"David, let her go."
Bruce's voice in his ear was soft and solemn, while he heard his son breath deeply in sadness.
David pinched his eyes shut as water dripped out of the cowl and down his face. He opened his eyes and looked back down at Heather. Quickly, he sat straight up and continued the chest compressions.
"What are you doing?" Allison softly asked as she walked near.
"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped back at her. "I'm not giving up."
He looked down at Heather's face, her lips turning a tinge of blue. David quickly bent over and put his mouth over hers for a brief moment, breathing for her.
"Heather, you're not leaving me!"
On the next breath, she returned the breath and spat up the water that had filled her lungs before going into a coughing fit. David sat back and sighed in relief as Allison rushed over to Heather. The woman continued to cough as Allison gently spoke to her, reassuring her that she was all right as Heather caught her breath. David quickly stood up and backed up against the wall, holding in with much restraint, the overwhelming emotions that were going through him. Instead, he stepped back and watched as Allison hugged Heather. He caught a glimpse of Allison's knowing eye and thanked her silently.
"What happened?" Heather finally asked, her voice small.
"You were under a little too long," Allison replied shakily as she was still quite cold. Heather looked up and saw Batman standing a few feet from them, just inside the shadows. Allison noticed Heather looking past her and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing her brother standing like a dark statue. "Batman saved you."
Heather forced a smile through chattering teeth. She was still in the midst of catching her breath. "The second time too. Thank you."
David said nothing, in fear that he wouldn't be able to mask his own voice with the flood of emotions he was attempting to keep at bay. Instead, he nodded.
The sound of voices coming towards them caught their attention. With Allison's help, Heather staggered to her feet. The pair stood close together, partly for warmth and in fear of who would be coming towards them. David quickly jumped in front of them and gently waved them to move further back as the voices grew louder.
Heather never saw it, but she certainly heard the gun fall to the ground as she watched Batman swiftly take a man's arm and pushed him against the wall. The impact and shock to the man was enough to knock him out just as another man ran in and kicked Batman in the side. Batman groaned and bent over slightly before the man tried it again. This time, Batman stepped out of the way and punched the man in the face.
David placed his hand over his side, surprised how the impact wasn't as bad as it would've been. He felt sore, but enough to carry on. He glanced over his shoulder and began to make his way back the way he came. Heather and Allison walked around the two men on the ground before following Batman out of the tunnel. Heather took a deep breath of fresh air once they reached the exit. A loud roar of an engine caught her attention as the fabled black tank that people have claimed to have seen on the streets of Gotham appeared in front of them. The rooftop opened and Batman climbed into the drivers seat.
"Bring them both back home," Bruce's voice said in David's ear. "Everyone would be safer here."
"Get in!" he called deeply.
Heather looked at Allison who promptly began to walk towards the Tumbler, as she walked with an arm around Heather as the older woman was still unsteady on her feet. Heather didn't walk in time with Allison and stopped.
"What are you doing?" she said loud enough for Allison to hear.
"We're getting in the big tank," she replied, plainly.
Heather scoofed.
"Have you been breathing too much sewer water? That's Batman. There is no way...there's no way either of us are going anywhere with him."
Allison paused.
"The way I think about it is, that we're stuck out here and there's a ride out of here right in front of us," she explained. "Besides, he doesn't look dangerous."
"To you, maybe."
Heather let out an aggravated sigh as she walked with Allison to the Tumbler. Heather watched Batman as they walked up to it. Although he had saved her life twice now, she still couldn't bring herself to trust him. She had read countless articles from years past about how he had once killed some people. She wouldn't allow Allison to be put in danger. Just as Allison was about to climb in, Heather grabbed the teenager by the arm.
"I'll sit in the middle," she told her softly, to which Allison merely shrugged.
