Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Thanks, KN, for the beta! May the odds be always in your favor. :D (You'll understand that once you get the book! I can't wait!)

A/N: There seems to be some confusion about just who is coming to Bruce. It's not Talia. It's simply Diana as a figment of his addled mind. Nothing more sinister than that, I promise.

Madly

Chapter Five:

Stay

As soon as Diana entered the conference room, the chattering of the five other founders ground to a halt.

It was like walking into a funeral where all the guests were wondering how to act around the remaining family members. Only Bruce wasn't dead and Diana hadn't been grieving. He was missing and could be back with them very soon, and they were wondering how he would react to the knowledge that she had been moved on. Or at least those were the thoughts running through Diana's head.

Her relationship with Batman had been the worst kept League secret. And amongst the founding members, it wasn't a secret at all. Even before Bruce and she had begun dating, they had constantly received comments, advice, and encouragement from every person now sitting at the table. It was common knowledge that Bruce loved her and she loved Bruce. Even when they had broken up, she was the only one stunned by it. They all expected them to get back together eventually.

Walking to her seat, she tried not to think of what was going on through the minds of her teammates. She had so much to think of herself, and it wouldn't help matters to wonder if they disapproved of her relationship with Tom.

As soon as she took her seat, Superman stood up. "On the latest League mission, Question and Booster Gold were sent to investigate some strange happenings in Australia. While there, they come across stories from the natives about a man that fit the description and methods of operation of Ra's al Ghul. Question was able to confirm that it was indeed him. Since we know he was behind Batman's kidnapping, we must find him and force him to tell us where Batman is. Are there any volunteers for this mission?"

Flash's hand immediately shot up along with J'onn's. Diana squirmed in her seat, highly aware of Superman's gaze on her, but she didn't raise her hand.

"Alright, the three of us will go investigate, and the rest of you will rotate staying in the Monitor Room. Remain in radio contact at all times. Until we find out what's happened to Batman, we'll continue keeping this under wraps. We wouldn't want to raise anyone's hopes unnecessarily."

A chorus of nods and acquiesces sounded in the room.

"J'onn and Flash, be ready to leave in ten minutes." The Speedster and Martian left the room, presumably to tie up some loose ends. John and Shayera left too, indicating they were heading to the Monitor Room. That left Diana with Clark.

"Why aren't you coming?" he asked.

"There are already three of you. Besides, I'm not quite certain I'm objective enough to deal with Ra's."

"You're sure this has nothing to do with Tom?"

As if Clark had any right to ask. Hot anger surged through her, and she welcomed it. It was much easier to work with than the hurt and disappointment that Clark had sided with Bruce instead of her. "What does that matter?"

"Diana, Bruce loves you, and he's been gone for almost nine months. He will want you to be there."

"We don't even know if he is alive."

"He is. You know it, and so do I…I know he hurt you, but this is bigger than what he did to you."

"You only say that because it didn't happen to you!" Diana stopped speaking, before she said something she regretted. Clark was right, but for none of the right reasons. This wasn't out of spite or vengeance. She couldn't have her hopes raised only to be dashed again.

"I will not justify my feelings to you," she said, as calmly as she could.

"I'm not asking you to." But the condemnation in his voice was clear, and it set her teeth on edge.

"You think I'm so selfish that I would put my own personal feelings over the welfare of a teammate? Look, Clark, I want nothing more than to find Bruce, but … he ended things with me and didn't want me around, so I doubt he'd appreciate me being there when you find him. I've accepted it and am trying to move on, and so should you."

Clark looked absolutely scandalized. "What are you saying? That you are in love with Tom Tresser?"

"And what's—" She was shouting. It took some effort, but she lowered her voice, "what's wrong with Tom Tresser?!"

"Nothing." But it didn't sound like nothing.

Even if neither would say it, Clark and Bruce were best friends; and it was clear that in Clark's mind, Diana belonged with Bruce, and to love Tom was betrayal to Bruce. And therefore Clark.

