When the door closed behind Batman, Eddie released Dee. She, however, clutched at him, and he led her over to the couch. In silence, she started to cry again. With Edward Jr. crying as well, this left Eddie to bear Dee’s breast to the hungry child. Suckling both for hunger and comfort, Edward relaxed as his mother relaxed against his father.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie! I’m so sorry!” she cried, kissing his injured face and lips.

“Shh. None of that!”

“But…”

He pressed a finger over her lips and tapped his ear. She nodded her understanding as he stood and went to his study. From the safe, he took the scanning device he had not used for some time now. With it he scanned every room in the warehouse. Several times it beeped, and he found numerous listening devices planted by Batman. By the placements, they looked to be set up in a relay. He also found the tigers, still out from whatever Batman had sedated them with. It would wear off soon enough.

Taking the fistful of tiny, bat-shaped disks, he headed into the kitchen. There he dropped each one down the garbage disposal. Batman had to know that the converted warehouse that was home to Eddie and Dee was a near dead zone. The communication units that he had made for the two of them, his cell phone, and the altered handsets he had often used on jobs were about the only devices that would function in the building. Any other electric device had also been altered by him in order to make it work, yet allow the privacy one in his business needed. He had long ago installed his own damper apparatus and special alarms at every window, door, and skylight.

“He knocked your tigers out. They look like they’ll be ok though,” he quickly added when she made to get up.

Dee shook her head. “He should not have come here tonight. And if he ever sets foot in here again, unannounced, I will kill him.”

Eddie merely nodded. “You have my permission, if I don’t kill him first. Just don’t get yourself hurt, ok? I can’t raise Edward by myself.”

Silently she nodded, shifting the baby to her other breast. Tenderly, she stroked the baby’s round cheek. “Bring me the first aid kit so I can clean you up. There’s some ice packs in the freezer that you can put on once I’m done.”

Doing as she asked, he retrieved the kit, taking the child once he was done eating. Eddie sighed as her soft hands cleaned away the blood and smeared ointment into the cut. How many times, in all the years they had been together, had they cared for each other’s wounds? Both had scars all over their bodies from run-ins with one or more of the Bat-clan.

“More than I wish to remember,” Dee said, kissing his good cheek.

Unaware that he had spoken out loud, he smiled at her, allowing her to take the baby back. Handing him an icepack, she excused herself to go change Edward and put him down to sleep. Stretching his full length on the couch, Eddie placed the cold pack on his face and closed his eyes.

With Edward calmed and asleep in his crib, Dee checked on her fist three children. All three tigers were still asleep, but their vitals were strong. Picking up the empty gas capsules, Dee made certain the drinking pool was filled with fresh, clean water.

“My poor family,” she mumbled looking at the three figures, her mind on the two not in the room. Kissing each tiger between the eyes, she then walked out.

Her body throbbed from being thrown against the wall, and on her shoes she noticed spots of blood. Pulling a shoe off, she half shifted, sniffing curiously at it. The blood belonged to Batman, and the smell was intoxicating as it tickled her feline senses, even if it was dried now. Bringing the toe of her shoe closer to her mouth, she stuck her tongue out. Just one drop wouldn’t hurt, and it had been so long since she had tasted that lovely red elixir.

“Dee?”

The shoe dropped out of her hand, landing with a soft thud on the floor. She blinked as if coming out of a trance. He clawed hands let her know what part of her was fighting for control. Relaxing, she became fully human once more, kicking off the other shoe.

“Yes, Eddie?”

“Would you bring me a scotch please?” he asked from the couch.

A sad smile twitched at the corner of her mouth as she leaned over him, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead. “Sure, Tiger. Anything else?”

He pulled the ice off his face long enough to shake his head and smile a “thank you.” Dee wanted to cry at the sight of his swollen face. Instead she bit back the desperate moan, and fetched the scotch. He sat up to drink the alcohol when she brought it to him, drinking the generously filled tumbler in one gulp. Right beside him, her hand on his chest, Dee intently watched his every move.

“Better?” she asked, taking the empty tumbler and setting it on the table.

Nodding, he laid back, the warmth of alcohol flooding through his body, easing the throb of his aching body.