Heather glanced up as the roof of the vehicle quickly closed over them. No one spoke as Batman turned on the tumbler and quickly drove it down the road. Heather sat with her arms crossed, partly to keep herself warm and also because she didn't want to accidentally bump into Batman as he took the sharp turns and quickly accelerated down the roads. It was then that she noticed that they were heading further out towards the outskirts of town.
"Wait! My house is in the city," she said.
Batman didn't reply. He continued to keep his eyes on the road ahead of him, knowing full well that Heather was watching him. He heard her scoff.
"Are you even listening to me? You're going out of the city. You need to turn around."
Heather looked out the front window, realizing that they were on the road that was leading towards the Palisades, and Wayne Manor.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Allison said softly. "It seems like he enjoys being rude."
A console began to beep on the front dash. Batman quickly leaned over and turned it off the sound, casting a quick glance and an aggravated sigh towards Allison.
Without any warning, he quickly turned the car in nearly a 360 and opened the roof of the Tumbler. Heather turned to look out to see that he had pulled up directly in front of the drive up to Wayne Manor. She could see the lights and the outline of the large house in the distance. Allison climbed out.
"I hope there is a nice warm fire waiting for me."
Heather sighed, not wanting to spend anymore time in the company of Batman. She quickly climbed out after Allison and turned around.
"Thank you," Heather spoke softly through chattering teeth, as she continued to rub her arms to keep warm.
Batman nodded. "Get inside."
Heather turned and began to walk with Allison towards the house. Batman closed the roof of the Tumbler and spoke once it had closed completley.
"Commissioner Gordon is calling," he said, noticing that the light on the console was still flashing.
"You'll have to go. I'll check on Heather for you."
"Thanks. I was hoping to see her again sooner than later," David said as he turned the Tumbler back towards the city.
Gordon stared up at the beacon reflecting off the low clouds in the night sky. He looked down at the coffee in his mug and took a sip, wincing at the cold, stale taste. He turned when he heard the sound of something rustling behind him. Batman stood just inside the shadows. Gordon reached over to the switch and turned off the light, before dumping the contents of his mug onto the ground.
"You're late," Gordon said.
"I was busy."
Gordon looked up, realizing something was off with Batman. He had known of Batman's identity for years and something tonight wasn't right. It wasn't just his voice. It was his stance in the shadows. He still had an air of mysteriousness to him but he almost smirked. He caught it. It was a subtle mark before the dark knight quickly wiped it off his face. Gordon couldn't put his finger on it. But what he did know was that he had seen that smirk before on someone else. He put aside all the questions and got down to business.
"I have the report from the incident at the private school earlier today." He opened the file and passed it to Batman. "5 people are dead. Two of them were faculty members. We were missing a student and I wondering if you had heard anything about that."
Batman nodded, looking down at the reports in front of him. "It's been taken care of."
Gordon caught it again. The voice was definitely off.
"The school will be closed for the next week or so for further investigation. We managed to get video footage from the security cameras from inside the school."
Gordon held out the file towards Batman, who stepped out from the shadows to take it. He watched how Batman carried himself. It was certainly different. Batman looked at the photos from within the file, one looking right up at him. Joker.
"He's back," Gordon said, when he noticed Batman's eyes falling on that photo. "I don't know how he did it, but that bastard is back. What I can't understand though, is if he's been alive all this time, why has he waited so long to show his face? What does he want?"
Batman sighed.
"Heather Tamarack was found along with Allison Wayne," he said. "She was taken from inside the ER department in the hospital."
Gordon was confused. "I didn't hear of anything happening at the hospital."
"It was a quiet job," Batman stated. "No one even knew that she was gone."
"The Joker's handiwork I'm assuming as well?"
"I'm leaning towards that. I'll speak with her later and see what happened."
Gordon nodded, glancing out at the night sky.
"I don't understand the connection between Miss Wayne and Miss Tamarack," he said, turning back towards Batman and seeing the space where he once stood was now empty. Jim grinned before he spoke softly to himself. "Maybe I'll have to pay the Wayne's a visit."
'Like father, like son,' he thought as he turned to head back inside the MCU building.
