It's been a while.
But Dick isn't the only one that's hurting. His whole family has taken a hit in the wake of Harley's death, if not directly. Through Dick, they have suffered.
In addition to that, Harley's best friend before death, Ivy, has had to live through the pain. Luckily, she's had a little help.
Tim returned Dick to his apartment after he and Damian had gone out to lunch. Without even considering taking a break, Dick got ready for patrol that night, eating a quick dinner of restaurant leftovers. As he dropped his dishes into the drying rack after washing them, Dick grabbed the radio on his shoulder. "Hey Will. You driving, or am I? We're on patrol, and I don't really feel like going in my own car…" he poured coffee into his beat up, blue travel mug.
"Sure," Will radioed back. "Do you want me to swing by and pick you up?"
"Yeah, why not?" Dick replied, walking out of his apartment. He stepped out of the building and leaned against the front step to wait for him. Will flashed the lights at him once as he pulled into the drive. Dick smiled as he slid into the passenger seat.
"Hey. How's the family?" he said, dropping his coffee mug in the cup holder. Will was really the only one that he'd stayed in touch with over the past month, and though he hated to admit it, Dick knew that if it hadn't been for their job forcing them together, he would have distanced himself from Will.
"Good," Will said, turning to back out. "Molly keeps asking why you never stop by."
"Been busy," Dick laughed a bit, taking his hat off and running a hand through his hair. "It would be nice to see them."
"You know you're always welcome." Will glanced over at him.
"I know. I just haven't been very… Well I'm sorry for being distanced lately." He confessed.
"You have every right to be," Will amended. "This has got to be hard for you, and in case you forgot, I liked her too." Will grinned. Dick laughed softly and looked down.
"Yeah, I know. She was… I miss her." He sighed and bit his lip.
"I can only imagine," Will whispered. "And it's because of her that my family doesn't have to. I never got to thank her."
"Well you could come with me. I go and see her almost every night. When we're off-duty, I could take you there." He smiled a little. Will shook his head slightly.
"I don't want to intrude on you like that," he said. "I will go visit the grave though. Maybe I'll take Lilly with me," he mused. "She remembers her."
"I'm glad. I'd love to see you all again." Dick smiled as they pulled up to the station and got out to go clock-in.
"Hey Phillips!" Will called out to an officer Dick didn't recognize. Dick raised an eyebrow.
"Have I been gone that long?" he muttered as he punched in their time cards.
"No, you just never talk to anyone," Will laughed. Dick shrugged.
"This is true."
Will clapped him on the shoulder as he chuckled. "Come on."
They left the station again and got into the car, pulling out of the parking lot. Dick glanced at his partner. "So how are you holding up? I mean after…" he trailed off, biting his lip.
"Physically, I'm better than I thought I'd be," Will admitted. "But emotionally… I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Molly." He stared out the windshield. "I think the hardest part was me not knowing how it would affect her and Lilly."
"I know the feeling. And the nightmares?" Dick asked, taking a drink of his coffee.
"They're still there." Will glanced at him. "Does it get any easier?"
"With a lot of time. But it never really goes away," he sighed, looking out at the streets of Gotham sliding by, lost in thought. Dick seemed so detached. Despite his smiling, Will wasn't entirely sure that he was coping well with Her death. As he was about to ask about it, the police radio crackled to life.
"Collins, Grayson. There's a disturbance in the East End of Gotham. The address is 903 Tennant Street. You got that?" Gordon asked them. Dick picked up the mic.
"Yeah, roger that, Commissioner. We're close by. We'll check it out."
"Good. Take care of it for me, boys."
"Yes, Sir."
Will turned around to head back toward the address. Dick put the mic back.
"Hopefully this is interesting," Will mumbled.
"Do you think these windows let in enough light?" Jason asked, pondering the big bay windows reflecting the moon.
"I don't see why it matters," Ivy muttered.
"I think these windows are definitely better than the ones in the last place," Jason ignored her attitude. "But it's just so much farther away from everything."
"Then why are you even considering it?" Ivy asked.
"Are you even going to input your opinion?" Jason demanded, turning to face her. He switched his Red Hood helmet to under his other arm.
"I don't even know why you're apartment hunting," she complained.
"Because I'm not living with Bruce, I need a place to sleep, and your place sucks, it's a maintenance room."
"Why does my place have anything to do with this? Why did you even drag me along?" Jason turned back to face the windows.
"You know what, I bet these let in great light for growing plants," he decided.
"Okay, are you implying-"
A knock at the door cut her off midsentence. "GCPD. Anybody home?" A familiar voice called.
"Housekeeping?" Jason called back in a fake Spanish accent. There was a pause.
"Jason!?" He walked over by the door.
"No es Consuela," he said.
"Open the door, you moron."
"Misser Jason no es here," he said as he opened the door. Dick stared at him, unamused.
"We got a call about a disturbance. What the hell are you doing?" he asked, his police hat pulled low over his hair.
