Thank you so much for the reviews, messages, favourites...etc. I'll try to get the next part out very soon. The more you bug/review/favourite, the sooner it'll come. :)
"All of that because you spoke with Bill?!" Bruce exclaimed, punching his fist into the hanging punching bag. "That was Crane's idea of getting Bill's attention!?"
Bruce had forgone the celebration in lieu of blowing off some steam in the gym.
Emily watched from the side of the mats as he relentlessly beat at the bag, until beads of sweat fell down his forehead. Finally, he stopped, putting his arms on either side of the bag to keep it from swaying.
He paused and pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor before quickly turning and kicking the bag. Emily could see the stitches from the days prior sitting on his side.
"I know that you want to go after Crane," she said.
Although he didn't turn, Bruce heard her speak and nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'm not going to just sit here and let him do something like this," Bruce growled as he punched the bag. "He's a pot that's ready to boil over."
"I don't think it's a good idea that you go out tonight."
Bruce paused and turned to her, completely out of breath.
"You're stitches are still healing and any strenuous activity could cause them to tear," she added. "You need to rest."
Bruce scoffed at her statement. "I can't rest, Emily. Not when Crane is out there threatening your life."
Emily sighed and crossed her arms as Bruce returned to mercilessly beating the punching bag. She finally pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a light blue tank top underneath. She walked over to a pair of sparring gloves and pulled them on. That caught Bruce's attention.
"What are you doing?" he asked, pausing from his punching.
Emily smirked. "What does it look like?"
He watched as she walked over to the other punching bag beside him. "You think that you're the only one who is mad as hell about this? I'm just picturing Crane's face on the bag."
Bruce turned to her as she gave the bag a few hard, straight punches.
"Are you sure that it's a good idea for you to do this?"
Emily paused and looked at Bruce, speaking as she punched the bag. "You were training me, flipping me over on my back numerous times while we had no idea that I was pregnant. I don't think a little kickboxing is going to hurt. Besides it's good practice for when I run into Crane."
"Uh, no," Bruce quickly interjected. "You will not be running into Crane."
Emily stopped and began to laugh as she walked over to Bruce. "I always know how to get you riled up."
She wrapped her gloved hands around his neck and met his lips.
"I have no intention of searching out for Crane. I promised you that I wouldn't knowingly put myself in harms way and I intend to keep that promise. That doesn't mean that I can't relieve some stress by punching the bag for a half hour or so a day."
"Just don't overdo it," Bruce said, as Emily walked away from him.
He watched her as she walked away and saw her pause in front of the mirror as she began to take off the gloves. Bruce noticed her catch his gaze in the mirror.
"Don't even think it," he warned, pointing at her. She grinned, putting her hands on her hips.
"Think what?"
"I remember the first time you came down to the bunker, I caught you staring at yourself in the mirror and commenting about how you're needing to lose some weight."
Emily ran her hands over her stomach, feeling the small hard bump below her belly button. Why she had never noticed it before, baffled her. It seemed to have become more noticeable to her once she knew the truth.
"I wasn't thinking that," she said. "I was trying to figure out how long I'm going to be able to wear my scrubs to work before this is noticeable."
"Aren't you going to mention it? I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually."
Emily smirked. "At the rate I'm going, it wouldn't take long."
She saw Bruce turn and punch the bag once again. Emily picked up her shirt.
"Regardless, I need to get some rest before I go to work tonight."
Bruce turned. "You're working tonight?"
"Yeah, I start late too."
As much as he hated the thought, he knew there was no point in trying to dissuade her from going in. He nodded.
"I'll give you a ride in and pick you up in the morning."
Emily smiled. "That's nice of you Bruce, but you'll be busy tonight and I doubt you'll be up to driving at 6am."
"If you're out, I wont be sleeping anyways," he told her. "And don't worry about tonight."
He was bleeding. It was so swollen around his one eye that Bill could barely see. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he quickly spit it out onto the concrete floor.
"Let me remind you of why you're here, Doctor," Crane said. "I need you to perfect this toxin for me because I'm running out of test subjects for you. They're all dying."
"I don't think that toxin is going to work," Bill admitted, while Crane gestured to one of his men to once again punch Bill in the gut, causing the man to fall to the floor in agony.
"You will get it to work," Crane said, crouching down beside Bill. "You have the formula right there on your damn desk. Do you seriously want me to kill her this time?!"
