Warnings: Some language and violence
I don't own Young Justice or any of the characters.
"Good evening, Barbara!"
"Good evening, ma'am," Barbara Gordon greeted Gloria at the front desk.
"How was your day, dear?" the receptionist asked as she shuffled documents.
"Well," she grinned as she shook off the snow from her coat, "I had my Quantitative Analysis final and then I went to the library and I got this awesome book about heroes in—"
"That's nice, dear," Gloria said absentmindedly before turning over her shoulder, "Barry! Where are those reports I asked for?"
"Um, I'm supposed to meet my dad. Is he available?"
"What?" Gloria turned back, "Oh yes, he's still in a meeting. Do you want to wait out here?"
Barbara nodded and took a seat in her normal spot. It was right by a column, so she was sort of hidden away by the corner. Except for the dull murmur of the police station, it was relaxing. Normally.
"Oh shit, wasn't that Gordon's daughter?" said a boisterous voice behind her. She recognized it as Gus Stawn, another cop kid from her school.
"Yeah, I think so," Gus's weaselly friend Leo Foo replied.
"Barbara!" Gus' head popped around the corner. His shit-eating grin was a favorite with the other girls at her school, but she personally couldn't stand it.
Shoot me now. "Oh hi Gu—," she was cut off when Gus grabbed the book right out of her hand. "Gus, may I have my book back, please?" she said with as much composure as she could.
"How can you even read this, Gordon? It doesn't even have pictures," Gus said while flipping through it. Leo cracked up like it was the funniest joke in the world.
"Well, some people know how to use their imaginations. You should try it sometime," she said, snatching the book back from him.
"Barbara," Gus continued, "it's just not right for a girl as beautiful as you to be so … anti-social. I mean, maybe if you got your head out of those books, you could focus on more important things. Like me."
Oh yes, she was well aware how people thought of her at Gotham North. Even when she was younger, no one at school seemed to understand she was fine being alone save for eating lunch with a few people from the honors classes (not close friends but nice enough). And yet as soon as she started to hit puberty the boys started paying attention to everything about her … except for what came out of her mouth, of course.
"You know Gus, you are positively primeval," she said with a false smile.
"Thanks, Barbara," he puffed up his chest. Figures he didn't get it, she thought. But then she got a little sick as he leaned towards her with his hands against the wall. "So, why don't we go back to my place and I can show you my wrestling trophies. Maybe you can check out my yellow belt in karate and I'll," he chuckled, "show you a few moves."
Don't mention your black belt. Don't mention your black belt. "As tempting as that is, I can't. I'm eating dinner with my father tonight and wouldn't you know it, we're going out of town tomorrow morning."
"Yeah," Leo snorted, "You two going bat hunting?" He and Gus both laughed.
"What the hell does that mean?" Her jaw clenched.
"Oh come on, Gordon," Gus said, "Everyone knows your dad is crazy to be working this long with a psycho in a bat costume and his gay-ass kids. It's been a fucking decade and your old man still can't control the Bat."
Barbara shot up, her face started burning. "Listen to me, you boarish, brainless—"
"Barbara, sweetie," Gloria called to her, "Your dad's ready for you."
"Thanks Gloria," Barbara said extra loud and walked into her dad's office without saying goodbye to her classmates. Unfortunately, she was just able to hear Gus mutter the word "bitch" before she reached the office.
"Hey kiddo!" her dad said as he got up from his desk. "Sorry for the wait. Did you have a nice day at school?"
"I got a new book," she said half-heartedly. She paused in thought while he put files away. "Dad, do you think I'm weird?"
"My daughter? Weird?" he said over his shoulder as he grabbed his coat, "Where'd you get an idea like that?"
"I don't know … I just don't fit in at school and besides you there's no one I can really talk to," she said as she fidgeted with her scarf.
"Don't worry, sweetie," he gave her a hug, "Just a year and a half and you'll be in college. Things will get better then."
She growled into his coat. "I want things better now."
"Come on," he said, "we'll get some Chinese and then finish packing for tomorrow." He kept his arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the building. Barbara knew how important the next week and a half was for her dad. He had been counting down to December 18th for over a month. "And," he added, "not that I haven't bought you something yet, but what are you thinking you want for Christmas?"
She took a deep breath. It's now or never.
"Do you think," she said slowly, easing into the topic, "we can talk about the Police Academy again?"
Her father sighed and was about to give what she was sure was another rejection, but that was when she saw the guy in front of them pull out the gun.
"DAD, LOOK OUT!"
"Alfred!" Tim called as he ran into the kitchen, "There's a girl in the Batcave!"
"Now, Master Timothy," the old man said as he put away the dried dishes, "I won't have you making up such wild stories."
"But really, Alfred, I saw her! She's down there!"
"Not another word."
"Alfred," Bruce popped his head by the doorway, "There actually is a girl in the Batcave."
"See," Tim smiled, "I told you!"
"This is a stupid idea, Bruce," Dick said in the study 20 minutes later, his Nightwing gear still on.
"Keep her busy for a few days, OK?" Bruce said as he put back on his mask, "Her father can't take care of her right now and he's the only family she has. She has to stay safe and since I need to track down leads, that leaves you and Tim and Alfred."
"I have three Team missions to run for the week, I have patrol, I'm exhausted from finishing the semester and now you're making me babysit—"
"She's 17, Dick. Besides, this will give you time to rest from your semester, Artemis just agreed to take over Gotham patrol this week and I think the Team can do without you for a few days if it means protecting the family of our oldest ally."
Dick growled deep in his throat. "It's a stupid idea."
Bruce paused. "Dick, I know what this next week is … just like you do. It's hitting me just as hard, but I know better than anyone that the kind of anger you're holding in—"
"Don't."
"Dick, I'm worried about you."
Dick turned his head away and said, "Go do what you need to do. I'll take care of the girl."
Bruce glared at his ward before checking the clock, "The knock-out gas is going to wear off in a few minutes. Stay with her, don't let her leave the property and for God's sake, control your temper."
"Calm down," Nightwing said with an edge to the girl as she wept in Bruce's chair in the Batcave. The sounds of the Batmobile were getting softer and softer as Bruce made his way to the city.
"Calm down?!" she said through the tears, "My father's been shot. He could die. I might never see him again and I didn't get to say goodbye." The way she said it all at once hit Dick hard, his own losses coming to the forefront of his mind.
"I'll … I'll show you to your room," he muttered. She just looked confused.
"My room?" she said as she tucked her hair behind her ears, "But I thought—"
"Do you really want to stay in a cave?" he snapped at her.
"No," she said.
"Then come with me."
"Say something to her," Alfred whispered a few minutes later.
"Uh," Dick said, hoping his Nightwing mask hid how awkward he felt, "I hope you like it here." The girl walked slightly behind him in the darkened hallway. She obviously wasn't liking it there and to be frank, he didn't like her being there. While Alfred might have been quick to hide away all hints to their identities, having her stay in the Manor for even just a night was a huge risk. But —
"Until Batman figures out who's behind all this, the manor is your home now, so you can go pretty much anywhere except back to the Batcave."
