Chapter Seven

Julia's Point of View

I was frosting Ryan's birthday cake when Tim buzzed our apartment. I shouted at Ryan to let him in. It had been a good day so far, Ryan jumped on my bed at five this morning so we could start his birthday. He seemed mildly disappointed Tim wasn't in bed with me for some reason. I don't know why he got that idea.

I made us a birthday breakfast consisting of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, Ryan's favorite. We watched a couple hours of cartoons before heading to the bowling alley. After a few games and an unhealthy fast food lunch, we got back with just enough time for me to finish Ryan's cake and to cook dinner. Ryan seemed a little upset when I told him Tim would be coming for cake, but I was sure he would be fine.

I was done with frosting the cake when I heard the front door open and the muffled voices of Ryan and Tim. After the sound of the door closing and locking reached my ears, Tim entered the kitchen. He was dressed messier than usual with an untucked white button-down shirt and worn blue jeans. His black hair was disheveled with dark circles around his eyes. He looks like he going to collapse.

"Hi, Beautiful," Tim greeted, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me into a kiss.

Smirking through the kiss, I teased, "Hi, yourself."

He pulled back licking his lips, "Yum, chocolate." I blushed a little bit as he tasted the frosting I sneaked from the can.

"Shhh," I hushed him, giving him a wink. I studied his face, "Are you okay? You look exhausted."

"I'm fine," he tried to reassure, rubbing his eyes. I hummed in response, gently laying a hand on his forehead. He leaned into my touch. Feeling no fever, I decided to drop the subject.

"Ryan didn't give you a hard time when he let you in, did he?" I asked as I turned to place the finished cake on the table. It looks almost like a store-bought cake if I do say so myself.

Tim chuckled, "He wasn't too excited, but he changed his mind when he saw I had a present for him."

"Oh, Tim, you didn't have to give him anything," I stated hurriedly, worrying we might have imposed on him.

"Well," he smirked, "I believe its common birthday courtesy to give a present to the birthday boy. Besides I wanted to."

Relieved by his response, I started placing candles into the cake. "Where is Ryan anyway?"

Tim leaned against the counter watching me, "He's in the living room, guarding his presents."

"As long as he's not opening them," I hummed as I placed the ninth candle into the cake. Finishing the cake, I moved to start on dinner. "You're staying for dinner, right?"

Tim's eyes rested lazily on my butt for a moment before he shook his head in awareness of what he was looking at, "Of course, I'll stay if you'll have me."

I glanced over my shoulder at him with a steamy look. "You're always welcome here, Tim." I giggled when he shift uncomfortably.

"What's for dinner anyway," Tim inquired tiredly. He really should get more sleep.

"Chicken tostadas," I answered simply as I pulled the chicken out of the refrigerator while keeping an eye on Tim who was leaning heavily against the counter.

He rubbed his eyes again, trying to wake himself up. "Sounds good," he mumbled sleepily. Oh, I had enough of this. I sighed as I left the dinner prep to take Tim's arm.

"Come on," I instructed, pulling a sluggish Tim out of the kitchen and into the living room. Ryan poked his head out of the mini fort he had apparently been making out of the couch cushions as we passed. When I opened the door to my bedroom dragging Tim behind me, Ryan let out a protest and followed us. Once inside my bedroom, I pushed Tim to sit on the bed.

As I bent down to take his shoes off, Tim stuttered, "W-what are you doing?" Tim's look of pure horror and slight arousal brought a smile to my face.

"Yeah, what are you doing," Ryan asked starkly with an underlying tone of disapproval. I gently tossed Tim's shoes to the side before straightening to flick Ryan's nose. He swatted my hand away, annoyed.

Shaking my head, I scolded both of them, "Get your minds out of the gutter. Tim is taking a nap before he falls over and cracks his head open." Tim's eyes widen as I pulled him to stand allowing me to turn the covers down.

Tim's mouth open and closed several times before protesting, "I'm fine, Julia."

"No, you're not," I corrected sternly, pushing Tim to lie down on the bed before tucking him in. Ryan giggled behind me; probably finding it funny how the voice I usually use to yell at him was being used on Tim.

