Despite Alfred's advice, Bruce didn't sleep that night. Instead, he wearily changed into more comfortable clothes before relocating to his sofa where he remained seated, reviewing all the information he had on the Joker - which was still painfully little - on a tablet while Alfred bustled about in the kitchen to try and create something that might tempt his young master's palate.
The omelette Alfred concocted and the fresh toast that followed remained mostly untouched beside Bruce on the coffee table until, early in the afternoon, the door to his bedroom opened.
Bruce stood up immediately, moving toward the hallway that led down to his room. There, he stopped and waited while Rebecca slowly made her way out of his bedroom, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She looked absolutely terrible: her eyes were puffy and the dark circles under her eyes looked like severe bruising, creating a stark contrast to the rest of her pale skin. Her red hair was also a mess, spilling out of her already-messy ponytail and giving her the appearance of a rather wild creature despite her vain attempts to smooth it as she approached Bruce wearily.
"You're up." Bruce murmured rather unnecessarily but finding himself at a loss of what else to say.
Rebecca gave him a grimace that he thought was an attempt at a smile, before she cast sorrowful eyes down to the ground morosely.
"I'm sorry about last night." Rebecca said quietly, causing Bruce to tense. "I know I shouldn't have… but I-"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Becky." Bruce interrupted softly, reaching down and trying to coax her to lift her face with a finger under her chin. "I know what it feels like, remember?"
His mind flashed back to the terrible night his parents were killed, a memory - a nightmare - he hadn't thought about in a long time. Bruce closed his eyes, quietly absorbing the grief, before opening them and staring back at Rebecca with sorrowful understanding.
"And I knew better than anyone just how important she was to you. And I'm just… I'm so sorry."
"Stop saying that."
Rebecca shook her head furiously, finally lifting her face to reveal tears pooling in her blue eyes once more. The sight made Bruce's heart clench painfully but he listened as Rebecca pleaded with him.
"It's horrible enough that he killed Rachel. Don't blame yourself for the actions of that-that sick madman. Don't feel like you need to apologize because you don't. You weren't the one that… that..."
Rebecca was trembling again and the tears started to fall once more. Bruce brushed them away, feeling helpless as to what else he could do. Rebecca answered his dilemma as she reached forward to hug Bruce tightly, clinging to him as she buried her face into his shoulder. Bruce wrapped his own arms around her tightly, protectively, wishing he could do something - anything - to soothe the pain in Rebecca that he knew there was no balm for besides time… if even that.
His heart weighed heavily in his chest as he felt the increasing wetness in his t-shirt from where Rebecca's tears silently soaked through the soft fabric.
"I'm still sorry." He murmured against Rebecca's hair, lips brushing along her temple. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her. I'm sorry you're suffering. I'm sorry that all I can be is sorry."
"You're here." Rebecca's voice was quiet, thick with tears but still clear enough that Bruce heard her. "And that's what matters."
Bruce hugged her tighter at her words. It was heartbreaking and yet simultaneously lifting to hear Rebecca's confession and Bruce could admire the irony. It still hurt, Rachel's death was a toll on him as well, not the least of all because she had been a good friend in his life. But that Rebecca didn't blame him (however much he still believed she should), that she wanted him and that he could provided at least some comfort… it was a heady feeling of minor relief in the bleak darkness that had encompassed them since the Joker had become a very real threat.
Closing his eyes, Bruce also wondered if that were truly how Rebecca was feeling. All things considered, she seemed to be taking the fact that her sister had been murdered (had been blown to smithereens) by a madman out to burn the world, rather well-
"I wanted to kill him."
Bruce started at Rebecca's quiet admission, almost as if she had read his mind. However, he realized she was probably just thinking along the same lines as he was as Rebecca continued in a soft voice.
"When you came back out with Harvey… when I realized what the Joker had done… and when that building went up… all I could think was that I could kill him. I would have killed him if he'd been around. And not just him: I wanted every single person responsible to be dead. The people who kidnapped Harvey and Rachel, the people who helped the Joker hide them and set them up, the person who ultimately pressed the switch… I wanted all of them to burn in hell so that they might feel a fraction of what I felt."
"Becky…" Bruce murmured, feeling at a loss of what to say. He didn't agree with her; what she wanted wasn't justice, it was revenge. It was a dangerous and slippery slope.
But Rebecca shook her head, sensing his worry.
"But then I had time to rest, to really think." Rebecca whispered, pulling back to look up at Bruce with a tear-stained face.
"And I know that if I did that, even if I could… even if I could set them all on fire… what would that make me?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"No. I won't do that. I'll admit, there's a part of me that still wants them to pay, to feel pain like they've given me. But…"
Rebecca's eyes steeled and she finished firmly, "It's not by what we are underneath. It's what we do that defines who we are. And I won't dishonour Rachel's memory by becoming one of the very people she died fighting."
Bruce was silent for a moment, his eyes remaining locked on Rebecca's. And then he was hugging her tightly against him, burying his face into her hair with no small amount of relief and pride. She was still there. His Rebecca hadn't disappeared into ashes with her sister. She may not be fine now, not yet; but she was still strong and one day (hopefully, Bruce thought feverishly) she could be.
