3 months later

Clara enjoyed looking at her reflection as she sat on the floor in front of the mirror. She batted at the baby looking back at her with her hands and even leaned forward numerous times, planting a wet kiss on the baby in the mirror.

Bruce stood a few feet behind her, looking at himself in the mirror as he struggled to put on his tie. Any motion in his right shoulder was still a little painful as the muscle hadn't completely healed yet. Emily had been certain that he didn't overwork himself at Wayne Enterprises since he returned three weeks prior and that his evening activities were spent at home. But what she didn't know, didn't hurt her. Bruce had become frustrated with the length of time it had been taking for his shoulder to completely heal and instantly knew it when he overdid it.

He let out an aggravated sigh as he was ready to give up on the tie.

"Can I lend some assistance?" Alfred asked from the doorway.

"Thanks Alfred," Bruce replied, as the older man walked in, taking the tie from Bruce's hands.

"Shoulder acting up, sir?"

Bruce nodded, silently. "Aching a lot today. I think I've been working it too much."

Alfred worked on the tie, and didn't bother to look up at Bruce. He could tell a lie when he heard it.

"I would venture to guess that it would be best if you were not so inclined on going out in the evenings as you have been for the past two weeks," Alfred stated, nonchalantly.

Bruce looked at Alfred. He knew that the older man was aware that Batman had been going out lately, but had never vocally mentioned it.

"You haven't mentioned this to Emily, have you?"

"It is not my place to disclose to your wife what you have been doing without her knowledge," Alfred told him, as he finished tying up the tie. "But let me warn you this sir, she isn't stupid."

Bruce smiled. "Oh, I'm well aware of that, Alfred."

He turned to walk over to the dresser when he felt something pulling down on his pant leg. Bruce looked down and smiled at Clara who had made her way from the mirror to where he stood.

"You little stinker!" he commented, as he crouched down. Clara used the opportunity to use his knee to pull herself up to stand as she squealed in delight.

"I caught her standing in her crib a few times this week," Alfred commented, watching with a broad smile on his face. "I wasn't aware that she could crawl as well."

"Overly ambitious," Bruce said, using his good arm to pull her up with him before he stood.

"Just like her parents," Alfred added, with a smile.

He watched as Clara leaned in to Bruce and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for the kiss," Bruce said with a chuckle, as he walked out of the bedroom with Clara in his arms and Alfred beside him. They walked down the hallway towards the steps.

"Where will you be taking Emily this evening?"

"I made reservations at 'Chez Bastille'," he replied, making their way down the stairs. "Emily said she'd meet me there after she gets done work at the clinic at 9:30. So, if you don't mind putting the munchkin to bed for us..."

"Not at all," Alfred stated. "I look forward to our quiet evenings in when it is just the two of us."

Bruce passed Clara to Alfred.

"I do have some work that I'd like to get done before I meet her there," Bruce said, before he turned to walk towards the study.

"Work, sir? Shall I inform Emily that you will be late again?"

Bruce kept walking.

"Make up an excuse for me," he called out.

Alfred sighed as Bruce disappeared into the study. He could hear the sound of the piano being played before he looked at Clara.

"There is no way I'm getting between your Mother and Father in this argument."

Batman crouched on the rooftop, the only sound being that of the humming A/C unit and a distant siren. He enjoyed the solitude and simplicity of the city from the height. He glanced down at his wrist and illuminated a clock.

9:28.

He was officially in hot water and he knew it. There was no point in rushing back just to be late and come up with an excuse. Batman figured he'd wait another thirty minutes before heading back to meet with Emily. After all, he had been out for two hours and already stopped two muggings and three car thefts.

It was then that he saw it.

A hooded figure in black, sneaking down the alleyway. They may have been meaning no harm, but the situation seemed to fit the prescription of a break and enter.

Batman stood up and swung to the building across the street before running along side the roof above the alleyway. He looked down but the person was gone.

