Thank you all for the lovely comments! This story will hopefully have 15 chapters, and I'm currently writing chapter 12, so we'll see if I actually make it to 15. That's the goal, but if I write what I feel is the natural end at 13 or 14, then that's when I'll end it. Again, this story doesn't really follow any canon except for my own, and I pull face-claims from all over. Bruce, Alfred, the Joker, Scarecrow, and Two-Face are all from the Nolan movies, Penguin and Riddler are both from the Schumacher/Burton movies. Jason and Dick are both from Titans. All over.
This is the chapter we've been waiting for, so I hope you all enjoy!
Regan woke up, very confused, and very sore. Her glasses were on her face, she was wearing a hoodie and jeans- a hoodie and jeans she remembered trading for a dress the previous night- and her dog was on her bed with her.
"Gracie, you're not supposed to be up here," she mumbled, although she wasn't really mad about it. Waking up to a warm dog cuddled up to her wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Lifting up her hand to pet the dog, her eyebrows furrowed when she spotted the black cast covering her right hand up to her elbow.
"Wha-" she started, only to cut herself off with a shake of her head. "I need coffee."
Getting up, Regan changed out of her day old clothes and into leggings and a t shirt. Her hair was tangled, but she also only had one hand, so she left it down, running her left hand through it as she went to open her bedroom door.
Gracie rushed out in front of her, and to the couch.
"Gracie, don't you want breakfast?" Regan called, only to realize her dog was nosing at something on the couch. Or rather, someone.
"Hi, girl," a voice said, and she saw a hand come up to pet the dog's head. "If you're out here, then that must mean Regan's up, yeah?"
The person on her couch sat up, and it only took Regan a moment to realize it was Dick, wearing a white t shirt that he must have been wearing under his suit the night before, and his black slacks. His black hair was more disheveled than she'd ever seen it.
"Dick?" she asked in surprised. "What're you doing here?"
Dick looked up, then, spotting Regan in her kitchen. "Morning, Regan," he said. "You feeling better?"
"A… A little sore," she said, confused. "What're… What happened last night?"
"You don't remember?" Dick asked, getting up from the couch to walk over.
"I-I remember going to the gala, and we danced… And then…" she furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember what had happened. "The Penguin, he showed up. Blew up a wall," she finally said.
"Yeah, and you broke your wrist," Dick supplied. "I took you to the hospital, remember?"
"Yeah, I think so," Regan's eyebrows were still furrowed, her blue eyes darting around the room as she thought about it. "You went back to the museum to get my stuff, didn't you? Because I know I left my glasses there."
"Yeah, got your clothes and gave them to a nurse," Dick said, sitting down in a chair at the bar. "I guess they got you changed because you came out in a hoodie and jeans, and your glasses instead of contacts."
"How'd you know my address?" she asked, finally moving to make some coffee.
"I had to fill out the hospital forms since your dominate hand is kind of broken," Dick said. "Your address is on those forms." Technically not a lie, and she didn't need to any other way.
"Oh. Well, thanks for bringing me home."
"You're welcome," Dick said with a smile. "Here, the nurse said you'd have to take one of these every six hours for a few days, and then in eight weeks, you'll go in to get the cast taken off." He handed over a bottle of pain killers, and then when she tried and failed to open it, he took it back and opened it for her.
"Thanks," she said. "Want some coffee?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Dick said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Regan said with a grin. She tried to pick up the coffee pot with her right hand, sighed, and finally picked it up with her left to bring over to the bar. "This is gonna take forever to get used to. Cream, sugar?"
"Uh, cream is fine," Dick said. He watched as she put the pot down onto the bar and then opened a cabinet, bringing two mugs out of it.
One had the Superman logo on it, and the other the Wonder Woman logo.
"Which one you want?" she asked, pouring coffee into both.
"Either's fine," Dick said, and then grinned as she poured creamer into the Wonder Woman mug and handed it over to him. "A woman after my own heart," he grinned.
"These aren't even the only two," she said. "After Nightwing had to save me from muggers- twice- Sasha got me the Batman set, so I also have Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Batgirl. The Nightwing one's my favorite, but it's in the dishwasher."
"Nightwing's a lucky guy," Dick said, lifting his Wonder Woman mug up to take a sip. He could already feel the effects of the caffeine, and he happily took another long sip.
"You know, he asked me if I had a boyfriend," Regan said.
"Yeah, you told me," Dick said.
"Well," Regan leaned her left forearm onto the counter, leaning forward towards him. "Do I have something new to tell him for the next time he has to save me?" she asked, meeting his gaze, blue into blue. "Or just the same old thing?"