Rebecca meanwhile closed her eyes as she hugged Bruce back just as fiercely. She could almost feel his relief coming off in waves, and it cemented her belief that she had made the right decision.
It had taken her hours after she woke up earlier that morning to think through everything and bring herself to accept reality. Woken from her exhausted sleep by the nightmarish memory of the building from which Bruce had barely rescued Harvey going up in flames, exactly the way she knew the building Rachel had been trapped inside would have exploded, Rebecca had had to fight the sobs that wracked through her. Burying her head into Bruce's pillow, she'd fought with the anger and grief, the desire to find the Joker and kill him slowly so that he might feel a fraction of the pain she felt. But then she inhaled Bruce's scent, imbued into his pillows and sheets, and slowly, Rebecca returned to her senses. To her core beliefs.
It wasn't going to be easy, but she wasn't going to fall into the trap the Joker had set them up in. She would prove to him, to all of the scum like him, that in the end, justice could prevail. She would prove it; she had to. For Rachel… for Bruce. For Gotham.
Some time later
Bruce sat in the kitchen, a plate of fresh pasta set before him thanks to the kind Alfred.
The food was untouched however, despite growing increasingly colder, as Bruce listened to the sound of running water splashing softly coming from down the hall where Rebecca was in the shower, washing up at last after calling in to report to Gordon. The police commissioner had checked that she was somewhere safe and with someone to look after her, and he was relieved to hear she was sounding better - at least, better than Harvey Dent had appeared to be.
Rebecca listened to Gordon's recounting of his meeting with the district attorney with concern, but she didn't blame Dent for feeling angry. He was clearly grieving and Rebecca could understand that too well; but she hoped that after some time alone, he would calm down. Gordon unfortunately had other things to worry about for the moment; aside from still searching for the moles in his team, there was also the matter of trying to catch the Joker.
It caught Rebecca by surprise to hear that Gordon and the rest of the GCPD were planning to head to the docks after a tip-off from Maroni of all people, to capture the Joker. It seemed that even for the great crime lord, the Joker was too much to handle and Maroni was done dancing to the mad clown's tune. Rebecca, however, was ordered to stay home for now and recover, which she accepted with some relief. She hadn't been sure she could handle seeing the Joker in person again so soon.
Bruce too was relieved to hear Rebecca could take some time to herself for once. And while he regretted that he couldn't be there to help Gordon's team catch the Joker, he was thankful for the opportunity to be able to be with Rebecca while she tried to keep going, to keep strong. All of which started with a shower to freshen up and wipe away the ash and dirt from her body. Bruce himself had also changed, getting dressed in freshly pressed shirt and dress pants, just in case he needed to head out in public during the day. While Rebecca was doing better than he could have hoped, there was a lot of affairs they would need to set in order to properly set Rachel to rest.
But even the momentary peace they tried to create was broken all too soon.
The water had just shut off and Bruce perked up, when Alfred suddenly re-entered the kitchen with a grave expression.
"You need to see this, sir." He said grimly, gesturing toward the living room and specifically the television set.
Bruce frowned but followed the elderly butler out. Settling onto the edge of his sofa, Bruce watched as Alfred turned up the volume while the GCN anchor reported against a background of one of Wayne Enterprise's trust fund numbers holder seated in the broadcast interview room.
"He's a credible source - an M&A lawyer for a prestigious consultancy . He says he's waited as long as he can for the Batman to do the right thing."
In the background shot, a man Bruce recognized from a few company meetings and whom the caption identified as one Coleman Reese, nodded in agreement while the news anchor continued.
"Now he's taking matters into his own hands. We'll be live at five with the true identity of the Batman, stay with us…"
"That man is an idiot if he thinks this will stop the Joker."
Bruce glanced back to where Rebecca was dressed in a fluffy bathrobe while rubbing a towel through her hair as she stared at the television screen grimly.
"Becky." Bruce greeted at the same time Alfred added politely, "Good morning, Miss Dawes."
"More like good afternoon, right Alfred?" Rebecca smiled a little, although Alfred did notice that it didn't quite reach her eyes.
He refrained from commenting, instead watching as Rebecca shook her head at the television again.
"He's an idiot if he thinks revealing the Batman is going to change anything. Harvey was right about that - we can't give in, not the least of all with a guy like the Joker. He's crazy, he has no rules, no honour in keeping promises. Revealing your identity is only going to set a target on you and it'll do nothing to stop the Joker's mad actions."
"You already know he knows it's me?" Bruce asked in surprise.
He knew of course; Lucius Fox had already informed Bruce of the fact that Reese had caught wind of the truth and likely guessed the Batman's true identity. It hadn't seemed like a problem then, especially after Fox spooked Reese into refraining from making anything public. Of course, now it was a different matter entirely; but Bruce was still surprised that Rebecca had figured it out.
The look Rebecca sent Bruce was one of incredulity.
"The guy's a Wayne Enterprises employee and you're watching this very seriously. It really doesn't take much to put it together, Bruce."
"When you put it that way, maybe." Bruce responded, reaching up to pull Rebecca onto his lap. "But I still think it's your genius that makes it all easy for you."
