From: "Van Handel, Nancy" Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 14:35:21 -0600 Subject: Story Submission - Dreams Can Come True - In A Bad Way TITLE: DREAMS CAN COME TRUE - IN A BAD WAY AUTHOR: N. Van Handel E-MAIL: nvanha@sjcd.cc.tx.us RATING: NC-17 CATEGORY: (C) XF/Batman SPOILERS: NONE KEYWORDS: Scully/other romance SUMMARY: Scully has dream but wonders later if it was real. DISCLAIMER: Mulder & Scully belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox. Batman belongs to DC Comics and anyone else I didn't mention who owns him. No infringement was intended. It's just in all good clean fun. She awoke just inside the doorway to her apartment. Blinking, she made her way to her knees. Wondering how long she had been out, she closed the door and sat on the couch trying to remember. It was a Friday, like any other Friday, when she and Mulder weren't on assignment. The day had been long and the paper work was still not finished. She had asked Mulder what he was doing that weekend. He made a little joke about her asking him out or was she just desperate for a date. She ignored him and told him to expect her at his apartment. They had to finish up the paper work that was to be on A.D. Skinner's desk by Monday morning. She would bring the video and wine for later. Of course he told her he had plenty of beer and videos at his place, only the videos usually followed their title with many X's. Grabbing her purse, she told him just to be there around seven or eight o'clock. He grumbled something of a remark, but she didn't stay to listen. She remembered fighting traffic and parking, but after that, it was a blank. She looked at the clock. It read nine o'clock. 'Great, I'm late,' she thought. Grabbing the phone, she tried to call Mulder. There was no answer. Grabbing the files from the floor, she quickly located her purse, searched it, and found everything in place, including her gun. She left, locking the door behind her. She stopped suddenly in the parking lot when she saw the empty space her car had been parked in. She turned and went back into her apartment. She called the police and they told her that they would send someone out as soon as possible. After hanging up, she tried to call Mulder again, but this time she got a busy signal. He must be trying to call her. The police finally arrived. Officer Mantoya knocked on Scully's door. 'Nice place,' she thought. When the door finally opened she saw a small framed woman with red hair and a nice suit. "I'm Officer Mantoya, you called to report your car stolen?" Scully only nodded and told her everything. "I'm trying to reach my partner to let him know what had happened." "Let me get your name." "Special Agent Dana Scully, FBI." she held out her badge for Officer Mantoya to see. "FBI, huh?" Scully only smiled. "Well, we'll do our best to get your car back. If you have any questions or if you remember anything else about what happened, please call the Department and ask for me, OK?" Scully only nodded as she watched Officer Mantoya leave. As soon as the officer left, Dana tried calling Mulder again; still no answer. She grabbed the files and headed for the curb where she flagged down a cab. "Take me to the FBI building please." Something felt very strange about the whole thing and she had hoped Mulder may be at the office. She then noticed that everything around her seemed strange; different. "Commissioner Gordon." Officer Mantoya called to him from his door. "Yes Mantoya, come in." She closed the door and approached his desk. "How can I help you?" "I just took a report from an FBI agent who had her car stolen." "So what's so unusual about that?" he questioned. "Sir," she didn't know how to say this but she did, "Sir, she showed me her badge and it showed her name and looked all official, except when you get to the date. It had an issue date of 1998." "You think she could be an impostor?" Mantoya only shrugged. "Alright, I want you to look her up in the database and report back what you find." Mantoya nodded and left quickly. "Did you get that Batman?" He looked toward the dark corner where Batman had stepped into when Officer Mantoya knocked. There was no response only the wind coming from his window. "One of these days I'm going to...oh what am I talking about." He grabbed a cigar from the box and lit it. Batman watched her as she walked out of the building totally confused. She sat on the steps with her chin in her hands. Watching her carefully, he saw a limo pull up in front of her. A man climbed out and pulled her ruffly into it. The limo soon pulled away and Batman followed. He recognized it as one of Rupert Thorne's and wondered what was going on. It pulled into its usual place, a club off Broadway Street called "The Cats Meow." It was named after his little infatuation with Catwoman. Batman landed near the skylight and watched as they hustled her into the usual back room. He moved to a window to get a better view. Scully was pushed into a plush leather chair. A fat man in a white suit behind the desk spun to face her. "So your the FBI Agent that's going to bring me down, huh, sweetie? Well, you better think again. Nobody brings Rupert Thorne down. Now suppose you tell us where you hid that file and I'll let you go." Dana only looked blank at him, "What are you talking about?" "The file," he shouted, "I don't have time to play games. I would suggest that you tell me where it is." "Look Mister, you can threaten me all you want but I have no idea what you are talking about. I have no file on you. I don't even know who you are." "If that's the case, throw her in the river, boys. We can search her place later." Just then the window broke and Batman flew in. His cape surrounded Dana and the two thugs behind her. She couldn't see. All she heard was a thud and the ropes loosen. Turning quickly, he punched the third guy who was approaching him with a knife, and then, tossed a batarang striking the fourth goon who was at the door. Thorne was already gone. Batman wondered how a fat man like him could move so quickly. He turned and grabbed Scully pulling her to the window with him. "If we don't leave now, there will be thirty plus men in here in five seconds." He wrapped his arm around her and before she could protest they were flying through the air high above the city. She closed her eyes and buried her head into his shoulder. She could feel him pull her tighter to him. They soon landed on a roof top. "You can let go now." he told her, but she didn't. He noticed a trickle of blood coming from her nose and she fell limp in his arms. He laid her down gently and began checking her for any wounds. With none found, he picked her up gently and flew down to the Batmobile parked just in the alley below. Alfred opened the drapes covering the huge windows. Light filled the room and Dana blinked rubbing her eyes. She hoped everything that happened was just a dream. She soon realized it wasn't, the weird dream continued. Alfred turned and walked over to her. "Hungry Madam?" She only nodded and grabbed the coffee from the tray. He placed the tray in front of her and started to leave. "Master Wayne shall be here shortly to see you. There are clothes in the closet," he opened the closet door, "and the bathroom is through these doors should you care to use it." "Wait," she called before he closed the door behind him. "Where am I?" "Why, at Wayne Manor of course." He closed the door and left her alone. Getting up, she made her way to the bathroom where she saw a room as big as her apartment. The jacuzzi tub was full of water, already bubbling. Candles were lit for aroma and a towel and robe were laying across the vanity that covered one side of the wall. After a long relaxing bath. She pulled the robe on and wandered back into the bedroom. She poured herself more coffee and walked to the closet. 'This Wayne guy must be rich,' she thought. The closet was filled with every kind of clothing a woman could dream of. Evening gowns, suits, workout clothes, swim suits, casual wear, all with matching shoes. She pulled a suit of her size and shoes and threw them on the bed. Setting the cup down she began to get dressed. In the corner, near the huge windows, Bruce Wayne sat reading the early morning edition. Hearing her walk out, he watched the small framed woman look in the closet. He admired her curves as she dropped the robe and pulled on a silk slip. He hadn't remembered the last time he had a woman in the house. It had been a while, Alfred had once pointed out. Placing the paper down, he got up and walked over. She admired how the silk felt against her skin. Looking up, she saw a well- built man with the most stunning eyes walk towards her. "Hi, I'm Bruce Wayne." still stunned, she took his hand and shook it. "Special Agent Dana Scully, FBI." She felt like she had been drooling. She caught his eyes wondering down her body and quickly grabbed the robe and placed it in front of her. "I see Alfred brought you breakfast. If you like, I can come back later and we can talk." "How did I get here?" she asked. "Batman dropped you off at the hospital. He had seen me there and told me what happened to you. The doctors said you were OK and let you go with me. The doctors really suggested you return today to be checked out further." "All I remember is..." she trailed off and looked up at him. "Batman. Is that what that thing is called." Thing? She called him a thing. Not like the other women, that's for sure. They would use the phrases like hero, savior, anything else but thing. Why was this bothering him so much? "Thing or not, Batman keeps the streets safe for us citizens to walk down." "Well, what ever, disturbed personality or not, I wanted to thank him for rescuing me. Oh god.." she had just remembered, she hadn't tried to get in touch with Mulder for some time, and he might be worried. He probably had heard about what happened to her. "May I use your phone, please. I have to call my partner. I should let him know where I am." "You know, Batman mentioned something about a file that Rupert Thorne wanted." "I told him I have no file on him. I don't even know who he is. Lets just say that all my files have absolutely nothing to do with him, unless he's hiding little green men." "Little green men?" He raised an eyebrow, "The phone is over there. If you need anything else, just give Alfred a call and he will gladly assist. As soon as your ready, I'll drive you back to your place." "Thank you, Mr. Wayne." "Please, call me Bruce." He took a step closer to her and she could feel his body heat through his suit. Then he quickly turned and left the room. