"Nurse Roth." Jamie called out while Raven looked over shoulder sighed. She really didn't want to run into him. After what happened last night, she really felt that she shouldn't be dating anyone. Hell, she felt like she shouldn't even talking to him. She felt guilty that she couldn't give him what he wanted. "Leaving early." he asked with a smile. Raven slowly nodded her head. She was avoiding him all day.
"I have half a day. I need to pick up Nicholas and I'm going home to rest." Raven said. She cleaned up the papers on the desk.
"Oh." Jamie started while looking at her. Raven didn't pay him any mind. " I could drive you if you want." he offered. Raven only shook her head. Jamie frowned deeply.
"I'll be fine." Raven said while she put her backpack on her back. She fixed up her hair and sighed. "Thanks for the offer." she said while she walked away. She could sense him following her and she sighed. She stopped and glared at him."I said that I'll be fine." Jamie blinked at her before there was small scowl on his face. He looked like he was going to say something until one of the nurses called him over. Raven sighed and turned to walk away.
Jamie looked at Raven for a long time before Chole came to his view. " I was trying to get your attention." the nurse said with a big smile. Jamie looked at Chole before smiling at her.
" Sorry about that." Jamie said with a big smile. "What can I help you with?" he asked her. Chole smiled and took his hand. She led him away from the nurse's desk and down the hall. Jamie's eyes darken.
"Mommy." Nicholas called out while he ran to his mother. He hugged her waist and Raven hugged him back. Raven smiled and touched the boy's head.
"Did you have a good day?" she asked him. Nicholas nodded his head.
"Uh huh. Honey came back from her mommy's house today." Nicholas said with a big smile on his face.
"That's good. You really missed her." Raven said while she held out her hand. Nicholas looked at it before taking his mother's hand. They begin to walk to the bus stop.
"Don't tell her that. I'll never hear the end of it." Nicholas said with a sigh.
Raven rolled her eyes and smiled. Nicholas told her all about his day and how Honey's mother always threw a rock at her father too. Then he talked about what he learned and he mentioned about a boy that got in trouble with the teacher.
Raven was a bit worried Nicholas mentioned that Honey's mother threw rocks at her ex-husband. It didn't make any sometimes that little girl's family don't make any sense. They made it to the bus stop and waited for a while until the bus came along. They both got on and paid their fee.
"Mommy, I want to learn French." Nicholas said as they got on the bus. Raven raised an eyebrow Nicholas and looked down at him.
"Another language?" Raven asked him. He nodded his head. This will be the second language he's learning 's doing well with learning Romanian and practice with her and Kori all the time. "Are you sure? It could be too much."
"Yeah. Honey speaks French." Nicholas said with a big smile. "I got curious so I want to learn too."
"You'll probably have to learn it from the internet. I'll help you in any way. Maybe Starfire knows French too. Maybe...your grandfather." Raven found a seat at the back seat and took it. Nicholas sat next to her.
"But I don't get to see him much. Only on birthdays and Christmas." Nicholas said. He shrugged his shoulders. "And he's always busy."
Raven thought about it. 'He makes a good point. No help from him.' She sighed and looked at Nicholas. " We'll just stick to the internet and Aunt Kori. Maybe get some books from the library." Nicholas wrinkled his nose. " Nicholas."
"Okay. Sorry." Nicholas said with a nod. He smiled brightly. She smiled at him in return. She fixed up Nicholas hair and smiled at him."Mommy?"
"Nicholas." Raven asked.
" Don't ever throw rocks. Throw pillows." Nicholas said. Raven smiled and covered her mouth. He was adorable."What?"
"Nothing baby." Raven said sweetly. She rustled the boy's hair and she hummed a happy tune.
The rest of the ride was mostly Nicholas playing with his toys. Raven watched him with a smile, once in a while she would look out the window. Once they made it to the rec center they got off the bus. Nicholas hugged his mother goodbye and he ran to the entrance. Raven sighed heavily and started to walk down the street.
As Nicholas got t entrance he suddenly remembered something. 'Oh yeah, Mommy's keys.' he turned around only to find that she was gone. He sighed. ' Oh well, she could just go through the door.' he said while going inside.
