AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is just a thing I wrote after rewatching Dead Man's Hand (Season 1 episode 8) and Once Burned (Season 2 episode 7), featuring Melanie "Ten" Walker. Also pulled some material from some of the comics.
Because yeah, I kinda ship her and Terry together.

Setting is post-Return of the Joker, two years after Once Burned. This was originally a One-Shot; however, I've decided to continue the story, and to that end split the original into two chapters, and kept writing from there. Obviously, TerryxMelanie.

BATMAN BEYOND:
Reunited - a TxM Story
Part 1

"How many times is this going to happen?" Terrence McGinnis (Terry to almost everyone - only the old man occasionally called him Terrence) asked the empty room as he crashed on his bed.

He kept thinking about the nasty argument that had ended his five-year relationship with childhood friend and girlfriend Dana Tan the previous summer. At the root of the argument, his frequent absences and his general evasiveness about what exactly he did for Wayne and why it took up so much of his time.

The whole business with the Joker had created additional strain on their relationship. But he had tried to make things right, to make an effort. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, and she had said as much. Now, he knew it really was over for good.

"I mean, it's not like I can tell her." He mumbled. "Gee, Dana, sorry I missed out on our date, but I'm the goddamn Batman."

Or could he?
He scoffed, shaking his head. So many missed opportunities, he thought. He realized now that even after he put away the suit, Bruce Wayne had never stopped being Batman - it was a part of who he was, his identity. He remembered a conversation they had had in his early days, when Shriek had tried to discredit the old man by making him appear to be crazy.

"The voice kept calling me 'Bruce'. But in my mind, that's not what I call myself."

Terry had replied at the time - as a joke - that it'd figure Bruce would call himself THAT, adding a rather tongue-in-cheek quip that it was his name, now. Bruce's answer had been unequivocal, if half joking:

"Tell that to my subconscious."

Was he becoming the same way - starting to prioritize being Batman over his own goals, his own life?

'Nah. No way.' He thought. But still...

He not only could have, but he should have told Dana. It had been a mistake not to do so, and it was a mistake he had tried to correct, to no avail. He would not make that mistake again, he resolved as he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

The alarm screeched, and with a fist he pounded the "snooze" button, silencing it. Then Terry checked the clock, and saw that he had exactly one hour before his first class of the day. He had gotten on-campus housing because it was more convenient, though he still spent weekends at his mother's apartment, where she lived with his kid brother Matt. So he got out of bed, showered, dressed, and left, arriving in class just a few minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

"Mr. McGinnis." Professor Eldridge commented sarcastically when he walked into the classroom. "How unusual to see you here on time. Can I assume that you will also manage to stay awake today?"

Terry nodded absently, ignoring the muted laughter and whispered comments from his classmates, and took a seat near the back of the classroom.

Eldridge, a pedantic sixty-six-year-old modern history professor all-too-prone to pontification, hated Terry, whose frequent tardiness and tendency to nod off in class - a hazard of his night job - irritated him.

Additionally, Terry had a lot on his mind, still dwelling as he was over the events of the previous summer and his unavailing efforts to make up for his mistakes.

Dana was now living in Metropolis with her family, after her father accepted a promotion to an office there. Terry knew the man didn't like him because of his checkered past, and figured he was probably glad to be shot of him. Dana was attending university there.

He'd been to Metropolis - as Batman - a couple of times, and though he hadn't seen much of the city, hadn't liked it. He pushed that thought from his mind and focused on Eldridge's lecture. Besides, the class was pretty interesting.

After class, Terry went to grab an early lunch. He was just sitting to eat and mulling over his current situation when he heard a voice from behind him that shook him from his reverie.

"Hey, Ter! What's up?"

- "Max." He replied, stifling a yawn. "Not much - just getting some lunch. You?"

- "A little surprised you managed to stay awake through Eldridge's entire class for once." She said. Max usually sat next to Terry and periodically elbowed him awake whenever he nodded off. So far he was managing to pass largely thanks to her assistance.

"You look like you've got somethin' on your mind." Max commented when she saw his somber expression. "You thinkin' about Dana?"

Terry nodded. "You know what, Ter?" She said. "You should've told her the whole truth about your job."

Terry glanced at Max, who was the only person outside of himself, Wayne, and Commissioner Gordon who knew that Terry was Batman, after having figured out in High School that he was leading a double life thanks to a computer program she'd written. Initially, she assumed he was a Joker. Eventually, she figured out that he was Batman.

He had made her swear never to tell anyone.

- "I know." he said. "I just...you remember that story I told you about that kid Miguel; I didn't want to make her a target in that way."

- "She's only a target if she blabs about it, and she wouldn't have done that - I haven't." Max replied, and Terry had to admit she had a point.

- "I tried." He said. "I tried to talk to her, to make things right; I was going to tell her, but I guess it was too late."

- "Uh-huh." Max nodded. She was going to say more, but at that moment Chelsea Cunningham walked up, and greeted them both cheerfully.

Chelsea was Dana's best friend, and had been since before Terry knew either of them.