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know why. Alfred met Bruce in the hall, "Are you alright, Sir?" "Yes Alfred, fine." he walked away realizing that he felt flushed and hot. He really hadn't felt this way since the first time he saw Vicky Vale, but even she didn't really have this kind of effect on him. After failing to reach Mulder again, she got dressed and met Bruce downstairs. Scully climbed into his car and let Alfred close the door for her. Bruce climbed in on the drivers side and soon they were on their way. It took them a long time to leave the vast land that Bruce Wayne owned behind. That was when she finally saw the full city. This wasn't Washington, this wasn't even the same state. She leaned forward looking out at the buildings. What was going on? And the big question was what had happened to her? They pulled up in front of her apartments. At least they still looked the same. She saw Bruce get out and walk around to her side and open the door. She took his hand and climbed out. No man she ever dated treated her this way. Suddenly she felt his body pressing against hers with a force that nearly knocked the wind from her. They both tumbled to the ground and he rolled on top of her. Both looking up to where her apartments had been, they saw only a smoldering pile of rubble and debris. They looked at each other. Realizing the closeness of one another, they quickly scrambled to their feet. The police showed up as well as the fire department. Commissioner Gordon approached Bruce as he held Dana. "Bruce what happened?" "I have no idea Jim. I was dropping off Ms. Scully here when her apartments went up in flames." "Ms. Scully, do you have any idea who would do this?" "Yes, but I still have no idea why." "Perhaps we should go downtown and talk about his in my office." She only nodded and climbed back into Bruce's car. They soon arrived at police headquarters and found themselves inside Commissioner Gordon's office. "Alright, how did this all start." he asked lighting a cigar. Scully coughed and waved her hand in front of herself to clear the air. She told him the whole story. Then Bruce told him what he knew, including what Batman told him. Gordon muddled over everything and paced about. "You know, this may be what we need to get Thorne behind bars and off Gotham's streets." "Gotham!?" she exclaimed. She definitely was not in Washington. But then why were some of the things still the same? Her mind began to whirl. What was going on. She could see the world beginning to fade away to darkness. Bruce turned to her and grabbed her off the chair and quickly swept her up, placing her gently on Gordon's couch. Blood again trickled out her nose. "What's wrong with her?" Gordon asked. "I have no idea Jim. Call the hospital and tell them I'm bringing her." Scully soon awoke laying in a hospital bed. Bruce was beside her. "Nice to see that you're awake." Whispering, "How long have I've been out?" "Two days. Do you have any idea why this is happening to you? Is there something wrong with you that we don't know about?" "Yes," she looked away from him. "I have cancer." "Cancer, but how? Why?" He suddenly felt his heart break. Why, he couldn't figure it out? He touched her cheek gently and slowly traced it with his finger. She didn't stop him. She only laid there looking into his blue eyes. "How?" he whispered. He wanted to know how she could have gotten this. Her voice was low and quiet, "Lets us say that our government isn't what it appears to be." "Are you trying to say that our government gave you this?" She told him the long sorted story about her abduction, the implant, and how she found out that the government was responsible for her cancer as well as many others. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She couldn't believe she was telling him. She only opened up to Mulder. But she felt different about Bruce. Bruce shook his head wanting not to believe what he was hearing. How could our government do such a thing. He suddenly realized that he was holding her hand. She could see the anger building in his eyes. She closed her eyes and looked away. "I've learned to live with it." Pulling her hand away, she sat up and began to get dressed. Rupert Thorne looked at the pathetic group of men standing before him. Not a one could stop Batman let alone get a single woman. He needed that file! "You guys are worthless." he grumbled at them in disgust. "But boss..." the man stopped when he saw that look in Thorne's eyes. "I want you to find her. Bring her here. And this time make sure she has the file. That little file can bring us all down. Now, we don't want that to happen, do we boys?" "No, boss." they chimed in unison. "Then what are you waiting for?" The men climbed over each other trying to leave. It looked like a group of children trying to get to the ice cream truck. Thorne walked over and looked out the window. Batman was out there. He could feel it. Waiting for him. He had to close this up and quick. This would mean that he needed help. But from whom? Not having a place to return to, Bruce took Scully back to the Manor. "Alfred, Ms. Scully will be staying with us for a while." "Yes, Sir. Is there anything I can do?" "Not right now, Alfred." "Very well sir, I'll finish preparing dinner." "Thank you Alfred." Bruce turned to Dana and showed her around the house. She couldn't believe that one man lived in such a huge house. Then she heard a child's laughter. They both entered the study. Tim Drake was sliding across the wood floors in his socks. Tim stopped in front of them and knew he was in trouble. Thinking fast, he stood erect in front of Bruce. "Hey Bruce, I was wanting to know if you could help me with my homework." "Not right now Tim." Bruce told him in a low voice. "I want you to meet my guest. This is Ms. Dana Scully. Ms. Scully, this is Tim Drake. I've been watching over him since his father, shall we say, had a turn of bad luck." She could see the embarrassment in Tim's face and held out her hand. "Hello, Tim, it's a pleasure to meet you." Tim shook her hand. "Hum, Dick called and said he needed to talk to you." She noticed how quickly his mode changed to excitement. Alfred entered the room just behind them. "Master Bruce, Master Dick called and wanted to remind you that you have a fund raiser to attend tonight for the Wild Life Preservation. He said that he will meet you there promptly at seven with Ms. Gordon." "Thank you Alfred." "Well, I hate to keep you." Dana said as she turned to go. Slightly embarrassed, Bruce turned to her. "I had totally forgotten about this, I was just wondering, would you like to attend this with me. If you don't want to, I totally understand. You have had a trying week." "I'll go Bruce." Tim interjected gleefully. "Not on a school night, Tim." Thinking it over, she finally answered, "Sure, I'll be glad to. Where's it being held?" "At the Gotham Library." Bingo! That's what she needed. She could sneak away and find out what was going on. Maybe even get a hold of Mulder. He probably had the whole FBI out looking for her. "Be ready, then, at six. I'll tell Alfred only Tim will be here for dinner. At least he won't feel like he wasted his time." "Come on Bruce," Tim begged, "Can't I come, too." he gave him the puppy dog eye look. "That's not going to work, Tim, you know it." "It was worth a try." Tim smiled and shrugged his shoulders at him. Dana was trying to zip up her gown when Tim knocked on her door. Walking over, she opened it. "Come on in, Tim." His mouth dropped when he saw her. She was a knock-out. The black dress she wore clung to her like a glove. Her hair was curled and pulled back from her face. "Wow, you look great." She smiled at his boyish charm and turned back to the mirror. "Hum, Bruce told me about you. I'm really sorry about your uh..." his voice trailed off. "Tim, as I told Bruce, I'm fine and I can live with it. You both sound like my partner." "You have a partner? What's their name." Hesitantly, she answered. "Special Agent Fox Mulder. Bruce reminds me of him a little bit. Very protective." "He...huh. Do you two have something going on together?" Shocked, she turned facing him. "Well, I mean, I think Bruce likes you and all. I just don't want to see him hurt." "What makes you think that he likes me. He doesn't really know me." "I can tell just by the way he looks at you. The last time he looked at a woman like that, she broke his heart. If you have something going with this partner of yours, well... you can see where I'm coming from." "For your information young man, I have no intention of hurting Bruce. As far as my partner goes, well, lets just say we have a very deep friendship and respect for each other. That comes from saving each others life so many times." "Oh," he walked over to her pointing at the back of her dress "do you need some help?" "Could you please." Tim only smiled and zipped it up for her. "Look, Tim, I don't know what happened to your father and I can see that you look up to Bruce. Believe me when I tell you, I don't want to hurt anyone." Tim smiled and jumped on the bed. "You know, your pretty cool. I mean at least you talk to me like an adult and stuff. I've been talked to like I'm some kind of kid who doesn't understand things. I've been around, and I'm not stupid." "I'm sure your not Tim. You seem like a pretty bright young man to me." "Thanks." Tim smiled and rolled off the other side of the bed. "If you need anything, you just let me know. Oh, wear this," he handed her a bottle of perfume. "This is his favorite." Barbara Gordon looked around the Hall. Everyone who was everyone was there. Even Selina Kyle, the infamous Catwoman. This fund raiser was right up her alley. Barbara only hoped that she wouldn't be doing her own fund raising later. Dick Grayson walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Seen Bruce yet? He has to give his speech soon." "No. I just hope nothing happens here. Between Catwoman and Rupert Thorne over there." "Well," he winked at her, "I'm sure Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl can stop them. Want a drink?" He reached over to a passing waiter and grabbed two glasses of wine. At the door Vicky Vale was greeting and interviewing people as they walked in the door. She looked stunning as usual and Summer Gleeson was on the other side catching people Vicky missed. Just then Bruce and Dana walked through the door. Everyone stopped and clapped as they walked down the stairs. A flood of reporters swarmed him and Dana made her slip. Walking over to the table where Scully was, Barbara approached her. "Hi, I'm Barbara Gordon, Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter. This is Dick Grayson." "Pleasure to meet you." Scully shook their hands. "I'm Dana Scully, Special Agent with the FBI." "My father told me about you. Did they ever figure out who blew-up your apartment?" Dana only shook her head. She looked over toward Bruce and saw him being lead away by a tall blond in a slinky blue dress. "That's Vicky Vale, she and Bruce used to be a thing." "A Thing?" Dana asked. "Who hasn't this man dated. When we came in, there must have been twenty other women giving me evil looks and questioning him on why he hadn't called them." Laughing, "That's Bruce for ya." Dick handed Dana a glass of wine. Bruce gave his speech and afterwards was again swarmed by reporters. While Bruce gave his speech, Dana made her way through the hall into the library. The halls were dark and empty. She reached into her purse and pulled out a mini flashlight. She made her way past many doors till she found the one she was looking for. The Archives. Here, everything was on microfiche. Knowing it would take too long. She scanned for anything that had Thorne's name in the headline. She jotted down notes and went to the physical papers and made copies of them. She was just glad that at least this library kept their newspapers and didn't convert them totally over to computers. After finding what she wanted, she made her way back to the main hall. Seeing Bruce still crowded, she made her way to the french doors and onto the balcony. She stood outside and pulled her cellphone out and tried to dial Mulder's number again. If she didn't reach him this time, she had made the decision to go and see him. She only hoped that, like her apartments, his were in the same place. "Beautiful moon out tonight." She turned quickly and found Bruce standing behind her. She shivered at the thought of how close he was to her and also how he just walked up behind her without her hearing. She shoved the cellphone back in her purse. Sensing her shiver, Bruce pulled his jacket off and placed it around her. "It's great to get away from all those reporters and have some peace and quiet." "I guess you get a lot of that." "Yeah, It comes with the territory. When your the head of such a vast empire, everyone wants a little piece of you." Dana felt him step closer to her. She took a step back and leaned against the railing. Reaching over she grabbed her glass off the edge and took a sip from it. His body heat radiated out to her. Dana felt like she could almost cut the uncomfortable tension between them with a knife. Bruce place one arm around her and pulled her to him tightly. Grabbing the glass with the other, he pulled it gently from her hand and placed it back down on the rail. