Because of all of those nice reviews and private messages, I worked extra hard to bring you this longer chapter. I appreciate the suggestions and comments. Warning - a little sexuality within this chapter.
Five Weeks Later
It was nearly dark when Leslie walked up the front stone stairs up to the stately door of Wayne Manor. This was a visit that she had been anticipating all week. She had visited the day that the baby was born but was eager to see her again. Leslie was shocked to hear that Bruce had delivered his own child and was also impressed. What surprised her most was that they hadn't even chosen a name yet when she had first visited. Leslie had watched with amusement as Emily and Bruce suggested names, except either one or the other would find a reason to dislike it. She had never seen parents discuss and analyze a child's name more than those two.
"I'm sorry that I'm late," she said, when she saw Alfred open the door. "I hope I didn't ruin our dinner."
The older man smiled.
"Never too late, my dear," he told her with a smile, as she walked into the home.
Alfred closed the door and assisted her with taking off her winter coat.
"How are they doing?" she asked, as Alfred waited while Leslie took off her boots. "Please tell me that they've come up with a name."
Alfred chuckled and nodded.
"Everyone is doing well," he replied. "Some of us are getting more sleep than others, but that is to be expected."
Leslie smiled and was about to speak but paused when she heard a soft cry echo from the top of the staircase. To her delight, she spotted Bruce coming down the stairs with a baby in a sleeper laying across one arm and an elaborate infants chair in the other.
"Multitasking, huh Bruce? Fatherhood suits you."
Bruce looked up to see Leslie at the front door and smiled.
"Thank you, Leslie. I hope you and Alfred have a lovely dinner tonight," he said before the older woman turned her attention to the baby in his arms who was complaining loudly.
"We will. And what is wrong with the little peanut?"
He put the chair on the floor before he turned the baby upright, causing her to become a little more content.
"Clara is having a feud with the bottle. She's refusing to take it," he replied. "Emily should have been home over an hour ago but I think she's been held up at a board meeting that went longer than expected."
"Oh, poor baby," she gushed, looking at the baby in Bruce's arms who proceeded to pull up her bottom lip and cry. Leslie looked back up at Bruce. "Clara, is it?"
He nodded. "It was the one name that Emily and I both agreed upon."
"Clara Wayne," Leslie said softly, looking at the crying baby. "That's a lovely name for a little princess. I'm glad that I haven't seen her in newspapers or her name being mentioned anywhere."
Bruce smiled lightly rocking Clara in his arms, hoping to soothe her a little.
"Alfred did a wonderful job handling the announcement of her birth to nosey newspaper organizations and bothersome media outlets with plenty of discretion," he said, elbowing Alfred slightly.
"I'm not surprised. I wouldn't doubt that Alfred would be the pinnacle of discretion."
"The last thing that I would want for the child is to be thrust into the media spotlight before she's even capable of saying her first word," Alfred stated. "She deserves to have a childhood without having someone, either than Master Bruce and Emily of course, to be watching her every move."
"I believe that you're quite taken by Clara," Leslie concluded.
"Who wouldn't be?" Alfred said with a smile and a shrug.
Bill suddenly came walking up towards them, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He greeted Leslie before turning to Bruce.
"Are you still up for a round in the gym?"
"Of course," Bruce replied. "I was hoping that Emily would be back by now, so I'm going to be bringing Clara with us and have her sit in her chair by the mats."
Bill grimaced sympathetically as he looked at Clara's upset face.
"Are you sure? We can do it another time or wait for Emily to return."
Bruce shook his head just as Leslie spoke up.
"I can hold onto the little peanut while you men do what you have to do in the gym," she said, reaching forward to take Clara from Bruce's arms. The baby continued to wail and at that point only wanted Emily to nurse her.
Bruce didn't feel comfortable leaving Clara with Leslie for the only reason that the baby wouldn't stop crying. He wouldn't want to leave Clara with Alfred at that point. There was nothing pleasant about holding a crying, hungry baby. Knowing that she and Alfred had plans for a quiet evening together made it all the more worse.
"Leslie, I can't let you..."
