WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BATMAN BEGINS

AN: As in the previous chapters, this one contains dialogue directly
from the movie.

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Xander was moving as soon as the last of Ra's thugs had vacated the hallway. The smooth marble floor was littered with burning debris, but Xander still managed to come to a sliding stop right at Bruce's side.

Xander started to remove Bruce from the large piece of burning ceiling that had fallen on him. He stilled his movement in mid-motion as he felt the presence of someone coming up from behind him. Turning to face the man, he was surprised to find the elderly English man, Alfred, only a few paces away.

Alfred seemed to pay him little to no attention. Instead he knelt in front of Bruce, who was slowly regaining consciousness. Xander moved over slightly to make room for the man whose sole focus seemed to be on the pinned down man.

Alfred gripped the object and strained as he tried to move it. He glanced down to the now struggling Bruce and said, "What's the point of those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?"

As Bruce began to lift the offending piece of flaming debris, a sense of foreboding swept through Xander, sending a shiver down his spine. Without any conscious thought, Xander's hands were wrapped around the burning log. With a primal scream that echoed over the roaring flames, he tossed the object off of Bruce's body with little trouble.

Cracks could be heard above them as the flames ate away at the remaining portions of the ceiling. Xander was still on autopilot, still feeling the sense of impending doom, as he reached out and grabbed Bruce by his tux.

Already in a crouched position, Xander leapt backwards hauling Bruce with him. The two men collided with a wide-eyed Alfred, and all three men rolled onto the floor away the debris and more of the flaming ceiling which had collapsed onto the marble floor where they had just been moments before.

Both men were staring at Xander, as he tried to regain his breath. Neither man was sure of what exactly to say, but it was Bruce, in a raspy voice, that was the first to speak up.

"Xander, I thought I told you to leave?"

Nothing was spoken for a moment as Xander glanced around the flaming wreckage that had once been once the stately Wayne manor. When he glanced back down to the, now kneeling, Bruce, he replied. "Oh, you did. And I definitely concur. We should get out of here." He glanced around once again, noticing that most of the doorways were aflame. "And I'd love any suggestions you have."

Before Bruce could say anything on the matter, Alfred spoke up. "Sir, I came across a guard outside the front entrance." The fact that Alfred had either eluded, or disabled the guard was not lost on Xander. However, that fact took a backseat as he noticed the penetrating stare that Alfred was sending at the young Billionaire. "Perhaps we should try our luck with the exit in the Southeast corner, Sir?"

Bruce glanced in Xander's direction, still making eye contact with the young man. It took no more than a fleeting moment for Bruce to make up his mind. However, for Xander, it felt a lifetime longer. And when it was answered, he knew that it was going to lead to something profound.

It was a simple movement. A quick nod of his head, and Xander knew his life was about to change. Perhaps not as profound as learning about the existence of vampires, and other terrors that go 'bump in the knight' but it was still a change; and a monumental one as well. It was just a feeling, but he learned to trust his instincts long ago. A moment later, Alfred was leading the way with Xander supporting Bruce as they made their way through the burning home.

They made their way through the hallways. The flames seemed alive as they were spreading in all directions. They finally arrived, and stopped, in the room where Xander had first met both Bruce and Alfred.

Xander quickly scanned the room, besides the entryway they had just came through, there was only one other door out of this room. And, while it was a nice room, he couldn't help but notice the wooden piano, and all of the books; or, as he preferred to call them, kindling. Before he had a moment to ask if they had taken a wrong turn, or if Alfred was just plain old nuts, the man struck three distinct notes on the burning piano.

Xander's eyes widened as a secret passage opened where the glass shielded bookshelf had been. 'Now that is so cool!' Xander's musings were cut short as Alfred gently guided them through the open passage. Their pace began to pick up as the roaring sound of the oncoming flames picked up behind them.

"There's a lift at the end of the tunnel." Alfred's voice was a mixture of worry and determination. "Jump in there, and I'll get us down."

Xander could feel the heat on his back. He dove into the open lift, hauling Bruce along for the ride. They collided with the metal grate on the far side of the lift, with Bruce on top of Xander.

Xander risked a glance over Bruce's shoulder as Alfred made his way into the lift. The charging flames reflected off of Xander's wide eyes. The flames charged in with an unrelenting fury, as though the hand of the devil was coming personally to demolish its foes.

The moment Alfred rotated the lever controlling the lift; it felt as though the contraption was in a free fall. Though, truth be told, Xander's attention was focused above them, as the roaring flames scorched the cement walls and left only charred remains in its path. The flames collided with the wall with enough force that it felt like a small explosion had occurred. Then, like the tide itself, it receded on its own, as if it had never been there. Only by the damaged and smoking remains that had crossed its path, could one tell that death had been so close at hand.

They came to the ground with a jarring halt. Alfred gently extracted Bruce, who seemed to be a million miles away. Xander could both see and feel the concern radiating from the older man. He quietly moved himself to the other side of the lift, not wanting to intrude on what felt like a private moment. He knew his action was the correct one, when he heard Bruce's almost whisper like voice come from what felt like miles away.

"What have I done, Alfred?" He was now sitting in the corner, his voice a whisper while trying to regain control of his breathing. Yet, his eyes still seemed so far away. "Everything my family, my father built; it's all gone."

Alfred was still carefully fussing over his young charge as he answered as earnestly as he could. "The Wayne legacy is more than just bricks and books."

Bruce continued as though he hadn't heard him. "I wanted to save Gotham. I failed."

Alfred just stared at the lost young man that was family to him. "Why do we fall, Sir?" He waited for Bruce to meet his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, and in that moment, even Xander could feel the familial bond between them. "So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

A small smile spread on both men's faces. Xander wasn't sure how, but something told him that particular statement held more meaning than the words alone.

Bruce's voice was still soft as he looked at the man who had been like a father to him. "You still haven't given up on me."

Alfred smiled down at Bruce. In a firm, yet soft voice he replied, "Never."

Xander gave a small, yet sad smile at the bond the two shared. It really was a touching scene displayed before him. Yet it was tempered by the fact that Xander didn't feel he had anybody like that in his own life. Xander's father hadn't been his father for as long as he could remember. Giles would have to be the closest person to a father he had since he met the man at the start of high school his sophomore year. Yet still, they had never had such a bonding moment.

With the possible exception of Willow, he couldn't think of anyone who would have cared for him as the two in front of him cared for each other. There was no one to come to his side and reassure him that he would be all right. And boy, were there times when he definitely needed someone to talk to him in such a way. It was something that he never truly realized he had been missing. And that fact alone depressed him to no end.

However, the fact that Gotham was still under attack was not something lost on him. So, like so many times before, he pushed those depressing thoughts to the side, and focused on the here and now. This turned out to be a good thing; as he noticed both men looking in his direction.

He gave them a lopsided smile, while saying. "Man Bruce, you billionaires know how to throw the best parties!"

None of them knew how to respond to that. Both Bruce and Alfred weren't quite sure how to handle things, since he was only feet away from Bruce's biggest secret.

Xander, on the other hand, had to hide a wince as a stray thought hit him. 'Thank God he and Buffy don't have the same birthday. I don't think the world could survive them both having a party at the same time!'