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Dana didn't resist. Something inside her told her not to. What was it about this guy that made her feel this way. He started to lean down to kiss her when Rupert Thorne thrust open the door. They pulled away from each other quickly. Seeing Thorne, Bruce narrowed his eyes. Dana tried to cool off by downing her drink. "Hello Rupert," Bruce said threw clenched teeth. "Why, Mr. Wayne, I just came out here to congratulate you on your speech. Very touching." "Thank you. If you'll excuse us." He grabbed Dana's hand and pulled her down the stairs out into the garden where other couples were walking. "You can't escape me Ms. Scully." he said quietly. He looked over the edge watching. Just then Selina Kyle walked out. "Why, Ms. Kyle, or shall I say Catwoman. What brings you out here?" She tried to ignore his puff faced smile. "Have you seen Mr. Wayne? I was hoping I could talk to him." "Why, Catwoman, are you resorting to just asking for money, I thought all the fun in getting money was in taking it when one was not aware." "Why Mr. Thorne, are you asking me to rob you?" "He's down in the garden. Have fun, honey." He watched her as she seemed to slink down the stairs, like a cat stalking it's prey. Bruce pulled Dana to a small pond in the middle of garden. The moon glistened off the water and seemed to dance in her eyes as he looked at her. Dana felt awkward. She had never in her life let anyone just drag her away like he did. But for some odd reason, she didn't fight him. He pulled her close again. His body heat warmed her and her own heat just added to it. She felt like some horny teenager. He placed his hand under her chin and tilted it up towards him. Just before their lips could meet, Selina waltzed in calling out his name. Dana pulled away quickly and move a few feet away. "There you are Bruce. I'm really sorry to disturb you but I think we have some very important things to discuss. You don't mind, do you?" Dana could hear the disgust in his voice as he responded. "Can we do this another time, Ms. Kyle. I think I've had enough talking to people for one night. Why don't you call my secretary and we'll make an appointment to meet sometime this week." Dana quickly interjected. "Why don't you two talk about it now, Bruce," she turned and faced him only to see the disappointment in his eyes, "We'll talk later." she walked away quickly and left the two alone. She could feel a sense of relief sweep over her. What was she going to do. The first thing she did know, was to find Mulder. But maybe even before that, take a cold shower. She could still smell the sent of his cologne on his jacket. She pulled it close around her. Suddenly she felt a hand reach out and grab her. Bruce sat next to Selena listening to her talk. It was all gibberish to him. His mind was elsewhere. He watched as Dana walked away. Why was she running from him. He was pretty good at sensing what people thought. He thought for sure she wanted him, too. Just then, a swarm of women came rushing at him. All of them screaming his name, wanting him to dance. But amongst all their screams, one slapped him in the face enough for him to notice. It sounded like it came from the direction that Scully had left in. He quickly excused himself and ran towards that direction. But first, he had to make a little stop. Dick and Barbara were out on the balcony when they, too, heard the scream. Moving quickly, they both ran in the same direction. Making a little stop as well. Batman's cape flapped behind him, sounding like a bat flying through the night. Catching sight of Dana being pulled into a car, he quickly ran and jumped on the roof of the car as it pulled away. Clinging with all his might, he caught a glimpse of Nightwing and Batgirl pulling up a long side on Nightwing's motorcycle, but they were pushed aside as the car took a sharp turn. Inside Dana punched and kicked at anyone who touched her. One of the men slapped her and pushed her into the seat across from him, pinning her with his hand on her throat. She could feel the pain shoot through her and blood began to drip from her nose. Suddenly a hand broke through the driver's window and smashed into the side of the driver's face. Another punch landed on his arm. Batman grabbed the steering wheel and pulled on it. The car slammed into the guard rail and then back to the road. Batman knew he had to do something. Turning quickly, he flung his cape across the windshield. The men screamed and the car slammed into the side rails and down the hill. In a heat of panic, the driver slammed on the breaks. The car, hitting a rock, rolled over onto its side and skidded to a stop. Batman ran over and pulled open the door. Looking in, he could see Dana laying on top of one of the men. Leaning in, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up. He could see the blood under her nose. Jumping down, with her in his arms, he placed her down and began checking her. Blinking, she could feel his hand pushing her hair back from her face. "Where am I?" She sat up but was immediately pushed back down by a gloved hand. "You're all right," he whispered gently to her. "You're that Batman character." "The one and only." "Thank you for..." before she could finish, the car exploded launching pieces of sharp metal into the air. Almost instinctively, Batman flung his body on top of hers. With his body on top of hers, she felt the air escape her lungs. She buried her head in his chest and covered her ears. Batman felt the heat float over him and ruffle his cape. He pulled her up quickly and they both made their way to the road. Waiting for them, Nightwing reached down and helped Dana up. Batgirl took her and sat her down on a large rock. "Is there anyone we could get a hold of to help you?" she asked. "Yes, hum...Bruce Wayne. I don't know his number, but he was at the party." Nightwing looked over at Batman. "Tell you what, Batman, I'll take her to a hospital and you go get Mr. Wayne and let him know." He could tell that Batman was distracted and pushed him on up the road. Getting the hint, he disappeared into the darkness without a word. Nightwing crouched down in front of her, "Are you feeling well enough to travel?" She only nodded and they were off. Dana hung up the phone and sat on one of the plastic chairs that were nearby. Mulder wasn't there, nor was he answering his cellphone. She was starting to worry. The FBI couldn't find him either. She had talked to the operator and was told that she got no answer from his office and no one had seen him since Friday. Scully placed her head in her hands. She had no place to go, no way to reach Mulder, she was in a totally different city, but the weirdest thing was she seemed to be going along with her dream. The pain felt real enough, the smells, even the feelings. "I just hope I wake up soon." Looking up she saw Bruce walking in. Following close behind was Vicky Vale. Dana felt a tinge of jealousy but brushed it back. She couldn't let herself feel this way. She met him half way and he quickly lead her out. "Are you OK? When I heard what happened I got here a fast as I could." "I'm fine." She climbed into the back seat of Vicky's car and they drove off to the Mansion. Dana sat quietly, watching the city pass her by. Vicky watched her in the rear view mirror. 'Where did this woman come from?' she thought. 'I can't even find anything on this woman except that she is an agent with the FBI.' She also didn't seem like the type for Bruce. She looked over at Bruce who sat turned in his seat. As if to keep an eye on Dana and one on the road. She could see the lines of worry in his face. She needed to find out more. The only thing she really did know was that Rupert Thorne wanted her for something and many attempts had been made on her life. If she could just find out why, it would make a great story. This may also put her back into good graces with Bruce too. She still couldn't figure out why he broke up with her. Their romance was hot and heavy. Then one day, it was over. She pulled into the drive way and stopped at the door. There, Alfred opened the back door and helped Dana out. Bruce turned to Vicky as he started to climb out. "Thanks for the ride, Vicky." He touched her hand gently. "I really appreciate it." "Bruce, if there is anything I can do." She leaned in close to him. "You know how to reach me." "That won't be necessary, Vicky, but thanks anyway." He climbed out and followed Alfred through the door. Vicky snorted and felt left with a cold feeling. She had to get to the bottom of this. Pulling away, she parked just outside the gates. She quickly raced in before they closed and started the long trek to the Manor. Inside, Dana quickly went to her room and closed the door. She pulled the copies out of her purse and laid them on the bed. From what she learned at a quick glance, Rupert Thorne was a Mob Boss and involved with almost everything illegal. Nothing was ever proved or linked to him. So why did he think she had info on him. He kept mentioning a file. Pulling open the nightstand drawer, she pulled out the files she had been carrying with her. She heard a gentle knock on her door. She quickly gathered everything up and pushed it under her pillow. Straightening her dress she opened the door. Bruce stood before her with hands behind his back. "Hello Bruce." "May I come in?" he asked softly. "Well..." she looked back at the bed and only nodded. "I just wanted to make sure that you were OK. I'm really sorry about everything that happened tonight. I shouldn't.." "Look Bruce," she said cutting him off, "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. I really appreciate you letting me stay here with you, but please, don't feel that you are responsible for me. I've been in worse positions than someone trying to kill me. Trust me." she knew it sounded cold but she had to say it. She walked over to the window and leaned on the edge of it. The moon light struck her face softly. He followed her to the window and stood beside her. "I'm sorry that you think I'm watching over you, but I do feel kind of responsible for you. I promised Commissioner Gordon that I would take care of you and keep you out of harm." "Bruce, I just think that first thing in the morning I should really get with the FBI. They should be able to put me up in one of the block houses and I'll be ok." Bruce could see her determination. He sure would try to change her mind. He stepped closer to her. Instinctively, she stepped back, but he stepped even closer to her. She stared up into his eyes. They seemed so strong and yet, there was a deep dark secret behind the strength. He reached out and pulled her close to him. The smell of his cologne gently danced around her, enticing her, like a drug. His arms were strong and comforting. They reminded her of someone else but she couldn't remember who. 