Title: Life Is Good: XIII
Author: D C Luder
Summary: The second addition in the Series of Three storyline. Se three months after his full recovery, the Dark Knight is back with a vengeance.
Rating: T
Infringements: All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not DC Luder.
Author's Note: Bruce's dream sequence is based on a scene in the 1966 Classic "Batman: The Movie" directed by Leslie Martinson, thanks Chris for the awesome idea!
V
A bomb.
There was a bomb fuse burning.
I searched the room feverishly, as did Robin. No luck, only louder fizzing. Suddenly, Robin emerged from a closet in the vacant apartment, "Look Batman, gee whiz it's a doozie!"
I ripped it from his gloved hands then promptly pushed him away, "Away, Robin! Away" I bellowed.
He stood shocked and frozen in place momentarily before heading out the window for safety.
I had begun to follow him out as well, bomb in hand, but a small Salvation Army Band passed by, tubas blaring. I raced form the room, bomb still fizzing, and raced through a doorway. I found myself at the top of a stairwell, overlooking a bar filled with drunk and fighting patrons. I called out the first thing that came to my mind, "Quick! Everyone, flee for your lives! Into the streets!"
Everyone dashed to the nearest exits, screaming with fear and I was shocked to see two overweight women had remained at their table, devouring what appeared to by an all you could eat portion of the day's catch.
Upon exiting, I was disoriented with a burst of sudden sunlight. I was no longer in the old housing complex of the East End where the bomb threat had been called into but on the docks of Gotham Harbor in the middle of the afternoon. The bar I had just been in had been none other the Ye Olde Benbow Taverne. With no time to spare on rationalizing the sudden change in location, I set out to cast the bomb off into a safe place for it to explode. But before I could even begin to approach the water, a set on nuns shuffled by, chatting about life and the Lord. I about-faced and headed south down the boardwalk and nearly ran into a young woman pushing a baby carriage.
From there, I dashed in an easterly direction and met up once more with the Salvation Army band, tubas and trumpets still blasting.
This was a nightmare!
I passed by them, holding the fast-burning bomb over my head. While dashing down the planked boardwalk, pedestrians gasped and scattered at the sight of me. Once I reached a secluded region, I began to toss the bomb in to the water. Luckily, I hesitated on the release and spared the lives of two young lovers in a rowboat. When I turned around and headed further down, I nearly collided with a well-designated storage area loaded with butane tanks and innocent civilians.
After a few steps back, I set out to a further spot down the docks and once again ran into the nuns, the woman and baby carriage and the haunting SA band.
Finally, I arrived at a part that appeared to be a clear and safe place to get rid of the bomb.
But there were baby ducks.
I muttered to myself, "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
Baby ducks.
Baby.
Mattie.
I lurched forward in bed; sweat covering my body as my breaths came in heaves. It was a dream, of some sort. It took nearly a minute for my vitals to dip back to normal and for me to become aware of where I had been.
The Torres Hotel, Suite Ten. I searched the bedroom for a clock and found an alarm reading 9:30 P.M. I rose slowly and scanned the room for any sign of Selina. After finding none and finally recognizing the sound of a television, I left the room and headed to the den of the suite.
After being at Mercy Hospital for well over ten hours, Selina had left to make hotel accommodations across the street. It was brand new facility put up especially for those who were family members of hospitalized individuals. And since Bristol was a good half hour drive, it seemed to be the most logical path. After Barbara had showed up with Dick at six, I was dead on my feet, exhausted both mentally and physically. Since Mattie had fallen ill I had been without sleep or rest, her pain had consumed me.
The second we had walked through the door of our room, I collapsed on the bed, mumbling to be woken in three hours.
Well, she was a half hour late.
I found Selina, showered and in a robe, on the den couch, surfing the channels with one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. A tray nearby held a pot and another cup in addition to several pastries and a cream server. Silently, I walked up behind her and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
She smiled, dropped the remote and scratched my stubble with her free hand, "Fuzzy wuzzy." I smiled and slowly walked around and sat beside her. She leaned into my shoulder and spoke quietly, "Alfred brought by some clothes, if you wanted to change."
