A.N. See? I deliver a slightly longer chapter introducing who Bruce was on the phone with. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Batman movies, and I never will, ever. Or even a prop from the Batman movies...
Right before one of Gordon's visits, Bruce got a surprise from his friends that he was the phone with a while ago. It was Theresa and her husband Jack and he hadn't seen them since Bruce visited after the Joker was imprisoned in Blackgate. He then had to play godfather to their five children when Jack had been seriously injured in an accident, and Theresa was struggling to keep it all together while trying to take care of their children and help her husband recover. Bruce had taken care of the children for a few weeks. Every free day was spent with their recovering father who had been in a bad plane crash in a small town.
They communicated more through phone calls and emails than in person because the parents travelled around constantly for their line of work, though recently they've been trying to limit it to just breaks in their kids' schooling. He doubted though that the kids would learn as much in school as they did when their parents home-schooled them out in the rain forests and deserts of the world. It had been hard on the kids at first, going back to what was considered more of a normal life than their own, though they did enjoy staying and hanging with friends.
Jack and Theresa had decided to bring their kids for a prolonged visit. It was a long and pleasant visit; with Theresa making it known that they were spending the holidays together and Bruce was elected to host the celebrations. In return, they entertained him with their latest explorations and adventures.
Gordon was surprised to hear voices getting closer to Bruce Wayne's hospital room. He knocked on the door and an unfamiliar man's voice welcomed him. For only a brief moment he wondered if Wayne had been moved without his knowing, but when he opened the door he saw Wayne sitting up brightly in bed.
Wayne was more enthused and quickly introduced him to his other visitors. "Commissioner, meet Jack and Theresa Picard. Jack and Theresa, meet Gotham City's Commissioner."
Wayne said it as if he was a hero and he felt his face heating up. Jack stood up and warmly shook his hand, "So you're the one who's been taking good care of Bruce here."
Bruce spoke up, "Oh ho, I can take care of myself thank you very much!"
Gordon felt himself relaxing a little as he said, "I have not needed to take care of Mr. Wayne. He seems to be doing a good job of taking care of himself and his little girl Jillian."
Theresa laughed and said, "Yes, I have heard so much about her. It was interesting to hear how she came to be Bruce's."
Bruce looked to Theresa and inquired "Where are you going with this?"
"Well, haven't you wondered why you?" Theresa responded. Bruce slowly said, "Well yeah, but I decided to not look too deep into it."
Then all eyes turned to Jim Gordon as he said, "Well, after the unfortunate death of her mother, she was entrusted to me to find her a good home."
Bruce said, "That's all great and everything, but why me?"
It took Gordon a bit to come up with an answer. "Well, you dropped out of the news a few years ago and from what the media said, got more involved in the company. It seemed like you had gotten your act together."
Bruce nodded, though he sensed Gordon wasn't telling it all. However, he let it go and eyed the Picard couple to do the same.
Gordon decided to change the subject, "I'll admit, you don't look like you are from around here."
Theresa laughed, "We're only here to see the Wayne household. I mean wow Bruce, you actually have a household. There are you, Alfred, and Jillian!"
"You're missing someone dear," Jack reminded his wife.
"Oh, and yes Loki is included," Theresa said and laughed again, "How could I forget him? He's always starving for attention."
"He likes most people; wait, no he doesn't. He stays away from the parties though, I think caterers sneak him food in the kitchen," Bruce pondered. Jim had a feeling that wasn't the reason, but didn't mention it.
There was a lull in deep conversation for a while, and Gordon's curiosity got the better of him, "How did you meet?"
"To whom are you referring to? To me and my wife, or to us and Bruce?" Jack questioned.
"How they met and married is quite an interesting story," Bruce said, hoping for the first. However, Jim Gordon had the latter in mind, "How does a Wayne meet two Picards?"
"Well, there are two stories for that haha! I first met him long ago when he was on his way to becoming an adult," Jack claimed. But Bruce corrected him, "I was already nineteen then."
Jack dismissed that easily, "Does not really matter, I first met you over a decade ago. This was back when it was cool for everyone to just run off and gallivant across Europe."
Bruce Wayne rolled his eyes but said nothing. Jack Picard carried on, "It was a brief but notable meeting in Prague. He was acting as a sort of translator at a small shop."