'Maybe Mulder,' she thought. She placed her hands on his chest, even that felt familiar, and tried to push away gently. He leaned down to her, placing one hand gently under her chin and tilting it up to him. Without a word, she laid her head quickly upon his chest. She felt warm and confused. Her hormones were going crazy. True, she hadn't been with a man for a long time, but her job never really gave her time. She could hear his heart beating quickly. She turned around in his arms to face looking out the window. The moon shined bright. She didn't know how to tell him that to much was going on in her life right now to even possible think of a relationship. As if he read her mind, he pulled away gently and turned to leave. "I'll have Alfred pack you some things and leave you a phone number where you can reach me, should you feel the need." She could hear the slight disappointment in his voice. "Dana..." he turned and faced her, "I'm sorry if..." he trailed off and only stood there. The moon light danced gently about her. Just then he saw Vicky Vale crossing the court yard. He narrowed his eyes in disgust. Walking over, he kissed Dana gently on the forehead and walked out. Dana watched him go. She felt her heart break. Vicky didn't realize how huge this place really was. She walked up the steps leading to a patio with marble floors. The fountains that usually danced were quiet. She saw lights coming on and off before they fell silent. She checked the door. Lucky for her it was open. She stepped in and started looking around. She had been here a couple of times before, but was limited to one bedroom and the study plus dining area. Pulling her shoes off she decided that the study was the best place to look first. Tim Drake heard the door opening. He quickly dove behind the chair and hid. He saw Vicky's long legs slink in and move about the room. Pulling open drawers and looking at various notes, she didn't find much. Tim followed her quietly from room to room. He wondered if Bruce...what was he thinking, Bruce was probably tracking her too. Vicky stopped at Dana's room and listened. She placed her hand on the knob and turned gently. Peaking in, she saw a body in bed sleeping. Noticing the table by the window, she walked over to it. The copies Dana had made laid spread across it. Just then, she felt her legs go from beneath her and she hit the floor with a thud. "Ouch." she moaned. Rolling over, she saw a gun barrel placed directly at her face. "Why, Ms. Vale, don't you know that breaking and entry is a crime?" Scully said calmly. "You know you would make a very bad thief. Get up." "Ms. Scully, if you would just tell me what is going on here, I would happy to leave." Dana only shook her head. "Ms. Vale, if I told you, I would have to kill you. Now move." she motioned her towards the door. Vicky didn't move for Bruce was standing in the door way with arms crossed and an angry look on his face. "Hello, Bruce," Vicky said in her low sexy voice. Walking over he grabbed Vicky's arm and dragged her out. "I'll take care of this Ms. Scully." Dana didn't hear a word after that. Vicky stopped at the last step and pulled Bruce back to her. Leaning down she kissed him. She could feel the coldness of his lips when he pushed her back. "Come on, Bruce, I remembered when you used to..." she stopped as he pulled her the rest of the way down. Stopping at the door he glared at her. He hated reporters sneaking up on him, but even worse, he hated it when he thought he knew them. "Vicky, I'm not in a very good mood right now, your just lucky that, one, I'm not calling the police and, two, that Ms. Scully or myself didn't shoot you. Now I would suggest that you leave now and don't come back unless your invited." Vicky yanked her arm away from him and walked out. "No wonder you never married, Bruce." He watched her as she walked down the steps and disappeared. Dana sat on the bed and placed her gun back in its holster. Tim came up to her and jumped on the bed beside her. "So what did Vicky want?" Dana looked at him and reached over pushing a strand of hair from his eyes, "I have no idea. Maybe a story." She laid back on the bed, tired. "Tim, tell me about Bruce, what you know of him." Tim raised one eyebrow and crawled and laid down beside her. "Well, there isn't much to tell." He proceeded to tell her all he knew, except about Batman. That was when he realized that he, too, really didn't know Bruce Wayne. "Why are you looking up Rupert Thorne, I thought you said you didn't know him." "I don't, Timmy, but I have to learn everything I can in order to protect myself. I have a feeling he is the one behind all this mess." Tim rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow. "If I can get you some information, would it help?" Not taking him seriously, she only nodded. "Great, I'll have it for you in the morning." He rolled off the bed and raced for the door. "Night." he yelled to her as he opened the door. "Good night Tim." she called back in a sleepy voice. Tim closed the door quietly and started to run off when he slammed into a muscled bound chest. "Oh, hi, Bruce." The morning came with a loud bang. Lighting flashed about her room and thunder woke her from her sound sleep. Sitting up, Dana walked over and looked out the window. It must have been raining all night and continued now. She could see parts of the yard with large patches of water forming. She slowly made her way to the bathroom where again she found the tub full and bubbling. Climbing in she sank into position and placed a warm wash cloth over her face. The lights flickered a few times but she didn't seem to notice. Down stairs, Alfred placed a suit case by the front door. Tim sat on the stairs with his chin in his hands looking sad. "Alfred, why is she leaving? I was really starting to like her." "I don't know Master Timothy. Master Bruce only instructed me to pack a bag for her. You know how he is. He doesn't like to talk much." "But I thought that he liked her and stuff." "So did I Master Timothy, so did I." Alfred walked away leaving Tim alone. Why did he do this. He seemed to always do this. Chase away the people he cared about. The only ones he didn't was Batgirl and Nightwing. Tim got up and made his way to the dining room where Bruce was having his morning coffee. "Morning, Bruce." he said with a sad tone. "Morning Tim, finish your homework last night?" "Yeah." He looked down at his plate and then pushed it away. He didn't feel very hungry this morning. "You know, Tim, Alfred will be upset if you don't eat." "I'm not really hungry." Just then the lights flickered again before going out completely. Suddenly, they heard a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. "Alfred, are you OK?" Bruce called out. "Yes, Master Bruce, no major damage or injuries." "I thought we had a back up generator." "For the Batcave." Bruce got up and felt his way to the kitchen to make sure Alfred was OK. Tim felt around and found some candles. When Bruce came back Tim handed him one. "I'll go check on Ms. Scully, you light some more candles." "Right-O Bruce." Dana sat up in the tub. It was pitch dark and she couldn't make out a thing. Climbing out carefully she felt around for the towel and wrapped it around herself. She slowly made her way to the door, trying very hard not to knock anything over. At the same time, Bruce made his way up the stairs and knocked on her door. There was no answer. Wondering if she was even awake he opened the door slowly. A gust of wind brushed against him and blew the candle out. Walking in, he fumbled through his pockets trying to find a match. Just then, he felt a body bump into his and they both fell over. Dana landed on top of him pining him down. The candle rolled away and under the bed. Lightning danced about, lighting the room only briefly. They both looked at each other with a shocked looks on their faces. Dana slowly crawled off of him, not realizing that she had just left the towel behind. Bruce sat up and looked at her. Water droplets glistened on her skin. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Fine. What happened?" "Storm must have knocked the power out. I was coming up her to give you a candle, but..." he realized then that the candle was missing. Feeling around the floor, they both crawled around. Dana bumped her head on the bed post and stopped to rub it. That was when she noticed her towel was gone. Panic struck her as she felt Bruce bump into her and fall on top of her. He looked down at her as she lied beneath him. She didn't move, nor did he. She could feel her heart beating faster and a warmth brewing inside of her. Trying to compose herself she placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed. He didn't budge. He took her hands into both of his and held them down. She didn't fight, but only met him half way as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Her lips were soft and moist. He pulled away slowly. She didn't want him to stop. Leaning up she kissed him more passionately. Her mouth opened slightly, inviting him in. Their tongues dance as he pressed deeper into the kiss. Her mind was whirling. She never wanted a man this much before. Was it because she hadn't had sex in a while? Was it just lust? What ever it was, she felt alive. She wrapped her legs around his. His kisses were warm and yet had an animal quality to them. She arched her back as he kissed down her neck. A soft moan escaped her lips. Pulling her hands free, she began to explore his chest. She felt every muscle and enjoyed it. Her fingers quickly undid the tie that was around his neck. She then began to undo each button, slowly. He was soft and warm. She shivered with excitement. Just then they heard a knock on the door. It was Alfred. "Master Bruce," he called out, "Sir, is everything alright?" Dana froze with panic. Stopping, Bruce looked up to the door. "Fine Alfred, everything is fine." Just then Dana quickly wiggled out and threw the towel around her and made her way to the bathroom. She closed the door and leaned against it. What was she doing, she kept asking herself. Bruce sat there looking at the door. Frustrated, he grabbed his tie and opened the door. Alfred stepped back as he saw his master, with shirt unbuttoned and tie in hand emerge. Tim stood behind Alfred and giggled. "Don't ask." Bruce grumbled walking down the hall to his room. "Have the car ready Alfred." "Yes Sir." In the car, they both didn't say a word. Dana avoided looking at him. She stared out the window as they pulled up to the FBI building. Alfred pulled her bags out of the trunk as Bruce helped her out. They stood staring at each other for a long time before they heard Alfred clear his throat. "Thank you very much, Bruce, for everything." "Are you sure you don't want to stay?" he asked softly. He stepped closer to her and grabbed her hands, holding them to his chest. She looked down and only nodded. She pulled her hands away and grabbed the bag. Bruce stood and watched her walk up the stairs till she entered the building. In the car, "Where to sir?" Alfred asked. Bruce didn't answer right away, "Home Alfred, I believe its going to be a long day." Dana Scully sat in the block house the FBI had set up for her. The storms outside raged on. She sat looking out the window, wondering. She was told by the head field officer that Mulder had been called away on assignment that Friday evening. It wasn't really important for the both of them to go. He was to be doing some consulting on a case and they need his profiling skills. He was to be gone for a week. Opening her brief case, she pulled out the files and started to go through them. All the files contained Rupert Thorne's name. Linking him to the mob, murders, and anything else. These were not the same files she had when she left Mulder that evening. This must be what he was after, but, she wondered, how did she get these. The worse thing of all, she learned from the files that Thorne had connections in the FBI. She managed to keep her location a secret. Hopefully, for her sake, the head field officer here in Gotham wasn't the mole. She needed to do something. She decided to go back to Washington D.C. Outside, the rain beat down upon him. He watched her through his binoculars. He had to find out what was in those files that was so important to Thorne. If it contained the evidence he needed, he had to turn it in to the District Attorney. Robin sat beside him, rain drenching him. "How much longer?" he asked. With no response he watched her pack. As he watched, his mind drifted to what had happened earlier that morning. He could still feel her lips upon his. The way her body moved as he kissed her. The excitement brewing inside. