THIS CHAPTER WAS UPDATED AND PROOFREAD FOR TYPOS, GRAMMAR, AND PLOT/TIMELINE ISSUES AS OF 7/17/2020
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The popular and elegant restaurant that Harvey, Rachel, and Anslee were being led through by a slim waitress was buzzing with talk from only Gotham's finest and wealthiest people. Anslee had glanced around the place wondering how Harvey managed to get the three a table. As they sat down Harvey spoke about the difficulty of doing so.
"Took me three weeks to get a reservation here," he smirked as he took a seat cross from Rachel while Anslee sat in between the two, "And I had to tell them I work for the government," he chuckled.
Rachel smiled in return, tilting her head in a sarcastic manner, "Really?"
"The city health inspector's not afraid to pull strings," he gave her another smirk.
"Impressive Harvey," Anslee chuckled as she settled her napkin on her lap.
For being in her worst state over the past four days, Anslee had managed to clean up quite nicely, a scarlet red knee length dress, with sleeves, minding the bruising on her shoulder, clung nicely for her curves in modesty. She curled her hair a bit and wore barely any makeup. She was impressed with herself for having the motivation.
Harvey looked over at Anslee with the same smirk, but just as he was about to respond a familiar voice rang out in the air.
"Rachel! Fancy that."
Anslee looked up to see none other than her father, clad in a suit with a dark tie, followed by a tall woman in a black long elegant dress. A woman she recognized and almost had to take a double take to see if she was really who she thought she was. Her jaw dropped in astonishment.
The table looked at the man and the woman, while Rachel raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, Bruce. Fancy that." She smiled up at him as the pair stopped next to the table, across from Anslee.
"I swear I think he's stalking us now," Anslee looked to Rachel with an annoyed look.
Bruce gestured to the woman next to him, "Rachel, Natasha. Natasha, Rachel," He introduced them.
"Natasha," Rachel tilted her head, "Are you the prima-"
"Prima Ballerina for the Moscow Ballet. Oh my god, it is an honor to meet you," Anslee cut in as she nervously smiled up at the woman.
Natasha smiled back at the girl, surprised she knew who she was.
"Wow, Harvey's taking Anslee and I next week," Rachel commented.
Bruce looked to Harvey, "Really? So, you're into ballet?"
"Actually, it was an early birthday present to Ans, when she heard it was going to be here, she begged for tickets," Rachel confirmed.
Natasha raised an eyebrow before she looked at the seventeen year old, speaking to her with a heavy accent, "You are a fan of ballet?"
Anslee took a second before she realized the ballerina was actually talking to her, "Uh..yeah. I'm actually a dancer myself. I took my first ballet class when I was two," she responded with a smile, "I'm Anslee Dawes-Wayne, by the way, pleasure to meet you."
"Wayne?" Natasha asked as she glanced at Bruce.
"My daughter, and Rachel's as well," Bruce gestured to Rachel in her chair.
Rachel smiled back up at Natasha before Harvey broke the silence, reaching his hand up to shake Bruce's, "Bruce," he smiled.
Bruce shook his hand in return, "So, let's put a couple tables together."
Harvey looked around, "I'm not sure that they'll let us."
"Oh, they should," Bruce assured, "I own the place."
Anslee frowned, "Since when?"
"As of ten minutes ago, Anslee Grace," Bruce looked back at her with a more than sarcastic look on his face.
"Oh right, excuse my youthful ignorance," she narrowed her eyes back at the man. Bruce offered a smile before he gestured for the waiter to put another table with the three who were already seated.
The two sat and ordered a few drinks. Small talks was made until Natasha brought up a point.
"How could you want to raise children in a city like this?" She asked, glancing between the adults.
Bruce chuckled, "Well, I was raised here, I turned out ok," before looking to his daughter who was silently brooding across the table from him, "Anlsee's lived here her entire life and she's grown to be amazing," he gestured to her.
"Is Wayne Manor in the city limits?" Harvey asked as he picked up his class of whiskey, taking a drink out of it.
Bruce smirked, "The Palisades." He answered, "You know as our new DA, you might wanna figure out where your jurisdiction ends."
