Author's note:

As much as it saddens me to say it, this is the final chapter.

"Batman Forever" and related characters don't belong to me.

Chase's sister; Charity, does, so once again, MITS OFF!

Enjoy

Chapter 5

Chase felt tears form in her eyes as she stared into Bruce's hazel ones.

"Oh Bruce…"

She could scarcely believe what she'd just heard Bruce ask her. Surely this was a dream that she would wake from at any moment. Unconsciously her mind drifted and she recalled what the Riddler had said to Batman in their final confrontation on Claw Island about her feelings towards Bruce.

"…and foolishly hopes to be the love of Bruce's life."

She remembered how those callous words, and his mocking laughter after them, had cut through her joy at seeing Batman, as the last time she'd seen Bruce, he'd been unconscious on the main stairwell of Wayne Manor as she had been dragged away by Two-Face's thugs, desperately crying out his name, over and over, in hopes of waking him.

She also recalled spending the trip to Claw Island in silence, first by car and later by helicopter, wrapped up in her prayers and hopes that Alfred would find Bruce and care for him until he came round.

Blinking her eyes to bring herself back into reality, Chase banished the ill feelings that had begun to swirl inside her. They had gotten through that situation, and all others that had followed, and it had helped to make them stronger and more committed to each other than before.

'And there I go. Drifting off once again…' she thought wryly to herself.

"Chase…?"

Bruce had taken a hold of one of her hands with his free one and was stroking her knuckles with his thumb, concern about her silence evident in his hazel eyes.

"I… yes"

"Yes?" Bruce repeated her answer, as if he was checking to see that it wasn't a dream.

"Yes, yes, yes…" Chase laughed as Bruce stood up, scooping her up in his arms whilst keeping a firm grip on the ring-box, as he went and spun her around in elation.

Unseen to the joyous couple, Alfred stood just outside the doorway, a knowing expression on his features. The butler watched as Bruce gently placed Chase back on her feet before the couple shared a passionate kiss.

Alfred smiled, it was good to see Bruce as happy as he was with Dr. Meridian as a sure fixture in his life. For many months Bruce had been filled with doubts on wether the life he had chosen to live was the right one. Things had only made worse when Dr. Meridian had appeared in the city and Bruce had found himself fighting against his other half for her attentions, which had only rubbed more salt into his wounds.

Alfred had done all that he could to guide his charge through his troubles, including a certain conversation.

"Even Chase calls being Batman a curse"

"Perhaps the lady is just what the doctor ordered. She seems lovely and wise"

"I've never been in love before, Alfred"

"Go to her. Tell her how you feel"

"She wants Batman, not Bruce Wayne"

"Let the lady decide"

Bruce had suited up then and had headed out to meet Chase at the arranged time, and had returned an hour later, peaceful and content with himself. And that was how things had been ever since, despite the ruckus that had raged in other parts of his life.

Alfred watched the couple, still wrapped up in their kiss, for a few moments more before he turned on his heel and walked away to tend to the remaining chores before turning in for the night.

In the lounge room, Bruce and Chase parted, both smiling contently at each other as they caught their breath.

Returning his attention to the ring-box in his hand, Bruce carefully extracted the ring from it before closing the case and tucking it back in his pocket. Gently taking Chase's left hand in his, Bruce slid the ring onto her finger, raising her hand to his lips for a brief kiss when he the task was done.

When Bruce let go of her hand, Chase stared at the ring for a few moments. Unable to find the words to express her joy, she suddenly leaned forward, taking Bruce by surprise, and kissed him. Relaxing into the emotion filled kiss, Bruce wrapped his arms around Chase's waist. When the kiss ended Chase rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes, as the pair remained contentedly in each others arms.

The comfortable silence they had fallen into was broken when Chase unexpectedly spoke, her voice a gentle whisper.

"…has to be a dream…"

Bruce's eyes flew open and he angled his body away from Chase's so that he could look at her face with out leaving their embrace.

"Chase?"

Chase's eyes fluttered open.

"What has to be a dream?" he questioned.

For a moment Chase was confused, but as realisation as to what he was talking about dawned on her, her eyes widened a little and a blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I… I said that aloud, did I?"