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He couldn't be thinking about this now. That was when he spotted movement below. "Batman, do you see what I see?" Robin motioned down to the car that pulled up. Two rather large men climbed out and entered the building. "Lets go." Dana checked her gun one more time and stood by the door looking around. She wasn't forgetting anything, so she turned and left. She stood at the elevator waiting. When the door opened, she stepped back dropping her cases. There, before her, the two men walked out holding guns. "You know you're a hard woman to find." One of the men reached out and grabbed her. "Let's go sweetie," he ordered. The next thing Dana saw was the guy behind her hit the floor with a thud. Behind him stood Robin. "One down, One to go," Robin said with a smile. The other one pulled her to him pointing the gun at Robin. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Scully took advantage of that and slipped away pulling her gun as she backed away to stand beside Robin. Batman reached over and sent the gun flying from his hands in one swift move. With another, the man was soon on his back as a boot hit him square in the jaw. "And he's out," Robin said. Just then the elevator exploded. Dana was thrown into Batman along with Robin. "You two alright?" he asked. Robin nodded and ran to a window in her apartment. Dana rubbed her head and grabbed her case as she followed Batman. "Now what?" she asked. Robin fired a rope across the way and flew out the window. Batman did the same and turned to her. "Come on, lets go." He reached over to her and grabbed her hand. Suddenly the door flew in and hit her square on the back pinning her. A large figured man walked in and threw the door off of her. Bane grabbed her by one arm and pulled her up. She looked shocked at him. His size was enormous. Muscles bulging, and a tube with strange liquid flowed to the back of his head. Bane narrowed his eyes as he saw Batman run at him. Bane swatted him away like he was swatting at a fly. Batman hit the wall and sank down. Shaking his head he watched as Scully swung the brief case in her hand at Bane's head. Bane laughed at the attempt and threw her to the floor. "Feisty one, aren't we." he laughed. Batman jumped up and struck Bane on the back of the knees. Bane fell to the floor with a thud. As he did, Bane turned and caught Batman in the ribs sending him into the glass coffee table. It shattered beneath him sending wood and glass chips into his body. Batman moaned in pain as he pulled himself up. He tried to swing at Bane as he reached down and grabbed him again, but a sharp pain sent him to his knees. He must have broken a rib for he heard it pop when he hit the wall. "Senor Batman, the fight has left you today." "Get out." Batman called to Dana, he grabbed a chair and threw it at Bane. Bane pushed it aside in mid-air with little effort. Dana spotted her gun and crawled over to it near the window. Bane reached over and kicked her away from it sending her halfway out the window. Bane stood over her laughing. Batman mustered all his strength and dived into Bane. It sent all three of them out the window. Dana screamed and managed to grabbed the ledge. Batman fired a rope up to the top of the building and swag into the side of the building. The impact sent sharp pains through him and he blacked out. With the brief case in hand, Robin helped Scully up to the fire escape. Down below, Robin could see Batman's body laying on top of a pile of trash, motionless. Bane was nowhere to be seen. Dana searched Batman carefully. A rib or two was broken, some scratches and bruises were noted, and he was breathing. This was a good sign. "We have to get him to a hospital," she told Robin. "No, we can't. We have to get him back to the cave." Robin signaled for the Batmobile and it pulled up behind them. Taking the both of them, they managed to drag him into the passenger seat. "I can't drive, you are going to have to." "What!?" she looked down at the controls. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Knobs and buttons blinked and glowed at her. "Here." Robin reached over and punched a few buttons. The engine roared to life again. "I told it to take us home. All you have to do is make sure we stay on the road. When we get close to the cave it will switch to auto pilot and take it from there. I'll have to blind fold you. Security and all." She nodded a response and placed it in reverse. The cave was damp and cold. The high ceilings buzzed with life as bats flew about, chirping. Scully looked at the massive equipment accumulated. Computer, vehicles, beds, the trophy room with a huge penny, the old Robin suit that Dick Grayson once wore. It was massive. Helping Robin, they pulled Batman onto a table. Reaching down she started to pull his cowl off but Robin stopped her. "Please, no, he would prefer it this way." Robin helped her pull his shirt off. Dana began to carefully pick the glass from him. She could see the ribs out of place as he struggled to breath without pain. She knew she had to set them but first she had to remove the glass. Robin seemed to have everything she needed, the bandages, gauges, and more. "I'll be right back." Robin told her and ran up some stairs leading to a door. She turned back when she heard Batman moan. Struggling, he tried to sit up but was shoved back down gently. "I would suggest you don't move too much." She could see the shocked look in his eyes as his eyes finally focusing. He laid back moaning. Dana continued to work. "This is going to hurt," she warned as she set his ribs. She could tell he was in a lot of pain, his eyes were glassed and he stopped moaning. She gave him a shot of morphine for the pain and left him to rest. She sat in a chair and watched as Robin walked over to her. "Is he OK?" he asked handing her a cup of coffee. "Yes, but I don't think he'll be moving any time soon." "Wanna bet?" Dana turned quickly in the chair and saw him pulling a new shirt on. "You should be resting." She tried to push him back down, but he grabbed her arms firmly. Without a word he stood up facing her. "You have the files. We have to get them to the District Attorney right away." She stepped back, "This isn't something that can be handled locally, this goes all the way up through the FBI. People are being paid off, and believe me, they can really cover things up. If this file gets to your little district attorney, it will be buried so fast you wouldn't even read about it in the morning paper. No, these files need to be taken higher up." "So your saying that this just doesn't involve Rupert Thorne?" "He's only a small part of it. But there is enough in here, who he pays off, shipments passed illegally, to put him away for a long time. But we have to get this to DC first." "You know they'll try and stop you." "Hopefully, I think I have someone who can help." "Who may I ask." he stepped closer to her. "I'd..." she felt nervous and she didn't know why, "rather not say. He's just someone I can trust." Robin shook his head and turned away. Why do adults always get horny at the worst times. "I'm going to run a check on the...batcylcles. Check ya later." Dana watched as he bounded off. He seemed familiar. Just then she was suddenly aware of Batman's body touching hers. She looked back at him and was locked in his gaze. The warmth from his body heated her up. She tried to back up but he held her firmly. He leaned down and kissed her firmly, with animal hunger. All the resistance that was left in her quickly left. He pressed his body to hers. His kisses slowly moved down her neck. His hand undid the first button on her shirt and the second followed suit. She tilted her head back with her eyes closed as she let him continue lower. His fingers traced the top of her lace bra. Her breathing grew heavy with excitement. Not wanting to wait any longer, he ripped open her shirt. Buttons were sent flying. One rolled over the edge and hit Robin on the head below. Dana gasped as he swept her up and carried her to a nook where a bed lied tucked away in the dark. He laid her down. Straddling her, his cape covered them both. "We really shouldn't..." she was cut off as his lips covered hers. He proceeded to work his way down her neck again. In between kisses he whispered gently,, "You...can...tell...me...when to stop...at any time." She felt his fingers quickly undo the hook on her bra. His hand gently caressed her body. Tracing her curves slowly. His lips moved down her neck to her breast. Dana arched her back as she felt his lips over her nipples. His tongue played over them, teasing her. A moan escaped her lips. She grabbed the bed railing behind her as he pulled her skirt off and threw it to the floor. His lips made there way lower on her. She was shocked as she felt him pull her panties off with his teeth. Her small frame laid helpless and naked beneath him. She knew he had total control over her and in the back of her mind she knew he did too. Sweeping one arm under her, he pulled her up to him and kissed her. His hand wondered over her body. Her arousal heightened as she heard him moan with delight. His lips found her nipples again. Her hands wondered under his shirt and slowly traced each muscle. He sat up and carefully pulled his shirt off leaving his cowl still on. His belt hit the floor with a thud as he threw it off. Robin heard it and slowly got up and walked to the elevator. Alfred would be better company right now. She pulled him down upon her feeling his weight. She kissed him deeply and again she was aroused by his animal hunger. This time he moved lower on her, kissing her inner thighs. Her legs instinctively moved apart. He worked his way up finding her magic spot. He could feel her wiggle and move under him with excitement. Her moans slowly grew louder. He continued to work on her, enjoying her excitement. She finally went limp with one long moan and her breathing slowly returned to normal. He crawled up beside her and pushed her hair back. She couldn't believe that she just let him have his way with her, plus how good he was. His hand gently traced her jaw and moved over her body. He felt her shudder out of control. He leaned down and kissed her gently then quickly got up. She watched him disappear. Batman sat at the computer typing away. Files flashed by in a blur. Robin stood next to him