I nodded and wrapped an arm around her back.
"She's going to be fine, Bruce."
A sigh escaped my lips but no other sound.
"Barbara called, said Mattie ate dinner, too, and she fell asleep pretty good."
I felt the tightness in my chest return from earlier that day.
That dream was so disturbing that it took over my mind as Selina talked to me. No matter what I did, I couldn't bump the images out of focus. My daughter was in the hospital, now diagnosed with asthma and all I could do was think of that damned band and the stupid ducks floating around without a care in the world.
"When do you want to go back over?"
I spoke finally, "Soon. I'll clean up, change. We'll leave at quarter of."
"Yes, sir," she said as she rose off of the couch and returned her coffee cup to the tray.
I got up as well and made my way back to the bedroom. In the small closet, sure enough, there were pressed jeans and a hanging sweater next to a similar outfit that was for Selina.
I stood motionless, staring at the closet and thinking of Tim as he had exited one similar in my dream.
What was going on?
"Bruce?"
I faced her, seeing the pain in her face as she stood at the end of the bed. Her eyes had been red throughout the day, on an off tears being the cause. I too had been saddened by our daughter's illness but had kept inside. Pushing away any form of console. Pushing Robin away.
Get out of here.
I approached her and took her into my arms just as her tears brimmed over. We slowly reclined to the bed, and I pulled her on to my lap. Her arms circled my neck and I felt a hot wetness seep into my shirt as she pressed her face into my neck.
It hit me like ice water.
The plague, the earthquake, my being shot by Pasqualle.
Mattie's illness.
The dream.
All had been times where I had been helpless in protecting the ones I loved.
V
As a kid I hadn't watched much TV. I had been busy with the circus and whenever we did have access to television, I was usually caught up with something a bit more important. Then, after my parents died, I was with Bruce and Alfred, who only watched the news if anything. The first time I really got into the catatonic warmness of TV was in college but it never really caught on besides the soaps that everyone watched.
But right there, in Mattie's private room at Mercy General, the pointless plots of primetime seemed brilliant.
As a commercial replaced the sitcom I had been hypnotized by, I chanced a glance at Mattie. She was in a small, high-sided bed, slumbering quietly despite the IV in her arm and the general hospital noises originating from the hall. I had turned the lights out at seven when she fell asleep and had been sitting at her bedside in the event she woke and began to fuss. I stood to stretch my cramped legs and walked over to the door. A peek into the hall at a large clock showed the time to be quarter of ten.
I suddenly wondered to myself, Wasn't there some hospital drama on at ten?
That would be funny, watching a hospital show while at a hospital.
"Dick?"
I looked towards the north end of the hall to see Barbara approaching with her father behind her. She had been with me that evening as we took over for Bruce and Selina, and had gone on a coffee run but I saw no cups.
We had called Jim a little after six to see if he had wanted to drop by. He had showed interest but didn't want to intrude. Barbara said he was silly and that he should come once he got out of work. Ah, that's my Babs, dominant little vixen.
I saw Jim holding three Styrofoam cups and I smiled.
"She still asleep?" Barbara asked.
I nodded and then opened the door wider so they could enter the room, "Yeah, like a baby."
She slapped my arm as she moved by me.
Jim just handed me my coffee cup.
They both moved over to the bed and stared at the slumbering toddler as I looked on from the door. Now that Jim was the best man for the wedding and Barbara was the maid of honor, I kind of felt a little like the odd man out. Tim and I were still going to stand at the alter with Bruce but just one spot further away. Who was I to complain, Bruce and Jim had known each other for decades. Why should I have to intrude upon that relationship they have fought so hard to keep going?
Before I could move closer to them, I felt the door being pushed from the outside into my back. I spun around and moved out of the way. It was Bruce and Selina, both hardly looking any different then when they had left four hours earlier, aside from clean clothes of course. Alfred wouldn't allow the sin of wearing the same garments for more than twelve hours, no matter what the circumstances.