"You can," she interjected. "Besides, that gym is not a place for a baby. The grunting and fighting you men will be doing will only make her more upset." Leslie looked to Alfred for a moment who simply smiled at the baby in her arms. "We can look after her until Emily comes home."
Bruce was somewhat hesitant but with the insisting from Alfred, he walked away with Bill. He could hear Clara continue to cry as he walked further and further from where Leslie and Alfred were. He only hoped that he would be able to concentrate enough, knowing that his daughter was frantically upset.
"Maybe I'll be able to get a point on you tonight," Bill said, knowing that Bruce would be distracted with Clara's cries.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it," Emily cursed as she sped through Gotham in Bruce's Lamborghini. She pushed the pair of helium balloons away from her and prayed that she wouldn't be pulled over by Gotham's finest.
The clock within the Lamborghini screamed at her that she was nearly two hours late. She only hoped that Clara wouldn't be too upset. Emily reached for the console and pressed the in-car speaker to phone Wayne Manor.
It rang once, twice, three times before she heard Alfred's voice come over the speaker in the car. She could distinctly hear the sound of a baby crying in the background. Emily jumped right to the point.
"I'm on my way home," she simply told him. "How is she?"
Alfred looked over his shoulder to where Leslie was simply pacing back and forth in front of a warm fireplace with Clara resting her head on the older woman's shoulder. He smiled, watching as Clara would snuggle against Leslie's neck.
"Hungry," he replied.
"She wouldn't take the bottle?"
"Master Bruce tried numerous times."
Emily sighed audibly. The feeling of possibly failing her daughter was overwhelming.
"I'm so sorry," she apologized, regret evident in her tone.
"No need to apologize," Alfred said pleasantly. "These things happen. Clara will never remember this instance in her life where her Mother was late and she was extremely hungry."
"That's one good thing," Emily said, as she turned a corner and made her way onto the freeway to take her out of the city towards the palisades. "I'll feed her the moment I get in. She'll probably fall asleep on me. Can you pull out pyjamas for her?"
"Certainly," Alfred replied. "I'll have her dressed and ready for you."
"Thank you, Alfred."
"My pleasure madam."
Emily pressed the button on the console to hang up before looking back out at the road in front of her. It then hit her.
"Madam? When did I become a 'madam'?"
Emily was certain that she sent a wave of stones across the drive when she skidded to a stop. She winced inwardly, praying that there wouldn't be any noticeable damage to one of Bruce's favourite cars.
Quickly grabbing her purse and ignoring the pile of gifts in the passenger seat, she walked in through the side door and kicked off her shoes. Emily listened and was surprised when she didn't hear anything at all.
She walked past the kitchen, and found it empty and dark. It wasn't until she approached the gym that she heard voices and the low bass beat of music playing. Emily pushed open the door and found Bruce flat on his back on a layer of mats with Bill pinning him down. Emily looked around, hoping to see Clara somewhere.
Bruce noticed her at the door and Bill stood up, letting Bruce up when he noticed her there.
"Where's Clara?"
"Leslie and Alfred have her," Bruce replied, as Emily quickly turned and left the room. Bruce stood up and rushed towards the door and followed her out into the hallway.
"Em, how did the meeting go?"
"Fine," she quickly replied, as she continued to search through Wayne Manor for Clara.
"Did they mention anything about Wayne Tower?"
She nodded. "A little."
"Well...what did they say?"
"Not too much. Repairs are going as planned and structurally, the building is sound. It's being gutted in a few areas and Lucius is ensuring that workmen are keeping clear of R&D. Aren't you going to ask me how the grand opening went?"
A smile pulled a Bruce's lips. It was something that he knew she had been looking forward to for weeks.
"Of course," he said smoothly. "How did the grand opening of the clinic go?"
"It was horrible."
Her response caught him by surprise. The smile instantly faded from his face.
"What? Why?"
She paused and turned to him. "Your board of directors and my clinic staff gave me a damned surprise baby shower and the Lamborghini is crammed full of stuff."