"What's in the Ba—"
"Look, you just can't!" He spun to look at her and she jumped back. "Now," he continued as they arrived at the guest suite, "If there's anything you need, Alfred will help you."
She walked through the doorway, but turned her head back towards him. "What about-"
"I don't have time to babysit you, so just stay out of my way." Dick shut the door in her face and walked away, but he had just enough time to see Alfred glare at him.
"I thought you might like a spot of tea," the butler said 15 minutes later. His eyes were kind and with the god-awful night she had, the kindness was appreciated.
"Thank you," she said, sitting herself up on the bed and drying her tears while he put the tea set down and poured. After enjoying their cups of tea for a few minutes, the old man spoke up.
"That was a brave thing you did — pushing your father out of the way."
"It's doesn't even matter because he still got shot," she said, "I don't know what I'll do if I lose him."
"Cheer up, miss. It'll turn out all right in the end … you'll see," he look at his watch, "Oh, look at the time, it's nearly 11! You must be starving — would you like to come down for a late dinner?"
Dinner was … just a treat. They had all this leftover food from some kind of party (What kind of superheroes hold lavish parties? She asked herself. Then again, what kind of superhero lives in a haunted house?)and everything smelled so good. Robin joined them and she discovered he was such a nice kid … although she could have sworn he was taller. Alfred put on this album of cabaret tunes and he sang along as he prepared the various dishes. The mansion had this wide, super-fancy dining room table and Robin insisted on her sitting at the head of the table as their special guest. They ate like kings and considering she hadn't eaten anything for 12 hours easily, it was greatly appreciated.
"Mr. Alfred, bravo! That was wonderful!"
"Well thank you, Miss Gordon," Alfred beamed.
"Too bad Nightwing couldn't join us," Robin said as he licked his dessert plate, "He loves pudding en flambe!" Babs huffed — the guy was a grade A asshole who couldn't even show some empathy for a girl who … well, who went through what she went through. It wasn't like she asked to be there, after all — the least he could have done was not slam the door in her face.
"You know," Alfred said, "Master Di—Nightwing isn't so bad once you get to know him." Barbara raised her eyebrow, but he continued. "He's usually so much better. You see, Christmas is always a difficult time of year for him," Alfred said while Robin noticeably looked down at his hands. "Why don't you give him a chance?"
"I don't want to get to know him," she snapped, "I don't want to give him a chance. I don't want to have anything to do with him." There was silence. Barbara sighed.
"I'm sorry, I've just had … an incredibly bad day. If you don't mind, I think I'll go to bed." She left out the west exit towards her room … which meant she didn't see the blue-crested figure from the other exit. As he watched her walk out, Dick's shoulders felt heavy. He was becoming something he hated and he didn't know what to do about it. It's hopeless, the 17 year-old thought.
Barbara couldn't sleep. Even though the bed was super comfortable, the down blankets were heavenly and the flannel pajamas would have made her giddy in any other situation, having a random man point a gun at her and then watching the guy commit suicide … it was a bad day. Oh yeah, and her dad was shot. She winced from the memory of seeing him fall, the way his glasses were crooked on his face and how for the first time he look older … and vulnerable. OK, she thought, no way I'm sleeping now. Guess I'm going walking. She went back down the stairway and, scared she'd get lost in the dark, just walked back to where she'd already been earlier in the night. She was going to go to the kitchen until a thought fell into her head. She smirked.
"'Except the Batcave,' huh? Well screw you, Blueboy," she said out loud to no one in particular as she made her way to the study. The door creaked like crazy, so she slowly opened it just enough to slip through. The giant windows of the study painted the floor with squares of moonlight. Over the fireplace was a blank rectangle, obviously the long-held home of a painting that had been recently taken down. Barbara had noted how many places on the walls throughout the property were bare with outlines where pictures used to be. She pushed the grandfather clock on it's secret hinge to reveal the stone steps to the Batcave, where Batman had brought her only a few hours before. She had been preoccupied by her tears at the time, but as she walked down the stair she finally took in what was a breathtaking sight. The Batcave wasn't just a name — it was an actual cave, which seemed to span far below her feet. She could hear every footstep echo down and down and down.
The automatic lights glowed a soft blue in certain areas of the Cave. She went over to the giant T-Rex because … it was a giant robotic dinosaur — she had priorities. But her eyes soon landed on a glass case with a Robin suit displayed inside. After carefully opening the case, Barbara ran her fingers down the fabric and she wasn't sure why goosebumps crept up her arm. A humming sound caught her ear and she turned to what she was really looking for — the cool glow of the giant computer monitors.
Because she wasn't going to just sit around while her father fought for his life. If the best way to get back to his side was to catch the creep who was threatening them, then she was going to do everything she could to find the bastard. She knew the security system was going to be insane … which is why she plugged in her USB drive (Thank god I forgot my bag down here, she noted). The program did it's work — it slowed up the system's lock-down program long enough for her to crack the passwords. She started going through the usual resources: police reports, similar cases, psych reports from the big bads of Gotham, etc. Going deeper into the documents, she found a peculiar one labeled "Jtodd." She was questioning whether to open it when she was spun around by her wrist.
"What are you doing?!" Nightwing was just inches away from her face.
"I'm— I'm sorry!"
"What the hell were you looking in those files for?!"
"I was just trying to help!" She shouted. He pushed her wrist away and just stared at her. In the moment, all she could think was how much she hated him.
"Get. Out." He growled. She didn't have to be told twice — she ran up the stairs, through the study, through the hall until she reached the front entryway.
"Miss Barbara!" shouted Alfred down the hall as she snatched her coat from the rack at the door and put on her shoes, "Where are you going?"
"I can't stay here another minute! I'm going to my dad!" she called before running through the ornate wooden doors out into the cold. Snow had started falling that morning and like normal for Gotham in December, it had never really stopped. She ran towards the street, but she heard a motor starting from the five door garage adjacent to the mansion. She turned around to see a motorcycle and she knew that whether it was Alfred or Robin, whoever was on it would definitely catch her if she kept going for the road. That's why she turned left and ran straight into the woods.
It was a stupid move, she knew. It was cold, it was dark and she didn't know if she was even in city limits. Luckily she had her phone with her — she could use the GPS to figure out how far away she was from the city and maybe one of the few classmates who gave her their phone number would do her a solid and pick her up. OK, it was still a stupid move because as she got farther and farther into the woods, it was getting very clear that she wasn't going to be able to last much longer in just her flannel pajamas, boots and coat. There was also the matter of her just telling Alfred where she was going — even if she did make it to Gotham General, Batman or whoever does his dirty work as a civilian would be waiting for her. She huffed out a sigh, her breath clear in the moonlit cold. But beyond her smoke-like breath she saw movement … what she hoped were neighborhood dogs even if she knew they weren't.
