Barbara wasn't sure how long she stood there, powerful emotions holding her fast like some insect stuck in amber. Relief, anxiety, guilt, trepidation, and a dozen other feelings she could barely identify surged through her as she stared, not really seeing, at the medical bay shrouded in the darkness of the Cave.

Could I have imagined it?

"Babs?" the voice called out again softly, "Can you hear me?"

Guess not.

Finally, she regained her composure and approached the bed quickly.

"Yes, I can hear you, Dick. Everything is fine."

She saw that he had his eyes closed while he spoke.

"I think the Batmobile woke me up. And then I heard your voice . . ."

He trailed off for a moment.

Barbara debated whether or not to call Alfred. I should contact Bruce, too.

"So . . . I guess we won?"

Barbara smiled, "I guess you could say that. The Thanagarians have left, in any case."

"That's good . . . the League came through after all?"

"Yes."

Dick smiled weakly and was quiet for a long time.

"How do you feel, Dick?" she finally asked, wanting so badly to ask him a something else.

"I've been better," he took a deep breath, "No rooftops for me for awhile."

"You'll be back kicking ass in Bludhaven before you know it."

Dick chuckled and reached out with his hand. She grasped it gently and cupped it between both of hers. His grip was weak, but he still managed a short squeeze. He sighed and finally opened his eyes with some effort. Slowly, they focused on her.

"You're beautiful, Babs."

She blushed.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Boy Wonder."

He lingered on her for quite some time before peering off into the distance.

"Why are we in the Batcave?"

"Well, that's a bit of a story."

His gaze came back to her and a familiar grin appeared on his face.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon."

---

"So it went well, J'onn?"

"Indeed," said the voice on the other end of the phone. The line was secure and encrypted so both League members could speak freely. J'onn could have easily used telepathy, but he knew Batman was more comfortable communicating via technology.

"Batgirl performed admirably," J'onn continued, "Quick, efficient, and smart. You should be proud."

"I can't take all the credit."

"But surely your training honed her skills."

"She had a lot of talent to begin with."

Indeed, she was talented in so many ways. When had he forgotten that?

"In any case," J'onn continued, "she would make an excellent addition to the team."

Bruce was mildly surprised.

"So you agree with me, now? Last night you put up quite an argument."

"My experience with heroes outside of the League is . . . limited. However, if they are as competent as Batgirl then it only makes sense to expand."

"Good," Bruce walked over to his computer and began to input commands. "I'm sending you some information on what happened today at the meeting."

"Any progress?"

"Slow going, but I'm laying the groundwork."

"When will you be back?"

"Not tonight. Too much arm-twisting on tap for tomorrow."

"You might want to reconsider."

Bruce stopped typing and frowned.

"Why?"

"I am sensing that Nightwing has awoken."

Bruce paused. He stared at the monitor.

Sensing his friend's indecision, J'onn decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Diana is on her way back. I can easily have her pick you up on the roof."

"J'onn, I hardly need her to give me a ride in my own city."

"As true as that may be, I have already given her your coordinates. You can meet her on the roof or she can come down and get you at your suite."

He's enjoying this, Bruce thought darkly. He sighed, stood up, and began to change.

"I'll be there."

---

"Wow."

"Told you it was a story."

"Supergirl, huh?"

Batgirl smiled broadly. "Saved the day just like the Big Guy himself."

"I wish I could have seen that." Dick turned his head a little, taking in his surroundings once again. "I still can't believe Bruce had me transported back here."

She leaned back in the chair she had pulled up earlier. "You know Bruce. His way or the highway. I thought he was going a bit overboard, but you appear to have pulled through okay."

Dick sighed and closed his eyes again.

"No. He did the right thing."

Barbara's eyes widened. "Really? I'm shocked you'd admit that, even to me."

"I've made some pretty serious enemies in Bludhaven. Remind me to tell you about Blockbuster some day." He tried to sit up and stretch a bit, grimaced quickly, and settled back into his bed. "There was a real chance he might have tried something if he knew where I was."

As he finished speaking, a large yawn escaped.

"You should get some rest." She said quietly.

"You're probably right."

They sat in silence.

Finally, Barbara decided to take the plunge.

"Dick?"

"Yeah, Babs?" he replied, a little sleepily.

