\Chapter 7

I rode my motorcycle home, letting the wind rip through me and my thoughts consume my mind. I had involuntarily fallen in love with Kat and now I had no idea what to do next. I didn't want to think about giving her up but there was nothing else to do. We were partners and Bruce would definitely not like that fact that we were involved. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew that sometimes being romantically involved clouded judgement. Not to mention that I still had a girlfriend and she loved me although lately I was unsure of my feelings but I couldn't hurt her. Then again I couldn't hurt Kat. I had been thinking so hard that I didn't notice I had sped up to a frightening speed and tried to slow down. Getting myself wrapped around a tree wasn't going to solve my issues. When I got home I threw my tired body unto the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing Kat, hearing her voice and remembering the way she felt in my arms, warm, nice and perfect. The pain of knowing I was going to loose her gripped me and the hurt was almost physical. I had to bury my head in my pillow and try to drown out the sounds of her laugh, the smell of her hair but it wouldn't go away. It was like she had completely taken over my thoughts and my heart. I couldn't take it anymore and I got up to go see Max. Maybe she would know what to do or at least take my mind off of my present situation. When I arrived at her home I rang the doorbell and knocked. There was no answer but the door was open. I let myself in.

"Max?!" I called through the house. I didn't hear an answer but I heard the shower running. I went and sat outside of the bathroom with my head in my hands. There had been many times when I had sat in the same place and poured my heart out to her, now was no different.

"I need your help," I started but there was no response from the bathroom but the shower stopped. I figured she was just listening and continued. "Tonight, I…well….I kissed Kat and it wasn't like a peck on the cheek. It was a real kiss. I didn't think it would effect me so much but…I…I think I'm in love with her. I can't stop thinking about her and I have no idea what to do. I don't want to hurt Dana but…"

"Max?" I asked again. This time there was a response. I was getting a little worried at the silence but the door opened.

"Dana!" I gasped. She stood with the door flung open, her eyes red and puffy from the tears that were falling.

"How…could you! How could you do this!" She said in between sobs.

"Dana I…" I tried to step forward and reach out to her but she jerked back violently. "Don't touch me, Terry! Just get out! Get out!"

She ran slammed the door of the bathroom and I could still hear her shaking sobbing through the door.

"I'm sorry. Please come out so when can talk about this." I said trying my best to comfort her.

"I have nothing to say to you, Terry McGinnis! Now go away!" She screamed. I sighed realizing that there was nothing I could do right now.

"I still care about you, Dana." And with that I left my vigil at the bathroom door and went to the front door. I almost collided with Max who was coming in with several large grocery bags in her arms.

"Terry, what are you doing here. Dana is…"

"I know." I interrupted. I took the bags and we sat on the couch were I explained what had happened. That I thought it was her in the bathroom and instead it turned out to be Dana.

"Oh…wow, you got yourself in a bind, huh." Max said.

"You think? Thanks for the support, Maxine." I said getting up.

"Sorry. I guess the ball is in Dana's court now. She has to decide whether to forgive you or not but you also have to decide who you want."

"That's the problem I don't know what I want." I said wearily. Max got up and put her arms around me in a hug.

"Thanks." I held her for a moment longer. I could always count on Max, she was always there for me.

"Anytime, that's what friends are for." She said as if she had read my mind. "Now you really need to get some sleep." I put my arm around her as she steered me to the door and said good-bye. Then I went back to my own house and I actually slept without any interruption.

I woke the next morning and knew immediately what I had to do. I got on my cycle and raced over to Wayne Mansion. The light in Kat's window was on so I entered and went straight up to her room.

"Kat?" I said knocking on the door. She appeared in front of me, looking still tired and disheveled. I wasn't sure whether or not this was a good time but at the sight of me she brightened.

"Hey, Ter. What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." I said slowly. The bright smile that had crossed her face soon diminished to a serious expression. She knew something was up and I kicked myself for not waiting but I knew that I did I would probably never have the guts to do it.

"Yeah…sure." I took her hand and we walked to the balcony overlooking the rolling hills that sad behind the mansion. The sun was high in the sky and it emitted soft rays of light over the green. Kat stood beside me looking out into the sky too. I didn't know where to start but that turned out to not be a problem.

"Terry." Kat said and I moved my eyes to her. When she had my attention she breathed in hard and continued. "I've been thinking about last night and…well…I think that maybe it was just the heat of the moment. And that we should continue to be friends."

I tried to look calm but inside I was reeling. That was exactly what I was going to tell her and here she was saying it herself.

"Friends. Right." I said nodding dumbly.

"Good. I'm glad we worked that out." She said giving me a peck on the cheek and walking back inside the house. I didn't follow her but I stood with my hands stuffed in my pockets and started out into the world wondering where all this was going to lead.

I left Terry on the balcony after my speech and went back to my room. I shut the door and leaned my head against it as new tears started to form. I couldn't believe that I had just lied to him but I knew what had to be done and I did it. There was no turning back now. I had chosen the course and we were going to follow it. I left out the parts about me waking up in the middle of the night and crying because I realized that it would never work. I was Batgirl, he was Batman and we worked together. The last thing we needed were more complications in our already complicated relationship. I brushed away the tears with the sleeve of my shirt and tried to cheer myself up by making plans with Max to go shopping. I dressed and went downstairs, noticing that Terry's bike was still here. I did my best to avoid him by going out the back way where Max was waiting in her car.

