Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Wayne Legacy: Knightmare

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 13:

Wayne Enterprises’ Private Jet

Somewhere between Boston and Gotham

On the flight back from Boston, Diana was in a bit of a bad mood. After Kara’s super container ship had touched water for the first time and the tour was complete, the three women had met Steve at the area she had hoped would be a shipyard dedicated to the construction of Navy ships.

So far, the Navy had requested twenty-two next generation attack subs, two ballistic subs, fifty destroyers, ten cruisers and other noncommissioned ships, such as sub tenders and salvage ships. In two years, they would also be ordering a hospital ship to replace the U.S.S. Comfort along with classified small combat vessels.

Kara had state-of-the-art designs for each type of craft on order, her advancements decades ahead of the current technology. All she needed was a place to build them and a workforce prepared to follow her plans.

Diana desperately wanted her own place, more for control than anything else. But her shipyard at Boston was too small.

An alternative option was for her to buy the current Naval shipbuilding company, Huntington Ingalls, which had existed solely as a Navy contractor. With Wayne Enterprises owning all the contracts, they had gone out of business practically overnight.

Northrop Grumman, the parent company, was desperately trying to sell their shipyards to Diana at a greatly reduced price. Steve’s argument was these were perfectly good shipyards she could upgrade to her liking. In addition, construction could begin immediately at these locations.

Diana had hoped for a shipyard of her own, much the same as she had already began building the aeronautics facility in Gotham.

Building a shipyard took a lot of waterfront property, especially one capable of dry docking an aircraft carrier. Though not on a timeclock, Diana wanted these orders filled quickly. She had hoped to expand her current shipyard in Boston, but the space just wasn’t possible.

When explaining the new manufacturing tech plans she needed, Kara had made it clear that the construction time on a new facility would take a year at least.

As much as she hated to admit it, Steve was right.

As she was slowly coming to this distasteful realization, her new vice president broke the comfortable silence, agreeing with that assessment.

“It just makes sense to buy the shipyards from Northrop Grumman.” Sam said, looking up from her laptop where she was seated across from Diana. They both had their laptops open, working, even on a short plane ride. While Sam was unencumbered, Diana had Kara’s head resting on her shoulder, drool coming out of her mouth, much to the older sister’s annoyance.

“I suppose you are running over the numbers for the shipyard I want to build and comparing the costs to the shipyards that are now sitting vacant with the already prepared workforce.” Diana said knowingly.

Sam nodded. “I know you don’t want me involved in our military divisions yet, but…”

“Business is business, Sam. You are a financial genius, so I am not going to tell you what numbers to run or not run. I always want your opinion.”

Sam took a breath. “The cost and time to build will cut into our profits. We have solid product orders from the Navy, exceeding our one hundred minimum order. With the Navy expanding their fleet to three hundred and fifty-five vessels in the next four years, we need to move now. These products can make us over twenty billion dollars this year alone and offset the costs of the other facilities in one swoop. It’s an instant win, if we can deliver soon. I have no idea how long it takes to build these vessels though.”

Diana looked thoughtful, weighing Sam’s analysis against her own. “If we take away the time to find and build a shipyard, it will take eighteen months normally. However, six of those months are usually design and planning. Kara had plans for every type of Naval vessel upgrade ready three years ago and has already implemented plans to improve submarine stealth capabilities.

“If we were to start in the next month, we are looking at fourteen months for most of the ships. The smaller ships can be sent out sooner. It would mean buying all five shipyards Northrop Grumman is offering.”

Sam nodded, having guessed the time period generally.

Diana sighed. “I suppose it does make the most sense. I prefer to build new, but I suppose updating existing structures would make more sense. What do you think, Kara?”

Diana shrugged her shoulder, shaking Kara’s head gently.

“What? Who? Where? I didn’t do it. I swear I didn’t buy a giraffe.” Kara mumbled, her eyes trying to focus.

“What are we talking about?” She looked at her sister, eyes still heavy with sleep.

