Lifetimes
By Carla
DISCLAIMERS: All the characters and locations belong to DC or Warner, I'm just playing around with them. Helena-oriented, but other characters play a big role as well.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm really sorry it took me so long to post the next bit but my job keeps getting in the way, I'll try to work around that. Anyway, thanks a lot for all the nice reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter V: Surprises
Nightwing made his way through the cold night, the streets seemed empty, which only meant the lurkers were hiding. Alfred had been right, the moment Barbara Gordon opened her eyes, she was back in The Life. Right now, there was only one mission they had to accomplish: Find Helena Kyle. Barbara had set up a computer system Dick didn't even want to begin to try to understand, technobabble was Barbara's thing. All he cared about was: First, a picture of Helena to actually know what she looked like; second, Barbara had been able to locate Helena in this awfully dangerous street of New York, how she had gotten here, he didn't know; and, third and most important, find the girl and bring her home.
Midway through his walk, he figured that maybe the Nightwing costume wasn't the smartest of his ideas in this particular context, but he couldn't afford to stop his search now, and an older man trying to convince a sixteen-year-old to come with him wasn't a nicer approach anyway. The truth was, Dick felt safer with the costume on. He was Nightwing, so Dick wasn't going to get hurt, Dick wasn't going to continue mad, Dick had nothing to do with the situation. Nightwing had a job to do, at the very least, he was going to make an impression on the girl, that was a good thing, it gave him an edge. Amazing after all this years of crime-fighting he felt like he needed an edge against a teenager.
::Nightwing, do you copy?::
"Yeah, Babs."
::Come on 'Wing! No names, I told you I'm...::
"Oracle now, sorry. Not used to the name yet. Where do I go now?"
::There's an alley in front of you, right?::
"Yeah."
::Turn to the left, two blocks down.::
"Should've taken the Nightbird."
::Too late for that now, go.::
"Sure boss." They had been looking for Helena for a month now, night after night they had missed her. He had no idea how she was doing it, but it was like she knew whenever they were coming, and then simply outsmarted him. He was just hoping he would find her this time. Three months of living in the streets was too much for a girl that had had the life Helena Kyle had enjoyed so far.
He was close now, he could hear something... voices? Struggle? He run faster. He could almost make out the words now: "Make it easier on yourself darling" "Trust me trashbag, I'm not the one in trouble!" "What you gonna do bitch?" "Kick your sorry ass!" The kid had attitude, but Dick wasn't sure if that would help her at all... And then it happened, he could see her, he recognized Helena, and two guys were crowding on her, they didn't notice him. Helena grabbed a pipe and smacked one man on the head with it, she moved so fast he almost missed it, the big man fell. She was about to knock down the other when she suddenly screamed and covered her eyes, she fell to the floor, the other man was about to hit her... he never knew what hit him when Nightwing made his move. He laid it hard on both of them, for attacking this kid, for trying to... they ran for their lives. Part of him wanted to follow them and continue beating the crap out of them, but he knew he couldn't, he had more important things to do.
He turned and... the pipe hit him square on the jaw. He screamed and fell to the floor, listened to her footsteps as she ran away.
::Nightwing?! Do you copy? You alright?:: Oracle's voice sounded in his head.
"No I'm not! She attacked me and ran away!"
::You finally found her?:: he could hear the emotion in her voice.
"I'm okay by the way..."
::A little girl beat you up? Big deal! GO GET HER!!!::
He didn't answer, he already knew he had to get her, he was simply looking for a little sympathy here, but never mind. He ran. There was no way Helena was getting away this time, you can't outrun Nightwing, that's a law right there. He followed her trace, she wasn't hiding it, why would she anyway? He finally stopped at a dead end. She was standing there, pipe still in hand, facing him, fearless expression on her face. She DID resemble Bruce. But something was very different... her eyes! She had cat eyes now! She didn't when he found her at the alley, or in her pictures, even the recent ones. She was wearing a simple pair of blue-jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket, her long dark hair was flowing freely and she was wearing a hat.
