Chapter IV: The Trouble with Women

After much begging and pleading with Terry to delay taking her straight to Wayne's manor, Terry allowed himself to be convinced to let her stay at his apartment for the night.

"So you don't want help? Oh, well then the next time a crazed Joker comes 'looking for a good time,' I'll just let him do whatever he wants to do because hey-I'm your friend. Nevermind the fact that only God knows what could have happened to you."

"That's not what I'm saying!" She felt her fist tighten, 'Boy, I will make your jaw swell.'

The darker girl huffed, the black circles around her eyes now visible, she let herself go slack.

"I'm just . . . tired. I don't want to think about it. At least not tonight."

"Then when are you going to think about-?" Her paler friend kept pushing.

'Why are you so worried?' Max thought then spoke to him, "Terry, it's almost four am in the morning and school starts at seven. We both need to survive school tomorrow."

She hated hearing his lecture to her about being safe, especially at this hour. "Just walk with me upstairs to grab something and we'll be off."

He swallowed the protest. Well, she would be out of harm's way for the moment he reasoned.

Plus, Wayne probably was sleeping himself . . . . 'When does Wayne sleep?' The words randomly came to Terry but he refocused his thoughts on the current situation. 'Women. Can't live with them-'

"Alright. But I mean it, Tuesday evening-you, me, and Wayne." He told Max pointedly.

She threw her hands up in a surrender gesture, "Whatever you say."

"Terry, it's six am, get up, you have to go to school! It's Monday!"

Mary McGinnis began her day early cleaning house. Since she had a day off from work, she decided to take care of the housekeeping early so she could get rid of the boys, soak in her bathtub with rose candles, and drown herself in a "bodice ripper" romance novel.

"Honey, wake up!"

Sure, the mother of two loved her children and wanted them to be with her every waking moment but every now and then, she needed "me" time. 'I wonder where my facial cream is.'

"I know it's hard to get up, but time to go! Get it over with! Plus, you have work tonight."

The door slowly cracked openly and a head of wild pink hair peeked out of the door.

"Maxxxxxine." Mary suddenly let the laundry basket drop from her hands.

Two brown eyes blinked at her, "Mrs. McGinnis?"

"What are you doing in Terry's room?"

"I slept here."

"Really?" Her hands fell on her hips.

"Yeah, his bed's really comfy."

The older woman held on to the door for balance.

"And you slept in his one of his shirts . . . ?"

The girl looked down, as if she finally noticing she was covered in a old baggy sports jersey.

"Oh, yeah, I took a shower last night. Terry said it would be okay by you."

She felt her blood come to a slow broil.

"TERRY!"

When the Dark Knight finally came to the land of the living, he found himself face to face with the insuring angry of his mother and the annoyed look of the girl who was like a sister.

He knew he was in more danger in this moment then with Inque or Blight.

"I didn't do it!"

He threw his hands up. That only further the shifting of the hips and crossing of arms.

'I'm so dead.' Their eyes were slicing him through and through.

"Good morning everyone!" He emitted nervous laughter.

"Terry, your mom didn't know I was here?" Max asked, never wanting to be imposing.

"Terry, I didn't know she was suppose to be here?" Mary wanted a good explanation.

"Umm." 'Oh no.' "I can explain!"

"Go on." Mary told her son, 'Amuse me.' Those icy blue eyes of his mother fastened him to the wall. She expected a usually outlandish tale he would tell to bail himself out of trouble.

"Mom, I didn't want to wake you up, I know you had a hard day plus something happened at Max's . . . ." Terry proceeded to relate last nights event to his mother.

The teen watched her face go from the furious to a soften concern for the girl.

Max vouched that the story was true then added, "He slept on the floor and gave me the bed." She answered quickly as though her virtue was being tested in his mother's eyes. The last thing she wanted was the coolest almost mom to her thinking they were fooling around.

"I didn't want to stay there, Mrs. McGinnis, at least not last night."

"Well, I'm glad to see your okay!" She hugged Max tightly to her, "I couldn't bear to think of having to call your parents when they're away and bearing such bad news."