quietly. "Ok, its all set up." He turned to Robin. "Now I want you and Nightwing to take her to the hotel. There Bruce Wayne will met you. From there they'll take a helicopter to the airport. Bruce's private jet will then fly them to New York where they will met with Vicky's connection." He handed Robin a pair of tickets. "You know where to meet, right." Robin nodded. "What about Batgirl?" "She's going to be busy here. Someone has to watch over Gotham while we're gone." Robin noticed him looking past him. He turned quickly and saw Scully leaning against one of the lab tables. "Do I have a say in any of this." she asked with an irritated tone. "I figured the less everyone knew the less risk." She walked over and stood in front of him. Robin took the tickets quickly, "I'll go...pack. Yeah, pack. Meet ya below." he took his leave quickly. "Smart boy. To bad your not as smart." she scolded. "Look, we can trust Vicky." he stood up to face her. "If I wanted your help I would have asked for it." "If I didn't help you, you wouldn't be standing here." "Well it seems to be neither, would it, right now?" With force he pulled her to him and kissed her. She started to struggle but stopped. He pulled away slowly, "Thank you." He walked past her and over to the stairs. "Nightwing will be here shortly. Hungry?" She only stood there watching him leave again. Dana sat on the bed irritated at herself. What the hell was wrong with her. She was letting this man, this Batman, control her. But she couldn't seem to help herself. The way his lips met hers sent shivers down her spine. He seemed to have an animal desire, driving him but yet he was gentle when he wanted to be. But yet...there was something about him that...she couldn't quiet put her finger on it. She looked up as Robin entered holding a tray. "Where's Batman?" she asked trying to look past him. "He had some things to take care of." He set the tray down. "Do you like him?" she looked shocked at him. "I mean, I care for him and all and I really don't want to see him hurt." She tilted her head looking at him, where had she heard that before? "You sound like someone else I know," she said, realizing that she heard that same question from Tim. Realizing his mistake he quickly set the tray down. "I'll have everything ready by the time your done eating, just take those stairs down to the helipad. Nightwing is already down there gassing up the chopper." Before she could tell him thank you he was gone. She polished off her meal, feeling like it would be her last, and walked down the stairs. There, Nightwing and Robin were checking the Batcopter. Nightwing looked up and smiled. She felt embarrassed as she stopped in front of him. "Dana Scully." "My pleasure, Batman's told me about you." He could see her face turn red and a smile crept across his face. "Well not that much. Shall we go?" They both climbed in and were soon on their way. Rupert Thorne paced in his office. "Now what are we going to do? I'm finished." With anger he pounded the desk. Bane sat quietly, looking at his nails. "Don't you have anything to say for you incompetence?" Thorne regretted saying that, Bane looked at him with fire in his eyes. He had to muster all his will power to keep himself from breaking Thorne like a toothpick. "I have it all under control. By this time in two days, you will not have to worry about Ms. Scully, the FBI, or even Batman." "But how?" Rupert was panicking "I have my connections." Dana sat in her seat aboard Bruce's plane. He was reading the paper paying hardly any attention to her. She wondered about the cold shoulder, but soon her thoughts drifted to Batman. The way his body felt on top of her. His kisses. The way his hands caressed her body. Realizing she was turning herself on she quickly shifted and checked her brief case. Everything was still there. She wondered who this connection was. Could she even trust Vicky Vale? Mulder had told her once to trust no one. She understood what he meant. She took the brief case and went into the bathroom. Pulling the files out she quickly replaced them with magazine pages she tore out. She looked around. She noticed the mirror was loose. Pulling it way from the wall enough, she slipped the original files behind it. They should be safe here. Of course unless this plane crashes. She soon heard the pilot announce that they were going to land soon. She took her seat and waited. Nervousness crept over her. The plane landed safely and they were soon in a limo and driven to the hotel. Bruce had rented the entire top floor and security was in place at the elevators and stairs. There the Assistant Director of the New York office of the FBI met her. He briefed her on the security and how generous Mr. Wayne was. Her meeting wasn't till two days from now. Somehow she new it was going to be a long two days. She wasn't allowed to leave. Between the FBI and Bruce Wayne, they saw to that. She sat frustrated in her room. Bruce stood in the doorway watching her. He could see her frustration and could understand it. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him. "I really hate being locked in like this." She got up and walked to look out the window. They were at least 30 stories up. She really couldn't tell. Looking out she saw the people going about their daily lives. She wondered what Mulder was doing. Bruce walked over and stood behind her. The setting sun glistened on her hair. He reached up to touch it but stopped. He noticed movement across the way. On the roof top. Nightwing smiled and waved to him. Robin appeared by him with binoculars. He waved too. They sat scanning the area. Bruce felt more relieved. Soon he would be out joining them. Dana suddenly, at that time, noticed his closeness. Again his cologne danced about her. She loved that fragrance. She turned and looked up at him. This time he stepped back to give her room. "Are you hungry?" he asked picking up the phone. "Sure, fish sounds good." Bruce agreed with her and ordered their dinner. It soon arrived and was quickly checked for bombs, poison, and such. Once declared safe, they ate by candle light and soft music playing in the back ground. She really started to like this. They sat and talked for a while. He about his travels, her about her travels, as weird as they seemed. She started to feel light headed. The wine must be getting to her. This was when she realized how close she had moved to him. She quickly decided she needed some air. Trying to get up she caught her leg against his and fell directly on his lap. His arms encircled her and she heard a gasp of pain escape his lips. Trying to stabilize her, he pulled her to him tightly. She gasped at the force and stopped moving. "I'm sor..." she was cut off as he kissed her. His lips were warm and sweet from the wine. She dropped the glass on the floor and wrapped her arms around him. He began to kiss down her neck. Her breathing grew heavy. Her hands began to undo his tie. Reaching up he pulled the tie off with one swift move. She started to unbutton his shirt when he suddenly stopped kissing her. She stopped and looked at him. "What, what's wrong?" "Nothing, I just remembered something that I have to take care of." He picked her up and sat her back down. "What...now?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She could tell he wanted her, badly. She was even willing to give herself to him. And they thought women were complicated. She grabbed her glass and watched him as he picked up his tie. "I'm really sorry." he leaned down and kissed her. "Some other time." she only nodded and he walked out to his room. She heard him leave, and poured herself another glass. She might as well not let this bottle go to waste. She spent a better part of the night finishing the bottle. Outside, Batman landed next to Robin. "Anything?" "Nope, but Nightwing went to go get us something to eat. Unless you managed to..." he looked at Batman's empty hands and shook his head. "Guess not. Your mind must be elsewhere." Batman only looked down at him and watched as Nightwing landed next to Robin. "My man." Robin grabbed the bag from him and attacked the fries like a shark. "No sign of anyone. Looks like it might be a quiet night." "I sure hope so." The night went on as they took turns keeping watch. Batman was glad to get some fresh air. If Dana would have seen his bandages, she would know he was Batman. He looked up at the balcony. Dana stood in the moon light. The cold air felt good on her skin. She wondered where Bruce had gone. He had been away for a long time. Robin turned to ask Batman a question and noticed he was gone. Nightwing pointed up to the balcony without a word. There, Batman landed softly behind the trees in the corner. He watched her quietly as she laid down on the padded sun chair. Her fingers played on the marble floor, tracing shapes and patterns. He walked out and stood beside her. Noticing his boots, she turned and looked up at him. He reached down and pulled her up to him. She started to resist but stopped. He pulled her inside into the darkness. He backed her up to the bed and she fell onto it. He straddled her so his cape covered them. She looked up at him feeling his weight rest against her. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. She could feel the hunger in them. She worked her hands between them and pulled his utility belt off, letting it slide off the edge. His hands found their way to the knot in her robe and quickly undid it. He pulled her robe open to find a white lace teddy and satin panties. His fingers trace the lace. They didn't say a word to each other. Her hands worked his shirt off. He winced at the pain that shot threw him. His hand traveled to one of her straps and he slowly pulled it down off her shoulder. Rolling to his side, he did the same to her other strap. The light just outside the window flickered out. The room filled with darkness. He leaned down and kissed her again. He pulled her to him. His hand rested in the center of her back, holding her. Dana gently reached up and pulled his cowl off. His cape followed it hitting the floor. He proceeded to kiss down her neck, slowly pulling her teddy down. His hand cupped her breast as his lips found her nipples. He sucked on them gently, playfully. When she arched her back, he ripped the teddy off and threw it away. Her hands traveled threw his thick hair. She pulled his face back up to her and kissed him. He was glad it was dark, he couldn't see her, but he felt her and her the same to him. His hand traveled down her and between her legs, pushing them apart. He could feel the heat and then the wetness between them. This only made him more hungry for her. Her hands traveled over him before gently pushing him on his back. She was determined not to let him take control this time. He tried to move but she just pushed his arms down as she planted kisses on his chest. Her hands slowly worked his tights and boots off. He watched her as she kissed his legs working her way up. She took his hardness into her hands. He moaned softly as he felt her hands slowly, gently working him. Her tongue traced the tip of him. He tasted so good. Her lips worked their way down on him. Her mouth was hot and he moaned louder as she sucked. She sucked the full length of him. He felt like he was going to explode but she stopped as if sensing it. She would let him rest then worked him up again. No woman he had been with was able to control him like this. He grabbed the bedpost as he let her work. She did this for a long time before he felt her stop and straddle him. At that chance he rolled