Sorry it took so long guys, life keeps getting in the way. Mostly a bridge piece as Kori and Richard return to DC and begin to deal with the fall out. See more notes at the bottom of the page.
Double Take
Chapter 42
The New Normal, Part 1
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"Miss Koriand'r, please, you have to eat something," Alfred said to Kori as she sat in the in the formal living room of Wayne Manor. Alfred's manner was softer toward her than his usual approach. He had always been fond of her and was concerned about the stress she was suddenly under.
"I will try to have some tea, thank you Alfred." Alfred gave a nod, leaving the silver tray of finger sandwiches next to her before going back to 'tidying up'. He made sure not to hover but was not going leave her alone, especially not in her current state.
In spite of thinking they had gotten a jump on the paparazzi by leaving the Devon Hotel and going to the Inn at Penn, it only bought them a few hours of peace and by 6 AM the Inn's manager contacted Dick to give him the head's up that there were photogs laying in wait for them. So far true to his word, Harvey Levin and TMZ hadn't reported anything else, but the other gossip sites and even members of the press from the society pages of the Washington and Philadelphia newspapers were all over the story. 'The Princess and the Playboy' were sure to make hot copy.
Kori was a little surprised at Dick's anger flaring when he got the call from the manager that woke them up that morning, with Dick demanding the head of whoever leaked the information to the press. But after he hung up it took just one look at Kori's face, her eyes always so expressive, and he knew he scared her a bit. The important thing to do now was to reassure her, not seek vengeance.
"Star, I think we just need to get back to DC. I'll call Bruce and have Alfred come and pick us up. We'll go to Wayne Manor and figure it out from there," Dick said in as reassuring of a tone as he could muster while underneath, he was seething over the situation. Kori didn't need this, well, neither of them did, and he was beginning to consider that Kori was right Babs might have said something to Amy or whoever told TMZ. Boy, that was going to be a difficult conversation but he needed to know from Babs herself if she was involved and if she was, why she would do that.
"No one can get to us on the grounds, the property is too secure and we'll at least have our privacy there." He didn't mention that there was a strong possibility that within a few hours there could be helicopters trying to get their picture.
Kori nodded and dissolved into quiet tears. It was already upsetting enough that their week away at the horse show was over, now they were cutting their time away short (they had planned to stay until Monday morning, because they weren't returning to work on Wednesday) and going home.
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After taking only a short time to dress and grab a few items, Dick and Kori left to hotel quickly. The balance of their things and their luggage would have to be sent to them later. Even though they left so quickly and through the receiving door in the back of the hotel, some of the photogs had spotted the car that Alfred waited for them in so they were not able to leave the hotel without being photographed and filmed together.
Richard held Kori's hand firmly as they exited through the door quickly, forced to brush by the seven or eight members of the paparazzi and more than once needing to duck to avoid being struck by a video camera. Of course plenty of questions were thrown out to them by the paps but the couple said nothing.
Alfred had gotten out to open their door and remained unwaveringly calm in face of the mob as he did his duty. He negotiated the large vehicle out of the drive behind the hotel easily, the photographers giving up quickly on their close range filming due to the heavily tinted windows.
Soon they were on I-95 and heading south toward the Washington area. The ride was quiet, and Kori spent most of it with her head snuggled into chest as Richard stroked her soothingly. She hoped that things would be back to normal when they got home, but she knew better. She let out more than one heavy sigh as she got used to the idea that she was now a public person again. Hopefully, it would be temporary.
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Kori tried to resist the urge to pace and instead sat and twisted her fingers as she waited. She was frustrated and upset. Along with three paparazzi, Galfore was waiting for them in his car outside the gates when they had arrived at Wayne Manor earlier. He refused to speak to her alone when they entered the manor, rather insisting that he speak with Dick and Bruce alone and the three men went to Bruce's study. She hated when Galfore acted like this. It was one thing when she was a teenager and things came up, but she was now a grown woman!
Not that she wanted a confrontation with Galfore, but she believed that Richard didn't deserve his wrath essentially in her stead. They were consenting adults after all, even though they hadn't been intimate, it was now obvious they had stayed together and Galfore was going to have a thing or two to say about that. She wanted to be sure he knew it was her idea.
No matter how she felt about Galfore's place in dictating or at least commenting on her behavior, she couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed it was so public. She closed her eyes and prayed for strength when she heard the unmistakably heavy footprints that belonged to her huge uncle.
She looked up and didn't see Dick or Bruce with Galfore. Alfred was surprised as well, but had a feeling that in his current state of mind if Galfore had told Dick and Bruce to stay in Bruce's study while he spoke with Kori, they would listen to him.
