A/N: And without further ado, I present you with...another cliffhanger! Enjoy, I'm off to hide!

Chapter Ten - Screaming

"Cheers."

Diana smiled and held her glass of bubbly to Bruce's. "Cheers," she returned. She sipped thoughtfully. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are we celebrating? I didn't win, remember."

"No," he said, "but maybe you're not celebrating anything."

She narrowed her eyes momentarily. "So what are you celebrating?"

"I have the company of a beautiful woman to myself for the next hour," he said with a brilliant grin. "Give me a better reason to be happy."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "How does any woman resist you?"

His grin gentled into a more genuine smile. "Don't worry, Diana, I have no intention of going through all the playboy motions with you."

"No?" she asked, eyes sparkling. "Does that mean there'll be no dancing?"

He looked at her seriously. "Would you like to dance?"

"I think so," she nodded. "I'm not adverse to a little wooing."

"In that case..." He picked up a little silver remote that lay on the wooden bench in the centre of the capsule and pressed play. Quiet music began to play, accompanied by a soft and husky woman's voice singing. Bruce extended a hand to her, and Diana took it.

She did a good job of keeping her heart at a steady rate – or at least stopped it from rocketing up – for a solid minute. But it crept up until she couldn't hear the music. She was torn between anger and relief. Anger that he could still do this to her, but the relief was slowly overwhelming it. She was alone with him, and she wasn't afraid. She was in his arms, and she wasn't fighting the urge to flee. She wanted, in fact, to move closer.

So she did. She moved her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck, reducing the gap between their chests so that they were pressed lightly together. His thumb was idly stroking the back of her hand. Diana didn't bother resisting the urge to let her eyes close, sure that Bruce was doing the same.

Was this falling in love again? It lacked the flirtatiousness of their first dance, but it meant more, so much more. She didn't know how long they danced, but eventually she felt more than heard him speak.

She leaned away slightly in order to watch his mouth and read his lips, since her ears still seemed to be filled with her own roaring blood than working correctly.

"Diana, I... Thank you."

"For what?" she asked.

"Letting me come with you."

She smiled. "It seemed like an opportunity that I wasn't going to get again. My behaviour on Mother's Day was... shameful. And ruined a perfectly wonderful day for the children."

"Diana, please don't apologise," he requested. "We were both idiots that day, believe me."

She raised an eyebrow. She didn't remember Bruce being idiotic at all. "How so?"

He winced, then took a deep breath. Great Hera, she thought, what on Earth did he do?

Whatever it was, she never found out. They'd reached ground-level again, and discovered that whatever Bruce had paid the staff, it wasn't enough. Someone had obviously tipped the press off, and there were at least a dozen flashbulbs pointing in their direction. Momentarily blinded, Diana heard Bruce utter a soft swear word before he took her hand and pulled her out of the capsule. Moments later they were in a cab and heading back to the hotel.

"Master Nicholas, if I may, exactly how long have you been able to... fly?"

The twins exchanged a glance with each other, wondering just how much to tell him. Figuring that it was impossible to hide, well... anything from Alfred, Nicky gave in. "Since Mother's Day," he said. "I accidentally pushed Sarah out of a tree and then I flew to save her."

"We've been testing and training him since," Sarah explained.

"I see, and do you have any ideas where your powers of flight may have originated?"

"Well I think Daddy's Superman, but Sarah –"

"Daddy's not Superman, Nicky!" Sarah interrupted crossly. Alfred – aware, naturally, that Sarah knew her father's identity – raised a silver eyebrow in warning. "I told you, it's probably –"

He cut off as they all distinctly heard the sound of a helicopter stop, right over the house. It was quickly joined by the roar of a car engine as it raced up the driveway.

"Is that... Tim?" Nicky asked, frowning.

Sarah got up and stood on tiptoe to see out of the window. She couldn't see the car yet, but she couldn't imagine that Tim would drive that fast. He knew better than that. After a second, the car came into view, and she backed away from the window. "I don't think so... not unless Tim's joined Special Ops or something weird."

