From the moment the first bits of dirt, plunk against your coffin, a panic sets in. The hardest part, is knowing you're being buried alive but not being able to do anything about it. Some might scratch at the soft wood above them, screaming until their voice goes hoarse, but I couldn't even do that...

Her soft, plump lips pressed against the cool skin of my forehead, slowly rekindling life inside me. It was almost like a jumpstart to my heart, and with every tear of hers that fell onto my cheek, I could feel myself growing stronger. My body still needed a significant amount of healing, however, and although I had some sense of awareness as to what was going on around me, I was still caught up in a wakeless coma.

After a while, I could feel my Rosie move back and her warmth abandon me. I tried to cry out, but a complete and utter darkness surrounded me and the lid to my coffin sealed shut. I was loaded on to a wagon, and as Rose and my Mother marched along to the cemetery, I could hear the song of the bag pipes trailing behind us.

The Reverend gave a final benediction, and as I was slowly lowered into my grave, I could hear the quiet sobs of my Rosie. My heart broke at the sound of her lonely murmurs and an immense wave of guilt crashed over me. I promised I would never leave her, I promised she would never have to be alone and yet here I was, about to be buried six feet under.

As the first few clumps of dirt hit my casket, a fear like I've never known before gripped my heart.

"I'm alive!" I screamed out. "I'm alive!"

But nobody would hear me. Nobody could hear me.

Night and day blurred together. Days turned into weeks, weeks became months and soon I had completely lost all track of time as I laid here. For all I knew, I could have been down here for years.

But I needed to wake up...

I needed to get to Rose...

It was slow at first, and rather surprising after all this time- but as one eye, and then the other slid open, I swore I could feel a tingling in my fingers. As the sensation spread through out my body, I tried stretching only to quickly realize there wasn't much room. Raising a hand, I pressed it flat against the wood above me but it wouldn't budge and my arm fell back against the silk of my coffin. I had never felt so weak in my life, not even on Zod's ship, but somehow I knew I needed to get out of here.

Taking a deep breath, I lifted both hands this time, and pressed against the lid of the casket. An exasperated groan left my lips as I pushed, and just when I was about to give up, there was a satisfying crack. Immediately, though, something cold and damp began falling in on me.

As more and more soil came tumbling through the crack, it became harder for me to breathe. I struggled to claw my way through the dirt, but continued pulling myself up until a small speck of light could be seen. For the first time in my life I felt unexplainably weak and out of breath, but with a determined push, I finally burst out of my grave.

There's something to be said, when you've dug your way out from underneath six feet of dirt only to turn back and see your name engraved into a marble head stone. It's a shock, even if you've known all along, it's still a shock to actually realize that you've been buried alive.

Glancing around at the empty graveyard, I finished pulling myself out of the hole and slowly attempted to stand. It was hard at first, and my arms and legs felt weighed down but as I got a momentum going, walking returned to me like second nature. Now I just needed to find Rose.

I was in Smallville, that much was for sure- the flat land and cornfields were too much of a dead give away for it not to be. But I had no idea where was Rose or how on earth I was going to find her. Of course the only logical place to begin would be halfway across the country, and without my super speed or flight I supposed it was going to take me a while to get back to Gotham.

***

General POV-

"Master Wayne," Alfred called as he gently shook the other man. "Master Wayne!"

With a startled gasp, Bruce sat up as he looked with bleary eyes at the Butler.

"I was asleep?" The words were said more so in realization than an actual question as Bruce sighed in relief.

"Yes," Alfred nodded his head. "And Miss Montgomery has someone she'd like you to meet."

"Someone?" Bruce arched his eyebrow at Alfred as he stood up.

So it was all just a dream, Bruce thought as he followed the older man to Rose's room. There was no imminent doom, no evil Superman and no real need to find the meta humans--

Diana turned around as Bruce and Alfred entered. With a baby in her arms and a smile on her face she walked over to him.

"Rose has someone she would very much like for you to meet," Diana said as she placed the baby in his arms.

Dark curls framed the top of the baby's head and with a tiny yawn, one crystal blue eye popped open in curiosity before he snuggled into Bruce's chest.