"No," Bill growled from his place on the floor.
"You know how close we were last time. I underestimated Mister Wayne's driving capabilities. The next time I wont be so careless."
Crane looked down at Bill, hearing him cry out. Crane tipped his head to the side as he thought. "Tell you what; I'll give you another chance."
Bill turned his head and looked up at Crane, thanking silently whoever was looking out for him that he had another chance.
"But I still need to show you how serious I am and send a statement to a friend of mine."
Bruce was right. She didn't have to worry about her ride. Batman had pulled the tumbler into a dark alleyway three blocks from the clinic and then he watched her from the rooftops as she made her way into work before beginning his rounds in the city. Batman had also promised her that he wouldn't overdo it that night either. With the stitches pulling at his sides as he jumped from one building to the next was enough to remind him that they were still there, and still fresh.
Thankfully, it was a quiet night. Batman looked over at the corner where Emily had met with Bill and unfortunately there was nothing going on.
"Sir," Batman suddenly heard in his ear piece. "The tracker that we had put inside with the money when you were to do the money exchange has suddenly been turned on."
"Turned on?"
"Yes," he said. "The computer is trying to pinpoint the exact location as to where it is. I should have it..."
When Batman didn't hear Alfred continue, he spoke.
"Where is it?"
"The Westview Clinic."
Emily kept the polite smile on her face. To those who knew her would have realized that it was forced. Janie watched in amusement as Emily walked beside a young teenage boy back towards the door leading out to the waiting room. The clinic saw all kinds of people, but this kid was a regular with his short mohawk, green muscle shirt and a tattoo of a snake wrapped around his arms. Janie knew exactly what the teen was there for as she had once had the honour of taking care of him once.
The smile on Emily's face disappeared the moment he walked through the door. Janie chuckled as she walked over to her.
"Was it the same as last time?" she asked softly.
Emily didn't reply and merely nodded.
"The next time you know he's here, you can take him," Emily stated. "I had to bite my tongue so many times."
Janie chuckled again and shook her head as she took the file from Emily to place back on the shelf.
Emily stifled a yawn as she grabbed the next file off of Louise's desk.
"Hun, you look like hell warmed over," Louise commented. "Why don't you take a break?"
"I'll be fine," Emily stated, glancing down at her watch, seeing that she only had three more hours left to her shift.
The waiting room had died down to only a handful of people in the past four hours.
"Suit yourself. I'm taking my break right now," Janie said, grabbing an apple from the shelf and took a big bite before winking and heading back towards the staff room.
Emily smiled and looked down at the chart in her hand before walking over to the waiting room door. She pushed it open.
"Kyle?"
A young couple in the corner looked up, but neither moved.
Emily looked down at the chart to ensure she had the right name as the couple shrugged.
"There was a young man here a few minutes ago," the woman told her. "He stepped out for a smoke once that boy with the tattoo's walked out."
Emily walked towards the front door and pushed it open. She looked down the sidewalk, seeing no one around the building. Finally, she walked back inside and smiled at the couple.
"I guess you're next," she said. "I'll call you in a moment."
Emily disappeared through the door and grabbed the next chart.
"That was odd," Louise commented. "He had been waiting for a few hours. You'd think that after waiting that long that you'd stick around."
Emily shrugged as she read the chart of the man who waited his turn. Just then, Janie stuck her head out of the staff room.
"Emily, your cell is ringing."
She turned towards Janie.
"Thanks Janie, I'll get it later," Emily said.
"Whoever it is has already called twice," Janie told her.
"Can you grab it for me then?"
Janie nodded and went back into the staff room and searched through Emily's purse before grabbing the cell. She looked at the ID and found that there was none.
"Hello, Dr. Tucker's cell phone. Janie speaking."
Janie walked out of the staff room with the phone to her ear.
"Yeah, Bruce. She's here."
Emily turned, hearing Janie speak Bruce's name. The woman passed her the cell phone making a face.
"Bruce?"
"You need to get out of there."
Emily could hear the engine of the tumbler in the background. She knew exactly who was calling. She turned and walked away from Janie, lowering her voice.
"What are you talking about?"
"Crane," Bruce said. "He's turned on the transmitter and it's displaying the location as inside the clinic."
"What?!"