over pinning her under him. She wrapped her legs around him wanting him to penetrate her. Slowly he kissed her, teasing her. He rubbed against her feeling her warmth. He sat up and gently guided her hips up to him. She took him completely in. He moaned feeling how tight she was. He reached down and pulled her up to him. Kissing her, he positioned her under him. He slowly started move in and out of her. She met him halfway with every thrust. She could feel he was holding back, but the more he thrusted into her the more she felt the animal hunger trying to escape. He finally let loose his of hunger as he pinned her down, kissing her. She grabbed the railing behind her. He could feel her tightening, ready to cum. He slowed his thrust, letting her rest before he started up again. He could hear her moans growing louder. He pulled out and laid down beside her. He kissed her passionately. She crawled on top of him. Being careful not to hurt his ribs, she lowered herself on him. She could barely see his head tilt back when a deep moan escaped his lips. As she road him, she braced herself on the rail. His hands cupped her breast as he sucked on them. God was he good, she thought. She felt like she was ready to cum when he pulled out and climbed behind her. He penetrated her from behind. Still holding to the rail, she braced herself as he held her to him. He kissed her back and her shoulders as he drove deeper and harder. His hand held her and she could tell he couldn't hold back much longer. Pulling away, With one swift move she felt him grab her and turn her over. He was on top of her and back inside. She locked her legs back around him and moved slowly with him. With every thrust she met him. He could fell her grow tighter, he knew it was time. He thrusted deep inside. She heard a loud deep moan escape his lips. When she did, a small scream escaped hers. She felt a warm flood inside of her. He shuddered in her arms and then he collapsed on her. He rolled off, holding his ribs. For the first time she couldn't remember moving. Her legs shook and trembled. She rolled over onto her side and began tracing his chest. Just then the light on the balcony clicked on. Looking at the man laying beside her, she recognized the cuts and bruises she had treated. The face was what shocked her. She jumped up and threw her rob on. "Bruce." she exclaimed. He opened his eyes realizing he almost fell asleep. The light blinded him and he covered his eyes. He sat up facing her. She stood shocked looking at him. She had just had sex with Batman, but was in bed with Bruce Wayne. He watched her as she slowly moved over to him and sat down beside him, touching his check. He leaned over and kissed her, pulling her to him. "I am Batman. I wear the suit to keep my sanity. To fight the crime that killed my parents." "But..." for some reason something inside her told her not to ask more. She climbed on his lap, settling herself back on him and began to rock slowly. He started to speak but she covered his lips with hers. All she new right now is she wanted him even more now. Nightwing sat next to Robin. The boy wonder was sleeping, and a good thing too. To usually see this kind of show, he had to wait till Barbara was out of town. Looking away, he thought he saw movement on the roof. Deciding not to wake Robin he made his way to the roof. The helipad lights flashed, lighting his way as he moved about. Satisfied it was his imagination, he stood on the ledge. Just then Bane grabbed him, holding him over his head. "Tell Senor Batman, Hello." He threw him down to the balcony. Nightwing only had time enough to make his body go limp before hitting the marble. He heard bones crack and he screamed with pain before everything went dark. Batman jumped up from the bed and ran out to the balcony. "Dick." he whispered as blood ran down the side of Nightwing's mouth. He looked up seeing Bane smiling down at him. Running inside he threw his suit on and ran out. Dana helped him carry Nightwing in and began to treat him. "How is he?" Robin asked, appearing beside her. "Broken ribs, concussion, he may have some internal bleeding. We have to get him to the hospital." "Alright, but we have to do something first." He pulled his mask off and started dressing in street clothes. "You'll have to help me dress him." Working together, they quickly undressed and dressed Dick into his street clothes. Dana screamed when she heard brick hitting the marble. Pulling her gun out she made her way to the roof. There she saw a huge man picking Batman up and threw him onto the helipad. Batman rolled to a stop and quickly jumped to his feet. Reaching under his cape, he pulled out some bolos and threw them at Bane. They wrapped around his feet and sent him tumbling to the ground. Batman was on him punching him. He was soon sent flying into a pole where he sank gasping for air. Dana ran over pointing her gun, "Don't move or I'll shot." Bane laughed. "Such a small woman, and a big heart. Say good-bye to your Batman." For a big man, he swiftly broke the ropes around his leg, knocked her down and grabbed Batman. Batman moaned, shaking his head trying to clear it. Just then he felt himself being thrown into the nearest wall. He sank down to the ground, not moving. Bane was upon him pulling him up by his cape. Dana searched for her gun. Finding it she looked around in the dark for Bane. Batman flew past her, hitting the ground. She turned in time to see Bane advancing towards her. With no hesitation she fired her gun. The bullets penetrated Bane's body. First hitting his chest, then his arm, last in his leg. He still advanced with a great deal of speed and pushed her away. She fell backwards but managed to hold on to her gun. She rolled on to her stomach and fired again. This time they hit Bane in his back. Bane staggered forward to the edge. He managed to turn his massive weight to face her. "I'm not going alone." He grabbed Batman's cape and as he fell backwards he dragged Batman with him. Dana ran over, "No!," she screamed. She reached down in time catch his hand. She looked down at him, straining to hold his weight and that of Bane. In that instant their eyes locked. All the feelings and emotions came rushing at them at once. Tears formed in her eyes. He mouthed the words, 'I love you," to her as she felt his hand slip from hers. She was left holding his glove. "No!" she screamed watching them fall. "No!" Dana sat up suddenly. Mulder jumped in the chair and was quickly at her side. "Scully?" He sat on her bed and grabbed her shoulders to steady her. She looked at him dazed with tears falling down her face. "It's alright. Your OK." He pushed a strand of hair from her face. "What...Bruce. Where is he? Is he alright?" She looked at him with worry. "Bruce who? Dana do you even remember what happened to you?" He pushed her back gently. "Is he..." she grew quiet and tried to compose herself. "How long have I've been here?" She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Several days. When you didn't show up, I got worried. That's when I found you on your apartment floor. Apparently someone must have knocked you out. Your purse was gone and so was your car. They must have hit you pretty hard and several times. Gave you a really bad concussion." "Thanks, Mulder." she touched her hand to his gently. "Why don't you get some rest. Oh, Scully," he leaned down and kissed her forehead, "who's Bruce?" "No one, just a dream Mulder." "Well this time, can you dream about me." He smiled and walked out. She couldn't believe it. It was all a dream. But it felt so real. The way Bruce held her, the smell of his cologne, his kisses. She sank down in her bed and pulled the covers up on her. Just then she found a black glove under her covers. She pulled it out. She could smell that familiar cologne and recognized the glove...it was Batman's. Several months had passed. Dana Scully returned to her daily schedule. She and Mulder had gone on several assignments. Her cancer was in remission. She, nor the doctors, could figure out why that little chip she removed from the back of her neck helped her. She just wrote it off as coincidence. Mulder of course had his theories. The only thing she could not do was get that dream out of her head. She carried the glove with her at all times. She didn't know why, but it just made her feel good. That day, her and Mulder were called into A.D. Skinner's office. Skinner sat behind his desk as usual handing Mulder the folder. "This is your new assignment. This case isn't your usual assignment." He looked at Mulder as he said it. "You two were the best qualified for the job." "What's the case?" Mulder asked passing the folder to Scully. She opened it and quickly scanned the material. "Some nut is terrorizing a suburb of New York, the mayor requested our assistance." "So why can't the New York office take care of it?" Mulder asked uninterested. "He needs your profiling skills Mulder, and Scully's medical training. Your plane leaves today. Report to A.D. Brian Jones as soon as you arrive. Anything else agents?" "Yeah, do we get tickets to a Broadway show?" Mulder asked as he got up. Skinner just shook his head and watched the two leave. "Well Scully, pack your bags, we're going to New York City." Mulder followed her into the elevator. "Well this could be an easy case." "Yep, if we can make it in New York, we can make it anywhere." He smiled at her as the doors closed. The plane ride was short. But the weather was terrible. It rained the whole way and didn't seem to be easing up. They checked into their hotel and met with A.D. Jones. Apparently some psychos escaped from prison. One was a doctor and another was a murderer. The two had paired up and became a deadly duo. They needed Mulder's expertise to find out what they were up to and Scully's to examine the victims. The deadly duo apparently was using a gas to render the victim harmless to them, but deadly to themselves. It was some kind of fear gas. But they couldn't figure out how it was being distributed. All the victims either died or committed suicide before they could be examined or treated. Scully sat in her tub reading the files. Mulder set her up to do an autopsy in the morning and she wanted to catch up on the case. One was named Dr. Crane. He was a scientist specializing in the study of human fear. The other was unknown, but they both seemed to be tied to fear. One liked to inflict the fear of pain, one just liked fear itself. Letting fear do its own work. She climbed out and threw a towel around herself. She heard a knock on the door and walked over to answer it. Mulder stood holding two bags of food. "Come on in Mulder." she walked away and into the bathroom to finish dressing. When she finally emerged she saw Mulder chowing down on a burger and fries. "Got ya a salad. Knew you wouldn't be crazy about what I wanted." She thanked her lucky stars and sat eating with him. "So got any clue to this?" he asked. "I'm not sure Mulder." she handed him the two photos, one of Dr. Crane and one of a victim. "That one there is Dr. Crane. His main research was in fear. After his funding was cut, he turned to a life of crime. The other picture is his latest victim before he died. According to the coroner, he died of heart failure. I'll know more in the morning." "He sure looks scared of the camera." "The victim claimed that if you take a picture of him, you were stealing his soul and would kill him. Shortly after the picture was taken, he died." Mulder looked up at her. "He died?" She nodded at him finishing off her salad. "So he must have believed