"Are you kidding me?" she muttered. Raven cursed again and try looking through her pockets. 'I thought that I had them.' she thought to herself. She took a deep breath and looked at the door. She probably was so much an in a hurry that she didn't notice that she has forgotten her keys. Now that she thinks about it, Nicholas was trying to get her attention.
They had woken up later than usual and they were running late. Nicholas was trying to get her attention and she wasn't listening. She hits her head to the door. ' Damn it. I should've listened to him.' she said with a damn frown.
After a few minutes of berating herself for losing her keys and not being calm that morning. She sighed and moved her head from the door. She glared at the door and sighed. She could just phase through the door. There is no one around.
Raven placed her hand on the door and took a deep breath. She could feel powers coming to the surface until someone cleared their throat. Raven stiffen and moved her hand away from the door. "Is everything alright?" a familiar voice called out to her.
Raven turned around when she saw Detective Richard Grayson staring at her. He blinked and smiled at her. A ton of question was running through her mind while she stared at him in shock. However, she only asked one of the questions. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me that you're stalking me?" she asked in shock.
Richard laughed and smiled at her. That smile somehow made her heart skipped a bit. She cursed herself, her emotions were a mess and this man wasn't making it any better.
"No, I live across the hall from you." he said. He pointed at the door that was across from hers. Raven eyes widen and looked at the door and the detective.
"You got to be kidding me?" Raven thought with a frown.
" Did you lock yourself out?" he asked her.
Raven sighed and glared at the door. "Yeah. I was in a hurry."
"Maybe there is someone you could call." the detective pointed out.
"The only two people that have a key is my friend Kori and my son. He has gymnastic practice and I don't want to interrupt him. Kori lives very far away." Raven said while rubbing her arm. She tried to keep her eyes away from him while she spoke.
"You have a son?" Richard asked. He almost sounded surprised when she said that. Raven looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. He looked at her for a few minutes and gulped.
"Yes. His name is Nicholas." she said to him. The silence between them grew unbearable and Raven gulped.
"I thought you weren't married." the detective said.
"I'm not...I'm a single mother." Raven said. Richard blinked and closed his mouth. "I'll just go get the super." She moved to go downstairs.
"No wait." the detective called to her. That's when he grabbed her hand. She gasped when Richard touched her hand. A familiar spark ran up her arm, she could feel Richard's grip tighten. She looked up at Richard in shock. She gulped when she saw his blue eyes looking at her in shock as well.
"He's..he's not in." Richard said to her. Raven frowned and cursed inwardly.
'Of course, he's not in.' she thought with a frown. 'When was he ever here.'
Richard looked at her then at his door. " You could wait it out in my apartment. Unless you whether be somewhere else." Raven raised an eyebrow at him.
" How would you know I could be trusted ?" Raven asked him. Richard smiled at woman before him.
"I just do." Richard said with a smile. Raven sighed. She looked down at their hands then back at him. Richard looked at her as well.
"I'm gonna need my hand back." Raven said flatly. She half expected Richard dropping her hand and saying sorry. Instead, he just smiled at her.
"I like holding your hand." Richard said to her. He frowned and looked at their hands."I'll let go if you're feeling uncomfortable."
Raven shook her head. "It's..fine." she muttered. She chanted her mantra in her head over and over again.
"Are you sure?" Richard asked her.
"I said it was fine, Grayson." Raven said while she narrowed her eyes at him. Richard nodded his head and guided her to his door. Richard smiled at her.
She looked so much Raven, it made his heart ached. The way she spoke and looked at him. She made him want to kiss her right there and now. Dick groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe Tim was right, maybe he should just stop being a coward and find her. She was somewhere in Bludhaven, he saw her. All he had to do is reach out for her with their bond. He should at less try before he ended up hurting himself or someone else.
Dick looked at the sink and try to clear his head.
"Do you need any help?" Rachel called out. Dick flinched and looked over his shoulder. She peeked inside the kitchen with expressionless blue eyes. Strands of her black hair falling over her face. Her hands were behind her back. It almost reminded him how Raven will do the same thing.