-------------------
David wasn't surprised to see his Dad still waiting for him in the cave. He saw him standing beside the computer desk the moment that the Tumbler punched through the curtain of water and came to an abrupt stop. The noise and rumbling caused more than one bat to fly from his or her perch on the cave ceiling. David jumped out of the Tumbler and pulled the cowl off from his head. Bruce held out his hand as David passed the file to him that Gordon had given him.
"The school camera caught a nasty picture of Joker," David said. "There's no denying that it's him though. He looks just like I remember him, just a little older."
Bruce turned and placed the file on the desk as David walked up behind him, pulling the gloves from his hands.
"How's Heather, and Allison?"
Bruce turned. "They're both fine. Last time I checked, Allison was eating supper and Heather was taking a shower. Alfred had a room prepared for her since she'll be staying with us for the time being. Since Joker has come after her, it's safer for her to stay here. Your Mom is going to work with the hospital board in granting her a leave of absence from her internship. I'm certain that your Mom still has some pull there."
David dropped the gloves on the table and sighed. Bruce turned, noticing the frustration in his stance. He only had to turn to him before David explained what was bothering him.
"Dad, I couldn't say a word to her," he said. "Instead, I just watched as Allison held onto her, comforting her. It was something that I should have been doing. I should have been telling her that it's all right, but instead she was afraid of me. She barely looked me in the eye."
Bruce sighed, putting his hand on David's shoulder.
"Heather is alive because you didn't give up on her," he said. "She's upstairs right now and she's waiting for you. Your Mom had to make an excuse for you. She told her that you were out looking for her and she had called you home shortly after the girls came inside. Why don't you get out of that suit and get cleaned up before going up to see her."
David nodded, turning towards the change area and the shower that they had built in the cave. After a quick shower, David and Bruce took the trip up to the house. As they appeared in the study, Olivia's voice carried into the room from the front door. The study door was partially ajar. Bruce recognized the other voice in the entryway and pushed the door open.
There was Jim Gordon speaking with Olivia.
"Commissioner," Bruce said, with a smile. Jim turned and smiled. "It's good to see you. What brings you out here?"
"I just came by to check on your daughter, Bruce," Jim replied, glancing down at Bruce's arm in a sling, before looking over at David's face. If he had been speaking to the young man an hour prior, he would never have known. David didn't make any inclination to knowing anything more. "What happened to the arm?"
Bruce glanced down at the sling and shrugged. "Just a slight accident. I've been taking it easy for the past week or so. David's been taking care of things at work for me for the time being."
"I see," Gordon said, with a knowing smile. "Well, if you're anything like Bruce here, you'll do just fine."
David smiled. "Thank you, sir."
"I was also coming to check to see if Miss Tamarack could help out with the investigation that I'm heading up in regards to her disappearance while at the hospital," he said.
David said nothing but turned to his Mom when she spoke. "She hasn't said much about what happened. I offerred something to eat when she arrived, but she said she'd just rather be alone for the evening. Perhaps in the morning after a good night sleep, she'll be able to help."
Gordon nodded. "I understand. I'll come back tomorrow."
Bruce shook Jim's hand before walking him out the door. Before he even had a chance to say another word, he turned and saw David making his way up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Heather laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She noticed the large molded trim following around the edges, an illusion to make the ceiling appear shorter than it is. In a room as extravagant as she was laying in, what was above her was catching her eye. Heather didn't dare close them. Every time that she would, she'd hear his voice in her ear or see his face right in front of her. Heather rolled over once again in the large bed, feeling the silk sheets under her legs. That was something she wasn't used to - silk and feeling them with her legs. Heather always wore pj pants to bed. Allison had let her borrow a pair of pajamas for the night. She couldn't help but smile when she had put them on. The cute girly shorts and the hot pink graphic t-shirt with the wording 'Sweet Dream's' in silver writing screamed teenager.
