Disclaimer: Nope, don’t own anything in the Batman world, though I wish I did. Only original characters belong to me.

AN: Okay, here it is, the end of this story…sort of. I will be writing the sequel soon, though, and will be posting it in a couple weeks, so keep an eye open for it. Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! You all rock!

Chapter 22: Out in the Open:

She awoke to faint sunlight in her eyes and, oddly enough, the smell of ointment in her nose. The ointment smell was annoying, but the sunlight was warm and the mattress she was lying on was soft, so they cancelled each other out.

But there was something else bothering Amara. She could sense that there was another person in the bed, and it frightened her. In her dreams, The Joker had reigned supreme, but there was also the glowing hope in the form of a man in body armor and a pointy-eared cowl. Then the cowl disappeared to reveal Bruce’s handsome face and hazel eyes, and that was where her dreams had stopped, fading into a dreamless, but still troubled, sleep.

And yet…and yet, something told her that the presence was there to protect her from harm, and that she was safe with him. It was a ‘him’ that protected her, too; she could feel that from the way the hand drifted over her hair and along her jaw. His touch was soft, affectionate even, and loving. She liked it.

Then the sudden jolt of pain along the left side of her face sent her into full wakefulness, cutting through her sleepy haze and sending her straight back to reality.

Opening her eyes, Amara found a blurred face hovering over her own. Blinking away the sleep from her eyes, she focused once more on the face and smiled. It was Bruce, and the worried expression he wore was sweet and amusing.

Suddenly, she remembered what had happened the night before, and her left hand flew to her cheek.

“Are you alright?” Bruce whispered, hazel eyes full of concern. “What’s wrong?

“I just remembered,” she softly whispered back, “The Joker cut me with his knife, and-”

He smiled. “It’s alright. I found it last night after I tucked you in. It’s been treated.”

“Thank you.” Amara sighed and smiled up at him. “You know, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamt that you were Batman, and that you proposed to me. Isn’t that crazy?”

Bruce merely smiled and sat up. “Well, now that you’re rested, how about we get you fed? I’ll go tell Alfred you’re awake, and we’ll see what he can bring you to eat in bed.”

Amara shook her head. “No, no breakfast-in-bed. I don’t want to get crumbs and stuff in the sheets, and don’t tell me it doesn’t matter, because it does. Alfred shouldn’t have to do more laundry just because you won’t let me get up.”

Not allowing him to protest, she slowly stretched her muscles, threw back the sheets, and put her feet on the floor.

Looking down, Amara saw that she was still in last night’s evening gown, and winced. It was rumbled, and would cost a lot for someone to smooth it back out again. Alfred could work miracles, but she doubted he’d be able to save the dress.

‘Not that I want to save it,’ she thought, shivering in disgust. She’d have to get Bruce to get rid of it somehow; the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of what had happened the night before.

In the meantime, her mouth was in need of a good brushing, and the shower in her room was calling her, begging to be used.

After making sure that Amara was comfortably situated in her own rooms, Bruce cleaned himself up and changed into something subtle: pressed black pants, navy-blue button-up shirt, and black leather shoes that spoke class, but didn’t make him stand out. That was good, because after breakfast, it wouldn’t do for them to attract attention, considering where they were going.

Tucking a small box into his pocket, he headed out to the dining room. Amara was already there, waiting for him at the table, her hair still damp from bathing, and the cut on her jaw already shining with a new coat of clear bandage solution. She gave him a smile as he sat down next to her, his fingers automatically reaching out to gently caress the area near the freshly treated wound.

“It’s okay,” she said, her smile widening at his touch. “Alfred did it for me, and he was very gentle.”

Bruce smiled in return. “Well, he’s had plenty of practice,” he lightly teased. “I was rather good at getting myself into scrapes as a kid, and he patched up every single one of them.”

“Only the ones that didn’t require a call for an ambulance,” Alfred put in, breezing into the room with a full tray. “Everything else I could handle.”

Amara’s eyebrows rose. “An ambulance?” she asked, looking over at Bruce. “What did you do that required an ambulance coming out to get you?”

“Never mind,” Bruce hurriedly replied while glaring at his butler. “Let’s eat.”

Bruce ate his breakfast (consisting of omelets, toast, juice and coffee) quickly, almost to the point of inhaling it. Amara gave him a few questioning looks when she saw how fast he was eating, but said nothing. She, herself, ate slowly, and whenever Alfred appeared to refill her glass, she thanked him and praised his culinary skills, making the older man beam with pride.

Finally, both were finished, and after downing the last bit of his coffee, Bruce offered her a hand. “Come on, there’s something I want you to see.”

Puzzled, she took his hand and followed him out to the car.

Sitting in the front seat as they wove through traffic, Amara knew that she should have sensed something was different the minute they stepped out of the elevator.

What first unsettled her was that Alfred wasn’t going along with them. That in itself wasn’t really unusual, since she had gone out alone with Bruce before, but that had been in Hawaii. In terms of safety, Gotham City was vastly different from the tropical paradise, and having Alfred nearby made her feel better.