Bruce winced, not realizing that was the reason why she was late. She had been afraid that it would happen and even voiced her concern over a possible surprise baby shower before she left. She disliked being put on the spot and this was certainly something worthy of her anxiety. Bruce had assured her that it was only a meeting and the board was always strictly business, but apparently, he was wrong.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fredericks planned it and were so supportive with your absence and possible demise and even reminisced about how they had a similar party for your Mom and Dad when you were born," she said, with a sigh. "How could I suddenly leave knowing that they were doing something so genuine and thoughtful without offending them?"
Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.
"You got me there."
Emily sighed and began to walk down the hallway and paused when she walked past the den.
It was Leslie sitting in a chair by the fireplace that she saw first. The woman put a finger to her lips and then pointed towards the rocking chair across the room.. Emily and Bruce looked in and saw Alfred leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed and Clara laying on her stomach on top of his chest. Every so often, Clara would give out a light moan indicating she wasn't exactly sound asleep.
Leslie stood up from the couch where she sat and walked over to the doorway.
"She suddenly fell asleep about ten minutes ago," she whispered, turning to look over at Alfred and Clara. "The poor thing was exhausted from crying so much. Alfred managed to calm her down with just speaking softly to her and she fell asleep."
Alfred heard Leslie's voice and glanced over at the door and smiled.
"It looks like Alfred has that special touch," Bruce said as Emily walked into the room towards the older man.
She gently placed her hand on Clara's back, lightly startling her to the point where she simply opened her eyes. Emily leaned over and placed a kiss on Clara's cheek before whispering in her ear.
"Mommy's home," she said, as Clara's eyes opened once again.
Alfred gently lifted Clara off of his chest and turned her over, before handing her to Emily.
"Thank you Alfred. Leslie," Emily added softly as Clara began to whimper once again. "I hope Clara didn't ruin your evening."
Leslie shook her head as Alfred spoke.
"Oh, no my dear. When you get to be our age, you'll realize that a baby could never ruin an evening. I consider it a pleasure to spend some time with Miss Clara even if she was crying most of the time."
Emily smiled, looking down at Clara in her arms as the baby looked up at her mother intently.
"Well, let's see if I can take care of that," Emily said, as she walked out of the room and stopped when she met Bruce in the hallway.
"Would you and Bill mind emptying the car?"
"Not a problem. We need to take a break anyways," Bruce replied, as he turned to walk away. Instead, Emily caught him by the arm.
He paused and looked up at her as she walked up to him, gently trailing her hand across his stomach.
"Maybe later, you and I...?"
A smile pulled at Bruce's lips as he leaned down and kissed her mouth, sighing lightly at the touch and quickly realized how he longed to be intimate with her.
Clara began to wiggle more between them and he broke the kiss to look down at his daughter who happened to be anxiously staring up at Emily. Bruce smiled, bent over and kissed Clara on the forehead.
"Goodnight peanut," he said softly, before smiling up at Emily.
"Empty the car," she reminded him, when she noticed that Bruce was just staring at her as she walked away.
"Yes, ma'am," he chastised, smirking and glancing back at her once more before walking away.
He wasn't sure how many times he had replayed the video.
Bruce sat at his desk in the cave and stretched before starting up another surveillance recording from Wayne Tower just prior to Joker's arrival five weeks prior. He watched as a man walked in through the front door, carrying a backpack on his shoulder. As he was stopped by security, the man pulled out a gun and instantly shot the security guard before turning it towards the other guard. Bruce watched as people ran; most of them out onto the street, while others ducked and hid from view. Behind the Joker another ten or so men with masks followed him into the elevator.
He changed to a different recording and paused it, seeing Emily being led down the hallway with a clown behind her. The video was too grainy to make out her face, but just in the way she walked, he could tell that she was in pain.
He began searching random surveillance cameras, desperate to find the current location of Joker.
His attention suddenly turned to his cell phone when he saw that someone was calling him. He instantly smiled when he realized it was coming from upstairs. He answered it.
"I thought you were only going to be a few minutes," Emily said to him.
Bruce looked at his watch and groaned when he realized that it was shortly after midnight.
