A/N: Here's another chapter. I've been busy this week. It's probably because I've also been sick so what else is there to do when you're laying on the couch or in bed, right?
Emily and Bruce burst out of the bedroom and headed down the hall towards the nearest television. Bruce managed to pull a t-shirt over his head as he walked beside her.
"You're up!" Alfred said surprisingly before noticing their facial expressions. "I take it that you've heard the news."
"How bad is it?" Bruce asked, as he walked up beside the older man.
Alfred tipped his head to the side as they walked into a den. Bruce picked up the remote and turned on the television, instantly showing a live broadcast of GCN News.
"Not as bad as I would've thought but I think it's safe to say that your relationship is on the news," Alfred said, as they turned to the television. "There have been a good number of calls from Wayne Enterprises today. They've been inundated with calls from various news agencies asking for a statement and verification from you. They're wanting to know who Emily is."
A still shot of Emily wrapping her arms around Bruce in the middle of the park filled the screen. It quickly changed to one where they had kissed. A few more of herself speaking with Bruce and Bill. Thankfully, there were none of her slapping Bill.
"You'd think that they would ask for verification prior to making a report on this," Bruce said, bitterly as he turned up the volume.
"These amateur photos were taken with a cell phone this morning. It would appear that Bruce Wayne has been getting a little friendly with this jogger."
"A little too friendly, I'd have to say," one of the woman newscasters commented. "I don't know about you, but that kiss is a little more than a 'hello, how are you?' kind of kiss. Something has been going on with our favourite bachelor. I'm going to guess that this is the same woman that we first saw a few months back when Bruce Wayne was spotted in Florida with a mystery woman."
The screen changed to the fuzzy photo of Emily and Bruce in bathing suits on the beach in Florida.
"How long has this affair been going on? Is it clear to say that Bruce Wayne has had a relationship with this woman for that long and has kept it quiet?" another woman asked.
"It's a good possibility, Susan, but she doesn't appear to be the typical woman that Bruce would normally associate himself with. She certainly isn't recognized as a model, actress or another rich heiress that he has been seen with in the past," another woman added.
"Would anyone like to guess how long a relationship like this could last?" a man stated.
"It's hard to say. Oddly enough, this has to be one of Bruce's longest relationships. His usual conquests are short-lived," one of the woman replied.
The woman on screen laughed.
"Short-lived is right," the woman said. "It makes you wonder what Bruce is thinking getting involved with a member of the general public. This woman is messing with a fantastic gene pool here!"
The newscasters all laughed as Bruce quickly pushed the off button on the remote, deciding that they had all heard enough.
Alfred cleared his throat before he spoke.
"What should I say if Wayne Enterprises calls again?"
Bruce looked at Emily for a brief moment. She nodded as they exchanged a silent conversation. He could see that the words the reporters had said stung just a little. Bruce couldn't blame her.
"We'll discuss it and come up with something," he said.
Alfred nodded and smiled curtly. "Very well, sir."
The man turned and headed back down the hallway as Bruce and Emily headed back towards the bedroom.
"What did Bill have to say?" Bruce asked as he closed the door behind him.
Emily looked down at the cell phone in her hand.
"Just that he wanted to make it clear that it wasn't him who told," she said, as she sat down on the bed. She wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out.
"What do you want to do about this? It was only a matter of time until this happened."
"They still don't know who I am," she said softly.
Bruce sat down beside her. "No, they don't."
"But they have a good enough picture of us and also with Bill that it wouldn't be hard to figure out the association," Emily said, running a hand through her hair. "Besides, I see a good number of clients each night that any one of them could say something."
Bruce nodded.
"Slowly pulling off a band aid just prolongs the pain," she simply said. "I'd rather just rip it off and expose it for what it is before anyone else can make up rumours."
Bruce took her hand. "Are you sure? These people can be brutal."
"I'm sure," she said, as she nodded.
"Are you sure?"
Bruce had asked her over and over that evening after they had decided what they were going to do. Emily had to laugh, partly to relieve her own anxiety.
"Bruce, for the thousandth time, I'm sure."
They sat in the quiet Audi as it was parked in a lot a few blocks for a prominent club in a higher class area of the city. Emily was the one who decided that it would be best for them to be seen in public and Bruce chose the location based on where the media would be most likely to see them.
"And you look fine," Bruce told her, as he watched her pull down the mirror from behind the visor.
She smirked, still looking in the mirror. Emily finally closed it before turning to him.
"Ready?"
With a hint of hesitation, she nodded.
On either side of the car, the doors opened and both passengers stepped out into the early evening, spring air. Bruce met Emily in front of the car as he pressed a button on his keys, setting the alarm before he took her hand. Silently, they walked side by side until Emily let out an audible sigh.
"Why do I feel like I'm walking to the gallows?"
Bruce chuckled and squeezed her hand.
"I'll be beside you the entire time," he assured her.
Emily smirked.
