Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews and messages! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took me a while to pump out - lots of interruptions and lack of spare time. I hope that the next few chapters wont take as long as this.

Emily couldn't breath. It was as though she had forgotten how to. A man, with the same eyes, same voice and now, same smile as Bruce, stood a mere few feet in front of her. Every rational thought in her mind told her that this couldn't be him. Emily was almost certain that she was dreaming. She couldn't take her eyes off of him and she appeared to be frozen as she stood transfixed on him.

Bruce smiled at her as he ran a calloused hand through his dirty hair, somewhat worried that she hadn't said anything beyond his name. Bruce took a step towards her, eager to wrap his arms around her as he had dreamed for weeks but was concerned when Emily suddenly took a step back away from him. She silently shook her head as she put a hand to her chest.

"Do you need to sit down?" he asked, concerned that she may faint. He quickly glanced down at her pregnant stomach, all the more reason for him to be concerned. He decided to not give her the option to say no. "Emily, you should sit down."

He reached out a hand towards Emily. She simply stared at it. This was real.

Every possible emotion coursed through Emily at high speed; relief, anger, confusion, happiness, shock - but they never stayed too long before it was replaced with another emotion.

Bruce took another tentative step towards her, knowing full well that she would most likely refuse his assistance.

"Emily..."

His words were cut off with a firm crack against his cheek as she slapped him. The sound echoed off the walls around them. The action shocked Bruce as much as it surprised Emily. Tears filled her eyes as she took a step forward and placed her hands on his bearded face.

She said nothing, but looked into his eyes as he slowly put his arms around her.

Within an instant, her arms wrapped around his neck and she held him tightly. Emily ignored the raw stench that seemed to come from Bruce. She didn't care. He could have been covered in pig manure and she still wouldn't let him go.

Bruce revelled in her touch that he had missed so much. He turned his head, inhaling the fresh scent of her hair before sighing.

"I love you so much," she suddenly said softly into his ear before she sniffed, evidence that she was crying on his shoulder.

Bruce smirked and hugged her closer to him. "I love you too. I missed you."

Emily loosened her grip on Bruce and turned to look at him. She smiled, tears on her cheeks.

Without exchanging anymore words, Bruce reached forward and brushed the tears off of her face before leaning towards her, pressing his lips to hers. Despite the roughness of the stubble brushing her face, Emily melted in his arms. She reached up and ran her hands through his hair.

Bruce revelled in the softness of Emily's lips and the passion of her kiss. It was so familiar to him and the same dream that haunted him for weeks was now a reality.

Emily broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his, not wanting to let go of him.

"Where were you?"

She heard him sigh.

"That, is a long story," he said. "But believe me, I came home as quickly as I could."

Bruce glanced down at her pregnant stomach between them and smiled. He gently placed his right hand on her stomach, feeling the hard mass beneath her skin.

"And everything," he began, gesturing to the unborn baby, "is all right?"

Emily nodded

"Everything is fine," she told him with a smile. "I have about eight weeks left."

Bruce sighed, and shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry for not coming home to you both sooner."

"Better late than never," Emily added, as Bruce looked back at her.

The sound of someone clearing their throat echoed from behind them. Emily turned to see Alfred standing near the entrance to the room, a smile on his face to see the exchange in front of him. Neither Bruce or Emily knew how long Alfred had been watching but it was obvious on his face that it had been for a short time.

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir," Alfred said, looking from Bruce to Emily. "But I'm in need of Emily's medical expertise in treating Dr. Dravis."

"Bill?" Emily turned to Bruce, somewhat curious and feeling that anger rise up within her again. "Bill's here?"

"I brought him home," Bruce explained, which elicited a scoff from Emily.

"The man tried to kill me and was willing to take your child as his own!"

"He saved my life and has helped me out quite a bit over the weeks," Bruce countered. "The least that I could do was help him out."

Bruce could see that familiar darkness in Emily's eyes as she sighed.

"Bill is sick. He's in the den. I need you to take a look at him."

Emily had helped countless people in her life but none of them after they held a gun to her head with plans on killing her. Bruce watched silently, with his arms crossed as Emily listened to Bill's lungs with her stethoscope. The only sound that could be heard was the soft crackling of the kindling in the large fireplace, warming the room. She perched herself on the edge of the couch beside Bill's sleeping form and gently moved the chest piece to various areas of his chest. The man had fallen asleep in the midst of his exhaustion and high fever.

Emily was thankful that the man was asleep as it would have made the entire situation all the more uncomfortable.

"How long has he been like this?"

"A couple of days," Bruce replied. "It's only gotten worse in the past day or so."