The pack was made of four large, wirey wolves — and they were hungry. Barbara slowly backed up, with the pack walking towards her at a patient pace. She could hold her own in a normal fight, but something told her the wolves had the upper hand here. She grabbed a thick branch from her peripheral vision, knowing that it wasn't going to make a particularly good weapon but also knowing that she wasn't going to die without a fight. She braced herself as the alpha-male made his move and lunged —
Everything happened fast. She was pushed down by what she thought was a human arm. Her head was dazed from the fall, but she saw a figure taking on the wolves. Whoever it was used some kind of flamesticks to push the animals out of the area. It was only then that she saw it was Nightwing. She got up, embarrassed she didn't do more to help but quickly rushed to his side when she saw him stumble — one of the wolves got to his shoulder and had made it through his armor. She grabbed his other arm and forced him to use her as support while they made their way towards the lights of the mansion.
Dick stared into the burning embers of the study's fireplace. Sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, being able to watch the deep blue heat was keeping him distracted … sort of. The wound hurt like a bitch — it had been years since he had dealt with a bite wound and he wasn't exactly nostalgic for the experience. Barbara Gordon finally came in with a wash cloth and a bowl of hot water and knelt by him.
"This is all we have right now. Apparently this house goes through first aid kits like paper towels," the girl said with a sort of smile. The smile was gone as she dipped the cloth into the water.
"Now," she said delicately, "Just … hold still," and put it to his wound. He cried out — it was like fire burning the wound and spreading down into his arm.
"That hurts!" he shouted looking straight at her.
"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much!" she shouted back.
"When Alfred does it, it doesn't hurt this much."
"Well Alfred's trying to find more gauze right now, so you'll have to put up with me for five minutes."
"Well if you hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Well if you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!"
Damn it. What was up with this girl and why did she have to be so stubborn?
"Well you shouldn't have gone into the Batcave!" Nightwing snapped at the commissioner's daughter only to get "Well you should learn to control your temper!" thrown back at him.
There was silence while she continued to clean his wound, until - "I-I didn't get to thank you … for saving my life."
Dick's pulse fluttered as her fingers grazed his wrist, but he managed to get out a soft, "You're welcome."
It was only then that he noticed she changed out of the soaked flannel pajamas and into a plain black slip and deep blue silk robe. Her hair was down (it looked longer down) and swept to the side and out of the way. It was … nice. They continued to sit in silence, her carefully pressing the damp cloth against his shoulder, him wincing less and less and neither noticing Alfred and Robin watching them from just outside the room.
"Come on, Barbara!" Robin had called to her while putting on his puffy green coat and running out the door. The noonday sun illuminated the fallen snow into an almost blinding white. She envied the kid and his sunglasses.
"So," she said as she caught up with him, "Are you sure it's OK that I see you without your uniform?"
"Yeah, we do it all the time when we want to be casual but don't want our teammates to know what we look like." Robin crouched down and started packing snowballs, putting the finished ones into a pile.
"But … you're just wearing sunglasses. How is that supposed to stop people from knowing who you are?"
Robin stopped his work and looked straight at her. "Do you know who I am?"
Barbara paused before saying, "Good point." She got down to help Robin with the snowballs. "So my other question is, what are we doing with these snowballs?"
But from the look on his face, Barbara figured it out. "No."
"Come on!"
"He already hates me as it is," she stressed. Robin huffed.
"He doesn't hate you — trust me. Look, do you want to get out some frustration?"
She thought about it. "Yeah, I really do."
He grinned. "Good, because you get the first shot."
Dick wasn't thinking of her. No, he wasn't. He wasn't thinking about how her hair was a gorgeous shade of red. He wasn't thinking about how gently she treated his shoulder. He wasn't thinking about how amazed he was that she broke into the batcomputer so effortlessly. He wasn't thinking of any of that stuff. He was just in the open garage, working on his motorcycle. Working on it because he had crashed it when he had to run after her into the woods. He remembered back to how damn fast she ran, even in the heavy snow, and how her gorgeous red hair swished in her ponytail. And somewhere in his thoughts, Dick's hand slipped from the gear he was tightening — the wrench clanged to the floor. He bent down to pick it up—
SMACK!
"Oh my god, you got his butt!"
Dick turned his head towards the attacker only to get a snowball right in the chin. Wiping the slush away from his face, Dick glared through his sunglasses at his traitor of a little adoptive brother and the frustrating wench with the nasty arm laughing at him from the driveway.
"You have the best aim, Barbara!" Tim was practically jumping with glee.
"You were right, Rob … this is fun," she grinned, but they abandoned their pre-produced ammunition when Dick started after them.
"You two are so going to get it!"
"Have to catch us first!" Tim shouted back.
His brother sprinted out of the way, but Dick was able to reach Barbara and tackle her to the ground. Ever determined, Barbara started throwing handfuls of snow at him, but he was able to keep a firm grip on her legs.
"Get off me already!" she said with no malice.
"You attacked me, lady!" he shouted back while dodging the snow and throwing more at her. She smacked his left arm and a sharp pain came with it. He released her with a wince.
"Oh shit," she said softly, "I forgot about your shoulder. I'm so sorry."
"It's … OK," he said as he sat up. "But since I am injured, can we please call a truce?"
She stared at him for a moment before laughing. "Sure, why not?" She sat up. "But only because you said please."
"It's a good thing I said please then," he said. Dick looked into her eyes — behind the long lashes, they were a steel blue and seemed to pierce the very heart of him. "I—I don't think we were properly introduced last night. I'm —"
"Nightwing. Yeah, I know," she smiled, "The black and blue bodysuit kind of gave you away."
Dick smiled, not just at the quip but at her hair; it was frizzy and all over the place from their scuffle. Without thinking, he moved a weighty lock away from her face and behind her ear right as Tim came from around the corner.
"See Barb," the kid called, "He doesn't hate you! Hey, Alfred gave me some birdseed. Help me feed these ones in the front yard!"
Barbara turned to Dick. "What do you say, Birdboy? Want to help feed your feathered brethren?"
"Yes sir, everything is fine," Alfred said into the phone as he tidied the study.
"Are you sure?" Bruce asked. "No security breaches?"
"None, sir."
"And Gordon's daughter is safe?"
Alfred looked out the window towards the kids. Tim had given up feeding the birds and had started chasing the birds. His eyes went to Miss Gordon and Dick, who were now walking side by side. Alfred smiled. "Yes, she's safe," he replied, "although I'm not sure Master Dick is."
Five days later
"How many fireplaces does this place have, exactly?" Barbara asked while she held her mug in both hands and drank her cider.
"The short answer is a lot," Nightwing laughed and shifted on the couch, the fire making his shadow dance on the opposite wall. The manor library was gorgeous, an abundance of riches that delighted her more than any other room in the entire estate. Every wall had shelves and shelves filled with a plethora of stories and the idea of exploring their selection made her a little giddy. She had already devoured a couple of them since Nightwing had mentioned the room earlier in the week, but truth be told she had been busy. It had been a long, full week of just … enjoying herself, actually. They went sledding and played board games and watched a bunch of Disney movies (Robin's choice). It was weird how long it had been since she had the time to actually enjoy a day for herself. Robin was a sweet kid, Alfred had been so welcoming from the start and Nightwing … well, he was interesting company to say the least. The good kind of interesting. Something had changed between them since her first night there … or maybe it was just something there she couldn't see before. Either way, she found herself enjoying his company immensely.