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
Bruce smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist as they continued down the sidewalk towards the club.
It wasn't long until someone called out...
"Hey, there's Bruce Wayne!"
Within moments, flashes of lights surrounded them until all of a sudden, they stopped and the photographers frustratingly tried to get their cameras to work. Instead, the reporters who happened to be there began flooding them with questions. All the while, Bruce held onto Emily's hand. He glanced over at her a few times and noticed that if she was nervous, she wasn't showing it. She smiled politely. Bruce always knew it but in that moment, she looked even more beautiful to him.
"What's her name?"
"How long has this been going on?"
"Where did you meet?"
"Why the secrecy?"
Every gossip columnist wanted to be the first to know the information, so when Bruce was about to speak, the reporters shut their mouths in order to hear.
"I'm sorry to stay that I'm no longer available," he said, getting a few laughs from the people around them. For once, he felt awkward playing the playboy. It was probably the fact that he had Emily at his side.
The reporters turned to Emily, asking for her name. With a smile, she told them as they quickly jotted it down.
"Are you an employee of Wayne Enterprises?"
She shook her head. "No."
"You have been seen at Wayne Tower as well as when you accompanied Mr. Wayne to his business meeting in Miami," one reporter told her. Emily glanced at Bruce, inwardly wondering how these people knew this stuff.
Still, she smiled.
"I'm a doctor. I'm presently working as a general practitioner."
Again, they wrote it down.
"How did you two meet?" another reporter asked. "Is it safe to say that you're in love?"
Love.
Emily tried to hide the look of horror that suddenly filled her mind. Was she in love? She had no idea and no clue on how to answer it. Her mind quickly brought her back to the moment she cut Batman's jaw and the feeling of a pit in her stomach when she later was stitching up that same mark on Bruce Wayne's face. She had been terrified when she was piecing it together in her mind and somewhat disappointed to discover that the man who had saved her life was the same man that the media helped her to dislike for years. And then somehow that had changed. But was that love?
She looked at Bruce and smiled, allowing him to speak.
He shrugged.
"I'm sure it's just like any other story when a guy meets a girl," he said, flashing a smile, as he ushered Emily towards the door. "Now if you excuse us, we have a reservation inside."
Although he ended the conversation, that didn't mean that the reporters had to stop asking the questions. They prodded for answers to the most absurd of questions to the point that Emily just had to ignore them as they walked into the club. The dimmed atmosphere greeted them the moment they entered. Emily took in the elegance of the club as they followed a hostess to a private table near the corner. More than a few eyes turned in their direction. Along the way, Bruce and Emily stopped as he was greeted with a few handshakes followed by an introduction. These were the high-class society people that Emily would hear Louise or Janie tell her about at work; telling her about who was dating whom and what so-and-so was seen doing on the weekend. They all seemed fake. Not only their noses and bust sizes fake, but the way that they smiled at Emily when Bruce introduced her to them and explained her line of work seemed put on. The most realistic part of them was the jewelry they wore.
Emily was never so happy to have finally gotten to their table.
Bruce pulled out her chair, allowing her to sit before he sat down across from her.
"I'm sorry for all of that," he said softly. She wasn't the only one who could see through their smiles.
Emily shrugged as she took a sip of water from her glass.
"But there is one question that was never answered, that I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to," he added, leaning in towards her.
"Which one?"
"The one about being in love," Bruce replied softly.
"Bruce, could we talk about it another time, preferably somewhere else?"
Bruce glanced around them, seeing the dozens of pairs of the eyes that would travel towards them every so often. They were no doubt the subject of gossip conversations around the room.
"You're right," he said, grimacing. "Hopefully, the novelty will wear off soon."
"We knew this would happen," she reminded not only herself, but Bruce as well.
She reached for her glass of water and took a sip before picking up the menu in front of her. The silence between them was too much. She had to answer him.
With a sigh, she closed the menu in front of her and leaned forward.
"Bruce, I do feel something for you," she said, softly. "I'm not certain if it's love or not. I don't even know what love is supposed to feel like. All I know is that I don't want to say it if I'm not certain that I feel that way. You deserve someone to admit that they're in love with you, and I can't do that yet."
He reached forward and took her hand from where she held onto the menu.
"I'm willing to wait for that," he stated softly.
A smile pulled at Emily's lips as she sat back, letting go of his hand.
"And to think, I loathed you not long ago," she said, with a smirk.
"And I thought that you would be the worst thing that even happened to me," Bruce added.
"And then there was Florida," Emily said, with a smile.
"Florida," Bruce repeated dramatically. "Everything changed."
"No kidding," Emily said, taking a sip of water from her glass before she opened up the menu again. She was about to comment about the prices when Bruce's phone vibrated audibly.
Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled it out to read the text that showed up.
"Damn it," he mumbled, shoving the device back into his pocket. "I knew that this might happen. I'm so sorry, Em, but we have to go."