"It sounds like he has bad pneumonia in both lungs," she stated. "He's probably a little dehydrated as well. He needs to be admitted to a hospital where he can get proper treatment."

Bruce shook his head.

"He can't go to a hospital," Bruce told her.

"Bruce, I don't have any antibiotics here to help him. If you really want to owe him as you say you do, then the best option would be to send him to Dent Memorial."

"He wouldn't come out alive if I send him there," Bruce argued. "I imagine that there are many people in the city who would be wanting to kill him for what happened on that boat. I'm not going to give him a death sentence."

Emily sighed, putting her stethoscope back into her small bag before she pushed herself up to stand.

"Fine" she said defiantly. "I'll make a trip to the pharmacy that I usually deal with and have them make up a prescription under another name."

"I appreciate this, Emily," he said softly and sincerely. "Thank you."

His simple words seemed to extinguish the hostility that had built up within her while she had been examining Bill. He knew her too well.

Her expression softened.

"You owe me one."

Bruce smiled as Alfred appeared at the door, gaining Bruce's attention.

"Sir, the guest room is prepared for Dr. Dravis," he said, as Bruce managed to get a drowsy Bill to his feet and helped him out of the room and towards the steps.

Alfred was about to follow Bruce when he noticed Emily picking up her coat and proceeded to put it on.

"My dear, where are you off to?"

"I'm just going to do a quick run into town to pick up a prescription for Dr. Dravis," she said, pulling her arms through the sleeves.

Alfred shook his head.

"Tell me where, and I'll get them for you."

He could see Emily begin to protest the suggestion but he quickly cut her off.

"Go spend some time with Master Bruce," he told her. "He's probably been missing you as much as you have missed him."

After calling in the prescription for Alfred to pick up, and checking in on Bill, Emily walked into the master bedroom. It was obvious that Bruce was in the shower. He had left the door open and the bedroom was getting stuffy from the warm air.

Emily was tired. She was ready to change out of the dress and into her pajamas. She soon found her t-shirt and flannel pj bottoms before making her way into the bathroom just as the water turned off.

"I hope you're smelling better," she joked as she walked past the shower and grabbed her toothbrush.

She heard Bruce chuckle.

"Are you saying that I stunk?"

"Lets just say that you didn't smell like a 'fresh out of the Kevlar and been behind the cowl all night' kind of smell," she stated with a smile. "It was worse, much worse."

She turned on the faucet and began to brush her teeth.

"But I still love you," she mumbled with the toothbrush in her mouth. "Even if you smell like some unearthly stench."

Bruce opened the glass door of the shower and reached for the towel hanging just outside the door before stepping out and wrapping it around himself.

Emily was aware that he had stepped out of the shower but due to the mirror being fogged up, she didn't notice Bruce come up behind her. She continued to brush her teeth until she suddenly felt a cool wetness on her back. She gasped as Bruce wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Oh my God! Bruce!" Emily exclaimed, toothpaste running out of her mouth as she dropped her toothbrush onto the floor. "You're wet and cold!"

"Yes, but do I smell better?"

He said the words right into her ear, tickling them as he spoke.

Emily could hear him laughing from behind her as he let her go. She spit the remnants of toothpaste into the sink before she bent over and picked up her toothbrush.

"Ugh," she said as she turned, seeing him walk back into the bedroom.

She followed after him, feeling the wet t-shirt sticking to her back.

"That was just mean," she told him as she passed by him, while he searched through his dresser. She noticed that he had already shaved but his hair still fell low over his face.

"And your quip about me smelling horribly wasn't mean?"

"It was the truth," she replied as she pulled her now wet t-shirt over her head.

She reached for a tank top from the drawer when she noticed Bruce's eyes on her. Feeling somewhat self-conscious, she quickly pulled the tank top over her head before glancing back at him, realizing that he had already averted his gaze to pull out clothing.

Emily made her way towards the bed and pulled back the blankets before climbing beneath them. She turned to Bruce just as he dropped the towel to the floor and proceeded to get dressed. She felt her heart jump. It had been far too long and Emily was keenly aware of how the pregnancy hormones were affecting her libido. She curled her toes as he bent over to pick up the wet towel off the floor and headed back to the bathroom to hang it.

"I was considering going down to the cave," he began as he made his way to the bed and proceeded to climb in beside Emily. "But I'd be no good as Batman if I don't catch up on my rest."

Bruce laid down and stretched out, feeling the softness of the Egyptian cotton sheets on his skin. He turned to Emily who had now made her way up beside him, an unusual hunger in her eyes that he hadn't seen in a while. He smiled, recognizing it.

