A/N: I own nothing you recognize.

So, to celebrate the end of my first semester of college, I thought I'd post! If I get enough lovin', I might do another update on Saturday ;)

Gotham City
Saturday, December 18, 2010
1647 EST

Naomi entered the house and hesitated when she saw Melanie sitting on the couch with James.

"Hey, Naomi!" James called, jumping to his feet and going to greet his little sister in the kitchen. "Melanie's invited her father over to dinner tonight!"

"Oh?" Naomi asked slowly.

"Yeah!" James said brightly with a wide grin.

"Where're Lisa and David?" she asked, busying herself by getting a drink from the fridge.

"Mom's getting groceries and Dad's with Melanie's dad in the office," James supplied.

"I'll go say hi," Naomi said slowly before hurrying to David's office. The door was open and she gently knocked on the door frame.

"Ah, Naomi," David smiled. "Rodolfo, this is my daughter, Naomi."

The man seated across from David stood to greet Naomi and her eyes widened when she saw who Rodolfo Bloodworth was.

"Ah, I've heard so much about you," 'Rodolfo' said with a prominent German accent. "Happy to meet you, Naomi."

"You too, Mr. Bloodworth," she said, accepting his hand for a shake. His grip was like a vice and Naomi had to keep herself from flinching.

"Oh, please, call me Rodolfo," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his dark eyes.

"Okay," Naomi said lamely.

"Below them, the sound of a door slamming shut signaled Lisa's return, and David said, "I'd better help my wife. I'll see you downstairs."

Naomi turned to follow but was stopped when Rodolfo called her back. David disappeared out the door and Naomi whipped around to stare, wide-eyed, at the man before her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked stiffly.

Rodolfo chuckled and sat in David's chair. "I've had eyes on you for a while now, cub," he said, his accent disappearing. "Did you really think I would forget my favorite girl?"

"Melanie," Naomi guessed instead of acknowledging his rhetorical question.

"Yes, child," Rodolfo grinned. "I've known for quite some time who you had become. I was simply waiting for the right moment to reveal that to you."

"What do you want from me?" Naomi demanded, her hands clenching into fists at her side.

"There's not much you can do for me at this point," he said honestly. "We already have an inside man."

"So there is a mole," she muttered.

"Yes, cub," Rodolfo smiled coldly. "But that's not why I'm here," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I just wanted to let you know about a meeting that will be taking place at the end of this month," he said easily.

"What about it?" Naomi asked through clenched teeth.

"I just thought you'd like to know you have a standing invitation," Rodolfo said graciously. "I'll be sending Black Panther to collect you, here. And before you ask what'll happen if you don't, just know that your secret may not stay that way for much longer if you refuse."

"No, please," Naomi whispered desperately, hating how weak she sounded and felt. "They can't find out."

"Then you will allow Melanie to escort you to Santa Prisca." Naomi could only nod like a child. "She will tell you when it's time," he said with a triumphant smile, and Naomi's instincts immediately started screaming at her to run.

Run where? she thought bitterly. He'll never let me go.

"Now," he said, clapping his hands once. His smile turned warm and his accent returned. "I believe that lovely family of yours is expecting us downstairs." He gave Naomi one last smile before he turned and walked out the door.

Once he was gone, Naomi sank to the floor, her knees finally giving out. She brought a shaking hand to her mouth as tears began to gather in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and felt the breath that had built up in her chest rattle out before being quickly sucked in again.

It's really happening, she thought in a daze. I'm going back, and there's nothing I can do.

Naomi took several deep breaths before she calmed down. Once she was sure she wouldn't break down, she got to her feet, wiped the stray tears from her cheeks, put on a small smile, and marched downstairs.

As soon as dinner was over, Naomi rushed to her room to call Bruce. "We have a problem," she said immediately. "I'm coming over. Batcave. Now." She hung up before he could answer. She ran down the stairs again and swiped Melanie's drinking glass before hurrying out to the backyard.

When she appeared in the Batcave, Bruce looked at her, worried.

"What's the matter?" he asked immediately.

"I need you to dust this for prints," she said first, unemotionally. Bruce nodded uncertainly but took the glass carefully from Naomi and walked over to his forensic station.

"Are you going to tell me why?" he asked as he removed a print.

"Just run it through the database," Naomi said, her voice still a monotone. Bruce complied, and a few minutes later, the screen flashed green, the word MATCH blinking back at Naomi.

"It was her," Naomi breathed out. "She was the one who shot me. On his orders. But he doesn't want me dead. He wants me back. That was a warning shot."

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Bruce asked, almost desperately, Naomi's voice and rambling worrying him.

