Note:

Oh wow! Thank you so much for the awesome reviews, comments and messages. Oh and the numerous readers who added the story and myself to their favourites lists - I am so humbled! Just those simple things gave me the push to go on. I hope that you'll enjoy this next chapter. The story is not close to being done, but I do know the direction that I'm going.

Please review!

6 weeks after the explosion

Bruce had gotten used to Bill's banter.

While Bruce preferred to walk in silence and kept his thoughts to himself, Bill would comment about what they would see, how he was feeling, what he'd love to eat at that particular moment and when they were going to stop next. Bruce had to admit that he enjoyed having company but at the same time, he just wanted to turn around and yell...

"Did you hear that?" Bill suddenly asked, just as Bruce stopped in his tracks.

The hair on his head was no longer perfectly combed and a dark shadow had grown over his face. Bill wasn't looking much better and both men had a layer of permanent mud on the bottom of their boots.

"A car," Bruce said softly, as he intently listened and peered through the thick brush.

"We must be near a road," Bill commented as both men began walking quickly towards the sound.

A store suddenly appeared on the side of the quiet mountain pass. Two cars were parked in front of it. A faint smell of hotdogs lingered in the air and both men heard the sound of a stomach growling. They were tired of eating whatever they'd find in the bush or catch from the rivers they'd pass.

"Oh thank God!" Bill stated as he leaned against a tree.

"I'm going to go in and see if I can find out where we are exactly," Bruce said, passing the backpack to Bill. "And maybe borrow their phone to call home."

Bill nodded while Bruce made his way towards the front door of the store.

He heard music coming from inside before he even opened the door. It creaked open and the clerk behind the desk glanced up at Bruce from behind his newspaper. A small television sat behind the desk and it softly played the sounds of a game show. Bruce walked up to the desk and was met with a long scrutinizing look from the clerk.

"How can I help you?"

"I was hoping that I could use your telephone," Bruce said.

The man glanced out the front window. "Payphone is out front."

"I don't have any money," Bruce told him with a shrug. "I was hoping that I could use yours."

"Sorry buddy," the man said. "Employees only."

Bruce sighed. "Can you at least tell me where I am?"

The man pointed to a map on the wall near the front door. Bruce smiled curtly to the man before walking towards it. He glanced back at the clerk and noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes off of Bruce. When Bruce caught his gaze, the clerk looked back at his newspaper. It was then that Bruce caught the headline on the front page of the Gotham Post - WAYNE TOWER EXPLOSION ROCKS FINANCIAL DISTRICT. That headline was enough to get his attention, and he tried to see if there were any photo's. Unfortunately, the clerk put the paper done as another customer came up to the counter. Bruce turned back to the map just as he heard a familiar voice.

"Afternoon Rob," the man said to the clerk before putting some items on the counter. "How's Mary doin' today?"

"She has her good days and her bad," Rob, the clerk told the man at the counter. "Today is a good day."

"That's good to hear Derek," Rob said as he rung in the items at the register. "I'm sure that boy of yours there can be a handful."

Bruce glanced over and instantly recognized the young boy he had met in the shed standing at the counter with his father. His eyes barely came up to the edge of the counter.

"Ah, Thomas is more helpful than a handful," Derek said, before glancing over at Bruce.

Bruce looked back up at the map, deciphering their next direction and over hearing the conversation. The men said barely another word before Bruce heard footsteps coming in his direction.

"Excuse me," Derek said, catching Bruce's attention. He held out a quarter in his hand. "Here's a quarter for that phone call you were wantin' to make. Are you new to the area?"

"Just passing through," Bruce said, taking the quarter.

Derek nodded and smiled before giving a quick glance to Rob at the counter. The clerk was busy getting back into his newspaper. "Well, know that there are some of us that are more generous to strangers than others around here."

"I appreciate it, thank you," Bruce said. Derek was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.

"You look quite familiar to me," Derek said. "Have we met before?"

Bruce smiled.

"I'd doubt it," he told him. "I just have that type of face."

Derek nodded, seeming to believe Bruce's word.

"Well, have a good day."

