This is the sequel to "Last Chance". Although I try to include a little history as to how our characters ended up here, it is honestly easier to understand and enjoy if you begin with the first story and learn a bit about Arabella "Elle" Hamilton's character first. Don't let the size intimidate you. The first story, as with this sequel, is filled with fun and laughter as well as having a dark plot that eventually emerges to threaten everything our heroes hold dear. SUPRISE! There is a mystery involved. Give Elle an opportunity to develop into a well-rounded character and I think you will like her. She's not what you might expect.

As for those faithful readers who are anxious to continue the story of Dick and Elle - Welcome Back! Much of those things you were waiting for will occur in this story as well as most, if not all, of the answers to your questions shall be found within. This story is all about second chances for not just our couple, but for the entire Bat Family! Buckle Up And ENJOY The Ride!

I still do not own any characters created by DC Comics. Only the Original Characters that are included in the story are mine as is the plot itself.

Warning: Just A Tiny Bit of Language . . .

Alfred was happy.

One of their long lost lambs had returned to the fold. Dick was home!

Of course, it was only temporary. A few months, perhaps, but the butler would take what he could get. He had had a hand in the raising of the boy; he was a man now, and Alfred often looked upon all of Bruce's boys as if they were his own grandchildren. He had never had the opportunity to have his own; his life had been far too busy to have allowed it, even had he been able to find a woman willing to share him with Gotham's resident Bat.

Bruce had always felt enough like a son to him that he had never felt the loss. And then came the arrival of a most extraordinary, eight year old boy. Had Alfred ever thought the addition of a child into this gloomy household was a mistake? Well, certainly! But it had taken only a few short weeks for young Dick Grayson to worm his way into the master's heart . . . Far less time it had taken him to touch Alfred's. The boy, even in his grief, had been a bright star in the darkness of Bruce's mission. Alfred had likened him to the North Star in his mind, for Dick had always been the light in Master Bruce's life that led him back to his humanity and helped to center him in a world gone mad with grief and violence.

Dick was home, Alfred rejoiced! And he wasn't alone . . .

Alfred couldn't help loving the young woman who had captured his grandson's heart. If Dick Grayson was the North Star, then Arabella Hamilton was his lodestone. She was like a magnet that drew all those around to her; but for Dick she was also his rock; the one would stabilize him and keep him grounded.

Alfred was discovering that she was all of that, not only for Dick, but for the family as well. Miss Arabella seemed to draw the good out of the inhabitants of the manor and made each of them strive to be better. She gave them a sense of normality; something that had long been missing from all of their lives.

He had often lamented that after the family had scattered, there was naught but tragedy to reunite them and pull them back together; only to see them scatter again just as quick as it was over. Miss Arabella, however, appeared to pull them together with joy and laughter, and as such gave him hope that the family might one day soon unite for good.

It was a farfetched dream, but one, that for the first time, held the promise of possibly coming true.

He was a foolish old man for pinning so much on the fragile shoulders of one young woman, but . . . He couldn't help himself. Such was the promise of hope.

Life was good . . . It was just about as close to perfect as he had ever hoped to see in this household.

Or it would be, were it not for the crickets . . .

"What does this mean?" Elle asked. "Can we not go anywhere by ourselves anymore?"

It was late, or early depending on how one looked at it. They had spent the better part of the day hunting crickets and unpacking their clothes in Dick's old bedroom. They had enough to last them a week. Arrangements would have to be made to bring the rest of their belongings over the next few days.

Elle and Dick had seen the rest of the family off on patrol, and Dick had entertained her in the Batcave throughout much of the evening by tracking the movements of Batman, Robin, and Red Robin as they made the rounds in Gotham. Although Elle had wanted to wait for them to return, Dick had assured her that they wouldn't be back until the wee hours of dawn being it was the weekend.

Besides, Dick had put off explaining the reason for their dramatic move long enough. Elle's patience had begun waning hours ago. He had waited until they were tucked up into bed before bringing it up; where it was unlikely that she would go storming off down the hall wearing only her pajamas . . . Or, in this case, his pajamas as Elle had become wont to do lately. Currently, she wore the top like a nightgown; the flannel reaching her mid-thigh while Dick sported the bottoms.

"You should be safe enough if I'm with you, but we have backup if we were to run into trouble," Dick explained.

The family should be capable of reaching them in an emergency while in Gotham within fifteen to twenty minutes on an average day. In Bludhaven, help would have taken an hour or more to get to them.

"But you won't be alone now while I'm gone," he said. "Alfred will be here in the daytime and will drive you anywhere you want to go."

