Thank you for all the reviews. I´m sorry that you had towait so long, butI was gone for a week.But probably most of you are busy with reading Harry Potter anyway. :o)
Enjoy the last chapter of Flashes of Memory.
Barbara sat next to Bruce's bed wrapping with trembling fingers a white bandage around his chest.
Leaning over Bruce, she brushed his dark hair out of his face. Tears came to her eyes looking at the face that triggered a gale of emotions.
"How are his wounds? ", Alfred asked
"They will heal quickly. The injuries are not that bad. It's the hallucinating that takes it out of him. The sedative will wear off within the next two hours. But it eases the pain and suppresses the hallucinations a little bit. Lucius really should hurry up. I don't know if Bruce's body or mind could stand another shock." Her voice shivered.
"Don't worry about his mind. He will get through this. Bruce is the strongest, most determined person I know." Alfred said, an almost proud smile playing across his lips.
He laid a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"And he has the most skilled doctor of the world taking care of him. Thomas Wayne would be grateful. You don't know what Gotham has lost when you stopped practising."
"Trying to save lives as a doctor was my passion. It gave meaning to my life." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "But Thomas´ death has left me floundering. Not only had I lost a mentor and friend but also the person that had showed me that there still were reasons why it was worth to fight, despite of the evil of the world that threatened to enclose and overpower us. After his death I saw more and more that it was futile to fight in such a broken and corrupt city." Her voice was merely a whisper.
Alfred squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
"I know what you mean."
From the fateful day on, when the Waynes died, Alfred endeavoured to replace Thomas Wayne.
No, not to replace him, for this would be impossible, but to emulate him as best as he could; To care for their son, to worry about him, to fill the void that his parents had left and just to be there for a boy that was lost in this emptiness.
Sometimes Alfred was on the verge of giving up, afraid to fail, but he had a task to fulfil and he was strong for young Master Wayne.
Alfred and Barbara were both lost in thoughts and they didn't hear Lucius enter.
"Stop moping. I've got the antidote." Lucius smiled
Barbara jumped to her feet and gave her husband a gentle kiss.
"Thank you," she whispered.
She filled the syringe with the healing liquid and injected it Bruce instantly.
The three stood there, just watching the man that almost died. He was breathing evenly and his face has lost the tension that was straining his features.
"You know, Barbara," Alfred began, "there may be reasons after all", his eyes never leaving the sleeping Bruce.
"Yes, you are right," Barbara answered quietly.
Bruce Wayne was hope. Heshowed reasons again. Reasons why it still was worth fighting. He had the spark that could obliterate the darkness that was wrapped around Gotham. Gotham was not beyond saving.
Andhe was not without help. They would support him, care for him, worry about him.
Just like this time, when he almost broke.
They would be there for him, for the very least they could do for the hero that fought for them, was to help him back on his feet when fallen.
THE END
Hope you liked it, if you want I´m going to write another Batman Begins fic.
You guys are awsome. :)