Cassandra sat alone in a far corner of the cave, relishing the darkness. No one would find her here. Not that no one could…but they wouldn't bother looking that hard. Not for awhile at least. She shivered and choked back her tears. No more crying, she told herself firmly. She had cried when Batman had fired her from being Batgirl…but then she had disobeyed and been Batgirl anyway. She had to do that now…take action instead of sitting in a corner feeling sorry for herself. A tiny voice, one that was growing louder by the minute, chastised her, shrieking that she should have killed Cain when she had the chance! So lost in her thoughts was she, that she didn't even notice the soft footsteps approaching until a plate of cookies appeared at her side. She stared at them dumbly for a second, then looked up at the person holding the plate.

"I thought I might find you here. It is a nice spot to sit and reflect…I'm sure I've lost count of the number of times Master Dick, Master Jason…even Master Bruce, have tried to hide away down here." Cass blinked at him, confused. Alfred handed her the plate and then stood back, the light from his flashlight disturbing the shadows.

Cass put the plate down on the rock next to her, and folded her arms around her knees. Alfred sighed. He moved forward, stooping a bit, and sat down next to her on another outcropping. Cass had to blink again to confirm what her eyes were telling her.

"What are you doing?" He raised an eyebrow, finally settled into position.

"Sitting down." As if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I have a feeling we may need to have a bit of a chat, and I'm not as young as I once was. I would prefer to be seated at the table in the kitchen, much more comfortable and fresh tea, but since you've chosen this spot, I suppose it will have to do." Cass glared at him.

"I don't want to talk."

"Indeed." She eyed him suspiciously. Alfred was funny sometimes…she couldn't read him as she could other people. She wasn't sure if that was a result of a lifetime of being a butler, fading into the woodwork, and all that, or perhaps it stemmed from his training in England. Either way, she could only know what he was thinking when he wanted her to know…such as when voicing his latest disapproval of Batman's actions, or silently supporting one of his "charges"…the rest of the time he was unreadable…and it was irritating. She grunted. He simply smiled and waited. Sure enough, his patience was rewarded.

"You…heard?" She wouldn't look at him, but he nodded as he answered.

"Yes, I heard. Your guilt is misplaced, though." She looked up at that, surprise, curiosity, and…hope reflected in her eyes. She looked away again, her voice laden with disbelief.

"No. He even told me so…he did it because of me." Alfred nodded understandingly, but answered a bit harshly.

"And that makes you responsible, I suppose?" She started to answer but he held up a restraining hand. "No. I've heard just about every argument for self-torment known to man in my time, most of which are unfounded and irrelevant, and none of which apply to you. Especially in this case. Now, you may feel free to spend countless hours using up your energy berating and feeling sorry for yourself. Or you might put some of that energy to good use, figuring out how to bring your father" she winced "to justice and prevent him from acting again. I, for one," he added more gently, "would choose the second option." That said, he rose and left her alone.

She watched him disappear around a corner, and considered what he'd said. He was right…she'd already decided that self-pity was useless…but finding a way to stop Cain without crossing that ever-present line…well, that was another story entirely. Now, if she could just figure out…she shook her head. No, she wasn't going to figure anything out sitting alone in the dark. She caught a glance of the plate of cookies Alfred had left. Well. Now was as good a time as any, she supposed. Maybe if she appeared bearing gifts her welcome would be a little warmer. She took a deep breath, picked up the plate, and hurried after Alfred, hoping he'd know exactly the right thing to say.


Tim stared hard at the practice dummy, willing it to do something to annoy him. He'd changed into workout clothes, hoping to burn off some of the excess energy threatening to tear him to pieces, but once he'd reached the gym, he'd been unable to motivate himself to do anything. So he'd given the dummy a few half-hearted kicks, but that didn't seem to help anything and now he was reduced to wishing a cloth and stuffing-filled target would somehow spring to life and attack him, just so he had a reason to tear it to bits. The dummy didn't move. Tim glared at it, and gave it one last petulant kick.

"Stupid doll." He turned, then nearly jumped out of his skin. "Jeez, Cass. Warn a guy, next time, willya?" She frowned and glanced down at her hands, which, he saw, were full of a plate with Alfred's famous cookies piled high upon it. He turned back to the dummy, finally riled enough to hit it with a strong attack. His back being turned, he didn't see Cassandra pale and almost turn to leave. Instead all he saw was red. Cass sighed.

"I need to talk to you." He ignored her and gave the dummy another good thwack, and she could tell he wasn't seeing the dummy when he struck out so hard, but someone else entirely. She tried not to take it too personally…he was hurting, she could see that, and his anger wasn't necessarily directed at her. Of course, since she'd felt pretty much the same way about herself for the past day, she couldn't really blame him if it was directed at her.