“Giraffe?” Diana asked, humor evident in her voice.

“I dreamed I found a giraffe.” Kara said, rubbing her eyes then wiping the drool from her face unashamedly, rubbing her hand on her jeans. She found her glasses and put them on, slowly waking. “I tried to hide it in my room, but you found it and you made me send it back into the wild. A lion ate it in front of me as soon as it stepped out the door. That wasn’t cool, Didi. I never asked for much from you growing up. You could have let me keep a giraffe I found.”

Sam laughed and shook her head, enjoying Kara’s antics as usual. She still had a childlike innocence to her, and it was entertaining to watch her and Diana together. Despite Diana being the polar opposite of Kara, she had seen how Diana softened around her sister and played as well. She had walked in on the two dancing in Diana’s office to hip hop and begged off joining them only a week ago.

“What would you think about buying Northrop’s shipyards and updating them, so we can begin meeting the Navy’s request as soon as possible?”

Kara nodded. “A shipyard is a shipyard. It wouldn’t take much to bring them up to our standards and we have a readymade workforce. I feel bad for the employees of Huntington Ingalls that were laid off when we got the contracts. I can ask the Dock Union reps to visit Wayne Tower and I’m sure we can talk terms and get most of the workforce back quickly.”

Diana smiled and patted her hand. “Then it’s settled. You and Sam are in agreement. My vanity demanding we have our own spaces will take a backseat for now. Now wipe the drool off your mouth and try to stay up, so you can sleep tonight.

“Let’s go over your birthday requests. I haven’t had a chance to look at them.”

“I marked the email urgent.” Kara told her, obviously not happy at that news.

“Your definition of urgent and mine, are very different.” Diana pulled up the email and began reading. “Why do you want two mansions in New Orleans? 1239 First Street in the Garden District?”

“Anne Rice’s old house. Remember those books I gave you about the Mayfair Witches?” Kara asked.

Diana raised an eyebrow. “That’s the house they were set in?”

Kara nodded. Diana didn’t immediately turn her down so there was hope.

“I have promised you a trip to New Orleans. Perhaps it would be good to have our own place for visits. I hear the Garden District is lovely.” Diana remarked. “What is this other address? 1410 Jackson Ave?”

“It’s the house they filmed American Horror Story Coven in.” Kara explained.

Diana smiled. “That was a cool house… though my opinion of witchcraft has changed greatly over the past few months, I won’t hold FX responsible for that.”

Kara grinned. “It could be a business purchase for our entertainment division. That house’s primary purpose the past decade has been movie or television sets. We could have control of it and rent it out to any other movie companies wanting to use it.”

“Which one do you desire the most?” Diana asked.

“I want both.” Kara replied, pouting a bit, then sighed and offered Diana her version of a compromise. “I suppose one can wait till Christmas.”

Diana shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I’m not buying you two mansions.”

Sam grinned at Diana finally putting her foot down in regard to Kara.

“Pick the one you want the most.” Diana said. “I may consider the other one later, but for now, you can have one.”

Sam’s grin was gone. Screw it, she decided, it wasn’t her business. For a moment, she thought it must be nice to be able to buy mansions on a whim.

Then she realized she could now do the same if she wished. Though nowhere near the Wayne’s level of wealth, Sam’s new job afforded her things she had never thought possible. She doubted she would ever get used to that idea. She had struggled her whole life to support her daughter and was unlikely to spend millions on mansions and sports cars now.

For her part, Diana bartered back and forth with Kara who seemed to be arguing for the sake of arguing. The older sister had already read the email and easily decided against putting a roller coaster in the backyard, nor was she agreeing to start Wayne Enterprises own space program outside of satellites. Why Kara would ever think Diana would let her build a shuttle and go to space was a mystery to her. She strongly believed Kara put things on the list just to screw with her.