Emily walked towards the waiting area but suddenly felt herself being pushed back by the doors as a deafening sound filled her ears. In her shock, the cell phone dropped from her hand, abruptly ending the conversation. Emily couldn't remember how she ended up across the room, but she opened her eyes and could clearly make out the black sky above her through the haze of dust. It took a moment before she realized what had happened and that she was partially covered by the solid waiting room doors.
She coughed as the dust floated around her. The smell of smoke permeated the air and Emily looked across the room and could see flames licking parts of the wall.
Carefully, she pushed the debris off of her and realized that something was dripping onto her face. She looked up, but couldn't see anything. Emily ran her hand over her forehead and realized that it was blood that was dripping down her cheek.
"Janie!" she tried to yell, as her voice wavered. It was silent until she heard coughing coming from across the room.
"I'm here," Janie said, as she pushed the staff room door open. "Are you all right?"
Emily managed to get to her feet and step over the debris as she met Janie in the middle of the room.
"Where's Louise?"
The women looked around, no longer seeing Louise where she had been sitting. Louise's desk had been blown back and her chair was no where to be seen.
"Louise!" Janie called out as Emily saw a leg partially exposed.
Without saying a word, she rushed over to the woman and began pulling the debris from on top of her body. Janie was beside her and reached for Louise's neck, desperate to feel for a pulse. Emily paused as she waited for Janie to tell her how the woman was.
"She has a pulse," Janie told her as they continued to pull pieces of debris from on top of her body.
Finally, they each took one of Louise's arms and managed to pull her to her feet. More than once, they heard her moan from the movement. Emily clenched her teeth, as she felt the sting in her arm for the first time as she picked up Louise. She glanced down at the inside of her left arm and noticed dozens of cuts and speckles of blood on her long sleeve shirt. Emily didn't want to imagine what it looked like underneath.
Together, they carried and dragged Louise through where the doors once stood and into the empty waiting room. Emily looked around the debris filled room, looking for the couple and felt sick to her stomach when she didn't see them but saw blood on the broken glass windows.
They could hear the sirens of approaching emergency vehicles and saw them pull up around the building just as they walked out.
"I want this area sealed off!" Emily heard someone shout out as the EMT's approached them.
As they took Louise from her and Janie, Emily looked over to the sidewalk and felt her heart fall when she saw the EMT's around their unmoving bodies. She had spoken to them just moments before.
"Was there anyone else inside?"
Emily turned to see Commissioner Gordon standing beside her. She shook her head.
"How did you get here so fast?"
"I had a phone call saying that something might happen here and given the circumstances of the director's disappearance, I wasn't taking any chances."
Emily nodded, and ran her hand across her forehead, feeling the blood and dust that was partially dried to her skin. She pulled back her sleeve and saw the dozens of shards of glass embedded in her arm. She felt light headed as she could feel the multiple stings. It wasn't the bleeding or the that concerned her.
"You need to see a medic," Gordon said, gently taking her by the arm and leading her to an ambulance.
"I really should go to a hospital," she told him.
He smiled politely.
"I'll let the medic's decide that but it doesn't look that serious that would require a trip to the hospital right away."
"I'm pregnant," she said, stopping him.. "And I was blown back a good ten feet and found myself buried under the waiting room door.
Gordon was shocked and looked around at where they stood and the available officers around him. The fire department was in the midst of putting out the fire that grew out from the rooftop. One ambulance had just left with Louise and the other was leaving with the couple. Janie sat inside the last ambulance as they treated her superficial wounds.
It was then that he saw him.
"I'll find someone to get you there," Gordon said, walking away from her. "Just give me a moment."
Gordon walked towards the shadows, knowing who was waiting for him.
"It was Crane," Batman replied.
"How do you know?"
"I know."
Batman looked back out to where Emily stood, holding onto her arm as she watched the fire department put out the fire. The fire reflected off of her face and Batman could clearly see in the darkness that her face was etched with blood and dust.
"This was a message from Crane," Batman said softly. "He's been using Dr. Dravis and he must not be getting the results he's needing."
"So the psychopath blows up the clinic in order to show his power."
Batman nodded, looking back out towards Emily.
Gordon noticed.
"There were two fatalities," he told him. "And many injuries."
He turned to find that Batman had already disappeared. With a shrug, he walked back out towards Emily.
"Come with me," he told her. "I'll get you to the hospital."