"Poor guy just wanted some pants," Bruce said. "It is confusing to translate between three languages and things were getting so jumbled."
"If I remember correctly, you were doing a decent job; the shopkeeper was just getting frustrated at the poor tourist and making it difficult. I saved the day though," Jack Picard said. His wife Theresa laughed, "Of course you saved the day."
"Are you making fun of me?" Jack pretended to be taken back and Theresa smiled and said, "No honey, I think you are exaggerating a little. I think I will be the one to tell the story of how we all met again a few years ago."
Theresa started, "When Jack and Bruce had first met, there was much in-depth conversation, but their paths would not cross again until one spring a few years ago. I forget where we were at the time, maybe an airport, and our twin boys ran off on us. Bruce was the one to find them."
Bruce added to the story, "I found one, then the other at different times. They refused to speak to security and staff about finding you guys, so I had to help. Not easy when two identical boys are telling you two different things. Anyways, the important thing was that they found you, their parents, again."
"I recognized him instantly from that shop all those years ago. It was clearly no mere coincidence. So we brought him to dinner," Jack said brightly. Bruce rolled his eyes, "More like dragged me there, I did not go willingly."
While the Picard couple kept Gordon engaged in conversation, Bruce thought back to that year. That spring had been right after Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes's deaths. The Joker's trial sent him to Blackgate instead of Arkham Asylum, and was put under special security. The manor was on its way to completion and he had taken time off from being Batman to recover from his multiple injuries. Business for Wayne Enterprises was booming, they had revived the science and medical divisions and were thriving. However, Bruce was not doing well himself. Even though his wounds were healing better than expected, he was shaken up from the mess and found himself going to the elite parties and acting out in typical "Bruce Wayne" fashion. He could not have saved his love, nor could he save the man he thought would lead Gotham out of the darkness.
When he first came across the Picard family, it was on a business trip and he had just arrived by plane. Lucius Fox had been after him for a while to take some time off and he had finally given in, spending more time there than he felt necessary. He had been rather distracted when he first arrived, trying to figure out what to do with all that spare time. He did not actually recognize Jack Picard right away, and it took prompting from Jack to make him remember. Even when he did remember, he did not see the significance. After all, people meet the same people all the time, they just don't know it. Jack had been rather aggressive in getting Bruce to join them for dinner that night, and Bruce wondered if the family had recognized who he was.
In the end, he had a good time and the Picard kids instantly latched on to him. The Picards also dragged him out a few times that trip, and kept in touch consistently ever since. After a while, Bruce returned their eagerness and visited a few times.
Bruce was pulled out of his thoughts as Jack said, "Didn't I teach Theresa how to fly, Bruce?"
"No, not really," Bruce responded.
"What about the flying lessons?"
"Those were not flying lessons, those were emergencies dear," Theresa said sweetly. Gordon's curiosity perked up, the Picards were quite interesting.
"Oh, are you talking about the Bermuda Triangle incident?" Bruce said, encouraging the Picards to tell another story.
It was after visitors hours had ended when the Picards left, and Gordon escorted them out. As Jack was leaving the hospital, he turned to the Commissioner and said "Bruce is no mere socialite; he is an adventurer like us. His adventures may not be of the same caliber, but they are adventures. He really is a good guy, so please take care of him."
Gordon returned to Bruce's hospital room, allowed to stay as late as he needed because he was the Commissioner of the city protecting a citizen, and he was familiar with the head nurse on duty. "They are quite the interesting couple, a lot of stories with them."
"From what I know, most stories are true," Bruce replied.
"How do you know?"
"You remember the story about their trip to the Bermuda Triangle? That really happened, and I had to pick them up from there. That ship was obliterated worse than they said." It was Gordon's surprised face that prompted Bruce to say, "A lot of their big adventures were from years ago, and they have allowed their lives to calm some so they could raise a family. Things are still wild for them, but instead of a near death experience in an infamous sea of destruction, it's how their kids confused salt for sugar, and their special breakfast in bed almost keep them in bed for days."
"They live quite the exciting life then."
"Some people naturally attract it, others go looking for it. I think it's probably a combination of both."
"They are crazy," Gordon remarked.
"Yes, but they are good people," Bruce said smiling, and soon wished the Commissioner a good night.
A.N. I hope you guys enjoyed! The reviews were wonderful, and I thank all of you who take the time to read and review.