Elle scowled. "So, this is all about me."

"Don't think of it that way," Dick told her; pulling her close. "Think of it as an opportunity to get to know the family better. And you'll be able to take advantage of the fact that you no longer have to wait on me to get a little training in."

Elle raised up onto her elbow and looked down at him. "You aren't going to be teaching me yourself anymore?"

Dick pulled her down for a kiss. "Of course I am," he assured her, "but everyone in the house is capable of teaching you now. We each have our own fighting style, so you'll be exposed to more. You can try various techniques and then pick and choose from among them whatever best suits you."

She lay across him; crossing her arms over his chest as she contemplated what he was telling her.

She wasn't happy that her vulnerability had forced Dick to put in for a long-term emergency leave of absence from the Bludhaven police department or that she herself had been forced to quit her job at Chez Donovan's; lousy two days a week, though it was. But being attacked in her own home and kidnapped by a hired assassin had been the most terrifying experience of her life. Both she and Dick had almost died before it was over; and the ultimate cost they had had to pay had been far too high.

Tears welled immediately at the memory of the loss of their unborn child. She had only just discovered her pregnancy when the assassin had forced his way into their apartment. The night had nearly ended all their lives after a bullet had struck Dick in the chest; puncturing a lung and causing it to collapse.

The bond that connected them as a couple had pulled Elle into death with him; only for both of them to be revived in the hospital emergency room. But the stress had been too much for the wee life that had only just begun growing inside of her.

"I don't want to ever be that vulnerable again," she whispered, brokenly. The moonlight streaming through Dick's bedroom window made the tears glisten as they streaked down her face.

"Sh, Elle, don't cry," Dick begged her; wiping at her tears with his thumb. "We're all here for you. We'll all help you. I won't leave you like that again," he promised.

"You can't promise that!" Elle was shaking her head. "Dick, I'm not like all your other girlfriends. I'm not especially athletic. I'm not even graceful when I'm out of the water."

"But in the water, you are amazing," Dick reminded her; referring to her Atlantian roots. "And you become very graceful whenever you sing and dance."

She sniffled; blinking at him in confusion. "Are you suggesting that I should serenade my attacker while I am attempting to kick his ass?"

Her question startled a laugh out of him. "That wasn't exactly what I meant."

The corner of her mouth tilted up in response to his amusement. Dick looked thoughtful for a moment.

"You are pretty darn amazing when you dive, too," he remarked, wonderingly.

Elle sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Sleep wasn't coming in the near future.

"You know, Poppa couldn't figure it out either," Elle admitted. "Mama wasn't a klutz, and you've met my grandmother." She scrunched her nose as she remembered her childhood. "I was constantly tripping. I fell down the stairs several times; although Aiden admitted to helping me one of those times."

Dick's amusement vanished and his expression darkened at the mention of Elle's half-brother. It was noticeable even in the dim lighting provided by the moon.

"I still think he is the most likely candidate behind the attack on you. Why do you insist on taking his word that he wasn't involved?"

Elle shrugged on shoulder. "Maybe because he's never lied to me. He's lied to others; sure, but never to me. I've always known exactly how he's felt about me from the very beginning."

Dick winced a little as he sat up beside her. Elle noticed.

"You did too much today, didn't you?" She accused him.

"It was nothing! Just a little twinge," he told her. "I feel fine!"

"You carried the luggage from the bedroom by yourself," Elle pointed out.

"Thirty feet!" Dick laughed. "Bruce and the others did all the work. I could probably even go back out on patrol if I wanted."

Elle gasped, outraged. "You will not! Doctor Thompkins has yet to give you leave for that!"

"She's used to Bruce's overprotectiveness," Dick said, with a smile. "I feel great!"

She sent him a mulish look. "It's only been two weeks since you've had major surgery."

"Something I should probably thank you for." He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. "This bonding stuff and a little bit of your blood has reduced the time I needed to heal by more than half."

Elle didn't look convinced. "And you drove here all the way from Bludhaven. You should have let Tim drive the car."

Dick burst out laughing. "We would have ended up in a ditch when Mook ran through the car had Tim been driving!"

Elle giggled. "Poor Tim. I don't think he's too fond of Mook, do you?"

"Out of the family, I think Damian's the only one who doesn't seem to mind tarantulas," Dick snorted. "I'm surprised Tim stayed over after the cricket incident."

Groaning, Elle dropped her head onto her knees. "Oh my God! Don't remind me! That was so humiliating!"

Only Elle could have managed to drop a container of one hundred live crickets in the middle of the foyer.

"Mook didn't seem to mind," Dick chuckled.