"I …" he stumbled, "I never apologized for my behavior the other night."
"Hey, Iwas the one breaking into your high security computer," she took another sip.
"No, I meant before that. You were going through something terrible — I've seen too many people I care about get hurt to treat you with anything but kindness. There's no excuse for it."
"Oh," she said, "Well, apology accepted." While silence hung in the air, Barbara couldn't help but notice her companion's striking jawline against the soft glow of the fire. The way he bit his lip when he got nervous. And how frustrating it was that he still hid his eyes.
"Are you ever going to take off those sunglasses? I mean, we're almost in total darkness," she said as casually as possible.
"So," he coughed, "You said computer science, right?"
"Yeah, I'm taking a couple courses at Gotham Community that'll give me a leg up when I get to college in a year and a half."
He choked on his cider. "A leg up? You do realize that you were able to hack into one of the most secure computer systems on the planet, right?"
"You say that like it's hard," she smiled against the lip of her mug. He laughed despite himself.
"You're a girl after my own heart, Gordon." They clinked their mugs and she giggled — she was feeling flirty for the first time in … ever.
"And what have you done to be a boy after my heart, Bluebird?" she asked.
"Please, I hacked into the GPD systems before I hit my tenth birthday," he said proudly before adding, "But if you could avoid mentioning that to your dad, I'd really appreciate it."
Her mouth dropped as she realized — "You're the reason I can never find any information on you guys in the GPD! Every time I look for a history on you or Batman or Robin, the files disappear!"
"And you were the hacker that stopped the Riddler's timebomb last summer," Nightwing said without hesitation, "You're the Oracle." Barbara took a sharp breath.
"You knew?"
"No, not until this morning when I saw your work from last night. I would have known that touch anywhere," his voice got low, the words giving her goosebumps as they rumbled out of him. "Barbara, why didn't you say anything? You were incredible that day — why didn't you tell us it was you?"
She focused on her mug to avoid his gaze. "Because I was afraid you or Batman would tell my dad and he'd never trust me again. I mean, I've been doing my best to become a cop after I'm done with school," she said, "but I know he'll do everything to stop me. He wants me to stay safe."
"But what do you want? If you could have anything."
"You really want to know?"
"I really want to know."
She chuckled and spread her arms wide. "I want … adventure in the great wide somewhere."
He snorted. "'Great wide somewhere'?"
"Shut up," she nudged his good shoulder, "It's from one of my favorite books. The usual fantasy stuff — far off places, daring fights, magic spells, heroes in disguise."
Nightwing smirked. "That doesn't seem like fantasy to me."
"What, even the magic spells?"
"Even the magic spells. Let's just say," he drawled out, "if you ever need an enchantment, I know a girl."
"You know my dad always says …" she trailed off and the smile left her face. "Oh Jesus, my dad."
"Hey," Nightwing said as he scooted closer to her, "it's OK." He put his arms around her, his warmth filling her up as she put her head against his chest.
"It's silly," she said after a few minutes, "But this was going to be the first Christmas where we could actually spend the whole holiday with each other. He took a week and a half off for vacation, we rented out a cabin and everything."
"It's not silly to be hurting. Especially on Christmas," he whispered.
Somehow her arm found its way around his torso — his black tee was soft against her fingers as she played with the fabric on the other side of his waist. It wasn't hard for her to drift into sleep.
Dick held her for who knows how long — there was something so good about the way her arm went around him and how he made lazy patterns on her back with his fingers. This was the most physical contact they had had since the snow fight. Sure there had been the brush of her arms during the movie marathon, his hand on her back when he needed to get around her in the kitchen and when their hands touched when they both went for the same roll at dinner, but it wasn't like this. This was … so much better. It was only when the fire died that he took his chance to gently pick her up and carry her to the guest suite. As he carefully opened her door with a nudge of his foot, she stirred in his arms. "What time is it?"
"Well over midnight. Go to sleep."
"It's Christmas Eve, Nightwing," she murmured into his shirt, "Merry Christmas Eve."
"Merry Christmas Eve, Barbara."
He managed to pull away the comforter so he could put her down in the bed. Like clockwork, she nuzzled up against her pillow as he tucked her into the covers.
"What happened to you?" she asked softly. "Why are you hurting on Christmas?"
"I'll see you in the morning," he said and, after a second's hesitation, kissed her chastely on the crown of her head. He was walking out the room when —
"Nightwing?" she slurred.
"Yes?"
"You looked nice today," she muttered still half asleep.
He knelt down next to the bed. "Oh, really?"
"You have a nice face," she opened her eyes just slightly to look at him, "when you're not yelling at me."
"Well—" he started but whatever semi-consciousness he just witnessed had faded away. After shutting her door behind him, he finally took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes … but he was smiling.
"I've run through the leads," Bruce said to Tim and Dick in the Batcave that morning, "The street gangs, the mob, the drug lords … none of them put the hit on Gordon."
"Did you ever find out who the shooter was?"
"Wendel Portman. Mental patient at Arkham, released three weeks ago on probation. No gang affiliations."
"Do you think it could be one of the costumes could have gotten to him from the inside?" Tim asked, "Harvey or Penguin—"
"Doesn't fit any of their MOs — thug with a gun is too simple for the theme criminals."
"What about Ra's?" suggested Dick.
"Even if he had a motive, Ra's would have made it look like an accident to keep cover." Bruce put his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "It just doesn't make sense."
"In that case," Alfred said as he set down the tray of breakfast on the dash, "perhaps it would be prudent for Miss Gordon to stay with us a few more days."
"Yes!" Dick burst out. Bruce, Alfred and Tim raised their eyebrows simultaneously. "I—I mean, that's probably a good idea to keep her safe," Dick added innocently.
"So, I assume your evening with Miss Gordon went well?" Alfred asked once Bruce left for Wayne Corp.
"You had an evening with her?" Tim asked.
"Talking. We just talked," Dick said before sighing and slumping in the chair in defeat. "Look, I've never felt this way about a girl before. I want to get her something for Christmas … but what?"
"Well there are the usual gifts you give girls, Dick," Tim said as he counted off on his fingers, "Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep …" Dick punched his shoulder.
"Not helping, Timmy."
"I believe what Master Tim is saying is that it has to be something special. Something that sparks her interests."
A light flickered in Dick's eyes. "I've got it." He pulled out his phone on the way back up to the study. "Hey Bruce? I need to ask you a favor — a huge favor." Dick paused at the top of the stairs and looked back down to Alfred. "Hey, about dinner …"
Alfred smiled. "Leave it to me." When Dick was finally out of sight, the butler made his own phone call. "Hello dear, this is Alfred Pennyworth. I'm fine, I'm fine. I realize this is last minute, but I need your help with something. How would you like to meet Master Dick's new ladyfriend?"