There was more engine noise, and Nicky walked quickly to the backdoor, peering out and then quickly pulling back in. "There are about six more Hummers coming across the grounds," he said, swallowing.

"Come, children, quickly," Alfred ordered, his tone brooking no argument. "Get to the study."

Sarah, knowing Alfred was thinking of the Cave, grabbed her brother's hand and ran from the kitchen. Alfred was right behind them, but as they ran into the hallway, the front doors burst open. Several canisters were rolled inside, each emitting billows of white smoke that stung Sarah's eyes. Still, they didn't stop, and instead ran to the stairs.

The canisters were followed by at least a dozen men, all dressed in black armour, with black masks that covered their entire faces. Sarah didn't have time to notice anything else, since Nicky was dragging her up the stairs, flying judging by the speed at which they were ascending. It wasn't fast enough though, it couldn't be –

They burst into the study, and Alfred – still behind them – dragged a chair quickly in front of the door, then picked up the poker from the fireplace. Nicky stopped, watching Alfred with wide eyes. It didn't occur to Sarah that she should be moving.

It came flooding back, though, when Alfred glanced over his shoulder to see the twins just staring at him. "Sarah!" he barked.

Jumping, she ran over to the clock, dragging her brother with her. "Nicky, turn the hands to ten-forty-seven."

"W-What?" he stammered.

"Ten-forty-seven, Nicky, hurry –"

She was cut off as the doors to the study literally exploded inward. Alfred managed to hit the first man inside with the poker, but after that he was overwhelmed by the black-clad men. Nicky ran over to the window, still clutching his sister, and simply jumped through it, broken glass in all directions. Sarah shrieked until she realised that they weren't falling – they were flying.

If they were safe, though, then that meant they could go back to get Alfred. She twisted her head to look back at the Manor. "Nicky, we have to –"

She'd distracted him, and now they were falling. Nicky managed to break their fall a little bit, but they weren't far enough from the Manor to be safe. Tightening her grip on Nicky's hand, she broke into a run. Within twenty metres, there were three Hummers screeching to a halt, boxing them in. More of the soldier-men poured from them. Sarah's upper arms were grabbed, and she was ripped away from Nicky with terrifying force.

She kicked and struggled as hard as she could, but with the Kevlar and Hera-knew-what-else, he wasn't reacting to her kicks and punches at all. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in her forearm; when she looked it was to see a syringe sticking out of her skin.

"Nicky!" she howled.

The man unfortunate enough to try and grab Nicky in the same way got thrown headfirst into the nearest Hummer. Her brother didn't waste time, and simply charged at the man holding her. He screamed, and despite her position, Sarah winced for him as she heard the cracks from both legs.

She dropped to the ground, but suddenly her legs wouldn't hold her. Nicky tugged at her arm. "Sarah, come on, we have to-"

No less than ten men threw themselves on top of her brother. Sarah stayed on the ground; she wanted to help, she really did, but she couldn't see anything properly – now it was becoming hard to even sit up. The last thing she saw, before the drugs overcame her, was Nicky's face again, fuzzy and like she was seeing him through a really long tunnel. He was screaming...

It was great to be nineteen and in college, Tim Drake maintained. Being out of the house and on his own, while not a completely new experience for him, still had yet to lose its allure. Hence why attending Metropolis University had such an appeal. There was little to no supervision, and thus he was able to bury himself in his work. Though, the fact that there seemed to be more pretty girls in Metropolis than Gotham also had its perks.

That was not to say that he didn't miss being at home. He did, terribly at times. The years since Sarah and Nick had been born had been some of the best times Tim had ever known. Despite their shaky beginning with Diana nearly dying when they were born, the twins had lit the Manor up, filling it with laughter the likes of which Tim had never seen. When he'd once commented on it to Alfred, the butler had confided that he had not seen the atmosphere in the house like this since before Doctor and Mrs. Wayne's deaths. The twins, so similar and yet so different, were able to both endear themselves to people while at the same time driving those same people to distraction. Tim figured that about the only person fully immune to that was Alfred. He'd seen too much to be thrown by two little kids, no matter how scarily smart and adorable they were.