"You did"

Chase suddenly broke away from Bruce and approached the fireplace, staring into the flames.

"Chase, what's wrong?" Bruce questioned as he approached her coming to a halt when he stood beside her, feeling a sense of déjà vu hit him as they acted out a similar situation like the one at Halloween, only their roles had been reversed.

"I'm afraid"

"Of what?"

"That I'll wake up one day to find that this, us, was just a dream"

With a soft smile Bruce slid two fingers, his thumb and index, under Chase's chin and guided her to look at him.

"This is a dream, Chase…" he spoke and hurt flashed through the Doctor's eyes at his words.

She opened her mouth to respond, but Bruce silenced her by placing two fingers on her lips.

"Hush now, love, you didn't let me finish. It is a dream. But it's a dream that is grounded, and quite firmly at that, in reality. Besides, do you really think I'm going to let the best thing that's happened to me just up and walk out of my life without me putting up a fight?" he questioned.

With a smile Chase returned to Bruce's embrace.

"Thank-you. I… that probably sounded trivial…"

Bruce shook his head before responding, "No, Chase, it didn't. I felt the same way until Alfred told me what I've just said to you… well… he told me the first bit anyway…" he trailed off and Chase laughed.

With a grin, Bruce kissed Chase's temple, glad to see her happy and, for the moment, care-free once again.

"Care for another dance?" he questioned.

"I'd love to"

The song that was currently playing sounded to be half-way through, but that didn't concern the couple as they began to slow dance once again.

One

You're like a dream come true

Two

Just want to be with you

Three

Girl, it's plain to see

That you're the only one for me

And four

Repeat steps one through three

Five

Make you fall in love with me

If ever I believe my work is done

Than I'll start back at one

Snuggling into Bruce's warmth, Chase relaxed and closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift. Unconsciously her thoughts landed on a memory and it began to play.

Chase walked from Arkham Asylum towards the entrance gate. Stepping through the side entrance, she found Alfred and Bruce waiting for her.

She made a beeline for Bruce as he turned to face her.

"Your secret is safe" she told him, "He is definitely a whacko"

"Whacko. That a technical term?" he questioned and Chase laughed.

"Listen, I won't be needing this anymore" Bruce held the Malaysian Dream Warden out between them, offering it back to Chase, who took it back hesitantly, confusion written in her eyes.

"Thank-you for giving me a new dream" he stated sincerely.

Chase relaxed and leaned in to kiss Bruce. When they parted Chase smiled as she inclined her head to the side for a second.

"Don't work too late" she instructed as she turned and headed towards the black car that had brought her here as Alfred opened the door for her.

Unseen to Chase, Bruce tilted his head up, his own unique nod, a resolved look in his eyes. He watched as Chase took a seat and waited until Alfred was out of sight before turning towards the new Batmobile parked in the shadows.

As they drew closer to Gotham, a gentle rainstorm had started and it pitter-pattered at a steady rate against the car.

Chase sat silently looking out the window, deep in thought.

She eventually spoke, looking to Alfred as she did so, "Does it ever end, Alfred?"

The butler looked back at her for a moment, shaking his head as he replied "No, Dr. Meridian, not in this lifetime"

Chase smiled briefly, looking down for a few seconds before she returned her gaze to the window beside her and then back the rain splattered windscreen in front of her, falling back into silence.

'Am I ready for this' she wondered.

Chase cared deeply for Bruce, she knew that much, but this was a big step.

Becoming the loved one of a superhero was a dangerous business. She had seen first-hand four days ago just to what lengths Batman's enemies were willing to go to in order to bring him to his knees.

'Is it worth it…' she wondered again, but as she thought this, an image flashed through her mind.

The image was of she and Bruce at Wayne Manor on Halloween, before Two-Face's thugs had come storming in.

They had just admitted their feelings for one another after she had discovered Batman's true identity; him. He had also admitted that he had retired from being Batman and was going to "leave the shadows", as he had put it, to pursue a normal life. She had then recalled what she had said to Bruce about Batman.

"Why does a man do this? It's as if he's cursed to pay some great penance. Now what crime could he have committed to deserve a life of nightly torture?"