Thinking of Alfred brought a growl to my stomach. He had gone off to a local restaurant to pick up some food to get our blood sugar ready for the long night ahead. Cassie had gone with him, her high metabolism unquenched by vending machine candy bars that she had sucked down all day. So while we waited for their return, I could think of nothing else than my pastrami and rye sub soaking with special sauces...
"Back so soon?" Barbara asked from behind me.
Selina smiled and approached her daughter's bedside, "Couldn't stay away too long from this angel." She caressed Mattie's cheek softly and then faced me, "So she ate?"
I nodded, "Apple sauce, some small pieces of bread and a cup of peach cubes."
"Sounds good," Jim smiled briefly.
"Well, don't worry, Alfred and Cassandra are out on a mission to get supplies of the edible kind," Barbara stated as she shut the TV off. I sighed because I had wanted to see which guy would get that what's-her-name- girl. Then I sighed again for being sucked into the TV's never-ending powers.
Everyone began small talk and filled Jim in on how Mattie was doing. During this brief moment, I took a chance to look Bruce over. He had gone to rest at the hotel but despite the new clothes and shaved jaw, he looked worse. More ragged. He looked off towards Mattie bed, but made no move to even step all the way through the door. I nodded at him but he didn't see it. I waved my hand a bit and he also ignored me. Just as daring as I was as a kid, on the trapeze or the rooftops, I reached out and tried to poke him the eye with all the finesse of the Three Stooges.
He grabbed my fingers without even flinching and proceeded to squeeze them just hard enough to pop them without causing permanent damage.
I retained my dignity and bit my lip instead of crying out at the sudden jolt of pain. He released my digits and spoke softly, "I saw you."
"Well you could have given a sign so I didn't have to go to the extremes."
"Whatever, Sergeant."
My mouth gaped, "Alfred told you?"
"That and I saw it in the Bludhaven Times. Eighth page next to the article on the new pothole repairs of Central Avenue."
"Yep, I'm a regular celebrity now."
The awaited silence that always fell between us finally arrived.
His lip twitched and he finally looked over at me, "She can go home tomorrow morning, as long as everything stays in the clear."
"That's great, Bruce, really. Are they going to give her meds?"
"Her pulmonologist, Dr. Ritten was in the hall, just now. We have the oxygen tank and nebulizer at home, and her prescriptions will be filled out in the morning for the bronchodilators and the corticosteroids."
My eyes rolled on their own at each of the five or more syllable words that fell out of his mouth.
He must have seen my reaction because he clarified, "To help her breathing, Dick."
"I figured that much," I tilted my head, "Doesn't take a rocket doctor to figure that much out."
He nodded and with one last look, then walked over to Mattie's bedside. She had been slowly waking up in her bed as Bruce and I had talked, and I mused that it was his voice that stirred her. Her tiny arms rose toward him and I watched as he carefully lifted her, carefully avoiding to disturb the IV line in her arm. He held her facing his chest and her hands gripped his shirt collar slowly. I heard her mumble "Dah-ie" and I couldn't help but smile.
Bruce was a great father.
Not only was he constantly there for you, but he always made everything seem as if it were going to be all right.
V
It took Bruce ten minutes to get ready for our return trip to Mercy.
I dressed, put my hair up and dumped my coffee cup in the kitchenette and even had a minute to spare. He emerged from the bedroom looking better, but not by much. He had tortured himself for nearly two weeks, no rest that could count for anything more than a resting of his eyes. Even when he did get home from patrols at a decent hour, he would sit next to Mattie's crib until I pleaded with him to come to bed. It didn't help him, however, for he would lie next to me and pretend to sleep or even worse, fall into a restless slumber.
"Ready?"
I had been sitting on the arm of the couch waiting for him. He walked over and looked down at me until I got up. He grabbed his coat and keys off of the small credenza just inside the main door and then opened it for me.