"Why are you following me?" she demanded. Dick was speechless for a second.
::Helena!:: Oracle had obviously heard her voice.
"Not now!"
"Sorry?" Helena asked.
"I wasn't... never mind. I'm here to help you Helena."
"How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot about you."
"I didn't need your help with those thugs, I don't owe you a thing! So be on your way buddy or you'll get your head smacked again!"
"Like the attitude, I really do, but I won't fight you. I swear I'm here to help you."
"I don't need your help." She started to leave, Dick knew he wasn't accomplishing his goal at all, so he opted for another way: No superhero, just absolute disclosure.
"I can tell you why your eyes change and why they hurt the way they do." This made her stop. Gotcha, Dick thought. "It will stop hurting, trust me, just give it time. When did the pain started?"
"Who are you?" For the first time in their conversation, he could see in her eyes she was afraid.
"Answer me."
"About three months ago."
"After Selina died?" She looked shocked, better to say all he could before she got mad "Anger triggers it? No, I think not just anger, it probably happens when you feel threatened. It's... normal, for a lack of a better word. You can see better, right?" She nodded. "When you relax, they'll go back to normal. Your mother was able to command it, so I'm pretty sure that with some practice..."
"What do you know about my mother?!" Now she looked mad. "Her eyes never changed."
"Oh they did Helena, trust me on that one. A friend of you sent me, Barbara Gordon."
"Barbara is dead!"
"No she is not Helena."
"I went to her place! There was so much blood and... she's dead!"
"No she's not, I can prove it." Nightwing took his earpiece and handed it to the girl in front of him. She regarded it for a few seconds and finally decided to take it and put it in her ear. She was still staring at him.
"Hi?" she said timidly.
::Oh my God! Helena???!!!::
"BARBARA???? Are you okay?"
::Yes sweetie, I am. Where are you?::
"New York... Barbara she..." Helena was crying, Dick wanted to hold her, but he knew she wouldn't allow him, not yet anyway "He killed her... he killed mom... and then... I don't..."
::It's okay honey, please just come back home, I'll take care of you.::
"Why did he?"
::Helena, listen to me. I'm going to answer all your questions but I need you to come back to New Gotham, you'll be okay, I promise you, everything will be okay. The guy in the funny costume is a friend of mine, his name is Nightwing, he's a good guy, trust him, okay?::
"Okay."
::See you soon, I love you honey.::
"I... I'll see you soon Barbara." She took the earpiece off and handed it back to Nightwing. He smiled at her, she was regarding him curiously.
"You won't try to whack me anymore?"
"Barbara says your name is Nightwing?" she asked.
"Actually," Dick answered as he took the mask off, "my name is Dick."
"Home sweet home." Dick commented as they entered the manor. Bruce Wayne was standing by his side, but he didn't answer or even acknowledged his comment. Okay... Dick thought, never mind then.
"Where is Alfred?" Bruce asked. Dick smiled, he was a detective, alright. Still, he wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. 'Alfred is the Clock Tower with Barbara and your daughter' didn't sound that right.
"I don't know, maybe he decided to leave the manor." Bruce gave give a 'Like that would ever happen' look. Dick had to come up with something better.
"The house is clean and everything is the way I left it. Alfred is still living here."
"Grocery shopping?" Man, Bruce was right, he hadn't been paying attention to a word Batman had said all that time he had been mentored as Robin! After so many years, that was the best he could do? Luckily, Bruce left him out of the hook and started looking around his home.
"It's amazing... Nothing has changed, as if I had been here yesterday."
"But a lot has happened. Bruce, I know you're kind of avoiding the subject, but you should really call Babs..."
"The Batcave!"
"What?"
"We haven't gone to the Batcave yet." Okay, now Bruce was simply trying to change the subject. Had Dick thought for a moment even talking about Barbara was easy on Bruce?
Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, had once been like a sister to him... at least that was the idea. But Dick had always had a crush on her, she was smart, funny, beautiful and shared his biggest secret: That he was Robin. They had spent a lot of time together while growing up, but he had never told her... He had been afraid to cross the line, to change everything, and he had never told her that he was in love with her.
Then, Bruce and him had had their fallout. Bruce had fired him as Robin after the Joker had shot him. And he had got mad, felt betrayed and left for Bludhaven. The hardest part had been leaving Barbara, but he had done it anyway. After that, everything had changed. He realized now how he must have hurt her, she had missed him all those years... they had managed to get something of their old relationship, until their latest fallout.
They had gotten Helena Kyle back home. She was a nice kid, and after a while, she and Dick had become friends. But after Selina's death, Helena was the embodiment of a 'trouble child'. She was ditching school, sleeping who knew where, hanging out with gangs, smoking, drinking and he prayed that this was all she was doing. Barbara decided she needed guidance to focus her anger, so she should join their illustrious line of crime-fighters. Enough is to say Dick had whole-heartedly disagreed. Still, Helena, beyond her attitude, worshiped the ground beneath Barbara, she so obviously looked up to her, she would have done everything and anything Barbara would have asked. Helena never ever in her life had mentioned any interest in being a superhero, the only thing she had ever mentioned as an interest had been killing the Joker, and the henchman who had killed her mother, with her own bare hands. When Barbara had talked her into joining their mission, the Huntress had been born.
Then, Dick had decided it was his time to leave. He would have gone back to Bludhaven right then and there, but Barbara had had one last favor to ask from him. Batgirl was amazing on the field, but Nightwing was better, at least with the physical stuff. And under the current conditions... well, there simply was so much that Barbara could teach Helena, and the nature of Huntress' powers made her more of an acrobat, and even before... Dick was the man to teach her that, he had grown up in a circus, he was an acrobat himself. Dick had agreed mainly because he had wanted to make sure his baby sister wouldn't get killed on the field, but had been proud to realize that Helena needed very little coaching, she knew her moves right.
After that, he had left. Helena and him had parted in good terms, but Barbara and him... that had been a different story, one he hoped he would be able to finally solve... Part of him was always going to be in love with her.
So, to keep trying to convince Bruce to meet with Barbara was not going to be easy at all. He turned to Bruce and then realized that he had probably had spent a pretty long time thinking about Babs, since Bruce Wayne was long gone. He couldn't hide a smile, and walked towards the Grandfather's Clock.
Bruce Wayne was standing in Batman's hideout, which happened to be below his own home, the Batcave. Like the house, it looked just the way he had left it. Stuff laid broken on the floor, his Batman uniform, one of them anyway, was shredded in the mess as well. He walked towards it and took the mask in his hands. He had blamed everything on the mask, it had all been Batman's fault, Bruce Wayne had been his victim.
He had created Batman after his parents had been murdered, as some sort of avenging angel, a protector to New Gotham and its people. The rooftops masked in the night had been his kingdom, were he had met the most colorful gallery of foes: Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Hugo Strange... Catwoman... the Joker. Soon he wasn't alone in his crusade: Dick Grayson had become his ward, Robin, his own son. And Barbara Gordon had become his Batgirl, not quite a sidekick, not quite an equal, but definitely a member of the family. With them, there were also others he had cared about: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Carolyn Lance, Jean-Paul Valley... the Bat Family. Batman had actually given him a family once again. Thanks to Batman he had met the love of his life, a mind-blowing cat-burglar by the name of Catwoman, a.k.a. Selina Kyle. There had been nothing on this earth that she couldn't steal, including the Dark Night's heart. For years he had fought it, she was a thief, it was wrong... but in the end, he'd had to give into her, he had fallen in love and that was it.