Silently, he swept himself down to the ground and landed gracefully in the alley. He took in the surroundings, noting the two dumpsters lining the alleyway and the general filth of the area.

Something didn't seem right.

Swiftly, he spun around with his fist out but the masked figure in black quickly ducked, missing it. Instead, they lashed out and kicked Batman's side with their leg. He grabbed it and spun his opponent, causing them to turn away for a brief moment, but it was enough. He reached for the arms, and pushed the person towards the brick wall. Instead of pinning them, as he was hoping, the person ran up the wall and flipped over Batman's head, landing behind him. He quickly turned as they moved and reached out, grabbing a handful of fabric covering their head.

He paused when he saw brown hair emerge from beneath the hood.

He realized that he was fighting a woman, but not just any woman. Batman recognized the fighting style and the agility of the woman, not to mention that the eyes were the same one that he saw when he woke up in the morning. The same eyes that he looked into a month prior when he said his vows.

"So, is this what you call working late in town?" Emily asked. Her tone was sharp.

Batman didn't say a word but stepped towards her as he grabbed ahold of his grappler. He fired it into the air before attaching it to his waist and reached forward, taking Emily into the air with him.

The moment they were on the rooftop, Batman spoke.

"What are you doing out here?"

Emily scoffed as she spoke as softly as she could despite her anger.

"Really? You're asking me, what I'm doing out here? I got off work early and came home, ready to surprise you so we can go out, together, for dinner for the first time since we've been married. When I realized that you weren't around, it didn't take me too long to figure out where you were. So, I followed you out here. You obviously don't know the meaning of laying low and resting."

"You shouldn't have come out here on your own," he whispered, completely abandoning the deep, raspy Batman voice.

"I can take care of myself," she whispered to him, when it suddenly dawned on her what he was doing. "And don't change the subject. You lied to me!"

"I didn't lie to you," Batman retorted. "I never told you what I was doing because I knew that you would overreact. My shoulder is fine. I wouldn't be out here otherwise."

He didn't see it, but Batman was certain that Emily rolled her eyes as she turned around with her hands in the air.

"Have a good time on your own tonight," she said over her shoulder, as she walked to the edge of the building. "I'm going home and I'm planning on being asleep when you get in."

Batman watched in amusement as it dawned on Emily that the building that they were on didn't have a fire escape reaching to the rooftop. He crossed his arms and watched as Emily turned to him.

"Can you bring me back down to the ground?" she asked, her voice small and sheepish.

A smile tugged at Batman's lips as he heard her pride taking a small hit with asking him for help.

He walked towards her and instead of quickly complying, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. When Emily realized that he wasn't moving, she looked up at him.

"Nice mask," Batman commented, his voice once again deep. "You really should wear it at home."

Emily scoffed and added. "And freak out our daughter at the same time."

He shook his head. "No, wear the mask just for me and only the mask."

Emily chuckled and smiled, understanding what he was meaning. She reached up and put her arms around his neck.

Batman took a quick glance around the rooftop before closing the space between them. He placed his lips on her. Emily felt the goosebumps rise over her back as Batman's hand held her tight against him as their mouths twisted until Batman turned his head and broke the kiss when something caught his eye.

The signal in the sky.

He turned back to Emily, placing one more kiss on her lips.

"You had better go," she told him, softly. "Gordon is waiting for you."

Batman held out his hand. "Come with me this time."

Emily smiled and pulled the hood back over her head before walking to the edge of the building beside Batman.

Batman pulled Emily close to him again, and with a surprised yelp from Emily, they disappeared.

A/N - And I'm going to end it there. I could easily continue this...But I'll leave it at this point so if I ever wanted to sequel it, I could. What should I do?

Thank you to all my readers, my followers and my favourite-ers. You are certainly the ones who made me keep going. I know my spelling, grammar and plot points were not 100% but hey, we're all learning here and the only way to get better is to practice. I'm glad that you all enjoyed it and stuck with me over the past year.