The next day was my first official outing at a Wayne function.
A charity luncheon for a clinic for abused women. I completely supported it. I knew most of it was for a tax cut, but if organisations like that could benefit from Bruce's business manoeuvrings, why shouldn't they take advantage of it?
Bruce had Alfred take me shopping the night before, even though it wasn't late night shopping. I guess if you were rich the normal retail shopping hours didn't apply.
Alfred helped me pick out something 'appropriate'. He deserved a medal after putting up with my complaining.
But I was dressed, primped, and ready to act the part of a Wayne child as I stood besides Bruce and Tim as Bruce greeted many of the different guests showing up.
To tell the truth though, it bored the hell out of me. Where was the good music? The grog?
When it came to the lunch portion of the event I was thrilled. Three courses and I'd be done!
I couldn't help but sigh with relief when I saw who was seated at the table with me, Bruce and Tim. Lucius sat there, a friendly face in a crowd of people I didn't know. A couple of tables over, much lower on the social echelon then the table I was sitting at, unfortunately, were Lois and Clark, reporters for the Daily Planet, there to cover the story on the clinic. It was too bad. I would have liked to have talked to them again.
But I so wasn't going to drag my stay there any longer then I had to. I was out of there as soon as lunch was done. Bruce had promised me three courses and I could leave.
But of course, when I tried to leave, one business partner or another tried to talk to me. Slowly, oh so slowly, I edged my way along to the wall, hoping to maybe blend in, though I knew it was impossible.
Suddenly a hand wrapped itself around my elbow. I jumped. I hadn't been paying attention. I looked up, eyes widening before I noticed who it was.
Roy.
Looking devilishly handsome in a tux.
"Roy." I breathed, before looking around frantically to see if anyone had noticed him yet. I didn't see anyone. I guess I was in luck.
"I thought I'd come and see if you'd need rescuing." He teased and I rolled my eyes.
"My hero." I giggled.
"Well you didn't seem all that enthusiastic when you told me about this." He shrugged. "I figured you might want someone to play your knight in shining armour."
"As long as I don't have to pretend to be the helpless damsel." I shot back, before turning, grabbing a few nibblies from a passing waiter and pulling Roy towards the door.
Time to go out and have some fun.
BMBMBM
I giggled as Roy led me by my hand to the Manor's door. Okay, so I'd had a little to drink, but Roy was taking it with good humour, an indulgent smile on his face. I didn't think I was that bad, but I knew I was in for some horror stories in the morning. Roy wasn't nearly so drunk. He'd only had a couple.
"Come on," I whispered as I tugged him up the stairs towards my room, before giggling hysterically. I don't know what at, but whatever it was, it was hilarious to my drunken self. I shushed him as if he was the one making all the noise. "Shh…we have to be quiet or Dad'll find out you're here!" I giggled again, before tripping on the stairs.
Roy's hands on my waist were the only thing keeping me from a face plant, and he pulled me up with a patience I wouldn't have imagined.
"Come on yourself." He said, his lips quirking into an almost smile. "We've got to get you to bed. I have a feeling you're not going to be up for breakfast tomorrow like we talked about."
I snorted, before giggling madly again. Why was that so funny?
"Why are you talking about breakfast now, silly?" I asked, stumbling up another stair, Roy's holding tightly onto my waist so I wouldn't fall again. "It's not even morning yet." I whispered conspiratorially.
He snorted, at me, or at my comment I didn't know. I didn't care, shushing him again as the noise echoed loudly.
When I stumbled up another stair he sighed.
"That's it." He said, before swinging me up into his arms bridal style. "I'm not letting you drink again."
I pouted. "I'm not drunk." I crossed my arms, glaring up at him. "I'm soberer then you."
"Soberer?" he raised his eyebrows as he stepped onto the landing of the stairs. We were going a lot faster now that I wasn't walking under my own power. "Is that even a word?"
"Course it is." I said, before yawning tiredly. Wow, that came on suddenly.
"Of course it is," he repeated, shaking his head ruefully as he walked carefully down the hallway to my room. He opened the door quietly, before carrying me in and placing me gently on the four poster bed, pulling the covers back before placing them over me.
I blinked sleepily up at him.
"I'll see you in the afternoon tomorrow." He said, and I frowned.
"What about breakfast?" I asked, my eyes already closing.
He laughed, startled. "Darlin', I don't think you're going to want breakfast tomorrow."
I didn't get what he meant, my mind already floating down into the dark sleep. I didn't care.
BMBMBM
Roy shut the door to Elizabeth's room as gently as he could, before turning around and freezing, before forcing himself to relax defiantly. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was not going to be intimidated by Bruce Wayne, Batman, standing in the hallway with a dark expression on his face.