The last time he had worn the mask, he had thought he had beaten the Joker, his greatest foe, once and for all. But he had been wrong, the Prince of Clowns had escaped, crippled Barbara and killed Selina. So, his family, Batman's family, had been shred to pieces, and he had run away, as far and fast as he could. But the thing was, being only Bruce Wayne, he had never got a family again. Part of him had been missing, yet he had been way too scared to reclaim it.
Her mask was on the floor as well, Catwoman's. He missed her. He had failed her. He had failed everyone. He would never see her eyes again, he wouldn't be in the receiving end of her whip again. He would never make love to her again. She was gone. He could do nothing about that. He would never be able to apologize, either. But he still had one last chance to make peace with himself: Barbara Gordon was still alive. He had bailed on her the minute things had got hard. He knew Barbara, she would never hold that against him, she would understand his pain, but he was still ashamed. He had to go to her and ask for her forgiveness, not only because Batman had failed Batgirl, but because Bruce Wayne had failed one of his oldest and dearest friends.
But even if he knew what had to be done, that didn't make it any easier. What was he going to say anyway? And who was this person, this whole new person Barbara had undoubtedly become? Dick didn't know. He hadn't said much, but Bruce knew he had left New Gotham almost seven years ago as well, and had never got back. Strange, he had figured he would hang around Barbara a bit longer, they were so obviously in love... The same way Dick used to say he and Selina were. If his love story with Selina had become tragic, he didn't want the same for his son.
"Now this is a mess!" Dick had just entered the Batcave "If my room had ever been this awful you would have grounded me until we could replace the Batmobile for the Batstarship."
"That's the worst crack I've ever heard Dick."
"I know. I'm nervous, cut me some slack here." He heard the younger man's footsteps as he approached him and then waved a piece of paper in front of his eyes. He took it but didn't read it, just kept staring at Dick.
"When you left, someone had to make sure the town goons wouldn't take over. Babs did it, took a new identity, worked in a different way, became a mentor herself. New Gotham is her town now, she's known as Oracle."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"We both know that the main reason you are here is to talk to her so for once in your life, and mine I might add, LET ME FINISH. She's been waiting for you, Alfred indeed lives here but helps her a lot. In that paper is her phone number and the address of her place... she sort of lives in her lair..."
"What?"
"Bruce..."
"You don't live at the lair! Wasn't she paying attention...!"
"When you taught us yadda yadda yadda... care to tell me where the Batcave is?"
"BELOW my home."
"Big difference. You can reprimand Babs when you see her. For now Bruce, when you're ready, let me know. I have some things to get out in the open with her as well." With that, Dick Grayson was gone. He already knew Barbara was keeping everything in order, he had never asked how, but he had heard about it. He was proud of Batgirl... or Oracle. Oracle? She had always been a smart kid, but how had she come up with that one? Well, it seemed he was going to get the chance to ask her. He opened the piece of paper Dick had handed him an a expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
"CLOCK TOWER???!!!" He could hear Dick laughing upstairs.
"What is wrong?" Barbara could hear Black Canary's voice, but she wasn't paying attention to the words. She was regretting now not sending Dinah with Helena, she shouldn't be here by herself, this was too much for her to take on her own.
"Helena come home... Helena! Huntress answer me!" To not avail, Barbara knew she was not getting anything from her tonight... She looked at Dinah and Carolyn in front of her, she considered sending Dinah, but she couldn't be there fast enough, and Carolyn probably wouldn't evoke the best response from Helena under the circumstances. She thought about what she had to do, Helena probably wouldn't like it, but she had to.
"Are you going to say something here Barbara?" Carolyn asked.
"Actually she's not, mom, give her time." Dinah told her mom. Good kid, Barbara thought, but didn't acknowledge either of them. Barbara touched a key on her computer and a voice greeted her, she could see Dinah was startled, she obviously recognized it.
::Hello::
"Hello, Detective Reese."
::Who's this?::
"Yeah, answer that one." Dinah joked.