Of course, she wasn't even in love with Tom, but she would be damned if she told Clark that. Frankly, he deserved no explanations.

"I'm not going to stop living my life just because you think I should have died when Bruce disappeared."

"That's not what we think. I—"

"We? Do you all sit around and talk about me behind my back?"

Clark held up his hands in a defensive stance. "I just don't understand why you wouldn't want to come, especially since you were so invested in finding him. Well, you were invested until you started dating Tom."

Diana's eyes narrowed to slits. "You think I'm choosing Tom over Bruce." It couldn't possibly be because her involvement in Bruce's disappearance had been unhealthy, borderline obsessive?

"You won't explain yourself, so what else am I supposed to think?"

"I don't care what you think, but don't contact me unless you actually find Batman. Then and only then do I want to talk about him with you or anyone else. And feel free to tell the others that as well."

Not waiting for a reply, Diana turned on her heel and exited the room.

Bruce stared up at Diana, his head cradled in her lap.

"I think I could stay here forever."

But what about your home?

"The only home I know is here. With you." He gripped her hand, twining their fingers together. "Promise you'll always be here."

Bruce.

He sat up, alarmed at her hesitation. "Promise me. The only way I will leave this place is if you come with me."

And if we leave, how will you eat or drink?

"Better to die of starvation than go mad." He lifted her hand, kissing it as if it were something holy. "You are the only thing keeping me sane."

So I'm your alternative to madness? That's not very flattering.

Her smile irritated him. She didn't seem to get the severity of his problem or how much he relied on her. How much he loved her.

Frustrated, he stood to his feet. He was about to walk away from her, but stopped at the gentle tug on his pant's leg.

Bruce, wait.

He stood there, but refused to look at her. His anger would melt, and he wanted to hold onto it. For once, he didn't feel weak.

You shouldn't threaten to leave me.

His shoulders sunk as he faced the reality of the situation. "I don't have that power. You know that."

She stood up to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. He wanted to fall into her arms, weeping. As much as he didn't want to face his past, he hated his constant state of helplessness even more.

Good. Because I would miss you.

Her hands moved from his shoulders to his face, and he closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her lips on his. Tired, he leaned into her body, allowing himself to draw strength from her. As always she was so quick to give, but more than that, she happily received what he had to offer. It wasn't much, but with her acceptance, it grew more and more. She didn't throw his weakness in his face or mock him when he tried to show her he could be strong too.

He lifted his mouth from hers, tilting her head back, so he could look into her eyes. His heart quickened at what he saw. Trust, desire, respect, love, and all for him and him only. He knew his eyes were mirrors of hers.

"Stay with me," he said, half demanding, half pleading.

Always.

To Be Continued

Anonymous Review Reply:

D- Don't worry about not reviewing. I'm horrible at reviewing; I'm hardly going to fault someone else for it., especially when that someone else is always so thoughtful and nice when she does review. :D /Given that Bruce has fits of insanity, I think that should better explain who this Diana is. Think of the movie Beautiful Mind. Though Bruce doesn't have the identical problem of the Russell Crowe character. /LOL, I'm glad you see Tom Tresser for what he is. And the patronizing tone towards him is hilarious. Like he's some kind of puppy you are patting on the head. I haven't really thought of who Tom will end up with him, but that's probably because I don't care too much for him, though I've tried to make him a really nice guy in an unfortunate situation. I should probably flesh him out a bit more before the story is over. /I understand what you mean about Diana going out with Tom being weird. Part of me thinks, if you really love someone you wouldn't even consider being with another person. However, I'm not sure everyone holds quite that romantic of a view, and she thought Bruce might be dead, she knew he didn't want to be with her, and she wants to move on. It had been a year and six months after Bruce dumped her before she had officially started dating Tom. I think of Tom as more of a comfort than a love interest. Like a friend that she occasionally kisses. /Thanks for reviewing! I hope you are well. =D