Chapter 3

The room was quiet except for the noise coming from the traffic outside. Elle was slowly coming back to consciousness and was already being greeted by one hell of a headache. She opened her eyes and groaned when the light pouring into her living room caused her headache to pound her skull. She immediately shut her eyes and lifted her arm over her face.

After laying there on her couch for a bit, she came to a realization; she didn't remember coming home last night.

She sat straight up and cried out when a blinding pain in her side flared. She moaned and clutched at a bandage that now covered the skin there while memories from the previous night flooded her mind.

That's right. I was attacked last night, and he saved me...He saved me and got hurt…

She replayed the memories in her head, sitting on her couch and biting her lower lip. She remembered her heart racing as he bled. She remembered how she silently thanked whatever higher power that his injury wasn't as bad as it could have been. And most of all, she remembered who he was under the mask.

She had no intention of telling anyone. She would treat her findings the same way she would treat any other patient with a secret that wasn't hers to share. No, the Bat didn't need to worry about her telling anyone what she knew.

Pushing her hair out of her face, she took stock. She was still covered in blood, both of their blood. She looked around and saw her bag sitting on the kitchen table with a white card on top of it. Standing slowly, she attempted to cross the room. Her body was sore and stiff, and each step made her stab wound burn.

She made it to her bag and picked up the card. It was plain white cardstock with no embossing on it.

Thank you - B.W.

She was surprised, to say the least. She really didn't expect that. Part of her was sure both of them would go on and pretend nothing happened.

She lifted her bag and started going through it, hoping everything was all there. She found her work badge, her laptop, her set of keys, her extra set of scrubs, her cell phone…Where was her wallet?

She sighed as she remembered she had stuffed it in her jacket pocket before leaving the hospital.

Well, that's just awesome. I probably dropped it or it's still in the jacket.

She thought about her options. She could replace everything that was in there, but that would be a pain in the ass. She could go back to where the attack happened, but she didn't feel like going through the hassle of retracing every one of her steps today.

Elle looked at the white card and picked it up again. Maybe she could try there first. The last place she saw the wallet was for sure the jacket, and the last place she saw the jacket was for sure pressed against Bruce's bleeding neck. She huffed and realized she would be making a trip to his home today.

Holding her side, she went to her medicine cabinet and took out some over the counter pain relievers. She grabbed three and swallowed them without water. She hoped it would help the headache and everything else.

She went to her bathroom and looked in her mirror. Her hair was wild and would be a nightmare to deal with. The rain had made it a bit wavy, which she knew meant there would be a million knots just waiting to be found by a brush. Just looking at it made her want to cut the almost waist-length black mane off.

Luckily, she didn't look injured. Her face looked a bit pale and very tired, but a shower would help with that, hopefully. She wouldn't have questions asked of her at work and wouldn't need to take time off.

She began stripping her clothes off. Her skin had a film of dried blood in most places. Once down to her underwear, she peeled off the bandage and turned around to inspect the damage in the mirror. Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she saw she had been stitched up. It was a bit sloppy and would scar, but it was still well done. She wondered if they were used to stitching up wounds.

She turned on her shower and felt the water as it began to heat. The room filled with steam and she inhaled deeply and immediately started feeling better. A shower was just what she needed. She got under the warm water after peeling off her underwear and sighed as it washed over her. The water ran red as she cleaned off and removed the night from her. Elle stayed in there until the water started to turn cold.

Getting ready was fun. Her hair took longer to brush and dry since one arm could only be raised so high at the moment without wincing in pain. Elle then realized that all of her jeans had a waistline that sat right on her stitches. She settled on a short sleeve azure blue dress that fell just below her knees. The beauty of this dress is it looked like she tried even though she hadn't.

Her phone pinged with a text message as she slipped on her gray flats. She grabbed it off the table and saw it was from Aaron.

The little girl you saved is being discharged today. I thought you'd like to know that she is going to be fine and was given a clean bill of health.

Elle smiled at the message, complete with a picture of a smiling girl with a teddy bear from the gift shop and responded with a quick 'thanks' for his update. She grabbed her things from her work bag, stuffed them into her purse and left.