He stood up and took Emily's hand as she stood up beside him. Bruce led the way through the club, passing the same people they had greeted on the way in. To her surprise, Bruce didn't acknowledge any of them. He passed by the same reporters, again, not saying a word as they made their way quickly down the street. They walked towards the parking lot.
"What's the rush?"
"I need to get back home so that I can head back out again," he said, slowing down as they approached the Audi.
Emily climbed into the car and put on her seat belt as Bruce sped down the road. She looked over at him, seeing that a dark mask had fallen over his features.
"Who was the text from?" she asked, wanting to make conversation.
"It's a private line that is a direct link to the Commissioner," Bruce said. "I have to go meet him."
She looked out at the road in front of them as Bruce darted in and around vehicles.
"Will I see you before I head into work tonight?"
Work? Tonight?
It had completely slipped his mind that Emily was going to be heading back into Gotham later on that night.
"I doubt it," he replied, looking over at her. "But feel free to use the Audi to get to into the city."
Emily winced. "I'd stick out like a sore thumb with it."
Bruce nodded. "Take the Matrix then."
The moment they walked into Wayne Manor, Alfred met them at the door.
"I saw the message, sir," Alfred said, following Bruce towards the piano in the study. "Everything is ready."
"Thank you, Alfred."
Bruce played the odd combination of notes on the piano and looked up towards the wall where it suddenly began to move. He turned to walk into the hidden passage when he noticed Emily standing a few feet behind him in the study. Bruce paused for a moment and smiled. He turned and walked up to her.
"Be careful," she said softly as his forehead met hers.
"I will," he told her, just as quietly before leaning in to kiss her lips.
He reluctantly broke the kiss and backed up with a smile before disappearing into the passage. Alfred followed and stopped as Bruce stepped into the elevator that would bring him into the depths of the cave below. Bruce paused and looked to Alfred, who seemed to know what the younger man was thinking.
"I'll keep an eye on her for you, sir."
Bruce smirked before putting his hand on a green button. In an instant, Bruce disappeared.
Emily walked into the kitchen, hearing the sound of dishes clinking in the sink and the sound of a man humming a soft tune. He stopped for a second and turned, seeing Emily dressed in green scrubs, standing by the counter. Alfred turned and looked up at the clock. 8:47pm.
"Isn't it a little early for you to be leaving?"
Emily nodded. "I was going to stop in at home, check in on Freddie and pick up some other things."
Alfred smiled.
"How late does Bruce usually stay out till?"
The older man thought for a moment. "Most nights it's between 3 and 4 in the morning. Lately, he's been out until 6." He shrugged. "I guess it all depends on how busy he is."
Emily nodded, as she thought.
"Bruce said that I could borrow a car to get into town," she said.
"Of course," Alfred said, drying off his hands as he opened a cabinet behind a bread box that was full of keys. Each one was labelled. "Take your pick."
Emily shook her head. She glanced over at Alfred as the man turned back to washing the dishes. She carefully took a set of keys.
"Thank you, Alfred," she said.
"Have a good night at work," he called out as she walked out of the kitchen.
In the back of her mind, she felt guilty for what she was about to do. She made her way to the garage with a backpack on her back and scanned it for the bike. It wasn't hard to find. Bruce obviously had used it recently so it was nearest the front. Not wanting to make too much noise, she walked it partway down the front drive until the lights from Wayne Manor dimmed and she was left in the darkness. Emily straddled the bike and put on the helmet before turning on the engine. Within seconds, she was gone.
Her street seemed deserted.
Emily parked the bike on a side street behind her building before she made her way through the alleyway and up to her apartment building. She fumbled with the keys and pushed the door open the moment she turned the knob.
Freddie let out a loud, audible meow.
"Fred, it's just me," she said softly, as the cat came to greet her. "Are you hungry?"
Emily didn't bother to turn on the lights. She quickly pulled out Freddie's food and fed him before going into her room. Emily pushed open her closet doors, and then began to push aside the years of clothing that she had stored in it until she found a dark leather jacket. She tossed it onto her bed before pulling out a stored box. Emily dug through it and found her old black skinny jeans and a pair of black boots.
She quickly found a t-shirt and changed out of the scrubs she was wearing and into the dark coloured clothing. If she was going to be breaking into someone's home, the least she could do was look the part.
Emily looked at herself in the mirror as she tucked the bottom of her shirt into the pants and zipped up the jacket. She pulled her hair up on top of her head before she pulled the ski mask over her face.
A certain item seemed to stare at her as she prepared to leave. She could almost hear her Mom telling her as a teenager that having a gun was only a preventative thing and to never use it as a weapon. Shrugging, she reached into her closet and pulled out the small plastic case. She didn't even think it had been opened.
Carefully, she tucked it inside her boot.
She had to hurry if she was going to do this. Emily only hoped that she wouldn't get caught. The last thing that she wanted to do was to call Bruce from jail to have him come pay her bond.