The nurses in Emergency took one look at Emily's face and moved her right into triage. They had heard on the news what had happened and after seeing the two ambulances come in, they weren't surprised that there were more injuries. Gordon stayed by her side until Alfred had arrived and Emily soon found herself sitting on a bed on the OB floor, with her left arm wrapped up and forehead stitched.
"Master Bruce should be here anytime," he told Emily from where he stood, looking out the window which overlooked the expanse of the parking lot far below.
"I know," she said, softly as the door suddenly opened.
Instead of it being Bruce, a doctor walked in with a folder in his hand. He looked from Alfred to Emily sitting on the bed.
"Miss Tucker?"
Emily nodded.
"I'm Doctor David Campbell," he said, walking towards her with his hand extended. Emily shook his hand and introduced Alfred to the man.
"I'm going to check on you and the baby and ensure that everything is all right," he told her as he pulled over a portable ultrasound machine from the wall towards the bed. "I was told that you were involved in that explosion at the clinic downtown."
Emily didn't say a word but simply nodded.
"Can you describe to me how you fell or what could have landed on you?"
Emily thought back and as she tried to explain, she found her eyes welling up with tears. She felt Alfred's hand on her shoulder which she promptly took in her own hand, grateful for the support. Dr. Campbell smiled sympathetically.
He encouraged her to lie down as he prepared the machine. Gently, he pressed on her stomach asking if she felt pain anywhere.
"Only in my back," she replied. "But I landed on the edge of a chair leg."
Dr. Campbell nodded as he felt for her uterus and then reached for the ultrasound wand. Carefully he pressed it to her stomach and tilted it in different angles. Finally, he found it. A baby perfectly formed but still so small. He zoomed in and a smile grew on the doctor's face as he saw the fluttering of the heart on the ultrasound. He pressed a few buttons, allowing the sound of the galloping heartbeat to fill the room.
Emily let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She closed her eyes and just listened.
"That's a wonderful sound," Alfred commented softly but loud enough that Emily heard, just as the doors to the room opened.
They all turned towards it to see Bruce, slightly out of breath standing at the door, looking more than a little haphazardly.
"Is everything all right?"
Alfred and Emily smiled as Bruce suddenly paused, taking a moment to realize what the sound was that filled the room.
"You're right on time, Mr. Wayne," Dr. Campbell said, from behind the computer. "We were just listening to your baby's heart beating."
Bruce walked over to Emily and looked over at the computer screen, watching as the blown up image of a fetus moved.
"Everything looks great," Dr. Campbell told them as he continued to get measurements and turn the wand to different angles to get various shots. "And I don't see any indication of trauma or bleeding."
He stopped and turned off the machine.
"I'll send the information to Dr. Thompkins for you but from what I saw, the baby appears to be fine. I'd suggest that you take it easy for the next few days anyways. In the very least, you may end up with a nasty headache, sore back and those cuts and stitches in your arm will need to heal."
Dr. Campbell pushed the machine back towards the wall before he left the room, leaving Alfred, Bruce and Emily alone. Emily sat up as Bruce quickly wrapped his arms around her and briefly kissed her lips. She held onto him as Alfred told Bruce that he would bring the car around to the front of the building to pick them up. He heard the door close behind him, signaling to him that they were alone.
"I thought that I had lost you when the phone line died. I had no idea what had happened to you until I saw you with Gordon," Bruce said softly. "Did you see anyone suspicious inside of the clinic?"
Emily thought back and remembered the name, Kyle, as the one who had suddenly left the clinic just minutes prior to the explosion.
"I never saw what he looked like," Emily said. "The only ones who did were the other couple in the waiting room and Louise."
Bruce nodded and sighed.
"Unfortunately, that couple didn't make it and Louise isn't doing too good right now," Emily told him. "I heard that she was brought up to surgery soon after she arrived."
A gentle knock on the door caught their attention and with a request to the visitor to come in, Emily smiled. Janie walked in, a bandage wrapped around her wrist and a nice looking butterfly bandage on her chin. She looked from Bruce to Emily sitting on the bed. The woman pushed the door closed behind her before making her way over to Emily.
"Thank God you're all right," Janie said, hugging Emily. "I freaked out when one of Gordon's officers said that he was bringing you to the hospital. Of course, none of them knew what was going on. And then I had to sneak up here to see how you were since they closed down the floor to visitors."