The second thing bothering her was that Bruce had chosen to drive one of his more casual cars, instead of his usual Lamborghini. Today, even though it was a black Mercedes, and a very high-end one, it didn’t stand out on the road, allowing them to blend in wherever they were driving. Lots of people drove this kind of car, so no one would look twice at them as they drove by.

Finally, what was bothering Amara the most was the fact that Bruce refused to tell her where, in fact, they were heading. He avoided her questions, telling her “you’ll see,” which didn’t make her feel any better. It was so frustrating!

Through the dark tinted windows, she watched as buildings, people, cars, and bicyclists flew by. In minutes she was hopelessly lost, becoming even more so when the car turned away from the bustling streets and into the river-side port district. Here, people were few, and cars fewer; they encountered no one they knew or recognized, and Amara grew even more confused when they pulled into a loading dock that appeared to be owned by Wayne Enterprises.

“Bruce, what are we doing way out here?” she asked, taking note of the ‘No Trespassing’ sign.

He pulled up beside a huge shipping container and winked at her. “Trust me, you’ll know in a minute.”

Sighing, Amara waited until Bruce came and opened her door to help her out. Her stomach trembled in nervousness as she followed him into, of all places, the shipping container and shut the door behind them, leaving them in complete darkness. Amara gasped in fright, but a hand on her arm kept her from running back outside.

“Shh,” Bruce whispered. “Just wait.”

Amara gasped as the floor shook, then began to move. Not side-to-side, but rather straight down! How was that possible? For them to be going down, they would have to be going underground…

Beside her, Bruce released her arm and instead wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. The darkness gave way to bright white light, and when her eyes adjusted, Amara found herself looking at a vast chamber. White florescent lights were in the entirely of the ceiling, filling the large space with brilliant white light. The floor looked to be heavy cement, and there appeared to be closed doorways along the left walls. Amara was puzzled; the place was completely empty.

The platform lift they were on jerked to a halt as it settled into the ground. With Bruce hanging on to her, Amara’s stance was steady, which was a good thing, considering the platform had nothing to hold onto.

“Come on,” he said, gently guiding her onto the cement floor.

They walked through two-thirds of the room before coming to a halt in front of a large square cut into the floor. If Bruce hadn’t stopped her, Amara would have simply walked right over it, completely unaware that it was even there. Turning her head, she gave him a puzzled look as she heard him exhale.

He gave her a smile and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, handheld device that fit perfectly into his palm. Bruce held up the device and nodded at the square in the ground.

“Watch,” he said, pushing the button.

She jumped at the sound of pressured air being released, and gasped when the square rose up, revealing the last thing she expected to see.

It was Batman’s body armor, cowl, and cape, the eyeholes staring emptily at her from a case of metal and clear plastic.

“Oh, my, God,” she whispered, one hand clasping over her mouth. Bruce reached up and gently pulled her arm down. “So…I didn’t dream that you were Batman?”

Then it really hit her. “Oh, my, God, you’re Batman!” Amara half gasped, half squealed as she whirled to look at him.

Her brain began to explode in firework display of thoughts and images. Bruce Wayne was Batman. The man she had fallen in love with was the Caped Crusader, the hero of Gotham, and the man who had saved her life twice from The Joker.

Upon thinking of the crazed criminal, one of her hands lifted to touch the mark on her jaw. That same instant, Bruce inhaled sharply, reaching out to take her raised hand into one of his while the other gently clasped her chin and slowly tilted her head to the side so that he could look.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, caressing the wound with his thumb.

Amara gazed at him in puzzlement. “For what?” she asked, looking up at him.

Bruce’s hand drifted from her jaw up to her hair, fingers caressing the strands as his eyes filled with sorrow. “For not getting there sooner,” he softly answered.

She smiled and took both of his hands in her own. “It wasn’t your fault. I know I can think of a dozen things to try and ease your conscience, but what you need to know is that you can’t control or predict the actions of a madman. You also aren’t fast as a speeding bullet, like that Superman person in Metropolis, so don’t blame yourself.”

One of her hands reached up and caressed his face. “All you have to know is that I still love you, and I don’t blame you in the least.”

He exhaled heavily and dropped her hands in order to pull her into a tight embrace. Amara smiled as she pressed her cheek to his.

Bruce’s strong arms held her close, his breath in her ear as he slowly calmed down his racing heart.

He’d been terrified of what her reaction would be, his mind blazing with the different ways Amara could have responded to his secret. The worst case scenario was her slapping him and saying that she never wanted to see him again, a scenario that would have broken his heart.

And yet, in spite of all his doubts, the best and brightest scene was taking place. Amara not only accepted who he was, she loved him still and had forgiven him for not saving her sooner. Though the guilt he held would never really go away, Amara’s love and faith in him would lessen it over time.

But did she even want to stay with him? Yes, she said she still loved him, but then, Rachel had said the same thing nearly two years ago, claiming that once he’d given up being Batman, they could be together. She’d waited for him for a while, but then moved on to Harvey Dent. Would the same thing happen again with Amara? If it did, Bruce didn’t think he could bear it.