"No. I'm fine." Dick said. Rachel looked at him for a long time. She doesn't look convinced.
"Are you sure? You look tense." Rachel said.
'Damn it. I thought I was hiding it well.' he thought with a deep frown. Rachel tilted her head to the side. She had a rouge little smile on her face.
"Your shoulders looked stiff as a board. That's all." Rachel said. She pointed at his shoulders.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about the case I was working on." Dick said. He goes back to put some water in the tea kettle.
"I really hope it's don't involve Cliff Davis cause he's still in recovery and any kind of stress." Rachel started out.
"Will be bad for his health. I know, I know. You practically have those words ingrained in my head." Dick said with an exhausted sigh. "No wonder they call you Nurse Guard Dog." he said. Rachel walked into the kitchen and leaned her back against the wall.
" Huh. That's a new one." Rachel said. "I'm usually called Ice Queen, Nurse Icicle and Snow Queen. I never got called Nurse Guard Dog before."
"It's mostly a joke among the Bludhaven police force." Dick said with a nervous laugh. Rachel rolled her eyes. Dick put the kettle on the oven.
"I've been called worse things." Rachel said with a shrug. She rubbed her arms a bit and she bit her lips. "So those words don't bother me."
"What were you called before?" Dick asked her.
Rachel gave him a sad smile. " Creepy was one of them." she tilted her head to the side. "Do you have any name people call you?"
"A ton of boy, rich kid and so many others." Dick said.
"Rich kid?" Rachel asked him. Dick laughed a bit.
"My adoptive father is a really rich man." Dick explained while he crossed his arms. " You know, Bruce Wayne?" Rachel's eyes widen and nodded her head.
"No wonder your name is so familiar to me. You're one of Bruce Wayne's sons." Rachel said while she thinks about it. "I never really thought that you'll become a police officer and in Bludhaven of all places."
"I wanted to strike on my own and I wanted to do good." Dick said with a smile. "Also I don't want to be too far from my family."
Rachel smiled a bit. She looked almost sad. "You're lucky. I wish I was close by to my family. I would love for the rest of them to meet Nicholas"
" What's stopping you?"Dick asked. Rachel sighed and looked at her feet.
"I was afraid to tell them about it. Kori only found out cause she caught me one day. I couldn't lie to her." Rachel said while rubbing her arms.."I had helped. The previous tenant helped me out when I needed to work. Also, Nicholas's grandfather helped me too. He will often come to see him on holidays cause he's always busy."
" You get along with your father?" Dick asked. Raven shook her head. Rachel frowned and shook her head.
"He's not my father, he's my boyfriend's father. The man found out that I was pregnant and wanted to help me. Almost made me live with him but I didn't want to be a burden to him." Raven said. Dick smiled a bit. "It's not funny."
"Why did he wanted to live with him?" Dick asked.
"He said it will be safer for both of us. " Rachel said. " However I think Nicholas somehow won him over. I never saw a man that so guarded let his shield down for a little boy. It's really sweet."
'Guarded? That almost sound like Bruce.' Dick thought with a frown. He looked at Rachel closely. ' This is too much of a coincidence.'
"So, who was here before me?" Dick asked. Rachel blinked and raised an eyebrow. " I mean the previous tenant."
"Oh, a nice old lady that thinks I needed to get married." Rachel said with a frown. Dick raised an eyebrow at her. "She was a really old fashion and insisted that I dated her grandson."
"What was wrong with her grandson?" Richard asked.
" Well, he was a drug dealer among other things." Rachel said with a long sigh. Dick smiled at her. "It's not funny."
" How do you know that he was a drug dealer?" Dick asked.
"It the small things she said that set me off. My boyfriend was something like a detective and I picked up some off him." Rachel said with a shrug.
"I take it that you get this a lot." Dick asked her. Rachel nodded her head.
"Mostly from older people that I take care of in the hospital. Saying a child needs a father or something like that." Rachel said with a sigh. "Besides, I don't have much time to date anyone. Nicholas is a handful and he doesn't take to strangers well. Especially when he senses that they have ill intentions."
"What about his father?" Dick asked. Rachel's eyes lowered and she rubbed her arms.