Dick leaned back in his chair for a moment, crossing his arms. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline for just a moment, and then he grinned, "I did call you babe at the hospital," he finally said.
"You did?" Regan asked with a grin.
"I did," this time Dick leaned forward so they were face to face. "But, there's still something I tried to do at the gala, that kind of got interrupted."
"Oh yeah?"
Dick grinned as Regan stared at him, eyebrow quirked up.
"God you're gorgeous," he said, his voice low.
"I'm a mess," she corrected, peering up at him through the lenses of her glasses.
"Nah, I think I like you best like this," Dick said, "wearing comfortable clothes, a mug of coffee, and glasses. Absolutely, drop dead gorgeous."
She smiled shyly, dropping her gaze as her cheeks turned red. Dick smiled at his success, finished his coffee, and then came around the island to put his mug into the sink. That done, he turned to Regan, who was hiding her mouth behind her own Superman themed mug. He stepped up to her, gently taking the mug from her hand to set onto the counter. Then he placed his hands lightly on her hips.
"Last night, I almost kissed you," he said quietly.
"I almost let you," she responded.
"Would you let me if I tried again?" he asked.
She looked up then, her eyes meeting his. She licked her lips, her gaze dropping to his lips for just a moment. Finally, she said, "Yeah."
He smiled slightly, his grip on her hips tightened, and then he leaned down. Regan stretched up as much as she could, until their lips met in a soft, coffee flavored kiss. Dick could just taste the sugar from Regan's coffee on her lips. He felt her casted hand rest on his chest, and one of his hands came up to cup her cheek.
The separated after a moment, eyes meeting again. Dick chuckled, then, upon realizing that Regan was up on her toes in order to reach him.
"Man you're short," he laughed, wrapping his arms around her more fully in order to hug her.
"Not my fault you're a giant," Regan said, wrapping her own arms around him in return.
"I'm only 6 foot 1," he said, beginning to gently sway them back and forth like they were dancing.
"And I'm 5 foot 3," she said. "Only two inches under normal."
Dick laughed, and it was such an infectious sound that Regan couldn't help but join him.
"There's that laugh I love," Dick said, pulling away ever so slightly. She smiled shyly again, and he couldn't help but ducking down and kissing her again. This time, their lips actually moved, moving together like a well-rehearsed dance. And then that line went through Dick's head and he decided that he'd read one too many of Jason's books.
Just as their kiss began to go deeper, though, a bang caused them to jump apart. He looked around wildly, both his detective and Nightwing instincts screaming at him to find the threat and take it out. What he found, however, was the dog. She'd dropped her food bowl at their feet, and sat, waiting patiently.
"Oh, Gracie," Regan said with a laugh. "I'm sorry, girl, I didn't forget you." Separating from Dick, she crouched down to grab the bowl and pat the dog's head, and then took it over to the cabinet. She quickly put food into the bowl, and then brought back over to where the bowl was supposed to be, next to a water bowl.
"Gracie, sit!" she commanded. Gracie sat, her tail wagging. "Good girl, wait!" she set the food bowl down, grabbed the water bowl, and quickly rinsed out the bowl and refilled it. Once it was full again, she brought it over to set down next to the food bowl. "Good girl," she said, "Okay, free!"
Given the word, Gracie jumped forward and began to eat.
"Well trained dog," Dick said as Regan backed up. He placed an arm around her shoulders.
"She's a failed service animal," Regan said. "Knows all the commands, but never fully grasped the whole opening cabinets and doors thing," she said. Then she shrugged. "I take her to the children's ward of the hospital every couple of weeks, the kids love her."
"You're just the perfect woman, aren't you?" Dick asked, looking down at her in awe.
"Nah, I'm not perfect," Regan said. She brought her arms up to wrap around his neck as best she could with a cast on. "I'm just bringing a dog to some sick kids," she shrugged. Dick's hands landed on her hips, the natural place for them, it seemed.
"Still, to those kids, you're as much a super hero as Wonder Woman or Superman," Dick said.
"I would have chosen Batman and Robin, myself," Regan said, and Dick laughed.
"Not sure everyone in this city would agree with you," he said.
"Then fuck those guys, Nightwing's saved me twice now, and I think Red Robin provided the distraction last night so I could run out of the museum," Regan replied.
"I knew I was right to describe you as a spitfire," Dick said, grinning proudly.
Regan giggled. "So, you never really answered my question, earlier," she said.
"Which one?" Dick asked, knowing exactly which question she was referring to.
"Nightwing asked me if I had a boyfriend," Regan repeated. "What am I telling him next time he saves me?"
"I'm hoping he doesn't have to save you again," Dick said. "But I guess you can tell him you have a boyfriend, now," he said, blue eyes shining with amusement.