Paranoia sunk in as soon as she stepped into the hall. She couldn't help looking over her shoulder as she quickly made her way to the entrance of the parking garage. She ran to her car and locked the doors as soon as she got in. She couldn't help but think about the possibility of them coming back for her. They wanted her for a specific purpose, and she didn't do what they wanted. She was well aware of who they worked for. Elle knew very well what the Joke and Harley Quinn were capable of.

She drove off, heading towards outer Gotham. It was pure luck she didn't get a speeding ticket. She was still looking into her mirrors when she pulled up to the enormous black iron gated entrance of Wayne Estate. Elle started to think she hadn't thought this through since she wasn't sure how to actually get into the property when the gate began to open. Driving forward, she thought it was best to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

She parked in the round-a-bout and headed up the front steps. Before she even got close to the door to knock, Alfred had it opened and was ready for her.

"Miss Elle. What a wonderful surprise. Please, do come in." He stepped aside and let her in. Elle had an awestruck expression on her face as she began to take in the interior of the manor.

"I…Um…I'm sorry to barge in unannounced. I was just hoping you might be able to help me with something. I seem to have lost my wallet, which was in the jacket I had last night." She explained.

"No need to apologize. I haven't had a chance of cleaning the house completely yet. Maybe Master Bruce has seen it. Let's go ask, shall we?" He began walking towards the staircase.

"Wait. He's awake? He should be resting. I really don't want to disturb him."

"Master Bruce is quite stubborn, Miss Elle. You'll find that resting is not in his nature." He sounded a bit exasperated with Bruce. "Right this way, please."

He led her into a room and began tinkering with an antique grandfather clock. He closed its window after resetting the time and a door that had not been there before opened.

"After you, Miss." Said Alfred, like this was completely normal. He stepped in after her and the door closed behind them. "With any luck, your wallet is either in the car or still in the jacket. I don't think he has cleaned it up yet and I haven't."

"That's honestly what I'm hoping." She said distractedly as they descended below the manor. She was in awe. The difference between what she was seeing now was completely different from what she had seen in the main area of the mansion. But that was the point, wasn't it?

The lift stopped after what felt like an eternity. Alfred led her out and she recognized the large area they were in last night.

He sat in a chair in front of multiple screens, quiet and studious.

"Alfred, I still can't pinpoint where exactly the Joker would have hidden those kids." Said Bruce, without turning from the screen.

"Ahem," Alfred cleared his throat, "We have a visitor, Master Bruce." Bruce spun around in his chair, with a somewhat shocked expression. He was dressed casually in a well-fitting black t-shirt and black sweatpants. His neck was covered with a clean bandage. "It seems that Miss Elle has lost her wallet and it was in the jacket that stopped your bleeding last night."

Elle's face was tinged pink. She couldn't help but think that he probably didn't want to see her after he had been exposed. However, he just gave her an intense look and then stood.

"Her jacket was put in the washroom to burn later. Check there and I'll look in the car with her."

"Of course, Master Bruce. Perhaps I'll bring down a spot of tea as well." He said, giving Elle a look.

"Yes, please. Thank you." She said, giving the older man a soft smile.

He gave Bruce and Elle a nod and left them in almost awkward silence.

Bruce turned to the car, not waiting for her. "Is there anything important in your wallet?" He asked.

"My ID is what I'm most concerned about. It will be a pain to replace everything else, but everything else doesn't have my address on it. After last night, I'd rather not have that information floating around." she told him honestly.

"No one can blame you for that." He stood next to a podium and pressed a few things on a screen there. The legendary Batmobile began to descend from its storage place above them. Bruce stuffed his hands in the pocket of his sweats while they waited.

"I…Um…I also wanted to thank you. I was pretty lucky you were looking for Joker last night." She said nervously, twisting the end of her hair.

"You don't need to thank me, Elle. You ended up returning the favor. I'm sorry you ended up getting hurt." He ran his hand through his black hair.

"I'm actually not hurt that bad. It's kind of embarrassing that I passed out, though." She said with a nervous laugh.

The car had settled, and the door opened. He moved forward and started looking through the car.

"So, you're feeling better then?" he said as he searched.