“No rollercoasters and certainly no Bengal Tigers. I don’t give a damn if they are endangered and we can protect them. No apex predators on manor grounds. That has always been the rule. You need to revise this list if you want me to take more than one or two items seriously.” Diana told her, putting the subject to rest and moving back to the original one. “I’ll contact Northrop Grumman in the morning, and we can fly to one of their now empty shipping yards if you are up to it, next week. By the way, Steve has a surprise for you.”

Kara perked up at that.

“Are you going to keep me waiting?” she asked, realizing Diana would give her nothing else.

Diana motioned to the back where Steve was sleeping deeply in a very comfortable recliner. “Ask him yourself.”

Kara ran and jumped on Steve, causing the man to jerk awake. Grabbing his ears, she shouted for him to get up.

“What is wrong with you, devil child?!”

“Diana says I have to stay up, so you do too.” Kara explained.

“So you jumped on me and pulled my ears?” Steve asked, somewhat incredulous, but not really too surprised as it was a Kara thing to do.

“You are up, aren’t you? Diana says you have a surprise for me.”

Steve nodded and stretched his arms then quickly pushed Kara off his lap, enjoying her grunt when she hit the floor on her butt.

“I spoke to Admiral Ingersoll while you were checking out your delivery boat. He wants you to visit a carrier and maybe take a tour of an attack sub in water. The Stennis Carrier Group is leaving Norfolk next month and we are going out with it for a day or so then taking a chopper back in. He wants you to see the attack subs moving and your fighter craft in the bay. He is very interested in your drone wingman program.”

Kara’s eyes were wide, taking that in. The chance to be on a carrier deck, see her planes come and go and then actually be in an attack sub underwater was something she never thought possible.

“Seriously?” she asked quietly, thinking this was too good to be true.

Steve nodded, enjoying the times Kara could be reduced to few words. “Seriously, kid. You are a big deal. I’m assuming you want to go?”

“Yes!” She shrieked happily. “Oh my God, yes!”

Steve chuckled and offered her a hand, pulling her up from the floor where she sat. “Good because I told him you would be there. Don’t ask to fly a jet. You may have built them, but nobody is going to let you fly one with your eyesight. Maybe if we can find a two seater and Diana is in a really good mood, you can go up with me one day from dry land.”

“That would be the best birthday gift ever!” Kara admitted, wondering if Diana would ever let her go in a jet with Steve flying.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Diana called back from the front of the plane. Kara winced, looking at Steve who simply rolled his eyes. Diana was going to do a better job of remembering that Sam didn’t know she could hear from one end of the plane to the other.

Instead of yelling back an affirmation, Kara and Steve smiled conspiratorially at each other. They would figure out a way to convince her.

---

Gotham City

Wayne Enterprises Executive Suites

Harvey sat in Emily’s bedroom, tired from a hard day but relaxed being here with the woman he was quickly falling for. The two had been seeing each other on a more regular basis and Harvey found himself in the Wayne Executive Suites most nights to the point he had even kept an extra suit in the event he stayed over. At first look, a DA and brilliant physicist would have nothing in common, but they shared many interests and those they didn’t, the other found fascinating.

Romantic relationships had never been easy for Harvey. One night stands were one thing, but a committed relationship was not something he had been seeking. Up till this point in his life, the only woman he had met who he could see himself wanting forever with, was Diana Wayne but he knew quickly after meeting her that she was out of his league.

At the moment, Emily was in the shower, so Harvey fixed himself a drink and began walking around her luxury apartment that stretched the entirety of the floor.

Most of the time, he was focused on her, so he never paid attention to the little things in her residence that made up who she was. He knew the important details. Emily had been grown up in Gotham City and attended college here. She continued research at Gotham University as well as teaching while attaining her PhD. Once she completed it, she moved to Metropolis to work for STAR Labs until returning to Gotham recently to work at Wayne Enterprises. Her parents had always lived in Gotham and were somewhat wealthy, but she never spoke to them. She had even told Harvey after a particularly drunken night that she hated them and wished they were dead.

Harvey never asked what had occurred to make Em hate her parents that much. In his mind, it was a lucky break for him as there would be no awkward ‘meeting the parents’ dinner.

