Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was as if part of Nicole's depression had instantly raised itself off of her shoulders with her saying the thing she'd wanted to yell so desperately, but unfortunately for Tony, he was now very confused.

"How do you know?" He asked finally, his own voice probably a little darker than it should have been.

"I've recognized the signs my body is showing me," Nicole said quietly. "I woke up this morning throwing up like crazy, and my 'friend of the month' hasn't come."

Tony's eyebrows rose slightly at that extra information, "So you think you're pregnant and yet you're smoking, drinking, and trying to commit suicide?"

"I just realized everything when I woke up puking my guts out," Nicole said quietly.

"Nikki, please, let me get you some help."

Nicole shook her head, "If I let you check me back into the hospital, I know that I'd probably hang myself. I know what I need, and that's too get away from all of this."

"Where would you go?" Tony inquired.

"To a friend," Nicole said offhandedly. "I just need you to trust me."

"You know I do," Tony said. He sighed and looked directly into Nicole's eyes, "You're not sure who the father is, are you?"

"I know it's one of two people," Nicole said sadly. "But which one truly is the father, I don't know. Honestly, I'm praying to God that it's you, but there's a 50 percent chance I'm wrong as hell."

Tony looked away from Nicole, nodding slightly, "You know I'm here for you 24/7 if you ever need me."

Nicole covered the distance between them in two strides, "I know." She kissed Tony softly on the lips.

Two days later, Nicole pulled a rental Mustang convertible up to a distinctly familiar building. With a nod to the doorman, she went up through the floors in the elevator. Once the elevator stopped, Nicole looked directly at the door in front of her and sighed.

'Here goes nothing,' She thought as she raised her fist and knocked three times on the door. She heard footsteps on the other side, and two seconds later, a familiar face appeared. At first the man looked shocked, but then a smirk appeared on his face.

"Well," Said Bruce Wayne, "What do we have here?"

Back out in Malibu, Tony Stark was worried. He knew in his heart that what Nicole was doing in the end could be beneficial for herself, but he wanted so desperately to be the one to help her get through everything. Tony was going over some information that Pepper had given him while he had been at Lion Labs just to keep himself busy. He was seated in the gloomy atmosphere of his lab, but his mind was a million miles away.

"Sir," Jarvis's voice called out of the gloom. "You might want to step outside for a second."

"Why?" Tony inquired.

"I believe you'll see something of particular interest."

Tony hated it when Jarvis was so vague. Reluctantly, he left his spot and walked up the stairs two at a time. He looked out a window and instantly did a double take. Soft white snow was falling down outside the window.

"What the hell?" Tony mumbled, walking at last to a balcony that overlooked the ocean. The sky was a dark grey like Tony had never seen before. The snow was falling at a rapid pace, and even more than that, it was actually sticking to the ground.

"Jarvis," Tony said, his voice stronger. "What month are we in?"

"We're ending June," Jarvis responded. "I believe the high yesterday was 102 in the shade, sir."

"How the hell is it snowing, Jarvis?"

"I'm not programmed to tell you how the impossible is happening, Mr. Stark," Jarvis reminded him. "I'm merely here to assist."

"This is insane," Tony whispered as a cold breeze blew over him and he actually shivered. "Something's wrong here."

Nicole stood out on the balcony of Bruce Wayne's penthouse; Gotham City was actually a calming sight to her. She inhaled deeply as Bruce himself walked out onto the balcony, two cups of coffee in his hands. He motioned for her to sit at the small table nearby. Nicole inclined her head as he handed her one of the cups of coffee and drank deeply.

"So," Bruce Wayne said. "Not that I mind, but are you finally going to tell me what you're doing here?"

Nicole sighed again, giving Bruce the once over. He had various bruises and scars over his well-toned body. He was still in his pajama pants and shirtless, but it didn't matter to Nicole.

"What?" Nicole asked finally. "A girl can't come visit one of her oldest friends?"

"A normal girl can," Bruce said, drinking from his own cup of coffee. "But you're anything but normal." Bruce looked like he was debating asking her something, and finally Nicole tuned into her mind link which she'd been trying to ignore.

"Yes," She said finally. "The rumors of me killing my father are true."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Bruce inquired.

"I have a lot to catch you up on," Nicole said. "But I need a favor from you."

"What?" Bruce asked.

"Can I stay with you for a bit? I can't go back to Malibu for a while. You'll understand why after I tell you my story."

Bruce thought for a moment before nodding, "I have plenty of room for you here."

"Thanks," Nicole said. "Batman."

TBC!

AN: Yeah, two updates in one day, what can I say? Okay, I HOPE y'all don't hate me for bringing Bruce Wayne into this. It's NOT going to be an entire cross-over, let me just set that straight. He's merely here to help Nicole out. I'll go more into their history in the next chapter. Till then, Ta-ta!