David felt himself gasp as the Tumbler literally flew threw the curtain of water, only to land safely on the other side and continue on the path. He knew that it would, but the feeling of adrenaline only heightened the experience. He looked down at the centre console when he saw a button began to flash. He quickly pushed it.

"Go ahead," he said aloud.

"I'm sending you the location of where we lost contact with the Batpod once it had been destroyed with the self-destruct," Alfred said, his voice only being heard in David's ears. "The computer lost contact with Batman at the moment of the self-destruct so it's a possibility that he was near the blast at the time."

David let out an inaudible sigh as he looked down at the GPS map appear on the screen beside him with a small red dot marking the map. "Okay."

"Don't worry Master David," Alfred said. "I will be with you the entire time."

David had to smile. "What makes you think I'm worried?"

"You're quiet," Alfred replied. "I know you well enough."

David chuckled lightly before he changed the subject.

"That's on the east side of the city near the Wayne Enterprises shipping yard. What was he doing over there?"

"Perhaps he was trying to get to the safety of the bunker," Alfred suggested, and decided to say more than he wanted, but knew that David needed to know. "He also mentioned that he was going to investigate a lead he received from a gang member the night before on the man who might have had a part in the explosion at the fair after he found out that he was also involved with the fire at the store."

David was surprised.

"What?!...why didn't he say anything about this?!"

"He has his reasons."

David shook his head while accelerating his speed as he entered the city limits.

He slowed down once he reached the location the GPS was telling him. He came to a stop and opened the roof of the tumbler. It was quiet. All he could hear were the occasional sounds of seagulls squawking in the sky and sirens in the distance. David stood up, momentarily stepping on the cape that caught in the wind behind him.

"What do you see?" Alfred's voice asked softly in David's ear causing him to pay attention to what was around him.

"Nothing," he replied, as he climbed out of the tumbler, carefully glancing around him as he moved into the shadows. "Nothing at all."

"The computer is saying that you're within fifty meters of the batpod."

David looked up at the building beside him before he reached onto his belt for the grappler. He fired it off and quickly made his way to the top of the building. With a sigh, he looked around the other buildings and he towards the river, which he could now see. A sound caught his ear and David quietly walked to the other side of the building. He looked down.

------------------

"I found another," the teenager said, jogging up to a larger man. "That makes, what? Five?"

They laid out the various pieces of weapons which David quickly recognized as those that Batman carried on his hip and belt.

"Go see if you can find more," the large man said, excitedly. "I don't even know if they sell this kind of crap on the black market, cause I never seen anything like it before. Might be worth a pretty penny to the right buyer."

The young teen seemed just as excited as he quickly turned and ran down the alley from the way he had just came. David raced along the side of the building, following the path of the teenager until he reached the end of the roof. With a deep breath, David jumped off the building and dropped down into the alleyway in front of the boy. The kid slid onto the concrete as he tried to stop himself from flying into the dark figure in front of him. He quickly turned and attempted to stand up and run off, but instead felt a secure hand grab hold of his collar.

The boy screamed as loud as he could. It didn't even phase David as he turned and held the kid against the brick wall.

"Where were you going?!" David growled, mimicking a voice that was oddly familiar to him.

"No where!"

"Where did you find those weapons!?"

"In...in...a heap of charred, scrap metal just beyond the fence at the shipping docks."

"HEY! Tim!? You alright?"

David didn't turn his head when he heard the larger man call out towards them.

"Help me, man! The Batman's got me!"

In a quick movement, David quickly swung the kid into the ground before shooting off the grappler once again towards the rooftop and disappeared out of sight just as the larger man appeared, his gun cocked and ready.

"Where is he?" David heard the man say from below. He raced back towards where the two had the weapons. He quickly picked them up and took off into the shadows towards the shipping docks.

The charred metal was still warm when he arrived. He noticed that most, if not all, of the remains of the batpod had burned. Thankfully, that was all that was there.

David sighed, as he looked around.

"He's not here, Alfred," he said softly, as he heard a rhythmic squeaking sound. He turned around and saw the old warehouse metal door moving slowly back and forth with the breeze off the river. David ran towards it and felt his stomach turn when he saw blood on the door handle. "I might have found him."

He slipped inside the door and slowly walked through the building, trying to remain in the shadows along the wall. It was large and for the most part, empty. Finally, David heard a sound. A groan. Up ahead he saw a dark object resting against the wall. David raced over to Batman and quickly knelt down, noticing that Batman had his eyes closed.

"I found him," David said quickly. "And he's alive." He noticed the bullet wound to Batman's right left shoulder and could only imagine the blood loss around it. David was thankful that they were in the dark. He quickly unlocked the cape off from around his shoulder and pressed it against Batman's shoulder. He watched as Batman slowly opened his eyes, slightly confused.

"I must be hallucinating," he mumbled.

David reached forward and tied the cape around Batman's arm before going to his right side to hoist him up.

"Don't you wish you were," David said, with a slight chuckle. "I'm gonna bring you home, but I could use a little help getting you off the ground."