The next day would be taxing. Rachel had found sixteen more faked death certificates and wanted to know what the holdup was. Harvey had explained to her that they needed a smoking gun to tie Crane to the forged documents. A fingerprint of his on the document would be helpful but none could be found. Different types of ink were used, the handwriting of the signature the same but no similarities that could be tied to Crane’s own signature had been found by their specialists.

Then Gordon had called today and said there was an underground area of Arkham, never mentioned or discovered by those outside the asylum itself. For all they knew, it could just be a large cave, but Gordon felt it could be a secret lab Crane was working in.

Harvey needed a specific scan of the area. For that, he needed to contact Kara Wayne to send someone over with a drone that had ground penetrating radar. Gordon had told him he had done exactly that, but it was not through official channels, so Harvey needed to get it officially authorized. There had to be a chain of evidence for the judge to issue a search warrant.

The Wayne sisters had given Gordon drones, but the police department lacked trained personnel to use them. Usually when they were needed, Wayne Enterprises would send someone over. This time, Gordon had somehow gotten ahold of a Wayne drone with special gear and had someone fly it over Arkham. The Commissioner’s story of the new intelligence made no sense, but Gordon had been pulling a lot of magic tricks lately that were paying off. Harvey decided the less he knew, the better.

His biggest problem at the moment was the mistake he made telling Rachel about this area. She pointed out that she had full court-ordered access to the Asylum and if there was a hidden area, she could not be kept out. He told her under no certain terms was she to look for this area herself. He had no idea what Crane could be doing down there but couldn’t imagine it was good. The last thing he needed was Rachel Dawes busting in with no backup.

Harvey perused Emily’s bookshelves, taking a look at her selection. She had the usual books he would expect someone of her intelligence to have. He didn’t bother checking the physics books. He did note that one was written by her, something about solar fusion.

There was a large hardcover book next to it, not titled. He opened it up and found papers written by Kara Wayne. They appeared to be thesis and other published papers from professional journals. It appeared Em had collected these over the years and had even made her own marks, underlying or highlighting certain passages.

He placed it back on the shelf and looked lower. On the second to the bottom shelf, he saw something that resembled a scrap book rather than an educational journal. Thinking he may have found her high school memory book or something along those lines, he pulled it out and went to her desk and opened it.

It took a moment for him to register what he saw.

Newspaper articles were glued to the pages about Kara, from her youngest years. Stories written about her, including an announcement of adoption the media had run right after Thomas and Martha had legally given the girl their name.

He continued on, slowly taking in what he was seeing as a cold chill crept down his spine. It was as if every newspaper clipping ever written about Kara was in this book.

Harvey saw photos as well, newspaper photos and personal photos, taken by Emily herself. She had pictures of a young Kara in a swimsuit with a swim cap and goggles on, preparing to race, Diana standing directly behind her next to the wall. Some of the photos were of Diana hugging Kara after a race. A few were taken as Kara walked into the Gotham City Zoo, no doubt for her birthday or some such event. She appeared to be ten or so years old and Diana, Bruce and Alfred were always by her.

There were more articles and photos the older Kara got. He saw a rolling record of her age progression. He saw her as a young teen exiting a limo at Gotham University. Some of these pictures were from the media and others looked as if they had been taken by Emily herself. Others were of Kara in a classroom, or speaking to a group of people, perhaps one of her talks she often gave science students and visiting scholars.

He saw a few articles about her condition, and a few other articles about Eliza Danvers and the work she had done with SCID as well as her work in the pharmaceutical department.

The last photo he saw shook him to the core. It was a photo widely recognized by those who had lived in Gotham for a very long time or grew up here.

It was a rainy day in a graveyard. Three children were dressed in black.

Bruce Wayne held an umbrella over his head and Alfred held one over Diana and Kara. Kara had been five and had her head buried in Diana’s shoulder but enough of her face could be seen looking back at the coffins that the devastation was clear.