"This is Oracle, Hunt..."
::The Voice? How did you get my cell number?::
"I'm the Oracle, Detective. I need to ask you a favor, Huntress might be in trouble."
::What?:: She could read the worry in the young detective's voice, and under other circumstances, she would be happy about it ::That's impossible, I just saw her!::
"Look Reese, I don't have time to explain..."
::Do you guys just like saying that?::
"She's by the hyenas cage, please Reese, go get her."
"Hyenas!" Carolyn could now understand what was happening.
::And then?::
"Take her... wherever the hell she wants you to, but please Reese, you have no idea how important this is."
::Okay, I'll go get Huntress.:: and with that, he closed the connection.
"Barbara, speak now!" Carolyn demanded.
"Someone broke into the zoo, the guardians were murdered and two hyenas have been stolen," she answered, closing her eyes. This was very difficult for her as well.
"Massive murders and stealing hyenas? This can't be happening."
"Okay, I'm out of the generation loop or something, but what is going on? What can't be happening? Barbara? Mom?" Dinah asked. Barbara finally decided to explain everything to her younger protege, she would need her help as well.
"Back in the old days, the Joker" Barbara could see Dinah stiffen at the mention of the name, she was getting it now, "and Harley Quinn, his loon sidekick, used to have a couple of hyenas as pets. Also, they were two of the most crazed killers ever, it's in their character to kill everything in sight..."
"Do you know how they were killed?" Carolyn asked.
"Helena didn't say, but..." Oracle scanned in her computer, "They were poisoned... gas."
"Okay, this IS the Joker, Barbara. Didn't Huntress said something about the devices?"
"Not a word, but it's a pretty safe bet."
"So we are really talking about the Joker here?" Dinah asked, sounding a bit scared.
"That, or Harley." Carolyn answered. Barbara smiled, Carolyn was one step ahead, as always. It was good to work with her again... That is, if she agreed to help.
"Carolyn," she started "I know you're in retirement but..."
"This is the Joker, Barbara, you need all the help you can get."
"Thanks, old friend."
"Okay, so then," Dinah started, "this is either Harley or Joker..."
"Or both," Barbara said.
"Right. Against Oracle, Huntress, Black Canary and me, we should be able to pull it off, right?"
Barbara could almost laugh at the young girl's innocence "Actually Dinah, I'm not at the field, Huntress I'm guessing would be more of a problem than a solution, you're inexperienced were the Joker is concerned and Canary is... retired."
"Smart of you not to say old Barbara." Carolyn commented.
"So what, are we doomed then?"
"Not at all Dinah, I'm just saying it won't be easy... not at all.
"Hello Ha Ha Harley!!!!" was the first thing Joker said as he faced his long time sidekick and girlfriend.
"MISTAH J!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, over-enthusiastically as always, and launched herself to what she hoped were his expectant arms. Instead, the clown barely grabbed her by the shoulders and sent her straight to the floor. Unflappable, Harley stood up and continued jumping up and down around him, clapping her hands. "I'm so glad you're here Mistah J!!! I knew they couldn't keep you away forever!!!"
"Still took you long enough to figure out how to get me out." The Joker answered as he walked to the small throne in front of him, assuming it was for him, of course. He patted the hyenas "Bullethead, Sniffer." He greeted them like he already knew them. "So what's new Harley? Where is he?"
"HE??!! Who he?!" she asked, which granted her a whack on the head.
"Who do you think blondie? Batman!!"
"Oooohhhh... Mistah J, Batman is gone."
"What?!"
"Yeah, he left town soon after you."
"Oh God... Oh God... OOOOHHHHH G-O-D!!!!! NO!!! It can't be true!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He was on the floor, almost in tears now, Harley was immediately by his side, holding him in her arms and patting his head. "He can't be gone... Bats gone... then who am I Ha Ha Harley? Who am I? The Joker is Batman's greatest foe... but if he's gone... his foe is... what? There's no point anymore... not without Bats..."
