Chapter 29
AN Enjoy. :)
That night I go out once more as Red Robin, this time to collect the sample from Gordon and to track down the asshole that dragged me and my team to Gotham in the first place, and it's then that I remember how much quicker it is to get things done when you aren't wading through mountains of red tape and mundane laws.
All I had to do was stake out Penguins club, waiting for him to show up, which took less than an hour, then I snuck in through the same window as last time, knocked out the same guard as last time, and made my way silently through the upper floor of the building, following the man until he was in a sufficiently secluded corner, quickly knocking him out before I handcuff him with zip-ties, throwing him over my shoulder and going out the same window I came in through.
I sling him over the back of my R-Cycle, speeding through the streets before pulling up outside Gordons precaint, I dump the guy outside the front doors before dropping a note through Gordon's window, making my way to the roof to wait for him to book the guy before he comes to meet me.
It takes about a half an hour, but Gordon doesn't disappoint, walking out onto the rooftop with two cups of steaming coffee, and a plastic bag holding a syringe with a blue tinted liquid in it.
"Can you let the NCIS team take credit for the guy that I dropped off? They need it, otherwise they won't be allowed to follow cases long distance anymore" I ask him, accepting the bag and the coffee.
"Don't worry, i'll make sure they get credit for the arrest, just have them drop by the station tomorrow morning to give their statements." Gordon says, taking a sip of his coffee as he leans against the brick barrier separating him from a bloody death.
"Thank you" I say, letting go a sigh of relief.
"How is Batman" he asks, and it still seems to bother him, calling Damian Batman when it was his friend that he called that for years, and now it's his friends son.
"He'll be okay, i'm planning on keeping him off the streets until he's recovered. He's got some issues though, Jim. I told him to take a few steps back from Batman, it's, not good for him to be this invested in something that's tearing him apart. He wasn't built for this, not like Bruce was. He's great at it, don't get me wrong, but I never actually saw this being his life, I always thought he would be the one to branch off, not leave, he didn't have that in him, but being this invested, this, tangled into this web of crime and horror and death, I didn't see that as his future. It is his future though, and I can't tell him what to do, but I did tell him to take a step back. I know, that Bruce talked to you, about us, and seeing as none of us have been outed yet, I figure you are a pretty solid person to talk to. I just, I need an impartial party to talk to." I tell him, watching as his features soften, and he turns to face me more fully.
"From what i've seen, he's great at it, being Batman I mean. He's still got things to learn, things that just take time to learn, and i've also noticed that he's not, thriving emotionally. He's a good kid, an amazing vigilante, but he's got some of the same issues his father did, i've told him more times than I can count to take a step back, just like I told Bruce, i'm hoping though, that with you being the one to tell him, that he'll listen." Jim says, taking a sip of his coffee as he finishes speaking.
"You were one of the closest friends that my father had, and i'm pretty sure the only one he talked to about us. I'm glad, that you are still here, everyone else, the League, Young Justice, they wanted to, still want to be here for us, but they have lives, and kids, secret identities, jobs, cities of their own to protect. We appreciate it, that they try so hard to be there for us, but it just, doesn't always work out that way. You have always been there for us though, and I just, thank you, for not leaving, for not believing the shit that the news has on about us." I tell him.
"It's not something that I ever had to think about Red, this job is, fucking hard, on every part of my life, and just, having you all there, night after night, just to sit with, or to talk to. You aren't the only ones who got something out of this, thing, whatever it is, friendship, or whatever." he says, staring out onto the Gotham skyline.
"How's Bab's?" I ask after a moment, wondering how our wayward hacker is doing.
"She's good. Her and little Noah are settling down in New York. I am sorry, that she, left so soon after they died, I know how much you all missed having her around, especially since you had just lost them. She just-" I cut him off
"I know Jim, we know. She was pregnant, and her fiance had just died. It was too, raw, for her here. We would have loved to see her, to have her stay, but she needed to leave, she needed space and time, and we understood that, we still do. She still refuses to come back here, but I drive up every now and then to visit her and Noah, so does Damian. She was happy the last time I saw her, she was going out on a date and I babysat Noah for her, she finally has a few pictures of him up, and Noah knows who his dad is. She's doing good." I tell him, remembering the sad sort of smile on her face as she told me about the guy she was going on a date with, her eyes kept straying to the pictures of him that were scattered around her apartment.
She seemed like she was waiting for me to tell her not to go.
"Bab's, you are like the sister that I never had, and we were so happy that you guys were going to get married, that you were pregnant and that you were happy, but he's gone. I'm not going to tell you not to go, because I think you need to, you thought you were ready enough to accept his invitation, and he seems like a good guy. I'll watch Noah for you, you go, have fun, and if he hurts you, i'll help bury the body." I tell her, leaning forward to hug her as a tear falls down her cheek.
"I still miss him, Tim, so so much" she says, her voice muffled by my shoulder.
"I know, we all do, everyday. But you thought that this was a good idea, me being here shouldn't change that, if you hate it, if you decide that you aren't really ready, if anything, you tell me, i'll support you, but you need to try first, and who knows, maybe he'll be a great guy." I say, leaning back to look her in the eyes.
"He is a great guy, but I don't know if anyone will measure up to what we had" she says softly, as if imparting her deepest secret.
"Maybe they won't, maybe you will never be as madly, or as deeply in love as you were with him, but you will never know if you don't try, and we both know that Dick would never want you to be unhappy because of him, he would never want you to not put yourself out there, because you were scared of failure. He loved you, and he wanted you to be happy, whether it was him that made you happy, or somebody else." I tell her
"He definitely wanted it to be him" she says with a small chuckle
"There is no doubt in my mind about that Bab's, but he told me, when you guys broke up that first time, that he loved you so much, that all he wanted was you to be happy, and if being with him didn't, than he was willing to let you go, to let you find someone that did. He was so happy when you guys got back together, when the timing was right and everything fell into place for the two of you. He was always willing to let you go though, so you could be happy, he wouldn't want something that can never be, to hold you back from something that could. I don't know if you get more than one great love story in life, but I also know that you will never find out if you don't try." I tell her, hearing how cheesy that line is coming out of my mouth, but also believing it with all of my heart.
"Thank you Tim" she whispers, a smile on her face as she wipes the tears off her cheeks.
"Anytime" I mutter, wiping away a stray tear of my own, the conversation bringing back memories of how happy the two of them were, and how one stupid fucking apartment hunt ended it all.
AN Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh? Lemme know what you think. :)
