Oh my, it's been a hot minute since I've updated this... summer vacation has a way of doing that. But now, on with the drama.
Chapter 37 – Thanksgiving pt. 2
A more unique holiday gathering had likely never occurred in the history of the world. Furtive glances, awkward pauses, intermittent tears, and indirect questions abounded.
Bruce cornered Selina shortly before dinner, asking why she'd withheld her pregnancy from the Falcones until today. She explained she hadn't wanted to divulge any major personal details until they appeared in person, "just in case."
Bruce's stomach turned at the sound of that.
"Just in case" the Falcones weren't actually as trustworthy as they claimed.
"Just in case" they'd somehow end up using the Waynes' vulnerabilities to some dastardly advantage.
Bruce wasn't taking his eyes off them for one second that evening.
He studied every bite they took of Alfred's savory cooking. He counted how many sips of wine they both imbibed. And right along with his own pensive chewing, he swallowed all the intimate details they shared through conversation.
"I want to apologize again for our early arrival," Louisa offered. "I hope it hasn't caused too much trouble?"
"No, it's fine," Bruce quickly dismissed. Alfred raised an incredulous eyebrow, but soon returned to serving everyone.
"Our plans got sort of…"
"Accelerated," Carmine finished. "Turns out, our witness protection plan didn't offer quite as much protection as we'd like."
Selina put down her fork. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, just a little snag. Nothing for you to worry about."
Louisa shifted uneasily in her seat. "That wasn't what you said the other night."
"What do you want me to tell them, Lisa?"
"Who's Lisa?" asked Dick, confused.
Sighing, Louisa took a big gulp of wine. "My new name. And Carmine's is Carlos."
"Yes, Carlos and Lisa Fuller!" Carmine said with false grandeur. "We're just a boring couple from Florida now. My new favorite hobby is apparently pickleball."
"Mine is bird watching," added Louisa.
Carmine shot her a look. "Yeah, and maybe if you'd been looking out the window with binoculars, you'd have seen Tommy and Vito coming."
"That's not fair, they came in the middle of the night!" protested Louisa.
"Fine, whatever," Carlos waved his hand. When he glanced up, he noticed several uneasy expressions surrounding the table. "If you all must know, our 'safe' house ended up not being so safe. Two of my former associates broke in a few nights ago."
Selina was aghast. "How? Didn't the police say they'd caught everyone on your list?"
"Everyone on that list isn't everyone I know, sweetie," Carmine quipped.
"The police did their best," assured Louisa. "But your father's network was… substantial."
There was a moment of silence as the solemn news settled over everyone. But Bruce's mind soon moved to the next logical question.
"Where are you staying now?"
"The penthouse suite at Grand Gotham Hotel," Carmine replied.
"And what about after your visit?" Bruce continued.
Louisa pushed food around her plate anxiously. "The police are working on finding us a new house."
Carmine snorted. "Can't wait to see how long we get to stay at the next one!"
"If you're so paranoid, why don't we just live in the hotel forever?" Louisa shot back. "It's not like we can't afford it."
Scowling, Carmine angrily stabbed more food onto his fork.
"I know that look," Louisa warned. "Did something happen again last night? What aren't you telling me?"
"Ugh," muttered Carmine, looking shrewdly at Bruce and Selina. "This is what you two can expect after being married this long."
"Out with it!" Louisa demanded.
"It might have been nothing. I was half-asleep when I saw it, but… it looked like a drone outside our window."
Louisa was furious. "Didn't I tell you to close the drapes before you got into bed?!"
"Oh, as if you've always done everything I've asked, every time!"
"Everything important to our safety, yes, I have!"
By this point, everyone was having trouble enjoying their food – especially Selina. She stared at it, trying to restore her appetite by sheer will, but her senses were mostly offline.
"You two should stay here tonight," the words slipped from Selina's mouth, unbidden.
There was a symphony of stilted, awkward objections from the Falcones, Bruce, and Alfred, but Selina refused to suffer any of it. "None of you are going to change my mind on this. It's the right thing to do. It's the safe thing to do," she said pointedly, meeting Carmine's gaze.