Heather was about to bury her head under the pillow in frustration when she heard a light tapping at her door. It took her a moment to wonder if she was hearing it or not. The house often made odd sounds which David had once convinced her into thinking that there were ghosts living in Wayne Manor. After once hearing the logical explanations from Alfred, she was no longer concerned about what she heard and this was just one of those times. It wasn't until she heard a soft voice calling her name from behind the door that she realized that she wasn't hearing things.
She sat up and walked over to the door and slowly opened it, allowing for her eyes to adjust to the brighter light of the hallway. Heather squinted, realizing that it was David at the door. He smiled sheepishly and wasn't sure what to say. His mouth moved, but no words were coming out.
Taking the initiative, Heather took two steps forward into the hallway and wrapped her arms around David's neck. He responded and held onto her, taking in a deep breath of her recently showered, damp hair.
"I thought that I'd never see you again," she whispered into his ear. She heard him chuckle.
"I'm glad to hear your voice and not just over the cell phone," David said, as Heather pulled back, rubbing the back of her hand under her nose. A small smile pulled at his lips as he noticed her clothes, yet he didn't bother to comment. He didn't have to ask where they came from.
"I hope that I didn't wake you," David added. "My parents said that you went to bed but I couldn't turn in myself until I saw that you were all right."
She shook her head and sighed exasperatedly.
"I've been laying in that bed for nearly an hour now," she stated. "I just can't fall asleep. I don't know if it's trying to sleep in a place I usually don't or if it's just..." She paused. "...just the nightmares of waking up gasping for a breath and then seeing his face every time I close my eyes."
David smiled, sympathetically. He didn't blame her. He was certain that he would be having the same nightmares for a while, instead he'd be watching her die in front of him, powerless to do anything. Finally, he smiled.
"How about a walk then?"
Heather stared at him, surprised. "At this time of night?"
He shrugged with a smile. "Why not?"
"It's a little cool outside."
"I'll grab you a sweater and I'm sure I can find a pair of pants that would fit you. I'll get a flashlight in case we get too far from the house." He paused with a smile, holding out his hand. "Come on. It'll be fun."
She looked down at his open palm before looking up into his eyes. "David, you don't have to do this."
"Do what?"
"Take care of me. I'm a big girl. I deal with pinning down and sedating drug addicts coming in off the street and drunkards everyday in the ER."
He nodded.
"I know. I just want to spend time with you. Thinking that I was hearing your voice for the last time put a lot into perspective for me. I don't want to take advantage of what I received."
With a deep sigh and smile, she took his hand.
-----------------
The sky was clear and being so far from the city, the stars could easily be seen in the night sky. The moon shone bright enough that it made the yard bright enough to see.
Heather pulled her hands inside the sleeves of the over-sized hoody and looked up, searching for a speck in the sky that was moving.
"I think I see one," she said, keeping her eyes looking up as she heard David walk up beside her. She raised her hand and pointed up. "See those two bright ones? Follow the lower one of the two towards the right and you'll see it. It's slowly moving."
"Yeah, yeah," David said. "I think you're right. Another satellite."
He watched her tuck her hands back inside the sleeves and wrap her arms around herself.
"I miss seeing the stars," she said. "You can't see them at all at the house."
"The penthouse has a pretty good view, but even on the clearest of nights, it's still hard to make out the stars," David explained as he pulled out his flashlight.
"Are you ready?"
She nodded her head and took ahold of his arm as he led her through the tree line. The frogs and toads were making themselves known as they neared the old creek that ran behind the property. Heather couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about being in the darkness and being unable to see what could be lurking around them. David even seemed to sense her apprehension. He turned to her.
"You okay?"
She nodded. "I'm just a little chilly."
"We're almost there," he said, pushing a branch aside for her and carefully let go of it, so that it wouldn't hit either of them in the back.
