The roster for Thanksgiving dinner at the Wayne's changed slightly from Wednesday to Thursday. Pam and Roy were no longer on the guest list, but Megan and her uncle were invited in their stead; Kara and Courtney were invited as well, but they already had plans with their respective families. Diana, Cassie and my Dad handled the change in guests easily, and all my dad knew was that Roy and I had fought, broken up and after he left, Roy had gotten into a terrible motorcycle accident and was therefore unable to make it.

Roy was in the hospital for quite a while, but I can't say I got to see him all that often. Whenever I went to go see him, Kori was at his side, and I really didn't want to interrupt that.

I started to have nightmares; I would wake up screaming, much to my dad's discontent. He had no idea why I was so shaken, and I couldn't come up with a good excuse. All I knew was that Clayman and the coppery liquid haunted me, and I was only able to wake up just before I hit the vat.

One night, however, I woke up before I started screaming; instinct had taken over, and although I didn't immediately realize it when I opened my eyes, I knew there was someone in my room. "Who's there?" I choked, my throat hoarse from sleep.

The light clicked on, revealing Dick in a pair of sweats, a t-shirt, and a very concerned frown. "What on god's green earth are you doing?" I asked, pulling my blanket closer to me out of habit.

"I'm worried about you," he said simply, "You haven't been acting like yourself."

I snorted, "Did you expect me to?"

"You've been jumping at the slightest noise, and you haven't been out patrolling since that night. Is there something wrong?"

I hadn't been out because I was afraid my exhaustion would show, or that I wouldn't be able to focus the way I normally did. But there was no way in hell I could tell Dick that.

"I just haven't been up to it." I lied.

This time, it was Dick that snorted. "Please," he said, walking towards be, "you've got to give me more credit than that. I've known you for eleven years, I know when you lie. Tell me what's wrong," he sat down on my bed and took my hand, "I want to help you."

I looked at his hands; it brought me back to right before the fight, when I was stuck reliving the pain of three years earlier and he had taken my hand. The memory came back; in my head I could see the fourteen-year-old with dagger eyes and a cold voice tearing me into pieces with his words. Dick squeezed my hand, and the cold blue eyes were replaced with the desperate blue orbs from just weeks ago, desperate for me to believe that he wasn't going to hurt me.

I opened my eyes and saw the same blue eyes, patient, worried yet calm as he waited for me to let it out. I couldn't hold it back anymore.

The minute I started crying, Dick wrapped me in his arms, whispering and cooing to me, petting my hair and back as I cried into his shoulder. I told him everything: the nightmares, the shadows, the gravelly voice and copper-filled images that haunted me relentlessly. He just held me tight, letting me cry it out until I fell asleep from exhaustion. When I woke up, he was still next to me, one arm wrapped lazily around my waist as he slumbered on, oblivious to my consciousness.

It was like a circle had been completed somehow; I watched him sleep, and for the first time in three years, I knew my best friend was next to me.

As the weeks passed and we headed into the Christmas holiday, Dick and I slowly regained the relationship we had been missing for so long. My dad was quite happy to find that I had finally repaired things between me and Dick, and didn't blink at all when it was Dick picking me up for school in the morning instead of Kara or Cassie. Diana seemed happy to hear it too; I think she had recognized Dick's growth from the moment I left the warehouse the first time, she was just waiting for me to see it. My girls welcomed him with open arms, happy to see him relaxed and casual again.

It was two weeks before Christmas when I realized that I had things to resolve before I could be with Dick though. Dick and I were silently enjoying each other's company in my room, Dick reading a book and me listening to music, leaning against him. I had my eyes closed, letting myself drift with the music, when I felt Dick put the book down and shift, pulling me into an embrace.

"Do you want to go out with me?" He asked, completely genuine. When I hesitated though, he started to frown.

"Don't get me wrong Dick, I do want to be with you," I smiled, running my fingers along his jaw line, "But there's something I have to resolve first."

"Roy," he said knowingly.

"I haven't seen him since we got him in the hospital. I can't avoid the issue, especially if I want to date you. Wait for me?" I asked, knowing that, at this point, I probably didn't deserve it. Dick picked up my hand and brought my fingers to his lips, mulling it over while he gazed at me.

"I'll ask you again in a few weeks," he decided, "Do you think you'll be ready by then?"

I smiled, so thankful that he was willing to wait for me.

I hate hospitals. Once, when my dad had been shot during a raid on a gang's headquarters, I had to wait for eight hours in the bleached halls to hear if he would be ok or not. I can't stand the smell of antiseptic, or the steady beeps from the machines all of the patients are hooked up to. But I didn't have a choice; I had to get it all out if I wanted to move on with Dick.

I paused in the doorway of Roy's room; the drugs that once clouded his brain made him fight longer than he normally would have, making Dick have to work twice as hard to beat him, and, as a result, give him twice as many injuries. It had also taken a while to get all traces of the drug out of his system. Apparently, in the first week of treatment, he would have random episodes of rage, fighting anything he could reach until he was sedated. The last I heard from Kori before school broke for Christmas was that he finally got it all out. It had been two weeks since the fight, and the bruises had started to fade.

Kori wasn't in the room, for once, so I took the seat she normally sat in. Roy's eyes stuck to me the entire time, obviously unsure as to why I had only now shown up.

"Hi," I started weakly, starting to lose my nerve.

"You didn't have to come, Babs; I would have understood completely if I never saw you again."