"I'm talking about the kind of city that idolizes a masked vigilante," Natasha pointed out in a rather confused tone.
"Gotham City is proud of an ordinary citizen standing up for what's right," Harvey looked to Natasha.
"Gotham needs heroes like you, elected officials, not a man who thinks he's above the law," The woman interjected.
"Exactly, who appointed The Batman?" Bruce smirked.
"You know, it seems a little hypocritical in my opinion that you're speaking against this vigilante when you were praising him and justifying him for saving me this past weekend. Any thoughts?" Anslee sat up in her chair and tilted her head as she narrowed her eyes at her father.
"We did," Harvey frowned, breaking the tension in the air, "all of us who stood by and let scum take control of our city."
"But this is a democracy, Harvey," Natasha frowned in return.
"When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to lead, and it wasn't considered murder. It was considered a public service," Harvey explained.
"But even Caesar had his downfall, his own best friend literally stabbed him in the back. He met his demise, despite his bravery. He sought and never gave up his power and praise more than seeing what was best for the people," Anslee pointed out.
"Ok, fine," Harvey chuckled, "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Look, whoever the Batman is, he doesn't want to do this for the rest of his life. How could he?"
Bruce listened to Harvey's words intently. He was right, Bruce didn't want to do this for the rest of his life, and with his ailing health due to it, he knew he soon wouldn't be able to. Then Bruce looked to Rachel. Rachel, the love of his life. The one he wished he would have never let get away. They still had a chance at something. At a life together. At finally becoming the family they'd always wanted. But Bruce chose The Batman over that life. And he's paying the consequences.
"Batman is looking for someone to take up his mantle," Harvey finished.
"Someone like you, Mr. Dent?" Natasha cocked a brow as Rachel glanced at Harvey.
"Maybe," Havery chuckled before looking back to Natasha, "If I'm up to it,"
"What if Harvey Dent," Natasha picked up her napkin from the table and placed it in front of Harvey's eyes, "Is the caped crusader?"
Harvey chuckled, "If I were sneaking out every night, someone would notice," Harvey reached over and took Rachel's hand in his.
Bruce watched the scene unfold, and hurt filled his every muscle and vein in his body. That should have been him. That should be him raising his daughter alongside her mother. That should be him holding her hand. That should be him making her feel the way Harvey does. It wasn't fair.
"Well, I'm sold, Dent," Bruce smiled, "I'm gonna throw you a fundraiser."
"That's nice of you, Bruce, but I'm not up for re-election for three years."
"You don't understand," Bruce shook his head, "One fundraiser with my pals, you'll never need another cent."
The rest of dinner had loomed on that night, and Anslee didn't think she'd ever rolled her eyes at her father so much in her whole life. But, she'd held her tongue for the sake of being out with Rachel and Harvey. That and the fact she was sitting across from someone she'd aspired to be since she was a little girl, a Prima Ballerina. Then again, she was one hundred percent sure Bruce had gotten the date with her to impress Anslee, but it only further annoyed her he was trying to wedge his way back into her life the way he was.
When dinner had finished and everyone had bid their goodbyes, Bruce had taken the time to really get a look at Anslee, and man did he feel old. He seemed to keep having to remind himself that she wasn't a little girl anymore, and she reminded him much of Rachel when she was that age with her cute upturned nose and her brunette hair out of her face in a professional manner. When he'd approached her to say goodbye, Bruce could see the disdain in her eyes, but what was new when she looked at him? "You look very mature and beautiful tonight, it was brave of you to even come out after the accident," he smiled to her, eyeing the purple and yellow stitches on her forehead.
"Thank you," Anslee looked back to the man with her head held high, seeing as he eyed her stitches, "Goodnight," she gave him a nod before following Rachel and Harvey out of the restaurant.
"Goodnight," Bruce muttered as she walked away, seeing his teenager slip from his grasp once again.
Outside, Anslee waited alongside Rachel for Harvey to bring the car around. The brunette had her arms crossed over her chest as she gazed to the ground, her eyebrows furrowed. Rachel stood by watching the girl intently. The way her daughter's brows were furrowed reminded her of Bruce, bringing a smile to her face before she spoke, "What are you thinking about?" the mother asked softly, giving her daughter the same smile.