Terry and Chelsea were also good friends, and though Terry was willing to bet she knew about the break-up, he was relieved that she had neither mentioned it nor made any move to take advantage of it.

The daughter of wealthy parents, she was something of a wild child - a few years back, she'd been one of the first kids at school to get Spliced, during the brief period when that fad was in vogue before it became illegal.

She sat down on the table, right next to Terry, crossing her legs, and the three friends chatted for a while.

"Oh," She finally said, glancing from Max to Terry, "me and a couple of girlfriends are heading down to the J-Bar tonight. You guys wanna come?"

- "I'm game. That place really rips." Max replied. "What about you, Ter?"

- "I might have to work tonight." he said slowly. "But I'll let you know if I can make it - I'll meet you there."

- "Hope so." Chelsea said as she stood, and walked off. "Later, guys!" she hollered over her shoulder, waving at them.

- "Later, Chels!" Max hollered back, then turned to Terry, who was staring across the campus at a point some distance away. For just a moment, he could've sworn he'd just seen... but no, it couldn't be.

"Hey, Ter." Max asked when she noticed Terry's expression. "You okay?"
She turned to see what he was looking at, and saw nothing.

- "Fine, I just thought I saw...you know what? Never mind." Terry said.

Max glanced at her watch, and jumped. "Damn, I gotta go, I'm gonna be late for my next class. See you later, 'right? Let me know if the old man lets you off the hook for tonight."

- "Sure thing." He said, privately thinking that it'd be a cold day in hell before Wayne ever let him have an evening off.

He finished his lunch, tossed his trash, and gathered up his belongings. With half an hour before his next class, headed back to his dorm.

The first thing that happened when Terry crossed the threshold of Wayne Manor late that evening was that he was nearly bowled over by a 150-pound black Great Dane mix, which greeted him with a booming bark.

"Hey, Ace." Terry said, scratching the dog behind the ear. "

Standing three feet six inches tall at the shoulder, Ace was a rescued fighting dog, and Bruce's guard dog and only real constant companion.

In the early days, Ace didn't like Terry and Terry didn't like the dog. But over time, they'd grown quite fond of one another, and the big, tough animal had saved his ass on a couple of occasions.

The entrance to the cave hung open, and Terry, Ace at his heels, climbed down the steep, narrow staircase into the gigantic cave, where he found his boss and mentor sitting in a deep, comfortable chair in front of a massive computer.

"Good evening, Terry." Bruce said in his usual gravelly, even tone. Ace moved past Terry and took up a position next to the chair, lying down. A cane leaned against the console.

- "Good evening, Mr. Wayne." Terry said, and as he neared saw that the display showed, among other things, the specifications of the Batsuit, several displays dedicated to the Gotham City Police Department's communications frequencies, and a couple of other windows, including hacked security vid feeds from a number of key targets of opportunity.

"Looks pretty quiet tonight." Terry commented.

- "Unusually so," Wayne replied, "though not surprising. Since the Joker business, Commissioner Gordon's been intensifying GCPD activities and has seriously cracked down on gang-related activity, especially the Jokerz and the T's. As organizations, those two have never been weaker."

- "That's good." Terry said, sounding relieved. Quite apart from sharing the near-universal dislike of the Jokerz, Terry knew first-hand the potential dangers of unchecked gang activity. And he had the rap sheet to prove it, expunged records or not.

- "It also means that I don't believe you'll need to go on patrol tonight." Bruce said, and Terry's jaw went slack. "If you want to, you can go home. But I want you to leave the suit here."

It was not a request - Bruce's tone was one of command.

- "Why?" Terry said firmly, sensing a challenge. If Wayne wanted him to give up the cowl, he had another thing coming.

- "Because it is still my property. And because I said so." Wayne replied cuttingly. Then the corner of his mouth turned up as he added. "Don't worry, you'll get it back."

- "You're going to upgrade it." Terry said as the realization dawned on him, and he smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

- "You'll see." Wayne said cryptically, and turned away from him, back to his computer.

Understanding the dismissal, Terry pulled the suit from his backpack and set it carefully down on the workbench behind the counter.

- "So I guess Batman's going on administrative leave." He joked. "For how long?"

- "One week, at the most." Wayne replied. "Good night, Terry."

- "Thank you, sir. Good night." Terry replied. "See ya later, mutt." he added as he patted Ace's big, square head, and the dog barked again.

As Bruce watched the young man cross the cave and disappear up the staircase, he thought about how much things had changed since Terry had come into his life.

And for a moment, he smiled, before turning back to his computer. It was time to get to work.

As soon as his big motorbike was back on the road to Gotham, Terry called Max.

"Hey, Max." he said. "Hell must've frozen over - the old man just gave me some time off."

- "You're kidding!" Max said.

- "Nope." Terry replied. "Catch is, he made me leave my uniform at the office; said he's gonna be making some changes to it."

- "Way schway." She said. "Can't wait to see. So I guess we can expect to see you at the J-Bar tonight?"

- "Yeah, I'm on my way." Terry said. "See you there." He hung up the call, then as he slipped back into busier traffic, focused on the road.