Here's a fun idea I had for an AU. Hope you enjoy.

As much as Rachel enjoyed her job, she couldn't help, but feel exhausted coming home at the end of a long day. Maybe it was the fact that she was on her feet all day, thank goodness for whoever invented flats. Still it was stable and fine work, a solid nine to five, giving her enough time to get home to work on her novel. The monotony of her daily routine was broken up when on her way home she noted a healthy handful of police cars driving around her neighborhood.

"Huh? I wonder if Dick could let me know what's going on?" She of course was referring to her cop neighbor, Dick Grayson, but driving by his house, all the lights were shut off. "Maybe he and Kory are out." She shrugged it off and parked her car before entering her home.

She moved through the doors of her modest three bedroom home as she usually did. Keys and mail on the table by her door, purse and jacket on a hook, turned on the TV for a bit of background noise and a nice cold beer in the fridge calling her name. She figured she'd make herself dinner, take a hot bath, and settle in for a night of writing.

With the news in the background she went about her nightly routine.

"—citizens of Jump city should be advised that the suspect could be armed and dangerous. For those who are just joining, please be on the lookout for Garfield Mark Logan, who escaped police custody earlier this evening—"

She took a beer from the fridge and removed the cap. "If his parents named him 'Garfield' they belong in prison too." She commented dryly.

"—Garfield is wanted for the murder—"

She had gone to the counter when something had occurred to her. Going back she opened the door to the fridge and noticed something.

She was a creature of habit and structure, bordering on obsessive compulsiveness, but it made sense to keep her world in order at least. She had so much practice in fact that she noticed things out of place, even if it was just a fleeting glance. In this case there was something wrong with her beer. Was she missing one? She went shopping the other day, and only allowed herself and one a day or less, so surely she couldn't have had more than one.

She counted a few more times, but came to the conclusion that she was, somehow, short one beer.

She took a step back when she felt something crunch beneath her heel. Lifting her foot she saw a pebble and some dirt, something she hadn't noticed before. Didn't she just clean the other day? Looking around she noticed more and more dirt leading from her kitchen and to the back door.

A back door that wasn't locked.

If there was one thing she was absolutely sure about, it was that she ALWAYS locked her doors.

Her blue eyes flitted to the TV, noting the news report about an escaped convict, but surely he wouldn't have run into a suburban neighborhood. That kind of stuff only happened in movies. Right?

She broke into a run, heading for her front door, but her hand had barely touched the knob when she felt someone wrap their arm around her waist and a hand clap over her mouth. Reacting purely on instinct, she stumped on their foot, eliciting a manly grunt of pain, and elbowed them in the ribs causing them to release her.

Momentarily free, she ran for the back door, telling herself she just had to get next door to Dick and Korys house. Nobody may have been home, but she would have felt safer in a cops home.

She weaved through the kitchen, aware that he was right behind her, but she kept her eyes on the door. She put her hands around the knob, but felt a pair of hands grab her arms and pull her back. She stumbled over something, him possibly, and fell backwards, hitting her head on the counter and collapsing onto the floor unconscious.

—:0:—

Her head was pounding as she slowly came back to consciousness, but when she tried to move her hands, they were stuck, in fact she couldn't move any part of her body. Regardless of how much pain she was in, her eyes snapped open, finding that she was tied to a chair. Her hands had been pulled behind the chair, rope wrapping around her wrists and to the bars of the chair. Her ankles had been tied to the bottom rung of the chair and rope had been thrown over her lap, waist, and shoulders to keep her tied firmly to the chair back. Moving her head she felt one of her scarves had been stuffed in between her teeth and tied behind her head.

Saying she was in trouble was an understatement.

She wanted to panic, but she forced her rational, obsessive mind to take control. She took a few breaths through her nose to assess her situation. Looking around she was in her bedroom, the curtains drawn and the door closed. She had been tied to one of her kitchen chairs with rope that she kept in her garage that she used when she went camping to enjoy nature and solitude.