Anslee was pulled out of her thoughts when she'd heard Rachel speak to her. She looked up, shaking her head, letting a sigh escape her lips, "I'm just confused," Anslee answered.
Rachel frowned, taking a step closer to the teen, "Confused about what, sweetheart?"
The seventeen year old blinked as she looked away from the woman towards the restaurant and then back, "Him," she spoke, "he's acting so...different, like he wants something to do with me after eight years, eight years," she emphasized, "It's so frustrating because as soon as I'm hurt and I'm not okay, he swoops in and acts like father of the year, and it's driving me insane," Anslee continued, her eyes involuntarily filling with tears, "He's making an effort and it makes me want to hate him so much for waiting so long, but he's making it so difficult, and I have no idea how to feel about any of it." she reached up to wipe her cheeks of the tears that had spilled their way onto her cheeks.
Rachel could see in her eyes how internally conflicted her child was, and she didn't blame her, how could she? "Anslee, I've told you time and time again, he's always loved you, and he's always held a place in his heart for you and always cared. He's had very odd ways of showing it and believe me, there's a lot more going on behind the scenes that you'll know when you're ready. Just trust me on this one, Ans," Rachel reached up to wipe away some smeared mascara on Anslee's cheek with her thumb, "Please, just give him a chance, Anslee, you've got to stop pushing him away and let him in." Rachel smiled just as the car pulled up.
Anslee got into the backseat and Rachel got in the passenger, both fastened their seatbelts and Harvey took off towards Rachel and Anslee's apartment. The ride was silent until Harvey broke it, "I'm going to come up to the apartment for a few minutes, but then I've got to run, Jim called while I was getting the car and wants me to meet him at the precinct, shouldn't take long, just wants to discuss some things about our current criminal priority."
Rachel looked over at Harvey with a smile, "Fine by me, just watch yourself," The woman chuckled slightly while Anslee raised an eyebrow in the back, realizing Rachel didn't talk much about what was going on in her cases and what lunatic the police were after now, which was odd for the woman considering Anslee was like her diary when it came to ranting about work and whatnot. The rest of the car ride continued in silence, as had the elevator ride back up to the apartment. When they'd gotten inside, Anslee bolted to her room so she could change her clothes and text Jenni so she could get the 411 on what had happened at practice since she couldn't be there.
Slipping her shoes off in the midst of entering her room, Ans headed to her bed where she'd left her phone earlier before they had left, not wanting to take it with her to dinner figuring it would be rude at such a high end place. Although, when she looked on her bed it had not been there. Frowning, the girl moved her pillows and blanket to see if she'd let it slip behind there. To no avail it was not there. Perhaps she'd brought it into the kitchen and left it there. Anslee strolled out of her room and passed her mother's where she'd heard the two adults muttering conversation, but she paid no attention to them as she continued to the kitchen. After an unsuccessful search, she'd peered at a cell phone on the table.
"Hey Harv, I can't find my phone, can I use yours to call mine?" Anslee called from the kitchen.
A second later she got a response, "That's fine," the man's voice called back.
"Thanks," Ans called back before picking up the phone, swiping the screen unlocked and clicked on the phone icon in the corner. Harvey's call logs popped up first, Anslee merely glanced at it before moving her finger to click on the keyboard option before she paused, noticing something odd. There was no recent call with Jim Gordon on his logs, which meant he'd...lied when he said that Jim called and wanted him to go to the precinct that night.
"What are you hiding?" Anslee muttered to herself as footsteps sounded into the kitchen.
"Find your phone?" Harvey's voice asked.
"Uh," Anslee stuttered, switching the call logs to the keyboard and quickly typing in her number, hitting call in a split second, "Just waiting on it to ring," she looked up to Harvey with a smile as her ringtone could be heard from her room, "Probably fell in between my bed and the wall, thanks again, Harv," the girl set his phone down on the table before rushing back to her room, finding her cell phone in exactly that area. But, by now she'd abandoned the plan to text Jenni, instead she wondered where Harvey was really going. She'd deduced going to Rachel about it probably wasn't the best option at the moment and maybe she'd have to find out for herself what Harvey was really up to herself.