It had been hard when, a full year early at seventeen, Tim had graduated high school and had been admitted to Metropolis University. Bruce had tried briefly to talk him into an Ivy League school, but M.U. suited Tim just fine. He'd been excited about it, thrilled even, but a part of him had been hesitant to leave. He figured that it was part not wanting to leave behind his family and part not wanting to put Robin to bed. Tim had been under no illusions that he'd be able to juggle a full college schedule as well as nightly bouts of crime fighting. Still, Dick had reminded him that his future was more important than beating up scumbags to show them the error of their ways – Dick's words, not Tim's – and also said that Robin would be waiting should he ever want to come back to it. In time, Tim had come to agree.

Of course, one of the other advantages of going to M.U. was that it was only a few hours' drive from Gotham, allowing Tim to come home pretty much whenever he wanted. Like right now. The car that Bruce and Dick had given him as a graduation present was proving to be a blessing, despite the twenty-minute lecture Bruce had given him on vehicular safety and just what he'd do to him if he was reckless while behind the wheel. Tim had believed every word, despite the stunts he'd seen Bruce pull in a car, both as Batman and as the playboy prince of Gotham. He knew his ass would be in a sling if he tried anything; it was just a question of who would get to him first – Bruce, Diana, Alfred, Dick, or the twins.

The weather was beautiful that Wednesday afternoon, so Tim drove through the outskirts of Gotham with his windows down and the radio blaring. Soon enough he was able to see Wayne Manor in the distance, high on its lonely bluff. Grinning, Tim glanced around and seeing no police patrol cars, he sped up a little. It was going to be great. Even with both Bruce and Diana off in London, he'd be more than entertained by whatever new insanity Sarah and Nick had concocted for the family.

Arriving at the gates, Tim pushed the proper button on his personal remote, which activated the sensors and opened the metal contraptions. As he drove past the gatehouse and up the driveway that would leave him right at the front door, though, something began to feel off to Tim. His arrival wasn't unexpected. He'd talked to Alfred the night before, telling him he'd be home around this time, and the twins had heard it while Alfred was still on the line with him. Their excited squeals had been loud, even through the phone. So when no little figures appeared outside to greet him as he drove up, Tim was confused.

He came to a halt just yards from the front door, and that was when Tim's stomach began to twist nervously. The large, heavy front doors were ajar. Alfred never, repeat, never left them like that, and the twins certainly knew better than to do it either.

Tim's instincts were screaming warnings to him and he wasn't foolish enough to ignore them. Something was wrong. He reached for the glove compartment, which had a custom-made locking system on it, requiring a six-digit code to access it. He punched the code in and it opened, allowing him access to the weapons he kept there. He may have hung up his cape for the duration of his college career, but Tim wasn't about to go around defenseless. He pulled out several batarangs, as well as a few bolos.

He glanced out his window and gazed at the front of the house. It didn't appear that he was being monitored, so he got out and slowly made his way to the Manor's entrance. Slipping inside, Tim looked around the main foyer. There were no signs of a struggle, but the air didn't smell right. It was stale, off. He moved to the front drawing room and peered inside. Nothing there.

Next, he crossed the foyer and climbed the stairs, then looked into the study. The crumpled figure dressed in an all-too-familiar suit immediately caught his attention.

"Alfred," Tim breathed. Batarang and bolo now held at the ready, Tim darted inside, quickly scanning the room for any threats. Seeing none, he slowly knelt down beside the butler and touched his neck. Good, his pulse was strong and steady. He nudged him a little, calling out, "Alfred. Alfred, wake up."

The older man responded after a moment, groaning and starting to shake his head as he slowly started to regain his senses. Tim watched him push himself off his stomach and roll around to sit up straight. After a moment, he looked up. "M... Master Tim?"