She hadn't understood at the time, but did now thanks to Bruce's admissions, that the reason that Batman fought for was a noble one; to prevent others from suffering his fate. With that understanding, her attitude had changed, and she had begun to try and convince Bruce to take up the fight once more.

She'd just managed to get through to him when Two-Face's thugs had stormed in and she and Bruce had had to flee, holding hands as they'd done all they could to keep the thugs at bay until Two-Face had taken a shot at Bruce, grazing his temple and knocking him out.

She'd been taken to Claw Island and chained up with the Riddler checking on her every half hour. She'd announced to him during one of those check-ups that Batman would come for her. The response that she'd gotten in return had unnerved her and she became concerned, and she remembered thinking 'What is the Riddler planning to do to Batman?'. Shortly after she was tied up as the gold chain was released, gagged, then put in a covered container and hoisted up into the air. She'd listened as the process was repeated on someone else minutes later.

And then Batman had arrived.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that. Who's afraid of the big black bat?"

"No more tricks, Edward"

"Very well, then. Let's get real"

"Release Chase. This is between you and me"

Returning her thoughts back to the present, she realised that Batman had always done all that he could to keep her safe from harm, something she was sure that would continue if they became an item.

'There is a risk in doing this,' she thought with resolution as Bruce's smiling face appeared before her eyes again 'but it's well worth it'

She'd made a life changing decision that night.

When Alfred had dropped her off at the GCPD Headquarters, she'd raced up to her apartment and called her sister; Charity, to get the rest of her things sent to Gotham from her previous apartment in New York, because when she'd come to the city on Commissioner Gordon's invitation to consult on a case, she'd only expected to be here for, at best, a few months. She'd certainly never expected to find the love of her life here. Although Charity had been most baffled at her elder's sudden decision, and she'd said as much, she did what Chase had asked of her.

Chase had gone to bed then and had fallen asleep shortly after.

Unseen to the dozing doctor, Batman had swung by not long after she drifted off, just to check that she was alright.

Say farewell to the dark of night

I see the coming of the sun

I feel like a little child

Whose life has just begun

You came and breathed new life

Into this lonely heart of mine

You threw out the lifeline

Just in the nick of time

Bruce had told her once that she had brought him back into the light. But what he didn't know was that he had done the same for her.

Bruce Wayne had changed her life; she knew this fact as surely as she knew her own name.

She recalled the words she'd said to him on Halloween as she'd tried, and failed, to admit her feelings towards him.

"All my life I've been… I've been attracted to a certain kind of man. The wrong kind of man. And, I mean, look at what I do for a living, right? And since… since I met you, I…"

Before she had come to Gotham she'd been attracted to the dark side of life. But after she'd met Bruce, her life had changed. She'd begun to lose interest in the things that had usually fascinated her, and then she'd done something that before Gotham would have unimaginable.

She'd chosen Bruce Wayne over Batman.

But she'd found out not long after that Bruce was Batman. And she hadn't looked back since.

One

You're like a dream come true

Two

Just want to be with you

Three

Girl, it's plain to see

That you're the only one for me

And four

Repeat steps one through three

Five

Make you fall in love with me

If ever I believe my work is done

Than I'll start back at one

Bruce opened his eyes as Chase shifted her stance against him. He smiled and started to rest his chin on the top of her head. But as he moved something caught his eyes. Turning his head so that he could focus his attention, he saw what it was.

The Batsignal.

'Guess there's no rest for the wicked' he thought to himself with a wry smile, 'Even on a night like tonight'.

Now all he had to do was figure out how he was supposed to break the news to Chase.

"Looks like you're needed" Chase voice broke him from his thoughts.

She had stirred from his embrace when he had shifted his head, curios to see what had caught his attention.

"I'm sorry about this, Chase. I'd hoped that we wouldn't be disturbed tonight…"

Chase placed two fingers of her left hand on his lips to quieten him, "Don't be, love. I understand" she returned his earlier sentiment. Gently, Bruce took a hold of Chase's left hand, their fingers interlocking as he kissed it, and then he brought it down by his side.

Turning, the couple headed toward the main foyer, side-by-side.

"You're welcome to stay here for the night if you wish" he looked to Chase as he spoke.