"You too," Bruce said, as Derek opened the door to allow his boy to pass through first before following after him.

When the door closed, Bruce saw it - the newspaper rack with the newest edition of the Gotham Times holding the same paper that the clerk had been reading. Other headlines on the front page included the deaths of more people at the hand of Joker, who was demanding for the Batman. He quickly skimmed through it, becoming angry as he read it. His eyes turned their attention back to the rack as a tabloid magazine literally screamed his name as the words WAYNE WALKS OUT ON WIFE-TO-BE were written in bold lettering with a grainy candid image of a pregnant Emily on the front page.

He sighed, realizing for the first time that she was all right. His mind flashed back to the last time he had seen her in that beautiful dress and how she had been complaining earlier about it being too tight around her. Now, if he hadn't recognized her face, he wouldn't have believed that the woman on the page was Emily. As he read further, and discovered that she had been in Wayne Tower at the time of the explosion, he was concerned.

"If you read them, you're going to buy them and I know that you're unable to pay so I'd suggest that you put them back," Rob called out from behind the front desk.

Glaring at the clerk, Bruce shoved them back into the rack before opening the front door and walking back out to find Bill in the bush.

Bill flooded him with questions, especially since he had seen the same man who had held them captive in a shed. Bruce didn't answer but quickly grabbed the pack from Bill and began walking back into the bush.

"Hey Bruce!" Bill exclaimed, catching up with Bruce. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Emily is alive and I need to get back to Gotham," he said, his dark mask falling over his face once again. "She may be in danger."

Bill rushed forward and stepped in front of Bruce. "I thought you were going to try to make a phone call."

Bruce ignored the quarter that was in his pocket.

"I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I'll explain later," he said curtly. "I need to get back to Gotham."

Bill shook his head and scoffed before walking past Bruce and made his way towards the store. "Fine then, I'll make the call and get us the hell out of here. At least it'll save me from this damn walking and your attitude."

Bruce turned and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. Bruce felt Bill struggle and even begin to fight back and before long, Bruce had him pinned up against a tree, his forearm resting across his neck.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Don't you want to go home!?" Bill exclaimed, pushing against Bruce's forearm.

"I want nothing more than to get home," Bruce growled, softly. "But I'm not going to put Emily in danger by calling her."

Bruce saw confusion cross Bill's features. He explained the news that he had read briefly and the headlines that he had read.

"If anyone else knows that I'm alive, Emily could be in danger," Bruce said softly, as he released Bill from against the tree. "Someone could be listening to the phone lines. Besides, when you disappeared, you were being investigated by Gotham police. News will travel fast that you survived the explosion and chances are, if any of Crane's associates hear of it, you'll be dead before you step foot within city limits."

Bill visibly paled as he hadn't considered the repercussions of working with Crane would entail. He cleared his throat as it had suddenly gone dry. He followed Bruce and walked back into the bush.

The men continued their silent walk towards Gotham when Bill suddenly spoke up.

"You do know that Emily is going to kill you for not calling her to say that you're all right."

"Probably," Bruce stated with a smirk.

"And I wont be coming to your defence when that happens."

Bruce chuckled.

Present day

"Damn these heels," Emily cursed as she let out a sigh while standing up. She looked at herself in the mirror just as Alfred walked into the room. A smile was on his face, indicating that he had indeed heard her complaint prior to walking in. He carried a dressy jacket and placed it onto the bed before catching a glimpse of Emily's reflection in the mirror. She wore a dark blue satin sleeveless dress that fell to her knees. It was simple, but still classy enough to wear to the party thrown by one of the Wayne Enterprises board member at the art gallery - the event that she had been dreading going to.

Going alone, she felt awkward and out of place. She knew that the only reason that she had been invited was because Bruce had brought her name forward as a new board member. After some gentle prodding from Lucius and Alfred, she had agreed to come along.

"You do look lovely, my dear."

Emily scoffed.

"My feet are going to be paying for this later on tonight," she groaned.

"I'll be certain to have some tea and a warm fire going for you for when you return."

Emily sighed, looking at Alfred by way of the mirror.