It was late afternoon and after several rousing games of Jenga around lunch, Robin and Alfred had practically shoved Barbara into her room to be sequestered for the time being ("Trust us," was all Robin said). Laying on her stomach on the bed, she had been trying for a half an hour to enjoy one of several books from her schoolbag, but she couldn't keep her mind on the page. It didn't help that the book in hand was highly romantic in nature and despite the hero having long blond hair, she kept imagining him with shaggy black hair, sunglasses and that stupid beautiful grin. She liked Nightwing. She liked him a lot and quite honestly she didn't know what to do about it. Her head smacked the open book hard.
Why am I doing this to myself? she thought as she rubbed her stinging forehead.
A knock came from the door. Barbara opened it expecting Robin or Alfred (or maybe Nightwing) but she wasn't expecting the girls in front of her. They were both a little older than Barbara — one had light red hair and a splash of freckles across her cheeks (with knee-length skirt and girly headband, she kind of looked like a life-sized Skipper doll). The other had long, long blond hair with a contrasting olive complexion and a biker jacket paired with a green turtleneck, cigarette jeans and a smirk. They both had their arms full of garment and shopping bags.
"Can … can I help you?" Barbara asked.
"Hi, I'm M'gann," the bubbly girl waved (almost dropping her bags in the process), "and this is Artemis. We're supposed to help you get ready."
"Get ready for what, exactly?"
"Your evening alone with the Beast," the blonde said as she walked into the room.
"Artemis!" The other girl blushed, her eyes darting nervously to Barbara.
"What? I might have a boyfriend but I'm not dead," Artemis plopped down on the bed. Barbara's face started to burn as her imagination flared up.
"Sorry," the blonde said when she noticed Barbara's flushed face, "I have an annoying coping mechanism of coming on strong to strangers."
"Although we feel like we know you already," M'gann added, "Ti— Robin has told us so much about you."
"Oh … so, you know Robin?" God, I sound like an idiot.
"Yeah, and Nightwing. We've known old Blue Boy for years," Artemis smiled and unzipped one of the garment bags. "Speaking of … Megs, do you want to have her try the blue one first?"
"Oh yes!" M'gann beamed and put the long gown up to Barbara's front, "You'll look ravishing in this one."
An hour later and seven outfit changes later, Barbara was in the very dress they started with. Not that she was complaining … it fit her like a glove and M'gann had found a way to tame her rather difficult hair into a style that fit the dress perfectly.
Meanwhile, Artemis was giggling. "Wait, wait, wait … you hit Nightwing in the ass?"
"Yeah," Barbara chuckled and Artemis fell back on the bed, rolling with laughter.
"Artemis, you're making it shaky!" M'gann said as she worked on Barbara's make-up.
"I still don't understand why you're doing all of this," Barbara admitted.
"They wanted you to have a nice Christmas," M'gann said as she got out the foundation, "And when Alfred plans a party, it's usually pretty fantastic."
"Oh," said Barbara. "Alfred. Right. That makes sense." She wasn't quite sure why that disappointed her, but M'gann picked up on it.
"Don't give up on him," M'gann said, but Barbara looked away.
"I don't know what you mean."
M'gann sighed. "Artemis, can you please tell—" but Artemis was gone.
"Does she do that often?"
"Well," M'gann said, "It looks like she's taking some lessons from Nightwing."
"Right," Alfred said as he pulled out Dick's evening attire, "there will be music, candlelight, a four course dinner … courtesy of myself." He handed Dick the suit pants while he started ironing the dress shirt before continuing, "I thought the English cut suit would work well with the occasion. Are you sure you don't want me to trim your hair?"
"Yes," Dick said before rubbing his neck. "I don't think I can go through with this."
"You care for Miss Gordon, don't you?"
Dick sighed. "Isn't that obvious?"
"And you want to make sure she has a wonderful Christmas, right?"
"Yes."
"And you want to tell her how you feel, correct?"
Dick glared at him.
"Then you'll be fine," Alfred said when he didn't receive a proper answer, "You said you got her a present?"
"Yes, although Bruce wasn't exactly forthcoming at first—"
"Hello Dick!" called a painfully cheerful voice from the hallway.
"Artemis?" Dick almost tripped as he rushed to get his pants on before his friend could walk through the door, "What are you doing here?"
"Well," Alfred interrupted, "With all the running around I had to do to prepare for the dinner, I figured it would be best to leave Miss Barbara's wardrobe to Miss M'gann's capable hands and Master Bruce's credit card."
"OK I get M'gann, but why is Artemis here?"
"Extra set of hands," Artemis said innocently, "That and once I found out I could meet your newest lady friend, I couldn't resist. You really fought wolves for her?"
"Artemis," he warned.
"Sheesh, just kidding," Artemis said before getting quiet. "Alfred, do you mind giving us a moment?"
"Of course, Miss Crock. And it's nice to see you again," he said as he walked out of the room. Artemis closed the door.
"Alright Arty," Dick got up to grab his dress shirt, "I know you have something to say, so just let it out."
"I've talked to Barbara for the last hour."
"And?" Dick said rather defensively.
"And … she's great."
"… Oh!" Dick said with an exhale. He started buttoning up his shirt.
"She's smart, she's funny and she can hit you in the ass with a snowball."
"Kind of wish she hadn't told you that part—"
"This is the first girl you've liked since Zatanna that seems like she's worth a damn," she said with conviction. Dick paused.
"Artemis, it's not … I don't … it's not like that."
"Oh really? Is that why Alfred is planning a romantic dinner for two? Is that why we just helped her get into the sexiest dress you'll ever see? Because if it isn't like that, then why are we going to all this trouble?"
"Her dad's in intensive care. She has too much to deal with right now for me to come onto her."
"She likes you, Dick. And we both know what this is really about," Artemis said, "It's been three years. Beating yourself up about this when you have someone like Barbara smitten with you isn't going to change what happened."
"Thanks, Artemis," Dick said before pausing in thought. "So, when you say the sexiest dress…"
She laughed and gave him a great hug, but added grimly, "Seriously though, don't screw this up."
Artemis did not do the dress justice. Not by a longshot, he thought as he saw Barbara come down the grand staircase. The deep blue in the gown was such a brilliant contrast from her beautiful red hair, which was styled (by M'gann, no doubt) so it gracefully cascaded down her left shoulder in loose curls. The cut of the dress fit her like a glove and the hourglass shape accentuated her lithe, toned frame while the dress' off-the-shoulder top brought his focus to the curve of her neck. Let's just say it wasn't hard for his mind to wander back to the fantasies that had started unfolding in his mind the last few nights. But he was able to hold in his emotions (maintaining his patented Bruce Wayne face) until she smiled. Yeah, that did it.
"Oh my god," she said when she finally glanced away from him and looked in awe at the ballroom's holiday decorations and general splendor, "This is just so beautiful."