Reluctantly pulling back from her embrace, he looked into her brown eyes. Those gorgeous doe eyes would never lie to him, no matter what words flowed out of her mouth. In them, he saw love and understanding, but he had to know…

“Amara,” he whispered, “do you remember what I asked you last night, before you fainted?”

Her eyes went blank for a moment as she tried to remember, then cleared to show a mixture of hope and surprise. “Oh, yes,” she whispered, blushing furiously. “But I didn’t know if you…meant it or not.”

Bruce smiled and pulled out the small jewelry box that he’d put in his pocket earlier that morning. “Well, believe me when I say that I meant every word of it,” he replied, flipping the box open.

Amara tentatively reached for the ring, her quivering fingers removing it from the box and holding it up in the light of the room. Her eyes caught the flashes of brilliant light reflected inside the perfect yellow diamond, as well as the little white ones that surrounded it.

“Amara,” Bruce whispered, “will you marry me?”

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Yes,” she softly replied. “Yes, Bruce, I will.”

She watched him carefully take the ring from her fingers and raise her left hand. Tears swelled in her eyes as he carefully slid it into place, then kissed her hand tenderly once it rested in its spot.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Sniffling lightly, Amara blinked away her happy tears and looked at him. “For what?”

Bruce smiled and bent to press a kiss to her hand again. “For accepting me and what I do. I never thought that I’d find someone like that, someone who would support me in my efforts.”

Amara wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips. “You are the best thing to happen to this city, and to me. How could anyone not support that?”

Those wonderful arms of his wrapped around her waist to rest his hands comfortably in the small of her back. “There might be times where I’ll be seriously hurt, or worse. Would you be happy with me then?”

She grinned. “No, because I’d be tempted to scold and yell at you for being so easy to beat up.” Pressing a kiss to his nose, she giggled. “But I’d be happy to take care of your wounds for you when you get home.”

Grinning broadly, Bruce grabbed her hand and dragged her to one of the storage rooms. “Come on, there’s more that I want you to see.”

For several hours, Bruce showed her his arsenal of weapons, gadgets, and other tools that he used while he was out as Batman. Amara found most of them fascinating, though she especially liked his cape, which could be used to glide around the city, if needed. She thought it fantastic to be able to fly like that, and hinted that she wanted one as well. Bruce, however, silently vowed that was not going to happen. Not in a million years.

“But what about your car?” Amara suddenly asked, looking around.

“It’s stored in another part of the building, behind closed doors when I’m not using it,” he explained.

“How’d it get here?” she questioned, glancing at the suit. “And how’d your suit get here, if you were with me last night?”

“I programmed the car to return here once we were safely in the penthouse,” he explained. “The suit I had Alfred bring over last night, while you and I were asleep.”

Her mouth opened in an ‘o.’ “Well, I guess Alfred is much more than just a butler. Is he your medic, too?”

She’d spotted the medical tools that lay on a tray covered with a square plastic cover. They were always new, sterile and ready for use, just in case. A worried glint came into her eyes, and a frown pulled at the corners of her mouth.

Bruce stood closer to her. “That’s what you’ll have to deal with if you stay with me. I do get hurt, and there is the chance that I’ll be killed when I’m out protecting the city. Would you be able to live with that?”

There was a soft sigh before she turned to look at him. “I know that,” she answered softly. “It will be like being married to a firefighter, a police officer, or a soldier: always worrying about how you’re doing and if you’ll be coming home.” Her mouth turned upwards into a soft smile. “But what you do is just as noble and great, and I’ll be here or at home, waiting for you to come back. And I don’t believe for one second that you will be killed. You’re just that good.”

Grinning, he bent forward and kissed her.

Sadly, their kiss didn’t last long. Alfred had chosen that moment to check up on them, and was relieved when Bruce told him that he and Amara were getting married.

“Finally,” was what Amara heard from their side of the phone.

When the call ended, her fiancé made a face at her. “Alfred wants us home for a celebratory lunch,” he stated. “Preferably as soon as possible.”

Amara sighed and rolled her eyes, but agreed. She watched Bruce tuck away all of his neat Batman gear and smiled. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to marry him,’ she thought in wonder. What had she done to deserve such a great man?

“Come on,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulled out that strange hand-held device again. “The sooner we get back, the sooner we can have some quiet time together.”

She grinned. “You know, I have to tell you something.” He looked at her as they got onto the platform lift. “I’ve got to say that I’m really glad that you are Batman, because I was beginning to develop a crush on the guy.”

Bruce gave her a strange look as the platform began to rise. “Let me guess, it was the mask.”

She burst out laughing. “Well, there was that, but it was also the whole dark, mysterious air you’ve got while you’re in that suit.”

Peering up at him from under her lashes, she smiled as they rose up into the darkness of the shipping container. “Maybe you can wear the mask on the honeymoon?”

All around them, the metallic space rang with Bruce’s laughter, just as the platform rose into place with a clang.

AN: Well, there it is, the end of the story! The sequel will probably be up in a couple weeks, so keep an eye out for it! Thanks so much to everyone for reading and/or reviewing –you all rock!

See you in a couple weeks with the sequel!