Disclaimer: They aren't mine, and really, crazy glue will fix those breaks right up…

Character/Pairing: Barbara/Carolyn, Barbara/Dinah

Repeating Memory

Chapter Five

Warmth; her whole world consisted of nothing but the intense warmth that originated from the center of her belly. It radiated outward in a random, but meticulous pattern, covering her entire body and bursting into the space around her. All she could do was run her fingers through the thick red hair of her lover and moan. In that moment, the world could have ended, and, she wouldn't have cared.

Later, and she lay, Barbara's head cradled in the crook of her arm, she knew; this could not be allowed to happened again. There was too much at stake, and, in the end, she admitted to herself that she was too afraid. Afraid of getting hurt and afraid of hurting Barbara anymore then this ending would. She knew that she could never make the girl happy, and she couldn't bring herself to indulge and try. It wasn't fair to Barbara, and it wasn't fair to Dinah to have her attention so divided…

That's what she would tell herself, over and over, as she stood stone faced but breaking on the inside, as her ex-lover and Partner in Crime Fighting wept and begged and asked what she had done to displease her. She told herself it was for the greater good as she swept the redhead into a final kiss, than rushed away, wiping an errant tear from her cheek at the horrible pain that lanced through her chest. She would be leaving Gotham the next day, taking Dinah with her. She tried desperately to block out the heart-wrenching sobs out, but, they would haunt her dreams until the day she died.

She was there again, the redhead with the fake ID, just as she had been for the last three weeks. Each night, she would come in around midnight, and she wouldn't leave until closing, drinking heavily her whole stay. He had sent her away the first four nights, but, she had kept coming, and finally he had relented. The bone deep pain he felt from her made her sympathetic, and not a little curious.

"So, what's your story?" He asked again, sliding another Rum and Coke her way. She sighed, quite used to his questions by now. "Look, I've left you alone till now, but it might help to talk. Besides, if you don't tell me, I'm gonna have to toss ya… we both know your ID is bull." He grumbled, knowing he had gotten to her. He felt her resistance weaken, then disappear; anything to keep the booze coming, he knew.

"I just wanna forget her," the girl murmured, and he could feel it was all she could do not to burst into tears. He nodded and made clicking noises in his throat; he should have known it was a woman, because only women could cause so much pain in another creature.

"Broken heart, eh?" he asked, redundantly. He felt a pang of empathetic pain; he knew exactly what that was like. "How bad do you wanna forget?" he asked, mind suddenly coming up with a solution. The girl looked intrigued, if increasingly sad.

"More then anything and not at all."

"How about this, Sweet Pea; how would you like to forget until your old enough to truly handle it?" He offered, knowing she would want to know more.

"Hey, I'm old enough!" she growled, than blinked as she became a bit dizzy; too much alcohol and not enough food. "Besides, I can't; I've got Eeedet-Eydt- I've got a photographic memory." She slurred, and he grinned at her.

"I'll tell you a secret Sweet Pea; I'm a Meta. Not something you're bound to know about, but, let's just say I have special powers. I can make you forget the pain… for a while, anyway. All it'll cost you is this: ya gotta promise you'll help her, when she comes to you."

The girl stared at him for long moments, dumbfounded and confused, before shaking her head and blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "Her who?"

"Blue eyes, corn silk angel hair, and the most innocent smile you've seen. Don't hurt her, let her down say, and I'll help you." He replied, deadly serious. She only nodded, hiccupping.

He brushed his hands over her sweat soaked temple, and he felt her fear at the clouding of her mind. "When will I remember?" she asked, voice pinched, and he smiled kindly at her.

"When something harsh reminds you of it; probably when he's laughing and there's numbness, or when those cat eyes look at you with love." He replied, cupping her face. Her mouth became a wide O and she gasped.

"Can you see the future?" she asked fearfully. He nodded, touching her forehead gently with his fingertips; her vision blurred and she felt a coolness spread over her mind.

"Only when I look into your eyes."

FINIS

AN2: Yeah, I know… cheap ending… but, I didn't think it really needed one. I mean, this is just a wrap up for the past (one final shot at stabbing Barbara in the heart… man, I'm cruel). So, that's it…