Rebecca gave him a smile that held more signs of her old self than she had since the prior night, further encouraging Bruce. Her eyes then returned to the television and Rebecca's expression turned grim.
"What are you going to do?" She asked and Bruce sighed.
"I don't know yet." He admitted.
On the television, the interview with Reese was continuing as callers questioned the lawyer while the interviewer waited until the 5pm mark to begin the real story.
"I wanna how much they're gonna pay you to say who Batman really is." The current caller was saying, and Reese smiled slightly.
"That's simply not why I'm doing this." Reese responded calmly although he couldn't quite hide his cocky attitude.
Rebecca pursed her lips angrily, her hand tightening just slightly on Bruce's where she had his hand clasped in her lap. Bruce watched intently as well as the next caller began.
"Harvey Dent didn't want us to give in to this maniac- you think you know better than him?"
"I think that, if we could talk to Dent today, he might feel differently." Reese answered smoothly.
Rebecca's scowl deepened while on the screen the interviewer added firmly, "And we wish him a speedy recovery. Because God knows we need him now."
It was Bruce's turn to tighten his hold on Rebecca and she smoothed his hair soothingly. It had been the hope, the plan all along - that Harvey would take Bruce's place as the hero, the mascot, that Gotham City needed. It seemed like a lifetime ago that they had spoken of the same, that that future had seemed on the horizon. So much had changed since then, but Rebecca couldn't help but think that this, this was proof that there was still hope. The city that previously had been fearful and resigned to the bleakness of the city they lived in, now looked up to Harvey, the people still believed there was hope; all was not yet lost.
It was as the thought passed through her mind that the next call came in for Reese.
"Mr. Reese, what's more valuable: one life, or a hundred?"
Reese shrugged and he replied, "I guess it would depend on the life."
"OK. Let's say it's your life." The caller suggested.
Rebecca frowned while Bruce leaned in, both sensing something odd about the new caller despite the relatively normal and collected voice that spoke.
"Is it worth more than the lives of several hundred others?"
"Of course not." Reese denied, shaking his head when suddenly the voice continued.
"I'm glad you feel that way. Because I," the voice suddenly change, "had a vision."
Both Rebecca and Bruce straightened up instantly as they recognized the dark voice that made shivers of fear and hatred crawl down Rebecca's spine. The interviewer and Reese also began to realize who was on the call, the whole city now having become familiar with the Joker's uniquely warped voice thanks to his video message that had gone viral.
And all the while, the Joker continued over the phone.
"A vision of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit and the police tried to shut them down, one block at a time... and it was so... boring."
Rebecca shivered at the Joker's words. It wasn't the idea of Bruce being dead that made her react this way either; it was the dismay in the Joker's voice, the disgust and distaste for the future he had described
'Where does this man's insanity end? Just when will he be satisfied?' She wondered before a gasp escaped her at the Joker's next ultimatum, broadcasted live for the entire world to see.
"I've had a change of heart." The Joker declared. "I don't want Mr. Reese spoiling everything , but why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance…"
On the screen, Reese was looking anxious, glancing about fearfully before he became positively alarmed as the Joker continued.
"If Coleman Reese isn't dead in sixty minutes, then I blow up a hospital. Of course, you could always kill yourself, Mr. Reese. But that would be the noble thing to do. And you're a lawyer. "
The call cut then, leaving a horrified Reese and a speechless interviewer. Bruce and Rebecca stood up immediately, the former especially wasting no time getting into action.
"Alfred, I need you plugged in, checking Gordon's men and their families. Becky, stay here." Bruce said as he swiftly began to move toward the elevator.
"What would I be looking for, sir?" Alfred inquired while Rebecca trailed behind Bruce with worried eyes.
"Hospital admissions." Bruce replied, shrugging on a clean suit jacket as he stood before the elevator doors.
Alfred nodded in understanding while Rebecca warned, "Bruce, be careful."
"I always am." He promised and she shook her head.
"No, you're not. You never were." She replied rather dryly. "So be careful."
It made Bruce crack a tiny smile and he gave her a nod. A quick and soft peck on the cheek was all they had time for before the elevator doors slid open and Bruce stepped inside.
"Will you be taking the batpod, sir?" Alfred asked as he stepped up just behind Rebecca where she stood before Bruce, watching him go.
Bruce kept his eyes on Rebecca while he responded, "In the middle of the day? Not very subtle, Alfred."
He winked at Rebecca in an attempt at cheeriness, and he succeeded in making her smile a little just before the doors of the elevator shut at the same time that Alfred muttered under his breath, "The Lamborghini then. Much more subtle."
Rebecca, who had been staring at the doors behind which Bruce had disappeared, couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped her at Alfred's dry tone. It was short-lived, but it was still strange to know she could still laugh even if only a little.
But even then, she couldn't quite contain the fear and the anxiety that this might be the last time she would see Bruce. That something terrible was about to happen.
*A/N I'm sorry to all my readers for the long months of absence. I needed to take a break and stop for personal reasons. Going forward, updates will also be slower than before but I hope everyone will bear with that. I want to thank all my readers who have waited patiently for an update and hope you all enjoyed the chapter!