Living with the Bat (Batman+Catwoman)

Chapter Two

Gotham City

June 8, 07:55 EDT

Elizabeth sat in the car silently. Bruce talked on the phone. He said it was a business call so she was afraid to distract him by talking to Alfred, the old man that answered the door on Halloween. Much time had passed since the arrangement was made. Elizabeth easily made it into Gotham State University so she tried not to worry too much about what the upcoming school year would be like.

She thought how hard it was convincing her parents that everything would be okay. After all I am old enough to live on my own now. Plus why wouldn't I take the offer to go and work for people who are willing to help me throughout college. It would be like having you guys there, except I'll only see you during the breaks. I know it will be hard going there but I feel like I need to take this opportunity... Elizabeth explained everything in that way. Her mom couldn't believe that her flight got cancelled and that Elizabeth just happened to find a nice family with a lot of money to stay with. I'd take the risk, better circumstances than I would've had if I stayed in state, she thought to herself with a shudder.

Elizabeth was an only child and wasn't used to sharing that much. She always wished she had younger siblings and the opportunity to watch over a cute newborn was her idea of fun... well if you could call that fun. Tall buildings towered over the car reminding Elizabeth she wasn't home anymore. The city would be different from her smaller hometown. The idea of exploring a new place and meeting new people overcompensated for her slight fear of change.

Suddenly Bruce was off the phone and they were at the mansion. Elizabeth looked around surprised, "I thought it would take longer to get here."

"The traffic wasn't bad, plus Alfred knows the best ways through town." Bruce told her smiling internally at her confused expression.

"Thank you sir," Alfred said, "it was nice of you to say that. Now don't forget your appointment with the Justice League."

Bruce sighed, "Thanks."

"Wait, you guys are just going to leave me alone? I don't even know where everything is... well I remember but I'm not sure where EVERYTHING is!" Elizabeth exclaimed as they got to the door that led into the house.

"I'll still be here," Alfred pointed out.

"Yes," Bruce told her, "you won't be alone. Selina does have places to go though and Alfred will be giving her a ride. But that's tonight, I should be back by then."

"Well... I guess I'll be fine until then. Why don't you introduce me to the baby?" Elizabeth suggested.

"She's just fallen asleep," Selina said walking into the room and giving her husband a kiss, "but you can go in and see her." Together the couple and Elizabeth went down one of the many halls into a bedroom. Selina carefully opened the door and motioned for everybody to be quiet. In a fancy crib lay a little baby girl. She had dark hair just like her parents'. Well... she honestly looked more like Bruce than her mother, it was probably her face shape.

"What's her name?" Elizabeth asked quietly as Bruce stood closer to his child.

Selina smiled and answered just as softly, "Evelyn Rose Wayne." They walked out together leaving the Dark Knight to watch over his daughter. "There's milk in the fridge if she gets hungry while I'm away. There are plenty of diapers in the diaper bag, but if it's running low let Alfred know. She likes to explore things so make sure there's nothing in reach that she might try to eat. Umm, I think that's about it. I've got to go now. I need to get ready for tonight." Selina told her young friend before scampering away.

"But what if... I need... to contact you???" Elizabeth asked to no one.

Fortunately, though, Alfred heard and answered, "I can give you that miss."

"Oh! Thanks, but you don't have to call me miss." she told him as he handed her his cell phone with their contact information on it.

As she typed in their phone numbers into her phone Alfred inquired, "Shall I call you Elizabeth then?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth said, "either that or call me Liz." He nodded making a mental note of what to call the newcomer. "And what do you want me to call you?" She asked handing his phone back to him.

"Alfred will be fine miss-- I mean Elizabeth." Alfred told her slipping his phone back into his pocket, "Now if you will excuse me, many things need to be done before the day is over." He walked away leaving Elizabeth alone.

She looked around at the big expansion of the 'house' wondering how it was kept so clean all the time. Alfred probably cleans, Elizabeth thought to herself before going back to Evelyn's room. It dawned on her that no one had shown her where her room was. The Dark Knight walked past her as she was thinking this.

"I'll show you where you will be staying." He said before leading Elizabeth to a nice sized room not too far away. It looked like a boy used to stay in the room judging by the color of the walls. Nothing personal was left in the room though, so she settled down to unpack her meager belongings.