Tim's eyes were falling closed as he lethargically objected, "But I'm fine." I sat on the edge of the bed, and shoed Ryan out of the room.

"Go to sleep, Tim," I soothed running a hand through his hair. I waited a few moments before Tim's breathing became even as he finally fell into a much needed sleep. "I'm fine, he says," I chuckled. "You're so silly, Tim." A line from Macbeth crossed my mind. "The innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, the death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, chief nourisher in life's feast." (Quote from Shakespeare's play Macbeth). I gently kissed his forehead causing him to grunt in his sleep. Seeing he was completely out, I tiptoed out of the room and softly closed the door. My handsome Tim really is adorable sometimes.


About two hours later, I quietly opened my bedroom door. Dinner was ready and Ryan was setting the table, all I had to do was wake Tim. Upon seeing his sleeping position, I had to smile. Tim had stretched out on the bed and kicked off most of the covers. He was snoring softly with his mouth hanging open. He looks so cute. I creeped into the room and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, Tim's snores stopped once my weight was fully on the bed. Gently, I smoothed Tim's hair, which had become a bigger mess than it was before.

"Tim, wake up please," I requested, running my fingers through his hair. My handsome Tim has amazingly soft hair. Tim grunted, closing his mouth while leaning into my hand. He is such a cat. "Tim, rise and shine. It's dinner time."

"Nooooo...," Tim moaned.

I suppressed a giggle before replying, "Yessssss…" A tiny smirk found its way onto Tim's face.

He opened one eye to look at me, making his smirk develop into a grin. "I need a kiss first," he said before closing his eye again.

"Oh really? So, you're Sleeping Beauty," I teased.

"Yep, reversed-gender roles for a modern twist of the fairy tale," Tim explained playfully. He nodded his head with his eyes closed in a child-like manner.

Laughing, I leaned down to press my lips against his only for Tim to wrap his arms around me to trap me against his chest. Our lips met with as much electricity it would take to light the whole city. My lips tingled from the pressure as my stomach fluttered. Tim's eyes opened shining with love as he sat up taking me with him.

We broke apart leaving me slightly lightheaded and giggly. "As much as I would enjoy staying here longer, dinner is getting cold and Ryan is impatient," I commented with regret.

"Yeah," Tim murmured shifting uncomfortably. "We can't keep the birthday boy waiting." I stood allowing Tim to get up. He reached for his shoes and began to pull them on.

"How are you feeling," I asked gently placing a hand on his arm as he straightened finishing with his shoes.

Smiling, he took my hand from his arm and raised it to his lips. "I'm feeling a lot better. Thanks for forcing me to take a nap," he relented placing a kiss on my hand.

"Well, it was either that or wait for you to collapse. You should get more sleep," I replied as I tried to tame his bed hair with my free hand.

"I'll try," Tim joked with a laugh. I rolled my eyes at him as he pulled us out of my bedroom through the living room and into the kitchen.


"…Happy Birthday to you," Tim and I sang as Ryan blew out his candles. He got them all out in one try, giving me a cheeky grin. Wrapping an arm around his body in response, I gave him a kiss on his blonde head. He shook me off before escaping to grab his presents.

"Present time," Ryan shouted placing them on the table and "almost" on top of the cake if I hadn't moved it out of the way in time.

Laughing, I kidded, "What?! You're not going to have this delicious cake I made first?" Tim chuckled at my mock expression of shock. However, Ryan thought this was a serious manner.

"You're cake is great, but presents are more important," Ryan said blankly.

Glancing over at Tim who seemed to be fascinated by our interaction, I relented, "I suppose we could open presents now, especially since a certain person who should not be named didn't open presents before they was supposed to."

"I was only eight at the time. Jeez, can't you forget anything," Ryan whined. Tim and I shared an amused look as Ryan groaned with impatience. "Come on," Ryan cried preparing to unwrap the present I gave him. "Can I open it now?"