"She won't be up for breakfast." He said. "She's going to be pretty hungover."
"You let her get drunk?" Bruce growled, before stepping forward towards Roy.
He stood his ground. "She's a grown woman." He said. "And capable of making her own decisions."
"Not when she's drunk." Bruce hissed, nearly at Roy now.
Roy looked on impassively. "I didn't let anything happen to her." He said finally. "And I didn't do anything she would regret in the morning. I'll be by tomorrow afternoon to pick her up."
He turned, leaving Bruce Wayne glaring at his back.
Time to get the hell out of dodge.
BMBMBM
I groaned as I woke, before a feeling made me shoot up, running to my ensuite. I made it just in time before I vomited up everything in my stomach, dry retching before I leant back against the wall, wanting nothing more then to curl up in a ball and die. My head was pounding, and I felt like I'd been put in a blender and had it turned up on 'high'.
"Miss Elizabeth?" I heard Alfred's voice through the door to the bathroom, just before the light was switched on.
"Shit!" I gasped out as my head spun with the sudden brightness, and I leaned over the toilet again, eyes closed, trying desperately not to let my stomach force itself out of my body through my mouth.
"Are you quite alright, Miss Elizabeth?" he asked, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.
I flipped him the bird, resting my head on my arms, shielding my eyes from the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights.
"Would you care for some breakfast, Miss Elizabeth?" he asked, and I almost growled. The thought of food right now made me sick.
"Yeah, maybe some McDonalds!" Tim piped up from the doorway, and I frowned as my stomach roiled. When had he gotten there? "A nice, big, greasy, double quarter pounder with cheese."
"Go away." I moaned, before they took pity on me.
"Sorry, sis." Tim said, coming into the bathroom, before pulling me gently from the toilet and the mess inside. Alfred stepped up and flushed it, and I winced. Man, that noise was loud when you have a headache.
"Let's get you up." Tim said, barely straining as he pulled me up to rest against his side as he pretty much carried me back towards my bed, almost giving me the illusion of walking by myself.
Almost.
He sat me back down before Alfred placed a cool towel on the back of my neck. I jerked up, away from it, opening my eyes before wincing.
"I'm never drinking again." I said, groaning.
Alfred's lips twitched in an almost smile and I glared. It wasn't funny in the slightest.
"Here you are, Miss Elizabeth." He said, placing a glass in my hand. A hangover cure, I assumed. Roy must have told them I'd be a little incapacitated.
I downed it all as fast as I could, gagging at the taste, but pretty soon I was feeling better.
I leant forward, resting my arms on my knees and my head in my hands. Tim rubbed soothing circles on my back as Alfred cleared up the mess from the hang over remedies, placing the flannel and the glass back on the silver tray and walking out the door.
"Bruce said that Roy would be here in the afternoon to pick you up for your date." Tim said, grinning, and I paled.
Bruce and Roy had been alone in the same proximity unsupervised?
I didn't want to know what happened.
BMBMBM
By the time the afternoon rolled by I was better. Not one hundred percent, but I think another nights sleep would cure me of my hangover.
All the same, when Roy turned up I glared at him. Why did he have to be so chipper? And not hungover in the slightest! He still looked his rugged, handsome self, but I was stuck looking sallow, my hair hanging limp, and no matter how much I showered, I could still imagine I smelled alcohol oozing from my pores as my body got rid of the toxin.
"Good afternoon." He dropped a kiss on my head and I grimaced. How he could stand to do that with the way I must look was beyond me.
"Ready to go?" he asked, smirking at me as if he knew how I was feeling.
I pouted. It was no fair, him making fun of me.
"Where?" I asked, instead of answering him.
He pretended to think about it for a moment. He better tell me, I found myself thinking. If he doesn't tell me, then there's no way in hell he's getting any smoochies.
"Ice skating." He said finally, and I grinned, previous thoughts completely forgotten.
"Are you serious?" I asked, bolting upright.
He nodded, and I squealed, throwing my arms around him. I hadn't been ice skating in years. The last time had been for my sixteenth birthday at an ice rink that had closed down shortly afterwards. There wasn't much business for ice skating in Brisbane.
"That's awesome!" I said, before tugging him towards the door.
"Come on!"
He laughed, but let me pull him towards our freedom, snatching our coats on the way out.
Thank god it was winter.
BMBMBM
Ice skating was as awesome as I remembered. Even the spills, which were often enough for me, relearning how to skate.
I got the hang of it soon enough though, even with my broken arm, and found myself loving every minute of it as I chased Roy around the rink, squealing when he'd turn around in a tricky manoeuvre I hadn't learnt yet to start chasing me.