Emily put her head down on his shoulder and ran her hand over his bare chest.

"I can't wait to see the faces of those board members when they see that you're back," she said, eyeing his flesh beneath her fingers. "Then all those rumours about whether the baby is yours will stop and we wont even have to deal with the issue of declaring you dead."

Emily leaned forward and placed feather-light kisses on his neck. Bruce closed his eyes momentarily, enjoying the sensation that Emily sent through his body when his mind betrayed him and brought him back to her last comment. His eyes opened.

"The board was going to declare me dead?"

Emily simply nodded, as she continued to kiss his neck and gave a soft 'mm hmm' by his ear. After a few seconds, she stopped and looked at Bruce.

"What's wrong?"

"You have to go ahead and declare me dead."

Emily sat up and turned to Bruce. "What?! Why?!"

"The Joker was targeting me," Bruce said, looking up at her. "Chances are, if he discovers that I'm here and alive, he'll target me again."

Bruce watched as Emily turned away from him shaking her head, knowing full well that it wasn't something she was keen on doing.

"I don't want him to come after you or Alfred. If the world thinks that I'm dead, then I can go after him as Batman without worrying about your safety," he added.

Emily sighed and shook her head.

"I don't like the idea of pretending that you're dead," she said softly. "I lived out that life for months and it was a living hell."

"But the difference is that, I'm not dead."

"So what are you going to do? Hang out in Wayne Manor all day long?"

Bruce nodded.

"If I have to, until Joker is in jail."

Emily scoffed. "And what if that never happens?"

Bruce reached forward and ran his hand over Emily's back.

"It'll happen. It'll have to happen."

Emily laid back down and turned on her side, facing Bruce. She watched his face in the darkness as he stared up at the ceiling, obviously in deep thought. She reached forward and ran her hand over his chest again, stopping over his heart.

"You know, I will support any decision you want to make on this," she said softly. Bruce picked up her hand from his chest and brought it to his lips, kissing it.

"Even if you don't like it?"

"You know that I don't."

Bruce smiled and rolled over to face Emily. He pulled his body closer to her and reached with his free hand for her face before meeting her lips with his.

Bill slowly opened his eyes allowing them to adjust to the light. He turned and saw the side table with a glass of water waiting for him. He pushed himself up to sit before reaching for it. Memories of the past few days came back to him as he drank. He remembered Bruce partially dragging him through the bush. He remembered a gentleman with a thick, English accent and noticed in his stupor that he referred to Bruce as Sir. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why, but now he did.

"You're up."

Bill turned to the partially opened door and saw Bruce standing there. He pushed the door open and walked towards the bed.

"How do you feel?"

"Better," Bill replied. "Thank you."

Bruce watched as Bill glanced at the medication on the table beside him.

"You have pneumonia," Bruce told him. "You're on an antibiotic for it. Your fever broke this morning. If you're hungry, I can have something made for you."

"Why are you doing this?" Bill suddenly asked. "If it's because I know, about you and Batman, I can assure you that I wont tell anyone."

Bruce shook his head.

"It's not that," he told him. "This has nothing to do with Batman. You saved my life and in turn you changed the lives of not only Emily, but also my child who because of you, will have a Father. I know what it would be like to grow up without a parent and I owe you a lot more than what I would ever be I'm able to offer."

Bill sat, stunned. He was about to speak when there was a knock at the door. Both men turned towards it and saw Emily standing there. She didn't even regard Bill but simply looked to Bruce.

"Mr. Fox is here," she told him. "He got the message this morning. He's waiting for you in the study and is eager to see you now that you're alive."

To Bruce's surprise, she then turned to Bill. "There is some food prepared downstairs in the kitchen, if you're up to it."

Bill looked just as shocked, and glanced from Bruce to Emily before nodding.

"Great!" Bruce said. "If you'll excuse me. Emily, could you show Bill the way to the kitchen?"

Bruce could see through the smile that she gave him and saw the deathly glare behind it.

"Sure," she said. "I'm heading that way anyways."

Emily backed up as Bruce slid past her and out the door. She waited as Bill stood up. She noticed that Bill was wearing Bruce's clothing. Both the shirt and pants she recognized.

She watched as Bill stood up.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded. "I think I just need to eat."

Bill followed her out of the room and down the hallway towards the staircase. Silence followed them as Bill tried to think of the best way to phrase his words.

"You're looking good," he told her, wincing a bit at his choice of words. "Your pregnancy, I mean."

Emily smiled. "Thank you."

"How many more weeks?"

"About eight or so."

Bill nodded as they reached the stairs. He paused at the top. Emily took three steps before she realized that Bill was no longer next to her. She stopped and looked back up at him.

