Hey guys ^^ I hope everyone is good, I know it's been a while and I'm soooo sorry but I've finished uni now :D So I should have more time to finish this fanfic, there are only a few chapters left until the end :'( But I have some other ideas in the pipeline so stay tuned ^^ This chapter is a little emotional, I had to stop a few times because I gave my all for this one. Still, I did it for you and I hope you like it :) Let me know what you think

Chapter 13

Saul saw me off the next morning, thankfully, he hadn't suffered too much in the night, but I made him promise me to be careful for the next week.

"You have already done so much for me, Arabia," He said.

"How can I repay you?"

"Look after yourself and don't do anything too strenuous, that's all I ask." I replied.

"At least let me walk you back home." He said.

"Absolutely not, you can barely walk a few metres, I'll be fine." I said, shaking my head.

"Wait there." Saul said, limping back into the house, he returned after a minute or so.

He produced a small black cell phone and a charger, putting it in my hand.

"My number is in the phone, it's prepaid and should last you a long time, ring me or send me a text when you get back, also, if you think about it, you can check up on me to make sure I'm not pouring whiskey on my cereal." He said smiling.

"Very true," I said, pocketing the cell phone.

"I'm still going to come round every week to make sure you're eating, I can teach you different dishes if you like."

"I'd like that, but are you sure you want to hang around an old man like me?" Saul asked.

"You're not that old," I chuckled.

"Okay, I'll take the phone, just promise me you'll look after yourself, okay?"

"I swear." He replied solemnly.

I radioed into mom to let her know I was on my way back, she sounded stressed which made me worry.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked.

Her silence was deafening, but I pressed on, if she was hurt in anyway I needed to know so I could make whoever did it pay.

"Raul told me to promise not to tell you, I couldn't stay silent...I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday, but you were with a patient…" She sighed, breaking the silence.

"Mom, what happened? Tell me!" I cried, breaking out into a run, my blood running cold.

"I'll explain everything when you get back, I'm with Raul, just…. Raul, hold still...hurry back." She said, terminating the radio call.

I don't think I have ever ran as fast as I did, bumping into people and shouting an apology as I pelted down the road, I don't know what was happening and I was terrified at what I would find when I got back. Seeing Raul's place in sight, I picked up speed, bursting through the door and dropping my bag as I looked over at the couch. Raul was sat holding an ice pack to his mouth as mom was tending to a cut on his eyebrow, he looked dirty and his hands and arms were bruised and bleeding like he had been fighting fiercely. I walked over to him and knelt in front of him, my mouth dry as I saw the damage that had been dealt to his beautiful face.

"Raul, please do not lie to me," I said, trembling.

"What happened and who did this to you?"

Raul hesitated, looking at Mom who was putting the final stitches in the cut above his right eyebrow.

"Don't look at me, I told you to tell her last night but you were adamant you didn't want her to find know."

I frowned crossly. "I would have found out when I got back! What happened Raul?"

Raul sighed, wincing as he looked over at me, moving the ice pack gingerly to reveal a very nasty fat lip.

"I witnessed a man get assaulted outside the bar yesterday, when I intervened they stopped and the man slipped away, they told me to stay out of League business, the man looked pretty badly wounded but seemed well enough to make a break for it, I stalled the men and he got away, they came by the bar earlier, the man they had beaten up couldn't be found, they were angry, saying that I need teaching a lesson getting involved in League of Shadow business...this is the result."

He pointed to his face, holding still as mom finished patching him up. I thought back to what Saul had said, it could a hunch I have or this could be just a coincidence.

"What did the man look like who you saved yesterday?" I asked, sitting down across from him.

"Tall, slim, dark brown hair and beard, hazel eyes, he was wearing black pants and a beige tunic." He said.

"That sounds like Saul," I replied, nodding.

"Tell me about the people who beat you up, you said they were League of Shadows members?"

"There were three of them, they were wearing all black with the League emblem on their chests, I don't know what they wanted with this Saul, but I couldn't stand by and let them beat him like a dog."

Raul looked at me with his defiant grey eyes, this is why I have fallen for him, he isn't afraid to fight for what is right, no matter what the cost. The anger within me bubbled like a pot of boiling water, I balled my fist, my knuckles turning white. Talia and Bane were behind League business, I needed to see them, they were responsible for my friend getting badly hurt and Raul was just collateral damage. The thought that they may have sent people out to cause trouble enraged me further. This needed dealing with. Now.

"Raul, thank you for helping Saul, if you hadn't have stepped in things may have been worse than they are now, I will sort this." I said standing up and kissing him on the cheek.

He squeezed my hand tightly, wincing again; seeing Raul in pain made me feel even angrier. Why did the men attack Saul? Why is Talia insistent on making life harder for me? Why can't she understand that the reason I don't want anything to do with the League of Shadows is because I am terrified of becoming like her? I don't want to become cold, unfeeling, oblivious to the feelings of others. Talia has turned into a sociopath, I guess her past has made her that way, but I don't want to be like that. I am not her nor am I my father, I just want a simple life.

"Mom, I know you can handle yourself, but please consider moving out of that house, please, if Talia and her gang can attack a defenseless man and Raul for trying to help, what would they do if you said or did something they didn't like?"

