana started and looked at her husband. "Thinks I don't want to be around him but I do...I just...sometimes I get angry and.."
Adriana realized she was getting sidetracked and remembered the agreement to answer the questions.
"I feel that Bruce really wants to work on our marriage, because he loves me," Adriana said. "And neither of us want this...tension and lack of communication between us go too far. We want to stay together."
"I must ask," the doctor said. "Do you both see the affair as the reason why you are both here? Is that where you believe your issues have stemmed from?"
Adriana and Bruce looked at each other.
"Well...no," Adriana answered. "There are other things."
"We had a fight," Bruce said. "I...ended up having the affair almost immediately afterwards."
"And what was the issue?" the doctor asked.
"I..." Adriana said, realizing this would be tricky to explain. "I...took my son to see his biological father a few times. My husband found out about it."
Adriana noticed the doctor's look and felt the need to explain.
"There's...more to it," Adriana said. "My husband doesn't approve of my son's biological father and...for good reasons."
"Bruce?" the doctor looked at Bruce.
"That's correct," Bruce said. "Arsenio's biological father is...not a good person, to put it extremely lightly. I do not feel that my son should have been in his presence at all."
"And the two of you fought about this," the doctor said.
"Yes, but," Bruce said. "I've forgiven her for that. It was no excuse for me to stray. It's affected my wife's connection to me."
There is was. They were as far as they had gotten the previous session. Adriana wanted to tell Bruce that she didn't want their connection to be broken but it felt that way. She wanted to work through it and hopefully in time trust him again.
But she stayed quiet. They needed to wait for the doctor to ask more questions.
"Do you believe your son's biological father is a danger to him?" the doctor asked.
Bruce could see the depth of the question. The doctor was also questioning his trust of Adriana's judgement. But he needed to be honest.
"I...see that man as a danger to everyone," Bruce said. "But he did not harm my son. So...I trust my wife's judgement. I overreacted. I threatened to take my son away from her. I was...emotional at the time and none of my words were how I truly feel."
At the time, Bruce knew that a death was imminent. He knew that Adriana's death was going to be replaced be another. And the only thing he could think of at the time was that she had been putting Arsenio in danger of being the one to replace her death. It overtook his mind to the point where he couldn't see what was right in front of him. Arsenio was fine.
The doctor paused and looked at both of them, seeing how to proceed. Adriana wanted to talk, Bruce wanted to talk, but they both shut up and waited for him.
"How was the marriage between your parents growing up? And your childhood?" the doctor asked. "Adriana I would like you to respond first."
"Oh...okay," Adriana said. "My parent's marriage is great..we're close. They're still married. My childhood was not easy but my parents did all they could for me. They love me. I struggled with some...psychological issues that I no longer deal with. But my parents...they did so much to protect me, to make me comfortable and safe. They did their best for me."
The doctor then looked at Bruce.
"And you, Bruce?" he asked.
"My parents had a great marriage as well," Bruce said. "They died when I was eight. My childhood was...well, our butler cared for me. He did an excellent job. I'd say my childhood was decent."
"Eight years old," the doctor said. "I'm very sorry."
"Thank you," Bruce said and Adriana rubbed his hand which she was still holding.
"How did your parents die?" he asked Bruce.
Bruce cleared his throat, not wanting to answer. He had to.
"They were shot in front of me," Bruce said. "By a mugger. He killed them and ran off."
"That is a very traumatizing event," the doctor said what was obvious. "Having your parents gunned down right in front of you by a criminal."
"Yes it was," Bruce said.
"And you've grown up in the care of someone who I assume loved you very much," the doctor said.
"Yes," Bruce replied about Alfred. "He does."
"But..however was not your parents," the doctor said. "You grew up without parents."
It hurt to hear the words even though it was simply the truth.
"And your parents were shot, but you were spared," the doctor went on. "Your parents were not there to protect you, but somehow you were spared. That is quite a thing to live with."
Adriana felt Bruce squeezing her hand.
"It's natural that after such an event," the doctor said. "And living your entire life without parents...that you would be so protective over your son."
As the doctor said the words, Adriana realized that he was right. So did Bruce. The combination of knowing ahead of time that a death was coming and seeing the vulnerability of his child was too much. He had no idea his parents would be killed when he was eight. He had no notice. He had no way to protect them. He had become a vigilante to protect. And the idea that he could not even protect his own child was unbearable.
