Jess was hoping Joker wouldn't remember her or that night. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and shoved her coffee cup into the trash bin on the way to her desk. She missed her late husband more than she could imagine. He was her friend since they graduated from the police academy together. He helped her when she lost their friend, Aurora, and then fell in love. When he died, her whole world crashed around her.

Clark pushed her, after two years, to get back out and talk with people but that's when her bad luck started. She blames it on her grief when it's her trauma. She was afraid to give someone her, already, fragile heart after it was broken, unwillingly, the first time. That's why when she saw the vase of beautifully arranged flowers sitting in the middle of her desk, accompanied by a black bag with white tissue paper spilling out of the top that made her heart jump back into its steel cage.

"Uh, Darcy?" Jess called out, spinning around to find the other female that worked at the desk behind her. "Did you get me these?"

The blonde leaned back into her chair to look at where she was pointing. "Nope." She got up, striding over to see if there was anything within the bouquet. Darcy plucked the soft card paper from its little holster. "There's a card."

Jess toyed with the tissue paper. "What does it say?"

"It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car, and I knew it…"

"It was like magic." Jess finished with a soft smirk. "Quoting Sleepless in Seattle, you cocky son of a bitch."

Darcy wiggled her eyebrows. "The note finishes with I look forward to seeing you tonight, Bruce." She watched the way Jess bite her lip while staring at the number provided. "Who's Bruce? What's happening tonight?"

That's when realization dawned on her. Jess widened her eyes. "Today's Friday?"

"You haven't left the precinct since you met with Joker." Darcy watched Jess reach towards her desk phone. "What are you doing?"

"Canceling."

Darcy gasped, stabbing her fingers into the button receiver. "No, no, you can't!"

"Darcy!"

"I just watched you bite your lip at a stupid movie quote." Darcy pushed Jess into her roller chair. "Who's Bruce?" She raised a brow. "Like Bruce as in Bruce Wayne? That Bruce?"
Jess blinked. "What the hell, am I on trial here?" When she noticed the investigative stare that Darcy had learned to perfect on the suspects she talked to daily, Jess felt herself beginning to sweat. "I met him at this Christmas ball that that plastic surgeon invited me to, who left me alone the entire time may I add."

"Punk." Darcy scoffed with a shake of her head. "And this mysterious guy who may or may not be Bruce Wayne swooped in, romanced you, and then what?" She bit her bottom lip in anticipation. "Did you sleep with him?" Jess scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Oh my god, you did!" She tried to keep her squealing down to a minimum. "Girl, you have to go on this date."

"What date?" Jim's voice asked with a raised brow. "What's with the flowers?"

Jess gave a surprised shriek like Finn from Adventure Time before spinning her chair around to be met with the commissioner. "Oh, hey commissioner, what's up?" She asked while trying to hide the gift with her body. She knew he could be nosier than a teenage girl sometimes, especially when it dealt with relaying information onto Barb.

"You have a guy?" Jim began to chuckle. "Barb is going to kill you for not telling her."

Jess pointed her finger at Jim, who was off duty and getting ready to go home after his 24-hour shift. "You can't tell her."

"But you know how she gets!" Jim deflected. "She makes me feel like I'm the enemy until I cough up whatever information I have."

"Then you better swallow it until I get the chance to tell her it's Bruce Wayne." Jess warned.

Jim felt his whole world stop. "You're going on a date with Bruce Wayne? When the hell did you two cross paths?" He held his hand up to stop Darcy from explaining how it happened. "You know what, don't tell me, it gives me less information to relay to my daughter."

"Smart choice." Jess agreed.

He pointed his finger at Jess in a warning. "You be careful."

"When have I ever been in a dangerous situation?" She asked with her arms crossed.

"The thirty instance reports on my desk tell me otherwise." He watched Jess sputter in denial. He tilted his head down in farewell. "Ladies."

When Jim left, Darcy turned her smug smile towards Jess. The Kent girl felt her stare pouring into the side of her head before she gave in. "Fine! I'll go on the damn date."