"Alfred," Tim replied, "what happened? Where are Nick and Sarah?"

The butler's eyes widened. "Master Nick and Miss Sarah were in the kitchen, eating their lunch, when we heard and saw several vehicles converging on the house. We began to retreat to the study when they broke in. There were men, several of them, dressed in black, tactical vests and masks." He swallowed. "Then there was suddenly gas, gas everywhere."

Tim felt something in him go cold. This was not good. "Could... Could the twins have made it to the Cave? Could they have had time to hide?" he demanded.

"I do not know, Master Tim. It is all very blurry."

Tim nodded and stood up, turning toward the clock. It did not appear abused or damaged in any way. Turning the hands to the correct time, it swung open and Tim hurried down through the tunnel. He feverishly hoped the twins had made it down here, and had just been afraid to come back out, but at the same time, admitted silently that it was highly unlikely. The twins were hardly the fearful types, and there was absolutely no way they would have abandoned Alfred.

He stepped into the Cave. Everything was powered down. The computer, the lights, everything. His heart sinking, Tim still called out, "Sarah? Nick? It's Tim. It's okay, you can come out now."

No response.

Oh God...

Tim fought down the urge to panic. Panicking would do nothing to help the situation. He activated the lights and the Bat computer. He had to make sure Alfred was really all right, and he had to alert Dick, Babs, and the League of what had happened.

God, he had to tell Diana and Bruce that their children had been kidnapped.

Shit...

The silence in the elevator was awkward. Whatever it was Bruce had been about to tell her at the London Eye, the interruption by the press seemed to have both annoyed him and robbed him of the necessary courage to tell her. Still, he wasn't attempting to put any distance between them, physically at least. In fact he was still stood close to her, and the protective arm he'd put on the small of her back hadn't moved either.

She leaned into him cautiously, gauging his reaction. Though he continued to stare somewhat moodily into the distance, he curled his arm a little further around her waist. She sighed, then turned to him. "Bruce, forget about it."

He frowned. "Forget about what?"

"Whatever your 'idiotic behaviour' was. I don't care," she said, meaning it. "You're here. I had a wonderful night. I don't want anything to spoil it."

He searched her face for a moment, his gaze cold and analytical. Batman deciding if she was telling the truth. Apparently he was satisfied, since he nodded. "Alright, Princess."

The doors dinged open, and he kissed her cheek and then opened the suite door for her.

In the middle of the room, Diana paused. Her bedroom was behind her; Bruce's bed was to her left. She didn't know if it was being here, or the champagne, or the ridiculously romantic evening they'd just spent... but things felt different. Like maybe for the first time since the twins were born that they might be able to move forward.

"Bruce."

He turned back to her. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"For coming with me," she elaborated. "You've made the last couple of days far more bearable than they would otherwise have been."

He smirked. "Only bearable?"

She smiled. "Enjoyable." Her smile faded a little, though she didn't take her eyes from his. "It reminded me..."

He took a stop closer. "Reminded you of what?"

"Of how good we are together," she said quietly. "How good we could be, if I'd let us."

He was much closer now, within touching distance. He did, reaching out and intertwining their fingers. "So are you going to let us?"

She didn't answer verbally, but leaned forward and kissed him softly, warmly. When she pulled back, her mouth was smiling, but her eyes were sad. "I'm sorry it took –"

He silenced her by catching her mouth again, exploring her lips gently with his before –

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrring! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!

"Damn," Bruce muttered with a small apologetic smile, pulling out his phone. He frowned when he saw the caller-ID. "It's the Cave phone."

Diana drew back with a worried look. "The Cave? Dick?"

He opened the phone. "Dick?"

"It's Tim," a worried voice said quickly. "You need to get back to Gotham. Now. It's –"

"Why? What's happened?" Bruce demanded.

"Was there a break-out at Arkham?" Diana gasped.

"It's Sarah and Nick. They've been kidnapped."

A/N: Told ya! Review please!