When I got home my face was still flushed with excitement, from the skating and from the kiss Roy gave me. I walked into Bruce's study, expecting to find him there, but I frowned when he wasn't.
"Alfred," I said as I entered the kitchen. "Where's Bruce?"
Something flickered in his face, almost too quick for me to catch, but it was there. "I believe he went out, Miss Elizabeth." He said, and I frowned.
"Don't you usually drive him?" I asked, frowning suspiciously. What had been that expression on Alfred's face?
"He wanted to drive one of his own cars." Alfred replied smoothly, and I raised an eyebrow.
"But none of his cars are missing." I said. "I just came through the car port. They're all there."
"Then he must be back already." Alfred said politely, and I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral. Something was up. Something was being hidden from me, and I didn't like it.
I bit my lip, trying to think it through. I almost sighed, but stopped myself when I saw Alfred studying me out of the corner of his eye. I didn't have enough to figure out what it was, but that wouldn't stop me from figuring it out.
I went up to my room, before pulling out a notepad and a pen to brainstorm.
On top of the page I wrote 'Weird things about Bruce'. I didn't bother to put it in some sort of code or anything. I didn't plan on Bruce finding it anyway.
First on the list wasn't really anything to do with Bruce at all. It was Dick, and his apparent knowledge of Roy's personal life as well as his vigilante life.
And Roy's comments that he couldn't tell me much about himself without giving away some of Dick's secrets had me confused as well. Could this have something to do with Bruce and his secrets?
I jotted that down before frowning again. There were other things Bruce had done that were weird as well.
Like the time at the diner, when I'd first met Arsenal. I hadn't really thought about it since, but when we'd been hiding under the table, Bruce had pressed a panic button, that hadn't actually ended up with the cops coming.
Instead Nightwing, Robin, and Arsenal had shown up, but no Batman.
I grimaced, putting that down. I must be out of my mind, if I was really thinking was I was thinking.
I put it down anyway, before turning to look out the window, towards the woods that faced my window.
I leaned back in my chair, deep in thought. Why had Batman, Robin and Nightwing been the ones to save me when I was kidnapped as well? Why hadn't the police been involved at all? I mean, I knew Bruce had reported the kidnapping to them, but why would the Bat clan be working on it as well, or at least close enough to crack the case before the cops?
I put that down as well, before a knock on the door made me jolt up, swivelling in my chair and shoving the notepad under my mattress on my bed.
"Come in!" I called, and Bruce entered, an easy smile on his face.
"I heard you were looking for me." He said, and I nodded, pasting a smile on my face. It was hard to act carefree when you were trying to uncover someone's secrets.
"Yeah." I said. "Roy took me ice skating today." I said, and he raised his eyebrows, suddenly his smile dropping a fraction.
Okay, so try not to talk too much about Roy, I coached myself. "It was really fun." I hinted, and he looked at me like he was waiting for me to get to the point.
"We should go." I said, taking pity on him. so he couldn't read my mind, nobodies perfect.
"Ice skating?" he said, and I nodded.
"Yeah." I said. "We could make it a family thing. You, me, Tim, Dick…hell, we could even get Alfred out on the ice."
Bruce let out a startled laugh at the thought and I grinned.
"I'll ask the others, see what they think." He said, before stepping into the room a little further, a serious look on his face. "I heard you had a late night last night."
I grinned sheepishly. "A bit late, yeah."
He looked at me with a frown on his face. "I don't want you going out like that without someone you trust." He said. "There are a lot of people out there who would use you to get at me."
I rolled my eyes, but knew he was serious. After all, I'd already been kidnapped once before during my short stay in Gotham.
"Dad, I was with Arsenal." I said. "How much safer could I be?"
He pursed his lips, and once more I was reminded not to push it. Mentioning Roy again would be pushing it.
"Still." He said, before holding out a little black device. "I want you to carry this on you at all times." He pressed it into my hand. "It's a panic alarm."
I almost froze, but accepted it anyway. Was this anything like the panic alarm he had pressed that had resulted in Nightwing, Robin, and Arsenal coming to our rescue in the diner?
Time to test the waters.
"And this'll what?" I asked as casually as I could. "Call the cops to wherever I am if I'm in trouble?"
He smiled, but it wasn't a happy one. It was somehow jaded, sad. Well, I suppose if I was giving my daughter a panic alarm because I thought my status as the prince of Gotham might cause her to become kidnapped, I'd be pretty upset as well.
"Something like that." He said, and I studied him for a moment, wondering how far I could push him into telling me things.
"Did you have one at the diner when the hold up happened?" I asked, and he started.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I saw you press a button, when we were under the table." I explained. "I was scared, but not too scared to notice that, Dad." I said, rolling my eyes, and he tried for a carefree grin.