"He went missing before he found out I was pregnant" Rachel said sadly. Richard frowned. "Everyone thinks he's dead but I don't think so. The only time I went out on a date was yesterday and I felt terrible afterward."
"I'm sorry."Richard said to her. Rachel gulped. She looked really sad."What does Nicholas know about him?"
"All Nicholas knows is that his dad is a hero." Rachel said proudly. " I tell him stories about his father every night. Even the ones where his father made mistakes." Dick smiled.
"Was he a police officer or something?" he asked. He watched Rachel smiled and shook her head slowly.
"No, but he does help the police from time to time." Rachel said. Dick blinked at the vagueness but it clicked. Before he even asked her another question. The tea kettle whistled and Richard paid attention to the whistling kettle.
He turned off the oven and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. He tried not to think about what Rachel said. 'Why is this bothering me so much?' he asked himself. It was like part knows Rachel and she was eerily familiar to him. However, the things she said was forming in his head.
He wanted to believe that she was Raven but his instincts could be wrong.
Then again when were his instincts ever wrong. He just needed to ask her something that Raven will only know.
He turned around to see Rachel had left the kitchen. He took the mug to see that Rachel was looking out the window. She looked like she was deep thought.
" Your tea, Rach." Dick said. Rachel quickly looked over to him. Her eyes widen in shock. He raised an eyebrow at Rachel. "Are you alright?"
" I'm fine." Rachel said. She rubbed the corner of her eyes. "You just remind me of someone." she whispered.
" Nicholas's father?" he asked her. Rachel nodded her head. She looked at the window. "Did you loved him?"
"Yes. I still do" Rachel said while looking at the cup. She took a sip and smiled. "This is very good."
"Glad you liked it." Dick said. He looked at Rachel while took a sip of her tea. Rachel smiled warmly and he couldn't help but smile as well. " I used to make tea for my girlfriend and stuck to me."
"You have a girlfriend?" Rachel asked. Her head tilting to the side. Dick shook his head and frowned.
"Had. We haven't seen each other in the last five years."Richard said sadly. He noticed that Rachel flinched. "What's wrong?"
"Just thinking, that was how long Nicholas's father disappeared." Rachel whispered. Dick's eyes widen and inwardly smile.
He felt like he just has to ask her. He was about to do that too. Just before he got the courage to speak up, Rachel's cellphone begins to ring. Rachel sighed placed the mug on the coffee table. She pulled out her phone and frowned. She looked over to Richard. "Sorry. I have to take this." she said to him.
"You could use my room. It's to your left." Richard said. Rachel thanked him and goes to answer the call. Richard sighed and rubbed his head.
His mind was racing. He tried not to get his hopes but he couldn't help it. This woman could be Raven. The girl that was on his mind for the last five years and the one he missed so much. He gulped and ran his fingers through his hair. He sighed and took a deep breath. He decided to used their bond instead. It took a few minutes but he reached out for her.
That's when he felt her panic and her anxiety.
"I'm sorry. I have to go." Rachel said in a panic. Dick snapped out of his thoughts and looked over to Rachel. The poor woman was shaking and was getting ready to leave.
"What's wrong?" Dick asked.
"Nicholas got into a fight and I need to pick him up." Rachel said. She took a deep breath and started to breathe slowly.
"I can give you a ride." Dick said to her.
"You don't have too." Rachel said.
"You're stressed out. You'll need to relax." Dick said quietly. He placed his hand on her shoulder and watched her relaxed a bit. He smiled her and Rachel looked up at him. "Let me help. It will quickly and you won't have to worry about the bus taking so long."
Rachel gulped and slowly nodded her head. "Alright, Grayson. I swear you better be a decent driver." she said sharply. Dick smiled at her before moving his hand from her shoulder. He felt her relax and it made him happy.
"Got it Rach." he said while grabbed his car keys from the hook. He took her hand and they left. Rachel didn't say anything while he led her out the apartment.
I'm going need a beta for this story. I missed a lot of words and sometimes it's a bit ...annoying. Grammarly is a pain to use.
Yeah, Dick knows that Rachel is Raven. No, it hasn't sunk in that he's a father yet.