The three-minute drive to Mercy seemed pointless, but then again, so did the idea of crossing a four-lane highway and walking eight blocks in the middle of March. We parked in the in patient lot and then walked into the hospital. When moving through the glass entrance doors, I felt Bruce's hand on the small of my back. I reached back and snatched to hold in my own.
Our ride up to the fifth floor of the hospital was not done alone. A pair of male and female medical interns, who looked as if it had been months since a full night's sleep, stood behind us and gawked a bit. At first I thought they were going to be foolish but thankfully they kept their mouths shut until we stepped off at our destination, "Those are the parents of that asthma peds case that Doc Ritten has. She is the sweetest little thing..."
"Ah, Bruce, they think our Kitten is sweet."
He grumbled something to himself but kept walking.
As we passed through the automatic doors that sealed of the Pediatric Ward, I spotted Dr. Charles Ritten, a tall, slender man with the kindly older face that so many grandfathers took on. He had a friendly smile on his face at all times he was within sight of a child and was always comforting when speaking with parents. A little after ten that morning a child had passed away down the hall, final stages of leukemia, and he had sat with the boy's mother for hours as she cried her pain into his doctor's coat.
And then, with a dampened coat, he had come into our room, smiling and went about tickling Mattie's sides.
He was leaning over the administration counter, his dark slacks and loafers contrasting with his white coat. Clipboard and pen in hand, I noticed he was writing on the bottom of various sheets held beneath the clip. A nurse sat on the other side of the desk and chatted with him gleefully.
I elbowed Bruce a bit and lead him towards Dr. Ritten.
"There ya be, Carol that should do it, eh?" he grinned as he handed the nurse the clipboard.
She looked in our direction as she spoke, "Looks like you're not out of here yet."
He followed her gaze, "Bruce, Selina. Back so soon?"
Bruce nodded coldly and I squeezed his hand briefly before letting go and moving over towards the desk. He folded his stethoscope and pocketed in the coat as I said, "Yeah, just need a quick nap, how is she?"
"I just checked her vitals and her ox levels are super. We used the aerochamber again to give her the Pediapred and the humidifier is still on but not full force. I have her 'scripts written out and Carol here will pick them up for you in the morning and if all goes well tonight she will be discharged in the morning."
I had no words for him.
All I could do was wrap my arms around him.
After a few more exchanges of gratitude, Dr. Ritten shook Bruce's hand and said, "Well, I'll see y'all in the morning, I think the missus is already starting to wonder where I've gone to."
I watched him go to the elevators, slowly removing his coat. I had asked him around noon why he had chosen the profession of pediatric pulmonolgy. He had been sitting next to me in Mattie's room. Mattie had just gone another round with the nebulizer and now rested comfortably in her father's arms. He sighed after a long while and finally replied, "My first born died of infantile pneumonia at the age of two. There weren't any specialists down in Georgia where I lived. I had just enrolled in med school and knew right then what I was going to do."
It had been one of the saddest things I had ever heard, but he assured me he was fine now, with two girls in college and a sixteen-year-old boy making his way through high school.
I waved as he stepped on the elevator and he waved back.
"Shall we?" Bruce asked, his hand at my elbow.
I turned around and threw my arms around him, right in front of the night staff of the Ped Ward. A few nurses giggled and an intern blushed as I kissed him full on the lips. I broke away slightly and whispered in his ear, "Our baby's going home."
Mattie's room was fifteen feet from the desk but by the time we were a handful of feet away, we heard the voices. Several, chatting quietly. Instead of knocking or even looking in, Bruce swung the door open, of which collided with Dick's back. Before I could make Bruce apologize, I noticed that Jim had joined the bedside vigil and that Cassandra and Alfred were missing.
While I left Bruce on his own to talk with Dick, I joined those closer to Mattie. Barbara smiled and reached for my hand. I bit my lip quickly then squeezed her slender digits and then reached over and touched Jim's arm, "Thanks for coming."
He nodded as he looked down at her. Even with all of the commotion about her she was still sleeping quietly. The last few days had been exhausting for her, with her coughing and inability to catch her breath worsening more so over night. Now, in the comfort of medication, she was at peace.