It was a somber photo, depressing and an intimate look at the tragedy that losing Martha and Thomas Wayne had been, not only to Gotham but especially the family.

After the photos, there were more clippings, articles from numerous news agencies detailing Kara’s work at Wayne Enterprises, the innovations and inventions she had made, the work she had done for the military, clean energy, environmental improvements, lowering carbon footprints and a few speaking of her immune system disorder.

There were also race results from Kara’s swim meets, pulled from the Gotham Gazette sports section the day after and other random facts, some detailing equipment Kara had made and her few performances in robotics competitions and national science fairs in which she had always crushed her competition.

Harvey closed the book and tried to ignore that cold chill that was now racing through his body. He had seen it though and couldn’t unsee it. Being a fan and collecting academic works was one thing.

But this book took it to another level.

The newspaper clippings were old as well as some of the photos, pictures he suspected she had taken herself, an unnoticed woman in the crowd.

He told himself Emily Parlow was just a stalker. That was all. She had a weird fixation with Kara Wayne. Many people did, those who were into science particularly.

Even as he tried to tell himself that, he didn’t believe it. Academics didn’t care to keep photos of a young Kara swimming.

This had a much more personal feel than a simple stalker.

This was like a mother watching over a child.

“I was sixteen.” Her voice said from behind him.

Harvey shook his head and closed his eyes, not wanting to hear this. Hearing it meant knowing it. Knowing it meant keeping a monumental secret from Diana Wayne. “Em, I don’t want to know. Please don’t tell me.”

“You already know.” She told him. “I should have put the book away. I pull it from the shelf every night and look through it. It’s been there so long… and I forgot that you spent so much time here. It was only a matter of time before you knew.

“I’ve kept everything I could find of her growing up. When I found out she was swimming, I went to every competition the Riverside Dolphins participated in. I watched her sometimes in her college classes. I even had to sign up for a few, despite having my doctorate, because her security guards checked roll against IDs. I’ve been to every presentation she has given, watched her whenever I could if I found out she was going into public.

“I used to date a security guard simply because he was on her personal detail. I would ask him if he could have lunch and he would tell me about his itinerary for the day. If he said he was going to the zoo, I would be there, in the shadows, hoping for a glimpse of her as she walked inside. Wherever I could watch her, I did. It was all I would ever allow myself to do.”

Harvey turned towards her. She was wearing a bathrobe, her hair wrapped up in a towel with a few blonde locks flowing free. He looked into her eyes, looked at the shape of her face, the color of her hair, her build, everything about her.

How had he not seen it?

How had Diana not seen it? Then he remembered Diana jokingly remark that Emily was hiding from her. If Diana ever really spent time with Em, she would know.

“If Diana ever finds out…” he started.

“At best, I will no longer have a career, she will ensure that Kara hates me and make all my nightmares come true. At worst, I will simply disappear.” Emily replied matter-of-factly.

Harvey disagreed. “Diana wouldn’t make anyone disappear.”

“For Kara, she would.” Emily told him. “I have learned enough working at Wayne Tower to guess exactly what Diana is capable of in regard to Kara.”

Harvey sighed, knowing she was right. Diana was a good woman in his opinion, but he didn’t doubt she would kill for Kara and be smart enough to get away with it.

“And now I know. And if she finds out that I know…”

“She never will. We never had this talk, understand? I have no plans to announce myself to Kara. I only took this job to be near her, to work with her, to know her. That’s as far as it will ever go. I never want her to know. If she ever found out, she would want nothing to do with me. She would despise me, and I would never have a chance to be in her vicinity again.” Emily replied sadly.

Harvey shook his head. “You think Diana is gonna buy that I don’t know?”

Emily walked over to the couch and had a seat, staring off into the distance out the window. Harvey sat on the other end.

“You were sixteen, huh?” he asked after a long moment of silence.

Emily nodded. “It was at a party, Gotham woods and a keg of beer. Standard thing. My parents were very well off and considered themselves among the upper class. I was supposed to be the perfect daughter, the socialite who also happened to be a genius.