"Oh, Em, I'm so sorry," he said, as he quickly stood up, and headed towards the lift. "I'm on my way up now."
"You'd better hurry," she sang, huskily. "I've considered getting dressed in something else because I'm getting cold."
Bruce couldn't help but smile as an image came to his mind.
"Don't," he warned her. "I'm coming."
He heard her chuckle.
"Do me a quick favour," she said. "Peek in on Clara before coming to bed. I thought I heard her crying a few minutes ago."
"Sure thing."
The lift reached the top and Bruce quickly emerged from behind the shelving unit. The Manor was dark with everyone in bed. The moonlit night brought in enough light that he could easily see where he was going.
Bruce climbed the stairs and headed to Clara's room across from his own. He gently opened the door. He slowly moved towards the crib and noticed the baby sleeping soundly within it. Bruce could hear a light whistling sound coming from Clara's nose as she slept. Not wanting to disturb her, he snuck out of the room and carefully closed the door.
When he opened his bedroom door, he instantly noticed the light was on beside the bed. He fully expected to see Emily's smiling face, waiting for him but instead he was met with her back.
"Em?"
No response.
As he walked closer, he could see a red bra strap going across her back. He slipped off his shoes and knelt on the bed to peek over to where she was laying down.
He sighed, seeing the cell phone on the table beside the bed and her eyes closed.
She had fallen asleep in the time it took him to come up from the cave.
He sat back on the bed by his pillow and let out an aggravated sigh while he ran his hand through his hair.
"Serves you right to forget about me waiting for you."
Bruce looked back at Emily and watched as she turned over, no evidence of sleepiness on her face.
"You were faking?"
Emily smiled.
"That was mean," Bruce stated, as Emily simply shrugged.
Bruce's eyes fell upon the red lacy bra that she wore and Emily smirked, satisfied with herself to have that power over him. His eyes went down to the bed sheet that covered the lower half of her body.
"And you have the matching underwear, I assume."
Emily shook her head, a playful smirk on her face.
"I couldn't find them and I figured I wouldn't need them for too long anyways."
In less than a second after she spoke, Bruce's lips crashed onto hers as he attempted to pull his shirt over his head at the same time. Emily chuckled at his frustration when he finally tossed it across the room. She reached for his pant zipper, glad that he hadn't worn a belt that day.
Bruce leaned down and began to make a trail of kisses down her neck and towards her bra strap. He pushed it aside slightly. Emily couldn't help but shiver at the feeling that he elicited within her. Physical intimacy with Bruce had been few and scarce since Clara's birth. It had been too long and she craved him.
Before he knew it, Emily had skillfully pulled off his pants and Bruce soon joined her beneath the single sheet, and found her legs quickly entwining his own. He thought it odd that she was the one who was initiating everything, but he didn't mind it. Bruce enjoyed having Emily be the one in control. He was surprised when she pushed him onto his back and quickly climbed on top of him and straddled his waist. Bruce watched in amusement as Emily reached behind her back and undid her bra clasp. Always the tease, she didn't take it off right away.
Emily watched Bruce's eyes and saw them grow darker. She reached forward and took his wrists and pinned them down above his head, preventing him from removing her bra himself. But with her simple action, the bra slid off her shoulders and down her arms, exposing her breasts to him.
Breathing deeply, Bruce twisted his legs over her own and quickly flipped her over onto her back and landing him on top of her. The quick motion caused Emily to squeal and let out a laugh that Bruce quickly muffled with his mouth over her own. The passionate kiss turned rough as Bruce trailed those kisses down her neck and onto her chest. Emily reached forward and grabbed ahold of Bruce's head and pulled him towards her, landing her mouth on his once again. She ran her tongue across the inside of his lip and heard him moan at the sensation she was causing within him. Emily wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her.
She broke the kiss and ran her hands through his messy hair, taking a look at his face.
"I love you," she whispered, as a smile appeared on Bruce's face.
"I love you," he said, before leaning down and crashing his lips back onto hers once again.
