A shorter, more fluffy chapter. I promise, we'll have some conflict here soon. ;)

When the eight weeks were over in late December, Dick drove Regan back to the hospital so she could get the cast removed. Once that was done, he took her for a late lunch.

"To the cast finally coming off," Dick said, raising his beer up.

"May I never break a bone again," Regan finished, clinking her glass against his. She was drinking a mixed drink that tasted like a strawberry starburst, and she couldn't be happier about it.

"You know, you live in Gotham, it's likely going to happen again," Dick said with a grin. "I've broken I don't even know how many bones."

"I broke my leg in middle school," Regan said. "Was the first bone I ever broke, and only until my wrist."

"My first bone was when I was six," Dick said. "Fell off the baby trapeze and broke my collarbone."

"They had baby trapezes at the circus?" Regan asked, sounding delighted at the concept.

"Oh yeah," Dick said. "I had to learn everything before I could go up on the big ones, so I learned everything about ten feet up. One day I fell. Once that healed, I was right back up there."

"Sounds like you," Regan said with a fond smile.

"Bruce built a gymnastics gym for me after I moved in with him, broke a few bones in there, too," he said with a laugh, bringing his beer up to take another sip.

"Would have loved a gymnastics room," Regan said with a longing voice. "And Bruce just let you run free in there?"

"Oh trust me, I gave Bruce plenty of heart attacks in there," Dick said. He laughed, "First time I fell in there, I fractured a bone in my foot, and Alfred found me lying on the floor. Bruce panicked, thought I'd shattered every little bone. I'd only fractured one, but it hurt like hell, so he was convinced I'd never walk again."

"I remember in high school, you were on the gymnastics team," Regan said and Dick nodded, "You could have gone to the Olympics; why didn't you?"

Dick shrugged. "It was never about competition to me. Whenever we did a meet, the scoring thing just stressed me out. I didn't like the stress, so I decided to not compete anymore. I still do gymnastics, I just don't compete."

"That's fair," Regan said with a nod. "I'd love to see a routine one day, though. Always wanted to learn how to do a backflip."

"You just finished healing from a broken wrist, I think you'll forgive me if we don't do that immediately," Dick said with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, that's fair," this time when she said it, a laugh edged her words, and Dick smiled.

…

Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. Regan's degree continued, with her finals occurring right before the cast came off. Dick did the helpful thing by mostly staying away while she studied, coming by mostly to bring her food if she wasn't already studying with Sasha, who always made sure they had snacks. They spent Christmas with their respective families, Regan leaving for Metropolis, and Dick going back to the manor.

New Years was spent with each other, alone in Regan's apartment. Neither felt ready to introduce the other to their families just yet, so they spent the night at Regan's apartment watching the New York New Year's show, and waiting for the Ball to Drop. They kissed when it did, bringing in what they both hoped would be a fantastic New Year, spent together.

Dick still patrolled as Nightwing, although he hadn't told her his identity, yet. He figured he would tell her if they were still together by the one year mark, and he was careful. He only suggested dates that could possibly end with one of them spending the night at the other's apartment if he didn't have patrol that night. All of them tended to go out every other night, but there was at least one of them out every night. With Bruce, himself, Jason, and Tim all able to patrol alone, and Damian having the ability to patrol with any of them, they were able to come up with a pretty easy schedule for patrol. If she suggested something on a night he did have patrol, he made sure to end it early enough that he could get out before she became suspicious.

As the months went by and they got to know each other better, they found their relationship to be ridiculously easy. The only arguments they had were small, and easy to resolve. There had, so far, only been one big fight.

Dick had gone to see her, and a make-out session had gotten particularly heated. Dick's shirt had come off, and Regan spotted a bruise on his side. He claimed to have been sitting at his desk all day. He'd refused to tell her the actual reason for it, trying to pass it off as a work injury. In reality, one of TwoFace's thugs had hit him with a two by four. She hadn't bought his work injury excuse, and they'd fought.

Luckily the fight only lasted a day, and she was forced to accept that there were some things that Dick just didn't want to tell her. Or couldn't, as she was starting to wonder if maybe, just maybe, he was more than he said he was. If Dick Grayson was, in fact, Nightwing.

After all, she hadn't seen Nightwing at all since they got together.

Dick realized he loved her three months in, Regan realized she loved him four months in. Neither said it until five months in, and they marked the occasion with finally sleeping together for the first time. They spent a good amount of time just learning each other's bodies, learning what made the other moan the loudest, and Dick had great pleasure in finding a spot that made her moan his name long and low when he sucked on it. He especially loved biting the tattoo on her shoulder, the words Mischief Managed inked delicately across her right shoulder blade.