"May I offer you tea or anything else, Ambassador?" Alfred asked as Galfore strode into the living room, taking the seat next to Kori.
"No thank you," Galfore said bruskly.
"I will be in the kitchen then Miss Koriand'r, Ambassador Galfore, if you need me," Alfred said upon making his leave. He continued to be concerned about Kori, but could not intrude on her personal affairs.
"Kori," Galfore started, his expression softening a bit, "this must be difficult for you. While I do not condone your behavior, but you are a grown woman and Dr. Grayson assures me of his devotion to you."
Devotion. It was true, but it felt surreal now that they were back home and hearing Galfore talk about it. She decided not to ask Galfore at that moment if he believed Dick, although she would have to assume he did. If not, no amount of paparazzi would deter Galfore, and Kori would be out of Wayne Manor.
"Do I not get a vote as to where I stay?" she said softly, unable to look at Galfore directly at the moment.
"Koriand'r, I apologize for reverting to ways that you find chauvinistic. It is simply that I have cared for you since you were my little bungdorf and I cannot help but be concerned for your physical and emotional wellbeing. Ambassador Wayne can offer you a secure and private place here for the time being. I will tell you that your Dr. Grayson had suggested more than once that you be involved in our discussion as we were devising a plan."
Kori smiled at that. At least Richard understood her. "So I will be staying here?"
"Yes. It appears that it is most reasonable for you to remain here at Wayne Manor until I can obtain additional security for the embassy and assure your privacy."
"What about work?"
"I believe that work is not in your best interest at the moment."
"But Uncle Galfore, I just returned to work and was out on vacation, and now I am abandoning my friends and responsibilities in the ER!"
"No Kori. At least not until this has blown over," he said firmly. "I am certain that the hospital would not appreciate the paparazzi outside their building."
"Well," Kori said, mostly to herself, "that is why I work for them through the agency. It affords me the flexibility."
"I am sorry Kori, but this situation is beyond our control. I must leave now to make some calls. I will be speaking with you as well as Dr. Grayson and Ambassador Wayne later this afternoon."
Alfred appeared to see Galfore out of the manor and into his waiting car.
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Kori let out a sigh of relief that Galfore was gone and that she was staying but she wanted to know what was keeping Richard.
"Miss Koriand'r, I will show you to your room now," Alfred said with a kind expression.
Kori nodded and fell in step behind Alfred. Having been there for a matter of hours and her mind otherwise occupied, she hadn't had an appreciation for the size of the residence. Surely the palace she lived in as a child was not this vast.
"Here it is. You will find the attached bathroom through the door there on the right. Is there anything I can bring you? Your luggage from your trip will be here shortly."
"I am fine Alfred, thank you."
The room was lovely, and in the center was a four poster bed with mauve silk bedding. There were some beautiful pieces of Asian influenced furniture in walnut and black lacquered wood and the floor was covered in plush cream colored carpet. There was a large window across from the bed and Kori gasped at the view out over the extensive gardens and perfectly manicured lawn. There were woods a hundred or so yards beyond that and there were no other homes in sight.
As upsetting as all this was, she couldn't help but think about how wonderful the week had been with Richard. She had no idea it was this wonderful to be in love and she was glad that by staying here they would have more time together than if she had returned to the embassy.
She heard a knock at that door. "Come in please," she said absently. Assuming it was Alfred with the luggage and enjoying the view, she continued to look out over the vista, lost in her thoughts about Richard.
Warm hands encircled her waist. Definitely not Alfred. She let out a happy sigh and leaned back into Richard's chest.
"Welcome to my home. I've missed you." He placed his chin on her shoulder.
"Thank you, Richard. It is beautiful here."
"I can show you around if you like."
"I would love for you to."
He then said playfully, "would you like the $2.00 tour or the $10.00 tour?"
Happy to play along, she responded, "May I ask if I take the $10.00 tour, what do I get for my additional $8.00?"
"You get to kiss the tour guide."
She giggled, "I'll definitely take the $10.00 tour then," and with that she got her kiss.
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Sorry again for the slow update and I know its still rough, I'll probably reedit it later but I wanted to continue telling this tale.
The end of the story is written, I just need to get there. There is a lot happening in the next few chapters as Babs comes to grips with her dependency and what she's done by outing Kori as the princess. Will she and Xavier still try to come between Dick and Kori? Yes, but will it be a coordinated effort? We'll see.
Thank you so much for reading and please review! I will also be updating 'Where Have You Been All My Life?' and 'Jukebox' very soon.