Saying nothing, Dee leaned down and softly kissed his lips. Unable to stop herself, she kissed him again and again, each kiss hungrier than the last. Her body ached for him now. All the pain of the fight didn’t matter. That wasn’t even the pain she felt now. It was the pain of yearning in her heart that brought tears as she kissed and clung to the man she couldn’t live without.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he said, pushing her back for his sake as well as her own. Though he was enjoying this, something wasn’t right. “What’s the matter, Kitten?”

Eyes on him as he wiped away the tears on her cheek, Dee bit her lower lip. “I just… I… I thought we were past all of this. I didn’t expect to come home and find him using you as a punching bag! That shouldn’t have happened. I should’ve been here to protect you.”

“Dee, Kitten,” he began, pulling her back to him with a soft chuckle. “I took care of myself before you came along. I’m a big boy, and when I need to and you let me, I can still take care of myself.”

“You can defend yourself best with a weapon, a gadget. But you and I both know I am the one who can best handle hand-to-hand combat.” She eased her words by kissing his brow. “I don’t doubt your physical strength. What I worry about is your skill, and you know I’m right.”

That she was right irked him. But wasn’t that why he had wanted the partnership with her in the first place? Mentally shrugging the subject off, he kissed her again. He felt a surge in his blood pressure that had been more and more difficult to control. There was a question that he wanted to ask her, but felt it would be overstepping his bounds, making him appear pushy and impatient.

Certainly Dee wanted to answer the question she could feel in the way he held and kissed her. She had known him far too long to not know what he wanted just then. The plan had been that she would have dinner with her friend, and come home to give her lover a long awaited treat. Only now they were both injured. She knew that a great many of their pains could be forgotten in the throes of passion. However, she had wanted the evening to be perfect, and with earlier events, it was already marred.

“I almost forgot. I brought you something,” she said, forcing herself up.

“Not you?” he asked, not so subtly hinting his desire to her.

A click of her tongue and a waggle of her finger was her answer. He watched as she walked to the edge of the living room, near where the “front door” was. When she bent down and picked something up, she seemed to wilt. Turning large, tear-filled eyes to him, her lower lip started to tremble, telling him that she was fighting the urge to cry.

Eddie was quick to get to his feet, rushing to her side. She was holding a crushed red and white box from the Fu Bakery. When he opened the lid, she burst into tears. He took stock of the ruined strawberry and whipped cream cake the Fu Bakery was so popular for. From the looks of it, it seemed that Batman had squashed the cake on his way out.

“I’ll get you another one tomorrow,” she hiccupped, looking ashamed. Before having the baby, she would’ve brushed this off and done something else. The cake was one of Eddie’s favorites, and now that, along with her other plans for the evening, was ruined.

He laughed, squeezing her with one arm, in an attempt to ease her emotions. Taking the box from her, he said, “You don’t need to do that. Tomorrow we’ll rest and recover. I can order something for lunch, and we can eat out in the garden.”

“Really?” she asked, timidly watching of him dispose of the cake.

“Really,” he replied, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “I know what will make you feel better. Bubbles. Lots of bubbles,” he said, seductively rubbing her belly. “How about a nice, hot bubble bath?”

Dee felt ready to go out of her mind. He hadn’t touched her like that in too long, and now it was melting her resolve. Turning in his arms, she nuzzled into his neck, nipping his throat.

“Will you join me?” she breathed, managing to keep the tremble out of her voice. The effort to do so made her voice little more than a soft murmur.

“Of course.”

~ ~ ~

That night Dee snuggled as close to Eddie as possible, without actually crawling on top of him. In the tub she had pampered him with a massage, taking tender care of his injured arm. She had kissed his back, shoulders, arm, neck – any part of him she could reach. What she had walked in on upon her return home left her feeling terrible and sick to her stomach.

Next to her, Eddie slept peacefully, his injured arm wrapped to keep the swelling down. Dee knew this life of a family man was hard on him. His strength and willpower in controlling his urges to commit crimes left her in awe of him. She was immensely proud. The energy he had once put to planning and carrying out a crime was now focused on fatherhood and his puzzle company. Still, she loved the quiet time they would spend filling notebooks with riddles for items that caught their interest.

“I wish you could continue being who you truly are without worry of Batman hurting you,” she whispered, touching his slightly parted lips, his breath warm on her fingertips.