Collapsing onto the bed next to her, Dick let out a breath.

"Holy shit," he said, out of breath. Yeah, he was a built guy, but good sex could wear anyone out.

"Holy shit is right," Regan said, lying next to him. She hadn't bothered with pulling the covers up to cover her breasts; he'd seen them, what was the point of hiding them? "I didn't even know sex could feel that good."

"Honestly?" Dick asked, glancing over at her. She met his gaze. "Neither did I."

"Probably helps that you're an acrobat," Regan said. Getting up, she scooped her underwear and Dick's Henley off the floor, moving towards the bathroom. "You got the flexibility."

Dick laughed, moving to grab his own boxers.

When Regan came back from the bathroom, she'd put her panties back on, and Dick's shirt. The sleeves went over her hands, so she had them rolled up just enough to free her hands. The hem of the shirt fell to her knees.

"You know, if I tied the sleeves of this shirt around my neck instead of wearing it like a normal shirt, I could use it as a dress," Regan remarked returning to the bed where Dick had gone under the covers. He'd replaced his boxers and was lounging back, scrolling through his phone with the covers pooled at his waist.

"You look better in that shirt than I ever did," Dick remarked, putting his phone down as she joined him in bed. He moved to put an arm around her and she easily snuggled into his bare chest.

"I don't know about that," Regan said. "But I do know that I love you."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."

…

Three weeks later, Dick sat at his desk at the Gotham City precinct. He certainly liked it better than Blüdhaven, and it helped that he now had Commissioner Gordon to work under. He'd known the guy since he was a child, had even dated his daughter for a while, and he was one of the few clean cops in all of Gotham.

At least Gotham had clean cops, he reminded himself.

Picking up his ringing phone without looking at it, he slid into Detective mode. "Detective Grayson," he answered.

"Hey, Dick," his girlfriend's voice came through.

"Oh, hey babe," he said, leaning back in his chair. "What's up?"

"Sorry to call you at work," she began, "but my parents just called; my grandma fell and broke her hip, they're hoping I can go up there and help out."

"Oh shit, is she going to be okay? Want me to go with you?" Dick asked, worry pulling his eyebrows down. Regan's mother's mother was the only one left of her grandparents still alive, and she lived in Metropolis near Regan's parents.

"She's going to be fine; they were in the process of moving her out of her house and into an apartment when she fell. Just a minor surgery to put some screws in, and she should be just fine. Problem is, I stayed at her house at Christmas, but it's sold now, and her new apartment complex doesn't allow bigger dogs, and my parents' complex doesn't allow dogs at all."

"You're hoping I'll take Gracie, then?" Dick asked, running a hand through his hair.

"It's totally okay if you can't! I'll understand, I promise! I-I can call Sasha, or I can board her at the vet, or-" she exclaimed, sounding beyond stressed.

"Hey!" Dick exclaimed, "Hey, calm down, I can take her. When are you leaving?"

"Okay, okay, I'm okay," Regan said, and Dick could hear her taking deep breaths in order to calm down. "I booked a flight for tonight at 6, so I need to be at the airport at 4:30. I'm coming back Sunday. Are you sure you can take her?" Today was Thursday, so it would only be a few days.

"I'm sure, Rae," he said. "You know I have that bed and some toys at my place."

It was true, he did have things for Gracie at his apartment. He'd bought them a few days after they'd both said the big L word. His place was dog friendly, and he wanted her to be able to come over and spend the night when he didn't have patrol, and not have to worry about her dog. So, he'd gone out and bought a nice, big dog bed, some toys, and food and water bowls for when she brought Gracie over.

She took another breath. "Thank you, Dick," she finally said. "Thank you. I owe you big time."

"You don't owe me anything," he said. "How about this, my shift is almost over, I'll stop over at Bat Burger, get some food, and come on over. I can take you to the airport, and grab Gracie while I'm there."

"You are the best, Richard Grayson, I hope I've said that recently. I love you."

Dick smiled. "Love you, too, Regan. I'll see you in a little bit."

"Okay," Regan said quietly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, before finally hanging up.

"I don't think I've see you this whipped since you dated my daughter," a voice behind him said.

Dick turned to see his boss standing directly behind him, an amused smile on his face. He blushed.

"Yeah, her name's Regan," Dick said, "works over at the Gotham History Museum."