The sound of whimpering followed soon after by a loud cry caused Emily to suddenly turn her head towards the baby monitor in the corner of the room on their dresser.
"Bruce, hold on," she said, pushing on his chest, causing him to pause and listen through his uneven breaths.
"What is it?"
"It's Clara," Emily replied.
Bruce quickly leaned back down and kissed Emily's neck.
"She'll calm down. Give her another minute," he said, breathlessly into her ear.
"Bruce, something could be wrong."
"She's fine. Give her a few minutes and she'll calm down," Bruce assured her, whispering the words huskily in her ear.
"I don't know..."
"There is no safer place in the world for her to be than across the hall from her Father."
Emily had to agree with him and she nodded, turning back to find Bruce's lips on her neck once again. She closed her eyes, relishing in his touch and the feeling of him within her. But she couldn't help but think of Clara as her cries echoed into their room. Emily's attention suddenly switched away from Bruce and he could tell that she was no longer in the mood. He paused and looked at Emily before rolling himself off of her and laying back on the bed.
"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.
"Go check on Clara."
She waited and looked at Bruce. She could see the hurt flash in his eyes but the cries that Clara was making tore at Emily's heart.
"I know that not knowing what's wrong with Clara is bothering you," he added.
She quickly stood up, grabbed her house coat and put it on before she headed towards the door.
"I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said softly, before opening the door and disappearing into the hallway.
Bruce leaned back on his pillow and pulled up the sheet with a sigh of frustration. He turned to the monitor, hearing Emily's soothing voice speaking to Clara before a rusting of blankets could be heard. Clara quieted and Bruce could soon hear the distinct sound of a rhythmic squeaking. He sighed, knowing that it meant that Emily was most likely nursing her in the rocking chair. He also knew that she wouldn't be back anytime soon, as Clara seemed to nurse longer at night.
He reached for his pajama pants from the floor and pulled them on before grabbing a shirt from the drawer. He knew that sleeping right now would be pointless. Instead, he left the room and headed back down to the cave.
The next morning, Bruce walked into the kitchen, fully expecting to find Emily waiting for him there. What he did see were just Alfred and Bill, speaking to eat other while eating at the table.
"Good morning sir," Alfred said, looking up towards the door. "Or perhaps I should say good afternoon. What time did you get in this morning?"
"I never left," Bruce replied, stoically. "I had some work to do in the cave."
"In the middle of the night?"
Bruce didn't answer and instead went over to the counter and grabbed an apple from the bowl. He took a bite and then suddenly looked around, noticing for the first time that Clara wasn't around.
"Where is Clara?"
"With Emily, I'd imagine," Alfred replied, watching Bruce's reaction carefully as he attempted to read the man that he could sometimes read like a book.
"Oh."
Alfred found it interesting that he didn't prod for further details. Emily had woken earlier that morning in a similar mood. Neither one seemed to have slept well and were both on edge.
"She's in the gym, sir."
Bruce turned, left the kitchen and headed towards the gym. Before he even opened the door, he could hear the sound of someone hitting the electronic sparring partner. He pushed the door open and saw Emily in the midst of beating the machine relentlessly. Her hair was pulled up into an unruly pony tail and the collar of her tank top was wet with sweat.
Bruce looked along the wall and saw the mechanical swing moving back and forth. He smiled, seeing Clara swaddled tightly and sleeping comfortably. He continued to watch Emily until the session with the sparring partner announced the round was finished.
"You didn't give him a chance," Bruce quipped.
Emily spun around, surprised that anyone was in the room with her.
"So, you decided to get up after all," she retorted flatly.
"Whoa, a little volatile this morning, aren't we?"
She didn't say a word but instead turned back around and pressed the console to begin another round.
Bruce walked up onto the mats and circled around to stand behind the sparring trainer. He watched her face; her intense focus as she beat at the machine. After a few seconds, she looked past it and at Bruce's face as he stood there with his hands in his pockets.
She was so distracted that she missed a hit. Emily sighed.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing. What is wrong with you?"
She turned back her attention to the machine in front of her. "Nothing. You're the one with the attitude."