I spoke suddenly, "We just caught her doctor on his way out. She is set to be discharged tomorrow."
"That's great," Barbara grinned, "Everything has been cleared up?"
"He set her up with a medicine routine to help keep her comfortable and to balance her breathing. We've already called in for new HEPA filters to be installed in the house to reduce the dust and allergens. Help prevent as much as possible."
"What about Isis?" Barbara asked suddenly.
I sighed, "She'll have to be contained in our quarters, kept away from Mattie."
The room went quiet as Bruce suddenly appeared at my side. He offered a weak smile to each of the Gordon's and then glanced down his daughter. I hadn't noticed until then, but she had woken, her blue eyes amazingly cleared as she looked back at her father. She smiled, yawned, and raised her hands towards the sky. We all watched on as he carefully lifted her up and held her against his broad chest. Not even a full second in his arms and she whispered quietly, "Dah-ie."
He kissed her forehead gently and then looked over at me.
Dick then stepped between us, wrapping an arm around both us, "Whole gang's almost here. All we're missing is---."
"Master Dick, I do believe referring to your family as the 'gang' is hardly considered as proper affection," Alfred harrumphed from behind us.
We all turned to see him and Cassandra carrying several brown paper bags, which emitted a delicious aroma of deli goods. Dick spun on his heel and leapt at them, mumbling about rye and special sauce. Alfred shooed him away in order to properly set the bags on the small table in the corner. Cassandra held a soda can and wore a smile on her face.
With a mouthful of food, Dick spoke, "Now all we need is Tim and it'll be a real party."
As if on cue, a knock rapped on the door and a young male voice asked, "Did someone say party?"
"Tim!" Cassandra blurted then covered her mouth.
I glanced at the boy, "What are you doing here?"
"Can't be having a family crisis without the whole family," he said as he entered the room. He had a small stuffed bear in his hand that had a sewn on doctor's smock with "Get Well Soon" embroidered on its stomach. He stepped next to Bruce and waved the bear at Mattie, "This is for you."
She let go of Bruce's shirt and reached for it, "Bay-er."
She almost dropped it but Tim caught it and handed it to Bruce to hold it for her.
Before we could sit back and enjoy the bounty Alfred had returned with, Jim's pager beeped quietly from his belt. He retrieved it and read the display, a frown coming over his face. Barbara looked up at her father, "Dad, what is it?"
He sighed and began pulling his coat tighter around him, "Duty calls."
"Take some food with you," I offered.
He shook his head and patted a nearly flat stomach, "Nah, I'll catch something at the office. Well, I'm glad everything turned out okay, call if you need anything."
"We will, Jim, thanks," I replied.
To make sure everyone had a place to sit, I had Dick and Tim retrieve few spare chairs from the lounge down the hall. We began to eat around quarter after, except Bruce who was content to feed Mattie a bottle of cool water and then held her as she fell asleep in his arms.
At ten-thirty nine, I saw a great white light sear the Gotham skyline.
Dick jerked when he saw it as did Tim. Cassandra was already halfway out the door by the time her older partners had begun to rise. Barbara bagged what was left of her club sandwich and followed the others into the hall, casually as if they had just finished visiting.
I looked at Bruce as he stared down at Mattie. Her tiny fingers were wrapped around one of his as he held her. After a long minute of silence, he looked up at me and for the first time I saw uncertainty in his eyes.
"Go, Bruce."
"You're sure?"
"Are you?"
"Why are you answering me with questions?"
"Why, is it bothering you?" I grinned as I rose and approached him.
"Why would it bother me?" he replied, a smirk on his lips.
I kissed his cheek, "Go, Bruce. I'll sit with her."
He stood slowly, and looked out to the sky before returning his eyes to my face. We transferred her to my arms and he leaned and kissed my lips, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"And in as few pieces as possible," I added.
He kissed my cheek, "I'll try."