"You're making me want to stay home now," she said, with a smile.

Alfred chuckled before picking up the jacket from the bed and walked towards her.

"It's been raining off and on this evening and they're calling for sleet overnight tonight," Alfred said, as he helped her put on the coat. "I do wish that you'd allow me to drive you downtown."

Emily smiled at Alfred and put her hand on his shoulder. "I think that I can handle driving into the city and back."

He returned the smile. "I know, but you can't stop me from worrying about you. After all, you're not just looking after yourself anymore."

She gently pulled her curled hair out from inside the collar of the coat and nodded with a smile.

"And Bruce taught me well."

"Yes, he did," Alfred agreed.

With a sigh, Emily picked up her clutch. "I should get going. Sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back."

Alfred nodded and watched her go out the door.

Bruce had nearly forgotten how it was to live off of barely anything. It had been years since he travelled the world and found himself climbing a frigid mountain in Tibet. As he walked through the cold downpour, he could feel his teeth chattering. His feet were soaked through days ago and his fingers were so cold. The only thing that kept him moving was seeing the lights of Gotham in the distance. They bypassed those lights and headed straight for Wayne Manor.

Bill said nothing beside Bruce and hadn't been eating or saying much for the past few days. What concerned him more was the hard coughing that Bill was doing as he walked beside him. His face appeared pale, even in the darkness.

With a loud thump, Bill's legs suddenly collapsed under him. With a quick movement, Bruce turned and grabbed ahold of the man by his arm, but he too was brought down to the slippery, muddy ground.

"Bill," Bruce groaned as he knelt in the mud beside the sickly man. Bill simply rolled over and went into a coughing fit as he attempting to get back onto his feet.

"I'm all right," Bill managed to gasp out between coughs. Finally, the coughing subsided and he sighed, as he leaned up against a tree. "I must have tripped over something."

Bruce looked at Bill, the man who he had come to regard as a friend over those long days of walking. Sometimes Bruce couldn't even believe that he would even consider Bill as anything but an ass.

He reached forward and put his hand to Bill's head. Bruce instantly felt the heat radiate off of Bill's skin. Bill sighed, knowing exactly what Bruce was aware of.

Bruce looked in the direction towards Wayne Manor before wrapping his arm around Bill's torso and pulled him to his feet.

"What are you doing?!" Bill exclaimed.

"I'm going to get us back home. You need to see a doctor," Bruce replied, as Bill began to chuckle.

"I am a doctor."

"A doctor that is not delirious from a fever."

Bill's laughter subsided.

"You seriously think that you're going to carry me the rest of the way?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, I'm going to help you walk it."

Emily never liked art class back in high school and now she knew why. It all looked the same to her. She'd watch people stand and stare at a painting and analyze the crap out of it - the meaning behind it, the emotion it was trying to portray or a story. Her answers were always straight forward and to the point. Emily knew the colours that were used and maybe could guess what type of paint they used, but beyond that, she was clueless. Her idea of painting was something she'd use with a roller and brush.

She ended up walking through the art gallery, glancing at the various paintings and watching as people would closely examine the art. Emily looked down at her watch and groaned inwardly to find that only thirty-five minutes had passed since she had arrived. A man carrying a platter of fluted glasses walked by her and stopped, promising to return with a glass of some sort of non-alcoholic sparkling champagne.

"You made it."

Emily turned at the familiar voice and was even more relieved to see the face.

"I promised you, Mr. Fox, that I would be here," she reminded him.

"Yes you did," he said with a smile before glancing around the room at the other board members as they drank, chatted and looked at the artwork around them. "So, how are you enjoying the evening?"

"It's...interesting," she replied, sporting a smile. "An older gentleman made my day when he asked if I was overdue. The colour nearly drained from his face when I told him that I still had two months to go. I think I should have just asked him what he was talking about and told him that I wasn't pregnant."

Lucius chuckled before he took a drink from his glass.

"Be careful what you say to these people, even with sarcasm," Lucius told her. "Some of them will take what you say as truth and the next thing you'll know, you'll find it on the cover of a magazine."

