How strange death is. For years you fight to suppress the moments you've wanted to forget for the rest of your life, but when life begins to slip away from you, those images come flooding back before your eyes, overshadowing those moments you've always wanted to remember. It is then that you realize, it wasn't only the best of moments that had sculptured your life, but it was also the worst.

For Helena it was the death of her mother.

Mom? Mom, can you hear me, it's Helena. Mom? You have to, you have to, you have to hear me.

She had to have heard Helena, she was alive only seconds ago.

Mom!

Helena looks up, trying to find a spark of hope, someone who could help her, someone who could bring her mother back, but instead she looked into the cold eyes of the one who took her away.

Stop him! Somebody stop him! Somebody stop him!

Life she knew then, life with her mother, all the happy times she had spent with her in Paris, ended as the knife dropped to the ground, bloodied by Selina Kyle's blood.

Mom? Mom?

Helena had once said the death of her mother changed her, changed her into something she wasn't meant to be. But now, she wouldn't give any part of her life up, she had become the person she was meant to be.

Helena felt her head get lighter as the oxygen in her lungs became less. She could still feel Reese holding on to her hand, his grip tight and unyielding. More images flashed through her mind as the current of the rushing water dragged her and Reese deeper into the bowels of the sewer.

Barbara twirled a piece of cotton around her finger. It had been hanging loose from her sleeve, she carefully plucked it off, careful not to damage the seam. Barbara normally did this when she was anxious and nervous altogether.

She didn't know what to say to Justin, she still felt odd in his presence; she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Coupled together with Dinah's predicament, it made a one red headed women with a bundle of nervous crying out.

"Justin, I…" she began to say, she tried forming the words she wanted to say, but she difficulty pronouncing them, " I just wanted to say Thank-you for…" she looked up at him, straight into his blue eyes, that sparkled back at her, as if teasing her, wanting her to finish what she wanted to say, "…for what you did back there. I kind of lost it…"

"You're welcome," he said softly.

Inwardly, Barbara was relieved he had interrupted. It was hard enough for her to admit having lost her otherwise calm and cool collected self, but it was harder admitting it to a total stranger. At least that's what he really was, a stranger, and a gorgeous one at that. Barbara mentally slapped herself.

Barbara turned her attention back at Dinah. It was hard not to see Dinah smiling shyly, her eyes a shine with life. Barbara reached over and tucked a lock of Dinah's long blonde hair behind her ear.

"She's going to be alright," Justin said soothingly.

Gosh his voice is so beautiful; she thought when she looked up at him.

She questioned how he could be so sure that Dinah would make it. How could he be so certain, he didn't know Dinah, who and what she was? Hoe could he be so sure?

Someone standing in the doorway cleared their throat. Barbara and Justin looked up to see Cris smiling apologetically. Her arm was set and in a sling, and she sported a cut just below her left eye.

"Cris!" Barbara exclaimed, she had totally forgotten about her in all that has happened, "Thank God you're alright, what happened?"

Cris nodded to Justin and then answered, "I was inside the tunnel when part of it collapsed. Had a bit of a drama inside then got rescued before the whole tunnel caved in."
She winked mischievously at Barbara before turning her eyes towards Dinah's still form.

"The nurse told me what happened, I'm so sorry Barbara," Cris said as she walked up and stood alongside Barbara, placing her only free hand on Barbara's shoulder. Barbara nodded her face grim and her lips pressed. A movement in the doorway caught her eye, she looked up and immediately recognized the man who stood in front of them.

"Mr. Harper," she said, "Glad to see you in one piece too."
Matthew smiled and nodded, "I too am glad to see you alright." He glanced at Justin and for a brief moment Barbara could swear Matthew recognized Justin.

That's when she felt it, anger, like a ripple in a calm pond. She looked at Justin. His eyes had narrowed slightly, and the once peaceful and assuring look was displaced by something that looked like hatred. He turned to her and said, "If you'll excuse me, my niece is the nurse attending on this floor, I have yet to greet her." He stood up and nodded courteously at Cris and then left, pushing past Matthew.

Well, you almost killed that man.

Not really, even though I wanted to more than anything

Yeah well you didn't. So what do you say we try that dinner?

Yeah… Or we could, go straight to dessert.

Sure he had kissed other women before, but that kiss that night, was the first ever, that made him feel real and alive. He had wanted to do that every time she 'dropped' by, every time she looked into his eyes and then looked away, almost shyly.

The moment his lips touched hers and his eyes closed, he knew then that this what she wanted too.

Yeah… we could do that.

A small waved gently touched his face. Reese blinked and then took in a deep breath of air, immediately spluttering water afterwards. He opened his eyes. Everything was out of focus, it was like his eyes were water logged.

I'm never going swimming again for a long time! He thought has he slowly tried picking himself up. He managed to sluggishly throw himself into a seating position and then looked around. It looked like he had landed on a loading bay of sorts, a ramp that lead into the water. It lead up towards a platform, littered with junk. He tried to stand up but then crumbled to the ground, his foot hurt badly. The water must have slammed it against the wall during it's trip through the sewers. He grimaced as he stood up, trying to avoid pressure on his foot. He looked around and then realized why something felt amiss to him. His hand was empty, whereas before, he had Helena's hand in it. Almost frantically he tried to spot her body nearby, hoping the water had spilled her close to him.

He spotted some odd markings on the ground, almost like something had been dragged on the ground. His eyes followed it up to the entrance of a maintenance tunnel. A gut feeling told him to follow that tunnel. Something told him, Helena was there, and he wasn't about to give it another thought. Limping as fast as he could, he entered the darkened tunnel with only the safety of Helena in mind.