"Sounds like she's smart," Gordon said.

"Oh she's smarter than me," Dick said, sounding proud, "she's in the middle of getting her master's degree." He had a dopey grin on his face, and Gordon chuckled.

"Well shit, you better hold on to her, Grayson, before she realizes that she's too good for you."

Dick laughed at that. "She's definitely too good for me," he agreed. "But apparently her grandma fell and broke her hip, so she's flying out to Metropolis tonight, wanted to know if I could take her dog for a few days."

"You'd better go, then, Grayson, spend some time with your girl before she leaves," Gordon said.

"I still have some work to do-" Dick started to protest, standing up out of his chair.

"No, go! That's an order, Grayson, go help out your girlfriend, and I'll see you tomorrow," the commissioner said.

Dick took a surprised step back, but then grinned. "Thanks, Commissioner. See you tomorrow."

Commissioner Gordon nodded, and then watched as Dick grabbed his things, ran out the door, ran back in to clock out, and then finally disappeared.

Dick did as he said he was going to do, going through the Bat Burger drive through. He got a burger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake for Regan, and the Nightwings for himself, as well as another milkshake. Bruce had thought the restaurant ridiculous when it first opened, still did in fact. But all the kids thought it was hilarious, and hey, they had the best milkshakes in Gotham City.

When he got to her apartment, he opened the door, a drink holder and bag in his hands.

"Rae?" he called, "Hi, Gracie," he said as the dog trotted up to him, tail wagging. "Where's your mama, huh?"

"I'm coming!" Regan called, and Dick looked up as she appeared from down the hall. She held a packed duffle in her hand, and Gracie's leash, harness, and favorite toy in the other. She spotted the food in Dick's hands almost instantly. "Dick you are awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Only the best for you," he said with a grin. Coming over to her, he dropped the food on the table and then leaned over to give her a quick kiss. "Hear anything else about your grandma?"

"No, she's still in surgery," Regan said. She dropped the duffle bag onto a chair and the dog's stuff on top of it and sat down. Dick sat next to her. "She'll most likely be fine, but my parents wanted me to go down to help, get the rest of her stuff moved into the apartment so she won't have to worry about it when she can finally go back to it." She sighed. "Are you sure you're okay to take Gracie? I can board her if it's too much of an inconvenience."

"I promise I can take her," Dick said. "In fact, I was thinking about going up to the manor for the weekend, and Gracie would definitely love it up there. Damian loves animals, has a dog himself, so she'll have a great time."

"Is Bruce okay with that?" Regan asked, unwrapping her burger.

Dick waved his hand dismissively, a wing in his hand. The Nightwings were chicken wings with a honey bourbon sauce on them, and Dick loved them. "He'll be fine. The only issue I'm likely to have will be getting Damian to let me bring her back to you. In fact," he looked at her thoughtfully. "Alfred does a big dinner every Sunday, if you want, I can pick you up from the airport and bring you to the Manor to grab Gracie, and maybe stay for dinner? My brothers would all be there, and I guarantee you having a dog as awesome as Gracie would put you into Damian's good graces pretty much instantly."

"You mean… meet your family?" she asked in surprise. "Your brothers, your father?"

"They'll love you, Rae," Dick said softly. Putting down the chicken wing and wiping his hands off on a napkin, he placed his newly clean hand on top of hers and leaned forward slightly. "But if you think it's too soon, we don't have to."

"No, I want to!" Regan exclaimed quickly. "It just surprised me, is all." She smiled, then. "I would love to meet your brothers, and your father. Normally I would bring cookies to something like this, but I'll be coming from an airport."

"You don't have to bring anything," Dick said. "Although ever since I brought those extras to the manor for them, they've been begging for more, so maybe next time."

"I gave a cookie to the Red Hood once," she said.

Dick chuckled; he'd already known that, but she never did get the memories back from after her broken arm had been fixed. Anesthetic was a hell of a drug.

Regan finished her packing after they finished eating, and Dick got her and Gracie into his mustang. He'd started bringing his bike over a little more after Regan told him that her father had a Harley and she'd gone on rides on it with him, but he figured the dog probably wouldn't appreciate a side car.

When they arrived, he made sure to give her a long kiss goodbye, and then Regan was off for Metropolis. Dick considered, for only a second, calling Clark to make sure the flight landed alright, but then he shook the thought out of his head. That was a weird thing to call Superman for, and also mildly creepy.

So, with that thought out of his head, Dick restarted his car and headed back to his apartment, dog in tow.