"Tell me how it goes." Darcy sang, walking back over to her desk to get some finished cases filed. Jess rubbed her eyes, grabbed her keys, and the gift bag. She had pulled multiple days at the precinct, which was so unhealthy, but what can she do? They had found another body right outside a diner Jess liked to go to at times. This time, the woman looked nothing like her. Bright blonde hair, green eyes, and sunken features. This girl was on her way home from class when she was strangled and raped.

It was 2009 and this girl still had her whole life ahead of her. She set her things inside her convertible and got inside with a dreary yawn. That was until her phone rang. "Oh, for the love of Christ." She groaned. When she saw the caller I.D. flashing across the screen, she wanted to mentally facepalm. "Yes, Clark?"

"Someone sounds moody." He replied. "Did you pull another all-nighter?"

She yawned once again. "More like an all-weeker."

"So, I'm calling to ask you a question." He started. "I, uh, don't know if this is you punching a photographer…" Jess squeezed her eyes shut. "Next to Bruce Wayne."

Jess started up her car. "Clark, I would love to tell you all about my crazy night with Bruce Wayne, but I have to get ready for a date with said man from the newspapers."

Clark's sigh vibrated through the speaker of her phone. "Just, please be careful. I don't want to have to throw this man into the sun since, ya know, I love you."

She felt herself chuckle. "I appreciate the thought, Clark. I'll talk to you later. Give mom and dad my love." She made an obnoxious kiss sound into the speaker of the phone before hanging up.

Deep within the soils of Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne sat in his computer chair in front of the bat computer with concentration etched deep in his features. With the information bestowed to them by Joker, he found it almost odd how the Detective was able to shake it out of him and why Joker only wanted to talk to her.

"Master Bruce." Alfred's voice rang through, echoing off the cave walls. "You have a telephone call from Ms. Gordon. She sounds rather angry."

Bruce tore his gaze from the screen to look at Alfred. "Give me the phone." Alfred placed the Blackberry phone in his hand. "Barbara? Is everything alright?"

"What is wrong with you!" The redhead growled into the phone. "I have to hear, from my father of all people, that you're going on a date with the Detective!"

Bruce pulled the phone away from his ear upon her voice stabbing him in the eardrum. "Barbara, I need you to calm down and stop yelling."

"Big mistake…" Alfred muttered under his breath.

Like a roar from a lion, Bruce suddenly felt like the prey in the situation. "DON'T YOU DARE PATRONIZE ME!" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Bruce, this woman is my friend, one of my close ones. Are you doing this because you suddenly find her hard-headedness attractive, which I know you do, or are you doing it to get information out of her?" Bruce opened his mouth. "And I would think long and hard about the next thing that comes out of your mouth."

Bruce and Alfred shared a look before Batman cleared his throat. "It's a bit of both actually."

"Just a bit?"

Bruce ran a hand over his face. "Listen, if you think I'm doing this just for information, you're wrong. There is a killer out there wanting nothing more than to break her. I'm keeping a close eye on her."

Barbara released a heavy sigh. "Bruce, Jess has gone through a lot. Not only as a detective but as a woman. She's lost her husband, her best friend, and her partner all in the span of two years. If you're going to do this, please make sure you know what you're doing. The person who's going to be picking up the pieces is nobody but herself and, to be honest, I don't think she'll be able to do it again if she breaks. Please promise me that if it gets too much, you end it."

"Barbara…"

"Promise me, Bruce."

There was a long pause on Bruce's end. He knew Barbara's aggression was coming from a good place and she was right. He needed to be certain that what he was doing was the right thing to do. Could he give Jess Bruce Wayne and Detective Kent Batman? It seems that a question for fate to answer. "I promise."

Anxiously, Jess fiddled with the string of the black gift bag. She pulled her hand away, preceding to run her hand over the smooth skin of her stomach. The nerves were beginning to get to her. Why was she so nervous? "Okay, Kent, breathe." She coaxed herself. "You're probably just going out for dinner, nothing crazy."