Her panic returned.

She had been unconscious, did he…?

She looked at herself, and aside from the rope she was still in the clothes she was in when she got home, white button up shirt and black skirt with flats, and nothing had been removed. Aside from the pain in her head, and the discomfort of the rope, she didn't feel pain anywhere else.

Her rational mind returned.

So he knocked me out? Tied me up, but didn't take advantage of me? He's probably looting my home. But all of her valuables were in her room, were she was alone.

Still, a strange man was in her home, she was tied up and helpless. This wasn't good.

Red and blue lights flashed outside her window, and a spark of hope lit inside her. Using her whole body, she began pushing the chair towards the window. If she could somehow get the curtain open, maybe someone could see her and possibly rescue her.

It was worth a shot, but not to be.

The door to her room opened and her chair was quickly grabbed and pulled away from the window. She grunted and growled behind her gag, struggling against the tight ropes. Whatever he was going to do, she was going to make it as hard for him as possible.

But she wasn't expecting this.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Please calm down! please!"

She paused. Sorry? Please? She focused on the man, seeing that it wasn't quite a "man" at all. He was young, twenties maybe, with disheveled blonde hair and a dirty complexion and clothing. His eyes were a piercing green that were pleading, fearful, and remorseful. Her brows narrowed, angry, but curious. What kind of home intruder was this?

He sighed in relief when she settled down. "Thank you." He stood up and started pacing, his hands running through his blonde locks. "I am so, so, so, so, sorry about this. I didn't mean for this to happen. Any of this. It's just—ugh!" She involuntarily flinched at his outburst. "Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry I didn't mean…" He continued babbling incoherently, that was beginning to grate on her nerves, but looking past him, saw that he had brought in a water bottle. For her maybe?

"Uughmph!" She grunted to get his attention, then motioned her head towards the water bottle.

"Oh! Yeah!" He grabbed it and brought it towards her. "Sorry, I'm just," he paused, "wait, you're not gonna scream are you?"

She watched him closely, he broke into her home, attacked her, tied her up, and was now helpless and at his mercy.

Yet she wasn't afraid.

Slowly, she shook her head no. He eyed her for a moment, but slowly came up to slip the gag from her mouth.

She moved her jaw around, sighing with relief, but didn't scream. "Thank you." She could see weight being lifted from his shoulders and a small, attractive smile on his lips. "Um, water?"

"Oh yes!" He brought it to her lips and allowed her a small drink. Her eyes closed at the liquid cooling her insides, helping to soothe and calm her down. She finished and he took the bottle away.

"Thank you." She flexed against the rope. "Now can you untie me?"

The weight returned, and his smile faded into a worried stare. "Um… not yet, but if you don't scream I'll keep the gag out."

Their eyes met, and still she couldn't find any malice or maliciousness. She didn't feel threatened, rather this felt like a necessity for him, self preservation, like a cornered animal.

Still she had to keep her guard up.

"Fair enough."

He sighed again, becoming more relaxed, and he sat on top of her bed, a heavy silence settling between them. "So, um, you're probably wondering what's going on?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm mildly curious."

He laughed nervously. "Right. Well, um, I'm Gar, and I'm…"

"—on the run from the police?" He looked surprised, "you're on the news. Everyone is looking for you."

His eyes dipped with what looked like hurt. "Oh." Her head tilted in curiosity as he leaned forward to put his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry…"

Now getting annoyed, "You've said that already." She struggled against the ropes again. "Do you mind telling me what you're doing here?"

He lifted his head, wiping away a few tears. "Sor—erm, yes. Well," he stood up, "I should start from the beginning I guess. So I was dating this girl, Terra, and I was crazy about her, but what she didn't tell me was that another guy was obsessed with her. Some guy named Slade, I don't know, but anyways he was stalking her, calling her, following her, all kinds of stuff."