Emily paused.
"What? Why?"
Janie looked from Emily to Bruce. "Em, you're on the OB floor, with a ring on your finger and Bruce Wayne at your side. I haven't said anything to anyone, but it looks like someone made a call. There's a small collection of media vultures in the lobby."
Emily ran her hand through her hair and looked up at Bruce, who pulled out his cell phone to get ahold of Alfred.
"So," Janie said, sitting beside Emily a smile building on her face. "Why didn't you say anything about being pregnant?"
"I honestly just found out."
The smile faded on Janie's face. "Everything is all right, right?"
Emily smiled. "Everything is fine."
Bruce turned to them and put his phone in his pocket. He sighed.
"Janie is right," he said. "Alfred says that the front lobby is full of people."
Janie shook her head. "I've worked here for a few months after it was built before going to the clinic. There are other ways out of here."
She pushed herself off the bed with Emily beside her. Janie turned to Bruce.
"Tell Alfred to go around the building to the service entrance B. There should be a few garbage bins and a pair of bay doors at that entrance."
Bruce and Emily followed Janie through the hospital, bypassing the lobby and causing more than a few stunned looks from hospital workers and staff to see Bruce Wayne and Emily Tucker walking past them. Janie brought them food services and they carefully walked around trays of food that were going to be heading out to the many patients in the hospital.
They excused themselves more than once as they weaved their way through.
"Hey, you're not allowed to be down here," an older man suddenly said.
"We're just trying to get to the South Bay doors to get these two out of here," Janie explained as they continued their way.
"I'll have to call security because none of you are authorized to be in here!"
"Hey man, that's Bruce Wayne and Dr. Tucker," a woman called out, walking into the room. "There's a crowd out front waiting for them. Let 'em get out the back."
The man shrugged and waved them past. "Fine. Get out of here!"
"Thank you," Bruce told him as they made their way to the back door. Janie pushed it open and saw the large bay doors in the receiving area and heard the loud echo as Bruce closed the door behind them.
One of the doors were open and Emily could see the familiar Jaguar sitting below the delivery door. She watched as Alfred stepped out of the car.
"This was a far better idea than the front entrance," he commented as Emily and Bruce climbed down. Emily looked up at Janie.
"Aren't you coming? We could give you a ride back to your car."
Janie shook her head. "You get out of here while you can. I'm going to check up on Louise and see if there's any news."
Emily nodded. "Let me know if you hear anything."
"I will."
Emily turned and followed Bruce to the car. Alfred backed out and got onto a side street. No one, besides the few people in the food services even knew they had left.
Bruce watched as Emily laid on the couch in the den. Alfred had covered her up nearly an hour ago after she had fallen asleep listening to the news regarding the explosion. He had turned off the television during a broadcast of the morning news showing a photo of Emily and Bruce as the reporters spoke about an engagement and possible pregnancy. The words the reporters said, tore at his heart as he looked down at the sleeping woman on the couch. The nasty speculation and conclusions regarding the relationship of Bruce and Emily were horrid.
He walked out of the room and saw Bruce walking towards him, knowing he had just gotten off the phone with Lucius and had heard part of the conversation.
"What are you going to tell her?"
Bruce shrugged.
"I have to tell her the truth, Alfred."
"She'll be crushed, sir. She put so much of her time and energy into this. To suddenly take it away from her when everything around her seems to be falling apart isn't fair."
"I know that, but the board isn't giving me any other options."
"They're cancelling the benefit." Emily suddenly said, upon hearing the conversation between Bruce and Alfred. She stood at the door to the den. "The board has decided to cancel it, haven't they?"
Bruce sighed. "Emily, there's nothing I can do about it. Even if I was to get support in favour of going ahead with it, there is too much opposition. It would be voted down regardless."
Emily turned on her heel and marched towards the front door. Bruce saw a look in her eye and quickly followed.
"Emily, it's no use in changing their minds."
She stopped and quickly turned, her face red in anger.
"I worked my damn ass off on this project and to have myself nearly hit by a car and then survive being in an explosion... I can't have this taken away from me now, Bruce. I will not let them take the one thing that I have left."
Bruce took her by the shoulders, wanting to shake some sense into the emotional woman. "You have me and we have our baby. You have more than you possibly know."
