A/N: Hello all. While I'm taking a short break before college, this story will allow me to keep my writing chops fresh, so here's the next update.

When we left off, Liv and Bruce have just finished taking on Bane's men, saving Selina, and leading Tucker and the GPD on a merry chase. What does Alfred have to say about all of this?

To let you know, this is the third saddest part in the entire trilogy (just edging the first Bane vs. Batman fight). The second was the death of Bruce's parents and the first was Alex's death at the hands of Penguin and the Joker.

Disclaimer: I own neither The Dark Knight Rises nor SVU, though I can dream can't I? Wouldn't a scene of Olivia and Elliot interrogating Bane in the precinct be awesome?

PS: Remember, since Bruce has Olivia with him they can deduce a lot more about their quarries through her detective skills.

Please review!

Chapter 8: Farewell My Friend

Pacing in the Batcave, a warm sweater covering his customary suit and tie, Alfred's head turned at the low whirring resonating from the entrance. With a loud crash the Bat plowed through the waterfall that masked the cave's entrance, spraying water everywhere. Shielding his face from the gusts of wind kicked up by the internal rotors, Alfred slowly approached the rising causeway from the main floor to the vehicle's landing cube.

The cockpit doors opening vertically, Bruce and Olivia stepped out. They took of their cowls, Olivia shaking her head from side to side to straighten out her hair. The helmet really messed it up beyond repair; the only reason she ever got it styled during mission times was because she knew Bruce loved it. Turning, she saw her husband smirking at her. "What?" Olivia asked.

"Nothing," replied Bruce. "It's just you're sexy when you do that with your hair." He couldn't help it that everything his wife did turned him on.

Olivia gave him her most radiant smile, the smile she only reserved for him. "You never cease to amaze me Mr. Wayne."

"Ditto Mrs. Wayne," he answered back, knowing how much she loved being called by her married title.

"Well then," Alfred said, announcing his arrival. "It appears the usual cliché about female drivers doesn't apply to helicopters. Miss Olivia flew this little bugger quite well if I may say so."

"Why do you think I keep her around?" joked Bruce, earning a punch in the shoulder from Olivia. "Hey!"

"You know you deserved it Bruce," she retorted, striding toward Alfred on the causeway. Shrugging, Bruce followed his wife.

"Anyway," continued Alfred, "From what I viewed on the Telly it seems you two have rediscovered your taste for wanton destruction." He was greatly concerned for his two wards, the two he considered his children. No matter what happened or how they reacted, he was going to speak his mind tonight before it was too late, before he'd be the last surviving member of the Wayne family.

The jovial banter ended, Bruce and Olivia quickly fell back into Dark Knights mode. "We retrieved this from one of Bane's men," Bruce said, pulling out a cracked display pad.

Following behind Olivia, Bruce in front, Alfred voiced his concern. "Shouldn't the police be investigating this?"

"Take it from me as the Chief of Detectives Uncle Alfred," answered Olivia, "With Elliot out of commission I don't trust Tucker to handle this properly. Plus, our crime labs don't have the tools to analyze it."

"They would have the tools If you gave it to them Master Bruce."

"One man's tool is another man's weapon Alfred."

"There's not much in the world that you and Olivia couldn't turn into weapons sir."

"Alfred enough!" shouted Bruce, not wanting to get into an argument with his butler and surrogate father right in the middle of the crisis with Bane. "You heard what Liv said, the police weren't getting it done."

"No offense to you Miss Olivia, but perhaps the department that you and Commissioner Stabler built could have done the job if you hadn't made a sideshow of yourselves."

"You thought Olivia and I didn't have it in us," replied Bruce, sitting down to begin inspecting the data.

"No, I didn't think that. But what did you accomplish? You two led a bloated police force on a merry chase utilizing several fancy new toys from Fox." Alfred ran a hand through his hair in frustration, searching for something to grasp onto to make them understand He pointed at the screen; it was now showing security footage of Bane and his men at the Stock Exchange. "What about when you finally face off against him? What then?"

"We'll fight harder," said Olivia. "Bruce and I always have since Master Thomas died."

"Look," he insisted, pointing at the screen. "Look at that strength, that ferocity. I see the power of belief. I see the League of Shadows resurgent."

Even though only Bruce had gone through the League's training and become a full-fledged member, it affected Olivia just as much. Bruce had trained her in the same manner, and they did try to kill her as well. "You told us he was excommunicated Uncle." Olivia turned away from the screen to look him in the eye.

"Yes," Alfred explained. "By Ra's al Ghul, aka Donald Cragen. Who leads them now?"

"Ra's al Ghul was the League of Shadows Uncle and we beat him. Bane is just a thug and a mercenary."