"Emily, I'm so sorry," he said, the conviction and sincerity evident in his voice. "For everything that happened on the boat, for how I had been acting for months; it wasn't me. I had a few days of detox after the accident and at that moment, it was the worst feeling of my life. After I came out of it, and I had a chance to get to know Bruce, I felt more and more horrible for what I did to you, or what I could have done to you."

Bill paused, looking at the grandeur of Wayne Manor around them and the large chandelier that hung over the large staircase where they stood.

"It became so much more evident to me when I was alone with Bruce for all those weeks, that you really are perfect for him," he said.

Emily walked back up those three steps to Bill.

"I appreciate the apology," she began, her voice soft. "But this is something that is not so easy to forget. You just can't forget a gun being aimed at you by someone that you trusted. The only reason that you're here and are being treated with medication for your pneumonia that I prescribed for you, is because Bruce vouched for you."

She turned and headed back down the steps, with Bill following behind.

A month later...

Welcome to GCN Nightly News. This is News at Eleven. These are the stories that we are following tonight - The new interim Mayor of Gotham, Mr. Gilmore is looking to solidify his position as he's decided to run for Mayor in the next election. Security downtown is still at a high level following the explosion at the east side metro rail. But first, our breaking news: another Batman sighting. This would be the third time this month that the caped crusader has been spotted. After weeks of speculation as to whether he was alive, it can be confirmed that the Batman has returned. Eyewitness accounts from the explosion earlier tonight reveal that the Caped Crusader was seen attempting to disarm some of the arsonists. Once again, Commissioner Gordon has been tight-lipped regarding whether or not his Major Crimes Unit is working with Batman and their plans to finally take down Joker off our streets.

Emily rolled over and opened her eyes. She groaned, realizing that the reason why she woke was because she had to go to the bathroom, again. She walked through the darkness to the bathroom and closed the door behind her before turning on the light.

When she was on her way back to bed, she paused when she noticed that Bruce's side of the bed was empty. In fact, it didn't even look like he had even been there.

She glanced at the clock and noted the time - 3:06am.

Somewhat concerned as to why Bruce was so late in coming home, she made her way through the quiet house and to the piano. Emily gently pressed the awkward three chord pattern and paused as the passage opened against the wall. Carefully, she slipped through the doorway and she soon found herself walking on the cool, cave floor. Her breath was visible and she immediately wished she had grabbed a sweater before making her way down to the cave.

Emily was about to speak, when she suddenly heard male voices coming from ahead. The roar of the waterfall muffled their words, but she could distinctly hear three different voices.

It wasn't until she came around a rocky corner that she saw Bruce, with his bare back towards Bill as the doctor proceeded to stitch up a rather nasty looking gash along Bruce's shoulder. It was Alfred, holding an ice pack to Bruce's other shoulder who saw her first.

"Miss Emily," he said. "You shouldn't be down here."

"Alfred, I'm fine," she stated, firmly, as she walked towards them. "What's going on? What the hell happened?"

The tone in her voice not only caused Bruce to wince. Bill didn't want to answer. He had seen her wrath when she was upset and he didn't want to face the brunt of it. Finally, Bruce answered.

"It was just an explosion that I got caught in," he told her. "I have a first degree burn on one shoulder.

"What? Why didn't anyone wake me?"

It took a moment before anyone answered.

"It was my suggestion to Alfred that he should wake Bill rather than you," Bruce said, flatly.

She let that sink in as she looked over at the wound that Bill was stitching.

"Were you at least planning on telling me that you came home with a laceration and a burn?"

Bruce paused, a little longer than he should have.

"I would."

Emily scoffed. "So what would have to happen to you before you'd wake me? Do you need to lose a limb?"

"You see, this is why I didn't want to wake you," Bruce said, becoming annoyed. "You've become overly emotional to situations like this where the injuries are minor."

Alfred winced inwardly at Bruce's comment.

"Emotional?!" Emily asked.

"Not good," Bill whispered under his breath.

"You think that I've been emotional?"

"I didn't say emotional," Bruce replied.

"You said emotional. Alfred, he said I was emotional, right?"

Alfred held up his hands in surrender, and said nothing.

"Well, maybe I am emotional," she stated. "But if I came home at night covered in bruises and stitches, you'd be emotional too!"

Without saying another word, or allowing Bruce to say anything more, she made her way back to the lift. When she finally stood within the lift, she paused as she felt a tightness spread across her stomach. It caught her off guard and she put her hand to her stomach, breathing lightly as it passed.

Damn Braxton-Hicks, she cursed mentally.