"That clinic was my life and that benefit and funding from Wayne Enterprises was its only lifeline. And it was the only possible solution to bringing it back," she explained, softly. "How would you feel if I told you that you could no longer be Batman? If I said, that regardless of how you feel or what goes on in the city, you can never go back to being Batman again, how would you like it?"
"I don't know," he replied softly.
"Exactly. Batman is who you are. The clinic is who I am. Helping people is like a drug for me. It's what I do." She paused. "And I'm going to change the boards mind."
Bruce watched as Emily slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse.
"You wont be able to change their minds," he argued. "They've already voted."
His words didn't slow her down. Emily pulled open the door and jogged down the steps and made her way towards the garage, mentally picking out the fastest car.
"Damn it," Bruce cursed as he pulled on his shoes and raced after her. "If you want to get there fast, let me drive."
Within moments, the Lamborghini spun its wheels and kicked up stones as they made their way into Gotham.
"Emily, the board may be in their meeting still," Bruce told her as they climbed out of the Lamborghini.
They had caught many eyes by surprise as Bruce had pulled up in front of Wayne Tower. A few reporters had camped out front, hoping to get a statement but they underestimated how fast Emily and Bruce would make their way into the building.
The pair walked into the nearest elevator and rode it up to the executive floor.
"Do you even know what you're going to say if you get the chance to even speak to the board?"
Emily shrugged. "I'll come up with something."
"Just make sure that you aren't letting out your frustration on them," he countered, causing Emily to stop.
"Are you afraid that I might insult the board members?"
Bruce grinned.
"Just don't say anything you may regret later on."
They walked up to the secretary sitting at her desk.
"Hi Jessica, would Mr. Fox be available at the moment?"
"Oh, Mr. Wayne," she stated, sitting up straighter in her chair. She looked from Bruce to Emily. "He is here, but he is in a meeting with the board."
"Perfect," Emily said as she turned to make her way to the board room.
"But you can't just go in!" Jessica exclaimed from her desk as she watched Bruce quickly follow Emily.
Emily pushed open the door and immediately had the eyes of every board member, including Mr. Fox on her.
"Ah, Miss Tucker," he said, somewhat confused and then he saw Bruce standing behind her. "Mister Wayne. We're in the middle of a meeting right now."
Emily knew that it meant that she wasn't welcome at the meeting.
"I realize that Mister Fox. I wanted to speak with the board regarding the benefit for the clinic."
Lucius looked down at the paper in front of him and pulled off his glasses.
"I'm sorry, Miss Tucker, but I thought that Mister Wayne would have told you that the support from Wayne Enterprises has been terminated and the benefit has been cancelled."
"He told me, but I'd like the board to reconsider."
"Miss Tucker, in light of the recent circumstances, the board and I felt that to support the clinic wouldn't be profitable."
"Because the building was blown up?"
It was obvious to everyone in the board room that Emily had been involved in the explosion. Her newly stitched forehead and wrapped up arm proved that.
Lucius winced. "Yeah, that was part of it but also because of the unknown location of Dr. Dravis and his possible criminal connection. We don't want to be a part of that, as you could understand. We had delayed the benefit numerous times in hopes that things would change and unfortunately, they haven't."
"But what about the people who come to the clinic?"
"It's unfortunate but they'll need to search for alternate locations to get their medical services."
"Services that they'll undoubtedly be unable to pay for and in turn, they wont even bother to seek out medical assistance when some of them depend on it."
Lucius sighed. "Again, I'm sorry Miss Tucker."
Emily felt Bruce's hand on her back. He knew as much as she did that she wouldn't be able to change their minds. She was about to turn to leave but decided to say something more.
"I'm pregnant," she said aloud with a smile as she put her hand to her stomach to emphasize that fact. "I'm not certain if anyone knew, but Bruce and I are planning on getting married and I'm nearly three months pregnant."
The news caught the surprise of more than a few board members as well as Lucius as a smile crept onto his face.
"Well, congratulations. That is certainly wonderful news to hear that the Wayne family is growing once again."
"I find it strange that if I wasn't in the certain social class that I am in and if this baby wasn't a direct heir of Bruce Wayne that I may be just like one of those many who would be searching for low cost medical care," she explained. "I doubt that any of you would like to see your wives, husbands or possibly your children go without medical care all because they cannot afford it. Not everyone in Gotham was born a Wayne. Proper medical care should be available to anyone who needs it."