She smiled, "I think I will. Lucky I brought a change of clothes with me"

"Lucky, indeed" he replied as he raised an eyebrow to her playfully as if to ask if she'd been planing to stay the night all along. Chase blushed at this and Bruce chuckled softly for a moment.

When they reached to doorway, Bruce saw Alfred approaching from the other direction.

"I saw the signal, Alfred" he stated.

He'd asked Alfred at the start of the evening to alert him if the Batsignal appeared in the sky, just in case his attention was elsewhere at the time.

"Very well, Master Bruce"

"Chase will be staying here for the night. Could you please take her to the guest suite?"

"As you wish, sir"

Bruce turned his attention to Chase, "Will you be alright?" he questioned.

"Yes" she replied as she leaned in to kiss him.

When she drew back she added, "Don't work too late"

"I won't. Sleep well" he smiled as they played out their beloved tête-à-tête that had started right after the visit to Arkham.

Bruce stopped and as he waited for Dick to appear, watched Chase as she collected her overnight bag and followed Alfred up the main stairwell. And as they went up they crossed paths with Dick as he came striding down the stairs towards Bruce.

When he reached the bottom he looked at Bruce.

"Did you see-" Dick started.

"The signal? Yes. Let's go" Bruce finished.

Dick headed down the stairs into the cave, but Bruce paused in the doorway to watch Chase, now his fiancée, and he smiled as he let that fact sink in, as Alfred led her towards the guest suite. He had a strong suspicion, however, that she would be curled up in his bed by the time he returned from duty.

Not that he minded, though.

'Ah well' he thought to himself as he turned and headed down into the cave 'So much for a quiet night in'

The End

Song's used;

"Back At One" by Brian McKnight

Note; Again, I tweaked the lyrics for the same reason as the previous Chapter.

Author's note:

Now, I feel an explanation in order about Chase's memory in this Chapter.

The first part you'll all recognise from the end of the movie.

The second part, between she and Alfred in the car, is actually a deleted scene from the movie which is on the second disk of the Special Edition DVD. I felt that it held importance for my story, because the way I interpreted the scene, was that Chase is coming to understand just exactly what she's getting herself into if she becomes Bruce's partner and whether or not it is worth it, which, of course, she decides that it is.

And the third part is from the movie also.

Oh, and with the Batmobile, I know it sounds kinda quick for Bruce to have a new one, only four days, (but come on, he is a billionaire after all. If he can't do it in a couple of days then God help the rest of us). Again that was the way I interpreted the movie, 'cause I really don't think Bruce would have just stood there when Alfred and Chase were leaving if he had no way of leaving himself.

Now with all that out of the way, I've got just one thing to say;

HURRAH FOR ME!

Starts dancing around

I'm so proud of myself; I have now officially finished my first fanfic piece.

Yeah, okay, so it did take me roughly two years to do so, (and I'm hoping that it was worth it for those who have been following the story) but hey, as they say; slow and steady wins the race.

I want to thank all of those who have read and reviewed, (and given me ideas for future stories) you have helped me to keep writing all this time, 'cause when I first started I thought I was the only fic-writing Bruce and Chase fan around these parts. Which I was tickled pink to learn that I wasn't.

I also owe a huge shout out of thanks to a family friend; Fiona Maxwell.

Fiona isn't a member, but she has been a wonderful critique of my work, including this one, for many years and has helped me not only with honing my skills as a writer, but kept my love for writing fanfiction and science-fiction alive.

Now, for those who have become fond of A Quiet Night In and are no doubt upset to see that it has come to an end, don't despair. I've got two other Batman Forever fics on the way.

One is an M rated "intimate" fic that's currently in the works.

Title:Innocence

Summary:

Bruce spends an evening at Chase's apartment.

The other is a sequel that's on the table; I'm just in the process of finishing the synopsis at the moment.

Title:Once In A Lifetime

Summary:

Sequel to A Quiet Night In. He proposed, she said yes. Now Bruce and Chase are busily preparing for their big day. But when a face from Chase's past threatens to tear them apart, the couple must fight to save their love, and Gotham, from falling to the shadows.

So until then, keep it real and keep writing.

This is Knights-Honour signing off.