"What's his name?" Bruce chuckled as he ran a finger along the baby boy's cheek.

"Jon Alexander," Rose gently replied as she looked up at Bruce. "And this here is Maggie Grace."

The smile fell from his face a little as Bruce looked up to where his cousin was laying in the bed. As he walked over to her, Rose pulled back the blanket a little and sure enough there was another baby hungrily nursing at her breast.

"I guess you we're right after all," Rose teased.

"Yeah," Bruce let out a nervous chuckle as he glanced around. "You sure you're not hiding anymore in here?"

"Very funny," Diana scolded as she tenderly removed Jon from his arms. "Now how bout we let our new mommy get some rest?"

Bruce leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to Rose's forehead before Diana shooed him and Alfred out.

"I'm proud of you, Rose," he called as he exited the room. "And if you need anything, just holler."

As Bruce closed the door softly behind him, he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Is everything all right, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked as he glanced back at his charge.

"It couldn't be more perfect," Bruce lied as he clasped the Butler on the shoulder. "But I have some work to do," he explained. "You know where I'll be."

He trailed off slightly as he headed out the door and over to the Manor. As he walked up to the remains, he glanced around thoughtfully as he inspected the old place. With Clark gone, Bruce knew Rose would need help with the twins. It wasn't just him, all alone anymore and certainly they all couldn't live in Alfred's tiny cottage-- maybe he should get the place fixed up.

Quickly retrieving all the research he had collected over the past few months, Bruce tried to piece everything together as he took a seat at the main frame. The words from the man who had appeared to him just hours ago kept replaying over and over in his head. Rose and the babies are the key.

The key--

The key to what?

Suddenly, there was a loud crash on the floor above.

"Bruce."

Spinning around in his seat, Bruce's heart sped up as the intruder's foot falls echoed down the stair well. The voice calling out to him sounded familiar, but it wasn't possible. It couldn't be him.

"Bruce," the voice called out again causing his eyebrows to furrow together.

He stood up to get a better look but fell backwards into the chair as none other than Clark Kent stumbled out of the shadows. As he ambled forwards, Bruce noticed that he seemed smaller, weaker and more frail than normal. His beard was long and his unruly curls disheveled. The shoes he wore were practically falling off his feet and the suit he'd been buried in had been reduced to dirt covered rags.

"How- how is this possible?" Bruce breathed. "I was at your funeral. I was there when you died."

Clark collapsed heavily into a chair across from Bruce before answering.

"Actually, I was hoping that maybe you could tell me," Clark said as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Did you-- walk here?" Bruce questioned as he took in the Boy Scout's rough appearance.

Clark nodded his head. "I figured if anyone knew where Rose was, it was you," he said. "It's not easy getting from one place to another when you've been declared dead, you know," he explained.

"And I'm sure your particular stench didn't help too much either," Bruce replied dryly as he chuckled to himself.

Rolling his eyes, Clark choose to ignore the remark. He had more important things on his mind.

"So do you know where she is?" Clark pressed as he leaned forward, seemingly on edge. "Is she all right? How long have I been gone anyways?"

He paused before asking that last question. Although it didn't look like Bruce had aged much since the last time he'd seen him, what if it had been a few years? What if Rose had moved on?

"It's been a few months-"

"How many?" Clark's voice suddenly became a deathly growl, he wasn't in the mood for playing games.

"Seven, seven in a half, maybe," Bruce answered as he noted the aggressive change in Clark's mood. "I do know, where Rose is," Bruce hesitated as Clark stiffened at the mention of her name. "She's here," he told the former Superman. "But I really think it would be best if you grabbed a shower before seeing her. You look like shit," he added. "And you nearly made me piss my pants. I won't have you doing the same to her."

Clark seemed to regard Bruce for a moment before reluctantly agreeing with what he had said. He was sure his resurrection would be shock enough. And if his long fingernails and hair were any indication, he could only assume his appearance must be freighting. Though he wanted nothing more than to be reunited, he'd already been away from Rose for seven long months, what was a few moments more.