this." He handed back the pictures and leaned back in his chair. "So how did he get contaminated?" "Want to go with me tomorrow and find out?" Mulder hated to watch her cut open dead people. He just never let it be known. "No, I think I'll pass this time. There's something I want to check out." She tilted her head with a questioned look on her face. "What, Mulder?" she felt like she was going to regret asking this. "What if this Dr. Crane is working for them? Remember the case where they released that agent into the town in Texas. It killed everyone. But the agent was traceable. What if this is one of their doctors and he has found a new and improved way to kill." Scully shook her head, "Mulder it's a remote possibility...but...never mind. I'll see you in the morning." "Night Scully." he walked out to his adjoining room and she could hear him lock the door. She laid in bed thinking and soon drifted off to sleep. She was jolted awake by the sound of gun fire in the street below. She got up and walked out to her balcony. Looking around she saw a police car pass by and then it was silent. The moon was full and lit the city with a strange blue hue. Feeling the cold nip at her, she turned to go in when she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned quickly, but nothing was there. The only thing she heard was the sound of something lapping in the wind. Almost like bats. Scully pulled her gloves off and walked out to meet Mulder. He handed her a cup of coffee. "So what did you find?" He asked. "Nothing really. He died of heart failure. But I did find that his heart failed due to the stress put upon it. He died of fear, Mulder. Plain fear. What caused it, I have no idea. There were no traces of any agents in his system. No drugs, nothing." Mulder stood looking in at the man on the table. "Well, I got us a meeting with the police commissioner. He's going to brief us on all he knows. Apparently they had this doctor locked up in an asylum." "So when do we met?" "As soon as your ready." She didn't pay much attention to the ride. Her mind drifted to the image of the man's face. Pure terror. She wondered what could have scared him like that. What did he see. When the car finally stopped, they walked into the lobby and were directed to the police commissioners office. Scully followed Mulder in and took the chair next to him. "The Commissioner will be right with you." his secretary said as she closed the door. Mulder looked around and whistled at the sight of all the awards hanging on the wall. Just then Mulder heard the door open and a tall man with white hair walked in, "Hi, I'm Commissioner..." "Commissioner Gordon." Scully said with surprise. "Yes." He looked at her trying to recognize her. "Have we met?" he shook her hand and then Mulder's. "No, we haven't, I...just heard a lot about you." Mulder could tell she looked kind of embarrassed and took a mental note. "So what brings you two out to our lovely city of Gotham?" "We were assigned to the case." Mulder said as he sat down in font of Gordon's desk. "We were hoping you could give us some info about these two men." He handed Gordon the picture and a description of the other. Gordon looked them over. "We have a big file on this one." he handed Mulder back the picture of Dr. Crane. "This guy could be a number of men. I can have one of my detectives escort you to the records department if that will help. They can look up anyone who matches that description and give the names and address where they currently reside." "That will be a great deal of help." Mulder handed the photo back to Scully. "Sure." Gordon reached over to the intercom, "Sarah, could you please send Bullock in here." Mulder heard a response and watched Gordon light a cigar. A big unkept man soon appeared in the door and grumbled at them. "It was a pleasure meeting you Commissioner." Mulder shook his hand and turned to follow Scully. "If there is anything else we can do, just let us know." "Here's the file you wanted." Bullock threw it down in front of Scully. It was so huge it had to be rubberband together. Scully only stared at it in disbelief. "Creeps been around." Bullock wolfed down a donut and dribbled coffee down on his shirt. Scully opened the folder and jumped as a picture of the Scarecrow fell out. Mulder reached down and whistled again as he looked at it. "I thought Halloween wasn't till October." "He calls himself the Scarecrow." Bullock offered Scully a donut and then scarffed it down when she rejected it. "Scarecrow." Mulder tried hard not to laugh out loud. "Well I guess you don't have a crow problem." "Ha ha smart guy." Bullock walked over and stood in front of him, "at least we catch the real loonies, unlike you there 'spooky boy'. Yeah, I heard about you, out chasing little green men. Well at least our little green men are behind bars. Can you say that smart guy?" Mulder backed up from him trying to avoid the spit. "Guess you got me there." "If you need anything call Mantoya." he walked out slamming the door. "Thanks Mulder." Scully said looking up at him, "Make my job harder." Mulder looked at her giving her that 'moi' look. Scully laid down on her bed exhausted. Her body was exhausted as well as her mind. She never knew that such a maniac could have existed. She spent hours taking notes and going through the file. Mulder left with Officer Mantoya to get the list of names they needed for the other suspect. Throwing her shoes off she made her way to the bathroom and turned on the water. Where was Alfred when she need him to have her bath waiting for her. She soon found herself resting in the tub as she listened to Summer Gleeson on the TV. It was weird how everything in her dream seemed to be real. Maybe she heard the names or something. They had been to New York several times, she could have caught it subconsciously. Nearly asleep she heard a tap on her door. "Come in Mulder." She heard him walk in and tap on the bathroom door. "Hey Scully, you going to be out soon?" "What is it now Mulder, another body?" She groaned as she sunk under the water. "No, we were invited to a shin-dig." "Shin-dig?" "Yeah, A.D. Jones wants us to attend. They're giving some medal to Commissioner Gordon. Man, if that guy gets one more award his wall is going to fall." "Can't we skip it?" "'Fraid not." He heard her climb out. He stepped back as he heard the door opening. She emerged wrapped in a large towel and one in her hair. "Sexy Scully." She only smirked at him and walked over to the closet. "Mulder, I don't have a thing to wear. It's not like we came here to party." she turned and faced him, now irritated. "When is it?" "In an hour." "Hour, Mulder. Where am I going to find a dress." "Problem solved." he walked into his room and came back handing her a bag. "When did you get this?" she eyed it as she pulled out a beautiful black dress with a lace collar and heart shape neck line. "Well, you were really busy with that file so I went with Officer Mantoya and we picked it out for you. I hope it's the right size." Lucky guesser. He got it right. She laid it on the bed and noticed a pair of black high heel shoes. "Matching shoes." Mulder gave her his little boy smile. "Well, Mantoya said women needed matching shoes." "Get out Mulder." she pushed him out and closed the door behind him. "And get ready." Mulder whistled as she opened the door and stood before him. She looked beautiful. She smiled as he walked around her. "Wow Scully...." he stopped in front of her, "You look great. How come you never dress this way for me." He smiled as she hit him with her purse. She couldn't help but notice how good he looked too. She reached over and straightened his tie. Taking his arm, they soon arrived at the party. Scully felt like she did that night in her dream. She opened her purse and saw her gun was still there as well as the glove. Looking around the room, she saw A.D. Jones, who waved at them, with Commissioner Gordon. Walking over, both surveyed the room, noting all the exits and windows. There was a lot of security. "Glad you could make it, you two. Skinner told me you to would come." "Like we had a choice." Scully grumbled as Mulder handed her a drink. "What was that, Agent Scully." Jones asked "Like we would miss this. Congratulations Commissioner." She shook his hand and toasted him as she took a sip of her wine. "Thank you, agent." Gordon smiled but was quickly distracted as Barbara came bounding up to him. "Daddy." She hugged him and kissed him on his check. "Barbara, I thought you were in school." "Oh Daddy, I wouldn't miss this." "Oh, A.D. Jones, Agent Mulder, and Agent Scully, this is my daughter Barbara. She's attending college right now but my baby will soon be graduating. Won't you sweet heart." He hugged her back. "Pleasure to meet you." She smiled sweetly at them as she hung on his arm. "You seen Dick? You know I'm usually the one whose late." "Nope haven't seen him. I wonder where that boy is? But since he's not here, how about a dance with your father before he takes your dance card all up." "Oh Daddy, you know you can dance with me anytime." Scully smiled at the exchange as she watched the two leave. Suddenly she found Mulder pulling her out to the dance floor as well. "Mulder!" "Come on Scully, lets dance." he pulled her to him and held her against him. They danced slowly. She never knew he even knew how to dance. Then again she really didn't know a whole lot about of him. He held her gently. She felt good in his arms. He felt like he could get used to it. Just then someone bumped into them and they both noticed it was Bullock. They were pushed apart and separated in the crowd. Mulder looked around for Scully but soon found a beautiful woman with green eyes in his arms. "Why hello," she said to him in almost a purr. "My name is Selena Kyle. Yours?" Mulder's eyes traveled over her body, noting the curves that weren't hiding. "Fox Mulder." "Fox?" she slinked into his arms, almost like a cat crawling on your lap. She danced him into the middle of the floor and away from Scully. Scully looked around as she was pushed and shoved around. Stumbling she nearly fell when two strong hands caught her. "Thank you." "You should really be careful," he said to her as he pulled her to him and off the dance floor. She turned slowly and looked at him. She had heard that voice before. "Care to dance?" he asked calmly. She nodded at him as shock slowly crossed her face. It was him. It was him. He took her into his arms and danced her out to the dance floor. He moved gracefully and held her close to him. His cologne danced around her. She remembered the smell, the feel of his hands in hers. His eyes were as blue as she remembered. He noticed her staring at him and locked eyes with her. "My name is Bruce Wayne." "I know," she said in a low soft voice. "Oh, have we met?" He looked puzzled at her as he spun her around. "No," was all she managed to say. "Oh." He smiled at her and stopped dancing as the music stopped. "Care for a drink?" She only nodded and followed him to the table where glasses of wine were displayed. Handing her one, he guided her to the balcony. She couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't believe this was real. The moon was full and lit the sky like a night sun. "I love the night." he commented "I know." "Huh?" He looked down at her surprised. "I mean, I like it too. It clears the mind. The cold air and all." She stuttered over her words as she tried to recover. She had to snap out of this. He couldn't possibly be...no it was only a dream. She smiled up at him and took a sip from her glass.