Even in his slight daze and weakened state, Batman pushed up off the ground enough that David could partially drag Batman out of the building. He reached down to his belt and presed the control to bring the tumbler to his location.

"I need...I need...tell," Batman mumbled. "...trouble."

"You can tell me how much trouble I'm in later on," David stated as he pushed the metal door open with his shoulder while grunting to carry Batman's weight out the door to the waiting Tumbler.

The effort to get Batman into the Tumbler was exhausting to the point that Batman had passed out somewhere along the line. David let out a deep breath as he sat down in the drivers seat and started up the Tumbler for home.

"How is he?" Alfred's voice said in the Tumbler.

David glanced over at his Dad. "Unconscious and loosing a lot of blood."

"Get him home quickly, sir."

"As quickly as I can."

David finally took off the cowl once he had finished helping to bring his Dad up above ground and into his bedroom. Alfred insisted that he'd feel more comfortable dealing with injuries as serious as what Bruce had if he was at least in the warmth and cleanliness of the house. David had left to go back into the cave to change once he realized he was no longer needed. His hair was matted with sweat. He was about to jump into the shower in the cave when he heard the frantic voice of his Mom call down into the cave from the upper level of the lift. David quickly pulled on his shorts and shirt and raced out where he could see her.

"David, get up here now!"

Hearing the urgency in his Mom's voice, he quickly jumped into the lift.

He wasn't even certain that he heard the words his Mom say next. "Alfred needs you to call Heather."

"Heather? Why?"

Olivia let out a sigh. She was afraid. "He says that the bullet is still in his shoulder and he's afraid with his sight that he might hit an artery. We can't risk bringing him to a hospital. Heather is our only option."

"What am I supposed to tell her?"

Olivia put her hand on David's. "Anything but the truth."

Heather had barely fell asleep when the phone beside her began to ring. She glanced at the digital clock and sighed. It was 12:14am and she was switching shifts to days and was supposed to be up at six to start her shift at seven. She groaned when she recognized the number as David's cell phone. After the fifth ring, she decided to pick it up.

"Hello?" she said, less than exuberant.

"Heather? It's David."

"I know," she stated.

"I need your help."

"That's nice."

"No, I'm serious. I need you to come out to Wayne Manor."

Heather couldn't help but let out a mock laugh. She was still bitter and angry over what had happened earlier in the night. He left her, high and dry at the restaurant and now he was wanting her to come out to Wayne Manor.

"I have to work in the morning and you're wanting me to come out to Wayne Manor? For what, exactly?"

There was a pause.

"My Dad is hurt."

The mention of Mr. Wayne being injured caused her to sit up a little. The man was just as much a father to her as he was to David and Allison since her parents moved to Metropolis.

"What happened?"

"It's a long, complicated story," David quickly replied. "But I need you to come out."

"If it's as bad as your implying, why don't you bring him to a hospital?"

"I can't say," David replied. "For many reasons." She heard him sigh. "Please, Heather."

As stupid as she was feeling at that moment, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and pulled on her socks.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you so much."

A moment later, she hung up and soon after found herself driving towards Wayne Manor in Kate's car.

-------------

Heather had no idea what to expect when she pulled in front of Wayne Manor. For the most part, the house seemed dark. But as she stepped out of her car wearing her pajamas and wrapped in a jacket, the lights at the door turned on and David appeared on the steps.

She said nothing as he opened the door, allowing her to walk in. Heather pulled off her coat and took off her shoes.

"He's upstairs," David said, softly, taking her coat to hang on the hooks.

She walked up the stairs beside David and down the hall. Neither said a word as they walked towards the master bedroom. As they approached, Heather could hear voices coming from the room ahead. She followed David into the room and stopped, frozen in her tracks when she saw Bruce Wayne laying unconscious on the bed. Her eyes momentarily ignored the scattered bruises on his torso and fell onto the horrible looking wound on his shoulder. It had been covered with gauze, as blood continued to ooze through the fibers of the fabric. It wasn't until Alfred touched her arm that she turned to him.

"I need your help," he said softly, looking back at Bruce. "The bullet is still in his shoulder and with my eyes, I can't see it well enough to not further injure Master Bruce."

Bullet?

The word hit her like a brick.

"A bullet? He was shot? How did this happen? Why isn't he in the hospital?"

She looked from Olivia to Allison and then to Alfred. No one answered the questions. Instead, David put his hand on Heather's back and walked with her towards the bed.

"We need your help," he said, echoing Alfred's words that he said moments before. "My Dad needs your help."

She looked down at Bruce, the man whom she had come to know over the years like an uncle and more recently, as a father figure. Finally, she shook her head, feeling tears come to her eyes.

"I can't."

"You can," David whispered.

She turned to him. "You don't understand. I have never removed a bullet from someone before. I've done stitches, taken care of sick patients and I was lucky enough last week to be able to scrub in on a routine appendectomy, but I never held the scalpel. I'm just an intern."

"But you can do this."

"There are so many things that can go wrong," Heather said, turning back to look at Bruce. "What if I can't find it? What if I hit his artery? I mean, just by the look of it, it's awfully close. Besides, I don't have anything here to do it."