"So are you," he exhaled.
"Well, your friends are good at what they do," she smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
"No really," he said softly, "You look lovely." She flustered.
"You didn't wear your sunglasses tonight," she changed the subject.
"Well, I thought my mask would work better for formal wear," he offered his hand and walked with her to the dining table.
They started dancing right after the second course. She felt sort of bad since Alfred had gone to all that trouble to make it, but to be fair, Nightwing was a really good dancer (and she did see Alfred peeking in from the kitchen and smiling). They had a number of fast waltzes before things slowed down over the speakers. And that's how she found herself swaying cheek to cheek with a superhero. Not that she was complaining. There was a comfortable silence for who knows how long before he spoke.
"You asked me last night why I'm hurting so bad?" he asked quietly.
Barbara looked up. "Nightwing, I was half asleep. You don't have to feel obligated to tell me anything."
"But I want to," he said as he took her hand and put it to his chest, "You see, I lost my family when I was very young. And I mean my whole family. In one fast swoop and I saw it happen."
"Oh god," she breathed. "I—I didn't—"
"I was frustrated for such a long time because I didn't help them, didn't save them. It was only when I became Robin that I realized there wasn't anything I could have done … I was a kid and everything was out of my hands. That was one of the true joys of being the Boy Wonder," he said with a sad smile, "Having the power to save people like I never could before."
"But then a few years ago," he continued, "despite all my training and all my experience, someone else died. They died a few days before Christmas and since then … the holiday just hasn't been the same for me."
She didn't know what to say, what she could say that could possibly give him some relief. All she could do was take her hand off his chest and place it on the curve of his jawline. His head leaned slightly into her touch and she sighed at his warmth.
"I just wanted to let you know. Because you asked, I mean," he said. His eyes opened and his sad smile came back and that was all that was said of the matter. He took her hand again as they swayed back and forth. She placed her cheek against his chest and felt her body meld into his. Her brain told her to let go, to slacken their embrace, and yet something was pulling her closer to him all the time. Maybe it was the way his hand held firm on her waist. Maybe it was how she could smell the cologne on his suit jacket. Maybe it was just that he was a really good dancer. Somehow, she couldn't bear to pull away from him.
"Barb?"
Barbara blushed at the nickname and was just grateful he couldn't see her face. "Yes?"
"Are you … happy here, with me?"
She paused for just a moment before it hit her that—
"Yes. I am," she whispered. Against his chest, she felt him breathe a small sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and just let herself enjoy being led gently across the dance floor.
After dancing for who knows how long, they found themselves back in the library. Even through the closed curtains, the moon filled the room with so much soft light that they didn't bother flipping the switches.
"I want to show you something," he said, "But you have to close your eyes."
She gave him an incredulous look. "Close my eyes?"
"It's a surprise," he stressed. She rolled her eyes before closing them. He led her forward and had them sitting on what she recognized as the window seat.
"OK," he said.
She opened her eyes and gasped at the view. Gotham's skyline had been hidden under the snowstorms all week, but tonight the snowfall had stopped long enough for the city to seem at peace. It was only at this particular moment she realized how much she loved it.
"I never get to see it like this. Living in the city, I've never seen it so …" she turned back to her companion, "God, thank you. I needed this so much."
"There's more." Nightwing took a deep breath said as he pulled out a small box from his coat pocket and put it in her hands. Inside was a simple black flash drive.
"What — what is this?"
"Those are the codes to the batcomputer. Except for our personal files, you have access to everything — criminal files, property layouts, hacked federal files … information even the GPD doesn't have."
She sat there dumbfounded, looking from the flash drive to him and back to the drive. Her hands kept fiddling with it until the realization of what power it held finally sank in. "I can't accept this," she said, "Batman—"
"Batman trusts me and I trust the Oracle."
"Nightwing, it's one thing to have a peek at your files, but to give me essentially full access to your resources … you barely know me." She closed the box and tried to push the whole thing back into his hands, but he held her back.
"Barbara, you could have found out everything about me and my family the other night and you didn't. After that, why wouldn't I trust you now? More than that, you …" he struggled with the words and she found herself holding her breath, "You're so … talented. I mean, you saved the city last summer without our resources. Think of everything you can do with them." He put his hands to hers and closed her fingers around the box. Her eyes welled up and for some reason her first thought was how upset M'gann would be to see her make-up run.
"This is so …" she looked around at the beautiful books that surrounded them, at the lights of the far off city, at the precious flash drive in her hand, "… I can't believe I didn't get you anything," she half laughed. When she looked back up, the splendor of the city and the manor was overshadowed by everything that was Nightwing — his raven hair and his ice blue eyes shining from behind his mask and the way he licked his lower lip before biting it ever so slightly. He was like a brilliant star and she couldn't help but be pulled towards him until the the space between their bodies closed.
"Barbara," he spoke softly, his hand on her cheek and his lips almost brushing hers, "I—"
"Miss Barbara!"
And like that, the moment shattered. As he rushed over to them, Alfred's eyes darted from her to Nightwing and back to her — embarrassed, Barbara found herself standing a good foot away from Nightwing within the span of a second and yet a traitorous part of her ached.
"I'm—I'm so sorry to be interrupting, but your phone rang," Alfred said as he handed it to her, "It's from the hospital."
Barbara's breath hitched in her throat as she put the phone up to her ear. "H—hello?"
"Hello, Miss Gordon?" a nasally female voice asked on the other side of the line, "This is Miss Tolpel, I'm the nurse taking care of your father tonight? I'm sorry dear, but he's in a bad way and we think it might be best if you came to see him as soon as possible."
Blood pounding in her head, Barbara sank into the nearby chair as dread swallowed her. "Is … is he stable? I mean, is he conscious? Can I talk to hi—"
"I'm sorry miss, he can't speak well. Just come as soon as you possibly can." The phone clicked off and Barbara could only find the will to stare at it.
"Barbara," a voice from far away called. She blinked and realized that Nightwing was kneeling by her chair. "Barbara, what happened?"
"My dad, he … he's gotten worse. They don't know if he'll make the night," she said softly and paused before standing up. "I have to go to him."
"Miss Barbara, I don't think it's safe to go out there tonight."
"My dad could be dying and he's all alone. I'm not just going to sit and—"
"Go."
Barbara and Alfred turned their heads to look at Nightwing.
"She has to go to him," he said looking straight at her, "Get your coat and we'll—"
"Nightwing!" Robin rushed in, already in uniform, "There's been some kind of attack on the south side of town!"
The teen swore under his breath and turned back to Barbara. "I have to go."
"I know, it's OK. Alfred can come with me, right?"
"Of course, Miss," Alfred said as he scooted Robin out of the room.
"Trust me, I'll be fine," Barbara said, "I'll be back before you get home."
"Barbara, I …" he trailed off again before shaking his head. He took a small device the shape of his Nightwing symbol out of his coat pocket. "If you need anything, just turn this on. I'll be able get to you no matter where you are in the city." He put the device in her palm.
