Barbara sat in Sweet Justice, tapping her fingers on the table. She had just placed an order for a Strawberry Blitz, and now was patiently waiting. Before going to Sweet Justice, she had gone to the hospital to check on Barry. And he was actually doing very well. He was awake, chipper, friendly... it was almost like he was never gassed. According to him, the doctors had told him he'd be out by Wednesday.

That fact made Barbara happy, at least. Though, she had to wonder if he had heard the news about the Scarecrow. If he did, he didn't seem to really find it important, considering he never mentioned it.

Last night, after she had called the police, Jonathan had been placed under arrest. He tried to escape, even biting the policewoman's hand, but he eventually was forced into the car and driven off. And yet, Barbara didn't feel any better. Her friends had noticed this and asked her what was up. She just told them she was tired and she didn't to clear her head. Her friends definitely didn't buy it, but they seemed to get the idea that she wanted to be alone.

But even now, Barbara still felt a twinge of unhappiness. Actually, twinge was a bit of an understatement. Right now, she couldn't help but still think of Jonathan. She didn't fully know why, either. It would be better to just move on, right? Unfortunately, she just couldn't get her mind off him. She kept thinking of his mom and his uncle, and how they would take the news. She thought of all the people he had hurt, and how they'd deal with this whole situation. And, despite everything he had done, a part of her still felt really bad for Jonathan.

She groaned, planting her face in the table. "God, I haven't been in this much of a funk since I broke up with my friends when Harleen moved in to Metropolis." She just hoped that this feeling would go away sooner rather than later.

The sound of the bell ringing alerted her attention as she sat up straight. At the door, whistling, was Harleen. Barbara's face broke into a smile. She could really use some company.

"Leenie-Beanie!"

Harleen instantly spun around to face Barbara. Once she did, she smiled even wider. "Babise-Wabsie!" She ran over to her and sat down next to her. "Good to see ya! I just came here to get myself a Strawberry Blitz and then hit the pier!"

Barbara laughed, pulling her friend into a hug. "Well, I just ordered one and I have no plans for the day..."

She smirked. "Wanna share? And then, after this, I can accompany you to the pier!"

Harleen nodded enthusiastically. Then, like magic, the waiter arrived, placing the bowl of strawberry ice cream on their table.

"Thanks!" Barbara said. As soon as the waiter left, the two dug in to the ice cream. It tasted pretty good, great even, but she felt like Barry made it better. But she may as well just taken what she was given. Hell, as she ate, she forgot about Jonathan and everything else she was thinking about just a minute ago. All she was thinking about was what she could do with her GBFF today.

After around a minute of eating, Barbara and Harleen stopped shovelling the ice cream into their faces and leaned back into their seats. "Man, that's some good stuff," Harleen said with a chuckle. Then she yelped a little, clutching her head. "Ow, brain freeze. Probably shouldn't have eaten it so quickly."

Barbara smiled and sat up. "So... how are you doing?"

Harleen sat up as well, beaming. "Great! I've started some kinda psycho-ology thingy course! My first classes were, like, a month ago, so I'm a bit of an expert." She wiped the ice cream off her face and stood up proudly. "You're gonna see my name in lights, Babsie. Just you wait!"

Barbara laughed and stood up too. "Good to know." She scratched the back of her head. "Sorry we haven't talked in a bit. I was kind of busy."

Harleen just scoffed. "Pshaw! It's fine. I was busy too." Then her face turned serious. "You hear the news?"

Barbara blinked. "What... news?"

Harleen just shrugged. "Just somethin' 'bout some weirdo named Jonathan in a scarecrow getup gassin' people and making them see their greatest fears. Apparently..."

Barbara's smile dropped and her shoulders sagged. Just when she had forgotten, too...

Harleen's smile faded as well, a concerned frown spreading across her face. "Aw jeez, sorry Babs. I-"

Barbara just lifted up a hand. "No, no. It's fine." She sat down, sighing heavily. "It's just..."

Harleen titled her head. "Just what? You can tell me." She sat next to her, wrapping her arm around her. "I'm your friend."

Barbara let herself smile a little. She could always count on her. "Well... it's just... the Scarecrow was my friend Jonathan."

Harleen's eyes widened. "Oh my God, that..." Her eyes darted around, as if she thought someone was looking at her. After a few seconds of this, she looked back at her, her expression concerned again. "That's real bad. What happened?"

And so, over the course of ten minutes, Barbara told Harleen everything. How she met Jonathan, how they had known each other in kindergarten, how he told her about his life back in Gotham, what he did to Barry, and how they split. By the end, her head was buried in her hands as she groaned quietly.

"And now, I can't get him out of my head." She lifted up her head, to face Harleen. "It's... really troubling me."

Harleen grabbed Barbara by the wrists. "Look, Babsie, if that guy gets mad at ya for just sayin' it's bad to not give a damn about gassing someone he's friendly with, he ain't worth your time. Or thought, for that matter."

Barbara just wrestled out of her grip and looked down at her lap. "I know, it's just... I still feel really bad for him. And it's like, even after all this stuff, I still want to be his friend." She ran a hand down her face. "It's pretty overwhelming, to put it mildly."

For a few seconds, the two friends sat in silence, with Barbara staring off into space, her frown growing even more pronounced. Once again, her mind felt like a whirlpool An eternity seemed to pass before she felt her shoulders be grabbed. She snapped out of the trance when she felt herself be spun to face Harleen. Her face was dark, and she looked more serious than Barbara had even seen her.

"Babsie, there's a lotta things I hate. Maths tests, chemistry tests, the Nostalgia Critic... But the biggest thing I hate is seeing you unhappy."

Her face softened. "And... I think I can help ya with how you're feeling."