Smacking his lips, he turned onto his side, back to her. With a sigh, she spooned against him, slipping her arm through his. As her hand fingered the hair on his chest, he muttered something about fulcrums and emeralds. The words made her smile. Pressing her face to his back, she finally slept.

~ ~ ~

Rain cancelled the outdoor picnic. Undaunted, Eddie built a fire in his study, moving lunch to a blanket he spread out for the occasion. With his son fed, changed, and put down for a nap, the two had the maximum time to enjoy each other’s company.

They started out discussing the previous night’s events, and eventually moved to a topic both had avoided. Now it had to be discussed.

“We’ve put this off long enough, Dee. We need to see a lawyer about this.”

“I don’t like thinking about it,” she said with a shiver, pulling his arm around her.

“Like it or not, the threat last night means we have to do something, and do it quickly. I will not see my child go to an orphanage so long as there is a breath in my body!”

Dee winced at the venom in his words. He was right, of course, as he always was when it came to matters such as this. “Yes, Eddie,” she finally said in a soft tone that meant “You’re right. I’ll do whatever you think is best.”

“It is for the best. We’ll feel better once this is all taken care of. Then, if anything happens to either one, or both, Edward will be safe. I’ll call Mr. Abbey in the morning, and we’ll have him draw up the papers.”

Nodding placidly, Dee stood, taking up the dishes. “I need to do some grocery shopping. Want anything special?”

My life to stop being so mundane and monotonous! his brain cried. He never considered blaming her for his leaving crime. She had never insisted he give it up forever. But the first time he had held his son, and looked into the child’s green eyes, he knew that it would be hard to risk what he now had. Oddly enough, a part of him welcomed the stability. He still made his own hours, deciding if he would actually go to the office, work out of his study, or even work at all that day.

The trade off was that he never knew what to expect from the child. A certain giddiness washed over him when he thought of all he would teach his son as he was molded into the young man he would become. All things considered, that was quite a riddle. What would this boy be like? When would he start walking? Talking? What about teething? Would he be hard to potty train? And schooling. Where would he go? What kind of student would he be?

Those were only a few of the thousands of questions that swirled through Eddie’s brain as he thought of his child. So much was uncertain; so much was yet to be discovered!

“Tiger? Tiger, are you ok?” asked Dee, snapping him out of his reverie.

He caught the hand she was waving in front of his face, kissing her palm. She had been asking him about groceries, right? “No, there isn’t anything I can think of. Didn’t you just go?”

“Yes, but I need a few things for dinner tomorrow night.” There was a pause and she clasped his hand in both of hers. “You weren’t planning on going anywhere tomorrow night, were you?”

“And where would I go?” he smiled, teasingly.

“The Iceberg.”

Now he frowned. “Not after last night. Though perhaps I should. Oswald might know something about the robbery. No doubt that stuffed bird has at least heard something.”

When he had woken up, he had read every bit of available information on the robbery he could get. He hadn’t even tried the police database, knowing that it wouldn’t contain any relevant information until at least later that night. No where could he find the riddles that had been used.

Urgently she gripped his shirt sleeve. “Don’t, Eddie! Please? I want you home tomorrow night. You have to be home tomorrow night!”

The second he agreed, he found himself tackled to the floor and covered with relieved kisses.

~ ~ ~

When Dee had gotten her first tiger, Tangram, she had set up meat delivery with a local butcher, Orson Moore. The man was paid well for both his silence, and the stocking and delivering of excellent cuts of meat for both human and animal. Orson had quickly learned that he could not cheat this customer and get away with it. It was a mistake he had never attempted to repeat.

However, even after the incident, Dee had offered to pay for the order. Orson had already decided that he would only ever charge this woman for meat for her animals. Any tidbits she wanted for herself and other humans she fed would be free. The money gained for the tiger’s meat more than covered the small amount she took for herself.

Other than that one confrontation she had been the ideal customer, as well as valuable. While his shop front remained small, he now had a large and steady delivery service, supplying both households and restaurants alike in Chinatown. Thanks to the girlfriend of one of Gotham’s most “notorious” themed criminals, Orson Moore had a prosperous business. He thought differently of the two, compared to what the media said.

It was to him that Dee went to procure a fine cut of prime rib. For the special dinner, she was making Eddie one of his favorite meals: roast beef with all the trimmings. Leaving him to take care of some work he needed to do, Dee had taken Edward with her shopping.