"Oh Mistah J, it's okay."
"How can you say that, stupid bitch? How is it going to be okay? Who's foe am I going to be now?"
"Oh, Harley Quinn already solved that, Mistah J. There's a woman here..."
"A woman? Is she hot?"
"This woman..." Harley chose to ignore his last comment, "has being getting under my skin for quite sometime. She's New Gotham's protector now, since Batsy's gone."
"Is she as good as Batsy was?"
"Better."
"Really? Enough to amuse this old clown?"
"I'll say Mistah J!!! Her name, is Huntress..."
It took him around twenty minutes, but he finally found her. He was worried after Oracle's call, usually Huntress didn't need any help... at least she acted like she didn't need any. She was standing in front of one of the cages. Those were some of the ugliest animals he had ever seen. She was still standing there, she didn't even turne to greet him, and it came as a shock for him the realization that she might have not felt his presence yet.
"Huntress?" he called to her. He saw her shoulders stiffen, but didn't turn. This was getting awkward, he tried again "Huntress, are you okay? Your invisible friend called me..." No reaction to his joke, he was getting out of ideas. He was now standing so close to her, and her back was still all he got. He decided to try and do something he hadn't ever done before and might be dangerous under other circumstances... and hopefully for other people. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her, so they were facing each other. Had she been crying? Oh my God! She had! Without a word he pulled her to his chest and held her in his arms, it just felt like the right thing to do. She didn't cry, didn't reciprocate, didn't make a move, but didn't push him away either. This was one of those times he hated not knowing her name, or anything about her, he hated the fact that he couldn't help more. Then he noticed for the first time that there was another body on the ground, and that she was holding something in her left hand.
"He's back," she finally whispered. He pushed her slowly, his hands still on her shoulders. Her eyes were still locked on the ground, he reached for her chin, so he could now see her eyes.
"Who is back, Huntress? What happened here?"
"He killed them all, like he..." She couldn't finish her sentence.
"Who?" He reached for the strange looking device in her hand and took it. "What is this?" he asked, trying to convey in his voice that she could trust him.
"This is a bomb."
"A bomb? It has an smiling face on it."
"It's his trademark."
"Who's trademark."
"The Joker's," she finally answered, after considering it for a little while.
"The Joker?"
"He was a... remember when you talked to me about this guy... Batman?"
"Yeah."
"Batman fought Joker for years, he was pretty much a terrorist... Batman finally managed to bring him to justice. Apparently, he has escaped now."
"I though you didn't know anything about this Batman guy."
"I lied."
"Why?"
"Because, Reese... Batman is my father."
Reese was stunned to say the least. Both about the information he was hearing, and about the fact that Huntress was disclosing so much information to him. Whatever this was, it was hard on her, really hard. And if she was telling all of this to him, she was probably scared and needed his help.
"Okay... Oracle... she told me..." he tried not to show how nervous he was, he wanted to be there for her. Whatever she would like to tell him, he was not going to push it. "You might need a ride somewhere..." He saw her smile. That was a good thing.
"You are not going to make any more questions?"
"Not right now."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing."
"It is something Reese... it means a lot to me. About that ride?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't face Oracle, Canary or Dinah right now... maybe my place."
"Are you sure? Even if this Joker is in town to take you down?"
"He isn't. He doesn't know I exist."
"Alright... then, I guess I'll take you to your home... Wouldn't it be better if you were with Oracle right now?"
"I don't know..."
"You don't have to talk to her if you don't feel like it... just stay with someone who cares about you." He could see she wasn't sure about what to do. He had never heard about the Joker, but it was obviously a rocky theme with Huntress, so he figured Oracle should keep an eye on her. With some of the foes these women had, he didn't feel like he was going to be able to protect her all the time, no matter how hard he tried.
"You're right... I should go to the lair."