"Sometimes I forget how quick on your feet you are." He commented, and we were stuck in that awkward silence where neither of us knew what to say.
Well, I couldn't just come out and tell him I knew he was involved with the Batclan.
But as I tucked the panic alarm into my pocket, even though we were in the Wayne Manor, and I (hopefully) wouldn't need it here at least, I knew this was another thing for 'the list'.
And soon, I'd have enough evidence on the list to figure out what the hell was going on with Bruce.
And then, well, then, he'd tell me everything, or I'd walk. I really didn't like secrets, especially ones that affected me.
I just hoped he was ready for it.
BMBMBM
I tottered out onto the ice, pulling Tim with me. I was really starting to get attached to the guy. He was fun to be around, anyway.
"I'll race ya!" I said, and he grinned, before pushing off in front of me, dashing away with no warning.
"Hey!" I yelled. "You cheated!" I laughed as I sprinted after him on the ice. He just flashed a grin at me over his shoulder and kept on skating. I bit my lip. There was no way I was going to let my 'little brother' beat me.
I pumped my legs, the burning feeling making me want to stop, but there was no way that was going to happen. Slowly, inch by inch, I edged my way closer to closing the gap between us, as Bruce looked on with Dick, smiling slightly at our antics.
I lengthened my stride, going further with each movement of my legs. I'd almost caught him. If I'd looked at Dick and Bruce, I'd have seen their shocked faces at the speed I was going. But as it was, I'd caught up to Tim, grabbing him by his arm, causing us both to spin around, laughing, until we came to a crashing stop against one of the barriers. My cast bounced off harmlessly, but it was still annoying. I couldn't wait for it to come off.
One more week.
I slid down the wall with Tim, laughing loudly, as Dick and Bruce skated up to us.
"That was amazing." Tim said between laughter. "For someone who grew up in Australia, you're pretty fast with a pair of skates."
I shrugged, grinning modestly. "I used to love skating. It's like riding a bike."
Dick helped me to my feet, before turning to Tim. "Dude, you got beaten by a girl."
"Hey!" I exclaimed, mock outraged. "You're just jealous cos your not as good as me." I teased, grinning.
"Watch what you say, kid," he grinned as well. "You might just find yourself challenging me to something you're not ready for."
I snorted. "Come on, let's race then. I'll beat all three of you."
"I'm staying out of this." Bruce said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I've been told not to play favourites with my kids, and I'm sticking to that."
I grinned, before tugging Dick with me, pushing him ahead.
"3, 2, 1 GO!"
To my complete surprise, I won all the races. Looks like I did have some talent with the skates. I would have suspected them letting me win, but the glares the two boys gave me were too convincing. Not to mention the significant looks they gave Bruce when they lost.
I wonder what that was about, I thought. Something more for the notebook.
"Come on, one more race!" I said as the boys began their defeated journey back to side of the lake to join Bruce and Alfred waiting beside it.
"No way." Dick said. "My masculine pride can't take any more."
I laughed, skating ahead and circling him on the ice. "Chicken!" just as I was about to start clucking like one, trying to get him to race me once more, I felt something crack beneath my feet.
My eyes widened as I looked down at the ever growing crack in the ice. I had time to look up at Dick with fear filled eyes for just a moment, before the ice gave way completely, and I was plunged into the dark, ice filled water.
I didn't even get to scream.
The skates pulled at my feet, dragging me down. I struggled to reach for the surface, my hands flailing slowly in the bonechilling water.
I broke the surface once, before my skates dragged me down again. I hadn't even gotten my head above the water for air. My arms burned as I reached for the surface again, my legs kicking as hard as they could with the skates weighting them down. This had never happened in Australia. Probably because the rivers were never iced over to skate on.
A finger tip grazed the surface and I struggled as hard as I could to get a hold of the ice's edge, but there wasn't any luck. My vision was fading as my supply of air left me finally, and I knew it wouldn't be long until I sunk to the bottom of the lake, only to be recovered when it thawed.
Slowly, so slowly, I began my descent, and as my sight finally turned to black, I found I didn't care. Then, I just stopped struggling.
I didn't feel the hand claw at mine, dragging me up, and out, onto the cold ice. What I did feel was the hand slam down on my chest, coughing up the water I'd swallowed. The natural light of day forced itself through my closed eyelids as I breathed in ragged gasps of air.
My last thought before slipping into tired oblivion was the question why was someone screaming for an ambulance?
If you enjoyed it, please review. Review inspire me to make the time to keep writing. (Working full time, uni full time…hard to find time for fanfic sometimes!)