Emily paused, wondering if she was making an impact with anything that she was saying or if it was just going in one ear and out the other.
"So, you may think that the benefit was merely for the clinic, but the clinic isn't a building. The doctors, nurses and staff that work there are different. They don't look at patients as a number or someone to line our pockets. We genuinely care for the safety and health of everyone that comes into the building. I would pitch a tent in the open lot where the clinic once stood and take patients there if I could. The fact remains that these people have nowhere to go and have once again been turned away by society. If no one stands up for them, what will they do?"
She looked at the board members, seeing how most of them weren't even looking at her and instead were writing on sheets of paper in front of them.
Emily sighed, looking down at the ground. "I've taken up enough of your time."
She turned and walked past Bruce and out into the hallway. Bruce turned to follow but instead was stopped by Lucius.
"Hold up, Bruce," Lucius said. "Have a seat for a moment."
Bruce closed the door.
Emily stood in the hallway, and looked out the window at the traffic below them. She crossed her arms and listened unconsciously as Jessica answered phone calls and spoke softly on the phone.
She turned her head towards the board room when she heard the door open and the members of the board begin to walk out. More than a few were mingling with each other as they walked down the hallway. A few regarded her and smiled as they went past. Finally, she saw Bruce and Lucius walk out, shaking hands with a few other board members. Emily could hear a few congratulations being offered to him before the board members walked away.
Lucius walked up to her, a smile on his face. He held out a hand towards her.
"I'm pleased to hear that you'll soon be Mrs. Wayne and you and Bruce are expectant parents as well," Lucius said, shaking her hand. "Congratulations." Lucius leaned in. "And if this one is anything like Bruce was as a boy, it'll keep you on your toes."
Lucius chuckled as Emily smiled. "Thank you."
Lucius walked away to his office as Bruce walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. Emily was caught off guard as they were in plain sight of Lucius' secretary.
"Bruce, what are you doing?" she asked, seeing the coy grin on his face.
"Letting you know how much I love you and how amazing you are."
Bruce leaned in and whispered in her ear. "The board changed their mind and the benefit is going on as scheduled."
Emily nearly shrieked as she put her hands on either side of Bruce's face and kissed him.
"You did it," Bruce told her happily, brushing her hair from her eyes as they danced with excitement. "You convinced them to change their mind. Wayne Enterprises is planning on supporting the reconstruction of the clinic, provided that you are the director. And there was even talk of possibly having you come onto the board once you're officially my wife as a consultant from the medical field."
"Really?"
Bruce nodded. "You impressed them."
Bruce put his arm around Emily as they walked back towards the elevator.
"I guess I'll have to go shopping before the weekend," she said, as they stepped into the open elevator.
"I thought you already had something to wear for the benefit that you bought weeks ago."
Emily winced. "Yeah, I'm guessing that it wont be fitting me so well anymore."
Bruce smiled, leaned over and pressed the buttons for the ground level on the elevator. Once the doors closed, he took her hand.
"It looks like I'm going to be needing that date for Saturday night after all," he teased. "Know of anyone who's available?"
Emily smirked.
"I know of more than a few people who would be willing to be accompanied by Bruce Wayne but unfortunately I'd have to hurt you if you went with any of them."
Bruce chuckled as he pulled her close to him. "Remind me never to argue with a pregnant woman."
Emily laughed as the doors opened to the lobby.
Jonathan Crane looked across the road at the building which he used to call his home. Not his second home, but his home. Although it was never written in stone, he always considered Arkham Asylum to belong to him. She knew his secrets as much as she knew hers. He also knew that he did have some loyalties remaining within the building.
He watched as a man walked through the gates and crossed the street to where he stood. The man sighed nervously and handed him an envelope. Crane ripped open the envelope and slid the file out into his hand.
"You sure you want him? He's not your run-of-the-mill psych patient. He's a hardened criminal with a history of homicide and arson. You know what he did to this city."
Dr. Crane smiled as he looked up from the file. "And that's why I need him."
The man nodded. "Shift change happens in a half hour. I'll ensure that he'll know what to do."
Crane reached into his pocket and handed the man a stack of bills. "You'll get the second half once he's out."
The man shoved the money into his pant pocket and turned, walking back towards the large gate.
Crane looked up at the building and smiled.