She pulled the girl away from the room and spoke loving motherly things to her, "I guess you should run on home and grabbed something for school. I'll drive you. Sure you don't need a day off? Just to gather your thoughts?"

"I'll be fine and I bought enough clothes. Just need to be more careful when I go home tonight." Max waved a dismissive hand.

"Nonsense!" She dismissed Max's words, "You can stay here for as long as you feel. Besides, Matty can use the company. Terry will gladly give up his room-"

Protest on the lone male's part would be futile. Terry swallowed his words.

Max felt relief, "Guess I'll change then."

When Max disappeared into the wasteland of Terry's room, his mother fixed him with a deadly stare. "You and I will talk later this evening." Then she disappeared with the laundry again.

'Slag it!' He knew they needed to talk to Wayne but that expression from his dear old mum told him better.

"So we're still on for this Saturday?"

From his quick glance at the really dirt-old play "Othello" to catch up on his class readings, the bell-like voice rung clear into Terry's thoughts.

"Huh?"

In English class, Terry found himself looking up in his girlfriend, the Asian-American beauty with a tiny painted smile and demure dark eyes so brown they were black.

She leaned over his desk, her face illustrating his view. The halo of raven hair framing her face, capturing his attention.

"Saturday night, as in the Valentine's Day dinner we suppose to go to the end of this week."

Emphasis on 'suppose' meant missing it would already add more fuel to the relationship fire that still burned from his days as Batman, missed dates, and lack of quality time.

"Yeah-yeah!"

To save the burning building of his relationship, Terry (with outside help of course) managed to get booked at a new posh downtown restaurant recommended by his boss, Hanging Gardens of Gotham.

("People don't go to eat, they go there to be seen." Bruce Wayne related to his employee, the idea of Dana meeting some famous boy band member of some pop group he never knew would earn her enough bragging rights that would make up for a thousand dates broken off.)

A beautiful stretch limo, a VIP room in the Gardens with a private jazz band, and exclusive use of the yacht to see the stars on the water to cap off the romantic evening . Add the gifts and him just being there for the whole night gave him the potential to score major brownie points.

He took her hands to be more convincing, "Sweetheart, of course we're going."

"And you're sure you have the night off? Or does Wayne need company that night?"

'Ouch.' He winched inwardly. "No, Wayne gave me the night off."

Crime doesn't go on dates. But Wayne told him not to worry, if he needed him that badly, he want until after they've spent at least an hour on the yacht. And he promised to work the local police force more than he did the Bat that night to give him the time needed to repair his every fault. ("Yes, I won't bug you unless something REALLY serious happens.")

"I WILL see you at seven Saturday night. I'm even cutting the phone off."

"Wow, this must mean something." She rolled her dark eyes.

He kissed her on cheek, tone low and sultry. "You just make sure to wear what I sent you."

Dana eyed him, "This isn't some skimpy bikini or something that I'll never wear is it?"

"Come on, Dane!" He laughed loudly, "I respect you more than that."

"Oh." Then she added with a sugar sweet smile, "What a shame . . . ."

Her boyfriend could only sit there dumbfounded as he watched her hips walk away.

The rest of the week passed quietly for Max at least. Terry McGinnis spent three enjoyable nights on the living room couch after the "talk" he and his mother had-more like the talking to she gave him: 'Maxine is a lovely girl, but next time, please inform me when one of your female friends needs to sleep here especially after midnight. And if they need to use the shower.'

It didn't bother him that Max, his childhood friend, used the bathroom at all.

She took a shower-so what? Not that he was looking or anything, thinking about her in that way. They were buddies, partners in crime, she was . . . pretty. Not his type.

Terry buried his head into his pillow, the steady wave of bank robberies and Ts kept his mind off the issue. 'Stop it, McGinnis, you have a hot girlfriend.'

True, Dana Tan made him the envy of all Hamilton High men. She was a sweet girl, different from the frivolous girly-girls like Blade. Things had been a struggle lately, he neglected so much in the relationship lately. But if could be fixed. That was the function of Saturday night.

But now in the deep night, the issue came back.

Why did his friend look good in nothing but cartoon PJs?