Barbara lightened up a little. "You can?" When she thought of how Harleen helped people, it was usually with jokes or games. It was one of the things she loved about her fun-loving friend, don't get her wrong, but she didn't think that they'd help at the moment. Nevertheless, it couldn't hurt for her to try.

"Yeah! Since I've been doing my study, I think I know what the deal is!" She leaned on the table. "Youse were close to this guy, weren't ya?"

The red head nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I think that, when you figured out he was a shithead, you couldn't really believe it. You wanted to see the best in him. He was your friend. And feelings like that don't just go away that quickly." Suddenly, a sly grin crossed her face. "Specially if the two of youse were real close..."

Barbara felt her face go red. "Hey, it wasn't like that! We were just friends!"

Harleen just laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's justa joke, Babbly-boo." She stopped, becoming serious yet again. "But seriously, I think you still kinda like him. You still see him as your friend, in a way. Hell, that might never change."

She scooched over closer to her friend. "But all ya gotta is move on and enjoy life. You can still feel sorry for him, but don't let it bog ya down. You're better than that."

Barbara began to think about all that she had said. And the more she did, the better she felt. Harleen did bring up some valid points. She couldn't let Jonathan and her emotions bog her down. She just needed to, just like Harleen said, move on and enjoy life Soon, she felt all the traces of unhappiness leave her system. She looked at her friend and smiled.

"You're right!" She pulled her into a hug. "Thanks Harleen! You're a big help!"

Harleen patted her on the back. "Good ta know, Babs."

Once Barbara pulled away, Harleen grinned. "Ya wanna go to the pier now?"

Barbara was about to say 'Heck yeah!', but then she remembered something. A promise she had made to herself. One that she needed to fulfil.

"Sure!" She stood up. "But, I need to make a call, okay?"

Harleen shrugged. "Sure."

Barbara smiled again. "Great. Thanks again, Harleen."

She heard her friend say 'Any time!' before she ran into the girls toilet. Thankfully, it was empty. Just to be on the safe side, she jumped into a stall and locked the door. With that, she got out her phone and tapped on her dad's number. She held the phone up to her ear, her heart pounding like an anvil.

Come on, dad, she thought. Please just answer your phone.

For the first ten seconds, the only answer she got was the low humming noise from her phone, which really didn't help her anxiety at the moment. She was seriously considering on just hanging up and leaving with Harleen when she heard him.

"Babs?"

Her eyes widened. "Hey dad." She swallowed. This was going to be harder than she thought. "Um, I..."

"Is everything okay, pumpkin-pants?" Dad asked. "Do you just want to say hello or..."

Barbara exhaled sharply. "No, I..." She clicked her tongue. "Just need to tell you something..." At this point, she was shaking. What if he didn't take the news well? What if the hallucination was right?

She shook her head. No, she wasn't going let her fears control her. She was going to be brave. She had to tell her dad.

"Well, I just want to tell you that..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm..."

"Batgirl?"

Barbara sighed, closing her eyes. "Yeah, I'm..."

Wait, what?

Her eyes burst open as her jaw dropped. Did... she hear that correctly? Was her mind playing tricks on her? Was she going mad?

Barbara coughed. "You know?!" She could barely believe what she was saying, let alone what Dad was saying.

She heard him chuckle. "Yeah, I figured it out, like... a week ago, I wanna say. I saw that you had forgotten your bag for school, so I decided to drop it off to you. However, I opened it and a bunch of gadgets and your costume dropped out."

Barbara didn't know how to feel. On one hand, it made the situation a lot easier now that he already knew. On the other hand...

"Babs?"

Barbara quickly held the phone back up her ear. "I'm here, Dad." She paused for a bit. "Look, if you want me to give it up..."

"Why do you think I'd want that?" Dad asked. His voice was soft, soothing. "I've seen you as Batgirl on the news. You can handle yourself."

Barbara struggled to find her voice. "That's... that's right! So, you understand? You're not mad or anything?"

"Not at all, pumpkin-pants. I'm... actually really proud of you. You're helping this city, just like your old man. Hell, you're doing it on a greater scale. But... promise me one thing."

"Being?"

She heard Dad inhale quietly before beginning. "Promise me you'll be safe. I'm happy with what you're doing, but just keep safe. Not just for me, but for your friends, yourself, and the people of Metropolis. You're still my little princess. You always will be. And, like I said, I'm so proud of you."

Barbara couldn't fight a big smile coming onto her face as a few tears of happiness welled up in her eyes. She had no idea how it was going to go, to be totally honest, but she was so happy with the result.

She wiped her eyes dry as she felt a huge weight be lifted off her shoulders. "Thanks. I love you, dad."

Dad chuckled. "Love you too, pumpkin-pants."

Then came the high-pitched beep, signalling the end of the call. Barbara's smile grew wider as she exited the -still vacant- bathroom, with a spring in her step. She stopped by Harleen, who was licking the bowl for any extra ice cream. Once she spotted Barbara, she put the bowl down.

"Babsie, you're back!" She looked at her. "You look happy."

Barbara just laughed. "That's cause I am!"

Harleen jumped up, her grin matching Barbara's in width. "Wanna go to the pier?"

Barbara just nodded. With that, the two walked out of Sweet Justice, chatting and laughing. And all the while, Barbara didn't let any of her thoughts bring her down. She wasn't going to focus on Jonathan, at least for a while. Maybe she'd visit him in prison to talk with him, maybe she wouldn't. But for now, she was happy to go to the pier.

Besides, candyfloss with your best friend was a good way to take your mind off your crazy life.

AN: Don't go yet! There's one more chapter. It'll probably be short. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story and I'll see you in the final chapter! See you soon (procrastination not withstanding).