“My parents had my whole life planned out for me. I would go to MIT, then graduate school at Gotham U, marry well, perhaps obtain a research job at a prestigious university, and become a person of renown whether personally or professionally, it didn’t matter.

“Instead, I found myself pregnant. I was scared but I knew one thing for certain. I wanted to keep the baby. My parents were furious. The father was a guy from the wrong side of Gotham, in other words, the middle class. He didn’t rank high enough on the social scale even if they were willing to let me keep the baby.”

Emily shook her head slightly and her fists were clenched, no doubt thinking of her parents. “I refused to have an abortion and my father couldn’t force me. He couldn’t very well hold me down against my will while a doctor performed an abortion on me. He wasn’t that rich.

“I was taken out of school, kept in the house. I never went out. My mother was my only company and the two of us weren’t getting along. She never had a single thought for herself. She thought what my father wanted her to think. I was a disappointment in his eyes so that was how she treated me.”

Emily stood and walked to her window, gazing out at Wayne Tower and the plaza surrounding it, busy with adults looking for a good time at the many bars and restaurants that littered the center of Gotham.

Harvey walked up behind her, placing a hand on her waist. She wouldn’t turn to look at him and he didn’t try to encourage her.

“I thought it would be okay. My father said my child would be adopted but I was not going to allow it. He couldn’t place my child up for adoption without my consent. Kara’s father was no use, but I could handle this on my own. I would just refuse to sign my rights away.”

Emily paused and shook her head. “I was so stupid. I was seen by a medical doctor friend of my father’s at the house. I gave birth at the house. There wasn’t even a nurse there. No drugs, no one talking through my breathing. My mother was there, standing with her arms crossed. The bitch wouldn’t even hold my hand.”

“I was in labor for ten hours. I thought I was going to die. At times, I wanted to die.

“But then the doctor put her in my arms, and I felt… I forgot about my pain. I forgot that I was the only one who was happy she was there. I named her Kara after my two favorite aunts growing up. Aunt Karen and Aunt Laura were very different than my mother. They were sweet to me growing up. They both died in an accident when I was fourteen.

“Two days later, I could finally walk. I hadn’t seen a birth certificate and my father hadn’t brought up adoption agencies. That was when Kara became sick. She was constantly crying and running a fever. I asked several times for them to let me to take her to the hospital, but they refused.

“I went downstairs to speak to my parents again when I heard my father on the phone. He was arranging an illegal adoption… he was planning on selling her.”

“Jesus.” Harvey whispered, now wishing very much to meet her father.

Emily’s voice cracked with emotion as she continued. “I took her and ran. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I felt I had no choice. I packed as many clothes for the two of us as I could into a backpack and some diapers. Kara had stopped crying long enough to fall asleep. I left out the backdoor and ran. I didn’t have a destination in mind. I hadn’t seen any friends in the past year and her father had wanted nothing to do with us so I doubted he would show interest now that she’d been born.

“I found an old apartment building that looked deserted and stayed there for the night. Others were there getting high, and I was scared to death. Kara wouldn’t nurse. She wouldn’t stop crying and her fever was spiking. She was so hot, I was scared she would die.

“I thought of going to the hospital, but they would call my parents and my father would sell her to one of his rich friends. If I refused to give my name, social services would be called. I was out of ideas. I had enough money on me to buy a bottle of Baby Tylenol, but that didn’t work.”

Harvey had an idea of where the story was headed. It was a well-known one. “You dropped her off at a fire station. You couldn’t care for her, and you didn’t want your father to get his hands on her.”

Emily nodded, a tear sliding down her face. “I freaked out. I knew that a fire station was a safe place to leave children. They would take her to the hospital. The look on her face… she knew I was leaving her. Somehow, she knew. I left a slip of paper on her gown. I wanted her to keep her name and thought if someone knew it, there was a chance she could. I couldn’t take care of her, and I wouldn’t let my parents near her. I didn’t think I had another choice. I panicked though.