Emily shook her head. "I'll try to remember that."

The server returned and handed Emily the glass to which she thanked him for. Just then, one of the board members approached Emily and Lucius.

"It's so good to see you again, Dr. Tucker," the man said, his voice slurring slightly. "It's unfortunate that Mr. Wayne wasn't able to attend."

Emily continued to smile, despite the mention of Bruce's name.

"Where has he been, anyways?"

The ears of more than a few board members heard the question and were obviously eager for an answer, as their eyes all turned towards her.

Emily froze. It had been a while since she had to answer that question as everyone assumed that he had run off with someone else. But to hear it from Emily herself, was a completely different story.

"I honestly don't know," she answered, softly. "I haven't heard from him in a while, but I assume he is off doing whatever he needs to do."

Those who were listening nodded their heads and a few whispered among themselves.

"He did this once before," another board member spoke. "When he had disappeared for those seven years with no word from him. Mr. Pennyworth wasn't even aware of his whereabouts. If he did it once, chances are he'd do it again."

"I know Mr. Wayne and I doubt that he'd be the type of man to suddenly leave someone who is pregnant with his child," Lucius suddenly chimed in.

"If he got cold feet or didn't want to handle the responsibility, I'm certain that he would."

Emily could feel her heart begin to beat faster. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying anything she'd later regret. It must have been obvious to Lucius beside her, as she felt him put his hand on her shoulder.

"We all know the lifestyle that Wayne leads. We don't know much about you, Dr. Tucker," the same board member added, looking at Emily. "If these rumours are true, that baby may not even be his."

"Excuse me!?" Emily suddenly exclaimed and visibly offended.

"Now, hold on a second," Lucius added. "That is uncalled for."

"We don't know who Emily is beyond the fact that Wayne Enterprises is financing a project to which she will benefit from," the board member said. "Perhaps this was all part of her plan to become successful in a world where she never could be."

"So, you're telling me that I sought out Bruce, got myself knocked up by some other jerk in the city, burned down my place of employment all for the fun of it?" She laughed incredulously as she spoke. "You're either crazy to think this crap up or I'm stupid for thinking that it was a good idea to come out tonight."

She turned and made her way towards the exit of the particular display room they were in when she noticed Lucius and a few board members were trying to get her attention. It wasn't until she felt someone gently take her arm that she stopped.

Emily was angry and hurt and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to see it on her face.

"Ignore him."

She turned to the voice and saw the gentle face of Mr. Fredericks from the board.

"They've been waiting for the day when there wasn't a Wayne on the board to control it and although you're not officially Mr. Wayne's wife, they still see you as a representative of his. They're trying to scare you away from challenging the board."

Emily shook her head and let out a chuckle.

"By insulting me? That's just simply below the belt."

Fredericks winced and nodded.

"The original idea was to persuade you and Mr. Fox to support the notion to declare Bruce as dead," Fredericks told them. He glanced back to the half intoxicated board member. "Except some of them aren't capable of holding their liquor or their tongue as easily."

He turned back to Emily.

"I was there years ago when they reluctantly declared Bruce as dead only to have him return," Fredericks said. "I don't want to make a mistake like that again unless it is something that you believe we should do. I'd rather not force you into something of this nature."

Emily smiled weakly.

"It's hard to declare someone as dead when you haven't seen them."

Fredericks nodded. "Of course. But I should inform you that the board may go ahead with declaring Bruce as dead to liquidate his shares once again." He paused, looking down at Emily's stomach and lowered his voice. "I can arrange it with Mr. Pennyworth as his benefactor so that Bruce's child would inherit the majority shares once he or she turns of age. That way, the company would always be in the hands of a Wayne."

Emily turned to Lucius who had a smile on his face and simply nodded.

"What do I have to do?"

Fredericks smiled, and shook her hand. "I'll arrange with a lawyer to get things moving. It shouldn't be too much of a problem but it will certainly throw some members of the board for a loop."

Alfred hummed to himself as he tossed another piece of wood onto the fire. It cracked and sizzled for a moment. He grabbed the poker and pushed it in further, moving the kindling around with it as it suddenly burned brighter.

