When I woke up a few days after my little meeting with Miranda/Talia, I was horrendously sick. I had a stuffy nose and a fever and my body was crying out for mercy.
Perfect.
I guess it was to be expected. I mean, I was running around in really cold weather every single day and I didn't exactly bundle myself up very well.
I made myself a cup of tea using the power in the Batcave and attempted to relax. I basically stayed down in the Cave for the next few hours. I'm sure the moisture and dampness in the air wasn't good for my cold, but what else was I supposed to do? Just sit on the couch upstairs and stare at the wall? I don't think so.
I watched some TV with my tea and a blanket wrapped around me when I heard the doorbell ring faintly. It couldn't be Bane's men because something told me they wouldn't ring the doorbell. So I headed back up and saw that it was Blake.
"Whoa," he said concerned. "You don't look so hot."
"What gave it away?" I sniffed. "Yeah, I woke up with a cold."
"Alright, you need to rest immediately. Come on." He stepped inside and directed me to bed. He was right. I was exhausted.
I didn't want Blake doing all this though. I wanted Bruce to be here taking care of me.
I could just picture it. He comes in with some tea and soup. He lies down beside me to keep my chilled body warm. He presses small kisses on my cheeks and lips.
But it's just a fantasy.
I fell asleep pretty fast. When I woke up, Blake was gone and several hours had passed. I looked next to me on the nightstand and saw a bottle of Tylenol with a note from Blake.
'To help with the fever. I'll come by tomorrow. JB'
I allowed a small smile to cross my lips. At least I knew he cared. It was cool we had developed such a good friendship. I took some of the Tylenol and my fever began to break. I was still weak, but that was just something that would wear off with time.
I could not let this sickness go on for long. I had to keep training!
I began to feel fine within a matter of days. Blake came over for about an hour to make sure I was okay and then left to go figure out what to do about Bane.
As soon as I was well again, I resumed my training, but now I made sure I had enough layers on when I went for a run.
Blake came over less often but when he did, we continued to fight. We had since moved inside since it had gotten too cold to train outside.
There was one day when Blake and I were fighting when he managed to beat me down onto the mat. He then helped me up and I took a swig of water.
"Let's go again," I demanded.
"Kris, you've been going at this for three hours now. I think you need a break."
"No, I'm fine. Let's go."
"You have been pushing and pushing yourself every single day. You even made yourself sick. You need to take it a bit easy."
"Bane's men are after me!" I yelled. "And they won't stop until they find me. I have to be ready to defend myself!"
Blake looked at me. "That's not the only reason. You're trying to keep yourself busy and focus on your anger all to distract you from what your mind's trying to make you think about."
Was that true? It certainly made sense. Ever since I confessed on TV that I loved Bruce, I hadn't spent much time thinking about him.
"Every time I've brought up Bruce, you find a way to change the subject. Why won't you just stop trying to push those thoughts away?"
I looked back at him and I could feel the walls I had built up over the course of the last three months slowly begin to crumble. "Because if I talk about him," I said, my voice cracking on the last two words. "Then I'll remember how much I miss him." I looked away from Blake, not too keen on letting him see me cry. I had finally gotten him to see me as a tough girl. I didn't want that to go away. But it did, no matter how much I fought it. I put my hand to my mouth as I felt a couple tears make their way down my cheeks. "I miss him so much!"
Blake came up to me and took me up in his arms. I clutched onto his arm so tightly, my knuckles turned white. I hadn't allowed this to happen for so long. It was overdue. Long overdue. Thanks to Blake, my tears finally flowed like they had wanted to for so long.
Bruce had begun to build himself up again. He was constantly doing different exercises all the time. What else was there to do? Besides, he had to get out of this place and make that jump.
With each exercise, he found himself thinking about Kris. He had been thinking about her a lot ever since she had said that she loved him.
He thought about when he had first met her at the Manor when he returned to Gotham after seven years. When Alfred had told him that there was a young woman staying in his home, he had felt a bit edgy about having someone around while he put his grand plan to save Gotham into action. But what else was he supposed to do? Toss her out onto the street? It had been almost comical how nervous she had been to meet him. He remembered there being this look in her eye like she knew something that he didn't.