"Where is it?" he asked, not even bothering to ask why she called it 'lair'.
"The Clock Tower in the city."
"I know it. Come on Huntress, I'll take you there." Now he was trying not to act surprised at the fact that somebody actually lived at the Clock Tower.
"Reese..."
"Yeah..."
"Helena Kyle." Reese smiled, he had earned it now, and that made him so happy. He reached for her hand and she took it. As they made the way to his car, Reese called the cops to take care of the body, but he and Helena took the bomb with them.
Barbara Gordon was speechless. That in itself would have shocked most people, the Oracle almost every single time had something to say. But this was the last thing she would have expected. Then again, maybe she should have after the new developments in New Gotham. It's really true, one day alone can change the rest of one's life, and she was facing that day now.
"Booo." An all too familiar voice had said. She was for once in her life happy to be sitting in her chair. Had she been standing, chances are she would be on the floor now, her hands were already shaking and she was sweating. She had hoped for this day, now she realized she should have feared it.
"I... I didn't... I..."
"Gee Babs, you used to be a lot more articulate in the old days." Dick Grayson made his way out of the elevator, the man by his side followed him but he hadn't said a word yet.
"Oh... Dick it's so good to see you..." she finally managed to say as Dick reached for her and took her in a warm embrace, warmer that she had figured it would be after the way they had parted.
"Same here Babs... you look great!"
"Thanks." She smiled as they separated. Now she finally took into the sight of the other man. He was older, a lot older than she remembered him. Older than a man his age should be, but she could understand why. He was looking her straight in the eye, the way he always used to do back when they ruled the night. But probably for the first time ever, his stare didn't intimidate her. If anything, she felt sorry for him, for she could see so much pain in his eyes. She didn't miss the way this pain increased when he looked at the chair she was now sitting in. He looked at her eyes again and finally walked the distance. There's no rushing Batman.
"Hello, Barbara."
"Hello, Bruce." She decided to solve his dilemma for him, and took his hand in hers, he looked at their joined hands and smiled, then finally they embraced.
"I'm so sorry," she heard him whisper.
"Don't. It's not your fault."
"It is."
"No. I'm okay Bruce, I'm so glad to see you again." They finally separated but Barbara wouldn't let go of his hand. She figured he was in more need of the contact than she was.
"I'm glad too... Funny, I didn't thought I would be... but I'm glad to be here." He smiled. That was good, he was healing. Then Barbara noticed Dick staring at her, the warm was pretty much gone now. She could read his eyes, she was always able to do that. He was wondering when she would tell him. As Bruce smiled at her, she realized she was close to shattering this image, their reunion. There was no way to predict how he would react, but there was no way to run. He was here, he deserved the whole truth she had hidden from him.
"Oh God... Bruce? Dick?" Barbara registered Carolyn's voice behind her. That was a welcomed interruption. She watched as Carolyn and Dinah entered the room. Carolyn embraced Dick and then faced Bruce, they didn't have an easy relationship either, but they were always friends down in the end, and it didn't took them long enough to share their own embrace. Then she just sat there smiling while Carolyn introduced Dinah to two of the greatest heroes to ever grace the world. When Bruce made a passing comment about how he couldn't believe one of them actually had a kid, for pairs of knowing eyes found their way to the floor. As Carolyn, Bruce and Dick caught up, Dinah approached her mentor.
"So this is...?" she started.
"Yes."
"Did you...?"
"No."
"When are...?"
"Don't know."
"Okay."
A noise interrupted any other attempt to question from Dinah's part, a noise the others didn't recognize, probably didn't even hear. But Barbara and Dinah had lived in the Clocktower long enough to know what it was: The elevator. Alfred was out shopping and he was a routine man, still had two hours to go. There was only one other person who could be coming to the lair.
"Well that solves the when." Dinah commented, as they heard the elevator stopping. Barbara could do nothing but prepare herself for the inevitable.