Safe for whom? Bruce silently wondered. "Carmine, Louisa, would you excuse Selina and me for just a minute?"
Smiling as politely as she could manage, Selina followed Bruce into the kitchen, where they tucked themselves behind the humming refrigerator.
"What are you thinking?!" Bruce wasted no time. "Telling them to stay without even discussing it with me first!"
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't stand hearing any more about all near-misses they've had!" Selina pleaded. "The police obviously aren't able to keep up with the situation."
"And whose fault is that?"
She looked appalled. "They're not criminals anymore, Bruce! They've reformed. They deserve to leave their old life behind."
"Maybe."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Bruce crossed his arms. "Maybe they deserve to be scared for a little while. Punishment to fit at least some of the crime."
"But these aren't just harmless pranks they're up against! They could very well be killed!"
"So you want to risk luring their killers here, to Wayne Manor?" Bruce pressed.
"I'm not worried. The manor's security system is from twenty years into the future, you've said so yourself," she provided some levity. "And if a billionaire hiding an entire superhero identity feels safe with it, surely an ex-mafia couple can too."
Bruce's eyes softened somewhat. "If it were just this billionaire superhero and an ex-mafia couple, I'd say maybe. But I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire," he cupped her belly in his hands. "Any of you."
"I appreciate that," Selina acknowledged. "But I couldn't live with myself if my parents ended up dying because we were too afraid." She laughed drily. "I mean, really… Batman, too afraid? What's wrong with this picture?"
"You're not calling me a coward, are you, Mrs. Wayne?"
"Not exactly," she hedged. "Just… imagine if you were in my position."
"Eight months pregnant and unable to tie my own shoes without help?" he joked.
She swatted his arm playfully. " No, finding out I have parents who are still alive."
Some color faded from Bruce's face. Since Selina had discovered the Falcones over two months ago, he hadn't really considered the paradigm shift this carried for her. He'd been so preoccupied with sizing up Carmine that he'd overlooked the only thing that mattered to Selina: her parents were alive. And they wanted a relationship with her.
If he were in the unfathomable situation she was in now, he certainly wouldn't want to risk losing those parents again.
"All right," he pulled her close, talking into her hair. "They can stay."
Chapter 37
–
Thanksgiving pt. 2
A more unique holiday gathering had likely never occurred in the history of the world. Furtive glances,
awkward pauses, intermittent tears, and
indirect questions abounded.
Bru
ce cornered Selina shortly before dinner, asking why she'd withheld her pregnancy from the Falcones
until today. She
explained
she
hadn't wanted
to divulge any major personal details until they appeared
in person, "just in case."
Bruce's stomach turned a
t the sound of that.
"Just in case" the Falcones weren't actually as trustworthy as they claimed.
"Just in case" they'd somehow end up using the Waynes' vulnerabilities to
some
dastardly advantage.
Bruce wasn't taking his eyes off them for one second th
at evening.
He studied every bite they took of Alfred's savory cooking. He counted how many sips of wine they both
imbibed
. And right along with his own pensive
chewing
, he swallowed
all the
intimate detail
s
they
shared
through
conversation.
"I want to
apologize again for our early arrival," Louisa offered. "I hope it hasn't caused too much
trouble?"
"No, it's fine," Bruce quickly dismissed. Alfred raised an
incredulous
eyebrow,
but soon
returned
to
serving everyone.
"Our plans got sort of…"
"Acceler
ated," Carmine finished. "Turns out, our witness protection plan didn't offer quite as much
protection
as we'd like."
Selina put down her fork. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, just a little snag. Nothing for you to worry about."
Louisa shifted uneasily in her
seat. "That wasn't what you said the other night."
"What do you want me to tell them,
Lisa?
"
"Who's Lisa?"
asked Dick
, confused.
Sighing, Louisa took a big gulp of wine. "My new name. And Carmine's is Carlos."
"
Yes, Carlos and Lisa Fuller!
" Carmine s
aid with false grandeur. "
We're just a boring couple from Florida
now. My
new
favorite hobby is apparently pickleball."