V
I had been paged to come back to HQ and had made my way back as quickly as possible. Although he had been standing right next to me in that child's hospital room, I had not wanted to disturb his time with his daughter. On any other case I wouldn't have even given it a second thought and would have let him be with his family, but the display had read: ASAP Jim, PI back in GC!
Once at my office, the phone rang just as I had made my way through the door. It had been a D-II named Mark Davidson, who had been asked to call and give me the details of what went down.
I had put the phone down hardly a second before I had raced up the small set of stairs to the roof. After igniting the signal and losing a few seconds for a quick gaze at the light in the heavens, my cell phone chirped from my coat pocket. I fished it out and scanned the display quickly to see Barbara's name on it. I answered it, "Barbara?"
"Don't worry, he's on his way, thought I'd let you know."
And she hung up.
Wasn't I the popular one?
Pamela Isley had been transferred to a private mental institution for research purposes last spring. Nothing too bad about it, especially since her doctors had decided this change would be the best to allow her to use her knowledge to help instead of harm others.
Yeah, and the Joker could be rehabilitated to tell jokes at the Rotary luncheons.
Nearly a year later, Poison Ivy was missing.
And there was a dead banker in a penthouse on Mabry. Asphyxiation by fungal obstruction of the larynx. I had the phrase memorized from all of my entanglements with Isley. The special crimes unit was already at the scene as I waited on the rooftop for my companion to arrive. As I stood there, thinking of that red-headed murderer prowling my streets, my mind flashed to the image of Bruce holding Mattie out of my mind. The dark, powerful image of the Batman had been tainted, now more human rather than creature of the night. It was hard to see that man in the mask, bringing justice to cold-blooded and aloe-blooded killers alike.
Also, I thought, he was running on practically nothing after the last few weeks. The last thing he needed was to search for Isley as his daughter lay in a hospital bed.
No, I thought afterwards, he needed to know. No matter what had changed between us, he was still the Batman, still the protector of this city. And if there was something going on, he had to be made aware of it.
"Jim?" his voice growled from behind me.
When I turned, I saw his form against the light-lit sky. Across the street, I saw three more silhouettes standing motionlessly, capes billowing around them. I reached over and pulled the switch, darkening the rooftop. "Sorry to pull you away from things."
He grunted, urging for things to be moved along.
"Right to the point then," I informed him of the murder and the basic details surrounding Ivy's transfer.
He interrupted me, "I know about her relocation. How did she escape?"
"The usual. They laid back on her muscle relaxants and let their guard down. Her psychologist at the new hospital mysteriously fell in love with her and gave her keys to the building before receiving one last kiss."
He looked over at his troops, nodded ever so slightly, and they dispersed quickly, each leaving in a different direction. "The body still at the scene?"
"No, coroner wanted it ASAP, considering the cause of death. The fungal content had him worried about spores being spread. Even after all of the Ivy DB's he's seen, he still wants to be sure that it's not an airborne problem." I paused and fingered the pipe in my pocket, "If you want, I can meet you at the hotel."
"No need, just have everyone out."
"No problem, this late everyone's ready to go home..." I stopped because I knew he was gone.
The return to my office took much longer than the trip up to the roof. Not in the amount of time, but it just felt that way. Burdening others always seemed to put weight on my shoulders. Especially when I burdened him.
When I returned to my office, Renee Montoya was standing outside my door, her long, wool coat covering her slender form an her concealed weapon. I nodded at her as I approached and opened my door. I went over and sat on the corner of my desk as she shut the door behind her, "Did he show?"
I nodded again, "Yes, he's on his way over now."
"Good," she paused, "Well, I should get going."
Her words sparked a memory of mine, "I heard from payroll that you were taking a week off."
"Yeah, a friend of mine is getting married in Florida. I'm the bridesmaid."
"Congrats. Florida, hunh, must be sixty degrees there," I recalled the high for the week in Gotham was thirty, "Need any company?"
She laughed, and turned for the door, "See you next week, Jim."
"Have a great time, Renee."
The door had hardly closed when my phone rang.
I let it ring.
I just sat on my desk, staring out into the darkness out the window.
V