Those eyes…

I narrow my eyes slightly, trying to remember where I may have seen those eyes before.

I know those eyes.

"What did he mean?" I ask through gritted teeth.

Batman only looks at me, a mix of emotions on his face for a brief second.

"Who was that?" I tried asking.

"Not here. Later. I promise," is Batman's response, causing my eyes to narrow in confusion. The sound of incoming sirens pierce my ears and the nighttime sky.

"Bruce," I suddenly pipe up, not able to keep my thoughts inside my head anymore.

I see Batman tense up and freeze.

"Is Bruce okay? Have you seen him?" I demand him, craze beginning to creep into my voice.

Batman resumes his motion, silently lacing one arm under my knees and another by my shoulder blades. We quickly rise, and he immediately begins to head to the roof.

"He's okay. He's not hurt, and much more concerned about his Evangeline."

I swear I see a half-smile grace Batman's lips, but my mind is much more pre-occupied with the realization that I just made: we're heading toward the edge of the roof.

"You're not-"

"Yep. Trust me."

I found myself nodding, and I lace my arms tightly around his muscular neck.

"Okay…"

"Hold on as tight as you can."

My shoulder was absolutely throbbing, but fear of falling to my death made me momentarily forget the pain. I clench my jaw, readjust my grip, and hope to God that I don't slip.

The trip across the roof is a quick one, and we land smoothly on the next building's roof.

An explosion startles me, and Batman and I both whip our heads around to see the building that I had been held captive in encased in an even larger inferno. In the foreground, Ra's and the Joker exit the burning building, and I gasp in surprise. Batman pulls me back from the ledge in response, hoping to hide us from their view. I instinctively raise my hand to my shoulder, now numb.

"I will never forgive that lunatic," I whisper.

"Let's get you back," he says, not hearing me.

He gently places a hand on my uninjured side, his fingers curling around my arm gently.

We climb down the roof of the building that we're on, and Batman carries me bridal style toward a giant what looks like tank. He opens the top, something I've never seen in a vehicle, and gently places me inside. He steps in behind me and straps himself in.

Exhaustion begins to take hold, and I'm barely able to keep my eyes open.

I noticed that Evangeline was absolutely exhausted. All of the color was gone from her face, only the red of her blood staining her skin. I gritted my teeth, anger coarsing through my veins at the Joker and Ra's.

Ra's. I was so sure that he was gone. So sure that there was no way that he could have survived that train crash. I broke my one rule, or at least I thought I did.

The cut on Evangeline's throat was still bleeding, and there's a wound on her shoulder that's bleeding pretty badly, too. I need to get her medical attention. But I can't take her to the hospital myself, and there's no way I can call on Gordon.

I make my decision. I silently send a message to Alfred, notifying him that I had found Evangeline and that she needs immediate medical attention when we reach the second Bat Cave in the shipping container.

I then speed off toward our destination, noting that I don't have to convince her to wear a blindfold, considering she's already unconscious. I check on her to make sure she's still alive, and to my relief, she seems to be stable.

The drive to the docks is fairly quick, especially since I drove 80mph on the empty streets of Gotham at 3 o'clock in the morning.

Alfred greets us immediately, and we take her over to the medical table to begin stitching her injuries.

"Master Wayne. How are you going to explain this to her? I cannot very well leave the poor woman alone while she recovers."

"I know, Alfred. I can't either. Maybe it would just be best for now if I told her that Batman brought her here."

Alfred sent me a disapproving look.

"Master Wayne, you wouldn't do that to a woman that you love."

Love. Did I love her? I fold my arms over my chest. It's true, she makes me feel incredible and different, more so than I ever did with Rachel.

"I don't want to lie to her. She deserves to know."

Alfred nods his head and give me a lop-sided grin.

"Agreed, sir. She may not have been around much, but I can tell," he gives me a knowing grin while he finishes the last stitch in her neck. "Now on to this shoulder of hers…"

Alfred stands and moves to Evangeline's shoulder wound, while I go to finish changing back into different clothes. I grab a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Master Wayne," Alfred calls for me, a tone of urgency in his voice.

I turn around and half-run back out, pulling my shirt over my head.

"What is it?"

"You should see this, sir."

I step over, and see that the wound that is marring Evangeline's shoulder is a crude scar in the shape of a 'J'.

