Author's notes: After that one short chapter, here, have a long one. And since no one complained on how slowly I have been writing, I might as well keep doing this slowly. No innuendo intended.

Also two interesting cameos in this chapter.


Meetings

For the last few hours, the Doctor had found out that the flowers he had followed to Gotham were the ones Falcone had shipped in and that James Gordon was the only good police officer in Gotham who actually listened to him. So far he had told the police sergeant that he was a travelling doctor with many doctorates, particularly in astronomy, biology, physics and history. Those four were how he had explained plausibly how he knew about the flowers and how they had been contaminated. True, some facts had been changed, but he had managed to convince Gordon of the danger they possessed.

He also had explained how he had followed their trail to Gotham from Himalayas and had arrived to Gotham three days earlier with his new lab assistant, Clarissa Oswin who he had given a day off tonight to keep her from getting into possible trouble the Doctor had himself gotten with Falcone.

''Thank you for your statement, Doctor Smith,'' Gordon said, referring the Doctor by the alias he had used in his UNIT days in his third incarnation, as he escorted him inside the GCPD. ''We will take as much effort as we can to find the rest of those flowers and... Oh no.''

They had been walking past the squad room where the Police Commissioner Loeb was addressing the other police officers with an early issue of Gotham Gazette's morning edition.

''This is un-acceptable,'' Loeb stated showing the front page, which had Falcone tied to a searchlight and headline 'Bat serves up Crime Boss'. ''Now, I don't care if this was a rivaling gangs, guardian angels or, the god-damn Salvation Army, I want them of the streets and my front page.''

''The said it was just one guy, or a creature,'' an officer said, making the other officers chuckle in amusement.

The Doctor understood the topic they were discussing was the vigilante he had initially mistaken for supernatural being before remembering it to be the vigilante that had jumped of the GCPD three days earlier.

''It was just some asshole in a costume,'' Loeb shot back, hiding his anger under a calm behavior. Gordon raised his hand to that. ''Yeah?''

''This guy delivered us the, city's most wanted crime lord,'' Gordon said, a bit nervously as the Doctor observed.

''Nobody, takes the law, into their own hands, in my city.'' Loeb told back to Gordon, not even caring about positivity of what 'the Batman' had done and just focused on the police force been ridiculed. ''Understand?''

''No, because apparently there a lot of people, who tend to break the law with their own hands. What have you recently done about them?'' The Doctor shot back with serious attitude. ''Nothing! But sure, waste all your resources and manpower, ON A MAN DRESSED AS A BAT!''

The Doctor's thrown opinion of Loeb's course of action silenced the entire squad room. Even Gordon looked shocked at the Doctor's serious look on his face. Then the Doctor turned away and walked out towards the exit doors. ''Fantastic police work!''


Commissioner Loeb didn't send anyone after the Doctor as he left. Not that he would even end up in a jail cell in this era. UNIT was active globally and one phone call with some keywords (Daleks, Cybermen, Zygons, Autons, Yeti, Great Intelligence etc.) and they would know who he was and be let free.

But now the Doctor was at an impasse. Finding the flowers was done now and their separate ways led to the dealers and Narrows. As the dealers, who would have been any number of people, were unable to be found quickly enough, Narrows was the best opinion for the next step to be taken.

And then there was this 'Batman' vigilante…

''Doctor!'' a voice called out and turning to its direction, the Doctor saw Clarissa running to him with… Rachel Dawes.

''What are you doing here?'' The Doctor asked, surprised of her arrival and her being accompanied by the Assistant DA. ''I thought I gave you… the night off?''

''You're her employer, Doctor Smith?'' Dawes shot questioning the Doctor, who nodded. ''Rachel Dawes, I'm the Assistant District Attorney.''

''Yes, I know who you are,'' the Doctor said, gaining a look from Dawes. ''I was at the city hall three days ago and overheard your conversation with Doctor Crane.''

''Ah, well,'' Dawes said, ''I heard about what happened at the docs and your lab assistant, who happened to be in my train ride, told me about you being there.''