"Oh shit," stated Bruce calmly, the screen displaying footage from the trading floor.

"What?" asked Olivia, puzzled and fearful at the same time.

"Alfred, didn't you say that Bane had an apprentice who was excommunicated as well?"

"I believe so," said Alfred, ice forming in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling that his words of caution and self-restraint were soon becoming more important.

"Well then," Bruce pointed out, tapping the screen. "I think I found him."

Olivia squinted to see the face, eyes widening in recognition. "Dean Porter," she hissed, lacing the name with contempt.

"Yep, FBI special agent and one of your former flames. Apparently he's Bane's apprentice the same way I was to Cragen."

Gritting her teeth, Olivia banged her fist against the console. "I should have known!" Fuming, she began to pace back and forth. "So we've not only got a crazed mercenary and a waddling mobster to deal with but also one of my ex-boyfriends. Motherfucker!"

A small smirk graced Bruce's face. Olivia was so sexy when she was angry like that, and it turned him on to no end. Suddenly, a scary thought popped into his mind. Pulling up another file, he instantly slumped in his chair. "And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse."

Walking over, Olivia read the file and her face paled. "If he didn't die in that plane then Dr. Pavel didn't die either."

"And Bane now has the means to weaponize the fusion reactor," finished Bruce, some of Olivia's detective skills having rubbed off on him. "This makes it all the more imperative to find out what they were up to today." Bruce pulled up the data from the pad, a spreadsheet quickly filling the screen. "They look like trades of some kind, elegantly done."

A photo of two thumbprints pulled up. Olivia rolled her eyes. "And out fingerprints curtesy of Selina Kyle. It seems your idea adding me for approval of your stocks was outsmarted by her yet again."

"Elliot has his hands full with this one," Bruce smirked. "Maybe I should give him some advice." He could literally feel the Badass Benson glare directed at him. "Alfred, I need these sent to Fox ASAP. He can tell us which trades they were executing and what damage has been done." Rising, he and Olivia began stripping their suits, Alfred watching on in concern. There was no other choice; he had to go for broke or risk having them die needlessly. He was not going to watch as another Mr. and Mrs. Wayne die young.

A few minutes later, Alfred caught up to his wards as they ascended the stairs to the East Wing. "I'll send the message to Mr. Fox, but that's it." Closing his eyes, he silently prayed for the strength to do what he had to do. Alfred knew this might be the last time he ever saw either Bruce or Olivia, but if it made them see then it was worth it. "I've sewn you up, I've set your bones, and I've waited until having to do it all over again. I don't want to have to bury you two; I've buried enough members of the Wayne family to last a lifetime."

Dressed in a tight T-shirt and sweatpants, Bruce glanced at Olivia who was clad in black slacks and a tank top, standard sleep wear. Both were confused to what Alfred was getting at but knew what it meant. "You're leaving us Uncle," Olivia choked out in disbelief.

Alfred willed himself not to tear up, trying desperately to remain stoic. However, when he spoke the raw emotion was clearly audible. "You see only one end to this journey. Leaving is all I have left to make you two understand. You're not Batman and Batgirl anymore, and you don't have to be."

"Alfred, the city needs us…"

"No it doesn't. Your father and mother would have been proud of you for making a difference but they would beg you now if they were still alive to end all of this. You have to find another way before this life consumes you forever." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Both of you used to confide in me about having a life beyond the cape and cowl. A life on the outside. You have everything to do so yet you can't or won't take it."

Bruce knew where this was going to end and he didn't want Olivia to witness it. She'd witnessed enough. "Liv, please go upstairs. I'll be up shortly." He gave her a weak smile that didn't mask his obvious pain.

Knowing this wasn't the time to argue, Olivia nodded. "Ok." Walking over to Alfred, she hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek. "I love you Uncle."

"I love you too Miss Olivia," he replied, trying hard not to cry.

Giving him a small smile in return, Olivia plodded up the stairs, a part of her screaming that this would be the last time she saw her beloved Uncle Alfred, her surrogate father. A tear fell down her cheek.

When Olivia disappeared upstairs, Alfred continued with his plea. "Master Bruce, you have been married to that wonderful woman for the last six years. By now you should be enjoying your life, presumably with a couple of kids scampering by your side. However none of you have gotten out of that awful cave."

"Alfred, Alex died. She was my whole life outside of here yet it wasn't meant to be. I was meant to be with Olivia and there is nothing for me out there anymore." A vestige of his recurring nightmare flashed through his mind, Alex screaming for help only for him to betray her. "Besides, she died thinking we would still be together. I found happiness but she never did because of me. I don't deserve to move on from that, from the pain I caused."