She opened her mouth before realizing she didn't know where to start. Her knees started to shake again and her lips began to twitch as she trie to keep the tears from falling. Naomi squeezed her eyes shut and fell to her knees, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Oh my God," Bruce whispered. He knelt in front of her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her firmly to his chest. Her body was trembling from repressed sobs. "Shh, shh," he tried soothing. Naomi gasped and began to cry in earnest.

It took a while before Naomi was able to catch her breath. When she did, she pulled away from Bruce and whispered. "I think I'm going back."

"There must be something we can do for you," Bruce said immediately.

Naomi shook her head. "He told me about a meeting at the end of the month he wants me to attend. He said if I didn't, he'd tell everyone about my past. I-I'm not ready for that.

"Oh, God," she groaned, covering her face with her hands. "He was in my house," she practically spat. "He saw where I live. He walked the same halls. He sat at the dining table. He laughed and cracked jokes and charmed everyone."

Naomi groaned again before taking a deep breath and glancing up at Bruce. "I think maybe I should tell someone before he has the chance to warp the story and make me the bad guy...which I guess I technically was," she finished in a whisper.

"I can get Dinah," Bruce said softly. Naomi just nodded. He helped her to her feet and led her to the chair in front of the megacomputer. Bruce wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before making the call to Dinah Lance.

When he got off the phone, he turned to Naomi and said, "She said she could meet you here tomorrow morning around ten." Naomi nodded again and pulled her knees closer to her chest.

"Can I spend the night here?" she asked. "My house has been tainted by the devil," she muttered darkly.

"Of course," Bruce said gently. "You can head upstairs. I'll call the Scotts."

"Thank you," Naomi whispered before standing and walking slowly to the elevator. When she reached her room, she nearly screamed when she saw a figure sitting on her bed. When she realized it was only Dick, she sighed and shuffled over to her bed.

"I've never seen you jump that high," Dick commented, eyeing Naomi as she climbed stiffly into bed. When she didn't respond, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Naomi shook her head and cursed to herself when she felt tears start to well in her eyes again. She squeezed her eyes shut and Dick immediately put his arms around her shoulder. Naomi started crying again and Dick hugged her tighter.

After a moment, she let out a watery laugh. "God, it's been years since I've cried this much," she said.

Dick chuckled. "I never expected to see you cry at all," he admitted.

"Neither did I," Naomi mused.

For a while, they simply sat next to each other at the head of Naomi's bed. When she finally drifted to sleep, Dick stayed put as her head had made its way to his shoulder. He ended up falling asleep beside her, and Alfred found the two curled up like cats the next morning when he entered Naomi's room to remind her Dinah was stopping by. He smiled at the two, glad they had finally come around and were friends. Siblings, even.

Mount Justice
Sunday, December 19, 2010
1843 EST

Lily, still forbidden from participating in training by Batman's orders, stood from her spot on the outside of the ring as Black Canary finished the latest training session. Kaldur was by her in a second, and he took her hand and led her out the back of the Cave and onto the beach.

"What's going on?" she asked with a little laugh. Her smile fell when she saw the somber look in Kaldur's pale green eyes.

"Robin told me what happened," he whispered. Lily glanced away, but Kaldur gently grasped her chin and turned her head to face him again. He slowly pulled her sunglasses down her nose and saw her dark brown eyes were swimming with tears.

Without a word, he pulled her into his chest. Naomi began to sob again, her small frame shaking, and Kaldur could only assume the biggest perpetrator for the shivering was not the cold ocean breeze.

When she finally calmed down, Naomi pulled away and wiped her eyes and cheeks before placing her sunglasses back on her nose. "I'm sorry about that," she said quietly, staring at her feet.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Kaldur said immediately. "It is very understandable you would be emotional, given what has just happened."

Lily gave him a small smile, and Kaldur began to sit. He gently tugged Lily down with him, and when he finally sat in the sand, she plopped next to him. Almost immediately and without a second thought, she inched closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Kaldur smiled softly down at her before resting his cheek on the top of her head.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Robin had snuck out after them. He had meant to tell Lily that Batman wanted to talk to them about a case in Gotham, but after seeing her with Kaldur, he called Bruce to tell him Naomi would be spending time with Kaldur. Before he disappeared, he snapped a picture of the tranquil scene in front of him: the sun setting over the water, spreading a warm orange glow over everything and his sister and his friend sitting with their backs to him, leaning into each other and their body language completely relaxed.

As Robin walked through the Cave again, he made a mental note to get two copies framed. Might make a good Christmas present.

A/N: So, another filler. And the last scene was totally unplanned, but I did have this idea that during the sequel, someone would give Kaldur a photo of him and Naomi on the beach, their backs to the camera.

Let me know what you think! If I get some lovin', I might update again this Saturday!

Until next time.