Disclaimer: I know its been months. Please forgive me. I just wasn't inspired but thanks to Dragon 77, twizzler182000, lazare,Nari, csailorgirl21, and starlitwisher I found some motivation. I am actually pleased with this chapter so now I present to you another chapter in Sins of the past. Enjoy!!!!!!

Max walked into her hotel room slamming the door shut behind her. What had she been thinking? She knew coming back to Gotham was a mistake. She had swore never to come back yet here she was. Ironically she was leaving the same way she had left two years ago. Scorned and utterly heartbroken. The pain was so intense that for a brief moment she felt like dying.

Serves you right. Don't you think you were a little naive to think that Terry would come to some deluded realization that he was in love with you? a nasty voice taunted inside of her head.

Grabbing her suitcase off the floor she began to pack. Her plane wasn't due to leave for another two days, but she no longer had any desire to stay in Gotham. Seeing Terry had been more painful then what she had thought it would be. Seeing him with all cozy with Melanie at the ceremony had been like a bucket of cold ice water being splashed in her face. When she had left all those years ago, she had left with the certainty that he didn't love Melanie, and now she wasn't so sure and it made her physically ill. Tossing her purse on the dresser she began to undress, letting her fingers linger briefly on the zipper that Terry had left half undone. It was a small consolation that he obviously still wanted her sexually. She had seen the desire and smoldering lust in his ice blue eyes. When he had touched her she had almost surrendered to the passion that had damn near consumed them. Closing her eyes she could still taste his soft lips against hers. She could feel the tenderness in his touch. Suddenly her eyes flew open and she blinked back tears of anguish and frustration. The way he kissed her had softened the hard shell she had spent years building around her heart to protect it from him. It shaken her when she realized that with just one look, one touch, one kiss, he had managed to place several cracks in the shell.

"Damn it," she sobbed flinging her suitcase across the room causing the contents to scatter across the floor. Choking back a sob, she sunk to her knees trembling as she wept freely into her hands. The more she thought of Terry and their dissolved friendship she cried harder until she was left exhausted. God she had missed him. Her heart hurt from the intense wanting. She wished she could go back to that fateful day when she had left. They had been so angry at each other...

Flashback

The soft purr of the heater was almost enough to drown out the muffled sounds coming from Terry McGuiness.

Almost.

They were in his apartment bedroom doing things that crossed the boundaries of friendship. Things that not even she could imagine doing in her wildest dreams, but here she was doing them with him, her lover, her best friend. Her hot pink colored nails raked down his back leaving unforgiving red scratches screaming against the paleness of his sweat drenched skin. Gasping for air as she gave one final thrust before crying out softly. Terry collapsed on top of her sweating heavily and whispering her name softly into the dark as he ran his fingers through her shoulder length hair damped from their love making. Max eyes fluttered shut as she held him close as the waves from the incredible climax began to slowly fade. She hated the silence that always seemed to follow their rump in the sack. It was usually filled with tension, awkwardness and regret. Although the sex was amazing, the after math was definitely the complete opposite. A long moment passed before he kissed her softly on her lips and rolled over out of the bed and began to get dressed. Usually she would watch him, but tonight she turned her back to him and blinked back tears as she stared blankly at the wall. She didn't want to feel the dull ache of abandonment whenever he would leave the bed so abruptly.

"Max, I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She smiled bitterly not bothering to acknowledge his apology. He always apologized and it was only in that moment did she realize how hollow his apology truly sounded. A part of her felt sick inside. When they had started sleeping together she had rationalized it by thinking that their relationship was based of their shared feelings of loneliness but somewhere down the line she had broken her only rule and did the unthinkable. She had fallen in love with Terry. Realizing this she knew she could no longer sleep with him without the risk of complicating their already strain friendship.

"We can't do this anymore, Ter," she said firmly sitting up in bed and shielding her nudity with the sweat stained sheets.

Terry stared at her conflicted. He knew she was right for a lot of reasons but he also was reluctant to stop what was happening between them. He knew he was in love with her, but he would never tell her. She deserved more than what he could offer her. She deserved a man she didn't have to stay up night and days on end wondering whether or not he was alright. She deserved someone who wouldn't put her in harm's way. Being Batman and being with her was impossible. It was either one or the other. He couldn't live with himself if anything was to happen to her which is why he decided to break things off in a way that she wouldn't be able to protest. He knew this would hurt her, but he had no other choice.