I gave Mom a beseeching look as she finished tidying up and packing things away. I know Mom can look after herself, she sent Bobby to Hell, she was the bride of Ra's al Ghul, she would be fine, I know this, but with Talia, she could be capable of anything. If she ever hurt Mom… I hung my head.

Mom stood up and hugged me tightly, taking my hand. I flexed my fingers, I hadn't realised I still had my fist balled up, my fingers numb as the blood began travelling back to where it should be.

"I have been meaning to find a good reason to move into my own place," She mused, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear.

"I can see me staying with Bane and Talia distresses you, the last thing I want is to lose you, especially after everything that we have been through."

"Where will you go?" I asked.

"You could stay with us, if you wish." Raul said, sitting up a little, wincing and sighing as he tried and failed to get comfortable.

Mom shook her head, "Thank you but you don't want me cramping your style, I'll move into the place your father and I used to live in."

She smiled brightly but her eyes said differently, I knew moving back into that house would rouse memories and feelings she had long since buried, whether she would be able to cope with them was a different story.

"Will you be okay?" I asked, almost childlike as I searched her face for any glimpse of happiness.

"I'll be fine, it will be nice to be able to have my own space."

I knew she was lying, I could hear it in her voice, I wanted to say that I would move in with her, but Raul looked like he couldn't do anything without help for the next few days and she would probably turn me down anyway.

"Mom, you don't have to be brave all the time."

She paused for a minute or two, her hazel eyes swimming with tears as she smiled sadly, her expression nearly broke me, it dawned on me that she had not fully grieved the loss of my father. She had been stuck in that cell for 16 years give or take and all she could have focused on was when she was getting out, when that didn't seem likely, her survival was all she must have been thinking about, it makes me wonder when she found out when dad had died, what she must have went through knowing that her saviour wasn't going to come and rescue her, the times she had gone mad with grief and anguish as she thought about me in the clutches of her ex husband. I don't suppose she had much time to think about the past when we escaped to Morocco, she was still jumping at the sight of her own shadow but it didn't take long for her to recover, I guess the familiarity of this country helped her most of all. And now I am forcing her back to a broken, empty home...what kind of daughter does that make me?

Mom put her arms around me again, stroking my hair as she use to, the expression on my face must have alerted her to my distress.

"I have to be brave Arabia, for your sake,"

I went to interrupt but she shook her head and held her hand up.

"Let me finish, you don't remember your father, but I do, I remember everything, how he smelled, how his eyes would wrinkle when he smiled, how he would carry you on his left shoulder and Talia on his right, how he would come home after a mission and spin me around in his arms...I love...loved your father very much and it hurts everyday to know I will grow old without him. But I have to be strong, for you, for our baby girl, if I fall apart now I don't think I will get back up, you need me as much as I need you, you are all I have left in this world and you are so much like him, how you are standing up for your friends and for me, I know he would be proud of you."

I couldn't stand it, I crumbled, mom held on to me tighter, soothing me, my broken, noisy sobs echoing in Raul's living room. My heart was broken for her, she refused to grieve because she wanted to make sure I was okay. The anguish inside of me tore open a new wound in my heart, I felt ashamed of myself, I never knew my father and she loved him unreservedly, I couldn't bare the thought of mom keeping it together in front of me then going home to that empty house and crying herself to sleep. I cursed Bobby a thousand times over in my head, in my heart and out loud for the torment we were going through. I felt the air shift behind me and before I knew it another pair of arms was holding onto me, Raul. Mom turned me towards him and kissed my head, I buried my face in his shoulder as I wept for my mother's lost love, he shushed me, stroking my back, helping me to calm down. I honestly don't know where I would be without him. I know I said that about Bane but this was different, women go on about falling for the bad guy because the good guy is too boring, but what they fail to remember is that the good guy actually cares for your feelings and doesn't want to see you get hurt.

"Take care of her, please." Mom said, her hand on my shoulder.

"With my life." He replied.

Calming down slightly I turned my tear stained face to where Mom was standing, her face wet with her own tears, I felt my bottom lip tremble again as I looked into her afflicted face but she kissed my forehead, a genuine smile spreading across her face.

"We have to stick together, you and me, for your father," She said, wiping my face with her sleeve.

"He wouldn't want us grieving over his bones."

I could only muster up a nod and a small smile as I hiccuped. Mom chuckled, resting her hand on my cheek.

"I will be just fine, we will be fine, Raul will take care of you but you must do the same for him."

I nodded again, "But what about you?"

"I can take care of myself, but Talia,"

She paused as my face darkened at her name.

"Talia needs taking care of too, you can take it how you wish but Arabia, she is hurting too."

"Oh she will be." I muttered, looking at the scar above Raul's eyebrow.

"This is between the pair of you, you need to sort things and try to make amends somehow with each other, this is not healthy and other people are getting hurt." Mom said sternly.

"Tell that to Talia," I spat her name.

"Mom you should have seen the state Saul was in, I was scared he might have died last night."

"All the more reason why this needs to get sorted, preferably today." She replied.

She was right, the beating Saul got was damn near fatal and who knows what they could have done to Raul if they had been angrier, no, this can't go on. Not anymore, I was done the crap, it was time Talia and I had a talk.