Bruce let out a mock laugh. "I'm the one with the attitude?"
Emily nodded before punching the machine in the locations it directed, harder than she had been before.
"Last night when I came back from nursing Clara, you were gone," she began. "I figured that you were downstairs so I laid back down in bed and waited for you come back. Clara was up two more times after that and when I finally came back to bed, you were there, asleep."
She punched the machine harder as she spoke and Bruce watched her every move.
"I leaned over and began kissing your neck, trying to get your attention. I came up right next to you and ran my hand over her chest," she told him. "I did everything to get your attention and you simply mumbled something about not tonight no longer being a good night. So, I laid there for another two hours before falling asleep."
The machine beeped, alerting her that the round was done again and flashed a high score. She turned from the machine and looked at him.
"Bruce, I can't recall the last time we had sex," she finally said. "I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to go crazy. I know that Clara interrupted last night but I thought we would be able to jump back where we left off and when you said that you weren't interested, I felt like screaming. I had waited for you all evening and it was over. I feel like since you have returned there has been no intimacy between us anymore."
Bruce put his hands in his pocket and nodded, as she spoke.
"So, you've been letting out your frustration on my machines," he stated rather than questioned.
Emily shrugged.
"It helps."
He nodded before he pulled off his shoes and stepped up onto the mats where she was standing.
"I'm frustrated as well. That's why I left the bedroom originally. I've also had a lot on my mind recently," he said, before glancing over at Clara for a moment as she sat in the swing. "Clara and you are the most important people in the world to me and knowing that Joker is still out there and could have killed you both, scares the shit out of me."
"Bruce, you're not alone in this," she reminded him.
He sighed and looked up at her. The last thing he wanted was for Emily to be involved but he also knew that she wouldn't change her mind. Instead, he changed the subject on her.
"We're both frustrated. So, take it out on me," he said.
Emily stared at him, perplexed.
"I'm the reason behind your frustration. Give me your best shot," he taunted.
"You're serious?"
Bruce nodded, as he got himself into a fighting stance across from Emily.
"Completely," he replied, with a smirk. "Come on, Doctor Tucker. Show me your moves."
Emily couldn't help but laugh.
"I can't beat you," she told him. "You'll end up hurting me somehow."
"I was watching you," he stated. "You've gotten one hundred percent better than you were when I first met..."
Not allowing him to finish, Emily lunged at him, grabbing his arm and twisting it so that he was directly behind her. He heard him chuckle lightly in her ear.
"Very clever," he acknowledged. "But you forgot one thing."
Emily paused, turning her head to Bruce, waiting for him to finish speaking. Instead, he twisted her around and flipped her over, landing Emily on her back.
"Don't let down your guard regardless of who your opponent may be," Bruce said, holding her arms down on the mats.
She struggled slightly as a smirk appeared on her lips.
"I didn't."
She pulled her legs up and wrapped them around Bruce's neck, using his weight to pull herself up to stand while he fell to the ground, flat on his back.
"Well played, Emily!"
She turned to the voice by the door and saw Alfred, smiling brightly.
"Thank you, Alfred," Emily said, holding her hand out to Bruce as he laid on the ground.
He looked up at her, somewhat shocked and took her hand.
"The student becomes the teacher, huh?" she said with a grin.
Alfred looked from Bruce to Emily.
"You have that interview at the clinic in an hour," he said to Emily. "Would you be wanting me to drive you, Madam?"
"Uh, no thank you, Alfred. I'll find my way there."
The older man turned and walked out of the room, leaving Emily and Bruce standing, staring at the door both with one question on word in their minds.
"Did he just say Madam?" Bruce finally asked.
Emily turned and nodded. "That is the second time I've caught him saying it."
She looked down at the ring on her finger.
"What are we going to do about the whole marriage thing anyways? I can't marry a dead man."
Bruce nodded and smiled.
"Let's wait," he replied, taking her by the shoulders. "At least until everything with the Joker is over."
"I hope that Clara isn't walking by that time," she stated.