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was wearing a matching lingerie set in the color midnight blue. "Who looks like she's trying too hard." She shook her head to stop herself from belittling herself. She took out the tissue paper, the see-through sheets falling around her in an array of dramatic flotation. She pulled out the contents inside to reveal a sparkly black dress.

She blinked a couple of times upon realizing how fancy it looked. "Oh my god." She mumbled before smiling like a teenage girl. "So, maybe it's not just dinner." With minimum struggle, Jess looked at herself in the mirror. The fabric almost pooled around her feet, had a giant slit up the left side of her leg, and showed off the curves she liked to hide. The sleeves of the dress rested on the curves of her shoulders and illuminated the bumps of each of her breasts. She tossed on black pumps, fixed her red lipstick, and swept her black hair over one shoulder to show off her pearl earring.

The sounds of her doorbell ringing quickly made her grab her things from her dresser and bolt to the front door. She opened her door to be met with someone that was not her date. Instead, it was Joe Jr., her landlord's son. "Hi, Joe." She sighed.

"Say," He smirked with a thick Jersey accent. "Are you all dolled up for me?" He was shorter than her by a few inches, had unruly curly Italian hair, and wore nothing but Hawaiian shirts, wife beaters, and jeans. He liked to make her laugh when she was down at work, but he tended to overstay his welcome at times. "Cause if you are, I can go get dressed right now."

"No," She pushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I have a date."

Joe felt his face contort into shock. "With whom!"

"With me." Joe spun around with an intimidating glare until he was met by Bruce's chest instead of his face.

Joe jumped backward into Jess, the woman catching him by his shoulders. "Say, Jessie, you sure know how to catch 'em, eh?"

Jess couldn't help the chuckle that left her pretty lips. "Goodnight, Joe." The two watched Joe stalk off, keeping a close on Bruce, before disappearing into his apartment. "I'm sorry about him." She closed her door, locking it in the process. "He's a little… Joe Jr."

"Wow," Bruce chuckled. "You look gorgeous." Jess's cheeks flared up upon his compliment. "I think I'm going to have to fight off the men for tonight."

"Stop." Jess laughed, smacking his chest lightly. "So, where are you taking me?"

Bruce held out a single rose from behind his back. "A play and then to dinner."

She took the flower from his fingers with a raised brow. "A play?"

"Well, it's more of an opera." He held his arm out for her. "I was going to take you to Phantom of the Opera but that isn't as entertaining as the opera we're going to go see." He opened the car door for her.

Jess climbed inside, caressing the petals of the rose with a smile. "What's the opera about?"

"It's called La bohème. It's about two poverty-stricken lovers who enjoy a whirlwind romance." Bruce laid his hand on his thigh. "I don't want to spoil it for you." Jess heard the familiar piano solo of Journey's Faithfully softly playing through Bruce's speakers. She tapped her foot to the beat of the song, humming to it which caught Bruce's attention.

"I didn't know you were into 80's soft rock." She hummed. "You seem more of a classical cello man."

He chuckled at her. "I have you to blame for that." He pulled the car up the valet. "It's been reminding me of you." Bruce watched Jess's face contort into an expression he couldn't read. Then, she looked at him with her lip pulled between her pretty teeth. He opened the door with a wink, getting out to help her out of the car.

Jess grabbed his hand, being careful not to step on her dress when exiting the vehicle. She brushed off a piece of lint from his shoulders. "You know, Mr. Wayne," She whispered. "If you were expecting to get laid tonight, you are sorely mistaken." Bruce laid a hand on her lower back with a smirk.

"Ms. Kent, I assure you," He leaned his head down to her ear with a sickly-sweet tone in his voice. "I will be between your legs all night."

The detective hummed at his words. She ignored the way her stomach flared up in desire at the way his fingers inched lower to rest on the curve of her ass. She grabbed his wrist, redirecting it towards his chest. From there, she grabbed the nook of his elbow with a smug smile. "Shall we, Mr. Wayne?"

He smirked at the way she was teasing him. "We shall, Ms. Kent." He led her inside the glamorous opera house that had been in the city since it was practically founded. "My parent's loved this opera house." Bruce started, leading her to his private booth upstairs. "This is where they had their first date, now that I'm remembering."