"Yeah. Sore, but better. How about you? You were much worse than me. You should still be resting."

"I'm fine, Nurse Deveraux. No need to worry. Your wallet, however, is still missing in action." He said, closing the door.

"Well…crap." Elle sighed.

"If you're worried about someone looking for you, I can set your place up with some security." Bruce offered. It came out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He didn't need to insert himself in this woman's life more than necessary. He couldn't help it though. She stood in front of him and wanting nothing more than to keep her safe from anything that could harm her.

"You really don't need to do that. I'm just being paranoid."

"Consider it done. You really have nothing to worry about."

She bit her lip, thinking the gesture was too much. "Thank you." She looked around and the photos on the screens caught her eye. "He's kidnapping kids now?"

Bruce came up behind her. He moved so quietly that she didn't even know he was there until he spoke.

"Yes. We don't know why or where he is hiding them. Six children were all taken from their homes in Gotham with his calling card left at the scene. I tried to get answers from him before Harley Quinn helped him escape. All I managed to get out of him is that he needs them alive."

"Tried to get answers? That's why they needed me." She said, still looking at the photos of the smiling young faces.

"Needed you?"

She turned and nearly bumped right into him. She had to look up at him due to their height difference. "They said they were taking me to him. They saw me leaving the hospital in my scrubs. His guys said Harley had sent them to get someone like me to help him."

"Knowing that we really need to make sure your home is secure. Just in case. I'm pretty sure they know you left with me and they know I was hurt. We don't need them connecting the dots. Harley's favorite game is revenge."

Elle shivered at the thought. She had personally seen some of the aftermaths of both Harley and Joker's games.

Bruce placed a hand on her arm. "You're protected. Don't be worried."

She looked up at studied him a bit. It was then she noticed that his stitches had bled through the gauze. "You should let me look at that." She said, nodding towards his bandage.

"It's fine." He said, brushing her off.

"They shouldn't be bleeding still. I just want to make sure it's ok."

He sighed and relented. Bruce sat in his computer chair and tilted his head, giving her access.

"Where are your medical supplies?" She asked, wanting to check it properly this time.

He leaned down and pulled a cabinet out from under the desk. She rifled through it and found gloves, antiseptic and fresh materials to bandage him. Donning the gloves, she bent over him. She tried to be as gentle as possible, worried he might be tender.

"Kids are the worst part of the job." She mumbled, finding a distraction for both of them. "Bad things shouldn't happen to them. They should be left ignorant of how harsh the world can be."

"Yeah. I agree. I'm going to do everything to find them. But I know they'll never sleep alone in a room without being terrified for a long time, if ever." He said. His expression turned sad and something twisted in Elle's gut.

"Yeah, but they'll also get to say they were rescued by the Batman. Speaking from experience, that's pretty cool." She said, trying to lighten his mood. He stayed quiet.

"I'll keep an ear out at the hospital. You'd be surprised how many of the lower level lackeys end up in our E.R. to get fixed up after they anger their bosses or have a run-in with you."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly, as she dabbed his stitches with antiseptic.

"Ask. I might answer."

"Who stitched me up? And how did you know where I lived." She had stopped to look him in the eye, letting him know she expected an answer.

Bruce looked right back into her blue eyes and smiled when he saw the determination there. "Alfred stitched you up. I would have, but it would have been a lot sloppier. While he was doing that, I hacked the hospital's file. They had your address on record. Alfred observed you to make sure you were ok for a few hours and we drove you home. I would have changed your clothes, but I don't think you would be ok with that."

Elle blushed and nodded. "Yeah. I appreciate that."

She was taping the fresh bandage to him when Alfred came back down.

"Miss Elle, I'm afraid your wallet wasn't in the jacket," Alfred announced.

"Well, I guess we tried." She said, sounding defeated.

"Alfred, would you prepare lunch. I'd like to talk to Elle about security measures while we eat."

"Of course, Master Bruce. I'll have it ready shortly."

"Thank you, Alfred." Answered both Bruce and Elle.

Bruce sat back down in front of the screens and started pulling up images of her building's blueprints.

Well okay, then. I guess he's protecting me now. She thought as he started looking over everything.