'It is time,' Alfred thought. He had kept this secret for eight long years, hoping that his ward would discover this on his own. However, now it had to be said before it was too late. "What if she had Master Wayne?"

"She didn't Alfred, I can't change that."

"What if Master Wayne, she wrote a letter saying she did, that she chose Harvey Dent over you. What if she wrote that her one wish was that you and Olivia would realize that you loved each other and found happiness? And what if," he choked back a sob, "In an attempt to spare you pain, I burned that letter."

Bruce's jaw dropped in disbelief. If this was true then the hell he had put himself through had been for nothing. "Why?" he seethed. "Why did you keep this from me Alfred?"

"At first it was to spare you the pain because I thought she might have been wrong, but once I knew that she was right and that you and Miss Olivia loved each other, I wanted to Master Bruce. But I couldn't; you and Olivia had to discover by yourself what Alex knew, what I know. Unless you yourself realize it then you'll never truly understand. Miss Alex wanted a life for you and Olivia beyond all of this, for you to find happiness the way she did. You are disgracing her memory by continuing on this current path."

"How dare you Alfred." Bruce knew he should be furious, but in the end all that he felt was hurt and betrayal. "How dare you keep this from me, only to bring it up to try and stop us?"

"I am using the truth Master Wayne. For once, would you please stop running from the truth and letting it have its day."

"You talk to me about truth? I spent eight years believing a lie, enduring the worst pain imaginable, forcing Liv to endure it, only to learn that you could have stopped it at any time."

"I know Master Wayne. It had to be done, but I am sorry."

"You're sorry? You expect to shatter my entire world and have us shake hands afterward?"

"I know what this means Master Wayne." This time, Alfred couldn't hold back the tears that formed in his eyes. "It means your hatred. It means Olivia's hatred. It means losing two people whom I have loved and cared for since I heard their first cries echo through this house. However, it also has to potential to save your lives from the dark abyss you've hurled yourself in. Because of that, I am willing to endure everything else."

Bruce nodded, both of them having reached an impasse. "Goodbye Alfred." With that, he turned and headed up the stairs to his wife.

"Farewell Master Bruce," murmured Alfred, now crying unabashedly. It was too late to turn back now. The bridges had been burned, and he had to see his plan through. He could only pray that it was enough to save those two from themselves, for if it didn't he'd never forgive himself.

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Arriving in the bedroom that he and Olivia shared for the last six and a half years (the happiest six and a half years since his parents died despite the unbearable pain), Bruce found his gorgeous wife lying on her back with her hands beneath her head, staring at the ceiling. When he saw her nose scrunched up, he knew her well enough to realize when she was brooding. The whole Porter thing obviously got to her.

Plopping down on the bed, Olivia let out a faint yelp; when she was in the zone a parade of elephants could thunder by and she wouldn't notice. Upon seeing it was her husband she visibly relaxed. "Hey honey," she whispered.

Chuckling at how cute she was when he surprised her (although about half the time she'd probably break his nose or flip him over on reflex), Bruce leaned in for a kiss which was eagerly reciprocated. "What's on your mind Liv?" he asked. "You had that look again."

She scoffed. "I do not have a look."

"Yes you do," he smirked. "You lie on your back and scrunch up your nose. It's adorable." She glared at him, to which he smiled and kissed her again.

She giggled. "You know just what to say don't you Bruce Wayne?" He shrugged sheepishly which made her giggle some more. Then her face grew serious again. "I should have known Porter was in the League of Shadows."

"Why do you say that Olivia?"

"It was his eyes. For so long they bothered me, like I had seen them somewhere. Now I know; they were the same eyes as that bitch Jeffries had when she was about to kill me. The eyes of a League sociopath. They're unlike anything else I've ever seen and I've seen plenty. Only a League of Shadows warrior has that particular eye, devoid of all emotion except hate with a shade of righteous arrogance." She chuckled dryly. "And here I was thinking Porter was the best of a sorry lot of bad boyfriends. I sure do know how to pick em do I?" she huffed.

"You picked me," said Bruce, a little worried.

Her gaze softened immediately. "You're right, and I'll never regret doing so." She leaned into him and rested her head on his firm chest, Bruce enveloping her with his arms. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she said, nuzzling his chest and inhaling his unique scent. "You, the Stablers, and Alfred are really the only family I have left." At that she felt him stiffen beneath her. Looking up, Olivia noticed pain in his eyes. "What's wrong Bruce?"

While part of him wanted to protect her from what had happened downstairs, he couldn't lie to her "Alfred left Liv. He's gone."

In all her life, Olivia never expected that. The old butler had always been there, like a rock in the middle of a storm. "What?"