"Melanie and I are getting married."

Max had stared at him with a complete loss of words. She was more then shock. She was devastated. They had just made love in her bed and now suddenly he was engaged to someone who just resurfaced in his life two months ago? It didn't make any sense.

"You don't love her," she sputtered incredously.

Terry had shrugged nonchalantly,

Suddenly a realization hit her.

"This is about Bruce's will," she gasped stunned.

He hadn't denied it, but his refusal to meet her eye only confirmed her suspicions. Bruce Wayne had passed away three months ago and he left most of his assets and business to Terry under the condition that he would only have access to it once he married. Max knew Bruce reason for this. Bruce had wanted Terry to be mature and responsible when he got control of the company. Bruce would turn in his grave if he knew Terry was marrying Melanie for all the wrong reasons. Hell, he would probably turn in his grave if he knew Terry was marrying Melanie.

"Please tell me that you are not serious!" she protested angrily.

" What do you expect from me?" he had growled.

Max stared at him in disbelief.

"What do I expect? I expect my best friend to not marry a woman who isn't good for him. Are you willing to trust her with your identity? Do I have to remind you that she comes from a family of criminals?" she demanded.

"Melanie has changed. I didn't think that I could ever connect with another woman after Dana, but Melanie, she and I have this unexplainable thing. We always have," he said helpless.

His statement broke her heart. Quietly she climbed out of the bed and reached onto the floor where her clothes were scattered and started getting dressed. The tears that she had stubbornly struggle to keep at bay were now streaming down her cheeks.

"Did you honestly think that this was going to end like one of those stupid romance novels? Did you think that the knight in shining armor was going to end up with his loyal and trusty best friend?" he demanded.

Max felt as if his words had been a slap in the face and she fought back a heart wrenching sob.

"You're right, Ter. I was good enough to sleep with. I just wasn't good enough to fall in love with," she said coldly turning to walk out the door.

He had grabbed her arm gently pleading with her not to go. She snatched away unable to hold back her tears of rage any longer.

"Did you ever stop to think that there was a reason I kept letting you into my bed besides the great sex? Did you ever stop to think that I loved you?" she cried brokenly.

Terry's face had remained unreadable but his insides were being torn apart by her tears. Every fiber of him was screaming to tell her how he felt but he remained a stony silence reminding himself that if he really loved her he would let her go.

"I hope you and Melanie have a happy life together. You two deserve each other," she had snapped before storming off.

Flashback Ends

Maybe if she would have told him how she felt then he would have asked her to stay. Maybe if she hadn't left then he would still be Batman watching over the innocent people of Gotham. Maybe...

She hated the hold he had over her heart. She had spent ten years desperately searching for the on person who could make her happy and make her forget about Terry and Gotham, but that hadn't happen. She had several great relationships which all ended with her inability to really love anyone back. Her head was starting to ache from all the crying and moving slowly she crawled over to the mini bar a couple of feet away and pulled out all of the small shot bottles of Vodka 2K. Minutes later the bottles all laid empty at her feet and she was remorse to find she felt no better. She had spent the first year away from Gotham trying to drink Terry's memory away and it didn't work then so why should it work now? Back then she had lost several jobs, a boyfriend and was on a dangerous road to breakdown and she would have been completely destroyed if her sister hadn't come to visit her when she did.

"The sooner I get the hell out of here the better," she muttered rising to her feet and gathering her things off the floor.

She was in the middle of forcing her suitcase shut when there was a soft knock on her door. Ignoring it she turned her attention back to the task at hand. When the knocking continued she sighed exasperated. Storming over to the door she yanked i open and the anger she had felt for being disturbed was replaced by shock.

"Hey, Max. You came all this way and thought I would let you leave without saying hi?"

Maxine eyes widened in disbelief.

"Matt?!"

End Note: For those who were confused at the end, Matt is Terry's younger brother and he is twenty two around this time. Welp, I'm off to write another chapter. Thanks to those who review.