"Thank you for understanding," she caressed his cheek once more.
"Go."
Grabbing her winter coat and boots, she rushed with Alfred out to the town car, not even noticing the ironclad gates of the property that spelled out "Wayne Manor."
They made record time going into the city, but the holiday meant plenty of foot and car traffic once they hit downtown. The area around the hospital was gridlocked and after five minutes of sitting and worrying, Barbara opened the passenger door.
"Miss Gordon!"
"It's just a few blocks. I can make it on foot faster. Don't worry!" She turned and ran before he could protest further. Despite feeling a little self-conscious in her gown, she made her way up to intensive care but before she could get to the main desk, a nurse ran up to her.
"You're Barbara Gordon, right?" said the nasally voiced woman.
"Yes I am. Are you the one—"
"On the phone yes," she pulled Barbara aside and in said in a careful tone, "You're father's been taken to another wing of the hospital due to security. Come with me."
"This doesn't make any sense," Tim said as they inspected the damage of the explosion, "It was completely abandoned. There wasn't anything to steal and no one nearby to hurt. What was the point?"
That was when Dick knelt down and really looked at the wreckage. "Oh my god," he whispered. He went to his headset. "Batman, are you there?"
"He had to go to Star City tonight — what's wrong?" asked Tim.
Dick went back to the communicator, "Artemis and anyone even close to Gotham, get to Gotham General Hospital NOW!" He pointed to the various police officers just arriving at the site, "We need to get to the hospital right now!"
"Nightwing!" Tim ran after him as he got on his batcycle, "What's going on?"
He stopped for only a moment. "This building is on the very edge of the city," he growled, "the farthest you can get from downtown. He knew we'd come help. He knew the police would come. It got us out of the way." They sped away from the scene where, scattered among the wreckage, were thousands of singed photos. On the back they said, "GOTCHA!" On the front was what was clearly Barbara's last school photo.
The nurse led Barbara down a quiet corridor to a wing that seemed to be under renovation. There was something off about the whole thing, from the way the blond woman held herself to the eerie quiet of this area of the hospital.
"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Barbara asked with forced lightheartedness.
"Um, Nurse Copel. Come on now."
Barbara's body tensed. "Oh, I thought you said Tolpel on the phone."
"Oh, right. That's what I meant."
The two women look at each other for just a moment before Barbara sprinted away. She was at a disadvantage thanks to her gown, but Barbara was still faster. A goon in a ridiculous elf costume came her way, but she managed to disarm him and push him against the wall with his arm behind his back.
"What's going on?!" she shouted in his ear and slammed him harder against the wall, "Who are you working for?!" She didn't hear the high heels clicking behind her until it was too late — she screamed in pain as the "nurse" tased her. Half-concious, she felt her body being dragged by the elbows deeper into the abandoned wing.
"Jeez-louise!" the blonde said loudly, "I didn't expect her to be so heavy. Stop being so lazy and pull her more, you bum!"
When they stopped at an examination room doorway, the big goon made her stand up and pushed her in. Staring out the window was a skinny figure in a Santa costume.
"We got 'er!" the blonde said, "Merry Christmas, Puddin'!"
Barbara's eyes went wide. "No," she said.
"Oh yes," the figure turned around and gave her a great big clownish smile, "Merry Christmas, Miss Gordon! Hahahahahaha!"
"You bastard!" she screamed as the goon held her back, "You shot my dad!"
"Me? NO!" the Joker said, "… I had someone else do trust me, it was hard to not do the job myself. And it was excruciating not to put my classic Joker flair to the thing. You know this is your fault, right?"
"My fault?! You sick—"
"Yes, your fault. You see, I had a huge Christmas murder extravaganza planned out with your pops as the main event. It was going to have lights and tinsel and just so, so much blood," he said while taking off his Santa coat to reveal his usual purple suit — he didn't notice Barbara slip her hand into her coat pocket and activate Nightwing's signal device. "But then I found out you and dear old daddy were going out of town for Christmas! Which is just rude, by the way," he said, shaking his finger at her.
"So I had two choices: I could move my plans before or after Christmas — but then what would be the point of doing a Christmas show, right? — or I could postpone your trip."
*Barbara?*
Barbara jumped. The goon behind her noticed but thankfully the Joker didn't. "And of course I didn't want to ruin tonight's surprise…" he continued.
*Barbara, it's M'gann. If you can hear me, just think your answer.*
*M'gann … why are you in my head?*
*It's a long story. We're really close and Nightwing and Robin are on their way. Are you OK? Are you safe?*
*For now. It's the Joker and we're in an abandoned wing on the 6th floor.*
*We can trace your position with your tracker, but you have to keep him busy.*
"And what do you know, my Harley's old patient Wendel just got out on parole and was highly impressionable. I told him to make sure to shoot you or don't come back at all. So, when he shot your dad instead … well," he said with a wide smile.
"Where's my dad?" she said harshly, baiting him to continue.
"Oh, daddy's still in his room. He's safe … for now. But I have happy elves hidden throughout the hospital in case anything goes awry."
"Boss! There's some of tiger in — ARGH!" came a voice through the Joker's walkie-talkie. The Joker smirked at Barbara before hitting her across the face.
"I guess some of the Bat's buddies are trying to save you. How sweet. Harvey, Jingle," he looked to the other two, "Please go take care of the guests. I'm going to take Miss Gordon to get her Christmas present."
*M'gann, they're moving me.* she thought as hard as she could while the Joker pushed a gun against her lower back.
*Wait, is this the girl Dick keeps talking about?* a guy's voice responded. Barbara sighed just a little.
*OK, I have a gun to my back so I might have missed something, but who are you, who is Dick and why is he talking about me?*
*Wally, shut up!* A familiar voice rang in Barbara's head.
*Artemis? You're here, too?*
*Sorry Barbara,* Artemis grunted, *We can explain later. Do you know where he's taking you?*
*To the roof.* She was being forced up the stairwell. *Whatever he's planning, it's going to happen soon. Hurry.*
"Isn't it just a bee-eu-tiful evening, Miss Gordon?" the clown said as he walked breezily out onto the roof, the gun still pressed firmly against her. "You know, if you're going to die, it might as well be on a holiday, right?"
"Let her go!"
The Joker spun them around to see Nightwing fifteen feet away in fighting stance.
"Don't worry, Barbara, it's going to be OK."
"Worried? Who's worried?" she said sarcastically. The look Nightwing gave her said it all and the Joker gasped melodramatically.
"Wait, you and Tightsboy? And here I thought you dressed up for me," he said with a pout, "although I have to admit you make a darling couple."
"I'm not going to tell you again, you bastard. Let her go."
But the Joker ignored his threat and moved the gun to Barbara's left temple. "How long has it been, Boy Wonder? Three years now? Since I used my handy dandy crowbar and—"
"Shut up."
"Oh wait, have you not told her?" the sicko put his cheek against Barbara's, "But it's such a good story!"