Bruce began to recount everything that happened since she left: the truth about Alex, what Alfred did, what he said about them, and the reasons for him leaving. By the end both of them were in tears, clutching each other tightly. "For all those years, I was so ashamed at my actions only to find out Alex had indeed moved on before her death. I can't believe he kept it from me."

Olivia couldn't fathom it either, though she knew it wasn't out of spite or hatred. "Alfred loves you Bruce. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't have a good reason."

"You're right," he murmured, burying his face in her long auburn hair to suppress a sob. The butler had been a father to both of them since Thomas and Martha Wayne died, and it hurt them both to know he was gone.

Tilting her head up, Olivia pulled her husband in for a kiss. It quickly became heated, not out of lust or passion but out of a need to be close, a need to forget the world if just for a little while. Forget about Alfred leaving, about Bane, about Porter, about Penguin. "Bruce," Olivia pleaded. "Please."

He needed no urging. Slowly, they both discarded their clothes, her settling on top of him. "Liv," he breathed her name like a prayer. "I'll never leave you."

"Bruce," she gasped as he entered her. "I'll never leave you either." As they made love, neither of them broke eye contact with each other, needing to feel close.

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DING DONG!

His eyes opening at the chime of the doorbell, Bruce groaned. Olivia shifted beside him, her naked form snuggled against his, an arm draped around his abdomen. He kissed her hair and was about to call Alfred to get the door when he remembered last night. Nudging his beautiful sleeping wife, he kissed her awake. "Liv, get up."

"Mmmmmm," she moaned into the kiss, causing him to smile against her mouth. "I'm up I'm up."

Tying the sash around his robe, Bruce plodded down the stairs to the door, Olivia behind him in her pink satin gown that sexily ended mid-thigh. Imagine Bruce's surprise when he found out that Olivia's favorite color was pink; who knew Badass Benson was such a girly girl. She simply smiled and said if he ever expected to have sex then it better be kept a secret. No one found out after that (though he suspected he had told Elliot after a night of heavy drinking; not making that mistake again).

Reaching the foyer, he opened the door to find a shocked Lucius Fox. "Bruce Wayne answering his own door? That's unexpected."

"I never thought I'd see the day," laughed Olivia, nudging him on the shoulder. "We all know how lazy this guy is."

"Hey," he pleaded, Olivia batting her eyes innocently at his glare. 'Damn her and her sexy eyes,' he thought. He could never be mad at her when she looked at him with her chocolate brown orbs and she knew it (it was only a slight consolation that his eyes worked the same magic on her). "What did you find out Lucius?"

Fox turned businesslike quickly, though still retaining his grandfatherly like charm. Despite having the ultimate job security with what he knew about his boss, Fox remained the most loyal employee in the history of Wayne Enterprises, one of the reasons Olivia liked and trusted him so much. "It seems you've made a series of large gambles on the futures exchange, verified by both your thumbprint and the confirmation thumbprint of you Mrs. Wayne." He handed over a copy of the Wall Street Journal, which despite Gotham's independent stock exchange was still the main newspaper of the American stock market. "Those futures expired with the close of trading last night."

Opening the paper, Bruce and Olivia gazed at page three, whose headline read: Wayne Double's Down and Loses!

"What does this mean?" asked Olivia, the ins and outs of finance beyond her.

"Well, it means we're in a bit of a pickle. Long term we should be able to prove fraud, but for now aside from this house and your properties in the city Mrs. Wayne, both of you are completely broke. In all likelihood, Wayne enterprises is about to fall into the hands of Bart Ganzel."

That got their attention. This was their worst nightmare; with Ganzel taking over that meant Bane, Porter, and Penguin would have both the reactor and Dr. Pavel, giving them a ready-made thermonuclear weapon. "Applied sciences, we can't let Ganzel get his hands on the prototypes."

"Applied Sciences is locked up tight and off the books Mr. Wayne. The energy project is a different story, and is probably what you both are concerned about." Olivia nodded; Fox was good at picking up signals, one of the reasons he made such a strong CEO.

"Casey Novak," said Bruce. "We need to get her on board."

"If there's anyone we can trust with the reactor it's Casey," concurred Olivia. "I think she needs to see the reactor."

"I'm meeting her there in half an hour, you better get dressed."

"Agreed." Bruce turned to Olivia. "I think something less… Pink would be appropriate."

Olivia slapped her husband playfully, smirking. He always made her smile; with the developments in the last week every smile counted.

A/N: Quite an emotional chapter. And the change in the plotline as said in TDK is completed, explaining the entire debacle regarding Alfred and Alex's letter while getting the same outcome with Olivia in the mixture.

Up next: Casey sees the reactor, Ganzel is pissed, and we get to see Selina again!

Please review!