A surprised look flashed across her face. "Really?" She asked.

"Indeed."

"Well, I'm honored that you brought me here." She smiled. That smile soon faded when her heel got caught on the fabric of her dress. She stumbled forward with an ack sound. Bruce grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his chest.

"Easy there." He chuckled. "I can't have you hurting yourself on our first real date."

Jess couldn't help but laugh at herself. "I promise I'm not normally clumsy like this."

Bruce helped her fix the bottom of her dress. "It's fine." Jess gasped upon Bruce lifting her into his arms to finish climbing up the stairs. "It gives me an excuse to hold you." He winked. Jess playful smacked his chest once more, giggling like a schoolgirl. If the precinct was to hear and see her, she'd be teased until she retired.

There's a part of her that wants to tell him to put her down and set boundaries. This part of her brain was constantly using common sense and barricading her heart with its thick defenses of stone. Then there was the part of her that was giving in to the whirlwind romance of the night. Bruce set her down, leading her over to one of the red seats closer to the stage. "It says here the show is in Italian," Jess said, pointing to the program. "How am I supposed to understand anything that's going on?"

"Trust me, the music will tell the story for you." Jess adjusted the silk white gloves that reached past her elbows. "You know, the first time someone sees an opera, they have a pretty dramatic reaction. It either makes them feel special or it bores them. They will always love it if they enjoy it. They may come to appreciate it if they don't, but it will never become a part of their soul."

Jess softly chuckled and gave a knowing look at her date. "You got that from Pretty Woman, didn't you?" She watched Bruce shrug his shoulders and lean back into his chair, not before shooting her a wink.

"Maybe." Jess could only roll her eyes and turn her attention back to the stage once the house lights were lowered and the stage lights came on. During the duration of the play, Jess felt herself understanding the story through the orchestra's perfect harmonies. The beautiful story of a seamstress and a poet that fell in love, unbeknownst to the poet that she's sick and dying. Towards the ending of the play, Bruce caught a glimpse of Jess's teary-eyed face upon the seamstress dying in the arms of her lover. A small smile came across Bruce's face upon realizing the hardass Detective he's come to know from the past week has fallen in love with opera.

Subconsciously, Jess reached her hand over to grab the hand Bruce's; her eyes never leaving the sad scene before her. He brought it up to his lips, kissing her clothed knuckles. Jess turned her head to look him in the eyes. He pushed a strand of hair away from her face ever so tenderly. They leaned in towards each other as the orchestra's song began to come to an end, lips barely brushing over one another, when a loud thud behind the actors made them jump at the unexpected sound.

The lead actress screamed at the dead body behind her, snapping the couple back towards the stage. "Oh my god!" A woman from below screeched, triggering a chain reaction of commotion from below.

Jess stood up from her seat almost immediately. She reaches into her purse, pulling out her badge and her handgun. She kicked off her heels now in cop mode. "I'm sorry, Bruce, but I need to go."

Without thinking, he grabbed her heels. "Go, do your job." Jess gave a tight-lipped smile and ran out of the booth. She pushed past people running towards the exit. She rushed down the aisle and climbed onto the stage the best she could. With her gun's safety off, she slowly moved closer to the body.

It was yet another female body, short brown hair, and stab wounds all over her back. She was dressed in black attire which meant she was a part of the stage crew. She turned her over, onto her back, to see the words, too slow carved into her face. "I'm so sorry." Jess sighed with a small shake of her head. From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow dart between the curtains. "Freeze!" She shouted, running after the suspect. "GCPD!"

Amid dialing 911, the suspect turned the corner. "911 what's your emergency?"

"Dispatch, this is Detective Kent, badge number 1356, we have a 183 at Gotham City Opera House." She jumped over a trashcan that was knocked over by her suspect. "I am in pursuit of the suspect, send units over now!"

"Copy 1356, sending units now."

She ran out of the back doors only to see her suspect nowhere in sight. "Dammit!"