"Hey Max." I said when I got in.

"Hey Kat. Is Terry here?" She asked. I felt my heart squeeze and I nodded.

"Then I guess I'll see him later."

"Yeah you probably will. You know him…always around." I said knowing that was the exact reason that I was leaving.

The subject of Terry was dropped for the rest of the ride and Max and I talked like old friends. She was very fun to be around and soon we became very close. At the mall we tried on clothes, some of which we knew we would wear and some we knew were just for our own amusement. I even found a Batman sweatshirt, which I bought and stuffed into the bottom of my shopping bag. Max looked at me curiously but didn't say anything. As we were eating lunch, Max spotted the muscular form of Cameron. She called to him and he came right over.

"Hey, babe." He said leaning down and kissing her.

"You remember Kat, right?" She said when he had finished.

"Of course. Hi, Kat." He said friendly. He sat down and we all began to laugh and talk. Cameron had an excellent sense of humor and was funny as he was cute. I couldn't help but see the way he kept looking over at Max with complete admiration in his eyes and my heart squeezed again when I recognized it as the look Terry had given me last night.

"Hey, Kevin! Over here!" Cameron called to someone. A tall, well built guy sauntered over to the table. He wore a leather jacket and jeans. He looked like he had walked out of a high fashion magazine.

"This is Max and Kat. Girls, meet my friend Kevin Garner, he plays football with me at Gotham Academy." Cameron said. We exchanged hellos and Kevin sat down next to me. Conversation continued as usual but I kept feeling Kevin's eyes on me. I tried to ignore it but it was making my neck burn. Finally the boys confessed that they had to go and we reluctantly said our good-byes. Cameron kissed Max and Kevin shook my hand but he let his fingers linger over mine for an almost undetectable instant. His hazel eyes smiled and I felt myself blushing all over again. As soon as they left Max began.

"Kevin was definitely checking you out the whole time."

I waved the notion away. "He was not. He was just being polite."

"Right. Whatever you say." She said slyly. I knew full well that he was but I didn't want to admit it After what happened at the Zone with Ehtan and then with Terry, I was ready to swear away the male species for good. I was continuing to ward off Max's cries that he was interested in me when my cell phone rang. It was Terry.

"What's up." I asked.

"We have a situation. You are being followed," Terry said in a rushed voice. I instinctively began to turn my head. "Don't look! They could be watching you."

"What is going on?" I asked with a tremor of annoyance. If some crazed psycho was following me, I wanted to kick his butt and get back to more important things, like shopping.

"Remember how I put tracers on those guys from the charity ball."

"Yeah."

"Well, the ones that I put them on are here now within fifty feet of you. And I suspect that they didn't come alone."

"Who are they?"

"Bruce has a suspicion that they work for Crime Lord."

"Damn It. What should I do. They are probably all armed and I don't have the suit."

"Yes you do." He said. I lifted an eyebrow. "Go into your purse and you'll see a dial with a red button in the middle of it. Find someplace secluded and put the dial where you would put a belt clip. Press the button and bam…instant Batgirl."

I smiled and wondered how in the world he and Bruce had set this up but there wasn't much time to muse.

"Max, I need to use the restroom."

"Didn't you just go?"

"I really need to use the restroom." I said using my eyes to send a silent message to her. Apparently she understood because she picked up her purse and followed me. I kept my eyes straight ahead and noticed a few rustlings. I hoped the jerks wouldn't follow me into the bathroom. Once inside I placed the dial over my belt clip and pushed the red button. In a few seconds the bat suit had wrapped itself around me and I was Batgirl. Max stood with her mouth wide open.

"Holy Batwings." She said. "That's pretty schway stuff."

"Thanks." I said. Then I explained to her the situation and the plan. I would put my stealth mode on and walk behind her to the car just in case anyone tried anything funny. It would look as if I had gone home another way and she was all alone. When we got in the car she would stop at her house to make sure that no one was following and Terry would come with the car to pick me up. To anyone it would be like Terry had stopped to visit and then left but he would be leaving with me. She opened the door to the bathroom and I walked out behind her. Max went through the exit to her car and got in. I got in first through the drivers side because it would look very odd if the passengers side door opened by itself. So far the plan was working. We were at her house and Terry was waiting.

"Hi Max, I just wanted to drop off this book." He said handing her a decrepit school textbook.

"Thanks." While they did this I made my way to the car and waited for Terry to open the door. When he had I got in, he entered behind me and started the car.

"Whoa…that was interesting." I said nonchalantly. "How do I get this thing off."

"It sure was. Press the button again." He said. Immediately the batsuit folded up and flew back into the dial.

"This will sure come in handy. Do you think Bruce could make me one in blue?" I said. Terry laughed and drove back to Wayne Mansion. We both went down into the Batcave to be briefed on what had happened. Bruce was sitting with his back to us as usual, typing away.

"Good thinking, Kat," He said not turning around. "I think the pieces to this rather twisted puzzle are coming into place."

"Those men that were following you, do indeed work for Crime Lord. I had Terry trace them and their hideout happens to be a warehouse frequented by Richmond. It also happens to be the one that they had you hold Batman in."

TO BE CONTINUED-----CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES ON THIS CHAPTER!!!!!!!!