"When we were in the cell, you said a few things. . . "

Nightwing opened his eyes, curious at her tone.

"I did?"

Her heart began to beat faster, as she felt blood rush to her face.

"Yes. You were only semi-conscious at the time, but still, it was . . . "

She trailed off. Why can't you just come out and say it?

He was intent upon her now. "It was . . . ?"

Like a dam bursting, she just blurted it all out.

"Dick, you told me that you had bought a ring, but you never gave it to me because of what happened that night on the roof. You know, the last night you were Robin. The last night I saw you for over a year."

There. That wasn't so bad.

The silence was deafening.

It was as if they were both frozen in time. Two subterranean statues, staring at each other throughout eternity.

Finally, Dick blinked and swallowed hard.

"I said that?"

Barbara nodded. She then realized she had been holding her breath. With some effort, she began to breathe again.

Dick avoided her gaze, staring down at his bed.

"I can't believe I said that to you." He murmured, more to himself than her.

"You did," she said firmly, "And I think we need to talk about it."

Nightwing sighed.

"Babs, you have to realize, I thought for sure we were going to die---"

"Are you going to try and tell me now that you didn't mean it?"

"Of course I meant it," Dick responded, "At least, I meant it at the time. It's not like I was thinking very clearly." He kept avoiding her gaze.

Barbara found herself becoming impatient and a bit angry, "So you didn't buy a ring?"

"Yes—I mean, no! Hell, Babs, it's not like it matters anymore."

"Why not?"

"What?"

"Why doesn't it matter anymore?"

She was standing now, arms crossed. Her shadow fell over his prone form.

"Look, can we not do this right now?" He attempted to roll away from her, but was only partially successful, given all of the medical connections on his body.

"I really think we need to discuss it, Dick."

"Okay, try to see it from my point of view for a second," He finally looked straight at her, a bit of anger of his own starting to surface, "You've had days to mull this over. I'm just finding out about it now. I had no idea I told you about the ring."

He paused, and then added sheepishly, "I, uh, didn't mention anything else, did I?"

"Like what?" She bent forward, "What else haven't you told me?"

"What else haven't you told me?" he spat back.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You never really told me why you finally left Gotham!"

"What?" she backed up a step.

This conversation certainly isn't going the way I want it to.

"Oh, come on!" Ignoring the warning of his medical equipment, Nightwing actually sat up and pointed at her. "You come back to him after Grad school. You set up a whole new life, complete with a nice day job, proximity to your father, and the ability to help him out as much as you can. Nice apartment. Dinner with Daddy now and then. It's the perfect set up. Then, all of a sudden, you leave Gotham and the entire life you've built there. You didn't just do that on a whim!"

Realization swept through her.

"You've been checking up on me!"

"Not really," his anger melted into guilt, "Okay. Maybe a little bit."

"Why?"

"Oh, come on. Why do you think?"

Barbara went quiet. Why didn't I just let it go? This is getting bad.

"I'm sorry, Dick. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Nightwing sank back into his bed, much to the relief of his diagnostic equipment.

"Look, you just sort of blind-sided me, that's all. All kinds of--all kinds of stuff--old issues, you know, are being dredged back up now, and frankly, I'm too damned beat to hell to deal with it right now."

"Dick—"

"Just give me a little time, Barbara! Please!"

He met her gaze again. She could swear he looked like he was about to cry.

"Please?" he whispered again, practically begging.

They stared at each other in the dim silence of the vast cavern.

At last, she turned away.

"Fine. Get some rest. We'll talk later."

"Thank you, Babs."

She began to leave, but suddenly stopped and turned back.

'Just one question, Dick, and I'll leave you alone."

He exhaled slowly.

"Just one. I promise."

"Okay," he nodded, "What?"

"Why didn't you ask me? Why didn't you ask me before you left us?"

Before you left me?

She waited. After a long time, she thought maybe he wasn't going to respond. She had reached the elevator by the time he spoke out.

"Would you have said yes, Barbara?"

This reply left her scrambling, both mentally and emotionally. Barbara pushed the button to open the elevator and stepped inside. She closed her eyes, fighting back the sadness and tears that came unbidden.

"I don't know."

Silence.

"Well, then," he said dismissively, "I guess it's a good thing that I didn't."

The elevator door slid shut.