Chapter 2

Bruce stood in the cave, watching the monitors, and, finding nothing unusual, stood and headed up the steps back to the mansion, closing the door behind him as he headed to the living room. Dick jogged down the steps from the second floor, and hopped over the back of the couch, dropping onto the cushions with a small laugh.

"Hey, Bruce," he said, clicking on the TV. "Anything new?" he asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Nothing…Alfred?" Alfred walked in, and smiled.

"Yes, Master Bruce?"

"You can start dinner anytime, my meeting tonight was cancelled." Alfred smiled at him, and nodded, starting to walk away.

"Hey, Alfred, what is for dinner?" Dick called.

"Mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, and broiled chicken." Dick smiled.

"Sounds great, thank you." Alfred nodded again, walking away. Dick looked over at Bruce, and looked at the clock.

"You expectin' someone, Dick?" Bruce asked, sitting down in his chair and opening the newspaper.

"Nah…But I'm gonna run out and get the mail, alright?" he asked, standing up.

"Yeah, go ahead," Bruce said, shrugging, and continued to read. Dick stood up, and headed out the front door, pausing and leaning into the kitchen.

"Al? I'm gettin' the mail." He looked over at Dick from the stove.

"Alright, Master Grayson," he said, and continued cooking. Dick smirked a little, and headed out the door, rubbing his hands thru his hair as he crossed the property to the gate, reaching around and getting the mail. He took a few steps away from the gate as it opened, and he looked over, confused. A taxi cab came up the drive, but the back windows were tinted, and he couldn't see inside.

Dick raised his arm, and pushed the speaker button on his watch.

"Hey, Bruce?" Bruce looked at his hand, and pushed his button.

"Yeah?"

"Were you expecting company?" Dick raised an eyebrow, and shook his head.

"Um, not that I know of, why?" Dick looked up, and started jogging towards the front door.

"Don't worry about answering the door, I got it," he said, jogging up and dropping his arm. The taxi pulled to a stop at the front door, and the back door opened. A woman climbed out, with striking, near bleach blonde hair down to her shoulders that framed her slightly tanned face. Her bright green eyes roamed around, looking at the property as she pulled her bag out with her, slinging it over her shoulder and turning towards the door. The taxi drove off, and Dick ran, hopping up beside her as she tilted her head back, looking up at the tall Mansion. As she began to lean back, Dick held her up, smiling.

"Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Ya know, if you lean back any further, you'll fall and probably hurt yourself," he said, and stood her up, smiling at her. She turned and faced him.

"You scared me, hi…" she said, faintly smiling and glancing at the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked, opening the front door.

"Um, maybe…I was looking for Bruce Wayne…I need a job and I was curious as to whether or not he could use a maid," she replied, biting her lip a little. Dick smiled.

"Yeah, I can help. I live here, he took me in. I'm Richard Grayson, you can call me Dick," he said, shaking her hand and closing the front door as he led her into the living room. "Hey, Bruce? Visitor!" he called, hopping over the back of the couch again. She wandered around the couch, and smiled at Bruce. He stood up, and smiled at her.

"Can I help you?" he asked. "I'm Bruce, I guess you could tell that, though, hm?" he asked, shaking her hand.

"I was in search of a job, and I sort of figured, you know, big house, you might need another hand around," she said, smiling at him a little more as she gently pushed her hair behind her ear. Dick couldn't take his eyes off her. Bruce bit his lip, and thought.

"I'll have to think about it, and speak with my butler, Alfred, but I'll let you know within a few days….Do you have a number I can call you at?" he asked. She nodded, and jotted it down on a piece of paper from her bag.

"There you go, that's my cel phone…" He nodded, and put it into his pocket.

"Thanks…Dick, you can show her around while I go see how Alfred's doing, and then we'll eat, okay?" Dick stood, and led the nameless woman out of the room, heading towards the steps.

"Up there is the bedrooms and a couple bathrooms, and out that way is the backyard…"

"Can we go out there?" she asked sweetly. He smiled.

"Sure…" Dick led her to the backyard, and showed her around. She was extremely in awe at how beautiful it looked with the trees and bushes and the hundreds of flowers splashed across the lawn.

"Oh my god….It is so beautiful…" she said, and walked around, sniffing flowers and such. Dick watched her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his blue jeans.

"Are you having fun?" he called. She nodded, and looked over.

"Lots…but we can go in now…I'm just not used to something so beautiful," she said, and followed him inside.

Dick led her to the garage, and showed her the cars, and the woman wandered away, allured by a blue 1965 Eldorado Convertible that was sitting alone in the corner. She walked over.

"Wow…this car is…"

"Old," Dick finished, smirking. "But it's cool. Bruce has all these old cars, and over there a bunch of old bikes…I prefer the 1958 Ariel Red Hunter 350, over in that corner," he said, leading her over. She kept her eyes on the car for a moment, and turned her attention to the bike, as Dick leaned over it. Her eyes quickly moved from the bike to him, and she felt the flutter of small excitement rush thru her entire body. She smiled softly at him, and bit her lip, watching him squirm a little bit.

"Nice, uh, bike," she said, smiling faintly. He nodded, and looked back her, catching her looking as he stood.

"Isn't it, though?" he said, a similar rush going thru him. The woman stuttered in her mind before lowering her eyes.

"I should probably get going…don't want you to miss your dinner…" she said, and headed back into the house, moving up towards the living room.

"I'll give you a call, alright?" Bruce asked, peeking over the couch.

"Alright…thank you Bruce," she replied, smiling at Dick. Alfred knitted his eyebrows together, and turned his head. "It was nice meeting you, Dick," she said, stepping towards the door, her back to Alfred. Dick nodded, and turned away, freezing and spinning around.

"Hey, wait! We never caught your name!" he called, smiling goofily. She smiled, and turned towards Alfred, opening the front door. She glanced in at him, and looked backwards.

As she stepped out the door, just before pulling it shut behind her, Alfred's eyes shot open at her face…and her response.

"It's Emily."

Author's Note: Thank you, Pirate Gyrl, for pointing out how to truly spell Dick's last name, I never actually noticed that before, and thank you for the note on who really killed Bruce's parents. I didn't realize that, either. Now, and possible in the future chapters, I'll owe edits I've made to your observations, and I thank you.

KK.