Behind her, Bruce had quickly made his way to the lift in order to catch up with her. He noticed her pause.

"Em? Are you all right?"

She turned to him as the sensation subsided and smiled weakly. "I'm fine. Certainly not emotional."

Bruce sighed.

"Emily, you know that I didn't mean anything by it," he said. "I don't want to cause you extra stress by having to deal with me at night when I know that you're exhausted during the day."

Her eyes travelled to the bruises on his chest and the partially sutured laceration on his shoulder. She reached up and kissed him on the lips. She sighed as she broke the kiss.

"Don't stay up too late. You know that I don't sleep well when you're not next to me."

A smile pulled at Bruce's lips as the lift began to travel back up to Wayne Manor.

The next morning...

Bruce leaned on the counter.

"So, you know what you're going to say to the board?"

Emily rolled her eyes and nodded. She sat at on a barstool across from him as Bill placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. He had been making parts of the meals lately and it was a welcome assistance to Alfred.

Emily took a quick gulp of her orange juice before speaking.

"Bruce, we've been over this for a good week now. I've got this memorized backwards."

Emily glanced over at the man attending to the stove.

"Bill, tell him."

As though on command, Bill nudged Bruce.

"She's got it memorized, Bruce."

A smile came to Bruce's face. He watched as Alfred came into the room, dressed with a warm coat and car keys in hand, gesturing that the Rolls was ready to go. But Bruce decided he wasn't done quizzing her. That morning meeting with the board was so important that he wouldn't stop asking her questions until she was buckled into the car.

"Do you have the paperwork that Mr. Fox had prepared?"

Emily paused mid-bite and cursed with her mouth full before she awkwardly pushed herself up from the table and left the room.

With a smile, Alfred turned to Bruce.

"It'll all work out, Sir," he said. "Mr. Fox arranged it with the best lawyer that Wayne Enterprises has ever used so the transfer of your shares to the child's trust fund shouldn't be an issue and putting Miss Tucker on the board should be a breeze. I'm certain it'll throw more than a few board members for a loop."

Emily walked back in, slightly out of breath with paperwork in hand.

"Double check it to make sure everything is signed and dated," she told him, rubbing her back as she placed the documents on the counter in front of Bruce.

He quickly scanned them and then glanced up at her, noticing that she appeared uncomfortable.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Just this damn skirt and blouse are causing my stomach to itch like crazy and my back is killing me."

Bruce smirked, glancing back down at the documents.

"My will has been updated with a date prior to my alleged disappearance so this should work out smoothly," he told her, as he assembled the papers into a neat stack before placing them into a manilla envelope.

Emily smiled, letting out a tired sigh.

"It'll work out," Bruce assured her, before gently resting his hand on her stomach. "By the end of the day, I'll be declared dead and this little peanut will be the richest fetus in the world."

Emily chuckled before she gasped.

All three men turned to her, with concern evident on their faces. She couldn't so much as hiccup anymore without someone in the house acting like she was about to catch on fire.

"I'm fine! I think the kiddo just heard you and agrees."

"If you're not up to it today, the board meets weekly, so we can arrange for this next week," Bruce said, as Emily shook her head.

"I just want to get this done and over with," she admitted. "I'm not looking forward to going toe to toe with the board."

"You wont be alone," Bruce reminded her. "Mr. Fox will be in your corner and I'll be thinking of you today. Bill and I are going to be sparing."

Bruce leaned in and kissed her.

"Don't hurt him. He makes some pretty good bacon and eggs," she told him before walking out of the kitchen.

Emily sat at the long table near the furthest end. At the far end, Mr. Fox stood as he addressed the board, bringing the subject of declaring Bruce dead and the legal transfer of his shares to the baby's trust fund. More than a few pairs of eyes glanced in her direction as she sat in the chair.

Emily shifted in her chair a multiple times in an effort to get comfortable. It had gotten to the point where she had difficulty in paying attention to Lucius as he spoke. Her back was aching and it would ease up for a short time before bugging her once again.

The papers in front of her became forgotten when it dawned on her that they were beginning to come at regular intervals.

A sudden loud bang caught her attention as the door blew open with a puff of dust around it. Pops filled the room as board members screamed.

Emily quickly fell from her seat and ducked beneath the table, still confused as to what was going on. Finally, the gun shots ceased and the soft sounds of people sobbing could be heard.

Heavy footsteps came by and with the threat of being shot, she came out from beneath the table. Around the room, the other board members were being herded towards the far side of the room. Emily felt herself being pushed from behind and Lucius graciously caught her as she fell forward.

"Members of the board, I have a question," Joker said as he stepped into the room. "Who wants to die first?"