Regan grinned a wide, toothy grin, and then she practically jumped up to kiss him again, her good hand winding into his dark locks. One of his hands mirrored the move, tangling into her own blonde hair. The other went down from her hip, and then separated from her just long enough to wind his arm under her butt and lift her up.
"Holy-!" Regan exclaimed with a laugh, one Dick smiled widely at. He deposited her on top of her counter.
"I figure this way, you're closer to my height," he said, placing his hands on either side of her to box her in.
"I like your thinking," Regan said.
Dick laughed, and then kissed her again.
…
The next few weeks flew by. Because she'd been injured at a work event, Regan was granted a week of sick leave, plus the week it would take to rebuild the front of the museum. Gracie loved it, because it meant for two weeks, Regan was almost constantly at home. Dick came over several times, and took her out a few times. A week and a half in, Dick accompanied her to the hospital, holding Gracie's leash as Regan spoke with a nurse she was familiar with.
"You know the kids love Gracie," the nurse said, leading Regan and Dick back to the children's ward.
"Gracie's back!" an excited voice exclaimed, and Dick looked up to see a small child, pulling a pole with a bag of saline attached behind her.
"Hi, Maddie," Regan said, smiling as Gracie sat in front of little Maddie and happily allowed the small child to practically climb on her.
"Hi, Miss Regan!" Maddie said, and then her gaze, her eyes -a dark, chocolate brown- slid to Dick. "Is that your boyfriend?"
"Yeah," Regan said with a smile. "He is. Dick, this is Maddie, one of the children Gracie visits. Maddie, this is Dick."
"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Dick," Maddie said shyly.
"You too, Maddie," Dick responded, a delighted smile on his face. "Gracie's a good dog, isn't she?"
"Gracie's the best!" Maddie exclaimed. "Miss Regan brings her to visit me all the time!"
"And isn't she just wonderful for that?" Dick asked, crouching down to pat Gracie's head.
"No one's as wonderful as Miss Regan," Maddie said, brown eyes wide. Dick chuckled.
After a few minutes with Maddie, Regan took Gracie to see more children. All the ones who had seen Gracie before were overjoyed, and the few new children had shyly pet her. There was one, though, that really tugged on Dick's heartstrings.
"This one only came in last week," the nurse who was bringing them around, "Stage four leukemia. Been in and out for over a year. We've done everything we can for her, and unfortunately, nothing's worked. Her parents are going to bring her home tomorrow morning, so she can go surrounded by family. Hopefully seeing Gracie will at least bring a smile to her face. Her name's Grace."
Turning from the young couple, the nurse knocked on the door. "Grace? I have a guest for you."
"Okay," a weak sounding voice said. "More treatment?"
"We're trying something different today," the nurse said with a smile.
The nurse gestured for Regan, and she and Dick walked into the room. The little girl in the room was pale, with dark hair, sunken, green eyes, and she was so, so skinny. Regan's heart dropped upon seeing the little girl, but she still put a smile on her face.
"Hi, Grace," she said quietly, walking over to stand next to the bed. "My name's Regan, and this is Dick. I brought something that I think might cheer you up," she said.
"Another treatment?" the girl asked, her voice rough sounding and weak.
"Something like that," Regan responded. Tapping her hand on the bed, she said, "Up!"
Gracie jumped up onto the bed, curling up against little Grace and sniffing at her face.
"Oh!" Grace exclaimed. "I've always wanted a dog," she said, bringing a hand up to pet the dog's head. She giggled when Gracie licked her.
"This is Gracie, she's a Labrador mix, about 2 years old. She's here to try and make you smile, again," Regan said softly. Grace was ecstatic that the dog shared her name, and very happily pet and cuddled the dog for an hour. Her parents came in at one point, and were nearly in tears when they saw their daughter smiling and laughing, all because of a dog.
Regan could only pull Gracie away from the sick little girl after Grace had fallen asleep, so Regan quietly got Gracie off the bed and out of the room.
"Ma'am?" a voice behind her asked as she and Dick made their way to the next child.
"Yes?" Regan asked, turning.
Oh.
It was Grace's mom.
"I haven't seen her smile and laugh like that in months," the woman said, tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you." Then she surprised Regan by hugging her.
"It was my pleasure, ma'am," Regan said, returning the hug. Finally, the heartbroken mother pulled away from Regan and went back into her daughter's room.
Regan had had to find an empty room to break down in, Dick hugging her the entire time.
Yeah, seeing children smile when presented with a dog was amazing, but cases like Grace always got to her. This was the first time she'd ever had someone to comfort her while she cried.