She struggled, but the gloved hand just held her tighter and the gun just pressed harder into her head.
"You see Miss Gordon, most people think there have only been two Robins, but that's just not true. Not true at all! There have actually been three Robins. After your lover boy became Nightwing and before the third little birdy bastard took the uniform, there was another one — a cockier kid who needed to be taught a lesson."
Barbara looked up to Nightwing's face for some sort of sign for what to do, but he only looked back helpless at her. She tried to turn away, but the Joker forced her head in place.
"So," the jester continued, "while the Bat and your hero here were sent on a merry Christmas chase around Gotham, I was enjoying beating the shit out of the Boy Wonder." She could feel his smile grow against her skin and her stomach churned with every word trickling out of his mouth, every syllable reverberating against her face. "Granted, I wasn't there when they found the kid, but I did get to enjoy an oh so touching video feed of Batman holding the boy in his arms while Birdy over there fell to his knees and cried. Oh, it was the best Christmas present I could have given myself!"
"Look," Nightwing's voice shook as he put his hands up, "I know you're after me. Me and Batman. That's fine. She has nothing to do with this. Just let her go and you can have me."
"Oh no no no, this is just so perfect!" the clown snickered with delight, "First I killed your little brother and now I'm about to kill your little gal pal. Who knows, maybe next year for Christmas I'll take care of Robin #3!" His laughter rang through her ears, but when she felt the pressure from the gun release slightly from her other temple, she made her move. She elbowed him in the face and ducked while knocking the gun out of his hands. Joker grabbed her by the neck and before she could react, they both tipped over the railway.
"BARBARA!" Nightwing's voice rang in a panic.
Thank god for the grips on her gloves — she was just able to hold on to the edge of the building while her boots kept her footing. She looked up to see Nightwing's upper body leaning over the edge.
"Take my hand, I can pull you up!" he called while reaching down to her. Taking a deep breath, she used her momentum to arc her right hand towards him. He caught it and started pulling her up.
"Nightwing," she said as grabbed onto him with both hands, "I— ARGH!" Her left hand slipped out of his reach as wretched pain shot through her back. Off balance, her body swung and she saw the Joker holding onto a nearby gargoyle in one hand with a bloody knife in the other. He threw his head back and laughed in triumph, the knife raised to stab at her again, but the psychopath's grip slipped. His fingers reached for Barbara's gown, but Nightwing pulled her up before she could be used to hold onto — as the Joker fell into the darkness below, the only sound was his laughter echoing into nothingness.
Barbara wasn't sure how long it took to get her back onto solid ground, but she found herself on the roof in Nightwing's arms. His hands were covered in blood and it took Barbara a moment to realize it was hers.
"Barbara, I'm so … this is all my fault. If only I had gotten here sooner," he said.
"Hey," she coughed, "It's OK. The Joker's gone and if this is what it took to stop him from hurting you … from hurting everyone … then maybe it's better this way." It was getting harder to speak with every word.
"Don't talk like that," Nightwing said, tears welling in his eyes as he forced himself to smile, "You'll be alright. We're together now, everything's going to be fine … you'll see."
"Don't do that," she said, "Don't lie to me."
The pain was engulfing her, but she forced herself to focus just a little while longer.
"At least," she said as she willed her hand to reach for the curve of his jaw, "I got to see you … one last time."
"No! Barbara, please don't leave me! I lost Jason to that monster — I can't lose you, too."
She could tell she didn't have much time left — as her brain became fuzzy, she thought she saw a green figure gliding towards them from the stairwell and some kind of green animal following it. Still, her eyes went back to focus on Nightwing, who had pulled her tighter in his arms. She wanted to say so much more — how he needed to help her dad through this. How she had never been quite so happy as the last few days. How he shouldn't feel guilty about any of this. How she was so glad she met him. But all she could do was look into his crystal blue eyes until everything went black. As she finally let herself succumb to the darkness, Nightwing was still shouting for her to come back, to come back to him. She could have sworn she heard him whisper, "I love you."
It was surprisingly annoying to accept your own death only for the heaviness of life to seep back into you. That was the first thing Barbara noticed when she began to regain consciousness … the weight that came with every breath and every heartbeat. As her senses eased back into her, first she could only hear the constant beeping of the vital monitors and a deep voice coming from far off somewhere.
"… father has done for this city … help with her medical bills … been told she's an honors student at Gotham North?"
"Barbara? Are you awake?" she heard another voice much closer.
"My dad," she strained, "is he —"
"Stable," the warm voice said, "He's stable."
Her tired eyes opened and strained against the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital room. The voice belonged to the guy sitting next to her — gorgeous, with dark, slicked-back hair and a body that couldn't be hidden by his maroon v-neck sweater. She felt like she knew him from somewhere but…
"Who are you?"
"Barbara," he said as he leaned in and enveloped his hands with both of his own, "It's me." It was only then that she really looked at him, looked into his eyes to find that beautiful shade of ice blue.
"N—Nightwing!" she said as she sat up a little too fast, wincing from the pain in her back. He instinctively put his hand on waist and his other hand on her elbow for support … which meant their faces were unspeakably close to one another.
"Careful," he said shakily.
"It is you," she said, guiding her hand up his cheek.
"Yeah," he laughed, "It's me. God, I … I'm just so glad you're OK."
Seeing him, really seeing him, for the first time flooded her mind. She was dead and then she wasn't and he was there. She wasn't sure who leaned forward to erase the little space left between them, but suddenly she felt his lips on hers and the whole world opened up.
"Merry Christmas," she whispered onto Dick's lips a few moments later. His eyes still closed, Dick felt her fingers comb through his hair and the contact sent delightful jolts to senses. He would have been happy to keep kissing her forever.
"Merry Christmas," he whispered back.
"Um, can I ask you something," she said.
"Hm?" he asked as he nuzzled the against her neck.
"Why is M'gann green?"
He turned his head to the side and saw Artemis, M'gann, Wally, Garfield and a flustered Tim crammed at the doorway.
Artemis smirked, "M'gann, I told you they wouldn't last the night."
"OK, everyone out," Bruce said before shuffled the teens out of view. He gave Barbara a nod. "Good to see you awake, Miss Gordon."
"Thanks, Mr. Wayne," she said.
Dick's eyes widened. "You know?"
She shrugged sleepily. "Wally let your first name slip earlier and I connected the dots. So you're name's Dick, huh?" She smirked.
"Shut up, Gordon," he muttered before kissing her again. They would have continued if Bruce hadn't cleared his throat.
"Considering she was stabbed tonight, perhaps it would be good to let Miss Gordon rest. But Barbara," Bruce said, "considering your … unique skills, I'd like to talk to you later about a job opportunity." Barbara looked towards Dick (who squeezed her hand) and then back to Bruce.
"I look forward to it, sir."
This was somewhat based on/an expansion of #19 in my A Thousand Young Universes drabble list. It's also a BeautyandtheBeast!AU ... surprise! Five points to everyone who figured it out.