"Excuse me, Miss Tamarack," Alfred began. "But I have everything you'd need right here. I have already administered a sedative."

Heather let out a nervous sigh, knowing that she was Bruce's only hope. As much as everyone in the room had faith in her, she couldn't trust her own hands.

Finally, Heather reached to remove the gauze. She paused and momentarily looked at Bruce as he laid there. The wound was nasty and a large bruise was forming around it. She sat down on the edge of the bed beside him and held out her hand towards Alfred who promptly placed a pair of small medical forceps in her hand. Heather looked up at David and towards Olivia as she sat on the other side of Bruce. Allison stood just behind her.

She took a deep breath and steadied her hand before gently searching the wound for the bullet. Heather grimaced as she carefully felt around for the metal shell, praying that she didn't cause more damage than the bullet had already caused. She was glad to see that it hadn't touched his artery. Heather didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she felt the forceps hit something foreign. Slowly, she grabbed ahold of it and pulled out the forceps. Within the tiny grib of the metal surgical pliers she held the bloodied bullet. A smile came to her face.

Alfred quickly appeared at her side and held out a bowl to drop the medical instrument and bullet into. With a smile, Alfred handed her a needle and thread.

"Care to finish the job?"

With a smile, Heather began to sew up the wound. When she had finished, she stood up and walked into the bathroom to wash her hands. When she walked back out, the room was empty except for the sleeping Mr. Wayne and his wife. She watched as Olivia sat beside Bruce and lovingly ran her hands over his brow and leaned down to kiss his lips. Feeling a little out of place, she quietly excused herself and made her way towards the door but not until Olivia called her name. Heather stopped.

"Thank you," Olivia said, softly with a smile.

"My pleasure."

Heather walked out the door and nearly bumped into David who had been waiting in the hallway.

"I'll walk you out to your car."

"You don't need to," Heather said. "I know my way around here."

"I know. It's the least I could do. Afterall, you did help save my Dad's life."

Heather said nothing but nodded.

"I know that you're angry with me," David said as they walked down the stairs. "And I don't blame you. It was rude of me to leave you at the restaurant."

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Heather stopped and caught David by the arm, making him stop as well.

"I understand if you left because of what happened with your Dad," she began. "But you could have at least told me what was going on, rather than leave me like that. I would've understood if you had to go because your Dad was shot." She paused for a moment. "How did that happen anyways?"

"Uh...I really don't know. I didn't really get a chance to talk to my Mom about it."

They continued to walk towards the front door. David waited as Heather pulled on her shoes and slipped on her coat. He opened the door and followed her down the stone steps to the car waiting in the driveway.

"Thank you so much for coming out tonight," David said once she stopped in front of her car door. "I didn't know who else to call. I'm sorry for what happened earlier tonight. Would it be possible to reschedule something?"

He watched smile grew on Heather's face.

"I was hoping for something a little more private this time around though," David said, thoughtfully. "Dinner at the penthouse. I'll make it myself."

"You? Make dinner?"

David shrugged. "My Mom and Alfred aren't the only cooks in the family!"

Heather nodded, as David took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. He reached around her and opened the car door just as Heather wrapped her arm around his neck. With a giggle at seeing David's surprised expression, she kissed him on his lips, letting her lips linger gently on them for a few brief moments more before she broke the kiss. Without saying another word, she slipped into the car and closed the door, before rolling down the window. She smirked at David before taking off up the drive.

"He's waking!" David announced down the hallway before rushing back to see his Dad break free into consciousness. A few seconds later, Alfred and Olivia appeared in the room. Olivia immediately went up to him and gently took his hand.

"Bruce?"

She watched as his eyes fought against the brightness of the room and the fatigue in his body. He could hear Olivia's voice.

"Bruce, wake up."

He had to wake up. As the memories of the night prior flooded back to him along with the dull pain in his shoulder, Bruce struggled to not only open his eyes but also speak the words that he wanted to say. He realized that he must have said something since he heard Olivia gently 'shush' him and encouraged him to not speak. Finally he peeked out through the smallest slits of his eye lids and could see his beautiful wife sitting right beside him.

"You're all right," she assurred him. He looked past her and saw his grown son, standng with his arms crossed over his chest, looking more like a mirror image of himself everyday.

"I..."

"It's okay Bruce, don't talk."

He closed his eyes once again and shook his head, frustrated. Finally, his mouth was able to form a word. "Allison."

"Allison is at school this morning," Olivia told him.

Once again he shook his head, pinching his eyes shut. He knew that he was incapable of doing anything. Fear was in his eyes.

"Joker!" he finally exclaimed, his voice hoarse and weak. He didn't even have enough strength to keep his eyes open. "He's going to kill her and Heather."

David's ears perked up as he stepped forward while hearing his Dad speak.

Olivia quickly spun around, looking up at David. He was already thinking. "Heather is at the hospital today."

At that moment, Alfred walked in, rather quickly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is something on television that you have to see."

The screen was filled with an aerieal shot of a building with a headline racing across the bottom of the screen. 'Bomb Threat'. David and Olivia instantly recognized the building. Allison's school.