"Breaking into an apartment. What does it look like I'm doing?" Jason left the door open as he walked back over to the windows. Dick stepped in, and Will followed.
"That's a little low key for you. Both of you," he said, glancing at Ivy. He pursed his lips, but said nothing.
"I'm a wanted criminal. I can't just walk up to a realtor and ask to look at places." He smirked at Dick. "So I thought I'd just get a sneak peek." Ivy rolled her eyes.
"How exactly do you plan to buy it then?" Will asked, with mild interest. Dick glanced at him.
"Don't encourage him!" he protested.
"I'll figure something out." Jason shrugged it out.
"The moron didn't plan this well," Ivy told Dick.
"But you think that's adorable," Jason smirked. Dick narrowed his eyes.
"Wait, why is she house hunting with you?" he asked, glancing between them.
"Do you want to join?" Jason asked. "I didn't think you needed to be invited along or anything."
"No," Dick crossed his arms. "Are you two looking to live together?" Ivy looked like she was waiting for the answer just as much as he was.
"Well I don't even have a place for me to live in. Baby steps big bro." Jason clapped him on the shoulder. "And who are you?" He looked at Will.
"Sorry, Jason, this is my partner, Will Collins. Will this is Jason, my brother-"
"-the Red Hood. I think I'm catching on," he said slowly, shaking his head. Dick bit his lip.
"Yeah…" he glanced at Ivy. "What are you hanging around with this Walker for?" he asked, jerking a thumb at Jason.
"I have yet to figure that out," Ivy mumbled, not meeting his eyes.
"We've just been spending a lot of time together," Jason added, suddenly self conscious. "Because of-" he cut himself off. "Just because."
Narrowing his eyes, Dick put his hands in his pockets. "Because of what, Jay?"
"Because of Harley," Jason said in a rush. He glanced at Ivy. "You weren't the only one who lost her."
His hands came out of his pockets and fell to his sides. "What do you mean?" he breathed. The sound of her name had cut to his heart like a knife. Will glanced between the three of them, and grabbed his walkie talkie as he backed quietly out of the room.
"He means," Ivy hissed, "that even though I couldn't stop her from getting herself killed, it still hurts."
"You… you and her? You were her friend, weren't you?" Dick said quietly, looking down at the floor. "I'm so sorry."
"I tried to talk her out of it. We both knew the Joker would kill her if she betrayed him." Ivy closed her eyes. "I'm sorry too. I saw how much you two meant to each other. Even when she was pretending otherwise." Dick closed his eyes, not sure what else to say. He breathed deeply.
"I know. Can we…" he cleared his throat, looking for any subject change.
"Can we focus on the real matter at hand?" Jason asked, changing the subject for him. "Me getting a place."
"Yeah. Um, why, exactly? I mean, what's the real reason?" Dick asked, looking at him in confusion.
"If you don't want me around Gotham, I don't have to get one," Jason defended. "But if I'm going to be looking after your mopey ass, I need a place to crash."
"You're not- I'm not mopey," Dick frowned irritably as Will came back into the room.
"Called in the all-clear with the captain, and he kicked it up to Gordon. We're good here, as long as these two stop 'house hunting'," he said. Dick smiled and nodded.
"You cops ruin all of the fun," Jason complained.
"Sorry, Jay. But you know what happens if you get arrested." Dick opened the door for them.
"Yeah I get to break out, and that's just a hassle."
"You're not getting arrested," Ivy told him.
"Fine. I think I picked the place out anyway," Jason muttered. Dick narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. "Ready to go?" he asked Ivy. She sauntered out of the room. "Isn't she something?" he asked Dick. He clapped him on on the shoulder. "See you around." He left Dick standing there.
After a long pause, Will spoke up. "Let's head back out on patrol." Dick reluctantly followed him from the room.
"Boy Wonder." Dick reflexively turned at the name. Ivy walked up to him; Jason was waiting a little ways down the hall, and Will continued the other way a bit, stopping to wait for Dick. "I know you don't want to talk about… her," Ivy said, ignoring his expression. "I just thought you should know, she never stopped loving you. Everything she did, admitting herself into Arkham, pretending to go back to the Joker, trying to convince you she didn't love you so that you wouldn't be hurt by- by her- leaving," she cleared her throat, "was for you. She didn't think she was good enough, she thought she had to right her past wrongs. Even though I've never been particularly… fond of your side of the law, you were the best thing that happened to her. Even when I found her, broken and heartbroken, thinking you despised her, she became better because of you. I may not have agreed with her decision to give up living above the law," a wicked smile graced her lips, "but I did agree with her deciding to move on from her poisonous life. She made her decision long before I decided to help her, and I couldn't talk her out of it. There was nothing I- or even you could have done to stop her. She wanted to finally do the right thing. Just remember that," Ivy told him gently. She walked back to where Jason was waiting, leaving Dick standing alone. He blinked, a bit stunned.