"Given our profession, I don't think that's very likely," I laughed emptily, suddenly wanting to do anything other than break the boundary between us.

"Then why come?"

I took a deep breath, and stared at my hands. "When…when Clayman was holding me over the pit that night," I put up a hand to stop his interruption, "Let me finish; he mentioned that you had been sleeping with Kori for weeks by that point. Given my history with distrustful actions, I'm sure you would probably think that I hate you for that. But, the funny thing is, I don't. My heart didn't shatter when he told me, my spirit didn't break. I think I kinda already knew that something was up—well aside from the whole mind-controlled by Clayman thing. It just makes me think that maybe we were already ending, you know?"

Roy breathed out a sigh and stared up at the ceiling, "At first, I was sure it was the drugs influencing me. But after a few times with Kori, I realized that it wasn't just the drugs. I didn't love you anymore; I cared more for Kori, and I wanted to be with her more than I wanted to be with you. Clayman wanted to use it to break you again, and he thought that was all it was—a ploy to hurt you, that it didn't mean anything. But that's not true, it meant everything. Besides, I started to notice the looks you were giving Dick when you thought no one was looking, and the looks he was giving you when you weren't looking. I knew I didn't stand a chance against him; even if he hurt you once, he was your best friend for a reason, and I was sure that that reason would resurface."

"So," I said, "We can say for sure that we're done, and that there aren't any hard feelings?"

"That's better than what I had hoped for," he laughed a bit, but it was empty too, "I'm sorry I tried to kill you."

"I'm sorry you got pulled into a three-year grudge match."

"Fair enough," he extended a hand, "Even?"

"Even," I smiled, taking his hand. I stood up to leave, but he stopped me when I got to the door.

"For the record, the rest of it was real."

"I know," I smiled.

"Good," he relaxed back into his pillow, "Tell Dick I said 'hi'."

Christmas was relaxing for a change, with even the criminals taking it off. My dad and I enjoyed a day to ourselves, watching Christmas specials and ordering take-out for dinner—a Gordon tradition.

Kara had organized a cookie exchange, and she had jokingly given me bat-shaped double chocolate cookies. I had given her 'S'-shaped honey cookies though, so we were kind of even.

Cassie and Diana gave me a joint gift of a lasso similar to theirs; apparently the gods had given it to Hippolyta under the direct instruction that it was to come to me. It was bright, glowing silver material that I was assured was indestructible, and could induce paralysis, as well as offering me the protection of Artemis and Athena, who had created it. I had earned the blessings of the gods.

Dick's gift, however, had to be my favorite. The tiny box he gave me revealed a gorgeous necklace: a replica of my nightingale carved from one single sapphire. Dick claimed that it was lab created, but after he left, I studied it with a microscope and found several small impurities that would only be present in a real sapphire. I was quite touched. When my dad asked Dick why he would give me a necklace of a superhero logo, Dick just laughed.

"People are starting to form fan clubs for superheroes Mr. Gordon; they're far more respected now, and people are starting to make merchandise reflecting various logos. Luckily, Nightingale is quite popular in Gotham, and it just seemed to fit Babs."

"Don't go giving her too many ideas, Grayson," my dad laughed, walking back to the kitchen, "she just might actually copy one of them." I don't quite remember laughing so hard.

It turns out that when the Wayne household decides to throw a party, it is automatically a huge affair. Dick and Bruce agreed to let Dick have the front ballroom, while Bruce could have the living room and study. The Ballroom held the grand staircase that looked like something out of a Disney movie; in honor of the occasion, Bruce had a huge clock set on the wall right behind the staircase, perfectly centered to the point that it seemed framed by the twin sides of the stairs. Most of the kids from school were there, including our friends and the group of sycophants that used to crowd Dick everyday—thankfully, they had learned to tone it down.

The party was wonderful fun, as we tried to complete every pre-new-year tradition known to man, like serving long noodles and black eyed peas. The music blasted, encouraging everyone to dance; I found myself dancing with Dick almost the entire evening, laughing as he swung me around, even lifting me sometimes. I felt like a princess.

But at one minute to midnight, Dick pulled me up to the bottom of the grand staircase, right below the clock. We joined the echo of people counting down the minute, until about twenty seconds to.

"Hey Babs," Dick said suddenly. I was trying to focus on both him and the clock, constantly looking back and forth as the crowd continued to chant.

"Hm?" I asked, trying to pay attention and count at the same time.

"Remember a few weeks ago, when I asked you a question, and you only gave me a half-answer?"

"Yea," I said slowly, starting to focus on him more than the clock.

"Well," He said, drawing it out.

TEN, NINE, EIGHT

"If I ask you again, will I get a different answer?"

SEVEN, SIX

"Yes," I smiled, "It would be very different."

FIVE, FOUR

"What would it be then?"

THREE, TWO

I leaned forward and kissed him, threading my arms around his shoulders as the rest of the room erupted into cheers. I could feel Dick smile into the kiss, and he pulled me close to spin me around.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

We parted for a moment, looking out to see the rest of the room laughing and singing, sharing kisses as we just had.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And auld lang syne.

Dick spun me again, both of us laughing all the while.

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne.

In the crowd I could see Kara laughing as Cassie and Conner kissed for what appeared to be the second time, before she was pulled into a kiss with Jimmy.

We'll take a cup of kindness, yet

"Happy New Year, Babs," Dick smiled.

And auld lang syne.

"Happy New Year, Robin."