"Go ahead," I allowed friskily, giving Ryan another kiss on the head before walking over to stand by Tim. Tim smiled at my approach, and held my hand as we watch Ryan tear into his presents. I hope he likes it since it isn't much. I saved up for months by cutting the grocery budget, holding off on any expenses for myself, and simplifying the phone bill. Obviously, I didn't save enough to go to New York like Ryan wanted, but I hope he would enjoy what I was able to give him. After all, he seemed to enjoy the day so far. Tim squeezed my hand in reassurance. Sometimes, I don't understand how he knows what I am thinking. As I was finishing my thoughts, Ryan had discovered what lied beneath the wrapping paper.

"Wow," Ryan shouted excitedly, bouncing around in his chair. "It's the Lego Movie on DVD." He held it up in the air as if it were a trophy spurring laughter from Tim and I. Ryan did a little dance around his chair before running up to give me a hug, "Thank you! Can we watch this tonight," he asked excitedly, gazing at me with puppy-dog eyes.

"Of course, we can watch it while we eat your cake," I answered since how could I say no when he's that excited. Ryan began to make a run to the living room. I stopped him by grabbing his collar. "You have to open your other present first though," I reminded kindly.

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Ryan commented before calmly heading back to his chair to open Tim's present. I rolled my eyes. Ryan began to tear into the present. Tim shifted nervously in his seat, prompting me to squeeze his hand similar to what he did to me. He smiled at me as Ryan finished ripping wrapping paper revealing what was inside. Ryan sat in silence with huge eyes and mouth hanging open, starring at the present.

Weirded out by Ryan's reaction, I asked, "What is it?" Tim looked scared by Ryan's silence.

"I didn't break him, did I," Tim questioned me cautiously. I smiled at him to reassure him as I leaned over to see what the present contained. Ryan should recover soon. Ryan shook his head multiple times.

Ryan spoke in a whisper, "It's the Lego Prison Island set." He cleared his throat and looked at me. "You know, the one Greg has." Ryan's face broke out into a toothy grin before running over to Tim giving him a big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," Ryan shrieked. He let go of Tim and started to scrabble for the set before Tim stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.

Tim leaned in to Ryan's ear, and stage-whispered, "You forgot to look at the card." Ryan's eyes widen. He shuffled back to his seat looking for the missing card. I gave Tim a questioning look which he replied with a tentative smile. What is he up to?

"Found it," Ryan cried, holding it up in the air. Struggling to open it, I grabbed the magnetic letter opener from the fridge and handed it him. Taking out the card, he laughed, "It's a Lego Movie card." As Ryan opened the card, several pieces of paper fell out on the table with one landing at my feet.

Picking it up, I gasped, "Is this what I think it is?" Tim fidgeted uneasily, nodding to confirm my suspicions. Ryan looked at me, waiting for me to explain what the papers meant. I was speechless.

"What is it," Ryan asked, hesitantly creeping towards me to catch a glimpse of the paper I held.

Tim, who saw I was in no condition to speak, took the initiative. "It's guardianship papers. I already filled them out, and did most of the processing. You only have to sign them and meet with the judge to make it official." Tim reached across the table to grab the other papers from the card. "I also was able to change the lease to your name, so you live here legally now."

"So we don't have to keep it a secret anymore," Ryan questioned, looking at me for an answer. The information from the past moments was sinking in as I nodded a conformation. Ryan whooped, and jumped in a circle before giving Tim another hug. Tim smiled sheepishly, returning the hug. A moment later, Ryan was out of the room shouting behind him, "I'm going to put the movie in."

Tim turned towards me cautiously, placing his hands on my shoulders to pull me to face him. "Are you okay? I didn't overstep any boundaries, did I," he asked gently. I could see the fear of rejection in his face. He is so sweet. My wonderful Handsome Tim.

Brushing his hands off my shoulders, I wrapped both of my arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Tim stiffened in surprise at first before relaxing. His arms wrapped around my waist tugging me closer. My skin tingled from the pressure of his arms.

"I don't know how you did all this, but I am forever grateful," I mumbled into his shoulder after we broke the kiss. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Tim chuckled in relief. I pulled back to look him in his startling blue eyes. They were so full of love and joy; I started to laugh myself wrapping him into a breath-stealing hug. He gasped as I took all the air from his lungs, but returned the hug just as tightly.