The tarantula had leapt from Damian's shoulder into the mess, Alfred had turned on the vacuum, and the rest of the afternoon had descended into a kind of chaos that Wayne Manor had likely never before witnessed in its entire two hundred plus years.

"It was awful!" Elle moaned.

"Wait!"

Elle looked over at him curiously, but Dick covered her lips with a finger before she could voice a question. Her eyes widened in response.

"Sh, listen," Dick whispered dramatically.

She did, and a second later the distinct sounds of crickets chirping was heard.

Elle gasped. Grabbing her pillow, she slammed Dick in the face with it, and he tumbled over onto his side, laughing.

"Ooohhh . . . You!" Elle stammered as she climbed to her feet. She wielded the pillow like a weapon over him. "You are so going to regret that!"

"Ow," he cried out, holding his hand over the area he had been injured. "Wait! Hold up," he groaned.

Elle dropped her pillow as she fell to her knees beside him. "Oh my God! Dick! I'm so sorry . . . You said you were better!" Elle reached for him, horrified.

Suddenly, Dick rolled over and swung his pillow at her. The pillow hit Elle in the face and she fell backward with a feminine grunt. He leapt to his feet onto the floor, his pillow still in hand, in preparation for her retaliation. There was no way that she would be falling for that trick a second time!

He grinned at her as Elle staggered to her feet on the mattress. She turned to face him and Dick raised his eyebrows in delight at her furious expression.

Oh shit . . . His grin widened. He was in for it now!

With a yell, Elle threw her pillow at him. Dick dodged it handily and came up, only to be smacked in the face with a second pillow.

Damn! He had forgotten about the numerous decorative pillows that Alfred had kept stacked on his bed when it wasn't in use. Elle must have grabbed one of those. This meant full-on war! There were several pillows on either side of the bed that they had tossed aside when climbing under the covers almost an hour ago. He threw one at Elle's feet with enough force to topple her. She bounced once on the mattress, and then rolled off of the other side of the bed.

Dick had already picked up another pillow when one struck him in the stomach. It didn't hurt. None of them did as they were stuffed with either foam or fresh goose down. He threw another even as he caught the one Elle had thrown at him. Dick's aim was deadly, and his pillow hit her full in the face.

Elle squawked in surprise, but was nowhere near giving up, despite the knowledge that she was outclassed in this match. She grabbed two and threw them back simultaneously. Both pillows flew by either side of his head harmlessly.

He laughed as he returned fire. Elle tried to dodge, but the pillow whacked her in the shoulder. She tossed another at him just as his second throw hit her in the chest. Elle's pillow went over his head, but Dick leapt up and caught it, throwing it back at her all in one fluid move. It hit her in the face; causing her to drop the pillow she was about to throw back at him.

She decided to fight smarter; ducking down behind the bed and throwing the buildup of pillows that Dick had been hitting her with. Elle lobbed them, one after the other, with little thought towards aiming. Out of the five she threw only two managed to hit him; one got him full in his face.

It was pure luck! His fiancée had a horrible aim . . .

One of the other pillows hit the lamp and knocked it over. Its shade prevented the bulb from breaking, but it took out the clock radio and a picture frame with it. The crash sounded worse than it was. Dick didn't even blink as he began tossing pillows back with the same speed and enthusiasm that Elle was showing. The only difference was every one of his hit his intended target despite her attempt to hide.

When Dick reached down for more ammunition, he realized he had thrown them all. Every one of the ten pillows was on Elle's side of the bed. She must have realized the same thing because she looked at him with one of the most evil, shit-eating grins he'd ever seen.

He couldn't help it. He burst out laughing even as she started throwing pillow after pillow at him in quick succession. She actually managed to hit him three times out of ten throws, but only because he couldn't dodge while laughing so hard.

He scooped up three pillows with one arm and threw the fourth one at her. The door to their room opened at that moment just as Elle shrieked and successfully dodged the pillow.

"What's going on in here?"

The answer smacked Damian in the face.

"Ack! What the hell?" Another pillow hit him in the head.

"Language, Damian," Dick said as he threw another pillow at their intruder.

Elle ran over to the startled boy and dragged him back to her side of the bed while picking up two of the fluffy ammo off of the floor. She threw one of them back at Dick, laughing hysterically. The pillow flew harmlessly by. The second one he snatched out of the air and threw it back at her. A soft 'oof' announced a successful hit.

A pillow struck him in the side of his head with enough force to almost sting.

Damian . . .

Dick grabbed up several pillows and began chucking them at now two targets. One pillow hit Elle while Dami caught one and flipped over the other. The pillow that missed flew by and rolled through the open doorway and into the hall.

