That night when Bruce disappeared to the Batcave, Carly walked into the kitchen where she knew the butler would be sat up most of the night, waiting. He was there, as she expected, drinking from a barely warm cup of tea and frowning at the wall. He didn't notice when she first stepped into the room. She folded her arms across her chest and tried to think of something clever to say.

"Looks like you've saved us again, Al." She leaned against the doorframe. "That must have gotten old years again."

"What must have gotten old, Mrs. Wayne?" He asked, his tone almost icy.

"Having to rescue Bruce and I all the time." She explained. "We must seem like a joke to you. Playing house, trying to adopt a son, but we can't even get one thing right."

"Carly," Alfred took her by surprise, using only her first name. It was something she couldn't ever remember him doing. The butler straightened in his seat and looked at her pointedly.

"I do not in any way find what you and Master Bruce are trying to do a joke. You forget that I once stood where you now stand. Time has passed, but I still remember every detail of those days. There was Master Bruce a young boy who, in a matter of a few hours, went from having the entire world within his grasp to being completely alone. I had no idea what I was doing then, but I knew that without me Bruce Wayne would be irreparably lost. Did I raise him perfectly? Perhaps not. There are certainly things I would have done differently with hindsight being twenty-twenty. But I did my very best. I provided Bruce with structure, discipline, a sense of morality. Things I'm certain he would not have had without me."

"It's just that you've been so quiet about the whole thing, I assumed you disapproved." She confessed.

"Truthfully I suppose I did disapprove at first." Alfred leaned back in his chair. "No parent is ever really ready to hear that their child is going to become a parent themselves. There was this feeling that I still had so much to teach him. So much to teach you both, because the truth is I've always thought of you as a daughter too, Miss Carly. I was worried I suppose that I hadn't prepared you enough."

"Al, you've done everything and more for Bruce and I." Carly moved to sit down next to Alfred. "I know that I couldn't be more grateful. You've been such a huge part of our lives. Taking on, well a son, means that we are going to need your help more than ever and knowing we have your support means the world to me."

"I should think it's not necessary, but I wish to remind you that I am at your disposal always Mrs. Wayne. I m honored to serve the Wayne family as I always have, and if that means spending a few hours a day in a parenting class then that is what I must do."

"We will all owe you until the end of time." Carly insisted. "And Bruce and I will begin to actually attend those classes. We very clearly need them." Carly stifled a yawn.

"Maybe, Mrs. Wayne, you should consider going to bed? Starting the day off on the right foot might do wonders for the rest of your routine." The Butler suggested.

"You know," Carly paused to let loose a lion worthy yawn. "I don't think I'll ever get used to being Mrs. Wayne."

"The former Mrs. Wayne once told me the same." Alfred smiled a broad grin. "And I should like to think she did a fine job living up to her title, as I think you will."

"I think you're giving me more credit than I deserve." Carly yawned again. "I was waiting for Bruce to get home because I wanted to talk with him, but maybe you're right, it's getting pretty late. I'm going to go down to get him. Goodnight, Alfred."

"Goodnight Mrs. Wayne." The Butler returned with a knowing smile.


Carly climbed down the stairs and into the Batcave where her husband was hard at work. He was reading over a series of documents, and based on his stiff posture he hadn't moved for hours. Carly tried to read the files from her spot on the stairs but the font was too small to really make out. The only thing she could identify on anything was the logo of Gotham City's Child Services at the top of some documents.

Those must be Dick's files. She realized.

"You know I can hear you on the steps." Bruce grumbled from his computer desk.

"And I thought Clark was the one with super hearing." She closed the distance between the stairs and the Batcomputer. She draped her arms loosely over her husband's chest and laid her head on his left shoulder so that most of her weight was supported on his back.

"It's getting late, B." She informed him. Bruce glanced at the clock in the cornered of his monitor.

"No later than usual." Was Bruce's brisk answer.

"Oh Kay…" Carly straightened herself so that she was standing again. "Well I know you basically leave Bruce Wayne upstairs when you come down here, but if I could talk to my husband for a few minutes please, Batman, that would be great."

"Car," Bruce turned his chair away from the computer so that his wife knew she had his full attention.

"Listen, it won't take long." Carly leaned the desk. "I owe you an apology, Bruce." Bruce raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything. "Two weeks ago we were hardly even talking. Today? We are married, living together in this monstrous house, and tomorrow we'll add a young boy to the mix. A lot has changed in such a short time and I haven't been prepared. And I owe you an apology."

"Carly you don't owe me an apology. You have been handling all of this so much better than anyone could have expected. When I told you about all of this we had a brief discussion, but you didn't batted an eye." Bruce gestured around the room indicating that he was talking about Batman and the Batcave. "And that night at the circus, I had barely made the suggestion before you agreed to take Dick home with us. I'll admit you took me by surprise when you decided we should get married, but I like to think both of us are better together. You are my better half Carly. And I owe you so much more than an apology."

Carly didn't know what to say. She supposed this was one of the things she loved about Bruce. He saw her like she were the eighth wonder of the world. He made her feel like the most important woman on the planet. Even thought she knew that couldn't possibly be true, she almost believed it when she heard him talking about her. And while their marriage had started out as just a way for the two friends to give Dick a safe home, she realized that Bruce might be right. Maybe it was always about them. Bruce and Carly against the rest of the world.

"You don't owe me anything either, Bruce." She informed him. "We'll have each other, and Dick and Alfred. That will be enough no matter what else. Why don't you come to bed? Tomorrow's going to be a big day. The case can wait another night."

"The trail's going cold, Car." Bruce frowned, his eyes flicked back to the computer's gigantic monitor. "If I don't hit a break with this soon, I'm afraid I won't be able to…" Carly leaned forward and gave her husband a brief kiss.

"If anyone can work it out it's you. And in the meantime I'll start taking better care of things upstairs. I'll start actually going to those classes that Mrs. Clarke wants us to. We'll make an excellent team."

"Speaking of teams, I'm expecting members of the league for help with the Greyson's case. They should be here any minute." Bruce said.

"Whose coming?" His wife asked, leaning back on the computer.

"The Flash, Barry, is a forensic scientist with the Central City Police Department. During the day, J'onn is himself a detective and you already know that Clark is a reporter." He explained. "I thought maybe if we pooled our resources, we could accomplish more."

"Well look who's learned to play well with others." Carly smirked. "I'll say hi as the others come in, but then I'm going to bed. Try not to stay up too late, B. We're getting our boy back tomorrow."