"The movie's ready, where are you guys?" Ryan hollered from the living room ruining our moment.

Rolling my eyes, we broke apart letting me grab plates and silverware for the cake. Tim stood back unsure of what to do. "You can take the cake in, and these," I ordered handing him the stack of plates and silverware while gesturing towards the cake. "I'll get the drinks."

Tim smiled teasingly, "As you wish."

Giving a narrowed look with a smirk, I waved him into the living room. "Get in there, Westley."

"Anything you say, Princess Buttercup," Tim winked before disappearing into the living room. You are a keeper, Handsome Tim, you are a keeper.

Tim's Point of View

"See anything yet," I asked over the com while continuing to watch the street from a rooftop. It was about two weeks after Ryan's birthday. I was currently on stake-out with Red Hood attempting to find one of the leaders of the gang we have been tracking for weeks now. Actually, I suppose I could call them by the name the news gave them last week, the Blue Foxes. Such a dumb name, but given the news named Kirk Langstrom Man-Bat, I can't say I'm surprised.

"Nothing yet, Replacement," Jason blared into the com, interrupting my thoughts. He was about a block away from me on a different roof. I heard Jason sigh through the com before asking nonchalantly, "So, I heard you were looking for guardianship papers. Anything you want to tell me?"

I choked on air for a moment in shock, replying, "Where did you hear about that?"

I could hear Jason smirking through the com, "Alfred, he overheard you causally talking to Bruce about it. He knows I talk to you, so he asked me to find out what you are up to."

"How do you know I wasn't just curious about the process," I questioned innocently, hoping he'd drop the subject. If Alfred suspects something, does Bruce suspect too?

Jason laughed sharply, "You wouldn't have been so surprised about it if you were just "curious", so what did you need them for?"

Sighing, I gave up, "They were for a friend."

"Really," Jason remarked. "Did this friend happen to be Blondie?"

"It was for her brother," I explained, feeling the need to justify myself. "Their mother left them a year ago, so I helped her get official custody."

"Uh-huh," Jason grunted. "You care about her a lot, don't you?"

A smile broke itself way onto my face, "Of course, I love her."

"Now you sound like Dickhead," Jason scoffed lightheartedly. We fell into a comfortable silence.

My thoughts floated back to Julia and the last two weeks. It's been like a dream. I have never felt so at peace. I ate dinner with them almost every day now while helping Julia pay for groceries. She protested at first, but eventually gave in. Julia also "forced" me to take more naps in her bedroom. I found I didn't mind being compelled to take naps like a child since it was some of the best sleep I had gotten in years. Whether that was because it was Julia's bed and it smelled like her or because I could truly relax at her place, I don't know. Sometimes, Julia would doze next to me, cuddling. We didn't do anything more than that, but I sometimes wished we did. I shook my head, got to keep those kinds of thoughts out of my head.

Ryan was nicer towards me too. Honestly, I think he was grateful for the birthday surprise. He was a cute kid and important to Julia. I was glad we made peace, so at least I don't have to worry about falling water balloons as I leave the building. Yes, Ryan did try to drop water balloons on me, luckily he had poor aim and I have well-toned reflects.

My train of thought was interrupted by Jason's announcement. "The target has appeared just like the informant said he would. He's passing my position, and coming up towards yours." I turned on my heat sensors in my lenses to confirm Jason's observations.

"I see him," I breathed through the com as his body shape flared on my lenses. "Want to box him in?"

Jason chuckled, "Sure. You get the front, I'll take the back." I switched off my heat sensors before jumping off roof to drop right in front of our target. He was a man about five feet tall, wearing a dark blue leather jacket which seemed to be the new uniform for the Blue Foxes. Upon my sudden appearance in front of him, the man flinched. He swore profusely, quickly turning to run away from me, only to run into the chest of Red Hood who had silently landed behind him. The men bounced off to fall hard onto the ground.