Bruce looked at Emily sitting in the front seat of the Audi beside him. Her lap displayed an array of documents with notes scribbled within the margins. Her doctor's handwriting made it nearly impossible for him to figure out what she had written. He glanced up in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Clara wide awake and looking at a toy in her rear facing infant car seat. Bruce had convinced Emily to allow him to drive her into the city. Bruce admitted that he missed the hustle and bustle of Gotham and simply needed a jaunt into the city to get that feeling out of his system. He further insisted on bringing Clara along and planned on spending some time with her before picking up Emily once again.
Emily pulled down the visor and flipped out the mirror, checking her reflection once more.
"You look beautiful," he told her, with a smirk.
Emily smiled weakly and sighed.
"You know how I just love speaking with the media," she stated sarcastically.
Bruce smiled.
"Give me a call when you're ready to be picked up," he said, as he pulled up in front of the newly rebuilt medical clinic. There was no evidence of the media that were to arrive within the next few minutes to take photos of the inside of the Wayne Industries funded clinic.
"I shouldn't be too long," she said. Emily turned to the infant seat behind them and gently traced her hand along Clara's face, noting her movement indicated that she was awake. Emily smiled, and leaned over the centre console and placed a kiss on Bruce's lips.
"Good luck," he said, as she opened the car door and walked towards the front entrance. She opened the door and turned just as Bruce took off down the road.
The smell of fresh paint, new carpets and clean chairs met her. The reception area resembled that of a magazine.
Emily caught a familiar face at the receptionists desk and smiled broadly as the woman quickly stood up and pushed open the door into the back area of the clinic. Louise gave Emily a tight hug.
"Emily! It's so good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Louise. It's great to have you back at your desk."
Louise looked back at the receptionist's desk.
"I didn't think I'd ever be back," she said, before looking past Emily. "Now, where is that little Clara?! I was hoping that you would bring her along with you."
Emily winced. "Not today. Not with the photographers and interviewers that will be here."
Louise nodded, instantly understanding.
Emily reached out and took her hand.
"But soon, I'll be certain to bring her in," Emily promised. "I'm sure she'd love it here."
Emily turned just as she heard her name being called and saw Janie skip towards her, embracing her in a hug. Janie's smile fell as she squeezed Emily's hand.
"Em, I'm so sorry about Bruce," she said. "It just broke my heart when I heard that he's been missing and his company is going ahead to declare him dead."
"You still don't know where he is?" Louise prodded.
Emily hesitated for a moment and then shook her head, a pang of guilt as she lied to her best friends tore at her heart.
Janie was about to ask another question when the front door chime alerted them that the photographers had arrived. Louise met them in the reception as Janie pulled Emily aside for a moment and spoke softly.
"He's alive, isn't he. I can see it on your face."
Emily couldn't bring herself to look into Janie's eyes and was relieved when Louise entered the back area of the clinic with a handful of photographers and reporters. Not answering the question, she approached the media and proceeded to shake their hands, and began the interview.
Janie and Louise watched as Emily answered questions, some pertaining to the clinic while others dove into her personal life. She effectively drove the conversation back to the subject of the clinic.
After an hour and a half, the interviews were over and the reporters left the clinic, satisfied with what they had gotten. Emily closed the clinic door and locked it. She turned and found Janie and Louise standing behind her, causing her to jump.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "What are you trying to do? Scare the crap out of me?"
"Emily, where is he?" Janie asked.
Emily paused, her heart beginning to thump wildly. She found it so easy to lie to reporters and play with part of a grieving loved one, but to her best friends, it was a different story.
"Who?"
"God damn it, Em," Janie swore. "Bruce Wayne, who else?"
"I don't know," she replied softly.
"You don't know, or you don't want to tell us?" Louise asked, her voice quiet.
Emily swallowed. They knew she had been lying and she knew that they were aware of it.
"Emily are you in any kind of trouble? I don't know what I could do, but I'd help in any way that I could."
Emily smiled shyly.
"No," she replied.
"Then why are you acting like Bruce is dead when he isn't?" Louise asked.
"I never said that he was alive," she quickly retorted.
