Disclaimer:  DC Comics owns the characters.  I don’t.  I want to own them but that 
means I have to become a multi-billionaire and buy up Time Warner, etc.  I’m not quite 
there yet, so no copyright infringement is intended—I am borrowing them for a bit and 
will make sure they’re back on the shelf before next month’s issues.

***

And So It Goes…
By Smitty (smittywing@yahoo.com)

***

Her bag was already packed.  Alfred had whisked it away, assuring her that it 
would be waiting for her in the front closet; sparing them all from the constant reminder 
of the temporary nature of her stay.

Dinner had been sweet, but quiet, and hurried, knowing what little time there was.  
Because he still had to patrol.  She slept a few hours as he did so, and he missed her voice 
on the line.

It was still dark when she left the bed, and he felt her move.  He watched as she 
dressed, quickly; quietly.

“I’ll walk you down,” he said, slipping on a robe as he, too, left the bed.

The manor was silent and dark as they slipped down the stairs.  The squeak of the 
closet door as she picked up her bag sounded horribly loud, and the sound it made as it 
closed reminded him of the sound of a coffin closing.  Their eyes met, and they said 
nothing.

I wish I didn’t have to go.  I wish I could stay here with you.  I wish you could go 
with me.  She thought about saying the words, but it didn’t seem appropriate.

I hate it when you go.  I hate not being able to protect you.  I hate how dark and 
lonely I feel when you’re gone.  He thought about saying the words, but it didn’t seem 
appropriate.

“Call me when you get back in town,” he said, instead.  “Be safe.”

“Always,” she replied with a wink, one last ray of sunlight into his otherwise grim 
existence.  

They kissed, lingering the contact, and pretending they didn’t notice.  Finally, she 
pulled away and opened the great door, slipping out and blowing him a second kiss just 
before the heavy slab thunked shut.

A grim silence settled on Wayne Manor, all the more gray and dismal after her 
sunny cheerfulness had made the place feel like a home for just a few more hours.  Bruce 
Wayne walked slowly to a large chair and sat, surrounded by the silence of his solitude.

***

Fin