He slowed down, his voice tightening up. "I, uh, was at work, and when I got home…" his hands came up to his mouth, "she was…"

She couldn't help but feel pity for him. "I'm sorry."

He nodded, wiping his tears again. "Thanks. Anyways I called the cops and when they showed up, they arrested ME?"

Her head lifted. "What? Why?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. They just showed up and slapped the cuffs on me! Do you have any idea what that's like?"

She waited a beat, wondering if he was serious or just stupid. "No. I have no idea what it's like for someone to come uninvited to my home and restrain me against my will."

He chuckled nervously. "Heh. Sorry—I mean. Um… anyways…"

There was silence for a moment or two. "Why did you escape? Why not just go to the station and plead your case?" She asked.

"I did! I mean, I wanted to…but I don't know." His hands ran through his hair again. "The cop car they took me in was T-boned, and the next thing I knew I was running for my life."

She quirked a brow as she came to the conclusion on her own. "You mean you broke into my home by chance?"

He nodded. "It was the only home I saw with the lights off at the time, I picked the lock, and snuck inside. I grabbed a beer and was gonna leave when the heat died down, but then, I heard your neighbors leave so I hid."

"Then I got home, and the rest is history." She finished.

"Yeah. I hid as best I could, but when I saw you see the dirt on the ground, I knew I was done." He motioned to the ropes. "I didn't mean to do that to you, but I didn't know what else to do. I just panicked."

She relaxed a bit. "I see."

Silence again, this time a bit more uncomfortable. "So, um, what's your name?"

He shrunk beneath her glare. "You broke into my home, knocked me out, drank my beer, and tied me up. We are not going to have small talk."

He gulped with another nervous smile. "Cool."

He clapped his hands on his knees. "So what now?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure."

She pulled against the rope again. "Well if you're open to suggestions."

"I know, I know, I can untie you and I will, I promise. I just need to think."

She rolled her eyes. "Well take your time, it's not like my hands need steady blood flow or anything." She softened her tone. "But seriously. You need to turn yourself in, if you're innocent then an investigation will show that."

He nodded. "I know, I know. I guess I'm just not a fan of being caged or anything." He stood up. "Just, give me a minute." He left her alone, giving her a chance to test the ropes again, but they were unyielding. She couldn't help but feel impressed by his knot work.

After a few minutes of struggling she sat back and relaxed, unable to free herself she had nothing left to do but wait for him to let her go. Hopefully soon since she had lost the feeling in her hands a while ago.

Finally after what felt like ages he returned. "Okay, here's the plan." He untied the scarf from her neck. "I'm going to turn myself in, but there's some things I need to do first, but here's the bad part. I'm gonna to leave you here."

She was actually relieved to hear this. He wasn't dangerous, sure, but that didn't mean she wanted to be a hostage. "But I'm not gonna untie you either. I'm gonna make a 911 call and tell them about a pretty dark haired woman tied up and get the cops to come and untie you. Sound good?"

Her face was placid as she responded, but ultimately relieved. "Do I have a choice?"

He chuckled. "I guess not. Again, I'm sorry about all this."

He brought the scarf to her mouth to regag her. "Rachel."

"Huh?"

"My name. It's Rachel."

He smiled. A wide smile that made her stomach flutter. "Rachel. Nice to meet you."

—:0:—

The door burst open. "Police! Show me your hands!" Rachel flinched at the light shining in her eyes. "Is there anyone else in the house?" She shook her head as the officer came closer once the light was out of her eyes, she saw her neighbor, Dick Grayson remove the gag from her mouth.

"Took you long enough," she droned, "did you stop for drive through?"

He let out a relieved chuckle, "Don't you mean, 'thank you for saving me'?"

"You're right Dick, how about I give you a big hug… Oh wait."

He moved behind her and began to undo the ropes. "Did you see who did this to you?"

"Nope." She stated matter of factly. "They knocked me out and I woke up like this."