She barely made it through her front door when her father opened his bedroom door and gave her a long look before he recognized the shape of a cast. "Barb, what happened?"
The young woman felt like a dear in the head lights as she fumbled with an answer. Realistic excuse. Account for every action and keep as close to the truth as possible. Where had she gone that day? The gym, dress shopping, a quick patrol where she had managed to break her arm... the doctor had managed to fix up the fracture, however she hadn't gone to the hospital. Sinking her teeth into her lip, the young woman shrugged. "I had a little spill at them gym."
There, that should cover her bacon. She was almost smiling when her dad popped her bubble.
"Where was your spotter?" Her dad asked. "Or that coach of yours?"
Eh, except that. Barbara watched one eye brow raise and suddenly felt she should have gone to Dick's for them night. Of course, he could be just as bad as her dad. It was one of them reasons she loved them both so much. Barbara pushed her lips into a smile anyway. "I was in a rush... and well, I did have that date with Dick planned, but the clinic visit ran over time, and now I really think I should call that boyfriend of mine."
"The butler already called when your boyfriend had to cancel. He got caught up in a scrape of his own." James was saying as Barbara slung her book bag on to the kitchen table with a silent set of thoughts. This was the third time in the last month and if she hadn't been so tired she would have called him herself simply to figure out if they were really going to work out. Then there was her own constant near misses with dates. Her internal distraction didn't go unnoticed by her father when he suddenly stopped talking. "Get some rest, Barb. It's late and they're probably already asleep."
Nodding, Barbara Gordon stepped around her father and headed towards her bedroom. "Goodnight, dad." She answered, barely paying attention beyond just getting to bed and sleeping until nine the next morning. The click of her doors catch behind her was the end of further thought and ruminations as she dropped with a sigh on to her own bed.
(Break)
Robin also know as Richard Grayson humored his legal guardian's thoughts as they drove back to the Cave. The pair had searched for them injured Batgirl for two or three extra hours only to lose her trail at the bus station. That in itself was unusual however the real crunch in the night had been his missed date with Barb. Thinking about her brought his thoughts back to Batgirl. Drawing his eyebrows together, Robin flicked a finger against the edge of his mask.
"What is it?" Batman asked ignoring the twitching of his ward and partner.
"Barbara." He answered. "I hadn't thought about it before but she reminds me of Batgirl. Weird, huh"
Bruce twitched under his own mask. He too had considered the chances but where would her motive come from? "What are the reasons you think that?"
Translation, Robin thought, I have no idea what you're thinking boy wonder. "They have a lot of the same personality traits. Both Batgirl and Barbara trained as athletes, share the same body shape, and hair color."
"A city the size of Gotham can have all of those traits in the dozens." Batman countered. "What else do you got?"
Robin thumped a hand into his palm. Perhaps there was a method of pursuit he could use out of the mask. "I can check out all the gyms and self-defense lessons for girls that match."
"How do you plan to go about that?" Batman felt a moment's alarm when Robin grinned.
"Dick Grayson can always volunteer for self-defense lessons for the women of Gotham." he offered, taking in the alarmed set of Batman's shoulders. "It's just a thought."
"Batgirl is already well-trained in that department. At least at some point she took lessons in hand to hand combat. Gordon and his men offer bi-weekly classes all year round. We are looking for a woman who has pursued an athletic career at least semi-seriously." Bruce stated, tacking on the extra thoughts he knew needed. "What else do you have?"
Robin lifted his chin by the time Batman had finished his question. "I want to test out her skill set before I give my report." Because his test of the female bat was a test for himself now that he knew what Batman was doing. It could be considered another training exercise but even that thought felt wrong . "Batman, why'd you want me train with Batgirl? I know it has nothing to do with her life and you know her skills only need practice to equal our own."
"Batgirl is a wildcard. One that could become a valuable asset to our mission." Batman drawled. "You have a certain skill with young women that we can use. I am not suggesting you seduce her Robin. Just try being friends."
He paused for a moment to let the last of his orders sink in. "Follow up on all of your leads, Robin."
The rest of the drive home was completely quiet. A sense of peace settled between them that Robin had not felt since he first came to live at Wayne Manor. A wry smile touched upon his lips as the Boy Wonder former or otherwise settled into his own silence.