She frowned. Whether or not he was justified in his anger towards her was irrelevant at the moment. She was most likely the only one who could get anything out of, or have any chance of stopping, Cain. And promise or not, Batman wasn't about to let Tim become overly involved…he didn't seem to think Tim could handle the pressure and not cross that line. She had crossed that line, long ago, and she believed Tim needed this closure…and she would make sure he didn't go too far…she shivered…even if it meant losing his friendship. Speaking of which…

"I need to talk to you, now." He viciously chopped at the dummy, finally severing the head from its body. He stood breathing heavily for a moment, unwilling to turn to face her. "Please, Tim?" With a heavy sigh, he slumped his shoulders and dropped his head. He turned to face her, but didn't quite meet her eyes.

"I don't really want to talk right now." At least he was talking to her. She took a few steps closer to him.

"That's what I told Alfred." That got him to actually look at her, a questioning frown on his face. He noticed that she actually looked almost as bad as he felt. His frown deepened. What was up with that? He was the one who'd lost his father, who'd failed his father. What did she have to be miserable about? She was eyeing him warily and he paused in his mental tirade, vaguely recalling her claiming that it was her fault that his father had died. Well, that was silly! She'd even said it herself…his dad had fallen victim to someone out to get Robin.

"Tim?" He blinked, realizing he'd drifted off into his own dark musings.

"Um, what?" Cass sighed, and walked over to the bench, putting down the plate she'd carried. Tim hesitated, trying to go back over what Cass had told everyone earlier that day. He'd pretty much shut out the whole conversation after Cass had confessed about the hit that had been put out for him and anyone close to him. Wait. Hadn't she said…

"Listen, we have to work together, ok? Batman said you can help, but… I don't think he… believes you'll make it. Not that he wants you to fail, it's just…ohhh!" She growled the last word, frustrated and unsure how to make him understand that he could nurse his anger at her later, but if he wanted to be in on this case, he had to trust her, at least for a while.

"You said…" She looked up expectantly. He was frowning at her as if he couldn't understand what she was doing there. She held her breath as he sorted out the questions running through his head. "You…you said Cain…David Cain? Did this?" She nodded, waiting for him to continue. He mulled over this for a moment. "Um. Did you…I mean…do you know why?" She blinked. She hadn't realized he had been so out of it earlier. She'd known he was distracted, but…

"Yeah…" She drew the word out, trying to figure out how best to word it. "He said there was a…"

"I heard that part." She flinched at the harshness in his tone. "But…" she held her breath, "there was more, wasn't there? I mean…" he broke off, looking lost.

"Yes. There was more," she answered softly. She looked away as she continued, "he…he told me that he did it because of me." Tim didn't react and she peeked at him. He was looking at her funny, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking…that was disconcerting. "He said I was…sta…stag-mating?"

"Stagnating?" His voice was quiet, not angry…not yet.

"Yes." She frowned. Apparently he read her confusion, as he gave her the first little smile she'd seen all day.

"It means, um…stuck. Not moving forward, not improving." She nodded.

"Yes. That's what he meant."

"But what does that have to do with…"

"He…" she reddened, looking down at her hands. "He said he heard the Batgirl and Robin were…working together a lot…um… and he thought…" She stumbled to a halt, feeling stupider than she had in months.

"He killed my dad because he thought we were dating?" She glanced up, startled at the laughter in his voice. That wasn't funny! Why was… "Sorry." He sat down on the bench, his head in his hands. "Sorry…that wasn't funny. I just…I'm not quite reacting appropriately to things today." She nodded mutely, waiting for him to get his emotions back under control.

"I…I'm sorry, Tim." He raised his head at the despair in her voice, recognizing for the first time that she thought she was to blame for everything. He felt another hysterical laugh welling up, and squashed it ruthlessly.

"Cass…it wasn't your fault." She shrugged, obviously not believing him. He started to speak, but she suddenly glared at him and poked him in the shoulder…hard. "Ow! What…"

"Well, it wasn't your fault either." At least…if Alfred wouldn't let it be her fault, why should she let it be his fault?

"But…" She raised her eyebrow, daring him to disagree. He sighed. "Right. Gotcha." She could tell he wasn't quite convinced, but he was at least willing to suspend self-guilt sessions until they finished the case, just as she had.

"Now what?" He looked at her in surprise. She was watching him carefully…letting him make the calls from now on. That was…nice. She apparently trusted him…more than Batman did, anyway. He swallowed hard. Well…if she thought he could handle it, he wasn't going to let her down. He gave her a grim smile.

"Now? Well…I guess we get to work."


To be continued…