Finally, she saw it. The old barn. It wasn't really a barn. It was smaller, like a shed, yet Heather always called it the barn. It was a clubhouse, a storage shed and most importantly, a hideaway. David would have spent countless hours playing pirates and Indians in the bush around it. The first time she had met him was on a hospital committee luncheon when his Mom encouraged him to show Heather around. The first place he had brought her was the old shed.
"What are we doing out here?" she asked.
David grinned. "Wait right here," he said. "I'll be right back."
Before Heather had a chance to ask what he was doing, he turned and walked into the barn. She could hear him rummaging through the old shed and see the beams of light as he moved the flashlight around. Heather waited as patiently as she could, but the sounds of the bush in the night were getting to her. A light crack and the sound of leaves moving along the ground was enough to make her heart begin to pound. She glanced around, almost expecting someone to jump out at her.
"David?!" she called out, forcing her voice to come out of her throat. "Are you almost done?"
"Yeah, just give me a few more seconds."
There it was again. A crack coming from the right. Heather slowly reached down to the ground, feeling for a stick, preferably a large one and stood back up. Slowly she walked towards the sound, her breathing erratic and her heart beating out of her chest. She could barely hear anything else. It wasn't until she felt something on her shoulder that she spun around.
"Hey! Heather!"
The voice didn't even click in and she just about swung, but David somehow managed to catch the small branch in his hand.
"Whoa! What's going on?" he exclaimed.
In shock, her hand suddenly let go of the branch and dropped it to the ground as tears came to her eyes. Before David could even question, she wrapped her arms around his chest.
"Don't leave me," she whispered softly, as she steadied her breathing once again. David sighed, angry at himself for not even thinking when he was only thinking of himself when he went into the shed. He could feel the small metal ring in the palm of his hand and he quickly pocketed it before wrapping his arms around Heather. The initial plan to ask her once again to marry him was changed with one stupid move on his part.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't thinking especially after what you had gone through today with the Joker."
"It's not so much the Joker," she said. "It was the other guy."
"What other guy?"
"The one who came into the ER. He looked as normal as you or I. That's what scares me. This guy can be your best friend and you wouldn't even know it. He acted as though he was sorry for the situation that I was in but then he would justify the things he would do to me."
David felt a pit in his stomach grow.
"Do to you? What did he do?"
"Nothing what you're thinking. He tied me up, face down," she explained. "I didn't see his own face until he put me into the back of his minivan. He mumbled almost constantly about how Mr. Wayne ruined his life and forced him to do what he did to me."
"Would you recognize him again if you saw him?"
"Hell, yeah."
"I ruined his life?" Bruce asked, as he sat in front of the computer. David stood behind him, his arms crossed and still dressed in a sweater and long pants from the walk.
He had walked Heather back to the house and said goodnight to her before leaving to find his Dad back in the cave. David had to laugh. Even though the old man was unable to be on the streets, he kept up the same sleep cycle regardless.
"Do you know how many people that could use that same claim? I've worked with dozens of companies and business people over the years. Of course, not all of them would go insane and start working with the Joker," Bruce explained as he turned in his chair towards his son. "If she could somehow narrow it down then it would give us a jump start on finding this guy and hopefully by finding him, we'll find the Joker."
"How is she going to narrow it down? I only managed to get her to talk about it because I scared the crap out of her in the bush," David stated.
"Ask general questions about the man," Bruce suggested. "What he looked like, anything about him that stands out; that sort of thing. Hopefully the, we'll have a clearer idea of who we're working with."
David nodded and turned to leave.
"Hey!" Bruce called out, causing David to stop and turn around. "Did you ask her?"
David sighed and shook his head. "I was planning on it, but it backfired on me."
Bruce smiled. "You'll get another chance."
"I hope so."
--------------
A/N - Okay...so no cliffhangers this time. I had to end it sooner than later otherwise you'd get another cliffhanger. This took me so long to write because I just didn't know which way to bring it. Hopefully you liked it and if not...oh well...I hope you'll like my upcoming chapters as they'll be getting more interesting...at least to me they are. :)