Your Cheatin' Heart

Chapter Nine

DISCLAIMER: I own the judge. And the bad guys. And Bruce and Dick's horsies! (grins) I always wanted a horse... ah-hem... anyway, the rest of them belong to Time/Warner. Or DC Comics. Or FOX. Well, they belong to one of those, anyway... XP I think the characters belong to DC Comics and the TV show partially belongs to all three. Which is why they won't release it on DVD yet. (sob)

The trial resumed the next morning. It went quickly and ended with the obvious results—Tracie and June Silvers were convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder and robbery of over three million dollars in cash and precious jewels. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment.

But don't forget: I was still facing charges of aiding and abetting.

The judge told me to stand up. He was a real mean-looking old guy. With my luck, he was probably the hanging judge. But I did like he said, fervently hoping that the floor would open up and swallow me. It didn't.

"Now," he said. "While it is true that you were willingly going to allow the defendants to escape unscathed, the jury has decided that you did not do this out of malice, nor did you do it out of a desire to help the defendants."

Sheesh, even I could have said that.

The judge continued, but in a slightly kinder tone: "You did what you felt you had to, and you did it out of love and to protect someone you truly cared about, even at your own expense. Richard, the jury has found you to be a brave, compassionate young man, and in light of these facts, this court has hereby granted you a full pardon for your actions."

He smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back, feeling at least five feet taller than I really was. I thanked the judge and then sat back down upon his orders, still grinning like an idiot. Although I felt like shouting aloud, I could only cheer mentally. So I did—Yippee!

But the best part? Maybe it was just my imagination, but when I looked over at Bruce to see his reaction, I thought I saw pride in his eyes.

My joy was rather short-lived, however. It was time to say good-bye to Tracie and, although he hid his emotions well (as he always did), I could tell that Bruce was not happy about this. Who would be? I myself was feeling pretty low as well.

We approached their table, where a couple of officers were handcuffing the Silvers sisters and preparing to take them to the jailhouse next door. June gave me a rotten look that screamed 'I'll get you' as she passed. Luckily, we would be heading back to Gotham City in a week or so and would never have to see her again.

Saying good-bye to Tracie wasn't as easy, however. We had all grown to know and love her over the past summer, yet I couldn't really bring myself to feel sorry for her. She had tried to kill Bruce—that had instantly cut her out of my heart forever.

I'll never forget what Bruce and Tracie said to each other just before the officers took her away:

"Well," she started, not looking at him directly. "I guess this is it."

"Yes."

Neither spoke for a few seconds before Tracie began again in a tearful voice, "Oh, Bruce, I'm so sorry! I never meant for it to turn out this way—I honestly thought things could work out between us. I really thought June was dead… but then she showed up and everything began spinning out of control and…" Tracie stopped short. "And I owe you an apology too, Dick. You weren't supposed to get hurt."

Boy did I want to say something to that. Did she honestly think that I wouldn't have been hurt by Bruce's murder? So what if it would have been an emotional wound instead of a physical one? It would have been a hundred times worse than being shot! Even several months after the fact, I still shudder to think about what might have been.

But I decided to be tactful and just nod. Or rather, Alfred gave me a discreet (but very painful) poke in the ribs and FORCED me be tactful.

"Tracie," said Bruce, once again using that deadly tone he usually reserved for his nights as the Batman. "I can forgive you for trying to rob me, and even for trying to murder me. But hurting Dick… that is something I can never forgive you for."

I stood there, staring up at Bruce with shock evident in my face. It just barely registered that Tracie had nodded her head in resignation and was being led away by prison guards down the same route June had taken only moments before.

As soon as she was out of sight, Bruce slowly turned to face me. He looked at me for a minute before brushing past and heading out the door.

I could have sworn he smiled at me.

Me: (checks number of reviews) Hey, it looks like people are losing interest in me.

Dick: What makes you say that?

Me: Some of them have stopped reviewing. (instantly suspicious) You didn't offend anybody in the replies, did you?

Dick: Heck no! Why would I do that?

Me: To get revenge on me for the time I dumped Adam and Little Joe in Lake Tahoe! And when I broke 006's paw in one of my original works! And-

Dick: Ah-HA! So you CONFESS! Just wait until Starfleet hears about this. You're toast.

(Panamint sticks an old sock in his mouth, ties him to a chair and has Denny the tribble do the replies instead so Dick can't tattle.)

Reviewer Replies

Mysterious Jedi-Thanks for the review! Yes, I guess Bruce and Spock are both kind of strange. But that's what makes them such interesting characters.

Onthnis-Thank you! Don't worry: Dick will stay safe for a while yet... well, he WOULD have if he wasn't tied to the stupid chair...

kokomocalifornia-Thanks for everything, and I hope you had a great weekend too! 8)

60's-bat-fan-Oh, no, plenty more where that came from! And if you ever want to sock it to TAP, I know several friends who will be more than happy to help! Thanks for including that in your review, I've been looking for a chance to do something evil to Panamint...

Herald Tamara-Thank you! XD