"Have I mentioned that I don't like this plan?" Bruce complained to his wife.
"Only about a hundred times." Carly sighed, putting on her earrings. "But it's been months. We tried things your way, we tried things Gordon's way. So now we're trying this my way."
"I've been working this case for so long, Car. Just promise me you won't be disappointed if nothing comes of this?" He asked her.
"Disappointed?" She repeated. Carly turned to face him. "If this night turns out to be nothing more than a party to celebrate us bringing that sweet little boy into our lives, I would be relieved. At least then we'd know for sure that this is over and the three of us can move forward."
"And if things go the other way?" Bruce wondered.
"Half of the Justice League will be here and several uniforms from the GCPD, not to mention the Commissioner himself." Carly reminded him.
"Right, the League," Bruce grumbled unhappily. "The reminds me, I want to go over the alibies one more time. Make sure there are no gaps."
"You mean make sure your civilian wife wont mess things up?" Carly chuckled. "It won't be much of a surprise to anyone to see Clark and Lois here. They're known to be good friends of yours as well as your favorite reporters from Metropolis."
"Clark is just my favorite reporter. Don't tell him I said that." Bruce warned.
"I absolutely will." She smirked. "Now we're saying Barry is a friend of mine from college. Very believable for Lawyer and a Central City CSI to have gone to school together. Diana and I go way back. We've been pen pals ever since we went to an all-girl's camp one summer. They're believable and easy to remember backstories. It's a solid plan, B."
"This feels like a plan B." He whispered to himself.
"You know what I meant, Bruce." Carly told him.
"So, Clark, Diana, Barry," He ticked off each of the Leaguers with his fingers. "Oh, I guess I never told you about Ollie." Bruce realized.
"Oliver Queen? He was not on my guest list. He gives me the creeps. I'm sorry, B, I know he's your friend, but he has a serious staring problem and…"
"And he's the Green Arrow." Bruce interjected.
"The Green…Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow?" Carly flashed Bruce an expression of annoyance. "I really hate your friends."
"He's not too bad once you get to know him. A large part of the Ollie you know is an act. You should know better than anyone not to buy the billionaire philanderer act." Bruce laughed.
"Party is starting soon. I'm gonna go check on our boy." She kissed Bruce on the cheek before making her way to Dick's room.
Dick was already dressed when Carly stepped into the room. He had picked out a new pair of jeans, a nice pair of canvas shoes and a blue t-shirt with the superman logo on it. Carly smiled. Bruce wasn't going to be happy about his son wearing a superman shirt in front of his friends from the league, but Clark might appreciate it.
"Are you sure it's okay that I wear this?" Dick asked nervously. "I mean you're really dressed up and Bruce wears suits all the time."
"It's more important to us that you're comfortable. Bruce and I know that you don't like stuffy dress clothes." Carly said. "Sometimes I like to wear fancy clothes and sometimes I don't. Today is a fun party so I get to wear fun fancy clothes."
"Are there parties that aren't fun?" Dick asked.
"We'll talk about those another time. Are you ready?" She questioned.
"Almost!" Dick scooped up Leo the cat from his bed and cradled him in his arms.
"Sorry, Hon, Leo's gotta stay up here. But I'm sure he'll happily keep your bed warm for you." A little disappointed but understanding, Dick put the cat back on the bed and followed Carly downstairs.
The party was being held in the mansion's smaller ballroom. It was about half the size of the grand ballroom and more fit for intimate occasions. A few of the Gotham elite who were on Bruce's "always invite" list had already arrived and were vying for Bruce's attention. Punctual as always, Clark and Lois were also already inside. Carly led Dick right over to them.
"Dick, this is Clark Kent and Lois Lane, they're both very good friends of Bruce and I." She introduced them.
"I like your Superman shirt, Dick." Lois told him. "Did you pick that out on your own?"
"Thank you. Carly and Bruce bought me shirts for everyone in the Justice League, but Superman is my favorite." He told her.
"He's mine too." Lois smiled. "You know, Dick, I'm surprised Batman is not your favorite." Dick's face scrunched up in disgust. He then looked up at Carly as if reminding himself that Lois and Clark were her friends, and he should be nice to them.
"Batman's okay." He told her politely. "But he's kind of scary."
"I always thought of it like day shift and night shift." Clark chimed in. "Batman's a detective he works best at night. While superman he gets the most done during the day."
"I never thought about it like that." Dick smiled.
"We'll let you greet the rest of your guests." Clark told them. "But we'll be around if you need anything."
"Thank you, Clark. It means a lot to us, especially Bruce, that you're here." Carly told him. She and Dick began to circulate the room making introductions. While he was polite to everyone he talked to, Dick seemed to cling closer and closer to Carly with each new person he met.
"Carly!" Clyde waved from several feet away before approaching his boss. "This place is amazing! I can't believe I'm finally inside of Wayne Manor! And hello, you must be Richard. I brought you something, I hope that's okay." Clyde held out a small present. Dick looked at Carly for permission. She nodded to let him know that it was okay to accept the gift.
"Thank you." Dick said quietly.
"Go on, open it!" Clyde encouraged. Dick waited for another nod from Carly before tearing into the wrapping paper. Inside the paper was a large book with a colorful cover.
"The Justice League Encyclopedia?" Dick read the title of the book.
"I heard you're a big fan of the superheroes and this book is supposed to be full of facts about them. I know Superman is your favorite but in case you wanted to learn about The Flash or someone else." Clyde explained.
"Wow, that's really cool!" Dick told him with excitement. "Thank you! I'm going to go put this in my room so I can read it later!" The boy ran off as Bruce walked towards Carly.
"Ah, Clyde." Bruce smiled when he recognized his wife's secretary. "It's nice to see you outside of the office."
"Uh, yes, same to you, Mr. Wayne." Clyde replied obviously nervous. "I love your house it's very…gigantic."
"It certainly is." Bruce chuckled. "It was nice of you to bring a gift for Dick. Mostly people will forget that he's the guest of honor tonight."
"Oh, it's nothing." Clyde told him. "When I was a kid, my mother used to throw tons of parties. Nothing like this of course. Mostly Tupperware, Avon, things like that. But I always hated having all these people in my house and how people barely looked at me."
"Well, as someone who was also ignored at parties just like this, I'm sure it means a lot to him that he's recognized, even in a small way." Bruce said. "I'm afraid I have to steal Carly away now, but please enjoy yourself, Clyde."