“I ran after I left her. I ran faster than I had in my life. I knew if I went back… I was perhaps two miles away when I realized I had forgotten to knock on the door. It was drizzling and she was running a fever and I left her on a sidewalk without telling anyone. I was too scared to even take her to a hospital myself. I left her with firemen.

“I went back to my house and went on with life. My parents never mentioned her. It was as if she never existed.

“Then it made the news that Thomas and Martha Wayne had adopted a sick newborn named Kara who had been left on the street.

“My father was terrified of Thomas Wayne. Every businessman was. Wayne had the power to break him, so he made sure no trace was ever made to us. I went back to school and never said a word. Everyone was told I was homeschooled for a year. I graduated high school, put myself through college with grants, scholarships and teaching assistant jobs and never looked back. I never spoke to my parents again.”

Harvey pulled her closer to him, an arm around her waist. “You were a kid put in an impossible…”

“Don’t!” Emily snapped. “Don’t justify what I did. I could have done a million things differently. I could have taken her to a hospital instead of leaving her on the street without telling anyone. I could have planned for us to get away months in advance.”

Harvey shook his head.

“She was sick. She needed the Waynes’ money to live. She was dying, Emily.” Harvey stressed. “Yeah, you didn’t handle it well, but you were sixteen! Your actions saved her life.”

“I abandoned her, Harvey.” Emily said again. “My actions may have inadvertently saved her life, but I didn’t know that. I just freaked out and abandoned her. There is no forgiveness for that.”

Emily walked to the couch and had a seat. She put her face in her hands, the pain of the conversation evident and began crying, a painful wale that came from her soul. Harvey suspected this was the first time she had told this story in years, if ever.

He sat next to her, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, letting her cry.

She finally calmed and continued on. “I love working with her. I love seeing her almost every day. We discovered a new theoretical element last week and she hugged me. I never thought that would happen. My daughter hugged me. This is all I want.

“I never want her to know who I really am. I just want to be near her. It’s more than I deserve but I had to take the opportunity. It’s selfish and dangerous but I need it. She actually looks at me with respect. She likes being around me. If she ever found out the truth, I would lose that. I would lose everything that matters to me now.”

Harvey could see where she was coming from. He remembered her words the night they first met. She had told him that some mistakes could never be forgiven. He wasn’t sure if this was one of those, but he agreed, it would be best if she never asked for forgiveness. She was risking Diana’s wrath simply by working with Kara every day.

Sadly, Harvey had no idea what Diana would do if she found out.

A more cynical voice in his head told him it was a matter of when she found out, not if. Diana Wayne was the woman who knew other’s secrets. Keeping one like this under her nose could only last so long, especially if the secret involved Kara. Eventually, she will spend enough time around Emily and recognize something. Maybe it’s the nose or shade of hair, or her cheekbones but something would clue Diana in.

“You need to make a decision.” Emily told him.

Harvey shook his head. “I’m not telling Diana.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Emily said, studied him intently. “You need to decide if this is worth it. We can end this now. If Diana finds out, she will believe that you didn’t know if we aren’t together. If we stay together… she will never believe you didn’t know if she finds out.”

“I can handle it.” Harvey assured her.

“No, you can’t. She destroyed the last DA who crossed her to the point he committed suicide.” Emily unnecessarily pointed out. “I don’t know what she will do to me but I’m not giving up the contact I have with Kara. It’s too late for me. I can’t stay away from her now. That means I will have to deal with whatever happens if Diana finds out. You don’t though. You can walk away.”

Harvey kissed her on her forehead and wiped a tear from her cheek.

“It’s too late for me too. I can’t stay away from you. Whatever happens, we will deal with it. You aren’t some fling to me, Emily.” Harvey told her, a gentle smile reassuring her. “I think you have had enough soul bearing. You need sleep. Want me to stay over?”

Emily nodded and allowed Harvey to lead her back to the bedroom.

Kara would be back at the office tomorrow and that would be enough to get her through the day.