''Before you begin to accuse me for being a part of Carmine Falcone's drug operation, I'm against it,'' the Doctor told very firmly showing the Assistant DA his flower from Himalayas. ''I was only there looking for these.''

''Yes, Clarissa told me about them,'' Dawes said reassuringly.

''About your findings about their contamination and assumptions of them been used to make Falcone's drugs,'' Clarissa said quickly, helping the Doctor out.

''Assumptions that I confirmed true tonight,'' the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder to the GCPD. ''Let's continue this somewhere else.''


The discussion was continued at a nearby restaurant, which had just opened its breakfast serving as it was dawn. The Doctor told Dawes about his past as the scientific advisor of UNIT as a base to his knowledge on the relevant issues connected to her investigations as the Assistant DA against Falcone. Dawes found everything the Doctor told, that which had been told believably, important to her investigations and with the evidence 'the Bat-Man' had provided her, she had enough evidence to bring Falcone down.

''Attempted manslaughter, bribery, illegal drug trafficking, and now, thanks to your witness account, neglecting a professional's warnings about the dangers of this drug,'' Dawes listed out charges against Falcone to the Doctor and Clarissa. ''And now with the help from that Bat-character, I even have the evidence and leverage to make judge Faden to convict him without fearing him to be bribed.''

''Happy to help,'' the Doctor replied smiling, while. ''By the way and while we're on the subject, what is your opinion on this Bat-Man?''

''So far I'm grateful for him providing me the evidence,'' Dawes answered as a waiter brought their supper. ''As much as you did with your testimony, Doctor Smith. The jury is still out for what he does next.''

''Stake and chips-''

''Right here,'' the Doctor said taking his order.

''A soufflé,-''

''That's mine,'' Clarissa said happily as she was served with her soufflé. ''Ah, I love these.''

''And a-'' the waiter was about to say.

''Yes thank you,'' Dawes said taking her order. ''I'm meeting with my boss at noon about this and I'd like to meet you afterwards for briefing.''

''Later today?'' The Doctor asked, to which the assistant DA nodded.

The Doctor smiled politely and nodded back before pulling out a calling card from his jacket and passed it to Dawes.

''Sure, here's the number to my phone box. Call us when you have spoken to your superior.''


It was the next evening when Rachel Dawes asked to see the Doctor and Clarissa again. This meeting was at fancier restaurant of the Royal Hotel at Gotham Diamond District. As it was a fancy restaurant they, the Doctor and Clarissa were forced to dress themselves more appropriately to the dress code.

To Clarissa it wasn't a problem. She had looked out the TARDIS wardrobe for something to wear and had found lots of fancy dresses from various different historical eras, before settling down to a white evening gown. To tone down the bright white contrast of it, Clarissa had thought to put a yellow star-like decoration on the gown's bust, but the Doctor had asked politely, and visibly sadly, for her not to.

''That belonged to a friend of mine,'' the Doctor said in a deep voice looking at the star. ''Someone who died.''

''Oh, sorry,'' Clarissa said taken aback and handing the star back. ''What happened to..?''

''He was on a ship that crashed,'' told the Doctor taking the star and turned away to put it away, ''all while I could only watch it happen as the TARDIS's console was damaged. I couldn't save him.''

''Okay,'' Clarissa replied and turned to look for something else to wear. They were only going to a meeting, not to a high school prom. ''What are you going to wear?''

''What's wrong with my jumper?''

Clarissa actually laughed to this.

''We're going to a fancy restaurant to meet the assistant DA,'' she said. ''I'm not going overdressed and you're not going dressed up like that. You'll start a riot-about.''


Eventually as they arrived to the Royal Hotel, the Doctor and Clarissa had picked their fancy clothes. What Clarissa had put on was now a dark red dress with a white overcoat. Doctor had changed his clothes mildly. All he had put on was a waist-coat and shirt under his leatherjacket. The look was to some extent the same as his previous incarnation. The reminder of that life made him look sad and depressed.

''Nice car'' a valet told to well-dressed man who had two dates with him in his Lamborghini, as the Doctor and Clarissa were entering the hotel restaurant.