"Hello Bobby," Jason sneered. Jason picked up the man, Bobby, by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "We have some questions for you." Bobby shook his head, mumbling a defiant no. Jason slammed him into the wall again before taking out one of his hand guns to point at Bobby's groin. "You better talk, or you might lose something more than your dignity." I wasn't too concerned Jason would shoot him, but I placed a hand on Jason's shoulder as a reminder. By the slight nodding of his head, I knew he got the message.

"I don't know nothing," Bobby protested, squirming in Jason's grasp. Jason pressed the gun deeper into Bobby's groin causing him to squeak, "I'll talk." I was glad Jason was here to do the interrogation. While I could do it, I wasn't the best at it.

Bobby's secrets began to spill out. It turns out he was not one of the main leaders of the Blue Foxes like we thought, but simply a puppet that passed orders down from the leaders. He didn't know their names, except for one who was called Joey. However, Bobby knew where most of the drugs were being stored and when they were shipped. I recorded everything Bobby said, even when he got to how he wet the bed. As Bobby droned on and on, I began to tone out a little only to have one of his sentences bring my attention back.

"They order three guys to try to kidnap this blonde chick…"Bobby stuttered, still panicked that Jason was going to shoot his manhood off. By this time, Jason had put his gun away, choosing to just keep a hand on Bobby's collar. Upon hearing Bobby's last statement, I stepped up taking Bobby's collar from Jason to slam him back into the wall with fear eating at my heart.

"What blonde chick," I questioned menacing. Please don't be Julia, please don't be Julia. Jason stood to the side, shocked by my sudden angry.

"T..Th..The one who works at the coffee shop," Bobby stammered. His face went completely white. Fear clenched at my heart. How could I have been so stupid? Of course, this would all be connected to Julia. I punched Bobby in the face before he sputtered, "They didn't get her though, cause this man was with her all the time." I felt a tiny bit of relief, knowing this man was me since I always drove her to and from work. However that was crushed by Bobby next sentence. "Since they couldn't get her, they decided to try something else."

Rage overtook my common sense as I smashed Bobby into the wall again. "What's their plan," I roared with such an intensity I saw Jason flinch from the corner of my eye. Bobby looked ready to pass out. As if I would let him. Jason took a step towards me to be ready to stop me if I did something rash.

"They hired t-this Lynns guy to create a distraction, and have three of our gang ready to take her when the distraction happened," Bobby replied weakly. Lynns, that sounds familiar.

Jason was one step ahead of me, "Lynns, as in Garfield Lynns?" Bobby nodded as horror overcame my fear. Garfield Lynns a.k.a Firefly. My eyes widened as the realization of what the distraction was reached my attention.

I threw Bobby onto the ground, placing one of my feet on his chest to hold him there. "When are they planning to do this," I asked venomously, wishing I could beat him into unconsciousness. Jason stood nearby, unsure of what to do.

"Sometime tonight, I think," Bobby omitted, watching me with terror-stricken eyes. I kicked Bobby unconscious while turning on my wrist computer to check the sensors in Julia's apartment. Dread built up in my belly as the sensors proved everything was fine. It hasn't happened yet; I can still stop it. I reached for my grapple gun only to have a hand laid on my arm.

"Replacement, we don't know if this "blonde chick" really is Blondie," Jason reasoned, removing his hand from my arm now that he had my attention. "Isn't there more than one blonde employee at the shop?" If I wasn't in a panic, I would have appreciated the fact Jason was the calm one while I was the impulsive one.

"I have researched every employee there, and I can assure you, she is the only one who is blonde enough to be called a blonde chick," I stated hastily. I could feel myself beginning to tremble with fear. I can't lose her.

Jason calmly bent down to handcuff the unconscious Bobby. "You need to calm down, Replacement," Jason warned having seen my trembling. "You can't help her if you don't calm down." I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths while focusing on slowing my heart rate. It was working until an emergency alert sounded from my wrist. My heart stopped as I saw it was Julia's apartment. The smoke detects were sounding as many of the video feeds filled with flames and smoke.

"We need to go now," I ordered to Jason, grabbing my grapple gun. I shot off, not checking if Jason was behind me. As I jumped from roof top to roof top, I could see smoke rising from the distance. Please let me make it in time. Please don't take her from me.