Tim picked it up and stepped into the doorway.

"What's up," had barely passed his lips when Tim was hit with a barrage of pillows from both Dick and Damian. "Hey," he yelped in surprise.

Elle jumped on top of the bed and used Dick's distraction to clobber him with her pillow. It was Dick's turn to yelp, and he used her proximity to grab her legs out from under her. Elle fell to the bed again, bouncing.

Suddenly, Dick was hit with several pillows at once. He stumbled back and grabbed at his supply. It was plentiful. All the pillows were on his side of the bed now. He began grabbing and chucking them at both boys over Elle's head.

She was climbing to her feet when pillows hit her from both sides. Elle shrieked and fell back onto the bed, laughing. Dick threw several more; every one a direct hit as the boys were distracted by Elle. They apparently hadn't meant to hit her.

Elle rolled off of the bed, taking one of the pillows with her. She came to her feet and threw it at Damian; missing him, but hitting Tim. She scrambled towards Dick's side of the bed.

It was two on two now.

Pillows were in the air constantly now with ninety percent of them hitting their intended targets. Elle still sucked, but she was enthusiastic!

"What going on in here?" Bruce repeated Dami's question from earlier as he stepped into the room; the noise attracting both him and Alfred to the source.

Immediately, every pillow was aimed in the direction of the doorway and Bruce was pummeled by six pillows. One got by him and skimmed the top of Alfred's head.

"Oh no, you did not," Alfred said.

Had Dick described his and Elle's pillow fight as a war? He shook his head as he corrected himself.

This was World War III in his room and it was every man, and woman, for him or herself!

Bruce and Alfred entered the fray and for the next twenty minutes the family was reminded that the stoic demeanor of the family butler hid an accuracy that easily matched that of any of the Bat's brood. The seams quickly proved incapable of handling the stress and soon feathers and bits of foam were flying. It resembled a blizzard, so thick was the down flying about them.

It quickly settled down after that as there was nothing left to throw but empty pillow cases. The feathers settled around them as Elle sneezed.

"God bless you," Alfred told her in response; his composure regained in but a mere second.

Elle blinked at them all, and suddenly grinned. "That was fun," she announced. "How was patrol?"

"Uneventful overall," Bruce replied. He eyed the two of them. "I thought you two were supposed to be convalescing."

Dick and Elle exchanged glances and they shrugged their shoulders at the same time.

"We're feeling better," Dick answered. "Thanks for asking!"

"Grayson, you're an idiot," Damian snorted. But the boy had a smirk on his face.

It didn't take a mind reader to realize that the boy had greatly enjoyed the break from the norm. It provided what Dick suspected was a greatly needed release from the tension of the evening's activities. He highly doubted that the night had been as uneventful as Bruce wanted Elle to believe. Dick knew him too well.

But instead of brooding about it, he suspected that each of them would likely fall asleep easier and more deeply for participating in the silliness of the pillow fight. It had been years since silliness had invaded the manor, and Dick thought it had been sorely missed.

"Don't worry about the mess, Alfred," Elle was saying. "Dick and I will clean up our own messes."

"Nonsense, Miss," Alfred sniffed in a royal fashion. "You were hardly the only ones tossing pillows. Neither can the two of you sleep in here with it like this."

"We'll make do, Alfred," Dick added. "We can save cleanup for tomorrow morning."

The butler was just about to argue the point when Bruce laid his hand on the elder man's shoulder. "Sounds like a plan to me," he said. "You two behave yourselves for the rest of the night."

Elle and Dick grinned and were pleased and a little shocked to find that they were met with several sets of matching smiles.

"See you at breakfast," Bruce told them as he pushed Damian and Tim out the door ahead of him.

Before Bruce closed the door, however, he leaned back in and turned the lock. He winked and Elle blushed. Dick laughed. This might not be so bad, after all.

REACTIONS?

We start off on the same day as we left. Lots of things will be happening in the beginning chapters. And yes, that picture is of a couple on the beach. I thought it fit nicely.

*Don't forget to check my profile if you don't see this story updated in a timely manner (for me, that is). Also, I love REVIEWS! And I love GUEST REVIEWS! I seldom answer questions in the A/Ns, unless it is something that is intended to clear up a matter of confusion from the previous chapter. If I do not answer on my profile (check there first), it may be because to answer would give away a plot device or the answer is found in the next chapter or two. I've had a few of those - where a guest guessed something that would be happening later on (or something close enough to it.). I love hearing from you. And honestly, I write faster when I do.*