Comfortably tucked against his mother’s chest, Edward dozed as his mother wandered up and down the aisles of the market.

“Evening, Ms. Lemma. Find everything you needed?” asked Cory, the son of the store’s owner, Peter.

Like Orson, Peter appreciated the business Dee brought. He also appreciated the night she had walked in on a robbery and beaten the would-be robbers to a pulp. Dee had always felt the need to, not only support the merchants where she lived, but to watch out for them. Many times over her kindness had been repaid when she needed it. Though she hadn’t lived there for years now, many merchants in Chinatown still greeted her warmly when she entered their shops.

“Everything and more, Cory. Remind me not to shop when I’m hungry!”

The boy laughed as he rang her up. “Well, you’re looking good. Lost all that weight from the baby, haven’t you?”

“Mm. Most of it. And thanks to one of my friends, I managed to escape the stretch marks!”

They chatted amiably as he finished ringing her up and bagging her groceries. Refusing the offer of help, she wheeled the cart out into the darkened parking lot alone. The rain had cleared while she shopped, only to allow the fog to take over the streets. A chill ran up her spine when she heard a familiar rustle behind her. Acting as if nothing had alerted her to being watched, she opened the trunk of Eddie’s BMW.

“You going to follow me all night?” she asked, shifting Edward as she placed a bag in the trunk. “Or are you going to smack me around? Because if it’s the latter, I’d like to put my son down first.” The last bag in, she shut the trunk to see Batman standing on the other side of the car.

“I’m not here to fight. Your alibi checked out. I’ve already let Gordon know, so you won’t need to worry about the police coming to the door.”

“How very kind of you,” replied Dee dryly. “If they did, I’m sure they’d get in a few hits before taking us in.”

Batman was silent as she opened the back door before taking Edward Jr. out of the sling. “Does Nigma know what you did in January?”

Dee froze, tucking her son into the crook of her arm. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think you have. He didn’t try to correct me last night. Why haven’t you told him?”

“That’s none of your business!” she snapped, leaning into the car to secure the baby in his seat.

“I’m making it my business. You and Nigma are only free by my request that you remain so. I convinced Gordon that you two were being honest in giving up your life of crime. I know you. This child means more to you than anything.” He paused. “It would be a shame to lose all that if I thought you were going down the wrong path. You got off light on all those murders. Next time it might just be the death penalty for you.”

“Keep at it, Batman, and I’ll make certain you won’t live to see the sun rise. I will do everything and anything in my power to keep my family together and safe from you and yours. You try anything, and I swear I will tear your still beating heart from your chest and eat it while you take your last breath!” Shutting the door, she glared over the roof at the Dark Knight. “We just want to be left alone, Batman! You’ll never understand how hard it is for Eddie to live this new life. Last night was not only uncalled for, but completely unwanted. Leave us in peace to get on with our lives.”

Before he could answer, Dee got in the car and peeled out of the parking space. Though she tried to hold them back, she was quickly becoming blinded by her tears. She hated crying as much as she had the past couple of days, but she couldn’t help it. The groceries were forgotten as she grabbed the baby and rushed into the warehouse, calling out for her boyfriend. From his study he emerged, frazzled at the sight of her trembling and hiccupping as she bawled. He was barely to her when she collapsed forward, into his arms. In between her sobs, she told him what had happened, leaving out what Batman had asked about.

Eddie was surprised at how silent the baby was as he rocked the two in his arms. As was normal when she had outbursts such as this, Dee soon fell asleep, cuddling the baby. Leaving the two tucked under a blanket on the couch, Eddie retrieved the groceries. When he reached into the backseat for the diaper bag, he noticed a black wrapped box, dotted with embossed bats. A snarl escaped his lips as he checked the card, confirming the parcel had come from Batman.

In his study, he scanned the package before opening it. Inside was a small plush figure of the Dark Knight, along with a knitted cap, decked with tiger stripes. Though the scan came up negative for any bugs, he quickly destroyed everything, burning the bits in the study’s fireplace. When she had fully calmed down, he would tell Dee about the box.

What bothered him more was Dee’s behavior. He had seen her act out like this before, and it was usually when she had done something he would disapprove of. She had said Batman had confronted her about… About what? Then he realized that she had not said.
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