"You're certainly not playing the part of a grieving loved one very well either," Janie told her. "I know that you loved...er, love Bruce very much and I can't imagine you acting this way if he wasn't alive."
Emily sighed, looking out the window to verify that no one was near the door who could hear.
"He's alive," she said softly. "But no one can know."
"Why?"
"The Joker made a threat against his life," Emily told them. "If he heard that Bruce was alive, he'd come after him or even worse, me or Clara."
"So, you're playing him as dead," Janie concluded.
Emily nodded solemnly.
"It wasn't my first choice, but if it means keeping us safe, I'll do it."
"How long are you going to keep this up for?" Louise asked.
Emily shrugged.
"Until Joker is captured or killed."
"What if that never happens?" Janie asked softly.
"It has to."
Bruce sat in the car down the road from the clinic, watching and waiting for Emily to come out. He reached over the seat into the back and rubbed Clara's head. The baby let out a breathy sigh happily in her seat behind him. A smile came to his face when he saw Emily walk out of the clinic.
"Ah, there's your Mom," Bruce said aloud as he put the car into drive and pulled up closer to where Emily stood.
Instead of opening the door, she gestured to him to simply roll down the window. Confused, he complied as Emily bent over to speak to him through the open window.
"I'm going to bring Clara in," she told him. "Janie and Louise are asking about her."
Bruce nodded, and unlocked the doors for Emily to open the back door when a thought occurred to them.
"How did they know she was here?"
"I told them that she would be waiting out in the car with you."
That got his attention.
"With me? You told them that I was here?"
Emily nodded, as she reached into the backseat and began to unclasp the car seat straps.
"Somehow they already knew that you weren't dead."
"Emily, if the Joker finds out that I'm alive that could put all of our lives at risk," he argued, glancing down at Clara as Emily gently pulled her from her seat and held her carefully against her chest.
"I trust them, Bruce," Emily stated. "I simply explained to them that if you're declared dead then Joker would never know that you're Batman either."
She watched in amusement as her statement impacted him. Before he could say a word, she leaned over and kissed his lips once more.
"You make teasing you too easy," she told him, as a smirk appeared on his face.
"That wasn't very funny. Don't joke about that."
Emily slid out of the car and closed the back door before leaning in front of the passenger window.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," she told him before walking with Clara back to the clinic.
"Oh, she is so sweet," Janie said, as she held Clara in her arms. "Without a doubt she has your face shape and nose, Em."
Emily smiled, watching her friends gush over Clara. The baby simply looked around, listening to her surroundings.
"And those eyes and pouty lips definitely belong to Bruce," Janie added as Clara began to fuss.
Emily couldn't help but chuckle as Louise took Clara from Janie. The older woman held Clara upright, getting a good look at the baby she was holding. Instead of holding her in her arms, Louise put her up on her shoulder.
"She just wanted to get a look around the place that she's going to helping out in when she gets walking around," Louise said, glancing at Clara as the baby did a pretty good job at keeping her head upright.
The sound of someone suddenly knocking on the front door caught their attention. Emily instantly recognized it as Bruce with a hoodie pulled low over his head. Janie rushed over to the door and unlocked it. He glanced at the woman for a brief second before looking at Emily. He pulled his hoodie back from his face slightly.
"We have to go," he stated, urgently.
"Why? What's going on?"
"There's a news crew at the end of the street," he said, gesturing the direction with a tilt of his head.
Louise quickly handed Clara back to Emily as Janie pulled Bruce into the building and closed the door behind him. Without saying a word, they pushed them back into the back part of the clinic. Bruce finally pulled his hoodie off from his head.
"Did they see me take Clara into the building?"
"Most likely," Bruce replied. "I need to get you both out of here somehow before we can't get out of the clinic without running into them."
Janie rushed over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone, instantly checking the internet. Her eyes widened slightly as she turned the phone towards Bruce.
"They didn't just get a picture of Emily with Clara," she said.
A grainy close up photo of himself and Emily in the car, smiling and exchanging a kiss was printed below the caption - Bruce Wayne Alive?