"I'm..." Adriana said as she began to realize Bruce's position. "I'm so sorry, Bruce."
Bruce looked at her lovingly and quietly.
"I know that what I did was wrong," she said. "I wasn't thinking...I shouldn't have gone behind your back. It was...so wrong of me and I hope you'll forgive me."
Bruce nodded.
"I've already forgiven you," he said. "And like I said...now I know that...Arsenio wasn't in danger. I know that you are a good judge of character and you love Arsenio as much as I do. I know you would never hurt him."
Bruce leaned forward and kissed Adriana softly on the cheek.
The doctor waited until he had their attention again.
"And Bruce," the doctor said. "You stated that after you found out what your wife had done, you had an affair."
"That's correct," Bruce said.
"After such an emotional and fearful moment," the doctor said. "I must ask...is the person that you were with is someone you are close to?"
"Well," Bruce looked at Adriana and then at the doctor. "She...I'm not close to her but...we've done some work together. She's helped me with a few things."
"I...already know who she is," Adriana said, seeing the doctor was treading carefully. "We can discuss her, it's fine."
"Has she," the doctor said, seeing that Adriana was comfortable with this. "Helped you in the past with protecting or taking care of someone you love?"
And there it was. She had helped bring Adriana back from the dead. Bruce could never reveal this. Even though Twyla was an awful person, and as twisted as it was..he had seen her as a source of life and protection. Revival.
"Yes, in a way," Bruce said. "Perhaps that's why I ...went to her."
Adriana knew how manipulative, dark and tricky that Twyla was. She also knew the power of her potions and how she looked back on the day she had destroyed Twyla's shop and knew if she wasn't overdoing it with Twyla's potions she would never had acted in that way. Bruce never once blamed Twyla or her potions for his actions, he wanted to take full responsibility, but Adriana knew in her heart that he would never have behaved that way otherwise. He had never even once looked at another woman since they had been married. She didn't know the whole story about what had happened between Bruce and Twyla but she knew she forgave him.
"Can I..say something?" Adriana asked.
"Of course," the doctor replied.
"I know you would never cheat on me again," Adriana said.
Bruce raised his eyebrows. He knew that was the truth but he was not sure why she had suddenly realized it.
"That woman is..." Adriana said. "I know her. I know what she's capable of. She uses people...she manipulates and poisons. But...in a way I'm glad it was her."
"You are?" Bruce asked.
"If it had been anyone else.." Adriana said. "An ex...some random woman.."
Adriana shook her head.
"It...it would have been so much worse," Adriana said. "But like I said...I know her. I wish you hadn't done what you did. But I know you hate her as much as I do and...it's likely she had predatory intentions from the moment you came to her for help. She made you vulnerable."
She was talking about the potions. She knew it. Bruce knew it. The doctor didn't. But all that mattered was what they knew.
"So...I forgive you," she said. "And I know you'll be faithful."
Bruce looked at his wife. He felt undeserving of such love, kindness and acceptance. He wanted to give her the world.
"I...don't deserve you," he said. "I.."
Bruce looked down. They had sworn not to go off topic but he needed to.
"I waited," he said.
"Waited?" she asked.
His hand was trembling in hers.
"I..." he said. Adriana had never seen him have such a hard time speaking. He was confident and assertive man.
"Bruce?" Adriana asked.
"When you were abducted," Bruce said. "I ...assumed you had run off because of our fight and Lucius was telling me he couldn't reach you and I.."
Bruce tried to breath.
"I dismissed it," he said. "I waited before I contacted the police."
"Oh..Bruce.." Adriana said. "I mean..I told you that I hated you and that it was over...I stormed out.."
"It was no excuse," he said.
"Bruce..it's not like you waited for days," she said. "The police were on it within the first 24 hours. And I'm fine now.."
"Yes, but," he said. "I will regret those hours forever. You were hurting...they were hurting you and I..I was...God...You have nightmares about what happened to you and I was-"
"Bruce," Adriana said. "It's okay."
"I haven't been a great husband to you," he said. "We've only been together a year and I've lost you twice-"
He slipped. He was remembering her death and then her abduction.
"Twice?" she asked.
"I've..made a lot of mistakes I mean," Bruce said.
"We both have," she said. "But I forgive you. And I know..going forward we won't make these mistakes again."
Bruce nodded. Never again.
"I love you," he said to her.
"And I love you," she said.