"He did this," I snarl.

Alfred has a look of sadness combined with anger and pity in his eyes.

"And he'll only do worse if he finds out she knows everything."

Alfred turns toward me, his eyes a touch wider.

"Sir, you don't mean to completely bar her from your life?"

"It's because I love her."

My back was already turned, I was walking away.

"And how, sir, do you suggest I take care of her?" Alfred's voice had more raw emotion to it. Anger, frustration.

And that's how I wound up at the apartment of Devyn Ambruster, Evangeline in my arms.

The face that she gave me was quickly replaced with shock when she saw her best friend.

"Eve! Oh my God, what happened to her?" she cried, begging me for answers.

"She was ambushed by the Joker and by Harley Quinn," I growled quietly.

"Oh my God… Eve…" Devyn allowed me quickly into her home, letting me gently place the still unconscious Evangeline on a large leather couch.

"This is hers, too. I found it in the alleyway the night she was assaulted," I gravelly tell Devyn as I hand her the sapphire and diamond pendant.

Devyn's eyes water as she accepts the necklace. "You don't know what this means to her, and even to me. This is her last reminder of her mom. She was absolutely devastated when she lost it. Thank you. I'll make sure she knows you returned it."

I nodded my head and quickly exited the apartment, sprinting out the door into the darkness and around the block to the Tumbler.

Through my groggy state, I begin to come to. I feel my body lying on something warm, with a blanket or something draped over me.

"Nngh…" I groan.

"Eve?"

Devyn? When did she get here?

I crack my eyes open, and sure enough, my best friend is peering at me, concern etched into her every feature.

"Don't worry so much, you're gonna get wrinkles," I tease.

"Oh, you're totally fine," she smirks, leaning back some, with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, thanks to Batman. Again."
"He's certainly more like the knight that the media portrays him to be, isn't he?"

"You can say that," I clamp my eyes shut, the light just a little too bright for me.

"Sorry, I'll shut off the lamp. But before I do, you should open your eyes again. The Bat left a gift for you."

I only open one eye, but as soon as I spot what Dev is holding in her fingers, both eyes pop wide open.

"Oh my God! Where…? How…?" I'm practically speechless as I run my fingers over the pendant, my eyes brimming with tears of happiness.

Devyn smiles broadly at me. "I don't know, Eve."

I lace the platinum chain around my neck, clasping it securely against my skin. The familiar weight of the jewels presses against the space between my collarbones.

My fingers brush my neck, and I feel stitches on the wound that I had received on my throat. I narrow my eyes slightly, shivering at the memory of Joker and Ra's.

"Eve?" Devyn's voice brings me back to the present. "If you don't want to talk about it…"
"No, it's okay. I… honestly, it's kind of a blur."

I subconsciously bring my hand to my shoulder, feeling stitches there, too.

"Joker did this, and another man this," I gesture to my shoulder and my neck respectively. "And…I'd be dead if the Bat didn't show up when he did. The blonde man was about to kill me."

Devyn's eyes widened and narrowed as I told her everything that I remembered, going back even to when the Joker initially showed up at my apartment.

"But your date went well?" she tried to lighten the mood, coming back with some painkillers for me and a glass of orange juice.

"Very well," I smiled, accepting the medicine and the juice.

"Think he's gonna call you for another?"

I shrug lop-sidedly. "I hope so, but… It's Bruce Wayne. And I'm not exactly a 'someone' here in Gotham."

Devyn scoffed. "Please. You saved his butler, and have saved so many people in our profession. You *are* someone, and if he's too dumb to see that then he's not worth it."

I smiled at my best friend. She's right. Totally right.

"You're right."

My hand rests on the returned pendant, my fingers gently running over the sapphire and the small diamonds surrounding it.

"I wonder what they would think…" I wonder aloud.

Devyn gives me a sad yet reassuring smile.

"They would be just as proud of you as I am, sis."

Happy tears fill both of our eyes as we hug.

"Come on, let's get you some different clothes."

I looked down, having completely forgotten that I was still wearing what I wore on my date with Bruce. Dried blood and cuts in the material had ruined the dress, and for that I was sad.

"Yeah… Damn shame, I loved this dress."

Devyn chuckled, helping me to my feet.

Away from us, we didn't know that Batman was watching us from the building over. Silently protecting us, and making sure that I was going to be okay.