Anslee had gotten ready for bed like she normally did every night and told Rachel goodnight, pretending to go to sleep, while in reality she'd just stayed up until she heard Rachel go to bed, which had ended up being around 11:30 to her surprise considering Rachel was a big advocate for getting all your rest in at night. When she was sure her mother was asleep, Ans had opened her door softly and tiptoed into the kitchen where she'd wait for Harvey to return so she could interrogate him herself. While she waited, she poured herself a glass of water, sipping it every so often as she scanned over the files on the kitchen table that belonged to her mother. They all seemed basic and boring until she came across a file labeled 'JOKER' in big black bold letters. Frowning, Anslee set her water down and opened the file, finding an array of pictures taken by bank security cameras of a man with a medium build. It looked to be white, red, and black grease paint covered his face like clown makeup, a big red smile painted on his mutilated cheeks that looked to be scarred. His greasy drug-store dyed royal green hair hung at his shoulders at all different angles. This was the man who'd robbed the mob bank the same day as her accident. Anslee moved the pictures aside, setting them on the table before leaning against it, holding the file open in one hand while the picked her glass of water back up, taking a sip as she scanned the file.
"Suspect Lau fled to Hong Kong immediately after meeting at Wayne Enterprise," the brunette read out loud to herself in a mutter, raising an eyebrow, "Mob boss Gambol found dead in old meeting place of Carmine Falcone," she continued through. Anslee had nearly immersed herself so much in the file she almost hadn't heard the door to Rachel's apartment open and quietly shut. The teen looked up from the file as she heard footsteps near the enter the kitchen, low and behold, Harvey stood in front of her slightly confused.
"Anslee? What are you doing up?" He asked, frowning slightly as he looked at the girl with the file in her hand.
"Where have you been?" Anslee raised an eyebrow as she looked back at the man.
Harvey hesitated before answering her, "I told you and your mom, I went to meet Jim Gordon at the precinct."
Anslee snickered before tilting her head at a slight angle, "I'm not clueless, Harv, you said Jim called you and when I used your phone to call mine you didn't have any recent calls with Jim Gordon, who were you with?" the girl persisted, setting her glass down on the table as she stood up straight, the worst coming to her mind, "Don't tell me you're doing what I think you are."
Harvey's eyes widened, "What? No, of course not I'd never do that to your mother," he quickly defended himself, "I can see why you think that though, and I can explain," he spoke softly before glancing at the file in her hand, "Your mom leave those out?"
Anslee nodded, waiting for his explanation, "She hasn't talked to me much about anything work or case related lately, maybe you'll be able to fill me in."
The man chuckled before nodding, "I'll do my best, but I was with Commissioner Gordon, he did not call me though. I went to the precinct and turned on the signal for him, the Batman, Gordon came up and found me, and then the Bat showed up as I had intended. Lau, the man you've been reading about in that file, has had a bunch of affiliations with the mob here in Gotham, cleaned out the vaults in that bank on Friday and left behind only the marked bills the Bat gave Gordon so we could track them. Which, unfortunately means we've got mob spies infiltrating our offices. Lau fled back to Hong Kong after your dad pulled out of a business deal that could have been disastrous had he not. We know he aided in stealing the money from that robbery on Friday and has some himself, and we want him back. That's where Batman came in, I need him to get Lau back here for me so we can liberate and interrogate him, hopefully to throw him in prison." Harvey spoke in a hushed tone.
"And this Joker guy?" Anslee looked back down to the file.
"He was the leader in the grand scheme of things, the bank robbery, and we think he killed Gambol, a fellow mob boss, and is now running with Lau and the rest of the baddies like Maroni."
Anslee nodded her head, happy to at least hear Harvey wasn't sneaking around with another woman and using his work as an excuse, "Thanks for not being a total douche," she smirked at the man.
"What kind of man would I be if I broke the heart of a woman who could ruin my life?" He smirked back at her.
"Now that that's cleared up, I think I can sleep soundly tonight, I'll see you in the morning," Anslee smiled, setting the file back on the table and heading to her room. At least this city had one politician that wasn't high on power and his ego.