''You should see my other one,'' the well-dressed man said picking up his dates and entered the hotel behind them.

The Doctor showed his psychic paper to the restaurant manager at the door, which showed him that he and Clarissa were guests of the assistant DA. They were told Dawes had not arrived yet, but they could wait in her table.

''You two know Rachel Dawes?'' the well-dressed man behind the Doctor and Clarissa asked.

''Yes,'' the Doctor answered. ''I'm the Doctor, and this is my lab assistant Clarissa.''

''Bruce Wayne,'' the well-dressed man introduced himself shaking the Doctor's hand. ''Rachel is my oldest friend, but I haven't seen her for seven years. Mind if I sit with you and wait for her?''


''Interesting work you do, Doctor,'' Bruce Wayne said after listening to a short description of the Doctor's 'work'. ''Thought I wouldn't call any work interesting as to I have my shares of Wayne Enterprises to live by.''

''Last surviving heir to the throne, I see'' the Doctor replied, ''not the first one I've met.''

''Bruce help me out here,'' a man in the next table asked. ''What is your opinion on this Batman?''

''Well, a guy who dresses himself as a bat,'' Wayne chuckled, ''would clearly have issues.''

''But he sent Falcone behind bars,'' a woman with curly blond hair and golden dress said.

''And now cops want to put him there. What does that tell you?''

''They are jealous,'' the woman replied.

''And thick,'' the Doctor said, making everyone look at him. ''What? It obvious, they did their job poorly and because of that, they are jealous, and thick, for someone who did their job better. But of course people like you see this Bat-Man as a menace because their life isn't in the area which is now changed with Falcone's arrest. Like the question of alien life, people want believe in them to exist as much this city's inhabitants want things to get better. But, as soon as they are looking at you straight in the face: 'NOPE! Can't see it.' There's a simple explanation to that: You're thick.''

Everyone kept their gaze on the Doctor for what he had just told. Only Clarissa, and the woman in golden dress for some reason, looked at him proudly. The silence was broken by the hotel manager who came to talk to Mr. Wayne.

''Sir, the pool is for decoration and your friends do not have any swimwear,'' was told by the manager and now everyone looked at the decoration pool where the two women Wayne had brought with him had taken a dip.

''Well, they're… Europeans,'' Wayne said pulling out his checkbook. ''No offence to you, Doctor, or your assistant.''

''I'm gonna have to ask you to leave,'' the manager said firmly, ''this is not a custom of money.''

''Look,'' Wayne said with a smug attitude, ''I'm buying this hotel and I'm making new rules, regarding the pool area.''

And then he left to pick his dates, who pulled him to the pool with him. As Wayne got himself up from the pull, he had some laughs with the women and they began to walk away, only to walk into Rachel Dawes entering the restaurant.

''Look who's in trouble now,'' Clarissa said amused watching Wayne explain himself to Dawes.

''I think the Batman deserves a medal,'' the woman said, leaving the table and smiled to the Doctor. ''Thank you, sweetie, for proving that point to everyone here.''

''What a lovely woman,'' the Doctor said watching the woman leaving as Dawes joined them. ''Good evening, counselor.''


The woman in golden dress exited the hotel and walked to an alley. Taking a look at her wrist watch, she counted to twelve and a blue police box materialized in front of her.

''River, don't you look lovely,'' the gray haired man said in Scottish accent exiting the box. ''Sorry if I'm late, the TARDIS kept for some reason refusing to land here.''

''Don't blame her, sweetie,'' River said calmly, ''and you're not late, Just early cause I saw you there already.''

''I'm there now?''

''Yes, meeting two different women at the same time,'' River said entering the TARDIS. ''Since the Royal Hotel is occupied, we might as well go to see those Singing Towers of Derilium you have been promising me.''

''Ah, not just quite yet,'' the Doctor said following her. ''I want to plan that out so that it will be as magnificent as… the future version of you said it was, or will be.''

''Well, you better. After promising to take me there so long, I think I'm already expecting too much of them.''


Author' notes: There, did you like that? I hope you did, now REVIEW to me what all you found interesting and what would you like to see next. Before we go to Arkham.