He turned back to the couch and saw the black and white cat curled up on a blanket.

Alfred never thought of himself as an animal lover, but Freddie's presence in the manor had been a welcomed one. The cat would go for days without being seen except for when there was food involved. Alfred would run into him as he went about his day in Wayne Manor. He'd bend over and stroke the cat before it would run off. It wasn't until he found dead mice turning up on the kitchen floor by the back door that he appreciated Freddie. Alfred was aware that Wayne Manor had the odd mouse roaming the rooms, but now having a cat within the home would soon eliminate the problem.

Alfred sat down on the couch and picked up the book beside him with one hand and ran his hand over Freddie's head and ears with the other. He smiled as he heard the cat begin to purr beside him.

Alfred was so captivated by what he was reading that a buzzing sound coming from the kitchen startled him. It was the intercom from the front gate.

He pushed himself up and made his way to the kitchen, slightly concerned why Emily would be pressing the intercom from the front gate to allow herself back onto the grounds when she already knew the code.

Whomever was pressing the intercom pressed it over and over, almost to the point where it became aggravating. If it were a couple of teenagers pulling a prank, they had to be super gutsy to do it on a raining night.

"I'm coming," Alfred mumbled under his breath as he reached the intercom and pressed the talk button.

"Wayne Manor," he drawled. "Who is there?"

The voice that he never thought he'd hear again, flooded into the kitchen. Without hesitation, Alfred pressed a control which opened the gate before rushing towards the front door. He reached for the umbrella and quickly put on his rubber boots. Alfred barely had his coat over his shoulders when he pushed the front door open and ran out into the rain.

He saw the silhouette of two men walking towards him up the lane-way. Alfred barely recognized Bruce when the light of Wayne manor reflected off his face. A beard had grown over his cheeks and face and his hair was longer. Alfred quickly opened the umbrella, holding it over them.

"It's good to have you home, sir," Alfred said with a smile.

A familiar smile appeared within the beard as Bruce took a step forward and surprised even Alfred when he put his arms around him.

"It's good to be home."

Alfred had taken the increased security seriously when it came to ensuring that the front gate was always closed. When Emily drove onto the property to find that it was already open, she was concerned.

She glanced at the front door, and the lights that were on within Wayne Manor and noticed that nothing else looked out of the ordinary. Emily stopped the car by the garage and dodged the raindrops as she quickly made her way to the side kitchen door and quickly unlocked it. She anticipated turning off the alarm, but found that it too, was turned off.

The kitchen was empty and the house appeared to be silent. Slowly and cautiously, she walked down the hallway. Emily tried her best to keep her shoes from making too much sound on the marble floors. As she made her way towards the foyer, she suddenly gasped as Freddie came running in front of her, nearly causing her to trip.

"Freddie!" she exclaimed. "What has gotten into you?"

The cat paused, hearing his name being called and slowly turned to follow Emily.

She walked towards the front entrance and took off her wet coat and then finally sat down beside her clutch to take off her shoes. Freddie had taken this opportunity to slink around her legs, purring for some affection. Emily stroked his back as she took off her heels and sighed.

"What a night, huh Freddie? Where's Alfred at?"

The cat simply purred in response, wrapping his tail around her leg as he walked between them. She watched as Freddie suddenly perked his ears up before running towards the stairs, leaving Emily sitting by the door alone. His behaviour concerned her as she heard faint footsteps coming from behind her. The stride between the steps sounded different than Alfred's. Feeling her heart begin to beat wildly, she casually reached for her clutch and pulled out a switch blade that she had stuffed into it prior to heading into the city. She carefully flipped it open before awkwardly reaching to the floor to pick up her shoes. With a sigh, she finally stood up when her senses realized that those footsteps had stopped. Her body tensed as she quickly turned, the knife in hand.

The man quickly leaned back, out of the range of the knife and grabbed her wrist. Emily was ready to fight back, but the eyes that looked back at caused her to gasp. The knife simply fell to the floor as well as her shoes from the other hand.

"Bruce?"