He thought about them reenacting The Phantom of the Opera in the screening room. Never before had he seen anyone ever do something so unusual and yet so fun.
He thought about when she had told him her story of what happened to her mom and dad and how she had let herself cry. Something had told him then that she didn't like crying, and yet she cried in his arms all the same. It had almost surprised him to see her open up so much.
He thought about when he had saved her at the docks on his first night as Batman. He still didn't understand why she had gone to such a dangerous place, but he was certainly glad he had been able to get to her before anyone hurt her.
He thought about when he had woken up to Kris sleeping next to him in a chair after he had been gassed. She had stayed by his side the whole time, taking care of him while he fought off the effects of it all. That was when he began to have feelings for her.
He thought about how terrified he had been when she got gassed on her visit to Arkham as the nightmare he had had while gassed himself came back to haunt him. He was just relieved he had gotten to her in time. He couldn't live with himself if he had allowed that nightmare to come true.
He thought about the moment they had shared in the middle of the remains of what used to be the Manor. When he had kissed Rachel, the spark that he had expected didn't happen and he hadn't been able to explain that.
He thought about how excited he was to find out she had returned after an entire year. And she had still been the exact same Kris who left.
He thought about how he had asked her to help him on his nightly excursions and she had agreed without any hesitation.
He thought about when they had made the trip to Hong Kong together that involved her dressing in a bikini, which she had looked really hot in, and later jumping out of a plane. It was in that country where he had first called her beautiful. But it hadn't been the first time he had thought it.
He thought about what had happened between them on the balcony at Harvey's fundraiser party. She had looked more beautiful than ever before. He had been infuriated at his dates for putting her down and harming her sense of self-worth. He had made sure that he didn't let that stay that way.
He thought about how scared he had been when the Joker held her outside the window and then dropped her. Her screams were the most painful things he had ever heard.
He thought about their first kiss. He had been so angry with her for the things she said about Batman and the fact that she had left for a year without warning him. But then she had said she just wanted to get back to him and that's when he knew. He knew that despite the fact that he had no idea where she had gone or why she had left, the real reason he had been angry was because he had feelings for her and he hadn't been able to tell her.
He thought about the night Rachel died. She had tried to warn him, but he stopped her, believing that he had everything under control. She hadn't been mad at him. She had just come next to him, sat on the floor, and held his hand tightly.
He thought about the kiss she had given him before he took off for the final time to catch the Joker. There had been so much more passion behind it than usual. He hadn't had time to think about it at the time, but he ended up thinking back to it a lot after she went missing. It was almost like she knew she wasn't going to see him again.
He thought about how worried he had been when the Joker said he had taken Kris away from him.
He thought about the many searches for her, only to come up empty each time.
He thought about the shock of seeing her again for the first time in eight years. He had believed it to be a dream at first. But when her lips touched his, he knew it was real.
He thought about their dance at Miranda's party and the warm kiss they had shared during it.
He thought about how hurt he had been when he realized Kris wasn't staying and she hadn't told him about it. He had been so short with her. Looking back, he should've handled that a lot better.
He thought about how she didn't like Miranda. Was there really something bad about her? Could he really not trust her? How would Kris know that?
He thought about when he had watched her completely throw away her favorite job just to stand up for him against Daggett and the other board members.
He thought about their kiss when they had just come in from the rain. He had begun to remove her shirt, but she had stopped him. He had felt so horrible for pushing past his boundaries and making her feel uncomfortable. That was the last thing he wanted to do.
He thought about how she had fallen asleep in his embrace in front of the fire. She had looked more peaceful than he had ever seen her. Like nothing was wrong with her at all. She had looked so gorgeous, even when asleep. He remembered moving little strands of hair from her face and letting his fingers slowly graze over her perfect cheeks which made his skin tingle.
He thought about how her voice had reached his ears during his fight with Bane and filled him with dread. He couldn't lose her there. Not to that man.
He thought about the scream she had let loose when Bane broke his back.
He thought about her going on TV for all the world to see and telling him that she loved him.
As he looked at the TV screen, he wanted to get back to his city. It needed saving. But more than anything, he wanted to get back to her.